The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

Febuwhump Day Six: "You Lied To Me"

Author's Note: This is going to hurt. :)

~ Amina Gila

A month post-Kamino, the Bad Batch finally discuss staying off the Empire's radar for good. Tech hacks into their Imperial files, revealing Crosshair reported them as dead. It's good for them, but it comes with a multitude of other implications, too.

"The Empire has us reported as dead," Tech says finally as his datapad beeps again, "As having been lost on Kamino."

That the Empire thinks they're dead is a good thing.

That means they won't have to worry about being hunted. They're safe for now. It just means they need to go out of their way to avoid being spotted again.

"The report was filed by Admiral Rampart immediately after the destruction of Kamino," Tech reports, "And –" He cuts himself off, and Hunter pauses, looking up.

"What?" he asks.

"It was verified by Crosshair," Tech finishes, "Though why he waited until a month after, I cannot say."

"That's good," Hunter says over the spike of his heartrate. He's hardly been mentioned since Kamino, and Hunter doesn't want to talk about him. He's gone. There's no point. Talking about him just makes his absence hurt even worse. It won't bring him back. It won't change anything. It won't make him have actually cared about them.

"If the Empire thinks we're dead, that gives us the cover we need."

"That's good, right?" Omega asks.

"That was surprisingly considerate of him," Echo mutters under his breath.

Omega looks up at him, biting her lip. Hunter thinks she wants to argue that, though why, he doesn't understand.

Wrecker twitches, and Hunter senses how his own heart rate increases. Can feel the way his signature shifts and shudders and dims.

"Perhaps he understands more than we realized," Tech offers.

Don't.

Just don't.

He isn't going to hope.

Isn't going to wish. Certainly isn't going to talk about this.

Unless Crosshair reported that to convince himself it was true. Because he didn't want to accept what happened, because he wanted to consider them dead. That sounds far more in-character with the Crosshair they fought on Kamino. He wants to cry just thinking about it. About him. "It doesn't matter," Hunter replies firmly, "If the Empire thinks we're dead, there's no reason to change it. We know what could happen if we choose to fight it again. That's not something we can handle."

He turns away, moving to the back, staring blankly at the computer screen he usually is at for nothing except to have something t- to see. He wants to stop thinking.

Tech is in denial. Hunter is certain of that, and he might not blame him for it, but that just makes the pain even more acute. After what – after all of this, Hunter can't accept any of their childhood was real. It was something of a fantasy, a dream, and it always will be. It never meant anything to Crosshair, so it doesn't... matter any of what they could've had.

He wants to cry. He wants... someone to be there, too – he wants someone. Doesn't want to constantly feel like he has nothing and no one to rely on, no matter how unfair that is. Hunter has his brothers. He shouldn't want anything more, but he does.

Omega is hovering beside him, but he can't bring himself to look at her.

"What if Tech's right?" she asks quietly.