Widow takes a deep breath as she sits on the havocc by her self, not even bothering with sitting on one of the chairs available in the ship she chose to sit in her and Hunters makeshift pallet on the floor, her hands still hold the Ambulant that belongs to her brother. She knows that he would never call on her unless he absolutely had to, her brother had stood up to her mother when she placed both herself and her sisters into the Widow program off world. He and her father were the only ones to fight for her and her sisters to stay and not live the life of an assassin, ultimately in the end they were taken to be trained, while her Da and Brother were made to be the black sheep and shunned from the grounds. With tears slowly forming in her eyes she knew she had to go back, Widow didn't want to burden the others with her family drama but knew they would help her in anyway they could.
Widow could hear the faint sounds of footsteps approaching the ship, she quickly gets up, wipes her tears away from her eyes to fix her composure and just in time shes greeted with the faces of Echo, Wrecker, Tech, Omega and Hunter all ready to follow her for whatever awaits them. Out of no where they all stand at attention for her when Hunter speaks up "What are your orders?" his eyes meeting hers, with a soft chuckle she tries to keep her composure but with a small sniffle "I know if I say to stay here you all wont follow that order no matter what" she pauses with a soft smile "So onward to Caledonia, Tech here are the coordinates" she walks over to Tech with a piece of paper she pulls from her pouch on her belt and hands it to him, with no words he nods to her and takes the paper from her hands. Widow looks around to everyone and smiles "I love you all in many different ways and thank you" as she finishes managing to keep her composure mostly Tech places his hand on her shoulder "I also have this sense of brotherly love for you Liberty" he nods, she places her hand on his own that is on her shoulder "Elara..." she pauses and takes a breath "My common name is Liberty, but my birth name is Elara." she looks to everyone expecting the looks of distrust but is greeted with those who understand why she kept things to herself, even Hunter who she expected to have somewhat of a disappointed expression just looked towards her with kindness and adoration "I'm so-" She began but was cut off by Tech "No need to be sorry, we all suspected you kept secrets to yourself. We all understand." with that he squeezes her shoulder and then departs for the cockpit.
Omega steps forward to look towards Widow and smiles at her as she takes her hand "Elara? It suits you better than Liberty or Widow." Omega states as she hugs the woman, Widow couldn't help but smile and hug Omega back with unexpected tears now pouring down Widows face, making her drop to her knees and hug Omega tighter "Bring it in!" Wrecker bellows out as he joins in on the hug while pulling Echo and Hunter in with him "Tech get in on this!" Wrecker shouts out causing Hunter to bury his head in Widows neck as he and the others kneel beside her and with a soft grunt only Widow could hear Hunter buried his face in the side of her neck, Echo is on her other side kneeling with his arms around her and Omega, Wrecker swoops up everyone off their knees with his arms and engulfs them in his own hug but quickly puts them down on their feet, Tech walks in upon Wreckers request he looks at the sight "I do not see the purpose of this" Tech states making Widow chuckle as she looks back to him, with the several tears in her eyes Tech sighs as he walks over to embrace the group briefly before he goes back to the cockpit and looks back one more time at the group embrace with a faint smile.
As the emotional moment settles, the group prepares for their journey to Caledonia. Widow, now known as Elara, feels a sense of relief and acceptance with her newfound openness. The camaraderie and understanding among the team strengthen their bond, making them more united than ever before. As the Havoc takes off and the stars pass by in the vast expanse of space, Elara sits with her family, discussing their plans for Caledonia. "I will be quite honest I have no idea what we are getting into, I haven't kept up with anything since I left." Elara states "I'm going in just as blind as everyone here, so just be ready for anything." she finishes leaning back into her chair feeling Hunters arm slung over it as his fingertips rest on her shoulder.
