Chapter Text
Rishi Station had been destroyed in a last-ditch effort to warn the Republic that the relay line was no longer secure. It was never rebuilt, as the relay line was moved with the Republic’s advancing border. Most of the structure had been destroyed in the explosion, only a lower room and an air duct remaining fully intact. The shield generator, situated in the lower room, was still operable and maintaining the shield.
Tech hovered the Marauder at the edge of the shield, then looked over his shoulder. “In position.”
Hunter opened the boarding ramp and leaned outside. Below, the shield and craggy stone wall met. He scanned the wall, then looked at the Domino twins behind him.
“I don’t see it,” Hunter said.
“It’s there,” Fives said confidently. “I used it to turn the shield off.”
“But the shield’s still on,” Wrecker said, jostling Fives’ shoulder. “Didn’t do such a good job, huh?”
“The whole place became unstable after the explosion. Something probably fell and turned the shield back on,” Fives said.
“And you’re going to go down there,” Crosshair said drily, pushing past them all to go to the edge of the ramp. “Remind me why this is a good idea.”
“Never said it was,” Echo admitted, glancing at Fives.
“But there wasn’t time to do this when we were here last,” Fives added. “Cutup, Droidbait, and Hevy deserved more.”
Hunter didn’t look particularly happy, but he nodded. “Clip in.”
Echo and Fives took a rappel line and clipped them to the harnesses they already wore. Both were wearing their blasters and specialized armor, as they didn’t know what they would find down below. They’d been trapped unprepared with the Rishi eels once before, and that had been plenty.
Echo and Fives leaned over either side of the ramp while Hunter and Crosshair double-checked their lines. Once everything was ready, the Domino twins were lowered.
Echo scanned the stone below. He knew Hunter or Crosshair would notice any eels long before him, but he needed some sort of distraction.
Never had Echo thought he would return to Rishi’s moon. He had pleasant memories of the outpost, as the Domino Squad had been assigned there for several months of silence before the Separatist takeover, but it was also where three of his batchmates had died.
Echo looked over at Fives, who was leaning back while looking down. He held the line with his left hand, letting his bad hand rest in a strap of his harness.
Fives had been the one to suggest going to their old outpost. Echo, wanting the same closure but never having the strength to go alone, hadn’t argued.
The hard part had been convincing Hunter . It was pretty amusing, really. Hunter and Fives had first met when Fives had been attacking him with a stun baton to protect the child assassin, Omega. But somewhere along the line of Fives’ trial on Coruscant and figuring out a recovery plan for the damaged nerves in his body, Hunter had joined Echo in defending and helping Fives. He’d become very protective of Fives, and had initially balked at letting the twins return to the moon infested with eels and bad memories.
As painful as returning was, though, Echo was glad he and Fives had worn Hunter down. Like many clones in these waning days of the Clone Wars, they were returning to the final resting place of their batchmates to find some way to remember their brothers.
Echo and Fives’ boots hit stone. Echo waved to Hunter and Crosshair, then started to unclip.
“Keep the lines attached,” Hunter said over the helmet comms.
“That’s not going to work too well in the ducts,” Echo said.
“Make it work. I don’t like the sound of this place,” Hunter said.
Fives looked up. “Do you hear eels?”
“Yes, but not too close. The structure’s unstable.”
Fives, still new enough to the squad to be surprised by the things Hunter heard, looked at Echo, then shrugged. “Okay, Hunter.”
With Crosshair directing from above, Echo and Fives found the duct opening. Echo crawled in first, looking over his shoulder to Fives.
“Get moving, the view back here is terrible,” Fives said.
Echo chuckled and did as he was told. He soon had to turn on the lights on his helmet to inspect the duct as he went. It was surprisingly stable, though the shield would have protected it from the meteorites and the vibrations of the shield generator kept the eels away.
Echo reached the end of the duct and shoved the grate out of the way to drop into the room.
“We’re inside,” Echo told Hunter.
Fives dropped beside Echo. “Well. That wasn’t there before.”
In the center of the floor was a gaping hole. The floor and walls were covered in cracks, and other than the shield generator, everything in the room had been destroyed. Everything was illuminated by a single light bar on the ceiling.
“That’s weird,” Fives said. Pointing, he said, “The generator should be where the hole is at.”
“An eel must’ve tunneled in and pushed it aside,” Echo suggested.
