Chapter Text
They’d trudged through the snow, with only Tech’s old map for guidance, in the hopes to find anything that would get them out of the freezing wind. It was exhausting work, and after mere minutes they were both fully relying on each other to keep from falling over. Echo could hear his teeth chattering in an ongoing rattle that filled his helmet, so loud that he was almost convinced that Tech must have been able to hear it. The younger clone was mostly silent though, only speaking when he wanted them to shift directions again, and that was increasingly worrisome since Tech was usually much chattier when it was just the two of them. Perhaps he was just tired. Or just focusing on the map. It was so easy to get turned around out here. Echo would be completely lost without him.
He could feel Tech slipping further down the longer they kept moving, no matter how many times Echo heaved him back up. Another sign that he wasn’t doing well in this cold, and while that thought scared him, it also made him push them ahead harder. Anything to get them to that mine faster. To find shelter.
And then suddenly there it was.
Echo could have kissed it if it weren’t for his helmet and the fact that his lips might get stuck to the metal frame.
The mouth of the mine was looking very welcoming right now, even though it was little more than a basic metal frame with the door hanging halfway off its hinges. It was completely dark inside, so Echo couldn’t even begin to make out the details of the interior until he clicked on his night vision.
“No life forms registering inside,” Tech reported wearily. At least he was aware enough to have checked before Echo even had to ask. It was comforting to know they wouldn’t be sharing with any special critters native to this foreign planet. He doubted he could even fight off a porg just then.
“All ours for the taking then,” Echo said with forced cheer and tried to hurry them inside, but he was hindered by Tech’s feet all but dragging now.
It only took one glance at the door for Echo to determine that they would be unable to close it completely. It had been warped and crumbled with time, and any forced motion would just make it fall apart, he was sure. He’d maybe try to nudge it a little bit to block out as much of the wind as possible later, but he wanted to check on Tech first.
His brother was quickly becoming listless in his arms, as if by seeing the mine his body had finally given up the fight to stay vertical, and that scared Echo even more.
“Just a little further and we’ll get you warm and see to that arm,” Echo said gently, reaching out to tap the side of Tech’s helmet to rouse him a bit. Bleary eyes blinked slowly up at Echo from behind his goggles, but he felt the other clone plant his feet more firmly on the next step, “That’s it, good. Just need to get deep enough that we won’t feel the wind.”
Echo had no idea how deep this mine went, but from what he could see it looked like forever, and there were turns going every which way up ahead. He doubted Tech had any maps of the interior, so he kept to the main passage. The last thing they needed was to get themselves more lost than they already were.
He saw a large mining cart up ahead that had fallen on its side and dragged them both over to it, glad to see it was completely empty inside. He could make this work. Gently he lowered Tech down to the ground and pulled off both of their packs.
“We’re going to build ourselves a little nest here. Just need to line it with some of the cloaks and wrap up in the blankets, and we’ll warm right up,” he said, forcing his voice to carry loud enough to keep Tech somewhat alert. They had a heater with them, all survival packs contained one, and that was the first thing that Echo set up. He placed it carefully to the side and began to lay out any and all fabric they had with them. It would take at least an hour before it warmed the immediate area around them, but for now he was happy just to feel the ghost of warmth kissing his skin. He worked with one eye turned towards his brother, worry gnawing away at his stomach the longer Tech stayed silent.
As soon as he finished setting up the cart that would now be their home away from home, he scooted back over to Tech and helped ease him inside, tucking him as deep as he could manage. It was when he reached out with his hand to hold onto Tech’s arm that he realized something that set off all his warning bells.
Tech had stopped shivering.
There was no way that he had warmed up enough yet for that to happen, not when Echo could still see their breath with every puff, and when he could see the nearly blue skin edged around Tech’s goggles. That meant that he’d reached a very dangerous level of hypothermia and needed to be warmed up fast. He may not have been a medic like Tech or Kix, but knew enough to know it was officially time to worry.
