Chapter 3 - Rescue
They sent Omega into the vents to get eyes on the training room. Shooting their way through the halls takes time but Anakin goes in the front the way he always used to. His mind is quieting just a little, even if every blaster shot still jars his head but it's enough that he can feel finally reach into the Force again. He flings the stormtroopers out of their way as they advance, as he leads the clones for the first time since... the last battle he fought for the Republic. He's missed this. Even if it also guts him to his core because nearly all his boys are gone now, except Echo and Rex, and nothing he can ever do is going to bring them back. But this is still something.
They sprint into the lower part of the training room the moment Omega gives them the clear. The entire room is dark and there's a large structure that rises many feet above the floor. The Batch are being kept up there, for whatever reason. Fighting breaks out almost instantly, as stormtroopers start shooting at them.
And one of those operatives is down here too – one of the ones with green on his helmet.
A vibroblade suddenly stabs through the door, impaling a clone and Anakin turns toward it sharply as the red helmeted operative steps inside, vibroblade drawn. Anakin jumps him, side-stepping the vibroblade and wrestling one away, swinging it up to block the other's attempt at beheading him. He hasn't fought with a lightsaber in so long but these weapons are close enough. The operative is skilled though. The fight would probably already be over if Anakin wasn't still so out of it but the fact that the operative is holding up against him so long is still impressive.
He can hear echoes of talking from up above but he doesn't know what's happening up there.
Danger flickers through the Force suddenly, a second before he hears a hissing sound. Green gas starts pouring from the vents up above, flooding over the clones. Anakin sucks in a sharp breath and then holds it. but he won't be able to do that for long and this substance must be toxic.
The clones start coughing, and then they start dropping to the floor, going unconscious. The red operative kicks Anakin aside, and he lands on the floor with a strangled grunt, getting all his breath knocked out and inhales instinctively. So much for hoping he wouldn't end up inhaling the toxin too. He doesn't feel the instant urge to cough the way the others are, though. Is this... not affecting him for some reason?
He knows he's more resistant to toxins than many people, so that might be why. Anakin flicks out a hand, throwing the red and green operatives into the wall, hard enough to momentarily stun them and hard enough to knock the green one's helmet off.
And the last thing he's expecting to see is... the face of a clone staring back at him.
What?
Their presences are wild and twisted in a way that not even clones whose chips have been activated are and all he can do is stare. What - ?
Ther's a deafening clatter from up above suddenly and the gas suddenly shuts off.
"You're clones?" Anakin asks faintly, still staring at the operatives.
"Hemlock's brainwashed operatives," Echo coughs from behind him, standing, as the gas starts to dissipate, "They're too brainwashed for us to go through to them. We tried repeatedly. Nothing... helped. Don't know what Hemlock's done to them."
The green operative is glaring at Anakin now as he reaches for his helmet again.
"Wait," Anakin protests, as the red one instantly dives for his fallen vibroblade, "You're clones. These are your brothers."
"They're traitors," the green one snaps back.
He needs to think of something to say fast and they don't have time. The clones are already starting to exchange shots with the other stormtroopers and he needs to get back to helping them but he doesn't want to just give up on these two. They feel half mindless. What they're doing isn't truly their choice.
"Look, I fought for the Empire too," Anakin begins, holding up his hands. He feels Echo's flare of shock and confusion but doesn't turn around. The two operatives are standing now, but they stop, looking at him warily. "I did everything I was told to do. I understand that you don't know any other way. But if you're fighting for the Empire, then you need to know that the top officials of the Empire are destroying it. That's why the rest of your brothers turned on it. It wasn't because they wanted to. They – "
Somebody yowls from up above and glass shatters. Anakin ducks instinctively when he sees the two figures falling down from the floor above – another operative and Wrecker?
The red one throws his vibroblade at Anakin. He doesn't duck quite fast enough, flinging his right arm up to catch the blade. It lodges in the metal, unable to go fully through. He rips it out, tackling the red one and knocking him out before going for the green one. Now that he's trying, tackling them to knock them out isn't that hard.
Wrecker is smashing the last operative into the floor when Anakin turns to help him. Knocking him out is easy.
The moment the fight is over, Wrecker stumbles to the floor, leaning against a wall with an agonized groan. His face is tight with pain. Only now does Anakin get a good look at him – his chest armor has been entirely ripped open and his hands are twitching weirdly, aftereffects of electricity. What happened to him?
