Chapter Text
You had never understood your attraction to Tech. He was an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Sure, he was very handsome, intelligent, and gentlemanly, but his attentions never moved beyond simple politeness and he seemed impervious to all your attempts at flirting with him. You sighed as you watched the smartest member of the bad batch suit up in his armor and fiddle with his datapad, preparing for your next mission. It wasn’t anything difficult; you and the Batch were to infiltrate a decommissioned separatist base on Agora and retrieve any weaponry and ordinance that had been left behind. If the Batch could find a decommissioned Super Tactical Droid, Cid’s buyer would pay them double what they were already getting ON TOP of Cid’s usual fee.
You watched Tech out of the corner of your eye as you suited up into your own armor. You knew it was a risk, still wearing the Jedi issue plastoid that the temple had supplied for the members of the order as they took their place on the front lines of war, but Hunter refused to let you off the ship on missions without some form of practical protection, especially since you lost your lightsabers during the Purge.
You strapped a large vibroblade to your thigh and ensured that the laces of your boots were secured before reaching for your steelesong staff. You were always amazed at how light the material of the weapon was, hefting the deceptively light and strong metal and testing the balance of the staff again. Like all the times before, the weight and balance was perfect and you silently offered a little prayer of thanks to your late master who had gifted you the weapon upon her death.
“Is everyone ready? Let’s go over the plan one more time”
Hunter’s voice startled you out of your reverie and back into reality. Glancing around you could see all members of the Bad Batch suited up and ready to go. Even little Omega had her Zygerrian Energy Bow strapped to her arm. All stood around the holotable, a map of the compound being projected.
“Okay here’s the plan. We will split into three teams; Tech, you and Echo will make your way to the compounds control room.” He pointed to a spot on the map which was highlighted. “Download a schematic of the base and any other pertinent information we may need. Wrecker and I will head to the armory, and the Commander and Omega will head to the infirmary and see what medical supplies they can scavenge for the Marauder.”
Tech chimed in. “I have a list prepared of all the items based on our own medical needs. I’ll push the list to your datapad”.
Your datapad pinged. “Got it. And Hunter, I’m not a Commander anymore”. You smiled at Hunter.
Hunter smiled back. You both missed the way Tech’s eyes moved anxiously between the two of you. “I know, but old habits die hard.” He turned to his brothers. “Tech, Echo; if you can, see if you can locate a tactical droid within the base. It’s a long shot that we’ll find one but if we do, it’ll double our cut from Cid.”
Both men nodded.
“Alright men let’s move out”.
***
Hunter waited for you and Omega to take the lead before falling back instep with Tech. He looked up at his brother with worry in his eyes. “Everything alright Tech? You smell anxious and upset”.
Tech made a dismissive gesture with his hands. “If I appear anxious or upset it is only because we have the Empire hunting us and are walking into enemy territory. It pays to be alert. You know this”.
Hunter frowned. “That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it”.
Tech refused to look at his brother, instead using the advantage of his height and longer legs to escape this conversation that he did not want to have. He strode ahead briskly, passing his other brothers and taking the lead as you all approached the door.
You could feel his distress in the Force as he passed you by and you turned to look at Omega and Wrecker, who had caught up to you and happily placed the child on his shoulders. “What’s with him?” you asked. Both Wrecker and Omega shrugged. Tech quickly hacked the door and proceeded inside without waiting for any of his brothers. Grumpily, Echo jogged to catch up. You glanced back at Hunter who just shrugged before moving into the base.
***
“Tech! Tech wait up!” Echo called as he ran up alongside his brother. Tech paid him no mind, busily futzing around with his datapad and occasionally looking up to make sure that they were moving in the right direction and that he wasn’t about to crash into anything. “Tech!”
Tech wheeled around “Keep your voice down." he hissed. "We don’t know if anyone else might be around. This base might not be as empty as intel suggests.”
Echo growled. “What is going on with you? You’ve been off these last few days and I’m starting to worry. You’ve been distant to everyone, you lock yourself away in the cockpit or tinker with some project and hardly say a word. What’s wrong?”
Tech sighed. He did not want to have this conversation. But he couldn’t just dodge it the way he did with Hunter. Plus, he felt closer to Echo than to any of his other brothers; Echo understood him in a way that the others did not. “It’s…nothing. It’s of a personal matter that does not really concern you”
Echo caught Techs wrist in his human hand. “It does matter Tech. It matters to me.” Both of them paused and Echo removed his helmet to gaze into his brothers eyes. “You’re worrying me. The commander is worried”
Tech drew in a sharp breath. “She’s concerned about me?”
Echo cocked his head to the side. “Yeah? Of course. She’s been the most concerned out of everyone”
Tech made a little noise of distress in the back of his throat. “I had no intention of causing the Commander any worry”. He began walking again and Echo followed suit, slipping his helmet back on.
