Chapter Text
The constant, searing pain was unyielding, causing Echo to jolt awake and reach for his leg. It's only when his flesh hand comes into contact with cold metal that he remembers the limb is no longer there. He thought he was experiencing a cramp, but it’s simply impossible with a cybernetic leg. Despite knowing it won’t help, Echo attempts to massage the leg as you would with a normal one. As a result, he only tires out his hand, and is left with the pain increasing over time.
“Damn it.” He curses under his breath. The one time he’s able to get decent rest in something resembling a bed these phantom pains decide to show up again. He doesn’t exactly have a place to sleep on the Marauder, so his hammock in the Bad Batch barracks was his first chance in months to catch up on deep sleep. Though, he doesn’t complain. It beats being back with the 501st, where the legion who loved him now looks at him in fear and distrust. At least with the Bad Batch they’re not startled at the mere sight of him. They’re used to “different”-- it’s their way of life. He’s trying to get used to being different, too, but that adjustment brings on a completely separate pain that he can’t exactly tackle right now. He has to focus on the very real and currently happening leg pain, however it’s occurring.
The hammock rocks slightly from his movement, it’s cables tapping slightly on the wall near Tech’s bed. He didn’t even notice it. It was barely audible over the sound of the near constant storm that rages on Kamino. The night seemed particularly angry, with thunder roaring and lightning crackling right over Tipoca City with increasing frequency, almost in tandem with Echo’s pain.
Lightning streaks across the sky right outside the window Echo’s hammock is suspended in front of, lighting up the entire room for a brief moment. The wind howls as Echo wimpers, accepting that he’s just going to have to deal with the pain, and ride it out alone. He brings his suffering left leg to his chest and wraps his arms around it, curling himself into a protective ball in an attempt to comfort himself. He screws his eyes shut to block out the flashes from the lightning. He flinches when thunder belts out in the night. The storms on Kamino never used to bother him that much, but after all he’s been through, they feel different. The thunder is deafening, like the explosion that claimed his life on The Citadel. The flashes of lightning are all too close to the surges of electricity from Skako Minor-- when he was trapped in a tube of bacta and treated like more of a tool than a man. Pain: mental, physical, and phantom, consume him.
Until...
“Echo?” The voice of a clone with brighter tones, and an accent similar to a 3P0 unit, speaks out in the night during a moment of calm between rumbling thunder. Tech rises from his bed, bare feet making a soft patter against the concrete floor as he makes his way over to Echo’s hammock. He doesn’t have to go far, just down a couple of steps so that he is level with his newest brother. Echo, upon hearing his voice, releases his leg and puts on a brave face for him.
“Hello, Tech.” Echo does his best to sound casual, but his voice betrays him and comes out sounding strained.
“Is there a problem?” Tech asks, crossing his arms to keep warm, feeling chilled without his blanket over his shoulders.
“No.” Echo lies, and the lie soon becomes apparent when pain shoots up his metal leg. He jolts, and lunges for it, grimacing and moaning in pain right in front of Tech. He raises an eyebrow.
“You can tell us when you’re in pain, Echo.” Tech tells him, leaving him briefly to grab his goggles and datapad. While he returns, he tells him, “We’re not going to judge you for it, it’s only natural.”
“I didn’t think you’d judge me.” Echo clarifies.
“What is it, then?” Tech asks, while typing away at the datapad.
“I…” He hesitates, flinching as lightning claps. Finally, he relents. “I don’t want to be sent to med bay.”
“Why not?” Tech pauses his typing to look up at him, in confusion.
“Look, I’m gonna level with ya, I don’t want to be poked and prodded anymore like some kind of project. It’s dehumanizing, and brings back too many bad memories.”
“But you don’t have to suffer needlessly.” Tech reasons.
“I would rather suffer than to go to med bay.” Echo tells him, firmly.
“I understand.” Tech nods, “Then perhaps we can look for a solution together as an alternative. What you’re suffering from is called ‘Phantom Pain’. It's the result of your nervous system having gotten muddled from your… situation. The limb is no longer there, yes, but the nerve connections from the periphery of your amputation,--er, amputations -- however, have remained. It’s now sending incorrect signals to your brain.” Tech lets out a frustrated sign. “This explanation makes sense, but it does trouble me. I do hope I wasn’t the cause of this. It might have happened when I decrypted the cerebral interface on Skao Minor… I was in quite a hurry.”
“This isn’t your fault. It’s Wat Tambur’s fault.” Echo tells him through gritted teeth.
“You’re probably correct. As for a solution, I could hook my datapad up to you, and attempt to send a counter signal to stop the pain. A decent majority of your nervous system is electronic at this point.-- It’s worth a shot, if you are willing.” Tech suggests.
