Strawberry Shortcake From @someday_afternoon On Ig

Underling: Standing Watch

Word count: ~1,200

Blithe has been out of communication with Commander Echo for nearly a standard galactic year.

Read the back story on this post by @imperial-strategist

Blithe stood sentry duty on the fourth moon of the third planet from the center of nowhere.

She adjusted the breather on her face, trying yet again to fit it snugly enough to keep out the sulfurous stench of the surrounding swamp. The breather had been designed for a near-human species, so it almost—but didn't quite—fit.  No matter how much she fiddled with it, it was going to leak. She knew this from experience, but the impulse to try to block out the nauseating smell was like an itch you can't resist scratching. Still, breathing the fumes wouldn't kill her, so an ill-fitting breather was better than nothing.

As she scanned the trees for anything out of place, Blithe ran through some simple practice motions with her electrostaff, working the stiffness out of the old injury to her right arm. They were alone on this mud ball, other than the local non-sentient life forms, the most common of which was the tooka-sized amphibians that hooted in the trees from dawn to dusk. So, security was light. Just one sentry at a time by day, and two by night when the larger of the planet's carnivorous fauna were out and about. Standing watch was more about deterring the wildlife from wandering into the cave system that hid their base than fear of detection. This planet was so far off the beaten path, it took a standard day at sublight to reach the nearest hyperspace lane. And the mineral makeup of the caves blocked all traces of what took place within from scanners, should anyone actually think to look here.

Why they were here, rather than closer to, well, anything at all was above Blithe's pay grade. Story of an underling's life, she thought.

A scurrying sound to her left snapped Blithe’s attention into focus. She cocked her head, her brows furrowing as she strained to focus past the ambient swamp noises. The source of the disturbance was behind an oversized cargo container a dozen paces away. Too big to fit through the cave entrance, it had been left under the canopy of an especially gnarly, vine-draped tree. You could fit a half dozen stormtroopers inside that crate with enough room left over for a small dewback, if you had a mind to. So it could easily hide any of this world's predators. If this had been a night watch, Blithe would have called for reinforcements before investigating further. But it would be some time yet before the scary things woke up.

The scurrying changed to a rhythmic scraping, giving Blithe the clue she needed to identify the visitor. She crept toward the crate, hefting her staff in both hands. It sparked fitfully when she switched it on, taking longer than it should to light with the blue glow that showed it was working. Blithe had bodged it together from spare parts, and it was anything but reliable. But she was much more skilled with a staff than the blaster on her hip. And, besides, if she was right about what her target was, the blaster would make a disgusting and dangerous mess.

"Come on. Come on. Stay with me,” Blithe whispered encouragement to the weapon. Then, pausing for only a moment to check for signs she had been detected, she stepped quickly around the crate, electrostaff at the ready.

The source of the noise wasn't on the ground, where Blithe expected it to be. It had climbed halfway up the crate, stuck to it by its many sucker feet, a pair of which sprouted from each of its gelatinous body segments. Alerted to her presence now, it swung its carapaced, eyeless head toward her. Caustic saliva dripped from its mouth-parts as it loomed above Blithe, the drops narrowly missing her arm. The beast was a good two meters long and as thick as Blithe's thigh, with hooked, orange mandibles as long as a human hand. It chittered menacingly in her general direction before returning to munching on the crate's welded seams. 

"Oh, no you don't,” Blithe waved one of the staff’s electrified ends at it, trying to distract it from its meal without actually touching it. “Get the fierfek down from there!”  These creatures - they called them “raspers” for lack of an official name - could wear away solid durasteel remarkably quickly. But they also dropped off bits of themselves that melted into a noxious goo when injured. That was no fun to clean up.

"No, no, no, no,” she dodged as it waved its head toward her again, "Go that way. Don't make me hurt you, kark it.” She blocked its path, repeatedly, herding it toward the ground, all the while cursing and cajoling. While it could clearly sense the humming energy of the staff, Blithe didn't know if these critters could actually hear. Regardless, a bit of cussing was good for her morale. 

As it scrambled back up the metal wall of the crate, the creature's movement became increasingly erratic and Blithe imagined the rasper was getting as frustrated as she was with their game. With an abrupt lurch, it reared a third of it's body away from the crate and nailed the staff's glowing end with a glob of acid spit that sizzled on impact. Energy arced wildly from the power nodes as they failed, shorting the whole staff out.

