Chapter 4 - Was As Bad As Could Be
This is the first time Tech has been off Tantiss since he was captured. He's concealed in stormtrooper armor now, pretending as though he is supposed to be one of the troops escorting Emerie to pick up another child for the vault. This will not be easy when he cannot see, but it is their only chance, and they have to make it work. There is a high chance someone back on Tantiss already noticed that he is missing. This is the only chance they will have to make it out.
Tech waits until all the other stormtroopers have followed Emerie down the ramp before he moves swiftly away from the shuttle in a different direction, walking as though he belongs.
His injuries are better now than they were months ago, but he is still not fit for fighting. He still cannot use his arm well enough to fight with a blaster efficiently. He has learned to walk effectively on his mechanical legs, and they no longer hurt like they used to, but it is still not the same. It never will be again.
He has to tell what things are from the shadows and the noise. He has grown used to that, but it is still frustrating, in particular when he is trapped in his helmet. The visor is narrower than the one he is used to, and the light restriction is making it far harder to see than it already is. He has little desire to wear this armor one moment longer than he has to.
Finding something to blow up a short distance from the ship is not easy, especially not on the limited time he's under.
He ducks clear of it as it detonates, scrambling away from the disturbance before anyone sees him close by. He can hear the other nearby stormtroopers running to the cause of the disturbance as he quickly makes his way back to where Emerie is.
The bounty hunter has already gotten back onto his ship.
There are only two troops left on the platform, aside from Emerie and the box.
It's now, or they will not make it at all. Tech draws his blaster swiftly, stunning them both before they can even see it coming.
"Now," he tells her, and she takes the child – Tech cannot see it well enough to tell what its species is – and they take off for the shuttle.
He can hear distant exclamations. They do not have much time. Someone will notice what is happening within a minute.
He slides into the pilot's seat, hands fumbling over the controls. He cannot see them, but he still remembers exactly where everything was in all the ships he's flown in the past.
"I know the basics of flying," Emerie tells him.
That is good.
He does not need help, but aid would speed up their escape.
The baby starts screaming before she can even try, though, so she spends the entire flight through the atmosphere attempting and failing to make it calm down. Tech has no idea what they're going to do with him, but it is a problem for later.
They have made it high up into the atmosphere by the time one of the scanners starts flashing, indicating that there's other ships closing in. But that does not matter anymore. They are far enough away that it only takes another moment before he is able to make a jump to hyperspace.
It will be one of a number of jumps, just to make certain that they are not being tracked, but they are finally away. They made it. And that means he is finally going back to his brothers. He was preparing for this moment for so long, but that it is actually happening now is... overwhelming. He will be back with them soon.
**w**
Emerie never stopped to think during their escape. She never considered it before, either. Nala Se's "what will you do, Emerie?" has been ringing in her head for days, and she already knows the answer – the same as what Tech and Omega and all of her family deserves. She wants to help them, to do the right thing, but how can she be certain turning on the Empire, on Hemlock who took her in and raised her is the right thing to do?
What if she is wrong?
What if they are all hurt more because of her?
What if there is something more going on that she could not account for because she did not ask him?
What if leaving wasn't the right choice and now there is nothing she can do to change it?
She thought it was but now that they're away and she's flying into something completely unknown, she doesn't know what to think anymore. She cannot deny how afraid she is suddenly.
Hemlock is going to know that she betrayed him any time now and there is no going back from the decision she made. Even if it wasn't the right one. He had trusted her, and she broke that completely and maybe he was just using them all – maybe even her – but she suddenly has so many questions and she doesn't know what to do.
At least the baby she's still holding in her arms – who's finally quieted and gone back to sleep – won't have to be taken to Tantiss, but there are so many other things that could go wrong, consequences that could arise from her actions, and...
Tech is happy. She can see as much. He has been waiting for this moment for so long.
"We should arrive on Pabu in short order," he says, sitting beside her. "I left a message for Hunter, so they will be aware of our arrival."
