Whumpril Day 9: Held Down/Bruises/"Who Did This To You?"
Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch
Warning: Violence
Summary: A story of how the regs treated Tech when they were younger.
Tech stared at the reg that held him to the floor. The floor was cold and hard and the reg was harsh and judgmental. The fight that had broken out wasn't long but wasn't short. Tech's googles laid broken on the ground. Blood spilled from his split lip and nose. The regs hands were bloody from the landing blows he had given the other.
Grabbing Tech's head, he shoved it into the ground. Tech struggled to get out from underneath the clone. His body was in so much pain. Friends of the reg watched and laughed. The struggle continued as the clone beat his 'brother'.
Thinking of what to do next Tech moved to the side slightly which surprised his attacker. Despite his condition, Tech moved out from underneath the clone and stood. One of the other boys grabbed him and had him pinned to the wall almost immediately after he stood.
Tech breathed heavily and waited to figure out his next move. The regs were stronger than him. They would have to leave him alone eventually so for now he gave up and let them tear him apart. Fighting felt useless. He would just have to deal with the injuries given to him.
Once the regs had had their fun they let him go. Tech slid down the wall they never let him leave and stayed there until he felt safe to get up. He stood and grabbed his googles. Looking down at them there was a small crack in the glass. He sighed and started to walk back to his barracks.
Back in the barracks, Tech started to take care of his injuries. He stood up and walked over to the table that some bandages rested on. Then Crosshair walked in. "Tech?" He walked over to his brother. Going to grab a bandaid he brushed his brother's arm. Tech flinched and moved back slightly.
Crosshair stopped and took a look at the other. "Who did this to you?" he sneered.
"Some regs."
"Well no shit. Do you know which ones?"
"I do."
"Well then who did this to you?" Crosshair started to raise his voice.
"No. You will fight them."
"Tech, tell me who did this to you?"
"No, you will fight them. I do not want you to fight them."
"Fine, I won't fight them. Now who the fuck did this to you?" The frustration took control of his vocal cords and the boy yelled at Tech.
Tech flinched at the noise. He pulled his arms slightly upwards, "I'm sorry!" He yelped, panicked.
"Fuck" Crosshair whispered. He hadn't meant to scare him. "Fine. Don't tell me."
Tech relaxed and looked at his brother, "I'm sorry. I know you won't hurt me. That was a response to the attack from earlier."
"It's fine."
Later the two would meet with their other two batch mates for training. When asked what happened Tech simply explained that some of the other cadets had beaten him up. He said that he didn't want to talk about it and luckily neither Wrecker nor Hunter pressed.
The tight blacks and armor rubbed against his skin, hitting every bruise. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe; but Tech had to ignore the pain for the sake of training in the same way he would ignore it for the sake of a mission. The bruises stung as reminders that he wasn't strong enough. How could he be a soldier if his supposed comrades hated him? And for what; because he was different?
The batch never failed a training exercise and this one would be no expectation. The pain from moving around so much caused Tech to almost collapse at the door on the way out. Wrecker tried to help him up but the pressure on the bruises hurt more than standing.
Back in the barracks, Tech laid down on his bunk and tried to get some rest. Laying on his back startled the boy so he laid on his side. He would heal but for now the fear of the regs was to stay. The batch watched him closer; not that he'd ever know. Tech was an easy target, he wasn't the strongest and he didn't always understand what was going on until too late. They loved their brother dearly and hated to see people using his differences to pick at him.
