Febuwhump Day 14: Captivity

Febuwhump Day 14: Captivity

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

  The floor was cold. That's the first thing Tech noticed when he woke up. He sat up and looked around. The cell was completely empty other than him. The man's googles had been cracked on the right side, making it somewhat difficult to see.

    Tech had simply been walking back to Cid's bar when he was captured. Omega had been having a bad day so he went to go get her some Mantell mix. Walking past a dark alley he heard what seemed to be a child crying. The clone's first mistake was not notifying someone he was into an alley. He was skeptical but walked down the alley anyway. Once deemed far enough in some soldiers cornered and stunned him.

    It would be a while before anyone would pay Tech a visit. He walked around the cell attempting to find a way out. Nothing.

    The room was deadly silent. 'There has to be something I can do' thought Tech. Something finally came to mind. Hide behind the door and wait for someone to enter. When someone enters sneek out. From there he needed to find his armor, find his weapons, and find his way out.

    Plans however don't always work the way they are supposed to. Despite Tech's best effort he was not able to escape. As soon as the soldiers noticed the mercenary wasn't in the cell they turned around and ran after him. Other troops were not too far away and stopped him. He was dragged back to the cell to be interrogated.

    Back in the cell he was chained to the wall. Fighting against the metal was practically useless. In the end it would just hurt him and make him tired. The torment was inevitable once he was chained so what was the point?

    "Where are the rest of ya?" Asked the interrogator.

    "I'll never tell." Tech stared at the other. The man appeared to be a clone.

    "What were you doing on Ord Mantell? Working for the rebels?".

    "I was on Ord Mantell for a mercenary mission." Technically he wasn't really wrong. He was a mercenary on a mission. That mission however was just to make his sister's day a bit better.

    The interrogator didn't believe him. The torture would begin. The batch had been trained to hold up under torture. Though it wasn't pleasant training Tech was glad he had it right now.

    Time passed and finally the interrogator let up. The man unchained Tech and he fell to the floor. His body ached and his breathing was labored. Speaks of color distorted his vision. They would go away soon now that he could breathe again. The doors shut and he was alone.

    Tech pulled himself against the wall and assessed his injuries. Large deep cuts were scattered across his body. Bruises were beginning to form all across him; the largest being around his neck. Small electrical burns could be found but not many. The man worked to get his breathing back under his control.

    Crosshair learned of what was done to his brother. He knew that they wouldn't be working with the rebels, they had a child to protect after all. For the first time he really seemed to question the empire. He roamed the dark halls deep in thought. The sniper didn't want Tech to die. Despite everything he still loved him. One thought led to another and now he found himself standing in front of Tech's cell.

    Inside Tech had gotten his breathing back under control. He had torn the sleeves off his shirt and tied them around the injuries he could. When Crosshair entered Tech was trying to do the same to the ends of his pants.

    Of all the people Tech would have thought to rescue him he never expected Crosshair to be the one too. When he saw his brother he thought the torture was about to continue. What Crosshair didn't expect was for Tech to draw into himself, arms slightly out in defiance.

    Now Crosshair was mad. Mad at the empire and mad at himself for letting it go this far. "Hello. I'm not here to hurt you, relax." He stated as softly as he could.

    Tech raised his head and looked at his brother. If he wasn't there to harm him, why was he there?

    "Can you stand?"

    The clone slowly stood. Walking proved to be harder. "Why are you here?" Tech asked.

    "I'm rescuing you."

    "But I'm a traitor. You work for the empire don't you?"

    "You're my brother and not anymore." Crosshair admitted.

    "Ah okay. Why the change?" Tech was curious. Crosshair had been loyal to a fault.

    "A moment of realization. Now stop asking questions. We need to leave." With that the two would leave the cell block. When Tech could no longer walk Crosshair would carry him the rest of the way. He stole a small imperial shuttle and left for Ord Mantell. On the ship the deserter would take care of his brother's injuries the best he could.

