#tbb fic

Crosshair comes home to The Marauder. The first thing he sees are Tech’s goggles.

"You're gonna be ok, Lyrri" "How do you know that?" "I'm going to make damn sure of it"

wound care - Echo x F!Mercenary!OC The Batch thought they were the first ones Cid sends after Muchi. When Lyrri is discovered in the Zygerrian's camp, broken and bleeding, the Batch has to pivot, and she has to accept there might actually be people in this galaxy who are willing to help her.

cicatrix - Echo x F!Mercenary!OC Wound Care Vignettes cicatrix: a scar (= mark left on the body) from a healed injury Echo stumbles upon a living representation of his pain, and must learn the difference between mutual healing and trauma bonding.

"Would you just let me help?" She asked, holding out a gloved hand for the tools. Echo stilled, his face unreadable in the soft shadows. When he looked up, Lyrri's chest tightened; even in the low light, his golden eyes were searing. She thought he was about to tell her to get lost, but then he handed her the mini-torch. Determined not to show her shock, Lyrri immediately began inspecting his left knee joint. Echo was finally able to relax his back and sit at a normal angle. He didn't speak, and neither did she; Lyrri was not going to be the one who broke the silence. She heard him chuckle, something deep and mirthless. "I hope you realize the irony in you asking me that."

wound care - Echo x F!Mercenary!OC The Batch thought they were the first ones Cid sends after Muchi. When Lyrri is discovered in the Zygerrian's camp, broken and bleeding, the Batch has to pivot, and she has to accept there might actually be people in this galaxy who are willing to help her.

cicatrix - Echo x F!Mercenary!OC Wound Care Vignettes cicatrix: a scar (= mark left on the body) from a healed injury Echo stumbles upon a living representation of his pain, and must learn the difference between mutual healing and trauma bonding.

Echo used the flattened and stretched starlight to see as he worked Tech’s mini air compressor around the head of his scomp. Small bits of metal and wire fell into the cloth across his lap; no wonder the thing hadn’t been turning smoothly since before he’d driven it into the head of that battle droid. He tucked the compressor away and tossed the debris into the scrap bag to be dealt with later.

He ran his left forefinger around the edge of the scomp and, with only a thought, made it spin. It turned smooth, slowed to a stop when he willed it. And for a moment he found himself marveling at how quickly you could get used to something so new, so strange.

Before his surgery on Anaxes, Kix had given him a choice to have the scomp removed. With the caveat that he had nothing, at the moment, to replace it with and it might be 30 rotations or more before they could make that happen. If they could.

Echo had chosen to keep it. Even if they’d had a mechno hand ready for him, he thought he might have chosen to keep it. It was...useful. Though he could admit—thinking of the empty sketchbook he’d found in the Tipoca City library, now tucked carefully away in his pack—there were some things he missed having a right hand for.

-- A Place Called Home

Chapter Two

Summary: Things go from bad to worse when Hunter, Fennec, and Omega come across a new threat.

Read on AO3

Excerpt:

Hunter woke to the sound of birdsong and a crick in his neck. His eyes fluttered open as sunlight streamed through the window by the stairs. He had decided to sleep in font of Omega’s room last night, just in case. He sat up and winced as he pulled his head left and right in the hopes of feeling a little better.

He pushed himself up and rubbed his face, looking back into Omega’s room and feeling his heart stop at the empty bed. He threw himself down the stairs, the sofa was empty too and the door was unlocked. It took every skill he had ever learned in the military to calm himself down.

He yanked open the front door and took a deep breath to call out into the woods when he heard the door to the kitchen open and Omega come inside, trailed by Fennec Shand who, while walking gingerly, was at least upright. Fennec finished saying something and Omega giggled.

He huffed out a breath and made a mental note to have a conversation with Omega about strangers, before going back inside.

Omega smiled as she clutched a few flowers in her hand, pulling down a little vase they’d bought at a second hand store for just such an occasion, and put the yellow and white flowers on the kitchen table.

