A/N: I will not change the details of my story because someone demands it. Please do not spam me with messages.
On a more positive note... heck, you wouldn't believe the trouble I had with this chapter. It was so so hard on me for some reason? I didn't intend to end it where it does either but I was annoyed at how long it was taking so I did end up stopping. Sorry for the long wait! Thank you for your patience and support!
Rex is not happy with them.
They're still waiting outside the medbay two hours later when men finally start to return to the cruiser, rushing more injured into the medbay. Domino has to crowd together to stay out of their way, and that's where Rex finds them, pressed up against the wall to make space and ultimately unwilling to leave the area. Echo isn't surprised to see the thunderous look on the Captain's face. He braces himself for the worst.
"What were you four thinking?" Rex demands furiously. The Captain looks tired, and more than a little frustrated. "I could excuse one of you leaving to get an injured squadmate to safety, but not all four of you. I don't care who's injured—that's not the way it works, and you know it!"
Fives, who'd returned from his tirade after a few minutes, lets out a long breath. He'd been full of hot anger before, but now he's deflated and defeated. "Sir, we couldn't just—"
"You ran from the battlefield, Fives. There are dozens of other squads who needed evac just as badly as you did, but I didn't see them running back to ship. Do you understand what this looks like to me?"
Droidbait and Cutup are practically shrinking underneath the weight of Rex's words. Fives is completely silent, and Echo feels guilty.
He doesn't regret what they'd done, but he does regret disappointing Rex.
"Sir…" Echo says tentatively, and stiffens when Rex's gaze snaps to him, expectant. "For what it's worth… we're sorry. We were afraid."
It's the truth, and Rex seems to see that, but he shakes his head regardless.
"I can't excuse this," he tells them gravely. "Do you understand? I'm sorry Hevy was hurt, and I can understand why you made the decision you did, but you could have been smarter about it. Completely abandoning the battle was not the right decision."
Echo grimaces as a horrible stillness falls over them all for a moment. How could they even try to explain their decision here? Domino squad already knows the pain of losing squadmates, and of dying themselves. They already understand it, and they'd do anything to prevent it from happening again. The kind of fear that comes from knowing what that's like isn't something they can put into words. Rex can't comprehend that kind of fear.
"It was my fault," Droidbait suddenly says, voice very small. Echo turns to look at his hunched form, eyes widening in horror. "I was right next to him—I should have been more careful. Payed more attention. I couldn't leave him after I practically let it happen."
There's a beat of shocked silence.
"'Bait, no—"
"Droidbait, it isn't—!"
Before anyone else can move, Rex steps in close and puts a gentle hand on Droidbait's shoulder, expression softening dramatically. The motion cuts all other protests short. He waits until Droidbait actually looks up at him, gaze wavering with guilt, but Rex holds firm.
"You're wrong," the Captain tells Droidbait quietly. "It wasn't your fault. He won't blame you—he'll blame the bugs. It's their fault, and I promise you that I'm right. You shouldn't blame yourself, either. There was too much going on, and something worse could have happened if you were too focused on only him and not the battle around you. It's alright, understand?"
Echo feel a surge of gratefulness towards Rex as Droidbait shudders and takes a deep breath, nodding nervously. Once Droidbait is a little more stabilized Rex pulls away from him and sighs, dragging a hand down his face. He looks over all of them again.
"Listen… I know you five are close. You've been through a lot together. I understand wanting to get Hevy to safety as soon as possible, but flat-out leaving like that is considered a form of deserting. It's not something I can allow, regardless of who you are and what… problems you've brought to my attention."
Echo swallows nervously.
"We… understand, sir," he says for the squad. Rex nods, frowning at them. He still sounds upset, but the sharp edge to his words is gone.
"You're important to this battalion both in battle and where the chips are concerned, but that doesn't give you the right to completely ignore the rules that are already in place. I'll have to report this to General Skywalker, and we'll see about a punishment once we get off of this planet. If you pull a stunt like this again, I'll be forced to do something more permanent. Am I clear?"
