THE BAD BATCH TRAILER IS HERE! THE BAD BATCH TRAILER IS HEREEEE! I. CAN'T. BREEEEEAAATHE. I'M SO FRIGGIN' EXCITED!

Thank you for being so patient with me in my slowness of uploading another chapter! I know it's been eons since my last post, so thanks for sticking with me!

Btw we got some fluff/angst in here :3 *Warning: language/swearing*

Sage yanked harder at the tangled wire, muttering obscenities. She growled, shoving almost her entire arm into the little compartment. She fiddled with the knot, fingers poking and prodding at the bundled wires. When she thought her fingers had practically fallen off, the end of the cord jabbed her finger pad sharply.

"Ow!" she yelped indignantly, sucking on her sore finger. Sage pulled out the now-untangled cord, and glared at it. "You're going to work or there's gonna be trouble, buster," she told it sternly, and plugged it into the manual override. Please work, please work, she prayed as the ship analyzed the wire. Blue lights flared around her, and she pumped her fist in the air. "Yesss!"

She reached up her arms to hoist herself out of the grate, when she noticed that she was wearing a tank top, and that her shoulder was exposed.

She stared at her bare shoulder, where faded pock-marks dotted her skin. She glanced to her other shoulder, where there were also faded white marks. "Well I'll be," she murmured in awe, rubbing her hand over them.

Crosshair popped his head into the grate. "What's that?" he asked.

A small smile played on her lips. "I've been clean for almost four whole months."

The sniper's face softened, and he offered her one of his rare smiles. "That's progress."

"Yes," Sage said, pride blooming in her chest. "It is." Then she pulled herself out of the grate, and went to make some celebratory coffee, whistling softly to herself.

"Sage," Hunter said, making his way over to her.

She glanced up from her pot of coffee. "Hmm?"

He placed a holodisc on the table, and opened it up. The blue light blinked to life, and a suit of armor flickered into view.

She gave a low whistle. "It's a good-lookin' suit. Whose is it?"

"It's yours."

Sage choked on her coffee. "What?"

Hunter chuckled at her shocked expression. "Yes, it's yours. But I have more to tell you: we're going to an unidentified planet in the Outer Rim to lay siege to an enslaved planet by the Separatists."

She gave him a quizzical look. "Okay...but why do you need me down on the ground? Shouldn't I be doing an aerial assault?"

He nodded. "Normally, yes. But I can't assign you any specific position yet."

"Why?"

He heaved a sigh, and Sage felt concern and frustration flooding off him. "We're going to be working with the Green Company of the 41st Elite Corps, under the command of Jedi General Luminara Unduli," he said at last.

Sage put her coffee aside, and gently laid a hand on his upper arm. "Why does that bother you?" she asked.

He shrugged off her touch. "Nothing that needs to be your concern," he said, and walked towards his own private quarters.

She sat back in her seat, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. She fiddled with her cup, and hurriedly drank the rest of her coffee.

Sage flew them back towards Coruscant, where the 41st Elite Corps were waiting for them. While the ship was on autopilot, she braided her hair into tight dutch braids, keeping all unwanted strands away from her face; she had to make a good impression on the military corps. She then scooted over to the table in the center of the ship, and looked at her suit design. It looked like a less bulkier version of Hunter's armor, mixed with a little bit of Tech's. The design was nice and simple, but she wanted a suit that could do more than just protect her. "This is gonna need some upgrades," she said to herself, and pulled down her goggles.

They landed on Coruscant about a half hour later, and the Elite Corps were already waiting for them. The Bad Batch wore their armor, while Sage trailed behind them in her flying gear. The clones that stood in front of them were intimidating to say the least: their armor was a combination of white with olive green stripes, and they were equipped with blaster rifles. Sage swallowed nervously as she stood with her team.

A Mirialan Jedi stood before her troops, her green skin stark against her black robes and headdress. Another Mirialan, whom Sage assumed was her padawan, stood next to her in a hooded robe.

The Jedi took a step forward to meet the Bad Batch. "You must be Clone Force 99," she said. Her tone was calm and mature, and she carried herself in a no-nonsense way.

Hunter nodded wordlessly; Sage could sense his nervousness.

"I am Master Luminara Unduli," she said. "And this is my padawan, Barriss Offee."

Barriss offered a small bow, which took Sage by surprise. Are all padawan required to bow to complete strangers? she thought.

