Echo’s First Moments With TBB, Part 2

I think something that makes Tech’s death so tragic is the sense of invincibility that we had associated with Clone Force 99 up to that point.

They sure didn’t have plot armor—we’ve seen them get injured before, and we all know how Star Wars isn’t afraid to kill off a character—but think of all the things we’ve seen them survive: Hunter literally falling off the side of a mountain, getting shot in the chest; Tech getting hurled into a wall by Wrecker when he was under the influence of the inhibitor chip; Wrecker wrestling a rancor; surviving live rounds in a battle simulator; nearly getting roasted alive in an engine. What’s more, we’ve seen how absolutely UNHINGED their plans are, and yet, during the war, they had a 100% success rate and had never lost a single member of their squad. For a group of clones, that’s about as invincible as it gets.

And yet, in the end, they weren’t invincible. Tech was dangling from a single grappling line off a rail car that was only still dangling from the sky because Wrecker and a single connecting cable were holding it there. Neither he nor Wrecker could move without sending the rail car over. The others couldn’t move to safety unless the rail car miraculously reattached itself or ripped away. If anyone could have seen a miraculous, brilliant, crazy way out, it would have been Tech.

But he couldn’t. He saw the inevitability of what had to happen. And Tech, practical Tech, shot the connection himself when Wrecker couldn’t, because they couldn’t see that inevitability, or they couldn’t accept it—one last time, he had to help them understand.

Crosshair was right—Clone Force 99 DID die with Tech, because Clone Force 99 was invincible. Until they weren’t.

Season 2 Bad Batch’s wardrobe change has so many fantastic implications:

I bet Tech quit wearing armor first, man literally never wore leg armor, I fully believe that he just walked off the Marauder one day in his cute little vest and ignored everyone’s stares

Wrecker probably got jealous though and was like “Hunter why can’t I not wear armor” except he literally doesn’t have any other clothes. So Omega is like SHOPPING!!

Echo, frankly, was concerned, but Omega was so excited about it that he just gave up

Hunter, at some point, saw a red scarf and was like “…I like this. a lot”

Finding clothes that fit Wrecker was like IMPOSSIBLE. Hunter tried doing the alterations but all the seams ended up crooked. They really missed Crosshair for that part

Shopkeepers kept asking Hunter, “Why are you buying clothes for your droid???” Which made Echo very salty, except the shopkeepers were usually so mortified at their mistake that they would give the batch a huge discount (“this is just Pantora all over again” “come ooooon, Echo, you’re really helping us out here” “fine, but next time, I am worth 60% off!!”)

Omega, again, was VERY excited (“I’ve never picked my own clothes before!”) and the boys definitely got carried away making sure she had EVERYTHING (“Omega, come here and pick out a raincoat” “Omega, do you have enough socks??” “Look, Omega, this is a nice sweater, you like sweaters, right??” “How fast are you gonna grow?? That’s it, we’re buying jeans in every size”)

Not that they didn’t customize their armor before, but now that they are dressing themselves in civilian clothes their own personal styles really come out. That is when they discover that Tech is actually extremely fashionable, and Hunter is literally a mountain hippie man

Agreed, 100%.

I think the whole pregnancy would be a mix of feels for all of them, but then once that baby is born??? Wrecker is that baby’s best friend, they play together and he feeds it and changes diapers and takes it on walks. Crosshair is the sweetest uncle, so so tender, and even though he would rather die than admit it, he definitely smiles anytime he holds the baby and loooooves when it falls asleep on him. And Hunter would of course be thrilled, and protective, and he is as ruthless in taking care of the baby as he was in getting Omega back from Tantiss.

BONUS: Echo keeps a picture of the baby in his shuttle :)

For some reason I was looking at couples’ maternity photos (I have no idea why since I don’t really want kids), and I was thinking about what if Tech and Phee had kids? And then I was thinking which sibling would be the most emotional when Tech and Phee announce the pregnancy?

No literally like I’m obsessed with these two

Also I personally headcannon that Crosshair did latch on to Echo really fast, but he would never admit to it. Like from day one he would totally die for Echo, but it was a long while before he would let himself say anything remotely unsarcastic to the reg because psh, he’s no softie (yes he is)

I’m definitely super obsessed with Echo and Crosshair’s relationship if you couldn’t already tell but above all I’m so interested in the ‘firsts’.

The first time they exchanged any sort of gift or the first time they shared something personal with each other. Their first hug. The first time they fought really bad and turned the ship into a war zone for a few days. The first time one of them took the other’s side in an argument. The first time they had to patch the other up after an injury and realized how scared they were to lose each other.

What did that look like? Did it take a really short time or were they tip toeing around each other for a few weeks? Did Crosshair latch onto Echo super fast like I tend to headcanon or did it take some time before he started to feel comfortable around him? Did Echo butt heads with Crosshair in the beginning? Still sometimes? How do they work through disagreements? Who was the first person Echo shared any sort of personal emotional thing with? Was it Crosshair or someone else? When was the first time he told Crosshair something like that? What was it? When was the first time they were able to joke with each other or make fun of each other? What’s their favorite way to spend time together and how did they find that out?

What’s something that only Crosshair knows about Echo and vice versa???

Just. The two of them navigating getting to know each other and finding out they have some very big things in common despite how standoffish Crosshair is and how strong willed Echo is. The two of them forming a strong bond and still being able to call each other out on shit when needed.

Just. Crosshair and Echo.

