Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Crosshair sat in the back of the cockpit, arms wrapped impossibly tightly across his chest.  A toothpick stuck out from between his lips as he scowled.  He was obviously annoyed about something.  Echo paused, watching him from the scomp port he was getting ready to plug into.  Although his experience with the Batch was still somewhat limited, he knew full well not to poke a cranky Crosshair, but curiosity got the better of him.

“What’s with you?”

The sniper let out an irritated huff, removing the toothpick and rolling it between his fingers, but he didn’t reply.

Echo sat down next to him.  “What, not ready for another mission?  Thought you looked forward to any opportunity to use that firepuncher of yours.”

His voice was a low growl.  “Not when it involves working with regs.”

Echo bristled at the repulsed emphasis Crosshair put on the word.  He couldn’t help but feel offended; he was a reg – all the brothers he loved were regs.  He knew the Batch had some ‘unresolved issues’ with regular clones but it couldn’t be that bad. 

“Come on, you guys get along with some…regs.”  He hesitated awkwardly before using the term.  “You like Cody.  And Rex.  And you’ve worked with the 501^st.”

Crosshair shifted in his seat.  “We like Commander Cody.”

Echo rolled his eyes.  “And Rex?”  He prompted impatiently.

“We tolerate him.”

He sighed, starting to get annoyed.  “That’s it?  That’s the list of clones you don’t despise?”

Crosshair studied the toothpick before placing it back between his lips.  “It’s a short list.”

Irritation rose in his throat, threatening to come out as a snarky comment.  He pushed it back down with difficulty.  “I’m a reg.”

The sniper chuckled, shaking his head.

“What?”  The indignation flared.  “I am.”

Crosshair chuckled again, taking the toothpick back out and pointing it in Echo’s direction.  “You’re closer to Gonky than you are a regular clone, Reg.”

Echo’s mouth fell open in shock.  Anger swelled in his chest until he could hardly breathe.  He slammed his jaw shut, not trusting himself.  Crosshair was trying to needle him into a fight, but Echo refused to take the bait.  He swallowed hard and stood abruptly, resisting the temptation to aim at kick at the sniper’s shin.

Once free of the cockpit, Echo took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down.  Crosshair didn’t usually get him that worked up.  He knew his game, knew the sniper got some sick enjoyment out of irritating others.  Next to sharpshooting it was probably what he did best – finding someone’s weak point and knowing exactly how to twist the vibroblade to maximize the hurt. 

Echo glanced down at his metal legs and scomp arm.  He looked different that other clones now, he knew that, but he didn’t think that made him any less of a clone.  He was still a part of the GAR with a band of countless brothers out there – brothers who look out for each other, care about one another, would never leave a brother behind.  Echo swallowed, looking down again.  A strong sense of doubt and uncertainty crept through his veins as he considered his scomp.  He shook himself, trying to force the uncomfortable feelings away.

All clones were still his brothers; the Techno Union hadn’t taken that from him.  They’d already stolen so much – his body, his mind, over a year of his kriffing life.  Echo felt his heart pounding.  He couldn’t think about this anymore, looking hurriedly around the ship for a distraction.  Hunter was seated at the communications desk.  Taking another deep breath he made his way over the sergeant and leaned against the desk, trying to act casual.  “Any more details on that mission?”

Hunter flipped a switch on the control panel.  “Nope.  No more than the briefing earlier.  We’ll find out more when we meet up with the squad.”  He eyes flicked to Echo momentarily, then he did a double take, studying him carefully.  “You all right?”

Echo sighed.  Of course he couldn’t hide anything from Hunter.  “It’s nothing.  Just Crosshair.”

“Ah.”  He nodded knowingly, returning his attention to the panel.  “I told you you’d get used to his attitude after a while.”  He flipped another switch.  “What’d he do this time?”

Echo hesitated.  He didn’t want to come across as tattling to his sergeant, but then again, the Batch was used to Crosshair and his antics.  He kept it vague.  “Just some comments about the mission.  Not looking forward to working with regs.”

Hunter hummed.  “I don’t think any of us are.”

Echo’s head whipped towards him.  He could hardly believe what he was hearing.  “Not you too.”

Hunter looked up, brow furrowed.  “What?”

“That’s exactly what Cross – ” He let out an exasperated breath, trying his best to keep his cool.  “You’ve worked with regs before.  Cody.  Rex.  You get on with them.”

The sergeant paused.  “We like Commander Cody.”

Echo gaped at him.  “Seriously?  You’re telling me you don’t like Rex?”

Hunter sighed.  “Honestly, we don’t know him that well, and it wasn’t all sunshine when we first met.  The opposite, actually.  The mission was pretty…tense there for a while.”

Echo crossed his arms as his frustration mounted.  The sergeant turned to face him fully.  “We just don’t have a great track record with regs – with regular clones.  We’re…different than they are.  Don’t fit in.  Never have.”

He scoffed.  “Doesn’t sound like you tried.  You’re not even giving them a chance.”

“They’ve never given us one.  Not until Cody.  So, we tend to go in expecting the worst, and to be honest, that’s usually how it goes.” 

Hunter spoke in such a matter-of-fact sort of way, but Echo shook his head.  It didn’t make sense.  He couldn’t imagine any of the 501^st treating brothers this way.  Surely that legion wasn’t an anomaly in the GAR?  There were bad eggs, of course, that goes without saying; but the norm must be clones showing loyalty to their brothers – all brothers, regardless if they were a little different.  Right?

“And I’m sure you four don’t roll up guns blazing, with a typical Tech-style landing, strutting down the ramp like you’re the greatest soldiers in the galaxy.  Cause that would put a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.”

A sheepish look came over the sergeant’s face as he stifled a grin.  “Well…you know you can’t tell Tech how to land the ship.”

Echo wasn’t amused.  Hunter’s smile faded.  “Look, Echo, you haven’t spent much time with us on Kamino, or when we’re around other clones.” He sighed in an exhausted way.  “You grew up one of them, a part of them.  We didn’t.  We were the odd ones out, and that doesn’t go over well in an army where everyone’s the same.  There aren’t exactly a lot of…happy memories.”

Hunter’s gaze met his.  Echo was doing everything he could to keep his resentment in check.  “They’re our brothers, Hunter,” His expression was dubious.  Echo went on, almost pleading.  “This time will be different.  If you go in with the right attitude, they’ll do the same.  You’ll see.”

The sergeant had a look in his eyes Echo couldn’t quite place.  Skepticism?  Pity?  Or was it concern?  He looked away from Echo, turning back to the communications panel.  “I hope you’re right.”

Echo stared at the floor.  He had a sneaking suspicion Hunter didn’t really mean that.