He's seen many clones injured before but Wrecker is well – He always felt like a literal nine year old and seeing him this badly injured isn't easy. Especially when he has no idea how serious it is. It's not – fatal is it? No, no, he will not let that happen.
Anakin darts to his side, crouching next to him, laying a hand on his arm.
Wrecker groans quietly, opening his eye. He looks confused. "Y're – How're you here?" he asks, words slurring together.
"I was a prisoner here too," he explains again, "Don't worry, we'll get you taken care of. You'll be fine."
His only response is a faint groan. It sends another spike of fear through him.
Echo practically teleports to Wrecker's side a moment later, expression tight. "Wrecker, where are the others?"
His eyes are closed again, head resting against the wall behind him. "Gone. After the – the kid."
"Omega?" Echo asks, stiffening. "Where is she?"
"We should get out there," Anakin says, glancing around. His hand slips down anyway, taking Wrecker's enormous hand and squeezing it reassuringly. Wrecker doesn't open his eyes again but he squeezes it back very weakly. Which isn't saying anything good considering his insane strength. "You'll be alright," he promises again, half desperately more than anything else, pulling away to pat Wrecker's shoulder before he stands up.
Echo stands too, even if he throws another concerned glance back at Wrecker on the floor.
"What about the operatives? They're going to wake up eventually."
"We need to restrain them," Anakin says, wincing even as he says it, "They're still your brothers. They deserve a chance."
"I know. I just don't know what we'll do with them. They wouldn't stand down before no matter what we said to them."
"We'll figure it out. Are there any others?"
Wrecker stirs slightly. He's obviously still at least half-hearing them. "Another's up 'bove. Dunno if he's alive."
It's a long trek to get up to the upper part of the training room but if Omega was up there before, they'll have to go there anyway to track down what happened to her.
There is another operative up there, with an electrostaff right through him, pinning him to the wall. Blood is already pooling around the staff. But he's alive. Anakin can feel a flicker of it in the Force. He's not dead yet – even if he's probably going to be positively feral the moment he's conscious enough, considering what happened to him.
Anakin scrambles over, pulling out the electrostaff with the Force as carefully as he can so he doesn't jar anything else internally, catching the operative as he falls. He's clearly unconscious because he's completely limp when his weight lands in Anakin's arms. He lightly sets him on the floor, reaching up to pull his helmet off.
Tech's face stares back at him.
Anakin's blood runs cold.
Echo starts swearing – a bunch of words in Huttese Anakin never even remembers using in front of him.
"Tech?" Anakin asks incredulously, disbelievingly.
He fell but there was no body, Emerie had said.
"How couldn't we have known -," Echo cuts himself off, dropping to his knees on Tech's other side, reaching for a pulse. "Is he – going to make it? Is he – ?"
"I don't know. The injury wasn't through anything lethal but... we need to get the bleeding stopped and he needs to be treated fast," Anakin replies breathlessly. Hopefully whoever went after Omega can handle it because they have to save Tech's life.
**w**
They made it. They made it. Hunter still feels unsteady on his feet as he, Crosshair, and Omega turn to go back into the facility. Hemlock is gone. Finally. And he was finally fast enough not to lose another one of his siblings this time. Even if they're all injured, at least they're all alive.
Except Tech.
And no matter what they have now, no matter what they get, nothing will ever fill that gaping emptiness, a literal piece of him that is always gone, a piece of him that fell and broke and shattered that day along with his brother. He tries not to let himself go down that train of thought
They need to find Wrecker and Echo and see if they still need help, and –
Echo skids around the corner of the hall to the training room before they even make it there. There's blood on his hands – wait, hands? Why does he have two hands? – but not anywhere else on him so it's hopefully not his.
"Hunter," Echo breathes and his heart nearly stops for a moment. If this is something about Wrecker – No, no. "Tech's not dead."
...
"What?" Doesn't know if he or Omega said it louder.
"Hemlock got him. He turned him into one of his operatives. He's injured but he should make it." Echo turns and takes off again.
Hunter's mind feels like it's entirely shutdown. Tech was gone. They've mourned him all these months so how...?
They run to catch up with Echo, back into the training room. The same operative who he'd thrown the electrostaff through – the one who cut off Crosshair's hand which is half of why Hunter was so angry the moment he saw him – is lying on the floor, with is that General Skywalker sitting over him.
But his helmet is off, revealing Tech's face.
Tech.
That is Tech.
