Star Wars © Lucasfilm.
The last days of freedom for Tech were anything but free. He and his brothers were fighting beside Jedi Master Rasse, the sapphire blue Ssi'ruu, and her brand new - and too young - Padawan, Petro, on the planet Mikkia.
Clone Force 99 had rerouted themselves to the planet after a desperate call for backup flooded Tech's comm channel. Hunter, when Tech had informed the sergeant of the fact that the call had come from a Jedi Master and their Padawan, had practically leapt at the chance to provide aid to the beleaguered Jedi and her troops.
The droid army had not expected the five furious clones' ambush and, when Rasse and her troops surged forwards in a very un-Jedi-like move, there was little the droids could have done to fend off the double pronged attack. Wrecker was moving through the swarm of deactivated droids, ripping off heads as he went, while Tech had already buried his nose into his datapad.
Hunter was speaking with the Jedi Master and her clone commander, Sharp, and joking with the Padawan, who had been at the forefront of the fight, lightsaber a blur of blue as he cut through droid after droid. Petro would be an excellent soldier, Tech surmised, though he believed the Padawan was far too young to be on a battlefield.
He listened to the conversation as he surfed through comm channel after comm channel, eyebrows raising above his goggles as he heard a string of clone chatter about General Grievous and General Kenobi. There was more chatter underneath that though, and he ignored the chatter on the two generals when he heard the names of Chancellor Palpatine and four Jedi Masters mentioned together.
An assassination attempt? Why-
Tech's comm channels cut out, replaced with the same string of words, repeating over and over and over.
"Execute Order 66."
Tech's body went rigid as the words, foreign and so convincing, echoed through his head. He knew what that meant, he'd read the Kaminoans' files on inhibitor chips and the many directives implanted inside the chips, knew the reason-
The Jedi are traitors to the Republic. Execute all Jedi.
His gaze moved, shifting from his datapad to where Rasse was deflecting blaster bolts with her green lightsaber, her voice shouting to Petro - Jedi Jedi Jedi Jedi traitor traitor destroy execute - urging him to run. Petro screamed something unheard as his Master's clones continued to fire at her hard, scaled body, deflecting off her lightsaber and scales as she continued to try and disarm her men.
Ssi-ruu. Hard, blaster proof scales, nearly impenetrable. Susceptible to a large shock of electricity. Droid poppers will stun her momentarily and her Padawan will be too afraid to run.
Execute the traitors.
The order screamed in his head, blinding Tech from all rational thought as he pulled a droid popper from his pack and quickly reset it to affect living organisms. Distantly, he heard Hunter yelling at the clones to stand down, his sergeant's voice hitched with a scream that seemed so unlike Hunter.
His brothers were all yelling, Echo shouting obscenities as blaster shots continued to strike the Ssi-ruu, Wrecker was slamming clones heads together and Crosshair was firing at their brethren, his rifle turned to a stun setting.
Tech couldn't understand why his brothers were fighting for the Jedi - did they not understand that the entire Jedi Order were traitors to the Republic? That they would harm them? That they would kill Hunter and Crosshair and Wrecker and Echo before any of them could react to protect themselves? Tech had to protect his brothers - they were all that mattered to him.
But… they… aren't…
Good soldiers follow orders. Good soldiers-
The droid popper rolled under Rasse's feet, drawing her gaze to the ground underneath her scaled feet for the second before the popper went off, then released an arc of high voltage electricity. Rasse roared, her melodic voice sharp with pain as her body slammed to the ground, claws digging into the jungle soil as she fell.
"What the kriff, Tech?" Hunter's hands slammed into his chest, forcing Tech backwards, before his sergeant stepped in front of him and stared him directly in the eye.
Tech hated it when his brothers looked him in the eye, and Hunter knew full well how uncomfortable direct eye contact made him-
Good soldiers follow orders.
"Move, sergeant." The command came out as a snarl, purposeful in its venom and anger to make Hunter freeze.
And it worked, to none of Tech's surprise, as Hunter blinked, mouth set with worry as Tech placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder and pushed him out of his line of sight. Hunter grabbed for Tech's arm with a barked command to "halt", but no order took precedence over Order 66.
