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Night Stalkers (An AU)

Summary:

What if 66's batch survived to decanting? The Batch meets with another squad of experimental clones, will they get along?

Chapter 1: Meetings

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t like this, it was way too dark, and the corridors were overgrown with roots and vines, they wouldn’t be able to see their hands if it wasn’t for their flashlights. He could hear something moving in the building with them, “Tech, picking anything up?” He whispered, looking to the other clone.

“We are nearing the core, the building is crawling with wildlife, these are not helping my scans.” Tech replied, nose in his datapad.

“I’m picking up movement down the hall.” Crosshair drawled, and Hunter could hear his rangefinder cycling through its enhancements, “Not animals though.”

“Hm.” Hunter shone his torch to the end of the hall and watched as something darted out of the light, “That… looked like a person.” He said carefully as he stopped, drawing his blaster. He heard a weird noise, faint and almost unnoticeable except it didn’t fit in the environment, “Sounds like clicking.”

“I am picking up several living organisms in the area.” Tech said, still not looking up from his datapad.

“Right, blasters at the ready, we don’t know what’s down there.” Hunter said, they started moving again. Wrecker was being surprisingly quiet, maybe he was scared or something, whatever it was Hunter was happy for it, Wrecker wasn’t known for his indoor voice. “Wrecker, get this door open.” He motioned to the door leading to the core, and as he stepped aside to allow the giant access to the door, he heard a clattering when his boot hit something. He turned his light down and saw it was a vent cover, he trailed his light up to where it came from, “Something is moving through the ventilation system.”

“It may be the thing we saw.” Crosshair said, his rifle pointed to where they came from, “I thought we were the only people supposed to be here.”

“We are. But General Kenobi said that General Windu sent forward scouts to check out the area, maybe one got left behind.” Hunter frowned, he looked through the now open door. He caught movement in the darkness, he turned his flashlight quickly and saw three black shapes moving quickly, followed by the sound of crawling in the vent system.

“Uh… everyone else saw that… right?” Wrecker asked, his voice betraying his nervousness.

“Tech…?” Hunter turned to his brother.

“The core, though deactivated, is still outputting energy, which is interfering with my scans. I’m picking up lifeforms, though I cannot tell what they are.” Tech replied, his voice carrying the frown he was no doubt wearing. “It’s not important, we need to get the data-drive.”

“They think it’ll still have usable data on it?” Hunter asked, as they walked into the large cylindrical room. He heard that clicking noise again and turned his flashlight to the vent covering, where he saw a pair of eye shines, but before he could move again, they vanished. “Tech, how long do you need?”

“Not lo…” Tech started but stopped mid word, “Oh, it has already been removed.”

“How… we’re the only ones here… right?” Wrecker sounded really unnerved now, Hunter couldn’t blame him, he could sense their observers, but he couldn’t tell what they were, or where they were.

Something was throwing him off, maybe it was that clicking noise, could it disrupt his senses? Whatever it was, he just wanted to get the kriff out of dodge, “So… we don’t have it?” He asked, looking back to them.

“We do, but it is not within its casing, which is odd.” Tech replied, picking up the drive.

“We should get going, don’t want our watchers to get ideas.” Hunter started back for the door, “Crosshair, picking up anything?”

“Three of them, they’re moving quite easily through the vents, I don’t know what they are. All I know is that they have a low body temperature.” Crosshair replied, popping his rangefinder back up.

“Joy.” Hunter frowned. They made better time on the way back, now that they knew where they were going and hopefully knew what was in their way, he didn’t like not knowing what their watchers were. They didn’t know a lot about the planet’s ecosystem to be fair, so it could be any number of things, but they looked humanoid. They made it outside without incident or reappearance of their watcher, he took one last look at the facility, shining his torch at the entrance, where he caught movement again.

His torch beam glanced those eye shines before they disappeared again, “Hunter, come on.” Wrecker said, putting his hand on Hunter’s shoulder.

“Right.” He said and scaled the steps, taking his seat as he took off his helmet, “So… anyone have any idea what they were?”

“They were humanoid, that’s about all I can tell you.” Tech said as he started the ship, “Though I did pick up infrasonic frequencies, from what I don’t know.”

“Can humans, or any organic for that matter, create such a low sound?” Crosshair asked.

“Not our concern now. Let’s just get back to Republic lines and drop off the data.” Hunter sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, “Wake me when we get there.” He said and closed his eyes.

“Hunter, come on, we’ve touched down.” Wrecker said as he put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder, startling him awake.

“Right.” He grumbled and picked up his helmet, following the others down the steps. It wasn’t a long walk to the command center, but Hunter was starting to develop a migraine and he wasn’t too enthused by walking.

“Ah, welcome back gentlemen!” General Kenobi smiled as they entered, “I take it your mission was a success? Were there any issues?”

“One data-drive, as requested.” Hunter said as Tech handed it over to Commander Cody, “We encountered no hostiles, we did have some observers as we made our way through the facility though.”

“Watchers?” Kenobi asked, stroking his beard.

“We only caught brief glances at them, and they made no attempt on us, it was just very unsettling.” Hunter replied, he was about to speak again but was distracted by a trooper arriving and whispering to Cody.

“General, it appears the scouts General Windu sent have arrived.” Cody said.

“The ones he sent to the facility?” Kenobi looked the same composed man but there was a twinkle of curiosity in his eyes, “Well show them in.” He smiled. Hunter was confused but looked as the trooper returned with three short people in completely black armor, “Gentlemen, welcome, I am General Kenobi and this is Commander Cody.”

The three of them looked at each other, speaking with body language and not words, then the one in the middle spoke, “Night Stalker squad, reporting for duty sir.” They all saluted. The smallest one on the end had his helmet pointed at Hunter and the Batch, and Hunter could hear what sounded like sniffing coming from inside his helmet. “General Windu believes that you will benefit from our skills in the current environment.”

“You have yet to take off your helmets, might I ask why?” Kenobi smiled again.

The three of them looked at each other again, it was slightly unnerving how much they seemed to be able to say to each other, without actually making a sound. “Of course. Apologies General.” The middle one said, as they all rooted around in their packs, each taking out a piece of head gear. They took off their helmets in sync but the smallest one took his one off a little slower and Hunter could hear the hiss of a respirator mask attaching. They were clones, well, as much as Hunter and the Batch were… were they enhanced clones?

“You don’t look like clones.” Cody said with a frown.

The middle one, who had put on a pair of dark-tinted goggles, frowned in return, “We are an experimental unit of modified clones, like Clone Force 99 here.” He said, “I am CT-9965, Noktowizor, or Nokt if it would be easier. This is CT-9967, Clicker.” He motioned to the clone on his right who was wearing noise cancellers, “And this is CT-9966, Mouse.” He motioned to the smallest of their team.

Mouse was staring at Hunter, and it was then that he realised, both Clicker and Mouse had some variation of grey eyes… not the typical brown of the rest of the clone army. Neither of the two said a word, they just observed the clones in the room, “It is a pleasure to meet you all.” Kenobi said, “Master Windu has spoken very highly of your infiltration skills. Seeing as you already seem to know, or at least know of, Clone Force 99, we can move onto the mission both of your teams will be sent on.”

“Wait… what?” Hunter asked, slightly surprised.

“I agree.” Nokt said.

“You are both very specialized teams, and the mission will require both of your skill sets.” Cody said, pulling up a holoprojection, “This complex is the target, it is heavily guarded, but it is the heart of the defense system on the planet. Every planetary defense is networked from this building.”

“Seems easy enough. What’s the catch?” Hunter frowned, then looked at Mouse as he walked closer to the projection, his eyes darting around the schematics.

“If the core is breached through brute force, the entire complex goes into complete lockdown, nothing comes in or out. Then it activates the self-destruct.” Cody replied, crossing his arms.

Mouse looked back at Nokt, who nodded, “The ventilation system goes through the whole complex, including the core, we can get to the core and open it up from the inside. Which will allow Clone Force 99 to enter without fear of triggering the self-destruct.”

“If we can keep the droids occupied, you should have an easier time of it.” Hunter said, looking to Nokt.

“It’s settled then, I do hope you can work together.” Kenobi smiled warmly, “You have much in common.”

The two groups walked a little bit apart from each other as they left the briefing, but Mouse never stopped staring at them, and Hunter could feel Crosshair getting agitated, the sniper hated being stared at. “Does he like staring?” He asked Nokt, who looked at Mouse, which made the small clone look away.

“He has terrible eyesight so he’s mostly smelling you.” Nokt replied easily, “Since we are going to be working together, it would be beneficial to know of each other’s enhancements. Makes things much simpler.”

“You first.” Crosshair hissed

“Easy Crosshair.” Hunter sighed, “Wrecker, enhanced strength. Tech, hyper intelligence. Crosshair, exceptional eyesight. Me, Hunter, able to feel and track electromagnetic frequencies.”

“Hm. That would be why Clicker doesn’t like you.” Nokt frowned looking to his brother, “Clicker, biological sonar and ability to feel and generate infrasonic frequencies.” Clicker looked at them briefly, his hands going to his noise cancellers, “Mouse, overdeveloped sense of smell, can track a scent from five clicks. Can tell what someone is feeling, if they’re lying, and sometimes can smell illness.” He motioned to the smallest of the batch. “Me, Noktowizor, developed tapetum lucidum, which allows me to see in the dark.”

“He… gets cool eye shines…” Clicker spoke so softly that Hunter wasn’t sure he’d heard him at all.

“So that was you three in the facility.” Tech said, “Odd that you did not interact with us in any way.”

“You may be smart, but you seem to lack a survival instinct.” Nokt replied easily, “There are four of you, you are all much bigger than us, and we are not designed for fighting. Meaning, that if we were wrong in assuming you would not hurt us, we would be dead in seconds.”

“You seem to be able to move quite quickly though.” Hunter said.

“Not fast enough to dodge a bolt from him.” Nokt pointed to Crosshair, “Now, we have a mission to do and standing here is not going to get it done.”

“And I get the feeling you’ll be coming on our ship.” Hunter crossed his arms.

“Hopefully yes.”

“Right.”

Chapter 2: Mission planning

Chapter Text

Hunter wasn’t sure if he liked the three scouts.

Nokt was the most vocal and the only one to interact with them, he stayed close to the Batch, they talked about the mission and they exchanged information with each other easily. Clicker didn’t like loud noises, he spoke very softly, almost silently, his mutation meant that his own voice could cause him great discomfort if he spoke too loudly. This meant that Wrecker was instantly his least favorite person on the Marauder, so he tended to stay near to Crosshair, who didn’t talk to any of them. Mouse… didn’t talk at all, he didn’t engage with them at all, but because he could smell literally everything in the ship very loudly, he was the most overwhelmed, and he near enough clamped himself onto Gonky the moment he saw him, though the droid didn’t seem to mind the attention.

“We haven’t met another squad of experimental clones… ever.” Hunter said to Nokt, “Why have we never heard of you all?”

“Probably the same reason that the normies never heard of you. You’re shock troopers.” He replied, fixing his goggles, “We’re infiltration scouts. Our specialty is working in the shadows, literally sometimes, because our mutations work well for it, it’s what we were designed for.”

“That makes sense.” He nodded, “Does Mouse talk at all?” He asked, looking to the smallest member of the squad, who seemed to have taken an interest in whatever Tech was doing.

“No.” Was all Nokt said on the matter.

“I take it your enhancements are not designed for close work with other clones?” Hunter looked back to the clone beside him, Hunter was used to being the shortest of the group, but Nokt and Clicker were shorter than him, and Mouse was the smallest full-grown trooper that Hunter had ever seen.

“I have the easiest time, but those two are really not designed for it.” Nokt replied.

“I apologise if I caused you pain by putting a flashlight beam in your eyes.” Hunter said.

“Think nothing of it, you didn’t know and didn’t do it out of malice. I hope so, anyway.” Nokt replied, turning his head to look at Hunter. “We should create a solid mission plan before we reach the LZ.”

“Agreed.” Hunter nodded, “Okay everyone, listen up. We are heading into enemy territory that only a single scouting squad has reached, and they died after transmitting the information back to command.”

“This means that we are all flying blind until me and my team get in there, we will have to do recon while we make our way to the core.” Nokt folded his arms, “We won’t be able to give you a completely accurate number regarding enemies.”

“The more the merrier!” Wrecker yelled, which caused Clicker to move away from them going to the cockpit with his hands clamped down on his noise cancellers, “Oh… sorry.”

“I can see why we’re needed.” Nokt frowned as he spoke quietly, “Stealth doesn’t seem to be your crew’s strong suit.”

“Crosshair, we’ll need an eye in the sky.” Hunter sighed as he looked to the sniper.

“There are a few, decent looking outcrops in the vicinity, I can set up on one.” Crosshair drawled.

“Okay, so we have eyes on the outside and inside.” Hunter nodded, “Tech, what exactly are we looking for in there?”

“We are disabling the defenses of several key compounds across the planet.” Tech replied, not looking up from his datapad, “This can only be achieved from the core’s central computer.”

“Which we will make sure doesn’t go up like the Fantasy in the Sky.” Nokt frowned.

“The what?” Wrecker asked.

“Fantasy in the Sky, it is a fireworks pageant celebrated on Cloud City, which is located on the planet Bespin.” Tech replied quickly, “I am surprised you know of it.”

“Hard not to know, when you arrive on Cloud City the day before the celebration starts, and you have to comfort your brother who is near crippled because of it.” Nokt replied, Hunter should have guessed that Clicker would be affected by fireworks, they were not only loud but the created sound waves when they went off. He didn’t like them, the sparks messed with his head, crippling him for days with migraines.

“Back to the mission, you and your team get in and unlock the way, we’ll clear out the enemies and meet you there, Tech can access the computer and get the job done.” Hunter sighed.

“Works for us.” Nokt said, looking to Mouse, “Mouse, go get Clicker, and get geared up.” Mouse nodded and went into the cockpit to fetch his brother.

“Alright, gear up guys.” Hunter said to his brothers, as Tech went to the cockpit to get them to the ground in one piece, passing Mouse and Clicker on the way. Hunter observed that neither Mouse or Nokt actually made physical contact with Clicker, it was Clicker who held onto the top lip of Mouse’s backplate, but only with two fingers and his thumb. “Nokt? Is Clicker’s body affected by reverb coming through another person’s contact?” he looked to the oldest of the three.

“He’s affected by any kind of reverb, but it’s channeled through someone’s arm and hand when they make contact, directing it in through a single point. It causes him great discomfort, sometimes pain if the person is loud enough.” Nokt replied, as Clicker and Mouse put on their helmets. Nokt put his on and flipped up the visor to put his goggles back on, it was similar in design to Tech’s helmet, save for the visor on Nokt’s helmet being a solid plastoid piece with eyepieces like a standard clone’s.

“Ah… that makes sense.” Hunter replied.

“Mouse says you smell like a droid popper.” Clicker said in his very quiet voice.

“A… droid popper?” Hunter looked at the clone in question, “Wait… he can smell my enhancement?”

“He can smell a lot of things.” Nokt replied easily.

“Touching down at the LZ.” Tech said from the cockpit, he wasn’t Wrecker level loud, but it still caused Clicker some discomfort, the poor kid got the short end of the genetic stick.

Hunter frowned slightly, then looked to Clicker and tried signing to him, ‘We can talk like this if you want?’

Clicker looked to him then to his brothers and Nokt nodded, ‘You speak sign?’ Clicker replied as he turned his head back to look at Hunter.

‘A little, Crosshair and Tech learned it before we were officially made a unit.’ He smiled, ‘If we’re going radio silent, it helps to give orders.’ Clicker looked to his brothers again, he and Mouse started to bounce happily, it made Hunter a little happier with the situation, then the ship shuddered as the landed, which made Clicker uncomfortable again.

“It’s really dark out there.” Wrecker said, “Why is it so dark?” he was trying to keep his voice down, it was a struggle for him, but it was a lot quieter.

“We are in the middle of this planet’s winter, there is exactly four standard hours of sunlight per rotation.” Tech replied, his nose in his datapad.

“Suits us just fine.” Nokt said as he looked to his brothers, who nodded, “Well Sergeant? Should we take separate routes to not draw attention, or will we all stick together?” he looked at Hunter as the steps descended.

“What do you think?” Hunter asked as they all filtered out of the ship, where they were swallowed by the darkness when the ramp went back up.

“I would suggest going in separately, but until we get to the boundary of the complex, it would be beneficial to go together.” Nokt replied, “Don’t want our scanners picking up the other group.” Hunter looked to Nokt, and it took all his willpower to not jump a little as he caught a look of the clone’s eyes in the dark. “Freaky. I know.” Nokt said, it was fascinating watching those eyes moving, as they picked up what little light there was in the environment, he could practically hear Tech bursting with questions, “I can’t see anything nearby. Clicker? Picking up anything?”

Hunter turned his head to the sound of that clicking noise, he could feel weird vibrations and wondered if Clicker was making them, “Droids… a lot of them.” Clicker finally said, “But there are… organics also.”

“Organics?” Hunter asked.

“Mouse, go scout ahead, see if those organics are local wildlife or are in the complex.” Nokt said, and Hunter wouldn’t have known the small clone had left, if it wasn’t for the sudden lack of sniffing sounds, “Well, shall we get moving?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Mouse’s report?” Wrecker asked.

“He’s very speedy, he’ll meet us half way.” Nokt replied as he started walking.

“Night vision on guys.” Hunter said with a sigh, and they walked with Nokt and Clicker, who Hunter could see holding the top lip of Nokt’s backplate, with two fingers and his thumb, “Do you not use any night vision Clicker?” He asked softly.

“N… no. Too loud. So… so I rely on Nokt.” The small clone replied, “I… am surprised you can… use it.”

Hunter blinked, he hadn’t thought about that, “Now that you mention it… so am I.” he chuckled lightly.

They walked in silence.

The only light was from Tech’s datapad, as the tree canopy blocked out most of the light from the two moons, “Here comes Mouse.” Nokt said, but it took a minute for the small clone to appear in Hunter’s vision. “Anything?” he watched as Mouse signed, his hands were moving too fast for Hunter to catch anything, “Hm, so they’re using organic slave labor?”

“Why would they use organics when droids are much more efficient?” Hunter looked to Tech.

“It doesn’t matter why, but it does pose a problem for us if we are to complete the mission without being caught.” Nokt said, his weird eyes turning to them, “We now have to extract slaves. Which we will have to call an evac for.”

“We can’t leave them behind.” Hunter sighed, “Tech, inform command of the situation.”

“Hm. Mouse agrees with you.” Nokt replied, those eye shines turning to look at the sea of trees, “Fine, if you can get the ones on the outside free, then we can tag any inside and send you coordinates.”

“Works for us.” Hunter replied, “Crosshair, acquire a nest.” The sniper nodded and left, “Wrecker, Tech, weapons ready, the minute they get inside we start the attack.”

“Mouse, did you find an entry point?” Nokt asked the tiny clone, who nodded and made a sort-of squeak noise of confirmation, probably why he was called Mouse. “Right, give us a few minutes head start, then you can commence your attack Sergeant.”

“Rodger that.”

Chapter 3: Tension

Chapter Text

“Night Stalker squad just sent an update.” Tech said from his position behind Hunter and Wrecker, “They are inside and clear of the first hall. Nokt recommends that we start our assault as soon as possible and they will send updates.”

“They made it in… and no one noticed?” Wrecker asked, trying to keep his voice down, none of them knew how far Clicker’s reverb sensors extended and the giant didn’t want to cause any discomfort to the small clone.

“They are infiltration specialists.” Tech replied as he fixed his goggles.

“Crosshair, you in position?” Hunter asked into his comm.

“Affirmative.” Crosshair drawled, “Awaiting orders.”

“Right, remember we’re also here to secure the prisoners.” Hunter sighed, “Don’t get too trigger happy, okay?” He looked at Wrecker in particular. The complex was very well lit but B-1 droids weren’t exactly known for their intelligence, and before the perimeter patrol could even vocalize their appearance, they were destroyed. “Wrecker, you think you can take out those droids while me and Tech get the prisoners?”

“Time to release the wrecking ball!” Wrecker laughed loudly and charged into the middle of the poor B-1s.

“You know something Tech, I sometimes feel really bad for the droids.” Hunter grinned under his helmet.

“They do not have much of a chance against him.” Tech replied as they made their way to the slave cages.

“Easy, we’re here to help.” Hunter said quickly at the sight of the cowering people, a mix of twi’leks and humans. “Tech, get these open and get those collars off.”

“Affirmative.” Tech replied and set to work while Hunter shot the approaching droids. Hunter wondered what it was like for the three small clones as they made their way through the ventilation system, he had only been in one system, and it was a very tight fit.

“Is that all of them!?” Wrecker laughed, “I was just starting to have fun!”

“Hunter, Republic drop ships have landed just outside the perimeter.” Crosshair drawled over the comm.

“Okay, get down here, Tech, get in contact with them and organize something.” Hunter replied, looking to the people who hugged each other as their collars hit the dirt below, “Are there any more inside?” He asked one of them.

“Y… Yes. There are many more.” She replied nervously.

“Kriff. Tech, get in contact with the Night Stalkers, get any updates you can.” He looked to Tech, who nodded and typed away at his wrist terminal, “Okay people, we have an evac waiting for you, Republic troopers will assist you in whatever way they can, you are all safe now. We will save the rest of them, and get them outside also.”

“Thank you.” The woman replied and gave him a hug.

Hunter froze, “N… no problem.” He hugged her back, then he spotted the white and yellow of a group of 212th troopers, “Here’s your escort.” He watched as the group left and Crosshair arrived, “Let’s get in there and give the boys a hand.” He said, and they entered the building, gunning down droids, freeing the prisoners and directing them outside to the waiting 212th.

The massive doors to the core slid open as soon as the last droid was gunned down, “You took your time.” Nokt said, his voice carrying a frown.

“You didn’t have to go through droids.” Crosshair hissed.

Both Mouse and Clicker shrank away from the sniper, as Nokt stood in front of them and Hunter watched as Mouse put his hand on Nokt’s back, “No, we had to get through vents, then we had to clear the room of droids so they didn’t send this place sky high.” He replied easily, but Hunter could see the tension in his… in all of their muscles… they were preparing to bolt for the vents if things went wrong.

“Easy guys.” Hunter stood between them and Crosshair, “We’re all on the same side, Tech do your thing.”

“Rodger.” Tech moved quickly to the consol.

“Clicker, take Mouse and keep a sense out for anything trying to sneak in here.” Nokt said to his brothers, who nodded and vanished into the vent, “We have enough trouble with normies, we do not need more trouble from defectives also.” He hissed at Crosshair, “We’re here to do our job, and you are here to do yours. You go for them again and they will never find your body.”

Crosshair hissed in return and made to move but Wrecker grabbed his shoulder, “He’s right Cross, so take it easy.”

Crosshair wrenched his arm free and stalked off into the corridor, probably to keep an eye out for stragglers, and Wrecker looked to Hunter, before he followed after the sniper, “Sorry about him.” Hunter sighed, “He’s…”

“Reactive? He’s not aggressive, he’s defensive.” Nokt replied, “If he was aggressive, he wouldn’t have backed down so fast.”

“That’s… you figured that out very quickly.” Hunter blinked.

“Mouse did. He can smell the difference.” Nokt shrugged, “But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a threat, especially to Clicker.”

“Right.” He looked to Tech, “How’re we doing Tech?”

“Almost through, their encryption is quite sophisticated, it is taking me a little longer than I had anticipated.” Tech replied, not looking up from the consol. Hunter looked at Nokt, who was staring at the vent, and he followed his gaze to see Mouse and Clicker looking out at them, so with a smile he motioned for the two of them to join them again.

“Crosshair left. You can come out.” He smiled wider when the two looked at each other, then at Nokt, who nodded. Mouse left first and Hunter could hear him smelling the air, probably looking for Crosshair’s scent, and only when he confirmed that the sniper wasn’t in the room, did he motion for Clicker to follow, “Is it difficult for you?” He looked to Nokt, “Being the leader?”

“Sometimes, trying to keep us all safe from normies… is difficult, sometimes they use our enhancements against us.” Nokt sighed, then looked to Clicker and Mouse as they approached.

“I apologise for my brother.” Hunter sighed, “He’s not used to working with others.”

“Mouse… says he smells sad.” Clicker said softly, “And angry.”

“Sad?” He looked to the small clone, who was suddenly very interested in his boots, “You can tell a lot about someone… through their smell?” he asked gently, and Mouse nodded, still not looking up. “That is a very handy ability.” He smiled again, which made Mouse finally look up, he looked to Nokt, who nodded, and Mouse started bouncing, making those small squeaking noises. They must not get any form of praise for their enhancements, or positive feedback for the things they could do, “We’ll be heading back to Kamino once our mission is done here, I take it you are based out of Kamino also?” He looked to Nokt.

“Yes, we are due back for debriefing also, hopefully getting comfortable sleep.” Nokt sighed as he stretched, “Isn’t that right guys.” Both his brothers nodded.

“I take it that sleeping is not a pleasant experience for you Clicker.” Hunter looked to the young clone, who shook his head.

“Everything is too loud… and the vibrations of star ships make it painful sometimes.” Clicker replied, “99 said he would put in a request… for a specialty suit that would… help with the vibrations.”

“That would be an interesting project, I would very much like to see the process, if it has not already been completed that is.” Tech said, as he stopped typing, “All defense systems have been disabled.”

“Good, get on the comm and alert command.” Hunter sighed in relief, he could feel a migraine niggling in his brain, the core wasn’t doing him any favors. He jumped a mile when he felt a small hand on his chest, it was Mouse, and Hunter could hear him smelling him, then turned to Nokt.

He touched his own chest and then his mask, “Mouse wants to know why you smell unwell?” Nokt translated.

“Unwell?” Hunter blinked, “You… can smell my migraine?” he asked the small clone who nodded.

“Smells like a droid popper.” Clicker said.

“That is amazing, I’m surprised a medic hasn’t nabbed you for assistance.” He grinned, Mouse was suddenly very interested in his boots again, but he was bouncing, so he was obviously happy. “Right, let’s get out of here and back to the ship.”

Chapter 4: Brothers help each other

Chapter Text

Hunter was surprised by Mouse, despite his apparent distrust for him the young cadet had made it his mission to break down Crosshair’s aggressive walls. The tiny clone was obviously very light and he used this to his advantage, and he was succeeding, because he was just as stubborn as the sniper. Before Crosshair could even say a word, Mouse climbed up onto his lap and wrapped his arms around Crosshair’s lanky frame, and refused to let go. Nothing Crosshair did could get the small clone to let go, he was stuck on like a barnacle, so finally, Crosshair sighed and accepted defeat, he wasn’t going to get Mouse to let go. They were on their way back to Kamino and they had hours to go before they arrived, so Mouse and Crosshair just fell asleep, Crosshair had carried the small cadet to the racks and lay down, it was adorable.

“He always wants to help people, even those who have hurt him.” Nokt said, “Crosshair isn’t a danger, not the one he likes to portray anyways.”

“Yeah… I can see that.” Hunter replied with a smile, “Clicker with Tech?”

“Yes, if he can help it, he tries to stay as far as he can from the engine, which on this ship is the cockpit.” Nokt looked to him, “Where is Wrecker? It is very quiet.”

“He’s taking a nap, running around and crushing droids is tiring work, even for him.” Hunter chuckled, “I can't wait to see 99 again, it’s been way too long.”

“He speaks highly of you all.” Nokt smiled, “It’s why we knew about you, he hoped we could meet with all of you. I guess he got his wish, he’s going to be so happy when we all arrive back in the same ship.”

“Why do you have to wear those goggles, I can understand the other two’s attachments, but yours confuses me.” Hunter asked as he sat down, motioning to the chairs, Nokt only briefly hesitated in sitting down.

“I was created with tapetum lucidum, which allows me to see in low light conditions… however I did not develop slit pupils, which would allow me to manage the amount of light that could enter my eyes through dilation or contraction of my pupils.” He replied, “Which means that I see everything at six times the normal light level.”

“Ouch. I thought Crosshair had it bad.” Hunter winced in sympathy, “I take it you got a lot of headaches from the Kaminoans and their stupid tests.”

“Migraines, similar to you.” Nokt sighed, “Luckily the stopped testing me, meaning I could comfort Clicker and Mouse. How long can Mouse last without his mask, before he passes out? What sound frequencies affect Clicker the most…” he rested his head against the hull, “With me it was, how much light can we put into his eyes before he starts crying?”

“Yeah… Wrecker used to come back to the barracks in tears, his muscles in pain and his hands bleeding. Crosshair’s arm would be shaking, his shoulder bruised, he would be trying so hard not to cry.” Hunter replied, “Tech wouldn’t talk to anyone or leave the barracks unless it was for simulation training, he was so physically and mentally tired, they had him doing anything and everything in order to see what his brain could do and learn.”

“And you?” Nokt asked gently.

“I would paint the refresher a lovely vomit colour because of migraines, similar to Clicker they would see what frequencies affected me the most, but they would use electromagnetic frequencies.” Hunter massaged the bridge of his nose.

“I know the feeling, how long do yours last?” Nokt sighed again.

“Depends.” Hunter looked to him, “You?”

“Depends. Worst one I’ve had lasted a standard week, but that was because a bully grabbed my goggle, held my eyes open and shoved my head against one of the Tipoca hall lights.” Nokt looked to him, “I’d never heard Mouse that angry, or aggressive. He nearly pulled the cadet’s hair out by the roots.”

“Mouse attacked someone?” Hunter was shocked, the tiny clone didn’t seem to have a fighting bone in his body.

“It was pretty scary actually, I would say I watched, but I couldn’t see.” Nokt snorted a laugh, “Clicker filled me in afterwards.”

“Remind me not to tick him off then.” Hunter chuckled, “Tech and Crosshair got bullied a lot also, they used to try with Wrecker… but he just kept getting bigger and stronger, and they realised he could completely break them in half with little effort, and stopped. They never really targeted me, probably because I look the most like a reg.”

“You were the one they went to when it happened?” Nokt asked gently, “You became the team's anchor?”

“Yeah. It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders, trying to juggle the missions alongside trying to work with four very different personalities.” He sighed again, they were all so different from each other.

“I understand. I am lucky in that regard, me and my brothers are very similar in personality. Our main problem is that… neither me nor Mouse can give Clicker any kind of physical comfort, it causes him too much discomfort or even pain, just placing a hand on him. I don’t want to know what it would be like to hug him.” Nokt fidgeted with his hands, “I hope, beyond hope, that 99 was able to get that protective suit made. Something that would allow us to actually comfort him.”

“I’m sure that 99 has tried his best, but if he can’t get it made, I’m pretty sure Tech would be willing to help.” He smiled, putting his hand on the young clone’s shoulder, “You and your brothers, you are our brothers too, and we are yours. Brothers help each other.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt smiled in return, “I appreciate it.”

“No problem Nokt’ika.” He smiled wider at the blush appearing on Nokt’s face, followed by a small, shy smile.

Chapter 5: Kamino

Chapter Text

“99!” Clicker and Mouse were the first ones down the steps when they landed on Kamino, they made it into the hanger in record time.

Mouse had his arms wrapped around their older brother when the rest of them caught up with them, while Clicker just stood beside them, bouncing in excitement, “Welcome back.” 99 smiled, then finally noticed the Batch arriving with Nokt. The young clone didn’t even hesitate in running to 99 and wrapping his arms around him when Mouse let go, “Hello Nokt.”

“We met the Batch!” Nokt was bouncing also, “Just like you hoped!”

Hunter smiled at the sight, Nokt seemed to most outwardly mature of them, but he really was just a kid, “99!” Wrecker seemed just as happy as the younger clones.

“Welcome back boys.” 99 grinned as they all went in for a hug, even Crosshair accepted one, to the surprise of everyone. So, either he just really missed 99, or Mouse had managed to crack his barriers in such a short amount of time. “I’m glad you all met with each other.” Mouse was bouncing and making his little squeaking noises as he speed signed, “Is that so?”

“How about we continue this, somewhere that isn’t the main hanger.” Hunter smiled, and they all filtered out into the halls, and any ease the three young clones had was replaced with tension. They were waiting and preparing for abuse from others, but Mouse kept his hold of 99’s hand, “Do you guys have a barracks here? Or are you based in the main pod area.”

“We have our own barracks, like you do.” Nokt replied.

“It is just up the corridor from yours.” 99 said.

“We’re neighbors!” Wrecker laughed, then shut his mouth when he remembered that Clicker was with them, right beside Hunter to be exact. “Sorry.” Clicker didn’t seem to be aware of Wrecker’s addition to the noise, he was so tense that Hunter was surprised his muscles hadn’t snapped.

There was so much noise between people, the lights and all the machinery, it must be unbearable for the young clone, “Do you want to go to the barracks Clicker?” Nokt asked his brother. Clicker didn’t reply but Hunter was shocked when he took hold of his pauldron, with two fingers and his thumb, was it because he was the closest one walking beside Clicker?

He looked to Nokt for some form of answer, but all he got was a small smile, “Okay, I’ll go with you to your barracks.” Hunter said softly, “Do you have special equipment in your room?” all he got from the young clone was a stiff nod. They passed by the Batch’s barracks, “That’s our barracks, if any of you need anything while we’re here, you just have to knock.”

Mouse waved to the rest of the Batch as they broke away to go into the room, but Clicker still had his grip on Hunter’s pauldron, 99 smiled gently, “I have to return to my duties, but I’ll be around later.”

“Bye ori’vod.” Hunter smiled, earning confused looks from Nokt and Mouse, “You don’t know any words in Mando’a?”

“N… no.” Nokt replied, looking a little sheepish, but Mouse bounced a little.

“Ori’vod means older sibling.” Hunter sighed softly, “Younger sibling would be vod’ika. ‘ika being a diminutive word meaning little. So, if 99 calls you ad’ika, it means little one.”

“So… when you called me Nokt’ika… you were calling me something… affectionate?” Nokt asked, he looked so confused.

“Yes.” Hunter smiled again, “You don’t get affection do you?”

“Only from 99…” Clicker said softly, his voice barely above a near silent whisper.

“Well, you are our brothers, and Wrecker is a very affectionate man.” Hunter chuckled.

“So are you it seems.” Nokt said, trying to hide his blush.

Mouse went to his other side and took hold of his hand, it felt odd, hard and ridged, “Mouse… do you have a prosthesis?” he asked the small clone, who was suddenly very interested in his boots, but he nodded.

They arrived at the barracks, and entered the very dimly lit room, where Clicker broke away from the small group and went straight for a weird bunk, pod thing. It hissed open and Clicker vanished inside without a word to anyone, “It’s a sensory deprivation pod.” Nokt informed him, “It completely negates any sound vibrations, any noise, even from him.”

“Why did he grab hold of me and not one of you?” He asked Nokt as the other clone took off his goggles, revealing his eye shines.

“He likes you.” Nokt replied easily, “He likes Crosshair also. He’s quiet, a little standoffish but he’s quiet, in both voice and movement.”

“Oh.” Hunter felt a little burst of happiness in his chest, Mouse had also vanished but he came back out a moment later and showed Hunter a plushie bantha, “Oh, who’s this?” he asked with a small smile.

“That’s Minnow, we found her on Ryloth. He’s very attached to her.” Nokt explained with a soft smile.

“Hello Minnow, it’s nice to meet you.” Hunter smiled also, “Mouse, you should meet Lula, I think you’ll like her also.” Mouse looked a little confused, he looked between Hunter and Nokt, “Lula is Wrecker’s tooka plush, she’s his best friend.”

Mouse was bouncing, so he was obviously feeling happier than he had been in the halls, “You should get some sleep too Mouse.” Nokt said and though Mouse huffed a little, he didn’t fight him and simply went to his bunk, which was a mound of blankets and pillows. Probably given to him by 99, “He likes to nest, he needs a lot of physical comfort, don’t know why, I doubt the kaminoans did it on purpose.”

“Given Clicker, I doubt you have ever had a pile.” Hunter looked to Nokt, who looked at the ground and shook his head, “Maybe if Clicker gets the suit, you can have one. They are very comforting.”

“I just want to hug him.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the chance.”

“I really hope so.”

Chapter 6: Stupid Cadets

Chapter Text

Hunter was awoken to the sound of someone banging on the door to their barracks, “What?” he grumbled and stood up, wiping his eyes as he opened the door to reveal Mouse, the small clone looked terrified. “Mouse? What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly very awake, but Mouse just grabbed his hand and tried to pull him along, he couldn’t because he was so much smaller than Hunter, so Hunter just followed him. He was taken to their barracks and Hunter froze when the door opened and he saw Nokt with an inconsolable Clicker, he saw blood dripping lazily from underneath the small clone’s hands, that were clamped over his ears. Hunter went straight over, “What happened?” He asked quietly but urgently, he didn’t even want to know how much pain the young clone was in, not only from whatever caused the damage, but from his own crying.

“We went down to the mess, it’s normally empty at this time, but… but we were taken by surprise by a group of… I think they were cadets…” Nokt was trying very hard to control his emotions, “They… they had an airhorn of some kind and they didn’t stop, they chased us with it and we only managed to escape by hiding in an unused room.”

Hunter felt his concern morph into cold seated anger, “Clicker?” He asked softly, “Clicker, I’m going to get the rest of my Batch. We’ll fix you right up, okay?”

Clicker managed to nod, and Hunter knew exactly the crushing feeling Nokt felt, he wanted to scoop the small clone up and hug him, but he couldn’t, it would cause more damage. Hunter nodded and stood up, then went back to the others, who were all awake to some degree, “Hunter? What’s happening?” Wrecker asked, with a big yawn.

“They were attacked by a group with an airhorn and Clicker needs help.” Hunter said as he went to get their medkit.

“How bad?” Tech asked as he jumped to his feet.

“I don’t know, it looks bad though.” Hunter replied and they all went to the young clones, Clicker was still crying uncontrollably, “Clicker, hey, we’re going to help you. I don’t know if it will cause you more pain or discomfort, but we need to do it.” Clicker, to his credit, knew what was happening, and nodded before he took his hands away from his ears.

Hunter nodded in return and moved out of the way, so Tech could examine him, Clicker cried harder when Tech’s fingers were barely touched him, and suddenly Wrecker was there, Lula making her grand appearance. Clicker wrapped his arms around her and Nokt looked to the giant, his goggles were now in place because they had to turn the lights up, but Wrecker just grinned, “She’s called Lula.” He said quietly.

Clicker calmed down a little at the introduction of the plush, “Clicker, do you have any ringing or buzzing in your ear, more so than usual?” Tech asked and Clicker nodded, “I’m just going to check your temperature, I apologise if this is uncomfortable.” Clicker cried louder again when Tech carefully put his hand on his forehead, then against his chest, then his back. “You have a slight fever, that and the ringing, I think you may have perforated eardrums.”

“What?” Nokt asked, “Is… is that…”

“His eardrums may have burst.” Tech explained, “It is easy enough to treat but it will be very uncomfortable.”

“I… I…” Clicker hiccupped, “Why can’t I just… have a hug!?”

Hunter felt so bad for him, all he wanted was to be held, but it would hurt him so much more… he had an idea. He went to Mouse’s bed and grabbed two pillows and a blanket, then went back to Clicker, where he put one pillow against the small clone’s back and the other against his front, then he wrapped the blanket around him. He looked to Nokt, “Try hug him.” He said gently, and Nokt seemed very unsure but he carefully wrapped his arms around his brother.

This time, Clicker merely sobbed, so it wasn’t painful, probably a little uncomfortable, but he wasn’t screaming in pain. Nokt looked as though he was about to cry, and he was joined by Mouse, who also wrapped his arms around Clicker, who was still only sobbing. “They should heal on its own, but he will need to be very careful.” Tech said to Nokt, who nodded slowly, “Can he take painkillers?”

“Y… yes.” Nokt replied.

“Okay, Crosshair keeps some near his bunk at all times. We have some in this medkit, and we can leave it here with you. If you need any, then just come to us.” Tech fixed his goggles.

Hunter smiled a little, then realised that Crosshair was nowhere in sight, “Wrecker, where did Crosshair go?” he asked the giant.

“I don’t know, he was here one second… then vanished.” Wrecker replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hunter frowned, then he realised where the sniper had gone, “Kriff, he’s gone to find them.” He hissed a little, “Tech, keep an eye on them, Wrecker, you’re with me.”

“Right.” Wrecker nodded and they left the barracks to chase after Crosshair, who wasn’t really that hard to find, they just had to follow the aggressive aura. The wiry sniper had a group of cadets at literal gunpoint, they still had the stupid airhorn and were probably still looking for the Night Stalkers.

“Crosshair!” Hunter yelled as he walked up to them, “Stand down!”

“They hurt Clicker, therefore, it’s only fair I return the favour.” Crosshair hissed, the cadets were barely old enough to use the simulations, and they were terrified of Crosshair.

“Stand down.” Hunter repeated, “That’s an order.”

“Tsk.” Crosshair sneered and lowered his rifle.

Hunter looked at the cadets, “Get moving. You’re coming with me, we’re going to see Commander Colt. He’ll give you your punishment.” He frowned at them, “Wrecker, get Crosshair back to the others.”

“Yes Sergeant.” Wrecker replied.

Chapter 7: Helping brothers

Chapter Text

“How is he?” Hunter asked as he entered the room, it was back to the light level Hunter had first seen it at. Tech had vanished, probably gone back to the room to deep dive into his datapads, he was going to help.

“He’s gone to his bed, he’s tired and in pain… but he’s taken something for it.” Nokt replied, his eye shines turning to looked at Hunter, he looked very upset and shaken up. So did Mouse, who had gone straight to Crosshair, Hunter was surprised by how quick Mouse seemed to gravitate towards Crosshair, who up until their return flight back to Kamino, refused to even speak to the three of them. Now Mouse was hugging his leg, and Crosshair wasn’t fighting him off, maybe Crosshair just needed someone to initiate comfort contact, so he wouldn’t have to verbally ask for it.

“How are you holding up.” He asked Nokt, putting his hand on his shoulder.

“I’m… how could they do this? As if the stupid kaminoans didn’t do enough damage?” Nokt hiccupped, “I thought it would get better once we graduated and… and became official troopers.”

“Do you want a hug?” He asked, and Nokt only briefly hesitated before he was wrapped around Hunter, he buried his face in Hunter’s shoulder. “It’s okay kid, you are not alone anymore.” He said softly, “It’s okay, we’re going to help you.” They had graduated and were sent out into the galaxy, to fight in a war none of them wanted, but they were still kids, kids who had never been shown affection… who only had 99. The Batch had been lucky with their “desired” mutations, maybe because they were the first generation enhanced, so their mutations weren’t as… extreme. The Night Stalkers were later defectives, they were in the sixties, meaning there were so many failed batches between the Batch and the Night Stalkers… “If you ever feel unsafe, come get one of us, we’re going to be planet side for a while.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt replied, his voice muffled in Hunter’s shoulder, “I…” He pulled away, “I should check on Clicker. He should be sleeping, but I just want…”

“To see if he’s alright?” Hunter finished for him.

“I don’t want him to be in pain…” Nokt replied, his eye shines moving to look at the floor, “I don’t want either of my brothers to be in pain.” He looked to Mouse, who was now in Crosshair’s arms, his eyes closed.

“Okay.” Hunter nodded.

“I can stay with Mouse if you want.” Crosshair drawled, he was trying to feign not being concerned, but he wasn’t fooling anyone, not when he was all but cuddling the small clone, “Seeing as he’s clamped on like a barnacle.”

“I… thank you Crosshair, you don’t have to.” Nokt fidgeted with his shirt.

“No skin off my nose.” The sniper replied easily and walked over to Mouse’s bunk and climbed into the mound of blankets and pillows.

Hunter smiled, “Well, that’s one of your brothers secure, do you want one of us to stay with you?” He asked, looking back to Nokt, “Tech probably won’t be sleeping, so there’s going to be a lot of commotion in out bunk room. He’s more than likely deep diving his datapads, looking for some way to make this better.”

“Oh… he…” Nokt seemed flustered.

“Easy, brother’s look out for each other, and you are our brothers now.” Hunter said, placing his hand on Nokt’s shoulder. Those eye shines looked to him, and Hunter could barely see the tears welling up in the young clone’s eyes, “Now, once you check on Clicker, you should also get some sleep, don’t want you to develop a migraine.”

“You… you’re right.” Nokt nodded.

“Do you want me or Wrecker to stay with you?” He smiled, giving Nokt’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“I… I should be alright.” He replied, “Now that I know Mouse is safe and when I know Clicker is sleeping… I should be okay to sleep.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, just come to us.” Hunter said gently, “Whether for help or comfort, you are not alone in this.”

“I… I thought I was doing so well, keeping them safe… but I now realize how much it hurt me…” Nokt hiccupped again.

“I know how you feel. Remember that.” He smiled again, “Remember that someone knows what it’s like.”

“I will.” Nokt smiled, for the first time that night, he smiled, it made Hunter happy, “I… I should go check on Clicker.” Nokt said, wiping the remains of tears from his eyes. Hunter watched as Nokt carefully opened the bunk pod thing, and he felt his heart hurt at the sight of Clicker, he was sleeping on his stomach, but he looked so uncomfortable. Hunter looked to Wrecker, who had stayed silent the whole time, the giant moved far quieter than a man his size should be able to, and carefully put Lula under the sleeping clone’s arm. Some of the tension bled from Clicker’s form as he unconsciously hugged the plush closer to him, “Thank you Wrecker.” Nokt said quietly, smiling softly.

“She helped me when I was hurt, so she can help him.” Wrecker grinned but he spoke in a voice so soft that Hunter couldn’t believe it came from him.

“Thank you.”

Chapter 8: Sleep

Chapter Text

Hunter awoke to the sensation of someone sleeping on him, he blinked awake to an incredibly dim room, and was surprised to see it was Nokt. The young clone was wrapped around him, his head resting on Hunter’s chest, “He arrived about an hour ago.” Tech said from the table, “I told him that you would not mind him cuddling with you.”

“Oh.” Hunter replied, looking back to the young man, he looked so much smaller and younger when he slept. He had soft fuzz on his scalp where his hair was starting to grow back after being shaved clean, he wondered why Nokt did that. Was it to help Mouse feel better? Could the tiny clone even grow hair? He didn’t know, but he did know that Nokt relaxed more when Hunter used his thumb to make soothing circles on his scalp, “Do we know how old they are?”

“They aren’t even graduation age, they must have been rushed through training, rushed through graduation and thrown out into the war.” Tech replied, “Nokt is the oldest, similar to you being the oldest of us, but aged up they are all about sixteen, while most troopers being thrown out into the war are twenty.”

Hunter felt his stomach drop, “Right.” He said finally, he was going to kill those stupid long necks, they weren’t even fully grown yet! They were scouts, so their training was a lot different to standard military training… but that wasn’t the point. He managed to control his breathing enough that he didn’t wake Nokt up, but it was really difficult, so he just focused on smoothing the lines of discomfort on Nokt’s face, “Where’s Wrecker?”

“He went to check on Clicker.” Tech replied, that surprised Hunter. Wrecker was… well he was Wrecker, and the giant was not known for being quiet or gentle, but he was apparently making a concerted effort to reign in his loud nature, in an attempt to be friends with Clicker. It was really heart-warming, Crosshair was willing to get vengeance for Clicker, but Wrecker was willing to go against his nature to accommodate the small clone.

“How goes the plan?” Hunter grinned at Tech, because Tech always had a scientific plan, he knew exactly what he was doing.

“It seems that the request 99 put into the quartermaster didn’t go through, so I am creating some schematics so I can go there myself and get it made.” Tech explained, his voice the same tone the whole way through the statement, but Hunter could tell he was agitated.

His leg was bouncing.

“Good to hear.” Hunter sighed, looking down to the young clone again. Nokt clearly didn’t get enough physical contact, physical comfort, there was only so much that 99 could do… he had other duties to attend to, other batches to help. If they played their cards right, they could convince the higher ups to let the Batch and the Night Stalkers work more closely together, they could keep each other safe. Like brothers should, and they were brothers, the regs weren’t brothers to them but both of their squads were enhanced.

They were brothers.

“Crosshair still with Mouse?” He asked, he couldn’t see the sniper in the room, nor could he see Wrecker, maybe the giant had gone to get food. He needed to eat a lot in order to keep his bulky form going, lots of calories.

“Yes, I got photos.” Tech replied, a small, cheeky grin crept onto his face.

“Don’t let him know that.” Hunter chuckled, “I swear he’ll kill you faster than you can blink!”

“He doesn’t need to know.” Tech replied easily, and Hunter chuckled again.

He really needed to use the refresher, but he didn’t want to disturb Nokt, he didn’t know how much sleep the stressed clone had gotten before coming into their bunk room, as though knowing that Hunter needed to move, Nokt awoke. He wiped his eyes, blinked and looked up to Hunter with those fascinating eye shines, which he realised, because they were so close, were two different colours. The left eye had a red shine, while the right had a green shine, did he have heterochromia? “Good morning Nokt, how are you feeling?” He asked gently, earning a nod and a blush from the young clone.

“I… I apologise, but Tech said that…” Nokt tried to formulate a sentence but his words were running away from him.

“And he was right, I don’t mind.” Hunter smiled, “You needed comfort, and I can understand that. So, there is no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed.”

“Oh… thank… thank you.” Nokt smiled in return.

“I take it you don’t do this often?” Hunter asked, keeping his hand on Nokt’s fussy head, which was shaken in reply, “Not even with Mouse?”

“Sometimes…” Nokt replied, then he sighed, “But… it’s not really the same.”

“Yeah, sometimes you want to be the one to be cuddled, not the one giving the cuddle.” Hunter chuckled softly, “However, I really need to use the refresher.”

“Oh! I apologise!” Nokt sat up like he was spring loaded, and almost smashed his head on the top of the bunk, if he had been even a tiny bit taller, he would have skulled himself.

“Woah! Easy!” Hunter said quickly, “I’m not mad or anything.”

“B… but…” Nokt fidgeted with his sleeve.

“Don’t worry kid, you did nothing wrong.” Hunter replied, putting his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “Now, I’m going to use the refresher, then we can go check on Clicker, then how about we get some food?”

“That… sounds like a plan.” Nokt smiled.

“You want to join us Tech?” Hunter looked to the other man, who had his nose in his datapad and didn’t answer, Hunter sighed, then chuckled again, “We’ll bring something back for him.”

He stood up and made a mad dash to the refresher, realising that you never know how much you need to use one, until there was someone lying on you.

Seriously

Chapter 9: Stupid Regs

Chapter Text

Hunter could have cried with how adorable the image of Crosshair and Mouse asleep was, they were asleep in the nest that was Mouse’s bed, the lanky sniper was asleep, tangled up in the blankets with Mouse asleep on him, his arms wrapped around Crosshair’s narrow frame. He was so happy and surprised by his brother’s quick acceptance of the tiny, stubborn clone, maybe because it was less effort than trying to pretend that he disliked them. The thing that almost made his heart burst with pride, was Wrecker, sitting on the ground in front of Clicker’s bed, he wasn’t facing the young clone, who was still lying on his stomach, but he was reading to him in a very quiet voice. Clicker was smiling, he had his eyes closed but he wasn’t sleeping, Hunter knew that because the small clone was talking, he was engaging in the tale. Hunter could feel any tension leave Nokt as the young man stood beside him, both of his brothers were fine, they were happy and as comfortable as they could be given the circumstances, “I think this is the happiest I’ve seen them in… a very long time.” The oldest Night Stalker said quietly.

Hunter could tell something was bothering the younger clone, “Come, let’s go get some food for the rest of them.” He said, putting his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, Nokt was silent as they walked, but he seemed to have so much on his mind, “Credit for your thought?”

“I just…” He started, then paused and sighed, “I’m beginning to realize that me and my brothers… never got a chance to be… cadets. We were rushed through everything, because the kaminoans were scared their precious test subjects would get killed by normies. We were forced to grow up too fast, now we are so…”

“Mouse craves physical affection, Clicker is terrified of everything because it can hurt him, and you?” Hunter asked gently.

“I just want to love my brothers… I want to keep them safe in a war where we have no safe haven to go if we get hurt.” Nokt replied, briefly moving his goggles to wipe his eyes.

Hunter was about to say something, but the sound of footsteps running towards them, followed by “Think fast freak!” cut him off, Nokt was knocked to the ground, his goggles flying across the ground, the group kept running and were gone before Hunter could even react.

“Nokt.” Hunter moved to the young man, who was on the ground crying, his hands pressed against his eyes in an attempt to keep the light out, “Woah, easy, easy…” He said gently.

“We… didn’t do anything to them!” Nokt sobbed, “Why are… they…?”

“Come on Nokt’ika, here are your goggles.” Hunter helped the young clone put his goggles back on, “Are you okay?”

“No.” Nokt hiccupped, and Hunter could feel the young man’s brain sending out weird signals, “My ears are ringing… my skin feels wrong…”

“Migraine auras.” Hunter said, as he helped Nokt to his feet, “Do you get any symptoms, other than the headache?”

“Nausea and vomiting… sometimes I get a fever…” Nokt replied, gripping his head as he walked beside Hunter.

“Okay, we’ll get you back to the bunkroom and… we’ll figure out what to do about food.” Hunter sighed, “If you can get food into you.”

“Why… we didn’t do anything to them.” Nokt hiccupped again.

“No, we didn’t.” Hunter grumbled, he could feel his anger burning in his chest, it was taking all his will power to not pull a Crosshair and just find those stupid regs… and put a bullet between their eyes. Mouse was at the door when they arrived back, and he wrapped his small arms around Nokt, making sad sounding squeaks, “Nokt, go lie down and I’ll see if we have any cold compresses.”

“Okay…” Nokt said, and Mouse guided him to his bunk.

“What happened?” Crosshair hissed, as he and Hunter left the room, leaving Wrecker in there with the three.

“Regs. We were talking and they ran into him, knocking his goggles off his head.” Hunter sighed, and looked to the resident genius in the room as they entered, “Tech, we have any cold compresses?”

“Under my bunk. Why?” Tech looked up from his datapad, a frown on his face.

“More reg bullying.” Hunter sighed, “They got Nokt this time.” Tech didn’t reply and Hunter just went and grabbed the cold compresses, but Tech followed them as they left to return to the others. The sound of someone vomiting alerted them to the fact that Nokt had been hit by the headache and all the pain and discomfort it brought with it, Mouse was with him, but the small clone’s eyes were watering, probably from the smell. “You did good Mouse. I can take it from here.” He said gently, smiling to Mouse, who seemed to hesitate but eventually took hold of Crosshair’s offered hand, and followed him away from Nokt, Hunter wondered if this is what it felt like for his brothers when he had one. He put his hand on Nokt’s back and massaged soothing circles, he didn’t know if it helped, it sort-of helped him, “It’s okay, we’re here to help.” He said gently, as he placed one of the compresses on the back of Nokt’s neck. They could worry about cleaning up afterwards, Nokt needed to stay where he was until he could stop throwing up, Hunter knew how it felt, he knew so well what it was like… those regs just… why did they hate them? The hated the Batch, but was it because they weren’t as… small… that they didn’t attack them anymore? Was it because Nokt and his brothers had much more… obvious mutations? He didn’t know but that only made him angrier, he would fight the higher ups in order to keep them with the Batch, they could do different missions on the same front.

But they were staying with the Batch.

Chapter 10: Meal time

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed as he tucked Nokt into bed, the young man had finally stopped throwing up, and had managed to keep down meds and water, so now he just had to sleep it off. He stood up and looked around, “Cross, where’s Mouse?” He frowned, they couldn’t afford Mouse to be targeted also, not when the other two were so unwell, when there were reg bully groups running around just waiting to get him.

“He…” Crosshair blinked, he looked around, “Mouse?” He looked under the nest of blankets.

There was no sign of the small boy anywhere and Hunter was starting to panic, what if the regs nabbed Mouse… what if he was hurt and needed help…? He was pulled from his head when the ventilation cover above them popped open and Mouse’s face appeared, “Mouse? What are you doing up there?” Hunter asked with a relieved sigh. Mouse moved so he would fall feet first and Hunter caught him, the small clone squeaked happily, then when he had both feet on the ground, he opened his bag and produced a bunch of food in tupperware, including sealed containers of fluid, probably soup, “How did you get this?”

Mouse bounced happily, and it seemed to take a lot of effort for him to sign slower, ‘Vents go to the kitchen. I’ve done it a few times, the cooks are very nice and they give me food for the others, because it’s not safe for us in the mess.’

Hunter blinked, then smiled warmly, “That’s very brave of you, and very kind. Your brothers are lucky to have you.” Mouse blushed madly, looking down at his boots but he was bouncing, so he was at least happy at the complement.

“How did you fit all that in your bag?” Crosshair asked with a quirked eyebrow and folded arms.

Mouse bounced again, ‘Easy. I’m very good at organizing things.’ He bounced again, ‘I got enough for you guys as well.’

“For us?” Hunter blinked.

‘Yeah. You all haven’t eaten yet either.’ Mouse moved to the table and emptied his bag onto the table.

“Cross, go get the other two.” Hunter smiled, “We’ll save some for Nokt and Clicker.”

‘They like the soup.’ Mouse looked up to him, ‘I get this.’ He held up a container of… something, it looked like porridge or gruel.

“Do you have eating issues?” Hunter asked sitting down beside him, Mouse nodded but he looked a little embarrassed by the admission. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about Mouse, Cross has some issues too.” Mouse looked to him and tilted his head, “Really. He’s better now, but he’s got a high metabolism.”

Mouse though about it, then nodded in confirmation, he jumped a little when the door opened and the others entered. He might have been startled by the smell, or was he hyper vigilant because both his brothers had been attacked and it was just him waiting to be targeted? He relaxed a little when he figured out that it was the rest of the Batch, “Crosshair has told us of how you acquired the food.” Tech said, as he sat down opposite the small clone, “It is very impressive.”

Mouse blushed again, but he bounced happily, he took out the last container, which appeared to be the biggest and held it up to Wrecker, “For me?” the giant asked.

Mouse nodded and when Wrecker had taken the container, Mouse explained why, ‘You are much bigger, so you use more energy to move about, so I.’ he paused, ‘I figured that you would need to eat more.’ He paused again, ‘I apologise if that’s wrong.’

“No, that’s really cool that you figured that out!” Wrecker grinned, he was still using an indoor voice that was so unlike him, he must have really bonded with Clicker.

Mouse’s face was becoming a permanent blush, and he bounced happily, ‘99 says I’m very good at figuring things out.’ He looked down at his porridge, gruel thing.

“It is a very handy trait to possess.” Tech said, his nose in his datapad, “Can you figure out other things? Like how certain systems work?”

‘I can path the vents in most schematics.’ He replied.

“So that’s why you were examining the blueprints for the last mission.” Hunter grinned, and Mouse nodded.

‘Nokt comes up with the plan, Clicker is the alert system and I.’ he paused again, ‘I learn blueprints and remember where to go.’

“Which is just as important as the other two.” Crosshair said, pushing his food around, as though contemplating the consumption of it. Not that any of them could argue, it was very bland and very questionable most of the time, but apparently Nokt and Clicker liked the soup… so that mightn’t be too bad? They fell into silence as they ate, but they were soon joined by a very wobblily Clicker, who’s balance was completely shot by the damage to his ears.

“Hey, you hungry?” Hunter asked softly, “Mouse brought you some food.”

“Oh…” Clicker said in his very soft voice and he sat up beside Hunter, “Where’s Nokt?”

“He was caught of guard by bullies, they knocked his goggles off and now he has a full-blown migraine.” Hunter explained as he put the soup container in front of Clicker.

“Oh… I like soup.” Clicker said, he seemed a little disorientated and Hunter could see the thin sheen of sweat on his skin.

“We’re saving some for him also, but that’s all for you.” Wrecker said, pointing to the container, he was sitting opposite Clicker.

“Are you feeling any better?” Tech asked, looking to the young clone, who nodded as he opened the container, Hunter was a little worried about him but Clicker was eating, which was a very good thing and he was talking. “I have been down to the quartermaster and have submitted my schematics for a protective suit for you.” Tech continued, “There is no reason they cannot make it now.”

“Oh… thank you.” Clicker smiled, and they all fell into a comfortable silence again, save for Mouse, who was humming to himself softly.

“Do you like music Mouse?” Wrecker asked the small clone, who nodded.

‘It makes me happy.’ He replied.

“Music is nice.” Clicker said, sipping from his canteen, “Nokt got some from the holonet, and he plays it for us.”

“That’s very nice of him.” Hunter replied, looking to said clone’s bunk, but Nokt was still down, he probably would be for a good while, it took Hunter a while to sleep off his headaches.

“He’s the best big brother.” Clicker smiled.

Chapter 11: Little Talks

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed as the four of them returned to the bunkroom after the stupid kaminoans finally got what the wanted from the “assessment”, which was apparently the reason they were being kept planet side for a while. Hunter sighed and massaged his temples, he didn’t know why they needed to do that, wasn’t active combat good enough for them? He was drawn out of his head by the sudden appearance of the mattresses from each of the bunks, “Come on, lie down.” Crosshair sighed, none of them wanted to be alone. Hunter nodded, and all but fell onto the impromptu slumber party bed, and he was asleep before he even hit the mattress, he was just so tired. When he woke up, he realised that there was more than just the four of them in the pile, more than the amount he had fallen asleep with, with a grumble he opened his eyes saw Mouse and Minnow sleeping on top of Wrecker, Nokt was somewhere between Cross and Tech, but the most surprising was Clicker, he was in a strange outfit and he was curled up against Hunter. Hunter blinked a few times before his brain kicked in… Clicker got his suit! He was able to sleep next to people, he probably got so many hugs from his brothers now that he could, it made Hunter so happy, it probably made Clicker even happier, he could finally have physical comfort. He still wore his noise cancellers, and he still had issues with his injury, but he was doing much better in the last two days, and now his brothers could comfort him when he needed it.

He smiled warmly when Clicker’s grey eyes opened slowly and looked at him, “Hello Clicker.” He said gently.

“H… Hi…” Clicker blushed, he still talked very softly, probably because his own voice was still an issue.

“I see you got your suit.” Hunter smiled a little wider when Clicker nodded shyly.

“T… Tech gave them the… schematics.” Clicker fidgeted with Hunter’s sleeve, “And… they finished it while you all were… in the simulation. We… I wanted to surprise you all but you were all asleep when we got here… and Mouse said you all smelled… sad… exhausted…”

“Yeah, the long necks put us through the wringer, stupid tests for stupid reasons.” Hunter replied.

Clicker nodded, “So Nokt… said we should come give you all comfort…” He smiled a little, “We’re small, and there are only three of us but… I hope it’s helping.”

“It’s helping a lot.” Hunter sighed happily, “I’m surprised you can sleep near Wrecker, I’m surprised Mouse can sleep on him.” He looked to the giant and the tiny clone sleeping on him, Wrecker was a very loud snorer, but Mouse seemed completely relaxed, even though he was probably getting vibrated out of existence by the rumbles in Wrecker’s chest.

“He can sleep… basically anywhere.” Clicker replied, his voice carrying the laugh he couldn’t afford to make.

“And now you can too.” Hunter carefully put his hand on Clicker’s back, “Is this okay?”

“Mm.” Clicker nodded, “The… suit works p… perfectly.”

“I’m really glad.” Hunter said softly, “We should get some more sleep, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” He sighed again, more irritated this time. They were being thrown into another simulation, but the Night Stalkers were being thrown in with them.

“They… they’re making us go into the simulations with you… aren’t they?” Clicker deflated slightly.

“Yep.” Hunter grumbled, “Stupid long necks.”

“Well… we have more eyes to look for danger… don’t we?” Clicker looked up to him and smiled a little.

“Yeah. I guess we do.” Hunter smiled in return, “More eyes on the ground, more brains to make a plan. Let’s hope they don’t through anything in that screw with any of our enhancements.”

“Mm.” Clicker nodded, “But… but knowing the kaminoans…”

“Yeah, prepare for the worst outcome.” Hunter sighed again, “At least we’ll have each other.”

“Y… yeah…” Clicker blushed.

“Can it…” Crosshair grumbled, “Some of us are trying to sleep…” he wasn’t awake, not fully anyways.

“Rodger that Cross.” Hunter replied, “Sleep now, we’ll talk in the morning.”

“Good night, Hunter.”

“Night.”

Chapter 12: Trial

Chapter Text

Hunter hated waiting, he hated not knowing what was going to happen in this stupid assessment, but he did know that the Night Stalkers were being thrown in with them. Maybe it was because Hunter had stood his ground on letting the two groups work much closer together, that the kaminoans wanted to see how they worked together. None of them knew what the test entailed, not even Tech could find anything on it, which made them all much more anxious… he looked to the three Night Stalkers who had returned to talking with body language. Was that a defense tactic? Were they trying to keep each other calm without letting anyone else know? Damn those Regs, forcing them to rely on non-verbal communication in order to comfort each other and not get abuse for it. The buzzer went off in the room, signaling that the test was about to begin, “You guys ready?” He asked them as they all bunched together on the platform.

“Let’s hope your plan works.” Nokt replied, he appeared to be very calm and collected but he had a similar stress tick to Tech, unlike Tech’s leg bounce, Nokt’s fingers twitched, “Mouse says this smells really wrong, it doesn’t smell like a normal simulation.”

“What does it smell like?” Hunter looked to Mouse, who shook his head and tried to hide behind Wrecker’s leg, “Tech, still nothing?”

“No. It is rather infuriating.” Tech replied, his normal monotone voice laced with irritation.

“Cross, picking anything up from above?” He looked to the sniper.

“No.” was all he got in reply.

“Clicker? Hear anything?” Nokt looked to his brother, who was stock still, his hands on his helmet, he still wasn’t one hundred percent, he wasn’t as wobbly but he still had moments of disorientation, “Clicker?”

“They’re talking about us.” He replied, “There’s someone with them… they don’t want this to go ahead… but… but the kaminoans think it will be… be a good test of our ability… to… to…” he nearly doubled over when the loud buzzer went off and the platform started to rise.

“Easy brother…” Nokt said, he could actually give physical comfort to the small clone.

“You’ll be okay vod’ika.” Crosshair said, his rifle in one hand and his other hand going to rest on Clicker’s shoulder.

“Remember the plan guys.” Hunter said.

“And be prepared to improvise.” Nokt added.

It was a flurry of activity when the platform reached the top, they had to move very quickly to find cover, “Crosshair! Can you get onto the gun tower?” Hunter yelled over the shooting, the sniper nodded and made for the closest one, “Tech! What are we dealing with?”

“Standard training droids.” Tech replied as they returned fire, “They seem to be protecting something in the middle of the room.”

“Right…” Hunter grumbled, “Nokt, what can you guys do?”

Nokt peaked over the rim of the barrier, then ducked down when a shot ricocheted off the barrier, “It’s too bright in here.” He grumbled.

“Tech?” Hunter looked to the man beside him.

“Already working on it.” He replied and suddenly the lights went out, which confused the droids, causing a momentary lapse in blaster fire, “They won’t be down for long, be prepared.”

“Right.” Nokt popped his visor up and looked again, his eye shines were so fascinating, “There is a console in the middle of the room... there’s a button, similar to the citadel challenge, Mouse could get there if we could give him an opening... Clicker how many are there?”

“Eighteen.” Clicker responded, hiding down beside his brothers.

“Lights are coming back online.” Tech said and Nokt barely got his visor down when the lights shot back into life.

Mouse tugged on Wrecker’s leg armor, “What is it?” Wrecker asked, then Mouse made a throwing motion and pointed to himself, “You want me to… throw you?” Mouse nodded with an affirmative squeak. Hunter looked at the small clone, then to Nokt, who shrugged confusedly.

“Crosshair, you got a line of sight to the console?” Hunter looked up at the sniper.

“48 Mark 132.” Crosshair replied.

“You get that Wrecker?” Hunter looked to the giant who already had the small clone in his hands, Wrecker nodded and so did Mouse. Why did Hunter get the feeling Mouse was doing this solely for the seer amusement? Him and Wrecker were made for each other honestly, “Right, Nokt can you use a blaster?”

“I have basic training, I’m not great… but Clicker can’t use one… for obvious reasons.” Nokt replied, and pulled out a pistol, “Shall we?”

“Wrecker, get ready to throw.” Hunter sighed, “Three… two… one!” they returned fire and drew the droids away from the console, and a very small, very excited, trooper went sailing over them. Mouse landed in a roll and made it the rest of the way to the console, “Mouse! Look out!” Hunter yelled as more droids appeared.

Roller droids.

Mouse was very quick on his feet and managed to dodge the shots from the droids, and in a very Crosshair move, he slid along the ground under the roller’s legs and Hunter flinched as a popper went off, but Clicker made a cry of pain as it went off, “I… don’t like those!” He curled up tighter.

“I know brother.” Nokt said gently.

“Mouse! Can you get to the console?” Hunter called as he and Wrecker tried to distract the roller, the droids were using stun shots, but getting hit by one at close range was horrible for a full-sized trooper, he didn’t want to find out what it would do to Mouse. Mouse peaked out from behind his barrier, and gave a thumbs up, “Do it!” Hunter called, and watched the small clone make a mad dash for the console, he really was a speedy little clone. Not fast enough, because the second he hit the button he was tagged, and so was Hunter the second he stood up to help him.

It hurt.

A lot.

Chapter 13: A horrible word

Chapter Text

Hunter was dragged from unconsciousness by a screaming headache, it gripped his brain with sharp claws and wouldn’t let go, he felt his stomach roll and gurgle, “Hunter?” A quiet voice asked, a very quiet voice.

“Cli… Clicker?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“Y… Yeah. You were hit by a stun shot… and… and they said you won’t feel good when you wake up.” Clicker replied, “So… I said I would mind you, because… I’m quiet.”

“What… what about Mouse?” Hunter asked, the small clone had also been tagged, he was so much smaller than Hunter!

“He’s fine.” Clicker replied, “He’s a little queasy but he came out alright. Him and Wrecker have gone to look for 99.”

“That’s good.” Hunter replied, he wasn’t sure how the tiny trooper came out alright, those stuns were set for regulation and above sized troopers, and Mouse was not regulation sized. “What…” He swallowed thickly, “Did the Kaminoans say anything?” he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, those long necks probably saw that and determined that both groups were not compatible with each other.

“Nokt and Tech were brought in for a meeting, they… would have brought you… but… I don’t know… where Crosshair went.” Clicker explained, and Hunter could feel him fidgeting with his sleeve.

“It’s okay vod’ika.” Hunter said gently.

“I… I can turn the lights down so you can… try and open your eyes?” Clicker said softly, and when Hunter nodded, he went over to the control panel, “They… they’re at Nokt level.” Hunter chanced opening his eyes, it hurt but he managed to open them and keep them open. His vision was suddenly filled by Clicker, “Is… is that okay?” he asked gently, “I… if I put it any lower, then we… wouldn’t be able to see…”

“It’s perfect Clicker.” Hunter smiled warmly, “As long as it’s not glaring Tipoca lights then it’s fine.”

“O… Oh…” Clicker replied, fidgeting with the medical cot’s blanket, “Okay.”

“How’s the suit working for you?” He asked, carefully easing himself into a sitting position, “Are you more comfortable?”

“Y… yeah.” Clicker smiled, brightening up a little, “T… Tech didn’t have to do… this for me.”

“Yeah, but he did it anyway. He might come off as a little… odd, but he’s a good brother.” Hunter sighed, Tech did tend to come off as aloof and a little uncaring, but he just didn’t really know how to interpret his emotions and how to portray them effectively.

“Mouse says he smells… like his emotions are confused.” Clicker smiled softly, he seemed to very proud of his brothers.

“He has a good nose.” Hunter replied after blinking, “And you have good ears, you heard the long necks talking over all the noise, do you know who they were talking to?”

“It… sounded like normies…” Clicker replied, “I think one of them was Commander… Colt.”

“Colt? He’s a good man.” Hunter nodded, he liked and respected the Commander of Rancor Squad.

“I think the other one was from… the 104th?” Clicker sat down on the cot, still fidgeting with the blanket.

“The 104th? Isn’t that the battalion under Commander Wolffe and General Plo Koon?” Hunter blinked, the Batch tended to work with the 212th and the Night Stalkers with the 187th, what would the Wolfpack want with them?

“Mm.” Clicker nodded, “I… don’t know why they were there…”

“That’s alright, I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later.” Hunter carefully put his hand on Clicker’s back, “Is this okay?”

“Mm. I… like getting physical comfort now…” Clicker smiled, still fidgeting, “It doesn’t hurt and I only feel a tiny bit of discomfort.”

“That’s good to hear.” He smiled warmly, “How about we go find the others? See what the situation is.”

“Are… are you able for it? You… your headache?” Clicker went back to sounding very concerned.

“I’m okay now, the painkillers have kicked in.” Hunter swung his legs over the side of the cot and stood up, he held his hand out for Clicker, “Do you want to hold my hand?”

“C… can I?” Clicker looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Of course.” Hunter smiled in return, Clicker bounced a little and carefully took Hunter’s hand. After the incident with Crosshair holding the gang of cadets at gunpoint, the regs seemed to give Clicker a wide birth, because Crosshair was absolutely willing to kill them for the young clone, now all they had to do was keep the regs away from Mouse and Nokt. However, while the physical bullying seemed to be off the cards for them, the verbal kind was alive and well, the token “freak.” or “weirdo.” appeared.

The worst one was the troopers hissing “Aruetii.” under their breaths, that really made Hunter seethe with fury, he was almost certain that Clicker didn’t know what the word meant, he hoped he didn’t anyway.

“H… Hunter?” Clicker asked him, as the approached the two bunk rooms, “Why are you angry?”

“Just… some of the things they were calling you were… horrible and shouldn’t be used against someone they should be fighting beside and not against.” Hunter sighed, he wouldn’t tell Crosshair, the man was on thin ice as it was with the regs, he was always one second away from shooting someone in the face.

“What… what did that word mean?” Clicker was shrinking in on himself, he let go of Hunter’s hand to start his fidgeting behavior again.

“What word?” Wrecker asked as he and Mouse approached them from the other end of the hall, Mouse looked between them, smelling the air and the emotions wafting through it.

Hunter sighed, “They called him an aruetii.” He said, and he saw Wrecker freeze. Mouse looked to Clicker, and they both looked so confused, “An… aruetii is a mando’a word… it’s a horrible word to use.”

“But… what does it mean?” Clicker was getting upset, and Mouse went over to him and held his hand.

“It means…” Hunter wanted to tell them.

He really did.

Chapter 14: Nice smell Commander

Notes:

Return of the nice smelling commander :D

Chapter Text

Hunter said once and he would say it again, he hated waiting, and he hated not knowing what was happening. They were all standing in the hanger, sitting on crates or standing around nervously, “Did they say what was happening?” He asked Tech and Nokt.

“Just that we have a new assignment, and that both our groups are required.” Tech replied, fixing his goggles, “So it may be that whoever was here from the 104th is here to pick us up.”

“Neither of our groups have worked with the 104th, we know next to nothing about either Commander Wolffe or General Plo Koon.” Nokt folded his arms, but his finger twitching was still evident, “What either of them is like temperament wise… how they deal with enhanced clones.”

“I hear he’s nice…” Clicker said, his hands clamped down on his noise cancellers, “General Plo… Koon.”

“Oh?” Hunter quirked an eyebrow.

“Mm. He’s like… a… what’s the word they used?” He looked to Nokt.

“Buir. I think that means… parent?” they looked to Hunter.

“Yes it does.” Hunter smiled.

“You… you never explained what that word… meant Hunter.” Clicker said softly, “The one the normies said.”

“What word?” Crosshair was alert, finally turning to look at the group.

