#clonesimp

"Well, isn't it just clothes? What's so special about them?" Tech wondered.

"Rich people are stupid," you grumbled, "They have more money than they know what to do with, so they spend it on things like trying to look more interesting than they actually are. They're all bored, so they start finding weird things to be critical of. Like clothes."

You started scrolling through a holonet market to try to shop for some proper clothing. Hunter had decided that exploding onto the scene and catching attention right away would be the best option to draw out the interest of the Source. And even if the Source wasn't there anymore, he'd shrewdly pointed out, other Separatist sympathizers would be drawn to you, opening other doors to intel.

So, he'd decided with input from others that the dynamic would be that of a wealthy group that had bonded over mutual odd interests in different body modifications or weaponry and had formed a strange harem that traveled together. Everyone had come up with a fake background with your help, and Tech had created false records in case anyone decided to be curious enough to look you up. Plus, it would give you credibility as "new money" on the scene thanks to the Galactic War. No one would think it strange that a group interested in weaponry would make money off of the War.

It created enough intrigue at the very least, Hunter had agreed, and the nature of your relationships within the group would be more than enough to keep people talking. Echo had still been wary about it, but he'd seen the purpose of it, and he didn't seem to be opposed, per se. Just... hesitant. Unsure.

Letting out a whine, you finally sat back and closed your eyes, thinking. You'd probably have to go through it one by one, so you might as well start with Tech since he was in the room with you. His fabricated background was that of an technology expert, naturally. According to the records, he'd started off with an interest in weapons manufacturing and branched off eventually into dreadnought schematics and other experimental designs. Considering the possibilities for his background, he'd decided that he would come from a Midrim Planet that had developed quite a few manufacturing plants since the War had started.

Gazing thoughtfully at Tech, you started to piece together an outfit in your mind. Tilting your head, you grabbed your datapad and searched up a few ideas that started to form in your mind. Compiling a few outfits, you grinned in triumph and made the purchase.

Standing with the datapad, you headed off to find the others. A few hours later, you'd finalized your purchases and scheduled them to be delivered to the hotel you'd be staying at for the first few days on the planet while preparing for the mission. With a pleased nod, you went to go find Hunter.

You found him in the common room, going over his report to send to Captain Rex. He looked up as you entered, shuffling over to offer you a seat next to him.

"Finished, mesh'la?" he asked calmly, wrapping an arm around your waist.

You hummed absently, pushing the datapad toward him. "Well, I've found the outfits for you and the others," you started, eyebrows furrowing, "but I'm still not entirely sure what sort of impression you want to make with me? I've found a few designs that would go with the rest of your outfits, but each style sort of... they insinuate something different when put with the others." You pointed out the different styles you'd picked out.

Hunter leaned closer to take a look. He tilted his head, dark eyes surveying the outfits on the screen.

"You said that the type of wealthy people we'll be interacting with like mystery," he finally said slowly. "Why not all of these? If it's different each time, it'll add to the intrigue, don't you think?"

You blinked. "I guess. I hadn't thought of that," you said thoughtfully, pulling the datapad closer. Looking back down at it, you tapped your lips in thought. "But..." You blew out a breath, pouting. "I just hate attention," you whined, pulling at your hair. "I know I have to, it'll happen whether I like it or not, but I don't like it when people notice me."

Hunter chuckled, tugging you closer. He nuzzled your ear. "Don't worry, mesh'la," he murmured. "You'll be surrounded by five very selfish partners, hmm?"

You flushed, realizing how close he was at the moment. "I—" You bit your lip.

Hunter brushed his mouth against the shell of your ear. Was Cross right, mesh'la? What do you think will happen when we're all in a room together with you? For several days, even?

The low husk of his voice made you shiver, but you desperately tried to gather yourself. Turning your head, you gave him a wobbly pout.

"You're no help, Hunter," you sulked. "I'm trying to make sure we have a successful mission."

He just chuckled, briefly kissing your cheek. "And I know you'll succeed. We'll be just fine." Leaning back, he nodded at your datapad. "Do what you think is best, Shiv. There's a reason we were assigned this mission."

You just nodded, turning back to find yourself a few outfits. A part of you hated having to remember how to interact with the bored, rich folk that Trench had ingratiated with to climb the ladder; and an even bigger part of you dreaded having to sell yourself to them all over again, even if it was in a different way now. But there was another, little piece of you that almost wanted to look forward to it. Look forward to getting to dress in something you chose for yourself, to being with the people that you loved and wanted to be around.

And speaking of which, you were currently more stressed about your boys than even the mission. You knew, could feel over the bonds, that all of them were getting a bit... desperate. After the close shaves of the past few missions and now having to tiptoe a bit around Echo, they were finding it difficult to keep their hands off of you. And you were trying to manage both the situation with Echo and gently staving off the boys at the same time.

With a soft groan, you slumped forward for a moment.

"You alright, mesh'la?" Hunter asked lazily.

You sighed and stirred, standing to stretch. "I'm fine, just tired," you said, setting the datapad down. "I finished, the stuff is going to be delivered to the first hotel we're staying at the day we arrive." Glancing at the time, you started toward the door. "I'm going to go take a nap before I do any more."

You'd offered to share your bunk with Echo, knowing that no one would find it strange since you'd done it plenty of times before with the 501st. He'd taken you up on the offer, and you'd both dealt with nightmares already. Though, to be fair, it wasn't as though you weren't used to that, either. You'd had your own dark past, and War was never kind to soldiers. Whether with the 501st or the Bad Batch, you'd always had to deal with nightmares.

Echo looked up as you came into the room. "Oh, Shiv."

You groaned, collapsing next to him on the bunk. Curling up, you let out a sigh and closed your eyes. "Gonna nap," you mumbled, already drifting off. "Wake me if you need me."

~

You tapped away at the datapad, trying to make a few last moment purchases. Wrecker carried you on his shoulders along with a few other bags as the group made their way toward the hotel. His laughter rippled through the humid air of Ral'shan.

You finally finished, then looked up with an owlish blink.

"Shiv." Hunter looked up at you. "You have the reservation, right?"

You nodded, noticing that you'd arrived in front of the hotel. It was nowhere near as luxurious as the one you'd be going to in a few days for the mission, but it wasn't anything to turn your nose up at, either. It towered up high in the sky, closer to the city center where all the common tourist attractions were. Thankfully for Hunter's sake, the room you'd been given was high up where there was less noise.

"Down, please, Wreck?" You patted his arm.

He reached up and effortlessly set you back down. "There ya go, Shiv."

You smiled up at him. "Thank you!" Taking a glance back the way you'd come, you walked into the hotel and headed for the front desk. At least, you thought with a mental sigh, you knew what to expect from your time in slavery under Trench.

"Welcome to Tiyerran Hotel!" The receptionist gave you a wide smile.

You smiled back, sliding your datapad across. "Thank you. Here's our reservation."

She took the datapad, scanning it into their system. Nodding, she handed it back to you. "Yes, of course, here you are! The name is under (Name), correct?"

You blinked for a moment, surprised that the reservation was made under your name. But then, when you thought about it, it made sense. No one else's name would really make sense for an undercover mission.

"Yes," you answered. "Thank you."

She nodded, then handed you a small pouch. "Here are the passes to get into your room," she said cheerfully, glancing behind you at the others waiting for you in the lobby. "The lifts are right through that door. Your room is on the forty-seventh floor. I see here that you also have a delivery that's been made to your room. Have a great stay!"

You gave her a nod, taking the pouch, then headed back toward the rest of the Bad Batch.

They turned to you. "Got it, Shiv?" Tech asked.

You nodded. "We're on the forty-seventh floor, lifts are back there," you said, pointing. “Should I carry a bag?"

They shook their heads. "Lead the way, Shiv, we'll follow," Hunter said, grabbing bags.

"Do we have to take the lift?" Wrecker groaned as you all got in. "Why did we have to get a room so high up?"

"Do you want to hold hands?" Cross jeered, no bite in his voice.

"No!" Wrecker protested, glaring back. "I just don't do good with gravity."

Echo patted Wrecker's arm. "It's fine, Wrecker, we should be safe in the hotel," he offered sympathetically.

"Thanks," Wrecker sighed morosely.

You, on the other hand, enjoyed the ride up the lift. Heights had never really bothered you, especially since as a weapon you often got tossed around. You got used to it, you supposed. You turned once the doors opened, and quickly found your rather large suite down the hallway.

"Whoa, this is really nice," Echo remarked as he walked in.

You had to agree. The suite had two giant beds in it, with a lounge area and even a whole caf and tea bar. A wall of transparisteel stretched on the other side of the room, offering a custom-tint system to adjust levels of privacy.

You gravitated toward the window, looking out over the city central. A few clouds scattered a bit lower than the windows, lazily drifting by.

"It's really pretty," you cheered, looking out toward the horizon. "Oh, and we're on the side facing the sunsets!" You pointed toward the horizon where the dual-star system would set in a few hours.

Tech came up beside you. "It looks like there's a few bars that are open for the whole cycle nearby," he noted, peering down at the ground. "And that area, according to my intel, is where we might find some interesting local cuisine."

Your eyes lit up as you turned to him. "Oooh, do we get to go try it? I love trying new foods! Do they have interesting street food?" You clapped excitedly.

"As far as I know, there's a whole street of vendors," Tech agreed with a similar gleam in his eye. He was always down for new experiences. "And there's even a specialty drink that I've wanted to try called a Blue Egg."

"Well stop chatting about it and help unpack so we can go," Hunter said dryly from the other side of the room.

You turned, hurrying over to help. After an hour or so of unpacking the bags you'd brought and the crates of things you'd ordered, you stepped back from the closet with a nod. You'd put together all the outfits you'd ordered and neatly hung them up so that you could easily pack and transport them when you moved to the other hotel.

Wrecker and Crosshair had set up the weapons rack against a wall. The electrospear you'd been given by the Poletecs had its own space on the rack as well. Hunter, Tech, and Echo had unpacked the other bags of personal items and casual clothing in the meantime.

"I'm going to get ready," you called, grabbing your clothes and heading to the fresher to change.

As you changed, you had to send a mental thanks to Captain Rex for putting in a request for getting you a functional wardrobe. Most of your clothes had somehow gotten ruined from missions, so you'd been down to just two or three pairs. Thankfully, the budget you'd been given for this undercover mission had also covered getting you some new clothes. You'd ordered them, of course, in order to be able to access them for the mission.

Taking a final glance in the mirror to make sure you weren't missing anything, you walked back out to open the fresher to whoever else needed it. Considering the warm humidity and the prospect of walking the streets and going to a bar, you'd decided to wear a pair of shorts and a loose, summery top. You'd pulled your hair back with a hairband but otherwise didn't have any other sort of jewelry. The off-the-shoulder top felt airy and comfortable as you moved around the room, grabbing a small bag to sling around yourself and keep some credits and your comm in.

"Whoa, Shiv, you look super pretty!" Wrecker stared at you with a sort of stupid grin, standing by the couch.

Color splashed across your face as you laughed. "Thank you, Wrecker," you said with a warm smile. You walked up to him, holding your bag. "You ready? I can't wait to try the food!"

He nodded. "Yeah! I bet it's not going to be as good as yours, though."

The way Wrecker's eyes followed you with infatuation kept the warmth in your cheeks, though. You wondered if he had taken a particular fancy to the flowery, loose top you wore. After all, the only outfits the Bad Batch had ever seen you in had been your combat suits for missions, oversized shirts and shorts on the ship, and the one dress you'd worn to the 79s. You'd never really worn anything this... civilian.

"I think we're just waiting for Cross," Hunter remarked, coming up with Tech and Echo. His eyes trailed over you appreciatively. "You look good, Shiv," he complimented with a small smile.

"Thanks," you answered shyly.

"I've never seen you wear a headband before," Tech said, tilting his head and gazing at the simple silver band in your hair. "It's quite nice."

"Thank you, Tech— oh, your shirt." You caught sight of a button that had popped loose on his shirt. Moving forward, you buttoned it back and smoothed the shirt over his shoulders to get rid of the wrinkles. "There."

"Thanks, Shiv." Tech gave you a nod.

You turned to give Echo an excited smile. "Ready, Echo?"

He nodded. "I guess so." Then he stepped toward you, reaching out. "Your hair slipped again." His fingers gently rearranged your hair in the front, pushing it under your headband. He glanced down at your face and seemed to freeze for a second as though he hadn't realized what he was doing.

But you'd caught sight of his sleeve. It was your turn to reach up and adjust his cuff. "Oh, there. Thanks, Echo. My hair always hates me," you sighed.

He nodded awkwardly and pulled back. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

Cross walked out of the fresher. "Let's get this over with," he muttered.

Tech led the way this time, while you fell into step between Wrecker and Echo. Wrecker grabbed your hand, swinging it as you walked. "What's the first thing you wanna eat?" he asked excitedly. "I wanna find the biggest thing they have!"

You laughed at him. "I think I want something sweet," you admitted. "You, Echo?"

"Uh..." He thought about it for a minute. "Something... salty," he decided.

"I've heard that their spicy foods are quite well known in this area," Tech piped up.

"Spicy noodles!" you cheered, throwing your hands up.

Wrecker cheered with you, distracted from the lift. "Yeah, spicy noodles!" He paused. "Wait, noodles?"

Everyone walked into the lobby, laughing at Wrecker's confused protests. Tech led you out into the streets, dusk just beginning to fall on the city. The horizon had started to blush a few shades of soft pinks.

Still holding hands with Wrecker, fingers laced, you pointed at a few interestingly-shaped buildings as you walked along. You both dragged Echo into guessing games of how long it would take to scale some of the taller buildings, or how you'd do it. Finally, though, you all reached the vendors' street of the outside market.

Your eyes lit up as you bounced on your toes. "Oh, look! Wrecker, Echo, over there!" You pulled at Wrecker, dragging him over to a booth with some local skewers. Everyone except for Hunter decided to try the skewers, resuming your walk down the street. Thanks to the more casual civilian clothes you'd gotten for the boys, your group blended in with the rest of the tourists and locals mingling in the market.

“That one next!” Wrecker yanked you over to another booth.

You tripped, stumbling after him laughing. Cheeks flushed, you took the snack he offered with a smile. Your hands were still linked, swinging as you both took a bite from the food. Your eyes lit up at the salty crunch, and you had to do a little bounce of happiness as you savored the flavors.

“Now this is the best!” Wrecker shouted, already finished with his.

You finished the snack and hummed in agreement, licking your fingers.

“Shiv, look.” Tech pointed toward a nearby booth.

You squealed, dropping Wrecker’s hand and grabbing Tech’s. “Spicy noodles!” You cheered, yanking him toward the booth.

“Whoa— Shiv—“

Your eyes twinkled as you took the bowl from the vendor with thanks. Turning to Tech, you grinned at him. “I bet I can finish this faster than you can, Tech,” you challenged.

Tech grabbed his own bowl. “Well, let’s find out, Shiv,” he accepted, lifting the bowl.

Wrecker choked on his mouthful. “Spicy—“ he rasped, handing the bowl to Echo and coughing.

You lifted the bowl to your mouth and started unapologetically inhaling the noodles. The spice burst on your tongue, setting your mouth on fire. But you only started eating faster, absolutely delighted at the familiar sting of the spice that seemed somehow refreshing. Chewing the last of the noodles, you drank down the rest of the soup in the bowl and set the bowl down.

Tech looked up, still finishing his noodles. Finishing his, he set his down with a smile of defeat.

“Whoa Shiv, didn’t know you loved noodles that much,” Hunter remarked with a small smile. “You beat Tech.”

You had to laugh, grabbing a tissue and a glass of water. “I’ve always loved this dish,” you said with a shrug, clearing out your sinuses and your palate. You turned to the vendor. “Thank you so much!”

She gave you a nod and smile. “It’s good to see someone who enjoys good food. Have fun, dear.”

You waved, then bounced over to Tech and gave him a hug. “You did good, Tech,” you laughed, grabbing his hand. “Can we have something sweet now?” You begged.

“Here, Shiv.” Echo walked up, holding a handful of candied sweets. He offered everyone one.

You let go of Tech’s hand and took one. “Thank you, Echo!” Holding the stick in both hands, you bit into the candied fruit. You closed your eyes as the flavor burst in your mouth and seemed to rush straight to your head.

Dusk had settled on the horizon, the sky starting to turn from pinks to reds and purples. Invested in savoring your snack, you missed the way the Bad Batch stared at the way the soft colors splashed across your figure, bathing you in the lights of the market. Your top fluttered in the light breeze, seeming to absorb the colors of the sunset.

You finished your snack and pouted a little at not having more. Still holding the stick, you looked up at the others. Hunter chuckled, reaching out to brush a few sticky pieces of candy from the corner of your lips.

“You’ve gotten a bit messy,” he said, a light of fondness in his eyes as he gazed down at you.

You let him brush it away, reaching out to grab at his shirt for balance. “Oh. Thank you.” You scrunched your nose as he brushed the last of it away, going cross-eyed trying to look down at your nose. “Is it gone?” You licked your lips, getting the last of the candy off.

“I think so.”

You looked up to say something when a noise caught your attention. Words freezing on the tip of your tongue, you tilted your head and perked up to listen. Turning your head, you started to walk toward the source of the sound. You barely realized that the others had glanced at each other and started to follow, too focused on the music that started to play.

Eyes widening, you paused and stared at a space that had been cleared in the market where a group of musicians began to play. Many of the tourists and locals had gathered around, clapping and singing. Many also danced, dragging friends or family into the circle and beginning to dance with abandon as the others watched on and cheered encouragement.

You hadn’t danced in so long, and the music lit up your heart and made you yearn for it. Glancing around, you saw a booth that sold some light, fluttery skirts and went to go get one. Slipping it on over your shorts, you bounced back to the others with a grin. Shrugging your bag off, you handed it to Wrecker.

“Hold this,” you said breathlessly, then ran toward the dancing group. You’d recognized the tune as a popular dance number, and just as you’d expected, a couple of people who knew the song had gathered. You joined, earning cheers as they gleefully ushered you into the circle.

You joined in the dance, your body falling back into the familiar movements. The high-energy dance involved spins and twirls within a circle formation, a pattern widely-common across the galaxy. Your arms lifted and fell with the rhythm of the music, and you turned to clap hands with the person beside you. Everyone grinned at each other, simply enjoying the carefree moment of life with strangers who did the same.

The group did one last circle before the music ended and you all bowed to each other. A burst of cheers and applause followed, and you laughed breathlessly. A tug at your skirt made you look down to see a little Twi’lek girl looking up at your shyly, her mother standing behind her.

You crouched, the skirt fluttering around you. “Well hello there,” you greeted softly, smiling at her.

She smiled back shyly. “Um— you dance really pretty, miss,” she chirped, her voice sweet like the sugar that still lingered on your tongue.

Your eyes widened. “Oh! Why thank you so much,” you thanked her, your heart melting. “I’m sure you dance just as well.”

She giggled. “My Mama says that giving flowers to dancers shows that you liked their dancing. Can I give you these?” She stepped closer, offering you a crown of summer flowers.

You clasped your hands in front of you. “Oh! I would be so happy to receive them!” you said breathlessly. Bending your head, you let her settle the flowers around your head. Looking back up, you reached out and gently clasped her hand in yours. “Thank you for the honor, little lady. I’m glad you liked my dancing,” you said softly.

She nodded, face lighting up. “Yeah! I hope I can be like you one day!”

You stood and gave her and her mother a polite curtsey, spreading your skirt a little. The girl’s mother gave you a grateful smile and nod, and the little girl waved and called a farewell as her mother led her away. Reaching up, you pressed your fingers against the slight ache in your chest.

I hope I can be like you one day!

“I hope you won’t have to, little one,” you whispered into the wind, then shook yourself. Turning, you ran lightly back to the others. You beamed up at them. “That was fun!” You reached up and took the flower crown, bouncing over to Echo. “I think I’m gonna crown you the new King of Summer!” You declared, settling the crown around his headpiece and clapping your hands with a laugh.

Echo took it with a resigned smile. “I guess Fives has done worse,” he said with a shrug.

“You dance really pretty, Shiv!” Wrecker said around his mouthful of snacks.

“Thanks, Wrecker.” You gave him a smile. Then you turned to Echo, holding out your hand as the musicians started a summer waltz. “Will the King of Summer give me a dance?”

He stared at you for a minute, then glanced down at himself. “Uh— I... I don’t really know how to dance, Shiv.”

You just tilted your head, still smiling as you kept your hand outstretched. “Please? I’ll teach you.”

He hesitated, then reached out and took your hand. “Okay.”

You tugged him closer to the square, then turned to him. “Here. You put your hand on my waist here, and hold my hand like this,” you said, reaching out to put his prosthetic hand on your waist. Resting your hand on his shoulder, you smiled up at his nervous expression, the flowers hiding his headpiece a little.

“And we follow the rhythm of the music. Step back like this—“ You coached him in the simple waltz, leading him in small circles. Echo picked up quickly, finding the rhythm and starting to lead a little more confidently. It reminded you of how Fives had never had any sense of rhythm despite loving trying to dance whatever chance he got, dragging you and Echo into it if you allowed him.

Echo smiled down at you, the pinched look on his face easing. “I guess I’m getting the hang of it.”

“You are!” You encouraged. “Try to spin me under your arm.”

After a little flub which made you both laugh, he managed to successfully spin you under his arm and bring you back in. “Well I guess it helps to have a good partner,” Echo remarked with a chuckle.

“I’m the lucky one, then,” you agreed. “I have you, after all.”

The waltz started to slow to a close, and you stepped closer to Echo to just sway. You slid both hands onto his shoulders, and his fell naturally to your hips. Looking up at him, you saw something spring into his eyes, feeling his body tense under your fingers.

“Shiv,” Echo rasped. “I...” He seemed unable to continue, though a sort of desperation crept into his gaze.

“Echo?” you murmured.

The waltz came to an end, leaving you leaning against his chest as he froze, hands wrapped around your waist, staring down at you with strained eyes. For a moment you both stood there, on the brink of something. Echo seemed to hover there, then he sucked in a sharp breath and abruptly let go of your waist, stepping away jerkily.

“S-sorry,” he stammered. “I— thanks. For the dance.”

Disappointment welled in you, but you pushed it aside for the moment and instead gave him the best smile you could muster. Reaching out, you grabbed his hand and started to pull him back to the others.

“You learned to dance really quickly, Echo!” You cheered instead, turning to Wrecker. “Can I have my bag back?”

He nodded. “Oh, sure, here ya go Shiv.” He handed you the bag.

You took it and slung it back over your shoulder. “What’s next?” You asked lightly.

Well what’s he holding back for? Crosshair sniped over the Bonds. Clearly he wants Shiv.

“Why don’t we go try that drink Tech mentioned?” Hunter suggested, pointing toward a booth on the other side of the square.

“Finally, a good suggestion.” Crosshair started toward the booth, quickly followed by Tech.

“Aw yeah, drinks!” Wrecker grabbed Echo’s arm. “Let’s go!” He charged forward, ignoring Echo’s startled exclamation.

Hunter wrapped his arm around your waist as he followed at a more leisurely pace. Give him some time. If he has feelings for Shiv, it can’t be easy for him right now to admit it. He’s changed a lot since the last time he and Shiv were together. Plus, we’re here and he doesn’t know.

You looked down at your feet, letting Hunter guide you. You couldn’t help but feel that maybe it was just... you. You didn’t know if Echo had feelings for you at all, after all.

“No, mesh’la,” Hunter said quietly, turning you toward him. He leaned forward, his thumb brushing over your cheek. “You don’t see the way we all look at you. Echo looks at you like the rest of us do: like you’re the only thing he wants in the Galaxy. He’s just in the position we all were at first. Not knowing what to do, or if you feel the same, not wanting to ruin what you already have.”