A clone came up behind the Jedi Master. "This is Captain Gree," Luminara introduced, gesturing fondly to the clone.

Vicious anger spiked in Crosshair so suddenly that Sage stumbled slightly. What the kriff was that? she wondered, eyes darting up to look at the sniper's face. His expression was unreadable, but rage still smoldered under his skin.

Luminara's eyes locked onto Sage. "And what might you do?" she asked; she was not asking out of judgment, but simply as a question of what the Zeltron did for the crew.

Sage straightened her back. "I'm their pilot," she said, cheeks flaming as she realized that she was still in her oil-stained, smudged, ratty flight gear.

Luminara nodded to herself, but before she could say anything, her com link beeped. She glanced down at the message, and then turned back to the Bad Batch. "If you'll excuse me, I must attend a brief meeting with the Jedi Council before we depart. But be prepared to leave when I return."

"Yes, sir." The clones nodded back affirmatively as the Mirialan brushed past them back to the Jedi Temple.

Gree nodded stiffly at them. "How do you do?" he asked, and then coughed.

Sage rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, eyes darting between her bristling teammates to the Captain. "We're doing just fine," she said politely in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"What sorts of missions do you go on?"

The question came from Barriss Offee, who stood a little behind Gree.

Tech shifted his feet, moving from side to side. "We go on the missions that are necessary, yet dangerous enough that no one wants to risk other functional soldiers on."

Gree flinched at the thinly veiled insult, and Barriss frowned. "So you go on suicide missions for the Republic," she said, going very still.

"Yes," Tech said, somewhat hesitant as he noticed her dangerously dark tone. "In a way."

Barriss pursed her lips, but nodded.

Luminara returned, saving them from having any more awkward conversations. "We're moving out," she said, and then ordered the clones to board the starships. They flew to the Outer Rim planet, which looked red from their view in space. As they descended by helicarrier, they soon found out that the planet was Terran-like, with plants and rocks and hills and valleys. Except the sky was red. The clouds were also red, and the sky caused the planet's light quantity to be darker, forcing the clones to wear night vision goggles at a much earlier time than on normal terrestrial planets. They set up camp in a small clearing of grass, the Bad Batch purposely placing their sleeping provisions far away from the other clones.

They started off early the next morning, when the sun was barely just breaking through the red sky.

Luminara stood on a large boulder overlooking the camp with her hands on her hips. She sighed as her 104th battalion and the Bad Batch squabbled with each other, refusing to cooperate. "We need to work as a team if we're going to survive this mission," she muttered under her breath. Barriss came up next to her, adjusting her head scarf.

"They really don't like each other, do they?" she said, nodding to the commotion down below.

Gree was trying to organize the Bad Batch, but Wrecker and Crosshair were having none of it. They goaded him and a few more clone troopers, and a fight was threatening to break out.

Luminara sighed again in disappointment. "They need to work as a team, or we're as good as dead."

Barriss nodded, her blue eyes darting nervously between her Master and the clones.

"Sage," Hunter said, placing on his helmet. "Suit up."

She gaped, and then her face split into an excited smile. "HELL YEAH!" She raced to her pack, grabbing the carefully constructed suit. She marveled at the light framework, and how even though it was less bulky than the other clones, it gave her the same strength and protection. She slid the suit on, clasping on pieces of armor, loving the way the dark red and black markings brought out her skin tone. Sage tied to hair up in a loose braid behind her, with a few wavy strands framing her face. She placed on the helmet, and couldn't help but squeal with joy: everything was enhanced, ranging from color to density. She pressed a button on the side of the helmet, and night vision was turned on. The rocks and trees had green lines in them, mapping out where they were, and the paths in front of her. She flipped up the visor on her helmet, and grinned. "This is awesome."

Tech peered over at her, and looked the armor up and down. "I see you made modifications to my design," he said, nodding to the bulk on her lower forearms.

She shrugged. "Oh, this?" She snapped her arms down, and the armor expanded, twisting and changing to reveal a forcefield-like shield on one arm, and a large gun on the other. "This is nothing," she smirked.

Tech's jaw dropped, and then shook his head, smiling. "I'm a tech nerd, not an engineer," he said at last. "You outdo me everytime."

She laughed, and flipped down her visor. "Let's go, tech nerd."

"After you, designer nerd," he replied, putting on his own helmet.

