Has this already been done?

late but WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE CHARLIE KIRK OHMYGOD

Tech lives…in Azeroth

Don’t mind me, incredibly self-indulgent content incoming

Started dabbling in WoW again and wanted to show off my Tech toon haha. The transmog is a WIP but the spirit is there, and I’m happy with whatever I managed to scavenge for the outfit. His gloves and pants need work, but he has POCKETS and TOOLS! Good for him.

He’s a Death Knight, which is probably not a class that would fit him tbh (I see him more as a Rogue, for the stealthiness and dual-wielding…although he can still dual-wield now if I change my spec to Frost), but I subscribe to the Killed In Action -> Revived From Death and Mind-controlled by Enemy Faction pipeline so 🤷‍♀️

“Beard After Hours” is an adventure where Tech has to lead Bolo and Ketch on an infiltration mission.

ALT

I just started writing a Tech/Phee and Hunt/Phee fanfic…

Life is Red

Chapter 5 - Peace and Love on The Planet Ryloth

It’s been days since Cid sent the batch on another mission and now they are closing in on the given coordinates. Ever since the start of this gun run to the Ryloth system Omega has made it her mission to help Mace learn to read.

“I have no clue what that says, kid.” They shrug their shoulders in admission, “I’d never seen these symbols before and I didn’t really know how to bring it up,” Omega responds, “You can’t read Aurebesh? Were you not taught how?” Hunter is with them as they return to the Marauder from Cid’s and is very surprised but stays silent. “It’s not that I wasn’t taught, but it’s that those symbols didn’t exist on Terra.”“Really? Well, I can teach you! It’ll be easy, especially if we all help. Right, Hunter?” And that single sentence is why for the last four days in hyper space all members of the bad batch had helped expedite the learning process.

“That wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. At least, when it was you and Wrecker. The others were hard to follow, especially Tech, but I’m glad it’s finally over with!” Wrecker laughs as he drags two of the gun cases towards the cockpit, “Haha! Yeah, Tech is usually hard to follow!” As they drop out of hyper space Omega scurries to the cockpit, while Mace and D-D help with the third case. They laugh and shake their head, “It’s not that, I’ve just never been a great student.”

The ship touches down and the gangplank falls open, waiting for them are three twi’leks. Two adults and a girl, she doesn’t look much older then Omega. The droid helps with the gun cases and Mace is completely ignoring the conversation, too busy staring at Ryloth. “I can’t believe I get to see this kinda view,” the position of this system’s sun is giving the orange planet a glowing halo across its curvature, “It’s too bad we aren’t going down there,” they mumble to themselves, “I’d love to see it.”

Their attention returns to the the others just as Omega states, “Did you know, flying is about a feeling?” Putting her finger up as she says it. If not for the helmet you’d be able to see the confusion on Tech’s face, “What feeling?” Hunter gestures for everyone to get back on the Marauder.

Mace sticks around in the cockpit to ask a couple questions, “Does Cid always give out such low impact jobs? Or is this some kinda anomaly?” They are in the seat behind the copilot’s chair, twisting and turning back and forth with it, and Echo responds as he does the hyper space calculations, “It’s not the normal kind of job she gives. Usually there’s a lot more blaster fire, but I’m not complaining.” They watch as the stars turn into streaks and the Marauder catapults back into hyper space.

“Hunter, We are receiving a recorded transmission, but I do not recognize this frequency.” He frowns, “Patch it through,” Tech presses a button and the image of the little girl from before flashes to life. “Omega? Are you there?” The cockpit door is open, as soon as she hears her new friend’s voice she rushes to it, causing everyone to congregate, “It’s Hera! You have to come back to Ryloth, I need your help! The empire has taken my parents and they’re after me too! I’m sending coordinates. Please, hurry!” Hunter is not pleased, “You gave her our comm channel?” Omega defends herself, “Only for emergencies!” Mace interjects, “It sounds like and emergency to me. What are we gonna do?” Tech turns to the group, stating, “Children often over react.” She stomps her foot, “No, we don’t! You heard her. She needs us.”“We can’t just answer every call for help we get, I have to think about all of us first.” The little girl goes to speak but Mace does first, “We should answer Hera’s call. She’s asked for our help and we can, can’t we?” Looking from Mace to Hunter, Omega nods, adding, “You’re soldiers, aren’t you supposed to help people in trouble!?” He is silent for a few moments, “Alright. We’ll go, but we’ll only help if it’s not too hot.”

The Marauder once again breaks out of hyper space over Ryloth. Tech takes it down to the coordinates Hera sent, and they land practically underground. The gangplank falls and Omega rushes to her friend, “Hera! Are you ok?” The others file off the ship, looking around, “Omega, remember what I said,” Hunter warns. The little girls hug and Hera says, ”Thank you for coming, I wasn’t sure if you would.” Omega smiles, “Of course we would, you said you were in trouble,” The leader speaks up, “Mind telling us why the empire is after you,” Hera faces the rest of the group, stating bluntly, “My father is Cham Syndulla.”

Wrecker scratches his head, “The freedom fighter?” Hera nods, “This was his old command post, it’s we’re I’ve been hiding.” She has a scared expression, and hesitates to continue for a moment, “They’re hunting down anyone still loyal to him,” Hunter puts his hands on his hips and says, “Well, what do you want us to do?” He’s getting a little irritated, Hera practically shouts, “Free my parents from the capital, they can pay you if you get them out! Please, I don’t have anyone else’s to ask!” She sounds desperate. The leader sighs, “Alright, let’s see what we’re up against first.”

The group has made there way to a ridge above a gathering area just outside the main capital building. Using their macrobinoculars they all spot a man in a grey military suit. From this distance they can just hear him giving a speech, “Citizens of Ryloth, the shocking attack on your beloved senator has-“ Mace huffs out, “This guy sounds so full of himself.” The man continues, “-But… The perpetrators of this heinous assassination attempt have been captured.” Echo repeats him, “Assassination attempt?”

Without looking away Tech states, “Crosshair is here,” The large clone throws up his arm, “Great, just what we needed!” The goggled clone continues to observe, “The plasma bridge to the capitol in down,” Mace looks at him, “Then how would we get in?” Wrecker eagerly says, “I say we should just fly in and blast our way out!” Hitting his palm with his fist. Tech shakes his head at his brother’s idea, “The capitol’s scanners would detect our ship before we could even get close and the troop presence here is similar to that of Raxus,” D-D beeps, “Troops? Is this an occupation?” The stranger nods, “I think you’re right, this might be a military occupation. Is there a war going on?” Hunter responds, “Not anymore, at least there’s not supposed to be,”

Behind them a very faint beeping can now be heard. Hunters ears perk up, and to his surprise, at the same time Mace looks at him, “Did you hear that…” He slowly nods in response, “Wait here,” only a few moments later does Hunter descend from above on top of a prob droid, crashing to the ground. Pulling his knife from it he hops off, and everyone gathers to it.

The group gathers around it. “Oh good, a probe droid,” Tech says dryly, pointing to it quickly. Mace questions, tilting their head, “Won’t they know we’re here now?” Hunter responds, “Yes, and so will Crosshair. We have to move, come one,” They question again, “Who is Crosshair?” Hunter begins to tell them about their lost brother, as they covertly exit the area.

