Chapter Text
You left your typewriter at my apartment
Straight from the Tortured Poets Department
I think some things I never say
Like, “Who uses typewriters anyway”
The Bad Batch were a well oiled machine.
But, it hadn’t always been that way.
After a long day of training that ended with Crosshair and Wrecker starting a fight with the regs and getting them all in trouble, Star wanted nothing more than to get some rest.
Unfortunately, that sometimes felt impossible.
“Star, are you alright?” Tech always was keeping an eye on her, understanding her on a deeper level.
Star merely shrugs, unable to muster the energy to formulate a reply.
She’d had a terrible migraine for days now, and the fight caused by Wrecker and Crosshair had only made it worse. She can feel her eyes stinging, and her ears are ringing, every little sound grating on her nerves. Tech says it’s likely the overstimulation, but Star doesn’t really care much about the reason behind it.
No, she just wanted her head to stop throbbing. But, she knows there’s nothing she can do about it. Not really.
Star’s discomfort from the migraine isn’t made any better when the Kaminoans decide to test her enhancement.
It was nothing out of the ordinary for the batch, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.
Star’s enhancement had been increased agility. It was part of why she was so slender and flexible.
Unfortunately, the Kaminoans wouldn’t tolerate anything less than perfection.
They made Star do absurd obstacle courses and run races against older cadets. If she lost, she had to go again.
Star always assumed she was lucky because the Kaminoans made her to be a medic. She thought that meant she wouldn’t have to be as physically strong as her brothers.
But, running laps around the training room makes her want to laugh at the foolishness of such an idea.
When she gets back to their quarters, she drops on her bunk, exhausted from the drills. Her legs are burning and she is overwhelmed by dizziness.
Tech sat beside her, rambling about some book he’d read on marine wildlife on Kamino.
Star, even in pain, listens, knowing that Tech being comfortable enough to ramble to her is a good sign. Because, though none of them ever talked about it, they all knew that the Kaminoans wanted to take that away from him. And they’d be damned if they let the long-necks turn their brother into an emotionless droid.
Tech was always different even among the rest of the batch. The Kaminoans had an absurd level of distaste for him.
Tech talked a lot and had no problem telling the regs when they were wrong.
Not only that, but he would tell the Kaminoans if he thought they were doing something wrong or illogical.
He still has trauma from all the punishments and experiments he endured as a result.
It was an early morning and the batch was tasked with a simulation to assess their coordination in battle and the chemistry of the team.
Tech had rushed through breakfast, not wanting to slow them down. No one commented on it, knowing that was just Tech’s way of coping.
His leg bounces with anticipation as he watches his siblings eat. Wrecker and Crosshair were debating something trivial, and Star and Hunter would both give Tech a look, clearly finding this conversation ridiculous.
“I’m telling you, the EGG came first. How else would the Tooka be born?” Wrecker pounds his fist on the table, accidentally spilling his drink.
Crosshair rolls his eyes. “It’s something called evolution, Wrecker. Something you clearly didn’t experience.”
“You take that back!”
Tech didn’t even bother inserting his own opinion on the topic. If he was being completely honest, he enjoyed watching the two of his brothers argue about meaningless things.
After Hunter ends the debate and they all finish their breakfast quietly, they head to gear up.
Tech is slim, making the practice armor practically hang off him. But, he doesn’t let that faze him.
Crosshair and Wrecker are arguing over who is going to get more droids in the simulation, while Star is spinning her pistols.
Soon, they are ordered out.
Everything had been fine at first. Star and Tech were tasked with disabling the droids while the others held them off.
Tech connected his datapad to one of the droids, his long fingers flying over the buttons as he connected himself to the algorithm. He then commanded it to attack the other droids. An ingenious plan, he’d thought.
That’s when it all went wrong.
His datapad overheated and the connection was lost.
“Tech, you’re supposed to make it shoot the other droids, not us!” Wrecker’s voice was irritated, and Tech could imagine the glare Crosshair was sending his way.
“I know, I’m t-t-trying! I lost c-c-connection!” Tech hates how his voice trembles. He always was good at holding it together, but now he was slipping up.
Suddenly, he’s thrown by the droid, and he crashes into a tower.
Star comes rushing over, worried about her brother. The Kaminoans end the simulation when it becomes clear Tech is injured.
She assumes that means he’ll get treatment.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
Tech is brought back hours later by Nala Se, who asks to speak with Hunter in private.
Tech stumbles into their quarters, rushing to his bunk, trying desperately to hide his tears.
Star kneels beside the bunk. She hates how the Kaminoans treated Tech like a droid. Or rather, the fact they wanted him to act like one.
