Cody watched from the cockpit of the Marauder as the commandos exited the base, carrying several bandits with them. Tech had the Rodian over one shoulder, and Hunter and Crosshair were carrying Noal, while Wrecker had a tied-up bandit under each arm.

One after the other, they tossed the gang members into the snow in front of where Jorick and the others had finally managed to get to their feet. None of the invaders were even bothering to attempt untying their hands. They just watched their captors warily and exchanged looks and mumbled to each other with various degrees of irritation.

Clearly, they had recognized the fact that they would be dead by now if the clones had wanted them to be, and they weren't about to take chances – or at least, most of them weren't. There were some that might still try to cause trouble. As Wrecker headed back into the base, Hunter lifted his hand and the Marauder's comm chirped.

"Reporting in, Commander," he said, his words strangely flat and careful. "The base is clear. Should we let them go?"

Cody looked at the sensors, but the gang's ship showed no signs of life. "I'll come out," he replied.

"Yes, sir." Hunter ended the call, and Cody looked outside just in time to see Wrecker come out, carrying another gangster. Blood dripped into the snow from the human's neck every couple of steps. If the bounty hunters hadn't been thoroughly beaten before, they were now – any of them who had been showing even slight signs of resistance fell still and then shifted closer together.

Shaking his head, Cody pushed himself to his feet and headed outside. Once down the ramp, he walked as quickly as he could manage, well aware of the dozens of eyes that tracked his progress. As he came to a halt in front of the group of mercenaries, his glanced quickly over all of them.

The tense silence grew, and a few of the bandits shifted uneasily.

"Jorick," Cody said at last, turning to the Weequay. "I'm going to give you and your men a choice."

The Weequay narrowed his black eyes in consideration, then shrugged. "What are our options?"

"Either get off Vinnda Prime and stay away from it for the rest of your lives, or turn yourselves in to the Republic."

The other bounty hunters immediately stirred and muttered, whispering among themselves. Jorick studied Cody for a long moment, then turned to his men. "Leaving sounds good to me. Anyone want to turn himself in?"

Nobody answered except Noal, who finally said, "We aren't going back to those filthy prison ships."

"Then get out," Cody told him. "I'm going to broadcast your transponder code and ship ID to the GAR . . . and I'm storing it in the defense systems and sensors here. If you ever come back, we'll know about it. Understood?"

"Yeah." Jorick eyed Cody for a moment longer. "What about Gringov?"

"Good luck," the commander replied. "You can risk your necks going after him if you want, but he picked a good place to hide out. I recommend you cut your losses."

Noal snarled, but didn't say anything.

"We'll see," Jorick said at last. "We might not be able to deal with him right now, but he can't stay hidden forever."

"That's not my concern," Cody said evenly, then turned to the commandos. "Did you get all their weapons?"

"Yeah," Wrecker answered, pointing to a stack a few meters behind him.

"Good. Put them on the Marauder." When Jorick opened his mouth to protest, Cody raised his voice. "We'll drop them off at their ship."

Wrecker hurried to obey, and Cody glanced at Tech. "Take care of the transponder code and ID, Tech."

"Yes, Commander."

"Crosshair, Hunter – you can untie them, but cuff them together in pairs. Jorick, your men will have to bring your teammate's body back with you, unless you want to bury him here. Take your pick."

"Ground's frozen solid," Jorick muttered reluctantly. "We'll take him with us."

Cody nodded, keeping one hand on his pistol as Crosshair and Hunter paired up the mercenaries, cuffing one's right hand to the other's left.

Jorick assigned four of the bounty hunters to carry the body on a canvas. After watching the ones in front struggling to hold the corners of the material, he added, "We'll take shifts."

By the time Hunter was cuffing Jorick and Noal together, Tech and Wrecker had finished their tasks and were back.

"I take it you can find your ship from here," Cody said.

"Yeah." Jorick jerked his chin towards the snow-covered hill behind the base. "Ten kilometers that way, maybe a little farther."

"Good. Start walking. We're not leaving the planet until you've left it, so don't get any ideas. And remember – if you come back, we'll know, and I'll personally send squads to hunt you down."

Jorick rolled his eyes. "Like we would."