You nodded, letting out a sigh. “Okay. I just...”

Hunter quirked a smile. “We’re all a little impatient, mesh’la. But it’ll happen, one way or another. Now come on, we’ve got to keep them from getting into too much trouble.”

You nodded and braced yourself, giving him a smile. “Okay.”

By the time you made it back to the hotel, Crosshair and Wrecker were drunk arguing while Tech and Echo tipsily rolled their eyes at the two and made sarcastic comments. You and Hunter gave each other resigned looks as the only sober ones, ushering them quickly back to your suite. Hunter sent Wrecker and Cross to the shower, while you went up to Tech and Echo.

“Come on, you two,” you said with a fond smile. “Let’s get you ready for bed. Can you change?” You grabbed their night clothes.

“Course I can,” Tech said, beginning to fumble with his buttons. Despite being a little shaky, he managed to get them off.

Echo squinted. “Uh, I—“

You brushed Echo’s hands away. “I got it, don’t worry, Echo,” you reassured, beginning to unbutton his shirt. “You had two too many, I think,” you laughed lightly. “Here you go.” You handed him the pair of sleep pants and shirt.

“Thanks, Shiv,” he muttered, shuffling off to change.

“Shiv.” Tech’s shirt was halfway off, but he had a hand up against his forehead. “I can’t look down,” he admitted, grimacing. “I think I underestimated the Blue Egg.”

Lips twitching, you shook your head at him. “I told you not to drink two of them,” you scolded. “Here.” Leaning down, you unbuckled his pants and unzipped, then straightened. “Just slide them off and change.” Thankfully his sleep pants just had a drawstring waist, so there would be no complicated ties.

“Thank you.” Tech leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead, then turned toward the beds.

You walked toward the closet, going to grab your own nightclothes. You’d gotten yourself a comfortable cotton shirt and shorts. But you glanced at the other option you’d gotten for when you went to the other hotel. Hopefully by then, you thought desperately, you wouldn’t have to keep warding off the boys. Heading to the fresher, you slipped in to change.

Crosshair sat on the toilet seat, head in his hands as he grimaced. Wrecker was in the shower.

“Here.” You offered Crosshair a small vial that Hunter had slipped you. “For the hangover.”

Crosshair took it with bleary eyes, downing it without a complaint. Reaching up, he grabbed your wrist.

You paused, turning back to him. “You okay, Cross?” you asked softly, running a hand through his hair.

He sighed, then stood. “I’m tired of waiting,” he grumbled. Leaning down, he tilted your chin up and pressed a lazy kiss to your lips. “He’s being stubborn.”

You shook your head, smoothing a hand across his chest. “Like you?”

He grunted, letting go of you as Wrecker climbed out of the shower. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

You laughed a little, then handed Wrecker the other vial. “Here you go, Sunshine. Drink this.”

Wrecker squinted at it. “How many are there?”

You snorted, then uncorked it and lifted it to his mouth. “Here.”

He opened his mouth and let you pour it in, swallowing. “Ugh, it tastes horrible!” he complained, shaking his head and gagging.

“It’ll help tomorrow, I promise.” You patted his arm. Reaching down, you slid the skirt off and began to quickly change into the sleep shorts and shirt. Folding your other clothes neatly into a pile, you grabbed Wrecker and Crosshair’s discarded clothes and went to go take them to the laundry chute.

You’d just turned when Wrecker grabbed your waist and hoisted you up. You squealed in surprise, starting to laugh as he walked toward one of the giant beds.

“I’m tired,” Wrecker pronounced. He flopped onto the bed on his back, then rolled onto his side and pulled you into his chest, snuggling into you. “Gonna sleep,” he slurred, eyes closing. “Night, Shiv.”

You laughed softly, reaching up to brush your hand across his cheek. “Goodnight, Sunshine. Get some rest.”

“You alright, Shiv?” Hunter asked. “Need anything?”

You shook your head. “I’m fine. You know Wrecker, I’m not moving till morning anyway.”

“Fair enough.” Hunter shrugged. “Echo, just pick wherever you want. We all just end up where we end up,” he said.

Tech joined you and Wrecker in the middle of the bed, sliding up behind you and wrapping his arms around you, pressed into your back. Burying his face into your shoulder, he started to drift off with a mumbled goodnight.

You shifted a little. “Leave room for Crosshair,” you reminded Hunter quietly. “Are you going to take the top?”

He nodded, shifting across the bed so he sprawled above the three of you by the head of the bed. Adjusting pillows, he laid down facing you and draped an arm across Wrecker.

Echo stood by the edge of the bed, hesitating, when Crosshair walked out of the fresher. He walked up to Echo. “Move up,” he said shortly, pointing. “I’m by Tech.”

“Uh—“

You beckoned to Echo. “Here.” You patted your legs.

Crosshair settled on the other side, using Tech’s side as a pillow and folding his hands over his stomach. Echo glanced at everyone, then crawled up on the bed by your feet. He hesitated.

You reached up and tugged at him, pulling him down so he sprawled on top of you with his head against your stomach. Wrecker tossed his arm across Echo’s back with a snore, earning a quiet wheeze as he trapped Echo against you. Echo’s eyes widened, but you just sighed and settled in.

“Night, everyone,” you murmured contentedly, feeling your eyes drift close as sleep settled.

“Night,” Hunter mumbled.

Cross grunted.

“Night,” Echo said quietly.

You fell asleep, surrounded by warmth and happiness.

~

Everyone had scattered for day two. Tech had headed to the local library for some information, unsurprisingly. Hunter had decided to stay in the room for a while to get some rest. Wrecker had dragged Echo out, saying something about a weapons shop.

Crosshair, though, had turned to you. “I’ve got a plan. Let’s go.”

Though curious, you’d just grabbed your bag and followed after saying bye to Hunter. He’d waved you both off, heading back to bed.

You’d pulled on a black summer dress with a flower pattern, knowing it would be hot out and wanting something loose and comfortable. Catching up to Crosshair, you reached out and grasped his fingers, not wanting to lose him. He glanced back at you, then huffed a little and grasped your hand. A pulse of happiness washed through you as he held your hand, lithe fingers curling around yours with that deft confidence.

“Where are we going, Cross?”

He pulled you out into the streets, heading for the shopping district. “Out,” was all he said. As you walked, he pointed out in his quiet way different sights around the city. You enjoyed the stroll through the streets, delighted every time Cross would point out something small but interesting that most people wouldn’t have seen at first glance.

He stopped by a shop and grabbed a brunch for both of you in boxes, then led you toward a more quiet area where a bridge sat over a river. Finding a spot, he sat on the railing of the bridge and handed you a box. Legs swinging over the edge, you bit into the sandwich with a happy hum, listening to the river rushing down below and looking over the town square in the distance.

“So. About Echo.”

You turned to look at Crosshair. “Echo?”

“I happen to know that Tech is planning to make a stop while we’re in town,” Cross drawled, not quite looking at you.

“A stop?” You were starting to sound like an echo.

“There’s a particular shop that sells some... interesting things.” His eyes slid over to you. “And all of us besides Echo have put in special requests.”

You choked on your sandwich as you remembered something Crosshair had said before. Something about toys. And making a stop to get you some. And judging by the way Crosshair’s eyes glittered, you were absolutely correct in your conclusion.

“I—“ You took a drink, blushing. Setting down the sandwich, you pressed your hands to your hot cheeks.

Crosshair chuckled. “I think this might have to become a group seduction, cod’ika,” he remarked.

You sighed, picking your sandwich back up. “Well, I think you might be right. It’s not like I know how to seduce anyone anyway.”

I beg to differ. Hunter remarked lazily across the Bonds.

You almost choked again. At least let me eat! You wailed mentally, embarrassed.

“Well then, now that we’re agreed.” Crosshair finished his food, picking up his drink.

To what extent? Hunter pointed out.

“Well I don’t mind if you just act normally, besides... well,” you offered. Besides sex. Because that was the obvious line to be crossed. “Poor Wrecker. He’s been trying so hard ever since the flour incident.”

Then you propose we stop holding back in our interactions and comments. Hunter said.

In other words. Tech piped up unexpectedly. We should be flirting with Shiv more obviously.

Despite yourself, you had to burst into laughter. Shoving your hand over your mouth, you tried to stop giggling to no avail. Does anyone here know how to flirt?

Harsh, mesh’la. But Hunter sounded amused.

I thought we did. Tech said confusedly.

Showing off your knowledge isn’t flirting. Crosshair grumbled. He turned to look at you. “Your dress.”

You blinked, looking down. “My dress? Did I spill something?”

“It would look better on the floor of the room.”

You froze, lips parted and color splashed across your cheeks. You’d never in a thousand years ever expected to hear the sniper say something like that.

I believe that’s far closer to seduction than flirting. Tech snipped.

“This is going to be a disaster,” you groaned into your palms.

Did you have to do everything yourself?

Part 19: Upcoming

Taglist:

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"Shhh, Fives, you're gonna wake her up," someone hissed.

"I know, I'm being quiet, Kix," a familiar voice whined back.

"Give him some slack, Kix. We're all worried about Shiv. After that mission report the Cap gave..."

"I know, Hawk. But she needs rest, you heard what Commander Cody said about their last mission."

"We know. But— Echo, Vod, what did you say? She destroyed two whole Walkers and three legions of droids herself?" an incredulous voice asked.

"I mean, we all knew Shiv was powerful, but Maker—"

You stirred, sluggishly stretching. Someone's hand was holding yours, you realized belatedly, and you clutched at it, nuzzling closer to the hand and curling up. You didn't want to wake up quite yet...

Wait, had someone just mentioned the battle?

You shot straight up with a yelp, earning a few startled shouts. Blinking sleep out of your eyes, you focused through sticky eyes to finally see the whole 501st sitting huddled by the bed, staring wide-eyed back at you. For a moment you just sat there, your brain wildly trying to re-process the conversation you'd just heard as you'd woken up.

Your breath caught. Slowly, you turned your head, and met Echo's confused eyes.

"Echo," you whispered, voice laced with horror. "Did you tell them?"

He blinked. "Y-yeah, course, Shiv," he said blankly. "What's wrong-?"

Gulping, you started to scoot backwards up the cot. "Kriff," you whimpered under your breath. Oh Maker, kriff, they'd heard, oh stars, oh gods—

It was Fives who moved first. His eyes narrowing, he leaned forward. "Shiiiiiiiiiv," he said darkly.

Your whole body tensed, already halfway retreated behind Echo.

"I think you have some explaining to do."

Your shriek echoed down the hall.

Fives reached his arms out toward you, and you wildly flailed straight off of the bed in an attempt to get away. To your dismay as you wailed in protest for someone to come save you from your stupid, overprotective, clingy Vode, Jesse promptly caught you and handed you off unsympathetically to Fives. Fives grabbed you firmly by your shoulders, then shook you.

“Shiv you genius, stupid Vod, what were you thinking?” he demanded, a surprising edge of hysteria in his voice.

You stopped struggling, staring up at his face in shock.

Tears hovered in the corners of his eyes as he pulled your frozen form into his chest. “You worried us half to death, and then— then you come back with Echo, and you collapsed, and all we knew was that you might have gotten injured— The Cap told us that you’d had a hard battle and had been stretched thin and needed to recover and that’s all we heard, Shiv. Then Echo told us when he woke up about what happened and how you apparently had a huge battle and we just— Maker, Shiv. No one has ever terrified me more in all my life,” he choked.

Despite yourself, you felt the hot tears well in your eyes at the relieved frustration in Fives’ voice that resonated deep inside you. Didn’t you feel that way all the time about them? About the ones you cared about? You sniffled, pulling back and reaching up to smear away the tears that suddenly wouldn’t stop falling.

“I’m sorry,” you sobbed out. “I’m sorry, Fives. I’m sorry,” you cried, leaning against his chest and feeling like a small child all over again. “I— I wanted to bring Echo back and I— I couldn’t fail him again, and I was so scared that we’d be too late and I’d fail all over again,” you know couldn’t stop yourself, all your pain and worry and fear spilling out of you. “And I wanted to fix it because I should have stayed at the Citadel, I should have done better! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m the worst,” you said hysterically, shaking with the force of your sobs.

But Fives gently shook you again. “Stop it, Shiv, that’s nonsense and you know it,” he said savagely. Letting go of your arms, he reached up and started to wipe away your tears far more gently. “You didn’t fail Echo, and you didn’t fail us. You did your best to protect him, and you brought him back. You fought off a whole army to bring him back. That’s everything we could have asked from you, Shiv. And now you’re both back, safe.”

The other members of the 501st murmured agreement, shuffling around you and Echo’s bedside.

“Listen to him, Shiv,” Hawk said lowly. “He may be the dumbest of us but he has his moments.”

You let out a watery laugh amidst Fives’ protests. Looking up, you sniffled. “I was so scared,” you whispered, trembling. “I— I really wanted to protect Echo, and— and I was scared and wished you were there to tell me that it was gonna be okay,” you whispered, head hanging.

“Hand her over,” Tup demanded. Sweeping you up, he hugged you so hard that you wheezed. “You did great, Shiv. The best,” he said firmly. “You brought Echo back.”

Kix all but wrenched you away, bustling you back into the bed next to Echo and fussing. “All well and good, the lot of you, but both Echo and Shiv need to eat and rest,” he said sternly. “They’re off soon to finish the mission and they need to be up and functional by then. Afterwards, you can come back and scold and praise all you want. For now, let them rest,” he scolded. “Go. Scram.”

They grumbled but slowly stood, shuffling toward the door.

“Get some rest, Echo, Shiv,” Jesse called. “Good luck with the mission.”

“I expect to hear about that battle from you when you’re back, Shiv,” Fives added as he was ushered out the door.

They filed out, and Kix shook his head in the ensuing silence. “I knew they needed to see for themselves that both of you were alright,” he sighed. Then he gave both of you a small smile. “It’s good to see you both back, you know. They’re right.”

You and Echo both nodded, smiling back.

Then Kix nodded. “I’m bringing by some soup. Get some rest. Your next mission is tomorrow morning early, so until the last minute I’m not letting you out of here,” he warned, shaking his head.

“Yes, Kix,” both you and Echo chimed out of habit, glancing at each other.

Kix rolled his eyes but stalked out, muttering under his breath.

After a beat of silence, you turned slowly to Echo. Timidly, you met his eyes. Both of you just sat there, tongues tied for a second. Then you swallowed.

“Echo—“

“They’re right,” he blurted. Then he took in a breath and looked down at his hands. “I’m the one who forced you to leave, Shiv,” he said lowly. “It’s not your fault. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re the reason I survived. And you came back for me, you and Rex. Despite the odds.”

“I tried to convince myself you were dead,” you whispered, staring down at your lap miserably. “I told myself... I knew you would say that, but I— somewhere inside me, I still blamed myself.” Reaching up, you dug at your eyes. “I know what Admiral Trench is capable of.” Your voice broke. “I— I should’ve known better, should’ve— should’ve done something, made sure—“

“Shiv.” Echo grabbed your hand, stopping you. “You’re the one who kept me alive. Let me keep fighting, kept me struggling to hold on and remember, to fight back.” Lips pressed together, he stared down at your fingers, clasped in his. Even as gaunt as he was, his hand still dwarfed yours. “And you’re the one that came back.”

The lump in your throat felt too tight. You couldn’t speak, shaking your head as you swiped at your streaming eyes.

“They told me... they said you were with the Bad Batch, now,” Echo said quietly, voice hoarse. “Do you... are you happy?”

You looked up into his face. “Nothing was the same without you,” you whispered, the pain in your chest almost agony. You wanted to tell him, so badly. That you loved him. Had for so long. Still did, so, so desperately. That you’d found others who loved you, cared about you, took care of you, fought with and for you. But you couldn’t. Not when you didn’t even know what would happen.

His eyes seemed to search yours. “Shiv... I—“ For a brief flicker, something hovered on the tip of his tongue. Then he swallowed thickly. “This mission,” he rasped instead. “I—“

You turned your face away. “I’m going to end it, Echo,” you said quietly. Promising him, and yourself. “It’s going to end here. He’ll never touch anyone else again. He’s already taken so much away from me. I can’t let him take anything else from anyone else, ever again. He failed to break me. Now it’s my turn.” Your eyes burned as you clenched your jaw. “And I will break him.”

Echo seemed speechless. Before he could say anything, though, the door opened and Kix returned with the soup. You let go of his hand and gratefully took the bowl, giving Kix a pitiful smile as though you hadn’t said anything.

For the rest of the day and evening, you leaned against each other in silent understanding and dozed.

Trench would not live to see another day.

~

Nervously, you trailed behind Echo as he walked determinedly toward the meeting room.

"We have more than a dozen active battlefronts on Anaxes," General Windu was saying as he stared at a holomap, "and we are losing nearly everyone."

"But if Admiral Trench can no longer anticipate our moves, we now have the opportunity to retake the planet," General Skywalker persuaded.

"We can improve your chances," Echo spoke up, walking toward the gathered generals. "Excuse me, Generals."

"Echo, are you sure you're even ready for battle yet?"

"I'm not a liability, Rex." Echo frowned. "I'm the best chance we have to take back Anaxes."

"If the trooper has a plan, I'd like to hear it," General Windu said.

"May I?" Echo moved toward the holoscreen, pulling up the blueprints. "While Master Windu leads a team to retake the assembly complex, the Bad Batch will escort me into Trench's new comm vault, which, according to current intel, is now located on this Separatist Dreadnought above Anaxes."

You hung onto his sleeve, peering around him uncomfortably at the plans.

"Once I'm plugged in, I can feed Trench strategies, but this time, you'll know every move before he makes it," Echo finished.

"And you are certain that if we get you onboard that ship, that you can convince Trench's army to do what you want?" Windu asked, skeptical.

"Absolutely." Echo nodded sharply. "Unfortunately, I've been doing this for a while. But this time, I can help bring about a Republic victory instead of a defeat."

"And who is this, behind you?" General Windu raised an eyebrow at you.

Your eyes widened, but before you could answer, General Skywalker spoke up.

"Master Windu, this is Shiv, a special ops that is part of the Bad Batch. She used to be part of the 501st for a while, and she's a valuable source of information about Trench. The 501st rescued her several years ago from slavery under Trench."

You forced yourself to step out from behind Echo, bowing politely. "At the Republic's service, General Windu," you greeted quietly. "I was part of the recent mission to retrieve Echo from Skako Minor. I can vouch for his trustworthiness."

General Windu raised an eyebrow. "You were once a slave to Trench."

"Yes, General," you answered evenly. "I'm... one of a rare kind, the In'ko'charte. There aren't many of us left in the galaxy as far as I know. The 501st rescued me from Trench's.... experiments. Commander Rex eventually assigned me to Clone Force 99 since my strengths lie in a smaller, more elite special force."

"And what exactly is it that you do?"

"On this mission, I can offer both valuable intel on Trench as well as working closely with Echo and the Bad Batch. Previous experience with all of them gives me an edge that we otherwise wouldn't have," you answered, knowing that you'd have to sell yourself.

Echo turned to you. "Shiv. Permission to Transfer." He held out his hand.

A little startled, you turned to him, taking his hand a little jerkily. "Transfer Granted." You Shifted almost immediately into a blaster, letting your astral form materialize over Echo's shoulder.

"I see." Both of General Windu's eyebrows raised, but he said nothing else. Giving you a lingering glance, he nodded at Rex and General Skywalker. "Then I suppose this plan will have to do."

You stayed with Echo, listening as they finalized the strategy. You made a few mental suggestions to Echo, but otherwise said nothing yourself. By the time they'd finished, Commander Rex seemed resigned that you and Echo would most likely be facing off against Trench at some point, though he didn't necessarily say anything outright about it.

General Skywalker nodded to you and Echo as the meeting adjourned. "Get on the Havoc Marauder and fill Hunter in, you two," he said.

Echo just nodded, not mentioning that you'd been projecting the plans across the Bond with Hunter the whole time already. You didn't worry about confidentiality, knowing that it would have happened anyway.

You boarded the Marauder and led Echo toward the common room. Hunter was in the middle of pointing out the strategy to the rest of the team when you both came in, and he gave you a curt nod.

"Time to get moving, I guess," he remarked.

"Please tell me we are blowing something up," Wrecker begged.

"Sorry, Wrecker, this is strictly stealth," Hunter answered.

"I hate that word."

Hunter turned to Echo, crossing his arms. "Echo, I know you've worked with Shiv before in the 501st, which is going to be good for us. She'll be helping you out primarily, of course, but if we need her—"

"She's part of Force 99," Echo said with a nod. "If you need her, I can pass her on."

"For this mission, you're part of this Force," Hunter said, shaking his head. "Just keep that in mind and we'll be fine."

You Dissolved the Bond, landing on the floor. "I'll do my best," you promised, clasping your hands behind you. "Please use me well."

Captain Rex and General Skywalker boarded, greeting everyone. You gave them quick greetings before scurrying off to find Crosshair. You found him at his bunk, polishing his rifle.

You paused, then decided to take a chance and sat next to him, curling your legs up. Deciding to let him initiate conversation if he wanted it, you simply leaned your head against your knee and watched his methodical, practiced movements. The ship shuddered, then took off, rattling a few objects around the room.

"You're going to kill Trench."

For a moment, you stayed quiet, just staring at the rifle. Your eyes lingered on his fingers, thin and lithe. "I don't know."

Cross turned his head, looking at you, silently demanding an explanation.

"I don't know," you repeated. "One way or another, I'll end it today. But that doesn't mean I'll be the one to kill him." You shrugged. "War and Battle are never fair, or entirely predictable."

"So you're going to let the Reg do it."

"Not really a Reg anymore," you observed with a little, sad sigh, thinking about Echo's new modifications. "He's more... machine than man, now."

Irritation flashed across Crosshair's face for a reason you didn't understand. "So you'll let him do it," he bit out.

You blinked, then tilted your head at him. "If he does, either way, Trench is dead, Cross," you said, frowning in confusion. "It doesn't matter who does it. I just want it to be over."

Crosshair stared at you for another minute, then turned and looked down at his rifle. "And once it's over, then what?"

"Once it's over... I'll pick up my pieces, and we'll go on our next mission," you said slowly, your confusion mounting. "Cross... what is it? What's different about this mission compared to all the others?"

"What isn't different?" Cross demanded, lip curling. "We're sharing you with a Reg and—and whatever you call him, he's not one of us," he sneered. "And we're going against Trench. In case you forgot, he's the one who enslaved you, brutally tortured both of you."

The hurt pierced you for a breathless moment, and you shrank in on yourself on the bunk. For an instant, you found yourself afraid of Cross. Of his temper, his sharp words. But in the next breath, you forced yourself to keep quiet, to think before you spoke. Clearly, Cross was angry about something. But what?

We're sharing you. Reg. Other. Tortured both of you. Not one of us.

"Cross," you said slowly into the tense silence, "do you think I'm... going to leave?"

Crosshair's shoulders tensed, and his lips thinned, eyes narrowing.

Understanding bloomed in you. Uncurling, you reached out and tentatively touched his arm. "I don't want to leave you. I... I never even thought about it, Cross," you said, voice brittle. You didn't know how to handle this. Didn't know how to reassure Crosshair when you yourself were so unsure, unbalanced. "Do you... want me to leave?"

"Don't lie to me," Cross snarled, not looking at you, but not shrugging your hand off either. "You've got your precious 501st back together. Why wouldn't you?"

"Cross, that's not fair, why would I?" you cried, heart breaking for a reason you couldn't place. Not for yourself. "I..." Tears welled in your eyes. "I love you, Cross," you whispered, once again so vulnerable to him.

