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Adrenaline is all that's keeping him going at this point. Crosshair expected to die upon returning to Tantiss. He welcomed the chance to exchange his life for Omega's freedom and wipe his slate clean from what he'd done to his family before. Instead he's alive, if down a hand, and Omega is free, and so are dozens of the clones held prisoner with them under Hemlock's unkind care.
As their ship blasts into hyperspace, the adrenaline burst dissipates, leaving him shaky and exhausted. He falls into a half-conscious fugue, listening to the happy jumble of nearly identical voices.
Nearly.
Head swimming, he turns towards a sound he's known all his life but his vision is graying out. He'll need a long visit with AZI-3 when they return home.
The word sends another jolt through him, waking him again. When had Pabu become home? But the answer is: the day his family moved there. Omega and his brothers are home, no matter where they are, and Crosshair has been lost for far too long from them.
A form sits next to him. The grays resolve into a face, familiar and beloved. "You're dead," Crosshair says to him. He blinks. "Did I die just now? Is this some absurd Force thing?"
Tech gives him a patient look. "No. I heard you and Omega were being held in another cellblock. I attempted to send a message but I see that didn't get through."
He blinks again but Tech is still there, still watching him. "You're not dead?"
"The facts would not indicate that, no. I could perform an experiment if you wanted to test the theory."
No hallucination could sound that much like Tech. Crosshair has an easier test. He grabs his shoulder with his good hand and kisses him. Tech kisses him back. Crosshair lets him go, not because he wants to but because he's very tired. "Good." He closes his eyes and rests against his brother as Tech wraps an arm around him, and he is home.