Echo blinks as he comprehends Rex's words. It sounds like… it sounds like they're getting off incredibly easy. Echo can hardly believe it.
"Captain," he blurts out. "Thank—"
Rex holds up his hands. "Don't thank me," he tells Echo sharply. "I hate to admit it, but if you were anyone else I wouldn't be nearly this lenient. You're lucky that we need you right now. This is your one and only warning." He pauses for a moment, looks them all up and down. His expression flickers for a moment, and Echo sees conflict there. "Please, don't do anything like this again. I know you want to keep each other safe, but find a way to do it so I don't have to report you for deserting next time, alright?"
"Sir, yes sir!" Echo says in tandem with the others, straightening into a salute. Rex nods, and lets out a tired sigh.
The medbay door opens with a hiss behind them. Everyone jumps, turning in preparation to move aside if it's someone in a hurry—but Kix steps out instead, looking absolutely exhausted. Domino squad tenses as he approaches. The medic doesn't bother with small talk.
"It's a fracture-dislocation in one of his lower vertebrae," Kix says without preamble once he's close enough, shoulders slumped. "The good news is that it's repairable, so the paralyzation shouldn't be permanent. The bad news is that he'll need a pretty specific surgery to fix it, and the medbay here isn't equipped for a spinal operation of that kind."
He says it so fast that they barely have time to register the 'not permanent' part before they're slapped in the face by the bad news. Echo clenches his fists slowly, lets out a deep breath.
It could be worse. All things considered, this is good. A surge of relief washes through him, because at least Hevy will be able to recover.
"So what do you suggest?" Echo asks, because he trusts Kix's judgement. The medic winces.
"Well… before, I would have put him on a transport to head to one of the medical stations back in Republic territory. Now… I'm not so sure that's a good idea, but we might not have a choice."
Echo feels a thrill of horror. Medical stations mean Kaminoans. Kaminoans mean a risk of being found out—not that the Kaminoans would be looking for missing chips, necessarily. They'd have no reason to believe that anything is different, but the fear is still there regardless, especially with an invasive surgery involved.
Echo doesn't like it. The Kaminoans aren't to be trusted, with anything at this point. There's no way to know who they can trust.
"There has to be another option," Fives says immediately, taking a half-step forwards. "Can't we get the equipment we need shipped here?"
"It would take too long for the machinery requests to go through, and even though I say it isn't permanent, that doesn't mean we don't need to get it fixed as soon as possible. We don't have time to wait for authorization and delivery," Kix replies grimly.
Domino squad falls into helpless silence. Echo winces worriedly.
"I could think of another option," Rex chimes in suddenly. Echo glances at him in surprise as he continues. "There's another hospital set up for the Republic on Coruscant. I'm not aware of any Kaminoans stationed there. It's typically reserved for the higher ranking, so it wouldn't be easy to get access to that facility—the order would have to come through General Skywalker himself."
"But Coruscant is…" Droidbait mutters behind Echo, then cuts himself off suddenly. Echo knows what he was about to say, what he can't say in front of the others. Coruscant is dangerous for other reasons besides the Kaminoans. Palpatine is there, along with any other minions that are in on his secret.
That being said… it's a better option than the medical stations. They can't afford to trust the Kaminoans anymore.
"Would General Skywalker approve?" Echo asks the Captain skeptically. "It's an awful lot of trouble for one clone, especially when a medical station could do the procedure just as easily."
Rex frowns.
"I think…" he hesitates for a moment before continuing, voice low. "I think he'd need a good reason to agree."
Meaning, they either come up with a really good excuse, or…
"We could… tell him," Cutup says tentatively.
His words spark something warm in Echo's chest, a vague feeling of hope that Echo squashes away instinctively, so used to rejecting that idea that it's practically involuntary now. He swallows nervously at the odd sensation and takes a slow breath.
Maybe… maybe Cutup is onto something here.
