They came out of nowhere—the swoop bikes.

The three older clones were up in an instant, Maze a second behind and Zey behind him. Well coordinated as the tree clones had been doing this together for years.

"Raiders!" shouted Wolffe. "Battle Stations."

The clone commanders split going in three different directions and resorted to their well honed defence procedures.

Wolffe took the mounted gun, pulling around and charging it up.

Rex and Gregor both had DC17 blaster rifles, but Rex preferred his twin blasters, pulling them out ready to fire.

They were always prepared.

"It's your command Rex!" Shouted Maze, as he took potshots at the riders, "What do you want us to do?"

He barely had time to aim, they moved so fast on the bikes, but he tried to make each shot count.

"Take out the bikes, any way you can! Just don't get in our way!"

Maze and Zey followed Rex's orders; it may have only been a twelve year old redundant Republic AT-TE Walker but it was his command, his home.

"Six bikes!" Shouted Rex. "Two on each. Small raiding party."

"Just keep out your heads down!" Added Gregor, taking aim from the railing of the tank.

Wolffe blasted at one, but just missed.

"Fek! The sightings off." He cursed before leaning forward adjusting something. "Have you been messing with this Vod?"

"No! It's your Fekking eye. That needs adjusting." Gregor retorted, his rifle pulled to his shoulder trained on one of the bikes.

Zey moved next to Wolffe, identifying a gap, batting away the bolts, to give him some kind of cover, as he made his adjustments. He and Maze had dealt with swoop bike gangs before on their travels, and knew how they operated. Taking down a few in the process. The Empire wasn't interested in any kind of law enforcement unless they were interfering with what they were doing, and sometimes actively encouraged them.

Zey batted away the blaster bolts, with his saber. It was risky using it, highlighting who he was, or had been but he was still better with that than a blaster, after a lifetime of practice it was second nature.

"Who exactly are we dealing with?" Shouted Maze, as he stood back to back with Rex. 'They don't look like some random gang of kids."

"I can't see any markings or any gang affiliations. Independent spice gang hiding from bounty hunters, most likely." Rex fired alternately with his twin blasters. He had no qualms about killing organics now.

"They don't normally bother us but may have seen your ship coming in. They monitor everything."

"Sorry!" Maze took one out and the bike veered off into the distance before exploding.

"Don't be! We were going to have to have a confrontation with them at some point. We've had a few disagreements with them in the past. And local Law Enforcement— well there isn't any. Not this far out anyway."

Rex shouted instructions between firing his blasters.

"Another one bites the dust." Shrieked Gregor, as the bike he hit rose up in the air, depositing its riders on the ground, before falling back down trapping them.

Gregor raised his blaster to his shoulder but before he could take the shot to take them out permanently, the ground opened up and swallowed them, closing back with a large blow up of sand.

There was no trace of them left.

"That was new!" Shouted Maze, momentarily stopping his firing.

"You get used to it." Replied Rex at the top of his voice.

Maze wondered if he ever would.

Three of the bikes were heading towards Wolffe's side, Zey moved to stand between them and Wolffe, lightsaber blazing. Wolffe flinched for a second and kept firing; they were in danger of being pinned down as the bikes hovered.

"Allow me!" Zey said, as he slowly lifted his left hand one of the bikes slowly tilted up and over depositing one of the riders on the floor, as the other struggled to control it. It finally dropped on its driver and burst into flames.

"Thank you, Gen..General."

Suddenly with the last two bikes left, the drivers turned and headed away, unwilling to continue the fight.

"Allow me!" Said Wolffe as he changed to his blaster rifle pulling it to his shoulder, he carefully lined up the shot, taking his time with the aim.

Maze thought he was never going to take it, the bike would be too far away before he even lined the shots up.

Wolffe fired once, moved seamlessly along and fired again. He smiled.

Both bikes were down. None of the occupants rose from the sand.

The five men stood in silence looking at each other, then grim smiles broke out on all the clones' faces including Maze.

He twirled his right hand blaster several times before holstering it.

Gregor grinned; Maze realised both he and Rex had done that action at exactly the same time.

