Bonaxie

It had been almost three months since the Domino Squad had left Rishi and joined the 501st, and they had integrated extremely well into their battalion.

They were definitely no longer Shiny and had even recently joined the Torrent Company, a company under the direct command of their Jedi General, Anakin Skywalker. It must be said that the Domino Squad's, unconventional actions during their first assignment had impressed the young Jedi, who himself had rather unconventional methods.

During those few months, each of the Dominos had also really found their preferred area of ​​expertise.

As expected, Hevy had specialized in heavy weapons and explosives. Cutup, meanwhile, was thriving as a pilot. DB would soon be joining the ranks of the ARF troopers, who specialized in reconnaissance. And Echo and Fives were slated to become ARC troopers, special forces commandos.

These new specializations meant that the five brothers weren't always deployed together in the field, but they didn't mind. They still shared a dorm and met up at the end of the day to recount their misadventures. The fact that the five brothers weren't together 24/7 wasn't a problem. However, the fact that Echo and Fives weren't together 24/7 was more of a problem. Echo and Fives were, after all, twins, and nothing could separate them.

When he met them on Rishi, Rex immediately saw that the two seemed inseparable. But from experience, he knew that being so dependent on each other wasn't always a good thing, so he tried to separate them.

Rex had tried exactly once to separate Fives and Echo on the field.

Rex wouldn't make that mistake again.

It wasn't that the twins were incompetent when they were separated, far from it, but they were nevertheless significantly less effective.

When they were together, Echo and Fives were true forces of nature, capable of doing what few troopers were capable of doing, but when they were alone they were… ordinary at best.

Without Fives by his side, Echo seemed lost. He couldn't express himself when and how he needed to, and his exceptional strategic mind seemed to vanish completely in his twin's absence. Without Fives, Echo was a withdrawn trooper, almost lifeless, barely exchanging words with his comrades, and offering no insight whatsoever into the strategy being employed.

Similarly, without Echo by his side, Fives was completely chaotic. While Fives was usually quite impulsive, he still listened to orders. But without Echo, Fives listened to nothing and got along with no one. He was impulsive, reckless, and put himself in far more danger than necessary.

When he had seen the catastrophic results of these exceptional soldiers when they were separated, Rex had made the decision never to separate them again.

And when, on the next mission, Echo and Fives worked together again, Rex was reassured in his choice. Together, the twins seemed reborn, and he had rediscovered the incredible duo he had already witnessed.

And besides, without saying that Rex had no other choice but to put them back together, he had been helped in making this decision.

Indeed, on the very evening of that disastrous mission where Rex had separated Echo and Fives, he had received a visit from another member of their squad. "Captain Rex, can I speak with you?" Hevy asked, approaching Rex in the corridor, determined and with hos confident big brother look on his face.

Rex watched him for a moment and nodded, signaling the trooper to follow him to a place a little more private than the middle of the corridor, suspecting the subject of the discussion.

Once they were in Rex's office and the door was closed behind them, Rex started the discussion directly, without giving Hevy time to say anything.

"If this is about Echo and Fives and the details of their mission today, know that I will not separate them again. I tried separating them because I know that when two troopers are as close together as these two, it doesn't always yield the best results, but I've realized that this isn't the case with Fives and Echo. These two work much better together, and they will not be separated in the field again."

Hevy let out a sigh and his relief was visible in his attitude. “Thank you, Captain. Echo and Fives… It’s not just that they work better together, they need to be together to function properly. Echo has always had his quirks, especially when it comes to his speech, and if he doesn’t have Fives by his side to be his translator and mediator, he withdraws into himself in a rather worrying way. And Fives… let’s just say that Echo represents 85% of Fives’ self-control. I strongly recommend that they no longer be separated except in exceptional circumstances.”

"They will not be separated again, except in exceptional circumstances where I have no other choice," Rex asserted firmly. "I saw today that for Echo and Fives, staying together is not a preference but a necessity. They will not be separated again."

Hevy nodded, truly relieved, and the discussion ended there. Despite his rather fiery temperament, it wasn't in Hevy's nature to oppose orders or his superiors, but when it came to his little brothers, and especially their safety and well-being, he was ready to do anything. He was, however, relieved that he and Rex were on the same page and that he hadn't really needed to convince his Captain of the merits of his idea.

After that, as Rex had promised, Echo and Fives were no longer separated in the field. And honestly, Rex couldn't even find a reason to separate them. They didn't put each other in danger, they were capable of interacting with other clones besides their twin, they didn't put each other's interests before the mission, and they were extremely competent together.

And even though the Domino Squad was a really tight-knit unit, that didn't mean that Hevy, Cutup, Fives, Echo and DB didn't interact with other vode.

On the contrary, now that they were part of the Torrent Company, they got along more than well with their new comrades, mainly Jesse and Hardcase, with whom they shared certain commonalities.

Hardcase and Hevy did indeed share a passion for explosions, and Jesse was also expected to become an ARC trooper, as were Echo and Fives.

Another member of their group of friends was Kix, the CMO of the 501st Battalion and Torrent Company's designated medic. With so many enthusiastic idiots gathered in one place, a full-time medic was needed to ensure everyone made it back alive and in one piece.

And on this particular day, Kix obviously joined the other members of the Torrent Company in their outing.

Their adventure of the day? A night at 79's!

For the Dominos' first leave on Coruscant after joining the Torrent Company, Jesse and Hardcase had decided to take the five rookies to their favorite bar. Kix had come along to make sure none of those idiots ended up passed out drunk in an alley, and Rex had decided to come, officially to supervise the outing, unofficially to enjoy a night out with his brothers from the 501st.

And honestly, the evening was going extremely well. Although they were a little tense at the start, the 5 Dominos quickly relaxed, thanks in part to the alcohol.

Several hours after their arrival at the bar, Rex watched the scene with a small smile on his lips.

Hardcase and Hevy were leaning towards each other, no doubt talking about things to blow up; Rex should keep an eye on them to make sure they don't actually blow anything up tonight.

Fives, DB, Jesse and Cutup were in the middle of a rather stupid but harmless drinking game and Kix and Echo were sitting on a booth, chatting quietly.

When the small group arrived at the bar, Echo ordered a simple non-alcoholic cocktail and went to sit on a booth in a corner of the bar, with the whole room in his field of vision, and simply began to observe the others.

None of the other Dominos seemed to pay any attention to their brother and simply continued their evening as if nothing had happened, even though Rex had noticed Fives regularly glancing at his twin to make sure he was still there. Also intrigued by this behavior, Kix went to see Echo, and it turned out that Echo didn't like to drink or particularly party, but watching his brothers have fun was his way of enjoying these kinds of evenings. Hevy, Cutup, Fives, and DB, being perfectly aware of this, acted accordingly. It wasn't that they didn't care about Echo; it was just that they knew his needs and desires and did what was necessary to ensure everyone had a good time.

And it worked, since they all had a great evening.

And even though the evening was incredible, it had to end at some point. So Rex began to gather his troops to return to the barracks, several hours later.

Well, he tried to gather his troops to return to the barracks.

He began first with Hevy and Hardcase, who were now collapsed on each other and seemed to be held upright only by the dubious support offered by their comrade.

“Guys, it's almost time to go.”

"Go? Go back where?" Hevy asked, blinking slowly and heavily.

“To the barracks. To sleep.”

"Ohhhhh, are you sure, Captain?" Hevy lamented, seeming devastated by the news.

"Certainly. Why? Do you have a better idea?" Rex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah! We're gonna blow everything up!" Hardcase exclaimed, with a big, idiotic smile on his lips.

Rex rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress a small smile. As long as his men were happy and content, they could say as much nonsense as they wanted. "I think simply sleeping is a better plan."

"Ohhhh." Hevy whined, disappointed because he'd been excited about Hardcase's plan. "No boom?"

"No boom tonight." Rex confirmed.

“Ohhhhh.” Hardcase and Hevy were both saddened by this program without explosions.

Rex didn't respond and moved on to the next group, consisting of Fives, Cutup, and Jesse. While Jesse still seemed coherent, the same couldn't really be said for Fives and Cutup, who were sitting cross-legged on the floor facing each other and doing… What exactly were they doing?

"What's the project over here?" Rex asked, approaching.

"I... To be honest, I don't really know." Jesse admitted, wavering slightly. "But they're not hurting anyone, so it's okay?"

At the same time, Fives threw both arms in the air, or almost at least. "I won!" He exclaimed.

“Cheater!” Cutup replied immediately.

“Yes, I won! I finished first!”

“Not even true!”

Fives and Cutup continued arguing for a few seconds before coming to blows. But when two completely drunk brothers come to blows… let's just say it looked more like a fight between three-year-olds. So, not very impressive. And in less than a minute, Fives and Cutup were both lying on the ground, more or less in each other's arms.

Rex shook his head and exchanged an amused look with Jesse, who had a slightly silly smile on his lips. “Make sure no one steps on them while I gather the others.”

"Yes, Captain." Jesse replied with a half-hearted salute.

Rex then headed towards the corner where Echo and Kix were sitting. As he approached, he saw that DB had joined them during the evening. But the youngest member of the Domino Squad wasn't participating in the conversation. Instead, he was lying on the bench, his head resting on Echo's lap, Echo still engrossed in his discussion with Kix. Echo's left hand rested on his brother's head, playing with his hair, and Echo's right hand was held in DB's hands in front of his face, the younger boy playfully toying with his brother's fingers with a look of wonder.

"What's going on over here?" Rex asked again, approaching.

"Captain, I hafto... I hafto tell you som’thing." DB declared in as serious a voice as possible, an effect totally ruined by his lack of articulation.

"I'm listening." Rex replied.

