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It had only been a few weeks since Tech had initially suggested that he and Crosshair should stick together. That being outcasts together was safe than being outcasts alone.
Crosshair was surprised to find just how attached to Tech that he had become. The shorter clone was incredibly thoughtful, and while he interacted with the world much differently than most, Crosshair had grown find of him; however, there was one thing about his brother that Crosshair couldn't quite understand. Tech was.. different. Crosshair had yet to see him react to anything with emotion. It wasn't that he didn't think Tech could feel- he just didn't understand why Tech was so calm all of the time.
The day Crosshair found Tech in a bloodied pile on the floor of the long since emptied mess hall, goggles shattered on the ground next to him, Crosshair was even further confused when Tech displayed little reaction to the situation.
The soon to be sniper knelt down beside Tech, hands hovering just above his brother's arm. Blood dripped from Tech's nose and from cuts littering his face. The shorter clone had his gaze focused on his shattered goggles, but aside from the slight shaking of his hands, Crosshair didn't see any signs of distress from his brother.
"Tech," Crosshair breathed, anger boiling up inside of him. "Who did this?"
Tech shifted, fingers grasping lightly at his broken goggles. He was squinting, obviously unable to see without them. "Just a few clones," Tech replied. His voice was its usual monotone.
Crosshair clenched his jaw so tightly that it ached. He knew that the Kaminoans would be furious that Tech's corrective lenses had been destroyed. "Your goggles-"
"It's fine," Tech said, cutting him off. His hands still had a slight tremble to them as he pulled the goggles close to his chest.
Crosshair narrowed his eyes. "Tech, they're broken! Because of some reg," Crosshair spat. "Why aren't you more upset about this?"
Tech let out a soft sigh. The shorter clone wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. "I thought that was obvious," he replied.
A scoff left Crosshair. "Obvious? What are you talking about?"
Tech blinked. He stared off into the distance, eyes still squinted. "Oh," he breathed. A look of realization seemed to wash over him. "Oh, I had believed that you... were aware. I suppose I was incorrect in assuming so."
Crosshair furrowed his brow. He stared at Tech, his confusion with the situation growing. "Yes. You were. Care to share with the class?"
Tech flinched back when Crosshair pressed a napkin against his brother's face. Once the shorter clone realized that Crosshair was trying to stop his cuts from continuing to bleed, he relaxed. "Shortly after my decantation, the Kaminoans decided that I was... Too emotional. My emotions made me deviate from logic," Tech started, eyes closing. He could still remember when...
"CT-9903. Your behavior is unacceptable," A Kaminoan spoke, her emotionless eyes falling onto him.
CT-9903 flinched, curling into himself. He bit his tongue as fear spread through his body. The Kaminoan gripped his wrist, tightly, and dragged him forwards. She tugged him along behind her, and when he tried to wiggle out of her grasp, she dug her nails into his wrist. CT-9903 let out a yelp at the sudden motion; however, despite his pleas to let go- that she was hurting him-, the Kaminoan continued on.
She led him into a room with a medical table in the middle. There were two other Kaminoans in the room, their impassive gaze burning holes into CT-9903's skin. "Please," he squeaked when the other Kaminoans grabbed at him, and began to force him towards the medical table. "Please, I won't do it again! I promise!"
"This procedure shall ensure that promise," One of the Kaminoans replied.
An overwhelming sense of fear took over CT-9903's body as he was pushed down onto the table. He began flailing and kicking- anything to get him away from the table. However, his efforts were futile. The Kaminoans were far stronger than he was, and were easily able to strap his arms and legs down to the table. CT-9903 continued to struggle as a needle was pressed into his neck. Slowly, his vision began to go black as his eyelids became heavier and heavier. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was a surgical saw revving up.
When CT-9903 awoke again, he was distinctly aware of the cold numbness within his chest. He should be... scared, shouldn't he? Slowly, his eyes opened to reveal the blurry blobs that he quickly decided were the Kaminoans. One of them moved towards him, once she realized that he was awake.
