Erm. Anyways Echo supremacy.
He's breathing hard, ragged pants leaving him in short bursts as he grits his teeth against the discomfort. His head is swimming with information, overloading and overwhelming his senses.
Someone calls for him- tells him to back down. But he can't- won't- because he's looking for something. Looking for someone.
The files flash through him, rapid and extensive and he can't find who he's looking for—
Someone is still calling for him, louder, now. Insistent as his need to find what he's after. He needs this file. He needs to know what they're after.
The file comes to him after several levels of inscriptions are broken. It's a lone file, downloaded easily. He tucks it away for later just as footsteps stop by his feet.
Someone is right behind him. Echo whirls around, yanking free from the violent filing world and shoving his blaster tight against the head of whoever decided to sneak up on him—
He hears the whine of a rifle priming over his comm, and almost feels the burn of its scope lining itself up with the back of his head.
"Easy, reg," Crosshair's voice warns, dangerously level. "Think it through."
Think what through? Echo shakes his head to clear the dizziness left from being inside the port, and he gasps to himself.
His hand that holds his blaster shakes with the sheer force he has it pressed against Tech's head.
The splicer seems entirely unaffected, but there's a minute tremble in his hands the ARC cannot ignore- and Tech looks relieved when Echo recognises him.
"Echo?" He asks, just to make sure. He won't move, a noticeable slicing cut dragging over where Echo has got him pinned by his blaster.
"Tech," Echo breathes in reply, dropping his blaster entirely to grip his little brother, tugging him closer. "You–"
"I'm alright," Tech assures. "I'm okay. Hunter says we need to go back to the ship."
The ship. "Right." Echo stands, gripping Tech tight as the splicer takes his blaster. "Right, let's- let's go."
The splicer doesn't mind that Echo drags him, doesn't question how tightly he's held. Tech simply follows, head in his datapad, none the wiser.
He doesn't know. He has no idea.
His forehead is bruised when they return to the Marauder. Hunter makes a jibe at Echo, nothing more than a muttered, "You held back," before he orders the others to settle down for the trip home.
Tech is in his blacks, sitting by a project. He's content. His forehead doesn't bother him. Wrecker sits beside him. They're safe. Crosshair won't stop looking at Echo. Won't stop glaring.
Echo sits at the cockpit. He listens to them drop off, sleep claiming them like a virus as they rest for their next mission.
Wrecker falls first, then Tech. Hunter isn't fair behind, only hesitating to wrap his youngest siblings up in a blanket before he drops off sitting up. Crosshair never seems to fall asleep. He just shuts his eyes and doesn't open them again.
Echo stays awake. Echo stays alert. He pulls up the file he searched for. He lets it display on the console. He stares at the separatist file, eyes narrowed.
No one mentioned it in the briefing. Echo only found out because he listened into a meeting while sneaking around in the base.
He stares at the file. "What do you want?" He asks it. Like it can answer him.
He stares at the Techno Union brand in disdain, and opens the file on his youngest brother. Tech sleeps soundly in the room behind him. They all do. They don't know.
Echo knows. He's going to learn. Then, he's going to stop them.
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