ECHO—IN FACT—DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. He was currently fighting against the panic that swelled in his chest, and quickly losing that battle with each shallow breath he inhaled. He wasn't normally one to lose his wits in the midst of a battle, yet today wasn't exactly normal in itself—as proven by the trio of troublemakers that refused to leave his side.

"Do you see it?" Droidbait asked, breaking the silence as he tried to reach up and take the macrobinoculars from Echo's hands. Echo's brow twitched with amusement that eased the tension in his shoulders. Effortlessly, he kept the device out of reach. Droidbait huffed and crossed his arms. "Can I see?"

"Only since you asked so nicely," Echo gently teased, handing the macrobinoculars to the smallest of the trio. Droidbait happily hummed, looking out at the horizon as if he'd completely forgotten what they were specifically looking for from the scout tower.

"I don't see why you took our blasters..." Hevy mumbled under his breath, leaning against the tower wall with a scowl painted on his face that one might classify as 'pouting'.

"Maybe because you tripped when walking up the stairs and almost shot Magan?" Echo replied pointedly.

"No harm, no foul," Magan shrugged, yet his eyes never left the scope of his rifle.

"That's not really the point," Echo contradicted. He could feel the unease returning as he was still learning his dynamic with the Zabrak, much less his trio of batchmates. The introduction of the Stargrazer crew had also come as a surprise when he landed on Pabu. They were an odd mixture, but somehow they blended well into the misfit group known as the Bad Batch.

Rwenn acted like their leader—her word being the final say. According to Omega, the Mirialan was capable of doing anything. Likely an exaggeration of a child starstruck with admiration. However, Cody claimed she was a skilled pilot, combatant, and negotiator, which frequently pulled her crew out of tough spots.

Seell was the brains of their little operation—tackling the odds with strategies sculpted for each situation they might find themselves in. He was a hacker and coder, primarily manipulating existing electronic devices rather than crafting his own.

Magan was their weapons expert. And while it seemed that the Zabrak liked to blow things up, he also had the patience and precision of a decent marksman. It was to be noted that although he knew how to wield a variety of weapons that didn't mean he could defuse set explosives or build them himself.

And Pimz was their tracker—in tune with the surrounding nature to blend in and become one with the shadows. He was a skilled thief and pick-pocket but his mouth often landed him in more trouble than anything else.

Cody trusted them, and that was enough of a reason for the Batch to tolerate them. It certainly helped that the mandalorians had shown an affinity toward Omega and Crosshair, but then proved that affection extended toward any child within reach. However, the small sniper wasn't the only one to voice his disapproval of this treatment. While Droidbait and Cutup were slightly more lenient when it came to being addressed by their physical stature, Hevy was not. And while Hevy would occasionally give in to the temptation of childish impulses, any time it was noted he would try to overcompensate... which ultimately just looked like a tantrum.

"We're supposed to be watching your back," Hevy protested.

"Which requires a watchful eye and not little trigger fingers," Echo contradicted. It wasn't his intention to sound demeaning, but they'd already circled around this argument half a dozen times and he was running out of ways to explain the reasoning behind his decision. "I agreed you could come, but that was more or less to keep an eye on you."

Hevy frowned. "We're not kids, Echo."

"I know..." Echo pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. He slowly kneeled so that he was eye level with Hevy. "But even if you have the mindset of a fully matured trooper, you are physically limited to a cadet. I know this is frustrating for you, but I need you to consider this from my perspective. That I'm flooded with concern every time I glance at one of you three. That I'll blink and you'll be gone again."

"We're soldiers—"

"With very little experience," Echo interrupted. "Just because you know how to hold a blaster doesn't mean that you should."

Hevy slowly crossed his arms then marched toward the edge of the balcony. Echo wrongly assumed that the argument was over, but Hevy climbed onto the rail then pointed down toward Crosshair and Batcher below. "You don't seem to have a problem with that one."

"I'm not Crosshair's sergeant," Echo calmly replied. His tone grew more stoic with every syllable and his features hardened. "But you better believe I'll be having a lengthy discussion with Hunter later. You three should consider yourselves lucky that I'm allowing you to play lookout. I could have insisted that you stayed inside with Omega."