"Hello, CT-9903. How do you feel?"
The clone blinked at the question. "I cannot feel anything at the moment," he replied, quietly.
The Kaminoan nodded, a pleased hum leaving her throat. "Good. That means our procedure was a success," she stated. "We have made you more efficient, CT-9903, by removing your ability to feel emotion. Your enhancement will function smoother without the influence of human emotion to poison your judgement."
Suddenly, a napkin was pressed into his hands, which quickly pulled Tech from the memory. He stared at the napkin, eyes unfocused. Something uncomfortable settled in his chest.
"Tech," Crosshair said, drawing his brother's gaze with how gentle his voice was.
With a soft sigh and a small shake of his head, the shorter clone pressed the napkin against his bloody nose, and shifted so that his shoulder was resting against Crosshair's. "In order to make me more efficient, the Kaminoans elected to perform an experimental procedure on me in order to remove my emotions."
Cross froze, lip curling as he realized what Tech's words meant. "What?" There was a snarl to his voice.
Before he had a chance to say anything else, Tech cut him off. "Unfortunately, their surgery was a failure," he spoke, voice just as unfeeling as before. "The Kaminoans were only able to dampen my emotions. I am able to feel things, but not as strongly, nor as frequently as you would."
Crosshair felt his heart ache at Tech's words. His eyes fell to the floor as rage built up inside of him. Anger towards the Kaminoans was normal, but this was.. different. Crosshair felt more hatred for the species than he ever had before. Tech had been an innocent child, yet the Kaminoans chose to experiment on him? To take away his ability to feel things? To emote? It was sickening.
With a harsh growl, Crosshair suddenly pushed himself to his feet. He offered Tech a hand, which the shorter clone was quick to accept. Once they were both on their feet, Crosshair rested a hand on Tech's shoulder and helped guide his brother back to their barracks. Any clone who dared to even look at them as they traversed the hallways was met with a terrifying glare and a low snarl.
Crosshair noticed the way Tech's slight tremble from before continued to worsen as they walked. Concern bubbled up in his chest, but he kept quiet until they made it back to their room.
The moment the door shut behind them, after stepping into their shared barracks, Tech stumbled forwards. He would have fallen into his knees, had Crosshair not caught him.
"M-My apologies," Tech said, voice oddly shaky. The shorter clone was still clutching at his broken goggles. "This is- I- My display is incredibly distasteful. If you g-give me a moment-"
Despite his usual dislike of most physical contact, Crosshair couldn't stop the intense urge to pull Tech into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around his brother, chin moving to rest on the shorter clone's shoulder. Tech was still in his arms, likely trying to process what was happening. A shaky breath left Tech as he finally relaxed, arms moving to return the hug. He latched onto Crosshair and burried his face into his brother's chest.
"Do not apologize for being upset," Crosshair whispered, a deep frown on his face. He gave his brother a gentle squeeze. This was the most emotion Crosshair had seen Tech display since meeting each other.
Tech returned the squeeze with one of his own. "I'm not supposed to-"
"Tech," Crosshair said, gently. "You have a right to feel things. What the Kaminoans did to you was unfair." He had some.... nastier words that he wanted to use to describe what the Kaminoans had done, but he kept them to himself.
Tech fell silent. The smaller clone made no move to pull away from the hug, so Crosshair stayed still. Tech needed this. He wasn't going to take it away until he was sure Tech was finished.
After what felt like hours, Tech finally spoke again. "You do not find me weird for.. my inability to feel as you do?"
Crosshair let out a soft snort. "We're defects, Tech," he pointed out. "We're already weird. But, weirdos stick together, got it?"
Tech nodded, though his face was still burried into Crosshair's chest.
"Tech?"
The shorter clone let out a soft hum to show that he was listening.
"When you go to get your goggles fixed, I'm going with you," Crosshair stated. There was no way he was letting his brother deal with the Kaminoans on his own, not when he knew how furious they would be.
"Understood," Tech replied.
If Crosshair stuck a little closer to Tech than usual after their conversation, then Tech never mentioned it.