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xxxii.
battle scars
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tw: gore (not violence)
•••
"That was easy," Echo said.
"Too easy."
"Did you guys get the spice?" Tech asked Hunter through their comm links.
"Affirmative. We retrieved the..." Hunter said, his voice fading out. "Goddamn it."
"What? What is it?" Tech asked.
"The pykes are here."
•••
"What do we do?"
"Uh," Hunter said, trying to think of a plan.
The pykes definitely saw them. A group of them were at the other end of the ramp, the opposite direction of where they had come from. They had completely ignored them, as if they were giving them a head start. It seemed like their chance to have a head start was over though, since the group of pykes started coming toward them.
"Run," Hunter muttered.
"What?!" Echo yelled, not being able to hear him from the loudness of the mines.
"Run!"
The three clones started running towards the exit of the mine, then down the long hallway, to the other mine.
"Really? This was your best plan?" Echo asked Hunter while they were still running down the hallway.
"Think of one better, I dare you."
"Guys it's the first mine we entered!" Omega yelled, coming to a halt. She put the passcode in that Hunter used for the previous mine, and it worked. She opened the door for the three of them, letting Hunter in first, then herself, then Echo, who was the one with the spice. This ramp was already unstable to begin with, and with a dolly full with six crates of spice, it was bound to become even more unstable. But, they had to hurry, the pykes were still after them. The ramp was broken into sections, and when Echo passed a certain section, near the end of the ramp, one side came loose, causing him to slip, losing control of the dolly, and dropping a crate of spice into the mines below.
"Echo!" Omega yelled.
"I'm fine," he said. "I'll hand you the crates. Then put them on the landing."
Hunter and Omega nodded. Echo gave the first crate to Omega, and while she was away putting it on the landing, Echo tried to give the next crate to Hunter, but he could only throw this one.
"Take this one," Echo yelled. "Catch."
"I can't," Hunter yelled back.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"Just give it to me regularly."
"I can't! A slightest shift in weight and this entire ramp goes down."
"Fine," Hunter said. Echo gently threw the crate to him, and he barely caught it. They did the same routine with the other three crates, while one person got another crate. After all the crates were on the landing, Omega and Hunter helped Echo get on the safe part of the ramp. Once they did, the section of the ramp that Echo was on went down, creating a gap in the ramp, which caused the pyke's time.
"That gives us a little time," Echo said.
"They'll find a roundabout way to get us," Hunter said, picking up two crates of spice and starting to run towards the exit. Echo did the same, followed Omega, who was only able to carry one crate. Once they got to the exit, they checked who the guards were. If they were still Rex and Gregor, or if they had been replaced.
"Rex?" Hunter asked, looking at the one that should've been Rex.
"Yeah?" Rex said, taking his helmet off.
"Why didn't you move when you saw us?!" Echo yelled, setting down the two crates of spice he was carrying.
"We can barely see through these stupid helmets!" Rex yelled back. "Gregor, come on, it's time to go."
Gregor took his helmet off. "God, those helmets are stuffy!"
"Grab a crate and let's go," Hunter said. "We need to hurry."
"What's the rush?" Gregor asked.
"The pykes are after us," Hunter replied.
"What?" Rex said, confused. "Cid said the pykes wouldn't be here."
"We know as much as you do," Echo said. "Now, let's go! I don't want us to be sold into slave labor, and I'm sure none of you guys do either."
The now group of five clones all hurried towards the ship. They ran through the outskirts of the planet to reach the ship as quickly as they could, without being spotted by any pykes. Thankfully, they were lucky, and made it to the ship no problem. Hunter put down the crate he was holding and took his comm link out to notify Tech that they were back at the ship.
"Tech, we're here," Hunter said into his comm link. "Lower the stairs."
"Copy that."
Hunter put his comm link away, picking up the crate of spice again. Tech lowered the stairs, and the group rushed in, leaving the five crates of spice in the back of the ship.
"Are you guys okay?" Tech asked.
"Get us out of here!" they all yelled.
"Did you at least get the spice?"
"Just go!"
Tech was able to fly them out of there no problem, which was surprising, considering that it was Kessel. They expected the empire to have more security stationed there, but it was the opposite. As soon as they were in space, Tech put the coordinates for Ord Mantell, and put the ship into hyperspace.
"So did you guys get the spice?" Tech asked.
"Yup," Hunter said. "Five crates of it."
"So what's after Ord Mantell?" Gregor asked.
"We'll have to plan that. But before that, I suggest everyone get some rest," Hunter said. "None of us have gotten any sleep in a while. And who knows when we'll get the chance again."
"I second that," Rex said.