“Echo, he… he has 5 fingers!” DB announced proudly.

Rex blinked a few times, but this wasn't his first rodeo with his drunken brothers. “Indeed he does. Good observation, trooper.”

DB's face lit up and broke into a huge smile, and this grown man, this trooper, giggled like a small child, returning to his close observation of his brother's hand.

Kix and Echo watched this exchange with small smiles on their lips.

“Did you want something, Rex?” Kix inquired.

"It's almost time to head back to the barracks, but it seems the others don't agree with this plan." Rex sighed, gesturing towards the other two groups.

Echo looked up from DB and spotted Fives and Cutup, embracing on the ground with Jesse watching them with an amused expression; and Hevy and Hardcase teetering dangerously while discussing something with an excited look, so no doubt the discussion revolved around explosives of some kind.

Kix also observed their companions and sighed, displaying a serious expression. "Echo, I have bad news for you." He declared gravely, while giving a thumbs-up to indicate to the younger vod that he was joking.

Echo took all of this into account and decided to play along. "What's the news, doc?" He asked dramatically.

"I'm afraid you're the last survivor of your batch." Kix said, looking at the other Dominos, scattered around the bar but all in the same state of drunkenness.

Echo, still in the comedy mood, put his left hand to his forehead. “Oh no, how will I survive? How can I live when my brothers are gone? How can I bear the guilt of having survived when they did not?”

Faced with Echo's performance, Kix and Rex both laughed, with Echo quickly joining them, which snapped DB out of his observant trance.

“Huh? What? What's going on?”

"Nothing DB, everything's fine." Echo reassured, resting his hand on his brother's head and stroking his hair.

“Oh. You knew you… that you had 5… 5 things there…”

“Fingers?” Echo suggested.

"That's it!" DB exclaimed. "So smart, Eyayah. You know all, all the words!"

Echo just laughed at his brother's remark.

"I think you're right, Captain, it's time to go to bed." Echo agreed.

"Indeed. Do you think DB can walk?" Rex asked, already thinking about logistics.

“He can walk, yes, but not unsupervised. DB tends to marvel at everything when he's in that state and is capable of wandering off because he can't keep up with us anymore. Just watching him isn't enough; he's very fast, but holding his hand works quite well. Hevy needs a bit more support, usually with an arm around his shoulders, and he absolutely mustn't be separated from his drinking buddy if we want to avoid any trouble. In this case, he mustn't be separated from Hardcase. Fives and Cutup, however, are no longer able to walk, even with support, given that they've reached the stage of cuddling on the floor in the middle of the bar. Carrying them to their beds is imperative. I don't know Jesse and Hardcase well enough to assess the level of assistance needed to get them to their sleeping quarters.”

Echo then looked at Kix with a questioning expression, and the medic provided the missing information. “Hardcase appears to be in the same condition as Hevy. Light guidance will suffice. Jesse is perfectly capable of walking independently. He cannot carry anyone, but he can provide support.”

Echo nodded and then observed each of his brothers, considering what strategy to adopt.

When he had asked about DB's condition, Rex had planned to ask about each of the others so that he could then develop a strategy to bring all his men safely back to their dormitory, but Echo quickly took control of the situation.

And he was doing perfectly well, so Rex let him do it, giving him the time he needed to establish his strategy.

“Here’s the plan of action I propose.” Echo continued after a moment’s thought. “I can hold DB with my right hand and put my left arm around Hevy’s shoulders. We’ll ask Hevy and Hardcase to hold hands and not let go, and Jesse can provide support for Hardcase on the other side of our group. That leaves only Fives and Cutup for you and Kix to carry, Captain. If necessary, Kix and I can switch positions, but I’m afraid DB will get more agitated if I ask him to let go of my hand.” Echo finished, nodding toward DB, who was indeed still playing with Echo’s right hand, as if it were the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

Rex went over Echo's plan in his head while watching each vod in turn and nodded, finding nothing to review.

"That's a strategy worthy of an ARC trooper." He sincerely congratulated.

Echo felt the tips of her ears getting hot and lowered her head a little, tucking it slightly into her shoulders. "This is just a plan to get our intoxicated brothers to their beds." He said softly.

But Rex wasn’t going to let Echo downplay his actions. “And in drawing up this plan, you took into account the circumstances, skills, and needs of each of us, and very quickly. I couldn't have done better.”

Echo blushed a little more but only shrugged with a small smile that was both sheepish and proud.

Rex would be satisfied with that for tonight. “Gentlemen, we have our mission and our action plan. Let's go.”

Echo and Kix nodded and stood up, DB following suit, happy to follow without asking any more questions as long as he could continue to hold Echo's hand.

It took a few minutes to gather all their drunks, but they eventually managed, and in just under 10 minutes, the small group was leaving the bar. As planned, Echo was holding DB by one hand and had his other arm around Hevy's shoulders. Hevy and Hardcase were holding arms and continuing to mutter about explosions and booms. Jesse had his right arm around Hardcase's shoulders, supporting and guiding him. Cutup and Fives were almost completely unconscious, slumped over Kix and Rex's shoulders, respectively.

They were a lovely group to watch.

The war was over, thanks to Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard, who had assassinated Chancellor Palpatine when the latter revealed himself to be the Sith Lord the Jedi had been searching for since the beginning of the war. A few well-placed blaster shots when the old man least expected it, and the war was over.

Coruscant had been in turmoil following these declarations and all that they implied, but things were beginning to calm down, and Bail Organa had been appointed Acting Chancellor pending new elections. Under his leadership, several decrees aiding postwar reconstruction were adopted. Among them was the decree establishing clones as sentient beings. All were now considered citizens of the Republic, and no longer its property. The GAR had been dissolved, and each clone was free to choose their own path. Many clones chose to remain affiliated with the Jedi, joining the various corps and participating in the postwar effort, helping to rebuild the populations and worlds affected by the war; but others had completely broken away from the Order, living their new lives as they saw fit.

Since the end of the war a few months ago, the Bad Batch has been carrying out various missions to help with the post-war reconstruction effort while also taking the time to explore the galaxy.

Today had started like any other day for Echo. He and the Bad Batch had returned to Coruscant at the end of their last mission, which had gone very well.

So far, nothing abnormal or unusual.

What was unusual was that Rex was waiting for him in the hangar. And then he borrowed him from the Batch and took him to the Jedi Temple saying that someone wanted to see him.

And it turns out that this someone was none other than Fives.

Fives, his twin, whom Echo believed to have been dead for over two years.

Fives, who apparently thought Echo was also dead.

Echo was completely lost. Fives had been shot, Rex had told him. Rex was there. Fives had died in Rex's arms, so how could Fives be here? At the Jedi Temple, very much alive, holding Echo tightly as if the cyborg would vanish if he let go for a moment?

Echo was not opposed to the program in itself, given that his grip on Fives was just as firm, but his mind was racing trying to make sense of the situation.

Nothing made sense. Nothing made sense except Fives in his arms and Rex around them, clutching his little brothers, his Domino twins, tightly against him. He too had thought he'd lost them, and now they were reunited, finally.

Without Echo really knowing how it had happened, he found himself on the sofa in Fives' apartment, his brother still in his arms.

Rex must have slipped away at some point since he was no longer with them, but Echo didn't know when it had happened either.

Echo had finally managed to convince himself that Fives was really there, alive, in his arms, so now he had a thousand questions. “Fives?” He called softly, running his hand through his brother's hair.

“Hm? If your next words are to suggest I move from here, my answer is no. I thought I'd lost you forever, Echo… I- I never want to let you go again.”

Echo stifled a wet laugh before continuing. “I don’t want us to separate either.” He quickly assured. “It’s just… I don’t understand, Fives, I thought you were dead…”

"And I thought you were dead." Fives retorted.

"How did you survive a blaster shot to the chest?" Echo asked.

“And how did you survive such an explosion?”

"I asked the question first!" Echo exclaimed indignantly.

"And you ‘died’ before me, so you have to answer first!" Fives replied, finally raising his head to send a playful smile to his brother, even though Echo could see all his pain and sorrow behind this laughing facade.

Echo sighed and didn't reply right away.

Fives shifted slightly, straightening up to look at his brother. He grasped Echo's left hand in his own, and only then did he seem to realize Echo was missing his right hand. Fives examined his brother more closely and realized Echo appeared to be in very bad shape. He obviously couldn't see everything through his brother's clothes, but the shape of his legs was too strange to be anything but bionic. His skin was very pale, in a sickly manner, and he was too thin.

"By the Force, what happened to you, Eyayah?" Fives murmured, devastated.

Just hearing that nickname, which no one but Fives ever used to call him, was almost enough to make Echo cry again, but he managed to hold it back. The tears had had their moment; now it was time for explanations. And Fives seemed determined to hear Echo's before sharing his own.

"A lot of really shitty stuff." Echo scoffed sadly.

"Tell me everything. I want to know everything." Fives insisted.

Then Echo told him everything. How he had survived the explosion of the Citadel. How he had been picked up by the Separatists and barely kept alive. How he had been sold to the Techno Union. How he had been tortured for information about Republic strategies. How he had resisted. How he had held on. How he hadn't given up until Wat Tambor found a way to literally hack his brain. How he had tried to keep resisting. How, when Echo had lost all hope of ever escaping that hellhole, Rex and the Bad Batch had arrived to rescue him. How he had helped the Republic win the Battle of Anaxes. How he had joined the Bad Batch after the rather negative reaction from some vode. How he had continued to participate in the war effort alongside the Bad Batch.

Throughout his story, Echo did not try to hide how much his life had changed, but he also did not dwell too long on all the new challenges he had to face with this new, deeply wounded, changed, and faulty body.

