🐺 ~PROJECT SAC-1~ ⚔️

Chapter 21 - The Price We Pay for Love 💔

(DAY 18 w/ THE BAD BATCH)

The Bad Batch were supposed to head back to Coruscant right after things wrapped up here on Kamino, but Wrecker didn't want his new girlfriend to see him this way. So sad. So broken.

Those weren't his words exactly, but Talla got that vibe when Wrecker dodged Skylar's comm this morning at breakfast, two days after he told her they'd be back after the Battle for Kamino. It was remarkable his girlfriend had enough restraint to wait this long before calling, because Skylar knew her boyfriend's squadron was on the front lines and could have very well died if there was a second attack after the first.

On the other hand, if Wrecker did happen to be alive, Skylar didn't want to appear clingy. It was not a good two days for Skylar, to say the least.

When she explained this reasoning after getting a hold of Talla soon after that first call, and Wrecker gave his friend permission to explain what happened because he didn't want her to worry, the Agent couldn't quite understand it. From Talla's point of view, if someone she cared about was scheduled to arrive at a certain time, but they didn't, and they didn't establish contact to explain why they were twelve hours, twenty-four hours, FORTY-EIGHT HOURS LATE, and she knew that they were in the midst of a potential battleground... a comm would be warranted for her peace of mind much sooner than what Skylar settled on.

Either way, Wrecker's girlfriend was really relieved she hadn't become a widow... or whatever the technical term was for a woman losing her boyfriend of less than three days. Was there even a technical term? Probably not.

Anyway, you get the idea!

Talla kept her word and completed most of Tech's tedious work around the ship, she tried to make sure the boys ate by taking them to the mess hall, and generally was always ready to be there for her friends when they needed it.

They all ended up accepting comfort in different ways:

📱 Tech 📱

When she sensed Tech's mood was at a really low point, Talla coaxed him out of his room to watch Holovids, finding the channel with the thriller crime drama they'd grown fond of. They enjoyed swapping theories and predictions while viewing it, even having some full-blown debates.

This time around though, Tech just huddled in the corner of the couch, wrapped in the cozy blanket Talla had purchased in the Coruscant Markets, silently sipping his cup of tea Talla also got for him. For the longest time, she didn't do anything but just silently sit next to him, which made her feel so useless.

Except, about halfway through their third episode, Tech said this: "Grief is a normal response to the loss of a loved one."

Talla jumped when she heard his small voice, but immediately recovered so she wouldn't miss a thing, and tucked her leg under her to twist in his direction, propping her arm on the back of the couch. She gave him her full, undivided attention. He didn't return her gaze, in fact it seemed like he was focused on the holovids, but even with the flashing kaleidoscope of colors within his glassy eyes from the projector, they still looked dull and lifeless.

It took him a bit to find the right words, which was weird because Tech ALWAYS knew what to say, but this was not a battle scene. Anxiously, he tapped his fingers against the cold mug for an inordinate amount of time. "Grief is ... unpredictable." He eventually stated, "It comes and goes, and the emotional variations and fluctuations on top of that... what I am experiencing makes me feel like I am violently twisting and turning through an aerial battlefield." Tech paused, then shook his head once, "No, a better example would be your first flying lesson, because there I had no control as what was going to happen, thus I was unable to prepare myself for the violent whiplash." If this was Crosshair giving a comment like that, Talla would have instantly become defensive because it would be said to make her feel bad. But Tech, he just stated facts. And for a fact, her first flying lesson was no picnic, and that was putting it lightly. It was a good metaphor. "The healing process is going to be long... and difficult." Tech continued, "... and it should not be done alone... in fact it is most effective with the help of friends."