The others, angry about the simulation, don’t immediately come to comfort Tech.
That’s until he can’t calm himself down.
Hunter, having come back from talking to Nala Se, is heartbroken by the sight of his youngest brother in such distress. He sits beside Tech, pulling him into his arms.
Tech clings to him, not bothering to try to hide his hiccuping sobs.
After that, the batch tried to keep a closer eye on Tech, understanding now that the Kaminoans were perfectly fine with hurting him.
Unfortunately, sometimes that is hard to do.
The Kaminoans had made quick work of making Tech afraid to show any emotion, causing tension within the squad once they were teenagers.
“You know, I don’t think you’re even a clone. What clone doesn’t feel,” Crosshair jabs, angry after Tech had been blunt about their performance in their last simulation.
“I was simply trying to enlighten you all about our lackluster performance in the simulation.”
He hadn’t meant to upset his brothers. He’d simply been stating that they had performed poorly in comparison to other drills. Unfortunately, Crosshair isn’t the only one bothered by Tech’s comments.
“Tech, there’s a difference between constructive criticism and cold critique. And right now, you’re being needlessly harsh,” Hunter points out, giving Tech a judgmental look.
Tech drops it after that, but Star knows it had really hurt him when he doesn’t speak again for several days.
Sometimes, Tech went quiet.
It wasn’t intentional. His brain would just get too loud and he’d try to speak but it felt like there was something lodged in his throat. It would only get worse if he tried to force it.
Often it was after a particularly harsh lecture from the Kaminoans, but sometimes it was after arguments with his siblings.
Star always sat beside him quietly during those days. Sometimes Tech would show he was listening, other times he seemed like he was somewhere else.
One downside of Tech’s enhancement is that his overactive mind sometimes seemed to trap him, sending him into a deep dissociation that almost no one could bring him out of.
This is what happens after the disagreement between him and Crosshair and Hunter.
Star tried to bring him out of it, knowing whatever he was stuck in couldn’t be good.
But, Tech doesn’t seem to even notice she’s there.
So, Star simply stays with him, not talking, just enjoying her brother’s company.
She’s surprised when Tech leans into her, sniffling. He doesn’t say anything, simply wanting comfort from his sister.
Star, for her part, wraps an arm around him.
She doesn’t know how much time has passed before her and Tech fall asleep, just that for a moment, everything felt peaceful.
And if anyone saw them, they didn’t say anything about it.
Once the batch was deployed, their lives got significantly better.
No more experiments, no more abuse.
Tech seemed to enjoy piloting the Marauder, saying it was a nice break from battle. Star couldn’t help but agree.
But, it wasn’t always that nice.
After a particularly grueling mission that they barely succeeded on, Star was frustrated. As the squad medic, she was the one who saw and had to treat all their injuries.
Hunter had a fractured wrist, Crosshair a concussion, Wrecker several blaster wounds, and Tech had burns all across his arms. Star had been fortunate enough to not have any serious injuries. But, she hates how hurt her brothers are.
More than anything, she hates the recklessness that led to said injuries.
No one should have gotten hurt on this mission, she thinks to herself, anger taking hold in her chest as she grabs her medkit and starts surveying how bad all of their wounds are.
“You know, most of these injuries could have been avoided if you’d listened to me and not rushed into danger,” she complained, giving Wrecker a pointed look at the second part.
“Yeah, well, there’s gonna be times we throw caution to the wind, and you’ll just have to trust us.” Hunter was always a steady presence, balancing out his brothers’ chaotic energy. But today, Star can’t help her huff of annoyance.
“And what if you’re wrong? What if one of us gets hurt all because you’re too prideful to retreat,” Star retorts. She is getting increasingly angry with her older brother, and she just wants him to listen to her for once.
“Well, that’s why we have you, isn’t it? To fix our mistakes.” Hunter knew he was pressing a button bringing up the reason Star was created in the first place. That’s why it shouldn’t have been surprising when she straightened her back, clearly ready for a debate.
Tech, noting her signs of frustration, switches topics, hoping to avoid an argument after such a hard mission.
“I hear we may be deployed again soon, and I hope to catalogue some new wildlife.”
“Yeah? Make sure to get Star to approve before you even look at it,” Hunter hissed, making his displeasure known by bumping her shoulder and marching off.
Tech, for his part, simply hummed before going back to his datapad. He hated when his siblings fought, but it seemed to be almost constant lately. That’s why it’s not surprising when he heads to the cockpit, claiming he’s going to check where their next assignment is.
Star follows him, knowing she’s upset the other clone. But, she quickly realizes Tech is not upset at her, but is deeply overstimulated.