"Is that really the right way to do this?" Fives mutters, so quietly that Echo almost doesn't catch his words. Echo agrees with his hesitance, but they're running out of options.
"It's either that or leave Hevy to the Kaminoans," Echo tells the other ARC, heart beating faster as his mind whirls. "I think… maybe we should tell him. Captain Rex… any thoughts?" He turns to Rex, staring at the Captain in hopes that he'll have all the answers. Captain Rex frowns pensively as he considers the idea.
"I trust the General," he says. "For all of our skepticism before… I'd like to think that he'd help us, if he knew. He wouldn't tell the others if we asked him to." Rex's unshakable faith in their General is admirable. Echo knows that Fives had similar faith once, and he glances at him to try and get a glimpse of the other ARC's emotions. Fives' arms are crossed, but his expression is contemplative.
"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure," Droidbait says quietly. At Echo's side, Fives exhales loudly.
"Okay," he says, like he's telling it to himself as well as the others. He seems nervous now, but accepting of the idea. "Okay, okay. We'll do it, then. For Hevy."
"For Hevy," Echo repeats, and silently crosses his fingers at his sides.
They aren't able to get to General Skywalker immediately. In the chaos of the battle's aftermath, it's too difficult to find transport to the surface. The gunships are all being used to transport the wounded back to the cruiser, so Domino squad makes themselves useful helping to run supplies and assist the medics while they wait for things to calm down enough.
They get a chance to talk to Hevy, too.
Hevy, who… isn't doing well.
When Fives stops by to visit him, Hevy is sitting in bed in one of the tiny recovery rooms, staring lifelessly at the floor. Fives has to step right into his field of vision to get his attention.
"Hey, Fives," Hevy greets eventually, voice so dull that it makes Fives' skin crawl. Hevy should be enthusiastic and determined. None of that is reflected in his demeanor right now. Here, helpless in bed, he looks downtrodden and hopeless. Fives hates it, hates that he can't do anything to change it.
"You alright?" Hevy asks, seemingly purely out of habit. Fives almost snorts.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm perfectly fine, Hevy," he answers. He sits down on the edge of Hevy's bed. "Just coming to check in, that's all."
"Hmm," Hevy says, and then there is a slightly stilted silence. Fives feels his insides squirm in uncomfortable worry. He's not sure how carefully he needs to tread around the topic of Hevy's injury. Hevy doesn't really seem to be in the mood to talk, but Fives needs to know how he's doing, so Fives presses forwards.
"Did Droidbait come by yet?" he asks. Hevy sighs at the question, expression softening.
"He did. Wanted to apologize. I told him there was no need."
"Good," Fives says in relief. "He was pretty shaken up. Thanks, Hevy."
Hevy's expression sours. He shakes his head.
"Thanks for what?" Hevy says. "I wasn't going to be mad at him. This isn't his fault." There's bitterness to his tone that Fives doesn't like.
"It's not your fault, either, Hevy," he tries, bracing himself for a bad reaction. Hevy lets out a humorless chuckle.
"Sure," he replies, but he doesn't sound convinced in the slightest. Fives winces.
"Hevy..."
"Please don't," Hevy says suddenly, eyes jerking up to meet Fives' gaze desperately. "I don't want sympathy, or apologies, or excuses. Please."
Fives nods in understanding, biting the inside of his cheek to prevent the words from spilling out anyway. Hevy has never been the type to appreciate overwhelming amounts of sympathy. It isn't in his nature—too much of it makes him feel like he's being patronized, which Fives can understand.
"At least talk to me, then?" Fives suggests instead, raising an eyebrow at his squadmate. "You don't have to, if you don't want to. But maybe it will help."
He can guess what Hevy's feeling right now. Hevy's most definitely beating himself up for a mistake he thinks he made, he's frustrated by his lack of mobility, he's afraid of the change that's coming. But Fives wants to hear those things from Hevy's mouth so that he can take what he learns to Echo and analyze what their injured brother says. Perhaps they can find a better way to help him cope.
