Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Echo and Fives knew a little about the 501st battalion before joining. They knew that it was led by the Jedi Knight, General Skywalker, alongside the clone captain Rex. Which was unusual because most CT’s weren’t supposed to rank higher than a Sergeant.

But after working alongside Rex on Rishi, he would figure out why he’s risen to his current rank.

When Fives and Echo thought of a battalion, they thought of strict regimens, hard training, and action. While they did get quite a bit of action in the 501st, they were surprised at how relatively unstrict it was. Sure, they had a regimen and sure they trained, but the amount of camaraderie was different. Especially between the General and the troops. The older troops regularly engaged in jokes and arguments during down time with the general.

On top of that, the general had a padawan. Echo and Fives were a little shocked when they first met her. She was a child.

Sure they were technically younger than her, but they’d reached maturity at 9 years old. This child had very much not reached maturity. This kid’s montrals just barely reached their shoulder in height. She was impulsive, foolhardy, and she had an attitude.

She had only been with the 501st a month longer than Echo and Fives, but already it was apparent that she really did care for the troops of the 501st. Multiple times they witnessed her sitting in the medical tent with an injured trooper until one of the medics were able to sedate them.

Echo himself had been helped to the med tent by the little commander. He had a large gash on his leg from flying shrapnel.

Somehow, he guessed it was some jedi thing, but she kept his breathing steady and talked non stop about course work she was doing, to help distract him from the pain.

Echo was extremely grateful for that, and after some pushing from Fives, got up the courage to ask the commander more about her course work.

As it turned out, Jedi homework was a lot more interesting than reg manuals.

Fives discovered his own likeness for the commander when he had been sprinting down the halls with a very angry and paint covered Rex charging after him.

He had slid around the corner and almost taken out the little togruta. The only thing that saved them was her much faster reflexes.

“Wow, what’s going on?” She asked rather alarmed.

Just then they heard Rex’s angry roar of Fives’ name and the thundering of feet.

Fives swore in mando’a before wincing and looking down at his commander. She stared up at him in confusion. Ok, maybe she didn’t know mando’a? The general didn’t seem to, well one blaster bolt dodged.

“Very sorry sir but I think I need to go-”
“You won’t out run him now.” the commander said.
“Well sir, I don’t have much choice if I don’t want to die so young.” He informed her.

She laughed before glancing around.

“Hide in there.” She nodded to a storage closet Fives hadn’t noticed beforehand.

She waved her hand at it and the door slid open.

Without a second thought, Fives lunged inside.

Not a moment after the door closed, Rex tore around the corner. Fives held his breath as his captain asked the commander if she’d seen a trooper running.

“Well Rex, with the expression you are currently sporting, I’d guess that a lot of troopers would be running.” The commander replied and Fives had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep his surprised laugh quiet.
“Well sir, this one has a 5 on his left temple.”

Fives tensed. Would the commander cover for him? She had no reason to help a clone hide from his captain.

“I’ll inform you if I do see him. I’m guessing he has something to do with the paint?” Fives heard grumbling from Rex as he slowly untensed.
“You know, you might want to try the sparring rooms, I thought I heard running from that direction.” the commander added.
“Thank you sir.”
“Sure thing captain.”

Fives imagined the little togruta raising her arm in a salute as Rex took off towards the sparring rooms.

After a few moments, someone knocked on the door.

“All clear trooper.”

Fives cautiously opened the door. He was greeted by the jedi padawan smiling up at him mischievously.

“How’d you manage the paint?” She asked.

Fives cocked his head at her. He had never had a conversation with the jedi commander. He could practically hear Echo’s voice in his brain asking if this was appropriate behavior. Oh well, he never was one for rules.

“Trip wire on his door. It’s been set up for a while, I was just waiting for him to finally go back into his room.” Fives explained.

Rex had his own quarters near the jedi’s, but he didn’t use them as often, usually preferring to bunk with the rest of the 501st in the barracks.

The commander nodded knowingly with a smirk.

“Thank you commander, for covering for me.” Fives said after a moment.
“It was my pleasure. Fives I presume.” She said with a broad smile, one that revealed that she had fangs.

He blinked at her for a second, still processing the fangs, then in confusion on how she knew his name.

“Rex yelled it down the hall. You’re Echo’s batchmate.”

Fives nodded.

“Well Fives, personally I think it's good for Rex to get a little riled up in a non stressful way. Keeps him young.” The commander explained.

Fives snorted.

“Well, I won’t keep you here any longer.” The commander said as she glanced up and down the hall. “I’d steer clear of the sparring rooms.”

Fives laughed at that.

“Will do commander.” He replied as he turned away.
“Ahsoka.” He paused and turned back to face the little togruta.
“You can call me Ahsoka. I don’t really see the need for formalities on the ship.” She told him.

He watched her a moment more before nodding.

“Ok, Ahsoka.”

Chapter Text

Ahsoka began to spend more time with the clone trooper in the mess and the rec rooms. She was usually found with Torrent company, more specifically Fives and Echo.

Her master was happy that she was spending time with her men, even if he regularly heard complaining from his captain about various pranks or out of control sabacc games.

The first time Ahsoka slept in the barracks was 2 months after Echo and Fives joined the 501st.

It had been a pretty rough campaign. There had been a lot of casualties along with a lot of wounded.

Ahsoka had taken quite a few blaster hits along with a slew of other cuts and bruises. However, she refused to go to the medical tent because she wanted the troopers to get help before she did. That and the tent was full of pain.

One of the areas she was strong in the force was Empathy. She could sense others emotions pretty easily which was fine for just about every other instance besides war.

Her grandmaster and Master Plo had been giving her advice on how to block it out better and most of the time it worked fine. But the pain in the med tent was at times too strong for her barriers.

Times like right now.

“I’m not dying Rex, there are plenty of men that actually need Kix’s help.” She argued.
“Sir, if you don’t get your injuries treated, you very much could end up needing Kix’s help a lot more down the line.” Rex argued back.
“I’m fine.” She told him again.

Rex had known her long enough to know that when she got that tone in her voice, she wasn’t going to back down. He sighed.

“Fine, but as soon as we get back on the Dominator, you’re going to the med bay.” He raised a hand when she began to protest. “By then, most of the troops in dire need will have been helped. You won’t have to worry about the medics needed to prioritize anybody.”

The little togruta glared up at his helmet before her shoulders dropped slightly. He knew he’d won. She nodded before turning to see if she could help any new injured troops coming in.

Even though he had won the argument, he was aware that she would probably try to sneak off as soon as they got to the hangar of the venator ship.

“Echo.” Rex called.

The young trooper turned from here he was in front of Rex. He had Fives’ arm over his shoulder and he was helping his batchmate to Torrent Company’s tent area. Rex could see the bandage wrapped around Fives’ leg, but it looked like he had already seen Kix.

“Yes captain?” Echo asked.
“I need you two to do something for me.” Rex told them as he came to stand in front of them.
“Hope it doesn’t require leg work.” Fives said dryly, earning him a jab in the ribs from Echo.

Rex shook his head.

“No, I need you to keep an eye on Commander Tano when we are getting transported back to the ship. Once on the Dominator, I want you to get her into the med bay.”

Echo’s eyebrows furrowed under his helmet. He had seen the little commander take quite a few hits while on the battlefield.

“She hasn’t been to the med tent yet?” He asked.
“No, I believe she doesn’t want to divert the medics’ attention away from the troopers.” Rex explained.

Echo and Fives sighed.

“Yeah, we’ll get her to Kix when we’re on the ship.” Echo told his captain while Fives nodded.

Rex nodded to them and turned back to the rest of the camp.

When the transports began to come in, Echo went out and found Ahsoka. He used the excuse that he needed help with Fives to keep her with them. Ahsoka readily agreed.

Once in the hangar, Fives made a show of moaning and complaining and pushed more of his weight on Ahsoka, nearly taking the poor girl down to the ground. That seemed to convince their commander to help them to the med bay. Once inside, Kix’s eyes immediately went to Ahsoka’s many hastily bandaged wounds and Fives straightened up.

“What the kriff is going on here?” Kix asked.
“Commander Tano needs medical attention.” Echo answered.

He was aware of Ahsoka looking up at him accusingly but he kept his eyes forward.

Kix was already in motion, grumbling in Basic and Mando’a as he practically dragged the padawan to a bed and began inspecting her wounds.

Fives and Echo stayed by her side until FIves was given a hypo of painkillers and they both were shooed out by Kix and Coric.

“How ‘bout I take you to the barracks and then I’ll come back and check on her.” Echo told Fives.
“Wait, I wanna check on her too.” Fives complained, voice slightly slurred.
“Yeah but right now you can hardly walk and I’m tired of carrying you so get over it.” Echo replied to his vod.

Fives grumbled something explicit that Echo tuned out.

When he finally made his way back to the med bay, he found Ahsoka’s bed empty. He walked up to Coric.

“Where did the commander go?”

Coric looked up at him confused, then at the bed the togruta had been at.

“Osik, I was supposed to get her a sedative because Kix wanted her to stay here for the sleep cycle. Then I must have gotten distracted.” Coric clapped a hand on his forehead.
“And she managed to sneak out I’m guessing.” Echo huffed.
“Yeah.” Coric huffed. “Kix might kill me.”
“Yeah, well Rex might kill me.” Echo mumbled.

He’d seen his ori’vod take on multiple members of the Torrent company at the same time in the sparring rooms, and win. He could only imagine the beating he'd get if he discovered Echo had lost the commander.

Echo immediately set off to find the missing commander. She wasn’t in the mess, she wasn’t with general Skywalker, and she wasn’t in the rec room. Just when Echo thought it couldn’t get any worse, he ran into Rex.

“Sir.” Echo said as she straightened up.
“Echo.” Rex nodded to him. “Did you get the commander to the med bay?”
“Yes sir.” Echo replied, trying to not sound terrified.

Unfortunately, something in his face must have given him away.

“Is something wrong Echo?” Rex asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Echo swallowed, he could either attempt to lie or he could tell the truth.

Rex however, seemed to figure it out before Echo could make up his mind.

“Where is commander Tano?” Rex asked, sounding tired.

Echo sighed.

“I’m not sure sir, she disappeared from the med bay before Coric could give her a sedative.”

Rex closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Damn jetii.” He grumbled before looking back at Echo.
“Where have you looked.”
“Mess, rec, with the general.” Echo answered.
“Alright, com me if you find her, I’ll look too.” Rex told him.

As they parted ways he was pretty sure he heard Rex mumble “If a clanker doesn’t kill me she will.”

Finally after another 20 minutes of searching, Rex was tired enough to accept defeat, besides, they were on a ship, it's not like she could get very far and it sounded like her wounds had been treated.

So he was quite surprised to find his commander in the barracks sitting with a shiny.

The shiny had both his arms wrapped around Ahsoka’s middle with his head buried in her stomach while Ahsoka was running her fingers over his short hair. As Rex approached he could hear her whispering to him quietly and he could see the shiny’s shoulders giving small shakes from hidden sobs.

Ahsoka looked up to see Rex. She gave him a small nod and a sad smile before returning her attention to the shiny. On the bunk across from them Fives was sprawled out and his injured leg was being supported by Echo who was reading something on a datapad.

Rex narrowed his eyes at Echo until the trooper felt his glare and looked up. He immediately shot up, jostling Fives and startling Jesse and Chipper who were in the middle of a sabacc game.

Rex raised an eyebrow at him and Echo swallowed loudly.

“Rex.” Ahsoka’s quiet voice made him turn back to the youngling. “I asked him not to tell you. Don’t be mad at Echo.”

Rex looked between her and the trooper before sighing. The shiny wrapped around Ahsoka looked up at him blearily. His eyes widened and he made to stand up but Rex held out a hand to stop him.

“It’s ok kid.” Rex mumbled before turning to go to the bunk he usually slept on.

The quiet mumbling continued as Rex stripped his armor off. When he looked back, he could tell the shiny was asleep, still latched on to Ahsoka.

He was well acquainted with comforting new troopers after a campaign, and this last one had been more difficult than most. He was glad that the shiny had been able to take comfort in the little togruta.

He wandered through the barracks, offering comfort where he could before multiple men insisted that he go back to his own bunk to rest. On his way back, he watched as Echo walked over and settled a spare blanket around Ahsoka and the shiny, while also sliding a pillow behind her back.

She nodded to him with a smile and Echo returned to his twin who was now snoring loudly.

When Rex settled onto his bunk, he was surprised at how quickly exhaustion was catching up to him. At least with the shiny attached to the commander, he could go to sleep with one less thing to worry about.
-
After that first night, it became more common for the commander to find herself in the barracks. Usually to offer comfort for troops, both shiny and a few veterans.

It wasn’t uncommon for her to be found with multiple shinies piled around her or hanging onto her. Some of the older troopers pointed out that they seemed to hug her like a doll or a stuffed toy, something they had heard natborn younglings took comfort in.

“Just because she’s small doesn’t mean they should cuddle up to her like that.” Jesse complained.

Rex was pretty sure the only reason for his complaint was because Jesse was unhappy that he never got a chance to do the same. She always went to comfort the shinies or those that had lost a close vod first.

Even with this, Ahsoka only entered when she was invited though, she wanted to respect her men’s space and definitely didn’t want to infringe on their privacy. It wasn’t until Fives and Echo had found her curled up in a corner after another terrible campaign and practically dragged her into the barracks that some of her apprehension and hesitation left.

The Domino twins hadn’t been on the frontline, Torrent had been aiding with transporting supplies and injured troopers. There had been a lot of injuries. They’d been pulled to the front on the last 2 days of the campaign for the final push to take the Seperatist base.

It had been brutal, and few of them made it out without a scratch.

General Skywalker and Commander Tano had been at the front for pretty much the whole campaign.

So it wasn’t a total surprise that almost as soon as she could, Ahsoka escaped to a quiet corner of the ship, as far as she could get from the med bay before collapsing in exhaustion, to process the horror of the last 3 weeks. She had seen a lot of troopers fall, some she knew, some she didn’t.

It hurt being surrounded by that much death and destruction, the Force heavy with the losses. She couldn’t help but feel like she had failed those fallen troops. If she had brought her lightsaber around just a second faster, if she had shoved both troopers away instead of the one, if she had been better.

She buried her head in her knees and tried to block out the pain from the injured in the medical bay. She tried to release her own grief and pain into the Force, something Master Kenobi had been working with her for, but she wasn’t having much success.

Ahsoka sighed and instead tried to focus on the sounds of the ship around her. The vibrations of the engine below her, the hum of electricity through the walls. Anything to keep her mind off of what had just happened.

She didn’t even notice the two troopers approaching her until someone touched her arm.

Ahsoka’s head jerked up, short montrals almost brushing the troopers face.

“Wow, hey Commander, you're ok.” She focused on the face in front of her.

Her focus on the Force was too tremulous to pick up on his specific force signature, so it took her a moment to finally notice the 5 of the troopers temple.

“Fives?” Her voice was raspy from breathing blaster smoke and dirt for 3 weeks.
“Yeah, are you ok?”

Ahsoka blinked and then realized that she had been crying. Appalled, she hastily wiped the tracks away.

“I’m fine.” She said and took a deep breath, trying to gain some composure. “Can I help you trooper?”

It was easiest to settle back into formalities right now. Those protocols had been drilled into her when the war began, it was easier to ignore the hole of despair in her chest with the familiarity of formalities.

Fives seemed a little confused. The commander had repeatedly told them that they didn’t have to be formal with her on the ship, unless there was reason to. The sudden detachment that she addressed him with made his back straighten instinctively, even though he was kneeling.

Thankfully his vod recovered faster.

“Respectfully commander, you don’t seem fine.” Echo had pulled himself back into parade rest instinctively as well but there was a softness to his face that combated it.

Ahsoka sniffled, despite her best efforts.

“I’m fine.” She repeated, but her voice wavered slightly.
“Do you need to go to the med bay, sir?” Fives asked.

She shook her head quickly with a grimace.

“No I can’t…” She bit her lip and wrapped her arms tighter around.

I can’t handle feeling all of their pain.

Fives glanced up at Echo who pursed his lips.

They knew she didn’t like the med bay, but if something was wrong they’d rather haul her there than let something go untreated.

“Why can’t you?” Fives asked quietly.

She shook her head and Fives saw her eyes glisten before she buried her head back into her knees.

Fives slowly shifted so that he was sitting next to her against the wall. He carefully slid until his armored arm was pressed against her trembling form. Echo sat down on the other side of her.

Her body fell still for a moment before it tensed back up.

“It hurts.” Her voice broke and she curled tighter in on herself.

Echo and Fives shared a worried look over the head of their commander. Echo could see multiple bandages wrapped around her but none looked serious enough to cause alarm.

Fives gently placed a hand on her shoulder and when she didn’t pull away or flinch, he slowly began to rub circles on her skin.

Finally her trembling lessened.

“Commander, if something hurts, you should really go see Kix.” Echo told her.

Once again, she shook her head.

“I-It’s not my pain.” She sniffled again. “It’s theirs.”

It then dawned on both of them. Back on Kamino, stories about the Jedi’s abilities had always been a hot topic that circulated. Among them was the rumor that Jedi could sense other people’s emotions. That rumor had only been bolstered when Shaak Ti would seek out fearful or sad cadets and comfort them.

Fives and Echo didn’t like the med bay already just because they didn’t like the sight of injured vod, but to feel what they felt would sure as kriff make them want to stay as far away from that place as they could.

Fives quickly unclasped his chestplate and arm guards before pulling his commander into a hug. She stiffened for a moment before melting into his arms. She tucked her face against his chest as Echo rubbed her back. They sat like that for a while.

Finally some of the tension seemed to leave the little togruta.

She carefully pulled out of Fives’ arms and wiped at her face. Echo removed his hand to stifle a yawn. Sitting down finally made him realize how tired he was. Ahsoka also stifled a yawn causing Fives to snort.

“How ‘bout you call it a night?” He asked her.
Ahsoka sighed.
“No, I want to get a headstart on reports. You guys should go get rest, it's been a rough couple of weeks.”

Both Echo and Fives made disgruntled noises.

“You were on the frontlines longer than we were, if anybody needs rest, it's you sir.” Echo pointed out.
“I’m fine.” She waved away his comment.

Fives and Echo shared another look.

“And Kix specifically said that we all should go get rest, that means you as well.” Echo told her
“We’re not getting rest until we know that you will.” Fives added.

Ahsoka looked up at the two of them with narrowed eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“And believe us, we’ve had to help wrestle Rex into his bunk so he would sleep, don’t think we won’t do the same for you.” Fives said as he also crossed his arms over his chest.

Ahsoka held his gaze before her shoulders sank slightly.

“I don’t want to infringe on any of the troopers' privacy. They deserve some time away from their commanding officers especially after-”
“Oh for kriffs sake.” Echo grumbled as he stood up. “Commander, you're coming with us.”

Fives knew he meant it because he knew how little his vod swore. Ahsoka seemed to sense this as well because she sighed in defeat. Fives snorted and reclipped his armor to his body so he wouldn’t have to carry it before pushing himself to his feet.

Echo held out a hand to the commander and pulled her to her feet.

As they began to make their way down the hall, Echo chose the direction that would give them a wide berth of the med bay. He didn’t know how far her Force abilities could feel, or whatever the term was, so he figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

When the little commander began to sway on her feet as they walked, both Fives and Echo reached out an arm to steady her.

Both could see now that she was exhausted.

When she began to lean more heavily on them, Fives considered just picking her up and carrying her. But, he also figured that he should leave her some dignity, even though she was walking like a drunken shiny.

Finally they made it to the barracks.

Inside, most of the troopers were already asleep, the few still awake were either comforting others or preparing to sleep.

Jesse was helping Rex remove his armor, the sling around the captain’s left arm making it difficult. They both did a double take when they noticed the little togruta walking between them.

They guided Ahsoka over to the bunk they usually slept in, normally Fives would take the top bunk and Echo the bottom, but other times they’d double up on Echo’s bunk. Right now, they sat Ahsoka down on Echo’s bunk and began to strip their armor off.

Echo could see Ahsoka glancing around the room and then to the door, probably trying to gauge if she had enough energy to leave.

Echo quickly sat down next to her before she could attempt it. Fives then came over and wrapped an arm around the little togruta before falling back onto the bed, dragging Ahsoka down with him. Echo rolled his eyes and finished removing his lower armor. He felt Ahsoka and Fives shifting around behind him with some grumbling.

Something tapped his arm and he turned to find Ahsoka reluctantly holding out her lightsaber to him.

“It’s not the most comfortable to sleep with.” She mumbled.
“Yeah, and I don’t want to get impaled if that thing turns on in the middle of the night.” Fives huffed.
“It wouldn’t just randomly turn on.” Ahsoka grumbled.
“Sure it wouldn’t.” He mumbled as he wrapped his arm around her.

Echo rolled his eyes and placed the lightsaber delicately on the small desk he shared with Hardcase.

Jesse had finally gotten all of Rex’s armor off and was sorting it on the ground. Rex was typing something on a datapad before shutting it off and rubbing his eyes.

He looked up at Fives’ and Echo’s bunk. Echo was just finishing stripping his armor off when he met Rex’s gaze.

A thunk and a yelp behind the trooper made Rex’s eyebrow raise.

“Sorry sir.” Echo mumbled with a wince.
“Rex,” A pair of short montrals stuck out of the bunk. “I can leave if it's going to be a problem-”
“Nope.” The montrals disappeared as an unseen force, or clone, pulled the little togruta back. “You're stuck here until you get some rest sir.”

Rex shook his head and turned to lay back on his own bunk, hoping the dim lights of the barracks would disguise his smile.

“Besides, you are much more comfortable to cuddle with than Echo or Jesse.” Fives told Ahsoka as he repositioned her in his arms. “It's because your tiny.”
“Excuse me, I’ll have you know I am not tiny.” Ahsoka grumbled back, voice muffled by Fives’ chest.
“Yes you are, even when you measure from the top of your montrals, which is cheating.” Fives told her.

She began to squirm against the much larger trooper in an attempt to poke him but he locked his arms around her, trapping her from moving.

“Can you two ad relax?” Echo asked as he slid in beside them.
“Sorry.” Ahsoka mumbled as Fives snorted.
“And I’ll have you know that I am great to cuddle with.” Echo added indignantly, making Ahsoka giggle.

No where in any of the reg manuals that Echo had read was there a protocol for cuddling his commander. But right now he was too tired to really care. He carefully placed an arm over Ahsoka’s side and grabbed Fives’ wrist. Ahsoka shifted around a little, her montrals bumping against Echo’s chest, before settling down between them.

Echo listened to her breathing slowly begin to even out until she fully relaxed in sleep. Soon enough, soft snores could be heard from Fives.

As Echo looked over his vod and his commander, a new word for the little togruta came to his mind. One that felt entirely fitting with her tucked between him and his twin.

Vod’ika.
-
It started between Ahsoka and Fives.

He stuck bugs in her boots on a relief mission. The particular bugs of this planet were very large and menacing but were relatively harmless. When he heard a shriek from the CO area, he knew that his plan had succeeded.

He wasn’t particularly sure how she figured out it was him. He guessed that someone, probably Echo, gave her the slip.

Next thing he knew, his bed sheets and spare blacks were filled with the coarse dirt of the planet. His helmet was also filled with a strange gelatinous substance that some of the local flora produced. And so the prank war began.

It went on for 2 weeks between the two, neither willing to wield and the pranks got more and more elaborate. Ahsoka ended up with dyed skin when Fives managed to slip blue dye into her skin products. Fives ended up with shaved eyebrows.

Then, one morning, Echo found that all the reg manuals he’d downloaded on his datapad had been undownloaded and his password was changed.

Ahsoka and Fives both ended up with all their socks stolen.

For someone who usually seemed like a stickler for the rules, Echo was a menace when it came to pranks. While Fives and Ahsoka went for the showier pranks, his mainly worked to inconvenience the other 2 which was arguably worse.

After another 2 weeks, Hardcase was roped in. It was all over after that. The rest of Torrent was pulled in when Hardcase and Ahsoka smuggled a stink bug into the barracks and let it loose.

After Torrent was brought it, the rest of the 501st soon followed.

No one was safe anymore. Not even Anakin.

“He won’t be here for another 10 minutes!” Ahsoka assured Echo and Fives.
“He better not be.” Fives grumbled as he finished attaching equipment to the ceiling. “K, Echo, it’s all you now.”

There were very few people in the mess at this hour. Those that were, watched them curiously but didn’t approach them. They knew a prank in the making when they saw one. They just hoped it wasn’t targeted at them. Rex himself had walked in a few minutes ago, spotted Echo, Fives and Ahsoka together and quickly turned right back around and left.

“Ok, that should do it.” Echo told them just as the door opened again.

They all turned to see Anakin walk in with a yawn. They quickly jumped away from their project and did their best to not look suspicious.

“Hey snips.” Anakin greeted with a sleepy smile.
“Morning master.” She replied. “Sleep well?”
“Yep.” Anakin turned to go get a tray of food and the 3 quickly left the mess.

Kix was talking to Rex in the hallway when they saw the domino twins and their commander run past.

“Do I even want to know?” Kix mumbled as she watched them disappear around a corner.
“Probably not.” Rex sighed.

A few moments later there was a large clatter from the direction of the mess. It was then followed by a shriek.

Rex grimaced as Kix looked wide eyed down the hall.

When they entered the mess, it was, for lack of better term, a mess. Food was strewn on the floor, and the trays that had previously held the food were now attached to the ceiling. In the middle of the countless trays and utensils magnetized to the ceiling, was Anakin Skywalker.

“SNIPS.” He roared as he dangled by his right hand.

The three pranksters ended up having to clean the mess and the freshers for a week. On top of that, Anakin took the prank as an invitation to also join the prank war.

NOW no one was truly safe.

When Obi-Wan and Cody boarded the Dominator to discuss an upcoming campaign with Anakin, they could sense the nervous atmosphere. Cody noticed many troopers casting mistrusting looks at each other, while others smiled devilishly back.

“Anakin, is everything alright with your battalion?” Obi-Wan asked when they got to the bridge.

Anakin, Rex, and Ahsoka shared a look before Anakin chuckled.

“Everything is fine. We just seem to have found ourselves in the middle of an internal conflict.” Rex and Ahsoka attempted to cover their snorts.

Both Obi-Wan and Cady shared a concerned look.

Now that they studied the 501st’s COs closer, they noticed that Anakin’s robes had streaks of glitter across them and some sections of his hair had been cut off, Ahsoka had gloves on and her skin had traces of dye on it, Rex’s armor had a strange twinge and his normally buzzed blonde hair had multiple faint colors speckled through it.

“What exactly is the manner of your internal conflict?” Obi-Wan asked.
“One that boosts morale.” Rex rolled his eyes at his general's words.
“I would suggest being careful when opening any doors.” Ahsoka advised.

As they made their way to their next campaign, Obi-Wan found that his stash of tea on board his Padawan’s ship had been switched out with an extremely bitter substance that made Obi-Wan spit out his drink.

Cody found his blacks covered in blue glitter. The only ones that knew the codes to his rooms were his general and his vod’ika Rex.

An all out war between the 212th and the 501st began.

Ahsoka stared down at her orange dyed food rations and scrunched her nose. The members of Torrent seated with her also stared at their rations disdainfully.

“Think we took it too far?” Ahsoka asked Fives as he took a tentative bite.

Together they looked around at the 501st troops. Multiple had dye splattered across their heads and armor, others had lost their hair to hair removal cream, and some had shrunken blacks on.

Fives swallowed.

“Nahh.”
“Are you two kidding me?” Echo asked.

Echo had shaved his hair because he’d ended up with some sticky substance lodged in it when he’d put his helmet on.

Neither Ahsoka or Fives had fessed up to him.

“You two started a whole war within the GAR.”
“Hey, they can’t take all the blame. Echo, you were definitely a part of it as well.” Jesse pointed out.
“Yeah, but I didn’t start it.” Echo explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Yeah but you didn’t exactly move to stop it either.” Jesse argued.
“You three are a menace and you know it.” Kix grumbled.

The domino twins and togruta looked at each other.

“I take that as a compliment.” Ahsoka replied with a sharp toothed grin.
“I agree with the commander.” Fives nodded and Echo just groaned.

Chapter Text

Geonosis sure was a hellhole.

Echo and Fives had heard about the first Battle of Geonosis from the older veterans in Torrent. The natives were hard to kill and hated anything that wasn’t Geonosian.

Now that they were actually planet-side, the Domino Twins had to agree. It had been hell getting on the planet, and now it was hell working across it.

But, with General Skywalker and Commander Tano leading the way, things went pretty smoothly. They also had to admit that it was hilarious seeing Rex get thrown off the wall.

Now however, they were working alongside General Luminara’s troops to take out a droid factory. Or more, they were creating a distraction so Commander Offee and Commander Tano could get inside.

“Does anybody know why they are sending 2 children into the heart of a kriffing droid factory?” Fives growled as they prepped their weapons.
“They are Jedi, you know.” Echo told him, but he was in agreement with his twin.

He didn’t like the idea of his vod’ika going anywhere near the factory, let alone inside it to blow it up. He knew that most of the other troopers were in agreement.

“Even so, who knows what they’ll come across in there!” Fives continued.
“That and Geonosians definitely don’t like Jedi.” Hardcase mumbled.
“Commander Tano and Commander Offee are well trained and are well aware of the risks.” Rex seemed to materialize behind them.

They all snapped upright.

“Besides, if we do our job properly, they shouldn’t run into any trouble.” Rex added.

They all nodded. If Echo wasn’t very good at reading his captain’s body language, he wouldn’t have been able to tell how tense he was. It would appear that his captain didn’t like this plan very much either.

But they put up one hell of a fight. Echo and Fives weren’t near Rex or the generals as the battle raged on, but they knew that the time for the bombs to go off had to be getting nearer and there was still no sign of their little jetii. Finally Echo spotted Rex and he charged towards him with Fives on his heels.

The captain was talking into his wrist com as Echo fired at the advancing tanks.

Suddenly the bridge under the tanks exploded and the tanks dropped. All the troopers took a moment to catch their breath.

“Any word from the commander?” Echo asked Rex.
“Not yet.” Rex answered, looking out over the factory.
“But sir, those bombs have got to be going off soon.” Fives pointed out.

Echo looked out towards the factory. He could see two figures standing in front of the massive doors, the generals no doubt. Suddenly the doors began to slide open and droids began to stream out.

Multiple troopers around him swore as they began to lay down cover fire for their generals.

Come on Ahsoka, get out of there. Echo thought.

Suddenly, the generals lunged behind a large boulder and next thing Echo knew fire was engulfing the factory.

He and Fives knelt down to avoid being knocked over in the shockwave. The spires of the factory began to topple in huge plumes of smoke and dust. When the dust began to finally settle, the factory was nothing but a smoking hole in the ground.

Cheers went up from the troopers.

“Knew the Commander could do it.” Hardcase said as he punched Jesse’s arm.
“Rex, come in Rex.” Anakin’s desperate voice came through a com.

The cheers fell silent.

They glanced at their captain.

“I’m here sir.” He answered.
“Rex, I want all excavation teams here asap! Ahsoka and Bariss got stuck in the power room and we need to get them out now.”

There were gasps of horror from the 501st as Luminara’s men stared somberly across the canyon.

“Yes, sir.” Rex responded.

They all began to gather at where the bridge had been. Across the canyon Echo could see his general pacing furiously back and forth. Time seemed to move at a snail's pace as they all waited for the excavation ships to arrive.

Fives was pacing with Hardcase while Echo checked his scanner again and again for updates on the excavation team’s location.

Finally after what felt like hours, the sound of engines reached the battalions. Fives dragged Echo onto the nearest transport so they could help with the excavation teams. They both stared down at the smoking hole of the factory in horror. Their vod’ika was somewhere under that.

If she’s still alive.

Echo shook his head violently, attempting to banish the thought.

For hours they helped dig through the rubble. Every trooper both hoped and dreaded finding their commanders. The idea that instead of a search and rescue this could be a search and recover hovered over their shoulders.

Then all of a sudden Anakin picked up a pulse on his com.

She was alive!

The clones watched in awe as their generals lifted a massive slab of debris to reveal a scorched tank. Fives and Echo scrambled over mountains of droid parts to see their general gently haul their little commander up into his arms. She looked like she was covered in dirt but relatively unharmed.

She smiled tiredly at Echo and Fives and they both felt a great weight lift off their chest.

Now that his padawan was safe, Anakin refocused on the factory.

“Echo, Fives, can you please get Ahsoka to one of the medics, preferably off this karking rock.”
“Yes sir.” They chorused.

Ahsoka stumbled as she made her way towards them and Echo quickly reached out an arm to steady her.

“Easy commander.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes tiredly.

Now that he was close, Echo scanned her for injuries. Her breathing was labored, probably from breathing in dust, she was swaying slightly on her feet, she had a gash on the side of her montral, and she had a few blaster burns along her arms and shoulder.

Fives and Echo bracketed her between them as they walked to the ships. Now that word had spread now that their commander was safe, the 501st was assembled by the ships, either to get out of here quicker or to actually see their little commander for themselves.

Echo climbed up into the transport as Fives helped her up into it. Ahsoka winced as she stretched her arm up for one of the ceiling handles, pulling at the blaster burn across her shoulder. The transports were designed for people about a foot taller than her, which rather inconvenienced her, especially when she was already unstable on her feet and had a pounding headache from oxygen deprivation.

Echo and Fives noticed this immediately and both wrapped an arm around her shoulder and waist to keep her upright so she didn’t have to reach for a handle. She leaned into them tiredly.

“You scared the kriff out of us.” Fives told her as the transport lifted off.
“Sorry.” She mumbled.
“Just, don’t ever do something like that again vod’ika.” Echo told her.

That was the first time he had called her that outwardly.

She had heard other troopers call their brother’s that, so she knew it was a term of endearment, she just didn’t know the actual definition. Even so, she felt honored to have the title bestowed on her. She let her head sink against Echo’s chest plate.

Kix had a field day with her when the Domino Twins brought the commander in. After Ahsoka had almost fallen while getting off the transport, twice, Fives had hauled her up in his arms to carry her. She protested a little but when it became clear that Fives was not letting her walk anymore, she gave up.

Of course carrying someone into a med tent never looked good, and sure gave the medic a heart attack.

Kix had been patching up her burns as she had fluids and a high nutrient protein bar all but shoved down her throat. Fives would have laughed if he wasn’t helping threaten her into taking the fluids.

By the time Anakin arrived to check up on his padawan, Ahsoka was dozing on the bed with Echo and Fives watching over her.

“How is she?” He asked them.
“Concussion, 4 burns, dehydrated, Kix said she just needs rest and she’ll be ok.” Echo reported.

Anakin nodded as his eyes swept over his padawan.

A few days later Ahsoka waved goodbye to Echo and Fives as she and Barris along with the Tango Company loaded up to run delivery for a med station. Echo was a little anxious about letting her out of his sight so soon after he’d thought they’d lost her. But, this mission was very low risk and she could still rest while doing the supply run.

Or that’s what he thought until he heard that they had lost contact with Ahsoka’s ship. Geonosian mind parasites. It sounded like something out of a horror holovideo.

“One of the bridge techs said that the infected troopers were trying to hunt down Ahsoka and Commander Barris.” Fives mumbled as he stared down at the tray of food in front of him.
Echo stiffened next to him.

Fives knew his commander was strong. Hells, she’d survived a kriffing factory falling on her, surely she could survive this. But something at the back of his mind told him otherwise. Something like from a dream or a nightmare he couldn’t quite remember. A distant memory of his own blaster pointed at his vod’ika’s head.

Fives clenched his hands into fists. Echo shoved his food tray away from him, his appetite gone.

That sleep cycle, both were plagued by nightmares. Visions of his little commander surrounded by infected clones. Visions of himself being one of the infected. Others that he couldn’t quite remember.

Fives finally gave up and climbed off his top bunk. He poked at Echo until his vod shuffled over on his bunk and Fives climbed in next to him. Echo rolled over so he could look at Fives. An unspoken question between them.

“She’s smart.” Echo assured him. “And she’s skilled.”
“But vod, you know it would crush her to have to kill any of the clones.” Fives mumbled.

Echo nodded with his eyes closed. He reached his arms out and pulled Fives into a hug.

Echo gave the best hugs in the GAR. Fives didn’t know if it was because he had been with Fives since their growth tubes or what, but when he asked Ahsoka, she had agreed. Echo hugs were amazing.

Immediately Fives felt himself relax a little bit. The hug didn’t fix his fears, but it did help.

Word reached them the next morning that Ahsoka’s ship had safely reached the med center and the affected clones were being treated. Rex and Anakin went over to check on her while the rest of the 501st waited anxiously.

The Domino Twins desperately wanted to make sure their vod’ika was ok. But, the dreams and nightmares made them uneasy. Neither said it out loud, but they both were scared. Why did they dream of turning on their commander? Why did it feel like this wasn’t the first time that they’d had these specific dreams?

Their general and Captain brought Ahsoka back with them, and after Kix checked her over she made her way to the rec room with Rex. She received a warm welcome from the troopers, all of whom had been worried. Rex stuck close to her side as she was swarmed while Fives and Echo hung back, observing her from a distance. She had a bandage on her arm and one on her lekku, other than that she was unharmed.

The troopers convinced her to tell them the full story of what had happened. She kept a brave face, and her voice stayed strong, but Echo and Fives could see her fist clenching and unclenching and her shoulders were more drawn in. She glossed over some of the details of what had happened, but even so she still managed to deeply disturb the troopers of the 501st.

The troopers fell into discussions with each other. Rex steered her forward when he could tell she was getting tired. He had his gaze on two twins in the back who he had noticed hadn’t approached with the rest of Torrent.

He knew they had been worried out of their minds and that they had hardly slept last night. Not that he had either, knowing his little commander was in danger and there was exactly nothing he could do to help and protect her.

So now he gently led her over to Fives and Echo.

They both glanced up as they approached and he saw them share a look. Whatever had been holding them back quickly evaporated when Ahsoka stepped within range of their worrying.

Both troopers held her at arm's length to assess her injuries and when the last time she ate was. Once they were satisfied, they led her over to one of the seats to watch an intense game of sabacc between Jesse, Hardcase, Eagle, and Chipper.

After a few minutes, Echo noticed that Ahsoka would occasionally shiver. She inched closer to Echo until she was pressed against his side.

“Are you ok?” He asked.
“Yeah, just a little cold.” She answered.

Right, she had to drop the temperature of her ship to 0 to stop the parasites. He wasn’t that surprised that she had caught a lingering chill from it. He unclipped his chest plate and arm guards to give her better access to his body heat and to make it more comfortable for her.

She sighed happily as she cuddled up to his side.

After a few moments Fives noticed his little commander tucked under Echo’s arm. He raised an eyebrow at his vod.

‘Cold.’ Echo mouthed over the togruta’s head.

Fives hopped up and hurried to the barracks. He grabbed a spare set of the top half of his blacks. He slipped out of his current one and put the new one on. When he got back to the rec room, he handed his still warm shirt to Ahsoka.

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow marking.

“I can see you shivering.” He told her, which wasn’t entirely untrue.

Even attached to Echo, small shivers still shook her. She accepted the shirt and slipped it on over her montrals. She was left swimming in it, and Fives snorted when she had to roll up the sleeves.

She shot him a look before wrapping it around her knees as well.

“It smells like you haven’t showered in 2 days.” She told him.
“I did it specifically for you.” Fives told her.

She stuck her tongue out at him before huddling back against Echo.

“That was very Jedi-like, sir.” Rex told her as he rolled his eyes.

She proceeded to stick her tongue out at him as well. For good measure she bared her teeth at the rest of the people seated around the table.

It didn’t take long for the presence of those around her and the warmth from Fives’ shirt and Echo to finally lull her asleep.

They debated on taking her back to the barracks with them, but ultimately decided that they should probably give their general back his padawan. Echo carefully scooped her up and began to walk. He was a little surprised at how light she was. Then again, she was pretty tiny, evidence of Fives’ shirt falling well down her thighs.

This kid had been through more in the past week than most people would go through in their life. Jedi were supposed to be peacekeepers, not soldiers. Yet here this little padawan was, burn scars marring her arms, breathing slightly labored from dust and blaster smoke, on a ship full of soldiers.

He knew realistically, he was younger than her, but he wanted to protect Ahsoka from the horror of a life that she wasn’t meant to lead.

Flashes from his nightmares from the previous sleep cycle made his arms tighten around the little togruta. It had been drilled into them on Kamino that they were to protect their Jedi COs with everything they had. The thought of turning on Ahsoka sickened him.

He came to stand in front of his general’s door. Rex must have commed him because before Echo could even figure out how to knock, the door slid open.

General Skywalker’s face softened as he took in the sight of Ahsoka curled up in Echo’s arms.

Skywalker led him to Ahsoka’s room and directed him to lay her out on her bed. She made a small disgruntled noise as she was moved away from a warm surface. Anakin immediately got to work on tucking the covers around her as Echo stood a little awkwardly off to the side, not knowing if he was dismissed or not.

Once his general was satisfied with Ahsoka’s wellbeing, he turned and seemed to remember Echo was there.

“I- sorry, thank you Echo for bringing her.” Skywalker rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.
“It was no problem sir.” Echo told him.
“I’ll return your shirt once she wakes up.” Skywalker told him as he glanced back at his padawan.
“It’s actually Fives’ shirt sir.” Echo pointed out.
“Oh, well, then I will return it to Fives.” He glanced back at Echo. “Thank you again Echo.”

Echo nodded and Skywalker dismissed him.

As Echo left Ahsoka’s room, he saw Skywalker drag a chair up next to his padawan’s bed. He wouldn’t have been surprised if his general stayed in Ahsoka’s room all night.

Chapter Text

Echo’s breath billowed white in front of him. This planet, Guera, was quickly becoming one of his least favorite the longer he had to stay on it.

“Why couldn't the Separatists have picked a tropical planet to attack.” Fives complained next to him, equally as cold.
“Because that would simply be too easy.” Ahsoka grumbled across from them.

The small fire in front of them offered only a little bit of heat to stave off the freezing cold. The quiet snores of the rest of their group sounded behind them. They had been separated from the rest of the squadron they had been with and had taken shelter in a cave as night fell. Rex and Skywalker had to know that they were missing by now, but Echo highly doubted that anybody would be out looking for them right now.

Another gust of wind swept into the cave causing them all to shiver. Ahsoka tugged her thick coat tighter around her and Fives pressed closer to Echo in an attempt to steal what little body heat he had. Neither had the upper part of their armor on, making it easier to share body heat.

The shinies behind them had all piled together, sharing 2 of the 3 blankets they had with them. The other blanket was wrapped around Echo and Fives, when they’d offered it to Ahsoka she had simply shook her head and insisted they needed it more.

Echo was pretty sure that was a lie. Even with the thick coat on, from what he knew of Togrutas, they lived in warmer climates and had lower body temperatures because of it. But if their vod’ika was anything, it was stubborn.

He was just happy that Anakin and Kix had practically forced the jacket on her.

“After this, I think I want a campaign on some desert planet.” Fives huffed.
“The only problem is, as soon as we’re on the planet, you’ll want to be back here.” Ahsoka pointed out.
“At least I’d be warm.” Fives shot back.
“Yeah, until you get a heat stroke.” Ahsoka said with a scrunched nose.
“Oh he’s already gotten one.” Echo mumbled.

Fives looked at him, offended.

“I thought we agreed to never bring up Usah.”
“I didn’t agree to kriff.” Echo replied and Ahsoka snorted.

Another gust of wind swept in, making her teeth chatter.

“Are you sure you don’t want the blanket?” Echo asked her.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She answered, rather unconvincingly.
“You better not be saying that just because you think you're our CO and that you should put our wellbeing over your own vod’ika.” Fives snapped.

Ahsoka jerked her head up to look at them. She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering again.

“You guys need it more than I do. At least I have a coat.”
“Our blacks are equipped to keep us warm in stuff like this.” Echo pointed out. “And we were built to be able to withstand extreme weather better than normal people.”

Ahsoka waved it off and returned to hugging herself tightly.

Echo could understand her wanting to seem strong in front of them. Rex did it all the time, to the point that he usually had to be dragged to the med tent because he didn’t want to be treated before other troopers. In the end, it seemed rather unnecessary to Echo. They already had their troops respect, asking for help wouldn’t be able to shake that.

Echo shared a look with Fives. He seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Together they stood up and walked over to the little Jedi.

Up close they could see that she was shivering.

Ahsoka jumped when first Echo sat down on her left side, then Fives sat down on her right side. The two troopers huddled the cold togruta between them and slung the blanket across their shoulders.

At first Ahsoka sat tensely, but as she began to warm up she relaxed.

“You guys are really warm.” She finally mumbled.

Fives snorted and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, allowing her to huddle up to his side. As another gust of wind rushed in, Echo tucked the blanket closer and shifted a little to better block the old air from Ahsoka and Fives.

They stayed like that until they woke up the next watch. Echo guided Ahsoka to set up her bed roll between his and Fives.

When he woke up the next morning, he had a small horned head tucked under his chin.
-
2 days later, the planet was still one of Echo’s least favorite. At least they had briefly established contact with the rest of the 501st. The only issue was they were currently getting chased by a large legion of droids.

They had been pushed to the edge of a cliff, with another cliff to their left, leaving them a narrow passage to the spot Anakin had told her to meet him at.

Ahsoka was covering their back, deflecting as many blaster bolts as she could as her men retreated. Fives, Echo, and a few of the shinies were kneeling and giving her cover fire. But no matter how many droids they took down, more seemed to appear.

“Fall back to the rendezvous point.” Ahsoka ordered her men.

She hissed a blaster bolt skimmed the arm of her coat.

2 days alone on this planet had taken its toll on all of them. She wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long and she knew it.

The next volley of blaster fire pushed her back several yards. Her men just needed to round the cliff and they would be safe for a few moments. She just needed to keep this up until they rounded the cliff.

A bolt suddenly slammed her lightsaber out of her hand. She swore as it went flying and she ducked behind the nearest rock.

Frantically Ahsoka searched the ground for her saber, practically hearing her masters’ chastising words about losing her saber.

“Commander!” She looked up to see Echo waving her lightsaber.
“Throw it!” She yelled.

Echo cocked his arm back and threw. Just as the saber left his grip, a blaster bolt ripped into his shoulder and another hit him in the side.

“Echo!” Fives yelled.

Ahsoka drew her saber to her hand and lunged forward to deflect another blaster bolt aimed at Echo. She scrambled over to where Fives was kneeling in front of his twin.

“Get him out of here Fives.” She yelled.

She covered the Domino Twins as Fives hauled Echo over his shoulders.

“Hang in there vod.” He mumbled to Echo.

Ahsoka began glancing around frantically for a way to slow the advancing droids. She suddenly spotted an outcropping a 3rd of the way up on the cliff to her left.

She began to deflect blaster bolts at the outcropping.

“Commander!” One of her men yelled from behind her.
“Go!” She yelled back.

3 more blaster bolts and the outcropping began to crumble. She sent a few more bolts back towards the droids before running. The thunderous sound of rocks smashing into each other rose up behind her, followed by the crunching of metal.

She dashed around the edge of the cliff to find her men waiting anxiously.

“That should slow them down for a little bit, now let's get moving.”

She stayed at the back of her squad, keeping an eye out for any droids following them. She was also keeping an eye on Fives and Echo in front of her. Neither shot looked like they had gone all the way through, which could be an issue. Echo groaned occasionally when Fives jostled him while going over uneven ground. She could smell blood from where she was. They needed to get Echo to a medic fast.

Finally up ahead the narrow path widened.

Looks like we beat Skyguy. She thought.

“Stay alert men. We don’t want any more surprises.” She told them.

Her men took up defensive positions as Fives set Echo down. Ahsoka hissed when she saw the front of his shoulder and side. The blaster holes were black but blood had begun to seep out the more he was jostled.

She could feel the panic wafting off Fives, but he was moving deliberately, not letting his fear get in the way of helping Echo.

Fives removed Echo’s helmet before immediately getting to work on doing his best to bandage Echo’s shoulder. As soon as he pressed a hand to Echo’s shoulder and side to staunch the blood flow, Echo shouted in pain and began to squirm in an attempt to get away from the pain.

Ahsoka lunged forward and clapped a hand over his mouth. She grimaced as the pain Echo was feeling bled through her defenses now that she was touching him.

“Osik.” Fives swore
“Here, let me try something before you try again.” Ahsoka told him.

She placed her hands on either side of his head. She reached out with the Force to Echo’s mind which was currently scrambled in pain. She focused on feelings of calm and peace while she siphoned the pain from him and released it into the Force.

Echo’s body relaxed with a sigh and Fives gave her a grateful look. He got to work wrapping the bandage tightly around Echo’s shoulder and next his side.

Once Fives was done bandaging up his twin he sat back with a sigh.

Ahsoka moved to check in with the rest of her men. A few others had blaster burns, but none looked as bad as Echo. Once she was satisfied that they were all more or less ok, she sat down.

Now they waited.

-
After an hour with no sign of Anakin, Ahsoka made her way back to where she had toppled the outcropping. She could hear the droids attempting to claw themselves out from underneath the rock.

Ashoka sighed and raised her hands. The rocks closest to her began to shift and float. She moved them into a makeshift wall, blocking the narrow passage from further advancement.

As night began to fall over them again her troopers did their best to settle down. They had a 3 person watch that would rotate every 3 hours. Tonight they didn’t have shelter from a cave to protect them from the elements. They all huddled together, putting the few wounded in the middle.

Even with everyone’s combined body heat, it was still freezing. Ahsoka hardly slept. She was too worried about the droids not too far away from them and the constant chatter of teeth around her. She did her best to sooth the worries of those trying to sleep around her as well.

Finally she sat down next to Echo and Fives. Echo wasn’t looking good. The blood loss and freezing temperature were not a good mix. Fives had curled around his twin in an attempt to give him as much body heat as he could. She pressed her side against Echo’s back to block at least a little bit of the wind from him.

She had never been so happy to see the sky begin to lighten. A little while after the sun broke the horizon, she heard what sounded like an engine growing closer.

She stood stiffly, turning to where the sound was coming from. One of the newer troopers, his paint was hardly scuffed, watched her.

“What is it sir?” He asked.
“There is a ship coming.”

Her men straightened and turned to where she was looking.

“Take cover but keep your eyes up.”

She hoped it was her master finally coming to pick them up and not droid reinforcements.
A few tense moments later, the ship finally came into view. They all let out a sigh of relief. It was a LAAT/i with very obvious 501st nose paint.

Ahsoka signaled to one of her men. He sent up a flare and the ship veered towards them. It landed on the uneven ground with a thunk and the doors slid open. Her master, Coric, and a dozen other troopers streamed out. Anakin rushed over to her immediately and checked her for injuries. She waved him off.

“My men are in worse shape.”

He glanced over her weary squad who were being enveloped by the new troopers.

“Sorry it took so long, we got held up on our way here.” He apologized.
“It’s ok, but we left behind a large legion of droids, it would be best to get out of here before they show up.” She told her master.

He nodded and gave the signal to move out.

Anakin kept a hand on her shoulder the whole time and put an arm around her shoulder once on board the transport.

The exhaustion from the last few days was finally catching up to her, but her eyes remained fixed on where Coric was treating Echo while Fives hovered next to him.

When they finally arrived back on the Dominator, most of Torrent was there to greet them. She could feel their relief that they had all returned in mostly one piece. Ahsoka watched as Echo was hauled onto a gurney and rushed to the med bay with Fives in tow. She let out a sigh of relief.

Her master steered her towards Kix so he could look her over.

“I'm fine master.” Ahsoka complained.
“We’ll see about that when I’m done.” Kix told her sternly.

She huffed but let Kix evaluate her.

“How is she?” Her master asked after a while.
“She’s dehydrated, she’s got a few blaster burns, her body temperature is low. I suggest getting food for her and getting some sleep.” Kix said as he wrapped a heating blanket around her shoulders.

Anakin nodded and ushered her padawan out of the med bay to the mess. Once she had eaten enough to satisfy her master’s worrying he led her back to her room.

She would have snorted at her master practically tucking her into bed but she was too tired and sore to protest. She fell asleep before her master had left her room.
-
She woke up about 2 hours later by some unknown force. She slowly set up and winced as one of her blaster wounds was pulled. Something told her she wouldn’t be falling asleep again for a while, and doing coursework did not sound appealing.

Besides she would rather do it with Echo-

Echo!

She surged out of her bed. She slipped her boots on and wrapped the heated blanket around her shoulders again before venturing out into the ship.

The people she passed gave her nods but none tried to stop her.

Finally she found herself in front of the infirmary. Sitting on the floor outside the med bay was Fives. His armor still had smears of Echo’s blood on it and his helmet was sitting on the floor next to him. It was clear he hadn’t moved since arriving.

She could feel his worry and guilt as he picked at paint on his leg.

“Kix kick you out?” She asked, making him jolt and look up at her.
He sighed and nodded. “He’s called Kix for a reason.”

Ahsoka snorted and slowly lowered herself onto the floor next to Fives.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep or something?” He asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.” She countered.

He mumbled something in Mando’a, the only word she caught was jetii.

“Did you just insult me?” She asked, slightly offended.

Fives huffed out a laugh.

They fell into silence as people bustled around them. Finally Ahsoka stood up and entered the med bay and returned with two spare towels and cleaning supplies.

The medics always kept spare cleaning equipment for armor in the med bay in case they needed to occupy a patient while they were being treated.

She sat back down next to Fives and began to scrub at some of the blood stains on his armor, carefully avoiding the Z-6 rotary blaster painted on his shoulder. He looked at her gratefully before he took the other towel and began to clean off his chest plate.

They sat like that for a while, meticulously scrubbing dirt and blood off his armor until he reached for his helmet which had a small smear on the side.

She had always been curious about the paint on his helmet, but she had never asked. She knew it had a sentimental meaning to him and she didn’t want to pry.

Once he had cleaned the blood off he carefully cleaned any dirt smears off around the paint. When he noticed her watching he shifted so the front of his helmet was facing her.

“It’s a rishi eel.” He explained.

She knew that Echo and Fives’ first posting was on the Rishi Moon outpost with their cadet squad.

“My squad and I were ambushed by a bunch of clankers. Our sergeant, Droidbait, was the first one to fall. Me, Echo, Cutup, and Hevy were able to get out before the droids made it to the command room. We were told to not leave the command base because of the eels on the moon but we had no choice.”

Ahsoka watched as he ran his hand over the paint.

“Cutup got taken out by an eel and there was nothing we could do, blaster bolts didn’t seem to do anything.”

Ahsoka could feel the old lingering sorrow he carried from the incident. She placed a comforting hand on his arm.

“Then Rex and Commander Cody arrived. They got ambushed as well but they were able to get off the landing platform before it blew. They found us right as another eel showed up. Rex hit it right in the eye, killing the damn thing.” Fives shook his head with a disbelieving look on his face.
“You know the first thing he said to us?” Fives asked her.

She shook her head.

He deepend his voice to mimic Rex’s.

“‘My name’s Rex but you can call me Captain or Sir.’”

Ahsoka snorted.

“That and he called us shinies. Gave Echo his first marking.” Fives patted his chest plate, over the spot that Echo’s handprint was on his own armor.
“It’s eel blood.” Ahsoka mumbled aloud.

The marking didn’t smell like paint, and it was darker than the 501st’s normal blue.

“Yeah. Well, after that we had to find a way to contact the fleet and let them know that we had lost control of the base. We managed to get back inside only to find a whole droid fleet heading for Kamino. The clankers had hardwired the all clear signal so we couldn’t change it. We knew the only way to alert our own fleet was to destroy the base, that way the signal wouldn’t be transmitted anymore and they would realize something was wrong.”

By now Ahsoka had finished cleaning off his arm and had tucked her knees up under her chin as she listened to Fives speak.

“We stuck a bunch of tanks of heater fluid that we used to keep the heavy machinery warm at night in the control room and rigged a remote detonator. But, the remote detonator wasn’t working. I don’t know if the droids managed to cut it or what, but someone had to manually detonate it.” His hand drifted up to the Z-6 blaster. “Hevy… he sacrificed himself to save us all.”

Fives’ voice wobbled slightly.

Ahsoka did what she did with all her troopers when they needed comfort. She got up on her knees, letting the heating blanket drop to the floor, and wrapped her arms around Fives. He wrapped his own arms around her back. She ignored the hard plastoid armor digging into her skin as Fives buried his face between her lekku and her neck.

“They all sounded brave.” She told him.

He nodded into her neck.

“I just can’t lose Echo.” His voice broke as he finally spoke. “He’s my batchmate and… I can’t be the last one in Domino.”

She tightened her grip on him pushing reassurance and calm through the Force.

She released him when she felt him calm. When she settled back down next to him she slung the heated blanket around both of them.

“Thank you vod’ika.” He mumbled as he leaned back with a sigh.
“What does that mean?” She asked him.

He leaned his head to the side to look down at her.

“Vod’ika.” She clarified. “I’ve heard other troopers call other trooper’s that, and I’ve heard you call me that a few times.”

Fives hummed with a smile.

“It's the mando’a term for little brother or sister.”

She looked up at him wide eyed making him chuckle.

She felt a blush heat up her cheeks.

“Ok so, does vod mean brother or sister?” She asked and Fives nodded.
“Ori’vod means older sibling.” Fives added.

Ahsoka nodded. She’d heard a few of the younger troopers refer to Rex as ori’vod.

Fives watched as her eyebrow markings suddenly creased.

“Hey, wait. I’m older than you. Why am I the little sister?” She asked indignantly.

Fives chuckled as he threw an arm around her shoulders.

“Because you're smaller and more vod’ika shaped.”

She rolled her eyes but leaned into his side.

Rex found them about an hour later still curled up together on the floor. Ahsoka’s head was resting against Fives’ shoulder and Fives’ head was leaning back against the wall.
-
When Echo was finally released from the med bay, Fives didn’t let him out of his sight. Even when he attempted to escape his twin and help Ahsoka with her coursework, Ahsoka sent him right back to the barracks and Fives to rest.

When Ahsoka did finally let him return to helping her, Fives tagged along and sat with them. As soon as Echo yawned they both ushered him back to the barracks.

“Oh for the kriffs sake Kix said I needed a few days of rest and I would be fine.” Echo complained.
“Yeah well those few days of rest aren’t over yet.” Ahsoka told him and Fives nodded in agreement.

At night Fives slept in Echo’s bunk. He stayed curled around his twin even when nightmares wracked them both.