“Morning, Hunter.” She said with a smile, coming over to him and throwing her arms around his waist. Hunter smiled and ran his hand through her curls before placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

“Morning, Megs.” He replied before offering a smile to Fennec, or Miss Shand as he was supposed to address her. “Sleep okay?” he asked.

Fennec played with her long hair that hung loose over her shoulders and down her back. “I’ve slept worse.” She replied.

Hunter nodded and crossed to the old coffee maker in the corner. He set about making some while Omega and Fennec continued their conversation, seemingly about deadly plants in a far-off rainforest somewhere.

“Hunter’s been teaching me about poisonous plants. Haven’t you?” Omega asked, clearly trying to bring him into the conversation.

“Among other things.” Hunter said politely but not really willing to give Shand any more information than he had to. In all honesty he could probably turn her out into the forest and feel little remorse for whatever happened to her, they had done more than enough to help. But he knew that wouldn’t fly with Omega, the girl who wanted to nurse injured squirrels back to health or search for lost hikers. Omega’s heart was almost too big for such a small body to contain. Hunter loved that about her most times but struggled with that when it could potentially put her in danger.

After a hurried but uneventful breakfast, Hunter packed his pack and Omega’s with supplies and planned to trek to call Tech and Phee.

“Anyone would think you were trying to get rid of me.” Fennec said with a smirk as she attempted to put on her boots. She winced as she tried to lean down and Hunter took hold of them for her. “I don’t need your…”

“For the sake of argument, let’s say you don’t, although you do.” He said with a scowl. “Just take it as a kindness and leave it at that. I promise the next time you need your laces tied, Omega can do it. Okay?” Omega grinned from the kitchen and Fennec fell back into the sofa and sulked.

Hunter hated to admit that she was ridiculously attractive when she sulked. Her dark rimmed eyes seemed to smolder, her berry-colored lips pursed. Dark freckles were scattered over her nose and cheeks, and her long hair made his fingers itch to run through it. He shook his head and pulled away.

His brother would tell him she was just his type. Uninterested, glamorous, dangerous, and snide. “You like women who keep you on your toes.” Crosshair told him during one of their last conversations before their estrangement.

Hunter had laughed and rolled his eyes at his little brother. “Oh? And why’s that?”

His brother had looked at him with his sharp gaze and taken a swig of his beer. “You want someone to challenge you, Sergeant. Always have.”

“I get more than enough challenges from my asshole brothers, thanks very much.”

Crosshair had swiveled in his seat and scowled, “It’s not the same. And you know I’m right. I always am.”

Hunter blinked away the conversation. He could hear Crosshair’s voice in his ear, see his face as though he were standing in front of him. Before Jango showed up with Omega. Before the fight. Before the break.

He huffed out a sigh and threw the pack on his back. “Come on. The sooner we get there the sooner you find your bounty.”

Fennec Shand glanced up at him curiously, as though she perhaps knew what was going on under the surface. But no one knew that, not even Omega. Hunter had become very skilled over the years of keeping certain parts of himself from others. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d know how to share even if he wanted to. The irony of course was that Crosshair was the brother he was closest to. The one he truly shared himself with, all the fears and worries he didn’t want others to know about. And now they didn’t talk anymore, and those feelings didn’t have anywhere to go, so he just buried them instead, letting himself rot from the inside out. Perhaps that’s what he deserved.

Omega walked a little ways ahead with Batcher, the dog’s long tail wagged as she bounded down the trail before doubling back, never too far away from her human. He was happy to let them go ahead, as long as he could see. He hung in the middle, surreptitiously keeping an eye on Fennec who seemed to be getting slower with every step. He carried her backpack, but Shand had been less than willing to give up her rifle which hung over her left shoulder.

She cried out and stopped as her hair got caught on a spikey bush.

“It might be time for another braid.” Hunter said with a smile.

Fennec scowled at him. “I…” she raised her arms as if to demonstrate, “I can’t…do it. Maybe Omega can help?”

Hunter looked over at Omega, standing at the top of the hill, her golden hair glowing in the morning light.