------------------------

The entry into atmosphere was uncomfortable.  Echo was still stewing as he sat in the copilot’s seat.  It hadn’t taken long to realize Tech and Wrecker held the same views as Hunter and Crosshair, and the injustice of it was eating at him.  Echo had never known clones to come out of the gate swinging at other clones; unless they were provoked somehow which, knowing the Batch, was entirely plausible.  That had to be why they’d had bad experiences.  He just couldn’t fathom regs turning their backs on their brothers.  It went against the most basic ideals they were raised on.  And it had to be said – if the Batch weren’t considered clones because of how they looked, what did that make him?  Tech liked to say he was more machine than man now, maybe that meant he was more of a droid than a clone.

He mentally pushed that thought away, burying it beneath the frustration.  Anger was easier to deal with than the fear that he would forever be an outcast in the army of his brothers.  Echo shifted in his seat, blowing out a long breath.  The Batch were wrong about regular clones; their brothers weren’t going to treat them like dirt.  He was absolutely certain of it.

He could feel Hunter’s eyes on the back of his head, probably picking up the waves of irritation emanating from him, but he stubbornly stared straight ahead out the viewport.  He didn’t want to talk about this anymore; the others would see he was right when the mission was over.

------------------------

“Sergeant?”  A clone with bright green stripes across his armor approached them.  He took off his helmet and placed it under his arm.  His eyes scanned the squad, gaze lingering on the various skulls, Wrecker’s eye, and Hunter’s tattoo, but his expression gave nothing away.

Hunter took a step forward.  “CT-7723?”

“Call me Crush.  You’re the group Commander Cody sent?”

Hunter gave a single, sharp nod.  “Clone Force 99, reporting for duty.”

Crush nodded too, his eyes roaming over the squad again.  His voice was slightly lower when he spoke again.  “I’ll be honest, Sergeant, I have capable men.  I didn’t think we needed backup for this mission, but the Commander insisted.”

“Commander Cody knows we have a unique skillset and approach.  Nothing against your squad, but we tend to think outside the box.  Handy on these reconnaissance jobs where timing or access is an issue.”  Echo was slightly surprised by how even Hunter kept his tone.  “I understand your reservations, but I’m sure you’ll see our value by the end of the mission.”

Once again, Crush’s expression remained completely stoic.  “I admire your confidence, Sergeant.”  His voice returned to its previous volume.  “These are my men, part of Zeta Squadron.”  He turned his head towards the group of clones milling about behind him.  At his word, they moved forward, standing straight but not quite at attention behind their captain.  All of them had similar patterns of the lime green paint on their armor.  Like their leader, they each did a once over of the Batch, but they weren’t as adept at hiding their reactions as Crush.  Two of them seemed puzzled, brows furrowed.  The one furthest to the left looked like he had a rancid smell under his nose.  The last one smirked.  Echo felt Crosshair’s muscles tighten where he stood next to him. 

We don’t exactly look regulation, Echo reminded himself.  Of course they’re bound to be wary.  He tried to imagine how he and Fives would have reacted if they’d met Clone Force 99 while reporting to the 501^st.  Some surprise and skepticism were to be expected, surely.

Crush gestured towards the line of clones.  “This is Lefty, Max, Nero, and Scramble.”  He turned to face Hunter again, who similarly introduced each member of the Batch.  Tech inclined his head.  Wrecker punched one his fists into the other, grinning.  Echo gave a salute with his scomp.  Crosshair didn’t move.  Echo shot him a glare that Crosshair ignored.  He resisted the impulse to ram his elbow into the sniper’s side.

“Boys.”  Crush nodded in their direction.  “Well, let’s get this briefing underway, shall we?”

------------------------

“All right, soldiers, take a good look.”  Crush stood in front of a large holomap projecting a massive, detailed floorplan.  His men were grouped together on his right, with the Batch similarly gathered on his left.  Echo couldn’t help but wonder if that divide was going to translate over into the mission.  He surreptitiously tried to shift to close the gap between the two squads.

“Up until a few months ago, this was an active Separatist research facility.  The compound was abandoned quickly during the last Republic offensive.  With the recent push back in this direction, command thinks valuable research may have been left behind that they’re trying to collect – or at least destroy to keep us from getting ahold of it.  Intel indicates a top security project was being conducted here, so they’ve requested we obtain any files we can related to a Project Gold.”

“Sir?”  One of the green-clad clones spoke up.  “All due respect, but why did command think we needed help from these, uh…special forces for this?  We’re not exactly a bunch of shinies, and this seems pretty straightforward.”

It was the particular emphasis put on ‘special forces’ that made Echo grimace inwardly.  A quick glance towards Crosshair told him the sniper picked up on it too, evident from the way his eyes narrowed and the toothpick shifted to the other side of his mouth.  It was a misunderstanding though; Echo was confident the clone wasn’t actually upset about the Batch being there, more frustrated that any additional squad was brought in.  No trooper wants their superiors to have the impression they can’t handle their assignments.

“I had the same thought, Lefty, but it may not be a straightforward mission.  With the climate and dust storms, the facility is likely in a state of disrepair.  Reconnaissance also picked up some strange power fluctuations.  Could mean a heavy droid presence, and any issues with power will make the data retrieval itself challenging.  Given the priority level of this intel, the Commander suggested bringing in Clone Force 99.”

Crush pushed a button and the holomap rotated slowly.  “We’ll get in using the main access doors to the east, here,” He pointed to a blinking spot on the map.  “Once inside, we’ll connect to the first mainframe we find and dig for the files.  I don’t want to venture in deeper than we – ”

“Excuse me, Captain,” Tech raised a finger as his eyes flicked from his datapad to the holomap.  “I would advise we locate data terminals in actual laboratories in the facility to have the best chance at locating the desired files.”

“It won’t matter,” Scramble replied, not even bothering to turn towards Tech. “Any terminal we slice into will get us into their system.”

“It might not matter,” Tech adjusted his goggles.  “However, if this project was as classified as you claim, the files may have had additional security protocols prohibiting access except from the specific laboratory where the research was completed.”

“Do you really think they’d sequester their access like that?” Crush frowned, looking to Tech.

Behind him, Scramble shook his head at one of his squadmates. “I’ve never seen a Seppy network with that kind of security.”

“Perhaps you have not infiltrated a system with such highly protected materials,” He adjusted his goggles. “I would not say it is a commonly used measure, but facilities with the necessary resources available often take advantage of it.”

Echo really did grimace this time as Scramble stiffened.  He could practically feel the indignation radiating off him.  “I’ve broken into plenty of Seppy systems for confidential files, thanks.” He let out an exasperated sigh, sounding annoyed now.  “Besides, if that’s true, we won’t know which lab…we’d have to search them all.  Plug into a terminal in every single one.”

“Precisely.  That is what makes it an excellent security feature.”

Hunter cleared his throat.  “We’ve done quite a few of these types of high priority data retrieval missions, Captain.  Tech knows what he’s talking about.”