There's no other clone who looks like that. His face is scarred in ways it never was before but the hair is the same and the face is the same and – and – That's Tech and he's alive and Hunter just – hurt him. He nearly killed him. He was trying to kill him when he did that.
And that was Tech.
He stumbles a step away from the others shakily, the only response his mind even being able to concoct is to promptly throw up.
That was Tech and he hurt him and what did he do he could die he nearly killed him what did he do –
If General Skywalker wasn't here – how is he even here? – Tech would have died for real this time and he'd never have known and he would have killed him. He – stars.
A hand touches his arm. Hunter looks up, still heaving, not that there's any contents left inside of him. It's Crosshair. He looks stricken. Tech cut off Crosshair's hand. What in all the stars – what - He's going to – to he doesn't even know.
"It wasn't your fault," General Skywalker speaks up, "You didn't have a way to know. Emerie told me you thought he was gone."
"How – " Hunter can't find a single coherent word or thought right now.
"Come on. I've stopped the bleeding but we need to get him to the ship so we can treat him properly," the General urges, standing and carefully lifting Tech as he does so.
Hunter has no memory of how they made it to the hanger or onto transport shuttles. Some of the regs carry Wrecker on board and he's only half a mind to think about how weird it is that the regs just fought alongside them without any complaint for the first time ever.
All Hunter knows is that now that they're on board the shuttle, he can't stop staring at Tech. He's lying still, motionless, unmoving. Because of him. Because – but he's alive. He never died on Eriadu. And if they hadn't made it to Tantiss, he would have been left here forever without them. It wasn't only Omega they came here for. It was Tech too, even if they didn't know it.
"Why would he be fighting us?" Omega asks, the first to find her voice, "His chip is already out."
"That's not Tech. Not – not the one we remember." Crosshair's reply is barely audible where he's sitting next to Wrecker, about as far away from Tech as he can get.
"What do you mean?" Hunter asks. He feels distant. Probably disassociated somewhere along the way. Most of all, what he feels is an overwhelming nothing.
"His mind is gone. He doesn't know us anymore. He's not him."
Wait –
How would Crosshair know that unless...
"You knew?" Hunter demands, staring at him.
Crosshair doesn't answer but that's answer enough.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Omega exclaims, hurt bleeding into her voice.
"Would've have mattered," he bites back, turning away, "We trained together all the time and he didn't know me anymore. He doesn't know you either. Tech is gone."
He doesn't remember them. Tech doesn't remember them. The one thing that always made his little brother who he was is that he always remembers everything. And Hemlock took that away from him too, turned him into a mindless assassin to fight them, to – Hunter's not at all happy that Crosshair never told them but he's in too much shock to really process it right now.
Tech is alive and he doesn't remember them, but at least he's alive. And Hunter hurt him. Worse than Crosshair ever did any of them because at least he never nearly – stars. He feels sick.
"There may be something I can do about it," General Skywalker speaks up. What he's doing here is still a mystery. Hunter thought he was dead. Doesn't have the mental space to ask about it right now.
"What?" Hunter asks.
"I would have to ask him but I could try to heal whatever's left of his mind with the Force. I don't know if it would work."
"If he doesn't remember, he's not going to agree." Dread slowly pools in Hunter's gut. What is Tech going to do when he wakes up? How is he supposed to look his little brother in the face as he tries to kill them again? He went through that enough with Crosshair. At least it's not entirely Tech's choice but that doesn't make the thought of facing it any easier.
"I will... try to reason with him. He won't be able to hurt you. Not if I'm here, at least," General Skywalker assures.
They lapse into silence after that. No one speaks again until Tech suddenly stirs on the far side of the room. Hunter gets to his feet but stays paces away, staring at him.
Tech opens his eyes, gaze darting around the room. Tech always looked assessing, calculating when he looked at things but never like this. This is sharp and hard. And afraid, even if he's hiding it. Hunter feels Tech's heartbeat spike sharply.
He instantly moves to jolt upright, gasping quietly and falling onto his back when he realizes he can't move.
"Tech," Hunter interjects, heart pounding. The way the heartbeat skyrockets even more when Tech sees him standing there makes him sick to the stomach.
He can feel Crosshair's heartrate picking up now that Tech is awake and it only makes him feel sicker. Maybe – maybe he can understand why Crosshair doesn't see Tech as the same if he was willing to hurt him but – He's still their brother, no matter what's been done to him.
"Tech, it's us," Omega says, stepping toward him, "We rescued you. Don't you remember us?"
