The Resolute docked at a resupply station. Getting fuel and supplies while also meeting up with the Negotiator 2, which would carry the 212th away from the 501st Attack Battalion. It was a fitting day for them to leave, the day after their celebration.

General Kenobi led his men down the halls and out of the ship everyone was saying their goodbyes as they went. Commander Cody was the last in his line of men, taking a little too long saying goodbye to each man, but no one was going to dare tell him to hurry up. Everyone deserved a proper goodbye. The Commander knew better than most that he may never see some of these faces again.

Dagger stood in the middle of the line, the Commander stopped in front of her and she looked down at her feet. She didn't want him to go, scuffing her boot she asked, "who's going to be my bunk buddy now?"

He smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Rex will take care of you boys. Just make sure you take care of him for me ok?," he leaned in to fake a whisper, "He gets a bit wild when unsupervised."

"Captain Rex, I don't believe it," she joked back, finally looking up at him, "thank you for everything Commander."

He nodded, "you're doing great kid. I'll be seeing you soon."

He turned to continue on his way, Dagger wanted more than anything for him and the rest of his brothers to stay. She watched him walk down the hallway and the airlock sealed behind them. The 212th was gone, at least for now.

Dagger slunk away from the group and headed back to the barracks. She climbed up on her bed and curled up in the corner. She just wanted a little quiet time. Her friends had left and she didn't know what to do. Obviously orders were orders, so she couldn't really do anything. Pretty soon, she heard the Resolute pull away from the supply station and then they jumped to hyperspace. On their way to their next mission, somewhere in the outer rim.

She laid there on her bunk for a long time. Dagger didn't move, she didn't speak. Everyone else was going about their days. Only the higher ups had jobs to do and no time to entertain the troopers with drills.

It was a controlled chaos whenever the 501st was left to their own devices. Shouting and throwing items of lesser importance. They made up games and would run through the halls. Some would take that time to practice or workout, while others would avoid the gym at all costs.

Echo had been about to go work out when he realized that he hadn't seen Dagger since the 212th had left. He would probably be sulking, but Echo reckoned that he could cheer Dagger up with some training. The trooper always seemed to love training and competition. Maybe in the process Echo could settle his nerves about something too.

With his mind made up, he turned around and went in search of Dagger. He found him curled on his bunk. With a sigh he climbed up the ladder and sat down next to Dagger's feet which were curled under him.

Echo placed a hand on his ankle, "hey Dagger, you doing ok?"

She didn't respond, obviously not.

"How do you get yourself into that small of a ball?" he joked.

She let out a little laugh and Echo allowed himself a small smile, "I mean really, there is no way I could fit in the corner of my bunk like that. I would surely fall out. Heh, just like you did your first morning here."

She let out a giggle, kicking him in the side, "don't bring that back up."

"Why not? Gotta tease you about something. And it got you to laugh, come on Dagger."

"Where are we going?" She asked as she sat up, a distraction would be appreciated. They jumped down from the bunk in synchronized bounds, landing with a thud on the duracrete floor.

Without pause, Echo bolted towards the door shouting over his shoulder, "race you to the training room!"

Dagger smirked and ran after him. Her legs pumped as she sprinted to keep up. A laugh burst from her mouth as he ran in a serpentine pattern down the hall. He was shouting about avoiding the enemy. She chased him and was getting closer and closer.

Just ahead the doors to the training room slid open. Dagger dove forward fingertips just brushing the nape of his neck. Echo slipped inside and immediately disappeared to the right with a sidestep.

As he stepped to the side he grabbed Dagger's outstretched arm spinning him around. Echo had misjudged the force that Dagger would spin with and he slammed him into the wall.

When she was flung around suddenly Dagger had grabbed a hold of Echo's shirt pulling him with her. He pushed her against the wall and fell forward pinning her there.

They panted heavily as Echo held her into the wall, too dazed to move. His palms pressed into the durasteel wall on either side of her helmet, his body pressed flush against hers.

Dagger looked up at him, his cheeks were flushed. From exertion or something else she could not tell. He looked down at her, eyes alight from the adrenaline of running all the way here. He could feel Dagger's strong muscles through his clothes. Oh shit he was entirely too close.

He realized this suddenly and deflected with a smile of mischief. He pushed off of the wall, breaking them apart as he spoke, "looks like I won."

Dagger scoffed as she followed where Echo was walking to now, "barely, but yes this time, you won. Now what are we training with today."

"I know you probably don't want to but I just want to show you that you can do it. Especially for missions I know it would make everyone, including myself, feel better if we trained with the high bars. Just to be prepared," Echo explained.

