The Twi'lek planet of Ryloth is under Separatist attack yet again. This time they were not taking the Twi'leks as slaves. They were slaughtering the people by the hundreds. The attack was led by General Grievous himself, who apparently had a score to settle on behalf of his masters. The newly fixed Resolute was speeding to the outer rim in hyperspace, desperate to make it there in time.

Everyone had finished unpacking their belongings. It felt like an eternity since Dagger had slept in her bunk on the ship. She frowned slightly as she realized she would have to go back to sleeping with her helmet on.

She had really started to enjoy sleeping without it. More and more she was starting to question her motives for keeping the helmet on. Maybe the Madam was wrong about her brother's reactions to her being a female. Kix didn't seem to mind, hell he was excited about it. Would the others feel the same way? Would the people closest to her support her even though it was different?

She started to make excuses or loopholes in her mind about how she could get away with sleeping without her helmet on. Everything was dark, no one was ever up in the middle of the night. She would have to start training again in the middle of the night. She had slacked off during their time off on Coruscant, Rex had told her that she could relax a bit. She had listened to him, but now it was time to get back to work.

As soon as this mission was over she would get back to working out, and maybe, just maybe she would go to sleep without her helmet on. Afterall, the Madam was gone now. Her brothers told her that the Madam was wrong. Kix said that she could trust them. He had seemed to be happy about having her as a sister. Would everyone else feel the same way?

She wanted to tell someone, anyone. After this mission she promised herself. After this mission she would tell Rex. That would be a good place to start, she wanted to tell him. Moreover, she wanted him to know. Dagger was terrified that he would reject her, even kick her out of the unit, but she was willing to risk it. Just not right now.

There was too much to think about with a mission so soon. It wasn't worth the distraction. She would tell him, on her own terms, not rushed or forced.

The intercom of the ship crackled to life and announced that they had thirty minutes until they arrived at Ryloth. They needed to gear up and grab their weapons from the armory.

Dagger checked one last time that her dagger was secure in her hip holster before taking off for the armory. This would be the first mission she took it out and she would be damned if she lost this precious dagger.

She finally made it to the hangar where everyone was lining up in formation. The troops were awaiting instructions as they finalized their armor and packs. She found her spot next to Echo and realized that the buckle behind her left shoulder had come undone.

Echo saw her struggling and reached over with a chuckle. He snapped it down with ease securing the armor in place, "You nervous Dagger?"

"No."

"It's okay to be scared. Scared keeps you fast, fast keeps you alive."

"I'm not afraid of the machines, I'm not afraid to die,'' Dagger said without looking over at Echo.

"Well I guess I'll just have to be nervous enough for both of us."

Now Dagger did turn to him, "Wait, why are you nervous?"

"Honestly, I'm always nervous. Scared as hell that will come back with less brothers than we left with," he responded solemnly.

"It's war. People die everyday and there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to keep on fighting so they didn't die in vain."

"Someone's in an edgy mood today," Fives said as he came up to her other side.

Dagger crossed her arms and puffed her chest, standing on her tiptoes, "Jail changes people."

Echo pressed a finger into her chest plate causing her to stumble back off balance, "Alright tough guy, let's not do any dying out there ok?"

He tried to lean in to hear her response, but it was drowned out by the sound of the fighters taking off from the hangar. The advanced party was on its way. Their job was to punch a hole through the blockade to let the gunships through. After the ground troops were in position they would either be fighting to destroy the Seperatist ships or providing cover.

Either way, Echo never did end up hearing what he had to say. Dagger had already turned to the gunship they were assigned and was climbing aboard. Rex was already there waiting and Echo felt a stab of jealousy when he instantly went to the Captain. Rex offered his arm for Dagger to hold and the smaller man did not hesitate grabbing on.

He shook his head. Get a grip Echo, Dagger is only hanging on to him so he doesn't fall. It wasn't like the action meant anything. Even if it did, Echo shouldn't care, they were about to go into an active war zone. He steeled his nerves, it was time to go to work. Any emotions or feelings that he had were not going to help him or his brothers here, so he shoved them down.

The gunship closed its doors and started its journey to the planet's surface. This was always one of the worst parts. Everything that happened appeared to be at the mercy of luck. As the troopers were stuck in the belly of the ship, hiding behind blast doors, there was nothing they could do to protect themselves. If the ship went down they would all die.

It was not their time today. They sped towards the ground and the ship lowered behind a rock outcropping. There was a battalion of droids close by that the 501st had a plan to take out.

The ship doors opened up and the soldiers all jumped the last few feet to the ground. Dagger was in front of Echo and took off running. Well, he would have if not for an unfortunately placed root. Echo couldn't help the burst of laughter that came out of him as Dagger hit the ground.

He quickly shut up and hauled Dagger to his feet, "C'mon kid, no time to play around in the dirt."

Dagger simply grabbed her blaster and stole her nerves, it was time to fight. And a fight is what they got. Red blaster bolts shot towards them. Republic soldiers retaliate with blue shots of their own.