"I don't know who you are," Tech grits out, glaring.
"Not at all?" Hunter asks. His voice hardly sounds like his own. "Tech, I – I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you or I wouldn't have – " He cuts himself off. Doesn't even know what to say to him.
"Why do you keep calling me that word?" he demands roughly.
"It's your name," Hunter replies, "You were one of us. You're our brother." How does he even begin explaining this? How could Tech not remember?
Tech is watching him warily, not replying. Maybe the fact that he doesn't instantly deny it means something. Maybe.
**w**
Anakin has no idea how to feel about what's happened to the Batch since he last saw them. Tech is mind-wiped and Hunter hurt him without knowing it. And he can feel Hunter's wild pain and guilt. He can feel Crosshair's fear of Tech too even if he doesn't fully know why. And Tech – he doesn't remember his own brothers.
"He records everything. It's his hobby," Hunter had told him once and now Tech remembers nothing.
But at least he's alive.
It hurts seeing how much everything has fallen from what it used to be. Feels like everything is irreparably broken somehow and the more Anakin sees of how much the Empire has hurt people, the worse he begins to feel. He rescued the clones here on Tantiss, yes, but... he's still responsible for so much of this. At least it feels like he is even if he knows Sidious would have done much of it without his help anyway.
But he escaped. He's free from Sidious for the first time since he Fell. It doesn't feel real, possible. The Sith master could still come after him, though. Anakin doesn't want to think about that or the terror that floods him at the mere thought.
"Tech," Anakin speaks up, slowly moving closer, keeping his hands raised in front of him to look as nonthreatening as he can, "I know you don't remember them but... they are your brothers either way. I don't know what Hemlock did to you, but you must know that he... erased a lot of your memories and those of the other operatives."
Tech's eyes narrow. He doesn't deny it.
"I can try to heal you so at you remember but I don't want to do it without your consent."
"What does that mean?" he demands.
"With the Force. I don't know if it would work."
"I don't need that for the mission," Tech retorts.
His heart aches sharply, hearing it. The Batch were so close and now – Force. "Maybe you don't," Anakin concedes, because he needs to talk in a language Tech will understand, "But it won't hurt, either. Your mind is important to you. Remembering what you have forgotten won't harm you. I won't... hurt you."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You don't have a reason to," he admits, "I know you don't remember, but we fought together once. We knew each other a little, years ago."
Tech is still glaring but Anakin thinks half the problem is that he's scared. But then he very slowly nods.
Anakin's heart flares with hope and he approaches him carefully, reaching toward him. Contact will make it easier even if he knows Tech will be uncomfortable by it. He carefully lays his hands on either side of Tech's head, touching him with the Force.
To do this, he's going to have to use the Light Side. He hasn't been able to draw on that in a very long time. But he has to do this now, for Tech. For a moment, he lets himself remember – remember the days he fought alongside the clones, the acceptance they gave him that no one else did. The moments he was truly happy during the war, how it was really the happiest days of his life. How Ahsoka still came back for him even when he definitely didn't deserve it. How his children – they're still out there and he can find them.
And then, some level of calm is finally starting to fill him as he lets the Light flood him, pours the calming waves of it into Tech but most of all into his brain that's so shattered and broken. He can feel the broken, frayed edges of it in his mind's eye and he tries to focus on healing the physical part of it. He's not good at Force healing but he has to try.
He can feel the shattered pieces starting to knit themselves back together beneath his touch. Doesn't know how long it's been when it feels as finished as it's going to be and Anakin slowly steps back.
"Whoa," Omega breathes, staring at him.
Tech blinks a few times, shifting a hand up to touch his head. He slowly turns to look at his brothers, a sharp overpowering flicker of guilt running through him.
"Do you remember?" she asks, hopefully.
Tech is staring at them but he doesn't say anything.
And now is really not the time to be pushy. Anakin shoots her a look that he hopes she understands as that.
"Take your time," Anakin tells him so he won't be forced to reply. He very obviously needs some time to sort through his thoughts and whatever it is he's suddenly remembering.
**w**
This is the first time Emerie's been anywhere away from authority before. It's as freeing as it is overwhelming. She is free now, free to be with her brothers and Omega whenever they come back. She won't let herself consider the if. They have to be fine. They have to be. From what Omega told her about them, they are too skilled not to be so she will cling to that belief. And Anakin is there with them – if he's a Jedi, that should be enough.
