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The room was silent as the full weight of Echo's report settled heavily on everyone there.
"Karking hell," Rafa said angrily as she glared off at the side of the room. Trace had a hand pressed over her lips and began mumbling numbers softly to herself, probably tallying up and realizing how wide spread this could be.
Omega looked like she was about to cry. "They… someone is selling clones into slavery?" She practically whimpered as she clutched at Wrecker's arm. The largest member of the Bad Batch looked to be in no better shape than she was.
"We-we gotta do something," he nearly cried as he turned to look at Hunter wildly. "That's… it's not right!"
Hunter looked sick but didn't seem to hear him as he stared off into space obviously lost in his own thoughts.
"It may not be morally right but we've tangled with slavery once…" Tech said, eyes fixed on his datapad as he scroll through whatever it was he had looked up. "But legally on Denon you can own slaves and human trafficking isn't considered a crime here."
"Tech," Echo sighed trying to remind himself that Tech tended to think at a different speed then everyone else and sometimes didn't see the relevance in 'stating the obvious' even if it wasn't obvious to the rest of the group. Besides it would put Rex's mind at ease considering his former Captain looked about ready to faint from his holographic projection. "Could you take two steps back and tell us what was obvious? I missed that."
Tech sighed that long drawn out one that meant he'd really rather not but fine he would humor him. "Since we tangled with slavers before and know what they are capable of let us not end up with collars around our own necks again shall we?"
"Fine by me," Echo huffed, still remembering how his systems had seemed to fritz on and off for a few days later. His system had dealt with the majority of the charge but he still had a couple things go haywire on him a few times after the fact. Annoyed the hell outta him for a week even though Tech assured him he wasn't injured or damaged in any way and that his systems would self correct in time.
That was easy for him to say when it wasn't the one suddenly and randomly falling over from time to time.
Rex sighed explosively and ran a hand over his head. "Okay… I think I know why Tevis wanted you to tell me and not him… fuck." Rex slumped backwards and into a chair of some kind. "Fuck," he reiterated as if no one had heard him the first time.
"So what are we going to do about it?" Wrecker asked, staring at Hunter. Omega leaned forward enough to look around his larger frame at him.
"Hunter?" She asked softly.
Hunter sighed and his whole frame seemed to sink into the chair. Echo could already see the dismissal in his frame even before he started to talk. "We can't go that long without taking a job from Cid… as it is we're nearly broke and we haven't exactly been paying our fair share for the room, board and medical assistant provided to us."
"But!" Omega clambered to her feet looking aghast. "But it's wrong!"
"Yeah… yeah it is," Echo wanted to slam Hunter too but reined himself in when he took on the tired set of his shoulders. Karking hell, it was times like this that Hunter seemed like he was three times older than him as he chose between what he wanted and what he needed to be as the semi responsible one in the Batch.
On one hand he was right. They're funds were abysmally low… again. Rising fuel costs were making it hard to keep the Marauder airborne. She was a good ship but she tended to eat credits worth of fuel every chance she got. It wasn't a problem during the war but now as the Empire tightened its grip on various 'essential' supply chains it was becoming more and more of a hassle to keep her flight worthy and stay stocked in certain supplies.
He was still pissed about the lack of bacta products to be found on the markets nowadays and even then it was heavily marked up.
On the other hand… these were his vode and -as much as they tried to set themselves apart from them- they were the Batches vode too. He hated when Hunter chose practicality over his feelings of right and wrong. They had gone out of their way for him but it seemed like at every turn now in almost the exact same scenario came up he would balk and shy away from it now. First it was Gregor and now this? Echo was starting to think that having Crosshair turn on them and then losing him like they did had cast a seed of doubt amongst the rest of the Batch into their own abilities… Like they weren't even sure of themselves anymore.
Of course bringing up anything relating to Crosshair was like lobbing a series of live explosives into the room.
"If it's credits you're worried about, I'll pay you Hunter," Rex suddenly spoke up sounding both tired and angry at the same time. "I… can't look into this. Not now… but I also can't let this continue either." Rex growled under his breath, "I'll hire you to investigate and stop this slave ring. It doesn't matter the costs. I'm busy here… so I want you to be my proxy, figure this shit out and do something about it."
Hunter and Rex stared at each other for a moment before he sighed as if in relief and nodded his head. "Okay," Hunter said softly. "I'll contact Cid and let her know we're going to be off her payroll for a while."
Wrecker let out a bark of laughter, "She's not going to like that!" The cringe that passed over Hunter's face confirmed that it would be a less than pleasant conversation.
"Do you want us to find Commander Wolffe too?" Echo asked knowing that the Wolfpack Commander and Rex were close. Maybe not as close as Rex and Cody but all of Cody's Batch seemed to have taken a shine to Rex and included him in everything.
Rex was quiet for a moment before shaking his head, "I want to say yes Echo but if Wolffe made a break for it trying to track him down is only going to add to his paranoia. He's going to be playing his cards tight to his chest right now. He's probably found somewhere very defendable and difficult to locate to hunker down in. He'll send out small squads to gather intel but that's going to be about all he'll do for a while yet until he feels safe enough to peek out of whatever den he has made for himself. That could be anywhere from a week to several years from now…"
Rex sighed and hung his head, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. "If Tevis is offering to get in touch with us as soon as Wolffe makes contact, that's how we will plan on finding him. Trying to ferret out his den before he's ready is just going to lead him to either dig deeper or take more drastic measures… and that could attract the Empire to him so no. We will wait out Wolffe and make our move after he makes his."
"That is all well and good but what would you like us to do with the clones we rescued from this facility?" Tech asked pausing in his incessant typing to look up Rex questionably.
Rex shook his head, "I'm not sure yet, Tech. I'll get back to you in that."
