Whumpril Day 9: Held Down/Bruises/"Who Did This To You?"

Whumpril Day 9: Held Down/Bruises/"Who Did This To You?"

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Warning: Violence

Summary: A story of how the regs treated Tech when they were younger.

Tech stared at the reg that held him to the floor. The floor was cold and hard and the reg was harsh and judgmental. The fight that had broken out wasn't long but wasn't short. Tech's googles laid broken on the ground. Blood spilled from his split lip and nose. The regs hands were bloody from the landing blows he had given the other.

Grabbing Tech's head, he shoved it into the ground. Tech struggled to get out from underneath the clone. His body was in so much pain. Friends of the reg watched and laughed. The struggle continued as the clone beat his 'brother'.

Thinking of what to do next Tech moved to the side slightly which surprised his attacker. Despite his condition, Tech moved out from underneath the clone and stood. One of the other boys grabbed him and had him pinned to the wall almost immediately after he stood.

Tech breathed heavily and waited to figure out his next move. The regs were stronger than him. They would have to leave him alone eventually so for now he gave up and let them tear him apart. Fighting felt useless. He would just have to deal with the injuries given to him.

Once the regs had had their fun they let him go. Tech slid down the wall they never let him leave and stayed there until he felt safe to get up. He stood and grabbed his googles. Looking down at them there was a small crack in the glass. He sighed and started to walk back to his barracks.

Back in the barracks, Tech started to take care of his injuries. He stood up and walked over to the table that some bandages rested on. Then Crosshair walked in. "Tech?" He walked over to his brother. Going to grab a bandaid he brushed his brother's arm. Tech flinched and moved back slightly.

Crosshair stopped and took a look at the other. "Who did this to you?" he sneered.

"Some regs."

"Well no shit. Do you know which ones?"

"I do."

"Well then who did this to you?" Crosshair started to raise his voice.

"No. You will fight them."

"Tech, tell me who did this to you?"

"No, you will fight them. I do not want you to fight them."

"Fine, I won't fight them. Now who the fuck did this to you?" The frustration took control of his vocal cords and the boy yelled at Tech.

Tech flinched at the noise. He pulled his arms slightly upwards, "I'm sorry!" He yelped, panicked.

"Fuck" Crosshair whispered. He hadn't meant to scare him. "Fine. Don't tell me."

Tech relaxed and looked at his brother, "I'm sorry. I know you won't hurt me. That was a response to the attack from earlier."

"It's fine."

Later the two would meet with their other two batch mates for training. When asked what happened Tech simply explained that some of the other cadets had beaten him up. He said that he didn't want to talk about it and luckily neither Wrecker nor Hunter pressed.

The tight blacks and armor rubbed against his skin, hitting every bruise. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe; but Tech had to ignore the pain for the sake of training in the same way he would ignore it for the sake of a mission. The bruises stung as reminders that he wasn't strong enough. How could he be a soldier if his supposed comrades hated him? And for what; because he was different?

The batch never failed a training exercise and this one would be no expectation. The pain from moving around so much caused Tech to almost collapse at the door on the way out. Wrecker tried to help him up but the pressure on the bruises hurt more than standing.

Back in the barracks, Tech laid down on his bunk and tried to get some rest. Laying on his back startled the boy so he laid on his side. He would heal but for now the fear of the regs was to stay. The batch watched him closer; not that he'd ever know. Tech was an easy target, he wasn't the strongest and he didn't always understand what was going on until too late. They loved their brother dearly and hated to see people using his differences to pick at him.

Whumpril Day 13: Burry Vision/"I Think I Need to Sit Down."

Fandom: Star Wars The Clone Wars.

Summary: Obi-wan gets wounded by Grievous. Cody's in there to just wait till closer to the end.

    Blood poured from Obi-wan's head. He had been slammed into a nearby wall by General Grievous. The Jedi stood back up swiftly and pushed off the wall. He swung his lightsaber towards his foe.

    As the fight continued Obi-wan's strikes became less coordinated. His vision started to blur. The nearby blaster fire mixed with the color of Grievous's blue lightsabers. It confused him. Using the force to find where the blades would be coming from, Kenobi looked for a way out. He had two goals now, don't let any more of the men be killed by Grievous and survive.

    The 212th had the upper hand in the fight. The main issue was Obi-wan's injury. He hoped to stick it out until Grievous would eventually retreat. Blinking he tried to get rid of the blurriness.

    A few minutes felt like an hour and Grievous was gone. "This isn't over Kenobi" he spoke calmly and angrily.

    "Of course it's not" he whispered. Obi-wan wanted to come up with something to say but his splitting headache made it difficult to think.

    Obi-wan stumbled around the area, trying not trip over droids and over his men's bodies. A shot from behind startled him. Turing around, lightsaber drawn, he heard a voice. "Obi-wan!"

