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Ever since Echo stepped onto Umbara, he’s had a sense of dread festering in his chest.
He thought he had lost that familiar sinking feeling when he and Fives left the Rishi Moon Outpost, or when they were on Kamino during the invasion, or perhaps during ARC training, but no, it was still with him. He had kept his concerns between himself and Fives, knowing better than to voice bad feelings during a campaign. And then, as the fighting started, Echo knew he had been right. Umbara was nothing short of a damn nightmare.
More and more brothers were lost for every inch of progress, and it was taking a toll on all of them, especially Kix. Echo didn’t think he’d ever seen the medic so frustrated and on edge, snapping back at Rex without a hint of his usual calm composure.
Krell taking the place of General Skywalker had only made matters worse.
None of the 501st had been pleased listening to the man insult their captain, but Echo had nearly lost it when he saw a lightsaber all too close to Fives in a not-at-all sublet threat. Not even the direct remarks regarding his metal prosthesis had triggered such a response.
So when Fives came to him with a plan after they had taken the base, Echo was ready to jump at the chance to do something. He hated seeing his twin fly off with Jesse and Hardcase right behind him, but he had his own part to play. Someone had to play damage control with Dogma. Echo felt terrible lying to the younger trooper, using the already unstable foundation of a friendship to keep him out of the loop, but they all knew the consequences if Dogma found out and told Krell.
Despite Fives and Jesse’s complaints, Echo got along fairly well with Dogma. He knew what it was like being apart from the other clones, never quite fitting in the way they were supposed to. It had taken Echo telling Dogma how he got his name, the unfriendly teasing that had come from his brothers, the teasing that made him feel far too different than he was comfortable with, for Dogma even to begin warming up to him.
Echo knew the fragments of his friendship with Dogma had shattered when he caught the other’s eye after Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase returned, how the younger clone looked at him with such hatred, eyes shining and a deep frown on his face.
And now, Echo found himself staring at his twin with just a few feet between them, a rifle in his hands, whereas Fives’ hands were bound behind him.
An execution, by the orders of General Krell.
An execution of brothers, by brothers.
Little gods, Echo was going to be sick.
His training as an ARC trooper was the only reason he wasn’t shaking apart right now. Tup was on his right, the slightest tremble in his hands. Tup had only been with the 501st for a short time, just as Dogma, but even Echo knew how steady of a shot he was. Poor kid was gonna have nightmares for a while after this. And Kix, on his left, wore the stone-cold mask of a medic he had perfected long before Echo and Fives joined their ranks. The medic had been slowly unraveling ever since the fighting started, and now, for him to be standing across from Hardcase, who should’ve still been in the medbay, and Jesse, his husband, with a weapon pointed at them? If there was anything in the galaxy that would break the medic, Echo knew it would be this.
He glanced away from the trio and settled his gaze on Dogma and the captain. Never had Echo seen Rex look so pale before. And Dogma, perfectly still, no one ever would’ve guessed he was dreading his position, but Echo knew better. He knew the boy that clung to the rules and regulations because everything outside of that was too much to understand, too many unspoken rules, and too few people willing to listen until you found yourself questioning if you ever belonged in the first place. Echo knew Dogma, and he knew his brother was far from proud of his role in all of this.
“Aim.”
Echo turned his attention back to Fives as he shifted, raising the rifle with trained precision.
How had their lives come to this? They were soldiers, yes, but first and foremost, they were brothers. No one else would ever understand, so they huddled together, sought comfort, and lived by each other. Once, a natborn officer questioned Echo on why he still hadn’t spoken after two days of being on the Resolute. Echo didn’t think he had ever seen his brothers react so quickly, even on the battlefield, in his defense, even those who hadn’t known him but had heard of what happened to his batch.
His eyes flickered up towards the top of the base, where he knew Krell was watching.
He knew exactly how they ended up here. He knew exactly who was to blame.
Echo brushed the trigger with his finger, stilling himself for what was coming.
“Wait! This is wrong. And we all know it.”
Echo smirked. Leave it to Fives to step on his soapbox seconds from being executed.
Tup softened, and Kix’s mask began to crack. Echo listened, glancing at the men pass Tup and Kix, and wondered who, if any, among them would still follow these orders. Echo’s shoulders shook in a silent chuckle, his smirk softening into a smile.
“Fire!”
Echo twisted his stance; his rifle elevated straight up as he pulled the trigger, firing into the open sky. Echo watched as the remaining blaster bolts rained down into the wall behind Jesse, Hardcase, and Fives, the former two curling in on themselves while Fives tensed, attempting to still himself and face his end head-on.
He dropped his rifle with a little more focus than the others in the firing squad, but who could blame him? His heart ached as Dogma stepped out in front of them, questioning them, still clinging to his belief in following orders.
“Dogma,” He spoke softly, taking a step forward. Kix and Tup had already rushed past them, fussing over the other three. Echo knew he had to check on his twin - no one walked away from the execution line untouched, even if Fives had been able to stop it - but right now, Echo could see his vod’ika was crumbling apart. He closed the space between the pair, standing directly in front of Dogma. “This isn’t right. I know you know that.”
“We have orders-.”
“The Jedi can be wrong, vod’ika. Stop letting him play you for a fool. You’re smarting than that.”
Dogma squeezed his eyes shut, his fists clutching at his sides. Echo knew Dogma’s signs as well as he knew his own. They may react in different ways; Echo having the impulse to talk, repeat, and make noises, whereas Dogma got to the point where he couldn’t speak, took too much energy, where sounds got to be overwhelming.
“We’re not droids, Dogma. You’re not a droid.”
Echo gently knocked his forehead against Dogma’s before stepping around him, easily falling into his twin’s orbit. He yanked Fives into a tight hug, letting his tension bleed out into the embrace. His ara’vod was safe.
“I’m going with you next time, di'kut.”
“You can take him!” Jesse called back to them, having moved to follow Kix as he dragged Hardcase back to the medbay. “Next time I think it’s a good idea to follow one of his plans, talk me out of it.”
“Looks like he got his sense of humor back,” Fives mumbled against his shoulder. Echo laughed.
“Captain.”
Echo shifted away from Fives to look at the trooper that appeared. Rex had started to move toward them only to pause and look at the other clone. “Yes?”
“General Krell requests to see you and Dogma.”
Dogma, who was still standing where Echo left him, snapped back to attention. He turned on his heels and made his way toward the lift without a glance or a word to any of them.
Rex sighed. “Very well.”
The Captain looked back at them, eyes clearly searching for something. Echo smiled, squeezing Fives closer to him, and nodded. They were okay. Accepting that as an answer, Rex returned the nod before turning on his heels to follow Dogma.
Echo left his smile fall as he turned his head back towards Fives.
“Fives,” He whispered, pressing his forehead against Fives’ temple as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. “I got a bad feeling.”
“Yea,” Fives mumbled, tightening his hold around Echo while undoubtedly watching Rex retreat towards the lift. “Me too, Ey’ika. Me too.”