“Kriff, okay, Tech we need to take off your armor and get you wrapped up. Don’t worry, the thermal blacks can stay on. Can you stay upright for a little bit longer while I do that?” he didn’t get a verbal response, but Tech also didn’t fall over sideways when Echo started to tug at the various bits of his gear. The lack of verbal response from the other clone made Echo's heart race in his chest.
He worked fast, only pausing briefly when it was time to pull of the vambrace on his injured arm. Instead of being clenched tightly against his chest like it had been all this time, it was held loosely in place and Echo was finally able to ease it out to look at. Quickly he saw that the casing had been crushed in the center, with some cracks splintering out in webs from the epicenter of whatever hit it. Must have been one of the falling rocks from the cliff, crushing Tech’s arm along with his little device. Echo had seen just how shattered the metal bits of the device were and could only imagine what it would have done to Tech’s arm. Thank the Force for the vambrace, otherwise his arm may have been completely crushed.
He knew the vambrace to come off though if he was going to get a better look at what happened, so gently he eased it off, carefully watching Tech for any sort of reaction. His eyes were still half open, but his blinks were getting slower. The only sound that he heard from Tech was a bit off gasp of pain before he fell silent again. It hurt to hear his brother hurting because of what Echo as doing, but he knew he couldn't stop until he knew the full extent of the damage. Already he feared that whatever lay beneath would be out of his ability to treat, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he finally got it off.
The first thing Echo spotted once it was removed was a strange black splattering congealed into crystals on the forearm. It took him a moment before he realized what it was. He’d never seen blood frozen before. That must have been what Tech meant when he said the cold was taking care of his immediate problem. It was the iced version of cauterizing a wound.
It was difficult to see much else around the blood, so he dug into Tech pack to pull out the medical scanner.
The readout wasn’t great.
Obvious advanced hypothermia aside, his arm was fractured and had a very deep laceration from the impact, one that would have caused some serious blood loss if it wasn’t already frozen up. Still, if he managed to warm Tech up enough for it thaw out, he’d be looking at a freely bleeding wound very soon. He couldn’t treat it as is, not with it frozen up like that, so he’d just have to be ready to act and have bacta bandages in place. The fracture there was little he could do except brace it after treating the laceration. Echo just hoped he could work fast enough with one hand that it wouldn’t be a big deal. Not for the first time he wished that any of the others were there too, anyone who could help him do this right. Echo was only guessing at the best course of action now, and he'd never forgive himself if he acted wrong and Tech paid for it. He didn't think the others would forgive him either.
“No wonder you were unable to use your arm. This is a mess,” he commented, mostly to himself but it got Tech to shift a bit and a sad sounding chuckled fell from his lips. The first sign of awareness he’d seen since they got there.
“And…you?” Tech asked, nearly whispered.
Echo made a show of running the scanner over himself and tilting the screen down for Tech to read, “Mild concussion and early-stage hypothermia. And lots of bruising. I’ll be just fine, so let’s worry about you right now,” he said, gently squeezing Tech’s shoulder as he began to ease him down into the nest of fabric.
“The…others?”
“Still can’t reach them. I doubt we’d get a signal even if the storm ended right now. We’re too deep into the mine,” Echo told him, carefully tucking the blankets around him.
Tech frowned, “Find us?”
“I hope so, but I don’t see how…” it was a worrisome thought. Hunter’s senses would be going haywire with all the ore interfering down here, and any visual sign of the two of them walking through the snow would be gone by now, erased by the falling snow and wind, making it impossible for Crosshair to see them. They still had their heater that was valiantly trying to warm up the frigid mine, and he had blankets and bandages…they could make do for now, but…
Tech coughed weakly, shifting minutely as if he was trying to burrow down deeper into the blankets but didn’t quite have the strength. Echo sighed sadly and reached up to tuck the folds in closer around his brother’s neck, only to catch sight of red.
It gave him an idea.
Reaching forward, Echo carefully pulled the scarf away, wincing when he saw Tech jerk as the cold hit his exposed neck, “Shh, I’m sorry little brother, but I need this. I’ll be right back. Please stay awake.”
He held the scarf tightly in his hand and stumbled back onto his feet, swaying dangerously for a moment before he dared to start running back down the mine. Every foot he moved away from Tech just made his heart hammer harder in his chest, but he needed to do this. It was the only thing he could think of.