Summary: Tech brings Star a small gift and their relationship deepens
<Chapter Three
"Are those- flowers?" Hunter asked as he saw Tech smuggle something onto the ship before departing once again for Kamino. Tech eyed his brother suspiciously before lying through his teeth. "No." He replied curtly before stashing the vibrantly colored plants away in a small carton of water that he had managed to throw together last minute. He then returned to the cockpit to punch in the coordinates of Kamino in to the hyperdrive. Hunter chuckled as he shook his head. "This is about that girl, isn't it?" Hunter asked but Tech refused to look at him, guilty as charged. "I-I don't know what you are talking about." Another pathetic lie. "You like her, don't you?" Hunter teased and finally a thin blush spread on his cheeks. It had been several weeks and Tech had continued to visit Star Light every single day. His brothers dismissed it as Tech's pure curiosity of the female species but the more he went out of his way for her the more Hunter began to wonder if it was less Tech's curiosity and more of his infatuation with Star that drove him to constantly be around her. "Miss Star Light is good company, that's all." Tech replied and Hunter rolled his eyes. Maker help his brother who lacked all social skills. If he truly did have a thing for the small Pantoran he was absolutely hopeless. However, the flowers were a good start. "What are you going to say to her when you give her those flowers?" Hunter asked, furthering the conversation. "Do I have to say anything to her?" "Well... you should. It would be weird if you just handed them to her and left." Tech nodded as if he were making a mental note. "How would you go about it, then?" Tech asked. "Have you tried telling her how you feel about her?" "No." Tech immediately replied without hesitation. "There is no need for that. Miss Star is a good friend." "And?" Hunter pressed and his brother hesitated. "And I would hate to mess up the friendship we have."
"A little to the left." Star instructed Gink as the gonk droid pushed her work desk closer to the window in her room that looked out over the ocean depths of Kamino. "No no, my left, Gink." She corrected the droid. "GONK." It replied before waddling over to the other side of the desk and moving it in the opposite direction. "Okay that's good, now stop!" She said and the droid moved back from pushing the desk as it was now perfectly symmetrical. Being alone all day in her room didn't give Star many things to do. Especially when she only owned one book and was only allowed a datapad under Lama Su's supervision. Therefore she was currently rearranging her room for the third time in two weeks. "I think that looks nice, don't you?" She asked the droid as she stepped back to get a look at her newly rearranged room. "GONK" "Yeah well, you say that about everything." She replied as she rolled her eyes. The swoosh of her door opening caused Star to turn and a smile spread on her face as her eyes met those of her newest friend. "Tech!" She cheered as she ran over to the clone and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Tech was still trying to figure out her hugs and why she felt the need to give him one every time they saw each other. He was just a clone there was no reason for her to get so excited every time he came by. Blushing slightly, Tech wrapped one arm around her as the other held something behind his back. "Hello miss Star." He greeted the short Pantoran politely. "How many times do I need to tell you, Tech, just Star is fine." Star teased as she finally pulled back from her hugging embrace. "I rearranged my room!" She said as she gestured around her small quarters. Tech looked around the room before looking back to her. "Again?" He asked and Star nodded with a giggle. That giggle was Tech's new favorite sound. If Star was happy, Tech was happy. The pure and innocent sound of Star's laughter caused a slight smile to tug at his lips. "I uh- I brought something for you." Tech began, stuttering slightly. Star's eyes widened as she looked up at him. "You did?" She asked as if Tech bringing her gifts was a foreign concept to her. He removed the arm from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of blue and purple colored flowers. Star gasped with delight as her eyes sparkled, taking in the sight of the beautiful arrangement. "Oh, Tech!" She said as she walked over to him, gently taking the flowers into her hand. "They're absolutely lovely!" She remarked and Tech couldn't help but grin like an idiot. "You like them?" He asked quietly and Star looked from the flowers to the clone, an expression of pure amazement on her face. "I love them, Tech, thank you so much." She replied before jumping up on her tip toes and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Stunned was an understatement. Tech could not conceal the blush that began to spread on his cheeks from the kiss. He reached a gloved hand up to touch the skin where Star had kissed him and his fingers pressed against the hot skin. Star, however, continued to roll along as if nothing had happened. She took the flowers over to her desk and placed them in a glass of water. A mere thank you he was expecting, not a kiss. It was official, Tech had short circuited. "W-well I have to go... I-I actually have this erm- project I need to work on. It required... research, yes! Lots and Lots of research!" Tech stuttered trying his hardest not to let it be too obvious just how flustered he was. He couldn't help the way his heart dropped when Star turned to him from the attention she had been giving the flowers he had given her and her expression fell. Suddenly he felt guilty. "You're leaving?" Star asked as she turned to fully face him. "Already? But you just got here..." She muttered. "You're more then welcome to do your research in here with me, I mean, if you're comfortable with that." She replied, not wanting to be alone any longer then she had to. "I won't bother you." She added and Tech bit his lip. Here he was, a pretty face asking him to stay and as if the kiss on his cheek wasn't enough for him to loose his mind this certainly was the nail in the coffin. "Well... I supposed I could bring my datapad in here and maybe a few notes, if that's okay with you, of course." He offered and Star's expression lit up once more. "Yes!" She said happily, clasping her hands together over her chest in excitement. "I don't mind at all!"
