Febuwhump day 27: Can You Stay? A Merlin/Thunderbirds Crossover
~
‘Please.’
The whispered word was full of anguish but the reality was…
‘Please stay.’
Oh gods he wanted to. He so wanted to…
‘It’s too late. Too late.’
Arthur tried to raise a hand to Merlin’s face.
A ripple of unease tore through Merlin as he recognised the words.
How many times had Arthur uttered these words while all Merlin could do was hold him and weep as time and again Arthur died?
Was every life he was born into destined to end the same way?
Why couldn’t Merlin save him?
Suddenly hands were on Arthur and himself, and Merlin’s eyes turned golden as he prepared to unleash hell on whoever was trying to take Arthur away.
But a hand on his face and the most intense blue eyes as a face appeared in his vision had the spell die on his lips.
‘Don’t worry, sir. We’ve got this.’
And before he could blink a man in blue and green and one in blue and yellow had whisked Arthur away while the one in blue and grey was not-so-subtly checking him over.
‘…in shock, John.’
‘…take him? Virgil’s got his hands full…’
‘FAB.’
The man crouched in front of him and Merlin belatedly realised they’d been talking about him.
He blinked and they were in some kind of aircraft and he was being belted into a seat. The man looked up and smiled when he realised Merlin was finally with him.
‘Hey. My name is Scott. How are you managing?’
A wild bubble of laughter caught in Merlin’s throat at the carefully spoken words. His eyes darted around before returning to the man before him. “Scott” his brain helpfully supplied.
‘Ar-Arthur?’
‘Your friend?’
‘My friend.’
‘He’s with my brothers.’
Merlin didn’t miss the lack of reassurance as to Arthur’s condition, and he made to leave only for much stronger hands to hold him down.
‘Steady. Stay seated. We’re heading to the same hospital.’
But Merlin barely heard Scott as he spread his magic out, desperate to hear for himself what was going on.
‘…unresponsive. Continue CPR…’
‘…get that…into a vein…’
‘…assessing…assessing…’
It was like all he could hear were snatches of conversation within a bubble of static.
‘Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.’
Merlin hadn’t consciously started repeating his oft-spoken plea, but it suddenly felt like his words finally had power.
‘Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.’
Unconsciously Scott began tapping in time too.
‘Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.’
In Two suddenly there was an undercurrent, a beat that could be felt rather than heard as Virgil and Gordon worked together to save the man before them.
‘Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.’
Merlin breathed the words in and exhaled them.
In-‘Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.’-out-‘Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.’
‘Heartbeat detected.’
And Merlin crumpled.
Later he woke up in a bed not his own to see a man he didn’t recognise sitting beside him, tapping away on a tablet.
Confusion had Merlin begin to hyperventilate, but then the man was leaning over him, a smile on his face and in his eyes.
His eyes!
Merlin remembered those eyes! What was the name though…Scott! Wait a minute…
‘Arthur!’
‘Easy, easy! He’s right here.’
Scott shifted slightly and Merlin finally noticed the man reclining in the other bed.
Arthur was pale, almost translucent in fact, and his chest was wrapped in bandages with some kind of tubing held in place.
Merlin collapsed back with a groan, closing his eyes and throwing one arm over them.
‘We’ve been more worried about you, actually.’
He looked at Scott. But it wasn’t Scott who had spoken. The man was grinning though, as he moved further out of the way.
‘Arthur!’
‘I’m fine.’
They held each other’s eye for a beat, completely ignoring Scott, and Arthur inclined his head ever so slightly. Merlin breathed a little easier and practically whispered his next words. But Arthur heard them and, better still, understood them.
I thought I was joking with that 'ive watched so much new stuff I'm going to make a tbirds au outta it' well turns out I wasn't and here's JoJo's bizarre adventure X thunderbirds crossover. Don't ask for more details I just wanted to make pretty outfits and obviously had to get a KIX reference in there with 'girl money'.
