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Reclaiming the dead
Rex, Echo, Gregor were in the cockpit of their vessel headed to safety. One of their secondary bases, having scattered across the galaxy in both manpower and equipment had been a strategic choice to make after all.
“Do you think Wolffe still had his chip?”
Gregor was contemplating the Commander’s choice to perhaps not really believe what they had told him about Tantiss and the other clones, but then again, he had let the go.
“He still seemed pretty loyal to the Empire. So my guess is yes.”
Rex having been wondering the same exact thing. But, Wolffe had let them go, even having let them have their say before making that choice.
“And yet he let us go.”
“Yeah, that he did.”
“The chips loosing their effect, we’ve seen it happen.” Echo noted, the others nodding in agreement.
“It will take more than what we told to get through to Wolffe. He was always a stricter for facts more than anything. Hard proven evidence. But, at least it was good to see he is still among us, in a way.”
Rex was reminded of a few occasions back in the war, where Wolffe had been adamant to stick to the plan, the rules rather than following Rex’s lead to strike head on, worry later.
“Yeah… way too many of us… gone.”
A moment of silence fell between the friends, mourning their lost brethren. They all felt the pang, so many lost in this fight against the Empire. It was just, such a waste of lives.
“We need to go back there. Back to Teth and salvage what we can. Collect our dead and perhaps there is something to salvage from the base too.” Echo reminded them all after the spell was broken.
“Soon. After we drop off the Batch. We need to keep Omega safe and I don’t want to bring her back there just in case the imps let a contingency there.”
Rex had been adamant too, telling Hunter to keep Omega safe. Not that he had really needed to. Between Hunter, Crosshair and Wrecker, perhaps even Batcher, Rex knew she would be protected. Especially now having gotten her back.
“We’ll pick up some backup and then we’ll go back there.”
Gregor got an approving nod from the other two. Even if it would be dangerous, they knew they still needed to go back.
*
“Captain! Rex! Over here!”
“What the F…???”
“There are survivors over there!”
Rex and the rest of his salvage team turned to look at the caller, seeing a familiar face emerging from under the lush undergrowth, now waving at them.
“Oh my Force! Nemec!”
Howzer immediately took to running towards his friend. Picking Nemec up in mid stride and holding the trooper up in the air, only too happy to see Nemec alive!
“Good to see ya too Howz!” Nemec still felt a tad woozy from the injury he had sustained.
“I am so glad you are alive.” Howzer repeated, having thought Nemec had died from the shot of the assassin clone.
“Yeah and they found me and dragged me here after I had crawled through the bushes on my own for a moment there.”
Just then the others reach the makeshift hidden camp under the shrubbery, seeing there were plenty of troopers there gathered to the place.
“We managed to get away after the blaster fire stopped. Some of us are injured. Some more baldy than others. But as luck would have it, quite a few of us managed to escape just the same.” Fireball explained.
“That is indeed great news!” Rex could not have been happier seeing so many of his people still among the living.
“Nobody came to look for you then? The imperials I mean?” Echo asked confused, thinking the imperials would certainly have swept the place before taking off.
“Guess they did not bother. They were collecting our dead though. From beneath the rubble.”
“What?”
“Yeah, it was odd for sure. But I heard the Commander in charge giving the orders to the troopers to do so.” It was Samson having been the closest to the imperials while the lot of them were fleeing the fires of the base.
“Well, guess there is nothing we can do about them now.” Rex sounded solemn having hoped to bury their dead. “But we will get you all back home.”
The rescued troopers all nodded in agreement, only too happy it was Rex’s people having found them and not the Empire. Guess a few surviving clone troopers really did not matter to them after all.
*
“We need to get the ship closer. To load them all in as some are in really bad shape.” Gregor commented having checked the survivors with Echo and Howzer with two other troopers having joined in the salvage now having turned to a recovery mission.
“You do that. I need Echo with me to check the computers on the base. Or what’s left of it.” Rex ordered.
The work started swiftly enough, those able to stand on their own two feet helping those who were badly wounded, either supporting or carrying them to the vessel.
“Good thing Rex got that bacta tank when he did.” Gregor commented while carrying one of the wounded with Howzer. “Seeing as it is going to be really handy about now.” Howzer wasn’t arguing, still surprised and speechless of seeing so many still alive despite everything having happened.
Meanwhile, Rex and Echo had gotten into the base. Or what remains of it still standing after the fires and all the bombs going off.
The two of them having taken out what they could from the computer systems and whatever gear there was still salvageable they could find. Soon after heading to the ship seeing the surviving clones having already been loaded onboard. The other troopers having pepped a makeshift med bay into the cargo hold.
“Let’s load this stuff we got from the base and then we can head off.”
There were no objections to those orders. Them all ready to leave Tech far behind.
*
While on route to their second hide out, one of the bases, they were all pretty quiet. But, feeling slightly elated, having managed to save so many where they had thought them all lost.
“So, ya heard the news then?” Howzer asked from Nemec.
“Well, you have to be more clear than that Cap, as I kinda lost touch there for a while with all of you and guess for a moment, the galaxy too.” Nemec chuckled, as he had been dead to the universe for a while at least. Thankfully though, the clones were of sturdier stock than that!
“Well, me and Crosshair got into talking… on our way back the first time around…”
“Wow, that’s… um, great!”
Knowing the story behind Howzer and the sniper, the bad blood and all it was certainly good to hear some fences were being mended at least.
“Yeah, well, guess he told me a few things about his time with the Empire and all. What happened to him and… But, well, what kind of stuck was the fact that he told me the Empire is harvesting dead clones.”
The one comment about of the imperials taking their fallen, the clones with them had stuck to Howzer and gotten him reeling back to the conversation he had had with Crosshair.
“Well that would explain why they picked up our dead now wouldn’t it?”
“Well, that’s not even the worst of it.”
“No?”
“No. What Crosshair told me was, that they, the imps are apparently…” Howzer paused, the dread image popping to his mind, not a pretty picture. “Reanimating dead clone troopers.”
Nemec’s eyes flew impossibly wide after hearing this piece of news.
“That.. that’s just… well. Wrong.”
“Yeah, it sure is. But that’s the word. And guess Crosshair witnessed it too.”
“Karking Empire! They should just leave all of us alone!”
Yeah, the clones certainly deserved better than what they were getting.