Hunter before Omega: alright lads, the odds are -10% that any of us survive this, which means we are in it for a GOOD TIME, in fact, just for kicks, I say we go in with no armor and no guns and just STAB our way through the droid army. If you get shot, don’t forget to take a selfie for the Battle Wound Wall of Fame *does a shot*

Hunter after Omega: okay, so I know we planned to go to on our family picnic today, but I checked the weather and it MIGHT rain later, so I say we avoid the risk altogether and postpone for another day just to be on the safe side. How is everyone doing? Do we have snacks?? Are we warm enough?? Does anybody need a bandaid??? Omega come here, you look like you need a hug—

I wasn’t a die-hard Tech Lives believer (more of a “I HOPE Tech Lives” believer) but the end of the show has me grieving hard all over again, so here’s my little ode to Tech based on things I’ve noticed about him from rewatching the show:

Tech LOVES his brothers, and he genuinely misses Crosshair. When he has his heart to heart with Omega in the ipsium cavern, the way that he mentions Crosshair—even though that wasn’t even really what they were discussing—shows how often Crosshair is on his mind, so much so that he can’t really talk about people leaving and changing without bringing him up. When they get the Plan 88 from Crosshair, Tech is vocal and insistent about doing whatever they can to bring Crosshair back—because “he is still our brother.”

Tech is incredibly moral. Not that he’s any more moral than I think generally TBB is, but he’s not afraid to speak up when he sees something that he disagrees with fundamentally. “The systematic termination of the Jedi is a big one for me.” “There’s a fundamental different between taking fire in battle and being used for target practice.” Even in just the first episode, we see how firm his opinions are, based on what he believes: that people are people, that HIS BROTHERS are people, that they deserve better, that there is such a thing as right and wrong.

Tech may be practical, but that doesn’t make him any less crazy than his brothers—in fact, I would argue he is one of the more unhinged members of the bad batch. His plans and ideas see everything factually, factoring in risk not as an emotional factor but as a numerical one. He knows their skills, and what they are capable of, and he pushes them to those capabilities, even if the resulting strategy is absolutely insane. The best part is, as insane as he may be, his brothers trust him, because, as Tech himself said, he is seldom wrong.

Tech has a beautiful sense of wonder and awe for the world around him. How many times do we see him go wide-eyed as he encounters something that absolutely fascinates him—even if that thing is a Zillo beast that just ate an entire Imperial crew.

Tech is INSANE. Not unhinged, like I said earlier, but skill-wise, ability-wise, he is an absolute powerhouse. I will forever be grateful to the writers of TBB who gave us a techy, intelligent character who is not your average scrawny computer guy that we get in action movies. You have to have a lot of guts to be the guy in your squad who turns your back on the fight to bend over a computer and hack into a file or break an encryption or alter the programming—already a delicate operation, but with the added risk of getting shot with your back turned. He frickin wields double blasters so that he can shoot more clankers more efficiently (if that’s not practical Tech, I don’t know what is). He DOESN’T WEAR LEG ARMOR SO THAT HE CAN CARRY HIS TOOLS WITH HIM INTO THE FIELD. In “Faster,” we see his hand inching towards his blaster, ready to defend and protect the second it’s necessary—and you know he would’ve beaten anyone to the draw. He fought a group of Imperial troopers!!! With a broken leg!!!!!

Tech was amazing, and I hate that he’s dead, that we never got to see him grow old, that he never saw Crosshair again. But WHAT A LIFE HE LIVED.

*Echo and Tech devising battle strategies at 2am on Echo’s first night with the batch*

Echo: —and then, that’s when we would use the cannon to launch wrecker straight into the wall—

Tech: —yes, and at the same time, you and Hunter can be on either side rigging the explosives—

Echo: —which Crosshair will shoot from the other side of the battlefield from on top of the Rancor that we kidnapped earlier—

Hunter: *whispers to Crosshair* this might have been a bad idea.

Crosshair: *sips his coffee* I, myself, have always wanted to ride a rancor.

The Bad Batch’s favorite underrated movies when they were cadets:

Tech: Atlantis, because let’s be honest, he totally daydreamed about discovering and saving a lost civilization as an eight year old

Wrecker: The Iron Giant. Innocent yet emotionally intelligent kid, giant super strong robot, explosions—that movie is so Wrecker coded, except he definitely cries at the end and the rest of the batch has to be up all night consoling him (“the whole point is that the robot LIVES, Wrecker” “b-b-but they never see him again…”)

Crosshair: Treasure Planet. Like can we all agree that deep down inside, Crosshair is just a Jim Hawkins, aka angsty teenage boy that needs some Love and Attention. Except he would rather die than admit why that movie resonates with him

Hunter: Brother Bear. Mountains and wilderness?? Check. Brothers?? Check. Bears?? Check. 8 year old Hunter literally just wants to be a bear

the chaos in "tangled ever after" but it's tech and phee's wedding

Do you think that Tech would stay up late at night drawing up plans to get Crosshair back

Do you think he had a secret folder on his datapad titled “Operation Crosshair” where he saved his plans and all the data he uncovered about inhibitor chips and photos and videos of their adventures so that they could catch him up when they got him back

Do you think he had plans that were more or less just kidnapping Crosshair and forcing him to be with them again because so help him, that little toothpick-chewing twerp was gonna like them again whether he wanted to or not

Do you think he had plans where Crosshair simply commed them one day on their secure channel and asked them to come back for him because he’s their brother and he’s gonna come around one day

Do you think he had a specific plan where he died getting Crosshair back because him being part of the family again meant more to him than anything

DO YOU THINK—