Hevy sighs, tilting his head back until it thunks against the wall behind him. A myriad of expressions flicker over his face—fear, shame, anger, regret—until it settles on a reluctant resignation.
"Just… wait," Hevy finally says. His throat clicks when he swallows. "Wait a second, Fives. Let me… just think for a moment, okay? Just give me a second."
"Okay," Fives agrees. He sits back, allows time Hevy to gather his thoughts.
He's not sure what to expect, really. He thinks Hevy might let it all out in an explosion, a wild bout of frustrated ranting or furious shouts. Instead, Hevy lets out a groan and covers his face with his hands.
"I'm so kriffing angry," he mutters through his fingers, voice tight with impressive restraint. "I'm so angry, Fives. But there's nothing I can do about it. I can't pace, I can't spar, I can't even yell because there are injured in the other room and I can't risk disturbing them or the medics. I…" he trails off for a moment, sucking in an anxious breath. "I should have paid better attention to what was going on around me. There's no one to blame for this but myself."
It's not Hevy's fault, by any means, but Fives knows Hevy won't believe that yet.
That one will take more time. Fives knows that from experience.
"I'd say the bugs are more to blame than you are," he mentions anyway. He's grateful that Hevy trusts him enough to open up and allow him a glimpse of Hevy's frustration. "Regardless, it's gonna be okay, remember? They can fix you."
"Only if things go alright with General Skywalker," Hevy says grimly as he takes his hands away from his face, and Fives grimaces at the reminder.
"They will, Hevy. The General is a good man. We know this. He'll help if he can."
"What if he can't?"
"He can, Hevy. I know I had my doubts, but I served with him for a long time. He can help us, and he will." General Skywalker hadn't helped Fives when he was most desperate, during his first life, but things are different now. Fives had watched General Skywalker's trust and faith decompose away as the war dragged on, and especially once Commander Tano had left. He's hopeful that whatever it was preventing the General from believing him the first time won't exist now. This General Skywalker is much different from that General Skywalker.
"No matter what he says, I'm still leaving," Hevy says quietly. There's something vulnerable in his voice now, something small and troubled. This is an entirely different problem, separate from the anger and self-guilt. Hevy pauses there as if he doesn't want to continue and then plows on anyway. "I'll still be sent away. I'm useless to you like this."
Fives' eyes widen in realization at his words.
Hevy's afraid of being left behind. It's a valid fear to have, especially on the battlefield… but Fives can't help but wonder if it's connected to the way Hevy died. He hadn't been left behind then, not exactly. He'd made the call to stay behind himself, but he had been alone, and surrounded, and likely very afraid.
That sounds unfortunately similar to how it would be if he's sent to Coruscant.
"You'll come back," Fives says firmly. Hevy shakes his head again, turning away a bit.
"Doesn't matter. I won't be able to do anything to help you guys, and Coruscant is so kriffing far away," he mumbles. "I'll be alone."
Fives feels his heart clench in sympathy. Of course, Hevy's afraid. Anything could happen while he's gone, both to him and to the rest of the squad. He'll be out of the loop, too. Even if they update him daily, there will still be things he'll miss.
"Hey, have a little faith," he says, trying to put a little humor in the words. "We aren't going to kick the bucket while you're gone."
"You'd better not," Hevy replies, but he's still completely serious. Fives sighs. He reaches out and puts a hand on Hevy's shoulder in reassurance.
"You'll be okay, alright? It's not gonna be fun, but you'll come back to us sooner than you think. Besides…" he drops his voice so there's no risk of being overheard, "it's Coruscant, home of our resident wrinkly Separatist mastermind. I bet we can find something you can do to help while you're there, alright?"
Hevy blinks at him, and then snorts. A little bit of light returns to his eyes.
"Okay, alright," he says. A tiny grin slides onto his face. "I'll keep that in mind."
