#bad batch obsessed

After another successful mission, the Bad Batch were heading to the nearest planet for a refuel and to get a replacement part for their ship, the Marauder. According to Tech's calculations, the nearest planet they could go to was Tatooine. Echo and Crosshair weren't exactly fond of going to a desert planet, but Hunter insisted that they needed to replace the part as soon as possible and Wrecker was more looking forward to getting some of Tatooine's famous blue Bantha milk during their outing. So unfortunately, Crosshair and Echo were outnumbered and they were going to Tatooine.

They landed the Marauder near the city of Mos Eisley. Hunter, Tech and Crosshair were going into town to get the part they required while Echo and Wrecker were going for the Bantha milk as well as other food supplies. Luckily, it didn't take long for either party to get what they needed and they could get off the hot desert planet right away.

Or so they thought.

As the Batch was walking back to their ship, something triggered Hunter's enhanced senses and he stopped in his tracks. Something felt off...something wasn't right.

"What is it, Hunter?" asked Tech, noticing Hunter had stopped walking. He usually was always the first to notice when something seemed to be on Hunter's mind and this was one of those times.

Hearing Tech ask the question caused the others to halt and turn around to see what was going on.

"I...I'm not sure...but something's not right," answered Hunter.

"What do you mean 'not right'?" Echo asked.

"Is it your senses?" added Crosshair.

"Yes," said Hunter as he crouched down above the sand. He picked up a small handful of sand and ran it along his fingers like he always did when he was tracking something. He could sense that something was wrong nearby, but wasn't sure exactly where until he touched the sand.

"It's coming from the West. Something bad," he told his brothers.

Upon hearing that, Tech immediately got out his datapad and started typing things out on it.

"What kind of bad? Are we talking clankers?" Wrecker asked a bit excitedly.

Hunter shook his head as he got back to his feet. "No...someone's in trouble."

Then Tech spoke up, "According to my data, the Dune Sea is in the Western direction, where there appears to be a couple of Tusken Raider camps."

Crosshair scoffed in disgust. "Ugh, Tuskens...ghastly creatures," he groaned.

"Should we check it out?" was Echo's next question.

Hunter looked out contemplatively to the West; in the direction his senses were now practically screaming at him internally to go. A moment ago, he was more than ready to leave Tatooine and he almost still wanted to...but he had always trusted his heightened senses and he almost knew that if he ignored them now, he might come to regret it.

"I can't shake the feeling," said Hunter in response. He turned back to the squad. "We'll take a quick look out there and then get out of here. Let's go."

With that being said, the Bad Batch boarded back onto the Marauder while Tech and Echo quickly got the replacement part installed on the ship. Once they were done, they took off towards the Dune Sea.

At Tech's discretion, they landed the ship over a mile from where one of the Tusken Raider camps was, so as to not be spotted once Hunter was able to pinpoint which camp his senses were leading them to. Once they landed, they all donned their helmets and grabbed their weapons.

"I'm not in a mood to fight any Tuskens. Set your blasters to stun so we can get in and out as quickly as possible," Hunter ordered them.

"Sir, yes, sir," Crosshair smoothly replied.

"You got it, Sarge," Wrecker added.

They lowered the steps to the ship, leapt out and followed Hunter through the desert.

After some time, he gave the signal for the others to halt as they came to the edge of a cliff that overlooked a ravine. They crouched down near the edge and saw within the ravine was the Tusken camp, which consisted of about seven huts.

Looking through his binoculars, Echo reported, "I'm only seeing a few Tuskens down there. Four, maybe five."

"It's most likely that a majority of the male Raiders are out on a hunt, leaving only a small number behind to guard the camp," Tech informed them. He pulled down the screen on his helmet, where a few yellow and red dots appeared. "There seems to be some left inside the huts, most likely the females of the tribe. Hunter, where is our target located?"

Hunter reached down and picked up a small amount of stone dust and fiddled with it between his fingertips. From this, he could feel the electromagnetic pull from whatever or whoever his senses were drawing him to.

He pointed to the furthest hut. "There, that far hut."

Tech's eyes darted up and down, looking at his screen and then stated, "I'm only picking up three lifeforms in that one. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Tech, Wrecker, head back to the ship and wait for my signal for evac," Hunter then told them.

Both Tech and Wrecker nodded and took off in the opposite direction back to their ship.

He then turned to Echo and Crosshair. "Echo, you're with me. We'll go down stealthily into the camp and see what's down there. We'll go around the edge of the ravine to the far hut. Crosshair--"

"Yeah, yeah, eyes in the sky. I know the drill, Hunter," Crosshair interrupted him snarkily as he lifted his sniper rifle up and rested it on his shoulder.

After giving Crosshair an affirming nod, Hunter then gestured to Echo with his head for them to get going and they carefully started sliding down the side of the ravine. Crosshair made his way along the edge of the cliff to get a better viewpoint and then crouched behind a boulder, rifle raised up in place and looking through the scope.

"I'm in position," he informed the other two over their helmet comms. "Tread with caution. You've got two Tuskens incoming."

Just as Hunter and Echo reached the bottom of the ravine, they got Crosshair's message and ducked behind one of the closest huts, blasters raised and ready, just as a Tusken Raider came out from the other side with another one behind him. The Clones waited silently for a moment until the two Tuskens turned and walked away, continuing their scouting.

"You're clear. Move quickly," they heard Crosshair say.

With the go-ahead, Hunter and Echo kept going around the edge of the camp, ducking behind each hut as they cautiously tread to ensure they weren't spotted. After a minute, they were approaching the far hut when they could hear Tusken noises coming from inside...followed by the sound of a whip cracking and a human cry of pain.

Both Hunter and Echo exchanged looks as they immediately realized the danger and the situation they were about to walk into: someone was being tortured.

Urgently, the two of them leapt into the doorway with their blasters raised and found two Tuskens with their backs to them holding whips. On the ground in front of them was a humanoid figure whose hair was covering their face, lying on their stomach and hardly moving. Immediately, Hunter and Echo fired their blasters and stunned the Tuskens while they weren't looking. The two creatures seized up and fell to the ground.

"The Tuskens in the far hut are down," Echo informed the others over comms as they holstered their blasters.

He and Hunter removed their helmets and did a quick once over of the inside of the hut before Hunter moved over to the person on the ground. Carefully, he turned the person over, cradling them in his arms, and their dark hair fell away from their face to reveal....

"What is it, Hunter?" asked Wrecker.

"What did you find?" came Crosshair's voice.

"It's...a woman," Hunter told both them and Echo.

"What?" replied Crosshair.

"A woman?" Echo repeated, coming up beside Hunter.