Must be a Fett thing!

"Good shots Wolffe." Maze heard himself say, as Gregor slapped his brother on the back, before clearing his throat to say, "Good batting Gen— Arligan."

Rex leaned back, letting out a long breath.

"Clean up lads! Salvage anything we can use. You know the drill!"

They watched as Wolffe and Gregor wandered among the debris of the fight and the dead bodies, picking over the bikes and leaving the bodies. Having scavenged everything they could, they returned to the Walker.

"Should we bury the dead?" asked Zey.

"The Joopa take care of the bodies whether we bury them or not. They'll all be gone in the morning. It's a waste of our energy and potentially dangerous." Said Wolffe, "But I found this."

It was a small part of one of the bikes, looked like the remnant of the outer covering of a fuel tank.

There were some painted markings on it. His gloved fingers rubbed the sand away from it to reveal — Black and ochre circles indicating a primitive rising sun.

"I know that mark." said Maze.

"Yes." Agreed Zey. "I didn't think they had come this far. Or why they would choose this planet."

"Why does anyone choose this planet?" Commented Wolffe. "To disappear."

"Perhaps this gang are just wannabe's?" Added Gregor.

"Well, either way I'd like to know exactly what we're dealing with, Crimson Dawn or not." Declared Rex.

This had dragged up memories of Maul, and the Tribunal. He had thought he was long past that. Put it behind him.

Arligan watched him for a few long seconds; he had felt his reaction before the clone had clamped down on them.

The clones set the Walker moving off towards the prairie; with Maze and Zey's ship strapped to it. It was more solid ground there. The worms couldn't make much inroad into the rock underneath.

They had a lot to think about and do.

.

The mangled piece of durasteel from the bike lay in the middle of the table; it had been cleaned up now and the mark of Crimson Dawn was clear and genuine, etched into the metal not just painted on.

Rex turned away from the controls and stood up.

"Now? What were we talking about, before being so rudely interrupted?" He said, hands on hips.

"How good you looked for your age, ner vod." Gregor asked, a fixed smile on his face, leaning very close to Maze.

Maze had seen that look before. It was when a clone meant business. He looked at Zey, who shrugged as if to say this is between you and your brothers.

"I've had the advanced aging reversed." Maze finally admitted.

Wolffe dropped his blaster.

"What do you mean reversed?" Asked Gregor, leaning even further forward, eyes narrowing.

Maze met him face on.

He could psych people out just as well.

"Do you remember Sergeant Skirata?"

"'Course I do and those crazy null boys of his. Don't tell me they're still alive?" He grinned.

"And kicking!" Maze replied. He had made his peace with them years ago. Except Mereel. He still owed him a thump.

"Imperial shebs, hopefully!"

"Somewhere along the way, yes."

"Explain!" Demanded Rex.

"Skirata had been looking for the antidote, for want of a better word, for his boys since before the end of the war. Finally, with the help of the Nulls, he stole a load of data from Kamino before it was destroyed and sprang a renowned geneticist from a high security Republic prison on Coruscant. She worked on it for them."

"Why? as pay back?"

"And revenge. The Empire all but destroyed her planet on Palpatine's orders. Using one of her own viruses."

"Shabu're!" Gregor swore.

"Which planet?" asked Rex.

"Gibad."

Rex tapped into one of his terminals and read the result, scrolling down the screen.

"That was a bad business. Every sentient being on that planet gone in a day. But the infrastructure was left intact. Ready to be repopulated. Genocide."

The men sat quiet for a moment.

"No wonder she did something, anything to get back at him. I'm surprised she didn't engineer something for him specifically."

"If she could have she would have, but he's human and it could spread throughout the galaxy. Mij persuaded her there were other ways to get back at him."

"Did she?"

"If you've had coughs and sneezes at any time over the past ten years. It's probably one of hers. She piggy backs her antidotes to any of his viruses that the Nulls detect."

Wolffe snorted. "And she reversed the ageing?"

"Yes." Maze replied evenly.

"Huh!" Wolffe responded. He didn't trust just anyone easily, any more. Never had.

"So the swoop gang, what are we up against?" Zey changed the subject.