More info and progress pics under cut x
This is probably the only character I'll do in this au cause the Tracy brothers cannot serve JoJo levels of cunt x
It was a light hearted joke…meant to lighten the mood…
It wasn’t meant to leave Alan, dressed as Phoenix, sobbing full force behind a pile of rubble miles high in the sky. The sounds of his brothers’ voices in the distance, unaware of their youngest being so close and hurting so much, just made Alan sob harder...
It wasn’t meant to bring up thoughts of what could have been…nor the sheer longing of a home…
Of a family...
That he no longer had. Nor deserve.
It wasn’t meant to do any of that….
It had all started out okay-ish…well not okay, an earthquake hitting a city is never okay. But in turns of his emotions, and subsequent trauma, Phoenix felt that he had a pretty good control on it.
Of course that control had a momentary panic attack as two Thunderbirds landed but alas it held…Very much literally duck taped (so much duck tape!) together but holding…
Working with his brothers as Phoenix was almost like an out of body experience. It was exhilarating and nerve-wracking…
The worse and the best,
All at once.
While he tried not to get too close to them, for a multiple of reasons, today his luck ran out. Gordon and Virgil were only a couple of feet away.
He was finnnnneee…
So what if his brain was filled with panicked screaming…
It was fine, he was fine…
Just focus on the mission, there are lives at stake here. Just keep moving rubble and listening for heart beats…
Just keep listening for heart beats…
A sheet of concrete shifted unnoticed above Virgil.
Gordon’s heart skipped a beat.
“Virgil! Watch out!”
Virgil looked up, eyes wide, expecting a piece of rubble to be hurling towards him. But instead, there was a pair of wings…
The concrete went flying.
Phoenix glanced at Virgil, an unrecognizable look in his (weirdly familiar) blue eyes. “You’re…you’re okay?”
Virgil nodded numbly, still in shock, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine..” a blink and Virgil chuckled, giving the kid-
(because he didn’t look older than fifteen?!)
A soft smile “thanks for the save…”
Phoenix stepped back, wings fidgeting nervously behind him. “You would have done the same for me…”
Phoenix briefly locked eyes with Virgil, trying to get across the silence ‘You always have…and still are…’
“Well, maybe not the concrete throwing...” Gordon grinned, nudging Virgil in the ribs, “no matter how strong this doofus thinks he is!”
“Gordon!”
Watching his brothers banter, the longing, the painful ache in his chest, intensified. It was Beast Boy who unknowingly brought everything crashing down.
“Ha!” A green bird landed on Phoenix's shoulder, changing into a small monkey. “You should have been a Thunderbird, dude!”
“Hey, dude!” A green hand was waved in front of Phoenix’s face, time suddenly snapping back in motion. Beast boy was standing in front of him, eyebrows farrowed concerned “You’re okay?”
“Haha, yeah...” Phoenix did the only thing he could do, “I think they-need-me over there!” And fled the scene with a flap of his wings.
Scott watched the scene unfold before him with barely controlled anger. His fists were clenched and his teeth were tightly clenched, but it wouldn’t do for him to lose his temper here.
He thought that Gordon’s stories were just that - tales that his brother had embellished a little to make the man involved seem worse than he actually was. But he should have known better.
As the Captain left with the blue-green haired woman Scott watched carefully from his seat as the other woman, back straight and shoulders squared, waited until they were both out of sight before turning on her heel and fleeing in the opposite direction.
Pausing just a moment to dash out a text to Gordon asking him to wait, Scott rushed after her.
He found her outside and around the corner, a private breakdown to the very public humiliation he’d just witnessed.
Without waiting Scott sat beside her and gently pulled her into a hug. She clung to him for a moment until she had the strength to pull away and offer him a watery smile.
‘Atlanta Shore. Well I never! Fancy seeing you here!’
Atlanta stared at him for a moment and then burst into laughter.
‘Scott Tracy. What’s a Flyboy like you doing in a Squid joint like this?’
~
Three hours later, Gordon had all but given up hope of finding his elder brother Fine thanks laughter due his attention.
Exiting the building, he almost fell over Scott‘s legs and only reflexes born from avoiding “knee-knockers” over the past 12 months had him still on his feet.