The more the evening went on the more Tech felt himself fall for the Pantoran beauty who now rested her head on his shoulder as she tiredly watched him work away on his datapad. "What's that?" Star asked as she pointed to the datapad. Tech looked down at the girl who rested against his shoulder. "You're actually interested in what I'm working on?" He asked as the expression of surprise washed over his features and Star smiled. "Tech, my dear, I've been alone all my life besides the company of Gink," She gestured to the Gonk droid who had powered down for the night, "And the occasional check up from Lama Su. My only resource to learn about the world around me is an outdated atlas and the occasional supervised use of Lama Su's datapad for medic training. I am beyond curious about all the things you know and hearing you talk about them would make me the happiest girl in the universe." Tech's stomach filled with butterflies. A pink tint threatened to take over his face but he did his best to keep it at bay. "Why do you do that?" Tech suddenly asked, his filter completely dropping as he was blunt with the Pantoran. Star furrowed her brows as she looked up at him, lifting her head from his shoulder. "What do you mean?" "You treat me like a person." "Well... You are a person." She replied and Tech set the datapad aside, dropping his arms to his side as he looked at Star, studying her with curious eyes. "But I'm not." He said. "I'm a clone, and a defective one at that." Star felt her heart soften for the clone. She moved to sit on his lap, facing him as her golden eyes stared intently at him. "Well you're a person to me at least." She leaned closer to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and bringing him closer to her as she hugged him and nustled her face against his chest. "And you're my favorite person at that."
Note: this story may not make much sense if you haven't seen episode 14 of season 2.
Summary: What would have happened if Tech checked their old comm lines earlier?
Tech checked the batch's old comm line sometimes. There was never anything on it. He looked because just maybe Crosshair would reach out to them, not caring what he said. This time when he turned the comm on and checked there was something. Almost immediately Tech played the message.
"Plan 88, you have to hide. They're after Om-"
"Plan 88?" Tech whispered. As he was about to play the message again he realized it was still playing. The sound of a door closing and then a hissing noise could be heard. That was it.
Tech listened to the message over and over. Anxiety crept in and he started to lose control of his breathing. Crosshair didn't try to get them to help him nor did he bother to give them his location. The man sounded week. Not only that catching the last part of the message meant that they wanted one of them. The O made him believe it was Omega.
The clone moved from the chair he sat in the floor and against the wall, holding the comm in front of him. Tech's breathing got worse. Air moved swiftly through his lungs as he listened again. Tears began welling in his eyes and he pulled his knees up to his chest.
He felt sick, his heart ponded, and he started to feel dizzy.
Tech threw the comm across the room. When he heard it hit the ground his mind attacked his body harder. What if he broke it? They needed to find Crosshair. Despite the man's current condition he attempted to stand. Failing he fell back to the ground.
With tears filling his googles he hastily pulled them off and stopped himself from throwing them as well. Placing them beside himself he lifted his hands up to his face. Tech knew how to deal with panic attacks, he had helped his brothers many times and had calmed himself down before. This time was different, this time he just couldn't.
Alone in that dark room Tech fought to think clearly. How could he help Crosshair if he was stuck in this room? The walls felt like they were closing in and his hands felt tingly.
Phee had been instructed to check on Tech. What she didn't expect was to hear sobbing when she got close to the room he occupied. Rushing in she kneeled in front of him. "Brown eyes?" He looked up. "I'm going to need you to breathe, okay?"
"I" he stifled, "I can't."
"I know it's hard but you have too. Breathe with me."
When nothing changed in his behavior Phee called for Hunter. "Honey please you have to breathe. We can work through this."