The group nods in understanding, knowing that the unknown can be both thrilling and dangerous. Hunter, with his arm around Elara, gives her a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, Elara. We've faced the unknown before, and we'll face it again together. We've got each other's backs, and that's all we need," he says calmly with a small smile appearing on his lips. Echo chimes in, "Exactly. We may not know exactly what's waiting for us on Caledonia, but whatever it is we can handle it" Omega, ever eager and enthusiastic, adds, "We have your back, Elara! We're a family, right? We stick together no matter what!" making Elara smile and chuckle at her enthusiasm, Wrecker, always the one for simple yet profound statements, nods and says, "Yeah Family is strongest together." Tech, who has been diligently analyzing the mission data, looks up and says, "Our individual skills are formidable, and when combined, we are an exceptional force. I have the utmost confidence in our abilities."
Elara couldn't help her heart almost wanting to burst from the over whelming support from the Batchers "Well from this moment on I promise to all of you, no more secrets. That was the last on I had in my bag, i'm done with secrets." she looks towards everyone "Family shouldn't have secrets anyways" The team smiles warmly at Elara's heartfelt commitment, appreciating her willingness to open up and trust them completely. Omega claps her hands in excitement, and Echo nods in approval. "We trust you, and you can trust us. We'll face whatever comes our way together" Echo says with determination. Wrecker gives a thumbs up and exclaims, "No more secrets! We're all in this together!" His enthusiasm is contagious, and even Tech manages a small smile as he nods in agreement. Hunter tightens his grip on Elara's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "You're right, Elara. Family shouldn't have secrets. We'll support you no matter what, just like you've supported us," he says, his voice filled with genuine care.
With the air cleared and a newfound sense of unity, the team focuses on their mission. Tech skillfully navigates the Havoc through space towards the coordinates Elara provided. As they approach Caledonia Elara couldn't help the odd sense of ease coming from herself by seeing the grassy fields and the mountains from the distance, she couldn't tell if it was from the reassurance from others or the peaceful aroma from seeing the ancient planet again but she knew that this was only the peace before the storm.
Sighing softly she makes her way back to the navi room glancing back to Hunter with a soft smile as she walks back to the room. Sitting in the chair facing the star map she crosses her arms across her chest but before she could fully cross them she catches a glimpse of the silver band on her left hand with specs of gray occasionally appearing in it, smiling to herself she almost didn't hear the door open and shut indicating there's another presences with her, "Omega is right" the gruff but smooth voice of Hunter graces her ears as he approaches and sits down on the chair next to hers "Elara does fit you better" he smiles softly catching her still looking at her ring he gave her not to long ago "You all are the only ones who know of my true name" Elara looks over to Hunter to see his eyes are also watching the ring "Not Fives, non of the Jedi knew. It was my best kept secret." she pauses while leaning over and placing her hand on his knees "I'm truly happy you all know, I was going to get around to telling you all when everything settled but I never found the right time" she softly smiles feeling relived when he takes her hand in his own and looks towards her "I'm just glad you felt comfortable enough to tell us" Hunter smirks as he take her hand up to his lips and kisses the ring that's on her finger.
Once the ship lands in Caledonia the ramp descends down onto the lush grassy field covered with various sorts of flowers, Elara is the first one off the ship as she takes her first steps back onto her home world. She takes in a deep breath, and only smells the fresh air and some of the sea salt from the oceans over yonder. Omega is not far behind her, looking around at the mysterious new place in amazement in shock "Wow, you grew up here Elara?" The young girl ask the woman as she's looking around in awe of all the colors in the flowers, with a chuckle and a slight nod of her head "Yeah, for most of my youth at least." She pauses hearing the others come down "my sisters though weren't so lucky" she finishes softly while looking back to the others.
Not surprising to her Hunter is currently kneeled on the ground picking up the soil to gather his bearings around the foreign planet, Wrecker has the same expression as Omega by looking around with a soft "Wooow" escaping his lips, Tech is furiously trying to type away at his data pad to see if there are any details about the planet he looks up to Elara in question " I cannot seem to find any data regarding Caledonia" with that statement Elara couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head with a smile at tech "i'm not surprised and you won't find any data about Caledonia. It's a remote backwater planet. The only reason the empire knows about it is probably because I was a part of the Republic, there is barely any technology here if any honestly I'm not quite sure how they have adapted since I've been gone" she informs Tech who nods his head as he goes back to his Data pad.