"Then I suppose you're not sure what we are supposed to do about their chips?"
Rex sighed and hung his head, "No. Not yet. Just focus on getting the clones away from this mess and putting a stop to it."
"Yeah," Wrecker gave Echo that wide eyed look he got when he wasn't sure why something was happening the way it was. "Hey why didn't you warn the regs with Tevis about their chips?"
"It's not like we can remove them," Echo said with a shrug. "And I didn't have any way to actually prove to them that they exist…" Echo sighed, feeling a little bit annoyed with himself because realistically he was more than a little speechless after having all that dumped on him. "... And honestly I kinda had my mind on everything else they were telling me."
"Is there any way to remove them, Tech?" Rex suddenly asked. "Like out in the field?"
"That level of brain surgery should not be attempted without proper fail-safes in place on the off chance that the surgery goes badly. If you are suggesting I am to be removing them, I must warn you that I am only considered a level three field medic and have had no formal training in the procedure that you're referring to nor do I have the proper level of training to do something if it were to go wrong."
"You took ours out fine," Wrecker said with a shrug.
Tech sighed and gave a small roll of his eyes, "I merely programmed the atomic scanner to locate and remove the chips in us and even then there was an unacceptably high chance of failure or resulting damage from the procedure."
Hunter stiffened slightly and immediately winced as it pulled at his injuries. "And you're just telling us this now?" He growled, eyes flickering towards Omega who looked like the world had just dropped out from under her feet.
"Regardless of whether you had known the probability of success, the procedure had to be done." Tech glanced at Wrecker briefly, "As it was we cut it a bit too close."
"So you can't remove a clone's chip?" Rex asked, pulling the conversation back on track.
"If I had access to an atomic scanner again I could but bear in mind this is still brain surgery and I'm not trained to deal with any complications that may arise during or after the procedure," Tech began typing away on his datapad again. "Also finding an atomic scanner, setting it up and finding a stable power source will be difficult. Our best bet would be to attempt to source one on Bracca or find one on a wreck somewhere that we can salvage. After that we'd have to find an ideal location to set one up with enough power to run it."
"Could we use the shop here?" Trace asked even as Rafa looked like she wanted to protest. The protective glance she gave her sister was waved off as if Trace knew what she was thinking. "Like set one up upstairs?"
"Possibly but I'd have to verify that your power supply is stable enough and has an adequate distribution." Tech stopped typing suddenly and looked up at Echo. "However, based on your description of the two clones at the Chateau there chips were either non functional or only partially functional… I'd need to see if that would affect the scans. If they aren't active they may not appear to the machine's instruments."
Echo held up the datapad that Sinker and Pong had given him before he left. "Sinker and Pong left their comm codes on this but I'll be going back there tomorrow so I can talk to them in person."
"Why are you going back?" Wrecker gave him an almost feral grin, "Like the services rendered?" Omega huffed next to him, obviously annoyed about something and Echo had to wonder if there had been some history there. Honestly he had no interest in explaining what went on at the Chateau to her… He'd gleefully dump that honor onto Hunter as their commanding officer.
"I told Amara I'd bring her lunch tomorrow so she could teach me my passcode."
The room was dead silent for a moment before Rafa and Trace suddenly said at the same time, "You're taking a girl lunch?!"
They seemed to be half staring him down and Echo was suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable as the two seemed to be waiting for his response with bated breath. "Uh… yeah. She's one of the majordomos and part of security."
"Is she pretty?" Trace asked as the two sisters now seemed to be leaning forward watching him which was just ridiculous and had to be part of his imagination.
"Well," he couldn't help but think when he first saw her step out into the open. The hue of her skin, her attractive appearance, the clothes that left little to the imagination and the tasteful makeup that hid her greatest weapon. Like with all twi'leks her body had initially caught his interest but it was the soft and shy personality that he'd only caught a glimpse of that intrigued him. Why someone as beautiful and talented as she was had taken a shine to someone like him was something he had intended to ask her and never got the chance. "Yeah she's…" he could feel the soft smile spread on his face as he thought of the furious blush that had spread over her when he had called their planned lunch a date. It had been cute. "...she's very nice."
Trace let out a high pitched shriek that was only partially covered by the hands she slapped over her mouth as her eyes danced with glee and even Rafa seemed affected but whatever had come over both of them. "Oh my God, you're going on a date?!" She said excitedly. "What are you planning on taking her?"
"What's a date?" Omega asked as she looked up at the two sisters. Their excitement seemed to be catching on as she bounced slightly on her toes in anticipation for the answer.
"It's when two people who really like each other make a point to spend time together," Trace said offhandedly as she turned her attention back to Echo. "Are you taking her somewhere?"
Omega turned and looked at Tech with a confused expression. "Tech?" She asked softly. "Why would someone do that… I mean we spend time together but I haven't heard any of you guys referring to us being together as dating."
Hunter made an indistinct noise and let his head face into his hands.
"Not quite," Tech took a moment to fix his goggles as a short delay tactic before saying. "Dating refers to socially interacting with another individual to assess your compatibility as a potential romantic partner and mate."
Omega sucked in a startled gasp and suddenly turned to Echo with the same excited starry eyed look. "Really?! This is so cool! I'm so happy for you Echo!"
"... Uh…" was all Echo managed to get out when Rafa stepped up to him.
"So what are you planning on doing," she tapped her knuckles on his chest armor. "Are you planning on taking her something or are you going somewhere?"
Somehow Echo knew that no matter what he said it wouldn't be enough to appease her. "I was going to grab some of those kebabs from the street vend-"
"Nope!" Rafa said, cutting him off like he figured. Trace was also shaking her head as if disappointed and seeing their reactions also had Omega disagreeing along with them. "That's not good enough or nearly as romantic as it should be. Sous Chef!" She suddenly hollered, turning to look at Wrecker who, like the rest of the room, had been watching the back and forth with barely concealed amusement.