Fives wanted to ask. He wanted to ask how far his right arm was bionic. He wanted to ask if any part of his legs was still flesh. He wanted to ask about the hard metal he'd felt on his brother's chest, through his clothes. He wanted to know everything about that internal computer, and he wanted to ask what the helmet-like thing Echo wore was for.

But it wasn't the right time. Echo had already shared a lot, and Fives didn't want to overwhelm him. Besides, the war was over; they had all the time in the world to discuss everything.

"I'm sorry, Echo." Fives said softly, rather than asking him questions.

Echo frowned. “Sorry for what?”

He really hoped Fives wasn't going to come out with some stupid line like "sorry I didn't come looking for you sooner" or something like that. Rex already felt bad enough about it, even though Echo had told him more times than he could count that none of it was his fault, that he had no way of knowing Echo was still alive, and no reason to believe Echo had survived the explosion on Lola Sayu.

But once again, Fives surprised him.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you get through this hell.” Fives apologized. “Even if you only hint at it and I don’t know everything, I can see how difficult all of this has been, and still is, for you. So I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner, little brother.”

“You were dead, Fives, there was nothing you could have done. I missed you terribly, and every night, when I was saying my remembrances, I said your name, I thought of you, and I wished you were here with me, of course. But I never blamed you. For anything. Even before I learned how you died, I knew you would never have left without a good reason. I knew you fought to the very end, and that's all I could ask of you. So don't apologize for leaving me behind; I knew you didn't mean to.”

"I missed you too, Eyayah." Fives whispered, his voice breaking. "And I, too, honored you in my remembrances."

“I know.” Echo smiled gently. “And even though I missed you a lot, I assure you I wasn’t alone. Rex was there, of course, as were Jesse and Kix, and let’s not forget Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair. Joining the Bad Batch really helped me get back on my feet.”

“Are they cool?” Fives asked with a tentative smile.

“More than cool. I'm really looking forward to introducing you.” Echo confirmed, visibly excited.

“If they are as good as you say, I would like to meet them too.”

Echo nodded and they remained silent for a short while before he continued. “Fives… You were dead. What happened to you? How… Why?”

Fives sighed. He didn't like talking about it, but Echo had just told him everything that had happened to him. The least Fives could do was do the same. He started with “Did Rex tell you how I died?”

“Blaster shot to the chest. Fired by Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard because you tried to assassinate the Chancellor. Which was stupid, by the way. Even if he turned out to be the Sith, you don't go alone against someone of his stature.”

Fives grimaced. “I admit it wasn't my brightest idea. But in my defense, I was really drugged up and I had just discovered that we all have a chip in our heads that can turn us into robots at any moment, and that the one who controls these chips is the same person who has been leading both sides of the war from the beginning, namely the Sith Lord, Chancellor Palpatine.”

“Let’s just say that since you survived, I’ll forgive your lapse in judgment. But how did you survive? Rex… You died in his arms; he wouldn’t have left you for dead. Unless he knew from the start that you were alive and lied to me the whole time.” Echo added, hurt and betrayed.

"No!" Fives quickly corrected. "No, Rex didn't know. He only found out I survived like, a week ago. It wasn't safe before then."

“Why didn't he tell me before? Why wait?”

“I… I honestly don't know. I didn't even know you were alive, Ey'ika. If I had known, I would have found a way to tell you something as soon as possible.”

Echo frowned, not really satisfied with the question. “Well, I'll have to talk to Rex about that. But that doesn't answer my question. How on the Force did you survive a blaster shot to the chest? And don't tell me Fox, Commander Fox, missed his shot."

“Fox didn’t miss.” Fives confirmed. “But he had his doubts about the Chancellor even before I discovered the truth about the chips. So when I showed up saying exactly that, he suspected I’d uncovered something big and important. So he made me disappear so he could interrogate me. He did shoot me, and it did look like a standard blaster, but it was actually a modified weapon. I don’t remember all the details, but instead of killing me, the shot injected me with a synthetic substance that temporarily stopped my heart, and instead of dying, I fell into a kind of deep coma. I really felt like I was dying, though, and I remember those last moments in Rex’s arms…”

Echo grimaced, imagining what Rex must have felt. But Fives hadn't finished his story, so he refocused. He could think about their big brother of a Captain later.

“When I woke up several weeks later, it took me a while to understand and accept that I wasn’t dead.”

"Several weeks?" Echo exclaimed. "That's a hell of a drug if it puts you in a near-death state for several weeks."

"Actually, Fox's shot was only supposed to knock me out for a few hours, two days at most. But when the Corries developed this stuff, they hadn't considered the effects it could have if combined with other drugs. And Fox couldn't have known what the Kaminoans had injected me with either. Let's just say the drug mix didn't have the best effect on me, and my heart wasn't a big fan. To put it simply, I almost died because my heart wouldn't restart. And when it did restart, it would last an hour at most before stopping again. For a few days, no one was really sure they'd be able to stabilize me."

“But they did? I mean, you seem to have a heart that's working pretty well right now, so they must have managed to do something.”

"Oh yes, they finally put a battery in my chest that tells my heart when to beat because this idiot is too lazy to do it himself." Fives announced, deliberately using a light tone to try and defuse the situation.

“So you have a pacemaker?” Echo asked to be sure.

“Something like that, yeah. It works pretty well, but the medics made it very clear that my heart remained weak and that I shouldn't push myself too hard if I didn't want it to stop for good.”

Clearly, from the way Fives spoke, Echo could see that it weighed heavily on him. And rather than feeling sorry for his brother, Echo chose to lighten the mood with a bit of humor. "At least only your heart needs instructions to do your job." He said with a slight smile.

Fives raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“My own lungs can no longer breathe on their own. My heart does the Macarena if it's left unattended. My stomach has decided that working part-time is enough. My intestines are also intermittently on strike, and my rectum and bladder have resigned and don't plan on coming back.”

Echo had said all this in a joking tone, hoping to lighten the mood, but when he saw Fives' face fall and his twin turn even paler, he thought it wasn't such a good idea after all. "Hey, hey, I'm fine." He tried.

Fives was horrified. “You just gave me a horrifying list of everything that proves you're not fine!”

"When you put it like that, it sounds very impressive and quite alarming, but I promise you I'm okay. It was complicated at first, but I'm used to it now, and I'm much better than when the guys picked me up in Skako Minor. I assure you that, despite the fact that I'm proportionally more metal than flesh, I'm doing as well as can be." Echo assured him with a reassuring smile.

Fives didn't reply, and clearly, he wasn't convinced. So Echo opened his arms and pulled Fives close again. Fives didn't resist at all and snuggled into his brother's arms, trying to reassure himself that he was as well as he said he was.

"I'm okay." Echo repeated again. "I'm fine, and you're fine. We're fine, and we're together again. The war is over, the Republic is free, and we finally have rights. Everything is good. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay, I promise."

Fives did not respond, content to absorb his sibling’s comfort.

The two twins remained like that, in each other's arms for quite some time before knocks on the door disturbed them. "My brother has returned from the dead, I'm busy!" Fives replied, loud enough to be heard from the other side of the door, without moving an inch from Echo.

Echo shook his head, amused.

"I'm the one who brought your brother back to you, Fives, I know exactly what you're doing." Rex replied from the other side of the door.

Fives sighed deeply but sat up a little, still remaining seated next to Echo, keeping his hand in his.

"Come in, Rex." Echo called.

The door opened and their older brother quickly entered the apartment, closing the door behind him, smiling gently as he saw Echo and Fives practically in each other's arms. "Are you both alright?" He asked.

He knew it would be a shock for both of them to see each other again when they both believed the other had been dead for a long time, but he also knew it would do them good.

“We're fine.” Echo confirmed. “But I actually have a few questions for you.”

“I suspected as much and would be happy to answer, but before that, I wanted to know if you were ready for another surprise.”

"Rex, I just learned that my favorite person in the entire galaxy is not dead at all and is in relatively good health." Fives explained with a broad smile. "You can surprise me any way you like."

Rex nodded and looked at Echo for his answer before doing anything.

"You know that with the Bad Batch, I'm always ready for anything. Even learning that a blaster shot to the chest wasn't enough to get rid of my beloved twin. Bring it on."

Rex ignored Fives' indignant "Hey!" and went back to the door, opening it again. "You guys can cam in now.”

Neither Echo nor Fives had time to ask any questions before three men, three clones, entered the apartment, with Rex bringing up the rear.

The first vod had large scars across his face, including one clearly blind eye, he had a blue cane and from the way he stood it was clear that at least part of his right leg was artificial.

The second man seemed mostly unharmed, except for his right arm that hung limply at his side, seemingly without any control.

The last clone was in a wheelchair, burn scars adorned the right side of his face and neck, and his right arm was missing.

But all of that was just details because, as impossible as the situation might have seemed, Echo and Fives recognized these three vode almost immediately.

Echo was frozen in place, so Fives took charge of the checks.

"Cutup?" He asked, looking at the one with the scars and the cane.

Cutup, since it was indeed him, responded with a dazzling smile that stretched over his scars.

“DB?” Fives continued, addressing the one with the dangling arm.

"Hi Fives." DB replied with a shy smile and a small gesture of his left hand.

"Hevy?" He finished, lowering his eyes slightly to meet the gaze of the seated clone.

"Hey, little brother." Hevy confirmed, with a reassuring yet sad expression.

“What? How is that possible? You are-”

“Dead?” DB suggested.

“Yes!”

"Oh, you know, death is overrated." Cutup Shrugged. "Look at you, you weren't dead for very long either.”

Fives opened his mouth to reply with something when a small whimper beside him attracted the attention of all the men present.

Echo was still frozen in place, but silent tears were streaming down his cheeks. His eyes darted quickly back and forth between the three newcomers, Fives and Rex.

