Summary: "He gently knocks his forehead against the durasteel flooring to erase the image of blood flowing past his lips." Even now, when he's older, Tech still has nightmares. Omega, the newest addition to the team, notices. One-shot. Set after S1E9 Bounty Lost.
The Influence Of A Listening Ear
A wave of boulders rolls down the mountainside, latching onto him and knocking him off of his feet, dragging him along, crushing him at every opportunity. While his armor protects him from getting absolutely smashed to oblivion, it doesn't fully shield his thin frame from harm. The roar of the tumbling rocks is deafening, swallowing up the sounds of his brothers shouting above.
A well-placed boulder slams itself into his gut, stealing his breath away just like that. The contact leaves him gasping, the pain tearing through his torso agonizing, but he can't focus on it. His hands scrabble for purchase, for anything to cling onto, and find nothing. He remains toppling, head over heels, down the mountainside, rocks smashing up against him in the most inconvenient of places. He can't think, can't get a break from the relentlessness of the sea of rocks that are pulling him down, drowning him.
Blood wells up in his throat, and he coughs around it the best he can, gurgling and sputtering as the lenses of his goggles split with the sound of shattering glass. Everything's moving too fast, much too slowly. He still can't think, still can't breathe-
His hand snags on something, and he tightens his grip in a nanosecond, his shoulder nearly pulling from its socket as he grabs onto a root in the cliffside like the lifeline it is. The rocks keep pouring over him, smashing him against the ground, but at least his body has stopped its uncontrollable flailing and has something to anchor it down.
His heart hammers against his aching ribcage, his blood roars in his ears, he tastes salt in his mouth…All he can do is hold on and keep breathing.
"He won't make it long enough to get to Kamino." Someone says, his blunt voice distant.
"Tech! Tech, wake up!"
He thinks he blacks out.
The moment he has control over his own body again, Tech's snapping into a left roll, then he's falling with a dull crash. His eyes snap open before he hits the ground, horrified for a moment that he really is stuck on a hillside. But when his hands and knees catch him and he finally sees, he recognizes himself to be within the Havoc Marauder, on the bunkroom floor. His panicked breaths turn relieved, and he allows his body to relax a little. He's safe.
"Tech?" A tentative voice- Omega's voice- speaks up.
He gently knocks his forehead against the durasteel flooring to erase the image of blood flowing past his lips.
"Are you okay?"
"Did I wake you?" He gently inquires, between breaths.
"No." She says. "I was already awake. But, I heard you, so I came in here…I get nightmares too, you know. About the bounty hunters. What was yours about?"
"Just…something from the war." He murmurs, rising to sit back on his knees, squinting at her blurred form in the dim light as his lungs settle.
Omega frowns, hesitates. "What was the war like?"
"It was a primary mission objective comprised of battles on various fronts."
Tech understands the intent behind her question, this time, and frowns himself. He takes a moment to consider what to tell her, if anything. Because, the truth- war is brutal. How can he tell her that he and his brothers went out onto the battlefield on a near-daily basis, and got wounded nearly every time? How can he tell her that they've all clung to one another as they bled out, on the verge of taking their final breaths?
"That…is something you should probably ask Hunter." He decides.
"But I want you to tell me." Her sincerity is clear, her care for him, despite their limited interactions. It touches something deep within him, stirring emotions he often forgets he has. "I like hearing you talk."
He finally sighs in submission. "Very well. But let's move to the cockpit. The sedative does not dull Hunter's senses completely."
He tells her, and he feels a little better about himself after.