There was a simplicity in all of the chaos. Their line advanced and the enemies came closer. Kill or be killed. There was no politics, only life and death.

Dagger was focused on her work. She took careful aim when she could afford it. When she couldn't she laid down cover fire for her brothers moving from one area of shelter to another. The droids were merciless and uncaring, so she destroyed them without a second thought.

This was the first stage of their multi-tiered plan to reclaim the planet of Ryloth. Torrent Company was on the surface to fight the bulk of the separatist forces. They had intercepted them as they were travelling from village to village.

She could hear the air screaming as the fighters entered the atmosphere. The ground shook as they bombed the Separatist lines. She was near the front of the assault, darting out of her cover when she could to take out more droids. She was so close to the blast she could feel the heat of the explosion.

Even with significant damage to the droid battalion it seemed like more and more just kept coming. How many could there possibly be? A particularly heavy barrage of blaster fire forced her to stay behind her rock. Another soldier dived across and rolled to land next to her.

"Still doing ok?" Rex asked, skidding to a halt.

"Good as I can be, these damn droids just keep coming," she shouted back.

He nodded and they both leaned out from behind the boulder to assess the status of the droids and take more out when they continued to advance. In the corner of her field of view she saw a green glow. The Jedi! It was about time they got there.

The figure darted up the battle field with speed and agility. Commander Tano then. To Dagger's surprise the Commander ran to where she and Rex were hunkered down and wedged herself between them,

"Hey Rex!" She said gleefully, as if she were at a park and not in the middle of a battlefield.

"Commander Tano, secondary unit is currently on their way to flank the enemy. They should be in position within the next ten minutes. All we have to do is hold our position," Captain Rex reported quickly, as soon he was finished he stood and took out a handful of droids. Once he was finished, he ducked back down to listen to her response.

"We'll have those tinnies on the run soon boys," she had a wide grin on her face, she looked over at Dagger, "Wait aren't you that trooper that is a f-"

"I HAVE TO GO!" Dagger yelled, she hardly even looked before darting out from behind the rock. She held her blaster with one hand to fire at the droids while the other pumped in time with her legs as she sprinted across.

Rex, who had just sat back after another round of fire looked after Dagger. A noise of concern left him and he quickly started firing again, trying to provide any cover that he could for Dagger. Once she was safe behind another rock outcropping he looked at Commander Tano, "What happened to Dagger?"

Ahsoka snapped her fingers, "That's the name. Dagger is the one we went to Kamino for?"

"Commander in case you haven't noticed, those droids are getting closer. Is this really the time for small talk?"

She ignited her lightsabers and jumped up on top of the rock. She parried the blasters effortlessly. Rex watched as she darted forward and started to take out the droids. Once she was on her own he looked over at Dagger who was kneeled behind a large outcropping of rock.

He spoke through the Torrent Company channel on the helmet communications, "You trying to get shot Dagger? What the hell did you run out like that for?"

"I saw an opening so I took it," Dagger tried to explain. How else was she supposed to explain that she ran from the Commander because she was about to say something that she did not want said out loud yet.

Another voice joined the chat, "Bullshit! It wasn't clear at all. It's a miracle you aren't dead on the ground right now!"

"Where are you Echo?" Rex asked, he didn't see the Arc trooper anywhere.

Then Echo poked his head out from behind Dagger, "I'm here sir. Want me to keep an eye on Dagger?"

"As if you would listen to me if I told you not to," Rex scoffed, "Dagger, stick by Echo's side and no more running out unless you have to."

Dagger grumbled some unkind words, but nodded in agreement. She looked over at Echo who shook his head at her. They both ducked as an explosion close to their position was set off. As soon as the debris was cleared they both poked their heads out over the rock. After seeing the damage they made eye contact, as if to check that the other was in fact seeing what they were seeing.

All of the droids were lying dead on the ground. An electronic as well as explosive blast had been set off. Commander Tano was perched, with her legs swinging on the air, on top of the cannon of a droid tank that was still smoldering inside.

"That kid did all of that?" Dagger asked.

"Yeah, Commander Tano is pretty awesome," Echo said, nudging Dagger as he stood. She took his hand and he hoisted her to her feet. She sprung up and dusted off her armor where it had gotten dirt from her fall earlier. They spotted Kix running around frantically to all of the wounded.

Dagger turned away, she could pretend that they weren't there if she didn't see them. She didn't even want to think about all of the empty bunks that would not be filled again. She did not want to think about how some of her brothers would not be coming home tonight.

So she didn't think about it, she walked towards the wreckage of the droids. Kicking them or prodding them with a blaster every once in a while, just to make sure they were really out.

She sped up her pace when she neared the Commander. Checking that no one was around she was relatively alone. When she was sure that she wouldn't be overheard she climbed up the tank and slid along the cannon until she sat just behind the Jedi.

"Sir? May I talk to you," She asked hesitantly.

Ahsoka swung her legs around until she was facing Dagger and straddling the cannon, "Of course. Dagger right?"

"Yes sir. Commander, I know that you are a Jedi and all, but no one here knows what you know. Only Kix. I would prefer if it stays that way."