Down below that very man is handed a datapad with a picture on the screen by one of the troops under his command, “Command received a transmission from a probe droid in sector five.” He sees his brothers, and someone he doesn’t recognize. “Hmph. Find out who that is with them,” his trooper bows, “Yes sir,” then leaves.

Crosshair is studying the photo intently, he can see that this stranger is wearing some of his old armor. It’s just the arm pieces but it’s as irritating as if it was the whole thing. How dare they let some stranger nobody wear HIS armor, they would never have the nerve to replace him, right? His grip on the datapad tightens, and his tattooed eye involuntary twitches.

The bad batch have returned to Hera’s hideout, and they’ve been going back and forth for a while, “We’re all over the imperial comm channels, and they’ve increased patrols within the city,” Tech has been paying close attention to the comm channels since they left the ridge. Hunter huffs, “The element of surprise is gone and Crosshair will expect us to attack. There’s nothing we can do here.” Omega’s expression sours, “Hunter, wait! We can’t just leave!” He stops and faces her, his expression is serious, “I said no guarantees,” He turns to Hera, “We can get you off world and take you somewhere safe.” Hunter gestures to get on the ship and the boys follow suit.

“Stop! I’ll pay you double! Please!” Hera is desperate. Hunter stops, “All the money in the galaxy won’t matter if we’re dead. What you are asking us to do isn’t worth the risk.” Omega frowns and Hera shouts, “Not to you!” She storms off holding back tears, with Chopper, her ever faithful droid, right behind her. His little sister angrily says, “You shouldn’t have said that.” “She’s right, Hunter. That was kinda heartless.” the stranger agrees. Mace and Omega go to follow Hera, he exasperates “Heartless? We need to be strategic about all this and that means thinking things through and knowing our limitations,” Omega stops and turns around, ”She’s just trying to save her family! I would do the same for you.”

Crosshair enters Admiral Rampart’s office, crosses the space and tosses the datapad on his desk, “Clone Force 99 is on Ryloth. They were spotted right outside the capital.” Rampart dismisses the trooper in blue and turns around to look out the window, “There is a battalion of troopers right outside, so I suggest you stay on task and find Hera Syndulla,”“I know what they’re capable of, that battalion won’t be enough.” Rampart turns quickly around to face the clone, a sneer on his face, “I’m more concerned about what you’re capable of, now stay on task or I’ll find someone else.” “Yes, Sir,” Crosshair practically hisses, his face is emotionless but his eye are furious. He does an about face and leaves, his eye twitches again.

“I think all we need is a somewhat solid plan and we could easily convince Hunter and the others to help. But it would have to your plan, Hera,” She looks up to Mace, “Why would he listen to me?” Omega responds with a smile, “Because it’s strategic. Ryloth is your home, you know it better than we do.” The twi’lek girl smiles, “Yes. I do.” It took a little time but Hera was able to cook up a solid plan.

“Attack the capital!? That was my plan!” Wrecker shouts. Hera shakes her head, Chopper produces a hologram, “No, not the capital. The refinery on the outskirts. I’ve been keeping track of their activities. I know their routine.” Hunter has his arms folded, “Alright, tell us your plan,”

With teams established, Hera’s plan is put into action. Tech and Wrecker on the ship waiting to take out the refinery’s auto cannons, Hunter and Echo go into the city and retrieve her parents, Chopper infiltrates the refinery, and the remaining four are on a ridge nearby. D-D has been ordered to stick to the girls and keep them safe. Hera watches Chopper sneak though the droid check point, among other droids, into the refinery. The droid quickly falls out of line and heads to disable the auto cannons that protect the place. Mace watches the droid work through the scope of a DC-15A rifle, they hear Hera panic slightly, “What do you mean? You said you could disable the cannons,” she says into her comm link.

Mace sees a trooper approach Chopper saying, “He has company,” Hera looks to Omega and says, “We have to help him,” Omega turns to her, “We will but we need to get the console off-line.” “Omega, I can stun that trooper from here, they’re aiming their blaster right at him.” She thinks for a moment, “Hmm. No, the bolt would be noticed,”“Well it doesn’t matter now, Chopper stunned him.” They lightly laugh out. The clone turns to her friend, “Alright! let’s get that console off-line,” Hera looks confused, “How?” Omega points to some shuttles down the hill, “You wanted to be a pilot, right? Now’s your chance,”“Stay with them D-D, I’ll keep an eye from here.” He chirps in return.

Mace watches through their scope as the two girls and their droid sneak their way to the nearest shuttle. They’re able to collect Chopper and take a shuttle, though the lift off is a little ruff. Hera is able to maneuver the shuttle up and away, shooting the auto cannon’s console. The explosion is massive and as the cannon barrels fall inoperative. Alarms all over the refinery start to go off.

The Havoc Marauder speeds into view, Tech drifts the ship so the back gun faces the auto cannons. Wrecker lets loose taking out all five guns. Hera pulls the shuttle down to the ridge that Mace is still on and drops the gangplank. They quickly join the others in the cockpit. They all watch as Tech pulls out of his drift, with the cannons destroyed the two ships leave the area, while fighting back enemy craft. Distraction complete.

Alarms are blaring and troopers are running back and forth, reinforcements are being ordered to the refinery. Crosshair’s squad specifically. He doesn’t follow the order, as his squad gets ready to leave, he orders, “Stop.” They all turn around and one of the troops speaks up, “The admiral said to protect the refinery.” “That’s not their intended target,” another trooper says, “Then why are they attacking it, sir?” He knows exactly what they’re doing. Their real goal has to be the Syndullas, the refinery is just a distraction.

He calls for more troopers then just his squad, and sets a trap for his brothers, 2 dozen troopers right outside and Crosshair, himself, in the back on a balcony with Fire Puncher. He knows this is the way they will go, all the other exits are blocked off, and once the doors open he’ll have won this stupid game. Patiently he waits, and waits, but they don’t come out. Instead, when the doors do finally slide open, it’s a lone clone captain, the one from Rampart’s office, Howzer. He gives a speech about how they should be protecting Ryloth, not subjugating it for the empire, calling for the other clones to lay down their arms and join him. Almost half of the troopers Crosshair gathered agree. He watches through his scope as they throw down their arms, “Arrest those traitors,” He orders.

As the arrests are happening a lone ship flys by, Crosshair trains his blaster on it and fires several times but they all miss. He’s angry, he rips off his helmet and throws it to the ground, his eye twitches.

Crosshair meets with Rampart at the refinery as the admiral takes in all the destruction. He doesn’t bother to face the clone saying, “I suppose I underestimated your friends,” he sighs, “If only they were fighting for us, it’s quite a disappointment.” The sniper stands at attention behind him, his eye twitches once, “Permission to hunt them down.” Rampart looks at him over his shoulder, “Granted.”