She scans over making sure everyone is accounted for, but notices that Echo has not yet made his way out of the ship yet, with a gentle sigh, Elara walks back up to the ship and enters in to see Echo, sitting in the cockpit with his fingers, pinching his nose bridge as if he's trying to nurse a headache away. She walks up to her friend and sits in the seat next to him, resting her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward, watching him closely. "You alright there Echo?" She softly asks him, with a deep sigh his hand drops from pinching the bridge of his nose as he looks to her "Do you promise that was the last secret?" With a stern look in his eyes directed towards her, with a gentle nod of her head "Yes Echo, like I said this was the last secret, I held dear to me. Once I see the others again they will also know because I'm no longer keeping any secrets from you guys." She pauses as she takes his hand in her own "You and all your brothers mean the galaxy to me and I'll be damned if I let anything come between that" Elara states confidently to her friend, with a gentle squeeze of her hand. Echo nods and accepts her answer, he smirks at her "Fives is going to be upset he missed this" he playfully teases her making her chuckle "Well that's what he gets for shooting me" she laughs softly while standing up, bringing Echo along with her.
Upon walking out of the ship, Hunter greets Elara by taking her hand letting their fingers interlace with each other "There's various amounts of sounds and movement over there" Hunter points his free hand to the direction of the forest nearby, his gaze directed back towards her own "Do you think that's where they are?" He ask her softly trying to handle the situation delicately for her sake, a small grin forms upon her lips as she looks towards the direction, in her heart she knows that's where they are. "Yup, that's exactly where they are." Elara confirms as she turns her gaze back to Hunter, and leans up to gently kissing on the lips softly before redirecting her attention back to the forest.
Not to long after they weave their way though the forest, not a sound is made as the crew takes in the lush forest surrounding them, keeping an eye on all angles of the surrounding area around them. Hunter is the one leading, he's able to pick up on the tracks that are freshly made leading back. All of a sudden there was a sudden, twig snap coming from the right side of Elara making everyone turn their gaze to the direction of the sound, Elara knew this trick so she quickly shifted her focus to in front of her, swiftly stepping in front of Hunter she quickly grabs the arm of the mysterious figure that suddenly appeared with a pistol that was directed towards the group. Elara swiftly pressed the pressure point in the wrist, making the mysterious figure drop the pistol with an audible gasp escaping the man's lips.
With the assailant free hand, he removes his hood to reveal a tall, well-built man with curly red hair just as long as hunters his eyes are the same deep brown as Elaras eyes, his expression is filled with shock and pure raw emotion showing through his eyes. Elaras eyes widen seeing the figure, she instantly recognizes his eyes "Jamie?" She softly says in shock. The curly haired man looks at her and shock, his eyes widen as she says his name "Elara?" He replies back to her just as shocked as she is. They both share a shocked look for a moment before smiling wildly at each other, and wrapping each others arms for a solid embrace while softly chuckling to each other.
After a moment, their embrace end looking at each other for the first time in a long, long time "You sure have sprouted since the last time I saw you, Jamie" Elara states resorting back to her native Scottish accent naturally causing the members of the bad batch to look at her in a subtle surprise "Aye" Jamie smirks while looking in her eyes "That tends to happen when you're gone for a long while" he remarks teasingly to her, hearing a 'ahem' come from behind her Elara shifts her attention to the others "Right sorry"she chuckles as she stands next to her brother "This is Jamie McTavish, my brother" she gestures towards the the bad batch "Jamie this is clone force 99 better known as the bad batch" she points to everyone respectively "Here we have Hunter, Tech, Echo, Wrecker and Omega" she pauses as she looks back to Jamie who observes them carefully and suspiciously before speaking up "These are the ones that turned against the Jedi no?" With that statement all the members of Clone force 99 who automatically straighten up and prepare them self just in case they need to defend them self.