“Aruetii.” Clicker shrank in on himself again, Mouse instantly by his side to comfort him and protect him, Hunter thought it was somewhat funny that the small clone was barely taller than a cadet and yet, he still moved to protect against perceived threats.

Crosshair bristled and turned his angry gaze to Hunter, he was looking for permission to hunt down the regs, to put a bolt between their eyes, “Aruetii, it generally means outsider or traitor, but it is someone who is colloquially considered a non-Mandalorian.” Tech replied, his nose in his datapad, he was trying to keep his voice level as he talked.

Hunter sighed, “They are basically saying you aren’t clones, or brothers.” None of the Night Stalkers reacted, not visibly anyway. Hunter hated this, he hated that the regs couldn’t see past the outside appearance to see the same heart that beats in their chest, beats in all enhanced clones, that they were brothers.

“Right.” Nokt said finally, his body language changed and became more tense and ridged, “Well, that suits us fine, as long as they don’t hurt us, we won’t bother them.” He hissed, “They don’t want us, then we will oblige.”

“It’s not like we… worked very well with them anyway.” Even Clicker sounded harsh and the young clone walked away to a bunch of crates a little bit away, his following after a brief moment, Hunter knew that telling them would have a negative reaction, but he wasn’t expecting something like this, especially from Clicker, who he expected to be upset… but he was clearly angry and hurt.

He looked to the rest of the Batch, who all looked either upset or angry, and with a sigh he walked over to the three of them, “Okay… listen… the regs might not think of you as vod, but we do. And now that we have convinced the long necks to let us work closely, you will always have safety on the Marauder.” He said gently, “You are our vod, and I… I hope you understand that that is the truth.”

Mouse was the first to turn, and Hunter could hear him sniffing the air, probably looking for the lie, the fib, but he clearly didn’t find one, because he looked up at Nokt and nodded. Nokt finally sighed and turned around, “Mouse says you’re not lying, and I really hope you aren’t…” He looked to his brothers, “Because we… we have grown fond of having this bond with your squad.”

Hunter smiled warmly, “You are our brothers Nokt’ika, and we are yours.” He put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “No matter what some stupid reg says.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt smiled.

“I can… hear the person from the 104th.” Clicker said, “They’re… talking with Commander Colt…”

“Well, lets go back to the others and we’ll see what this deployment entails.” Hunter grinned, “Let’s hope this General is as nice as you’ve heard Clicker.”

“Gentlemen.” Commander Colt appeared and they all stood in attention, “This is Commander Wolffe of the 104th battalion or the Wolfpack battalion, to give it it’s chosen name.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” Wolffe said, and Hunter noticed a gnarly looking scar over his right eye which was clearly like Wrecker’s cybernetic eye, “I take it that you are Sergeant Hunter?”

“That’s correct Commander.” Hunter replied, “You… uh… have a mission for us sir?”

“My General does, however, I wanted to see how you worked in a hostile environment first.” Wolffe frowned, “There are two groups here, yes?”

“Yes sir.” Hunter nodded, “Myself, Crosshair, Tech and Wrecker, are all part of one squad, we go by either Clone Force 99 or as we call ourselves, the Bad Batch.” He pointed to each of his brothers in turn, then pointed to the Night Stalkers, “And those three make up the Night Stalkers, they are led by Noktowizor, then his brothers are Clicker and Mouse.”

Wolffe’s stern gaze passed over each of them in turn, and Hunter could see Clicker was fighting his need to put his hands over his noise cancellers, “You are all enhanced clones?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“Yes sir.” Hunter replied.

“They are the best at what they do.” Colt said, and Hunter could practically hear the grin on the Commander’s face, the man rarely took his helmet off in public, Hunter didn’t think he’d ever seen his face to be honest.

“You will meet up with the Fifth fleet at these co-ordinates, my General will meet with you and give you your mission.” Wolffe said, handing over a data chip, “When can you ship out?”

“We just need to restock the ship and we can be out of here within the hour sir.” Hunter replied.

“Good.” Wolffe replied, “Dismissed.”

“Yes sir.” They all said and saluted, well Mouse didn’t say anything, he couldn’t really.

They all relaxed once Wolffe and Colt left, Hunter looked to his brothers, then to the Night Stalkers, “Mouse says Commander… Wolffe smells nice.” Clicker said, breaking the tension in on fell swoop.

“Oh? What does nice smell like?” Wrecker grinned, looking down at the small clone, who was suddenly very interested in his boots.

“He appears to be of similar temperament to Commander Cody.” Tech said, fixing his goggles, “Which is most beneficial to us.”

“Yeah. We like Commander Cody.”

Chapter 15: Flight from Kamino

Chapter Text

“Goodbye boys, you’ll have to tell me all about General Plo Koon when you get back.” 99 smiled as they all gave him a hug, both he and Clicker hugged for such a long time, Clicker could now get a 99 hug and that made him so happy.

“We will, make sure the place doesn’t fall down while we’re gone, yeah?” Hunter chuckled, placing his hand on 99’s shoulder.

“I shall try my best.” He replied.

“Bye 99.” Nokt hugged him, followed by Mouse bouncing before hugging him also, then he waved as he and his brothers climbed the steps into the Marauder.

“Don’t worry 99, we’ll keep them safe.” Hunter said gently.

“Good, they need somewhere safe to come back too. Without fear of abuse.” 99 sighed gently, his whole form sagging under the weight he carried on his shoulders, “You keep yourself safe also.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep each other safe, we’re all brothers and brothers do that.” Hunter smiled warmly, then snorted a laugh, “You keep yourself out of trouble too, you’re not as spry as you used to be, can’t be off having exciting adventures at your age.”

“I’m not too old to teach you a lesson vod’ika.” 99 laughed as Hunter walked to the Marauder, “I’ll be here when you get back, don’t you worry none.”

Hunter laughed in return and scaled the steps as they raised up behind him, “We ready to go?” He asked Tech as he entered the cockpit where most of them were, Wrecker and Mouse were… somewhere, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. Clicker was standing beside Tech as he did the system start up, watching every little motion the older clone made to prep the ship, “You wanting to learn to fly Clicker?” he asked the small clone.

“I…” Clicker blushed as he fidgeted with his helmet.

“If you want, I can talk you through all the steps.” Tech said to Clicker, who looked to him and bounced a little.

“R… really?” He asked, looking to Nokt who nodded, then back to Tech.

“Really.” Tech replied a slight smile on his lips.

“Here, plant yourself.” Crosshair said, getting up from the co-pilot’s seat, allowing Clicker to sit in it, the small clone only briefly hesitated before sitting down and looking to Tech all excited.

Hunter smiled a little, then left to enter the galley, he was surprised by the shear lack of noise from Wrecker, so with a frown he started his search for him and Mouse. He heard small giggles that clearly came from Mouse and the very quiet voice from Wrecker, so with a small sigh he entered the workshop, “What are you two doing?” He asked, looking at the two sitting on the floor.

They both jumped a little, then they looked to Hunter and he could see Lula and Minnow in their hands, “We… we wanted to introduce them.” Wrecker said with a sheepish grin, “Since we’re going to be working together, it’s only fair that they get to be formally introduced.”

Hunter quirked an eyebrow, then softened a little when Mouse made Minnow wave to him, “Well, I do hope they’ll get along.” He replied with a smile, Mouse nodded happily and hugged Minnow to his chest. Hunter chuckled before leaving to head back into the galley, where he found Nokt sitting alone and staring at his datapad, “Something wrong?” he asked as he sat down opposite the young man.

“Just…” He sighed, “I keep a log of all the bullying we experience when on Kamino, I try to log everything that they did… but the more I keep it… the more it hurts.” Hunter didn’t know what to say to that. “There were times when Mouse was nabbed and the normies tried… Hunter they tried to hang him.” Nokt said, his grip on his datapad tightening, “They held Clicker against the window when there was a thunderstorm…” Hunter felt his stomach drop, “And every time I make a new log… I have to relive the memories as though they just happened.”

Hunter stood up and went to sit beside him, “Nokt…” was all he could say.

“I just… don’t know what we did to deserve it.” Nokt sounded so broken when he said that.

“You didn’t do anything, they just… hate the fact that we go so against the mold.” Hunter sighed, “They are one in a sea of a million identical faces, we aren’t part of that sea, we’re… too different for them and that makes us wrong to them.”

“At least General Windu appreciates us and our abilities.” Nokt sighed, “And General Kenobi appreciates yours.”

“And that’s all that matters. If the Jedi like us, then the regs can suck it.” Hunter grinned.

Nokt softened a little, “Thank you Hunter, I… I am not used to having someone to speak with…” He sighed as he looked back down at the datapad, “I actually hold the same rank as you… I just don’t like telling people.”

“You’re a Sergeant?” Hunter blinked and Nokt nodded.

“Yeah, I just pretend I’m not when dealing with normies, they get a little upset when they learn a defective clone holds any type of named rank.” He chuckled, but there was no happiness in the sound, it was dead and… hollow. “So, I don’t tell anyone my rank, unless it’s the Generals. They need to know it.”

“I’m surprised, I never would have thought the regs would… react that strongly to a rank.” He blinked, “But I suppose they would get upset about anything we can do.”

“Yeah. Thank you, for listening to me and… helping me be both a better leader and a better older brother.” Nokt smiled again, there was more warmth in it this time.

“You were already a good leader and older brother, you just needed someone to talk to.” Hunter smiled gently, “And somewhere that you could feel safe enough to talk.”

“Thank you, for both.”

“No problem.”

Chapter 16: Learning the past

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t like or mean to be nosy, but he wanted to know… he had to know… “Nokt… is the bullying… the physical abuse the reason… Mouse can’t talk?” He looked to the young clone, Nokt didn’t reply, “You don’t have to tell me, I just…”

“N… no. It’s okay… I just don’t like vocalising it.” Nokt replied, so he looked at his datapad and scrolled through some of the files until he found what he wanted, and handed it to Hunter, “That log… covers it.” Hunter was unsure of his want to know, it wasn’t going to be good, it wasn’t going to paint the reg cadets in any bright colours… but he took hold of the datapad and opened the file.

>"They tried to hang Mouse today. A group of cadets our age grabbed him, tied a bed sheet around his throat and tried to hang him from the top bunk of their bunk grid. It was 99 who found him. The medic says he has a crushed larynx, he needs assistance with breathing as of right now, they’re not sure he’ll be able to speak again and he may need a modification to his mask and helmet, to aid in breathing when in the field. He can’t even eat solid food, he had issues with food before and now? Now it’s only going to get worse. Mouse is so hurt and so scared, he’s traumatized by the incident, so are we all, nothing of this severity has occurred before. I don’t know what to do, I want to make everything better, but I don’t know how too. As is, I can only be there for him and Clicker, and hope I can keep them safe."<

Hunter swallowed thickly, no wonder Nokt didn’t like talking about it, he looked to the young clone and put his hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t say anything, there was nothing he could say to convey what he was feeling. Nokt didn’t look up from the floor, his hands clasped tightly and pressed firmly against his forehead, almost as though he was praying to some deity.

“Nothing like that will ever happen again.” Hunter finally found his words, Nokt finally turned his head to look at Hunter, “I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt gave a watery smile.

Chapter 17: New Mission

Chapter Text

“You hear anything Clicker?” Hunter asked the small clone as they waited with the Marauder, waiting on the Commander and the General to come down to the hanger and greet them. He wondered what General Plo Koon was like? The only thing they had to go on was the little bit that Clicker had heard, and that was vague at best, but it did seem that the men of the 104th at least respected the man… so that was something.

Clicker shook his head, “It’s too loud.” He said, his hands on his noise cancellers, “I don’t know what voice I’m looking for in this… oh, wait… I hear a different voice.” He looked to Hunter and Nokt, “It sounds weird… modulated or something…”

“Mouse?” Nokt looked to the small clone, who was sitting up on a crate beside Crosshair, and with a nod, Mouse stood up on the crate and started smelling the air, Hunter wondered what everything smelled like to Mouse, what they smelled like to him and his nose.

‘Lots of normies, but I can smell a Jedi.’ He looked down to them, ‘He smells soft. And warm. I like his scent.’

Hunter smiled, then looked to Nokt, “He can smell Jedi?” He asked the younger sergeant.

“He can smell a lot of things, but apparently the Jedi have a very distinct smell.” Nokt replied with a shrug, but Hunter could see the smile on Nokt’s features.

“Here they come.” Crosshair said from his perch beside Mouse, then both he and Mouse hopped down off the crate and stood with the others.

Hunter saw the Jedi walking towards them with Commander Wolffe, and he had to blink, they had never seen or met a Kel Dor before and he could practically feel Tech bursting with questions. They all stood at attention when the two arrived, and Hunter saw Mouse trying really hard to not stare at or smell the Jedi, and Hunter wondered if Mouse had a similar reaction to meeting General Windu also. Clicker was again trying not to clamp his hands down on his noise cancellers, it was a struggle it seemed, the suit was doing a lot of good, but they were in a crowded hanger full of people, it must be horrible for him.

“Welcome gentlemen.” The General said, “I have heard many good things about you.”

“It is an honor General.” Hunter replied, “We came as requested.”

“At ease Sergeant.” The General said, his voice carrying a smile, and they all relaxed their posture, “Commander Wolffe has spoken well of your combat abilities and ability to adapt.”

“Thank you General and… thank you Commander Wolffe.” Hunter nodded in reply.

“I have been informed that there are two groups here.” The General said.

“Yes sir, I am Sergeant Hunter of Clone Force 99, these are my brothers, Wrecker, Tech and Crosshair.” Hunter motioned to each of his brothers in turn.”

“And I am Sergeant Noktowizor of Night Stalker squad, these are my brothers Clicker and Mouse.” Nokt said, as he too motioned to his brothers.

The General’s gaze moved to Mouse, who apparently couldn’t control his curious nature and was sniffing the air, probably gathering any information he could about the General’s personality, but Mouse seemed to realize the General was looking at him because he suddenly stopped and was immediately very interested in the floor. “I apologise General, he has an over developed sense of smell and… quite poor eyesight, so he's trying to learn his environment.” Nokt jumped in quickly, “He’s trying to gauge you as a person through your smell.”

‘You smell nice.’ Mouse signed, and Hunter could see the blush that enveloped the small clone’s pale face.

“Do I?” the general chuckled, “What do I smell like to you?”

Mouse finally looked up and looked to Nokt, who nodded, ‘You smell soft, and warm, and nice.’ He seemed to pause as he thought about his words, ‘And the singing smell is quite pronounced.’

“Singing smell?” Wolffe asked with a quirked eyebrow, Mouse started to fidget as he got anxious.

The General seemed to realize what he was talking about, “Are you smelling the Force little one?” he asked, stroking those weird mask mandibles, Mouse didn’t reply as he fidgeted with his bag strap.

“You… uh… had a mission for us General?” Hunter asked, trying to draw the attention away from Mouse, “Commander Wolffe didn’t divulge any information about it.”

“Indeed I do.” The General replied, looking from Mouse to Hunter, “There is a well-established Separatist base on the planet we are currently orbiting.”

“The planet is a heavily industrialized one, eighty five percent of the planet is in complete atmospheric blackout.” Wolffe said, “And our scanners can’t penetrate the dense pollution build-up in the atmosphere.”

“Which is why you requested us?” Hunter asked.

“Both of your teams are incredibly specialized and both of those specialties are needed in this mission.” Wolffe replied.

“Scouts who specialize in black out conditions, and a squad of shock troopers who can get in and ruffle a few feathers?” Nokt clasped his hands behind his back, possibly trying to hide his nervous tick.

“That is the general idea, yes.” The General said, once again stroking his mandibles, “Until we can get someone planet side, we are as much in the dark as the planet is.”

“So… the mission is?” Hunter looked to the General.

“Simply put, sergeant, we need you to be our scanners. We need to know what the planet is like and how well fortified the base is.” The General replied, “We cannot launch a full-frontal attack when we cannot see the enemy’s web.”

“Sounds straight-forward enough. Will we have issues with communication?” Hunter frowned a little.

“The atmospheric build up may cause issues to long range communications, but with some modifications that can easily be remedied.” Tech said, typing away at his wrist terminal.

“That is good to hear.” The General said, and Wolffe stepped forward.

“You are dismissed soldiers.”

“Sir!”

Chapter 18: Planning

Chapter Text

“Mouse, may I ask you a question?” Tech looked at the small clone as they descended towards the planet, Mouse looked to him and after a moment’s hesitation he nodded. Hunter was suddenly nervous of what was going to come out of his brother’s mouth, was he going to ask about his muteness? It was a tense situation for him, “When you were explaining how General Plo Koon smelled, you mentioned a…” Tech scrolled through his datapad, “Singing smell? What did you mean by that?”

Mouse blushed again, looking down at his feet, but after a moment he looked back up and answered, ‘It’s really hard to explain. It’s a smell that’s sweet and soft but it seems like it should sing.’ He paused, ‘That probably makes no sense, but it’s not a normal smell.’

“The General said you might be smelling the Force, is that possible?” Wrecker asked, looking to Tech.

“I do not have enough data on the Force to prove or disprove that theory.” Tech replied with a frown.

“Maybe you can ask the General when we meet up with him again.” Nokt smiled to his brother, “But for now we should come up with a plan of action.”

“And how do you propose we do that, when we have no idea what we are heading into?” Crosshair drawled, a frown plastered to his face, “We’re flying in blind, and we have no data on the planet save for it’s industrial and really dark.”

“We’ve flown into worse.” Hunter sighed, “But we can come up with a preliminary plan and modify it one we make it planet side.”

“As we know, the planet is in atmospheric black out, which means that no natural light can penetrate the thick particle cloud. This will probably mean the air temperature will be quite low.” Tech explained, “It will be dark and cold, but depending on what the industry is, there may be a massive amount of artificial light and heat.”

“It’s going to difficult for either Mouse or Clicker to use their enhancements.” Nokt said with a frown.

‘It will limit the distance I can smell anything.’ Mouse looked between them, ‘If the smell is too bad, I won’t be of much help in tracking. But I will have a better chance of getting into any ventilation system.’

“Why’s that?” Hunter asked him.

“Because of his size, and the fact that he has a semi-collapsible skeleton, he can fit anywhere he can get his head.” Nokt replied, he took off his goggles to clean them, Hunter looked to him and saw that his eyes were closed. So, with one swift motion he dimmed the lights in the galley, Nokt looked at him, surprised but a small smile found it’s way onto his face, “Th… thank you.” He said softly. Mouse bounced happily and hugged Hunter as a thank you, they really were so used to keeping each other safe and comfortable, and now that there were others to help in that regard, it took a lot of stress from all of them.

He looked to Clicker, who hadn’t said anything yet, he had his hand clamped down on his noise cancellers, but he seemed lost in his head, “Clicker, you okay?” he asked.

“Clicker?” Nokt turned to his brother, “Hey, can you hear me?”

Hunter frowned, there was something misfiring in Clicker’s head, “Clicker? Vod’ika?” he put his hand on the young clone’s back and massaged soothing circles, “It’s okay, we’re here with you.”

Finally, Clicker blinked and looked to them, “What…?” he asked softly.

“You had a brain blip.” Nokt said gently, “Do you want to sit out on this mission?”

“I… if it’s okay…?” Clicker replied, a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Hunter?” Nokt looked to him, “What do you think?”

“If you’re not feeling well, then I will trust your judgement.” Hunter replied softly, “You can sleep on the racks if you start to feel tired, or there’s food if that would help.”

“Th… thank you.” Clicker replied.

“Mouse, how about you bring Clicker to the racks and get him comfortable?” Nokt looked to Mouse, who nodded and led Clicker to the back of the ship.

“What was that?” Hunter asked, “His brain was misfiring a little.”

“I don’t know, it happens very rarely, no idea what causes it.” Nokt sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose, “Mouse also has issues with his brain, it suddenly stops being able to input data, but… that only happens when he’s in serious pain or emotional distress.”

“Did something happen with your decanting?” Tech asked, “Seeing as your batch is a late edition of the CT-99 strain.”

“Possibly, I think there were more of us in our batch, but it seems only us three made it past our first year.” Nokt frowned.

“We’ll look into it and hopefully we’ll get an answer.” Hunter sighed, putting his hand on Nokt’s shoulder.

“We’re breaking atmosphere.” Crosshair said with a frown, “Not that you can tell, can’t see for druk out there.”

“Okay, we stick together and keep our eyes and other senses open for anything that may want to sneak up on us in the dark.” Hunter looked to them all and jumped a little when Mouse returned and made his small squeaking noises, “Don’t worry, the ship will be safe for Clicker, Tech has some fancy security features on this old girl.” Mouse looked like he was confused but nodded anyway.

“So, you can fit into any vent?” Wrecker asked the tiny clone, Mouse nodded excitedly.

‘If I can fit my head in, I can fit the rest of me.’ He bounced, ‘Commander Ponds of Lighting Squadron, said I move like those little, squeaky droids.’

“Mouse droids?” Tech asked, “Is that how you acquired your name?”

Mouse blushed a little, “We all earned our names from Lighting Squadron.” Nokt said with a smile, “We were with them on Ryloth.”

‘I like Ponds. He smells kind.’ Mouse bounced a little.

Chapter 19: Vent crawling

Chapter Text

Hunter hadn’t really believed Mouse could fit into anywhere he could get his head, but he was given evidence, and watched as the small clone slipped into a vent that Wrecker couldn’t even fit his arm. “You are looking for a console that has a screen and four buttons.” Tech said over the comm, earning a squeak from Mouse, “You found it?” another squeak, “Okay, from top to bottom, is one to four. I will give you the code using those numbers. Have I explained it well enough?” Mouse gave an affirmative noise this time. They hadn’t been able to get inside because the entrances were controlled from the inside and nowhere else, and nothing Tech did could let them access the system remotely, so Mouse had to get in and do it manually, “Okay, the sequence is, two. Four. Two. Three. Three. One.”

The doors slid open and they all hurried inside, where they met Mouse, ‘The security cameras were controlled there too.’ Mouse looked to Hunter and Nokt, ‘I turned them off.’

“You did?” Nokt’s voice carried his smile, Mouse nodded happily as he bounced, and Hunter was confused a little, “Great work, I proud of you.”

Mouse bounced again, then went over to Wrecker who was complementing him on his vent crawling abilities, “Why are you so happy about that?” Hunter asked Nokt.

“Because Mouse is illiterate, we’ve tried to teach him how to read and write, but it doesn’t stick.” Nokt replied, “So him finding out how to turn off the camera is a big deal.”

“Oh.” Was all Hunter had in reply to that statement, but he did feel a little swell of pride in his own chest, that the small clone used the console despite not knowing how to use it properly, “Let’s keep moving, we need to find the data core and schematics before the droids realize that we’re here.” He said quickly.

“Mouse, is there any room in those vents for me?” Nokt asked the small clone, who shook his head, “Kriff, any ideas Hunter?”

“I have acquired the basic floor plans, which includes the ventilation system.” Tech said as he reappeared from the small security room, “Mouse, if I show you the plans, would you be able to get to the core?” Mouse looked to Nokt, who nodded, and Mouse looked back to Tech and gave a small affirmative squeak. “The core system shouldn’t have any guards inside, and I can talk you through shutting down defense systems. Can you do that?” Tech asked, Mouse fidgeted with his bag strap, he apparently never went anywhere without his bag, Nokt said he kept a small medical kit, some ration bars and a torch in it, he was basically Tech, but with a backpack and not a tool belt. Mouse nodded after a moment of thought, he pointed to Tech, then tapped his own helmet, “Yes, I can access the feed from your helmet.” Tech replied, and Mouse nodded much more determinedly, “Does this plan suit you Nokt?”

“If… if you think you can do it.” Nokt seemed to hesitate, “Hunter, what do you think?”

Hunter stared at Mouse, who once again started to fidget with his bag strap, “How long do you think it will take you to get there?” He asked, and Mouse looked to Nokt, then back to Hunter.

‘It will be faster than moving in the hallways. No one ever checks vents for dangers.’ Mouse replied, then bounced again, ‘I will be as fast as my name sake.’

“Good. Tech, show him the building plan.” Hunter replied.

“Of course.”

Chapter 20: Mission going tits up

Chapter Text

Hunter looked down the hallway as Tech talked Mouse through the fine art of computer work, which was taking more time because the small cadet couldn’t read, but Tech was being surprisingly patient with him, speaking slowly and clearly. It was fascinating to observe, given how Tech usually talked a mile a minute and used language that he believed everyone else knew, but maybe it was because he knew Mouse had trouble with literacy that he was being so patient? Hunter didn’t know but it was nice to see, all of his brothers were being very accommodating to the three younger clones, reigning in their eccentric natures to help them feel more accepted. Nokt had stayed close to Hunter during this mission, seeing as he couldn’t fit into the vent shaft with Mouse, he was incredibly worried about his brother, understandably, given how small and breakable Mouse was, but Mouse wasn’t stupid, he knew when to run away. Suddenly all the lights went out, “Uh… Tech? Was that supposed to happen?” Wrecker asked, and they all looked to the resident scientist.

“Not exactly.” Tech replied and Hunter could hear the frown carried in his voice.

Nokt flipped his visor up and looked down the hallway, “Follow me.” He looked to the group and Hunter realised that he was never not going to be fascinated with those eye shines. They were making good time, the halls were suspiciously empty, Tech was still speaking with Mouse, but they all heard the sudden panicked squeaks before Mouse’s signal went dead. They all looked to each other, but Nokt only paused briefly before tearing off down the hall to find his brother, “Nokt wait!” Hunter yelled after him, “Tech try regain contact.” He looked at Tech, who nodded. They caught up with Nokt pretty quickly, solely because Nokt didn’t know where he was going, so they relied on Tech to guide them through the halls as he tried to regain contact with Mouse, but it wasn’t looking good.

They reached the core, but there was no sign of Mouse anywhere, Nokt didn’t stop and just ran straight in, looking around franticly. “Mouse?” He tried his own comms, “Mouse sound off!”

Hunter moved into the room and set about examining everything, he knelt down and tracked his fingers along the ground, there had been a scuffle here… then it moved and went to… he looked up and spotted a second entrance, “That way.” He said, “Follow me.”

They were uninterrupted once again, but a new channel opened on the comm, “There are droids outside… what do I do?” It was Clicker.

Hunter swore in every language he knew, Nokt echoing that sentiment, “Crosshair, Wrecker, go help Clicker.” He said, “Clicker, the ship is on complete lockdown, which means that the droids won’t be able to enter unless they have the pass codes. Or they have a laser cutter.”

“I’m scared.” Clicker replied.

“Don’t worry, Wrecker and Crosshair are coming to help you.” Nokt said, “You’ll be okay… vod’ika.”

Hunter smiled a little, “O… okay. Okay… I’ll try to… to be brave.” Clicker said.

“You are very brave, you called us.” Hunter replied, “Just hang tight, okay?”

“Okay.” Clicker closed the comm.

“Right, back to the task on hand.” Hunter looked to Nokt and Tech, “Tech, can you pick Mouse up on a scan or something?”

“I have regained a connection to the HUD feed on Mouse’s helmet, but it looks like it’s on the ground… and not attached to Mouse.” Tech replied.

“That means his helmet was taken off.” Hunter looked to Nokt, who’s eyes were wider than ever before.

“No… no. No. No. No. No!” Nokt was panicking slightly, “If… if he doesn’t have his helmet, he goes into complete sensory overload! He can’t breathe properly!”

“Easy Nokt.” Hunter put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “We’ll find him. Tech, can you pin-point the helmet’s location?”

“Of course I can.” Tech replied, sounding a little insulted by the question, but he led the way to the helmet’s location. “It appears he is in a small storage room, which could mean he got away from who or what ever grabbed him.”

“Mouse?” Nokt asked when they arrived at the small closet and opened the door, revealing the small clone, who was curled in on himself, his breathing short and strained, with both he and the ground were covered in vomit. “Mouse!” Nokt was straight over to him, and opened Mouse’s bag, taking out his mask, and after wiping the vomit from his mouth, Nokt placed it over Mouse’s mouth and nose. A small noise left Mouse, but he didn’t regain consciousness, “Come on Mouse, can you wake up for me?”

Hunter went to Mouse’s side also, vomit could be cleaned later, but he had to pick the young man up so they could get out of this place, “Tech, did you and Mouse get what we came for?” he looked at Tech, who was standing in the doorway.

“Not all of it, but we have enough to give to the General. Basic plans, schematics, planetary defense systems.” Tech replied, looking at his datapad.

“Good, because we need to get the kriff out of dodge.” Hunter stood up slowly, cradling the small clone against his chest, Mouse made a small squeaking noise and gripped the lip of Hunter’s breastplate, “I know, we’re going to get you to safety.”

“Don’t worry Mouse, you’ll be right as rain in no time.” Nokt said, putting his hand on Mouse’s small shoulder, “Minnow will be ready to give you a big hug.”

Mouse made another squeaking noise and nodded, “Okay, do you know what grabbed you?” Hunter asked softly, earning another nod from Mouse.

‘Droid.’ He weakly signed, ‘I don’t know what kind though, caught me off guard.’

“That’s alright. You managed to get away, and that’s all that matters.” Hunter smiled as they started walking back the way they came, “How did you get away?”

‘Droid popper.’ Mouse swallowed thickly.

Chapter 21: Little confessions

Chapter Text

Hunter was relieved that everyone got out of the situation in one piece, not completely unscathed for Mouse, but no one died. Hunter sat Mouse down on Tech’s workbench and helped attach an oxygen feed to his mask, “There, is that better?” He asked gently, Mouse took in deep breaths now that he could and nodded, “I’m sorry we put you in that situation.”

Mouse shook his head, ‘You couldn’t have known that would happen.’ He explained, ‘I have difficulty smelling droids, so it caught me off guard.’

“Still…” Hunter sighed as he sat down beside the small clone, he could hear the deep gasps Mouse was taking in order to fill his lungs.

Mouse was still for a moment before resting his head against Hunter’s shoulder, making Hunter look to him again, ‘Did we get enough information for the General?’

“Yeah, Tech said we didn’t get it all, but we got more than enough to give the 104th a chance on the planet.” Hunter smiled, “You did incredibly well, you followed everything Tech said and you did it to the best of your abilities.”

‘99 and my brothers tried to teach me to read and write. It didn’t stick, I hate not being able to read, I can’t help Nokt with writing reports.’ Mouse sighed, ‘I know about his logs, I can’t understand them but I know that it makes him so sad to write them.’

“What happened to the cadets who…” Hunter bit off the end of the sentence.

‘I don’t know. I don’t remember anything from that time.’ Mouse replied, before wrapping his arms around Hunter’s arm and hiccupping.

“Easy, don’t breathe too fast or you’ll start to hyperventilate. Do you always hiccup when you get upset?” Mouse nodded. “Okay. We’ll get you checked out once we get back to the fleet.” Hunter smiled to Mouse, he had to distract the small clone before he started to panic. “What do I smell like to you? Other than a droid popper?”

‘You smell warm.’ Mouse was blushing like crazy, he must not get asked that question very often, or in a genuinely curious way, ‘And solid. And safe. But also a little sad.’

“Sad?” Hunter asked.

‘Yeah, I don’t know why though.’ Mouse started to fidget with the feed tube, making loose loops with it.

“Mouse… after what happened with the cadets… do you feel the need sometimes?” Hunter asked as gently as he could, but it was a horrible question, “Every time I see you fidgeting with your bag strap, or something similar, you make loops, like a noose.”

‘Are you going to be mad?’ Mouse looked up at him.

“Of course not Mouse, I might be a little upset depending on your answer, but not angry.” Hunter replied, he already knew the answer based solely on that question.

‘Sometimes. It feels like worms are squirming in my brain holes and when I feel the need.’ He paused, ‘It’s like I can’t grab hold of them. I stop being able to hold thoughts in my head.’ He turned his gaze to the floor, fidgeting with his fingers this time. He seemed to think on his words, ‘But I can’t do that to Nokt or Clicker. So, I have never told him or Clicker.’

“Well, I’m glad you told someone. And now that I know, you can talk to me if you ever feel the need again. Okay?” Hunter wrapped his arm around the small clone, who nodded slowly. They sat in silence for a little while, Mouse’s breathing evening out eventually, “You feeling any better now? Is the oxygen helping?” Mouse made a small squeak of confirmation alongside his nod, “That’s great to hear.”

“Hunter, we’re going to be docking soon.” Crosshair appeared in the doorway, “How are you feeling Mouse?”

‘Better.’ Mouse replied with a bounce.

“That’s good to hear, Nokt has been really worried about you.” The sniper replied, “Clicker wants to talk to you though, not sure about what.” Hunter paled, he’d forgotten Clicker was on board, he mightn’t have heard Mouse’s side of the conversation, but he definitely heard Hunter’s. Mouse seemed to have the same realization because he froze under Hunter’s arm, “I can send him down to you, seeing as you’re still on assisted breathing.” Crosshair frowned a little at their reactions.

“Is that alright with you Mouse?” Hunter looked to the small clone, who nodded stiffly, his breathing becoming a little fast and he was starting to hiccup, “Easy Mouse, you’ll be alright. We’ll be in the galley if you want us.” He said as he massaged the Mouse’s small back.

Mouse nodded again and Hunter went with Crosshair, “Is… is he alright?” Nokt asked as they arrived.

“His breathing is evening out.” Hunter replied, then looked to Clicker, “You can go talk to him.”

“Okay.” Clicker said softly, and he carefully took hold of Nokt’s hand before guiding him to the workshop.

“Hunter? What’s wrong?” Crosshair asked him softly.

“Just… Mouse’s having a rough time. Not being able to breathe brought back some not nice memories.” Hunter sighed, Mouse wasn’t suicidal, he just had a warped view of things, “Whatever else, I hope we can crash in one of their bunk rooms, an actual bed would be wonderful right now.”

Crosshair snorted a laugh, “Yeah, somewhere that isn’t Kamino.”

“Maybe the boys won’t have any issues with the Pack.” Hunter sighed again, “They seem like good guys but…”

“They’re regs?” Crosshair quirked an eyebrow.

“And we’re not, and they’re not.” He looked to the workshop and wondered what they were talking about. Did Nokt have a similar response to these kinds of things when it involved his brothers, that Hunter did with his own? Did he over react and try to fix everything? “But whatever happens, at least we know General Plo Koon won’t stand for any bullying.”

“That’s a small comfort.” Crosshair frowned, “But I see your point, Commander Wolffe seems decent enough also.”

“Let’s hope so.”

“Yeah.”

Chapter 22: Attacked

Chapter Text

Thankfully enough, they were given full access to the spare bunk room, it would be a tight fit, given there was seven of them, but luckily none of them minded bunking with another person. Nokt had shut down after the debriefing, he went straight to bed after taking some painkillers and just passed out, “He’s… sad and stressed… and worried.” Clicker said, his hands over his noise cancellers. The conversation between the three of them was clearly a very serious one, coupled with Mouse’s stint without his helmet, Hunter would have been surprised if Nokt didn’t shut down. Mouse was doing better but he’d been without protection for too long and the combination of his enhancement’s sensory overload and the damage to his throat, meant that oxygen didn’t get to his lungs. So he still required an oxygen feed, but the medic was nice enough to give him a small tank of oxygen to keep the assisted breathing going, he insisted he’d bunk with Wrecker despite this. Clicker bunked with Crosshair, who was the quietist sleeper, and the sniper didn’t seem to mind all that much, he liked to make people think he as a lone wolf who didn’t need or want that sort of thing, but he never fought it for too long. Hunter looked at the sleeping Nokt, then sighed and looked to Tech, who gave him a nod, “Keep him company.”

“Right.” Hunter sat on the edge of the bunk and lay down, with his back against Nokt’s, he wasn’t sure if the younger clone wanted any hugs, so he would let him choose for himself, when he awoke sometime later, he was lying on his stomach and Nokt was sleeping on top of him, his face buried in Hunter’s hair. Hunter smiled softly, and looked across to the bunk opposite him and saw Mouse sleeping on top of Wrecker, them small clone took up so little space on the giant’s chest, but he could see the vibrations from Wrecker’s chest travel through Mouse. He looked up and could barely see Crosshair and Clicker in the bunk above Wrecker and Mouse, Crosshair’s gangly form wrapped around Clicker, who was sleeping peacefully, he could hear Tech snoring lightly above him, and he smiled, both their families were safe, none of them were badly hurt… or dead… and they were all sleeping peacefully.

He closed his eyes and let sleep claim him once again, safe in the knowledge that they were all safe.

He was rudely awoken to someone banging on the door, which had all of them awake in an instant with Hunter bolting to the door, it opened to reveal a trooper, “What’s wrong?” Hunter asked, trying to calm his heartbeat.

“Kamino has been attacked.” The trooper said, “Sepies brought the fight to our home.”

Hunter felt the bottom fall out of his world, “What… how many are injured? Or dead?” Nokt asked as he appeared beside Hunter.

“We don’t have exact numbers, but it’s not looking good.” The trooper replied, “The General is trying to get through to Tipoca, but there are so many trying to get through that it’s taking time.”

“We have to go.” Nokt looked to Hunter, “99… 99 might have been hurt.”

“99…” The trooper started but seemed to think about his words, “He’s among the confirmed, so is Commander Colt.”

Hunter felt cold, his body barely stayed upright, “W… what?” he asked, but Nokt and his brothers were geared up and out the door in the blink of an eye. “Inform the General… we’re going back to Kamino.”

“Y… yes Sergeant.”

Chapter 23: Returning home

Chapter Text

The Night Stalkers were down the steps before they could even lower them fully, Mouse in front, probably following 99’s scent, “Hunter, come on.” Crosshair said as the others followed the three. None of them had said a word to each other the whole trip back, not a single word, nothing… it was tense and volatile to say the least.

When they caught up with the three young clones, they were arguing with Commander Blitz, “Well where is he?” Nokt hissed, “If he’s not here then where is he!”

“Noktowizor stand down.” Hunter said sternly, he was arms-length from the other sergeant but Mouse moved between them and glared at them, “Commander, where… where have they taken 99’s body?” he looked to Blitz, he was trying to keep a level head and a level voice.

“CT-8434, Stitches had him cremated and had his ashes brought down to the medical center.” Blitz replied, “He didn’t say why, but no one was going to argue with him. Not a good idea to get on his bad side to tell you the truth. Now, if that’s everything, some of us have things to attend to.”

“Nokt, remember your rank, he can and will have you up for a disciplinary if you stand on his toes.” Hunter all but hissed at Nokt.

“We’re going down to medical.” Nokt said, his voice tight, “We’re going to see why this Stitches has 99.”

“I have heard of this Stitches. There are many rumors going around that he does medical procedures without anesthetics to people who annoy him.” Tech said, his nose in his datapad, trying to hide his emotions away behind the screen.

“Even more reason to get 99 away from him!” Nokt hissed, his voice cracking slightly.

Clicker had yet to say anything, he was standing beside Nokt, his hands clamped down over his noise cancellers, “Nokt. Please, you should face this with a level head.” Hunter said gently, “It will do you no good to draw more ire towards you and your brothers. We will go talk to this medic and see why he has 99, calmly and diplomatically, okay? Sound like a plan?”

Nokt seemed to reign in his emotions and he looked down at Mouse, who had started to hiccup, tears streaming down his cheeks, “It’s okay Mouse… I’m sorry, please don’t cry.” He knelt down in front of Mouse.

Mouse sniffled and hiccupped as he tried to wipe the tears away, “Come here Mouse.” Wrecker said, and scooped up the small clone, who buried his face in the giant’s shoulder.

“The emotions are too loud.” Clicker said quietly.

Hunter didn’t know what to say to that so he turned his attention to Nokt, and put his hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry Nokt’ika, we will find out the truth and we will do it together.”

“Y… yes… okay.” Nokt nodded stiffly.

“Okay.” Hunter smiled.

They made their way to the medical center, there were a lot of injured troopers in the area surrounding the center, most of them had minor injuries but some looked a lot more beaten up. A medical droid came up to them, “Are you injured?” he asked, looking to each of them in turn.

“N… no. We’re looking for someone.” Hunter replied.

“Oh? There are many injured here, but the person you are looking for may be outside in the hanger.” The droid said, “Might I inquire as to whom you are looking for?”

“We’re looking for…” Hunter started but he was cut off by a reg voice.

“They’re looking for me.” The medic’s uniform was spotted with blood, and Hunter wasn’t sure if it was the medic’s or a patient’s, “CT-8434, Stitches, I suppose you are here to ask about 99?”

“How did…?” Hunter blinked.

The medic wore a frown that looked right at home on his features, features that were marred by a huge scar across it, “I know a lot of things Sergeant Hunter, but you have caught me at an inopportune moment, as you can see, there are many brothers who need treating.”

“Why do you have 99?” Nokt hissed, but backed down when Stitches stared him down with a stern glare.

“As I said, I am busy. If you return to your quarters, I will send for you when I am free to talk.” Stitches replied.

Suddenly Crosshair was up in the medic’s space, his hands gripping the other man’s tunic, “Why do you have 99?” He hissed, he was bristling, he was seething with anger.

“I will ask you to unhand me before I am forced to defend myself.” Stitches replied calmly, scarily calm despite having an angry Crosshair up in his face, “And that will not be pleasant for you, I can assure you.”

“You’ll answer my question, now why…” Crosshair’s sentence was cut short by a sharp punch to the gut from Stitches, causing the sniper to sink to the ground, clutching his stomach.

“Get out of my ward, and I will think about answering your question.” Stitches replied calmly, as he looked to Hunter, his face still an unimpressed frown.

With help from Wrecker, Hunter managed to get Crosshair to his feet and they all left the medical center, “Stupid… karking reg…” Crosshair hissed in pain.

“You did ask for that.” Nokt said with a sigh, “Commander Blitz did warn us.”

“Let’s… just go deposit our stuff.”

“Okay.”

Chapter 24: We're brothers

Chapter Text

Hunter was pacing their bunk room, he was anxious and agitated, to be fair they all were.

Tech was trying to appear calm but Hunter could see his bouncing leg under the table, Wrecker was on his bunk reading to Clicker, Nokt was staring out the window at the churning waves, Crosshair was on his bunk a cold pack on the bruise forming on his stomach. Hunter didn’t know where Mouse was, he’d vanished into the vents, so he could be anywhere in this section of Tipoca, Hunter hoped the small clone would stay safe and not do something stupid or dangerous.

Like break into the Medic’s office.

He really hoped Mouse didn’t, Stitches wasn’t someone to mess with, he assaulted another clone in plain view of everyone… and no one said a word. There were clones of quite high rank in that ward, and there wasn’t a single disciplinary action taken against him… so either they’re afraid of him, or because Stitches gave a verbal warning first… they couldn’t do anything. Whatever it was, Hunter didn’t want to try his luck against him, he just had to keep the others from doing something stupid in the interim. He looked up when the sound of the vent cover opened, “Welcome back Mouse.” He said gently and held up his arms to catch the small clone, “Where did you wander off to?”

‘Kitchens.’ Mouse replied with a bounce once Hunter put him solidly on his own two feet, ‘None of us have eaten yet, so I went to get some food.’ He held out his backpack, which was full of food containers.

“That’s very kind of you Mouse.” He smiled, “Let’s see what you picked up for us. Guys, foods here.” They all converged on the table and Mouse handed out the food, they ate in silence for the most part, only speaking to ask someone to hand something to them.

Mouse made a small squeaking noise to get their attention and they all looked at him, ‘I.’ he paused briefly, ‘I got us something else. I asked the cook to make it for us.’ He pulled out another container, and opened it to reveal an odd-looking cake thing, ‘It’s 99’s decanting day today. I thought we could celebrate it.’ He hiccupped as he wiped tears from his eyes. ‘He wouldn’t want us to fight because of him, so.’ He paused again to wipe his eyes, ‘So, we’re going to celebrate him and remember every lesson he taught us.’ Hunter felt himself tear up at the small clone’s determination in trying to keep them together, to stop their fighting that would make 99 sad. Brothers shouldn’t fight, not when they only had each other, not when the galaxy hated them. He saw the other’s reactions, how each of them showed their feelings, how comfortable they were with showing them… ‘If we don’t have each other, then we have no one. No one is going to help us. Except us.’

We’re brothers.

Chapter 25: We miss you

Notes:

Original flavor Stitches.

Chapter Text

“Why is it taking so long for him to meet with us?” Nokt frowned, and Hunter had to agree, it was taking a long time for the medic to get in contact with them. Were there more injured than medical staff? Did Crosshair screw their chances before they’d even started? Whatever it was, they were all getting antsy, it was nearly midnight Kamino standard time and still nothing.

Hunter was on his feet the second a knock came from the door, on the other side was a trooper, “Stitches apologizes for the delay but there has been an incident in medical and his attention was needed there.” The young trooper said.

“An incident? What happened?” Hunter blinked.

“That’s not for me to say, but he’ll meet with you all now.” The trooper saluted and walked off.

“What the kriff happened?” Crosshair hissed.

“Only one way to find out I suppose.” Tech said, fixing his googles.

They made their way towards the medical center in silence, where they saw a clean-up crew, then were ushered towards one of the offices by one of the medical droids, and were greeted with the unnaturally clean and neat office of Stitches, who was sitting at his desk. He looked the same as he did the last time they saw him, but he was holding himself weird as he turned his chair to face them, “I do apologise for the delay, we had a traumatized trooper who decided to fire in his cubicle.”

“What…?” Hunter blinked and looked to the rest of them, “Is everyone okay?”

“Everyone is alive and the trooper has been sedated until his brain functions return to normal.” Stitches replied easily.

“Mouse… Mouse wants to know if your injuries are bad?” Clicker said in his quiet voice and everyone looked to Mouse, who was incredibly interested in his boots.

“Does he now?” Stitches narrowed his eyes leaning on his desk and every one of them moved between Stitches and Mouse, “Well, your sense of smell has not been exaggerated it seems.” He said as he relaxed back into his chair, loosely clasping his hands and resting them on his abdomen, “Should the scouting business not work for you, I’m sure any medic would benefit from your enhancement.” Hunter blinked and looked to Mouse, who looked as confused as the rest of them did, but after a moment he bounced happily. “Now, I believe you are here to speak about 99.”

“Why do you have him?” Nokt jumped in with anger, “He… he should be with his brothers!”

“And that is where he is.” Stitches replied easily, “I had his ashes brought here because he would be with his brothers, where the brothers who would need him most can find him.”

“You…?” Nokt had his fight ripped from him, so did they all to be fair.

“He wasn’t just your brother, he was everyone’s.” Stitches replied with a frown, “If you take him with you, you take him away from everyone he helped and raised. And I will not allow you to destroy his life’s worth, because you seem to think he was solely your brother.” Stitches didn’t pull any punches it seemed. “So, I have said my peace, do you have anything to add?”

“I…” Nokt backed down and Mouse took hold of his hand.

“He will always be here?” Hunter asked, swallowing thickly, looking back to Stitches.

“Yes.” Stitches replied with a nod, “He is in the main lobby, the cadet’s set up a little memorial for him in a cubby, overseeing all of our lives.”

“And… we can visit him at any time?” Wrecker asked quietly.

“Of course, but you will be courteous to any patient here and keep your voices down.” The medic replied.

“Um… Stitches…?” Clicker said quietly, like he was trying to not be noticed.

“Yes?” Stitches quirked an eyebrow.

“Your… wound has bled through the bandage.” He replied and pointed to the medic’s side, where a large blood patch was spreading slowly.

Stitches looked at the stain and frowned, “This is what I get for letting the trainees do trauma wound care.” He sighed, sounding more like a disapproving teacher rather than someone bleeding profusely.

“Trauma? The kriff happened down here?” Hunter restrained himself from moving to the medic to asses the wound, and Wrecker was keeping Tech from doing the same thing.

“As I said, a trooper had a trauma episode and decided to shoot up the ward, when he was disarmed, he grabbed a scalpel and continued with that.” Stitches replied easily.

“You were stabbed?” Nokt asked stunned.

“Yes, he’ll think twice about that, if he remembers past the broken eye socket.” Stitches sighed as he stood up.

“You… punched him?” Nokt watched as the medic walked by them to the door.

“He stabbed me, therefore, I am justified in returning fire.” Was the reply as the medic opened the door, “Now, seeing as I have to get someone who knows their sheb from their elbow to patch me up, I hope you can show yourselves out. Maybe visit 99 as you leave.”

“Um… of course.” Hunter looked to the rest of the Batch and the Night Stalkers, who all nodded and they filtered out of the office, walking quietly down the hall to the lobby. They found the little memorial, where the small urn that contained 99’s ashes was, there was also a photograph of him beside it and a few small candles in front. There were some crudely made cards from the young cadets, and a few made by seasoned troopers…

It was small, minimalistic.

It was simple.

99 would love it.

He didn’t want people to make a big fuss over him, to make something lavish for him, he was happy with small things… he just wanted people to be happy.

“We’ll make a decanting day card for him and we can bring it down later.” Nokt said, barely holding back his tears.

“He’ll love that.”

“We miss you 99.”

Chapter 26: Scary medic

Chapter Text

“We kept them safe 99… but I wish we could have saved you.” Hunter sighed as he looked to the photo of 99, tracing his fingers along the frame, “Commander Cody says you died a hero, that you helped save a squad of cadets… you died a brother, a warrior. I wish you a safe march… where ever it takes you.” He saluted and with a sigh he turned to leave.

He had just turned around when he heard the commotion in the next hall, “You’re such a freak! You can’t even exist without that stupid mask!” he heard a cadet snicker, “Are you really a trooper? You’re so small! You’re such a liar, you’re just a stupid baby! Actual troopers aren’t such babies!”

Hunter was about to storm over to them, but it seemed Stitches also heard the commotion because he beat him to the punch and came out of the medical center in a blast of cold seated fury, “What is going on out here?” He asked, as he loomed over the four cadet’s and the now apparent Mouse.

“N… nothing sir… we were just… messing around…” One of the cadet’s tried to talk but he was cut off by the medic.

“If you class abuse as messing around cadet, then you had better change your attitude before you pick on the wrong person.” Stitches frowned intensely, “Here are your options cadets, you can either accept your punishment from me or I can escort you to General Shaak Ti and she can deal with you.” He looked at each of the four, “No answer? If you don’t choose now, I will not stay nice.”

The four looked at each other in sheer terror, “We… we’ll accept our punishment from you…”

“From?” Stitches folded his arms.

“From you… sir!” They all saluted.

“Then get your skinny shebs inside, get cleaning and I want every inch of the ward clean enough to eat off!” Stitches ordered and the four scampered inside, not another word from any of them.

‘Thank you sir. I don’t know what I did too them… but they wouldn’t leave me alone.’ Mouse signed before he started to pick up his bag, the contents of which had been spilled onto the floor.

Hunter watched as Stitches knelt down to help Mouse pick up his things, “Bullies don’t give up easily, unless you present them with a bigger threat.” The medic replied easily, “Is this everything?”

Mouse bounced happily and after he slung his bag onto his back, he replied ‘Yes sir. Thank you.’

The small clone noticed Hunter and waved to him, “You okay Mouse?” Hunter asked as he walked up to them, earning an affirmative squeak from Mouse, “Thank you for helping him.” he looked to the medic.

“I detest bullies, of any kind, luckily those cadets are still young, that bullying tendency can be reversed.” Stitches replied easily.

Mouse seemed to remember something, because he squeaked and looked to Stitches, ‘Are you okay now?’ he pointed to the place Stitches had been stabbed, ‘I can’t smell any infection. Or anything like that.’

“You can smell that sort of thing?” Stitches asked with a quirked eyebrow, then looked to Hunter, “Do you know how long you will be planet side?”

“Until we hear from Commander Wolffe.” Hunter replied, “Why?”

“Mouse, might I request your assistance for a short while?” Stitches looked to the young trooper, who looked to Hunter and Hunter nodded with a smile, this was clearly going to be the safest place for Mouse right now, seeing how everyone seemed to be at least a tiny bit scared of the medic. Mouse bounced and looked to Stitches again as he nodded, “The help is most appreciated.” Hunter watched as Mouse followed the medic into the ward, and with a soft shake of his head, he made his way back to the bunk rooms.

“Hunter? Have you seen Mouse? Clicker can’t hear him in the vents… and he might be hurt or…” Nokt was on his feet and beside Hunter in a split second.

“Easy Nokt’ika, Mouse is okay. He’s safe and helping Stitches down in Medical.” Hunter chuckled, “He did have a run in with some bullies but the medic put a stop to it… and it was terrifying to say the least, I actually pity them.”

“O… Oh.” Nokt replied, sounding so unsure, “He’s not… in trouble?”

“Nope. Stitches wishes to borrow his nose for a while. Knew it was only a matter of time before a medic nabbed him for help.” He chuckled again.

“Hunter… I want to apologise for… for my behavior.” Nokt sighed as he fidgeted with his fingers, “I was scared, and angry, and heartbroken…”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Hunter said quickly, wiping the stray tear away from Nokt’s cheek, “We all reacted negatively to the news, in different ways but with the same cause. Crosshair left for the range the moment he could, Wrecker’s gone down to the armory to look at explosives, and Tech has shut himself in…” he looked to the clone in question, who was so engrossed in some little project that he wasn’t aware of anything, even Clicker, who was watching him intently as he worked. “We all deal with our emotions differently.” He smiled, thankfully Hunter hadn’t gotten too worked up, because he had a horrible tendency to become controlling and aggressive when he was scared or upset, “But luckily Commander Blitz is a decent man, and Stitches… well… he didn’t kill us. Which is a good start.”

“He seems so scary and dangerous… but he did that for 99, he cared about 99 and… and everything he stood for.” Nokt said, still fidgeting, “I… don’t understand why he’s like that when he believes in 99’s teachings so much.”

“I don’t know, and I am not brave enough to ask.” Hunter sighed, “For now, we just have to wait for deployment orders, and hopefully we can keep the bullies off you.”

“Hopefully.” Nokt smiled.

Chapter 27: Late night?

Chapter Text

Hunter was half asleep when he was suddenly woken up by small hands shaking him, he blinked and looked at the now apparent Mouse, “Mouse?” He yawned, why was the small clone waking him and not his brothers? It was then that he remembered that Nokt was curled up beside him, so Mouse probably tried to wake his sergeant, but couldn’t and he only managed to wake Hunter up. “You just getting back?” he asked softly, and Mouse nodded, “Did you learn a lot from Stitches?” Mouse made a small squeak of confirmation, Hunter had to admit that sound was so kriffing adorable, “Clicker’s with Crosshair, but Wrecker’s in bed too if you want to go bunk with him.” He didn’t have to guess that, Wrecker was not a quiet sleeper, “You can tell us all about your adventure in the morning.”

Mouse made another squeak of confirmation and Hunter watched him as he crept quietly over to Wrecker, and smiled as he climbed up and lay on top of the giant, stilling almost instantly. He wondered what it was like for Mouse, learning from such an authoritative personality like Stitches, was the medic different when he was teaching? Or was he the same hard taskmaster he appeared to everyone else?

Mouse would tell them in the morning, sleep now, talk later.

Hunter awoke to movement beside him, Nokt was trying to sneak out of the bed without waking him, but seeing as he woke up… it clearly didn’t work. “I’m… sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Nokt said quickly, he had frozen in place, probably because Hunter moved when he woke up.

“That’s alright.” Hunter yawned, “Time to get up anyways.”

“What time did Mouse get back at?” Nokt looked to the small clone who was sleeping in Wrecker’s bed, but the older clone wasn’t there, which meant he’d gone to get food.

“Late enough, he tried to wake you, but you were dead asleep.” Hunter chuckled, “So he woke me up instead.”

“O… oh.” Nokt blushed, “I apologise.”

Hunter smiled, both Mouse and Nokt were very quick to blushing, Clicker blushed too, just not as much, “Don’t worry about it Nokt’ika.” He grinned, “You clearly needed to sleep.”

“I… it has been very stressful this past while. Between meeting you all, working together… losing 99… it’s a lot to take in.” Nokt sighed, making a motion similar to running a hand through hair.

“Do you shave your head for Mouse?” He asked, “Clicker has hair, but Mouse doesn’t.”

“Mouse has alopecia universalis, he can’t grow hair on his body. So, I shaved my hair to help him feel at least normal in our batch, Clicker couldn’t for obvious reasons…” the young clone replied, “He’s more comfortable about it now, he knows it’s who he is and has accepted it.”

“Have you thought about growing your hair out again?” Hunter stretched as he stood up, looking to the younger clone as he stood up also.

“I… my hair is the same colour as Crosshair’s, so either way I had my hair I was going to get picked on.” Nokt sighed, “So I chose to stand beside Mouse, Clicker would have too, if it wasn’t for his enhancement.”

“You and your brothers love each other so much.” Hunter smiled, “It is good to see the abuse you all suffered hasn’t driven you apart.”

“99 said that too.” Nokt smiled sadly, “I wonder how he helped Stitches, for him to react so strongly… it must have been very personal.” Hunter had wondered that too, but he didn’t want to risk his neck to ask the medic, not when the threat of a broken eye socket was on the table.

It was a little while before the others returned and Mouse woke up, “Good morning Mouse.” Hunter smiled as the small trooper sat up and wiped his eyes with a yawn just as the door opened and the others all filtered into the room, “Where’d you guys disappear too?”

“We went to say hi to 99, then went to get some food.” Wrecker grinned, “We got you something, don’t worry.” Mouse seemed to perk up a little at the mention of food, “You hungry Mouse?” he asked the small clone, who nodded.

Mouse climbed out of Wrecker’s bunk and walked sleepily to the table, “What time did you get back last night?” Tech asked, “It was late enough when we all went to bed.” Mouse didn’t answer, just shrugged his shoulders as he wiped his eyes, “Did you learn anything useful from Stitches?”

Mouse nodded, ‘He taught me a lot, said I would make a good field medic.’ He replied as he yawned, ‘I like helping.’

“You, however, are not good at staying up late.” Nokt chuckled.

‘Stitches was still awake when I left.’ Mouse looked at the container of food as it was put down in front of him, ‘One of the other medics said he had been going for two standard rotations.’ He picked up his spoon and poked the porridge. Two standard rotations? How the kriff was he pulling that off?

“He must suffer from very extreme insomnia.” Tech frowned, Hunter knew Crosshair and Tech sometimes suffered from insomnia, but nothing even close to two days in a very intense job, without sleeping.

“So, you looking to start some field medic training?” He asked Mouse, “You already seem to know some things, given you’re the one carrying around the medkit.”

Mouse nodded happily, ‘Stitches says I can train under him for as long as we’re on Kamino. He’s really stern and very blunt, but I like him. He doesn’t mince words, he tells you exactly how it is, and how to fix it.’ He bounced happily. That was one way to put it, but hopefully him being around Stitches would stop the bulling, Crosshair had warded off the bullies for Clicker, and hopefully Stitches would ward off the bullies from Mouse.

Hunter would help Nokt.

Tech would too.

Chapter 28: Flashbang

Chapter Text

Hunter was forced to one knee as a high-pitched ringing noise erupted from down the hallway… their bunk rooms… once he’d managed to shake off the ringing and stand up again, he heard nothing for a moment before sound finally returned. He moved despite the developing pain in his head, he knew what that was… it was a stupid flash bang! And he knew exactly who it was aimed against!

The Night Stalkers’ room was locked from the outside, he didn’t know the pass code, he didn’t know… “Tech! I need help, someone targeted the Night Stalkers and I… I can’t open the door without the code.” He said into his comm.

“846832.” Tech replied quickly, “We’re on our way.”

Hunter keyed in the code quickly, and was greeted with the arid smell of the grenade, “Mouse? Clicker? Nokt?” He called in, he couldn’t see them, but they had all gone back to their room for a rest after the simulation training. He heard the quiet whimpering of Mouse, he was in his bunk, this was followed by the dry heaving of Nokt, but where was Clicker? The others arrived quickly, “Crosshair, Tech, find Clicker. Wrecker, help Mouse.” He looked at Nokt’s bunk, he had to focus his attention on Nokt. He shook off the increasing pain in his skull, the boys needed them, now was not the time for headaches! “Nokt?” He was beside Nokt’s bunk quickly, the bedsheets were drenched in vomit, and there were specks of blood dotted here and there, but Nokt was under the covers, trying to hide away from any source of light. “Nokt, if you’re conscious, close your eyes so I can move the covers, can you do that?” he asked gently, he got no answer, just more dry heaves, “Okay, I’m moving them.” He carefully took hold of the covers and moved them away from the young clone. Nokt had his hands clamped over his eyes, blood dripped from his nose, mixing with the vomit staining the skin around his mouth, “Kriff… Tech, did you find Clicker?” he looked back at the other groups, Wrecker was cradling an inconsolable Mouse.

“He’s hiding under the table… we need to get them medical attention.” Crosshair said with a hiss.

“Tech… call Stitches. See what he can do.” Hunter didn’t want to know what the medic would do to those responsible.

But they deserved it.

Chapter 29: Aftermath

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t know where he was, reality suddenly came back in the form of a stabbing headache, where were the others? He chanced opening his eyes but was forced to shut them again very quickly when the light went through his head like a needle. He felt small hands on his chest, followed by a soft squeak to alert Hunter of who was with him, “M… Mouse?” the small clone squeaked in confirmation, “What…?”

Mouse moved his hands to make hand symbols against Hunter’s chest, ‘You got hurt too.’

“Are…” He swallowed past the need to throw-up, “Are you all alright?”

‘No. They hurt us really bad this time.’ was the reply, and Hunter felt a different type of pain hitting him, ‘They haven’t been this hurt since the kaminoans did their stupid tests.’

“What about you?” Hunter reached up and somehow managed to put his hand of Mouse’s shoulder.

‘I came out the least hurt, the pain meds are helping with the headache and nausea.’ Mouse sighed.

“What happened when Stitches arrived?” Hunter didn’t remember that, he must have blacked out before the medic arrived, he hoped someone dealt with whoever attacked them.

“The other two were taken straight to ICU.” Stitches’ voice appeared, “I had to stop Crosshair from doing something incredibly stupid.”

“You… you should have let him.” Hunter hissed, which made Mouse flinch away.

“No. I shouldn’t have.” Stitches’ voice carried his frown, “I have personally dealt with the ones responsible, and I have done it within standard protocol.”

‘Even the General was a little scared.’ Mouse was obviously trying to make a joke, because he giggled a little.

“Tech managed to pull the video feed for the corridor, and low and behold, it was the same little druk as it always is. CT-2020, Stringer.” Stitches sighed, “He’s a known bully of other cadets his age, but he has a loyal group of equally little druks. I’m lowering the lights and I want you to try opening your eyes, so I can see if there has been any damage, other than the screaming headache you no doubt have.” Hunter chanced opening his eyes again, it still hurt a little but the glaring, white light was gone. “Better?” Stitches asked, and Hunter looked to him before nodding, “Follow my finger.” The medic held his finger up in front of Hunter’s face, “Good, any tenderness other than your head and neck?”

“No.” Hunter replied, “My stomach feels like I got kicked by an eopie.”

“That would be the fault of the headache. Are you experiencing any auras?” Stitches replied, Hunter blinked at him, “You suffer from migraines, are you experiencing any auras?”

He spotted Mouse beside him looking slightly confused by the question, ‘What are auras?’

“Early warning signs of a migraine.” Hunter replied with a sigh, “And no, I’m not.”

“That’s good enough, I will give you something for the pain.” Stitches replied, and Hunter winced as he was stabbed in the arm by a stim, the hiss sounded incredibly loud in his pained head.

“Aren’t you supposed to give a warning?” He asked as he massaged the spot on his arm.

“I did.” Stitches frowned, “Once that kicks in, and you think you are able to move, you can visit the other two. Mouse can show you where they are.”

“Thank you Stitches.” Hunter sighed.

“Hm.” Was all he got in response before the medic left them alone.

“How bad are they hurt?” He looked to Mouse, who fidgeted with the covers, he looked like he was about to cry, “Mouse?”

‘I’m.’ he paused, ‘I’m scared.’

Chapter 30: Angry Nexu

Chapter Text

Mouse held Hunter’s hand as they walked through the ward and Hunter realised the regs were giving them a wide berth, what had Stitches done? He looked down at the small trooper, who didn’t look up at him, he was nervous, he was smelling the air as though expecting an attack on them.

“Hunter, there you are.” Wrecker was the one to greet them outside the two Night Stalkers room, “Better come inside.”

Hunter frowned, “What the kriff happened after I passed out?”

“Stitches happened.” Tech said as Wrecker closed the door, “He found those responsible, after stopping Crosshair.” He motioned to the sniper, who was nursing a black eye, “We did not see what happened first hand but not even the Generals argued with him when he brought them to the group.”

‘Told you.’ Mouse looked up at him.

“Tech got the video feed and… man I’m glad we haven’t pissed the guy off! I’ve seen nexu less terrifying.” Wrecker was trying to keep his voice down, and Hunter finally looked at the two younger clones. Clicker was still unconscious and Nokt was cradling him, his eyes were bandaged, “They got hit bad, it’s going to take a while for Nokt’s vision to come back.”

“And Clicker?” Hunter asked softly.

“The medics have him on pretty strong painkillers, but he hasn’t woken up yet.” Crosshair said.

Hunter sighed and went over to the bed, “Nokt?” He asked gently.

“Hunter?” Nokt asked and held out his hand, trying to gage where the older sergeant was.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Hunter smiled and took hold of Nokt’s hand, “Other than the obvious, are you alright?”

“My head’s still ringing… maybe I should answer it.” Nokt grinned, trying to joke.

“They’ll get bored eventually.” Hunter chuckled.

“Stitches says my vision will come back in a few hours, and that there is no long-term damage,” Nokt tightened his hold on Clicker, “They… they don’t know how bad Clicker is…”

Mouse appeared beside them and climbed up onto the bed and put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “He’s in the best place possible Nokt’ika.” Hunter said gently, “No one is going to hurt you here, not when there is an angry nexu on the prowl.”

“Yeah, the others told me. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of that.” Nokt sighed, “The worst part, I think, is he never raised his voice, no yelling, nothing… just cold fury wrapped in a calm demeaner.”

Hunter blinked, now he really wanted to watch the camera feed, “Hey Tech, can I watch the video?” he looked over his shoulder at the other clone, who was fidgeting with his datapad.

“Of course.” Tech replied, and handed him the datapad, he took it and opened the file, “The video jumps between camera feeds, just to warn you.” Hunter watched a group of cadets laughing and boasting in an empty room.

> “That should take those freaks out, won’t have defectives serving where real troopers should be!”

That was clearly the lead boy, ‘Stringer’, as Stitches called him, but most of the group laughed and agreed with him, except two. Suddenly the two cadets, who hadn’t been laughing, tried to get Stringer’s attention but he didn’t listen.

> “Stringer!”

> “What are you babbling about Copper?”

Suddenly Stringer was grabbed by the back of his tunic and hoisted off the ground by Stitches, one of the other boys tried to run, but Stitches grabbed him too and roughly returned him to the group.

> “Who wants to tell me what happened?”

> “We… we don’t know what you’re talking about!”

> “Do you think me stupid? An idiot?”

Hunter felt his own fear creeping in at the tone Stitches was using, and he wasn’t even in the room!

> “So. Let’s try this again, who wants to tell me what happened? Because if you answer, I’ll bring you to the Generals. If you don’t? Well, you don’t want to find out and I can…”

> “Stringer got a flashbang out of the armory! We… me and Reeves tried to stop them…”

> “Copper you traitor!”

Hunter watched as the group pushed the boy, Copper, and another boy away from the group, all spewing hateful words.

> “So… you took out an unauthorized weapon, and used it against other clones?”

> “Those freaks aren’t clones! They’re aruetii!”

There was that disgusting word, and to hear a cadet say it… that was so much worse. Stitches didn’t say anything for a moment, probably trying to digest what just came out of Stringer’s mouth, then looked to the two cadet’s who’d been pushed aside.

> “Were you two involved in the attack?”

> “No sir.”

> “Because they’re stupid cowardly babies!”

> “Go alert General Shaak Ti of what happened and that I will bring these little druks to the prisoner holding cells.”

Hunter paled, then the feed changed to the room with the holding cells, where the four cadets were being held, Stitches standing outside the barrier, arms crossed and Hunter could practically feel the dark, cold, fury radiating from him. He watched as General Shaak Ti and General Windu came to a stop in front of him.

> “Why are these cadets being contained Stitches?”

> “Because they not only brought unauthorized weapons out of the armory, somehow, they used it to attack the Night Stalker squad. Who are enhanced clones, who’s enhancements were exploited by these cadets, who decided a flashbang was a wonderful present.”

> “If I had it my way Generals, which these cadets are very lucky I don’t, I would have them scraping barnacles off the supports of the city with nothing but a spoon, for the rest of their natural lifespan.”

Hunter blinked, his mouth hitting the floor, Stitches had guts talking to the Generals in such a way, but Nokt was correct… Stitches never raised his voice, he didn’t even seem to be outwardly angry. And that made it so much worse, because he didn’t sound like an angry parent, but more a seriously disappointed one…

> “You are quite… vocal about this.”

> “All due respect General Windu, I…”

Stitches paused and seemed to fall into his head, but came back out quickly.

> “They attacked brothers. They might not see them as such but they attacked brothers and seriously injured them.”

> “I understand. You should return to them and see that they get treatment.”

> “We shall see to these cadets and their punishment.”

Hunter blinked again as the file closed, “Well… I am very glad we didn’t piss in his soup.”

Chapter 31: Talking with Mouse

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed and massaged his temples, he was stressed, they all were, but it was taking every ounce of conscious control to stop himself from spiraling. It wouldn’t help anyone if he did, but it was difficult to contain when it was his first line of defense, Mouse seemed to pick up on his internal struggle because he tugged on Hunter’s blacks and looked up at him with curious, yet very unfocused eyes, “Yes Mouse?” he asked cautiously.

Mouse pointed to Hunter’s chest, then to his own mask, ‘You smell sad, and angry, and something I don’t know.’

Hunter sighed, “I’m stressed, but I have a nasty habit of getting… aggressive when I can’t control a situation.”

Mouse nodded in understanding, ‘Nokt used to be like that, but not so much aggressive, more defensive.’ He replied, ‘But that can be worse in some ways.’

“How did he get over it?” Hunter asked as he sat down in a sort of huff.

‘General Windu talked with him.’ Mouse sat down beside him, ‘That it’s okay to be angry, but to not take it out on people just trying to help.’

“Someone might want to teach Stitches that.” He whispered to the small clone, earning a giggle from him followed by a shush, “Speaking of which, how goes the training?”

‘I like it. He doesn’t make me do paperwork, just on the job training.’ Mouse bounced, ‘I got to do a lot of different things, treat different types of injuries and I get to use my enhancement to help people, I get to see who I’m helping.’

“Even if the regs hurt you, you still want to help them?” Hunter asked softly.

‘We only experience this level of abuse from clones on Kamino. Most of the troopers out in the field are decent enough, with a few bad seeds.’ Mouse replied before fidgeting with his bag strap, ‘I.’ he paused, ‘I asked Stitches to examine my neck and he says I could, in theory, get corrective surgery to at least make it easier to breathe. There’s no saving my voice, but I could breathe easier, maybe I could smell better if I could breathe deeper.’

“Have you talked to Nokt?” Hunter asked, he wondered why the small cadet talked with him for these things.

‘Not yet.’ He sighed, ‘He still hasn’t left Clicker’s side.’

“Any word on his condition?” He replied, putting his hand on Mouse’s back.

‘He still hasn’t woken up yet. They think it was because of the soundwave hitting him in a small enclosed space, not just the actual noise it made.’ He looked down at the floor, ‘I.’ He paused to wipe tears from his eyes, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if he’s going to be okay and I don’t want to lose my brother.’

“Woah, hey, it’s okay.” Hunter said quickly, “He’s in the best place right now, and they are going to do everything they can for him.” Mouse nodded hesitantly, “No one is going to be stupid enough to attack them here.” Mouse made a small squeak of understanding. They sat in silence for a while before Hunter spoke again, “So, Commander Ponds gave you your name?” he smiled a little.

Mouse nodded happily, ‘We went as forward scouts for Lightning squadron, even before the ARF troopers were sent, into Lessu. The droids didn’t even know we were there, we got in scouted out the area, and went back to the General. But they had been attacked and the General and two ARF troopers had broken away from the main force.’ He looked down at his boots, ‘Ponds was nice, he wanted to help people.’

“Yeah. I heard what happened to him.” Hunter sighed, “Betrayed from within Kamino.”

‘A cadet, but Clicker overheard that he wasn’t really a cadet, but the clone our donor took with him to raise as a son.’ Mouse sighed again.

“His name is Boba Fett.” Stitches suddenly appeared in front of them, “And he is a bounty hunter, he stopped being one of us when he watched our donor die.”

“How do you know that?” Hunter narrowed his eyes.

“Because I was among the first to land on Geonosis.” He replied with a frown, “Saw the body first hand. Thought it was one of ours till I saw the armor.”

“You’re… a gen one?” Hunter blinked.

“That’s the polite way of saying I’m old.” Stitches replied as he crossed his arms, “But yes, I am.”

‘That’s so cool.’ Mouse bounced happily, earning a raised eyebrow from Stitches.

“I am actually here to inform you that Clicker is awake.” Stitches sighed, “His body has recovered from the concussive force of the soundwave. He has some hearing issues but that should clear up in a few days, with proper rest.”

“And Nokt?” Hunter was nervous about the young sergeant’s vision.

“His vision is currently at normal human eyesight, but he will recover fully also.” Stitches replied.

‘What about the cadets?’ Mouse asked before fidgeting with his bag strap again.

“I have not been told of their punishment.” Stitches sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.

‘You.’ Mouse paused as though thinking on his words, ‘You acted strange with General Windu. Why?’

“Don’t.” Stitches’ whole form became ridged, and Mouse shrank away, “Go visit your brothers.”

‘I.’ Mouse looked like he wanted to apologise.

“Now Mouse.” Stitches said sternly.

Hunter swallowed thickly, “Come on Mouse. Let’s go see how Clicker is.” He said and ushered the small trooper away from the medic.

‘Why is he so angry?’

“I don’t know.”

Chapter 32: Embarrassment and near death experiences

Chapter Text

Mouse was wrapped around Nokt the second they entered the room, squeaking and bouncing happily the whole time, “Hi Mouse.” The young sergeant said as he returned the hug. It was in these lighting conditions that Hunter realised that Nokt did, in fact, have heterochromia, his left eye was grey, while his right eye was brown. Nokt seemed to notice him staring because he blushed and looked down at Mouse, “I…”

“I’m sorry.” Hunter said, “Blue eyes are very rare in the clone army, but I’d never seen or heard of grey eyed clones till I met you all. And I’ve never met anyone with heterochromia before.”

“O… Oh.” Nokt blushed more, “I… I can cover them if they…”

“No!” Hunter said quickly, “No, it’s okay. I think they’re nice… very unique.”

Hunter wasn’t sure Nokt’s blush could get any redder but it was, Mouse looked between them and Hunter could practically hear the gears turning in his head, he could actually hear the small clone sniffing the air. He seemed to come to some conclusion and looked up at Nokt with a huge grin appearing under his mask, the sergeant somehow blushed more and smacked Mouse’s arm, “It’s not that, you cheeky nerf herder!” he hissed, but it wasn’t aggressive, more incredibly embarrassed.

“Not what?” Hunter blinked confused.

“Clicker don’t you say a word!” Nokt looked to the other trooper in the room, who also had a huge druk-eating grin plastered on his too-pale face.

“I said nothing.” He replied softly.

“Maker. Ex… excuse me.” he put his goggles on and left the room.

“I… am very confused.” Hunter looked to the other two, “But… anyway, how are you feeling Clicker?” he walked over to the medical cot.

“I’m okay.” Clicker smiled, “Tired, and my bones feel like they’re vibrating.”