The Marauder is back in hyper space and most everyone has settled into their places. D-D is helping Echo make an adjustment on his arm, Hunter is in one of the nav chairs fiddling with his Vibro-blade, Wrecker and Omega are playing a card game, and Mace is in the cockpit with Tech. Mace is visibly excited, “You really drifted a starship! That was amazing, you’ve got real skill, Tech! It was so awesome to see!” They’ve been gushing about it for a few minutes, and his chest is full of that fluffy feeling. He pushes his goggles up, “I thank you for your praise. It’s rare my skills as a pilot are so openly appreciated,” His focus is on his datapad, but their praises have made him quite happy, so much so he has to suppress the smile. Suddenly they stutter, just a little, “O-Oh, really! I-I can’t see why,” they’ve realized how long they’ve been talking to him, and the realization makes them very nervous. He casually responds, “It’s likely the others are used to my skill level and are no longer impressed by it.”

Silence falls across the cockpit, it’s slightly awkward, only the hum of hyper space and Tech’s tapping fill the air. Mace stands without warning, “I should really go check on D-D!” and he watches as they quickly leave, the door sliding shut behind them. Letting out a quiet, shaky breath they continue into the hold. Even after all they’ve seen, it’s their emotions that always scare them the most. They scrunch their eyes shut and put their face in their hand, thinking, “Why am I like this!? Why has this stupid crush happened so quickly? I haven’t even thought about what happened yet, before the crate! I can’t do that to… No, I can’t let this little crush get any further.” Their chest is full of unwanted butterflies, they can’t wait to get back to Ord Mantell and off this cramped ship.

As the door to the cockpit slides shut, Tech is left confused. He’d stopped typing on his datapad as he watched them leave, now he’s wondering, “Did I do something to make them uncomfortable? Did I say something wrong? I don’t understand, I thought things were going well.” He frowns slightly, disappointed they left so quickly. He was hoping they would talk about flowers again, Tech has found that he likes how their eyes light up when they do. The two of them had spent a long time that night with the cannu flowers and the lily talking back and forth about all kinds of flora, and he quite enjoyed it. Perhaps he could invite them to go back to the flower shop when they return. Perhaps he could finally tell them about Ord Mantell’s constellations. With how much this job paid and the remainder of that 13,000, they should be able to rest for a few days.

When they finally return to the city it’s nearly noon, and the batch are plenty rested. Omega is the first one debark, and the others follow suit. Wrecker and Omega immediately leave for Mantel Mix, Hunter is going to report to Cid, and Mace is talking to D-D, “That blaster pistol they gave me is fine and all, but I miss my hand cannon,” their shoulders slump forward and they put on an exaggerated pout. “Hmmm, maybe you could find parts to rebuild it? Why don’t you go into the market, and see what you can find since we have free time,” the droid eagerly nods, garbling out, “Yes! Yes, more fun! Put it together, paint it, and FIRE!” He’s practically dancing.

His movement catches Echo’s eye from his conversation with Tech, “What’s he so excited for?” Pointing to the droid with his scomp, Mace turns to the clones, “Uh, I’m thinking about having D-D rebuild a weapon I used to have. It was a white and red hand cannon I named the ‘Queen of Diamonds’. Oddly, I’m starting to miss it,” the two men shift their focus and Echo questions, “A hand cannon? Was it the blaster kind or the slug thrower kind?” Mace tilts their head, saying slowly , “The slug thrower kind…?” Tech takes a step forward and says, “That sounds very interesting, would you like any assistance with finding the parts and assembling it?” Mace’s heart speeds up, he’s so helpful it’s almost ridiculous, “Oh! I was just going to release him into the market, and the assembly will be easy for him, since he has all the specs and blueprints from the original build,” gesturing to the droid at their side.

Tech nods and Echo asks, “Are you sure that’s a good idea, to let the erratic droid out on its own?” Mace laughs a little, “Of course it’s a good idea, Echo! He’ll be totally responsible,” They give the droid the transactional chit, with even more of his ‘collected’ credits, and a thumbs up and he runs off. The clone shrugs, “Alright, I hope he doesn’t cause any trouble. That’s the last thing that we need.” They laugh again, “He won’t cause trouble for other people, just me.”

The three of them decide to head to Cid’s, and half way there Tech finally speaks up, “Would it be permissible for D-D to allow me to copy the files on your hand cannon? I wish to know how Terran weapons are constructed.” Mace is looking slightly down as they walk, “I guess, but I don’t know if he can connect with your datapad, or if the files will even be compatible. The only way to find out is gonna be with a physical connection,” he pushes up his goggles and states, “With your knowledge of his inner workings and my genius intellect it should be simple to achieve.” Echo is ahead of them feeling like a third wheel as they talk about how they can figure out a physical connection, a compatibility program if necessary, and a possible wireless connection in the future.

As they close in on the stairs down to the bar, Tech’s chest is so full of fluff he can practically feel it in the back of his throat. After researching the foreign feeling ,after the day they spent in the market, he thinks he knows what this reaction is, but it could also just be admiration for their knowledge. Flowers and robotics, an interesting combination of hobbies, but it fits.

On the last turn to the bar Mace certainly feels nervous, but their interest in talking robotics is outweighing it, barely. The butterflies in their stomach are going crazy, they’re stuttering every now and then, and they can’t look up without exposing a slight blush. They mentally curse this terrible, childish crush. They’d be less nervous with a gun pointed at them. Hopefully a drink will help.

Tech and Phee’s daughter. My OC Cidney. Under the cut is the process of making it.

Shout out to the two guys who spotted my Tech tee in the wild, “Lego-lad” and “Savoy-boy”, my lovely wife made me the shirt!

Schrodinger’s Tech by Secret170193 | Redbubble

The best tag I’ve seen for Tech Lives stories is one that says “no body no crime”

Life is red

Chapter 4 - Gilded Lily

It’s been a few days since the party. The guys had to go on a mission and left Omega, Mace, and D-D behind for their safety. While they were gone Omega hustled a bunch of people at dejarik with Cid’s encouragement, and with Cid’s insistence Mace and D-D served drinks to her victims at the bar.

The atmosphere was light and Cid never left Omega’s side. Every new person that lost to her went right back to the bar to drown their sorrow. “That kid’s way too good,” “I know, I thought I had her but that twist of a move really kriffed me! Hey, can we get some drinks here?” The first man stands, “None for me, I gotta get home,” the second man, a pantoran with yellow triangles on his cheeks and forehead, turns to Mace, “Well I still want one! Make it stiff!” The first man leaves and the pantoran is staring at Mace. “So… how long have you known Cid? Why have I never seen you here before?” They set his drink down and he grabs their wrist, “I would remember a cutie like you, so what’s your name?” They look at him, eyes wide but with no emotion behind them. In a flash they grab his pointer and middle fingers, whispering “Take your drink and shut up,” they bend his fingers back too far, breaking both of them, “AAAHHH! What the fuck is wrong with you!! Let go of me!!” They release his fingers and he runs out of the bar cradling his right hand, Cid heard him scream out but she doesn’t care. Money is being made, that’s all she cares about.

Not only did the two of them make enough to cover the batch’s debt, they were also left with a decent amount of credits after Cid took her cut.

Today Hunter is having Omega train her fighting ability and strength. Mace sits at the bottom of the gangplank with D-D just behind them, cheering her on. “You can do it, kid! You’ve done amazing so far!” Wrecker had her lift and move junk around for a while for strength training. Now Hunter and Echo are teaching her some hand to hand. She’s “sparring” with Hunter as Echo coaches her from the sidelines, “Come on, Omega, all you have to do is knock me down. We’re not stopping ‘till you do.” He’s in a relaxed stance as the two of them circle each other. “I’ve been trying! You’re just way bigger than I am!”

