Happy May Fourth everyone! May the Fourth be with you!

After that disaster of a rescue mission, the 501st are back on the Resolute, slowly making their way back to Coruscant.

They've been granted a day of leave before they'll have to ship out to Felucia.

Fives isn't looking forward to it. Usually he'd spend his leaves with Echo at 79's. Unfortunately, that's quite impossible now.

Fives sighed, clutching his helmet as he stared out at the starry expanse.

After Rex had checked on him, Fives decided to find a more secluded place to rest. He now stood in an abandoned alcove, watching the stars fade away as he waited for them to enter Hyperspace.

He blinked, the familiar sensation of salty tears building up in his eyes. He refused to let them fall. He's an ARC Trooper now. ARC Troopers don't cry.

Echo was an ARC Trooper. And a good one at that. If there were any trooper who deserved to survive this war, it was Echo. He at least deserved a proper burial. He deserved what Master Piell got.

Echo most certainly didn't deserve what he got. An explosion from behind. Being knocked off his feet and in the air. Nothing left of him but a scotch helmet. Abandoned.

Fives gripped his helmet tighter, his hand clenching into a fist and squeezing his eyes shut.

"It was meant to be you. You were supposed to live," he rasped, drowning in the reality that Echo was gone.

And now, he was the last domino standing.

Echo stared at his prosthetic hand, a tense lump forming in his throat. He blinked the salt out of his eyes. He used to be an ARC Trooper, and they weren't supposed to cry.

Domino Squad. A fitting name for their squad. They all fell, one by one.

First Droidbait, who died living up to his name. Then Cutup, who was cut up by a Rishi eel. And finally Hevy, who's sacrifice weighed heaviest on all of them.

And now Fives, who thought he was the fifth and final member of Domino Squad to go out.

Echo squeezed his eyes shut harder, cleansing his flesh hand into a tight fist. Despite his best efforts, the tears still leaked through.

Tiny rivulets of salty pain and sour memories and broken promises leaked down his face, leaving behind them the path of a bleak present.

Taking a deep breath, Echo looked out at the starry expanse before them. Fives was the brightest star he'd ever known, and he's sure he went out burning the brightest.

"You promised me you would make it out of this war alive," he whispered to the stars. They blinked back dimly at him. "I'm not supposed to be the last to fall."

I'm pretty out of practice with writing angst so sorry if this is bad