Emerie nods to him, though she is not fully following. "I do not know if my leaving was the right choice," she confesses. It may be for the best for Tech that he got away, to go back to the brothers he grew up with, but that doesn't mean it was the right decision for her. "This is not where I am meant to be." She is supposed to be doing her work back on Tantiss, not...
"We discussed this already," Tech objects, "You are not meant to be with Hemlock. None of what he has done was for you ."
She knows that.
She knows that and hearing him saying it again reminds her of why she was so upset, but it's not enough to fully chase away all the doubts from mind. She wishes she could know if this is really the right choice or – or what. "What if my absence worsens the situation on Tantiss?"
Even if what she's doing is... the right thing, those children were left behind there, and she does not know who will be in charge of them now that she's gone. They are going right back, but anything could happen in the time she is gone, too.
"My plan is exceptional," Tech assures, "We will back there soon."
She would like to believe him, but she doesn't know that she fully does. He is always overconfident.
"I only hope this wasn't a mistake," she says even if she knows he won't understand.
"You do not owe Hemlock your loyalty," Tech replies, "He is not your family."
He says it as though it's simple and to him it probably is.
But Hemlock is the closest to a family she ever had until she got to know Tech and Omega. Even if she knows that isn't what Hemlock is. That's not what he... sees her as either That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Nor does it make her feel any better.
She wants to believe Tech's right... but she doesn't know. Not as if there's any going back at this point. She'll just have to try to figure things out from here, even if she's afraid of what will happen now. She can't get the questions out of her head.
And she's about to see Omega again, to see how she's been. She is looking forward to that.
Crosshair is going to be there, too. Facing him will be more difficult, after what she did to him.
"If you were right about leaving, it is a realization I should have come to long ago." That, perhaps, is what upsets her most.
"I believe Hunter would say what counts is your actions from the point at which you made the choice to change."
Hunter and Wrecker will be there, too – She's heard so much about them it feels like she already knows them on some level. She doesn't know how they'll react to her presence. Echo probably won't be here, Tech had told her but she's curious about him, too. Tech and Omega have spoken of all of them nearly daily.
She wants to see them, but she is... afraid of that, even if she is almost excited for it. It is a strange feeling to have. She never really has about anything before. The questions are not gone, but she can try to focus on where she's going instead. For now, at least.
**w**
Pabu is blurred, but it looks similar. Perhaps the same. Tech cannot be fully certain his brothers are there, but it is the most likely option. Crosshair and Omega would have settled down, and Emerie had mentioned Omega told her there was a place where they wanted to go. Of course, she had refrained from telling her where, but Tech is already fully aware.
They are finally home.
He left a message for Hunter, though he cannot be fully certain they have seen it yet – the hyperspace time is extended, but he is uncertain if they are nearby the ship or check their comm channels frequently.
Emerie is the first to exit the ramp after it lowers. He is aware of how shocking his survival will be to them if they did not get his message, and without him, it is highly likely that they have been entirely neglecting many of the roles he used to fill.
Tech hears the stunbolt and Omega's yelp of " Crosshair!" before he makes it to the ramp himself.
Well, naturally, Crosshair stunned Emerie without inquiring the reason for her presence.
Tech moves forward to catch her before his twin sister faceplants down the ramp and hurts herself, attempting to guide her awkwardly to the shuttle's floor.
"What?" Crosshair snaps, irritably, and it's the first time Tech has heard him speaking for over a year, excluding the message he had left for them before their trip to Eriadu. Crosshair, who had kept him moving, serving the Empire and keep him in custody, but it was Crosshair who he would do anything for – there is nothing he would not do to keep his younger brother safe.
"You don't even know why she's here!" Omega sounds annoyed. "Maybe I finally got through to her."
"Why would she be here unless the Empire was?"
"I understand your hesitation, Crosshair," Tech says, standing again. "But there is no reason for concern."
