Got it Bad for the Bad Batch

The message that had been sent to Senator Chuchi proved to be from Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, who had been secretly helping her efforts under the radar. Riyo informed Senator Organa of the basic goings-on with her operation with the Clones and that she hoped other Senators had helpful information that could help take down Admiral Rampart. In turn, he suggested one person who might be able to help her: Halle Burtoni, the former Senator of Kamino. Organa mentioned that, before being removed from office, Burtoni had once been a part of the Defense Finance Committee, so if they followed the money, it could lead to some evidence against Rampart. He warned, however, that Burtoni might not be very cooperative, to which Kida reassured him that such a thing wouldn’t be an issue. Riyo, Omega and Kimber retreated back to Riyo’s private apartments while she sent Kida and the other Pantoran guard to invite Burtoni to meet them. Time was running short and the Rampart’s bill would be put to a vote the following day, so they needed to act fast.

Eventually, the door to Riyo’s apartment swished open and in walked Burtoni with Kida and the guard. Kimber instinctively clenched her jaw at seeing that Burtoni was a Kaminoan, which in hindsight, she should’ve expected. Burtoni was tall, just like all Kaminoans, but her posture was hunched slightly as she was a much older Kaminoan. She wore a gray formal dress with green embellishments and a leather headband that had jewelry hanging on both sides.

“Are armed guards really necessary?” Burtoni asked in a raspy voice, gesturing to the two behind her. 

Riyo gave a nod to the one Pantoran guard, who exited the room and closed the door behind him. Burtoni got a confused look on her face as Kida removed her helmet and gave a shake of her hair.

“Oh, I’m not a guard, so I don’t need to go anywhere,” she said casually.

Burtoni took a seat in a chair by the door while Riyo and Omega sat on the sofa. Kimber and Kida remained standing. Riyo then asked about some missing Senate appropriation funds that had been specifically designated for the cloning operations and facilities on Kamino, saying the funds had been siphoned off for over the past year. When asked if she knew about that, Burtoni responded that she did know.

“Where did the money go? Who diverted the funds?” Riyo questioned.

However, Burtoni turned to her and chided her, her body and voice shaking from age, “You're a fool to bring me here. Do you know what happens when you dig around where you shouldn't?”

“Your people deserve to--” 

“My people are gone. The few remaining Kaminoans scattered throughout the galaxy are of no importance to me, and therefore, not my concern.”

Something about her dismissive demeanor only reminded Kimber of Lama Su and Nala Se’s own arrogance from a long time ago. Was haughtiness just a trait of all Kaminoans? 

Right then, Omega questioned Burtoni, “How can you not care about what happened on Kamino?” 

“Why do you care, child?” Burtoni asked back, annoyed. 

“Because I'm a Clone, too. It was my home,” Omega told her. Then her tone grew more heated as she went on to say, “I was there. I saw the Empire destroy everything and I'm angry. What they did, it's not right.”

Kimber then stepped forward. “I was on Kamino, too. There needs to be justice for what actually happened,” she stated firmly. 

“Who are you?” Burtoni asked.

“Someone who cares greatly about the Clones and, as my young friend said, Kamino was their home,” Kimber replied. “The Empire is a menace to this galaxy and they can’t be allowed to get away with what they did to Tipoca City. That was only the beginning. Who’s to say they won’t destroy the next city that they deem an inconvenience just because they can?” She took another step forward. “You can help make this right, Senator Burtoni. Please, you must,” she nearly begged. 

Senator Burtoni was silent for a brief moment before saying, her tone becoming more ominous, “I suspected an attack was imminent. Lama Su was arrogant; too confident his Clones were a necessity to the Empire…but none of us are.” 

“Did Admiral Rampart divert the funds?” Riyo asked, hoping for a direct answer.

Burtoni turned to her. “You already know the answer…but yes.” 

After that, Riyo implored her to testify in front of the Senate the next day to indict Rampart on his crimes, but Burtoni insisted that her word wouldn’t do them any good.

“You need concrete proof,” Burtoni told her. 

“I need both…and I'm running out of time,” Riyo said desperately.

Kida added, “We already have a team working on procuring physical evidence. They’ll come through, but we still need your help, Burtoni. The more evidence we have against Rampart, the better.”

Burtoni still kept silent…but her expression seemed much more contemplative than before.

Down in the maintenance tunnels of Coruscant, the Clones and Lex were making their way through to the underbelly of the shipyard where they’d find Rampart’s Venator. Rex led the way, knowing right where to lead them. The tunnels were dark and somewhat treacherous in spots, especially once they got under the shipyard with running engines and electricity running through them. 

They climbed up a ladder into a dark, empty room that was only lit by the lights in the floor and in the walls. As they all came up, they withdrew their weapons, readying themselves for anything, while Tech ran over to the singular console in the center of the room and Wrecker got to working on opening up the hatch in the ceiling above them at Hunter’s command. Sparks flew down as he started sawing through the hatch door with his laser tool. 

“Haven't been in these maintenance tunnels since the war,” Rex remarked, looking around. 

“Gotta say, Rex, Coruscant's the last place I'd expect you to be,” Echo told him. 

“Yeah, not exactly helping your low profile, if you ask me,” commented Lex, giving her vibroblade a spin.  

“It's worth the risk,” Rex said back. He looked back at Echo. “More and more of our brothers are waking up to what's been done to them. I can't turn my back on them.” 

“How many have you reached?” Echo asked him. 

“Not enough,” Rex answered, his arms folding across his chest. “Troopers who know too much are a liability to the Empire. I'm working with a few contacts I trust, but we're spread pretty thin.” His face fell and he hung his head. “Help's hard to come by these days.”

Out of the corner of Lex’s eye, she saw Echo’s head fall slightly. Despite his helmet covering his face, she was able to picture the expression he most likely had underneath it: one of guilt and sorrow. She knew how hard it must be for him to hear the struggles of his other Clone brothers throughout the galaxy. 

She laid a hand on Echo’s arm as Rex moved away to keep eyes out for anything. “They’ll all be okay. Rex has resources; I’m sure he’ll be able to find more people to help all your brothers.”

Echo sighed. “I know…but what if it’s still not enough?”

“It will be. You trust Rex, don’t you?”

“You know I do.”

“Then that’s all you need. Trust that he’ll rescue the other Clones who need help. He’s got this.” Then she leaned in a bit closer to him and whispered. “While we’re waiting, can I please talk to you?”

“Is this really a good time to do this, Lex?”

“When else are we gonna have a chance?” 

Echo sighed quietly. “All right. Go ahead.”

Shyly, Lex asked him, “Can you please…take your helmet off? I want to see your face.”

His head tilted a tiny bit, but then he did as she asked and removed his helmet, his pale, handsome face and golden eyes coming into view. 

“Echo…what I want to say isn’t easy for me,” she began, “but I’ve been mulling over this for days now.”

He looked at her intently, waiting for her to go on.

“First, I want to say…that I’m--”

“Got it!” Wrecker declared just then as he pulled the hatch open, the metal creaking loudly. As he looked up, his helmet then illuminated in red, he grumbled, “Great…ray shields.”

“Leave it to me,” stated Tech, turning back to the console and plugging his datapad into it.

Echo turned again to Lex and said quietly, “Listen, we’ll talk later, all right?” Without waiting for a response, he walked towards the console, slipping his helmet back on.

Lex’s hands balled up into fists. “Karabast…!” she cursed through clenched teeth.

As Hunter asked Rex how they were getting onto Rampart’s Venator, Rex told him, “I’m taking a lesson from your squad…we improvise.”

Sauntering over to them, Lex commented to him, “Well, look who’s embracing the chaos. I knew I always liked you, Cap.”

“You guys know I’m not a Captain anymore, right? You don’t have to keep calling me that,” he said. 

She smirked. “Would you rather I call you ‘stiff’ like Rina?”

He blinked for a second and then said, “Point taken.”

With a couple more taps of the keys on his datapad, Tech managed to disable the ray shields and they all climbed another ladder to the outside, finding themselves now in the middle of the Imperial shipyard. It was now late at night, so it was dark out, save for any of the overhead lights throughout the yard. They all snuck through as best they could, ducking behind pillars underneath a walkway to stay out of sight of the troopers patrolling the area. Though, there were quite a few of them and it was a more open area than the Clones expected. 

Echo observed aloud that there wasn’t enough cover for them and they wouldn’t be able to sneak through undetected. Right in front of them, one of the repulsorlift platforms lifted off the ground into the air and flew away in the opposite direction…which gave Hunter an idea.

“Not on foot,” he said. 

Another repulsorlift platform was powering up a couple yards away from them and just as the engines fired up, Hunter gave the signal for everyone to move. The Clones all booked it towards the platform. Echo slid under it first and grabbed onto one of the metal legs as the platform lifted off the ground, followed by Rex beside him. Hunter and Tech jumped onto the legs on the opposite side while Wrecker grabbed the middle one between Echo and Rex. Lex took up the rear and jumped up towards the side Hunter and Tech were on. She missed it just by an inch, but Hunter was quick to catch her by the hand and haul her up just before the platform took off at a high speed.

“Thanks for the save, Hunter,” she said as she climbed up onto the leg.

“No problem,” he said back. Then he pulled out his own blade, plunged it up into a panel above him, pulled it open and then handed Tech a cable that fell out from inside. Tech proceeded to plug it into his datapad and started working on it yet again.

As they held on to the bottom of the flying platform, Lex stole a look across the way at Echo while overhearing Wrecker groaning and telling himself not to look down. The poor guy….

“He’s still not better with heights?” she heard Rex ask Echo.

“This is him better,” Echo answered. 

Then right beside her, she heard Hunter quietly say her name. “You okay?” he asked her when she looked at him, just loud enough for her to hear him over the wind. 

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m all right.”

“Listen, Lex…you two are gonna be fine,” he calmly reassured her. 

Her gaze turned away. She figured someone was going to notice her earlier attempt at talking to Echo and it didn’t surprise her that Hunter had been the one to do so. “I really hope so,” she said.

“I know you want to work things out, but…maybe this isn’t the best place for that,” he told her.

“Dangling a hundred feet in the air on the bottom of a repulsorlift? Yeah, I figured,” she replied. 

He let out a small chuckle. “I meant here on Coruscant.”

He was about to keep going when Tech spoke up on his other side, “I’ve bypassed the controls. Hang on.”

Now under Tech’s control, the platform picked up speed and then deviated off in another direction. Lex tightened her grip on the leg she stood on to keep from falling off. She heard a couple beeps from Tech’s datapad and the platform jolted as it suddenly veered further upward towards the sky. Hunter lost his hold and started to slip, but Lex reached across, grabbed his arm and pulled him back up.

“Tech…?” Hunter growled in frustration. 

The platform flew up a bit higher and then leveled out a couple feet above the surface of the Venator they were looking for. A few seconds later, Tech disconnected the cable and called out for everyone to jump. They all let go and dropped down onto the Venator, hitting the ground and rolling before getting back up to their feet and continuing forward. They ran until they reached an exterior door, where they all knelt down to stay out of sight while Tech hacked into the controls for the door. 

Lex glanced at Echo at the same time he looked at her. Neither said anything, but Echo gave her a distinct nod, which she returned. Seconds later, the door opened up and they all quietly went through. 

They were now inside Rampart’s Venator. 

The corridors were dark and near silent, save for the occasional distant comm chatter from patrolling Imperial troops. The Clones and Lex stealthily made their way through the hallways, their weapons drawn. Every so often, they halted at Rex’s signal to wait for patrols to go by so they weren’t spotted. 

They came to one large set of doors when Rex stopped, prompting everyone else to follow suit, and he looked at Lex and asked, “Lex, do you have any smoke bombs on you?”

She popped her hip and put her hand on it, her lips pursing in mock offense. 

Then Echo added, “Of course, she does. It’d be more concerning if she didn’t have any with her.”

Lex grinned slightly. Echo knew her so well. “Thanks, Echo,” she said as she pulled out a smoke bomb from a pouch on her belt. “Wait for my signal and then open the door.” With that, she activated the bomb. As the beeping sped up, she said, “Now.”

Rex hit the controls and the doors swished open, showing two Imperial soldiers inside what appeared to be a control room. Lex tossed the bomb inside just in time for it to go off in a cloud of smoke, catching the troopers off guard. With them distracted, Hunter and Wrecker were quick to take them out with stun blasts, dropping them to the floor. 

“Nice work,” Rex complimented Lex as they moved into the room.

“We can always count on you or Wrecker to have explosives on hand,” Echo commented to her as he came up by her side. 

“I appreciate the confidence,” she said back. 

“Well, I expected it because I know you.”

“Yeah, you do…sometimes better than I know myself.”

He simply bowed his head and they both lightly jogged forward to catch up with the others as another large set of doors opened up, revealing the bridge of the ship. It was even darker on the bridge, save for the faint light coming from the shipyard outside through the front viewports. They all fanned out through the room while Echo and Tech went over to a console tucked away in a little alcove on the side of the room. Tech once again connected his datapad to the computer and tapped a few keys. 

“Well, that is unfortunate,” he stated aloud.

“Wanna narrow that down?” Rex asked, concerned. 

Tech responded, still tapping away on his datapad, “Energy conduits are off-line. The only way to retrieve the data is to reroute power, which will most likely signal a security breach.” 

Hunter asked him, “How much time will we have?” 

“Not much,” Tech answered.

“Then let's make it quick,” said Echo. Then he called Lex’s name and gestured for her to come over by him. He withdrew his blaster as she approached. “Take this. If any troopers make it through, your vibroblade isn’t going to be enough to keep you safe.”