“Excuse me, you two, I’d like to get by,” Tech is in the doorway of the ship looking at D-D and Mace with his helmet in hand. The droid hops down and they hop up and out of the way, jokingly saying “Sorry,” he watches his siblings as he walks down, “No apologies are necessary,” he pushes up his goggles, “Hunter! I’m headed into the market. The environmental controls need to be repaired,” “Got it! Be back before sunset!” The droid chirps, grabs Mace’s hand, and violently shakes their arm up and down, “Hey we should go! Ask! Ask!” “Ok! Ok! My goodness, can we join you?” He puts his helmet on, looks at Mace, and says, “Oh, of course. This would be a good opportunity to test this,” He hands them what looks like a credit card, guess it is though. “It’s a Transactional Chit, it has all the credits your droid gathered. I can also transfer any more credits he “collects” right to it.”“Thank you, I’d almost forgotten,” As they leave the landing area he asks, “Is there something you need?””No, not really. I’m just curious to see it,” the droid clambers up and onto Mace’s shoulders, chirping like a bird, “Careful! Geez, so is he, I guess.”

Entering the market area, Mace immediately sees a fruit stand, with a green pig man behind the counter. There are a dozen brightly colored fruits they’ve never seen before. D-D points at them calling out, “Those look like children’s toys! Those mangos have spikes on them!” Continuing to follow Tech, they pass a jewelry stand. An old blue lady with tails on her head, Omega said those people are Twi’leks, is standing and shouting. She’s very energetic “All handmade! Necklaces, bracelets, rings!“ Out on the main street, carts and people go back and forth, it’s busy today. “What is it you’re looking for, Tech?” They follow close behind him, “Fuses. Wrecker placed your crate on top of the environmental control’s fuse box. The cold radiating off of it was quite intense, and it destroyed them.” “Oh wow, sorry. Ya know, if you need help fixing anything, D-D is an excellent engineer.” Tech stops as a cart passes in front of them. “Thank you for the offer.” He’s got a small smile but Mace can’t tell.

Three junk shops and nothing, it seemed they have everything but simple fuses. With only one place left to check, Tech is starting to think he might just have to make them himself.

Crossing over the roadway to their next stop, Mace spots a flower shop across the intersection. They don’t see the cart passing behind and it cuts the turn too close, bumping them. D-D’s extra weight causes them to lose balance and they to stumble. They put their hand out and catch themselves on the clone’s backpack, pushing him. “Whoops, I’m so sorry! That was accidental. Are you ok?” As he turns to look back, the cart operator shouts, “Watch it, freak!” Earning a scowl from Tech and D-D shouts an unintelligible threat back. Adjusting his goggles asking, “I’m fine, are you?” They nod in return, “It seems there’s no shortage of rudeness on this planet, but regardless, this is the last stop.”

Inside the shop are four rows of tall shelves all packed with mechanical and electrical parts of all sizes, the floor is littered with even larger parts, and wire bundles are everywhere. D-D hops down and begins to explore the space. “Welcome! Welcome!” The shopkeeper stands up from behind the counter. He’s blue with big purple eyes and two antennae. “How can I help you? What are you looking for?” “No need, I know what I’m looking for,” Tech says without looking at the shopkeeper, “A man who knows what he wants, I see. Very good. Let me know when you’re done.” They go different ways and Mace’s eyes drift over everything and out of the store front. Watching as people of strange shapes and sizes come and go and carts that are zipping bye.

Tech looks up and down three isles and finally finds exactly what he’s looking for on the bottom shelf. He takes a knee to grab them, and D-D approaches him from the front holding something in his hands. “What are these? I want to take them,” He doesn’t understand but the droid is shaking what’s his hands like he wants to know what they are. Tech grabs the fuses and tilts his head a little before saying, “Those are micro repulsers, is that what you’re asking?” D-D nods in conformation, and continues on with what he was doing. Looking up and past the droid he sees Mace staring out the window at something. They have a bittersweet look on their face. He feels something strange in his chest. It almost feels fluffy. He hasn’t really looked at them fully until now, not even when he was bandaging their face, but Wrecker was right. They are cute. He looks at them longer then he had intended too.

As he stands, the movement catches Mace’s eye. They look right at him, and he’s still staring, “Did you find the fuses?” He looks away, to the items in his hands, saying “Yes,” he clears his throat, “May I ask, what were you looking at?” They point to the flower shop across the intersection, “Those flowers.” He walks to the end of the shelf, towards them, saying, “I see. I shall pay for these, then we can go there next. If you’d like to.” They nod in response, “Yeah, I’d like that. D-D! it’s time to- oh, there you are. Ok, Tech, ready when you are.” They smile a little at him as they usher their droid to the entrance. He’s glad he has his helmet on, he’s definitely blushing a little, having been caught blatantly staring.

D-D climbs back up onto Mace’s shoulders, and they all continue to the flower shop. There are three large barrels out front, each with one type of flower, over flowing with the things. They lean slightly over the flowers, “I’ve never seen these before, do you know what they are?” He looks the flowers over and responds, “Yes, I’m familiar with them.” From left to right he points, and mace starts to sniff each flower, “These pink ones are jebwa flowers, the purple ones are plom blooms, and the yellow ones are Shimsa flowers. They are native to Corellia, Arkis-4, and Kaun respectively. Coincidentally Arkis-4 is where you were awoken.” They stand straight, saying, “Really? Huh, I don’t remember seeing any.” “We weren’t in a region where they grow, unfortunately.“

The shop is filled with more then a dozen different types of flowers, there is even a long garland hung on the ceiling. An older human woman is behind the counter, she remains quiet after a quick, “Welcome.” The droid stays on Mace’s shoulders so he is brushing through the garland. “This wisteria looks so weird, orange and green, yes. Strange lumps on the stalks, and they’re not green, what.” They walk past a cooling unit with more flowers in it. Flowers with green fading into yellow and almost perfect hexagonal petals fill one unit and in the other are fully white flowers, stem and all, with three layers of triangular petals. They look up, “They do look like wisteria, but I doubt that’s what it is.” Tech is right behind them and says, “This is hanging reaka. It’s native to Pantora, and it grows much larger in cold environments. What is wisteria?” Stopping in front of red vine-like flowers and small pink ones with lots of petals, they look at Tech briefly, saying, “It’s a hanging flower, from where I’m from, that looks a lot like this, It’s purple and white though.”

He’s looking at them and asks, “Do you remember where you’re from?“ Mace cocks their head at him, “…? I do remember …I’m from Terra…, It’s… I don’t want to talk… about it yet, please” they look down to the flowers in front of them with a look on their face that can only be described as desolate. D-D pats their head softly, turning his optic to look at Tech, then all the way back around to the front. He thinks for a moment and then says, “These are sachi blossoms and those are queen’s heart. Native to Chandrila and Naboo, respectively,” they look at him confused, “And these are cannu flowers, native to Sereno.”