Scott and Atlanta, still sat side-by-side on the floor, merely looked at him and burst out into more laughter, both holding their stomachs as tears freely flowed and leaning against each other.
‘You two are the absolute worst!’
Laughter still sounded as Scott held an arm open and Gordon didn’t hesitate to join them.
‘So, what are you two doing on the floor out here?’
‘Reminiscing.’
‘Oh dear. Do I even want to know?’
Scott smirked and looked to Atlanta. They both turned to Gordon and chorused together:
‘No!’
This time Gordon joined in the laughter before climbing to his feet and holding a hand out to help Atlanta up. Scott beat her to grasp it and there was something mild rib jabbing and comments about “age before beauty” as the three made their way to the quarters.
Atlanta hugged both brothers warmly and kissed Scott’s cheek before bidding them a goodbye with a promise of having them over next time Scott came to visit.
The two brothers entered Gordon’s quarters and together got a simple meal prepped and cooking before collapsing on the couch.
‘So…I knew you and Commander Shore’s daughter knew each other but I don’t think I realised how well.’
‘Yeah, I guess. Atlanta and I have been friends for years. I guess you were quite young when they moved away so you probably don’t remember her that much.’
Gordon nodded, trying to remember any instance of a much younger Atlanta visiting them. He still came up empty. Curious about the circumstances of their friendship, he decided he needed to investigate.
‘When did you meet?’
‘Uhh…I think I was eight. John would have been six, Virgil five. You would have been just around three or four. Dad’s business was starting to really take off and he’d quit NASA but was working out his notice.’
Scott got that faraway look that Gordon loved to see - his brother didn’t reminisce about the good stuff in their lives anywhere near enough - and he settled down to listen, a soft smile on his face.
~
‘Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!’
Virgil’s daily routine of watching from the front window and yelling when Jeff arrived home heralded the usual stampede of feet as his brothers rushed to get to the door before their Dad could open it.
Long legs meant Scott always won, even if today he had an octopus clinging onto his back. John wasn’t too far behind though, skidding into place while their Mom and baby Alan watched from the kitchen doorway.
But the door stayed shut longer than usual.
Hopping from foot to foot, Scott muttered to himself.
‘What’s taking him so long?’
30 seconds later - a lifetime to the energetic boy - he rushed up to the window to check, gently nudging Virgil aside slightly and pressing his nose into the glass.
‘Mom! Dad’s brought someone home.’
‘Yes, Scott, I know.’
Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at her and Lucy grinned.
‘Best behaviour, boys.’
They snapped to attention, lining up by the door just as the key sounded in the lock and the door swung open.
But it wasn’t their Father who entered.
‘UNCLE SAMMY!’
Scott’s yell of delight had Lucy laughing as Sam Shore was barely across the threshold when Scott launched himself at the man like he was still five and not eight-going-on-eighteen.
Shore laughed and hugged Scott back before moving into the house and introducing the other two people with him.
‘Scott, boys, I’d like to introduce you to my wife Elaine, and my daughter Atlanta.’
They all chorused a hello, and Scott, being eldest, was the first to hold out his hand. The girl took it and they shook.
‘Hi! I’m Scott!’
‘Atlanta.’
Short grinned at her. He glanced at his Mom - who smiled and nodded - before turning his attention back to their guest.
‘Wanna see my planes?’
‘Sure!’
Scott grabbed Atlanta’s hand and - talking nineteen-to-the-dozen - sped off to his room leaving slightly bemused adults behind.
‘Well that didn’t take long.’
Jeff took Alan from Lucy and with Gordon clinging onto one leg and Virgil clinging onto his free hand he followed Lucy, Sam and Elaine into the kitchen.
John had already beaten them there, in his usual seat with his nose already firmly back in his book, and Virgil returned to his drawing while Gordon began to regale his Dad of what he’d done today.
Scott and Atlanta didn’t come back down until called for dinner.
~
‘The Shores moved from Kansas not too long after that and Atlanta and I were pen pals for a bit until Mom…’
‘I never realised.’
‘Yeah. I kinda never kept up with anyone after Mom.’