“I think you underestimate my skills with the blade, but I’ll take it if it makes you feel better,” she replied, taking the blaster from his hand. Despite everything, Echo was still doing what he could to ensure she was looked after and kept safe, which made her heart feel warm inside. That’s who he was: protective and loyal to a fault. 

Now knowing that Lex would be protected, Echo was ready to move forward. Tech knelt down, opened up a small cupboard under the console and pulled out a metal case. From inside the case, he pulled out a data card. He showed it to Echo, who gave him a nod to proceed. Tech inserted the data card into a slot on the console while Echo pushed his scomp arm into a socket on the opposite end at the same time. The whole Venator soon hummed back to life and the lights flickered on inside the bridge. The silence was then interrupted by the ship’s alarms blaring over the sound system.

“Well…they definitely know we’re here now,” Lex said out loud. 

“We’re gonna have some company,” stated Rex. 

“Wrecker, seal the door!” Hunter ordered quietly. 

Wrecker nodded and immediately shot the control panel on the wall to deter the Imperials from getting through the door. A few seconds later, they heard voices on the other side and they all raised their weapons at the ready. Then the doors pulled apart just slightly before shutting again repeatedly as the troopers on the other side attempted to override the controls to open them. 

“The door won't hold much longer,” said Hunter.

“I am expediting the file transfer as quickly as possible,” Tech said in return while still tapping on his datapad. 

Right after, the doors burst open and the Imperials infiltrated the room, immediately firing shots into the bridge. Wrecker, being the closest one to the doors, retaliated with stun shots. Hunter and Rex did the same as they dropped for cover into the pit to the left of the bridge walkway. 

Lex moved to Tech’s other side by the edge of the alcove and started firing stun shots, calling out over her shoulder, “Keep working! I’ll cover you!” A blaster shot hit the very edge of the alcove, narrowly missing her head and she ducked back.

“Be careful, Lex,” Echo told her.

“I’ll be fine. Just get that data and quick,” she said back before moving out and firing more shots.

Before long, she heard sounds from outside the windows and when she glanced back, she saw small ships flying by. “Karabast, they brought in backup!” she cried out.

Down in the pit, Hunter calmly said while firing his blaster, “New plan. 14, 5, 86.” 

“All of them?” Wrecker questioned.

“Yes,” Hunter replied. Then he added, “Echo, man the cannons. Deal with the air support.” 

Echo did as ordered and switched his focus to controlling the exterior cannons, 

As Lex fired a couple more stun rounds, a blaster shot grazed her left arm and she cried out, ducking back into the alcove. She sucked in through her teeth through the pain before exclaiming, “Son of a rathtar!” She knew it wasn’t a serious injury, but that still didn’t take away the fact it hurt like hell. “Tech, please tell me you’ve almost got it.”

Right on cue, Tech stated, “Data transfer is complete.”

Immediately after that, Echo called over his shoulder, mainly to Hunter, “Plan 5, set!”

“Activate,” Hunter ordered.

Echo spun his scomp even faster in the socket and they could hear something powering up outside. Shortly after that, the entire room began to tremble and they all had to focus on keeping their footing, including the Imperial soldiers, who had ceased their fire.

“Echo, what did you do?” Lex asked, leaning back against the wall. 

“This ship’s about to go for a ride,” he answered, “which means we need to move fast and get out of here.”

Then Hunter called out, “Lex, handle the exit.”

Lex gave him a nod. “On it, Sarge,” she said, pulling out a small thermal detonator and activating it. She leaned out from behind the alcove wall and lobbed the detonator into the control room where the Imperials were still struggling to stay up due to the shaking. The bomb exploded midair and sent a lot of them flying backwards.

Wrecker then charged forward with a loud yell through the doors, shoulder checking a couple soldiers that were still standing and sending them sprawling to the floor. The others followed close behind him. As they ran, Lex tossed Echo back his blaster.

As they ran through the corridor, stunning more troopers that came their way, Rex said, a touch of concern in his tone, “Security teams will be swarming this trench. We need an exit strategy.”

“Got one. We're going over them,” Echo said back.

“Over them?” Rex and Lex both repeated. 

The ship suddenly jolted and everyone temporarily lost their balance as the hallway shifted back. Lex started to fall over, but Echo swiftly stopped her fall and caught her. He guided her up towards a closed door just around a corner, where Tech quickly tapped into the control panel and opened up the door.

“Get in, hurry!” Echo urged Lex, gently pushing her through the doorway ahead of him after Tech ducked in. 

Hunter and Rex stunned a few more troopers before going into the small room Tech had opened up, which was where all the escape pods were. Tech and the others had all piled into the second one, where Tech was seated in the main pilot’s seat.

“These escape pods are nonoperational,” Rex pointed out from the open doorway.

Turning the chair around, Tech informed him, “We only need them to eject. I can handle the rest.”

“This should be interesting,” said Rex curiously as she shut the door to the escape pod behind him. 

While Tech dealt with the controls, Echo quickly turned to Lex, who was almost practically in his lap from being put between him and Tech. He gestured with his head to the wound on her arm. “Are you all right?” he asked, his worry evident in the tone of his voice.

“I’ve had my other arm blown off. This is nothing,” she assured him. That part, at least, was true. The burning she was feeling from the blaster graze was honestly nothing compared to the unbelievable agony she’d endured from the explosion that had taken her arm. Her current wound hurt, for sure, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

With a jolt, the escape pod launched up into the atmosphere. Tech, holding the controls, carefully guided the pod through the air as it began plummeting towards the ground. A few seconds later, the pod crashed and they all lurched hard in their seats from the impact. Lex felt Echo's arm come around her protectively as the pod continued to skid down the trench. A few bumpy seconds later, it came to a stop. 

Hunter opened up the door and peeked out to see where they'd landed. Luckily, where they needed to be wasn't too far away. “Not bad,” he remarked before climbing out of the pod.

Rex got out next followed by Echo, who helped Lex climb out after him. As Tech exited after her, he commented to Echo, a little disappointed, “I was off by 6.4 meters. Not my best.”

“You still got us close enough and that’s what matters,” Lex told him as they all took off over to the hatch that led down into the maintenance tunnels.

“It's almost morning. We need to hurry,” Rex urged them as they climbed down. 

They hurried back through the maintenance tunnels under the shipyard and made their way back to where they had stowed away a speeder. Hunter insisted Rex and Echo get to the Senate building and then come back for the rest of them so they could get the data to Senator Chuchi as quickly as possible. Time was running short and they had to be quick.  Lex volunteered to go with them and hopped into the seat next to Echo, who was driving, while Rex hopped in the back. 

“I appreciate your help, both of you,” Rex said to the two in front. “We wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you guys.” 

“Always a pleasure, Cap,” said Lex.

“Felt like old times, didn’t it, Rex?” Echo asked. 

“It sure did,” said Rex. “Though, we’ll never get those times again, not with everything that’s happened with the Empire…and so many brothers trapped by them or lost.”

Lex looked at Echo and saw his face drop again at the mention of the other Clones. “You’ll find a way to reach them, Rex,” she said, looking back over her shoulder. “You’ve already saved a bunch of Clones once before. That’s how we met, remember?”

Rex grinned. “I could never forget.” 

“The challenges may be different this time, but I have no doubt you’ll be able to do it again,” she told him. “I know the girls and I would love to help, but we’re still looking for Kida’s niece, too, and we need to be ready for any leads that may come up.”

Rex bowed his head. “Of course, I wouldn’t pull you all away from that. Finding her is important to Kida, so it’s important to me, too. I’m sure I’ll find more help eventually.”

They turned a corner and up ahead, they could see Omega waiting for them along with Kida, still in her guard uniform. Another speeder was parked right behind them. Echo pulled alongside them and brought the speeder to a halt as Rex held the case with the data inside over the side.

“Get this to Senator Chuchi. Hurry!” Rex said urgently as she took the case. 

As Omega ran over to their speeder, Kida ran up to Rex and quickly kissed him. “You’ve done your part, love. Now, let us handle the rest while you get yourselves to safety. I’ll see you soon.”

Rex was silent, but bowed his head in understanding before taking her hand and pressing a quick kiss to the back of it. 

“Lex, go with them in case things go south with the Senate. They might need your help,” Echo suggested. 

Lex agreed and hopped out of the vehicle, following Kida over to the other speeder. After they both jumped in, the two of them and Omega sped away. 

While Echo’s reasoning for sending Lex with Kida and Omega was true, there was one other underlying reason for it…a reason he knew he didn’t want her around for because he knew she wouldn’t approve of it.

As he and Rex rode off, he said over his shoulder, “Rex, I have an idea…I don’t know how the others will react, but I know Lex, Kimber and Omega aren’t gonna like it.”

“What is it?” Rex asked.

Echo inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Since earlier in the mission, there was something that had been on his mind that he couldn’t shake. He knew he had to talk to Rex about it right away to get it off his chest. Soon, he’d have to bring it up to the rest of his squad. Talking to his brothers didn’t worry him, though.

It was bringing it up to Omega, Lex and, above all, Kimber that he dreaded most.

Inside the Senate hall, the time was now upon the delegates of the Senate to vote on Admiral Rampart’s Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill. Omega and Kida had been tasked with waiting outside for the others to bring the data log from the decommissioned Venator while Kimber had remained inside with Senator Chuchi. She and the other Pantoran guard were standing inside the Senator’s pod along with her as well as Halle Burtoni. The hundreds of other pods were now occupied by Senators and Representatives from all over the galaxy. Kimber found herself even more in awe than she had been before at seeing so many high-ranking people all in one place. Not only that, but it would be in this very room that the entire fate of the Clones would soon be decided. She could feel her heart rate increasing and sweat forming on her brow. 

This was either going the way they hoped…or terribly wrong.

After certain things regarding providing for the Clones had been brought up by Senator Chuchi at the start of the assembly, Admiral Rampart soon took the floor in his own pod. “With the Clone trooper provisions requested by Senator Chuchi now addressed and the matter resolved, there is no reason to delay the vote of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill further,” he said to the Senate, his voice projected by the speaker of his pod. 

“That is not the case, Admiral,” Senator Chuchi responded, her own pod floating out onto the floor, as well. “We cannot take you on your word when you have given us reason not to.” 

“And what reason is that?” he questioned.

Kimber grimaced under her mask. The fact that he was acting so innocent in front of the Senate when she knew the truth behind his actions was beyond infuriating. How she wished she could just take out her blaster and shoot him right there, right now. That would bring about a swift justice that she, her boys and all Clones deserved. 

Senator Chuchi then said to the Admiral for the Senate to hear that, according to Burtoni, that he was responsible for diverting Kaminoan funds to his own outside projects without Senate approval. The other Senate members started to murmur in surprise, but Rampart rebutted her statement by questioning why she would believe the lies of a disgraced Senator.

“A formal investigation should clear things up. Unless you want to tell us now where those funds went?” Riyo challenged him.

Watching the Admiral, Kimber noticed that he suddenly looked nervous for a second as he heard the rest of the Senate’s disapproving grumblings grow louder in volume. “Go ahead, try and smooth-talk your way out of this one, you worm,” she thought to herself with satisfaction. It was oddly amusing watching him squirm. The trap for him was almost set. All they needed now was the proof from his ship…which still had yet to arrive.

“I am not at liberty to disclose the nature of certain military operations. The funds you are referring to were redistributed, not misappropriated,” Rampart answered, once he seemingly collected himself.

“Such a vague response…how surprising,” Kimber mumbled quietly.

“Your actions began months prior to the loss of Tipoca City, almost as if you were preparing for it,” Riyo stated, leaning onto the front of the speaker of the pod.

“What exactly are you implying?” inquired the Admiral. 

Sternly and with confidence, Riyo put forth the accusation she had been waiting a long time to say: 

“I assert that the Kaminoan cloning facilities were intentionally eliminated.” 

The Senate hall soon grew noisy with loud gasps and cries of astonishment as the Admiral looked around uncomfortably. As Kimber glanced around the room, it seemed that there were some Senators that looked like they believed Chuchi and others that weren’t sure what to believe. There looked to be a couple others that appeared appalled at Senator Chuchi’s accusation. There were bound to be some that would be on Rampart’s side, but it seemed that most of the Senators were leaning in their favor, which was encouraging.

However, Rampart fired back with, “I will not dignify such baseless accusations with more of my time.”

“Coward,” Kimber thought.

Halle Burtoni leaned forward and whispered to Chuchi, “Where is this proof you spoke of?”

“I don't know,” Riyo nervously whispered back.

Kimber then said quietly, “It’s coming. Trust me. My squad will come through.”

Then they heard Rampart’s voice speak up, urging the Senate with a hint of annoyance, “If there are no further issues, let us proceed with this vote. “

One male Senator--an Ishi Tib, the same species as Gume Saam, whom Kimber and the others had seen before from the masquerade gala--got on his speaker and aggressively stated, “I motion that Senator Chuchi be removed from these proceedings and she be censured for her misconduct.”

“I second the motion,” another female voice agreed.

Kimber’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Are you kidding me? This is how they react by placing the blame on Senator Chuchi instead of the Admiral who’s just been accused? This government is more corrupt than I believed,” she frustratedly said in her mind. Her hand then slowly inched closer to her blaster under her cape. She was going to protect Senator Chuchi and, if it came down to it, she would do so by force. It was probably a ludicrous idea, especially in a government building, but she was short on good ideas at the moment.

Just as she was beginning to fear that things were going to take a turn for the worse, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Her head turned to see another senatorial pod descending towards them and she realized that it was Bail Organa, the Senator who had been helping them. Past his shoulder, she also noticed Kida, Omega and Lex sitting back in the doorway that had led to his pod.