“Tech, please tell me what’s going on”
Tech hesitated, carefully measuring and weighing his words. “I have…developed some…feelings of attraction to the Commander. I've had them for...quite a while now”.
“You’re in love with her!”
Tech continued as if he had never heard Echo speak, “but she…well I do not suspect that she returns these feelings. I have strong reason to believe that her…attentions lie elsewhere”.
Echo looked at his brother in disbelief. “You love the Commander…and you think she doesn’t return your feelings?” By now, both have arrived at the Command Center. Tech walked over to one of the terminals while Echo plugged his scomp link in.
“Statistically speaking, there is a very low chance of her actually harbouring any feelings of attraction or attachment to me”.
Echo scoffed. “And what makes you say that?”
Tech looked at his brother, and raised an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting that his helmet was on, and Echo couldn’t really see his facial expression. “Well, look at me.” He vaguely gestured to his body before turning away and focusing on the terminal so he didn’t have to look at his brother. “I am not exactly what is considered an ‘ideal specimen’. I do not have the muscled physic of Hunter or Wrecker, rather I am more lean and 'gangly'. I believe I was once referred to as a ‘bean pole’. I appear to be expressing some inherited male pattern baldness as seen by my receding hairline and as you and the rest of my brothers like to remind me, I talk too much about things that no one is interested in”. He refused to look up from the terminal he was working on, “Besides, I have reason to believe that she harbors feelings for Hunter and he for her. I do not wish to come in between that”.
Echo felt his heart break a little for his younger brother. “Tech, first of all you are an attractive man. Regardless of whether you believe it, you are very handsome. Secondly, the Commander doesn’t have feelings for Hunter. They’re just very good friends”.
Tech huffed but said nothing.
“Tech” Echo pleaded. “You must believe me. She has no feelings other than those of friendship for Hunter. Their relationship is purely platonic.”
It was now Tech’s turn to scoff. “And how can you possibly know that?”
Echo didn’t get the chance to answer before an entire base wide alarm went off.
***
You and Omega were quietly making your way down a hallway. Neither of you wanted to speak for fear of there being some sort of ambush ahead or the chance that some other creature had moved in and made this base its new home. But as the minutes passed, slowly Omega relaxed and began happily chatting away.
“I’ve always wanted to see a Separatist base!” she said, curious eyes scanning her surroundings. “I heard my other brothers talk about it back on Kamino, especially those that had been selected for ARC trooper training. They talked about the war and the separatists but I never left Kamino so I never got to see anything.”
You smiled at the child as she happily nattered away. It lifted your heart to see the little girl so happy and excited about something again, especially after the rough parting with Crosshair. That had hit Omega particularly hard. You could still feel the wet tears that she had sobbed into your chest as she expressed her pain at her brother still rejecting her and the horror of loosing the only home she had ever known.
You stopped to check the holomap on your datapad before turning down another hallway. You kept one ear open to any unusual noises. “Yeah, I can imagine this being exciting” you said with a smile, gently placing a light hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’ve never been in a Separatist base either.”
Omega gasped. “You haven’t?! But I thought all the Jedi would have”.
Your smile broadened. “Not all Jedi” you said with a chuckle. “A lot of us were busy running relief missions to hard hit worlds or discussing peace treaties. Some of us, like me, were deployed as healers to the hardest hit platoons. That’s actually how I met your brothers”.
Omega’s eyes widened. “Really?!” she exclaimed and sensing a desire for a story you continued.
“Yes. We were on Bomis Korri IV. The battle was going very poorly and the medics of the 212th were overwhelmed with injured. There just weren’t enough hands to help, so the Council chose to make use of my talents, and the talents of two other Jedi Healers, and sent us to aid the injured. I was on route to the location when my convoy was attacked. Your brothers were the ones to save me”. You smiled at the memory.
“Woooow” Omega said in child-like wonder. “So you’ve known my brothers a long time then?”
You grinned at her. “Yup.” You stopped in front of a door. “Ah! This is the medical wing”.
Prying the door open, you and Omega stepped inside and began the search for the necessary medical supplies that Tech had requested.
“You know” Omega commented offhandedly as she shoved gauze into the backpack Tech had loaned you, “I think Tech might like you”.
Your heart skipped a beat at the news, but you fought to stay calm and act unbothered. “Oh yeah?” you asked casually, grabbing whatever remaining bacta that had been left behind. You’d have to check for expiration dates later when you were back on the ship. “What gave you that impression?”
“The way he looks at you”.
“And how does he look at me?” You could feel your cheeks heating up as you blushed. You pulled your canteen off your belt and took a swig.
“Like you hung all the stars in the sky”.
You choked at that. Coughing and sputtering “Omega!”
“What?!” she defended, “It’s true! He gets this soft look on his face when he’s with you, he doesn’t mind sharing his personal space with you, he lets you read in the same area where he is working on things. I’ve never seen Tech let any of my brothers in his personal space the way he lets you in”. She paused for a moment, looking at you with those perceptive eyes. “Do you…return his feelings?”