The young woman now in Hunter's arms laid with disheveled, messy dark hair, her face and arms covered in cuts, bruises and blood. Her lips were chapped and breaking with small patches of dried-up blood on them. Her skin was fair yet red with sunburns in many places. Her clothes were tattered and ragged, mostly torn on the back where she had just received some new whip wounds, and her form was frail and weak. However, she was still hauntingly beautiful, despite her beaten appearance.

Looking down at her face and holding her, Hunter knew that this woman was who he had sensed. She was the one they were meant to find.

"It's her. She's the one that I sensed," said Hunter.

Just then, the woman stirred and groaned weakly as her eyes fluttered open, revealing amber brown eyes, almost like the Clones. Her eyes found Hunter a second later, but she had no reaction, which ultimately proved how weak she was.

Her lips parted just barely as she managed to say, "Who...who are you...?"

"It's okay. You're safe now. We're gonna get you out of here," Hunter calmly reassured her, brushing some stray hair from her face.

The woman then said weakly, "Please...they...took me...hurt me...made me...their...."

Echo knelt down beside Hunter and asked, concerned, "Made you their what?"

She gasped out a single word: "Slave."

Echo's breath hitched in his chest. Her words had sounded all too familiar to him, but he had to hear the truth. Having been pretty much a slave himself to the Techno Union, he understood her suffering all too well. Something inside of him knew that they had to help this woman; that he had to help her.

Just then, Crosshair's voice spoke to both of them on comms, "You two had better get a move on before the other guards realize you're there."

"Better move double-time because I'm picking up another group heading that way on my sensors," added Tech, "most likely the rest of the males returning to the camp."

Echo turned to the sergeant and said, "Hunter, we have to take her with us."

"What?" Hunter asked almost in disbelief.

"There's no time to take her back to Mos Eisley for help, not with the rest of the Tuskens coming. Besides, if we leave her somewhere here on Tatooine, they can easily find her again, either this tribe or another one will. She's not safe here right now. She can't be a slave again...and I can help her."

Hunter's expression softened, realizing what Echo was talking about. He sympathized with this woman being a slave because of his experience on Skako Minor, having been captured by the Separatists and had his body and mind cruelly used to give them an advantage against the Republic. He had been a slave himself and Hunter could see his determination to ensure that this woman wouldn't suffer that same fate any longer.

He sighed. "All right, Echo. Let's get her out of here." He then took out his comm device and spoke, "Tech, get the ship over here. We're taking the woman with us and there's no way we're gonna be able to carry her safely out of this ravine."

"We're on our way," replied Tech.

Hunter put away his comm, looked back down at the woman and inquired, "Can you walk?"

The woman’s eyes fluttered as if awakened from a daze and she said back, "I...can try."

"What's your name?" he then asked.

She inhaled deeply and then said as she breathed out, "Kimber."

The corners of Hunter's mouth twitched up in a small grin. He thought that was a lovely name.

"All right then, Kimber. Let's get you to safety. Lean on me and I'll help you."

He quickly yet carefully got Kimber up to her feet, though she fell against him almost immediately, her legs wobbly. His grip around her waist tightened instinctively.

"Don't worry. I've got you," he told her before putting his helmet on as he slowly made his way with her to the entryway of the hut.

Echo followed suit in donning his helmet and then got ahead of them, pulling out his blaster.

Unfortunately, just as they stepped out of the hut, one of the Tusken guards spotted them. Just as it started to cry out in alarm, there was a flash of blue light behind it and it dropped to the ground. Up on the ridge they could see the glint of Crosshair's rifle and he gave them a small salute.

The moment, however, was short-lived because they then heard more Tusken Raiders coming their way.

"That alerted the others," spoke Crosshair's voice. "Take cover until the ship gets here. I'll distract them."

Hunter, Echo and Kimber heard Crosshair's rifle fire as they took cover on the other side of the hut, followed by the sounds of several other gunshots from the other guards.

"Tech, where are you?" Hunter asked urgently over his helmet comm.

"We're approaching now," answered Tech as they heard the ship flying overhead.

Then Wrecker added, "Good thing, too, because those other Tuskens are getting close to the ravine."

The Marauder flew over their heads and started preparing for a landing on the side of the ravine closest to where Hunter, Echo and Kimber were while Crosshair gradually stunned each of the remaining guards that were shooting at him.

As the ship touched down, the stairway was already being lowered down to reveal Wrecker on the other side as he shouted, "Come on, let's go!"

"Go! I'll cover you!" exclaimed Echo to Hunter.

With a nod, Hunter swept Kimber up so he could carry her as he moved as fast as he could to the ship with Echo in tow. He got inside and laid Kimber gently down against the wall and Echo came up beside her to keep her propped up.

"Take off now!" they heard Crosshair cry out on their comms.

"What are you doing?" replied Echo sternly.

"Do it! The other Raiders are approaching! Go!"

Right away, they could feel Tech lifting the ship off the ground.

Hunter moved to the entryway of the ship where he could still see Crosshair taking cover behind the boulder from blaster fire.

"No, Crosshair! We're not leaving you behind!" he called out as the ship rose higher.

Crosshair switched out part of his rifle as he replied coolly, "Relax, Sergeant. I always find a way back."

He locked in place a tow cable shot and fired it up towards the ship, where a grappling hook on the end latched onto the doorframe of the ship, nearly missing Hunter's feet. He took the cable part off his rifle and hooked it onto his belt just in time as he was then hoisted into the air by the cable reeling back in as the Marauder took off. As he was slowly making his way up, the other Tusken Raider group started to fire at him and the ship, but soon they were too far away for the creatures to get a shot.

As Crosshair's cable pulled him up to the open stairway, Hunter reached down, grabbed his hand and hoisted him up into the entryway as Wrecker hit the switch to close it.

Crosshair let out a loud sigh as he straightened up. "Ugh...I hate Tuskens."

Echo, who was cradling Kimber's frail form against him, cried out, "Tech, get us off this planet!"

"On it!" Tech cried back.

Kimber felt like she was floating...that something or someone was carrying her away.

Away from the pain...away from the misery...away from the heat of the twin suns.

There was a face in the forefront of her clouded memory, one she didn't know. A very handsome face...with a facial tattoo, long dark hair and a red band across his forehead...who was he? Was he even real?

There were voices in her head...a deep, husky voice that came from the long-haired man she pictured and then another man's voice, similar yet full of concern. He was speaking to the other man...about her? It was hard to tell. Was this actually happening or was it a dream? Or a memory?

The clouds shifted and then she could hear the second man's voice again: "I'm going to stay here until she wakes up. She's going to be overwhelmed and I want to help how I can."

What was going on?

Her eyes flickered open to an almost blinding white light above her. When her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in a room...not the inside of a hut, but an actual room...and she was laying on an actual bed.

"Where am I?" she wondered.

Though, as she turned her head, she was startled to see a tall Droid towering over her. She cried out in alarm, bolted up and tried to move back against the wall as it came closer to her with a needle.