When Hunter got the call he dropped everything and ran to the Marauder. When he would arrive Tech was breathing a little earlier. It had been a while since he had seen his brother like this. He didn't miss it. The scene in front of him always broke his heart. "I'm here. What's going on Tech?"
"He just keeps trying to say something about some Crosshair, Omega, and a plan."
Hunter nodded then switched places with Phee. She wanted, more than anything, to be able to help Tech but right now he needed his brother. "I got you. Breathe okay. Tell me what's going on once you're able to."
The two would sit there for another few minutes before Tech could really think clearly again. Tears still fell from his eyes but his breathing was under control now and he felt less ill.
Finally Tech could explain. "We need to find Crosshair. I checked our old comm channel and found a distress signal from not too long ago." Getting up he went to check on the comm. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as he realized it was still in one piece. After that he played the message for the other two.
The three talked then went to find the rest of the batch. Echo would arrive soon after and once handed the information to decode the puzzle was completed. Crosshair was on Mount Tantus. Now they just had to go get him.
Whumpril Day 17: Cry For Help/Self Treatment/"I Can't Do This."
Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch
Warnings: Spoilers for the last episode of season two, character injuries.
Note: If you want more from this story I will write it! Don't hesitate to let me know! No beta reader we die like Mayday
Summary: Tech survives the fall and now he's gotta live past just the fall.
Tech had calculated the chances of surviving the well over 1,000 foot fall. They were less than 1% but he didn't care. There was no time and he needed his family to make it back alive. They all had bright futures ahead of them and they needed to bring Crosshair home. He didn't hesitate to shoot the remainder of the metal connecting the car. Then he fell. It took around 50 seconds.
Then he woke up. Tech was in agonizing pain but he was alive. He heard voices around him. Then they were gone. The clone felt like he couldn't move. The slightest movement was simply too much pain to bear. However he needed to.
Attempting to move his right arm he came to the conclusion he couldn't. The man moved his left fingers, then hand, then wrist. Screaming in pain he pushed himself slowly up to lean against the remainder of the rail car. If it had landed on him he would have been unrecognizable.
Tears flower down his face and cough in lacerations. The liquid mixed with blood. Tech forced his head up and looked at his body. His left leg was practically destroyed. His right was salvageable. The bones in his salvageable limbs had multiple breaks in them. Tech could already tell there were multiple breaks in his back as well. However they didn't affect his ability to move so none of them affected the spinal cord.
Looking at his torso he was overwhelmed. It was hard to see through the blood. He was covered in larger and smaller gashes.
'I can't do this.' the thought flashed through his head. 'I can't do this. It's too much.' Tech's breathing was shaky and uneven. His vision was blurry from a mix of his injuries and the lack of his goggles.
'You have to it. It is possible' the more logical thought took over his mind. Determination had to beat pain, it had to. His head and heart had to battle his body. 'For them.'
Tech tugged at the top of his right pouch and opened it. His hissed and grabbed the little medical supplies inside. Looking over at the other legs pouch he decided it was worth a try.
Nothing was usable from that side. All the supplies were demolished. That was the pouch that he kept little items to comfort his family with. A small, soft piece of fabric, as well as a pair of earplugs for Hunter, tooth picks for Crosshair, a small, 3-D puzzle for Wrecker, a pocket sized reg manual for Echo, and a small clone trooper doll for Omega. He also kept three hair ties; all black, just in case some one needed them.
Wrapping the largest and most threatening wound took a large amount of time and energy. By the end of it Tech was exhausted.
The sun was mostly gone at that point. He started to hear voices from somewhere around him. Unsure of what else to do Tech pushed himself to speak. "Help" he whispered, desperately.
No one heard him. "Help" Tech's voice broke as he spoke at his normal speaking level. He tried again and no real sound came out.
"Help!" He screamed. The voices grew closer. With all his strength Tech called out again, "help!"
A tall, blue Twi'lek walked over cautiously followed by a black Wookiee, a teenage, human boy, a; if Tech had to guess clone, and a rather short Rodian.
"Come on, we have to help him." The human child spoke. He walked beside the injured clone and kneeled down, "he'll die if we don't."