    Back on Ord Mantell the family was gathered at the bar thinking of a plan to find Tech. They weren't sure where he had gone or who had taken him. What they didn't expect was for Tech to walk in, being assisted by Crosshair.

    Everyone was happy to see both of them. After talking Crosshair was allowed to stay. They were back together again. Now the six would create new stories together as a family and not as enemies. 

I started reading Padawan (a book about Obi-wan Kanobi's padawan years) and I gotta say Obi-wan is a very reliable character. He is so nervous and on edge. I find Qui-gon leaving without telling him very interesting. It seems like a thing Qui-gon would do being honest. I like that Obi-wan decided to go anyway and see what this tells him. If you pay attention to the droid (Ace) it's green, black and silver which is close to the arrow flag (green, light green, white, gray, black) Tho I'm not there yet I know it's hinted that Obi-wan is not straight so. I'm so excited to finish the book.

Febuwhump Day 15: self-sacrifice

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warnings: Character death and mention of suicide.

The first was always Hunter. He was the squad leader so it made perfect sense. The man needed to lead and that's easier at the front. Next would be a mix of Echo, Omega, and Tech. They were smaller then the others and easier to kidnap. The three being in the middle insured their safety. Wrecker being the largest and strongest was at the end. Being very difficult to kidnap was part of the reason, but if someone started to fall behind he could just grab them and continue.

    This mission the batch took for Cid was supposed to be easy; get the information and get out. The data card consisted of bounty hunter information. How to hire and where to find them mostly. Why Cid wanted it no one knew and no one asked.

    Now the batch was running. Running was a specialty of the family's. They ran from the empire, ran from Crosshair, and run from their problems. But everything catches up with you especially.

    The Marauder wasn't to far away. The old port it was stationed in was in sight. However imperial soldiers followed close behind. It wasn't looking good. Everyone was exhausted. Most had small to larger injuries from escaping the dense forest that guarded  the decrepit building they had extracted their target from.

    The imperials were catching up now. Blaster shots just barely missed the group. Return fire proved to be relatively difficult. Tech started spitting out statistics that they live and about how far the Marauder was. The stats weren't looking good.

    That's when Wrecker knew what to do. He knew this would likely be the end. The group didn't know when Wrecker stopped following them.  Wrecker had stayed back to fight the regs. It seemed to be working. The distance between the demolitionist's family and the soldiers grew.

    The soldiers started to overrun the large man. Echo turned around and stopped. "Wrecker what the hell are you doing?!?" He screamed. Something felt familiar about this. Like he'd seen his brother commit the same act of suicide over and over. One can call it self-sacrifice and that's what it is, a desperate act to save your loved ones, but you must acknowledge that an individual has chosen to die. But it was all for love.

    The four stopped for a brief moment, unsure of what they do now. Do they help their brother? Do they run? "Wrecker!" Shrieked Omega. The girl started to run back towards him before Hunter grabbed her. "No!"

    "Thank you for everything! I love you, now go!" The back of Wrecker knee was shot and he yelped. The man continued his attack as the others left.

     Tech, now on the end, stopped again. Could he really leave Wrecker there? The family had already left Crosshair, could they lose another brother? The youngest watched as the oldest was gunned down. "No" he whispered.

    Now he understood Echo more. The heart wrenching feeling that comes with losing a brother, the fact he'll never hear him laugh again, never be hugged again, never breathe again. It cut deep into his heart and frightened him.

    Hunter had heard the whisper and slowed to a stop. "Tech, come on!" He yelled. His eyes landed on Wrecker body. Mortality crept up on him. That was something he'd deal with later.

    Tears welled in Tech's eyes as he turned to leave. Now he ran, ran as they always did. But death is not something you can simply run from.

    Back on the Marauder the four dealt with Wrecker death. The grief crawled into their hearts and made itself at home. This feeling was as familiar to Echo as the back of his only hand, For Omega, Hunter, and Tech this overwhelming feeling was new.