"That's karked it!” Blithe shouted at the rasper, which tried again to ascend the crate now that the electric foe no longer threatened it, only to be blocked as Blithe clocked it on its armored head with the dead electrostaff. "E chu ta! I just got this fixed.” Blithe smacked it again, pulling each strike just enough to avoid actually injuring it. She really didn't want to be this close if it dropped one of its segments.

"Now,” she deflected a lunge from the rasper and shook it free as it tried to latch on to the weaving staff with its mandibles. "Move, you kriffing blob of bantha snot, with your too karking many legs!” 

Blithe swung the staff behind the beast as it curled back on itself, preparing to strike at her. Then, with a heave, she swept the weapon up and away from the crate with all of her strength, launching the rasper off the durasteel surface, toward the base of the cliff. A jolt of pain shot up her bad arm with the effort required to dislodge the creature, but Blithe felt a victorious rush as the suckers lost their purchase with a dozen wet pops.

The hindmost of the rasper's segments broke free with a squelch as it hit, splattering slime harmlessly on the rocks. Defeated, the creature skittered up the sheer cliff face, acidic brown goo dripping behind it.

"Ugh! So. Many. Legs.“ Blithe panted as she watched the rasper retreat to be certain it was actually leaving. 

A rapid, sharp clapping behind her made Blithe spin around, staff raised for another fight. Two armed rebels - a human man and a twi'lek female - stood between her and the cave's entrance, applauding her performance.

Biting off a final curse, Blithe stared them down and said through gritted teeth, “Couldn't be bothered to lend a hand?”

The twi'lek rebel gave Blithe’s back a companionable slap as Blithe stalked past her, inert staff over one shoulder. 

Her watch was over and her relief had arrived. 

Shit like this never happened back on Coruscant, she thought sourly, adjusting the breather mask again, pointlessly. Well, ok, it sometimes did, she allowed. But at least there, she knew Commander Echo had her back.

😂 I get it now!

People are making apocalypse jokes like there's no tomorrow.

-🃏 anon

Hello Sergeant Hunter! It is nice to meet you, how do you feel today?

Well, my brothers are safe, the kid is safe, and everyone got a good night's sleep, so I'm feeling good overall. Thanks for asking.

comm of the cutest little family for @miaraei 🫶

A Bad Batch Fanfiction

Plot: An attempt at writing a story about The Bad Batch and an alternate route if Crosshair went with them after Tapoca City was destroyed.

This is more of an adventure/action story with hurt/comfort and how the Batch has to navigate with their estranged brother and his ideology of the Galactic Empire, while helping a few seemingly hidden Jedi and their dragon friend rid a planet of a pirate that has taken over a small colony of refugees that fled from the Empire. The Jedi have a plan to get rid of the pirate and his gang, but it involves putting on a performance of singing and dancing, and they have the Batch perform along with them, much the guys embarrassment.

Warnings: sibling fighting, canon violence, mentions of blood, gore, death, and injuries, some mention of religion, some flirting, sibling affection, family bonding, in later chapters there will be mentions of abuse(those will have warnings in the beginning of the chapter and in tags(to the best of my ability)), and lots of singing. The boys will be singing.

Word count: 3,544

Chapter 2

The trip to Idaflor took several days through hyperspace, and in that time no one really spoke since the near fight in the bar, and tensions were still high. Omega watched Tech, Echo, Wrecker, and Hunter switch places with each other from in the cockpit to the monitors while conversing quietly with each other and with her, and businging themselves with catalogs, inventory, and updates from the holonet regarding the Empire. And Crosshair kept to himself on his bunk most of the time, polishing his rifle, mirrors, and his armor or napping. She had tried to approach him a few times but was met with a growl and a glare from the sniper and quickly, yet sadly, stopped trying for the time being. She had hoped that he would have changed by now, but unfortunately he was still stuck with his Empire ideology. Wrecker had a bit more success than she did by getting a few words out of their estranged brother, but nothing more. It wasn't until they were about to exit hyperspace when a full conversation with all of them took place.