Across the holomap, one of the lime green clad clones leaned over and murmured something to the clone closest to him.  The other nodded.  They too seemed aggravated with Tech, rather than interested, but Echo supposed it must be strange to have someone unfamiliar contradicting your superior or squadmate.  He probably would have felt the same if someone he didn’t know tried that with Rex or Fives.

“I see,” Crush pushed another button and the holomap zoomed in.  “Well, blueprints show most of the labs are located off the hallways here, to the south, and another couple back here on the north end.  If we focus our attention on the south we’ll be able to hit more of – ”

“Gonna have to disagree there, sir.”

Echo’s stomach turned as Zeta Squadron rolled their eyes at one another.  Crush’s frown deepened.  “What’s the issue now, Sergeant?”

“A high security lab isn’t going to be off a main hallway.  It’s more likely to be tucked further away.  Hidden.  Better protection.”

The clone that spoke earlier muttered again, this time audibly.  “Whose briefing is this?”

Echo felt Crosshair bristle beside him as he crossed his arms tightly across his chest. “By all means, fail the mission because you refuse take advice from people who know better.”

Hunter gave the sniper a reproving look, but Crush seemed mollified.  “It’s a fair point.  All right then, sounds like we have to split up to cover more ground.  I assume – Tech, was it?  Will be able to slice in?”  He glanced towards Tech.

“Correct.  Echo is also able to access the data systems via scomp link.”

Echo felt multiple sets of eyes land on his scomp arm; saw the disgusted look on Nero’s face, the same expression he wore earlier when meeting the Batch.  Crosshair stiffened again.

Crush inclined his head.  “With Scramble that’s three.”

“I’ve been teaching Max the basics,” Scramble gestured towards the clone who nodded earlier.  “He’s not as fast, but he should be able to get in.”

“Good,” The captain zoomed back out on the holomap.  “That gives us four simultaneous searches.  We’ll handle the south hallways and Clone Force 99 can head to the north end.  Sergeant, however you want to divvy up your squad.”  Crush nodded towards Hunter.  “Let’s not forget there may be clankers present, so be ready for a potential fire fight.  If there are no more questions, we’ll head out.  Grab anything else you need and meet at the transport ship.”

The clones dispersed, the Batch headed back to the Marauder to grab their gear.  Once out of earshot of the other squad Crosshair spoke up.  “Those regs really appreciated your opinions, Hunter.  Tech’s too.  Must think we’re such an asset to this mission.”

Wrecker turned around to walk backwards so he could face them.  “Really?  I didn’t think they liked it so much.”  He obviously missed Cross’s sarcasm, but Echo heard it loud and clear.  He frowned at the sniper.  

“What do you mean?  Crush modified the plan based on their input.”

“Please,” Crosshair flicked his toothpick at him.  “Don’t pretend you didn’t notice their reactions.”

Of course he had, but that wasn’t fair.   This hadn’t been a standard start to a mission.  “Well, it’s not overly common in a mission briefing to have a plan completely changed.  They just weren’t expecting it.  That’s all.”

He glanced over and found Crosshair sneering at him.  “Right.  Sure, Reg.  That’s exactly why they acted the way they did.”

Echo sighed, slightly frustrated.  “You’re being a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“Excuse me?”

“They probably thought Hunter and Tech were making their captain look bad, so they were on the defensive.  There’s a way to point out logistics issues while still being respectful.”

Something smacked Echo in the chest and brought him to a stop. Crosshair had flung his arm out in front of him.  “You’ve got to be kidding.”  Any trace of sarcastic amusement was gone.

Echo shoved the sniper’s arm away.  “What?  I’m just saying – ”

“Hunter was more respectful to them than they deserved.  They were kriffing assholes.  Stop making excuses for them.”

“I’m not – ”

Crosshair plowed on, poking Echo hard in the chestplate.  “You did see the faces they made when looked at you, right?  Real respectful.  If you’re going to defend anyone it should be us – your own squad.  Not a bunch of kriffing regs.”

Echo opened his mouth to retort, ready to tell Crosshair exactly where he could stick his –

“Enough,” Hunter forced his way to stand between the two of them.  “Both of you, cool it.  You can fight on the Marauder all you want, but keep it together while we’re on a mission.”

Crosshair made a scathing noise before stalking away, Hunter following not far behind.  Echo, still seething, waited several long moments to put some space between them. 

Tech moved next to him, clipping his datapad to his belt.  “I find your behavior quite intriguing, Echo.” 

“My behavior?”

“You expect a particular conduct from the clones in this squadron, despite having no history nor previous interactions with them.”

Echo was getting tired of having this conversation over and over.  “They’re our brothers, Tech, so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt.  Is that such a bad thing?”

“It is neither good nor bad.  However, it is curious that you seem to assume the best from them, but the worst from us – a team you have worked with extensively for several months.  The conclusions one could draw from that are not particularly flattering towards the four of us.”  The datapad beeped and Tech hastily unclipped it to study the screen again.  “Remember we are also your brothers.”  He walked towards the ship.

Echo remained where he was, momentarily stunned.  Was he really doing that?  Did he have different expectations for the Batch versus this random squad of troopers?  It was true the first interaction with them didn’t exactly go as he thought, but…kriff.  Was he making excuses for them?

No, he decided.  These weren’t excuses.   They were…explanations.  It wasn’t every day you encountered a team like the Batch.  They were used to an army of clones and a certain way of doing things.  This was just an initial shock that would wear off.  That was all.  The mission would be fine.  They’d see.

Chapter Text

The transport landed a ways away from the research complex.  Considering it had only been abandoned a short time, Echo was surprised by the decrepit state it was in.  The sand storms had really done a number on wearing away the outer layer of the stone walls, and from what he could see a good number of the windows were broken.  If there really was an army of droids inside they were doing a good job hiding; the whole facility and surrounding area looked completely deserted.  

Tech got the front doors open easily enough, and the group cautiously made their way inside.  Echo had his blaster at the ready, head swiveling back and forth for any sign of movement.  He glanced to Hunter, who seemed almost at ease beside him, evidently not sensing anything to be concerned about.  Sand and dirt covered the floors, probably due to the broken windows, giving the whole place a grimy, gritty feeling. 

They reached a large, open atrium that must’ve functioned as some sort of lobby; a series of hallways branching out in various directions.  This area had no windows, so everything was a bit cleaner here, although the lack of daylight made it seem sterile rather than welcoming.  The group spread out to inspect the space.  Some of the electrical systems must have been damaged; the lights in the hallway directly of ahead of them were only lit on one side.  The hallway to their right was completely dark.  Tech crouched in front of a terminal at the center of the room and plugged in.  Crosshair automatically moved next to him to cover his back, while the rest of the Batch took position around him, facing the three other hallways.

The members of Zeta Squad had swept forward and were staged to push down the left-side hallway when Scramble looked back and caught sight of Tech at the terminal.  “I thought we needed to connect in the labs.  Wasn’t that what you kept saying earlier?”  There was a distinctly irritated tone to his voice.  Crush and the other green-clad clones looked over from where they surveyed the hall.

