The Bad Batch: Tech and Vel

9. Interception

Tech emerged from the crevice, helmet first, then backpack antenna, then the rest of his glorious, tall, wonderful, incredibly welcome frame. Vel exhaled, looking up at him from her hand on her forehead. 

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" she asked, dropping her hand to assume a completely dumbfounded posture. She was so flooded with relief at the sight of him, exhilaration from the pursuit, and confusion about the whole situation that she forgot the pain she'd been carrying for months.

"I will be happy to answer all your questions," Tech answered, corner of his mouth lifted in the hint of a smile, "When we are in a secure space. The ship is up above. Will you join me?"

She followed him after Wrecker, still speechless, mind racing with questions. They approached a set of lifts; the left was clearly occupied and on its way up, but the right was dark and available for use. They stepped on together, Tech punched a number, and the doors slid shut. 

The lighting in the lift was dim, and it reeked of all kinds of unsavory activities. Tech lifted his visor and regarded her from his helmet. 

"Is this what you have been doing?" he asked, without any trace of implication behind his words.

"Are you going to lecture me?" Vel retorted, lifting her chin as she met his gaze. 

"No," came the simple response, as Tech calmly returned his eyes to the front.

The lift arrived with a mechanical ding, and the doors opened. They walked wordlessly down a puzzle of streets, Tech tapping away on his datapad as if nothing had happened, until they arrived at the Marauder. 

Crosshair and Wrecker were already settled as Tech and Vel boarded the ship. She looked around, feeling the dull ache once again as she took in the space she had come to grow fond of. Tech took his seat at the pilot controls, powering up the ship, and Crosshair stared at her as she approached. Wrecker clapped her on the shoulder as he headed back toward the bunks, and it was then that she noticed something different.

"Where's Hunter?" she asked, looking after Wrecker. 

Crosshair smirked, bringing a foot up to rest on his chair, elbow propped up on his knee. "Hunter took a bit of a tumble," he said smoothly. Was he gloating? Or was that just the way he talked? She looked to Tech inquisitively.

"What happened?" she asked.

Finishing his sequence of switches and buttons, Tech swiveled in his seat to face her. "We were sent to sabotage a Separatist droid factory. The intel we were given suggested that the power cells were housed in extremely combustible and highly valuable ipsium. We placed charges appropriately and constructed a timed detonator, to ensure ample time for our escape, but..." he faltered, lowering his head shamefully. 

"But your star-crossed lover here got his wires mixed up," Crosshair interjected, jabbing his toothpick in Tech's direction, "And the factory collapsed before we could get out."

Two simultaneous reactions met his words: Tech's head snapped up at Crosshair's accusation, and Vel's eyebrows skyrocketed at the news. Something echoed in the back of her mind... star-crossed lover?... but it was overshadowed by the lack of closure about Hunter's status.

"Is he okay?" she asked, feeling a disproportionate amount of concern. 

"Yes," Tech answered pertly, still staring at Crosshair. "He suffered two femoral fractures due to a falling crossbar, but he is nearly entirely recovered. And the wires were not mixed up," he insisted, "The coating had an unexpected reaction with the ipsium."

Vel's relief at his words was quickly overtaken by a flashback to their little outing to the geological cache. She could see the glass case of mineral reactions, remembering distinctly her delight at the new combinations she hadn't yet known about. 

"Oh no," she said, realization dawning on her as she looked at Tech, "Were they syllen wires?"

"They were," he confirmed grimly, "And I am now fully aware of their combustibility in proximity to ipsium."

"Too bad you weren't there," Crosshair crooned, and Vel couldn't gauge his tone. Some mix of mocking, wistful, and disdain. The usual cocktail. She let it go and took a deep breath, dropping into a nearby seat. She absently rubbed her temple, squinting through the throbbing pain that was now emanating from both her head as well as her chest.

"May I assist with that?" Tech asked cordially, motioning toward her hand. 

"It's fine," she said dismissively, still fighting to form a coherent thought. "What am I doing here? What are you guys doing here?" she finally asked, looking at each of them in turn. 

"Well, we wondered if you would be open to assisting us again," came a silken voice from behind her. She swiveled in her seat to see Hunter sauntering in from the back, walking a bit more stiffly than usual but looking none worse for the wear. 

There was absolutely too much going on, and Vel felt near to a breaking point. She shook her head, immediately regretted it, and gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes. She hadn't realized how much had been pent up inside, between the disappointment of her departure to the stress of the day. She just wanted to sleep an entire day and night, wake up fresh, and start again.

"Let's fix that headache and you can go from there," Hunter invited, motioning for Tech to approach. He could sense her faltering, and was just in time with his recommendation. As Tech reached out to offer her a hand, she felt her eyes grow irresistibly heavy, followed by her head, and the last thing she saw before blacking out was a concerned pair of honey-colored eyes.