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purplefangirl42 · 2 years

Text

Plant Yourself in My Heart

Summary: While doing research at the Jedi Temple, Tech meets someone that makes him realize that he is not alone in his passion for knowledge.

Pairing: Tech/Jedi! OC (Anaj Rotz)

Warnings/Tags: First Meetings, Plant Related Adventures, Mentions of a Bar Fight

A/N: This is the Star Wars half of my follower celebration, which was voted to be the Tech/OC piece by my lovely followers. This takes place within the same fic verse as all the rest of my Star Wars fics, sometime after chapter 8 of Bad Timing. Thank you to @juniper-sunny for beta-reading! Divider by @djarrex.

AO3 Link

“You would think the holonet would have more information on things you should avoid,” Tech grumbled as he scrolled through the limited results his datapad had given him. “It is essential for people to know these things.”

“Most people probably just stay away from the jungle,” Hunter offered, twirling his knife in a circle.

“Can’t say I’m too fond of them myself,” Crosshair said, not looking up from his rifle cleaning project. “Hard to get a good vantage point with all the vines hanging in the way.”

“Especially when you’re hanging from them!” Wrecker shouted from the back of the Marauder.

Crosshair shot a glare towards his larger brother before focusing on his rifle again. Tech threw his datapad onto the co-pilot set in disgust before turning to the control panel in front of him. They were nearly to Coruscant after spending many hours in hyperspace. He needed to get access to a place that would have information on the plant life he was researching. Surely there would be somewhere on Coruscant that would hold the knowledge, or at least someone that could point him in the right direction.

Just as they exited hyperspace, the indicator light on the control panel lit up, telling them they had a message. Tech pressed the button to acknowledge it, starting a hologram of Commander Cody. Hunter sheathed his knife and walked to the front of the cockpit.

“What can we do for you, Commander?” he asked.

“I was calling to let you know that your mission details have been finalized and to see what your ETA was.”

“We have just arrived in the space above Coruscant,” Tech said. “We will begin our landing as soon as we are given clearance.”

“I guess I’ll see you when you arrive then,” Cody said. “See you soon boys.”

The transmission cut off and was replaced by the call for landing clearance from one of the towers near the military port. Tech entered the correct code and then followed the directions he was given to an open hangar. Once the landing cycle was complete, he shut everything down and gathered his datapad off the seat, placing it back in its correct location in his pack.

“Maybe Cody can tell you where to look for that information you need,” Hunter suggested. “We aren’t supposed to leave for our mission until tomorrow, so I’m sure you’ll have time to find it.”

Tech made a humming sound and adjusted his goggles.

“It’s not likely that Cody would know where to find it, but I’ll ask anyway.”

The four of them descended the ramp from the ship and made their way across the hangar. Cody would be waiting for them in the briefing room he had sent his transmission from. When they arrived, they found not only Cody waiting for them, but also General Kenobi.

“Gentlemen,” the Jedi said in greeting. “It’s been a while.

“General,” Hunter said, bowing his head respectfully. “Always a pleasure.”

“Speak for yourself,” Tech heard Crosshair mutter quietly behind him.

Tech glanced over his shoulder, giving Crosshair a warning look. Ever since their mission with General Orim and their chance encounter with her afterwards, Crosshair had been sour towards General Kenobi. He hadn’t offered any explanation other than “I don’t have a good feeling about him”. Tech had a feeling it had to do with how upset Lena had seemed in the hallway that day. She seemed to be the main thing on his brother’s mind as of late.

Crosshair being smitten was unexpected, and his bitterness towards Kenobi even more so.

Tech shook his head in annoyance and focused his attention back on Cody and Kenobi. They were talking to Hunter about the mission they had just completed.

“You won’t be leaving for your next mission until the day after tomorrow. I trust you got the mission brief I sent you?” Cody asked.

Teche grabbed his datapad and held it up, indicating that he had the information.

“There are a few things that will require some research before we depart,” he said. “I understand there is some flora that would be best to avoid, but I could not find sufficient information on it on the holonet.”

Kenobi rubbed his hand over his beard, as if he was thinking deeply about what Tech had said. “There is a rather extensive research division into plantlife at the Jedi temple that may have the information you require,” he said. “I can grant you access to the Temple so you can consult with them.”

Tech was surprised and excited by the General’s offer. Having access to the vast stores of knowledge within the Jedi temple was something that he longed for. There were things compiled there that not even the greatest academies in the galaxy had access to.

“I would greatly appreciate it, General.”

“I will give Cody the clearance codes and have him pass them along to you,” Kenobi said. “I will leave you gentlemen to the rest of your briefing.”