Suddenly, there was movement from the other side of her bed as someone came around and started swatting at the Droid, saying, "Hey, hey, hey! Back away with that thing! Get out of here!"

Reluctantly, the Droid lowered the needle, voiced its compliance and made its way out of the room.

Kimber watched as the person who made the Droid leave turned around. It was a man with pale, white skin, brown eyes and dressed in dark gray and red armor. He was a peculiar-looking man as she noticed he had small holes in his head, a cybernetic head attachment over his ears that wrapped around the back and also a cybernetic right arm. She hadn't ever seen anyone like him before. He looked at her not with any malice or ill intent, but with kindness and concern...something she hadn't seen in a long time.

He took a cautious step towards her and said calmly, "It's all right, Kimber. You're in a safe place. Don't be afraid."

His voice...she recognized it! She'd heard it before...from her dream.

Her head tilted curiously as she said, "Your voice...I know it. You spoke to me before."

The man nodded and replied as he picked up a chair from the other side of the bed, brought it around and then sat down on it, "Yes, when my squad and I rescued you from Tatooine. My name is Echo. I've been keeping an eye on you as you're recovering."

"Echo...a peculiar name," she thought. "You...you rescued me?" she then asked.

Echo nodded again. "We found you in the Tusken camp and you were badly hurt, so we brought you here to a medical facility on Coruscant."

"Coruscant?" Kimber repeated.

"We were already coming this way as it was, but we knew you'd get better medical help here, so we brought you with us," he explained.

Her head was now swimming with all this new information. She had been rescued? Now she was on Coruscant? And this strange man she didn't know had brought her there? Why?

She then voiced her last question aloud, trying to make sense of it all, "W--why? Why would you do that? You don't even know me...you could've easily left me in the camp."

Echo's eyes turned sad for a moment. However, as he opened his mouth to reply, the door to the room opened up and someone else walked in.

"Well, what do you know? She's finally awake."

Kimber's eyes widened as she saw the man who came in. He was tall, wore similar gray and red armor like Echo, had long, dark hair; brown eyes that were also like Echo's, a black skull tattoo on the left side of his face and wore a red band across his forehead.

It was him! The other man from her dream!

"You!" she cried out, pointing at him.

He stopped in place, puzzled at her reaction.

"I know your face...you are real! You helped rescue me," she said, though it sounded more like she was saying it to herself than to him.

He let out a small chuckle and replied, crossing his arms, "Yes, I did. I'm surprised you remember."

"This is Hunter," Echo introduced him.

Hunter...her handsome savior now had a name; another interesting name like Echo's.

Another aspect she found curious was the fact that the two men looked and almost sounded incredibly similar. Were they brothers or had some relation, by chance?

As her arm faltered, Kimber lowered her gaze and gasped quietly in realization, "So it wasn't a dream...I really am away from Tatooine."

"How are you feeling?" asked Hunter as he came up to her bedside next to Echo.

It took her a moment, but then she answered, "Overwhelmed. I can't believe this is real...though you said 'finally awake'. How long was I out?"

"Two days," Echo told her. As she looked at him in shock, he said, "You were in a bacta tank for most of the first day and then you were asleep for the second day until now."

"We began to wonder if you were going to pull through," added Hunter.

That explained why she didn't feel so exhausted anymore like she usually did. "Wow...I was lucky to even get two hours of sleep before, let alone two days," she commented.

Both Echo and Hunter exchanged guilty looks, feeling pity for her at hearing her say such a thing.

"Well, whenever you're ready, Kimber, the rest of the squad would like to come and see if you're okay," Hunter told her.

Her head perked up. "The rest of the squad?"

"There are three more in our group that rescued you," said Echo. "We're part of Clone Force 99...otherwise known as the Bad Batch."

Upon hearing the word "Clone", Kimber realized why both Hunter and Echo's faces and even voices were similar. "You're Clones...of course! It all makes sense now. I thought the two of you seemed alike," she told them.

Hunter grinned. "Yeah, we get that a lot. Don't feel rushed to meet the rest of the boys. You went through a terrible ordeal and they're willing to wait until you're feeling up to it. They don't want to overwhelm you more than you might already be feeling."

"My stars...just who are these guys?" Kimber thought to herself after hearing what Hunter had said. A group of strangers had saved her from her torment on Tatooine and were already treating her so kindly; even the ones she hadn't met yet were being respectful of her situation. These Clones were already unlike anyone she had ever met in her life.

When she didn't say anything to Hunter, Echo spoke up, "Are you hungry, Kimber? Should I go get you something?"

That broke her out of her train of thought and she responded a bit shyly, "Uh...yeah, I would like that, actually."

"You got it. Hunter, would you mind staying with her?"

Hunter gave him a nod in reply.

Echo shot Kimber a quick reassuring smile before exiting the room.

She then watched Hunter as he took the seat next to her bed and was looking at her with curious, piercing eyes, as if he were trying to figure her out. Her breath caught for a moment as he sat down.

To get rid of any awkward silence, she said to him, "So, I've heard of the Clones, but I've never heard of Clone Force 99."

His arms crossed again as he said back, "That's nothing new. Most people haven't heard of us. We're a deviant group of Clones with enhanced mutations...or, in the eyes of the regs, we're a group of defective Clones."

"Regs?" she repeated, confused.

"Regular Clones," he clarified.

She nodded in understanding and then went on to ask, "How did you even find me?"

"That's...a long story," Hunter replied.

Kimber straightened up against the back wall and mustered up a small smile. "I like stories," she said.

He couldn't help but grin himself at her response. She definitely seemed in better spirits. Seeing even a fraction of a smile on her face made him glad that they had gotten her out of her captivity.

With her go-ahead, he went on to explain, "Well, my enhanced trait is heightened senses, which means I can feel or sense certain things from miles away; even across an entire planet. When we were on Tatooine, I...could sense you; your pain, your suffering. I'm not sure why because that's never happened before, but I tracked you and...well, the rest is history."

Kimber was fascinated hearing about Hunter's enhanced ability, even if she didn't fully understand it. It's what had gotten her rescued, after all.

"Well, whatever the reason was...thank you," she told him sweetly.

He smiled and bowed his head. "You seemed surprised to see me when I came in. Why was that?"

She shrugged and said, her voice darkening ever so slightly, "I was with the Tuskens for...I don't even know how long anymore...but, after a long time, the idea of escaping or being saved just became a fantasy. When you came, I was so weak and in a daze that I saw you and thought I was dreaming again. To then see you when I was fully awake made me realize it was all real and...I still can't believe it." Her voice began to crack and tears were welling up in her eyes as a wave of relief swept over her.

Hunter noticed this and sat forward, concerned. "Hey, it's okay," he said in a hushed voice, reaching out to take her hand.

