Changed is an upcoming charity zine themed around Tech and Crosshair and their incredible journeys through the show and beyond which will be sold on Big Cartel. All proceeds will be donated to Autism Self Advocacy Network.
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Current status: Extras sale closed!
Changed is an upcoming charity zine themed around Tech and Crosshair.
I had been sitting on these for awhile but figured today was the best day to finally share my pieces from @changedzine ! I had so much fun working on these and loved seeing everyone elses pieces be made.
I also designed one of the keychains that came with the bundle!
just a reminder that extras sales are open until thursday! we have a couple full bundles left and plenty of flats! this is the last chance ever to get physical goodies for this zine so dont miss out!
Tech and Crosshairās lives diverge after the fall of the Republic, but they are always on each otherās minds. 1500 words, angst and hope. Written for @changedzine and finally ready to share with you all!
ā
Tech couldnāt sleep.
He rolled to face the wall, focusing on the familiar sounds of Wrecker and Echo sleeping and the unfamiliar sounds of Hunter and Omega talking in the cockpit.
He should rest. It was his turn, and he would be drowsy and irritable without the requisite sleep. He tried to calm his mind, but it buzzed and sparked, a churning sea of questions inescapable in the quiet and the dark.
What have they done to Crosshair?
How do we retrieve him?
Does he remain himself?
ā
Crosshair lay obediently on the exam table. The bright lights hurt even through his closed eyelids.
The machine whirred beneath him, moving him into position. He gritted his teeth despite the sedative. It was never strong enough. He trembled slightly, imperceptibly, determined to not show weakness.
Iām a good soldier. This is my duty.
But werenāt the others good soldiers, too? He didnāt understand. Theyād been united once in being strange. What made him the defect among the defective?
The machine whined, powering up. He tensed. Tech would know, he thought, just before lightning arced throughout his brain.
ā
The lights of Cidās parlor strobed, extra garish and loud after the muted darkness of Braccaās derelict ships. Tech rubbed his forehead, grimacing. āI should have tried to explain.ā
āYou saw how he was,ā Hunter said. āHe wouldnāt have listened to any of us.ā
āPerhaps if Iād given him more information,ā said Tech. āTaken the logical approach. I was too focused on devising a plan of escape, butāā
āWe were surrounded by other clones with chips too, Tech. Even if youād got through to him, it wouldnāt have made a difference. Besides, logic didnāt work with Wrecker.ā
āBut that was Wreckerāā
Hunter laid a hand on Techās shoulder. āI know. I think about it too. Maybe if we could have stunned himā¦ā He sighed. āYou did all you could, Tech. We couldnāt have got out of there if not for you and Echo. That was the mission.ā
Tech fell silent in frustration, then pulled out his datapad, fingers flying over the screen. Hunter nodded and let him be. Tech did not stop until he had written a plan of logical persuasion that would explain to Crosshair exactly what was occurring with the inhibitor chips, information that would be irrefutable, that could finally convince him.
He rewrote it twenty-one times.
ā
Crosshair hunched over the meal tray in his lap, squinting down at the food. The abrasions on his corneas had begun to heal but still burned and stung, making all but total darkness deeply painful. He tried cracking his eyes open further, but his eyelids spasmed. Water leaked out, trickling down his face.
Nala Se had said he would soon be healed and cleared to return to active duty. āIn all respects,ā she said in her slow, susurrous voice, giving him a meaningful look. She and the medical droid had been complicit in removing his chip, once it became apparent it had been badly damaged on Bracca.
Hunter and the kid had been telling the truth.
He closed his eyes, reaching blindly for the bread. He raised it to his mouth, taking a bite and tasting nothing.
The Empire had been using him.
But heād been made to be used. They all had. If it was a chip or a direct order, what did it really matter? It was still his responsibility to see it done.
Heād find them again. Heād explain it to them. Theyād have to see the logic of it. If nothing else, Tech would have to understand.
ā
āJust because I understand you does not mean that I agree with you,ā Tech said. He glanced into Crosshairās eyes. The programming behind them was no longer the chipās influence, yet was just as insurmountable.
Crosshair was right there, close enough to reach out and touch his shoulder as he had done countless times before. Yet he was also a galaxy away, his unyielding nature leading him down a path that Tech could not bear to follow.
Crosshair flinched, dropping his gaze.
Tech swallowed and turned around. The seas of Kamino churned beyond them. There was no time to fix what had broken between them, not now. Perhaps not ever.
Tech stared at his datapad, blinking rapidly, and deleted the missive he had written about the chip.
ā
Crosshair stared at the dark ceiling of his quarters, a poor substitute for a night sky. Not that the night sky was ever truly visible on Coruscant.
Commander Cody had gone AWOL. Another clone heād trustedāone he could have called brotherāgone. Rampartās words seared.
Iām loyal. If theyāve abandoned what they were made for, theyāre traitors.
It drummed in his head like a march. But instead of soothing him to sleep it wove with the beat of his heart, pounding inside his chest, making it impossible to drift off. He sat up, sweating and breathing hard.
He screwed his eyes shut, remembering Codyās look ofā¦disappointment.
It was the same look Tech had given him in the tunnels of Kamino.
ā
Tech scanned the hacked manifest. This was surely incorrect.
The designation of CT-9904 shone on the screen, its characters undeniable. Crosshair, imprisoned.
A sudden flare of hope radiated within him. Could there beā
He clicked over to the comm channels, scrolling until he reached Crosshairās old channel. There was a new message.