With a final goodbye to the Commander, General Kenobi left the briefing room. Cody turned his full attention to the men before him.

“Since Tech already has the mission brief, I’ll only summarize and add the things that have been added since it was issued. Then, you are free to go until your departure time. Hopefully, you’ll be able to have some fun while you’re here on Coruscant.”

Tech knew that he would enjoy himself at the Temple and he had no doubts his brothers would take the time to visit 79’s for some drinks.

Later in the afternoon, Tech was ready to head for the Jedi temple. Cody had given him the necessary clearance codes and had made a list of things that he intended to research. As he exited the cockpit and headed for the ramp, Wrecker called out his name.

“Where you goin’? Aren’t you gonna come to 79’s with us?” he asked.

“First of all, it’s the middle of the afternoon. A bit early to be going to a bar. Secondly, as much as I’d love to spend time dragging you back home after you’ve had entirely too much to drink, I have more important things to do.”

“Like what?”

“He’s got research to do, remember?” Hunter cut in.

“Boring!” Wrecker shouted before returning to lifting their helpless GNK droid onto his arm.

Tech rolled his eyes and descended the ramp, Hunter following close behind. Crosshair stood outside, leaning against the side of the Marauder.

“Off on your plant mission?” he asked.

“Unless you would like to be digested by an unknown plant rather than just hanging from one like last time, it is vital that I know what we’re getting into.”

“It’s not my fault I fell into the vines,” Crosshair said, pointing his toothpick at Tech. “The tree branch already wasn’t stable before the herd of whatevers stampeded by.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Cross,” Hunter said before patting Tech on the shoulder. “Enjoy yourself, but don’t get buried too deep. We might need you later.”

“Do try to keep Wrecker from getting into another drinking match with any regs. I know he can drink a lot, but he can still get hungover.”

Hunter let out a soft laugh and shrugged.

“I’ll try my best, but you know what he’s like.”

Tech shook his head as he thought of the mess that he would likely have to deal with in the morning. He walked away from his brothers in the direction of the speeder bikes at the edge of the hangar, stopping when he heard Crosshair call his name. He looked up and saw him walking towards him, looking over his shoulder at Hunter as if to see if he could hear him or not.

“If you see Lena…” he started.

“If I happened to run into a specific Jedi in a giant building full of them, I will be sure to tell her you said hello. The chances of that happening are low, but I will keep it in mind.”

Crosshair scowled at him for a few seconds before turning around and heading back to the Marauder.

He could at least say thank you.

Tech climbed on the speeder bike and started in the direction of the temple, following the instructions he was given to the hangar when he arrived. He proved his clearance codes and flew into an empty spot. As he turned off the bike, his attention was grabbed by the presence of a person he knew across the room.

Apparently the cosmic forces of the universe are aiming to prove me wrong.

Despite only knowing her for a short time, he would recognize the long, orange, striped lekku of Lena’s padawan, Keebo, anywhere. He crossed the hangar in her direction, calling out her name as he approached. She turned at the sound of his voice and gave him a wide smile.

“Tech? What are you doing here?” she asked.

“General Kenobi gave me permission to come speak with the members of the research division about plant life from a planet we are heading to.”

“Oh! I can take you to where you need to go!” she said, gesturing for him to follow her.

Tech and Keebo walked together down the hall, passing many Jedi. Some of them gave him strange looks as he passed, while others simply smiled or bowed their heads in greeting. Keebo talked to him as they walked, asking after the well-being of his brothers and if they had been on any interesting missions lately.

Tech was pleased that someone actually wanted to talk to him for longer than a minute and listened to him when he spoke. Keebo had been kind to him before, but it was still nice to experience. He could understand why the 394th valued their Jedi COs.

Eventually, they came to a door that consisted mostly of a frosted window. He could see quite a bit of light coming through, which led him to believe they had reached a greenhouse of sorts. Keebo turned to look at him, gesturing toward the door.

“This is where most of the plant study happens. I’m not sure who’s around right now, as things have been a little mixed up with the war, but I’m sure whoever is here would be happy to help you.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

Keebo gave him another wide smile and turned to walk away.

“It was good to see you, Tech!”

Tech turned to face the door, but suddenly remembered his other mission. He quickly turned around again and called out to Keebo. She paused, giving him a questioning head tilt.

“When you see your master, could you pass along a message?”

Keebo smirked at him in response.

“Let me guess, Crosshair says hello?”

Tech felt his eyes widen. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

“How did you know what I was going to say?”

“Lucky guess. I’ll pass along the message,” she said. “I hope you find what you’re looking for in there!”

