Chapter Text
Phee stared down at the artefacts she’d recovered from her last adventure. Some of them were incredibly valuable, like the decorated bowl made from Chandrilan porcelain. Others were valuable only to a select few people, like the Pantoran spoon that was used in betrothal ceremonies. She grinned as she sorted through the pile, dividing it into groups: what could be returned to refugees on Pabu; what could be stored in the Archium and what could be sold to cover her own expenses. The first two piles were significantly larger than the third, but that was always the case. She reached for another item and her grin dropped. It was a Twi’lek kalikori and it now had several deep scratches along the surface of one of the ornaments. She carefully laid down the kalokori and went to the front room of her home. Like all the houses in Pabu, it made from a domed shell and furnished with sturdy, wooden items. Colourful glass lanterns lit the room and they matched the patterns pillows and vases. She moved around the low chairs to one of the cupboards and hauled out a massive case. Inside it were all the materials that a repairman of rare artefacts could possibly need: tweezers, dyes, oils, rust removal solution, polishes, paints, brushes, chisels, blades, magnifying goggles and sealers. She usually tried to repair the items herself, since she enjoyed the work. It was soothing.
She hefted the case into her arms and placed it on the table where she’d been working. Then, she pulled out the goggles.
She paused as she thought of Tech and their awkward goodbye. She admitted that she hadn’t handled it well, but she’d been hurt that he’d planned to leave without even telling her. Still, in hindsight, she couldn’t really have expected anything less. Tech had stated repeatedly that they weren’t used to working with people outside their squad, so the thought of someone worrying about them when they left might not have crossed their minds. She’d decided almost as soon as they’d left that would apologise to Tech when they got back. Maybe she’d even try to get some alone time with him after things had settled a bit. She could show him some of the new artifacts in the Archium. He’d been fascinated by everything there, so she knew he’d adore it.
Her foolish heart fluttered as she thought of the lights in his eyes when he was intrigued by something.
Phee, focus. You’re not some youngling with a crush.
She shook her head to dislodge thoughts of Tech and pulled the goggles over her eyes. Immediately, everything around her seemed larger and brighter. She blinked a few times for her depth perception to adjust and then looked at the artefacts. Stomach twisting, she brought up the kalikori for a better look. Sure enough, there were four deep scratches on the wood of the ornament, but not deep enough to damage the integrity of the structure. She sighed in relief. She could fix it. She reached over for the wood fillers and started comparing them to the wood of the kalikori. Although she had stains that could assist in making the filling match, it was always better to get as close to the original wood from the outset. She had just found a suitable match when she noticed the comm system flashing with a familiar number. Phee grinned and pulled off her goggles as she went over to answer the call from the Havoc Marauder.
A moment later, Hunter’s image flickered to life.
“Hey there! I was wondering—” she broke off as she registered how Hunter looked.
Kriff, it was bad. His armour looked like it had been pummelled and there were scrapes on his face that were visible even through the blue tinge of the hologram. But, the worst part was the devastated look in his eyes.
“Hunter, what happened?” she asked.
“The mission went badly. There was another group of rebels there, one we didn’t know about . . . they blew the building up.”
“Kriff,” Phee breathed. “Are you guys hurt? Is T-Omega all right?”
The slip caused Hunter’s composure to crack and dread leaked into Phee.
Please, no.
“Omega will be fine. B-But . . . he . . . Tech . . .”
Phee felt the world crashing down around her. It was getting harder to breathe. But she needed to know for sure.
“What happened to Tech?” Phee whispered as there was a roaring in her ears.
“Tech . . . he . . .” Hunter’s throat worked, but nothing came out.
A part of Phee wanted to reach across the galaxy and shake him; another part of her wanted Hunter never to speak.
If he never told her, she could pretend it never happened.
There was movement on the other side of the call and Echo leant forward so that she could see him too. He looked as battered as Hunter. She could see places where the wires poked free from the dented panelling of his cybernetics and the bruises across his skin.
“He sacrificed himself to save us all.” Echo said as his shoulders sagged.
Hunter doubled over and an awful mangled sound left his mouth. It was that horrific noise that finally pierced through the noise in her head. She felt something painful clawing inside her chest and she tightened her grip on the table. Tears stung her eyes.
“Come to Pabu,” she said after her throat worked for a moment.
“What?” Hunter and Echo stared at her in shock.
“All of you come back to Pabu.”
“Phee, Tech—”
“I know he’s gone!” Phee snapped. “I know that! But, I didn’t just invite him here. I invited all of you . . . you’re my friends. Y-you all have a place here. Come back and . . . and we’ll sort this out.”
“Thank you,” Hunter said, his voice soft and vulnerable.
Phee nodded shortly and sniffed.
She swiped angrily at her eyes. “Comm when you are on the way.”
“We will.”
Hunter sighed and turned off the comm.
As soon as he was gone, the grief tore itself free from her chest. Tear streamed down her face and a wail left her mouth. Her legs buckled.
It was true.
It was true.
Tech—her ‘Brown Eyes’—was gone.
Gone.
She’d never see those brown eyes light up with interest over some of the artefacts she brought to Pabu. She’d never hear him rattle of an absurd amount of information about some obscure topic.
She’d never be able to apologise.
She screamed until her voice was raw, but the stupid, karking tears kept coming. Why did they keep coming? The world swam in and out of focus. Vaguely, she heard swearing and a pair of arms scooped her up and pulled her close to a broad chest. After a moment, she recognised who held her.
Shep.
Of course her brother—well, brother in every way but blood—heard her scream.
“Shep . . .” she tried to speak, but the words tangled with her sobs.