“Maybe, but how’s it still working?”
Echo shrugged. “Looks like the generator was built better than the outpost itself.”
Fives snorted. “Just watch, Echo, the only thing broken will be the off switch.”
“Probably.”
Echo inspected the hole. It filled most of the room, but the floor nearest to the wall appeared stable enough. He and Fives passed the hole one careful step at a time to arrive at the generator. There they both paused.
“...I was joking, Echo.”
“Joking about what?” Hunter asked.
“There’s no off switch!” Fives exclaimed.
“The generator’s been modified,” Echo said, looking warily around.
“I thought the moon has been uninhabited since the outpost was destroyed,” Wrecker said.
“It has been,” Tech said.
“I’m looking at a mess of copper patches that say otherwise,” Echo said. Spotting a cable running up the wall, Echo added, “The generator’s powering the light, too, and I know that’s new.”
“And there’s no off switch,” Fives repeated.
“Oh, no, there’s two of them now,” Crosshair was heard to mutter.
“I just want to know who fixes a shield generator and doesn’t leave the off switch,” Fives said, leaning to inspect the back of the generator.
“Someone who doesn’t want a meteorite to destroy something on the surface,” Echo said.
“There’s no sign of anyone on the surface,” Crosshair said.
“They’ve probably moved on already,” Hunter said. “There’s been enough Republic movement in the area, if this someone was laying low.”
“Probably.” Echo shook his head. “There’s no way to turn this off.”
“Blowing up would work,” Wrecker suggested.
“Not with how unstable this room is,” Fives said.
Wrecker grumbled.
“Echo, there’s a plug back here,” Fives said.
Echo went to Fives’ side. He spotted the plug, but it was in the narrow gap between the generator and the wall. Trying to slide behind the generator, Echo was halted when his armor got stuck on the gap.
Echo pushed back, only to realize his armor was jammed into the gap. He pushed against the wall, then slumped against the generator and stared balefully at a laughing Fives.
“Yeah, yeah, just help me out,” Echo said.
“What’s going on down there?” Hunter asked.
“Nothing, Echo’s just in a jam,” Fives laughed.
“...he’s what?”
“Nothing,” Echo said. With Fives finally helping, he got free and turned off his comms. “Don’t tell Hunter.”
Echo pulled off the harness while Fives jokingly shook his head. Echo responded by pulling off his helmet and chucking it at Fives, who narrowly caught it, then promptly dropped it.
“Ah, sorry,” Echo said, wincing.
Fives waved off the apology. “You just caught me off-guard. I’ll get it next time.”
“So you’re giving me permission to throw my helmet at you again?”
“...no.”
Echo laughed and pulled off his upper armor. He set the armor aside, then slid behind the generator. Crouching took leaning awkwardly sideways, but Echo maneuvered his scomp link into the plug.
“The shield’s down,” Tech said a moment later.
Echo disconnected from the plug, then tried to slide out. Halfway out, his flesh elbow got stuck on a ridge in the stone wall. Trying to pull free only tugged painfully on his elbow and shoulder.
“Echo?”
“I’m stuck,” Echo grumbled.
“How?” Fives laughed, angling his head to see past Echo’s shoulders. “You got in there!”
“Yeah, but I can’t get out,” Echo huffed. He wriggled to no avail. “Just help me.”
“Hang on.” Fives angled his head slightly and said, “No, I wasn’t joking about the jam. He’s really stuck in there… no, it’s fine, I can get him out… of course.”
Echo narrowed his eyes at Fives pleased voice. “What did Hunter tell you?”
“That it’s a good thing I’m the responsible twin.”
Echo stared at Fives. “Since when?! ”
“For as long as Hunter’s known me.”
“For as…” Echo focused on prying off his gauntlet using the wall, then flicked it at Fives. “Of course you’re acting responsible. Just wait until you’re all better, then Hunter’s going to see he’s had it easy with me!”
Fives reached around Echo to help him wriggle free. “Hey, dying matures a person.”
“I got closer to dying than you did, Fives,” Echo said.
“It’s not a competition.”
“You made it a competition when you- ah, that’s it!”
His elbow freed, Echo squirmed free. He shook out his sore arm
“Hey, Echo, don’t forget your harness,” Fives teased, shaking it at Echo.
“Yeah, yeah, just wait,” Echo grumbled.