They're all quiet. Below, he sees the blurred forms of his brother's armor – Crosshair is in gray and red again. Tech never believed he would see his little brother in their armor again. He never truly believed he would see Crosshair again, but he found his way home, and broke all of their expectations.
Tech pulls his helmet off, setting it on the floor beside Emerie. No one moves, and he is well aware of the blasters trained on him, though they are slowly lowering. "Did you not receive my message?"
"Tech?" Omega whispers. Hunter makes a quiet, strangled sound beside her.
"She will not harm us," Tech promises, "She aided my escape."
Omega makes a sound he cannot decipher, though he is relatively certain she is crying. Omega runs to him. He hears her footsteps on the ramp, and braces himself for when she slams into him, her weight hitting his chest. He grunts, but the embrace was expected. He expected her to be smaller, though, but Omega has grown significantly from what he remembers. Her arms wrap around his neck, and she buries her face against his shoulder. Tech awkwardly pats her back.
Omega's crying, clinging to him, her grip unyielding.
"I am alive, Omega," he promises. "I survived."
Her body is trembling against his, and Tech just holds her. It has been a very long time since he was this close with someone. Her hair feels soft against his face. He thinks it is longer, pulled back into a ponytail like Emerie's. Omega chokes out his name, her grip not loosening. She is still small, far thinner than any of his brothers.
He had spent months wanting a guarantee of her safety. There had not been one until he was certain of her escape, and even then, Tech had no way of being certain she was unharmed. Hunter and Wrecker would always protect her, but he could not be certain she had found her way back.
"I would have told you previously," Tech says, opting for ignoring the uncertain discomfort of being unable to see her or his brothers. "But I was aware of your focus on escape, and the danger Crosshair was in. If you were aware I was alive, it would have prevented your escape."
Her arms tighten. "All that time, I thought –"
"Your wellbeing was my primary objective," Tech replies, carefully pulling her back, because his brothers are waiting for him as well. "As was Crosshair's."
He would like to see Omega's face. Eye-contact typically makes him uncomfortable, but he cannot fully find them now. Her features are too blurred together, though her face is different than he remembers.
Wrecker yanks him upright against his chest. He's crying, too, and Tech's arm wraps around his back, pulling him close. Wrecker is his younger brother, and the last Tech saw of him was his fall, Wrecker's scream as he tried and failed to reach for him. He knows it would have hurt him deeply. His grip is tight with the strength with which it always is, but unfailingly gentle. Wrecker is always gentle. He could hurt him if he wanted to, and aside from Bracca, Tech is also fully aware he never would.
(He dreamt of the hands on his neck, tight and crushing, lifting him off the floor and the wild fury in his little brother's eye, and he knew there was nothing he could do but watch.)
"I am fine, Wrecker."
He just buries his face in on Tech's shoulder and clings tighter. His hands are firm on his back.
After months of being apart, they are all safe again.
"'m sorry," Wrecker sniffles.
"Your guilt is unwarranted," Tech promises, "The mission was my choice from the start."
"We thought..."
"I am aware." Tech pulls back from him, fleetingly touching his cheek where he knows the twisted scars still are, even if Wrecker's face is no more than a blur to him now. It was only partly intentional, but Wrecker leans into his hand and clings to his wrist.
"Tech." Hunter's voice lacks its usual calm. "We all thought you were – gone. I –"
He moves for the ramp, and countless times of climbing stairs like these keeps it familiar enough to make it without falling. Hands grip his arm – definitely Hunter's. The gray and aqua blur is distinct. "You would have had no way of knowing."
"We left you, Tech. You – died for us, and we left you."
"We are many things, Hunter. Defying survival expectations is not unexpected. We had no way of accounting for the interference on Eriadu."
Hunter sighs, the exhale shaky. "It was still my call to make. I sent you out there."