"You said yourself that you loved that— Echo," Cross fairly spat, bristling. "Don't delude yourself—“

"Stop it," you shot back, a burst of anger curling in your chest. "You've been in my head, Cross, you know I didn't lie to you. I've never lied to you, and you know it. I don't think I'm the one deluding myself here. Just because Echo was my first love doesn't mean that I suddenly somehow stopped loving any of you. Echo doesn't even know my feelings for him. And do you think just because he's alive that I'd— what, leave the Bad Batch? When I'm happy here with you?"

You bit your lip, taking in a shaky breath and closing your eyes, trying to calm yourself. You'd just started to pull your hand away when his fingers wrapped around your wrist. With a startled gasp, you found yourself pulled into his lap, replacing the rifle.

Your eyes widened. His hand clenched around your waist, grip tight and bruising. His other hand buried in your hair, pulling your face up to his. His mouth opened over yours, sliding across your lips with a desperate heat that left you dizzy and a little confused. Still, you closed your eyes and let Cross practically stake a claim on you, curling your fingers against his chest.

Flushed, you panted for air as he let go of the bruising kiss. "C-Cross?" you whispered, peering up at his face.

His breaths were harsh against the corner of your lips. "You're ours, Shiv."

You closed your eyes, heart aching for him. Even if you didn't know why, you only knew that the ragged edge of desperation in the hoarse plea came from some hurt inside your stoic sniper. And even if you didn't know how to fix it, didn't know how to help... you just closed your eyes and reached up to gently brush your fingers under his eye.

"Yours, Cross," you whispered, the promise floating between you. "Yours."

~

"Echo, you're up."

"Don't worry." Echo slid into the copilot's seat. "As soon as I plug in, I'll send a signal to the command ship."

You hovered over Crosshair's shoulder, Transferred to him.

"What type of signal are you gonna send?" Hunter asked. "Nothing that'll give us away, right?"

"As far as the droids are concerned, we're just gonna be another one of their shuttles coming in for a landing," Echo assured.

"And the regs think we take risks," Cross muttered.

"Sending the signal.... now," Echo said, while everyone held their breath.

You stayed quiet, trusting Echo. His plans had always been solid before.

"Roger, roger, Shuttle TC-159. You may approach and land," the droid at air control's monotone came over the comms.

Everyone silently sighed in relief.

"I'd still rather blow it up," Wrecker insisted, sulking.

"I have a feeling you'll get your chance," Tech said, shaking his head.

"Gold Leader, you're cleared for launch," General Skywalker said into a comm.

"Copy that, General. We are going in."

A few minutes later found everyone peering out of the door of the ship, making sure the halls were clear. For the time being, you'd stayed with Cross as his modified sniper rifle for better stealth purposes. Tech led everyone to the correct area, doors sliding shut behind them.

"Tech, can you rig an interface?" Echo asked, immediately going to the computer systems set up.

"I assume that's a rhetorical question," Tech sniffed, joining.

"We should make sure this comm vault has no other entrances," Rex said, sending other scattering.

Crosshair, I need Shiv.

Cross turned and tossed you to Tech, while you Transferred and immersed yourself in his mind.

Tech's fingers started flying over the keys. Shiv, help me track this the most secure way, Tech requested.

You carefully matched up your thoughts, starting a rapid exchange as you both worked to create a secure channel that would be near impossible to backtrace.

"All right, I have access to everything," Tech said, eyes flitting over the screens.

"I just scanned a strategy request Trench sent to the Techno Union," Echo said, connecting to the system you and Tech had rigged.

"Wait. You can't just send a signal from here," you piped up, appearing over Tech's shoulder.

"Why not?"

Tech backed you up. "We have to make it appear as if your signal is originating from Skako Minor. Otherwise, they'll know we are here," he said, starting to make an entry point.

Echo quickly followed the path that you and Tech opened up for him, rerouting the signal to go through Skako.

"I'm intercepting a transmission," Tech reported a second later as General Skywalker strode up. "Trench is ordering all of his droids to the assembly complex."

"All right, Echo, what are you trying to pull?" General Skywalker asked, glancing over the holotable.

"Don't worry, that's what I told him to do," Echo reassured.

"But our troops will be vastly outnumbered," Tech said, startled.

"Not when he sends them a feedback pulse that shuts down all the droids," you said, picking up on Echo's strategy. He'd always been efficient, preferring as few moves as possible.

"Echo, we're all counting on you," General Skywalker said with a nod, then pulled up his comm. "Master Windu, I know this sounds crazy, but it's about to get a little more crowded where you are."

"We have our hands full as it is. What's your plan?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," the General quipped, "it isn't my plan. Echo is drawing all the droids to your position so he can neutralize them all at the same time."

"Echo, wait," you said suddenly, pointing at a screen. "Don't send the pulse yet. Look at this."

Echo and Tech both leaned forward.

"Good catch, Shiv," Tech said, adjusting his goggles and beginning to patch the door that had presented itself. "That could have led back to us."

You pointed to Echo's side of the screen. "Stabilize the tunnel to the droid forces, Echo. Otherwise we're going to get feedback or it'll be easier to trace."

Echo nodded, and soon the three of you were quickly triple-checking your work.

"We're ready," Tech said with a nod. "Do it, Echo."

Echo twisted his hand, determination stamped across his face.

General Skywalker grinned as he pulled up a holofeed of the battle, watching droids shudder and spark and fall. "It's working!"

General Windu came over the comm. "I am pleased to report that we are in control of the assembly complex, and all of the fronts are falling to the Republic thanks to Echo's plan," he reported.

"That's good news, Master Windu," General Skywalker said with a nod. "We're on our way back to the base. May the Force be with you." He turned back to Echo. "Good job, Echo."

But you felt distinctly uneasy. Never would it be this easy. Tech. Don't disengage. Trench is ruthless, and he will do anything and everything to succeed, regardless of the cost. This won't be this easy.

Tech nodded, continuing to scan the frequencies. Understood, Shiv. Scanning any communications from him.

"Well, I guess you really did pull it off," Rex said with a nod, clapping Echo's shoulder.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Echo smiled wanly.

"Some." Hunter walked by.

"Well, thanks," Echo muttered.

"Come on, brother. Unplug and let's get out of here," Rex said cheerfully.

Your Bond abruptly lit up. Shiv. Tech sounded frantic. Look—

You hissed. I see it. Patch it, Tech, I'll get everyone on it. You quickly popped up.

"Everyone stop, we're about to have company!" you yelled, freezing everyone in their tracks. "Echo, do not disengage, they've figured out it's come from this ship, there's a security dispatch on the way. Trench isn't finished."

Everyone leaped into position, taking up defense at the door.

"Wait," Tech blurted, fingers flying. "I just scanned a new order from Trench. He's initiated a countdown. There's a bomb hidden in the assembly complex, and it's big enough to destroy most of Anaxes."

"Can you stop it?" General Skywalker asked tightly, grabbing his weapon.

"Well, I can try," Tech answered.

"General, where are you going?" Rex asked, alarmed, as the General started to stride toward the door.

"If they can't stop the detonation, perhaps Trench can," he called back grimly, sweeping out the door as Rex followed.

Tech slammed the comms. "General Windu, this is Tech. We've discovered a bomb in the fusion reactor. We need someone to go down there and help disarm it," he said quickly.

"I'm on my way," General Windu said, barking orders to the rest of his men.

The security team had reached the doors. "We're going to buy you time, hurry up!" Hunter shouted from the door.

"Echo, I found the bomb. Tell me the sequence to shut it down!" General Windu shouted over the comm.

"I'm decrypting it now," Echo answered tightly, hunched over the screens. You and Tech were occupied, keeping all other signals jammed or busy being rerouted into each other or doubling back. Between the two of you, you were barely managing to buy Echo enough time to decrypt unhindered.

"You have to unplug soon, they're going to detect us," Tech warned.

"We need these codes," Echo bit back. "The first number in the sequence is three."

The doors began to buckle, while Hunter, Echo, and Cross shouted and began to fire through the cracks.

"The next is... one."

You snarled, pushing Tech to catch yet another attempt to crack into your rigged system.

"Eight," Echo continued, pushing as fast as he could.

Behind you, the doors burst open.

"Seven."

The screens blared red for you and Tech, warning you that someone had found your jamming signal and was attacking it.

"They're on to us, you need to unplug now!" Tech shouted. "It's going to—"

Echo abruptly crumpled.

"Echo?" General Windu's voice demanded over the comms.

"The server overloaded his neural system," Tech gasped out. "Shiv, you have to take his place."

You didn't question, Dissolving the Transfer and rushing to Echo's station. You kicked off your boot, beginning to continue the decryption that had stalled. Just one more number, you thought desperately.

A screen nearby bleeped, and you kicked out to slam your foot against it, knowing that Tech needed both hands for his own task.

"Echo!"

"Trench knows we're here," Tech called over to the others. "He's going to be on his way personally!"

"Echo, are you there?"

"Letting out a hiss of frustration, you smacked the button on the comms. "General Windu, Trench took out Echo. I'm getting the last number, five ticks," you rushed, lunging to block another splicing attempt.

"All right, Shiv. Where's General Skywalker?"

You bit your lip and frantically tapped at the screen. "Going to find Admiral Trench. Two ticks."

"We got company!" Hunter yelled. "Hurry it up!"

You groaned, one foot up on the console as you glanced back at Echo knocked out cold. "I'm trying!"

"Shiv—"

"Seven!" you hollered, ripping wires out of the decryption device and practically throwing yourself across the console. You slammed your foot back into your boot.

A new voice came over the comms. "Admiral Trench was kind enough to confirm the final number Shiv gave, Master," General Skywalker said in satisfaction.

A pause. "Good work, Skywalker, Shiv. The bomb has been disarmed."

"Done!" Tech shouted to the others. He shut down the system, grabbing his blasters.

"I'll get Echo up," you said, waving him off. Scrambling over to Echo, you noticed with relief that he was stirring. "Echo," you said insistently, patting his cheek. "Echo, c'mon. Transfer with me, I'll get you up."

He stared blearily up at you. "P-Permission—" he slurred, still trying to shake off the dizziness. "To Transfer—"

That's all you needed. You almost reeled mentally as soon as you entered his mind, instantly hit with the screech of overload. Shaking yourself, you let out a countering pulse, driving out the other frequency and clearing away the remaining buzz and fog.

Echo shook himself, then stood with a grimace. "Thanks, Shiv," he rasped. Taking a breath, he started towards where Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech were holding the doors.

"We can't blast our way out, there's too many of them," Hunter grunted as Echo joined.

"I'm heading back toward the ship. Meet me there, I've got a plan," General Skywalker said over comms.

"Well how are we going to—"

"There's a back hatch to this room through a vent," Tech said, jerking his head backward. "It'll lead to a back route we can take to get around, even if it'll be crawling with droids."

"It's our best bet," Hunter agreed. "Wrecker, take Shiv and release the wrecking ball!"

"Yeah!" Wrecker roared, turning to Echo.

Echo tossed your blaster form to Wrecker, and you effortlessly Transferred. You Shifted into Wrecker's battle gloves, supressing a smile at his unrestrained glee.

Wrecker whooped, beginning to bowl over droids like a pack of nine-pins and giving the others a needed break.

"I honestly feel bad for those droids," Echo remarked wryly behind you.

You having fun, Sunshine? Even if it's a stealth mission? You asked, amused.

"Yeah!" Wrecker smashed through the last of the wave of droids, turning to the others with a wide grin. "It's all clear!"

Cross was staring down his scope. "More droids."

Tech had already removed the vent cover in the room.

"Go," Cross said, swinging his rifle across his back. "Shiv and I will buy you some time."

Wrecker jogged back toward the room, tossing you to Cross. You Transferred, Shifting into his modified rifle.

"We'll meet you at the infiltration point," Hunter called, climbing through the vent.

"Oh!" Wrecker's loud voice filtered back. "He's gonna try and top me. You watch."

Crosshair rolled his eyes, then peered down your scope at the approaching droids. You sat back and watched, keeping quiet in his mind as you simply trusted him and let him do what he needed, keeping your mind open to whatever he might ask. His breath came even and steady, mind almost dead silent as he picked them all off almost in neat rows, firing one shot after another in unbroken succession.

Once he'd cleared them out, he grunted and stood, heading back toward the still-open vent. Well done with the reduced recoil, Shiv.

You sent over the Bond a pulse of happy pride at his praise.

He rounded a corner in a jog in time to hear Hunter.

"Now all we're missing is Crosshair."

General Skywalker had met them at the crossroad in the hall.

"You miss me?" Cross drawled, jogging up. Turning around at the sound of droids, he lifted you to his elbow, peering down your scope. "How touching."

For a split second, he sighted straight down the line of approaching, single-file droids. Then he swiveled you, and you found yourself aimed toward a tiny port in the wall. Before you could take a breath, he fired.

As the weapon, you knew instantly that the shot was perfect before it even left the barrel of the rifle. You purred in contentment as Crosshair's fingers tapped your trigger in satisfaction, lowering you as he watched the shots ricochet and nail every single droid in the hallway with one shot.

Crosshair turned to the others, Wrecker staring open-mouthed down the hall.

"Relax, Wrecker. You'll top him next time," Hunter comforted, patting his arm.

Cross paused just long enough to comment. "No, he won't." Satisfaction slicked across the Bond.

General Skywalker turned to you as you all climbed into the ship. "Brilliant shot, Crosshair, Shiv. I've got a present for you, Wrecker," he added, turning to the sulking Wrecker. He offered a detonator with a wink.

Wrecker's entire face lit up. "Oh, seriously? I get to blow it up? The whole stinking thing?" he asked, grabbing the detonator.

"This is the happiest day of my life!" he cheered, whirling around to stare out the transparisteel as Tech guided the ship away from the base. He whooped, then slammed the button.

In the distance, the whole base exploded in a brilliant shower of yellow and orange, muted in the silence of space.

Materializing next to Cross, you leaned against his shoulder with a dreamy hum. "It's beautiful," you said wistfully, earning attention.

Captain Rex took off his helmet, giving you a nod. "Admiral Trench is dead, Echo, Shiv," he said, eyes observing you both with a soft sort of sympathy. "You're finally free."

You Dissolved the Transfer, standing next to Crosshair. Of all the emotions you expected to feel at the news you'd longed to hear for so long... You found yourself a little surprised. You felt... content. Of course, relieved, and happy. But mostly, you just felt content. Like a burden had been lifted off of your shoulders.

Giving the Captain a grateful smile, you reached up to wipe at your relieved tears.

"Thank you," you whispered, smiling even through your tears. "I'm so... happy." You laughed.

General Skywalker patted your shoulder gently. "You deserve it, Shiv, Echo." He nodded.

Wrecker bounded over to you, sweeping you up into a tight hug and spinning you around. You let out a startled laugh, bracing your hands against his shoulders.

"Oh— Wrecker—" you gasped.

"We did it, Shiv!" he cheered, still effortlessly holding you up. "And we blew up the whole thing!"

"I know, Wrecker, you were brilliant," you laughed breathlessly, placing your hands on his cheeks. Leaning forward, you kissed his forehead.

He grinned wildly, then set you down.

Did life during war get any better than this?

Part 17: Best Laid Plans

Taglist:

@subbing-for-clones

@darkangel4121

@mo-i-ra

@alis-gore

@tech-aficionado

@spp2011

@mavendeb

@cagrame

@makeup-n-turtles

@darkphoenix2332

@sunipostsstuff

@lady-aries

@gabile18

@sugarrush-blush

@xxeiraxx

You blinked, confused. "A-about Echo?" you repeated, lost.

"He's clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going back into the 501st. I've noticed it throughout both missions. He feels too different. He's not... a Reg, anymore. And considering that he's used to working with you and the way he's meshed well with the team on the previous couple of missions... well." He shrugged. "We could use another member like him."

Your eyes widened as stared at him, lips parting.

He shook his head at you. "It's entirely up to him, but Captain Rex has agreed to let him join us if he chooses. You know we'll have to talk about... well, us, later, but..."

You threw your arms around his neck, feeling his arm wrap around your waist, startled. "Thank you, Hunter," you whispered thickly. "I mean, I know that it's not just for me, but—"

Hunter kissed you, his lips sliding over yours gently. His breath washed over your cheek as he pressed another, soft kiss to your lips.

"Heard what you did for Cross, mesh'la. And you're right. Besides, Echo's done well with us so far. If he really cares about you like I think he does, he's not going to mind. Like I said," his voice lowered into a husk, lips brushing against your ear, "clones know how to share."

You flushed, shaking your head. "I—I don't know. It's not like I... ever told him. But it's—it's fine. I just want the best for him," you said, looking down at the neckline of Hunter's blacks. "Whatever that means." You looked back up at him anxiously. "I love all of you. I'm—I'm not going to just... leave—"

"I know, mesh'la," Hunter soothed, thumb rubbing your waist. "Trust me, I know." Then he sighed, glancing over your shoulder at the door again. "We need to go. But I'll make the offer, and we'll go from there."

You nodded, then Transferred to him. He sheathed you as a vibroshiv, striding out the door and grabbing his helmet along the way. He joined the others outside of the ship, saluting to General Skywalker.

"Captain Rex, Corporal Echo, and Clone Force 99, you have all done a great service for the Republic. Thanks to your courage and effort, Republic shipyards will soon be up and running again. You've got some medals coming your way," General Skywalker said with a proud smile.

"Thank you, General," Hunter spoke for the Bad Batch, saluting.

The General nodded to dismiss the group, turning and striding off.

Echo turned to Hunter. "You coming?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing as he motioned toward Captain Rex. He cast a confused glance toward the rest of the Bad Batch, who had begun to turn toward the ship.

Hunter shrugged. "Not really our thing. Accolades." He glanced at Captain Rex.

"Yeah, we're just in it for the thrill. Yo!" Wrecker hollered proudly, pumping his fist.

Hunter turned back to Echo. "You sure it's your thing?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Surprise flitted over Echo's face.

Hunter jerked his head toward the garrison. "Your path is different. Like ours. If you ever feel like you don't fit in with them, well... find us," he offered. With a curt nod to Captain Rex, he turned.

You materialized over Hunter's shoulder, turning to him. "Do we already have another mission assignment?" you asked curiously. You refused to think too deeply about Echo, knowing that he would make his own choice. Regardless of your feelings toward him, you wanted the best for him. Even if that meant not being by his side. You had the Bad Batch, and you had found love and purpose with them.

Hunter grunted. "Not exactly, but I get the feeling that we will be soon. Especially since the mission on Yalbec Prime was cut short so quickly." He'd just stepped foot on the ship to board when a shout had him and the rest of the Bad Batch turning around.

Echo jogged up to the Bad Batch. "I... I'd like to join you, sir," he addressed Hunter. "If you'll have me."

A ghost of a smile crossed Hunter's face, and he offered his hand. "Well then. Welcome to the madness, Echo."

Echo took his hand, shaking it.

Everyone turned to look at the smiling Rex, giving him a crisp salute.

Rex saluted back, then turned and left.

And for one, golden moment... everything felt like it was going to be just fine.

~

Staring up into the pantry, you smiled in satisfaction. You'd ordered some things to bake with since you were on Coruscant, so now thankfully your baking needs were supplied.

You'd showered, changed into your favorite oversized tee and shorts, and had set up your music. Humming, you started gathering ingredients for a recipe. You felt the need for some homemade bread, and of all the bad memories you had of your past, baking had been one of the good ones. Trench, at the very least, had had good cooks who had allowed you to stay and learn whenever you sneaked in. Probably out of pure pity for the poor slave-girl, you realized in hindsight. Still, you could appreciate it.

Hearing a noise behind you, you turned around to see Hunter standing in the doorway. Holding the bowl in your arms, you gave him a welcoming smile.

"Hi," you said softly, unsure if his senses were on edge or not.

He nodded towards a chair. "Mind if I join?"

"Your ship." You smiled, turning back to your bowl and reaching out to turn down the volume a little on the music. Bare feet shuffling over the cool floors, you got a carton of milk and poured it into the whisking bowl, enjoying the familiar sounds of the domesticity. Times like these were the ones you appreciated about having small breaks between missions and battles.

"Making something?" Hunter asked, his voice unraveling as he relaxed.

You hummed, reaching up and rubbing at your nose. "Some homemade bread," you said, turning with the bowl in your arms. "I've really missed it."

A small smile flitted over his face as he observed you. "And do we get to try any of this homemade bread?"

You pretended to purse your lips and think, nose scrunching. "Hmm... I don't know..." You gave him a pout. "Cross was mean to me, and Tech yelled at me, and you kept being snippy and bossy... so maybe only Wrecker and Echo deserve some—“

His eyebrows shot up as you bit your lip in an attempt not to laugh. "Oh, were we, mesh'la?" he asked, voice dry as he went along with the teasing. "I was under the impression that you rather liked it when Cross is mean, Tech orders you around, and I'm... bossy." He smirked

You tried in vain to push down the blush that rose to your face. With a huff, you turned around and put the bowl down, going to rummage in the cooler. You shook your head as the cool air washed over your flushed face.

"You're all ridiculous," you sighed, standing with the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Turning, you waved the bag at Hunter. "I even got semi-sweet so you wouldn't get too overwhelmed with the taste." You stuck your tongue out at him as you turned back to the bowl. "Some gratitude I get around here—"

"Oh, is there a certain kind of gratitude you're looking for, mesh'la?" Hunter asked, his eyes half-lidded.

You just rolled your eyes, opening the bag and pouring chocolate chips into the batter. "No, that's the rest of you," you said dryly.

"So you think Echo would like to show you some gratitude?"

The bag fell into the batter. With a strangled sound of mingled surprise and protest, your face burning, you stared helplessly down at the poor batter. Turning, you propped your hands on your hips and stomped your foot, pouting at Hunter.

"Look at what you've done now!" you scolded, sweeping up the bowl.

Hunter chuckled, then reached out to beckon you closer. "I'm sorry, Shiv. Come here, bring the bowl. Let me fix it, mesh'la."

Still pouting, you took the bowl and approached him, letting him wrap his hand around your waist and pull you into his lap. You set the bowl on your legs, looking down at the bag sinking into the batter.

Hunter reached in and plucked the bag out. "You know we have to talk about it, though," he pointed out. "The others know about your feelings for Echo, and they've agreed with me that he’s a good fit with the Bad Batch. Once Captain Rex makes a report, you know Kamino is going to call us back again for another checkup."

You sighed, watching as he set the bag down on the small table beside him. Gnawing at your lip, you tried to find the proper words.

"I..." Your shoulders slumped. "I don't want to force my feelings onto Echo, Hunter," you said quietly. "I never told him about my feelings, and... it doesn't matter what I feel. It's about what's best for him. And considering that maybe he'd either be whole if I'd done better or completely gone and not just half of a man—"

"I thought he already set you straight about that," Hunter said evenly, a quiet rebuke in his voice.

You flinched a little. "I know," you whined. "But it doesn't make me feel any less guilty. Besides, even if he doesn't blame me, that doesn't mean he has feelings for me," you pointed out. "And... even if he does—“ you gave him a pointed look, cutting off his protest, "is everyone else really okay with that?"

Hunter raised an eyebrow, still fishing out extra chocolate chips and dropping them back into the bag. "We all agreed to welcome him, Shiv. The fact that he saw us in action and accepted our offer says something, doesn't it? Like I said before... we're selfish about you, Shiv, but we know how to share with our Vode."

You stared unseeingly for a moment at the chocolate chips swimming in the batter. "I'm... I'm just a little worried," you finally admitted. "I just don't want... don't want anyone to think that they mean any less to me, because it's not true," you agonized. "Just because I learned to love Echo first doesn't mean I love him more than anyone else. You all mean so much to me, in different ways."

Hunter sighed. "And the same goes for us, Shiv. I know Cross probably made you think that, but you've settled that fear in him that you'll leave. We have an advantage with you, mesh'la, because we get to see into your mind. None of us have lied to you or each other about this, and we know it thanks to our Bonds."