His head was pounding, splitting with a cold voice and a dark anger that was so unlike Tech- He wasn't a killer. The Jedi were- traitors. Traitors.
GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS.
Tech's pistols bucked in his hands and the Ssi-ruu traitor was no more, her left eye burned away from the direct blaster bolt that had torn into her brain. A distant scream echoed behind Tech, a horrified shout that sounded too much like Hunter in his nightmares, but he ignored it. He had one more Jedi to find.
His scanner picked up on the rapidly approaching blur of hot energy that was the Padawan and his lightsaber, screaming bloody murder at him as the young boy charged from the trees towards him. Hunter screamed something at the Padawan as Tech's pistols moved - almost as if in slow motion - towards the charging boy, and fired.
Petro was too angry, too grief stricken to think of deflecting blaster bolts, and too young. Too young to be on the battlefield. Too young to be a traitor-
The boy's body fell, a lifeless mass of flesh and blood and bone, his forehead smoking where the Tech's blaster bolt had hit.
"Traitors… down," Tech growled as he holstered his pistols and turned to face Hunter-
Hunter's fist slammed against his helmet, staggering Tech and making his head pound - his head wouldn't stop pounding! - as his brother towered over him, rage burning murderous fire in his eyes.
"What the hell was that, Tech? You murdered a child! A child! What the hell was that for?!"
Hunter was too angry. He should understand why Tech had killed the traitors, it was their directive. Why was Hunter so upset?
"I was following orders," Tech reminded him, "why are you so upset, Hunter? The Jedi are traitors."
Hunter blinked, mouth open, as his eyebrows raised slowly. Crosshair and Wrecker were staring at him, their expressions a mix of bewilderment and horror, while Echo was staring at the two Jedi traitors bodies with an unreadable expression.
All four of his brothers seemed unable to see the logical reasoning Tech's actions, behind executing traitors, and it worried him. Were they unwell? Had they not heard the order to execute the Jedi?
"Orders?" Hunter finally gasped out. He sounded so upset, his voice quavering and hitched as his amber eyes searched Tech's face for something that Tech couldn't reason. "What orders?"
"To execute the Jedi," Tech stated matter-of-factly. His brothers hadn't heard the order, they were okay, they were still his brothers-
"Execute them for what?" Echo suddenly snarled beside Tech. Echo had never seemed to like Tech, as all he could remember from Echo was him arguing with him over pointless drivel. It made sense that he was mad at him, but Hunter and Crosshair and Wrecker?
Tech was protecting his brothers, couldn't they see that? Why were they acting so stubborn about this? Didn't they value quick thinking? Value how much Tech loved his brothers? He would die for them and kill for all four of them. The Jedi traitors were going to turn on his brothers. He had to act.
Didn't they see that he did everything for them?
"They were traitors," Tech explained, maybe he had to explain it to them? "Jedi attempted to assassinate the chancellor to take control of the Senate. They can't be trusted. I did what I had to, I need to protect my brothers."
Hunter stared at Tech, his eyes filled with a hurt and pain that made guilt worm into Tech's heart. What had he done wrong? Didn't Hunter want Tech to protect his brothers? Had he misunderstood Hunter all this time?
"You murdered a child, Tech," Hunter breathed. He sounded so hurt, so broken, damaged by Tech's actions to protect them. Why?! Tech only wanted to protect his brothers!
"He was going to hurt you. He's a Jedi. A traitor."
The reason was sound and followed the order's directive but it didn't explain why Tech's head was hurting so much, why he felt like a migraine was setting in, splitting his head open. Was he unwell? No, he was fine. Tech was following orders and protecting his brothers.
"Summon the Marauder," Hunter ordered through the fog of Tech's thoughts, "we need to take you back to Kamino. I'm worried about you, brother."
"I am in perfect health and mindset, Hunter," Tech said as he flipped open his wrist computer and activated the controls for the Havoc Marauder's autopilot setting, "I am alright."
The Havoc Marauder responded with a confirming beep and, only a few moments later, the Omicron-class attack shuttle landing a few yards from where Tech and his brothers were standing. Tech felt a flash of pride course through his veins as his ship landed, and he could not help but to send Hunter a smile. The Marauder had been responding perfectly to his modifications to make it remotely connected to his wrist computer, and Tech couldn't have been happier.