“I don’t think so. Please, don’t hook me up to anything.” Echo winces at the thought.
“Ok, then, let's see…” Tech types a way at the datapad for a solution. “Well, it says here regular painkillers might do the trick. Here,” Tech sets the data pad aside on the nearest surface and holds a hand out to Echo. “take a seat at the table and I’ll get you some water and the proper dose of medicine.” Tech offers, nodding to the table at the center of the room behind him. Echo reaches for his hand, then hesitates.
“I can just take it here so you can get back to bed.” He sighs, “I don’t want to trouble you.”
“Nonsense.” Tech is quick to dismiss him, and offers his hand once more. “Going through pain is one thing, but it’s worse when you have to go through it alone. Besides, the treatment plan suggests a distraction, to keep your mind off the pain. Seeing as I’m the only one awake, I should be your best bet.” Echo relents, and finally accepts his hand. He allows Tech to guide him from the hammock to one of the benches at the main table in the room. Tech is quick to retrieve the medicine and a glass of water for him. While waiting, Echo bounces his leg, and takes deep breaths. The pain hasn’t subsided, but he can admit, Tech’s efforts are helping. He’s comforted by the fact that he won’t force him to go to med bay-- or do anything, really. Consent wasn’t a luxury he was given on Skako Minor.
He takes the painkillers with the water provided, thanking Tech for it as he slides in to sit at the bench beside him. Tech gets right back into problem solving. “Alright, that should take a while to work-- if it works at all. So, in the meantime, let's try that distraction method.” He clasps his hands together. “Let’s change the subject of conversation to something other than your pain. So: what would you like to talk about?”
“Won’t talking wake the others up?” Echo asks, looking around the room at their brothers, sleeping peacefully in their bunks.
“That's a fair point.” Tech surmises. “How about we go on a walk, then?”
“Sure.” Echo agrees, after a brief consideration. He places his hands on the table and leans into them to help him stand. Tech rises, and moves out of the way, offering his hand if the other needs it.
“ Can you walk, or is it too painful?” He asks, observing his effort to stand.
“I can walk.” Echo affirms, ignoring the hand in favor of assisting himself up.
“Very well, then.” Tech retracts his hand, seeing as Echo doesn’t exactly prefer to accept help if he doesn’t feel like he really needs it. “Let me just grab a couple of things.” He excuses himself to return to his bunk in order to throw on some shoes, and grab a blanket. The chill hasn’t left him, and if they’re going to walk around the compound without their armor, he’s going to feel exposed. He folds it in half and drapes it over his shoulders, to add an extra layer of warmth. He meets up with Echo at the door, who carefully limped his way over to it while Tech was getting ready. Once together, Tech punches in the code at the door, and the two exit once the doors slide open.
The doors close behind them, and lock with a quiet hiss. The white hallway stretches on in front of them, almost painfully too bright for the middle of the night. The lights are always on, no matter the time, since clones are always coming and going in the facility. Despite it’s frequency of use, the hallway seems empty and calm on this night. On one side of the hallway is a wall with doors, and on the other side, the wall holds a pattern of triangular windows with the rain pelting against them. Once a fair distance away from the barracks, Tech reminds Echo of the purpose of their walk.
“Have you decided on a topic to talk about?” He asks.
“No, I thought you were going to come up with something.” Echo shakes his head.
“Well, I could go on about a multitude of things--” Tech begins,
“So I’ve noticed.” the other interrupts, but Tech rolls his eyes and continues.
“-- however , it won’t help you if it’s not something you’re interested in. You need to be invested in the conversation in order for it to properly distract you, otherwise you’ll just tune me out and your mind will wander back to your pain. Unfortunately, riveting conversation is an area in which I lack expertise. Someone like Hunter perhaps would be better fit for the task. He is our designated ‘charismatic leader’ after all. This is why I asked you for a topic.”
“Well if it makes you feel any better, you’re off to a great start talking about your shortcomings.” Echo smirks.
“Ah, well, I may disappoint you. I was just going to say, if Hunter was the one who woke up in the middle of the night to help you with this, I don’t think he would have had the slightest clue where to even begin with your treatment, let alone properly diagnose it. I am by far the best person to help you, despite my shortcomings. I was genetically enhanced to be the smartest. I am undoubtedly the most intelligent clone ever created, after all.” Tech has no problem reminding him of his mind. He doesn’t see it as bragging, he’s simply just stating the facts.
“Aaaand now you’re losing me.” Echo sighs, and turns to look out the window away from him.