If anything, Fives has successfully lightened the mood a little. His reassurance isn't even close to enough to ease Fives' fears, but there's a little more life in the heavy gunner now than there was before, so Fives counts it as a win.
"I've gotta get back to work," he says apologetically, which is true—every free hand is needed to help organize the aftermath of the battle. "We'll all come back to visit you soon, okay?"
Hevy's little grin fades just as quickly as it had appeared, and he takes a deep breath, glancing around the tiny room he's been placed in. Even to Fives it feels stifling, so he can't imagine how Hevy feels.
"Okay," Hevy says reluctantly, squaring his shoulders like he's bracing himself. "Maybe… bring sabacc next time, though?"
Fives smiles at him, fond even though it's still a sorrowful sight to see Hevy so down.
"Of course, Hevy. Of course," he promises, and waves as he heads for the door.
Hevy slides down into the thin blanket and closes his eyes, missing when Fives turns back to glance at him worriedly one last time.
This is going to be rough, and Five is concerned for him, but he knows deep in his soul that if anyone is strong enough to get through such a horrible situation, it's Hevy.
When they finally arrive on Geonosis' surface again, a day later, Commander Tano is waiting for them. Del, Coric, and Nax are flanking her as she waits, doing their jobs as her squad, and Cutup feels a surge of guilt as they step out of the gunship into the sand.
He's afraid to approach them at first, and he can tell that the rest of Domino feels the same way. They all collectively hesitate until Echo huffs and leads the way towards them determinedly to get it over with.
They'd called ahead to let Commander Tano know what had happened, but none of them know how she's going to react to their rule-breaking. As they approach, Cutup can see that she's wringing her hands together.
"How's Hevy?" she blurts immediately. The question makes Cutup's nerves twist into sorrow.
"He's as alright as he can be," Fives answers grimly. "He's upset that he'll be out of action for a while, but the injury can be fixed, so he'll be back eventually."
Commander Tano nods, still looking concerned. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
Cutup almost lets out an incredulous laugh, but stifles it at the last moment.
"Commander, you blew up an entire factory and had the whole building come crashing down on your head moments later," he says. "It's fine. You had other things to worry about. On that note, are you okay, sir?"
"I'm fine," she answers, waving a dismissive hand. "Barriss and I weren't physically injured. We were more worried about suffocating, but Master Skywalker and Master Unduli got us out in time, so we're both fine. See? Fully recovered." She gestures to her unharmed body and does a little stretch to prove it.
Cutup lets out an amused huff, but he squints at her behind his helmet in suspicion. Her tone is awfully light—it almost feels like she's brushing the event off. In some ways, maybe that's a good thing, but he can't help but worry for her.
Behind Commander Tano, Del suddenly clears his throat. Domino squad flinches at the sound in sync.
Commander Tano's cheery expression falters. She glances back at the men behind her, then looks back at Domino squad a bit awkwardly, a knowing expression on her face.
"Oh, right. Um… I… yeah. I'm glad you're all okay. I'll go visit Hevy when we get back to the ship, I think." She shifts her weight and rubs her left arm with her right. "I'm gonna go help Wave Company, but I'll see you guys back with Torrent, alright?"
She takes off without another word, making her way back towards the bustling clones in the background. She'd obviously sensed the tension between the men, and now Domino is left alone with Del, Nax, and Coric.
Once the Commander is out of earshot, Cutup can't help himself.
"Is she mad at us?" he blurts out anxiously. "Are you mad at us? Because I don't…"
He stops himself because he doesn't know how to continue. It's not right to say he doesn't want them to be angry, even though it's true.
Del takes off his helmet. He's frowning, but he doesn't look angry. Coric takes his helmet off, too, but Nax does not.
"She's not mad at you. I don't think she cares for the protocol nearly as much… and she's more relieved that Hevy's alright," Del answers slowly.
"What about you guys?" Droidbait asks, a little fearfully. Del sighs.