Unfortunately, Kimber felt his hand on hers and his touch triggered past unpleasant memories and, before she even realized it, she let out a gasp and pulled her hand away, her eyes looking at him wide with fear. He too was startled by her reaction and withdrew his hand, seeing he must have gone too far.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to frighten you," he apologized, looking guilty.

"No, it's...it's...I...it's just...," was all Kimber could stammer out. She wanted to apologize and explain to him why she reacted the way she did, but the words weren't coming to her.

Dejected, Hunter stood up and said, "I'll give you your space, Kimber. Forgive me." Then he turned away and walked to the door.

"Hunter, wait!" she called after him, but he was already out the door, passing by Echo who was coming in with a couple containers in his hand and under his arm.

"What was that about?" he asked her, gesturing to Hunter as he walked in and started setting things down.

She answered, ashamed, "He must think I'm afraid of him."

Echo's head jerked up and he raised an eyebrow at Kimber. "What? Why would you think that?" he questioned in disbelief.

Her eyes looked down to her hands. "I feel horrible. I was getting emotional and he reached out to take my hand to comfort me...and I recoiled. The only touch I've known for a long time has been nothing but cruel and harmful...so I reacted on instinct and realized too late what I had done. He was startled and then left. I know he was trying to be kind...but I just...." She trailed off and released a sigh of defeat.

Echo sat on the foot of the bed and told her softly, "Don't worry, Kimber. It'll be fine. Hunter knows you've been through a lot; I'm sure he understands...or he will. Give him time and give yourself time, too. Before you know it, any sort of physical touch won't be a problem for you." He took the containers and placed them on front of her as well as a couple utensils. "Here, you eat up and I'll come back and check on you later. Maybe then you can meet the rest of the boys."

"I...would like that," said Kimber. Then she looked up at him and managed a sad yet grateful smile. "Thank you, Echo."

He smiled back and bowed his head. "Anything else you need?"

Her smile went away as she answered him, "Tell Hunter I'm sorry."

Once again, Echo nodded, got up off the bed and exited the room, leaving Kimber alone.

She fiddled with one of the utensils before using it to start eating the food Echo had brought her. She had a long road ahead of her...but the two members of the Bad Batch she had met thus far didn't seem too bad. In fact, their squad's name seemed ironic. They were called the "Bad Batch", yet they were the kindest beings she had ever met. At least, Hunter and Echo were; she hadn't met the other three yet, but surely they couldn't be much different. Echo seemed very intent on helping her in her recovery and Hunter seemed protective and curious. If the others were like them, maybe she wouldn't mind being around them more.

After finishing up eating and relaxing for a period of time, Kimber got out of her bed, a little shakily at first, and made her way to a wash bowl that also had a mirror on the wall above it. She took a look in the mirror. First, she noticed that she was out of her old, torn clothes and was now in clean, white med bay wear. Her face was clean, but had a few small cuts on her cheeks that were healing and there was a bruise on the side of her right eye. Her sunburns were gone and her lips were just about healed; they at least were no longer chapped or broken. Her hair was cleaned, but still a little disheveled. She appeared ten times better than she imagined she had in ages.

She then took her long, waist-length hair and started twisting it into a braid. She figured if the rest of the Bad Batch was going to be by later, she should look a little more presentable.

As Kimber braided her hair, her mind wandered back to Hunter and the look of shock in his eyes at how she recoiled from him. She felt guilty for startling him when all he had tried to do was comfort her. She had just been caught off guard and hadn't meant to react the way she did. Echo seemed to think he would understand, but she wasn't sure. She wondered if he would come with the rest of their squad. With how quickly he'd left her room, she suspected he maybe wouldn't...but he had to because how else was she going to apologize to him and explain herself?

Though why did she feel she owed him an explanation? He still essentially was a stranger to her...but nonetheless, he still had saved her life.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Kimber? It's Echo. May I come in?"

She finished off her braid and then answered, "Come in, Echo."

The doors to the room slid open and in walked Echo, a small smile on his face.

"Good to see you up and walking now," he observed.

She let out a nervous snicker. "I was a bit rickety, at first, but...yeah, I managed."

"The boys should be here any minute. You still okay with them coming?"

Kimber nodded.

"Good. I will warn you: at first look, the other three may seem a bit...daunting."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Good to know, I suppose."

Right then, Echo's comm went off and a lighter-sounding voice spoke, "Echo, we have arrived. Will she be receiving us?"

"Yeah, come on down," Echo responded.

"Copy that."

Echo looked back at Kimber and then asked her, "Did the food help at all?"

Kimber nodded as she walked back over to her bed and sat down. "It did, actually. Thank you again for that."

He bowed his head and replied, "If it helps you recover faster, then I'm glad to be of service."

"It sounds like I have a guardian angel now," she stated with a playful smile.

Echo blushed a little at that comment. "More like a guardian cyborg."

"Well, either way, I'm glad that someone's watching over me."

The doors then opened again and Kimber found herself a bit taken aback for a moment at the people who came into her room.

The first person was a freakishly tall Clone, bald and had a massive scar over the left side of his face; judging from the look of the scar, Kimber figured it was from an explosion of some kind. His left eye was also pale white while his other eye was the normal brown. He was bulky in stature and looked like he could snap her in half with little to no effort.

The second Clone was also tall, but not as tall as the first, with silvery-white hair, a sniper scope tatoo over his right eye and he held a toothpick between his lips and teeth. He was slimmer in form, but his demeanor was more somber and stern.

Then the third Clone had short brown hair and a large pair of goggles over his eyes. He was wearing white armor instead of dark gray like the others and his attention was on a datapad he carried in his hands.

Hunter came in behind the other three. He gave Kimber a brief, awkward glance before averting his eyes.

The big one took one look at Kimber and his face lit up upon seeing her. He got a big smile on his face as he declared in a deep, booming voice, "There she is! Good to see you're all right!"

Now she was even more amazed because this towering giant of a Clone who looked so intimidating now reminded her of a big, happy child. It was a little endearing, in her opinion.

"Welcome back, Kimber," spoke the one with the goggles, whose voice matched the one she had heard over Echo's comm, as he looked up from his datapad. "How are you feeling?"

Her mouth twitched up in amused grin. "I'm...doing better, thank you."

Echo then introduced them in order, "Kimber, this is Wrecker, Crosshair and Tech."

Wrecker waved like a little kid, Crosshair took out his toothpick and gave her a nod and Tech adjusted his goggles and said, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

She looked from Wrecker to Crosshair and then to Tech and then observed, "You all are a very peculiar-looking group of Clones. You look like Clones, but...at the same time, you don't."

"That's what makes us unique and sets us apart from the regs. No offense, Echo," stated Tech.

"None taken," Echo replied nonchalantly.

Kimber gave him a curious look. Why did Tech have to tell him "no offense" if he was also part of the squad? That was a bit peculiar.

Brushing it off, she then said, "Hunter told me you all have enhanced traits. I know his, but what are all yours?"