Echo went to his discarded upper armor and helmet, and put them on, then looked around.
“What are you looking for?” Fives asked.
“My gauntlet,” Echo said.
Fives looked around. “I don’t see it. Did it fall down the hole?”
“I hope not,” Echo huffed.
Fives held out the harness, so Echo gave up his gauntlet to be gone for good and put his harness on.
“Okay, let’s go,” Echo said.
Fives went first past the hole, only to pause halfway. “What’s that mean?”
“What’s what mean?” Echo asked.
“Echo, turn on your comms and get moving, now,” Fives said, hurrying past the hole.
“-he turn off his comms?!” Echo turned on his comms in time to hear Hunter demand. “Echo!”
“I’m here,” Echo said, starting past the hole.
“Something in the walls has destabilized, get out of there, fast!”
“We’re going!” Echo said, speeding up.
Just as Echo passed the hole, the floor shuddered. He stumbled, flailing his arms when he skidded closer to the hole. Fives jerked around.
“Fives, go!” Echo yelled.
Instead, Fives grabbed Echo’s cable and yanked Echo closer, onto more solid ground. Echo didn’t bother scolding Fives for helping; he’d have done the same. Both of them ran for the duct, but only made it a couple steps when the entire room shook. Fives stumbled into Echo, then both could only watch in horror when the duct disappeared under a cascade of stone.
Echo thought fast. “Follow me!”
Spinning on his heel, Echo ran back to the hole and jumped in. He jerked to a stop a couple meters down. He jammed his feet and scomp link into crevasses in the roughly hewn wall as Fives dropped beside him, then unclipped.
“Can you climb one-handed?” Echo asked quickly.
“Can you? ”
The stone shuddered again, making Fives slip. Luckily, he was still clipped in, so he swung out a bit, then slammed back into the wall with a grunt.
“Fives?!”
“I’m still clipped, just worry about yourself!”
Echo jabbed at his helmet with his scomp link until he got the light back on, then he looked down. A seemingly bottomless pit laid below.
“Fives, come on! There’s gotta be an alcove or something, I don’t-”
Something rumbled deep beneath Echo’s hand, then the whole wall shook. Stones exploded outward, striking Echo’s face and making him flinch. He heard Fives shout, but the air was suddenly full of dust and Echo-
Echo was falling.
“Echo!” Fives screamed, his voice raw with horror.
Echo reached up, then his helmet slammed against something. Stars danced across his vision, and Echo vaguely realized his helmet had spun away and there was wind rushing against the back of his head.
“...kriff.”
Echo blindly flung out his hand over his head, then his foot suddenly caught on something. He jerked to a stop, yelling at the stab of pain that shot through his back.
“Echo!”
Dangling by one leg, Echo sucked in a mouthful of dusty air and yelled, “I’m okay, Fives!” Quieter, he added, “Sort of.”
Which was when a rasping voice said from nearby, “Yeah, we’ve gotcha!”
“What the- who’s there?!” Echo yelled.
“Echo? What do you-”
Stone crunched , and Fives’ voice broke off with a shout.
“Fives!” Hoping whatever had a hold on his foot was sturdy, Echo forced his head up and arms out. “Fives, where are-”
Light flashed a split-second before Fives collided with Echo. Echo’s metal leg gave a concerning crack, but he couldn’t care when Fives bounced off of him. Flailing to grab him, Echo’s foot slipped free.
“Hey!” shouted the strange voice, “You can’t- ugh! ”
“Fives!” Echo’s hand connected, and the twins’ fingers twined together. “Gotcha!”
Again, something caught Echo’s foot. He and Fives groaned in unison when they jerked to a stop.
Between the dust in his eyes and ringing ears, Echo could only focus on Fives’ hand in his. He couldn’t think about what was holding them in place or the pebbles raining against his armor and head.
Not with Fives’ fingers slipping from his.
“Fives!”
“I-I- my hand!”
He’d caught Fives by his bad hand.
Echo tightened his hold, only for Fives’ hand to spasm. His fingers loosened, then slipped. Echo’s hand squeezed on air.
“Fives!”
“Don’t move!”
“That’s my brother!” Echo screamed at the stranger, contorting his body sideways.
“Hey, I said- Auger, look out! ”
Echo’s foot was jerked. The side of his face slammed against stone, then the dust and rumbling stone vanished in unconsciousness.