"Have the men been acting a little strange recently, or is it just me?" Commander Tano wonders, completely casual as she sets a card down, and Cutup nearly chokes.

Next to him, Droidbait sends a faintly panicked look at Hevy, whose eyes have gone very wide. The both turn to Cutup simultaneously, who resists the urge to throw up his hands in exasperation.

Of course this would come up while the ARCs are busy.

The Commander doesn't notice their alarmed looks, too busy surveying her cards with careful precision. Cutup has to say something, and fast, otherwise the pause will grow too long and she'll realize that something's off.

"What do you mean, Commander?" Cutup asks, keeping his voice as even as he can. "Strange, how?"

The Commander hums and shrugs her shoulders, glancing over at Hevy's cards. She's trying to teach him how to play better, so they've teamed up this round, whispering to each other every time Hevy's turn comes around.

"I don't know. It's hard to describe. It's like the battalion is… distant. The men seem uneasy for some reason. Master Skywalker says that they're worried about our orders, but it's never been like this before. Do you guys know anything about it?"

"Yeah, we do," Hevy says before Cutup can come up with a good answer. Cutup snaps his head around to stare at Hevy in surprise. "The General is right. It's the orders."

Cutup relaxes. He'd panicked for a split second, not knowing what Hevy's intentions were.

"Oh," Commander Tano says, sounding a little confused. "Why? None of the other deployments made the battalion this nervous."

"Ah—Geonosis is somewhat of a legend to us troopers," Hevy tells her. "It's where the war started. There were a lot of casualties, and a lot of stories going around from the survivors. It's easy to get caught up in the rumors, especially with a place that has so much history."

Cutup nods in approval at the quick lie, and suddenly comes up with an idea. "The fact that the Republic has fought there before is putting us on edge," he contributes. "The bugs might have implemented countermeasure against our usual 're worried that we'll lose just as many men as we did before."

Commander Tano looks away from the cards in front of her and turns to Cutup, a serious expression on her face.

"That won't happen, Cutup. We'll be fine. Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi will come up with a good plan."

Out of the corner of his eye, Cutup sees Droidbait perk up suddenly.

"Yeah, they probably will," he says casually. "It'll be interesting to see what they come up with. Last time, the clone forces came in on gunships to take the Geonosian forces by surprise. They'll have put in much more effective anti-aircraft weaponry since then. It'll be tough to get to the ground, I'm thinking."

Cutup inhales in excitement. Droidbait has caught on. Hevy is glancing between the two of them curiously, mere seconds behind. Cutup sees the exact moment he realizes what they're doing, a quick grin curling around his lips before he schools it into something much more concerned.

Geonosis is coming up fast. Echo and Fives had talked them through everything they could remember from their experiences, including the walker dilemma that Echo has been struggling with since they got back from Felucia. No one's been able to find a solution yet, but maybe Cutup and the others can help with that. Maybe the Commander herself can help with that.

"Huh," Commander Tano says thoughtfully. "That's a good point. They'll be on the lookout for gunships as soon as their scanners pick up our cruisers in the atmosphere." Her cards are getting closer and closer to the ground as her attention is pulled away from them. "There's no other way to get our men to the surface, though. It has to be gunships. The 501st isn't equipped with anything else."

"What if we were?" Hevy chimes in suddenly. "We don't have any other vehicles, and neither does General Mundi's men, but someone must have something else we could use."

Cutup frowns. They've already had a version of this conversation with Echo and Fives. They've got to steer the topic to something new. "The Republic doesn't have any other vehicle that can drop off such a large number of troops that fast."

Hevy glares at him for a fraction of a second, as if Cutup isn't taking the conversation in the direction he wants it to go. Cutup glares right back.

Can't read your mind! he signs sharply when the Commander's gaze is elsewhere, and raises an eyebrow when Hevy sighs in gruff acknowledgement.

"Okay, so we need gunships, but maybe we can do something to draw the attention away from them," Droidbait tries—again, another point that they've discussed, but one that they haven't yet fully thought out. "Especially gunships carrying heavier equipment. They'll be easy targets."

Commander Tano is glancing between them all, brow furrowed. "You're really concerned about this, aren't you," she states. Cutup shrugs sheepishly at her.

"Sorry, sir," he says, not actually sorry in the slightest. "We just want things to go well. We can get back to sabacc, I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's alright!" Commander Tano interrupts. She sets her cards down completely. "Tell me what you're thinking. I'd like to know!"

Cutup resists the urge to grin in success and catches Droidbait doing just that behind the Commander's back. He meets her eyes and is surprised at how sharp her gaze is, how honestly interested she seems.