Something in you eased a little at the reminder and reassurance. Hunter knew his Vode well, and the fact that he was speaking for the others spoke volumes to you. They must have really talked about it if he was this confident. If anything, he was the one wanting to make moves to bring Echo into the relationship.

"Well..." You sighed. "As long as everyone is okay with it, of course I am too."

"Shiv." Hunter reached up, tilting your chin to look at him, eyes dark and serious. "If you are uncomfortable about this—“

"No, no!" You shook your head, grasping his hand. "No, that's not it— I just wanted everyone else to be fully okay with it. My relationship with all of you is something I'm proud of, but it's not just me, it's all of us," you rushed, relief flooding you that everyone seemed understanding. "I just... I want what's best for all of us."

Hunter seemed to study your eyes for a moment, then a gentle smile crossed his face. Leaning forward, he gave you a soft kiss. Then he tapped the edge of the bowl.

"Then I suppose we'll have to figure out how to get Echo to admit that he wants further into the madness," he chuckled.

You looked down into the bowl, noting that it was no longer drowning in chocolate chips. Giving him a grateful smile, you started folding the pile of chips into the batter with the spatula.

"I'd like to talk to the others individually too," you admitted, "but... I'm really happy that I have all of you." You gave him a grateful smile. "I never thought I'd get to be this lucky in life."

"You deserve everything, mesh'la," Hunter murmured, his fingers rubbing circles against your hip as he held you on his lap. "Do you know how much better you've made our lives since you joined us?"

A thought occurred to you, and you tilted your head at him. "You said, before," you remembered slowly, "that you all thought that I wouldn't be interested in all of you that way. What made you even decide that you'd give Wrecker the chance?" you asked, curious. "I mean, he was the first one that made me realize my feelings, but it wasn't just him even from the start."

Hunter snorted at that, shaking his head. "We've been Vode for a long time, Shiv. We saw it in each other the moment we all started falling for you. We did... avoid it for a while, but we all knew we'd eventually have to talk about it. Once we learned more about you... we just didn't think you'd accept all of us. We weren't even sure if you'd be comfortable with any kind of relationship outside of Weapon and Wielder."

You listened, still stirring the batter.

He huffed, looking down at the mixing bowl. "Then you seemed to get more comfortable with Wrecker. Especially that night at the 79s... the way you clearly felt comforted around him. I think it surprised us at first, since Wreck's... well, you know how he seems to others." He shrugged ruefully. "But we figured if you seemed interested, we'd give him the chance." Then he chuckled. "I guess in the end we have Tech to thank for... well, being him."

You smiled, a little embarrassed. "Well, I was sort of... having an internal crisis at the time," you admitted. "I didn't even think I'd be able to love after I thought I'd lost Echo, and then suddenly I realized that I'd somehow formed feelings for four people. It kinda scared me at the time, so... when Tech said it, I sort of just... broke."

Hunter chuckled. "The one time we can be grateful you did, I suppose."

You patted his arm, then slid out of his lap. Going back to the counter, you started to spread some flour over the counter in order to knead the dough. "You can laugh, but I was terrified, I'll have you know!" you said, shaking your head at the memory.

Hunter came up behind you, his hands settling on your hips as he pressed his chest against your back and looked over your shoulder. "And now it's even, since you've given us plenty of scares since then, hmm?" he replied amusedly, pressing his mouth against your ear. "Do you know how much you scared us the day you fought the Guardian on your own?" He sighed, breath blowing over your face. "I thought I was about to lose my mind, mesh'la."

You closed your eyes, a bit of guilt flashing through you. "I know. I'm sorry," you sighed, turning your head to give him a remorseful look, even bringing out the puppy eyes that Fives always swore would get you anything. "I just wanted to keep you away from Skarla."

Hunter tucked his face into the crook of your neck, pulling your hips against his. "Well, we didn't understand then. Besides," his voice lowered to a husk, lips brushing against your neck, "watching you fight like that, mesh'la? Do you know what you do to your poor men?" He groaned against your skin. "That day with the electroscythe? I was almost sure that would be the day everyone would find out just how well you'd integrated with us."

You wanted to both laugh and whimper at the same time. Hunter had you pinned against the counter, hands starting to wander, lips trailing down your neck. But your hands were covered in dough and flour, and you knew that you'd have to remind him that if he started something, everyone else would finish it, and poor Echo didn't know anything yet.

Squirming, you turned around to face him and held up your floury, doughy hands. "I love you, my handsome man," you half-laughed, "and I'm happy that you liked my fighting, but we have two problems here." You quirked an eyebrow at him. "Because first of all, I'm making bread; and second, if you start, you know how it'll end, and there is someone on board who isn't part of our relationship yet."

He sighed, then bent and pressed a quick kiss to your lips. "Then we need to get him in, quickly," he grumbled. "Because otherwise it's not going to stay a secret for much longer."

You rolled your eyes. "Well I can't help that until I talk with everyone else, so help me with this bread." Giving him an indulgent look, you grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the counter. "Here, put your hands in the flour."

He blinked but obeyed, coating his hands with the flour.

"Then start working the dough, like this—" Reaching around his arms, you gently guided his hands to knead at the dough on the counter. "Fold it and push it in." You giggled. "You don't have to be that gentle with it, Hunter."

He started to get the hang of it pretty quickly, and you left him to it as you washed your hands and went to prepare the pan. Greasing it and setting it on the counter, you came back to peer at the dough.

"A little bit more, please. Thank you," you said gratefully, leaning up to kiss his cheek. You went to go grab the bag of chocolate chips and tie it up, going to put it back in the cooler. You'd just turned around when you felt something blow across your face.

With a gasp, you froze, then blinked away the white haze to see Hunter smirking. His fingers were powdered white. Looking down, you realized that he'd tossed the flour at you. For a second, both of you just stood there.

"Oh, no you didn't," you hissed playfully, eyes narrowing. Lunging, you managed to grab a handful of flour from the counter. You clapped your hands in his face, sending an explosion of white powder that had him spluttering.

He grabbed another handful, tossing it at you as you danced away with a shriek of laughter. "Get back here, Shiv—"

You dove away as he lunged toward you, dancing around him back to the counter. Grabbing the flour, you had just cocked your arm back to throw it at him when you caught sight of someone in the doorway. Your grin widened, and you stepped forward.

Hunter froze as you threw your handful of flour past his shoulder. Turning his head, he caught sight of a flour-bombed Tech standing frozen in the doorway. For another moment, all three of you stood there, frozen, breathlessly waiting.

Then Tech coughed, deliberately reached up and shook off his goggles, and put them back on. Reaching down, he scooped up some flour from the floor, then tossed it at you and Hunter.

Chaos broke loose. White started to flutter everywhere like snow, while you laughed yourself to tears. You'd just inched your way around the galley when you bumped into someone. Glancing up, you saw Cross observing from the doorway with an unimpressed look. Behind him stood Wrecker, a wide grin on his face.

Then you felt flour splat against your chest. Reeling back, you fell against Crosshair's chest and let out a sneeze as flour drifted up your nose. You'd shielded Cross from the assault.

Crosshair raised his eyebrow, then spit out the toothpick clenched between his teeth. Reaching up, he dragged a hand through your hair, scooping up flour. Without a word, he pulled you to the side and chucked his handful at Hunter and Tech.

"Yeah, let's get em, Cross, Shiv!" Wrecker roared.

You shrieked as Wrecker barreled past both you and Cross. Shouts broke out anew, and you soon found yourself next to Cross backing up Wrecker's frontal assault. Finally, though, you found yourself straddled on top of Hunter, reaching down to rub flour over his tattoo, giggling.

Wrecker sprawled on his back, laughing as he grabbed Tech and Crosshair's ankles and yanked them down to the flour-strewn floor as they yelled in protest.

Abruptly, Hunter grabbed your waist and stood. "Echo, catch," he called, then tossed you.

You shrieked, only to feel someone catch you. You looked up breathlessly to see Echo staring down at you, surprise stamped over his face. Covered with flour, you blew a piece of hair out of your face, then gave Echo a grin. Before he could even open his mouth and ask, you reached up and smudged a handprint of flour across his face.

"Pile!" you shouted, dropping your legs to the ground. Grabbing a disoriented Echo, you yanked him forward and down to the ground. He fell with a shout, and soon you were laughing hysterically as you pushed his face into a pile of flour.

Wrecker let go of Tech and Crosshair to reach up and grab you, dragging you up onto his chest. Your stomach ached with laughter as you tried fighting off his hands smudging flour all over you, digging into your sides. His hands clamped over your thighs on either side of his stomach, leaving white streaks over your skin.

"No— Wreck, please— no!" you squealed, squirming and trying in vain to escape. "I give up, I give up!" you gasped. Collapsing, you laughed and tried to catch your breath as Wrecker held you up, holding your waist. He grinned up at you.

"You're all covered with flour, Shiv," he said, tugging at your shirt.

You shook your head, sending flour everywhere. "Hunter started it," you said in childish glee. Reaching down, you started to brush flour off of his face.

"You put me in charge of the flour," Hunter said lazily from his spot on the floor.

"You were supposed to be kneading dough for the bread," you shot back with a pout. "You'd better not have ruined it."

"You were making bread, Shiv? Oh yeah!" Wrecker cheered.

"And since I'm not the one who started it," you sniffed, "the rest of you can help clean up the mess." You looked morosely down at your shirt. "I'm going to have to do laundry. This poor shirt has been through so much already!"

Tech sat up, brushing off his goggles. Blowing flour off of his face, he reached out and plucked at the edge of your shirt.

"Looks like you really have gotten flour everywhere," he observed. "Wrecker, you left handprints on her thighs."

You peered down, assessing the damage. You lifted up your shirt to look at your stomach. "Well that bruise is your fault, Tech," you said, pointing at a little bruise on your side. Then you lifted your foot and pointed morosely to the one on your ankle. “And that one is from smacking my foot on the console when Echo got knocked out.”

“You what?” Hunter asked, craning his neck to look at you.

“When we were on the mission,” you said, trying to brush flour off of Tech’s head and face. “I had to use both hands to finish the decryption, but then Tech was busy and someone needed to block another splicing attempt, so I kicked off my boot and did it. Tech,” you fussed, “stop twitching, you’re gonna get it in your glasses again.”

“It’s fine, I think we all need to wash off anyway,” Tech said with a shrug, though he did stop long enough to let you brush him off.

Hunter sat up, starting to brush himself off. “Probably. I need to clean this up.”

“Cross—“ You leaned over Wrecker, reaching for a clump of flour that had gotten stuck in the sniper’s white hair. “Your hair—“

He bent and let you brush it out, despite grumbling a little about “flour” and “childish feuds.”

You’d almost entirely forgotten about your position until Wrecker piped up. “Whoa, nice view.”

Everyone froze for a moment, staring at Wrecker with a slight sense of horror. You blinked, then looked down and realized that you’d bent over his face and your shirt had fluttered up right around your chest. Then you let out a snort and pulled back, pinching Wrecker’s nose.


“You’re lucky I had a bra on, Wrecker,” you teased lightly. “I bet Echo remembers that time in the barracks when I was washing my last one and Fives accidentally tripped and pulled my shirt down,” you laughed, grinning at Echo.

He looked a bit pink around the cheeks, but he sat up and chuckled. “Yeah, I remember. Hawk and Jesse almost killed him and he just wailed something about being a traitorous Vod.” He grinned.

Everyone relaxed, while Wrecker shot you an apologetic look.

You just tweaked his nose and smiled, then stood up, shaking your shirt. “Oh I remember. Captain Rex walked in just as I started laughing. Must’ve been so confusing to see me laughing while Kix wrapped me up in a towel and you watched Fives snivel on the floor.” You rolled your eyes at Echo. “You were no help at all.”

Echo raised his hands defensively. “Look, I had snacks and Fives was being dramatic with Hawk and Jesse. It was the best entertainment. Rex’s face looked like he was about to quit being our Captain.”

You carefully walked over to the counter, then observed the dough, poking at it. “Well at least the dough got done,” you said in satisfaction. Grabbing the dough, you put it into the metal mixing bowl and placed the cover over it. Sticking it in the cooler, you turned. “I’m going to put a basket in the fresher, so put your floury clothes in it so they don’t get everywhere.”

“Got it, Shiv.” Tech headed out, clearly calling dibs on first shower.

“Shiv, go sit. Cross and Wrecker can help me clean this up.” Hunter waved you off. “You and Echo need to rest anyway.”

You grabbed Echo’s hand, pulling him over to a relatively clean corner. “How are you, Echo?” you asked, shaking out your shirt a little more and trying to brush as much flour off.

He shook off his mechanical arm, curling his robotic fingers. He’d been outfitted with a hand prosthetic that he could take off if needed. “I’m fine,” he said, shaking his head. “Just... getting used to it.”

You peered up at him through floury eyelashes, a frown touching your lips. “I’m sorry, Echo. I know it’s got to be hard. I mean... going through all of this and then deciding to join the Bad Batch.”

He sighed, glancing over at an arguing Cross and Wrecker as Hunter oversaw. “It’s better this way,” he said quietly. “I’m too... I’m not the same as the 501st remember me. It’s better I find a place here, with others who get that.” Then he looked at you. “But you help.” His eyes widened slightly. “I mean, having you here— since you’re someone I know and you also— with Trench—“

You reached up, brushing some flour off of his headpiece. With a small smile, you helped him brush it off. “I know. I feel...” You sighed, glancing at the other three. “I love the 501st, of course. They’re my Vod’ika, and they... they did so much for me that I can’t ever repay. But I didn’t fit with them perfectly as a weapon. As an In’ko’charte. But here, with the Bad Batch... I’ve found my place where I’m strongest. With them.” You gently brushed a finger under his sunken eye. “They’re kind, but they help me grow in ways the 501st didn’t. My Vode will always see me as the little sister they rescued, and I’m happy with that. But the Bad Batch see me as a teammate, someone to work alongside with and grow with. I really hope we can be that for you, too, Echo.”

Echo seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes fixed on yours, head tilted slightly into your hand.

You reached up and gently brushed some smudges off of his cheek. “I’m so happy to have you back,” you whispered, giving him a shattered smile. “No matter how you’ve changed. You’re still my Echo.”

Echo inhaled in a sharp breath, but before he could say anything, Tech came back in.

“The fresher is free,” he informed the others, then sauntered back off.

“I’m next.” Crosshair headed for the door.

You noticed that Wrecker and Hunter were almost finished cleaning, and started toward the counter after squeezing Echo’s good hand. “Oh, wait, leave a bit on the counter—“

You didn’t notice the way Echo stared after you, but other, knowing eyes did.

~

The smell of baking bread filled the halls of the ship.

You peeked into the cockpit, noticing that Tech was alone. “Mind if I join?”

He turned, glancing at you. “Oh, Shiv. Of course.”

You walked up to him, then slid into his lap. He grunted and leaned back, focusing on you as he grasped your waist with one hand. Looking up into his face, you gave him a shy smile.

“Hi.”

He blinked, but a slight smile crossed his face. “Hello.”

You worried your lip for a moment, then sighed and looked down at your hands. “Hunter talked to me. I mean... about Echo.”

Tech’s thumb started to trace circles into your waist. The way his fingers flexed around your waist was almost distracting. “Ah, yes.” He tilted his head at you. “I assumed by the way you both projected across the Bonds that you were alright with it.”

“I am,” you assured him, smoothing your hands across his chest. “I just... I wanted to talk to all of you personally about it. And thank you.” You looked up at him earnestly. “I know it’s not just about me, but still, Tech. You encouraged me to not give up hope.”

“I’m glad it worked out for all of us, cyar’ika,” Tech said, still giving you his full attention. He even leaned back in the chair as he listened. “And I’m quite sure that he has feelings for you.”

You blinked, wondering where that had come from. It seemed a bit out of the blue.

“It was pretty obvious earlier during the flour fight.” Tech reached up and adjusted his glasses in that way. The one that meant he was about to rattle off information. “Judging by the changes in his breathing patterns during certain moments and his expression when Wrecker—“

You reached up, laughing a little as you pressed your fingers to his lips. “Tech, Tech,” you giggled. “Thank you, really. But right now, I need you to focus on us.”

He sighed. “Very well, Shiv.”

“I just need you to know that I love you, so much, and that just because Echo is here it doesn’t mean my feelings for you are any less.” You sobered, pressing your hands against his face and pulling him closer to you. “I want all of us to be okay with this, and not just doing it because everyone else is. It’s all of us.”

Tech leaned forward, taking advantage of the closeness to steal a kiss. He tucked his forehead against yours. “We are, Shiv,” he reassured. “You’ve told us about how he helped you, and we can all feel over the Bonds how much you care about him. As long as he truly cares about you like we do, that’s what matters most. There’s room for him with us.”

You let your eyes flutter closed, heart swelling. “How did I get so lucky?” you whispered. “You’re all so good to me.”

“As long as we have you, cyar’ika.” Tech pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Do I get a piece of bread?”

You laughed, sliding off of his lap. “Yes.”

“Oh, and Shiv,” he called after you as you turned to go find someone else. “You might want to be prepared. I’m quite sure that Wrecker and Cross have some kind of plan to get Echo to... figure it out.”

You paled. “Thanks for the warning,” you said weakly. “You wouldn’t... happen to know any details... would you?”

He just gave you a shrug. “Good luck.”

You waved, heading off down the hall with a sinking feeling. Of course it would be those two. Tech’s patience knew no bounds apparently, and Hunter was responsible enough to wait. But Cross never cared about what others thought anyway, and Wrecker... Your Sunshine never really had tact or patience.

Of course, that meant that you found Crosshair next. He was in his bunk, unsurprisingly, and raised an eyebrow as you stood in the door.

“Can I talk to you, Cross?”

He grunted, then nodded to the spot next to him.

Bouncing over happily, you sat next to him. After a moment of companionable silence, you leaned your head against his shoulder.

“No,” Cross said bluntly before you could say anything. “If he knows, he knows.”

You sighed. “I guess that means you’re okay with it?”

He turned to give you a wry look, though there was no true irritation in his gaze. “If I weren’t, do you think Hunter would have invited him, kitten?” he drawled, catching your chin in his lithe fingers. Leaning down, he brought your chin up for a demanding kiss. It wasn’t rough, but it did burn across your lips with a touch of that possessiveness that flickered over the Bond.

He let go, and you blinked a little dazedly up at him, catching your breath. Casually, he turned back to his work. “You’re ours. That doesn’t change.”

But happy relief filled you. You knew that it was his way of saying that he understood that your love wouldn’t change, that it was simply Echo joining, not anyone leaving. You reached over and hugged him, then leaped up happily.

“Thank you, Cross! I’ll bring you some bread when it’s done,” you said over your shoulder as you practically floated out the door.

You stopped by the galley, checking on the bread. It had sufficiently cooled by then, so you sliced it into appropriate pieces. Putting at least half a loaf on a plate, you grabbed it and headed to Wrecker’s bunk.

Poking your head in, you found Wrecker sitting in his bunk, holding Lula. He perked up as soon as he saw you holding the bread. Swinging up, he grinned at you and put Lula aside.

You smiled back, approaching and handing him the plate of bread. “Here you go, I figured you’d like the first taste.”

“Aw really, Shiv?” He took the plate, then grabbed a piece and bit into it. It didn’t take long before he’d scarfed two pieces down. “It’s so good, Shiv,” he groaned.

You laughed, sitting beside him. “I’m glad, Wreck.”

He set the plate aside for a moment, then reached out and grabbed you, pulling you into his lap. Leaning down, he buried his face into your hair and let out a happy hum. “Thanks, cyare.”

You reached up and brushed your hand across his cheek. “You’re welcome, Sunshine. It’s my thanks to you, for being so good to me.”

He grabbed his plate again, starting on another piece of the bread. “Do you think we’ll have another mission soon?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. But right now, I’m on a bit of a mission of my own.” You gave him a smile as he gazed down at you curiously. “About Echo.”

His eyes lit with understanding. “Oh, right! So, how are you gonna do it, Shiv?”

You blinked up at him. “Do... what?”

He waved his piece of bread in the air. “Y’know. Tell him about us.”

“Oh!” You laughed a little at yourself. “I guess you’re okay with it, then, Sunshine.”

He tilted his head. “Huh? Course, Shiv. He’s one of us now, right? Besides, you love him too. Right?”

You patted his chest. “Yes. But I wanted to make sure you’re okay with it, you know. Because you’re my Sunshine, and I need my good boy to be happy.” Reaching up, you kissed his cheek softly.

He grinned, squeezing your waist in a hug. “Yeah! Oh, right... sorry about earlier, Shiv. What I said.”

“Don’t be.” You shook your head. “I was one of the boys in a lot of ways back when I was with the 501st. Fives alone made so many jokes.” You rolled your eyes. “Echo’s used to seeing his Vode kinda flirt with me in a weird sort of teasing way.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Does that mean I can still touch you and stuff?”

For a moment, you thought about it. Keeping it hidden from Echo wasn’t really an option, and you didn’t think that would be the way to do it. He’d already seen how comfortable you were with the Bad Batch. Maybe letting everyone simply be their normal selves and just including Echo as though he were already a part of it would be the best option, after all.

So you smiled up at Wrecker. “Of course, Sunshine. I’m still Shiv, aren’t I?”

Wrecker took it in stride. “Course!” He paused, then looked down at his almost-empty plate. “Oh.” He stared at it wistfully.

“Save it for later,” you said, shaking your head at him. “You’ll get a stomachache if you eat too much.”

He sighed but nodded. “Okay.”

You slid out of his lap. “I’m going to go give everyone else some bread, mmkay?”

He nodded. “Sure.” Grumbling, he started to brush crumbs off of himself as you smiled fondly and left.

Grabbing more bread, you started off back down the hall. Dropping off bread to Crosshair and Tech, you found Echo and Hunter in the common room, conveniently enough. They looked up at you as you entered.

“Bread is done,” you said cheerfully, offering them the plates. “I went and made rounds. Thought you might want some.”

“Thanks, Shiv.” Hunter gave you a nod, taking his plate and biting into the bread.

“Oh— thank you, Shiv.” Echo took the plate, then stared down at it for a moment. A sad sort of smile flitted over his face as he picked up a piece. “Chocolate chips?”

You sat down on the couch next to Hunter, tucking your feet up. “As always,” you agreed with a complacent nod. “You and Fives always complained there were never enough.”

“Because there aren’t,” Echo answered smartly, biting into the bread.

Hunter grunted. “There’s enough chocolate chips, the problem is that there’s never enough bread,” he said, already working on his second piece.

You rolled your eyes at them. “Well it’s not my fault that three loaves never last long in this house,” you sniffed.

“That’s because Wrecker and Tech alone finish a whole loaf,” Hunter snorted, finishing his bread.

“Can’t blame them. Shiv’s baking has always been the best,” Echo muttered around his last piece. He set down the plate with a satisfied sigh. “Thanks, Shiv. I missed that flavor.”

Despite yourself, you suddenly wondered what Echo’s flavor would be. You remembered before the Cathedral, his energy had always been like a sweet, tart juice. You recalled the cooling, soothing sensation of his energy trickling through you, and wondered if it had changed. And then you stopped yourself there, reminding yourself that questioning any other flavor might not be the best idea at the moment.

“I’m glad you remember it, Echo.” You smiled at him, leaning your cheek against your knee.

“Speaking of which,” Hunter said, kicking his feet up. He leaned back, arms slinging across the back of the seat. His hand landed on your shoulder casually. “We’ve been given a few days on Ral’shan as a combined mission and break.”

You tilted your head toward him. “Combined?” you asked curiously.

