"Whoa, Prime! Steady," Slicer said, hauling Prime back to his feet. The three man squad rushed into the nearby forest, taking cover behind the trees. Once they were safe under cover, Slicer lowered Prime onto the ground. "You alright, ner vod?" he asked.

Prime nodded. "Yeah, it's just a bad joint. I'm getting too old for this job."

Slicer laughed. "Complaining of joint pains, old man? You can still shoot straight, can't you?" He grabbed Prime's dropped Deecee and handed it to him. Prime took it gratefully, then crawled forward, hiding behind a fallen log to scout the field for hidden snipers.

Lurk poked his head out from behind the large wroshyr tree for just a moment. A sniper round barely missed him, bouncing off the tree and spraying wood chips over the squad. "Well, he's still there."

"Did you see where the round came from?" Slicer asked Prime.

"Yeah, I think I saw." Prime carefully lined up his shot with the Deecee, hoping his aim was still sharp, even when his body was failing. He squeezed the trigger. A moment later, Gamma squad's helmets picked up a faint cry of pain. Prime scanned the horizon for life signs, but found none.

"Hooah!" Slicer yelled. "Nice shot, Lead!"

Prime smiled, silently congratulating himself on a solid hit. "Alright boys, head out. Zeta, Sigma, and Kappa squads need backup."

They gathered up their weapons, tucking them away, and ran out across the open field toward the distant field. Three other commando squads were pinned down inside an old speeder factory as the rebel locals tried to lob grenades through the open windows. Gamma squad picked up speed, but Prime fell slowly behind. Slicer could hear the team leader's labored breathing through the comm. They certainly weren't as young as they used to be. As they approached the battle field, Lurk dropped to one knee, quickly attaching the anti-armor charge launcher to his Deecee. He aimed at a particularly large group of rebels, then launched the charge, the recoil sending the Deecee hard into his shoulder. The charge landed square in the middle of the group and exploded, taking out five or six rebels, and sending the rest of them sprawling.

Lurk grunted and rubbed his shoulder. "Is it just me, or has the recoil gotten worse on these things?"

Slicer launched a few grenades into the rebels midst as they rushed to flank the militia. They ducked behind a pile of rubble momentarily while Slicer shot off a few rounds from the Deecee, clearing out a path to the speeder factory. They ran forward into the factory, Lurk and Slicer firing off to both sides, while Prime covered their six. Lurk and Slicer immediately rushed to the windows, using grenades and anti-armor charges to take out large groups. Prime flew up the stairs to seek out the other three squads.

"Hey, Prime!" said Goran when he saw the Gamma Squad leader appear in the walkway. "Bit late for the party, aren't you? As usual."

"Nice to see you too, di'kut," Prime answered. "Any injuries I should be immediately concerned about?"

Goran shrugged, quickly standing up to fire a few shots down at the rebels below. "Ram'ser took a blow to the head when a bit of rubble came down from the ceiling, but his helmet took most of the impact. Other than that we're all fine."

"Where's Demar?" Prime asked, scanning the room.

Goran was silent. Prime's shoulders sank. "Goran? What happened?"

"Doesn't matter at the moment, Prime, we get out of this situation first, we mourn the dead later. There's nothing we can do for him anymore."

There was a low rumble overhead. Goran risked a look skyward. A CR25 troop carrier swooped down from the sky, blasting into the field with the forward turbolasers. The militia was scattered about, leaving no possible landing site for the ship to set down. Prime pressed a hand to his ear. "Lurk, Slicer!" he called over the comm. "Clear a spot for that dropship, we're packing up to leave!"

Prime and the rest of the squads gathered up anything they couldn't leave behind. Weapons were left scattered on the floor, along with a few grenades. Goran and Ram'ser carefully stepped over to a darker corner of the room, where there seemed to be a spare set of commando armor propped up. It took Prime a second to realise that it was actually Demar. Ram'ser respectfully lifted his fallen brother onto his shoulders. In the level below, Lurk fired off four successional anti-armor rounds, clearing out an area large enough for the dropship to land. Without another second to lose, Prime directed the squads down the stairs, staying behind to make sure everyone got out alright. Grimly, he counted two other men missing, and immediately knew that they weren't just lagging behind.