“Senators,” Organa called out, his deeper voice booming through the chamber, “new evidence has come to light which must be considered.”

A wave of relief swept over Kimber as the pod came up beside theirs and Senator Organa held out a case towards her. This was it! This was the proof they had been waiting for! “I knew they wouldn’t let us down,” she thought proudly to herself. She took the case from the Senator, giving him a thankful nod, before handing it to Riyo.

“What so-called proof do you have?” the Ishi Tib Senator skeptically inquired.

Senator Chuchi held aloft the case in her hands for all to see. “The recovered command log from Admiral Rampart's Venator….” Then she pointed an accusatory finger at the Admiral. “...which indicates his own ships caused the destruction of Tipoca City.” 

The whole chamber grew loud with the clamoring of the many Senators as Riyo took out a data disc and inserted it into a slot on the console before her. A screen above it flashed briefly and then a giant hologram projected into the center of the chamber. 

Kimber’s breath hitched.

The projection showed Tipoca City in its final moments, engulfed in flames and half of it sinking into the sea as three Venators rained fire upon it, the sounds of the blasting laser cannons echoed loudly before it froze. Kimber slowly exhaled and her shoulders relaxed. As hard as it was to see this destruction again, it brought her comfort knowing that they had gotten the concrete proof they needed; that this would ultimately bring down Admiral Rampart for good.

“You did it, boys.”

Even though she had mixed feelings about Kamino and Tipoca City, she was relieved that now, after many months, there would be justice for what was done. It’s what the Clones deserved. It’s what her squad deserved.

By this point, there was a commotion of angry shouts from a good majority of the delegates present, causing Rampart to squirm even more in fear. Kimber grinned to herself under her mask. 

“You’re done for, Admiral,” she whispered to herself. 

Watching everything from afar, Lex and Kida were surprised. While they had believed what the Clones had told them, it just hit different actually seeing it all for themselves.

“This was what happened to you guys on Kamino?” Lex quietly asked Omega.

“It was,” the young girl answered.

“Oh, that's awful,” said Kida.

Suddenly, an alarm blared in the Senate hall, which caused the clamoring to die down. 

Apprehensively, Kimber leaned in closer to Senator Chuchi. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“It’s the Emperor…he’s coming,” Riyo answered, seemingly in shock. 

Kimber then watched as a portal opened up in the center of the ground below and a singular pod on a pillar emerged from inside. An icy chill ran up her spine as she spotted Emperor Palpatine standing inside the pod, clad in all black robes and a hood that covered half of his face. Beside him was the blue Chagrian male that had met with Rampart before. The entire Senate chamber was now eerily silent as the Emperor’s tower continued to rise from the ground.

Then she heard Riyo whisper to her again, “He and Mas Amedda haven't been present for any of these proceedings until now.”

Kimber swallowed nervously. “I hope that’s a good sign.”

The tower stopped in the middle of the hologram, which shorted out and then disappeared. Mas Ameda was the first to speak, declaring through the pod’s speaker, “It would appear that Senator Chuchi's horrific assertions are correct. This unprovoked attack on Kamino was a cowardly act by Admiral Rampart to further his own personal agenda.”

The hall erupted once again with furious cries and angry words for the Admiral, who was hunched over his pod console, his eyes wide with fear. Kimber quietly chuckled with triumph. His career was most certainly over now.

Mas Amedda then called for the arrest of Admiral Rampart as a pod of Coruscant guards floated over to him. They leapt over into his pod, where he was protesting something about following orders before being forced to turn around and getting his face slammed into the console as the guards put his hands in cuffs. 

Watching this, Kimber recalled Rampart’s words to her on Kamino and said aloud before she could stop herself, just loud enough that it was caught on the speaker, “A shame that such a lovely face had to be so marred, Admiral.”

As Rampart was pulled upright, his eyes grew wide again, but this time with realization instead of fear. He glanced around until his eyes found Kimber and he kept his gaze on her as he was being led away into the Coruscant guards’ pod. Through the cacophony of dissent and anger from the other Senators, he had heard her voice; he recognized those words. That woman…how was she here? How had she gotten close to Senator Chuchi? Many questions ran through his mind as he was pushed into the next pod to be taken away.

Even though her goal hadn’t been for Rampart to hear her, Kimber didn’t care that he had. It was a nice little final touch on her revenge against him. Yes, he seemed to remember her, but she wasn’t worried. He had already lied so much to the Senate, there was no chance anyone would believe him if he tried to expose her real identity. 

Lex clocked Kimber’s voice immediately and quietly snickered. “Nice going, Princess,” she said to herself, which got a small chuckle out of Omega, too. 

“Order! We shall have order!” Mas Amedda cried out, pounding his staff into the floor of his pod. 

As everyone calmed down, Emperor Palpatine stood up from where he sat and silence filled the whole chamber as they waited for him to speak.

“I am deeply troubled by this recent revelation. My gratitude to Senator Chuchi for exposing a rogue element within our ranks,” said the Emperor, his raspy voice filling every corner of the chamber. 

Kimber shuddered slightly. Hearing his voice brought her back to Order 66 when she suddenly heard his voice in her helmet and a sense of dread had overtaken her. That same feeling returned now and she hated it. It was just something about the Emperor that made her uneasy listening to him, but she kept her calm as he went on.

“Many lives have been lost,” he went on, “but I assure you, Admiral Rampart will face the consequences for his treachery. However, he did not act alone. The fact that the Clones under his command so blindly followed orders, inflicting such carnage without hesitation, gives me pause.”

Those words made Kimber’s heart nearly jump up into her throat and she glanced at Riyo beside her apprehensively. The Emperor’s tone had shifted in a way that neither of them expected. Something felt incredibly wrong…what was going on?

Omega shared a confused look with Lex and Kida, who were also just as nervous about what was coming next.

Palpatine continued to address the Senate, “Perhaps, it is time for a change. Now more than ever, building a strong galaxy requires protection and security. Due to the nefarious actions of Admiral Rampart, and the immediacy of the bill on the floor today, it is my opinion that this legislation is our future.” 

“No…!” Kimber gasped in despair.

Boldly and powerfully, the Emperor then concluded with words that felt like a blaster shot to her very soul:

“With this momentous act, we shall usher in a new era…heralded by the Imperial stormtrooper!”

Senator Chuchi leaned forward onto the console, dejected, and Kimber’s vision went hazy, her body turning numb.

“It can’t be…,” Kida whispered as she pulled a shocked Omega into her arms. 

Lex was silent, but her mouth hung open in astonishment as she immediately thought of Echo, knowing this would devastate him.

In an astonishing turn of events, their attempt to bring Rampart down to make life better for the Clones had only resulted in the exact opposite. Their actions had brought Rampart to justice, but had brought potential and uncertain doom to all Clones.

Their mission had been both a success and a failure all at once…and the despondency of the failure overshadowed the joy of the success by a long shot. 

The ladies all rendezvoused back with the Clones at the garage they’d met at before and relayed to them everything that had happened in the Senate chamber. It was not a story that was easy to tell, especially when the Clones heard the result of their efforts.

Frustrated, Rex stated aloud, “Palpatine was one step ahead of us during the war and he's still several steps ahead of us. We played right into his hands.” 

“I don't understand,” said Omega, still looking unsure of what was all going on. “We did the right thing. We told the truth.” 

“And he twisted it to his advantage,” Hunter said to her. 

“The Emperor wanted us to implicate Rampart to get what he was after all along: Senate approval for his stormtrooper program,” Rex stated. 

Lex sighed. “He played us all and we didn’t even know it.”

“He made complete fools out of us and took away the victory we deserved against Rampart,” KImber said with irritation, pulling her mask down and shutting off the color discs in her eyes. She ran a hand over her face. “We made everything worse.”

Then Echo said, his voice low with dejection, “The fate of all the Clones is now sealed…because of us. What's gonna happen to them?” 

“I don't know…,” answered Riyo, “but I will keep fighting for the Clones. You all deserve the same rights as every citizen.” She walked forward and bent over to look at Omega directly as she said with conviction, “I won't give up.”

Omega smiled up at her gratefully. 

“Never a quitter. That's Riyo Chuchi for you,” said Kida. 

“Despite the outcome, thank you, Senator, for all your efforts on behalf of the Clones,” Kimber said.

Riyo gave her a nod back.

Hunter then said to Rex, “If you need anything Rex, just say the word.” He bowed his head to Riyo. “Senator.” 

What he did next, however, surprised Kimber, Omega, Lex and Kida.

He walked up to Echo and laid a hand on his shoulder, as he said, “Wherever you end up, remember what I said.” After that, he simply turned and walked away towards the Marauder…but Echo didn't follow.

The girls all looked at each other, confused. What was Hunter talking about?

“Don't get into trouble without us,” then said Wrecker, giving Echo a light-hearted punch in the arm. Then he too walked off towards the ship.

“Without us?” Omega repeated, still puzzled.

What was going on, Kimber wondered, but she was too caught off guard to speak. As was Lex.

“Best of luck, Echo,” said Tech before following after Hunter and Wrecker.

“Luck with what?” asked Omega. 

“Echo, what is going on?” Kimber questioned, concerned. Though, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer to that question. 

With a grim expression, he answered, “I'm going with Rex.”

“What…?” Lex gasped. 

Kida glanced over at Rex for confirmation and he just gave her a nod, which Kimber also noticed. 

“The Clones will need our help now more than ever,” Echo went on. “I can't turn my back on them.”

Omega stepped forward. “You...you can't leave,” she pleaded. “We're...we're a squad.”

“Omega, this is something I have to do. I'm going where I'm needed,” he calmly explained to the young Clone. 

Her hands went over her heart as she begged, her voice breaking, “But…we need you, too.”

He knelt down to her level and laid his hand on her shoulder as he promised her that he wouldn't be gone forever and encouraged her to keep up with her training. Overcome with emotion, she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him goodbye. He wrapped his arms around her in return, holding her close for a brief moment before she pulled away and ran back to the ship. 

Echo then turned his attention to Lex and Kimber, the two women he'd feared breaking the news to the most. Kimber had a sorrowful look in her eyes while Lex appeared angry.

“Is this your idea of giving me space? Just flat out leaving with no word or discussion at all?” Lex demanded, both hurt and almost betrayed. 

He sighed heavily. “It’s not that simple for me to answer, Lex.”

She gasped sharply. He had used her own words against her, the ones she had said to him when he asked if she didn't love him. “That isn’t fair,” she said back, a strain in her voice.

“I know…and I’m sorry. I hope you can understand.”

Lex didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry. Ever since they had arrived on Coruscant, she had wanted to talk to him; there were things she wanted to say to him, but every moment was either interrupted or inopportune. He knew she wanted to speak with him and now, he was suddenly not leaving Coruscant with them. How was she supposed to understand any of that? It felt like her feelings didn't matter as much to him anymore.

“I don't...so take all the space you want, Echo. Take the whole damn galaxy, for all I care,” she spat back before turning on her heel and running to the ship, her eyes stinging with tears.

Echo's face fell, disheartened, at watching the love of his life run away from him in anger. This wasn't at all how he pictured this going and, for a small moment, he regretted not bringing it up to her before. 

“I'm going to go talk to her,” said Kida. Before returning to the ship, she walked over to Riyo and gave her a hug, whispering her thanks to her. Then she went up to Rex and gave him a deep, lingering kiss. Neither of them said anything, but silently promised through their held gaze that they would see each other again. Then Kida jogged to the Marauder.

The only one left was Kimber and Echo's throat tightened even more. He had been afraid to tell Lex everything…but he dreaded facing Kimber even more. 

Kimber just stared at him, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions running through her mind. How could he do this? How could he just leave them…leave her? He’d promised he wouldn't. 

He had promised….

“We all stay together and besides, you’re my best friend. There’s no way I’m giving you up.”

“Good because I promised I’d never leave you anyway. You’re stuck with me.”

“...Crosshair said something like that to me once…and he broke his promise.”

“I’m not Crosshair and no Empire or chip or anything could make me break that promise to you.”

She should've known this would happen. It had happened with Jesse and it had happened with Crosshair…it was just a matter of time before it was going to happen with Echo or Hunter.

“Kim…,” Echo started to say.

“You promised me, Echo,” she said, trying to keep calm. “After we lost Crosshair to the Empire, you promised me that we'd stay together.”

He slowly walked up to her. “I'm not abandoning you. I have every intention of coming back when I've done what I’ve needed to do.” He put a hand on her shoulder as she looked away. “What I'm doing is nothing like what Crosshair did to you. He chose the Empire…I’m choosing our brothers.”

Her gaze flicked back to his.

“No one deserves to be trapped somewhere against their will. You and I know this more than most.”

Those words struck a chord inside Kimber. She knew he was right and her breath trembled as tears sprang to her eyes. One slid down her cheek and Echo brushed it away with his thumb.

Then he said softly in conclusion, “Rex needs my help rescuing more Clones…and I can't stay knowing I could help them. You know I can't.”

Sometimes she hated how well she knew him and how well he knew her because, once again, he was correct. “Your nobility has always been one of the things I love most about you, Echo…but right now, I hate that about you because it's taking you away from me,” she admitted, her tone growing emotional.

He grinned and snickered lightly. “You could never hate me, Kim.”

She softly scoffed and shook her head. For the third time, he proved he knew her all too well. “No…no, I couldn’t.” As he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers, she added, “You've been loyal to Rex longer than you've known any of us. I shouldn't be surprised that you'd want to be at his side for something like this. Just promise me you'll be okay? I couldn't bear it if I lost you the same way I lost Jesse.”

