𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 - 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 ✔︎

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞

HUNTER DIDN'T BRING UP HIS CONVERSATION WITH VANA AFTER THAT. he understood to a degree how traumatizing order 66 was to the jedi, but not enough. he wanted to help vana, but he wasn't sure how.

while crosshair rested in the back, tech directed them back to ord martell. they needed some time off, and even though they didn't know how to remove crosshair's chip, they needed to stop and refuel. it was silent, though. no one said a word as they flew through hyperspace. it was an odd silence, one that tech filled with a question.

"cid should have a medical area for us to perform the procedure, though, what do we do if she doesn't?" tech adjusted his goggles and gave his brothers, plus omega and vana, a concerned look. he had the technology to find the chip, taking it out was another problem.

"can we take it out ourselves?" hunter inquired, keeping his arms crossed.

"it would be too risky. having some sort of facility would ensure it's done efficiently." tech shook his head, his eyes flicking towards the back of the ship, where crosshair was. he missed crosshair, he missed his brother. he was relieved to finally have him again, but keeping him unconscious would prove to be difficult over a long time.

"what about the jedi? can they do something?" wrecker proposed. vana was silent for a moment, her eyes focused on the floor. she inhaled deeply before she responded.

"considering we didn't know the existence of the chips until after we were nearly wiped out, no. the only thing the jedi could do was find the chip without any sort of scanner." vana's voice was dry and monotone, though there was a hint of remorse. separating herself from her past seemed to be the best way to go; she had to silence her emotions.

"we'll just hope for the best," tech sighed. he saw the tension on vana's shoulders, but he didn't say anything. he wasn't good when it came to emotions; he liked the technical side of things.

———

upon arrival onto ord martell, cid wasn't too happy about the bad batch's new additions.

"seriously? you brought your brother, who you kidnapped from the empire, and a jedi? the empire will be hot on your tails!" the female trandoshan argued.

"we know, cid, but we need somewhere to get cross's chip out. can we do that here?" hunter kept his voice low, a pleasing look on his face. cid exhaled and crossed her arms.

"yes, but it's small; the group of ya won't fit in there," cid informed. hunter nodded to tech and echo, who took crosshair back with cid. wrecker went with omega to grab some mantell mix, leaving hunter and vana alone.

"we'll be waiting on the ship." hunter called out to his brothers. he took vana back to the ship, where he planned on talking to her. hunter knew that the more she bottled up her emotions the more irritable she was going to be. hunter cared for vana, more than he liked to admit, but he'd admit that he didn't want to see her hurt.

"what an interesting way to try and get me to open up," vana chuckled as she walked onto the ship. when hunter turned to face her, he was met with angry eyes and crossed arms.

"you can't bottle it up, vana. the more you bottle it up, the worse it'll be."

"i don't want to deal with it, hunter. it's over, it's in the past; i can't dwell on it." vana hated admitting that. she hated admitting that it was time to move on, to forget.

"putting it behind you is one thing, ignoring it is another. your world was turned upside down; do you expect to just forget it?" taking a step closer, hunter tried to read the expression written on vana's face.

"i do," she stated plainly.

"you can't-"

"i can do whatever i want with what happened, hunter! yes, i'm bottling it up, no i'm not going to dump all of it on you or anyone else! it's my problem, not anyone else's!" she interrupted, her voice rising in volume as she continued. he was silent for a moment, processing what she said.

"but we can help you, vana." his voice was quiet, soft, and comforting. vana was almost tempted to collapse in his arms and just let it out, but she didn't.

"i'll handle this on my own," she assured hunter. before he could argue any further, the others boarded the ship with a still unconscious crosshair.

"everything alright?" echo asked, seeing the tension between the sergeant and the jedi.

"fine, how's crosshair?" vana asked, directing her eyes to the trooper.

"procedure went smoothly. hopefully, he'll be awake in a couple of hours." tech reported and vana nodded. the tension between vana and hunter was felt by everyone on that ship, and there wasn't any escaping it.

"i'm...going to step out for some fresh air." vana spoke, shooting a glare at hunter, daring him to follow her out. he wanted to, but he knew given the recent words spoken between them, it wouldn't be a good idea.

vana took a seat on a boulder near the marauder, burying her face in her hands. the guilt that's built up over the years was starting to break her; she knew she couldn't handle it for much longer. she felt her shoulders groan as she sat up straight. vana heard footsteps, but just as she was about to tear into someone, she stopped herself.

"vana?" it was omega. the blonde girl had a thing for broken people and figuring them out; it amazed vana.

"omega," vana breathed. the blonde girl sat on the ground below vana, drawing shapes in the dirt.

"you can't blame him for trying to help you," omega started. vana sighed and placed her hands on her knees; she didn't need a lecture from omega.

"you're his friend, and i think he thinks of you more than a friend." omega added. this made vana laugh in disbelief; she was joking, right?

"that's a good one, omega."

"i'm serious! he cares for you, vana. i think he can feel the burden you're carrying."

"which is why i don't want to tell him," vana told her, giving her a sarcastic smile. she didn't know why she was being so bitter. vana reprimanded herself for thinking such a thing; she knew exactly why she was bitter.

"you're a jedi, you fought thousands of droids without blinking and when it comes to your emotions you just...run?" the words this young girl was speaking reminded her of words her mother would tell her. she huffed, flicking her eyes to the shapes omega was drawing in the dirt. omega was extremely smart and she adapted to situations very quickly. vana was proud of the girl, but she couldn't help but think there was something else to her.

"jedi aren't supposed to feel much, simply put. we...we were supposed to be keepers of the peace, which meant we couldn't be attached to anything or anyone," vana explained, "but you see how that went," adding in a lighthearted phrase helped vana further ignore the pressure in her chest.

"but you're human. you become attached to someone eventually." omega was right, once again. vana lifted her eyes to meet omega's. the blonde girl smiled at vana, lighting up her whole face.

"you're one smart cookie, huh?" vana ruffled the girl's hair, causing a giggle to escape her lips.

"please talk to hunter, for me?" the blonde begged. vana chuckled, giving her a nod.

"i will,"

_______

i miss omega already and crosshair, oh poor crossy. anyways that's all i'll say on that. enjoy this because idk what it is. it's another filler but at the same time we're winding down? idk but you'll figure it out and i'll figure it out eventually. i do want to thank every single one of you for your support on this book! i say this every chapter but i'm serious. you guys are the best. continue to be safe and healthy loves!