She's growing.

"Well," he begins slowly, "I think that our gunships will be pretty exposed. Maybe a vanguard of some sort could try and shield them."

"The fighters will be busy in atmosphere, though," Commander Tano points out.

"You know, considering the terrain of Geonosis, I think that it's likely we'll be using the walkers during this campaign," Hevy comments conversationally, as if he's speculating. They know they'll be using the walkers.

"I'd be more worried about the walkers just as much as the gunships, in that case," Droidbait says lightly. "Gunships are fast, but anti-aircraft can still get them—especially when they're carrying heavy machinery. The gunships wouldn't be able to set them down fast enough."

"Hey!" Hevy suddenly says—and his excitement sounds legitimate, now. Cutup looks at him with wide eyes. "Back to what I was saying before, about other vehicles! If the Geonosians are focused on a larger threat, then the gunships would be able to set down the walkers without a problem! Sure, some of them might still get hit, but if the enemy's attention is divided there's a better chance of walkers getting on the ground!"

"What's a larger threat than gunships and walkers?" Droidbait questions doubtfully, but Commander Tano snaps her fingers.

"Juggernauts!" she says triumphantly. Cutup blinks.

"Turbo tanks? I guess, but we don't have any," he reminds them.

"Ah, but we did on Felucia!" Hevy says. "So it's not impossible for us to get them!"

"Every single one of them is still on kriffing Felucia, too," Droidbait mutters glumly. "The Republic would never give us more after that. They're too expensive."

He has a good point, but Cutup finds himself latching onto the suggestion anyway.

"If we could land turbo tanks somehow at the beginning of the invasion, their fire would be torn between the hard-to-hit gunships and the heavily armored tanks," he muses quietly. "We wouldn't lose as many gunships, and the walkers would be somewhat protected by the faster vehicles…"

"Only if we could get our hands on some," Hevy says. "And turbo tanks are too big to be brought down by gunship, they have to be let off of cruisers. There are ways around that, I guess, but you've gotta get inventive." Cutup frowns. It's a still good idea. How could they pull it off, though?

"Hm," Commander Tano mumbles. Cutup jerks. They've… probably gone a little too far. To his own ears it sounds more like scheming than speculating now. He's not sure what the Commander is thinking, but maybe it's best to end this while they're ahead. He makes eye contact with Droidbait and slices a quick finger across his own throat. Droidbait coughs.

"Ah, who's turn was it again?" he says quickly. "Was it mine? Sorry, I got caught up in the conversation."

Commander Tano blinks. She picks up her cards.

"Hevy's, I think," she answers. "Do you guys run through strategies like this before every battle?"

Cutup thinks about it for a split second and realizes that, yeah, they actually do. Usually, it's just because they're trying to change things, though. He wonders if they would have still done it during their first life, when they had no knowledge of what was to come.

"Yeah, pretty much," Hevy says with a grin, and shifts his cards over so that she can look at them again. "It's time-consuming, and good practice, I guess. Sometimes we get serious, but it's all in good fun."

Hevy, Cutup thinks, is starting to get really good at lying.

They get back to the game, chatting like nothing had ever happened, but Cutup's mind is whirling.

Turbo tanks. He really thinks it could work, if they could just find a way to get some approved and figure out how to land them. It had been Commander Tano's idea, but who knows if she'll really think anything of it, or if it was just part of the speculation. He wonders what Fives and Echo will say about it. Cutup, at least, thinks that it's worth looking into.

Hevy wins the round, but only because Commander Tano is helping him. To his credit, he does made a few plays himself near the end, but it's nothing too special. The Commander had set him up perfectly for victory beforehand, and he crows at the end as if he'd done it all himself. Cutup rolls his eyes and kicks Hevy's legs out from under him when he leaps to his feet.

Commander Tano snorts at the antics as she gets to her feet as well, stretching.

"Thanks for the game, guys!" she says cheerfully. "I've gotta go, though. Master Skywalker promised to spar with me in a few minutes."

They wave after her as she leaves, but once she's gone the three of them go quiet for a long moment. Cutup starts to gather their cards.

"So… turbo tanks?" Hevy says quietly.

"Worth a try," Droidbait replies. "It won't be easy, though."

"Nothing in this galaxy is ever easy," Cutup growls out, struggling to pick up the flat sabacc cards from the smooth floor. Hevy chokes out a laugh and kneels back down to help him.

"We'll take it to Echo and Fives, see what they think," he says. "At the very least, it's an idea." He smiles. "Our Commander is a lifesaver, you know."