"I will pilot," Hunter hissed beside Tech as he ordered him into the shuttle, an order that Tech was more than willing to listen to - anything to stop his brothers from worrying about him.
The flight to Kamino was long and filled with tension that was centered completely on Tech. He didn't know why his brothers were so mad at him, but their constant contradictions of the order he'd followed made his head hurt more than it already had been.
What was wrong with them?
Tech rubbed at the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut behind his corrective goggles as his headache grew more and more pronounced. And it continued through the chancellor's speech, where he and his brothers had been diverted once they'd landed on their "home" planet, through the food fight started by a young clone who was following Tech and his brothers for some inexplicable reason, through the simulation battle and the mission to Onderon.
Onderon made his head hurt more than he could explain. Tarkin had told them they were sent to exterminate a cell of Seperatist renegades but the people they found were children and elderly and malnourished adults. Tech's orders were telling him that the people, led by Saw Gerrera, were traitors and needed to be executed but Hunter didn't think that way.
Hunter let them go, let them go, when they had been ordered to execute them. Why was Hunter being so contradictory? Tech had seen the hate and disgust in Tarkin's eyes and heard it in his voice- Tarkin didn't like Tech's brothers. And Hunter disobeying would only make Tarkin worse.
He just wanted to protect them. He had to. He owed his brothers so much. He loved them. Tech would do anything for his family.
But Hunter didn't see it that way. Hunter ordered them back to Kamino to save the young clone Omega - Tech didn't understand how his brothers didn't know she was a clone. It was obvious, wasn't it? - who had sat with them in the cafeteria. Tech tried to argue against it- he had seen the probe droid Hunter shot down, and knew that Tarkin had been spying on them- but none of them listened.
Why couldn't they just listen to him?
The brig was no surprise to Tech, not when his brothers had disobeyed direct orders from Tarkin. Tarkin had a record of discrimination against clones and other, non-human sentient species, and Tech had heard the way Tarkin spat the word "clones" when he'd been talking to Hunter.
The charge of treason made sense to the ever pragmatic Tech, for it was treason to ignore direct orders from superior officers, but-
His head wouldn't stop hurting. It wasn't similar to the pain that followed the Kaminoans' mental simulations, or close to the headaches he got after staring at his datapad for too many hours. This pain thrummed through his entire body, biting at his nerves and organs and clouding his thoughts from anything but obeying.
"CT-33-7641."
That number, his serial number, slammed into his chest, knocking the air from his lungs as the red painted shock trooper, standing outside the brig he and his brothers were stuck in, turned his head to Tech. "Come with us, please."
The plasma gate deactivated as Tech slowly got to his feet, his eyes shifting to his brothers as he stepped out of the brig. Hunter said something to the shocktroopers, but the words and meanings made no sense to the fog pervaded Tech's head. He looked back once more, to his brothers' worried expressions, before the shock trooper commander led him out of the brig.
"Where are you taking me?" Tech questioned as the shock trooper marched down the bright hallways.
Tech had never liked how bright Kamino was. It hurt his eyes and gave him headaches, and the sound of the humming electricity reminded him too much of his old handler, Sullo Pria, who had punished him with her vibrostaff whenever he displayed a shred of emotion near her.
His brothers had protected him from Sullo Pria, defended him without a thought towards their own punishments… They were his family and he was worried for them. He knew that Tarkin would not tolerate their disobedience and he doubted there were second chances with Tarkin.
Hunter, Crosshair and Wrecker had protected Tech for years now, so why were they acting so… odd… now? What had happened? Why were they so angry at him for protecting them from the Jedi? Was it because they didn't understand? Didn't overthink everything and worry out the solutions to everything?
Tech only wanted what was best-
"CT-33-7641."
That number. Again.
His head hurt more every time Tarkin called him by his serial number, every time the man spoke and his skin could do nothing but crawl as Tarkin's eyes moved slowly over his body, covered only by his blacks. He wanted to retch, wanted to run away from those eyes and that leering gaze, but he couldn't. His orders were to stand still, to listen to Tarkin, to obey every order from the man.