It was the night that Echo had to wake Fives up from a dream and he woke up shouting for Hevy did Echo understand the true depth of Fives’ fear of losing him. Why he had been so protective of Echo after he’d been released from the med bay.

“It’s ok vod. I’m right here.” Echo mumbled as he rocked Fives’ back and forth as he cried.
“I can’t lose you too.” Fives mumbled.

Echo tightened his grip on his twin. If he could, he would promise to never leave his twin.

He was reminded of an old folk tale Ahsoka had once told the troops from her home world.

He couldn’t remember most of it now, but he remembered something from it. Whenever one of the characters would make a promise, they would swear to keep it until the stars broke and fell from the skies.

Ahsoka had teasingly promised her troopers that she would stay their commander until the stars broke and fell from the skies which had gotten a lot of cheers from Torrent.

Echo wished he could promise to stay with Fives until the stars broke and fell from the sky, but he couldn’t. Not when anything could happen in war.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka knew her troops were anxious. She would be too if the closest place she had to a home was under threat of Seperatist invasion.

They had gotten news that the Separatists were mounting an attack on the cloning facilities of Kamino. Ahoska had long known that the Separatists were ruthless, but the thought of them targeting all the young clones and cadets made her sick. He squad arrived to help clean up the last of the droid ships that were still orbiting the planet. By the time they got down to the surface, the fighting was over.

It had been a brutal fight, and a very personal one for the clones. She could feel it in the rage and grief from the troopers she passed. She was aware that most of the clones had mixed feelings about Kamino; most didn’t come back here after being deployed, except for some of the special forces. But it was the place that they grew up in and many had friends that were permanently deployed here.

When she spotted Anakin and Obi-Wan, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, what took you so long, Snips?” Her master asked.
“Oh you know, just taking out the rest of the droid fleet so they couldn’t come down here and kick your butt.”

Her master rolled his eyes as Obi-Wan watched with a bemused look. Behind them she could see Rex, Cody, Echo, and Fives approaching.

Their armor had a few new scuff marks but they looked relatively unharmed. They did however have a sense of grief around them. It made her pause before she approached them.

Fives looked up and spotted her and she sensed his mood lighten.

“Well look what the loth cat dragged in.” He said with a smile.
“Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.” She told them.

Cody waved away her statement.

“It left more droids for us.”
“Did you get a chance to roundhouse any?”
“Obviously.” He patted her on the shoulder with a smile before going to stand by Obi-Wan.
“Di’kut.” She heard Rex mumble before he turned to look her over.
“I’m alright Rex. You guys had more excitement than I did.” She assured him.

He huffed before glancing back at Echo and Fives who were quietly talking behind him. His lips twitched up into a soft smile.

“Yeah, we did. And those two really stepped up.” Rex turned to speak with Anakin, leaving Ahsoka in front of the Domino Twins.

They both gave her a sad smile.

“Are you guys alright?” She asked.

They sighed.

“Yeah, we just lost a good brother today.” Ahsoka stiffened.
Echo noticed this.

“Not one of the 501st, no. This was a clone that worked on Kamino, his name was 99. He was a… defective clone. He wasn’t fit for combat. We knew him back when we were still in training. He helped motivate our squad and even in the end he was there for us.”

Ahsoka relaxed a little bit before placing a hand on both their shoulders.

“I’m sorry. He sounded very brave.”

Fives pulled her into a hug.

“Yeah vod’ika he was.” His voice was a little hoarse and Echo gripped Fives’ shoulder while rubbing a hand down Ahsoka’s arm comfortingly.

They released each other when someone cleared their throat behind them.

The two troopers came to parade rest while Ahsoka moved to stand by her master’s side. She could feel feelings of pride coming off her masters and the commanding clones as they regarded the two troopers.

“Well boys, Cody and I have some news for you. The way you boys performed today impressed us both.” Rex began.
“You both really stepped up in the heat of the battle.” Cody continued.
“We did what we had to do sir.” Echo told him.
“What any clone would have done.” Fives added.
“Both of you showed valor out there, real courage.” Ahsoka could sense the pride coming off of Rex, she glanced between the clones and her masters curiously.
“Echo, Fives, you both are officially being made ARC Troopers.” Cody declared.

Echo’s jaw dropped and he looked at Fives in disbelief. Ahsoka’s eyes widened as she looked up at her master. He smiled at her.

She looked back at Fives and Echo with a wide grin.

“Good job men.” Rex told them and they saluted their captain.

As soon as the generals and the clone commanders were far enough away, Fives whooped and threw his arm around Echo’s neck.

“Can you believe it?” He asked his vod.

Echo shook his head.

“Oh please, if anyone deserves this, it's you guys.” Ahsoka told them.

She suddenly found herself being swung around in the air by Fives as he whooped again.

“Ok, ok vod put our commander down.” Echo said with a laugh.

Ahsoka looked up at both of them with a smile.

“You both are going to make amazing ARC troopers. I can already tell.” She said.

ARC training usually took about 4 months.

Echo and Fives were staying on Kamino to begin their training while the rest of the 501st was heading out on the next campaign.

Echo and Fives bid their friends farewell.

“You two better graduate. If you get booted from ARC training and try coming back to us, I’ll kick your shebs.” Jesse told them.
“I’ll help.” Hardcase jumped in.
“Well, I’m less worried about Echo, it's Fives that I’m worried about.” Kix laughed.

Fives made an indignant noise and shoved at the medic.

“Oh that was very ARC trooper-like.” Chipper mumbled to Ahsoka who snorted.
“Just get back in one piece.” Hardcase told them before pulling the domino twins into a hug.
“Yeah well the same goes for you guys. You need to take care of yourselves out there, especially because we won’t be there to save your shebs.” Echo told them.
“Oh please vod, we are very responsible.” Jesse said as he threw an arm around Echo. “Besides, we have our little commander to look out for us.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

“Only if you're nice to me.”

Jesse placed a hand over his chestplate in mock offense.

“Aren’t I always?”
“Hmmm.” Ahsoka tapped a finger to her chin.
“There was that time when you tripped me when I was running away from Rex. And that time that you kept sticking my stuff on high shelves so I couldn’t reach them. And that other time that-”

Arms wrapped around her midsection and hauled her off the ground.

“If you're not careful I’m gonna stick you on a high shelf commander.”

The final boarding call for the 501st went out.

Echo poked Jesse in the side until he set Ahsoka down. Echo wrapped his arms around Ahsoka and squeezed her until she swatted his back.

“Be safe vod’ika.” He told her.
“I will.” She assured him.

Next Fives hauled her up into a hug.

The twins waved to their friends as they loaded up onto the transport ship and left the platform.
-
The months passed in a blur of blaster fire, bright explosions, ration bars, late nights in the rec room, and training.

Ahsoka knew it was getting close to the time that Echo and Fives were supposed to be returning, but no matter how many times she asked Rex, he remained tight lipped.

“Oh come on Rex, you are you being sooo secretive about this?” Ahsoka whined.
“Maybe this is payback for you telling me that I am horrible at keeping secrets.” Rex told her with a smirk.
“What would I need to do for you to tell me?” Ahsoka asked.

Rex made a show of appearing in deep thought.

“Beat me in an arm wrestling competition.” He gave her a shit eating grin.

She glared up at him.

No one in the 501st had ever beaten Rex in arm wrestling.

“Isn’t one of the things Jedi are known for is being patient?” He asked.
“Aren’t captains supposed to answer to their commanders?” She shot back.

He snorted.

“Maybe when you're eye level with me.”

She huffed out a breath.

“Just relax vod’ika. They’ll be back before you know it.”

Two days later after meeting up with Obi-Wan and Cody, Rex called her down to the hangar. She curiously made her way down. When she arrived she noted the new ship, it looked like a Kaminoen transport ship. She spotted Cody’s orange armor first and then Rex’s pauldron standing beside the ship. In front of them were two troopers. Both clad in dual pauldrons and kamas. One had a 5 on his temple and the other had a handprint on his chest.

She gasped.

“Surprised?” Rex asked with a smirk when he spotted her.

Fives and Echo turned to face her with bright grins.

She launched herself at her vod, nearly taking them to the ground.

“Miss us?” Echo asked with a laugh.
“Just a little.” Her voice was muffled by Fives’ pauldron.

She stepped back to look them over and they did the same to her.

“I like the new gear.” She told them.
“I like your new outfit.” Echo countered.
“Though, I personally think our new get up is better. Ours comes with upgrades.” Fives gloated as he spun his new DC around on his finger.

She cocked an eyebrow marking at them.

“Is that a challenge?”

She spun away from them and landed in a low crouch before igniting both her lightsabers and spun them around expertly.

Fives’ jaw dropped and Echo laughed as he smacked Fives on the chestplate.

“Ok, ok, we get it you all have new toys. You're gonna make the rest of us jealous.” Rex said with a chuckle and Ahsoka extinguished her sabers.

Everyone swarmed Echo and Fives when they got to the rec room. They asked them all kinds of questions about training and to see all their new gear.

Ahsoka was happy to have them back. Even if they were gone more often on ARC missions, at least they were still around her.

Fives finally persuaded her to teach him how to wield a lightsaber.

She had let some of the Torrent Company mess around with her sabers before, but she had never taught them proper stances or techniques.

She decided against handing the ARC trooper an actual saber yet and instead gave him one of the training sabers they had on board.

Echo came to watch as moral support as Ahsoka worked to teach Fives proper stances and grips. However, Echo seemed more interested in offering snide remarks to his twin.

“Vod, I’m pretty sure the saber is supposed to injure your opponent, not yourself.” He yelled when Fives accidentally zapped himself for the 6th time.
“Would you like to come figure out how to work this kriffing thing?” Fives growled back.
“Please no.” Ahsoka said as she wrinkled her nose. “Fives is a handful already.”
“Oh but I know you love me.” Fives said with a smile.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and kicked his feet out wider.

After about an hour both were tired enough to call it a day.

“You guys make it look so easy.” Fives complained as he stretched the muscles of his arms.
“Well, we start training with a training saber when we are 4 years old. Then when we are about 9 or 10 we actually go get our kyber crystals from the cave. Then on the way back you assemble your lightsaber and start training.” Ahsoka explained.

Fives shuddered.

“I am just imagining a bunch of younglings running around with tiny weapons of mass destruction.”
“Oh please, how old were you when you first held a blaster?” She countered.

Fives opened and closed his mouth as he thought.

“Pretty sure we were 3 nat born years, about 6 physically.” Echo answered.
“Now I’m imaging a bunch of tiny Fives and Hardcases running around with blasters.” She told them, making Echo snort as Fives gave her an offended look.

Between missions and campaigns, Ahsoka continued to teach Fives. She also taught Echo some stances as well, mainly so he could surprise attack Fives. Word spread that Fives was getting lightsaber lessons and soon many of the veterans of Torrent also wanted lessons.
Ahsoka was a little worried that her master would frown at her teaching her men how to wield her lightsabers, but he actually thought it was a great idea. It also gave them something to do on long light speed trips.

Soon enough, Fives was able to mock duel with her.

Chapter Text

None of the troopers understood much about the Force. They knew that Jedi wielded it in a variety of ways and a few had heard from their jedi that the Force moved through all living things, even if they weren’t Force-sensitive.

But an over 1000 year old jedi distress signal that caused a disturbance in the Force for their jedi definitely sounded a little extreme for them.

And of course, the Jedi that volunteer to go check it out are their jedi.

Cody and Rex shared a very long look when their generals first told them what they were doing. Their particular trio of Jedi seemed to be able to attract trouble anywhere they went in the galaxy, so why they continued to push aside all survival instincts confused them both out of their minds.

“Rex, Rex do you read me? We are at the rendezvous point awaiting your arrival.” General Skywalker’s glitchy form appeared on the holoprojector.

Behind him the two ARC troopers glanced at each other before glancing out the large view windows of the venator.

“Sir we are at the rendezvous point and there is no sign of you in our scanners.” Rex told him, a bad feeling forming in his gut.
“Well this is going great so far.” Fives mumbled sarcastically.
“Oh come on, that's impossible.” Anakin said before his signal began to glitch again.
“We’re unable to find you. Where are you sir?” Maybe they just got the coordinates mixed up, it wouldn’t exactly be a first time with his general.

Just then General Skywalker's projection disappeared.

Rex turned to the nearest bridge operator. “Get them back online now.”
“Yes sir.”

Rex had seen a lot of Force osik while working alongside Skywalker and Ahsoka, so he couldn’t ignore the feeling that this whole thing reeked of Force osik.

“I have a bad feeling about this sir.” Echo told Rex.
“I do too.” Rex agreed.

Both ARC troopers stared out the front shields of the Tribunal, hoping to spot some sign of their jetii.

“Why does it always seem to be our vod’ika?” Fives mumbled to his twin.

Echo sighed as he shook his head.

“We’ve got their signal sir!” The bridge tech announced.

Fives and Echo jumped to stand behind Rex as he tried once again to contact them.

“General Skywalker come in.”
“We read you Rex, can you hear me?”

Two sighs of relief came from behind him.

“Yes sir, standing by. We were worried. You were off the scopes there for a moment.”
“A moment? Huh, we’ve been gone more than a moment Rex.” Skywalker chuckled.

The 2 ARC troopers shared a confused look with their captain.

“Sir, I don’t understand. You’ll need to explain, you were off line for about 5 minutes.” The feeling of unease returned.
“You… wouldn’t believe me if I told you. We’re coming in now.”

The troopers shared another look.

“I really don’t like the sound of that.” Fives said.
“If there is one thing I know about Jedi it's that no matter what they do, something bad usually seems to happen.” Rex sighed before tapping out Kix’s com frequency. “Kix, meet me down in the hangar.”
“Yes sir.”

The two ARC troopers raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh please, when you’ve dealt with them as long as I have, you learn some things.” Rex informed them as he began to make his way out of the bridge.

When the jedi disembarked from their ship, the clones noted that they looked a little worse for wear. They had streaks of dirt on their clothes, General Kenobi and Skywalker’s hair looked messy, like they hadn’t washed it in days. Ahsoka just looked exhausted.

When Kix tried to approach Obi-Wan, he waved the medic away.

“Look over them first.” He nodded meaningfully towards his two padawans.
“I’m fine, look over Ahsoka.” Anakin said.
“Hey, why am I getting singled out?” Ahsoka asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Because…” Skywalker and Kenobi shared a look.

None of the assembled clones liked the weighted message that seemed to pass between the two elder jedi.

“Because we don’t know the last consequences of being on Mortis for so long. It was both incredibly strong with the light and dark side.” Kenobi leveled a glare on Skywalker. “We all will be getting looked at by the medics.”

Ahsoka let Kix lead her to the med bay.

They all were medically sound, just exhausted.

A few days passed and it seemed like the generals were bouncing back just fine. But Echo and Fives noticed that Ahsoka was not recovering as quickly. This concerned them both. The jedi had remained stubbornly tight lipped about what happened in the time that they had lost contact.

Ahsoka had dark circles under her eyes and she didn’t seem to be getting much sleep. The domino twins noticed their general watching his padawan worriedly when he thought no one was looking.

Something had happened. They just didn’t know what.

On the 5th day after the incident, during a sparring session Ahsoka nearly collapsed from exhaustion, putting everyone present into panic mode.

Ahsoka blinked up blearily at the faces crowded in front of her. Why were they all staring at her?

“-oka. Can you-. Ahsoka, can you hear me?”

She groaned in response.

Ahsoka felt arms lift her up to a sitting position. When did she get on the ground? The sudden movement made her head spin.

She pressed the palm of her hand against her brow.

“Take it easy vod’ika.” Someone said off to her left.

A canteen of water was suddenly pressed into her hand.

“Here, drink this.” That sounded like Echo’s voice.

She raised it to her lips and took a long swig of water.

“What happened?” She asked when she was done.

Her vision had cleared up enough that she could tell that Fives, Echo, Jesse, Rex, and Chipper were kneeling around her.

They all shared a concerned look.

“You don’t remember?” Chipper asked.
“No?”
“That’s it, you’re going to Kix.” Rex declared before moving to pick her up.
“Wow, wait what?”
“Ahsoka, you just collapsed while we were sparring. You look like you haven’t been sleeping and don’t think we haven’t noticed you hardly eating.” Echo pointed out.

Ahsoka sighed as Rex slowly picked her up and carried her out of the sparring room.

Kix proceeded to chew her out for not taking care of herself.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled as she stared down at her hands.

Her tone made the medic pause. There was something going on, had been ever since she got back with Skywalker and Kenobi. Of course, when the generals had told him to look her over, they hadn’t told him what to look for.

The little togruta was suffering from sleep deprivation and lack of nutrients. Both were an easy fix, but he knew the issue was probably more psychological than physical. He handed his commander a meat ration bar and ushered the other troopers out of the med bay, allowing Echo and Fives to stay.

He knew if anybody would get her talking, it would be the two ARC troopers. For good measure he told Jesse, Rex, and Chipper to distract Ahsoka’s master in case he went looking for his padawan.

Fives and Echo sat down next to Ahsoka on the gurney. Echo waited until she was almost done with the ration bar before speaking.

“So are you gonna tell us why you haven’t been sleeping?”

Ahsoka stared straight ahead as she chewed.

“We just want to see if we can help.” Fives offered.

She sighed and dropped her gaze back to her hands.

“It’s… nightmares.”

They waited for her to elaborate.

“When you lost contact with our ship, it's because we were pulled into this planet. Or, I don’t really know what it was. It was a place called Mortis, and it was extremely strong in the Force. There were 3 beings on Mortis. They were called force wielders, and they were some of the most powerful beings in the universe.”

Slowly Ahsoka explained what had transpired on Mortis. The ARC trooper listened in shocked silence. This sounded like something out of a holovid or a book.

When Ahsoka finished she fell silent again.

“So, you’ve been having nightmares about what happened on Mortis?” Echo asked.
“Not exactly.” Ahsoka said. “Remember when I said the son took me?”

They both nodded.

“Well, when I was being held by him, something happened.”

Both troopers tensed.

Ahsoka’s hand drifted up to her head.

“It’s like I have a blank spot in my memory. One moment I was in the prison, the next I was outside, the daughter was dead beside me and Anakin was hugging me.” Her hand drifted back down to her lap.
“Ever since that, I’ve been having these dreams of me fighting my master. That I was consumed by the dark side of the Force. Then, it's all darkness. Like I die-”

She clenched her hands into shaking fists.

Echo and Fives shared a look. Fives placed a hand on top of one of her shaking ones.

“I just… I don’t know if these are just dreams or if something happened and my masters aren’t telling me. I’m afraid to sleep because they terrify me. I’m terrified of what these dreams mean.”

The very fact that Ahsoka thought that her masters could be hiding something from her convinced both ARC troopers that the older jedi were in fact hiding something. It was drilled into them since leaving the growth tubes to not question their superior officers, especially their jedi. However, the shake in their vod’ika’s voice was enough to make both ARC troopers itch to raise some hell with their generals.

They stayed with Ahsoka until her exhaustion finally dragged her down to sleep. They promised to stay with her as she slept.

As soon as she was asleep, Fives stood.

“Where are you going?” Echo whispered suspiciously.

Fives cast a gaze over the sleeping togruta.

“I’m gonna get some kriffing answers.”

Echo winced. He figured his vod was going to do something like this.

“Please don’t get decommissioned.”

Fives waved him off as he left.

He found generals Kenobi and Skywalker on the bridge with Rex planning out strategies. Rex noticed him first, giving him a questioning look. Fives returned it with a glare that cut to the generals.

The jedi must have felt his anger because they both looked up at him.

“Fives.” Skywalker said in greeting as Kenobi nodded to him.

Fives approached the holomap before planting both his hands on the table.

“So, what happened in the Son’s tower on Mortis?”

Both jedi froze.

Two sets of blue eyes turned to stare at him wide eyed.

“What?” Skywalker asked.
“On Mortis, something happened on the Son’s tower. I would like to know what happened.” Fives repeated.
“Fives.” Rex growled in warning.

Skywalker stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest.

“How do you know about Mortis?”

Fives straightened. Any sane person would have backed down when they saw general Anakin Skywalker glaring at them. Fives however, wasn’t the most sane clone ever created. He crossed his arms over his chestplate and held his ground.

“Ahsoka has hardly been getting any sleep recently. She collapsed today during a sparring session so we took her to Kix.” He didn’t miss how his general’s eyes widened.
“She told us that she hasn’t been sleeping because she’s been having nightmares. She told us what happened on Mortis and how she has a blank spot in her memory. The nightmares she’s been having are about her falling to the dark side.”

The generals exchanged a shocked look.

“She really said that?” Skywalker asked quietly.
“You have to tell her Anakin.”

Fives and Rex exchanged a look.

“How am I supposed to tell her what happened?” Anakin asked, sounding lost in a way neither clone trooper was used to.
“‘Hey Snips, so those nightmares you’ve been having? Yeah those are because the Son infected you with the dark side and you tried to kill me and Obi-Wan, oh and by the way, the son killed you as well. But don’t worry I was able to bring you back so it’s no big deal!’”

Everyone was silent. Obi-Wan was watching Anakin as his former padawan took multiple deep breaths. Rex and Fives were staring at the jedi in horror.

“WHAT?!” Rex and Fives roared at the same time.

The two jedi jumped, remembering the two troopers present.

“She did WHAT?” Fives all but yelled.

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose as he mumbled something in a language Fives didn’t know.

“Sir,” Rex said slowly. “Are you telling me that not only did something happen in those few moments, we lost contact with you, but one of the things that did happen was Ahsoka, our commander, fell to the dark side. And died? And you neglected to inform her or anybody else?”

That was the tone Rex only used when he was absolutely pissed. The kind that had any intelligent trooper digging their own grave.

While it didn’t have quite the same effect on their general, he had the decency to look embarrassed.

“As I said, I was able to bring her back. And she didn’t remember anything after she turned.”
“Well she sure is beginning now.” Fives pointed out. “Were you ever going to tell her?”

Rex shot him another warning look.

Anakin puffed up defensively.

“I didn’t see any reason to. I didn’t want to cause her distress when there wasn’t any.”
Fives opened his mouth to argue but Kenobi cut him off.
“There clearly is a need to tell her now.” He glanced around at his old student and the two clones. “We all want the same thing. We want what’s best for Ahsoka.” He fixed a gaze on Anakin. “I believe telling Ahsoka is the best course of action to help her heal from this.”

They all deflated a little.

Anakin dropped his gaze and nodded. Kenobi turned to Fives.

“Where is she now?”
“She’s in the med bay with Echo. When I left she had just fallen asleep.”

Anakin made to leave before Rex stepped in his path.

“Sir, I would like to suggest letting her sleep for now. With how tired she was earlier, I think this can wait until after she’s gotten some rest.”

Anakin hesitated before nodding.

Fives made his way back to the med bay. He was struggling to sort all the new information in his mind, but he kept getting dragged back to one fact.

Ahsoka had died.

Ahsoka had died and there had been nothing Fives could have done about it.

Images of her lifeless body at his feet made him stumble. Smoke still curled from the blaster bolts through her chest. Her blue eyes stared up at him in betrayal.

Fives pressed a palm to his brow and shook his head, trying to clear the images away. Ahsoka was alive. Skywalker managed to bring her back.

He entered the med bay to see Ahsoka curled up against Echo’s chest. Echo was looking at a datapad but raised his eyes to his twin when he walked in. He raised an eyebrow.

“You’re still in one piece.”
“Ha ha.” Fives mumbled as she pulled a chair up next to his twin.

His eyes roamed over the little togruta looking for any sign of what the kriff happened to her.

How long had she been dead?

He hadn’t even thought to ask.

Echo watched his twin as he looked over Ahsoka again.

He had that crease in between his brows he got when he was trying to figure out a problem. Finally his twin raised his eyes to meet his own.

He looked like he was searching for the words to explain.

“I take it you got answers?” Echo prompted.

Fives shook his head with a humorless laugh.

“Oh I got kriffing answers alright.” He dragged a hand across his face before meeting Echo’s eyes.
“She died.”

Echo blinked at him, thinking he misheard him.

“What?”

Fives explained to him what he’d heard from the jedi. As Fives spoke, Echo felt himself tightening his grip on the togruta.

When Fives was done they sat in silence.

“I hate Force osik.” Echo finally said as he rubbed a hand across his face.
“I think we all do. I just wish the jedi would actually talk to each when it goes wrong.” Fives grumbled.

They fell into silence again until a while later when Ahsoka woke up.

They commed their general and then left to give the jedi some privacy. Skywalker and Kenobi nodded to them when they left the med bay.

“Is she going to be alright sir?” Echo found himself asking Kenobi.

The elder jedi nodded with a tired smile.

“She just needs some time to process. But I believe she will be fine.”

The twins let out a sigh of relief.

Inside, Ahsoka was fidgeting with the blanket on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” Echo asked.

Ahsoka huffed and raised her eyes to meet theirs.

“Better I guess. It feels better knowing that these aren’t visions, but it’s also strange to know that they are memories.”

She narrowed her eyes on them.

“How did you guys find out?”

Fives rubbed the back of his neck.

“After you fell asleep I kind of went and confronted them about it.”
“Of course you did.” Ahsoka mumbled. “Well, thank you. For listening and looking out for me.”
“Oh please, we couldn’t let our vod’ika suffer. Plus, everyone knows a half asleep commander is no good.” Ahsoka playfully threw her pillow at Fives.
“Just…” Echo trailed off.
“Don’t die again?” Ahsoka supplied sarcastically.
“Yeah. Please never die again.” Echo mumbled.

She watched them both for a moment.

“Ok, I’ll promise not to die if you both also promise not to die.”

The ARC troopers looked at each other. All 3 of them were children of war. All 3 of them knew that you didn’t promise something like that in war.

After a moment, Echo nodded.

“Fine, I promise, that until the stars break and fall from the sky, I won’t die.” Ahsoka turned and looked at him wide eyed.
“You remember that story?”

Echo nodded with a smile.

She blushed a little before raising her gaze again.

“Until the stars break and fall from the sky, I promise I won’t die.”

Fives repeated it after her.

The three of them shook hands.

“Or at least, you can’t die before I do.” Ahsoka said.
“Hey now wait I minute-”

They descended into argument before Kix finally walked back in and kicked them all out.

Chapter Text

Fives had to admit, this mission to rescue a Jedi from a prison specifically designed to hold Jedi sure sounded interesting.

The fact that no one had ever successfully broken into the Citadel made it even more interesting. The fact that the jedi that they were holding had vital information that could change the tide of war had him almost vibrating.

Echo shot him a glare as the 3 jedi began to formulate a plan.

“What? Can’t I be a little excited about this? This is the most interesting mission we’ve gotten in ages.” Fives mumbled.
“Yeah just remember how dangerous this is and the fact that even the jedi are nervous.” Echo reminded him.
“Oh please, we’ve got General Skywalker going with us. And Commander Cody and Rex. They are putting the best of the best. You know what that makes us?” Fives rubbed his shoulder into Echo’s pauldron until his twin elbowed him.

It wasn’t missed by either of them that Ahsoka was noticeably missing for this briefing, even though the Jedi she was closest with were leading this mission. But, after hearing their odds, it made more sense to both of them. This mission was extremely high risk, they were going in basically blind with no idea if the jedi they were after was even alive.

After what happened on Mortis, Echo had to admit that he was glad Ahsoka’s masters were keeping her out of this mission. Pretty much everything could go wrong.

After they were dismissed, they began to make their way back out through the Jedi Temple. When they rounded the corner, they almost ran into Ahsoka.

“Oh hello Echo, Fives. What brings you guys here?” She asked curiously.
“Mission briefing.” Fives answered.
“ARC mission?”

Echo and Fives glanced at each other.

“No, it's a Jedi run mission.” Echo said carefully and Fives rolled his eyes.
“It was about the Citadel.” He said.

Ahsoka’s eyebrow markings shot up.

“To rescue Master Piell! Oh kark I can’t believe I missed it!” Before either of them could stop her, she took off in the direction they had just come from.

They glanced at each other.

“Well, it's probably better that her master breaks the news than us.” Fives mumbled.
-
Ahsoka arrived in the hangar as they finished up preparations to leave. Both Echo and Fives could tell she was unhappy just from the way she was walking.

They turned to face her as she approached them.

“Well it's nice to have someone sad to see us go.” Fives told her.

She huffed and glanced around the hangar. She paused when she saw the 3 reprogrammed battle droids.

“You’re trusting battle droids to get you into the citadel?” She asked.
“That’s exactly what I asked.” Fives said as he perched his arm on her shoulder.
“Are you gonna be ok?” Echo asked her.

She sighed again but met his gaze.

“I’m not the one that you should be worrying about. You guys are the ones breaking into a jedi prison. Pretty much blind too.”
“You read the briefing?” Echo asked.
“Of course I did. Some of my best friends are on this mission and I won’t be there to protect them.” She snapped before taking a steadying breath.
“Hey, we were trained for missions like these.” Echo leaned until he was eye level with her. “We have dozens like this and we will probably do dozens more after this. We’ll be ok.”
She brought her blue gaze back up to his.
“The stars haven’t broken yet vod’ika.” Fives added. “We’ll make it back to you.”

She slowly nodded before pulling them both into a tight hug.

“I just have a bad feeling.” She whispered.

This made both of the ARC troopers tense. They had been around long enough to know that when a jedi has a bad feeling, it was a warning sign you listened to.

When she released them, she first pulled Echo into a keldabe then pulled Fives down for one as well.

She nodded to them before walking over to General Koon.

“Well, this just gets better and better doesn’t it.” Fives mumbled.
“We’ll get back. She still owes me a rematch in sabacc.” Echo assured him.

The last thing Fives sees before dropping into the carbon freezing chamber is Ahsoka watching them all worriedly.

The first thing he sees when he comes out of carbon freezing is Echo’s back. Then, he sees none other than Ahsoka Tano’s unmistakable striped montrals as she stretches her muscles after being carbon frozen.

Echo turns to glance at Fives and notices him staring at something. When he lays his own eyes on his vod’ika, he swore.

“Ahsoka.” He said exasperatedly.
“Ok so I don’t have carbon sickness or something, you see her too?” Fives asked.
“Nope, that is commander Tano alright.” Rex grunts as he too stumbled away from his carbon slab.
“Well, no point worrying about it, she’s part of the mission now.” Cody told them all before going to join Generals Skywalker and Kenobi.
“At this point are we even that surprised?” Fives asked as he pushed himself off the ground.

Echo didn’t believe her story about General Koon greenlighting her for the mission, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now.

“Oh this mission just gets better and better.” Fives grumbled as he stared up at the sheer cliff that they were about to free climb.

As unhappy as Echo was that Ahsoka snuck onto the mission, it was extremely lucky that she was there. Without her being small enough to get into the ventilation duct, they’d have been kriff out of luck. That and the more Jedi on the mission, the better.

It didn’t take long before Captain Tarkin was getting on everybody’s nerves. His lack of gratitude rubbed both ARC troopers the wrong way. The way he talked admiringly about the prison also didn’t sit well with the troopers, especially considering that the prison was specifically designed to hold jedi.

His comment towards Ahsoka really made Fives itch to shove the man into one of the lava rivers. He could tell his twin was at the same point as he was.

Thankfully Skywalker returned and Tarkin targeted the general with his complaints. Ahsoka fell to the rear with Fives and Echo.

“How are you guys doing?” She asked.
“Just fine, how about you?” Echo asked and received a grimace in response.
“I just wanted a change in company.” Fives snorted at that.
“Not liking Captain Tarkin’s conversation topics?” He asked.

She rolled her eyes.

“No, they mainly consist of complaining, how wonderful this prison is, and how he doesn’t think I should be leading because I lack experience.”
“Yeah well, some of his men aren’t too happy about him either.” Echo told her.
“If only General Piell had given the information to one of the bridge techs.” Fives mumbled.
“Snips!”
“Well, that’s my cue.” Ahsoka said as she saluted them before taking off to catch up with her master.

Any semblance of a plan disappeared when they reached the air field. The area dissolved into a fire fight as they struggled to take out the turrets around the shuttle.

Echo searched the battle field for green lightsabers and spotted Ahsoka covering Captain Tarkin and a few 212th soldiers.

“We need to get to the shuttle now.” He yelled at Fives.
“I’ll cover you.” He told him and Echo grabbed one of the droids’ shields.

He sprinted for the shuttle. 5 more meters. 2 more meters. He took up a position on the ramp, trying to take out the turret pinning them down.

The moment Echo saw the green blaster bolt flying towards him, he knew he was dead. Time seemed to slow for him as the bolts flew towards him.

Distantly he was aware of Fives’ yelling for him. Probably tell him to look out, but it was too late for that.

He felt something wrap around him and try to drag him backwards and in those precious few moments he looked down to see nothing around him. He realized distantly that it was likely Ahsoka attempting to drag him clear with the Force, but she too was too late.

The next instant the thunderous sound of the shuttle being struck and becoming engulfed in fire took over Echo’s senses.

His last thought was that he hoped the stars decided to break tonight so he wouldn’t be breaking his promise.

Better him than his brother or sister.
-
Fire rained down on all of them as the shuttle exploded. Ahsoka was knocked off her feet and she crashed backwards into one of the troopers behind her. Her head was ringing as she and the trooper struggled to right themselves.

She was aware of people shouting around her, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the burning wreckage of the shuttle.

She stretched her senses out to the shuttle, searching for any indication of Echo. She found fire, twisted metal… and pain. Echo wasn’t dead!

But the longer she held onto this signature, the clearer it became that his life force was fading fast. It was so consumed with searing pain and confusion that her knees buckled and gave out.

She needed to get him out, she needed to stop his agony. Ahsoka reached out with the Force, just as she had done before the shuttle exploded. She locked onto his faint signature and pulled. Pain burned through her arm as a blaster bolt grazed her.

Suddenly someone wrapped their arm around her middle to haul her up and pull her backwards. She struggled forward to get away from them and get to Echo but they tightened their hold on her, pulling her back.

“-id. Commander! We have to go!” Sound crashed back to her and she turned to see that it was Rex hauling her backwards.

Shouts from the others and blaster fire suddenly brought her back to reality. They were trying to escape the Citadel.

She stopped struggling and got her legs back under her.

Ahsoka looked back at the shuttle. Echo’s signature was almost gone, but the pain was still very present. She clenched her hands and found that something was in her grasp. She glanced down and gasped when she saw the two vambraces in her grasp.

“Commander!”

Ahsoka sucked in a breath and turned away from the fading life force of her brother.

I am so sorry Echo.
-
After their mad dash from the air strip, their small group found themselves in a cave where they contacted the council.

Ahsoka attached the vambraces to her belt before she sat down.

Echo’s lingering pain still haunted her as she clenched her hands. Across the room, she could feel Fives’ grief so strongly that she wondered how he was still standing.

She raised her eyes to look at the ARC trooper. He was looking out trying to map out a way to the rendezvous point. If Ahsoka didn’t know him so well, she wouldn’t have noticed the way his shoulders hung low in defeat.

She realized that he was falling back on his training, not letting his emotions compromise their chances of getting off this planet.

Ahsoka hadn’t been a part of this mission, but she was in it now. If she wanted to keep what was left of their group alive, she would need to stow her emotions as well.

Her resolve was only fortified when she noticed Tarkin watching her disdainfully.

When they began to move out, Ahsoka let herself fall into step next to Fives. Instead of speaking, she nudged his arm and sent feelings of calm through the Force. His head lowered but he gave her a small nod and nudged her back.

“If that clone hadn’t tried to get on the shuttle, we wouldn’t be here.” Captain Tarkin grumbled.
Both Fives and Ahsoka stiffened.

Ahsoka opened her mouth but Rex shot her and Fives a look.

Ahsoka shut her mouth but couldn’t help the feeling of rage simmer before she released it to the Force. Master Obi-Wan looked back at her and sent a wave of reassurance through the Force.

The sound of incoming droids made them pick up their pace. Ahsoka and Piell took up a position at the back as the rest of their group began to scale down the cliff. She couldn’t help but smirk when she saw Tarkin holding onto Anakin for dear life. Her smirk was wiped off her face when one of the troopers cables was shot.

She reached out and grabbed the falling men with the Force. She did her best to lower them slowly but a blaster shot right next to her montral made her lose focus. She just hoped the last few feet of free fall wouldn’t be enough to injure them.

Fives gave her cover fire as she descended the last few meters. She shot him a grateful look before beginning to block blaster fire with her lightsabers.

As they descended into another network of caves, they seemed to lose the droids. Ahsoka gave a sigh of relief when she heard no advancing sounds of clanging metal.

“What if your Jedi friends are not there when we arrive?” Tarkin asked.
“Keep moving and you won’t have to worry about that, Tarkin.” Piell spat.

Ahsoka couldn’t help her eye roll and noticed a few of the other troopers mirroring her. She was really beginning to think that if she pushed him into a lava flow, no one would stop her.

“Why did master Piell have to share half the information with that guy?” Ahsoka grumbled to her master. “It’s like he’s not even grateful we rescued him. And he hasn’t been very respectful of the troops.”
“Captain Tarkin feels the Jedi should be… relieved from the burden of leading the war effort.” Anakin explained.
“That’s ridiculous.” Ahsoka mumbled.
“Maybe, but we aren’t soldiers, we’re peacekeepers. The jedi code often prevents us from going far enough to achieve victory.”
“A rather simple point of view.” Obi-Wan pointed out.
“Either way, he is a good captain.”

Ahsoka had to disagree with her master there. Rex was a good captain. He cared about his troops and didn’t let others do the dangerous tasks. Tarkin seemed perfectly fine leaving their injured behind, and cowering behind the nearest person with a lightsaber.

She also had to disagree with the idea of Jedi not leading the war effort. She knew that many non-clone officers wouldn’t treat the clone troopers differently than droids. Their casualty numbers would no doubt skyrocket. That, and Ahsoka had been raised to be a soldier. She knew how to fight better than she knew how to negotiate.

Her thoughts were interrupted by howls of distant creatures.

“Did you hear that?” She asked.
“Yes.” Master Piell said as he cocked his head. “We’re going to have company.”

They continued forward, and soon everyone in the group could hear the howls.

Ahsoka followed Master Piell as they got into position to surprise the creatures, Cody right behind her.

The sudden appearance of crab droids caught them by surprise.

“Keep going, Ahsoka and I will hold them off.” Piell ordered their men.

Fives hesitated for a moment until Ahsoka nodded to him.

She turned to face the advancing droids.

If she hadn’t been so focused on the droids, she would have noticed the creature.

“Master Piell!” She shouted as it crashed into the other jedi.

She slammed her lightsaber down onto the droid and threw the creature away from the elder jedi.

She rushed to his side. He was bleeding from teeth marks around his neck and chest and she could tell his ribs were broken from his labored breathing.

“I have to get help.”
“No.” She felt the elder jedi grab her arm. “Don’t leave. Listen to me carefully child.”

She leaned down as he pulled her closer.

“The information. I need you to deliver it back to the council.”

She could feel his life force fading. Just like Echo’s had. He didn’t have long, but she wasn’t the right person to hear this.

“I should go find Anakin or Obi-Wan. They should be the ones to hear this.” She told him.
“No, you must listen.”
“I… wasn’t assigned to the team. I lied just so I could be a part of the mission. And so far, I haven’t been able to do much other than watch my friends die.” She told the elder jedi, her voice wobbling just the slightest bit.
“Whether you were meant to be on this mission or not, you are now the most important part of it. Remember this, and see to it that the information is revealed to no one but the jedi council.”
Her eyes widened but she leaned her head down.

She was grateful for all the memorizing practices they had been trained to do as younglings. She recited the information back to him until he nodded.

“Good. Now go, get out of here. Complete my mission.” Ahsoka gripped his hand as the last breath left his body.

She felt his Force signature raise up and circle around her before joining the living Force. She had held many troopers as they died, each one was burned into her memory. Master Piell’s name joined a long list of people she hadn’t been able to save.

Ahsoka carefully lifted his body onto her shoulders and began to walk.

Her masters and troopers rushed forward when they saw her.

Anakin helped her set him on the ground.

“He died honorably.” She mumbled.
“What about the information?” Her master asked.
“I have it. He told me before he died.”

The full weight of the mission suddenly felt like it had been placed on her shoulders. Rex placed a hand on her shoulder as her masters discussed what to do next.

The memorial was brief, but Ahsoka could already hear the droids advancing on them. When they began to move again, Fives and Rex took up positions on her shoulders. No one spoke as they walked. Even Tarkin finally stopped complaining.

Finally the island came into view. Unfortunately, so did droids.

Ahsoka was too tired to form thoughts beyond block, swing, roll, block, swing, jump.

Then suddenly Tarkin was being held over the lava by the Seperatist commander. They did not make it all this way just for him to die now. Echo and Piell did not die just for him to be killed here. Ahsoka lunged forward and the next thing she knew her saber was buried in the Seperatist’s chest.

She jerked it back out as the smell of burned flesh reached her. She stared at the body at her feet.

“Ah, my thanks Padawan Tano.” Tarkin said and her eyes snapped up to him. “I see you’ve trained her well.”

Ahsoka stared back down at the body.

This was her first time killing a sentient being with her own lightsaber.

“Hey.” She glanced up to see her master staring at her. “You did what you needed to.”

She took a deep breath.

The mission wasn’t over yet.

Then suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of a LAAT/i engine. Glancing up, she saw the ship with its familiar 104th battalion nose art. Just as it made to land, more crab droids appeared. Fives grabbed her and hauled her onto the transport.

As soon as everyone was onboard she slumped against the wall. The exhaustion from the last day finally began to catch up with her. Fives slipped an arm around her to keep her standing and she leaned on him.

Their lives were in the hands of the pilots now, but Ahsoka didn’t care. They had survived the planet. But they had lost too many to call it a victory.
-
Fives sat on Echo’s bunk.

He didn’t have the energy to climb up into his own. Jesse and Hardcase had helped him remove his armor after they had noticed him sitting on Echo’s bunk for a while without moving. They had left him after a while, deciding to let him be alone for a little bit.

Now he sat with a canteen of water next to him and a flimsi picture of him and Echo at their ARC graduation.

The new pieces of their armor stood bright and white, the new paint unscuffed, not yet marred by dirt or blaster smoke.

The image of Echo’s helmet laying there, smoking and black after the shuttle exploded was playing over and over again in his head.

The grief and sadness he’d pushed to the back of his during the mission was creeping to settle in his chest like a rock.

As soon as he’d entered the barracks, the others had known. They hadn’t needed to remove his helmet to see his face, they had seen it in the blank spot to his right that Echo always occupied.

Rex had asked if he wanted to go back to the barracks or stay and wait at the Jedi temple with him after he gave his debriefing. Fives and decided to go back to the barracks, hoping his exhaustion would drag him into unconsciousness before the feeling of emptiness could catch up with him.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t made it past Echo’s bunk before it set in. So here is where he found himself, sitting on his twins bunk. His twin that would never sleep in this bunk again. His twin whose body he had left behind on that siths damned planet. His twin wouldn’t be coming home.

His view of the flimsi grew blurry as tears swam in his eyes.

The doors to the barracks opened but he didn’t look up. A pair of boots appeared in front of him. The wearer of those boots should have been in the Jedi temple right now getting looked over by Jedi healers because she had taken many blaster bolt hits.

A weight settled on his right shoulder.

“Fives…” Ahsoka’s choked voice broke the silence.

His left hand came to rest over her small hand as a tear finally slipped from his eye.

“Fives,” She started again. “I didn’t realize what they were until we got back, but I think you should have these.” Her hand removed itself from his shoulder and she reached for something on her belt.

Suddenly his vision was filled with two blurry gray things. He wiped his eyes to clear his vision and found that Ahsoka was holding out two plastoid vambraces.

Not just any vambraces. Echo’s vambraces.

They were scorched in a few sections, and the right one was pretty mangled, but the unmistakable blue streaks up the sides were still visible.

A high keening sound escaped his throat as he took the vambraces, letting the flimsi drop to the bed next to him.

The sobs he had been holding back finally shook his frame. Ahsoka sat on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around him, letting his head rest against her chest as she gently rocked them back and forth. Her own tears were falling silently as she ran her fingers gently through his hair.

Around her, she could feel grief from other troopers. Grief for Echo and for Charger, both had fallen on the mission. When she had passed the 212th’s area, she had felt the grief for their lost vod.

She had lost many good men in this war, but none had hit so hard before. Echo had been her brother, he had promised he would stay until the stars broke, but she hadn’t had the strength to look up at the sky on her way over to the barracks.

Finally she felt Fives quieting.

“I tried to pull him out of there.” She found herself whispering. “I tried to pull him out before the blast hit. And then I tried to get to him after but-”

Her throat closed and she had to bite down a sob.

One of the arms that had been wrapped around her’s reached around her and pulled her into his lap.

He wrapped his arms more securely around her and placed his chin at the dip between her montrals.

“I’m so sorry, Fives.” She whispered.
“That stubborn bastard wouldn’t have let either of us die first.” He finally mumbled back.

She couldn’t help but snort.

“You're right.”

One of Five's hands reached out to grab a vambrace. Ahsoka watched as he inspected it.

“Thank you for…” He trailed off because he couldn’t put into words how grateful he was for getting Echo’s vambraces.

He couldn’t put into words how much it meant to Fives that he had an actual physical piece of his twin left, when he’d thought he had lost him forever.

Ahsoka seemed to understand what he couldn’t say because she squeezed him.

“You deserved to have them.”

Fives ran his thumb over the scorch marks. He could easily clean them up, fix the right one, he could carry with him a piece of his twin. An idea suddenly came to him.

He reached for the left vambrace and handed it to Ahsoka. She glanced up at him curiously, eyes still bloodshot from crying.

“He would want us both to have one.”

Ahsoka gripped the vambrace and buried her head back into his neck.

“I’d be honored.” He heard her mumble.
“I think he’d be honored to have a jedi wearing some of his kit.” Fives told her.

They fell into silence.

Finally the doors opened again and Rex walked in. He removed his helmet and ran a hand over his face before his eyes settled on the two figures seated on Echo’s bunk. He slowly made his way over.

Fives looked up to meet his gaze tiredly. Rex placed a hand on his ARC’s shoulder. His throat closed when he saw the scorched and cracked vambrace on the bed next to Fives, and the other clutched in Ahsoka’s hands.

When he moved to walk away, a Force wrapped around his middle and pulled him back. He looked down to see Ahsoka’s hand outstretched towards him.

“Let me clear my kit.” He told her and she released her hold on him.

When he finally sat down next to Fives on Echo’s bunk, Ahsoka looked up at him.

“I’m sorry about Charger.” She mumbled.

He dropped his gaze and nodded. Beside him Fives shifted and then he felt a pair of smaller arms around his shoulders.

He sighed and let his head fall against Ahsoka’s shoulder.

Soon he was aware of other people moving in around them. Torrent veterans settled around them and began to share stories about the fallen troopers. After a while Ahsoka made to leave them in peace to mourn but Fives latched an arm around her waist.

“You’re not going anywhere vod’ika.”

She sighed but settled back down next to him.

That night, she fell asleep back to back with Fives on Echo’s bunk. The presence of her men around her kept the nightmares at bay. At least for a night.

Chapter Text

Weeks had passed.

They had earned a small break after the Citadel to recover, but after their week was done, they were off to the next campaign.

Ahsoka kept a close eye on Fives. She knew that Fives was still mourning, he likely would be for a while. She was also still sad, but she had gone to her grandmaster for advice on dealing with her grief.

The hole that was left behind by Echo in her chest still ached, but it was becoming bearable. It was her job to be strong for her men, she was determined to not let them down again.

The first campaign after the Citadel was a relatively easy one, they were retaking an outpost that had fallen to an ambush. They had a low casualty rate and it helped refocus all of them.
Ahsoka had spent the week leading up to the campaign scrubbing clean and repairing Echo’s vambrace alongside Fives.

When she had first strapped it on before they reached the surface, she felt a small part of her pain ease. She was carrying Echo with her into battle, in a way he was still protecting her.

Her master had paused when he noticed her wearing the ARC vambrace, only one. He knew how close his padawan had been to Echo, he was glad that she had found a way to honor him now. He was proud that his padawan was dealing with the loss of her friend well.

Thoughts of the Tusken Raiders flashed to the forefront of his mind before he pushed them away.

Now, the 501st was finishing up their 3rd campaign after the Citadel. Felucia was about how she remembered it. Humid, dusty, but beautiful at night.

Everything was going according to plan. All they had to do now was overrun the last droid base and then they would ship out again.

For now, she just had to focus on getting her squad of 104th troopers over the wall.

“Boost, Sinker, Comet, get up there.” She ordered the troopers next to her.
“Yes sir.”

Ahsoka couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Something was definitely out in the jungle, but she didn’t know what it was. She knew there were any number of creatures that roamed the Felucian jungles at night, but the thing watching them gave her a bad feeling.

“Alright commander, come on up.” Boost called down to her.
“You go, I’ll cover our back.” She said and the sound of boots receded.

Now with the troopers far enough away, she stretched her senses out into the jungle. A chill raced up her spine and she whirled to face the stalker. She snarled and lunged forward only to have an electrical net slam her back into the wall.

She shook as electricity surged through her body and then her world went dark.
-
This was Fives 2nd ARC mission after losing Echo. He was having to learn how to operate without Echo by his side. Sure he trusted the other ARC troopers, but they hadn’t been with Fives since the growth tubes. He had a feeling that what he was experiencing was some form of phantom limb syndrome.

He rubbed his hand around Echo’s vambrace, a habit that he was quickly picking up. It gave him some relief that a part of Echo was still with him. He wasn’t completely gone.

Fives let out a long sigh as he stepped off the transport onto the Tribunal. The other ARC troopers nodded to him before making their way to their own barracks. Fives noted that the hangar seemed empty.

Must not be done on Felucia yet. He thought.

He stripped off his armor and clambered into his bunk before promptly falling asleep.

When he woke up, the Torrent barracks were still quiet. He got food before making his way to the bridge.

“Hey Rip, where is everyone?” Fives asked one of the bridge techs he knew.

Rip glanced up at him.

“Wow, hello nice to see you too, Fives.”

Fives clapped him on the shoulder.

“Nice to see you too, Rip.” He said with an overly bright smile, causing the bridge tech to roll his eyes.
“They’re still on the surface. They ran into a complication that’s delaying them. We were supposed to be out of here last sleep cycle.” Rip informed him.
“What kind of complication?” Fives asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I don’t know. The general didn’t specify. All he said was that they finished the mission but had a complication.”
“Well that’s very helpful.” Fives grumbled.

Rip shrugged his shoulders.

“You were the one that asked, I’m just telling you what I know.”
“Thanks anyways.” Fives said before heading back to the barracks.

He grabbed his com link and tapped out Ahsoka’s com frequency. All he got was static.

“Wonderful.” He mumbled before tapping out Rex’s link.

This time, the captain just didn’t answer.

“Oh for kriffs sake.” He layed back on Echo’s bunk with a sigh.

Usually he’d have Echo to keep him company after an ARC mission, now he was stuck by himself.

While he waited for news he finished up his report on his last mission and messed around on his holopad for a while. Finally he got a message from Rip that the troopers were headed back to the ship.

“Kriffing finally.” He was gonna have a talk with his commander about picking up her com.

He waited in the hangar as ships began to arrive. He knew that his captain and commander usually waited until the last transport to leave, preferring to have all their men off the surface before they left.

He watched the different squads unload. There was a tense energy about them. There was hardly any joking or laughter in the hangar, not like there usually was after a campaign. It didn’t look like they had taken heavy losses either. The strange energy unsettled him.

Even the 104th troopers were quiet as they assembled their gear together.

Finally Torrent began to show up in the hangar.

They all looked particularly defeated.

A bad feeling settled itself in Fives’ stomach. He started to make his way over to the unloading ships.

A few of them looked up to notice him approaching and noticeably grimaced.

The last ship landed before he reached Torrent and a very angry and… defeated looking Anakin Skywalker stepped off followed by Rex who’s shoulders were hanging low.

Fives craned his neck to see the rest of the people offloading the LAAT/i. He saw Commander Wolffe, General Koon, and the last of the 501st troopers. Fives looked around the hangar again and found no sign of blue and white striped montrals.

The bad feeling suddenly made him feel sick.

He approached Rex and Torrent.

“Captain.” He called out.

Rex slowly turned to face him.

The older trooper removed his helmet as Fives came to a stop in front of him.

“Fives.” Rex said in greeting.
“Sir…” He suddenly found it hard to form his words. “Where is the commander?”

The troopers around them looked to the floor.

Rex sighed and met Fives’ gaze.

“We don’t know.”

Fives blinked at the man.

“What?”
“When we were storming a droid base, Commander Tano took a squad of 104th men around the back to trap them in. Last Boost saw her, she was covering their back.” Rex rubbed a hand over his buzzed hair. “We spent the last 2 days tearing the planet apart looking for her but… it's just like she vanished.”

Fives suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Ahsoka was missing.

He was distantly aware of Rex still talking, but he couldn’t hear anything over the sound of blood rushing in his ears.

Ahsoka was missing.

He had just lost Echo, and now his sister was gone.

Fives felt someone grab his shoulders and begin to move him.

He struggled to breathe.

He didn’t have anything of Ahsoka’s, not like how he had something of Echo’s. How was he supposed to hold onto her if he had nothing to remember her by?

“Fives, breathe. Come on kid, breathe!” He felt someone grab his hand and place it on their chestplate. “Fives, do you feel me breathing?”

A few strangling seconds later Fives began to pick up on the rise and fall of the person’s chest.

He nodded.

“Ok, I want you to breathe with me, ok? Just match my breathing.”

Fives focused in on his own gasping breath and worked to mimic the person in front of him. Finally, his breathing began to slow and the tightness in his chest loosened. He looked up to see Rex watching him closely, still keeping Fives’ hand pressed against his chest plate.

It suddenly occurred to Fives that he had probably just experienced a panic attack. He had grown up thinking it was impossible for clones to have panic attacks, but he had seen plenty of shinies have one to know that it wasn’t true. He had never had a panic attack.

The sounds of the hangar came back to him.

He groaned and leaned forward until his forehead was resting on Rex’s pauldron. Rex’s arm came up to wrap around his shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Fives.” The older trooper mumbled. “But if there is one thing I know, it’s that Ahsoka is strong. Wherever she is, she’ll find a way.”

Fives let out a shuddering breath.

“I-” His voice broke. “I can’t lose her too.”

The captain’s grip on him tightened.

A cloud seemed to hang over the 501st as they made their way back to Coruscant. They all feared for their commander, and their general’s worrying wasn’t helping either. Everyday Fives woke up hoping for news but time and time again he was disappointed.

He slept fitfully the whole hyperspace jump back to the capital. Nightmares of the Citadel and Ahsoka jerked him from sleep night after night.

The longer they went without news, the more they lost hope. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to be declared MIA and then show back up a few days later. But it had been almost a week. They knew sooner or later, they would have to move out again, with or without their commander.

Then, after a week and a half, Rex got a call.

As he did with most com calls from the General, he left the rec room to take it. Fives watched the captain leave the room before Hardcase jostled him.

“Your turn.”

Fives glanced back down at the sabacc game he had been dragged into. Hardcase, Jesse, Kix, Rex, and a few other veterans had been making an effort to engage Fives in activities. They had been since Echo died, but they were doing it more so now that Ahsoka was gone.

It was usually one of them that would calm him down after particularly bad nightmares.

As of right now, his sabacc hand was looking about as amazing as he felt. And he felt like crap.

The door slid open and Rex walked back into the room. Fives glanced up at him absently and found that the captain’s recent subdued face had been replaced with something new. His shoulders, which had been hanging low ever since Felucia were pulled back again.

Fives’ must have had a look on his face because Rex’s face softened. He looked like he was trying to hold back a smile.

Fives straightened, his eyes widened.

Rex walked back over to their group, most of which now had noticed Rex’s strange behavior.

“Sir?” Hardcase asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rex sat back down in his spot and picked his cards back up, examining them nonchalantly. Just when the silence was about to become stifling Rex looked up at them with a grin.

“Skywalker found her.”

It took a moment for his words to sink in.

“WHAT?” Hardcase shouted as Jesse let out a whoop.

The commotion at their table made other troopers look over at them in confusion.

“The commander’s coming home?” Hardcase asked loudly.
“Yeah, she is.”

Everyone heard that. The rec room erupted in chatter and cheers.

“Where the hells has she been?” Fives asked over the chaos.
“General didn’t say. Apparently he got a transmission from the Wookies.” Rex replied.
“Wookies?” Kix asked.
“When she gets back, I’m gonna kick her in the shebs for scaring us like that.” Jesse declared.

Fives felt like he was taking the first full breaths of air since Ahsoka had gone missing.

“Well she’s going to the Jedi Temple first, she’ll probably get dressed down by Skywalker.” Rex pointed out.
“Well good, maybe if she hears it multiple times it will sink in.” Jesse replied and Kix and Rex rolled their eyes.
“Yeah, because that works with you.”

They descended into argument and the sabacc game was forgotten.
-
Ahsoka pushed herself up off the floor when they were told that they were entering Coruscant's atmosphere.

O-Mer and Jinx stood up as well.

She could feel their excitement swirling through the Force. She was happy that she was able to help these two return home. The missing spot of Kalifah was still noticeable, she knew the two boys missed her. She knew that they would always remember her and what she did for them. But they knew she would want them to continue on with their lives.

The ship thunked down on the Temple’s hangar.

Chewbacca looked at her as she stumbled a little. She nodded to him.

A week and a half with little food and little sleep were finally catching up to her now that her adrenaline was wearing off.

They blinked as the doors of the ship slid open and she was blinded by sunlight. Chewbacca offered her a hand to help her off the ship which she took gratefully.

The Wookie held onto her until her master burst through the crowd.

“Ahsoka!” Anakin grabbed her shoulders and let his relief wash over her in the Force.
“It is good to see you safe little ‘soka.” Plo said as he came up behind Anakin.
“Ahsoka I am so sorry.” Anakin released her shoulders and stepped back, dropping his gaze to the ground.
“For what?” Ahsoka asked.
“For letting you go. For letting you get taken. It was my fault.” She could suddenly see the sorrow that had been surrounding her master.

He blamed himself for her getting taken.

“No master, it wasn’t your fault.” She assured him.

If anything, it was her own. She hadn’t trusted her instincts back on Felucia when they had warned her that danger was near.

“I should have paid more attention, I-I should have tried harder…”

It was clear her words weren’t getting to him.