Wrecker jumped to attention as if Hunter had called them in for an inspection. "Ma'am!"
"You remember that recipe you showed me of little round cakes with candied flowers and butterflies on them?"
Wrecker gasped and looked at Rafa with barely contained anticipation. "Really?"
Rafa nodded, "We're making little round cakes with candied flowers and butterflies on them. Wrecker! Omega! To the kitchen!" Rafa said, pointing out the door to the room that had them scrambling excitedly out the door. "Trace! Do me a favor and run to the Eside market. See if you can find a picnic basket and the ingredients I need to make roasted miter bird sandwiches and veggie wraps!"
"I'm on it!" Trace said, bouncing off her seat and rushing for the door.
"Don't worry Echo," Rafa gave him a reassuring smile as she patted his shoulder. "This will be the best first date of your life!"
Echo just stared as Rafa walked out of the room after that declaration in utter bewilderment. He blinked a few times and turned to look at the other two clones left in the room and Rex's holoimage. All of them were looking equal parts amused and just as surprised as he was.
"What just happened?" He had to ask them in case someone had caught on to whatever had just happened.
"Apparently," Tech said with an amused tilt to his lips as he looked back down at his datapad. "You will be taking your date a homemade picnic lunch in a basket that consists of roasted miter bird sandwiches, veggies wraps and little round cakes with candied flowers and butterflies adorning them."
Hunter gave him a rueful grin and a small shrug, "What he said."
"You know Echo," Rex said thoughtfully and with something closer to a shit eating grin on his tired face. "I take back my apology from earlier cause I got a hunch you'll be thanking me for sending you there at some point."
-Break-
It was just before noon the next day when Echo found himself standing again before the Chateau Rylis. Only this time he wasn't hesitating because of the surprise at where Rex had sent him. He was hesitating now out of sheer nerves.
The laden picnic basket hung from the crook of his right arm and he was wondering if it was too much or not enough. Maybe Amara expected more? Maybe it would be too much? He wasn't sure regardless of the assurances that both Rafa and Trace gave him before unceremoniously pitching him out the door.
He'd also cleaned his armor after Omega kept hounding him later that night so he could look his best. She helped him but asked all kinds of questions about Amara that he could barely answer and when she could meet her. Hunter the utter bastard, had just sat there and smiled at him from where he was supposably resting instead of being useful like trying to dissuade her from scrubbing the paint of his greaves.
At least Echo had managed to convince her that no, Tech did not need to disassemble his prosthetics and clean all of them. Tech had made a point to help him do some routine maintenance in some of the harder for him to reach spots but their resident genius was busy trying to figure out if there was a frequency or something like an EMP that would deactivate and render the chip inert. Its biological properties shield it from most attacks but Tech seemed to have embraced the challenge with vigor…
… And considering how much safer and easier it would be to deactivate the chips then remove them it meant a lot less chance that the clone would be hurt or worse when they were trying to take the chips out.
Still all that wasn't helping him now. He glanced at the time and realized it was now or never. He started across the street heading for the main doors, trying to calm his now racing heart and the anxiety that seemed to be building in the back of his mind.
Was she even going to be ready? Had she been lying about working today? Of her apparent interest in him? Was she suddenly off doing something more important? Was he just going to meet at the door by a 'friend' and told to get lost?
Echo was of the opinion that he'd rather face an entire battalion of clankers by himself rather than step through that door and learn the truth.
Still he had never back out of a mission before and he wasn't planning on now.
The main foyer was still just as extravagant and relaxing as he remembered it being. The decorative blinds, sheer tapestries hanging about and the artfully placed planets offered both privacy to those waiting and a calming atmosphere to sit in. The water feature, the softly playing music and the trilling calls of the little flying lizards provided enough background noise to make it difficult to pick up on conversations. Meanwhile the golden scroll work in the sweeping staircases on either side of the room that was echoed in the chandelier screamed of lavish and expensive tastes.
A shadow moved behind one of the sheer tapestries but the lithe figure that stepped out from behind it was not Amara and Echo found himself tamping down his disappointment while at the same time bracing himself for the apparent bad news that was walking over to him now.
He should have known.
The twi'lek that approached him was slightly taller than Amara and a bit more amply proportioned in the bust area. She had a pale green hue to her skin and was wearing a red and gold dress much like the one Amara had been wearing the previous day that left little to the imagination and looked more like it had been painted on. She moved with the same amount of sensual confidence that Amara had as she walked up to him with a bit more movement that was strictly necessary but put all her assets on display.
"You must be Echo," she said almost flirtatiously as she walked up to and around him, giving off an almost predatory air as she moved behind him.
"Yes ma'am," this was definitely a different way to be greeted as this new girl came around on his other side, clearly sizing him up.
"Amara said you'd be here," she nodded towards the basket hanging from his arm. "What did you bring her for lunch?"
"A couple of my friends and family helped me to make lunch." Really he hadn't done much. Rafa had completely taken over the precooking and making of the meal, barking orders at Omega and Wrecker like any seasoned Captain would and somehow producing what Echo had to admit looked like a fantastic meal for them. She had made a point to have him help assemble the sandwiches that morning so he could have claimed to have done something but really it had been almost all her doing.
That gave the girl pause and some of the barely concealed suspicion seemed to melt off her face. "You made her lunch?"
"Helped," he made a point to stress. "I'm not very good in the kitchen bu-"
"That is so sweet," she cut him off and gave him a legitimate smile now. "Come on," she reached out and gently took his hand to pull him alongside her as she walked. She was quiet until they reached the staircases and spoke softly as they started up then so her voice wouldn't carry far. "She really likes you, you know."