“That can’t be comfortable.” Hunter smiled as he sat down on the cot.

“Stitches says it should go away in a few days.” Clicker nodded, “I won’t be fit for active duty… but I will be able to accompany you all on the Marauder.”

“That’s great to hear. We haven’t heard from the 104th or the 212th, so we have no idea when we ship off world.” Hunter frowned, it was rather strange that none of the squadrons that they usually worked with, got in contact with them. He was drawn out of his head by his comm chirping, which made Clicker curl in on himself, “Sorry!” He said softly and moved away from the bed, “Hunter.”

“General Plo Koon and the Wolfpack have arrived planet-side. It appears that someone has informed either the General or Commander Wolffe of our current situation.” Tech’s voice came through, “And they wished to visit.”

“What?” Hunter blinked, why would the General take time out of the war effort to… visit a bunch of defective clones he’d met all of once?

“We have no idea either.” Tech replied, “We will be with you momentarily.”

“Right.” Hunter frowned as he closed the link, then opened another, “Nokt, we have General Plo and Commander Wolffe planet side and they… wish to visit.”

“Why would they…?” Nokt sounded as confused as Hunter felt.

“No idea, but you might want to get back here before they show up.” Hunter sighed, then looking back at the other two, “I apologise if I made you uncomfortable, I didn’t mean to.”

“Oh… that’s okay. I… get embarrassed very easily.” Nokt replied, “I… I’ll be with you shortly.”

“Okay.” Hunter smiled, and closed the line, “Sorry guys, it’s going to get a bit crowded in here.”

Mouse looked a little confused, ‘Why is the General here?’

“No idea. Hopefully Stitches doesn’t throw a hissy fit about all the people being in here.” Hunter sighed, then realised the two of the young troopers were staring at something behind him, “He’s… right behind me… isn’t he?” both of them nodded slowly.

“I find it interesting that you jump to conclusions faster than you react to people behind you.” The medic said easily, this was it… this was how he died, and the young troopers were going to have to watch.

“I… I meant no offense.” Hunter swallowed thickly.

“None taken, for I am not happy with such a large group of people being in the room with a patient who is suffering with an injury involving their hearing. But I cannot argue with a General of such standing, so, this time I will let it slide.” Stitches moved around Hunter and walked over to Clicker. Hunter blinked… he was alive? He wasn’t hurt or anything? Maker preserve him, how the kriff did that happen? “Contrary to what everyone says, I do not discipline everyone with physical means.”

Hunter stared at the medic then looked to Mouse who shrugged in a similar state of confusion, “I’m feeling better now.” Clicker said softly, “My bones still feel weird.”

“That is to be expected, given the soundwave a flashbang creates, luckily the suit you are wearing muffled a lot of the pressure.” Stitches replied, “I’m going to have to physically touch your head to assess other things, you will let me know if it causes to much discomfort?”

“Okay.” Clicker replied.

Hunter smiled slightly, then looked to the door as it opened, revealing Nokt and the Batch, who all entered quietly, “The General and Commander Wolffe are on their way down.” Nokt said softly, “Mouse? Can you smell them yet?”

Mouse moved to the door and stepped out into the hall and came back in a second later, ‘General Plo smells soft, like he’s concerned or something.’

“And the Commander?” Tech asked.

‘Cautious.’ Mouse’s brows knitted together in hard thought, ‘And a little angry.’

“What’s he got to be angry about?” Crosshair drawled, he didn’t need the cold pack anymore, but the bruise was spectacular.

“Hard to say, we can ask him when he gets here.” Hunter sighed.

‘They’re just arriving.’ Mouse said, ‘They smell nice.’

Chapter 33: Meeting a buir

Chapter Text

“It is good to see that you are all on the mend, when we received word that you would not be able to return to active duty, I had feared the worse.” General Plo said warmly.

“Forgive me for asking General… but who sent word to you?” Hunter asked, he really wanted to know, but before the General answered, Hunter got a non-verbal answer, Stitches walked out into the hallway without a word to anyone. Of course it was him, medics had the most authority when it came to subject of “fit for duty”, when it came to the health of the men… they outranked everyone.

“Might I enquire as to how these injuries came about?” The General asked, his posture was so relaxed, he gave off a warm, fatherly energy, but none of them wanted to answer and they all looked to each other, but Mouse answered after a moment.

He squeaked to get their attentions, ‘We were attacked by a known bully and his group. They used our enhancements against us, using a flashbang taken from the armory, with no authorization.’ He explained, ‘It has caused injury to us Night Stalkers, and it negatively affected Hunter also.’

“And… have these known bullies been dealt with?” Wolffe asked, his face a stony anger.

“They have, we don’t know what that punishment has been, but General Shaak Ti and General Windu are the ones who would know.” Hunter explained with a sigh, “Stitches was the one to catch and detain them, seeing as half of us were incapacitated at the time.”

“I shall ask my fellow Generals then.” General Plo said, looking to each of them, Clicker included. The young clone was still on his medical cot, fidgeting with the blanket, he looked like he was fighting the urge to hide, but the General looked back at the main group, “Does this happen regularly to you?”

Mouse squeaked again to get their attentions, ‘Only on Kamino, most troopers out in the field aren’t.’ he paused, ‘Aren’t as bad, I think it might be because they have seen more of the galaxy and what is out there. They smell more worn, more tired.’ He looked down at his boots, fidgeting with his bag strap, making those noose-like loops, before continuing ‘I think it might also be because they have been subjected to aggression of a different type, like they are suffering similar pain that we do when the bullies target us.’

Hunter blinked, then looked to Nokt, who looked as surprised by the small clone, “That is a very deep concept you put forth young one.” General Plo said softly.

“He… is right though.” Clicker said in his quiet voice, “The clones we meet out in the galaxy don’t show such… hatred or distrust towards us. Sometimes they are cautious or wary of us, and when we work with groups that accept us, like the 212th for the Batch, and 187th for us Night Stalkers… we work well with them.”

“It’s probably because there isn’t really a set structure here.” Crosshair drawled as he joined the conversation, “Sure there are a lot of regulations but… most of the time cadets can get away with a lot of things. Bullying included. Because, here… here we are what some of them call aruetii.”

No one said anything after that sentence, but Hunter could feel the churning emotions in the air, it was suffocating. It clearly affected Mouse, who was suddenly sobbing, “Oh Mouse, I’m sorry, please don’t cry.” Nokt jumped in quickly, kneeling down in front of his brother, putting his hand on Mouse’s chest, “I apologise General Plo, the smells in the room just… got too loud.”

Wrecker moved and scooped up the small trooper and hugged him, Mouse burying his face in Wrecker’s shoulder, “He smells emotions… sometimes… when a strong, negative feeling is felt by multiple people… it makes him so sad.” Clicker said softly.

“I apologise young one, it was not my intention to cause you any emotional pain.” General Plo said gently, “It is very disheartening to hear about the pain and suffering you all have suffered at the hands of people who should stand beside you. And to hear that they used such a… terrible word, that brings nothing but pain with it, against you.”

“I doubt we will have to deal with many bullies after this incident.” Tech finally spoke, he had his nose in his datapad, trying to hide his emotions behind the screen. “Given the demeaner that Stitches displayed when he found and detained the bullies.”

“What did he do?” Wolffe asked with narrowed eyes.

“Uh… scared the living daylights out of them.” Hunter rubbed the back of his neck, “And… anyone watching the feed.”

“He does seem to be that sort.” General Plo chuckled, “Have you been told when you will be returning to active-duty sergeants?”

“Clicker is the only one who needs to be released from here.” Hunter replied, “Stitches says he should be out of here soon.”

“That is very good news, I look forward to working along side each of you once again.” The General said.

“We look forward to working with you General.” Nokt smiled, “And you Commander Wolffe.”

They all saluted the General and Commander before they left, “We should disperse before Stitches gets back.” Nokt sighed.

“Agreed. Nokt, can I talk to you?” Hunter looked to the younger sergeant, who’s face erupted in a blush, “If you don’t want to…”

“N… no, it’s okay.” Nokt replied, and Hunter could see the cheeky smiles shared between Mouse and Clicker, “Let’s… let’s get going… shall we?” he said, trying to ignore his two brothers, who clearly knew something that Nokt didn’t want vocalized.

They met Stitches on their way out of the ward, “Finished are you?” the medic asked with a frown.

“Yep, we’ve cleared the room. I think only Crosshair is left in the room with Clicker.” Hunter replied, “Don’t worry, he’s very quiet.”

“He really is.”

“Hm.”

Chapter 34: Awkward talk

Notes:

The side of childhood abuse and bullying that no one really talks about in media.

Emotional attachments.

Chapter Text

“You… wanted to talk with me?” Nokt asked as they walked back to the bunk rooms.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you…” Hunter sighed, “It wasn’t my intention and I feel bad for it.”

“Oh… you… you don’t have to apologise, as I said I get embarrassed very quickly.” Nokt rubbed the back of his neck, his blush making its return appearance, as they entered the Night Stalker’s bunk room first, “Mouse and Clicker like to tease me about it… a lot.”

“What did you mean by, it’s not that?” Hunter was genuinely curious at this point, he didn’t want to make the young sergeant uncomfortable by his line of questions, he just believed it would be better to air out the room before things got too uncomfortable between both parties involved.

“I…” Nokt started but stopped his sentence off with a sigh, “I have…” he stopped again, “Maker this is embarrassing… I have issues with emotional attachments because of the bullying. Sometimes, if someone… treats me like you do… the part of me that struggles because of the bullying… jumps straight past familial attachment… and straight into more uncomfortable ideas of attachment.”

Hunter couldn’t answer, he just stared at him as he tried to process what was being said, “Ah. That would explain that then.” He finally managed, “Has this… happened before to you?” Nokt blushed more and nodded as he fidgeted with his fingers, “Would it be rude of me to ask who?”

“G… General Windu.” He replied so quietly that Hunter wasn’t sure he’d actually spoken, “But… but he helped me to quieten that part of myself, but… you have treated me and my brothers… better than any other clone ever has… and I slipped a little.” He seemed very flustered, “I… I don’t want this to strain our familial relationship… I don’t want to be an embarrassment.”

“Nokt… you are not an embarrassment.” Hunter said softly, “You are reacting to trauma, and that is not your fault… it was never your fault.”

“But…” Nokt blushed more.

“But nothing Nokt. You are you, dents and cracks included.” Hunter smiled, placing his hand on the younger sergeant’s shoulder, “I am very glad you told me, because I didn’t want things to get in the way of our bond. You are my brother, and nothing will change that.”

“O… Okay.” Nokt smiled, “Thank you Hunter.”

“No problem.” Hunter replied, “But I have one thing to ask.”

“W… what?” Nokt blushed again.

“Why General Windu? When General Kenobi is so much prettier?” He grinned, “Or that’s what Cody thinks anyway.”

“I… oh… well… he’s… more mature.” Nokt replied softly, but a small smile was on his features, “He seems safe, and solid. So… in control of himself and any situation he or his troops find themselves in.”

“He is that, I’ll hand it to you.” Hunter chuckled, “Again, thank you for telling me, for trusting me with this.”

“And… thank you for… not reacting badly.”

“I would never.”

Chapter 35: Prepping to leave

Chapter Text

“Do you know when you’ll be shipping out?” Commander Wolffe asked as they stood outside the Marauder.

“Stitches is giving Mouse his finally exam, so we should be able to leave after it.” Hunter replied, the medic had speed run Mouse through field medic training, but according to Mouse, he learned more than he needed to pass. Either Stitches was a good teacher, or Mouse was just really good at remembering these things, maybe both, “It will be good to have someone with actual training, we’ve been getting by on the basics.”

“I agree.” The Commander paused, as if in thought, “Did you and the rest of your batch suffer the same level of abuse that the Night Stalkers have?”

Hunter sighed, “No… but we have had our own set of negative experiences, here… on Kamino.” He looked to the rest of the group, Clicker was watching everything Tech was doing, watching every little motion as the older clone set about tweaking something on the Marauder. Nokt, despite his embarrassment over his confession, was still talking to Wrecker and Crosshair, smiling and engaging in conversation with the two older clones. He wondered what that feeling was like for the young sergeant, when your brain tells you that that feeling you are experiencing is because someone is only nice to you because they… like you… even if they are family.

“Well, hopefully you will have less of a target on your backs, after what has transpired.” Wolffe frowned again.

“Did General Plo find out what became of the cadets?” Hunter looked to the Commander, whatever it was, it was one hundred percent going to be kinder than anything the Medic had in mind for them.

“They have been shipped off planet, and are being transferred to a small outpost, in the literal sheb-crack of nowhere.” Wolffe sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, “Probably safer for them.”

“You can say that again, Stitches was threatening to have them scraping barnacles off the supports of Tipoca with spoons for the rest of their lives.” Hunter grinned, and that was more than likely the nicest punishment he could come up with, “Even Commander Blitz gives him a wide berth, which is saying something.”

“He’s going to do that to the wrong person, and it will not end well for him.” Wolffe frowned.

“He’s laid Crosshair out twice, in front of a large audience and no one said anything.” Hunter frowned as well, was it because everyone was genuinely scared of the medic? Why was he so aggressive? Mouse had almost drawn his ire when he asked what appeared to be a very personal question… would he have reacted aggressively against Mouse? He really wanted to doubt it, but he didn’t know the medic that much… he wondered if that was a defense tactic? Similar to Crosshair’s aggression? He didn’t know, but Mouse came trotting up to them a huge grin plastered to his face, “Well?” he smiled.

‘I passed, I’m a field medic.’

Chapter 36: New mission and a domestic Mouse

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled as he watched Tech teach Clicker how to fly the Marauder, the young clone was watching and taking in every little thing that Tech said, every motion he made. He must want to be a pilot, or at least learn so he could use a ship to get him and his brothers out of danger if they were separated from the Batch, or to pilot the Marauder if something happened while they were out on mission. Crosshair and Wrecker were talking with Nokt as they examined the information given to them by General Plo, none of them had ever been to the planet, even the Republic had little in the way of information… all they knew was that it was a swamp, and the forward scouts that were sent had gone missing, presumed dead.

He sighed softly and turned around to walk into the galley, where he was surprised to find Mouse doing chores, this part of the ship was pretty much spotless, everything had been cleaned in an hour. Now, he was sitting on Gonky, possibly so he could reach the high places, and he was humming to himself as he sorted through ration packs, he would sniff them and put them in separate piles, making squeaking noises to Gonky every now and again, the droid replying enthusiastically, obviously happy that someone was at least conversing with him. “What are you doing Mouse?” He asked softly as he walked up to them, looking at the ration packs on the countertop, they seemed to be sorted into flavors, but there was another… slightly bigger pile on the floor.

‘They are bad, out of date by a bout a standard year.’ Mouse explained, ‘I like organizing, and nothing in this ship is organized.’

Hunter chuckled, “Crosshair usually does it.”

‘Not very well. Given the situation with the ration packs.’ Mouse looked to him, ‘I.’ he paused as something became apparent to him. He squeaked and jumped a little, ‘I.’ he paused again as he tried to make his hands and brain work together, ‘I didn’t mean to be rude, or clean without telling you, or speak like that. Please don’t be mad.’

“Why would I…?” Hunter blinked, then sighed, “It’s okay Mouse, I’m not mad.”

‘You aren’t?’ he looked unsure.

“I’m not.” Hunter smiled in return, which allowed Mouse to relax a little, “Did you clean everything up?”

Mouse nodded, ‘Gonky helped me.’ He looked down to the droid he was sitting on, ‘I.’ he paused, ‘Please don’t be mad, but I could smell your laundry and.’ He paused again, ‘I washed it.’

“You washed our blacks?” Hunter asked, slightly stunned, Mouse nodded shyly, “I was wondering why the ship smelled better, man we really have gone nose blind.” He grinned, “Thank you Mouse.” Mouse blushed. “So, how are you feeling, going out into the big wide galaxy as a certified field medic?”

‘I.’ he paused and sighed a little, ‘Scared and excited. I want to help, but I’m scared that I’ll mess up.’

Hunter sighed a little and leaned against the countertop, “I can understand that, but I have faith in you, your brothers do, my brothers do too, and from what I can gather, Stitches does too.” He put his hand on Mouse’s shoulder, “And that seems to be a big thing.”

‘I hope I can make you all proud.’ He looked down to Gonky again.

“Gonk!” The droid bounced him.

“Gonky has faith in you too.” Hunter chuckled, “And that’s the one that matters.”

‘I guess so.’ Mouse replied then patted Gonky’s chassis.

“Now, let’s dispose of these and go make a plan for the mission.” He smiled again, and with help from Mouse, they picked up the expired ration packs and put them in the waste bin. Mouse gave Gonky a hug before they went to join the rest of the group, and Hunter couldn’t help but soften at the sight, “I don’t think Gonky’s gotten this much attention before.”

‘I like him.’ Mouse bounced a little as they walked, ‘He reminds me of Minnow.’

“How did you come up with her name?” Hunter asked.

‘It was a joke between me and Commander Ponds, I slipped her under his arm whenever he had some shuteye.’ Mouse giggled, ‘And apparently minnows are little fish that live in ponds, so the Commander thought it was a good name for her.’

Hunter chuckled, “He was a good man, and apparently one with a sense of humor.”

“Who was?” Wrecker asked as they met up with the group in the cockpit.

“Commander Ponds.” Hunter replied, “So. Do we have any information on this… planet? Moon?”

“It is a swamp planet that is orbiting a singular solar body, though it is quite a distance from it. Its axis is quite extreme so there is probably little change between day and night for much of its rotation around the solar body.” Tech said, his nose in his datapad “It is orbited by three moons, which will affect the seasonal extremes.”

“Did… did anyone understand a word that came out of his mouth?” Wrecker asked after a moment of silence.

“In simple terms, it is a cold, dark swamp planet.” Nokt explained.

“Not dark, more likely in a state of constant shifting between dawn and twilight.” Tech continued, “It will be low light conditions, but not so much that it will hinder our eyesight too much.”

“And me?” Nokt asked.

“It will be hard to calculate until we actually break atmosphere.” Tech looked up finally, and Hunter could see the frown on his face when he realised the looks he was getting from most of the group. Mouse and Wrecker seemed to be having the most trouble with the resident genius’ big words and phrases, they looked at each other and Wrecker gave a confused shrug to the small trooper. Seeing Mouse standing beside Wrecker was hilarious, one was an oversized clone, the other was tiny.

It was like a bad joke.

Chapter 37: Heights and local wildlife

Chapter Text

“I do hope no one other than Mouse is afraid of heights.” Nokt said from the front of the group, “Because it’s a long way down.”

Hunter arrived beside him and looked over the ledge, he couldn’t see the bottom, so he had to trust Nokt’s word on it, “The instillation is at the other end of the gorge, Tech, does this wrap around to it?”

“Preliminary scans do indicate that it does, though the width of the ledge is up for debate.” Tech replied, his nose in his datapad.

Crosshair moved up to them and dropped down his rangefinder, and Hunter watched as it cycled through it’s enhancements, “Seems to be serviceable for the most part. Some narrow parts, but as long as no one panics it should be fine.”

They all looked at Mouse and Wrecker, the giant had Mouse in his arms, “You know what guys, we… uh… we’ll go keep an eye on Clicker!” Wrecker said, and Mouse nodded quickly, “Don’t… don’t need all of us… do we?”

“Come on big guy, we’ll need both you and Mouse.” Hunter sighed, “The trick is just to not look down.”

“Easy for him to say.” Wrecker grumbled, earning another nod from Mouse.

Hunter swore under his breath, he didn’t need this, “Don’t fall behind.” He sighed again, then moved to follow Nokt along the ledge. The young sergeant moved quiet easily along the ledge that narrowed and widened randomly, “How are you feeling?” He asked Nokt, he knew he could have this conversation because the others were a fair bit behind them, “After our discussion?”

“I’m… I’m okay.” Nokt replied shyly, and Hunter could practically hear the blush the younger clone was wearing, “I know we could joke about it… but it isn’t pleasant… when your brain equates someone being kind… to… that.”

“What did General Windu say?” He was surprised with himself that he didn’t ask it the last time.

“I admitted what I was feeling… and why I was feeling it.” Nokt sighed and stopped walking, “He was very kind, he didn’t react negatively or anything like that. He talked to me and said something similar to you, that he was glad I said something before things got too… uncomfortable. I’m… not even an adult yet… well… as much as any clone is… but he is so much older. And once he explained everything, I realised that there were so many things wrong with it.”

“Nokt…” Hunter started.

“But… he helped me quieten that part of me, he showed me how to calm down…sometimes I still feel that way about him… but I’m able to acknowledge it as a dangerous reaction, that could get me hurt… badly… if the person reacts negatively to it…” Nokt’s voice carried a small smile, “I’m lucky that it happened to two people who were nice, who were very understanding of the circumstances that lead to it.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone.” Hunter replied, putting his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “And I’m sure they’ll make you happy.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt nodded, “The others are catching up. Wrecker and Mouse are with them, though, from what I can see… they are not happy about it.”

“Mouse and Wrecker are physically opposites, but they are so alike, that it’s actually scary.” Hunter chuckled.

“That they are.” Nokt replied, “What took you all so long?” He called to the approaching group.

“Had to bully those two.” Crosshair drawled, motioning to Wrecker and Mouse, “Wrecker said he’s not scared, he just has an issue with gravity.”

“Mouse was refreshingly honest about his fear.” Tech said, he’d put his datapad away for this leg of the journey, “Though the probability of losing one’s footing decreases the calmer you approach the issue.”

“It’s not that far, just don’t look down.” Nokt said to Wrecker and Mouse, who both grumbled.

Hunter sighed and looked towards their destination, hopefully the clankers hadn’t noticed them but there wasn’t any shooting, so they probably hadn’t, “We should keep moving, don’t want to be spotted by patrols.” He looked back at the group. They all started walking again, the ledge doing what it so pleased in terms of slope or width, and more than once they had to press themselves against the face of the rock and side step along a particularly thin part. He felt his heart go weird, something was emitting a nauseating electromagnetic frequency, he felt sick and his stomach cramped, “I don’t know what the kriff they’re using… but it is not pleasant.”

He heard Mouse make a small squeak, maybe something smelled wrong? “Judging by my scans, they are running a shield generator, though I am unsure of its fuel source.” Tech explained, “It may be one of the natural gases or mineral deposits.”

Mouse squeaked again, “Mouse says it smells like burning gas.” Wrecker said. Great, both Mouse and Hunter were playing with half a deck, he really hoped that this would be an easy mission, and that the others would pick up the slack caused by him and Mouse.

“This is an odd shielding unit then, running on gas rather than the standard energy cores.” Tech sounded intrigued.

“Less gushing, how do we disable it?” Hunter asked, “If it runs on…”

He was cut off by Mouse squeaking, “Uh… guys?” Wrecker said, “We have a problem.”

“We have something big and mean incoming!” Crosshair hissed, “Like, really big and mean.”

“And there are a bunch of things gathering in the basin below us.” Nokt had his gaze pointed down, “They look like very large worms with a lot of teeth.”

The ground rumbled under their feet, knocking loose stones and debris down on top of them and down into the gorge, “Tech?” Hunter yelled back.

“It would appear that these gorges are not formed by atmospheric weathering, but by a large creature.” Tech didn’t sound all that pressed about the situation.

“Creature…?” Was all Hunter got out before the cliff beside him erupted.

Chapter 38: Cave in

Notes:

Damn it Hunter! DX

Chapter Text

Hunter was shaken awake by thin hands, “Hunter! Hunter come on!” a voice yelled as sound entered his perception of the galaxy, followed by the rumbles of the ground beneath him. “Mouse? Mouse are you with the others?” he realised that the voice belonged to Nokt, “Hunter’s hurt, we’re in a cave in… and there are those worm things outside…”

He heard the squeaking reply of Mouse, “N… Nokt?” He winced as he reached up to touch the sore spot on his head.

“Hunter?” he opened his eyes when those thin hands cupped his cheeks, meeting the concerned eye shines of Nokt.

“What… what happened? Where are we?” He sat up slowly.

“Woah! Easy, you really hurt your head.” Nokt put his hands on Hunter’s shoulders.

“I’m okay.” Hunter hissed, then looked to Nokt again, “Are you hurt?”

“W… what?” Nokt blinked, “N… No… I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Hunter asked, he couldn’t see very well, there was little light getting to them through the cave in. “You can tell me if you are hurt, I’m going to help you if I can.” He put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “You helped me, and I can help you if I can. Trust me Nokt’ika.”

“I…” Nokt started but stopped, those eye shines darting around as though he was at war with himself.

Hunter frowned, “I’m going to crack a glowstick.” He said, he didn’t know how badly the meagre light of a stick would hurt the young sergeant, but he had to find out what Nokt was hiding, “Show me.” He said, a little rougher than he meant to.

“Hunter… I’m fine. I swear I’m fine!” Nokt tried to back away but Hunter grabbed his wrist, “Please… please let me go!” He hadn’t meant to get physical with the younger sergeant, but he couldn’t help the spiraling fear that began to morph into anger, by the time he’d managed to grab hold of his control he had the smaller clone pinned to the ground.

Nokt was hysterical, pleading and crying, he could see the injury the young clone had been hiding, a sharp piece of rock had pierced his side, through the gap in his armor, Hunter couldn’t breathe, “Maker… Nokt… I’m sorry!” He let go of Nokt, “I didn’t… please, I’m sorry!” There was only a brief noise to indicate the rubble had been moved, then before he could even think, the tiny frame of Mouse was on him. The small clone was trying to beat him up, but he was much smaller and his punches didn’t hit that hard in comparison to any other punch he’d received… but it was the sheer anger and defensive nature of the attack that made it hurt.

Mouse was so much smaller than any trooper Hunter had met, he was small and afraid… but lay a finger on his brothers…

“Mouse! Mouse stop!” Wrecker appeared and wrangled the small, squirming clone off of Hunter, but Mouse kept screaming.

And Nokt kept crying.

Chapter 39: Cave in apologies

Chapter Text

Hunter felt pathetic, he had hurt a brother… a brother who was just trying to help. He sat huddled in the corner of the cave, his knees to his chest and his bandana pressed to the wound on his head, he hated himself… he hated the fact that he couldn’t help without getting too emotionally involved and… ruining everything. Nokt had stopped crying, Mouse had stopped attacking… Crosshair and Tech had arrived on scene, they were all a little banged up from the creature attack. It didn’t attack them, it was just making new paths… and they got in the way, man vs nature.

Nature wins.

Every time.

He curled his knees tighter against his chest and hid his face in his knees, he had ruined a bond in one fell swoop because… he was acting on his own insecurities and pain. He wanted to help Nokt, but his own damaged nature came out and made everything crumble… he wanted to apologise but there were no words to convey the sheer desperation he felt in his need to make things right. He jumped a mile when a small hand appeared on his head, followed by small squeaks and he looked up to see Mouse standing beside him, the small clone stood there for a moment before explaining himself, ‘I can smell your sadness.’ He looked to Nokt and the others, ‘I know how sorry you are. I know you didn’t mean to do that, but Nokt has very bad memories of things like that. Done by people who meant it and didn’t stop.’ Mouse looked back to him again, ‘He knows you didn’t mean it, that you weren’t going to hurt him. Not like so many others before.’

“What… what did they do?” Hunter chanced but Mouse simply shook his head, Hunter wasn’t sure he really wanted to know, “I can never apologise enough, or make anything better…” he winced when Mouse dabbed his head wound with a sterilizer wipe. Mouse worked quickly but with great care, and once he was happy enough with the cleanliness of the wound, he applied a bacta patch, and much to Hunter’s shock, put a sticker on his breast plate.

It was a cartoon tooka.

‘Nokt figured you’d like it.’ Mouse bounced, ‘He likes to think you love tooka. Probably so he can have something in common with you.’

“What?” Hunter blinked.

‘Nokt picked out the sticker for you.’ Mouse bounced again, and Hunter looked over to the young sergeant, who was receiving a Wrecker hug, Mouse sighed, ‘I should apologise for attacking you.’

“No.” Hunter said quickly, “No you shouldn’t, you did everything correctly. I hurt Nokt and you retaliated, I would do the same to anyone who hurt one of my brothers.”

‘You would be able to hit harder though.’ Mouse fidgeted with his bag strap.

“Try kicking next time. All your strength is in your legs.” Hunter sighed. Nokt shouldn’t forgive him, not that quickly, not after that.

Hunter hurt him

Chapter 40: Technical doohickies

Chapter Text

“Tech? Any idea how we’re going to get in there?” Hunter frowned as they all stared up at the impenetrable fortress before them, they had dispatched the droids outside, but now they had the facility in complete lockdown.

“Mouse has an idea.” Wrecker said from the back and they all looked at the small clone, who pointed to a deep set external vent cover a few meters from the ground.

“And how do you expect to get up there?” Tech asked, fixing his goggles, which Mouse copied. He had only recently started to do that, and Hunter wondered why he did, he didn’t wear goggles or any type of corrective lenses…

Mouse bounced and pointed to Wrecker, then to himself, then to the vent, “You are going to get Wrecker to throw you up there?” Nokt asked, crossing his arms, “You hate heights.” He was still a little jittery around Hunter, cautious, waiting for another attempt, Hunter both wanted and didn’t want to know what had happened to Nokt.

‘Do any of you have a better idea?’ Mouse asked before putting his hands on his hips, then continued, ‘I can get in and disable the door doohickie. Like last time but this time I will be careful.’

Nokt looked to Hunter, who looked to Crosshair, who had his rangefinder down as it cycled through its enhancements, “There are droids in the main hallway, lots of them, but none seem to be in the rooms either above or around it.” The sniper said, popping his rangefinder back up and looking at the group, “He will have a clear run to the security office, where he can disable the door doohickie.”

“I’m… not happy with this plan… but if you think you can do it and stay safe…” Nokt tightened his grip on his biceps, “Hunter?”

Hunter looked at Mouse, “Tech, will this plan work?”

“I can talk him through it like I did before.” Tech replied, his nose in his datapad.

“Are you sure you can do this safely?” He looked to the small clone again, who nodded, “Okay… Wrecker. Get… ready to throw a small clone.” Mouse bounced happily and was in Wrecker’s hold in a nanosecond, “Why do I get the feeling you’re doing this solely because you want to be thrown by Wrecker again?” He smiled under his helmet when Mouse giggled in response, “You are the first person I have ever met you enjoys it.”

Hunter watched the small, squeaking clone sail up through the air, landing precariously on the lip of the cover, which he opened swiftly and vanished from sight. He looked to Nokt as Tech started to talk to Mouse, “I’m scared he’ll get hurt again.” Nokt said, he didn’t move his gaze from the vent cover, “I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“He knows to be careful this time.” Hunter replied gently.

“I… I know.” Nokt sighed.

Hunter stared at him briefly before averting his gaze, the others were away from them, “I do like tookas by the way.” He said, “We can’t have any because I’m allergic to their fur, but Lula is a good substitute.”

“O… oh.” Nokt stammered, he was most definitely blushing like crazy.

“Nokt… I… will never be able to apologise enough for my actions.” He sighed, “I won’t be able to make up for what I did, I just… let my own past take over. I try to fix things but I get too emotionally involved and… I overreact.”

“I…” Nokt sighed, “I know. I was scared and hysterical… but I could tell that you didn’t want to hurt me… I just…”

“Yeah. Mouse said you had some bad experiences. Didn’t say what… but I can guess it wasn’t pleasant.” Hunter sighed also.

“No… it wasn’t.” Nokt said so softly that Hunter wasn’t sure he’d actually heard the young sergeant.

“We can sit down and have a heart-to-heart once we get out of here, if you want.” He said gently, “Does that sound like something you would be okay with doing?”

Nokt looked to him, “I… I would like that.” He sounded relieved and his whole form relaxed a little.

“Okay.” Hunter gently put a hand on Nokt’s shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, “Right, we should go see if Tech and Mouse have made any headway.”

“Of course.” Nokt nodded and they both returned to the main group, Tech was still talking to Mouse over comms and Hunter could hear the small squeaks from the tiny trooper.

“I’m going to link up to your feed, this seems far more complicated than I anticipated.” Tech sounded slightly annoyed as he typed away at his wrist terminal. Hunter wondered what it was like for Mouse, not being able to read, how did letters and numbers appear to him? Most troopers learned to read and write at a very young age, so Hunter couldn’t remember what it was like not being able to read, he doubted Tech even believed that he was never able to read. “It appears that this system is older than most systems I am used to.” Tech’s voice carried a frown, “So not only are they using an older method of energy production, they are using a very old internal system of networks.”

“Which means?” Hunter crossed his arms, looking to Tech.

Mouse was clearly using Tech’s connection to his feed to talk to him, “No, mashing random buttons will not help, nor will mashing the random… doohickies… in the room.” Hunter snorted a laugh, Tech was speaking to a young clone, with no literacy abilities and an apparent limit on his understanding of techno babble.

He may as well be speaking shyriiwook to him, for all the sense he was making.

“I would need to connect…” Tech paused, “You have something that might do that?” Hunter looked to Nokt, who shrugged confused, the other two were no help either, “Where did you get one of those? From my tools? Fascinating.”

“Uh… what?”

Chapter 41: Thumper

Chapter Text

The complex vibrated constantly and Hunter could hear the clankers talking about something, “Tech, what’s a thumper?” Nokt asked, “Is it something to do with the worm thing?”

“A thumper is a ground impact system. Using a heavy piston, the device sends strong vibrations into the ground which seems to frighten and ward off a variety of subterranean creatures, seemingly the creature outside is also affected by it.” Tech replied, “Judging by the ground vibrations we are experiencing, it must be applying a dynamic load of up to 26.7 kN and in the frequency range of 0-225 Hz.”

“What?” Wrecker asked.

“In small words… I am really glad Clicker isn’t here.” Nokt replied, Hunter hadn’t thought of that, how would these vibrations affect the young clone? It wasn’t pleasant for them, Hunter could feel a headache forming behind his eyes, “Mouse? You having any luck?” The tiny trooper squeaked in reply over the comms, he was crawling through the vents, trying to locate the prisoners he’d caught track of while he was breaking in. Every single one of them had been surprised by Mouse, he had obviously been paying attention to things Tech had talked about, because he correctly picked up one of Tech’s hacking tools, one that would allow Tech to remotely access the terminal.

“How do you navigate those vents without the use of a hud map?” Tech asked, he was obviously still connected to Mouse’s visual feed, “You memorized the layout I found?”

“He's our pathfinder after all.” Nokt’s voice carried his smile.

“Less chatter, we’re trying to not be caught, remember?” Crosshair hissed from up ahead, “Or am I the only one who got that memo?”

A frightened squeak came across all their comms, “Mouse?” Hunter froze, was the small clone in danger? What he attacked?

“Mouse… has located the prisoners…” Tech said slowly, “And… they are not…”

“Mouse, rendezvous with us. There’s nothing you can do for them.” Hunter bit his lip, “Do you have our location?” A sad squeak came through the link, “I know, we were all too late to help them.”

“I will send you the coordinates of our objective, can you find it?” Tech asked, he more than likely had to close off the feed connection, another squeak came over the line, “We shall meet you there.”

Hunter would be the first to admit that B-1 droids were not exactly the sharpest tools in the armory, but this cluster of them was making the rest of them look like geniuses, they never stopped talking and clearly never checked anywhere that wasn’t their little field of view, “Wrecker, if you would do the honor.” He motioned to the clankers, and watched as Wrecker tore through them like flimsy.

“Let’s get what we need and get the kark out of dodge.” Nokt sighed, “Something feels wrong with this place.”

“I am experiencing similar concerns.” Tech said, “It could be the gas they are using for power.”

“Lucky we have helmets then.”

“Exactly.”

Chapter 42: Daring escape

Chapter Text

“Uh… Tech? Was that supposed to turn the thumper off?” was all Hunter got out before the entire complex shook violently, “Never mind, we need to move!”

“If that was the only thing keeping that worm thing from totaling this place, did we just open the door for it?” Nokt asked as they ran through the shaking and shuddering building.

“In a sense yes.” Tech replied, “I theorize that the creature is creating paths towards active food sources, but because of the thumper, it had to take the long way around. With that disabled it can take the path of least resistance.”

“But… aren’t we on top of a gas field?” Crosshair hissed.

“We are, which means the creature may be feeding on the mineral deposits formed in the gas vents.” Tech had his face in his datapad, “Or, it could be feeding on the gas itself.”

“Tech…” Hunter started but the who building jolted and tilted, sending them crashing against the wall, “This place is going down.”

“We have to get to stable ground, what’s the fastest way outside?” Nokt looked to Mouse and Tech, the tiny clone looked up at Tech, then looked back at Nokt, then motioned for them all to follow him, “Let’s hope the Marauder is still on solid ground.”

“Clicker hasn’t contacted us, so nothing’s happened.” Hunter replied, “Hopefully.”

“He…” Nokt started but suddenly the lights went dead, leaving them in complete darkness save for red emergency lights, “Stick with us, we’ll get us outside.” Hunter nodded.

The building groaned and shifted with every passing second, but soon they saw a shaft of natural light and they were outside, where they saw the next huge problem. “Uh… where’s the terrain?” Wrecker asked, the cliff face the complex was built on was now free standing as the creature moved around, probably trying to figure out the best way to eat the building.

“That… this is not good!” Nokt looked to Hunter, his hand wrapped around Mouse’s, “What do we do?”

“Tech?” He looked to his brother, “Now would be a good time for ideas!”

“I am thinking…” Tech started but they were all silenced by the loud, approaching form of the Marauder.

The ship came to a wobbly stop and the steps descended, “Go!” Hunter yelled, ushering them all onto the ship. He had barely jumped to the lowest step when the building finally fell away, causing a massive burst of foul-smelling gas to erupt, leaving Hunter gagging slightly as he scaled the steps in record time. The seal engaging made his ears pop, and he struggled to breathe past the gags and developing headache, “G… get us out of here.” He sank to the floor and took off his helmet, he could hear Mouse, the poor kid was throwing up, Hunter didn’t even want to know what it was like for Mouse, given how bad it was for himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes closed.

They were alive.

Somehow.

Chapter 43: Same as

Chapter Text

Hunter had no idea where he was or what had happened when reality came back to him, but what he did know, was that there was a small body lying on him. He chanced opening his eyes, surprised when he realised that the lights were dimmed considerably, and he saw that the small body lying on him was, in fact, Mouse. He looked as awful as Hunter felt, and he wondered if the others had been as badly affected as they were, or had they gotten away from the mission without issue? He slowly raised his hand to massage his forehead, and blinked when he was made aware of the canula in the crook of his elbow, he blinked and noticed one on the back of Mouse’s hand, what the actual kriff happened? He winced at the sound of a door sliding open somewhere in the room, “Hunter?” a voice followed the door sliding shut, and he blinked away the stars caused by the sudden appearance and disappearance of blinding light. The figure that appeared was Nokt, “Tech just left, he was here for a while but he had to go talk with the doc.” The young sergeant said softly.

“What happened? Where are we?” Hunter swallowed thickly, his mouth felt and tasted like something furry had died in it.

“We’re back with the Fifth Fleet, you collapsed once we got onto the Marauder. Like Mouse, you then proceed to violently evacuate your stomach.” Nokt replied, “Which is why you have the I.V. drips, the doc wanted to replenish your fluids.”

“It was really bad for me, I can’t imagine what it was like for him.” He sighed, then his brain caught up, “Are you okay? Is everyone okay?” He asked quickly.

“Yeah, we’re okay. Both you and Mouse were caught in the gas burst, but luckily your helmets took the brunt of it… otherwise you would have died.” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers.

“Nokt… I need to really apologise for what I did.” Hunter sighed, “It was horrible and disgusting of me, and I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know.” Nokt replied and sat on the edge of the cot, “They… other cadets our age, sometimes older ones, used to pin me to the ground like that… threatened my body with knives. Sometimes they made good on their threats when I didn’t do something they wanted…”

“Did… did they do anything… beyond that?” Hunter didn’t know why he asked, he didn’t want to know what perverse things a group of abusive, angry cadets would do to someone they had in that position.

“No. They didn’t.” Nokt sighed again, “There were a few threats… but nothing came of it, because we were rushed through training and sent out into the galaxy, partly because the Kaminoans didn’t want us to die before we could be sent into the field. Partly because 99 talked to Commander Colt, who talked to General Shaak Ti, who allowed us to speed run training and take the final exams before we were of graduating age.” Nokt took off his goggles to clean them, then huffed a laugh, “To think, we’re doing better than some of our abusers. Mouse is a field medic… Clicker piloted the Marauder.”

“Wait… Clicker piloted the ship, on his own?” Hunter blinked, then a grin spread across his face when Nokt nodded.

The young clone had watched and learned from Tech, and could now pilot the Marauder on his own, “He heard us in trouble and had to come save us.” Nokt replied softly, “I’m so proud of my brothers.”

“And they are proud of you Nokt.” Hunter put his hand on Nokt’s arm, which drew those eye shines to look at him, “And so am I.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt smiled, “And thank you for not… for not being like those cadets.”

“Nokt… I would never do that to you.” Hunter gave Nokt’s arm a gentle squeeze, “I panicked, and I fell back on old habits. When we were cadets, Crosshair and Tech used to get bullied too, they were easy targets in comparison to Wrecker. I wasn’t subjected to the bullying as often, but I was the one who tried to help and fix things. Every time either Cross or Tech came back with a black eye… or a busted lip, I tried to fix it and make it better, but I usually only made it worse.”

“Such is the curse of being the older sibling I suppose.” Nokt sighed, “I used to do that too. I got so worked up that I would end up with stress headaches.”

“Same as.” Hunter chuckled, then looked to Mouse as the small clone made a small noise, wiped his eyes, sighed and stilled again.

“I have no idea why he does that. He only does it if he’s sleeping on someone.” Nokt smiled again, “It could be that he’s surfacing to smell the condition of the other party.”

“Mouse, you’re supposed to be sleeping, not checking up on us.” Hunter smiled, massaging Mouse’s small back, which, alongside the rumbling of his chest, robbed the small clone’s frame of any tension.

“He loves the vibrations of another person when they talk. I think that’s why he likes sleeping on the human equivalent of a mining drill.” Nokt chuckled, which earned a chuckle from Hunter, which earned a small happy noise from Mouse. He really was keeping tabs on the emotional state of the room, was it a conscious thing? Or was it a survival trait that meant he wouldn’t be caught off guard by a sudden threat? He didn’t know, but it was adorable… even if the young trooper was supposed to be sleeping, to be resting, and not making sure his brothers or appointed cuddle buddy was still happy.

“Mouse is a field medic, Clicker’s gunning to be a pilot.” He smiled, “Now we just have to find you something.”

“I think I’ll stick with Sergeant for now.”

“Same as.”

Chapter 44: Leaving medical

Notes:

The smol boys are hoping everyone is okay and wants you to know that they're proud of you all.

Chapter Text

When Hunter awoke again, his headache was gone as was the furry feeling in his mouth, he looked down and saw that Mouse was still down for the count. He was snoring softly and Minnow had made her entrance, she was now tucked under Mouse’s arm, but he had his hand right up against his mask, her tail clasped tightly in it and Hunter could tell that if he wasn’t confined to his mask, he would more than likely have her tail in his mouth. “He had an adverse reaction to the gas.” Crosshair’s voice alerted him to the sniper’s presence in the room, “He woke up briefly, complaining of pain, so the doc has him on some pain relievers as well as fluid.”

“Will he be okay?” He asked, smiling at the small happy noise from Mouse, he really did like the rumble.

“The doc says he should be okay after some sleep and the drip.” Crosshair stood up and walked over to the cot, “How are you feeling?”

“Much better.” He sighed, “What did the General say?”

“Tech got the data and schematics needed, and Commander Wolffe said that the compound would have been a target if nature hadn’t done the job for them.” Was the reply, “Apparently the locals call it a Big Grue.”

“A Big Grue?” Hunter asked, his eyebrow raised.

“Yep, apparently the smaller ones are also Grues, just Little Grues. The big ones eat terrain and the little ones eat people.” Crosshair drawled, “According to Tech, a lot of locals have signs on tunnels where the little ones are one to hide, ‘It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.’ because that’s a thing.”

“Sounds like one of those text-adventure games Wrecker used to play.” Hunter chuckled, earning another small noise from Mouse. The small clone stirred and wiped his eyes before looking up to Hunter, then to Crosshair, “Hello Mouse.” Hunter smiled, and Mouse squeaked a hello and waved, “Feeling better?”

Mouse nodded slowly and wiped his eyes again, Minnow’s tail was very useful in that department, “Shall I go fetch the doc so he can see how you feel?” Crosshair asked, and Mouse nodded again, “Be right back.” Hunter looked to Mouse, who was still trying to wipe his eyes, a small yawn escaping him.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, I was very worried about you.” He said to the small clone, Mouse looked to him again, put his hand on his chest then touched his mask, “Yeah. I’m feeling better too.” Mouse bounced happily and hugged him. Hunter smiled and gave the small clone a hug in return, “I don’t know about you, but right now I could eat more than Wrecker could!” he chuckled, earning a giggle from Mouse. The doc was in and out in a relatively quick fashion, giving them the once over, unplugged them from the I.V. cannulas, and then they were free to go.

Mission debriefing could wait.

Food first.

Chapter 45: Stickers for the General

Chapter Text

“I am relieved to see that you and Mouse have come out of this harrowing event unscathed.” Hunter looked to the General, they had met him as they made their way back to the Marauder and Mouse bounced happily as they walked, he seemed to like the Kel Dor, which probably meant the General smelled nice.

“Thank you General, we were very fortunate that it was only us two, and not the whole group, that were caught in the blast.” Hunter replied, “It would have been much more of a problem if that were to have happened.”

“Indeed.” General Plo replied, “Do you believe that you are able to return to duty?”

“The doctor gave us the all clear.” Hunter said with a smile and Mouse squeaked with a nod.

“That is good to hear.” General Plo’s voice carried a smile, “It appears that Master Kenobi will be giving you your next assignment. He has need of both Clone Force 99 and the Night Stalkers.”

“Did he say what the mission would entail sir?” Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No. But I am sure he will be most appreciative of the assistance, what ever it entails.” The General chuckled, “And hopefully you will stay away from natural gas vents.”

Mouse giggled a little, which made Hunter happy, that sound was almost as adorable as the small clone’s squeaks, “We will try sir.” He replied.

“That is all I can ask of you and your brothers.” He motioned to the Marauder as they approached the ship and the rest of the two groups, he and Mouse stood beside them as they faced the older man, “May the Force guide you where ever your mission takes you.”

“Thank you General.” Hunter said as they all saluted.

They were about to part ways before Mouse made a squeak, as though remembering something, then he rooted around in his bag and pulled out a sheet of stickers. He turned to the General and held up the sheet, squeaking slightly as he bounced, “A gift?” the General asked, his voice carrying that smile again and Mouse nodded happily as he squeaked. Hunter smiled softly and noticed Nokt was also watching with a small smile as the small clone gave the General a sticker, which the older man took and adhered to his bracer, “Thank you young one.” Mouse bounced and squeaked, then saluted the General.

Damn that trooper was adorable.

The all loaded into the Marauder, Mouse instantly going to Wrecker to excitedly tell him about the sticker now adorning the General’s armour. Hunter was surprised to see Clicker helping Tech prep the ship, not Crosshair as was usual, “Tech was very impressed by his flying.” Crosshair appeared beside him, “I think most of us are, given how he’d never done anything other than watch Tech do it.”

“Any idea what we’ll be doing for General Kenobi?” Hunter asked.

“No idea.” Cross shrugged, “But he asked for both groups, so…”

“Yeah… flying blind.”

“Again.”

Chapter 46: Terrible jokes

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Mouse, might I request a hand for a moment.” Tech’s voice came from the galley, which made Hunter curious as to what the resident genius could need from the small clone, so he exited the cockpit and looked to the group. After a moment of no reply, something was tossed at Tech, it was a limb…

It was Mouse’s prosthetic arm.

Mouse’s giggles alerted them to the joke, “This is not what I meant by that statement.” Tech replied with a frown as Mouse walked up to them, still giggling, Hunter didn’t know how long the young clone had had a prosthesis, but it was long enough for him to gauge the force behind his throws. He chuckled at the resident genius’ face, which was an unamused frown, made more unamused by Wrecker laughing, followed by a snort from Crosshair.

“You really need to be more specific ori’vod.” Nokt said as he chuckled, Hunter smiled, happiness warming his chest, the younger clones had started to learn mando’a.

Mouse took the limb from Tech, and set about re-attaching it, “I’m going to go out on a limb… and assume you didn’t… like that joke?” Clicker said softly, his voice carrying the laugh he couldn’t afford to muster, that earned more laughs from Wrecker and Crosshair, and giggles from Mouse.

Tech pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh, ‘What did you need?’ Mouse asked once he’d re-attached his arm.

“Seeing as you have sorted and organised the ship’s supplies, I was wondering if you had taken stock of what we have?” Tech asked as he fixed his goggles, which Mouse mimicked, Tech had informed them that it was more than likely echopraxia, ‘The involuntary imitation of the movements of another person’ as he informed them.

‘I counted everything, but it’s difficult to put that in a datapad when I can’t read.’ He paused, ‘Or write.’

“That is why I asked, I have created a prototype system for this situation.” He picked up his datapad again, “I figured that if we were going to be working together, and you mentioned that you enjoy that sort of thing, that I would make something that would help you in such tasks.” Mouse blinked and looked to Nokt, who nodded, and he went over to Tech. “I have programmed this datapad to use images rather than text.” Tech handed over the datapad, “Which should help you navigate stock-take, once I show you what the images correlate to what.” Mouse bounced happily, and Hunter smiled warmly.

Tech knew Mouse’s limitations when it came to these things, but he used his big brain to help the young clone, acknowledge those limitations and work around them. “Did… did the General say what… we’ll be doing for the 212th?” Clicker asked softly, he was getting better with his compulsion to clamp his hands down on his noise cancellers, and if no one was too loud, he didn’t do it with them.

“No. We’re going in blind.”

Notes:

I'm sorry! I had to make those jokes!

Chapter 47: It's cold

Chapter Text

“It is good to see you all again gentlemen, welcome to Hoth.” General Kenobi smiled gently, he was tightly wrapped in a fur rimmed parka, “I take it you have recovered from your… mistreatment on Kamino?”

“Y… Yes General.” Hunter replied, “You… heard about that?”

“Of course, Master Plo and Master Windu were very unhappy with the situation.” Kenobi replied, “As am I to be truthful, but I hope you find some form of comradery from my men.”

“We hope so too General.” Nokt nodded his head, and Hunter could hear Mouse smelling the air, possibly trying to find threats in the environment, which was covered in thick snow for as far as the eye could see… and then some, “General Plo said you have a mission for us, might we ask what it is?”

“Of course, I would not send you out without knowing what the mission entails.” Kenobi chuckled, “Come, let’s head in and get out of this dreadful cold.”

The troops and equipment were set up in a strange network of tunnels beneath the snow and into the permafrost, “It appears to be the remains of a wampa den.” Tech said, “Fascinating, it must have taken them a long time to make something this large and complex.”

“Wampa are… what exactly?” Wrecker asked.

“Wampa are carnivorous predatory reptomammals indigenous to the remote Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth.” Tech replied, “Primarily solitary hunters, wampas occasionally hunt in packs, preferring to ambush their prey from the camouflage of snow banks and blizzards.”

“They have gotten agitated in the past few weeks as their territories have been disturbed by the Separatist landing craft located several clicks north of here.” Commander Cody said as they approached the holotable, which was displaying a C-9979 landing craft, “We don’t know why they are out here, but it can’t be good.”

“Which is why we have requested your assistance gentlemen.” Kenobi spoke again, “We are unable to move our people in any timely fashion, even with our walkers, the terrain is far too treacherous.”

“And what is the plan for getting us there?” Nokt asked, “If you can’t get your people…”

“Tauntauns.” The General chuckled.

“Tauntauns?” They looked to Tech.

“They are a species of non-sentient reptomammals native to the snowy plains of Hoth.” Tech replied, “They are the primary food for wampas.”

“They are stubborn but they make for reliable mounts.” Kenobi chuckled again, “They will be able to get you across the terrain and to the landing craft.”

“Your mission is to find out what the Separatists want on Hoth, and to destroy the craft if possible.” Cody continued with the plan, “By using the tauntauns and utilizing a small group of troopers who specialise in this sort of mission, it will take the droids by surprise.”

“If all goes well that is.” Kenobi smiled, stroking his beard, and Hunter noticed Mouse trying very hard to not mimic the motion, it didn’t work, “Are you alright young one?”

‘Yes. Sorry sir.’

Chapter 48: It's very cold

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled as Mouse and Clicker ran up to the creatures called tauntauns, they were bouncing excitedly, even though Mouse looked like he was in a substantial amount of discomfort and as Hunter drew closer to them, he understood why… those things smelled horrendous. If they smelled this bad to him, he couldn’t even imagine how bad it was for the small clone, Hunter felt nauseous at the mere thought of it. Despite his discomfort, Mouse was right up beside one of them, he and Clicker were petting it, with Mouse making small squeaking noises and surprisingly the creature was perfectly fine with the two being right in its space.

“It is fascinating that those two can stand so close.” General Kenobi said as he stood beside Hunter and Nokt, “As prey animals tauntauns are naturally very skittish creatures and have not taken kindly to many of my troopers.”

“Maybe they aren’t seen as threats sir.” Hunter replied, “They’re small and Mouse is squeaking, so maybe they think they’re small rodents of some kind.”

“There are only two species of rodent native to Hoth, and they are the snowmouse and the ice scrabbler, snowmice are rarely seen by sentients but that does not mean the tauntauns have not seen them.” Tech said from beside Nokt.

“I’m more surprised that Mouse can stand to stand close.” Crosshair drawled.

“They are rather pungent I admit.” Kenobi chuckled, “The landing craft is several clicks to the north, it will be very cold, especially when the sun drops below the horizon.”

“Day time temperatures can reach a maximum of negative thirty-two degrees, while night time temperatures can sink as low as negative sixty-one degrees.” Tech explained, “It would be wise to break out our cold gear.”

“Was that ever not an option?” Crosshair frowned.

“Do you guys have cold gear?” Hunter looked to Nokt.

“We do, and might I suggest we put them on now, before I lose sensation in my extremities?” He chuckled, “Our body types are not designed for this level of cold.”

“I shall leave you to get geared up, come speak with me once you return.” Kenobi said with a smile before he left to join Cody.

“Mouse is going to freeze, even in his cold suit.” Nokt said, bouncing to try and get some heat back into his body, “Guys!” He called over to the two, “Come on, lets get geared up, then you can go back to talking to them.”

Mouse waved goodbye to the tauntaun and held Clicker’s hand as they approached the group, “So what do you think of them?” Wrecker grinned.

‘I like them. They smell so bad I feel sick, but I like them.’ Mouse replied.

“You are such a strange little Mouse.” Hunter chuckled, “Come on, let’s get suited up.”

“It’s very cold here.” Clicker said quietly.

‘I can’t feel my face anymore.’ Mouse bounced as they walked, ‘Everything smells so strange because of the snow.’

“What does it smell like?”

‘Smells clean.’

Chapter 49: It's really cold

Chapter Text

Mouse’s snow suit made it damn near impossible to see him in the white out conditions, which worked to their advantage when they needed someone to scout out ahead, luckily the snow wasn’t that deep in the area around the craft. The small clone appeared from apparent nowhere, even Clicker didn’t hear him approaching, which was saying a lot about his stealth capabilities, “What’s the situation?” Nokt asked before Hunter could open his mouth.

‘They don’t seem to be doing anything.’ Mouse replied, ‘It’s almost like they’re just waiting for something.’ He paused, ‘Or someone.’

“We’ll need to get to their central computer in order to figure out their plan.” Tech said.

“Did you get a number of guards?” Hunter asked and Mouse nodded, holding up all his fingers, then closed them and opened them again, “Twenty?” the small clone nodded again. “We should…”

“I can hear a… ship.” Clicker said from his position beside Wrecker and the tauntauns, “Wait… no I think they might be… vulture droids.”

“Can you tell how many?” Nokt asked his brother, but Clicker shook his head.

“The snow… is making the sounds all weird.” The young clone replied, “Muffled. It’s dampening the reverb… making it difficult to tell how many… or how far away they are.”

“Cross?” Hunter looked to the sniper, who popped down his rangefinder, cycling through its enhancements.

“I’m clocking around… fifteen.” Was the reply, “They’re about a click away and coming in fast.”

“They must be scouts, probably looking for the republic forces.” Nokt looked to Hunter, “But… I think because we have no drop ships on the surface and we’ve parked in a cave, they might not know where they are.”

“Yet.” Hunter frowned under his helmet.

‘What’s the plan?’ Mouse squeaked to get their attention, ‘Because I am freezing my sheb off here.’

“Language Mouse.” Nokt sighed.

‘Fine, I’m freezing my rear end off.’ Mouse huffed.

Hunter couldn’t stop the chuckle that left him, “You should hear Crosshair when he stubs his toe. It would make a long-hauler blush.”

“Says the man whose foul mouth could peel the coating off durasteel.” Crosshair drawled.

“We’re getting off topic.” Nokt interjected and looked to Hunter, “You are the senior officer here, what do you think we should do?”

“Cross, eta for those vultures?” He looked to the sniper.

“They’ll be flying over us in the next few minutes.” Crosshair replied.

“Clicker, what else can you hear?” He looked to the young clone, but he was staring off into space, because Hunter could feel the misfires in his brain, “Clicker?”

“Hey, Click’ika?” Wrecker asked, putting his hand on the short clone’s back.

“W… what?” Clicker asked when he finally came back.

“You went away.” Wrecker replied, “You feeling okay?”

“Mm.” Clicker nodded, “You… asked something of me Hunter?”

“Yeah, I wanted to know if you heard anything other than the vultures?” Hunter asked softly.

“O… Oh. No, just them.”

Hunter frowned, he was worried about Clicker, he wasn’t well.

At all.

Chapter 50: Words hurt

Chapter Text

“Hunter, it appears this craft belongs to the Techno Union.” Tech said from the console, “It seems they are testing something to do with sub-zero temperatures.”

“Why would they need to do that?” Hunter looked to Tech, who shrugged his shoulders.

“Whatever it is, it can’t be good.” Nokt crossed his arms, “They claim to be quote unquote neutral in this war, but I don’t buy it. They lobbied for an intensification of the war effort, and I can guarantee it was with the intention to create greater need for the Union's products by the GAR.”

“You know a lot about politics?” Hunter asked the young sergeant, it was only him, Tech and Nokt in the main terminal room, the other four were standing guard outside.

“I…” Nokt’s face was no doubt engulphed by a blush, “I studied a lot of the papers on the senate, when we had down time between missions I would… follow the news, read articles and the like…”

“So you have a good grasp on the political war being waged inside the senate?” Tech asked as he typed away.

“Mm.” Nokt nodded, “None of us were good at the lessons being taught by the kaminoans, but we are good at learning things that interest us.”

“I could never wrap my head politics.” Hunter sighed, “Too much paperwork, too many if ands or buts.”

“I find it interesting, though…” He paused, as it debating on whether or not to speak his thoughts.

“Though?” Hunter encouraged the young sergeant.

“I am not sure about the Supreme Chancellor.” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers, “He became chancellor after the Naboo crisis in 3255 LY, which is the year the first gen clones were born, and suddenly he was given emergency powers at the start of the Clone Wars? I don’t like him, he seems… slimy, manipulative…”

“Manipulative?” Hunter blinked.

“Once… when you have suffered the kind of abuse we have, where they made us believe it was our fault for it… you learn to spot manipulative personalities…”

“I would recommend you do not speak these concerns out loud.” Tech said, “You are speaking about the supreme chancellor, not some regular senator… which would not be a good idea to bad mouth either. I understand you suffered horribly, but I doubt projecting these perceived threats upon someone you have never met in person is a very good outlet strategy.”

“I’m not… I’m not trying to… I just get bad feelings in the back of my brain okay!” Nokt hissed but his voice broke a little, “I… he went from being a pacifist to ‘hey let’s use an army of brainwashed child soldiers.’ very quickly! I don’t like it and I don’t trust him, and I… I…”

Hunter moved quickly as Nokt started to hyperventilate, “Easy Nokt’ika. Easy, just breathe with me, in through your mouth and out through your nose.” He said as he took off his own helmet, then helped Nokt take his own off, “Match my breathing, in through your mouth, out through your nose… there you go.”

“I apologise Nokt, that was insensitive of me to say.” Tech sighed.

“No karking shit is was!” Nokt hiccupped, “Just because you struggle with the idea others have actual emotions does not give you the right to be a jerk!” he ripped himself from Hunter, “Next time I’ll just keep my stupid mouth shut! Would that make it easier for you!?”

“Nokt… wait!” Hunter called after the young sergeant as he stormed out of the room, no doubt looking for his brothers, “Nice one Tech.” he hissed at his brother.

“It was not my intention to upset him.” Tech fidgeted with his datapad.

“I know, but sometimes you have no brain to mouth filter.” Hunter sighed, “Did you get what we need?”

“Yes.” Tech shrank in on himself.

“Come on vod’ika, let’s go find the others and blow this thing sky high.” Hunter put his hand on Tech’s shoulder, and guided him out of the room and out to where the others were. Nokt was being held tight against Wrecker’s broad chest when they met up with the group again and Mouse moved between them and Tech, making an angry squeak at the older clone, “Easy Mouse.” Hunter walked to him, “We have what we need, are the explosives planted?”

“Enough to leave a crater.” Wrecker laughed, he hadn’t let go of Nokt and Hunter was wondering if the young sergeant could even breathe, given how tight the hold was.

“I hope… we don’t hurt any of the… fauna here.” Clicker said softly, “Some of them are quite interesting, we spotted a wampa about a klick away, Crosshair let me look through his scope.”

“Did he now?” Hunter chuckled, “He never let me look through his scope.”

“O… Oh, really?” Clicker looked to the sniper, who didn’t say anything in reply, merely keeping an eye out for trouble.

“Come on, the tauntaun are getting agitated.” The sniper said eventually.

The ride back to Republic lines was silent, save for the weird noises their mounts made, they really were weird creatures. Mouse was sitting in his lap and he could hear the sheer discomfort the tiny clone was experiencing through the weird noises his stomach was making, “Nearly there Mouse’ika.” He said gently, “I don’t think throwing up in sub-zero temperatures is a good idea.”

Mouse nodded slowly, ‘Why did Tech have to be mean to Nokt?’ was his question.

“Because sometimes he doesn’t think about what comes out of his mouth.” Hunter sighed, “Or how it will affect others.” Mouse made a small squeak of understanding. “But don’t worry, I’m sure things will be better when we get back and we get out of this very cold weather. Yeah?”

Mouse nodded again, ‘Tech is sorry for how he acted. I could smell it.’

“You are a hard one to fool I take it?” Hunter chuckled.

‘Words lie. Smells very rarely do.’ Mouse replied.

“Words hurt.” Hunter sighed.

‘Smells do too.’

Chapter 51: Jedi kindness

Chapter Text

Mouse had made a mad dash for the Marauder once they got back, more than likely to throw up, the others went with him because both Hunter and Nokt had to talk with Kenobi and Cody, “I take it the mission was a success gentlemen?” Kenobi asked with a smile.

“Yes sir.” Hunter nodded, “It appears that the Techno Union is behind the craft.”

“Oh?” Kenobi asked as he took the datapad offered by Hunter, “Interesting.”

“I am uneasy about this sir.” Nokt said, “I know they are making equipment for both sides of this conflict, and they claim neutrality…” he paused, “Permission to speak freely sir?”

“What is on your mind sergeant?” Kenobi looked to the younger clone, and Hunter felt a little uneasy about the situation. What would Nokt say to the General? Was he going to say what he said to Tech and him?

“I don’t think they’re neutral, they claim to be but they lobbied for an intensification of the war effort. They want this war to escalate and for it to get worse for the GAR.” Nokt said quickly, “I… I know I’m just a trooper, I don’t know anything about war or… or anything. I’m not a good soldier, me and my brothers barely pass as clones… but I have a feeling in the back of my head that they are separatists.” Hunter looked from the now hiccupping Nokt to Kenobi, the Jedi was silent as he stroked his beard, he could see Cody standing a little bit away from them and he did not look happy. “I… Maker… I shouldn’t have said that…” Nokt started to hyperventilate again, “I’m sorry General… I shouldn’t have said that!”

Before anyone could stop him, he was off like a shot and Hunter could practically feel the fear and panic radiating through the air left in his wake, “Nokt!” he called after the younger sergeant but he didn’t stop and soon he vanished from sight, “I’m sorry General, I… I need to help him.”

“Go, he is afraid and he needs someone he feels safe with.” Kenobi said, his voice soft and not at all angry.

“Thank you.” Hunter saluted and followed after Nokt, who he found huddled in the corner of the space the tauntauns were kept, “Nokt?” he asked gently, Nokt had his face buried in his knees and Hunter could hear the hiccupping sobs, “Oh Nokt’ika, it’s okay.” He sat down beside the younger clone.

“I… I shouldn’t have said that… I… Commander Cody is so angry…” Nokt’s voice was muffled by his knees, “First Tech… why can’t I just keep my stupid mouth closed.”

“Because you had a valid opinion and wanted to voice it.” Hunter sighed, then wrapped his arm around the younger sergeant’s shoulders, drawing him into his chest, “General Kenobi is worried about you though.”

“He should be furious with me.” Nokt hiccupped.

“Don’t know what to say, Jedi have a completely different vibe to the rest of us.” Hunter chuckled, which made Nokt fix his goggles and look at him, “I’d have an easier time learning to play the flute than I would trying to understand a Jedi and their way of seeing the galaxy.”

Nokt huffed a small laugh, “Yeah… I guess. I… I just… I’m afraid that I have…” he paused, “That I have destroyed any trust you may have had with the 212th.”

“Nah, it’ll take more than that.” Hunter hugged the younger clone tighter, “I think Cody is just pissed because you talked politics with a Jedi. Most clones don’t know druk, nor do they particularly want to know druk, about politics, except the Corries I would imagine.”

“The Coruscant Guard?” Nokt asked, and Hunter nodded.

“Yep, good bunch of guys from what I hear.” He chuckled a little, “Hopefully we don’t meet them because I can guarantee that Mouse will not leave unless he can have a massiff.”

“He does like animals, and they seem to like him.” Nokt sighed as they stood up, “I should go apologise to the General…”

“There is no need to apologise young one.” General Kenobi said as he walked up to them, “You asked for permission to speak freely and I granted it. You seem to know a sizable amount on the political standing of many parties.”

“I… I find it interesting… and I think it is something worth looking into. Especially when we’re at war, it’s a good idea to look at the political points of view of… both enemy and ally.” Nokt replied, fidgeting with his fingers, “Unlike the Bad Batch… me and my brothers… we’re not good at the whole ‘war’ thing.”

“I understand.” Kenobi replied with a smile, “And I thank you for your input on the situation with the Techno Union, many of us Jedi have been uneasy about their apparent neutrality.”

Nokt looked at Kenobi, then at Hunter, then back to Kenobi, “O… oh.” He hiccupped again, he seemed to have the same issue as Mouse did, hiccupping when he was feeling upset or stressed, “Still, I should apologise for… the way I spoke if not what I said. So… I apologise General Kenobi.” He saluted, standing ram-rod straight.

“And I accept it, even if there is nothing to forgive.” Kenobi smiled, “Now, I suspect the wave of distress I am feeling, coming from your ship, is your brother Mouse?”

“Yes… he didn’t have fun on the tauntauns.” Hunter said, “They smell bad to us, but it smells a lot worse for him.”

“He’s probably feeling very unwell, probably throwing up… it’s why he made a break for the ship when we got back.” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers again.

“Where is your next mission taking you?” Kenobi asked as they walked through the network of tunnels.

“We’re heading back to Kamino for debriefing.” Hunter replied, “And you sir?”

“Heading on a mission with General Skywalker to help a fellow Jedi and his crew.” Kenobi replied.

“Who?”

“A good friend, Even Piell.”

Chapter 52: Getting help for a brother

Chapter Text

“I’m worried about him, he seems to be experiencing random brain misfires and he just stares into space for a few moments, before he comes back.” Hunter sighed as he looked to the sombre medic sitting on the other side of the desk.

“Is he distressed when he returns?” Stitches asked.

“Not in the two times I’ve seen it... he’s a little confused but he seems okay.” Hunter replied, fidgeting with his fingers in a very Nokt kind of way.

“Hm.” Stitches leaned back in his chair, “And these have happened before?”

“According to Nokt it happens rarely, but they don’t know what causes it.” Hunter sighed again.

“It would be more beneficial for me to speak with Nokt and Clicker in person.” Stitches frowned, “But seeing as you are the one to speak with me, I take it they don’t enjoy speaking about these things?”

“Nokt and Mouse more open, but Clicker barely talks about that sort of thing. I think it might be because of his enhancement, and he just doesn’t want to talk for prolonged amounts of time.” He looked to Stitches again, the man’s frown looked right at home on his scarred features, “He seems more closed off than the other two, but he seems to have attached himself to Tech though.”

“Would it be better for me to meet with them in their quarters?” Stitches stroked his beard, “It may be more comfortable for him to speak when he’s in the safety of his room.”

“I can ask him.” Hunter nodded, “He might answer, if you were the one asking the questions.”

“I do seem to have that affect on people.” Stitches frowned more, “Ask him and let me know either way.”

“Yes sir.” Hunter nodded again.

“Hm.” Was all he got in reply and he showed himself out.

He passed by 99, “Hey 99.” He smiled, “We’re back, and hopefully I can continue to help my brothers. Hopefully Stitches can help…” he looked around, looking behind him to make sure the medic hadn’t snuck up on him, “I wonder how you helped him… to make him so loyal and… protective of you? Maybe I’ll never know, but that’s okay too. Bye ori’vod, see you soon.” He made his way through Tipoca and noticed most, if not all, cadets were giving him a wide berth. Word about Stitches’ intervention had clearly made the rounds of the cadet squads.

Good.

He knocked on the door to the Night Stalker’s room, and after a moment he was greeted by a very tired and half-asleep Mouse, “Sorry for waking you Mouse’ika.” He smiled to the small clone, who yawned as he wiped his eyes, “Is Nokt or Clicker up?”

“Who is it Mouse?” Nokt’s tired voice came from inside the room, then the young sergeant appeared at the door, after putting on his goggles, which he sluggishly fixed several times, “Oh… hi Hunter.”

“Sorry for waking you Nokt’ika, I was wondering if I could have a quick word with you?” Hunter smiled warmly, to show it wasn’t an emergency.

“Oh… of course.” Nokt smiled in return, then looked to his brother, “You can go back to bed Mouse.” Mouse didn’t even fight the suggestion and just vanished back into the darkened room, Nokt stepped into the hall and the door slid shut behind him, “Is something the matter?”

“No, but seeing as I’m the senior officer… I just had a talk with Stitches… about Clicker’s brain blips.” He replied, he didn’t want to pull rank but he knew the younger troopers wouldn’t seek help on their own.

“You… did?” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers.

“I’m worried about him Nokt’ika.” Hunter put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, “And I know he’s very closed off about that kind of thing, so I asked Stitches, who Click’ika seems safe with. He thinks it might be better for him to meet you here, and not in medical, where you wouldn’t have the same level of privacy you do here.”

“He… he can help Clicker?” Nokt asked, his voice holding some form of hope.

“He will do his best.” Hunter smiled again, “And if we can at least figure out what’s causing these misfires, then we can help him too.”

“I… that would be good. I…” He sighed.

“You want to help them and protect them.” Hunter sighed also, “I know how difficult it can be, but we can help each other, you and me, help each other learn how to keep our families safe.”

“Okay.” Nokt nodded, “Did he say when he’d visit?”

“I said I’d ask you two first, and he told me to inform him of either outcome.” Hunter replied, “So, you can ask Clicker and I can inform the scary medic.”

“He seems less scary when he’s so willing to help us.” The younger clone replied with a soft smile, “We don’t normally work with normal clone medics, we’re normally assigned those medical droids. It’s still odd, a normie helping us, on Kamino of all places.”

“I know what you mean, but I can tell you that every batch of cadet’s I encountered on the way here, stayed as far away as they could physically get in those corridors.” Hunter chuckled, “So our scary nexu helped scare the bullies away for the time being.”

Nokt let out a big sigh, “That’s good, we… hopefully… won’t have to be as on edge as we normally are.” He smiled wider, “And we know where to go if something happens.”

“Yes we do.” Hunter grinned, “And they better hope the Generals get there before he does, I can guarantee the city supports will be cleaner than ever before.”

“And the mess hall will be down a couple dozen spoons.” Nokt chuckled.

“Yep.” He laughed, “Now, seeing as you need more sleep, will I tell Stitches to pop round in the morning?”

“Yes, thank you Hunter.” The younger clone replied, then hugged Hunter tight.

“No problem Nokt’ika.”

Chapter 53: Medical assessment

Chapter Text

“Nokt is outside talking to Stitches, do you want me to stay in the room with you?” Hunter sat down at the table beside Clicker, looked to him and smiled gently, “If you don’t feel comfortable with it, I won’t take it personally.”

“I’m… scared.” Clicker replied in his quiet voice, “I know… I know you asked Stitches… because you are worried about me… but…”

“But?” Hunter encouraged.

“But… what if there’s something really wrong with me?” Clicker shrank in on himself, “And I can’t… go with you anymore?”

Hunter softened, “Oh Click’ika.” He smiled softly and put his hand on the young clone’s back, “You can still come with us, you did well up until now, and you are continuing to do well even now. If you don’t come with us, who’s Tech going to teach to fly?”

“O… oh…” Clicker blushed, “He… wants to teach me?”

“Of course he wants to teach you.” Hunter replied, “He likes it when people can follow along with what he says, and you are doing much better than any of us have.”

“Oh… I… I like learning how to fly and take… take care of the ship…” Clicker smiled, “I… I like being useful.”

“So, I can see no reason why you can’t come with us.” He massaged Clicker’s back, “All this is, is to at least try to find out what cause’s your brain’s misfires.”

“You… you can sense them… what do they feel like?” Clicker looked to him, his grey eyes curious, his features soft.

“Have you ever been in a ship or speeder and you feel it jump a little when the power core has a minor power fluctuation?” He asked, and the small clone nodded, “It’s kinda like that.”

“Oh… that’s… really interesting.” The young clone nodded, “It’s… kinda like how the vibrations of a person’s heart go weird when they’re startled… or when Crosshair’s heart jolts when he fires… his rifle.”

“I hear you’ve been getting a lot of hugs from my noodle brother.” He chuckled, he was surprised to say the least, Crosshair was the least social of the Batch, he tried to keep everyone as far from his soft side as he could but both Mouse and Clicker seemed to be breaking down that spikey exterior to show the soft, kind core to his brother’s person.

“Mm. He likes giving hugs.” Clicker smiled again, “Mouse says his scent softens when we hug him.”

“That’s really good to hear.” Hunter sighed softly.

He was about to speak again when the door slid open to reveal Nokt and Stitches, the medic looked as sombre as ever, “Can you stay?” Clicker asked Hunter, carefully taking hold of his pauldron with his signature two fingers and thumb grip.

“Of course.” He replied with a soft smile.

“Hello again Clicker.” Stitches said as they walked to the table, “Hunter.”

“Stitches. Thank you for this.” Hunter nodded to the older clone, he knew Cody and Wolffe were also gen ones, but somehow Stitches looked and held himself in such a way that he seemed much older than those two.