“Hey, it's like I've said before: you're not losing me that easily. If an explosion and torture couldn't kill me, then there's no way I'm letting the Empire take me down,” he said back.

Stifling a sob, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “You'd better not,” she replied as he hugged her back. “You told me I'm stuck with you and I'm holding you to that…which means you have to come home.” 

“I will,” he said in her ear.

Even though she was trying to sound supportive, her heart was breaking inside. She'd never imagined she'd have to say goodbye to Echo, of all people. He had been the one constant through everything she had been through, even from the first time she'd woken up elsewhere outside of Tatooine when she had been rescued. He'd been there through every battle, through every hard time she'd had with Hunter or Crosshair; through every loss, every victory and every new adventure, from the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire. No matter what, he had always been there for her…and now, she was losing him for who knows how long.

Their journey together had officially begun on Coruscant…and now, they were parting ways on Coruscant.

“Keep an eye on them,” Echo told her as they pulled apart, gesturing to the ship with his head, “and take care of Lex for me.” 

She nodded her head, hesitated for a second and then gave him a final kiss on the cheek, which sent a calming warmth through him. Then she turned her attention to Rex and Senator Chuchi and saluted them. Rex saluted back and Riyo bowed her head in respect. Kimber walked backwards towards the Marauder, keeping her eyes on Echo just a few seconds longer before turning away and running all the way back into the ship.

Inside the Marauder, Lex was in one of the cabin seats, turned away and her arms folded across her chest as she tuned out Kida trying to convince her to go back out and talk to Echo. How could she after this? There was nothing left to say anymore. She'd blown her chance at trying to tell him anything and it wouldn't matter because he was just leaving her behind anyway. 

Then Kimber climbed into the ship…she was the last one to return, which meant it was time to leave and Lex heard Hunter tell Tech to take off. This was really happening, then. Echo wasn't coming back with them. A part of her wanted to believe he would change his mind, but deep down, she knew he wouldn't. He was a soldier and a loyal one at that. When he set his mind to something, he stuck with it, which she had always respected. That was just who he was…so maybe she shouldn't be mad at him for wanting to help Rex.

A flood of memories of their times together overpowered her thoughts: when he had chased after her and accidentally discovered her cybernetic arm, when he'd helped her repair the arm the first time so she wasn't in pain, seeing his scars on the Aurora, kissing him as a distraction at the Imperial gala followed by their first real kiss later that night…her saving his life before falling off a cliff on their last mission…his words to her when she came to…

“Lex…you have no idea how much you mean to me. Since the beginning, you’ve brought out the best in me. You see me for who I am, not what I am, and I see you for who you are. You’re strong, resilient and kind, more than you may believe. You’re an angel…you’re my angel…I love you.”

Upon reflection, she did understand why he was doing this: he was being loyal to someone he cared about, which was how he always was. He had tried to prove his loyalty to her before by declaring his love, but she had been unable to say those final words back to him, which she'd regretted since. She thought she was free from her past with Dune, but it still haunted her enough that it had ruined what should’ve been a perfect moment with the man she’d chosen. Why had she let her past shame her present and possibly her future?

The engines of the Marauder started up and her chest tightened even more. No…it couldn't end like this. There was no knowing when she’d see him next…she couldn’t let him go without him knowing the truth. She had been a coward before in not telling him. She couldn’t lose her last chance now.

Just as the ship started to lift off the ground, she jolted up from her chair and yelled, “Wait! Don’t leave yet!” She ran past everyone who were sitting or standing around in the cabin and let down the ramp to ship as Tech held the ship hovering in the air. When she moved out onto the ramp, her hand holding onto the door frame, she looked down at Echo on the platform, who had already started walking back towards Rex and Senator Chuchi.

“Echo!” she shouted. 

Down below, Echo halted in his tracks as his heart skipped a beat. That was Lex’s voice calling out for him. He whipped around and looked up to see her standing outside on the ramp of the Marauder that hovered a few feet above him, her braids flowing from the exhaust of the ship. What was she doing? She wasn’t going to jump, was she? 

Seeing she now had his attention and had stopped him in time, Lex cried down to him, “I'm sorry! I do understand! You're doing this because you're brave and selfless! That's who you are! It’s what I've always admired about you! I've always been afraid and selfish, but that changed because of you! I'm not afraid anymore...and I'm going to prove it to you!”

Echo’s eyes widened and his heart nearly jumped up into his throat.

Everyone in the ship all looked in Lex’s direction, eagerly anticipating her next words.

This was it…this was the moment and she wasn’t about to lose it. Her past would no longer haunt her…never again.

Mustering up her courage, Lex shouted with a smile for all to hear, “ I love you!” 

With those three words, she felt like the weight of the entire galaxy had been lifted from her shoulders. For the first time in forever, she felt truly free.

Echo softly gasped in both shock and joy as well as relief.

Rex and Riyo watched in astonishment, but said nothing.

The Clones all grinned with pride while Kimber and Kida were nearly in tears.

“I love you, Echo!” Lex declared with more passion, as if she had never been allowed to say such words until now. It felt truly liberating to finally say them without fear. Then she added, her voice still carrying down to him, “I told you once that Zabraks have two hearts...and both of mine belong to you! No matter where you go, that will never change! I see you…and I love you!” 

Echo couldn't hold back an elated smile. He'd been so afraid that Lex didn't love him the same way he loved her and, after tonight, he thought he'd lost the chance of that ever changing. Yet she had done it; she had said it all openly and fearlessly…and he'd never been more proud of her. In that moment, he was certain he'd be able to go on with Rex without any regrets.

With his heart fuller than ever, he raised a hand towards her and cried back to her, “I see you, my angel, and I love you!” 

Lex let out a mix of an emotional cry and a small laugh of joy. “Don't take any unnecessary risks, you hear me?” she called down as the ship began to lift off.

Echo chuckled. “When have I ever done that?” he cried.

With one last wave and a low laugh at his response, Lex stepped back into the ship and the door closed in front of her as the Marauder flew away, leaving Echo behind. She stood there, staring at the wall, processing what she had just done. At long last, she felt like she was finally herself. Her real self, free for the first time from the weight of her trauma and any worries that came from it. She loved Echo and she'd found the strength to make it known to him.

Though, with that, came the hard truth now settling in that she wouldn't see him again for a possibly long time. Her gladness quickly turned to sorrow and her eyes welled up with tears as she turned back into the ship. Through her blurred vision on her left, she saw the boys all giving her looks of sympathy. When she looked to her other side, she saw Kida sitting up in the gunner's mount comforting Omega in her arms as the girl hugged a large tooka doll. Then she found Kimber standing by the foot of the gunner's mount, looking at her with a similar sad look on her face. 

Without a word, Kimber walked over to Lex and took her into a tight embrace, the two of them finding solace in each other after having both suffered an emotional toll that night. They knew eventually they'd be okay, but for right now, they would grieve together the sizable emptiness they felt from Echo's absence.

For the remaining couple hours of the trip to Ord Mantell, Lex didn’t come out of the medical room. 

She couldn’t bring herself to face Echo. At least, not yet. She still felt too ashamed of what had happened between them after he’d confessed his love for her, even though she couldn’t help it at the time. A majority of her wounds had mostly healed, but there was still some residual soreness in her leg and other parts of her body, so she just climbed back into the bacta tank as an excuse to not leave the med room. At one point, she heard Irys’s voice tell her that she was returning Lex’s arm on Tech’s behalf and that they had arrived on Ord Mantell. However, they had dropped off the Clones and Kimber on the planet and were now heading elsewhere for a while. Irys had given the others the alibi that the Koriena Force had received communication from an old contact that needed their help.

“I know something happened between you and Echo, so I fabricated that story so the two of you could have some space for a few days. I figured that’s what you would want,” Lex heard Irys tell her.

Lex’s eyes slowly opened and she turned her head, looking up at Irys. Through the bacta and the glass, she could tell Irys had a sympathetic expression on her face. Despite the shame she felt, Lex was grateful to have Irys who understood her well and had her back when she was in distress. All she could do was bow her head in gratitude.

Though, Irys then said to her, “We’re going to need to tell Kida and Rina about what’s really going on. We also can’t stay away for long because you need to talk to Echo. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be for you. Whatever happened between you, you two need to figure things out.”

Lex closed her eyes and nodded as she turned her head back. Irys could be blunt sometimes, but she meant well. Plus, sometimes a firm push from her was what Lex needed. It was either going to come from Irys or Rina, for sure. She knew Irys was right. She just wasn’t sure what she could say to Echo to make up for how she’d hurt him…or if she even could say anything. The thought of being in love and being loved by a man again still terrified her. 

In her mind’s eye, she could see Echo’s kind, handsome face. The way he always looked at her with his golden eyes as if she were the most precious thing in his entire world never ceased to warm her heart. His face radiated with compassion, courage and determination at all times. Whenever she was with him, it was the safest she’d ever felt. By some miracle, she was lucky enough to call him hers and to call herself his. He was a far better man than she felt she deserved…would she still deserve him after all this?

She knew what she had to do…but she didn’t know if she had the strength to do it.

Multiple days had passed since the Bad Batch and Koriena Force had parted ways. Unfortunately for the Clones and Kimber, though, those days slogged by slowly as Cid had no jobs for them and, since she told them not to go anywhere until she did, they didn't have much to do but sit around every day in their ship parked in the docks. They'd resupplied on everything they needed already and all they had to do now was just wait, which wasn't very thrilling. 

The Clones had noticed a slight shift in Echo's behavior since the Koriena Force had left. He seemed a little more solemn and they wondered if it was because he hadn't said goodbye to Lex, which they found a little strange. However, Kimber had simply informed them that the two of them just needed some space for the time being so Lex could heal. He hadn’t shared what had happened and she figured he would in his own time.

On another rather eventless day waiting around, Kimber came out of her and Hunter’s bunk after cleaning up her armor to see what everyone else was up to. Wrecker was asleep in a chair, Tech was on his datapad like usual and Echo was running an analysis on the ship’s systems. Omega was sitting up in her makeshift room practicing her meditation. Before they’d left Kashyyyk, Gungi had shown her how to meditate like he did; like a Jedi. She had been so fascinated by it and wanted to keep trying to do it on her own.

The only person that was missing inside the ship was Hunter. 

Though, when she looked over at the door, she saw the ramp was down and peered through the doorway. Sure enough, there he was, sitting on the stairs with his back to the door. She walked down the steps and sat herself down next to him, running a hand through the back of his hair as she did so. 

As he looked at her and smiled, she said, “Achuta.”

His head tilted and his eyes narrowed. 

“That was Huttese for ‘hello’, Hunter,” she clarified. 

“Ah, I see,” he said back with a nod.

“Maybe that's what we should've been doing with all this downtime: I should've been teaching you Huttese.”

“That would be much more preferable than sitting around here doing nothing.” Then he sighed and rolled his eyes. “Never thought I’d miss being chased by the Empire.”

She chuckled. “Careful what you wish for, my love. Besides, aren’t you the one who wants to settle down eventually? Domestic life will involve some boring days, you know.”

“Yeah, but in that case, we could still have things to do to occupy our time,” he said back. “With Cid telling us to stay put, that leaves us much more limited.”

“I know, it's not ideal,” she said.

Hunter looked more intently at her before saying, “What can you teach me in Huttese?”

That made Kimber smile brightly with anticipation. While she didn't use Huttese as often as she did Basic, it was still a language she learned and spoke quite a bit on her home planet that had become a part of her identity. To hear Hunter actually take an interest in learning it made her happy, even though she'd honestly suggested it as more of a joke.

“We’ll start simple and I’ll teach you some words that might be easy for you to remember,” she said. She pulled one of her blasters from its holster and held it up. “Blaster. Blastoh.”

He scoffed lightly. “Yeah, that one is easy.”

She gestured behind them to the Marauder. “Pankpa…spaceship.” 

Hunter repeated the word slowly, testing each syllable on his tongue as he spoke. 

Kimber then thought for a short moment about what else she could teach him and then she thought of a few more simple things. She held up her credit necklace, holding the credit between her thumb and forefinger. “Moulee-rah,” she said.

Puzzled, he asked, “Credits?”

“Close enough. Moulee-rah means ‘money’.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Moulee-rah.”

Then she pointed at his chest. “Nek. That means ‘man’.”

He pointed to himself and repeated the word easily.

“Very good.” Her finger then moved to point at herself. “Cheeka. That’s ‘woman’.”

A small smile crossed his face. “Cheeka,” he said, his voice turning softer as he pointed at her.

Despite having been a couple for quite some time now, that sweet smile of his still managed to give Kimber butterflies and she blushed lightly. That gave her one final idea of something to teach him in Huttese. “Umo ji muna,” she told him.

Curiously, his head tilted as he inquired, “That was a longer one. What does that mean?”

Still smiling at him, she leaned in a little closer. “It means ‘I love you’.”

That made him grin even wider in understanding. He too leaned forward, his face just an inch away from hers. “Umo ji muna,” he said back perfectly, his voice a husky whisper, before he closed the distance between them with a kiss that nearly took Kimber’s breath away. 

When they came apart after a moment, Kimber let out a long sigh. “Only you, Hunter, would be able to make Huttese sound so alluring.”

“Well, that’s just for you, sweetheart,” he said to her, gently nudging her nose with his. 

Behind them, they heard the sound of footsteps and they saw Echo walking by the doorway towards the back of the ship. 