“You already did everything you could. Everything you had to do.” She turned away from him. “When I was out there, alone, all I had was your training. And the lessons you taught me.” She raised her eyes to look at him again. “And because of you, I survived. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Anakin mumbled after a moment.
“I do.” She bowed her head to him. “Thank you master.”

He gave her a small smile.

“Your welcome, my padawan.” He dipped his head to her.

When she raised her eyes to meet his again, he sprung forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. She bit back a hiss of pain when he hit her ribs.

She hadn’t made it out of the fight against Garnac unscathed. Her ribs throbbed and she had multiple claw marks along her side and back. She also had a gash running down her left cheek that would no doubt scar.

Most of it had been bandaged by the wookies on the flight home, but she guessed that her master would send her to the healing halls soon.

For now, she reached up and hugged her master back. When her master released her, he pulled out a holopad and took a picture of her.

“Um, what was that for?” She asked, painfully aware that she was currently covered in dirt and blood.
“Proof for Rex and the boys that you are back.” He sent the holopic and put his pad away. “They all were pretty torn up about leaving without finding you. It’s been a little rough.” He admitted.

She raised an eyebrow marking at him.

“A little?”

He rolled his eyes and ushered her inside.

“Oh, I think these belong to you.” She looked to see her master holding out her lightsabers.

She didn’t think she had ever been so happy to hear the songs of her kyber crystals.

“I was going to go into a long lecture about losing your sabers, but I figured you’ve been through enough.”
“Oh please, you drop yours all the time.” She decided not to mention the ongoing betting pools the 501st had going on about her master and his lightsaber.

She spent a long time in the shower scrubbing the grime from the last week and a half off her skin. She reveled in the feeling of clean clothes as well as returning her sabers to her belt.

When she stepped out, her master was sprawled out on their couch asleep. In the little kitchen there was a high nutrient ration bar with a note telling her to slowly ease back into eating.

She wolfed down the ration bar, hardly noticing the taste for once, and then began to eat her way through the bantha jerky she kept stored.

Ahsoka wanted to go see her men but knew that her master wouldn’t be very happy to wake up and find her gone. Then again, he would probably make her go to the healing halls before allowing her to go visit the barracks.

She had rebandaged most of her cuts with clean supplies they kept in the fresher. She had also taken a painkiller for her ribs to take the edge off.

Ahsoka scribbled out a note and left it on her master’s chest. She made a second one and taped it to the cabinet right inside the kitchen, that way if he missed the first one, he would see the second one and hopefully not go into panic mode.

Ahsoka stared out the window of the transport she had hailed, watching the lights of other speeders flash past her.

The guards outside the barracks stared at her in shock as she typed in her code. Apparently they hadn’t gotten the message that she was back.

She quickly made her way to the rec room. Not many other battalions were planetside at the moment, mainly just the 501st and the 104th.

When she finally made it to the rec rooms and opened the doors it took a moment for them to notice her.

“Commander!” A shiny near the door jumped upright.

Before she knew it, she was surrounded by her men, all clamoring to actually see her for themselves. It was a little overwhelming, the feelings of relief and joy that her men were unknowingly projecting to her.

Fives shoved his way to the front. His legs almost gave out when he finally saw Ahsoka for himself. The picture Skywalker had sent had been appreciated, but seeing her standing in front of her now, no longer covered in dirt and blood, actually breathing, it finally sunk in for him that his little sister was home.

She reached out to hug him and he promptly wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her off the ground.

“I’m ok. I’m here.” She mumbled to him.

And I am never letting you out of my sight. He thought.

He gently set her down and looked her over as Hardcase also hauled her into a hug. He had felt multiple bandages under her shirt when he’d picked her up. She was also lighter and bonier than she had been last time he had seen her.

The men finally let her sit down and they began asking for the story of what had happened.

As she began to talk, the room settled down. They listened in silence as she described her experiences on the Trandoshian moon. They were all enraged that she not only had been kidnapped, but she had been hunted for sport. She described the other jedi younglings that she had been stranded with, those closest to her noticed how she tensed up when talking about the girl Kalifah.

When she finished up the room erupted in discussion.

It soon became clear that she was getting tired. It was also clear to Kix that she had probably dodged the jedi healers judging by the winces she tried to hide.

He shared a look with Rex and the captain nodded.

Rex carefully pulled Ahsoka up and ushered her out of the rec room with Fives following closely. He took her to the mess first to grab her some more food, then he led her to the med bay.

“Hey wait, I’m fine.” She protested as soon as she realized where they were going.
“Yes, because after being hunted for sport for a week and a half, you’re unscathed.” Rex said sarcastically.
“You’re not fooling anybody vod’ika.” Fives added.

Kix reapplied her bandages and set up a meal plan for her. He also gave her stronger pain medication for her ribs.

“Now go get some rest. I don’t want to see you up and moving before 0900.”
“Yes sir.” She mumbled.

Rex and Fives followed her out of the med bay.

“Well, I should probably head back now.” She said with a yawn.
“You’re going back to the temple?” Fives asked, hoping the panic he suddenly felt wasn’t present in his voice.
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t want to encroach on the men’s personal time and space.”
“Oh for kriffs sake, just sleep here.” Fives said, already steering her towards the barracks. “Respectfully, I doubt you would be able to stay awake long enough to get back to the temple.”
“I agree with Fives.” Rex said.

Soon enough, she found herself being hauled into Fives bunk.

Around her, the other troopers were settling down for the night. A few people passed by Fives bunk to check on her.

She heard Rex talking to Kix as Fives was settling down. She knew he probably couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“I just hope Fives finally gets a good night of sleep.” Kix mumbled to Rex.
“I do too.” There was a pause. “At the very least, it’ll give him some peace of mind with her here.”

She had noticed the dark circles under the ARCs eyes, but she had just tacked it up to stress from missions. She hadn’t even thought about how her disappearance could have affected her brother. Ahsoka tucked her head under Fives’ chin and he carefully wrapped his arms around her, careful of her bandages.

“Comfortable?” She asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Good, sleep.” She pressed the suggestion through the Force and almost instantly he was out.

The first time she’d had to Force suggest one of her men to sleep had been Rex. He had been a little peeved about it when he woke up, mostly because he had been resisting everyone else's suggestion that he sleep for hours.

It had become a more normal occurrence amongst shinies, but occasionally she would use it on some of the veterans.

Ahsoka let feelings of comfort swirl around Fives’ signature and out to the other troopers around them.

Finally with the feeling of her men safely asleep around her, she let herself drift off.

Chapter Text

It seemed all her men shared the same ideals of not letting her out of their sight on missions. For weeks afterward she was always shadowed by troopers, or her master. Fives was particularly adamant about sticking close to her. It reminded her of his behavior after Echo had been injured after Guera.

When Fives had to depart on an ARC mission, he must have passed on orders to keep an eye on her because Rex hardly left her side during the next campaign.

The ache of missing Echo was slowly fading, they were learning to adapt. Fives had become particularly fond of a shiny named Tup, which Ahsoka and Rex were happy about.

Every so often, nightmares plagued Ahsoka. She would have dreams about Echo. Sometimes they were from the explosion. But the ones becoming more frequent were of him in pain. Calling out to her to help him.

It scared her.

What if she had left Echo when he needed her?

The nightmares weren’t as bad when she slept in the barracks or with her master, the proximity of others helped keep them at bay.

Things fell into routine once again in the war. There were no big surprises.

Until Umbara.

Her master had been adamant about her not going on the Umbara campaign. She had heard the stories of the shadow world and its people, none were pleasant. She would much rather be with her men when they faced it, but her master used the excuse of temple work to keep her on Coruscant. She finally came to a compromise that if the campaign hadn’t ended after 2 weeks, she would join them.

Something wasn’t sitting right with her though. As she watched her men load up their gear, she felt a sense of foreboding.

“I know that look.” Ahsoka jumped and turned to see Fives walking up to her.

She raised an eyebrow marking at him.

“That’s the ‘I have a bad feeling about this’ look.” Fives said as he perched his arm on her shoulder.
“Hopefully it's nothing.” She mumbled.

Fives glanced down at her.

Her lips were pursed and her eyebrow markings were scrunched slightly.

“I’ve found that that is rarely the case when it comes to jedi.”

Ahsoka huffed out a breath.

“For everyone’s sake, let’s hope it’s just paranoia.” She told him.

Fives chewed his lip as he looked over the battalion.

“Please be safe.” She told him, staring up at him.
“Oh you know me, I am very safe.”

Ahsoka snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Oh don’t give me the signature Wolffe eye roll.” He complained.
“Sorry, it's a habit.” She said with a cheeky smile.
“Sith’s damned Wolfpack.” He grumbled, making her laugh.

Across the hangar, Ahsoka saw Tup and Dogma loading the last of the LAAT/i. Tup raised a hand to wave at Fives.

“I think that's your cue.” Ahsoka said.

Fives let out a long sigh.

“Are you sure you can’t get out of temple duty sooner?” He asked.
“I tried. Unfortunately my master was not on my side.” Ahsoka grumbled.
“Well then I guess we’ll either have to wrap this up quickly or drag it out so you can come join us.” Fives said as he turned to face her.
“For everyone’s sake, wrap it up quickly.” She said with a smile.
“Sure thing commander.”

She pulled his head down to meet her in a keldabe.

“Maybe one day I won’t have to lean down as much for these.” He mumbled with a smile.
“You definitely won’t if I take you out at your knees.” She said sweetly.
“I hear smaller creatures have more contained rage.” He said as he pulled himself back up to his full height and looked down at her with a shit eating grin.
“Now you’re just asking for it vod.”

He laughed before hugging her.

“Stay out of trouble vod’ika.”
“I will ori’vod.” She mumbled into his chest.

Ahsoka watched as her trooper’s transports departed from the loading area. She stayed until the lights from the ships disappeared into the atmosphere.

She sent a silent request to the Force to keep her vod safe.
-
Almost a week into temple duties, Ahsoka began to have nightmares. She couldn’t remember most of them, just brief flashes of blaster fire and shouting. Those weren’t uncommon, she had spent the last 3 years in an active war zone.

It wasn’t until the 3rd night of nightmares that she remembered the dream.

“We have to help the wounded!”
“Forget it, just leave them.”
“We can’t just leave them sir!”
“We don’t have a choice, that’s an order.”
“You sound like General Kre…” Her line of sight changed to cannon fire. Unfamiliar green blaster bolts, electrical arcs. Dead bodies. Dozens. A hundred.

Screams from the injured and dying deafened her. She felt the darkness of the battlefield swirl around her senses. It choked her, constricting her airways as the darkness blinded her.

She woke up with a shout.

Night after night she woke up from the horrible nightmares. It finally set in, that these weren’t nightmares. They were visions. They were what her vod were seeing and experiencing.

When she realized this, the sheer number of deaths, she vomited, much to the dismay of Master Sinube who she had been helping. The Cosian sent her to the healing halls to be looked over even though she protested.

The healers told her that what she was experiencing was more psychological than physical.

The next night, Ahsoka escaped the temple to the barracks. While the 501st and the 212th were on Umbara, the 104th was planet side. She had known the wolfpack longer than she had known the 501st, the feeling of familiar troopers around her helped ease some of her tension.

However, their leader was unfortunately perceptive.

Commander Wolffe sat down next to her in the mess. She did her best to ignore her ori’vod as she ate.

“So are you gonna tell me what’s got you all tensed up or am I going to have to get General Plo.”

Ahsoka glared at him.

Plo treated both of them as his surrogate children, and Wolffe knew it. She knew Wolffe would sic the Kel Dor on her with little remorse.

She sighed and pushed her tray of hardly touched food back.

“I’ve been having… visions. They're more like nightmares though.” Wolffe straightened up. “I just see flashes, blaster fire, explosions…” She sucked in a breath. “And bodies. So many bodies.”

Wolffe knew it was common to have nightmares about the war. The Kaminoans had probably hoped that Jango’s lack of shellshock would transfer to them but it hadn’t. Many of his men suffered from nightmares, especially the few survivors after the Malevolence. He wasn’t surprised that a jetii’ad would suffer from them as well. Then he realized the first part of what she said.

“Visions?”

Ahsoka fidgeted with the ARC vambrace on her left arm.

“I… I think they are what my men are experiencing on Umbara.”

Wolffe didn’t know the first thing about the Force even though he served under one. It wasn’t part of their training, and frankly, he didn’t have much desire to try to wrap his head around how his general could throw a tank with the flick of his claws or how his general always seemed to know when he was having a rough day.

He knew how close this togruta was to her men, it didn’t really surprise him that she would have some sort of Jedi connection to them. It just made a weight settle in his stomach. His vod Cody was on Umbara, as well as his vod’ika Rex. Ahsoka seeing lots of death wouldn’t bode well for either of his brothers.

“Maybe you should speak to Koon. Maybe he has a way to help with the visions.” He suggested gently.

Also maybe it could convince his General to send them to Umbara to help.

The togruta sighed.

“I will tomorrow if they continue.” She mumbled.
“You can stay in the barracks tonight if you would like.” Wolffe offered.

She nodded gratefully to him.

That night the nightmares weren’t as intense. The presence of the Wolfpack around her soothed some of her tensions, keeping some of the nightmares away.

The next night she wasn’t as lucky.

Unfamiliar ship controls were in front of her. She looked out to her right to see another strange ship and realized it was the same on her left. It looked like clone troopers were piloting the ships. They were headed straight towards what looked like a furious aerial battle. Republic fighters were chasing down more of the strange ships.

She realized then that the clone troopers had commandeered some of the enemy's ships. What they were doing with them still remained a mystery.

The three clones entered a droid control ship and she guessed that they were probably attempting to sabotage it or blow it up.

The ships flew recklessly through the droid hangar before firing at the main reactor. Suddenly a ray shield appeared, blocking their attack.

She could sense the desperation of the 3 clones as they began to take fire from the droids.
“Maybe this was a bad idea.”

The voice came from the clones whose point of view she was seeing from. The voice sounded familiar but her dream altered it so she couldn’t pinpoint it. Suddenly the clone off to her right jumped out of his fighter, grabbing onto one of the missiles.

“Don’t wait for me!”

A sick feeling rose in Ahsoka’s gut as the clone steered the missile towards the reactor.

“Hardcase no!” The clone she was experiencing this through shouted.

Only now did the haze around the clone clear up. The blue markings along Hardcases chest plate became startlingly clear as she steered the missile forward.

Oh please no. Ahsoka begged silently.

The words Hardcase shouted were jumbled up as the emotions of the other two clones became stronger.

“If I know Hardcase, we better get out of here.” The clone to her left said sadly.

She nodded.

Together they began to speed forward.

“Live to fight another day boys.” The two clones cleared the base. “Live to fight another day.”

The droid ship exploded in a bright flash of fire.

Ahsoka surged upward with a scream.

The Force carried the weight of the loss to her as if she was there herself. She broke down in sobs as she felt the emptiness that Hardcase’s signature had usually occupied.

She felt multiple pairs of arms wrap around her and was aware of someone talking to her but she didn’t care. One of her closest brothers had just sacrificed himself, he had just died and Ahsoka was across the galaxy. She wasn’t there to protect him.

Someone pushed the people around her aside and swiftly picked her up. She gripped the blacks of the person carrying her and buried her face into their shoulder as they walked.

The sound of a door sliding open and closed filtered through to her and then she felt the person carrying her sit down, still holding her in their lap.

She heard them com someone before wrapping their arms back around her.

They didn’t speak as she finally began to get her sobs under control.

“What happened vod’ika?” Wolffe asked when her breathing became less strangled.

She sucked in a breath and tightened her grip on his blacks.

“Hardcase.” She choked out.

Wolffe put a vague face with the name. He was one of Rex’s heavy gunners. He got along well with Nick and Fang in his squad.

Wolffe held her until he heard a knock at the door.

“Enter.” He said gruffly.

Plo Koon took in the scene before him from the doorway. Wolffe was sitting on his bed in the command quarters (they were rarely used) with Ahsoka curled up in his lap.

He had felt the strong burst of emotion from the little togruta just before Wolffe had called him. Plo knelt down infront of his commander and the little padawan. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder as he sent reassurance and calm through the Force.

“What is it little ‘soka?” He asked gently.

Ahsoka slowly untensed and after a moment she turned her head from where it was tucked against Wolffe to look at the elder jedi. Her anguish and loss drifted through her shield as she tentatively accepted the comfort.

Once she felt like she could talk without crying, she slowly explained what had been happening, and her confusion as to why Anakin was letting this happen. Plo Koon listened quietly as she explained what she had been seeing and feeling. As an empathetic user of the Force, it didn’t surprise him that she had connected to her troopers in this way. It just made him sad that this was the world she had to live in.

When she fell silent, Plo found Wolffe watching him.

“I am sorry for your friend little ‘soka. It sounded like he died valiantly, protecting his brothers.” Plo told her as he wiped away a tear from her cheek.
“Master Plo, I’ve had a bad feeling ever since my master and the 501st went to Umbara. Th-these visions are happening for a reason.” She let out a shuddering breath. “I think I need to go to them.”

Plo could feel that Wolffe felt the same way. The Force did work in mysterious ways, he wasn’t going to discount Ahsoka’s premonitions.

“I will talk to the council.”
“Thank you master.” Ahsoka mumbled.
“Now, I think you should go rest.” He told her.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, nearly hitting Wolffe in the face with her montral.

“No- please, I-I can’t go back to sleep.”
“You do not have to.” Plo assured her. “I am sure that the 104th would be more than happy to keep you company.”

She slowly nodded and began to unfold herself from Wolffe’s lap.

Once she was standing, Plo pulled her into a hug and she clung to his robes.

When she was led back into the barracks, the Wolfpack quickly formed up around her, bracketing her in between them. Plo left when he felt the little togruta untensing.

He called a meeting with the council and explained that he believed that Obi-Wan and Anakin could use reinforcements on Umbara.

“Knight Skywalker is not on Umbara.” Mace told Plo.
“He isn’t?” Plo asked, his brows furrowing.
“No. The Chancellor called him away for a different mission. The 501st battalion is currently under the command of Master Krell.”

That would explain it. Plo knew that Anakin valued his troopers lives and wouldn’t have acquired such a high casualty rate from what Ahsoka said.

Something rubbed Plo the wrong way about Master Krell. Yes he had a good military record, but he usually had high trooper casualties. Plo had discreetly requested to not be paired with Krell for any missions because of this.

“Go, you feel you should?” Master Yoda asked him.
“Indeed.” Plo answered.

The grandmaster regarded him.

“Go, you will.”
“I would also like to request that Padawan Ahsoka Tano accompany me.” Plo requested.
“Temple duty, padawan Tano has been assigned.” Yoda told him.
“She was in agreement with her master that if the campaign continued for more than 2 weeks, she would be sent to offer aid. Considering the trip to Umbara is a few rotations, by the time we arrive, it would be about 2 weeks.” Plo explained calmly.

Mace frowned but the grandmaster gave him a sly smile.

“Accompany you, Padawan Tano will.”

Plo nodded and left the room. He commed Wolffe to tell him the news and to begin to make preparations.

“Good timing sir, I think we all were beginning to go a little stir crazy planet side.” Wolffe responded.
“We definitely wouldn’t want that.” Plo replied.

They left late the next day.

When Plo told her that her master was not on Umbara and had been assigned a different mission by the Chancellor, she was very unhappy.

“He just left? He even didn’t call me to ask to take over control! What could he possibly be doing that made him leave them behind?” She ranted.
“It was by the Chancellor’s orders.” Plo explained.
“So? His duty is to our men. The Chancellor had to know how dangerous Umbara is, making Anakin leave in the middle of a campaign is extremely unorthodox and dangerous.”

The weight of the past days of visions weighed heavily on her mind. Her men were being led by a General that they didn’t know on a strange planet. She didn’t like it one bit.

Instead of talking, Plo sent her reassurance through the Force. After a moment she let him help calm her racing emotions.

He didn’t blame her for being worried about her men. Especially from the visions she had been seeing. What he could do now is try to support her until they arrived.

Ahsoka entertained the newer members of the 104th with stories of the adventures of the 501st. Each one more reckless than the last. It was one thing to hear about the reckless 501st from others, but to hear her talk about insane missions as if it was any other day was another thing entirely.

When they were about a day away from arriving, Ahsoka felt a strong sense of wrong sweep through the Force. He had been walking with Master Plo and Wolffe from the bridge when it hit her.

She swayed on her feet and clutched her head. Wolffe turned to find that both Jedi had stopped. His general had a taloned hand pressed to his head and Ahsoka was leaning against the wall with her eyes scrunched shut.

“Sir?” Wolffe asked, concerned.

Ahsoka’s legs gave out and she fell to the floor as Plo shook his head as if to clear it.
Wolffe knelt down in front of the padawan. Her breathing sounded labored and she was shaking slightly.

“Sir, what is going on?” Wolffe asked urgently.
“There has been a disturbance in the Force.” Plo told him. “A great darkness lies ahead of us.”

Wolffe reached out to place a hand on his sister's shoulder but she flinched. Her eyes seemed glazed as she shook.

She could hear screams, blaster fire. Visions of blue and gold helmets swam in her vision. They were firing at each other.

Screams and cries of betrayal hit her in the chest like a blaster bolt.

“Ahsoka.” A light appeared and pulled her from the vision.

She found herself on the floor of the 104th’s venator with Plo holding her shoulders and Wolffe kneeling next to him worriedly. Her eyes filled with tears.

“Something terrible has happened master.” She whispered.
“I know little ‘soka, I know.”

Wolffe took Ahsoka to the med bay to have his medic, Stick, keep an eye on her.

“What are we getting into?” Wolffe asked Plo when he left the med bay.

Plo sighed.

“I do not know. We must be prepared to offer more medical help than fire power I am afraid.” Plo told his commander.
-
Ahsoka sat on the med bay bed and fidgeted with her vambrace. Nausea came and went. After Stick grew tired of her fidgeting he asked her to help him organize the med bay. It was nice to have something to do with her hands, and for a little bit it kept her mind off the dark feeling of wrongness that had taken her to the floor.

Distantly, she was still aware of their feelings. It had darkened into something else. Rage.
She had shut herself off from the feelings when they grew too powerful. She was afraid of what she would find when they reached Umbara. What if Hardcase wasn’t the only brother she had lost?

Her hands stilled as her thoughts turned to Fives. She was pretty sure the trooper she had been seeing through in her vision of the droid ship had been Fives. She couldn’t find his particular Force signature at the moment. Not with all the roiling emotions of the others she was close with.

Please for the love of the stars let Fives be okay. She pleaded with the Force.

Let her ori’vod be ok. She wasn’t ready for the stars to break yet.

Stick nudged her when he noticed that she had stopped moving. She jumped and looked up at him.

“Are you ok sir?”
“Yeah, just thinking.” She answered.

A while later a new wave of emotions hit her.

She felt fear surge through her, only it wasn’t her’s. It was her mens’.

The sound of a lightsaber igniting followed by screams made her clap her hands over her montrals.

No. No, please no.

She hadn’t realized she had been murmuring aloud until she felt someone gently shake her shoulders.

Darkness swept through her senses as her vision cut in and out. Blue and green lightsabers cut across her vision. A guttural bellow and the shatter of glass. Death.

A sudden pungent smell cut through her senses. She gagged and sneezed, her vision clearing to see the white walls of the med bay.

Stick was holding a tube of something out to her. She realized that it was a capsule of smelling salts.

“You were unresponsive and I didn’t know what other way to get you alert.” Stick explained as he stowed the salts and pressed a hand to her forehead.

Next he checked her pulse and sat her on the bed again. He didn’t find anything physically wrong with her, not that she expected he would. After she assured him she was fine and that it was a Force problem, he went back to organizing, but kept a close eye on her.

Ahsoka settled down, trying to steady her shaking hands. She closed her eyes and worked on rebuilding her mental shields. Something told her that she would need to be steady for what was to come.
-
Any hope that her visions had just in fact, been nightmares, was destroyed as soon as they reached the surface of the shadow world.

When they reached the Umbaran airbase, they were greeted by a large group of 501st and a few 212th troopers.

They all had somber faces and watched them warily.

Now that they were on the surface, Ahsoka could feel the darkness that surrounded the planet. It seemed like it had sunk into her men, turning usually upturned faces down. Ahsoka followed Master Plo and Wolffe as they began to make their way to the command tower. Rex appeared in front of them, flanked by Fives and Jesse.

Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief when she saw her vod.

“Captain Rex, how can we offer you assistance?” Plo asked.

Rex looked at Plo warily. Then Ahsoka saw his gaze flick to the lightsaber at Plo’s side.

“I believe our medics could use the extra help.” Rex said.

Plo nodded.

“Where is General Krell? I would like to speak with him.” Ahsoka and the 104th Commanding Officers didn’t miss how the three clones in front of them tensed.
“He’s dead sir.” Rex finally responded.

Plo sensed the unease and distrust from the troopers in front of him. He sensed Krell had something to do with it. All the troopers he had seen seemed to be in various states of shock. He didn’t think he was the right person to be asking about what had happened.

He turned to Wolffe, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I trust you can handle this?” He asked quietly, nodding to the 501st troopers.

Wolffe understood what his buir was asking. He nodded.

Ahsoka watched them all. It was clear that her men were wary of them. Not that she blamed them. They had been through a lot, and it had become very clear to her that Krell had betrayed them.

When Plo turned to leave, Ahsoka hesitated before turning to follow him. If her men were wary of jedi, she doubted they would want to be around her right now.

“Tano.” Ahsoka stopped and turned to see Wolffe watching her. “You stay vod’ika.”

Ahsoka looked at her men. Fives had taken a step after her when she had turned away.

They were staring at her almost pleadingly.

She nodded but before she walked back to them, she carefully unhooked her lightsabers from her belt and handed them to Master Plo. He cocked his head curiously at her and she sent reassurance through the Force.

She came to stand beside Wolffe again.

“Now, would you care to enlighten me what the kriffing hells has been happening on this damn planet.” Wolffe growled.

Rex jolted.

“Ori’vod watch your language.” Rex snapped.

Wolffe and Ahsoka rolled their eyes.

“Rex, I’ve heard worse from you on the battlefield.”

Rex opened and closed his mouth as Fives and Jesse attempted to hold back startled laughter.

A loud ruckus followed by shouts from the unloading ships caused them to jump.

“Maybe somewhere quieter?” Rex said with a sigh before turning towards the hangars.

Fives fell into step beside Ahsoka.

She looked up at him.

“Hey vod’ika.” He mumbled when he saw her watching him.

She carefully stepped in front of him, making him pause.

“Fives…” She found it hard to get the words out but she finally choked out, “What happened?”

Emotions warred across his face as his emotions surged out in the Force. She winced a little at the sheer strength of them.

“It was bad.” Fives finally said, voice slightly choked. “It was really bad Ahsoka. I… we lost a lot of brothers. And General Krell…”

Ahsoka stood on her toes to get her arms around his neck. She ignored the hard plastoid armor as he wrapped his arms around her as well. They stood like that for a while, she was aware that the others had paused a ways away to wait for them.

“I’m just glad Echo wasn’t here.” Fives finally whispered.

She nodded against his shoulder before releasing him.

They made their way over to the others and they entered the hangar. Their group sat down on ammunition crates before Rex began to talk.

Jesse and Fives would occasionally jump in and offer details Rex didn’t care to share. Ahsoka was appalled when she heard that Krell called them by their CT numbers.

“He also took every opportunity to call us clones.” Fives spat.

The scenes that Ahsoka had seen began to find their place in the story as Rex talked. Fives explained that he, Jesse, and Hardcase disobeyed orders to blow up a droid ship.

Wolffe stared at her.

“I’m sorry about your vod.” Wolffe told them.

The three looked at each other in confusion.

“How did you know he died on that?” Jesse asked.

Wolffe glanced at Ahsoka, but her gaze was on the floor. He waved off the question and Rex continued.

Rex’s voice faltered a time later.

“Krell told us that… the enemy had taken out a 212th squadron. That they had stolen their armor in an attempt to surprise attack us.”

Screams of betrayal echoed back to Ahsoka.

“We…” Rex swallowed as he stared straight forward. “We had no idea what we were walking into.”
“No…” Ahsoka said, shaking her head pleadingly.

It dawned on Wolffe about the same time.

He swore violently in Mando’a.

“Only after we had torn into each other did I find one of them without their bucket on.”

Jesse and Fives were staring at the ground. They had been in their cells during this but they had heard what had happened on the elevator ride up to arrest Krell. It had made them almost sick when they heard what had happened.

Ahsoka listened in horror as Rex explained their confrontation with Krell. How he turned on them and tore through her legion. The flashes of what she had seen made her shiver.

When he was done, Rex fell silent, staring at the floor.

“Rex…” Ahsoka trailed off as she felt the swirl of emotions he was feeling.
“I should have seen the warning signs.” Rex said. “I should have noticed something was wrong with Krell earlier. I-”
“Sir, you did step up. You did notice something was wrong.” Fives said.
“Not soon enough.” Rex snapped.

It was clear that this was an old argument.

“Rex,” Ahsoka said again, waiting until his eyes rose to meet her. “I am so sorry that I wasn’t here. I didn’t know that Anakin left, if I had, I would have come. I… You never should have ended up under Krell’s command.” Her voice faltered and grew quiet. “As soon as the visions started, I should have come.”

Fives looked at her.

“What visions?”

Ahsoka winced, realizing her slip.

“Commander Tano has been having visions about what you boys were seeing on Umbara.” Wolffe answered when she didn’t.

She shot him a glare.

“What did you see?” Fives asked.
“I saw blaster fire and explosions. I saw the advances and the tanks. I-I saw all the wounded and the dead.” She looked up at Fives and Jesse. “I saw your run with Hardcase to the droid factory.” Her gaze dropped back to the floor. “I saw bits and pieces of the 212th attack. And I saw Krell.”

Fives mumbled something in mando’a that she didn’t catch before pulling her into a hug.

“And here I was glad you weren’t with us to see what happened.” He mumbled.

Ahsoka shook her head.

“I should have been here.”
“We’re glad you weren’t vod’ika.” Jesse told her.

Wolffe looked over to Rex. His shoulders were slumped in defeat and his hands were clenched, like how he did when he was struggling when they were cadets. Looks like he needed to give his vod’ika a pep talk.

He looked back to Ahsoka and when she met his eyes, he glanced pointedly at Rex. She worried her lip before nodding.

“I want to go check on our wounded. A-and I want a head count.” She said as she stood.

Jesse and Fives stood to take her to the med tent while Wolffe placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder, keeping him there.

Ahsoka looked back to see Wolffe dragging the ammunition crate he was sitting on in front of Rex. She hoped that Wolffe would be able to get through to him where the others couldn’t.

As they neared the med tent, the sheer number of Force signatures inside and in pain made her steps falter. Fives reached out a hand to steady her.

“Ahsoka you don’t have to go inside.” He told her.

She shook her head.

“I need to see them.”

Fives looked like he wanted to protest but knew it was useless. The 3 clones in front of the tent moved to stand at attention when they saw her but she held up a hand.

“At ease, please. Rest.” They sat back down and glanced at Fives and Jesse behind her.

Ahsoka didn’t recognize these troopers. Based on the unpainted armor she guessed that they must have been very new. This had probably been their first campaign. She hated that their first time in the field had been on this siths damned planet.

“What are your names troopers?” She asked, kneeling down to their level.

They looked at her in surprise.

“My CT number is-” Ahsoka held up her hand to stop him.
“What's your name?” She emphasized the word name.
“They call me Trip sir.” The one with a bandage around his head said.
“Vent sir.” said the one that had tried to give his CT number.

She turned expectantly to the third one. His gaze dropped.

“I haven’t picked one yet sir.” he mumbled.

Behind her Fives and Jesse shifted.

“Well, trooper, you survived the shadow world, and you survived an ordeal that none of you should have had to go through.” Ahsoka said. “In Togruti, the word for survive, is yhe’na.”

She saw his eyes widen.

Ahsoka stood up.

“I am sorry for what you all have had to go through, if there is anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to come find me.”

She pushed back the flap of the tent and entered.

Inside the smell of bacta, blood, rubbing alcohol and a wealth of drugs was thick in the air. She could see the 104th medics already working with patients as nudging the exhausted 501st medics aside to get some rest. If only they knew how stubborn her medics were.

Jesse made his way over to where Kix was working as Ahsoka approached the nearest cot. The trooper on it was arguing with the medic while attempting to get up.

“You are not cleared to leave yet and only just woke up from surgery. Sit. Down.” The medic ordered.
“I feel fine-” When he tried to stand he grunted and gripped his side.
“Easy Denal.” Ahsoka said, kneeling beside him.
“Commander!” His eyes widened.
“Easy, you know you should really listen to the medic.” Ahsoka said as she placed a hand on his arm.
“Respectfully sir, the sooner I’m out of here, the sooner someone else can take my cot.” Denal said with a wince.
“Yeah, but you still need it, you di’kut.” The medic snapped. “Besides, I just gave you more painkillers, you’ll be too unsteady to get far.”
“I can handle it from here.” She told the medic.

He glanced between her and Denal before nodding and standing to move to the next patient.

“When did you arrive commander?” Denal asked.
“Please, just Ahsoka.” She told him. “And I arrived not too long ago with the 104th.”

She carefully pushed him back onto the bed when she saw him begin to sway.

“Now I think you should listen to the medic and rest.”

He waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m fine.” He mumbled, she could tell the meds were beginning to kick in.
“Sleep Denal.” She pushed the suggestion gently to him.

He settled back into the cot and was soon sound asleep.

“If you're not careful, Kix is gonna try to hire you to the med bay with that trick.” Fives mumbled as she stood.
“He would until he remembers how much he dislikes other people in his med bay.” Ahsoka replied.

She went around to the different troopers, either sitting with them or sending them to sleep. If she found one that hadn’t been visited by the medics yet, she used her limited knowledge of Force healing to get the healing process started.

It was exhausting but she owed it to her men to do this small thing for them. She hadn’t been there when they needed her, the least she could do now was try to sooth them.

After the 12th or 13th Force healing session she was finding it hard to stand. Fives had to help her up and keep an arm around her until her legs stopped shaking.

“You’re overdoing it.” He chastised her.
“I’m fine.” She replied. “They need help.”
“Yes, and you aren’t going to be much help to them if you pass out from Force exhausted or whatever you call it.”

She huffed.

“They need you to be strong for them right now. They all are shook up, but you being here helping them and is making it better. Please, for all our sake, don’t overdo it.” Fives watched as Ahsoka contemplated what he had said before nodding slowly.
“Ok, but I still want to see them.”
“Fine, but I even think you are doing the healing thing, I’m removing you.”
“If I even think you’re doing the healing thing, I’m removing you.” She deepend her voice and took on his accent to parrot his words back to him. “You’re such a maha.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, making her grin up at him.

While they would often use Mando’a terms to confuse her, she had begun to use Togruti terms to confuse them back.

“What does that mean?”
“It means worrier.” She said as she walked over to the next cot.

True to her word, she didn’t try to heal anymore of them with the Force, instead she implemented the field medical skills Kix had taught her to wrap wounds and apply bacta. Fives helped her with bandaging as well as keeping her patient calm and lightened the mood with jokes.

More men were being brought into the med tent the longer she was there. Fives quietly explained that they had sent men out to find the injured that they had been forced to leave behind. Ahsoka immediately moved to help the new arrivals, murmuring assurances and putting them to sleep.

Finally after hours of work, Fives sat down on the floor and declared that he was going to fall asleep standing up if he didn’t sit.

Ahsoka could sense the weariness around him. It surrounded most of the 501st medics that hadn’t been forcibly removed to sleep yet. They had all been pushed to the brink these last 2 weeks, and Ahsoka couldn’t help but feel even more guilty.

She settled down on the floor next to the ARC. He removed his upper armor to get more comfortable as he leaned against one of the support posts. Ahsoka leaned against him and sighed as she slowly relaxed.

Most of the whimpers in the tent had died down, most of the people still in here were asleep. Ahsoka let senses stretch out in the Force and calmed the few that were still awake or experiencing nightmares.

Fives wrapped an arm around her middle as he finally got comfortable.

“You better not be doing any Force osik.” He grumbled.
“How could you tell?” She whispered.
“You close your eyes and scrunch your eyebrows slightly when you're focusing.” He told her.

She huffed out a quiet laugh.

“Don’t make me get one of the medics to sedate you.” He quietly threatened.
“Fine, but let me try to knock Rex out.”

He glanced down at her.

“You can do that from here?”
“I can try. It’s easier to find him in the Force because I’m close to him. Hopefully I can at least calm him down.”

Ahsoka reached out in the Force, brushing against Fives signature, then Jesse’s, then Wolffe’s until she finally found Rex. She was pretty sure he was on the edge of the airbase, hopefully not planning on going out into the jungle. She pressed feelings of calm against his mental barriers.

After a while, they finally began to seep in. She felt him begin to make his way back to the main hangar of the airbase.

“Ok, hopefully someone will see him and force him to rest.” She mumbled.

When she didn’t get a response, she glanced up to see that Fives was asleep. She smiled softly before tucking herself closer to her vod.

For the first time in a week, she didn’t dream.

Chapter Text

Fives didn’t know what it was, but something had felt right about killing Pong Krell.

It was like an itch that he hadn’t known that he had, had finally been scratched. Which was wrong on so many different levels. It had been drilled into them on Kamino that they were to protect their Jedi Generals with everything they had. It shouldn’t have felt right to kill him, even if he had betrayed them.

On top of that, the nightmares came back. There was the run of the mill nightmares about the campaign, of course getting chased through a jungle by a 7 and a half foot tall Basilisk with lightsabers and the intent to kill you, was sure to leave a lasting mark. But those nightmares weren’t the bad ones. Those Fives could rationalize that Krell was dead. Hells, he had checked the dar’jetii’s body and confirmed he was dead.

No, it was the old nightmares in new forms that were the bad ones. The new setting was the dark jungles of Umbara. The distant sounds of artillery and shouts.

The new character was Ahsoka.

The white marks on her montrals and lekku seemed to glow faintly in the strange light from the bioluminescent plants. She was leading their squad forward against the Umbaran forces, deflecting blaster bolts and using the Force to see where the Umbarans were.

Fives raised his blasters to take out some of the ground troops in front of them and provide cover for his commander as she charged forward. Soon enough the Umbaran ground forces were in smoking heaps. Ahsoka turned back to smile at him. Only then did he realize that his blasters were still raised, not leveled on the smoking heaps, but aimed at her.

“All clear over here.” She called out to him and their squad.

Fives struggled with his own body to lower his blasters. But it was a losing battle. He tried to warn Ahsoka, tried to yell at her to run and get away from him, but he couldn’t.

Ahsoka turned away from him to search for the next wave of attacks, completely unaware that the danger wasn’t in front of her, but right behind her.

Fives raged against his own body as his fingers squeezed on the triggers.

Two shots tore through the air. The first hit Ahsoka’s right shoulder, the next hit her left arm, rendering her lightsabers useless.

She whirled around with a cry of pain to see the next two shots fired. She stared at Fives in shock as they hit her in the chest. Fives lowered his DC-17s as she crashed to her knees. He watched impassively as she slumped to the ground, her bright blue eyes growing dull.

The same feeling of rightness settled over Fives, even as he felt horror wash over him.

Fives woke with a shout.

Someone grabbed his flailing arms and was saying his name, trying to calm him down. He looked to see familiar white facial markings and worried blue eyes.

He gasped and jerked backwards.

“Wow Fives, it's ok, you're ok.” She told him.

He scrambled backwards to get away from her. He forgot that he was on a bunk and tumbled off of it with a grunt.

“Fives-” Ahsoka moved to follow him but stopped when he scrambled back again.

He was dangerous. He had just killed her and he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He didn’t trust himself right now.

Fives struggled to breathe as the visions of Ahsoka’s blank dead gaze flashed through his mind. He gripped his hair and shook his head, trying to remove the images from his brain.

“Fives.” a new voice cut in.

This one was deeper and much closer to his own.

“Easy, Fives, just focus on me. Breathe. You are ok. You’re on the Resolute and you’re in the barracks. You’re safe.” Rex's voice cut through his panic.

Fives suddenly realized that Rex was using the same voice he used to calm down shinies. That realization made Fives groan.

“ ‘m not a shiny Rex.” Fives mumbled after he sucked in a deep breath.
“Sure you're not.” Rex mumbled as he reached out to gently pull Fives’ hands away from his head.

Fives blinked up to find Rex kneeling in front of him. He glanced behind him to see Ahsoka sitting on the floor a little ways away watching them worriedly. He let out a sigh of relief to see her upright and not slumped on the ground. Not with two smoking blaster shots through her chest, the life fading from her eyes-

Fives shook his head to stop the train of thought.

“I’m fine. It was just a dream.” He mumbled.

Rex’s jaw clenched as he looked Fives over. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but chose not to.

Instead he nodded and stood to return to his own bunk. Now that Fives looked around, he saw that a few veterans around them were watching from their own bunks. He sighed, feeling badly that his nightmare had woken others up.

He mumbled an apology as he stood up. He still found it hard to meet his vod’ika’s eyes, afraid of what he would see.

He suddenly felt himself calm considerably. He felt… protected. Safe. He jerked his gaze to Ahsoka’s.

She was standing a little ways away from him, hesitant to approach him after his earlier reaction.

“I’m ok.” He mumbled to her, hoping it sounded convincing.

She raised an eyebrow marking at him, clearly not convinced.

He settled back down onto his own bunk. She seemed to sense that he wanted space and moved to settle back onto her own designated bunk in the barracks.

Just then her head jerked up in a direction off to their left. A moment later he heard a faint sob. Ahsoka stood but paused, she glanced at Fives once more before taking off in the direction of the distressed trooper.

Ever since Umbara, Ahsoka had been spending a lot more time in the barracks. One of the shinies had confessed that they slept better with her in there with them after what happened. She helped with their nightmares and helped when sleep was evasive.

This was both a blessing and a curse to Fives. He did sleep better knowing Ahsoka was right across from him, it eased the constant worry he’d had ever since losing Echo. However, when these particular nightmares flare up, he would usually try to distance himself from his vod’ika until they died down again. But with her constantly close to him and the others, it was almost impossible to do that. Especially with her worrying about all of them. He knew that she blamed herself for what had happened on Umbara, that she hadn’t spoken up sooner.

Fives settled back on his bed and scrubbed his hands across his face. When he glanced at the chrono in the barracks, he was annoyed to see that it was still rather early in the sleep cycle. Too early to get up and do anything.

He groaned and rolled over, trying to make himself fall back asleep. But, he knew that he had a long night ahead of him.
-
Rex watched Fives from his own bunk.

This wasn’t the first time the ARC had woken up from a nightmare in such a panicked manner. Hells, most of the shinies were waking up like that right now. The veterans were as well, but Rex guessed that their dreams weren’t just from Umbara.

It hadn’t escaped Rex’s notice how Fives had reacted to Ahsoka. Or how the ARC seemed to be keeping his distance from their commander. This wasn’t new behavior. It was a pattern that Rex had picked up on way back before the kid had become an ARC. He’d noticed it in Echo as well. Particularly vicious nightmares would rack them for a few nights, they would try to find ways to avoid Ahsoka, then everything would go back to normal.

The thing was, Rex noticed this behavior with a lot of the older veterans. It was just more prominent with the ARC twins because they were very close with Ahsoka.

Rex wasn’t exempt from this behavior either. He didn’t know what the others dreamed about, but he did know what he dreamed about. Explosions. Blaster fire. The whir of a lightsaber. His Jedi dead at his feet.

He didn’t know what the nightmares meant. He didn’t ask his batchmates about the dreams. He didn’t know how they would respond to him dreaming about killing his jedi general and commander.

Rex listened to the sound of low mumbling coming from the direction that Ahsoka had disappeared to. He felt a little guilty about being glad Ahsoka was staying in the barracks with them. It was nice to have someone else there to help comfort vod from nightmares. It was also nice to have someone there to help him with his own nightmares.

Rex’s attention was drawn back to the ARC shifting in his bunk.

He hoped the kid would be able to get some sleep. He had saved quite a few lives on Umbara by disobeying Krell’s orders, had almost gotten himself killed for standing up for his vod.

He had made them all realize that maybe there was more to being a good soldier than following orders.
-
It was only 4 days after returning from Umbara that Fives was getting deployed for another ARC mission. He had barely slept more than 4 hours a night ever since leaving Umbara.

He had thought about going to Kix for a sedative, but after seeing how many troopers were still in the med bay, he decided against it.

Fives rubbed his brows tiredly as he made his way through the Jedi temple. He was set to leave with the other ARCs the next morning at 0400. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to another sleepless night right before a mission, but he figured 4 hours was better than no hours.

He turned another corner and didn’t notice the figure approaching from the other direction.

Ahsoka watched as Fives approached her from the opposite direction. He had dark circles under his eyes and his winged pauldrons were slumped in exhaustion. He hadn’t even noticed her yet, which spoke louder than anything. Ever since he returned from ARC training he had been more observant of pretty much everything. Hardly anything escaped the ARC’s attention.

“Su’cuy vod.” She called out in Mando’a.

Fives jerked his head up and finally noticed her.

“Su’cuy vod’ika.” He said.

When it was clear that he wasn’t going to stop to talk to her, she fell into step beside him. She noticed the barely masked grimace, and a brush against his mental walls told her that he was anxious.

“ARC mission?” She asked.
“Yeah, they're sending us to a Seppie world this time.” He told her.
“How long?” She asked.
“I dunno. 2 weeks probably.” He said around a yawn.
“When do you leave?”
“0400.”

She glanced up at him to see him keeping his gaze forward. He had been distant most of the way back from Umbara. She hadn’t pressed him about it because he did this occasionally. It worried her more this time though. Umbara had left its mark on all her men, some were still wary around the Jedi. The thought that Fives might be distancing himself from her because of what Krell did, that Krell shook her closest brother’s faith in her cut deeper than any blaster bolt she had taken.

She wanted to talk to Fives, especially before he left for 2 weeks on a dangerous ARC mission. She didn’t know if she could stand ruminating on how he felt towards her for that long.

She nudged him in the arm.

“Walk with me?” She asked as she nodded towards a different hall than the one he was heading towards.

He hesitated.

“I won’t keep you long.” She assured him.

He nodded and turned down the other hall with her. They walked in silence, broken occasionally by Ahsoka greeting another Jedi as they walked. A few gave Fives a curious look, not used to seeing a clone trooper in this area of the temple.

“So, how are you?” Ahsoka asked, figuring it was a safe way to start it.

Fives snorted at the question.

“I’m serious.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.” He told her.
“Osik.” Ahsoka said. “It’s not wise to lie to a jedi.”
“Kriffing jetii.” He mumbled.

She gripped her leggings tightly at his words.

“Fives, if something is wrong, I want to help if I can.” She said as she looked up at him.

The ARC pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t think you can help with this Ahsoka.” He finally said.

They fell silent again. She wasn’t giving up that easily though.

She led them to an archway. Fives’ eyes grew wide as they stepped inside. The smell of greenery and damp soil washed over them as Ahsoka led him further into the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

Fives looked around the gardens in wonder before Ahsoka sat them down on one of the many benches scattered around the room.

Ahsoka could feel the ARC relaxing next to her as he took in the calm of the garden.

“Many jedi come here to meditate and escape the noise of Coruscant.” Ahsoka explained.

Fives unclipped his helmet and set it on the ground next to his feet. Ahsoka let him have a few more moments of peace before speaking again.

“So now are you going to tell me what’s been bothering you?”

Fives tensed beside her slightly.

“Look Fives, I’ve been trying to help you all after Umbara, but it seems like I have hardly seen you. I just… Krell… I would never do anything like that ever to you or your brothers-”

Fives turned to stare at her wide eyed.

“What?”

She blinked up at him.

“You’ve been distant since Umbara. I-I just… I thought you were keeping your distance because of what Krell did.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I didn’t want to have you go off on a mission without talking to you and not knowing for certain.”

Fives continued to gape at Ahsoka.

She thought that he’d been keeping his distance because he was wary of her being a jedi? She thought him keeping away had been her fault?

The sad shine in her blue eyes confirmed it.

“I- no that’s not why-” Fives dropped his head into his hand and groaned.

Ahsoka watched him. He was unknowingly projecting right now, his emotions roiled around his signature in waves.

“ ‘Soka I know you would never do what Krell did. I know you would never betray us or hurt us.” He told her, turning his head in his hands to look at her.

He opened his mouth to say more before stopping. He didn’t know what to tell her. Sure he could just tell her that he’d been dreaming about shooting her in the back for the last week. He could tell her that the reason he’d been keeping his distance was because his dreams spooked him enough to make him uneasy around her.

He sighed and turned to once again bury his face in his hands.

Ahsoka watched as he struggled to form the words to explain his turmoil.

“It’s nightmares.” He finally said.
“From Umbara?” She asked tentatively.
“Yes and no. I just-” He shoved off of the bench and began to pace.

Ahsoka realized this was one of the few times that she had seen him lost for words. If it was nightmares, that was something she could possibly help with.

“If your dreams are about Krell-”
“They aren’t about Krell.” Fives interrupted. “Not the bad ones.”

These cryptic answers were so unlike Fives that Ahsoka was really becoming worried. She didn’t want him going on an ARC mission if he was this distraught.

“Fives…”
“The nightmares are about you.” He said.

Ahsoka cocked her head at him. The fear that had been present earlier returned.

“I dream about you. I dream about you on Umbara and instead of us hunting Krell through the forest, we’re hunting you. I dream about shooting you when your back is turned and there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop myself.” His hands had returned to gripping his hair as he rambled. “I-I try to fight it but it’s like I have no control over what I’m doing.”

He suddenly felt someone gently grip his wrists, halting his movement. He jumped when his hands were pulled away from his face and he realized Ahsoka was standing right in front of him.

Fives hadn’t meant to say all of that. He hadn’t really known what he had been trying to say, but the confession had just come out. It felt like some weight had been lifted off his chest after he’d said it. That was until he remembered that the person he had just confessed to was in fact the person the dreams were about.

He expected her to be staring up at him in fear, distrust, disgust. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes and instead looked at the ground. What would his little sister think of him now?

His little sister who had thought that he was distancing himself because he was didn’t trust her. His little sister who was still gripping his wrists even though her hands couldn’t quite reach all the way around.

“Fives.” He still didn’t raise his gaze, he was too ashamed.

He felt a hand reach out and rest on his cheek. He reluctantly let her lift his face to meet her gaze. Instead of distrust, he saw warmth and forgiveness.

“You thought I would be wary of you because of your dreams?” She asked gently.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve had these kinds of dreams.” He mumbled, dropping his eyes again.

She pursed her lips as she watched her brother.

“Fives, they are dreams. Just like how you said that you think I would never hurt you, I believe that you would never hurt me. I trust you.” Gold eyes met blue. “I trust you.”
“But what if I don’t trust myself?” He asked quietly.
“Then I would tell you that you are one of the smartest people I know and your instincts are on par with a jedi’s. If you can’t trust yourself, there is no hope for the rest of us.” Fives huffed out a laugh at that. “I would also tell you again and again that I trust you ori’vod.”

Fives felt the familiar warmth from being called ori’vod by Ahsoka. That she trusted him enough to consider him aliit.

Ahsoka stood on her toes as wrapped her arms around Fives’ neck. He wrapped his arms around her as well before burying his face into her neck. The tension from the last few days receded a little bit and exhaustion took its place. He sagged against Ahsoka.

“Ok, I can practically smell the exhaustion on you.” She informed him.

He snorted as she released him.

“Think you can make it back to the barracks?” She asked him.
“Probably.” His statement was followed by a yawn.

She raised an eyebrow marking at him.

She sat down on the ground and motioned him down as well. He sat down before he was practically forced to lay down by Ahsoka. He found his head in her lap and she began to run her hands through his hair.

The first time Fives had let her touch his hair, she had discovered that it was like a weak point of the clones. She found that if she messed with their hair gently for a long enough time, they were sure to fall asleep.

Fives sighed as he felt himself relaxing.

“Is it bad that I’m in this garden?” He asked suddenly.
“Oh please, no one cares who’s in here as long as they are respectful of the plants and those around them. Besides, I highly doubt anybody’s going to see you. Now quite worrying, you shouldn't go into an ARC mission half asleep.” He rumbled out a laugh.

Soon enough he was asleep. Ahsoka let herself fall into a light meditation as she monitored his Force signature. As soon as any sign of darkness or fear colored his signature, she banished them.

The few wanderers in the garden had to do a double take when they saw the padawan sitting with a clone trooper asleep in her lap.

Chapter Text

The scars from Umbara healed slowly, and even then many of the clones troopers' faith in the Republic had been shaken. Instead of fighting for the republic, they began to realize they were fighting for their brothers and their aliit.

Ahsoka didn’t understand the war. She thought she had once upon a time, back when she was fresh off the transport ship on Christophsis. She thought she knew that the Separatists were bad because they were all evil in some way or another. But that was before she met the Bonteris and saw that the Separatists were a lot like the Republic in some ways.

Every day it seemed like someone she knew, a close friend or just an acquaintance, died on the front lines. Other Jedi padawans from her creche fell alongside troopers and the dark side seemed to be growing.

Being held on Kadavo had been some of her lowest moments. Not only was she wracked with worry about the Togrutans being held and tortures, she was worried sick about Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Rex.

This was supposed to be an easier mission. To give the 501st and the 212th time to recover after Umbara and to help a peaceful group of people. Now it had all turned on its head. She had felt nothing but pain from Obi-Wan in the Force before he had shut himself off. She knew Anakin was fighting to find a way out of this mess, all she had to do was sit tight and wait.

The only problem is the longer she hung in that cage the worse it became. The slaver had told her that she had been promised to him. She knew what she had been presented as to the queen, the clothing that showed more of her skin than covered it, the gold accenting her montrals and lekku. She knew what a pleasure slave looked like.

She had felt the shock and rage from Rex when he had seen her before his mental barriers crashed down. She was glad for once that Fives wasn’t there. She knew that he would have probably been decommissioned for the words he would have thrown at all the commanding officers. She had been very unhappy and uncomfortable putting the outfit on, but she had assured herself that she was doing this to help free the innocent Togruta that had been taken.

But as she had hung over the city, with the threats coming from the slaver getting even more graphic, she had truly felt at her lowest. She didn’t dare meditate because of the pain and darkness that permeated the city.

She hardly got any sleep the week she hung over the city. The skin around her neck had long since been burned over and over again from the electric collar. The metal beads around her neck from the outfit had also burned into her skin. A few times the slaver had tried to get to her while she was sleeping, she had woken up one night to him looming in front of her.

She knew that what she had experienced was nowhere near as bad as what Rex and Obi-Wan went through. But she found herself questioning who had authorized this siths damned mission as she looked over the bruised and burned whip marks across her grandmaster and her captain’s back.

She knew others were silently asking the same question.

Ahsoka had only sensed a flicker of darkness in her master a few times, but this was one of them. She knew that Anakin was truly and deeply angry. He had told her once about where he and his mother came from, she barely glimpsed the depth of rage he felt about the mission for a moment before he too, blocked himself off.

When Fives finally did return from his mission, Ahsoka was sitting in the med bay gripping a large blanket around herself and holding her back lekku away from her neck so that Kix could clean and treat the burns around her neck and shoulders.

“What the hells happened?” Fives demanded.

Ahsoka flinched at his loud voice and sharp emotions.

He noticed this and immediately stopped walking. Coric stepped in front of Fives and led him out of the med bay to give him the sitrep of the mission. Even though Coric had moved them out of the med bay, Ahsoka still felt the swirling rage from her brother.

After a few minutes Coric came back into the med bay and Fives was absent. Ahsoka guessed he went to the training rooms to blow off some steam. He found Ahsoka a while later after he had gotten his emotions more under control. At first she had refused to talk about what had happened but he wore her down.

When she was done talking he had made to pull her into a hug but had quickly thought better of it, instead offering his hand out to her which she gratefully took.

While he desperately wanted to turn the ship around and go back to Kadavo to kill the people that had hurt his little sister, he knew it wouldn’t erase what had happened. Right now he needed to be there for his aliit.

A lot seemed to be shrouded in darkness. The flickers of darkness were present in her master for a while as well. She finally went to him and talked to him about it, doing her best to sooth the raw edges left by the mission.

It was then that she learned that he blamed himself for what had befallen her, Rex, and Obi-Wan. He had pulled her into a tight hug and apologized through shuddering breaths.

Ahsoka had quickly told him that what had happened hadn’t been his fault and that he hadn’t had control over what had happened. She stayed in his quarters until he finally fell asleep and the next day he seemed lighter, both physically and in the Force.

Ahsoka was learning to not focus on the dark so much and instead focus on the brighter moments around her.

She fondly remembered the moment that Jesse returned from ARC training, decked in his new ARC gear and with a new swagger to his step. Ahsoka had nearly taken him out when she crashed into him for a hug. He had been swamped by Torrent asking questions and asking to spar with him to try out his new skills.

Ahsoka knew that Fives was happy too. Sure, Jesse wasn’t Echo, and would never replace him, but Fives once again had part of his aliit with him on hard ARC missions.
-
Months passed.

Things had been going more or less smooth on Cato Neimoidia before Yoda called them back to the temple.

“Who could successfully bomb the Jedi temple?” Ahsoka asked incredulously.

The Jedi Temple had some of the best security and it was full of Jedi who could have foreseen the attack.

Ahsoka never thought that she would be suspected of bombing the temple. Or killing Leta. But here Admiral kriffing Tarkin was accusing her of killing Leta and insinuating that she was behind the bombing. He even had the audacity to touch her.

The darkness that she had noticed while investigating the bombing seemed to thicken around her, threatening to choke her. Someone was setting her up. She just didn’t know how or why.
-
Rex listened to Skywalker in disbelief.

“They arrested her?” He asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes, and they won’t let me in to see her or talk to her.” His general sounded pissed, but he knew that Fox had always been a hardass.

Rex didn’t even think the wrath of General Anakin Skywalker would make Fox bend.

“I’m on my way to the barracks now. Something isn’t right about this.” Skywalker signed off, leaving Rex to try to process what he had dumped on him.

There was no way that Ahsoka would have killed Leta. Yes, she had made her feelings about the woman clear to him after the woman had been detained, but just because Ahsoka hadn’t liked her didn’t mean she would go strangle her in a prison with cameras and recorders.

Rex slowly made his way back out to the rec room. Most of the men were back at the barracks because of the rain so the room was pretty full and lively.

Kix waved him over to a group of veterans and a few younger troopers. The medic seemed to immediately pick up on his strange behavior.

“What is it vod?” He asked.