‘You looked cozy back there, though.’
‘It was great! I mean, I knew she was here, you speak about it quite a bit but it was almost as if we were right back in the middle of our friendship.’
‘What were you doing on the floor?’
So Scott filled Gordon in on what he’d seen and then had to hold him back from marching straight over to the man’s quarters.
‘Hey Fish, i’m here for the week. Let’s not start that week off with you in the brig.’
Gordon laughed sheepishly and nodded. They got on with eating and discussing what they were going to do for the week before settling down to watch a movie.
Idly, Scott wondered if Atlanta would be around for some of his stay. They could get to know each other again.
In fact nothing about this world was as she expected. There were metal men! Cyborgs? Androids? Automatons the man called Gordon had said. She didn’t have time to ask more as they ran full pelt towards…what looked like a tank, only no tank Donna had ever seen.
The men with him fanned out to protect them and soon they were inside the tank. Tracy had climbed into the front. It was deceptively large and with a thump on a wall it moved, faster than she would have thought possible.
It was loud inside without anyone talking. Everyone sat around the edges, backs against the walls and eyeing her and the Doctor.
After attempting to speak and getting no response The Doctor had given up trying to get any information. Donna watched him. Despite his easy grin she could see he was rattled. Something about these metal men had him…scared.
Eventually they stopped and exited the vehicle. They were underground. The lights were few and spaced out. They had a bit of a walk before they arrived at what was obviously a refugee camp, a safe haven of sorts.
Gordon came over with a tall red-haired man and a blonde man.
‘This is John...and...Alan, my brothers.’
The Doctor’s eyes lit up in recognition.
‘And your other brothers, Virgil and Scott?’
The air got suddenly chilly. Alan and John’s faces crumpled but Gordon’s got as cold as ice as he grabbed the Doctor by the lapels and pinned him to the wall
‘Who are you?’
‘I – I was called here!’
‘Who? Who on earth would call you here?’
‘Dawn did.’
Donna thought the air had been cold before but now it turned frigid. This time it was John who spoke, but it was Alan who was training what she assumed was a gun on them.
‘Speak now.’
It didn’t take long for the Doctor to show them the message on the psychic paper. Scepticism was understandable – Donna still pinched herself from time to time – but eventually John sat down beside her and offered her a glass of water.
There was a scar down one side of his face from temple to ear and that eye had turned cloudy. If he was uncomfortable at her looking he didn’t say anything, so she felt brave enough to ask him.
‘What happened to your brothers?’
‘Scott – our oldest brother – was lost during the war in Bereznik. Virgil died after the first wave of these…creatures…started attacking mankind.’
‘And Dawn?’
‘I don’t want to talk about her.’
‘Sorry.’
‘No…it’s alright.’
They sat in silence while she drank and while the Doctor spoke to Gordon Donna mulled over the information.
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘I need to put this right.’
‘Uh huh. And just how are you going to do that?’
‘I have a sh…transport. Donna and need to get going.’
‘Do you think you can do it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Change time?’
Donna blinked. Obviously the two had been talking far more seriously than she’d realised.
‘We’ll escort you back to town. Now that the battle is over the bots will not return just yet.’
‘Thank you.’
‘No – thank you. If you can save Scott…’
‘We will, Gordon. We will.’
~
Time travel and the TARDIS wasn’t as smooth as the Doctor ever implied, or would have liked, but he was used to her and her foibles. Her chameleon circuits weren’t the only thing not quite working…
So he patted her console affectionately and, with a final glance at Donna, threw the switch. The familiar hum of the time rotor filled the TARDIS.
‘So tell me, Doctor. Where are we heading in time?’
‘Ah yes! One moment…’
He flashed another grin at her and dashed from the room only to reappear with a large green book and leafed through the pages.
‘No…no…no…Ah! Here! Born 2035, USAF pilot 2056…shot down in action 2058. POW for six months.’
‘Prisoner of war? I don’t remember that.’
‘Ah, well, in your universe I guess not everything is in the official fandom. I think…’
He closed his eyes and pinched his nose. He continued reading as he spoke.