They breath out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. “Do you know where all of these flowers are from?” He looks around to all the different types in the shop, “I know a majority of them,” “That’s pretty impressive, your memory is amazing,” Their face softens and they turn to continue walking and he follows them saying, “Thank you, I have a photographic memory due to my enhanced intelligence.” Looking over some purple and blue cannu flowers they say, “Oh, that’s right. Omega likes to talk about you guys, and she told me how you each have, like, a special ability, or something.““That is correct. We are enhanced clones of a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Omega is a clone of him as well, though she is genetically unchanged.””They were all made in a lab too!? What are the chances, what?!”

They spend a while longer in the flower shop and Tech tells them more about the remaining flowers he knows and where they’re from.

Mace buys a few pink plom blooms for Omega, and they leave first. It takes a few minutes but Tech soon joins them back outside. A sweet smell is floating through the air, it’s like fresh doughnuts. They sniff the air and say, “Do you smell that? I think it’s coming from over there.” They point to the small building right next door. It looks like it might be a café, or something close to it. He shakes his head a little, “My helmet blocks smells that are not overly intense.” “Then you should take it off, it smells really good! Can we go there next?” Mace looks at him, they look a lot happier now, and he feels that strange fluffy feeling in his chest again. He adjusts his goggles saying, “Of course, but removing my helmet wouldn’t be a good idea. Hunter did tell you we are wanted.” He gestures for them to lead, “That’s right. I might have forgotten you guys also are, I only remembered the kid is. My bad.” The smell is coming from an open front bakery, it has two small tables with two chairs each.

Within the display case is an assortment of pastries, small and large. The man behind the counter is covered in flower. He’s blue and you can barely see some yellow markings on his cheeks. “Hello there! What can I get for you two?” Mace walks right up to the case, looking closely inside, and says, “What would you get, Tech?” Pointing his choices out, ”Hmm, perhaps the juna berry danish, or the lompop cookies.” They look closely at juna berry danishes, a golden brown flaky pastry in a rectangular shape and two diagonal cuts across the top that show the red juna berries inside. They also look at the cookies, dark brown but not burnt with flecks of green all over. Standing to look at the baker, they ask, “Can I get six of your juna berry danishes, please?” “Of course! Just a moment!” As he gathers the sweets, Mace turns around to face Tech and says, “So everyone gets one, I don’t wanna be the only one that gets have one.””Not everyone!” D-D kicks his legs a little, “I’m not gonna by one for you to mash into your optic…” they say grabbing his legs and chuckling. He raises an eyebrow at the droid, “Has he done that before?” They nod, he responds “Well, I know Wrecker will really appreciate it. I, also, appreciate it. Thank you.” They smile, “I’m glad.” There’s that fluffy feeling again.

The walk back to their entry point was quieter, with less carts passing by and people around going about their day. Turning down the walk way they came from, D-D says to Mace, “That was like a date, wasn’t it? I think so!” They can feel their face warming a little, “…No,” “No, what?” Tech asks, leading the way back. They feel their face get hotter, “Oh, uh, it’s nothing. He’s just trying to antagonize me.””Why would he do that?” They are really hoping he doesn’t look back. ”He thinks it’s funny to harass me,” “Why not? You said he is the nicest, and that he is the most handsome of them all. It was a date!” He put his hands on his hips and nods his head. They let out a large sigh, and look up. The sky is starting to change color, it’s just barely orange.

Walking back into the landing area as they close in on the ship, before he has a chance to walk off, Mace says, “Tech, here. Take your danish,” he turns around and they pull it out of the bag, it’s nicely wrapped and still warm, and hold it out to him, “Thank you for letting us go with you, and thanks for telling me about all those flowers,” He goes to grab the danish saying, “Of course,” grabbing it, his fingers overlap theirs “Your company is appreciated,” Their eyes meet for a few moments, it’s like his chest is full of fluff again. They avert their eyes and their cheeks are a light pink. He takes his danish and quickly goes into the Marauder without another word. D-D falls backwards off their shoulders and lands on his feet, saying, “That went well, yes,” Mace rolls their eyes and slumps their shoulders, “Uhg! I can’t deal with you sometimes,” They want to go hide in their crate, but they can’t since Tech is in between it and them. So they settle for sitting outside. It looks like the others aren’t here, so they’re alone with their pest of a droid.

It felt like forever before the others returned, with D-D poking and prodding Mace about how they’re starting to feel about the genius, repeatedly. They spent the time making a flower crown out of the plom blooms, they use up most of the flowers and kept the five remaining flowers. It’s just after dark when the others return, Wrecker is carrying Omega. Mace waves at them and stands and D-D runs over to them, “Hey! I have something for all of you, and something extra for you, Omega. Was she finally able to knock you over, Hunter?” “She did it twice,” he ruffles her hair, “You’re getting stronger, but there’s still a ways to go.” “Getting strong! Good!”

Wrecker looks at Mace, “Whatcha got?” “I hope you guys like juna berries,” one at a time they pull out the treats, handing one to each clone. Echo smiles, “I love ‘em, thank you,” Omega’s sleepiness fades a little after getting her danish, “Thank you! I’ve never had a juna berry, and it smells really good. What is the other thing?” They gently pull the flower crown out of the bag and place it on her head, “I knew the pink would look good with your hair,” her eyes widen a little and she smiles, “Thank you, Mace! How did you do this?” With a smile they say, “If we’re ever someplace with lots of flowers I can show you.” The next danish is handed to the large clone and he takes his with a big smile, “Thanks!” Handing the last one to Hunter they say, “I’ve thought about your offer, and I’ve decided to join you guys on your missions. If that’s still on the table,” he nods his head and says, “That’s what I like to hear! We have some extra equipment you can use for now, we’ll pull it out tomorrow so you can familiarize yourself with it,” Mace nods, “That sounds good to me.”

Hunter and Mace are the last ones still outside, they’ve been talking equipment and tactics for a while, and the danishes were a great addition to their conversation. A lull hits the two, he takes a deep breath, “I wanted to thank you, for helping clear our debt with Cid. You didn’t have to but you did. Not to mention the 13,000 creds,” he stands, “I’m heading inside, try not to stay out all night,” “Yeah. No problem,” after Hunter disappears into the Marauder, they put their face in their hands in frustration, “I have to go inside at some point…,” D-D has been messing with junk at the edge of the landing zone since Hunter and Mace started talking, “D-D, it’s time! What is he even doing?” The droid is at their side in just a few moments, they glance at him and exasperate, “Why do I feel like a nervous teenager with their first crush? Ugh, and my face! I can feel it heating up every time, it’s impossible to control,” “I think it will be ok, yes. Tech is nice, it will be fine.” Mace stands, sarcastically they say, “Yeah, just fine… Ok let’s go inside.” They feel like they have a tightly coiled spring in their chest, and lots of butterflies. They’ve only felt like this once before, and it’s scary.

With a large sigh Mace takes that first step back into the Marauder, right up the gangplank. D-D enters the cockpit first and is truly trying to help them not be so nervous about their feelings, “It is ok, you’ve faced scarier things.” Stepping inside they say, “I know, but still.” Tech is, as always, in the pilot’s chair. He’s using Gonky as a table, and there are cannu flowers on top of the droid along with his datapad. He looks up to the noise of them boarding the ship instinctually, then he goes right back to his research. D-D goes into the main room and Mace sees something familiar on top of Gonky.