Magan snickered under his breath, but didn't add any additional comments. He subtly glanced at the group from his peripherals before returning his focus to the scope of his rifle.

Hevy rolled his eyes and hopped down from the railing. He seemed to understand that he wasn't winning that argument, so he snatched his helmet from the ground with a huff and made his way over to Droidbait. He mumbled something under his breath—likely asking for the macrobinoculars since Droidbait handed them over a second later.

Echo sighed, leaning against the support of the tower while he turned his eyes toward the skies with a silent prayer of "why" to the stars. He took a breath, storing his frustration to be dealt with later then tried to return to the rail; however, some unexpected additional weight nearly made him fall over. With a look of surprise, he glanced down to find Cutup clinging to his leg. He hadn't even realized the cadet's presence since his prosthetics had been fused with his nerves for function rather than feeling.

After all, the Techno Union had simply needed him alive. They hardly cared about his comfort. Since then, He and Tech had worked on a few modifications to ease the incessant pain. They'd made it manageable, but that didn't mean he no longer existed in a constant state of it.

Hesitantly, Echo ran his fingers through the boy's hair. It was a bit longer than a standard cadet's—which made sense since they'd been surviving on Setron for some time on their own. Perhaps that's why Hevy was so insistent on doing things himself. They hadn't anyone to look over them before and it originated from a sense of self-preservation. Hevy had been the one to step up and take on the role of leader when there'd been five of them. But Echo had changed quite a bit since their final test on Kamino, and he was hardly the regulation following rookie that Domino knew on Rishi. They'd all changed and it would take time to relearn their dynamic as a squad.

"Cutup?" Echo quietly questioned.

"Cold..." Cutup mumbled.

Echo gently pulled away from the boy. However, it was only long enough to take a seat and prop his back against the tower support before pulling Cutup down into his lap and wrapping his arms around the cadet. Cutup released a quiet gasp in surprise, but didn't fight against him. Instead, he moved closer as Echo silently continued to stroke through his hair. The cadet clumsily messed with Echo's scomp—tracing the shape of the tool without messing with the settings.

"Does it hurt?" Cutup asked.

"Sometimes," Echo honestly replied. "I'll experience phantom pain... or I'll wake up in the middle of the night because my hand is itching even though it isn't there anymore."

Cutup slowly nodded. "Hevy's had to wake me up in the middle of the night a couple of times because I start screaming that my arm has been ripped off. It's so muddled sometimes that I almost think it was all just a bad dream. I open my eyes and think that I'm going to wake up to another boring morning of patrol."

"I'll roll over and expect to see Fives in the overhead bunk sometimes," Echo admitted. His gaze grew distant and a soft, bittersweet smile twitched on his lip. "And I see flashes of 501st blue every time I blink too quickly."

Fond memories were shadowed and twisted by a cold figure that prodded at the back of his mind. The discomfort must have shown on his face because Cutup reached up and pulled Echo's hand to his chest, holding it securely in place.

His moments on Skako Minor still resided in his mind rent free. And as often as he felt himself reliving that time, it was hardly the topic of discussion that he wanted to worry anyone else with.

"I understand that it's going to take time," Echo quietly said, speaking into the boy's hair as he pressed his head on top of the cadet's, "But you'll be safe with us... You'll be safe with me."

"You're not getting rid of us?" Cutup sounded surprised. Echo's heart clenched and he internally winced.

"I'm sorry I gave you that impression," Echo apologized. "I was..."

"Completely freaked out," Cutup finished his sentence.

Echo chuckled and nodded. "Yes, completely freaked out. But you're stuck with me now, and there's no way I'm letting the three of you out of my sight. Especially not after knowing the trouble you got into the first time around."

Cutup playfully scoffed. "From the looks of it, you haven't exactly kept out of trouble yourself. Your new squad might be more chaotic than we ever were."

Echo laughed and shook his head. "No, they're just a different kind of chaotic. Now why don't you go check on the others? I don't need Hevy falling over the rail."

Cutup nodded, jumping up to join the others without a word of complaint. Echo leaned his head back against the tower and released a long sigh.