The Twi'lek looked over to the clone beside her, "do you recognize him? You look surprised."
"No, but I know someone's gonna be missing him. Grawarr, grab him." The Wookiee walked over and gently picked up Tech. He screamed in pain as he was being picked up. Grawarr hummer softly, as if to apologize.
The six made their way back to the village that was around an hour away. The pain forced tears out of Tech's eyes. He slipped unconscious about ten minutes into the journey. He was safe for now. He would need to heal and then find his way back to them and he wouldn't stop until he did.
Summary: Tech and Omega are sent off to find their target for the mission. Things don't go well.
When the batch took this mission, they knew it was dangerous. Echo had hated to ask them but the rebels needed this mission to succeed and his brothers and sister would be perfect for it. It didn't take much convincing before they agreed. After being informed they were rescuing a youngling they knew they had to.
The mission started off smoothly. Of course it couldn't stay that way. Quickly the batch found themselves running and trying to hide. They had to survive to find the youngling after all.
"Tech, Omega, go find the kid. Wrecker, Echo, and I will cause a diversion. Let us know when you have the youngling and we'll meet back up on the Marauder." With that they split.
Tech knew where everything in the facility should be. He had studied the interior before they got there. The halls all looked the same but they made their way to the cell block the child was held in.
Just as the two entered the block some stormtroopers turned the corner. Both turned around to fire. Tech focused on the troopers. Then he heard a yelp and a body hit the floor. He looked over to where his sister had been standing and realized it was her.
Without thought, Tech quickly moved her off to the side and finished off the bucket heads. Rushing back over to her he kneeled by her side to assess her injuries. "Omega?"
"Tech? Tech, I'm scared."
I'm scared. The words rang through Tech's head. He knew Omega had been scared before but she never told them. The kid had walked through hell without showing her fear. She was brave and it showed. Hearing her admit to being afraid made his heart sink. "You will be fine."
"I'm scared" she whispered. Faint crying was all that could be heard in the hall. Everything else was dead silent. It was as if time had stopped. Perhaps it had.
"I know. I am.. also afraid" Tech admitted. "It is okay to be scared. I promise we will be okay. I'll take care of you."
Looking at the injury, Tech knew he didn't have much time. He was surprised the shot hadn't killed her on impact.
"Tech, I don't wanna go." Omega shook.
"You will be alright Omega." Tech reached into one of his pouches and pulled a bacta patch out as well as some bandages. The hallway wasn't the best place to tend to the wound; it was dirty and troopers could be there any minute but there was nowhere else to move.
He turned back to face the little girl in front of him. "Omega?" Tech spoke softly. Placing the medical supplies next to him, he reached his hand out and placed it against her neck. It felt like his own heart stopped beating. Know he knew time had stopped. He would never be the same after this moment.
"Omega?" Tech's voice cracked. He started CPR on her. Only a few seconds later stormtroopers would enter the hall again. Tech shot them down and grabbed Omega's body. He ran to the cell the youngling was held and opened it. "Hello. I'm here to help you." Then Tech looked at the youngling. The report was wrong, the child was a padawan; a padawan he knew well.
"Tech?" Caleb asked.
"Hello. Now come on, we need to leave."
Caleb looked at him for a minute before stepping closer to him. "Can I trust you?"
"Yes, you can."
"Who is the girl?"
"Omega, my sister."
"You have a sister?"
"Yes. That is not important right now."
Caleb walked outside of the cell. Tech grabbed him and handed him his lightsaber. "Is she okay?" Caleb asked.
"No."
After informing Hunter that he had found the padawan, the two ran to the Marauder. On the way they ran into more stormtroopers. Cornered Tech looked over at Caleb. He was shaking. "Are you alright?"
"I'm scared." The boy's voice mixed with the dead girl's. Tech's head was playing tricks on him.
"You will be fine." He may not have been able to save Omega but he wouldn't fail Caleb, not this time. Placing Omega's body beside him he looked around the corner and put together a plan to take them out. Crosshair would have been proud of the shots he made to end their lives.