“You know, this would go a lot better if you would have listened to me and thought of a subject to discuss.” Tech points out.
“Oh, yeah, real nice, Tech. Just berate the man in pain.” Echo’s head snaps back to face him.
“I’m only trying to help you.” Tech adjusts the blanket around his shoulders and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Fine, let's just try small talk, then.” He suggests.
“Do you even know how to do that?” Echo looks at his brother in suspicion, but he doesn’t stop him. He’s too curious now.
“Sure I do.” Tech clears his throat, and attempts. “Some fine weather we’re having today, aren’t we?” Tech begins, the line sounding clearly rehearsed. Echo stops short, and shoots him a look of complete astonishment.
“ Some fine weather we’re having today?” Echo repeats back mockingly. As if on cue, a big streak of lighting strikes by the building, lighting up Tech’s face staring back at Echo, whose expression is completely serious. Echo looks to the window where the storm roars, then back to Tech to blink at him. “Are you out of your mind? I can’t even begin to-- you know what, never mind.” Echo makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. He’s in enough pain as it is, he doesn’t know if he can handle the headache of explaining the art of small talk to Tech.
“What, is that not how one begins small talk?” Tech’s calm expression falters only slightly, to give a brief look of confusion back to his brother.
“You can’t be serious.” Echo shakes his head in disbelief. “First of all, the rain-- the storm-- does not count as ‘fine weather’, Tech.” Echo begins, starting to walk again. He even feels the need to raise his left hand to supplement air quotes. “And it’s not even ‘today’ anymore, it’s night!”
“Actually, it’s past midnight, so I suppose I should have said, ‘this morning’.” Tech corrects.
“I can’t believe you.” Echo brings his palm to his forehead in disappointment. He pulls it away to point an accusatory finger at him. “You’ve got to be making this up.”
“No, it's just what Hunter told me to say. I’m afraid being social wasn’t part of my training.” Tech holds his palms out in humility.
“It wasn’t a part of mine either!” Exasperated, Echo scoffs.
“Hm, that’s apparent. You struggle to come up with conversation topics even after being asked for one outright.” Tech quips back, unaware of how condescending his words sounded.
“You know what?” The expression on Echo’s face devolves from confusion, to obvious offence. “I think I’m going to go back to the room.” He informs Tech, his voice low from being hurt. He doesn’t have to put up with Tech being smart with him, not while he’s in pain. He turns around, and starts heading back in the direction of the barracks.
“Oh, so your leg is feeling better?” Tech, not immediately understanding that he hurt his brother, looks hopeful for a moment.
“No, I just don’t want to talk with you anymore.” Echo can’t face him as he admits this, and turns away. He takes only a couple steps away before Tech calls out,
“Wait.” He puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him, Echo's response causing him to realize what he had done. “Please, Echo, I want to help. If I upset you, it was an accident. I assure you, my intentions are good. If your leg isn’t better yet, we should continue.” From his words, Echo does stop. He hangs his head and takes a deep breath, before looking up at his brother.
“It’s just… I don’t know how you people feel about me sometimes.” He confesses, dropping his head once more. It’s something he thinks about often. When they’re sitting together in the cafeteria, while traveling to the battlefield, and while fighting alongside each other, he wonders: do they really want me here?
“Is.. is that what you want to talk about?” Tech asks, with an unfamiliar hesitance in his voice.
“It would be nice to know… So, yeah.” Shrugging, Echo nods.
“Well, I can’t speak for the others, but I can at least tell you how I feel about you. I assure you, it’s all good things at this point.” Tech begins.
“Go on.” Echo urges him, while turning to stand beside him once more. As Tech continues, they resume their walk down the hallway.
“I consider you my brother now. You are a part of our team. Yes, you may be a newer part of the team, but you have proven yourself to be a valuable part nonetheless. I don’t know how the rest of them feel, but for me personally, I consider you an asset and an enjoyable addition. To put it plainly: I like having you around. It’s an obvious improvement, from my perspective. For one, on the battlefield it makes my job slightly easier. Your presence enhances my efficiency since I don’t have to split my focus as often. Secondly, off the battlefield, since you’re new you haven’t grown tired of my ramblings. For the first time in a while I actually feel... heard. Is my answer sufficient?” Tech takes a deep breath, and looks over at Echo for approval.
“Yeah, actually, that was pretty nice to hear. I thought you said you weren’t good at this.” Echo cracks a smile, catching eyes with his new brother.