"The longnecks must've really done a number on you," Magan noted, interrupting the brief moment of silence.

"They weren't the only ones," Echo quietly agreed with a scoff. The retort sounded like an accusation—and in a way it was, one that Echo hadn't expected Magan to pick up on.

"Kote was wary of us at first too," Magan confirmed, leaning his rifle against the rail as he turned to face Echo. "He mentioned that many of your trainers were mandalorian."

Echo nodded. "Mandalorians and bounty hunters. I can't say that I have many fond memories of either."

"And from what I understand, they start training you pretty young, huh?" Magan asked.

"From the moment we're decanted," Echo agreed. He paused, noting the look of confusion on the Zabrak's face then clarified, "Clones aren't born. We're decanted. So from the moment we're decanted, we're taught strategies. They accelerate our aging to put us out in the field sooner, so we know how to assembly and fire a blaster by the time we're four—which is about eight or nine by natborn standards. By ten we're on the frontlines; however, I'd heard they lowered the age by the last few months of the war."

"Osik!" Magan hissed under his breath with wide eyes. "No wonder your ade feel the need to be part of the action. They're probably not even close to being the right age to take the verd'goten."

"The verd'goten?" Echo repeated, his brow twisting.

"Think of it like a rite of passage that represents a child accepting the responsibilities of adulthood," Magan explained. "In our culture, the youngest to recite the verd'goten are thirteen. My vode and I were pretty eager to join the fight early too. Pimz specifically found himself in alot of trouble with our buir because he'd act without thinking of the consequences. I remember we were nearly a week from accepting the verd'goten when Pimz nearly started a war with some Kyr'tsad. Buir barely managed to smooth things over before they escalated too far."

"You all seemed to have turned out alright though," Echo noted with a growing smirk. "Chaotic and a little rough around the edges, but alright. What straightened you out?"

"Buir loosened the reigns a bit," Magan replied. "He let us help with the aspects that would keep us out of danger, but ensured we felt useful by utilizing our skills. I think you and your sergeant need to find a balance. You're holding on too tight, scared somethings going to happen to the verd'ike while your sergeant lets the ram'ser'ika run around without boundaries. You don't want to treat them like ik'aade, but they are still ade; they shouldn't face danger anymore than absolutely necessary."

"It's complicated..."

"Then find a way to simplify it and compromise," Magan shrugged. "Otherwise it's all going to fall apart much quicker than you can put it back together."

Echo slowly nodded, processing the information he'd been given. Subconsciously, he massaged his temple to fight off an oncoming migraine. It had somewhat helped to sit down and absorb small bits of what he'd learned; however, he'd hardly scratched the tip of the iceberg and there were at least a dozen more questions that formed every time he received an answer.

"Things are getting close in here," Hunter's voice echoed over the comms, reminding the scouting group of their forgotten priorities. "Am I gonna have a way out or not?"

"If you end up where we hope you do," Crosshair retorted.

"I think that's our cue," Magan said, lifting his rifle from the ground to return to his post. However, he took a minute delay to rummage through his pack for a pair of macrobinoculars that he handed over to Echo. "I doubt you're getting yours back anytime soon."

Echo nodded, glancing over toward the trio of cadets that were crowded together around the macrobinoculars that he'd originally given Droidbait. He couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the sight before accepting the device from the Zabrak.

"Hunter," Omega joined the conversation following a triumphant laugh from Wrecker. "Should I activate the beacon?"

"Wait!" Hunter ordered. "We have to make sure the wyrm is past the perimeter."

"Get up here!" Crosshair hissed. From Echo's point of view, he could see the small sniper leaning over the hole that he and Batcher had dug.

"Not yet," Hunter dismissed the demand.

"Where's the wyrm?" Echo muttered under his breath, scanning the horizon through the macrobinoculars. He frowned. "I can't find it."

However, he didn't need to see the creature to know it was nearby as its deep bellow shook the ground and reverberated up the tower which was several hundred meters away from the sensors.

"It's past the perimeter!" Hunter exclaimed. "Omega, activate the sensors!"

"Bringing them online now," Omega replied. A light whirring sound could be heard from her end before the comm switched off.