‘The comic books elaborate more on Scott’s life. But here, where it actually happened, Bereznik erupted into civil war and the World Council sent the USAF and the WAAF in to fly escort for food and medicine aid drops.
‘A year later they had made no headway and the war was threatening to spill over into Germany and the surrounding countries. It was at this time, when Tracy’s squad were just short of the border, the man and his co-pilot sacrificed themselves to get the aid convoy out despite some fancy flying.’
‘He sounds impressive. And he was what, 22 years old?’
‘Yes.’
‘And that was a pivotal moment in time?’
‘What Tracy went through changed him from a man of war to a man of peace and helped him make International Rescue the success it was.’
‘But it’s not here, you said.’
‘No…no it’s not.’
‘So whatever happened, happened during the time he was a POW?’
‘Looks like it.’
With a last “whomp whomp” the TARDIS settled.
Donna took a breath. The Doctor had opened those blue wooden doors and she’d stepped out into the unknown so many times. Had seen wonders and disasters in equal measures.
So far she’d never stepped out into a warzone.
The Doctor looked as serious as he’d ever been, peering over the rim of his glasses at her.
‘Donna. Are you ready for this?’
‘Doctor?’
‘This – this isn’t like Pompeii. We cannot stop this happening.’
‘But being a Prisoner of War…’
‘Captain Tracy has and is going to suffer. Horribly. The Bereznik army didn’t follow any of the Geneva Convention and what he’s going to go through…’
‘Stop!’
It was whispered but she could have been shouting as the Doctor stopped talking. His eyes were incredibly sad. Donna fought herself. Her breathing was shallow and she felt the tear gathering in one eye but with a deep breath she got herself under control. The Doctor just watched, but he was coiled like a spring, ready to jump to her if she needed him.
‘Donna?’
‘I’m fine. Good to go.’
‘We don’t know what we’re going to find outside. This isn’t going to be pretty, but it is important. I must set the timeline right.’
‘I understand. Do you have any idea what we might face out there?’
‘No. I think she’s put us down in the forest outside the castle Captain Tracy is being held in.’
Frowning again, he turned back to tap at the screens that usually showed the outside world but were curiously blank.
‘Why aren’t they working?’
‘I don’t know…’
A chime sounded. And then again. And again. Mournful, the sound caused Donna to shudder. The Doctor drew in a sharp breath, pausing with his hand on the TARDIS door.
‘What is it?’
‘The Cloister Bell.’
‘What does it mean?’
‘It means the TARDIS is in danger.’
‘What are we going to do?’
‘We don’t have a choice. Once we leave the TARDIS will go into shutdown and won’t admit us until the danger is passed.’
‘You mean we could be trapped here?’
The Doctor nodded gravely. He held out a hand and gave a small smile.
‘Coming?’
‘Of course. Let’s go save the world.’
The doors opened and they stepped out. Before either could react the TARDIS shut her doors and disappeared.
‘Doctor?’
‘Yes, Donna?’
‘This isn’t a forest.’
‘Yeah, I noticed.’
The rhythmic sound of feet marching over the stone floor got louder and louder and closer and closer. The Doctor grabbed Donna’s hand and squeezed.
He said nothing, but Donna could almost hear the gears shifting in his head. She almost jumped in surprise when he suddenly sprang into life, abandoning the lever he was about to push and darting around the console instead, hitting buttons and pulling levers.
The TARDIS practically hummed and Donna waited for an explanation. An alarm sounded and once more the Doctor froze momentarily before once again activating the ship to go.
Realising she wasn’t going to get anything out of the Doctor right now, Donna turned to the screen and the TARDIS helpfully displayed the outside.
Huh. They were on the moon. And it was really bright. Donna stared, puzzling over what she was seeing before the Doctor interrupted her thoughts.
‘We’re on the dark side of the moon.’
‘Dark side? Have you seen how bright it is out there?’
‘Well, dark side’s a bit misleading. Far side would be better…’
He was beginning to ramble, and Donna knew that if she didn’t get him back on track then she’d be in for a long lecture….
‘What did you see?’