Rex didn’t exactly know how to tell him that their commander had been arrested for murder.

“Ahsoka was arrested.”

Ok that probably wasn’t the right way to say that.

Everyone at the table turned to look at him in shock.

“What?” Tup asked, wide eyed.

Rex winced slightly.

“Skywalker just commed. Apparently Leta called her in to talk to her. While Ahsoka was talking to her she began to be strangled with the Force. Because Ahsoka was the only one in there, and she is a jedi, she was arrested for murder.”

Silence followed.

“AHSOKA WAS ARRESTED FOR MURDER?!” Ridge shouted.

That caught everyone in the room’s attention.

Everyone began clamoring for answers just as Rex’s com pinged, letting him know that Anakin was there.

He quickly ducked out of the room, hoping that Kix would relay what Rex had said.

Halfway to the prison Anakin got an alert that the prison was going into lockdown because a prisoner escaped. Both Anakin and Rex felt dread.

Once inside Rex took off to find Fox with Skywalker right behind him. Rex spotted his older brother down the hall and sprinted for him.

He arrived just in time to hear him give an order.

“Suspect has killed three clones. Code red. If you see the target, shoot to kill.” Rex stumbled.
“Belay that order, Commander Fox.” Anakin ordered as they slid to a stop in front of Fox.
“She’s killed 3 troopers.” Fox snapped, as if the 3 bodies in front of them weren’t enough.

Rex looked over the bodies, sure enough they had tell tale lightsaber marks. He’d seen enough of them on Umbara. He felt a sick feeling in his gut.

“I know Commander Tano. She would never do something like this.”

No, his little sister wouldn’t have cut down clone troopers, even if she was guilty.

“Then who did?” Fox growled.

Something was off about Fox. Rex had known him most of his life and there was currently something off about his body language. He was too stiff, his voice was oddly monotone as well.

He tore his eyes from his brother when he heard Ahsoka’s voice respond to Skywalker.
She believed someone was setting her up?

Well, that made more sense to Rex than her doing what she had been accused of. He glanced back down at the bodies before him.

“Rex, call security. Tell them we need to search the entire base now!” Rex sighed.

Ahsoka had always been notoriously hard to find on the venator when she didn’t want to be found. He found a traitorous part of himself hoping her skills would help her now, even as another part of him warred with wanting to find her and make sure that she was safe.

As soon as Ahsoka made it into the sewers Rex knew she was as good as gone.

He guessed the only way Skywalker had been able to track her was by the Force.

Rex turned down a tunnel to find his general and his commander. Ahsoka was perched on the edge of the ledge, behind her one of the many drop down points to reach the lower levels of Coruscant.

Then she jumped.

Rex felt his heart stop as he skidded to a halt next to his general who had also lunged forward. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw her land on a descending ship as Fox slid in beside them.

She looked back up at them, nodding to her master before tilting her head slightly to fix her gaze on Rex.

He watched as she closed her fist and pumped it against her chest before raising it to him.

Oya.

Good hunting.
-
Fives stretched his arms over his head, making his armor creak and something in his back pop. He sighed happily and threw an arm around Jesse.

“I don’t know about you but I am ready for a long nap and a night out at 79’s.”
“You and me both.” The older clone agreed. “And what gives with the rain. I thought we were down with this osik when we left Kamino.”

Light flashed outside followed by a loud clap of thunder.

“Dunno. Almost makes me nostalgic.” Fives sighed with fake wistfulness.

Jesse snorted as they ducked into the barracks.

The first thing they noticed was the strangely heavier presence of the Coruscant Guard. They checked both of their identification and actually patted them down, inspecting their small bags that carried their extra blacks and other mission essentials.

“Wonder what crawled up their shebs and died.” Jesse mumbled once they were let through.

Fives shrugged as well.

“Something is always up with the Guard.” Fives replied.

They made their way to the rec room to see who was up still. They were surprised to find most of Torrent and a few other 501st companies still up. No one was laughing and many were pacing.

“Um, ok this is a little weird.” Jesse mumbled.

Fives nodded before finding Rex’s blonde hair sitting next to Kix’s signature lightning bolts. Around the table there were many people huddled as they listened to what Rex was saying.

The two ARCs made their way over.

Kix stood to greet Jesse and Rex looked up at them. Something unreadable crossed his features.

“What’s happening captain?” Fives asked.

Rex opened his mouth but one of the shinies beat him.

“Commander Tano was arrested but escaped!”

Fives and Jesse stared at the shiny with matching looks of disbelief and horror.

“Haar’chak.” Rex mumbled before standing to lead the two ARCs out of the room.
“Ok, a lot has happened-”
“AHSOKA WAS ARRESTED!?”

Kix winced when Fives’ voice managed to make it through the thick durasteel walls and decided he should probably help his captain on this.

The medic stepped out to find Fives pacing furiously back and forth as Rex explained what had happened.

“They think she killed the woman that actually bombed the temple?” Jesse asked.
“Yeah, Ahsoka made it pretty known that she didn’t like the woman which didn’t turn out well for her.” Rex mumbled.
“So let me get this straight,” Fives said slowly. “This woman, Leta, bombed the Jedi hangar. Then the Jedi council called Ahsoka and Anakin back to Coruscant to investigate it. They found Leta and the Coruscant Guard arrested her. She then called Ahsoka back in to talk when she apparently was choked using the Force and then Ahsoka was accused and arrested. Then she somehow managed to escape and it looks like she killed 5 clones on her way out. You guys saw her make it down to the lower levels and now Skywalker is talking to the Council?”

Rex nodded when Fives was done.

“Did NOBODY point out that Ahsoka would NEVER kill a clone trooper?” Fives snarled.
“Yes, I did tell Fox but Fives, the evidence against her doesn’t look good.” Rex snapped back.
“Fox put a shoot to kill order on her too?” Jesse asked shakily.
“Yeah, Skywalker had to keep ordering them to use stun.” Rex ran a hand over his short hair. “I’ve never seen Fox act like this. Hells, he’s met Ahsoka before and they got along fine.”
“And she said she thinks she’s being set up?” Kix clarified.
“That’s what she believes. It makes a lot more kriffing sense than her killing Leta. Thankfully I think Skywalker believes her too.” Rex explained.

Fives took off towards the barracks.

The others scrambled to follow him as he began to strip pieces of his armor off. He threw them onto his bunk haphazardly before reaching into the drawer under his bunk and pulled out a long sleeve shirt.

“What the kriff are you doing?” Kix asked.
“I am going to go out there and find Ahsoka.” Fives said as if it was obvious.
“Fives, half the Guard is looking for her.” Rex explained.
“That just means I have to find her first.” Fives growled.
“What are you going to do exactly if you do find her?” Rex asked, planting himself firmly in the ARC’s path.

Fives glared at his captain.

“Well for one, I would ask her what the kriff is going on.” He growled. “Then I would try to help her.”
“And if she actually did do it?” Everyone snapped around to glare at Kix.

The medic held up his hands.

“I’m just asking. Nothing in this case seems to be making sense.” Kix pointed out.
“Then she probably had a good reason for Leta.” Fives ran a hand through his hair. “I know that she would never kill a trooper. That part doesn’t make any sense.”

The doors opened and a few troopers walked in to bunk down.

Fives secured his belt and slid his blasters into the hidden holsters. He took a step to move past Rex when a heavy knock came to the barracks door. The four of them glanced at each other apprehensively.

Rex moved and opened the door. Standing before him was one of the Coruscant Guard Commanders, Thire if Fives remembered correctly, and he was flanked by two more guards.

“Commander Thire.” Rex said in greeting.
“Captain Rex, the 501st battalion is being ordered to lock down in the barracks. No one is allowed to leave the barracks unless they have special permission.”

Rex narrowed his eyes as the 3 troopers behind him made various noises of discontempt.

“You can’t do that.” Fives snapped.

Thire’s helmet tilted to the ARC.

“Actually we can.”
“When will the lock down be lifted?” Rex asked.
“When Commander Tano has been located and detained.” Rex watched the 3 troopers in front of him.

He had met Thire a few times, he had always been more laid back than Fox was, more lenient when dealing with the drunk troopers at 79’s. Now, the commander’s shoulders were stiff and his voice had that same monotone quality that Fox’s had.

“I’ll tell my men.” Rex said.

The commander nodded tensely before turning and leaving.

“They are locking us down?!” Fives raged behind him.
“Well, probably to stop troopers from going out and doing exactly what you were planning to do.” Kix pointed out, making the ARC huff.

Rex’s com pinged.

“Yes General.” He answered.
“Rex, I am coming by the barracks to pick you up. We, and Master Plo Koon, are going to be leading the search parties down in the lower levels for Ahsoka.”
“Yes sir, but the 501st has been locked down in the barracks.”
“I know. I got special permission for you. I’ll be there in about 5 minutes.”

Rex sighed and tapped his com off.

He could feel Fives glaring at him without even looking up.

“Fives, I am going to find her to make sure she is ok. If it’s true that someone is after her, she is in danger and the only way for us to help her is to have her in our custody.”
“Or it will make targeting her even easier.” Fives snapped.
“Not if she has someone with her at all times. Besides, the Jedi wouldn’t let anything happen to one of their own.”

Fives huffed but slowly nodded.

Kix placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder.

“Bring her home vod.”

Rex nodded and turned away to leave.

“Captain,” Rex turned to see Fives standing before him.

The younger trooper chewed his lip as emotions warred in his eyes.

“Get her to safety.” The ARC finally said. “Gedet’ye.”

It wasn’t lost on Rex the way he worded that. He was going to let Rex decide what he thought safety meant for their little sister.
-
It had been a close call on the train. Ahsoka guessed that the guard was already on their way to her location. She just needed to keep moving, and find clues as to who the kriff is setting her up.

Thankfully most of the people in the lower levels kept their heads down, they didn’t look too closely at another hooded figure moving amongst them.

Ahsoka strengthened her walls to keep out the darker thoughts of those around her. Their intentions battered her already exhausted defenses.

That’s when she realized something.

When she had been running from the guard, she hadn’t sensed any intentions from them. In fact, she hadn’t gotten anything off of them really. It was like they were blank. She had never met a clone that was blank. She felt a shiver race up her spine.

Ahsoka shook her head. She couldn’t focus on that right now. Right now she needed to move. She also needed to keep an eye on the person that had been trailing her for a few minutes now.
-
Wolffe watched the surrounding building blur around them as they sped past them. Plo’s com pinged.

“The lower level police claimed to have spotted Commander Tano on level 13.12.” Wolffe glanced at his general.
“Did you hear that trooper?” Plo asked their pilot.
“Yes sir.”

Wolffe tightened his grip on the overhead ring as they dropped into the nearest lane to get them below the surface. Around him the Coruscant guards barely shifted. He looked at each of them, noting that none of them had their blasters switched to stun. He had already heard both Skywalker and Plo Koon order them to do so multiple times.

Wolffe narrowed his eyes at the guards.

Shoot to kill.

Wolffe was going to have a talk with his vod about that.

“Calm Wolffe. We will find her.” Plo said as he placed a hand on his commander’s shoulder.
Wolffe nodded.

After a long night of many missed calls and a pounding headache where that dema’golka dar’jetii Ventress threw him into a pipe, Wolffe was exhausted.

If he wasn’t currently pissed off at his vod’ika, he’d be proud of her implementing the various sparring techniques he’d taught her. He didn’t understand why she was working with Ventress. Hells, he didn’t know why Ahsoka was running. Rex had told him that Ahsoka believed that she was being set up. If that was the case, he could grudgingly understand running, and seeking help.

He just wished it wasn’t Ventress.

“Suspicious activity on levels 13.15.”

Kriffing finally.

Wolffe led the Coruscant guards around the back of the warehouse. They came around to the lower level before he heard a loud crash and a heavy thud.

He motioned to the guards as they silently made their way inside.

Then Wolffe spotted Ahsoka. She looked worse for wear with multiple bruises and cuts littering across her head and arms.

Beside him the guards raised their blasters. Their blasters that were not set to stun.

Something flashed in Wolffe’s mind. A half forgotten memory. A nightmare very similar to this. His blasters raised at Ahsoka and Plo Koon. Smoke curling from their skin where his blaster bolts had hit.

“No, Wolffe let me explain!”

That broke him out of his stupor. The guard next to aim took aim.

Never had Wolffe thought he would shoot his vod’ika. But he knew that if he didn’t, the guards around him would and she would not get back up from that.

Ahsoka dropped to the ground unconscious.

Wolffe knelt down next to her and carefully scooped her up before any guards could. He clipped her lightsaber to his belt and turned to find Skywalker, Koon, and Rex charging in.

Anakin approached and let out a sigh of relief when he saw his padawan’s chest rise and fall. One of the guards approached the crates around them.

“Explosives.” They all snapped their attention over to him. “These are the same type of nanodroids that were used to blow up the Jedi Temple.”

Anakin looked shocked and Wolffe saw his general shift in surprise.

“I can’t believe it.” Anakin said quietly.

This didn’t look good for Ahsoka and Wolffe knew it. He carried her back to the ship and carefully set her down. One of the guards came up to put binders on her, ignoring the glare Rex was shooting him.

Wolffe untensed a little when all the guards piled into the other speeder, leaving them alone with the generals and the little togruta. He didn’t like how the guard was acting and he could tell Rex didn’t like it either.

Wolffe slid his helmet off and tucked it under one arm while his other gripped Ahsoka’s shoulder, holding her upright. Rex mirrored him.

He sighed as he looked down at the little togruta. Things were looking worse and worse for her. He just hoped that the Jedi would protect one of their own.
-
The 501st was huddled around the small radio they had smuggled into the rec room. Fives had been sitting right in front as Ahsoka’s trial was broadcasted, but had soon stood up to begin pacing.

They had hardly heard anything from their general about what was happening after Ahsoka had been captured. General Koon had told Rex that Ahsoka would be on trial in front of the Jedi council and they would decide her fate.

While that scared the kriff out of Fives, he knew that many on the council had a soft spot for Ahsoka. Surely her punishment wouldn’t be too severe, especially if she could convince them that she was set up by another Jedi.

So he had been absolutely shocked when he heard that the Jedi had thrown her out.

Every trooper had been. That shock had quickly turned to rage. The Jedi had decided to leave her fate up to the Court instead. Her own people had decided to kick her to the curb. They had tried to go visit her while she was held by the Coruscant guard but there had been a strict no visitor policy. The only ones allowed in had been Anakin and Padmé because he was still in a way her legal guardian and Padmé was representing her.

Fives had only met Padmé once, but she had treated him and his brothers with more respect than most natborns did. That and they all knew that Anakin and Padmé were a thing.

He hated this. He hated feeling useless to protect his vod’ika. He had always thought that the things he would have to protect his aliit from were droids and Seperatist, and the occasional sleemo. Things he could physically attack or at least unload is blaster into. But this, this was not something he could fight. Tarkin had claimed that he was gunning for a death sentence for Ahsoka, Tarkin that Ahsoka had helped rescue from that siths damned Citadel.

Force he wished Echo was here. To help calm him down, or help reassure him that it was going to be ok, or to rant and rage with him.

Actually, if Echo was here, Ahsoka might not even be in this situation. He would have found some loophole in some kriffing reg manual.

“I’m sure many of you look at this former Jedi and think, ‘surely she can’t be this murderer and sabatore that they speak of. And yet, think of all the times we have been fooled by the Separatists and how they have infiltrated the republic, and ask yourself, is this another Seperatist scheme?” Many of the troopers present growled and a few actually threw an insult at the Chancellors words.

Fives looked around the rec room. Commander Cody was seated next to Rex and most of the Ghost Company from the 212th was scattered through the sea of blue. The 212th had heard what was happening from General Kenobi so when they finally arrived planetside, no one had to explain it to them. Many of them had grown close to Ahsoka from the many joint missions they had done and all the times Anakin had left Ahsoka in his old master’s care.

Fives was pretty sure that the 104th had their own radio that they were listening to inside their own barracks.

“The members of the court have reached a decision.” Fives shoved back to the front of the group.

Everyone seemed to lean closer to the radio, waiting to hear what would become of their commander.

“Ahsoka Tano,” The Chancellor's voice seemed to echo in the silent room. “By an overwhelming count of-” Fives heart stopped before his own General’s voice interrupted.
“Chancellor.”
“I hope you have a reason for bursting into our proceedings, Master Skywalker.” The Chancellor’s voice grated on Fives’ ears.
“I’m here with evidence and a confession for all the crimes Ahsoka has been accused of.” Everyone held their breath and waited for the name of the hut’uun that had set up their commander. “Barriss Offee, member of the Jedi Order. And traitor.”

Fives blinked.

He knew that name. He had heard Ahsoka talk about Barriss for years. He knew they were pretty good friends, he’d heard them video calling on long trips, seen the holopics Ahsoka had of them. Hells he remembered how damn proud Ahsoka was when she heard that Barriss passed her trials to become a Jedi Knight.

“Barriss,” Ahsoka’s broken voice cut through his thoughts. “Is that true?”
“Tell them the truth.” Skywalker growled.
“I did it. Because I realized what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this war! That we have so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict. That we are the ones that should be put on trial. All of us! And my attack on the temple was an attack on what the jedi have become. An army fighting for the darkside. Fallen from the light that we once held so dear.” Flashes of Krell’s own speech and his attack on the clones flickered in Fives’ memory. “This Republic is failing! It’s only a matter of time.”

Silence filled the room.

“Take her away.” The Chancellor finally ordered.

The pit that had settled in Fives’ stomach since he arrived in Coruscant finally lifted. He heard cheers go up as the Chancellor declared Ahsoka free of charges. Fives sank down into a newly vacated seat, the stress and fear that had been keeping him going finally gone. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and he looked up to see Rex nod to him with a small smile.

Tup hauled him up and led him to the bunk rooms so that he would finally sleep, assuring him that he would come get him if they heard any news. Fives guessed that the Jedi would offer her a place with them once again, now that it had been proven that she was innocent. He fell asleep with that thought light in his head.
-
Ahsoka sat on the steps outside the barracks. The sun was setting behind her and the city moved undisturbed in front of her.

Her code hadn’t worked when she had tried to enter the barracks. Already erased from the system after she had renounced her military titles when the council had barred her from the Jedi Order.

She was here to say goodbye, because she had left the order.

It still hadn’t fully sunk in for her. She had noticed the empty place at her waist where her lightsabers had been hanging for years, but it hadn’t sunk in that she had just walked away from the only thing she had ever known. She had walked away from her family in the order, and she was hoping to say goodbye to her family in the barracks behind her.

She was a little grateful that her code hadn’t worked. She was happy for the extra time to figure out what exactly she was going to say to them.

“Ahsoka?”

She sighed and turned to see Cody walking towards her.

“Cody.” She said with a small nod.

The marshall commander hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to her. He let out a sigh as he looked out over Coruscant.

“Did Obi-Wan tell you?” Ahsoka asked.
“He commed and said that you would probably be coming this way but that’s all he said.” Cody explained. “Though I think he thought you would actually enter the barracks. Of course, this is a pretty nice view.”

Ahsoka snorted.

They fell into silence again.

“I came to say goodbye.” She finally said.

As it turned out, all the time she had spent sitting out front had not given her enough time to figure out a better way to break the news.

Cody turned to look at her, eyebrows raised just slightly to convey his surprise.

“I didn’t rejoin the Order. I just… they didn't trust me. I don’t…”
“You don’t have to explain vod’ika.” He said.

She nodded gratefully.

They descended into silence once again. Ahsoka rested her chin on her knees. She knew she was just delaying the inevitable now, she knew she needed to stand up and get this over with. So she did.

Cody stood up after her and led her to the barracks. She followed him in, taking a deep breath of the familiar air. Cody paused before turning towards where the 212th bunked.

“Ahsoka,” She turned to look up at him. “I hope that you find luck on your new path.”

Ahsoka felt an unexpected prickly at the back of her eyes.

“Thank you Cody.” She said, before she stepped forward and pulled him into a hug.

When he stepped away, he nodded to her, offering her a small smile before turning towards his bunk area.

Ahsoka sighed before turning towards the 501st’s area.

She knew it was going to be hard, but nothing could have prepared her for the gut punch when she saw Rex walking in the hall in front of her. He was talking to Vaughn and showing him something on a datapad, so neither noticed her at first.

When they finally did look up, they both did a double take.

Rex said “Ahsoka?” the same time Vaughn said “Commander?”

She offered them a small smile.

Both rushed towards her and immediately began bombarding her with questions. After a moment Rex noticed that she didn’t match their enthusiasm.

“Everyone is going to be happy that you're back.” Vaughn told her.
“For a little bit at least.” She said with a sad smile.

This made both men fall still.

“What do you mean?” Rex asked.

She let out a shuddering breath and dropped her gaze to the floor.

“I didn’t rejoin the Jedi Order Rex. I’m… I’m leaving.” She almost whispered the last part.

She felt the shock radiate from the troopers.

“I-I’m sorry.”

She suddenly felt arms wrap around her. Vaughn placed a hand on her shoulder before nodding to Rex and turning to the bunks to give them some space.

“I-I’m sorry Rex.” She whispered. “I couldn’t go back. They didn’t trust me and-” Her sentence was interrupted by a hitched breath.

Rex tightened his grip on her and leaned to rest his chin at the dip between her montrals.

“You don’t need to apologize. If you think that was the right decision…” Well, he’d been around Jedi long enough to know that when a Jedi has a gut feeling, they should follow it.
“I came to say goodbye.”

Those words cut deeper than any piece of shrapnel he’d received in battle. Ahsoka has been a part of his aliit for years now. He had followed her battle after battle, campaign after campaign, and now she was leaving.

He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat before slowly releasing her.

When he pulled back, he discovered a damp spot on his shoulder. He looked down to see a tear slip down her face. He carefully swiped it away before tilting her chin up to meet his eyes.

“You don’t need to apologize vod’ika. Not for this. We all understand. This is your choice, I respect that.”

She nodded slightly before wiping at another tear.

Ahsoka suddenly felt a tidal wave of emotions from down the hall. Before she saw who it was, she knew who they belonged to. Fives’ presence was currently bearing down on her before he even stepped foot into the hall.

Rex looked over his shoulder as Fives stepped out of the bunk room with Tup, Jesse, Ridge, and a number of other troopers behind him. He searched both ways down the hall before he spotted Rex and Ahsoka.

The swirling emotions around him were giving Ahsoka enough of a headache that she shut off her connection to him. He took off towards them quickly with a few following after him.

Rex glanced down at her. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out shakily.

Fives came to a stop in front of them. He opened and closed his mouth a few times.

“You’re leaving?” He finally asked in a hushed tone.

Ahsoka glanced at the people filling the hallway behind them. She knew that talking to Fives was going to be the hardest, and he was going to demand the most explanation. She glanced behind her and spotted a storage closet a little ways back. Ahsoka grabbed Fives and pushed him into the closet before closing it behind her.

She slowly leaned her head against the door and took another deep breath.

“Ahsoka.” Fives’ strangled voice behind her made her fist clench.
“Yes Fives, I’m leaving.”

A moment passed. Then two.

“Why?” He asked it quietly, but Ahsoka could sense the emotions packed behind it.

Fear. Anger. Pain.

Ahsoka finally turned to face her brother. He had the bottom half of his armor on, including his kamas and belt but only had his blacks on his upper body. His hair was slightly disheveled and he had a small scrape on his cheek, probably from his last ARC mission.

“Why are you leaving?” He repeated, louder.
“Because… because I can’t stay with the Order. How can I trust myself, when they didn’t trust me. If I rejoined, I would just be constantly second guessing myself and as soon as I do that I would be putting not just myself in danger, I would be putting other people in danger.” Her voice had picked up volume as she spoke. “They tried to tell me that this was my great trial and that the Force works in mysterious ways but…”
“But you’re leaving us.” Fives said. “You’re leaving everything you’ve ever known. Ahsoka we need you. I -” Fives’ voice broke.

He took a deep breath and dropped his gaze to the floor.

“I need you. I-I can’t lose you too.”

In such close proximity, even though she had blocked herself from his emotions, his grief pressed in on her. She stepped forward in the small space before hesitantly wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him.

“You aren’t losing me Fives. Just because I won’t physically be with you doesn’t mean I’ll be gone. But Fives, I need you to let me go and so I can figure this out on my own.”

Fives took in a shuddering breath.

He knew that she needed to do this. Kriff her family had just thrown her out and then tried to play it off as Force osik. Her faith in what she believed in had just been shaken by the betrayal of her best friend. He knew that she needed to do this, even though he so desperately wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go.

Fives felt a tear slip from his eyes and tracked down his cheek. He sank back against the wall before he wrapped his arms around his vod’ika and leaned his cheek against her montral.

“I know.” He finally mumbled and she sagged a little against him in relief.

They stayed in the storage room for a while, neither wanting to let go of the other. Both were aware of the people moving around outside the door but chose to ignore it. Fives wanted this moment to last for as long as it could. His aliit safe in this building with him, his little sister wrapped in his arms.

Ahsoka finally knew it was time for her to go. Ever so gently she eased herself out of Fives’ fierce grip. Fives looked at her as she scrubbed her face.

“Where will you go?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” Ahsoka mumbled. “I’ll try to find a job and a new place to live first.”

Fives nodded slowly.

“Cin vhetin.” He said quietly.

Ahsoka cocked her head at him.

“It means ‘clean slate’, or ‘a fresh start’.” He explained.

She smiled slightly at that.

“I like that.”

Fives pushed himself off of the wall as Ahsoka turned and took a deep steadying breath before opening the door.

Most of her men had been informed of why she was there. Somber faces met her as she walked. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t keep the tears off her face. She went to each individual trooper and said her goodbyes, leaving the veterans for last.

She was surprised when the veterans held out a pack full of rations bars, credits, and holopics from over the years. She broke down as she said goodbye to the men she had known and fought beside the longest.

All too soon, she found herself before Rex and Fives again. They both pulled her into bone crushing hugs that rivaled the one Jesse had given her earlier.

“Stay safe out there vod’ika.” Rex mumbled to her.
“The same goes for all of you as well.” She answered him, getting a soft chuckle out of him.

He leaned down to lean his forehead against hers.

She turned once more to Fives.

“Ret'urcye mhi vod’ika.” He told her in mando’a before switching to his halting Togruti. “Yehsa a’na.”
She smiled up at him. “Ret'urcye mhi ori’vod.” She pulled him down for a Keldabe. “The stars haven’t broken yet.”

She turned to the rest of the assembled battalion.

“Ni kar’tayli gar’jatnese be te jatnese.” She tapped her fist to her chest before raising it to them. "It has been an honor."

They all mimicked her.

They followed her as she walked out of the barracks. When she passed the hallway that led to the 104th’s bunking area. She found the hallway filled with gray painted armor. Wolffe stood at the front holding his bucket under his arm.

He met her gaze.

She felt the quiet feeling of grief and sadness in his Force signature. She realized he was apologizing to her. She knew how stubborn Wolffe was, and how significant this was.

She nodded to him.

“Gheme.” She told him and she saw his shoulder’s sag just the slightest bit.
“K’oyacyi vod’ika.” He said.
“I will vod.”

She continued forward and felt the Wolf Pack merge with the sea of blue following her. Gold from the 212th bled into the mix as well as she neared the exit. The sun had set by now but the city was still glimmering in the distance.

She took in a deep steadying breath before turning back to the men behind her. Cody dipped his head to her before saluting her.

The men behind him followed his lead.

Ahsoka felt her throat close at the gesture. She raised her hand in one last wave before turning and walking away.

Chapter Text

It had been very hard after Ahsoka left. Not only were the troopers greatly distressed, so was their general. Rex was alerted that they were on standby for another week to give the troopers and their CO’s time to adjust to the sudden change.

When they had finally made their way back into the barracks, Fives was surprised to find something on his bunk. On his pillow, Ahsoka’s akul tooth headdress rested.

He blinked as he attempted to figure out if she had been wearing it when she had waved goodbye. No, she had been wearing a leather head guard, given to her by the pilots, that she usually used when working on ships in the hangar beside her master.

He stared at the glinting teeth and beads before slowly reaching out and running his fingers over it. He knew the story behind the headdress, she had told him and Echo a long time ago. He knew that it was a right of passage in her clan for warriors to slay an akul, and that they got to keep the teeth. General Shaak Ti had one.

Now Ahsoka’s lay on his bunk.

He took it reverently as he sat down holding it in front of him to inspect it. His eyes dropped to where the top part of his kit was sitting beside his bunk. Echo’s vambrace sat on top, freshly cleaned and with a new lining of paint.

Fives felt a hole open in his chest.

He gripped the headdress to his chest and fell sideways on his bunk before curling up into as small of a ball as he could around it.

Only then did he let the full weight of what had happened crash into him. He attempted to choke down his sobs but soon decided that he didn’t care enough if someone saw him. His sister, one of the few members of his aliit left, was gone. He didn’t know if he would ever see her again. That was something he had faced every time he left for a mission and she left for a campaign, but at least he knew when he would possibly see her again.

Now, he had no idea.

All he knew was that she was alone.

He gripped the headdress tighter.

He felt alone too.
-
It took a few weeks for the 501st to adjust. Rex was asked to step into the role of commander but he refused, which surprised many, but it didn’t surprise those closest to him. That role had belonged to Ahsoka and had never belonged to anybody else. He was too stubborn to accept the promotion now, and he was still pissed at how the council handled Ahsoka’s trial.

Anakin and Rex worked to split the jobs Ahsoka had held when she was commander, but neither could fill the gap left by her absence. Everywhere Anakin looked, he saw where Ahsoka wasn’t. She wasn’t at his side on the bridge of the Tribunal, she wasn’t sitting next to Fives and Jesse in the mess, she wasn’t practicing her lightsaber forms in the sparring rooms.

The troopers noticed her absence acutely. No one had ever really realized how much time she spent with them until she was gone. It was like she had joined the many vod fallen in the war. Rex was able to get Jesse and Fives assigned to the 501st for a while so the 2 ARCs didn’t have to worry about a new mission on top of trying to navigate the new 501st.

At their first campaign after Ahsoka left, there was a very noticeable absence of 2 green lightsabers providing cover and directing troopers.

The next hard campaign made them realize how hard it was to sleep. Everyone knew that if you were struggling with sleep or grief after a campaign, the little commander was always there to help, either talking or listening. Kix and Coric realized how much more sedative they had to use without a gentle presence to calm troopers.

Fives found that he couldn’t sleep anymore. The nightmares were too much. Nightmares of the Citadel, Umbara, Ahsoka’s trial, ARC missions, all of them chased him from his bunk at night. Finally after Kix noticed the bags growing under his eyes and how he practically fell asleep on his ration bar at breakfast, he offered a sedative to Fives which the ARC gratefully took.

Eventually a new batch of shinies arrived, ones that had never known Commander Tano. Sure they had heard stories, but they hadn’t known her, not like how the rest of the 501st had. They traded stories and rumors in private, fearing the sad looks from the veterans whenever they brought up her name. They learned what was acceptable to ask about the old commander of the 501st and what wasn’t. They learned to avoid the sparring mats when the ARC with the 5 on his temple had woken up the night prior shouting from a nightmare.

Anakin Skywalker seemed to draw in on himself a little bit. He still learned the names of the new troopers, still claimed he was the best pilot, and still came up with hairbrained plans. But he didn’t spend as much time around the troopers as he used to. He didn’t offer as many smiles and he hardly sparred with them at all anymore.

They all dutifully ignored when he slipped up and said that Snips would lead the other squadron and Rex did his best not to look at the box containing his vod’ika’s lightsabers.
-
It was cold. Not the cold that made you pull your jacket closer to yourself, the kind that had long since sunken into your bones and had locked your muscles.

She felt something begin to throb near the back of her head before it spread to the rest of her skull. She was perceiving mountains full of information, numbers, names, maps, blueprints, but she couldn’t see anything, it was dark.

She attempted to raise a hand to grip her head but she could barely move her limbs. Faintly she could feel things attached to her, cold metal and rubber tubes.

Finally she managed to raise her hand in front of her only to bump into freezing metal. She then struggled to reach back behind her and found her hand bumping into another wall.

Why couldn’t she see?

Her arm moved to the side and met another wall.

A low sound of fear scraped up her throat as she realized how small of a space she was in. Claustrophobia sent a spike of adrenaline through her, making her hand jerk out and clang into the metal wall again.

Where was she?

Had she been captured?

What was attached to her?

What was she doing?

Where was her aliit-

Her muscles locked as the flow of information into her brain increased. She groaned as the headache robbed her control of her body.

The panic was still there only now she couldn’t move. Her breathing became more erratic as she struggled to stop the information flooding her brain. It was all too much. There was too much.

She didn’t know where her thoughts started and where the information, the calculations, began.

She couldn’t think. She couldn’t move. She didn’t know who she was.

Ahsoka woke up with a scream. Her sheets tangled around her legs, making her struggling form thrash harder, causing her to fall out of her bed and slam into the durasteel floor below her.

Finally she managed to rip the cloth from her legs and she scrambled backwards until her back hit a wall. Ahsoka gripped her head as chills raced through her.

She struggled to remember the breathing exercises Master Plo had taught her when she was younger. Finally after what felt like forever, she found herself slowly calming.

She reached out timidly to find open air in front of her, not another metal wall. No, she was in her tiny room. One that was meant for a species smaller than the average humanoid, but was much cheaper than an average sized room.

She finally managed to identify the elements of her room, and familiarized herself. She wasn’t trapped, she wasn’t freezing, she wasn’t lost.

The flickering lights of Coruscant managed to peak around the edges of her blinds, giving her a small comfort.

Ahsoka ran a hand over her forehead and then her montrals as she took a shuddering breath.
Nightmares like this have been happening more frequently. She didn’t know what it meant. She guessed that without being constantly surrounded by others, her imagination and suppressed trauma from the last few years, was finally taking form in nightmares. Whenever she’d had a nightmare like this before, she would either seek out her master or clamber into one of the veteran trooper’s bunks.

But it had been 3 months since she could do that.

Ahsoka slowly picked herself off the floor. She highly doubted that she would be able to go to sleep after a nightmare like that, so she instead sat down at the small desk next to her bed which was littered with various parts. Even when she was off work her boss still found ways to fill her time.

She sighed, scrubbed a hand over her eyes, and began to work.

Only when sleep finally did claim her again, did she remember that a name had been on her mind in the moments after she sprung awake. A name that she was also sure that she had screamed when she wrenched herself out of the nightmare.

Echo.
-
He didn’t know when he realized that he might actually be alive.

It could have been the slowly growing throbbing in his head. It could have been the shock of attempting to twitch his hand and find nothing there. Or it could have been how kriffing hungry he was.

All those moments of random calm in his head, a break from the flow of information, Echo finally determined that he was, in fact, alive.

It was hard to remember that realization when a new wave of information surged through his brain. Numbers, battles, tracking patterns, all of it.

When the next calm in the storm came, Echo struggled to remember his earlier realization.
Oh right, he was alive. His next question was, where the hells was he?

If he wasn’t dead, which he was pretty sure he wasn’t, and he hadn’t marched ahead with his brothers, or joined the living Force like Ahsoka and the Jedi believed, he was being held somewhere.

He shuddered as a random set of chills raced up his spine. Something underhim knocked against something metal, making a metal on metal clang.

That definitely came from somewhere near his legs. His legs which he currently couldn’t feel.
Another surge of information washed over his senses.

He didn’t know how long it took before another calm came. He had to once again re-remember that he was alive.

Once Echo did this, he began to wonder again. Where was he, how had he gotten there? The last thing he remembered was a planet glowing with lava, a helmet with a blue Rishi eel painted on it, green lightsabers, a bright flash, and pain.

He doubted that he was being held by the republic, no, they would have just decommissioned him. If he wasn’t being held by the republic, he must be being held by the Separatists.

Another flood of information.

If he was being held by separatists, that must mean he had something they wanted. He didn’t know they could possibly want from him, he didn’t have any vital information, not like the Jedi or even the Marshal Commanders did. It didn’t make sense. Maybe he wasn't being held by the Separatists.

Maybe someone would come rescue him?

A memory of someone with a familiar face and a goatee pushed through the constant stream of information. They had a smaller being with short, striped montral hanging off his shoulders.
It took Echo a while to push past the stream of data to find the names of the beings.

Fives and Ahsoka.

If they were going to come rescue him, it would be helpful if he had something to give to the republic.

Echo focused on the data streaming in and out of his brain. Maybe he could find where it went out.

When the next flood of information hit him, he hung onto the end and felt himself slip into a much larger network of data. He realized that this must be what droids had to process whenever they plugged into a wall. It took him many attempts to finally figure out how to pull himself back into his own mind, especially when he was still being bombarded with information passing into his own brain.

After a while Echo realized what they wanted from him. Battle strategies. The same ones that he had come up with a while ago with Captain Rex.

If they were going to take from him, he sure as hells was going to take from them. He still didn’t know where he was. He still at times didn’t know who he was, but he knew that he was going to find a way to strike back against whoever was stealing from his mind.

He never had been good at keeping his nose out of places it didn’t belong after all.

Chapter Text

Fives didn’t know where to go.

He had managed to make his way to the lower levels of Coruscant, and that would buy him a little bit of time, but after that he didn’t know what to do.

The Coruscant guard was sure to be back on his trail soon. Hunting him.

Just like they had hunted Ahso- Fives shook his head, he couldn’t focus on that right now.

The drugs that Nala Se had given him were making his vision blurry and making it harder and harder to walk straight. He just hoped that he would be able to evade the guard before the drugs took full effect. This wasn’t the first time he had been drugged. He had been trained in the ARC program how to function if he was ever captured and drugged. He just needed to keep moving.

He didn’t know who he could call. He didn’t know who would believe him. If the inhibitor chips had been orchestrated by the Chancellor, pretty much anybody directly related to the Republic could be against him.

He had managed to trap Rex and General Skywalker in a junkyard. He had tried to warn them about the inhibitor chips, but his thoughts were so jumbled and before he could really convince them, the guard showed up and he had to run again.

As he slid around another corner, he almost crashed into someone. The Torgrutan swore at him in his native tongue. Fives picked up on a few of the words, understanding that he was currently being cussed out. Finally the male Togruta turned and continued on his walk.

Ahsoka!

He could call Ahsoka! She wasn’t part of the GAR anymore or the Jedi, she could help him. She would believe him even if no one else did.

He started moving again before stopping. He didn’t know where Ahsoka was. It had been months since she had left and for the millionth time he cursed not sticking a tracker in the pack the veterans had given her.

He knew that they had stocked the pack with credits, probably enough to pay for a transport off world. He didn’t even know if Ahsoka was still on Coruscant.

The pouch attached to his hip that currently held Ahsoka’s headdress and Echo’s vambrace seemed to suddenly become heavier. He groaned and leaned against the nearest wall, trying to stop the flood of emotions that seemed to be enhanced by the damn drugs.

His blurry vision made all the lights dance in front of him. Whatever Nala Se had given him was really screwing with him.

If he couldn’t trust anybody in the Republic, he needed to get away from the Republic.

The only issue was he had no idea how to do that. Loyalty to the Republic had been ingrained into his very genetics on Kamino.

Even now, running from the GAR itself, he balked at the idea of deserting.

But, he needed to get away if he wanted to figure this chip issue out. He needed to make sure that Tup’s death hadn’t been in vain.

He forced himself to keep moving.

He only had a few credits, barely enough to get him a transport off Coruscant. But he couldn’t leave until they had stopped hunting him.

“The best way to make a fangcat stop hunting you is to play dead.”

Fives’ head whipped to the side. There was nothing there but a garbage bin. But he was so certain he had just heard Ahsoka’s voice.

“How the hel- heck would that stop it?” Jesse asked.

Fives whirled to the left. Still there was nothing there.

Fives ducked into the alley way and clutched his head as he slid to the ground.

“Fangcats like fresh prey, they won’t eat anything that’s already dead.” Ahsoka explained.

Fives remembered this conversation. They had been on a campaign on Matsyr, the planet was known for the large predatory fangcats that stalked the surface. The animals were known to kill clone troopers and droids alike. Their commander had been telling them the best way to survive a fangcat attack if they ever ran into one.

“But you would be dead if they killed you, so what’s the difference between already being dead and just killed?” Echo asked next to him.

Ahsoka shrugged.

“Doesn’t taste as good, or it has a bad smell. There is also a certain satisfaction in completing a hunt.” At that she cocked her head and bared her fangs in a grin at the troopers around her.

Fives jerked his head up as he heard the pounding of feet on the sidewalk.

Right. He was on Coruscant, in the middle of being chased down. He shook his violently, these drugs were going to get him killed if he didn’t focus.

He tucked himself more securely behind the dumpster, trying his best to ignore the horrid smell coming from it. The sound of feet grew louder before fading into the distance. He sighed and only untensed a little

So this is what it's like to be hunted.

“Play dead.” Ahsoka’s voice rang through his head again.

He’d heard the stories of deserters that faked their own deaths before going into hiding.

Fives rubbed a hand over his shaved head, where the chip had been. Faking his death was probably his best option. Probably his only option.

Now he just had to figure out the best way to do it.
-
Below him, the warehouse burned.

A few of Fives’ buddies in the Coruscant guard had told him that this particular warehouse was home to a few gang operations. Inside they would find a burnt husk of a body wearing melted plastoid armor. The face would be unrecognizable. Except for the faint scar of a 5 on his temple. The only way to identify the body.

The only thing keeping Fives on his feet as he had made his way to the warehouse was the ARC training that had been drilled into him.

Scout the warehouse.

Pick his target. A human male about his height.

Lead the guard to the warehouse.

Start the fire fight between the guard and the gang members present.

Take out his target.

Carve the 5 into the man’s temple.

Strap the blank plastoid armor onto the man's body.

Fire at one of the explosives in the corner.

Run.

Fives watched as emergency craft arrived to contain the flames. Another, more familiar craft arrived at the scene.

Even from his vantage point, Fives could make out the rigid stance of his captain. Beside him, the tall form of the General watched the flames.

He hated that he had to leave his brothers behind. Rex had been listening to him in the junkyard. Maybe they could have figured it out together. But Fives knew that Rex had to stay. He had to stay to protect his brothers still in the war.

Fives just hoped he could solve this mystery before the war ended, so he could save his brothers.
-
Rex stared at the smoldering remains of the warehouse.

Fives never had been subtle. It seemed fitting that his vod’ika would go down in blazing glory. But he was supposed to fall in battle, where Rex could have helped him. Not some backwater gang warehouse.

Skywalker must have felt his fury and pain, because he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

None of it made sense.

It didn’t make sense why Fives would try to kill the Chancellor, or why he sounded so lost and afraid as he’d tried to explain the chips to them.

The chips, that it turned out, were there to keep the clones from being too violent. Rex had snorted at that. They were made for war. If they wanted to do anything they should have upped it.

A recovery team began to make their way out of the wreckage. On the stretcher was a blackened body wearing melted plastoid armor.

They couldn’t identify it at the scene, Rex would have to wait for the confirmation until they had examined the body.

Fives’ body.

Fives was dead.

The kid he’d picked up on some desolate moon watch post. The trooper who had fought alongside his brothers valiantly. The ARC who had stood up for Rex and his brothers on Umbra. The brother that had always had Rex’s back, even when he was at his breaking point.

The whole flight back to the barracks Rex held himself rigid. Skywalker was offering his condolences, and he truly did sound sad, but Rex hardly heard them. He just nodded stiffly to his general and turned to the barracks. He nodded stiffly to any trooper he passed in the hallway. Even though none of them could see his face under his helmet, they all seemed to know to give him space.

Once he made it back to the CO’s room, he shut the door and stood silently for a few moments. On his desk in front of him sat a box containing Fives’ ARC armor, sent back to him when Fives was being transported from Kamino. He knew almost every scruff on that armor. He knew there was a small chip on the rear plastoid piece, he knew there was a burn mark from when Ahsoka had taught Fives how to wield her sabers. He stared at it. No one would ever fill that armor again.

Rex ripped his helmet off his head, a loud crash sounded as it hit the floor. He buried his head in his hands and finally, he let himself cry. Rex sank to his knees as he roared his fury.

How many of his brothers would he outlive before the war was over?

His aliit had already been cut down many sizes in the war, but this time felt different. Maybe because he hadn’t lost anybody too close since Ahsoka had left. Kriffing hells Ahsoka didn’t know. He had no way to tell her. He had no way to tell her that Fives was dead.

His wails turned to sobs and he buried his face into his hands.

Eventually Jesse came and found him. He and the others had heard the news. Jesse all but hauled him to the cafeteria where the veterans of the 501st had already assembled. They were toasting Fives, the alcohol in their cups probably acquired from the 104th. They regaled their most outlandish stories of Fives and they honored him.

Rex sat with Jesse, Kix, Ridge, and the other senior veterans, the ones that had known Fives the longest.

Jesse and Vaughn finally forced alcohol into Rex, arguing that Fives wouldn’t want him to be sober right now. Kix was already multiple drinks deep.

“Nu shi taab echaajla.” Kix finally mumbled.
“Nu shi taab echaajla.” The others repeated.

Not gone, merely marching far away.

Chapter Text

Echo began to realize that he didn’t dream while he was being held here. His thoughts were too filled with numbers and strategies to come up with anything creative, that meant that he instead found himself replaying memories.

He remembered early battle strategy and basic education courses on Kamino alongside the domino squad. He remembered the bounty hunter trainers who yelled and threatened, but taught them how to fight and how to stay alive. He remembered 99 who was always there to offer encouragement, and General Shaak Ti who would seek out the young cadets after particularly hard training days to comfort them.

He remembered the countless arguments and fist fights he got into with Heavy and Droidbait and he remembered the day that they finally completed their final test.

The memories of Domino seemed pale in comparison to the ones he had made after Kamino though, even though he had spent most of his life with his squad mates. But on Kamino, your squad was all you had for comfort, once he and Fives wound up in the 501st, Echo realized that he had found a new aliit.

He remembered painting his armor while other members of Torrent touched up theirs to keep the Domino Twins company.

He remembered the first time Ahsoka came and asked if he wanted to help her with her coursework and how excited he had been to learn something new.

He remembered when he and Fives started a food fight with Jesse and Hardcase on the Dominator and the week of cleaning they were assigned after it.

He remembered helping Kix carry injured troopers off the battlefield and holding injured men down as the medic worked on them in the middle of explosions.

He remembered the hard challenges of ARC training but the satisfaction every time they finished a day and knew that they had performed well. He remembered holding his new chestplate out to Rex to place his handprint again.

He remembered his aliit.

That was something that soon not even the floods of information could make him forget.
-
Rex sank to the floor next to Echo.

His vod’ika was still shivering even with the heating blanket around him, but he guessed that being locked in a stasis chamber for a few months would do that.

The members of the Bad Batch and Skywalker were in the cockpit while Rex and Echo were seated in their makeshift medical area.

Echo kept glancing around, as if he was looking for someone to appear. Rex knew who Echo was looking for. He knew both the people Echo were looking for.

He knew he was just pushing off the inevitable, but Rex himself still felt the pang of loneliness. He still missed Ahsoka and Fives as if they had both left yesterday.

Rex sighed finally.

“Echo, there are some things you should know, before we get back to the others.”

Echo tensed beside him. He didn’t like his ori’vod’s tone, but knew that whatever Rex was about to tell him was important.

“Ahsoka,” Rex decided to start with the easier of the two. “She isn’t serving with the 501st anymore.”

Echo whipped his head to look at Rex.

“What?” He asked. “Did she get transferred?”

A new idea came to him.

“Did she get knighted? If she’s working with her own battalion-”
“Ahsoka left the Jedi Order.”

Echo’s mouth fell open.

“Ahsoka left the Jedi Order?” Echo asked disbelievingly.
“Well, actually, she was thrown out of it first and then decided to not rejoin-”
“She was thrown out?!” Echo practically shouted.

Rex winced. That probably wasn’t the best way to say that. Not that there exactly was a good way to say it. As Rex and pretty much all of the 501st saw it, Ahsoka had been betrayed by the order. He was also pretty sure Anakin saw it that way as well.

Rex gave Echo the quick version of what had transpired. When he was done, Echo was shaking his head.

“How the kriff could they even consider that she would do something like that?” Echo rarely swore, but now felt like as good a time as any.

His vod’ika had been kicked out of the only thing she had ever known, been forced to leave her brothers in the GAR behind. She had been betrayed by her friend, and then by her family. And Echo hadn’t been there to help her.

Rex’s head lowered in defeat.

“We all miss her. So does Skywalker. We haven’t heard from her since she left, Force knows where she is now.”

Echo tugged the blanket tighter around him.

If Rex had started with Ahsoka…

“Fives?” His voice was more of a whisper than anything.

Rex’s shoulders sank.

“Fives, Fives died about 2 months ago.”

All the air left Echo in one big whoosh.

“He’s dead?” Echo asked, voice strangled.

Rex threw an arm around Echo and pulled him to his side. He felt the ARC trooper start to shake with sobs.

“He would have gone through hell and back if he knew you were alive.” Rex mumbled to him. “Both him and Ahsoka.”

Fives was dead.

His twin was dead.

The only other surviving member of the Domino Squad was gone, leaving Echo as the last Domino standing.

Finally Echo regained some of his composure.

“How?” He said it so quietly that he feared that Rex wouldn’t have heard him.

Rex sighed.

“It’s complicated. And it was marked as classified. I’m sorry.”

Echo nodded into Rex’s chest.

It wasn’t uncommon for ARC troopers to be on classified missions. This was probably no different.

“I’m sorry Echo. But, I figured you should know all this before we get back.”

Echo just nodded again.

He was finally going home. After a whole kriffing year in the Techno Union, his brain plugged into a computer and his body frozen in a stasis chamber, he was going home. But, his aliit was broken. His twin and his sister were gone. They wouldn’t be in the hangar waiting for him, they wouldn’t be in the barracks ready to distract him, they weren’t there anymore.

He didn’t know if the 501st would feel like home anymore.
-
Rex had known what Echo was going to choose before Echo voiced it out loud. He had seen how he worked with the Bad Batch. He could understand the desire to start new, especially after what he had gone through on Skako Minor.

As for the veterans in the 501st, they were shocked to find out that Echo was alive. Kix had gone ballistic when Rex had all but carried the exhausted ARC into the med bay, followed by Skywalker and the Bad Batch. Jesse soon arrived and Echo’s eyes had widened when he saw the winged pauldrons and kamas. Jesse sat at Echo’s bedside with Rex and they had filled Echo in on what had happened since the Citadel while Kix had run scans and examined Echo’s new limbs and cybernetics.

When word spread a steady stream of veterans that had known Echo prior to the Citadel visited, all staring at him for a moment in shock when they realized it actually was him. They were also shocked at the state he was in, pale, skin and bones, and missing 3 out of his 4 limbs.

Echo only had about 3 days of rest with Kix before he volunteered to help them on Anaxes.

Now Echo was preparing to leave with Clone Force 99. Rex was sad to see his vod’ika go, especially after he just got him back, but he knew that this was what Echo needed. So he and the other veterans snagged a spare datapad and downloaded all the pictures and videos they could to give Echo something to remember them by.

Jesse and Kix followed Rex as he approached the Bad Batch’s ship.

“Vod.” Rex called to him, waving him over.

Jesse held out the holopad.

“We figured that you’d want the videos of you dumping glitter into our blacks and of you smacking Fives around the mats.”
“There is also a list of meal plans and PT that you better follow or I will come for you.” Kix said sternly. “I also sent that over to Tech so that he’ll remind you.”

Echo couldn’t cover the grimace that crossed his face, earning him a sharp look from Kix and a laugh from Jesse.

“I will vod.” Echo sighed, accepting the holopad and tucking it under his right arm.

Jesse pulled Echo into a tight hug, still being careful of his cybernetics.

“You better stay alive this time vod.” Jesse mumbled into Echo’s neck. “Or else I will find you in whatever afterlife there is and kark you up.”

Echo squeezed the other ARC back in acknowledgement.

Next Kix hugged him.

“Ret'urcye mhi vod.” The medic whispered to him.
“Vor entye vod.” Echo mumbled back.

Kix gently knocked his head in a Keldabe before stepping away.

Echo finally turned to Rex. His captain was watching him with an expression Echo couldn’t quite place, which was saying something because Echo had always been the best at reading his captain, right next to Ahsoka. It looked like a cross between grief and happiness. Fear and acceptance.

“I’ll be ok Rex.” Echo assured him.

Rex shook his head with a chuckle.

“Yeah but I can still worry.”
“It’s what makes you a good ori’vod.” Echo teased.

Rex smiled before reaching for something hanging from his belt.

“Echo, after the shuttle exploded at the Citadel… when Ahsoka tried to pull you out, she managed to get your vambraces.” Echo fell still. “After that, she and Fives fixed them and they both wore them, to remember and honor you.”

Echo felt his throat close. His aliit hadn’t forgotten him, they had found a way to keep him close to them, even though his body had been light years away.

Rex held up a single gray piece of plastoid. Echo recognized the single blue stripe, even though countless others carried the same strip. He knew it as if it was a piece of his own kit.

Echo took Five’s vambrace with a shaking hand.

“He would want you to have it.”

Echo gripped the vambrace before lunging forward to wrap his arms around Rex’s neck, burying his tear filled eyes into his ori’vod’s pauldron.

Rex wrapped his arms around Echo. He was aware of the Bad Batch watching from their ship, but he didn’t care. They were about to get Echo indefinitely, they could spare him a few more moments with his vod’ika.

Finally when he felt Echo’s stop shaking, he slowly released him.

“Ni briikase par gar. Gar cin vhetin.” Rex told him.

Echo nodded to him before turning to join his new squad.

Before he boarded the Marauder, he looked back at what was left of his aliit. Echo raised his scomp attachment and saluted them.

They nodded to him and he turned to enter the ship.

Chapter Text

Fives was currently pinned to a table.

While it was never a wonderful experience to be pinned to any surface, this one smelled of stale alcohol, making it even less pleasant.

Though, the Rodian that was currently pinning him didn’t smell that good either.

He could have beaten this guy about 10 moves earlier, but there wasn’t much thrill in that. Besides, Fives liked to put on a little bit of a show.

Fives let his body relax slightly, hoping to trick his opponent into thinking he was giving up. The Rodian fell for it. Fives hooked one leg around the rodian’s while twisting his body to throw the Rodian off balance. The Rodian cursed as he lost his balance and Fives shoved backward off the table. They tumbled backwards and Fives landed an elbow to the Rodian’s side.

While this Rodian had definitely seen quite a few fights, he didn’t have the experience that Fives did. He also didn’t have the muscle to hold up Fives heavier form.

They tumbled to the floor. Fives landed another hit to daze the Rodian before he scrambled up and pinned the Rodian to the ground. The Rodian squirmed and cursed but he was stuck.

“Tap out. You lost.” Fives growled, his voice distorted by the helmet he was wearing.

The man under him swore in a few languages he didn’t know before tapping his fingers against Fives’ leg.

Fives let out a sigh and pushed off of the man.

He turned towards the people that had been watching the fight, mainly the Rodian’s friends. The ex-trooper held out his hand expectantly.

Another Rodian in the group watching sighed before unhooking a jingling bag at his waist and threw it to Fives. Now that the fight was over, other people that had been watching returned to their own areas. There weren’t many people currently in the bar, it was well into the sleep cycle of this space port. Fives moved to the far corner from everyone else to count the credits, he had been swindled once and he planned to never let that happen again.

Once he was sure all the credits he had been promised were there, he leaned back with a sigh. This was mainly how he had been getting most of his credits as of recently. Wait in a dingy bar for a group of tired drunks to come. Watch as they get a few drinks deep. ‘Accidentally’ bump into one and get into an argument. Bet credits on a fight. Win the fight.

This and the few odd jobs he found had nearly saved him up enough money to buy a single person flyer that had hyperspace capabilities. It helped that the person he was buying it from was less than reputable and didn’t ask for any identification.

Once he had a ship, he would be able to start working on the looming issue at hand. The inhibitor chips.

He had done what little research he could while in the outer rim. Hacking into computer ports and slicing data had gleaned him little information.

If he wanted the good stuff, he guessed that he needed to get to a Republic console or possibly even a Kaminoan console. Neither of which would be easy but he had been trained for stuff exactly like that. Many ARC missions were data retrieval missions. Surely retrieving data from the GAR couldn’t be that much harder than Separatists.

Fives sighed and reached for his now warming cup of alcohol. He could already feel the bruise forming on his bicep where his Z-6 Rotary blaster tattoo was. He had another bruise forming under the handprint tattoo next to his heart.

Fives suddenly felt the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He discreetly looked to the group that the Rodian had come from, but all of them were multiple drinks deep and seemed to have forgotten about him. With few people still left in the bar, Fives felt it was probably not the kind of attention he wanted directed at him.

He had already experienced many close calls with people recognizing him. Well, not recognizing him specifically, but recognizing his face. Clone deserters were highly sought after among bounty hunters, the GAR and Kaminoans offering lots of credits to anybody that brought one in. He himself had been declared dead, which meant that people weren’t actively searching him out, but he could never be too careful.

One of the first things he had done after smuggling himself off of Coruscant was to purchase a helmet. His first one was pretty shitty, but it covered his face, and gave him a sense of familiarity. He had been wearing a helmet for over half his short life, he might as well keep wearing one now.

It was a little strange. Back in the GAR the clones had made it a priority to find a way to distinguish themselves from their brothers and their DNA donor. Tattoos, haircuts, paint, anything to give themselves something to call their own. Now, he wanted to blend in with the other people around him. He didn’t particularly want to stand out. Standing out brought the wrong kind of attention. He was already pushing it with his fighting scheme.

Now he carefully surveyed the bar again.

It was times like these that he missed Jesse. The scout had always been better with taking information in even before he was trained as an ARC. On the far side of the bar was a hooded figure. They had a mask taking up the top part of their face. While the mask hid their gaze, their body was angled just slightly towards Fives.

The figure flagged down a waitress and paid before standing to leave. Warning bells went off in Fives’ head.

Fives waited until the figure was almost to the door before dropping a few credits on his table and standing to follow.

He couldn’t afford for anybody to be suspicious of him. Not with all his brother’s and possibly the Republic on the line.

When he stepped out of the bar, he glanced both ways. Catching the tail end of the figure disappearing around a corner. Fives took off after him. He glanced around the corner to see the figure making his way down the street.

Fives picked up his pace but kept his head down. The figure didn’t glance back at all. Apparently whoever this was wasn’t very good at watching his tail.

Fives followed them around another corner. They were definitely making their way towards the ship hangar part of the space port. That wasn’t good.