Caleb looked down at Omega's body. He realized that the girl was his age. Then he realized that she was dead. Startled he jumped back and looked over at Tech. He had finished off the soldiers and turned to pick her back up. "I'm sorry about Omega."
Tech said nothing. The two made it back to the Marauder without any other problems. The other three were already there.
On the ship Tech walked right past his brothers and laid Omega down on her bed. He rested the blanket over her growing cold body. Grabbing Lula the clone walked to face his brothers.
When he walked out with Lula they knew she was gone. Tech handed the tooka doll to his brother and walked to the cockpit to pilot the ship. Caleb tried to help the family with their loss.
Nothing would ever be the same. Tech felt trapped in that moment. For him time stopped and just couldn't start again. When someone was scared he became extremely protective over them, swearing no one would die scared under his watch. He would join Echo in the fight against the empire for that very reason. It would be a long fight and a hard one but so would healing.
Tech laid on the ground. Trying to pull his self back up to fight he looked up at Crosshair. "Finished?" The sniper antagonized.
The mercenary's hand slipped in the mud as he fell again. Crosshair walked closer as Tech thought of a plan. For once in his life he didn't know what to do.
The two had found each other by chance. Both had been on their own mission. Tech was instructed to extract some information from an old separatist base while Crosshair was there to assist some commandos with rounding up some civilians. A child had escaped so the clone had gone to find her.
When the two met they quickly managed to disarm each other. Vibro-knifes and guns fell to the ground, both knowing the other was too dangerous armed. Hand-to-hand combat is not Tech's strong suit. Though Crosshair was the sniper he found pleasure in hand-to-hand combat so he spent a lot of his free time learning. It didn't take long for the brothers to get where they were now.
Tech started at his brother who had gone to pick up a vibro-knife. Why he chose the knife instead of his rifle confused Tech. His weapon of choice had always been his rifle so most likely it was to antagonize him.
Omega ran out to where the two had fought. She slipped slightly in the mid then planted her feet in front of her older brother and glared at the other. "You'll have to go through me if you wanna get to him!" She flung her arms out to take up more space.
"Omega" Tech struggled to sit up. Crosshair, at least like this, wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Being her older brother meant he had to protect her not the other way. Again his arm gave out from under him and he slipped.
"Brave girl. If you want to protect him then you shall die with him."
Omega stood firm. She never wavered. Tech kept trying to get up, injuring himself more in the process. He'd never felt so helpless before. Omega was going to die and it was his fault.
Crosshair walked up to her until he was uncomfortably close to her. The girl just looked up at him. Her eyes met his and something changed. The sniper had never seen Omega so angry. Hate filled her eyes the same way it filled his.
The child pushed Crosshair away from her and looked around. Her eyes laid on one of Tech's blasters. Not wanting to leave Tech defenseless she walked towards her imperial brother. Unconsciously Crosshair moved back. This gave her the space she needed. Sprinting over to the gun Omega purposely slid to grab it. Right after she checked quickly to make sure the gun was set to stun.
Tech was so proud of his little sister. She used her surroundings to her advantage. Not only that the kid managed to take Crosshair off guard, something few people could do.
Omega wouldn't get the chance to shoot before Crosshair's knife sunk into her chest. The mud around her lifeless body splashed as she hit the ground. Tech could do nothing but watch, knowing she died for him.
Crosshair turned back to his brother. "She said I'd have to go through her so I did." Tech tried to find anything that may hint to any regret or remorse his brother may have for killing their sister. Nothing. Had Crosshair really become so cold? Was the man in front of him, the man that was about to kill him, the man that just killed a little girl, the man he grew up with. He'd seen Cross eat glue before, to think he was capable of killing his family stung. It didn't more than sting it hurt. The pain carved into Tech's heart and made itself at home.
Crosshair walked over to the child's body and removed the knife from her chest. He slowly walked back to Tech to finish what he started. Dropping to his knees he grabbed Tech's face.
Tears leaked into the man's googles as he started at the monster in front of him. "Murderer" he hissed.
"I know." The imperial pulled his former team mate into a sitting position and looked him dead in his eyes. Neither recognized the other's gaze anymore. Crosshair's eyes once had a hidden softness. Now they only reflected hate. Technalways had a sort of deadpan look in his and now they reflected the pain of loss.