He didn't want to admit it, but he still thought about when Dagger fell a few weeks ago. The feeling of helplessness always settled into his gut. He hadn't been able to catch Dagger. Echo knew that he would never forgive himself if Dagger died because he couldn't hold on. So Echo would make sure that the rookie could do it, train him himself if he had to.

"I can do high bars, Echo," she said indignantly crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ok, then show me," he said as he gestured to the high bars. It was a lower and flat version of the apparatus that they had used in training that day.

She adjusted her gloves and jumped, easily grabbing hold of the first bar. She swung easily from one bar to the next. Her feet dangled just a foot from the ground, nothing like the high drop that she had faced last time.

Dagger had no issue crossing the bars and jumped down when she had reached the other side, "are you happy now?"

Echo stroked his chin, arms crossed, "again."

Dagger huffed but complied crossing back across the bars. Once she did that he led her over to the high bars that she had fallen from before. She glanced at Echo as he nodded at her encouragingly. She climbed to the first bar and swung out. She swung up the incline grasping each bar firmly before letting go of the one before.

Her heart started beating faster as she neared the top of the pyramid. She swallowed as she made the swing to the highest bar, right where she had slipped last time.

This time her hand connected solidly to the bar and she grabbed it and kept

moving. On the decline she relaxed slightly and finished the course without issue. When she dropped down she looked at Echo, "are you done testing me now?"

"You sound angry, are you angry?" Echo asked, holding his hands up slightly.

"You don't trust me to do my job. You think that I am going to mess up again."

"No. I do trust you Dagger. I just don't want you to get hurt," he says, "I'm sorry for upsetting you."

She just glared at him from under her helmet. She believed him, but she still wasn't happy about it. She turned and started to walk out of the training room, "whatever, lets go to the weight room. I could use a workout."

"Anything you want," he said as he trailed after Dagger, looking not unlike a lost puppy.

~B~

It was late in the evening, Dagger had snuck off once again to train. She had been lucky enough to get a workout in during the day. Now she could do some weapons training for her night time workout.

She knew she wouldn't be able to get to sleep anyway. So here she was in the training room again. She moved smoothly and quickly slashing back and forth with her dagger against the training dummy.

The silver toned metal glinted in the harsh white light of the training room. The ship was in night mode, meaning that fewer lights were on. She had to turn on the overheads and they beat down harshly on her sweaty skin.

She had been practicing for almost an hour now, going through every stance and movement that she knew. Even improvising at times based on possible enemy reactions that came up in the scenarios running through her head.

The dagger was a last option weapon. Blaster malfunction, no rifle, no grenades. The last line of defense against the enemy. She would rather have a weapon she could keep a hold of. She would fight to the bitter end against any adversary. She would rather die with a weapon in hand than go down unarmed.
It was not in her nature to lay down quietly. So, she trained. Daggers were unconventional weapons among the GAR troopers, but they were not banned. This was one of her most prized possessions.

Some might think that it was sad, a standard issue dagger that wasn't anything special being a prized possession. To Dagger it was her life, her identity, her promise. Her promise to herself, to her brothers, to Jango, that she would always fight, always be brave. Kotep Runi.

She had proved before that she was brave and she would do it again and again. Dagger could face any challenge, any adversary. She vowed to herself that she would never back away from a fight.

With a final slash of her knife she kneeled on the ground. Panting heavily she leaned her weight forward on her knuckles. She sheathed her dagger on her thigh where it always sat before rising to go take her shower.

~B~

Tip toeing back into the barracks she slid the door closed behind her. She shuffled quietly to her bunk and was about to start climbing up when she glanced to her right and saw an illuminated face watching her.

Captain Rex was awake and using his data pad to file reports from the last mission. He hadn't even realized that Dagger wasn't asleep in his bunk with all of the lights off.

When she had left to go train an hour before, the Captain had still been in his office. Now they had both caught each other, awake after hours. Not necessarily doing things they should be.

Dagger, who had frozen the moment she had seen him looking at her, rocked on her heels, "so… what's up cap?"

"Where were you? Lights out was hours ago, I thought everyone was asleep," he whispered back.

"Couldn't sleep," the half lie felt bad on her tongue, "what are you doing awake?"

"I'm filing reports from the mission," he responded.

"So we both should be asleep yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, lets just pretend that we both were asleep and we both go do that now," Dagger suggested.

"Are you giving me an order?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Never sir, just a request I suppose."

"Sounds like a plan kid," he said, clicking off the datapad and stashing it under his bunk.

"Not a kid," she said quickly as she scaled the ladder to her bunk.

"Would you rather rookie?" he shot back playfully.

"If you must," she said with an eye roll. She flopped down on her bed and the last thing she heard before she fell asleep was Rex chuckling softly.