"Hey, Echo…" Fives began, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Echo flinched and recoiled abruptly, his eyes wide and panicked.

Not really understanding his brother's reaction but recognizing his panicked look, Fives did not try to touch him again but frowned. “Echo…” He said softly, at lost about what to do.

He received only another flinch in response, and as Fives searched for what to say, Rex stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Fives' shoulder before walking around him and standing in front of Echo, blocking the rest of his room and its occupants from his view. "Echo, look at me." Rex ordered, using his Captain's voice.

Echo's wide, still panicked eyes came to rest somewhere on Rex's forehead, Echo unable to look his older brother in the eyes at that moment. Rex would be content with that.

"Talk to me." The blond man then asked.

"Am I dreaming?" Echo whispered, sounding terrified and hopeful at the same time.

"You're not dreaming." Rex assured. "It's all real. They're all real, and alive."

"But how?" Echo whimpered. "They were dead—I was the last one, and then… How?"

"It would seem that death doesn't have much success with the Dominoes." Rex replied with a small, proud smile.

Echo remained focused on Rex for a moment before taking as deep a breath as he physically could and finally turning his head to face the other four men.

He moved on from Fives fairly quickly, given that he had had enough time to convince himself that his twin was real and had survived.

Hevy, Cutup, and DB hadn't moved from their spots and seemed to be waiting patiently, yet anxiously, for Echo to decide whether they were real or not. All three of them, along with Fives, desperately wanted to convince their brother that they were really there, really alive, but they knew Echo. They knew he needed time to reach his own conclusions.

Echo first stopped on Cutup. "You were eaten by a giant eel." He pointed.

Cutup shrugged. "She didn't really chew. And I wasn't good enough for her, so she ended up spitting me out. She kept my leg to use as a toothpick, though." He added with a chuckle, pointing to his right leg.

Echo made something that looked as much like a grimace as a smile before switching to DB.

“You got shot.”

"Fives too." DB retorted. "The shot wrecked my shoulder and knocked me out. The clankers thought I was dead and put me with the others."

This time, Echo grimaced completely but didn't dwell on it too much and concentrated on Hevy, who was patiently waiting his turn. “You got blown up. How the kriff did you survive an explosion like that?”

Fives stifled a snicker and Rex concealed a laugh with a forced cough, but they didn't need to say anything; Hevy took care of it. "Do you really want to talk about how to survive explosions like that?" Hevy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I don't think you're in a position to lecture me on that, Ey’ika." 

Echo grimaced again, but he had to admit that his brother had a point.

Echo looked again at each of his brothers who had returned from the dead. "Are you all really here?" He asked, seeming not to believe it but full of hope.

"We're really here, Echo." Cutup assured. "Sorry for leaving you alone for so long, but we're here.”

"And that goes for you too, Fives." Hevy continued. "For a while, you too thought you were the last Domino. I'm sorry you had to endure that alone for so long. And I know you weren't truly alone and that you found other brothers within your battalion, but it's not the same."

“No.” Fives confirmed. “It’s not the same thing. I love my brothers in the 501st, that’s not the point. But they’re not the idiots I grew up with and left Kamino with.” He finished, half-throwing himself into Hevy’s arms.

Hevy obviously caught his little brother against him, even though the position was strange.

Echo, Cutup and DB soon joined them and in a short time, the 5 Dominos were in a pile, one in each other's arms.

"Wait, this isn't really a comfortable position." Hevy said after a few dozen seconds.

"Don't care." The other four replied in unison.

Hevy let out a burst of laughter before continuing. “If you can manage to unstick yourself for 30 seconds, I can transfer to the sofa and we can pick up where we left off. Fives' sofa is big enough for the five of us.”

Although it was reluctantly and with grumbling, the four youngest could not refute their older brother's logic and sat up one by one.

Hevy then moved closer to the sofa, stopping his wheelchair right next to it and began to wiggle on the seat to get closer to the edge of the chair.

"Can I carry you to put you on the sofa?" Fives asked, wanting to help his brother.

But before Hevy could even open his mouth, Rex intervened.

"No." The Captain immediately opposed in a stern voice. "The only one here who is potentially capable of carrying anyone is me."

The Dominos clearly disagreed and it showed in their faces, so Rex sighed and looked each one in the eyes.

“Cutup, your right leg isn't stable enough for you to carry the weight of an adult clone. DB, you only have one functional arm. Fives, you're forbidden from lifting heavy loads if you don't want to risk cardiac arrest. And Echo, a combination of the three previous reasons. So I repeat, the only one here who could carry anyone is me, the one who still has two arms, two legs, and a healthy heart.”

"Okay, fine, no need to show off." Fives mumbled.

Rex chose to ignore him.

“So Hevy, if you need help transferring, I'll gladly help you, but there's no way one of these idiots is going to get hurt or put themselves in danger for this.”

"I like you, Captain." Was all Hevy said, having initially opened his mouth to lecture Fives in much the same way. "And I'd appreciate a hand, thanks. Technically, I know how to do it alone, but I don't want to mess up and end up on the ground; that would panic more than a few people." He added, giving his younger brothers a sly smile.

DB leaned towards Echo to whisper something to his in a very indiscreet manner. “You have no idea how scary it is to just see him collapse on the ground like that.”

"I can imagine." Echo grimaced.

Rex paid no attention to the discussion between the two younger ones and moved closer to Hevy, following his instructions to help him transfer onto Fives' sofa.

And as soon as Hevy was settled, he was invaded again by his brothers, with Echo coming to snuggle to his left, seeming to want to curl up against him but hesitating.

"Come here, Eyayah." Hevy called, putting his left arm around Echo's shoulders.

“I'm not comfortable.” Echo shook his head, biting his lower lip. “I've got metal sticking out everywhere.”

"And it's all of you, including the bits of metal, that I want to hug." Hevy replied immediately. "Come here."

Echo didn't need much prompting and came to rest his head against Hevy's shoulder, gradually relaxing and slumping against his brother as he did so.

The other 3 soon joined them, Fives settling on the other side of Echo and Cutup on the other side of Fives, DB coming to position himself on Hevy’s other side.

All five of them wriggled around for a little while to find a comfortable position and finally settled down in a cuddle pile.

Rex, observing the whole scene, couldn't help but smile softly and proudly. He was also relieved to know that these incredible men had finally been reunited with their families.

"And there you have it, a complete set of Dominoes." He said quietly.

The 5 brothers gave him a smile and Rex couldn't resist the urge to take a holo.

"Rex..." Echo complained, rolling his eyes.

"Can you send it to me?" Cutup asked without wasting any time.

Rex nodded and tapped his comm for a few seconds, sending the photo to the five brothers in front of him. Several comms rang simultaneously, but none of the men moved from their seats to look.

“Well then, gentlemen, I'll leave you to your own devices. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything; I'll be around for the rest of the day.”

"Thank you, ori'vod." Echo sincerely thanked, feeling happier and more at peace than he had in a long time. "Thank you for giving me back my brothers."

"The pleasure is all mine, vod'ika." Rex assured them before leaving the Dominos to their own devices.

Echo didn't quite know where to begin. The last few days had been extremely busy, and this was the first time in almost a week that he had a little free time, and he didn't quite know what to do with it.

When he had “waked up” on Skako Minor, with Rex’s worried face in front of him and a team of strange clones in the room, it had taken Echo a little while to understand what was going on.

And immediately after that, they had to flee that cursed base by leaping into the void and landing on the backs of giant birds. Then they had to regroup with the rest of the GAR and devise a strategy to end the siege of Anaxes. Echo felt partly responsible for all the lives lost during this campaign. After all, it was his strategies that had allowed Wat Tambor and the Separatists to anticipate every move of the Republic armies. Even though it had all been against his will, Echo blamed himself.

And he wasn't the only one blaming himself, since he'd seen, from the looks some of the clones gave him, that others were also blaming him. And Echo couldn't blame them. He blamed himself too, and he was responsible, one way or another, for the deaths of their brothers, friends, and others. He understood the hatred directed at him, and it did nothing to improve his already low self-esteem.

With his body now more metal than flesh, more droid than human, a computer in his brain and half of his vital functions taken care of by machines, Echo had a hard time feeling human.

But fortunately for him, it wasn't just those who held him responsible for the losses on Anaxes; a significant number of clones were convinced of his innocence. And these clones were more vocal than his detractors, repeatedly telling Echo that he wasn't responsible for anything and that nothing was his fault; that he was as much a victim of the Separatists as the clones who died trying to retake Anaxes, perhaps even more so.

And his most ardent defender was none other than Rex. Rex, who, despite his responsibilities and his extremely busy schedule, spent as much time as possible with Echo.

Rex, who had stayed with Echo the whole time Kix and Tech were examining him to determine the state of his body's health.

Rex, who had spent several nights with Echo, reassuring him that he had indeed escaped from that hell.

Rex, who had held Echo in his arms and let him cry as much as he wanted when Echo learned that Fives had died during his captivity. Hardcase too. And Tup. And Dogma. And so many others whom Echo had loved like brothers.

And Rex who, despite his apparent desire to never let Echo go again, had suggested that he join Clone Force 99; that he join this group of strange clones who had rescued him from Skako Minor and with whom he got along rather well. Rex had suggested that Echo go with them even before Hunter made his proposal because he knew how different Echo was now and how affected he was by those differences.

He wasn't stupid, and Rex had seen the looks of disgust and heard the hateful whispers directed at Echo. And even though he'd intervened every time, severely reprimanding all those idiots, he knew he couldn't change their minds. And he had to face the facts: Echo would never be a regular clone again, and he'd have a very hard time reintegrating into the 501st. He would never be "normal" again. So joining Clone Force 99, a tight-knit, closed team already composed of "abnormal" clones, might be good for Echo.