“Hm.” Was all he got in reply to that sentence, “So.” He sat down opposite Clicker, while Nokt sat down on Clicker’s other side, and turned on his datapad, “Nokt has informed me of several occasions of this sort of thing happening. What I want to ask you, is how you feel before and after each episode.”

“How… how I feel?” Clicker asked, trying very hard to not clamp his hands down on his noise cancellers.

“You can hold your noise cancellers if it helps you.” Stitches said, “Trying to stop a stimming behaviour only makes you feel worse.”

Hunter blinked, he had never heard of that before, “Stimming?”

“Stimming, short for self-stimulatory behaviour, is a repetitive series of actions which a person may do when they are excited, anxious or stimulated.” Stitches replied, then returned his gaze to Clicker, “Such as your need to hold your noise cancellers or Tech’s excessive leg bouncing.”

“You…?” Hunter blinked again.

“I observe sergeant.” Stitches frowned, “But we’re getting off topic. To answer your question, yes, I wish to know how you feel. Before you enter the episode, do you feel any different? Such as tunnel vision? Brain fogginess?”

“S… sometimes.” Clicker replied, clamping down on his noise cancellers, “Not… not always because sometimes they happen… really quickly and end quickly… but sometimes it happens slowly…”

“Hm.” Stitches frowned a little and typed the data into his pad, “And after? Any distress? Confusion?”

“I… get confused sometimes…” Clicker fidgeted with his noise cancellers, he was getting stressed, all of them could tell.

“I apologise if this is upsetting to you.” Stitches said, “I am here to help, and helping you shouldn’t involve causing unnecessary distress.”

“I…” Clicker suddenly stopped talking, and Hunter could feel the misfire in his brain.

“Hunter put your hand on his back.” Stitches said quickly but calmly, “Steady him so he doesn’t fall over. I believe I may know what is causing these, but I shall wait until he comes back to explain it.”

“Easy Click’ika.” Hunter said softly.

“We’re here brother.” Nokt placed his hand over Clicker’s, which were still over his noise cancellers.

“Wh… what?” Clicker asked as he slowly came back.

“Ten seconds.” Stitches said and typed on his datapad, “Still within normal time range.”

“Want to explain to the class sir?” Hunter frowned a little.

“Atypical absence seizures.” The medic replied, “They are a type of generalized onset seizure, which means they start in both sides of the brain. They generally do not require medical aid and are generally harmless by themselves.”

“S… seizures?” Clicker started to panic.

“Easy brother, we’re here.” Nokt said, giving Clicker’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“As I said, they are generally harmless.” Stitches replied, his voice a little gentler, “Yours seems to generally last ten seconds, which is the typical timeframe for these types of seizures. And you seem to come out of them only a little confused. Other than the shock of my assessment, do you feel anything else?”

“N… no…” Clicker replied, he was starting to hyperventilate.

“Clicker, take my hands and listen to me.” Stitches held out his hands across the table, Clicker hesitated for a brief moment but he did as the medic asked, “Can you feel the vibrations of my breathing?”

“Y… yes.” Clicker replied.

“Try to match those vibrations, my breathing.” Stitches said, then fell silent as he let Clicker feel his breathing, “There we go, feel better?”

“Y… yes. Thank you.”

“You are most welcome.”

Chapter 54: Electrical storm

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed as he left Clicker with Tech, the young clone wanted some kind of normalcy after the bomb drop of a medical evaluation he just went through. Stitches said the condition was generally harmless, it could be emotionally distressing but if his brothers and the Batch help him through it, he should have an easier time of it. Hunter frowned, that was the softest he’d ever seen the medic, it was… unnerving to say the least, sure he was a medic, but he seemed so genuinely concerned for Clicker when he started to hyperventilate, even letting him hold his hands.

He sighed again and massaged his temples, he could feel a headache forming, he could feel the electric prickles in his skin alerting him to an approaching electrical storm, “Great. Just what I need.” He grumbled. He returned to their bunk room and after taking some pain meds, he lay down and covered his eyes with his arm, maybe if he slept through the storm, he could sleep it off … probably not going to help, but worth a try. He let out a breath and pulled the covers up over himself, he hoped the storm wouldn’t affect Clicker too much, or Nokt… would Mouse’s enhancement be affected by the storm? Could he smell the change in the air? He knew both himself and Crosshair were affected, Crosshair not as often, he could generally sleep through the bright flashes of light if he hid his head under his pillow, but Hunter was always crippled during these storms, it was the one thing he hated returning to, more than any other thing on Kamino.

He hated the weather here.

He was awoken by a massive burst of pain and nausea that shot through his body like the lightning cracking beyond the transparisteel and the first sound that registered in his head was terrified squeaking, “Shh, it’s okay Mouse, you’re safe.” He heard Wrecker, the giant was trying to keep his voice down, “I got you. Nothing to be scared of, just a storm, you’re safe with us.”

Hunter rolled over as pain stabbed his brain, making his stomach cramp and squirm, “Hunter?” He felt a hand on his shoulder, “Easy Hunter, we’re going to get someone to help.”

Hunter heard the wet sound of someone throwing up, the pained squeaks alerting him to the fact that it was Mouse, “It’s okay Mouse'ika, just let it out.” Wrecker said, and the continued wet splat sound made Hunter’s already compromised gag reflex just vanish. He didn’t even want to know what it smelled like to Mouse, seeing as it burned Hunter’s nose, he felt like druk and after a painful few minutes of emptying his stomach, he finally lost consciousness again.

When he came to, he was lying on his side, in a white walled room, and he saw the bleary outline of his own hand and the cannula in the back of it. His mouth tasted horrible, his nose was burning but the pain had lessened, “Welcome back to the land of the living sergeant.” He blinked again to clear his vision and looked up at the owner of the voice.

It was Stitches.

“What…?” He tried to talk past the dead, furry animal in his mouth.

“As you know, there was an electrical storm, it seems a bolt struck the roof over your bunk room.” The medic replied, “As expected from your mutation, you were negatively affected, massively, which unfortunately caused a chain reaction and made Mouse feel very unwell.”

“Mouse…?” Hunter sluggishly wiped his eyes, trying to clear the remaining blurriness.

“I’m surprised you can’t feel him behind you.” Stitches said and Hunter blinked again, he suddenly became aware of the warm body against his back and the small hand gripping his blacks weakly, “He was scared of the storm, which is why he ran to Wrecker, but because of his sense of smell, he could smell your sick state and became overwhelmed.”

“What about Clicker and… Nokt?” Hunter asked, “Are… they alright?”

“Clicker was luckily in his sleep pod, and Nokt was with Crosshair in the range.” Was the reply, “So they are alright, thankfully. So are your brothers.”

“Good.” Hunter sighed as his form released its tension, which earned a small happy noise from the sleeping Mouse, he chuckled a little, “You’re supposed to be sleeping Mouse’ika, not checking up on me.”

“You both should feel better after a good rest and some fluids.” Stitches said, “Shall I alert your brothers of your condition?” Hunter barely got out a slurred string of sounds before he was swallowed by the warm embrace of sleep once again.

When he awoke again, he was in a more comfortable sleeping position on his back and the small form of Mouse was lying on him, Minnow under his small arm. Stitches had been correct in his assessment, he did feel much better now, he was still a little groggy and his brain felt soggy, but he wasn’t in pain and he wasn’t nauseous. Mouse didn’t feel as warm as he had before, both of their blacks felt a little damp from sweat, it really hadn’t been fun for either of them it seemed, and he felt bad for making the small trooper feel unwell, but it wasn’t something he could control.

Stupid Kamino and its stupid storms.

Stupid kaminoans and their stupid experiments.

Chapter 55: Separated

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t want to be separated from the Night Stalkers, but they were called on by General Kenobi to help on the Umbaran campaign, he didn’t like the idea… but they couldn't fight the order, and the Night Stalkers were better designed for the shadow world. The Batch were off to help the 104th, they were needed to infiltrate a separatist base, General Plo needed commandos to punch a hole in the defences before sending in the rest of the battalion. “Don’t worry ori’vod, they can’t keep us apart for too long.” Nokt said softly, looking from Hunter to Mouse and Wrecker, the giant was hugging the tiny clone as if he didn’t want to let go ever again.

“I know, but I don’t like this one bit.” He sighed, “We work better as a unit, and I’ve heard bad things about Umbara.”

“Yeah… but we’ll be alright, it’s a shadow world and we’re designed for that environment, we’ll spot danger before it spots us.” Nokt smiled, “We have a full set on our team, medic, pilot, tactician… we’ll be safe.”

“Yeah, I know… but that doesn’t stop me from being a worry wort.” Hunter chuckled, then sighed again, “You’re my brothers and I’m the eldest… so I feel responsible for all of us.”

“We did alright up till meeting you, I think we can handle one campaign on our own.” Nokt sighed also, “I have to step back into the position of solo big brother again, I… I will miss being able to take council with you.” He fidgeted with his fingers, “I just have to remember that I know what we’re capable of and how our enhancements work without you all.”

“You are a great big brother to them Nokt’ika, never forget that.” Hunter gave Nokt’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, “You kept them alive and safe since before you even left Tipoca city. You all will look out for each other, that’s what being brothers is about.”

“Thank you Hunter, you need to keep your brothers safe also, who knows what stupid shenanigans you lot will get into without us being there to keep you in line.” Nokt chuckled again, “Mouse will be very unhappy if he returns to the Marauder and none of you have been cleaning or sorting your rations out.”

“I fear no man, but an angry Mouse… that terrifies me.” Hunter laughed, then sobered up, “Keep an eye on Clicker… yeah?”

“Don’t worry, Stitches has given me plenty of information, gave Mouse even more, on how to best help Clicker.” Nokt sighed, “I just hope it doesn’t result in him getting injured on a battlefield… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I… let that happen.”

“Easy Nokt, nothing’s going to happen.” Hunter gave Nokt’s shoulder another gentle squeeze, “As you said, you’ll clock danger before it clocks you. You’ll all be safe, and you’ll be able to tell us about the druk-hole of a planet.”

“Thank you Hunter.”

“No problem Nokt’ika.”

Chapter 56: Umbaran disaster

Notes:

The Umbaran Campaign was a dark and horrible experience for all involved.

Chapter Text

“Your help has been most appreciated Sergeant Hunter.” General Plo said, “It is a shame the Night Stalkers could not join us but Master Kenobi had better use of their skills.”

“I know they’ll be okay but… I worry about them.” Hunter replied, “They’re with General Kenobi and Commander Cody, they’ll be okay.”

“It is natural to worry for your brothers, particularly on the Umbaran front.” General Plo said gently, “We have not heard good things from that campaign, the Umbaran resistance is causing a great deal of trouble, yet we have not heard of any major issues from either Master Kenobi or Skywalker.”

“That brings me some comfort.” Hunter sighed, “Thank you General, I’ve gotten used to speaking with Nokt on these matters.” He wasn’t sure how long this mission took, how much time had passed on Umbara, but he was missing Nokt and the other Night Stalkers.

He was about to speak again but Tech ran up to them, “Hunter. I’ve been monitoring the campaign on Umbara, keeping updates on the situation, but something’s happened.” The younger clone said quickly, “I am unsure of what it is… but there has been a massive catalogue of casualties, Jedi General Pong Krell is among them.”

“What about the Night Stalkers?” Hunter felt his world fall out beneath him, “Are… are they alive? Please, Tech, tell me they are!”

“Be at peace Sergeant.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and a wave of calm flowed through him.

“I… haven’t seen their names or numbers in the log… but the numbers are still coming in.” Tech said, fidgeting with his datapad, “I… don’t know what happened, there is no information on the situation at present… but they are transporting the heavily injured back to Kamino… so we may be able to meet up with them…”

“Your duties here are complete, go to them Sergeant.” General Plo said, “If your brothers are home, then you should return to them.”

“Thank you General.” Hunter nodded then they both saluted and made a break for the Marauder, which was already primed and ready to go, so Tech obviously told the other two before he came looking for Hunter, “How long?”

“We’re a single jump away.” Crosshair said as he moved so Tech could sit in the pilot’s seat, “Any updates?”

“No… both the 501st and the 212th have suffered heavily casualties… but no word on the Night Stalkers.” Tech replied and Hunter could see Tech’s legs bouncing, a stimming behaviour as Stitches called it.

“Less talking, more flying!” Wrecker said loudly, “We need to get moving! Now!”

Hunter was first off the Marauder when the landed on the rain-soaked platform on Kamino, where they were met by a medic, “Sergeant Hunter? Stitches asked me to tell you that the Night Stalkers are in medical. Though they are physically uninjured, they have suffered severe mental trauma.” The medic said somewhat gently, “If you’ll follow me, I shall take you too them.”

“Thank you.” He replied.

Chapter 57: Aftermath of darkness

Notes:

Dar'jetii is a Mando'a word which basically means "No longer a Jedi", simply put it is used for Sith and Dark Force users.

Chapter Text

“Minor cuts and bruises but nothing physically serious, but I will ask you to be careful of how you act, they are… fragile right now.” Stitches said as he met them in the packed medical wing, walking with them to the room holding the three young troopers.

“What the kriff happened Stitches?” Hunter hissed.

Stitches stopped walking and pulled them into an empty cubical, “Look, I’m working off second hand information, but from what I’ve heard from Kix, the medic from the 501st…” he lowered his voice, “Jedi General Pong Krell betrayed the Republic and… and made the 501st and the 212th attack each other, he lied to them and made them think the enemy had taken the armour of the other battalion.” Hunter felt cold, “And the Night Stalkers saw, heard and smelled it happen.”

“He…” Hunter felt sick.

“Look, until a full report is made, none of us will know what happened or why it happened. So… for now, just… just be there for your brothers.” Stitches sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have troopers to help.”

The first sound to reach them as the door opened to the dimmed room was quiet sobbing, “Hey…?” Hunter said and before any of them could react, Mouse had glued himself to Wrecker, sobbing as the giant scooped him up and held him close. Clicker went straight to Crosshair and Tech, wanting comfort from the two of them, while Hunter looked into the room and saw Nokt sitting in the corner, hugging his legs tight to his chest, with his face buried in his knees, he was shaking and hiccupping. He moved carefully over to the young Sergeant, “Nokt’ika?” he asked softly, “Hey, I’m just going to sit beside you… okay?” he got no verbal or physical reply, so he carefully sat down beside the younger clone, and looked to the other groups, Wrecker was cradling Mouse, shushing him and bouncing him in an attempt to help calm him, Crosshair had Clicker wrapped around him and Tech was massaging the young clone’s back as he sobbed. Hunter didn’t even want to know how physically painful that was for Clicker, he wondered how much of the crying was from the emotional distress and how much was from the physical pain of the effort.

“He… he made them slaughter… each other.” Nokt’s voice was so quiet and muffled that Hunter wasn’t sure he’d actually heard the young Sergeant, “We knew what was happening but we couldn’t stop it… no one believed us…”

“Who didn’t?” Hunter encouraged him gently.

“He made them believe the other side was umbarans in the armour of the other battalion…” Nokt replied, “I saw… I saw the slaughter… Clicker could hear everything, every time a normie died… he could hear it. Mouse could smell the fear, the pain… the sheer terror and… they realised too late what was happening!”

“Hey… easy… I’m here now.” Hunter said softly, resting his hand on the back of Nokt’s neck, his thumb making soothing circles there, “I’m sorry you had to go through that all alone, we should have been with you.”

“I… I did everything to keep my brothers alive and safe… but we couldn’t save the normies from… from the Jedi who turned them against each other!” Nokt yelled into his knees, “I… kept my brothers alive… so why… why do I feel like a failure?”

“I… have no words to give you that will make what happened to the regs okay, but I can give you words that tell you I am proud of you. You kept Mouse and Clicker safe, you kept them and yourself alive, in an environment dead set on killing you all, so keep some sense of pride and power in that.” Hunter didn’t know how to make something like this better, was there a way? Or was there nothing he could do… but just be there for them? He couldn’t fix this but he could help them through it, “You did so good and I am so proud of you and your brothers.” Nokt hiccupped and moved his head so he could look to Hunter, “Never forget that.”

“I… I don’t know why he did it…” Nokt hiccupped, “I… why did he do that!?”

“I don’t have an answer, none of us do.” Hunter sighed.

“Do… do you think he turned bad? Like… a… what’s the word… a dar'jetii? He had those lightsabers… the ones the Jedi use… but he…” Nokt wiped his eyes, then started sobbing again, “Maker… I… can still hear them! Every time I close my eyes… I can see them! They cut through the normies like… like they were nothing!”

“Easy Nokt’ika, shh… it’s okay, no one's going to hurt you, not while we’re around, not while you have brothers to protect you.” Hunter said gently, “We will protect you. Don’t you worry none.” If someone hadn’t taken the Jedi out, he could guarantee that any of the Batch would have had a go at him… kark, even Stitches would have made an attempt… he didn’t seem to be afraid of much, “And don’t forget, while you’re here on Kamino, you have a nexu buir keeping you safe.” Nokt kept sobbing, hugging his knees tight to his chest, “It’s okay Nokt’ika, I will make sure that we are never split up again, never, ever again.”

“Don’t worry, we’re a family and families stick together, like glue!” Wrecker said, still comforting the tiny Mouse, “And families protect each other, so that’s what we’re going to do!”

“And if anyone tries anything to tear us apart…” Crosshair hissed but bit his sentence short.

“99 said we should keep each other safe and I think we shall do just that.” Tech was fidgeting with his datapad, “After this, it would be unwise to separate us again, the Generals will see that.” Hunter smiled a little and looked to Nokt.

They would protect each other.

They were family.

Chapter 58: That's what brothers do

Chapter Text

The Batch were prepared for the nightmares that would haunt the Night Stalkers and they hit the younger clones with the force of a blaster bolt, preying on them when they were most venerable… when they slept, it got to the point that they had to take sleeping medication to even hope of getting a decent amount of sleep. Mouse couldn’t take them, he had adverse reactions to them, but he slept easier when he got to lie on Wrecker, the warmth of another person, the smell of an ally, the vibrations in the giant’s chest, all of these helped him relax. Nokt had practically shut down, he just hid in the corner of his bunk, his legs held tight against his chest and his face buried in his knees, more often than not he would be quietly sobbing and nothing Hunter said or did seemed to give the young Sergeant any comfort. Clicker was still in medical, his complete breakdown had caused damage to his body because of the excessive vibrations, but Stitches said he would personally take care of the young clone and this made Hunter begin to wonder what they would do without the medic.

Maybe that was one of the reasons the medic got on with 99, they both wanted to help?

Hunter sighed as touched the urn containing 99, “You would know what to do… how to make it better for them…” He was about to continue but the sound of a commotion dragged him out of his head, he moved quickly towards the sound and was just approaching a door when it opened and someone hit the wall opposite the door, hard.

“Right, have it your way.” Came a calm voice and Hunter realised it was Stitches, he was about to ask if the medic was alright but the older clone stalked straight back into the cubical and suddenly the shouting stopped, followed by a heavy thud. When the door opened again, revealing the medic, he looked a little dishevelled, “I need assistance in here.” Stitches called, then finally seemed to notice Hunter standing there like an idiot, “Sergeant? I assume you are here to visit Clicker?”

“Y… yeah.” Hunter nodded, “Are… are you okay?”

“Perfectly.” Stitches frowned as he fixed his uniform and hair, “Just a little rough housing.”

“Did… did you win?” Hunter chanced a joke and the effort earned a raised eyebrow from the medic.

“What a silly question Sergeant.” Stitches replied and soon two other medics arrived and entered the cubical, but Stitches stayed out in the hall with Hunter, “Clicker is feeling much better now, physically at least. The vibrations caused microfractures on most of his skeletal structure, but after a course of bacta treatment, they healed up quite well.”

“That’s good. I… I don’t know what to do, to say to make this better for them…” Hunter sighed shakily.

Stitches didn’t reply for a moment, “Be there for them. Comfort them and when they feel safe enough to accept help, you will be there to give it.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Hunter ran his hand down his face.

“It will never be easy, not with this kind of trauma.” Stitches sighed, “The nightmares will never truly go away, the trauma episodes will hit whenever a trigger is experienced, there is no guaranteed way of helping them through this unscathed.”

“Speaking from experience are you doc?” Hunter chanced a small grin.

“Yes.” Was the answer he got from the medic, and Hunter looked at him dumbfounded, “Now, I’m sure you remember where Clicker’s cubical is? I have a patient to take care of.” The man’s voice was tight, as if he was trying very hard to not lash out, either verbally or physically.

“O… Of course.” Hunter realised how close he came to a non-sedative knock out. He watched as the medic re-entered the cubical and with a sigh he continued on to Clicker, he hoped the young clone would be okay, the damage to his body was mending but… he entered the room and smiled to Clicker, “Hey Click’ika.” He said gently.

“H… hey.” The young clone said shyly, fidgeting with the cot’s blanket.

“How’re you feeling?” Hunter sat down on the edge of the bed, “Stitches says your injuries have healed up really well.”

“How… how’s Nokt?” Clicker asked, “He… he feels so guilty for… not being able to help the normies… but the Jedi made them… think we were lying. Because we’re… he said we weren’t clones and that we were spies sent to ruin the mission, but…”

“But?” Hunter encouraged.

“He… he was the one who was a spy.” Clicker wiped the tears dripping down his cheeks, “He was the traitor but he made the normies think we were.”

Hunter felt the pit of his stomach go cold, “I’m so sorry Click’ika, nothing I can say or do… will ever make what he did right.” He sighed and carefully rested his hand on Clicker’s knee, “But you and your brothers are not, nor have you ever been, traitors to the Republic. That Jedi failed his order, his troops, he made brother turn on brother… so nothing he said was true, and I can guarantee that the survivors of both battalions know that you are as loyal to the GAR as they are. That the same heart that beats in their chest beats in ours.” Clicker looked to him, his grey eyes full of tears, “Even if they don’t, you have your brothers and you have us… and Stitches apparently.”

“The trooper didn’t want to hurt him… he was scared…” Clicker said softly, “He lashed… out in fear… but that made Stitches angry.”

“I don’t think it was anger per say.” Hunter sighed, “But. I have spoken with the higher ups and I have made my voice heard… they won’t separate us like that again. Not after what happened on Umbara.”

“T… Thank you Hunter. You’re… so nice to us.”

“That’s what brothers do.”

Chapter 59: Trying for normal

Chapter Text

Hunter looked to Nokt, who was still curled in the corner of his bunk, “Come on Nokt’ika. I can hear your stomach from here.” He said gently, “You need to eat, Mouse said he’d get you the soup you like.”

“I… I can’t… every time I think about eating… I feel nauseous…” Nokt replied.

“I think that’s stress, your body is preparing it’s fight or flight response, so it can’t put anything in that could weigh you down.” Hunter sighed as he stood up and walked over to Nokt, sitting down on the edge of the bunk, “But you need to eat, I can guarantee that the first mouthful will break that response and you will feel so much better.”

Nokt finally moved his face from his knees and looked at Hunter, Hunter was so happy that he could see those eye shines again after days of not seeing them, “How’s… Clicker?” Nokt asked.

“Stitches says he should be out sometime today, he’s healed up well and is looking forward to being reunited with you.” Hunter smiled, Nokt hadn’t left the bunk room since he and Mouse had been released from medical, Mouse went places with Wrecker, sometimes he went with Crosshair to the range, anything to keep his mind off the memories. “When I went to visit him yesterday, Stitches had another run in with an unrulily patient and I have no idea why people think it’s a smart move to agitate that medic.” He chuckled, “No idea if he used a stim sedation or if he administered a non-stim sedation.”

“We may never know.” Nokt chuckled.

“It’s great to hear you laughing.” Hunter said gently, which earned him a small smile from Nokt.

He was about to speak again when the door slid open, allowing Wrecker and Mouse into the room, Mouse was sitting on Wrecker’s shoulders, which meant the giant had to bend down to get through the door, Mouse also had to bend over but neither of them seemed to mind, “We brought food!” Wrecker said loudly.

“And we bring Clicker.” Crosshair said as him and Tech arrived back, the young clone was with them, holding onto Crosshair’s bracer in his signature grip, Nokt was on his feet the second he saw Clicker and was wrapped around his brother in less.

“I’m so sorry…” the young sergeant said, “I’m sorry I didn’t visit you…”

“It’s… okay.” Clicker replied as he returned the hug, “You… we were scared to leave the room, and I know you were with me… here.” He put his hand over Nokt’s heart when they broke the hug, then over his own, smiling gently.

Hunter’s heart almost broke at the interaction, these three were so close that even apart, they were in each other’s hearts… Hunter wanted that for his own brothers but their personalities were too different, they loved each other, there was no doubt about that, but they were no where near as close as the Night Stalkers. Mouse’s squeaking drew him out of his head, Wrecker had put him down on his own two feet and he had unpacked the food containers from his bag, “Food time.” Wrecker grinned, Hunter wondered how Mouse seemed to bounce back the fastest, or was he trying to keep himself together for the good of his brothers?

This meal time seemed livelier, Mouse and Wrecker were trying to lighten the mood, to take away the crushing sense of broken despair, to make it at least a little bit happy. Mouse could smell their emotions, so he might be trying to help them so he wouldn’t end up negatively responding to the heavy weight of the smell, but that may be a biproduct of his helping. Hunter smiled as the tension started to bleed from Nokt’s frame, he was laughing and eating, he was engaging with the group, he was still carrying the pain and trauma from Umbara and he would carry that for the rest of his life… but for now he was doing better. Crosshair encouraged Clicker to join in and the young clone’s absolutely terrible jokes and puns helped alleviate more of the tension, it was nice, everyone was interacting with each other, like the Umbaran campaign didn’t happen.

It did… and that was going to keep coming back to hit the three time and time again.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, “Who could that be?” Hunter frowned before standing up to walk to the door, which slid open to reveal Commander Cody and a clone in blue armour, “Commander? Is… something wrong?”

“Are the Night Stalkers here?” Cody asked.

“We… we are.” Nokt said as he appeared beside Hunter, his goggles in place, “C… Captain Rex… what… what are you doing here?”

“Might we speak to you in private?” Cody asked.

Nokt looked to Hunter and he could see the fear creeping into the younger sergeant’s features, so he looked to the two, “Anything you have to say to them, you can say in front of us.” Hunter said, “Our teams are working closely together, so that makes me the senior officer of our collective group.”

“As you wish.” Cody frowned, “Might we come in?”

“O… of course.” Nokt said, as both he and Hunter stepped out of the doorway to let the two senior officers into the room, the other two Night Stalkers were by Nokt’s side in nanoseconds, Clicker was trying very hard not to clamp his hands down on his noise cancellers.

“We would have made this visit in medical, but we were pointedly told no… by a very unhappy medic.” Cody said, “So, we decided to have it here, where you are most comfortable… and there is no possible chance of that medic finding out.” He wished he could have seen that, seeing Stitches tell them off, it showed how much of a backbone the medic actually had.

Hunter felt like laughing at the thought of Stitches telling off a Commander! And a Captain!

Chapter 60: It wasn't our fault

Chapter Text

“I want to personally apologise to you for… not believing you when you objected against General Krell.” Rex said with a sigh, “Had I listened to you… we would not have lost so many brothers, we would not have walked into the battle and killed or injured brothers that were just following orders.”

“I… we…” Nokt said, he was fidgeting with his fingers, “We tried… we helped your injured, even though many of them didn’t want us too… Mouse… he helped Kix even when the medic told him to go away.” Nokt hiccupped, “We helped you all, even though none of you even wanted us too! You… you made us out to be the bad guys, the enemy, even after the truth about General Pong Krell came to light! Now you think an apology will make any of that right?”

“Nokt…” Hunter started but was cut off by the younger Sergeant.

“No! I’m sick and tired of being made to think we deserve the abuse we get, only to have the bully play the victim so he can get out of being called a bully!” Nokt yelled, then looked back at Rex, “I don’t care if you are a Captain, or that you are second only to General Skywalker, what you and the 501st did, what the battalion from the 212th did, what you all did to us on Umbara was nothing short of cruel abuse. Abuse caused by someone saying we were not clones, that we were spies and traitors!” He was hiccupping quite badly now, “Because that is what you treated us as! We were there to help, General Kenobi asked for it and we gave it! Maybe we shouldn’t have! We wouldn’t be as… as broken and destroyed by not being able to stop something we knew was going to happen…” Mouse took hold of Nokt’s hand, making a sad squeaking noise. “We had to watch… to smell… to hear… every single thing that happened, and we were made to feel like it’s our fault because we couldn’t stop you from doing the wrong thing… but it wasn’t our fault. It was never our fault because we did everything, every single thing we could just to get you to listen to us and you didn’t! You didn’t because of one traitorous General saying we were the bad guys… because of that… we are left feeling as though everything that went wrong on Umbara was… was our fault.”

“And it wasn’t…” Clicker said, “We did everything we could, everything, we told you about the lies General Krell told every time he opened his stupid mouth… about his secret transmissions with the Separatists, we told you… and you didn’t believe us.” Hunter looked at the three of them, Mouse was standing between his two brothers, holding their hands in his. He wondered what Mouse would say if he could vocalise, if he could put feeling behind his words, “So… so you can take your apology back, because… because Mouse knows it was fake.”

Mouse really wasn’t one to be easily fooled.

“May I speak now?” Cody asked, his voice a little less firm, but still the voice of a commanding officer, “Seeing as this is all new information to me, and I appreciate you filling in the gaps in my knowledge, I will need a moment to gather my thoughts around this. So, I will step outside with Captain Rex and you can take a moment to breathe and collect yourselves. Does that sound like a plan?”

“Yes… thank you Commander.” Hunter replied and Nokt sank to the floor the moment they left, hugging himself and sobbing, “Oh Nokt’ika.” Hunter sighed gently, as he knelt down beside the young Sergeant and massaging soothing circles on the back of his neck, “I’m sorry.”

Mouse was in Wrecker’s arms almost instantly, wanting nothing more than to be held by the giant’s strong arms, “Easy Mouse, I’ve got you.”

Clicker was standing stock still, he was clearly trying to stop his emotions from erupting and causing him even more physical damage, he couldn’t afford to break down again, “Come here Click’ika.” Crosshair said gently, hugging the young clone against himself, “Focus on the vibrations of my breathing, try to match them.”

“If nothing else… I can see why Stitches was so against them seeing you three.” Tech said quietly, fidgeting with his datapad, “The level of emotional distress is…”

“Crushing.” Hunter sighed.

“However, I have some good news… I have just received orders from General Plo and he wants us to link up with him.” Tech continued.

“We like General Plo.” Wrecker said, looking to Mouse, “Don’t we?”

Mouse nodded, ‘He smells soft.’

“You didn’t input your opinion into the conversation Mouse, might I ask why?” Tech looked to the small clone, who instantly hid his face in Wrecker’s shoulder.

“They didn’t want to try and understand him… so they ignored him.” Clicker said softly, “He… had less of an opinion than we did.”

“Oh.” Hunter frowned, then smiled “Well, Commander Wolffe likes your input, so you can tell him about your newly acquired field medic certification.” Mouse looked to him and bounced happily, “For now, though… we just have to get through this meeting, and if I know Commander Cody, he will do what’s best for both parties. He’s fair like that.”

Nokt was back on his feet and calmed down by the time Cody returned to the room, Rex was nowhere to be seen, “I apologise for that.” He said and looked to Mouse, who nodded, the Commander was being honest, “I have been working with only one side of the story when it came down to you three and that, apparently, is not entirely accurate or complete. I cannot excuse the actions taken by both my men and the men of the 501st, you were there to help them but they rejected that help and forced you away.”

“We… I need to apologise for how I spoke.” Nokt said and Hunter realised he was apologising not for what he said, but the tone in which he said it, “I…”

Cody halted that sentence by holding up his hand, “I am not taking away your hurt by playing victim, I am apologising for men that should have known better, should have done more and should have done it better. Umbara was a disaster, but they should never have made it worse for you by doing what they did.” He sighed, “No one is more at fault in this situation than General Krell, but that doesn’t take away the fault from the men who treated you so poorly.”

“We…” Nokt tried again, but was again shushed by Cody.

“I have read the medical report given to me by Stitches, and it shows me how… greatly this has affected you.” Cody sighed, “I will inform General Kenobi of the situation, do you know where you are being deployed to next?”

“General Plo has requested our help.” Hunter said, “We ship out as soon as Stitches gives Clicker the all clear to return to duty.”

“We will also be assisting the 104th, hopefully General Kenobi can speak with you all there.” Cody nodded, “Do any of you have anything to add?”

“We’re sorry… about what happened to Waxer.” Clicker said, “He was the nice one.”

“Thank you. I didn’t doubt him being nice, he was always trying to help people.” Cody smiled slightly, “I shall depart and report back to General Kenobi, should you need anything in the interim, you know how to contact us.”

“Thank you, Commander.” Hunter replied and they all saluted him before he left the room again, “We’re going to find Rex’s body floating in the sea if Stitches finds out what happened.” He said after a moment’s silence.

Chapter 61: Smelled odd

Chapter Text

“Mouse, have you seen where Nokt went?” Hunter looked to the small clone sitting at the table, the young Sergeant had bunked with him, he was so emotionally drained that he just passed out… but Hunter was proud of Nokt, of how he spoke his mind

‘Refresher. Left in a hurry, smelled odd too.’ Mouse looked to him, ‘Not sick or anything like that. Just odd.’

“Odd?” Hunter blinked, “I’ll go see if he’s alright.” Mouse made a squeak of confirmation and Hunter left the bunkroom in search of the missing trooper.

He was just coming at the door to their shared refresher when it slid open and Nokt walked out, almost walking straight into Hunter, “Hunter! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there!” Nokt blushed and seemed flustered.

“Easy Nokt, are you okay? Mouse said you smelled odd… something you want to talk about?” Hunter said gently, giving the young Sergeant’s shoulder a squeeze, which for some reason made Nokt blush more.

“N… no. Just… decompressing after yesterday.” He was very obviously forcing a smile, “So… I went and got a shower.” Hunter blinked and noticed that Nokt’s slowly returning hair was damp.

Hunter realised the situation and smiled slightly, he knew exactly what had happened, “Was it a good shower?” he asked.

“I feel like… like the galaxy goes away when I shower. Like the water is stripping me of my worries and stress.” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers.

“Yeah, they’re good for that.” He patted Nokt’s shoulder, and grinned a little “Good for relieving stress.”

He didn’t think Nokt’s blush could any reader, but it was proving him wrong again and again, “Y… Yes.” He coughed to clear his throat, “We… we need to get geared up and ready to ship out.”

“Come on then.” Hunter chuckled.

Chapter 62: Meeting up with the 104th

Chapter Text

“It is good to see you all, I heard what happened on Umbara.” General Plo said, his voice was warm and fatherly, he had met them in the hanger as they landed on the venator, “It saddens me to hear of your treatment by those who should stand beside you, I had expected better of those men… yet one cannot foresee how one might react to such a horrendous campaign.”

“We… we tried to tell them General…” Nokt replied, “But nothing we said or… or did could make them listen to us… or treat us as brothers.”

“Hm.” General Plo stroked his weird mandible things, “They treated you so poorly, and yet you still helped them?”

“We…” Nokt looked to his brothers and Hunter could see the conflict in the young Sergeant, “We don’t want to want to be like them. To be so… mean… and hateful of those that look different to oneself. We want to help them, because that’s what good brothers do, and we want to be good brothers… even if they don’t return the feeling.”

“It warms my heart to hear you speak those words.” General Plo replied gently, “To show kindness in the face of hatred, is not a philosophy many believe in, let alone follow.”

“Th… thank you General Plo.” Nokt blushed and smiled a little.

“You have a mission for us sir?” Hunter asked as Commander Wolffe approached them.

“I do, but we shall have to wait for Master Kenobi to arrive, he is traveling from much further afield.” General Plo chuckled.

“Yes General.” Hunter nodded, Mouse bounced and waved to Wolffe as he came to a stop beside General Plo, “It’s good to see you again Commander.”

“You too Sergeant.” Wolffe replied with a nod, “General Kenobi’s ship has just arrived, sir.”

“Thank you, Commander.” General Plo replied, “I shall speak with you later gentlemen.”

“Yes General.” They all saluted and the Jedi walked away with Commander Wolffe.

“Hunter… can I speak to you?” Nokt looked to him.

“Of course. Is something the matter?” He replied, moving away from the group.

“I… need to apologise for… how I acted on Kamino.” Nokt sighed, “It was… very unbecoming of my rank and I shouldn’t have talked to them like that.”

“Nokt, you don’t need to apologise.” Hunter sighed, “You were in the right to be angry, you were hurt.”

“But…”

“But nothing Nokt.”

Chapter 63: You still win

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed as he looked around the ship, the Night Stalkers were hiding in the Marauder and he could practically feel the fear and tension radiating from them, he couldn’t blame them though, because they not only had to face General Kenobi and Commander Cody, but they might have to face the 212th. Crosshair was holding Clicker on his lap as they talked softly about random things with Tech in the cockpit, maybe the resident genius was teaching him more of what he knew? None of them were as smart as Tech, but Clicker seemed to want to try, try to learn everything Tech and Crosshair could teach him, and it made Hunter smile.

Nokt was with Wrecker, the giant was giving the young Sergeant a run down on the fine art of explosives, and Nokt seemed to be really interested in it, probably also very interested in the fact that Wrecker could use those huge hands to work on something so small and delicate. Most of his brothers were to be fair, but it was something Wrecker was good at and enjoyed, so none of them were going to question him or his reasoning. Mouse was stress cleaning, he was practically glued to Gonky, though the droid didn’t seem to mind the attention, the two of them had a conversation that no one other than them could understand. Did Mouse really understand Gonky? Did Gonky understand Mouse’s squeaking language? Or were they both just making noise to hold some form of interaction? “If you keep scrubbing the counter, you’re going to take the coating off.” Hunter said gently as he walked up to Mouse and Gonky, and the small clone jumped a mile, obviously lost in his own head and his conversation with Gonky.

‘Sorry.’ He started to hiccup, ‘I didn’t mean too.’

“I’m not mad Mouse, just… don’t want you to create more work for yourself.” Hunter said gently, resting his hand on Mouse’s small back, then grinned, “What are you and Gonky talking about? Hopefully not plans to take over the galaxy.”

Mouse blushed but he was smiling, ‘Nothing much.’ He paused, ‘Just silly little things.’

“Like?” Hunter encouraged as he sat down.

‘If we could paint the interior of the Marauder, what colour would it be?’ He looked down at Gonky, ‘I said a nice warm colour, Gonky said something like a rich blue. Who would win in different types of challenges?’ He paused, ‘Like who would win "who can stay still the longest". Gonky reminded me that Crosshair is a sniper, so he has an unfair advantage.’

“Do you think I would win anything?” Hunter chuckled.

‘Who has the nicest hair.’ Mouse blushed again and Hunter blinked, then laughed.

“Was that even in question?” He replied, “I take great pride in my hair.”

‘That’s why you win.’ Mouse giggled, ‘Stitches was also a contender, but Gonky hasn’t met him.’

“He does have nice hair.”

‘And a nice beard.’

“I feel jealous now.”

‘You still win.’

Chapter 64: Meeting the Generals

Chapter Text

“Welcome gentlemen.” General Kenobi said as they entered the command station, he and General Plo were standing closer together and Hunter could see Commander Cody and Wolffe standing in the background in shadows, “I am happy to see you all again.”

“Thank you, General Kenobi.” Hunter replied.

“And I feel I should apologise for the actions and attitudes of the men from the 212th you had to deal with on Umbara, it does not represent my men as a whole, I would hope so anyways.” Kenobi sighed, “Commander Cody has given me the whole story, and I have spoken with Master Skywalker on the actions of the men under his command.”

“The… they…” Nokt seemed flustered, “Umbara was a high stress campaign, we were put under a General who had little regard to the wellbeing of the men under his command… who turned out to be a traitor… but the fact that they were so easily convinced that we…” he lost his voice as he hiccupped.

“That we were the spies and traitors.” Clicker finished the statement, “Even after… General Krell was outed as the… the traitor… they still didn’t treat us as allies… we weren’t brothers… not to them…”

“I see.” Kenobi sounded upset, looked upset too and if they asked Mouse, he would probably say he smelled sad too.

“That is very disheartening to hear.” Plo Koon said.

“I… I want to make excuses for them… I want to believe it was only because of Krell or… or the stress of Umbara…” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers, “That because we’re… we don’t look like clones… but that puts blame on us, we’d be victim blaming…”

“We… don’t want them punished in the… we just want them to take accountability for… for the pain they caused, the nightmares… the memories they forced us to endure because one General… not even their own Generals… said we weren’t… a… that we were aruetii.” Clicked shrank in on himself when he said that horrible word. Mouse took hold of both Nokt’s hand and Clicker’s hand, giving them a gentle squeeze, even though the small clone was sobbing from the weight of the emotions in the room, Hunter couldn’t tell the emotions on the faces of the Jedi, nor on the faces of the two Commanders, but Mouse could clearly smell it and it was negatively affecting him. Hunter could tell that it was these kinds of moments that Mouse probably wished he could talk, speak his mind out loud, to vocalise his opinions, his fears… his emotions. He couldn’t, because a group of cadets decided to string him up by his neck, robbing him of his voice, his only way of conveying the emotions that he couldn’t portray in his sign language, because of his limited capability to facially emote.

All he had was his squeaks.

His squeaks that no one understood except his brothers, who grew up with him, who knew him so well.

But Gonky could also understand him.

Somehow.

Chapter 65: It was his choice

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed as he waited for the Night Stalkers to return, General Plo had asked them to stay behind, so they could tell them everything, everything about Umbara, about the reg pricks who couldn’t take help when offered to them. Hunter hoped they’d be alright, but General Plo and General Kenobi both seemed to be very kind and approachable people, they smelled warm as Mouse informed them, so hopefully the three would be safe and comforted by the Generals.

“So… You win best hair?” Crosshair asked, as the sniper came to stand beside him.

“Apparently.” Hunter chuckled, “Theoretically you would win in “who can stay still the longest”, Gonky had to remind Mouse that you’re a sniper, so Mouse thinks you have an unfair advantage.” He smiled and looked at the droid, then back to Crosshair, “What colour would you paint the inside of the Marauder?”

“What?” Crosshair quirked an eyebrow.

“That was one of the questions between Mouse and Gonky, Mouse said a warm colour, Gonky said a rich blue.” He replied, “And now, the longer I stare at the interior of the ship, the more I think… colour would be great, something other than gunmetal grey.”

“I would suggest that we choose a colour that won’t clash too much with out accent colour.” Tech appeared from the cockpit.

“So… something that works well with red?” Wrecker asked, he also appeared from the cockpit.

“Blue is on the other side of the colour spectrum to red.” Tech had his nose in his datapad, “Though some of the colour combinations I have found combining those two colour-charts… if one was to mix a deeper blue with our brighter red… it could work.”

“Gonk!” Gonky piped in.

“We haven’t made a decision yet Gonky, so you haven’t won as of right now.” Hunter chuckled, “Would you like a nice new paint job?”

“Gonk!” was his answer.

“We’ll ask the Stalkers when they get back.” He sighed softly, then touched the tooka sticker that was still adhered to his chest plate.

“Did he tell you what happened to him?” Crosshair asked gently.

“Yeah…” He replied, “They used to hold him down and… threatened his body with sharp things.”

“Right…” Crosshair frowned, “Well, they’re safe now with us.”

“And on Kamino.” Tech said, “Most troopers and cadets are staying far away from us and them.”

“Yeah… did you find out how Stitches got stabbed?” He looked to Tech.

“I did.” Tech replied, fixing his goggles, “It went down a little different to what he told us.”

“Let’s see it then?” Wrecker said, “We know you have the feed.” Tech frowned but obliged.

>The feed opened in the medical cubicle, where an injured trooper was brandishing a blaster and shouting nonsense, clearly lost in his own head. That blaster was turned on Stitches when he entered the cubicle, "Easy trooper. I'm here to help." The Medic said calmly, holding up his hands to show he was unarmed, "You are hurt. I'm a medic, will you allow me to help you?"

"Stay back! I don't want to hurt anyone! I... I just need everyone to leave me alone!" was the reply.

Stitches motioned with his head for the other people in the cubicle to leave, "I'm CT-8434, Stitches, can you tell me who you are?"

"Stitches... I... I've heard of you." the trooper’s blaster lowered a little, "I'm... NO! You're trying to control me!"

"I swear I have no intention of taking control of you, I'm here to help." he replied, carefully moving closer to the other man.

"Stay back!" the man yelled.

"I know you don't want to hurt me, I just want to help you and protect our brothers." Stitches replied calmly, "And both parties are in danger as long as you keep waving that blaster around. There are brothers just outside who are ready to shoot, but they don't want to hurt you."

"I... stay back!" a shot hit the ground in front of Stitches, but the medic didn’t react.

"Trooper… listen to me very carefully, I know what you are feeling, the crushing sense of fear and abandonment that comes with the death of brothers." He continued to move forward, "I know what it's like but this isn't the way to help yourself through it."

"I... I just wanted to save them!" the blaster lowered more, "Why can't I stop seeing them everywhere!?"

"For the same reason I can't stop screaming." Stitches replied, it didn’t sound as calm or confident as his other words, "But I can help you."

"I..." the trooper weakly tried to talk but Stitches finally managed to carefully take the blaster from the other man’s hand.

"Okay... let's get you some where you feel safe, yeah?" Stitches said softly.

Suddenly the door opened, "Don't move!"

“You lied!” The trooper yelled and suddenly he had a scalpel in his hand, the scalpel was stabbed into Stitches’ side and the medic looked shocked for a brief moment before he laid the man out cold with a punch.

Stitches then leaned against the wall, "You complete and utter morons! I had this under complete control!" he hissed at the security troopers, he grabbed the scalpel and pulled it out, "Kriffing shebs..." he pressed a cloth tight against the wound, "Any non-medical personnel leave, now."

"You know we can't do that." was the reply.

"Yes… yes, you can and I'm asking you very nicely." Stitches hissed as he managed to stand up straight. "Trainees! Get in here and help me treat him."

"Stitches..." The head security trooper started as medical staff pushed past the group, but Stitches cut him off.

"I said leave. I have patients who need assistance, and you are in the way." he glared at them until they left, then pointed to one of the younger medics as the others helped hoist the trooper onto the cot, "You, help me patch this up." <

“What did he mean by… for the same reason I can't stop screaming?” Tech asked in a small voice.

“I don’t know… but him getting angry at Mouse for asking a personal question… makes a lot of sense now.” Hunter replied, he didn’t know what made the medic the hardass he was now, but whatever it was… it clearly wasn’t good, “Probably why he seems to be so determined to keep the Night Stalkers safe.”

“Maybe… maybe he lost someone?” Wrecker said, “His family?”

“More than likely.” Crosshair frowned, “I ain’t asking him though.”

“None of us are…” Hunter sighed, “If he wants to talk or tell someone… then he can.”

That was his choice.

Chapter 66: Alone

Chapter Text

“The planet we are orbiting is not the target, but one of its moons, which appears to be an ice moon and we are hitting it during its winter season.” Tech said, his nose in his datapad, “So it’s going to be dark and cold.”

“We get all the fun places.” Wrecker grumbled.

“I… I read that it has ice spires, made of blue ice… I think that’s going to be cool to see.” Clicker said, “Pun intended.”

“I think we’ve ascertained that all your puns are intended Clicker.” Nokt chuckled.

Hunter smiled, but he realised Mouse wasn’t in the cockpit with the rest of them, “Excuse me a moment.” He said and left to find the tiny clone. It was difficult to find him, given how quiet Mouse could be, but the closer he got to the workshop, the more noticeable the small hiccupping sobs became, “Mouse?” He asked as he entered, “You okay?” Mouse was sitting with his back to the door and Hunter could see him struggling with his prosthetic. Gonky was sitting beside him, obviously giving the young clone some kind of comfort, “Mouse?” Hunter tried again, “Do you need help?” He knelt down and carefully put his hand on Mouse’s shoulder, Mouse just broke down at the touch, he was making sad squeaks, trying to convey what he was thinking… but that only made him cry more. “Woah… hey… it’s okay Mouse.” He said quickly and pulled the small clone against his chest, “You’re okay.” Mouse was breaking, he had clearly been trying to stay strong for his brothers, he had never given himself time to process what had happened because he had to take care of his brothers.

And he insisted on doing it on his own.

“It’s okay… you can cry. You don’t have to protect them on your own anymore.” He said gently, holding the boy close to his chest, resting his cheek on top of Mouse’s head, “We’re here to help you, just like you help us… you don’t have to go it alone anymore.” Mouse could tell what everyone was feeling, but clearly none of them noticed the weight the tiny trooper was placing on his own shoulders, he could hide his emotions because he was the only one who could smell them…

He did it, so nobody knew the pain he was hiding in order to help people.

Alone.

Chapter 67: Talking helps you realise that you are worth it

Chapter Text

“I know what it’s like, trying to be the strong one… do you want to talk about it?” Hunter asked the small clone as he helped him attach his prosthesis, Mouse couldn’t answer until his arm was reattached, so the only reply he got was hiccups and squeaks, Hunter sighed a little, but smiled when they finally got the limb in place, “There we go. How does that feel?”

‘Thank you.’ Mouse replied before fidgeting with his bag.

“No problem Mouse’ika.” Hunter smiled.

‘I.’ He paused, ‘Nokt said something probably went wrong with our batch before we were even decanted.’ He paused again, ‘Clicker suffers from his brain blips and I need to be useful, toxically so, to the point where I prioritise other people over myself. For so long, Nokt was the one to try and help us, but it started to negatively affect him physically.’

“So, you decided to be the one to help them? To take over for Nokt?” Hunter encouraged.

Mouse nodded with a squeak of confirmation, ‘Then I got really badly hurt.’ He gently wrapped his fingers around his small neck, ‘I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t eat.’ He paused, ‘I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t stop smelling the pain Nokt and Clicker were going through and I.’

“You wanted to help them stop hurting… even though you were the one who needed help?” Hunter asked and Mouse nodded again.

‘They were so sad and in so much emotional pain that it hurt my heart more than my injury hurt me physically, but I realised that the best way for me to help Nokt.’ He paused to wipe the tears dripping from his eyes, ‘To help Nokt and Clicker was to get better, to take a moment to let someone help me. I didn’t like the idea, because I.’

“You don’t think you deserve it… do you?” Hunter put his hand on Mouse’s shoulder, “Is that why you feel the need sometimes? Because you think you don’t matter enough?”

Mouse hiccupped again and started sobbing, ‘I know I matter, my brothers say I do, 99 said I do so why can’t I see that myself?’

“Because your brain is being a right sheb.” Hunter said, “Because no matter what you do, that stupid organ will never be happy, or at least it makes you think that. You are a good brother Mouse, your brothers are so lucky to have you with them, me and my brothers are lucky to have you. Never forget that we love you and you are wanted, you matter and nothing will ever take that away from you, especially not this sheb of an organ.” He moved his hand from Mouse’s shoulder, to rest it on his bald head, “So let us help you, like you help us, and we can all be there for each other. Yeah?” Mouse looked to him, his unfocused grey eyes were wet with tears but he brightened up and nodded.

‘Thank you Hunter.’

“No problem Mouse’ika.”

Chapter 68: The song of ancient people

Notes:

So, this race of beings are from an older Star Wars story I had. Their order came from beyond the rim of know space before the Great Hyperspace War in 5000 BBY. They are an ancient people who worship one deity, but three aspects of its form, three aspects of the same concept, three beings, one deity.

Chapter Text

“Tech? What’s that?” Clicker asked pointing to a giant black stone monolith as it appeared from behind the spires of blue ice.

“There’s also those.” Crosshair said, pointing to two massive humanoid statues carved from the same black stone, imbedded into the glacier, “And that big one up there.” The one he pointed to was also humanoid in shape, enrobed in tattered cloth, a strange disk encircling its head.

“My scans are producing records of an ancient civilisation… there is little known about them except that they came from far beyond the rim of known space. No one knows where they came from or where they went, they just… vanished into nothingness, leaving behind these structures in the most remote areas of the galaxy.” Tech replied, “The stone they used is found nowhere in the known galaxy, and many scholars believe the haloed being depicted up there is some form of deity, the other two depict aspects of the deity’s being.”

“Why would they build anything here? It’s an ice moon.” Hunter asked, he felt unnerved by the statues, none of them were depicted with a face but it was like they were staring down at them.

Judging them.

“No one knows.” Tech said, his voice carrying a frown as typed away at his wrist terminal, “But from what I am picking up on my scanner, the planetary defence system is located in a temple like structure at the base of those three statues. The monolith seems to be a waypoint, which could mean there are more of them all over the moon… maybe showing the way to the temple?”

“Whatever they are… I don’t like how it feels like they’re staring at us…” Nokt said, wrapping his arms around himself, “It feels like… like they’re taking me apart with their gaze…”

“I know how you feel.” Hunter replied, apparently so did Mouse, because the small clone was all but wrapped around Wrecker’s leg, probably trying to hide away from the gaze.

“They are beings being depicted without faces… but I too feel as though they are staring us down.” Tech replied as he fidgeted with his datapad.

“The faster we get there… the less time they have to break us down…” Hunter said, “Let’s double time this. Clicker, Mouse, keep a sense out for trouble, Tech, keep scanning.”

“Affirmative.” Tech replied, and he got nods from both Clicker and Mouse.

The ice groaned as wind moved through them, singing a sad song, bringing the tone of the moon down to crawling paranoia, like something was waiting for them to walk into the depths of the labyrinth of towering ice, waiting to devour them whole. As they neared the base of the statues the walls of the canyon started to become indented with deep cavities, which dotted the whole way up the walls, almost to the top, and in each of them was a body shaped object covered in a burial shroud, “I really don’t like this.” Nokt said, his gaze traveling up the sides of the glacier.

“The ice is showing no sign of erosion, despite the wind… though it may be because there are no other weather factors to contend with.” Tech replied, stopping briefly to scan one of the shrouds, “Interesting.”

“What?” Hunter asked.

“This body does not appear to have suffered from any form of decay… but it also isn’t showing signs of mummification.” Tech said, “The shroud has been frozen solid around the body…”

“So… they’re like… perfectly preserved?” Wrecker asked, “Is that possible?”

“I doubt they are recent burials, given this temple’s abandonment, I can theorise, however, that because of the temperature of the environment, combined with whatever burial rites they preformed on their dead, could contribute to the longevity of the body.”

Mouse seemed to finally pluck up some courage to leave Wrecker’s side and he walked over to Tech, he didn’t touch the frozen shroud but the edge of the cavity, leaned in close and carefully smelled it, he looked up at Tech, ‘It.’ He paused, ‘It smells human, but at the same time it doesn’t.’

“Can you tell how long it’s been here?” Tech asked as he typed the information into his wrist terminal.

Mouse looked back at the shroud, he seemed to think long and hard on his answer, ‘The scent marker is still there, I think it’s because of the way it’s buried.’ He paused, ‘But it has been here a very long time.’

“Great, a valley of perfectly preserved popsicles.” Nokt said, “The glacier is like a click tall, how the kriff did they get them up there?”

“If they… if they came from beyond the rim of the Galaxy… it could be they brought technologies with them that no one had ever seen…” Clicker said, “I think they positioned each cavity to… to make the wind sing, to make it morn the dead… it sounds so sad and lonely.”

“As long as none of them start waking up and chasing us.” Crosshair drawled, trying to act calm and collected, but they were all showing signs of discomfort, the sniper included.

“Right… let’s keep moving.” Hunter said quickly, “I don’t want to spend any more time here than is needed.”

They continued on their way to the temple structure, before stopping when the passage opened up to a large open space that housed the entrance to the structure, “I’m counting around thirty B-1 droids, a few supers… and four destroyers.” Crosshair said, Hunter could hear the sniper’s rangefinder cycling through its enhancements.

“We’re not here to destroy the place, so no explosives.” He looked at Wrecker, who groaned in disappointment, “Nokt, do you think you three can sneak in around them?”

“Mouse, what are our chances?” Nokt looked to the small clone, who was clearly going through scenarios in his head.

‘Stick close to the walls, follow the line of.’ He paused, then pointed to the black monoliths, ‘What did you call those things?’

“Monoliths.” Tech explained.

‘Thank you. If we use the monoliths as cover, we can get very close to the main entrance.” He explained.

“What do you want us to do?” Nokt looked to Hunter.

“Get as close as you can and droid popper the destroyers.” He handed Nokt a few droid poppers, “If we can get them out of the picture, we can stop them from destroying the area.”

“Rodger.” Nokt nodded, “Clicker… do you want to stay here?”

“Y… Yes please.” Clicker said, his hands instantly going to his noise cancellers.

“Okay, the minute you take out these destroyers, we’ll come in and take out the rest of the droids.” Hunter continued, “Everyone okay with this plan?”

“Affirmative.” Came the collective reply, Hunter watched as the two Night Stalkers moved like ghosts in the shadow of the monoliths, he felt his fear crawling around his heart, he knew they would be fine… they were scouts.

This is what they were made for.

“Okay… get ready…” He said, holding up his hand, “Three… two… one…” the poppers went off, earning a pained noise from Clicker, “Go!” They tore off into the cluster of B-1s making short work of the surprised droids. Hunter could feel the oppressive stares from the smaller statues standing either side of the doorway, “Tech… how far to the system hub?” he asked, he really didn’t want to be under the scrutiny of those staring voids.

“Not that far.” Tech said.

“I don’t like it that those things can stare at us… without having a face…” Wrecker grumbled.

“Agreed.” Hunter frowned, then looked to the approaching Night Stalkers, “You guys okay?”

“I don’t like those…” Clicker said, “My ears hurt…”

“I know, but we’re almost there.” Nokt said gently, “Right Hunter?”

“Right. Tech, lead the way.” He looked to his younger brother.

“Follow me.” Tech didn’t look up from his datapad.

Hunter paused at the gaping maw that passed as a doorway, the wind was still singing, but the song had turned strange, like it was trying to warn them of something… “They don’t want us to enter…” Clicker said from beside him, taking hold of his bracer in his signature grip, “The song… the song sounds lonely but scared…”

“I know how it feels.” Hunter replied, half-jokingly to try and squash down the creeping dread clawing at his chest, “Let’s get in there and get this over as fast as we can… yeah?”

“Mm.” Clicker nodded and they followed the others down the steps that were illuminated by strange blue lights.

“Strange… these lights aren’t affecting my vision…” Nokt said from the front of the pack, looking back at the others without his visor down, “They’re bright… but it’s like my eyes are dilating enough to negate the light… without actually doing it.”

“The chemical composition of these lights is unlike anything in the know galaxy, some of these are unknown.” Tech said, frantically typing away at his wrist terminal, the resident genius hated not knowing things, but if there was nothing in the know galaxy to get information for it… “They also appear to be alive. Living lights.”

“Like light-bugs?” Clicker asked.

“Similar.” Tech replied, holding up his scanner to one of the lights, “Mouse, what do they smell like to you?”

The small clone made no noise, he was staring down the steps, stock still and silent, “Mouse?” Hunter asked, putting his hand on the small clone’s back, “What is it?”

‘The singing smell.’ Mouse finally pulled his gaze from the black void beyond the lights, ‘I can smell the singing smell, it’s here but.’ He paused, ‘But it’s wrong, it smells so much older, colder.’ He paused again, ‘Like it isn’t part of reality and it’s trying to pull the warm smells into nothingness.’

“We should alert the Generals.” Hunter said, if the singing smell was the Force, then this place was a serious concern for the Jedi Order, “We… we’ll get this mission done and dusted and… and get the kriff out of dodge.”

“We are nearly at the bottom.” Nokt said, “I can’t see anyone down there though, Clicker… do you hear anything?”

“No.” the young clone said, “Just… just the wind’s song.”

“Everything here is singing.” Crosshair drawled, it wasn’t as neutral as he normally sounded, the place was getting to him also.

The stairs opened up into a massive great hall, worn banners rustling in the lonely wind hung upon huge stone columns, those columns that seemed to reach the sky, supported intricately designed roof trusses, “It’s so beautiful.” Nokt said, he sounded out of breath, then walked over to one of the columns and carefully placed his hand on the stone, “It’s warm, how can it be warm in such a frigid environment?”

“There’s the equipment.” Wrecker said, “But someone’s already destroyed those droids.”

“It is probable the hall is trapped, though it would be strange they managed to set up the equipment and not set something off.” Tech frowned as he carefully walked over to the console, “Strange… there are files on this terminal that predate the separatist configuration.”

“What’s on them?” Hunter walked over to him.

“Translations from some of the scriptures found in the tombs…” Tech scanned through the data, “Strings tell truth to the unwise who dream in cold embers lost beyond the sea. Seeing that Queen in silent agony, who blinks in awe of infants writhing in bloody lakes and thickened bile. Seeing between the eyes of cold blood, the lamb bears witness to the endless suffering in the woe of those who cannot see beyond the lack of depth in their hearts. Strings, plucked like the nightmare of sacrificial lambs beyond the dream of black blood and snakes, weaved into a tapestry of pain and loneliness which brings to light an ancient sense of loss. The Strings, the Strings, that bind the feeble body of life. They speak as those whom have lost the winter skin that lies flayed upon the torn clothes of despair.”

“Lovely.”

Chapter 69: A cold, grotesque shrine

Notes:

I love when I can return to writing horror, my first love. 🥳

So this is quite horror heavy, a mix of cosmic and body horror, so be warned ahead of time!

Chapter Text

“Mouse! Don’t wander off!” Hunter looked to Nokt as the young sergeant call after his younger brother, receiving a squeak of confirmation of the statement.

“How’s it going over here Tech?” Hunter asked, Tech was typing away at the console, “Anything of importance?”

“The sequencing for the defence system is surprisingly complicated.” Tech replied with a frown.

“Have… have you tried reverse sequencing it?” Clicker asked as he came to stand beside Tech, Hunter looked to Nokt, who looked as flabbergasted as the rest of them did, when did Clicker learn how to do that?

“Hm… no I haven’t.” Tech replied, “Ah, here we go. Thank you, Clicker.”

“That’s… that’s alright.” Clicker said happily.

“When’d you learn to do that?” Wrecker asked, he was very confused.

“I… I watched Tech do it, then… then I went and looked up how to do it… so I could work on it when Tech wasn’t around…” Clicker replied with a blush as he held his noise cancellers, “I… I tried to safe crack some of his datapads as… as practice.”

“That’s so…” Wrecker started but was cut off by Mouse’s scream, not a terrified squeak, but a genuine scream.

“Mouse!” Nokt was off like a shot, Hunter following close behind, “Mouse where are you!?”

“This way.” Clicker said, leading them down a flight of steps that wrapped around a cylindrical space.

Mouse was sitting at the bottom of the steps, sobbing uncontrollably and hugging himself, “Mouse.” Nokt knelt down in front of him, “What happened?”

“Maker… preserve us.” Hunter felt his body go cold, inside the cylindrical space was a large atrium, those blue lights illuminating the horror within, inside the atrium was a grotesque tree made out of humanoid skeletons tied together with red strings, the tree enveloped a small statue of the haloed deity. The surrounding stone floor was stained black with an unknowable fluid and baby sized skeletons were purposefully placed to create a series of rings around the abomination, “What the actual kark…?” Hunter felt sick.

“It appears to be a shrine of some kind.” Tech replied, his voice betraying his uneasiness, “I… I think this deity might be one of death…”

“I’m going to be sick.” Nokt said, gagging slightly, “Those are baby skeletons!”

“They appear humanoid in shape and structure…” Tech said, carefully moving to the closest skeleton to scan it, “There are some differences, such as eye socket shape, the jaw shape… there are snake skeletons beside each of them.”

“Tech… contact the Generals… this is way beyond our job description…” Hunter said, “Wait…” he moved into the shrine, carefully stepping over the small skeletons until he got to the statue. Two skeleton arms were used to hold aloft a weird hilt looking object, “This looks like it could be some kind of lightsaber…”

“They were Force users?” Crosshair hissed, “Great, as if this couldn’t get any worse.”

“I do not think they were Force users in the sense of our understanding of them.” Tech said, “Mouse… can you smell kyber?”

Mouse shook his head as he continued sobbing, “If it’s not kyber…” Clicker said, “Then is it really a lightsaber?”

“I have contacted General Kenobi, he and General Plo will be with us momentarily.” Tech said, arriving back after a moment, Hunter wasn’t sure when he’d left at all, “They are unnerved by all… of this.”

“So are we!” Nokt was still trying to comfort Mouse, who couldn’t stop crying, “Those… those are babies!”

“How about you guys go back up to the great hall.” Hunter said, “Cross, Wrecker, bring them upstairs.”

“Right.” Wrecker replied, “Let’s get going.”

Clicker walked up to the tree, stepping over the small skeletons, “There’s no song in here.” He said softly, “It’s… so quiet…” he looked at the countless skeletons around them, then at the tree, then to Hunter, “Maybe… maybe they were trying to keep this place… a tomb of silence?”

“I don’t know… but I don’t like it.” Hunter sighed, “You are staying remarkably calm Click’ika.”

“I… I’m terrified but… but I can’t afford to hurt myself again…” he replied softly, “So I’m trying to force it down, so… so I don’t cause physical injury to myself…”

“That must be horrible for you.” Hunter sighed and carefully led the young clone out of the atrium after he took hold of Hunter’s offered hand, “I can’t imagine the emotional pain that kind of thing causes.”

“It… I can’t really express myself the way I would like to…” Clicker sighed, “Tech has issues with… allocating an emotion to a situation, so… so he appears to be emotionless sometimes… but I… I feel everything the same as everyone else. I just… can’t physically show it sometimes.”

“I understand completely.” Hunter replied.

“Mouse tends to feel everything in excess… because he can smell the emotions of others…he can feel their emotions as though they were his own…” Clicker looked down at the stone steps as they ascended, “He doesn’t like this place, it smells wrong… ancient…”

“Yeah, none of us like it here.” Hunter replied with a grumble.

“Do… do you think the Jedi didn’t know this was here? If the singing smell is… is the Force, then maybe it’s hiding itself from them?” Clicker looked up to him, “It may be why… they didn’t alert us to this place…”

“Could be, but for now… let’s just meet them and… get out of here.” Hunter sighed and looked down to Clicker.

“Mm.” Clicker nodded, “I don’t like the song. It sounds so lonely and scared… like it’s singing the last emotions of the people who… who were put in that shrine.” He looked to the group as the crested the stairs, where General Kenobi and General Plo stood with the others, and they were talking to a hologram projection of General Windu and Grand Master Yoda.

“Exist here, the Force does.” Master Yoda said.

“The Force here does not feel malicious, it feels ancient, cold.” General Plo said, “Like it is existing not as a force for good or evil, merely… here.”

“Evil? Like… like the dar’jetii?” Nokt asked, “The… the bad Jedi?”

“Know of them you do?” the Grand Master asked the young sergeant.

“I… I read some of the history of the Old Republic… they’re mentioned a few times…” Nokt replied, fidgeting with his fingers, “Out… outside that I don’t know anything.”

“Mouse said it is like the singing smell isn’t part of this reality and it’s trying to drag the warm smells into emptiness.” Crosshair said.

“Singing smell?” General Windu asked with a raised eyebrow, looking to the tiny trooper, who was suddenly very interested in his boots.

“In all things, the Force is. Smelling it’s presence, you may be.” Master Yoda said, “Ancient this place is, beyond good and evil it may be.”

“There is a shrine of some kind in the atrium down those steps.” Hunter said, “It’s… it’s not a pleasant sight… at all.”

“I hypothesise that these people worshipped an embodiment of death.” Tech said, scrolling through his datapad, “Though, I am unsure as to why it has three aspects.”

“See this shrine through the eyes of a Jedi, we must.” Master Yoda said, pointing his cane at the two Generals standing in the great hall, “Enter the shine, you must.” Before anyone could answer the Grand Master, the singing wind changed its song, turning cold and hateful, earning upset noises from Mouse and Clicker, Mouse hugged Wrecker’s leg like he would vanish if he let go, while Clicker tightened his grip on Hunter’s hand, “Want this intrusion, it seems, the shrine does not.”

“It would seem this place is more alive than the burials would suggest.” General Windu said, “Have you located anything beyond skeletons?”

“The lights here seem to be alive, and… they don’t affect my eyes, even when I’m not wearing my protective eye gear.” Nokt said, “They’re really bright, but it’s like my pupils are dilating to accommodate the extra light… even though I am incapable of doing that.”

“Interesting.” General Kenobi said, looking at the ghostly blue lights that illuminated the area, “I do not sense anything from them.”

“Nor I.” General Plo added, “Was there anything in the shrine?”

“There is a strange hilt thing being held in the hands of a skeleton down in the shrine, like it’s offering it to the deity.” Hunter said, “Kinda looks like a lightsaber hilt… but Mouse can’t smell any kyber crystal.”

The Jedi all looked at Mouse again, who hid behind Wrecker, “Smell many things you can, interesting it is.” Master Yoda sounded amused, “Unable to enter the shrine we are, data from you, we must accept.”

“Tech has any data you need Generals.” Hunter replied with a nod, “He has been logging everything since we landed.”

“Excellent.” General Windu replied, “Since you have taken the defence system offline, the separatists have lost their main protection, leaving them open to a full-frontal attack.”

“We have already begun the attack Master Windu.” Kenobi said, “We should have it taken within the week.”

“Good news this is.” Master Yoda said, then looked to them, looking at each of them individually before returning to Hunter, “Come to Coruscant you all must, speak with you in person, I must.”

“Go to Coruscant?” Nokt asked, “Why… why do you wish to speak to us in person Grand Master?”

“When face to face we are, tell you I will.” Yoda replied.

“Of course Grand Master.” Hunter said, “We… we will depart as soon as we are able.”

“Good news this is.” Master Yoda said with a smile, “Look forward to it, I do.” They all saluted as the holoprojections cut off.

“It seems to be a blessing that Master Skywalker is not here.” General Plo chuckled.

“Indeed, he and young Ahsoka would enter the shrine despite the very clear warning.” General Kenobi sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, then looked to them, “You have done well alerting us to this place gentlemen.”

“We figured that… because Mouse mentioned the singing smell, that we should alert the Jedi.” Nokt said.

“I am very interested in this singing smell.” General Kenobi said gently, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“You have mentioned it to me before and I must ask, does it change from person to person?” General Plo asked, folding his arms loosely and Mouse looked to Nokt, who nodded, then to Hunter, who also nodded. Hunter wondered why the tiny clone was asking him for permission when Nokt had already given it?

‘Jedi have a nice singing smell.’ He paused, ‘Well, most do.’

“Oh?” General Plo encouraged.

‘Krell smelled wrong, acidic and.’ He paused again, thinking over his words, ‘And warped.’

“Is that something that my men and the men of Master Skywalker didn’t take into consideration?” General Kenobi asked, his voice carrying a sad note.

‘I.’ Mouse’s hands were shaking, ‘I don’t want to say something bad about someone, but General Skywalker.’ He started to hiccup, ‘He smells a little wrong for a Jedi, not bad, just not like the rest of the Jedi.’

“Wrong?” General Kenobi asked, “How so?”

Mouse started to hiccup badly as he began hyperventilating, “Easy Mouse, easy. It’s okay, they’re not angry.” Nokt gently pulled Mouse’s hand away from his prosthetic arm, which was groaning under the pressure of his grip.

“We are not angry young one.” General Plo said softly, “You can smell that yes?”

Mouse just broke down crying, sobbing and hiccupping, “Come here Mouse.” Wrecker said as he scooped the small clone up into his arms and held him close.

“He… he was the one… to find the shrine.” Clicker said, “He’s… hurting… badly.”

“That is saddening to hear.” General Plo said, “Had I known this, I would not have asked such a question of you.”

“Leave this place behind you, let it’s emptiness fade from your minds as it will bring nothing but pain to you all.” General Kenobi said.

“Of course, thank you Generals.”

Chapter 70: Something strange might just be something familiar viewed from a different angle.

Chapter Text

Hunter was dragged from sleep by the sound of someone throwing up, by the nauseating feeling of the person’s wonky electrical signals, it made him feel sick also, but he kept it down, “Easy Mouse, it’s okay… just… just let it out.” He heard the quiet voice of Clicker, “I’m here, don’t worry.”

“Everything alright in here?” He asked as once he made it to the refresher, Clicker looked to him as he massaged Mouse’s small back, “Mouse?”

“He’s… stressed.” Clicker replied, “That last mission… wasn’t good. He… the reason he went off on his own… was because he could smell the shrine…”

“And you didn’t know what it was?” Hunter asked the small clone as he took over for Clicker, massaging Mouse’s back as he continued to throw up, but Mouse managed to shake his head, “Right…” he chuckled a little, “How do you have this much in you? You’re so tiny.” Clicker huffed a small laugh, even Mouse managed a giggle and soon he managed to stop vomiting, leaving him merely gagging slightly. Hunter grabbed a cloth and carefully wiped Mouse’s face, and handed him a glass of water, “Do you want to take anything for it the pain?” he asked gently, “Can he take anything?” he looked to Clicker.

“S… Stitches says that there… isn’t much he can take without… having an ad… adverse reaction to.” Clicker replied, he was fidgeting with Mouse’s mask.

“We can try the ones Crosshair has, they’re quite basic.” Hunter smiled down to the small clone, “Do you want to try that?” Mouse looked up to him and nodded with a small squeak, “Okay. I’m sure Crosshair keeps them with him at all times. Do you need help standing up?” Mouse shook his head and tried to stand up by himself. He made it all the way to upright, but when he tried to take a step, he almost toppled over, “Easy Mouse.” Hunter said when he caught him, “Clicker, can I ask you to go find Crosshair?”

“Mm.” Clicker nodded and put Mouse’s mask on the sink before leaving to go find the sniper.

“Mouse… what’s wrong? Honestly.” Hunter sighed as he helped Mouse put his mask back on, then hoisted Mouse up onto his hip, opened the refresher door and walked towards the cockpit, where they passed Clicker and Crosshair, the two of them looked at them as Hunter and Mouse went past. “Is it something more than just the physical image of the shrine that’s bothering you.” Mouse hiccupped as Hunter put him down on the co-pilot’s seat and started to cry quietly, wiping his eyes with his sleeves, something had clearly hurt the young trooper, something none of them could clearly experience, “Did you smell something wrong?” he asked, earning a nod from Mouse.

‘They.’ He paused to wipe his eyes, ‘There was no fear. They went willingly.’

“You can tell that?” Hunter asked softly as he sat down on the pilot’s seat.

‘The freezing temperatures kept the scent markers, thousands of years later, I can still catch the scent and there was no fear.’ He hiccupped as he started sobbing harder, ‘They weren’t scared. Why weren’t they scared of dying?’

“I don’t know.” Hunter sighed, “Maybe it was part of their religion, their beliefs in something far greater than they were… maybe they saw it as an honor to be brought there. We don’t know and we will probably never know.”

‘I.’ he paused again to wipe his eyes, ‘I don’t understand why they.’ He started to sob again, ‘Why they weren’t scared of being used as something so.’

“Perverse? Horrific?” Hunter finished for him, “Maybe to them it was normal, it’s like looking at the Sand People of Tatooine, what we see of them is how they react to outsiders, cruel and barbaric… but they have an entire culture we don’t get to see. So this might be something… something that isn’t a common practice, but because we don’t see the culture, the people behind this shrine… we don’t get to know anything other than what we see… and what we saw there is so, inherently wrong to us.”

Mouse looked to him and hiccupped, then made a squeak of understanding, ‘That makes sense.’ He wiped the remaining tears from his face. Hunter was continually surprised by how fast Mouse could bounce back and just… stop crying… almost instantaneously, when someone explained things to him, ‘Something strange might just be something familiar viewed from a different angle.’

“Where did you learn all these philosophies Mouse’ika?” Hunter smiled, which made Mouse blush.

