Plz disregard this if you are not accepting any more whump bingo prompts, but A3?? If not, plz accept my compliments. Love all of your works, they are so emotional and very well-written💓 and hope everything in your lives isn't too stressful!
(ok, so no lie, i have been waiting for this one. This is my kind of whump guys)A3: Touching clothing and their hand comes away bloody.
Matt tugs off his helmet with a hiss, blinking the sting of blood from his eyes. His vision was already hazy, the blood certainly wasn’t making anything easier. “What is the point of wearing a helmet and getting nagged if I still get fucking head wounds?”“You do not get to complain if you take your helmet off as frequently as you do, sir.” Baerl glances at him over her injured shoulder. “You took it off while you were completing the manual override because, and I quote, sir, “Fucking fuck this fucking thing, are you fucking kidding me, fuck this”.” She’s almost smirking at him, too amused for how much pain he knows she’s in and how many laps they both know he’s gonna make her do in training after she’s patched up for the snark. Matt rolls his eyes. “There seems to be a sudden lapse in my memory.”
A soft chuckle from the pilot’s chair, the sound more of a raspy rumble, like most things from Hepabt are. “Must be the head wound,” he muses. “Shall I alert Commander Leilani, sir?”“Everyone’s a comedian,” Matt mutters, shaking his head. It would be unprofessional to flip off his team, right? Baerl barely covers a laugh with her hand and Matt feels like a little unprofessional-ism might be warranted. He restrains himself and sighs instead. “Don’t call them. It’s just a scratch, and we don’t need to bother Leilani with it.”“You should get it checked out, Commander,” Baerl sighs, rolling her shoulder with a wince. “Just to be safe. Head wounds–”“All this first aid knowledge and you sound like Rel. Those late night chats having an affect on you, hmm?” Matt teases, shifting in his seat until it hurts, little pinpricks of firey bits of pain sparking up all over. Her ears perk up and twitch and Matt starts to laugh so hard his head spins. “I don’t know what you mean, sir,” Baerl sniffs, going for prim and falling short. Matt snorts and shakes his head. “Sure. We’ll pretend that’s true.”If Galrans could blush she’d be pink (Purple? Could she get more purple?) to the tip of her ears. She’s saved from anymore teasing by Hepabt’s quiet announcement of their arrival back on base.Matt gets to his feet with a groan. God, everything fucking hurt. He can’t wait to shower off and fall into the arms of his kin for the night. That brings a small smile to his lips as he steps out of the pod. Leilani will fuss, but with the fussing came gentle hands and sweetness on his tongue, all to the tune of Kartok’s chuckles and the soft rasp of Zarra’s purrs. Martek is waiting for him, as per the norm, and towering at his side is Rel, with a small smile on his lips. Matt glances to Baerl at his side. “Still want to pretend?” he murmurs, nudging her gently. She doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t have to, not with the way the fur around her ears puffs up, just like Zarra’s does when she’s pleased. “Welcome back, Commander,” Martek says, drawing Matt’s attention. “You are bleeding sir.” Could he sound more politely displeased? Matt makes a mental note to really test that one day when he’s not so tired and sore. Matt waves it off, heading down the steps, helmet in hand. “It’s just a scratch, no big.”“How did you acquire this scratch, Commander?” Rel asks, voice measured, but eyes bright. “Should your helmet not have prevented this?”“Yes,” Martek answers before Matt can, and Leilani’s not around, but Matt can practically taste the bitterness in that single word. Matt rolls his eyes and moves past them.“You know what? I don’t want to hear it. It happened, I have a headache, Zarra’s gonna glare, Kartok’s gonna sigh and Leilani is gonna make everyone taste metal for the next two hours, so I really don’t want to hear anything from any of you.” He sets his helmet down on a console table, and fishes out his data drive from his belt. “Got it?”“Yes Commander,” Rel says, amused even as he dips his head with genuine respect. Baerl and Hepabt echo him, both of them engaged in stripping from their outer armor. Martek just sighs and paces closer to Matt, launching in to his usual post mission routine.“The Commanders are all engaged with tasks at the moment sir. Per your instruction, I did not disturb them when your estimated arrival shifted earlier. Would you have me contact them now?”Matt shakes his head, looking past Martek’s shoulder to watch Rel approach Baerl, reaching for her with such obvious and gentle care. “Nah, don’t bother them. I’m gross and I want a shower before Lani starts to fuss and I get trapped in the lounge or something for the foreseeable future.”“Yes, sir.” Martek nods, making a small note on his pad, and then holding out his hand. “Is the drive ready for analysis?”“Yeah.” Matt hands the drive over, and then stretches his arms up over his head, hoping to crack his back for some relief. He’s met instead with instant regret as pain rips through him and a groan startles past his lips. “Shit!”