And besides, Rex was getting to know Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair quite well, and he knew they would take good care of Echo. So that's why he had suggested this solution to Echo.

Echo had initially refused on principle. Of course not, he wasn't going to leave the 501st. They were his battalion, Rex was his Captain, it had always been that way and it always would be. But he had listened to Rex's arguments nonetheless, and he had to admit they weren't entirely without merit.

And perhaps with the Bad Batch, Echo would feel less pressure to return to normal as quickly as possible. The Bad Batch is a unit composed of defective clones, and Echo had become, against his will, a defective clone. He might as well stay with the other defective ones.

So that's why he'd accepted Hunter's offer. However, the Bad Batch was supposed to stay aboard the Resolute for a few more days before they set off on other adventures with Echo by their side. Tech was indeed in the process of making new legs for Echo, looking to replace the hideous droid parts the Techno Union had crammed into him with something more practical, less droid-like, and more comfortable.

But for that, he would also have to change his thigh implants, and Tech’s field of competence, as extensive as it was, didn’t include performing that type of surgery by himself. He had asked Kix for help, who was one of the few people Echo trusted to do such things. After being a mad scientist's guinea pig for over a year, Echo trusted very few people to operate on him or modify his body any further.

Kix, the 501st's CMO, who knew Echo and had looked after him since Echo joined the 501st, was among the few people Echo trusted. Tech, who had been part of the rescue team and had spent hours explaining to Echo what he planned to do and all the features of his new legs, had also earned a place on this list of trusted individuals.

So while waiting for Kix and Tech to operate on him to change his implants so he could have his new legs, the Bad Batch would remain on board the Resolute, to the despair of Crosshair, who hated the Regs.

One person who was happy about this extra time with his little brother, however, was Rex. The Bad Batch was a rather unpredictable mobile team that carried out a wide variety of missions, so it was almost impossible to know when Rex would see Echo again next.

So, despite his always busy schedule, Rex did his best to spend as much time as possible with Echo.

And in the middle of the afternoon, Rex had a few free hours, so he took advantage of this rather rare downtime to find Echo to spend some time with him.

He found his brother in the large hangar, near the Marauder, the Bad Batch's ship. A folding table had been set up next to the ramp, and from where he was, Rex couldn't really see what was on it. Echo was standing next to the table, looking at its contents, clearly focused or fixated on something.

Looking towards the Marauder, Rex quickly noticed Crosshair, positioned just above the ramp, cleaning his long-range rifle. Crosshair was clearly focused solely on what he was doing, but Rex saw him glance sideways at Echo, checking that everything was alright. Crosshair also looked up before Echo when Rex approached them, and the sniper gave him a barely perceptible nod before returning to his weapon.

Rex approached and saw that what was on the table was a suit of armor. It wasn't white like the Shiny's armor, but rather black, the same color as the other Batchers'. It had a few scratches and slight dents, signs that it had already been used, but was otherwise completely bare. On the table were also several pots of paint, brushes, and other such tools. Rex realized that Echo was painting his new armor.

Or at least that was the idea, since his brother was perfectly still, with furrowed brows and crossed arms, glaring holes in the new armor.

"What did this armor do to offend you, vod'ika?" Rex asked, approaching.

Echo jumped slightly, not having heard him arrive, and smiled slightly upon recognizing Rex.

"Rex." He nodded before turning back to the armor in question. "No, I just don't know where to start. Wrecker gave me this armor, and Crosshair brought out their paint, and they told me that now that I'm part of the team, I can't continue using the backup armor they lent me for Anaxes."

“Makes sense.” Rex shrugged. “And you don't know where to start?”

Echo sighed. "No. And besides, I'm not even sure I can do what I want." He added, frowning at his scomp, which now replaced his right hand.

“Well, it's a good thing I'm here in that case, isn’t it?”

"You would help me?" Echo asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course." Rex replied immediately. "If you think my hands are steady enough to do what you want, I'll gladly help you paint your new armor."

Echo didn't respond immediately before nodding. Rex gave him a reassuring smile before nodding in turn.

“Okay, let's start at the beginning. What colors do you want on your armor?”

“I think I'll stick with the same theme as the guys. So black and red. And maybe white for the details.”

“Okay. We can start with the base and add the details later.”

Rex and Echo then set about painting this new armor, with Rex helping his brother decide what he wanted to do by asking the right questions.

He had always known that Echo could sometimes struggle to make decisions, especially when the answer was as open-ended as what to put on his new armor. For his first armor, Echo had Fives by his side to help him think things through, but since his twin was sadly no longer there to do so, Rex took on that role with honor. He might not know Echo quite as intimately as Fives, but he knew him well enough to be able to help him make these decisions.

That's how the two brothers painted the shoulder pieces red and made a red stripe in the middle of his breastplate and on his left forearm guard.

“That's the base. I don't want to add too much either.” Echo declared, placing down the shoulder pad he had just painted.

Rex nodded, finishing the forearm guard.

"Now there are the details." Echo thought. "That's where I think I'll need you."

Rex nodded, assuring him that he was there and gave him a little time because he knew his brother needed it.

"Would you be able to make the Bad Batch’s skull?" Echo asked.

Rex thought for a moment but couldn't quite visualize the design. And just as he opened his mouth to say that, a datapad practically fell into his hands, open to a holo of the skull Echo had been talking about.

Rex blinked, startled by the unexpected appearance of the datapad, and heard Echo chuckle "Thanks, Cross." before refocusing on Rex as if nothing had happened.

Rex shook his head and a small smile crept across his lips. He knew Crosshair was paying more attention to them than he let on. He then examined the design in his hands.

“I can do that. Where, in what color and what size?”

Echo tapped the upper left part of the breastplate, right at heart level. “Here, in white and about the size of a small fist, I think.”

"Are you making a target for future snipers who want to pierce your heart?" Rex teased, grabbing a fine brush and a pot of white paint.

Echo shrugged. "If a sniper wants to shoot me, they doesn't need a target to find my heart. And if they do, they’re not a very good sniper and are not worthy of trying to kill me."

Rex did not respond to that and concentrated on what he was doing.

After the skull on the chest plate, Rex wrote the 99 of the Bad Batch on Echo's helmet, right in the middle.

After that, Echo looked at his armor with a satisfied but not entirely convinced expression. Something was clearly missing, and Echo had that look of someone who knew what he wanted but wasn't sure it was the right choice, or even that he had the right to make that choice.

"What do you want to add next?" Rex encouraged.

"I... I don't know if it's a good idea." Echo mumbled, biting his lip.

“Echo, I'm not going to repeat the whole speech about the importance of our armor paint; I know you remember it word for word. If it's important to you, put it on your armor, regardless of what others think. If you want to put it on, it's a good idea, whatever it is.”

Echo did not respond immediately but eventually nodded, determined.

He grabbed his left forearm guard, the red paint of which was already dry, and showed the part just under the band, on the inside of his wrist.

"Can you... Can you make a 5 here?" He asked in a low voice, visibly emotional.

Rex would be lying if he said his eyes didn't burn for a few seconds. But it wasn't the time, so he swallowed his tears and nodded.

"Of course." He readily agreed, tracing the simple number.

Echo watched Rex trace that 5, that tribute to his twin, and decided that Fives clearly wasn't the only one he had lost and wanted to honor. And since Echo didn't have much space on his armor, given that his legs wouldn't need it, since Tech was going to integrate the armor directly into his legs, Echo decided that this forearm guard would become his tribute to his brothers.

He then directed Rex to draw the comma-like shapes Hevy had gotten tattooed when they arrived on Rishi. He also requested a target for DroidBait and the head of one of Rishi's eels for Cutup. He also added a teardrop for Tup, a V for Dogma, and a line and a dot for Hardcase.

When Rex had finished all that, there was almost no empty space left on the piece of armor, but it didn't matter. At least when Echo looked at his arm, he would remember all the brothers he had loved and lost.

Echo looked at the forearm guard and nodded with satisfaction. His memorial was complete. There was one last thing he wanted to add to his armor, but he wasn't sure how to ask, or even if Rex would agree.

Rex saw this and simply raised an eyebrow to encourage his brother.

Echo took a breath before launching into action. “Can you… Can you redo your hand?”

Rex hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected that this gesture, made almost without thinking the first time they met on Rishi, would be so significant for Echo. And sure, when he was with the 501st, Echo had asked him to redo his hand every time he needed to repaint his armor, but now that Echo was leaving the 501st to join the Bad Batch, Rex hadn't expected him to want his mark again.

"It's okay if you don't want to do it." Echo quickly assured him, misinterpreting his silence. "I'd understand. I'm not even part of your battalion anymore. That was stupid, forget what I just said."

There was no way Rex was going to let Echo get away with it like that, especially since it was something he clearly wanted. "Where and what color?" He asked simply.

“It's okay Rex, you don't have to-”

"Where and what color?" Rex repeated.

Echo held his gaze for a few seconds before a small, shy smile appeared on his pale lips. “White and in the same place, please.”

Rex nodded and, without any hesitation, plunged his left hand into the white paint, then placed it on Echo's breastplate, on the right.

Echo then observed his armor, finally finished, and let a tear slide down his cheek, moved by this new chapter of his life that was opening.

Rex wiped the remaining paint residue from his hand and placed it on the younger man's shoulder.

Echo did not remain still for long and turned his head to rest it on the blond man's shoulder, seeking a comfort he rarely allowed himself.

Rex did not remain still and closed his arms around his little brother, gently hugging him. “Even if you’re no longer part of my battalion, you’ll always be my little brother.” Rex said softly. “And I’ll always be there for you, even if I’m on the other side of the galaxy. You have my comm number; I want you to call if you need anything, even if it’s just to complain about the missions you have to do. I promise I’ll always answer.”