"Goodbye Tech." Tech closed his eyes. Omega's sacrifice wouldn't be for nothing. From behind Echo stunned Crosshair. He collapsed into the reddish mud. Tech fell with him.
Echo rushed to his brother's side. "Tech, are you alright?" Kneeling down to the other side of him he put pressure on a large wound with his only hand. Seeing the water in Tech's googles he pulled them off.
Hunter and Wrecker joined the others in the field. Hunter looked around to learn more about their surroundings. That's when he saw her. With no explanation the sargent rushed over to the little girl. As soon as he saw the location of her wound he knew she was gone. Hunter checked for a pulse anyway. Feeling her skin already growing cold startled him.
Wrecker grabbed Tech and walked over to the other two. Echo followed. "Is she?" Wrecker already knew the answer. The lack of an effort to tend to Omega's wound and the sound of soft crying spoke the words Hunter couldn't say. Carefully Hunter grabbed his little sister and stood. He nodded and they left.
Back on the Marauder the men mourned their sister. Once Tech had the strength he explained to them what happened. No matter how hard the three tried to explain it wasn't his fault, it was Crosshair's, he wouldn't see it that way. Omega made the decision to save his life. Tech would have to come to accept her decision. Even though he wanted to there was no way to switch places with her. After all he should be the one the family buried deep in the dirt of Kashyyyk.
Summary: Tech returns to visit Star Light and the two start to form an unlikely bond.
<Chapter Two
"A little more to the left!" Star shouted as she balanced on one foot while standing on top of her trusty gonk droid, Gink. "GONK" Gink replied as he shuffled slowly to the left with Star balancing on top. She teetered slightly as her poor balance threatened to send her tumbling to the ground. "Woah!" She shouted before she caught herself by resting one hand the wall in her room. The other hand held a pallet of freshly arranged paints and a paintbrush nestled between her teeth as she balanced poorly on the gonk droid. A knock at her door startled the pantroan and almost caused her to fall over off of the droid who GONKed at her frantically, trying to keep her from falling over. "Come in!" She shouted, catching herself again. Once she finally caught her balance she looked at the wall, using her thumb pressed against her paint brush and holding it eye level to her face as she imagined her desired artwork on the wall. She used her thumb as a measuring tool, planning out how she wanted her work proportioned. She was so focused she didn't even hear the door swoosh open and someone step in. "Are you sure that's the safest way to do that, Miss Star?" The sudden voice of someone else in her quarters startled her, causing a small shriek to fall from her lips as she finally lost her balance and fell back into the arms of someone she had only known for a day. "Tech," She breathed as her eyes met his under the cover of his bucket and goggles. "Hi." She added as a small smile formed on her lips. The moment happened so fast Tech was a little stunned from it all, holding the small girl in his arms bridal style. "You should really be more careful miss Star Light." He said as he gently put her down. Star brushed off her skirt before looking to Gink with a groan. Her pallet had fallen smack upside down on the droid covering it in shades of green and pink. "Thank you Tech." She said to the clone before grabbing a spare clean cloth and quickly working to wipe the paint off the droid. "What are you doing here anyways? How is your cut?" She asked kindly, flashing him another smile from her position of cleaning her droid. "Oh-" He felt a small brun coming to his cheeks when he caught the sight of her smile. He removed his helmet against his better judgement, and kneeled down with Star, helping her clean the droid. "My cut is fine, miss Star Light." Tech replied. "I'm simply here to see you."