The mouth of the mine came into sight again, and Echo gritted his teeth as the cold began to seep back into his thawing skin.
His eyes squinted against the wind as he stepped outside again and whipped his head back and forth until it caught sight of a piece of rock jutting out from the rock beside the door. It would have to do.
Quickly, Echo tied the scarf in place, making sure the long ends were able to freely whip around in the wind without tugging it loose, and stepped back to check his handiwork.
The red caught his eye instantly, waving like a flag that Echo could only pray would catch the attention of Crosshair’s eyes, or Hunter’s senses if it smelled enough like Tech. Did Hunter even have enhanced smell? Maybe not. How would he have survived the smell of their barracks if he did...but just in case, right? It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. He didn’t want to waste any more time away from Tech though, so he dove back into the mine and retraced his steps back.
The soft glow from the heater drew him in with the promise of warmth, but he still dropped next to Tech first to check on him. He released the breath he’d been holding when he saw Tech’s eyes glimmering under the light, even if they were half lidded still, he was awake.
Echo was no trained medic, but there was something urgent that his gut him that Tech needed to stay awake. Maybe it was his own fearful ignorance that told him that sleep just put Tech one faltered heartbeat away from death, or maybe it was Echo’s subconscious screaming out that it didn’t want to be left alone in a cold place ever again. Either way, he knew that he didn’t want to see his brother’s eyes closed right then. Please no.
“Alright, I’m back. How are you feeling?” he asked as he began to peel off his own armor and tuck it off to the side.
Tech looked like he tried to lift his head but didn’t get past even the thought of it, “Tired,” he said finally, making Echo’s stomach drop like they were back in freefall.
“Ah, well no sleep, not just yet. Let’s wait until we’re both a little warmer before we try that,” he said, trying to sound sorry when really all he felt was fear and desperation. Tech sighed, the end of it catching into another weak cough, but he didn’t close his eyes. Victory number four for the day. Although it was a hollow victory at best. Noting about this situation felt like a win.
This was supposed to be their first official mission together as a squad and already Echo had helped lead two of his new teammates into a highly dangerous environment, fell off the cliff with one of them, and left the other stranded and alone…hardly a good first impression.
And that was honestly the least of his concerns right now.
His first and foremost concern was the injured and very young clone next to him. He looked awful like this. He’d only known Tech for a little under two weeks and he’d known him as nothing less than a seemingly endless ball of energy. If Crosshair was genetically engineered to be powered off of spite, Tech was engineered to probably have his own fusion reactor instead of a digestive system. IT would make sense since he never seemed to want to stop and eat. Seeing him so still and quiet was unnerving, and if this was why the others were so protective of him then Echo could fully understand that now.
The overturned mine cart he’d made into their temporary shelter was a decent size for carrying loads of ore, but it was a little cramped when trying to fit two fully grown clones inside. Still, this would be the fastest way for both of them to warm up, at least he hoped. His body didn’t give off heat like it used to, especially now that he was mostly metal bits.
He climbed over Tech to tuck in behind him and ducked under the blankets as quickly as he could to make sure no warmth escaped, but he was startled to realize that there was little to no heat built up under the blankets yet. Tech’s body was still too cold to produce its own and that scared Echo even more than he already was.
“Easy now,” Echo soothed when Tech coughed again, “We’ll get nice and toasty now with the two of us in here. Will just be like all the other times we’ve had to share a bunk lately,” he tried to joke, and seeing the small smirk that fell over Tech’s lips made it worth hiding the fear in his voice to see it.
As tired as he was, Echo knew he had to stay awake as well. Not just because of the concussion, but because he had to take care of Tech too. Falling asleep would be bad for either of them, but he also had to keep watch on Tech’s arm for when it thawed out enough to begin bleeding freely. He’d have to patch it up better, maybe even try cleaning it out. No sleep. Not yet. Stay awake.
“Don’t suppose you have another lecture on snowflakes up your sleeve?”
Tech’s eyelids fluttered, and if he was feeling better his eyes probably would have lit up at being asked to share some of his endless knowledge.