“Are you sure he’s okay, Kimber?” Hunter asked. “I just keep getting a feeling that something’s off with him.” He turned to look at her. “Did something happen between him and Lex?” 

“Why would you think that?” she asked in return.

“He’s been different since the girls left. From what I can sense, his emotions don’t seem like loneliness or worry for Lex. No…it feels like heartache and longing, which leads me to believe that something else happened that he’s not telling us.” 

She sighed wistfully. “It’s not that he’s keeping things from any of us. He’s just not ready to talk about it yet.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“Not officially, but Irys had a strong hunch about it. Earlier, Echo had confided to me that he was in love with Lex. Later that day, Irys and I were still up when he first came out to tell us Lex had awoken and he definitely seemed more somber than he should’ve been. Irys thinks he confessed to Lex and she…freaked out, for lack of a better term.” 

Just as she was about to continue, they heard a chirping sound from inside coming from the ship’s main console, which meant a transmission was coming through. They both jumped up and went inside the ship. 

“We have an incoming transmission,” Tech informed everyone. Then he looked at Hunter as the two of them walked in. “It's Rex.”

Naturally, Hunter gave him the nod to patch it through. Tech tapped a couple keys on the console and then the blue holographic image of Rex appeared, still dressed in his poncho from before covering his armor.

“Hey, boys,” he greeted them with a grin, seeming pleased to see them. “Any chance I could use your squad's expertise for a mission?”

The Clones and Kimber all looked to each other in contemplation. Omega’s eyes had lit up with excitement at the prospect of another mission.

“Finally!” Wrecker exclaimed. “I'm tired of waiting around for Cid.” 

“What do you need, Rex?” asked Echo, turning back to the hologram. 

The Captain replied, “I'll explain everything when you get to Coruscant.” 

“Coruscant?” Hunter repeated, startled. His eyes narrowed skeptically. “That's a big ask, Captain.” 

“Why? What's on Coruscant?” Omega inquired with curiosity. 

Tech answered her, “It is the galactic capital and thus, the heart of the Empire.”

Then Kimber added, “We’d be going straight to the epicenter of enemy territory. We’d be taking quite a risk going there since we’re fugitives.”

“But the Empire thinks we're dead. They won't be looking for us,” Echo stated with a hand on his chin in thought.

“I'd like to keep it that way,” Hunter told him.

Then Rex informed them casually, “It's a covert mission. A simple data extraction, but a crucial one. Also, any chance you could get some of the Koriena Force to help, as well? I could use a couple of them on this. Maybe Kida and Lex?” 

At the mention of Lex, Kimber stole a quick look at Echo, who didn’t visibly react, but she could see just a brief flash of nervousness in his eyes. Then she spoke up, “I can get in touch with them. In case they ask, why those two specifically?”

“They both have skills I could utilize on this mission. More than that, Rina would be in a lot more danger than any of us on Coruscant since she’d be seen as a Jedi and Irys works better behind the scenes than on the front lines.”

“Understood. I’ll contact them right away.”

“Good. I'll send over a flight plan to bypass Imperial security and coordinates to a safe landing zone.” 

“We're on our way,” said Echo.

After that, the transmission ended and Hunter and Echo exchanged glances. 

“Yeah!” Wrecker exclaimed through a laugh. “We’ve finally got something to do. This oughta be fun!” 

“You say that now, Wrecker, but it might not be so fun if we get caught,” said Kimber. 

“I’ll set a course for Coruscant,” stated Tech, already moving into the pilot’s seat.

“I’ll go call the girls,” said Kimber. Though, before she did so, she turned to Echo and lightly placed a hand on his arm. “Hey…are you gonna be okay with this?” she asked softly.

His eyebrows furrowed. “I already told Rex we’d be coming. Why wouldn’t I be?”

She quietly sighed. “Not the mission, Echo. I’m talking about Lex.”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Of course, I’m going to worry about you. I may not know exactly what happened, but I know the both of you didn’t part on the best of terms.”

“She just…needed time.”

“Time for what?” Kimber pulled Echo further back into the cabin. “What happened between you two?”

He sighed quietly, his gaze drifting aside as he explained, “I told her I loved her…and she didn't exactly react well to that.”

She exhaled slowly. Looks like Irys’s hunch had been right. “It had to do with Dune, didn't it?” 

He half-heartedly nodded. “I can't really fault her for it, but…it still hurt when she couldn't say it back.”

Kimber laid a consoling hand on his upper arm.

“It’s clear she needs time to process everything, so I won’t push her for anything when I see her.”

“That is if she agrees to help on this mission. Though, I have no doubt Kida will be able to persuade her otherwise.” She rubbed his arm softly. “Every couple has their struggles. Trust me, I know…but I also know you two are meant to be together. This isn’t the end for you; merely an obstacle that you both need to overcome, both separately and together. It’ll all turn out all right, I promise.”

He reached across with his flesh hand and took hold of hers on his arm, his eyes glinting with gratitude. “That means a lot coming from you, Kim.”

“It’s you and me from now on, remember? I’ve always got your back…even more so now when it comes to your love life, especially since you had my back with mine,” she said with a smile. “Now, I’ve got a call to make.”

Fortunately, Kida and Lex were on board with helping with the mission. As expected, Lex was a bit reluctant at first, but Kida and Kimber were able to talk her into it. The only way her relationship with Echo would get better is if they could still work together even in uncertain times. They didn’t have to resolve anything yet if they weren’t ready, but helping Rex together would at least be a step forward. 

It was determined that they would get dropped off at a nearby space station outside of Coruscant, so as to not garner any unwanted attention with their ship, and Clone Force 99 would pick them up. Once the job was done, then the Clones could bring the two women back and meet up with the rest of the Koriena Force at a rendezvous point that was yet to be determined. The more important thing was that Kori was being left in the care of Rina and Irys. There was no way Kida was risking bringing her toddler son to the heart of the Empire where he would more than likely be taken from her if she were to be caught. She wouldn’t be able to survive that and she knew Rex wouldn’t be able to either, so she entrusted his care to her other two companions who would be staying behind. Luckily, Irys and Rina understood the reasons for not being asked to help on the mission and accepted them, especially since they were needed to keep watch over Kori. 

The pickup at the space station went off without a hitch. They picked up the girls and made it out without being flagged by Imperials, so it seemed things were off to a good start. Kida greeted everyone warmly while Lex was a little more subdued, especially when she met Echo's gaze. They both timidly waved at each other, but didn't say much as the ship made its way towards the planet. As Tech informed everyone that they were approaching Coruscant, Hunter warned them all to stay ready.

The bright blue skies of the city-planet of Coruscant illuminated the inside of the ship as they soared through the clouds. The entire landscape as far as the eye could see was an ocean of tall towers and skyscrapers. In the air were numerous ships and speeders of various kinds flying through the city. Both Omega and Kimber marveled with wide eyes at the sight. In all the planets they’d been to, they’d never seen a city so vast!

Up ahead, they were coming up on the entrance to a giant tunnel in the middle of the city that was more than likely over a hundred yards in diameter. It was down in this tunnel that they would be meeting Rex; where the underground of Coruscant resided. It was dark in the tunnel save for a blue-green light shining from down below and a few lights in the walls. Before long, Tech landed the ship on a platform in the coordinates Rex had sent them. Hunter opened up the door and lowered the ramp, allowing them all to disembark the ship. In front of them, a set of large, heavy doors opened just a crack, a single column of gold light streaming through from the other side. From within, Rex walked out, now dressed in a dark blue leather combat suit instead of his usual GAR armor. Beside him was a Pantoran woman, whose eyes widened upon seeing the group. She wore deep maroon formal wear and had light pink hair that was tied back and pointed outward on each side with a gold head ornament resting around her head.

Though, before anyone could say anything, Kida suddenly gasped and cried out with glee, “Riyo!” She pushed between Hunter and Kimber and ran over to the other Pantoran lady beside Rex.

“Kida!” the woman--Riyo, it seemed--exclaimed in surprise before being enveloped in a hug. 

“What are you doing down here? This is the last place I’d expect to find the likes of you,” said Kida.

“I’m helping Rex,” Riyo replied. “You two know each other, as well?”

Kida laughed nervously. “Yes, we uh…know each other quite well, you could say.”

Riyo’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her head, puzzled. 

“You remember when I told you I had a baby?”

“Yes. A son you named Kori.”

“Well….” Kida then did a slightly dramatic flourish of her hands towards Rex and grinned shyly. “Here’s Kori’s father.”

Riyo’s eyes went huge with shock. “Oh!” she cried. “My goodness! That’s quite the surprise. I had no idea.”

Rex then said with a shrug, “If I had known you knew Kida, I would’ve said something sooner.” Then he turned his attention to Kida and a small smile crossed his face. “I’m glad to see you, love,” he told her as he leaned over and gave her a kiss. 

“And I, you,” she said back.

“This really was something I was not expecting,” Riyo commented, still looking like she was processing the information regarding Rex and Kida.

Kimber spoke up, having stayed silent through the whole encounter, “Trust me, none of us expected it either.”

As Rex and Riyo returned their attention to the rest of the newcomers, Rex said, “Glad you all made it. This is Senator Riyo Chuchi.”

Hugging Riyo’s arm, Kida added, “She’s one of my dearest friends from Pantora. Since she serves in the Senate and my father is in the Pantoran Assembly, our paths have crossed many a time. We go way back.”

Then, gesturing to the rest of them, Rex told the Pantoran Senator, “These are the special Clones and their friends that I told you about.”

As Riyo took in the colorful group before her, she was even more startled to see a young child step out from the midst of them. The girl greeted her with a darling smile, a wave and a sweet, “Hello”. Right away, Riyo was taken by how adorable the girl was and she smiled back at her. “Thank you for coming,” Riyo addressed the rest of the group.

Hunter bowed his head to her and then looked at Rex. “Why are we here, Captain?” he asked.

Rex pointed over his shoulder behind him with his thumb. “Inside. There’s something I want you to see.” He and Riyo both turned around and led the rest of them towards the doors.

However, at the rear of the group, Echo took hold of Lex’s hand and stopped her for a quick moment while the others went inside. “Hey…are you all right?” he asked her.

She took a deep breath and nodded. “I am. I’m fully healed now,” she answered. 

He nodded, glad to know that she was better, but couldn’t quite find the right words to say anything more. She had a feeling Echo would want to talk to her at some point, which she had tried her best to prepare for because she had her own things she wanted to say to him.

“Listen, about what happened before…,” she started.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said dismissively.

That wasn’t the reply she was anticipating. “But Echo--”

“It’s okay,” he interrupted. Then he brought his good hand up to her cheek, lightly tracing it. “You’re not ready, I understand. There’s nothing I can do to change that.” 

Lex stayed silent, unsure of how to respond in the moment. 

As Echo dropped his hand, he said, his expression falling slightly, “Someday, those memories of Dune will fade away and you’ll be able to fully move on and start living again. When that day comes, you know how to reach me.”

She blinked and her head reared back a little. Surely, he couldn’t be…was he suggesting what she thought he was? “Are you…ending things between us?” she inquired hesitantly, scared to hear his answer. 

The corner of his mouth lightly twitched upward. “No. Of course not,” he told her. “I’m just giving you space, like you wanted…but I needed to be sure you were okay. I’ve…been worried about you.” After that, he turned and walked away in the direction the others had gone. 

Lex inhaled sharply and clenched her teeth, her eyes stinging with the threat of tears. She was so conflicted; she wasn’t sure of what would happen seeing Echo again and now, she didn’t know how to feel and she hated it. There was no telling what this mission would end up doing for them. Burying her torn feelings down as much as she could, she calmed herself and jogged inside. 

Everyone made their way towards the back of what appeared to be a giant ship garage where on a table underneath a single light was a long, rectangular case. As they all gathered around it, Rex pressed a button on the case, which opened up a small window at one end of it to reveal the paling face of a dead Clone trooper.

“He’s an assassin. His identifying number’s been wiped,” Rex explained.

“I was not aware that was possible,” said Tech. 

Then Hunter asked, “Who was his target?”

“A Clone contact of mine named Slip,” Rex answered. “He said he was in danger. I came to Coruscant to get him out, but the assassin got to him first. Nearly got the Senator, too.”

In response, Kida put a comforting arm around Riyo’s shoulders. 

Kimber’s head reared back. “A Clone assassin is already unbelievable, but one going after another Clone? How is that possible?”

Then Echo inquired, “Why would a Clone be targeting another Clone or a Senator?”

“To silence us,” Riyo declared. “Admiral Rampart has the entire Senate believing Kamino was lost to a cataclysmic storm. Slip witnessed the truth. I wanted him to testify to Rampart's crimes.”

“A storm? On a planet that was rife with them all the time? That’s a load of bantha fodder,” Kimber stated in reply. “Whatever Slip told you is the truth.”

“She’s right because we were there, too, Senator,” added Echo. Then he volunteered, “I can be your witness.”

However, Kimber turned back to him and said, “Remember when you said the Empire thinks we’re dead? Being Senator Chuchi’s witness would blow our secrecy.”

“The Senate won’t listen to any of us. We’re deserters,” said Hunter.

“The Empire would set their hounds on you before you could even blink if you set foot in the Senate,” then said Lex. “I couldn’t watch that happen to you, Echo. Or any of you.” 

There was a look of heartfelt concern in her eyes as she looked at Echo. To Kimber, it was good at least to see that Lex still cared about him. It was reassuring that that hadn’t been lost in their brief time apart.

Rex spoke up, “Hunter and Lex are right, but there's another way to provide the Senate with the evidence of the Empire's crimes: the command log on Rampart's Venator. Slip made a copy of it on the ship's backup data banks.”