‘I like listening to people.’ He looked to the floor, ‘I can’t read, I really wish I could but.’ He sighed, ‘But my stupid brain doesn’t work like that and it makes me sad.’

“It would make many people sad Mouse’ika, I can’t imagine what it’s like not being able to read… I’ve been able to read for so long.” Hunter replied.

Mouse made a small squeak and nodded, ‘But as 99 told me, just because I can’t do one thing.’ He paused to hiccup, ‘Doesn’t mean I can’t do so many other things.’

“Exactly.” Hunter smiled, “You help people who are sick or injured, because of this handy thing attached to your sheb of an organ.” He tapped the tiny clone’s mask, “Just like Tech helps people with his big brain.’

‘You help people too Hunter.’ Mouse replied, then bounced happily, ‘Your superpower is being a good ori’vod.’

“And fabulous hair.” He chuckled, earning a giggle from Mouse, it was really good to hear the small clone laughing, after everything that happened between Umbara and that druk-show of a last mission, “What do you think? Should I try beat Stitches in the facial hair competition also?” Mouse shook his head, “It wouldn’t suit me would it?”

‘No.’ Mouse was smiling behind his mask and Hunter wondered what those smiles looked like, uncovered from behind the medical apparatus he was confined to?

Probably like 99’s.

Chapter 71: Travel to Coruscant

Chapter Text

“This is Coruscant?” Nokt asked, looking out the view port that was now filled with the planet sized city.

“Coruscant, the capital of the Republic, the entire planet is one big city.” Tech said, sitting in the pilot’s seat, “The surface level is only one of over five thousand.”

“Five thousand?” Clicker asked, sitting in the co-pilots seat, “Was… was the lowest level… the first city?”

“It is believed to have been built -96723 LY.” Tech replied, “It slowly began to envelop the entire planet, and once they ran out of room to expand outwards, they started to expand the city upwards. Hence why there is now over five thousand levels of city.”

“It must be horrible living so far… away from the sun.” Nokt said sadly.

“Don’t worry Nokt, we’re not going down there.” Hunter said softly, putting his hand on the young Sergeant’s shoulder, “We’re here to get our brains scrambled trying to understand the Grand Master’s manner of speaking, maybe learn something if we can do it.”

“Yeah, it will probably smell bad.” Crosshair seemed to ask an unseen question from Mouse, “And it will be very noisy.”

“T… Thank you for warning us.” Clicker said, “I… I don’t know if this will be pleasant but I’m… I’m looking forward to seeing a planet that isn’t being… over run with… droids.”

“Same as that vod, same as.” Hunter sighed.

“We’ll be landing at the military base, which is the permanent home of the Coruscant guard, but also acts as a hub for squads escorting Jedi to and from the planet.” Tech explained.

“Are clones allowed in the temple?” Wrecker asked, “Or… is it just for Jedi?”

“If… if the Grand Master wants to speak with us… we might be going to the temple…” Clicker looked to Tech as they broke atmosphere, “W… what should I… do in… in situations with… air hazards?”

Hunter smiled then looked at the others, “Just going to say this now Mouse.” He looked to the tiny clone, who froze and looked to him, “Even if you think you can love and care for a massiff in the middle of a war, on a tiny ship, we are not getting you one.” He chuckled.

Mouse sagged a little and made an upset noise, “I’m sure if you ask one of the Cories, they’ll let you meet one of theirs.” Wrecker laughed, “I hear one’s called Grizzer.” Mouse looked up to him and bounced happily.

“Approaching the base.” Tech called back to them.

“Right, gear up guys.” Hunter sighed a little, he wasn’t sure… or happy… about this diversion, but he hoped it would be beneficial for the boys, who needed something… anything… to distract them from the pain of Umbara. The beauty of the planet wide city flew past the view port, the rising sun glinted off of the innumerable transparisteel windows of towering skyscrapers… it made him feel at least a little calmer.

There were no droid battles here.

It was safe.

Chapter 72: Unexpected meeting in the Capital

Notes:

He is everywhere! You can never escape him! XD

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t know what he was expecting when they landed, but meeting Stitches was one hundred percent unexpected, “W… why are you on Coruscant?” He asked, looking to the medic.

The medic sipped from his cup, which smelled strongly of caf, as he stared at them, then after a moment he spoke, “Visiting a colleague. He had to leave with his squad, so I’m waiting for my ride back to Kamino, which is, unsurprisingly… late.” He sipped his caf again, “Again.”

“You visit here often?” Nokt asked, “Is this colleague…?”

“He is a colleague, sergeant, nothing more.” Stitches frowned, then raked his stern gaze across each of them, making them shrink away slightly, “What happened?”

“What… makes you think something happened?” Hunter asked.

Stitches stared at him as he sipped his caf again, tearing Hunter's barriers apart with its intensity, “We… had a bad mission.” Nokt said quickly, “We… we witnessed something that affected us badly.”

“I see.” Stitches frowned again, “I hope you are helping each other through this?”

“To the best we can.” Hunter said.

“So.” Stitches looked into his mug, frowning at the lack of caf, “What brings you all to Coruscant?”

Mouse squeaked to get their attention, ‘We were asked to come here for a meeting with Grand Master Yoda.’

“Oh?” Stitches raised an eyebrow, “Here to see the temple?”

‘Maybe, but we don’t know if they allow clones into the temple.’ Mouse replied, ‘We.’ He stopped as something seemed to grab his attention and Hunter could hear him smelling the air, it took a moment but Hunter managed to see what the small clone was possibly smelling.

It was a massiff.

“Ah, yes, that would be Sergeant Hound.” Stitches said, “If you tell him you’re with me, and if you ask him very nicely, I think he’d be happy enough to let you talk to Grizzer.”

Mouse was bouncing like a ball and looked to Nokt and Hunter, looking for permission, “Go on then.” Nokt chuckled, “Bring Clicker with you.”

Mouse squeaked happily, took hold of Clicker’s hand, and they were almost running over to the Sergeant, “What is this meeting about?” Stitches returned his attention to the five of them.

“We are unsure of the purpose, but we were asked by Grand Master Yoda to meet with him here on Coruscant.” Tech replied, “We had to alert the Jedi of our findings on our last mission.”

“Seeing the way that you are all holding yourselves over the mention of it, I will not ask what it was.” Stitches said.

Hunter was surprised by that statement, “So… do you come to Coruscant regularly?” Nokt asked the medic, trying to steer the conversation away from the nightmare.

“When my colleague isn’t out on mission and I am not busy, so maybe once a standard month.” He replied, and Hunter looked over to the two small clones, who were petting Grizzer happily and smiled, because they were okay, and safe, and happy…

At least for the moment.

Chapter 73: Brothers forever

Chapter Text

“I don’t know what to do Stitches.” Hunter sighed as he looked to the medic, he was alone with him after everyone else went to say hi to Sergeant Hound and Grizzer, “Between Umbara and the last mission… I feel like this war is going to break them before an ending is in sight.”

“Hm.” Stitches replied, looking to the group, “As I said before, the best thing for both them and yourself to do, is be there for each other.” The older clone looked to him briefly before returning his gaze to the group, “And if one of you breaks, then brothers will be there to love and protect. Be the brother 99 wanted all of us to be, what Commander Colt tried to instil in all of us as cadets.”

“You didn’t have that… did you?” Hunter asked before he could stop the words, he knew he’d said the wrong thing before the words even left him, and he froze when that hard gaze was returned to him, “I…”

“I would ask that you inform your brother to stop taking video feed recordings from Medical.” He said calmly, not angrily… just a stern voice of a disapproving teacher, “It is a violation of my patient’s privacy and will land him in hot water if he’s not careful.”

“Yes… of course sir.” Hunter replied quickly.

“As long as that is understood.” Stitches frowned, looking back to the group. Hunter noticed Mouse and Clicker were looking in their direction, “Be there for your brothers, that’s all you can do.” The medic said before turning and walking to the landing bays.

Hunter sighed when the medic was out of earshot, “I keep opening my stupid mouth.” He grumbled, running his hand through his hair.

“Something wrong Hunter?” Nokt asked as he walked up to him, “Mouse and Clicker are worried.”

“Yeah, just… never know when to keep my mouth shut.” He looked to the younger sergeant, “Or when to stop poking an angry medic.”

“Oh… I… I know you’re worried for us.” Nokt said softly, “And I’m worried because you’re pulling double duty, protecting both families… but… I’m glad you’re asking for help from someone, someone older than us with more life experience.”

“He has adopted us for some reason, so I figured that I should at least ask for advice…” Hunter sighed, “He gives good advice… until I say the wrong thing and he shuts the conversation down.”

“He’s… hurting.” Nokt said quietly, “Mouse can smell it… it buried under so much but…”

“Yeah, but if he wants to talk, then he’ll talk. We can’t force him… like we can’t force each other to talk.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “We… we just need to have each other’s back, protect each other and care for each other… love each other.”

“Like 99 taught us.” Nokt smiled warmly.

“Like he raised us.” Hunter smiled in return, “To be the best we possibly can be.”

“Come hell or high water.”

Chapter 74: Grand Master Yoda

Notes:

Why do I do this to myself? Why? I have enough difficulty with the language thing... why do I insist on writing Yoda?

Chapter Text

“Happy to see you, I am.” Grand Master Yoda smiled to them as they ascended the steps to the temple, “Awaiting your arrival, I have.”

“No disrespect Grand Master Yoda… but why have you… called us here?” Nokt asked, “I’ve been trying to wrack my brain for an answer but I… can’t think of any reason…”

“Think too hard, you do.” The Jedi chuckled.

Hunter looked around at the amazing architecture of the temple, at the towering statues and pillars, he could see many Jedi moving around the halls behind the Grand Master, he blinked and looked to Mouse when he heard him smelling the air with interest, “Mouse?”

“Smell something interesting, do you?” Grand Master Yoda asked, “Speak your finds, you should.”

Mouse seemed to notice all of them were looking at him and suddenly became incredibly interested in his boots, “It’s… okay Mouse.” Clicker said gently, taking hold of his brother’s shoulder plate in his signature grip.

“Yeah, it’s always cool when you tell us.” Wrecker grinned.

Mouse looked up and cast his gaze to Nokt, who nodded with a smile, then he looked to Grand Master Yoda, ‘A.’ he paused, ‘A tree, but at the same time it.’ He paused again, ‘It has a singing smell, like the Jedi do.’

“The Uneti tree, you are smelling.” Grand Master Yoda replied, “Interesting, I find it, that smell it you can.”

‘Why?’ Mouse looked as confused as the rest of them probably felt.

“On the roof, the tree is.” Grand Master Yoda chuckled.

‘Oh.’ Mouse paused, he seemed flustered, ‘I.’ he was struggling to get his hands and brain to cooperate, which was making him upset, ‘I just.’

“Easy Mouse.” Nokt said gently, “Don’t stress too much.”

“Mean to upset you, I did not.” Grand Master Yoda said gently, “Wish to speak with you all in person, I did. The reason, I will tell you.” The small Jedi turned and motioned for them all to follow him, “Interesting things of your abilities, I have heard, experience the galaxy differently from your brothers, I hear.”

“We… enhanced clones sir.” Hunter said, “We were made with desirable mutations in our genes, which the kaminoan’s enhanced to make us more specialised that regular clones.”

“Only two batches there are?” Grand Master Yoda asked, “More I would have thought there would be.”

“I… I think we’re the only two successful batches sir.” Nokt said, “Even then… I believe there were meant to be more than just the three of us Night Stalkers… but only we made it to maturity, and our… our mutations are a little more extreme than Hunter and his Batch.”

“Hm. Upsetting news that is, but work in mysterious ways the Force does.” The Jedi sighed, “Throwing things at a wall, seeing what stuck, they were.” Hunter blinked and looked to the others, who all looked as confused as he felt, “Heard of your struggles on Kamino, I have, saddening to hear, it was. Speak you mind you should.”

“We…”

Chapter 75: Uneti

Chapter Text

Mouse seemed to be incredibly interested in the temple and its apparent abundance of different, and possibly strange, smells. Hunter wondered what the galaxy smelled like to the small clone, he understood… somewhat… of how the other two perceive the galaxy through their enhancements, but because one’s sense of smell was generally an after thought for most humans… it was difficult to formulate an idea of how the galaxy appeared to him. Grand Master Yoda had taken them up to the roof top training ground, out into the sunlight and the open air, and before them stood the tree that Mouse was no doubt smelling, it was a strange tree, it looked like no other tree Hunter had ever seen before, he put his hand out to stop Mouse but the tiny trooper was slippery and ran up to the tree, seeming to hesitate briefly before walking to it’s base and putting his mask against the wood of the tree.

“Now, in the sight of this tree, speak your mind, you shall.” Yoda said with a smile, they all looked to each other, then Hunter looked to Mouse, who was engrossed in the smell of the tree, “His findings later you will learn, speak now of Kamino.”

“We…” Hunter started by sighed, “It’s complicated sir.”

“Complicated it is?” Yoda asked with a chuckle, “How so? Easy to say to others, it was. To say to me? Complicated it is.”

“That’s…” Hunter was lost for words, how could he explain the treatment they were handed by others, solely for being different? Not part of a sea of a million identical faces?

“It’s not that we can’t explain it sir.” Nokt said, “It’s that we don’t want to paint our regular… brothers… in a bad light. The troopers we meet in the field are very rarely like that, Umbara was… it…” he hiccupped then flinched at a memory.

“Easy Nokt.” Hunter said gently, taking Nokt’s hand in a gentle hold.

“Mean to bring up painful memories, I did not.” Yoda sighed slightly, “Such darkness on Umbara, was felt… saddened by the betrayal of a Jedi, I was.”

“General Krell made them kill each other…” Nokt hiccupped, “We tried to warn them… but they just… wouldn’t listen to us. We figured out his deception from the moment we met him… there was no way he could hide it from us…”

“But no one believed us… because he made them believe we… we were the spies and traitors.” Clicker said softly, “That we were the deceivers because we weren’t clones, we were just… and they believed him, General Kenobi asked for our help… we gave it and we were still treated like dirt.”

“Saddening to hear this is.” Yoda said softly, it was at this point that Hunter suddenly realised the reason Mouse was staying by the tree, and it wasn’t to keep smelling it, it was to hide the fact that he was sobbing gently.

“We wanted to help… but even after General Krell was outed as the traitor and arrested by the men of the 501st… they still refused to accept our help.” Nokt said, “So… we don’t want to paint them in a bad light because of one bad… campaign but Kamino has cadets that are just… rotten. I don’t know if there’s any way to cure it… not when it comes to us all, and the only reason we haven’t experienced any bullying the last two times we were on Kamino was because of one medic who put his foot down and disciplined them.”

Yoda, surprisingly, chuckled at that, “Need to cut down on the caf, he does. Irritated it makes him.”

“You… know him sir?” Nokt blinked, looking to Hunter who had no idea how the Grand Master knew their angry nexu buir, then they both looked to the other four, who all shrugged confused.

“Met him a few times, I have.” Yoda replied, “A hard taskmaster he is, but gentle inside he is.”

“Yeah…” Nokt smiled and Hunter wondered why.

“Speak no more of this, shall we. Speak of your brother’s findings we shall.” Yoda looked over to Mouse, who suddenly became acutely aware of the fact they were all staring at him and he slowly turned around after wiping away the remainder of his tears, “Come, tell us you should.” The Grand Master motioned for Mouse to re-join the group. Mouse stood still for a moment before he was at Wrecker’s side in the blink of the eye, “Shy about it, you should not be, interested in your words I am.”

‘I.’ he paused to looked to Nokt and Hunter.

Nokt nodded and Hunter smiled slightly, “Go ahead, give us your report.” He encouraged gently.

Mouse seemed to perk up a little bit, ‘The tree smells old. Like, really old but.’ He paused, as though thinking on his words, ‘It’s like the opposite kind of smell I caught in the shrine, this smell is warm and inviting, it smells alive. The smell in the shrine was cold, ancient and just existing as though frozen in time.’

“Two sides of the Force, we observe, light and darkness. Something older this shrine observes, looked over the findings we have.” Yoda replied, he seemed unhappy with the subject, “Light and dark, good and evil, these concepts exist not alone, for many shades of grey there are.”

“So… what does death count as?” Wrecker asked.

“From the belief system of these ancient people? Neither, it just… exists.” Tech replied quickly.

“Care for the moral compass, death does not.” Yoda continued, “The Uneti tree, seen many lives it has, a good companion it is to many… but die too, it will.”

‘I like the tree.’ Mouse looked to the tree, ‘It feels safe, solid.’ He paused, ‘I wish people smelled like it did.’

Hunter felt his heart break a little at the emotion written on Mouse’s features, “Found safety, you have. In your brothers it is.”

They were a safe place.

Brothers.

Chapter 76: Feelings

Chapter Text

“Where’d you three run off to?” Hunter asked when the Night Stalkers arrived back to the Marauder, they’d excused themselves to run a little errand after leaving the temple.

“We wanted to pick something up.” Nokt replied as Mouse and Clicker went down to the workshop, a package in Mouse’s hands.

“For?” Tech asked as he swivelled the pilot’s seat around.

“Uh… Stitches.” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers, “He took such care of us when we arrived from Umbara… so… we wanted to get him something to say thank you… for being so kind to us.”

Hunter smiled a little at the softness Nokt spoke his words, “You can give it to him when we return to Kamino, right now we have another mission from General Kenobi.” He said.

“We’re heading to destroy a potential biological weapon lab, it is a high probability that the scientists there are using the local flora as agents in their weapons… though it is unknown what they are, or how many there are.” Tech explained.

“Isn’t… isn’t that dangerous for us?” Nokt asked, “The Blue Shadow Virus almost wiped-out Senator Amidala and General Tano, not to mention the men sent with them… who knows what the things cooked up in that lab could do to us!”

“If we don’t take it out, then we will find out on a massive scale, the blue shadow virus was going to be used to wipe out Naboo, if we let whatever they are manufacturing get off world.” Tech sighed as he typed away on his datapad.

“I’m going to help Mouse and Clicker.” Nokt hissed after a moment of deafening silence.

“I do not know why he has such an issue with me.” Tech looked to Hunter.

“It’s not that.” He sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, “Sometimes you make him feel… stupid.”

“Stupid? He is an intelligent person, why would he…?” Tech was so confused.

“He questions things he thinks he knows because you know them more in an in-depth manner. He starts to think he’s stupid for it, starts second guessing everything he thinks he know.” Hunter looked at the door to the workshop, he could hear the three talking, he could hear Mouse trying to cheer his older brother up.

“Oh. It is not my intention to do so.” Tech fidgeted with his datapad.

“I know and he knows too.” Hunter gave Tech’s shoulder a squeeze, “Like he knows you have issues with emotional output, but it doesn’t mean he can’t feel negative about some of the things you do without thinking, it’s who you are and it’s who he is, neither of you is at fault.”

“I do not feel… good… about this information.” Tech replied.

“That would be your emotions kicking in.” Hunter chuckled.

“I wish they would stop.” Tech pouted, “It is not a nice experience.”

“They suck, but it’s what makes us human.” He replied as he stood up, “I’ll send Clicker up to help with take-off, okay?”

“Okay.”

Chapter 77: Planning for a toxic planet

Chapter Text

“What do we know about the planet?” Hunter looked to Tech as they all entered the cockpit, both Tech and Nokt seemed to have calmed down after their little verbal tussle.

“It… it’s a jungle planet, but it seems to… to be an extremely hostile one.” Clicker said.

“Ninety percent of the planet’s flora is toxic, nearly one hundred percent of the fauna is toxic, there is an endless number of chemical agents present in both the air and ground for a scientist to manufacture weapons.” Tech continued, “They are present in copious amounts.”

“Uh… are we going to be okay?” Wrecker asked, sounding incredibly nervous.

“Our helmets are designed to filter out airborne toxins.” Tech replied, “As long as no one removes their helmet, we should be okay.”

“And… make sure… no one drinks the water.” Clicker looked to them shyly, he was slowly getting used to being able to give information like Tech.

“Sounds simple enough.” Hunter crossed his arms, “What’s the catch?”

Both Tech and Clicker looked to each other, “Most living things on the plant have some form of gigantism, meaning they are far larger than similar types of plants or animals.” Tech said, “There are also animals that look like plants and vice versa.”

“So there is a high chance of getting tagged by something?” Nokt asked, “Like the vixus on Umbara?”

“Mm.” Clicker nodded.

“I’m not happy with this.” Crosshair said, “At all.”

Mouse squeak in agreement of the statement, ‘I’m at a massive disadvantage if everything is toxic, as my mask has vents that allow more particles to enter so I can smell at a higher level.’ He looked to them all, ‘Which means I am most likely to suffer if something happens.’

“Don’t worry Mouse, you’ll be a-okay!” Wrecker grinned, “You can do the vent-crawling thing, even if you can’t do the smelling thing!” Mouse looked up to him and bounced happily.

“He’s right, Mouse.” Nokt smiled, putting his hand on Mouse’s shoulder, “You just have to remember you can’t open your vents.” Mouse made a squeak of understanding.

“The lab is located deep in the jungle so we will need to find an open area to land.” Tech said, swivelling back to look at the consol.

“The jungle will keep us hidden from their scanners.” Hunter looked out the view port, at the dense carpet like canopy of multicoloured plant life, “Plan is stay together but be prepared to adapt should the need arise.”

“Rodger that.” Was the reply from the group, which was joined by a squeak from Mouse.

“Alright, everyone gear up. Bring anything you think will be useful.” Hunter sighed, he wasn’t happy about this either, he was throwing his family into the likelihood of death by toxic wildlife. He jumped a little when he felt Mouse’s small hand take hold of his and he looked to the tiny clone, who looked up at him with a confused gaze, “It’s okay Mouse.”

They would be fine.

He hoped.

Chapter 78: Access the lab

Chapter Text

“Alright, Nokt.” Hunter looked to the younger Sergeant, “Are you picking up anything?” They were currently hiding under a tree-type thing, one of the non-toxic kinds, the non-animal kinds, he really hoped Tech was completely sure of his data, because Hunter did not want his final moment being eaten by a stupid animal roleplaying as a stupid tree.

Nokt flipped his outer visor up and looked down at the supposed location of the lab, “I think it might be hidden underground, I’m only seeing an… outhouse type thing?” he looked to Hunter, “So unless someone built an outside refresher in the middle of nowhere, I think that’s our entry point.”

“Clicker?” Hunter looked to the smaller clone beside Nokt.

“I can hear technology, computers… scanners… and… I think a group of people. More than… likely the scientists.” Clicker looked to them.

“Cross?” He looked to the sniper.

“I’m picking up about… three.” Crosshair replied, his rangefinder cycling through its enhancements.

“Mouse says we’re being watched by something.” Wrecker said from the back of the group, “And it smells big and mean.”

“Let’s get moving then.” Hunter stood from his crouch and slowly more his way through the dense underbrush, keeping his eye on where he put his feet, his armour would keep him safe for the most part, but if something tagged him in the gaps between pieces? He’d be so screwed it wouldn’t be funny, not that anything about this mission was fun, even Mouse and Wrecker were very subdued, and they were normally very animated, this entire place was one big enemy ready to end them if they made a mistake. “Tech, get this thing open.” He looked to his brother, “Mouse, how far away is the big mean thing?” he turned his gaze to the tiny trooper, who tapped his mask and shook his head, “Too far out of your covered range?”

Mouse nodded and made an upset noise, “Don’t worry about it Mouse.” Wrecker said, “If it’s too far out of your covered range, then it’s too far away to be an immediate issue for us.” Mouse looked to him and nodded as he bounced, Hunter really loved the sheer simplicity of how to make Mouse happy, he just wanted encouragement and acceptance. The beep of the lock disengaging alerted Hunter to Tech’s success, “Alright, pile in.” he said, it looked big enough for all of them…

“I don’t think I’ll fit in there with all of you.” Wrecker said with a grumble, “I’ll catch the next one.”

Mouse bounced and took hold of Wrecker’s hand, “You staying with him?” Nokt asked, earning a nod from the small trooper.

“Thanks Mouse’ika.” Wrecker said softly, earning a happy bounce and a happy squeak from the young clone.

“Catch you at the bottom.” Hunter smiled under his helmet, “Don’t go fighting any wildlife.”

“Can’t promise anything sarge!” Wrecker laughed, which made Mouse giggle.

“Keep him from dying Mouse.” Hunter sighed, earning an affirmative squeak from the small clone.

Chapter 79: The lab

Chapter Text

“I’m warning you! Don’t move!” The scientist yelled, her blaster pointed at them threateningly, Hunter didn’t know what type of blaster it was because it looked like no standard model.

“Alright, we’re not moving…” He said, he hoped Wrecker and Mouse would arrive, probably catch the woman off guard if nothing else.

“You’re here to destroy our work!” She yelled angrily, “Who sent you!?”

“Ma’am I need to put the blaster down.” Nokt tried his luck on negotiating, “What makes you think we’re here to destroy anything?”

“Shut up!” She yelled, powering up the weapon.

“Get down!” He heard Wrecker and ducked, expecting a stun grenade or at least a stun shot, but no.

It was a low flying Mouse.

The small, squeaking trooper made a hard impact with the shocked scientist, knocking her out with the force of her hitting the ground, then Mouse moved quickly and forcefully threw his prosthetic at the other scientist who had left the lab to see what the commotion was, hitting him square in the face and knocking him out too. Mouse stood up, made excited squeaks as he bounced and put back on his arm on, then he started clapping his hands, before he held up his arms to Wrecker, who had moved past Hunter and the rest of the incredibly shocked group, “What the actual kriff?” Crosshair was the first to speak.

Hunter couldn’t formulate any words as he watched Mouse squeak excitedly as he made hand gestures, probably trying to show how the plan made him feel to Wrecker, who held the hyper clone as he hyper bounced, “What kind of plan was that?” he asked the two.

“You see, everyone expects a stun shot or grenade, but no one ever suspects a flying Mouse!” Wrecker laughed, “We thought it was a good idea and it work really well! We didn’t damage any of the equipment, which we might have done if we used a grenade!”

“That actually makes a lot of sense.” Nokt looked at Hunter.

“You calculated the manoeuvre impeccably.” Tech said.

“We make a good team!” Wrecker laughed again as they hi-fived, earning a giggle from Mouse.

“There… is one more… person in the lab…” Clicker said from the back of the group, “They’re further in and… they have locked down… something.”

“Right, let’s get a move on.” Hunter looked to each of them, then pointed to the weird blaster, “We’ll pick that up on the way out.” He looked to Tech, who nodded in return. They had to move through the lab slowly and carefully, as it was full of weird plant things that moved as the group walked past them, “No one make any sudden movements, take this nice and slow, yeah?”

“Mouse says… they smell really weird.” Clicker said softly, “I… I agree, they’re making some odd sounds at… infrasonic frequencies.”

“Infrasound?” Tech asked.

“Mm.” Clicker replied.

“They’re generating their own sound… it could be that these are not flora, but fauna. Which means they could be using this frequency to communicate with each other.”

“I think… I think they’re… answering each other.” Clicker said, “I… I don’t like this.”

“None of us do, just… don’t panic.” Nokt said to his brother, “Nobody panic… okay?”

Soon they entered a space set aside for the researchers, it included what looked like freezers, a computer bank and a set of double doors, “Right. Tech, Clicker, get on those terminals, get the doors unlocked and get as much data as you can.” Hunter motioned to the computer bank, “Wrecker, Mouse, find any samples we can take back to the Generals, then start planting explosives. Crosshair, Nokt, you’re with me, we’re going to find that other scientist.”

“Roger.” Came the collective response, followed by a squeak from Mouse.

“Move out.” He unholstered his blaster and made for the double doors at the end of the lab.

“Mouse says go left.” Wrecker said to them as the doors opened to reveal bright white corridors devoid of anything.

Following Mouse’s instructions, they turned left and made their way down the hallway, the long corridor finally ending in a circular space full of doors, “Okay, Nokt and I will divide and concur and check each room, Cross, keep an eye on the corridor, we don’t want anything sneaking up on us from behind.”

“Affirmative.” Crosshair replied and Hunter watched as the sniper crouched down and aimed his Firepuncher down the hallway.

“Nokt, take the left side, we’ll meet in the middle.” He looked to the younger Sergeant, “And be careful.”

“Rodger.” He nodded and went to the first door on the left, while Hunter went to the right side. Most of the rooms were full of possibly spare equipment, they weren’t lit up at all, so they were more than likely just storage rooms, “Nothing.” Nokt reported, “Lots of stuff but no person.”

“Same on this side.” Hunter replied, “That just leaves the middle door.” He looked to the sole remaining door, “Blaster at the ready.” He said to Nokt as he hit the door control switch. They both entered quickly and quietly, but after taking a few steps in the door slid shut and Hunter heard the lock engage, then suddenly the lights went out, leaving only a few small lights from equipment, they weren’t bright enough to make a difference but it showed where things were.

“Oh no. They turned the lights off, whatever will we do?” Nokt snarked and Hunter snorted a laugh as he watched as those eye shines appeared in the darkness, they turned to looked at him, “Do a Clicker.” The young Sergeant said to Hunter.

“Lead the way.” Hunter replied, carefully taking hold of Nokt’s shoulder and followed the younger clone through the darkness.

“There’s a door, I think it leads to the main office thing.” Nokt said and Hunter saw the faint glow of a door control panel, “Be ready.”

Hunter moved to the panel, “Count of three.” He said to Nokt and those eye shines vanished, “One… two… three…” the door slid open, revealing a person behind a desk and they slowly held up their arms, Hunter felt his heart squeeze at the realisation that it was a kaminoan, it was a stupid kaminoan who was making biological weapons.

“What the kriff is a long neck doing here?” Nokt hissed under his breath.

“It seems my kin has made modifications to their clone sequencing.” The kaminoan said, it was a male by the sound of the voice, Hunter really hated their monotone way of speaking, “Are they the ones who sent you?”

“Who are you and who do you work for?” Nokt asked, his blaster aimed between the kaminoan’s eyes.

“It is common curtesy to answer a question before asking your own.” Was the reply.

“We’re here because of your weapons. The Jedi want this place shut down.” Hunter said, “Now, you answer.”

“I am Kepok Te.” He replied, “I was contracted by Count Dooku to create a biological weapon for his army.”

“W… what?” Nokt sounded as shocked as Hunter felt, why would the man spill the beans so quickly?

“Who the kriff is Count Dooku?” Hunter demanded.

“It would be more beneficial for you to ask your Jedi Generals that question.” Kepok Te said, “Have my kin modified your genetics? You do not look like other clones.”

“Why should we tell you?” Nokt hissed.

“Calm down.” Hunter whispered to the younger clone, “Why are you here? I thought kaminoans didn’t leave Kamino.”

“Some of us left due to… differences.” He replied, “Are you going to kill me?”

“No. You are under arrest.” Hunter said before Nokt could say anything, “You will be brought back to Kamino, they can determine what to do with you.”

“Understandable.” Kepok Te replied, “I will go willingly.”

“Hunter, we have a major problem!” Tech’s voice came through his comm, “Wrecker’s been tagged by something.”

“What?” Hunter felt fear creep into him, “What tagged him? Is Mouse okay?”

“We need to get out of here.” Clicker said, “Mouse… says it’s moving through Wrecker…”

Hunter looked at Kepok Te, “You better know how to fix this.” He hissed.

“There is not much one can do, it was not designed to kill.” Kepok Te replied, “It is merely a chemical amplifier of certain internal hormone production.”

“I have no idea what that means, but you’d better get moving.” Nokt growled, “And you’d better do something to help him.”

“As I said, there is nothing I can do, it is merely a wait for him to ride out the chemical.” Was the answer.

“Clicker, get to the ship and bring it closer, we’re going to have to carry Wrecker out of here.” Hunter said into his comm.

“R… roger.” The young clone replied.

“Tech, contact the General, we’re going to Kamino.” Hunter motioned for the kaminoan to start walking, “Move.” He hoped beyond hope that Wrecker would be okay, that this would be minor… it would be okay.

Right?

Chapter 80: Rage

Chapter Text

Wrecker was taken from the Marauder the second they touched down in Tipoca, he hadn’t regained consciousness the entire journey home, it was scary. Mouse hadn’t left Wrecker’s side and insisted on going with him to Medical, following Stitches as the group of medics guided the medical gurney away from the platform, telling them what had happened, how Wrecker’s body was reacting to the unknown chemical compound, and where it came from, even producing a sample from the lab. Hunter turned to their prisoner, “Move.” He said, pointing to the steps down, to where General Shaak Ti and Prime Minister Lama Su were waiting patiently despite the rain.

“Kepok Te? I am surprised by your reappearance.” Lama Su said.

“He has been manufacturing biological weapons for the separatists.” Hunter said, “We have samples and data, but we destroyed the lab.”

“I will take them to the council.” General Ti said softly, “We shall leave Kepok Te’s fate to you Prime Minister.”

“That is much appreciated General.” Lama Su replied, then motioned for the city garrison to detain Kepok Te, then they were left with only General Ti.

“What happened to your brother?” She asked them.

“He was tagged by something in the lab, we don’t know what but it has been burning though him like a fever.” Nokt said, “Between what Kepok Te said and what Mouse could smell… it’s traveling through the nervous system.”

“I see.” She replied, “I do hope he pulls through this.”

“So do we General.” Hunter sighed, “But he’s got a good immune system, so he… should be okay.”

“Trust the Force and it will guide him back to you.” General Ti smiled, “Now, I must contact the council with your findings.”

“Yes General. Tech, get the samples and data.” Hunter looked to his brother, who nodded and ascended the steps again. He tried to keep his emotions professional but he was so scared for Wrecker, the stupid kaminoan said it was an amplifier for something inside the body… he wasn’t sure what it was… but it didn’t sound good.

“Thank you.” She said, taking the items from Tech, “I am sure you will be alerted by the medics when you may visit your brother, or you may be alerted by young Mouse.”

“We’ll be returning to our bunk rooms, to deposit our equipment, we’ll see what happens from there General.” Nokt said quietly.

“I will request a report from the medic in charge when this is all said and done.” General Ti smiled gently, “Return to your rooms.”

“Yes General.” They all saluted her and she left them alone in the rain.

“Let’s go, it’s a waiting game at this point.” Hunter sighed, looking to the group, “Mouse will let us know if something happens.”

“I… don’t like waiting.” Clicker said in his quiet voice, “Especially for… things like this.”

“None of us do.” Crosshair drawled, “Not much we can do though.”

“Let’s… just go.” Nokt mumbled and started walking, not waiting for them.

Hunter just rounded the corner leading to the cubicle Wrecker had been brought to, when the sound of a Mouse squeaking in fear and pain, followed by the scuffle, had him running past the regs who had come out to see what the commotion was about, he was a foot from the door when it shot open and a body hit the far wall.

Hard.

He looked to the person and saw it was Stitches, unnervingly the medic didn’t get back up after he slumped to the ground, blood dripping from his mouth to stain his skin and beard, “Stitches!” He moved to the medic, then looked into the room and saw Wrecker in a blind rage trying to destroy the cubicle. “Kark.” Hunter hissed, unholstered his blaster and pointed it at the giant, he knew it would take multiple stuns, but he had to stop his brother… Mouse was in danger! “Wrecker stop!” He yelled and once the giant stopped to see where the noise came from and Hunter fired several stun shots until Wrecker hit the ground with a massive thud, “Mouse? Mouse sound off!” he called into the room and the small clone made sobbing squeaking noises, he was crying hysterically, “I need a medic!” Hunter called down the hall. He turned to Stitches, the medic hadn’t moved an inch and Hunter could hear the strained, rattling breaths that indicated broken ribs, “Broken ribs.” He looked to the medic that arrived, “Not sure of other injuries.”

“Check on Mouse.” The man replied, “We’ve got Stitches.”

“Right.” He nodded and stood up, entered the room and looked around for Mouse, “Mouse? Where are you?” he asked, stepping over Wrecker, “Mouse?” he looked up at the vent, “You can come out now, it’s safe.” He encouraged. The small form of Mouse appeared and practically fell into Hunter’s arms, as he sobbed uncontrollably, “It’s okay Mouse, I’m here.” He said gently, hugging him before he carefully put the small trooper down on the cot, “Are you hurt?” he asked and Mouse nodded, then Hunter noticed the major damage.

Mouse’s prosthetic arm had been crushed.

“Kriff. Okay, let’s get it off you. Are you hurt anywhere else?” He helped Mouse take off his armour, then helped him take off his top, where he saw the rapidly forming bruise on Mouse’s small back, “There we go.” He finally managed to get the damn thing off, and Mouse instantly gripped the stump remains of his organic arm, “Mouse, let me see.” He gently eased Mouse’s fingers away and examined the area. “I’m… sorry this happened. But… but it’s not Wrecker’s fault, it’s that stupid plant.” Mouse hiccupped and nodded as he tapped his mask, of course the small trooper knew, it seemed to be impossible for anyone to fool him, “We should never have gone to that stupid planet…” he looked to his brother.

Wrecker was being checked over by medics, they’d obviously gotten Stitches to another bay, “We will have to do a full purge of his system.” One of the medic’s said to him, “This is a lot worse than we thought.”

“How’s Stitches?” Hunter wasn’t sure how bad the medic’s injuries were, but he was hit by an angry Wrecker who wasn’t holding back his strength, so it wasn’t going to be good

“Six broken ribs, a punctured lung and we think there might be a bleed on his brain.” The medic replied, “He… was hurt really bad.”

Hunter felt his chest freeze at the fact but he blinked and realised that this medic was the trainee that patched Stitches up after getting stabbed, “What’s your name kid?”

“Uh… Thimble sir.” The medic replied.

“Okay Thimble, Stitches is going to be fine, he’s a tough ori’vod.” Hunter said with a smile, “Before you know it, he’ll be back on rounds telling you that you karked up and showing you how to fix it.”

“You… you’re right. I shouldn’t doubt him or his resilience.” Thimble replied.

“He’ll be fine, right Mouse?” he looked to the small clone, who nodded with a squeak. Mouse then pointed to himself then to where Stitches had hit the wall, “You want to see Stitches?” Mouse nodded, paused, then started sobbing again, gripping where his arm used to be. He had been completely robbed of his ability to communicate… “Oh Mouse’ika.” Hunter hugged him tight, “It’s okay. I’m positive Tech will make you a new, better arm.” Mouse shook his head, squeaking as he sobbed, there was something clearly important about his prosthetic, something Hunter didn’t know.

“Mouse!” Nokt arrived, “What… what happened here?”

Mouse broke from Hunter and went straight to his older brother, Hunter shouldn’t have felt hurt by Mouse wanting his batchmate but it stung a little, “Whatever toxin is in Wrecker’s system it made him enter a berserk state. I doubt he’s in the driver’s seat, more than likely he wasn’t even conscious of the situation.” Thimble said, “We will have to do a complete system purge, blood, digestive, everything.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Nokt asked, surprising Hunter.

“We won’t know until we start.” Thimble replied, “Might I ask you to exit the room so we can get set up and started?”

“Stitches would have just told us to leave.” Hunter chuckled, “Stick with him and he’ll rub off on you.”

“Y… yes.” Thimble blushed.

“Hunter, what happened in there? Where’s Stitches?” Nokt asked once the door to the room slid shut, “Mouse? Where’s your arm?” he looked down at his tiny brother, who started sobbing again.

“Wrecker… broke it, as Thimble said, it wasn’t under his own control.” Hunter sighed, “Whatever that stupid plant was… whatever those scientists were making… it took him over.”

“And… Stitches?” Nokt looked as though he didn’t want an answer.

“He was injured… badly.” He replied. He wanted Stitches to be alright, he knew he was a tough clone… but he was scared that the closest thing to an actual reg brother they had…

Chapter 81: A disapproving teacher

Chapter Text

“Nokt?” Hunter looked to the younger Sergeant as they waited outside Wrecker’s room, Mouse was hiccupping even though he was asleep on Nokt’s lap, he was just so emotionally drained from crying after what happened and because they didn’t know Wrecker’s condition, nor did they know Stitches’.

“Yes Hunter?” Nokt looked to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Mouse’s prosthetic… who gave it to him?” He asked, the tiny clone had been so heartbroken by the destruction of it, and Hunter really wanted to know why.

“Commander Ponds was there when he lost his arm, and he was the one to requisite the prosthetic.” Nokt sighed, “It was the last thing… other than Minnow, he had to remember the Commander by.”

“Oh…” Hunter felt worse now that he knew that, it wasn’t Wrecker’s fault, Mouse knew that… but he destroyed the last thing Ponds had given the tiny trooper, “Tech can fix it.” He said in a determined voice, “He can fix anything.”

“I hope so. I really do.” Nokt replied, hugging his brother tighter, “I hope Stitches is okay.”

“He’s a tough clone, he’ll pull through.” He replied, he wanted to believe it, but he was scared. He was scared because Stitches had become a sort-of parental figure to them, and they realised that even though he could lay out most clones… Wrecker was just too big of a physical threat.

“You have no idea how to repair… a punctured lung?” Hunter’s fear was squashed when he heard the raspy voice coming from the next cubicle, “Maker… preserve me I thought… I trained you…”

“You did Stitches… and I never said I didn’t, what I said is I have to contend with the six broken ribs first.” Came the reply, “You know? So I don’t stab the lung more?”

“If there’s… a brain… bleed, I should be sedated and you should be attempting a drain.” Stitches didn’t sound angry, he sounded like the disapproving teacher they’d gotten used to.

“Stitches…” the other man sighed, “I tried to sedate you but you objected, you always object to sedation, and you objected vehemently.”

Hunter swallowed his laugh and looked to Nokt, who seemed to also be trying not to laugh, “Who’s treating Wrecker?” Stitches continued, “Please tell me it’s not Thimble, he couldn't even sew up a stab wound.”

“He is doing something he’s good at, which is toxin purge, something YOU trained him to do.” The other medic grumbled, “So stop complaining, let me sedate you and get you actually treated.”

Hunter snorted a laugh, he was trying to keep it quiet, but it was just… so funny. The medic was fine, at least for now, until the treated him, it could go either way, “I can hear you laughing Sergeant.” Stitches called.

“Sorry sir.” Hunter called back, “Just… waiting for news on Wrecker… and you.”

“He will be fine.” The medic appeared at the door, “He just needs to stop being a pain in the sheb.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Chapter 82: Tech support

Chapter Text

“So can you fix it?” Hunter looked to Tech, who was examining the damaged prosthetic.

“It may take me time, but the mechanisms inside are not that complicated, well in terms of prothesis it’s not that complicated.” Tech replied, “The main issue I will have, is the outer covering.”

“I’m sure the quartermasters will whip something up.” Hunter sighed, “How could this happen Tech? We were so careful.”

“One cannot calculate for all outcomes, no matter how much we wish it so.” Tech said, his tools clinking in the hollow of the arm, then suddenly he paused, “How… how is Stitches?”

“Perfectly fine, save for his physical hurts.” Hunter snorted a laugh, “Before we left, he was giving the attending medic an earful, wasn’t happy at all with anything the poor man was doing, being a right pain in the sheb.”

“That is good to hear.” Tech replied and Hunter could see a faint smile on his brother’s features.

“Worried about him were you?” He asked softly.

“Of course. He is the first Kamino based reg who has treated us with some form of decency since Commander Colt.” Tech replied quickly, “I just…”

“Yeah.” Hunter sighed again, “Wrecker is just too big of a physical threat, even to someone like Stitches.”

“Wrecker… his system purge should be done soon.” Tech fidgeted with his screwdriver, “He should be okay.”

“Thimble said he’ll be fine.” Hunter gave Tech’s shoulder a squeeze, “I hope you’re not blaming yourself for this.”

“I keep thinking… what could I have done different? Could I have prevented this? I am aware that I cannot control an environment nor can I control the variables presented by sentient life… but I can’t stop feeling like I should be able too.” Tech sighed, “My intelligence is my strength but…”

“Tech… come on. There was nothing you could have done differently.” Hunter wrapped his arm around Tech’s shoulders, “There was nothing any of us could have done differently, we were so cautious and checked for dangers. Unfortunately, those dangers can sometimes sneak up on us, and someone gets hurt.”

“You are… correct.” Tech replied softly, “This is probably how Nokt feels when… my intelligence is my strength, so I am not stupid… but I do not know much about emotional outputs or… input. So… when the issue is brought up like this… I feel stupid.”

“It’s okay to feel stupid sometimes.” Hunter smiled gently, “It proves that we are human and by our very nature we are flawed.”

“You are correct… again.” Tech sighed, his leg bouncing under the table.

“According to our nexu buir, what that is called is stimming.” Hunter pointed to Tech’s leg, “Short for self-stimulatory behaviour.”

“Oh… I did not know this. I shall have to look it up once I finish with Mouse’s arm.” Tech replied, he seemed to calm down a little, giving him projects to do, or information to mine, were a sure-fire way to help him relax.

He wasn’t stupid.

He was Tech.

Chapter 83: Everything was okay

Chapter Text

“What… happened?” Wrecker asked once he’d regained consciousness.

“You were tagged by something in the lab, made you go crazy angry.” Hunter sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, “Berserk.”

“Did… did I hurt anyone?” Wrecker sat up quickly, “Hunter, who did I hurt?”

“That would be me.” Stitches appeared, he was looking and sounding much better but there was still a raspy tone to his voice and a patch of his long hair had to be shaved, so they could make a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure build up, “Luckily Mouse wasn’t badly hurt by you.” He walked up to them, “Now, seeing as I wasn’t the one to give you the system purge, I will give you a once over.”

“But… I hurt you… why…?” Wrecker looked so confused, Hunter was confused also, Stitches had the crap beaten out of him by the rage fuelled behemoth of a clone, had six broken ribs, a punctured lung and a brain bleed!

“You are not the first brute to take a swing at me.” Stitches replied, “Follow my finger.” He said, “Good, any nausea?”

“N… no.” Wrecker replied, “I feel fine. Hungry but fine.”

“Well you are a big boy, I would imagine you need a fair amount of fuel to keep you going, the system purge will also make you hungry.” Stitches replied, picking up the datapad on the bedside table, “Hm.” He sounded surprised, “Seems Thimble isn’t completely terrible at his job.”

“Why is he called Thimble?” Hunter asked before his brain caught up with his mouth.

“Cut off the top part of his index finger off during training, the exact place one would wear a thimble.” Stitches replied, not looking up from the datapad, “He did a complete purge, which means you will need to drink a lot of water, and only water, in order to replace any fluids the IV drip didn’t, because seeing as you’re a non-regulation sized trooper and our supplies are meant for regulation sized and below troopers, the drip could only do so much.” He finally looked up and turned to face Hunter, “Speaking of below sized troopers, has Mouse’s arm been fixed yet?”

“Mouse’s…” Wrecker went several shades paler, “Did… did I break his…?”

“His prosthesis and yes you did.” Stitches replied easily, “Luckily he got out of the incident with bruises, gave me a right thumping though. I found it rather informative, seeing how much strength you actually have when it’s not being regulated by your cerebellum, I am also surprised by how resilient your muscles and bones are. Most people’s muscles rip from the bones, taking tendons and ligaments with them, when their physical strength isn’t being reigned in by the lovely little thing called a survival instinct.”

“You… are a strange man Stitches.” Hunter said, a little stupefied by the nonchalance of the medic who had, as he said, taken a right thumping from Wrecker.

“I will take that as the compliment you one hundred percent meant it as.” Stitches frowned at him, and Hunter nodded quickly. “Now, I want you to try and stand up, I want to see if there is any muscle weakness or circulation issues the purge may have caused.” Wrecker looked to Hunter, “Eyes on me trooper.” Stitches said, and Wrecker looked at him again, “Try and stand up.” For someone who towered over the medic, a medic who was still healing from injuries caused by him, Wrecker didn’t argue or fight Stitches, and did as he was told. “Good, any nausea? Light-headedness? Tunnel vision?” He asked, and got a head shake from Wrecker, “Very good, I can sign you out as good to go. Try not to aggravate the local flora of strange planets, understood trooper?”

“Y… yes sir.” Wrecker replied, and Hunter swallowed his laugh at the sight of Wrecker, a hulking giant who could break people in half if he wanted to, looking like a cadet getting a scolding from an older clone.

“Right. Off you go. Head to the mess and get food in you.” Stitches moved so Wrecker could leave and leave he did, “Something more to add Sergeant?” he looked at Stitches, who had a raised eyebrow.

“How are you… feeling?” He asked.

“A headache and some other aches, but nothing too serious.” Stitches replied easily.

“Should you be up and working with… a still healing hole in your head?” Hunter cast his gaze to the bacta patch half hidden by the medic’s hair. They had to drill a hole just behind his ear, because that was where the build-up of fluids was localised, it wasn’t a pleasant sound to hear… the drilling of bone, “The boys were asking about you, wondering when they could visit you, said they have a present for you.”

“A present?” Stitches’ eyebrow practically vanished into his hairline, “Why would they have a present for me?”

“Nokt wants to explain it.” Hunter smiled, “Do you want them to come here? Or…?”

“No, I shall visit them where they are most comfortable.” The medic sighed, massaging his temples.

“You… Stitches?” Hunter tried to make his voice something other than the small one that left him, but it didn’t work.

“Yes Sergeant?” Stitches replied.

“I was scared.” Hunter blurted.

“Scared?” Stitches looked to him, a hint of confusion in his eyes, “Scared of what?”

“I was… scared, because I thought you weren’t going to make it… and…” He fidgeted with his fingers, “You… you’ve become like… a parental figure for the boys… and me…” Stitches didn’t answer right away, he looked incredibly baffled by Hunter’s confession.

“I see.” Was all he got from the older clone for a moment, then Stitches sighed, “Let’s go see what they want to give me.” He moved to Hunter and put his hand on his shoulder, guiding Hunter out of the cubicle, Hunter smiled, and followed the older clone out of Medical and down the brightly lit corridors of Tipoca city.

Everything was okay again.

Chapter 84: Maybe a house by the sea

Chapter Text

“Stitches!” Nokt and Clicker sounded surprised, and Mouse squeaked happily and carefully wrapped his arm around the older clone.

“We got you… something while we were on Coruscant.” Clicker said, bouncing like Mouse, “We… were going to give it to you earlier… but…”

“Well, let’s see what you got me.” Stitches said gently and the group vanished into the Night Stalker’s bunk room, leaving Hunter in the corridor, smiling warmly.

With a soft sigh, he turned and entered the Batch’s bunk room and sat down on his own bunk, “Wrecker says he’s going to be late back.” Crosshair said from his bunk, “He was apparently really hungry.”

“Not surprised.” Hunter chuckled as he lay down, shimmying slightly to get comfortable, “Where’s Tech?”

“No idea, left a while ago with Mouse’s arm. Where’re the boys?” Crosshair sat up and looked over at Hunter.

“They’re in their bunk room, talking with Stitches.” Hunter replied, “They got him something while we were on Coruscant, didn’t tell me what, but Nokt says Stitches was the one to take care of them when they arrived back from Umbara, and that he was very kind.”

“Maybe that’s why him and 99 got on so well, why he is so determined to keep 99’s teachings and memories alive, passing them down to the generations of clones who will never get to meet the best of us.” Crosshair sighed a little sadly.

“Hopefully they can be raised to not be bullies. To treat each and every brother, as a brother.” Hunter looked at the roof of his bunk, “Cross?”

“Yeah?” Was the reply.

“Do you think this stupid war will ever end?” He looked out at the rain briefly before he returned his gaze to the roof of his bunk, “Will we ever be… free to be something other than soldiers?”

“No idea.” Hunter jumped when Crosshair’s lanky frame appeared in the bunk beside him, “I hope it does, but what will happen to us when it does? We’re decanted and bred for war, we’re soldiers. Not sure if we could deal with being civilians.”

“Maybe we could take the boys somewhere, buy a house and just… settle down and I don’t know… start a farm or a clinic, maybe we could have some animals for Mouse and Clicker.” He closed his eyes.

“That sounds nice.” Crosshair replied, “They’ll probably ask for a massiff or two.”

“We’ll get a house with a big yard.” Hunter smiled, “I hope we can get that outcome. I hope we survive long enough to get it…”

“We will.” His brother said softly, “We just have to stay together and protect each other.”

Hunter snorted a laugh, “Maybe we could ask Stitches to adopt us.”

Crosshair chuckled, “He practically has at this point.”

“Yeah… I guess he has.” Hunter smiled again, “Maybe a house by the sea, a warm beach and lots of sunlight, we could walk the length of it every morning…”

“Bring the massiffs for a walk.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Yeah.”

Chapter 85: Onwards and upwards

Notes:

Happy New years to all my lovely readers! May 2022 be a less druk-show that 2021 was.

Chapter Text

“So what did you get him?” Hunter asked the younger Sergeant as they walked through the halls, towards the landing platform and the Marauder.

“Well, since Grand Master Yoda said he should cut down on the caf, we got him some of those fancy hot cocoas.” Nokt replied with a smile, “And some sweet cakes. I think he liked them, I hope he did.”

“I’m sure he loved them.” Hunter smiled, “You said he helped you after Umbara…?”

“He found us in the hanger, we were trying to hide away from… everyone.” Nokt sighed, “I was… shaken up really bad. He got us up and practically carried us back to Medical, he left us only to find out what happened… and Mouse said he smelled almost as broken as we did… and I don’t know why…”

“Probably the stress of the situation.” Hunter sighed also, “I think we should visit him more often when we return to Kamino, like we did with 99.”

“I think that would be a good idea.” Nokt smiled warmly, “I’m not sure how he’ll react to all of the attention and affection though.”

“He can tell us to bugger off if he thinks we’re getting too clingy.” Hunter chuckled, “Though I think he rather enjoys the attention.”

“Probably.” Nokt chuckled in reply, “It’s nice… having a safe place on Kamino… I never thought it possible.”

“Yeah.” Hunter put his hand of Nokt’s shoulder, “Come on, let’s get going.”

“Affirmative.” Nokt bounced a little.

“We’ve finished loading the supplies, Mouse insists on sorting it out, won’t let us help him.” Tech met them at the base of the steps, “Says we will do it incorrectly.”

“How… how’s his arm?” Nokt asked softly.

“It is preforming at above expected functionality.” Tech looked at his datapad, “It is essentially the same prosthesis merely repaired.”

Nokt sighed happily, his whole form releasing any tension it held, “I’m really glad.” He said.

“The… the ship is prepped for… for take-off.” Clicker appeared at the top of the steps.

“Excellent.” Hunter grinned, “Let’s get going, yeah?”

“Hunter… can I say something before… we go?” Nokt carefully took hold of the Hunter’s arm, and he looked to the younger Sergeant, “I… am… maker this is so kriffing awkward… I am having difficulty with… that part of me again.”

Hunter blinked, then looked up the steps, then back to Nokt, “Bad?” He asked gently and Nokt nodded.

“It’s… why I vanished that morning to get a shower. I had…” He coughed to clear his throat.

“I figured.” He smiled softly, “And that’s okay, as long as you can recognise that that’s what’s happening, we can work towards helping you through it.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt smiled in return.

“No problem Nokt’ika.” He chuckled, “I hope I was wearing something nice in that dream.”

Nokt went completely bright red, his slowly returning hair stood up in sheer embarrassment, “I… oh Maker… I mean…”

“Easy Nokt’ika, your blush is hot enough to melt snow.”

“Okay…”

Chapter 86: Not good

Chapter Text

“Hunter! Hunter there’s a bomb in here!” Nokt’s voice came over the comms, he and the other Night Stalkers had slipped into the palace complex ahead of the rest of the Batch, they had to get the defence system down, as the lock down command, “What do I do?”

“Wrecker!” Hunter yelled over the blaster fire, “Nokt found a bomb! Walk him through it!”

“Affirmative!” Wrecker yelled back.

“Don’t panic Nokt, Wrecker’s going to walk you through it. Where are your brothers?” Hunter winced as a shot hit the cement barrier he was hiding behind.

“They’ve headed to the command room, I ordered them to complete our mission.” Nokt replied.

“Linked in, tell me what you see?” Wrecker’s voice joined the conversation.

“Clicker, what’s the situation?” Hunter opened a new channel, he hoped the two of them would be okay, that they would avoid any droid patrols.

“We’ve… made it to the command room… well, we’re in the vent underneath the floor.” Clicker replied in his soft voice, “There’s three of those weird… tactical droids, they don’t know how we operate so… so they can’t come up with any solid counter attack.” He heard Mouse’s quiet squeaks, “Mouse says there are organics somewhere… somewhere in the palace… they could be hostages.”

“Can you take out those droids?” Hunter asked, motioning for Crosshair to try and get closer to the palace along the roof tops.

“Mouse has droid poppers… and a stun stick.” Clicker replied and Hunter blinked in confusion, but before he could voice his question, Clicker explained, “Stitches gave him one.”

“Of course he did.” Hunter sighed, “Okay, take out those droids and get the defence system and the lockdown shut off.”

“A… affirmative.” Clicker replied and Hunter heard the confirmation squeak from Mouse.

“Tech! Systems should be down soon, how’re we looking?” He called to the resident genius.

“I am prepared to link into the network the second the defences go dark!” Tech called back, “There has been no call for help by the droids, not one I am intercepting anyway.”

“Small mercies I suppose.” Hunter grumbled as he popped up from cover to shoot two approaching droids, “Wrecker, Nokt, any luck?”

“I’m only panicking a lot!” Nokt’s shaky voice answered him.

“You’re doing great Nokt’ika!” Wrecker encouraged, “Just remember to breathe!”

“Shut off in three… two… one…” Clicker’s voice came through and suddenly all the defence turrets powered down, as did the flood lights that illuminated the courtyard.

“We’ve got a platoon of droids approaching our position.” Crosshair drawled.

“Only a platoon?” Hunter didn’t trust Crosshair’s voice.

“With a droid walker.” Was the reply.

“Kriff, double time it boys!” He yelled to the others, “Inside the building!” he fired at the approaching droids. Wrecker practically ripped the main door off its hinges, “Move, move!” they barely got the door close just as the walker took a shot, “What’s the situation with that bomb?” He looked to Wrecker.

“Almost there sarge.” Wrecker replied.

“Good.”

“It’s biochemical.”

“Not good.”

Chapter 87: Bomb disposal

Notes:

I apologise to any bomb disposal people for my attempt at this... I tried really hard to research it! I swear!

Chapter Text

“Wrecker! It’s making some really weird noises!” Nokt sounded incredibly scared, his voice shaking.

“Just remember what I taught you, we’re nearly there!” Wrecker said as they charged through the droids littering the building’s corridors.

“Clicker, Tech and Crosshair are going to link up with you two, while me and Wrecker go help Nokt.” Hunter said into his comm.

“A… affirmative.” Clicker replied, “I… think I got something…”

“Speak with Tech.” Hunter looked to Tech as he and Crosshair broke away from the group, “Nokt we’re closing in on your location, keep that thing from blowing up till we get there.”

“I… I will try my best!” Nokt replied, “I do not like this one bit!”

“Nearly with you, you’re doing great!” Hunter hoped to encourage the young Sergeant, he probably never had to deal with such a device, not as a scout anyways. They weren’t trained in bomb disposal, neither was the Batch but Wrecker took an interest in things that went boom from a young age, so he had a good amount of knowledge and that meant they didn’t need to call the bomb squad while on mission.

“Wait! Don’t open the door!” Nokt yelled, “I can see a trip wire and it’s connected to the bomb!”

“Kark.” Hunter hissed, “Wrecker, any ideas?”

“Is it wire or laser?” Wrecker asked, and Hunter could practically hear the gears turning in his brother’s head.

“Laser.” Nokt replied, “I can see a small box on one side, I think that’s the housing unit…”

“You’re going to have to disarm it, do you still have the tools I gave you?” This was the most focused Hunter had ever seen Wrecker, even when he was disarming the explosives himself, maybe it was because he was talking someone else through it? Like Tech had to do with Mouse?

“Yes… yes I do.” Nokt replied and they could hear him moving in the room.

“Can you open the casing?” Wrecker asked, they heard a small metal pop as Nokt got the casing open, “Now, what do you see in there?”

“The… the… kriff… I don’t know if… I can…” Nokt hiccupped.

“Stay calm Nokt, you’re doing great.” Hunter said, “Can you tell us what you see?”

“The… lasing medium, the energy source, and a resonator, they are connected to a bunch of wires and hardware.” Nokt replied, “It’s… a green laser.”

“What colours are the wires?” Wrecker continued.

“Green, brown… red and… and black.” Nokt hiccupped, “I’m sweating like crazy here!”

“You’re doing great Nokt’ika. Trace the wires to the hardware, are there any symbols or numbers?” Wrecker sounded so confident in the young Sergeant’s abilities.

“N… no.” Nokt replied.

“That’s okay. The brown wire is connected to the sensor, the red wire is the arming wire, the green wire is the earthing wire, and the black is the main power wire.” Wrecker explained.

“So… so what do I do?” the young Sergeant asked carefully, “Power or… or arming wire?” Hunter looked to Wrecker, the giant seemed to think on which would be better, “Wrecker? You… you still there?”

“I’m here.” Wrecker affirmed, “You will need to be very quick and cut the arming wire then the power wire.”

“Wh… what?” Nokt was clearly panicking badly, “If… what if I’m not fast enough!?”

“You will be, just keep a steady hand and clip the wires as fast as you can.” Wrecker sounded so encouraging, “I believe in you!”

“At least… someone does.” The young Sergeant said weakly.

“I believe in you Nokt’ika!” Hunter piped in again, “Just breathe.”

“O… Okay. I… I can do this.” Nokt was hiccupping quiet badly now, “Cutting the wires… now.”

There was no explosion, no excessive beeping, nothing to say the bomb had been activated, “Nokt?” Hunter asked.

“D… disabled the… the trip wire.” Nokt replied, “You… you can open the door now.”

Hunter carefully opened the door and looked into the dark room, spotting Nokt sitting against the wall with his knees to his chest, “Nokt?” Hunter knelt down in front of him as Wrecker went to the bomb, “You okay?” he asked the hiccupping Sergeant, “I know that was scary, and it’s something you’ve never had to do before, but you did so well.” He said softly, “You did everything as instructed and you got it done.”

“I… I could have killed us…” Nokt said into his knees, “I… I…”

“But you didn’t.” Hunter sat down beside him, “You disarmed a laser trip wire, which would have killed us all if you hadn’t said anything.”

“But…” Nokt tightened his grip on his knees.

“But nothing Nokt’ika.” Hunter sighed gently and put his arm around the young Sergeant, “Your brothers are going to be so amazed by what you did here today, I can say that because me and my brothers are amazed by your incredible job.”

“You… you are?” Nokt finally moved his head and Hunter smiled at the appearance of those eye shines.

“Yep.” Hunter replied, “Isn’t that right Wrecker?”

“You did better than I did on my first attempt!” Wrecker laughed.

“He almost blew our bunkroom up.” Hunter leaned in to fake whisper, “Don’t tell him I said that, okay.”

Nokt laughed lightly, “Okay…” he smiled.

“Come on, we need to link up with the others, then we need to find out where those maybe hostages are.” Hunter stood up and held out his hand for Nokt, who took it and after grabbing his helmet, he let Hunter hoist him to his feet.

“Did… you really almost blow up your bunk room?” Nokt looked to Wrecker.

“Almost.” Wrecker laughed, then leaned in to fake whisper, “I didn’t tell them it was only a smoke grenade.”

“What?” Hunter stared at Wrecker, “But… you said…”

“You think I’m stupid enough to train on actual grenades or mines?” Wrecker laughed louder, “Even as a cadet I wasn’t stupid.” Hunter grumbled, even Tech had been fooled by Wrecker’s deception, he had to hand it to his brother.

He wasn’t stupid.

Chapter 88: Enough

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled as they met up with the others and Mouse was wrapped around his older brother in the blink of an eye, “You should be very proud of your brother here.” He said, putting his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “He disarmed a tripwire that would have sent this entire place into orbit.”

“R… really?” Clicker asked as both he and Mouse bounced happily, “That’s… so cool!”

“Tech, how’re we doing?” Hunter asked his brother, he would let Nokt calm down with his brothers.

“I am unsure of some of this data, most of it seems to have been written by someone not sound of mind.” Tech replied, “They speak of things that make no sense whatsoever, it’s almost completely garbage.”

“Almost?” Hunter asked as he took off his helmet.

“Mouse… Mouse says there is… a weird residue smell…” Clicker said, “It… it smells kind of sweet…?”

“Could a poison make a person crazy and write gobbledygook?” Wrecker asked, “Some poisons have a sweet smell to them… don’t they?”

“That is a possibility.” Tech frowned.

“The droids have doubled in numbers.” Crosshair said from the window, “So much for them not calling for help.”

“I said ‘not one I am intercepting’, it may be that they were using a strange frequency I did not pick up on.” Tech grumbled.

“Mouse, you said there were organic smells in the building.” Hunter looked to the small clone, who nodded to him, “Can you track them?” another nod, “Okay, Crosshair, Wrecker, go with Mouse. Find and free them if they are captives, if they aren’t…”

“Don’t worry Hunter!” Wrecker replied loudly and the three of them left.

“Clicker, set up where Crosshair just left and keep an ear out for trouble.” Nokt said to Clicker, who nodded and went to the window.

“Tech, see if you can find anything useful in that mess.” Hunter sighed, “But download everything anyway, maybe the General can figure out what’s being said.”

“Affirmative.” Tech replied as he typed away.

“Hunter?” Nokt walked to him, “I… thank you for believing in me.”

“You give yourself too little credit Nokt’ika.” He smiled to the younger Sergeant.

“It’s not that… I’ve had to be so sure of myself, I had to make sure I knew everything I needed to… to make sure we stayed alive.” Nokt sighed, “But since we’re not on our own and it’s not a battle against the lesser of two evils… I feel like I don’t know anything. We never had to deal with this kind of thing, we’re infiltration scouts, we get in, find a way for the main force to get in, clock enemies, so and so… but since merging with you guys… I am having to get used to incredibly different situations that I am not prepared for!”

“Woah, easy Nokt… you are doing the best you can.” Hunter said gently, “Your brothers know that, I know that, and we can’t ask anything more from you.”

“So why doesn’t it feel like enough?”

Chapter 89: Escape route

Chapter Text

“I have sent a distress signal to the General, hopefully they get here before the droids make it through the doors.” Tech appeared beside Hunter, as he stared out at the slowly growing number of droids in the courtyard.

“There has to be a way out of here.” Nokt said, “Most palace complexes like this should have a way for the owners to get out without being detected, a secret passage or the likes. Even if this isn’t the most powerful or important family, they would have a way to get in and out without the masses knowing about it.”

“Tech, run a scan of the building. Look for anything not on the building plans.” Hunter looked to his brother, “If you were to put a secret passage somewhere, where would you put it?” he asked Nokt.

“Either in the kitchen or basement.” Nokt replied, “They are generally on the ground floor, at the back of the building and no one other than the family or servants would have any access. We entered through the sewers, but there is no way we can fit any of you in there, it was tight enough for me and Clicker.”

“Mouse had no issue I take it?” Hunter chuckled.

“Only with the smell, I don’t even want to know what it was like for him, given how rank it was for us two.” Nokt grinned.

“I… I don’t understand why these… palaces have such… large waste disposal systems.” Clicker said, “Do… do rich people take bigger… dumps than normal people?”

“I would say Hutt, but I don’t know if they use refreshers like we do.” Hunter laughed, “Any luck Tech?”

“I have picked up something in the back of the complex, it does appear to be located in the kitchen area.” He looked at Nokt, and Hunter felt a sense of pride for Nokt, he knew something Tech didn’t, and he did it without any of Tech’s equipment, “How did you know about that?”

“When your main MO is finding inconspicuous entry points? I like to read and most buildings owned by any person of high standing has some form of escape tunnel. It means they can escape in the event of riot, assassination attempt, invasion, etc, etc.” Nokt crossed his arms, as though waiting for Tech to one up him.

“Fascinating.” Tech replied, his nose returning to the datapad and Hunter smiled when Nokt looked at him, as though unsure of this development. There were somethings that Tech didn’t know, somethings that didn’t seem all that important to the resident genius but were actually very important.

“The people Mouse smelled were…” Wrecker’s voice came through, “Only one is still alive and it’s the kid.”

“Kriff.” Hunter hissed, “Okay, get the kid back here, we might have a way out of here.”

“Rodger that.” Wrecker replied before the link closed.

“He gets so sad… when the smell leads… to someone who could have… been saved.” Clicker said sadly.

“It makes us all sad.”

Chapter 90: Meet back up with the 212th

Chapter Text

“Gentlemen? You made it out with little issue?” General Kenobi asked as they met up with the main forces just outside the city limits, he understandably seemed very confused, “Your distress signal suggested an urgent need for aid.”

“Apologies General, but we managed to find an escape route.” Hunter replied as a medic took the child survivor from them.

“You did?” Kenobi asked, curiosity evident in his features.

“Sergeant Noktowizor correctly assessed that the residences of important people or families will, more often than not, have escape tunnels, used in the event of an emergency.” Tech said, typing away at his wrist terminal, “Which is how we escaped undetected.” Hunter knew Nokt was blushing like crazy, solely by the fact he was standing ramrod straight, he obviously hadn’t expected Tech to give him the credit, him and Tech were getting better about somethings but Nokt still assumed Tech would “outshine” him in some manner.

“You did?” Cody asked from beside General Kenobi.

“Y… yes Commander.” Nokt replied, “Because we specialise in getting into places unseen… I read up on things that might help us. Such as secret escapes used in the residences of people of importance. If… if most people don’t know about it, we can use it with little to no hinderance… but it was Mouse who got us back here to the main forces.” He was trying to get attention off himself, but Mouse clearly didn’t want the attention because he hid behind Wrecker’s legs and pointed to his ears then to Clicker.

Clicker didn’t say anything, didn’t even acknowledge anything around him, and Crosshair put his hand on Clicker’s back to steady him, “W… what?” Clicker finally came back around after a second or two, then realised that everyone was staring at him, “I… I don’t…”

“Easy Clicker.” Crosshair moved and held Clicker loosely against himself, “Focus on the vibrations of my breathing, try to match them.”

“Sorry General.” Hunter stepped in to explain, “He experiences these minor brain blips sometimes, but he has had them checked out and the medic sees no reason he shouldn’t continue in the field.”

“I am sorry they cause you distress young one.” Kenobi said gently.

Cody looked like he was about to say something but Mouse made panicked squeaks and pointed to the palace complex, “What…” Hunter began but paled when Mouse made an explosion gesture with his hands, “Wrecker, tell me you completely disarmed that bomb!”

“I did!” Wrecker replied quickly, then paused, “They reactivated it.”

“General, we need to move, very quickly.” Hunter turned to Kenobi, “There is a biochemical bomb in there and Mouse says it’s going to blow. We disarmed it but someone reactivated it.”

“Cody, tell the men to evacuate.” Kenobi turned to his Commander, then back to them, “Do you know how large the detonation will be?”

“Judging by the size of the bomb and it’s chemical composition… I would estimate that we are within the blast radius. Though that is an estimate…”

“Kriff.”

Chapter 91: Trapped

Chapter Text

“Mouse get down!” Hunter yelled as he grabbed the small trooper around the waist and pulled him inside a building, just as the bomb exploded and everything went black.

He crawled back to consciousness and was greeted by a high pitch ringing in his ears, it took far longer than he would have liked for it to clear up, but when it did the sound of pained squeaks and sobs replaced it, his own pain made itself known to him and he hissed in pain as he finally opened his eyes, he was met by the rubble that surrounded the two of them, “Mouse…? Mouse sound off.” He said weakly as he rolled onto his side. He heard a confirmation squeak before more sobbing, “I’m coming Mouse.” He managed to get to his hands and knees, and shook the fog from his brain, looking around he spotted the small form of Mouse, then he saw what had the small clone crying… a sharp piece of rebar had punched through his thigh, “Druk…” he moved to Mouse, “Okay, okay.” He took Mouse’s mask from his bag and switched the kid’s helmet for it, “Mouse, can you breathe for me? Yeah?” he tried to smile, but the pain in his side was spreading making his vision spotty. Mouse wrapped his arms around Hunter as he sobbed and hiccupped, he was in so much pain it that it hurt Hunter’s heart more than the spreading pain hurt his body, “Shh. It’s okay Mouse, it’s okay.” He said gently, “Someone will be here soon to save us.” He looked around their stone and durasteel prison. “Do you have your medical kit on you?” he asked the small clone who nodded and opened his bag, pulling out his medical kit and Hunter wondered how Mouse fit so many things in his backpack, “How do you fit so many things in there and still be able to fit in vents?” he chuckled, trying to at least make the small clone laugh, “If I tried, I’d get stuck just looking at the vent.”

Mouse hiccupped a small giggle, ‘I’m good at organising.’ He shakily signed, ‘Sometimes I take my bag off and tie it to my leg in order to pull it along behind me.’

“That’s so cool.” Hunter said as he hissed in pain and gripped his side, frowning as his hand came away bloody, “Okay. Here’s the plan, we get this out of your leg, patch you up… and if you are able to… you patch me up. Yeah?”

Mouse shook his head, ‘I’ll patch you up first.’ He looked at his own leg, then back up at Hunter, ‘The rebar is plugging the hole. If we take it out before treating you, we’re both going to bleed-out before either can help.’

“You’re the medic.” Hunter hissed as he pealed the plastoid armour away from his side.

‘Don’t move.’ Mouse looked at him, he was still hiccupping, tears still dripped down his cheeks, but he made quick work of Hunter’s injury.

“Stitches is going to be so proud of you.” Hunter hissed as Mouse cleaned the wound, “Even though you’re injured… you’re still helping.” Mouse looked to him again and Hunter could see the smile forming behind the mask. Soon Hunter was patched up and ready to help Mouse, who wasn’t looking so good, “Right, did Stitches teach you how to do this?” He asked the small clone, he had to keep him awake and alert, Mouse nodded and reached into his backpack again, pulled out some clean cloth, and used some of it to make a tourniquet, and the rest of it was ready to stanch the blood flow the second he was free of the rebar. “Well done trooper.” Hunter smiled, “This will hurt an unfair amount, even Wrecker screamed and cried like a child, so don’t feel ashamed of it.”

‘Okay.’ Mouse hiccupped.

“On the count of three, be ready with that cloth.” He took hold of Mouse’s small leg, “Okay, one… two… three!” He pulled the limb free of the metal and Mouse screamed in pure agony, despite that, he managed to attempt to put pressure on the wound.

“H…. Hun… er…” a voice crackled over his comm as he wrapped a bacta strip around Mouse’s leg, then a bandage, “C… om… in…”

He looked at his wrist, the comm unit was cracked, “Kriff.” He hissed, then blinked as Mouse handed him his own bracer, “Hunter calling anyone listening.”

“Hunter?” Nokt’s voice came through Mouse’s comm, “Clicker heard Mouse! Are you both okay?”

“We both got hurt pretty bad.” Hunter looked to Mouse, who was sobbing again, “We’re going to need proper care when we get out.”

“We have your location.” Nokt replied, “We should be with you momentarily.”

“Is everyone okay?” He asked quickly.

“… No…” was the only reply he got to that question, “General Kenobi has called for aid. They should be arriving soon.”

“Okay. We will wait for rescue.” He sighed and closed the link, then sat down beside Mouse and propped himself against the rubble, Mouse shimmied closer to him and rested his head against Hunter’s shoulder, “They’ll find us, don’t you worry none.” He sighed and closed his eyes, earning a nod from Mouse. They sat in silence for a while before Hunter was startled by Mouse, who was opening a bag of candy, the small clone looked to him and offered him one, “Are you allowed to have sugar Mouse?” He asked with a chuckle as he took one.

