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Echo's eyes snapped open as a quiet gasp escaped his lips. For a few seconds, his heart was beating so fast under his ribs, and the familiar feeling of panic and disorientation that came hand in hand with the nightmares that plagued his sleep washed over him.
He blinked a few times, taking slow and shaky breaths as he tried to chase away the images of flames, the too-bright light, and bloody mechanical tools. His eyes caught a glimpse of the millions of stars in the open sky filling the view of the cockpit.
He was not back there.
Echo's breathing slowed as he let himself soak in the view. He had to thank Wrecker for this idea.
Since there wasn't enough sleeping space in the Marauder and fully laying down wasn't a comfortable position for Echo with all his prosthetics, Tech had proposed modifying one of the seats so the cyborg could sleep reclined. It was Wrecker who suggested modifying the copilot chair so Echo could always see the stars when he woke up.
It was with the same logic that they'd installed his hammock in the barracks near the window.
Both had been a blessing.
Now that his mind was finally calmed down, Echo realized that these stars and constellations looked familiar. He had seen them so many times before, the first sky he had looked at after a life on Kamino.
"Rishi..." he whispered.
"Count on a Reg to recognize the most boring ball of dust," Crosshair's voice nearly made Echo jump out of his skin.
The cyborg clone sited up and turned his head toward the sniper sitting in the pilot seat, his long legs resting on the console.
Echo really hated showing his weakness in moments like this. He wasn't fooling himself; the whole Batch had seen him at his worst already. That didn't mean he was comfortable showing his vulnerabilities.
"Do we have some issue with the ship?" Echo asked, doing his best to brush the situation off.
"No," came the eloquent answer from Crosshair.
"Then why are we here?"
"We aren't expected on Kamino for a few more hours. So Hunter ordered we stop on some planet to relax or catch some sleep."
Echo couldn't really complain. None of them were in a rush to be back on Kamino to be poked around by medical or to run endless simulations before the next mission. Yet his brain automatically pulled up at least four regulations that this unauthorized stop breaks, but he easily quieted it.
His cadet self would have had an aneurysm at all the rules the Batch broke daily. He'd been guilty of a bunch of those rule bends himself.
Fives had always been amused at how he managed to interpret the regulations to their advantage.
Fives...
He would have loved the Batch so much. Of course, he probably would have ended up in a fist fight with most of them the first week, maybe the first day, but he would have adopted them faster than Rex had on this very moon.
Instead, he was gone.
Echo was all that was left of their original squad.
The last Domino standing.
But was he?
The rookie who had stepped onto the outpost was a hundred years away from the man he had become.
Echo focused on the bare landscape. He could see, not too far off, the rubble that used to be the outpost. What had become the grave of most of his brothers.
An idea struck him and before he could think about it more, he got up. From the corner of his eye, he could see Crosshair tense at the sudden movement. From the sniper, it was as much as scaring the shit out of him.
Echo ignored the inquisitive look he sent his way as he walked as fast and quietly as he could toward the bunk room. He made his way to the small footlocker that Rex had given him when they'd crossed paths with the 501st. It contained the few belongings that he and Fives had accumulated during their service.
He dug in and found what he was looking for: the medals they had received after the events of Rishi. Echo looked at them for a moment. He had other memorabilia from Fives and their life, but these held the meaning he was looking for.
Echo put them in a pocket at his belt, put his helmet on, and walked toward the close boarding ramp. He wasn't surprised to see Crosshair there. But he was a bit more surprised to see his Firepuncher on his back and that he had his own helmet in his hand.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Just a quick walk," Echo answered, not feeling like explaining.
Crosshair raised an eyebrow before he put his helmet on and opened the ramp. He motioned to the ARC to go first.
"Go before Hunter wakes up. And don't get eaten," he said simply.
"Aw, you worry about me."
"As entertaining as it could be to watch, I really don't want to deal with the aftermath."
Echo chuckled and walked down the ramp. Crosshair followed him for a moment but stopped at the end and got his rifle out. The cyborg realized he was only watching his back but giving him space. Not for the first time, he was glad for the sniper's quiet support.
He made his way to the ruins of the outpost in at least fifteen minutes and stopped at the edge of the crater.
As he looked down at the abyss, he took time to have a thought not only for his fellow Dominos but for CT-327, Nub, and O'niner.
He took the medals out of his pocket and brought them up to press against his forehead, Fives one against his helmet.
"I miss you. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed me the most," he whispered. "I miss you all. But I will keep fighting and honor the legacy of the Domino Squad."
Fives was gone and the man Echo used to be was dead too. It was only right to let them rest with the rest of their brothers.
"Don't worry about me. I'm not alone. I have a new squad, new brothers, that are here for me. You can all rest easy... Until we meet again."
He finally extended his arms and let the medals fall. Echo tried to ignore how misty his eyes had become and saluted as the medals disappeared into the darkness.
He wasn't sure how long he stood there until he turned around and made his way back to the Marauder.
Crosshair didn't say anything as he passed him, but his hand rested on Echo's shoulder, surprising him.
Did he know?
Echo had always had doubts that Hunter and Tech knew about this episode of his life. One was his commanding officer, and the other always found a way to know everything.
The sniper squeezed his shoulder briefly before stepping back into the ship.
Echo sent one last look at the stars above him. They looked so much brighter. He smiled weakly.
He knew that he would always have brothers watching over him—here and beyond the grave.