“Where’s the Venator now?” asked Wrecker, to which Rex explained that it was being retrofitted at a nearby Imperial shipyard. There would be a lot of security, but he assured them he knew a way in.

Senator Chuchi then stated that Rampart’s Defense Recruitment Bill would go to a vote tomorrow and it was imperative that they proved his crimes before it passed. “I’ll return to the Senate and garner support where I can,” she said. 

“You could still be in danger, Riyo. They’ve already tried to come after you once,” Kida said back. 

“Then I must be on the right track,” Riyo responded with resolve.

Omega stepped up. “I can go with her and keep an eye out.”

“So can I,” said Kida.

A bit taken aback, the Senator replied, “You can't enter the Senate district without an Imperial security clearance.”

Though, Tech told her that wouldn’t be a problem, which was a surprise to none of the Clones or Koriena Force ladies.

Casting a knowing look at Kida, Riyo commented, “Well then, I trust you’ll be able to make yourself…inconspicuous.”

Kida smirked. “You know it, darling.”

Rex looked at Kimber. “Kimber, you can accompany them, as well. You and Kida could go as the Senator’s new security detail.”

“There’s just one problem: I’ve met Rampart before and he knows who I am. If we run into him, he’s going to recognize me,” she said. She recalled meeting him for the first time in Tipoca City shortly before its destruction and she grimaced at picturing his smug, punchable face. 

The former Captain cocked a grin. “Which is exactly why I wanted Kida here, in case we needed disguises.”

Kida gave him an endearing smile, but then gave an offended look to Kimber. “Frankly, Kimber, I am quite insulted that you didn’t immediately remember that you have the Queen of camouflage in your midst,” she told her, dramatically gesturing to herself with her arms. Then she placed her hands on her hips. “I think it’s time to bring out the Alpha again.”

“The Alpha?” Riyo asked, now even more confused.

“It’s Kimber’s bounty hunter persona she’s used for undercover missions,” answered Lex. Then she turned back to Kida. “Though, we don’t have her Alpha getup, so how is that going to work?”

“We’ve upgraded our own ensembles…so we can do the same for Kimber,” Kida simply suggested in return. Then she asked Riyo, “Do you still have that trunk of extra clothes I left at your place?”

Riyo replied, “I do, yes.”

Kida grinned. “Good. I can definitely throw something together from those then.”

Kimber took a deep breath and nodded. At least it would be easier to be the Alpha this time as opposed to the first time. 

“What do you want me to do, Rex?” Lex then asked.

“You'll stick with us to infiltrate the Venator. We could use your combat skills, should we get into any trouble,” he told her. 

She paused for a small moment, realizing she would have to work alongside Echo in this mission. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but given the awkward place they were at in their relationship, she hoped it wouldn't make things too difficult for them.

“Understood,” she responded. 

Rex gave her a nod. “Then let's get to work."

In Senator Chuchi’s abode, Kimber found herself once again fascinated with Kida's expertise in fashion and trickery. She had put Kimber in a simple dark blue shirt, black slacks and combat boots with a long side cape of a lighter shade of blue over her left side. One of her blasters was carefully concealed underneath it on her hip, just in case. Then Kida had put a hand wrap on Kimber’s right hand and arm to give her a more “fierce” look, as she described it. After that, she had done Kimber’s hair in her own hairstyle: the top layer pulled up into a braided updo and then bottom layer was done in two braids, which then were subsequently wrapped around Kimber’s head before letting them hang down to make them appear shorter, thus hiding her original long length. After that, Kida gave Kimber a headband that was the same color as her shirt, which was part of her Alpha signature look. Once that was done, Kida put a black scarf around the lower half of Kimber’s face to hide her identity. The finishing touch, much to Kimber’s surprise: Kida still happened to have with her the eye color discs that Kimber would put into her eyes and change her eye color, which she hadn’t used since the incident with the Eradicators over a year ago. After putting them in her eyes, she activated the switch inside her headband and her irises shifted from her amber brown to the familiar icy blue they had been once before.

Before her now in the mirror stood the Alpha instead of Kimber Sallaros.

“Hello again, old friend,” she spoke aloud to her reflection. She was never sure if she’d have to break out her old Alpha persona again for any reason, so it made her unsure how to feel about seeing herself like this again.

After collecting herself, she went out into the living room where the other three were waiting. Kida had also provided a small purple cloak for Omega to give her a more civilian-like look and help her blend in when they were in the Senate building. What surprised Kimber more was seeing Kida dressed simply in a Pantoran guard’s uniform sans the helmet at the moment. The only difference was that some makeup had been applied to her blue skin to cover her gold Pantoran markings and some new ones had been painted on her cheeks. 

“I’m surprised to see you didn’t give yourself a full makeover, too, Kida,” she commented.

“I thought it best she not do so as it might draw too much attention to ourselves as well as to keep her out of the public eye as she might possibly be recognized,” Riyo said back. 

Then Kida added, “I can better blend in as a Pantoran guard, anyway. Anyone can hide behind armor or a uniform, but the real art in this case is making people see what they expect. No one would think twice about a guard, so no one will be the wiser.” With that, she slipped on the tall, circular Pantoran guard helmet with a black visor that covered her eyes.

Omega then ran up to Kimber, looked up at her with her big, brown eyes and said with a smile, “You look amazing, Kimber!”

“As do you, my dear,” Kimber replied.

“Very well, then. Let’s make our way to the Senate,” Riyo stated. 

Her private transport took the four ladies as well as an extra Pantoran guard to the Senate building, which was quite grand and vast, almost overwhelmingly so to Kimber and Omega, who hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. As they roamed the halls, Senator Chuchi acted as though she were giving a tour of the place, mainly to Omega, both as a cover and just to educate her on the workings of the Senate, pointing out Senate office rooms and what went on inside them. Kida and the other guard took up the rear of the group while Kimber and Omega were on either side of the Senator.

“So, what exactly does a senator do?” Omega inquired, looking up at Riyo.

“I must admit: I myself don’t really know either,” added Kimber. 

Proudly, Riyo explained to them, “We serve the galaxy. We act as the voice of the people.” 

“But what does that mean?” Omega asked, still not quite understanding.

“Well, where I'm taking you next, you'll see,” stated the Senator.  

“Senator Chuchi,” then said a deep voice from up ahead, one Kimber recognized all too well. Coming towards them from the opposite direction, with a devious grin on his face, was none other than Vice Admiral Rampart.

Kimber’s hand instinctively clenched into a fist underneath her cape. Even though it had been months since the destruction on Kamino; months she’d first met the Vice Admiral, she could still sense the air of arrogance he’d had back then, too. The memory of their first exchange crossed her mind:

“A shame that such a lovely face like yours had to be so marred,” he had said so condescendingly upon seeing the bruise she’d acquired on her cheek.

“Keep talking like that and you’ll be saying that to yourself in a mirror,” she had replied.

“Admiral Tarkin described you as quite the feral woman…and I see he was correct in that regard.”

As her hand carefully grasped her concealed blaster, she found herself ready to prove him correct once again should he give Chuchi any trouble here or if he were to somehow see past her disguise. She was in no mood to negotiate with a pompous man such as he. 

“You seem surprised to see me, Admiral,” Chuchi greeted him, stopping just a couple feet shy of him. 

“Not at all,” he said. “I was just making a few preparations for tomorrow's vote.”

Kimber supposed it was a good thing she had a mask on over her face since it hid the unmistakable grimace she knew she had. The egotism in every syllable he spoke just made her dislike him more and more. When she subtly glanced over at Omega, however, she spotted the same disdainful look on the young Clone’s face, as well. Luckily, the Vice Admiral seemed to pay Omega no mind.

“Indeed. I am looking forward to it,” Riyo told him. 

It was then Rampart’s attention turned to Kimber and his eyes narrowed a little. “Such peculiar company you keep, Senator,” he remarked. 

Speaking in her deeper, refined Alpha voice, Kimber replied, “The Senator believes herself to be a target of assassination, sir, as an attempt was made on her life quite recently. I was brought on as extra security for her safety.”

“Assassination?” Rampart asked. 

“Yes. You might have heard of the incident by now, I’m sure. I narrowly escaped with my life,” stated Riyo.

“How dreadful to hear,” droned the Admiral.

“I’m sure it is…,” Kimber thought to herself, not believing his so-called “disbelief”. To her, it was pretty obvious he knew about the assassination attempt. More than likely, he was the one who orchestrated the attack, she suspected. 

“It is most fortunate you survived, Senator.” His gaze drifted past the group of them and his eyes scrunched up as something else seemed to catch his attention. “If you'll excuse me,” he said, not even glancing at any of them as he moved past them towards someone else: a blue Chagrian male wearing formal robes and holding a staff.

As he walked away, Kida whispered between Riyo and Kimber, “Judging from his reaction, I would wager the good Admiral was actually the one behind the attack on you, Chuchi.” 

“I suspect the same,” said Kimber.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Riyo whispered back before she continued walking.

They moved on until they reached a door, which Riyo gave Kida the go-ahead to open. As the door swished open, they stepped into a huge chamber with what appeared to be hundreds--if not close to a thousand--of hover pods lining the walls from the floor almost up to the ceiling. It was quite a sight to behold.

Omega ran up to the edge of the pod in front of the door as Riyo explained, her voice echoing in the empty chamber, “This is where the Senate gathers to discuss many pressing issues and legislation. Where the future of the galaxy is decided…for better or worse.” 

“Wow,” Omega whispered in wonder, her eyes darting around.

“Each pod belongs to the numerous representatives and delegates,” said Riyo. 

“Which one belongs to the Clones?” Omega inquired, looking around to see which one applied to her question.

Regretfully, Riyo answered, “Clones do not have representation in the Senate. They never have.” 

Puzzled, Omega asked back, “Why not? We're part of this galaxy, too.”

“Indeed. Such lack of representation for the Clones is absurd,” added Kimber. 

With a sigh, Kida said, “If only the rest of the galaxy believed that as we do.”

“There are those who view Clones only as…military assets,” Riyo said, looking almost ashamed, “but I am working to change that; to ensure you all have the same rights as any galactic citizen. It is a battle worth fighting.”

Stepping forward, Kimber spoke, “I’m not a Clone, but I consider myself a friend and advocate for all the Clones. On their behalf, I say that your efforts are greatly appreciated.”

“That does lead me to something I’ve been wondering: how did you end up in the company of a Clone squad?” Riyo asked her.

Kimber smiled. “The squad I’m with saved my life. As did Captain Rex. I owe my life to all of them.”

“I see. Fortune favored you greatly, it seemed.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Just then, they heard chirping from out in the corridor and an R2 unit rolled into view. It beeped and chirped something for a few seconds before scurrying away further down the hall.

“What was that?” asked Kida.

“A message,” said Riyo. Then she looked to the other three ladies with her. “Can you keep a secret?”

On board the Aurora, Lex was lying on her back, unconscious and immersed in the ship’s bacta tank. She normally never got this treatment due to her cybernetic arm, but at the present, her arm was no longer attached to her body. She had come away from the Koriena Force’s latest mission with the Bad Batch with some grave injuries that also left her robotic arm quite damaged. Once they’d gotten on the ship, Tech had helped detach the arm from her body so he could repair it while Kida got her into the bacta tank.

Echo sat beside the bacta tank, his eyes on her still form that wore a breathing apparatus over her mouth. It seemed like only yesterday he himself had been in this same bacta tank. The incident from the mission kept replaying over and over in his head, wondering what he could have done differently to prevent this from happening. If he had only been more aware of his surroundings, he could’ve reacted faster and kept Lex from getting hurt. 

“Don’t die on me, Lex,” he whispered aloud, a faint tremor of fear in his voice. “I can’t lose you…not like this.”

His heart was still racing, but the adrenaline from everything was beginning to come down. He could feel his strength dwindling and might’ve lost his balance had he not had the bacta tank to lean against. 

There was a chance he could lose Lex…and he wasn’t prepared for it.

Earlier that day…

The mission was to recover some old Separatist equipment--naturally, for a client of Cid’s--from an old base that, very inconveniently, was built into the side of a cliff. Everyone had managed to sneak inside while Echo and Lex remained outside as lookouts. For a while, everything seemed all right until an alarm sounded, putting all of the outside guards on alert. 

“Is it bad I’m not even surprised by this?” Lex commented to Echo.

Echo sighed. “Me neither,” he replied before the two of them took off from their hiding place to handle the guards. 

He took out his blaster and began firing, charging the guards, while she withdrew her vibroblade with a flourish and ran for the outside. She sliced at a nearby guard, who stood underneath a security camera. Then she pulled out a small explosive, activated it and threw it up at the camera, destroying it as the explosive detonated. She then did the same to a second camera just before a guard came to attack her. She was ready to fight back when there was a blaster shot and he dropped to the ground with Echo aiming his blaster at him. 

“Saved you,” he teased her. She could practically hear the grin he had underneath his helmet.

There was no time for her to react as the front doors opened and more soldiers came running out in a blaze of blasterfire. 

The two of them held off the guards as best they could, taking out what was left of the guards, until a glint of light from above caught Lex’s attention. When she glanced up, she spotted something reflecting the light…a scope on a rifle.

“Sniper!” 

He was aiming for Echo.

“Echo!” she cried out to warn him.

A bright streak of red shot out and Lex’s body moved faster than Echo's brain could process everything. 

She lunged and pushed him hard, sending him sprawling to the ground with a grunt, just before the shot struck her cybernetic arm, causing her to drop her blade. She didn't feel any pain from it, but the force of the shot made her stagger backwards a few steps, the wires inside sparking through the newly created hole in the arm glove she wore.

