The Great War • Hunter

70.Retirement

There was quite a party in the Marauder for many hours, celebrating the return of Crosshair, Tech, and Alona. They were all quick to realize that seven people onboard the Marauder was way too many, and they were glad that they would be on Pabu in a few hours.

Omega and Wrecker had passed out on the floor of the hull, their snores loud enough to draw Hunter into the bathroom–the room that muffled those sounds the best with his heightened senses.

Tech had passed out in his pilot's seat–Echo was relieved to not see that space empty anymore.

Speaking of the old 501st ARC trooper, he was fast asleep in his bunk, an arm dangling off the side.

And Crosshair, well, he was happy to get his rifle kit back. And he was even happier that it had gone untouched while he was away. So he sat in one of the navicomputer seats, readjusting his old rifle while he chewed on a toothpick.

Alona had changed out of the TK trooper armor and into some of Hunter's old blacks. Knocking on the refresher door, she slid it open after hearing a soft 'come in' from her fiancé. "You okay?" She asked quietly, examining the Sergeant's hunched position over the sink.

"'M good. Just a lot of people onboard." Hunter muttered, his eyes closed. The poor man's senses were probably driving him nuts.

Alona took notice of the cast on his right arm and the bandages that were stupidly wrapped around his armor. "What'd you break?" She questioned, stepping closer and resting a hand on his tense shoulder.

"Radius on my arm, ribs 6 and 7 on my right, and ribs 7 through 10 on my left side." He replied, pulling a soft sigh from his fiancée. "AZI bandaged me up."

Alona shook her head. "Well, wrapping the bandaging around your chest armor does absolutely nothing. Can I fix it for you?" She asked, sliding her fingers up to scratch the base of his skull. He nodded softly, now too aware of the pain in his sides.

Alona began unwrapping the bandaging around his armor, setting it down on the counter. Her movements were slow and careful as she peeled his chest armor off of him, pausing every time he winced to give him a few seconds to recover.

Hunter began to raise his arms and peel his shirt off, but that put agonizing pain through his entire body. Alona shushed him and gestured for him to lower his arms. She pulled the neck of the shirt over his head first, then slid the arms down, removing it with ease.

The discoloration of his skin was enough to bring tears to Alona's eyes. The black, purple, blue, and green skin around his ribs looked painful to the touch.

She opened the medicine cabinet, pulling out a tube of bacta and squeezing a large portion onto her fingers. Though she felt as if the entire bottle wouldn't even be enough.

"Maker, Hunter." Alona whispered, bringing her bacta-covered fingers closer to his skin. "Tell me if you need me to stop." Her fingers made contact with his skin, making him wince, but he nodded to tell her to keep going.

"Thank you, for getting Crosshair back." Hunter said quietly, hands squeezing the counter to help counteract the pain in his ribs.

Alona kissed his shoulder, continuing to lather on the gel. "I was just finishing the mission." She replied, finishing his right side. She moved over to his left, which was a lot worse due to there being four ribs broken. "I should have told you what I was planning. I'm sorry."

Hunter shook his head. "I'm just glad you're okay, and that you won't be doing anything like that ever again." He replied, shifting his weight on his feet. "I love you so much, Alona."