Tech walks forward as he points his finger in the air "No, our chips never activated due to our enhanced genetics." He stated matter of factly to Jamie who nods his head wearily to him "Aye, i recon that you all are not with the empire then" he remarks, Hunter is next to speak up removing his helmet "No, we aren't with the Empire. We're just trying to make our own way through the galaxy" Jamie looks at Hunter and nods his head once more trying to gather his own bearings at the unexpected reunion with his sister and her crew.
With a gentle 'hm' Jamie looks towards Elara once more "I take it you got my message then?" With a soft nod, as she looks up towards her brother and smile softly "Aye, that's why we're here. By the way why were you out here by yourself?" She asks him as she walks back over to stand next to Hunter, Omega comes to stand in front of Elara eyeing the curly haired man suspiciously. With a soft chuckle her brother directs his gaze to the ground briefly before looking back up towards a sister "I was out hunting when I heard the rustling of footsteps, so thinking you were not friendly i had to protect the camp" he explains causing Elara to chuckle softly "Did Da not teach you to cover your tracks?" Elara laughs softly as her brother's embarrassment starts to show of his lazy hunting skills.
Jamie smirks and scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Aye, well, I may have gotten a bit rusty on my tracking skills," he admits, glancing at the ground with a slight blush creeping up on his cheeks. "But it's not like there are many people around here in this part of the woods, so I didn't think it would be an issue." Elara smiles warmly at her brother, feeling a sense of nostalgia and familiarity. "Well, it's good to see you haven't lost your touch with that cheeky smile," she teases, earning a playful eye-roll from Jamie.
Hunter, Tech, Echo, Wrecker, and Omega watch the sibling interaction with curiosity and amusement. Omega steps forward, her cautious expression still present. "You're Elara's brother? Why didn't you come with her before?" she asks, tilting her head to the side. Jamie's gaze softens as he looks at the young girl. "Aye, I'm Elara's brother. And as for why I didn't come with her before, well, it's complicated," he replies, glancing briefly at Elara before continuing. "When she and our other sisters were taken to be trained as Widows, my father and I were shunned by our family and the community. We were seen as traitors for standing against the Widow program and the path they chose for Elara and the others."
Elara puts a comforting hand on Jamie's shoulder, understanding the weight of their past struggles. "It wasn't your fault, Jamie. We all had to make tough choices back then," she says, looking at her brother with empathy. Wrecker, always straightforward, chimes in. "But now you're here, and that's what matters!" he exclaims with a smile and a loud laugh. Echo nods in agreement. "We trust Elara, and if she trusts you, then we trust you too" he says, reassuringly.
Jamie looks at the members of Clone Force 99, feeling a mix of emotions. He never expected to find his sister with a group like them, but seeing how they accepted and supported her, he realizes that he can trust them as well. "Thank you," he says sincerely, "I can see that you all care about Elara deeply, and I appreciate that."
Tech, who has been analyzing the situation, speaks up with his usual analytical tone. "The reunion is touching, but we should remain vigilant. We don't know what dangers or challenges await us on Caledonia," he reminds them, Hunter nods in agreement with Tech's reminder. "Tech's right. we need to stay focused on the reason why we're here, we can't afford to let our guard down." With that statement Jamie nods his head as he gestures with his hand for everyone to follow him back to the camp for him to further explain why he called upon his sister to help them.
A/N: you ever get that itch when you have an idea and you're able to just write it out and all the words just come out smoothly? Yeah, that was me with this chapter.
Also, keep in mind for Caledonia this is a mixture of Irish and Scottish knowledge
I'm so excited to dive in to this new, unexplored planet of my creation, but will open up a lot more backstory for the character, formally known as widow. Now going by Elara, I decided to fully change her name for season two because I knew in this arc that many people will call her by that name, so it just kind of made sense to make it her actual name.
I am trying to do my best to keep the emotions and accuracy of all the bad batch members personalities in this new uncharted territory, and it has been one of the greatest challenges I've ever gotten to do.
So until next time!