Luminara clicked on the holomap of the area. "The Separatists have moved in on the villages, and have started demolishing them in order to make way for more land that they can build on," she said, gesturing to a cluster of tiny rectangles to symbolize the village. Every so often, one of them would flicker, and disappear from the map. "We have much less time than I anticipated; we must move quickly if we are to save them at all."

'Moving quickly', Sage found out, was running. For miles, they ran at a frantic pace, carrying nothing but their gear and weapons. Over hills and through trenches, the two battalions raced against the clock to save the villages. The two Jedi lead the way, followed by the Bad Batch, then the 104th, and then Sage, who lagged behind the rest of the group.

Hunter glanced over his shoulder. "Sage! Get a move on!"

She caught up with him, doubling over and gasping. "This is why," she panted as she struggled to breathe and speak at the same time, "I do aerial!"

"Aw, c'mon!" Wrecker laughed, pouring water into his mouth. "You're getting fitter every mile!"

Sage gave him an incredulous look. "I was already fit before we started this mission!" The other had stopped, placing their hands on their knees as they paused for a break.

"We do not stop until nightfall!" Luminara shouted from up ahead. "We must go!"

They groaned, but began to run again. They were nearing a rocky outcove, where they would stay for the night as a base. Sage ran alongside Gree, who kept her at a constant pace to make her feel more comfortable. "I'm wasted on cross country!" she said, breathing heavily. "I'm a natural sprinter; very dangerous across short distances!"

Gree gave a short laugh. "Just breathe. That's the key. Breathe."

She nodded, inhaling dry air into her parched lungs. The sky was red as always, and the moon glowed bloodred as night crept up on them as they ran for another few hours.

"We'll stop here," Luminara announced, and was met by a chorus of relieved groans. The clones flopped down on the ground, worn out by the day's work. They lay in a heap along the rocky ground, arms over their eyes as they gasped and panted.

They got a fire going, and were soon gathered around it, eating small ration packs and talking in hushed voices.

"That's our target," Luminara was telling Gree and Hunter. They were away from the rest of the group, out of earshot. She pointed on the holomap to a large information tower that lay behind the village. It was surrounded by a wall, with tanks and rows of droids guarding the tower.

Hunter ran a hand through his hair. "There's no clear entry point that I can see." Then he winced, pressing a hand to the side of his head. "But it's very powerful, that's for sure. Everything seems to be strung tight, holding as much data as it can without overloading."

Luminara nodded. "It's full of valuable information, ranging from battle strategies to full assault formats. It is vital for the Republic to access this data in order to get ahead in this war."

"It gets better," Gree muttered, pulling his visor down. "They have a tactical droid up on top of the tower."

"So we must work as a group if we are to succeed." Luminara shot a look at both Gree and Hunter. Shouting was heard at the camp, and the Mirialan Jedi glowered at the two clones. "Tempers are running high," she said with a warning tone. "I expect you both to solve this issue, as it is between clones." They nodded, and headed back to camp.

"Yeah? You and whose army?"

"This one, of bloody course!"

Wrecker and Crosshair were arguing with the other clones about how their missions were more dangerous, therefore, they were more experienced and were superior to the 104th Battalion. "So your captain Gree is such a fantastic captain?" Wrecker was saying sarcastically. "If he's so great, has he ever gutted a Vornskr with a knife and his bare hands?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Oh, look," Cross sneered as Hunter and Gree picked their way down to the camp. "How the man of the hour has returned!"

"Show some respect to captain Gree!" a clone near the back snapped, glaring at the sniper.

"I only show respect to those who earn it!" Crosshair hissed. He took out his toothpick and pointed it at Gree. "And this soft reg ain't earned none of it!"

Sage grabbed Crosshair's arm and dragged him to a clear spot far away from the camp.

"What is wrong with you?" she hissed, pulling him out in front of her. "That was completely rude, and utterly humiliating!"

"Nothing is wrong!" Crosshair snapped back, jerking his arm from her grasp.

"I have been with this team for over two years, so I know damn well that something is wrong!" she spat. "I know your emotions like the back of my hand, and ever since we met Gree, they have been angry and violent!" She breathed sharply through her nose in an effort to calm down. "So let me ask you again: what's the problem?"

Crosshair gave no answer, and just continued to glare at where the other clones were.

Sage touched his arm again, and jerked back like she had been burned. Bitter resentment, jealousy, and anger coursed under the sniper's skin like a wave of molten lava. His eyes smoldered with fire, and he broke the toothpick between his teeth.