Echo easily remembered the quick looks and blushes that had popped up repeatedly during their previous conversations. "Yeah, I kinda picked up on that."
"Do you like her?" The unnamed twi'lek asked in the same friendly air that she had been talking in but Echo could hear a hint of something dangerous lurking underneath.
Echo had a feeling that just saying yes wouldn't cut it. "She's… perfect to be honest," he admitted after a moment of thinking about Amara. "I'm still not sure what it is about me that she likes."
His escort was quiet for a moment before she said, "Don't sell yourself short. Amara has always been a good judge of character." She gave him a wink out of the corner of her eye. "And it's obvious that she likes you a lot."
"Well that's… nice to know," he said, unsure of what else to say.
"In all my years of knowing her," his escort had brought him back to the door with the Pantoran symbol of hope emblazon on it, the same one Amara had brought him to the day before, but pulled him up short before he could go to enter. "Amara has never been so indecisive as to change her outfit six times in less than an hour and still be fretting about her appearance like she has been all morning."
Well, it was good to know he wasn't the only one who was nervous.
"And though I feel it is not necessary," she continued without pause and in that same soft and flirtatious tone she been talking in this whole time "I'm still going to make a point to tell you: if you hurt her in any way, I will make sure your death is a most painfully dragged out torture session that will have you begging me to kill you." Echo looked at her shocked as she squeezed his hand, she blew him a soft kiss as she stepped up to the door and knocked twice. She then turned to him and opened the door with a gesture for him to enter before her. "Enjoy your stay, Echo," she said with a wink.
After a momentary pause, Echo stepped into the room and the door was softly shut behind him. It was almost the same as he remembered from yesterday. The chaise to the right and the little sitting area to the left that was made up of a couple chairs, a small table and couch. The absolutely massive four post bed that took up the back quarter of the room was still a washed in a various shades and sizes of white pillows with a big fluffy duvet covering it. The mirrored walls and the ivy on the ceiling that draped down here and there made the room seem a lot bigger than he had remembered it but other than that everything was the same.
The only difference was Amara, sitting on the end of bed seemingly trying not to be impatiently waiting for him.
The day before her outfit had been more inline with what he would have expected walking into a high-end brothel but he had to admit he liked this one on her way better. It wasn't even half as revealing or tight on her and while it did accent her more appealing features it was done in a much more tasteful manner that didn't blatantly put them on display. Even the toned down almost natural makeup looked better on her than what she had worn before.
She was wearing a dark green dress that had a full right sleeve that swept off her shoulder and high along her chest leaving her left arm and shoulder exposed. It was cut close to her but still shifted around her easily as she moved, sitting more upright then she had been at his entrance. The dress stopped just above her knees with no additional frill or flare. The only jewelry she seemed to be wearing was the same golden head wrap from the day before with the scroll work that mimicked that of the chandelier and staircases in the foyer and a golden cuff on her left bicep that also held the same design.
Unlike the other day she was also wearing shoes. Well… he supposed they were shoes… They were a pair of high heeled shoes that lifted her heels at least two inches and he could already imagine what they would do to her calves. They were gold, like her jewelry, and a lot lighter weight than most shoes he had ever seen with a rounded toe and most of the top of her foot exposed. There was a thin almost decorative looking strap around her ankle that seemed to be the only reason they didn't just slip off.
Very impractical looking shoes but they fit well with the rest of her outfit.
"Hi," she blurted out after he had taken several steps into the room. She flushed slightly, unable to meet his eyes, "It's good to see you again Echo."
He smiled behind his helmet at that little tell she had when it came to telling the truth. Definitely the opposite of what he was used to but kinda cute in its own way. "Hi," he said, pausing to pull off his helmet and set it on the end of the couch he was standing near. "It's good seeing you too."
There was a moment of silence before Amara suddenly blurted out. "I'm sorry but I don't…" she trailed off just as fast, obviously embarrassed.
"Don't what?" He prompted after a moment of her just sitting there, worrying at the cuff of her dress.
She bite her lip, still not looking up at him and worrying even harder now at her cuff. "I don't… I have never been on a date before so I… I don't know what to do."
Well Echo hadn't been expecting that but in a way it did make sense. If you were known to work at such an establishment, even if you weren't working in one of the rooms, being asked out on a date probably wasn't something that happened often. If Amara's security duties were anything like what they had been in the GAR she probably had even less time than that to even leave the Chateau to try for a normal life. She was definitely not as sheltered as Omega was but she had missed out on a few things by the sounds of it.
Echo set the basket down on the end of the couch next to his helmet and walked over to her. Fives had always called him an old school romantic when they had been out and about on Coruscant on leave. It was a great way for meeting girls but he hardly ever went home with them for the night. He had some wonderful dates and had been one of the few clones to get a civilian's comm number. He'd seen her more than a few times over the span of a year but it was difficult when you only had a single night to burn off some sexual energy. Definitely not the best way to approach a one night stand but with Amara, Echo had a feeling that it was just what she would prefer.
"It's okay," he assured her as he held out his hand to her. "Take my hand and just be yourself."
She finally met his eyes and hers were so clogged with insecurities that Echo knew he would have to do his best to impart gentle reassurances to her. Her eyes flickered to his hand for a moment before she tentatively slid her hand into his. Echo gently pulled her to her feet with a smile and then led her back towards the table.
"I have to admit," he said as they walked back over to the table hand in hand. "I like this outfit on you better than the one you were wearing yesterday. It looks a lot more comfortable."
"You do?" Amara said with obvious wonder in her voice. "I would have thought you preferred the other one… I mean most people seem to anyway."