"I'm upset," he says. Cutup's stomach drops out. "More so because we weren't notified immediately than because of anything else—"
"You should have told us!" Nax interjects before Del can get any further. "I know you five are a different kind of close and that you were worried, but you should have kriffing—!"
"Nax," Del says sharply. Nax's teeth clack together as he closes his mouth. Cutup can just hear the sound from behind the mechanic's helmet.
"We're sorry," Fives says sincerely, palms open in an attempt to placate. "We didn't mean to leave you guys out of the loop. Instinct took over. We had to get him out of there."
"I understand," Del says calmly. "You still should have commed us, but I understand completely. If it had been one of my Teth survivors, I would have shown the same panic, and the same disregard for protocol."
That confession is enough to startle Domino into silence. Cutup feels bad for Del, suddenly—the sergeant cares for his surviving men more than anything else. They're all he has left, and even now they're still leaving him. Attie's absence is still a horrible, empty ache to the entire squad, and Zeer is halfway across the galaxy by now.
"Don't get me wrong, you're still going to be working double shifts moving supplies in the hangar for a month, if not more, for leaving," Del says. "But no, I'm not angry. I'm disappointed, and maybe a little annoyed."
"Well I'm kriffing angry," Nax says, but he's considerably less aggressive now than he had been at the beginning of this conversation. "It almost feels like you didn't trust us enough to let us know that you were leaving. We wouldn't have stopped you!" He takes his helmet off finally, scowling at them, and Cutup watches in surprise as the anger drains away a little bit more. Nax takes a deep breath. "Kriffing idiots," he mutters. "...I'm glad Hevy's okay, though."
Cutup thinks that maybe Nax was more afraid than angry, and that he'd just gotten the two mixed up, or tried to use his anger as a defense mechanism. Whatever it was, he's calming down now.
"I'm not angry at all," Coric says lightly, speaking for the first time. "Spinal injuries are unpredictable, and if you'd waited to get Hevy to safety until the battle was over the damage could have become unrepairable. I say you made the right decision, and you had every right to be too distracted to call us. We were separated in the firefight, that isn't your fault."
His ease makes Cutup relax. Del and Nax are annoyed, but they also seem willing to forgive.
"We're sorry," Fives repeats, and the rest of Domino echoes the words sincerely. "We didn't mean to imply that we don't trust you. It happened very fast, and we're used to looking out for each other. Next time, we'll make sure everyone is notified."
Del nods in acceptance of the apology. Coric offers them a smile, and the tension falls out of Nax's body.
"Let's not have there be a next time, alright?" Nax says, exhaustion clear in his tone now that the anger has been brushed away. Cutup knows then that everything will be alright.
Naturally, Del doesn't waste a moment.
"Good. It's time to get to work, then," the sergeant says. "Now that everything's cleared up, we've got things to do. Torrent is in charge of moving empty supply crates back to the gunships."
Fives and Echo do their little glance thing, the ARC thing that Cutup, Hevy, and Droidbait still can't figure out. How the two ARCs can convey information to each other like that with helmets on is beyond Cutup's understanding.
"Actually…" Echo begins haltingly, "we were just on our way to pay a visit to General Skywalker."
"Why? What's wrong?" Del asks, immediately sensing that something's happening. Echo takes a breath, like he's preparing himself to tell the story.
"We're going to tell him about the chips."
There's a long pause where Del stares at them in blank incomprehension. Cutup doesn't blame him for it—they've kept the chips a secret for so long that it sounds ludicrous to suggest otherwise.
But… Cutup thinks it's the right thing to do, now.
"You're… you're serious?" Coric asks softly, eyes wide. Echo nods. Nax lets out a quiet curse, and Del's expression turns resolute.
"Sit down for a few minutes," Echo says, taking charge of storytelling and gesturing off to the side. "We'll tell you what's going on."