She's torn between hopefulness and instant anxiety when she sees the ships coming to land on Pabu. She goes over to it immediately, waiting.
Anakin is the first off the ramp. He looks significantly better than he did before. More alive somehow. The guilt still burns inside of her. She disappointed Omega so many times. She... wishes she could have done something sooner for all her brothers and the children and Anakin. And she has no idea what to do now.
"You... look better," she observes, eyeing him.
Anakin smiles at her. How he can look so cheerful, she is uncertain. She rarely saw anyone smile in her life. "I've been getting better all the time."
"Have you?" she asks. She does not know if there is any potential for permanent damage from what he went through. But after everything she's done to everyone, the least she can try to do is make it up to them. "Does it still hurt at all?"
"Still have a headache but believe me, I've had much worse. I think I'm fine. It's your brothers who need you right now."
Her anxiety rises at the mere mention. "Are they all... alright?"
"Wrecker has broken ribs, Crosshair lost his hand and... Tech is alive but he has a hole through his gut. Hunter, I believe, has electrocution damage and probably a migraine from it too. But otherwise they are fine."
Emerie blinks.
Wait –
What?
"Tech...? How is that possible?"
"He was one of Hemlock's operatives. We found out it was him by mistake."
"I will go take care of them immediately," Emerie promises. She stops only long enough to call AZI over in case they need extra help before she goes on board.
She will not deny how uncertain she is about this as she heads to where the others are. This is the first time she's seen any of them in person but she recognizes each of them the moment she sees them.
"Emerie!" Omega exclaims eagerly, jumping up.
"I am relieved you are safe," she says, gaze darting from her to her brothers. That goes for all of them.
"Omega mentioned you," Hunter remarks, eyeing her.
Crosshair is watching her warily. The guilt rises in her chest immediately, his screams echoing through her mind again.
"Thought you'd be... uhhh smaller," Wrecker supplies, staring at her with his one eye.
"...Smaller?" she repeats.
"Like Omega."
"I age the same way as you," she replies. But she never got to be one of them because Nala Se never let her. "Anakin said you were all injured. I... can help."
No one objects so she comes over to check on Wrecker's condition first. His ribs are definitely broken but once they're bandaged, they should be fine. "Be sure to rest and not to strain them until they heal," she warns.
"Yeahhhh, I know," he whines.
There is little she can do for Hunter's condition without the proper supplies, though AZI scans him to announce that he has minor internal damage from being electrocuted.
Tech keeps looking over at the others when he sees they aren't looking, but she cannot tell what is with him.
Hunter finally stands, taking a cautious step in his direction. "Tech?"
He goes still, turning to look at him. "What?" It's not hostile like she almost expected from whatever brainwashing he's undergone.
"We still have your datapad. It might help you remember... whatever you don't, if you want it."
"That would be worthwhile," he replies, after a long pause, "What I remember is fragmented. But I know you all. Kamino – that was our domicile for years."
"Yes," Hunter says, voice strained, "It was."
"I can get the datapad!" Omega volunteers, sprinting off the ship.
With the others momentarily distracted and now that Emerie is finished patching up Wrecker's wounds, she turns to look at Crosshair's hand. He doesn't object even if he is holding himself stiffly.
"I am... sorry," she tells him quietly, gaze on the floor, "I... was just following orders but that does not make it right." She'll never forget what she did to him and she is certain he can say the same.
Crosshair's makes a noncommittal noise. "I know."
"Sorry for doing what?" Tech asks and Crosshair stiffens a bit at the sound of his voice.
"Doesn't matter," Crosshair mutters.
That only makes all the others look more curious. Emerie suspects someone would have asked for more details if Omega hadn't run back onto the ship moments later with Tech's datapad, going over to give it to him.
She turns to approach Tech herself, to look at the injury to his gut. It has already been patched but there is no way he will be moving for a long time. "You will need to stay still and rest," she warns, when he looks half intend on sitting up to start looking at the datapad.
He looks none too happy at the warning but considering how painful it must be, she rather doubts he will ignore the advice.
"Are you going to stay here, Emerie?" Hunter asks.
That he is offering means a lot to her. All she used to want was to belong with the rest of her brothers she never got to know. "I don't know," she admits, slowly. She has thought about it and it's not as simple of a thing to decide as she would like it to be. "I have a lot to make up for."
It still feels like she has failed them but... it is still nice to have the chance to meet the brothers Omega told her so much about.
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