The Bad Batch Short Stories

6. Mia & Tech

Mia is the medic they picked up who has a few enhancements of her own. She and Wrecker are romantically paired... 

CW: toture, confined spaces, fluff. . 

Wrecker came back into the ship with a crate of fruits and flowers. The ship had made a controlled crash landing on a small moon that had lush vegetation and many mountains. As he entered the ship's hold he could hear some voices from down the hall. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could tell they were in a disagreement about something. As he got closer, he could understand a little more and realized Tech and Mia were arguing.
"It is imperative we find the intersection of the error-"
"That's not my area of expertise!"
"You've helped me before with many of these-"
"I can't help you!" Mia said, her volume increasing.
When Wrecker rounded the corner, he could see Mia gripping a wrench while Tech was pointing at the data pad.
Tech sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. In a calm and placating manner, he said, "Mia..I could really use your help."
Mia was breathing heavily through her nose, her chest rising and falling with the effort to contain her emotions.
In a very small and timid voice she said, "you know why I can't. I need some air." She brushed past Wrecker and headed down the ramp into the tall grass. She walked just a little ways past the ship, but not too far where the guys couldn't see her. She sat on a small hill, resting her arms on her knees. She heard Wrecker approaching as she sniffled and quickly wiped away a tear. He sat down next to her, not touching, but close enough she could feel his body heat. He didn't say anything, but plucked a piece of grass and ran it between his fingertips. The sun was beginning to set and Wrecker was waiting for Emelia to open up to him. She sighed heavily and twisted the wrench in her hands. "Fine... I'll tell you," she said in an aggravated voice.
"I have a thing... with small spaces." She flipped the wrench in her hands again with nervous energy. "It was after my family was dead and the 'doctor' was taking care of me. I wasn't fully recovered but I knew I didn't want to be there. I knew what he was doing was wrong."
Wrecker's brow furrowed and he took one of Mia's hands in his own, rubbing his thumb across the back of it.
"I didn't want to comply. He was doing things to my body... and I wanted to leave. He had many methods to make me comply, and I had become resistant to each one. So he tried one he hadn't tried before. He tied me up and put me in a crate and filled it with water. I couldn't move or else water would go up my nose. My head was bound so I couldn't raise my face to get away from the water. He kept me in the box, in the dark, for hours... and hours turned into days...there was nothing I could do...". Her voice dropped down to a whisper as she grasped his hands in hers. "He finally let me out. And when he did... I knew I would do anything...anything... to not be in that box again...". Her hands were shaking as she ended her story to Wrecker. He took one of her hands and kissed the back of it whispering, "Oh, cyare...I'm so sorry."
"Can't he fix the stupid ship without me? Can't he fly it and fix the part later?" Mia asked him exasperated.
"Well, I don't know, Mia. But I know, and you know, Tech would never ask you to do something he wouldn't do himself. He wouldn't ever want to hurt you either." He paused for a moment as he put his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side. "Do you think there's anything we can do to make the conduit a little less uncomfortable?" Wrecker knew there were certain situations Hunter found very uncomfortable and the team always helped him. They would buffer for him without making him feel like a burden. "There might be a few things..." Mia answered.

——
Wrecker returned to the ship and knocked on Tech's door. "Mia's ready to help you with the repair now."
Tech quirked an eyebrow and came out with his datapad.
Mia had a headlamp on and a comm strapped to her wrist, and a length of rope tied around her waist.
"Are you sure about this, Mia?"
Mia nodded her head and said, "Let's get this over with before I change my mind."
Tech nodded his head and gestured for her to enter the small conduit. She knelt down and took a breath. Wrecker handed her a fruit peel that was like an orange and Mia sniffed it before tucking into the top of her shirt. She crawled forward and entered the small conduit while Wrecker talked her through the directions. "You're doing great, Mia. Just a little further and then Tech will give you the rest of the directions."
Mia concentrated on the brightness of the lights amplifying the details of the conduit. If she could concentrate on the colors and textures of the confined space, maybe she wouldn't be thinking about the small space. She inched forward. "Approximately 1.3 meters ahead... blue wires... square... the green circuit board....remove... replace... switch to the left.... and you should be finished."
"What? We're done?" Mia asked in surprise. Mia was vaguely aware of the directions Tech had given her. Sweat was dripping down her face as she tried to crawl in reverse through the conduit. "Wrecker, pull on the rope, I don't know if I'm making it out!" Mia said in a burst of fear.
"You're doing great, sweetheart! You're almost here! I can see your cute booty coming back my way! Oh yeah!" Wrecker called to her.
"When I get out of here I'm gonna..." Before she knew it she was out of the conduit and Wrecker picked her up, making her squeak as he held her front pressed against his large chest.
"You were saying?" He said with a smirk.
"I- I ..." She trailed off as he began to pepper kisses down her jaw and neck, making her forget about her frustration.
"I wanna hear more of your threats," Wrecker said huskily as he headed to his room and closed the door with Mia still in his arms.

Tech just ran a hand down his face and shook his head. "At least they got a room..."