As he turned away, Cody raised his voice. "Oh, and Jorick? Don't even think of selling the base's location to anyone. If this base is attacked, ever, I'll be going with the assumption that it's your fault. You won't be able to hide."

The Weequay shrugged again and met Cody's eyes. "I've got no interest in your army or your war," he said. "I could have killed you and didn't – you could have killed me and didn't. Far as I'm concerned, we're even. We'll go after Gringov on our own terms."

Cody inclined his head and stepped back, folding his arms as the group of mercenaries set off through the snow. Nobody spoke until they were several hundred meters away.

Finally, Wrecker stirred. "Uhh – we're not gonna stand here until they reach their ship, are we?"

"No, Wrecker." Cody shot him a quick smile. "We're going into the base to secure it and lock down everything. Then we'll drop off the mercenaries' weapons. Once they've left the system, we'll head back to Kamino."

"Okay." Wrecker started off, then stopped short. "Hey, Commander, can we get something to eat first? I'm starved."

"Of course you are," Crosshair said, but his words lacked their usual sharpness.

Cody ended up sending Crosshair inside to grab some ration bars, but Hunter couldn't manage more than one bite. His stomach was churning, and his mouth was too dry. He swallowed with an effort, then turned away from the others and held the bar out to Wrecker.

"Ya sure?" Wrecker whispered loudly. Hunter frowned and nodded – why did his older teammate have to pick now, of all times, to hesitate when it came to having more to eat? Fortunately, nobody commented or seemed to notice.

Cleanup took a while. Cody took Tech and Crosshair inside, while Hunter and Wrecker were sent to deal with the disaster caused by the exploding speeders. They shoved the twisted metal into a pile, a short distance from the doors, and left it.

About an hour and a half later, when the bounty hunters were a good eight kilometers away, Hunter and Tech took the Marauder up and flew to the mercenaries' shuttle, which was silent and empty. They dumped the bundled weapons in the snow, then returned to the others. Both flights were quiet, as Tech was focused on piloting instead of talking, and the sergeant had nothing to say.

When Hunter finally entered the base, for the first time since the battle, the blood on the floor was gone. He checked twice, but not even the slightest trace remained.

"You still good, Commander?" Crosshair's voice came from near the barracks.

"Yes," Cody replied, and two sets of footsteps approached Hunter's position.

For some reason, the sergeant found himself moving quickly to the control room to join Tech, who was resetting all the systems.

A moment later, Wrecker came in, grinned, and walked up behind Tech. Before Hunter could decide whether or not to say anything, Wrecker leaned his forearms heavily on Tech's shoulders, nearly causing the shorter commando to faceplant against the control center.

"Wrecker!" Tech yelped. "Get off!"

"Oh, whoops!" Wrecker straightened up, an unconvincing look of innocence on his face. "Didn't see you there, sorry. . ."

Adjusting his goggles viciously, Tech spun back to his work.

Hunter watched silently.

"All set, lads?" Cody said, entering the room with Crosshair. The commander was moving easily enough, but his face was pale.

"As soon as I complete this, we will be," Tech answered. "Ah – for the most part, that is. I've vented the laser field room for an hour at this point, but it may take longer than we have to really get rid of the smoke."

"Don't worry about it," Cody told him. "I'll be sending a repair crew in once we get back to Kamino. Just lock everything down and get your things. We're headed back to the Marauder to wait until Jorick's gone."

Picking up his Firepuncher from where he'd set it in the corner, Crosshair narrowed his eyes at the floor for a few seconds, before saying, "And then it's back to Kamino."

"Oh . . . yeah, that's right." Wrecker slumped.

"Yeah." Cody's gaze flitted among all four of them. "It's back to Kamino, where you boys will be given your designation as troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic."

Tech stopped working and glanced over his shoulder to exchange a silent but skeptical look with Crosshair, and Wrecker turned to Hunter, who tilted his head, almost unwilling to hope. The commander didn't seem to mind the fact that none of them answered. He let the silence continue for several moments before saying, "Tech? You almost done?"

"Oh. Yes. One moment." Tech finished up whatever he was doing and unplugged his datapad. "There. We are clear to move."

They locked the base doors and headed to the Marauder. The surrounding area was quiet, and the setting sun cast long, blue-tinged shadows over the snow.