"Why was there no one inhabiting Idaflor before?" Omega asked her brothers. She realized that she didn't know the exact reason for this planet’s lack of people, other than it was just uninhabited.

Hunter answered from the doorway leading into the cockpit. "Idaflor has been ruled largely by a species of animals called Drakears that are extremely dangerous and nearly impossible to kill."

“Not only that," Tech jumped in the conversation from the pilot's chair, a little excited that an actual conversation was happening. "They travel in pacts close to twenty in numbers and one swipe from their claws will shatter anyone's ribs. They can breathe fire that can shoot out thirty meters, their skin is completely covered in impenetrable scales and can grow over twenty feet in height if standing on their hind legs."

Echo brought up a picture of one on the data pad and showed Omega whose eyes grew big at the sight. To her it looked like a bear was covered in scales of a dragon, but had a longer torso with a long, spiked tail. There were four horns on its bear-like head that curved slightly back before heading up, its legs were stocky and strong with bear claws, and the overall color was a muddied purple. "Whoa!" She exclaimed quietly, taking in the picture with wonder. "That’s so cool! But terrifying."

"Exactly why no one lived there for so long." Echo said. "You can't kill one with a blaster because of their scales, but a lightsaber from a Jedi could cut through them just fine.” He immediately thought back to his generals and wished they were still alive.

“Those traitors should've done more to make that place more livable.” Crosshair sneered.

 Of course when he spoke it was about the “traitorous Jedi”. He earned a glare from Echo, who had fought alongside some of the best in the galaxy.

"But, how are there people living there now?" Omega asked, trying to stop another fight from happening before it started.

"Unsure." Tech said. "The settlers don't seem to have the technology or weaponry to deal with the beasts if they have been taken over by pirates, for there isn't a lot in that particular area where the settlement is to hide from the Drakears."

"And who are the pirates again?" Wrecker asked behind Crosshair's chair.

Hunter took out the device. "Unknown at the moment, the puck didn't say." The information on it was, to put it bluntly, strange. The way the Drakears were described as "the weird purple dragon bears" instead of their official name was unusual and the pirates themselves were described as "weird brown aliens with horns that took over by shooting up the place, killed a few people and other aliens and took others hostage to make them slaves, demanded tribute for protection against the dragon bears and wanted all the goods to be stored at their new base." It almost felt like a trap. A weird trap.

"I still think we can get this over with before dinner!" Wrecker proclaimed while hoisting up Gonky, who made a noise of protest. “Get rid of the pirates, save the village, and get paid!”

"We need to know who we're dealing with first, Wrecker." Crosshair said coldly, annoyed with his brother's enthusiasm.

"Hey, I'm just being optimistic." Wrecker said. "Plus, I wanna see if they have Drakear meat. That sounds good!"

"We're about to find out now." Tech called back. "We're approaching Idaflor." Echo hopped back up to the copilot's seat with Omega tailing him as Tech brought the ship out of hyperspace in front of the planet Idaflor. She let out a quiet “whoa” and was once again amazed how each planet could look so different. The forests of trees and foliage were different shades of purple with a clear blue sky as a background as it had been unsoiled by space ships.

Upon approaching their destination they could see through the windows a large cannon ring surrounding the settlement, some ten miles in diameter with the cannon itself spanning a quarter of a mile wide and sixty meters deep, and on the inside of the ring going all the way around was a large hill. "Well," Hunter whistled with surprise. "That could keep the Drakears out."

"This only gives us more questions than answers though." Echo said with a gesture of his scomp arm. "Was this always here? And if not, who dug that and how did they do it? And how did they clear out this area of the Drakears?"

"And where’d all that dirt go?" Wrecker asked.

"Why do you care about the dirt?" Crosshair asked impatiently.

"Well from what Tech said the other day, matter cannot be created or destroyed-"

"Don't try to sound smart." Crosshair interrupted him, which prompted a kick to his seat that nearly bounced him out.

"Wrecker does have a point, Crosshair." Tech jumped in. "Enough ground has been dug up to create another hill, however, the surrounding hills are not fresh mounds of dirt."

"Then where did it all go?" Omega asked.

"It could be a natural formation," Tech thought, "and nothing extraordinary. Stranger things have happened on other planets."