They find General Skywalker in the Command tent that's been set up, with Captain Rex by his side. There's supply crates lining the walls, and a holomap of the region is hovering above the portable holoprojector in the center of the room. The General and Captain Rex seem to be discussing something about the map, but they pause and look up when Domino squad enters.
Fives is glad to see Captain Rex there. The Captain narrows his eyes at them as they enter, already aware of why they're there, and offers them the tiniest nod. His support gives Fives additional strength, and he sets his jaw as General Skywalker looks them over in surprise.
"General Skywalker," Fives says, saluting sharply. The rest of Domino squad does the same behind him.
"Fives," General Skywalker says in greeting. He doesn't sound particularly pleased with them. "Echo, Droidbait, Cutup. Captain Rex sent me an odd report yesterday concerning you four." He crosses his arms over his chest and fixes them with an unimpressed look. "Care to explain yourselves?"
Fives swallows nervously. He's letting them defend themselves, though, which is good.
"Sir. We were worried for our squadmate. We know that's no excuse, and we'll take whatever punishment you deem fit. Sir," he adds again at the end. Best to be as respectful as possible.
General Skywalker raises an eyebrow at them.
"You didn't come here for a punishment, though," he says. "You wouldn't come to me just for that."
"No, sir," Fives answers, and decides, kriff it. "We have a favor to ask of you."
General Skywalker's eyebrow climbs just a little higher, but he doesn't say anything, which Fives takes as permission to continue.
"Hevy was seriously injured. We'd like to request that he be sent to the Galactic Hospital on Coruscant."
"The Galactic Hospital?" General Skywalker repeats. "Why would we send him there? The medical station in the Ryndellia system is much closer."
"Yes, sir, we know," Fives says a little awkwardly. General Skywalker frowns.
"What is this about, Fives? I can't send one man all the way to Coruscant for an injury that can be just as easily fixed at the station. You know this."
Fives takes a deep breath. General Skywalker must think they're all crazy, coming with such an odd request so soon after practically deserting. It's now or never, though, and Fives braces himself.
"Sir. I know that this sounds very strange, but we don't trust the Kaminoans." He doesn't know how else to get into this topic, how to ease the General into the knowledge, so Fives throws caution to the wind and just talks. "We have evidence demonstrating that they've implanted every clone with biochips that can trigger contingency orders and prescribed behavior if activated. Hevy's chip is gone, and we're afraid of what they might do if they find out about it."
That's it, in a nutshell. General Skywalker blinks at them, uncrossing his arms slowly. Fives watches as the man comprehends the words but not the concept.
"Wait, the Kaminoans… evidence to… what?" he asks in confusion, which is fair. Fives clenches his fists and glances at Echo for help. Wordlessly, the other ARC steps forwards to hand his datapad to General Skywalker.
Echo has spent days searching through the Kaminoan records they'd stolen from the database, putting together a compiled file that contained all the information on the chips and the contingency orders. General Skywalker lets out a noise of curiosity as he glances over the records the first time, eyes skimming across the pages.
"These are official Kaminoan records," he says, glancing up at them. "How did you get these?"
"That's… a long story, sir," Fives says a bit nervously. General Ti doesn't know about the chips yet, so it would be hard to use her as an excuse. Fortunately, General Skywalker starts reading instead of pressing for answers. He goes completely silent a moment later.
They watch him, because they have nothing else to do. General Skywalker's expression darkens further with every minute that ticks by. Fives shoots a worried glance at Captain Rex, whose expression is impassive as the General reads.
"Is this real?" General Skywalker asks after a few minutes have gone by. His voice is low and rough, something dangerous lurking beneath the surface. "This had better not be some sort of joke."
Echo clears his throat.
"At the end of the Kaminoan records is documentation made by the medics of the 501st about the chips, and a few of the extraction records," he says. "We've been trying to get rid of them, but…"
He trails off, because General Skywalker is already flicking his finger to get to the records Echo is talking about, something dark in his eyes that makes Fives nervous. When the Jedi gets to the records he spends another minute reading again and then sits down abruptly, on one of the supply crates by the wall. The clones all jump at the sudden motion.