The group agreed, and decided to get some rest before they got back to Ord Mantell. As Echo passed Hunter, he noticed that the burns on his neck were looking a lot more prominent than they had previously.
"The burns on your neck have gotten worse," Echo told Hunter, before going to the back of the ship.
"No they haven't," Hunter said, grabbing the side of his where his burns were. "Plus, how do burns even get worse?"
"They can get infected," Tech said, interrupting their conversation. "If they aren't treated right, they can get infected. If they did, that could be serious."
"They aren't infected," Hunter argued, going to the cockpit.
"Let's hope they aren't," Tech responded.
•••
For Echo, the hours passed slowly. While everyone else on the ship was asleep, it seemed that he couldn't get any. His mind was racing, thinking about all the possibilities that this mission could eventually go out of control. Plus, the chairs in the back of the ship, which was where he was, were very uncomfortable. It was almost impossible to get any sleep back there.
After a while, he stood up, and decided to go to the cockpit. The seats were more comfortable there, so he thought he had a better chance of getting some sleep, even if his mind was still racing. When he got there, he saw Hunter, sitting down in the co-pilot chair. He was paler than ever, his eyes glossed over, beats of sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Hunter?" Echo asked. "Are you alright-"
"Just go away, Echo," Hunter said. Hunter seemed weak, weaker than ever. This wasn't normal for him, so Echo took a step closer to Hunter, to make sure everything was okay.
Then he saw.
Echo saw the reasoning behind everything. The burns on his neck weren't the problem. It was the burns on his right arm. It's why he couldn't catch the crate back in the mines. There were third-degree burns all over his arm. He was trying to heal them, by putting bandages on them, but Echo knew that it wasn't going to work. These burns weren't going to heal.
"Hunter, Hunter stop," Echo said, taking the bandages from him. "That's not working."
"Yes, it is," Hunter replied. He sounded like he was getting weaker by the second. His movements were becoming slower. He stood up, leaning against the chair for support. He couldn't even stand on his own anymore. The burns had already taken their toll. Echo knew what this meant.
It meant he could lose another one of his brothers.
And he couldn't let that happen.
"Sit down, we'll take care of this-"
Just then, Hunter fell to his knees, then, a couple seconds later, fell to his side, lying there, almost unconscious. Echo sat him up against the wall, his hands on Hunter's shoulders.
"Talk to me Hunter, talk to me," Echo begged, trying to blink back tears. He knew Hunter's time was up. There was no saving this. It was too late. "When did this happen? Just talk. Don't close your eyes. Stay awake. Please."
Hunter's eyes were still open the slightest bit. He was breathing heavily, trying to stay alive.
"Bracca... Wrecker... explosion...," Hunter managed to say, but then winced in pain. "My arm..."
"I know your arm hurts," Echo said.
"What the hell is going on?" Tech said, walking into the cockpit. "Why are you yelling, we were all asleep-"
Then Tech saw what Echo had discovered a few minutes prior.
"Jesus," Tech muttered, kneeling beside Hunter. "Echo, when did this happen?"
"He said it was when we were escaping from Bracca."
"That long ago?"
"Apparently so."
"How the hell are you still alive?" Tech muttered to Hunter, kneeling down next to him. He started to examine his arm, which wasn't looking good, at all.
"What are we going to do?" Echo asked.
"His arm is covered in third, and some fourth degree burns. We have to amputate it. There's no other option."
"How the hell are we going to amputate his arm? We don't even have the proper tools."
"We'll figure something out."
"Are you sure we have to do that?" Echo asked.
"He's dying. It's the only option we have. Do you want him to live or not?"
"What the hell is going on?" Gregor said, walking into the cockpit, rubbing his eyes from having just woken up.
"Can you tell Rex to come over here, and then keep Omega distracted," Echo said, waving him off.
"What the fuck-" Gregor whispered, not sure how to feel after seeing Hunters arm.
"I gave you an order. Follow it."
"You're in no position to give me orders."
"Yes I am."
"Fine," Gregor replied, knowing that if he argued any longer, Hunter may lose his life.
"Why is everyone up?" Rex asked, entering the cockpit of the ship, which is where they were. "Oh my god."
"Rex, go contact Kix and tell him that we'll be coming back to Obroa-Skai immediately, then set the course for Obroa-Skai. Echo, go get a couple towels and Wrecker's spare vibroknife."
"You're going to use that to cut off Hunter's arm?!" Echo yelled.
"It's the best idea I've got," Tech said. "Do you suggest we shoot his arm off?"
"Can you guys hurry up and do something?" Hunter muttered, trying not to use too much energy by talking.