“That's an understatement.” Echo drolled.

The lower they flew, Hunter felt something strong. It may have been some sort of powercenter that was running, but it also didn't feel like one, and the closer they got to the settlement it grew weaker. Why would they place something like that far away from the settlement? He thought. He suddenly felt it focus on their ship, almost prodding it like a curious creature. He tensed up as he felt it prodded him, then he felt it move about the cabin as it searched each and every one of them, but the others didn't seem to be bothered by it or even notice it. That's not a power center. He thought breaking out into a sweat, almost ready to fight the invisible intruder. It's alive!

"Hunter?" Tech called back.

Hunter shook his head. "What is it?"

"I asked where you wanted us to land?"

Hunter tried to sense the weird energy inside the ship, but it had gone out again. That was unsettling. "Land two clicks away from the settlement." He answered quickly. "And let's stay away from the east side of the ring. There's something out there."

"Like what?" Omega asked, very curious.

"I don't know. But I think it's best that we don't find out." He noticed Crosshair eyeing him suspiciously, figuring that he knew that he held back information. No one would believe it. 

Thus they landed in a small clearing amongst the purple trees, with Hunter making sure that what he felt was far away from them and not moving in their direction, and thankfully it was just outside the ring, waiting. He also didn't sense any Drakears in the ring, which was good for them, but it was puzzleling. They split into two groups with Hunter, Wrecker, Omega, and Crosshair were to scope out the settlement while Tech and Echo stayed with the ship, much to Crosshair's protest of course. He didn't want a kid going with them.

Omega found the trek thankfully uneventful and somewhat quiet, though the local birds and insects made merry sounds of chirps and rustling, while the cool breeze brought the smells of the local flowers and plants to her nose and danced in the trees, making the leaves rustle and the bark creek. It was very peaceful and serene, though it did seem to penetrate her clothes and bring a chill to her spine, making her shake. 

There were some signs that Drakears once did live in this area, but it had been some time since the beasts had dwelled there. And the closer they got to the center of the settlement, they came upon abandoned homes that were ransacked and burned, with the contents of the home being tossed outside and destroyed.

"Definitely pirates." Wrecker said with a nod. A familiar sight at this point to him, but not a good familiar. And that's why we're here, to kick these nerfherders off this planet!

Omega clutched the sleeve of her shirt, feeling a little bit anxious. The planet had looked friendly and sounded pleasant thus far with the friendly animal chatter and wind, but the reminder of their mission was a dark contrast, with the burnt homes showing uprooted lives that once lived there. It reminded her of how Tapoca City was destroyed. "That's not a good sign." 

Hunter picked up on her nerves and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked down at her, and even though she couldn't see it, she could tell he was smiling underneath his helmet. "It's going to be okay, Omega. Just remember to stick with us." She grinned back up at him and walked a little bit closer to his side. Hunter then heard Crosshair make a noise of disgust, just barely audible behind him.

"Still a bad idea to bring her along, Hunter." 

"We've been over this Crosshair!" Hunter snapped. This had been an ongoing argument since Crosshair had come back with them, and Hunter had had enough of it.

"You could've at least left her on the ship." Crosshair's voice remained leveled and low, irritating his brother. "That way she wouldn't be in danger. Or in the way."

Hunter suddenly turned on his heel and faced the sniper. "If you want to, you can go back to the ship!" He pointed back down the road. "This is a scouting mission anyway and we can do it without you!" As soon as he said it, he was immediately filled with regret.

Crosshair scoffed, both at the fact that he knew from their stories how they were when he wasn't there before, and that Hunter didn't want him back now. It was hilarious and hurtful. So someone finally said it. He thought. They don't really want me back. They took me out of pity and spite. He was about to say something witty when some movement caught his eyes beyond Hunter's left shoulder. Time seemed to freeze as he did his quick analysis of the target. Fifteen meters away, 12:02, barely behind a tree, a human male has a blaster at the ready, no armor, wind barely blowing, waiting and watching. Warning shot. In a blink of an eye, he pulled up his weapon and shot the blaster out of the man's hand. Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega turned with weapons drawn and saw the man with his hands up in surprise.