His mouth was dry. He looked around. He was still alone. Good. He did not wish to disappoint the others if he was wrong.
He reached out to play the message, fingers trembling slightly.
Crosshairās voice came through, the first time he had heard his brother in nearly a year. The quality was different: strained, panting for air. Something was wrong.
āPlan 88. You have to hide. Theyāre after Oāā
That was all there was.
Tech sat back. Crosshair was now a prisoner. He had tried to warn them they were being hunted by the Empire, possibly for harboring Omega.
He had changed.
Tech closed his eyes. His mind spun with plans for collecting more information, informing the others, launching a breakout mission. They could do this. They would do this.
Crosshair was their brother, and at last there was a chance to go back for him.
ā
Plan 88. Surely they would listen. Surely they would heed him.
If Tech had any sense at all, heād check the message and keep Clone Force 99 far, far away.
It was a small bit of comfort as sweat poured down his face, as his muscles twitched and shuddered, as pain wracked his bones while he struggled against his bonds. Small, but Crosshair clung to it nonetheless.
Heād be loyal to the end.
ā
This was the only way.
The world shrank to this moment, Wreckerās voice in his ears, the wind rushing past him, the sensation of floating. Tech lifted his blaster, aiming between heartbeats.
āWhen have we ever followed orders?ā
His finger squeezed the trigger.
The shot would have made Crosshair proud.
ā
Crosshair stood isolated in the refresher, far in the corner. The guards outside kept their blasters raised. Hot water poured over him, rivulets streaming to the ground, steam billowing. His hands hung limply at his side, right hand shaking slightly.
He knew he was supposed to clean himself. He knew the window was limited. He knew heād be punished if he deviated from the program.
But Crosshair just leaned against the wall, turning the water up as hot as it would go, shivering despite the heat. Was he crying? He wasnāt sure.
He leaned his head against the tile, his mind a buzzing blank, his breath ragged.
He didnāt know how long it took for them to turn the water off, to grab him and shove him back into his clothes soaking wet, to lead him off for punishment. He followed with his head down. There was nothing else to do.
Tech was dead, and Crosshair deserved all that came to him.
ā
They tried to tell him otherwise.
āTech thought about you a lot.ā
āHe didnāt hate you.ā
āHe wanted to save you.ā
āHeād be so proud of you.ā
He wasnāt sure he could ever believe them.
ā
A year passed.
Crosshair held Techās goggles in his handsāone flesh and blood, one metal and wires. He raised the goggles to his chest, holding them close.
āI did change, Tech.ā
He gazed out at the sunset, resplendent gold and umber, scarlet, violet and ultramarine. The sea shimmered below, a mirror to the brilliant skyāalike but different.
His hands brought the goggles to rest in his lap.
āI hope you knowā¦I wonāt let you down.ā
This was his duty nowāto heal, to grow. To remember who heād lost.
He closed his eyes, and he could almost imagine he felt Tech beside him, close enough to touch.
āI miss you, brother.ā
He listened for the reply, but all he heard was the steady song of the waves, and finally, it was enough.
this is the last ever chance to get physical copies! we have a handful of full bundles and some stickers and mini prints leftover so get em while you can!
this is the last ever chance to get physical copies! we have a handful of full bundles and some stickers and mini prints leftover so get em while you can!
I got my physical copy of the The Bad Batch Twins Changed Zine!!
I love it so much! A few days before I got the Digital version of it but having it physical in my hand is something else! Iāve never had a physical Zine before!
Iāve purchased the digital versions of Pabu Days and Aftermath but this was my first physical purchase!
Sadly the cover of the book got a few dents and nicks in it and the sides as well but I blame delivery for that, I often got my stuff with damage from delivery and learned to just accept it.
(I once bought a mug and the delivery man dropped it twice in front of me, not even apologizing for it, the package said DO NOT DROP! the mug was fine, but still)
All the pages are fine which is the important thing of all, and they smell like no book Iāve held before!! A different kind of newly printed, itās fascinating.
Actually, I donāt really mind that the book is a bit dented, kinda fits to the Bad Batch vibe, if ya know what I mean xD
Still, Books need to be treated with respect! My books are my precious! Touch them without my permission and you will loose your hand!! xDPP
The merch is super cool! Iāve never had one of those shaky thingies before, itās so fun and adorable xD
The other Keychain is one of the Keychains which I will not put on my Keychain because Iām too afraid to break it xDP but itās so beautiful and adorable.
The print will have a good place at my mirror and the sticker will go into my Ipad cover to my other Stickers I collected and Pictures I always wanna have with me ^w^ (there mostly pictures of my cats)
Also, actually owning a physical copy of an illustration made by @collophora makes me so kriffing happy! (hey there friend! yes going crazy about this one again, deal with it! <3)
I love this picture so much!!! The scene, the action, the colours basically EVERYTHING whatās going on here! Just pure perfection!!!
The fics in there are all so nice and cool and funny and the other artworks as well! So many artists Iāve been following and known for so long, itās amazing what projects like these can accomplish! I love it when a bunch of artists come together to create together!!
Itās just beautiful!
Thank you again @changedzine for this beautiful piece of art!! And big thank you to all the artists who participated in it!!!
I love it!! ššš
now excuse me while I stuff all of your guys beautiful art into my cheek pouch-
-and scuttle away to cherish it for the rest of the week!