"Sir, are you—?" Rex starts to say, making his way to the General's side in concern. General Skywalker looks him dead in the eye with so much intensity that Rex actually takes a step back.
"Did you know about this?" General Skywalker asks.
Captain Rex nods, straightening under the scrutiny.
"The entire 501st knows, sir," he answers honestly. "We've been attempting to remove the chips for weeks now. We hesitated to tell you because we didn't want this information to be spread around yet. We don't know who we can trust."
General Skywalker is silent. He looks down at the datapad again.
"These… chips," he begins slowly. His voice wavers at first, and then it hardens, sharpens into anger. "They're like… kriffing slave transmitters."
"I—I guess?" Fives says, caught off guard by the comparison. "I mean, they won't blow us up, but if a contingency order is activated we're practically mindless."
Good soldiers follow orders, he remembers, and has to suppress a shudder.
Tup hadn't deserved the ending he'd gotten.
The air around them starts to tremble. It's a subtle thing, barely noticeable, but Fives feels it anyway, buzzing against his skin through the armor.
"Whoever has access to this could make the whole army do anything," General Skywalker continues, voice rising. He clenches his hands around the edges of the datapad. "These… these chips," he spits the word out venomously, "turn you into mindless droids. Who the kriff is responsible for this?"
"We don't know, sir," Fives says, eyes widening in surprise at the Jedi's fury. "That's why we waited to tell you. We have no idea who knows about this."
General Skywalker doesn't respond to that, visibly clenching his jaw instead.
"Who is responsible for this?" he growls again through his teeth, as if asking himself the question now. "Kaminoan scum. Putting these markers in, like you're droids to be programmed, or slaves to be beaten down and sold like merchandise—"
And then he stops, and his expression goes completely blank.
The moment of silence is long and heavy, full of anticipation. The clones all freeze, waiting to see what he'll do, why he's practically shut down, but when he doesn't move for at least a minute, staring into space above Droidbait's head, Fives takes a tentative step forwards.
"Uhh… sir?"
General Skywalker's gaze snaps back into focus, and he stares at Fives in horror.
"Force, what have we done," he breathes out, disbelief and horror clear in his tone. His breathing starts to pick up, and he lowers his head. His voice rises in volume as he speaks, and Fives tenses in alarm. "Force, this can't—I didn't—no, no—!"
The overwhelming wave of power that surges over them suddenly makes Fives' vision blur for a moment. Everyone stumbles back as General Skywalker bites back a snarl of rage. The air hums with energy, and Fives feels a massive pressure grow in the room, like a dam about to burst. In the General's hands, the screen of the datapad splinters suddenly, cracks spiderwebbing their way through the glass.
The General is trembling with anger and shock. Fives isn't quite sure what it's directed at, but he can feel it surging around them, wild and hot and lashing out.
"General!" Captain Rex says in startled surprise. "You—!"
"Get out," General Skywalker says, suddenly dangerously quiet despite the raging storm around them. Fives feels an unwelcome surge of panic. Is the General going to help them, or not? He feels the fierce urge to say something, to try and fix things even though he's not even quite sure what's wrong—
"General, I'm sorry, we—!"
"Out, Fives," the General snarls brokenly.
And what else can they do, in the face of such furious, barely restrained power, but turn tail and run?
A/N: Like I said, didn't intend to stop there. Unintentional cliffhanger, please forgive me! I hope it was an okay chapter. I struggled with proper reactions in Rex, Hevy, and Anakin, and it was rough. I'm not completely happy with a lot of it. But if I sit here and look at it and squint for any longer it'll never get posted, so here it is anyway. The nice thing about fanfiction is that if people hate things you can go back and fix 'em.
Also... I have no real medical knowledge of spinal injuries at all. Sorry if you know more and I've messed something up!
Thanks again for your patience and love! My readers are definitely the best, you are all wonderful!
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