Chapter Text
Tech couldn't stop jittering. It was unhelpful.
It was a byproduct of anxiety and worry. He supposed that made sense. He triple-checked his data again. They hadn't changed. Dank Ferrik.
“Tech!” Hunter's voice made him jerk around. Hunter and Wrecker stood by the door, watching him with concerned expressions.
“I've been calling your name. Are you okay?” Hunter asked.
“I—I have a lot on my mind,” Tech said, looking back at the data he'd collected. "It is a lot.”
“Good or bad?” Wrecker asked, looking at the data on Tech's screens but clearly not understanding any of it.
“Not ideal.” Tech settled on, “I will wait till Sajaun and Cross are here.”
Hunter was watching him with concern but took a seat. Tech resisted the urge to brush off Hunter's worry verbally. He had every right to be concerned. This was important.
“Alright Tech.” Cross grumbled as he and Sajaun came in, closing the door behind them, “What's this about?”
“I was studying the texts on interspecies implants in the Archives, how implants for different ailments are consolidated into one design to be used on many different species for production ease.” Tech began.
“Okay. What does that have to do with anything?” Hunter asked.
“Well, when I was reading, it said that some species objected to this university of medical treatment because they believed that their unique treatments were not only better for them but, in some cases, spiritually better from their beliefs.” Tech continued, “The author then noted that a few of these species had a valid point as their midichlorian count was naturally higher, and thus, there was an effect through the Force that they perceived as spiritual in their medical practices.”
“So they figured out how to tap into the Force in a rudimentary form in medicine?” Wrecker said slowly, “They can do that?”
“The ancient Lasan used their staffs with Kyber in them to focus their power or the Force through it to navigate hyperspace travel in ways they believed to be supernatural. The Dathomiri believed that their grouping of natural herbs, hallucinogens, and spices in specific ways could produce power or magicks. Their connection to their planet and their focus during their belief ceremony did tap into the chaos of the Force.” Sajaun nodded along, “It's a mix of species inclination for low-level Force Sensitivity, the use of Force imbued conduits like kyber and the will or belief it will work, but yes, there's a connection between the physical, medical, and the Force or so-called spiritual.”
“What's that got to do with anything?” Cross demanded.
“Well, I remember those scans you showed us,” Tech explained, nodding to Sajaun, “How you could see the chip on the Ashla-Bogan scale, and I thought, what if this chip has the same principle? A cross between the physical and the Force.” Tech pulled up the scans he'd taken along with the samples, “Now, I couldn't find any record of a processor like a chip ever being part of this natural cross, normally just natural elements like Kyber, but then I took a look into the early records of the file of Sith cloning. Fascinating stuff-”
“Tech.” Hunter interrupted gently, “Stay on topic.”
“Right. Well, Sith corrupt, right? And they have a history of invading circuitry before. So, with some careful looking, I compared the biochip structure to ancient Sith circuitry invasion methods and the intercross of Force and physical in the literal bio tissue, and I found this.” Tech highlighted the findings.
“They match.” Cross read off the screen, “The circuitry matches.”
“So does the makeup,” Sajaun said, looking over his rough notes on how the chip harnessed both physical and Force intertwined.
“What does that mean?” Wrecker asked, “For us, I mean?”
“It means that to deactivate or ever degrade the chips; we need a specific cross between the Force and a transmission relay to both deactivate the Force component while frying the circuitry.” Tech finally said, “I don't even know what we need, but I know we don't have it.”
“But I know where to find it,” Sajaun said quietly, eyes still pouring over his compiled data.
“Wait, we cut it out of us; why can we just cut it out of all the rest of the army?” Hunter proposed.
“First of all, that would take a year minimum. Secondly, I found that whoever built this system built a failsafe into it while examining it. There's a hive feature to them. When at least 20 triggers at once, they immediately activate all those around them unless sent the exact nullify code mentally immediately at the same time.” Tech explained exhaustion and desperation catching up with him, “Third, they have a simpler fix for removal. You can remove a few at second intervals without question, but the system triggers if you remove too many at once. And the threshold is far too low to be able to remove all the chips at the rate dictated in our lifetime.”
“Trigger what? What would it trigger?” Hunter demanded.
“I don't know!” Tech snapped. He squeezed his eyes closed and did his best to funnel his fear and anxiety into the Force, “I don't know. If I were to hazard a guess, it would trigger the kill order of either the Jedi or self-destruct of the clones.”
“So where can you get the solution?” Wrecker asked, cutting through the tension and looking over at Sajaun, “You said you knew where it was?”
“I do. What you're looking for is a Force indicator. Like how midichlorians measure the Force or can be measured in blood, an indicator can tell you if an item has any Force physicality to it. Like a metal detector. It could be rigged to send out that pulse you're talking about.” Sajaun nodded thoughtfully.
“I sense a ‘but' coming,” Crosshair said dryly.
Sajaun huffed, “ But because it's so dangerous, the only one in existence is kept in the Library of Time.”
And just like that, all the hope in Tech's proverbial said faded, “The Library that sits next to a black hole that requires time slippage to get in and out of?”
“Yes.” Sajaun nodded, flexing her fingers together, now staring at the table as she thought.
“How long are we talking here?” Hunter pressed.
Sajaun made a face. “I can pull it out from a deeper point, but it could still be weeks or months instead of years or decades.”
“So there's a chance we found a way to end this threat, maybe even end the war and the genocide,” Wrecker clarified, “But you just might not make it in time?”
Sajaun sighed deeply and heavily, squeezing her eyes shut, “Yes.”