     He saw the white and he saw the orange meaning the voice had to be a member of the 212th. Which member he wasn't sure at first.

    A new droid laid on the ground behind him. The clone jumped over it and ran up to his jedi. "Are you alright?" A hand carefully touched the man's upper arm and Obi-wan knew who it was.

    "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you dear."

    "Don't thank me; thank Wooly. 

    Obi-wan looked around, trying to find Wooly. "Thank you."

    "That's not Wooly."

    "Oh. Where is he?"

    "I'm right here General. Anytime."

    Obi-wan took a few shaky steps forward. Cody held his arms out just in case he needed to catch the other.

    The Jedi stopped for a second. " I think I need to sit down"  His legs gave out from underneath him. Cody slid and caught him.

    "Wooly." Cody sounded scared. Woolly moved in and grabbed the general and took him to the triage. His wound would be taken care of there.

    Later Obi-wan would wake up. His head throbbed but at least he could see clearly. Looking around he tried to find his commander.

    After a little while Cody would appear to check on his lover. "Hey dear" he kneeled down to Obi-wan, "how are you feeling?"

    "Better. That was a good catch."

    "Thanks. I've gotta go but I figured I should check on you."

    "Go on." Cody nodded and left.

    Obi-wan could deal with a concussion. Cody would get him up every hour, even though he told him it wasn't necessary. 

    Tears welled in his eyes as he thought of the memory of his lovers kindness. The sandy planet of Tatooien was lonely. His vision blurred and he sighed knowing, even if he was never supposed to have it, he would never have it again. Cody was gone, not dead, but gone. He was forever out of reach. There was no one to help him, no one to dry his tears and there never would be again.

Whumpril Day 2: Stress/"Get Some Rest."

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Note: This story contains heavy spoilers for season two, episode 16 (Plan 99). The story will make a lot more sense if you have seen the episode.

Summary: When Wrecker gets captured it's up to Hunter to find his brother. After all he's the only one who can.

  It had been a few days since Wrecker had gotten captured. Hunter was waiting for Echo to get to Padu. Of course he could just get Tech to help as he layed in the bottom of the chasm on Eriadu. Omega was captured and so was Crosshair. He was alone this time. It was up to him to figure out where Wrecker was and how to get him back.

    Now Hunter stood alone in the Marauder. He started pacing back and forth, wondering where the imperials might have taken his brother. The clone had already had Echo to have one of his contacts check Coruscant's databases.  Nothing.

    Hunter's pacing got quicker. "Haar'chak!" He slammed his hands on a nearby table. Letting his head fall he sighed. This was his fault. How could that squad leader fail so miserably? It was his job to protect them after all.

    Two rotations went by and Phee decided to go see Hunter. She was doing her best to help the batch cope while also coping herself. "Hey Hunter" she greeted.

    "Hello Phee." Hunter sounded tired. Not just tired but exhausted. His appearance betrayed him as he appeared tired as well.

    "Have you gotten any sleep?"

    The clone stayed silent.

    "Get some rest."

    "No. I have to find them Phee. I can't lose them all. I need to find them."

    "You're not going to find them like this."

    Hunter knew she was right but still argued, "I will. I don't have the time to rest. I need to find them. It's my response to keep them safe."

    "That was in the war. Hunter you're not their leader anymore, you're their brother. Right now the best thing you can do is get some rest and continue trying later."

    "Phee you don't understand-"

    "Maybe I don't, but I do know you can't do anything for them until you take care of yourself." Phee sighed, "rest please."

    The two kept arguing until adventaly Phee got him to agree to sleep. She took the datapad from him and sent him to his room. After that she sat down in Tech's chair and started to scroll down the information. Hunter needed his rest but that didn't mean she couldn't look while he was asleep. Those clones had made their way into her heart and Phee would be damned if anything else happened to the others. She couldn't do anything for her love so maybe she could help the others.

@whumpril

Haar'chak: Damn it in Mando'a

Whumpril Day 10: "I'm Scared."

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Warning: Major character death

Summary: Tech and Omega are sent off to find their target for the mission. Things don't go well.

  When the batch took this mission, they knew it was dangerous. Echo had hated to ask them but the rebels needed this mission to succeed and his brothers and sister would be perfect for it. It didn't take much convincing before they agreed. After being informed they were rescuing a youngling they knew they had to.

    The mission started off smoothly. Of course it couldn't stay that way. Quickly the batch found themselves running and trying to hide. They had to survive to find the youngling after all.

    "Tech, Omega, go find the kid. Wrecker, Echo, and I will cause a diversion. Let us know when you have the youngling and we'll meet back up on the Marauder." With that they split.

    Tech knew where everything in the facility should be. He had studied the interior before they got there. The halls all looked the same but they made their way to the cell block the child was held in.

