Fox didn't let his gaze shift from Chuchi's hardened eyes as her aides and his brothers-in-command left the room silently, both parties casting concerned looks back at their leaders.

Chuchi glared at him, the two daring each other to speak first from where they stood on polar opposites sides, both of the room and of their viewpoints.

He wasn't proud of how petty his next words sounded. "You wanted to speak with me, ma'am?" He said, laying extra emphasis on the formality. If she wanted to truly speak with him, then this is what she'd be getting. He had to remain distant.

"What is wrong with you?" Chuchi forced out after breathing a deep sigh to try and calm herself. "You've been avoiding me."

"Yes," he agreed. There was no point in lying now. "I thought it best to distance myself from you to preserve your integrity amongst your Senate peers."

Her spine straightened like an offended loth-cat. "That's not your decision to make," she hissed, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

"Anything that involves your safety does, Chuchi! It's my job."

"Have I not proved to you that I can protect myself?"

Fox grit his teeth in frustration. Why couldn't she see? "From separatists, but not from your supposed allies!" He shot back. "Fraternizing with clones isn't safe for you or for them! What do you think will happen to a clone that your opponents see being too friendly with you?" His eyes were blazing and his finger was pointed accusingly at her. "They'll kill him to send a message to you!"

His eyes grew wide the moment the words left his lips as Chuchi reeled back like he had slapped her. Part of him wanted to apologize, to say something to bring her shining smile back from behind the cloud covering it. But at the same time, he wasn't going to back down from his position either. There was more than just him on the line here. This was to keep his brothers safe.

Fox wasn't expecting the way she deflated in response, though, her shoulders slouching and chin dropping from its defiant position as she leaned forward to grip the table harshly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked defeatedly.

"It wasn't my place to," he responded just as dully. "I thought avoiding any contact would be enough to quell your curiosities."

"Curiosities?" It sounded like she had no idea what he was talking about.

His brow furrowed slightly. "Your curiosity in us clones."

"It's not a–" Her lips downturned like a limp flower as she turned her gaze back up to stare at him, the gold pools bleeding in despair. "Fox, I consider you my friend."

"Chuchi, I–"

An emergency claxon couldn't have come at a better or worse time, in Fox's opinion: better because he was no longer forced to answer in the wake of such a revelation, and worse because he'd now be running through the possible endings of this conversation when he was free to.

His training overrode everything and he moved instinctively, snatching up his helmet and thrusting it back on so he could connect back to his HUD and his men. One of his patrols had raised the alarm, and as he read through the message, Fox felt something grow hard in his stomach.

"Chuchi, you need to get back to the Senate and head to the bunkers immediately." He rushed towards the door, beginning to bark orders over his comms to mobilize back up troops, but paused and muted his mic again as Chuchi's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"Stay safe," she said simply yet firmly, and Fox smirked as she molded herself back into the composed Senator she'd entered the room as.

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed. "Now go, please," he added more softly, a quiet desperation seeping into his tone. At her nod of assent, Fox spun on his heel and led the way out of the room. Thire, Thorn and Stone were clearly vibrating with barely restrained urgency as they shielded the Pantoran aides reflexively.

"Stone, grab your riot trooper squadron and sweep the surrounding area," Fox snapped, gaining all of their full attention in less than a heartbeat. "Get any potential casualties clear or get them into secure zones." He caught a glimpse of Chuchi moving to comfort one of her aides, who was visibly anxious due to the unknown situation to them. "Thorn, take your shock trooper unit and head to the front line; grab extra body shields and be on standby with medic units. Thire, stand by from the security depot and be ready to deploy extra troops where needed. I'm headed to lead the evacuation and run a final sweep, funnel everything through the main red channel."

The three snapped quick salutes with an accompanying "yessir!" before heading off to their assignments, helmets muted so they could start relaying commands over their comms to organize their rapid response. Despite the urgency coursing through him, Fox spared a moment to address the quintet of Pantoran women.

"Ma'ams, you need to follow the Senate evacuation protocols. Get yourselves and the Senator to safety," Fox ordered, and stuck around just long enough to get confirmation before racing off towards the armory.