All of the fight drained out of her, and she whispered, "I know how you feel."

Crosshair's eyes snapped to hers. "No, you don't!" he snarled.

She flinched like she had been slapped. "I know how it feels to be jealous of something you can't ever have," she said defensively.

"You do that to yourself!" he shouted, throwing his arms out. "You ruin every opportunity to get a new life because you're so damn stupid!"

Sage gasped, and tears welled in her eyes. "You don't mean that," she whispered.

"You have had chances time and time again to be a part of something bigger, but you screw it up everytime," he continued. "That's how you ended up with us, right? You trusted everybody so easily, and then they tossed you out in the gutter without a second thought." His eyes were dark, and his mouth twisted into a cruel snarl. "At least you have Cody to depend on when things don't work out," he hissed. "At least you have some ground to stand on when you fail another job because you're incompitent and unreliable!" His face twisted into a cruel sneer. "Maybe this time, we'll dump your ass on Coruscant for good after you fail this mission like you did the last time!"

"Crosshair!"

Tech had come up behind Sage, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You went too far." His voice was cold and hollow as he glowered at his brother.

Crosshair glared back, refusing to back down. Then he spit out his toothpick, and stalked back to the camp.

Sage's eyes burned as Crosshair's words clanged over and over inside her hollow chest: Unreliable! Stupid! Worthless! Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she swiped her hand over her face.

"Sage, I'm so sorry," Tech said softly. He glared at the direction his brother had gone. "Crosshair had no right to say that."

Sage said nothing, and she blinked back more tears. She wanted to say that she was "fine", but her throat closed up, sealing off her words.

"He just...he gets very aggressive and competitive when we work with regs," the little clone continued, shrugging helplessly.

She just nodded. "Yeah," she said, even as her voice wobbled, and her bottom lip quivered. "Yeah, I understand." It was a piss-poor lie, but Tech needed to be back with the other clones.

He frowned—clearly not buying the lie—but gave her a sympathetic look, and headed back to the camp.

Sage waited until he was gone, and then she started crying. It's true! she thought as her chest heaved with silent tears. I'm a screw-up, and a failure, and I wouldn't be anywhere if it wasn't for Cody! Crosshair's words had hurt so badly, shredding her heart up like a machine, but the worst part was that they were true.

Crosshair clenched and unclenched his fists, eyes glancing from the long-burned out fire pit to Sage's tent. He chewed nervously on a toothpick, a sour feeling churning in his stomach as he recalled what he had said to her. Unless you've got such a big stick up your ass that you can't physically walk, GO APOLOGIZE! his brain shouted at him. He rubbed the back of his neck, and then slowly walked towards her tent before he lost his nerve.

"Sage?" he asked quietly. "Are you awake?"

A shape was sitting in the dark, staring at the stars through an open flap in the tent. "I was never asleep," she replied just as quietly.

He twirled the toothpick in his mouth. "I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier; I wasn't thinking."

She shrugged. "Don't be. What you said was true." It might have been dark, and Crosshair certainly couldn't read emotions, but he could hear the tremble in her voice.

"But that doesn't change the fact that I said them," he said, moving closer to her. The sniper sat down on the blankets next to her, and looked up at the sky.

"Why are you still upset?" Sage asked, still not looking at him.

He sighed heavily, and his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. "The regs have it easy," he said at last. "They have respect, no matter their rank, because they serve the Republic as good soldiers. They have solid ground to stand on because the Jedi believe in them and trust them. But us…" his voice trailed off, and he gestured lamely with his arm. "Us? We were never supposed to exist; we are mistakes, which makes us of less value than them. We are less than the regulars, so we have no respect from the Jedi, nor do we have any solid ground to stand on. I protect my brothers from what the world thinks of them by forcing the regs to hate me first, so that all attention is on me: the shitty mistake of a clone. And since their attention is on me...it spares everyone else." Crosshair made a move as if to stand up, when he felt fingers brush his own. He glanced down, and saw that Sage was holding his hand.

"Cross," she said softly, "I know that you hear this a lot, and I know that it might be getting annoying."

He raised a brow. "What's that?"

She glanced up at him, eyes swimming with an emotion he couldn't place. "That I'm sorry."

"I said flank left!"

"You're a reg! What do you know?"

"Will you both just shut up and cooperate?!"