Taking a step forward and smashing his knuckles together, Wrecker proclaimed proudly, "You can probably take one look and guess what mine is!"

Kimber chuckled, amused. "I would imagine super strength."

"You got that right," said Wrecker, pumping his fist.

"Mine is enhanced intelligence," said Tech.

Echo turned to Kimber and explained, "He could tell you all sorts of facts ranging from the mundane to actually useful."

She nodded at him, interested in what she was learning about these Clones. It was then she noticed that the one called Crosshair was just standing there silently with his arms folded, looking around and didn't seem to be fully invested in the conversation.

"What about you, Crosshair?" she asked him.

Crosshair gave her a side-eyed glance, took out his toothpick and started fiddling with it.

Tech answered for him, "Crosshair has excellent farsight and is an expert sniper."

"That explains the scope tatoo," Kimber thought. She looked right at Crosshair and said with a grin, "A sniper, huh? I'm a bit a sharpshooter myself."

That definitely got his attention as his eyebrows shot up, the semblance of an impressed look on his face.

"Is that so?" he asked, his voice cool and smooth, almost like an Anacondan snake, as he put his toothpick back in his mouth. "What's your record?"

"Twelve klicks," she answered.

His impressed look vanished and his scowl returned, which puzzled her.

Then Wrecker said with a laugh, "She's got you beat by two klicks, Crosshair."

Crosshair just quietly growled in response.

Kimber got the feeling that he was a bit of a grumpy and more bitter Clone than the rest of them. He was going to be an interesting one to possibly get to know.

"There you have it. Now you've officially met the Bad Batch," Echo then said to her.

Echo's response surprised her a little. She was expecting him to tell her what his ability was, like the others, but he didn't. Why hadn't he? He was puzzling her even more now.

She let out a loud sigh and, looking between all five of them, she said sweetly, "Truly, I am in all of your debts. I had been with the Tuskens for so long that I had lost all hope of ever escaping or being rescued, but now...you've all made that a reality for me. So I want to thank you. I probably wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for you."

All of the Bad Batch just bowed their heads in response, but then Crosshair spoke up, "How did you even manage to get nabbed by the Tuskens in the first place?"

"Crosshair!" Hunter chided him, casting him a warning glare.

However, Kimber simply exhaled and responded calmly, "The same way anyone on Tatooine ends up with the Tuskens: I was abducted."

The Clones all exchanged apprehensive looks. Crosshair's scowl even seemed to soften slightly as they waited for her to say anything more.

Echo gave her a look that seemed to ask, "Are you sure?" to her telling them her story. She offered him a nod that told him it was all right.

Seeing them looking at her concerned and expectantly, she explained to them, "I was home with my parents and was outside working on some of our machinery. Then I heard crashing noises from inside my house. I ran inside to see what happened when I was suddenly grabbed from behind. I had heard stories of people being taken by the Tuskens when they're out, so normally, I would've had a blaster...but I was home, so I didn't think to have it on me and they got me before I could get to it. I heard my parents crying out and the Tuskens screeching and...then they just took me away from my home. I lost track of how long I was with them. It just seemed...like it would never end." Her throat tightened as she started getting emotional again, thinking about her time in captivity.

Seeing her about ready to cry, Wrecker stepped forward and said timidly, "Oh, don't cry, Kimber. It's okay. Here, I--I've brought something that might help." From behind his back, he brought out what appeared to be a black and red tooka doll with a white face and red eyes and held it out to Kimber.

Taken aback by this gesture, Kimber forgot about her pending emotions as she took the doll in her hands, looking curiously at it and then at Wrecker.

"That's my friend, Lula," he told her, rubbing the back of his head. "She loves cuddles and helping people feel better. She always helps me when I'm having a hard time. I know you've been through a lot and I felt bad for you, so I thought maybe she could help you, too."

Now the tears were threatening to return after hearing Wrecker's explanation of his kind actions. She put her hand in front of her mouth for a second as she took a deep breath to keep from crying.

"Just who are you guys?" she cried out in a choked voice. "You don't even know me and yet you keeping showing such incredible tenderness towards me."

Hunter took a step forward and said, "It's part of what we do: we help people in need."

She took another deep breath, belaying her emotions once more in front of the Clones, before looking up at Wrecker with slightly misty eyes. "Thank you, Wrecker. This is so kind of you."

"It's no problem," he said back. "I just figured you could borrow her for a while until we come back."

"Come back?" she asked.

"We've just been given another mission, so we should be leaving soon," answered Hunter.

"Another mission already?" Echo questioned, looking in disbelief. He then glanced at Kimber, looking now almost panicked.

"That's right and we should get going. We don't want to keep Kimber from her rest," Hunter simply stated.

Kimber got the feeling that Hunter was rushing to leave because he still felt guilty about what had happened earlier and didn't want to be there. She didn't want him to leave on another mission still carrying that guilt, so she was determined to speak to him before he left.

She met Echo's worried glance and reassured him, "It's all right, Echo. I appreciate your help in my recovery, but if your team needs you, then that's your priority. I'll be okay."

He didn't seem convinced at first, but then his expression dispelled and he sighed in defeat. "All right. Well, the medics said they want you here for a while to monitor your recovery process, so more than likely, you might still be here by the time we're finished. May I check in on you when we come back?"

Unable to hold back a grateful smile, she replied, "You absolutely may, Echo."

"Come on, boys. Let's get back to the ship," ordered Hunter.

Tech simply bowed his head to Kimber in farewell and Wrecker waved at her and said goodbye as they walked out the door.

Crosshair, on the other hand, started towards the door, but then stopped. He looked over at Kimber and told her in a smooth tone, his face still stoic, "When we get back, you had better be recovered...because I want to see your sharpshooter skills in action for myself in the shooting range." Then the smallest hint of a smirk etched up on the corner of his lips.

Amused, Kimber smirked back at him. Apparently, he had a competitive side and her comment about her sniper distance record had tickled that side of him just enough. If she did indeed see him again, she was going to have some fun with him.

"I'll be ready," she replied.

With a nod himself, Crosshair exited her room.

"You take care of yourself, Kimber," said Echo as he made his way to the door.

"I will," she said back.

As he left, Hunter turned to follow him, but Kimber called out his name. When he looked back at her, she requested if she could talk to him before he left and he obliged, walking back over to the bedside.

"I wanted to apologize, Hunter," she began, her eyes full of regret. "I did not mean to react the way I did earlier when you tried to comfort me."

He shook his head and said, "You don't have to explain yourself, Kimber."

"Yes, I do. I want to," she immediately replied. "I know you were being kind to me and I recoiled from you before I could stop myself. The only touch I've known for a long time has been unkind and harmful, so I was caught off guard and just reacted on instinct, even though I knew what you were trying to do. I want you to know that my actions had nothing to do with you and I'm not frightened by you at all. I didn't want you to leave here still feeling guilty over something that wasn't your fault. It just may take me a while to overcome my trauma with physical touch and I wanted you to understand where I'm coming from because you saved my life and I owe you so much."