    Hunter worried on how Crosshair would take it. Wrecker and him were relatively close, well at least when Crosshair was still with them. Would he even care? Somehow it felt worse to think he still did care then didn't. He'd be dealing with grief alone.

    The family would learn to cope at their own pace. But for now all they could do was support each other. After all that's all they had. Each other.

I know it's March now but I'll be trying to finish these up until the first week of March is over.

Febuwhump day 2! Flinching

Fandom: Star Wars

Time: The Bad Batch after the episode 'Battle Scars'

Walking off of the Marauder the batch made their way to the forest in front of them. The trees consist of pretty pinks and purples, the sky a beautiful shade of blue, and the grass a bright green. The planet had a calming aura to it. This worked well with the tension being high in the batch lately. Though everyone understood Wrecker did not wish to hurt them this would not change the events that happened on the shipyard planet Braca.

    Walking though the woods was simple. Hunter stooped and looked back at his squad "Everyone gets to your positions" Hunter whispered. The batch looked at him confused. He understood what that meant at this point having seen this look maybe times. They simply didn't hear him. "Sorry."

    "No worries, we understand your volume control is wacky." Wrecker reassured him.

    Hunter smiled and repeated himself loud enough for them to hear him.

    Everyone headed their respective ways, Wrecker and Tech heading left, Omega and Echo heading right, and Hunter waking the way they had previously been going.

    Tech and Wrecker got to their position first and simply waited. "So Tech" Wrecker turned around quickly, moving his arm swiftly to rest on Tech's shoulder. Tech flinched. Tech... flinched?

    "Tech?"

    Tech took a step back. "I" he continued to step back. Everything in his heart hated the way he felt. Tech loveed Wrecker but that couldn't change what had happened, what the order made him do. Tech hit a tree.

    Not understanding just how threatening his presence was to his brother, Wrecker walked towards him. Feeling trapped Tech looked for a way out. All rationalities left his mind as he forgot that Wrecker had not ment to hurt him.

    Tech looked around him and stepped to the side of the tree before taking off running. Wrecker yelled for him before starting to follow. Tech make a sharp turn and Wrecker lost him.

    Hunter, who had been just about to his position heard the yelling. "What's going on?" He commed Wrecker.

    "I lost Tech. I startled him and he took off. I'm not sure where he went." Concern filled Wrecker's voice.

    "I'll find him. You meet with the others and take care of the mission."

    Wrecker thought before answering. He wanted to disagree for he wanted to make things right but understood he couldn't at this time. Later Tech and him would have to have a long conversation. Maybe he should invite the other to talk as well. "Yeah alright."

    Turning off the comm Hunter started to look for Tech.

    Tech finally stopped running. Out of breath he sank to the ground. He pulled himself towards the stump of a tree near him. He couldn't slow his breathing, not only was he out of breath from running for so long he was in the mits of a panic attack. Tech tried and tried to reason with himself but every attempt failed. He hastily removed his helmet, then goggles as they had begun to fill with tears.

     Tech's breathing had not slowed. He started to feel lightheaded from breathing too hard. Tech had always thought it was somewhat silly that breathing too much could harm you.

    Most of his thoughts were about the events on Braca. Struggling to find a way to calm down Tech looked for good memories of Wrecker. He thought that he could reassure with his head by  using his heart to fight it. 

    His breathing began to slow as wonderful memories of his beloved brother would calm him. For once his heart would win the battle of head vs heart. Pushing his hands against the blue bark Tech slowly stood up. He needed to find the rest of the batch and see if they still needed his help with the mission. the mission, he forgot about the mission.

    Tech retched for his comm and debated which of his brothers to contact. Choosing Hunter he tapped his comm "Hunter" he began

    "Tech! Where are you? Are you alright?" Hunter's voice was laced with concern.

    "I'm... alright. I'm not sure where I am."

    "Start yelling."

    Not long after Hunter would hunt down Tech and the two would meet the rest of the batch at the Marauder. The mission was a success.

    Tech walked to Wrecker. "Hey, I"

    Wrecker cut him off "I'm so sorry."