He nodded. “For once, we’re supposed to blend in,” he said, rather wryly. “There’s apparently a Separatist thread we found linked to Trench, and the last sighting was reported in Ral’shan, the capital city of Dro’har.”

“Dro’har?” Echo asked, surprised. “That’s a rather wealthy planet. Isn’t Ral’shan known for its hotels based around waterfalls?”

Hunter nodded. “Yes, and apparently we’re supposed to find this Separatist source at the last known location. Our orders are to spend a few days and nights in a different hotel and gather the things we need, then move to the hotel where the Source was seen and blend in with the crowd there as though we’re just another group of visitors.”

You frowned. “What’s the catch? Why do we need so much time to get ready?”

Hunter sighed, nodding towards the holotable. “According to Tech’s intel, we’re going to have to purchase with the funds given us a whole new wardrobe. To blend in, we’re going to have to look like a wealthy group.”

Echo shifted a little uncomfortably. “I don’t exactly look... normal.”

“Body modifications aren’t uncommon among the kind of wealthy people that go to a place like that,” you said absently, staring at the holotable. “And now I know why we got assigned this mission. Because of my past with Trench.” You wrinkled your nose. “He used to take me to places like that all the time for appearances or making connections.” With a sigh, you shook your head. “We’re going to have to come up with a good story for us to sell to people at the hotel who will all be nosy about each other’s business and lives. And some kind of relationship between all of us. Well, I guess being an In’ko’charte— no, never mind.” You winced. “People like that would assume that I’m the ornament.”

“Well I don’t think we can very well say that we’re somehow all related,” Hunter pointed out. “We may be clones, but we look different enough to not be suspicious. Still, not close enough to be related.”

“And how do we explain the fact that we’ll all be in one room?” Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Because we’ve apparently been booked a single suite for the mission.”

“Well. There is one obvious answer,” you said slowly, glancing at Hunter. "I mean... people like these are going to assume it anyway."

Hunter raised an eyebrow. Well that's an idea I hadn't considered. Anyone have thoughts?

"I suppose," he said out loud thoughtfully. Reaching over, he grabbed a datapad and handed it to you. "Here, Shiv. Take a look at the details. It makes sense that we might have been assigned this mission considering both our unusual looks and your experience with similar settings. You'd probably know best how to blend in."

To be fair, Shiv has a point. This might be the best way to bring Echo into the situation in a natural way. Besides, she's also correct that we wouldn't be out of place if we chose that as a cover. Tech offered over the Bond.

You took the datapad, then hummed thoughtfully and scrolled through the information.

Whatever works. Cross said, unhelpfully.

Whatever Shiv wants!

You stifled a smile. You're sweet, Sunshine.

"What plan?" Echo asked, looking between you and Hunter.

You and Hunter glanced at each other. You suggest it? You tentatively offered.

Hunter turned to Echo as you started looking at the budget you'd been given for the mission. "We're probably going to go as a group in a relationship," he said bluntly, sounding casual about it.

You leaned closer to Hunter, pointing to the datapad. "It says here that we're supposed to make a connection if possible to the Source that linked to Trench. If this Source is really there, the only way we're going to get their attention and interest is if we purposely tailor ourselves in a way that hints at Separatist interests. I remember the guests Trench used to invite to show me off to. I could try to base our look off of that."

He nodded. "Best bet, Shiv. Whatever you think is right."

"A relationship?" Echo asked, looking confused.

You nodded, tapping your chin thoughtfully. "We'll have to create backstories so Tech can create false records. Then I'll have to figure out how to harp on all of our strengths individually." You pursed your lips, giving Hunter a thoughtful frown. "I mean, either way, when they see we're all in one room together and see our similar 'eccentric interests,'" you crooked your fingers in the air, "they're going to assume. Gossip at the least."

"Wait— what are you—"

You looked up at Hunter. "So am I supposed to be an In'ko'charte on this mission, or am I the eccentric rich woman with a flair for the scythe that happens to be with five others?" you asked with genuine curiosity, wondering what he would prefer.

"Hold on, time out," Echo protested, waving his hands. "Sorry, I need a bit of clarification. When you say relationship, what exactly are we talking about here?"

You and Hunter exchanged looks, and he raised an eyebrow. You want to take this one, mesh'la?

You turned to Echo. "Echo, no matter what we try, rich people are bored and will always want to make a story more interesting than it is. If we take advantage of that and embrace it instead of trying to avoid it, we become instantly more interesting and approachable to them, opening more opportunities to interact with otherwise... difficult and haughty people," you explained. "And since we've only been booked one room, they're going to inevitably see one female and five males and draw rather obvious conclusions. I'm trying to say that we should... well, go with it."

Echo stared at you for a moment of silence, seemingly speechless. Then he swallowed thickly. "Are you—" he choked, clearing his throat. "Are you saying that we should pretend like we're all..." He motioned vaguely in the air.

"Romantically involved, yes," Hunter finished with a shrug. "And Shiv is right, we need to decide whether she's going to be the weapon or we're going to be her escorts."

Well isn't this an interesting concept. Crosshair commented, voice slick with amusement. Does our little kitten have ideas about being in a room with all of us?

Hunter sighed across the Bonds. Cross, at least wait until we've somehow gotten Echo in on it before you rile everyone up.

I already told you, I don't care. Cross snorted. Shiv is ours. If he wants to join, he'll join.

"Whoa, hold on—" Echo spluttered. "Shiv, are you— are you even okay with this?"

You bit your lip, then set the datapad down and stood, walking over to Echo. Standing in front of him, you pointed to his lap. "Is this seat empty?" you asked sweetly, giving him an innocent smile.

He blinked. "What? Uh, my seat?"

You patiently shook your head. "Is that seat open?" You pointed at his lap again, more insistently.

"That's— me—?” Echo asked, bewildered, pointing to himself.

I said what I said. You deadpanned over the bonds, earning laughter from Wrecker. Leaning down, you grasped Echo's hand and slid into his lap, sitting on his legs comfortably. Draping his arm over your lap, you twined your fingers in his.

"Every mission sometimes asks things of us, you know that," you reminded Echo with a little shrug. "I've been lucky. I got to be a part of the Bad Batch, and be their weapon. They've been really good to me, and I'm comfortable here, now." You gave Echo a full, honest smile. "It's not just pretending if you really care about people, right? Besides, it's part of our job. I don't mind. I trust all of you."

He hesitated, a little stiff under you. "I... I suppose," he admitted slowly, looking down at your linked hands. "I just... I mean, I don't know how..."

"Just follow our lead, Echo," Hunter said with an encouraging nod. "Shiv's been with us for a while, now. Hopefully soon enough your Bond with her will get to the point that she's gotten to with the rest of us. I've been told that the 501st didn't get to that extent because she was having difficulty adjusting to so many of you. We've formed close enough Bonds with Shiv that we have constant mental connection with each other through her, and can Transfer with her without saying the words out loud."

Echo's eyes widened. "I didn't know that was a thing," he said, looking up at you.

You nodded. "Yes. Maybe on this trip we'll all get close enough that you'll be able to Bond with me to that point, too!" You smiled hopefully.

"Just do what you're comfortable with, Echo," Hunter said, shaking his head. "We'll set the tone with Shiv, and you can contribute however you want to. We understand if you won't be comfortable with certain things."

"You have constant mental contact?" Echo asked, eyebrows furrowing. "So, is that how you communicate during battles? I noticed on our previous missions that you didn't seem to need to say the words to Transfer. But does that mean when you're not Transferred you still have mental contact?"

You nodded. "Yep! And the Bonds have gotten to the point now that they can use me as a sort of central hub to just connect with each other. When you join, hopefully soon, you'd be able to mentally talk to any one of us whenever you wanted."

"Without the others hearing?" Echo asked.

"Yep! It's controlled projection."

Understanding flitted across his face. "Oh, so it's projection. I got it." He nodded, then sighed. "I... I guess I'll just have to take your lead, then," he said uncertainly, shifting slightly under you.

You leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "We'll be okay, Echo! We're all together, right?"

He blinked, then nodded. "R-right."

Sliding off of his lap, you grabbed the datapad. "So, what were we doing again about the dynamic-?"

But you and Hunter exchanged significant glances.

Well. I guess this has turned into an operation of seducing Echo. Tech's wry comment sent you and Hunter into a burst of hysterical laughter.

Part 18: A Single Question

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You blinked. “Oh— of course, Captain,” you answered, glancing back at Tech.

He gave you a thumbs up, turning to head back into the Havoc Marauder.

Rex turned and started towards the garrison, beginning to talk. “The General is talking to the Council right now to tell them about what we found on the mission and get permission to go right away,” he explained. “But... I’ve got a bit of a problem. Even if the Council won’t care about who exactly is the source... you know that the rest of the 501st will. Especially—“

“Fives and Kix,” you finished quietly, heart sinking as you realized.

“Yes.” Rex sighed. “I’m not trying to push my own responsibility onto you, Shiv. But you four were closest, and I thought it might feel a little more... believable, coming from you. And maybe you’ll know how to...”

“I understand, Captain,” you broke in softly. “How much time do I have?”

Rex paused in front of the barracks door, shrugging his shoulder. “I’ll comm you as soon as I hear word from the General and we’re ready to go. I promised Sergeant Hunter that I’d have you back as soon as we get permission.”

You nodded. “Of course, Captain.” You gave him a strained smile, already trying to think of how to tell Kix and Fives.

“Good luck, Shiv,” Rex said, then with a crisp salute, walked off.

You turned and stared at the door for a minute, thoughts tumbling around in your head as you desperately tried to think. How would you approach this? Of course, General Skywalker’s agreement that Echo might well still be alive would go a long way in convincing them, but... you needed to somehow dissuade them from instantly clamoring to go. They needed clear heads for the mission, and—

The door slid open with a hiss, causing you to stagger away, startled, with a yelp. You’d gotten lost in thought, again.

“Whoa there.” A hand grabbed your arm, steadying you.

Sucking in a breath, you looked up with wide eyes to see Tup looking at you in surprise. “Oh, Shiv! Hey, good to see you back,” he said with a grin.

You smiled back sheepishly. “Hi, Tup. Sorry, I... I got lost in thought again,” you apologized. “Um— is Kix and Fives here?” you asked tentatively, glancing past his arm.

He nodded, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “Yep!”

You slid around him. “Thank you.” You patted his arm absently, wanting to get it over with. You supposed you’d have to bite the bullet on this one.

As soon as Kix and Fives caught sight of you, they whooped. Well, Fives did, grabbing you excitedly and all but crushing you in a hug.

“Shiv!” Fives cheered.

“H-hi, Fives,” you laughed breathlessly, hugging him back. “It’s good to see you again.”

Kix pried you away from an enthused Fives. “Let me take a look, Fives,” he scolded, looking you over carefully.

You gave him a weak smile. “I’m fine, Kix.”

His eyes instantly narrowed as he stared at you. “What’s wrong,” he demanded.

Fives instantly sobered, frowning. “What? Did something happen, Shiv?”

Taking a deep breath, you sat on the edge of his bunk and patted the seat next to you. “I need to tell you something,” you said slowly. “Something very important, and something that I need... I need you to hear me out on, okay? Please, Fives?”

Fives sank down next to you, worry crossing his face. “Okay,” he said warily.

“Promise me you’ll both hear me out,” you said deliberately, reaching out to take both of their hands.

They glanced at each other, then frowned at you. Kix spoke up suspiciously. “What is it, Shiv?”

You braced yourself. “Echo might still be alive.”

~

You dragged yourself back to the ship, thoroughly exhausted. Reaching up, you groaned and pressed the heel of your palm against your eye, sinking into a chair.

“You okay, Shiv?” Wrecker asked, peering at you.

“Just tired,” you sighed, shoulders slumping. “Captain Rex owes me one for somehow convincing Kix and Fives not to instantly volun-force themselves on this mission. I think I almost had to threaten Fives with the worst thing possible to get him to calm down and listen to reason.”

Hunter’s eyebrow raised. “The worst thing?”

Despite yourself, you let out an ugly snort and looked up to give him a sour grin. “I told him I’d never call him my favorite Vod’ika ever again if he didn’t shut up and listen to me.”

“Well that’s quite the threat,” Crosshair drawled. “You sure he’ll recover?” he asked sardonically.

“He’s pouting over my betrayal, but... yeah. He’ll get over it.” You looked down at the floor, shoulders slumping. The exhaustion weighed on you heavily. You’d been negotiating with the two for a whole chron and a half. The last half had forced you to bring out the frustrated tears to send them on a whole guilt trip. You’d finally been able to manipulate your way into wringing agreements from them to stay put for the time being, though you’d had to promise that you’d give them updates as often as you could.

You shuddered to think of what might have happened if you’d mentioned the Admiral behind it all and his connection to your own past. If they ever found out about that? It’d be all over. Never again would you know peace or freedom. Kix would hover for the rest of your days and Fives would burst into sobs and hug the life out of you—

“Looks like we might be about to head on our way,” Hunter remarked, looking up from his comm. He stood. “Gear up, everyone. Shiv, do you need to be with anyone in particular right now?”

“Can I go with Tech, please?”

Tech readily reached out his hand, and you Transferred with a sense of relief. Tech’s ever-rambling mind would reinvigorate you for the mission and get you in gear, plus distract you from the looming possibility of finding Echo alive, in... whatever condition.

Captain Rex and General Skywalker soon boarded, and everyone prepared for liftoff. You let your astral form shimmer into sight, leaning against Tech’s shoulder with a wispy hum as you observed the proceedings with half-lidded eyes.

“So, how many missions has your team been on, Sergeant?” General Skywalker asked as the ship slowly lifted off and started on its way.

“Honestly, sir, I’ve lost count,” Hunter answered. “All the action sort of blurs together.”

“According to Shiv’s and my calculations,” Tech said, adjusting his glasses, “we’ve been on a total so far of one hundred and seventy four missions.”

The General nodded. “I know you work with Rex sometimes, but who do you guys report to?”

“Hmm. Good question,” Hunter reflected. “Can’t say I’ve got a solid answer, but my guess would be Rex most of the time.”

“Yeah!” Wrecker agreed, biting into a ration stick.

“Most of the time-?”

He was interrupted as Tech started to move in the pilot’s seat. “We are approaching Skako Minor,” he warned. “It looks to be a difficult landing.”

Everyone immediately went to put things away and strap in securely for entering the atmosphere of the dusty-looking planet. You focused on keeping up with Tech’s thoughts, still hovering over his shoulder.

“Rex, what do we know about this place?” General Skywalker asked.

“On this part of Skako, there’s a race of locals. The Poletecs,” Rex answered as Tech managed to safely land the ship. “All we know is they’re very primitive.”

Tech turned in his seat. “That’s being kind. My intel says the Poletecs worship flying reptiles.”

As though summoned, something heavy slammed into the front transparisteel of the ship. A muffled screech sounded from outside before it leapt back off.

“Oh! What the heck was that?” Wrecker bellowed, trying to look out.

“It’s one of those reptiles,” Tech answered.

“I want that thing off my ship,” Hunter barked. “Hold on!” He turned toward the door. “Hold on, don’t just run out there.” The door opened as everyone piled out.

“Hey! Get off of there!” Wrecker brandished his blaster.

“Calm down!” General Skywalker held out a placating hand. “We need to talk to them.”

Tech frowned, then abruptly tossed you to Hunter. You Transferred without asking why, Shifting into a vibroshiv.

“Why?”

“The General’s right—“ Rex started to say.

The General lunged forward. “Look out, Rex!” he shouted, shoving the Captain out of the way as one of the reptiles lunged. It snatched him up instead, starting to carry him off.

In the space of a thought, you’d Shifted into a rifle as Hunter tossed you to Crosshair.

“I have a thermal reading,” Tech said quickly. “Point two five east, elevation 175.”

“Relax, I’ll handle this,” Cross said, requesting a mod. You Shifted in accordance, providing the grapple hook, then braced yourself as Cross rested you against Tech’s shoulder. He barely seemed to take aim before firing, the rope flashing forward. You felt the light jolt as it hit the target.

“What are you doing?” Hunter asked, though he took the grappling handle that Cross handed him without hesitation.

You Transferred to Hunter, materializing over his shoulder. “Going for a ride!” you quipped, probably a little too gleeful at the prospect.

Hunter shouted as the rope abruptly tightened, yanking you both into the air. You giggled as he held on, then pointed upward.

Retract. The button is on the handle.

Hunter grumbled, reaching down and hooking it to his belt before pressing the button. “You’re having too much fun with this,” he accused. He tried to get closer, pulling out his blaster to fire, but it quickly backfired as the rider swerved, beginning to pull closer to some rock formations.

Hunter tried to weave and dodge, but soon he reached down and disengaged, tucking into a roll as you provided an extra layer of shielding from your spot hooked to his belt. He grabbed you as he popped back up to his knees, and you Shifted to a vibroshiv.

You both found yourself with a rather good vantage point from the outcrop, staring down at the village below where the creature had landed. “Tech, I’m with the General,” Hunter said into his comm. “Hone in on my signal.” He started to head down.

Hunter found another vantage point, and soon enough the ship touched down and the others joined. 
“That creature still has a hold of the General,” Hunter reported, observing.

“We’re going in, but remember what the General said,” Rex reminded. “‘No casualties, disarm only.’”

“We’re on it, Captain,” Hunter assured, standing. “Shiv, stun only, no live fire. Wrecker, Crosshair, rockslide.”

Wrecker pushed against a nearby boulder, heaving against it with a small grunt. Setting it into motion, he sent it tumbling down the steep slope and began following behind it for cover. Everyone followed, quickly beginning to disarm the Poletecs. Crosshair took a shot from the ridge, forcing the reptile creature off of the General.

The Poletec who had been the rider of the creature that had taken the General waved his hands, quickly speaking in the native language as he nervously stared at Hunter holding you to his face.

“Tech, translate what he said,” Hunter ordered tightly.

Tech quickly moved forward. “He says... he does not want our war on his planet,” he translated, reading from his decoder.

“We didn’t bring the war here,” General Skywalker said, standing and brushing himself off. “It was Wat Tambor and the Separatists.”

Tech translated slowly, reading from his visor screen.

“Tell him we apologize for what’s happened,” Rex added, moving forward.

Hunter lowered you, though he kept you as a blaster.

“But tell him the enemy is holding one of our men prisoner in Purkoll. As soon as we rescue him, we’ll leave his planet, for good.” Rex motioned.

Tech translated, while the Poletec squinted and seemed to carefully observe Tech while he talked. Then he turned and spoke to the other Poletecs.

“The chief says he will provide us with scouts and lead us to Tambor’s city. From there, we’re on our own.”

General Skywalker accepted it with a nod. “Any help is better than no help.”

Tech turned to you. “Shiv, if I give you the translator, would you be able to translate? You’re better at languages than I am.”

Hunter tossed you up, letting you Dissolve the Bond. You landed on your feet, walking toward Tech and ignoring the Poletec’s surprised exclamations at your sudden appearance. Taking the extra visor Tech handed you with a nod, you slipped it on and adjusted it so you could both read and see.

“So how far away is the city from here?” General Skywalker asked, turning to you.

You turned to the chieftain, bowing politely from your waist. “Greetings, Chieftain,” you read off of your translator prompt, “I do apologize for the misunderstanding. Allow me to thank you for the scouts. If it pleases you, I will be the translator.” Your pronunciation started to smooth out as you found the rhythm of the clicking language, adapting quickly to the inflections you’d analyzed by listening.

The chieftain approached you, bending to peer at your face. His dialogue quickly translated to Arubesh across your screen. “You are an In’ko’charte,” he remarked, tone indicating surprise. “It has been a long time since we have seen your kind.”

Shocked, your eyes widened. “You know of my kind?” You blurted.

The chieftain chuckled, nodding. “Of course. Our legends speak of your kind, though we know very little. The ultimate living tools, able to create civilizations if paired with a wise Wielder. Clans have risen and fallen under your kind. But alas, you are rare, now.” He turned. “Come, we shall assign guides.”

You took a step forward. “Wait— how far away is it? We have a ship,” you said quickly, eyes flying across the screen.

“With your ship, only a few klicks.” He motioned to two Poletecs, who quickly made their way forwards, long arms swinging. “They will take you there.”

“What did he say?” Rex asked, on edge.

You shook your head. “He said it’s only a few Klicks away with our ship. These are the two scouts he’s sending with us.” You turned to them with a polite nod. “Thank you for your help.”

The two nodded back.

“Good luck on your journey, In’ko’charte,” the chieftain said, waving his long-fingered hand in a strangely graceful way. “And may you find what you seek.”

Discomfited with the new knowledge, you simply bowed. “Our thanks. We will be on our way.”

The guides began to lope towards where the ship was, and Crosshair and Wrecker quickly followed. With a nod, the others bid the chieftain goodbye before starting to follow as well. You swallowed, starting to walk after Tech.

“What else did he say?” General Skywalker fell into step beside you, as did Hunter on your other side.

“I...” You shook your head wonderingly. “Apparently he recognized my species,” you answered, troubled. “He said that there are a few legends about... well, we’re called the In’ko’charte, but not many know that name anymore, it seems.”

“Your species has been on a planet like this?” Hunter sounded just as surprised as you felt.

“He said it’s been a long time since they’ve seen one of my kind, so... I’m assuming it really was a long time ago,” you guessed tiredly, trudging up the slope back to the ship. “I mean, it’s practically legend at this point for them.”

“Well, at least you know that you’re not alone,” the General said encouragingly.

You just sighed as you boarded the ship again. “To be honest, General,” you admitted, “sometimes I’d rather not know more about my kind. We’re a cursed species. It’s better we fade into legend while we still have something to be proud of.” Brushing it off, you walked back over to the guides who were standing behind Tech sitting in the pilot’s seat.

You hoped that the rest of the mission would go just as swimmingly, and tried to push the chieftain’s words out of your mind. You didn’t need any more distractions than you already had.

~

“Hope nobody’s scared of heights.” General Skywalker turned around resignedly as the guides pointed out the city, then promptly turned and left.

You gave them a soft thanks as they left, then pushed up the visor and handed it back to Tech. Everyone turned to stare at Wrecker.

“Well I’m not scared of nothin’,” Wrecker said defensively. “It’s just... when I’m up real high, I got a problem with gravity.”

You Transferred to Wrecker, appearing over his shoulder. “It’s okay,” you said, hands sliding over his shoulder. “I can give you extra stability.”

“Speaking of problems,” Tech remarked, “I’m no longer picking up Echo’s signal.”

Once everyone had turned toward him, you leaned forward and brushed an airy kiss to Wrecker’s cheek. Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’ve got you.

But Wrecker seemed to relax at your words, his tensed shoulders loosening a little. Thanks, cyare. I might need it. He admitted.

“I— I don’t understand.” Rex pointed. “You said it was coming from this city.”

Tech shrugged. “I can only speculate, but it is possible there’s a latency issue with the frequency caused by all these atmospheric disturbances.”

“Or... maybe it’s a trap,” Hunter said warily.

“Look, every mission could be a trap. This one’s no different,” General Skywalker said firmly. “Sergeant, take your men and scout the area for a tower entrance.”

Everyone scattered, and you were left to desperately hope that this mission, just this one, wouldn’t turn out to be a trap.

~

“We’re in business, General,” Hunter said as General Skywalker ran up through the howling wind. “Tech regained Echo’s signal. It’s coming from this tower.”

“How’s it going, Tech?” the General asked.

Tech pushed a few more buttons, then straightened as the doors hissed and slid open. “Sorry it took so long.”

“Hey, Crosshair, check it out,” Hunter said.

Cross walked in, taking a quick look around. “Yeah. It’s a lift.”

“Well, we already knew that,” Tech said, following him in.

“Wait, wait, wait. A lift?” Wrecker whined, looking up. “How far up are we goin’?”