“Hey Meg’s, can you braid?”

She shook her head but came back towards them anyway. “No. It’s kind of annoying to try with curly hair.”

Fennec sighed and reached up before wincing and throwing her left arm protectively around her waist.

Hunter huffed out a sigh, “Here,” he said, holding out his hand for a hair tie.

Fennec scowled at him again. “You can braid hair?”

Hunter rolled his eyes, “what can I say, I’m a jack of all trades.” He held out his hand again and waited for the hair tie. When Fennec didn’t move he shifted his weight. “We can always just cut it.” He said, pulling out his knife.

“Fine. Fine.” Fennec grumbled as she placed a black hair tie in his hand. He put it in his mouth and set to work, pulling at her long black stands and trying to ignore the faint scent of flowers that came from it. It wasn’t as elaborate as the ones she’d worn yesterday; no ribbon pulled through it or anything. He wasn’t even sure where the ribbon had disappeared to, but he was satisfied with the job and frankly happy to have one less thing to worry about.

“There.” He said, tossing the end of the long braid over her shoulder and pulling her pack tighter on his back for something to do. “Ready, now?”

Fennec bit her lip and nodded. The air was already muggy, and the sun had barely been up for an hour. They trekked for about half an hour before Hunter’s phone came to life again. He pulled it out of his pocket and dialed Tech. He picked up on the first ring, the sound of tools on metal in the background.

“Have you finally come to your senses, wild man?” Tech’s clipped voice asked.

Hunter rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Nice to hear from you too, Tech.” he grumbled.

“Hi Tech.” Omega called with a grin on her face.

“You need a supply run already? You’ve only been gone…”

“No. It’s not that. Wondered if you could give someone a lift.”

He heard the clatter of Tech’s tools as he put them down and sighed into the phone. “I see. So, you’ve picked up another stray?”

Hunter’s eyes flew over Fennec as her face settled into a scowl. “I’m not entirely sure I’d say that…”

“Would you say that perhaps this little experiment of yours is…”

“An argument for another time, brother. Are you gunna help or not? She’s got a pretty deep knife wound on her side.”

“Were you showing off with knife twirling again?”

Fennec smirked as Tech’s voice carried and Hunter rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t from me. I’ll explain when you get here.”

"Can we come too?" Omega shouted into the phone.

He heard the change in Tech's voice as he smiled, "You are always welcome, Omega. Besides, She needs a run anyway. I’ll wake Phee and we’ll be with you in an hour.”

“Thanks. See you soon.”

Hunter hung up, his eyes falling on the smirk on Fennec’s lips. “Wild man?” she repeated with mirth.

Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Do you know what he was talking about?” Fennec asked, seemingly enjoying herself immensely all of a sudden.

Omega shrugged as she scratched Batcher behind the ears, and Hunter thought the conversation might die, until she took a breath and launched into an explanation. “Hunter was a tracker in the military. He and his brother had a falling out when I came around and he decided to come to the cabin during the summer holidays to get away from…”

“Megs.” Hunter warned.

She paused and looked between Fennec and Hunter before pushing her lips together tightly. “Sorry.” She hissed before turning around and examining a purple flower on the side of the clearing.

“Your name is Hunter and you became a military tracker…that’s a little on the nose, isn’t it?”

Hunter closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again and glaring at her. “It was a means to an end.”

“And what was that?”

Chapter One

Summary: Hunter isn't hiding in the forest with his little sister, he's just...reevaluating. That is until they stumble into a bounty hunting mission gone awry and get caught up in a mess with a fragile ally. Is Fennec Shand trustworthy? Is his bleeding heart really to blame for all of this? And what happens when the face of the enemy looks all too familiar?

Read on AO3

Excerpt:

“Megs…Megs…” Hunter called through the underbrush as his willful and independent daughter, well, technically sister, pushed ahead. “Not too far…” he cautioned.

Omega peaked her head around a tree, her blonde curls spilling over her shoulder, “will you relax, Hunter? There’s nothing in these woods that can hurt me with you here.”