Then the man called out, "What a shot, mate!" He stepped lightly out onto the path with his hands still raised. "I do have knives on me, and more in a box, but I will not go for them." 

"Let's be sure of that." Hunter spoke.

"Down on your knees." Crosshair commanded the man. Hunter turned back to him.

"Alright mate." The man obliged. "I hope you're not trigger happy!" He smiled.

Crosshair started to walk up the path, and on passing Hunter he whispered, "I won't forget what you said." 

Wrecker came up behind Crosshair with his helmet up and glared down at the sergeant. "That wasn't called for, Sarge." 

"Wrecker-" Hunter stammered. Omega grabbed his hand, causing him to look down. "Don't listen to him, kid. He doesn't know what he's saying."

"He thinks no one really wants him around." She looked up at him.

Hunter shook his head. He hadn't exactly been warm or trusting of Crosshair, and Crosshair wasn't exactly making it easy either, especially since they still were butting heads over everything and his beliefs of the Empire, but Hunter was glad to have his brother back, he just wished they could get over this Empire hurdle. "Let's go and see who this guy is." Hunter directed themselves up the path behind his brothers. He'll have to apologize later to Crosshair, but not now. First things first, this new guy.

The human male sat on his knees while he waited for the batch to move in closer. His hands were on his capped head with his dark hair escaping underneath its edges, with his brown eyes smiling as he gently sang a tune, seemingly in no hurry. 

“And a-begging I will go,

 a-begging I will go. 

And a-begging I will go, 

a-begging I will go.” 

He wore a brown shoulder cape with crisscrossing bright lines and white tassels hanging on the bottom edge, a red and brown tunic that was crisscrossed from his belt down with more tassels hanging off the hem of the tunic, brown pants and brown boots. If he wanted to hide in the dirt, Hunter thought, no one would see him. The man did have two knives on his person like he said, a large one and a small one, two satchels and a canteen. Definitely a traveler.

"Who are you?" Crosshair asked the man when he was close enough.

"You may call me Tore, mate!" The man chirped. "And who are you lot?"

"Just travelers." Crosshair answered. 

"Travelers, ey?" Tore peeked around Crosshair with a raised brow to see the other members of the squad. "Very well armed for travelers. Though I guess that's expected nowadays." He sniffed and scrunched his nose slightly. “Smell like it too.”

"What are you doing out here?" Hunter asked before Crosshair could say anything about the comment.

"Deliverin Drakear knives to the Great Hondo Ohnaka." Tore laughed sarcastically. "As tribute for his, ahem, 'protection'." Tore air quoted.

"Hondo Ohnaka?" Hunter repeated.

"Yes sir." 

 Hunter took a step forward, now understanding the situation better. "Are you from the settlement?" Tore nodded. "Stand down Crosshair." Hunter ordered.

Crosshair slowly lowered his weapon, still not trusting this man Tore, but the name Hondo rang some bells.

"Whoa!" Wrecker said slowly. "We're up against that guy?"

"Who's Hondo Ohnaka?" Omega asked.

"He's a famous pirate lord in the Outer Rim," Hunter answered. "I've heard many stories of this pirate, but it's said that half of them are false."

Tore's eye's seemed to widen a bit. "You know this pirate?"

"Only stories." Hunter reiterated. "I would need to contact the rest of my squad to dig up more information on him."

"How about I just take you to him!?" Tore looked excited and relieved to meet someone who might know how to stop this pirate.

"How do we know you won't just hand us over?" Crosshair asked.

"Sir," Tore locked eyes with Crosshair through his helmet, unsettling him a bit. "I've been stuck tryin to figure out how to rid this guy and his gang for a month now while makin these dang knives so that he doesn't kill anyone else." Tore narrowed his eyes. "Why would I betray you like that when I'm desperate for help?"

"He's got a point, Crosshair." Wrecker said. Crosshair finally begrudgingly put his weapon away with a growl.

Hunter thought about what Tore said, spending a month trying to figure out how to be free of Hondo, and that the message for help was only a few rotations old. “Were you the one then who sent out the distress call?” Tore nodded. “So you’re the Mayor of this settlement?”