‘I’m sorry…what?’
‘You had a thought and changed your mind.’
‘Ah. Right.’
The fact that he still wasn’t answering raised alarm bells, and she went to speak again but stopped at his unhappy frown.
‘Doctor?’
‘It’s the atmosphere.’
‘Earth’s atmosphere?’
‘Yes. Look…’
He pulled up the picture of the Earth they’d just been looking at. It looked perfectly normal to Donna and she said so.
‘Well, yes it looks the same. But it’s full of pollutants I wouldn’t expect.’
‘Why?’
‘Oh right. I keep forgetting. Let’s just say that the 2060s planet Earth of the Thunderbirds had conquered most pollution and had air and sea scrubbers actively removing it. But this planet looks like a worse version of your own Earth. Sorry.’
‘What does it mean?’
‘Nothing good. Let’s go.’
Donna waited for the TARDIS to stabilise in motion before she spoke, but to her surprise they’d barely taken off before they were landing again.
The TARDIS wasn’t happy, though, and she made that quite clear. The Doctor patted her console affectionately before turning to his friend and giving her a tight grin. Which only made Donna worry.
They ducked out of a tight alleyway that looked like any other alley Donna had been down into a wide-ish street.
It was quiet.
Unnaturally quiet.
There wasn’t a sound in the air. Not even birds were singing. The streets were deserted. The houses looked empty.
The pair wandered through the area. Every now and then the Doctor would hold up his sonic screwdriver, take a reading and frown over it.
Suddenly, impossibly, the air grew even more silent, a feeling of oppression settling over them. Donna shivered.
She was about to take another step when the Doctor’s arm shot out to stop her. She looked at him, mouth open about to indignantly enquire when he hissed at her.
‘Listen!’
Donna frowned and tilted her head, trying to hear what the Doctor had…there! A faint sound of footsteps marching…
‘We gotta get off the street!’
‘Where? There’s nowhere here to hide!’
‘Then we should RUN!’
The sound was suddenly everywhere, and the Doctor had grabbed Donna’s hand and they were running back the way they came.
Only to suddenly stop at the sight of several rows of metal men marching towards them. They spun around to see more approaching from behind. They marched in perfect unison and the sound was deafening.
They were trapped. The Doctor immediately put his hands up and gestured Donna to do the same.
The metal soldiers stopped just beyond arm’s length and one took a small step forward. This one seemed a little different than the others, with black shoulders as if it had shoulder epaulettes.
‘Identify. Non-augmented humans should be confined.’
‘We surrender.’
‘Identify.’
‘First…who might I be addressing?’
‘We are the new humankind.’
‘New?…how?’
‘We have been upgraded. All humans have been upgraded. You will be upgraded too.’
‘Like hell they will!’
The distinctly American drawl had the cyborgs all swing in its direction, arms raised and wrists twisted to reveal guns on each arm. They hid the owner of the voice from view.
‘You have been deemed inferior. You will be destroyed.’
‘Inferior my ass! You soulless automatons!’
‘You will be deleted!’
‘No! Don’t!’
But the Doctor’s shout was lost in a barrage of laser fire.
He rushed Donna over to the closest wall and they crouched down, seeking what little shelter there was.
The battle was short, loud and confusing. There was smoke everywhere.
‘Right. Everyone back to base.’
Donna looked up as the smoke cleared to see…another metal man?
No…this was a man in some kind of exoskeleton. It whirred and clicked as he walked up to them, then the whole thing crouched down and the man removed an arm from the casing, letting the claw drop down. He held his hand out to them.
A faint beeping sound was the first thing he became aware of.
Light played across his eyelids but try as he might Scott couldn’t open them. He was aware that the light broke up occasionally but his scrambled brain couldn’t decipher it. The effort was too much and he sank back into oblivion.
The next time Scott managed to crack an eyelid the light was blinding and he immediately screwed up his face. A cool cloth was laid across his eyes and Scott sighed in relief.
‘Open your eyes, sir.’
The voice was kind and Scott couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to him in such a manner, so he opened his eyes as the cloth was removed.