Cutup thinks of the Blue Shadow Virus, of Ryloth and Felucia and everything in between. He thinks of the markings on his helmet.

"She really is," he agrees, and stuffs the cards back into their box.

Echo opens his eyes, and despite himself, Fives lets out a relieved breath.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," he says, grinning at his brother. "How do you feel?"

Echo groans and starts to sit up slowly, wincing at the bright light of the medbay.

"Normal, I guess," he says slowly. "I don't feel anything different. Am I supposed to?"

From the other side of the medbay, busying himself with equipment, Kix lets out a quick chuckle. "No, you're fine, Echo. Free to go, too—so long as you don't feel anything. Your head will hurt in a few minutes once the anesthesia wears off, but other than that you should be fine."

Echo blinks and takes a deep breath. Fives can see him taking stock of his surroundings, carefully thinking through every one of his senses to make sure nothing is off. After a moment, Echo nods.

"I'm good," he confirms. He grins at Fives. "Were you worried, Fives? What are you doing here?"

Fives flushes, unwilling to admit that he'd been feeling extra paranoid about Echo's surgery. "I wasn't worried. Just wanted to be here when you woke up."

"Sure, sure," Echo tells him knowingly, and slides off the cot so that his feet touch the floor. Fives hovers at his side to make sure he's alright until Echo waves him off, a look of fond amusement on his face.

"I promise I'm fine, Fives. If anything, you should be excited right now, not worried."

Fives smiles. "Excited isn't quite the right word. Relieved, for the moment. It's a small victory, but I'll take it."

Echo is the last of Domino to go through the chip-removal surgery. Domino squad is officially chip-free, as is all of Beta except Del and Coric. Fives is relieved, but the looming challenge of de-chipping millions more makes emotion a little hard to enjoy.

"How many have you done now, Kix?" Fives asks, just out of curiosity. Kix scowls.

"Echo makes thirty-two. We'll get more supplies before the Geonosian invasion, and with injured being brought in I should be able to sneak more men in. Captain Rex is pulling some strings, getting us the equipment we need so that no one questions us. With any luck, things will start progressing faster. This would be much easier if we didn't have to hide it from the General, you know."

Fives sighs guiltily. "Kix…"

Kix rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, I know, I know. It's just… frustrating. It's so kriffing slow."

Fives clenches his jaw and wonders, not for the first time, if there's a better way to do this. Before he can get too deep into thought, however, Echo pushes himself to his feet and heads for the door.

"Thanks, Kix," the other ARC says, turning to give the medic a grateful look. Kix waves him off, flashing them a stressed smile.

"I'll let you guys know when I have enough supplies to continue the operations. We'll have to put everything on hold until then, though."

"That's fine," Fives tells him. "Just send us a notice. Thanks."

He follows Echo out into the hallway. Echo has pulled his datapad out and is scrolling through the notices that he'd missed while he was unconscious. Fives lifts an eyebrow at him when Echo reads something particularly interesting and practically crows in victory.

"Do I even want to know?" he asks, slightly nervous. Echo is capable of devious things when he's in the right mood.

"Oh, you definitely do," Echo says, and holds up the datapad triumphantly. Fives squints at the title and snorts.

"Notorious Bounty Hunter Cad Bane Arrested," he reads out loud, and feels a surge of incredulous satisfaction. "Is this because of that notice you sent?"

Echo looks extremely pleased with himself. Fives huffs out a laugh. That's one infuriating problem taken care of for the time being. Bane will break out eventually—he always does—but now the 501st won't have to worry about going after him.

"Echo… you are a genius," he says sincerely. "Congratulations on making the arrest of this lifetime."

"Echo arrested someone?" Cutup asks as he turns the corner, frowning. Both ARCs jump, and then Echo snorts.

"So much for awareness training," he mutters. Fives runs a hand down his face and sighs. They'd been standing in the middle of the hallway talking about arresting Cad Bane, of all people. Anyone could have heard them. To be fair, they'd been distracted and in good spirits, but that's no excuse to let their guards down. They need to be more careful.

"Yes, I arrested someone," Echo answers, somewhat quieter this time. "And I'm chip-free on top of that." Cutup grins brilliantly at the news. "We'll explain once we get back to the barracks, alright?"

"Yeah, sure, but guys, listen," Cutup begins. He looks more excited than Fives has seen him in a while. "We think we might have found a solution to the Geonosis problem."

Fives' eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

Cutup smirks.

"Come on, back to the barracks. We'll explain everything."

"Turbo tanks," Fives repeats slowly. Around the table, Droidbait, Cutup, and Hevy are nodding eagerly. "You three are right, it's a good distraction, but it's basically a suicide mission for the pilots and any men inside."