Tore shrugged. “Eh, kind of? I came to this world with my partner lookin for a friend about four months ago and we made a way of life here. Then more people and aliens started to show up and we taught them the way of life here and I guess that got Hondo’s attention.” He tapped his long knife with his hand and chuckled awkwardly. “Who knew that these knives were so rare?”

"What are the knives made of?" Asked Wrecker, full of curiosity.

"May I show you?" Tore asked, looking more like an excited puppy that found a new friend.

Hunter nodded. "Go ahead." He was also very curious about this knife.

Tore pulled out the long semi curved knife. It was purple on one side and ivory on the other. "This is a Drakear knife. It is a talon from a young Drakear that is dangerously sharpened on both sides with the ivory side having two edges." Tore carefully spun the knife to showcase the edges with Hunter and Omega moving in to get a closer look and Wrecker standing over them. Crosshair couldn't care less about its looks. "These knives can cut through wood and armor alike as if they were bread, and with unprotected flesh, like butter." Crosshair shuddered. There was a reason why he preferred to be a sniper, and not just because he was an expert at it. Knives required one to get up close and personal with the target who would struggle against the wielder. Making it messy. He didn't understand how Hunter could stomach such an approach. "The hilt is made from the trees here on the planet, and polished with a black varnish to make the blade pop out.” Then Tore chuckled lightly. “Didn't know that a hunting knife was so valuable."

Crosshair sputtered, “A hunting knife?! This planet has been uninhabited by people for who knows how long because of the Drakears, and you just casually come along and kill them for hunting knives?!” Crosshair nearly took his weapon back out, only to be stopped by Hunter. “Didn't you know that these monsters were dangerous and nearly impossible to kill?” Crosshair grew incredibly suspicious of this man. What are you hiding?

“That’s what everyone said,” Tore answered with a bored smile while replacing the knife in its sheath. “But I don’t see why. You just need to find a material that’s sharper than their scales and bam!” he clapped his hands which caused them to jump. “You take it out!” 

"And what material do you have to kill the Drakears?" Hunter asked, also growing suspicious. He thought back to what Echo said on the ship.  "You can't kill one with a blaster because of their scales, but a lightsaber from a Jedi could cut through them just fine.”

Tore's knowing smile widened and his own eyes became slitted with suspicion. "As a tradesman, I can't reveal all my secrets."

“But what about their firebreath?” Omega asked, not really understanding why they were all becoming suspicious of each other.

“Don’t you all have fireproof armor or somethin like that?” Tore looked at each of them and their silence spoke volumes. For the first time, he frowned. “Seriously?”

“That’s a tad bit expensive.” Wrecker shuffled his feet.

Tore hung his head for a moment and mumbled something under his breath, then lifted his head with resolve in his features and with his hands on his hips. “Alright. Dragon bears aside, y’all are here to do business with Hondo, so you lot better come up with a story quick. His men are just ahead.” Tore promptly sprang up, again startling them. "Alrighty then!" He went back to the tree line humming and picked up a large wooden box that rustled a bit. "Off we go to see the pirate king, to deliver Drakear knives!" He sang as he walked off in the direction of the settlement. He didn’t really give them a chance to speak before taking off.

Omega chuckled at Tore's enthusiasm. He was weird, but it was a good kind of weird. "I like him!" She skipped forward and picked up his blaster and quickly caught up with him to ask him questions.

“Omega wait!” Hunter took off after her.

"Well let's not stand around here!" Wrecker laughed himself. "Let's kick some pirate butt!" He pushed past both of his brothers as he charged after the duo and was quickly followed by Crosshair.

"This is a scouting mission Wrecker!" Crosshair reminded him, fast on his heels. He definitely didn't trust Tore. Something was up with him.

 Well, this man Tore was certainly enthusiastic. Hunter thought. But is he one of them? The weird energy that Hunter had been monitoring suddenly disappeared, as if someone had turned it off. He stopped and checked the air quickly; the wind still blew, chill yet refreshing, and found nothing. Did it die?

i got the urge, idc that hes not an oc :)

Never thought of it like that...🤣

I posted this on twitter at the beginning of the show haha joke on me.

The Bad Batch + Text Posts

The shading and coloring are so good!

their happy ending ♡

i miss them so much :(

😭 bring him back

brown eyes, ace, goggles, i miss him 😭🫶✨

by matsuoka.47