“Haven’t you had…enough snow?” Tech asked slowly.
Echo couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that escaped his lips, “I guess not, but if you have another topic you’re up for talking about I’m all ears.”
Tech smirked, but it was little more than a twitch of his lips before it fell back into a sad frown, “I don’t know if I…” he trailed off into another cough, this one sounding like it came from a little deeper in his chest. Echo didn’t want to think of what that meant, so he decided to pretend it would go away once they were warm.
Echo shushed him gently and reached down to uselessly tug the blankets closer around them, “Then I’ll talk about something, but it has to be something that you actually want to listen to. Otherwise, you’ll just pass out from boredom.” It would be a switch from their usual roles, with Tech talking about anything and everything while Echo listened (and sometimes fell asleep to), but if it helped keep Tech awake he’d do anything necessary.
Tech quirked a brow at him, “What subjects are you *cough* knowledgeable in?”
“Uh, I have all of the GAR regulations manuals memorized.”
“Ah. Best choose…something else if the objective is to stay awake.”
When he glanced down at Tech in surprise, the little brat was smirking again.
“Hush up, you. Fine…we won’t do regulation manuals,” It made Echo pause and think about what else he knew outside of war, battle strategy, and things Tech would already know about splicing and ships. The fact that he struggled with this was a bit sad to him. He never really cared much before that a clone’s life was rather limited in that way, it was all he knew. Literally. They took the same tests, wore the same face, were created for the same purpose. But now that he’d lived a time as a tool for the Techno Union, and now another few scant weeks with this very different squad, it made Echo wonder if there was more to him now and if there would be even more later. All he had to do was listen to a few of Tech’s lectures on other planets and all the wonders they held and he’d known there was so much more outside of war. He envied Tech’s freedom of mind, his passion to learn beyond their little lives.
Echo found himself wishing he was different, if just because he wanted to be more than just a reg. He wanted to be as different as his new brothers.
“I’m not sure what else to talk about to be honest. Before the Techno Union my whole existence was regulations, training with my old batch, then my time as an ARC trooper. I don’t know much beyond that,” he admitted quietly.
“Tell me about…*cough* them.”
Echo glanced down at Tech in confusion, “About who?”
He felt Tech shift slightly closer, probably seeking out heat again. Little missile he was.
“Your first brothers,” the younger clone clarified.
The request surprised Echo, but before he could even question it, he had already fallen into a story of his brothers during their training. How the Domino squad struggled at first, but then formed a formidable and cohesive team in the end. Their rise, their fall, the survivors, Fives, the next fall…Echo went on until he was hoarse, but he didn’t stop. Even as he bandaged and splinted Tech's arm as the blood began to thaw, he continued.
He could feel his own eyes threatening to shut, and he could see Tech’s doing the same, so he pushed, thinking of every momentous part of his life with his brothers. The good and the bad, all the while seeing Tech’s face brighten and shadow along with the stories. It felt good, cathartic even, to share the events. After all, Echo was the last one. No one else would have these memories unless he shared them, and who better than a walking and living data bank like Tech?
Hours must have passed, and Echo had only paused once to re-bandage Tech’s arm once it had begun to heavily stain the last one, and to force them both to drink some water. Tech’s skin was still cold to the touch, but he had started shivering again a few stories ago, a good sign even if it made his teeth rattle loudly.
When Echo had finished the last tale he had with Fives he wasn’t sure what to say next. He didn’t want to talk about the Techno Union, or the Citadel, not yet anyway. He wracked his brain for anything else that might be of interest. Maybe he’d want to talk more about cybernetics? Or Rishi’s orbit? No, he probably already knows…
“Tell me about the jedi.”
The request was a soft one, but it pulled Echo’s attention back to his younger brother who was still shivering under their shared blanket, but his eyes were bright again with curiosity.
“I don’t know much about them, but I worked with General Skywalker a fair bit. From what I’ve been told he isn’t your typical jedi, so I’m not sure if he’ll skew your impression of them.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, I have a few of my own stories on that, but wait until I tell you about the ones that Rex told me. You see, there was this one planet…”