They ask Tech with their head cocked, “Where did you get that?” Pointing right at the only flower that’s different, though it looks almost just like a cannu flower. He looks up with a small start, “Oh, this particular flower was recovered from the same crash site that you were. It looks strikingly similar to a cannu flower but to the discerning eye it’s obviously different. I’m trying to find out what it is.” They fix their gaze on him, “I know what it is.” He looks at them, a little flabbergasted, “Do you?“ They sit in the copilot’s seat staring at it, a bittersweet expression on their face, “It’s a stargazer lily, it’s from Terra too.” Adjusting his goggles, he glances at the flowers saying, “That would explain why I can’t find anything on what is.”“It’s really lucky you found this one,” they aren’t looking away from the lily, “Why is that? Is this kind of flower rare on Terra?”“No, lilies are pretty common, but this kind is my favorite flower,”

Tech has that fluffy feeling in his chest again, “Is that so? I’m glad I took it then.” That makes Mace blush, they definitely aren’t looking up now, “When you’re done with it, can… I have the lily? You’ve done a great job of keeping it in one piece.”“I don’t see why not, though I was planning on preserving it once I concluded my research.” Adjusting his goggles again, he focuses on the flowers, “I could still preserve it, I doubt it will be in this good of condition for much longer.” They pick up one of the cannu flowers, if it weren’t for their extensive botanical knowledge, it would look just like a stargazer lily. They remark, “I think that’s a good idea,” he glances up at them and they turn their gaze from the flower to the clone and their eyes meet, but only for a moment, “Thank you,” Mace has to look away, they can feel their face heating up, so they turn to the windscreen, “I can tell you about it, if you want, since you’ve never seen one before and I’m kinda curious how close it is to the cannu flower in other ways.”

It’s very rare someone knows something he doesn’t, he’s a little delighted, “That would be wonderful. Learning about it was my original intention.” They think for a few moments and turn to face him again, but they keep their gaze fixed on the flowers, “Alright, their genus is called “Lilium”, and its species is “lilium orientalis". Stargazers are also easy to grow and they have a fast growth rate. When fully mature, they can grow up to 36 inches with a spread of 10 to 14 with 2 to 8 flowers per stem. The flowers of other lilies in the same grouping tend to hang down, but this hybrid from an unknown line is different because of its upward facing flowers, hence the name.” He’s intently listening and taking notes on his datapad, but this feeling in his chest is distracting.

If this distractedness follows him into the field he’ll have to distance himself, as much as he can given the close proximity of their living situation, from them. He’s learned the hard way how distractions can cost people their life, or in Tech’s case the cost was Wrecker’s eye. He’ll do his best to make sure that doesn’t happen. But for right now he’s going to enjoy their company, and their vast flower knowledge.

“Understanding you does not mean I agree with you.”

ALT

The fic: *makes Tech drop “When have we ever followed orders?” in a casual conversation*

Me: *starts crying*

Once again my doodles are nerding too close to the sun because wdym Tech’s got SG-1 cosplay?

I’m mad that he kinda looks like Daniel Jackson cos he’s my least favorite on the team 💀 he also kinda looks like Pedro Pascal, so ig that makes up for it

Also Tech would have a huge crush on Samantha Carter and y’know what he’s real asf for that because I do too 😂

Life is Red

Chapter 3 - End of Beginning pt.2

After they return Hunter gathers everyone, having Mace sit in one nav seat and himself in the other with the rest of them in the bunk area. Hunter puts his elbows to his knees “Alright, we want to help you, but I’ve some questions. First, who are you?” “All I can remember is Mace.” Everyone is looking to the stranger, “Okay, What’s the last thing you can remember?” They put a hand to their chin, eyes darting back and forth, “Hmmm, a celebration, I think. I think it was a wedding,” Omega says softly to herself, “A wedding?” “Can you remember anything clearly?” They look at Hunter, “The only things I now for sure is, that I was a soldier and D-D has always been by my side. I’m sorry I don’t remember much more.” Mace bows their head with the last statement. He leans back in the chair, “A soldier, huh? Do you remember how to be a soldier?” They look back up with a serious expression, “I don’t think that’s something anyone can forget how to be, but yes I think so.” “Since that’s the case, would you be willing to work with us? Another trained hand in the field doesn’t hurt.” They just stare at him, “uhhh..” Hunter gets up saying, “Think it over.” Omega rushes to their side, and the others go about their business. “Wow, you were a soldier too, so we’re my brothers.” “Is that so?” “Do you remember if the wedding was yours?” Mace stands, with surprise on their face, “Oh, humm… I’m not sure, I don’t think it was. Maybe It was a friend’s wedding.” Shrugging their shoulders, they go outside. The little girl follows close behind, along with the droid.

They walk a few yards away and stretch in various ways, Mace makes a long squeaking sound, loud pops can be heard from their back, “Wow! Feels like forever since I felt the sun, sure is bright though,” D-D beeps, “It has been! Locked up forever no more!” The droid starts to run around in big circles around Mace with his arms out, “We are free forever now! No more worrying!” He twirls occasionally as he runs around. They mumble to themselves, “Yeah, no more…” “What’s he so excited for?” Omega asks from outside of D-D’s running path, “He’s just happy to be awake again, I mean who knows how long we were in that box.” She laughs as she watches him spin around, “He sure is funny. I wanted to ask, but do you want to go and get some proper clothes? I’ve seen a couple stores we could check.” Mace looks down at themselves, “Wouldn’t mind getting real clothes, but is that ok?” “I’m sure it would be! I’m gonna go ask Hunter if we can go, and for some credits! I’ll be right back,”

Hunter agrees, but someone has to go with them. Wrecker has already left the area and Tech and Hunter are busy, leaving Echo to join in the shopping. “We can go!” Omega enthusiastically leads the way, “He gave me 100 credits and I think I know just where to go,” Going down a few different narrow streets, the claustrophobic atmosphere starts to swallow Mace. They focus on Omega in front of them and try to disregard the irrational thought of an ambush. It’s not gonna happen, everything is ok. Echo is walking next to them, he notices their breathing become shallow, quick, and uneven. Their tension is practically visible, but their gaze stays fixed on the girl’s back. He’s seen that look in his brother’s eyes before. Echo near whispers to them, “Easy, soldier. It’s clear, everything’s alright,” His sudden words and a small touch to their arm brings Mace back quickly. They take a deep breath, nod, and their shoulders relax, “Yeah… it is. We’re fine.”

Omega leads the two of them to a small hole in the wall shop. It has a sign out front, Mace has no clue what it says, it’s in a language they’ve never seen. Omega and Mace go through the whole shop and Echo stands by the door. It takes a couple hours of going through all different racks and shelves to find clothes that fit properly, are easy to move in, and that looked good. They decide on a brown top with ¾ sleeves and the shoulders cut out, a loose pair of light green pants with a couple of cargo pockets and knee pads, and a pair of sturdy black boots that come up to just below mid shin. They keep the top and bottoms of their blacks on, but remove the boots and gloves. Their boots are short and the gloves are very long.