"See me?" Star replied with a raised brow as she set her cloth down. "No one ever comes to see me." She replied before crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are you really here?" Tech had to think of something to tell her and fast. Most of the clones were bad liars and unfortunately Tech was no good at it either, that is most of the time. "Lama Su wanted you to spend time with someone. According to research, social interaction is good for an individual's mental state." "So she sent you?" Tech didn't know if he should be offended or not. The way Star said his name made it sound like she was almost surprised that he was the one chosen for Lama Su's experiment. "Yes." Tech replied. "I do have a superior mind compared to the other clones. I would be the ideal subject for such a procedure." Tech replied as he adjusted his goggles, pushing them father up the brim of his nose. "What was your name again?" Star asked as she moved to sit at the edge of her bed, looking at the ginger clone with a slight glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. "Tech." He replied. "Well Tech I'm sorry but I hope you're prepared to be completely and utterly bored." Star said with a sigh before leaning back onto her bed. "I'm afraid, for once, I do not follow." Tech said as he watched her from a respectable distance. "Tech I stay in this room all day every day. I don't exactly do much, never the less do anything worth sharing or entertaining." "So you believe you aren't interesting?" Tech asked. "Ye-up." "I believe I have found a fault in your assumption." Tech replied and Star sat up to look at him. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Well I haven't known you long at all and I am already intrigued by you and your nature." Tech said as he looked over at the paints and pallet that had been left on Star's desk in her room. "You're an artist." Tech observed before turning back to her. "You create things." He added before tilting his head to the side and looking at her. "Tell me about your process."
"I always like to picture what I paint before I start." Star said as she stood up and walked back over to the spot on the wall where she was planning to paint her mural. But first she picked up her atlas, her one book that she owned, and brought it over to Tech. "I was gonna paint this scene of Naboo, the one I was looking at yesterday, that is before you came by." She said as she pointed at the picture of the planet. It was a landscape with beautiful flowers, each a different pastel shade. It was beautiful, almost as beautiful as the girl holding the book. "Then once I have a clear picture of what I want to paint, and I have the motivation to do so, I find the perfect spot for the painting and begin my work like so." She said as she added her selection of paints to her pallet, grabbed her paint brushes, and attempted to climb back onto the Gonk droid once more. That is before Tech stopped her. "Miss Star Light, please refrain from standing on a Gonk droid like that." He said as he walked over to her. The pantoran who stood on one foot, standing on the tips of her toes, turned to him. "What? Why?" She asked and Tech sighed as he reached to pick her up again, his hands gripping her torso right underneath her arms and lifting her like she were a glass ball and setting her down on the ground. "It's not safe. The probability of you falling at an angle like that is unsatisfyingly high." Tech caught her eyes for a moment as he set her down. Those golden yellow orbs met his and for a moment he felt his breath hitch and that familiar sting of a blush spread on his cheeks. Compared to him, Star was small. She barely came up to his shoulders meaning he had to lean down when he set her down on the ground. "If you want a lift so bad while you paint why don't you sit on my shoulders." Tech blurted out, mentally cursing himself and wondering where in the galaxy his boldness came from. "You'd do that for me?" Star asked, raising a brow with a small smile forming on her lips. "Well I- uh-" "You're sweet, Tech." Star said kindly. "I like you."
Tech's shoulder's had been aching for hours but was he going to tell Star that? Absolutely not. She had been happily painting away and talking nonstop about her artistic process. She had filled Tech's ears with talks of color theory, form, the influence of line, and now she was currently on the philosophy of art. Tech had happily listened to everything she told him, always happy to hear new information. As soon as a final brush stroke was applied to the painting and Star gave a sigh of relief did she realize that she had been talking the clone's ears off. "Oh my goodness." She said softly as she slid off of his shoulders. "I was rambling that whole time... for three hours. Tech I'm so sorry." The clone smiled at her however. "It's alright. I ramble myself, sometimes." He replied. "I would like to hear some more about your opinion on the theory of art." Tech prompted with curious eyes. "You would?" Star asked and the clone nodded. "I have often heard that what makes something art is the work's ability to go beyond culture and current events of life. The work, in a sense carries the viewer above the stream of life and provides them with-" "The aesthetic emotion." Star finished his statement for him with a raised brow as she used a near by paint stained rag to remove the paint buildup on her blue hands. Tech nodded at her, a small smile on his lips. "You know art philosophy?" She asked and her eyes twinkled ever so slightly with amusement and the clone nodded. "Well yes, there isn't much that I don't know." His response caused Star to merely giggle with delight and Tech found himself fascinated with the sound. He had never heard a sound so pure and sweet as the giggle from a delighted girl. He never wanted it to end.