Hunter turned. “Don’t worry, Wrecker,” he snorted, “I’ll hold your hand.” He reached out his hand.

Wrecker moved forward. “Hey, cut it out Sarge,” he protested, walking into the lift. “Just gimme some droids to crush.”

You peeked over his shoulder as the lift started to rise. I’m here, remember, Wrecker? you cooed. You had the feeling you might have to use some... underhanded tactics with him on this mission. I’ve got you, Sunshine. Can you be a good boy for me?

Wrecker’s mind instantly softened, distracted from his nerves. Y-yeah. I’ll be good, Shiv. He promised.

“Remember, this is a stealth mission,” General Skywalker reminded as the lift continued up. “No blasting, no blowing things up. Nobody knows we’re here.”

But then the doors opened, droids turned and stared, and Wrecker let out a roar and lunged forward.

“So much for stealth,” Rex sighed.

“Yeah!” Wrecker whooped, punching away with the gloves you provided. “Yeah! Hah! Ha-ha!” Then he turned to see everyone staring at him. “Uh... sorry. I just got excited.” He shrugged.

You laughed across the Bond. Nervous energy, Sunshine?

“I’ve still got a lock on Echo’s signal,” Tech affirmed.

“All right, men. let’s hunt some droids,” Rex said, heading deeper into the facility.

“Now you’re talking!” Wrecker headed after him. “Yeah!”

Clearing the hallway, everyone followed after the General. “Where exactly is Echo’s signal coming from?”

“Strange,” Tech mused. “I just lost the signal.”

“What? How can that be?” Rex frowned, taking off his helmet. “There’s no atmospheric disturbances up here.”

“Well, I have a new theory,” Tech offered. “I’m surprised I did not consider it earlier. The signal is only traceable during data transmissions. So until Echo dispenses more intel, I cannot pick up the signal.”

“Okay. We’re splitting up. Search every door. If someone finds Echo, contact the others. We go in together, just in case there’s trouble.” General Skywalker headed down the hall.

Wrecker followed Tech down the hall, closely followed by Hunter and Rex.

“Ah! it appears the signal is back. It’s from up ahead.” Tech pointed.

“In there.” Hunter stared at the blast doors grimly.

“Tech, open this door,” Rex ordered.

“You clones are so predictable.” A blue hologram popped into view, making everyone freeze.

“Wat Tambor,” Rex growled.

“Your algorithm predicted nearly every move you made to infiltrate Purkoll,” Tambor sneered.

“There is no algorithm,” Rex spat back. “We know you’re holding a prisoner of war here.”

You stayed invisible, listening with a tight throat.

“Prisoner? I don’t know what you mean, Captain.”

I am leaving here with my friend,” Rex gritted out.

“Your friend is dead,” Tambor jeered. “His mind is ours.”

“Liar!”

An entire group of droids flanked the group as you all turned.

“Execute them!”

“Tech, open that door for Rex!” Hunter barked. “Wrecker, let Shiv go with Rex, she might be able to reconnect with their old Bond and help.”

“Yes, sir!” Tech rushed for the door.

Crosshair and the General found the group, rushing to help stave off the wave of droids.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for, Captain,” Hunter said gravely.

Wrecker tossed you to Rex, who took you unhesitatingly this time. With a nod to Hunter, he turned and sprinted after Tech.

Tech opened the door, then ran in. “I don’t like the look of this,” he said uneasily, heading towards the fixture in the center of the room. He headed for the computers, starting to tap away. “I’m definitely picking up a life-form in there. It seems to be a stasis chamber.”

Rex Dissolved the Bond, to your surprise. “If he’s in there, Shiv, you’re going to have to be the one to wake him up,” he said, turning to you with his fists clenched. “Do whatever you have to.”

“Yes, Captain.” You inclined your head, then turned to look at Tech.

“I think I can get it open,” Tech muttered, just as the door slowly hissed and started to slide open.

You saw something move just behind the door, almost concealed by the fog, and leaped forward with arms outstretched to catch whoever or whatever it was. It blurred in front of you, ice-cold skin hitting yours.

A pale face. Barely-conscious eyes. Familiar angles of the sallow, sunken face.

“Echo,” Rex breathed from behind you. “Tech, we have to get him out of here. Figure out how to unplug him from— from this mess.” Rex moved forward to help you lower Echo down to the ground, careful to keep the wires still attached.

You knelt beside Echo, forcing yourself to focus. His skin was so cold, under your fingers. “What have they done to you,” you whispered, cupping his sunken cheek in your hand.

Echo suddenly lurched forward. “We— we have to get to the shuttle,” his voice rasped. “To escape the Citadel. NO! You have to leave!”

“Echo,” you said, voice cracking. “Echo-“

“No! No, no, no, go—“

“Echo, I’m not leaving you again,” you said, tilting his head firmly toward you.

His eyes started to open, awareness seeping in. “Shiv,” he muttered, head rolling into your hand. “Shiv? You— you came back?”

Leaning forward, you leaned your forehead against his. “Yes,” you whispered back, tears of relief springing to your eyes. “Yes, we did.”

“What?” Echo sounded disoriented. “What happened? Where-?”

“Shhh.” You hushed him. “It’s okay. We’re safe now,” you promised softly, knowing that you’d have to keep him calm from his disoriented state. Stasis chambers, you knew from experience, left your mind feeling sluggish with the cold...

“Just sit tight, Echo,” Rex said, kneeling on Echo’s other side. “You’re going home,” he promised.

Tech rushed over. “Keep him calm, Shiv. I’m going to disconnect the wires, but it might take a moment and he needs to stay calm.”

You nodded at him, then turned back to Echo. He seemed to be starting to reel, the confusion setting in as he came back to awareness. Thinking quickly, you did the only thing you could think of. You slid into Echo’s lap, pressing yourself close against him to lend him body heat to stave off the cold from the stasis chamber. Gently cupping his head in your hands, you forced him to focus on you, look at you.

“Echo,” you murmured, brushing your thumbs against his cheeks. “Echo, look at me.” You kept your voice low and smooth, making him focus on you. “Hey, it’s Shiv.” You gave him a smile. “You have to focus on me, okay? Fives and Kix are waiting for us to come back.”

Echo stared up at you, his chest heaving. “Shiv. What— I told you to go,” he half-mumbled.

“I know,” you soothed, glancing at Rex. “It’s okay. We’re all out, and safe. The Captain knows.” For his sake, you forced yourself to stay calm and talk in the soft tone that you’d always used whenever one of your Vode ended up in the medbay.

Echo seemed to shake himself, slowly coming to a more full awareness. “It’s— it’s safe?” he asked blearily. Then he seemed to register what you said. “Wh— am I in the medbay?”

“Not yet.” You kept him focused on you as Tech moved by the computers. Rex kept a close watch. “But we’re on the way, I promise.”

Echo reached up, his hand gripping at your wrist with a surprising amount of strength considering his state. “Shiv— w-wait, you—“ He swayed a little.

“I’m okay,” you reassured. “We’re both okay, Echo. Just focus on me, can you do that?”

He grimaced, but seemed to try to focus on you. “Y-yeah. Yeah.”

You heard footsteps behind you. “Situation’s almost under control out there. How’s it going in here?” General Skywalker’s voice asked.

Rex stood and quickly walked over.

“Echo,” you murmured, leaning your face closer to his to keep his attention. “Echo, can you complete Transference with me?” you asked, keeping your voice even and calm.

Echo’s eyebrows furrowed, confused. “But— the others... need you. I’m— I’m down.”

“It’s under control. I need you to Transfer with me if you can,” you countered gently. “Please, Echo. Just say the words, and that’s all you have to do. I can do the rest, I promise. Please, Echo, for me?”

His hand slid against yours as he let out a cough. “Per-permission to Transfer,” he rasped, starting to slur.

You could have wilted in relief. "Transfer Granted."

The moment you Transferred, you felt the tattered remnants of your former Bond snap into place. Echo's mind was a mess. His thoughts were simultaneously slushy and slow while still being bombarded by the interface he'd been connected to. You winced, understanding why he was so disoriented.

Using your astral form, you popped up to communicate with Tech. "I can help from the inside," you said. "Tell me what to do."

"I'm still trying to decrypt Echo's cerebral interface. Until I do, we can't disconnect him from this computer system," Tech said, frazzled. "Shiv, if you could somehow jam the signal in his brain—"

"What frequency?"

Tech rattled off a number, and you turned back inward. Feeling for the neural waves that were being funneled into Echo, you carefully replicated your own jamming frequency. All the noise in his mind abruptly stopped.

"How is he, Shiv?" Rex asked, anxious.

"Disoriented and weak," you answered, keeping the frequencies cancelling each other out. "Someone is going to have to carry him out of here once we get him free."

"Any word on the extraction squad?" General Skywalker asked into his comms.

"We called it in, but no word back," someone called back.

"Well, that's no surprise," the General said grimly. "We knew when we got into this we'd be on our own. It's gonna get more difficult to get out of here."

"There are several squads of droids closing in," Hunter reported.

General Skywalker glanced around. "How long can you hold them off?"

"How long do you need?"

"Tech, Shiv, how much longer?"

"Almost," Tech said hurriedly, rushing around. "Shiv, keep that jammed. Up the frequency two decibels and start pushing back carefully, but watch for backlash."

"Up one," you reported, obeying. "Up two." So far you'd managed to keep feedback from disrupting any normal brain function Echo had. Your focus narrowed, monitoring everything as you honed in on pushing back against the signal slowly.

"That's it, Shiv," Tech said, tension mounting. "Almost there, I'm getting it dialed back so yours can take over and flush it out."

"I think I'm approaching feedback barrier," you warned, straining. "I can only give you another few ticks, Tech!"

"Almost, just— Ah, there!" Tech triumphantly slammed a button. "Let it go, Shiv!"

You stopped the frequency just in time before the first screech of feedback could deafen both you and Echo. Panting with the effort, your astral form slumped over Echo's shoulder. Your ears rang, disorienting you for a minute.

"Unplug— Rex—“

Echo let out a low groan. "Rex?"

"What is it?" Rex's voice filtered in as you shook yourself. The tinnitus in your ears started to fade.

"I got a big headache," Echo said feebly.

"Better to feel something than nothing, old buddy," Rex encouraged, patting his arm.

"It's a touching reunion, guys, but we need to get out of here, now," General Skywalker said, looking around.

"There's an exhaust vent that leads to the cooling systems right there." Echo pointed upward.

The comms crackled. "They've breached the front door. It won't be long before they're through the second."

You forced yourself back together, then Dissolved the Bond. Staggering to your feet, you winced and rubbed your forehead. "Tech, get it open and carry Echo. Everyone else, get up into the vent and start moving. I'll help Wrecker blow this place sky-high and take up the rear," you said tightly, beginning to head for the blast doors.

"Shiv—“

"General, please," you said tightly, turning to him. You could feel the exhausted circles under your eyes. "I know Trench, I was in his head for years. This place needs to be gone, and I know how to do it."

His lips thinned, but he nodded. "Alright, do it."

You turned and sprinted down the hall, heading for the others that had retreated behind the first set of blast doors. "Wrecker!" you called, reaching out your hand.

Wrecker instantly turned at the sound of your voice, blindly reaching out his hand. You grabbed it, Transferring. Materializing over his shoulder, you turned to Hunter.

"Exhaust vent, everyone needs to go. I'll help Wrecker hold it long enough for you guys to go, and then we'll bring up the rear and get this place set up to blow sky-high."

Wrecker whooped. "Yeah we will!"

Hunter gave you a quick nod. "Everyone go!" he shouted, pointing down the hall.

You took a moment to breathe, trying to scrape up energy. Everything felt so slow, and your exhaustion was starting to steadily mount.

"We got this Shiv, let's do it!" Wrecker hefted the IWS.

You nodded, then glanced at the buckling doors. We need to move behind the second set and hold it. Set up some explosives around here and let's go.

Wrecker reached into his belt and grabbed a few timed detonators, beginning to run back towards the second set of blast doors and strategically placing the thermals. He skidded behind the doors and slammed the button, closing it. Behind you in the room, you could see everyone starting to get into the vents.

Tech tapped at the computers. "Shiv, there's a backup security in here," he said quickly. "I'm going to delay it as much as possible, but you're only going to have about ten minutes before it resets itself. You and Wrecker have to be in the vent by then."

You nodded at him. "That's all the time we'll need," you promised.

Then turning to Wrecker, you Shifted into his gloves. Hey Sunshine, you murmured, the tiredness lacing your tone. Can you be my strong boy for me? We need to ruin this stuff and place explosives all around so it'll blow once we're out. Can you do that for me?

"Kriff yeah I can!" Wrecker answered, his exhilaration rushing into you and cheering you a little despite your tiredness. You smiled and let him start to run around completely decimate most of the equipment. He paused once to toss Tech up into the vent, then started planting a nest of explosives around the computers and tossing some into the stasis pod so the freeze would slow the timers just enough.

"Wrecker, Shiv!" General Skywalker's voice sounded from the vent. "Time's up."

Wrecker lumbered over to stand under the vent, then let out a shout as his feet started to lift off the ground. "Whoa! Whoa! Oh, no—"

You ran your hand over his shoulder, your other hand gently brushing over the back of his neck. Shhh, it's okay, Sunshine. It's just General Skywalker. I'm right here.

Still, Wrecker clearly didn't like the way he floated up and into the vent. Grabbing onto the rungs, his anxiety eased once he was firm on his own two feet. The hatch slammed shut under his feet, and he started to climb.

"Huh. This ventilation corridor acts as a cooling system for all the computers in the facility," Tech observed from above.

"How did you know it was up here, Echo?" Rex asked.

"Well, they got access to my memory, and I got access to the Techno Union database. All their plans, inventory, building schematics... everything," Echo said from his place clinging to Tech's back.

"You mean you can find us a safe way out of here?" Hunter said.

"Well, there is a way," Echo said warily, "but you're not gonna like it."

You got the sinking feeling that no one would.

A few moments later, you knew you were right as everyone stared out over the edge of the facility.

"I don't know about this," Hunter said warily.

"I'm telling you, there's a landing pad on that other building," Echo insisted, pointing across the massive empty space only connected by pipes.

"So you think there's a ship there we can steal?" Crosshair asked.

"Well, I hope there's a ship we can steal."

Hunter sighed. "Let's hope this trip isn't for nothing," he said grimly, then braced himself.

"Wait," you blurted, panicked as he clearly made to take a step of faith out.

Everyone turned to look at you. You sighed, shaking your head as you hovered over Wrecker's shoulder.

"Wrecker isn't going to like this, but there's a way we can all get across this safely," you said grimly.

Wrecker groaned. "Aw Shiv, you know I don't do good with gravity."

"You'll be the most stable part of this, Wrecker," you said dryly, "but you're also going to have to be the last one across."

Wrecker grumbled, but hefted you. "Fine. Fine. Just tell me what to do."

You pointed to the edge. "Hand me to Crosshair for a minute."

Crosshair stepped up, taking you as you Transferred and Shifted. You curled up by his shoulder, then pointed across.

"There's a small outcrop, just on the edge of that overhang, about... twenty degrees to the right."

Cross nodded, lifting his arm to perch the grappling rifle on his elbow guard. Again, he seemed to barely take aim before he fired.

It took several ticks before you finally felt the soft jolt of the successful grapple reverberate down into your form.

"I can barely see that from here," Rex muttered, staring across.

"Success," you said. "Thank you, Cross. Wrecker."

Wrecker took you back, gingerly holding the other end of the grapple. "What next, Shiv?"

You sighed heavily. "Sink me in the wall," you said grimly, pointing behind him.

"What?"

"Trust me," you coaxed. "Sink me in the wall, Wreck."

"Okay." Wrecker shrugged, then reeled his arm back. He slammed the anchor into the durasteel wall so hard that the hole almost popped open inward. Anchoring hooks sprang from the anchor, attaching firmly to the wall. You gave one last Shift, forcing yourself to form enough.

"Everyone take a clip and attach it to your belt," your voice had gotten wispy and weak. "The rope will act as a failsafe and catch you if you slip. If you lose your footing, curl up and hang onto the clip on your belt. It'll start to slide over to the other side, just let it take you and make yourself as small as possible. Don't try to put your feet back down until you reach the other side. Once everyone is over, I'll disengage and Wrecker can call me back."

Wrecker hesitated. "How— how do I call you back? Do I pull you?"

"Bond," you answered, astral form staring to fade. "Just call my name. I'll always hear you."

"Is she okay?" Rex asked, reaching out like the others to clip onto the rope.

"Shiv is okay, she's just really tired," Wrecker answered, shaking his head.

"She's spent too much energy between yesterday and today," Hunter said tightly, tugging at the clip to make sure it was firm. "She's never had to heal herself that quickly from so many injuries that severe. Plus, she's been Transferred between six of us and asked to keep up with that demand for hours, plus be a translator, and help out Echo. We've run her ragged."

"Last stretch," General Skywalker said, walking to the edge. "Let's do this. We'll make her effort worth it."

Everyone carefully stepped onto the pipes, hanging onto the rope. Though you could feel the strain, Crosshair's perfect aim and Wrecker's strength had given you extra stability and backup to lean on so you didn't have to handle their combined weight on your own. If they could keep up the pace, you'd make it with a little extra to spare.

"Oh boy. I can't even look."

"Just keep walking, Tech," Hunter said lowly.

"That's fine, but if you fall, don't take me with you," Cross hissed, clearly displeased with the situation.

"Uh-oh. I looked. Ahhh!" Wrecker started to sway.

Trust me, Sunshine. You whispered in his mind. I wouldn't let you fall, would I?

"Hang on, Wrecker. We're almost there," Hunter barked.

"Gonna be okay," Wrecker muttered. "Trust Shiv, breathe."

"Turn around! Go back!" Tech called, panic edging his voice. A bunch of droids had started to gather at either side, alerted most likely by the blast that you and Wrecker had left behind.

"Whoa! Wh-Whoa!"

"Oh boy. Gotcha." Hunter managed to grab onto Tech and Echo as he almost slipped, hauling them back up.

"Shiv, kinda stuck here!"

"Anybody got a brilliant idea?" General Skywalker hollered from the front of the line, inching back.

"I do have a brilliant idea," Tech suddenly said, pulling down his visor. "When the locals attacked us, I recorded the creatures' distress call."

"He records everything. It's a hobby," Hunter explained to the General.

"Which allows us to call those flying creatures to us," the General deduced.

"Ow! Enough with the sound!" Wrecker smacked the side of his head, grimacing as the shrieking distress call cut through the air.

"There is our ride out of here!" Hunter pointed at the reptiles that had started to circle in the air under them.

"How do we get on them?" Wrecker asked.

"How else? We jump!" General Skywalker shouted. "All right, I'll go first. Unclip yourselves, and Wrecker, when you jump take Shiv with you!" He unclipped himself, then leaped down.

"I don't wanna do this, but here I go," Tech said, then unclipped himself, and hanging onto Echo's legs, took his own leap.

"This wasn't part of the plan," Wrecker groaned.

"Those things can fly, Wrecker. Let's go!" Hunter unhooked himself and leaped after Crosshair.

"Oh boy, here we go." Wrecker took a yank at the rope. "Shiv!"

Relieved, you let go and Shifted into a blaster that clipped onto his belt. He leaped, leaving behind the approaching droids.

"We have to shake those droids!" Rex shouted across the air.

"How do I steer this thing?" Wrecker demanded, panic curling in his tone.

With a soft groan of effort, you Dissolved the Bond and sat in front of him, sliding onto the neck of the creature. Reaching forward, you snagged the reins in your fingers and pulled it over the creature's head. Wrapping it around your wrist, you glanced back at Wrecker.

"Hold onto me!" you shouted. "I'm going to head to the front!"

Snapping the rein, you led the creature to the front of the pack to become the lead and get the others to fall into formation behind you. You'd never flown this particular creature before, but you'd taken care of an aviary long enough recognize the distinctly bird-like behavior of the winged reptiles.

The creature seemed to know where to go, so you simply let it find its way while making sure it kept in front of the flock. The creatures quickly outstripped the droids as the others picked them off, and the village soon came into view through the clouds.

By the time they landed in formation, you were teetering on the verge of unconsciousness. You'd been drained of so much energy that you simply slumped against the creature's neck, strength slipping away from you.

"Shiv? Shiv!"

Your eyelashes fluttered, but you couldn't manage to form a word. Your eyes slowly closed, darkness starting to descend. The last thing you felt before blacking out was Wrecker's hands on your waist.

Part 15: A Distant Echo

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General Skywalker looked down at you, relief crossing his face. "There you go, Shiv. Come on, we need you. The Poletecs are about to be under siege."

Color started to drain from your face as you registered the statement, and you grimaced as you struggled to sit up. "G-General, I— there's a pr-problem," you stammered, shaking the fog from your head as you looked up at him. "If I—if I Transfer now, I'm more of a risk than a help. I'll be unstable."

He frowned, then glanced out the door. "Well, I don't think we saw that coming," he said grimly.

But you grabbed his sleeve. "Does— do the Poletecs have any weapons?"

He turned back to you. "What?"

You struggled and sat up, regaining your legs before staggering a few steps. Righting yourself, you ran out of the tent you found yourself in and looked around.

"Shiv!" Hunter caught sight of you.

You barely glanced at him before running up to Tech. "Translator," you gasped out.

He handed it to you. "Shiv, are you—“

Turning, you quickly ran up to the chieftain. "Chieftain, I'm afraid I do not have the proper strength to be a weapon right now. But I can still fight. Please, would you allow me to use one of your weapons? Do you have something I might use?"

He didn't question you, to his credit, and instead turned to one of his people. "Bring the weapon." He turned to you. "The In'ko'charte were known for being adept in many weapons of all ages. I hope this still remains true for you."

You gaped as the Poletec returned, holding something in his hands. Frozen, you could only stare in complete awe as he held it out to you in both hands as though he were offering it up to you.

"Maker," you breathed, a sudden flurry of pure joy flooding through you. "Is—is that what I think it is?" you asked the chieftain dazedly, practically staring at it with hearts in your eyes.

The chieftain let out a clicking laugh, reaching out to place his long fingers on your shoulder. "Our people have lost this art long ago, In'ko'charte, but I see that you have not. It is yours, if you will use it in defense of our people."

Almost shakily, you reached out and took the folded weapon from the Poletec warrior, cradling it in your hands. "This... this is an honor," you choked out, almost trembling. "I—I know that my kind has always had a history with this weapon, and I have always favored it. But I never thought..." In all your time under Trench, you'd only ever been slightly grateful to him for one thing: everything you'd managed to learn about your kind had been through his obsession with it and his desire to mold you to it. And if you could go back and thank Skarla without irony for anything, it was for teaching you to excel at this weapon that stretched through your history.

"Shiv?" The Bad Batch, Echo, General Skywalker, and Captain Rex had all gathered around, observing you carefully once they saw you were awake.

You barely registered it, lost in your awe of the weapon. Then you started to laugh. Shoulders shaking, your maniacal laughter swelled until it practically filled the air, almost cutting through the sound of the approaching droid army. The too-wide grin still stretching your face, you turned to stare at the group, eyes glinting. The translator flipped up as you tilted your head at them.

"This battle is already over," you exulted. You flicked your wrist, unfolding the weapon that you held in your hand. It snapped open with a satisfying click, revealing an electroscythe that had a plasma blade. The curved blade itself was nearly half your height, but you effortlessly twisted your wrist and sent it up in front of you.

Reaching out, you unflinchingly pressed your palm to the spitting, ragged edge of the blade, feeling the heady sting of it slicing through your skin. Lowering the scythe, you reached up and smeared the blood across your lips, breathing in the scent of ozone and charred iron. Licking your lips, you giggled.