    "I know you won't hurt me. It wouldn't make sense unless you are joking as you do. However the trauma is still there. I see you no differently. I just have to heal. Please be patient with me." Tech explained.

    "Of course." Wrecker was ready to take however much time Tech needed.

    Hunter smiled at the exchange. Everything would be okay.

(sorry it's a day late)

Febuwhump day 1! Touch starved

Fandom: Star Wars

Time: A few years after Order 66

  Obi-wan Kenobi had been alone for a long time. He misses many things. Many things. These feelings often came in waves, sometimes all at once. Missing his family, his life, his happiness. The feelings both mental and physical were the things he craved but understood he could never have again. 

Obi-wan glanced at the window. He noted the shades of orange he loved so much. They reminded him of his commander, his lover, his Cody. Of course he didn't really know if he could or should still call him that. However Obi-wan chose to believe that Cody had his reasons to do as he did, to try to kill him with no known reason to him.

    Walking outside Obi-wan would watch the sunset. The warmth reminded him of the warmth he felt from long embraces. But of course the sun would set and long hugs would end.

    Walking back inside Obi-wan closed the door with a sigh. He walked a very short distance to his bed and laid down. The thoughts of his former lover stayed with him. He began to think how he missed being greeted with short hugs and soft kisses when entering a room that the two were alone in, how cuddles after long, cold missions felt, the warmth of being so close together and feeling so safe with each other. He found himself missing the warm feeling of fingers running over scars.

    Of course the thoughts of Cody couldn't stay loving for long. Obi-wan was reminded of the order. This would remind him of the jedi. the Jedi he had been friends with.

    There was Plo Koon, a very gentle and sweet man who treated everyone kindly. He remembered Plo giving him a long and caring hug after Qui-gon had died. He could swear Plo gave some of the best hugs in the galaxy.

    Qui-gon. Qui-gon knew exactly what to do in most many scenario. When Obi-wan was stressed Qui-gon would rest his hand gently on his shoulder and reassure him everything would be alright. Now Obi-wan just wished for any reassurance at all.

    Qui-gon would spiral into thoughts of Anakin, his brother. Anakin was always a very touchy person. He constantly would poke at Obi-wan when he needed something or simply wanted his master's attention. Anakin's hugs had always been something he looked forward to. Anakin liked giving people physical affection. Obi-wan suspected that it was from never receiving much when he was younger.

    With thoughts of Anakin came thoughts of Ahsoka, Rex, Padme, and the twins.

    Obi-wan sat up trying to shake the thoughts of his past family but he knew he wouldn't be able to. Standing up he walked towards the door. He opened the door and as the somewhat chilly air hit him the thoughts went to the back of his mind. He didn't need to think of the people he knew and loved. The people who rather betrayed him or died. 

    Being outside didn't help for very long as the thoughts creeped back in. Ahsoka had also enjoyed Physical affection. She liked piggy back rides and often got them from Anakin and Rex. Of course Obi-wan had given her a few over the years. Ahsoka was a very kind soul, one who was done so wrong by the times and by the jedi. He hoped she was still out there somewhere, wishing to see her again, to give her one last piggy back ride or to have one last hug but he understood it simply wasn't possible.

    Obi-wan knew he needed sleep. Trying to stay outside and brush off the thoughts of loved ones simply wouldn't work. Walking back inside he thought of old friends now all gone. Closing the door he walked back towards the bed, laying down again. He grabbed his own hand and held it. It didn't help much but it was something and right now he needed anything. Well he needed his family, his friends but he couldn't have those. Not anymore.

    Tears began to run down his face as he curled himself into a ball. He wished he had someone who could be there to comfort him. But no one would come. The only thing that would come would be the suns in the morning telling him it was time to leave. Maybe just maybe his thoughts would leave with the night.

Febuwhump Day 10: Difficulty Breathing

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warnings: Attempted murder and drowning

The sea of Kamino could be  beautiful. When it wasn't storming the sky's blue could compliment the sea very well. The storms however were common, making seeing the wonder of Kamino rare.