They had reached the table by then, Echo reluctantly released her hand to pull the chair out for her and gestured for her to sit. "I won't lie, it looked great on you but this one seems to match your personality better." She had sat while he had been talking so Echo pushed the chair in for her, "You also seem to move about more confidently and at ease in it. It's not like you're trying to put on a performance or anything."
"Yeah," she said and Echo could hear the slight smile in her voice as he went to retrieve the basket. "Kamie said something like that when I couldn't decide on what to wear. She told me to wear something that I liked and was comfortable in. That it would help with my nerves."
"Was that who escorted me to this room?" Echo asked as he pushed out the chair next to her and set the basket on its seat. "Tall twi'lek with pale green skin and in a red and gold dress?"
Amara sighed and hung her head slightly, "No that's Jigi. She threatened to kill you didn't she?"
"Actually she threatened to torture me until I begged her to kill me," he couldn't help but keep the amusement of that out of his voice as he said that. He opened the basket and snapped out the thin white table cloth that Trace had insisted he take. The short glass vase and the small bouquet of flowers were next and went to the center of the table. He had taken Omega to a nearby street vendor that sold flowers that morning and had her pick out what to make the bouquet out of.
"I asked her not to do th- oh," Amara had picked her head up and noticed the flowers. It was obvious that she hadn't been expecting them. "Those are pretty."
"They're yours," he said easily as he continued to set the table for them. "My little sister helped me pick them out this morning before I came here." He paused and gave her a soft look, "And don't worry about apologizing for Jigi. It's nice to know that you have someone here to protect you. The way you were talking yesterday made it sound like you were the only one taking care of and protecting everyone else."
"You have a little sister? I did know clones had sisters." Amara said as she took in the spread he was laying out before her. "Oh my God, you made so much…"
"Only one actually. Omega is… special," Echo didn't think that Omega needed to be secret but he also wasn't about to spill everything about her either just in case. "Adopted more or less. She’s my younger sister as the rest of the squad are my younger brothers. We're not from the same batch or anything but we have adopted each other as siblings regardless.
"And I can't claim that I made all this," he said as his hand swept across the table and what he had placed on it. "Omega, my brother Wrecker and the friends we are staying with for now did most of the work. I just helped a little towards the end."
"They must care about you a lot to go through all this trouble," she gasped delightedly. "Those little butterflies are precious."
Wrecker was going to be excited to hear that Amara recognized them as butterflies. He had taken such pains to work the sugar paste into rough butterfly shapes. He then pouted for the next hour as they hardened, thinking they looked nothing like what they were supposed to be and none of them could convince him otherwise. "My brother Wrecker did those. He didn't think they looked like butterflies so he'll be happy to hear that's what they looked like to you."
She smiled at him, "You can tell them they looked amazing and I think they're adorable." She looked over the food again, "...But really as amazing as this all looks but what is most of this? I think the only thing I recognize is the vonise sandwiches?"
Now that Echo was done setting the table and serving them he took his seat. "Oh man, let's see if I can get this all right." He pointed to each item of food as he tried to remember the rapid fire speech Rafa had given him as she packed the basket for him that morning. "So we have a roasted miter bird sandwich with a desto spread on a kind of multi grain bread that she said was too fast for me to catch. Fresh veggie wraps with an assortment of vegetables that I haven't heard of in a thin sesie wrap with a kolmon dipping sauce trio. Unzel cakes with a red berry center and a sugar milk frosting and the drink is a slightly alcoholic, fruity, bubbly thing called a misos."
Amara looked over the food in front of her again with even more appreciation. "I take it back, they definitely care about you a lot to go through all this trouble."
Echo couldn't help but shrug before reaching for one of his wraps assuming that Amara was waiting for him to start before she did, "I am the ori'vod so I guess that only makes sense."
"Ori'vod," she said try out the word as if tasting it. "I've heard Pong call Sinker that. What does it mean?"
In a way it made sense that Pong was seeing Sinker as an older brother. Considering they had been in a slave pit together where Sinker had been trying to protect him when he was injured and then later after they were rescued had been the one to nurse him back to health. Echo would have been floored to learn that Pong wasn’t looking up to him as an older brother or even as a buir after all they had been through together.
“It’s mando’a for big brother. Some of the first trainers a lot of us clones had were Mandalorians and we picked up a number of their customs and some of their language as a result. Since then it has kinda been passed around through the ranks so even if a clone wasn’t trained directly by a Mandalorian it has enough of a common place that the shinys -brand new clones fresh from Kamino- picked up on it pretty quick."
Except now there was no more Kamino. There was no more clone program. What clones were left had either been swept up by the Empire to serve them as little more than biological droids or apparently being sold into actaul slavery… and the few of them that didn’t have their chips were a small number indeed.
"Can you teach me some Mando'a?" Amara asked oblivious to what he was thinking just then as she picked up her sandwich. "It sounds like a beautiful language."
It could be… even some of the most vile of curses had an almost lyrical cadence to them.
"Sure. I wouldn't call myself fluent by any means but I know a lot of words and phrases." The veggie rolls and sauce were definitely a hit with him. The sauce had just the right amount of sweet yet spicy that left a pleasant heat on his tongue. If Wrecker was serious about learning to cook he needed to learn to make this sauce. Without any more rolls on his side of the table, Echo finally moved onto his sandwich. "Is there anything in particular you want to be able to say or somewhere you want to start?"
Amara paused and thought for a moment and Echo had to admit he liked the way she tilted her head to one side to glance at the ceiling as if that would hold all the answers for her. It was cute, especially when she pressed the tip of her index finger to her lips. "Well, Pong and Sinker also use vod and vode a lot when referring to other clones… also Buir and Riduur, aliit… um… baar'ur? I think that's how they said it."