“Even if it's the middle of the night for you?”

“I would answer in the middle of a battle for you, Ey'ika.”

"Please don't answer in the middle of a battle. I don't want you to get hit by a blaster bolt because I distracted you." Echo protested.

Rex scoffed before continuing. “Okay. Not on the battlefield. But otherwise, yes, I would always answer, even in the middle of the night. I love late-night talks with my little brothers.”

Echo nodded and stayed in Rex's arms for a little while longer before stepping back and looking at his big brother.

"You may have new armor and a new squad, but you're still Echo, my brother." Rex assured.

Echo nodded, relieved not to lose Rex at the same time as he lost the 501st.

Joining the Bad Batch was a good idea, and he knew it—much better than staying with his original battalion—but he couldn't deny he'd miss Rex. He was reassured, though; Rex apparently wanted to forget him just as much as Echo did, which is to say, not at all, so it would be fine.

Umbara had been a total fiasco. Without their usual Jedi and on a hostile planet left to their own devices, the campaign had been long for the men of the 501st and 212th battalions.

And on top of that, it turned out that General Krell, called in to replace Skywalker as head of the 501st, was a fallen Jedi who was actually working with the Separatists.

It was because of him and his repugnant methods that the two battalions had ended up shooting at each other, convinced that those they were facing were Umbarans who had stolen their armor.

Cody doesn't even dare imagine the damage it would have caused if Rex had been a little less brilliant and hadn't realized the deception so quickly. But luckily for them, Rex was really that brilliant, and with some of his troopers, had discovered the deception and managed to contact Cody to warn him of what was really going on before the two battalions could meet on the battlefield and exterminate each other while thinking they were taking down the enemy.

Cody wasn't entirely sure how it all ended for the 501st, but he had learned, again from Rex, that one of his rookies had killed the Jedi responsible for all this violence. On one hand, Cody was relieved by this outcome, but he was also worried about Rex's trooper, Dogma, he thought. Killing a Natborn, even one who had turned out to be a traitor, was no small matter, and Cody really didn't want him to get into trouble for this act of bravery. He would have to talk to his own Jedi. General Kenobi deeply loved his men, and all the Vode, and Cody knew he would help him.

As soon as he could, he needed to find time to debrief with Rex so that he could then report back to Kenobi on the whole situation. Kenobi liked the Vode, and he was influential among the Jedi. If Cody could convince him of Dogma's innocence, or at least the righteousness of his actions, then he knew Kenobi would do everything in his power and more to ensure nothing happened to Dogma.

From what he understood, Dogma wasn't the only member of the 501st who could get into trouble for disobeying their corrupt Jedi's orders. Cody didn't know everything, but he had heard about Tup, Dogma's twin, who had helped subdue Krell. Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase had also conducted a parallel operation to destroy a Separatist supply ship, with Hardcase barely escaping.

Cody really needed to check in with Rex to get the list of troopers he would have to give to Kenobi so that the latter could make sure they were not decommissioned.

But he could do that later because, for now, he had other priorities. Indeed, before taking care of his little brother's battalion, Cody had to take care of his own. Because even though it could have been much worse, the Battle of Umbara had still been hellish, and there had been a lot of casualties in the ranks of the 212th. They had lost many men, even more were wounded, and the rest were traumatized by the violence of the campaign.

After campaigns like this, Cody put his paperwork aside to focus on his men. He knew he wouldn't get much sleep tonight, busy with all his administrative tasks, but that didn't matter. His men needed him, needed to know he was with them, that he was suffering with them, that he was just as affected as they were by this disastrous campaign. If he had to lose a few nights of sleep to show them his support, he would do it without hesitation.

That's how, barely having left the atmosphere of Umbara, Cody began his rounds, stopping at each dorm and offering a few words of comfort to his troopers. More than ever, he was encouraging contact between his men.

Cody entered the third dorm of his tour to find a scene similar to the previous ones. The twenty or so troopers were gathered in a corner of the large room, mattresses and blankets moved to form a protective cocoon.

The troopers looked up when Cody entered the room and there was a moment of hesitation before one of them, a young trooper with curly hair that reached his shoulders, jumped to his feet. "Commander Cody, sir!" He exclaimed, snapping to attention, his comrades immediately imitating him.

"At ease, Waves." Cody assured the first trooper. "No need to stand at attention, not now."

Waves, not quite knowing how to react but not wanting to disobey his Commander, lowered his arm but did not really relax. At a glance, Cody saw that the other troopers weren't any better.

"You... You've come for an inspection, Commander?" Star, who was called that because of the star-shaped scar he had on his left cheek, asked.

“Absolutely not, Star, far from it. I just came to see how you were doing. I know the campaign on Umbara has been very tough for all of us. I wanted to make sure everyone is as well as possible.”

There was another brief silence in the room before Star sighed. “We… We're doing the best we can, sir. It's complicated, but at least we haven't lost anyone from our team. I know others haven't been as lucky as us.”

Cody nodded. Indeed. Few teams had returned intact. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring back their lost brothers. But he could support them through this ordeal.

And rather than letting his men gather in small groups, each in their own barracks, Cody had an idea.

"Wait a minute." He asked, before turning slightly and taking out his comm, sending the call to his Jedi.

"Cody, what can I do for you, my dear?" Obi-Wan asked, quickly picking up his comm.

“Do you know how long we are in transit, Sir?”

“Oh, at least three days. We're leaving for Coruscant. The journey should go smoothly.”

“Perfect. Permission to requisition the loading bays, sir?”

There was a brief silence before Obi-Wan responded. “Well, I don't think we'll need it in the next few days. Agreed, Commander.”

“Thank you General, I will give you a report on the situation as soon as possible.”

“I have no doubts, Cody, I trust you.”

Cody hung up quickly but entered a new code.

Boxes, the hangar manager, answered immediately. “Commander, Cody, sir?”

“Requisition of loading bays, Boxes. Cuddle Stack Protocol.”

"On it, Commander." The trooper readily agreed.

Communication then cut out and Cody turned back to the group of troopers he was with, who were looking at him as if a new head had grown on him.

"Um... What is the Cuddle Pile Protocol, sir?" Waves asked hesitantly.

“Instead of staying in our own little groups, we'll be together tonight. The Cuddle Pile protocol requires clearing and reorganizing the cargo bays to accommodate all the troopers on this ship. So grab your blankets and pillows and head to the main cargo bay, troopers. A sleepover is in the works.”

"A battalion-wide sleepover?" Luca, a trooper with short red hair, repeated visibly excited.

“Affirmative, trooper. I'll leave you now; I must warn the others. I will, of course, join you.”

Cody quickly left that dorm and headed towards the next one, spreading the word about the Cuddle Pile protocol.

In less than two hours, the loading bays no longer resembled storage areas, but a vast dormitory. Some soldiers had brought thin mattresses from the barracks, but the majority had made do with blankets and pillows and were huddled together.

There were always groups, since it was impossible for the several thousand soldiers to all be together, but at least they were all gathered in the same place. Cody would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying it as much as his men. Right there, like that, he had all his brothers before his eyes. He could watch over them all at once without moving from that spot.

But even though almost all the troopers were gathered here, a few were still missing. There were those who ensured the Negotiator's smooth operation even during the night shifts and who, unfortunately, couldn't leave their posts to join the Cuddle Pile. But these troopers weren't alone either, and Cody had arranged for no one to be alone that night, with groups of at least three vode together, regardless of their assigned post.

And there were also the vode from the medbay, who were too injured to get out of there and join the Cuddle Pile.

Cody hadn't been to the medbay yet to do his rounds today, so that's where he headed when the Cuddle Pile was installed.

"Commander, need anything?" Ivy greeted as Cody entered the medbay.

“I don't need anything, Ivy, I'm just making my rounds. If any of you would like and are able to, the Cuddle Pile protocol has been implemented in the loading bays.”

Ivy looked up from the datapad she was holding to look at her Commander. “I will spread the word. But I fear few of us will be able to join you. This campaign has been catastrophic and many of our vode are in need of intensive care.”

"I'm well aware of that." Cody agreed. "Would it be possible to make an exception to the rules so that those who can't leave the medbay are allowed at least one visitor for the entire night? If possible, I'd like to avoid anyone spending the night alone.”

Ivy did not respond immediately but turned her head towards Helix, the CMO, who had approached upon seeing Cody talking with one of his medics.

Helix frowned but finally let out a small sigh. "One visitor. And they must not interfere with the treatment. And they must leave the room if we ask them to." Agreed Helix.

“These rules will be followed.” Cody assured. “I’ll do my rounds and break the news to our wounded. As I told Ivy, the Cuddle Pile protocol has been implemented in the cargo bays. I know you might not be able to go there, so if you’d like to have a batchmate or a comrade who isn’t working in the medbay with you tonight, that’s possible.”

Helix nodded but did not respond verbally, going back to what he was doing before Cody arrived.

Cody, meanwhile, began his rounds in the infirmary, visiting all the injured vode, from Nima who had a bad concussion, to Spark, who had had a leg torn off, to Gal, whom they were not sure they could save because of the shrapnel in their chest.

Cody spent a few minutes with each of them, telling them they were allowed one visitor for the entire night. Cody made a few calls, asking the vode in question to come and join their friends at the medbay.

To finish his tour, Cody went to Waxer, who had been wounded by the men of the 501st who had mistaken him for an Umbaran. That's how Rex realized the deception and was able to stop his men before they opened fire on the 212th's vode.

