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

A scorching red light flashed through my vision. Agony seared through me. Through the darkness that surrounded me, I heard a menacing laugh and a pained voice cry out. Chaos and confusion, torment and suffering. Those were the feelings that consumed me until I was no more.

                                           ***

I awoke in the Marauder, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. I looked around, taking in my surroundings, grounding myself in the moment. After a few deep breaths, I calmed down and realized that I had only been dreaming. At least, I hoped it was just a dream and not a premonition of something to come.

The Marauder was quiet, aside from the occasional snores from Wrecker and the humming of the ship. It seemed everyone was either asleep or tending to their own tasks quietly. We were flying through hyperspace and had been for some time now. Jumping from planet to planet, station to station, only stopping to refuel and acquire supplies. After everything that had happened with Hondo, we were sure someone had reported us and our location. We couldn't risk settling anywhere for a few days.

Unable to fall back asleep after my discomforting vision, I decided to get up and move around. "Can't sleep either?" I turned to find Hunter sitting in the corner, flipping his knife around. As I took a seat next to him, he tucked it away.

"Bad dream," I explained. "You?"

Hunter sighed, "Too much on my mind."

The two of us sat side by side for a while, taking some moments of quiet contemplation. I'm not sure if he was uncomfortable with the silence or if he genuinely wanted to know, but Hunter asked me about my dream. "It's nothing to worry about," I lied.

Hunter must have been able to tell, "Come on, humor me," he insisted. And so I told him about the flash of red, the pain, the sorrow. "Have you had dreams like this before?" He asked, curious.

I gave him a worried look. "The only time I've had a dream this vivid was when it seemed to warn me about something coming... I had a similar vision mere days before Order 66 happened, only it didn't seem as personal as this one did..."

Hunter was quiet for a bit before responding, "Could it maybe have something to do with the bounty on you?"

That hadn't occurred to me. "I suppose it could, but it felt more sinister than a simple bounty hunter. Either way, it is too unclear to know for sure. I'll have to meditate on it." Although I dreaded feeling the emotions from the dream again, meditation would be the only way to explore it and discover its true meaning. I had become less connected with the force recently as I tried to hide my identity as a Jedi, but it seemed to be reaching out to me through my dream.

"Meditate?" Hunter asked.

"Yes," I gave him a small smile, remembering that not everyone knew of or understood the Jedi ways. "It's a way for me to connect to the force and use it to process thoughts, feelings, experiences. When meditating, it can guide me to answers that I didn't know were there."

"Huh," Hunter voiced, "I always thought the force was just something Jedi can wield to move stuff without touching it."

"We can definitely do that, but the force is everywhere and can be used in many different ways." I thought back to my time as a Padawan, eagerly learning everything about the force from my Master as I could. Grief came over me as I remembered my fellow Jedi. I turned away, not wanting Hunter to see the emotions come over me.

"Hey," he said kindly, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Are you okay? I didn't mean to upset you."

I took a deep breath, steadying myself, letting the feelings pass. I turned back around to see Hunter, concern covering his face. "I'll be alright," I said and patted his hand that was still on my shoulder.

He was hesitant to believe me, but finally accepted my words and removed his hand. "You know, if it makes you feel better, I think I've come up with a plan to take care of the bounty on you."

"And what is your plan?" I asked eagerly, happy to be changing the topic. I listened intently as Hunter explained his idea. Apparently, he and the Bad Batch had a few run-ins with a bounty hunter during the clone wars, working together when it was mutually beneficial. According to Hunter, this bounty hunter owes them a huge favor and he thinks she could find a way to remove the bounty from the guild system.

I was hopeful that it would work, but was also skeptical, "What makes you think she won't see a group of deserter clones and a Jedi and not immediately turn us in for the reward?"

"I don't know for sure," Hunter admitted, "but she's been known to help Jedi in the past. I can only hope she's still willing to do the right thing."

It was risky, but it didn't seem like there were many other options. In order for us to gain some amount of safety, we would have to get rid of the bounty on me somehow. And aside from getting captured, this seemed like the best way. "Okay, I'm open to working with the bounty hunter if you are."

"Great," Hunter replied, "I'll talk to Tech and see if we can locate her. Once we do, we'll head there straightaway and hopefully put an end to this constant running." He looked at me and smiled before heading towards the cockpit.

Hunter was so hopeful and confident that things would work out. It was comforting, but I had to be realistic, I had to be logical. The odds of me, a surviving Jedi, living happily ever after were slim to none. Especially when paired with a group of genetically enhanced deserter clones who were on the run from one of their own. And if my dream was any indication of how things would go, darker things were coming and we had to be ready for the worst.