“For the data retrieval, yes.  I am currently investigating the security and utilities systems.”

Scramble huffed. “If you were going to stop at the main console you should have brought that up during the briefing.”

Tech momentarily looked up from his datapad before continuing his work. “It would have been impossible to know the functionality of this station prior to examining it.  And it would be foolish to bypass an opportunity to gain insight regarding the active security measures or potential threats in a base we are infiltrating.  I thought that was obvious.”

Echo winced at his phrasing, but it was hard to argue with Tech’s point when every member of the Batch had wordlessly come to the same conclusion and deployed around him.

Scramble tilted his head and moved closer to look over Tech’s shoulder.  Crosshair gripped his rifle tighter as he approached.

“Thought this place was s’posed to be full of clankers?”  There was a hopeful lilt in his voice as Wrecker craned his neck to look down the long, dark hallway.

“It was a possibility, not a guarantee,” Hunter answered him.  “I’m not sure there’s much of anything here.”

“Hunter is correct,” Tech pressed a few buttons on his datapad.  “Despite the warnings, there does not seem to be any droid presence in this facility.”

Wrecker groaned in disappointment.

“Well, that’ll make things easier.”  Crush lowered his blaster but didn’t holster it.  “Still keep your wits about you just in case.  Any idea what’s causing those power fluctuations, then?  Recon seemed sure it was from a droid presence.”

“There was significant damage done to the transformers.  It appears to be causing intermittent power surges and sags.”

As if on cue, the power dipped, plunging them all into darkness and silence for several seconds before the lights flickered back on and the hum from the air system returned.  Echo froze.  There was a strange…interference coming from somewhere.  It made his cybernetics tingle in an uncomfortable way. He made eye contact with Hunter through his helmet.  The sergeant was tilting his head, puzzled.  He must have felt it too.

Crush stepped forward to the center of the group.  “All right, let’s split up and – ”

The lights flickered again, but rather than blacking out they became impossibly bright, emitting a loud whine.  “Whoa!”  Wrecker shouted from across the atrium.  Crosshair threw up an arm to cover his visor.  Tech stumbled back from the console, his datapad hitting the floor with a clatter.  One of the hanging lights in the left hallway exploded, sparks raining down as glass shards skittered across the floor.  Zeta Squadron scurried hastily towards the middle of the room as the light level returned to normal.

Echo quickly scanned the room to check on everyone. Tech picked up the datapad and was inspecting it for cracks.  Crosshair had his helmet off, pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed.  Wrecker rested a hand on the sniper’s shoulder, but Cross shook him off.  Crush looked over his men, but they all seemed to be acting normally.  Hunter on the other hand, stood hunched over, hands braced on his knees.   Echo hurried towards him, watching his shoulders rise and fall with heavy breaths.  “You good, Sarge?”

He didn’t reply, only the sound of labored breathing coming from his helmet.  “Hunter?” Echo gripped his arm between the armor plates.

“I’m – I’m fine,” He took another deep breath.  “That just caught me off – off guard.”  The sergeant stood up straight and shook his head as though trying to remove water from his ears.  Echo frowned, but Hunter turned away from him.   “Tech, how concerned do we need to be about this – this power issue?”

“The fluctuations alone should not put us in any immediate danger,” Tech tapped a few buttons on the datapad.  “It is our plugging in and accessing networks that may pose the greatest threat to the mission.   With each connection there is an increased probability the circuits will short, leading to greater instability and eventual loss of critical – ” Tech broke off, once again typing on the datapad.  “Ah.  Well…that is concerning.”

He didn’t continue.  “Tech…” Hunter prompted.

“It appears they have been performing research with a fusion reactor.  Should the sags continue to regularly cut off the power supply to the cooling coils, even briefly, the reactors will explode.”

“Wha – explode?!”  One of the Zeta Squadron spluttered.

Crush stepped forward.  “How big an explosion are we talking?”

“Catastrophic,” Tech unplugged the datapad and stood, his tone far too casual for what he was saying.  “I expect this entire facility would be destroyed.”

A stunned silence fell over the atrium for several long seconds. “Right,” Hunter glanced upwards as the lights dimmed momentarily.  “So, we should get this job done as quickly as possible.”

“That would be advisable, yes,” Tech adjusted his goggles.  “With the fewest number of data connections.”

“We’ll get moving then,” Crush had an edge to his voice.  “Ninety-nine, head to the north labs.  We’ll cover the south.  Comm the group if you find the data or anything goes wrong.”

“Ah,” Tech raised a hand to grab Crush’s attention.  “Be advised an unstable fusion reactor may interfere with use of our communication channels.”

Crosshair scoffed.  “This just gets better and better…”

“Fine, if comms are down we’ll need to resort to scouts.”  The lights dimmed again briefly.  Crush adjusted the grip on his blaster.  “Stay alert.  Boys, with me.”  He motioned to his squad and started down the fully-lit south hallway.

------------------------

“We will take the next left,” Tech was leading them through the maze of hallways using the blueprints Crush provided.  They moved as quickly as they could given the limited lighting from their helmets in the pitch-black darkness.

It was impossible to tell if there were more power dips given the dark hallway, but Echo felt that strange tingling sensation two more times.  Each time Hunter glanced around, seeming to be distracted, confirming to Echo the sergeant was sensing it as well.

A spot of light from someone else’s helmet crept up the floor next to him. The feather-light steps told him it was Crosshair before the sniper even opened his mouth.  “Typical that the regs ended up in the fully lit area, and we’re trapsing around in the dark.”

Echo rolled his eyes.  “It was decided back in the briefing that we’d take the north end, long before we knew the lighting situation.”  

He scoffed.  Not wanting to deal with Crosshair’s baiting, Echo sped up to be in line with Tech.  His face glowed from the reflected light of his datapad screen.  Sometimes Echo wondered how the man didn’t lose his footing with how often the datapad was in front of his nose.

Echo still felt awkward after his conversation with Tech earlier, but the middle of a mission didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up.  There was something more pressing on his mind anyway.  “Tech, do you know why Hunter and I feel something strange after the power dips?”

“Elaborate.”

He hesitated.  “Well, I don’t know about Hunter, but it’s…prickly.  Like my ears are ringing but I can feel it rather than hear it?  Has a sting to it.”  A wave of embarrassment washed over him, realizing how odd that description was.  Tech might be a genius, but he wasn’t going to be familiar with what it felt like to live with cybernetic limbs.

To his surprise, Tech’s voice was alit with interest.  “Fascinating.  I expect you are detecting the fusion reactor’s response to the loss of cooling.  Even brief pauses will lead to significant increases in temperature and energy, in turn causing spikes in the electromagnetic field.  Your cybernetics allow you to discern even slight changes in EMF readings, as will Hunter’s enhanced senses.”  He lifted his datapad and tapped a few buttons.  “Please keep me apprised if these sensations change in nature.  It may help our awareness of the reactor’s stability.”