    It was a rather windy day. The sky was mostly clear with a possibility of rain in the later part of the day. Currently it was late morning; around 9:00. Tech liked watching the water. Today the waters were rough and choppy.

    Tech paid no attention to the regs that whispered behind him; he had no reason to. He walked closer and closer to the edge of the platform. The regs followed.

    Crosshair had a bad feeling. The rest of his brothers sat inside their barracks with him. Hunter was listening to the regs. He didn't think anything of it. The regs were mostly all talk. The man simply continued laying on the floor. Wrecker and Echo told each other stories and Crosshair cleaned his rifle.

    The regs inched closer to Tech. "Do you need something?" Tech turned around to face them. The clone closest to Tech smirked. "Can I help you?" Tech asked again.

    "Na I'm good." The clone answered. Tech recognized the trooper as Kitty.

    "Then why are you here?"

    "For this." With that Kitty pushed Tech over the edge. It didn't take long for him to hit the water. Had this been the normal platforms the soldier would have died on impact. This one was closer to the sea. He chose this platform because it made it easier to see the water.

    Hunter heard his brother's scream and sat up. He had left the barracks not to long ago simply to take a walk. The clone broke out into a sprint, raising his arm to contact Crosshair. "Cross get your rifle and meet me outside, one of the regs pushed Tech into the sea."

    "Understood." Crosshair answered immediately.

    The water was cold. Really cold. Tech's mind was both full and empty as he struggled to fight against the waves. His body was submerged in the water. He'd pull his head above the liquid only for the it to grab him again.

    Water entered his lungs making it difficult to breathe. Fighting in the fight of water vs man, water was winning and quickly.

    He felt like his life was flashing before his eyes. Tech felt helpless. With the lack of oxygen and the physical properties of trying to survive, Tech started to feel tired. He had to survive this; for his family, for himself, for the knowledge he hadn't learned yet, and for the people he was yet to help.

    Hunter ran out to the platform. He found the regs laughing, watching his younger brother drown. "Crosshair where are you?" Hunter's voice was laced with panic.

    "I'm almost there." Not even 30 seconds later Crosshair ran to meet Hunter.

    "Stay back" Hunter hissed at the regs. He'd watch them as Crosshair scanned the sea for Tech.

    He couldn't fight much longer. His body was exhausted and his lungs overworked. He seemed to both accept the fate that he thought was laid in front of him and not. He was both angry and eerily calm.

    Crosshair found Tech. He aimed and took his shot. The grappling hook grabbed him harshly and started to pull him up. Tech wasn't sure what was really going on until he saw Crosshair. Then he knew he was safe.

    The struggle was not over yet as Tech fought to breathe. His lungs had been working as hard as they could. He coughed, water coming up and out of his mouth. Even when the water was gone Tech breathed heavily.

   Air rapidly moved in and out of his lungs. The clone felt as if he couldn't breathe. It frustrated and scared him. Tech could barely hear Hunter calmly telling him to breathe.

    Hunter looked over Tech. The regs had abandoned the platform quickly after Hunter and Crosshair had arrived.

    Eventually Tech could breathe normally again. He hadn't moved from his place against the metal. Finally he noted how cold he felt. The wind only and this feeling worse. Standing Tech looked over to his brothers and thanked them.

    "I love you two. I may not stay that often or do much to reinforce this statement but I do." Tech stumbled closer to them.

    "I love you too Tech." Hunter put his arm under the others and helped him walk.

    "Love you" Crosshair grumbled.

    When the other members of the batch met up with the three Tech would repeat the same sentiment to them.

    "Awww love you too buddy!" Wrecker yelled. He went in for a hug but decided it would wait until Tech felt better.

    "Love you too Tech." Echo smiled and laid his hand on Tech's shoulder.

    For the first time Tech really thought about how lucky he was to end up with the four of them. Though it was sometimes hard to remember he tried to keep the thought of how lucky he was to be living and breathing with him.