Ram'ser got to the bottom of the stairs. Slicer and Lurk turned, noticing the limp body of Demar. Without a word, Kappa squad surrounded Ram'ser, ready to provide cover fire in the escape. Slicer watched as they rushed across the clearing, jumping into the dropship. "Alright, Prime," Slicer called through his comm. "We're ready! Let's get off this rock!" Slicer stood, heading toward the door, but was suddenly halted by a warning from Prime.

"Slicer, hold! You're not clear to leave yet, there's a snip--"

Every muscle in Slicer's body tensed as he heard the loud whump of a sniper rifle. "Prime? Prime, report..."

Slicer checked his HUD to see where Prime was looking. With horror, he saw that the squad leader was on the floor, his field of vision aimed directly at the ceiling. Hearts racing, Lurk and Slicer dashed up the stairs. "Prime!" Slicer yelled. "If you think this is funny, I'm gonna put aiwha eggs in your helmet for a month!"

They reached the second floor. Slicer stopped in his tracks at the sight. Lurk rushed forward, grabbing his medpack from off his armplate. The sniper round had hit Prime on the right side of his forehead. Thankfully, his helmet had taken most of the impact, but the projectile had broken through and embedded itself in Prime's head. Lurk tossed aside his helmet, then carefully slid Prime's off his head. He pulled off his gloves and checked for a pulse. After a moment, he let out a long breath. "He's alive."

Slicer involuntarily took a step back, leaning on the nearest wall for support. He signaled the dropship on the comm. "Man down, I repeat, man down. Wait there for us, we'll get to you as soon as we can!"

"I'm going to bandage him up quickly, then we make a run for the ship. We shouldn't move him, but we don't have another choice right now." Lurk pulled out a long strand of gauze and gently lifted Prime's head. "Lead? Hey, bur'cya, can you hear me? Just nod or groan or flip me off. Anything at all."

Prime made no motions or sounds. Lurk worked quickly. He had the gauze wrapped around Prime's head in just a few seconds. It wasn't enough to stop the bleeding, but it was enough to keep it at bay for the moment. "Alright, Slicer, cover us, and don't you dare let anything hit Prime, or it's you that will find aiwha eggs in your helmet for a month."

Slicer nodded and readied his Deecee. He jumped down the steps two at a time to clear out a path to the dropship. Lurk replaced his helmet, then carefully lifted Prime off the ground, making sure that he kept the squad leader's head above his heart in a vain attempt to slow the bleeding. He cautiously came down the steps, trying not to jar Prime too much. "Ready?" he said to Slicer.

They took off at a full sprint. Goran was waiting, providing cover fire. Lurk reached the ship first. Slicer fell into the ship, collapsing from exhaustion as Goran slammed the blast door behind them. The overhead lights came on to compensate for the darkness as they lifted off, being peppered from a last attempt of the rebels to bring them down.

Lurk laid Prime out on the floor. Slicer tore his kama out of his belt, ripping the fabric in the process. He rolled it up and tucked it underneath Prime's head in a makeshift pillow. "How's he doing?"

Lurk took off his helmet again and let it roll along the floor. "Still out cold. He won't be happy when he wakes up and finds out I left his helmet back there." Lurk reached into his med kit and pulled out a few tools, and a bottle of bacta. "Hope you boys don't have issues with blood. I've gotta get this bullet out. Slicer, be ready with a bandage."

Slicer nodded, swallowing against the threat of nausea. "I'll do anything you need me to help with."