When they entered the shuttle, the squad members hovered just inside the doorway, all of them watching Cody as he trailed up the ramp after them.

Noticing their looks, he raised an eyebrow. "You need me to assign tasks or something?"

"No, Commander." Tech headed for the cockpit, and Wrecker followed.

Shaking his head with a smirk, Cody hit the control to retract the ramp. He didn't seem to notice the thin line of blood between his lips.

"Ah . . . sir?" Hunter said, and gestured to his mouth.

Cody pressed a hand to his lips and glanced at his bloodied fingers. "Hm," he said, then apparently forgot about it because he turned to Crosshair. "Keep an eye on those sensors, Crosshair. I want us in the air as soon as Jorick's ship takes off."

"Yes, sir."

As Cody moved towards the cockpit, saying something about having Tech comm Kamino, Hunter stayed where he was. Everything suddenly seemed too normal – the quiet blinking of sensor lights, the sound of the comm chirping as the long-range transmitter warmed up, the casual way everyone was speaking and moving. . .

The sergeant took off his helmet and flipped it around in his hands. There were drops and streaks of blood on the faceplate. Hunter wondered if the man had realized he was dying. Everything had happened so fast. He still couldn't remember exactly what he had done – he couldn't remember anything between being grabbed and seeing his knife in the human's neck.

What if it had been one of his squad mates behind him? Would he have ended up killing one of them? Maybe not Wrecker. But Tech, or Crosshair? That man, the way he slipped from living to dead – that could have been Tech or Crosshair.

His thoughts spun wildly, and it wasn't until he nearly dropped his helmet that he realized he was shaking. Closing his hands tightly around the helmet, he hurried to the bunkroom.

"Where's Hunter?" Wrecker asked, about seven minutes after the clones had boarded the Marauder.

"Probably cleaning up from the battle," Crosshair answered, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the sensor array. "Tech, they're lifting off."

"I'm on it." The Marauder lurched slightly as Tech took her up.

To his right, Cody kept his hands ready on the co-pilot controls. He'd noticed the sergeant's disappearance a few minutes ago, but there was still the chance Jorick would decide to fly over the base and pepper it with turret fire, just for spite. Fortunately, the Weequay seemed to be keeping his word. The red indicator for his ship turned and headed out of atmosphere.

"Tech, follow them," Cody ordered, then held his breath to keep from breaking into another spell of violent coughing. It was just as well that they were only about four hours from Kamino, he thought.

Only a few seconds after the Marauder cleared atmosphere, Jorick's ship entered hyperspace and vanished from the sensors.

"Excellent." Cody turned to Crosshair. "You have the coordinates for Kamino set?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Wrecker, take over for me." Cody stood.

"The course is plotted and entered," Tech reported, then tilted his head and shot Wrecker a slight smile. "We can enter hyperspace whenever you are ready."

The bigger commando stared at him, then broke into a grin. "Aw, man, I get to bring us into hyperspace? This is gonna be so cool!" He grabbed the hyperspace lever and pushed it forward.

As the stars jumped into streaks, Cody turned and left the cockpit. He stood near the main door for a moment, but heard nothing that would guide him. . . though past experience told him that the sergeant would probably have headed to the closest empty room.

Walking quickly, he approached the bunkroom and pressed the door controls. The door wasn't locked – good.

The lights were on, and Cody immediately spotted Hunter sitting on a weapons locker in the corner, elbows on his knees. His breathing was audible, and he kept opening and closing his hands against his head.

Cody observed him for a few seconds. When Hunter showed no immediate signs of aggression or physically lashing out in a panic, the commander went over and sat down on the locker beside him. The sergeant didn't even look up – he just kept staring blankly at the floor, breathing unsteadily while his fingers dug into his temples.

"Hunter," Cody said.

It took a few seconds for the sergeant to respond, the realization that Cody was there visibly entering his face even though he never looked up. "Sir," he said at last, voice unsteady.

"What is it, Hunter?" Cody asked quietly, as though he didn't already know.

"I don't know," Hunter mumbled, throat tight. "I just keep –"

When he stammered and fell silent, the commander turned to face him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What is you're seeing?"

I don't know, sir –" His breathing came harder, eyes suddenly unfocused.