“I think it looks great!” Omega is as genuine as ever, “It’s not my usual style, but I like it. Thanks, kid, you did good!” She smiles brightly, “You’re welcome. What about you Echo? What do you think?” His eyebrows raise in surprise, “Uhh, oh, it looks good,” Nodding his head quickly a few times. The three of them finally return to the landing area, and the sun is just beginning to set. As they approach they can see Wrecker moving some crates and large pieces of junk around to make a makeshift table and chairs. “Wrecker!” Omega shouts running up to him, “What are you doing? And what’s in the big bags?” The large man spins around, beaming, “Hey kid! You guys are back, finally. I figured since we have a new member of the batch we should celebrate! So I got food from my favorite stall, and she even gave me some drinks for free. And mantle mix, couldn’t forget that. Now I’m draggin this junk around so we can eat it together! Like we used to.” “Oh, that’s a great idea! Do you need any help?” She’s outstandingly happy, “Nah, I got it. OH, actually, can you and Echo go get Hunter? He’s talkin to Cid about when the next mission is, I think,” Echo is also smiling, though it’s not as intense as Omega’s, “Sounds fun, but are you sure it was a good idea to spend all those extra credits?” Wrecker finishes pulling the last seat into place, “Of course it was a good idea! Gotta keep morale up somehow!”

The two clones head off to retrieve their brother, leaving Mace at the Marauder. Wrecker starts taking the takeout boxes out of the two large bags on the ground, “Do you want any help? You really got a lot,” he replies, “I sure did, wanna make sure everyone got plenty! If you wanna pull the bottles out and put ‘em on the table, that’d work for me!” Four bottles in total are places on the makeshift table. It looks like a giant metal spool. Mace looks around and asks, “Have you seen D-D?” Wrecker stops and thinks for a moment, “I did a while ago. Maybe he’s on the ship,” they nod, “Huh. Ok thanks, I’ll look,” What is that bot up too? entering the ship, Tech in the pilots chair, as they continue to look for the mischievous droid they catch his attention. Turning around in the seat, as they walk in to the main part of the Marauder and call for D-D, “Mace? Is there an issue?” “I don’t think so. Have you seen D-D recently?” They walk back into the cockpit, “No. not recently. It’s been 1 hour 23 minutes since I last saw him. Is he missing?” Shaking their head, “I don’t think he’s missing, I think he’s just wandered off. But it’s not uncommon. I just wish it wasn’t in a brand new city.” They exasperate the last part. He turns his full attention to them, a slight bit worried, “Aren’t you concerned? A lot of things could happen to such a small droid on its own. We should go find him,” they laugh a shake their head, Tech is confused, “What have I said that’s funny?” “Oh no, it’s just, I’d be more worried about any one who would try and mess with him. His finger tips are razor points, along with the other things he has, he’s more than capable of being on his own. I just wondered if he was around since he didn’t run to me when we returned.” He nods his head once, “I see, as long as you are not concerned.” He turns back to the control panel and they go to leave but stop at the doorway out, “Thank you though, Tech, for offering to help me find him.” He turns back saying, “Of course,” but they’ve already walked down the gangplank.

The sky above Ord Mantel is starting to turn dark blue and is already blossoming with stars. It took longer than expected but the batch’s leader has returned, Omega runs past him right to Wrecker with a big box of mantle mix, “Yes!”. Echo takes a seat and Hunter approaches his large brother, “Omega told me you’ve planned a party for our new member, Wrecker. They haven’t said yes and we don’t know if they’ll agree.” The large clone is seated with his feet propped up on the makeshift table, “Awww, come on, Hunter. Even if they don’t fight with us, they’re till stuck with us!” Mace lets out a short but loud laugh. Wrecker smiles, “And like I told Echo, it’s good to keep morale up! So relax, just for a little while! TECH, GET OUT HERE!” Hunter takes a seat next to his large brother, setting his helmet at his feet, and looks over the food. It’s completely different from what they ate on Kamino, but it all looks good, especially to a man who’s only had ration bars the last several months.

The “party” is in full swing, the siblings are eating and chatting to their hearts content. One of the bottles Wrecker brought back was alcohol, thankfully Hunter could smell it before Omega had a chance to pour herself a drink from it. “Woah, Omega,” he stands and snatches the bottle from her hands, “Hey! What was that for?” She frowns a little, “It’s alcohol. You’re too young for this,” everyone laughs a little, Wrecker hands her a different bottle, “Here, this is muja juice. Way better!” Mace is enjoying their time with everyone, but D-D has been gone for hours. As the siblings are engaged with each other, Mace sneaks off, or so they think, to the back end of the Marauder. With a sigh they think, “How long will this bot be out there? What is he even up to!?” Looking up at the stars they are amazed, they mumble “It’s so beautiful,” they hear someone approach and stop a few feet away, “Is everything alright? Your droid has still not returned.” It’s Tech, they turn their attention to him, “It’s ok, I’m just a little worried, though if he’s gone for much longer we might have to look for him. Sorry,” He shakes his head, “No need for apologies, I did offer earlier and I will still help with a search.” Just as Mace is about to thank him the sound of little metal footsteps quickly approaches. “I have somethings, I have collected! This is a good city for collecting, no one pays attention!” Their attention is drawn right to the source of the sound. The droid stops right at Mace and grabs their hand, they look at him with a confused crooked smile, “Collected, huh? What did you get?” D-D places something in the palm of their hand and closes their fingers. Pulling their hand up, they open it. Three black micro chips sit in their palm, “What is this?” Looking at the droid, Tech looks to their hand, “Those appear to be credit chits. May I see them, please.” Mace nods their head and gives the chits to Tech. One at a time he puts them into a port on his datapad and presses a few buttons. “D-D has collected over 1,600 credits across these three chits.” Mace tilts their head, “Is that a lot?” “It’s not an insignificant amount, if you give me some time I can create a way for you to actually use them.” They look at him very surprised, “What? No, uh, keep it, it’s fine,” Not pulling his face away from his datapad he responds, “I insist. Your droid is the one that… “collected” them, so it’s yours. It will give you some freedom to have your own credits.” “Freedom! That’s what we wanted, and now we’ve got some, yes.” D-D throws both his arms up in triumph. Mace puts their hand on the edge of his head cap and looks up, “Who cares about silly stars? They are always there always the same!” “I care, D-D.” “I know! Yes. I’m going to go play with Omega! She’s a great kid, yes. A little like you were!” The droid runs off to join the others. Tech looks up at Mace, “Care about what?” “Hmm? Oh, the stars. I’ve always loved them, but I don’t know these stars,“"The constellations?” They nod, he continues, “When there is time, I can show them to you. It’s quiet fascinating, from this spot 13 constellations are visible at various times of the night. The stories behind them, as well, are very interesting. The first one I researched is supposedly the face of the leader of the first settlers from Corellia, unfortunately that one is not visible at this time of year.-…” Mace tilts their head at the sudden stop, he looks away clearing his throat and adjusting his goggles, “I apologize. Im told by my brothers I talk too much, I don’t mean to annoy you.” “It’s not annoying, and, trust me, I know annoying,” looking back to the others. D-D has Omega seated on his head while running around, Hunter is standing visibly worried and Wrecker and Echo are laughing together. Mace and Tech watch for a moment before they say to him, “I’d love to learn about the constellations sometime, astronomy is one of my favorites! But for now let’s join the others. I don’t want D-D to cause a problem.”