"And I went," Tech replies, "I was where I needed to be, to bring Crosshair and Emerie back to us." The time apart was hard, but he knew it would end, even if the situation frequently felt hopeless, and he could never object to it leading to where it is now.
"I know." Hunter grips his shoulder in a regular and normal display of affection. It has been so long since he was freely touched by anyone. "And I don't regret that, but we never knew you were there for us to come back for."
"Had I died, it would have been knowing you were safe. There is no other way I would have chosen."
"I know." Hunter's arms come around his back in a fleeting but warm embrace. Hunter is not well accustomed to publicly displaying affection, and Tech is not either, but he knows as long as Hunter is here, and they can work together, they will be safe.
Between Tech's brilliance and Hunter's rationality, they will find a solution to this situation. Hunter will protect him, and it has been even longer since Tech had that reassurance.
Last is Crosshair. Hunter's hand is still lingering on Tech's shoulder when he turns to the youngest of his squad. He's standing back, watching, and Tech wonders how he and Hunter were able to find a solution to their struggles. Tech had not been there to see it, and he would have liked to be. He does not know how Wrecker and Crosshair interacted, or how he and Omega have grown. They appear to be close now, though Tech cannot be certain.
"The kid said you were gone."
"It is good to see you are safe," Tech offers neutrally.
Crosshair's inhale is uneven. "I thought I saw you once. Toward the beginning. Was – was it you?"
"In the, uh, how shall I put this –"
"They call it the training room."
"I fail to see how that defines as training , but yes. I believed you were unconscious."
"I was. Mostly. I thought it was a dream."
"That is unsurprising." Crosshair doesn't ask, but he is no doubt wondering, so Tech answers without prompting. "It was after my first escape attempt. I was recaptured, and Doctor Hemlock made it abundantly clear he would not allow another misstep."
"Why didn't I see you?" Omega is beside him again, hand on his arm. "I never saw you in the hall."
"He had us on different rotations. Emerie was under orders not to inform you of my survival." He looks at Hunter again, the blurred face of his older brother – something is different about him, though Tech cannot fully tell what.
"She knew ?" Omega inquires. There is an emotion in her voice that may be hurt.
"She was under orders, and I did not desire her to risk you or Crosshair."
"Let's go to the Marauder ," Hunter interjects. "We can sit down to talk inside." The request is unusual. "We were just packing it to leave. The Empire's still after Omega, and we're at too much risk here."
"I believed Pabu was safe."
"Yeah," Wrecker grumbles, "We thought so, too."
Something must have happened, though it is not the initial of their concerns.
Wrecker brings Emerie aboard their ship. Tech nearly trips on the stairs as he boards, trying to find his way to the ship. He makes it to one of the seats right inside.
The ship smells different now. It is fresh, aired out from the ramp being lowered for an undefined period.
"How were you captured?" Tech inquires, "I believed you to be fine."
"We were injured when the rail car crashed," Omega answers quietly, "We went back to Ord Mantell so AZI could patch us up, but Cid sold us out."
"Ah." His anger flares up with a familiar heat. It was to be expected that Cid would inform the Empire of their presence for her own gain, but that does not change how they had trusted and worked for her. She had not been fair to any of them.
As for his questions of why Crosshair left the Empire, they can wait for a later time. "How urgent is this need to leave?"
"We were going to grab a meal with Shep and move out as soon as we finish loading up," Hunter replies, "Ventress tracked us here somehow. She didn't explain how, and if she was able to find us, others could, too."
"Asajj Ventress?" Tech repeats, "The Separatist assassin?"
Wrecker groans. "Yeah. Apparently, she had a change of heart."
He understands the urgency, and it is not a risk they can take.
Nearby, Emerie twitches, and Tech hears her quiet groan. "Where's the baby?" she asks, sitting up.
" Baby ?" Wrecker, Crosshair and Omega chorus with identical notes of confusion.
"The child we intercepted before he could be brought to Tantiss," Tech elaborates, "He was asleep on the ship."
"And you left him alone?"