Fives glanced ahead and spotted an ally a little ways in front of the figure. He pushed forward until he was almost right on top of the figure before shoving them into the alleyway.

The figure stumbled before whirling to face Fives. The ex-ARC trooper was already in action.

He surged forward, catching the figure in the middle with his shoulder. The figure grunted before digging his heels in and swinging at Fives. Fives ducked the blow and nearly missed the figure's knee coming up to hit him. Fives jumped away before kicking forward. The figure ducked, aiming to sweep his feet out from under him. Fives twisted and landed in a crouch. The person lunged at Fives, nearly catching him by surprise. Whoever this was, they were fast. They were also a lot better at fighting than the drunks Fives had been challenging over the last few months.

They traded blows, neither really gaining the upper hand over the other. Fives suddenly dropped his head and slammed his helmeted head into the person’s midsection. It was a move that Ahsoka had used many times on the members of Torrent while sparring.

While Fives didn’t have horned montrals to dig into this guy’s gut (he guessed it was a guy by the few grunts the guy had given), he had a lot more weight behind the blow than his little commander had.

The person grunted before hooking an arm under Fives’ shoulder. Fives felt himself get thrown to the ground. He rolled as the person pounced on him. Fives’ aimed a blow for the person’s knee, forcing the person back slightly. Fives rolled to his feet again.

This was the first real fight he had had in months, it felt exhilarating to put his skills to the test like this. However, if he lost this fight, he was screwed. He surged forward again.

The figure suddenly used a move on him that he hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a move that Rex would use when sparring with Commander Cody. It was a Clone Trooper move. His attacker was a clone trooper.

That’s why they were keeping up with him.

Fives assessed his attacker with a new light. This was a brother, however, this brother was probably on his way to turn him back over to the GAR, as was protocol for deserters.

He gritted his teeth, if only this trooper knew that Fives was trying to help him by leaving. He charged forward again.

If this was a trooper, he could beat him. ARC training put him above ground troopers. Fives attacked with the ferocity taught to him by the Alpha ARC trainers. Fives expected the trooper to be overwhelmed by the blows. He was not expecting the trooper to not only counter his attack, but push Fives back.

Fives’ eyes widened when the trooper used a move that Fives had never seen before. Fives found himself on the ground and pinned. He bucked wildly, trying to dislodge the trooper but the trooper’s knee pressed down on his chest, right where the bruise from his earlier fight was sitting. Almost like he knew right where it was.

Fives’ chest heaved for breath as he glared up at the half masked face of the trooper on top of him.

“It’s not everyday an ARC trooper deserts.” The figure hissed.

Fives tensed.

“Who are you?” Fives snarled.

Instead of answering, the trooper reached out towards his helmet. Fives struggled wildly as the trooper’s fingers hooked in his helmet and slid it off.

Fives had been growing his hair back after getting his chip removed. It was longer now, and slicked down from sweat, but his tattoo on his temple was still very much on display, easily offering a way to identify him. Fives snarled up at the trooper, baring his teeth like Ahsoka did during fights.

He felt the trooper on top of him pause when he spotted his tattoo. His head tilted so Fives knew that the figure was looking him in the eyes.

“You’re ARC-5555 aren't you.” Fives didn’t answer, just continued to glare up at the trooper. “You know that you were declared dead kid?”

Fives bristled.

While he wasn’t a generation 1 clone, he was still one of the older clones still alive. Not many were left old enough to call him a kid.

“What are you gonna do with me? Turn me in?” Fives growled, challenging.

The trooper regarded him.

“Not yet. I have some questions.”

Fives narrowed his eyes at the trooper. It only now occurred to him that it was a little odd for a clone trooper to be in the outer rim by himself.

“Huh, a few months away has made you a little rusty hasn’t it.” The trooper smiled down at him, as if reading his thoughts. “I will say that you were doing pretty good till you started following me.”

Fives blinked up at the trooper.

“I thought I was laying it on a little thick back at the bar though, but you weren’t looking around beforehand. That and I didn’t know you were an ARC.” He smirked slightly. “Ah, ex-ARC.”

The knee in his chest pressed down harder, making Fives wheeze. Internally Fives groaned. He had fallen for this trooper's ruse. Maybe he was getting rusty.

“Now, deserter, as I said, I have some questions.” The trooper spat out the word ‘deserter’ like it tasted bad.
“I’d answer better without a knee in my chest.” Fives said.
“I’m sure you would.” The trooper didn’t remove his knee.

Fives growled slightly but settled down, accepting the discomfort. Maybe he could occupy this guy long enough for him to figure out an escape plan.

“Now, if I remember correctly, you were wanted for attempted murder of the Chancellor.”

Fives huffed.

“Am I wrong?” The trooper asked.
“Yeah, I was using self defense. He attacked me first.” Fives grumbled.

Fives could imagine the trooper’s eyebrow raising under his mask.

“The chancellor attacked you?” The troopers asked in disbelieving tone.
“I know it sounds insane, but it’s true. H-he said that he knew about the chips and that he wasn’t about to let anybody mess up his plans. The corrie guards in the room didn’t even react.” Fives ranted.

He suddenly felt like he was back in the bathroom at 79’s, trying desperately to explain what was going on to Kix.

“What chips?” the trooper asked.
“The Kaminoans call them inhibitor chips. They stuck them in all clone troopers when we were still in the tubes. They said they put them there to make us less violent than Prime was. But it’s more than that. I think they can be used to control us. Even turn us against the Jedi. My best friend, Tup, he killed General Tiplar. It was like he was in a trance, when he came to, he didn’t remember doing it. When we got to Kamino I had a droid run a brain scan on him and we found the chip. When we took his out, his chip was decaying. That’s what made him turn on the General. I took mine out and the Kaminoans flipped out. Declared that I was putting myself and others in danger. Nala Se drugged me before I talked to the chancellor. Then when I talked to the chancellor he claimed he knew about the chips and then he framed me, he made it look like I tried to kill him so that the corrie guard would hunt me down.”

Fives panted when he finished his tirade.

Only now did he realize that the trooper on top of him had removed the pressure of his knee on his chest so that he could talk better. The trooper stared down at him as he processed what Fives had told him.

“So you’re saying that you think the Chancellor knows about these chips the Kaminoans put in us that could possibly make clones turn against the Jedi?”

Fives nodded.

The pressure on top of him suddenly vanished as the trooper stood up. Fives rolled on his side with a groan.

“You probably think I’m crazy.” Fives mumbled.

The trooper watched him for a moment before sighing and pulling his mask off.

The clone underneath had graying hair on his temples. He had the lines that Commander Cody and Commander Bly had, marking him as an older generation clone. Right between his eyebrows sat a single black teardrop.

Fives’ eyes widened. He knew what that symbol meant.

“I’m Commander Blackout. I lead the Special Ops.”

Everyone knew about the Special Ops branch but they also hardly knew anything about them. Fives had worked alongside Special Ops for more than a few of his ARC missions. They were a force to be reckoned with.

Fives had heard stories about Commander Blackout but he’d never met the man. He had heard that he knew pretty much everyone’s secrets. Rumor had it that he had blackmail on all the natborn officers and many of the senators.

Hells, there were rumors that he had successfully snuck into the Jedi holocron halls.

Fives felt himself straighten on the ground in front of the commander. You can take the soldier out of the conditioning, but you can’t take the conditioning out of the soldier.

“Sir, what are you doing out here?” Fives asked after a moment.

Blackout laughed.

“I heard rumors of a possible clone deserter and it was my week off. Figured I might as well check it out.”

Fives blinked up at the Special Ops officer. Ok now he could see where some of the rumors came from.

“Sir, do you believe anything I just told you?” Fives asked quietly.

Blackout narrowed his eyes down at him before letting out a huff of air.

“Kid, it’s my job to be suspicious of everyone, anybody that could possibly cause harm to the Grand Army is someone I need to be aware of.” The special ops officer clasped his hands behind his back like how Commander Fox did.

He began to pace slowly.

“I have found more than a few things I can’t explain about the Chancellor. I don’t bring them up because he is a very powerful person. Too powerful probably. The fact that he might be involved with a plot regarding a deal made with Kaminoans only solidifies some of my other findings.

Fives remembered a time after Ahsoka and Anakin had gone to discuss something with the Chancellor. She had come by the barracks and after Fives had asked her what had her all tensed up she explained that something just did not sit right with her about the Chancellor, but her master didn’t seem to notice it.

The ex-ARC trooper watched the commander pace for a while.

“What happens now?” Fives finally asked.

Blackout glanced at him.

“Well, I am going to do more research on this to see if I can find anything.”

Fives pursed his lips.

“What are you going to do with me?”

Blackout huffed.

“Well I should take you to be detained.”

Fives narrowed his eyes.

“Just because that’s what you're supposed to do doesn’t mean that’s what you have to do. I have been trying to find more information about the damn chips ever since I left. Besides, if you turn me in they might make it even harder to find anything about the chips.”

Blackout watched him. Fives felt like he was being picked apart by the Commander’s gaze.

“I suppose you’re right.” Blackout said.

Blackout placed his mask back over his eyes and turned to leave the alley.

“Wait, you’re just letting me go?” Fives asked before he could stop himself.
“Well I doubt you're going anywhere. Considering you were starting a bar fight to get more credits, I highly doubt you have a ride off this space port. If I need you, I can find you.”

Fives swallowed thickly as the Special Ops commander disappeared around the corner. He didn’t doubt the commander’s words for a second.
-
Fives scrubbed at the dirt on his clothes as he made his way to the room he was paying for in the dingy apartment he was staying at. Apartment was generous. It was a single room with a bed, a small stove and counter, and a public bathroom.

He sighed as he unlocked his door and pushed into his room. His blaster was in his hand in a second when he saw the figure seated on his bed.

He didn’t lower his blaster even when he recognized the black armor of a Special Ops Trooper. Blackout had a pair of black kamas around his waist as well as a harness strapped to his chestplate. His helmet was unmarked save for the single silver teardrop right above the visor.

Blackout regarded Fives.

“I looked into the report given after your presumed death.” He said as he stood and walked over to the small window in Fives’ room. “Rex was always loyal to his brothers. Gave a very in depth report about what you told him. The report was sealed so nobody but the higher ups could access it, but I have my ways.”

Fives’ blaster lowered.

“You know Captain Rex?” Fives asked.

Blackout snorted.

“Yes I know Cody and Pond’s little alor'ad.” Blackout said. “I remember when Cody’s batch showed up for CC training on Kamino one day with this little blonde CT following behind. They took him in and anybody that questioned it got thrown around the sparring mats by Fox.”

Fives twitched at the mention of the Coruscant Commander.

Blackout tilted his helmet at Fives.

“He wasn’t always like how he is now. If what we believe about the Chancellor is true, they have been directly under his control the whole war. I know how bad the conditions are for the Coruscant Guard. I know your old battalion wasn’t happy with him after what happened with your old commander but he might not have had a choice.” Fives flinched at the mention of Ahsoka.

Blackout suddenly tossed Fives something. Fives caught the small disc before he sucked in a sharp breath. The disc contained one of the sith damned chips. Blackout removed his helmet, revealing the bacta patch stuck to the side of his head.

“After I read Rex’s report, I figured I should probably get this thing out.”

Fives tossed the disc back to Blackout in disgust.

“What now?”
“Well I am going to get these things out of my men. Then I am going to try to discreetly warn the other commander’s about this.”

Fives sighed in relief.

“I take it once you get a ship you’re going to start doing much of the same?”
“That was the plan.” Fives nodded as he removed his own helmet.

Blackout watched him for a moment.

“Why did you do it?” Fives raised a confused eyebrow.
“Why do you continue to look into this and put yourself at risk? You were presumed dead, you could have just disappeared and left this all behind. Many others have.”

Fives glared at the special ops commander.

“One of my brother’s died because of these kriffing chips. What little’s left of my aliit is still out there fighting on the front lines and they are still in danger from whatever the hell’s the Kaminoans and the Chancellor are doing. If there is something I can do to save them, at least from this, I have to try.”

Blackout nodded, as if he had passed some type of test.

He moved to slide his helmet back on and began to make his way towards Fives’ door.

“Good luck to you kid.”
“Vor’e.” Fives replied.

The commander nodded to him before closing the door behind him.

After a moment Fives opened his door to peek down the hall, but there was no sign of the commander. Fives closed the door. Ok, maybe many of the rumors about Blackout were true.

Fives felt his shoulder sink slightly. Someone believed him. Someone was going to start doing something about the chips and whatever the Chancellor was doing. Now he needed to start doing his part. First, he needed a ship.

-
Getting introduced into an entirely different squad was already hard enough. Getting introduced into a squad that had been together since the tubes and hadn’t gotten used to working with other groups of troopers was an entirely different challenge.

Echo saw how the Bad Batch usually held themselves apart from the other clone troopers, or Regs as they liked to call them. He could guess why, while they were clones, they didn’t look like clones. He had heard only a few stories about how Rex was treated back on Kamino because of his blonde mutation, he could only guess what the Bad Batch had gone through.

On top of getting a new squad, Echo was still getting used to his new body. He had to relearn how to walk normally on his cybernetic legs, he had to remind himself that he was one handed now, and he was severely underweight. At least one of those was easier than the others.

With Kix’s meal plan and Tech’s occasional adjustments, he began gaining weight back steadily. It started out as a chore to eat. He hadn’t needed to while on Skako Minor, any nutrients he’d need was set via a tube.

He still suffered from nightmares. Most nights he only got a few hours of sleep. He could tell that a few of the Bad Batch were concerned that he wasn’t mentally ready to return to a battlefield. Too broken from imprisonment to be an effective soldier.

But if there was one thing that Echo had learned in his short life, it was to adapt.

He requested from Tech Clone Force 99’s various attack formations and strategies and he got to work memorizing them all. He then got to work on figuring out how best he would fit into their plans.

On nights he couldn’t sleep, he spent the time going through exercises so he could move more like how he used to. He knew he was probably pushing himself too hard, but he didn’t care much. The Bad Batch was in high demand with their unique skills. He drilled himself on ARC training, steadily building back the muscle he had lost.

His new armor was adapted to work with his cybernetics. He was a little surprised when Tech presented him with elements from ARC armor, kamas and a heavy duty utility belt that none of the other Bad Batcher’s wore.

He painted the armor black and red to match the Bad Batch. He also added 501st blue along his arm and on the armor around his legs.

When he stared at the completed armor before him and narrowed his eyes. Something was missing. Finally it came to him.

After hesitating for a moment, Echo dipped his hand into the white paint bucket. He carefully placed the handprint over the left side of his chestplate.

Rex had given him this mark the first time they met. Fives had applied it after they got their ARC armor. Now, Echo was giving it to himself. He was pushing himself on. Picking himself back up.

The other Bad Batcher’s nodded in approval when he presented his handy work to them.

While they didn’t always get along, they still cared deeply for each other, it reminded Echo a little of Domino. He wondered if this batch had ever met 99, especially considering he was their name sake. Echo believed that 99 would have been proud of them.

His question was answered one night when Tech was helping him mess with one of the cybernetics on his back.

“Interesting tattoo.” Tech commented.

Echo looked down at his right side where the number 99 was tattooed. Fives had a matching on in the same place.

“Especially considering that it looks long healed. Long before joining our force.”

Echo huffed a laugh.

“My twin and I got these to honor 99. A clone janitor on Kamino. He died when Grievous tried to invade.”

Tech paused in what he was doing.

“You knew 99?”
“Yep, he was good friends with my old squadmate Hevy. He really helped my squad pull ourselves together for our final exam.” Echo explained.
“He spent time with our squad as well. Told us stories when the other cadets wouldn’t.” Tech said as he resumed working.
“He was a good brother.” Echo mumbled before wincing as a twinge of pain went up his back.
“That he was.” Tech agreed.

By the third mission with the Bad Batch, Echo had found his place. He now knew how they worked and communicated. He knew when his skills were needed and he knew when to chastise the younger troopers.

Wrecker had taken to calling him mom on occasion. Mainly when he complained about their lack of organization and lack of hygiene. He surprised them all when an argument between Hunter and Crosshair turned into a wrestling match and Echo intervened and put them both on their asses.

“I can see now why you were chosen for ARC training.” Tech mumbled.

While Echo did miss his 501st aliit, he was learning to accept his new family. Just as they were learning to accept him. They didn’t judge him when he woke them up shouting from a nightmare, nor did they ask questions about the brothers he mentioned in the past tense. They didn’t try to fill the void of his dead twin and his missing little sister, they just began to take up new space in his heart.

-
After Ahsoka had left the order, she had expected her life to be dull or at least relatively uneventful compared to her years in the war. She had not expected to crashland onto the Martez Sister’s docking platform and get pulled into a whole nother world of trouble. The occasional person looking for owed money wasn’t too bad. Ahsoka finally had a secure roof over her head for a little while and the food packs they got tasted better than GAR ration bars.

However, getting roped into a job to run spice for the Pikes was more than a few steps out of her comfort zone.

It had reminded her so much of the various missions she had gotten roped into by Anakin that she half expected them to crash their ship when they landed.

Fighting without her sabers was different, but her aliit had made sure that she knew how to fight hand to hand just as well as fighting with her sabers. She used moves taught to her by Rex and the ARCs as well as implementing a few she had picked up from Cody.

It brought her a strange sense of peace that her brothers, in a way, were still protecting her.

After returning to Coruscant from Obadiah, she had planned on taking a much needed nap. However, as the Force would have it, Bo-Katan of the Night Owls approached her.

Now, she had been with the Mandalorians for a few months. After sharing what she had learned on Obidiah, they set off to begin dismantling the crime empire Maul was building.

At first many of the Mandalorians were wary of her, old stories of the war between the Jedi and the Mandalorians giving them a biased view of her.

She gave up on attempting to remind them that she was no longer a Jedi. Instead she worked on learning about each of them. It was a little like what she had done when she first came to the 501st battalion. Slowly working her to find where she fit in the pre established group.

It didn’t take too long to prove her metal to the mandalorians. She didn’t back down in arguments, she didn’t leave others behind in fire fights, and she demonstrated her skill with a blaster.

Those seemed to do it for most of them.

However, being stuck with each other for long stretches with each other in hyper space was sure to lead to a little tension.

That was usually solved by sparring.

She was challenged to a fight by one of the older men in the group. While he had a few more years of experience, she had seen more combat than he had. She had also been trained by elite soldiers.

After an intense fight, she pulled a move Echo had taught her, knocking the man over and pinning him to the ground.

He had stared up at her wide eyed as he panted for air.

“Ni parji.” She grunted, staring down at him.

He sighed and tapped her leg, letting her know that he submitted.

Ahsoka rolled off of him and stood, offering a hand down to him. She hadn’t noticed they had attracted an audience until she heard the murmurs behind her.

The man accepted the hand up.

“Where did you learn to fight like that? Those were mandalorian moves and I doubt the jetii had much taste for hand to hand.”

Ahsoka snorted.

“I learned it from my b- the troopers that I helped lead.”

The mandalorians around her shifted slightly.

“The oldest were trained by Jango Fett and other highly skilled Mandalorian warriors. They passed it onto the younger cadets.” Ahsoka explained.
“And the clones taught you, their Jedi commander?” He spoke disbelievingly, and spat out the word clone.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes on the man.

“The clone troopers are some of the most loyal and brave men I know. They didn’t ask to fight in the war, in fact they don’t have a choice, but they do it anyway without complaining. And yes, they did teach me because they wanted to make sure that I could fight even without my sabers because unlike the rest of the Republic they didn’t want to see a child die on the battlefield. You can criticize me and what the Jedi have done, but you have no right to criticize or look down on the Clone Troopers.”

Ahsoka turned and stalked out of the room.

This wasn’t the first time she had heard one of the Night Owls speak disdainfully of the clone troopers. Many people in the Republic looked down on them as well, claiming they were nothing but meat droids. When she was still a commander, she hadn’t hesitated to speak in defense of the troopers if she heard someone disrespect them. She had held her tongue around the Mandalorians because she hadn’t wanted to shatter the peace they had found.

Now she stormed down the hall of the ship, any person also walking quickly stepped out of her way.

“Ahsoka.” She heard someone call from behind her.

The togruta sighed before halting.

Bo-Katan came to a stop before her.

“I’m sorry for what Laxson said.” She said after a moment.

Ahsoka huffed out a breath.

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”

Bo-Katan shrugged.

“We’ve all been stuck on this ship together for a few weeks. Besides, you don’t have to act like a Jedi anymore.” Bo-Katan reminded her.

Ahsoka shrugged.

“Besides, it’s clear that you cared about our men.”

Ahsoka ran a hand over the vambrace strapped to her arm. Echo’s armor had been one of the few things she had kept with her after leaving. She hadn’t worn it in months to keep it from being stolen or from someone questioning why she was carrying a piece of clone trooper armor. But when she had joined Bo-Katan, it felt right to strap it back onto her arm.

She had painted her right vambrace, part of the battle dress the Mandalorians had recently gifted her, the same blue that was streaked across Echo’s.

She was aware of the Mandalorian watching her arm.

“They were my aliit.” Ahsoka mumbled. “Aliit ori'shya tal'din.”

Bo-Katan regarded her.

“I take it they were who taught you some Mandalorian as well?”

Ahsoka smiled.

“Mainly the insults.”

The red head snorted before moving to walk by Ahsoka’s side.

“Well I have some good news. I got it just before coming to see you wipe the floor with Laxson.”

Ahsoka tilted her head towards the woman.

“We think we know where Maul is.” Ahsoka looked over at the mandalorian wide eyed.
“Where is he?”
“We think the dema’golka is on Mandalore. He reappointed Almec to lead the world in his place. If we want Maul, we are going to need to retake Mandalore.”

Ahsoka paused next to one of the small view ports on the ship. The swirling lights of hyperspace streaked past outside.

“We don’t have the manpower to retake Mandalore. And the city itself is a fortress. We don’t have the resources for a siege.” Ahsoka pointed out.

Bo-Katan pursed her lips.

“I know. But I don’t know what else to do.”

Ahsoka sighed and rubbed at the place between her eyebrow markings.

She had been tracking Maul for 2 months. The Night Owls had been at it even longer. Ahsoka could feel the desperation Bo-Katan was projecting in the Force.

Maul held vital information. Not just for the Mandalorians, but to the Jedi. While the Night Owls didn’t have enough manpower, Ahsoka knew who did.

“What?” Ahsoka glanced at her friend. “You have that look on your face.”

The togruta rolled her eyes with a huff.

“I know who we could reach out to, but I don’t know how they will respond.”

Bo-Katan straightened.

“Who? We need any aid we can get.”

Ahsoka chewed her lip. She knew her friend wouldn’t particularly like her suggestion.

“Maul holds valuable information. Not just for you, but for the Jedi Council.” Bo-Katan stiffened. “We could ask them to send us aid on Mandalore, and in return we give them Maul.”
“You want to ask the Jedi for help?” Bo-Katan asked disbelievingly.
“While I might not want to, I think it might be our best option.” Ahsoka replied.

The mandalorian glared out the view port.

Ahsoka placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Just think about it?”

Ahsoka waited until Bo-Katan gave a short nod.

Only once Ahsoka closed the door to her private bunking area did she let out a shuddering breath. She had just suggested that they seek help from the place that Ahsoka had walked away from. The place that she hadn’t felt she could remain in. Bo-Katan had never asked about Ahsoka’s trial, but she guessed that her friend knew what had happened. She knew that Ahsoka had many reasons to distrust the Jedi.

Ahsoka sank onto her bed. She closed her eyes and let the Force swirl around her. She searched for an answer but the Force stayed calmly detached from her questions. She sighed, while the Force wasn’t helping her with her current problems, it was calming.

She didn’t know how long she sat meditating before a knock sounded on her door.

She opened it to find Bo-Katan and one of the other Night Owls beside her.

“So about your plan.”

Chapter Text

This was probably not one of Fives’ greatest plans.

These kinds of plans, Fives usually had someone else there to pick it apart and explain in many ways how it could go wrong. Echo had always been good about that, taking Fives’ reckless plan and turning it into something slightly less reckless.

Fives knew his vod was probably watching him now from some afterlife with that very exasperated and annoyed look that he got when Fives did something particularly bad.

Oh well, sorry Echo.

Fives was currently walking through 327th Star Corps camp dressed only in his blacks. The distant sound of cannon fire was a familiar and strangely comforting sound to Fives. He could do without the obnoxious buzzing from the surrounding foliage though. Stepping foot back on Felucia made him remember how much he disliked it.

But he was here for a purpose.

It had taken him another 2 months to save up enough credits to buy the ship he needed, mainly because he had to use some to buy transport off the space port when he picked a fight with the wrong drunk person.

As soon as he had gotten the ship, he looked up the nearest active war front. As luck would have it, Felucia was only a 2 day hyperspace jump from him and on Felucia was Marshall Commander Bly of the 327th.

The fact that he had not only found a Marshall Commander, but one that was not so secretly in love with his Jedi General made Fives think this must be the will of the Force.

So now here he was, picking his way through the 327th’s camp in the middle of the night. The few troopers awake hardly gave him a second glance. They seemed to have decided that the fact that he didn’t have any armor on was not their problem. His hair was finally long enough to hang down and partially cover his tattoo, but Fives highly doubted any of them would know who he was or that he was supposed to be dead.

Fives made his way to where he guessed the CO tents would be. He gave a sigh of dismay when he realized that they were dark. They were probably out on the frontlines right now, and from what he’d seen from his own jedi and clone captain, he guessed they could be out there for a long time. Fives glanced around before sliding into the tent that he guessed was Bly’s. Sure enough he spotted stacks of data pads and spare armor plates. Fives settled down on the ground and prepared to wait.
-
Late the next day Fives was stirred from his nap when he heard a voice that wasn’t a variation of Jango Fett’s. General Alya Secura’s voice grew steadily louder as it approached.

Fives suddenly realized that his plan could quickly go south if the Jedi General found him. He didn’t know how the twi’lek would react to him or his story, but he didn’t particularly want to find out.

Thankfully the general’s voice told another person to get some rest before her light footsteps faded away. A rustle of fabric announced Bly’s arrival. The clone commander gave a long sigh that reminded him of Rex. The sound of armor being removed was the next sound.

Now or never Fives.

“Commander Bly.” Fives said quietly from where he was sitting in the dim corner of the tent.

Bly’s blaster was pointed in his direction in a blink of an eye. He narrowed his eyes and lowered his blaster slightly when he realized it was a clone.

“Who are you and why are you in my tent?” The commander asked tiredly.
“I’m here to talk to you about something that should be a major concern of yours.”
“Add it to the list, kid.”

Fives wanted to roll his eyes. What was with commanders and calling other people kid?

“Yeah but are the other things as important as possibly turning against your Jedi general?”

The commander raised the blaster at Fives again suspiciously.

“What did you just say?” Bly demanded.
“That’s why I’m here. I’m here to warn you about this.”
“Warn me about what?” Bly growled.
“The control chips in our heads.”

Bly blinked at him.

“The what?”

Fives began to talk. As his story continued, the blaster slowly lowered away from him. When he was done the clone commander stared at him.

“So you’re telling me that the long necks put chips in our heads that can make us possibly turn against our Jedi?”
“Yes sir.”
“And you’re Rex’s ARC that apparently tried to kill the Chancellor before supposedly dying.”

Fives winced a little at that.

“Yes.”

Bly watched him for another moment.

“Why should I trust you? How do I know this isn’t some trick?”
“Because Commander Blackout believes me.”

That made the marshall commander pause.

“Ah kriffing hells.” He groaned suddenly.
“What?” Fives asked, concerned.
“Blackout reached out a little while ago, about the chips I think.” Bly pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just thought he was being paranoid.”

Fives waited as Bly rubbed his hands over his face.

“Ok, let's say I believe you. How am I supposed to get these supposed chips out?”

Fives gave a relieved sigh. This was one of the questions he had thought out.

“You could say it’s a medical examination. Put your men under and run the scan and get the chip out. The procedure can be done with a medical droid. It doesn’t take that long to recover so they wouldn’t be out of action for very long.”

Bly thought it over for another moment.

“Fine. But I am going to need all the information you have before I discuss this with my medics. Especially because we are on the front.”

Fives nodded, it was reasonable.

“We might need to wait until we are back on our ship before doing this.” Fives was already shaking his head.
“I suggest against that sir. I think it would be best to get these out as soon as possible and as quietly as possible. I don’t know who knows about the chips. Or what the chips’ true purpose is.”

Bly regarded him.

“You really think the Chancellor is behind it? And against the jedi?”
“I don’t know yet. All I know is that when I told him what I had found, he told me that he knew, and that he didn’t want me ‘ruining his plans’.” Fives used air quotes as he spoke. “I know it sounds crazy, but please consider getting these things out ASAP.”

The older clone let out a long sigh.

“Ok, let’s get started.”
-

Rex stepped off the last transport ship into the Tribunal’s hangar, which was its usual chaos of running, yelling, and the roar of engines, the sounds that came post battle. Their own front had been a quick victory, so much so that when Skywalker suggested they go help the 212th with their front, no one objected. Another day, another battle, another crazy plan Skywalker came up with. However, hanging onto the bottom of a bridge while his general went out to commit a war crime was surprisingly not one of the craziest ones.

Now Rex hoped they had earned at least a week of shore leave. They had been jumping from battle after battle for about a month now. Rex knew that the war was getting to a tipping point. The Separatists were beginning to draw some of their forces back, or making desperate last stands like the one Rex had just witnessed.

But still, a break would be nice.

As he made his way through the halls of the venator, the many work crew members were bustling around, they nodded to him with a polite ‘sir’. The new medic, a kid named Wrap, slid by him to make his way to the med bay. The kid was nice, didn’t fully yet understand a lot of what came from a battlefield, but he would learn.

Still, Rex couldn’t ignore the way his chest constricted every time he saw the red medic symbol, but didn’t see Kix’s signature lightning bolts, or as of recent, just his tattoo. He knew Jesse understood it as well.

They didn’t know where Kix was. He’d disappeared on a medical transport mission. They didn’t know who had taken the transport, or why they would want it. No one had stepped forward to ask for a ransome, they probably knew that the Republic wouldn’t pay anything for one of their troopers.

No, Kix was just gone. And Rex’s aliit was cut down another size.

“Rex!”

Rex paused. That had sounded like his general’s voice. Rex winced behind his helmet. He really hoped he wasn’t about to be asked to cover for his friend so he could talk to his wife.

Honestly Rex didn’t know why he still bothered to hide it from his old master. General Kenobi had practically shouted that he knew it before greenlighting the mission to save Echo.

Rex turned to see his general all but running down the hallway towards him. Rex removed his helmet and clipped it to his belt.

“Sir.” Rex said, a little bit concerned as Skywalker slid to a stop in front of him.

Surely something bad couldn’t have happened in the hours after the battle, right? Well actually, knowing his battalion, it wouldn’t surprise him that much.

“Rex, I have some really good news.” His general actually grinned at him.

Ok that actually concerned Rex more.

“You know how Yularen commed and said there was a message that Obi-Wan and I needed to take in the bridge?”
“Yes?”
“Rex, it was Ahsoka.” If his helmet hadn’t been clipped to his belt, Rex was sure he would have dropped it. “She was there with Bo-Katan of Mandalore, apparently they tracked down Maul. They are going to meet us here in a little while and…”

Rex was aware that his general had continued to speak, probably parroting the whole com call, but Rex didn’t process any of it.

Ahsoka had called.

Ahsoka was coming to this ship to meet with them.

His little sister was on her way right now.

Rex suddenly felt someone grab his shoulders and gently shake him.

He blinked to find Anakin staring him in the eyes excitedly.

“Ahsoka is coming back.” The jedi repeated.
“H-how is she? Is she ok?” Rex asked.

Anakin released Rex’s shoulders with a chuckle.

“That’s exactly what I asked.” He ran a hand through his hair. “She looked ok. Older, if you’ll believe that.”
“You said she was with a mandalorian? Bo-Katan?”
“Yeah, she’s the leader of a group called the Night Owls. They’ve been tracking down Maul for a while now. They want the Republic's help with capturing him.”

Rex nodded along.

“How long until they arrive?” He asked.
“At least 4 hours.” An idea sparked in Rex’s head.

Anakin cocked his head at him.

“What are you planning?” Figures his Jedi would sense his plans.
“You’ll have to wait and see sir.” Rex said with a smirk.

Anakin nodded to him before disappearing down the hallway, probably on his way to prepare his own ‘welcome back gift’.

Rex quickly made his way to the barracks. Most troopers would be sleeping after the campaign. He felt a little bad for waking them, but he knew they would want to know what was happening. Most had also already been back on the ship for at least an hour and a half, hopefully that would be a long enough nap to suffice.

When he walked into the barracks, he did in fact find the lights dimmed and most vod quietly snoring. He made his way over to the veterans sleeping area. Jesse was currently sleeping propped up against the wall with Ridge drooling on one shoulder and Vaughn on his other.

It was hard to ever find Jesse sleeping alone nowadays. After Fives had died, he had spent most nights either in Kix’s bunk or Rex’s. Now with Kix gone he usually bunked with Rex. However, Jesse had always had a tendency to sleep on the nearest person.

Rex sighed before going about nudging them awake.

“What? What is it?” Sterling asked from his own bunk after Rex kicked his foot.
“Is something on fire?” Jesse grumbled.
“No, I have news. Good news.”

Jesse snapped awake at that. Rex knew what news Jesse hoped he had.

The others slowly dragged themselves up.

“What is it sir?” Vaughn asked through a yawn.
“Ahsoka is coming back.”

One of the veterans a little ways down actually fell out of his bunk.

“What?” Jesse asked, wide eyed.
“I just got word from Skywalker. She’s been helping a group of Mandalorians track down Darth Maul. They are reaching out to the Republic for help and they are gonna get to the Tribunal in about 4 hours.” Rex gave them the sitrep.

His brothers began to look around at each other excitedly, any trace of sleep gone.

“I take it you have a plan to welcome her back?” Jesse asked as he stood next to Rex.
“Maybe.”

His vod raised an eyebrow at him.

“What do you need me to get?”

Rex huffed out a laugh. Leave it to Jesse to get a plan rolling.

“Paint.”
-
30 minutes later they had dragged all the gold paint they kept on board for the 212th out of storage along with the red paint used by the medics. After arguing over the correct shade of orange the paint needed to be for another 10 minutes, all was ready.

Rex had gathered all the older members of the 501st, all those that had been around prior when Ahsoka had been there. As soon as they heard what was happening they eagerly agreed. Now the floor of the rec room was filled with men repainting their helmets. They dragged out boxes of shiny helmets for those that had specialized helmets or just wanted a blank canvas. Rex and Jesse both painted a display helmet for those that struggled to remember their little commander’s facial markings.

The room was filled with murmurs as they shared their favorite stories about their little commander. Anything from watching her train one of the old ARC troopers how to wield a lightsaber, to sitting with them in the med bay, to taking a blaster bolt for them on the field.

Many shinies and younger troopers came as well, curiosity driving them from their bunks. They listened with wrapped interest as the older members talked. Jesse had attracted quite a crowd of both old and new troopers with his stories. He was one of the few left that had actually been there before Ahsoka arrived on Christophsis.

Most of the younger troopers hadn’t asked about her. They had been warned off of it because Torrent and other companies still viewed her trial bitterly. Now they were finally hearing the stories that had only been whispered about.

At one point Rex saw Skywalker stick his head into the room. He watched his general’s eyes rove over the drying helmets and the smiles on his troopers faces.

Once they were done they each proudly donned their newly painted helmets. Jesse snagged one of the extras he had painted, leaving his normal one on his bunk. Rex did the same thing.

The two older troopers shared a look. They had each lost a lot through the war, but right now, they were finally getting their vod’ika back. It made the darkness that had settled over them recently lift a little.
-
Rex was still reeling as he made his way to the bridge.

Ahsoka was back. She was just a tad taller, but her montrals had lengthened. Instead of barely reaching his jaw like they had before she had left, they now reached his cheeks. Her lekku now reached her stomach and her cheek and eyebrow markings had lengthed just a little bit.

She had filled out more and the muscles on her arms had developed more.

The confidence she had given off before her trial was gone. While she did still have that hard set to her jaw, Rex could tell she had withdrawn into herself after leaving.

When Rex first spotted her walking through the doors beside Skywalker, he had desperately wanted to reach out and drag her into a hug, but he couldn’t… not yet at least.

Then suddenly alarms started blaring. Coruscant was being attacked by Grievous. Somehow the overgrown droid had managed to make it past all of the GARs defenses and attack the kriffing Capital of the Republic. That should have been virtually impossible, there was no way Grievous could have possibly known how to evade every last Jedi cruiser.

Oh also, his general had apparently just split the 501st in half and promoted him to commander. He certainly hadn’t asked Rex if he wanted the job. Though, Rex had been filling the role of clone commander for years now.

Rex stopped for a moment and took a long breath. Right now there was a mad scramble as troopers were assigned to either 501st or 332nd. Those that were in the 332nd stayed on the Tribunal. Those in the 501st were getting transported over to the Negotiator. Cody had sent him a com earlier asking what the hells was going on. He had then proceeded to laugh for a good 2 minutes when Rex complained about being promoted.

“Some ori’vod you are.” Rex grumbled.
“Oh I take great pleasure in this role.” Cody said, before straightening again. “Good luck on Mandalore vod. Mandalorians are tough bastards.”

Rex snorted.

“I know vod. Be sure to kick Grievous for me.”

Cody saluted him before signing off.

Now Rex found himself outside the bridge of the Tribunal. Cody’s words from earlier ringing in his ears.

Rex straightened once again. He walked into the bridge to see Ahsoka talking with Yularen and Bo-Katan, discussing the route they would need to take so they could pick up allies.
Rex came to stand next to Ahsoka.

“We can’t let Maul know we’re coming. We need to get there as fast as possible.” Bo-Katan informed the Admiral.
“The fastest I can get us there is a day. That is with no stops. If you want speed, your allies will need to meet us at Mandalore.” Yularen explained.

Rex watched the mandalorian assess the holomap in front of them. Finally she sighed and nodded. She turned to Ahsoka.

“I need to go inform the others about the plan.”

Ahsoka nodded to her.

The mandalorian disappeared through the doors with her two guards following.

Yularen nodded to the togruta before turning to prepare for launch. Ahsoka let out a sigh. She looked out the large windows to the Negotiator not far away. By now the last of the transport ships were reaching the other ship.

Ahsoka glanced up at him.

“So commander, you finally got promoted.” She said it with a knowing smile.

Rex made a show of rolling his eyes.

“Years of dodging it all down the drain.”

She snorted, a familiar shine in her eyes. Rex’s own smile grew when he saw that. He had noticed her cool demeanor towards her old masters, he’d prayed that it wouldn’t extend to him as well. That shine gave him hope.

“Cody got a good laugh out of it too.” Ahsoka smirked at that.
“He is going to hold that over you for a long time.”
“I know he is.”

Together they watched as the Negotiator slowly turned away before disappearing into hyperspace.

Their own view began to shift as the venator began to turn towards its own destination.

Rex felt Ahsoka lean back against him just the slightest bit before their view was filled with streaking stars and a tunnel of light.

“Estimated time of arrival is 26 hours and 20 minutes.” One of the bridge techs informed them.
“Thank you Rip.” Ahsoka said with a nod.

Rip saluted her before turning back to his station.

Rex nudged her arm.

“I should probably introduce you to a few new people.” Rex said, trying not to impatiently tap his foot.

Ahsoka nodded before following him out of the bridge. As soon as they turned down a quiet hall, Rex whirled around and wrapped his arms around Ahsoka.

Ahsoka let out a huff of surprise but quickly wrapped her own arms around him. Rex let out a sigh of relief.

“Su cuy'gar ori’vod.” She mumbled into his shoulder.

Rex felt his heart melt at that sentence. He pressed his cheek to her montral and tightened his grip on her.

“Su cuy’gar vod’ika.”

Rex didn’t release her even when he heard footsteps. His sister was back safe in his arms. He could protect her again.

“Looks like Chipper owes me a drink.” Jesse’s voice carried down the hall.

Rex huffed before slowly releasing Ahsoka to face the smiling ARC trooper.

“What was the bet?” Ahsoka asked with a smile.
“How long it would take before Rex pounced on you. Chipper thought he would hold out for at least 3 hours.” Jesse shook his head knowingly. “He underestimates Rex’s ori’vod instincts.”

Rex opened his mouth to defend himself but Jesse had swept Ahsoka up into a bone crushing hug. Her feet left the ground as Jesse hauled her up and buried his face in her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“We missed you commander.” Jesse mumbled with a sigh.
“I’m not a commander anymore Jesse.” She reminded him quietly.
“You’ll always be my commander vod’ika.” Ahsoka tightened her arms around his neck.
“Ok Jesse, you better put her down so she can go see the others before they start a ship-wide search for her.” Rex said.

Jesse grumbled something but set her back down onto her feet gently.

Ahsoka followed them as they made their way to the barracks. Inside she was greeted warmly by the older troopers. She introduced herself to the younger troopers as well. Rex could already tell that she was cataloging away new names when they were given to her. He could also see her glancing around the room. His heart clenched because he knew who she was looking for.

Rex didn’t know if she had heard the news about Fives or not, but based on her searching gaze he guessed that maybe she hadn’t. He knew he needed to tell her if she didn’t know, but she only just got back to them. A spark of life had been reignited as she greeted old vod and new.

Jesse gave him a sympathetic nudge.

After a while Ahsoka got pinged by Bo-Katan and they went to lay out their attack plan. Many hours later they had their plan and their back up plans.

Ahsoka nudged Rex and Jesse towards the barracks.

“Go sleep, I know you guys just got off a campaign.”

Both protested but when she pointed out the bags under their eyes, they gave up.

“We’ll catch up more later.” Ahsoka promised them.
“I’m going to hold you to that.” Rex said.
“I know.” She gave them a smile before gently pushing them towards the door again.
-
When Rex woke up again they were only a few hours from arrival and people were beginning to prepare.

By now, the majority of troopers in the 332nd had repainted their helmets with Ahsoka’s markings. Rex couldn’t help the swell of pride he felt towards his brothers.

They would have an hour after dropping out of hyperspace to gather Bo-Katan’s Night Owls, meaning they needed to have all their stuff ready before that. Rex finally caught up to Ahsoka and Jesse not long before they were due to drop out of hyperspace.

He knew that this particular piece of news couldn’t wait.

He pulled Ahsoka and Jesse into one of the large storage areas.

The togruta looked up at him questioningly as he gave a long sigh.

“Vod’ika, I need to tell you something.”
“Rex we are almost to Mandalore, whatever it is, can it wait?”
“No. I don’t think we should put this off. I-I’m sorry because it is right before this campaign, but you need to know.”

Ahsoka looked up at him. He saw a flash of uncertainty in her eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn’t find the words. It still hurt even months later. He finally gave up on speaking and reached for his belt. He unclipped the gray vambrace and held it out to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka looked at it for a moment. Rex saw the moment she recognized it. She was reaching for it when he saw the moment the realization dawned on her.

She froze.

Jesse placed a hand on her shoulder as her hand started to shake.

“Oh Fives…” She choked out as she gently took the ARC vambrace.

Rex pulled her into a fierce hug as he felt her shoulder begin to shake slightly. Jesse wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned into Rex’s side.

They stayed like that for a while, drawing comfort from each other. Ahsoka finally pulled away. She wiped the tears off her cheeks before clumsily unclasping her right vambrace, the one given to her by the Mandalorians, and strapped Fives’ on.

She ran her hand over the scuffs and scratched paint.

“Thank you Rex.” She said quietly.

Rex nodded before his eyes darted to Echo’s vambrace on her left arm. He could see the glued cracks on the surface and the clean blue trip of paint.

HOLY KRIFF ECHO. Rex wanted to smack himself. How the hells had he forgotten to tell her about Echo?!

Rex opened his mouth but they all felt the ship decelerate as they dropped out of hyperspace.

Ahsoka sucked in a long breath to center herself. The two troopers watched the mask of control drop. They both knew the news had ripped her to her core, but they also knew that she was a soldier. She had a job to do. She would mourn her fallen brother later. They both knew they would be there for her when the time came.

Ahsoka opened her eyes and nodded to Rex and Jesse. She turned and stepped out into the busy hallway with Jesse right behind her, sliding his orange helmet onto his head.

Rex reached out to slide his own on. First chance he gets, he is going to tell her about Echo. Surely they would have time on Mandalore, right?
-
Blackout leaned against the wall outside the med bay. Finally the special ops medic Saw stepped through the door.

“Everything good?” Blackout asked.
“With how many of these things I’ve pulled out of our boys I think I can do this in my sleep now.” Saw grumbled before yawning.
“They’re all taking it well?” Blackout asked.
“Yeah. Only a few headaches. Everyone on the outside still thinks this is a routine medical examination?”

Blackout nodded.

The Special Ops Forces didn’t have a Jedi general leading them, not like how other clone forces did. No one really cared too much about what the Special Forces did as long as they did their job correctly and well. And yes, they did their job very well.

Declaring a medical examination was more a procedure than anything else. He doubted the natborn officer in charge of reading the paper work even read the whole thing.

In the months since he had met the ex ARC trooper Fives, he had worked on getting his troopers de-chipped. Blackout hadn’t been able to find much more about the chips, not even when he snuck into the Kaminoan labs. After what had happened with Fives he guessed that they tightened up their security regarding the chips, possibly even deleting it.

He also hadn’t been able to find much on the Chancellor. A few unscheduled trips off Coruscant being the only thing that stood out.

When Blackout had tried to question Commander Fox, the Corrie Guard had closed up immediately. Telling him that he didn’t know anything and that if Blackout knew what was good for him, he should stop looking. That had hardly phased the Special Ops commander. It just made him more sure that something was going on with the Coruscant Guard and no one outside of the guard knew about it.

The suspicious thing was, a week after trying to glean information from Fox, Blackout found a whole plethora of new missions piled onto him and the Special Ops Forces. If he didn’t know better, he’d think someone was trying to keep him busy and away from Coruscant.

Blackout huffed.

He hoped that the ex ARC trooper would have more luck. While Blackout was very good at getting information, he did have a job to do for the Republic. He also wasn’t presumed dead.

Blackout had done his best to try to carefully inform the other commanders about the chips, but his reputation of paranoia was working against him. Most dismissed it or said they would get back to him about the chips later.

Blackout had most of his own troopers de-chipped by now. Whatever the chips’ true purpose was, Blackout hoped he would have more people free of the blasted things before they found out.

Based on the missions Blackout was running, and the whispers he’d heard through the grapevine, it sounded like the war could be reaching its climax, possibly even nearing its end. Blackout very much hoped that the war would end so he could figure out what game the Chancellor was playing.

Chapter Text

Fives watched another trooper walk away from the med tent with a bacta patch on his head and a slap on his back.

The 327th’s chief medic Bypass waved for the next trooper to come in.

The troopers that went into the med tent thought they were just getting a standard brain scan done. Due to the fact that most normal troopers didn’t know anything about the medical side of things, they didn’t question the surgery.

Still the only ones to know about the chips were Bly, Fives, and Bypass. The choice not to tell Aayla about the chips was not made lightly, but Bly ultimately decided against it. He didn’t want to dump more stress on his general, especially with the war getting to the point it was currently at.

It was slow going getting the chips out to start, because they only had one med droid planet side they had to go one at a time. Originally they had only been able to perform about 25 surgeries a day.

Once Bypass made a call to bring an extra droid down, the number of people de-chipped upped substantially.

When Bly had to go to the frontline, Fives stayed behind with Bypass to monitor chip removal. He had been supplied with some shiny armor to blend in better. He was once again able to attach Echo’s vambrace to his right arm and Ahsoka’s akul tooth headdress was secured around his neck under his armor, giving him comfort in this different battalion.

When the exhaustion and doubts started to settle into his mind, he reached for those two items to ground him. His aliit kept him going, even if they were beyond his reach.

Fives focused back on the camp around him. There were quite a few men milling around, Bly and General Aayla were leading a scouting group through the jungle as of right now. They were due back at camp in a few hours.

Fives’ com inside the helmet he was borrowing suddenly crackled to life.

“Execute Order 66.”

Fives blinked.

He had memorized all the orders they could possibly be given as a cadet while on Kamino. He didn’t have any recollection of an order 66. The com frequency had sounded a little garbled, he could have possibly picked up on a different channel.

Fives attempted to shake the strange chill that raced up his spine. For some reason he felt like he should know what Order 66 was. He glanced around and noticed the few troopers waiting outside the tent had gone stock still.

“Hey, um, you good?” Fives asked.

The one closest to him, gave himself a little shake.

“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll be fine.” The younger clone stared off into the foliage.

Fives scrunched his eyebrows in confusion before dismissing his weird phrase.

Suddenly the com on Fives’ wrist began to blink. He recognized Bly’s frequency and moved a little ways away for some privacy.

“Fives’ here.” He answered as he leaned back against a supply box.
“Fives, it's happening.” The ex ARC straightened.
“What’s happening?”
“T-the chips. They activated.” Fives froze. “We got a com call from someone, not a clone, Order 66 they said. I thoug- I thought we just picked up a Seppie frequency but then a few in our group, the ones that hadn’t gotten their chips out yet, they… they tried to attack General Aayla. Kept mumbling something about soldiers and following orders.”

Fives back hit the box behind him again.

“I stunned’em before they could hit her too bad but Fives, they were aiming to kill.” Fives pressed his hands to the front of his helmet. “You were right.”

Flashes of Tup and General Tiplar crossed Fives’ mind. His brother’s manic need to take out General Tiplee and Skywalker.

Good soldiers follow orders. That’s what Tup had said.

He hadn’t realized his breathing had sped up until Bly spoke again.

“Fives?”
“I think you should circle back to camp.” Fives mumbled. “We got the order here too on our internal coms, but most of your men are de-chipped. It would be safer to have Aayla here, especially because we don’t know what’s happening elsewhere.”
“Copy that. Try to get the chipped ones to the east side of camp where the med tent is, we’ll be coming in on the west.”
“Yes sir.”

Fives signed off before circling around to the front of the tent. The troopers were still sitting there. They weren’t outwardly acting differently, though the joking and conversation they had been engaged in had fallen silent.

Fives slipped into the tent.

Bypass looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow.

“The chips have been activated.” Fives said quietly.

The medic jerked forward.

“What?”
“Bly commed. That order, Order 66, when that went out the few that weren’t de-chipped with him and Secura, they tried to kill her.”

The medic swore colorfully before checking the progress of the two surgeries underway.

“What’s the plan?” Bypass asked.
“Commander Bly said to get everyone still chipped over here so they can get de-chipped ASAP and their group is gonna enter on the West side.”

Bypass nodded before Fives slipped out of the tent.

Already the amount of people outside the tent was growing. Bly had undoubtedly commed his captains what to do. Fives made his way over to the west. About an hour later the scouting group emerged from the foliage.

Bly was walking with his arm wrapped around the twi’lek general’s midsection. Fives spotted a few bandages along her arms and legs. The troopers at the back of the group were carrying their unconscious brothers over their shoulders.

“Well I’d say get her to the med tent but I don’t think you want to go over there right now.” Fives called out in greeting.

The blue twi’lek looked up at him.

“You must be Fives.”

Fives glanced at Bly.

“I told her everything on the way back.” The commander explained.
“While I would have liked to be informed of this earlier, I can understand why you didn’t tell me.” The jedi huffed.

They made their way to the tents while those carrying the unconscious continued to the med tent. While Bly reapplied bandages to his general’s few blaster bolt wounds, Fives explained what he knew about the chips to Aayla.

She attempted to com another jedi general that was planet side but only received static. She tried another that was supposed to be stationed above Felucia to act as a barricade against Seperatist reinforcements. Once again she received nothing.

With each com frequency that went unanswered, Fives’ felt himself grow more sick.

There was suddenly a commotion outside the tent. Bly and Fives shot to their feet and carefully pushed aside the tent flap. Outside there was a trooper dressed in his bottom armor and upper blacks frantically trying to push past one of the troopers standing guard.

“The general! Please, is she okay!” He kept asking frantically.
“Ryan.” The frantic trooper slumped with relief as Fives and Bly whirled to see Aayla pushing past them.
“Aayla-” Bly jumped in front of her to stop her. “Wait, he was one of the ones that didn’t have his chip out.”
“He does now.” Aayla nodded to the bacta patch on the side of the trooper's head.

She gently slid past Bly to approach Ryan with the two troopers in tow.

When they got close, Fives was surprised to see tears in the trooper's eyes.

“General, I-I am so sorry I ne-never wanted to hurt you but it- it was like I didn’t have any control.” The trooper tried to explain.
“It’s ok Ryan. From what I understand, you didn’t have a choice.” Aayla placed a hand on the trooper's arm comfortingly.

The trooper shook his head.

“It was so strange. It was like I was trapped inside my mind.”

Bly and Fives glanced at each other.

“It’s ok now. The chip that was controlling you is out.” Aayla assured him.
“Can you tell us anything else? What was the order you received?” Bly asked.

Ryan let out a shaking sigh as he rubbed over the bacta patch on his head.

“Order 66. Any and all Jedi leadership must be executed for treason against the republic. Any soldier that doesn’t obey the order was also to be executed.”

Fives tripped backwards a step.

He was right.

He had been harboring a small speck of hope that he was wrong, that what he had found out about the chips had been wrong and there wasn’t actually a plot.

Never in his life had he hoped he was wrong, but he was right.

Around him he knew the others were also reeling from the news.

“So it’s true.” Bly finally said. “We were just pawns. We were just created to destroy the jedi.”
“They made us to become nothing but meat droids.” Fives snarled.

Aayla looked like she wanted to argue, but with all the evidence before them, she couldn’t.

“What now sir?” Ryan asked.
“What do you mean?” Bly asked, sounding tired beyond his years.
“Well, we know about the chips. We’ve gotten ours removed. You didn’t follow the order, technically committing treason. If we go to any other battalion, we’d be executed.”

That bit of news hadn’t occurred to the rest of them.

“Osik.” Bly dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes roughly.

Aayla placed hand on his shoulder.

“The path for us next will become clear with time. For now, I think we all need to focus on getting the rest of the men freed of the chips. And some rest would be nice.” Bly looked at Aayla for a moment before nodding.
“I…” everyone looked at Fives. “I think I need to go.”

Bly cocked his head at him.

“I need to know what’s happening out there. I need to see if I can get in contact with Blackout o-or anybody.” Fives ran a hand roughly through his hair, trying not to let the panic climbing up his throat consume him yet.

The clone commander regarded him for a moment before nodding.

“Then you should go. We will be fine here. I…” Fives watched emotions war across the older trooper's face as the commander’s grip around his generals waist tightened. “Vor entye vod.”

Fives nodded in acceptance before his gaze flickered to the jedi.

“I also am in your debt Fives.” Aayla said. “Me and all my men. Good luck on your journey, and may the Force be with you.”

Fives nodded to her before turning away. He shed his armor as he walked back to where he had hid his ship, his hands shaking as he unfastened clips. His breathing was becoming more and more erratic as he walked.

Who had heeded his and Blackout’s warning? Had Rex? Had Commander Cody? Has anybody? How many Jedi had just been gunned down by their own men? Had General Skywalker been shot down by the 501st? How many of his vod were under the chips’ control?

He reached his arms up to run his hands through his hair again. The akul teeth around his neck clicked against Echo’s vambrace. Fives froze.

Ahsoka.

He didn’t know where she was. Was she ok? Had she been near any troopers when the order went out? No, she had left the order, she wouldn’t be targeted, right?

Fives forced himself to move again.

He had to believe that Ahsoka was safe. That she had found some quiet mechanics shop NOT on Coruscant. Anywhere but Coruscant.

Not if the Chancellor was truly behind everything.

Fives went through the motions of starting the ship up. Once he was exiting the atmosphere of Felucia, he tapped into the holonet. There was no news post about the Jedi or the troopers. Not yet at least.

Fives stared out at the stars in front of him. His old plans of moving to the next clone battalion to remove chips was out the window, especially if the troopers were under orders to kill anybody not complying with the siths damn order.

But Fives did need to know what was happening. If the Chancellor was making a power move of taking out the Jedi, he must have some end goal. Maybe he was a Seperatist?

His best bet of getting news, or possibly getting in contact with Blackout was to go to one of the core worlds.

Fives tapped out the coordinates and hit the hyperdrive. As the stars blurred in front of him, Fives sent out a quiet prayer to whatever cosmic force was listening.

Please let my aliit be safe.

-
Echo sucked in a deep breath of clean cold air on Kallar. It wasn’t everyday they were sent to a planet that had trees, especially ones that actually produced oxygen and not some weird vapor.

The Jedi padawan Caleb had met them and given them the run down of the battle in the distance. The others in the Bad Batch had been surprised to meet the young jedi. Echo was once again reminded how little his new squad interacted with the Jedi commanders and Generals. This kid couldn’t have been much older then Ahsoka was when Echo first met her.

As the Commander excitedly filled them in on what was happening, Echo couldn’t help but note certain things about the padawan.

He noted the long braid behind the kid’s right ear and the colored bands at the bottom, showing the areas he was studying in. Echo searched back in his memory for what the different colors stood for. Ahsoka’s had been red for piloting, blue for mechanics, and yellow for weapons, both lightsaber and other. Caleb had red for piloting and white, which Echo believed meant healing.

The way the young commander’s eyes roamed over them excitedly and the various questions he asked in between making up a plan with Hunter and Tech reminded Echo very much of Ahsoka.

She had once had that same excited energy that seemed to make her vibrate slightly.

Years at war had dimmed that young light, but it hadn’t dampened her smile. He hoped that the war ended before this young jedi’s youthful light was smothered.

Echo shook himself out of his thoughts as they prepared to start their attack.

This battle went like many before it. They had the element of surprise, coupled with cover from General Billaba’s men, they made quick work of the droid platoon.

“If you’re done hiding down there I suggest you launch a counter attack. Another droid battalion is approaching.” If they weren’t standing in front of two Jedi CO’s and Captain Grey Echo would have whacked Hunter across the back of the head.

One of the things he still hadn’t gotten used to was how brash the Bad Batch acted towards superiors. Though he guessed it was also coupled with the fact that he had served alongside two Jedi for 2 years, both of which had earned his respect 10 times over.

Echo listened curiously as Tech informed them that General Kenobi had engaged Grievous on Utapau. If the High General was successful in taking down Grievous, the Seperatist army’s command structure was sure to collapse.

Even so, they still had to take Kallar.