    Just as the two entered the block some stormtroopers turned the corner. Both turned around to fire. Tech focused on the troopers. Then he heard a yelp and a body hit the floor. He looked over to where his sister had been standing and realized it was her.

    Without thought, Tech quickly moved her off to the side and finished off the bucket heads. Rushing back over to her he kneeled by her side to assess her injuries. "Omega?"

    "Tech? Tech, I'm scared."

    I'm scared. The words rang through Tech's head. He knew Omega had been scared before but she never told them. The kid had walked through hell without showing her fear. She was brave and it showed. Hearing her admit to being afraid made his heart sink. "You will be fine."

    "I'm scared" she whispered. Faint crying was all that could be heard in the hall. Everything else was dead silent. It was as if time had stopped. Perhaps it had.

    "I know. I am.. also afraid" Tech admitted. "It is okay to be scared. I promise we will be okay. I'll take care of you."

    Looking at the injury, Tech knew he didn't have much time. He was surprised the shot hadn't killed her on impact.

    "Tech, I don't wanna go." Omega shook.

    "You will be alright Omega." Tech reached into one of his pouches and pulled a bacta patch out as well as some bandages. The hallway wasn't the best place to tend to the wound; it was dirty and troopers could be there any minute but there was nowhere else to move.

    He turned back to face the little girl in front of him. "Omega?" Tech spoke softly. Placing the medical supplies next to him, he reached his hand out and placed it against her neck. It felt like his own heart stopped beating. Know he knew time had stopped. He would never be the same after this moment.

    "Omega?" Tech's voice cracked. He started CPR on her. Only a few seconds later stormtroopers would enter the hall again. Tech shot them down and grabbed Omega's body. He ran to the cell the youngling was held and opened it. "Hello. I'm here to help you." Then Tech looked at the youngling. The report was wrong, the child was a padawan; a padawan he knew well.

   "Tech?" Caleb asked.

    "Hello. Now come on, we need to leave."

    Caleb looked at him for a minute before stepping closer to him. "Can I trust you?"

    "Yes, you can."

    "Who is the girl?"

    "Omega, my sister."

    "You have a sister?"

    "Yes. That is not important right now."

    Caleb walked outside of the cell. Tech grabbed him and handed him his lightsaber. "Is she okay?" Caleb asked.

    "No."

    After informing Hunter that he had found the padawan, the two ran to the Marauder. On the way they ran into more stormtroopers. Cornered Tech looked over at Caleb. He was shaking. "Are you alright?"

    "I'm scared." The boy's voice mixed with the dead girl's. Tech's head was playing tricks on him.

    "You will be fine." He may not have been able to save Omega but he wouldn't fail Caleb, not this time. Placing Omega's body beside him he looked around the corner and put together a plan to take them out. Crosshair would have been proud of the shots he made to end their lives.

    Caleb looked down at Omega's body. He realized that the girl was his age. Then he realized that she was dead. Startled he jumped back and looked over at Tech. He had finished off the soldiers and turned to pick her back up. "I'm sorry about Omega."

    Tech said nothing. The two made it back to the Marauder without any other problems. The other three were already there.

    On the ship Tech walked right past his brothers and laid Omega down on her bed. He rested the blanket over her growing cold body. Grabbing Lula the clone walked to face his brothers.

    When he walked out with Lula they knew she was gone. Tech handed the tooka doll to his brother and walked to the cockpit to pilot the ship. Caleb tried to help the family with their loss.

    Nothing would ever be the same. Tech felt trapped in that moment. For him time stopped and just couldn't start again. When someone was scared he became extremely protective over them, swearing no one would die scared under his watch. He would join Echo in the fight against the empire for that very reason. It would be a long fight and a hard one but so would healing.

@whumpril

Whumpril Day 20: Waiting Room (Alt Prompt 4? 5?)

Fandom: Star Wars The Clone Wars

Summary: Cody gets hurt and Obi-wan just wants him to be okay.

  The waiting room was silent. Obi-wan waited for a nurse or doctor to come and tell him how his commander was. The Jedi was told that Cody had stopped a kidnapping but gotten beaten up and shot in the process. It was just like the clone to protect people. Obi-wan was proud.

    The child was fine. The doctor, with parents permission, had told him that a few hours ago. Cody needed surgery for his injuries.

    It was quiet, far too quiet. The off white walls felt suffocating. The chairs were hard and uncomfortable. Time felt like it stopped. The clock on the wall taunted Obi-wan. Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days. Nothing else seemed to matter.

    No one else was in the room. Obi-wan couldn't help but think about the people who had been in the room before him. They would've waited the same as him. The pain or relief they felt as the doctor walked in and informed them of how their loved ones were.