Nala Se and Tarkin discussed him as if he was not standing before him, speaking of protocols and orders and chips and Force did his head hurt. He pulled up his goggles and rubbed at his eyes, which had started to water under the bright lights of the room, though that did nothing but scramble his thoughts further.
He was Tech. Clone Force 99's pilot, mechanic, realist. Their brains. Their calm. Their brother.
He was CT-33-7641. He followed orders. Obeyed. Protected his brothers and brethren and listened to Tarkin. Tarkin…
His head hurt more than ever before when he was woken up by a medical droid and peered up into the cold pallor of Tarkin's face. The man sneered down at him before he gestured to a table behind the man, where his armor but not his armor lay. It was black and cold and there was no hint of the skulls or the red paint or any hint of-
Bad.
His brothers were traitors, Tarkin claimed, though Tarkin did not call them "his brothers", and he needed CT-33-7641 to hunt them down. They had escaped from the brig with a female clone, and needed to be stopped at any costs.
He obeyed. He always obeyed.
CT-33-7641 saw his brothers peering through the supplies that had been taken from their room and placed in the hangar with the Havoc Marauder. Their heads snapped up when he walked through the door, expressions betrayed and hurt and aching.
But he was the one betrayed. They were leaving without him. They had always promised him they'd never leave him behind. Never.
"Please, come quietly," he droned - something in his chest twinged at the way Hunter flinched. This wasn't-
"Tech…" Hunter was urging the female clone away with one hand, the other hand bracing on his blaster as he stared CT-33-7641 down.
There was an odd sensation squirming under CT-33-7641's skin at the way Hunter would not stop staring into his eyes. He wanted to look away but his orders were clear… very clear.
Stop Clone Force 99.
Alive.
Bring. His. Broth- Enemies. In. Alive.
The clones with CT-33-7641 fired, their stun blasts raining fire down on Clone Force 99. Crosshair fired back, his sniper rifle barking with the same anger as the lean, gray-haired clone felt. Echo charged up the ramp of the Havoc Marauder, turning left- straight towards the cockpit.
They were planning on taking his ship. They were leaving. Without. Him.
CT-33-7641 shouted towards his men, ordering them to capture the clones near the Havoc Marauder, while he ducked down behind a crate and opened his armor's wrist computer. He had rejected the dark armor, compiling to Tarkin that it would not be helpful in capturing the traitors, and had been surprised when the man agreed to allowing him to use his old armor - but only this once.
Years ago, when the galactic war had first started and he and his brothers had been assigned on their first mission and given the then-unnamed Havoc Marauder, CT-33-7641 had taken great care in modifying the shuttle. He didn't want anyone who wasn't one of his brothers to be able to fly the ship, so he had implemented safeguards within the ship's protocols within his armor.
And only he could overwrite them.
Clone Force 99 was not taking his ship.
The shuttle's data feed responded to his commands of "Shut Down / Deactivate / Purge Tanks" with a sharp beep. The engines that Echo had just started shut down, the blue glow fading as the shuttle's landing gear magnetized itself to the hangar floor.
Moments later, Echo emerged with a shout, his eyes snapping in CT-33-7641's direction. Hunter shouted at him, calling him Tech for some reason, but CT-33-7641 ignored it as he hurriedly tapped at his wrist computer.
They would not be thinking of their shared comm frequencies, not yet at least, and he had to act before they remembered.
Clone Force 99 buckled where they stood when CT-33-7641 sent an ear-splitting shriek - a mix of a krayt dragon's roar, the shriek of an engine in hyperthrust, and a nexu's growl - overwhelmed their comms. Hunter, always the most sensitive to sound, collapsed first, his screams echoing through the hangar as Wrecker, Crosshair and Echo all clawed at their helmets.
Finally, all four dissenters and the female clone were subdued, knocked unconscious by stun blasts. CT-33-7641 watched from a distance as the Kamino guard, clones who wore gray and were always cold, lifted each of the traitors onto stretchers.
They were safe.
His - CT-33-7641's head pounded again - brothers were finally safe. He'd saved them. They would realize what they were doing, that they were going to leave him behind, and he had saved them. They would be happy, relieved to see their talkative brother who had saved them from their own, self-made destruction. They would.
They had to.
He had saved them.
Hadn't he?