“Well Caleb, shall we let them, ‘do what they do’?” General Billaba asked her padawan with a quirked eyebrow.
“Only if I can go with them.” The padawan informed his master with a smile.
“Very well.”
“Aye kid, you ready for this? We move fast.”

Echo snorted. If his experience was anything to go by, his squad would have trouble keeping up with the padawan.

“Good, that's the only way I know.” The boy replied with a smirk.

And here Echo thought he had finally earned a break from crazy Jedi antics.

“Oh I like him.” Wrecker said with a laugh.

Their squad took off at a quick pace after the padawan.

Echo was busy running through strategies when his helmet’s internal com went off.

“Execute Order 66.”

Echo tapped at the control on the side of his helmet. He must have picked up an interfering signal.

“Master!” Echo slid to a stop in the snow and turned to find the padawan starting to run back towards where the general had been.

Echo looked past him and then promptly froze. He saw General Billaba with her lightsaber drawn, crouched in a defensive stance. Standing around her with blaster’s raised was her own men. They opened fire on her.

Nightmares from his past flashed across Echo’s mind. Nightmares he hadn’t suffered from since being rescued from Skako Minor.

He hadn’t realized he was beginning to run back towards Caleb until he stumbled on the snowy ground.

“Run Caleb!” The elder jedi yelled as another blaster bolt made it through her defense.

The padawan whirled to stare at Echo. He was terrified.

“Stay away from me!” the kid yelled before taking off into the trees.
“Kid, wait!” Hunter shouted.

Echo stared at where the kid had disappeared, the final screams of pain from General Billaba still ringing in his ears.

“What the kriffing hells just happened.” Echo all but shouted.
“The com channels are repeating one directive. Execute Order 66.” Tech informed them.
“Yeah, I heard that too. What’s order 66?” Wrecker asked, Echo could just barely detect the waver of fear in the large clone’s voice.
“I am not certain.” Tech said quietly.
“Echo, Tech, talk to the reg captain, see what you can find out.” Hunter ordered.

Echo turned and began to make his way back towards the other clones. The body of the general was still sprawled on the ground, smoke still rising from the countless blaster bolts riddling her body.

Echo shut his eyes and took a deep breath in, trying to dispel the images crowding his mind. Billaba’s own troopers had just turned on her. They hadn’t tried to detain her or capture her, they had killed her. They had been raised on Kamino to protect their jedi to their last breath. This went against everything they had been taught.

The troopers milling around didn’t seem at all perturbed by the body of their jedi on the ground.

Echo stepped forward to demand what the 9 Corellian Hells was wrong with all of them before Tech grabbed his arm.

“I think it would be best if I did the talking.”

Echo glared at Tech through his helmet.

“They just killed their general. We need to figure out what the kriff is going on because they just committed an act of treason.” Echo snarled.
“We do not know why they turned against the general. This could be a large misunderstanding for all we know.”
“A misunderstanding!” Echo shouted.
“We need to figure out what the regs are doing, and right now you are not thinking straight.” Tech informed him calmly.

Echo wanted to yell that he was thinking just fine, but he knew that Tech was right. Grudgingly the ARC trooper stood down, letting Tech lead the way back to the troopers.

They approached Captain Grey.

“Excuse me captain. My squad and I had a question regarding the order 66.”

The captain turned to regard Tech and Echo.

“What about it?” He asked.
“I can’t find any information regarding the order in the GAR’s database. We just wanted clarification on it.”

Echo felt like he was being picked apart by the captain’s gaze.

“Order 66. Under this directive any and all Jedi command are to be executed for treason against the Republic.” The captain placed a hand on his blaster. “Any clone trooper that does not comply with the order will also be executed for treason.”

Echo felt like the ground was opening up under him, threatening to swallow him whole. He never thought he would hear the words treason and jedi in the same sentence.

He hardly noticed the shifting stances around him and Tech as the other troopers fixed them with suspicious glares. Thankfully Tech picked up on it.

“Our Sergeant and our sharpshooter are in pursuit of the jedi padawan as we speak.” Tech told the captain.

The stances around them didn’t exactly relax, but they moved back to their various tasks. The captain’s com began to blink.

“Our counter attack was successful. Our mission on this planet is done.” Grey raised his voice. “Get ready to move out.”

Tech and Echo shared a look. They made their way away from the regs. Tech quietly commed Hunter to inform him of what they had discovered. Echo was busy attempting to regain control of his breathing.

Order 66 was being broadcasted on all com channels, meaning it would have reached the 501st. Holy kriff Rex, Jesse, and Kix! No, they wouldn’t turn on Skywalker. Commander Cody wouldn’t turn on Kenobi, he’d seen how close they were.

His brothers were loyal to their jedi. They wouldn’t turn on them just because of an order.

But, a small voice in the back of Echo’s head, one that was growing louder, pointed out that Grey and his men had appeared loyal to Billaba and Caleb. Grey had immediately defended Billaba when Hunter had suggested orders to the general.

Something was seriously wrong.

They made their way back to the Marauder with Wrecker and waited for Hunter and Crosshair. When their Sergeant arrived, he didn’t meet any of their eyes, instead staring straight forward and telling them to get launch sequences under way. Crosshair was watching Hunter with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

Echo didn’t really believe the story about Hunter stunning Caleb when he tried to escape over a ravine. This squad had never been too good with following orders, it didn’t make sense to Echo that they would suddenly start following them now, especially when it came to killing a child.

As they made their way back to Kamino, Echo couldn’t help but run through the list of Jedi he knew or had worked with during his time in the GAR. Thanks to ARC missions he had worked alongside quite a few. While the Bad Batch mainly operated solo, they did occasionally dock on a jedi cruiser or accompany a general on a mission.

How many of those jedi were dead now? How many had been quite literally shot in the back by the men that they lead. The men they trusted.

Echo suddenly shot upright in his seat. Hunter and Tech glanced at him warily.

Where was Ahsoka?

He had a brief moment of panic before remembering that Ahsoka had left the jedi order a while ago. She wasn’t in the GAR anymore. She wouldn’t be a target.

Echo let out a shuddering breath of relief as he ran his hand over the cybernetics on his head. Wrecker shot Echo a sympathetic look. They all knew that Echo had worked closely with quite a few Jedi. While he had never explicitly said it, they had figured out that he had been close with his old jedi commander.

It made sense he would be pretty rattled by what had just gone down.

Echo didn’t sleep during his rotation. Nightmares plagued his mind. Old ones and new ones. He gave up after he saw Billaba and Skywalker sprawled on the ground in front of him with blaster holes through their bodies for the 3rd time.
-
When they arrived back on Kamino, they were all surprised by the presence of the Coruscant guard and most of the other battalions in the GAR. Echo almost threw up when he saw the bed carrying a body with elongated montrals being pushed past.

Shaak Ti had been the first kind being that they had met on Kamino. The older togruta had in a way been like a parent to many of the cadets. She was there to give advice, she was there to comfort those after hard training, she was there to visit those in the med bay when they got injured.

She had never been afraid to stand up for squads that struggled. She had given the Domino squad their second chance, allowing them to finally graduate. She had been there when Echo and Fives had graduated with their ARC class with a kind and encouraging smile.

Now her body was being moved to the disposal area.

Echo tore his gaze from the slain togruta and forced his legs to move.

Only once they were back in their barracks did Echo let his anger start to simmer over.

“None of this makes sense. Those clones served alongside General Billaba for years. How could they turn on her like that?” He demanded.

As usual, Tech had an answer.

“Because of the regs programming.”
“What programming?” Hunter asked.

They all seemed to lean in closer as Tech explained the way the Kaminoans had karked with their DNA to make them obey orders. It actually didn’t surprise Echo that much.

“But what about Echo?” Hunter asked. “He was a reg before he joined us.”
“Yeah, if all regs were programmed, why didn’t I react like the others?” Even as Echo asked it, he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
“The damage you sustained on Skako Minor most likely wiped out all your preset behavioral modifications. You are more machine than man, percentage wise at least.”
“Lucky me.” Echo said sarcastically.

Because obviously being blown up, captured, experimented on, and hooked up to a computer so he could direct Separatists against his own brothers was a blessing. Echo couldn’t help but glance at the scomp attachment where his right hand should be. He had long since accepted what had happened to him, and all the changes he had undergone, but he still liked to think of himself as human. If he wasn’t used to Tech’s blunt answers, he might have thrown some choice words his way.

Ok yeah maybe some of his old calmer behaviors had been scrapped on Skako.

He glanced up when an announcement came through, directing everyone to the hangar for a debriefing on the state of the republic.

“This is one meeting I don’t want to miss.” Hunter said.
“First time for everything.” Tech mumbled.

The halls of Kamino were quiet. There was no joking or quiet chatter. Every clone trooper they passed was stiff and cold. Already many of them had scrubbed off the colors of their old battalions.

Programmed Tech had said.

If they were programmed to follow orders…

Echo watched the recording of the Chancellor, now self declared Emperor. Something sat very wrong with Echo. Why would the Jedi attack the Chancellor? Furthermore, why would there be a pre-set order for the clone troopers to kill the Jedi? There was a lot more going on than any of them knew, but it gave Echo a sick feeling in his gut.

Once back in the barracks, Echo settled down on his bunk. So much has happened in the last few days. Everything they had once known had been torn apart.

One thing had become clear. The regular clones were programmed. They obeyed the orders to kill without question.
A small part of Echo was grateful that Fives hadn’t had to live to see the Republic Fall like this. That he didn’t have to see the jedi who had fought for them for years be cut down by those they trusted. Thinking of Fives led to thoughts of the 501st. Were they here on Kamino now? Paint scrubbed off and the blood of General Skywalker on their hands? Did they even know what they had done?

Echo didn’t sleep.
-

To any outsider looking in, you wouldn’t be able to tell that the togruta wielding dual blue lightsaber had not seen an active war front for almost a year. The command in her voice, the grace and precision in her movements, the way her men fell into step behind her as if it was second nature.

Ahsoka felt in a strange way, like she was home. She was surrounded by the bright Force signatures of her men, she was once again using skills that she had spent years honing, and the rush of adrenaline as she descended into battle.

The Siege of Mandalore dragged on for a week before they finally got a hit on Maul.

Then she faced the half sith down in the throne room as the battle raged on outside. He attempted to turn her to his side. Kriffing hells she almost did. Maul truly believed what he was saying, that they could stop Sidious, the one that was the cause for this whole war. The one that had orchestrated the use of the clone troopers and who had caused the countless deaths of her friends and her brothers.

Kriffing hells she wanted to, but something Maul had said earlier still didn’t sit with her.

“What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?”
“He is the key to everything.”
“To bring balance to the Force?” Ahsoka asked.
“To destroy.” Maul said carefully. “He has long been groomed for his role. As my master’s new apprentice.”
“You lie.” Ahsoka exclaimed.
“I’m afraid not. I am so certain of it that I orchestrated this war to lure him and Kenobi here to kill him. Thus depriving Sidious of his prized pupil.”

Ahsoka stared at the Dathomirian.

A flicker of doubt crossed Ahsoka’s mind. Flashes of darkness she had sensed within her master. Glimpses of his rage and fears. Certain beliefs he held. All the things she had done her best to ignore while learning from him. Because despite all the things she overlooked, there were many more bright parts of him. The way he joked with the troopers, the way he did his best to shield her from the many horrors of war, the way he would give credits to any person in need on the street. His presence had always been one of the brightest in the Force. The good he did outshined the darker parts of him.

“I know Anakin.” She drew her sabers, another example of the light in her master. “Your vision is flawed.”

Maul growled.

“I see the padawan needs one last lesson.”

He ignited his double sided lightsaber before charging at her. He was fast and strong. But she had been fighting larger opponents her whole life and while she could tell his mechanical legs were very well built, they still weren’t real.

This was proving to be one of the hardest duels of her life. She had been well aware that this fight was going to be difficult, Maul had killed her great grandmaster Qui-Gon Jinn after all, but she was still shocked by the sheer intensity of his attacks. She could tell he was holding back, not wanting to kill her yet, instead he just wanted to overpower her.

But Ahsoka hadn’t been trained by the Chosen One and many highly trained soldiers for nothing. She chased the sith across the dome framework of Sundari.

The ship overhead waiting for Maul made her realize that she was running out of time. With both her lightsabers wrenched from her hands and facing down the still armed Dathomirian, Ahsoka resorted to the training her brothers had spent hours drilling into her.

In one swift move she used Maul’s own attack against him, flipping him around her and off the beam. Her hand shot out and caught him mid air.

“No, no let me go! Let me die!” He roared at her.

The lights of the multiple approaching LAAT/i momentarily blinded her. She held onto the sith until the wire cables were securely wrapped around him and Rex stunned him.

“We’ll take it from here commander.” Rex called to her before the ships began to descend.

She nodded before glancing up at where Maul’s getaway ship had been. She slowly made her way back up onto the undamaged beams and sat down, letting her feat dangle over the now quiet city.

It was over.

With Maul captured, what was left of Death Watch would hopefully be captured or flee the city. Ahsoka was confident that Bo-Katan would be the leader Mandalore needed after this. She would be strong for her people.

Ahsoka stared up at the stars through the glass of the dome.

She could feel the various signatures of jedi across the galaxy, each fighting their own battles. Twisting through everything, she could feel the Force. Many she knew were now one with the Force. Her cetchmates that had fallen on the battlefield, her teachers felled by sith, her brothers that had barely had a chance to live.

Ahsoka ran her hands over her vambraces. Fives and Echo were one with the Force now. Or they had marched ahead with their other brothers. Or maybe both, maybe the two different afterlives were one in the same.

She desperately hoped so. Ahsoka wanted to believe that when she too became one with the Force, that she would see her brothers again.

The Force gently swirled around her as if to comfort her. The togruta imagined it was her brothers reaching out to soothe the aching hole in her chest they had once filled.

Yes, she had been alone before. The months after she had left the order, she had been alone. But she had known that somewhere out there, Fives was still a burning flame in the galaxy. A pain in the ass for Rex no doubt, but he had been out there.

Now, Fives was with Echo again. They weren’t alone wherever they were. That thought brought a sense of comfort to her, even if she was still here.

The stars above her blurred as a tear slipped down her cheek. She could forgive them for breaking their promise to stay alive.

Up here above the sounds of the city, she felt a strange calm settle over her. It felt like the moments before a storm broke out.

Something big was about to happen in the galaxy.
-
Rex watched the medic Wrap fuss over Ahsoka’s numerous burns and cuts. He was too new to chastise her though. He didn’t carry the same terror inducing qualities that Kix had.

Once again the thought of his lost vod made his chest ache. But as soon as the pain came, it was swept away by a feeling of comfort. Rex glanced at Ahsoka again to find her watching the medic with a new sadness in her gaze.

“Thank you Wrap.” she said with a small smile when he finished up.
“Of course commander.” he said before heading to his next patient.
“You shouldn’t be worrying about me right now.” Rex said as he walked over to the bed she was sitting on. “You’re the one that fought a sith.”

Ahsoka huffed before moving over on her bed and motioning for him to sit. He sank down onto the bed next to her.

“How’s Jesse doing?” She asked.
“He’s sleeping now. But he looked better. Maul wasn’t very physical with him.”
“No, he just invaded his mind.” Ahsoka growled. “If I had captured Maul in the tunnels Jesse wouldn’t have been taken.”

Rex nudged her arm.

“Hey, you can’t possibly blame this on yourself.”
“Rex, Maul was looking for information on me. This is in fact very much my fault.”

Rex shook his head.

“You don’t control Maul’s actions. You sure didn’t tell him to take one of our men hostage and interrogate him. Jesse doesn’t blame you in any way. In fact if he was awake he would probably go on a rant about all the reasons it wasn’t your fault.”

Ahsoka couldn’t help but snort at that.

She fell silent again. Rex glanced down at her to find her gaze on the floor. She was rubbing her hands over the ARC vambraces on her arms, a nervous habit Rex recognized from when she’d only had Echo’s.

He gently nudged her, making her sigh.

“Maul said something, about Anakin, that I can’t get out of my head.” She answered his silent question. “He said that Anakin has been groomed to be Sidious’ apprentice.”

Rex jerked his head at that.

“What?”
“I know. It doesn’t make any sense. When I was Anakin’s padawan, he was hardly around anybody other than myself, you, or Master Kenobi.” Ahsoka shook her head. “I told him that it had to be a lie, but he truly believed it. He planned this whole battle to lure Anakin here to kill him. It just… I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense but Maul believed it and tried to get me to join his side.”

Rex thought back through the months after Ahsoka left. Yes his general had withdrawn into himself more but he certainly hadn’t been taking trips to learn from a sith.

“Maybe Maul was just trying to trick you?” Rex guessed.

Ahsoka chewed her lip before nodding.

“That’s what I’m thinking as well.”

They fell into a thoughtful silence before Rex’s com pinged.

He sighed.

“The duties of a commander never cease.” Ahsoka said sagely, making Rex roll his eyes.
“I think I remember more than a few instances where you definitely had nothing better to do than pull pranks on me.” Ahsoka waved off his response.
“Those were all part of my commander duties. You should really read the fine print Rex.”
“Oh I sure will when we leave this rock.” He said as he stood up.

Ahsoka smiled up at him.

He rolled his eyes again but felt a smile tug at his mouth.
-
Rex watched Ahsoka say goodbye to Bo-Katan. He had come to respect the Mandalorian in the week of the siege. She cared about her people there was no doubt.

He silently wished her luck on restoring Mandalore.

On the transport back to the Tribunal he did his best to ignore the sith locked in a Force suppression box behind him. He was doing his best to remain calm, but Ahsoka’s earlier words as well as her constant glances behind them made him uneasy.

He had long since learned to read his Jedi for tells if something bad was about to happen. When a Jedi was acting nervous or unsettled, it was best to be on your guard.

Once they reached the venator, Rex didn’t let himself relax until he received confirmation that Maul had been locked down far below the ship.

He followed Ahsoka to the bridge, like many times before. The bridge techs saluted them both as they came to stand before the large frontal view ports.

The stars blurred before they entered the familiar tunnel of light. Ahsoka was quiet next to him. The usual light hearted attitude after a completed campaign was missing.

She’d been quiet ever since the meeting with the Jedi Council.

The war could be over soon.

“Something on your mind?” He asked.

She was quiet for a moment before answering.

“As a Jedi, we were trained to be keepers of the peace. Not soldiers. But I've been since I was a padawan is a soldier.” She mused aloud.
“Well,” Rex huffed, “I’ve known no other way. Gives us clones all a mixed feeling about the war. Many people wished it never happened.”

Ahsoka turned to face him.

“But without it, we clones wouldn’t exist.”

Ahsoka smiled up at him.

“Well then some good has come out of it. The republic wouldn’t have asked for better soldiers. Nor I, a better aliit.”

Rex smiled at that.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better commander. Or little sister.” Rex replied.

The togruta huffed.

“I’m still older than you.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He said as he bumped her shoulder.

She shook her head with a sigh, but Rex saw her smile.

They settled back into silence. Rex’s thoughts turned again to what the end of the war would mean for him and his brothers. The Jedi would probably stand up for them, they sure wouldn’t let them return to the Kaminoans. That thought sparked another question.

“Ahsoka,” She turned to him once again. “When you said that you were doing your duty as a citizen, not as a jedi yet, does that mean you may go back to the order?”

Ahsoka bit her lip as she thought.

“There are still many parts about the order that I don’t support. But, I hope that once the war is over, the order will reevaluate itself. Jedi have been beacons of hope for hundreds of years, I want to stand behind that side of the order.” Ahsoka rubbed her thumb over Fives’ vambrace. “I think if I want things to change, I need to be there advocating for it.”

Rex tilted his head at her, making her huff out a laugh.

“Yes, I think I will go back to the order.”

Rex barely managed to suppress his sigh of relief.

“Besides, I just got back to you guys. I don’t think I could leave you all a second time.” She added.
“To be honest I don’t think I would have let you leave again.” Rex admitted. “Someone needs to help me with these wonderful commander duties.”

She snorted just as one of the bridge techs approached them.

“Commander Rex, the latest briefing has come in.” Rex nodded before glancing back at Ahsoka.
“Want to have a look, it might have an update on General Kenobi’s efforts.”
“You go, I’m sure it’s more good news.”

Rex nodded before following the bridge tech back to the main com console.

Ahsoka turned back to the view ports. She clasped her hands behind her back and ran her fingers of the ARC vambraces.

The war could be over soon. They might have just received word that Kenobi had taken down Grievous and the Seperatist military was falling apart.

The war could be over soon.

Ahsoka almost found it hard to imagine a life outside of it. Even the years before the war started there had been tensions. Her teachers stopped pushing philosophical studies and instead drilled them on old wars and conflicts.

The next group of padawans wouldn’t be taught on a battlefield, they would be taught in the halls of the Jedi temple, far from the horrors of war. They wouldn’t wake up from nightmares of their friends or troopers dying. They wouldn’t hold countless bodies as they gave their last breath. They wouldn’t soothe other people’s nightmares and pain during sleep cycles.

They would be raised in peace.

So why didn’t Ahsoka feel calm?

Why couldn’t she settle her mind and accept these images? Why did it feel like the galaxy was on a precipice and one small motion could tip it into chaos?

Suddenly voices began to surge through the Force. One sounded like her master’s. Another was familiar but she couldn’t place it. The last one was definitely Master Windu.

The sound of a lightsaber igniting made her flinch. She gripped her head as screams filled the Force around her.

“What have I done?”
“Anakin.” Ahsoka gasped suddenly.

Something was very wrong.
-
Rex nodded to the bridge tech before entering the com room. He tapped onto the blinking frequency line expecting to find Cody or even Skywalker on the other end.

Instead, a hunched and hooded figure appeared in front of him.

Chills raced up Rex’s spine. Some primal part of him wanted to run, telling him he should end the connection. But Rex was frozen.

“Execute Order 66.”

No.

Rex attempted to stop the words from leaving his mouth but he suddenly had no control.

“Yes, Lord Sidious.”

No. He couldn’t. He couldn’t comply because the Jedi on the other side of the door was his sister.

The doors behind him suddenly slid open.

“Rex! It’s Anakin. I feel like something terrible has happened.”

Rex tightened his grip on his helmet to stop his body from moving. From doing what he has been ordered to. But he was fighting a losing battle.

His helmet slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor.

Kill the Jedi.

Behind him he heard the internal comms go off in the troopers stationed on the bridge.

“Rex?” Ahsoka’s uncertain voice made his muscles tense.

Blaster safeties clicked off behind him.

“No.” He snapped. “I’ll do it.”

Why, why was he saying that?

Good soldiers follow orders.

“Rex, what’s happening?” Ahsoka took a step towards him.

In a flash his blasters were in his hands.

“Stay back!” He didn’t know if he said that to defend himself from her, or defend her from himself.

Good soldiers follow orders.

Rex’s hands shook as he aimed at Ahsoka. Many a nightmare had gone like this. His blasters pointed at his Jedi.

The Jedi stared at him in confusion and fear.

Her name was Ahsoka. She was his sister.

Tears blurred his eyes.

But she was a jedi.

Good soldiers follow orders.
A memory sparked in his mind, which was quickly being consumed by darkness. A trooper with a teardrop. A dead general. An ARC trooper. A fire.

“F-find him. Find him.” Rex shook his head, trying to stop the spreading darkness. “Fives. Find him!”

Good soldiers follow orders.

He pulled the trigger as darkness consumed him.
-
Ahsoka felt a sudden wave of wrongness hit her when the blast doors to the com room opened.

The feeling only intensified when Rex’s helmet thudded to the floor.

Then all of a sudden the two troopers behind her went blank. It startled her so much she looked back at them to find their blasters leveling on her.

Every living being had a Force signature. It made everyone unique, even the clone troopers. But the two troopers currently aiming blasters at her had been stripped of their unique signature.

Just like the Coruscant Guards that had been hunting her all those months ago.

“No. I’ll do it.” Ahsoka turned back to Rex.
“Rex, what’s happening?”

She stumbled back a step when she suddenly found Rex’s dual DC-17s aimed at her. His Force signature was slowly bleeding out as well. Fading from the bright sparking energy to blank.

Tears began to leak down her brother’s cheeks.

“F-find him. Find him.” Rex’s head shook like he was trying to clear something out. “Fives.” Ahsoka jerked in shock. Fives?

“Find him!” Ahsoka ducked as Rex fired.

She sprang forward and slammed into him, knocking him back against the com console. She ignited her lightsabers as blaster fire flew past her.

She had barely closed the first door and called out to her brother desperately before the doors behind her opened.

For the briefest of moments Ahsoka felt relieved when she spotted Jesse leading the group of clone troopers. A second later she realized that their blasters were drawn and aimed at her.

She spun around to deflect their blaster fire.

As they circled around her, she began to deflect the bolts into the ceiling where she knew the vents sat.

Finally the hole was big enough for her to squeeze through. She launched herself up and into the vents.

She immediately scrambled away from the hole not stopping until she came to a junction and crawled around the corner. Only then did she stop to catch her breath. She didn’t have much fear of the clone troopers following her into the vents, none of them could fit. Hardcase had learned that the hard way once.

Her troopers had just tried to kill her.

Rex and Jesse had just tried to kill her.

They had all been blank, stripped of their signatures.

Ahsoka didn’t know what was going on. She didn’t know why her men had just turned on her.
But Rex had told her something.

Fives.

She needed to find Fives.
-
Ahsoka stared at the holoprojector in front of her.

Inhibitor chips. Placed in the clones to control them. Fives had found out about them and tried to warn the others, but he had attempted to kill the Chancellor.

Something about that definitely wasn’t correct. Fives would never try to assassinate the Chancellor, maybe one of the nat born officers, but not the Chancellor.

Then he had died in a shootout between rival gangs on Coruscant. She had been on Coruscant. She could have helped him if only she had been on the upper levels.

Ahsoka shook those thoughts away. Right now she couldn’t fixate on that, not when an entire ship full of highly trained soldiers were hunting her down.

They don’t have a choice. A voice reminded her.

Rex had been able to fight long enough to give her this information. Ahsoka sucked in a long breath before letting it out again.

She needed to get to Rex, see if this was actually real. Then maybe they could figure something out together.
-
The hanger below them was their way out. Ahsoka could see the shuttle now. They were so close.

However, there was a whole company of troopers, with Jesse at the lead, standing between them and the shuttle. Beyond them, a desolate moon was growing increasingly closer as the ship under them shuddered.

She never should have let Maul out. She had been panicked, images of her closest brothers firing on her with no emotion. Now she knew what was going on. She knew they hadn’t had a choice, and she had unleashed a sith on them.

You did it to survive. A voice that sounded like Anakin’s told her.

None of them deserve this. She silently argued back.

“So what do we do now? Fight our way to the shuttle?” Rex asked desperately, jostling her from her thoughts.
“There are too many.” Ahsoka said. “Besides, I don’t want to hurt them.”

Ahsoka felt a tangle of emotions spark off of Rex. Grief. Despair. Anger.

“I hate to tell you this, but they don’t care.” He snapped. “This ship is going down, and those soldiers, my brothers, are willing to take you and me along with them!”

He stared down at her before his shoulders sagged.

He was hurting and Ahsoka knew it. She hated that they were stuck in an impossible situation. She hated that they were running out of time and that they were not going to be able to save any of the men on this ship.

She carefully stepped forward, and when Rex didn’t move away she reached up for his helmet. She carefully removed it, revealing her brother’s grief and tear stained face. He turned away.

Ahsoka carefully reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood tense for a moment before slumping against her.

“You’re a good soldier Rex, and a good brother. So are all those men down there. I’m sorry that we don’t have time to help them.” She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “They may be willing to die, but I am not going to be the one to do it. I can’t.”

One of Rex’s arms tightened around her waist before stepping back with a sigh.

“So we’re just going to surrender. Admit defeat? Is that it?”

Ahsoka let out a breath.

“No.”
“Well I don’t see any other option.”

It felt so wrong to hear Rex sound so defeated. To see his shoulders hanging so low. But under that she could still feel that small drive to survive and keep going. The one that had kept Ahsoka and many others from giving up in the past.

Ahsoka turned once again to survey the hangar. A sudden idea came to mind. One that absolutely once upon a time would have been classified as a Skywalker plan.

“I have an idea.”

Rex raised a cautious eyebrow at that.

“Don’t worry, it’s a good one. I think.”

He gave her a look as she handed his helmet back to him, one that said he highly doubted her statement. But it’s not like there was any other choice. They were dead anyway.
-
To be fair, this wasn’t one of the worst plans Rex had been involved in.

It definitely wasn’t the best, but given the current situation, it was perfectly adequate. Of course, he didn’t much like the idea of delivering Ahsoka to the company of men ready to kill her on sight. He did however find some solace that they might actually be able to get out of here without killing anymore vod. Maybe once they were off the ship the others would be less worried about killing Ahsoka and more worried about saving themselves.

“Hold your fire!” He ordered.

Behind Jesse multiple troopers drooped to their knees to take aim. Jesse leveled his blasters on them.

“I said hold your fire Jesse. I have the situation under control.”
“You have your orders sir. Now execute it or I will.” Jesse barked.

It.

If Rex hadn’t known what it was like under the chips' control, he would have stumbled at Jesse referring to their sister as an it.

“The order was to execute the Jedi for treason against the republic.” Rex said carefully. “The problem is, Ahsoka Tano is no longer a Jedi. She hasn’t been for some time.” He moved so he stood in front of Ahsoka.

He wouldn’t be much of a shield but it was better than nothing.

Jesse’s blasters lowered as his helmet tilted down in thought.

A small spark of hope lit in Rex’s chest.

“Sir, you said yourself that we were under special order from Darth Sidious to eliminate Ahsoka Tano and any other clone who disobeys Order 66.”

Rex wanted to recoil at how Jesse was talking. Jesse had known Ahsoka for as long as he had, but now it was like he was talking about a stranger.

“Just keep him talking a little longer.” Ahsoka mumbled behind him.
“Jesse, listen to me,” Rex began to feel desperation creeping into his voice. “We’ve known each other a long time. If we don’t get this right, we will be the ones committing treason, not her.”

Jesse’s blasters lowered again as he thought. Rex prayed that a small part of him, the part that had stood up for his brothers on Umbara, would fight to the surface past the chip. That hope vanished when the ARC’s blasters were raised again.

“Commander Rex, you’re in violation of Order 66. I accuse you of treason against the Grand Army of the Republic. You will be demoted in rank, and subject to execution along with the traitor Ahsoka Tano.”

Rex knew the protocol for violating Order 66. He knew what would happen to those that didn’t follow through. But some deep and probably programmed part of him still balked at the thought of committing treason.

If committing treason means I get to keep my free will, I’ll do it any day.

“Ready?” Ahsoka asked behind him.

Rex cast one last look at his brothers. He memorized their armor, their paint, their names. He let out a breath.

“Yeah, I didn’t much like being commander anyway.”
“Company, ready. Aim!”

The alarm hangar alarm suddenly blared.

“Now!” Ahsoka ordered.

The floors underneath the clones in front of them suddenly dropped away. Ahsoka dodged Jesse’s blaster bolt and pushed him backwards over the edge, out of harm's way.

The hangar descended into chaos as the remaining troopers began to fire on them. They settled back into a technique they had spent the whole war perfecting, she shielded and he shot.

He didn’t know how many blaster bolts glanced off her armor, or grazed Ahsoka’s arms. All he knew is that he needed to keep moving.

Even when their last hope of escape took off that kriffing dar’jetii at the helm, Rex kept firing. He finally got a moment of rest as they dropped below the main hangar deck to the lower levels.

He groaned before pushing himself upright. He turned to find the other half of the troopers already aiming at them.

“Of for kriffs sake.” He huffed before raising his blaster once again.

When Ahsoka sprung across to start dispatching them, Rex looked around at all the ships under maintenance.

“There!” Ahsoka shouted and pointed to a Y-wing that looked mostly intact.
“Give me a boost over there.” He said as he took off towards the ship.

He jumped and even though he was expecting it, he still yelped when the Force shoved him an extra 4 feet. He thought that by now he would have gotten used to being thrown around with the Force.

Ahsoka yelped as she took another blaster bolt hit and he scrambled up to the cockpit of the ship.

The ship suddenly tilted hard to the left. Rex ripped off his helmet as Ahsoka began to slide away from him. She dug into the floor with her lightsabers.

“Come on!” He shouted.

She took off towards him and jumped. Rex’s stomach suddenly rose to his throat as the supporters holding the Y-wing up gave out. He watched in horror as Ahsoka suddenly began to fall into nothingness above him. A blast sent him spinning out of control.

Rex quickly wracked his brain for every training he had done with piloting. As soon as he got the engine started he gunned it back towards the crashing venator.

He searched the debris desperately for blue and white striped montrals before she suddenly appeared next to him. He opened the hatch behind him before carefully maneuvering towards her. Her hand gripped the hatch for a moment before she was ripped away.

He swore violently as he swerved to follow her.

Once again he carefully maneuvered under her. She made a grab for the ship once. Twice. The third time she caught it.

Rex carefully leveled out so she could clamber into her cock pit. Only once her hatch shut did he breathe again. After a moment of relief he glanced back to find her staring out the window. She was tracking the thick line of black smoke where the Tribunal had descended through the clouds.

Before he turned to face the sky in front of him, he saw the single tear sliding down her cheek.
-
The moon had a very slow rotation. It was light when they found the crashed venator, it was light when they landed their Y-wing and stared at the ship. It was still light when Ahsoka suddenly walked towards the ship and hauled a body out of the wreckage. It was still light as they carefully lined up one row, two rows, 5 rows, of dead bodies. It was only just beginning to turn to dusk when Rex found Jesse.

When the sun finally set, Ahsoka all but collapsed to the ground in front of the lines of the dead. Rex staggered over to her before he too sank to the ground.

The fires still burning in the ship were the main source of light right now, giving a hellish glow to the white, blue, and orange armor of those in front of them.

Ahsoka wasn’t sure how long they sat in silence, just staring into nothingness. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. All she knew was that it slowly got darker and it slowly got colder. But none that mattered.

She felt numb.

After an hour or two of scrambling around the venator, she’d had to shut out the Force because all she felt was darkness and death.

They had both known they were past their limit when they landed, but they had forced themselves to keep moving. To keep dragging their men free of the destruction because they didn’t want to think. They didn’t want to acknowledge the horrors that they had just witnessed.

But now, neither could move. Their bodies had finally given out on them. Now they were forced to think.

Ahsoka pulled her legs up to her chest as she replayed everything that had happened. There were a hundred things she should have done differently. There were a hundred things that could have prevented this. But here she was sitting amidst the destruction.

Beside her Rex was also staring into nothingness. She didn’t need the Force to know what he was thinking about. She shifted just a little closer to his side.

He carefully moved until his side was pressed against hers. The only other living thing on this moon. The only other one that understood the true depth of what had just happened.

The men before them had been living breathing people. They’d had names and stories and friends and they had been alive. Now they weren’t.

Sidious had stripped them of their identity and their free will. He had turned them against their aliit in the worst way possible. They had been so driven to follow the orders of a mad man that they hadn’t even noticed the fact that they were about to die.

Tomorrow they would dig back into the ship to find more. Then they would bury them.

Ahsoka couldn’t bear to look at the wreckage anymore and instead raised her eyes to the sky. The smoke from the ship partially obscured the stars, but she could still make them out.

Ahsoka had felt the wave of wrongness as the order went out. When she had been fleeing in the vents, she had felt a sudden overwhelming wave of pain and then nothingness as countless other jedi were suddenly killed.

Now, Ahsoka braced herself before slowly opening herself up to the Force again.

She felt despair, betrayal, pain, so much pain. Above all of that, she felt darkness, like the light had been sucked out of the galaxy.

The stars blurred as tears welled up in her eyes.

Rex shifted an arm around her and she could hear his breathing beginning to shake.

All the brightest sparks of light in the galaxy were gone. They had broken one by one and fallen from the sky.

Ahsoka felt a sob rip from her throat.

The stars had finally broken, and she broke too.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka had always expected the war to end with a bang. It had taken up so many years of her and others lives that it seemed only fitting that it would end in a big crashing cacophony.

But no.

It ended quietly.

The Separatists surrendered almost as soon as order 66 went out. The Jedi were branded as traitors and those that had survived went on the run. People watched in quiet shock as the Chancellor declared himself the Emperor of the New Galactic Empire.

The screams of hundreds of Jedi being slaughtered was not broadcasted to the greater galaxy. The horror of millions of people suddenly being stripped of their identity was not felt. Those that did know were left to mourn by themselves.

After 2 more days on the moon, dragging corpses out and burying them, they finally had to call it quits. The ship was falling apart under the stronger gravity of the moon and after one to many close calls, they had to stop.

Ahsoka had mentioned splitting up after they left the moon, but Rex had absolutely refused. He was not letting her leave. Not after everything they had just witnessed. He didn’t care that they would be an easier target traveling together. He needed her to stay.

They took off from the moon with a very damaged R-7 and made a stop on Saleucami where Ahsoka was introduced to Cut and his family. After refueling and explaining to the Lawquanes what was going on they took off again. After that they ended up on one of the outer rim worlds and managed to sell their Y-wing without drawing too much attention. Their first order of business was buying new clothes because neither believed that clone armor and a Mandalorian battle dress would blend in well.

Next they began to look for jobs.

Ahsoka was able to land a job at a mechanics shop while Rex found a job down at the ship port loading and unloading supplies. Ahsoka mainly worked the day shift while Rx worked the night shifts.

The first two weeks went by reasonably easy. Then the empire showed up with their credits and newly dubbed stormtroopers. Ahsoka hurried back to their shared room they were renting. It was pretty small and crappy, and only had one bed, but it was cheap. Ahsoka did her best to shut the door quietly despite how her hands were shaking.

Rex didn’t even stir from sleep, probably due to how much work his job required. Ahsoka quietly walked over to him and knelt before gently nudging him. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before he even managed to blink his eyes open.

As soon as he saw it was here he immediately dropped her wrist.

“Sorry.” He mumbled before slowly shoving himself up right. “Is everything ok?”
“The Empire is here.”

He fell still at that.

“What do they want?”

Ahsoka shrugged.

“Everyone’s money and obedience. I think it would be best to lay low for a little while.”

Rex nodded absently.

Finally after a few more moments Rex worked up the nerve to ask.

“Were they…?”

Ahsoka nodded.

“They were blank. Still under the chip's control.” Rex let his head drop to his knee.

Ahsoka had explained what she felt to him after the crash. She had also pointed out that the Coruscant Guard had also been blank during her trial. Rex swore at that. He’d been holding a grudge against Fox after the trial. Yes he could understand why Fox had sent out the shoot to kill order, but even after he had been ordered to stand down, the guard hadn’t. But if they had been under the chip's control…

Rex felt a strong wave of pity wash over him for the guard. Fox had been getting more distant as the war continued, maybe it was for this reason.

They kept their heads down for the next week as the Empire made their rounds. Ahsoka purchased a head covering that would disguise her lekku and the top parts of her facial markings. Rex got a covering for the lower half of his face. The fact that he was blonde made it harder for people to connect him as a clone. Ahsoka knew it was a sensitive subject for him, having heard a few of the stories from his time on Kamino. But it was one advantage she knew he should push right now.

“Rex…” She started over dinner.

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I know it isn’t really my place to say… but I think you should consider growing your hair out.”
His eyes narrowed just the slightest bit.

After a moment she dropped her gaze back to her bowl nervously.

“You’re probably right.” Rex finally said with a sigh.

She raised her eyes to find him running a hand over the buzzed ends of his hair as he stared off. She just nodded before grabbing his bowl to give him another serving.

That night as Rex worked he thought back to the earlier conversation.

Ahsoka was probably right. Especially with the Empire crawling around the outer rim.

But, he couldn;t help but still shy away from the idea. Back on Kamino he had almost been decommissioned multiple times because of his hair mutation. The only thing that kept him alive was his scores. Early on he’d taken to keeping it as short as he possibly could so he didn’t stick out too much.

After he had almost been decommissioned for a 5th time his batchmates were starting to get fed up. Everytime he was taken back for evaluation he missed training with them and began to fall behind with their techniques.

It had led to a particularly vicious argument with his squad leader, one that only ended when one of the older cadets, CC-2224 later known as Cody, stepped in. He’d taken Rex with him back to his own barracks, shared by the other CCs in his batch.

The other CCs hadn’t been particularly happy with Cody taking in Rex, but after his old squad attempted to jump him they quickly stepped up to his defense.

Even after he’d been sent to the front alongside Skywalker, he’d stuck to his habit of keeping his hair as short as possible.

Rex was shaken out of his memory by the sound of approaching footsteps. He ducked his head down as a pair of clone troopers marched by.

He felt one of them look him over as he worked. He wondered if he knew who the man behind that helmet was. The Empire had stripped the clones of their markings and colors. Their individuality.

He had to force his hands to unclench as he reached for the next crate.
-
Ahsoka rubbed a hand over her eyes exhaustively as she finished preparing her breakfast, Rex’s dinner. The Rodian she was working for had started dumping more work on her after his other employee quit. On top of that she was still working on repairing R-7 in her limited free time. If Ahsoka and Rex didn’t so desperately need the money, she would have quit too.

She had just started plating the ration pack food onto a plate when Rex walked in. She couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on his hair for a moment. It was admittedly a little strange to see Rex with longer hair. He’d begun to develop a habit of running his hands over the waves.

“Sorry, but we’re stuck with the green packet stuff for now.” She said as he set a plate down on their small table for him.
“And I used to think the Republic ration bars were bad.” Rex said with a sigh.
“I could always raid one of the Empire crates and find some.” Ahsoka said sarcastically. “If only to piss them off.”
“Force please don’t.” Rex mumbled. “At least with these the texture isn’t as bad.”
“They don’t have texture.” Ahsoka said with a scrunched nose.
“Exactly.” Rex said with a small smile.

She let out a good natured huff before sitting down across from him. The ration packs given in the outer rim didn’t meet all of her nutritional needs, much like the ration bars in the GAR, but she made due.

As they ate, Ahsoka could tell that something was on Rex’s mind. His gaze kept drifting off and his eyebrows scrunched slightly, an expression she was familiar with after being with him for years.

“What is it?” She asked.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Something’s on your mind.”

He huffed.

“Haar jetii.” He mumbled.
“First, I’m not a jedi. Second, I don’t need the Force to tell something’s on your mind.” Ahsoka pointed out.

Rex set his fork down with a sigh.

“Well speaking of pissing the Empire off, I’ve been hearing some things on the docks.”

She raised an eyebrow marking at him.

“Apparently there is a small group, a couple of rebels, working against the Empire.” He gave her a look. “Apparently they originated on Onderon.”

Ahsoka nearly choked on her food.

“Onderon?” She asked after she recovered.
“Apparently we left quite the impression on them.” Rex said with a ghost of a smile.

Ahsoka thought back to their mission to Onderon. They’d been an unruly group, but they’d had heart. It didn’t really surprise her that they would speak out against the Empire. Ahsoka glanced back at Rex.

“You want to help them.”

Rex pursed his lips before nodding.

“I think it’s worth looking into.”

Ahsoka sat back and crossed her arms.

“But you don’t want me getting involved.”

Rex narrowed his eyes at her before he also leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“It’s still far too dangerous for you. Even if you say you aren’t a Jedi, we had direct special orders to take you out.” Ahsoka almost missed the way his hands slightly clenched. “I don’t know much about it, but I would rather just look into it. Just until I know more about it.”
“Rex clones not under the Empire's control are in just as much danger.” Ahsoka pointed out.
“Yes but people are less likely to care about clones. Any Force wielders are being hunted right now. If the information turns out to be a bust, I would much rather it be my neck on the line than yours.”

Ahsoka pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn’t particularly like being sidelined on something like this, but she could tell Rex’s mind was set.

“Fine, but I want to be updated on anything you find.” Ahsoka said.
“Sure thing commander.” Rex said, earning him a kick in the shin.
-
It wasn’t hard for Rex to find the right person to talk to about the rebel movement. Which he immediately filed away as a problem. If they were making moves against the Empire they seriously needed to tighten up their security.

He attended a meeting with some of the local members, which wasn’t a lot. But he did learn that the leader of the movement was Saw Gerrera. He relayed this information to Ahsoka before tapping into the Fulcrum frequency they had used back when they had been training them. It took a little bit but Rex finally got into contact with Saw. He didn’t tell Saw who he was, figuring he wouldn’t be too happy to hear from a clone. The rebel was initially suspicious of Rex but soon began to listen to him. Especially when he pointed out that they needed to tighten up their security.

It didn’t take long for Rex to take up control of the rebels in this outer rim system. Right now the rebels needed information. That was easy enough. The Empire hadn’t gotten around to changing many of their protocols from the GAR yet. With some guidance from Rex the rebels got quite a few hits on the Empire’s database before the protocols were finally changed.

His best pair of informants were the Martez sisters. As soon as he’d said that name to Ahsoka while she was reinstalling a part on the now operational R-7’s dome, she had practically gotten whiplash from how fast her head whipped to his direction.

“The Martez sisters?”
“Yeah. Do you know them?” He asked curiously.

They weren’t exactly the kind of company he would expect a Jedi to keep.

“Yes. After I left the order I ended up in their shop when my speeder crashed on their dock. They were the ones I was on Obidiah with.”

The droid under her hands beeped rapidly.

“Yes Obidiah is where the Pikes are and we were only there for like 3 days.” She informed the agitated droid.

Rex’s eyes widened.

“This whole time they’ve been telling me that the reason they joined the rebels was because they wanted to make the empire pay for what they did to the jedi.”
“Oh Force, they probably think I’m dead.” Ahsoka said as she rubbed a hand across her forehead, smearing oil. “I want to meet with them.”

Rex started at that. The droid also gave an aggrieved bleep.

“Ahsoka, that might not be a good idea. The work they’re doing could get them captured. If they know you’re alive, they might give that information to the Empire.”

Ahsoka fixed him with a hard look.

“They really helped me when I needed it. They deserve to know.”

Rex sighed but grudgingly agreed.

The next time Rex met with Trace and Rafa, he brought Ahsoka. They two sisters had stared at the togruta like she was a ghost before crashing into her for a hug.

After a long explanation as to what had happened with order 66 and how Ahsoka knew Rex, the sisters explained how they had gotten involved with the rebel movement. After a few hours they had to part ways. They couldn’t exchange contacts but Ahsoka was adamant about them keeping R-7.

“Believe me, with the kind of work you guys are doing for the rebellion, you want a droid. R-7 is very reliable and it’ll make me feel better if you have him.” She informed them.

Trace looked down at the droid distrustfully. Rafa ignored her sister and knelt to rub a hand over the droid's dome.

“Thank you.” Rafa said.
“Just keep giving the Empire hell.” Ahsoka replied.
“Now that, we can do.” Trace said as she held out her hand to Ahsoka. “Stay safe.”
“I think I should be the one telling you guys that.” Ahsoka said with a raised eyebrow. “I would hate to leave this wonderful city to go save your skin again.”
“Haha.” Trace mumbled before pulling Ahsoka into a hug.

She mumbled something else that Rex couldn’t hear before stepping back so Rafa could hug her as well.

Ahsoka crouched to give R-7 one more pat before rising.

“May the Force be with you three.” She said with a small nod.

After that meeting the Martez sisters had begun to keep an eye out for any information about clones. Rex was extremely grateful for that.

Every meeting Rex attended, he always listened for any information on clones. He didn’t know what had become of Cody or his other squadmates, but if they were alive and under the chip’s control, he was going to move all 9 Corellian Hells to free them.

A spark of hope ignited when he finally heard from the Martez sisters.

“You said it was a group of rogue clones?” He asked in disbelief.
“Yep. Weird clones but they had the armor’n everything.” Trace told him.
“Yeah, they also had a young kid with them.” Rafa added.

He blinked at that. Not only was there a group of clones not working for the empire, they had a child with them.

“These weird clones, what kind of armor did they have?”
“Black.” Trace answered.

Rex suppressed a sigh of annoyance. The special ops wore black armor so that didn’t particularly narrow it down.

“Anything else about them?”
“Well like we said, they were weird. At first we didn’t even think they were clones.”

That caught Rex’s attention.

“Where did you say I could find them?” He asked.
“Ord Mantell. A cantina called Cid’s Parlor.”

Rex had heard of that place. The Jedi would often get information from someone on Ord Mantell and the name Cid definitely rang a bell. That solidified his resolve. Only clone officers or special forces working with jedi would have even heard of this place. Someone just like a certain ARC trooper he knew.

“Thank you. Jik will meet you when you arrive to get the information.”
“Good. Tell Ahsoka we said hi.” Rafa said before ending the com call.

Rex sat in the now dark room for a few moments.

He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up. But the possibility that Echo’s new squad could have somehow made it through the fall of the Republic without getting enslaved by the Empire was something he was willing to consider. Of course, it could be a trap, or a trick. Hells he didn’t know how they would have managed to get away from the Empire or if they’re chips had activated or not. There was also the question regarding the kid they were apparently housing.

Rex began to make his way home slowly.

If Echo was alive, he needed to tell Ahsoka. However, he didn’t want to get her hopes up if this turned out to be false.

By the time he made it back to the apartment he’d made up his mind. He would go to Ord Mantell and check this out himself. If it was good, he’d tell Ahsoka, if it was bad, there was no need to drop more bad news on her. Just as he was entering the apartment she practically crashed into his chest as she rushed to leave.

“Oh sorry.” She said as she stumbled back.
“It’s ok.” He told her as he looked her over.

It was very rare to catch a Force wielder off guard, especially with how familiar she was with his signature. He noted the dark circles under her eyes and the seemingly permanent oil stain on her cheek. He also had noticed that she had been paler as of recent.

“I need to get going.” She said through a yawn before moving to slip past him.

He raised an arm to block her, causing her to look up at him in confusion.

“Are you ok?” He asked.
“Yes?”
“When was the last time you had a good night of sleep?”

She pursed her lips.

“I’ve been kind of busy, Rex. Especially with the Empire making all the prices go up.”
“That may be the case but you haven’t missed a day of work in months. Surely he can give you a day off?”

Ahsoka snorted.

“If I took a day off he would probably fire me.”
“Vod’ika, you need a day of rest. If he has a problem with it, I’ll go down and have a chat with him.”

Ahsoka huffed out a laugh.

“I’m sure you would.” She looked up at him. “What’s up with you?”

The blatant change in subject was not lost on him. He narrowed his eyes on her before answering.

“I just got intel that there is a rogue group of clones on Ord Mantell.” Ahsoka’s eyes widened at that.
“Really?”
“Yes. I… I want to go check it out. If their chips didn’t activate or if they found a way to disable them, I would like to know.”

Ahsoka nodded as he spoke.

“Then you should go Rex.”

Rex felt his earlier resolve waver. His sister was standing in front of him practically swaying with exhaustion and he wanted to follow a lead that might not lead anywhere.

“Rex,” She drew his attention back to her. “Don’t worry about me. I know how important this is. You need to go check this out. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

He huffed but nodded.

“The credits we’ve saved should be enough to get a ride to Ord Mantell and back.” She told him.

He pulled her into a tight hug.

“I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“Just com me if you need to.” Ahsoka mumbled into his chest.

He nodded before releasing her.

After she left for work, Rex began to gather his things. He paused when he came across the sack that his armor was stored in. If he was going into the unknown, he’d much rather have protection. That and he figured if he looked familiar, he wouldn’t get shot by the Bad Batch on sight.

Or so he hoped.
-
Echo leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

One could only stare at the swirling lights of hyperspace for so long before getting a headache. While this most recent mission from Cid had been relatively easy, it was on the complete opposite side of the galaxy, leaving a lot of hyperspace travel in between.

He remembered long hyperspace flights back with the 501st. They were often filled with sabacc games, pranks, and holovideos they managed to smuggle.

Echo thought back to when Fives asked Ahsoka to teach him lightsaber forms. That had been more entertaining than anything else really.

He let himself get lost in the memory.

How many of them were still alive? How many of them were currently under the Empire’s control? Was he the only one left?

He was drawn back to the present by quiet voices behind him. Echo glanced back and saw a small form disappear into Wrecker’s bunk.

Having Omega with them was a big change, but the longer she was with them, the more welcoming it was becoming. She had this bright energy that made the darkness spreading through the galaxy seem far off.

He couldn’t help but be reminded of Ahsoka. The little togruta had been naive once as well, but that had quickly disappeared. Omega hadn’t been exposed to the same horrors they had, it shocked them all to begin with. All they had known was war, but she was blissfully unaware.

It made Echo’s heart ache a little that she was now getting thrown into the crossfire.

Despite this, Omega was remarkably smart. She picked up on skills quickly enough and was learning what to be cautious of. Thankfully they hadn’t had any more run-ins with bounty hunters, or any trouble regarding her. Though that could be due to her near constant shadow in the form of their 6’5” bomb technician.

Echo believed that Fives would have liked Omega. He’d corrupt her in an instant but he would like her fearlessness. Ahsoka would also like Omega. They both saw the good in people before the bad and always seemed to know how to draw them out of their shell.

He ran a hand over his short hair.

Thinking about Ahsoka made him think back to the question that had been haunting his waking and sleeping mind. Where was Ahsoka? Was she ok?

Nightmares had come creeping back. Avoiding sleep was the most desirable as of right now, so Echo often took double watch shifts while the others slept. He knew his squadmates were beginning to worry, but they hadn’t had the time to nag him yet. He just hoped it would stay that way for a little while longer.

A few hours later they dropped out of hyperspace in front of Ord Mantell. Wrecker refused to carry the lizard crate after it tried to eat his face earlier, or so he said, instead making Tech carry it. Echo rolled his eyes but felt the corners of his mouth twitch up. He knew a thing or two about over dramatic batchmates.

Once inside Cid’s Parlor, he felt like they were being watched. Echo scanned the dim room but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Just the usuals and the odd person passed out on a table. There was a hooded figure seated near the entrance, but they didn’t seem to be paying attention to Echo’s squad. Maybe he was just getting paranoid. No one had tried to get a hit on Omega for a few weeks now, maybe they wouldn’t try again.

He shook out his chills before hauling the lizard crate under his left arm and carrying it to Cid’s office.

“Alright fellas, here’s your cut.” Cid said as she handed three measle credits to Hunter.
“Wow wow wow, you said this job paid 3x this.” Hunter exclaimed.
“Yeah, for me, not for you.” Cid huffed as she stored the rest of the credits away.
“And how is this exactly a mutually beneficial arrangement?” Echo growled.
“You’re breathing aren’t you? Rather generous considering the debt you owe me.” Cid grumbled.
“What debt?” Hunter asked disbelievingly.

Cid tossed her datapad on the table in front of Hunter.

“Docking fees, port charges, gear, fuel, rations, and 20 cartons of Mantell mix?” He listed.

Echo groaned internally. He guessed that was where Wrecker and Omega disappeared to after every mission.

“Now, I like you boys, but I’m not running a charity here!” Cid snapped. “You need a big score for us to be square.”
“Like what?” Echo asked, annoyed.
“Like retrieving that tactical droid, but you bungled that op.” Echo did his best to cover his grimace.

He had been the most vocal about giving the rebel girls the droid’s information.

“I suggest you figure something out before you see my ugly side.” She hissed.
“That’s not her ugly side?” Tech mumbled quietly to Hunter and Echo.
“What was that goggles?” The trandoshian growled.

Before any of them could respond the sound of blaster fire above them drew their attention.
The 3 soldiers immediately took off with Cid not far behind them. When they made it to the main part of the cantina they saw the two regulars scrambling for the door. Echo looked over to see the hooded figure he’d noticed earlier setting a blaster down on the table in front of them.

Echo did a double take when he noticed the person’s armor. The same shade of blue was painted on his own armor, and he could have identified that single blue streak of scuffed paint anywhere. Echo froze completely.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Cid growled as she shoved past Echo. “You, who are you?”

The figure reached up and slowly pulled the hood of their poncho back from their face.

The others around him also froze in shock as well.

“Rex?”

Chapter Text

The only sounds in the medical room was Fives’ foot tapping on the ground and the quiet hum from the medical droid in front of him.

He would have thought by now he would have gotten better at waiting. He’d certainly gotten better at dealing with medical and surgical practices since going on the run, but for some reason he still couldn’t handle waiting even though this was his 8th time doing this. He now had a new sympathy for Hardcase, who had never been able to sit still.

In front of him the droid finally stepped back from the unconscious body on the table in front of it.

“The medical procedure is done. I have successfully removed the foreign object from the patient's orbital wall.” The droid held up a small disk with the inhibitor chip in it.

Fives nodded to the droid before going to stand by the sleeping soldier. It would take him 5-10 minutes to wake up, and he would be very disoriented after he did, but Fives was getting better and better at the post surgery speech.

It was always a gamble on how the soldier would wake up. Sometimes they woke up with a shout or screaming a name, probably a vod or a Jedi. Other times they woke up silently with tears streaming down their face.

In any case, all of them were equally horrified at what had happened.

This particular trooper had the standard issue cut that they’d all worn when they were cadets, something the Empire was making them do again Fives had realized after he’d found 5 troopers with the same cut. Probably in an attempt to strip them of their identity further.

But it was men like the one in front of that he couldn’t help but feel a spark of defiant joy. This trooper had a burn scar running across his cheek and down his neck. He also had swirling green tattoos that crawled around his neck and disappeared below his blacks.

The Empire could strip them of their names and their minds, they could try to make them all into meat droids, identical and unfeeling, but they couldn’t erase experiences. They couldn’t erase the marks these men had earned fighting for years. They couldn’t completely rid them of their stories.

Fives briefly wondered what battalion this trooper had served in. Considering the green tattoos he’d have to guess either Commander Gree’s or possibly Captain Grey’s.

The little armor Fives currently was wearing was painted blue to honor his vod. He’d managed to scavenge a pair of shoulder guards and another vambrace for his left arm along with greaves and thigh gauntlets for his legs. He’d also found a discarded chest plate not too long ago which he had painted to match his old one. Sure it might end up being a homing beacon to anybody that had known him but he didn’t care much.

Underneath he wore a jacket and loose pants. He had to admit it was kind of fun to pick out his clothes instead of being stuck wearing blacks or grays all the time.

Dangling from around his neck, protected under his chestplate was Ahsoka’s headpiece.

The trooper in front of him began to stir. He didn’t have the usual symptoms of the ones that woke up shouting, Fives really hoped he didn’t shout. They were harder to calm down and it usually drew unnecessary attention to them.

Fives sank back against the wall as the man fought to regain consciousness. He’d learned it was better to let them wake up on their own.