Slicer sat on the window seat drinking a cup of caf, just staring out the window into the distance. He had long ago tuned out the smell of hospital soap, but the bleach white of the room still reminded him too much of Kamino. It was raining outside, another reminder of home. As much as he hated the blasted Kaminoans and everything that place stood for, he missed it. So he shut his eyes for a moment, leaned back against the smooth white wall, listened to the rain, and pretended he was back home. He sipped at his caf, which was still a bit too hot for his liking. He propped his feet up on the seat next to him and listened to the comforting sound of Prime's heart monitor. The steady beep... beep... beep reminded him that he hadn't yet lost another brother. Slicer felt that all too familiar pain as he thought about Stealth. Bloody idiot just had to be a hero, didn't he? Slicer smiled to himself in spite of the painful memory. Good ol' Stealth.

Then suddenly, the steady beeping of Prime's heart monitor turned into one long tone. Slicer jumped to his feet. He dropped his caf cup, which fell to the floor and shattered. "Prime!" he squeaked.

Prime looked over at Slicer, eyebrows raised. "Sorry," he said. He was holding a white plastic clamp in his hand, which he then placed back on his index finger. The beeping resumed normally. "I guess that's what monitors my heart rate, then." He pointed down at the floor. "You got caf on your shoes."

Slicer rushed forward and buried his face in Prime's chest. "If you ever do that to me again, ner vod--"

"Aiwha eggs?"

"For a year."

Prime smiled and hugged Slicer. "I'll be sure to check before I put on my helmet then."

"Lurk lost it."

Prime ruffled his brow. "Di'kut."

The hospital door opened, and Lurk stepped in, trying to keep his footsteps soft. "Hey, Slicer, the medics said--" Lurk stopped, then noticed that Prime was awake. "Look who's awake!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Told you not to have that many cups of caf, Slicer, now you'll never get any sleep. And Prime's awake too!"

Prime smiled. "I think I'd rather go back to sleep. I've got a splitting headache."

"Understandably," Lurk said, "I pulled that bullet out of your skull, and I think the guy used a verp."

"My head stood up against a verp?"

"I always said you're too hard headed. Slicer, you wanna stop using Prime as a pillow?"

Slicer sat up. "Sorry! He's taken all the other pillows in this room."

"How long was I out?" Prime asked.

Lurk shrugged. "A couple hours before the surgery. Three days since then."

Prime studied Lurk's face carfully. "And how long have you been awake?"

Lurk checked the chrono. "I don't know. A while, I guess."

Slicer poked him in the ribs. "Liar. You know exactly how long you've been up. A couple hours before the surgery. Three days since then." Slicer turned back to Prime. "You should have seen him! Pacing around the room like he was waiting for his first child to be born or something. He's only eaten because I wouldn't let him come back in this room until he'd had some lunch."

Prime smiled. "Lurk, go get some sleep."

Lurk shook his head. "No sir. Not until the results come back. I want to know how the surgery went."

"When did you get so protective?"

"I'm not losing another brother."

The simple statement left the squad sitting in silence for a long while. It had been over a year since Stealth had died, but it was still a fresh wound. The Kaminoans had tried to send a replacement, but Gamma squad wouldn't hear of it. Thus far, they had functioned as a three man squad, though they would find themselves occasionally trying to reach Stealth over the comm before realising that he wasn't there.

Lurk broke the silence. "Slicer, you dinii, you got caf on the floor, and you broke their cup." He wandered over to the mess, kicking the shards into a pile.

Slicer grinned. "Lurk, get over here and give your brother a hug."

"I'm going to go find a janitor to clean up your mess."

"Lurk? Tell Prime you're glad he's alive, and give him a hug. You haven't slept in days 'cause you were so worried about him, don't tell me you pick now to be afraid of getting a bit mushy."

"I'm not going to get mushy." Lurk turned toward the door, trying to make a quick exit.

"Ke'hugs!" Slicer insisted. Prime laughed heartily. Lurk stopped, put his hands on his hips, then reluctantly walked over and gave Prime a quick hug. "I'm glad you're alright," he said.

"Aww..." Slicer said. "Wasn't that the sweetest widdle thing you've ever seen?"

Lurk rolled his eyes and started toward the door again.

