Work Text:
The dull humming of the Marauder would send any sane person into a frenzy after long enough stuck in it’s tight interior.
Echo had had such a reaction on his first mission with the Batch only a few months ago, though it felt far longer than that for all of them.
But for Tech it was comforting.
Something he could consistently count on.
And if anything were to change it was easy enough to figure out something was going wrong with the ship.
Such an instance was playing out now.
Not too far from the bunks a fast paced rattling had begun to occur.
Once hearing it he promptly had gone over to the source of the noise and began attempting repairs. Though with their limited supply of equipment at hand he knew he wasn’t going to be able to achieve much beyond a vague diagnostic.
It made his insides tense up at the idea that he couldn’t do much else as he slid out of the compartment to be met with an eagerly watching Omega.
Giving her a brief nod he begins to process of re-attaching the panel when she chims in, “It won’t cause any issues, will it?”
“None that’ll be detrimental to the ship,” he cooly states back, “Though I will have to find a decent supplier for former Republic parts. I doubt the Empire would think it wise to continue to up keep the older models if they can help it.”
Letting out a heavy sigh he plops down in the nearest chair and begins to form a list of what all he’ll need. It could longer considering how out of date the Marauder was becoming, but he’d much rather deal with those issues as they come up. Not like they have the necessary funds to even begin the overhaul he was looking for.
Typing out his shopping list his hands begin to ache and sting. Furrowing his brow he pauses his work and begins to slip the armored gloves he’d gotten so used to wearing.
Not like he had many other clothing options.
Their wardrobes had barely expanded beyond a singular civilian outfit per member, at Cid’s request no less.
But there were still pieces of their original gear each member wished to retain while mingling among the general population, and for Tech one of those pieces were his gloves.
“What happened to your hands?” Omega nervously asks as Tech sets aside his gloves with another, heavier, sigh.
They were worn red and raw from the strain of his work and general poor care that he’d come to get used to from his years on Kamino and with the G.A.R.
No need to worry about ensuring your hands are comfortable, as long as you can get the job done that was what mattered, after all.
Flexing them carefully he cringes as small fragmentation of the skin can easily be seen, along with a helping dose of pain.
“We were never necessarily encouraged to maintain any amount of– body care beyond battle injuries.” He attempts to explain, “Which isn’t quite conducive to all of the various ways our bodies may deteriorate.”
Brushing his other hand across his currently freed one he once more whences at the sensation it provides. Glancing over at Omega as he does the look of fearful concern on her face is enough to make his heart ache.
His pain was causing her pain, and that wasn’t necessary at all.
It was a minor issue that he had experienced from time to time before during the war.
Nothing that couldn’t be taken care of at another time.
So there was no need for her to worry.
Grabbing his glove again he begins to put it back on, starting the statement, “It is nothing that can’t be eventually fixed. There are far more-”
Before Omega darts forward and grabs his wrist.
“No! We should let Hunter know! We- We can get something to heal it after we make the drop off to Cid!” Her little hand squeezing Tech’s wrist so tight he could see the veins popping out of it.
“Before the parts for the Marauder-”
“Aren’t more important than your health!”
Tech blinks at her in befuddlement.
It seemed so clear to him how incorrect she was.
The Marauder was the one thing that was reliably able to allow them to do these jobs. Without the ship it was unclear if Cid would continue to hire them. Since she didn’t have to pay for transport for them this way.
Yet she had such conviction in her voice that she clearly believed that she was in the right here.
“If the ship comes apart, Omega, then we may be out of a job.” He tries to convey to her.
“And if you come apart then we’re down a man and we’ll be in a lot of trouble!” She pleads back.
“It’s not that detrimental to the service I provide this team, Omega. Just some minor discomfort that will go away eventually. Nothing I haven’t experienced before.” He attempts to comfort. His words clearly fall on deaf ears as Omega begins to shake her head.
“But you’re still in pain!”
“Many of us have aches and pains that we’ve learned to live with. This is no different than that.” He tries to free his hand from her grasp but it only met with her pulling him towards her with her whole body weight. Teetering on the edge of her heels to have any sway over his stronger form.
“But this can be fixed.”
Seeing her continued struggle over this issue was not favorable for Tech.
Seeing her in any emotional distress was not favorable for any of them, but especially if they were the root cause of it.
Her cries of panic to go back for Hunter still ring in his ears whenever she raises her voice. It was enough to drive any of the Batch to madness if they thought about it too much.
They may be the only family she has, but they caused her so much pain so often it made Hunter’s choice early on to leave her behind almost make sense.
She deserved better than this.
But that was a symptom of a larger problem with the line of work they’d chosen for themselves, and this was a far more minute issue.
Letting out one last sigh Tech gives her a small smile and concedes, “I suppose when I go to retrieve the parts I could also stop by a store that houses general ontments.”
Omega beams up at him in relief, “Great, though you’ll need to take me with you now!” She makes sure to add.
“And why might that be?” Tech inquires as he is finally allowed to put his glove back on as her hands remove themselves from his wrist. The sensation isn’t ideal, but he doesn’t let Omega see that this time.
“To make sure you actually do it!”
“You think I would lie to you on such an issue?” He asks, startled by her bluntness, he looks genuinely hurt that she would expect him to not do as he says he will. That seems to go against everything she’d seen him do up to that point, at least in his mind.
“I don’t want you to get too caught up in looking for parts that you forget!”
“I would never-”
The look she gives him as he continues to protest tells him all he needs to know.
Crossing her arms with a slight head tilt he quickly gathers that she always would have wanted to accompany him, she just had an excuse to do so now.
“Very well, though I doubt Hunter will approve of it.”
“He’ll understand.” She waves away, going up to Tech suddenly and giving him a quick hug. “Especially if you tell him.”
Bribery.
Affection in return for a favor.
She truly was getting good at this.
Patting her on the back he states, “Alright, that’s enough for now. It’s about to be my turn on look out, and you know how Wrecker gets if he isn’t relieved promptly.”
Rising up from his perch Omega hastily nods before dashing off to her little cubby.
Tech giving her one last look, a thoughtful smile on his face, before getting back to business as usual.
Cataloging at the back of his brain to research the necessary shops before they arrived to alleviate any of Hunter’s possible worries, and to get something extra for Omega as a treat when they are done.