Just as Echo turned over to see what was going on, he heard another shot fire and was horrified to see it hit Lex square in the chest, ripping a pained cry from her. The blaster shot pushed her back even more, dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. He called out her name in a panic, scrambling to his feet to dash over to her. 

Unfortunately…he was too late. 

In a pained daze, she stepped back too far and fell over the edge.

“No!” he shouted, reaching out to grab her, but all he caught was air, the sound of her scream echoing in the canyon below.

Filled with both dread and anger, he whipped around fast to see where the sniper was. He had dropped his blaster when Lex had pushed him, but he saw where it was immediately. He spotted the hidden sniper just a split second before they took their next shot, diving into a roll and grabbing his blaster. Then he aimed upward and only fired once, dropping the sniper easily. Knowing the sniper was down, Echo’s mind instantly returned to Lex and, with great urgency, he sprinted to the ledge. 

What he saw below made his heart nearly stop. 

Lex’s body, still as the stone ground she’d landed on and her leg bent in a way that should not be humanly possible. 

His anxiety at seeing her this way spiked immensely. Even though he knew he should get on comms to check in on the situation inside, his heart was contradicting his duty. Lex was badly injured--or possibly worse--and she needed help immediately. She needed his help.

First, he went back for her knife and put it into his pack before pulling out a grappling hook from inside. Then he returned to the edge of the cliff and jammed it into a crevice in the ground that looked secure enough.

Just as he was getting ready to climb down, his comm chirped. Hunter’s voice then came through: “Irys, we’re going to need evac. We’ve got the equipment, but…well, we tripped an alarm, so we gotta be quick.”

“Correction: Wrecker tripped the alarm,” Tech stated. 

Echo spoke into his comm device on his arm, “Make it double time. Lex is down and it’s not good.”

“Lex?” he heard Irys reply, evident worry in her tone. “What happened?”

“She was shot and fell over the cliffside into the canyon. I’m going down after her.”

“Be careful. We’re on our way to you now,” he heard Kimber say. 

Echo gripped the cable on the other end of the hook and carefully slid over the edge, rappelling his way down the stone cliff face. 

Then Irys spoke on the comm, “I’ve looked over the layout of the land and I can’t determine if I can land the Aurora inside the canyon. Echo, you’ll have to make your way back up somehow.”

“Echo, you got a cable?” Wrecker asked. 

“Yeah, that’s how I’m getting down,” Echo responded. 

“Then leave the rest to me.”

Echo wanted to feel reassured, but he was too focused on just getting to Lex at the bottom of the canyon. Once he could see the ground was closer, he pushed off the wall and just slid all the way down until his feet hit stone. Once he felt it, he dashed quickly down through the rocks at the bottom to where Lex laid.

“Please be alive, please be alive,” he begged silently.

He practically dropped to his knees as he reached her side, tore his helmet off and analyzed her body up close. There were sparks still flying from her cybernetic arm where it had been shot. Her bare arms and her face had been scraped, bloodied and covered in dirt. There was a red abrasion on her forehead which looked like a mix between a scrape and a burn. She must’ve tumbled down the rocks before reaching this point. 

“Lex!” he cried, trying to keep his composure as he lightly shook her. 

She didn’t move. 

“Lex, please…don’t do this to me! Wake up! Lex!”

He shook her again and she stirred ever so slightly, a small groan sounding from her mouth. He breathed out shakily, relief hitting him so hard, it was almost painful. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as if it was painful for her to even open her eyes. 

“Lex,” he gasped out, cupping her cheek with his hand. 

Her heavy violet eyes met his worried golden ones and, to his surprise, she cocked the tiniest grin, letting out a small scoff. “Saved…you…,” she said, her voice straining. 

Echo didn’t know how to react. He wanted to chuckle at her repeating what he’d said to her before--and it somehow came as no surprise that this was how she greeted him--but she was so weak from her fall that it felt wrong to react as such. “Don’t speak,” he warned her. “Save your strength. The others are on their way.”

Through heavy breath, she faintly breathed out his name before her eyes closed again and her head fell against his hand. 

“Lex,” he said again, firmer now, like he could order her body to cooperate. “No, stay with me. Don’t you dare pass out on me.” He propped his flesh hand under her head and pulled her close, not even caring that the tips of her horns were poking into his skin on his arm. “I've got you,” he whispered, his voice on the verge of trembling. “I'm here. Just stay with me.”

Then Hunter’s voice came through on the comms. “Echo, what's the status on Lex?”

“She’s alive,” Echo said quickly, “but barely hanging on. Her cybernetic arm’s been damaged; blaster wounds, a broken leg and who knows what else.”

Tech’s voice cut in, “If her cybernetics took a direct hit, it could have shorted into her nervous system. She may likely go into shock.”

“Yeah, she's already unconscious,” Echo informed them. 

Then Irys spoke, “Kida has the bacta tank all prepped and ready.”

“Hurry!” Echo pleaded, sounding more desperate than he intended. 

Then again…he was desperate. The life of the woman he cared so deeply for was in danger; he could lose her. That was something he found he couldn't bear, even though it was a risk every day, given the lives they both led. She had to live…she had to.

His worrying was interrupted by Wrecker’s voice shouting his name from up above and, when he raised his eyes, he saw Wrecker's hulking form waving down to him. 

“Grab the line and I'll pull you up,” Wrecker cried.

As if on cue, he heard the light roaring of ship engines just before the silvery, metallic sheen of the Aurora appeared over the canyon, hovering close to the cliff’s edge where he could see the others getting ready to board.

Echo put his helmet back on and then carefully draped Lex’s good arm over his shoulders, lifting her while being extra cautious of her leg. It’s possible moving her like this would make some of her injuries worse, but with the bacta tank, none of that would matter…hopefully. He half carried, half dragged Lex’s limp form across the way over to the rope and he grabbed onto it with his own hand, holding Lex close against him, while Wrecker pulled him up. Rina stood up on the edge next to Wrecker and used her Force abilities to help keep them stable as they got pulled up. Once Echo got over the edge, Wrecker handed the cable to Rina and then grabbed Lex up into his strong arms. 

“Wrecker…,” Echo groaned as Rina pulled him up the rest of the way and he was prostrate on the ground.

Wrecker looked down at his brother, who raised his head up to look at him. Wrecker didn’t need to see Echo’s face to know how terrified he was while trying to keep it together like the soldier he was. His voice said it all as he begged Wrecker right then:

“Don’t let her die.”

After that, they had all gotten aboard the ship and set their course back to Ord Mantell immediately. Once Tech had removed Lex’s damaged arm for repairs, Wrecker had moved swiftly to the medical room where Kida was already waiting. Hunter had tried to get Echo to tell him what exactly had happened, but for once, Echo couldn’t focus. He could hear Hunter trying to talk to him, but his eyes were trained in the direction of the med room, hoping, praying; anything for Lex’s survival. She was strong, she was resilient; there was no way she could die now. 

Seeing Hunter wasn’t going to get through to him, Kimber had intervened and told her Sergeant to worry about the report later and to give Echo some space. She could see he was clearly worried beyond belief; more than she had ever seen before. 

Once Kida and Wrecker had come out of the medical room, Echo had gone straight inside without waiting and sat beside the bacta tank, keeping his eyes on his Zabrak beauty. It was the first time he saw her without her cybernetic arm. There was just the stump of her arm that was still plenty scarred from the explosion that had taken it. The image of her without her arm was also a bit unnerving, as well. How long had he been in here by this point? A couple of hours now? He had no idea; time had become irrelevant since coming into this room. 

That was something he just couldn’t wrap his head around. For most of his existence, he had been a soldier. He had seen multiple Clones; brothers he cared about fall in battle. He had survived an explosion at the Citadel as well as being torn apart and rebuilt on Skako Minor. Loss, death and pain were nothing new to him and his way of life…so why was the thought of losing Lex making him unable to breathe? Why was he struggling with accepting that she could possibly die?

Why was he…not himself?

He was so lost in these lamentations that he almost didn’t hear the door to the med room swish open behind him followed by soft footsteps approaching him. 

Then Kimber’s voice spoke softly and calmly, “Echo…are you okay?” Out of the corner of his eye, she saw him come up next to him. 

Without looking her way, he lightly shook his head. “I…I don’t know,” he replied, his voice low. 

Her hand rested on his shoulder, her touch serving as a balm for his anxiety. “She’ll pull through, Echo.” 

On instinct, he reached up and grasped her hand with his own, tighter than she anticipated. “She has to,” he said. “I couldn’t live with myself if she died because of me.”

“What happened?”

“There was a sniper. I should’ve seen him…but she pushed me out of the way as he took a shot. He hit her arm first, but she got pushed back. He took a second shot that hit her chest and that’s when she went over the edge. I couldn’t get to her in time and she fell into the canyon.”

“She would say the sacrifice was worth it because she saved your life, but it’s not going to come to that.”

Echo wanted to believe that, but after seeing Lex’s broken body and watching her in this bacta tank, still unresponsive, he wasn’t sure of anything. “You don’t know that, Kim,” he said grimly. 

He heard her sigh. “You’re right, I don’t,” she said. Then she knelt down beside him where he could see her, keeping his hand clasped within her own. “What I do know is that I have hope for Lex…because if I didn’t, then I would be lost to worry and despair, which I can’t let happen. I’m not going to let you lose hope either.”

He looked down at his lap, his expression so sorrowful, he seemed almost on the verge of breaking. It hurt Kimber’s heart to see him this way. He was always so calm and collected; he stayed strong even in dire circumstances. This incident with Lex must’ve really shaken him to his very core, which told her one important thing:

Echo was in love with Lex.

She squeezed his hand tightly. “Come what may, you have me and the rest of us at your side through all of this. I promise you that.”

His gaze lifted, but his eyes were still focused on the bacta tank. He swallowed and his jaw clenched as he inhaled deeply. “I love her, Kimber,” he declared softly yet resolutely.

The corners of her lips twitched up in a tiny smile. “I know.”

“Is…is this how you felt when Hunter got shot on Bracca?” he asked, seeming hesitant to bring up the subject.

Memories of that awful moment flashed across her mind and her chest constricted slightly, remembering Hunter lying motionless on the ground with a hole in his chest. “Yes,” she simply said. 

He hung his head. “She looked so broken…so helpless.”

“Don’t think about that,” she cautioned him. 

His breathing began to quicken. “If I had just seen the sniper…if I had just been faster, I--”

“Echo, stop.” She reached up and grasped the sides of his head, bringing him down until their foreheads touched together. “You need to stay calm and breathe. Breathe with me.”

His warm breath, coming out in rapid succession, started to slow as he found the rhythm with her breathing. It had been a long time since either of them had to do this, but it was their shared tactic in helping each other calm down during their panic attacks. It still felt no less familiar than last time.

Once she could tell he was calming down, she told him softly, “You can’t think like that. That guilt will only eat you alive if you keep letting it. It wasn’t your fault. She wouldn’t want you to blame yourself nor would she blame you for what happened.”

All Echo could do after she pulled away was hang his head low again, his eyes closing as he struggled keeping his composure. His shoulders tensed up, but then eventually relaxed as he exhaled deeply. “I know you’re right,” he relented.

“You should go get some sleep,” Kimber suggested. 

However, he shook his head solemnly. “I won’t leave her, Kim,” he replied. “I can’t.” 

She sighed quietly. She had a feeling that was what he’d say. Not that she blamed him, though. If she were in his shoes, she would’ve done the same thing. “All right, then at least try and rest when you can,” she told him, gesturing to the bed in the corner. 

Finally, he met her gaze and mustered up a small, grateful smile. “Thanks for always looking out for me.”

“Of course,” she said. “What do you need? What can I do to help?” 

“I just…need you to keep holding onto hope for Lex to pull through.”

“I can do that.”

“And keep me right if I start to lose myself.”

Kimber put a hand on his shoulder. “I will.”

With that, she stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Echo alone once again. While he was grateful for her words and comfort, it still wasn’t enough to ease his worries completely. It helped somewhat, at least, but as long as Lex was still unconscious in the bacta tank, his anxiety wouldn’t fully be quelled. 

He placed his hand on the glass. “I know you…you’re strong, my angel. Keep fighting and come back. I won’t let this be the end for you. Come back to me.”

Unbeknownst to him, on Lex’s other side that he couldn’t see, one of her fingers on her good hand twitched ever so slightly. 

Several more hours passed and everyone else was growing more and more uneasy. Lex’s wounds looked like they were healing and, after Tech and Kida had scanned her brain and head, it was shown that any trauma done to that area was also improving. However, Lex still didn’t wake. Even though her vital signs were steady and her brain was still functioning, she had yet to regain consciousness. The Clones were hiding their worries well enough, save for Omega. Kimber was helping her stay calm and distracted, which was helping her not be so worried, as well.

Despite being encouraged to rest, Echo remained beside the bacta tank. Every once in a while, he debated going over to the bed to sleep like Kimber had suggested, but the thought of turning his attention away from Lex for even a minute made him anxious. What if something went wrong and he wasn’t awake to help? What if she woke up and he wasn’t at her side to greet her and check on her? His eyes were growing heavy, but he wouldn’t give in to his exhaustion. Not until he knew Lex was okay. 

He felt himself starting to drift off just a little when he swore he saw her head move. His eyes popped open and he became more alert. Was she awake? Sure enough, when he looked closer, her violet eyes fluttered open and her head turned in his direction, making eye contact with him.

“Lex!” he gasped out in relief, laying his hand on the glass.