They jogged over the ridge, trying desperately to reach the village. Droids swarmed towards them, picking the clones off one by one. Clones were scattered around the area, bickering amongst themselves as they fought. More B1 droids were coming, from where, Sage did not know. They multiplied like rabbits, easily overtaking the clone battalions Luminara had set around the perimeter in an attempt to reach the nearest village. The red sky cast a grim glow across the land, the irrigation ditches of water looking like rivers of blood. The sun was blotted out by clouds, and clones stumbled in the dim light, even with their night vision visors. It was a massacre; the droids just kept coming, and the Jedi did not relinquish their force in trying in vain to reclaim the village.

Sage's arm felt numb as she fired the machine gun, and the clone beside her—she didn't even know his name—leapt into her path, blocking her with his body. She screamed, lunging forward, but he was dead before he hit the ground. Sweat dripped down her brow as she ripped off her helmet, pressing two fingers to the clone's neck. Something hit her in the back, and she pitched forward. Sage landed on the rough dirt, staring at her reflection in another clone's helmet; he was also dead, as his helmet was dented on the right side. She drew her head up, the loud cacophony of tanks and bombs rolling her ears. Her eyes were unfocused, and her head was fuzzy and swimming. She shook her head, and her eyes cleared as she stumbled to her feet, staggering over to where Luminara had secured the ridge. Barriss turned around, grabbing Sage's hand and helping her up the rest of the hill. She glanced over at the Jedi's face, but the Mirialan's eyes were brimming with sorrow.

"We're too late," Luminara whispered.

The village was a heap of smoking ruins, embers still glowing in the crushed huts. Bodies of the natives littered the ground while clear tracks of tanks and droid footprints were marked in the dirt. It was silent, save for the rustling of a clothesline or the harsh crow of a scavenging bird. Sage turned around at what lay behind them, and gasped softly. Many bodies of clones were lying still, and it was clear that the battle had taken too many casualties for it to be considered a victory. "It's awful," Sage whispered. Tech glanced over, nodding sadly.

Luminara ordered the few remaining clones to scout out the area for a way to get into the tower, and to hopefully put an end to the suffering on the planet.

Barriss picked her way over to Sage through the masses of dead bodies. Her blue eyes glittered with an orange tinge as she reached her friend. "This is pointless!" she spat, throwing out a hand to gesture to the ruined village remains that surrounded the two women. She crouched down and closed the eyes of the clone closest to her. Her tone turned quiet, but Sage didn't miss the bitterness in her voice. "This endless war sees us destroy so much, and all in the name of the Republic!"

Sage gently rested a hand on the young Mirialan's shoulder. "We do what we do because we must. You have to understand."

"Anger, fear, and hatred are emotions of which a Jedi should be wary of," Barriss seethed, glaring at Luminara who stood a little ways off. "But what of our guilt? What of the lives that are lost for this horrible war?"

Sage balked; she saw herself reflected back into her own eyes. A younger version of her seemed to hover over Barriss, mirroring Sage's prior guilt, mistrust, frustration and untempered rage. The child version of Sage blinked levelly at her, as if daring her to make a move to confront her past.

Barriss rubbed her fingers together, smearing blood across her green finger pads. "What do you think of the Jedi?"

Sage blew out a long breath. "I'm probably the wrong person to ask."

"Why?"

She ran a hand through her tangled black hair. "There's a lot of things," she began slowly, "that I don't understand about the Jedi. I don't understand why they do or don't do certain things. It's a special calling—being a Jedi—and I just don't understand it. I don't hate them, but I certainly have a few bones to pick."

"And what do you think of the Jedi's involvement in this war?" Barriss was looking intently at Sage, waiting for her answer.

Sage leaned against a boulder, crossing one leg over the other. "I do think that it was necessary for them to join the war and choose a side," she said.

Barriss looked slightly disappointed, like she had been hoping for a different answer.

"But," the Zeltron continued, "aren't they supposed to be peacekeepers? Instead, they've become war generals."

"And you don't like that they've become something that they're supposed to be against?" Barriss was getting eager, leaning forward on her knees.

Sage shrugged, tipping her head back. "That's right; I don't think that they should be leading armies and decimating planets. I feel as though they should do recon missions and helping people rebuild their lives after the war in a peaceful way, not fueling the fight. They should be helping people throughout the galaxy, regardless of their affiliations in the war, because Jedi are supposed to be good people. Yes, they're peacekeepers, but they've gone away from that path, and now they just make everything worse." She glanced over at Barriss, and winced. "Sorry. I've probably offended you multiple times by saying that."

