Biting wind rushed past Tech as he hurtled towards his imminent demise. A part of him was appreciative of the cloud cover as it would prevent Omega and his brothers from having to see his ruined remains at the base of the mountain wherever he may land. A gruesome fate he was prepared to meet.

    The cold dread that had settled in his middle like a bad ration bar had vanished the moment he had pulled out his blaster and shot with accuracy that would have impressed even Crosshair. Any lesser man would have missed due to tremulous hands, but Tech was no ordinary man. 

    He was a clone. A soldier, bred to fight, die, and sacrifice everything for the Republic, an institution that had fallen before him. What did a soldier who had outlived his cause have left to die for? 

    His family.

    This was it. Had Wrecker had his helmet off, Tech was not certain if he would have had the wherewithal to take the shot. But then again, he probably would have. This was for his brothers. He had calculated every possible outcome with his brilliant mind and this was the only way he could ensure that they would make it out alive. 

    He had never felt more certain or more at peace than in this moment, even as he plummeted to the jagged terrain below. He had regrets, but not of this choice. He regretted not being able to give a final goodbye to the few closest to him and he regretted not being able to be there when his brothers finally did reunite with Crosshair.

    Scarcely had all these thoughts flitted through his head did his body crash to the ground. There was an instance of searing pain shooting through his spine. Then, nothing.

    Soon, something stirred. The nothingness turned to blackness which faded to grey and the grey to a misty white. The dead silence gave way to muffled voices. 

    Tech slowly sat up, shutting his eyes against the intrusive light. When he opened them, there was a hand being extended to him. With his vision still working to clear, he hesitantly accepted the hand.

    Once standing, he instinctively moved to adjust his goggles but found they were no longer there. To his astonishment, his sight continued to resolve without his vision aids, allowing to make out the gentle lines on the face of the person who helped him up.

    His exceptional mind screeched to a halt. He just barely managed to choke out. "99?"

    "You called." 

    99's voice was still the same as Tech remembered, warm and nurturing. His eyes kept their gentle, welcoming slope, but his body... his body was not the same hunchback form stricken by the Kaminoan's botched experiments. He stood tall and his limbs were no longer bent and brittle with old age. He looked more like the true soldier that the Kaminoans refused to see he was all along. 

    The older clone pulled the shocked trooper into a hug and murmured with sadness tinging his tone, "I never expected my little Tech'ika to be the first of Clone Force 99 to join me."

    Normally Tech would be quick to point out that he still stood taller than 99 despite his rejuvenated figure and wriggle out of the embrace as he was usually not fond of prolonged physical touch. Instead, he tentatively wrapped his arms around 99, tightly reciprocating his embrace. Tears threatened to leak from his eyes. 

    When they finally broke apart, Tech stammered out, once again reaching to adjust goggles that were no longer there, "I... I do not understand."

    Actually, Tech was certain he understood but wished he did not. If he was seeing 99, a brother long since departed, then it was clear what had happened to himself. He had already calculated that death would have been the most probable result of his actions.

    When he looked around to get bearing of his surrounding, his eyebrows raised in surprise at the realization that they were not alone. There were more clones, thousands of them. Though they had the same figures, same eyes, same faces as they stared curiously at him, little details distinguished them from each other. A scar here, a tattoo there, a kama there. The list continued on.

    Tech had never been apologetic for his deviation from the typical Jango Fett model, but he stared cautiously back at them, interested to see what so many unfamiliar clones would make of him. While the clones prided themselves on being distinct among a sea of same-faced brothers, many had not treated the Bad Batch's natural differences kindly.

    99 took Tech's hand in his, leading him through the throng of brothers. It made Tech feel very much like when he was a young cadet being led through the halls of Kamino by the kind maintenance clone. The troopers stared at the newest arrival with small smiles of acknowledgment and nods of respect, which served to ease Tech's nerves. 

    99 waved to a particular group of clones who eagerly approached. From the blue armor, Tech made the assumption that most of these clones were of the 501st Legion. He was correct as usual.

    "Tech, I'd like to introduce the—"

    "Fives." ARC trooper pushed his way between his brothers, enthusiastically introducing himself. "Thanks for keeping the last Domino standing."

    Tech grasped his hand in greeting, noting the small number tattooed on his temple. Ah yes, Echo's "twin." He ended up studying Fives with their hands clasped, fascinated to finally meet this infamous clone not just because he had a connection to Echo but because this was the man who had come so close to revealing the scheme of the inhibitor chips. All his efforts had been in vain as Fives paid for it in his death and Order 66 was inevitably carried out.

    "I am sorry," blurted Tech.

    Fives tilted his head trying to figure out what in the galaxy the Bad Batcher could be apologizing for. Realization dawned on him as he shook his head. "I'm not for the same reasons you're not. We died for what we believed in." He motioned to all the clones around them. "We all did."

    99 elaborated further as he knew the clever trooper always sought an explanation for everything. "I guess the Force decided we had sacrificed enough to have a special place rest and watch out for the rest of our brothers 'til their time is up too."

    "It's the least the Force owes us for all the misery it put us through," piped up Hevy.

    Tech, being the intellectual person he was, had of course dabbled in possibilities of the afterlife but had never come to any firm conclusions. Echo had once mentioned that, at times, he felt as though Fives and his old squad were there, fighting alongside them and laughing at their wild antics. Tech had dismissed these feelings as a coping mechanism for Echo's grief. Now, standing among all his fallen brothers, he knew that Echo's notions were not misplaced.

    A trooper with blue tattoo lines running along the right side of his head got right in Tech's face, his brash demeanor instantly reminding Tech of Wrecker. "I gotta score to settle with you." He prodded Tech in the chest. "I can't believe you just ruined our rankings."

    The clone commando raised an eyebrow. "Pardon."

    "Our last words leaderboard!" shouted Hardcase, throwing his arms in the air as if it were the most obvious thing in the galaxy.

    "Oh shut it, Hardcase! It's not like that stupid leaderboard is worth anything," grumbled Fives.

    "No you!" fired back Hardcase.

    "You're just jealous 'cause you're not in the top five, Fives," teased Hevy. He pointed to Tech. "Pretty sure mister 'When have we ever followed orders' just shot to somewhere in the top three, meaning you're even lower."

    Loud bickering broke out between brothers. It was only a matter of time before words turned to punches as soldiers defended the honor and awesomeness of their final words.

    The sides of Tech's mouth quirked up into his typical half-smile as he shared a special look with 99. What an odd way to wake up from death. His life as a soldier and a survivor were over. While he missed his family, he hoped they would not be joining him anytime soon. He had not died just to drag them all to the grave as well. 

    For the briefest of instances as he blinked, he was granted a view of his siblings' current states. Broken and defeated but still alive with blood flowing through their veins and breath in their lungs. Far from an ideal situation, but Tech would take whatever he could. While he would normally find hope to be an irrational crutch, the fact of the matter was that as long as there was life, there was hope. Hope that his family would find a way to heal, adapt, and carry on just as they always had.

    He released the tension from his body he didn't know he was holding onto. 99 reached over to place a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You did well. Rest now, brother."

"Take off your helmet, look to the sky
For my friend it is your turn to die
Have courage now, go rest in peace
For the fighting here will never cease
You fought bravely and with honour died
You leave your family so full of pride
Sleep well young soldier, your job is done" - Fast Funeral Printing

    "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." - John 15:13 NLT