Ahsoka cocked her head slightly, "No one knows that you are a girl?"

"No sir," Dagger dipped her head.

"I can feel the fear in you. We cannot let fear of ourselves sway how we feel. There is too much to fear from the enemy to be afraid of what we are," she said.

"That may be easy to say, but it is not easy to do when you have to hide everything you are from the people you care about most," Dagger said. The Jedi had no idea what clones went through. They weren't slaughtered by the dozens every single battle. Dagger was more than a little miffed at the fact that a Jedi was preaching to her about fear. It was easy to be unafraid when you were invulnerable with a magic sword.

"You must trust those around you. Do not be afraid of your brothers," she said, almost as if she was pleading with Dagger to understand.

The soldier looked away, "I am not afraid of them, I am afraid of myself."

With her thought conveyed she jumped down off of the cannon and fell down to the ground. As she landed, the dust curled up around her boots, she strode away not bothering to look back at Commander Tano. She could tell that she was being watched, she could hardly care if she had overstepped. After this mission she may be sent away by Rex. What would be the difference if Commander Tano thought she was disrespectful anyway?

She wiped the frown from her face and forced a smile as she approached Echo. Belatedly, she realized that he couldn't even see her face and it didn't matter if she smiled or not. Either way he didn't seem to notice as he slung a heavy arm over her shoulder.

"How you holding up, Dag?" he asked.

"Pretty good. Who did we lose?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Kix is still looking after the wounded, Jesse is helping him now. We got about a dozen wounded. We lost Click and Hiccup."

"Damn, that really sucks," Dagger's head turned down. She knew their names, but she couldn't recall ever having a conversation with either of them. Click slept just a few bunks down from her. Hiccup always hung out with Cricket in the lounge.

"I hope it doesn't get worse than that, we don't need to add anymore names to the song tonight," Echo said.

"Song?"

"Oh, we didn't lose anyone on your last mission did we?" She shook her head and Echo continued, "After missions, when everyone is back together, we sing the song of the lost. Jango taught the first batch Mandalorian songs. One that we sing is for the lost, another for any injured and fighting for life. That one is always particularly intense. It is a prayer that our brother will make it through his battle still on the side of life. Many don't make it," Echo's words were soft and solemn.

Dagger put a comforting hand on his arm, "You'll have to teach me Echo. Anything that could help a wounded brother is something I want to be a part of."

"I will teach you, I promise as long as you promise to make it through this," Echo pleaded with her.

Dagger let go, "I will always try my best, but I can't promise you anything Echo."

He lightly tapped the forehead of his helmet into hers. She was startled by the kindness behind the action. By the time she realized what had happened he was already walking away. She looked around as subtly as she could, had anyone seen what had just happened. She spotted Rex, talking to Fived a little distance off. Both had their helmets off, Fives was smiling and Rex was scowling. They both seemed to be putting up a facade of conversation, however it was clear that they both had seen the interaction.

Dagger did not know what to do with herself. Had Echo meant it as a Keldabe kiss or was he just being friendly? He had been seeming extra affectionate today and Dagger did not know what to do with the extra attention. Rex seemed to be in a bad mood so she didn't want to go over there.

She turned to look around for the rest of Torrent and spotted Kix, he hovered as the injured were being loaded onto gunships to return to the medbay on the Resolute. She made her way over to him and stood at his side.

The Medic stilled as she came into view. He let her stand right next to him, shoulders brushing. She could tell he was stressed by the way his breathing trembled. He always worked so hard to help everyone who was wounded.

"Hey," she spoke softly, "You did a good job today."

His head was still turned down, "It's not over yet."

"No, but it will be soon. Everyone knows that you do everything you can for us. I wouldn't want anyone else to be watching over me or my brothers."

Kix leaned into her for a moment and then turned toward Dagger, breaking their shoulders apart, "I will always be there for you boys, especially you, sister. Please just do your best to not need my help, especially not like Hardcase. That di'kut punched a droid in the face about three missions ago. Broke almost all of the bones in his hand."

"I will do my best, I think stabbing droids would be more fun than punching them," she chuckled as she patted the dagger on her hip.

Rex signaled Torrent company through the helmet comms. They were to meet in the central clearing and split into their secondary groups. They would be moving forward into the second phase of the mission.

Torrent company needed to clear the surrounding villages of any straggler droids. While they were in the different villages they would be on the lookout for a place that was safe to camp for the night. Tomorrow they were supposed to go to the capital at dawn. There would be no time to get back to the Resolute and actually sleep.

Alpha Squad with Rex and Fives took a group of ten to the East. Bravo Squad with Jesse, Kix and Hardcase went to the South with their group. Charlie Squad with Echo and Dagger went to the west. Dagger wondered if the setting sun would be an issue, but sunset seemed a few hours off so she didn't worry too much about it.

She waved goodbye to Rex as he left their temporary clearing. He waved back briefly, but quickly turned and secured his helmet on his head. There was a mission to complete and Dagger almost felt silly for waving. Instead she just shrugged it off and followed Echo and the rest of Charlie Squad into the forest.