"Except the fire won't be completely focused on them," Hevy defends quickly. "It'll be split between the tanks and the gunships. Neither one will be taking the blunt force of the enemy's attacks." Fives nods, but frowns anyway, not entirely convinced. It's still extremely dangerous."

"From what they're saying, it sounds like the Commander was on board with the idea," Echo chimes in. His voice is contemplative. "It's completely possible that she might do our hard work for us. Bringing turbo tanks in is a plan reckless enough to be agreed to by General Skywalker. If she mentions it to him…"

Fives remembers walkers dropping through space and grins. It's definitely right up General Skywalker's alley.

"If she was just playing along we're on our own, though," Droidbait reminds them solemnly, which is true. Fives wonders if Captain Rex has enough influence to get them turbo tanks on a short notice. It wouldn't hurt to ask, as a last resort.

"We have a week until the invasion of Geonosis is set to happen," he tells them all. "We'll wait for four days to see if the Commander mentions the idea to the General. When those four days are up, we'll go to Captain Rex. Sound good?"

Domino squad voices their assent. Fives takes a deep breath. The logic of the plan is solid, but there's still a chance that it won't work out. What if they can't manage to sneak turbo tanks into the mix? Then what? Geonosis is too dangerous to leave completely up to fate. Fives wants to have some sort of influence on the battle, even if it is something small. Anything could help.

He can't imagine things going much worse than the original invasion had gone. As long as they can do better than that, everything will be alright.

"Four days," Fives repeats. "And then we go to Rex."

He really, really hopes this works. He doesn't have any other ideas, and they're running out of time.

The next day, Beta squad heads down to the hanger to see Tipper and Zeer off to ARC training.

It starts out as a cheery walk, full of friendly banter and horseplay. The closer they get to hanger, the more sober the Teth survivors become, and the more Cutup's heart sinks.

The squad is proud of Tipper and Zeer, and supportive of their decisions to attend ARC training. It's a big step for the two of them, and, for a few months, it takes them out of immediate danger. Cutup is happy for them, but he's sad, too. Tipper is a close friend, as is Zeer. Even though they'll be back, it feels like their squad is being torn apart.

Cutup can't even imagine how Del feels right now. The Sergeant's shoulders are back and his head is held high, but his entire body is tense as he leads them down the hall. The Teth survivors have lost so much already, and now one more of their destroyed company is leaving—albeit not for good, but for a while.

"They'll let us call every other week, so I hear," Tipper is saying, continuing the conversation even though the others are starting to quiet down. "We'll keep in touch. That goes both ways, though! You'd better keep us updated on what's going on here, too!"

Nax chuckles a little weakly. The mechanic's hands are fidgeting, like he can't keep them still.

"We will, Tipper. Promise. Just make sure Zeer doesn't skip meals, he does that when he's stressed." Zeer grunts in protest and glares at him, but Nax only offers him a sad smile and shrugs. "Don't look at me like that! It's true!"

Coric slaps Zeer's arm with an offended noise. "Zeer! I thought we talked about that!"

"Sometimes there isn't time," Zeer mutters defensively. Fives nods in agreement behind them.

"He's right. Sometimes there are more important things to worry about."

Cutup falls into step with Tipper and nudges him fondly as they walk. Tipper nudges him back as Coric lets out a displeased sigh.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, guys—skipping meals isn't healthy. You really need to—"

In front of them, Del enters the hangar and stops dead. The rest of them follow suite, peering around each other to see why Del has stopped.

There's a gunship waiting for them already. An ARC with red accents on his armor waits by the ship in full gear. He nods to them cordially when he notices their arrival and turns his head away, allowing them privacy to say goodbye.

A shared feeling of panic flashes through Beta squad almost simultaneously. Cutup can practically see it as it passes through them all, leaving the men with wide eyes and held breath. It's time, but they don't want it to be. For a long moment, no one speaks.

Tipper is the one to break the silence again. He sighs, and his smile goes from excited to wistful.

"Guys. It's okay, I promise. We'll be back."

"Not soon enough, though," Hevy grumbles. Tipper shrugs helplessly. Zeer steps forwards until he's right in front of Fives.

"We'll be back," he repeats, and grabs Fives' hand in a tight, respectful shake. Fives offers him an encouraging smile.

"You'll do great," Fives tells him honestly. It shatters the awkward tension. Tipper grabs Cutup's hand and pulls him into a hug, slamming his free fist against Cutup's back.

"You know…" Tipper says, "I probably would have died if you hadn't been with me on Naboo."

