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The target in his sights moved the moment he pulled the trigger. Gone was the neck shot that would decapitate the battle droid and in its place was the familiar pale gray armor of his brother. There was nothing he could do but watch in horror as the bolt made contact.
His in-helmet comm exploded with entangled voices of panic, but two word’s stood out like a flash-bang. Blinding. Deafening. Lethal. “Tech’s down!”
“Crosshair, will you please look at me?” Tech asked, voice firm but patient.
Crosshair dragged his gaze from his boots and looked at Tech’s face. His younger brother’s expression made him want to cry. But he wouldn’t cry. Not here. Instead, he snarled, “What do you want?”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Tech said. He indicated the bandage covering half his chest and shoulder. “I want you to stop blaming yourself for this .”
“I don’t,” Crosshair lied.
There was confusion at first, Hunter and Wrecker speculated wildly as they dragged Tech off the field, getting him to cover. They kept asking if Crosshair had seen anything, could see anything. A threat they hadn’t accounted for. How could he tell them that it was friendly fire, a blaster bolt meant for a vanishing enemy. The awful truth.
“Crosshair, do you see anything?” Hunter asked, command voice razor-edged.
The sniper realized that he had not responded to any of the questions. Static in his head blocked out the noise, opting for the sickened mantra: I shot him. I shot him. I shot him.
“I shot him.” The words crowded from his mind to his lips, unbidden.
“What?”
“I shot him,” Crosshair repeated, not to answer Hunter’s shocked question, but because it was the only words he could say. “I shot him.”
“You do,” Tech said, “And if there is anyone who deserves blame, it is myself. I miscalculated my position. I knew better.”
“It’s my job to know where you are. Where all of you are,” Crosshair argued.
Tech considered the counterpoint. “We may be enhanced, Crosshair, but we are still human. Occasional errors are a given. You could not have known that I would block your shot of the battle droid. Had I taken that position only a moment later, I would not have been shot. Had I taken that position a moment earlier, you would have seen that I blocked your shot and not pulled the trigger. It was impeccable timing, really.” He sounded morbidly impressed.
“Impeccable timing? I almost killed you!”
“But I am not dead.”
“No karking thanks to me,” Crosshair spat.
Tech frowned. “I cannot reason with you when you are being overly emotional.”
“I am not–”
Tech put up a hand. “I do not feel this necessary nor warranted, but I forgive you, Crosshair, for any wrongdoing you feel you have done against me.”
The enhanced marksman deflated.
“I shot you,” Crosshair whispered.
“I know,” Tech said, “but I trust you, Cross. This event does not negate that. We live dangerous lives by literal design. It is the nature of war, and it is our nature as soldiers.”
Crosshair nodded, his throat constricted. “I’d better never see any of you at the other end of my scope again,” he growled. He pretended his voice didn’t crack.
Tech played along. “We shall make our best efforts to keep out of the way,” he said with a smile.
END