That Sparkling Personality
My contribution to @changedzine Changed: A Batch Twins Fanzine.
Characters: Crosshair, Tech, Phee
Summary: A year after the events in the Bad Batch series, Crosshair is finally ready to receive a message from Tech.
Incredible artwork by @collophora
---
It started as a joke.
“Watch out for the skinny one’s sparkling personality. It’ll getcha every time.”
Then it became a warning.
“Seriously. If you see that Sparkle in Crosshair’s eye, just run.”
Good. That was the idea.
Crosshair didn’t know when it changed exactly. He used to be the “quiet one” until one day he wasn’t.
Maybe he was tired of Wrecker’s plushies getting broken or Hunter’s bandanas getting stolen.
Whatever it was, the sparkling personality had a life of its own.
There were a lot of bullies, and none of them were safe from that Sparkle.
Crosshair knelt down, helping Tech collect the broken pieces of his goggles.
“Don’t.”
The last of the bullies was running down the hallway, sobbing loudly for a medic.
Crosshair frowned. “Don’t?”
Tech gently nudged Crosshair’s hands away from the broken lenses. “Do not come to my defense.”
“Why not?”
Batting away Crosshair’s attempt to lend a hand, Tech rose to his knees with a grimace. “If you come to my aid whenever I am in a conflict, it will hinder my ability to defend myself when you are not around.”
“I’ll always be there, Techie.”
“That is an impossible prediction, Cross.”
“Yep,” Crosshair puffed up his narrow chest. “An impossible prediction from your impossible twin.”
“Your logic is maddening.”
Crosshair sneered. “That’s why you love me. I challenge your logic.”
Tech huffed. “Just because I do not want your help does not mean I don’t appreciate the sentiment. Wrecker and Hunter may need it. I do not. Lend that sparkling personality to them.”
“Why do they call it that anyway?”
“Evidently, you get a ‘crazed sparkle’ in your gaze while engaging in melee combat.”
“Dunno what they mean,” Crosshair hummed.
“That glint in your eye says otherwise.” Tech squinted at his brother. “Promise me.”
“Fine, fine. No more fighting for you.”
And he kept that promise…more or less.
The Clone Wars kept Clone Force 99 busy, and that sparkling personality became a joke among the brothers and a spooky story officers told shinies and cadets who misbehaved.
Then the war ended. Crosshair missed a lot, some of which he could never get back.
Until he met a pirate with a casual smile and a clever quip on her tongue. It took a year for him to work up the courage to talk to her. It took another few months before he was ready to talk about Tech.
“Well, hey there, Sparkles,” Phee said, sipping a daiquiri as she watched the sunset from her porch.
Crosshair smirked dryly. “I want to talk about that. About that ‘sparkling personality’ Tech told you about.”
“Took you long enough,” Phee grinned. “You’ve only been living here for what…a year now?”
“Eighteen months.”
“Well, Tech said you were never one for impulsive decisions.”
“How much did he tell you?”
“You know Brown Eyes, not exactly a storyteller. Showed me a few recordings though. You were cute kids. It was clear you were the protector of the group.”
Crosshair shifted from one foot to the other, his heart twisting uncomfortably. “How close were you two?”
“Close enough,” Phee said. “Not as close as I’d like, but I understood why he kept his distance. The way he put it…” She adjusted imaginary goggles. “‘Statistically speaking, the level of danger in both our professions would hinder our ability to form a meaningful relationship.’” She sighed. “He wasn’t wrong, but…it didn’t make it any easier.”
Phee pulled out her datapad and casually flung a file at Crosshair. His own datapad buzzed, receiving the data. “That’s for you.”
“What is it?”
“Dunno, but Tech told me if anything happened to him I needed to give it to you when you were ready.”
“How were you supposed to know when I was ready?”
Phee shrugged. “You finally asked about that ‘sparkling personality’ comment. Figured that was the signal.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Phee said easily.
Crosshair turned to leave.
“Hey, Sparkles,” Phee called out. “If you want to talk about him…or anything at all, I meant what I said. Any friend of Brown Eyes…”
“...is a friend of mine,” Crosshair finished. The smile grew on his face before he could suppress it.
