Forgive Me (Echo x Medic Reader)

Part 23

5 Months Later

(Y/N) wandered around her lab on Tantis, a depressed sigh escaping her as she continued her repetitive routine—one she hated as much as she did the empire. Snap should have been happy, even hopeful Omega had escaped the secret scientific base with Crosshair, but instead, she felt the opposite: terrified. The empire had discovered how valuable the young clone was and would hunt her down as if she were their prey.

"We have a new subject for you," came a demanding voice from behind (Y/N), the voice of a female scientist. Snap hadn't bothered to learn her name, as she hadn't expected to be there for so long. The plan was to get as much information as possible within a four-week period, and then she'd be extracted. (Y/N) turned, nodding silently, before retrieving her datapad, if only to find out who the poor soul she had been charged with tormenting this time was. She preyed on the maker. It wasn't another clone she knew, a prayer that was quickly rejected as her heart sank the moment her saddened eyes found the identification number. CC-3636.

"Wolffe," quickly whispered Snap, as her voice became trapped in her tightening throat and the familiar anxious feelings of the walls closing in around her and being trapped reared its head again. She'd hoped to see the Commander again, but not like this. She still hadn't forgiven herself for turning Tech into a Shadow, one of the many operatives at the empire's beck and call. She knew Wolffe wouldn't be as terrible, but it wouldn't be easier either. He was a friend, a brother to her, and now she was tasked with turning him into another of the empire's shadow assassins.

(Y/N) soon left her quiet lab, and with dread clouding her mind, she headed toward the large round room reserved for the reconditioning she was to put all shadow operatives through. The torture room as she had unceremoniously labeled it. Ever since Omega and Crosshair had escaped, security had been far tighter; Mistress Nala Se had been locked away in a cell as punishment for her part in the breakout. Where as Emerie Carr had been promoted to head scientist of Project Necromancer. The base seemed colder and grew colder the more the empire strangled the wider galaxy.

The moment Snap entered the rounded room, she was met with silence. Two TK Troopers stood guard over Wolffe as if he were a dangerous criminal; the Commander himself at least seemed peaceful. There was little doubt in (Y/N)'s mind that he'd been dosed with something before being transported to the secretive scientific base.

"You may leave," spoke Snap, her voice cold and sharp as it cut through the silence and ricocheted off the durasteel walls. Both plastid-clad men seemed confused by her dismissal of them, sharing a glance before turning their attention back to her.

"Negative, Ma'am," replied the taller of the two, shaking his head as if to convey the message quicker. "We have orders to stay for your safety. The clone is a dangerous insurgent," he uttered; the unnamed soldier had expected to see fear flash across (Y/N) features. Instead, her expression remained neutral, even more so as she buried the truth she knew. Wolffe wouldn't hurt her, although she'd admit she was terrified he was there. She questioned whether Tarkin had figured out where Wolffe's loyalty truly lay or if the commander had done something to earn the wrath of the empire.

"That was not a request," replied (Y/N), her bottled-up anger and self-hatred slipping through ever so slightly. "If you wish to stand guard, then do so outside the room. Being within will only distract me from my work," she added, turning her attention back to the datapad as she walked over to the small office and storage area, retrieving the medical supplies needed to complete the first of many tasks.

Wolffe seemed to regain consciousness as Snap went about the assessment. His sight blurry as he glanced around the room, but as it began to focus, the commander panicked, even more so upon becoming aware he was in an unknown place, a laboratory of some kind, restrained by the wrists, ankles, and several other areas, including his head. He'd been able to yell out to be let free of the restraint demand even when (Y/N) came into view, reaching to release the restraint around his head and loosening those around his torso and wrists.