Echo flinched as the nearby technology reacted to the shift in power while the sensors were brought back online. His headset recalibrated and blocked out the unwanted electrical surges, allowing the uncomfortable tension in his mind to ease. He released a sigh of relief as he looked up and watched Hunter, Crosshair, and Batcher dive across the threshold of the sensors just in the knick of time. The wyrm whined and bellowed then dove back beneath the surface of the ice and disappeared entirely.

Echo, Magan, and the Domino trio made their way back down the tower toward the facility entrance, meeting up with two of the other three groups. Echo frowned at the sight of an unconscious Cody. However, when Wrecker tapped the scar along his temple, Echo's blood ran cold and he immediately understood.

"Another wonderful surprise," Echo muttered then sighed. "We'll handle it later."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Rwenn offered. "Probably best to keep him away from the adike."

Echo nodded his head in agreement before overlooking the damage. Aside from Pimz's black eye and Cody's lack of consciousness, everyone else was in one piece and looked no worse for wear.

Wrecker must've come to a similar conclusion because he sprinted off toward the stragglers of the final approaching group without another word. Batcher happily barked and wagged her tail as if expecting the larger clone to start a game on his approach, which only encouraged Wrecker to run faster.

Wrecker briefly looked Hunter and Crosshair over, ensuring they were without any serious injuries before pulling them close into a group hug. Neither Hunter nor Crosshair exactly looked comfortable in the embrace, but they didn't push Wrecker away either—something Echo interpreted as a good sign. The concern on Omega's face had also softened at the sight.

"See? They always work it out," Echo explained. He squinted then grinned. "And I don't even see any blood this time. That's progress."

Omega laughed, but then she slowly shifted into a more somber tone. The concern on her young face was far greater than anyone else her age should have—only forcing Echo to reflect on his conversation with Magan.

"Do you think the intel we recovered will help you and Rex?" Omega asked.

"We still don't know the coordinates of Tantiss," Echo admitted, but chose to focus on a more positive note, "But between the datapad and all you, Crosshair, and the Dominoes have told me, we're closer to finding and freeing those clones."

Omega's eyes drifted toward the ground. "I wish I could've done more to help them."

Echo softened, bending to take a knee so that he was eye level with the girl as he took her by the arms. "You did all you could, kid. And you did exactly what you're supposed to do. You got out of there."

"But the others—"

"We're going to find them," Echo gently interrupted before she could continue blaming herself. "But we also can't go in blind. There's a lot of new variables that we still need to sort through."

"You mean Project Necromancer," Omega voiced what they were both thinking.

Echo nodded in agreement, "And Project Samsara. We hardly know anything about either experiment, and if Crosshair is supposed to be a link between them I'd prefer to know what that means sooner rather than later... And then there's the matter of the inhibitor chips."

Omega's brow furrowed. "What about them?"

"Cody's still chipped," Echo kept his voice low as he glanced over at the Remora where Rwenn was keeping the commander isolated from the others. "We overlooked the threat in our own relief that you were safe... You said that they didn't just make them younger, right? That they transferred them to entirely new bodies?"

Omega's eyes widened with a quiet gasp. "You think that they still have their inhibitor chips."

"I wouldn't want to make the same mistake twice," Echo confirmed. "I want a med scan of everyone when we get back to Pabu. Hopefully it gives us a better idea of what the Empire was doing with these experiments."

Omega was quiet for a moment. Her eyes slowly drifted to the ground. "I think Crosshair lied about having his chip taken out when we asked him on Kamino."

Echo frowned. Chills ran down his spine as he processed the sudden information. "What makes you say that?"

"He told me he didn't believe they were real," Omega explained. "I don't think he fully accepted that anyone could control him until he was forcibly exchanged between bodies. And I think he's more scared than he lets on... to be back with us, I mean."

Echo gently nodded his head, glancing over at the Batch as they approached the Remora. His eyes drifted down at the scomp by his side before focusing on the girl. Her face was flooded with concern as she stared at the small sniper.