"Deep breath, Sergeant," Cody ordered, gripping him harder. "Now another. . . One more. Good lad."

Another half minute passed while Hunter slowed his breathing. At last, shaking his head with a slight jerk, he lowered his hands to his lap and clenched them into fists.

"Sorry, Commander," he said. Despite the neutral tone and the lack of expression in his features, his eyes were glazed. "Nothing's wrong, sir, I just – I – I don't know."

"You don't know what?" Cody asked.

". . . I don't know – why, sir." The sergeant's gaze slipped to the floor.

Cody hummed thoughtfully and didn't answer for a moment. Finally, he said, "My first kill wasn't easy either, son."

For the first time since the commander had entered the room, Hunter looked at him, eyes wide with astonishment.

"For some people, it's easier," Cody said. "For some, it isn't. Killing a man at long distance – that's one thing, especially in a battle where it's kill or be killed. But killing at close range, especially when you've only ever taken out droids . . . it's a shock."

The sergeant let his breath out shakily, rubbing his right hand against the opposite forearm. "I didn't even know he was there," he mumbled. "I don't even know how I killed him so fast. I didn't know I was doing it, sir. I just – he grabbed my throat, and it just happened."

Cody nodded. "Because your training kicked in, Hunter. You've trained all your life to defend yourself. That's why you don't remember doing it – it was instinctive. You'd never think twice about it if it had been a droid, would you?"

"No, sir. . ." The sergeant slumped back against the wall, head bowed. "But a droid shutting down isn't – it doesn't matter, sir, it's just a droid."

"I know," Cody told him. "It's not easy to face death, especially when you're the one who's caused it. But it's necessary. If someone was about to shoot one of your squad mates, you wouldn't hesitate to shoot him, would you?"

Hunter shook his head. "No, sir. But – I just . . . I guess I hadn't realized how – dangerous." He paused to swallow.

"How dangerous you are?" Cody prompted.

Hunter hesitated, then nodded miserably. "I just keep thinking – what if it was one of the others. What if – one of them scares me and I just lash out like that. I can't undo that, sir, it's, it's not – reversible."

"Unlike fixing droids," Cody said. "I know, Hunter. But remember, you'll know when you're truly being attacked. Your squad mates would never try to throttle you like that, right?"

The sergeant stared at him for several long seconds before giving a jerky nod and relaxing visibly, though he was still pale and trembling.

Cody sat next to him, not speaking. He clearly remembered having a similar conversation with Fox, though the positions had been reversed. Then, it was Fox talking sense into Cody, who had been attacked in the middle of a scouting mission. One of his assailants ended up dead, shot three times through the chest, and the other got away with only a blaster wound to the side – and a broken wrist, courtesy of Rex, who had been the one to capture the man.

There were several nights where Cody had woken abruptly, haunted by the memory of his assailant's eyes as he died. All the knowledge in the galaxy about how justified Cody had been couldn't get rid of that. On Kamino, he'd been taught that killing sentients wouldn't affect soldiers who had been properly trained, but the fact remained that most clones were strongly affected by their first kill, especially of another humanoid.

Cody had often wondered whether that reflected poorly on the clones' training, or on the Kaminoans' understanding of human nature. Something in sentients seemed to rebel against death.

Hunter stirred next to him. "It doesn't stay, does it, Commander?"

"No." Getting carefully to his feet, Cody turned to look down at him. "It'll get better with time, especially if you let it alone."

"Yes, sir. . ." Hunter stood, then stared at his helmet as though in realization. "I should finish cleaning my gear," he said abruptly.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." As the sergeant continued to stand motionless, Cody wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Hunter, don't think too much about what you could have done differently. It'll only make you question yourself – and not in a good way."

Hunter stayed quiet for a few seconds, then nodded his understanding. "I'll do my best, sir."

"I know you will, trooper." Cody tightened his grip briefly, then released the sergeant and headed for the door.

On his way out, he cast a look back and was relieved to see that Hunter was getting his cleaning kit, moving a little slowly, but purposefully. It was the soldiers who got lost in their own heads that were the hardest to keep safe.

Sighing quietly, Cody headed back to the cockpit. Seeing troopers cross that line never got any easier.