🐺 ~PROJECT SAC-1~ ⚔️

Chapter 7 - If Given a Second Chance- 🤲🏻

Tech remained steady and remarkably taciturn, taking a short step towards the frightened clone. "You are simply in a medcenter here on Coruscant."

It took several blinks for his words to be computed in addition to a few shaky breaths before SAC-1 repeated to herself the location he gave, to which he nodded in reaffirmation, "I'm not in the lab on Kamino being experimented on?" She couldn't control what came out of her mouth, unable to think of the consequences for revealing Nala Se's rotten habits. But she needed to hear it, too be absolutely certain it wasn't true.

Tech's expression drooped a little in sadness. He closed the distance to kneel by the bed, gently reaching up to make SAC-1 release her poor hair before it was ripped from her scalp. "No. You are being treated for the injuries you received on Silva."

Recognition dawned on SAC-1. The mission. The bomb. The rescue.

Another pensive peer was taken of the room, slowly allowing Tech to lower SAC-1's hands from her head, but she clutched onto his before they pulled away. She still needing some form of grounding. This place wore the same white walls and blinding white lights, but that's where the similarities ended. The machinery was from different manufacturers, there were no Kaminoans in sight, and the big window her bed was in front of had a view of a bustling skyscraper filled city she'd read about, zero stormy clouds or raging oceans in sight.

Panic subsided by leaps and bounds. So sniffing, SAC-1 finally released Tech to wipe her tears away. She wasn't on Kamino. She was, in a way, safe.

A grunt came from the corner of the room. The next thing for SAC-1 to take in was Hunter clutching his ribs, his face twisted in pain when Crosshair tried and failed to him to his feet without hurting him further.

When she recalled punching 'Nala Se', the panic came back as the illusion turned out to actually be Hunter. "Sergeant!" She exclaimed, "Are you okay?!"

"You have enhanced strength: do you think he's okay?" Crosshair hissed rhetorically, letting go of Hunter's arm when he was upright, albeit a bit shaky. Thankfully there was a wall to support him.

If Hunter had been wearing his armor, perhaps he could have been protected from SAC-1's unnatural strength, but he and the rest of the Bad Batch were wearing what they called 'civvies.' They each had variations of cargo pants and belts so that they could still carry weapons on them, and each had their wrist guards to keep their commlinks on them, but Tech wore a simple blue turtleneck, Crosshair had a simple long sleeve black shirt, Wrecker wore a poncho over a red short sleeve shirt and Hunter sported a green tank top, and each wore their combat boots. A bit of a humble wardrobe, but it was not as if these measly clones could afford anything extravagant.

Back to the issue in the hospital room, SAC-1's hand fisted into her hair again, another freak out developing. "I'm sorry, I thought you were - and - and I thought I was being - and then the alarm went off - !!!"

Hunter held up a hand. "It's fine. Don't apologize." He tried taking in a deep breath, but that sent a wave of pain through his middle, and he grunted when his ribs protested. "But I may need a medic."

Wrecker barked a laugh from his position by the door.

As if on cue, a clone medic rushed in, having seen the commotion through the security cams. "What's going on here?!" He interrogated, seeing the now alert, disheveled SAC-1 and not-previously injured Hunter.

SAC-1 blushed and tucked her chin to her chest. "I may have panicked just a smitch."

"That's the understatement of the millennium." Crosshair quipped, which only made her feel even worse. Which was his intention.