Rex raised his eyebrow and looked around at the circle of men, "Are we saying we're going after them?"

"We can get the lie of the land. If it's feasible, go after them," offered Maze, "It's sort of what we do."

"What do you mean, 'what we do'?" Asked Gregor leaning forward again. These two fascinated him.

"What Maze means is, if we find some injustice perpetrated by individuals, institutions or gangs, we take them out. Try and even the bolo ball field, so to speak."

"You mean like the Jedi?"

Maze shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds interesting. Tell me more." Gregor said slowly.

Rex and Wolffe looked at each other and grinned.

"They have been harassing some of the small towns recently." Offered Wolffe, "The last time I was in Riecherye, a couple of months ago, they had ransacked the local Speeder Repair shop." He looked around, "You know Olesh's."

"Then there was that fire in Norlos. In the moisture vaporator rental place." Gregor added.

Rex stroked his beard.

"We could take a look at their base. We have a holomap."

.

The four clones and one ex-Jedi stood around the old Republic holomap table, studying the 3D map of the terrain displayed in front of them.

"It won't be easy." Said Zey arms crossed, considering the terrain where the clones said the camp was situated.

"Hmm. It's not impossible." Muttered Wolffe, mirroring Zey.

"We could use the ship." Maze offered.

"Recce first I think?" Rex declared, as he leaned hands flat on the tabletop. His gaze taking in the area of their base.

"Sounds good." Added Gregor, rubbing his hands. "What are we waiting for?"

"The ship isn't repaired."

"We don't need that yet. We could use the Nexu."

Maze frowned, "Nexu— aren't they dangerous?"

"This one isn't." Gregor pushed a red button.

There was a humming noise as a panel opened up on the floor.

"Mind your feet!" Urged Gregor.

Zey looked amazed at the ingenuity.

Maze just shook his head as he looked through the hole in the floor, to see a speeder bike below.

"Why is it called Nexu?" He had to ask, as Gregor dropped down into the hole, to sit on the bike.

He heard more motorised parts.

"Come and see!" Said Rex, grinning. He walked to the door and slid down the steps to the ground. maze and Zey followed.

Gregor was sitting atop a two seater speeder bike, top of the range. Painted with the eyes, teeth and stripes of a Nexu. In the sandy colours of the desert.

Maze hand went involuntarily to it stroking along its front.

"Kandosii!" He muttered.

"It's fast, agile and quiet." Explained Gregor. "And we only use her on special occasions like this." Caressing the accelerator

"We can get in closer and faster, see exactly who's there." Wolffe added. "We'll go. Gregor and I."

Maze looked at Rex, trying not to be obvious that he was questioning the rationality of that.

"Got a problem with that ARC?"

Maze shook his head, "It's Rex's decision."

"Agreed! Okay troopers. Get kitted up!"

.

They were in the ships cockpit, Maze was on his back, with his hand in a tangle of wires trying to find the one that kept shorting out. It was the last thing they needed to do; the three of them had worked on the ship to get it up to spec. Rex was holding the light and the replacement wire.

"They're good. Wolffe and Gregor. Just need keeping on track."

"Okay! Okay! If you say so. It's just…."

"You didn't agree with the two of them together."

"I would have preferred it if myself, or Arligan, had gone with one of them."

"They're used to working together. We all have our problems. Nobody survived the War unscathed. Not even you and the Librarian."

"Point taken."

Maze pulled his hand away quickly, as he received a shock.

"So, how long have you been together now?" Asked Rex.

"Since a few months after Order 66."

"I thought you were together before."

"We've had our ups and downs, or blips, as Essie says."

"Oh?"

"Usually when I don't tell her something. Or she doesn't tell me something."

"Like when you found us?" Rex offered.

"Probably." Smirked Maze.

Rex frowned, "Do you do it deliberately?"

He remembered Alpha's being deliberately obtuse.

"I may do."

"You shouldn't." Rex said in all seriousness.

"I know but we both enjoy the making up too much." His eyes focused on the distance for a few seconds.

"Ah." Rex commented, he'd heard that before.

.