She reached over with her good hand and placed it on her side of the glass, lining it up with his for a short moment before reaching down to her side to a small inner console where she pushed a button. Shortly after, the bacta in the tank started to drain out. Echo took a step back so the tank could open up once it was empty. Lex pulled off the breathing apparatus just as the lid to the tank opened up. She tried to sit up, but fell back a little as she realized she was without both arms.

“I’ve got you,” he assured her, taking her hand in his and bracing her back with his scomp arm as he slowly guided her up.

“Echo, are you okay?” she asked, swinging her legs over the edge of the tank.

Perplexed at that question, he asked back, “You were shot and fell down a cliff and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“Of course. I need to make sure I didn’t get shot for nothing,” she replied. 

He shook his head, but couldn’t hold back a tiny grin. Lex definitely seemed like herself. “I’m fine,” he told her. 

“Good.” She glanced down at her left stump. “I assume my cybernetic arm took a pretty hard hit.”

“Yeah, Tech is working on the repairs.” He gestured down to the leg she had broken. “How does your leg feel?”

She moved it back and forth with relative ease. “It feels all right. A little sore at the moment, but I’m sure it’ll be fine once I get up and moving.”

Suddenly, his hand was cupping her cheek and his eyes were staring intently into hers. “Are you okay, Lex?”

“I am, Echo, I promise,” she assured him. Then she added casually, “Besides, Zabraks have two hearts, so I wouldn’t go down so easily anyway.”

He let out a sigh, wondering how she could be so nonchalant about all of this. “What have I told you about taking unnecessary risks like that?” he asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “Saving your life is never an unnecessary risk. I would do it again without hesitation.”

His grip on her head tightened and he brought himself forward, bringing his forehead against hers. “Please don’t,” he nearly begged.

There was a tremor in his voice she had never heard before and it startled her. “Echo….”

“I can’t see you like that again. I thought I was going to lose you. I’ve already lost so many brothers; people I cared about…I couldn’t take the thought of losing you, too.”

Lex reached up and laid her hand over his that still held her face. “Hey, I’m still here, hon. You haven’t lost me.”

“But I almost did,” he said back, leaning back to look at her face. 

His thumb brushed ever so gently over the skin of her cheek and right then, she felt a sudden shift in the air somehow. The way he looked at her was both tender and afraid. There was something in the way his eyes searched hers and how his lips parted slightly that told her he was about to say something…and she had a sinking feeling what it was going to be. He looked at her like he was trying to memorize every feature on her face like she would soon disappear.

He had to tell her.

“Lex…,” he said, her name sounding softer than she’d ever heard it. “You have no idea how much you mean to me.”

Her pulse quickened and a feeling of unease crept up within her as her hand dropped to her lap. “Oh no…please don’t say it,” she thought.

“Since the beginning, you’ve brought out the best in me. You see me for who I am, not what I am, and I see you for who you are,” he went on. “You’re strong, resilient and kind, more than you may believe. You’re an angel…you’re my angel.”

Now, her throat tightened and her fingers curled into her palm. Every instinct inside her was screaming at her to get up and run. Her pulse was pounding so much, she could feel it even in the tips of her horns. “No…please, no…..”

Then he said it…the three words she dreaded ever hearing again:

“I love you.”

The moment Echo said it, Lex felt as though she’d been shot through the chest again, this time by an unseen blaster bolt. What should’ve brought her a sense of warmth and joy only brought her panic and a sense of danger. The last time she’d heard those words, her world had been shattered into a thousand pieces.

“No…no, this can’t be happening! Not again!”

All she could do was stare at him wide-eyed and, when he stepped back to really look at her, he could see it: the pure, immobilizing fear in her eyes. Had he made a mistake in telling her how he really felt?

“Lex, I’m--”

“No…no, no, you can’t say that,” she interrupted him, shaking her head.

“Why not?” he asked. “It’s true.”

“No!” she cried out, a little louder than she expected. She pushed herself off the tank and onto her feet. Her leg throbbed slightly and she stumbled, but caught herself as she moved a few steps away from Echo. “Those words are dangerous, Echo. When it comes to me, they only bring pain, heartbreak and death.” 

It was then he began to understand. Despite all the time they'd been together, she was still haunted by her past with Dune, the man she had loved who had betrayed her by revealing he'd used her to get to people she knew to kill them. He thought he’d been able to help her move past all that, but it seemed that some of her trauma was still deeply rooted within her; there was a wound that had yet to fully heal. 

“I know what you’ve been through,” he said to comfort her. “I know the pain you’ve suffered and I won’t ever make you suffer like that again.”

However, she shook her head again, a light whimper sounding from her throat. “I’ve been lied to before. You can’t make such promises.”

“Yes, I can, because I would rather die than hurt you. I told you that after the masquerade gala and it’s still true.”

She just continued shaking her head, her hand coming up to her temple.

Even though he was trying his best to understand her, there was still a part of him that was somewhat stung by her reaction to his confession. “We’ve been together for a long time, Lex. Did you not think this would happen eventually?” 

Lex stayed silent, her eyes focused on the ground.

Her lack of a response didn’t inspire much confidence in Echo. Then he asked a question that he dreaded hearing the answer to: “Do you not love me then?” 

That’s what made her look up at him at last. She looked unsure and at a loss for words, which was the opposite of what he was hoping for.

“It’s not that simple for me to answer,” she answered.

That made Echo’s heart clench. “You threw yourself in front of a sniper for me,” he said softly. “You can’t tell me that didn’t mean something.” 

She turned away as tears sprung to her eyes, her back facing him. “I…I can’t do this right now, Echo. I’m sorry.”

For a brief moment, he reached out to touch her shoulder, but then resisted. He wanted to try and talk to her; he wanted to sort this out and get through to her, but he knew it would only make it worse. He wanted to understand her pain more than he thought he already did, but he also was hurt by not hearing her admit that she loved him back. He was so sure that she did until now, which made him feel hollow inside.

He relented and told her quietly, “I’ll leave you alone then.”

She heard his footsteps walking away from her and she looked back over her shoulder, watching him go towards the med room door. “Wait…Echo…please, don’t go,” she pleaded in her mind. She wanted him to stay, but she couldn’t bring herself to follow him or stop him. She watched as he opened the door, stepped through and closed the door behind him, leaving her by herself in the med room. Once the door was shut, something inside her broke. Her hand clamped over her mouth and she gradually fell to her knees, quiet sobs of regret wracking her still healing body.

What had she just done? She thought she had moved on from everything that had happened with Dune, but those three words had unearthed a deep fear she hadn’t overcome; damage she hadn’t yet healed from. She should’ve been happy to hear Echo say such a thing to her, but they brought her back to a dark place; an awful time.

Dune’s malicious voice from all those years ago returned to her mind: “You know, sweet Lex, I’ve learned that love is actually a weapon; a tool to get whatever you want. All I had to do was tell you I love you and I had you wrapped so tightly around my finger that it made it so easy to manipulate you.”

No…that wasn’t true. Love was so much more than that and Echo had shown that to her. She knew it deep down, but she wasn’t able to bring herself to say it.

Then she heard Echo’s voice, full of disappointment, in her head: “Do you not love me then?”

She let out a choked sob. “It’s not that I don’t love you…I do…,” she wept aloud. “I’m just…afraid.”

For the first time since she’d fallen off the cliff, the distance between them felt far greater than any canyon.

Kimber and Irys were sitting together in the main area of the ship, engaging in just casual conversation to keep themselves distracted from their worries over Lex. Everyone else had gone off to other rooms to rest--except for Tech, who was still hard at work at fixing Lex’s arm--but these two found that rest was not coming very easily to them. 

After a while, they heard a door swish open from the direction of the medical room and both of them perked up in anticipation. In seconds, Echo came trudging into the room, looking rather dour, which troubled them both.

As the two of them stood up, Echo told them, “Lex is awake.”

A gasp of relief escaped Kimber. “Oh that’s wonderful!” she exclaimed. Though, her smile faded almost immediately as she realized that he didn’t look happy.

He simply said in reply, “I’ll inform Tech so he can return her arm when he’s finished.” Then without waiting for anything else, he walked away further into the ship.

Both Kimber and Irys were silent, stunned beyond belief at Echo’s somber and less enthusiastic reaction to Lex finally waking up. They thought he’d be overjoyed. Something was terribly wrong.

Irys, though, had a hunch as to what it was. She was the first to speak up, asking, “Kimber, when you spoke to Echo earlier…did he say or admit anything to you?”

“What do you mean?” KImber asked back.

“Let me clarify: did he tell you he was in love with Lex?”

“He…yes, he did.”

Then Irys sighed loudly with exasperation. “I knew it. I was afraid of this.”

Kimber’s head tilted in confusion. “Afraid of what?”

“My theory is that Echo told her he loved her and that sent Lex into a panic. Either that or she wasn’t able to say it in return.”

“But why? Surely, she loves him, too. We’ve all seen it.”

“That’s exactly it: we all can see it except for her because she refuses to see it. The words ‘I love you’ hold only pain and suffering for her. Even hearing it from Echo isn’t enough to change that yet.”

Then it hit Kimber exactly what it was. “Dune,” she simply said. 

Irys bowed her head in confirmation. “One of the last things he said to her was that love is a weapon; that all he had to do was tell her ‘I love you’ in order to gain control over her. That was the last time she heard someone say ‘I love you’ and her entire life was destroyed in that one moment.” Irys clenched her fists at her sides. “He’s lucky that Lex killed him that day. If he were still alive, I would find him and kill him myself for everything he did to her. He traumatized her so badly that all these years later, she’s still suffering from those emotional wounds.”

Hearing everything Irys just told her, Kimber’s heart broke for Lex with every word. How could someone be so cruel to her? She thought she already knew the whole story and didn’t think it could get any worse. She hated that she was wrong about that. She looked back and forth between the hall where the med room was and the direction Echo had gone. Her heart ached for both of them, but she didn’t know who she should go to in order to comfort them. 

“Is there anything we can do?” she asked her friend.

Once again, Irys sighed. “I’m not certain unfortunately,” she answered. “I think they both just need space for now. Surely, the others are bound to notice that something is different between them and how they address it is up to them.”

“You don’t think they’ll break up, do you?”

“I highly doubt that. What they have is strong. It will endure this. As I said, they’ll just need some time and space to figure things out. Echo has already changed Lex more than he realizes. I’m confident she’ll find it in herself to fully accept his love and her love for him.”

“Let’s hope she does,” said Kimber, “and let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

Irys grunted. “I’ll make sure of that,” she declared. “Echo is the best thing that’s ever happened to Lex and I’m not going to let her lose him over this. She’s afraid and I understand that. The pain of her past runs far deeper than she lets on, but she is healing. I know she can overcome the fear that still plagues her. I just want her to see that she is deserving of love and that she can love without restraint again.” Then she gestured with her head to the hall Echo had disappeared into. “Echo seemed quite disheartened, though. I hope he won't give up on her, thinking he's lost her.”

Kimber then declared, “Giving up is not in his nature. I'm sure he'll need time to process, but he won't give up on Lex for anything. I know how much he values and adores her. He's been patient with her since the start, knowing her past, and he'll do the same now.”

Nodding, Irys replied, “I'll trust your judgement on that since you know Echo far better than I do. He is your best friend, after all.”

Kimber smiled. “He is, indeed. I know him pretty well. He fights for what he believes is right and loyalty is everything to him and the Clones. He's wholeheartedly loyal to Lex and he'll keep fighting for her. You can definitely count on that.”

Meanwhile, Echo made his way back to the room where he figured Tech would be. Sure enough, he was still hard at work on Lex’s arm, sparks flying around from his welding pick. 

“Are you almost finished?” Echo asked him.

Without looking up at him, Tech replied, “I’ve run several tests over the last few hours to ensure the arm’s functionality and have concluded that the internal damage from the blaster bolt proved to be more substantial than I anticipated. However, I am certain I can complete the repairs before we arrive on Ord Mantell.”

“Fine,” Echo resigned rather quickly. “I just wanted to let you know that Lex is awake, so you can return her arm to her when you’re done.” With that being said, he turned to leave.

“Echo.”

Hearing Tech say his name, Echo stopped and looked back.

Tech had ceased the repairs and was watching him carefully. “I assumed you would’ve been more enthusiastic about Lex’s awakening. Instead, you appear distressed. Is something the matter?”

Echo simply replied, “I haven’t slept for hours, so it’s just my exhaustion catching up. Don’t worry about me.” He didn’t give Tech a chance to respond and left the room abruptly. He went down the hall only a few steps before he started stumbling slightly and he fell into the wall, trying to keep himself up. He just wanted to let himself collapse to the floor and stay there. Instead, he leaned back and slid down the wall until he hit the ground, letting his head fall forward into the heel of his hand. Everything was spinning and for once, he felt weak.

Further up the hall, he could hear Irys and Kimber’s faint voices talking to each other.

“Is there anything we can do?” he heard Kimber ask.

Irys answered, “I’m not certain unfortunately. I think they both just need space for now. Surely, the others are bound to notice that something is different between them….”

The two ladies continued speaking, but their voices drowned out as Echo lost himself to his own thoughts. He couldn’t get the terrified look on Lex’s face out of his head. His heart ached that she looked scared of him and couldn’t return his affections. He understood that her past with Dune had something to do with it and he was trying to accept that, but in the moment, it still stung. He thought they had grown close enough that maybe she’d overcome her past, but it seemed she still had a ways to go. He’d known from the beginning he’d need to be patient with her as she healed from everything and he was more than willing to be; he loved her too much to give up…but it was proving a lot more difficult this time.