Waxer was the only one wounded by friendly blasters. Fortunately for him, Kix, the 501st's CMO, was on Umbara and not far from him when he was wounded and was able to treat Waxer on the spot, stabilizing him enough to be brought back to the Negotiator, where Press, Hemo, and Boney were able to save him.

Cody didn’t remember his lieutenant's exact injuries, but he knew it had been a close call. When Cody arrived in the right room, he wasn't really surprised to see that Waxer wasn't alone.

“Boil.” He said simply, closing the door behind him.

Boil, who had not heard him enter, jumped and raised his head. "Commander." He saluted simply, straightening in his chair without actually standing up. "Do you need anything? I know I'm not supposed to stay here overnight, but Boney said I could stay a few more hours. I don't—"

"Everything's okay, Boil." Cody interrupted gently. "I spoke to Helix and you can stay here all night if you want."

The relief was clearly visible on Boil's face. "Really?" He asked, not really daring to believe it.

“Really. The Cuddle Pile Protocol has been activated, but I know some of our vod can't leave the medbay. That doesn't mean they have to stay alone. Helix has agreed to allow a permanent visitor for tonight, provided they don't interfere with care and obey the medics' instructions without question.”

"Of course." Boil assured him immediately. "I don't want to leave him, but I don't want to prevent him from receiving care either. Absolutely not." He added, refocusing his attention on Waxer.

Cody also took this moment to focus on his injured lieutenant. Waxer was currently unconscious and had an oxygen mask on his face. He had a few scratches on his face and his complexion was pale, but that was all Cody could see. Several tubes and lines were attached to his body, but all were hidden by the sheet and blanket covering him.

"How is he?" Cody finally asked.

"As well as possible." Boil replied, taking Waxer's hand in his own again and squeezing it gently. "I don't remember all the details, but his stomach and intestines were affected. Hemo assured me he'll survive, but it's still too early to say what condition he'll be in, or if he'll still be fit for service."

Boil had uttered that last sentence in an anguished whisper, and Cody understood. For them clones, being unfit for service could be worse than death. But fortunately, they had a General who didn't decommission them the moment they lost their perfect effectiveness.

“No matter his condition or what he needs, he'll have it. Even if he can no longer serve in the field, we won't abandon him. And even if Waxer never sets foot on a battlefield again, his expertise and skills are numerous and he’s still valuable. I promise you he won't leave the 212th and you won't be separated. I'll personally see to that, and I know the General agrees with me.”

Boil didn't respond, unsure of what to say and moved by his Commander's words. He knew Kenobi cared about his men, and Cody even more so, but hearing it spoken aloud was something else entirely. Hearing clearly that, regardless of his injuries, Waxer would stay with the 212th, with Boil, was an incredible relief.

The relief was so great that Boil felt a tear roll down his cheek.

Cody, the observant bastard, obviously spotted it too. And if Boil hoped his Commander would say nothing and let it slide, he was wrong. “Boil.” Cody called, placing a hand on his lieutenant's shoulder.

Boil did not respond and closed his eyes to try to stem the coming tears.

"Boil, look at me." Cody insisted.

The lieutenant shook his head sharply, fresh tears escaping from his eyes.

"Come here." Cody demanded, gently forcing Boil to let go off Waxer's hand, which he was gripping tightly. "Come here. That's an order." Cody added in a mock-stern voice.

Boil stifled something that sounded more like a sob than a laugh but eventually gave in, letting Cody manipulate him and soon finding himself embraced by his Commander, his face buried in his neck and his hands gripping his shirt tightly.

"Everything's going to be alright." Cody assured him, putting an arm around Boil's shoulders, his other hand in his hair, pulling him close. "Waxer's going to be fine, and everything's going to be alright, I promise."

"I was so scared." Boil confessed, his voice breaking. "When I heard he was seriously injured, I... I thought I'd never see him again."

“I know. I know what he means to you, and I understand your fear. But I promise you, everything is going to be okay. Waxer is doing as well as he can be and is receiving the best possible care. He has the best support group possible. He has incredible friends who will be there for him no matter what, and he has you. Whatever he needs, he won't be alone, and I know you'll be by his side. So everything will be alright. And you're not alone either, don't forget that. I'm here to help you, and so is the rest of the Ghost Company. Wooley was really worried about you.”

Boil stifled a small, strangled laugh. "Soft baby Wooley." He chuckled. "He worries far too much about others."

“He does. But don't worry too much about him, he was in good company with Crys, Gearshift and Longshot.”

Boil didn't respond and instead leaned further into his older brother commander's arms. The two men didn't move until another voice rang out in the room.

“Boil? Cody?”

The two officers immediately turned to the bed to see that Waxer was awake, at least partly, but had his brows furrowed.

“Hey.” Boil said softly, pulling away from Cody and sitting back down by the other man's bedside, taking his hand in his.

Waxer frowned. "Are you alright?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

“You’re the one asking that? I'm not the one stuck in a hospital bed.”

"No, but I’m not crying in Cody's arms." ​​Waxer retorted.

Boil shook his head but managed to smile, running a finger over Waxer's eyebrows. "Everything's fine, I promise. I'm fine and so are you." He assured gently.

Waxer held his gaze for a moment before nodding slightly and letting his gaze move until it met Cody's, who was looking at the two men with a tender smile. “Glad to see you awake, Lieutenant.”

"Glad to be awake, Commander." Waxer replied.

Cody gave him one last smile. “With that, I'll leave you gentlemen. Remember to call the medics if necessary.”

"Promise, Cody." Boil assured him, Waxer nodding gently.

Cody nodded in turn, looked at the two men one last time before leaving the room. They would be fine; they weren't alone.

Cody exchanged a few nods with the medics he passed on his way out and was pleased to see a few other vode, keeping the medics on duty company.

Relieved and knowing that no one would spend the night alone, Cody left the medbay and headed towards the loading bays. He had promised he would return and spend the night with his troops, after all.

However, before reaching the hangars, Cody came face to face with his Jedi. "General." He saluted simply.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Hello there, Cody, I was just looking for you, dear."

“Did you need anything, sir? I haven't started the paperwork of this campaign yet, but I promise to-”

“No, no, don't worry about that for now.” Obi-Wan shut down. “I know this campaign has been trying for all of you; the paperwork can wait a few days. No, I wanted to ask something else.”

“Well, ask away, General.”

“While walking through the corridors, I heard several vode talking about a particular protocol and I was wondering about it, that is all.”

"What protocol, sir?" Cody inquired, even though he had an idea.

“Cuddle Pile Protocol. If this is something private, I don't have to know all the ins and outs, but I admit I'm curious.”

Cody hesitated for a moment before deciding that showing him what it was would be more effective and clearer than trying to explain it to Obi-Wan. Besides, he trusted his Jedi; everything would be fine.

"Follow me." He invited Obi-Wan, heading towards the observation docks of the loading bays.

Having an overview of the situation would help Obi-Wan get an idea of ​​what was happening.

Obi-Wan, although curious, asked no further questions and simply followed his Commander.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination and without a word, Cody pointed to the cargo bays through the observation windows. The thousands of soldiers who made up the 212th were gathered in small groups, talking among themselves, sleeping huddled together, or doing other quiet activities of that kind.

“Here is the Cuddle Pile Protocol, Sir.”

“I see. That also explains the request to requisition the loading bays that you submitted to me earlier.”

“Affirmative. The campaign on Umbara was brutal, and while many losses were avoided when Captain Rex uncovered the fallen Jedi's machinations, we lost a great many vode. I felt that gathering together this evening would be most beneficial. I have also authorized the vode who cannot be here due to their obligations to have one or two vode with them tonight. This includes the wounded from the medbay, the medics, and those ensuring the Negotiator's continuous operation.”

Obi-Wan nodded, letting his gaze sweep over the scene before him before continuing. “Is this the first time this protocol has been activated on the Negotiator?”

“It is, General. Because despite its positive effects on troop morale, this protocol is lengthy to implement and leaves us vulnerable. However, I felt that tonight, the advantages of initiating this protocol outweigh the risks.”

Obi-Wan nodded again and let his gaze wander over the ocean of life before him. To savor it even more, the Jedi closed his eyes, focusing on the thousands of Force signatures nearby. To him, each being, each vode, was like a star of light and heat. When they gathered together, the vode formed galaxies, clusters of stars. Observing them in this way gave Obi-Wan the same feeling as stargazing in the dark of night on a peaceful planet.

And despite the horrors of the last campaign, he felt at peace.

Cody watched his Jedi watch and admire the scene unfolding beneath them and couldn't help but smile as he noticed Obi-Wan relax as he observed the vode, both with his eyes and with the Force.

The Cuddle Pile Protocol's primary purpose was to boost the morale of its troops, but if their Jedi also benefited from it, that was definitely a bonus point.

For as long as he could remember, Echo had always been with Fives. Even when they were cadets, they were inseparable. They were only 2 years old (4 developmentally) and they were already together. Twins from the same tube, a rarity on Kamino.

This rarity could have caused them to be decommissioned at a very young age, but when they were only a few hours old and the Kaminoans were questioning their viability, Kal Skirata, a Mandalorian member of the Cuy'Val Dar, a group of mercenaries hired by Jango Fett to train his clone army, intervened and allowed Echo and Fives to survive at least long enough for them to prove their worth.

And Echo and Fives had proven their worth. And fortunately, they weren't alone; their fellow batch-mates were with them, accompanying them every step of the way.

Hevy, twenty minutes older than them, often fooled around to draw the Kaminoans' attention to himself and not the twins, while also being careful not to draw too much attention to himself. After all, if he was decommissioned, there would be no one left to look after his little brothers.

Cutup, fifteen minutes older than them, was the mediator. He was the one who connected Hevy and the twins, between their protective but fiery older brother and Fives, who was quite a hothead as well.