“Sure, uh okay.”  That made him uneasy.  Echo was glad to be an asset, but he didn’t love the idea of being the Batch’s personal Geiger counter.

“Speaking of the power fluctuations, I recommend you remain vigilant while scomped in.  It would be unwise for you to be plugged in during one of the power surges.  It may cause damage to your neural processing unit.”

“Oh.  Right,” That thought hadn’t occurred to him.  “Yeah, thanks.  I’ll, uh, I’ll do my best.”

Light spilled out into their dark hallways from a passage on the left.  Tech turned down it, then came a sudden halt outside the first set of doors.  “Here.”

Wrecker must have been caught off guard and walked right into Crosshair, who shoved him away to put space between them.  Tech was already plugged into the door access panel.  Hunter hovered behind the others, a hand to his head.  The power surge from earlier must still be bothering him.

Tech made a puzzled hum and Echo turned back to him.  “Problem?”

“The utilities systems to activate the doors are not responding as expected.  As I said before, the circuits shorting out are likely to blame.” 

“Let me take a look.”  Echo connected to the scomp port and navigated towards the facilities programming.  Tech was right, random strings of code were broken and unusable, but there was always a back door.  He closed his eyes so he could concentrate better, diving further into the network until he found maintenance commands.  There.  The doors flew open with a sudden woosh. 

Wrecker excitedly dashed inside with his DC17 at the ready, probably still hoping to find an adversary to punch.  Hunter was on his heels, vibroblade in hand.  Echo quickly disconnected and followed behind Tech. 

The room was massive, much different than the series of small laboratories Crush’s blueprints had shown.  It looked like they’d taken down walls to make the space larger.  Workbenches were littered with beakers and sample supplies, as though researchers were interrupted mid-test and been reluctant to leave.  Just the sight of the equipment made Echo shiver.  He found himself subconsciously backing toward the door.

“Augh, there’s no one here,” Wrecker cried dejectedly from the farthest end of the lab.

“Obviously,” Crosshair drawled.  “Did you expect this one room to be full of clankers?”

He sighed dramatically.  “I’m bored.  There’s nothin’ for me to do on this mission!”

The lights flickered suddenly, the whole room going dark for a beat before power returned.  Echo’s limbs prickled uncomfortably, but no differently than before.  The reactor must still be okay then.

“Let’s just find that data,” Hunter sounded agitated.  “Tech?”

Echo looked around.  Tech was already plugged into a large terminal at the center of the room.  He hurried towards him. 

“I have no doubt this is where the classified research was being performed,” Tech’s fingers were flying across his datapad.  “There are multiple firewalls preventing access to this data, and then I suspect it will be heavily encrypted.”

Hunter appeared at Echo’s side.  “Can you break it?”

“Of course I can,” Tech’s eyes flicked from his datapad to the terminal and back.  “It may take me a few – ”

A shrill whine filled the air as the lights became blindingly bright.  Crosshair hissed and Tech fell back away from the terminal.  There was a loud bang from the front of the room.  Several bulbs on a nearby piece of equipment burst.  Echo’s ears rang even after the squeal faded and the lights returned to normal.  He shook his head, trying to clear it.  Next to him, Hunter had his hands on his knees again.  Echo placed a hand on his shoulder, but the man immediately brushed him off. 

“I’m fine,” His voice was short, tense.  Echo made a mental note not get on his bad side this mission.

“Hey,” Wrecker called out.  He was jabbing the door access button.  “We’re locked in.”

Echo’s brow furrowed.  That wasn’t right.  He’d made sure to override the standard locking settings when he got them in here. “Did the power surge reset it?”

“Hmm, not exactly,” Tech was already back at his datapad.  “There was an attempted data access at the other end of the facility.  It appears they tried to force a login as an administrator, rather than slice into the system.  The failed attempt triggered both the surge and an emergency shutdown procedure, locking all doors in the facility.”

Crosshair sneered.  “The regs?”

“I would assume so.” 

Hunter sighed impatiently and removed his helmet.  “Just focus on getting the intel we need, Tech.  Echo, see what you can do with the doors.”  He rubbed at his temple.  “Wrecker, be ready to bust us outta here if we need it.”

“Ha!  You got it, Sarge!”  Wrecker excitedly made his way over to another set of doors to inspect the integrity.  Echo debated checking on Hunter again, but decided against it.  He’d heard stories of the sergeant resorting to biting when he had a headache, and had no desire to find out if they were true.

Echo made his way back to the main door and scomped in.  Crosshair pummeled the access button repeatedly.  “Kriffing regs are just causing problems.  We should’ve done this mission alone.”

“It was Zeta Squadron’s mission to begin with, not ours.”

“Well, if they weren’t capable of it, they never should have been assigned it.”

He took a deep breath. “They’re plenty capable.  This is an exceptional situation.”

“Oh, because you know them so well?”

Echo shot him a look.  “I know they’re clones.”

“You mean regs?”

Echo bristled.  A flush was starting to creep up the back of his neck from annoyance.    He tried to ignore the sniper and focused on the maintenance controls, but that code was broken now too.  He dove into the utilities programming instead. 

“How many times do we have to tell you not to trust the regs.  But you refuse to listen.”

A fresh wave of anger washed over Echo, pulling his attention from the power grid.  “And I’m telling you for the last time, I’m a reg.  You trust me.”

Crosshair huffed.  “Oh yeah?  How many others regs do you know who stick their arms in scomp ports? Wake up.  You’re not a kriffing reg.  You’re a defect now.  Get used to it.”

That struck a nerve.  He couldn’t take it anymore.  Echo ripped his arm from the port and stood.  Crosshair had a few inches on him, but that didn’t stop him from getting in his face, staring daggers at him.  “What did you call me?”

The sniper glared right back.  “You heard me.  Or are your ears defective now too?”

Echo shoved him, hard.  “Say that again.”

“Uh, guys?”  Wrecker’s voice was small and uncomfortable over Echo’s shoulder.

Crosshair returned the push and smirked.  “Look at that, they are defective.  Does any part of you work properly, droid?”

There it was.  His deepest insecurity.  Rage blinded him.  He lunged, determined to punch any part of Crosshair he could get his hand – or his scomp – on.  The scomp would probably hurt more, at least break a nose more easily.  He’d been through ARC Trooper training, taking down a lanky sniper would be easy.  There was a sudden pressure on his chest as something forced him back; Hunter had wedged himself between them, arms outstretched to keep them apart.

“Knock it off!  Now!” 

Echo didn’t care, Crosshair deserved to have his karking face beat in, and he wanted to be the one to do it.  He darted out from behind Hunter’s hand, but strong arms seized him from behind and dragged him back.  He clawed and pounded at them but they held him fast. 