Hunter rolled his eyes and shook  his head, brushing his long hair behind his ear as Omega had stollen his bandana for herself. “I think a grizzly bear would disagree with you, kid.” He replied with a smirk as he fidgeted with his knife.

“Only 'cos he hasn’t met you yet…” she said as she skipped along the path, keeping close watch for poisonous foliage under Hunter’s instruction.

“I would do my best, Kid, but I have a feeling if we tangle with a bear, you’re living with Tech and Phee, or worse, Echo and Wrecker.”

“Not Crosshair?” she teased as she turned and walked backwards down the well-worn path, her eyebrow raised in challenge.

Hunter shrugged, “not if our last conversation was anything to go by.”

Omega paused, hands on hips, giving her an air of maturity well beyond her twelve years. “Hunter, that was almost six months ago, A lot can change in six months…”

Hunter shoved her shoulder playfully to get her moving again, “a lot can, Kid, but not Crosshair. Not in my experience, anyway.”

She looked down at her feet as she continued to walk, the smile dropping off her face. “Is it…is it my fault?” she asked.

Hunter stopped under the shade of a tall tree, shoving his knife back into the sheath on his wrist. “Omega…”

“It was me he didn’t like. If I’d stayed away maybe you’d all be together and…”

“Megs, come on. We’ve talked about this. You coming into our lives when you did was a good thing. We were all on the outs anyway. The work wasn’t the same and someone had to take care of you. But it’s not your fault. We all made our own decisions.” He looked at her and lifted her chin, brushing her escaped curls away from her face. “What did Echo tell you?”

She smiled slightly and let out a little giggle as she wiped her nose on her sleeve, “that you all made the right choice and…and you’d all do it again.”

“That’s right.” Hunter replied, standing up and ruffling her hair. “Now come on otherwise we very well might be caught by a bear.”

She grinned and did a twirl as she danced on the path. “What makes you say that?”

“Because someone wore the perfume she pulled out of the lost and found despite me telling her not to.” He said, looking severe but having no real malice in his heart.

Omega turned to him and looked guilty, twisting her blonde hair around her finger. “It was just this once…”

“Remind me of that when there’s a bear ripping out my windpipe.”

Omega giggled and tripped over a loose tree root, falling onto the path was a hurried “ooff”. Hunter pulled her up easily and dusted her off, grabbing her hiking boot that had been left behind and extricating it out from the tree.

“Hunter.” She exclaimed as Hunter heard something dashing through the brush. He pulled Omega behind him and shoved her boot at her, in case they needed to move quickly. The silhouette was far enough away that he couldn’t see as the first person, tall and lithe moved from right to left, before a second came pounding after the first, the brush being pushed away angrily, a long braid trailing behind.

Hunter watched them go, slowly lowering his protective grip on Omega and continuing. There was the sound of a collision and two bodies collapsing to the ground and the very distinct unsheathing on a knife. A yelp seemed to echo around the trees and before he could stop her, Omega had darted off the path.

“Megs, come back.”

She ran in front of him, her backpack jiggling as she jumped over fallen trees, “we have to help them.” She threw behind her as she ran.

Hunter growled as he sped up, throwing himself through trees and brush as he kept her bobbing blond hair in his line of sight, while also keeping an eye out for any other threats. He had trekked this path so many times he knew it like the back of his hand. Omega wasn’t going to be in danger from the flora or fauna out here, but a bear might take interest, or a person.

He didn’t know who they were chasing or why and he certainly didn’t want her to get there first. “Megs, stop.” He called after her. She still kept going. Willful, he thought to himself, the word coming out in Echo’s gravelly voice when he questioned how Hunter planned to keep her contained. He made a silent prayer to his brother, as though he could somehow help when he was back in the city, wearing a suit and lobbying for military veterans.

“Omega Fett.” He growled in a voice he had only used once since becoming her guardian. She stopped short and turned, looking guilty. He was thankful that she didn’t look scared. If his dad had called his name like that, he’d be in for a beating. “Slow down, kid.” He said softly, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. We’ll check it out, but I go in first, and if I tell you to run, you run. Understand?”