"No," Barriss replied, deathly calm. Her eyes were bright, like she had just finished a puzzle. "Not at all."

Sage shivered at the likeness between her and the young padawan, but trees began to crash down around them, interrupting her thoughts. She flipped down her helmet, and pulled out her machine gun.

A large bacta tank rolled into view, and Barriss immediately drew her lightsaber. Luminara led a small group of clones to defend her padawan and the pilot. Except, the tank did not attack, nor did it make and move to fire. The lid opened up to reveal a bronze and black tactical droid. It's eyes seemed like static as it took in the ragged group of survivors.

"Just as I predicted," it said, the voice sounding slightly male. His voice had an air of superiority about him, a kind of gloating.

"Speak clearly, droid, or I will not hesitate to end you," Luminara retorted stiffly.

The tactical droid's gears rumbled in a type of laugh. "Your failure to collaborate has led to your demise."

"It has not," Gree growled. "You purposely massacred my men."

The droid nodded. "In a way, yes, I did. How easily you handled the first wave would determine how much of a threat you posed to me. And your threats are…" he paused, mockingly tapping the side of his head in a thinking gesture. "Your threats are just plain pitiful. You have no hope to reach the tower, nor to claim it. Give up, Jedi. You cannot rebuke the facts."

"Whether by your facts or not, we will take that tower, and you will answer for your crimes against the Republic," she responded coolly.

The droid tapped it's finger on the edge of the tank in irritation. "Very well," he replied, and signaled for the B1 troops to turn around. "But I come with a warning, Jedi: be sure to prepare yourself for the loss of your battalion." With that, the droid ducked back into the tank, and retreated back to the tower.

Luminara turned to face the soldiers. "There will be a time for grieving later," she told them. "Now, we must take the tower before it is too late. The information will be sent to the enemy, and there are more droid forces that will raid nearby villages and destroy them as they did this one. We are running out of time."

Luminara nodded to Barriss and Sage "What I have planned will involve both of you." She rounded up the rest of the soldiers, and clicked on the holompa. Her brown eyes glanced around at the surrounding clones. "I have a plan," she said, "that will take all of your cooperation."

Hunter shared a look with Gree. "We'll manage, general."

She gave an affirmative nod. "Good. Now, here's what we're going to do…"

Barriss woke Sage early the next morning, and together, they silently crept around to the outer wall that surrounded the tower. The padawan's face was etched with determination, but Sage could feel her guilt and frustration roiling under her skin.

"Hey," she said, touching the young Mirialan's shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"

Barriss shook herself. "Yes. I was just thinking."

Sage nodded. "Alright. You know that this mission is going to be difficult."

"And possibly suicidal."

Sage winced. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." Barriss pressed her palm flat against the stone wall. "Why else would you be here if it wasn't?"

Sage didn't reply.

They scaled a tree, climbing over the branches until they were dangling over the other side of the wall. Rows of bacta tanks and battle droids lay below them, the barely rising sun casting a pale red glow on the machinery. Sage quietly pulled out her com link, and pressed it. The button flared green, and then a commotion rang out along the far side of the wall. Droids immediately began to move out towards the disturbance, and the bacta tanks followed quickly behind. A few commando droids retreaded back to the tower, but the inner area behind the wall and in front of the tower was completely deserted.

"Move quickly!" Barriss hissed, leaping down from the branch. She landed silently, her black robes billowing around her like mist, and Sage clumsily toppled out of the tree beside her. They raced across the bare stretch, where they were completely unguarded. Sage silently prayed that their mission would go smoothly as she hacked into the mainframe to open the tower doors. The black doors swung open, and they cautiously stepped inside.

Barriss pulled out a holomap. "The information we need is here," she whispered, pointing to a blinking beacon at the top of the tower. They two women sprinted down the maze of hallways and winding corridors until they finally got to the nearest lift. Sage hacked into the wiring, and the elevator shot upward at an impossible speed. The lift dinged softly, and they stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. There were two large doors at the end, and Barriss quietly unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. Sage flipped down her visor. "There are 6 droids," she whispered. "And I'm betting one of them is that oh-so-civilized tactical droid."

Wind howled outside, pulling at the windows and shutters on the tower. The air whistled in through the vents, and Sage swore she felt the tower move.