His expression softened as he looked down on her with tenderness in his eyes. "I do understand. What can I do to help ensure that I don't make that mistake again?"

"Will I see you again? Because if not, then you won't have to worry about possibly doing that a second time."

Hunter hummed with a grin and said, "Wrecker gave you his doll. You can guarantee we'll be back."

Snickering herself, Kimber responded, "I suppose you're right. In that case...maybe just ask if you can touch me in any way or make sure I know what's going on so I'm not caught off guard again. Also to make sure that I'm in the right state of mind for any sort of physical interaction."

He bowed his head. "I can do that." Then he held out his hand to her. "May I?"

Kimber found herself smiling again as she realized what he wanted. She reached out and carefully placed her hand in his, his fingers closing around her hand firmly yet gently. Despite the black gloves he wore, the warmth of his hand radiated through her arm and up through her body and a small shudder shivered up her spine.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed, gave her hand a gentle squeeze and told her, "I can't even begin to imagine the hell you've been through. All I know is when I sensed your pain, I couldn't put it out of my mind and I knew I had to do something. Then when we found you, it broke my heart to see the state you were in...and I believe Echo felt the same, as well. These last two days, he's hardly left your side."

"He seems very intent on helping me recover. Not that I'm ungrateful, but do you know why?"

Hunter sighed. "Echo went through a similar traumatic ordeal himself and so he sympathizes with you and wants to ensure you don't go through your recovery alone like he sort of had to. He understands what you've been through and he believes he can help you. I'll let him tell you his story eventually, but that's what I can tell you."

Now the pieces of the puzzle that was Echo were beginning to come together. It made sense now why he was helping her and why he was hesitant to leave. He didn't want to leave her alone, especially when she was just in the beginning stages of rehabilitation.

However, to fully complete the puzzle, she needed one more question answered. So she asked Hunter, "Is Echo not an enhanced Clone like the rest of you? I noticed, when the others were talking about their abilities, he didn't say anything and then Tech said 'no offense' to Echo when he mentioned the regs."

In reply, he explained, "Echo is a reg, but because of the trauma he experienced, he changed a lot and felt he would better fit in with other Clones who were different like he is. That's how he ended up with us."

The pieces were now complete and Kimber felt she had a better understanding of the Clone who had taken it upon himself to oversee her healing process. There was something inside her that told her there was now a certain connection between her and Echo; one that she wouldn't forget anytime soon.

"I see. Now I feel like I understand. Thank you for telling me, Hunter," she said. She gave his hand a squeeze. "You should go catch up with your squad."

"I suppose I should," he replied. He then placed his other hand atop hers that he held. "I hope you get better and stronger while we're away. We'll come back and see you when we return and after that, we can get you back home to Tatooine."

Then, to her surprise, he pressed his lips softly to the back of her hand. Her eyes widened at his actions, unsure what to even say or feel. Though, when he looked up, he suddenly blushed as red as his headband and nervously averted his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'll get going now," he said awkwardly as he released her hand, stood up from the chair and made his way to the door without making eye contact.

"Goodbye, Hunter."

Her voice called out to him in the lightest and sweetest of tones that strangely made his heart skip a beat as he halted in his tracks. He turned back around to look once more upon her, her lips turned up in a bright, grateful smile.

"Good luck on your mission...and tell Wrecker I'll take care of Lula."

There was a small part of Hunter that now almost didn't want to leave. For unknown reasons, he just wanted to forget about the new mission and stay in this room to talk with Kimber. Now that she was beginning to recover, she struck him as an interesting individual that he wanted to get to know. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn't. Besides, it wouldn't matter. Once she was ready, they were going to take her back to Tatooine and that would be the end of it. There was no point in trying for anything past just being acquaintances.

He bowed his head to her and simply said, "Goodbye, Kimber. We'll see you soon."

After that, he walked out the door and once it was shut, he leaned back against it, releasing a heavy breath. What was going on with him and what in the world was he thinking in kissing Kimber's hand? Why did he do that? He had just barely regained any sort of trust with her and now he was pushing it by doing that! He had done it before he even realized what he was doing. What had he been thinking?

After taking a few seconds to compose himself, Hunter pushed all those thoughts aside and walked away from Kimber's room to catch up with his squad.

Inside the room, Kimber was looking down at the back of her hand, reminiscing on the unexpected feeling of Hunter's lips on her skin. She had been so taken aback by it in the moment, but now that he was gone, she couldn't help but smile a little. Hunter was one of the sweetest people she had ever met and she hoped that she would maybe see him at least once more. Then she remembered the words he had said before leaving her bedside:

"We'll come back and see you when we return and after that, we can get you back home to Tatooine."

Kimber's smile disappeared and her feelings of wonder faded at remembering his words. The fingers of her hand curled into a fist and then rested against her forehead as sorrow overcame her and she burst into tears.

"Hey Kimber, hold up!"

Echo's voice called after Kimber as she was turning a corner to head to the training facility. She stopped when she heard him and waited for him. As she watched him jogging to catch up, she realized for the first time that he had robotic legs like Rex had said that she hadn't noticed before. They were black like the rest of his armor, so they kind of blended in. She had only noticed his arm and the device on his head. Watching him now that she knew his full story hurt her heart. How she wanted to just stop and embrace him right then to tell him that she knew the truth and how sorry she was that he had to endure such horrors, but she knew she couldn't. At least, not yet.

"Hey Echo! Are you coming to give me a hand?" she asked.

He came up beside her and replied with a grin, "Yeah. I've only got one hand to give." Then he brought up his scomp arm and good-heartedly made it spin around.

A chuckle came out of her mouth, but she muffled it with her hand as she wasn't sure if she should actually laugh or not.

Echo noticed this and told her as he lowered his arm, "You can laugh, it's okay. I made the joke, so I wouldn't be offended."

"You're funny," she said to him as they resumed walking.

Later on, he then asked, "Are you sure about this, Kimber? I don't want you pushing yourself if you're not ready."

"I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I wouldn't have volunteered if I didn't think I was ready. I want to help you guys," she said back.

In that moment, they reached the training facility and made their way through to where the armory was.

"Kimber, I really don't think this is a good idea," Echo told her as they walked in.

She stopped, turned around to face him and stated in a firm yet still understanding voice, "Echo...I know you're feeling protective of me and I understand why now, but I need you to give me a chance. Tech said you guys need someone to help Crosshair and I'm exactly the kind of person who can do that. I've regained my strength, my physical health is a lot better, my skills have improved and Rex can attest to all of that. If you don't trust me, then at least trust him."

His eyes widened in surprise. "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just...I don't want you to get hurt again."