"Vod means brother and vode is just the plural of that, so brothers. Buir refers to father and riduur means your partner or husband." Amara winced when she heard that and Echo paused, concerned, "What’s wrong?"
"Yes, it's just…" she sighed. "I overheard Pong telling Sinker his riduur died in the battery explosion that he was also caught in. I know it meant something special but… I didn't think it was that."
Damn… no wonder the kid was so torn up about that. Savior's guilt had caused a number of clones he had known to become dangerously reckless during the war. If Pong was only having panic attacks -which he highly doubted but he was about to pry and make matters worse- then he was lucky in comparison. "Let Sinker handle it. If he's acting as the kid's ori'vod then he'll take care of him."
Amare nodded with a small frown pinching her face, "Yeah… I know how to help some of the girls here but I doubt easing his mind is the same as theirs."
"Probably not," Echo would be the first to admit even he wasn't sure how to deal with it either. Usually in the 501st someone would go get Rex or Kix while everyone else kept the individual from hurting themselves until one of them arrived. "... What were the other two words you've heard them say?" He knew, of course, but it was an easy way to steer her back to their conversation before they were distracted by that unfortunate topic.
"Oh, aliit and … um… bar'ur? No, baar'ur," she smiled as she said it correctly the second time around.
Maker, it was a really cute smile.
"Aliit means family or clan. A lot of clones referred to each other as vode and we were all the same aliit even split amongst our various battalions and squads." Echo had to pause as he realized how out there the next word was compared to the others. Up until now all the words were based on their family and family members but baar'ur meant… "Do you remember what context they were using baar'ur in?"
"Yeah, Sinker was saying something about a raging baar'ur on the warpath, stomping over a mountain and then trying to take over medical on the Triumphant… I thought it might have been a swear the way he said it."
Echo nearly choked on his sandwich but managed to catch it just in time so he was just clearing his throat.
"No that's… baar'ur means medic. He was referring to my old chief medical officer, when he climbed a mountain after surviving a larty crash with a broken hip and a busted arm, and as soon as he was on the Triumphant -the 104th battalion flagship- he immediately took position over since their chief medic was still planet side and bullied and badged his way about -still injured mind you- taking care of the other patients that were there." Echo couldn't help but chuckle, "He apparently told Commander Wolffe to stuff it," no way was he actually going to repeat exactly what Kix had said to Wolffe to her. "And went about rampaging around medical some more until he finally passed out."
Amara was giggling at his story, "He sounds like quite the character… was everyone in the 501st like that?"
He honestly couldn't imagine more than one Kix. That would be terrifying. "Naw, Kix was a good guy really. He could just scare a vod right out of his armor. Jesse and Hardcase swore that he only got angry to hide how worried he really was… and boy could he get angry. I swear my twin liked to push his buttons on purpose. Fives could make Kix yell so loud you could hear the dressing down from the other side of the ship."
Amara was smiling, clearly loving the stories he had of his former battalion. "You have a twin?"
…Okay… he should have saw that one coming…
Amara seemed to sense the shift in his personality. "Oh… Echo I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to…"
"It-it's okay Amara," and it really was. He could talk about Fives just like the rest of his fallen batch and the fallen member of his adopted batch. It was still hard to think of any of them - especially with how recently Crosshair was added to the list - but he'd rather they were remembered and honored for everything they had done then let them fade away so he was the only one left who remembered them. "It's still hard at times but … Fives really was one of the best of us, even if he was always getting into trouble and thinking outside the ship most of the time. He was a joker, a prankster but always had your back. I think you would have liked him."
"Well," she was blushing brightly as she said, looking away from him. "If he's anything like his twin he must be a great guy… but I would still like his twin better."
Echo was pretty sure there was a dopey grin on his face. "And he's honestly not sure why but he's glad you do too."
Amara was still flushed when she looked up at him confused, "Why wouldn't I like you?"
"Well I'm," he really wasn't sure how to put it without degrading himself too much but it was pretty obvious what he was referring to even if he wasn't pointing it out. "Not that much to look at," Echo was aiming for a jovial tone to his voice but he was fairly certain it had fallen flat. Hefting his scomp up slightly to draw Amara's attention to it probably wasn't called for either considering the look on her face.
It was actually several looks really. First there was a hint of confusion that quickly morphed into realization. Followed by a tiny bit of anger which he found honestly a little hot. Her face then calmly smoothed into a placid look as a gentle smile curled across her face.
"Oh Echo," she said with a fondness that he honestly found very surprising. "You're undeniably the sweetest man I have ever had the good fortune of meeting."
That… had not been what he had been expecting at all.
Amara slid back in her chair and, with that same unearthly grace that had first caught his attention when she had stepped out from behind that curtain, she stood and made her way around the table to him. He would have had to be blind to realize that she was moving like she had yesterday to showcase her assets, only now that she was more modestly dressed, it made his mouth go dry at the silent implications of what lay beneath the fabric. "Uh," he managed as she gently took his scomp in her hands and lifted it out of the way so she could slip into his lap. She was sitting sideways between him and the table and brought the scomp up and pressed a gentle kiss to the side of the housing.
"Huh," he was fairly certain he was blushing worse than Amara was the day before when he said they were going on a date. He… hadn't expected this…
"One of the first things you learn at the Chateau is to never judge someone on their appearance. I'm surrounded by beauty and glamor everyday and it's easy to let that cloud your judgment if you're not careful. As a member of security I'm required to be able to tell if someone is a threat to us or not."
She shifted her weight about slightly as if she was getting comfortable and Echo found him putting his arm around her lower back to give her some support. "So yesterday," she was giving him this lidded look out of the corner of her eye with a soft smirk on her lips as she continued. Echo felt like that look should be illegal on some level. "I had an armored individual walk into the foyer. He was holding himself like a soldier, blaster in full view on his hip and even with the helmet on I could tell he was sweeping the room for hostiles. I signaled to Minita to stay back and I stepped out to take point.