Tech watched as she walked away, her long lekku swaying behind her. He wondered if she had read his mind and known what he was going to say or if his brother’s infatuation with her master was just that obvious. It must be if Tech had noticed it himself. He shook his head and moved to swipe his hand across the entry pad.

As soon as the door opened, Tech was hit by a blast of warm air. He stepped into the room, allowing the door to slide closed behind him. He found himself in a small entry, which held a few desks with chairs placed haphazardly around them. Datapads and plant pots were scattered over the surfaces of the desks.

Would think Jedi scholars would be a bit more organized.

Tech walked further into the room, his eyes scanning the immediate area for any people that could offer him assistance. He saw another door, this one transparent as the windowed walls around it. The room beyond was a riot of colors and foliage. He crossed the space to open the door, wondering if there was someone in the main greenhouse. As soon as he entered, he heard someone shout.

“Close the door!”

Tech rushed to follow the instructions, stepping through and closing it. Just as he did, a small furry creature appeared in front of him. The top of its head was just below his knees, and it was covered in brown fur. Big black eyes stared up at him as the large ears above them twitched nervously. The creature squeaked at him and flicked its fluffy tail.

“Hello there little one,” Tech said, remaining very still so as to not spook the creature.

With the creature focused on him, it didn’t see the person sneaking up behind it with a net. A woman with dark skin and a head full of braids appeared from the nearby row of plants and scooped up the creature before it could escape again.

“Aha! Got you!” she exclaimed.

The creature squeaked loudly as it thrashed about in the net. The woman that had caught it smiled triumphantly and nodded at Tech.

“Thank you for distracting it so I could capture it.”

“My pleasure,” Tech replied.

“I caught the Bogling!” she yelled to someone else further down the row of plants.

“Oh, thank the Force,” a second feminine voice said. “I was afraid it would eat something it shouldn’t.”

A second woman appeared from behind the plants, a tall Nautolan with purple skin and yellow markings. Some of her long head tendrils were twisted together in front of her, held together with braided bands of red, green, and white that matched a larger one resting above her forehead. As Tech scanned her form with his eyes, his gaze drifted to her feet, which were bare.

“Hello,” she said, causing his gaze to lift back to her face. “I wasn’t aware I had another visitor.”

“I’ll leave you two to your business,” the other woman said. “Sorry about the Bogling. I’ll be sure to talk to Master Cordova about it.”

“See you later, Cere!” the Nautolan woman called after her departing companion.

Once the door closed behind the woman named Cere, she turned to look at him again. Her large dark blue eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled at him. She extended her hand to him for him to shake, but Tech didn’t return the gesture. She simply shrugged and lowered her hand.

“Welcome to my sanctuary,” she said. “I’m afraid you came in a rare moment of chaos. My name is Anaj. What can I help you with, trooper?”

“My name is Tech. I was given permission by General Kenobi to make use of your vast knowledge of plant life from different planets.”

“What were you hoping to learn about?” she asked.

Tech pulled out his datapad and tapped on the screen. He brought up his previous search results that hadn’t gotten him very far before handing it to Anaj. She took a quick look at the screen before handing it back to him.

“I know exactly what plant you are looking for. They can be quite dangerous and are known for eating unsuspecting victims if they get too close.”

“That is exactly what my squad hopes to avoid. I thought that if I was able to thoroughly research them and the surrounding flora, I could be more prepared.”

“Wise choice,” she said. “I’m afraid that I won’t have much more information for you on the plant itself as they are very difficult to study as they are so dangerous. But I can help you learn what to avoid.”

“That would be sufficient.”

Anaj gestured for him to leave the greenhouse and return to the office space. Once they were back in the cluttered room, she grabbed one of her multitude of datapads and began scrolling through its contents. Once she found what she was looking for, she handed it to him to look at.

“This is what the roots look like. They are usually exposed and rest on the surface of the ground. You would be wise to avoid touching them, as that would alert the plant to your presence.”

“Much like certain vines on Umbara and Felucia,” Tech said as he scanned the information she had shown him.

“Precisely. It is possible the plants could be related,” Anaj said. “From what we’ve gathered, it seems that the plant is not native to some of the planets it has been found on. We think that some spores had been transported from other planets and taken root.”

Tech looked up from the datapad and met her gaze. While her smile remained, he could hear an annoyed tone in her voice.

“I imagine that is not a good thing?”

“The invasion of non-native plant life is never a good thing, no matter the planet. It leads to so many local species dying out as they compete for resources with the invaders. Not to mention the effect it has on animals that come across it…”

Tech watched Anaj’s face as she animatedly talked about the dangers of invasive species, both flora and fauna. The way her nose scrunched up in annoyance as she spoke of the irresponsible actions of the ones that transported the invaders made the corner of his mouth tick up in a half smile.