Cutup snorts. "I was unconscious, I barely did anything." He squeezes Tipper's hand. "You survived on your own. Be safe out there, okay? We'll miss you two."

"You guys be safe, too," Tipper replies lightheartedly. "Don't die while we're gone." Cutup groans.

"Well, there go my plans," he mutters. "Fine, fine. We won't." Tipper laughs, then lets go of him with a final smile to go and say goodbye to the others.

Beta squad admittedly drags out their goodbyes as long as they can. Zeer shakes everyone's hand and spends a long moment chuckling with Droidbait over the memory of their first sparring session. Tipper flashes bright smiles that hide his nerves impressively well—until Del is the last one they have to say goodbye to, standing tall between them and the gunship. Zeer steps up to him quietly, and Tipper follows him.

Del takes a deep breath.

"I'm proud of you boys," he begins. "And I want you to do your best out there, you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Tipper and Zeer say in unison. Del nods in approval, and then hesitates for a heartbeat.

"Attie would be proud, too," he says, and Beta squad collectively sobers. Droidbait inhales sharply. Even Tipper flinches a little. He hadn't known Attie for long, but they had still been friends. "He'd be cheering if he was here right now. Wherever he is… I'm sure he's still cheering for you. Do him proud, boys. Good luck out there. Come back to us in one piece—that's an order."

Zeer steps right up to the Sergeant and presses their foreheads together gently. Del takes a deep breath when he pulls away, grasping Zeer by the shoulder to look him in the eyes.

"Be careful, sir," Zeer tells him seriously. "Let us come home to a squad we know."

"We'll be here, Zeer," Del responds. He smiles. "Work hard. Look after each other."

Zeer nods and lets go of the Sergeant, taking the first step past him towards the gunship. Tipper launches himself at Del, pulling him into the same hug he'd given to Cutup.

"Thanks for everything, sir," he says, just loud enough for Beta squad to hear. "We won't be gone long."

"It was a pleasure, Tipper," Del says quietly. Tipper pulls away and steps past him as well, until he's side-by-side with Zeer.

It's bittersweet to watch them greet the ARC trooper by the ship. Cutup can't help but glance at Del, whose stoic expression has started to crumble, revealing something almost regretful underneath. Cutup's heart aches for him. The five Teth survivors are being separating, slowly but surely.

When Tipper gets into the gunship, he waves back to them. Beta squad waves back until the gunship doors are closed and it begins to rise into the air.

Del watches, motionless, until the gunship is gone.

Coric and Nax exchange a concerned look that Cutup sees out of the corner of his eyes. They step up on either of Del's sides to flank him, reassure him that they're still there.

"It's alright, Del," Coric says. Del sighs. He sounds so tired.

"I know, Coric. Thank you," he replies slowly. "Back to the barracks, then. There's work to be done."

He starts to leave, but Nax and Coric don't leave his sides as they go. Domino falls into step behind them.

Cutup bites his lip in worry as he follows the others towards the barracks.

Tipper and Zeer will be back, but it hurts to see them leave anyway.

Domino squad hears nothing from Commander Tano, and the fourth day comes. Fives is teetering on the edge of full panic mode.

In the days leading up to now he'd grown more and more worried about the upcoming invasion, doubts and fears swirling around his head. They're lucky that no one had died on Felucia, and Fives wonders how long they can go until their luck runs out. He wants their plan to work out, because he knows it has potential, and it may be the only chance they get to alter the invasion. The lack of news makes him stress more and more until he's grinding his teeth in anxious impatience.

He paces around the barracks wringing his hands, and not even Echo can calm him down. Fives doesn't want to be calmed down. There's so much at stake, and he knows that losing his mind will just make things worse, but he can't help it.

"Fives, you need to keep it together," Echo tells him seriously. He's sitting on the edge of his bunk with his brow furrowed, trying to figure out what to do even as he coaxes Fives away from a mental breakdown. "Listen, I'm worried, too, but we have to be rational about this."

Fives doesn't want to be rational right now. Echo's right—Echo's always right, but Fives wants to scream what he knows to the galaxy. So many brothers are going to die regardless of what they do, but maybe, maybe they can lessen those numbers a little—if this works out.

"Echo, I'm going to lose my kriffing mind," he growls in frustration. "We can't go into this without help. We might get killed before we're even on the ground. We need something. If not turbo tanks, than something else."

"Yes, Fives, I know," Echo says patiently. "This is why we have a last resort, remember?"

"Captain Rex isn't all-knowing," Fives groans, flinging his hands in the air. "I mean, the turbo tanks were a good idea, but kriffing—it's probably not going to happen, and we don't have anything else to work with! Three days is not enough time!"