"Shiv.” General Skywalker sounded wary.

You gave him a wide smile, your mind already far gone, fogged with your bloodlust. Something about the scythe was written into your blood, your heritage. It had always triggered something in your kind, something primal and animalistic, something savage. Something... other.

Every hint of pain drained out of your body, and you grasped the scythe to swing it over your shoulder. "This is my battle, General," you said, your airy tone clearly unsettling them.

"Shiv, there are two Walkers and an entire army of droids coming," Rex said edgily.

"Then give me a few ticks for the Walkers," you answered with a giggle. You started to walk forward, swinging the scythe with hardly any effort.

"Shiv, wait—"

But you ignored them, staring in satisfaction at the battlefield unfolding in front of you. The two Walkers would go first, you knew. Using the scythe, you leaped up onto a boulder and bounced up on your toes cheerfully, shielding your eyes with your hand.

"Hmm, I think the one on the left will be the first to go," you mused, then licked your lips. Turning to the clearly worried troopers, you gave them a wink. "Don't have too much fun without me," you purred. Then with a maniacal whoop, you launched yourself off of the boulder and onto the dusty fields below. You could hear the shouts following you, but you simply swung the scythe forward so the blade bit into the ground. Using the leverage, you twisted midair and sent yourself hurtling toward the Walker, flying clear across half of the droids.

Landing lightly in the midst of a bunch of them, you simply twisted the scythe in an arc, sending droids crumpling to the dirt in sparking pieces. Swinging the scythe again, you launched yourself up and sank the blade into the side of the Walker. The scythe felt so comfortable in your hands, almost as though it were an extension of yourself. It hummed under your fingertips, a comforting lull as though it were happy to be used. Hanging on with one hand, you used the scythe to scramble your way up the side of the Walker until you lightly sprinted across its back and to the neck. The scythe bit easily into the durasteel, slicing a neat hole into the neck of it. You cut the wiring inside, then watched as the head wobbled, starting to fall from the rest of the body.

Laughing as the head plunged to the ground, you spun the scythe in a glowing arc above your head and took a running leap off of the wobbling Walker. You skidded onto the back of the other like a platform, then cut a hole into the Walker and easily leaped down into it. The droids controlling it were easy enough to dispatch, and you tilted your head with calculating eyes at the control panel. Licking your lips, you reached forward.

The Walker shuddered in the middle of the plain, stopping. The head suddenly drooped, legs wobbling. It exploded.

A piece of durasteel under your feet, you rode the blast clear of the scattering debris. The scythe glowed an eerie blue in the dusty air, leaving a blurred arc of color in its wake like a leering grin. You kept your knees bent as soon as the piece of durasteel slammed back down against the ground, starting to skate across the dirt back towards the others. You used the blade of the scythe like a rudder, steering the skimming sled across the field until you leapt off and landed in front of Hunter and the others.

Whirling around, you swung the scythe and neatly cut a giant panel hurtling towards them in two. The scythe spun, catching every small piece of debris like a shield and protecing your teammates from the flying debris you'd caused.

Only a few ranks of droids still remained, most of them either picked off by the others or crushed by falling debris. Still giggling, you turned to Wrecker.

"Toss me, Sunshine," you cooed, tilting your head at him.

"Huh?" Wrecker turned to you.

"Hold out your hand."

He obediently held out his hand, then let out a "Whoa!" as you lightly leaped up and balanced on one foot on his glove.

"Now, give me your best throw, sweet boy." You gave him a wink and a savage grin.

Wrecker paused, then burst into laughter. "Here we go, Shiv!" He lunged forward, then grabbed your foot and wound his arm back. He launched you, well and truly, putting his weight into the throw.

You curled into a ball, letting yourself spin through the air until your arc started to curve down. Swinging the scythe, you sliced it through the air in front of you and skidded across the ground as you landed. Your trajectory took out an entire strip of droids down the center flank.

Leaping up as you rode out the momentum, you spun. You lost yourself in the rhythm of the humming scythe, your body flowing from one movement into the next as naturally as if you were the scythe itself.

Finally, you sank the scythe into the last droid and brought it down. A silence fell over the field, and you stared across the now-empty battlefield with a hollow sort of disappointment in your chest. Still, a sense of satisfaction still curled through you as a pool of oil spread at your feet.

Wrenching the scythe free, you slowly started the trek back across the field. The bloodlust started to fade from your mind, the haze slowly clearing. The adrenaline wearing off, your body started to make its protests known. You'd gotten clipped by a few blaster shots, but most of the pain came from screaming, tired muscles and your slit palm that had been rubbed raw against the hilt of the scythe.

You made it back to your team, letting the blade of the scythe fizzle away and shakily snapping it in your hand so it folded back with a final click. Your vision started to blur as you exhaustedly looked through clouding eyes at General Skywalker.

"I'm— I'm sorry, General," you whispered, voice ragged. Blood dripped from your hand onto the dirt, and you could feel it trickling down your chin. "The chieftain— knew what he— was doing," was the last thing you managed before everything tilted.

Your last coherent thought was a bitter pulse of respect for the chieftain.

~

The next time you woke up, it was to see a familiar expanse of durasteel stretching above your head. Reaching up and pressing a hand to your head, you winced and sat up. Your head spun for a few ticks as you shook yourself with a deep breath.

Staggering to your feet, you glanced around to find that someone had placed you in Hunter's bunk. With another wince at your pounding headache, you made your way toward the door, desperate to find some water for your cottony mouth.

Your hand slapped against the door panel, and the door hissed open.

"Whoa there," someone said, startled.

You looked up to see Hunter standing in front of the door. He caught you as you buckled. "Hey, hey. Relax, Shiv, we're all safe and headed back to Coruscant," he soothed, holding you up and pulling you to his chest.

You shook your head, reaching out across the Bond. Please... water.

He scooped you up, starting to carry you to the common room. "Cross, toss me a canteen," he called as he walked in. Catching the canteen Crosshair tossed at him, he carefully set you down on a chair and handed it to you.

You took it gratefully, opening it and taking a few ginger sips. After a few more careful drinks, not wanting to overwhelm your already-battered body, you reached up and dug your palm into your eye with a soft, low groan.

"Shiv."

You looked up through watering eyes to see General Skywalker kneeling in front of you.

"Do you mind if I use the Force to ease that headache? You're probably going to feel it more than others will, so I don't want to scare you."

You nodded. "Please," you whispered gratefully.

He reached up and pressed his fingertips to your temple, and you felt a cool, soothing sensation sweep through your mind. The pounding headache eased steadily, until it was simply a bearable ache in the back of your head.

"Thank you," you gasped out, almost dizzy with relief.

"After what you did? You deserve it, Shiv." He shook his head at you. "After what you said, Crosshair confronted the chieftain. He said your kind, the In'ko'charte, have some kind of blood connection to the scythe?"

You nodded shakily, curling up in the chair. "Y-yes," you rasped. "I don't know en-entirely how it works, but I— I go into a..." You scrunched your nose and coughed. "A sort of... bloodlust, or berserker trance," you tried to explain. "It's a phenomenon that has been recorded in the known history of my kind, though it's never said why. The— the only way I knew was be-because Admiral Trench..." You let out another grating cough, taking a sip from the canteen.

With a breath, you continued. "When he was my Master, he was obsessed with getting his hands on every record he could about my kind. He was determined to make me into the most traditional form of my kind he could. That's— that's another reason he... he made me train against Skarla." You closed your eyes, head spinning.

"The Poletec chieftain took advantage of that knowledge and gave you the scythe, knowing it would trigger your bloodlust. He took a gamble on Shiv being able to win the battle without having to sacrifice any of his own people." Tech adjusted his goggles. "I'm not happy about it, but I have to admit it was a very intelligent strategy on his part."

"Still, he could have gotten Shiv killed," Hunter growled.

"No," you sighed exhaustedly, rubbing your forehead. "It would take a lot more than that to put me at true risk. My kind, when trained with the scythe, have been recorded to take down entire armies alone if pressed. It's... it's something to do with the bloodlust and heightened senses." You reached up and rubbed your arm. "Besides," you mumbled, "the Kaminoans keep me somewhat enhanced anyway."

"But you're exhausted," Rex pointed out, frowning heavily.

"Because she was already worn out before that," Cross said sourly, arms crossed as he stood in his corner.

"I'll be fine," you sighed. "I just... need sleep."

"Well, I'm sure they'll give you a break so Shiv can recover once we return," General Skywalker said, standing. "But we're going to need you back as soon as possible, Shiv. We're going to have to finish Wat Tambor and Trench," he said grimly.

You nodded. "Yes, General."

"But first," Rex said sternly, "you're going to go straight to medbay and let Kix take a look at you."

"No, not Kix!" you cried in protest, struggling to sit up. "Oh please not Kix, Captain, you know he's going to become a mother hen and hogtie me to the bed again and force feed me!" you begged. "And Fives will kill me all over again and he'll cry, he will," you moaned, slumping over the chair. "Noooooo, I can't take it," you gasped out.

Rex crossed his arms, eyeing you sternly. "And what makes you think you don't deserve it, Shiv?" he asked dryly.

"Because they'll drag everyone else into it!" you whined, turning wide, pleading eyes onto the Captain. "Aw please, Cap, Tup is gonna use me like a stuffed toy again, and Hawk will growl at everyone and scold me, and—" you let out a groan so loud you swore it rattled the ship. "Dogma and Hardcase and Jesse will literally get us kicked out of the medbay, you know they will!" you whimpered, sliding facedown onto the ground in a defeated puddle.

"Fives will wail, and I can't handle it," you said, voice muffled against the floor.

Rex sighed. "Well, you're right."

You looked up hopefully.

Then he tapped his fingers on his arm. "But I still think you might deserve a bit of it," he started, then held up a stern finger to silence you. "That being said, I'm pretty sure the rest of the Bad Batch wouldn't protest if it kept you in bed for a couple of chrons to recover. Still, I get your point." He sighed. "Both you and Echo are going to be swarmed once you get back anyway. I'll try to do some damage control, but... no promises."

You flopped your head back down with a whimper. Then a thought hit you, and you leaped up with a high-pitched, almost wounded yelp. "Tech, please tell me you didn't record that battle," you said frantically, turning to him.

He blinked. "I record everything, Shiv. You know that."

You gave him a dismayed look. "No. Oh, no. For the love of the Maker, please, please do not ever let any of my Vode get a hold of it."

He raised his eyebrow. "Alright, sure. But why not, Shiv?"

You gave him an incredulous look. "Tech." Walking up to him, you placed your hands on either side of his face and pulled him down to your level. "Tech. My one and only genius. My Wielder with the fastest brain. I beg you. Think about what I just said about my Vode. And then imagine them getting ahold of that footage," you said, voice even.

His eyes marginally widened. "Oh. Right."

You let go of his face, then promptly plonked your head against his chest. "I'm too tired for this," you groaned. Jacking yourself back up and blindly patting his chest, you staggered over to Cross. "Please?"

He held out his hand, letting you wordlessly Transfer. The silence surrounded you with blessed quiet, and you curled up in his mind with a blissful sigh. Still, you let your astral form materialize, your chin propped up and arms draped over his shoulder.

"It's okay, Shiv!" Wrecker said, holding poor GONK aloft with one arm. "We'll make sure you're all rested up."

"That's what I'm afraid of," you mourned.

General Skywalker leveled a finger at you. "And you'll rest, Shiv," he said, shaking his head. "You seriously wore yourself to the bone, and you need to recover. Rex is right, you deserve a bit of smothering for doing all that."

You whimpered. "Yes, General."

"We're almost there," Tech said from the pilot's seat.

"I'll go get Echo up," Rex said, heading out of the common room.

You winced, sliding a little behind Crosshair's shoulder. Echo. You'd have to have a lengthy conversation with him. And... you were acutely aware of the fact that your feelings for Echo had... never really faded away. But you also knew that you were already in a relationship with the Bad Batch, your continued interactions with Echo weren't guaranteed, and what was more: you didn't even know if Echo would want to talk to you again after... everything.

The ship landed in the usual chaotic fashion, and everyone started to pile off of the ship. Rex came up to the ramp, Echo's arm slung over his shoulder.

"Shiv," he said. "Let's go. Medbay."

You turned to look at Hunter, who nodded calmly. "Go, Shiv. You need rest before we leave again, and you're going to be Echo's best bet for recovery."

You Dissolved the Bond, landing on your feet. "Yessir," you said, then gave Cross a small, grateful smile. Hurrying over to Echo, you pulled his other arm around your shoulders and headed down the ramp with Rex.

Everyone scattered in different directions to do what needed to be done.

Rex got the both of you to the medbay, setting you and Echo down on cots next to each other. He quickly flagged down a medic, explaining Echo's condition first in a low voice. Soon an entire team swarmed Echo's bedside.

A medic came up to you, giving you a soft smile. "Hello there. Do you need help?"

You looked up a little blearily, but Rex quickly came to the rescue.

"Thank you, I'm calling for our squad medic to take a look," he said politely. "She's mostly just exhausted."

You nodded belatedly in agreement, giving the medic an exhausted smile. "Thanks," you whispered.

She nodded. "Of course," she said. "If you need anything please don't hesitate to call." She scurried away to someone else in need.

As Rex had predicted, it only took another few ticks before Kix barged into the medbay. He glanced around wildly before catching sight of Rex, his eyes riveting on you. He stalked toward your bedside, mouth starting to open.

You cringed, shrinking in on yourself on the bed. Now that you were actually here, adrenaline worn off and realization settling in, fear suddenly clogged your throat. The memories of Trench flooded back, bouncing around in your exhausted mind along with the sounds of Echo's jumbled mind. Your ears started to ring as you gasped for air through your tight chest, reaching for your throat.

The next thing you knew, Kix was staring down at you with a panicked look on his face, saying something you couldn't hear. You couldn't breathe. Something heavy was pressing against your chest, your lungs, your heartbeat loud in your ringing ears.

Far away, you could hear someone shouting.

The world spun into darkness.

~

Someone was screaming.

Blinding white pierced your eyes, dark wires crisscrossing in dizzying patterns above you. Unbelievable pain sliced through every part of your body, and something held you down, kept you trapped in the unending pain.

Droids moved in the far corners of your vision, unfeeling towards your shredded throat.

Burning, everywhere. Needles.

Ice cold, frost creeping over you.

A mindless refrain, your lips muttering the one thing you could dredge out of your shattered mind.

"CT-1409."

A grating buzzing that never ended.

"CT-1409."

Someone riffling through your mind, turning you inside out, stripping you until all you could do was hold onto one, single piece of yourself—

I am CT-1409.

~

Your eyes flew open as the sound of yelling rattled you out of unconsciousness. Gasping, you instinctively leaped to your feet. In the bed beside you, two medics tried to hold down the thrashing ARC Trooper.

You lunged forward, then jerked as someone caught you. "Please—“

You whipped around. "Let me go, I know how to help him," you hissed at the poor medic.

Startled, he let you go, and you practically dove for Echo's bed. Pushing past the other two, you grasped Echo's face and brought his forehead to rest against yours.

"Echo."

His eyes flew open the moment you touched the faint but existing Bond. Panting, his hands gripped your wrists so tightly that you swore your bones ground against each other.

"Echo," you whispered, keeping your voice soft. "You're safe. It's me, it's Shiv. I'm right here, you're not there anymore. You're free. You are you. You are CT-1409. You are Echo."

His ragged breaths slowly, painfully eased, chest heaving. His eyes dug into yours, the raw edge of fear easing a little as recognition settled in. "Shiv," he rasped, swallowing.

"Yeah, it's Shiv," you said quietly, giving him a strained smile. "Right here."

His fingers slacked a little, his eyes falling closed as he gulped in breath. "Shiv," he repeated, voice thin. "You came for me."

You swallowed back tears. "I did, Echo." Your voice cracked a little. "I'm sorry it took so long. I'm so, so sorry."

"You came back," Echo rasped. "That's all that matters. You came back." He seemed to pull your hands closer, desperately leaning into your touch. "You're here."

"I'm here," you promised, tears slipping down your cheeks. "I'm right here, I promise."

Slowly, he eased back into sleep, his grip slacking. You laid him carefully back down, then exhaustedly sat back and slumped.

"Shiv."

You looked up blearily to see Kix's face in front of you. He carefully reached out, easing you down next to Echo.

"You did good, Shiv," he said, his voice even and low with reassurance. "Echo's fine. Get some sleep."

But you struggled for a minute to stay awake, gripping his fingers tightly. "K-Kix."

He bent over you, holding your hand, another hand brushing through your hair. "Hey, shh, it's okay Shiv."

"I'm sorry," you sobbed out, eyes streaming. "I'm sorry— Kix—"

Kix's hand gently brushed your tears away, callouses rasping against your cheek. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Vod’ika," he soothed. "Sleep, Shiv. We're all proud of you."

Your body didn’t offer you a choice.

Part 16: Retro, Intro, Spect

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You nodded, walking next to Tech as you listened and watched the footage on the datapad he held out for you to see. Both of you had been assessing a mission you'd had before Yalbec Prime, and had gotten caught up in it when you'd finally landed at the rendezvous point.

"Which means that I'll need to take that into account next time so that I don't inadvertently cause extra damage or create a danger for anyone else..." You sighed. "Not to mention, especially with Wrecker's gloves."

"Sergeant, good to see you again," a familiar voice said.

"You too, sir," Hunter greeted calmly.

Rex turned to General Skywalker. "This is Hunter," he introduced.

Hunter nodded at the General, then turned back to Rex. "Sorry we're late, Commander," he apologized gravely. "We were putting down an insurrection on Yalbec Prime when your comm came in. Had a few unforeseen... complications."

You stifled a giggle, biting your lip as you stared down at your feet. That was one way to put it.

"Ever fought a male Yalbec?"

General Skywalker blinked. "Um, no. Can't say I have."

"You're lucky," Hunter opined tiredly. "Only way to kill 'em is with one of these."

You stared up at the sky, desperately trying to keep your projected laughter at the bare minimum. You knew General Skywalker would pick up on it.

"That's right," Tech piped up. "Wrecker here cut off the Queen's stinger while she was still alive."

By mistake, you mentally groaned. 

"That's why all those Yalbec males tried to eat us," Wrecker said sagely, nodding.

"Uh, technically, they were trying to mate with us," Tech corrected as you feared, adjusting his glasses. "And, for your information, the stinger of a Yalbec Queen is a delicacy on some planets," he added.

At this point, you were about to start having a meltdown in front of everyone from holding in your hysterics.

Hunter closed his eyes in resignation, knowing that first impressions would never really get better. "They call him Tech," he said resignedly.

"Yeah, he can fill your head with useless info for hours."

Hunter turned to Cross. "Crosshair, on the other hand, he's not much of a conversationalist; but when you have to hit a precise target from ten klicks, he's your man."

You started to slightly shuffle over towards Captain Rex, needing to scrape yourself together. And Rex always was a welcome beacon of stability that you admittedly tended to abuse whenever you got the chance.

"Ha! Yeah, but he can't punch things apart!" Wrecker slammed his fists together.

"That's Wrecker, he's the heavyweight and... explosives handler." Hunter's eyebrow twitched.

You made it behind Rex, taking in deep breaths and calming yourself.

"A pleasure," General Skywalker said with a nod to the others. Then he cleared his throat. "And uh— is there someone else who would like to add something?"

You froze, then peered around Rex with wide eyes, clinging to his arm. "Hi General," you squeaked, giving him a sheepish smile.

He chuckled, turning to you. "It's good to see you again, Shiv. I've heard from Rex that you've done very well with the Bad Batch."

You cracked. Your face crumpled, and you had to plonk your head onto Rex's arm and shake with silent, wheezing laughter. And despite yourself, you knew that your thoughts would be projecting out towards General Skywalker in your attempt to keep it away from your Bonds.

Done well, I— Maker, Commander, I'm so sorry— he said I did well—

"Yes sir," you finally gasped out, lifting your head and wiping away your tears. "My integration has been a... success," you choked out.

Hunter choked on his own breath, turning his face away for a second.

Rex turned his head to you, raising his eyebrow, and you quickly shook your head.

"It's fine, Commander!" you said, probably too quickly. "I just— this last mission was really..." You bit your lip, "hard."

Rex just looked resigned. "I don't want to know," he said tiredly. "Fives has been enough to deal with since you left."

You ducked your head. "Sorry, Commander. Should I talk to him?" you asked meekly.

"If you can talk some sense into him, I'll thank you, Shiv," he sighed.

"So, Commander, what kind of 'suicide mission' do you have for us this time?" Hunter tried to recover the conversation.

"Let's get going, we'll brief you on the way," General Skywalker said, turning. "Shiv, if I could talk to you."

You started to head over to him when Hunter grabbed your hand, giving the General's back a questioning glance. You blinked, then tapped at the Bond.

What does he want?

"Oh!" You shook your head at him. It's okay, he was my former General when I was with the 501st, he probably just wants to ask me some questions. He's been very kind to me. You reassured.

His brow eased, and he nodded and let go of your hand.

You quickly scurried after the General, Rex following close behind. They were already halfway up the ramp of the gunship. The General turned to you, arms crossed once he was on board “First things first, business," he said crisply. "Rex tells me that he has a theory that you corroborated."

You swallowed thickly. "Um— well, only sort of," you explained, giving Rex a betrayed glance that he pointedly avoided. "I was looking into the recent losses on Anaxes when I began to notice a pattern and managed to trace it back to what I knew about Commander Rex from working with him so closely. I commed to ask him about the algorithm I guessed that he had, but I'd never actually heard anything about it. It was just a guess. He confirmed that it existed, and that's all I really said. I knew that he wouldn't be the leak, and Fives can't be either. He's... smart, but— well, not... that smart," you winced, mentally apologizing to your Vod.

General Skywalker snorted. "I won't deny that." He nodded. "So that makes sense. But Rex says that the only other one who knew about it was Echo. Who, apparently, might still be alive, according to him."

You looked down at your feet. "Commander Rex knows what happened during that Battle, General," you said, voice thin. "I... I tried to shield him, but... he basically ordered me back. I—I didn't have a choice at the time because he forcefully Dissolved the Transfer and practically threw me out." You took in a shaky breath. "It's true that we never received a solid confirmation of his death, but... I just— I didn't really..."

He sighed. "Understood, Shiv. It's a natural conclusion. I'm still not convinced about Rex's theory, and technically the Council hasn't sanctioned me on this mission. But again." He shrugged almost flippantly. "If there's a chance, this could be a breakthrough."

You nodded. "Of course, General." You hesitated, then swallowed and glanced over at Rex. "Will you—should I— should—"

General Skywalker chuckled. "No, Shiv, I don't expect you to make yourself available to me as a weapon. Thank you for the consideration, though."

You nodded with a sheepish smile. "Yes, sir."

He relaxed a little, giving you a fond smile. "It's good to see you doing well, Shiv. Commander Rex has kept me updated on your integration with Clone Force 99. It seems like you've found a good place here."

You ducked your head, scuffing your foot against the floor. "Thank you, General. I... I'm honored that you remember me."

He snorted. "Your story is hard to forget, Shiv. Besides, you were a part of the 501st for a while."

You nodded, smiling.

Just then, another trooper walked into the room. He saluted crisply. "Here, General Skywalker."

A little startled, you skittered behind Rex again, grabbing his hand. It had always been a way to comfort yourself, holding onto his steady presence. It was also habit, you admitted, to be ready to Transfer at a moment's notice. Especially from the early days when you called him your Master.

"There you are, Cody." General Skywalker nodded, then turned to the holoscreen that Rex had pulled up. The ship shuddered as it started to take off.

Cody nodded to Rex and Hunter, pulling his helmet off to tuck it under his arm.