“No more, I mean it!  That’s an order!”   Echo continued to fight against the restraining grip, but felt the rage slowly leaking out of him.  After about half a minute he went still, although his heart was still pounding in his ears.  Wrecker let him go, but kept a grip on his upper arm.  Hunter faced away from him, his arms keeping Crosshair back.  Echo could see the sniper’s murderous expression over the sergeant’s shoulder.

“I’ve had it up to here with you two.  You’re on the same squad.  Now act like it.  You.  Over there with Tech.”  Hunter pointed towards the other side of the room when Tech was hunched over his datapad, then turned to Echo, face contorted with contempt.  “You.  Scomp back in and get these doors open.”

Echo wrenched his arm away from Wrecker and turned back to scomp port, still breathing heavily.  He thrust his arm in with more force than necessary, not focused at all on the task at hand.  Crosshair was a kriffing ass.  And he was wrong.  Wrong about him and wrong about those clones.  They were wrong about all clones.  Echo would prove it to them.  Then they’d see, then they be –

There was a whoosh as the lab door shot open.  He’d needed to dig through three different systems before finding a way to override the emergency response.  Even if Zeta Squadron was good, they wouldn’t be able to navigate the network like he could.  Echo disconnected and stood, pointedly refusing to look at Crosshair.  “I’m going to find the others.  They’ll probably be locked in wherever they are too.”

His anger subsided enough that Echo at least looked to Hunter before leaving.  The sergeant nodded his support of Echo’s plan.  Not that it mattered, he hadn’t been looking for approval.

Chapter Text

Echo switched his comm to the general channel, but there was nothing but static.  Tech must have been right about the communications interference.  The others should still be searching the southern labs, but he’d have no way of knowing which one to scomp into. 

Just as he reached the central atrium the lights flickered and died, plunging the room into complete darkness for three seconds before sputtering back on.  Echo stopped short beside the main terminal, vaguely wondering how much of the security systems were operational.  He plugged in and started searching for any active camera footage.  The lights flickered again as he navigated through the system.  As quickly as he could he skimmed through them, looking for any sign of movement.  He paused suddenly and flipped back, but it was dark grey armor moving around the lab he’d just left.  Tech was still on his datapad, plugged into the control panel.  Hunter and Crosshair appeared to be having a conversation on the far side of the room.  The sniper gestured towards the door while Hunter nodded. 

Echo’s aggravation spiked, immediately assuming they must be agreeing about how naïve and foolish he was when it came to regs.  Stop it, you don’t know that.  He forced himself to swallow the heat of the anger and continued scanning the camera channels.  Bingo.  Striped armor walking around a room in the southeast corner. 

He disconnected from the scomp port and took off to rescue them.

------------------------

It was a good thing Tech thought to upload the facility’s blueprints to his headpiece, otherwise Echo might not have found the way.  Every one of these doors and hallways looked eerily similar.  That was probably intentional, to confuse anyone trying to be somewhere they shouldn’t.  He finally reached the right lab and crouched in front of the scomp port.  Each power surge seemed to be damaging the facility’s systems more and more, making it harder for his commands to function, but eventually he got the doors to fly open.

Echo unplugged and found himself face to face with the business end of a blaster.  His raised his arms to signal he wasn’t a threat.  “Whoa, it’s just me.” 

Nero lowered his weapon warily.  “Oh.  Hey.  Wasn’t expecting you.”  He turned back into the lab.

Echo followed, silently noting the lack of apology, but tried not to let it bother him.  “A security protocol was triggered, forced most of the facility into a lockdown.  Figured you guys might need a hand.”

Max spoke up to his right.  “We were just debating blasting our way out.”

Echo looked around.  Lefty and Max hovered near a control desk, but apart from them the room was empty.  “The others?”

“Crush and Scramble were searching another lab down the hall.”  Nero nodded towards the door.  “Scramble can probably get them out.”

Max picked up a datapad and plugged it into the terminal next to him.

“Wait,” Echo stepped forward hurriedly.  “Tech said a data access over here caused the lockdown.  How are you accessing the network?”

Max looked towards him.  His voice was slow, strained with annoyance. “The way Scramble trained me to.”

“By forcing an admin login?  That’s what triggered the alert.  You need to slice in from – ”

“Look, not all of us have a built-in scomp, but I know what I’m doing.”  He turned away and started typing.

“But – ”

The overhead lights dimmed suddenly, then went out completely.  It took a full four seconds for the power to gradually come back.  A loud bang resounded as the doors slammed shut.  Max groaned.  “Not again.”

Echo let out a controlled breath and tried not to let his irritation show.  Scramble mentioned he’d just started teaching Max the basics, so he was probably just inexperienced, but he could’ve at least listened to him.  He was already searching for a scomp port, ignoring the intense prickle down his spine from the fusion reactor’s field.

Nero must have been thinking along the same line. “That can’t be good for the reactor, right?  We shouldn’t stay much longer.”

Lefty finally spoke up, uncertain.  “Did we find the intel though?”

“Look, I wanna get the GAR those files, but if we all blow up no one’s getting anything.  Besides, Scramble said he’d copy everything from the servers.  We can find it later.”  Max glanced around the room as the lights dimmed yet again.  “At this point I’m more concerned about all five of us gettin’ out of here.”

Five.  Not ten.  Echo shook himself.  It’s normal for a clone’s priority to be his own squad.  That’s not what he means.  He finally spotted an access panel and made towards it. “Tech was cracking the firewall when I left.  He’ll find what we need, if he hasn’t already.”

Max made a derisive huff.  Echo swallowed a retort with difficulty.  It’s fine.  Everyone underestimates Tech at first.  They just don’t know how good he is.  He was finding it harder to keep defending these guys in his head.  Maybe he was still worked up about Crosshair, that’s why his patience was so thin.  He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. “We’ll need to double back towards them once we’re out of here, make sure they’re not locked in again.  Tech could get them out, but if he’s focused on the data retrieval – ”

“That’s the other side of the kriffing base!  We’re not backtracking that far!  If they can’t get themselves out of whatever mess they’re in they shouldn’t have come on the mission. We’re not risking ourselves for their sake.”

Echo stopped and faced him.  He couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice this time.  “They could be locked in.  We don’t leave brothers behind.  Especially in a facility due to explode.”  He had to bite his tongue to stop himself reminding Max he’d just rescued them.

Max’s face contorted as he started to reply, but Nero suddenly grabbed his shoulder and jerked him back.  “He’s right, Max.  We’ll go get them.”

“What?”

“He came to help us.  We don’t leave our brothers.”

Echo turned towards the port and scomped in, relief flooding through him.  See?  Clones don’t abandon each other.  Although he had the distinct impression Max had been about to shout an emphatic ‘yes,’ to the idea of leaving the Batch behind.  Nero at least stuck up for them, but for some reason Echo felt uneasy.  Something just seemed…off.  He couldn’t dwell on it though, the circuits for multiple facility systems were now heavily damaged.  The doors wouldn’t activate through any of the means he’d tried before.  He used all of his concentration to focus on the network and find another way.   These guys were right about one thing; they really shouldn’t stay here much longer. 

