The Bad Batch: Unlikely Ally, Unlikely Love

Chapter 10 : Home Again

The ride through hyperspace on the Havoc Marauder was rather silent. One could call it awkward. But after the narrow escape from the Eadu prison, taking a moment to simply breathe was quite inviting.

Tech and Echo remained in the cockpit, Crosshair hung out on the second level, Hunter was leaning against the wall, Wrecker was even being unusually silent, and Kira was in her favored corner. No one was really bothering the other. They were all...catching up. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.

Kira was staring down at the helmet in her hand. She supposed she didn't need it anymore around the Bad Batch. They all knew who she was now. Once again, exposed. Relieved or worried?

Hunter pushed off from the wall, standing in the center of the ship and looking around at his fellow brothers. And Kira. "Let's hear a damage report. Both on the ship and on yourselves."

Tech cleared his throat. "The Marauder received minor damage from the atmosphere. Some carbon scoring but other than that...the rest of the damage was picked up from Kessel."

"So that scumbag gangster didn't screw around with our ship?"

"I wouldn't say that," Echo interrupted. "I keep getting a weird signal." He hummed and plugged his mechanical arm into the nearest socket. "I'm going to run a quick diagnostic internally. The scanners must be malfunctioning."

"That's hardly unusual," Tech pointed out. "That usually is first to go on this old ship."

Echo shrugged and focused on what he was doing. Best to be sure after all.

Hunter accepted that. Could be worse. "Anything else?"

Crosshair wiped down his rifle and looked out at the cabin below. "Does it count to point out your injury?"

That snapped Kira out of her thoughts. "Hunter? You're injured?"

Hunter half glared at Crosshair from bringing it up. "No, no...well, yes, but it's nothing serious. Just an unlucky shot."

"You got shot by a blaster?!" Kira stood up and went over to Hunter, making him stand under the light and seeing his blood soaked black body glove. "How are you still conscious from this much blood loss?"

He looked down at his shoulder, trying not to make a huge deal about it. He didn't like to be center of attention. It was everyone else before him. That's what a good soldier did. What a good leader did. "Kira, it's just a flesh wound-"

She wasn't taking no for an answer. "Absolutely not. We're handling that. Now. Sit down."

He hesitated. "It's really not-"

"Sit." She held a glare on him. Hunter glanced at the others staring at him and wasn't sure how to react. He slowly found himself sitting down on his bunk though- awkwardly.

Kira hummed with approval and turned to Crosshair. "Medkit?"

Crosshair pointed behind her. He didn't care what she did as long as she didn't bother him. "Two drawers down."

She retrieved that and turned back around to see Hunter in the midst of unzipping his body glove enough to expose the upper half of his body. He struggled to pull his wounded arm out of the sleeve but managed with a soft groan of pain.

He looked up at hearing her gasp and she dropped the medkit out of surprise of being caught staring. "Do I look that bad?" He figured the wound was making her queasy or uncomfortable. Wrecker got that way sometimes.

That was not the case for Kira. There was nothing bad-looking on this man's gorgeous body. "No! You look fiery- fine! You. Look. Fine." Mighty fine, but she screwed up enough with her words.