“Are you alright?” Martek asks, eyes sharp with concern. “I’m fine.” Matt holds up a hand, closing his eyes, hand gripping tight to the edge of the console. He can feel the gazes of his Alphas from across the hangar, silent and sharp and vigilant. “Took a few rough hits getting out of there, that’s all. I’m just a little sore.”“Sir–”“Leave it.” It’s an order, but there’s no teeth behind it. Matt’s tired, he wants a shower, he wants his kin, and then a bed. To get any of that he needs to get out of the hangar and he’s sure as shit not gonna accomplish that if Martek starts in on motherhenning him over a few scrapes and bruises. “I’m gonna head out.”“Commander-”“Get the drive to Jion and some of the new coders. Let him run the breakdown, but double check the processing.” Matt pushes off the console and starts for the door. “He’s good at teaching, but he lets minor mistakes slip through in his work while he’s busy checking over theirs. But don’t tell him.”“Commander Holt-”Matt keeps going, talking and walking on his path. Get it all out now and then just get out. “It’ll just make him feel bad, and undermine how comfortable he’s gotten since you got back from Shi’or. I’d like to do anything to prevent that from–”“Matt!!” The snap of his first name rings through the air and stops him in his tracks. Martek never uses his first name anymore. Matt turns to face him slowly, the scrape of the metal soles of his feet the only thing to pierce the air. He expects to see annoyance or frustration on his second’s face, but instead finds… fear? What?Before he can ask what’s up, Martek steps closer to him pad and drive hugged tight against his chest. “You’re bleeding,’ he says, quickening his pace.Matt blinks. “…Didn’t we just do this? Coming out of the pod, we did this, right? Or did I hallucinate all that?” “Not your head.” Martek is at his side now, and he’s not looking at Matt, not looking up to meet his eyes, his gaze trained somewhere low on his torso. “Your side.”His side? What?” Matt follows Martek’s gaze and twists as gently as he can manage to try and get a hand over where Martek’s intense gaze rests. If there’s blood there, it’s gotta just be a stain… but it’s warm and sticky to the touch.He looks down and there’s a tear in his suit between two plates of the flexible body armor he wears, nothing big, barely more than a fingers width of space, and the black material is definitely wet. The spot doesn’t hurt, not anymore than the rest of his entire body, in fact, it’s almost numb to his touch.He pulls his hand away and stares down at the blood that’s now there. “Oh,” he breathes, new pain spreading through him, hot and fast, a sharp contrast to the icy haze that seems to trip down his spine, like someone threw cold water over his head. “Shit.”
How do people voluntarily join the Coalition? I know Martek left acedemic work to join it, and I know !oshi left thier planet to join it, but how?
Most recruits join the Coalition after it passes through their star system or their planet. Sometimes it’s after they’ve been liberated, with the Empire forces chased off, or wiped out, sometimes it’s a planet somehow untouched that the Coalition finds and reaches out to join the fight.
The Commanders will go and speak to the leaders and see if they are interested in joining the Coalition, and then speak openly to the people to see if there is interest among specific individuals. That’s how they got Martek. His people and planet weren’t interested in joining as a whole, but he sure was. Whereas !oshi used the Coalition as an escape. Their planet is part of the Coalition, a strong and trusted ally. They left because they both believed in the Coalition’s cause, and because they didn’t want to be forced into their family’s responsibility. The stories all vary, really.
We a different take on that whole thing in WWLA with Jion and Zetri. They were refugees who wanted to join the Coalition when it came to the planet they were staying on. It’s a story that’s really familiar among a lot of the Galrans in the Coalition ranks, either having been refugees or defectors, like Ortraz or Baerl.
Hey so I’m pretty new to this blog. What exactly do you mean by bonded, bonding ceremony? Could you explain in a little more detail? I’m kinda guessing that it’s like the Coalition’s official way for recognizing marriage (of sorts). Thank you! And I love this AU, everything is so beautifully written!! Sending much love your way(or if there’s multiple people who work on this, I’m sending much love to everybody!)
Bonding is definitely the Coalition’s way, and many other specific culture’s way of recognizing what would be the equivalent of marriage. It’s different for each couple, how they choose to recognize it and celebrate it. Like Martek and Ortraz choose to go to Zarra and have her bond them in private, just a quiet exchange of words and promises, their own little happiness to keep safe from the crazy lives they live. But Rel and Baerl, two of Matt’s primary Alpha One operatives have a much different bonding. It’s a big affair, a big beautiful celebration, definitely more akin to a wedding with a huge, crazy reception. Think ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ levels of partying, and traditional Italian reception craziness. Matt performs that ceremony, as Commander and friend to them both, and it’s made all the more special for Rel’s daughter, Min, being there and being so bright and happy for her father and her new mother. Both very different examples, both extremely special and wonderful bondings. (And thank you so much! There are two of us actually (Me, Lo, and my partner Em :) ) and we’re both so happy that you love the story and that you wanted to share such kind words with us!)
matt has a team now!! a badass team and he's a badass! can you tell us more things about his team? i know we've met one of them before, but what about the others??
I’m so excited to see Matt’s team getting some love! The Strike team members are great, and you guys have only met three of them! Alpha Strike One
Let’s start at the top, shall we?
The Alpha you’ve met before is Rel (first making an appearance in chapter 3 of Why We Lie Awake). He is actually the Alpha strike leader, top of the command chain, with Matt being the exception of course. He has been with the Coalition for almost eight years, joined right before Kartok took his Command. He is an incredibly skilled and well rounded fighter, and he is Ortraz’s favorite pick for helping to test and train new recruits and fighters. He’s also just an overall great guy!
Next is Baerl, Rel’s number two. She is one of two Galran members of Alpha One. Baerl is… wound tight. She’s got a lot of anxiety, and a really short fuse. She is dedicated and loyal and she’s seen too much darkness in her life. Baerl and Rel are very close, he was her training captain alongside Ortraz when she joined the Coalition, and they’ve been friends for a very long time. Often where Rel is, Baerl isn’t too far behind.
And finally, we have Hepabt. The second Galran member of the Alpha One team, he is very quiet. The strong and silent type. Before Matt pulled him for the Strike teams, he was primarily staffed for rehabilitation strength training for Coalition fighters working through long term injuries (Not everyone is sent to Commander Leilani after all), as well as one of Zarra’s stealth operatives, put in the field when some more delicate work was needed. He is content to stay quiet among his more boisterous team members and his spirited Commander, making it all the more of an event when he does choose to give his two cents.
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