And finally, Droidbait, or DB for short, five minutes younger than them. The youngest of the group, and also the most discreet. Echo liked DB; he didn't shout all the time like Fives and Hevy, and he was easy to talk to.

In their squad there were the hotheads with fiery tempers (Hevy and Fives), the calm observers (Echo and DB) and Cutup, the in-between, who was as comfortable in the chaos of Fives and Hevy as in the calm of DB and Echo.

And while the 5 brothers, despite their differences, were very close, it was nothing compared to the relationship between Echo and Fives, who were simply inseparable.

Fives was Echo's voice when his words betrayed him and he could no longer speak, and Echo was Fives' anchor, soothing him and keeping him calm in all circumstances.

In general, Echo wasn't a noisy person. If they had 10 minutes to carry out a simulation, Echo preferred to remain motionless for 5 minutes, observing the scene from every angle and thinking about one or more plans before acting, unlike some of his brothers who preferred to rush into things without really taking the time to think about what they were doing.

And if Hevy sometimes made fun of Echo for thinking too much for his own good, he too had learned to appreciate this side of his brother and if Hevy quickly found himself in the informal position of team leader, Echo was the strategist, there was no doubt about that.

And even though everyone knew it, there was only one person who never forgot how valuable Echo really was, and that was Fives, Echo's twin, his other half.

After years of training, the day of the final test arrived. This test would determine whether they would leave Kamino to join a GAR division or remain as Cadets on Kamino. And the Domino Squad failed miserably at this test.

Once back in their dormitory, each of the 5 Dominos had a very different attitude. Hevy was pacing back and forth, muttering; DB was curled up in a ball in his bed, devastated; Echo was sitting on the floor, his back against a bunk and gently rocking back and forth, his eyes closed; Fives was sitting on the bunk against which Echo was leaning, his arms crossed and his brows furrowed; and Cutup was lying like a starfish on his bed, staring at the uniform ceiling.

Apart from the sound of Hevy's footsteps on the cold, metallic floor and the "thump, thump" of Echo's back against the bunk, there was silence in the cold room.

Then, perhaps after an hour of not really saying anything, Hevy suddenly changed direction and came to stand in front of Echo, arms crossed.

Echo didn't even notice his older brother's presence and didn't change his pace. And rather than taking offense or interrupting him, Hevy looked at Fives and gave Echo a small nod.

Fives nodded but did not act immediately, observing Echo for a few minutes without moving before gently moving his leg, causing Echo's left shoulder to rub against his right knee.

It took him a few more minutes, but Echo finally stopped rocking and looked up, briefly meeting Hevy's eyes before fixing his gaze somewhere on Hevy's forehead, a sign that he was listening to him.

Taking that as his signal, Hevy finally opened his mouth. “What did we do wrong?”

“Hmm?”

“We failed the test. Completely. You're our strategist, Echo, I know you know what we did wrong. And I know you know what we need to do to pass this test.”

“Are you ready to listen to him this time, or are you just going to sulk when he questions your practices?” Fives asked sharply, always ready to defend his twin brother.

Hevy rolled his eyes in irritation but swallowed his pride before replying. “We tried my method, and it clearly didn't work. We have to try something else if we want any chance of leaving this ocean of misery. I think—no, I know—that Echo is our best strategist. If we have a chance of passing this test, he has the solution. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to spend my life here, so if we have a chance to leave this cursed planet, I want to take it.”

Echo did not respond immediately before nodding his head, determined. “If we want to pass this test, we need to work together.” He said simply before standing up.

Hevy nodded, determined in his turn.

“DB, Cutup, come over here, it's time to review our plan.” Fives called, looking at their two remaining brothers. It took them a minute or two, but soon the 5 Dominoes were gathered, listening to Echo’s plan on how to succeed in this dreadful test.

About an hour later, 99 arrived at the Domino dormitory, having heard about their disastrous performance on the final test and wanting to offer them some advice for success next time. However, when he found them all gathered around Echo, who was outlining his plan for their success, 99 decided that, in the end, these kids didn't need him. If they learned to work together and build on each other's strengths while compensating for each other's weaknesses, they would go far, he had no doubt.

And indeed, when the Domino Squad retook the final test, they passed with flying colors. At the start of the simulation, Echo had taken a few minutes to carefully analyze each element, his four brothers protecting him and forming a barrier around him without trying to advance without him.

When Echo had established his strategy, he quickly explained it to Fives, who was able to translate his twin's wishes, and Hevy took command following the twins’ plan.

And by working together, making sure no one was left behind, the Domino Squad aced the simulation, even finishing ahead of schedule.

And that’s how the 5 brothers left Kamino, to join Rishi station, their first assignment.

And while they were initially bored to tears, they quickly found a way to occupy their time: training to face any scenario. Cutup spent hours brainstorming increasingly improbable scenarios, and the five brothers then worked tirelessly to ensure they could survive any of them should they ever happen in real life.

And this pastime, although unusual for the Shinies that they were, proved very useful when the Rishi station was invaded by the Separatists.

If they hadn’t trained together so thoroughly, DB would have advanced towards the gate first and been cut down by the blasters of those damn droids. But instead, his first instinct wasn’t to head for the gate, but to move closer to his brothers, the five men adopting a defensive rather than an offensive formation.

Dying for the Republic was in their genes, but living one more day to continue defending it was far more valuable.

It was by staying united and thinking together that the 5 Dominoes managed to evacuate the base, finding themselves in the hostile atmosphere of Rishi.

And it was once again because they stayed together that they heard the giant eel come out of its hole. If they had been more scattered and less focused, perhaps Cutup would have been swallowed whole by that infamous creature, but as it was, since they were all attentive to each other, they managed to repel the eel and escape from that monster without losing any members of their squad.

Together they saw an allied ship heading towards the Rishi station, now in the hands of the Separatists. Together they met Commander Cody and Captain Rex. And the seven of them brainstormed how they could retake the base and warn the admiral ships that something serious was happening on Rishi.

As soon as he had all the information about the situation, Echo sat down on the ground, rocking slightly back and forth, his back touching Fives’ legs with each movement. Fives remained rooted to the spot, providing the solid presence his twin needed to stay grounded in reality. Without needing to say anything, Cutup and DB positioned themselves to the left and right of the twins, protecting their flanks, while Hevy positioned himself with his back to Fives, watching their rear.

"What is this formation, troopers?" Rex asked, faced with this more than disconcerting attitude.

“Echo is our strategist, but he needs a few minutes to think about the best course of action. Our role is to make sure nothing happens to him during that time. We’re protecting him so he can save us with his plan. Teamwork.” Hevy replied, without moving from his position.

Rex and Cody exchanged a surprised glance, but satisfied smiles quickly spread across their faces. These Shinies had potential, so they decided to trust them.

And when a new eel leaped from its hole before Echo had finished his analysis, Fives, Cutup, DB, and Hevy moved as one, directing their blaster fire at the creature. Rex and Cody joined the action, and the eel was finally defeated, collapsing just a few meters from the Dominos.

As if nothing had happened, Echo nodded and stood up, exchanging a few words with Fives that neither Rex nor Cody understood. Fives nodded, listening attentively to his twin before relaying his instructions.

"Our best chance of survival is to receive aid from the Republic ships in orbit. The Separatists have likely hacked the station's signal to transmit a permanent ‘all clear’ and have also jammed all our communications. To send a distress signal, we must destroy the entire base. Only then will the ‘all clear’ signal be cut and your will Jedi know something is happening here.” Fives translated.

Rex and Cody exchanged a slightly surprised look. “Is this your plan, rookie?” Rex asked, approaching Echo.

“Yes, sir. This is only a draft. I don't have all the elements that would allow us to take over the base and blow it up.”

“That's already a good start.”

Rex then placed his hand on the slain eel, covering it with blue alien blood. “You're no longer Cadets, and you're no longer Shinies. You're now part of the GAR. And we need strategists like you.” Rex declared, placing his bloodied hand on Echo's chest, leaving a blue hand-print there.

Echo flinched slightly at the unexpected contact but didn’t react much, much to Fives’ surprise, who knew his twin didn’t always handle unexpected contact well. Hevy and DB also tensed, but when Echo signaled that everything was alright, they returned to their positions.

“Now, all we have to do is figure out how to blow up this base without blowing ourselves up with it. And to do that, we first need to take the base back from those clankers.” Echo re-centered.

“I have a little idea of ​​how to do it.” Rex replied, gesturing for the others to follow him.

Using Rex’s plan, which involved disguising themselves as droids using a deactivated clanker head, the 7 clones successfully recaptured Rishi’s base.

And when DB thought of using the liquid tibanna tanks to amplify the few detonators they had, Hevy had time to develop a functional remote detonator, which he managed to do despite a small setback.

That’s how, a few dozen minutes later, when Separatist reinforcements threatened to invade the base again, the Domino Squad, assisted by Rex and Cody, completely blew up Rishi’s station, which led to the arrival of the Republic fleet in less than 2 minutes.

Faced with the arrival of the Republic, the Separatist fleet did not remain on site for very long and our 7 clones were boarded on the Resolute without problems.

“Your new unit is lucky to have you. I will be proud to fight alongside you, anytime, anywhere.” General Skywalker congratulated them before he and General Kenobi took their leave, leaving Hevy, Cutup, Echo, Fives, and DB in the company of Captain Rex and Commander Cody.

“You're definitely not Shinies anymore. And you're exactly the kind of men I need in the 501st. Unless you want to take them away from me, Cody?” Rex challenged.

“No, I think they’ll be perfect with you. Dominos, it’s time to spread your wings!”

“Sir, yes, sir!” The 5 brothers replied in unison, more than delighted to be integrated into one of the most prestigious battalions of the GAR.