“I’m just being honest. None of that was flattery-- that’s just not how I operate.” Folding his hands in front of him, he wishes he had his data pad, just to have something to fiddle with. The conversation suddenly took a personal turn, and it’s causing him to feel vulnerable without technology to hide behind. Instead of running from the uncomfortable feelings, he decides to be brave and face it head on. He may not get another opportunity to address this, so he feels it’s necessary to get everything out while he has the chance. “Since we’re on the subject,” Tech begins, causing him to wring his folded hands from nerves. “I must confess to you, I’ve been feeling guilty about having doubted you in the beginning. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy, but… Us, however? We haven’t really proven that you can trust us .”
“What gave you that idea?” Echo asks, almost sarcastically, but Tech explains anyway.
“I’ve noticed you nursing your phantom pain alone before. I waited for you to ask for help, but.. you never did.” Tech looks out in front of him at the curve of the hallway, gaze softening as he recalls the last time he caught Echo struggling with this ailment. He remembers his pale figure curled up in a ball on the floor of the Marauder , a hand over his mouth to keep himself from wailing and waking the others. It pained him to see him that way, but something held him back from helping him. Perhaps it was his own insecurities that told him he wasn’t the best person to help, praying to the stars that Hunter, with his tact and advanced senses, would notice and swoop in to help in his stead. Unfortunately, that never happened, and Echo writhed in pain alone until the episode had passed. It’s wracked Tech with guilt ever since.
“I didn’t want to bother any of you.” Is the excuse Echo comes up with.
“It’s really because you didn’t trust us not to send you to med bay, isn’t it?” Tech inquires.
“Yes.” He confesses, his voice barely audible.
“Echo, I need you to understand something: we’d never force you to do something if you don’t want to do it. I may not fully understand all that you went through, but I know you went through a great deal, and that you were forced to contend with it all in solitude. That ends here. No more suffering alone. You can talk to me if you need to, and you can trust me. I know I’m not as inspiring as Hunter, and I'm certainly not Rex, and I may fail every time to say the right thing, but… I’m willing to make an effort.” A brief moment of quiet, save the storm, passes between the two as Echo allows his words to fully sink in.
“That’s more than anyone else has offered.” Echo sighs with a soft smile, “Thank you.”
The two continue to walk together in a comfortable moment of silence. As they do, Tech notices that Echo has fallen in line with him, and their steps are matching pace. He looks over to observe that he’s no longer limping.
“How's that leg? You seem to be walking easier now.” Tech motions to his leg. Echo pauses to test it out, realizing that while they’ve been talking, the pain has vanished.
“Hey, would you look at that-- it actually feels better, your plan worked!” He smiles.
“My plans usually do.” Tech smiles back at him.
“I can’t complain. Well, maybe I can complain a little-- It’s cold, and I didn’t bring a blanket, like you.” Echo snickers.
“How did I not anticipate that? My apologies. We can simply share mine for the remainder of the walk, if you like.” Tech offers, already unwrapping the blanket from his shoulders and unfolding it so it would be wide enough to accommodate two.
“That’d be nice.” Echo admits, and steps in closer to allow Tech to set part of the blanket around him.
“Kamino’s temperatures can get quite low, even within the facility. I don’t know why I even attempted to classify these conditions as ‘fine.’” Tech attempts to joke, earning a chuckle from Echo.
“I’m glad you agree, brother.” Echo appreciates the effort.
For the first time, Echo started to feel a part of the brotherhood that exists among the Bad Batch, not just the part of their team. Their bond seemed to be impenetrable, since they had done everything together since their creation, so Echo never tried. It seemed futile. How can he allow himself to get close to them while they still consider him an outsider?
Part of him knows that’s why he didn’t reach out and ask for their help, but really, there's more to it. It's because he wasn’t sure he was ready to get close to brothers again. He’s learned that, eventually, they’ll leave you. They left him at the Citadel, after all. Fives left him, and is now with the stars. Rex rescued him, but he’s unable to look at him the same way he once did. How can he trust this new group of men when he can’t help but think they’ll all just leave him too?
Here, he has Tech who is trying to get close. He may not be perfect at it, but he’s clearly making an effort. Not because he has to, but because he wants to. Echo appreciates every attempt he makes, even if they can be clumsy at best. Tech has a different way of doing things, but maybe different is better in this case. Maybe, with him, he can allow himself to trust again. It sure is better than going through all this pain, physical or otherwise, alone.
They carry on a conversation about small talk for the remainder of the walk, even attempting more jokes here and there. The mood has gotten lighter since Echo’s phantom pain had disappeared, so they used the rest of the walk to simply enjoy one another’s company. When they return to the barracks, it appears no one has noticed they left. Tech returns to his bed after assisting Echo back into his hammock, and both are able to sleep peacefully until the end of the night.