? ~PROJECT SAC-1~ ??

Chapter 6 - The First Mistake ?

"You had a sensory overload." Tech interrupted, now moving on to swaddling her hand up with a white cloth bandage.

'Sensory overload?' SAC-1 met his gaze with a line appearing on her forehead.

Releasing her freshly mended hand, he moved his hands animatedly when he explained his long conclusion all over again. "A sensory overload happens when something around us overstimulates -" By the time he was finished, SAC-1 certainly didn't have any questions, but still felt conflicted.

"So you see, none of this is your fault." Ahsoka made sure to reiterate.

"That's not how everyone else sees it." Was SAC-1's jaundiced mutter, Hunter's rage replaying in her mind.

"It does not matter what they think right now." Tech stated rigidly. "What matters now is: how are we going to rectify the situation and reclaim your honor?"

"'We?'" SAC-1 repeated suspiciously.

"Yes."

"Why are you helping me?" Tech opened his mouth but SAC-1 held up a hand. "I know about your deal with Nala Se, Tech." He frowned, now understanding everything that changed with her. "I know that if I failed this mission, I'd be sent back to Kamino, and I know you all agreed to this."

Tech held up his pointer finger. "Yes I agreed 'to' it, but I did not agree with it." She quirked a brow, "I always supported the idea of you joining the squad, and made my position exceedingly clear to everyone."

She softened. "You... did?" Tech nodded fervently, and warmth began to thaw the ice that had formed in her heart. 'So Tech was really being sincere all this time, not playing with my emotions.' :D

The beam of light finally returned to her face, but almost as soon as it was there it was gone, getting back to the more consequential issue at hand. "I have an idea on how to fix this, but I'll need your help and complete trust even though I'm probably gonna sound crazy."

"You have both." Ahsoka guaranteed.

🟣◾🔺◽🔻◾🔺◽🔻◾🟣

"You did WHAT?!" Was Hunter's aghast response at 0800 when Tech commed the Bad Batch, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Cody and requested that they meet him and Commander Tano at the bridge. And once they did, he informed them that the two had helped SAC-1 commandeer a Y-wing starfighter so she could go back to Silva and use her original plan to sneak into the Separatist Command Center to retrieve the hologram with minimal resistance.

Tech misunderstood Hunter's tone and tried repeating it for his benefit, "I helped SAC-1 commandeer a Y-wing starfighter so she could -"

"No, no, don't say it again, I heard it right the first time!" In reality, Hunter was just so utterly gob-smacked that he gave Tech a chance to change his statement before the Sergeant throttled him without the least bit of regret.

"Are you insane?" Crosshair hissed tempestuously from his spot next to Hunter, himself wanting to asphyxiate his apparently stark-raving mad older ori'vod.

Wrecker massaged the back of his neck nervously, not liking the tense situation one bit.

Tech remained firm though, making one of the higher ups, Cody, seriously query the loony commando, "Tech, how could you do something so reckless? She'll never be able to sneak into that base after we've tried invading it twice. Not to mention, she's unreliable - this is suicide!"

"I have this under control." Tech replied simply but confidently.

Hunter threw his hands up in exasperation and halfway turned away from the not-so-brainy clone, pinching the bridge of his nose as a stress migraine started forming much quicker than they usually did.