The Bad Batch: Tech and Vel

13. Ingenuity

From a tall tree on a nearby hill, Vel let out a breath, lowering her hand and crumpling against the trunk in utter exhaustion. She couldn't quit now, though, as whatever voodoo fire magic the tribe believes to have happened might not be enough to keep them away from these horrible turtle-stealing invaders. She quickly scaled down the tree, and upon reaching the ground, picked up the bag containing the turtle creature she had intercepted. She threw it over her shoulder and sprinted for the Marauder, safely tucked behind the next grassy knoll.

Crosshair ran to the pile of their things, tugging his helmet over his head and lifting his sniper sight to his eye. He gave a quick perimeter scan before tossing Wrecker his helmet and pulling Tech's backpack onto his own shoulders. Wrecker crammed his head into his own helmet and threw Tech over his shoulder, earning a pained cry from the delirious clone.

The hum of the ship suddenly reached their ears, and they looked at each other in bewilderment. But lo and behold, the Marauder appeared over the trees, lowering clumsily above them as the stairs folded out. Setting the ship down with a crooked and embarrassingly loud thump, Vel ran to the doorway, beckoning for them to get in.

They filed onto the ship quickly, Hunter taking the controls, and he gunned the engine to make their departure. Once stabilized on a hyperspace route, he went back to join the others in the bunk room.

Crosshair slumped in the corner while Wrecker sat on the floor, holding a now-unconscious Tech. Vel was furiously searching through the datapad, looking for any clue as to what that thing was or what was happening in his body. Hunter motioned to Wrecker, and he picked Tech up to as much of a standing position as he could be put in without consciousness. Hunter placed a hand on Tech's forehead, tipping it back a little bit to inspect his eyes and mouth. He noticed some angry red welts appearing on his neck, above the edge of his blacks.

"Crosshair, get the medpack. We have to get some bacta on those as soon as possible, no matter what that thing was," Hunter said, "Vel, come give me a hand." They tried to lift Tech's arm, to take off his armor all together, but it earned them another yelp of pain. Vel winced.

"Wrecker, hold him," Hunter said, changing to instead remove the armor plates individually, hands flying from one to another. He unfastened the utility belt and its thigh straps, relieving Tech of his endless pouches and holsters. Finally, with one smooth motion, Hunter pulled the knife from his wrist gauntlet and sliced Tech's black base layer from bottom to top.

Vel let out a quiet gasp as it fell open, revealing his back to be covered with raised spirals, angry red, with broken blood vessels branching off of them in every direction. It was clear where his armor had and hadn't been -- every gap around it was filled with incredibly painful-looking burns.

Now was definitely not the time, but she also couldn't help but notice a surprising amount of musculature that she otherwise would not have guessed were there. Sure, he was a highly trained soldier, but it just didn't seem like part of the package. But as he oscillated between a quiet, mumbling coma and writhing with pain, she could see just how strong he was, and she felt herself flush with warmth. The side of Hunter's nose twitched, and his head jerked up. He looked at Vel with an accusatory hint of suspicion, but he spoke only of the work at hand.

"Crosshair, let's start with some chromostring to make sure it gets it all without any nerve damage," Hunter ordered, and it was tossed to him promptly. He worked quickly, covering each welt with the soothing "sssshhhh" of the canister. He layered bacta over it all, then placed a spray hypo in Tech's shoulder as his head lolled from one side to the other. He laid him down flat on his bunk, running a full body scan with the medpack's diagnostic.

"His vitals are stable," Hunter announced after a minute. "It appears that the welts on the skin were created by a toxin that quickly enters the bloodstream and goes straight to the brain. Supposedly, he will be alright, once it works its way out of his system."

"Whew," said Wrecker. "Doesn't sound fun!"

"Is there anything we can do to help that along?" Vel asked, churning inside at the sight of his squirming and whimpering.

"I'm afraid not," Hunter replied, checking the scan report, "Since we don't know for sure what that thing was, we don't want to do anything that could make it worse. It's safest to wait it out. We've got some time while we deliver that creature, which, by the way, I'm grateful you caught. We'll just keep an eye on him."

Vel sighed, nodded, and cleaned up the scraps from the med pack as the others exited, the door whooshing closed behind them. Tech rolled from his back to his side, drawing one knee up and gripping the side of the bed with white knuckles. His back tensed, and he let out a strained groan, flattening himself onto his stomach. His eyes remained closed behind their lenses, but his head kept twitching ever so slightly.

She hated to see him that way. She had to try something. Vel felt exhausted from her use of the Force earlier -- manipulating an entire ball of fire was far more difficult than turning a wrench -- but it killed her to see him this way. She sat on the bunk and hovered her hand over his back, closing her eyes and turning inward, seeking that calm, flowing energy. There were too many things buzzing around her mind; she furrowed her brow and shook her head minutely as if to clear them out.

Still too loud. She opened her eyes and let out a sigh, feeling defeated and insufficient. She looked tenderly down at Tech and dropped her hand to the small of his back, heart skipping a beat at the touch. He was far too hot and slightly slick with sweat. But the connection of skin on skin was euphoric. Pushing that aside, she closed her eyes and opened herself up to the Force once more, this time simply radiating comfort and peace.

She felt his back muscles tense beneath her hand as he breathed heavily, ending with a quiet whimper that broke her heart a little bit. She took a deep breath, sinking more deeply into the comforting energy, channeling all of it toward where her hand met his back. He exhaled, and his white-knuckled grip on the sides of the bed relaxed a bit.

Encouraged, Vel stayed on course, putting all her warmth toward that sense of consciousness beneath her hand. She reached toward it with her soul, feeling emboldened after their experience with the convor, although this was something entirely different. She had practiced this sort of thing in her Padawan training, but even then, she wasn't very good at it. She didn't want to invade his privacy, but there was something so familiar and inviting...

She decided to keep it at the surface, opening herself to him gently, but not pushing in. It was like venturing slowly into a rainforest, beginning to notice new scents and sounds. But there were no tangible thoughts or ideas, just a sense of things.

Smooth metal, burning wires. The thrill and delight of reading, the sheer awe and wonder of learning. Curiosity, disappointment. Victory and failure. A yearning to belong but an enduring gratitude for brotherhood. Calculations, statistics, strategies... Strong feelings and stronger cognitive analysis. Warmth in his heart.

She opened her eyes and pulled her hand back, not wanting to take advantage of his prone state. Her heart glowed from the contact, and she felt an unspeakable fondness rising within. Tech remained quiet, laying calmly in the position he had relaxed into. His rhythmic breathing confirmed his slumber, and Vel stood to leave.

Glancing around the now-empty room, she looked back down at him one more time, tracing a delicate finger along the side of his cheek before slipping out the door.