Summary: "He searched through his early memories, looking for her face in each of them. It took some digging, the memory buried beneath millions upon millions of others, but he found it." Tech and Omega talk about memory and of a time long past. One-shot. Post S1.
Behind Closed Doors
It was late, as per the usual time of Tech's more active hours, and nearly everyone aboard the ship- other than himself- was asleep. Nearly.
Omega had entered a couple of hours prior, unable to sleep and in need of company.
He was happy to allow her to watch him work, tightening control knobs and upgrading the diagnostics monitor to be more specific about possible ship issues. Every now and again, he would pause and glance out the viewport at the swirling mist of stars and space.
Occasionally, Omega would ask him questions about what he was working on, and he'd try to answer in a way that would make sense to her. But, for the most part, she was quiet- it was unusual for her. He chose not to comment on it.
Eventually, the pressure of his goggles on his face became a distraction, and he pushed them up, deciding he'd rather squint than deal with them.
That prompted Omega to speak. "Tech?"
"Yes, Omega?" He returned, frowning at the Marauder's fuel level. It appears that we will have to spend some credits on refueling it when we arrive.
"What was it like on Kamino, when you were younger?"
"Before or after the war began?"
"Before. When you were a cadet."
"Well, I spent about five years in Nala Se's private lab. As you are probably aware, it was usually rather quiet there." Tech told her. He felt the sudden urge to temporarily quit his work and sit back in his chair, choosing to indulge the feeling. "I met Hunter nearly a year after the Kaminoans started letting me explore the city on my own."
"What was he like, then?"
The memories came unbidden, and he allowed himself a brief, wistful smile at the image of a young Hunter holding a hand down to him with a gentle smile. "Not much different than he is now, actually. Just more experienced, like the rest of us, I suppose."
They sat in a peaceful silence, and he did not push the memories away, letting them flood over him- the good, the bad, all of it. It was a long time ago, but he could remember most of it as if it had been a week ago.
"Nala Se's records say that your enhancement makes your memory better." Omega blurted out.
Tech nodded, blinking to disperse the images of times past. "Memory is critical to storing information."
"So, you remember everything?" She seemed surprised, despite having read the records, her brown eyes wide in awe.
"Nearly." He told her, leaning forward in his seat to begin working on the diagnostics system once more. "Some early memories elude me, but that is natural for all species."
"How early do you remember?" Omega wondered.
He paused to think about it. "...Not much before the physical age of five, I suppose. Though there are some bits and pieces that I can remember."
"Do you remember me?"
"Now that is a good question."
Technically, Omega was older than him. All of them, really.
He searched through his early memories, looking for her face in each of them.
It took some digging, the memory buried beneath millions upon millions of others, but he found it.
He couldn't have been much older than the physical age of three.
There was a small box in his grasp, which he tediously flipped upside down- and nearly himself with it- and placed beside a stool that sat at a lab table. He stepped up onto the box, teetering dangerously, then grabbed onto the stool and pulled himself up onto his belly on the flat surface. He then maneuvered himself onto his stomach and clambered up onto the table with a childish curiosity.
"What are you doing?" A young female voice- Omega's voice, he recognized- called to him.
He turned to her with wide eyes, mildly startled. Within a split second, the curiosity returned and his mouth opened to reply.
"Omega!" The dismayed, feminine tone of Nala Se's voice came as the Kaminoan flowed back into the lab. "Return to your room at once."
"But-"
"This clone..." He'd never really caught the rest, but he now knew it likely had to do with his enhanced memory storage.
But Omega left, vanishing through one of the few doors along the longer walls of the lab.
"I remember." Tech murmured thoughtfully, after a long moment, that soft, wistful smile playing across his lips again. "You were taller than me."
"Are you calling me short?" She looked mildly affronted.
"No, of course not. You have grown, after all. Aging normally does not stop that." He assured her.
She seemed to accept this, and settled herself back in her seat, absently swinging her legs.
He wondered what his life might have looked like if Omega aged like him and the others, if they hadn't been kept apart during their younger years. Would they be closer than they were now?
When he retired for the night, he dreamt of memories long buried by the sands of time.