"Hang on there, Lurk," Prime said. "What's this about losing my helmet?"

Lurk chuckled. "It was either leave the bucket, or leave you. I figured it would be much easier to replace the bucket. Takes too long to break in a new squad leader."

"Thanks for not leaving me," Prime said teasingly.

Lurk suddenly remembered something. He walked over to the bleach white dresser and opened up the bottom shelf. "I brought this in. Figured you might be able to use it until we get you a red one." Prime reached out and took the object from Lurk's hands. It was Stealth's helmet. Prime turned it over in his hand a few times, brushing his fingers over the smooth surface. Slicer sniffled, turned his head away, and discreetly wiped at his eyes.

"Oh, now who's getting mushy?" Lurk asked. Slicer elbowed him.

Prime shook his head and laughed. "Alright, boys, lets not start that again."

The hospital door opened, and a medic in a white coat stepped in. He was carrying a clipboard, and looked pleasant, but in a strained sort of way.

"Hey, Prime. How are you feeling?" the medic said.

"Like I took a sniper round to the head. And a little hungry. Mostly I gotta pee like a race equus."

The medic smiled, a bit more genuinely now. His strained look returned, though, when he glanced down at the clipboard. "We've got the results of the surgery in. We managed to get all the shrapnel out and stopped the internal bleeding before too much damage could be done."

"There's a but." Lurk said. "I smell a but. I know there's a but."

Slicer chuckled. Lurk glared at him. "Not that kind of but, adiik."

The medic lost his strained look, and now managed to just look grim. "He will live. But there was some brain damage." The medic took a deep breath. "His legs are paralyzed."

Lurk wavered only slightly. Slicer's shoulders sank. Prime didn't even blink, as if he'd already figured as much. "Permanent?" Prime asked.

"We can't be sure, not this early. We'll do some therapy to see if we can get you moving again. There is an excellent facility here, and our recovery rates are the highest in the galaxy. If anyone can get you moving again, it's us."

Prime nodded. The medic disappeared out the door again without another word.

"I'm hungry," Prime said.

Lurk and Slicer didn't move, just stood where they were, staring off into the distance.

"Oh, can we please not mope about this? I'm alive, right, vode? That's got to count for something."

"But we weren't supposed to become a two man squad," Slicer said, still staring at nothing. "We found you the best hospital around so they could take care of you, and everything would be alright."

"Things haven't been alright since Stealth died," Lurk said, turning on his heel and plodding out into the hall, slamming the door behind him.

"He really has gotten overprotective lately, hasn't he?" Prime noted.

Slicer turned to face the squad leader. "For once, could you not be so collected about this? Show a little emotion, don't just accept it!"

"Slice, I'm alive. I'll take a little thing like paralysis as long as I'm still around. I'm not dead ner vod, you're not going to be a two man squad."

"You made a rhyme."

"I promise you, I'm going to work hard at getting back on my feet again. But if I don't, I've still got my brothers, yeah? What do you think Stealth would say?"

Slicer lowered his head.

"Hm? What would he say?"

"He'd say the same thing you are. At least you're still around."

Prime nodded. "So no moping, please. It's not the end of the world. Rangir, I might even get to retire to a nice house on Naboo even. No more of these stupid battles to wipe out any resistance this talyc Empire comes up against. How many clones get to retire?"

Slicer sighed. "Can I still be sad?"

Prime nodded. "Just don't mope. Now go find Lurk. Make sure he isn't threatening anyone with a knife. You know how he gets when he's angry."

Slicer nodded and stood, still ready to follow Prime's orders, no matter what they were. He stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind him. He didn't have to go far to find Lurk. He found him sitting on the floor, crying. It took Slicer a moment to process the scene. He'd known Lurk since they were both growing inside plastic tubes, and in all those years, he'd never even seen him come close to crying before. He wasn't quite sure what to do. So, he sat down next to Lurk and said nothing, just as Stealth had done for him many times before. He almost smiled, grateful to still have his two brothers around.