She nodded.

“I’m gunna need an affirmative, Megs.”

“Yes, Hunter.” She said softly, “sorry.”

Hunter smiled and huffed out a breath, pulling his knife out of its sheath and creeping forward.

The two people seemed to be flighting in the brush, the tall man had a shorter women by the throat, a knife tip to her jugular as she tried with all her might to push him away.

“He’s gunna hurt her.” Omega screamed from behind him, her voice making the strangers aware of their presence and causing the fighting to intensify.

The woman pushed the man away and jumped back as he slashed down with a ridged looking hunting knife, but she didn’t manage to get far enough away. The sound of slicing flesh rang through the clearing. Hunter launched himself at the attacker, grabbing the knife out of his grip and throwing it into the dense brush. He didn’t want to fight in front of Omega, didn’t want her to see but he had to protect her as much as the woman bleeding on the ground.

He got his feet under the ribs of the assailant and pushed him back, sending him colliding into a tree. He slumped down to the bottom, looking dazed, before standing up and stumbling away. Hunter brushed his sweaty hair out of his face and came to the injured woman just as Omega made her way into the clearing.

“Megs, get some bandages and alcohol. We’ll…”

“Get off.” The women pushed out as they descended on her. He realized belatedly that she had a large rifle strapped to her back, a heavy, special ops style backpack at her feet and her own knife strapped to her ankle. “You let him get away.” He groaned as she scowled at him, her eyes rimmed with dark eyeliner. Her hair was long and tied in a braid that snaked down her back.

“He was going to kill you.” Hunter said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah, well better him than the people that paid me.” She grumbled, pushing herself up unsteadily.

“You’re hurt.” Omega said softly, her large brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“I’ll be fine.” She replied curtly, even managing a small smile at the little girl before turning her scowl back on Hunter. “How far to the road?”

Hunter huffed and put his hands on his hips, flicking his hair out of his face. “Five miles, give or take but you won’t make it that far. Not with that.” He said with a nod to her wound.

“Watch me.” She said bitterly.

Hunter stood aside, waving his arm as though it were an invitation. He stooped down and picked up the man’s desugared knife, shoving it in his pack for safekeeping. “You’ll bleed out in a about thirty minutes. Forty if your circulation is shit.”

The woman braced herself on a nearby tree, her left hand wrapped around her waist, dark blood oozing into her hand.

“And that’s if the wildlife doesn’t get ya” He finished.  “We can treat you. We have a cabin about a mile and a half up. I can at least stop the bleeding. Give you a fighting chance.”

The woman’s eyes looked from Hunter to Omega, pausing on the young girl’s face. “We have food too. You look like you might be hungry.” She said enthusiastically.

“Thanks. But I’ll be fine.” She said, more confidently than Hunter thought she had any right to be. Her voice was low and smokey and in any other circumstance, he may find that alluring.

Hunter watched as she pulled her hand away from the tree and staggered forward.

“We have to follow her.” Omega whispered as the woman slowly got further and further away.

“No. We have to get back to the cabin so you can wash that perfume off. We did what we could, kid.”

Hunter stepped back on the path and waited for Omega to follow, but she stood in the middle of the clearing watching the women get slowly smaller, her long shiny, black braid glimmering in the dappled light of the trees. She was about to cross into a deep divert in the woods when she stumbled and fell.

“Shit.” Hunter hissed as Omega took off again and he followed behind her.

The woman’s eyes were opening and closing as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Hunter tore open his backpack and pulled out some bandages, wrapping her abdomen tightly. She groaned under the pressure, her eyes flickering open.

“What’s your name?” he asked hurriedly, hoping to get a response before she lost consciousness again.

“Fen…Fennnnnn….” Hunter looked over at Omega who just shrugged.

“Who can we call? Is someone missing you?” she shook her head.

Hunter huffed out a breath and sighed, scooping his arms under her small body and pulling her to his chest.

“Get the backpack, kid.”