    Waiting here in this room was painful. Kenobi was helpless, only able to sit and see if the walls would see another person's life fall apart. The four off white walls had watched hundreds of hearts crumble. As long as lives were lost and those walls stood, they would watch time stop and start for people they never knew the story off. They were unable to provide any comfort to the scared loved ones.

    The general shifted uncomfortably. He leaned back and took a few deep breaths. Everything had to be okay. For now he would sit here; in this waiting room; using it for its intended purpose. Waiting. 

Whumpril Day 8: Forgiveness (Alt prompt 5)

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Note: implied season 2 spoilers

Summary: Crosshair is rescued by the batch.

  Crosshair woke up on the Marauder. The last thing he had seen was Hemlock so how had he gotten here? Was this another cruel dream? Would he talk to his brother's again, finally feel alive again, only to be woken up from a wonderful dream to face the harsh reality that he would never see them again? That the way it needed to be.

    But no, this time he knew he was safe as pain rushed in. Never had Crosshair been so happy to be in a senseless amount of pain. Echo walked over to his brother and checked on him. "He's awake" he spoke softly.

    "Good." Hunter sounded tired. Crosshair had heard him tired before but this, this was a new kind of tired.

    Wrecker walked to Crosshair's side, "hey Cross, how do you feel?" The tone of Wrecker's voice startled the clone. Never before had he sounded so sad, so done.

    "I'm... I'm okay." Crosshair mustered the strength to speak. "Where's Omega" he whispered.

    "Resting" Echo answered the question softly.

    "Tech?" The looks on everyone's faces answered the question for him.

    "He died a little while ago." Hunter sighed, "around three months."

    Crosshair did his best to give them a nod. Three months was about the time Omega had been captured and taken to Mount Tantus. The two advents likely connected somewhere but Crosshair would wait to ask. 

    Time would go by and Crosshair would heal. Walking around with his family he wondered why they never talked about what he had done, why they forgave him so easily? Eventually the burning question had to be asked.

    Everyone sat around a table on Pabu. Echo had come to visit them and the five had been invited to have dinner with Phee, Shep, and Lyana. It was a warm and beautiful day. Everyone sat down to enjoy their time together and some good food.

    "Why?" Crosshair asked. He knew now wasn't the time but there may never be a time and he needed to know.

    "What?" Omega looked over at her brother confused.

    "Why did you forgive me so quickly?"

    The others stared at the man for a moment. "It wasn't you" Wrecker started.

    "Part of it was."

    "And you regret that part" Echo knew this would come; he knew at some point Crosshair would ask. The answer that lay in the back of their minds was that they had already lost one brother, they weren't going to lose another. Tech would want them to forgive him.

    "That doesn't change what I did."

    "Crosshair, we know that. You're our brother and we care about you. You did some awful things that you regret and have learned from them. You're not some tearable person killing people for fun. When you did hurt people you thought it was for a greater and better cause. The empire manipulated you and once you saw that you did something about it" Hunter insured his brother.

    Crosshair looked at Hunter for a moment before continuing, "I got Tech killed. You came there for me."

    "Gerrera got Tech killed, not you." Echo set his drink down.

    "He wanted you safe, all of us safe. Tech's decision was his own to make." Hunter put a hand on Crosshair's shoulder.

    "And you weren't even there! It couldn't be your fault!" Omega walked over to Crosshair, who moved his chair back slightly. "We forgave you because we understood. When you figured out you were wrong you did something about it and then instead of trying to leave Tantus you warned us." The girl wrapped her arms around the man.

    "That doesn't mean you should forgive me!" Placing his hands on her shoulders, Crosshair shoved Omega off of him. She stumbled and fell back into Wrecker.

    "Why are you trying to find reasons for us to hate you?" Echo moved over behind Hunter, who sat beside Crosshair. The three non-clones tried to figure out how to help. Unsure of what to do Shep and Lyana quietly exited, deciding they should leave it to the family. As much as they wanted to help it was best for them to work though it.

    "Because you should!" The sniper stood quickly, slamming his hands on the table. "I'm a horrible person! I don't deserve this! I don't deserve your forgiveness and I don't deserve the peace of Padu!"

    "No you're not!" Omega and Wrecker shot back.

   "You are not a horrible person Crosshair. We already told you that." Hunter stood and rested his hand on his brother's shoulder again.

    "Crosshair, you need to forgive yourself." Everyone turned to face Phee. "You can't keep blaming yourself for things out of your control and you have to acknowledge your growth" she walked closer to the clone. " If you don't it'll kill ya."

    The ex-imperial stood there stunned. "She's right" Hunter removed his hand from its resting position and laid it at his side.

    Instead of arguing Crosshair started to leave. He put one foot in front of the other and left them. Despite their calls for him he left. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought. Their love, their time, their kindness; it was all wasted on him. He didn't deserve their forgiveness and he didn't deserve Tech's. In his eyes, he never would.

@whumpril