"I'll talk with him. I know what it feels like to one day wake up different," Echo replied, gesturing toward himself. He then nodded toward Hunter and Crosshair—who'd stopped a short distance from the Remora—while nudging Omega up the ramp of the ship. "But let's give them a minute to themselves."

Omega didn't argue or protest. It was clear she wanted to eavesdrop, but at least she understood that her brothers needed space to work things out. Everything would be far from perfect, but at least it was a step in the right direction.

∘₊✧───────────────────────────✧₊∘

THE COLD AIR WHISTLED AS IT BRUSHED PAST HIS EARS. His senses were still adjusting to the overload of the whining sensors, the extreme temperature, and the vibrations of the planet surface initiated by movement below. Hunter shuddered simply recalling the tunnel interior and the creature that inhabited the complicated system. He'd been far closer to its teeth than he would ever like to find himself again, and didn't treasure the thought of what could have gone wrong should he have been a fraction of a second slower to react.

By the time that he and Crosshair had trudged back to the Remora, most of the crew had packed up and were already waiting inside. Wrecker had briefly joined them, pulling them into a tight hug before taking Batcher to find Omega—leaving the two of them alone.

They stood in silence for a minute, neither one looking at the other while also refusing to be the one to break the silence between them. Recognizing that they'd stand that way for hours, Hunter slung his helmet beneath his arm and made his way toward the ramp of the ship.

"Hunter?" The sniper's voice sounded so small. So young. So broken. The sergeant froze, slowly turning back toward the sniper. Crosshair sighed. "I... I thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being a good soldier."

"Nobody really understood what was happening back then," Hunter replied. He kept his tone neutral, but his eyes were more telling of the emotions he kept locked away.

"I've done things." Crosshair's eyes drifted toward the ground. His boot scuffed against the ice while he fidgeted like an ashamed child who'd gotten caught. "I've made mistakes."

"I have regrets too, Crosshair," Hunter admitted.

He looked away from the small sniper. It was difficult to face him because the longer he stared, the more his perspective changed. He wanted to be angry and he wanted to blame Crosshair for their problems and pains. It'd be easier that way... to find a source to take out his frustrations on instead of internalizing them. Instead of blaming himself. But now, he looked at Crosshair and no longer saw betrayal. He saw his little brother. He saw a vulnerability and fear that had long been forgotten and buried with the remains of Kamino.

And maybe he could ignore the need to protect such innocence if the only difference was his size. But Hunter had noticed the other changes too, the ones that Crosshair tried to keep hidden. Like the trembling in his dominant shooting hand. Or the imbalance when firing his rifle. The decline of accuracy and skill. And the way that his expressive young face betrayed his every thought.

It would have been easier to hate him had he not currently looked like the Crosshair that he missed. Somewhere among the stars someone was laughing at the cruel joke they'd created because they'd given Hunter back his little brother and left the sergeant in a shocked stupor. He'd ignored his protective intuition, believing it easier to act like nothing had changed rather than facing the facts that the exact opposite was true. Everything had changed and it was getting to the point where it was no longer possible to deny it.

Hunter sighed. "All we can do is keep trying to be better. And who knows? There just might be hope for us yet."

A hopeful look softened Crosshair's features. He seemed genuinely shocked by Hunter's response. Truthfully, Hunter had surprised himself as he meant each word. The sergeant nodded his head, gesturing for the small sniper to follow as they made their way aboard the Remora where the journey home awaited.

∘₊✧───────────────────────────✧₊∘

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨'𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬|

• osik — shit
• ade — children
• verd'goten — mandalorian rite of passage into adulthood
• vode — siblings
• buir — father
• kyr'tsad — death watch
• verd'ike — little soldiers
• ram'ser'ika — little marksman
• ik'aade — babies
• adike — little ones

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞| It took me far longer to finish rewriting this episode than I thought it would. I didn't expect it to be split up into four separate chapters, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Primarily Echo focused in this chapter as he learns to deal with the Domino cadets, but don't worry we'll be returning back to Crosshair's point of view in the next chapter. I also thought it fitting to end this chapter with a smidge of Hunter to explain that the man does have feelings about everything he's just sooo bad at expressing them.

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts! It genuinely brightens my day to read your theories and the little moments that you enjoy!