"If I do, then it's my own choice, but I want to do this. Now are you gonna help me find some armor or not?"

"So this is what she's really like," Echo thought to himself. "She's certainly feisty and spirited. No wonder Rex took a liking to her. No wonder we all did."

He let out a sigh of defeat. "I'll help you. You get your weapons and I'll find some extra supplies and the armor. I know of a spare set you can use."

She nodded. Before walking off, she asked in a calm, inviting tone, "Hey...can we talk more later?"

With a smile, he replied, "Absolutely."

Some minutes later, the Bad Batch saw Echo returning to the hangar with Kimber next to him. Now, she was donned in white and black Clone armor with light blue accents and on the left side of the chest was painted on a red skull. Underneath her arm, she carried her helmet. She had two blasters on both hips and a sniper rifle strapped to her back along with a pack of supplies.

"I recognize that armor," commented Wrecker upon seeing her approach.

"That was the armor you wore when we went to Anaxes," stated Rex, looking at Echo.

"Wait, what? This was yours?" Kimber questioned, also turning to Echo.

He nodded. "I figured it would fit you better than regular, bulky Clone armor. It's a bit more...form-fitting."

Looking down at the armor she wore, Kimber then said nicely, "Well, I'm honored to wear it then."

Hunter stepped forward, looking up and down her form. "You certainly look like a soldier," he observed. Then his expression turned serious. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? You've still got a chance to back out now while you can."

She scoffed playfully. "And miss out on seeing the Bad Batch in action? Not a chance, Sergeant Hunter."

His head reared back a little, caught off guard at hearing her call him by his rank. For whatever reason, though...he actually kind of liked it.

He still wasn't keen on her coming and being put in danger, but it appeared that her mind was made up. There was no point in fighting it now.

"Oh, I like this woman!" exclaimed Wrecker excitedly, giving her a playful push on the arm.

"Well, all right then. Let's get on board," Hunter said to everyone, motioning with his head to the Marauder as he led the way.

Everyone started to follow him, but Crosshair approached Kimber as she walked. "Think you can keep up?" he asked.

"With the squad or with you, Crosshair?" she asked back, her eyebrows raised.

He shrugged. "Take your pick."

"I'm fairly certain I could keep up with everyone. As for you...." She smirked at him. "You've got an injured arm and I've been training all week...I think it's safe to say I've got the edge on you."

"Famous last words, sunshine," Crosshair told her smoothly.

"Sunshine?" Kimber repeated, taken aback at the name he used for her.

Crosshair simply smirked deviously at her, removed the toothpick from his mouth and flicked it away as he walked ahead of her.

"Oh, this is going to be interesting...and fun!" she thought before quickening her pace to catch up with the Clones.

The Bad Batch, Captain Rex and Kimber left Coruscant shortly after that. Within a few minutes, they made the jump into hyperspace, which truly was a magical sight to Kimber. She hadn't left Tatooine in years, so she had forgotten the beauty and wonder that came with going into hyperspace.

They made the jump and after a couple of hours, Tech brought out a holoprojection of a building with two tall towers, one on each side, and guarded by a ground force of multiple kinds of Droids and showed it to her and Rex.

"This is the Separatist outpost we attempted to infiltrate on Felucia," he explained to them. "The towers on the sides are our biggest conundrum. They are armed with a handful of Droids and a turret at the top. Even one side is overwhelming for just one sniper." He cast a look over at Crosshair, who simply grimaced at him.

"Will it even be doable with two sharpshooters?" inquired Rex.

Tech swiped on the projection, causing the building to grow smaller and a cluster of giant leaves, bushes and trees appeared around it. "It should be. They will have adequate cover in the jungle surrounding it."

"The cover is rubbish on the ground," commented Crosshair.

"Would it be better up in those tall plants?" Kimber inquired, pointing to some towering, white plants that had wide, thick leaves like platforms that moved up the sides. "That way, we're higher and more out of sight."

"That is possible, but more risky," said Tech.

Hunter came back from the front of the ship where Echo was piloting. "Crosshair, do you think that would give you a better advantage?"

"I think it's worth the risk," Crosshair replied, giving Kimber a pleased look. "It would most likely prove better than last time."

"Do that, then," Hunter told them, looking between Crosshair and Kimber.

"What exactly was your plan last time? What went wrong, apart from Crosshair getting shot?" Kimber asked.

Wrecker answered, "We were going to wait to go in until after Crosshair took out the towers, so the plan didn't get very far."

Looking at Hunter, Kimber asked, "Hunter, may I offer a suggestion?"

He bowed his head and replied, "Please do."

She stepped forward to Tech's projection and pointed to the towers. "Both towers are on either side of the facility. If Crosshair and I each took one side, that would possibly speed things up. However, I don't think it would be logical for the rest of you guys to wait until that happens."

"What are you suggesting, Kimber?" inquired Tech, adjusting his goggles over his curious eyes.

"If we were to start shooting the towers right away, all the enemy fire will be focused on us and you risk one of us being shot again," she went on. "I suggest that the rest of you cause a distraction that will draw their fire away from me and Crosshair."

"How would we do that?" asked Wrecker, puzzled.

She shrugged. "Rush the facility...or just improvise something. Be chaotic enough that the Droids will only have their focus on all of you. That way, Crosshair and I will only have to worry about the turrets."

Hunter brought a hand up to his chin. "Improvise, huh?" he wondered aloud.

"Be chaotic," repeated Rex, amused at her choice of words.

Then Crosshair snickered and fiddled briefly with his toothpick. "Not bad. She's already got us figured out and we haven't even reached the planet yet."

She simply grinned back at him.

"Funny you should mention that because we're approaching Felucia right now," they heard Echo call out from the front of the ship.

Just after he said that, the ship dropped out of hyperspace and they all found themselves coming up on a green planet with white swirling clouds. Within a few minutes, they passed into the planet's atmosphere and were met with a colorful, effervescent, lush jungle full of strange and interesting looking plant life.

The ship landed soon after and Hunter said to everyone after putting on his helmet, "All right, everyone. We've got one more shot at this. We'll go with Kimber's plan this time: we'll improvise a distraction to draw the enemy fire away from her and Crosshair while they handle the towers."

"Let's go! Let me at those Droids!" exclaimed Wrecker as he hoisted his heavy blaster up onto his shoulder.

Hunter faced Kimber and asked her, "Things are gonna get wild real fast, Kimber. You ready for this?"

"Oh, I'm ready...it's you who isn't ready for me," she replied as she grinned at him and put on her helmet.

It was then Hunter was grateful he already had his helmet on because it hid the slight blush that rose up on his face.

"Why did I say that...?" Kimber groaned inwardly, rolling her eyes at herself underneath her own helmet.

The ramp to the Marauder lowered down to the ground and they all exited the ship, drawing their weapons, donning their helmets and already being on the alert.