"Not with that attitude it isn't," Cutup mutters from his bunk, where he and Droidbait are sitting, quietly polishing their DC-15s. Hevy is on the floor in front of them, working on his Z-6. They've been silent up until now, listening to the ARCs argue it out. Fives ignores the comment.

"Captain Rex may not be all-knowing, but he does have much more influence over General Skywalker than anyone else in the battalion," Echo says. "He can help."

"So… we tell him everything, then?" Fives asks incredulously. "We can't pull the same trick that Hevy and the others played on the Commander. Rex will see through it for sure, especially since he knows we aren't ordinary men. We'd have to tell him the full truth—how else would we explain what we know about Geonosis?"

Echo frowns, shakes his head. "If it's the right time, we'll tell him. I thought you wanted Captain Rex to know."

"I do! But what if it isn't the right time?" Fives snaps. "Then what?"

"I don't—I don't know, Fives," Echo growls, raising his voice for the first time. Fives is finally getting on his nerves, but Fives honestly can't help it. This invasion is stressing him out worse than any of the others had. "But we aren't going to get anything done by sitting here."

"Fives, come on," Hevy butts in carefully. "Listen, we need to at least try talking to the Captain before we start freaking out.

Droidbait gets to his feet without warning, motioning for the others to do the same. "Come on, guys. Let's go find the Captain."

It's as simple as that, to them. Droidbait, Hevy, and Cutup walk out, leaving Fives stunned in the middle of the barracks and Echo sighing on his bunk.

"Fives," Echo says quietly. Fives presses his hand to his forehead and inhales slowly, pulling himself together.

"How," he asks through gritted teeth. "How are you so calm? You know as well as I do how bad things go down there."

Echo slips off of his bed and puts a hand on Fives' shoulder. "I'm not calm," he says honestly. "I'm terrified that something's going to go wrong. We could all die instantly the moment our gunship comes within range of the cannons. I'm just… better at hiding it than you are. I told you earlier—we're not going to get anywhere by panicking. We were so cautious before word of the chips got out. Patient, too. Even though things are moving now, we can't forget to hang onto those. They'll keep us alive, I think."

The tension in Fives' body drains away.

"I'm sorry, Echo," he mumbles. Echo shrugs at him, offering a smile.

"It's alright," he says easily. He's so quick to forgive. Fives wishes it was that easy for him. "Should we catch up with the others? They've certainly taken the lead on this one."

"They're learning fast," Fives says, and forces himself to straighten, to focus. Echo hums proudly as he turns towards the door.

"They really are. Soon, we'll be taking orders from them."

Fives grimaces. "I don't think so," he protests. Echo snorts at him as they hurry out the door.

It would be easier to just comm the Captain, but Domino decides that it's better to talk to him in person. If they're really going to tell him everything now, it'll be much easier face-to-face. It takes longer to find Rex than Fives expects. Everywhere Domino goes to find him, they get redirected somewhere else. The try the mess hall and are directed to the communications center, who directs them to the firing range, who directs them to the bridge. They get lucky on their way to the bridge—a concerned deck officer spots them and turns them back towards the hangar, where he claims the Captain is supervising a supply drop.

Fortunately for Fives' sanity, Captain Rex is indeed in the hangar. He's listening intently to his communicator off to the side when Hevy spots him, and even as they watch, he frowns. When they approach, he holds up a hand in a silent request for them to wait, so they do.

"Of course, sir," Rex finally says into the comm. "I'll take care of it." He hangs up the call and turns to Domino squad.

Fives stares at the Captain intently, struggling to sense any promptings from the Force. He doesn't feel bad about talking to the Captain, though he doesn't really feel good about it, either. He just feels… nothing.

"It's good to see you boys, but I'm going to have to skip the small talk unless there's something important you need to tell me," Rex tells them apologetically. "General Skywalker just put me in charge of borrowing turbo tanks from the 442nd battalion. I'm going to have my hands full for the next few hours."

Fives freezes in place, mouth open, and blinks.

"Uh—turbo tanks, sir?" Droidbait jumps in hurriedly. "What for?"

"The invasion, I'm assuming," Captain Rex tells them. His eyes sweep over them. Suddenly his expression turns worried. "Is something wrong, you five? Is everything alright with the chips?"

Fives almost laughs. Relief makes his knees weak.

He'd been panicking for no reason, as usual. Of course, Commander Tano had come through.

Echo's always right. When will he finally realize that?

"Nothing's wrong, sir," he answers. "I just wanted to make sure you'd heard the report the medics gave us."

