Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – Fire and Smoke
Blaster fire lit up the night.
Selene pressed herself into the crumbling stone of a low wall, her lungs burning from sprinting through the dusty streets of Calros Outpost. The Outer Rim town was little more than half-broken buildings and sand choked alleys, but tonight it was crawling with stormtroopers. White armor gleamed under the pale moons as the Imperials swept through, hunting for her.
Keep moving. Don’t stop.
Her side throbbed where a stray bolt had clipped her hours ago, but she couldn’t slow down.
“Fan out!” a trooper’s voice barked from the street. Boots thudded against stone. “She’s here somewhere!”
Selene gritted her teeth and darted across the alley, pressing into shadow. Her blaster, battered and half burned at the grip, was slick in her palm. She had five shots left, maybe six if the charge held. Not enough.
Shouts went up. They’d seen her.
Blaster bolts rained down, burning holes in the plastered walls. Selene dove into cover, rolled, and fired back. Two troopers went down. Another rushed her flank; she swung wide and clipped him in the shoulder before a stun bolt hit the ground inches from her boots. The shockwave pitched her onto her back, stars flaring behind her eyes.
By the time she scrambled up, the street ahead was blocked. Half a squad of troopers leveled rifles at her, white masks blank and unyielding.
Her stomach lurched. This is it.
And then—
The world exploded.
Something roared overhead. Smoke and sparks filled the street as a massive figure in black and red armor barreled into the squad, scattering troopers like toys. A grenade went off with a deafening crack, fire licking the walls.
Selene blinked through the haze, stunned, as a new set of voices cut through the chaos. Rough, unpolished.
“Wrecker, you’re going to level the whole block!”
“Worked, didn’t it?” a booming voice replied, laughter echoing.
Another blaster shot snapped inches from her ear. Selene ducked instinctively, whipping around. A tall, lean man stood in the smoke, rifle braced against his shoulder with perfect precision. His shot cut through a stormtrooper’s visor before the next bolt even left the chamber. He didn’t miss.
From the haze stepped three more figures, distinct and dangerous. One wore a headband and moved with quiet, deliberate control, like every sense was on high alert. Another was all cybernetics and focus, his movements efficient and sharp. The last adjusted his visor, muttering rapid technical data even as he snapped off clean shots.
Selene’s heart hammered. These weren’t ordinary clones. She’d heard whispers, the defective squad, the misfits, the Bad Batch.
And they were standing between her and certain death.
The big one, Wrecker, grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up as if she weighed nothing. “You okay, lady?”
She yanked free, glare sharp despite the ringing in her ears. “I was managing.”
“Sure looked like it,” the sniper drawled, smoke curling around his words. He didn’t bother to glance at her, already lining up his next kill.
The headbanded one, the leader, shot her a look, sharp and assessing. “Stay behind us.”
“I don’t take orders from strangers,” she snapped back, raising her blaster to fire past his shoulder. The trooper went down with a scream.
Something flickered in his eyes. Approval? Annoyance? She couldn’t tell.
But there was no time to argue. The stormtroopers were regrouping, pouring into the street in greater numbers. Red bolts lit the night. Selene and the squad moved as one, her body falling into their rhythm before she could think, cover fire, sharp advances, brutal efficiency.
Still, the Imperials weren’t letting up. More squads pushed into the outpost, their voices carrying over comms. “Target confirmed. Do not let her escape!”
Selene’s blood ran cold. They’re after me. Not them. Me.
The cybernetic one glanced her way, reading the fear on her face. “Whatever you’re carrying, it’s painted a target on your back.”
“Not your problem,” she snapped, firing again.
“Correction,” Tech replied coolly, ducking as a bolt seared past. “It became our problem the moment they deployed reinforcements.”
The leader barked a sharp order. “Fall back! Wrecker, clear us a path!”
The giant grinned, pulling a charge from his belt. “With pleasure.”
The explosion tore half the street apart. Dust and fire rained down, stormtroopers scattering.
“Move!” the leader shouted.
Selene had no choice. She followed.
They sprinted through winding alleys, cutting down troopers as they went. Her legs screamed in protest, lungs burning. She stumbled once, nearly fell, but a strong hand caught her, Hunter, the leader, steadying her with surprising gentleness before shoving her forward again.
The tunnel entrance loomed ahead, hidden in shadow. They dove inside just as the street behind them lit with Imperial fire.
Darkness swallowed them.
The tunnel echoed with their breaths, the clatter of boots on stone. Selene leaned against the wall, chest heaving, every nerve still sparking with adrenaline.
The clones regrouped quickly, their banter sharp even in retreat.
“Next time,” Crosshair muttered, slinging his rifle across his back, “leave the damsel behind.”
Selene bristled. “Try it, toothpick.”
Wrecker barked a laugh. “I like her!”
Hunter’s gaze cut back to her, dark and unreadable. “Who are you, and why is the Empire so desperate to catch you?”
Selene’s jaw tightened. The data chip in her pocket felt like a live wire. “You don’t want to know.”
His stare held hers for a long, quiet beat. The weight of it made her chest ache. Finally, he nodded once, as if filing her away for later.
“Then we’ll find out the hard way,” he said simply.
And with that, the Bad Batch led her deeper into the dark.