‘Nokt doesn’t allow sugar, so he gets us the sugar free candied fruit.’ He replied, ‘Sugar makes me really hyper, so I’m only allowed to have these on occasion, but I keep a pack on me in case someone needs comforting.’

“You really do make a good medic, between the stickers and now the candy? You have great bedside manners.” Hunter smiled and rested his cheek on Mouse’s bald head.

Mouse squeaked happily.

“No problem kid.”

Chapter 92: Medical assessment

Chapter Text

Hunter looked up as a large batch of Laat touched down and a group of medics and extra troopers poured out of them the second the doors slid open, he was both extremely surprised and grateful when Stitches stepped off and looked around, “Stitches!” he called to the grumpy medic, who spotted him and made his way over, pushing past medics and troopers in order to get to him.

“Who’s hurt?” the medic asked the second he arrived at Hunter’s side, then his stern gaze gave Hunter the once over, “How bad?”

“I’m okay, Mouse patched me up. He had a piece of rebar punch through his leg…” He blinked in confusion when Stitches went stiff, “But I got it out and we patched him up, he says he’s okay. Tech was hit by shrapnel, he has cuts and bruises, some of them are really deep though… Cross has a dislocated shoulder from being thrown by the explosion.”

“Clicker and Nokt?” Stitches asked as they entered the makeshift tent.

“Stitches!” was his answer as the two of them were wrapped around the medic the second the flap dropped.

“Easy, are either of you injured?” the medic asked them.

“N… no.” Clicker replied, “W… Wrecker helped protect us.”

“That is good to hear.” Stitches replied, “Wrecker, are you injured?”

“Nah, I’m good. I’m built sturdy!” Wrecker grinned.

“Okay, Crosshair, I’ll deal with you first.” He put his pack on the ground, “Wrecker, give me a hand.”

“Oh no! He is NOT putting my shoulder in!” Crosshair hissed.

“I never said he would, I will be putting it back in, he is going to make sure you don’t do something stupid and force me to retaliate.” Stitches frowned, and Hunter swallowed his laugh at the face Crosshair pulled at the realisation of what the medic meant, “Also I will need him to act as a brace.”

“A brace?” Wrecker asked.

“Sit behind him, Crosshair lean into him like you would a wall.” Stitches knelt down and carefully took hold of Crosshair’s arm, “Hold him. On the count of three. One… two…” he didn’t do three and just did it dead on two.

There was a resounding crack and pop, followed by Crosshair crying out in agony, “You said three!” He snarled.

“You were expecting three, so you would have tensed up and made my job much more difficult.” Stitches replied easily as he pulled a sling out of his pack. “Tech, you next.”

“I have deep lacerations to my shoulder and back.” Tech replied, nose in his datapad, possibly to hide his pain, “Mouse patched them up as best he could, but he believes they will need stitches.”

“Luckily that’s my name.” Stitches said dryly, “Where is Mouse?”

Mouse’s small squeaks came from the back of the tent, he was getting drowsy by the looks of him, “Easy Mouse’ika.” Wrecker said as he went to the tiny trooper.

“Right, let’s get you cleaned up and sewn up.” Stitches made quick work of Tech’s injuries, maybe it was why he chose his name, he was really good at stitching wounds, “You handled that well Tech.”

“I… I…” Tech seemed flustered, “It’s not that I don’t feel it… it just feels muted?”

“Hm.” Stitches frowned again, “I will need to speak with you about that… now, Mouse.” He stood up and went to the tiny clone, Hunter could see the thin sheen of sweat on Mouse’s skin, they had cleaned it and covered it as best they could given the situation they had been in… but they were in a less than ideal area for sanitation, so there was a high risk of infection in both their injuries.

He probably should get Stitches to look at his wound, “Hunter?” Nokt asked, his hand appearing on Hunter’s shoulder.

“I… Stitches, when you’re done with Mouse, could you check my wound also?” he looked to the medic, who look back at him confused, “Just… want to be careful, you know?”

“That is a smart decision Sergeant.” Stitches replied, his voice a little tight, “I will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you.” He smiled, then looked to his brothers.

Crosshair looked positively murderous as he cradled his arm but he didn’t dare cast his glare on the medic, that was a guaranteed way of getting a gruelling, Nokt went over to him and sat beside him, resting his head on the sniper’s uninjured shoulder, this instantly made Crosshair relax and he smiled softly. Clicker had gone to sit with Tech, who still seemed flustered by his admission to the medic, to all of them, but Clicker started talking to him, asking him questions in an attempt to help the resident genius relax and unsurprisingly it did, Tech’s strength was in his intelligence, and right now he needed to show his strength in some way. Hunter sat down with a weary sigh and closed his eyes as he leaned against the rubble helping to support the tent, his side wasn’t hurting, Mouse had done a fantastic job on it despite his limited equipment… “Sergeant?” Stitches was suddenly in front of him, “You passed out.”

“I… what?” Hunter blinked, “But I just sat down?”

“You were only under for a few seconds at most, but you did, in fact, pass out.” Stitches frowned as he started to undress the wound to Hunter’s side, “I would imagine blood loss and dehydration are to blame, have any of you had anything to drink since the incident?” Hunter could see the collecting of sheepish faces, “Maker preserve me.” Stitches grumbled and massaged the bridge of his nose, “Right, someone go find water, a few of my colleagues are setting up a station for it.” Wrecker was the one to go.

“Mouse seems to have done a good job of it.” Hunter looked down at the wound as Stitches peeled away the ruined bandage and bacta patch.

“Indeed he has.” Stitches replied, “I will clean it anyway and stitch it up. Do you want something to numb the area?”

“Nah. I’m a big boy.” Hunter replied.

“On your head be it.” Stitches frowned, “Don’t say I didn’t offer.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Hunter grinned, he instantly almost regretted his boast as Stitches started cleaning the wound, he was nowhere near as gently as Mouse was.

“Not a word.” Stitches reminded him.

“Y… yes sir.” Hunter hissed as Stitches started to suture the wound, trying desperately not to squirm.

“Stop being a baby, it’s not that bad.” The medic said dryly.

“Easy for you to say.” Hunter hissed at him, “You aren’t the one getting sewn up.”

“But you are the one who refused the sedative.” Stitches shot back easily.

“Touché.” Hunter grumbled.

“There we go.” Stitches said and Hunter felt the cooling sensation of bacta on his skin, “Is that everything?”

“Yes… thank you Stitches.” Hunter sat up straighter, and carefully put his hand on his injury, he could feel the heat radiating off it.

“Good.” He stood up again and went back to Mouse, Hunter wondered why the medic reacted the way he did at the mention of rebar.

Did it have something to do with the reason he couldn’t stop screaming?

Chapter 93: Bonds

Chapter Text

Hunter watched the medics moving around the camp, there were so many injured, but Cody assured him that without their warning, more of them would have been killed, he knew they had helped save them… but why did it feel like it wasn’t enough? He spotted Stitches, who was co-ordinating a group of medics, and Hunter wondered how many of those medics the man had personally trained? Hunter was jealous to be honest, the man seemed untouchable, so unafraid of every threat thrown his way, even when Hunter cause glimpses of the man’s vulnerable side it came and went in the blink of an eye… “Hunter?” Nokt appeared beside him, “You okay?”

“Just…” he started but stopped with a sigh.

“Just?” Nokt encouraged.

“Just doubting myself and my role as a squad leader.” He sighed.

“Oh.” Nokt replied, “Well, I think you’re doing a brilliant job.” The younger Sergeant smiled and nudged him lightly with his elbow, “I did well on my own, and you were doing well on your own, but now we have each other, yeah? We can help each other become better brothers, better leaders, like you said we could and would.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Hunter sighed with a small smile, “I guess I shouldn’t compare myself to Gen Ones, to Cody, or Wolffe, or Rex…”

“Or Stitches.” Nokt smiled, “I can tell you look up to him and that’s why you seek his guidance, but I can also tell you’re jealous of him.”

“You see a lot of things, don’t you?” Hunter sighed again.

“I look at the bonds between people, that attach people to each other.” Nokt looked at the medics, “And that’s why I know you are a good brother. You just have to see it yourself.”

“Thank Nokt.”

“No problem Hunter.”

Chapter 94: Back to Coruscant

Chapter Text

“Coming up on Coruscant.” Tech called from the cockpit, “Five minutes top.”

“Why are we back on Coruscant Hunter?” Nokt looked to him as they all entered the cockpit.

“The Corrie Guards have heard from a snitch, that someone on Level 1313 has been talking about attacking the Senate building.” Hunter sighed, “So they asked us to find out who and put a stop to any plans.”

“1313?” Nokt asked, “The Underworld?”

“Why are we going and not them?” Crosshair asked.

“Maybe… maybe because we don’t look like clones… and the Coruscant Guards are… very distinct.” Clicker said from the co-pilot’s seat, “Most clones are…”

“Yeah! We just look like a bunch of mercs in fancy armour!” Wrecker laughed, “Right Mouse?” he looked to the tiny trooper, who nodded happily.

“We need to be very, incredibly, careful, the Coruscant Underworld is not known for its reputation.” Tech said with a frown and Hunter couldn’t help but agree with him.

“Right, Tech, you and Clicker stay with the Marauder, don’t want anyone stealing her and all our stuff.” Hunter looked to the two of them, he couldn’t chance bringing them, because Tech sometimes didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, and Clicker would get overwhelmed far quicker than either of his brothers, “We might have to do a hot escape also.”

“Okay.” Clicker nodded, “I… will keep an ear out for trouble.”

“I hope you know what you are doing Hunter.” Tech frowned.

“So do I.” Hunter frowned, “We’ll be taking the Underworld Portal near the Military base, should take us down to Terminal 24.”

He was nervous, scared even, this was different to any mission they had ever done up till this point, this was a mission on Coruscant… not some droid threatened planet, they were here to stop an attack that could endanger countless people… “Hunter?” Nokt’s hand appeared on his shoulder.

He blinked and looked to the young Sergeant, “Yes?” he asked.

“Do you have a plan?” Nokt replied.

A plan? Keep them all alive and unharmed? Stop a terrorist from ruining peoples’ lives? There were too many unknowns down there, “We stick together, we get any information we can and we try not insult someone down there and get lynched.”

“Great plan sarge.” Crosshair drawled.

“Look, I’m as in the dark as all of you, I don’t know what we’re going to face or encounter down there.” He replied quickly, “I don’t know anything about this place.”

He blinked and looked down to Mouse, who had suddenly appeared beside him and took hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, “Mouse is right.” Nokt smiled, “We Night Stalkers are well equipped for this type of mission. Clicker, any input?”

“We… we’re looking at the most notorious… level of Coruscant’s Underworld…” Clicker said, “There… there are going to be a lot of… criminal gangs and crime. So… if we are to get in there and find… find out anything… we will need to blend in. Credits speak a thousand… words, and violence is the answer many will use to questions they feel deserve it.” He looked to them.

“So we don’t start fights but be ready to finish them.” Nokt continued, “Wrecker will probably be the best deterrent for thugs looking for a fight.”

“C… Crosshair will also help in that… regard.” Clicker fidgeted with his fingers, “Once they see his Firepuncher… they will probably realise they wouldn’t get away if… if they did start a fight. We… don’t get into fights… we’re small enough and speedy enough to get away from the danger… but we’ve seen people fighting each other.”

“You’ve been in this situation before?” Hunter looked to Nokt.

“Not… not on Coruscant. But we have been to some other seedy locations.” Nokt replied with a blush.

“It… wasn’t fun… I didn’t… enjoy it.” Clicker frowned, “But we made it out… unharmed and we… we got the information we needed.”

“I had a feeling you didn’t, which is why I want you to stay here, with the Marauder.” Hunter smiled to the young clone, who also blushed.

“Why am I staying then?” Tech asked.

“Because you don’t know when to shut up and stop asking questions?” Crosshair sniped.

“T… That’s mean Crosshair.” Clicker sat up straighter and glared at the sniper, “Don’t be mean!”

“Come on guys.” Hunter sighed, “Clicker, don’t yell, it isn’t good for you.”

“Fine.” Clicker stood from the seat and left the cockpit, leaving them all looking confused.

“I will go speak with him.” Tech said with a sigh, as he also stood up and left the cockpit.

“Nice one Cross.” Hunter sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.

“It’s true and you know it.” The sniper hissed at Hunter.

“Just because you’re scared… doesn’t mean you get to be a jerk.” Nokt frowned, crossing his arms.

“Who says I’m scared!” Crosshair was on the defensive, and Nokt pointed to Mouse, who waved to the sniper, Crosshair became flustered as he remembered that Mouse was a walking lie detector, one that would come in very handy on this mission, Wrecker laughed at the expression on Crosshair’s face, “Sod off you!” the sniper hissed at the giant.

“Come on guys, let’s work as a team, okay?” Hunter said, he needed them all working together, he couldn’t chance them fighting out on the mission… not when so much was at stake with the outcome. Crosshair hissed at him but he backed down, “Okay, what do you suggest for us?” he turned to Nokt, who looked a little surprised by the question.

“Oh. Well…” Nokt looked down to his brother, who looked to him and nodded, “You are the leader, so you need to appear completely in control, they will look for weaknesses in the group.”

‘Like a nexu, looking for the weak link in a herd of eopie.’ Mouse bounced, ‘If we present ourselves as a strong, single unit, we won’t be targeted as easily.”

“Right! We’ll follow your lead Hunter.”

Chapter 95: Into the Underworld

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t like this one bit, they were in the darkness below the seat of the Republic, the place the topsiders wanted to forget even existed, but they were here on a mission and he had to take charge and be strong, he had to keep the pack together… he was relying on Nokt for this mission, he was the one seeking guidance this time. “Lookie lookie what we have here.” A fully armoured man stepped out of the shadow and as Hunter watched, more and more people stepped out, “New kids on the block? We have enough bounty hunters down here, not enough jobs to go around, so you better scurry away.”

“Well, isn’t it good we’re not looking for work.” Nokt replied easily, but Hunter could make out his finger twitch, it was dark enough that he doubted the men could see it.

“You the leader of this rat pack, runt?” The man was huge, matching Wrecker in height and width.

“No, but my boss won’t degrade himself to speak with you.” Nokt folded his arms.

“It’s ten to one odds against you runt.” The man replied.

“We’re not here to start fights, not unless we’re getting paid for it.” Nokt stood his ground, Hunter could see the faint shake in his limbs, “We’re here to do a job and funny enough it doesn’t involve you.” Nokt turned his head to look to Hunter, “Sir, what are your orders? Should we deal or leave?”

“Leave. They aren’t worth the ammo.” He replied, making his voice gruffer and putting a presence behind it, like Stitches did, like Cody did.

“Is that so…” The man began but he shut up when Crosshair snapped his rifle up and as Clicker predicted the man and his lackies backed down rather quickly.

“You’d die tired.” Hunter folded his arms, back straight.

“Tsk. You’re lucky I’m a nice guy.” The man hissed, then motioned for his men to follow him.

Nokt popped his visor up and scanned the area, “They’re all gone.” He said, looking to Hunter.

“Stand down people.” Hunter sighed, “Nice work kid.”

“T… Thanks.” Nokt replied, rubbing the back of his neck, then looked around, “Mouse?”

“Mouse?” Hunter looked around also, “Wrecker, where’s Mouse?”

“He… he was just here.” Wrecker replied.

“Kark. No one call out, we can’t show weakness now.” Nokt said, his voice trying to hide the fear in him, “He’ll be okay, he’s quick and slippery, they’ll have trouble catching him if they find him.”

“Right, he knows we’re heading to the watering hole, so he can meet us there.” Hunter tried to hide the fear from his voice, “Let’s move out.” He hoped Mouse would be okay, he hoped he would keep his nose out of trouble. He wondered why the small clone had broken formation and when had he broken formation? Mouse obviously knew what he was doing, as Nokt said, this is what they were good at, what they were bred for.

Stay safe Mouse.

Chapter 96: Fight

Chapter Text

“Any word from Mouse?” Hunter asked Nokt.

“No… not yet.” Nokt replied as he looked around the cantina, “He’ll be okay… he’s always okay.”

“Hm…” Hunter sighed, then looked between the three of them, “Anyone spotting anything?”

“Aside from the barman watering down the booze?” Crosshair drawled, “And boozing up the water?”

“Huh… was wondering why it tasted off.” Hunter frowned, looking at the tumbler of water in front of him, “Wrecker?”

“The group of guys in the pirate get up are looking to start a fight with someone.” The giant replied, “I think there might be an all-out brawl if they start something.”

“Perfect.” Hunter sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

“Nice tattoo.” A very drunk man slurred as he all but fell on their table, “Where *hic* where’d you get it?” he looked at Wrecker, “Woah you’re a big guy… sick scar though!”

“You sir, are drunk, and I would suggest you call it a night and go home, yeah?” Nokt said.

“Hey beautiful… *hic* didn’t see you there… how ‘bout you walk me home?” The man slurred, leaning on the table until he was practically lying on it, “Then we… we can get to know each other…? I can show you… a good time…” Nokt was starting to panic, Hunter could hear his breathing speeding up, his heart was beating so fast Hunter wasn’t sure if it had stopped, he was about to tear into the man but Wrecker beat him to the punch and stood up, “Woah… you’re even bigger… *hic*… then I thought!”

“Leave.” Was all the giant said.

“Okay… okay… I get the message big guy…” The man held up his hands in defence, “I’ll… *hic* go.”

Hunter took hold of Nokt’s hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze, “It’s okay Nokt, we’re here and we won’t let him do anything to you.”

“I…” Nokt was clearly trying to control his breathing, “Oh no…” Hunter looked to what Nokt had seen, it was the drunk man, he was talking to the pirates.

“Kark.” Hunter hissed.

“Get up slowly and… weapons at the ready.” Nokt swallowed thickly.

“Rodger that.” Hunter looked to Crosshair and the three of them stood up slowly, following Wrecker through the crowd, using the man as a crowd breaker and deterrent.

The second they got outside, however, a bottle smashed into Wrecker’s back plate, after being thrown by someone, “Where’d you think you’re going!” A weequay appeared from the cantina, “You insulted our friend in there!”

“He insulted my friend first.” Hunter replied, hand resting on his blaster, he had to be strong, “So if anyone is going to be annoyed, it’s us.”

“You got guts pig!” came the yell that started the fight, it was a messy free-for-all, it didn’t just include the two groups for long, everyone was getting involved.

“Hunter!” Nokt’s panicked voice rang over the sounds of the fight, “No! Hunter help me!”

“Nokt!” He turned and saw Nokt get grabbed.

By the drunk.

Chapter 97: Scum of the Underworld

Notes:

We have some referenced horribleness, I tried to be as vague as I could and not say exactly what happened, but heads up. This is a heavy subject.

Chapter Text

Hunter tried to go after Nokt and his assailant, but he was smashed across the back of his head by a bottle, “Hunter!” Nokt’s voice was getting more and more distant, “No! Get off me!”

“Nokt! Hang on!” He yelled, as he kicked his attacker out of his space, the man was about to attack again but something hit his leg and he went down like a tonne of concrete, revealing Mouse, holding a spent sedative stim. Before he could question the tiny trooper, Mouse pointed to where Nokt had been dragged, “Okay.” Hunter nodded and took off after the man and Nokt, “Nokt!” he yelled, “Nokt! Sound off!” he started to panic, he heard a blaster shot, “Nokt!”

“Get back here you little karking whore!” he heard the man shout angrily, he sounded in pain.

Nokt came scurrying out of a side alley, straight into Hunter, “Nokt.” He didn’t even have time to think, he had to get Nokt away from the area, “Guys, meet us back at the Marauder!” he yelled into his comm as he ran with Nokt, who was sobbing hysterically.

“Hunter? What happened?” Tech greeted them at the steps.

“No time, contact the corries, we won’t be able to complete the mission… there has been… traumatic complications. I know Fox and Thorn will understand.” Hunter finally got a look at Nokt, his stomach armour was half removed and his blacks were disturbed, “Nokt…” He knelt down beside the young Sergeant, Nokt didn’t reply, he just continued crying hysterically, “Oh Nokt’ika…”

“Hunter, what happened?” Crosshair asked as they arrived.

“Clicker start the ship!” Hunter yelled, “Shh… it’s okay Nokt, he’s not going to get you, he’s not going to do anything to you.”

“He will!” Nokt cried, “He…”

“No he isn’t, I put a bolt between his eyes.” Crosshair knelt down beside them and put his hand on Nokt’s back, “He will never lay a hand on anyone ever again.”

Mouse appeared with Minnow in his arms, who he offered to his older brother, “Mouse… I thought they got you!” Nokt wrapped himself around his brother, “I…” Mouse wrapped his arms around his brother and just let him cry into his shoulder, he didn’t need words, his actions spoke a thousand words.

“Hunter, Fox wants a word.” Tech appeared from the cockpit.

“Sergeant Hunter what the hell happened that you can’t complete the mission?” Fox sounded more annoyed than angry, “This is a matter of great importance, if you can’t find out the plotters then we have no…”

“Sergeant Noktowizor was… assaulted in an alley by a man…” Hunter said quickly, “Yes… that kind of assault…”

“What?” the Commander asked after a painful moment of silence.

“I cannot put my men in danger down here. Not after this.” He squeezed his eyes shut.

“I did manage to find… records of someone who may be the plotter.” Tech said, “It… may be enough.”

“Bring it here. We’ll assess it, try and get something from it.”

“Yes Commander.”

Chapter 98: Hurt

Notes:

Still difficult subject matter here kiddos.

But Mama Stitches is here to help!

Chapter Text

“Hunter.”

Hunter relaxed at the voice, “Stitches.” He could have hugged the medic, “He… he needs help.”

“What happened?” The medic asked as they made their way back to the Marauder.

“He… we were in the Underworld on Coruscant and a fight broke out…” Hunter tried to find his words, tried to force himself to repeat the events, “There was a drunk guy, he made disgusting advances on Nokt in the bar before the fight… but once the fight broke out… he saw his chance…”

Stitches stopped dead, “He…?”

“Nokt managed to wing him with a blaster bolt before it got bad, making him let go and letting Nokt get back to us… but I think there might have been skin contact, he won’t tell me or anyone…” Hunter felt sick as he said that, he felt so angry with himself for not protecting his brother, for not keeping him safe from a predator.

“What of this… pig?” Stitches asked through clenched teeth.

“Dead, Crosshair put a bolt between his eyes.” Hunter felt better about that, “I don’t know what to do… how to help…”

“You called me. That is help for Nokt, if he has both of us, then he will feel much safer.” Stitches said gently, placing his hand on Hunter’s shoulder.

“You… you’re right.” Hunter nodded, “He… hasn’t left the refresher since we left Coruscant, he won’t let anyone touch him… not even his brothers.” That hurt the most, he had hugged Mouse when he realised his brother was alive and unharmed… but then fell into himself and hid away in the refresher, he wouldn’t let them near him, they couldn’t make physical contact without Nokt completely freaking out, that pig had destroyed any built-up confidence his brother had.

“Stitches is here Nokt.” Hunter said gently as he knocked on the door to the refresher.

“Nokt?” Stitches said, they got no answer, “Can I come in?” he looked to Hunter, then sighed, “I’m opening the door Nokt, I’m here to help, can I do that for you?” Hunter hesitated on pressing the door release button, they had to make sure Nokt was okay. Stitches was the first one to enter and he did so very carefully and as nonthreatening as he could, “Hello ad’ika.” Hunter had never heard the medic speak this softly and he watched as Stitches sat down on the floor, sitting at arms-length from the young Sergeant, who was curled in a tight ball, wedged into the corner under the sink, “I heard what happened, is there anything I can do to help you?” Stitches asked.

“He…” Nokt’s voice was barely audible.

“I know.” Stitches sighed, “Did he hurt you? Or did he just try to grab?”

“Blaster… point…” Nokt replied, “He… nearly…”

“Okay, do you want me to check for any injury or damage he might have caused?” Stitches continued, “I know it might be difficult…”

“He… hurt me… down… down there.” Nokt started to hiccup.

“I’ll give you an exam. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Chapter 99: I'm proud of you

Notes:

We do not victim blame here!

Chapter Text

“How is he?” Hunter asked when the medic left the cubicle.

“Afraid, traumatized, there is some tearing, probably from the pig as he got his hand in past Nokt’s armour and blacks.” Stitches sighed, “I treated the wounds and tested for any harmful infections and the like… but he needs time and patience to come anywhere close to back around. This is different to Umbara, this is different from the shrine, this is a very physically personal attack.”

“If he hadn’t shot the man… if I had been even a second later…” Hunter squeezed his eyes shut, he didn’t want to think about it.

“But he did and you were on time.” Stitches put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder again, giving it a gentle squeeze, “He will need you all, but there will be trust issues, he probably won’t want to bunk with anyone, he may not even want to be in the same room as someone when he sleeps. This kind of attack can have detrimental repercussions on personal relationships, but all you can do is stay by his side and slowly rebuild the trust.”

“How do you do this…?” Hunter said weakly, “How do you deal with these things and… talk about them so easily.”

“I was a front-line trauma medic, I have seen some of the worst things a war can do to people, to a person.” Stitches replied, “Most things don’t phase me anymore because I’ve seen it before, it affects me because I’m not heartless, but I don’t let it dictate my reactions or feelings. I have a job to do and I will do it to the best of my ability, keeping the patient and their needs and feeling in mind also.”

“You… you’ve dealt with this before?” Hunter asked, looking to the door to Nokt’s cubicle.

“Not with a brother, but yes, I have dealt with this before. I have dealt with it when it goes further or if there is more than one assailant.” The medic sighed, “He was lucky, he was incredibly lucky actually, because it could have been so much worse, I’ve seen worse…”

“Thank you Stitches, for everything… I don’t know what we would do without you… the boys would be lost without you…” Hunter looked to the medic, “Can… can I see him?” He didn’t know what to expect but he wanted to make sure Nokt knew his brothers were there for him.

“Of course, but don’t get too close unless he asks for it.” Stitches sighed again, “He may want physical comfort or he might not, it is down to him and him alone okay?”

“Okay.” Hunter nodded, then followed the medic as he opened the door and entered.

“Nokt?” Stitches said gently, “Hunter is here to see you.”

Hunter’s heart broke at the sight before him, Nokt was a shaking bundle of emotions, hiding under the blankets, “Hey Nokt’ika.” He said softly as he sat down on the chair beside the cot.

“I’ll leave you to it, if you need me at any point, just call for me.” Stitches said and Hunter nodded to him, “I’ll be just down the hall.”

“Thank you Stitches.” Hunter smiled, Stitches nodded and left the room. He looked to the ball that was Nokt, trying with all his might to not move to his brother and scoop him up and hold him, tell him everything would be okay and nothing like that would ever happen again, but he couldn’t. Nokt was hurting because of one disgusting man who wanted to hurt and… he stopped the thought there, “I’m so sorry Nokt’ika, I should have done more to help you, if I had been faster…”

“You… you gave me courage to shoot him… I knew you were coming and I…” Nokt’s muffled voice came from under the covers, “I knew that if I… could get him to… let go then I’d… be able to get to you.”

“You did everything correct.” Hunter said softly, “I’m so proud of you, you got yourself out of such a… traumatic assault before he could do something so much worse.”

“He… hurt me… he got under my blacks…” Nokt hiccupped, “He had me pinned and I…”

“Easy Nokt’ika. He is dead and left to the rats, but you? You are here and alive and you have us, you have Stitches, you are so much more than he ever was.” Hunter wanted to encourage the young Sergeant, to help him heal, it wouldn’t be easy, the same way the effects of Umbara weren’t easy, “I can’t promise something like that won’t happen again, but I will do everything in my power to prevent it, we will do everything to keep you safe.” He wanted to hug the young Sergeant.

“It’s… one of the things I was bullied about… I’ve always looked more feminine than any of the normies, or even you and our brothers…” Nokt was hiccupping badly now, “I just… didn’t think it would… make things like this happen…”

“Nokt, listen to me, he was looking for it, he would have taken anyone he thought he could dominate…” Hunter couldn’t blame Nokt, he was taken by surprised from behind by a physically bigger man, “He must have thought you were easy pickings.”

“He was right.” Nokt’s voice broke, “He was right! I can’t even defend myself from one stupid man! Why would anyone think I… why was I made this way?” he sobbed quietly.

“Because kaminoans.” Hunter felt his anger burn anew, “He caught you off guard, you had no time to prepare because you were in the middle of a brawl, but you showed him he was wrong in his assumptions. You shot him, you got away from him, you did, not me, not the others… you did! He didn’t take it from you, he hurt you but you showed him why you don’t mess with a Night Stalker!” Nokt finally moved the covers and met Hunter’s gaze.

“I’m so proud of you Nokt.”

Chapter 100: Be a warrior (Mature chapter)

Notes:

Told from the POV of Stitches as he treats Nokt.

There is details of a medical exam, and I mentioned things in a medical way, not in any type of sexual way. So be warned about that, that this is going to delve into a more mature subject and if you don't want to read it, I will understand.

Nokt is hurting and Stitches is going to help him.

Chapter Text

“Okay, can you remove your armour and lie down on the bed?” Stitches said softly to the young Sergeant, “There is nothing to be scared of, or embarrassed about, I have dealt with things like this before. However, if you feel scared or upset, tell me and I will stop the exam, okay?”

“Y… yeah… okay…” Nokt replied, and Stitches turned around to give Nokt some semblance of privacy. He sorted out his necessities, gloves, bacta gel, sterilizing wipes, then he went to one of the cubbies and took out a clean pair of briefs for the young man, he turned when he heard the bed creak as Nokt lay down, “I’m… scared…” Nokt said as he hiccupped.

“And that is okay. Given what just happened, you have every right to be afraid of a bigger male going anywhere near you, especially where I will be examining.” Stitches said softly, “Your brother Mouse, has sent Minnow down to give you comfort, would you like to hold her?” Nokt nodded quickly, “I will be right back with her.” He smiled, he was as quick as he could be, he couldn’t delay because Nokt would get more and more fearful the longer Stitches was away, “Here we go, one support bantha.” He said as he arrived back. Nokt wrapped his arms around Minnow and buried his face in her fur, “I’m going to remove your blacks, just the leggings, but if you want me to stop at any point, just tell me, okay?” he looked to Nokt, who nodded quickly, “Okay.” He carefully slipped the young man’s leggings off and he could see Nokt trying to not curl his legs up to protect himself, “I’m going to remove your briefs, again, if you want me to stop the exam, just tell me.”

“I’m… I’m okay.” Nokt hiccupped.

“It’s okay to admit if you are not alright, you are trying to protect yourself, but you are being very brave and I thank you for your trust in me.” Stitches said gently, then frowned at the blood staining on the grey fabric, “I’m slipping them off now.” He said and carefully removed the stained briefs, he then put on his gloves and carefully started his examination, “Okay, there are cuts and some skin tearing, mostly around your hips, but there is some on the penis itself.” He said, “Can you spread your legs?” he could feel the young Sergeant shaking under his hands, “Do you want me to stop?”

Nokt shook his head, “No… I’m just… scared…”

“And that is okay.” Stitches replied, “Do you feel comfortable enough for me to continue?” Nokt nodded and carefully spread his legs, “Okay, there is some tearing in the creases between your legs, did he start anything?” Nokt nodded and started sobbing into Minnow’s fur, “I’m so sorry Nokt.” He felt sick, horrified, if he could raise that pig from the dead, he would make sure his second death was slow and agonising, but he couldn’t so he would be there for Nokt. “I will need to so some tests for any infections, bacterial and viral, because neither of us know what was on that man’s hands.” He said as he spread the skin further down between Nokt’s legs, frowning at the skin tearing and cuts he found there, clearly the man got his disgusting fingers further back, “Have you had any pain inside?” he didn’t want to ask, but he didn’t have a choice, luckily Nokt shook his head, “He didn’t get that far?” Nokt shook his head again. “Good, we won’t have to worry about internal tearing or infections.”

“Why… why did he do that…?” Nokt sobbed.

“Because there are some sick, twisted and depraved people out there.” Stitches sighed, “I’ve seen it all before, I’ve seen what happens when it goes further, what happens when there is more than one assailant, you have been very lucky ad’ika.”

“I… don’t feel lucky.” Nokt hiccupped.

“I know.” Stitches replied gently, “But the bravery you are showing me right now, speaks volumes about your resilience.”

“I… feel dirty…” Nokt sobbed.

“That is understandable, but this is not your fault, you are no less of a man or a person because of this. You are brave and strong and this will not define you anymore than my past defines me.” Stitches smiled to Nokt when the young Sergeant looked to him, “We all have a weight to carry ad’ika, but it’s not the weight that defines you, it is the way you carry it and who you share the load with.”

“Hunter… gave me the courage to… to get him off me.” Nokt said, “I heard him… I heard him calling for me, looking for me…”

“Family, if they love each other, will always help, will always come back for you.” He smiled softly.

“What… happened to your family?” the young man asked softly.

“They died. A few months into the war.” Stitches sighed, “I was the only one to survive.”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Nokt wiped his eyes.

“There is nothing to apologise for, that’s how war works.” Stitches replied, “I will clean the cuts and tears, then I will apply some bacta, meaning I will need to touch you in a different manner, but if you want me to stop, you just tell me. Okay?”

“Okay.” Nokt nodded, Stitches turned and put on a fresh pair of gloves, then set about cleaning the injuries, “What… what were your brothers… like?”

“We were a very close family unit, we didn’t start out that way, but we learned to love each other and work together as a family unit.” Stitches smiled, “I was the grumpy brother who scared the other cadets, but my brother Tail-Gater was always trying to make me smile. He was a strange clone, he loved wearing clothes intended for women, we used to get him custom made lingerie for his decanting days when we were able to go out into the galaxy.”

“He… cross-dressed?” Nokt asked.

“Less cross-dressing, more… being comfortable in himself.” Stitches replied, “He used to get hit on all the time when we went to 79s, he loved the attention.”

“Did he… was he ever in a situation like this?” Nokt seemed to relax.

“No. Any creepy guy who even thought about it got a beating from us.” Stitches chuckled, “Not just one of us, all of us.” He binned the wipes, “Not that he couldn’t defend himself if he needed to, but he was quite fond of a drink.”

“Did you drink?” Nokt asked.

“No, my brothers and friends tried to get me to drink when we went out, but I can’t stand the smell of alcohol.” He smiled as he changed his gloves again and picked up the bacta gel, “Have you tried alcohol?”

“No… it makes Mouse nauseous, so he refuses to enter bars because of it.” Nokt had relaxed considerably, “I think… I think that’s why he didn’t come with us to the bar… on Coruscant…”

“More than likely.” He replied, “I need to apply the gel now, it will be cold and my application might feel invasive, but I will try my best to make it as non-invasive as I can. And, again, you can tell me if you want me to stop. Okay?”

“O… okay…” Nokt nodded, he started to panic again.

“Easy ad’ika.” He said gently, “Can you tell me how Clicker seems to know exactly what Mouse wants to say, without Mouse actually signing?”

“Clicker can feel… the vibrations of Mouse’s squeaking, and Mouse has learned how to communicate with Clicker by lowering the pitch of his squeaks. They learned to understand what Mouse was saying, and then they taught me… so we can have a complete conversation without talking… it… it helped when…” he started panicking as Stitches started the application.

“When?” Stitches encouraged, “So us regular clone couldn’t understand you and bully you?”

“Y… yeah.” Nokt was shaking under his hands, he was trying not to close his legs, to curl up so he would protect himself, “If… if they didn’t understand what we said to each other, then they… couldn’t use our words against us.”

“That is very ingenious, using Clicker’s enhancement to form a new method of talking to each other.” Stitches smiled, “Can Clicker understand other frequencies?”

“He… he can.” Nokt replied, swallowing thickly.

“And you? Is there a limit to how low a light can get before you can’t see?” He had to keep the young trooper talking, keep him from completely falling apart, he was doing very good so far, but Stitches had to move to the tears between his legs.

“As… as long as there is some form a light… like the… I’m scared Stitches…” he started sobbing.

“I know ad’ika, I need to be thorough because of where the injuries are, but you are doing incredibly well, despite your fear. Do you want me to stop?” Stitches asked, Nokt shook his head, “Okay.” He replied gently and continued the application. He was happy the wounds in the creases hadn’t gone deep, not when there was a massive artery there, Nokt would have bled out in seconds, “Nearly done.” He said, he was also happy the pig hadn’t gotten fingers inside, he hadn’t completely violated Nokt, “And… there we go.” He said, “I have a fresh pair of briefs you can change into, luckily we stock them for most body sizes.”

“Th… thank you Stitches…” Nokt said.

“You are most welcome and I must thank you for trusting me with this.” He said as he binned the gloves, “Do you need help getting the briefs on?”

“N… no. I should be okay.” Nokt replied and gingerly sat up, then stood up and put Minnow down on the bed as he put the briefs on.

“Do you want something to drink? Or eat?” Stitches asked, “I heard from Mouse that you rather enjoy the soup from the mess. I find it bland as kark, but that might be because I’ve destroyed my taste buds with caf.”

“G… Grand Master Yoda says… he says you should cut back on the caf, he said it makes you irritated.” Nokt said shyly.

Stitches let out a big sigh, “That was one time Grand Master.” He grumbled.

“W… what was?” Nokt asked as he sat down again.

“Nothing. You can stay in here as long as you need, and if you don’t feel comfortable with being in a room with any brother, you can spend the night here.” He carefully put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder.

“I…” Nokt hiccupped and started crying again, “I don’t know!”

“Easy ad’ika, you are safe here, and nothing will happen, your brothers can come in only if you want them too, if you don’t want physical contact, then no one will initiate contact.” He said as he knelt down in front of Nokt, “And if anyone disregards your wishes, then I will defend you like I defended my brother and I will lay the smackdown of the century.” He smiled up to Nokt.

“O… okay…” Nokt nodded and wiped his eyes, “Thank you.”

“Hunter will want an update, he will probably want to come in and see how you are, do you want me to let him in? Or would you prefer time alone?” He asked.

“If… if it’s just him… then…” He hiccupped and wiped the fresh tears dripping down his cheeks, “I want to talk to him but… but I don’t want him to be ashamed of me… I don’t want him to think I’m dirty…”

“He would never think those things.” Stitches said quickly, “You are not dirty Nokt, you will never be dirty.”

“But…” Nokt hiccupped again.

“But nothing ad’ika, you are not dirty, you are not defiled or a disgrace. You are a strong warrior, and nothing will change that.” Stitches frowned, “Not Hunter, not some pig on Coruscant. Be proud of your survival. Be a warrior.”

Because you are.

Chapter 101: Reunited

Chapter Text

“Is… is Nokt coming back soon?” Clicker asked Hunter as they sat around the table eating.

“I’m not sure. Stitches wants to make sure he’s emotionally able to return to the bunk rooms, where he will be surrounded by other men.” Hunter sighed, “He said Nokt probably won’t want to bunk with anyone, that he mightn’t even want to be in the same room as other men.”

“But… he’ll still want to share… the bunk room with me and Mouse… right?” Clicker asked, looking to his brother, who looked very upset with the news.

“I don’t know.” Hunter replied.

“It will take him a long time to feel comfortable with us older clones, though I am unsure of his reaction to you two, you are his brothers after all.” Tech said, “This is something none of us have dealt with before…”

“Stitches has helped people who have gone through this, so he’s Nokt’s best bet of understanding what to do now, and he has built up enough trust with Nokt that he can treat his injuries.” Hunter ran his hand through his hair, he was so disgusted with himself for not protecting Nokt, he was the oldest, he was supposed to be the protector!

“Were… were they bad?” Clicker asked softly.

“I don’t know, Stitches said there were some, but he didn’t say how bad they were.” Hunter sighed, he couldn’t believe someone was so sick and twisted that he thought assaulting a teenager was acceptable, that Nokt would be okay with it and want it…

“We’ll take things at his pace.” Crosshair said quietly, as he pushed his food around, “The corries got what they wanted, so we never have to go back to Coruscant, and if the Jedi want to talk to us again, then they can come to us.” Mouse had gotten a lot of information when he split from the group, he had followed a scent, it was someone who smelled like they had been to the surface recently but they smelled more of the underworld, and between him and Tech, they got enough data for the corries to conduct a raid.

“Yeah!” Wrecker said loudly and Mouse nodded in agreement.

“Oh… I can… I can hear Nokt, he’s with Stitches.” Clicker said, “He… sounds… less…”

‘He smells happier.’ Mouse squeaked, ‘He still smells very damaged, but he’s trying.’

“That’s good. Now remember, don’t go to him unless he asks for it, we’ll keep our distance but you two should be safe enough to get a little closer.” Hunter looked to the two Night Stalkers, who nodded.

“G… guys, I’m back.” Nokt said as he and Stitches entered the room, Stitches staying by the door, probably so he didn’t add another big male to the pack, Mouse and Clicker moved slowly to him, unsure of what to do, “C… can I get a hug?” Nokt asked, “I need a hug…” both his brothers wrapped themselves around Nokt.

He wasn’t okay.

But he was safe.

With them.

Chapter 102: Medical talk

Notes:

Things the Kaminoans don't teach: Sex Ed

Chapter Text

Hunter knew they would have to be careful with Nokt, that he couldn’t be alone with any of them, that he needed his brothers with him if he was with the Batch, he knew that there would be touch issues… but that knowledge didn’t make it hurt any less. Nokt hadn’t been anywhere near other clones, he rarely left his bunk room, unless it was to use the refresher, and some nights he slept in medical, where Stitches could keep people out and keep an eye on him… it was difficult. Sometimes Nokt couldn’t even be in the same room as his brothers, so Hunter wondered what Stitches had said or done to make Nokt trust him so much, Stitches was built like a every other standard clone, he was physically bigger male, it confused Hunter greatly… “Stitches?” he looked to the medic as he entered the older clone’s office.

“Yes Sergeant?” Stitches looked up from his reports.

“Can… can I ask you something?” Hunter didn’t know why he felt so small at that moment.

“Of course, take a seat.” Stitches replied and leaned back in his chair, resting his loosely clasped hands on his abdomen, he looked the pinnacle of relaxed.

“How… how do you… why does Nokt trust you in such a manner?” Hunter asked quickly.

“Because I built up the trust as I was treating him, I helped him when he struggled to take a shower and gave him a lesson in sexual education.” Stitches replied easily, “He is hurting and confused and he feels dirty. He thinks he is dirty and disgusting, because he was made to think he secretly liked what the man was doing, solely because his body reacted to it in a way he didn’t want it to, so I talked to him about how that reaction would have happened regardless.”

“He… he thinks…?” Hunter felt sick.

“He wasn’t sure if you wanted to see him after I treated him, because he was afraid you would be ashamed of him, that you would think he’s dirty.” Stitches sighed, “As to why he is completely comfortable with me, is that I am what many call an asexual, in my case that means I have no sexual feelings or desires and that I am not sexually attracted to anyone. In a way he knew I wouldn’t try to take advantage of him, because I have no desire to do so. He has no way of knowing what way any of our brothers swing, or even how any of you swing, he has to be extra cautious. He doesn’t know which, if any, of the physically larger men around him will take advantage of him.”

“O… oh.” Hunter felt stupid, “Should… should I talk to him about it?”

“He will probably get scared and shut down, but it might be beneficial for you to talk with him. At his pace.” Stitches frowned, “Rebuild the trust between you.”

“Okay… yeah. I can do that.”

“Very good Sergeant.”

Chapter 103: Protect him

Chapter Text

“It’s Hunter, can I come in?” Hunter asked as he knocked on the door to the Night Stalker’s bunk room, he didn’t hear any kind of reply so he was going to knock again to confirm but the door opened to reveal Mouse, he was dressed for bed and looking like Hunter had rudely woken him up, “I’m sorry for waking you Mouse’ika.” He smiled softly, “I was wondering if Nokt was in, and if I could talk to him.” Mouse wiped his eyes and looked back into the room, squeaking sleepily.

“Of… of course.” Nokt appeared in the doorway and Hunter gave him space, “Do… do you want to talk in here or…”

“Where would you feel most comfortable?” He asked gently, “Or I could come back later when your brothers are all awake.”

“N… no. It’s okay.” Nokt replied, his blush was one of embarrassment, not the normal kind that made his face softer, but one that was tarnished by shame and fear.

“Are you sure?” Hunter didn’t want to force Nokt into anything, “It’s no problem to me.”

“We… we can see if Stitches… has a cubicle free in medical…” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers.

“If that is where you feel most comfortable, then we can talk there.” He smiled softly, Stitches would keep a very close eye on Hunter, he would protect Nokt before he protected Hunter. He didn’t hold it against the medic, Hunter could be a threat to Nokt, and Nokt wouldn’t be able to do much against him, he was so much bigger than the young Sergeant, “Do you want me to walk with you? Or will I meet you there?”

“We can walk together.” Nokt replied quietly.

“Okay, I’ll keep my distance unless you say something.” He stepped to the side and walked with Nokt, the young Sergeant flinched away from any approaching trooper, he was hugging the wall in fear, almost to the point of terror.

“I… I don’t want to be… scared.” Nokt hiccupped as the entered the ward, “I’m sorry for…”

“There is nothing to apologise for Nokt, you had a traumatic experience, and that will take time to heal from.” Hunter replied gently, “You don’t know how anyone of us will act around you, it’s okay to be cautious. I’m not mad, or angry, I’m worried about you and your wellbeing, and I feel like I let you down.”

“That cubicle’s free.” Stitches said once they reached him, “Shout if you need me.” He frowned to Hunter.

“Thank you Stitches.” Hunter nodded as they entered the cubicle, he stayed near the door while Nokt sat down on the cot.

“You… you can sit down… if you want.” Nokt was blushing again.

“Are you sure?” Hunter asked and Nokt nodded slowly, so he went to the chair near the cot, it wasn’t between Nokt and the door, which would help with Nokt’s security. “I wanted to talk to about something Stitches told me, why were you scared I would think you were dirty? That I would be ashamed of you?” Nokt didn’t reply verbally but he did start sobbing, “Nokt, I would never think those things, is it because of how you feel towards me?”

Nokt nodded again, “I… I was so scared that… you would think I was disgusting and that… you wouldn’t love me as a brother anymore. I tried to make it stop but he kept pushing me until I was in so much agony, he made me think I was dirty and disgusting and… and that I was… he called me a whore Hunter! A little karking whore!”

“You are not a whore Nokt, you are not dirty, you are not disgusting. You never were and you never will be.” He had to be firm in his convictions, he had to help Nokt see past what some pig said, “And I will never love you any less as a brother, not because of this and not because of how you feel towards me. I might not feel the same way towards you as you do to me, but you are allowed to feel those feelings and I don’t think any less of you or love you any less.”

“I… was so scared… because I didn’t want it to be him.” Nokt sobbed, “He hurt me so much! I thought he would tear me into pieces! He hurt me and… and made me so… dirty…”

“Oh Nokt’ika.” Hunter sighed, he wanted to hug his brother, but he didn’t know if he should, if he could, “I cannot say this enough, but you are not dirty. He didn’t take it from you, you are not dirty, you are hurt and in so much pain that I don’t know how to help you… but you will never be dirty.” He smiled softly, “You are perfect, just the way you are.” He jumped a little bit when Nokt suddenly wrapped himself around him, the young Sergeant burying his face in his shoulder, his tears soaking into Hunter’s blacks. “We will never hurt you Nokt, we will protect you and I will make sure nothing like that ever happens to you ever again.” He carefully wrapped his arms around Nokt, smiling gently when the young man relaxed a little in his embrace, “I will never hurt you, and you are still the Nokt we love, the brother we love, and nothing will change that. I can’t promise you much but… but I promise you that.” He rested his cheek on Nokt’s head, on the soft hair that was growing back to show the grey. It was like Crosshair’s hair, but softer, “And if anyone tries, we will kick the tar out of them and they won’t be walking out of the situation.” He had to give Nokt courage, had to give him safety in a group of bigger males who would protect him, who would never harm him, never make him feel disgusting, he needed safety.

They would protect him.

Chapter 104: Back down

Chapter Text

Hunter looked to Nokt as he approached the Marauder with Stitches, the young Sergeant was absolutely terrified, this would be the first time in two weeks that he would be stepping onto the Marauder again, that he would be leaving Kamino and Stitches. “Don’t worry Nokt, I’ll be here and you have my personal comm code, so you can contact me if you need me.” Stitches said gently, “Mouse should have a lot of bacta gel if you need to apply it again, but it has healed well.”

“I… I don’t know if I can do this.” Nokt looked between the two of them, “I…”

“Easy Nokt’ika.” Hunter smiled softly, “We would never hurt you, and we can give you all the space you need to feel safe.”

“And you can call me if they need a verbal sheb-whooping.” Stitches chuckled.

“O… okay.” Nokt smiled a little, “I… I can do this…”

“Of course you can Nokt’ika, you’re braver than you give yourself credit for.” Hunter needed to encourage Nokt, to help the young Sergeant regain some of his confidence back.

“You are a warrior.” Stitches confirmed, “And remember this, bravery isn’t the absence of fear, it is completing the trial in defiance of that fear.”

“Thank… thank you… both of you.” Nokt blushed, it was slowly returning to his soft blushes, “We… should get moving. Who are we meeting up with?”

“You will be happy to know, that we are meeting up with the 104th and General Plo.” Tech said from the top of the steps, “Ship’s stocked and prepped Hunter.”

“As Mouse would confirm, we like General Plo, don’t we?” Hunter chuckled.

“Yeah… we do.” Nokt’s form softened, “Okay… I can do this…” He took slow steps towards the boarding steps, pausing briefly before making the slow ascent.

“Keep him safe Hunter.” Stitches said quietly, “He is healing, both physically and mentally, this is different from the bunk rooms, this is an enclosed metal container with no way out. He will need a considerable amount of time to readjust after what happened.”

“I know… Mouse cleaned everything three times in order to get ride of the smell, he didn’t like it… and he knew Nokt would be able to smell it because of what memories it would bring back.” Hunter sighed. Mouse hadn’t enjoyed cleaning the refresher, it smelled so wrong, “He got rid of the smell and Nokt has showered… right?” he looked to Stitches again.

“Yes, he was beyond terrified of the prospect, he didn’t want to look at himself.” Stitches crossed his arms, “I sat with him and talked to him, he was still in pain and he was afraid of it hurting more in the shower.”

“Like… physical hurt or…?” Hunter blinked.

“He was afraid the memory would cause a reaction and it would hurt again. He’s afraid his body would betray him again, like it did under the hand of the man.” Stitches looked up to the Marauder, Hunter felt the blood leave him, the man had gotten that far!? “It is a difficult subject when one has been… assaulted in such a way… but I told him it was okay to not be okay, he suffered horribly at the hand of that man, and it would take a long time to heal.” The medic sighed again and looked back to Hunter, “Be careful Hunter, his brain will not think he is safe in there, he will probably try to hide, try to stay out of sight, make himself as small as he can. Do not try to make him engage with the group, he will initiate the interaction himself if he wants to engage, don’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want to.”

“I… I would never…” Hunter lost his words, because he had once and he felt sick when he realised what he had done, did Nokt look at that man the same as he looked at Hunter? Terrified and hysterical? How much pain was he in when his body betrayed him? He didn’t want to think about that, he didn’t want to know because he would crumble under his own guilt.

“Hunter.” He was brought out of his head by Stitches snapping his fingers in front of his face, “You cannot fall down that slippery slope, because you will never escape it. You cannot change what happened, you cannot go back and make everything okay again, but you can be there for him. Now. At this very moment.” The medic frowned, “That is how you help him, because if you fall, you’re going to bring him down with you.”

“You… you’re right… again.” Hunter sighed, “Why are you always right about this?!”

“Because I have seen this all before, I know what I am talking about.” Stitches frowned again, “This is not an isolated incident Sergeant, it happens all the time, all over the galaxy, this war just brought it to light because you have the GAR reaching places that held secrets from the rest of the galaxy.”

“Is there anything you can’t do!?” Hunter snapped, he hadn’t meant to, he was acting out in frustration, frustration at not being the protector he was supposed to be, “Why are you so karking perfect!?” Stitches didn’t react, his form didn’t show any emotions.

Nothing.

Hunter noticed the countless troopers staring at them in shocked silence, “Stitches… I…”

“Get on the ship.” The medic said very calmly.

“I… I didn’t…” Hunter tried again.

“Now.” Stitches’ voice didn’t change, it stayed so calm and collected. Hunter swallowed thickly, he knew he could probably take the medic in a fight, but for some reason… he knew it wasn’t a good idea, he knew because Stitches could and would use dirty tactics, like Mouse did with the sedative stim on Coruscant. The medic didn’t move an inch, staring at him until Hunter moved first, until he made Hunter back down and do as he was told, so that’s what Hunter did.

He backed down.

Chapter 105: Admissions

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed as he stared out at the sea of lights whizzing past them as they travelled through hyperspace, the others had all gone to bunk down for a quick sleep before they met up with General Plo and the 104th, he didn’t know where Nokt was, was he hiding in the refresher once more? “H… Hunter?” He blinked, wondering if his thought had summoned the younger Sergeant.

“Yes Nokt?” He turned the seat and smiled to the young man, “Are you alright?”

“Can… can I sit with you?” He fidgeted with his fingers.

“Of course you can Nokt’ika, you don’t even have to ask.” He motioned to the co-pilot seat, “How are you feeling? Is it hurting?”

“A little but… Stitches says that’s to be expected.” Nokt replied as he sat down, “He said there would be scarring also… and that’s what hurts more than the injury.” He looked out at the lights of hyperspace, “I will have… visual reminders of what happened, and if I ever have… have a relationship I don’t know if I would be able to explain it.”

“Nokt… if you have a relationship, if you love that person and they love you, then they will know how much it hurts you without you having to explain.” He smiled, then his smile faded when he remembered what Stitches had said, “I… Nokt I am so sorry he laid hands on you, that he made your body do that… I wish I could go back and make it right…”

“I… I know but what happened… happened and there is nothing we can do now… that I can do now, except work towards healing.” Nokt hugged his legs to his chest, crossing his feet to protect himself and resting his chin on his knees, staring out at the sea of lights, “Stitches talked to me, when I struggled to take a shower… I learned a lot from him, but he explained that my sexuality wasn’t caused by the bullying, that it may well be only a cause of the people I find attractive. So… I need to say this because… I… I don’t…”

“Easy Nokt, take your time.” He said gently.

“Hunter… I… I’m gay.” Nokt said quickly, hugging his legs tight against his chest, “And… and I find you attractive…” Hunter blinked, stunned into silence, “And… I know what I feel is not felt by you, but I just had to tell you so it… it wouldn’t get weird and you wouldn’t trust me… that I wouldn’t trust me…” he hiccupped and started sobbing.

“Nokt… hey, it’s okay.” He reached over and put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “I promise that it’s okay. Thank you for telling me, I am happy you have come to term with who you are. I wish it hadn’t come from this nightmare… but I am glad you talked to someone about it, who helped you feel confident in yourself to tell me.”

“You… you’re not mad?”

“No Nokt, I’m not.”

Chapter 106: Plo and Wolffe

Notes:

As GogglesToothpick said: The next person who even looks at Nokt will be experiencing aggressive negotiations.

At this point everyone of the brothers they've met will kick the tar out of anyone who looks at him funny. Not just one... ALL OF THEM!

Chapter Text

“Sergeant Nokt, might I speak with you for a moment.” General Plo said as they started leaving the command centre.

“I…” Nokt looked completely terrified, so Mouse moved quickly to him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, nodding to him, “Yes… yes sir.” He looked to Hunter briefly before he followed the General.

“It’s okay Mouse’ika, he’ll be fine.” Wrecker carefully put his hand on Mouse’s bald head.

“Oh… I can’t… hear him…?” Clicker blinked in confusion, “Strange… this has never happened before.”

“Can the Force do that? Or is it something else?” Crosshair looked to Tech, who shrugged.

“I am unsure, but it appears the General does not want us to eavesdrop on their conversation.” Tech replied.

“Good.” Hunter frowned, Nokt needed to speak with someone outside his close circle, and Hunter would have no one but General Plo to be the one to have the talk with the young Sergeant. The man just… felt so much like a father figure that Nokt might feel comfortable enough to speak with him, about things he just couldn’t say to any of them… he was so happy Nokt came to terms with his own sexuality, he was furious that it took an assault in an alleyway to do it.

“Sergeant Hunter, a word.” Commander Wolffe appeared beside him.

“Of… of course Commander.” He nodded and followed Wolffe out into the hallway.

“What happened on Coruscant?” The Commander folded his arms, “He looks terrified, beyond terrified to be anywhere near me or any of my men.”

“He…” He paused, then sighed and spoke quietly, “He was assaulted… in a dark alleyway, by a drunk who had made disgusting advances on him in the cantina. We got in a fight and the drunk saw his chance to grab Nokt and… he dragged him away to “show him a good time” as the pig put it.” He was getting angry just repeating it.

Wolffe had gone several shades paler, “Pardon?” He clearly didn’t want to believe it, none of them did.

“Stitches told me that Nokt’s body betrayed him under that man’s hand.” He massaged his forehead.

“Wh… what of this pig?” Wolffe growled.

“Dead. Crosshair put a bolt between his eyes.” He wished he could raise him from the dead, just so he could kill him again, kill him with the hand of fury.

“How… how is he doing?” Wolffe looked to where the General and young Sergeant had gone.

“Stitches helped him, I don’t know what I would have done without him, he helped Nokt come to terms with what happened.” Hunter hated feeling jealous of the medic, but the medic knew so much and could do even more, “But I don’t know if I can ever come to terms with what happened, with how I let this happen when I should be the protector.”

“You can’t protect them at every moment. Trust me on that.” Wolffe sighed, “Just… protect him now, be his brother Sergeant.”

“I… I will Commander.”

“Good.”

Chapter 107: Back in the thick of it

Chapter Text

“We’ve just entered the power core.” Nokt’s quiet voice came across the comm, “We should have the shields and defence towers down in a moment.”

“The border patrol has restarted their circuit once again, they will take eight point three three seconds to pass by us again.” Tech said from beside Hunter, “I have picked up no chatter on any frequencies.”

“Crosshair, any movement from the main platform?” Hunter asked.

“Nada.” Crosshair drawled, “It’s unnervingly still.”

“I don’t like this.” Wrecker looked between Tech and Hunter, “At all.”

“Clicker, you picking up any audio chatter?” Hunter was thankful that someone was with the Marauder, in case they needed a very impromptu escape.

“I… I can hear someone talking to a droid.” He replied softly, “It… sounds weird, modulated, there’s a weird whine to the modulator, like it isn’t set to the right frequency.”

“Any ideas?” Hunter asked the collective group.

“It… it could be the Techno Union.” Nokt said, “Skakoan’s need to wear pressure suits to survive off of Skako… which has a high-pressure methane atmosphere. Their suits have direct translators built-in, which would be the modulated voice, and if it’s… not tuned correctly it can create a whine.”

“So we have Techno Union here?” Hunter sighed, “Great.”

“Mouse has picked up a bunch of organic scent markers.” Nokt continued, “They’re moving.”

“Yep, I just spotted them.” Crosshair chimed in, “And we do, in fact, have Techno Union, three to be accurate.”

“Clicker, contact General Plo, tell him this factory is being run by the Techno Union.” Hunter peaked around the column to see if he could spot the group, “We’ll deal with this factory, but he needs to know who we’re against.”

“A… affirmative.” Clicker replied and closed the channel.

“We’re at the control terminal, get ready to move.” Nokt said, “In three… two… one…”

The entire place went completely pitch black as the flood lights and defensive barrier shut off, and Hunter could hear the turret towers powering down, “Go.” Hunter whispered and the three of them made a beeline for the carrier the three Techno Union members were heading to before they were stopped by the very sudden lack of light.

“We are heading up to the data control room.” Nokt said over the faint sound of a vent cover being moved, “We’ll meet you there.”

“Affirmative.” Hunter replied, he was happy Nokt was engaging in the mission, he was getting into the nitty gritty, back into his element and Hunter couldn’t be prouder of him, he wondered what the young Sergeant and General Plo talked about, he probably would never know but that was alright because Nokt now had another confidante, someone outside the family, someone beyond Stitches he could talk to. Hunter had come to terms with why Nokt didn’t speak with him on these matters, he was Nokt’s object of affection, and the young Sergeant would rather stay silent, than speaking his failings to Hunter, his perceived disgraced and disgusting body.

It was heartbreaking.

Chapter 108: Approaching danger

Chapter Text

“Find anything?” Hunter asked as they entered the data control room.

“Something about testing an algorithm of some kind.” Nokt replied, “It’s in development and they’re not giving a lot of information on the subject.”

“An algorithm?” Tech asked as he went straight for the terminal.

“That’s what they called it.” Nokt replied as he looked from Tech to Hunter, “What of the three Techno Union guys?”

“We tagged their ship and they left in a big hurry.” Hunter sighed.

“The seem to have done a deep system purge, so what you found might only be basic surface information.” Tech explained, “I cannot find anything substantial on any of their databases. They wiped everything of importance.”

“So all we’ve got going for us is… what? Someone’s emails?” Wrecker asked from the doors.

“Essentially… yes.” Tech replied bluntly.

“Where’s Mouse?” Hunter looked to the young Sergeant who was standing beside him.

“He’s following the Skakoan’s scent, he thinks he might be able to find a personal lab or office.” Nokt replied, he was holding himself tense and straight.

“He’ll be fine Nokt’ika.” He smiled to the young man, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” Nokt nodded, “I think being back in the field is doing me some good, I don’t have time to… wallow.” He fidgeted with his fingers, “I’m not trying to ignore it, or push it to the back of my brain so I don’t have to deal with it… if I’m on a mission, I can think about it and reflect on it but I can’t dwell on it.”

“Did talking with General Plo help?” He smiled gently, and Nokt nodded shyly, “That’s great to hear.”

He was about to continue but Nokt’s comm chirped and a squeak came through the open channel, “Mouse?” Nokt asked, “Did you find anything?”

A confirmation squeak, “Tech, can you follow his signal?” Hunter looked to his brother.

“Of course.” Tech had his nose in his datapad, but he moved to type away on his wrist terminal, “I have your location Mouse, we will be with you shortly.”

“Let’s move out.” They all exited the room and moved quickly through the halls, which were devoid of droid patrols, “Anyone have any idea where the guards are?”

“My scans are not picking up anything on this floor… or any floor.” Tech sounded like he was frowning, “It appears we are alone in terms of droids.”

“That can’t be good, Mouse, have you heard anything? Is there anything near you?” Nokt’s voice also carried a frown, the squeak that came back was a negative, “I do not like this Hunter.”

“I don’t either, Crosshair, we still clear outside?” he opened his comm.

“The patrols have vanished, not one anywhere.” Crosshair drawled.

“Uh… I can… hear something approaching… quickly.” Clicker joined in the conversation, “They… could be vulture droids… but I think there’s also something moving slower behind them… a very loud thudding sound… could be octuptarra magna tri-droids.”

“Walkers?”

“We need to move… now.”

Chapter 109: Into the fray

Chapter Text

“Tech, meet up with Mouse and get anything you can, as fast as you can. Clicker, bring the Marauder here, we’ll need to bounce quickly.” Hunter had to move quickly, “Cross, keep an eye out for those walkers.”

“Affirmative.” They replied.

“Wrecker, Nokt, you’re with me. We need to stop those vultures.” He looked to the two with him, who both nodded.

“Vultures are in visual range.” Crosshair drawled, “Walkers are taking their time.”

“The octuptarra magna tri-droids are not designed for speed, their top speed is generally clocked at fifty klicks per hour.” Tech interjected, “They are designed for shock and awe tactics, and are used as mobile artillery units.”

“We are well aware of their role Tech.” Nokt frowned, “How far is too far for their weapons to be effective and accurate?”

“At the current distance they are right at this moment, their accuracy would be terrible but shots could be taken.” Tech replied.

“Great.” Hunter frowned, “Okay, grab anything then meet us at the front door.”

“Affirmative.” Tech said before cutting the channel.

“Let’s go.” He looked to Wrecker and Nokt, “Clicker, what’s your position?”

“Just… just taking off. Be… with you momentarily.” Clicker replied in his quiet voice, it was almost always on the verge of being drowned out by the ship’s engines, but he couldn’t speak louder, not without hurting himself.

“Vultures are landing in the courtyard.” Crosshair’s voice came through as a whisper, “They’re in scouting mode.”

“Good, they don’t know we’re still here.” Nokt looked to him.

“How many?” Hunter asked as they reached the door.

“It’s a small flock, I count six.” Crosshair replied, “Walkers are still out of visual range.”

“Wrecker, you pack poppers?” He looked to the giant, who grinned and produced six of them from his pack, “Why would I ever doubt you?” Hunter laughed quietly.

“We have acquired everything we are going to find here.” Tech chimed in again, “We will join up with you now.”

“Roger.” Hunter sighed, “Wrecker, ready those poppers, we’re going out hot.” Nokt wasn’t comfortable with using his blaster to begin with, but after Coruscant… he seemed to look at them with a little bit of fear and nausea, “Nokt?” He waved his hand in front of the young Sergeant’s face.

“I… I don’t know if I can do this.” He said quickly, “I… I can’t use one again…”

“I understand.” Hunter replied gently, “Keep out of sight.”

“O… okay.” He nodded and slipped on his helmet before moving to the vent cover closest to them.

“Is he okay?” Wrecker whispered to him once Nokt got far enough away.

“I don’t know.” Hunter sighed, “We need to focus, Crosshair, can you give us support?”

“Locked and loaded.” Crosshair replied easily, “Just say the word.” He looked to Wrecker and nodded, Wrecker nodding in reply, when they took a spot on either side of the door, he counted down using fingers and hit the door release, opening it to explosions and blaster fire.

“Hunter!”

Chapter 110: Pinned in rubble

Notes:

A heart to heart between Hunter and Nokt, because they need to talk, to come to complete terms with everything.

Chapter Text

“Hunter!” A voice yelled, before a hand grabbed his arm and started to pull him out of the line of fire, he heard the signature 'thunt' of a tri-droid’s laser cannon, and he instinctively grabbed the other person and shielded them as they hit the ground, debris from the shot hitting the building above them hitting his armour and knocking him out. “H… Hunter… Hunter please.” The small voice of Nokt was what greeted him when he awoke, and he realised he was still on top of the person, which he finally clocked as the small form of Nokt… he was pinning the younger Sergeant to the ground with his body. He was pressed against Nokt’s back, the Sergeant’s smaller body ridged and shaking under him but Hunter soon realised that he couldn’t move even a little bit, there was something pinning him, “Hunter… I’m scared…” Nokt hiccupped, his voice sounded sore and hoarse, like he’d been screaming or shouting for a long time.

“Nokt… Nokt I know… trust me I know.” He finally managed to get his mouth to work, “But I can’t move either.”

“I… I don’t want this… I don’t want this.” Nokt replied, with a weak sob.

“Shh. It’s okay, you know I won’t hurt you like that.” He tried to sound calm, “Are you injured?”

“N… no…” Nokt hiccupped, “Are… are you okay?”

“Aside from the bruises? And the headache?” He tried to chuckle, “Yeah, perfect.”

“We’re stuck… in a small cavity, I can see light… but it’s so far away…” Nokt was trying to control his breathing, his fear, “I… I apologise for the smell… I… wet myself…”

“Oh Nokt, that’s okay.” He replied quickly, “I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t said anything but you’re scared and it is a perfectly natural response to fear.”

“I didn’t want to… but… I came to and you… you were on me… pinning me to the ground and… and I… I tried to wake you, I tried to scream…” Nokt hiccupped, “It hurts again… Stitches gave me strategies to get out of the pain… but I can’t move!”

“Easy Nokt’ika, easy.” Hunter moved his hand and managed to find Nokt’s hand, taking hold of it, “Do you want to talk about it? The strategy? Would that help?”

“He… he said I could… try to associate it with something other than the pain I felt on Coruscant.” Nokt gripped his hand, “With someone else.”

“Has it helped before?” Hunter had to keep Nokt talking, keep him from falling in on himself, he was pinned face down under Hunter’s hips, and he was no doubt having flashbacks.

“I haven’t had a reaction! I haven’t… but I’m scared and it’s not…!” Nokt started sobbing again.

“Easy, hey, it’s okay.” Hunter spoke softly again, “Stitches talked to you about a lot of things? He mentioned talking about sex ed?”

“Yeah… he… he talked to me about everything, sexuality, gender expression, how… how reproductive systems work, what… what having a loving partner should be like…” Nokt hiccupped, but he was trying to reign in his hysterics, “What I… can do if I don’t have one… he talked about everything…”

“He should have a class on that.” Hunter chuckled, “It’s not something the Long Necks think is even remotely important.”

“He says that… any trooper or cadet who comes and asks about anything… he’ll give them information and a talk. There… are apparently a lot of… different sexualities observed in humans… did you know that?” Nokt asked softly, “Like… I know that I’m… gay. Stitches says he’s asexual… do you know what that is?”

“He told me that he doesn’t have any sexual urges or desires, and that he isn’t sexually attracted to anyone.” Hunter replied, “I have heard of the big three, but there are more?”

“Mm.” Nokt nodded, “Apparently there are a whole spectrum of them… but they are all valid and… and perfect…” Hunter could feel Nokt relax a little, “He also told me that he has someone that he loves, his cyar’ika, he’s a clone, and he said that it’s not a sexual relationship, they just… love each other and want to grow old together. He meets up with him on Coruscant, they go shopping, eat out, and spend the evening watching movies before going to bed.”

“That sounds really nice actually.” Hunter replied, “Like a really close best friend… yeah, I think if I could choose, then that’s the outcome I’d like to get, but… like… sex could still be a thing… but not a necessity.”

“I wonder if… people find clones attractive? Like… in that way?” Nokt pondered, “Can we have relationships with nat-borns? Could we?”

“As you said, there are so many different people out there, and there is always someone for everyone.” Hunter smiled gently, “Between me and General Windu, it seems you have a type.”

“Oh… um… yeah…” Hunter could practically feel the blush enveloping the younger Sergeant’s face, “I guess… I just want someone to love me and… protect me. I want someone to hold me… and tell me everything will be okay and I have nothing to be afraid of because they’ll keep me safe… what about you?”

“You know something… I’ve never actually thought about it.” Hunter replied after a moment, “I guess when you’re getting shot at on a near-daily basis, you don’t have time to think about it much.”

“What… what would make you happy? When the war ends, would you settle down and… I don’t know… raise a family? Or would you continue on as a soldier?” Nokt was finally relaxing, “I’d like to settle down and… start a farm, raise some animals.”

“You want to be a farmer?” Hunter asked with a light chuckle.

“Yeah… something simpler than being a soldier.” He replied softly, “I like animals, so do my brothers… maybe we could start a family farm.”

“That sounds great.” He sighed, “Me and Cross had a chat about this a long while ago, we were saying we could all buy a big house, with a big yard, by a beach, where the sun shines forever. Get a few animals, I’m sure Mouse would love a couple of massiffs.”

“He does love them. I think that’s why Sergeant Hound was so willing to let him and Clicker say hello to Grizzer.” Nokt chuckled.

“Now that man loves his massiff, from what I hear he spoils Grizzer when they’re off duty.” Hunter chuckled in return, “Maybe we could start a farm, I’m sure they’d all like that.”

“Yeah. I… meeting you and the Batch has been the best thing to happen to us. We spent so long just… trying to survive Kamino, then being sent out before we were ready, we never got to be cadets and we never got to feel like we belonged. But since meeting you all, we finally have somewhere safe we can call home, that we can feel like we belong… and are loved.” The young Sergeant said softly, “I don’t know if you got anything out of the relationship…”

“You all helped us too.” Hunter confirmed, “Each of you has helped us in different ways, so don’t think you haven’t.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt nodded shyly, “Do… do you think they’ll find us?”

“I’m sure they will, between Clicker’s hearing and Wrecker’s strength, we’ll be out of here before you know it.” Hunter sighed softly, “Might even have Mouse moving through the gaps if they’re big enough.”

“You’re always so confident Hunter… you always seem so sure that everything will turn out okay…” It was Nokt’s sigh turned sad, “I… don’t know how you do it…”

“I have confidence because I know that me and my brothers will do anything to help each other, to protect each other, we will always come back for each other, no matter what.” He replied, “And that includes you and your brothers, because you might not be out batchmates, but you are our brothers. Us defects need to stick together, through thick and thin.”

“Come… hell or high water.” Nokt replied shakily, “I… I can see movement!”

“Where?” Hunter couldn’t see far enough to figure out where or what the younger man had seen.

“Above us.” He replied and suddenly there was loose dust and debris bouncing off of Hunter’s backplate, “It’s Mouse!”

“Told you he’d fit.” Hunter chuckled, then they heard the squeaks, “It’s so good to hear you Mouse! Is everyone okay?”

Mouse slipped down into an adjacent cavity and Hunter could barely make him out, “Mouse says everyone’s okay, cuts and… bruises…”

“That is so good to hear, how long until they get us out of here?” Hunter wished he could see the small clone, but it was too dark for him.

“He says it shouldn’t be long… don’t worry Mouse, we’re okay, bruises and Hunter has a headache.” Nokt said to his brother.

“I see them!” He heard Wrecker shout from above them.

Their brothers found them.

They were safe.

Chapter 111: To Saleucami

Chapter Text

“So… what’s on Saleucami?” Crosshair asked.

“Yeah, I thought the campaign on Saleucami was already over?” Nokt continued, “Has something happened?”

“There has been reports of a droid landing craft having been seen in out in the swamplands, we are going there to investigate the reports.” Tech replied, “It could be a remnant of an attempted separatist occupation on the planet. Though one would wonder why, given their only interaction with the planet was when General Grievous crash landed on its surface.”

“Maybe they forgot something when they escaped?” Wrecker replied.

“That… could be a reason… it would… make sense given the… droid army.” Clicker looked to them, “If… if they did… it might be important to them…”

“We won’t know until we get down there.” Hunter sighed, “Tech, what are we looking at?”

“A C-9979 landing craft, but seeing as it is not confirmed that it is still in use, there is no way to know how many droids are with it, or in the surrounding area.” Tech replied, fixing his goggles and Hunter watched as Mouse mimicked the motion, they still didn’t know why it was just Tech’s action he was mimicking, but Tech theorised that it might be because he does it so often.

“And… there is the… wildlife to think about too…” Clicker said, “N… nexu are the biggest predator that has… been found… but there are also… reek to account for. They’re… herbivores… but they are very territorial… and very short tempered.”

Hunter was going to say something but he spotted the look on Mouse’s face at the mention of nexu, “You cannot adopt a nexu.” He sighed, earning a sad noise for the small trooper, “They get big and we don’t have the room, nor do we have the ability to feed it and care for it.”

“They have been observed as quite good pets, and…” Tech started.

“Don’t give him hope.” Hunter massaged the bridge of his nose.

“So what’s the plan for when we get there?” Nokt chuckled, “We… we can split up, us Night Stalkers can scout out the area for the ship for you.”

“You sure you want to split up?” Wrecker asked, “Given…”

“It does make sense. Seeing as they are designed to be scouts.” Tech interjected quickly, “And given their enhancements, it will probably run smoother than if we were all trudging through the swamplands.”

“What do you think Hunter?” Nokt looked to him.

Hunter wasn’t sure he liked the plan, but they did have a better chance of finding the craft, he wanted to go with them, keep them safe… “I don’t like it, but it is our best bet on finding the craft, if we split up and cover more ground, we’re less likely to attract the attention of droid patrols.” He sighed, “Are you confident in your team Sergeant?”

“Yes sir, we will be careful.” Nokt nodded.

“Okay, let’s get kitted up.” He looked to them, “Take us down Tech.”

“Affirmative.”

He hoped for safety.