Crosshair retreated to his hut perched on a higher vantage point overlooking the island. From there, he could see all three of his siblings’ huts and had a clear view of Echo’s ship whenever he came to visit.
As the sun sank into the glittering, golden ocean, he swung his legs over the edge of the balcony. The datapad felt heavy in his hands.
He wasn’t ready to see Tech’s message. He wasn’t ready to see Tech at all.
“You must be Crosshair. Tech told me all about your ‘sparkling’ personality.”
It was easy to assume none of his brothers cared enough to talk about Crosshair after they parted ways.
Why would they, after abandoning him, leaving him with the Empire?
Why would they, after he abandoned them on Kamino for the Empire?
Wiping hot tears away from his cheeks, he opened the holo message, like ripping off a bandage from a still-healing wound.
Tech genied out of the projector. The golden Pabu dusklight created a halo around his brother’s image. He looked great. He looked happy.
His shirt was hideous—short-sleeved and covered in palm trees and giant flowers. If Crosshair had been around, he would’ve teased him mercilessly. He’d give anything for that chance.
“Crosshair…”
Tears stung Crosshair’s eyes.
“...Omega is making me record this,” Tech said dryly.
Crosshair let out a laugh coupled with a sob, the tension rushing out of him as he watched the rest of Tech’s message.
***
“Omega is making me record this.”
Tech shifted in his seat, but it is important to note he did not squirm, per se. It was just the chair. Yes, the chair was uncomfortable. Why else would he be squirming?
“She thinks it will help me reconcile with your absence. Personally, I think you would agree this is a useless gesture. You and I have never needed to speak of our feelings. We leave that to Hunter and Wrecker. You and I were different…are different.”
“An impossible prediction from your impossible twin.”
Odd. The memory came rushing back to Tech so suddenly he blinked at the camera, momentarily at a loss for words. A rare event.
Crosshair sneers at Tech. He is missing a front tooth. “That’s why you love me. I challenge your logic.”
It did not occur to him until now that Crosshair had said he loved him. Did he say it back? He couldn’t recall.
Tech didn’t like that he couldn’t recall.
He squirmed again…slightly.
“At the time of this recording, you are with the Empire. Our missions, meanwhile, are becoming progressively more high risk with little reward. Statistically speaking, the level of danger in both our situations means we may never see each other again. Alive, at any rate. If that is the case, you need to know the following…”
Tech leaned forward, and although he was looking at a camera lens, his mind’s eye could see a silver-haired kid with a missing front tooth and a crazed sparkle in his eye.
“That’s why you love me…”
“I love you,” Tech said. “You are my twin, Crosshair. No biological sense is needed. We bring balance to each other. I am your logical anchor, and you are my emotional sail. It works for us, and…I miss it. And your Sparkle.”
Tech adjusted his goggles, disturbed by the moisture collecting in his eyes.
“One day that sparkling personality will emerge again. If not for us, then perhaps for someone you care for. As long as you are happy, I am content.”
Tech felt his smile bloom. Though it was faint, Crosshair would see it. He always did.
***
Tech gave Crosshair a secretive smile, and the recording ended.
Crosshair sat in silence, memories rolling through his mind like the ocean waves crashing against unyielding rocky cliffs.
Cody’s shock as Crosshair pulls the trigger for him, carrying out the order to save the commander from treason.
The lieutenant’s horror as Crosshair pulls the trigger for Mayday…and for himself.
Omega’s earnest gaze as she struggles defiantly in Hemlock’s grasp. It’s her trust in Crosshair that steadies his hand.
Tech was right. Tech was always right. And Tech would be the first to say it.
“I love you too, brother,” Crosshair said, quietly as the last of Pabu’s light disappeared beneath the horizon.
Crosshair pulled out his comm. “Phee.”
“Hey there, Sparkles.”
“I want to talk about Tech.”
Phee’s smile was warm. He could see why Tech liked her. If she needed that sparkling personality, Crosshair would unleash it without question.
“Buy you a drink?”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too, Sparkles. Me too.”