"This place is way different from Tatooine," Kimber observed out loud as she withdrew her rifle, amazed at the colorful jungle surrounding her.

"Don't get too excited. The jungle can be dangerous to a desert-dweller," stated Crosshair.

In response, she just shook her head and kept on following after the boys.

Covertly, the whole group moved their way through the jungle, ducking underneath the massive plants that surrounded them. Every so often, they could hear distant sounds of wildlife, but luckily, they never encountered any along the way.

Soon, the Separatist outpost was within view and Hunter gave them the signal to halt and then gestured to hide amongst the trees and the plants. Hunter, Rex, Echo and Kimber ducked to the right while Crosshair, Wrecker and Tech hid to the left.

"All right, Crosshair and Kimber, get yourselves into position," Hunter ordered in a quiet voice over their helmet comms. "Wait until we come out and draw their fire to take down the towers."

Kimber gave a nod and Crosshair responded, "No problem."

With that, the two of them moved out, Kimber to the right and Crosshair to the left. They stealthily made their way to their own designated white tree-like plants with the platform leaves and started to climb, keeping as much out of sight of the ground force as possible. They each jumped up, grabbed the edge of the thick leaves, hoisted themselves up and repeated the process until they were more than halfway up.

As she put her back against the core of the tree, Kimber heard Crosshair report over comms, "I'm in position."

She activated the comm in her helmet and replied, "Ready when you guys are."

A few seconds later, she heard Wrecker's loud voice in the air, shouting, "Come here, clankers! It's play time!" Right after that, she could hear and see blaster fire as Wrecker came charging out towards the Droids from within the trees.

"He's an eager one," she commented aloud.

"You have no idea," Crosshair droned in reply over the comm.

In tow came the rest of the crew, firing their blasters at the Droids on the ground. Echo ran wide and started firing up at the Droids on the left tower. Wrecker full on tackled a couple of battle Droids to the ground and began punching them. Tech was throwing a couple detonators out in the throng while Rex and Hunter were making their way through, Rex blasting Droids with a blaster and Hunter using a vibroblade.

"Now that, I've never seen before," thought Kimber as she watched Hunter fight the Droids with his blade. He was so swift, precise and fluid in his movements, it was almost mesmerizing.

Crosshair's voice broke her thoughts as she heard him say, "The turrets are powering up."

Kimber peeked around the edge of the tree and also noticed that the Droids on the tower were firing down at the others just as the entrance to the facility on the ground opened up and another squad of Droids were coming out.

"You've got a second wave incoming, boys," she informed the Clones over comms. "We'll take out the Droids on the tower while they're occupied."

"Copy that," she heard Rex respond.

Then she stepped out, raised her rifle and took a shot at one of the Droids firing down at the Clones. The shot hit it directly in the head and it dropped to the floor. She took a second shot at the closest one and it too dropped.

Seeing Kimber was now firing at the Droids on her side, Crosshair followed suit and began firing his own rifle at the tower in front of him. As he took his shots, he glanced back over his shoulder at Kimber and watched her as she continued fighting. She was straight and immovable in her form and her shots were as accurate as his were. There was no sign of fear or distress in her; she was taking out the Droids immaculately.

"Very impressive," he thought before returning to blasting his own set of Droids.

Kimber got the Droids taken care of on her side rather quickly, but the turret was almost done being powered up and was moving into position towards her. She fired at the turret, but the damage seemed to have no effect on it. How was she going to take it out?

"Kimber, watch out!" cried Tech's voice.

To make matters worse, some of the Droids that came out of the facility spotted her up in the trees and were now firing at her, which took her by surprise. A couple shots narrowly missed her by an inch and she cried out, stumbling backwards into the base of the tree. Some of the shots burst through the bottom of the leaf platform she stood on and were weakening it. More blasts came up from beneath right by where she stood and she flinched to get out of the way.

Kimber hadn't ever been shot at like this before and she was beginning to panic. If she tried to fire back, she'd put herself out in the open and she'd definitely be shot, but if she stayed there, it would only get worse and she'd be in more trouble. What was she going to do?

The giant platform she stood on shifted down, startling her. She realized all the blaster fire was damaging its structural integrity and was now beginning to hang by what was left. There was a crack and it shifted down once more. Kimber yelled out in alarm.

"Kimber!" she heard Hunter cry with worry.

Crosshair heard her distressed call, too, and looked in her direction. He got the feeling things had changed for her when she started getting shot at and figured she'd never experienced that before. Now, instead of the confident sniper, he saw a panicked soldier caught between a rock and a hard place.

He had to act fast. The turret in front of him was nearly on him. There was no way he could get down from the tree and over to her in time and the others were too occupied with the other Droids to do anything before either the turret fired on her or the platform would give way with her on it.

So he aimed his rifle.

There was a metallic thud and, to Kimber's horror, she looked up to see the turret was now facing her and was about to fire.

"Kimber, no!" shouted Echo.

"Oh no!" she gasped.

"Heads up, sunshine."

Her head flipped to her left to see a single shot flying her way from where Crosshair was. It hit where the giant leaf was connected to the core of the tree, causing it to split off completely, and the next thing she knew, she was falling. Just as she dropped, the turret fired and hit the area of the tree right above her where she had just been. She hit the next giant leaf below, but her momentum caused her to bounce and roll right off, falling even further down. Seconds later, she hit the ground hard, getting the wind knocked out of her a bit, and she let out a grunt of pain. In her dazed state, she heard Echo's voice calling out, "I've got her! Go!" Then she felt him come up beside her and could faintly hear him saying her name. Right after that, there was the sound of a turret firing and something exploding, which woke her right up. Her head shot up in time to see a blast in the trees...right where Crosshair had been.

"Crosshair!" she and Echo both yelled.

Kimber got up to her feet and cried, "Echo, cover me!" Without waiting for a response, she took off running for the tree. She had to find Crosshair and make sure he was okay. If he had been lost saving her life because she had panicked, she would never forgive herself. She got to the base of the tree he had been in and looked around for any signs of his body. There were none to be found.

"Crosshair? Crosshair!" she shouted, continuing to look around. "No, no, no, this can't be happening. Where is he? Crosshair, where are you? This was all my fault!"

"You looking for me?"

The familiar, silver-tongued voice of Crosshair spoke behind her. She whirled around to find him casually lounging against the base of the tree.

"How touching," he stated and she could practically hear the smirk underneath his helmet.

"How did you...?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"After I shot at you, I jumped, of course," he explained.

She released a heavy sigh of relief. "You...you saved my life. Thank you, Crosshair."

"Don't mention it, sunshine."

Hearing him use that name again, Kimber was about to ask him about it, but then suddenly, her head grew heavy, her body felt weak, her strength gave out and she fell limp.

Crosshair was quick to catch her and she heard him say calmly to her, "Whoa, easy there. You did good today, soldier."