He lost track of how long he’d been exploring the system, but soft voices wafted through the code.  Echo couldn’t help but lean into the distraction. 

Don’t be a karking idiot.  We’re not trapsing all way to the other side of this place and risk getting blown –

Shut up.

Nero –

I said, shut up.  Don’t let him hear you.

Can he?  You know, hear us, when he’s doing…that?

How should I know?  Just let him get us outta here.  We’ll grab Crush and Scramble and head for the transport.

What happened to ‘we don’t leave our brothers?’

We aren’t.  They’re defects.

What little Echo felt of the floor seemed to fall away from him.  He was having trouble breathing as code and data buzzed in his ears.  There was no way, no way, that other squad would do this – these were supposed to be their brothers.  Not liking them was one thing, copping an attitude or even a cold shoulder, but trapping them here? Abandoning them in a dangerous deserted facility without transport?  That wasn’t a joke.  It wasn’t even mean, it was cruel.  No one, certainly not brothers, would act that way…

Sweat poured down the back of his neck.  His chest was tight, like something was constricting his airway.  Tech would tell him to unplug and re-orient himself, take a moment to catch his breath and clear his head, but he just desperately wanted to get this done.  He should have listened to the Batch.  They’d been right, and now they were the only brothers he could rely on…the only brothers he had anymore.  From an army of millions to a mere handful.

He located the right bypass relay and activated it.  He didn’t hear the doors pressurize, but then he couldn’t really hear much of anything.  His lungs hurt, and he suddenly realized he wasn’t breathing. Tech always warned him about this, about venturing too deep and getting lost in the coding.  He just needed to calm down, think rationally and he’d be able to disconnect cleanly, but it seemed impossible.  His heart was racing and he was drowning in both the programming and his own spiraling thoughts.

How, how could those clones act so callously?  Was it really just because he looked so different?  Maybe Crosshair was right – he was essentially a droid now.  The Techno Union really did fuck absolutely everything up for him.  Maybe not even Fives would’ve –

The system jolted suddenly, a surge of pain passing through him like an electric shock.  Everything went dark for a moment, then lines and lines of confusing code were filling his brain.  The strings of random letters and numbers weren’t making any sense.  Echo tried to focus on it, tried figure out what was happening, but the data flew by so dizzyingly fast it overwhelmed him.  His head was starting to ache.  He just wanted it all to stop, but he couldn’t unplug, couldn’t move at all.

The world was confusion as his connection to the data was severed suddenly.  Broken code danced across his vision and his ears rang.  His chest burned.  He still couldn’t breathe.

A cool draft across his face.  A pounding on his back.  The nonsensical strings of text gradually faded away.  He tried to gasp, a tiny bit of air making its way into his lungs.  It made him choke and he coughed, gasping again.  He couldn’t see, but now could vaguely hear what was going on around him.

“ – cho?  Can you – ”  Echo heaved in a breath and coughed again, each lungful of oxygen making the world marginally clearer.  “ – hear me?”  Someone was speaking to him.  He nodded, not fully aware what he was agreeing to. 

“Excellent.  Can you open your eyes?”  My eyes?  Oh.  They were closed.  He peeled his lids apart hesitantly.  Tech was crouched in front of him squinting like Echo was a puzzle he was trying to solve.  Hunter was positioned beside Tech, his hand pressing a rag against Echo’s face.  He suddenly realized a wetness was dripping off his chin.  Kark.  Bloody nose.  He hadn’t even felt it.

“Echo?  You with us?” 

Hunter was wavering slightly in front of him, but he nodded anyway.  He was covered in cold sweat, and he was shaking slightly.  “I’m f-fine.”

Hunter’s brow creased.  “You sure?  Looked like you passed out in the scomp port.”

“I believe he may have been connected during the last power surge.”

Ah, that would make sense.  Echo swallowed, then took several deep breaths through his mouth.  Something beeped next to him and a scanner flashed.  He flinched away violently.  A pair of massive hands gripped his shoulders from behind, steadying him.

“Tech,” came Hunter’s reproving voice.  “Not now.  And not without warning.”

“Of course.  My apologies.  I am putting the med scanner away, Echo.”

He panted.  “It’s fine.  G-good.  I-I’m good.”  Echo raised a still trembling hand and brushed off Hunter, holding the rag to his nose himself.  He also pushed himself forward with a massive effort, so he wasn’t leaning against Wrecker anymore.  “R-really.  I’m g-good.”

There was an exasperated scoff somewhere to his left.  He knew it was from Crosshair.  Echo didn’t bother to look around. 

Hunter shifted in front of him, facing Tech.  “What are our options, with the transport gone?”

Kriff.  So the others really did leave us here.  Echo just wanted to crawl in a hole.  He’d been wrong, very wrong.  He’d defended those regs to the end, upset his own squad in the process, yet they were the ones who still came back for him.  Shame and embarrassment threatened to burn a hole in his chest.

Tech was now fixated on his datapad instead of Echo.  “I suggest we vacate the facility.  I may be able to get a clearer signal outside.  Or it is possible I can find functioning equipment in one of the communications towers.  That would provide access to a long-range signal.”

“Fine.  You three go ahead and try the nearest tower.  I’ll stay back with Echo.  He’ll probably be moving slow.”

Echo didn’t bother to put up a fight; he knew Hunter was right and he didn’t have the energy to argue anyway.  The steadying hands left his shoulders and he swayed slightly.  A smaller hand grasped his upper arm as three sets of footsteps faded away.  Echo took another deep breath through his mouth.

“You sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah,” Echo pulled the rag away from his face to check if the bleeding had stopped.  He was still slightly out of breath and his head ached.  “Yeah, I’m fine.”  Hunter frowned, looking like he didn’t believe a word Echo said.  He relented.  “Fine enough to – to move out.”  Eager not to be questioned further, he changed the subject.  “Are you okay?  Your – your head?”

The sergeant looked slightly surprised.  “Oh.  Yeah.  Wrecker convinced me to take a hypo for it.  Should have done it sooner.”  He shifted uncomfortably.  “I was a bit short back there.  Shouldn’t have let you go off on your own.”

Echo shook his head, then stopped abruptly when it made his vision swim.  He didn’t need Hunter’s apology; the sergeant wouldn’t have been able to stop him.  “And what about the – the power?  The reactor?”  Something must have happened, no one seemed overly concerned about an explosion anymore.

“Once Tech had the data he was able to work some magic on the power grid.  Couldn’t tell you exactly what he did, some sort of stabilization of the reactor by diverting power from other systems.  Not a permanent fix, but should give us plenty of time to get outta here without anything blowing up.”  He chuckled. “Wrecker was a bit disappointed.”  His gaze focused back on Echo, but didn’t question his health anymore.  “Good to try standing?”

