Summary: "His brother holds him in his lap, one hand cupping the back of his head, the other gently tracing circles into one of his shoulders, as if trying to rub the nasty bruises away." Echo learns more about the Batch as he relates with Hunter. One-shot. Takes place between scenes in Between Blood And Metal, but can be read separately.
Close As Can Be
Echo's on hyperspace watch.
He volunteered for it, knowing that the others have a closer bond with Tech than he does. He's only been on a small handful of missions with them so far, after all, and they've been right there alongside one another since the beginning.
The stars streak past in a blur of blue and white, and he tries not to think too hard as he watches them. But he's seen this sight so many times that it doesn't bring him the same hypnotizing awe that it did earlier on in the war. So, his mind wanders.
It conjures up the image of Tech, unconscious and bleeding, laying in Wrecker's arms just inches away from the hangar door, which had slammed shut hard. Blood spills over the back of his chestplate and pack, cascading down his dirty white armor. There's a growing pool of red on the ground, but Wrecker doesn't seem to care that he's standing in it.
"Why's he bleeding?" Echo snaps uneasily, skidding to a halt at Wrecker's side.
"Dunno, but I gotta get him back to the ship or Hunter'll kill me." Wrecker's straight to business for once, hauling the unconscious clone up and over his shoulder and taking off without a word, as if he's not also wounded.
The Marauder's engines are audible, the ship descending to land just outside the base.
Echo grits his teeth and sprints after the larger clone.
His attention is pulled back to the present at the sound of a faint whimper, followed by the murmured apology that can only come from Hunter.
"Crosshair?" Echo calls.
"What?" The sharpshooter asks, popping into the open doorway.
"Could you cover for my watch for a few minutes?" He asks hopefully. "I wanna check on him."
Crosshair sighs, sits down in the copilot's seat with a sigh. His voice lacks its usual bite, no doubt out of worry for their fallen brother. "...Take your time."
"Appreciate it." He tells him, slipping from the cockpit.
Wrecker's sitting in the main cargo hold, his gaze distant as he lifts the gonk droid with one powerful arm. At first, he gives no hint that he knows Echo's there. Then, his voice choked, he says,"It's my fault Tech got hurt."
"It's not." Echo says. "There's no way it's your fault. You got shot, there wasn't anything you could do."
"I could have done better."
"We all could have done better." He returns. He softens his voice. "He'll be fine, Wrecker."
Wrecker doesn't reply.
Echo glances at the floor, unsure of what to say, then forces himself to move onward.
He finds Hunter on the floor in the makeshift medbay. Tech's torso is bare, his shoulders marred with dark bruises. His goggles have been removed, and they lay beside him on the floor. His brother holds him in his lap, one hand cupping the back of his head, the other gently tracing circles into one of his shoulders, as if trying to rub the nasty bruises away.
"How is he?" Echo murmurs, sitting down beside him.
"He hasn't woken up yet, but...he's hurting pretty bad." Hunter's voice is almost quieter than his own, and his eyes hold a sorrow that they all feel. After a moment, he adds,"I should have gone with them. If I had been there, this wouldn't have happened."
"If you'd been there, you might be in his position." He points out. "Maybe I'd be dead. Even with Crosshair's cover fire, I wouldn't have been able to take on all those clankers without you."
"...I know." The sergeant caves. "Have you ever wished, as a clone, that you could clone yourself and be in two places at once?"
"Yeah, I know that feeling. I think all of us do."
"I'm glad you're here, Echo." Hunter's voice is so sincere that Echo's breath leaves him. "You've brought things to this squad that I didn't even know we needed. It...it means a lot."
He manages a shaky smile in response, meeting his brother's eyes. "And you guys have shown me that being different isn't so bad. So, thank you, Hunter."
There's the faintest trace of a smile on the sergeant's face.
Then Tech whimpers at a slightly less gentle press of Hunter's fingers, and they both snap their gazes down to him.
"Shh." Hunter soothes. "You'll be alright, vod'ika."
"Vod'ika?" Echo repeats, surprised. He hasn't considered that any of the others in the squad are of different ages. "He's younger?"
"The youngest." The sergeant tells him. "None of us are the same age. We were raised separately, met each other along the journey."
"Really?" He blinks.
Hunter nods. "I'm the oldest. Believe it or not, Wrecker's second. Then Crosshair, then Tech." His lips curl wistfully. "I met Tech first. Then we met Wrecker- he nearly ran over us. Then, near the end of our training, we were thrown into the training grounds with Crosshair."
Echo jerks his head down to Tech's bruised body. "How'd you meet him?"
He sighs. "Some of the older cadets were picking on him. I sent them off and gave him a hand, never really left his side."
"Are you two close, then?"
"Close as can be." Hunter's fingers gently comb through Tech's hair. "I'm not sure what I'd do if something happened to him."
"Fives and I, we were twins. But he and the others liked to call me the annoying little brother of the batch, the Kaminoans' voice within Domino Squad. I wouldn't stop repeating the orders we were given on the training grounds, or going through the reg manuals. Drove them insane. Gave me my name." He laughs softly, sadly. "Then we lost the rest of them on Rishi. And then Fives lost me at the Citadel. And he was gone when I came back."
"I…don't know how it feels to lose a brother. But you lost everyone. That's something that no trooper deserves to go through. I'll fight to my death for my squad, and that includes you, Echo- you're one of us, more than you know. I know we can't really compare to your batch- you grew up with them, but…We're lucky to have you."
"I'd die for all of you any day. You're no Fives or Hevy, but you're my batch now, and I'm not going to let you down like I did them."
Hunter clamps a friendly hand down on his shoulder, just like how Rex used to back in Echo's days in the 501st. It's obvious now, that he's the oldest of the other Batch members. He should have seen it before. "They'd be proud of you, Echo. You've survived more than most men, and you're still here right alongside all of them."
Echo's throat feels tight, and he blinks his burning eyes. "...Thank you."
He's home, now. For good.
As he gets to know the others more, he observes them. He finds that Hunter's right. Each member of the squad exhibits signs of their age compared to that of the others, even if they don't know it. Even Tech, with his constant desire to learn.
He understands why Hunter wants to protect him so much.