The raised voices of Hunter and Star make Tech increasingly agitated, his brain overwhelmed by the sheer volume of their argument.
Star, knowing that talking would only make things worse, simply sits beside him in the copilot seat, looking out at the stars.
They just sit in silence for a while, though a million unspoken words pass between them.
Tech should have anticipated not getting much sleep before the mission. He’d been up late working and had fallen asleep early in the morning.
Of course, as soon as the others wake, his moment of rest is over.
“I am telling you it’s not safe,” Star argued, clearly in a heated debate with Hunter over strategy.
“And I’m telling you that I’m the sergeant and I have the final say,” Hunter retorts.
Tech can tell it’s going to be a long day, and he wants nothing more than for them to stop. So, he tries to calm things down.
“Hunter, perhaps we should evaluate Star’s concerns as a squad?”
“Tech, my decision is final.”
“But perhaps—“ Tech is cut off by Hunter growling, a sign that he’s going to lash out if Tech keeps pushing.
Star, for her part, seems alarmed. She gives Hunter a disapproving look before pulling Tech towards the cockpit.
Star had always been able to tell when Tech was upset. But, she doesn’t expect him to tear up and walk off to the bunks, clearly not wanting to talk. Star glares at Hunter, stomping to the cockpit.
Tech walks into the bunk room, rubbing his tears away. He wasn’t supposed to be emotional, and if the Kaminoans saw this, he’d be punished severely.
He remembers the abuse him and his siblings endured. The Kaminoans always hated who he was, saying that he wasn’t allowed to feel because it would cloud his logic. They would punish him for feeling too much and often put him in overstimulating environments.
Tech hadn’t understood why they treated him like that back then, and he despised being back on Kamino even now.
He’d often turn to his datapad, burying himself in new information to avoid having to confront the emotions he didn’t quite understand.
Now, grabbing his datapad, Tech curls up in his bunk. He tries to read a section of an encyclopedia on some of the wildlife of the planet they’re going to. But, he finds his vision blurring and the words becoming distorted.
Before he knows it, they’re landing, and he wishes more than anything he could just stay on the ship, not having to remember the hurt caused by Hunter’s words.
But, duty calls, and Tech is nothing if not a good soldier…
The mission was pretty straightforward. Easy. In and out.
Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair were escorting some Republic senator while Star and Tech stayed lookout.
Neither really wanted to talk about the tension that had been haunting the batch recently.
But, Tech knows he needs to say something about it if he wants to be a good brother.
“So, about you and Hunter—“
“Nope, we’re not doing this right now.” Star was perfectly content not talking, though she feels bad for interrupting Tech when she sees the hurt look on his face. “Just not now, okay? I’m fine.”
Tech knows it’s hard for Star to open up, but he also knows that if she keeps things bottled up, it won’t end well. So, he opens up a bit about his own struggles recently, hoping to coax her into talking.
“I have noticed my focus has been substantially impaired due to the excessive stimuli exposure during missions. It has made my processing…subpar.” Tech wasn’t one who easily opened up about his struggles, and Star isn’t surprised by how technical he is about it.
It’s like he doesn’t think he’s allowed to feel.
Still, Star appreciates the gesture. Sighing, she responds. “I’m sorry. I’m sure me and Hunter haven’t made things easier for you.”
“I did not mention this to assign blame. I merely was pointing out that I understand your point of view. I don’t believe the lack of caution is what it is really bothering you about Hunter.”
“No, it isn’t. I just,” Star pauses, trying to gather her thoughts. “I just hate that he doesn’t even listen to me. And I know he’s been bothering you too.”
Before Tech can respond, Hunter comms them.
“Hey, gonna need you to go ahead and get the ship ready, clankers are on our tails.”
“Copy that, heading to your coordinates now,” Tech responds.
With that, him and Star head to the ship, not saying much of anything until they are in the cockpit.
Star takes the copilot’s seat, plugging in the coordinates while Tech starts preparing the ship for flight.
“I know you said you don’t want to talk about it, but I want you to know that I understand.” Tech grips Star’s hand.
What he doesn’t expect is her to flinch, pulling her hand away. She seems to realize the involuntary reaction and looks away, unable to meet Tech’s eyes. Her cheeks burn with shame.
Why did I do that? He’s already hurting, and I just made it worse…
Biting down the guilt, Star heads to the ramp to watch for the others, avoiding having to talk about what just happened.
But, as they head to get their brothers, Star can’t help but worry something is going to go wrong…
But you’re in self-sabotage mode
Throwing spikes down on the road
But I’ve seen this episode and still loved the show
-The Tortured Poets Department