The soldier's breathing sped up and his hands unconsciously clenched by his sides. After a few more moments his eyes sprang open. He looked around the room rapidly before he found Fives.

His mouth opened and closed a few times before tears began to well up in his eyes.

“Easy vod. You’re free now. It’s ok.” Fives said quietly as he stepped forward.

The soldier fought to push himself up to sitting before Fives came forward to help him. Once upright the soldier gripped his arm in a shaking but vice-like grip. Fives looked up to see tears tracking down the man's face.

“I killed her.” He whispered.
“You didn’t have a choice vod.” Fives told him. “The long necks put control chips in our heads when we were still in the tubes. When given a vocal order they activated and took over your mind. It wasn’t your fault.”

His brother’s head shook in horror.

“I tried to fight it… but all I… all I could do was wat-watch.”
“I’m sorry vod.” Fives mumbled as he pulled his brother into a hug.

After a few minutes the man began to calm down. He slowly unclenched his hands from Fives’ jacket.

“What’s your name?” Fives asked.

The soldier opened his mouth and began to recite his CT number before stopping.

This had happened with the last two troopers Fives had de-chipped. He felt a pang of fear and rage, they were beginning to lose their grasp on who they were. It made him want to crash a venator into the Kamino facilities. He’d also send on for the kriffing Emperor while he was at it.

“My name is Palm.”
“Nice to meet you Palm, I’m Fives.” He offered out a hand and what he hoped was an inviting smile.

The other man took his hand and only twitched an eyebrow at his smile.

“So, now what?” Palm asked quietly.

Fives helped him stand from the bed.

“Well, I can set you up with a fake name and enough credits to buy a way off this rock.” Fives said. “After that I suggest any outer rim worlds. The empire isn’t as prevalent out there and they don’t know a clone's face as well.”
“Then what?” Palm asked with an almost scared look.

Fives sighed. That was a question he was still trying to answer. They’d been bred and trained for war. They knew how to strategize battles and disarm dozens of different beings, but they didn’t know the first thing about civilian life.

“I honestly don't know.” Fives admitted. “One trooper went to start a farm. Another went to track down a Mandalorian guild. Others just went to leave.”

Palm nodded absently.

“To think we know a hells alot about war but not the first thing about normal life.” He mumbled.
“Well it's never too late to learn.” Fives offered as he stooped to grab a bag of extra clothes he’d brought. “You’ll want to put these on.”

Palm nodded as he looked through the bag before beginning to strip the rest of his blank armor off. Fives had noticed new troopers beginning to appear amongst ones he knew were clone troopers. They had slightly different armor than the clone troopers still wore and the last trooper he’d de-chipped had explained that the Empire was training natborn soldiers as well as using the rest of the clone troopers.

Fives checked the chrono on the wall behind him. It was still the middle of the night which hopefully meant the Empire wouldn’t notice one trooper missing until morning checks. By then Palm would be long gone.

Fives ducked out of the medical room to look down the dim hallway. There were few people here now, the main occupants being the medical droids. He’d been using this facility for the last couple of troopers he’d managed to swipe. It was in a dingier part of Brentaal IV’s capital city, so not many people looked twice at him hauling an unconscious lump over his soldier.

Down the hall Fives began to hear voices. He rested a hand on the baster at his hip and began to slowly creep down the hall. It sounded like two people were talking, no one person and a droid. However when he got close enough he could hear the tell tale sound of multiple shuffling feet and the slight creak of armor. He finally got close enough to tell that the person talking was definitely a clone. Fives squinted at the window across from him, attempting to make out a reflection. In the dim light he could just make out a few white bits.

Fives cursed under his breath before quietly dashing back down the hall towards Palm’s room. The trooper tensed when Fives slipped inside.

“We’ve got company. About 5 soldiers down the hall. They're blocking the front entrance.” Fives explained. “There's another exit down a floor but we’ll encounter more people.”
Palm frowned at that. Brentaal was a core world and more people would recognize a clone's face here.

“Well civics sound better than troopers.” Palm mumbled.

Fives nodded before motioning him to follow. Fives glanced out and after seeing no one, took off with Palm right behind him. Just as they neared a T junction in the hallway Fives heard a shout behind them.

“Stop there!”

Fives shifted from a fast walk to a run. The sound of a blaster behind him made him instinctively duck. The bolt flew past him and slammed into the wall in front of him.

“Here!” Fives yelled to Palm before turning down the right hall.

Up ahead he could see the stairwell. Another blaster bolt flew past his ear as Palm stumbled next to him.

Fives pulled his own blaster out and whirled to fire. The stun bolt missed the first trooper but hit the second one. Fives continued to blindly fire behind him as they finally reached the stairwell. He shoved Palm in front of him just as a blaster bolt caught him in the arm.

He grunted and stumbled but didn’t slow as they tripped down the stairs as fast as they could.

Fives suddenly had very unpleasant flashbacks of his own mad dash through the senate building, Corrie guards right on his tail with guns blazing.

They burst through the doors on the next level. The med droid nearest to the door stumbled back before waving an arm and doing the droid equivalent of yelling in binary. Some of the sounds were very similar to the ones he’d heard skywalkers nightmare astromech R2D2 make, so he was probably getting cussed out in binary.

Palm shoved past the droid and continued down the hall.

“Turn left up here.” Fives said.

Another person that saw them coming quickly jumped out of the way. Just as they turned the corner the stairwell doors behind them banged open. They surged through the exit doors and out into a dirty alley way.

Fives took the lead as they slipped between the buildings and finally ended up on a main street. They slowed to a walk and kept their faces down as they passed the few people still up this late. Not that it would matter, most people out were drunk and stumbling home.

When Fives was sure they were no longer being pursued he came to a stop.

“Now where to?” Palm asked.
“I’ll take you to the space port, and then it's wherever you want to go.” Fives told him.

They made their way through the quiet and dark streets, occasionally ducking into alley ways when a speeder drove by. Fives asked Palm about the Empire’s new protocols so he could better evade them in the future. Or he could break in and steal information. Either one sounded good.

Finally arriving at the space port, Fives handed a satchel containing credits and a few ration bars he’d found. It also contained one of the fake ID’s he’d stolen from someone trying to rob him.

Palm sorted through the pack before looking back up at Fives.

“Thank you for helping me.” The man said quietly.
“We all deserve the chance to live our lives. Not governed by the kriffing Empire. I’m just sorry I couldn’t have helped more.”

Palm watched him for a moment. He seemed to pick up on the deeper feelings behind Fives words. He reached out an arm to Fives which the ex ARC gripped tightly.

“You're helping now. Vor entye. K'oyacyi.” Palm told him.
“Ret'urcye mhi.” Fives replied.

He watched as the trooper disappeared into the space port. After another moment Fives ran a hand through his hair and began to make his way back towards his own ship. So far he’d managed to de-chip 8 troopers since the fall of the republic. It had taken a while to establish a routine but he was getting better at it. He just had to take into account the Empire’s changing protocols.

He let out a sigh when he remembered he wouldn’t be able to use the med center he had been using anymore. The Empire had finally caught onto it and Fives had already been pushing his luck by staying so long.

Fives hit the button on his ship’s ramp and slowly made his way up into the ship. It was a single person ship that had a bunk, a very small kitchen area, and the cockpit. Fives navigated the ship out of the port and made a quick jump to hyperspace before dropping out into a quiet pocket in space.

Next he went to one of the kitchen cabinets and scanned the contents for something appetizing. He winced as the movement pulled at the wound on his arm, and grimaced again when he saw that his options consisted of ration bars.

He sighed, pulling out a ration bar and making his way over to his small medical cabinet.

He could practically hear Kix’s nagging in his head as he pulled out a small tube of bacta and a bandage. He carefully removed his right vambrace and then his jacket sleeve, making sure no material was caught on the wound. Fives gripped the bandage with his teeth as he carefully applied bacta to the wound.

It would scar no doubt, adding to the map of old marks across his body. Some he didn’t even remember getting, others he tried to forget about, hoping to bury the memories attached to them. At least with the old marks, he’d had one of his brothers there to patch him up and offer comfort. They’d crack a joke or tell a story to take his mind off the pain.

Now he stood by himself, leaning against the cold wall of the tin can ship, trying to clean blood off his arm and fight tears of pain back to not blur his vision.

Once he had the wound cleanish and the bandage in place he grabbed his ration bar and returned to the cockpit, sitting down in the chair before biting into the bar.

The only thing in front of him was darkness and stars as he drifted in empty space.

He was tired and knew he should probably go to his bunk to get sleep, but he couldn’t find the energy to drag himself upright again. With every brother he freed from the chip, he felt a small weight lift from his chest. But then came the reminder that there were countless others still under its control. Sure he’d given 8 troopers a new chance, but there were hundreds of thousands of others who would never get the same chance.

He felt the weight of the galaxy settle on his shoulders as he took another bite of his ration bar. The overwhelming odds made him want to crumble.

With each trooper he grew more reckless. He had fight in him, but was beginning to lack self preservation. He didn’t have much to hold onto anymore. His aliit was either dead or trapped in their own mind.

But he kept going. Rotation after rotation he found the strength to drag himself up and continue on. One motivator being that he would one day find one of his aliit under one of the blank helmets of the Empire. His other was to find his sister.

He had to believe that she was still out there in the galaxy somewhere. That she had been away from the carnage of the Republic's fall. He would keep searching until he found her… or found what had happened to her.

Fives stuffed the empty ration wrapper into his pocket before letting his head tilt back against the rest behind him. He slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.

-
Echo still wasn’t sure what he was seeing was real. His brother was wearing the same armor he’d worn when Echo last saw him, slightly more dirty now. He had begun to let his hair grow out, making the blonde even more striking. Other than that and a scar partially hidden by hair on Rex’s head, he looked the same.

He was alive.

Echo stumbled forward until he was standing right in front of his brother. He reached a tentative hand out to him which Rex grabbed. Echo launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around his ori’vod’s neck.

“Kriffing haran vod I didn’t know what happened to you.” Echo mumbled.
“I didn’t know what had happened to you guys after the Empire fell either.” Rex replied quietly.

Rex slowly released him before tapping his forehead with his own in a keldabe.

“Captain,” Hunter said from behind Echo. “It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, I guess it has.” Rex said as he moved to greet Hunter.
“Where have you been Rex?” Echo asked.
“That’s… a long story.” He replied. “One that might be better for a later date. I want to know what’s been happening to you boys.”

Hunter let out a long sigh before walking over to the bar to grab a few cups and one of the bottles Cid had displayed. Echo guessed they were now adding drink costs to their apparently growing debt.

“After the war ended I guess you can say I’ve been keeping a low profile.” Rex told them after he took a sip from his cup.
“How’d you track us down?” Echo asked.
“Trace and Rafa Martez.” Rex answered. “They said a squad of rogue clones helped them on Correlia. They told me I could find you here.”

He glanced around the dingy parlor.

“I had my suspicions that it was your squad, the fact that it was Cid’s Parlor only furthered it. Only clones working closely with Jedi know about her.” He cast a knowing glance at Echo. “But they said you were traveling with a kid?”

Hunter sighed as he took another long drink from his cup.

“Omega. She’s a clone, like us.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a new voice.

“Well look who it is.” They turned to see Wrecker and Omega in the doorway to the parlor. “Com’er Rex.”

Echo couldn’t keep the smile off his face as his ori’vod was unceremoniously hauled into a tight hug by their bomb tech.

“Yeah, good to see you too Wrecker.” Rex managed out.
“I thought you didn’t like the regs.” Omega asked slightly suspicious.
“This one we like.” Wrecker said as he spun and set Rex down.
“Omega, this is Rex.” Hunter said.

Echo saw a spark of recognition light in her eyes. She glanced up at Echo.

While he hadn’t shared much about his life before the Bad Batch, Omega had been able to wring a few stories out of him. She was well acquainted with Rex’s name along with others from the 501st. He gave a small nod of confirmation.

His brother knelt down to Omega’s eye level.

“I’ve met many clones in my time, but never one like you.” Rex told her.

Omega slowly approached him before leaning in close to his face. Echo saw his brother pull back slightly and glance around slightly confused.

For a moment Echo thought she was going to point out their matching hair colors. As far as Echo knew, he was pretty sure Rex was one of the few clone troopers to make it to maturity with his particular mutation.

“You’re a generation one.”

Echo had to hold back a surprised snort.

“Now how’d you know that?” Rex asked.
“From the lines on your face.” Echo couldn’t hold back his surprised laugh that time.

Rex gave a slightly pain filled laugh.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been around.” He said as he glanced back at the other Bad Batchers.

Echo was now glad that he hadn’t told Omega his own age. Though he guessed that some of the stress lines on Rex’s face weren’t from age and instead were from attempting to keep up with General Skywalker.

“You got that right.” Wrecker laughed before grimacing and gripping his head. “Tech I need one of those med patches.”
“You already used the last one.” Tech told him.
“What’s wrong?” Rex asked suspiciously as he stood.
“Nothing, it’s just a headache.” Wrecker answered.
“Which are becoming more frequent.” Echo pointed out.

It hadn’t been lost on him the pain medication Wrecker had been attempting to take inconspicuously as of recent.

“Is that so?” Rex’s eyes narrowed.
“If you're concerned about the so-called inhibitor chips, don’t be. Our deviant nature appears to have impeded their functionality. Except in Crosshair.” Tech told him.
“You’re telling me you haven’t removed your chips?” Rex’s voice had taken on a dangerous note, it made Echo straighten and set his cup down.
“No, not yet.” Tech answered.

Rex immediately reached for his side, pulling back his poncho to hover over his blaster. He took a step to put himself in between them and Omega.

“Rex.” Hunter said in warning as he held a hand up.
“Those chips make you a threat to everyone around you. Even her.” He nodded to Omega behind him. “You’re all ticking time bombs.”
“Take it easy captain.” Hunter said cautiously.
“What’s in your head is more dangerous than you can imagine. I’ve seen what happens when the chip activates and I don’t want to bury any more of our brothers.”

Echo felt a weight sink in his gut.

“Trust me, it’s not something you can control.” Echo saw Rex’s face fall in shame. “I couldn’t.”

Echo suddenly found images from his nightmares flashing before his eyes. He’d known that 501st would have undoubtedly gotten the order, but he’d held on to a small hope that they hadn’t had to turn on Skywalker. Those were quickly disappearing as he took in the look on Rex’s face.

“It’s a risk you do not want to take.” Rex warned.

Echo watched as Hunter thought for a moment.

“How do you suggest we get them out?” He asked.

Rex visibly relaxed and straightened.

“Good question.” He said. “I'll figure something out and contact you.”
“You’ll need our information then.” Tech said and moved to Rex’s side to give their com frequency.

Echo did his best to push the images in his mind to the back of his head. He downed the rest of his drink in one go and reached to refill it. The past few months he’d wanted to know what had become of his 501st aliit, now he wasn’t so sure. From Rex’s face, it looked bad. Probably Kaller level bad.

Hunter and Omega took Wrecker to raid Cid’s small supply of medical aid while Tech finished relaying the frequency to Rex.

Tech nodded to him and turned to follow Hunter into the back rooms of the parlor. His captain made to leave before Echo loudly cleared his throat.

His ori’vod attempted to stifle his sigh but didn’t succeed very well.

“If you think you’re just going to show up out of the blue, dump all that on us, then leave, you are sorely mistaken, oh captain my captain.” Echo said, pulling a term he and Fives had used to endlessly annoy Rex way back when.
“Here I was thinking you finally weren’t going to be a pain in my shebs.” Rex mumbled as he returned to the bar.
“Yeah well you decided to come rescue me, now you have to live with the consequences.” Echo pointed out smugly.

Rex poured himself another cup before taking a long swig.

“We were on Kaller, when the order went out.” Echo said quietly, Rex tilted his head in Echo’s direction to signal he was listening. “General Billaba was there with her padawan Caleb.”

Rex tensed next to him.

“Gray… he and his men turned on Billaba. She was able to distract them long enough to warn Caleb but…” Echo took another sip of his drink. “Hunter and Crosshair followed the kid into the woods. Hunter said he stunned the kid when he was jumping over a ravine but I don’t think he did. Crosshair was gunning for the kid but the rest of us wanted to help him. I just hope he found a way off the planet.”

Echo fiddled with his scomp for a moment before continuing.

“After that we made our way back to Kamino and it was like everyone was brainwashed. Tarkin was there to do evaluations on us, put us through rigged simulation before sending us off to take out a group of rebels on Onderon. But when we got there, all we found were kids and elderly. Finally figured out we were being set up and decided to get out. We had to go back to Kamino for Omega though, that’s when we lost Crosshair.” Echo rubbed a hand over his short hair as he replayed their escape in his head. “His chip had been acting up beforehand but then it completely took over. Last we saw he was with the Empire.”

Echo fell silent.

“Then you found yourself here working for Cid.” Rex finished.
“There were a few bumps along the way. For some reason there was a bounty hunter after Omega but we haven’t seen her since.”

Rex raised an eyebrow at that.

“Why’d they want the kid?”
“No idea.” Echo said with a sigh.

They fell silent again, each deep in their own thoughts.

Echo swirled the liquid in his cup absently.

“I don’t know what we’ll do after this gig with Cid is done. I don’t know what we could do. Hells Rex we’re soldiers, what does a soldier do after their war is done?” He asked quietly.
“I’m still trying to answer that question myself.” Rex admitted.
“All that laying low?” Echo asked.
“...Yeah.” Echo could tell there was something Rex wasn’t sharing but he wasn’t going to push.

The sound of a small crash down the hall made both turn, but when no curses or yelling followed they returned to their cups.

Rex was very happy to finally know that Echo was alive. He was happy that the color was beginning to return to his skin and his cheeks had filled out, meaning he was gaining his weight and muscle back. He was happy that he was not under the chip’s control too. But he was also itching to leave.

Less due to the fact that he had a bad feeling about Wrecker, more because Echo’s line of questioning was quickly nearing dangerous territory. Echo had been one of the few in the 501st that could read Rex like an open book, no matter his attempts to hide his feelings. He did not want to give away any possibly important information, not until he was sure he could trust the Bad Batch.

“I guess the thing that’s keeping me from completely losing it is that I might find Ahsoka out there somewhere.” Rex tensed.

This was exactly the topic he had been hoping desperately to avoid.

“I mean, you said she left the jedi order, she wouldn’t have been a target. Especially if she wasn’t on Coruscant. I just hope she’d found some safe quiet place before the Republic fell.” Echo mumbled.

Rex so desperately wanted to tell Echo that Ahsoka was alive and as of when he left a few days ago, safe. Or as safe as one could be right now. But their earlier conversation rang in his head. They didn’t have their chips out. Crosshair’s had activated. If a chip could activate late, there was no telling what would happen if Rex told Echo now. They were also having run-ins with bounty hunters and the Empire. If any information that Ahsoka was still alive was leaked she’d be hunted down.

Rex’s heart broke, and he knew Echo would kick him in the shebs later for it, Ahsoka too probably, but he had to protect his jedi.

“Echo… Ahsoka wasn’t on Coruscant when the order went out.” Rex said quietly.

The ARC trooper looked up at Rex with wide eyes. Rex’s heart broke a little more at the hope in his face.

“You knew where she was? Was she somewhere safe?” Echo asked hopefully and a little desperate.

Rex sighed and let his head drop slightly.

He had hoped he wouldn’t have to share this story. Not when he was still working to heal himself from it.

“About a week and a half before the end of the war, Ahsoka reached out to Skywalker becuase she had been working with a group of Mandalorians to track down Darth Maul.” Rex saw Echo’s head cock in confusion.

Right, Maul showed back up after Echo went missing.

“Maul was a sith.” Rex explained.

Echo nodded before shifting to face Rex more. Rex kept his eyes focused on the bar in front of him.

“She was calling to ask if Skywalker would take the 501st to Mandalore to capture Maul. But then Grievous attacked Coruscant and Skywalker and General Kenobi were called back to defend it. Anakin split the 501st in half and put me and Ahsoka in charge of the new legion so we could go to mandalore.”

Beside him he felt Echo falling still.

“After a week of siege, we finally found Maul.” Rex shook his head, unable to keep the small smile off his face. “You would have been so damn proud Echo, she took Maul on herself and finally managed to capture him. Something no one else had been able to do.”

His smile slipped from his face.

“We were on our way back to Coruscant to deliver Maul. Kenobi was engaging Grievous on Utapau and the war was finally coming to a close. Ahsoka… she said she was going to rejoin the order. To try to fix the parts she didn’t stand with. Then…” Rex attempted to swallow around the lump in his throat, but his next words still came out as almost a whisper. “Then the order went out.”

Echo was shaking his head next to him.

“No…”
“I tried to… I tried to fight it. I tried to warn her but…” He would never be able to erase the horror of feeling his mind slip away as he stared at Ahsoka.

He hadn’t realized his hand was shaking until some of the liquid in his cup splashed onto the bar. He set his cup down quickly and raised his hands to hold his head.

A hand fell on his shoulder.

“Rex…” He could hear the waver in Echo’s voice. “It wasn’t your fault.”

He finally steeled himself to look at Echo. His vod’ika’s cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes held a grief so deep Rex didn’t need the Force to physically feel it.

Rex hesitantly pulled Echo into another hug. The ARC tensed before burying his face into the cloth on Rex’s shoulder. Rex reached a hand up to gently run his fingers through Echo’s hair.

“I didn’t get the chance to tell her you were alive.” Rex mumbled.

Echo tensed before beginning to shake.

This was seriously going to come back to bite Rex in the shebs, but he had to do this. He had to keep telling himself that this was best for now. It just strengthened his resolve to find a way to get the kriffing chips out of their heads that much sooner.

He held Echo for a while longer before the sound of the others approaching made them pull apart.

Rex mumbled his goodbyes to Echo before leaving the cantina.
-
Echo didn’t sleep the night after Rex showed up. He didn’t sleep the night after either. The next he woke up thrashing in his bunk from nightmares. Everytime he closed his eyes to sleep he saw Ahsoka’s face, locked forever in horror.

It didn’t take Rex long to find a location, Echo just hadn’t expected it to be in a starship graveyard.

Omega stared out of the front viewfinder wide eyed as she took in all the deteriorating ships below them. More than a few below them were Jedi Cruisers, probably too badly damaged in the war to be worth fixing.

Echo felt a strange experience of realizing that these ships below all belonged to an era that was gone now. The people that had walked their halls, the people that had slept in the bunks or fixed the engine, all would be forgotten.

The era of the Republic was gone. Along with so many of his brothers and his sister.

Echo gave his head a small shake and focused on the tracker for Rex’s signal instead.

“Right on time.” Rex greeted.
“How’s a junk planet going to help us?” Wrecker asked.
“You’ll see, just follow me.”

They made their way out of the makeshift hangar and began to climb the side of one of the ships. The side was rusted and beginning to fall away in some places. Echo couldn’t even tell what kind of ship it had once been by looking at it. However when Omega asked Tech he listed off names and classifications.

“Braca might not be much to look at, but it has exactly what we need.” Rex told them as they reached the top of the ship.

Echo looked out to where Rex had gestured to find a Jedi cruise in the distance.

“I had my inhibitor chip taken out on a Jedi cruise just like that.” Rex explained.

That just added to the questions Echo had been coming up with since seeing Rex. Who’d taken Rex’s chip out if all the trooper’s chips were activated? How had he discovered them in the first place?

“If it's all the way over there, why’d we land all the way over here?” Wrecker complained.
“Everyone down!” Hunter suddenly ordered.

Echo looked to where Hunter was looking to find a small transport flying over the shipyard.

“That’s why.” Rex answered.
“It's the scrapper guild.” Tech mumbled.
“They control this whole planet. We need to keep out of sight of their patrols.” Rex explained. “Let's move.”

They descended into another ship and began the long trek towards the cruiser.

“How’d you find out about the chips in the first place?” Echo finally asked.

He saw Rex’s shoulder slump slightly.

“Fives.”

Echo stumbled, nearly losing control of his legs.

“What?” He gasped.
“He tried to warn me about the chips. But I didn’t understand at the time.” Rex said. “One of our troopers, Tup, his chip malfunctioned on Anaxes and he killed General Tiplar. Fives stuck with him when we took him to Kamino to be evaluated and I guess he discovered them there. He removed his own which made the Kaminoans flip out but General Ti was able to secure him a trip back to Coruscant so he could bring it up with the Chancellor. He thought it was a Seperatist plot…” Rex shook his head as he thought back to his conversation with Fives in the junkyard.

Now he knew that it had been Sidious’ plot all along. If he’d listened to Fives maybe so many others would be alive. Maybe he could have saved his aliit-

A weight rested on his arm, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“I can’t imagine it would have been easy to believe back then. It’s still hard to believe now. You can’t blame yourself Rex.” Echo told him.

Rex sighed and continued down the hall.

“Echo, Fives died because of this. When he went to talk to the chancellor something happened and he was accused of attempting to murder the Chancellor. He took off into the lower levels… kriff he was one smart bastard. He managed to get a message to me and Skywalker through Kix and tried to explain it to us in person but the guard showed up and he took off again. Later that night there was a shootout between a couple of rival gangs and he was caught in the crossfire. After that the higher ups sealed the whole case and pretty much covered it up. I put in a grievance report about it, and I put another one in when Commander Blackout, the special ops commander, sent out something relating to the chips, but I still didn’t look into it more. So much was going on in those last few months it completely went over my head.”

He fell quiet again.

“I agree with Echo on this captain, you can’t put the blame on yourself for this.” Hunter said from behind them. “Besides, you're helping us now. That’s worth something.”

Rex shrugged after a moment.

They continued quietly for a while longer.

“How’d you all find out about the chips?” Rex asked curiously.
“Omega.” Echo answered.
“The kid?”
“Yeah, she was Nala Se’s medical assistant. She knew about them but not their ulterior motive.” Echo explained.
“Huh.” Rex said, glancing back at the little blonde.

After what felt like hours they finally found themselves at the base of the cruiser. Omega craned her neck back to look up at it.

“Wow, it’s much bigger up close.” She said in awe.
“This is an original Venator class ship, one of the first batch off the line.” Rex explained to her.
“One of the first off the line huh,” Wrecker said. “Just like you Rex.”

This was only further solidifying Echo’s resolve to never tell his squad his actual age. He was only a little under a year younger than Rex, he was still surprised sometimes how young this batch was.

Entering the rusted halls of the venator gave Echo a sense of deja vu. The layout for venators hadn’t changed a whole lot throughout the war. He guessed if he tried now he could find his way to the barracks and the mess hall even in this dingy ship.

“Last time I was on one of these…” Rex mumbled in front of him. “It didn’t end so well.”
“If the inhibitor chip wasn’t something you could control, how’d you get yours out?” Echo asked the question that had been bugging him ever since Ord Mantell.
“I… had help.”

These half answers from his ori’vod were starting to unsettle Echo. Rex hadn’t seemed to give him a straight answer since finding them on Ord Mantell. He just hoped after the chips were out his brother would give him some real answers. If not… Echo wasn’t above using blackmail. He had more than a few stories he was sure Rex didn’t want circulating around.

After a little bit of excitement they finally reached the med bay.

“This will do nicely.” Rex said.
“I would no longer call this med bay a sterile environment.” Tech mumbled.
“Do you prefer to use the facility on Kamino?” Rex asked.
“This will do nicely.” Tech answered.

Wrecker groaned as he sat down on the med bay bed.

“Time to get scanned Wrecker.” Tech said before placing his device on his brother.

Echo glanced around at the flickering lights in the med bay. Old memories of being confined to one of these beds by fear of his ori’vod Kix brought a small smile to his face.

“Hunter, just because this surgery worked on Rex, doesn’t mean it’s safe.” Omega mumbled quietly to his brother.
“It’s more dangerous to leave their inhibitor chips in.” Rex explained.

Another groan of Wrecker brought Echo’s attention back to his other brother.

“It’ll be over soon Wrecker.” Echo told him.
“I think I found something.” Tech said.

Everyone moved to stand around Wrecker.

“90 degrees from his right orbital floor below the parietal wall there appears to be an intrusion.”
“Yep, that's it.” Rex said.
“Get that thing away from me.” Wrecker growled as he shoved the scanner back into Tech’s chest.

Omega came around to look at Wrecker's face.

“Something’s not right.” She said.
“We need to speed this up.” Rex warned.

Echo began to start up the surgical pod.

“Relax this won’t hurt a bit.” He heard Tech mumble to Wrecker as he prepared a hypo.

A sudden gasp for air made Echo look up. He froze in shock when he saw one of Wrecker’s hands wrapped around Tech’s throat.

“You’re in direct violation of Order 66.”

The room descended into chaos as they attempted to lure Wrecker out of the med bay. The bomb tech came after them with a ferociousness he’d only seen while battling droids. To see his brother who was usually the compassionate one turned into a ruthless machine with only one directive was frightening.

The last thing he thought of before being unceremoniously thrown into Rex’s stun blaster was to wonder if this was how Ahsoka had felt before she died.
-
By the time Rex was finally able to unload two stun shots into Wrecker, the others were starting to come too. Tech stumbled out of the med bay as Rex worked to drag the bomb tech back to the med bay with Omega in tow.

Together the two of them were able to haul Wreck up onto the bed and properly sedate him. After that Tech helped Hunter to his feet while Rex went to grab Echo who was still knocked out from the stun round. When he returned Tech was initiating Wrecker’s surgery.

“How long will this take?” Omega asked nervously.
“I don’t know, I was unconscious.” Rex answered.
“The surgery should only take about 10 minutes.” Tech offered.
“I’m pretty sure I woke up pretty fast after mine.” Rex said as he settled the unconscious ARC on the ground.
“I now understand your insistence on removing our chips.” Tech told him and Hunter hummed in agreement.
“I’m just glad nobody was too severely injured.” Rex responded.

They all fell silent at that. Things could have been a lot worse and they all knew it. It was a miracle they were walking away from Wrecker’s rampage with bruises and a few scrapes, not broken bones or blaster wounds.

Echo slowly began to wake as Wrecker’s surgery ended. Tech looked over the chip curiously as Omega dragged a chair over to sit with Wrecker. It took a while for Wrecker to wake up, long enough to make them all begin to worry. Rex hadn’t known how long it had taken Ahsoka to get his chip out. He thought it had been quick, but for all he knew she could have been defending his bed for an hour before he woke up.

Finally Wrecker woke up. Next under was Hunter. He did wake up much quicker than Wrecker. Echo stared at the bed and the surgical pod nervously, likely having unpleasant memories of Skako Minor. Rex didn’t blame Echo for his hesitation for one moment. He stood to offer comfort but Omega beat him to it. Rex watched the way Echo’s face softened as the girl talked to him, reminding him of a time when another young girl offered that same comfort.

The sooner this was all done, the sooner Rex could stop digging his grave deeper.

Tech offered to sedate Echo before setting him up on the bed which the ARC gratefully accepted. Tech watched over Echo’s surgery more carefully, occasionally changing a thing or two so none of his cybernetics would be damaged.

Rex felt a weight lift from his chest that he hadn’t noticed before. Echo’s new squad had taken him on without complaint and were looking after him. Rex could worry all he wanted but Echo had been in good hands with the Bad Batch.

When the ARC woke up from his surgery the main thing he had to complain about was the fact that he’d had to shave the side of his head.

“I just grew it back. Now I have to go shave the other side so it matches.” Echo grumbled.
“Here I thought Fives was the diva.” Rex mumbled with a small smile.
“Oh he was. Spent hours figuring out how to style his hair and his goatee.” Echo said as he shook his head.

Rex snorted. He’d missed this, the easy banter with his brothers. Especially one that he had been so close with. Now that the Batch was chip free, they would be getting a lot more calls from him.

“So are you finally going to tell me what you’ve been holding out on me since you popped back up?” Echo asked suddenly.

Rex opened and closed his mouth in surprise.

“Nih nyac di’kut vod.” Echo told him tartly.

His brother shook his head with a small laugh.

“I know.” Rex pursed his lips as he thought for a moment before he seemed to come to a conclusion. “I will tell you everything, but I think it’d be better to wait for this vod’ika.”

Echo opened his mouth to argue but Rex held up a hand.
“Believe me, it’ll be worth the wait. I promise.”

Echo frowned at Rex before sighing in resignation.

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

Rex wrapped an arm around Echo’s shoulders.

“I know you will.”

After Tech’s surgery, Rex approached the tactician.

“Do you have access to the Imperial database?” He asked.
“Partial access. I am still working on getting past all of their security measures.” Tech answered. “Why do you ask?”
“I need you to change something for me. I need to change my status as well as the rest of the 332nd from MIA to KIA. I also need you to confirm that Ahsoka Tano has been eliminated.” Rex told him quietly.

Tech’s eyes flickered towards where Echo was talking to Hunter before nodding.

“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you Tech.”

After Rex left, they spent the night on the cruiser. Everyone was still shook up from earlier, especially Wrecker who had hardly spoken since leaving the med bay. Echo led them to the barracks so they could settle down for the night in a relatively familiar place.

“Was the 501st’s ship a lot like this one?” Omega asked him.
“Yep. Venator models didn’t differ much.” Echo answered. “We practically lived on the venators when we weren’t on campaigns.”

When they finally reached the barracks Echo noted that there were no pictures left on the walls, but Echo could see where they had once hung. There were also streaks of dark maroon along the walls.

On the Dominator and later the Resolute, the 501st had decorated their barrack walls with all kinds of paint and pictures. They’d also had random tallies marked on the walls that could easily be wiped away before inspections. He unconsciously made his way over to the area his bunk would have been if they were on the 501st’s ship, leading his squad to bunk down around him.

They all quickly settled down for the night, soon enough Echo could hear Tech snoring from his bunk a ways away.

Echo tossed and turned in his own bunk. He thought the familiarity of this place would help him sleep better, and while it did ease something in his mind… he couldn’t ignore the emptiness. He couldn’t ignore that Fives wasn’t quietly snoring in the bunk above him, that Hardcase wasn’t loudly snoring the bunk by his head, that Jesse wasn’t mumbling in his sleep in the bunk across from him. He couldn’t ignore how empty the barracks were, and that while these bunks were similar to the ones he knew, they weren’t his. These had belonged to other troopers, troopers that were either dead now or worse.

Echo finally pushed himself up and as quietly as he could on metal legs, crept from the barracks. He stood outside the door for a moment, considering where he would go. Finally he turned left to find where the mess hall would be.

He thought he heard something behind him but when he turned, his flashlight only picked up on a rodent scuttling away.

He sighed and turned once more towards his destination. The silence of the halls unsettled him. It also brought back countless memories of laughter that had once rang through halls much like this one. When he reached the mess, he had to shove the doors the rest of the way open so he could squeeze inside the room. The way the ship was tilted left the far side of the room in a shallow pool of water that had seeped through one of the various holes.

Echo shone his flashlight around the room. He remembered late nights spent in the mess when the rec rooms were closed for cleanings. Nights filled with laughter, jokes, and sometimes smuggled alcohol.

Echo turned and made his way out of the room, letting himself wander for a bit until he found himself in front of what would have been the jedi quarters. He blinked at the doors in front of him in surprise. The door he was in front of was unmarked, but it would have belonged to the general’s padawan if they’d had one.

Echo reached his right arm towards the door but stopped. This wasn’t Ahsoka’s room. He wouldn’t find anything of her’s inside. That thought made his arm drop back to his side. He took a step back away from the door, then another. His back met the wall behind him with a clack and he slowly slid down to the floor.

Ahsoka was gone.

Not just gone, she was dead. Gunned down by her own men. Her own aliit.

She was dead and Echo had never been able to see her again. Never been able to tell her that he was alive. He didn’t even have anything of her’s to carry with him, not like how he had Fives' vambrace. Not like how his twin and his sister had worn his vambraces to honor him.

Echo let his head fall to his hand as tears began to leak down his face.

He truly was the last one.

After he’d found out Fives had died, he’d still known that Ahsoka was still out there, that their trio hadn’t been completely lost. Now, it sank into his chest, pushing the air from his lungs.

He didn’t know how long he sat like that before a voice cut through his thoughts.

“Echo?” His head shot up to see Omega hesitantly approaching him, her own light bobbing slightly.
“Omega,” He quickly wiped tears from his face but he knew she had seen them already. “What are you doing here?”
“I saw you leave and I couldn’t sleep so I kind of followed you.” She looked down guiltily as she spoke.

He could hardly blame her for having trouble sleeping. He watched her shift nervously for a few more moments before sighing.

“You can sit if you’d like.” She quickly walked over and settled down next to Echo on the floor.

She glanced at the door across from them curiously but didn’t break the silence that had settled around them.

“These are where the Jedi would have stayed on the ship.” He finally answered her unspoken question. “The other rooms were for the Clone commanders or Captains but most of the time the clone COs just stayed in the barracks.”
“Did the jedi ever visit the barracks?” Omega asked after a moment of thought.

Echo felt a small smile tug at his lips.

“Ours did. Our jedi commander would sometimes sleep in the barracks too.”

Omega looked up at him curiously.

“Really?”
“Yep. First time she did it was because she was comforting one of the new troopers after a campaign. She was supposed to be in the med bay but when one of our medics wasn’t looking she slipped out. The kid she was with had just lost his close friend and she just had this way of making it better when you were hurting.” Echo explained quietly.

Omega wrinkled her nose.

“I thought jedi didn’t really do that kind of thing. I mean I thought they were all high and mighty.”
“That’s what we were taught on Kamino but it wasn’t very true. They weren’t supposed to form attachments to people or things because they were supposed to not let their emotions rule them. But our jedi were caring. Especially Ahsoka. She was our commander. She couldn’t have been much older than you are when she joined the 501st actually.”
Omega’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Echo nodded.

“But that’s so young.” Omega said in a hushed tone.
“That’s what I said when I joined the 501st. My twin and I were shocked when we met her. But… she earned our respect.” Echo absently fiddled with his scomp attachment as he stared at the door in front of him. “She was fearless. She was always right up front to lead us into battle alongside Skywalker. I can’t count the number of times she threw herself in front of explosions and blaster bolts for us. Then at the end of the day she still had the energy to help calm troopers down in the med tents.”

He hadn’t realized he was crying again until a tear dripped off his chin. Omega was watching him with wide but sympathetic eyes.

“She sounds amazing.” Omega told him.
“She was. She meant so much to us all. Ahsoka was one of my closest friends.” His voice began to waver as a lump formed in his throat.

Omega fell still when it finally dawned on her as to what had befallen Ahsoka.

“Echo, I’m so sorry.” She said quietly.
“She was my sister.” He whispered out as he pulled his knees closer to his chest.

Omega shifted closer to his side before slowly wrapping her arms around his neck. He took in a shuddering breath before carefully hooking his right arm around her waist.

They sat like that for a while. Nothing but the sound of Echo’s shuddering breath and the quiet creaking of the ship around them.

Echo finally let his arm drop and he wiped away the remnants of his tears.

“Thank you.” He said quietly.
“I wish I could have met her.” Omega mumbled sadly.
“She would have loved you vod’ika.” He told her before leaning his head back against the wall behind him.

He tilted his head to look down at the girl beside him. Yes, his sister would have loved this new addition to his aliit.

After one more fortifying breath Echo slowly pushed himself upright and off the floor. He offered a hand to Omega.

“We should probably head back before Hunter sends out a search party.” He said as he pulled her up.

Omega stuck close to his side as he navigated their way through the dark ship. He paused when they came up on the rec room area.

“Did I ever tell you about the prank war Ahsoka and my twin Fives started?” Echo suddenly asked.

The little girl raised her eyes to Echo’s and shook her head curiously.

Echo had yet to share many stories about Fives and Ahsoka. Probably because he was still recovering from the pain of finding out about Fives’ death. But now Echo felt a certain lightness as he recounted the events to Omega.

One story led to another as they wandered the ship.

When they finally made their way back to the barracks, Echo finally felt like he could sleep.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka stretched her arms over her head before placing them on her hips and arching her back forward. She felt a satisfying pop and straightened.

This time of evening most people were rushing to get home for dinner and didn’t much care who or what was in their way, leading to many people bumping into her. She also felt the tell tale feeling of hands slipping in and out of her pockets, trying to find credits that weren’t there. Ahsoka had learned in her months away from the order to carry her credits in much more conspicuous locations.

She suddenly bumped into the back of a tall twi’lek in front of her.

“Sorry.” She told the man before realizing his attention wasn’t on her, and he wasn’t moving.

She carefully maneuvered around him only to find that the flow of foot traffic had slowed to an almost stop.

Ahsoka tried to crane her neck over the other people around her but couldn’t see anything. She ducked her head and began to slide through gaps, slowly making her way forward to see what was causing the holdup. As she got closer she began to hear someone shouting. Others around her were murmuring.

She heard the word Empire and the word Jedi.

That made the togruta stop in her tracks. The Force was turning sharp around her, like it did when she neared Ventress or Dooku. It sent chills down her spine and made her begin to push her way back out of the crowd.

She was stopped when she felt a strong spike of fear cut through the other emotions permeating the air around her.

Ahsoka was pushing back into the crowd before she could fully process her movements. The self preserving side of her that sounded a lot like Anakin and Rex were telling her to turn and get the kriff out of there. But the voices of her various teachers and countless others told her she couldn’t ignore someone in need of help.

She finally managed to reach the front of the crowd. Standing in the center was a tall figure dressed in black armor. They had a mask to cover their face and bore imperial markings. Behind the figure stood a small squad of troopers in clean white armor. They all still carried that blank signature. On the ground in front of the figure was a human man with a bruise forming over his eye.

“This here is an example of what happens when you withhold information about Jedi traitors from the Empire.” The black figure declared to the crowd. “He is willing to let someone who wishes to destroy the peace that the Empire has brought.”

The people around her murmured fearfully as the black figure’s visor swept across them.

Ahsoka could feel the dark presence dripping off of the person in front of her. They were without a doubt dark side users. She could see something gleaming at the person’s hip, it looked like a lightsaber but had a circular attachment to the handle.

“Now I will give you one last chance to tell me the information you withhold and I will let you live.” The figure growled at the man before them.

Ahsoka didn’t recognize the man’s Force signature, but she could feel a sense of defiance pushing through his fear.

“I’d rather eat my own hand, Inquisitor.” The man responded.

The only sound was the Inquisitor’s lightsaber igniting.

Ahsoka had heard whispers of these Inquisitor’s. The popular theory was that they were Jedi once that had joined the Empire after the Republic fell.

She unconsciously reached up to make sure her lekku and head covering was still in place, disguising her markings.

She would believe it, Sidious likely needed people to hunt down any last Jedi as well as strike fear in those that wished to oppose him.

“Then you will die.”
“Long live the jedi.” The men whispered as the lightsaber descended towards his neck.

The saber embedded itself into the ground next to the man.

People around Ahsoka stumbled back in surprise. The man let out a shaky sigh of relief as he looked at the blade in the ground inches from himself. The black figure’s head snapped up, searching as they ripped their saber out of the ground.

Ahsoka’s hand was already tucked back at her side and she let the crowd begin to move her away from the scene. She let out a shaky breath and turned away as the Inquisitor shouted orders to the troopers behind them.

Suddenly Ahsoka felt a sharp presence sweep around her. She quickly blocked herself off from the Force but she knew it was too late. The dark figure's attention was on her section of the crowd.

There were shouts as the troopers and Inquisitor began to march towards the crowd. Ahsoka began to push her way forward, hoping to clear out of there before the darksider could lock onto her presence.

She ducked down one of the smaller side streets and quickly took off. She was definitely not going to tell Rex about this when he got back.

Ahsoka was aware of the troopers following the fleeing crowd past the ally she had ducked into. She jumped back into a shadow just as one of the troopers glanced down the street. After a moment he continued on.

Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief and began to move again.

The Force suddenly screamed around her, she dropped and rolled. A red arc swept right through where she had been standing.

She rolled to her feet and faced the Inquisitor.

“Very fast reflexes for a civilian.” The figure said as they swept their saber around their body.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes and glanced around for a faster exit from the street.

“Tell me, how did you survive order 66, jedi?” The Inquisitor asked. “You look young, did your master die so you could escape?”

“I’m not a jedi.” Ahsoka said.
“Really? Because only a Jedi knows how to block out the Force. Only a Jedi could move my blade and only a Jedi would be drawn out by someone else's pain.”

Ahsoka silently cursed herself. She should have listened to her self preservation side.

“Maybe you will provide a better hunt than the other Padawans I’ve killed.” The Inquisitor sneered.

Ahsoka threw her hands out and shoved the person back before taking off in a fast sprint down the street. The Inquisitor laughed before giving chase. Ahsoka felt them reach out in the Force and she deftly dodged their attempts to grab her. Suddenly the sign pole in front of her was ripped from the ground and came swinging towards her. She ducked under it and was back on her feet in a flash.

She cut into a side ally, leaping over a dumpster and shoving away from the wall. She had only a moment to slide to a stop before the stacked boxes in front of her came crashing down in front of her. She ducked as the red saber swiped for her head, narrowly avoiding hitting her montrals.

Ahsoka struck out with a kick aimed at the person’s midsection but they deftly danced away from it. Their lightsaber came down again and she twisted away.

She ducked, dodged, rolled, and leapt, narrowly avoiding the screaming red blade. She could feel the Inquisitor’s sick enjoyment choking the Force.

However, Ahsoka did not train to fight hand to hand combat for 3 years of her life in a warzone to become easy prey now. She countered each swing of a blade with a kick, punch, or jab.

She also did something that she would never do under normal circumstances, something that was extremely frowned upon in the Force wielding community. She flicked her fingers towards the figure's lightsaber and hit the deactivation button. The Inquisitor made a sound of disbelief before her elbow slammed into the person’s visor before she brought her knee up below their chest armor, knocking the wind from her assailant.

Instead of sticking around Ahsoka made a mad dash for the mouth of the alley. She took off once again, seeing another alley she could duck into and hopefully lead her back to the main streets.

Suddenly something wrapped around her leg and yanked her backwards. She fell with a shout before she began to be dragged backwards.

“I’ll keep your pretty little head for pulling a stunt like that.” The Inquisitor snarled. “I need a trophy after this hunt.”

Ahsoka felt a primal kind of fear open inside her mind, one she had only ever felt once before.
On Wasskah, surrounded by other prisoners as Trandoshan hunters tracked them deep into the forest. She had been hunted for sport then, just as she was now.

She remembered the long nights spent hardly sleeping. She remembered the terror inducing screeches of the hunters and Kalifa’s dead weight in her arms.

Never again she had told herself after being rescued. Never again would she find herself in that situation. Never again would she feel as helpless as she had on that moon.

The primal fear turned to rage.

She let the Inquisitor drag her close before she ripped their hold on her away. She surged upright and lunged for them. They stumbled back as she attacked with a new ferocity. She knew she was teetering dangerously close to out of control with her emotions in the Force. The presence of the darkside in the person before her only fueled it.

They took a swipe at her with their lightsaber. Ahsoka grabbed the handle of their lightsaber and used their momentum to throw them forward.

She suddenly found the lightsaber in her hands and the Inquisitor on the ground in front of her. They glared up at her through their visor, daring her to let the blade fall.

And Ahsoka wanted to.

They represented the Empire's cruelty and bloody rise to power. They represented the years of bloodshed on the battlefield, a war that was just an elaborate game all along.

Her family had died fighting against what this person stood for.

Ahsoka wanted to let the blade fall.

But she knew that if she did that now, there would be no turning back for her. Anakin had once told her that revenge was not the Jedi way, but she was not a Jedi anymore. However, she knew that she could never stoop as low as the person before her. She would never.

Ahsoka lifted the person up and threw them against the wall behind them. The Inquisitor’s head snapped back before they slumped to the ground unconscious.

Ahsoka was about to throw their lightsaber away before she felt something. It was a familiar yet foreign feeling all in one. Ahsoka glanced around before observing the lightsaber in her hands. She carefully dismantled it revealing two red crystals, screaming at the horrors they had been forced to commit at the Inquisitor’s hands.

But under the screams, Ahsoka could still hear their faint songs. Songs that called to her. She threw the other pieces of the lightsaber away, letting them scatter across the street, before letting the crystals gently drop into her hands.

She felt a prickle from the Force and knew it was time to go.

Ahsoka quickly ducked into the alley and was relieved to see that it did lead back to one of the main streets.

When she finally reached her apartment she wanted to collapse onto her bed and curl into a ball. Instead she sat on her bed and pulled out the kyber crystals.

They were quieter now that they were away from the Inquisitor but they still held the pain that had been inflicted on them. They had called out to her. They had called out for her to save them, just as she had been able to spare that man on the street. She hadn’t been able to ignore his pain, just has she was unable to ignore the crystals.

She had left the path of the jedi a while ago, but she kept finding herself back into the thick of things.

You might not think of yourself as a Jedi, but you act like one. That’s what Rafa had told her forever ago.

Ahsoka stared at the crystals in front of her.

It seemed like no matter what she did, she always found a way back to the path she left. Maybe it was time that she stopped fighting it.

Ahsoka fell into meditation, delving deep into the Force.

When she finally surfaced, the crystals in her hands were glowing a pure white and the sun was beginning to rise.

She decided to take the day off from work.

-
The smell of sweat and metal was heavy in the air as Fives made his way towards the front of the warehouse.

Around him people were still unloading and loading crates from cargo transports to other transports. He didn’t officially have a job here, but it was one of those businesses that had so many people working for it that they didn’t keep track of who was employed to them and who wasn’t. So Fives had been coming in and working before walking over to the overseer and getting paid.

Sure he was probably depriving someone else of their pay but he didn’t care much. He figured he needed the money as much as they did, he just happened to get there early enough to actually receive it.

Price of gas wasn’t cheap, even now with the Empire finding ways to lower the prices. He didn’t want to think about what they were doing to lower the prices, probably nothing ethical.
He stepped outside of the warm building into the frigid air native to the planet of Carlac.

He began to make his way out of the industrial sector towards the downtown area where he could get some food that wasn’t a ration bar.

He figured he should allow himself a moment to celebrate. He had recently de-chipped his 10th trooper. It wasn’t much but he figured it was enough of a reason to celebrate as any. The last trooper had been a part of the 212th, but Fives hadn’t recognized the name. The trooper had woken up screaming. He told him that General Kenobi had defeated Grievous but they had shot him off the side of a cliff when the order went out.

That had hit Fives harder than the previous men. He had not only served alongside Kenobi but he’d worked closely with him when planning out strategies during joint missions with the 501st.

The trooper hadn’t known where Cody had ended up, but considering that Cody had been a Marshal Commander, Fives had to guess that he was now in a high position within the Imperial Army.

Fives made his way past stores now selling heavily taxed Imperial goods and drunk men and women. As Fives grew closer to the center square, the foot traffic picked up too. All these people bustled about, relatively unaffected by the change in power within the galaxy. Fives at times wished he was as unaware as these people.

In the center of the square was a large Imperial holoprojection. It spewed the usual propaganda and all the stuff that made the Empire seem like a good thing. They also were working very hard to make the Jedi look like the bad guys. Every so often they would project faces of Jedi that had been found after the Republic fell terminated to ‘defend the Empire’.

Fives had seen one or two familiar faces but he never looked long. He feared what he would see.

Fives stepped into the river of people moving around the square, most of which were heading towards the food street, same as him.

As he steadily made his way around the square the holoprojection blared next to him.

“Harboring a Jedi traitor is punishable by imprisonment or death. Withholding information regarding Jedi is also punishable by imprisonment. If you see someone you believe could be a Jedi, report it to your local Imperial Office immediately.” Everyone has heard that order over a million times now.

They hadn’t changed the message in months.

It was strange that Fives was beginning to be able to measure the Imperial rule by months and soon a year.

Next Fives knew they would begin to flash the faces of Jedi that had been killed after the Republic fell. He attempted to keep his eyes down, but morbid curiosity made him look up.

A Zabak. A Rodian. A twi’lek, though not Aayla Secura thankfully. A human. Another human. A togruta.

Fives stumbled.

His eyes locked on a pair of familiar blue eyes and distinct white markings.

He stood there frozen even after the image shifted. He stared up at the holoprojection unmoving even as people jostled him and swore at him. He didn’t hear any of it.

Because that had been the face of Ahsoka Tano up on that holoprojection. That had been her face and her name and the words terminated.

He waited for the projection to replay but he knew it would be another hour before that message popped up again. He forced his legs to move and he stumbled towards the nearest street, knowing he would find a smaller projection in someone’s window.

He tripped past one business. Two businesses. Three businesses. He finally found one with a projection. He stared at it, waiting for the message to show up again. He waited there, hardly breathing, for 10 minutes before the jedi message came up. He waited and waited and then Ahsoka was staring at him.

It was the same picture they had used to search for her during her trial. That same defiant look that Jesse had said made her look badass.

It was without a doubt, Ahsoka.

Fives’ legs gave out and he fell to his knees. People looked at him oddly as they passed but he didn’t care.

Ahsoka had survived order 66.

She had been alive and out in the galaxy and now she was dead.

Fives didn’t remember standing and stumbling away. He didn’t remember finding his way back to the food street. He didn’t remember picking a restaurant and he sure didn’t remember ordering the drink he was currently downing.

When his first glass was empty, he got it refilled. When that one was empty he got it refilled.
He didn’t know how long it was or how many drinks he had downed before he was told to pay and get out of there.

Fives staggered back to his ship, stopping once to throw up on the road. He leaned against his kitchen cabinet and stared at the wall.

She was dead.

Fives whirled and sent a kick flying at one of the crates he had left out, sending it skittering across the floor. He let out a barely human howl of grief before dropping to the floor of his ship.

He was alone.

Echo was long gone. His sister was dead. The rest of his aliit was either dead or enslaved.
He truly was the last one left. Fives let himself curl into a ball and cry.
-
After leaving Bacara Rex had been tailed for a little bit by some Imperials, leading him to not directly return to Ahsoka. Instead he got into contact with the rebellion and ran a few missions while he was away.

He’d commed Ahsoka to inform her of the change.

“Did you have any luck with the rogue clones?” She asked, her projection was extremely grainy due to the multiple layers of encryption they were using.
“Yes, I did. When I get back I have some good news. Big good news.” He told her.
“Well I can’t wait to hear it.” She said with a smile. “I also have some news.”

He cocked his head.

“Rex, I want to help with the rebellion.”

He sat up straight.

“Are you sure? You know how dangerous it is.” He warned.
“I know. But I can’t keep hiding when I know there are people out there that need help.”

Rex pursed his lips. While he didn’t particularly like the idea of Ahsoka, an ex-jedi, working in direct conflict with the Empire, they could really use her help, and her skills.

He let out a long sigh.

“Alright. I’ll get you in contact with the right people. But for the love of the Force please be careful.”
“I will be Rex.”

He signed off and looked out at the swirling lights of hyperspace.

He wondered what had brought Ahsoka’s sudden insistence on joining the fight, but he guessed he would wring it out of her when he saw her in person. He could hardly wait to tell her about Echo. He was probably going to get a kick in the shebs from Echo but it would be worth it.

The fuel light for his ship suddenly flicked on.

Rex pulled out of hyperspace and checked his nav to see where the nearest less imperial overrun world was.

Turned out it was only a short jump away on a snowy planet called Carlac. He was pretty sure that name sounded familiar but he didn’t think he’d ever been there on a campaign.

He landed at the spaceport and paid for fuel before trekking into the town for some non-ration food and maybe a drink.

He followed the flow of people towards the food street and picked the cheapest looking place.

He settled down in one of the corners with his hood pulled low over his face. While this planet wasn’t heavily populated, he didn’t want to risk anything.

A large mug and a bowl of steaming soup was placed in front of him. He looked at the meat a little skeptical but after years of eating ration bars and whatever else they could find on campaigns, not much fazed his stomach.

People came and went occasionally but none were Imperial. He returned his eyes to his own food.

“Can I get a tall tihaar.”

Rex paused when he heard that.

That had been a popular drink for clones to order at 79s. Probably something from Fett’s DNA that pushed them to like hard Mandalorian spirits.

Realistically he knew that it could be just about anybody ordering that drink but he still found himself looking.

Rex lazily glanced around the room to the bar where a man was sitting. Rex did a double take when he saw the armor the man was wearing, it was painted blue. Not just any blue, 501st blue. He had a helmet resting on the stool next to him as well.

When the man reached for the cup the bartender handed him, Rex’s spoon clattered from his hand. It was an ARC trooper vambrace.

The sound of his spoon rattling on the table made a few people glance over at him, including the man at the bar.

Rex sat there frozen because he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had to have been staring at a ghost because sitting across the room from him… was Fives.

The ghost man noticed that Rex’s attention was on him and his tired gaze sharpened slightly.

Rex was halfway out of his seat when he remembered that his face was still obscured by his hood. With shaking hands Rex pulled his hood back.

The cup slipped from Fives’ hands and his jaw dropped.

Even across the room Rex heard his voice, “Rex?”

Rex blindly slapped a few credits onto his table before making his way for the door, knowing his brother wouldn’t be far behind.

Indeed, only a few moments after Rex exited the bar, Fives stumbled out.

They stared at each other for a moment, still shocked.

Then Rex lunged forward and pulled his vod’ika into one of the fiercest hugs he’d ever given in his life. And under his arms he felt a solid form. Not some hallucination or Force osik ghost, a real person.

His brother was alive.

Fives’ arms wrapped around Rex’s shoulders and he buried his face in Rex’s shoulder. Rex hadn’t known he’d started crying until a cold breeze swept over them.

“You’re alive.” Fives said breathily.
“I’m alive?” Rex let out a slew of curses in every language he knew. “For kriffs sake Fives YOU’RE alive.”

Rex pushed him back to look at him.

“How are you alive? We found your body in the warehouse after the fire.”

Fives gave him a large smile, one Rex had often found himself searching for even after they’d pulled the body from the warehouse.

“You thought the Chancellor or a gang shootout would take me down? Jeez Rex I thought you’d give me a little more credit.”

Rex shook Fives by his shoulders.

“You’ve seriously been alive all this time? Where the kriffing hells have you been?” Rex demanded, then his eyes widened. “The chips! Fives yo-you were right about the chips.”
Fives’ eyes widened when he saw new tears suddenly well up in Rex’s eyes.

“I-I should have listened to you.” Rex shook his head, desperation colored his voice. “I should have fought harder after what happened to you, Fives.”

Rex saw tears well up in Fives’ eyes before he began to shake his head..

“I should have worked harder once I was out. I got in contact with Commander Blackout and he said he would try but I should have worked harder to get the word out.”

Rex’s eyes widened.

“Blackout?” Understanding suddenly dawned on him. “The message he sent out a few months after you disappeared. That was from you.”