Rex relaxes. "I did," he confirms. "Kix visited my office yesterday. Some of these supplies are for him."

"Everything's fine, then," Fives tells him, as casually as he can. "That's all we wanted to tell you."

Rex nods. "Good. Let me know if anything changes… but not until after the invasion, please. This campaign gets more ridiculous with every passing moment."

"What do you mean?" Hevy asks. Rex sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"General Skywalker's suddenly convinced that we need turbo tanks—which I can agree with, but it's not gonna be easy. We'll have to sacrifice four gunships for every juggernaut he wants to land."

"Four?" Droidbait repeats incredulously. "That's… a lot. Don't we need them to ferry men to the surface?"

"Four is necessary, considering the length and weight of the tanks," Rex says. "But they can carry men and turbo tanks at the same time, because the tanks will be carried with cables instead of hooked to the underbellies of the gunships. The tank will dangle below, waiting to be released, and the gunships can still carry squads in the main cabin."

"That's… definitely one way to do it," Fives says, mind suddenly flashing to an old memory of walkers floating through space. "It's a very… Skywalker plan."

"A very stressful plan," Rex corrects, and then sighs. "But a good one, as usual. I have complete faith that it will work. So, like I said—until the campaign is over…"

"One thing at a time. You got it, sir," Echo says for all of them. Rex snaps them a quick little salute as he leaves, which Echo and Fives don't react to out of familiarity but Droidbait, Cutup, and Hevy straighten at instinctively.

There's a long moment of silence. Fives tilts his head back and takes a second to breath.

"Okay," he says. "So… turbo tanks, yeah?"

"Kriffin' turbo tanks," Hevy responds, voice low in satisfaction.

Two days later, they get the official orders for the second invasion of Geonosis. A lot of the details are the same—a rendezvous point near the primary droid foundry, with the 501st coming in from the South, the 21st Nova Corps from the North, and the 212th coming down the center. The only difference is that this time, the 501st has two turbo tanks paving the way for them.

The triumph doesn't last long at all, though, because just because they have the tanks doesn't mean everything is suddenly solved.

The trip to Geonosis via lightspeed takes a day, but if feels like an hour, if that. The Resolute buzzes with men bracing for battle. Cutup loses himself in the bustle of preparation, racing to double check weapons, to grab extra ammo packs, to stay out of the way of the mechanics and pilots. They have the harder jobs here, after all.

When the order comes to load up, Cutup is almost relieved, if only because if they wait any longer the stress is going to kill him.

Beta squad congregates in the barracks and packs up. Their squad is two men short—they haven't gotten replacements for Tipper and Zeer yet, so it's just the eight of them, waiting with bated breath for everyone to be ready. Eventually, Del straightens.

"Let's move, Beta squad. We've got a job to do."

Mission jitters have them all nervous, on edge as they make their way to the hangar. Domino more so than usual. Cutup keeps sharing worried looks with Droidbait and Hevy. The turbo tanks had been their idea, in some sense—what if it doesn't work?

When Beta squad arrives in the hangar, it's pure chaos. Squads are hurrying into place. Pilots are testing engines, sending the deafening sounds of the gunships echoing through the room. In the chaos, Del somehow catches sight of Commander Tano waving at them from next to a gunship. He leads them to her, and she gestures them in, raising her voice to be heard over the commotion.

"I'm not riding with you this time, I'll be with Master Skywalker. I'll see you guys at the rendezvous, though, alright?" Cutup offers her a thumbs up. She grins at them all and waves as she darts away, disappearing into the crowd of white and blue.

"Load up, men," Del orders. He steps into the ship, Coric and Nax right behind him.

For an instant, Domino has a moment alone. They look at each other gravely.

"No turning back now," Fives says. "Let's hope it's enough."

"It's enough. We'll be alright," Echo says. "I have faith that this will work, guys."

"You guys coming?" Nax shouts at them, and the moment is gone. Cutup swallows down his nerves as he steps into the gunship and tries to clear the doubt from his head. He needs to be focused. He needs to do his best, for the Commander, for the squad—and for the galaxy, too."

"Hello there, Beta squad," their pilot says through comms. "Remember me this time?"

"Flak!" Droidbait calls out instantly. Cutup grins—they may not be with the General and Commander Tano, but they have Commander Tano's pilot, which is encouraging. Flak is truly a talented flyer.

"Good to have you again!" Flak calls out cheerfully. Cutup has no idea how he can be so excited at a time like this. "You boys ready? It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"As ready as we'll ever be," Coric grunts. Flak laughs. Despite everything, Flak's playful nature is putting Cutup at ease.

"Aw, don't be like that, Coric. Show me a little enthusiasm!"