They begin to walk off and for a few steps he just stands still and looks at them, almost dumbfounded. Quick to join them he can’t quite believe what they said but still, it makes him happy. Someone wants to learn from him and, it seems, happily so. They join the others and the night goes on.

Life is Red

Chapter 3 - End of Beginning pt.1

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” There are so many trees and the sky is turning pink. It feels like just the two of us. He’s tearing up. I’m so happy, this moment almost makes up for it. What are we going to do? Now it’s forever. “I can’t believe you’re in white for this.” “Hey!” I can’t believe I get to be this happy.

It’s been about 30 hours since their return to hyper space, with only 18 hours remaining, and things have been very quiet. “They’ve been asleep for a looong time, they’re still ok, right?” Omega is sitting at the nav station closest to the crate and D-D is at the foot of it, on his tip toes, with his hands gripping the edge. The droid has been keeping a close watch on his companion. “They’ll be just fine, sleep is good for them to heal. Very good.” D-D knows she can’t understand him, but that’s not stopped him from talking the whole time. Hunter is at the opposite nav station, “You had Tech check them three times already. I’m sure their droid would tell us, somehow, if something happened.” She looks from her brother to D-D and the droid nods his head in confirmation. Hunter stands, “Hopefully, they’ll wake up before we get back,” he turns to the cockpit to relieve Wrecker of watch duty. Omega nods looking into the bunk area, Echo is sound asleep in his bunk and, surprisingly, Tech is asleep in his. Though it’s more like he just passed out while researching something in his bunk, instead of actually going to sleep.

Most of the Marauder’s crew is active now, Omega is still worried about how long Mace has been asleep. She’s sitting on the chair next to the crate with her hands on the edge of it. D-D is sitting at the foot of the crate, on the edge with his legs dangling inside. “I understand you are very worried, Omega, but hovering over them won’t help,” Tech states, he’s leaning against the opposite nav station, datapad in hand, “I’ve already told you, someone suffering awakening sickness will sleep for long periods so that their body can focus on putting energy towards recovery.” Omega hums with dissatisfaction. “No one has ever been as worried about them as you are now, biggest worrier! They are very durable, a little sickness is nothing, Nothing!” D-D throws up one of his hands in a fist as he finishes his statement. Giggling at his actions, she looks at the droid, “Hmm, D-D doesn’t seem worried, so I guess they really are ok… But I didn’t know a human could sleep for this long.” Tech looks up from his research to Omega, “Typically the maximum number of hours a human can sleep is 13-16, any more causes severe headaches and disorientation.” D-D interjects in his garbled crackling, “They are not a typical human, not at all. Maybe you’ll get to see it, yes.” This little droid likes to talk whenever he pleases, he doesn’t care who’s talking. Tech is visibly annoyed, “Yes, well… They will very likely be hungry when they awake. You should get them some rations, it might help ease your worries.”

Not long after Omega goes to the cargo closet, Mace awakens to D-D sitting on the edge of the crate with his legs inside, staring at them. “Vitals are good, very good. They also checked, the one with goggles. Many times, Yes.” He points to Tech, the droid talking makes him look up just as Mace sits up with a small yawn, rubbing their eyes. “How long was I out this time?” The clone thinks they are talking to him, setting his datapad down, he goes to answer but the droid replies first. “Long long time, nearly 36 hours. But it’s good to sleep when sick. It’s good you passed out, you are too stubborn to rest right!” D-D turns and hops down. They stand and Tech offers his hand to help them get out, “Are you feeling any better?” They look at his hand for a beat then take it in theirs and step out of the crate, he notes how warm their hand is. Mace puts their other hand on their cheek. “Yes, mostly, but my face is still kinda numb,” with both feet out and flat on the floor they release his hand. “You’re finally awake again!” Omega bounds over to the nav stations, ration box in hand. Looking at the dirty patches on their face he says, “It’s definitely time to change those patches. Omega can you please get the medkit as well?” She hands Mace the ration box and goes back for the medkit. Gesturing to the chair next to Mace, “Please, sit. If you would like, I can replace the bacta patches for you.” He offers. “Yeah, okay,” they sit, “Thank you, uhh, Tech.” Returning with the medkit, Omega grabs the ration box and replaces it with the kit. “Here, you must be hungry!” Opening the ration box she goes to hand Mace a cylindrical green ration but Tech stops her, “First the patches must be replaced,” looking to Mace, “May I?” They simply nod their head, and avert their eyes to the side. Are they blushing or is it just the thermal burn? First he removes the patch on their chin, their nose, their cheeks, and finally he holds their hair up from their forehead and removes the last patch. Without truly thinking, Tech grabs their chin and turns their face side to side, looking at their face closely, “You only have a small area on your right cheek that is still affected,” letting go of their face and opening the medkit, that sits in Mace’s lap, he grabs a small patch. “You should be fully recovered from the thermal burn in about a standard day.” He smoothes the patch against their face and his face is a little too close. “Thank…you,” D-D can see Mace is nervous.

“Yes, yes, yes. But now, you need to see it, the space!” Looking at their droid with confusion, “The space?” The droid grabs their hand and pulls them to the cockpit, the two clones watch on as the droid drags them off, “Yes! The space!” The door slides open, and D-D runs right into Echo’s legs. “Whoa! What’s the rush?” “I’m so sorry, he’s just excited about… space.” Mace put their hand to their chest as they apologize for their droid. Echo chuckles lightly, “Not a problem,” he continues past them, leaving the cockpit. Hunter is in the pilot’s chair, and D-D pulls them right to the front and points out the windscreen. “The space!” Hunter’s attention is pulled to the droid, then the stranger, “How are you feeling? You’ve been out a while.” Mace responds, while nearly hypnotized by hyper space, “Yeah… wo~w. Face is numb, but I feel fine.” Their face is lit by the blue of hyper space and, from Hunter’s angle, it looks like their eyes are sparkling with the streaking lights. “The space! Amazing, yes!” The stranger laughs lightly, the clone clears his throat, “If you want, you can join me, co pilot’s seat’s open.” He gestures to it, Mace nods, “Sure.” As they sit, Hunter turns to the control panel saying. “We’ve got nearly 12 hours left, then we’re back planet side. On Ord Mantel.” D-D looks to Mace, the droid can see the hidden confusion. “Ord Mantel? What’s it like?” “It’s a seedy place, plenty of crime. It’s also a great place to hide.” The stranger turns their attention fully to hyper space, “Hmm, sounds like a fun time.”

The remaining time in hyper space flew by and soon the Marauder was landing on Ord Mantel. “Wait here, Mace. Omega and Wrecker will keep you company, while we deal with Cid. We won’t take long,” Hunter states as he joins the rest of his siblings outside.

“Uh-oh! they left guards,” Mace rolls their eyes and doesn’t respond. “You guys want some more food? I sure do!” Wrecker shouts from the cargo closet. He comes back to the nav stations with a box of rations, already eating. He holds the box out and Omega takes one. Mace declines asking, “Who are they going to talk to?” He swallows “Just the lady that pays us,” Mace tilts their head, “Your boss? What do you guys do?” He scratches his chin, “I guess we’re sorta mercenaries now,” “Oh.” They sound surprised. Mace doesn’t say much else, but it’s easy for Wrecker and Omega to fill most of the silence, until the others return.

I will see a picture of Tech and be like “I could bite him”