Barriss raced down the hall and Forced the doors open with a slam. "Do not move!" she commanded. The droids whirled to face her, the commando droids loading up their blasters. "We have you surrounded."

Sage darted over to the nearest console, plugging in several harddrives at a time. She hacked into computers, pressing buttons along a keyboard.

Barriss dismantled the nearest commando droids with a flick of her wrist and the flash of her blue lightsaber. The tactical droid stood still, neither attempting to run nor to fight. She lunged towards him, pinning him against a pillar.

The tactical droid seemed to laugh at the blue lightsaber pointed at his head. "Do you really think that would sway me to stop my attack?" he asked.

"You mean this?" Barriss held the blade so that it was inches away from his neck. "It's more of a prevention of movement than to sway your ideas of the battle."

Sage moved over to the other side, downloading more information. She glanced back and forth between her work and Barriss.

"Did they really send you up here because they thought you were the most qualified for the job?" he asked, side-stepping around her. He stalked towards the window, metal hands clasped behind his back. The tactical droid watched as chaos unfolded below him, and the ground rumbled slightly with the roar of tanks. "You have a military corps, and yet your and your small band of mistakes refuse to cooperate with them, leading to your imminent downfall," he continued, sounding smug. "Your inability to work as a team has decreased your success rate by 47.083%."

The Mirialan walked up next to the droid, still holding her lightsaber at him. "What are you saying?" she asked warily. "That we've failed?"

The tactical droid turned to face her. "Yes," he said. "I am saying that you have failed. You and your Republic cannot destroy, plunder, lay waste to, or burn the facts. And the fact is, you have failed simply because your stubbornness does not allow you to collaborate."

Sage unplugged the final holodrive, and slowly loaded her blaster. She pressed the button on her com, and a green light blinked rapidly. All at once, the chaos on the ground snapped to order as clones fell in line beside each other. They started working as a team, easily decimating the rows of droids that lay before them. Sage smirked; their distraction had worked perfectly.

The tactical droid whirled, shock flashing in his eyes as his gears whirred and clicked as he tried to process what had just happened.

Sage walked up to where Barriss held the droid in place. "Since your last boastful visit," she purred, flicking the safety off the machine gun. "We got to thinking: 'what if we did what that droid thought we were doing?' So we made a distraction, where you would send all of your droids down to fight them, while two members would come in and infiltrate your base. We would download information, blast you to a scrap heap, and then get out."

"You did not count on the fact that I had placed bombs below this very building," the droid growled.

"We did," she said. She hefted the gun so that it was aimed at his face. "But I'm on a suicide squad. It'll take a lot more than bombs to sway me." She cocked the gun, and pulled the trigger. "Dance, bitch!" she shouted, and the droid leapt away in an attempt to dodge the rapid fire of lasers. Sage continued to shoot an array of lasers, utterly destroying the information counsouls. The computers exploded in flames, broken wires spitting out sparks and thrashing like snakes.

Something below the tower exploded with a thunderous noise. Sage froze, the remains of the tactical droid twitching and sparking. It slowly raised its head, waving a small remote in it's ruined hand.

"He set off the bombs!" Barriss shouted, and crushed the remotes with the Force. The tower began to tremble and tilt to the sides. The windows began to crack, and debris and dust rained down from the ceiling. The building lurched forward, throwing the two women crashing into each other. They slammed into the console desks, landing among a heap of wires and cords.

Sage lunged for the window, frantically looking around. The building lurched forward again, and began leaning farther. She peered closer, and saw rows of droids lined along the stone wall. They held blasters to the tower, waiting for orders to fire. She glanced up to the top of the building, judging its height, and then back to the wall. The wall...Sage thought, and then ran back to Barriss. She grabbed the Mirialan's shoulders firmly. "The only way out is up!"

Barriss nodded, and together they raced for the nearest window. Barriss smashed it with the Force, broken pieces of glass spinning back into their faces as the wind roared around them. There were railings on every other floor, and large black spikes jutted out from the grooves of the tower. Sage jumped up, grabbing the spikes and hauling herself up. Barriss went next, Force-jumping to the nearest railing. Red lasers began smashing into the tower, and Sage whirled in horror to find that the droids along the wall were shooting at them. The building shuddered, careening forward and throwing Sage into the air. She screamed, expecting to smash into the spikes, but found herself stopped by something.