Chapter Text

“Any word from the boys?” Hunter looked to Tech, the sun was beginning to set on the swamplands and still there was no word from the three, Hunter was starting to get worried about them.

“Nothing as of yet.” Tech replied.

“Cross, see anything?” He sighed as he looked to the sniper, whose rangefinder he could hear cycling through enhancements.

“Just wildlife.” Crosshair drawled.

“They’ll be fine.” Wrecker grinned, “They’re good at this type of work.”

“Yeah… I can still worry about them though.” He massaged the bridge of his nose and sat down on his speeder bike.

“Nokt just sent information.” Tech said after an unbearable amount of time, “They have found the ship, but they also found a home, he says Mouse can smell a normie. Well he thinks it’s one, Nokt says the smell is slightly different. There appears to be one woman and two kids, no sign of the reg though.”

“Slightly different? What’s that mean?” Wrecker asked.

“I am unsure, it could be…” Tech started but Hunter clocked movement behind them.

“Don’t move!” He had his blaster drawn in a nanosecond, and he could hear Crosshair and Wrecker ready their own weapons. He blinked when the person was revealed to be a reg, was this the one Mouse was smelling? His features and presence were softer than other clones, “Who are you?” Hunter asked.

“I could ask you all the same question.” The reg replied, “You don’t look like clones, who sent you?”

“You answer first.” Crosshair hissed.

“Okay.” The man replied easily, “Name’s Cut. Cut Lawquane.”

“Okay… I’m Hunter and my brothers are Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair.” Hunter frowned, “We’re enhanced clones, CT-99s.”

“CT-99s? So they did go ahead with those.” Cut lowered his pitchfork and smiled, “So, what brings a bunch of non-regulation clones out this way?”

“We are following reports of a separatist landing craft, our forward scouts have located it, they also appear to have located a house with what appears to be a family in…” Tech didn’t look up but Cut jumped in.

“They what?” The reg’s whole form changed and Hunter realised that that was the reg’s home and his family?

“Hunter!” He heard Nokt call as the three of them came running at speed, Mouse’s small form making a beeline straight for Cut.

“Mouse! Stop!” Hunter yelled at the small clone, he didn’t know why he tried, the tiny trooper simply bounced off of Cut when the reg moved slightly, landing on his butt with a small ‘oof’.

“Does that work normally cadet?” Cut sounded amused.

“We’re not cadets!” Nokt said quickly as he helped Mouse to his feet, “We’re troopers thank you.”

“I meant no disrespect.” Cut replied, “I just figured, you’re small.”

“We… were designed like this.” Clicker said, his hands over his helmet’s built-in noise cancellers.

“So you’re also CT-99s?” Cut quirked his eyebrow.

Nokt looked to Hunter, “Yeah, they are.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Cut.”

“I’m Nokt, he’s Mouse, and that’s Clicker.”

“Pleasure.”

Chapter 113: Meal time

Chapter Text

Hunter felt for Nokt, he and the boys had done great on their mission, they had found the location, they had stood up to Cut… but now the young Sergeant was afraid of Cut and luckily Mouse was always standing between his brother and the much bigger male. Hunter could also sympathise with Cut also, the reg had absolutely no idea why Nokt went from standing up to him, to flinching at his approaching form in the space of them arriving at his house to being inside his house, “Did I do something to him?” Cut asked him as they watched the three interacting with the eopies in the barn.

“No… he just… has issues.” Hunter would keep it vague, he wouldn’t tell a man they just met what had happened on Coruscant, “Why are you out here, and not in the war effort? Isn’t it your duty to serve the Republic?”

“I have a duty, a duty to protect my family. I’m not a soldier, I’m a simple farmer now.” Cut replied with a smile, “Seems you’re raising kids also.”

“They’re not children.” He hissed, “They’re full troopers.”

“My mistake again, it’s just they’re… a lot smaller than any normal trooper.” Cut held up his hands in a show of non-combativeness, “The one with the cancellers said they were made that way, but it will take getting used to.”

“He’s called Clicker.” Hunter sighed, “And he can hear everything, so mind what you say.” That wasn’t a threat, that was sound advice, “And who you say it to.”

“He can hear from all the way over there?” Cut asked, “I should tell the kids to keep their voices down then.”

“Thank you Cut, for…” He started but the boys came walking over to them, well, they had to drag Mouse away from the large animal, “Something wrong?”

“Mrs. Suu said dinner’s… ready and that she…” Clicker said, just as Suu popped her head out, “Mouse… says it smells very delicious Mrs. Suu.”

“That is good to know.” She replied with a smile, “I hope you’re all hungry.”

“I’m absolutely starving.” Cut smiled and kissed his wife, which made the three Night Stalkers blush and look away.

Hunter chuckled a little, then hung back to walk Nokt inside, “You okay?” He asked quietly.

“I’m… nervous and… a little scared.” Nokt replied softly, fidgeting with his fingers.

“And that’s okay, you have every right to feel those things, but Cut seems like a decent man.” He smiled to the young Sergeant.

“I know… and he’s married with… kids… so he won’t…” Nokt hiccupped.

“He won’t.” Hunter placed his hand on Nokt’s back, “You’re safe here.”

“O… okay.” He nodded with a smile.

“I can hear your stomach from here, let’s get some food in you.” He chuckled, “I hope it’s as nice as Mouse says it smells.”

“I… I hope he can actually eat it. He doesn’t get to try a lot of things because of his sense of smell, and his… eating issues.” Nokt sighed as they entered the home and walked over to the table, where the others were all seated, with the Lawquane kids engaging with Wrecker.

“You okay ad’ika?” Crosshair asked as Nokt sat down between him and Hunter.

“Mm.” Nokt nodded.

“Why are you wearing sunglasses inside?” came a question from the daughter, Shaeeah, “Isn’t that going to make it too dark to see?”

“Oh… not… not really.” Nokt blushed.

“Easy kid.” Hunter put his hand on Nokt’s back, noting the near invisible flinch.

“He is an enhanced clone, we all are, we were created with modifications to our genetic sequencing, amplifying mutations. For him, he has developed tapetum lucidum in his eyes, which allows him to see at six times the normal light level. However, he did not develop slit pupils which would allow him to regulate the amount of light entering his eyes, hence the dark lenses.” Tech said quickly, typing on his wrist terminal, but he looked up when silence resounded in the home.

“In small words, I have night vision, but I can’t turn it off, so lights are very bright for me.” Nokt sighed.

“Night vision?!” The two kids yelled happily, causing Clicker to flinch and clamp his hands down on his noise cancellers, which made Mouse move so he was more between them and Clicker. Hunter was always happy that they protected each other, even though Mouse was no bigger than Shaeeah, he was the one to get between bigger opponents and them.

“Did I not tell you to use your indoor voices?” Suu looked to her kids, “It can hurt our friend here.”

“Oh… sorry.” Shaeeah said meekly.

“Yeah… we just got excited.” Jek explained.

“It’s… okay…” Clicker said softly, holding Mouse’s pauldron in his signature grip, which allowed the small trooper to relax a little.

They all fell into a somewhat comfortable silence, save for the chewing of nuna steaks, the only one not eating was Mouse, who was looking a little queasy after only one bite, “Is something wrong Mouse?” Suu asked, “Is something wrong with your food?”

Mouse shook his head, but tapped the front of his mask, “Be… because his sense of smell… is overdeveloped… his sense of taste is… overpowering.” Clicker explained, “The food is delicious, but… for him it’s a… a little much.”

“You don’t have to eat it if it makes you feel unwell.” Cut said from beside the tiny trooper, “I can hear your stomach gurgling.”

Mouse suddenly broke down crying and before anyone could say anything he was out the door like a shot, “Wrecker, go after him.” Hunter said quickly, “Sorry about this…”

“He really wants to enjoy it… but he can’t… and that… makes him sad.” Clicker explained, “He thinks… he’s insulting you and your… hospitality.”

“Oh dear.” Suu replied, then sighed and stood up, following after Mouse and Wrecker, Hunter could hear Mouse crying, he must have just sat on the porch and stayed there.

“He’s sorry…”

Chapter 114: Sleeping

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled at the sight of the three Night Stalkers asleep in the barn, cuddled up in the corner beside one of the eopies, a female according to Cut, Mouse was on top, acting as the barrier, Nokt was hugging Clicker against his chest, and Hunter realised that Clicker and Mouse were protecting Nokt, covering him to fight the memories. “I take it something really bad happened.” Cut appeared beside him, “You don’t have to tell me what, I just know something happened.”

“Coruscant Underworld happened.” Hunter sighed, “That’s all I’ll say.”

“Ah… thought he was a female… didn’t they?” Cut sighed, “That makes sense.”

“He has a lot of help and he’s starting to feel safe again, we had a lot of help from a medic on Kamino.” Hunter sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose.

“Oh? If it’s who I think it is, that Coruscanti is very lucky.” Cut chuckled a little, which earned a small happy noise from Mouse.

“He does that.” Hunter explained, “He’s keeping tabs on the environmental emotions, even when he’s dead asleep.” He sighed again, “So you know Stitches?”

“We served on the front lines on Geonosis. I envy him… when my squad… my brothers were mercilessly killed I… I just fled. When his died, he stayed with the GAR, never could understand why he stayed, why he didn’t just run like I did.” Cut sighed and started back towards the house.

“His family died?” Hunter followed after him.

“Shortly before I lost mine. They didn’t think he’d survive… I’m glad he did.” Cut smiled and Hunter blinked, he had wondered why he never saw the medic with a squad.

“I’m sure he’d be happy to know you’re alive and living a good life.” He replied.

“Nah, he’d probably be angry at my desertion, and I like having my nose unbroken.” Cut chuckled again, “He still doing that?”

“Broke a guy’s eye socket because he was stabbed.” Hunter smiled, “Punched Crosshair… twice. So yeah, he’s fairly trigger happy with his physical discipline.”

“Good to know somethings never change.” Cut sighed again, and opened the door to enter the farm house.

“Are they alright?” Suu asked.

“They’ve elected to sleeping in the barn.” Cut smiled and hugged his wife, something Hunter couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of, so he looked to his brothers, Wrecker was conked in the corner, he was exhausted from entertaining the Lawquane kids, Tech had his nose in his datapad, Crosshair was trying… and failing… to pretend he wasn’t dozing off beside Wrecker, “You should get some sleep.” Cut put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder, “You have a mission tomorrow.”

“I know… I just…” He sighed and massaged his forehead.

“They’re okay, the old girl beside them will fend off anything looking for a fight.” Cut grinned, “Don’t get kicked by one if you can help it.”

“You’re right. Thank you… both of you.”

“We never turn away those in need, we always help anyone we can.”

Chapter 115: Sunrise

Chapter Text

“Hunter? Are you alright?” Nokt asked as he came to stand beside him as he watched the sun rising, “You seem…”

He sighed, “Yeah, I’m fine.” He looked to Nokt, “Just worried, as per usual.”

“I’m doing better.” Nokt smiled, “You don’t have to worry about me, my brothers are doing okay also.”

“They were protecting you while you slept, I’m glad you can still cuddle with them… I don’t know if I could, if that had happened to me.” He turned his gaze back out to the swampland.

“It’s… difficult. Sometimes all I want is to be held and comforted… and sometimes I’m terrified of the thought of contact…” It was Nokt’s turn to sigh, “Sometimes the pain comes back and I can’t deal with anything… it’s why they were protecting me last night, I couldn’t face you or Cut… or anyone because it came back…” He fidgeted with his fingers, “I hate it… I hate not being able to go to someone I trust with my life… and just asking for a hug. I hate being terrified all the time.”

“Healing takes time. Especially from this type of trauma, but know that we’ll always be there to support you.” He smiled softly, “If you want comfort, we’ll give comfort, if you don’t want it, then we’ll respect your wishes.”

“I… should apologise to Mrs Suu.” Nokt sighed, looking back to the homestead.

“What for?” Hunter blinked, confused by the statement, “Did something happen?”

“I… needed help last night.” Nokt hiccupped and returned to fidgeting with his fingers, “It was after everyone had gone to sleep, but I… I had a bad dream, I was back there, and I couldn’t… and I…” He sighed, “I had an accident, luckily Mouse has been carrying a spare pair of blacks… for me… since Coruscant… but Mrs Suu helped me. She’s so nice and kind and I think she is what I imagined a mother to be like…”

“You didn’t want a man helping you… did you?” Hunter asked gently and Nokt shook his head, “I understand, so does Suu. So you shouldn’t apologise for something you couldn’t control, what you should do is thank her. Thank her from the bottom of your heart.”

“I… yeah… I should go do that…” Nokt nodded, “Thank you Hunter.”

“No problem Nokt’ika.” He smiled.

“Nokt is sad.” Hunter jumped a mile when Clicker appeared beside him, manifesting from thin air, “He… want’s things to be normal again… but it scares him.”

“How’s Mouse? He wasn’t happy last night…” Hunter managed to control his heartrate.

“He’s sad.” Clicker replied, “He doesn’t want to be sad, but he… thinks he’s been bad… and insulted Mr. Cut and Mrs. Suu… because he couldn’t eat and enjoy… the food they prepared for us… even though he physically can’t do it…”

“Yeah…” He looked to the barn, and saw Mouse talking with the eopie they’d spent the night beside.

“You’re sad too.”

“Yeah… I’m sad. But I’ll be okay.”

“Okay…”

Chapter 116: Planning a daring mission

Notes:

I think Mouse would totally be a good pet parent, he would look after any animal he adopts!

Chapter Text

“Sending staging data.” Nokt whispered over the comm, “There are less than we though, it’s not a full invasion…”

“Mouse, how close can you get to it?” Tech said quickly.

“How close do you need?” Nokt replied.

Hunter looked to his brother, he could hear the gears turning, “What’s the plan Tech?” he asked, “What are you thinking?”

“If I can bring the Marauder in… do any of you have droid poppers?” Tech was typing away at his wrist terminal, then continued when he got confirmation, “If we can disable one of the tensor field generators, we can take out the ship.”

“That… won’t give you a… big window to… attack it.” Clicker said in his soft voice.

“How visible are you?” Hunter asked.

“We’re pretty well hidden, I doubt the clankers are smart enough to look anyways.” Nokt replied dryly.

“Wrecker, go with Tech, get the Marauder. Crosshair, how close can you get? You’ll act as eye in the sky for the Night Stalkers.” Hunter watched as the two hopped onto their speeders and tore off across the wet lands.

“I have them in visual range.” Crosshair drawled over the comm.

“Right, I’ll start making my way to you Nokt. Keep out of sight, and keep a sense out for trouble.” Hunter started moving, he had to make up lost time, “Tech, alert us when you want Mouse to begin.”

“Affirmative.” Tech replied.

Hunter moved quickly, he wasn’t built for endurance running like Mouse was, but he wasn’t too bad if he did say so himself! He crouched down as he neared the embankment the Night Stalker’s signal was coming from, and as Nokt said, the clankers really didn’t look, they seemed to stay at the boundary wall of the landing zone, not even looking around, “How the kriff are these guys putting up as big a fight as they are, when they can’t even share a single braincell?” He asked the boys as he lay on his stomach beside them.

“The galaxy may never know.” Nokt replied dryly, “We haven’t heard from Tech yet, the sun is going down, which isn’t a problem for us… but nexu are generally nocturnal hunters… and I would rather not get taken out by one.”

“M… Mouse thinks they… wouldn’t find us very… appetizing. Humans… don’t make great snacks. We’re… too bony and don’t have… enough meat to sustain one…” Clicker said, “They… generally only attack humans… if they are defending kits… or a kill…”

“Are you just saying that because you want to pet them?” Hunter looked to the smallest Night Stalker, who shyly looked away, “We are not adopting a nexu Mouse. We have neither the room, nor the means to feed one.” He chuckled, earning a huff of disappointment from Mouse, “Maybe after the war we can see about getting you a pet, how about that?” Mouse huffed again, clearly in a sulk. He hoped they wouldn’t have a run in with one…

That wouldn’t be fun…

At all.

Chapter 117: Sunlight and talks

Notes:

Do not. I repeat. DO NOT GIVE MOUSE SUGAR!

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled from his seat on the porch, watching as Mouse excitedly told Cut and Suu about his daring escape from the landing craft, the young trooper hadn’t stopped bouncing since he got back to them, Nokt had him run back to the farm along side Crosshair and his speeder bike, because he was running on so much adrenaline and he needed to burn off that excess energy before they had to leave. Mouse wasn’t even tired when he got back to the farm, he was a little out of breath but he was still bouncing and running around, it was like someone had given the small clone caf with a lot of sugar, “I take it that this is why you don’t give him sugar or caffeine?” Hunter looked to Nokt, who was sitting a little bit away from him.

“He gets very hyper and agitated when he’s running on adrenaline.” Nokt sighed, “Which is why I had him run back. He won’t sleep until he can burn off at least eighty percent of that energy.”

“So… don’t give him sugar?” Hunter smiled.

“Generally not the best idea.” Nokt chuckled.

“How are you feeling?” He asked and jumped a little when Nokt shimmied closer and rested his head on Hunter’s shoulder.

“I’m okay.” Nokt replied softly, “As okay as I can be. I don’t like being scared of people… well… this is a different type of fear to the fear we had growing up… things were simpler back then, we just had to survive until the next day… taking it one day at a time… I didn’t have to deal with… this…”

“I think you’re doing amazingly.” He smiled to the younger Sergeant, “We just have to take it one day at a time, just like before, but you are not alone this time. I know… it might feel like you are, because none of us can understand what you went through, but you are not alone, you have your brothers, you have us, and you have Stitches. And I might be jealous of him, but I can tell how good he has been for both you three and us.”

“I don’t know why you’re jealous… you’re an amazing ori’vod.” Nokt replied, giving Hunter a gentle nudge, “And I’m not just saying that because of how I feel, but you have done so much for your brothers and you are helping me and my brothers also. I’m happy you can talk to me about things but I’m also happy you ask someone older, someone with more experience…”

“Speaking of being older, do you think I should tell Stitches about Cut? Or will that be a death sentence for Cut?” He chuckled and nudged the younger Sergeant back.

“No one would ever find the body.” Nokt chuckled in reply, “They both lost brothers, but they reacted to the trauma very differently…”

“That’s called being an individual.” Hunter smiled and rested his cheek on Nokt’s head.

“Yeah…” Nokt sighed softly.

“Yeah.”

Chapter 118: Deserter and Medic

Chapter Text

“Repeat that.” Stitches voice remained calm as it came through the comm.

“Uh… you remember Cut?” Hunter looked to the man in question.

“Put him on the line.” Stitches’ voice still, uncomfortably, remained calm, “Now.”

“Uh… hi Stitches.” Cut rubbed the back of his neck, “How’s it been?”

There was silence on the other end for a long, uncomfortable minute, “Hm. Should have figured you hadn’t died.” Stitches finally said, “Where are you so I can rectify this error.”

“Easy Stitches, you wouldn’t want to leave a widow with two kids.” Cut jumped in quickly.

“What?” Hunter hated how Stitches’ voice never changed when he was clearly annoyed or angry, remaining the same stern but calm voice, it was very difficult to tell what he was actually feeling when they couldn’t see his body language.

“Yeah, I have a wife and kids.” Cut chuckled nervously, “You’d like Suu.” There was silence on the other end again and Hunter could see Cut squirming a little, even Stitches’ voice, or lack thereof, could make people squirm and not just his gaze.

“She’s really nice, the boys like her.” Hunter said, “She helped Nokt.” He hoped that would help break the tension.

“I see.” The medic really did like his long, uncomfortable silences, “Are the kids yours?”

“No, they’re from Suu’s previous marriage. I have a daughter, she’s called Shaeeah, and a son called Jek.” Cut replied, “They’re great kids and I love them as if they were my own blood.”

“Hm.” Hunter could practically feel the older clone’s frown, “Well, I can’t say I am all that pleased with your… extended leave of absence from active duty… but I will admit I am happy you have found a family.”

“From what I hear, you’ve been finding a new family.” Cut said and Hunter felt his stomach drop, he knew that was a sore subject with the medic… how was he going to react to Cut? “Stitches? You still there?” Cut asked after a long silence.

They could hear the strained breathing, the kind that followed panic, “Why can’t I…” Was all that came through before the line went dead.

“That’s… not good.” Cut said after a moment, “Try call him back, quickly.” Hunter didn’t know what was happening but he did as he was told, trying to call the medic once again.

“Nothing, it can’t connect.” He said as he tried again, “Why isn’t that good?”

“He was going to say ‘Why can’t I stop screaming?’, it’s something he repeats whenever he starts to have a trauma episode.” Cut said, “If you can’t get hold of him, try get hold of another medic.”

“Okay…” Hunter nodded.

“Script here, what is the emergency.” A voice answered.

“You need to check on Stitches, I was on a call with him and he cut off mid-sentence.” Hunter said quickly, “We didn’t lose the signal, he cut it.”

“I will check on him.” Script replied, “Please hold.”

He could hear screaming.

Is that what he meant?

Chapter 119: To Yalbec

Notes:

Guess who's coming up!

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t know what to do, they hadn’t heard back from Kamino and Hunter couldn’t delay the next mission, “Go, give me an update when you get one.” Cut had told him.

“Come on Stitches…” He muttered as he sat alone in the cockpit, everyone else had gone to get some shut eye before they made it to Yalbec Prime, which they knew nothing about, save for the fact the stinger from a Queen Yalbec were considered delicacies on several worlds. Stitches would be fine, he was always fine, even when he got the tar beaten out of him by Wrecker… but this seemed different, a different kind of pain, this was an injury to one’s mind and entire being. He sighed and leaned back, massaging his forehead, he hated waiting for something like this, “You’re okay… you’re always okay…” He jumped a little when his comm chirped at him, “Sergeant Hunter.”

“Script from Tipoca.” Came the reply, “Apologies for cutting the line, but we needed to make an emergency call to Coruscant.”

“To Coruscant? What…?” He felt his stomach drop but he remembered Nokt had said about Stitches’ cyar’ika living on Coruscant, “Is Stitches okay?”

“As you probably know, he has quite serious insomnia, however, he has been pushing over the territory of seventy-two-hours. So it was only a matter of time before something set him off, unfortunately, it just happened to be you and whatever you said.” Script replied with a sigh, “We have him sedated, so his body can get something close to actual sleep.”

“Seventy-two…?” Hunter blinked.

“Legally he would be classed as insane.” Script replied, “After seventy-two, most people start getting agitated and some even start hallucinating. So, as I said, it was only a matter of time before something broke.”

“Will he be alright?” He asked quickly.

“If we can keep him under for at least the next six hours, then yes, he should be perfectly fine.” The medic replied, “He will not be happy we sedated him however… bah… that’s an issue for later.”

“Thank you for updating me.” Hunter smiled, “Tell him I was asking after him, and when he feels like it, he can get in contact.”

“Of course.” Script replied gently, “Stay safe out there Sergeant.”

“Will do, keep Tipoca standing.” He smiled.

“I will try.” Was the reply before the line closed, and Hunter leaned back in his chair again.

“Is he okay?” Clicker asked, appearing from nowhere and making Hunter jump.

“Can… can you try to make a little noise when you approach?” He looked to the young trooper with a smile, “My heart can’t take any more jump-scares.”

“Oh… oh I do… apologize.” Clicker replied.

“Don’t worry about it, but yes, Stitches is okay. Me and Cut said something that made something snap inside him, but he’s okay now.” He replied, “So don’t you worry none, we’ll deal with Yalbec, then we’ll go visit him. Sound like a plan?”

“Mm. What’s Yalbec like?”

“I have no idea.”

Chapter 120: Anaxes

Notes:

How to keep your whole party alive and uninjured?

Have a walking sonar.

Chapter Text

Hunter wasn’t surprised that the boys refused to leave the ship, not when they were faced with Captain Rex again, not to mention being faced with a massive base full of regs… bigger men… so they stayed at the top of the steps, “Sergeant, good to see you all again.” Cody said as he greeted Hunter.

“You too Commander.” Hunter nodded as he returned the greeting, then he looked to Captain Rex, “Captain.”

“Sergeant.” Rex replied.

“This is ARC trooper Jesse and the medic for the mission Kix, both from the 501st under Captain Rex here.” Cody introduced the two other troopers with blue markings.

“A pleasure.” Hunter nodded to the two, “These are my brothers, Crosshair, Wrecker and Tech, and I am Sergeant Hunter.”

“They already know the Night Stalkers.” Rex said before casting his gaze up to the three in the ship, Hunter heard a small harsh squeak from Mouse and he looked up just as the three moved out of view, “They’re… uh… they’re still angry I take it?” Rex asked as they looked at each other again.

“You caused them a lot of emotional distress and anguish.” Tech said.

“So yes. They are.” Crosshair hissed.

“You can’t talk to Rex like that!” One of the other troopers in blue stepped forward.

“What are you gonna do about it?” Crosshair sneered, Wrecker moving slightly to stand threateningly behind the wiry sniper.

“Enough.” Cody ordered, “We have a mission and we all need to work together. Got it?” grumbles were all he got in reply, “Good. Now, Night Stalkers, come down here.”

Hunter watched as the three of them looked to each other, then they descended the steps and stood at attention but Mouse was standing slightly in front of Nokt, protecting his brother against the much bigger men, Clicker was standing slightly behind Nokt, to protect his back. These positions were nothing special to anyone who didn’t know them, but both Cody and Rex did know them, so they looked to Hunter a little confused, “What suicide mission you got for us this time Commander?” He asked as he shook his head to answer their silent question.

“Let’s get going, we’ll brief you on the way.” Cody said as an LaaT landed down beside them.

Hunter looked to Nokt who was clearly unhappy with the idea of being trapped in the hold of an LaaT with a group of men who had hurt him and his brothers before, “Don’t worry Nokt, just stand behind me and the guys. We’ll protect you.” He said gently.

“O… okay.” Nokt nodded, “I can do this.”

“I know you can.” He smiled to the younger Sergeant and they entered the dropship just as it took off.

They were halfway through the debriefing when Clicker spoke up, “Tell… tell the pilot to move. I can hear droids… they’ve spotted us and are… aiming at us.”

“Pilot!” Cody called, “Get us out of the gorge!” They were jostled around as the pilot gained altitude very quickly in order to avoid the incoming shots.

“We… we’re out of their e… effective firing range.” Clicker said after a moment’s calm, his hands on his noise cancellers.

“That was close.” Cody sighed, “Good work trooper.” Hunter could see Clicker’s blush even under the red lights and he smiled when Clicker looked to Mouse and Nokt, both he and Mouse bounced happily. “Now, with that out of the way, our objective is to get in and get any information on this algorithm we can. Tech, do you think you could trace it’s origins if we can link you in?”

“It shouldn’t be too difficult.” Tech replied, typing away at his wrist terminal, “I would have to make a direct connection with it…”

“We can do that.” Hunter looked from Tech to Cody, “How do you want to do this sir?”

“We need to scout out the area, see what we’re up against. Sergeant Nokt, can you and your brothers do that?” Cody looked to Nokt.

“Of course Commander.” Nokt nodded.

“There appears to be an outpost of some kind nearby, if we can take that we can get a better lay of the land.” Tech said.

“It will also give us a chance to scout ahead for you.” Nokt said, “Mouse, vent path?” Mouse moved to the holoprojection of the centre, eyes darting around and his finger followed an invisible path, he looked back to Nokt and nodded, “We can get interior and exterior numbers.”

“How long do you need?” Cody asked.

“How long will it take for you to take the outpost?” Nokt returned the question.

“How are you going to get in and out undetected?” Jesse asked with a slight frown.

“Same way we moved around Umbara without being seen.” Nokt all but hissed.

“Easy Nokt.” Hunter put his hand on the younger Sergeant’s shoulder, noting the slight flinch, “They are infiltration scouts, if anyone can get in without being seen, it’s these three.” He looked to Jesse with a frown.

“The sun is going down… so we’ll clock… enemies before… before they clock us.” Clicker said as he and Mouse moved to protect Nokt again, “If we could avoid detection on Umbara, we can do it here.” They really were still angry about Umbara, not that Hunter or the Batch were surprised, given the emotional damage the campaign had left in the three, they would be angry with the 501st for a very long time.

“At ease men.” Cody sighed, “We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves, we have a job to do, so we’ll get it done. Am I clear.” He looked to each of them, “Am I clear?”

“Yes sir.” They all, save for Mouse, replied.

Mouse was continuing to glare at Rex, “Trooper, am I clear?” Cody forced the small clone to look away from Rex and after a moment, longer than Cody would probably have liked, Mouse nodded.

“We’re coming up on the outpost.” The pilot called.

“Take us down.”

Chapter 121: Taking the Cyber Centre

Chapter Text

“We have counted over a dozen B-1 droids at the front entrance and six at the back entrance.” Nokt’s quiet whisper came over the comm, “Mouse has counted eight in the inside corridor, six in the command room, and there are three tactical droids in there too. Clicker says they’re getting updates on the regular, and forwarding them to someone called…”

“Admiral… Trench… he sounds like a Harch.” Clicker said, “He makes chattering noises… like a spider.”

“Yeah. I know the good Admiral.” Rex frowned, “Should have known he’d survive…”

“They… they just got another update.” Clicker interrupted him, “Odd… there’s a weird sound under the modulation…”

“Weird?” Hunter asked as he looked to Cody and Rex, “How so?”

“I don’t know… sounds like a… voice? A number?” The young trooper didn’t sound sure of his answer, “Tech… could probably clear it up for you…”

“Tech, think you could?” Cody asked the resident genius.

“It should be simple enough.” Tech replied.

“Good.” Cody nodded, “Sergeant, can you and your men get in and take out the clankers inside? We can take out the exterior guards, but we will need a way into the building.”

“Mouse says it won’t be a problem. Eta?” Hunter could hear movement, clearly the younger Sergeant and Clicker were getting to their feet.

“Just approaching the tree line.” Cody replied, then motioned for the rest of them to spread out, “What is your position?”

“Rooftop, just under the satellite. No threat to us in the event of a firefight.” Nokt said and Hunter could see the blink of a pin light from the rooftop.

“We have your position Sergeant.” Cody readied his weapon and motioned for them all to prepare.

“Mouse and Clicker are already in the vent, I’ll close the line once I enter, but we’ll have the interior clankers down in a moment and will have the doors open for you, so start your attack when you are ready.” Nokt said as the faint thunk of him entering the vent closed the line.

“Bad Batch, take the front. Rex, Jesse, Kix, you’re with me and we’ll take out the back. Ready men?” Cody looked to them and they nodded, “Crosshair are you ready?”

“Affirmative.” Crosshair drawled over the comm.

“Go.” Cody ordered before moving quickly.

“Wrecker, take point, we’ll cover you.” Hunter looked to the giant.

“Aw yeah!” Wrecker bellowed a laugh and charged the droids.

“Sometimes I feel really sorry for the clankers.” Hunter looked to Tech, who shrugged and they both took off after Wrecker, they didn’t really have to do much seeing as the droids were totalled by Wrecker, “Cody, front entrance taken.” He said into the comm.

“Back entrance taken.” Cody replied, “Sergeant Nokt?”

“One moment.” Nokt replied over the sound of a stun stick went off, followed by the thud of a droid, “Clicker, get the doors open.”

“Doors… okay… should be unlocked now…” Clicker said softly, “I can… hear it… better…”

“Can you tell what it’s saying?”

“CT-1409.”

Chapter 122: Debrief

Chapter Text

Hunter was shocked to see Stitches standing in the airfield when they touched down, he looked even more annoyed and unhappy than usual but before Hunter could say anything to the medic, Kix went straight over to him, “They’re in everyone.” Stitches said as they walked off.

“What are in everyone?” He blinked as he watched them leave.

“They aren’t… saying anything.” Clicker said as he appeared beside him, “They… know about my enhancement…”

“They’re being very secretive.” Hunter frowned, he wasn’t sure if he liked that but it wasn’t his business, he sighed, “Nokt, come on. We have to speak with Cody and Rex.” He looked to the younger Sergeant, who nodded and followed him closely, he still wasn’t good with large crowds, “What did Mouse pick up from Rex?”

“He’s very emotionally involved in this mission, whoever this Echo is… he means a great deal to Rex.” Nokt replied, “We should stay on our toes, he could get aggressive if someone pushes the wrong button.”

“Noted.” Hunter nodded.

“Is… that General Skywalker?” Nokt looked to the man speaking with Cody and Rex and stopped walking, Hunter could hear the panicked breathing from the younger man.

“Woah.” He moved to Nokt and put his hand on the young man’s chest, “Easy Nokt, easy. Can you breathe with me? Match my breathing.”

“He… he left! He left and put Krell in charge!” Nokt hiccupped as he started to hyperventilate.

Hunter was about to speak when Mouse and Clicker arrived, “Take him back to the Marauder.” He said to the two, both of them nodded and walked with Nokt back to the ship, he frowned again as he watched Wrecker comfort the young Sergeant.

He turned his attention back to the three, luckily for the young Sergeant they hadn’t noticed Nokt’s fear or departure, with another sight he walked the rest of the way to them, “Sergeant Hunter, I asked for Sergeant Nokt as well.” Cody said with a slight frown.

“He had a panic attack, I sent him back to the Marauder.” He replied bluntly, “I’ll send him to see one of the medics if he needs it.”

“Sergeant, this is General Skywalker. He will be joining you on your mission to Skako Minor.” Cody motioned to the long-haired Jedi, and Hunter could understand why Mouse was apprehensive about the General… he seemed a bit… off.

“It’s an honour General Skywalker, I have heard good things about you.” Hunter saluted to the Jedi.

“At ease Sergeant.” Skywalker replied, “So, are you all enhanced clones?”

“Yes General, we were engineered for very specific specialities.” Hunter replied, “We showed a mutation in our genes and the kaminoans enhanced them.”

“I see.” Skywalker frowned a little, “And are all of you one group?”

“No, there are two groups.” He explained, “Clone Force 99 and the Night Stalkers. I am the Sergeant of Clone Force 99 and…”

“I am Sergeant Noktowizor of the Night Stalkers.” Nokt appeared, a lot more composed, “We met briefly on Umbara sir.”

“I remember.” Skywalker replied with a nod.

“I apologise for my absence Commander, I am still recovering from an injury, and something triggered the memory of how I got it.” Hunter blinked, that was a very broad way of saying it, but it said enough to inform them but it didn’t say what the injury was or how he got it. He could see the faint twitch of Nokt’s fingers and realised the fear in Nokt hadn’t gone away, he was just… hiding it better, he also noticed the look on Rex’s face, he was ashamed.

“Yeah, Master Kenobi told me of what happened to you on Umbara.” Skywalker sighed.

“You couldn’t have known General Skywalker.” Nokt said quickly, “General Pong Krell fooled a lot of people.” Hunter smiled a little, they hadn’t been fooled by Krell, they were better than any of the regs, even the Generals with all their magic Force abilities were fooled, but three kids figured it out.

“But you three did.” Rex said and Hunter saw Nokt biting the inside of his mouth to not snap back at the Captain.

“Yeah… we did.” Nokt managed to say in a voice that wasn’t a hiss.

“Back to the task at hand.” Cody sighed, he was annoyed by the continued lack of cooperation between the three 501st troopers and the Night Stalkers, “Tech tracked the signal to Skako Minor, if it is Echo, then that’s where we’ll find answers.”

“If it is Echo.” Nokt said, “Though… Clicker said it didn’t sound like an automated sound, not in the conventional sense anyway.”

“We’ll figure that out once we get there.” Skywalker nodded, “Just make sure you're ready if we get the go-ahead from General Kenobi.”

“If you're certain he'll approve the mission, why wait?” Hunter asked, looking to Nokt, then back to Skywalker.

“Just be ready.” The General sighed, annoyed, then he looked to Rex “First, we have that "thing" to do.”

“Uh, what thing?” Rex looked very confused.

“You know.” Skywalker encouraged, Cody, Hunter and Nokt all looked at each other, very confused.

“We don't have time for that, sir.” Rex grumbled.

“Yes, we do.” Skywalker grabbed Rex’s arm and dragged him off.

“What… was that about?” Hunter looked to Cody.

“I have no idea.” Cody sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, then looked to Nokt, “Are you feeling better Sergeant?”

“A little. It will take time for me to… come back from my injury. But Stitches and the rest of our family are confident I’ll get there.” He smiled a little.

“I trained alongside Stitches and his batchmates.” Cody replied with a little smile of his own, “He was quite aggressive back then also. A good guy, just not a good idea to piss him off.”

“Did a lot of Gen Ones train together?” Nokt asked.

“Commanders had slightly different training, but yes.” Cody nodded, “Then Geonosis happened…”

They lost too many brothers.

To a war absolutely none of them wanted.

Chapter 123: Free flight

Chapter Text

“You three, scout out the mission, we’ll go get the General back.” Hunter said to the Night Stalkers as Crosshair readied his rifle to attach a grapple.

“We’ll keep you updated.” Nokt said with a nod, then laughed a little, “Have a safe flight!”

“Don’t I always.” Hunter chuckled as he was pulled into the air by the line going taut. He soon landed on a rocky outcrop above a village, possibly the home base of the poletec, he could see Skywalker being pinned to the ground by the keeradak, “Tech, I'm with the General. Hone in on my signal.”

“Affirmative.” Tech replied.

He kept his attention on the poletec and the General for a while but looked up when the rest of the Batch arrived with Rex, “That creature still has a hold of the General.”

“We're going in.” Rex said quickly, “But remember what the General said. "No casualties, disarm only.", we’re here to talk.”

“We're on it, Captain.” Hunter stood up and looked to his brothers, “Wrecker, Crosshair, rockslide!”

He followed Rex down the slope after the bolder, disarming any approaching poletec warrior, and Crosshair got the keeradak off Skywalker, allowing him to stand up. Holding the leader at blaster point, the alien talked quickly as he showed hands of surrender, “Tech, translate what he said.” Hunter looked to his brother.

“He says he does not want our war on his planet.” Tech said after a moment, “That is why he took our leader.”

“We didn't bring the war here.” Rex jumped in quickly, “It was Wat Tambor and the Separatists.” Tech turned his attention back to the poletec leader and translated what Rex said. Hunter was always stunned by Tech’s ability to pick up languages so quickly. “Tell him we apologize for what's happened.” Rex continued, “But tell him the enemy is holding one of our men prisoner in Purkoll, as soon as we rescue him, we'll leave his planet, for good.”

“The chief says he will provide us with scouts and lead us to Tambor's city.” Tech translated the reply, “From there, we're on our own. “

“Any help is better than no help.” Skywalker sighed.

“We’ll link up with the Night Stalkers, hopefully they’ve found something.” Hunter looked to Skywalker, then out at the landscape, “Sergeant Nokt, what’s your position?”

“We found an elevator that leads up to Purkoll, do you want us to check it out?” Nokt replied and Hunter could hear high winds whipping past the young Sergeant.

Hunter looked to Skywalker and Rex, “Can you do it safely?” the General asked.

“They won’t even know we’re there.” Nokt replied, only a little smugly and Hunter could practically see the unimpressed look on Rex’s face.

“Get in there and scout out the building, we will be with you shortly.” Skywalker said.

“Affirmative.” Was the reply as the line cut.

“Don’t worry sir, they’re good at what they do.” Hunter looked to the General again.

“I hope so, Sergeant.”

Well that was rather threatening…

Chapter 124: Progress

Chapter Text

“Hunter.” Nokt’s voice came over the comm, “I think we found something.”

“What do you mean by something?” Hunter asked as they looked out at the impressive sight of Purkoll.

“Mouse can smell something… he says it smells like a reg… but it smells wrong.” Nokt replied, “It could be this Echo person.”

“Wrong?” Rex jumped in quickly, and a little aggressively, “What does he mean by wrong?”

“He… he means it smells like a reg… but something is wrong.” Clicker all but hissed, “We don’t know… what that “wrong” is yet.”

Hunter moved away from the group, following Tech back down the outcrop, the resident genius had left to see if he could get his scanner to work, and with a sigh Hunter localised the link to his helmet, “Do you guys know what the wrong is?” He asked gently.

“Mouse can’t tell exactly… but it smells like freezer burn.” Nokt replied, Hunter could hear the upset frown on his face, “It could be cryostasis, or it could be a corpse in cold storage, we don’t know because the room the smell is coming from is locked and the lock is far beyond what Clicker is able to crack, we’ll have to wait for you guys… why does Rex have to be a sheb?”

“This is his friend, his brother, one he was forced to leave behind at the Citadel… he just wants to know if this algorithm is just a program pretending or if it’s actually Echo…” Hunter sighed and looked to the other four, it looked like Crosshair was ready to pick a fight with Rex over his attitude.

“Wait… Mouse found the entrance to the cooling system, it’s a bit further down from our position… but…” Nokt jumped in quickly, “We… I think we can bypass the door altogether. Should we proceed?”

“Can you do it safely?” Hunter asked.

“Clicker, can you hear anything?” Nokt asked his brother.

“There are no enemies in our general vicinity… I think we are clear to move safely.” Clicker replied.

“Hunter?” Nokt asked.

“See where the system leads and send updates to Tech as you go.” He replied, looking to said brother who had come to stand beside him.

“Affirmative.” Nokt replied and closed the line.

“Should we inform the Captain?” Tech asked in a quiet voice.

Hunter looked to the others, clearly none of them had heard the conversation because of their hissing match, “Until we get any kind of confirmation from Nokt… let’s keep it between us.”

“Are you sure?” Tech’s voice carried a frown.

“I don’t want to give Rex any more fuel for his fire against the three. He’s a decent man, just not for them.” Hunter sighed.

“That makes sense.” Tech replied with a nod, “He does seem to react negatively towards them.”

“It’s… not just him I’m worried about.” Hunter quickly looked to the group, but they were still distracted, “Mouse doesn’t trust General Skywalker’s scent.” He whispered.

“Doesn’t trust his…?”

“He smells… not-Jedi…”

Chapter 125: Cryopod

Chapter Text

“Nokt, update?” Hunter asked as they entered the elevator.

“We’re just above the room, Mouse is unsure of if he’s smelling the cold of the cooling system or if the reg smell is the cold smell.” Nokt replied, “In other news, if we have to make a getaway this place is brilliant.”

“That’s good to know.” Hunter smiled a little, “Report in once you get down.”

“Affirmative.” Nokt replied.

“Remember, this is a stealth mission.” Skywalker said, “That means no blasting, no blowing things up.” He pointedly looked at Wrecker, “Nobody knows we're here. If the Night Stalkers can do it, then so can we.” Hunter swallowed his snort, Tech confirmed that Skywalker didn’t have the best track record for ‘stealth missions’, he had as good a change at stealth as Wrecker did.

“Intruders! Attack!” A clanker yelled as the doors slid open, and Hunter stepped to the side as Wrecker charged out, following him out alongside Tech and Crosshair.

“Hunter. We’re in.” Nokt’s voice cut the silence that followed the battle, “It’s a cryopod.”

“Is there anyone in it?” Hunter asked.

“Ask Rex if this is his friend.” Nokt replied and a ping came from Tech’s datapad.

“It is an image file.” Tech explained, “It does appear to be a reg.” He looked to Rex and handed him the datapad.

“Oh no… it is Echo.” Rex said as he removed his helmet.

“Confirmation, it is Echo.” Hunter said quickly as they entered the corridor, “Can you get the pod open?”

“It… I am unsure of… the system.” Clicker said, “Tech… would have an easier time…”

“Can you get the door open from inside the room?” Hunter asked.

“It should be simple enough.” Clicker replied, “N… Nokt can meet you.”

“Go left when you enter the hallway.” Nokt said, “I’ll be in the hallway six doors down.”

“Affirmative.” Hunter looked to the others, his brothers nodded, but Rex seemed to be stuck looking at the image, “Captain, we know where he is.”

“What did they do… to him.” Rex didn’t look up.

“Come on Rex.” Skywalker grabbed his arm, “Lets get him out of here.”

Hunter didn’t want to waste time so he started down the hall, blaster at the ready, “Hunter!” Nokt waved to them, “In here.”

“What’s the situation?” He asked as they entered the room.

“Vitals seem okay… given the circumstances.” Clicker said, “But… he doesn’t sound… good. There’s a weird… whine coming from inside the pod.”

“I think I can get it open.” Tech arrived and examined the console.

“Oh… there are droids approaching.” Clicker said, “And… I think it’s that skakoan again… the one from before. I… I don’t think he’s happy we got in here so easily.”

“Skakoan?” Skywalker asked.

“He’s talking with the droids… and two other skakoans…” Clicker put his hands on his helmet, just over his ears, “He… he’s a foreman… I think.”

“Tambor.” Skywalker growled, which made Mouse move to stand between him and Nokt.

“You clones are so predictable”

Chapter 126: Daring escape and flying!

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled as he watched Mouse help Echo, checking him over before he pulled out a set of blacks, Hunter wasn’t going to ask who’s they were or why Mouse had them with him, because they clearly weren’t Nokt’s, “How long before they get through?” Skywalker asked, the sound of a plasma torch resounding in the space.

“Once we can get Echo unplugged, we can escape out the way we got in here.” Nokt said and pointed up to the roof when an extraction vent sat, “The space is corridor sized, so it will be easy to move through.”

“And how do you propose we get up there? It would be easy to get in here, but getting out with all of us isn’t going to be that easy, is it?” Rex asked with a frown and pointed to Echo, “He’s too weak to move.”

“Got it, we can unplug him now.” Tech said and Hunter watched as Rex went over to Mouse and Echo.

“How do you propose we get up there?” Hunter looked to Nokt, who wasn’t looking happy about Rex’s continued disregard for his ideas.

It was Mouse who answered that question, he stood up and pointed to Wrecker, “Oh ho! I like this idea!” Wrecker laughed.

“And then what?” Skywalker asked.

“I… I have a plan.” Echo said weakly as Rex helped him stand, Hunter realised the blacks Mouse had brought with him were, in fact, Crosshair’s, “No one’s going to like it, but it’s our best bet.”

“We better hurry.” Crosshair drawled, “They’ve made it to the second door.”

“Okay, Wrecker. Get us up there.” Hunter said quickly.

“Roger that!” Wrecker grinned as he slipped his helmet back on, Mouse squeaked happily and held up his arms to the giant, “Up you go!” Wrecker laughed as Mouse went soaring into the vent, Nokt and Clicker were next to go up, followed by Crosshair and Tech, who was carrying Echo on his back, Hunter climbed up into the freezing cold shaft alongside Rex.

“It’s okay Wrecker, I got this.” He heard Skywalker say and he watched the Jedi jump up with ease, “What are you doing?” The General called down.

“I'm putting an end to Tambor's little science experiment.” Wrecker called back and Hunter could hear the seal of grenades engage.

“Are you done? Time's up!” Skywalker yelled before pulling Wrecker up into the vent, using the Force to aid him.

“Follow us.” Nokt said, “There’s an exterior exit for maintenance workers to fix the pipes and Echo says there’s a platform on the other side.”

“We’re going outside?” Wrecker asked, instantly knowing what that meant.

“Mouse isn’t happy either but it’s our only option…” Nokt was cut off mid-sentence when the grenades went off in the chamber bellow them, after a moment he continued, “If we want to make it out of here.”

“How is Echo.” Hunter asked.

“Mouse says it’s not looking good, but until Echo’s body temperature returns to something close to normal…” Nokt replied.

“He’ll be okay.” Rex said angrily, “He’s tougher than…”

“I never said he wouldn’t be!” Nokt snapped, “I am just saying that from what Mouse can see it’s not looking good! So get the kark off my back!”

Before anyone could speak, Nokt turned and stalked down the corridor, Mouse briefly looked at Rex and shook his head before following Nokt, Clicker following almost instantly, “Easy Rex, he’s just trying to help.” Skywalker sighed. Hunter frowned under his helmet as they all started to follow the three, Rex was really starting to get agitating, he was desperate to help Echo but he was letting his emotions and feelings get the better of him and it was making him act out, “You sure there’s a ship we can steal?”

“Well… I hope there’s a ship we can steal?” Echo replied as he leaned against the side of the opening, Mouse standing with him to give him some form of comfort, the opening showed the open void that surrounded the city, with only one measly pipe to act as a bridge between the two sections.

“Clicker, hear anything on the other side?” Nokt asked his brother.

“It… it’s hard to tell over… the sound of the wind…” Clicker replied, “But… but I can here a large droid patrol on the other side.”

“We have droids approaching from behind.” Crosshair said from the back of the group, “We’re boxed in.”

“Tech, got a brilliant idea?” Hunter looked to his brother.

“I do have a brilliant idea.” Tech replied quickly, typing away at his wrist terminal, “When the locals attacked us, I recorded the creatures' distress call…”

“He records everything.” Wrecker said, nudging his brother, “It's a hobby.”

“Which allows us to call those flying creatures to us.” Tech continued, his voice carrying his frown, Hunter spotted Nokt instantly motioning to Clicker to cover his ears.

“Wait…” Wrecker was cut off by the loud, piercing shrieks of a keeradak being emitted from Tech’s wrist terminal, he didn’t even want to know how bad it was for Clicker but he could hear the pained sounds the boy was vocalising, it hurt them so it must be torture for the young clone, he watched as Clicker sank to the ground once the noise stopped, he could hear Clicker sobbing a little as he clamped his hands down on his helmet, just over his ears.

“There’s our ride!” Tech pointed to five approaching keeradaks, who were drawn in by the call.

“Now, how do we get on them?” Rex asked.

“How else? We jump!” Tech replied, a little smugly.

“Okay…” Skywalker started but was cut off by blaster fire from behind them, followed by blaster fire from the others end of the pipe, “Move it people!”

“Hang on Nokt!” Hunter said to the young Sergeant behind him.

“Oh I’m hanging!” Nokt replied

“Uh, that wasn't part of the plan. Those things can fly!” Tech called from another keeradak.

Of course the stupid clankers could fly!

Chapter 127: Return to Anaxes

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Stitches!” Hunter smiled as the three Night Stalkers went straight to the grumpy medic the second the ramp went down, practically vacuum sealing themselves to his frame, it was nice to see, given the aggressive and abrasive nature he originally met them with.

“That’s Echo, he’s the one the Techno Union were holding hostage.” Nokt pointed to the man in question, which drew Stitches’ stern gaze to him, “Mouse gave him an initial assessment…”

“You.” Stitches pointed to Echo, “Medical, now.” Echo looked to Rex, who shrugged confused, “That wasn’t a suggestion trooper.” Stitches frowned.

“I…” Echo fumbled with his words, but Mouse jogged over to him and took hold of his hand, bouncing happily before he walked with him to follow Stitches and his brothers.

“No one ever gets an option!” Wrecker laughed loudly.

“And you trust him?” Rex frowned, nowhere near the intensity of Stitches’ frowns, it was weak sauce in comparison.

“With our lives.” Tech said, surprising everyone.

More than Hunter trusted the Captain, or his General who had vanished quite quickly upon landing, “I need to speak with Cody, excuse me.” Rex walked away and Hunter saw him meet up with the Commander.

“He’s a good man, just… very reactive.” Tech said after a moment’s silence.

“Yeah… he wants to help Echo.” Wrecker added, “But he seems very…”

“Possessive?” Crosshair hissed.

“Not the word I would have used, but it does fit his character as we have experienced.” Tech fixed his goggles.

“Echo seems like a good guy, he’s… been changed by this…” Hunter sighed, “I don’t know how well he’ll fit back into the reg ranks.”

“You thinking of offering him a spot in our unit?” Wrecker asked.

“What do you guys think?” He looked to them, “I would like to extend the offer to him…”

“Though not initially created a defective clone, he has been forced to become one.” Tech had his nose in his datapad, “It may be beneficial to put the offer out, so that he may choose whether or not to take it.”

“Well, you know my opinion Sarge.” Wrecker grinned, so Hunter looked to Crosshair.

“It might be good for him.” Crosshair replied with a shrug, “And I’m sure the boys would like it if he came with us.”

“He’s probably safer with the boys, everyone now knows they’re protected by Stitches.” Hunter chuckled, “I would pay any amount of credits to see Rex square up against Stitches.”

“Hope he’s not being too scary to Echo.” Wrecker laughed, “Don’t want to scare him off just yet!”

“The boys will keep him from being too over bearing.” Hunter smiled, his gaze once again going to Rex, “If Rex keeps going the way he is with Nokt, he might get that confrontation sooner rather than later.”

“In all probability, even General Skywalker would think twice about threatening them.” Tech replied easily.

“Let’s make sure it doesn’t come to an all-out brawl, yeah?” He looked to his brothers again.

“They’ll be fine.”

“Yeah…”

Notes:

Place your bets people! Place your bets!

Who would win in a fight?

Chapter 128: Dreadnaught planning

Chapter Text

“So what exactly is the plan here?” Nokt asked as they slowly approached the dreadnaught,

“To infiltrate the Separatist Admiral Trench's dreadnought above Anaxes and mislead him by feeding the Separatist systems false strategies in order to secure a Republic victory on Anaxes.” Tech said with a frown, he didn’t really trust Echo, they knew he wouldn’t betray the Republic of his own volition… but he had been a prisoner of the Techno Union and there was no way of knowing if he was still fully himself. Hunter wanted Echo to join them, he wanted him to stay himself and be loyal to the Republic… be a good brother to them… Mouse trusted him wholeheartedly, but it was quite difficult to fool the young trooper, and because Mouse did, the other two did also.

“You… you can do that?” Clicker asked, looking to the trooper in question.

“If I know the Techno Union, they haven’t told anyone of my release, which means Trench still thinks I’m hooked up on Skako Minor.” Echo replied with a smile, then showed his scomp-link arm.

“Which means, he can feed them information and they’ll think it’s from Skako Minor.” Skywalker said, “Trench won’t think it’s a trap.”

“That’s… so cool.” Clicker replied with a big smile.

“What is our objective?” Nokt looked to Hunter, who looked to Skywalker.

“We need you three to scout out the dreadnaught and see what information you can get on the Separatists.” Skywalker said.

“Oh… you’ll be accessing the interface… module? Not the databanks?” Clicker looked to Echo.

“Which means we will need to mask the origins of the feedback.” Tech looked over his shoulder at Echo.

“That shouldn’t be… difficult for you.” Clicker looked at Tech, then to Mouse, who Hunter saw shaking his head, “Oh…”

Hunter wasn’t happy about them splitting up again, but they were better designed for that type of infiltration, “Tech can give you the schematics of the dreadnaught, can you find the bank on your own?” He looked to Nokt.

“Shouldn’t be too much of a problem!” Nokt grinned, “He probably only has on tactical droid, so we’ll just be dodging B-1s or if we’re slightly unlucky we might have Supies to deal with.” Super battle droids we easy enough to evade, not as easy as B-1s but avoiding those idiot clankers was unfairly easy, “Oh… Hunter, might I have a word… before we attach?”

“Of course.” Hunter nodded and they ventured out of the cockpit and down to the workshop, “What’s up?” he asked in a low voice.

“We… we don’t trust General Skywalker.” Nokt whispered, “Mouse says he… doesn’t smell like other Jedi. It’s not like Krell wrong, but he…”

“We’ll be careful Nokt, don’t you worry.” Hunter smiled and carefully placed his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, relaxing at the lack of a flinch.

“I…” He sighed, “I’m not happy that he’s sending us away from you… it seems… wrong…”
“I’m not happy either, but he’s the General.”

“Krell was too.”

Chapter 129: Dreadnaught

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Hunter… Mouse says Skywalker smells really weird…” Nokt whispered into Hunter’s ear, and he moved away from the others, “We’re… going to see what’s wrong…”

“Stay out of sight and don’t engage them unless you have too.” Hunter whispered in reply, “Keep comm link open, just in case.”

“Affirmative.” Nokt replied and Hunter could hear the three of them moving through the vent system, “The corridor up to the bridge… is empty, the General must have destroyed them on his way in…” A vent cover opened and he heard Nokt landing on the ground, “The bridge door is open… kriff…” Nokt hissed, and Hunter heard him move.

“What?” Hunter asked quickly.

“Skywalker… he has Trench at lightsaber point.” Nokt replied, “He…” Nokt’s voice was silenced by a terrified squeak from Mouse, “Shh, it’s okay Mouse… Clicker… what’s he saying?”

“What’s happening?” Hunter stopped moving.

“Mouse… says he smells so dark… and hateful…” Clicker said, “And… he’s threatening the Admiral… cut off his…”

“He cut off his cybernetics!” Nokt’s whisper was high pitched, he was terrified.

“He threatened to kill him…” Clicker said quickly, “That he has… no such weakness as… as Jedi honour.”

“Okay, keep out of sight.” Hunter said firmly.

“How about I take the guesswork out of it, Master? Admiral Trench was kind enough to give me the final number himself, try seven.” Skywalker’s voice came over a new channel.

“Good work, Skywalker.” General Windu replied, “The bomb has been disarmed.”

“You both owe me one now.” Skywalker sounded smug before the line closed.

“He’s… leaving…” Nokt said, “I think… he mightn’t go through with his…”

Another terrified squeak came across the link, “What happened?” Hunter asked quickly.

“He… he killed him…” Clicker said quickly, “He…”

The terrified squeak was replaced by Nokt and Clicker’s terrified cries, “Nokt! What’s happening?!”

“What did you see trooper!?” He heard the angry, hateful voice of Skywalker.

“No! Please! Get off me!” Nokt sobbed, “Please!”

“What did you see!?” Was all he got from Skywalker.

“Hunter? What’s wrong?” Wrecker asked as they caught up with him.

“The boys are in trouble.” He said, “Tech, go with Rex and Echo, get them to the ship. Wrecker, Crosshair, with me!”

“I’m going with you.” Rex said quickly, “That isn’t up for debate Sergeant.”

“Okay… Crosshair, go with Tech. Get Echo back to the ship.” Hunter frowned under his helmet and they started running.

“Get off him! You’re hurting him!” He heard Clicker yell, “We won’t say anything!”

“We’re coming guys, hold on.” He said over the comm.

He heard an angry squeak, “Mouse!” Nokt sobbed.

“Get off me!” Skywalker growled.

They rounded the corner, the sight of Mouse on Skywalker’s back, trying to pull him off of Nokt, “Get off him trooper!” Rex yelled and Mouse hit the ground after being hit by a stun shot from the Captain.

“Mouse!” Nokt managed to crawl over to his brother, joined by Clicker, “No… no… come on Mouse.”

“Let me go!” Rex yelled when Wrecker grabbed him, but Hunter moved quickly to the three.

“Put him down Wrecker!” Skywalker yelled.

“Nokt, you okay?” Hunter asked quickly.

“He…!” Nokt sobbed.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” Hunter said as gently as he could, “Wrecker, get over here!” He watched as Wrecker forcefully pushed past both the Captain and General, “Okay, Nokt, can you stand?” The young Sergeant nodded, “Clicker?” He looked to the young trooper who was trying to stop his hiccupping, “Can Wrecker pick you up?” he asked carefully and Clicker managed a small nod.

“Up you get.” Wrecker said gently and picked up the young trooper.

“Okay, I’m going to carry Mouse.” Hunter said to Nokt, “But you can lean on me if you need to.” Nokt hiccupped as he nodded, “I don’t care how you get back, but you are not taking one step onto my ship.” He hissed at the Captain and General, “Come on Wrecker.”

“What happened? Where are the other two?” Crosshair asked once they got back into the ship, “What the kriff? What happened to Mouse?”

“They’re walking home.” Hunter replied, “Tech! Get moving!”

“A… affirmative.” Tech replied.

“Okay, let’s get you three settled, hopefully the stun shot won’t last too long.” He looked down to Mouse, who was still out, so he moved over to one of the harness seats and held the small clone against his chest.

“We’ll get you checked out by Stitches when we land.” Wrecker said as Crosshair helped him with Nokt and Clicker, “He’ll keep you safe from them.”

“What… what happened?” Echo appeared from the cockpit.

“Your stupid General and Captain did.” Wrecker growled.

“What? They couldn’t have…” Echo, somehow, went even paler.

“Well they did and I…” Hunter was cut off by the unhappy noise escaping Mouse as the tiny trooper started to wake up, “Mouse’ika?” He smiled when Mouse nodded, “Hey, welcome back,” he said gently as Mouse sat up straighter in his lap and sluggishly moved to take off his helmet, “Wait, we haven’t got your…” Hunter didn’t even get to finish his sentence before the small clone projectile vomited onto the floor, “Easy Mouse’ika … just let it out.” Hunter sighed as he supported Mouse with an arm around his waist, “You’re safe.”

“I have sent an alert to Generals Windu and Kenobi.” Tech said, “Should… I alert medical?”

“Yes.” Hunter replied.

“Stitches is going to murder them.” Wrecker said.

“He’ll treat you first.” Hunter looked to Mouse, then to Wrecker, “The other two?”

“Cross is with them, Clicker is in a lot of physical pain… not sure if Nokt’s is physical or…” Wrecker grumbled, “The General had him pinned.”

Hunter felt his stomach drop, “Oh.” He said simply and soon Mouse stopped throwing up, “How do you have so much in you Mouse’ika?” He joked, trying to distract himself from the idea, “You’re so tiny.”

“Even I don’t throw up for that long.” Wrecker said as he produced Mouse’s mask.

Hunter hoped Stitches would enact revenge.

He would do it better.

Notes:

Front row seats now available for the smackdown of the century, the concession stand is now open, please silence your mobile devices and enjoy the show.

Chapter 130: There are no winners, only Stitches

Notes:

Extra long chapter for the glory that is Stitches whooping Rex's blond arse.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Stitches?” Hunter asked as the medic left the cubicle, the four of them standing up, “How are they?”

“Mouse is recovering well from the stun shot, I had him on a drip to try and replenish his fluids. Clicker is sore, but he didn’t do any major internal damage, so I administered some pain relief.”

“And Nokt?” Wrecker asked.

Stitches didn’t say anything, “Stitches?” Hunter swallowed thickly.

“He’ll need time.” Stitches finally said, he looked and sounded so calm and collected, it was scary.

“Can we… see them?” Crosshair asked carefully.

“You may visit them, but keep your distance from Nokt unless he comes to you first, or he asks for comfort, got it?” Stitches replied, “He’s fragile.”

“Of course…” Hunter started but was cut off by a voice.

“Sergeant Hunter!” It was Rex, he looked pissed.

“Kark…” Hunter started to move but was stopped by Stitches, “Stitches?” He asked as the medic moved past him.

“I would ask that you keep your voice down in the ward Captain.” He stood in front of them, acting almost like a protective barrier, “There are patients here that need quiet.”

“Move trooper.” Rex hissed.

“No.” Stitches replied easily, “You have no power here Captain, so I will ask you nicely to leave before I call security.”

“Sergeant Hunter.” Rex tried to go around Stitches but the medic stepped in front of him again, “Move trooper, I won’t ask again.”

“Nor will I ask again. Get off the ward.” Stitches replied calmly, “Lest I be forced to defend my patients.”

“Those three attacked a Jedi!” Rex barked, Hunter felt his stomach drop, did Skywalker lie?

“They defended themselves against a Jedi.” Stitches frowned, “I have heard the audio recording of the altercation, so go back to your lying General. This will be the third and final time I will tell you to get off the ward.” Hunter made to move when Rex aggressively pushed Stitches and took a swing at him.

Hunter stopped when Stitches moved quickly, dodged the attack and kicked Rex’s legs out from beneath him, making sure the Captain couldn’t get back up by forcing his boot into the Captain’s chest, “Maybe Krell was right about one thing! They are lying little traitors!” Rex yelled, loud enough to draw the three out of the room, to draw more people to the confrontation.

No one said or did anything to stop it, “Stay with us. No one move.” Hunter said to the three, he was furious at those words but he had to let Stitches deal with the Captain.

“What did you say?” Stitches asked, his voice still scarily calm, he dug his boot into the man’s chest.

“You heard me!” Rex yelled, “They attacked a Jedi!”

“That Jedi attacked first.” Stitches replied, his calm slipping slightly.

“They lied to…” Rex didn’t get to finish his sentence before Stitches’ calm broke and he knelt down and landed a punch to the Captain’s face.

“No! They! Didn’t!” Stitches hissed, as he punched Rex again and again, “Your lying General pinned an assault survivor to the ground! He used the Force to attack teenagers!”

“Stitches stop!” Cody yelled as he arrived on the scene but it took Wrecker wrangling him and pulling him off to get him to stop.

“I’ll have you up for disciplinary!” Rex yelled.

“Go ahead! You sung first, I was defending myself and my patients!” Stitches hissed, “There are security cameras on this ward! So go ahead but you can’t lie like your General! You have no power here CT-7567.” Hunter flinched at the use of Rex’s number, he wasn’t a person to Stitches right now, he was a number and nothing more.

“Alright, break it up!” Cody got between them, “What the kark is going on here?”

“General Skywalker attacked the Night Stalkers, then had the balls to lie about it.” Stitches glared at Rex so intensely that it, in combination with the use of his number, made Rex back down a little, “There is evidence against him and still he lied… he pinned an assault survivor to the ground.”

Cody looked to the group, Nokt was hiccupping really badly and Hunter could smell his fearful reaction, “Are you alright Nokt?” He asked, his stern voice softening slightly and Nokt shook his head quickly, “Okay, Sergeant Hunter, take them back into their cubicle and I’ll deal with this.”

“Yes Commander, thank you.” Hunter nodded and they all entered the cubicle. Mouse and Clicker went to their favourite brothers, but Nokt stayed standing in the middle of the room. “Do you want to use the refresher? I can go get you a spare pair of blacks and briefs if you want?” He asked gently, Mouse hiccupped and pointed to his bag that was sitting on the end of the cot, “Okay, Mouse has some here, we’ll stay out here so you can change.” Nokt didn’t reply but accepted the change of clothing and vanished into the joined refresher. Hunter looked from the refresher door to the main door, he wondered what would happen to Stitches now, was he going to be removed from active service?

“Do you want something for the pain Click’ika?” Crosshair’s quiet voice drew him out of his head, drawing his attention to the young trooper who was sitting curled up between Crosshair and Tech, Wrecker put Mouse down on the ground and the tiny trooper moved to his backpack, rooting through it and pulling out a ration bar and some painkillers, offering them to his brother. Clicker didn’t say anything but he did accept the offering, then Mouse returned to his bag and pulled out some more ration bars and handed them out to everyone, he didn’t make a sound as he did it, he just did it then returned to Wrecker, who had sat down, and climbed up to sit on the Giant’s lap.

Hunter sighed and looked to the refresher door again, then walked over to it and knocked gently, “Nokt? You okay in there?”

“I… I can’t do this… anymore!” Came Nokt’s muffled reply.

“Don’t worry Nokt, we’re here for you.” Hunter replied gently, “You’re safe here with us, no one is going to get you or hurt you.”

“But… but Stitches…!” Nokt sobbed.

Hunter sighed and looked to the others, “He knew what he was doing, he could have backed off but he chose to defend you tooth and nail, so he’s going to be fine. Cody knows he can get access to the security feed, that he can see what really went down if Rex tried to pull a fast one, Cody’s a fair and honourable man, he’ll do what he knows is right. So don’t you worry about that.” He didn’t know who he was trying to convince more, himself or Nokt, “And Tech alerted the other Generals of Skywalker’s actions, so it’s up to them to do something about it.”

“There might be a possibility that they might ask you all for a statement.” Tech said, “And they will probably ask me for the audio recording.

“Luckily you record everything!” Wrecker tried to joke, to lighten the mood, “Except that horrible screeching noise from Skako Minor… that was horrible!” He got a giggle out of Mouse, who put his hands over his ears and shook his head, “Exactly!”

“It… it was pretty bad.” Clicker said, “Not… not as bad as the smell of the things though.” Hunter chuckled a little at the shudder that ran the length of Mouse’s small frame at the mere mention of the smell.

The refresher door opened and Nokt stepped out, “Was it bad for you also?” Hunter asked him with a small smile.

“I… I’m surprised Mouse… didn’t complain about being so high off the ground.” Nokt said in a small voice, fidgeting with his fingers, but a faint smile could be seen on his features, Mouse made a huff noise, as if he was offended by the statement, “You were terrified Mouse, don’t deny it.”

Everyone froze when a knock came from the door, “Sergeant Hunter, it’s Commander Cody, might I speak with you?”

“I’ll be right back.” He said and moved passed Nokt, went to the door, opened it and stepping out into the hallway, “Yes Commander?”

“How is he?” Cody asked.

“He’s… struggling.” Hunter replied with a sigh, “It brought back a lot of bad memories for him.”

“So, what Stitches said was true?” Cody asked.

“Yeah, it is.” He looked to the door, “What of Stitches?”

“Rex attacked first, after being told repeatedly to leave, Stitches has solid ground to stand on if this is brought to a disciplinary hearing. I don’t think it will, not with General Skywalker in hot water with General Kenobi and General Windu.” It was Cody’s turn to sigh, “Rex attacked and Stitches defended, and he gave a verbal warning, so if it does come to it, Rex will be found at fault. Stitches will still get a stern reprimand because he escalated the situation, but given what came out of Rex’s mouth? I think he had good standing to do it.”

“Thank you Commander.” Hunter sagged a little as he relaxed.

“Stitches has been taken off shift for now, but he will be here soon.” Cody looked to the door, “How… bad was it?”

“Very.” Hunter sighed.

“Okay.” Cody nodded, “Well, now that we have a guaranteed chance at securing Anaxes, you can return to Kamino with Stitches.”

“Thank you again Commander, this means a lot.” Hunter nodded in return.

“Also, ARC trooper Echo would like to speak with you, do you want me to send him here? Or will you meet him at the Marauder?” Cody raised an eyebrow.

“We’ll meet him at the Marauder, I don’t want to bring him here, not when Stitches isn’t around. The boys feel safer with him.” Hunter looked to the door again.

“And I can see why.” Cody smiled a little, “Okay, I’ll send Echo to the Marauder, and once Stitches is out from his meeting with the Generals, I’ll send him over also. Keep them safe Sergeant.”

“Yes sir.” Hunter saluted and with a nod, Cody walked away down the hall, he didn’t know if Echo would choose to come with them, not after what happened with his Captain and his General, but Hunter might as well put forth the offer… he sighed and re-entered the room.

“So… Stitches isn’t going to be…” Clicker started.

“No, he did everything correct and Rex was the aggressor, so it will probably be Rex getting the disciplinary.” Hunter finished for him, “Skywalker also seems to be getting one from the Generals, though I’m not sure it’ll amount to much.”

“After… after Krell I think he’ll be disciplined.” Nokt said, “They can’t take any chances when the possibility of Jedi going rogue is on the table.”

“We can hope.” Hunter sighed.

“Wonder what Echo wants to talk about?” Wrecker said.

“Probably to shove any offer we were going to give back in our faces.” Crosshair drawled, “Given what happened with Rex and Skywalker.”

“We won’t know until we meet with him, until then there is little point in speculating.” Tech had his face in his datapad, “It appears Stitches has been taken off shift.”

“Yeah, he’s going to be coming with us back to Kamino.” Hunter massaged the bridge of his nose, “We can get some proper rest there.”

“Too bad the food sucks.” Wrecker frowned and Mouse nodded in agreement of that statement.

“Military food sucks everywhere.” Crosshair replied, “At least the food there is somewhat hot.”

“I’m… not sure that’s better.” Clicker replied with a smile.

“You have a point.” Crosshair grinned in reply.

“Come on, let’s head to the Marauder, we can find out what he wants, and we can share a ride with our favourite grumpy medic.” Hunter said with a chuckle, the medic continued to prove he had no fear of anyone, even superior officers.

Especially superior officers.

Rex got off lightly.

Notes:

Contrary to what I write, I don't hate Rex, I find him over used and overly reactive, but I don't hate him.

I just prefer Cody and Wolffe.

Chapter 131: Choices

Chapter Text

Hunter looked to the base as he sat on the steps of the Marauder, watching the regs moving around the landed ships, directing the landing ships, there was so much happening… like the fight hadn’t happened, “Any sign of Echo?” Nokt asked as he came to sit on the step below Hunter, gingerly leaning back to rest his frame against Hunter’s legs.

“Not yet.” Hunter replied with a smile, “How are you feeling? That must have been horrifying for you… between being pinned by a bigger male and said male using the Force to…”

“I… I was so scared. I didn’t know what he was going to do…” Nokt replied after a moment’s silence, “I… I thought if I… wet myself… he’d let go in disgust.”

“He didn’t, did he?” Hunter asked, if it had been anyone other than a rage fuelled Jedi, that tactic probably would have worked.

“He only let go because Mouse jumped on his back.” Nokt sighed as he fidgeted with his fingers, “He hurt them… and I couldn’t do anything to help them…”

“He hurt you too Nokt.” Hunter carefully put his hand on Nokt’s head and made soothing circles with his thumb.

“Then Rex shot Mouse and I…” Nokt leaned more into Hunter’s legs, “I couldn’t do anything!”

“No.” Hunter sighed, “There wasn’t much any of us could do.”

“Here comes… Echo.” Clicker said from the top of the steps, “He… doesn’t seem to be moving in… agitation… Mouse? How… how does he smell?” Hunter spotted the approaching form of the former ARC trooper, “Mouse says… he smells cautious… but not… angry.”

“Do you want to go inside Nokt?” Hunter asked the younger Sergeant.

“N… No. I should be there to greet him, I’m a Sergeant after all.” Nokt replied as they both stood up slowly and they walked down the remainder of the steps.

“Sergeant Hunter, Sergeant Nokt.” Echo nodded to both of them, then looked up into the Marauder where the others were standing.

“Good to see you again Echo. You wanted to speak with us?” Hunter asked with a smile, it would do them no good to be aggressive or stand-offish with him, not when Hunter wanted to offer him a place.

“Yes.” Echo nodded again, his form relaxing a little, “Everything… is so much more different since I’ve been away. I don’t know what to think of the people I once knew, of the death of my brother Fives… of how Rex is acting now…”

“Time changes everyone.” Nokt replied, trying not to fidget with his fingers, “We… me and my brothers haven’t had a good track record with the 501st. It was going to boil over eventually… I just didn’t factor in the response we got from General Skywalker.”

“I still can’t believe he did that… but he seems to have changed the most…” Echo sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, Stitches and Kix had helped him with his prostheses and his other issues, but he still looked and seemed very tired, very sore and emotionally drained.

“It’s been a long year since you’ve been away, a lot has happened.” Hunter sighed, “Are you up for it? Returning to the 501st?”

“I don’t know.” Echo replied, he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.

Nokt looked to Hunter, then went over to Echo, carefully placing his hand on the older clone’s shoulder, “You could come with us.” The young Sergeant said, “You could join the Bad Batch or you could join us Night Stalkers.” He smiled when Echo looked to him. Hunter softened a little, even after everything that just happened, Nokt still wanted to comfort Echo, to make physical contact with a man he didn’t really know.

“He’s right, if you don’t think your place is with them anymore, then there is a spare bunk with us.” He smiled to Echo when he looked to him, “Isn’t that right guys?” He looked back to the other five, earning sounds of confirmation, Mouse appeared beside Echo, took hold of his hand and bounced happily, “The ship might be a little crowded on the trip back to Kamino, seeing as we’re transporting Stitches back.”

“Stitches is coming with us?” Echo asked.

“Just back to Kamino.” Nokt replied, then chuckled a little, “Commander Cody thinks it might be a good idea to keep him and Captain Rex as far apart as physically possible.”

“I wondered why Rex’s face was ninety percent bruise.” Echo replied after a moment, “Did they get in a fight?”

“Surprised you didn’t hear it.” Hunter sighed, “Rex started the fight but Stitches finished it.”

“It was scary to say the least.” Nokt frowned a little.

“It was an impressive show of skill none the less.” Tech said.

“The choice is yours Echo, we’ll be here until Stitches is finished with the Generals, so you have some time to think about it.” Hunter smiled again, watching as Mouse returned to the others, “And even if you decide you want to stay with the 501st, then we’ll keep the bunk free for you.”