‘That’s better. Good morning, Sir.’
Scott licked his lips, his mouth and throat dry. He tried to speak but nothing came out and he ended up coughing dryly. The 2-1B droid helped him to sit forward while the FX-6 handed him a cup of ice chips. He sucked on a couple and sighed in relief as the cool water soothed his throat.
‘Where am I?’
‘You are on CR20 troop carrier. In the medbay, Sir.’
‘H-How long?’
‘You have been in a Bacta Tank for eight days, four hours, six minutes and 39 seconds. You were then transferred here to finish your healing.’
‘Thank you.’
‘You are welcome, Sir.’
He lay back and watched the droids fussing around him. It stirred a long-buried memory of his Mom doing similarly when he’d broken his leg badly before Gordon had been born. He clenched his teeth as the wave of grief washed over him.
Scott didn’t see anyone other than medi-droids for another couple of days as he drifted in and out of consciousness. But by the time he was steadily awake and going stir crazy from all the inactivity, he was finally graced with a visit by a flesh-and-blood person.
They were dressed in soft leather and fabric and hard metal, and the helmet gave away who they were.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’m good, thanks. Mandalorian?’
‘Yes. You are on my ship.’
‘I thought I was rescued by Jedi.’
The Mandalorian was silent as he watched Scott for a moment. This was the first Mando he’d seen but Scott had heard the stories – everyone knew the stories – and had even wished as a youngster to meet one, but he had to admit that the helmet was a little off-putting, even intimidating.
‘You were on Zygerria when the Jedi led an attack on the main cities. They had operatives undercover and…things got a little out of hand.’
Scott stared at him. A little out of hand? And then he realised what the Mandalorian wasn’t saying.
‘Was it the Jedi that rescued me?’
The helmet regarded him for a moment before the Mandalorian crossed the room and sat beside him.
‘Not exactly. The Jedi were helped by their clone troupers but they were called away to another mission.’
‘So the planet was left to rescue itself?’
‘Pretty much. They took with them the kidnappers and their contacts, left a clone battalion to help with the clean-up. I and my crew happened to be in the area and were asked to assist.’
Bile rose in Scott’s throat. Once more the Jedi had proven that they weren’t interested in the people, just the glory. They couldn’t even stay and clean up the mess they had made. And then he took a deep breath in and eased himself upright.
‘So, what happens now?’
‘You still have some healing to do. The Bacta Tank has healed your wounds, but you will need some extensive physical therapy to get you moving. I am happy for you to stay with us.’
‘Thank you. I can help crew once I’m up and about, I’ve worked cruisers before.’
‘I may take you up on that. First, though, let’s get you up to speed.’
Over the course of the next few days Scott was introduced to the diverse but small crew of the Galaar but for some reason it was the Mandalorian who spent the most time with him, becoming the main helper in his rehab.
Pretty soon it wasn’t just rehab. There was something about the Mandalorian that piqued Scott’s interest. The man gave no indication of emotion at all, and despite all the armour and leather he moved with hardly a sound.
In turn the Mandalorian found a willing pupil and before long the pair were training together once Scott. He trained Scott how to move without a sound. He taught Scott how to use various weapons, especially hand ones rather than the larger ones.
And the more time Scott spent on the Galaar, the more his hatred of the Jedi hardened. The four other members of the crew all had similar loathing for the religious sect, had experiences very similar to his own.
The crew didn’t have a set role, rather they were often hired as protection or hunters. With the help of the Mandalorian and the rest of the crew Scott soon fit right in. He appreciated that the Mando ran an honourable ship – they didn’t take missions that would be unethical, often turning down lucrative contracts to help people that had less materially but more at stake.
Scott fit right in.
Scott had spent just under a year with the Galaar when the universe went to hell.
Being constantly on the move around the Outer Rim territories meant that Coruscant news took a long time to reach them. They had all been aware of the Clone Wars the Jedi were conducting on behalf of the Republic.
But they were there to see the fallout of Clone Order 66.
It was the Order that ended Scott’s tenure on the Galaar and introduced him to the Imperial Army.