"I could tell from the way the helmet tilted up and down that he appreciated my appearance but he didn't linger on it long… not so much that he didn't like what he saw but more like he was embarrassed by what he was seeing. An odd reaction for someone to have walking in here and seeing one of us girls. So I spun my words slightly from the typical greeting," she winked at him. "And he finally relaxed slightly after making an embarrassing sound through his helmet speakers. I knew then he wasn't a threat. Maybe a bit startled and in over his head but, despite his intimidating appearance, he was all fluffy, safe and soft inside."
She leaned into his chest gently as she continued, "Even though I knew I had to neutralize you, I was hoping there was some kind of mistake. You were just so honest and open when we were talking before the kiss that I found it hard to believe you were here to harm anyone or anything. You were so sweet worrying about me and trying to protect me and I…" She bit her lower lip lightly and hunched her shoulders slightly as she added, "I was so relieved when Tavis told us what had happened and this was all a misunderstanding. It … it would have been a shame to send someone so nice and caring down a trash chute."
She looped her arm around his neck and rested her cheek against his chestplate. Her other hand was still holding his scomp gently by part of the cowling. Really there was no way she could damage it but the fact that she was taking such care of it softened something inside him. Carefully in case he was reading the situation wrong somehow, Echo gently rested his cheek against the top of her head.
She sighed, sounding relieved. "Thank you,"she said softly, somehow relaxing more against him. "I didn't think you were serious at first when you said this was going to be a date… I mean I hoped but after… after attacking you I didn't want to assume."
Well that was a bit concerning. He hadn't meant to put her in doubt about his intentions but maybe he made that comment too flippantly to be taken seriously? "Why did you think I wasn't serious?"
She shrugged but didn't move away from him. "No matter how fancy it looks, I work at a brothel and I… I drugged, attacked and tried to strangle you… that's not really the best first impression to make."
At the time no but now? Just thinking about the way she had taken him off guard so easily and then wrapped him up and immobilized him was impressive and a feat in and of itself… also it has been kind of hot. Echo was starting to suspect that there wasn't anything she did that he wouldn't find appealing.
"You should be proud of yourself. I've never been caught so flat footed and wrapped up so neatly. It's not easy to take an ARC down like that."
"Sinker said something along those lines too when he saw your armor for the first time. He made sure I wasn't hurt and then congratulated me for taking down an ARC…" she shifted against him. "What exactly is an ARC anyway? The way he was talking you are apparently really good at hand to hand and fighting in general."
"ARC stands for Advanced Recon Commando. We're elite clone troopers, some of the best that the GAR had to offer. We were valued for our independent thinking, creativity and skills on the battlefield and flash trained by some of the best trainers and other alphas as needed…" he sighed thinking back over his training and the year of service after. "I gotta admit it was worth it then… not too sure about it now but I know I saved a lot of clones and some Jedis when I was operating in the GAR."
"... I'm surprised I managed to take you down then," she said, sounding a little awed by what she had done.
"Yeah," he gave her a gentle squeeze. "It's definitely something to be proud of. Not many people can say that they've managed something like that and walked away unscathed."
She hummed thoughtfully. "I think I deserve a cake for managing that then," she said as she shifted away from him enough so she could sit up but didn't seem all that inclined to leave her seat on his lap which he was fine with. She picked up a couple of the small cakes from the table and turned back to him. "Open," she said to him, holding one of the cakes up to his lips.
The unzel cakes were small, bite sized cakes that were a bit of a mouthful but not too oversized. Echo had walked into the kitchen during their assembly the night before. It was easy to forget that despite his name and his tendency to break things, Wrecker was a demolitions expert. He needed to have steady hands and be able to concentrate on the tiniest of details. Echo had to admit watching him handle each little cake with the same amount of care that he had when handling live explosives had been a little bit of overkill but also insanely sweet that his vod'ika had put some much care into trying to make them perfect for them.
It had been part of the reason why he had stood there and watched Wrecker assemble them with the girls. It was so rare for him to put this level of care into something other than a bomb of some kind that it was definitely an event. He of course ignored them as he worked to carefully punch out little cylinders of the light fluffy sheet cake with a cutter. He then sliced them in half and spread the 'proper' amount of red berry jelly between the two pieces perfectly so as not to tint the white sugar milk glaze that was then poured over each likely cake and allowed to set. After that each cake was adorned with the smallest candied flowers and butterflies Echo had ever seen.
Echo was going to make a point to tell him about how much he and Amara enjoyed the little cakes… and yes there were definitely butterflies in them.
There was definitely no worries on the flavor. The glaze and candied decorations were rich and sweet which helped to counteract the sour tang of the berries. He didn't notice right away if the little cakes were anything really but carriers until the very end where there was a faint floral taste that he remembered getting a whiff of when he first stepped into the kitchen after the cake was done baking.
"Oh my word," Amara hummed happily. "These little things are divine. Please be sure to thank your brother for me. They're perfect."
"I'll say… I know he's getting into cooking but maybe he should focus more on baking," Echo agreed as he licked his lips. "I mean… damn…"
Amara giggled again and retrieved two more of the little cakes, offering him one again which he gladly took. "I hope he made enough for the rest of your family to have some."
He had. The eight 'best cakes' had been put into the basket with the rest of their meal while easily three dozen others were set aside for everyone to try and share. Echo still wasn't sure what the criteria was for a 'best cake' but they certainly tasted the part.
"Yeah, he made a point to select the best for us," he smiled as Amara offered him another cake. "I'm only sorry that he only gave us four each."