Barriss was leaning over the railing with her hand outstretched, and was holding Sage in place. "I've got you!" she yelled, and slowly began to pull the Zeltron towards her. The tower lurched again, and Barriss threw Sage high into the air. She landed a floor above Barriss, and shot down a grappling hook. The padawan grabbed the rope, and Sage pulled her upwards until they were standing together on the rails. The tower was now at an angle where the two of them could crawl up the grooves using the metal spikes. Barriss went first, lunging up to grasp the spikes. Sage followed suit, and they scrambled up the side of the tower. Debris and metal rained down on them as the droids began to fire haphazardly. They got to the top, where they held onto the satellite dish and the metal rods just as the building smashed into the stone wall.

"JUMP!" Barriss screamed, and Forced herself and Sage into the air. They sailed over the wall, over the lines of tanks and machine guns. The ground came hurtling up towards them, and they were suddenly stopped inches before they hit the dirt.

Luminara gently lowered them to the ground, her eyes closed in concentration. The two fwumped down onto the ground, and just lay there. The medic came over, but Sage lazily waved her hand. "We're fine...just tired."

Sage and Barriss were laying on their backs, panting, covered in blood and dust and sweat.

"Whoever's idea it was for us to do that," Sage said breathlessly. She held both middle fingers in the air, laughing to herself. "Screw you."

Barriss laughed as well.

Gree chuckled. "That would be General Unduli."

Sage quickly put her hands down. "Oops," she said sheepishly. Then she closed her eyes, letting her head rest on the dirt. "But seriously, I need a nap. Running up the side of a building is hard work."

"Yes." The Mirialan padawan nodded.

Sage lazily held out her hand, and she and Barriss bumped fists. "We should pair up more often. That was a helluva mission."

Barris cracked open an eye, and smiled. "Agreed."

They made their way back to Coruscant, and dropped those who remained of the 104th back on the ecumenopolis planet. The clones parted on reasonably good terms; Crosshair wasn't as prickly as he'd been before, and Hunter had actually managed to make a somewhat respectful relationship with Gree. Luminara thanked the Bad Batch again for their help, and told them that she looked forward to serving with them. They parted ways, the feelings of guilt of losing so many men and pride of accomplishing the mission were mutual.

Barriss was adjusting her head wrap before she stepped out of the ship.

"Hey, Barriss." Sage put a hand on the padawan's shoulder. "If you ever need anything," she said gently, "let me know."

Barriss nodded, smiling tightly. She said, "I'll remember what you said about the Jedi. I trust you more now than I did starting off. You're a good person, Sage," before going over to stand by her Master.

Sage chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

"You okay?" Hunter asked, coming up behind her.

Her brow furrowed as she continued to look at Barriss. "Before we started the mission," she explained, "I could tell that something was off about Barriss. She was distant, and seemed judgmental about Luminara and the way she went about doing things." She shook her head, holding her hands up in the air. "But I didn't bother myself because it's not my problem if she's having Jedi issues. What really threw me was how she looked when we were setting out for the tower." She turned to face Hunter. "I looked at her, and I saw myself." All that pain, confusion, anger, and guilt, she thought inwardly, but didn't say it out loud to Hunter.

He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't sound so bad to me."

She gave a wan smile as a small kernel of warmth flickered in her chest.

"That sounds bad to me!" Tech interrupted from farther away. "You get drunk, or high, or both. And then you pass out, and everyone wonders how you've managed to stay alive this long!"

"You're ruining the moment!" Sage barked.

He laughed, ducking back into the ship for cover as a wrech went flying towards him. The rest of the team loaded into the ship, playfully shoving each other and ruffling the other's hair.

She settled into the pilot's chair, wiggling her fingers as she fitted on her flight gloves. "Oh, yeah. I definitely prefer flying over running," she snorted. Sage pulled the ship into the air, her heart beating in time with the rhythm of the engines. She climbed into the air until she felt like she could touch the clouds.

Until she was in the inky depths of space.

Until she saw the purple galaxy swirling in the reflection of the ship's windows.

Until she felt like she was swimming among the stars

Until she was high enough.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for sticking with me even though I'm slow to update. I don't know what happened...I just didn't feel like I had any time to write….but hey! I did it (even though it took frickin' 4 months)Yes, I know I change the title name for the fanfic; I changed it out of impulse, and I like it. ehehe anyway, lots of love to you all, and have a frickin' fantastic day!