aftermath: life debt | the bad batch

xxxix. prison break

Hunter sighed. "You're right." 

"Remember," Gregor said. "We can't get out of here unless we get to the lifts. Direct them to the hangars at the center of the base." 

"Copy that," Echo said. 

They embarked on a daring plan to outsmart their captors and break free from their imprisonment. Hunter took out the vibroknife from his pocket, and managed to cut through the bars of their cell. They each stepped out, one by one, into the empty imperial hallway. Hunter led the way with his strategic smarts. Echo followed, finding the nearest network terminal. Once he did, he was able to hack and decode it, even though the data stored in the information banks of the empire was heavily encrypted. Drawing upon his experience as a tactician, analyzed the layout of the prison and identified potential weaknesses in its security systems. As Echo was hacking their systems, the klaxons began to ring. 

"That's not for us, right?" Hunter asked Echo. 

"No," Echo responded. "I gathered some authorization codes to give us access to the security systems. And I ordered a Code-16 like we discussed. The troopers are on their way to the hangar, but it won't be long until they notice it was for nothing. Let's move." 

"That's great, but where the hell is Howzer's cell?" Hunter asked. 

"Cell block 31." 

"I know how to get there," Gregor said. "Echo's right, we better move. It's two floors down." 

"Let me contact Rex to tell him we made it out of our cell alive," Hunter said, taking his comm link out of his pocket. 

"Rex? Rex, come in." 

There was no answer, just a static noise that barely made it through the speaker of the comm. 

"They're jamming our comms," Hunter said, putting his comm back in his pocket. "They know we're here. We have to hurry." 

Using their combined skills in infiltration and combat, the Bad Batch stealthily navigated the corridors of the prison, evading patrols and surveillance cameras with silent precision. They each provided cover for one another when necessary as they made their way through the endless hallways of the facility. 

They took a lift two floors down, like Gregor said, having to stun the occupants within the elevator so they wouldn't give away their position. Echo used one of the authorization codes he got at the terminal to gain access to the elevator. 

Gregor led them to the additional maze of halls like the ones that they had navigated two floors above. Once they reached the cell, Echo used yet another access code to hack the keypad enclosing Howzer in his cell. The doors slid open, indicating the codes worked. 

"Good, you're here," Howzer said almost sarcastically after they broke into his cell. 

"How'd you know?" Hunter asked. 

"You don't leave your own behind, ever," he replied. 

"Then why did you sound mad to see us?" Echo asked. 

"Wherever you guys go, you either bring trouble or trouble follows you." 

"Can you quit being so philosophical and can we all leave?" 

Howzer rolled his eyes, following clone force 99, and Gregor, outside the cell and into the halls. They retraced their steps, using the same codes as earlier to keep the imperial forces stalled as they escaped. However, instead of going up only two floors, they went up all the floors, planning their escape.

Once they reached the top floor, Gregor almost turned the corner, but saw a squad of troops coming their way. He pivoted clockwise on his left foot, hiding behind the wall. 

"There goes the real defective clones. Following orders like their clankers," Gregor muttered, gesturing his head towards the imperial troopers. One trooper stopped for a second, turned their way, but left. 

"That trooper definitely saw us," Hunter said. "Somethings going on here. I don't like it." 

"Well, let's take advantage of the fact that they didn't see us and get the hell out of here," Gregor said. 

"They barely saw us before we got thrown into the cell and managed to sound all the alarms," Hunter replied. "There's something off at this facility. They're letting us go." 

"Stop overthinking it and let's go!" Gregor said, starting to run towards the elevator. 

They rushed towards the different elevator that would take them to the very top of the base, their distraction drawing the attention of the guards away from their true objective. They seized their opportunity, slipping through the gaps in the defenses and making a break for freedom.

As they neared the outer perimeter of the prison, they encountered something they didn't see on the way in when it was dark out. There was a series of heavily guarded checkpoints manned by Imperial soldiers. They relied on their agility and guile to slip past undetected, with Echo's help to destroy security systems from the inside out. 

"Thanks," Howzer said to the group once they made it out and back to the ship. "For you know, breaking me out of prison." 

"It's because we need your help," Hunter said. "Would you be willing to help us?" 

"If it includes taking down Crosshair and the empire, count me in." 

Hunter nodded. "Welcome to clone force 99, Howzer." 

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━━━ completed reading ━━━

act three: but keep your enemies closer