Echo nodded, moving his head more carefully this time, and the sergeant pulled him to his feet.  He stumbled, but Hunter’s grip tightened and steadied him.  Hunter put on his helmet with his free hand, then picked up Echo’s, but didn’t offer it to him. 

“Come on.  I know the way out.”  His hand stayed on Echo’s arm, guiding him down the hallways.  

Guilt and shame pressed in around him until he couldn’t stand it any longer.  “Hunter?”

The sergeant’s head swiveled towards him.

“You were right about the regs.”

“Echo – ”

“They left us here.  They left me…in the scomp port.”  He tripped, struggling to maintain his balance.  He spoke a little faster, desperate to be heard before Hunter could interrupt.  “Clones aren’t supposed to leave their brothers behind.  That’s not what we were…and I never thought clones would actually…” He shook his head, staring at the floor.  “I didn’t…I just…I was wrong.” 

Hunter heaved a deep sigh, sounding like he’d aged several years in just a few seconds.  “I’m sorry, Echo.”  His hand tightened on Echo’s arm again as he continued to lead them down the hallway.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected: for Hunter to say ‘I told you so,’ for him to be angry, frustrated he wouldn’t listen, or even just disappointed in him, but certainly not an apology.  Echo didn’t deserve the sympathy or pity or whatever it was Hunter was showing him, but he couldn’t help but feel grateful.  This day had been kriffing awful, and the Batch’s unwarranted kindness was about the only thing holding him together right now.

------------------------

Echo had been in a bad mood since the last mission.  Two rotations of the others tip-toeing around him so as not to set him off; or in Crosshair’s case, antagonizing him at every turn, trying to make him fully crack.  The fact that the sniper was speaking to him at all must’ve meant he’d gotten over Echo’s misplaced trust of the regs, but Echo certainly wasn’t over it.  He’d always had complete faith in the loyalty of his brothers – that conviction was now shattered, along with his spirit.  He felt foolish and ashamed, not to mention guilty.  The Batch tried to warn him and he’d stubbornly refused to hear it.   He was almost grateful Crosshair made that ‘droid’ comment; at least in Echo’s mind they were even.

Tech had been able to get a message out calling for a transport back to the Marauder.  Echo claimed he was still recovering from the power surge so he could skip the debrief with Cody.  He knew the Commander would notice something off with him and he had no desire to talk about it.  Hunter opted to gloss over the finer details of how Zeta Squadron acted, claiming it ‘didn’t matter.’  Echo thought it mattered a great deal.

The cockpit was deserted.  Tech and Wrecker left a while ago, chased off by Echo’s surliness.  He was stewing alone, wallowing in his gloom when Hunter approached and sat down next to him.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Echo didn’t bother looking his way.   

“I just got off a holo call with Crush.”

Cold dread settled in the pit of his stomach.  This was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now.  Echo just stared out the viewport, waiting for him to continue.

“The captain from Zeta Squad,” He paused.  “You know, the last mission – ”

Echo sighed impatiently.  “I remember.”

Hunter cleared his throat.  “Well.  He wanted to tell me I was right.  We impressed him.  Tech, in particular, blew him away.  Couldn’t believe he found the intel we needed, not when his man barely managed to copy some encrypted files they still haven’t decoded.”

“Congratulations,” Echo’s voice was flat.  He could not have been less interested.

“He also apologized.  For his team.  Apparently, he was injured and pretty out of it.  Didn’t realize they intentionally left us behind.  He chewed them out.  Said their behavior was unbefitting for soldiers in the GAR, or for clones.”

Hunter went quiet.  Echo looked over to find the sergeant watching him.  “So?”

“So, you were right, too.”

Echo stiffened.  “About what?  When I said clones look out for each other?  That they’re our brothers and they wouldn’t treat us like dirt?  Gimme a break, that went out the karking – ”

Hunter interrupted him.  “When you said they’re not all bad.  And that this time would be different.  It was.”

He scoffed sarcastically. “Different?  What, you normally get left behind without the apology note?” Echo froze and quickly looked away, suddenly realizing that was an actual possibility.  Hunter went on.

“Crush is a good captain.  I wouldn’t mind working with him again.  With any luck he’ll knock some sense into the rest of his squad, too.” 

Echo let out another scoff.  That just wasn’t good enough.

Hunter hesitated before he spoke again. “He also said clones don’t leave their brothers behind.”

That got Echo’s attention.  Surprised, he blinked, finally turning to fully face the man beside him.  “He said that, huh?”

The sergeant nodded.  “He did.  Something else you were right about.”

Before Echo could respond, Crosshair slinked into the cockpit, settling down in the chair behind him.  “Don’t let it go to your head, Reg.  I have a long list of things you’ve been wrong about lately and I’m more than willing to remind you of them.”

“I am curious, Crosshair,” Tech wandered in next.  “Do you keep a list of instances where all of us were wrong, or is this something exclusive to Echo?”

Crosshair glowered, removing the toothpick from his lips and pointing it at Tech.  “All of you.  Don’t tempt me.”

Tech adjusted his goggles, unfazed by the threat.  “I would be very interested in the examples on your list.  After all, I am seldom wrong.”

“Wanna bet?”

“The odds would be heavily in my favor, but I do not believe you have anything worth betting that I would actually want.”

Echo tuned out the rest of the argument.  He glanced back at Hunter, who met his gaze and sighed, shaking his head.  Then he turned back to stare out at the rippling blue of hyperspace again.

After what happened he’d decided not to put blind trust in other clones.  If it came down to it, he’d side with those who’d proven themselves to be his brothers; the ones who didn’t see him as a droid or a useless defect, the ones who always came back for him.  The Batch.  Rex.  Cody.  Brothers he knew he could depend on.

But then there was Crush; he complicated Echo’s new resolve in an unexpected but encouraging way.  The captain apparently still saw the Batch, saw him, as his brothers.  One in five clones wasn’t a terrible statistic.  The betrayal from the other four still stung – badly, but for the first time in several rotations, a flicker of hope flared in Echo’s chest. 

There were more clones like Crush, there had to be.  Should he turn his back on all other clones because of the actions of a few?  As much as he hated to admit it, he still thought of them as his brothers, even if they didn’t return the sentiment.  

Wat Tambor and the Techno Union had already taken so much from him…he wouldn’t let them have anymore.  Not his loyalty.  His determination.  His heart.  No, he was going to make sure he stayed true to the stubborn, steadfast, idealistic ARC trooper he once was.  If that meant he’d give clones the benefit of the doubt, so be it; he’d make sure to have his guard up just in case it didn’t go how he wanted. 

And if the regs ever came swinging at the Batch, Echo would be the first to throw a punch back, no questions asked.  After all, he’d do anything for his brothers.