"Here's the mission." General Skywalker pointed at the screen. "Our target is this Cyber Center. It's the 'brains' of the entire Separatist campaign here on Anaxes."

"I could demolish that with one hand! Yeah!" Wrecker roared, clearly excited to be on the mission.

Also partially your fault, you mentally sighed. He'd been so excited to test out the gloves.

"This isn't a demo job, Wrecker," Hunter chided. "It's strictly a retrieval operation."

"Well, there is an added element," Rex spoke up, not commenting on your presence just behind him. He'd gotten used to it, you knew. "We do know something about the leader."

"Admiral Trench?" Cody frowned.

"He's the one who had Shiv before the 501st rescued her," Rex said bluntly.

You shuffled closer to him almost unconsciously, gnawing at your lower lip.

"And we will take that into consideration," General Skywalker agreed, a hint of grim satisfaction in his voice. "Still, it gives us a slight edge in judging his character and what he might do."

"So our plan is essentially to go in, get as much information as possible, then regroup to figure out what we have," Hunter summarized.

"That's the plan." The General nodded. "I know that you're a special operations group, so all I ask is that you do what you do best."

The ship abruptly lurched and shuddered, and Tech's voice came over the comms. "Incoming fire!" Another groaning stagger from the ship. "We're going down!"

Everyone scattered to find a good place to strap in and hang on.

"Shiv," Hunter barked, reaching out his hand.

You instantly touched his fingertips and Transferred, Shifting into a vibroshiv that he sheathed. He strapped into a chair, buckling in next to Crosshair.

"We always get shot down when we travel with regs," Cross grumbled, lip curling.

Hunter didn't answer. Everyone knew Crosshair's distaste for regs, though no one was entirely sure why. Still.

The ship shuddered one more time before beginning to clearly spiral down. You materialized over Hunter's shoulder, glancing around the ship to make sure that everyone had found something to hold onto. To your horror, you saw Cody staggering, taken completely off guard and unable to grab onto anything, constantly tossed around. You whipped your head to Hunter. Throw me!

Hunter didn't even question you, whipping your vibroshiv out and unerringly throwing you in Cody's direction. You guided the vibroshiv towards the other Commander, Shifting into a shield.

Cody's hand instinctively grabbed onto you as you smacked against his shoulder, and you took enough control to significantly increase the weight on the shield. Using every scrap of energy you could muster, you wrapped the shield completely around his body and dragged him down to the floor, bolstering the strength of the energy shield. Cody grunted as he tucked and rolled once he hit the floor, bracing himself.

"Everyone evacuate immediately!" Tech's voice barked over the comms.

Everyone moved. All you had the time to do was move toward the open door before the ship completely tilted, spilling everyone out. For a moment, all you could feel was the sensation of everything spinning uncontrollably.

You slammed against something, the breath instantly knocked out of you from how hard the shield bounced off of the ground. A second later, you let out a muffled cry over the Bond as the entire ship crashed onto the ground, falling over right onto your shield. You managed to hold up, but you barely managed to keep the Transfer as you felt the shockwaves run through you.

Cody let out a groan, shaking his head as he took stock. He hissed out a curse as soon as he realized what had happened.

"They're trapped!" Hunter's voice barked from somewhere nearby. "Shiv can't keep that up for much longer."

"We have to do something—"

"Whoa, whoa, easy, Captain. Wrecker can do this," Hunter said.

You were close to wheezing at that point, barely holding the shield together.

"This is ridiculous! He's going to need help getting them out of there—"

"He's gonna get the gunship out of there, not Cody," Hunter soothed.

The ship groaned, starting to creak.

"General, sir—"

"I'll get them out once Wrecker lifts it enough," General Skywalker agreed.

You felt yourself being slowly lifted by an invisible force, moving a few centimeters above the ground and out from under the wrecked gunship. As soon as you heard the gunship thud back down against the ground and felt yourself hit the dirt, you lost the Transfer, Dissolving.

You collapsed against the ground, letting out a weak cry of pain. Wet, ragged coughs wracked your body, and you felt your lips splatter with something thick and warm. Instantly, you knew that you'd once again punctured a lung. Taking stock, you managed to ascertain the damage: two cracked ribs, one completely broken rib which was responsible for the lung, a shattered leg, and—

The moment someone touched your back, you let out a choked scream. The hand whipped away, and you gasped shallowly as your eyes rolled. You'd somehow managed to crack one of your vertebrae almost clean in half, probably when the ship had fallen on top of you.

"Shiv—"

But you ground your teeth together as you reached inside yourself for the energy you'd been stockpiling. This was no time for being weak. If you could just push through the pain, you could move on. You could do this.

"She has internal damage. She needs help fast," General Skywalker said grimly. "Shiv."

"But we don't—"

You forced yourself to move. Pushing your arm up, you shoved your palm against the ground. With a whimper, you poured energy into your snapped disc, fusing it together. You could feel a sheen of sweat from the heat form on your back, and you sucked in through your teeth as you squeezed your eyes shut and jacked your body up forcefully.

"She's going to hurt herself more!"

"No. Wait." It was Tech that spoke from somewhere ahead of you. "Hunter, we need to lend her energy."

A pause. "Right. Bad Batch, focus," Hunter barked.

You hissed as you felt the Bonds light up one by one, starting to pour energy into you. "Ribs," you gasped out.

The energy focused, and you made it up on your good knee as the cracked ribs started to mend. You held one hand up to your stomach, feeling the sweat bead on your face as you concentrated on trying not to scream out loud in rending pain as your broken rib moved, snapping back into place. You almost doubled back over when you felt the wet pop in your chest as your lung patched itself back out.

Ruthlessly shoving away the dizziness, you slowly, painfully pushed yourself up. "Leg," you rasped, hands starting to shake. You knew your leg would need a moment of help on this one. It was twisted gruesomely in an awkward position from the shattered bone. Gulping, you reached down and braced yourself.

"Wait—"

Before you had time to think too much about it, you grabbed your calf with one hand, your knee with the other, and savagely twisted. The crunch sounded almost like someone had stepped on broken glass, bone grating even as it started to fuse back together, torn muscle tissue regenerating at a dizzying rate as your teammates poured concentrated energy into you.

You staggered back up to your feet, gasping for breath as you reached up and dragged the back of your hand against your bloodied chin. Pressing your hand against your chest, you winced.

"Shiv." Rex instantly had a hand on your arm, eyebrows furrowed.

You swallowed thickly, shuddering. "I'm fine, Commander," you coughed, shaking your head. "It's- it's fixed."

"But—"

"We don't have time," you rasped, shaking yourself off. You looked toward Hunter.

"Wrecker," Hunter said crisply. "Take Shiv."

Wrecker instantly bounded forward and scooped you up. "Gotcha, Shiv." He gave you an encouraging grin, and you nodded back with a weak smile before Transferring. You decided to give him an IWS for the time being, wanting to make sure you were stabilized before trying to focus on the gloves.

The Bonds were still focused on you, giving you healing energy.

"She's right," General Skywalker said grimly. "That blast gave away our position."

"I thought getting shot down gave away our position," Cross sniped, lip curling.

"Everyone find cover," Commander Rex ordered. "We'll hold this position and let them come to us."

Shiv, report. Hunter ordered, grim.

You took stock. Healed, just shaken. You quickly answered.

"I don't think so, Captain," Hunter said, shaking his head at Rex. "That's not our style. We prefer going to them." Turning back to the team, he jerked his head at the approaching horde of droids. "Bad Batch! Plan 82, Shockwave!"

"Let's get to work," Crosshair said, hefting his rifle and heading off to a good vantage point.

"Blast them!" Wrecker cheered, leaping forward. He practically barreled toward a clump of droids marching forward in formation, whooping as he brandished you.

You basically held on for dear life, scrabbling to focus, get your head fully in the fight. Shaking yourself, you let Wrecker let off a few shots before tapping at your Bond.

Is there something else you'd like? You asked softly, smiling faintly despite the dregs of pain that still echoed through you.

Wrecker straight up paused, lifting up the IWS and letting out a deafening roar of laughter. "Let me at it!" He hollered.

You rolled your eyes indulgently and Shifted, giving him the battle gloves. At that point, Wrecker was so enraged at your injuries and simultaneously excited about the gloves that all you had to do was make sure he wasn't getting targeted by any long-range weapons as he tore through an entire battalion of droids.

"Spider droids," Hunter called out a warning. "Fan out!"

Crosshair kept picking off the spider droids as they rolled up, while Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker scattered in order to leave wide spaces for Cross to have a clear shot. You noticed out of the corner of your eye that General Skywalker had joined the fray as well, a flash of blue whirling in the haze. Wrecker kept kicking up more dirt and dust as he all but barreled through the oncoming lines of droids, hardly slowed.

It only took another few moments before the skirmish was almost over. You carefully added one more extra burst of energy to the gloves, letting Wrecker jump off of a nearby rock and slam his fists into the ground, sending a shockwave through the surrounding droids and shorting them out as they all collapsed to the ground.

All the energy you’d poured into healing had sapped your strength, but you knew that you’d have enough as long as you could keep Transference. Sucking in a breath, you tapped at the Bonds.

Wrecker nodded and turned, throwing you clear across the field. You Transferred as soon as Cross caught your rifle form, curling up in the back of his mind and beginning to gather as much energy as you could. Cross grunted, then stood and slung his other rifle across his back, holding you against his shoulder.

“Any more? Come on!” Wrecker hefted the last droid he’d punched out, disappointed at not being able to expend more of his energy.

Rex walked up. “That was some show you put on just now,” he approved.

Hunter turned with a nod. “Just doing our job, Captain.”

Wrecker bounded up to Cross, laughing. “Hey look, Crosshair, this little clanker likes you,” he teased, bobbing the droid head in front of Cross.

Cross scoffed. “Grow up, Wrecker.”

You hummed softly in the back of Crosshair’s mind, letting the remnants of pain slowly but surely fade. You knew you’d be aching from the aftereffects of the rapid and desperate healing, but it was a price you considered worth paying. After all, you were built to heal like this... clones, not so much.

“We should move out before reinforcements arrive. Our position has been compromised,” Hunter said, glancing around.

General Skywalker nodded. “Yes, let’s move.”

Cody walked up to Crosshair. “Can I speak with Shiv?”

Cross grunted, shrugging his shoulder.

You let your astral form shimmer into view, clipping through Crosshair’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about Cross, Commander Cody,” You said quietly, giving him a reproachful pulse across the Bond. “He just... doesn’t talk much.” Though it wouldn’t kill him to be polite, you thought.

“That’s fine, Shiv. I wanted to thank you for shielding me. You took some major damage covering me. I owe you,” Cody said, shaking his head.

You blinked, a little startled, and found yourself drifting behind Crosshair’s shoulder again as though to find shelter. “Oh... you’re— you’re welcome, Commander,” you said uncertainly. “It’s— it’s my job.”

Cody frowned but nodded. “Still, thank you.” With a nod, he walked back to General Skywalker and Captain Rex.

Cross fell into step by Tech and Hunter. You don’t need to apologize for me. I don’t need to talk with Regs.

You sighed, your astral form disappearing. And you don’t have to like them, but can’t we at least be polite? We’re working for the same goal, aren’t we?

We don’t have time for this conversation, Hunter broke in sharply. Focus on the mission.

Yes, Sergeant. You subsided, knowing he was right.

Cross grumbled but didn’t say anything more for the time being.

Hunter led the way, tracking the electromagnetic waves across the planet surface. General Skywalker and Rex talked quietly, but otherwise for the moment trusted Hunter’s senses.

You spent the time trying to muster as much energy as you could as well as making sure you were properly healed and didn’t overlook something in your hurry. You’d learned the hard way that thinking you’d done something right the first time, especially with healing, could lead to dire consequences if you didn’t double check. Luckily, it seemed this time that the extra help you’d gotten from your Wielders had successfully patched you up.

By the time Hunter had led the group to an outpost, you felt a bit more ready to face whatever would come next. Cross hadn’t seemed to hold a grudge against you, letting you stay Transferred to him.

“Not our primary target,” Hunter noted quietly from where everyone hunched behind an outcrop. “It’s an outpost. Should we take it?”

“Easier than going around,” General Skywalker noted.

“All right, what are your orders? We pick them off from the tree line one by one?”

“Actually,” General Skywalker said slowly, “I was thinking we’d take a page from your book.” His eyes narrowed as he stared down at the outpost. “Rush them head on.”

Hunter chuckled. “I like your style.” He turned to the others. “Let’s go. Wrecker, cover our backs. Shiv, go with Tech this time.”

Cross flipped the rifle over, and you Shifted midair so that by the time you landed in Tech’s hand and Transferred, he was already holding a blaster. You split into two, your mind shifting gears and already plunging into Tech’s never-ending stream of consciousness.

Everyone started picking off droids, heading straight toward the main doors. You were content to simply focus on keeping your firing steady and malleable to whatever Tech might ask of you. Of all the Bad Batch, he was the one most versatile in what he would ask you to Shift into. Most of the time, you’d found that it was a pleasant workout to keep up with his demands, even trying out new things.

“Clones! Get them!” A droid deadpanned, instantly getting shot down.

General Skywalker led the way into the main elevator shaft down the hallway, carving a path as everyone else watched each other’s backs. Wrecker fired a few final blasts at the rear before letting the doors close behind him.

“Everyone in a circle,” General Skywalker warned, poised with his lightsaber.

As soon as the platform lifted into the main control tower, droids turned to look.

“Hey! You’re not authorized—“

Everyone flew into a wordless flurry of action, dispatching droids without a hitch. The clankers may have been dumb, but their obvious advantage had always been sheer number.

“Is it over already?” Wrecker asked, spinning around. “Aw, man!”

“Not bad, for a Reg,” Hunter said, nodding to Cody.

“All right, there it is,” Commander Rex said, pointing down out the transparisteel. “The Cyber Center.”

Tech had holstered you, wordlessly asking you for a second pair of eyes as he accessed the computer systems. You hovered over his shoulder, head tilted.

“Looks like the Cyber Center itself has minimal guards, about thirty droids,” he started, scrolling through the database. “Oh— Wait, wait,” he said quickly, tapping away as a new screen popped up. “I’ve got a massive signal coming in. A whole platoon of droids is headed this way,” he informed tightly.

“Someone’s noticed our handiwork back at the crash site,” Hunter concluded darkly, frowning.

“Yeah.” Commander Rex turned to Tech, who had connected his own receiver to the computers. “Make sure you keep an eye on those incoming Separatist forces. I want to know when they reach this outpost,” he said grimly.

“You got it, Captain,” Tech affirmed, looking up.

“We’ve gotta move swiftly,” General Skywalker said, turning.

“We’ll grab some speeder bikes and flank them from the back,” Hunter said, jerking his head toward the transparisteel. On the ground, a few bikes lined up, patiently waiting.

General Skywalker nodded. “Let’s go.”

Once everyone had grabbed a bike, they sped off toward the main base. You stayed quiet, content to linger in the background and simply keep an extra eye out for other distractions that might fly unnoticed as the others focused on the bigger picture. Missions like this usually always went quickly, and you’d learned with the 501st that staying open to commands and keeping an eye out on the easily-missed, smaller things was a place that you fit in well.

Tech crouched in his spot as everyone moved into position, getting rid of a few droids in the way.

“Is everyone in position?” The comm crackled.

“Affirmative,” Crosshair’s voice sounded.

“Affirmative,” Hunter chimed in.

“Cap, you wanted to know when those Separatist forces breached the outpost,” Tech said into the comm, eyeing his device. “Well, they’re getting there just about now,” he warned.

A droid near the front door flicked on a comm, the blue lighting up the air. Tech waited until it had been cleared before sprinting to the door, instantly peering at the security pad.

“Hmm. This is a delicate operation,” he murmured.

Wrecker abruptly slammed into the heavy blast doors. “Boom! Ha! You take too long,” he said, impatience flooding across the Bonds.

Hunter shrugged and the led the way in, resigned. Tech unholstered you again, though he still kept his splicer in one hand as he followed Hunter down the hall. He ducked into an alcove and spliced into a security pad, cracking it open quickly.

“We’re in!”

Shiv.

You Transferred to Hunter instantly, Shifting into a vibroshiv at his mental request.

Someone tossed a stun grenade into the room, and everyone waited for it to go off before bursting in, clearing the room out. Hunter used you to quickly dispatch the last two, then turned and nodded.

“Tech, get to work on these computers. We’ll go get the Regs,” he said, striding back out toward the main doors. The blast doors slid open to reveal a platoon of droids trying to hold off Cross, Rex, Cody, and the General. It didn’t take long to demolish them.

“What took you so long, Wrecker?” The General chuckled, disengaging his saber.

“Hey, this is a ‘delicate operation,’” Wrecker returned with a cheerful shrug, taking it in stride. Then he pushed forward as reinforcements arrived. “Better get in there, Cap.” He hefted his blaster.

“Captain, here.” Hunter turned, flipping you hilt-first toward him. “Take Shiv to Tech, she might be able to help this go faster.”

Rex hesitated, then grasped the handle. “Permission to Transfer.”

“Transfer Granted,” you answered, Transferring to him for the first in a long while. He was a bit rusty, you admitted a bit amusedly to yourself as soon as you settled into the Bond. The remnants of the Bond you’d had for a while were still there to build back on, but his thoughts were blasting everywhere as he tried to rein them in.

Don’t worry, Commander, you tried to soothe him. You can just hand me over to Tech.

He nodded, turning to sprint into the base and down the hallways. He rushed into the room where Tech stood by the holodeck, waiting.

“Okay, I’m in,” Tech said, turning to Captain Rex. “What am I looking for?”

The Captain reached into his belt and pulled out a chip, handing it over. “Here’s the algorithm. And here’s Shiv,” he added, flipping you toward Tech.

Tech took both, popping the chip in and seamlessly taking you at the same time. You Shifted per his request into an external targeting system, attaching to his gauntlet and beginning to power up. You materialized over his shoulder, gazing down at the screen. The both of you had been working in some spare time between missions to try to get your mental presences so aligned that you could keep up with each other’s train of thought as though you shared brains. That way, you both could easily keep up with the speed of each other’s thoughts and have conversations at speeds that could easily determine the success of an entire mission.

“You’re looking for a program using this sequence,” Captain Rex added.

Probably stored in the databanks used for strategy, right? Tech mused.

Cast the nets a little wider. Trench is sometimes harder to read. He doesn’t play by the book. You opined.

Barely a few ticks went by before Tech let out a noise of surprise. “Found it. This is strange,” he remarked, flipping through the screen as it popped up on the holodeck. “It’s not a program. It’s a live signal from another planet.”

What? You wondered, baffled. How is it not a program?

“Skako Minor,” Tech said, tracing it back.

“A live signal?” Rex asked, clearly just as bewildered.

Tech continued to trace it back, splicing through security. “Here it is,” he said, pulling up an audio loop. “This is audible.”

“Patch me in,” Rex said immediately. “I want to hear it.”

How could it be a live signal? The algorithm is just that— an algorithm. Not something live in real time. You pointed out dubiously.

The sound bars appeared on the holodeck, sounding oddly distorted. “What is that?” Tech asked, turning to Rex. A transcoder? Something prerecorded? Holodisc? “That sounds almost... almost human.”

“It can’t be,” Rex said quietly, staring at the holodeck.

Your heart bumped into your throat.

“Tech, find out who’s sending that signal,” Rex said tightly. “Ask who that is.”

A sense of horrified premonition settled in you. No. Please, Commander Rex. No, no, please don’t tell me that’s what we thought it was—

The audio slowly cleared. “CT-1409. CT-1409.”

“I... I don’t believe it.”

No, no, no no no—

Tech whirled around as Hunter burst into the room. “We’re gone. Rex, let’s go.”

Behind you as Tech sprinted forward, the audio kept repeating the horrifying refrain. “CT-1409.”

“Rex, now!”

You barely paid attention as everyone scrambled onto the transporter, piloted by Crosshair. You almost instantly Dissolved the Bond, crumpling to your knees and clapping your hands over your ears.

Rex bent next to you, gripping your arms as you shook. “Shiv. Shiv.”

You shook your head, tears slipping down your cheeks. It’s my fault. My fault. I should have done something more, back then. I should have killed the Admiral with my own bare hands. What did they do to him? Maker—

“What happened?” Cody barked.

“CT-1409,” Rex spoke up shakily. He looked up at the General. “General Skywalker... Echo’s alive.”

The General sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “I’ll believe you, Rex, if that’s what it was. But that means our regrouping is going to have to take a different turn than we expected. This is going to have to become a rescue mission, too.” He turned to you. “Shiv.”

You scraped yourself together, staggering to your feet. “G-General,” you said weakly, hand pressing to your side where your ribs ached in protest.

He observed you, then reached out and placed a careful hand on your shoulder. “You’re in pain,” he said quietly.

You looked up at him, not afraid to show your misery. “I should have done better, General,” you sniffled, tears welling in your eyes. “I... I failed.”

“War always comes with risk, Shiv,” Skywalker said, shaking his head. From his hand on your shoulder, something cool began to trickle from his hand down into your bones, soothing the uncomfortably hot ache inside your body. “You did the best you could. He made his own choice.”

You sniffled, reaching up to wipe at your eyes. “But sir, I’m the weapon!” you cried, frustrated. Why did everyone always forget? “That’s the point, I’m not a clone, or even a soldier! I’m a weapon, meant to be used!” You flung your hand to the side vehemently. “I know that I’m not a slave anymore, I know that— but then what good am I if I can’t even be who I’m supposed to be? I’m meant to break and get back up, meant to take damage for others because I can, because I’m literally made to take it, to recover. If I can’t even protect the people I care about, the ones who Wield me, then what’s the point?”

You looked up at the General, eyes awash with frustrated tears. “I know that I’m not responsible for the things Admiral Trench has done to me and Echo,” you said miserably. “But what makes me any better if I can’t even take the hard lessons I learned under his control and use them for things that I choose myself?” You wrapped your arms around yourself, shaking your head. “How am I supposed to pay forward everything you and the 501st have done for me if I can’t even do this much?”

The General let out a quiet sigh. After a moment, he spoke gently, pulling you to sit down beside him. “Shiv, you’ve already come so far,” he said, staring out across the landscape as the transporter skimmed over the land. “I look at you now and I can hardly see the terrified, hurting kid that I first met. You’ve grown, and learned, and become a great weapon. On this mission, I’ve been able to see what Master Plo Koon mentioned in his report: a great asset that makes carefully calculated risks and puts her team in front of herself— a powerful member whose team puts their full trust in, no matter the situation. And that’s what Rex and I wanted for you. It’s what we hoped for when he put you with Clone Force 99. I think you’ve proven to everyone who cares about you that you’ve healed, grown, become a better person than the one who mistreated you. You didn’t even hesitate to take unbelievable injuries for someone you barely know.”

Shaking his head, the General turned back to look at you. “It’s time to give yourself a bit more credit, Shiv,” he said patiently. “You’ve worked hard to become who you are now, and you should be proud of that. I know Echo will be, once we get him back. Because we will. And I know he’ll want to see how far you’ve come since he last saw you.” He patted your shoulder, then stood. “You don’t have to force yourself to be useful just to deserve kindness, Shiv.” With the parting remark, he turned to talk to Rex.

Hunter came up, holding out his hand. Gratefully, you Transferred, feeling the need for a safe place. The Bonds instantly lit up with comfort, and you let yourself rest in it for a moment.

He’s right, Shiv. Hunter murmured. And we promise. We’ll get him back.

Thank you, you whispered across the Bonds. I trust you.

Maybe, you allowed yourself to admit, maybe they were right. Maybe... you needed to stop trying to prove yourself worthy of care and kindness by always being useful.

And maybe, you thought gratefully, staying with the Bad Batch would give you the confidence to one day fully believe it.

Part 14: Guilt

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