"Yes, sorry," Tech said. "Echo, hurry up and get the rags and the vibroknife."
"How do you even know the vibroknife is going to work?"
"It will. Oh, and get some anesthetics for him. I don't want to cut off his arm while he's still awake. Since he has heightened senses he'll feel the pain twice as much as anyone else would."
"We don't have any anesthetics."
"What do you mean we don't have any?!"
"We don't have any!"
"God," Tech said, holding his head. "Then get an extra rag."
"Why can't we just wait until we get to Obroa-Skai? It'll be a lot safer if we wait."
"Normally I would wait, but if we do, Hunter will die. This is the only way to save him."
Echo hesitated, but then realized Tech was serious. This was a matter of life or death. And this was the only thing they could do. Echo went to go get the stuff, while Tech stayed with Hunter.
"Listen Hunter I need you to stay awake for me okay?" Tech told him. "Don't fall asleep. Nod if you can hear me."
Hunter nodded.
"Good," Tech said. "Echo will be here with the supplies shortly, and you should be feeling better in no time."
Hunter nodded again.
Echo came back into the cockpit that they were in with a few rags, the vibroknife, and the towel that Hunter could bite down on during the operation. Tech laid down the rags on the floor underneath Hunter's arm.
"Where's Omega?" Tech asked Echo.
"I told Gregor to distract her. I don't think she wants to see this."
"Get her over here," Tech said.
"What?!"
"You heard what I said."
"But-"
"Look. She's the only other one of us who has experience in the medical field. If this operation is going to be successful I need someone who knows their stuff. And Omega is that person."
Echo hesitated, then nodded. "Omega!" he shouted.
It took a couple seconds, but Omega came into the area that they were in, horrified by what she saw in front of her. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
"What- what happened?" she stuttered.
"Hurry, come over here," Tech said. "We have to amputate it."
Sure, Omega knew her stuff, but she never had to experience this. She knew this was going to be more blood than she had ever seen in her life.
"Hold his arm in place," Tech instructed Omega. She did so, but as soon as she touched his arm, he winced in pain.
"I'm sorry," Omega whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"Just bite down on this," Tech told Hunter, showing him the towel he was to use to bite down on. "It'll ease the pain."
Hunter nodded slightly, and bit down on the rag.
"This is going to hurt. I'm sorry," Tech mumbled. He knew the pain of this procedure was going to be greater than he had ever felt, and it was him that was inflicting the pain onto him. Not only that, but since Hunter had heightened senses, it meant he would feel the pain twice as much as anyone else would. But it was the only way his life would be saved. He started to cut through Hunter's skin, or what was left of it, on the upper part of his right arm. At first, it didn't hurt Hunter too much, or more than it already hurt. The nerve endings in his arm were dead from the burns, so the brain couldn't send any more pain signals than it was. The real pain was going to start when the knife started cutting the bone.
When Tech got to the bone of Hunter's arm, Hunter clenched his jaw, biting down on the rag harder. He squeezed his eyes shut, the muscles in his neck tensed. It hurt more than he could've imagined. And he knew it wasn't going to be over quickly.
They felt the ship come to a halt, which almost caused Tech to fall backward. They knew that it was from Rex taking the ship out of hyperspace, so they expected another sudden jerking movement to happen soon, because he was going to put the ship back in hyperspace again.
"Why did you stop?" Omega asked.
"Because Rex is going to put the ship into hyperspace again. I can't compromise the operation."
"Oh."
Not long after, a mere few seconds later, the ship was back in hyperspace, and Tech continued the procedure. He cut through the rest of the bone, with Hunter trying his best not to cry out in pain. He bit down on the rag as instructed, but he was still in an unfathomable amount of pain. As Tech continued to cut, more and more blood was pouring from Hunter's arm, which made it more difficult for Tech to see what he was cutting. Eventually, Tech finished cutting through the bone, and Hunter let out a sigh of relief, with the pain being over for the most part. The rest of it hurt like hell, but nowhere near as much as cutting through the bone did.
Once they finished, and his arm was fully off, they first covered the stub of his arm in rags, trying their best to stop the bleeding. It was the best they could do. They didn't have any professional equipment on the ship, so they couldn't treat it correctly. With the arm itself, they wrapped it in rags, and planned to properly dispose of it when they met with Kix on Obroa-Skai. Hunter sat back, exhausted from the procedure.
"Stay awake Hunter," Tech begged. "Stay awake."
They got no response back, but Tech knew that was probably because of his exhaustion. Tech stood up, wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead.
"Is he going to be okay?" Omega asked, a scared tone in her voice.
Tech sighed, shaking his head. "I hope so, kid. I hope so."