You let out a little laugh. “Here I was thinking he only saw me as a friend and colleague.” You murmured, expression soft.
Omega gasped with delight and clapped her hands together. “You do return his feelings!”
You ruffled her hair but said nothing as you continued your scavenging. Once your pack was full and you had gathered up all the bacta, bandages, and pain killers you could find the two of you began your trek back to the ship to await the others. You both had just turned down a hallway when an alarm went off. The suddenness of it startled you.
“Tech, Echo!” Hunter voice crackled over the comms, “What’s going on? What is that alarm?”
“Well, it would seem that Echo and I must have tripped some kind of security alarm.” Came Tech’s reply. As calm and cool as every. “They must have set up some kind of redundancy in the event that someone infiltrated the base”
You looked at Omega before raising your comm. “Omega and I just finished in the medical wing. We are heading back to the ship now”.
“Good” Hunter replied. “Tech, Echo, what is the ETA on the information we need?”
“I won’t be long now”
“Alright. Hurry. Wrecker and I are heading back to the ship with the requested ordinance. If we have to, we can always come back”.
"Yes, assuming that the Empire or pirates are not lying in wait".
There was a noise up ahead. You stopped so suddenly, Omega ran into your back. She opened her mouth to ask you a question, but you held a finger up to you lips to silence her. The sound was getting louder, getting closer and you began to recognize it as it approached. It was a sound that haunted your dreams. The sound of marching droids.
“Hunter!” you hissed lowly into the comm as you gently nudged Omega back the way you had come. “This base is not as empty as we first thought. I have droids converging on my location. Not sure if Security or Battle droids. They must have left a contingent behind to act as sentries in the event that someone like us decided to let ourselves in”.
“Are you karking serious?!”
“Deadly”.
“Alright, everyone. Open Comms. I want to hear what’s going on at all times. Commander, we are going to rendezvous at your position. Tech what the HELL is going on?!”
While Tech and Hunter argued over the comms you were carefully herding the small child back towards safety, away from the sound of droids marching. Omega was sticking close to you now, anxiety rolling off her in waves. You didn’t need the Force to feel her fear; it was clearly evident. “Omega, bow at the ready” you murmured softly. Perhaps if you were quiet enough and had just a little bit of luck the two of you could stealth your way back to the Marauder. The two of you turned a corner and came face to face with a platoon of battle droids.
“Omega!” you shouted, diving for the girl and wrapping her in your arms, shielding her with your body. You felt the first blaster bolt strike your shoulder first, then your side. It burned on impact and the force of it pushed you forward, but you refused to stop and dragged Omega into safe cover behind a chunk of debris that had fallen from the ceiling. “Are you okay?” You asked, ignoring the burning pain that threatened to turn your vision black.
Omega nodded, fear in her eyes. “I should be asking you that” Her eyes flicked down to where red was beginning to spread across the fabric of your flight suit. “You’re bleeding! Hunta she’s bleeding!”
You grimaced and placed a free hand against the wound to stem the bleeding. “Yeah, I took a few shots but I’m alright kid”. You cautiously glanced up over your impromptu cover and took stock of your situation. There was a squad of B2 Battle Droids making their way down the hallway weapons firing brilliant bolts of crimson energy right over your heads. The next hallway junction was 50 feet away and there was no cover between here and your escape. You inhaled deeply. You knew what you had to do. “Omega” you said, turning the girl to look at you. “When I tell you to, you run to that junction”. You nodded in the direction you were talking about. “Don’t look back. Just run. Okay?”
“Bu-but wh-wha-what about you?” she asked.
You smiled at her softly and gently carded a hand through her hair, carefully memorizing her features. “I’m going to buy you some time. Long enough to get to safety.” You glanced over your cover again; there wasn’t very much time left. “I am so proud of you” you murmured, hugging the child close. Omega looked at you with tears in her eyes.
“On the count of three, okay?”
Omega nodded.
“One”
“Two”
“THREE!”
Omega shot out from cover and sprinted for safety at the other end of the hall while you jumped out in front to draw and deflect the droid’s fire. You cautiously started walking backwards towards safety all the while using the Force to divert the bolts that were close to hitting yourself or Omega as she ran for safety. But you couldn’t keep this up for long. The blaster bolts were moving at incredible speeds and the act of diverting one alone sapped a lot of your energy, let alone diverting dozens. But you could keep it up long enough for Omega to reach the next T junction and turn the corner. At least you could give the kid a chance.
You were 10 feet from the T-junction when your luck and focus finally ran out, the pain of your other wounds finally getting to you. A bolt caught you right in the chest, knocking you off your feet and throwing you the remaining distance onto your back. You could hear Omega scream your name and you turned your head to look at her and mustered a small pained smile. Just behind her you could see her brothers running down the hall towards your position. ‘Good’ you thought to yourself as you let your eyes slide closed. ‘At least she’ll be safe’.