His hand moved comfortingly up and down her back and he murmured comforting nonsense in her ear, just like he did for Lyana. Somehow, the motion soothed her enough for her to rasp out an explanation.
“Brown Eyes. . . Shep . . . Tech—he’s dead.”
The words ripped deeper as they left her mouth and she pressed her face into Shep’s shoulder.
Shep shuddered and then, somehow, held her even tighter.
“I’m so sorry, Phee.”
She sniffed. “Why am I even crying—it’s—it’s not like—”
“He was your friend, wasn’t he? At the very least?” Shep cut in gently.
She nodded and hissed at the new wave of pain crashing through her.
“Then, you have every right to grieve.”
She curled against him one last time, before trying to find her composure. She couldn’t just hide in Shep’s arms like a child. It wasn’t the first time she’d lost people. She’d be fine.
She knew she’d be fine.
So why the kriff did it hurt so badly?
As she scrambled to find some sense of normalcy, the comm went off again. Shep and her both glanced at it. Shep reached out to answer.
“Let it ring,” Phee snapped.
“Phee, this isn’t your usual comm channel. I-it’s the one Tech set up for you.”
Phee clenched her fists as the words registered. Shep was right. And, any call on this channel had to be urgent. Shep helped her to her feet and she yanked off her bandana and used it to scrub at her face.
“Better?” she asked Shep. “Wait, don’t tell me. I know I'm a mess.”
She pulled the bandana back on and hit the answer button. A hologram appeared. It was a man in a tattered poncho, though she could see glimpses of battered armour beneath it. He had a tan complexion and blonde hair shaved scarily close to his skull. She’d never seen him before but, his face was familiar to her. He looked a lot like Echo . . . which meant she was talking to another one of their brothers.
“You’re Phee Genoa?” he asked warily.
“Depends on who’s asking,” she said, lashing together her composure to make it through the call.
“I’m the Batch’s brother, Captain Rex.”
Phee folded her arms. “Can you prove that?”
“Can you prove you’re Phee Genoa?” he retorted.
Well, he certainly sounded like their brother.
“Echo gave me a phrase to confirm my identity: A liberator of wonders is another name for a thief.”
Rex snorted. “I have one too. Keeradaks fly serenely over Skako Minor.”
Yep, that was the phrase Echo had told her—though she’d love to find out the story behind that. Someday, when her heart could handle someone that wasn’t Tech telling the story.
Phee nodded. “That’s enough for me. So, what do you need?”
“I need to land with my troops. We have a raid to plan once the Batch get back from Ord Mantel.”
Phee went rigid. “From where?”
“Ord Mantell,” Rex gave her a long look. “I take it you know what that means?”
“They went back to Cid?”
Cid, who’d warned them not to cross her. Cid, who Phee knew couldn’t be trusted. Cid, who’d do anything for money—and to save her own skin.
“It’s a trap. They’re going to be betrayed,” she snapped.
“I know. I’ve already got a team handling it.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t comfort me,” she retorted as Shep put a hand on her shoulder.
Rex glared. “It should since you’d never get there in time.”
Phee clenched her teeth and tightened her grip on the table. He was right, Stars-damnit. Even her fast ship would never reach Ord Mantel before Cid sold them out to the Empire.
“Your team better be good,” she gritted out.
“They’re the best we’ve got,” another voice said.
Someone else appeared on the hologram. It was a tall, Togruta woman with chevron patters on her lekku. She wore grey armour, though one of the vambraces didn’t match and she had white markings on her face.
“Who are you?”
“Ahsoka Tano.”
“Not the Ahsoka I know,” Rex muttered.
Ahsoka chuckled. “I’m not that different. Just older.”
“Are you two going to banter, or can we get back to the conversation,” Phee said flatly as she glared at the two of them.
“Yes. The team we sent is very experienced in freeing people from the clutches of the Empire . . . and disappearing afterwards. The team consists of three Mandalorians, two Jedi, an assassin and a military commander.”
“Jedi?” Shep repeated, coming into view of the comm. “There are Jedi with them?”
“Yes, why?”
“We were told they had been wiped out.”
“Not all of them,” Ahsoka acknowledged. “And, you are?”
“Mayor Shep Hazard. It’s my village that you’d be landing in if you came here.”
“Good to meet you.”
Shep frowned. “Before I decide, I need to ask if the Empire can follow you?”
“No, sir.”
“And, are your troops safe?” Phee asked as she tapped her temple meaningfully.
His eyes widened and he nodded. “We’re all safe. Each of us had the surgery.”
“That’s good enough for me.” She turned to Shep and waited for his decision.
Shep chewed his lip as he thought deeply. But, Phee knew his decision even before he nodded. Shep wasn’t the kind of person to turn away people in need—or pass up the opportunity to help others. “You’re all welcome here. But, I must ask that you keep the co-ordinates that I send to yourself. I don’t want many people knowing about our planet.”
“Understood. Now, I’d better go get everyone organised.
“Wait,” Phee interrupted as a thought occurred to her. “How did you know about Ord Mantel?”
Rex glanced at Ahsoka as she leant forward. ‘What do you know of the Force?”
“It’s some kind of mystical entity worshipped by various people across the galaxy,” Phee said.
“Have you heard of the saying ‘Anything is possible with the Force’?”
“Yes.” Ahsoka grinned and Phee raised an eyebrow. “So, that’s all you’re giving me? Some cryptic mystic babble?”
“No. I’ll tell you exactly what’s possible with the Force.”
“Really? What?”
And, then Ahsoka said something that shattered reality as Phee knew it.
“Time travel.”