"He was asleep. I see no reason for concern."
She sighs. "I will go get him."
Tech watches her move past him for the door and looks back to his brothers.
"Do you need your goggles?" Omega asks, "I'm sure we have a spare somewhere."
"They would be helpful," he agrees instantly – he would have gone in search of them himself, but he is not certain what the inside of the ship looks like anymore. It has changed and it has been a long time since he was here. Their possessions are no longer the same.
"Okay." Omega takes off to the back, and he hears her rummaging. She returns with one of his spares a minute later – they will not be enough to entirely rectify the issue, but it should be enough to alleviate it to the point he will be able to see far clearer.
It feels right to see again, through the familiar gold-tinted lens which he chose for himself instead of the red the Empire gave him. Omega's standing in front of him, and she's the first who comes into focus when the signal clicks into his brain. She is taller, dressed differently, and her blond curls are longer, pulled into a ponytail just as Tech had thought. Her smile is teary but bright.
This is her, the child he had tried so hard and so long to protect. His sister. Omega.
She smiles, and Tech smiles back for what he is almost certain is the first time in months.
His gaze turns to Wrecker and Crosshair next – Crosshair is sitting across from him, and Wrecker in the co-pilot seat. Crosshair is curled in on himself, visibly attempting to hide, and Tech immediately concludes he has not dealt well with having returned to them. He is older than Tech remembers him as being. He's thinner.
Wrecker looks older as well, though what strikes him most is the countless dents and scratches in his armor, bearing a wear that Tech has never seen before. They speak of all the knowledge he required of how his brother's handled his loss. There's a bruise on his face, and another ring of them around his neck.
Someone hurt him.
Hunter's leaning against the controls beside Tech. He looks tired, his features sharper than they used to be. He has lost weight as well, perhaps even more than Crosshair. His armor is as bad as Wrecker's, save the two pieces missing entirely. His bandana is gone, along with the skull marking they chose as their own, replaced by a scrap of dark red-orange cloth. His hair is different. It must have grown longer, and he cut it differently. There is a faint burn mark on his neck.
Emerie returns with the baby, and Omega instantly goes to her side, asking what its purpose was and where it came from.
"Your eyes seem worse," Hunter says quietly, touching his shoulder. He could never forget the sensation, and it is one he has missed.
"They were damaged farther in the fall." He will never be the same again, but he can still function.
Hunter nods, sitting back, but doesn't let go.
"Who did you fight?" Tech asks, because his first instincts say something went very, very badly in their reunion with Crosshair, but he cannot quite envision Crosshair having the ability to strangle Wrecker .
Wrecker groans. "Ventress."
"Omega's new bestie," Crosshair gripes.
She looks up at them with an adorable glare. "You attacked first! And she didn't kill you."
"Did you kill her?" Tech inquires.
"Not quite," Hunter grumbles, rubbing at his neck.
"Well, had I been there, I would have been certain to rectify that."
"People changed," Omega argues, "Just like Crosshair and Emerie."
Tech is not wholly appreciative of Omega comparing either of them to a Separatist assassin, but she is not incorrect, either.
A bark draws his attention to the doorway. A large gray and white striped creature bounds up the ramp, and Tech instantly goes for his blaster, expecting it to try ripping his throat out, but Omega laughs, reaching to pet the creature.
"This is Batcher," Omega says, stroking the hound's head.
The hound barks.
"It was one of our hounds," Emerie notes, eyeing it, still holding the baby in her arms, "You found the one you released?"
"She came back," Omega nods.
Batcher jumps at Tech, half climbing onto his lap to lick his face.
"Is this normal?" Tech asks, attempting to shove her off. Batcher is heavy, and he is fully aware Omega trusts her, but she is a child. Her definition of trust is not wholly sound.
Omega laughs. "Don't worry. She only bites half the time."
"We should grab something to eat," Hunter interjects, standing, "And get going. We don't have much time."
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