“I’m sorry, I’m rambling,” Anaj said, stopping mid tirade.

“That’s quite alright. You seem to care a great deal for life of all forms.”

The smile she had before returned to her face and she nodded.

“Yes, I do. I have a strong connection to all kinds of life, sentient or not. The Force flows through it all.”

“I’m afraid my experience with the force is limited,” Tech said. Until very recently, the only Jedi I knew personally were General Kenobi and General Shaak Ti.”

Anaj placed her hand on her chest and sighed softly.

“Shaak Ti was my master,” she said. “I don’t get a chance to see her often with her placement on Kamino.”

“She is well respected by everyone on Kamino, I assure you,” Tech said. “She has always been kind to us. Something that you have in common, I see.”

Anaj looked down, a shy giggle escaping her. Tech could see her cheeks darken to a deep shade of purple as she blushed. He felt a light flutter in his stomach at the sight, which he didn’t understand.

“Do you have any more information that could be useful?” he asked, trying to avoid thinking about the strange feeling.

“I can send you pictures of the plant life that can usually be found in the areas the dangerous ones grow. They like dark shady areas with a lot of tree cover, so those would be your first sign that you may come across them.”

“That would be appreciated.”

Anaj sent him the information, pointing at his screen to a small message that accompanied it.

“I included my comm frequency. If you have any questions about anything plant or animal related that you can’t find on the holonet, you can call me.”

“I will be sure to make use of that should the need arise.”

Tech stood from his seat and returned his datapad to its home in his pack.

“Thank you for your assistance, Master Jedi.”

Anaj stuck out her hand again for him to shake. This time Tech reciprocated and gently shook her hand.

“It was nice to meet you, Tech. I hope I see you again some time.”

Tech released her hand and left the room after bidding her farewell. He followed the path he had previously traveled with Keebo until he reached the hangar. Only once he arrived beside his speeder bike did he realize that he had been hoping to visit the library as well while he was in the temple.

Perhaps I can ask Cody to get me permission to use the library another time. It would make sense for me to have access to knowledge that could help us on our missions.

Tech filed that thought away, making a mental note to ask the Commander next time he saw him. He climbed on his bike and flew out of the hangar, heading back to where the Marauder was parked. The sky overhead had turned dark, the city around him full of bright lights. Tech had no doubt that his brothers would be gone when he returned, so he would have the ship to himself.

As he descended towards the hangar bay, he could see no lights coming from the Marauder and the ramp wasn’t extended, which confirmed his suspicions. Just as he landed, his wrist comm beeped, indicating that someone wanted to speak with him.

“Yes?” he answered.

“Can you swing by 79’s?” Hunter’s voice said from his wrist. “We need a pickup.”

Tech lowered the screen on his helmet to check the time.

“It’s still early. What could have happened so soon?”

“Crosshair…”Hunter started.

Tech sighed, interrupting his brother before he could say anything else.

“Say no more. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Tech hung up on Hunter and climbed off the bike. He made his way over to a bigger speeder that could hold all of his brothers.

“Typical,” he muttered as he took off.

Leave it to Crosshair to start a fight less than an hour into the evening.

Soon enough, he arrived outside the bar to find his brothers waiting for him. Wrecker was holding Crosshair steady as the man in question held a wad of napkins to his bleeding nose.

“What did you do now?” Tech asked.

Crosshair’s response was muffled by the napkins, prompting Tech to turn to Hunter for a clearer answer.

“A reg said something rather crude about a short Jedi with a long braid. Crosshair felt it was his duty to get in said reg’s face. When he was told that ‘he had less chance than an ice cube on Mustafar’ when it came to having a shot with someone like her, Crosshair took it personally.”

Tech saw Hunter give Crosshair a look that was half disappointment and half pity. They all knew the reg was right, but no one wanted to say it.

“Just take us back to the ship,” Hunter said tiredly.

Tech did as he was told, bringing them all home. As he flew he thought about the Jedi he had met. Before, he hadn’t truly understood why Crosshair had been so besotted with Lena, having never experienced something like that himself. As he pictured Anaj’s smile and the way she had talked so passionately about the thing she cared about, he felt like he could possibly understand.

Even though he hadn’t been around to hear the reg speak the words that had riled Crosshair up so badly, Tech could still hear them in his head. They screamed at him loud and clear.

You would never have a shot with someone like her.

A/N: Give this a like, comment, and reblog and let me know what you think!

Tags: @monako-jinn-stories

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