The Great War • Hunter

32.Purpose in Death

    Akay vi urcir tug'yc, ner aliit. Until we meet again, my family.

–

    Hunter broke open the tube, leaning over the edge. "No, no, Alona!" He shouted, starting to peel a few of his heavier pieces of armor off. He throws a leg over the edge but pauses when the barrel of Crosshair's blaster is pointed directly at his head. "I need to save her!" Hunter shouted in desperation.

    The other clones point their blasters at the brother who seemingly remained on the opposite side as them, ready to shoot if he dared touch Hunter.

    Crosshair's face falters and he redirects his blaster towards the ocean, squinting one eye shut and looking through the scope. There was absolute silence between the group of clones and the singular droid. Crosshair scanned the deep waters, each passing second creating more tension.

    Hunter grew impatient and jumped into the ocean, swimming down a few feet and scanning the floating debris for his lost love. His heart was slowly shattering the longer she remained unfound. He couldn't live without her. He needed Alona.

    Then he saw the shimmer of her belt. That simple, small, golden plate on her black leather belt. Hunter shot up to the surface, pointing Crosshair in the correct spot. The marksman shot his grapple, hooking onto the Force-user's leg and reeling her in.

    Hunter went back underwater when she was close enough. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, never wanting to let go again as they returned above the waterline. Hunter rushed to pat her back, hoping, praying, that she would come back to him.

    She was cold, so cold that the feeling of her skin would haunt Hunter, reminding him of this moment forever. "Alona, please. Come on, Alona. Wake up–wake–wake up. Alona!"

    "Come on, Alona. Come back." He pleaded quietly, staying afloat between Crosshair's tube and Omega's. He continued roughly patting and rubbing her back, the longer he continued the more aggressive and panicked he became.

    There was a cough, the sound of water returning from a foreign place.

    Hunter felt like he could breathe again, swimming over to Omega's tube and holding onto the side of it with one hand, hoisting Alona inside with the blonde.

    Alona began choking, water spewing from her blue lips. Omega, with her past medical experience with Nala Se, turned Alona onto her side in the tube and began patting her back. Hunter held on tightly to Alona's arm, making sure she stayed in that position.

    AZI had run out of energy, his metal body lazily leaning against the side of the pod.

    Hunter examined her face, his stomach churning in horror. It was blue, nearly matching the severity of her shaking lips.

    "Hunter, is she okay?" Echo asked quickly, looking like he was about to jump out of his tube despite not being able to swim with his metal legs.

    Hunter climbed into the tube with his girls and AZI, looking over at his brothers with traumatized eyes. "She's breathing, I-I don't-she's..." He shook his head, his mind still trying to wrap around the whole thing.

    Omega lowered her face to Alona's, brushing the brunette hair from her blue face. "Alona. Alona, can you hear me?" She asked softly, resting her hand on Alona's cheek. Their eyes met, but she never responded. "Sh-She'll be okay, but we need to get her to the Marauder."

    Tech adjusted his goggles, visibly relaxing like everyone else at the vaguely good news. "Yes, I suggest we get back to the Marauder. I can determine the severity of Alona's injuries there and make sure she receives the proper treatment." He chimed, beginning to paddle in the direction of the ship.

    When they arrived at the dock, the team groaned at yet another long ladder their exhausted bodies had to climb.

    Hunter didn't complain, though. He had Alona back. She was alive, Omega was safe, and his entire squad was safe. That was the only thing he thought about as he climbed up the ladder, continuously looking down at Alona, who was in and out of consciousness in Wrecker's arms.

    When they were all standing a few feet from the Marauder, they took a second to look out at the ocean, the spot where Kamino had resided now empty. Unless you looked at the very bottom of the ocean, you would have no evidence that anything ever existed here at all.

    "We should leave before the Empire's scouts show up." Tech warned, removing his hand from Alona's forehead and sliding his glove back on.

    Being cold could be both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it slows your metabolism and reduces your body's need for oxygen, but bad because your risk of getting hypothermia is high. Tech was unable to tell if Alona's coldness was good or bad.

    "None of this changes anything." Crosshair grumbles, crossing his arms.

    "You offered us a chance, Crosshair. This is yours." Hunter replied, holding his helmet against his hip.

    "I made my decision." Crosshair retorts.

    Hunter lets out a sigh, glancing over at Alona before turning back to his misdirected brother. "We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies." He paused, running his teeth across his bottom lip before his eyes softened. "Thank you, for saving her. I..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

    Crosshair turned away, refusing to look at his old squad anymore. Maybe the pre-Empire Crosshair was somewhere in there. Maybe he will come back. But not today.