Fives watched Rex as he nodded. Rex ran a shaking hand through his hair before he looked back up at Fives.

His brother looked exhausted. Dark bags hung under his eyes and his shoulders hung low in defeat. Force knows what Fives had been doing in the year since he disappeared. What he had been through.

“I think I deserve one hell of an explanation from you.” Rex said.

A smile twitched at the corner of Fives’ mouth.

“Yes sir.”

They began to walk as Fives talked. They meandered through street after street, avoiding any Imperial broadcasting holograms. Eventually when the sun began to dip below the horizon, they ducked into a different bar, one almost overflowing with patrons. They blended into the rowdy crowd and found a seat in the corner.

“And ever since then, I’ve been working on de-chipping any trooper I can get my hands on. I send ‘em off with some credits and a fake ID and tell them to live their life.” Fives finally finished, taking a large swig from his cup.

Rex was quiet for a few moments as he took in everything Fives had just told him. It was a lot. Everything about Blackout and going to Bly and getting the 327th de-chipped to what he was doing now. Rex watched as his brother stared into the liquid of his cup. He realized then that Fives blamed himself.

He blamed himself for the chips and order 66 and everything else. It suddenly occurred to Rex that he himself had been doing that exact same thing ever since he buried Jesse. That’s what Echo and Hunter had told him.

“Fives, what happened wasn’t your fault.” Rex said.

His vod gave a humorless bark of laughter.

“Really? I knew about the chips and I didn’t do enough to get them out of our brothers. Now, hundreds of Jedi are dead and our brothers are enslaved to the Empire.”

Rex frowned at his brother.

It sounded like Fives had done a hell of a lot. He’d managed to convince Blackout of all people of the chips and had saved the 327th. Rex was uncomfortably reminded of a conversation he’d had with Wolffe after Umbara. His ori’vod had ignored all of Rex’s laments and pointed out what he had done for his men under Krell. While Rex still carried scars from the Shadow World, and he guessed Fives would carry scars from this, he could at least give his young brother the same treatment his older brother had given him.

“Look Fives, I know you might not think you did enough after discovering the chips, but I think you're missing the fact that you actually found the chips. Not only that, you were able to thwart a small part of this plot. Sidious has been planning this whole thing longer than either of us have been alive. The fact that you even discovered his plot when the Jedi didn’t is incredible enough. And I know this might sound horrible, but he probably had counter measures in place in case his plan was discovered.” Rex stared at the table for a moment. “I don’t know if there was anything we could have done to stop him.”

Fives was also staring at the table, but Rex could see the contemplative look on his face.

“And Fives, you managed to save not only the Special Ops corp, but you managed to save the 327th and their Jedi. You’ve managed to give 10 troopers their minds back and a fresh start. Hells Fives, because of you I’m alive and I have a list of other people that are also still alive because of you.”

Fives looked up at him with a raised brow.

“It’s true. I don’t know if I can ever fully repay you for what you were able to give me.”
“I think for now knowing you're alive is enough for me.” Fives said after a moment, rubbing Echo’s vambrace as he spoke. “I didn’t know what had happened to the 501st. Knowing at least a few of you are alive and free is huge.”

Rex watched as Fives’ hand absently drifted up to his chest plate. He pulled on a string around his neck and Rex almost dropped his cup when Fives’ pulled Ahsoka’s headdress out from under his plate. Fives noticed Rex’s wide eyes.

“I uh… after the order went out, I kept an eye out for her. I’d hoped she’d ended up on some quiet planet and that she’d be safe.” Rex watched Fives’ fingers rub one of the akul teeth. “I mean, she wasn’t a Jedi anymore, the kriffing council saw to that. I… I thought she’d be safe but…”

Rex listened to Fives’ voice trail off.

He’d seen one of the Imperial holoprojections listing killed Jedi. He himself had been a little surprised to see Ahsoka up there considering that only a few weeks ago he’d asked Tech to list her as terminated. It made him wonder if maybe someone else had found evidence of her death.

His mind drifted to the desolate moon. A graveyard of helmets and two discarded lightsabers.

“I just hope it was quick.” Fives finally mumbled, drawing Rex’s mind back to the present. “I hope it wasn’t someone that knew her before she left. That would… that would have been…”

It was worse. Rex thought silently. It was so much worse.

Fives fell silent across from him again, lost in his own thoughts. Rex could tell his vod was struggling to stay afloat in the changed galaxy. They all were, in all honesty, but Rex had a pretty good idea of something that could lighten the darkness that had spread.

Already a plan was forming in Rex’s mind.

Rex really was beginning to believe that Anakin’s dramatic streak had rubbed off on him more than he thought as he planned his next move. Of course this plan would probably earn him a beating from all three parties, but it would be worth it.

“So where have you been Rex? When did you get your chip out?” Fives asked.

Rex couldn’t help a small smirk from forming as Fives’ words matched up with what his twin had asked Rex not too long ago. Even years apart they still carried some of the same habits.

“I think that’s a story that should be told at a later time.” Rex told the ARC.

Fives raised an eyebrow.

“Really? I just spilled my guts to you and now you're holding out on me ori’vod?”
“Believe me,” Rex repeated what he’d told the other ARC, “It’ll be worth the wait.”
“So you really are going to leave me hanging.” Fives said with a long sigh.

Rex nudged his brother’s foot under the table.

“I like the hair.” He instead said.

Fives ran a hand through his longer waves.

“Why thank you. I wanted something that would somewhat cover the tattoo but also wouldn’t look bad.”

Rex rolled his eyes. Yep, that was the Fives he remembered.

“I see you finally changed up your hairstyle too.” Fives said.

Now it was Rex’s turn to touch his hair self consciously.

“Figured not many people would recognize a blonde clone.” Rex said lightly.

Fives nodded after a moment but didn’t say anything else.

Rex suddenly got a ping on his com. That was his timer to return to his ship. He let out a long sigh.

“Got places to be?” Fives asked. “I hope it’s got something to do with ticking the Empire off at least.”
“Oh you have no idea.” Rex said with a sly smile behind his cup.

Fives fixed him with a look.

“Ok you can’t leave me like that.”

Rex snorted but set his cup. He casually looked around the crowded room. Everyone was focused on the couple of tablets up front depicting a sporting event.

“You could say I’ve been helping a group of people that may have ill intent against the Empire.”

Fives’ brows scrunched before his eyes widened.

“Are you helping with that group of whatcha-ma-call-its?” Fives waved a hand in the air as he tried to remember the word. “Oh yeah, rebels?”

Rex leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Maybe.”

Fives shook his head with a small chuckle.

“Figures that’s where you’d be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rex asked.
“It means you picked up on Skywalker’s tendency to seek out trouble.” Fives told him.

Rex opened his mouth to argue but found that he didn’t have a good counterpoint.

“Fine.”

His com pinged again.

“You should go. The fuelers around here have been known to start scrapping ships if you don’t show up soon enough.” Fives told him lightly, but Rex could hear the underlying hesitation.

To be honest Rex wasn’t keen to let Fives out of his sight ever again. He still was reeling from the fact that his brother was actually alive. But he knew that he needed to get going. Besides, he needed to get his plan moving.

Rex stood.

“How about you walk with me? Assuming you don’t have anywhere to be?” He asked.

Fives stood as well and tucked Ahsoka’s headdress back under his chest plate.

As they walked Rex told his vod a few of the things he’d been doing for the rebels. Fives told him about the intel he collected from the troopers he managed to free. By the time they made it to the space port, Rex had all but recruited Fives.

“I promise I’ll keep in touch. I still owe you a story after all.” Rex told him.
“I’m gonna hold you to that Rex.” Fives replied.

Rex pulled his vod’ika into a tight hug, one that made the other’s armor creak slightly. Fives fastened his arms around Rex, also not keen on letting go yet.

“For the love of all things holy stay alive vod.” Rex mumbled, making Fives huff.
“That applies to you too, oh captain my captain.”

Rex rolled his eyes before slowly releasing Fives.

Fives stayed outside the spaceport until he saw Rex’s ship take off into the atmosphere. Then he turned and with a new purpose to his step, began to make his way back to his own ship.

Chapter Text

The first few tasks assigned to her were pretty easy by her standards. The Rebellion had her keep tabs on the coming and going of Imperials in the city she was in along with attempting to slice any data she could from their database.

While she appreciated the easy work load, she had always been driven to do better.

So after finding out a small meeting was going to be held at the local Imperial station, she snuck across the rooftops of the city and made her way into the ventilation system. She scrambled through the metal hallways until she reached what she guessed was the meeting wing. She slowed her crawl to make as little noise as possible until she finally found the room the meeting was being held in.

To say the person she had been in contact in the Rebellion had been surprised with the information she had gathered was an understatement. She’d overheard that there was a weapons shipment being taken from Vandor to Takodana that was only lightly guarded, due to the Mid Rim being completely under Imperial control.

Later that week stories in the news arose of renegade fighters threatening the Imperial agenda by attacking their transport ships. Ahsoka let a small smirk alight her face before hiding it again.

It was the little things in life.

When Rex finally returned Ahsoka immediately noticed that he was much lighter in the Force than she’d seen him in a long time. However when she asked about the rogue clones and the few tasks he did while he was gone he was rather vague on details. While she wanted to know what had brought about his good mood and ask what he was not so subtly hiding from her, she wasn’t going to push. She was just happy that he had found something to make him smile again.

He had been pretty shocked when she showed him the kyber crystals she’d obtained.

“Where in the hells did you find those?” He asked.

She shrugged with a sly smile.

“The Force works in mysterious ways.” That earned her an eye roll.
“So are you going to make new lightsabers?” He asked after a moment.
“I want to. But I know how dangerous it is to have them.”
“Well it's arguably more dangerous without them.” Rex reminded her.

She nodded as she thought.

“Well it's not just the danger of having them. I haven’t found the right parts to make them. Just like how the kyber crystals call to a force wielder, so do the other components of the saber.” She explained.

He had a slightly confused look but nodded anyway. She had explained the process of making a lightsaber to Torrent a while back after Echo had asked about her sabers.

“I’ve found a few pieces but not enough to make them yet.” She finished.
“Well I guess you need to get out more then.” Rex said with a small smirk.

She finally quit working for the Rodian mechanic and they moved to a different world, closer to the middle rim where they would be able to gain better access to Imperial stuff and they were closer to the other Rebellion fighters.

While they did occasionally work together, they mostly did their own missions. Ahsoka took on the name Fulcrum within the rebellion. Not only did the definition of the word match with her role, but it was also a subtle message, in case Anakin or Obi-Wan were alive out in the galaxy.

It felt good to be back doing missions such as the ones she was running. She’d been a soldier much of her teen years, even almost a year after the republic fell it still felt easy to slip back into the old habits.

The information she was gathering was helping slow Imperial expansion to worlds nearing Wild Space. It also helped loosen the tight hold of Imperial forces on some planets.

She was on her way back from Lothal when she received a message from Rex.

“What can I do for ya Rexy.” Ahsoka greeted the small holoprojection as she leaned back in the seat of her ship.
“I take it your mission went well?”
“Yep. I think Bail is really going to enjoy the intel I just got. I just hope I finally get to meet his daughter that he adopted.” She replied.
“She’s cute.” Rex said.
“I’m still mad you didn’t tell me Bail was part of this little movement.” Ahsoka said as she crossed her arms.
“Sorry vod’ika.” He said, not sounding very apologetic at all. “I’m actually calling for something not involved with the movement.”

Ahsoka cocked an eyebrow marking.

“What do you have for me?”
“I’d think of this more as a vacation really.” Rex replied with a small mischievous smile. “You’ve gotta clear your schedule for next week though.”

Ahsoka huffed. She had meaning to pick up some work in the next few days to pay for fuel and food. It wasn’t a pressing thing yet but it would eventually need to be addressed.

“Yeah I think I can take a day or two off.” Ahsoka told him.
“Good, meet me on Eufornis Minor.”
-
After the fall of Kamino, Echo had expected the Empire to come after them again. But after weeks of nothing he was starting to hope that they truly believed that had died in Topica City.

It was strange to think they might not have to constantly be looking over their shoulders for unwanted attention, but Echo couldn’t say that he disliked it. His whole life had been ruled by strict regimens or campaigns. To finally have some sense of security was… nice he guessed.

Omega was sitting in the chair next to him in the cockpit. Behind them Tech was clattering away at some project.

Omega had insisted that she start taking watch shifts because she was a part of their squad as well. They all knew she was very smart and picked up on tasks quickly, but they still decided it would be best to keep someone there with her to help.

Right now she was typing on one of their datapads, going over the makeshift learning curriculum Tech had put together for her. Her hair was beginning to lengthen, falling to her shoulders now, and she’d finally ditched the tunic she’d had on Kamino, going for a longer shirt and comfortable pants. She’d also begun to scavenge any armor she could find when they were on missions for Cid. While Hunter wasn’t very happy about dressing her up for battle, Echo had fervently argued that Omega should have some form of protection, especially on some of the tasks they did.

He might not have been able to win this battle with Ahsoka, but he sure as hells was winning it for Omega. Still, he wished he’d just strapped a chestplate on the togruta sometimes.

“Uh Echo,” Omega’s voice drew him out of his thoughts. “I think we have a com call coming in.”

Echo blinked and looked at their com device. Sure enough it was flashing. He cocked his head when he realized the frequency wasn’t Cid’s. It wasn’t any of their tentative allies either. It was Rex’s frequency. It had been a while since Rex had called, Echo hoped everything was okay.

Tech walked back up into the cockpit as Echo answered the call.

“Here I was beginning to think you forgot about us.” Echo said with a smile as Rex’s holoprojection appeared.
“Sorry, things have been a little busy as of recently.” Rex responded before greeting Omega and Tech.

“I hope I didn’t catch you all at a bad time?”
“Nope, we’re just coming back from a mission from Cid.” Omega answered cheerfully. “We got chased by a gundark.”

Echo watched as Rex’s projection blinked a few times in surprise. His old captain’s face went from concerned to resigned. Looks like he could still find ways to aggravate his ori’vod.

“I hope everything else went well?”
“Yep, we got the shipment we were supposed to with minimal injuries.” Omega said, far more cheerful than was probably appropriate when talking when referencing Echo’s damaged left leg and Wrecker’s stitched up shoulder.
“Well I’m glad to hear everything is good on your end.” Rex finally said.
“Is there something we can do for you Rex?” Tech asked.

The captain huffed a short laugh.

“Well, the reason I called was actually to ask if you guys are open next week. I would like to meet you guys if you can.”

Echo tilted his head at that.

“After this trip we should be cleared for a little bit. What’s this for?” Echo asked curiously.

Rex looked at him.

“Well I figured it's time to tell you what I had been holding out on back on Bracca.”

It took a moment for Echo to remember what Rex was referring to, but once he did his eyes widened.

“Took you long enough.” Echo told him.

Rex smiled.

“Better late than never vod.”
“Where will we be meeting you?” Tech asked.
“Eufornis Minor. Believe me, it’s been worth the wait.”
-
Fives handed the harddrive stick to the Pantoran in front of him. The young girl looked up at him with a bright smile. Fives guessed that she couldn’t have been older than 11 or 12 natborn years, she practically had to crane her neck back to look him in the eyes.

Fives knelt to be eye level with her and save her some neck pain.

“I trust you’ll get this somewhere safe?” He asked.

The girl nodded emphatically.

“My dad has been waiting for this. Says it’ll help kick the Imperials where it’ll hurt.” She said with an enthusiasm only a child could muster about violence.

Fives nodded with a smile of his own.

“I sure hope it will.” He held out a hand for the small girl. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

The girl squared her shoulders back in an attempt at professionalism and slid her tiny hand into his own with a firm shake.

“The pleasure was mine.” She replied, her thick accent making it sound more regal than it really was.

With that she darted off into the alleyway she had initially appeared from. Fives let out a huffed laugh as he pushed himself back up to standing. He palmed the credits she had given him, not many, but he knew that the information was going to the right cause. Apparently hanging around Jedi for years made you more inclined to do the right thing even if the benefits weren’t that great.

He began to make his way back towards the motel where he was staying for the night. Fives wondered at the rebel’s use of his own daughter to carry sensitive and probably dangerous information around, but he guessed it was tactical. Children were often underestimated.

Hells, that’s what had made Ahsoka and the other padawans effective, no one expected them to put up a fight, but years on the frontlines had hardened them.

Still, if Fives ever had a child he probably wouldn’t send them out to meet strangers carrying dangerous information.

Fives’ com suddenly began to blink. When he noticed that it was Rex’s frequency he glanced around to make sure there was no one in earshot before answering it.

“Should I be concerned as to why you're calling me this late at night?” Fives asked in a way of greeting.

Fives could practically see the eye roll Rex did in the moment of silence before the captain responded.

“Where I am right now it’s noon so it’s not my fault you're on a planet at this time.” Rex answered.

Fives raised a hand to his chest.

“Here I thought I would get at least some sympathy from my ori’vod.”
“Not a chance. Besides, I’m still pissed about you faking your death.” Fives sighed.
“How long are you going to hold that over my head?”
“I don’t know, how long did you hold me cleaning your lucky scuff mark off of your armor?”

Fives had held that particular incident over Rex’s head for at least a year. Fives had declared a particular scuff mark on his chest plate as lucky because after the campaign he got it, they had multiple easy campaigns with few casualties. When Rex had finally gotten so fed up with Fives’ grimy armor he’d cleaned it himself, cleaning the scuff mark off.

The campaign after that, they suffered quite a few losses and Anakin’s prosthetic arm was shot off, solidifying Fives’ belief that the mark had been lucky. He’d given Rex osik for the next few months, occasionally bringing it up whenever it would annoy his captain best.

“Haar'chak.” Fives mumbled. “Yeh dehma mi vod.”

Rex paused at the slightly unfamiliar language. Fives guessed that he recognized it as togruti but didn’t know the exact words. After Ahsoka had left, Fives hadn’t practiced it much, but he’d started working on the language again. Mainly to honor his fallen vod.

“Well there is something you could do to help make up for it.” Rex said, drawing Fives out of his thoughts.
“And what would that be, oh captain, my captain?”
“Clear your schedule for next week. I need you to meet me somewhere.”
“Oh but Rex I have so many plans for next week.” Fives said sarcastically. “I mean I’m completely booked.”
“If you don’t show up I will personally hunt you down and drag you by your shebs there.” Rex replied.

Fives’ didn’t doubt that for a second.

“Where am I meeting you?”
“Eufornis Minor.”

Chapter Text

The Marauder dropped out of hyperspace above a dark green planet. He tuned out Tech rattling off facts about the planet to Omega as he began their landing sequence. The only thing most of them cared about was that it had oxygen and it was sparsely populated.

Echo maneuvered the ship around to the other side of the planet to the coordinates Rex had given them. As they descended through the atmosphere towards the forests below, Echo spotted a clearing a few clicks away from where they were supposed to meet Rex. He figured walking would be better than trying to find a place right on top of their meeting spot.

When the doors to the ship opened, a cool blast of fresh air hit them all. Hunter wrapped a scarf he’d found more tightly around his neck and handed a smaller one to Omega.

They gathered packs and other supplies they thought they might need if they got stuck out away from the ship for the night. The whole time Echo was trying not to bounce impatiently as his squad mates seemed to take their sweet time getting ready.

“Alright let's move out. Wouldn’t want to leave Rex waiting.” Hunter finally declared.

Echo led the way through the trees and towards the meeting place. While Echo was happy to see Rex again and hear what he had been keeping secret, Echo also felt a small bit of dread.

Rex had never explained how he’d gotten his chip out, or what had happened to the part of the 501st that went to Mandalore. But considering that Rex had been traveling alone, Echo had to assume the worst.

But having that question answered would offer closure, or spur Echo to go hunt down every stormtrooper he could until he found his lost vode. Either one would be better than not knowing.

Echo hadn’t realized how quick his pace was until he noticed Omega jogging to keep up with their quick and long strides. With a lot of self restraint he slowed down so he didn’t leave his vod’ika behind. Okay maybe he was a little more anxious about meeting Rex than he thought.

Finally they entered a small clearing where the coordinates ended.

Echo glanced around but saw no sign of his ori’vod.

“Are we early?” Echo turned and asked Tech.
“Yes, with your sprint to get here we did arrive a few minutes early.” Tech answered him.

Echo mumbled a few togrutan insults Ahsoka had once taught him under his breath, earning a glare.

Finally a few minutes later they heard quiet rustling off to their left. Everyone’s hand dropped to the blaster or vibroblade at their side until a familiar figure stepped out from the trees.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Echo called to Rex.
“Su'cuy to you too vod.” Rex huffed as he pulled Echo into a hug. “I should have known you’d get here early.”
“He practically herded us here.” Tech mumbled.
“I hope you didn’t have much trouble finding this place?” Rex asked as he greeted the others with firm handshakes and a pat on the head for Omega.
“No. It was smooth sailing.” Hunter answered. “I do have to admit, it’s nice to get out of Ord Mantell every once and a while for something other than a mission.”
“Figured you’d enjoy the vacation.” Rex said with a smile. “Hope you guys don’t mind a little bit of a hike. My campsite is a little ways away from here.”

They all fell into step alongside Rex as he led them back into the trees. As they walked Echo’s squad filled Rex in on what had happened with them after he contacted them last.

“I’d heard rumors about what had happened on Kamino…” Rex said quietly. “I know it was a pretty shitty place… but it's still where we were raised.”
“It was harder to watch than I thought it would be.” Hunter admitted.

By now they were leaving the heavily forested area and moving into a more rocky uphill trail. Rex filled them in on what Gregor was doing now that he’d also been de-chipped. Echo couldn’t help but notice how often Rex casually glazed at the small chronowatch on his wrist. He was curious but he didn’t ask.

Instead he listened intently as Rex explained the work the rebels were doing. He hadn’t been all that surprised when Rex said he had been helping with the renegades, it made a lot of sense to Echo. He admired the rebels quite a bit, they weren’t willing to let things end the way they had and they were actively trying to incapacitate the Empire.

Echo had begun to notice things about some of the missions they were running for Cid. He was beginning to tell which missions were likely for rebels and which weren’t. The missions they ran for rebels were always more dangerous, but they also came with the satisfaction that they were helping a good cause.

Finally they came upon a flat area with a few trees around it to provide cover and shade. Against one of the trees was a small tent and a few boxes of supplies, there was also a small fire pit in front of the tent. On the far side of the camp was a wall of rock, partially hollowed out to form a small cave.

“Well here we are, you can set your supplies down anywhere.” Rex told them, once again looking at his chrono.

They neatly stacked their packs next to Rex’s stuff as Omega wandered over to the small cave. She ran her hands over the smooth rock before meandering back over to their small group.

“Now that I’ve made you hike, I suppose I should get on with the story.” Rex said. “I should also warn you that we are going to be having a few visitors joining us not too long from now.”

Well that would explain Rex’s constant glances at his chrono. The Bad Batch cocked their head curiously.

“Who are these visitors?” Hunter asked, slightly suspicious.

Rex gave him a small but reassuring smile.

“No one to be concerned about. In fact, they are going to be very excited to meet you all. Trust me, you don’t need to worry.”

Hunter’s tense stance loosened a little bit at Rex’s words.

Echo felt a feeling of excitement shot through him. Maybe these visitors were some of the 501st? Maybe they were the ones that helped Rex during order 66?

Or they could just as well be rebel contacts, hoping to gain some new information. Another part of Echo’s brain pointed out.

He worked to dispel his excitement, it was better that he didn’t get his hopes up. However he wouldn’t complain if Kix or Jesse stepped out of the trees.

Rex and Wrecker rolled over a few blocks of wood so they could sit around the fire pit. They all settled down and turned expectantly towards Rex.

The older clone let out a long sigh.

Echo didn’t blame Rex for being hesitant about talking through what had happened on his way back from Mandalore. Seeing General Billaba be gunned down had been hard and Echo hadn’t even known the general personally. But Ahsoka…

“Well I would like to wait for the others, but I think if I postpone this much longer, Echo might strangle me.” Rex said, making the others snort. “So I guess I’ll start by saying, yes, I have been holding information from you. I didn’t want to risk anything while you still had your chips in, and then I figured that showing you would be better than telling you. But as it turns out, the longer I waited to give you the news, the better the news got.”

Everyone tilted their heads curiously at that.

“Well you see-”
“Rex!”

Everyone’s head whipped towards the trees where a new voice had rang out from.

“You seriously couldn’t have picked a campsite closer to sea level? Here I thought the days of conditioning were over.” Echo froze.

That voice was unmistakably a clone’s. But it wasn’t just any clone. No, this was the voice of a clone Echo knew was dead.

“I had to make you work for it a little vod.” Rex called back.
“Oh yeah I’m sure you did.” Now they could hear the rustling of leaves and sticks as the clone grew closer.
Echo was halfway standing when he whipped his head to look at Rex. His ori’vod had a soft smile on his face. The others were looking at Echo curiously as his knees started to shake, making small rattling sounds.

It couldn’t be.

“I just hope this little vacation is worth it oh captain, my captain…” The figure stepped around the tree across the clearing from them.

They stopped moving when their eyes landed on Echo and the Bad Batch.

Echo wasn’t even aware of the tear rolling down his cheek as he stared at the clone. They were wearing loose fitting pants and a jacket with armor strapped across the top. The armor was painted unmistakable 501st blue, a match for the lines along Echo’s legs. He had an old ARC vambrace strapped to his right arm that Echo knew was his own. And even though their hair was longer, Echo could still see that stupid 5 tattoo on his twin’s temple.

“Fives?” Echo whispered, much too low for the other man to hear so he forced out the name louder a second time.

His twin’s mouth fell open when Echo spoke.

“E-Echo?”

Echo wasn’t even aware that he had started running, all he knew was that Fives, his brother, his twin, was standing across from him. Alive, breathing, here.

Fives met him in the middle of the clearing and they slammed into each other hard enough to send them to their knees, but they hardly noticed. Echo gripped Fives’ back plate as tight as he could as sobs wracked them both.

“You’re alive.” Echo managed to choke out.

He felt Fives nodded rapidly against his neck. They sat like that for a while, just holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it as they cried.

As their breathing began to even out, Fives suddenly pushed Echo back from his shoulder.

“Wait a kriffing minute, I’m alive? ECHO YOUR ALIVE?” Fives shouted.

Echo suddenly found his face being held in Fives’ hands as his twin examined him.

“You thought an explosion could really take me out?” Echo said with a teary smile. “Made it out mostly in one piece.”

Fives’ eyes roamed over the cybernetics partially hidden under his hair. Next his gaze fell to what was left of Echo’s right arm.

He let out a shuddering breath as he reached out an arm towards Echo before pausing. Echo lifted it so his twin could examine it. He tapped the scomp end to the vambrace attached to Fives’ arm.

“Glad to see that’s still getting some use out of it.” Echo mumbled with a smile.
“Ah-Ahsoka got them after… we never… we never forgot you Echo.” Echo felt new tears well up in his eyes and he leaned forward to let his forehead rest against Fives.

Fives tapped a finger to the vambrace on Echo’s arm without moving his head. Echo felt a smile tug at his lips.

“When Rex and the Bad Batch rescued me, he told me that you and Ahsoka each wore a vambrace. When he told me you’d died, he gave me yours.”

Fives’s hand came to rest on the back of his neck as he sucked in a shuddering breath.

“We left you behind.” His twin whispered.

Echo shook his head against Fives’.

“You did the right thing. You had a mission to complete and you saved a lot of lives. Besides, I don’t know if I would have lived long enough to make it back to a cruiser.” Echo assured him. “I don’t hold anything against you vod.”

Then from behind them they heard a gasp.
-
Ahsoka hadn’t meant to be late. It wasn’t her fault that the stupid space port traffic was horrible because some people didn’t know how to kriffing fly.

Realistically she knew it was only half an hour or so but still, she had been raised to be on time and ready. Oh well, hopefully Rex wouldn’t fault her too much for being late this one time.

The planet of Eufornis Minor was quiet, both literally and in the Force. There were few people to cause much of a disruption on the planet, mainly leaving large swaths of nature to act on its own accord. Ahsoka would admit that it was very refreshing to smell cool and rich, faintly pine scented air instead of dust and fuel.

Ahsoka hiked up the incline towards where Rex had told her to meet. The breeze blowing towards her carried a trace of campfire smoke so she figured she couldn’t be too far off.

As she grew closer, she began to hear voices. More than one for sure. Ahsoka slowed her quick pace to a more cautious walk. Rex hadn’t said if anybody else would be there with him, and it wasn’t like him to not tell her vital information.

She reached out with the Force and sensed multiple signatures in front of her. None of them were inherently alarming though, there was no fear or aggression. In fact, there was a very intense feeling of joy.

Ahsoka silently picked her way forward. By now she could tell that the voices were male, human male to be exact. They sounded familiar. Ahsoka stopped.

If these were clones she should definitely proceed cautiously until she knew who was in front of her. She carefully slid behind a tree right on the outskirt of the clearing. Ever so carefully she poked her head around the tree.

Across the clearing from her was a group of people in what looked like dark and modified clone armor. They ranged in size and appearance, so it took Ahsoka a moment to notice the young girl seated next to Rex. Rex who looked very pleased with himself. Ahsoka’s attention was drawn to two voices much closer to her.

There were two figures kneeling in the middle of the clearing. They were responsible for the intense feelings of joy and regret.

One was wearing the dark modified armor and the other was wearing what looked closer to bounty hunter armor. But the bounty hunter armor was painted bold 501st blue. Her eyes widened as her hand drifted to her own vambraces bearing that same color.

Then she heard their voices.

Her world came screeching to a halt.

Suddenly their Force signatures came into focus with blaring clarity.

She gasped as her legs threatened to give out.

Two pairs of golden brown eyes snapped to meet her.

They all stared at each other in shock, none of them quite processing what they were seeing.

This isn’t possible. Ahsoka thought. They were dead. Fives and Echo were supposed to be dead. This had to be a dream or a hallucination or something because there was no way they could be looking at her now as if they were seeing a ghost.

“Ahsoka?” Fives whispered in a broken voice.

A high keening noise escaped her throat because only the real Fives could pack so much emotion into one word.

She stumbled forward at the same time that Echo and Fives lunged forward towards her. They met in a tangle of limbs, some of which felt like metal, and ended up on the ground again. Ahsoka wrapped her arms around both Echo and Fives’ neck as they wound their arms around her back. The intensity of their emotions, coupled with her own, tore down any mental walls she had erected and she felt the full force of the emotions around her.

She buried her head into someone's shoulder and cried.

Their whole group seemed to shake as they all came to the realization that they were all here. This wasn’t a dream or some trick. This was real.

All at once they started talking, everyone demanding how the kriffing hells the others were alive.

“Echo I saw you-felt you die at the citadel-” “Rex said yo-you died during order 66!-” “I saw your holo on the imperial broadcast-” “Rex told me you died months before the war ended-”

They all stopped and looked at each other. After a moment they descended into giddy laughter as they began to disentangle themselves.

“I think we have a lot of catching up to do.” Echo mumbled as he tapped his head against Ahsoka’s forehead.

He caught sight of Ahsoka’s forearm and had to bite his tongue to keep from crying again. He instead gripped her arm and ran his thumb over his old vambrace.

“I wore it whenever I could.” She told him with a teary smile.

She lifted her other arm to reveal Fives’ old vambrace strapped to her right arm. Fives pulled her forward for a keldabe as he reached for something under his chestplate.
Echo and Ahsoka’s eyes widened as he tugged Ahsoka’s akul tooth headdress from under his armor. Ahsoka bit her lip as she traced a finger down the beads.

“I can’t believe you both are alive.” She finally whispered.
“I can’t believe you guys are alive.” Fives countered.
“Wait, are you telling me that Rex didn’t tell any of us that the others were alive?” Echo asked.

Fives and Ahsoka opened their mouths before pausing. Slowly 3 pairs of eyes turned to stare at Rex.

They found Rex smiling at them with one of the largest grins any of them had ever seen him wear. The Bad Batch was also watching them with varying expressions of curiosity and confusion. Omega in particular was looking between Fives and Ahsoka with scrunched brows.
Echo had shown her some of the holopics his 501st aliit had sent with him when he joined the Bad Batch, so he guessed she was trying to place Fives and Ahsoka’s faces with the pictures she’d seen.

“That kriffing shabuir.” Fives said when he saw Rex’s expression.
“He told me you both were dead.” Echo said.
“Wait he told you I was dead? I’ve been with him since the end of the war.” Ahsoka replied in shock.

Echo looked at her incredulously.

“I’m gonna kick him in the shebs.” Echo growled.
“I’ll help.” Fives agreed.
“Before we do any sheb kicking, I would like to know why he did it.” Ahsoka grumbled as she pushed herself upright.

Fives hauled himself up as Ahsoka offered Echo a hand up. Her eyes widened when she spotted his right prosthetic. Her eyes quickly traveled the rest of the way down his body and landed on his legs. An anguished expression twisted across her face. Echo grabbed her hand and once he was upright he pulled her into another hug.

“Don’t blame yourself for what happened to me.”

She sniffled into his shoulder. He didn’t know how she had dreamed of him for months, how she had felt his pain and hadn’t done anything to try to understand where it was coming from. She had assumed it was just nightmares, now it dawned on her that they weren’t. Just like on Umbara, she had been feeling what Echo had been feeling.

She scrunched her eyes shut and sucked in a shuddering breath.

Once Ahsoka regained her composure she stepped back. The three of them took a moment to fully look the others over now that they were standing.

Ahsoka took in Fives’ longer hair and new clothing and armor, she took in Echo’s modified black armor and the cybernetics partially hidden by his hair, and she took in their new Force signatures. Fives ran another gaze over his twin before looking his sister over.

Both Echo and Fives were surprised at how much her lekku had lengthened and her montrals had grown. Where they had once only reached the bottom of their jaw, now the tips almost reached the tops of their cheeks. The blue chevrons had begun to form striated marks, something Echo had once heard from Kix could be due to lack of proper nutrients or highly stressful situations.

Once they had all taken in the new appearances they began to make their way towards the other part of the group.

“I told you it would be worth the wait.” Rex said as they stepped into the circle.
“Rex yeh tazi osik I will literally kar-” Echo clapped a hand over Fives’ mouth.
“There are young ears here.” He said.
“Echo, Ahsoka has heard far worse-”
“Excuse me if anybody has young ears around here it’s you guys-”
“I meant Omega.” Both Ahsoka and Fives looked at Echo blankly.
“A what?”

Only then did Fives take a moment to look at the other people in the group around them.

“Ahsoka, Fives, I would like you to meet Clone Force 99, also known as the Bad Batch.” Echo said before pointing to each of his squad members. “Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega, meet Commander Ahsoka Tano and Fives.”
“Hey why does Ahsoka get her fancy title but I just get Fives?” Echo elbowed his twin in the side.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the pang that went through her chest at her old title.

The two different groups regarded each other curiously.

“You’re Ahsoka and Fives?” Omega asked in awe. “I’ve heard so many stories about you both.”

Ahsoka tilted her head at the young girl. She looked like she couldn’t have been older than 13 in natborn years. Curiously she glanced at Echo who just shrugged with a small smile.

Ahsoka knelt down in front of the girl and held out her hand.

“I hope it was the good stories at least.” Ahsoka said with a smile as the girl shook her hand.

Omega nodded with a grin.

“My favorite was about the time you two started a prank war.”

Fives scoffed as he too knelt down in front of Omega. “Did Echo tell you his own involvement in that?”

Omega shook her head before shooting Echo a look, making Fives laugh.

“Let me tell you adiik, Echo was just as involved with that prank war as we were, and he was a menace.”
“Really?” Omega asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
“Oh we’ve got all kinds of stories about Echo.” Ahsoka said with a sharp toothed grin up at her brother.
“Yeah how about no.” Echo said as he ushered Omega away from them and over to Hunter before turning back towards the captain. “Now, Rex, I believe you have some explaining to do. In private please.”

Rex had served on a battlefield for 4 years and had faced down numerous sith and criminals alike. He liked to believe that nothing intimidated him at this point. However the three eyes filled with barely contained wrath narrowed at him currently made him question that.

He nodded before pushing himself up off the stump. He directed the Bad Batch towards the crates with food in them before leading his vod’ikas over to the shallow cave.

Omega watched the retreating group curiously.

“What do you think they're doing?” She asked the others.
“If I had to guess, I believe the captain is about to get the lecture of the century.” Tech said with a small chuckle. “I’ve only ever seen Echo look that mad once.”

-
Rex stood facing Fives, Echo, and Ahsoka under the covering of rock. They all were staring at him with various levels of anger or vengefulness.

“Before you all shoot me, understand my thought process.” Rex said with a sigh.
“Oh yes, I am very interested to hear how you came to this decision.” Fives growled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Rex looked at Echo.

“I knew Ahsoka was alive when I found you on Ord Mantell. I was planning on telling you but you all still had your inhibitor chips in. Considering Crosshair’s activated late, I didn’t want to risk it. Not… not after everything that happened.” Echo felt Ahsoka slump slightly at Rex’s words.

While Echo was still mad, he could understand why Rex had done it. Especially after what happened on Bracca. His tense stance loosened slightly.

Rex turned to Fives.

“I didn’t even know you were alive until about a month ago. By then I was already working on getting Ahsoka and Echo back together, but then all of a sudden I find you on some karking backwater planet in a bar.”

Echo and Ahsoka raised an eyebrow and a marking at Fives. He shrugged.

“I was attempting to drink my sorrows away.”
“Anyways, I figured that it would be better to find a time to reunite you all at the same time instead of staggering it.” Rex finished.

Ahsoka and the Domino twins continue to stare down Rex for a few moments before sighing.

“He has a point.” Echo mumbled.
“Yeah I guess he does.” Fives said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Suddenly Echo’s head snapped towards Ahsoka.

“You were the one that got Rex’s chip out aren’t you!” Ahsoka nodded in surprise.
“Yes.”

Echo once again turned an accusing glare to Rex.

“You told me you killed her when the order went out!”
“What?” Fives demanded.

Rex winced.

“I never explicitly said we killed her. I just said that we were forced to comply with the order.”
Echo opened his mouth to argue before Fives suddenly turned to Echo.
“Wait, Rex said you all didn’t have your chips out yet? How did you resist the order?”
“When I was held by the Techno Union they karked all kinds of osik up in here.” Echo said, gesturing to his head. “Tech thinks that they destroyed any preset behavioral modification.”
“Wait, you were held by the Techno Union?” Ahsoka asked.

Rex held up his hands as questions began to fly.

“Ok, how about one at a time?” He suggested.
“Alright, Echo your going first. I want to know how exactly you’ve been alive this whole time.” Fives declared.

Echo sighed but nodded in agreement.

The three of them settled down in the cave as Rex made his way back over to the Bad Batch, deciding he’d give them some privacy.

“Ok well, I don’t remember much after the explosion.” Echo began. “I think I only had a few brief moments of consciousness after the Separatists found me. I don’t know why they didn’t just kill me, I was pretty much dead anyways, but they didn’t. When the Techno Union heard that the Separatists had a half dead ARC trooper, I guess they thought they might be able to make use of me.”

He gestured to his body with his hand and scomp attachment.

“This is all their handy work. Stitched me back together with metal and found a way to tap into my memories. Once they realized I had a bunch of the GAR’s regulations and battle plans they hooked me up to some sort of computer.”

Ahsoka and Fives looked sick across from him.

“They would send in battle information and I would give them counter attack data. I don’t…” Echo raised his hand to his head. “I don’t know when I realized I was alive. Could have been days, could have been months. I was never conscious long enough to try to escape. The best I could do was broadcast my number and my location and hope someone heard it.”

Ahsoka gently reached out and rested her hand on his when he trailed off. Echo gave her a small smile before continuing.

“Rex said that on Annexes the Republic heard about some sort of algorithm the Seppies were using to counter their attacks. They sent him, Jesse, Kix, Cody, and the Bad Batch to take out a droid control tower which was transmitting the information. That’s where Rex picked up on my broadcast. Somehow he managed to convince Skywalker to run a rescue mission on Skako Minor with the Bad Batch. That’s where they found me.”

By now Fives had moved so his knee was pressed against Echo’s metal one. He hadn’t realized how nice it felt to his family around him until now, or how much he had missed it when they were gone.

“Once they rescued me and took Annexes, Rex told me Ahsoka had left the Jedi and the GAR and Fives was… well, dead.” Both his brother and his sister looked down. “I figured so much time had passed and things had changed… the 501st wouldn’t feel like home anymore.”

Echo glanced across the clearing to where his squad and Rex were showing Omega how to roast actual food over a small campfire without burning it.

“The Bad Batch offered to let me go with them, and I took it.” Echo returned his gaze to his brother and sister. “It wasn’t easy recovering after that. I had a lot of guilt for the part I played in helping the Seppies,” he held up a hand when both Ahsoka and Fives opened their mouths to argue. “Yeah I know I didn’t have a choice. But I still felt like it was my fault. But they helped me get back on my feet, and helped me learn to accept what I’d become. They’re pretty unorthodox and can be downright stupid sometimes…” He smirked at Ahsoka and Fives. “But they reminded me of home.”
“Hey now that’s a little insulting.” Fives said. “If anything it would have been Hardcase.”
Ahsoka scoffed. “Yeah right, you, Hardcase, and Jesse almost set the barracks on fire when you tried to cook something using a blaster fuse.”

Echo looked at his brother incredulously.

“That was Jesse and Hardcase.” Fives mumbled.
“It was literally your blaster.” Fives clapped a hand over Ahsoka’s mouth.
“Absolutely none of that happened.” He told Echo as Ahsoka attempted to argue behind his hand.

Echo rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face.

“What I would like to know is who the kid is.” Fives said as he removed his hand from Ahsoka’s mouth.

Echo smiled faintly.

“Her name is Omega. She’s a clone.” Both Ahsoka and Fives cocked their heads at him. “She is one of two clones made with completely unaltered DNA from Jango Fett. The other one’s name is Alpha but everyone knows him as-”
“Boba.” Ahsoka finished with a grim look on her face.
“You know him?” Echo asked.
“I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with him. He’s acting as a bounty hunter, he worked with Cad Bane.”
“Cad Bane?” Echo asked in surprise. “He was after Omega a while back.”

Fives’ brows furrowed.

“Why?” Fives asked.
“Well, Omega had been on Kamino acting as Nala Se’s lab assistant. After Jango died and Boba disappeared we think they were going to start using Omega as a source of Jango’s DNA. But after the war ended Tarkin had it out for us, and Omega warned us.” Fives audibly growled at Tarkin’s name while Ahsoka just grimaced. “When we escaped Kamino, we took Omega with us. Lama Su put a bounty out on her to get her back but they seemed to give up after Cad Bane failed. Then of course Kamino was destroyed by the Empire and no one’s come looking in months.”
“The Empire destroyed Kamino?” Fives asked.
“Yep, we were there.” Echo told him.

Both Ahsoka and Fives gave him alarmed looks which he waved off.

“Ever since we split from the Empire, we’ve been working for Cid, she was an old Republic informant on Ord Mantell.” He saw Ahsoka’s eyes spark in recognition. “She’s an acquired taste but she pays us and hasn’t ratted us out yet, so we aren’t complaining too much. Rex found us because of her and was able to get our chips out. Just in time too because Wrecker’s was beginning to activate.” Echo grimaced at the memory. “So that’s what I’ve been doing since the Citadel.”

Ahsoka and Fives took a moment to process what Echo had shared.

“Before either of you apologize for what happened on the Citadel, there was nothing either of you could have done. I wouldn’t have made it out of there if you guys had tried to save me. Besides there is no telling what the GAR would have done, they might have just determined me as unsalvageable and decommissioned me anyways.”

Both Fives and Ahsoka frowned at that, but they knew Echo was probably correct. Ahsoka mumbled something in a language neither of them knew before turning to Fives.

“I believe it's your turn.”

Fives huffed but settled back to talk.

“Well it all started on a normal mission on Ringo Vinda.” Fives quickly explained the campaign to them before continuing. “We were pushing for the main control room when all of a sudden I noticed Tup was acting off. He kept losing focus and he said he didn’t feel like himself. Then when we were in a pretty intense firefight in one of the main hangars, Tup seemed to snap. He walked right up to General Tiplar and shot her.”

Ahsoka’s breath stuttered at that, as did Echo’s.

“We had to pull back after that and when we had Kix look over Tup, it was like nothing any of us had seen. He kept saying ‘good soldiers follow orders’ over and over again.”

A chill raced down Echo’s spine. That is what Crosshair had said and what Wrecker had mumbled under the chip's control.

“We couldn’t find anything medically wrong with him so we decided to take Tup back to Kamino to be evaluated.” Fives’ fist clenched as he continued. “When we got to Kamino, Nala Se was over seeing his evaluation and she said she wanted to kill Tup and dissect him to see what was wrong. Now I guess that was just her trying to destroy any evidence.”

Ahsoka felt the sorrow swirling around Fives and placed a hand on his arm.

“I had one of the medical droids run a level 5 atomic brain scan on him and that’s when I discovered the chip. I had the droid remove Tup’s… but he died after the surgery.” Fives’ lowered his gaze to the ground. “The Kaminoans tried to play it off as a behavioral modification chip that kept us from being as aggressive as Fett. I took mine out and the Kaminoans flipped, tried to declare me defective so they could decommission me, but General Ti stood up for me and was able to get me transported back to Coruscant so I could tell the Chancellor.”

Ahsoka sucked air through her teeth.

“I thought the control chips were some kind of Seperatist plot… but when I got to Coruscant the Chancellor told me it was his plan, and framed me for attempted murder. I managed to escape to the lower levels before the guard could get me, but I made a stop at 79’s and was able to get a message to Rex and Skywalker through Kix. I tried to tell them what was going on but the guard showed up. After that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep running, so I faked my death. I made it look like I was caught in a firefight between a couple of rival gangs and fled Coruscant.”

He took a moment to breathe.

“While I was in the outer rim, Commander Blackout tracked me down. I thought I was karked, but he actually believed me, told me he’d been looking into some of the Chancellor’s shadier activities and that things weren’t lining up. He sent a message out to the other commanders warning them about the chips… but I don’t know how many listened.”

Echo watched his twin’s shoulders slump in defeat.

“After Blackout, I headed to Felucia because that was the nearest active war front. I ended up in General Aalya’s camp and told Bly about the chips.” Fives smirked a little. “Once I told him the chips might make him kill Aayla, he was on board. Those two are almost as obvious as Skywalker and Amidala.”

A smile twitched at the corner of Ahsoka’s mouth before it disappeared again. Padme was dead now, and she had to assume Anakin had also fallen during order 66.

“We managed to de-chip most of the 327th before the order went out. Only a few were affected and Aayla made it out through.”

Ahsoka let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Aayla is alive?” She asked.

Fives nodded with a small smile.

Ahsoka raised a shaking hand to her head as a wave of relief washed over her. All the information she had been able to find regarding Jedi who had fallen during order 66 had proclaimed that Aayla died on Felucia and the 327th had fallen to Seperatist forces.

“After that I began working on de-chipping any trooper I could kidnap safely.” Fives ran a hand through his hair again. “So far I’ve managed to free about 15, I wish it was more but it’s hard to find a way to hide them with the limited resources I have.”

Echo placed his hand on Fives’ shoulder.

“That fact that you’ve managed to free any of them is a feat in itself. You’ve given 15 vode a second chance and that’s something to be proud of.”

Fives smiled gratefully at his twin before he turned to Ahsoka.

“I saw one of the Imperial broadcasts about the jedi that had been found after the war. You were on there and…”

Ahsoka shifted forward and wrapped her arms around Fives’ neck. He locked his arms around her back and let out a shuddering breath.

“Ok, I think it's your turn vod’ika.” Echo said as Fives released Ahsoka.

Ahsoka rubbed a hand over her montral before glazing back over to where Rex was seated. When she caught his gaze she mentioned him over.

“Rex was there so I figure he should be a part of this discussion as well.”

The blonde settled down next to Ahsoka.

“Well, after I left the jedi order I worked for a mechanic in the mid levels of Coruscant. It didn’t pay very well but he didn’t ask any questions. After a while I was laid off and I had to head down to the lower levels.” There were multiple noises of discontempt. “Hey I didn’t have much of a choice, and besides, because I had to move down there I met the Martez sisters.”

Ahsoka quickly explained who the Martez sisters were to Echo and Fives before continuing.

“Rafa got involved with a shady deal with the Pikes, she and Trace were supposed to transport a shipment of spice from Kessel to Oba Diah. Unfortunately we got into a disagreement and ended up dumping the spice mid hyperspace flight. When we arrived the Pikes captured us and well it went about as well as you would think. While we were escaping I discovered intel regarding Darth Maul, a sith, who was building a crime empire. After returning to Coruscant I was approached by Bo-Katan of Mandalore and she wanted my help with tracking Maul down. I was working with her and other mandalorians for a few months before we located Maul on Mandalore.”

Ahsoka unconsciously called a small pebble to her hands to fidget with as she spoke.

“We realized that if we wanted Maul, we would need to take Mandalore, but Bo-Katan didn’t have the numbers for it, so I suggested reaching out to the Republic for help. Luckily for us, Anakin and Obi-Wan were the closest. I-...” Ahsoka’s voice faltered. “I knew going back was going to be hard but… seeing them and the 501st again…” Rex placed a hand on her shoulder as she felt unexpected tears sting her eyes.
“You know what Rex and Torrent did to welcome me back?” She asked as she glanced up at Fives and Echo. “They painted their helmets to match.” She ran a hand over the markings on her cheek before letting it fall away. “Then Grievous attacked Coruscant and Obi-Wan and Anakin were called back. Anakin split the 501st so half would come with me and Rex to Mandalore to help Bo-Katan. Rex got promoted to commander and everything.”

Echo and Fives turned bright eyes to their captain. He just grimaced.

“Once on Mandalore we laid siege for about a week before we were able to track Maul down. He… he wanted me to join him, to stop Sidious. He told me that the Republic had already fallen… but I didn’t believe him. I captured him and we left Mandalore to Bo-Katan. Then…” Ahsoka’s voice faltered again.

The stone clenched in her hand reduced itself to dust as the Force swirled uneasily around her.

“Then the order went out.” Rex finished.

Echo and Fives watched both Ahsoka and Rex shrink in on themselves. Only then did they both realize that neither of them had mentioned any of the other members of the 501st, and both figured that if others were with them, they would be here now. The Domino twins suddenly felt sick to their stomach.

“I felt something wrong with Anakin right as it went out. I-I still don’t know what it meant, what I heard.” Ahsoka said after she regained her composure. “Next thing I knew it felt like the sky was falling.” She felt Rex tense beside her.

His guilt permeated the Force around them. Ahsoka reached for his hand, and when he didn’t immediately shy away, she laced her fingers with his.

“It was like I was losing all control.” Rex mumbled.

Both Fives and Echo leaned an inch closer, making Ahsoka remember that neither of them had felt the effects of the chip.

“I tried to fight it, but no matter how hard I tried, I was losing.”

Ahsoka raised her eyes to Fives.

“He told me to find you. The report he gave after your death, warning about the chips.” Fives blinked in surprise. “And for the first time since I’ve known you, you missed.” She told Rex with a small smile.

Rex’s eyes didn’t raise from the ground, but he gave her hand a small squeeze.

“After the chips activated I was able to escape into the vents. I found the report he gave and I was able to isolate Rex and get his chip out.” Ahsoka’s eyes dropped again. “But before that, I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t know why the troopers were turning on me. So I let Maul out to cause a distraction.”

Both ARC troopers suddenly got a bad feeling.

“He took the hyperdrive out and the Tribunal began to get pulled into a nearby moon's gravity. Rex and I made it to the hangar but… but Jesse knew we were coming.” She felt a sick feeling flow off both of the men in front of her. “We were running out of time to get off the ship, and they all seemed completely unaware that the ship was going down. Maul took the first shuttle, but we were able to find a Y-wing as we entered the atmosphere. We made it out but…”

No one else did.

The group fell silent. Each processed the full horror of what had happened all over again. Both Fives and Echo shifted forward and pulled Rex and Ahsoka into a tight hug.

“We buried as many of them as we could.” Ahsoka said quietly. “None of the other troopers ever got a burial, but we gave them one.”

They sat like that for a while, the only tell for passage of time was the sun slowly dropping closer and closer to the horizon.

Finally they released each other.

“After that we made it to the outer rim and just layed low. Well, for a little while at least.” Ahsoka nudged Rex gently.
“I heard rumors of a group of rebels working against the Empire. Figured it might be worth checking out. And it’s a good thing I did, if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have found either of you.” Rex said as he nodded to Fives and Echo.
“Well, at least some good came from it all.” Echo mumbled with a small smile.
“So what happens now?” Fives asked after a moment of silence.

Both Ahsoka and Echo looked at him curiously.

“Well, I know for a fact that I am never letting either of you out of my sight again, so what do we do now?”

Both Ahsoka and Echo looked at each other.

That question hadn’t occurred to either of them, they had been so caught up in the immediate joy of being reunited that they hadn’t even considered the idea that they might have to split ways again.

They all glanced at Rex but he just raised his hands and stood up.

“My job was getting you back together, this is for you all to decide.” He said as he turned to make his way back to the campfire.
“I’ve got nothing on my agenda so I can plunk down anywhere.” Fives told them.
“I would follow you both to the end of the galaxy.” Ahsoka said. “But Echo, I know you have a squad. I don’t want to make you feel like you have to leave them behind.”

Echo’s shoulders sank slightly.

He hadn’t thought about his squad. He could hear them laughing and talking behind him, finally carefree for the first time in a long while. The thought of possibly leaving them had not occurred to him. They had given him a new purpose in life after Skako Minor and running with them after the war had made him realize that maybe a soldier could be more than just a pawn in a war.

However, everytime Rex would talk about the rebel cause and fighting back against the Empire… Echo felt something inside of him wanting to help. The Bad Batch had always been on their own, even on Kamino. Distancing themselves from others had been key to their survival, but Echo hadn’t been raised like that.

Now Echo looked back up into the face of his twin. Fives stared back at him with a bright intensity, the kind that Echo had grown up drawing strength from.

Echo let out a long sigh.

“And here I thought my days of putting up with your nonsense were over.” Echo mumbled as he cuffed Fives on the back of his head.

Fives’ eyes widened and a large grin spread across his face.

“You’ll never escape me, vod.” Fives said as he looped an arm around Echo’s neck.

Ahsoka watched them with a smile. The galaxy was still crawling with darkness, but this small pocket of it was brimming with light.
-
Once they returned to the group, Echo pulled Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker aside to talk while Rex, Ahsoka, and Fives began regaling their favorite stories from the 501st.

When Echo was done explaining his decision, Hunter placed a hand on Echo’ shoulder.

“We understand Echo. I know you’ve wanted to be doing more for a while now.”
“You finally got your aliit back.” Wrecker said with a faint smile. “You should be with them.”
“You guys became my aliit too.” Echo pointed out.
“Yes, but they are your first. Besides, I think your talents are much better suited for fighting an Empire.” Tech told him.
“That and you’ll get less gray hair from trying to corral us.” Wrecker said with a laugh.

Echo huffed but smiled.

“And I think Omega will understand as well.” Hunter added.

Echo glanced over at the fire to find Fives waving his hands animatedly around as Omega watched with a large smile. He nodded slowly.

Next he pulled Omega aside, kneeling to be eye level with her. As predicted, she enthusiastically informed him that he should stay with Ahsoka, Fives, and Rex.

“Besides, it’s not like we’ll never see you again. You’ll know where to find us.” Omega said.
“Yeah vod’ika, I will.” He said as he pulled her into a hug. “You’ll need to keep the others out of trouble while I’m not there.”
“I’ll try my best.” She huffed.

Echo chuckled as he released her.

“How come you never told me about the time you and Fives had to help deliver a baby rancor on an ARC mission?”

Echo coughed in surprise.

“Maybe because I wanted to spare you the horror.” Echo replied.
“Hmm.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

Echo ruffled her hair before standing up again to escape her scrutiny.

That night they all were up late trading various war stories.

Even the Bad Batch had heard the infamous stories about the 501st legion under Anakin Skywalker. To hear them from first hand sources made it even more crazy.

“And here I thought we got up to some pretty crazy stuff.” Wrecker said.
“Oh don’t even get me started on the time Anakin had us crash our venator into the Trade Federation blockade over Ryloth.” Ahsoka mumbled.

As their fire burned down, they began to wind down for the night. The Bad Batch settled down in their own small group as Rex retired to his own tent. Ahsoka laid out her mat next to Fives’ and Echo’s mats. A cool breeze made a shiver run down her spine and she quickly crawled under her blanket. Fives all but flopped down on top of her as Echo settled down on her other side. Fives reached across her to grab Echo and tug him closer.

“You know this was much easier when you were smaller.” Fives mumbled to Ahsoka as they shifted around.

She rolled her eyes and mumbled an insult, making Echo snort as he wound his arm around her waist to grab Fives’ belt.

Once they were as close as physically possible and satisfied, they settled down.

“You know Echo, I’m going to find you an actual hand as soon as we’re off this planet.” Ahsoka mumbled with a yawn.
“You should stick a knife in it as well.” Fives suggested.

Echo’s only response was a rumbling laugh.

Ahsoka felt her two brothers slowly slip into sleep on either side of her.

She stared up at the stars twinkling in the sky far above her.

At that moment, she knew everything would be okay.

Chapter Text

I am going to start this off by saying THANK YOU!

Wow, here we are, about 3 months, 284 pages, and 101,710 words later. I started this back in May at the end of the school year and managed to consistently post for months on end and now here we are.

I cannot express how much fun I had while writing this, and I cannot express how much all of you who read motivated me. Every comment and kudo pushed me to keep going so I must say it loud and clear THANK YOU.

A lot of things inspired this work and if you’ve read pretty much every work in the Ahsoka & Rex tag, the Ahsoka & Fives tag, and the Ahsoka & Echo tag, you can probably see where where I drew some inspiration. But the thing that really inspired me was a piece of fan art by @ollovae3 on instagram of Echo and Fives reuniting. Go check out her art, it is amazing! I also drew a lot of headcannons from @kaijurave on Instagram (especially tattoos and the clones actually looking like they're in their 20s) so definitely check her out too.

But I also drew so much inspiration from you all. A special shoutout to the people that have been consistently commenting on every chapter for the last few months you guys seriously are angels <3

Once again, thank you so much for reading. This journey has truly been amazing and I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did!

Sincerely, See_writes <3

(if you want my other headcanons, my tumblr is @saggitary)