"I know. I'm kind of glad there are only four though. I would have made myself sick eating these," she declared before popping her cake in her mouth. "I'm going to have to dance through several sets to burn off all these extra calories and I don't even care."
Echo hummed in agreement as he remembered something. "You said you dance a lot and built your fighting style from it right?" She hummed in agreement as she took a sip from her drink and reached for the last two cakes. "Could you teach someone to do it?"
Amara gave her a confused look, "Do you want me to teach your little sister how to use it?"
He and Hunter had already had several 'discussions' on what Omega could and couldn't learn to do. As much as he could see the practicality of her learning some form of close combat fighting style - especially one as effective as Amara's - Hunter's buir instinct was a little too overprotective of their little sister. Hopefully he'd come to his senses before she got seriously hurt but that wasn't why he'd originally brought it up.
"Maybe in the future. Omega's a little young to be learning something as acrobatic as that. No, I was wondering if you could teach me to counter it." He realized how that must have sounded and quickly backpedaled, "Not that I think we'll be fighting anytime like ever again just… if I run into someone who fights similar to you, I want to know how to get them off me."
She smiled and offered him a cake. "I'm guessing this is one of the reasons you're an ARC? Learning and developing fighting styles to teach others?"
"Yeah," he kind of shrugged, "Well that's what I would have done during the war. A couple of my brothers may be interested in it but overall we all have our preferred methods of fighting. Mine is to learn and adapt as many styles as I can to suit my needs. I probably won't use it often if at all but at least I'll know it if I need it."
He took the cake from her as she smiled at him. "Always a soldier," she said fondly, taking a moment to cup his cheek before leaning back slightly. "Tell me Echo… do you know how to dance?" She asked before eating her last cake.
He was pretty sure she didn't mean the filthy club grinding thing some clones used to do at 79s on the dance floor. Honestly he didn't know any clone that had any dancing experience outside of that. "No. It's not exactly seen as a requirement for combat preparations."
She let out a soft laugh at that. "No I can't imagine it was," she slowly slid off his lap and he already missed her comforting weight against him. "Come on," she said, turning back to him and offering her hand out for him to take.
Echo blinked in confusion but knew an order when he heard it. He quickly downed the rest of his drink before sliding his chair back and taking her hand as he stood. "Where are we going?"
"The middle of the room, silly," she told him with a wink over her shoulder as she turned to lead him around the couch. "If you want to learn how to fight like me you're going to have to learn to dance."
Okay… he should have seen that one coming. "... Just to warn you I'm pretty sure I was assembled with two left feet."
She huffed a little annoyed as she turned back to him now that they were standing in the relatively open part in the middle of the room. "You weren't assembled. You were born. Just because you have a mechanical arm with a scomp connector doesn't mean you were built somewhere."
Oh boy… might as well get this over with. He squeezed her hand gently where it was still holding his own. "Technically clones aren't born. We're decanted from our gestation tubes." He sighed as he looked away from her curious look. He didn't want to see her reaction to what he said, "Surprised you didn't see it all when I was stripped searched… I was in a shuttle explosion and captured by the enemy when I was presumed dead by my allies. They were the ones who… uh… upgraded me with the arm, a pair of new legs and cybernetic respiratory and neural systems… Really I am more of a machine than a clone anymore."
Amara had taken his one hand in both of hers while he talked but had been silent while he said his piece. He was ready for anything - horror, disgusting, pity - but what he wasn't ready for was for Amara to gently squeeze his hand. "Echo, would you mind looking at me?"
He sighed and lifted his head ready for rejection but not for the soft, fond look on her face. "I'm not going to pretend I know or will ever understand what you went through… if you ever want to talk about it: I'm here but… All I'll say on the matter is that - as horrifying it must have been for you to endure what you were forced to - I'm glad you at least survived this long so that I could be with you."
… Maker, she truly was perfect…
"There's another mando'a word you should know," he whispered, his heart suddenly fluttering in the back of his throat at the thought of where this was going.
"And what's that?" She didn't seem to notice the change that the conversation had suddenly took as she still held that look on her face.
"Cyare," Echo said softly.
Amara tilted her head to the side and moved her lips and tongue as if tasting how to say the word. "I haven't heard Pong or Sinker use that one… what does it mean?"
"Beloved."
She didn't say anything initially, freezing for a moment as she realized why Echo would be telling her a word like that. Echo had to wait a beat for her reaction and he had just enough time to think that maybe it was too soon before her whole demeanor seemed to light up. He really wasn't prepared for the little hop she did to match their heights a bit better and the enthusiastic kiss wasn't something he had been expecting either but he really should have. Her arms were around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist to support her better.
The kiss was a bit frantic at first. It was like Amara was doing her best to show all her happiness and joy with it. He couldn't help but smile into the kiss at her enthusiasm but Echo knew that taking things slow was sometimes even more gratifying. He slowed his lips down slightly, softly encouraging her to do the same, and he felt the shiver that ran through her and the soft little moan as she caught onto what he was doing and moved to match him.
Unfortunately they had to breathe eventually and while they may have reluctantly broke off the kiss they still remained close. Amara nuzzling him softly and Echo found himself sighing and pressing their foreheads together. After a moment of just enjoying holding her close Echo couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he realized something.
Amara made a soft noise in the back of her throat and pulled away enough to get a good loklok at him. "What is it?"
“I’m not going to pass out here in the next five minutes right?” he asked jokingly, referring to their first kiss.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she whispered, pressing herself impossibly closer to him.
“And what’s that?”
“Don’t kiss me if I’m wearing lipstick.”
Echo glanced at her lips as a reflex and saw the soft smile she was wearing almost like an invitation that he was helpless to resist. As their lips touched against each other again, they held each other close…
And for the first time in a long time, everything felt perfect.