Echo seemed to be very conflicted about it, casting his gaze back to the base, “You don’t have to decide right away.” Nokt said, “Take your time, talk with your brothers from the 501st, then you can choose what feels right to you.”

Echo sighed softly, “Okay.” He looked to them again.

“We’ll be here ori’vod.” Hunter smiled and Echo nodded, then started walking back to the base.

“Mouse says… he smells very conflicted… and sad…” Clicker said once Echo was out of earshot, “Like… like he doesn’t want to leave them… but… he knows they’ve changed.”

“He’s changed.” Hunter sighed, “But, it’s up to him to decide.”

“He’ll make the choice that’s right for him.” Nokt said, his gaze on retreating form of Echo, “That’s all we can ask of him.”

“Exactly.” Hunter smiled, “Now, I don’t know about the rest of you… but I’m starving.”

“Let’s get some food.”

Chapter 132: He joins

Chapter Text

It was well past sundown by the time Stitches arrived with his pack, the others were asleep, and Stitches looked like he was about ready to pass out, “Hey.” Hunter stood from his position sitting, “You okay ori’vod?” he asked gently.

“As well as can be expected, all things considered.” Stitches sighed.

“The others are all asleep, we’re just waiting on Echo’s reply now.” He replied with a small smile, “Have you eaten at all?”

“Not yet.” The medic massaged the bridge of his nose.

“Is that Stitches?” Nokt appeared at the top of the steps, wiping the sleep from his eyes before putting on his goggles.

“Indeed it is ad’ika.” Stitches smiled, “You should be in bed, it is quite late.”

Hunter smiled at the softness Stitches showed Nokt, it was always so strange that the medic could go from giving a smackdown to showing such gentle tenderness, “I would have been up to greet you but…” Nokt replied as he reached the bottom of the steps.

“You’ve had an overwhelming day, I expected you’d be quite tired.” Stitches replied, then froze when Nokt wrapped his arms around him, “Easy ad’ika.”

“Thank you.” Nokt’s voice was muffled by the medic’s uniform, “You… you…”

“I knew what I was doing.” Stitches replied with a sigh, carefully returning the hug.

“Any idea what General Skywalker’s situation is?” Hunter asked, he wanted to know what punishment the shabuir was being dished out.

“He’s being brought back to Coruscant, after that I’m not sure.” Stitches looked to him.

“What… what about you?” Nokt asked and Hunter saw him tighten the hug, “You…”

“I’m being restricted to Kamino until the situation with Rex is dealt with, he’s gunning for a disciplinary against me but Cody informed him that it would backfire completely, considering he was the aggressor in the fight.” Stitches sighed again, “So I’ll still be there to keep you safe, however, I am so sorry I had to tell them about what happened in such a situation, it was unkind of me.”

“You did it to help us… Mouse said Cody smelled so sad when you said it.” Nokt replied.

“He was sad.” Stitches rested his cheek on Nokt’s head, “I was furious at Rex, at what he said and did, he should never have said those things about you. You are not, nor have you ever been, nor will you ever be traitors to the Republic.”

“Here comes Echo.” Hunter spotted the man as he walked across the landing bay.

“I hope he chose what’s good for him, not what Rex wants for him.” Stitches said as he and Nokt broke apart.

“He will.” Nokt smiled.

“Sergeant Hunter, Sergeant Nokt… Stitches.” Echo looked to each of them in turn.

“I’ll leave you three to discuss this, I’m going to go sit down.” Stitches sighed and ascended the steps, vanishing into the ship.

“So?” Hunter looked to Echo.

“Rex doesn’t want me to join.”

“What is it you want?”

“To join you.”

Chapter 133: Meal time talk

Chapter Text

“Here.” Hunter smiled to Stitches as he handed the medic a ration pack, “Nokt has gone back to bed and the three are taking care of Echo tonight.”

“That’s good to hear.” Stitches sighed and took the pack as Hunter sat down in the pilot’s seat, “Hm. You’d think they would create military rations that actually made you want to eat, not whatever this is.” He poked it.

“It fills you up, taste is the last thing on their minds.” Hunter sighed as he leaned back in the seat.

“Hm.” Was all Stitches gave in reply and Hunter looked out at the lights of hyperspace, his thoughts flying through his minds almost as fast as the lights, “Speak your mind Sergeant.”

“What?” Hunter blinked and looked to the medic, who had decided he was hungry enough to eat the pack.

“Given the thousand-yard stare, I imagine you have a lot you wish to talk about.” Stitches replied, taking a sip from his canteen.

“I just…” He looked back to the lights and sighed, then closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, “So much has happened in such a short amount of time, between Anaxes, Skako Minor… the dreadnaught… I just…”

“It’s a lot to take in?” Stitches finished his sentence.

“Yeah…” He sighed again, “And watching you risk so much to defend the boys… me… having to stomach what came out of Rex…” He squeezed his eyes closed and swallowed down his returning anger, “Nokt was doing so well, now because of Skywalker…”

“He’ll be okay. He’s a warrior, like you are.” Stitches replied, Hunter tried to hide his blush but the medic didn’t even comment on it, he just pushed around the remains of his meal, “I don’t know what lies ahead for Skywalker, what the Jedi will do to address his vile behaviour, but I do know they can’t take any chances after what happened on Umbara and the bombings at the Jedi Temple. He attacked troopers, he manipulated the Force for something dark and the Council won’t take that lying down.”

“Can I ask… what was going through your head when Rex turned physical?” Hunter looked to the medic again.

“I had to protect them.” Stitches replied easily, “My weapon is my words but he decided words weren’t going to convey what he really felt, so he turned to what his training taught him and unfortunately for him he acted without thinking, before assessing the threat.”

“You… baited him?” Hunter blinked.

“I knew he would snap but I didn’t know when.” Stitches sighed and looked out the viewfinder as he sipped from his canteen, “So I gave warnings, I asked nicely, I covered myself in case he did, in fact, get physical. He saw a medic with no armour and thought I would be an easy target, he is a superior officer and thought I wouldn’t fight back… joke’s on him.”

“Yeah…” Hunter smiled, “Thank you, ori’vod… for everything.”

“Think nothing of it Hunt’ika.”

Chapter 134: A need for comfort

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“There’s a spare bunk in our room if you want to take that one.” Nokt said happily as they landed on the exterior platform of Tipoca, “I’m not sure about space with the Batch though.”

Hunter smiled gently, he was so happy that Nokt was willing to share the bunk room with Echo, maybe it was because Mouse seemed to trust Echo wholeheartedly, “You will need to come to medical at some point before your next deployment.” Stitches said as he picked up his pack, “Now that I have access to better equipment, I can assess how badly the Techno Union messed up, it was a hack-job and though I did not find anything amiss, other than the glaringly obvious, it does not mean there isn’t something under the surface that I could have missed.”

“Are you… heading straight to medical?” Clicker asked as they all unloaded from the ship.

“I am.” Stitches replied, “So, if any of you need me at any point, day or night, you know where to find me. I tend to sleep in my office, when I actually sleep, so just knock.” He gave Nokt’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before he broke away from the group and walked in the opposite direction to them.

Hunter watched him leave, he wanted Stitches to stay with them, so they could help him like he helped them but he doubted Stitches would do that, not with the way he reacted to anything to do with family when it involved him… “Hunter?” he was brought out of his head by Nokt’s soft voice, “Are you okay?”

“Just… tired.” He replied with another sigh, “A lot has happened and it happened very quickly.”

“We’ll be grounded for a while… if you want to go get some sleep.” Nokt replied, his small hand appearing in Hunter’s, which startled him, “Echo’s going to bunk with us for the time being, so he’s also gone to get some sleep.”

“Are you okay? Sharing a bunkroom with him?” Hunter asked as they started walking hand-in-hand.

“I’m scared… but Mouse trusts him… and I know that my brothers will help me if I need it.” Nokt looked to his brother, who was bouncing and conversing with Wrecker, “I’m worried about Stitches though… Mouse said he smells… hurt… sad…”

“He had to do something none of us want to do… fight a brother.” Hunter replied, he hated the fact that Stitches had to do it, but he did it to protect and to fight for someone who couldn’t fight back effectively, not against a superior officer such as Rex.

“I… hope they do something to combat General Skywalker’s actions.” Nokt’s hand started shaking.

“Easy Nokt’ika.” Hunter smiled, giving the young Sergeant’s hand a gentle squeeze, “I’m sure if they think it’s important, they’ll inform us of the situation.”

“I know.” Not sighed, then smiled as they arrived at the bunkrooms, “We’re going to go help Echo settle in.”

“If you need us at any point, you know where we are.” Hunter said gently, giving Nokt’s hand another comforting squeeze, “No matter what time it is.”

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt blushed as he let go of Hunter’s hand, he hesitated enough for Hunter to realise the young man didn’t want to let go at all.

“Echo, if you need us, this is our bunkroom.” Hunter said to their newly acquired older brother.

“Okay… thank you.” Echo said quietly and the four of them left to go to the Night Stalker’s room.

“He’ll be okay Sarge.” Wrecker nudged him out of his head.

“I hope so.” Hunter looked to the four, watching them vanish into the room, “I really do.”

“We should at least attempt to get some sleep, given the standard week we’ve had.” Tech said as they entered their own bunkroom, “Though I am unsure of my own ability to sleep at this current moment.”

They all looked to each other, “Pile?” Hunter asked and the other three nodded, “Pile.” He confirmed, and they all started to remove their armour, he wondered if Nokt would ever be able to engage in a pile again? Would Echo? He didn’t know what Echo and his brothers were like as a family unit… but Echo did have a very close bond with his brother Fives, or that’s what he got from their brief interaction of the subject.

“Come on Sarge.” Wrecker nudged him again, gentler this time and they lay on the makeshift sleepover pile of bedding, cuddling up as close as they could to each other and still be comfortable.

Hunter wondered what Stitches and Kix were talking about when they met on Anaxes, what did Stitches mean by “they’re in everyone.”? What were? He sighed, closed his eyes and rested his head against Wrecker’s broad side, they were thoughts for the morning, right now he just wanted to sleep, to cuddle with his brothers and confirm that they were still with him and not taken by some Jedi…

He awoke sometime later to someone talking, “Echo… wants to know if he can join?” He looked to the owner of the voice and saw it was Clicker.

“Sure.” Wrecker replied with a yawn.

“He didn’t have to ask.” Hunter said softly as he wiped his eyes, “You guys can too if you want.”

“We’re okay, but Echo… is feeling lonely.” Clicker replied, “He’s… worried about his… cybernetics…”

“He’ll be fine… send him in.” Hunter yawned and closed his eyes again as he moved slightly to get a little more comfortable as he heard the door open and close.

He was on the cusp of sleep when he heard it open and close again, “Get in here ori’vod.” He heard Wrecker mutter, Echo didn’t say anything but Hunter could feel Wrecker move to encircle his huge arms around the older clone, “There we go.” Hunter smiled and with another soft sigh he let himself drift back into sleep.

Echo just needed warmth and love and comfort…

He needed brothers.

Notes:

Maybe one day Stitches will join them in these comfort piles. 😊

Chapter 135: Self hate

Chapter Text

“Stitches? You in?” Hunter knocked on the door to the medic’s office, there was no answer but Hunter could feel it in his stomach that something wasn’t right, “Stitches?” He knocked again.

“Sergeant Hunter? Is something wrong?” He looked to the approaching form of another medic.

“I don’t know how to explain it… but something doesn’t feel right.” Hunter said quickly.

“Hm.” The medic replied and moved to the door, “Stitches? It’s Script, I’m opening the door.” Still no reply, “Let’s hope he’s not as naked as the day he was decanted.” The medic sighed and entered the room, which was pitch black save for the faint glow of a still active datapad, “Stitches?” Script tried again. Hunter spotted something in the corner furthest from the door, it was hard to tell what it was in the darkness, so he reached over and turned on the lights, revealing Stitches sitting there his face buried in his knees, his legs to his chest and his arms wrapped tight around them. The thing that caught Hunter’s immediate attention was the fact that the medic’s hands and feet were bloody, the red liquid had seeped into the fabric of his pants, “Kriff… Stitches?” Script moved to the man, and Hunter looked around to see what he could have hurt himself on, he couldn’t see anything in the immediate room so he entered the adjoining refresher, where he found the mirror was shattered, drops of crimson broke up the glint of the light hitting the shards. He looked to the two medics, Script was having zero luck with getting anything from Stitches, a reaction… any reaction… but the other medic knew better than to try initiate physical contact, so Hunter swallowed his fear and walked over where he knelt down and tentatively reached out, hesitating briefly before he carefully placed his hand on Stitches’ shoulder and this made the older clone react, it made him jump and look at them where Hunter could see he’d also gotten a cut on his forehead, “Stitches, you are hurt.” Script said gently, “How long have you been injured?”

“I…” Stitches seemed a little confused and disorientated, then he looked at his bloody hands.

“You seem to have broken the mirror in the refresher.” Hunter said.

“I got angry.” Stitches said in a small voice.

“You punched it?” Script asked as he stood up to grab the small medkit in the room.

“Yeah… I…” Stitches sighed weakly.

Hunter felt his heart drop at the sight of the medic, who always appeared so in control of himself and his emotions, so confident and strong… then he realised something, “You were angry at yourself… right?” He asked carefully but Stitches didn’t reply, which said more than words did, and soon Script arrived back with the kit, he opened it to start treating Stitches’ injuries.

Stitches was angry at himself for attacking a brother, he was defending Nokt and Hunter from an aggressor… but it shouldn’t have happened.

Stitches hated himself.

Chapter 136: Help from Coruscant

Chapter Text

“What happened to Stitches?” Nokt asked as he came to stop beside Hunter, Script had elected to put Stitches under observation until he was safe enough to be let go, his hands and feet were bandaged and there was a bacta patch on his forehead, “Hunter?” Nokt asked.

“He…” Hunter started but stopped to sigh, “He got angry and punched a mirror.”

“What… why would he…?” Nokt also started but stopped, “Is… is it because of what he did to Rex? Because he…”

“He defended himself and us from an aggressor but that aggressor was another brother.” Hunter sighed, “It shouldn’t have happened but Rex just had to push the matter and resort to actions over words. It doesn’t hold the same weight for us because we were never really counted as brothers to the regs but Stitches is one, and he was forced to retaliate against a reg brother.” He wondered if this was a thing he experienced every time he was forced to defend himself, he chose words up until the other party stopped using words and chose violence, had it ever been this bad before?

“Do… do you think I could go in?” Nokt looked to the door.

“He will appreciate the company Nokt’ika.” He smiled to the younger Sergeant, who smiled in return and cautiously entered the room, he watched the young clone walk up to the bed and after saying something Hunter couldn’t hear, he sat down beside the older clone and rested his head on Stitches’ shoulder. Hunter jumped a little at the sudden appearance of Mouse and Clicker, the two didn’t say anything but quietly entered the room and while Clicker sat down on Stitches’ other side, Mouse climbed up and sat on his lap, wrapping his small arms around the older clone’s chest, and Hunter saw some of the tension bleed from Stitches’ strong frame. Clones were bred to be soldiers but they were also created to have strong bonds with each other, to create seamless functionality of squads, they were ‘social creatures’ as Tech informed them, but Stitches didn’t have a batch… a squad… brothers… and Hunter wasn’t sure how he was robbed of them but it made a huge impact on how the older clone saw and experienced the galaxy and everything in it.

Maybe they could help him like they would help Echo?

Would Stitches accept that kind of help from them?

Maybe Hunter could get in contact with Stitches’ cyar’ika on Coruscant, talk with him and see what they could do to help him cope with these types of things?

“Hello there.” He blinked and looked to the owner of the voice, it was a reg and his features were soft and kind, “You must be Sergeant Hunter?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Hunter replied, “And you are?” He didn’t know how to make his question not sound rude.

“Where are my manners, my name is Sawbones.” He smiled, “But you might know me as Stitches’ cyar’ika.”

“You’re his…?”

“Yep.”

Chapter 137: Emergency briefing

Notes:

Screw you Order 66! 🖕🖕

You got beaten by a bunch of nerds!

Chapter Text

“Don’t worry Hunter, we’ll be safe with Stitches.” Nokt smiled to him, “Kaller needs you all.”

“I’m not happy about this at all.” Hunter sighed, he was beyond happy that Stitches was brought back to being himself again with the careful and warm help from Sawbones, his cyar’ika, it had taken weeks but it had worked. They had completed many missions in the interim, but they requested almost daily updates from Sawbones and Script, while they were away from Kamino, and the boys were always eager to return home to bring the grumpy medic something they picked up on mission, usually pretty stones or shells, on occasion some of the local confectionary, something small to make his day a little better.

“This won’t be like Umbara, we’re not alone in a sea of regs.” Nokt sounded like he was trying to sounds convinced of his words, “We have someone to help us.”

“I know, it’s just…” He was cut off but the sound of the PA system.

“All personnel report to the staging area for an emergency briefing.” The voice said, “Repeat. All personnel report to the staging area for an emergency briefing.”

“What the…?” He looked to Nokt, who shrugged in confusion.

They met up with the rest of their brothers, “Anyone have any idea what the kriff is going on?” Wrecker asked.

“It… it sounds like the Jedi have… information…” Clicker said, hands clamped down over his cancellers.

“Information?” Nokt asked, “What information?”

“It might be better to let the Generals speak on this matter, they seem to have more information.” Tech said, his nose in his datapad.

Mouse squeaked to get their attention, ‘I think it’s serious. General Ti smells unhappy and a little anxious.’

They all looked to each other, “Well, let’s go find out then.” Crosshair drawled.

They entered the staging area and looked out at the complete sea of regs that occupied it, after a little bit the entire area was jam packed with troopers, “They are linked up to Coruscant and it seems they are linked in with a lot of different places also.” Tech said.

“They want the whole GAR to hear this.” Nokt held Hunter’s hand in a shaky grip, “I don’t like this.”

“None of us do, but be strong Nokt’ika.” Hunter smiled to him.

The images of Grand Master Yoda and General Windu appeared, “Learn of something grave, the Council has, detrimental to all it is.” The Grand Master said.

“The information given to us has shown that within every clone is a behavioural modification chip, for those who may have heard of the incidents involving CT-5385 and CT-5555…”

Fives.

Hunter looked to Echo as General Windu spoke, their new ori’vod had frozen at the mention of his twin, “CT-5385’s, or Tup as I am informed he was called, chip malfunctioned and this forced him to attack his General…”

Hunter felt his heart stop, “They’re in everyone.” Stitches had said to Kix, was it them that sent the information?

Did they have help?

How did they find out?

How did they get the Generals to believe them?

“… Know what activates them, we do not, but know how to remedy this, we do.” Yoda’s voice greeted him once he came out of his thoughts.

“All troopers will be required to undergo surgery to remove these chips, because we do not know what activates their objective, speed is of upmost importance.” Windu continued.

“Report to medical, each of you should.” Yoda tapped his cane on the ground.

“Mouse… Mouse says the kaminoans don’t… smell happy.” Clicker said, “They don’t smell happy… at all.”

“Can you hear anything from them?” Hunter asked him.

“It’s… hard to hear over the white noise from the projector… but I think they’re unhappy because…” Clicker paused, staring into space.

“Easy Click’ika.” Wrecker put his strong hand on Clicker’s back, steadying him until he came back.

“Oh… oh I didn’t mean…” Clicker started to get flustered.

“Easy Click’ika.” Crosshair moved to stand behind him, “Match the vibrations of my breathing.”

“They… they put them in…” Clicker said once he’d managed to calm down again.

“They put them in us?” Nokt asked, looking to Hunter.

“It makes sense, seeing as they are our creators.” Tech explained, “If the one in Tup made him attack and kill his General, one can only imagine what would happen if everyone’s chip activated.” Hunter blinked at the revelation, then spotted Stitches standing at the doors, talking with Script, Sawbones and Kix.

He met Stitches’ gaze, earning a nod from the medic and the man said something quietly, “He said… that General… Skywalker… is under house arrest…” Clicker said, “He can’t… leave the Temple.” Hunter nodded in return to Stitches, who returned his attention to the three other medics, “And that Kix says he’s sorry Echo… for not being able to save Fives… he tried really hard…”

“I’ll thank him later.” Echo said softly.

“Accept incoming communications from Coruscant, you should not, after this broadcast, silent our communications will be.” Yoda said, “Know an activation is needed, we do, know from where or who, we do not. Under observation, someone, we have.”

Hunter felt Nokt’s hand tighten around his, the shaking returning, “Supreme Chancellor Palpatine… that’s the person they have under observation.” The young Sergeant whispered.

“You sure?” Hunter felt the cold fingers of fear grab his heart.

“I… I can’t be completely sure but I’ve been keeping up with the Senate debates and he… he seemed odd.” Nokt finally looked to him, “He gave off all kinds of creepy vibes, more so than usual…” Hunter wasn’t even listening to what the Generals were saying anymore, was this really happening? Was there really a plan to turn clones against their Jedi Generals? Would they just be puppets for whoever was in control of their strings?

“We should… also get seen to…” Clicker said, “Mouse… says we might be odd… given our mutations but… it would be a good idea…”

“Yeah… it really would.”

Chapter 138: Scans

Notes:

No I am not over the deaths of Fives and Tup... why do you ask? 😑

Chapter Text

“Welcome gentlemen.” Script said as they entered the ward, “You here to get poked and prodded?”

“Is… is it invasive?” Nokt asked in a small voice.

“We’ll have to scan first, seeing as you are enhanced clones but no, the procedure isn’t invasive.” Script smiled gently, “I’m sure you’d be happier with Stitches doing it.”

“I…” Nokt blushed.

“Easy Nokt’ika.” Hunter said gently, he hated seeing the younger Sergeant afraid, “It’s okay.”

“It’s perfectly okay to be scared.” Script replied with a warm smile, “And it is perfectly okay to have a preference on who you want. I take no offence.”

“What exactly does this procedure entail?” Tech asked, “What exactly are you removing?” Tech hated not knowing something, he didn’t like being left out of the loop on anything.

“As you heard from the briefing, we have discovered an organic bio-chip, a behavioural modification chip to be precise, inside the brains of each and every clone.” Script explained as he guided them to the cubicles, “I would ask that each squad enter a different cubicle, we’re trying to work squad by squad.”

“But…” Nokt sounded scared but Mouse was by his side in an instant and took hold of his brother’s hand.

“Don’t worry Nokt!” Wrecker grinned, “We’re just next door.”

“And Stitches will be with you shortly.” Script affirmed, “Are you okay with me conducting your scans Sergeant Hunter?” Hunter would have preferred Stitches as well but the grumpy medic trusted Script, so Hunter could trust in that and he nodded, “Great. Head inside and make yourselves comfortable, we’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Wonder what he meant by needing a scan first because we’re enhanced?” Wrecker said as they entered the cubicle.

“It may be that because of the genetic mutations present in our DNA, and because it is a bio-chip, our mutations could have either damaged them, or warped them.” Tech replied, his nose in his datapad.

“Makes sense.” Crosshair drawled as he leaned back in the chair and put a toothpick between his teeth.

“I hope the boys will be okay.” Hunter sighed, he didn’t like the idea of being separated but they were different squads and they were working through this systematically.

“They’ll be fine!” Wrecker grinned again, “And so will we!”

“Here’s hoping.” Echo frowned, “Don’t know what they’re going to find in my head.”

“It may be because of the cybernetic implants and modifications done to you by the Techno Union, that you might not have one anymore.” Tech explained, “A perk to being more machine now than man.”

“Thanks Tech.” Echo frowned.

The door opened in a whoosh and Script walked in with a small case, “Apologies for the wait, we have to calibrate these on the fly, they are a work in process, we only use them for brothers with any kind of head trauma because the pod’s scanner can’t work around the damage, even with the extreme calibration we’ve had to do to them… but now we’ll be using them for you all.” He said as he opened it, “We’ve worked out most of the kinks…”

“I may be able to assist you in that venture.” Tech said quickly.

“That would be most appreciated.” Script sighed tiredly and took out a weird device that looked like a helmet, “Okay, who wants to go first?”

“Is that gonna fit me?” Wrecker asked.

“Of course it is.” Script replied, “You electing to go first Wrecker?”

Wrecker looked to Hunter, “Uh… sure.”

Hunter watched as Wrecker sat down on the cot, he still had to bend over a little so Script could attach the helmet, “There we go. This will feel and sound rather weird but that’s normal.” He said as he strapped the device on, Tech was beside him almost instantly, his eyes examining it intensely, “Okay, starting scan.” The medic looked at his datapad.

“You’re right doc… this does sound really weird, weird vibrations too.” Wrecker said, “Can’t imagine this’ll be fun for Clicker.”

“Stitches will worry about that.” Script replied, “There it is… huh… odd.”

“Odd?” Hunter asked, looking to Echo.

“Well… odder than the idea of the chips in the first place.” Script frowned, “It’s there, where it’s supposed to be but it seems to be weirdly shaped, I would imagine each of yours are the same.”

“Is that going to complicate anything?” Crosshair asked with narrowed eyes.

“Shouldn’t do, we might just have to tweak the calibration on the pods for it.” The medic didn’t look up from his datapad for a moment, “Okay, next person.” He said as he removed the scanner from Wrecker’s head, each of their scans produced the same result, though with slight variations to it, “Given the positioning of the connection ports in your head, I don’t think you’d have one Echo, but we can check either way if you want.”

“Better safe than whatever they do to us clones.” Echo frowned.

“From what Kix observed in Tup, it completely takes overwrites the conscious brain and you essentially become a prisoner in your own body.” Script replied easily, “And there is nothing you can do about it.”

“If they’re activated by something… why did Tup’s activate?” Hunter asked with a slight frown.

“Fives told Kix that the chip from Tup was decaying, so it didn’t activate completely but only partially.” The medic said as he finally managed to get the scanner to sit comfortably over Echo’s cranial cybernetics, “Which is why he acted sort of… drunk? Well, more like he was tripping out on drugs because it was decaying, the body treated it as a tumour, that in combination to the partial activation, probably made his brain chemistry go haywire. He probably didn’t even know who he was or even which way was up when he attacked his General.”

“What… what about Fives?” Echo asked.

Script went still, “He died to get the information to us…” He sighed, “He made a huge sacrifice to free us all… he was a…”

Hero.

Chapter 139: Shaved hair and stickers

Chapter Text

Hunter wasn’t happy that he’d had to shave some of his hair, hopefully the bandana would cover it and Mouse wouldn’t be too upset with the loss of the winner of ‘Best Hair’, “Don’t worry Sarge! You look fine!” Wrecker laughed and nudged him.

“Says the guy with no hair.” Crosshair snarked, it was less noticeable on him and Tech because their hair was shorter than his.

“I think it looks quite fashionable.” Tech said, not even looking up from his datapad.

“It could be worse Hunter, I lost my all hair before gaining new attachments.” Echo frowned.

“Is this how devastated Stitches felt when they had to shave some of his hair off?” Hunter sighed loudly as they rounded the corner leading to the bunkrooms, where he saw Mouse and Nokt talking, “How’d it go?” He asked them.

“I had just started to grow my hair back.” Nokt pouted, earning a giggle from Mouse, “Quiet you, you don’t even have hair.”

“No hair bros!” Wrecker laughed and hi-fived Mouse.

“Where’s Clicker?” Echo asked.

“He had to be sedated because of the chance of vibration damage, he’s claustrophobic.” Nokt sighed, “So even with the local anaesthetic, he could have caused himself injury.”

“One would think he’d be unable to sleep in his pod if that were the case.” Tech said, his nose still in his datapad, clearly not reading the room but the young Sergeant was and Hunter could see Nokt’s hackles raise in retaliation.

“It’s really spacious in there.” Wrecker said, “Even I could fit inside with no issue, so there’s bit of a difference between the interior sizes.” Tech finally looked up and saw Nokt’s unhappy glare, he was angry but he had his arms wrapped around himself, showing he was scared also.

Mouse got between them and huffed at the older clone, his hands on his hips as he glared at the resident genius, “Oh… I appear to have not read the room.” Tech replied, “I do apologise.” Hunter smiled, Tech was getting better at recognising when his shoved his foot in his mouth, he still did it regularly, almost automatically, but he was better at realising he should apologize.

“It’s fine.” Nokt huffed and looked away.

Mouse pouted under his mask, then rooted around in his bag, pulling out a sheet of stickers and offering one to them, “Do you have any tooka ones?” Hunter asked with a smile, noting the massive blush enveloping Nokt’s face, Mouse nodded happily, taking off a shiny tooka sticker and adhering it to Hunter’s chest plate.

“You know, in all my life, I’ve never gotten a sticker before.” Echo said, a small smile gracing his features as he adhered the small bantha sticker to his chest plate, “Thank you Mouse.” Mouse bounced happily and made his happy squeaks, Hunter was happy they could get along together, even after everything they had all gone through, they still had each other.

Echo had them all too.

Hopefully they had Stitches too… maybe.

Chapter 140: You are you

Chapter Text

Hunter was drawn out of his head by a small hand patting his arm, he looked down to see Mouse staring up at him, “Something wrong Mouse?”

‘You seem sad.’ Mouse replied, ‘You smell sad, but not the normal kind.’

“There’s a normal kind?” Hunter smiled a little, earning an unamused pout from the young trooper, “Sorry.” He sighed and returned his gaze to the ocean swells that crashed against the city, at the clouds that were going to bring a storm, “I guess I’m just worried is all.” He caught movement from Mouse out the corner of his eyes, and smiled when a tiny hand appeared in his, “It’s a scary time to be a clone, but we’ll be okay, we got the chips removed and we’re healing… soon the war will end and we can be free, like Cut.” Mouse looked to him, as he looked to the small trooper, earning a happy bounce from him. “Don’t worry Mouse’ika, whatever happens, we’ll be together, all of us.” 66 nodded again and turned his attention to the outside, pointing out beyond the churning seas and rolling storms, “Yeah, we can get as far away from here as we can and never come back.” He unconsciously tightened his grip a little on Mouse’s hand, earning a confused sound from the tiny trooper, “I’m… well I’m scared. We have been decanted and bred for war, we’ve spent our entire lives under the security of the GAR, and I… I don’t know how to live a normal existence…” Mouse made a sound of understanding. Hunter smiled when he felt Mouse rest his head against his arm, “Thank you Mouse’ika.” He sighed softly, “Maybe we’ll take after Cut, find a nice place and start again.”

Mouse nodded, sighing happily.

They stood in silence for what seemed like eternity before Mouse seemed to remember something, he squeaked and let go of Hunter’s hand, ‘There was something wrong with my scan, and when they went in to extract the chip, they didn’t find one.’ He looked to the floor, ‘What they thought was one, was damage.’ He paused to hiccup, ‘I didn’t have a chip.’

“You didn’t have one?” Hunter blinked and knelt down, lifting Mouse’s chin so he could meet Mouse’s gaze, and Mouse shook his head.

‘Stitches said it wasn’t there but what they saw was a massive abscess scar on my brain.’ Mouse was trying to look smaller than he was.

“So?” Hunter asked gently, “Is it causing difficulty for you?”

‘No.’ He paused to wipe away the tears dripping down his cheeks, ‘But why am I so broken? Between my brain and my neck.’ He paused again to continue wiping away the tears.

“You aren’t broken Mouse, no more than any of us are. You are are you, damage or no damage you are the brother we love.” He smiled, “Never doubt that Mouse’ika, all of us need each other, just the way we are.”

‘Thank you ori’vod.’

“No problem vod’ika.”

Chapter 141: Ended, the war has

Chapter Text

The sound of multiple people snoring made Hunter stop in front of an open cubicle, which contained at least six medics, all asleep on top of each other, and Hunter smiled when he saw Stitches in the middle of it, Script and Sawbones were also there but he didn’t know the others. He sighed softly and closed over the door, to give them privacy, he was happy Stitches was getting something along the lines of a brother pile, even if it was just with a bunch of extremely burnt-out medics who probably hadn’t gotten a wild amount of sleep in the last few weeks. He had wanted to speak with Stitches, but that could wait for now, the man may be an insomniac but even he needed his sleep, he had just rounded the corner when the sound of an altercation grabbed his attention, “There’s no “Fives” here metal man, so go away.” He saw it was a very dishevelled and lost looking Echo, who was standing outside a room.

“Echo!” He called and went to his ori’vod, “You okay?” He put his hand on Echo’s shoulder, then looked at the closed door.

“I… I thought…” Echo sounded so small, he wasn’t fully awake, he was working on instincts.

“Come on, let’s get you back to the boys.” He guided Echo back down the halls to their bunkrooms, he hated seeing Echo in the throws of these waking nightmares, it didn’t happen as often when they were off Kamino, but when he was around other regs… a little part of his brain refused to believe that Fives was gone and he was determined to find him.

But he was never there.

He never would be there.

“Hunter? Clicker heard the commotion did something… Echo? What happened?” Nokt was in the hallway when they rounded the corner and Mouse was by Echo’s other side in an instant, taking hold of the older clone’s hand in his small ones, “Why do you smell so sad?” Mouse looked almost as sad as Echo did, he could smell these moments and Hunter was sure he was almost feeling the emotions he smelled.

Mouse gently guided Echo back into the bunkroom, “He was looking for Fives again.” Hunter sighed, “I think he might have woken from a nightmare and just… thought his brother was still alive.”

“O… oh.” Nokt looked into the room, “We just got back and he wasn’t here, so we thought he was with you guys.”

“No, but he’s back now and I’m sure Mouse will help him relax again.” Hunter smiled, “He just needs to be reminded that even though he doesn’t have his twin, he has us.”

“Yeah.” Nokt smiled, as he looked back to Hunter, “Mouse will probably lie on him, to give him his special brand of comfort, but probably also ensuring Echo doesn’t get up and walk around again… Hunter I… I really wish I could help him.” The younger Sergeant fidgeted with his fingers, “It’s difficult… working past the memories but I’m glad he at least has someone who can lie on him. Give him the comfort I can’t.”

“Don’t worry Nokt’ika.” He gently put his hand on Nokt’s shoulder, “Someday you’ll be able to do it again. Just don’t force yourself, think of your own well-being.” He smiled.

“Thank you Hunter.” Nokt smiled again.

“Nokt! Hunter!” Tech called and barely skidded to a halt in time, “Word has been sent out, General Grievous has been eliminated on Utapau.”

“But that…” Nokt lost his words, “With the death of Grievous, the Separatist command structure will collapse and most likely the droid armies along with them… what of the head of the serpent?”

“No information has been made public as of yet but the separatists have lost their structural stability as an opposition, as well as many of their former strong holds across the galaxy…” Tech continued, “If there are any stragglers left, they are without backup, and would be easy to deal with.”

“What about Skywalker?” Hunter asked, “Any word on him?”

“We would need to ask the Generals directly for that information but given that Stitches said he was under house arrest, then it would stand to reason he is still restricted to the temple as of right now.” Tech replied, scrolling through the information on his datapad.

“Sarge!” He looked to Wrecker and Crosshair as they moved quickly down the hall, “We just heard… they’re saying we won!”

The sound of the PA chime silenced any answer Hunter was going to give, “All personnel report to the staging area for an emergency briefing on the state of the Republic.” The voice said, “Repeat: all personnel report to the staging area for an emergency briefing on the state of the Republic.

“What’s going on?” Echo asked as he, Mouse and Clicker emerged from the room.

“Let’s go find out.” Hunter felt his chest go weird.

Did they win?

Was that something that was obtainable by the countless brothers across the galaxy?

They met with Stitches and the other medics just outside the staging area, “Stitches. What’s going on?” Nokt asked the older clone.

“You’re guess is as good as mine but with the recent information on the newly appointed dead status of Grievous… I would imagine something big. Really big given the urgency of the briefing.” Stitches replied, “Only way to know is listen to it I suppose.”

Hunter felt genuinely nervous…

They entered just as the projections of General Windu and Grand Master Yoda appeared, “From the far reaches of the galaxy, we have heard, fallen the Separatist forces have. Gone completely, however, they are not.” Yoda said, “Helped bring this forth, the death of General Grievous has.” Hunter felt Nokt’s hand take his and he gave it a comforting squeeze, “Ended, the Clone Wars has.” The entire staging area erupted, “Remove any remaining enemies, we must, but ended, this war has.”

He was startled out of his head by Nokt.

Who kissed him.

Chapter 142: Apologising for a kiss

Notes:

Not the worst Hunter? 😏

Chapter Text

Hunter didn’t know what to think, that was not how he thought this day would go to be honest, also to be honest… it wasn’t bad? Per say? Just really weird and not exactly sitting comfortably in his brain, “Oh no… Hunter… I’m sorry! I didn’t…” Nokt finally realised what he’d done, luckily no one else seemed to have noticed, they were all distracted by the announcement, “It… I… I was so excited and… and it just happened!”

“Easy Nokt, easy. It’s okay.” Hunter said quickly, “Come on, let’s go somewhere quieter.”

They made it to an empty refresher across the hall from the staging area, “I’m so sorry Hunter…” Nokt sank to the floor and hugged his knees to his chest, “You… Maker you must be disgusted with me!” he buried his face in his knees and started sobbing.

“Woah, easy Nokt! Shh… it’s okay Nokt'ika.” He sat down beside the younger Sergeant and put his hand on his shoulder, “You caught me off guard, I’m a little weirded out because it’s not something I’m into, but I’m not disgusted.”

“You should be! You should… because I kissed you! A brother!” Nokt hiccupped.

Hunter didn’t know what to say, “Nokt’ika, listen to me. Hey, look at me yeah?” He said softly as he carefully moved Nokt’s face from his knees, “I would never think you’re disgusting, I want you to believe me on this, yeah?” He smiled softly, “Never think that because I would never think it.”

“B… But…” Nokt hiccupped and wiped the free-flowing tears from his cheeks.

“But nothing.” He said gently, massaging soothing circles on the back of Nokt’s neck with his thumb, “Besides, in terms of surprise kisses I’ve dealt with… it wasn’t the worst.”

“R… really?” Nokt blushed.

“Really.” Hunter smiled, “Now, we have a celebration to plan.”

“Okay.” Nokt smiled and they both got to their feet, Hunter felt happy… and nervous… there was a whole new galaxy of possibilities for clones, sure they would have to mop up the remnants of the Separatist armies, “We… we should go to the beach. Well… we should find a nice, warm, sandy beach on a sunny planet… and just…” He said as the walked through the halls, past groups of clones just ready to celebrate.

“Relax?” Hunter looked to the younger man, who nodded, “That does sound nice, we’ll speak with the others and see what they think.”

“Do you… do you think a lot of brothers will choose to stay on as military personnel?” Nokt fidgeted with his fingers, “Or… will they try something else?”

“Not sure, but some of the Corries might stay on.” He replied with a sigh.

“I don’t think I will. I just want to retire somewhere quiet, somewhere away from… from the pain and memories.” The young Sergeant sighed softly, “Find somewhere by water, somewhere where I can just be…”

“We have time now Nokt, and we can find somewhere.” He smiled again.

“You’ll stay too?”

“We all will.”

Chapter 143: Beach

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled as he and Echo sat on the soft sand, watching Wrecker toss Mouse into the air sending him flying until he landed into the water with a splash, “Wrecker! Put me down!” Crosshair snarled as the giant picked him up and threw him also, landing in the water with a slightly larger splash, which earned a laugh from Mouse.

“I didn’t know you could fly Cross!” Wrecker laughed loudly.

He looked to Clicker and Tech who were walking on the beach, collecting small stones and shells they thought were pretty or interesting, he wondered how much more Tech had to teach Clicker about anything and everything?

He sighed softly and looked to the Marauder, where he knew Nokt was doubting his ability to join the three in the water, “I’ll be right back.” He looked to Echo, who nodded in understanding, “Hey Nokt’ika, you okay?” He asked as he ascended the steps.

“I’m… scared…” Nokt replied, he was down to his blacks, “I don’t think I… I thought I could…”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing.” He replied gently, “But we won’t judge you, we know what happened and any visual reminder won’t make our opinion of you change.” He smiled softly, “And don’t mind Tech, his mouth functions of its own accord.”

“You’re right… I… I can do this.” Nokt nodded, “I know I can do this because if Echo can do it… I just…”

“It’s okay to be scared Nokt.” Hunter affirmed, “Echo understands because it took him forever to even take off his upper blacks.”

“R… really?” Nokt asked softly.

“Yep, he was sitting out there sweating like crazy because he wouldn’t take it off.” He chuckled, “So you can take your time, we’re not in a hurry.”

“O… okay.” Nokt smiled shyly with a slight blush and followed Hunter down the steps and into the warm sunlight, Mouse waving happily to his brother as he came trotting up to them, like Echo he also had his arm prosthesis off and Hunter was surprised by how well the tiny trooper could swim without it.

“You having fun Mouse?” He grinned and Mouse bounced excitedly, looking to him, then back to his brother, “He’s a little nervous.”

Mouse nodded in understanding and pointed to the remains of his arm, “You did really well after it.” Nokt replied gently, “Do… do you think I can too?”

Mouse, again, nodded excitedly and bounced like a ball, “I think that’s a resounding yes Nokt’ika.” Hunter smiled.

“Okay… I can do this.” Nokt nodded in self-affirmation and slowly, carefully, he was down to his shorts like the rest of them and Hunter saw the reminders, “Good thing they made these things great for swimming in.” He chuckled, Mouse bounced again and tugged his older brother’s hand, “Race you to the water!” Nokt laughed.

Hunter smiled and returned to Echo’s side, “He’ll be okay.” Echo said gently.

“I know he will.” Hunter replied, “He’s a warrior.”

Chapter 144: Beach with brothers

Chapter Text

Hunter was startled out of his nap by a squeak of terror leaving Mouse, “Easy Mouse! It’s just a fish!” Wrecker said quickly and Hunter sat up just in time to see the small trooper climbing Wrecker like a tree, making it to the giant’s shoulders and refusing to get down.

“What happened?” Hunter asked as he waded out to them.

“A fish touched Mouse’s foot.” Nokt chuckled.

“It was more scared of you than you were of it Mouse’ika.” Wrecker laughed.

“Yeah, some weird fleshy thing randomly appeared in its home, I’d be scared too if that happened.” Hunter grinned and Mouse huffed, clearly unamused by their joking manner at his very, totally, understandable fear of the thing that touched his foot.

He was about to speak again when the sound of a ship approaching resounded in the air and they watched as it touched down, he could see the rest of them standing stiff and ready to defend if they had to, but the voice that greeted them when the ramp went down shocked them, “Room for five more?” He stared at Stitches as he appeared with Sawbones and what Hunter assumed was Sawbones’ batch.

“Stitches!” The three Night Stalkers were wrapped around the grumpy medic in the blink of an eye, even Mouse was there, despite having to jump down from Wrecker’s shoulders.

“How’d he find us?” Crosshair asked, appearing from the deep blue waters.

“You want to ask how the all-seeing Stitches found us?” Wrecker laughed, nudging his brother.

“Who cares how he found us, let’s go meet them.” Hunter smiled and grabbed his towel as he passed his stuff, “Stitches! Good to see you again.” He greeted the medic.

“You remember Sawbones?” Stitches motioned to the other medic beside him.

“It is good to see you again Hunter.” Sawbones smiled gently, “These are my brothers, Madcap, Speedy and our Sergeant Grim.”

“These are my brothers, Crosshair, Tech and Wrecker.” Hunter smiled in return, “What brings you here?”

“We wanted to get Stitches off Kamino, to get him some actual sunshine and fresh air.” Sawbones chuckled as the three boys dragged Stitches away and Sawbones’ brothers went to introduce themselves to the rest of the Batch, “And I figured we could come here to join you all, my cyar’ika feels comfortable with you all and I doubt he would have agreed to go if we went somewhere else.”

“He…?” Hunter blinked in surprise.

“He has severe body image issues.” Sawbones looked to Stitches, “He hates looking at his own body but he knows how you all help Nokt and accept him despite his body issues.”

“That… makes sense.” He looked to Stitches also, who was speaking with the three boys.

“It’s been nearly three years and it’s still a massive struggle for him.” Sawbones sighed a little.

“What happened to his family?” Hunter asked carefully.

“It’s not my story to tell Hunter. He will tell you when he feels comfortable enough.” Sawbones smiled.

“Yeah. We’re not in a hurry.” He smiled when Mouse seemed to be in a huff, putting his foot down in annoyance, “He was scared by a fish touching his foot and his brothers are enjoying taking the piss out of him.”

“That seems rather mean.” Sawbones chuckled, “But having something touch your foot would scare most people.”

“They love him dearly.” Hunter chuckled in return, “You love Stitches dearly, don’t you?”

“Yes, he is very dear to me.” The medic replied, “As I am to him.”

“That’s really nice to hear.” He smiled softly, “He’s lucky to have you.”

“And I am lucky to have him. It hasn’t been easy but what relationship is?” Sawbones looked to Stitches again, “I do hope they’re wearing sun protection, given how pale Mouse is.”

“Don’t worry, Tech went full mom mode, basically plastered them with cream and Mouse was even paler than he is normally! We had to catch him first though and that was not fun, then we had to hold him still” Hunter laughed, “It was like trying to grab a wet bar of soap in the shower trying to get him secure!”

“Oh dear.” Sawbones chuckled again.

“Let’s go mingle. No point standing over here when the party is over there.” He grinned.

Stitches and Grim joined him and Echo in sitting on the warm sand as they watched the sheer excitement and happiness that was happening in the sea, there were so many people now, more people to be happy and have fun with. While Sawbones had gone off with Tech and Clicker, Grim had laid down and simply gone to sleep, “You okay Stitches?” Echo asked the grumpy medic beside Hunter.

Stitches didn’t answer, just stared out at the group swimming and splashing around, “You can join them if you want to.” Hunter said.

“No, it’s fine.” Stitches replied after a moment, the medic really didn’t like the idea of being in nothing but his briefs, Nokt had only been living with his trauma for little under a year, Echo had been dealing with his for just over two months but if what Sawbones said was accurate, then Stitches had been dealing with his for three and that was a long time.

“Cut says hi by the way.” Hunter grinned at the unamused look on Stitches’ face, “He says you should come visit him sometime.”

“Hm.” Stitches frowned, “He has a lot of faith in his belief that I won’t kill him on sight.”

“He has a family to look out for, and I would not put my money on you verses Suu. She’s got an eye like Crosshair, she’s pretty good with her rifle.” Hunter chuckled.

“Hm.” Was all he got in reply.

“The boys like her, they also like Cut, which for Nokt is a big thing these days.” He smiled, the younger Sergeant was being tossed by Wrecker like Mouse was, it was great to see, “He’s getting there.”

“There’s a long road ahead.”

“He’ll face it.”

Chapter 145: Talk on the beach

Chapter Text

Hunter smiled happily as dinner passed in comfortable happiness but he cast his gaze to the water, where Stitches was sitting on his own staring out at the sunset, he looked to Sawbones, “Go to him.” The medic said gently, “He needs more people to trust.”

He stood up and walked over to Stitches with a plate of food, “Here.” He smiled as he offered the food to the grumpy medic, who took it without a word, so with a soft sigh he sat down beside Stitches and just watched the sunset and ate their food in silence. He didn’t want to push Stitches to talk, he knew that would be counter productive with a personality like Stitches, Echo and Nokt were simple enough because they had the support structure of a constant presence, Stitches clearly didn’t because Sawbones and his brothers couldn’t be with him all the time, so he became aggressive in an attempt to protect himself from everything he thought was a threat.

Which was, apparently, everything.

He had Sawbones and his batch, he had 99 and he had his colleagues on Kamino, but they weren’t his brothers, his batch mates who were decanted and raised together, Hunter didn’t want to think about the pain that would have caused, the trauma of simply losing one’s entire family was bad enough… but Stitches had to deal with survivors’ guilt on top of that.

“Mouse! That is not an appropriate story for dinner time!” He heard Nokt yell in embarrassment, “Maker…”

“I am glad they’re doing well.” Stitches said after a moment.

“Much better than the way we met.” Hunter smiled softly, “I’m glad they can trust people again.” He hoped saying that would encourage the older clone to talk, even just a little.

“You lot seem very good at getting people to trust again.” Stitches said after another length of silence.

“The boys trust you wholeheartedly, so you must be doing something correct.” Hunter smiled to the medic.

“Hm.” Was all he got from a long time because Stitches really did like his long silences.

“And we trust you also. More than any reg in the GAR.” Hunter encouraged and Stitches finally looked to him with a raised eyebrow, “Come on, you’ve done more for our families in the last year than anyone has ever done in the whole of our lives, of course we’re going to trust you! You’ve practically adopted us at this point for kriff sake.” He smiled, Stitches looked back out at the sunset and Hunter didn’t need Mouse’s sense of smell to know how conflicted Stitches was at the admission, “We hope that maybe, one day, you could learn to trust us also.”

“They died.” Stitches said after another long silence, “My brothers.” He looked to Hunter as he said that, “They died, crushed in a building we were bunkering down in when out ship was shot down, I was the only one to survive and even then, I had been trapped in that building for hours… in agony… screaming for the first time in my entire life… surrounded by the dead bodies of my brothers. I couldn’t see because of the blood from the wound to my face, but I could smell it… the blood, the ash, the dust, all I could hear was my own screaming and the sound of explosions.”

Hunter blinked, he didn’t know what to say to that to be honest, what could he say to that, “Is that what Cut meant? He said you ask “Why can’t I stop screaming?” when you suffer an episode?” He asked softly.

“It was the first and only time in my life I screamed… and to have it associated with the trauma of losing my brothers… yeah.” Stitches sighed.

“Cut said he was jealous of how you continued to serve the GAR after that, when he fled after his brothers died.” Hunter replied.

“I made my choice, I would continue to help brothers, I would help them heal from physical, emotional or… mental injuries. I could help them not fall into the trap I did because I was on my own for so long, Sawbones couldn’t be with me all the time, he had his brothers and they had missions, they were based on Coruscant and I was based on Kamino…” Stitches massaged the bridge of his nose, “99 tried so hard to help me through the physical therapy, re-learning to walk… but I lashed out and said really horrible things, I don’t remember exactly what I said… but I know it cut straight to bone.”

“He knew you didn’t mean it.” Hunter said softly.

“He knew… but it didn’t make it hurt any less.” Stitches sighed again and returned his gaze to the horizon, “He wasn’t the only one, I lashed out at Sawbones, I lashed out at Script and Needles, so many brothers were convinced I was a lost cause and my friends should give up on me as a bad job. I’m a paranoid person on a normal day but that just made me distrust so many brothers.”

“You pushed people away?” Hunter asked gently, “So they wouldn’t hurt you?”

“They couldn’t get a shot in if I disarmed them first, protect myself from cruel words spoken behind my back…” The medic looked to him briefly, “I suppose I’m like Crosshair in that regard.”

“I suppose so.” He smiled, “It explains why so many brothers in Tipoca were afraid of you and gave you a wide berth.”

“Make them afraid so they couldn’t hurt me.” He looked at his hand, “But that hurt me, we’re social creatures, we need others to feel safe and happy… I suppose my choice was a double-edged sword.”

“You have so many people now, we have freedom to do whatever we want, be whoever we want. You’re not alone anymore ori’vod.” He carefully reached over and put his hand on Stitches’ shoulder.

“Thank you Hunt’ika, that means more than you know.”

“No problem.”

Chapter 146: Emotional collapse

Chapter Text

Hunter was roused from sleep by the sound of someone shouting outside the ship, it sounded like Stitches, “Hunter? What’s going on?” Nokt asked sleepily as Hunter sat up.

“No idea.” He replied and stood up, moving towards the steps down, the moonlight streaming in when he lowered them.

“Why!? Why can’t I stop…!?” Stitches yelled.

“Stitches… Stitches, please, you’re okay and you’re not screaming.” That was clearly Sawbones, “You’re going to wake everyone up and that will make it worse for you.”

“Sawbones? What’s going on?” He asked as he descended the steps, where he noticed Stitches pacing back and forth on the beach, gripping his hair rather roughly as he hyperventilated.

“It’s okay Hunter, just go back inside.” Sawbones replied, “I’ve got this.”

“Hunter?” Nokt appeared at the top of the steps, wiping his eyes which shone in the moonlight.

“It’s okay Nokt’ika… go back to bed.” He replied, watching Stitches as the man crumbled right in front of them.

This was nothing like the episodes Echo went through, Echo suffered nightmares and wandered around in a daze looking for his lost brother, even Nokt’s episodes weren’t like this, he also suffered nightmares but he generally woke up to an accident and had to cry in the refresher for a while, but this was a full-blown aggressive episode and even Sawbones was keeping a safe distance from Stitches, his cyar’ika was wary of him retaliating against a perceived threat which, there was no doubt in Hunter’s mind, he saw them all as. The sound of Nokt’s voice seemed to break something in Stitches and the man sank to the ground, knelt in the sand and just started sobbing hysterically, Sawbones was at his side in under a nanosecond and Hunter had to stop Nokt from running over to them, he could faintly hear Mouse throwing up inside the Marauder, overwhelmed by the sheer force of the negative emotions wafting from Stitches.

“Shh, easy cyar’ika.” Sawbones said gently, “You’re okay, I’m here.”

“Why… why can’t I stop… screaming?” Stitches choked past a sob Hunter felt his heart hurt at the desperation in Stitches’ voice, he sounded so small and scared, nothing like the man they had come to know.

“Shh, you’re not screaming cyar’ika, you are scared and upset, but not screaming.” Sawbones ran his fingers through Stitches’ long hair, then looked to Hunter and Nokt.

Nokt broke away from Hunter and slowly walked over to the two, “Stitches?” He asked carefully as he crouched down in front of the medic, he hesitated only a moment before he reached out and carefully placed his hand on Stitches’ shoulder, “It’s… it’s okay, I’m here for you… like you were for me.”

“We… we’re all here for you Stitches.” Hunter said, “You’re not alone… even when you’re screaming.” He didn’t even know how to phrase that any different, what could he say? “Even when you’re having a complete flashback episode” or “Even when you’re completely shattering”, they sounded weird and wrong and too impersonal but he didn’t want to get too close, he didn’t want to make Stitches feel like he was being boxed in.

“Why…?” Stitches’ voice was barely above a whisper but Hunter could hear him trying not to throw up.

“It’s okay to be scared.” Nokt said gently, “Like you said to me, when I needed to hear it. Would… would you like to hold Minnow? She’s great for helping people.” He looked to Clicker as he appeared like a ghost beside Hunter and it took all of Hunter’s strength to not jump out of his skin, he really wished the young trooper would make some kind of noise!

Clicker handed Minnow over to Nokt, who held it out to Stitches, “She… she smells nice… at least Mouse says she does.” Clicker said and Hunter smiled softly as Stitches looked at the plush, “And… and she’s warm… Mouse was hugging her… so…” That plush bantha was slowly becoming their emotional support plush, everyone who needed support held her and hugged her against themselves, Stitches didn’t say anything but accepted the plush, held her tight against himself and, like Mouse, buried his face in her fur. She really needed a wash though, given the amount of people who were crying when they hugged her and hid their faces in her fur, it was kind-of gross now that Hunter actually stopped to think about it, he’d mention it to Mouse at some point.

He wondered if his conversation with Stitches triggered this… did even talking about his brothers cause them?

Or was it something else that triggered him?

He wasn’t sure because he didn’t know a lot of the medic’s triggers, not like he knew Nokt’s and Echo’s, he didn’t know how to help Stitches but Sawbones did and Nokt was picking up on how to do it also, it warmed his heart to see that Nokt actively approached a bigger male, who would totally react aggressively and with force, to act in kindness despite his fear, he really was making great progress in the healing process, they were only baby steps but he was doing a lot of them.

He smiled to Clicker, who came to stand beside him and took hold of his upper arm, “You did good Click’ika, how about you go back to the others while we bring Stitches back to their ship?” He suggested.

“Okay…” Clicker nodded and Hunter watched him return to the Marauder.

“Okay, come on ori’vod, let’s get you back to bed.” He said gently as he helped Sawbones hoist Stitches to his feet, “You’ll feel a million times better with some sleep.”

“When did you become a medic Hunter?” Sawbones chuckled.

“Haven’t. But I do know sleeping off an emotional overload is the best thing.” He replied with a grin, “Big glass of water and a bed are your best friends.”

“We’ll get you something to drink first cyar’ika.” Sawbones smiled.

“Mouse said… he can have Minnow… for tonight.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter 147: Breakfast in the sun

Chapter Text

“Hunter!” He heard Nokt call as he descended the steps, “We made breakfast!”

“Breakfast?” He raised his eyebrow, “I wouldn’t class ration packs as breakfast nor do you need to make… them…” He paused when he saw the large plater of seafood, “What’s this?”

“We woke up early and wanted to make something for everyone!” Nokt grinned, “So with Clicker’s trusty datapad of knowledge and Mouse’s sense of smell, we went fishing and we also went gathering, got a lot of shellfish, we figured out how to cook them and boom! Breakfast!”

“Something smells amazing out here!” Wrecker said as the rest of the Batch arrived.

“Someone cooking food?” Madcap appeared from the other ship and soon everyone, save Stitches, was out on the beach.

“Should we get Stitches?” Nokt asked Sawbones, “He… must be hungry after last night.”

“He didn’t get much sleep, so he’ll be down for a while yet.” Sawbones sighed a little, “I’m sure he’d love your food but he rarely comes out of these episodes hungry, probably won’t be for a day or two.”

“Oh… do they happen often?” Nokt looked to Hunter, then to the ship, then back to Sawbones.

“Not so much anymore but it happened enough when he was healing that I have a good idea of how he is afterwards.” The medic replied, “But, enough of that, if he’s hungry then the smell alone will wake him up.”

Hunter was genuinely surprised by how good seafood was, they had never had anything other than military rations or whatever the stuff on Kamino was, but the best thing was Mouse was able to join in, Hunter wasn’t sure how the small clone was able to eat the food and not throw it all back up, but he could and it was so good to see him sharing his food with Clicker or Wrecker beside him. Sawbones had been correct, if Stitches was hungry then he’d come to them, and low and behold the grumpy medic appeared and sat down between his cyar’ika and Echo, no one said anything about it, they just let him get comfortable and join in when he felt ready. As far as first ever holiday, first time away from the raging war that plagued the galaxy, from the horrors that plagued their every waking and sleeping moments… this was probably beyond what Hunter could have thought of, it was a holiday with friends and family, having fun together, sharing a meal… if this was the last thing he had, then it would be a good ending. “What do you think Hunter?” He blinked out of his brain to look at Nokt, who seemed to read his confused look, “Stitches, Sawbones and his family, are thinking of relocating to Theed on Naboo, the people there are always looking for doctors. So if you could settle down… where would you choose?”

He hadn’t really thought about it all that much, he honestly hadn’t believed they’d make it through the war alive, “You know what?” He said after a moment’s thought, “Naboo sounds like an awesome place to live. Not sure what we’d do there, given our skill sets, but even if we had to travel for work… I’d like to settle somewhere like Naboo…”

Nokt smiled softly to him, “Well, lets hope we can all find safety and happiness on Naboo.” Sawbones said gently, “But that isn’t a thought for right now, we’re still on holiday.”

“Yeah!” Wrecker laughed loudly, earning a happy squeak from Mouse.

Hunter smiled gently and watched each and every one of his brothers and friends split into little groups to go do different things, then looked to Stitches, who was still sitting beside Echo, “You okay ori’vod?” He asked the sombre medic.

“I apologise for last night, I didn’t intend to wake you all up.” Stitches sighed, massaging his forehead.

“That’s okay, they’re used to me and Nokt.” Echo replied, trying to ease the tension in Stitches’ frame.

“Yeah, we’re just happy you’re okay.” Hunter smiled, “Did Minnow help?”

“Yes, she did… though I would suggest cleaning her because she is not exactly the pinnacle of hygiene.” Stitches replied with a slight frown.

“Yeah, I had that thought last night also!” Hunter laughed, “I don’t think she's ever been washed, well, at least not in the time we’ve been together with the Night Stalkers and that’s well over a year!”

“Sawbones said it used to happen a lot… was it like this? Or was it worse?” Echo asked, probably wanted to know if his own episodes would lessen with time, if he could learn to accept his brother’s death completely.

“Way worse.” Stitches sighed, “There were so many triggers for my episodes, I’ve learned to deal with most of them and they don’t set me off anymore but there are still things that will set them off… no matter how much time has passed, nothing I do stops it.”

“Like… talking about them?” Hunter asked gently.

“Yes. We thought that if I talked about them more… then it wouldn’t be so triggering for me…” He sighed again, “That didn’t work… in fact it made it worse… other things that will set me off is the colour pink.”

“Pink? Why pink?” Hunter blinked and looked to Echo.

“Yeah, you painted your accent colour pink.” Echo was just as confused.

“It was my baby brother’s favourite colour. I can talk about the colour but I can’t… look at it.” Stitches pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, “I can’t look at it and I can’t look at myself.”

“At yourself?” He encouraged, Sawbones had said Stitches had body image issues.

“I have to shower with the lights off.” Stitches huffed a laugh, “I can’t even look in a mirror to shave my beard…”

“Is… that why you broke the mirror after what happened with Rex?” Echo asked.

“Yeah… I… hate looking at myself.”

“Thank you for telling us ori’vod.”

“Thank you for listening.”

Chapter 148: Returning home

Notes:

In the coastal regions of my home country, come winter time we light a candle in the window at night to guide sailors and travellers home safely.

Chapter Text

Hunter loved coming home to the smell of a warm house, it was so much better than returning to the Marauder, there was just something that… made him feel welcome, especially when they came home to the fresh smell of clean laundry and a warm meal, to the warm lights acting as a beacon in the night, guiding them back to safety. Mouse had started leaving a small lamp in the window and only turned it one when they went away for work, he told them he learned it from an old man in the market, who said when he went away on long haul journeys, his wife would light a lamp in the window to guide him safely back to port.

He was guiding them home…

“Guys!” He called into the house, “We’re back!”

The three boys were on them in an instant, wrapped around their favourite brothers, “You were gone for so long this time!” Nokt said as he hugged Hunter tight.

“Yeah, we got sent quite far away.” Hunter sighed softly as he returned the hug, “A fun snow planet.”

“Where’s… Echo?” Clicker asked.

“He had to go visit the clinic, his legs are causing him some discomfort.” Tech replied, as they broke apart and entered the living room, “Possibly due to the frigid weather.”

“Or his memories of the cryopod.” Hunter sighed a little.

“Oh… well… Nokt has something to… tell you.” Clicker said, looking to his brother whose face was suddenly enveloped by a huge blush.

“No… no I don’t! Shut up!” Nokt said quickly, “Don’t you say anything Mouse!” Mouse held up his hands with a druk-eating grin to show he wasn’t going to say anything.

“He has a… c… r… u…” Clicker grinned.

“Shut up Clicker!” Nokt was getting very flustered, Hunter wasn’t sure if his blush could get any brighter, but it was making a valiant attempt at it.

Hunter looked to his brothers, then grinned also, “Oh? And who is this c… r… u…” He started to ask.

“No one!” Nokt put his foot down, “Maker… I need to check on the food.”

“Clicker? Want to explain to the class.” Tech asked, he was very confused for some reason.

“There’s a guy… works in the… fabric shop…” Clicker smiled softly, “He asked about Nokt… what he likes… Mouse says he smells… like a good person, a kind person, that he has an interest… in Nokt.”

“Oh?” Wrecker asked.

“He has a crush on Nokt?” Crosshair asked carefully.

“We think so… and Nokt… he’s been watching him in return.” Clicker looked to the kitchen, “But… he’s scared.”

“Ah.” Hunter frowned, looking to the kitchen also, “How about you set the table and get cleaned up for dinner, I’ll go talk with Nokt, yeah?” He looked to the group again, who all nodded and with a small sigh he walked to the kitchen, noticing the open backdoor he stepped out to see Nokt sitting on the porch step, “Nokt’ika? You okay?” He asked as he sat beside the younger clone on the porch but Nokt didn’t answer him, just hid his face in his knees, “Are you interested in him?” He asked gently.

“I… I don’t think… he’ll like me when he talks to me…” Nokt’s muffled reply came after a moment of silence, “Probably thinks I’m just… pretty to look at, doesn’t want to get to know me.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Hunter replied softly, “I asked if you were interested in him, not what he may or may not think.”

“He… he seems so kind and… warm and he’s really handsome… and I know he’s asked Clicker about me, but… what if…?” Nokt hugged his knees tighter against his chest.

“Have you talked to him?” Hunter asked and Nokt shook his head, “Then you don’t know what he thinks?”

“No… but… I’m scared.” He finally looked to Hunter, eye shines glinting in the faint porch light, “I’m scared that he is being… honest but if he sees… me… he’ll be so disgusted.”

“Hey, if he thinks that then he is not worthy of you.” Hunter replied, wrapping his arm around Nokt’s shoulders as the younger man hid his face in his knees again, “If he looks at you and sees anything but a warrior then he is blind and not worth any pain.”

“I… know you keeps saying it isn’t true… but I feel like I’m… damaged goods, that I’m too… dirty for anyone to hold and care for…” Nokt hiccupped, “Especially him… he looks and seems so perfect.”

“Nokt, if there’s on thing I’ve learned, is that no one is perfect. I once accused Stitches of being perfect because I thought there was nothing he couldn’t do.” He sighed.

“You… did?” Nokt looked to him again.

“Yeah. I thought he was so untouchable and that he could do everything without effort… but I guess my rose-tinted glasses got shattered pretty quickly once I saw how much the war broke him.” He looked out at the garden, “What I’m trying to say Nokt, is that just because he looks or seems perfect, doesn’t mean he isn’t hiding his own pain, his own damage.”

“But… what if it gets to… that and he sees…” Nokt paused to wipe away his tears, “Me…”

“Do you think he’s going to look at that?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He… if I’m…” Nokt hiccupped.

“Nokt, he’ll have a naked man in his room and I can guarantee he’s not going to care in the moment.” Hunter chuckled softly.

“What if… after he…?” Nokt wiped his cheeks.

“Then you can explain what happened, if he feels so strongly for you, then he won’t think that you’re damaged goods, because you aren’t damaged goods Nokt’ika.” Hunter smiled, “You worth every ounce of love in the galaxy, and if this nice man loves you, then it won’t matter if you have some dents and dings.”

“Thank… thank you Hunter.” Nokt smiled.

“No problem Nokt’ika.”

“Dinner time!”

Chapter 149: Date

Chapter Text

“So… what are we doing Mouse?” Hunter looked to the tiny clone as they walked through Theed, Mouse looked to him and grinned as he shook his head, “You know I don’t like secrets.” He chuckled.

‘Fine, we’re going food shopping.’ Mouse relented, then froze and pulled him into an alley.

“Mouse? What the…?” Mouse shushed him and tapped the front of his mask then at the other end of the street, where Hunter saw Nokt standing at the door of a shop, talking to someone standing inside the shop, “Who’s he talking too?” He looked to Mouse.

‘The nice smelling tailor who has a crush on Nokt.’ Mouse replied, “He runs the fabric shop also.”

“Right…” Hunter returned his gaze to Nokt, noting the faint blush gracing Nokt’s cheeks and the young Sergeant shyly playing with his hair, “He’s like one of those blushing maidens from the stories Wrecker likes.”

‘He really likes him, but this is the first time he’s actually talked to him I think.” He looked up to Hunter, ‘He smells nervous but at the same time he’s excited.’ Hunter smiled a little, Nokt was going for it, he was taking a solid step towards fully healing from Coruscant.

“If he breaks Nokt’s heart, we break his legs, agreed?” He looked to the two again and smiled at the determined squeak from Mouse, “Now, come on, let’s stop being a pair of snooping grannies! We have things to do.” Nokt would tell them when he was ready to, if it went well, if it went bad, he would tell them, he hoped that Nokt would talk to either Stitches or Sawbones about… that… if it ever got to that point and he really hoped, for the man’s sake, he didn’t force Nokt to do anything he wasn’t ready to do because they would never find his body.

“Okay… so shopping’s done. Now what?” He looked to the small clone as they put the shopping down on the kitchen table, he wanted to help Mouse with the housework because they’d been hauling cargo and dealing with small disputed all across the galaxy for weeks now… so right now, Hunter wanted to spend his day doing something less complex.

Ninety-nine point nine percent of clone brothers hated the idea of domestic chores but Mouse loved them and thrived as a domestic clone, he had taken after 99 in so many ways, ‘We have to put the shopping away correctly, then I need to do a load of laundry.’ Mouse looked to him, ‘You need clean blacks for your next job.’

“That’s not for a bit Mouse.” He smiled, “So, how about you show me your way of putting this all away.”

“Guys! I’m back!” They were in the middle of doing the laundry when Nokt arrived back.

“Laundry room!” Hunter called back.

“Oh, hey.” Nokt appeared in the doorway, “Where’s everyone else?”

“Crosshair is with Clicker and Wrecker, they went… somewhere.” Hunter honestly had no idea where the three had gone, “Tech and Echo are at the clinic, helping to update their computer systems. You know something Mouse, I’m actually surprised Stitches and Sawbones didn’t try to recruit you into their clinic.” Mouse looked to him and nodded, “They did?” Mouse nodded then shook his head, “Why did you turn them down?”

‘I like doing the house work.’ Mouse replied after putting the last of the clothes into the washing machine.

“He told them that if he worked in the clinic, then the housework wouldn’t get done.” Nokt chuckled, “Even though me and Clicker help.”

‘You do it wrong.’ Mouse pouted, earning a snort from Hunter.

“That’s you told Nokt’ika!” He laughed, “So. How was your trip into town? Find anything nice?” He smiled innocently.

“They didn’t have anything I needed for my next project but… wait…” Nokt had begun but saw their faces, realised what Hunter meant and his face was engulfed by a massive blush.

“So… when’s the date?” Hunter grinned at Nokt’s ever deepening blush, the young Sergeant opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, “Can we at least have a name to interrogate him under?”

“P… please don’t do that…” Nokt finally found his words, he fidgeted with his fingers, “He… his name is Shae and he wants to take me out… for dinner.”

Hunter looked to Mouse and Mouse looked to him, then they both looked to Nokt, “Is he a Naboo native?” Hunter asked with a smile.

“N… no. He came here after Ryloth was liberated.” Nokt smiled slightly.

“He’s a twi’lek?” Hunter blinked.

“Y… yeah.” Nokt smiled wider.

“Who’s a twi’lek?” Crosshair asked as he appeared, Wrecker and Clicker appearing behind him.

“The… the nice man that likes… Nokt.” Clicker replied.

“He’s asked our brother out on a date.” Hunter smiled.

“I am saying this now vod’ika, he breaks your heart, I will break his legs.” Crosshair hissed, “He even looks at you funny and he’s getting his legs broken.”

“No! Please… he’s really nice!” Nokt said quickly.

“And if he tries any funny business, he’s in for a world of hurt!” Wrecker continued.

“You tell us straight away if he tries to do something you don’t want, understood!” Crosshair was falling into protective older brother mode and Hunter smiled, the boys really did break through Crosshair’s cactus barrier to get to his soft centre, to the part of him that just wanted to be loved and accepted for who he is. He looked down to Mouse and smiled when he felt the young trooper’s small hand appear in his, they needed each other in so many different ways, they helped each other grow as people, as brothers, they worked so seamlessly with each other that it was almost like they’d been decanted as one batch… he wondered what would have happened to them if they’d never met, would they ever meet each other? Would 99’s hope be just that… a hope?

They had hope.

They had each other.

Chapter 150: Vode An

Notes:

An ending to a life.

Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la… ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. Vode an.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Five years later:

“Hunter?” He looked to the door as it cracked open to show Wrecker, “It’s time.”

“Okay.” He nodded softly and stood from his chair, casting one last look to the bed that had held Clicker during his last month of life, it wasn’t spent in pain from his illness, it was spent surrounded by his brothers, his family and friends.

He held out long enough to see Nokt get married, to see his adopted niece, he got to see so much before the disease in his bones stopped him from going outside but he asked that Stitches end it before the pain got too much and he wasted away in a bed, he wanted to go the lake country, he wanted to got to his favourite spot and spend his last moments with his two brothers, listening to the birds, listening to the wind through the grass, the water splashing against the shore, he wanted to hear the world before it went silent forever. They stayed with the ship and watched as Stitches went to them and gave Clicker his final medicine, Nokt held his brother and Mouse rested his head on Clicker’s chest, listening to his heart as it beat for the last time, as their brother fell asleep for the very last time and Hunter didn’t need Clicker’s hearing to know what the young clone said in his final moment, he said he loved them and that he wanted them to remember him, Nokt told him they would never forget him, that he would be carried in their hearts for the rest of their lives, that Nokt would tell his daughter all the stories, tell her all of Clicker’s jokes and use all his terrible puns, Mouse would remember his scent and carry it forever and ever and would never forget it, like he would never forget 99’s, they hoped he would go to their big brother and be without pain, be free and happy.

He went without pain, without fear and he was in the arms of his brothers, who he loved beyond anything, he went knowing they were safe and happy.

Now Hunter walked downstairs, to the garden that Clicker had spent so long planting, growing and maintaining, he loved it and he wanted to be remembered there, he was a warrior and his soul would be returned to the winds as his ashes became one with the ground he spent the last seasons of his life nurturing, raising plants from seed to become a thing of beauty, a home to so many types of wildlife. Everyone was there, every clone brother they’d made friends with, they had come to pay their last respects, Cody and Wolffe had come to be there for the other two, that wasn’t a surprise… but Rex showing up was a complete surprise, even more so when Nokt willingly hugged the older clone and thanked him for coming, and he said it honestly, he really was happy Rex was there.

The two went to the spot and Mouse held Clicker’s ashes as his older brother spoke, “Clicker, though unable to speak his mind as often or as much as he would have liked, was never one to shy away from telling someone what he thought, whenever I needed someone to have my back, to speak when I couldn’t, Clicker had my back. He had my back when Coruscant happened, both figuratively and physically, he always had a terrible joke at the ready or a really bad pun to try and help us feel better… and I will miss that, I will miss having him at my back. He helped me teach Mouse sign language, he was the one who always knew exactly what our brother wanted to say when no one else could…” Nokt paused as he took hold of Mouse’s hand, “His body was his failing, he had suffered to much over the years, his bones were weakened and they just… couldn’t keep up. I want to thank Stitches and Sawbones, and their wonderful team for everything they did to help make his final months better, to help him live pain free. I want to thank Stitches for being there for us, for personally taking care of us when we needed help, when Clicker was so injured that anyone without Stitches’ knowledge would have abandoned him as a bad job… I want to thank the friends… the brothers, we made in the squads we worked with over the course of the war, Commander Cody and Wolffe… Commander Ponds who cannot be here with us… but can be with Clicker wherever he goes, and though we haven’t always been on good speaking terms, Captain Rex…” Hunter looked to the Captain, who looked a little surprised, “But more than anyone, I want to thank the members of the Bad Batch, our brothers, who took us in and helped us in understanding ourselves, Tech helped Clicker get his suit, taught him how to do so many things and gave him so much information that it was starting to get difficult in understanding half the stuff coming out of his mouth.” Nokt chuckled a little, “Crosshair helped him ground himself, taught him to breathe and to be still, because any emotion could hurt him if it got too much. Wrecker, though incredibly loud, changed himself for Clicker, changed his loudness both in voice and movement, and quietened himself.” Nokt looked to Hunter, “And Hunter, who took us in, three scrappy kids, and helped us grow up to be better than what the Kaminoans, regular clones, what everyone thought we would ever be and taught us to be ourselves. I’m sure that wherever Clicker is now, he carries the memories of each and everyone who loved and cared for him, for us as a unit… nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la… ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum Click’ika.”

“Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la… ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.”

“Vode An.”

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Fin

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