Cutup can't see Coric's face, but he can imagine an impressive glare behind the medic's helmet. Flak laughs again at Coric's stubborn silence.

"How you feelin', Flak?" Echo asks jokingly. "We aren't going to crash and burn, are we?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it, we aren't! We've got tank support going on ahead of us, anyway. We'll be fine."

"Stick together once we get on the ground," Del instructs everyone. "Keep your eyes in the sky. Don't forget that those bugs can fly."

"You got it, boss," Nax replies as the rest of them nod in agreement.

"Takeoff in thirty seconds," Flak suddenly announces, a tad more professional now. "Hold on, boys." The gunship doors slide shut. Cutup tightens his grip around his gun and feels a little better once he does. He reaches up and grabs onto one of the hooks up above to steady himself.

"Here we go," someone behind him whispers.

Del has his head tilted, listening in to the command radio. "They're sending the juggernauts first, then the men and tanks," he relays. "The turbo tanks are headed out."

The gunship's engine roars beneath them. "We're airborne," Flak says. "Hang tight. We might experience some slight… ah, turbulence, in a moment."

The tiny gaps in the side doors slide open, and Cutup gets his first glimpse of Geonosis. He can't really make out too many details—he catches a glimpse of a gunship soaring beside them, but other than that the only thing he can see below is bright orange rock.

Everything blurs completely a second later, when an explosion nearby rocks the whole ship. Someone swears. The gunship bucks in the air for a second. Cutup's heart leaps to his throat, but Flak has it under control, even as more bursts of enemy fire come streaking through the air.

Flak doesn't talk to them again, no doubt concentrating so that they aren't shot out of the air. Cutup misses the friendly chatter but doesn't really mind too much in favor of not dying.

The gunshots sound like extremely close thunder, at first—and then the first gunship gets hit, and Cutup flinches as the unmistakable sound of a gunship exploding sounds behind them, metal and fire screeching together horrifically. Red laserbolts streak past them.

"Sithspit," Del snarls next to him, which Cutup heartily agrees with without even hearing what he has to say first. "The first Juggernaut got down without losing any gunships—caught them by surprise—but the second one lost a gunship. It isn't on the ground yet!"

Fives swears in Huttese. Cutup closes his eyes and hopes.

"They're trying to get it closer to the ground, but—" Del gets cut off for a moment when a violent shudder runs through the ship. He raises his voice to a yell in order to be heard over the howling wind. "Force. A second gunship got hit. It's still way too high in the air, and there's only two ships carrying it."

Geonosian fighters go screaming past, and Flak jerks them to the side very suddenly. Cutup barely manages to hang on to his hook, gasping involuntarily at the motion.

"General Skywalker told them to drop the tank," Del yells. "They're dropping it—I don't know if—wait… wait—it's down! The second turbo tank is on the ground! It seems operational, just a bit damaged—"

Cutup should feel happy about that, and he is, sort of, but he's also very afraid. The turbo tanks may be down, but they aren't out of danger yet. He loosens his jaw to stop his teeth from snapping together when the gunship lurches up and down. G-force snaps his body to the side, and it's only his hold on the hook above that keeps him from tumbling into Droidbait in front of him.

"The fire should ease up a bit in a moment!" Fives says. "With any luck, we'll be able to—"

The gunship next to them, the one that Cutup had noticed earlier, explodes without warning. Cutup yelps as the heat of the flames washes over them through the gaps. There's a horrible crunching sound, a violent jerk of the ship, and Flak lets out a cry of panic.

Their gunship drops like a stone.

It takes a moment to register, it's such a shock. Cutup is vaguely aware of Flak yelling—something about shrapnel, words that he can't really comprehend as the world spins and turns. His stomach drops, and fear makes his head swim—they're falling, they're falling they're falling—!

"Brace yourselves!" he hears someone scream. "Brace yourselves, we're going down—!"

A/N:A timeline that makes sense? pfft screw that. The show doesn't tell you anything about time in-between, and it sucks because i have to make stuff up but then it doesn't quite work but then I remember that this is a fanfic and I can do what I want and i don't care

A couple things: yeah, Bane being arrested means that Denal doesn't die. Like six people have asked me about that, he's fine, I promise!

Writing the Teth survivors again was so fun. They haven't gotten screen time in a while, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was halfway through that scene.

The gunship scene was harder, because I'd forgotten that Domino wouldn't be able to see anything go down because they would be in gunships themselves. I had to rethink a lot of things, but I think it worked out in the end.

James is at band camp and hasn't read this yet. If he yells at me when he gets home I might come in and change some minor details