On The Run || A Bad Batch Story || Hunter X Reader

Crosshair walked through the dim, yet busy halls of the Imperial base. He was on his way to Vice Admiral Rampart's office. He had received word that he was personally requested to report to the Vice Admiral as quickly as possible. This wasn't unheard of, since his commitment to the Empire, the Vice Admiral had seemed to take a particular interest in Crosshair. And besides, Crosshair's job wasn't to question orders, it was to follow them.

Arriving at the Vice Admiral's door, Crosshair knocked on the metal panel. "Enter" sounded through the barrier. Crosshair entered and stood at the ready in front of Rampart, awaiting information. After a few moments of silence with Rampart working at his desk, he finally looked up to find Crosshair standing by patiently, "Ah, CT-9904. I have a mission that I believe will be of particular interest to you."

"What is the mission?" Crosshair asked. He wanted to ask why, he wanted details, but he knew it wasn't his place.

"Straight to the point then." Rampart approved. "It involves your old friends." For an instant, Crosshair's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly regained his composure, never having shown his sudden surge of emotion outwardly.

For Crosshair, his relationship with the Bad Batch was complicated. He disapproved of all that they had done since Order 66 and wanted them to pay for their actions, and yet at the same time wanted them to take it all back and join him by his side with the new Empire. He would never tell anyone, but he missed his fellow defective clones.

Rampart continued, "There have been rumors of a group of strange clones and a young girl getting into a disagreement with some pirates in the Outer Rim. I need you to investigate the validity of these rumors and take care of the clones if you find them."

"Consider it done." Crosshair responded, an order is an order.

As Rampart was about to dismiss him to go complete his task, he added, "Oh and by the way, there may be other Imperial officers investigating rumors of a Jedi seen traveling with the clones. I trust you won't get in their way."

Crosshair held back his surprise. "Of course, Vice Admiral."

"You're dismissed." Rampart ordered and went back to work at his desk.

As Crosshair made his way to his barracks to gather his things, he contemplated Rampart's words. He knew the Bad Batch refused to execute Order 66, but harboring a Jedi was taking it to a new level that Crosshair could not move past. If they were going to this extreme, then he knew he only had one option. There was no convincing them to pledge their loyalty to the Empire. He would have to eliminate them.

***

Crosshair landed his small shuttle just outside the village that was rumored to have had the strange visitors. Being the sharpshooter that he was, he decided to get a lay of the land before revealing himself to the villagers. He stealthily approached the village and climbed to the top of its tallest building. He stationed himself in view of the market, scanning the area for signs of his brothers.

There were no clones, pirates, or Jedi in sight, but he was able to see in the dirt what looked like evidence of a struggle. Crosshair concluded that there were no immediate threats and that he could move in to do his questioning. However, as he was about to climb down from the rooftop, a dark ship landed in the town bearing the Imperial crest. The officers that Rampart mentioned. Crosshair decided to remain in position.

Three menacing figures dressed in all black disembarked from the ship. They walked with purpose and were clearly very powerful. One of them spoke loudly, addressing no one in particular, "We are looking for a Jedi. We know one was here. Speak up and you will be rewarded." The crowd did not respond, but looked on with curious and scared expressions.

Another member of the group began to walk along the crowd. "We are Inquisitors of the Empire. If you do not cooperate, you will be punished." The final member of the group grabbed something from his back and brought it in front of him. Crosshair gazed through his scope with shock as the Inquisitor lit up a double bladed lightsaber that glowed bright red.

Crosshair had only ever seen Jedi wield lightsabers, and yet these people worked for the Empire. How could this be? he questioned, but then quickly pushed his thoughts away. Good soldiers follow orders.

An older man came out from the crowd. The locals seemed to be looking to him for protection, clearly he was a leader in their community. "Please, the Jedi is gone. We don't know anything."

One of the Inquisitors approached the man, "When was the Jedi here?" He asked aggressively.

The man looked at the Inquisitor with fear, but proceeded to answer his questions. "Two rotations ago. They left with a group of clones. We haven't seen them since." The Inquisitor watched the old man, seeming to be accessing the validity of his statement. "Please, that's all we know, I swear. We don't want any trouble."

The Inquisitor seemed satisfied with the old man's answer, he signaled to his associates and they began to board the ship. Before he too boarded the ship, he turned to face the old man. "If I learn that you lied to me, I'll be certain that you don't have the opportunity to do it again." And with his threat sinking into the villagers, he turned and disappeared into the ship.

Crosshair had gained all the intel he knew he would be able to by watching the Inquisitors. The Bad Batch could be anywhere, but at least he knew for certain now that they were traveling with a Jedi. With this confirmation, he felt a small part of him break on the inside knowing what he would have to do when he once again came face to face with his brothers.