"Del! Get back to the house." Maze roared at his son.

"Aw, Dad." he grumbled, not moving.

Maze lifted an eyebrow.

Del slid off the stool.

"Yes Dad." His dad's eyes softened a little, when he replied and Del left the room. He knew when not to argue and Dad would explain, he always explained, sometimes even when Mum couldn't, or wouldn't. His bark was worse than his bite.

Maze crossed his arms and looked at the man lying in front of him. He was at his most intimidating now, needing a shave and emphasising his pecs. He'd been told so in the past by other clones and he was playing on it now. He deepened his scowl.

"So who are you?" He snarled. Essie hated it when he used 'the voice' as she called it. Sometimes just that got results.

"I think you owe me an explanation first. Kidnapping me. Operating on me….."

Kriff! The balls on him. Thought Maze before interrupting him. "Saving your life." He snarled back.

The other clone went quiet.

"The name you chose for yourself!" Maze demanded.

"Jac."

"Designation!".

"TK204."

The replies had come quick and fast almost like reflexes.

Maze tapped a key on his vambrace. That didn't tally with the name he gave or the Intel they held on the 501st, courtesy of the Nulls. His eyes narrowed.

"How long have you been out, decommissioned?"

"A few years."

"Why?"

"Leg injury. Couldn't keep up with the young'uns. Not up to Vader's standard. I managed to get jobs in civvy street and jogged along nicely for a few years but.."

"Nightmares?"

He nodded.

"Getting worse?"

He nodded.

"Memories coming back?"

Jac looked at him, then away before answering.

"Yes. New memories."

"Heard it before. Have a few myself." Maze added.

Jac felt himself relenting, being pulled in.

"You asked why we help people. Anybody. We all have some guilt we need to deal with." Maze moved a bottle of water within his reach. "I'll get you some more food."

"Why do you look so young compared…."

"Genes! Now rest! But I'm not letting you out yet."

The younger looking clone left abruptly.

Jac lowered his head to the pillow.

Definitely Alpha. He remembered the attitude. He wasn't sure who, a lot of them had gone missing around Order 66 but he looked too young to be an original. Were they cloning more? He thought all sentient cloning had been stopped but that wouldn't necessarily stop the Empire.

Unless he'd had the 'Cure.'

There had been rumours.

He pulled off the top of his water and took a drink.

.

"He's lying!" Maze advised the small group assembled in the meeting room. "He gave me a designation that doesn't exist and a name that could be anyones. He has very few old scars which is unusual and no tats we can use to identify him. We need an ID reader to really confirm his identity, that's assuming he still has one implanted."

"I can rig one up." Geith offered, "It'll take me about a day. Before you ask." He grinned. "We've got all the parts."

"And that's because he doesn't throw anything away." Callista added.

"I could try and read him." Vos offered. Pushing himself away from the wall where he had been leaning, listening, "but I'm due to leave in a couple of hours."

"I'd rather we didn't, not yet. It feels like one intrusion too many." Djinn replied.

Vos shrugged, "Your call. I'm going to prep ready to leave." He stalked out of the room.

Essie felt Kai stand next to her. He was worried.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Will I end up like him?"

"Of course not." She ruffled his dark brown curls and watched as the worry evaporated from his face. She pulled him onto her lap.

"Your chip was removed years ago, when you were really tiny. Mij did it. You were too young to remember but we explained it to you, didn't we?"

"Oh yes." His face brightened up at the thought.

"Then, a few months after that, you had the anti aging treatment. And that's why you grow at the same rate as your brother. And you'll look just like your Dad when you grow up."

Del had moved next to her and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. She was always amazed at how protective he was but he had been there in the beginning, when they had brought Kai home, back from that force forsaken planet.

"You want to go and play?" Del asked.

Kai slid off her knee, "Yeah, hide and seek."

"I'll give you ten. Then I'm coming." Said Del, as he watched his little brother run out of the door.

"Don't worry Mum. I'll always look after him."

He walked to the door "Seven, eight, nine, ten. I'm coming, ready or not!" He shouted and shot out of the door.

"He's a good kid. They both are." Geith said.

"I know." She was proud of them both but still had this overwhelming, at times, fear of losing them. They just needed to grow up as normal as possible in these times.

And now they would have a brother or sister.

.

Maze walked up to Vos ship, a small freighter. He was currently checking some feeds.

"Need any help?"

"No. Just finished."

"Leaving soon?"

"A few minutes."

Maze nodded, "I know better than to ask where."

"Need to set up a new base, after Jabiim." Vos tightened up the last bolt.

"Might be an idea to head further into Wild Space."

"Yeah but then there's the Ascendancy."

"Word is they don't normally bother you if you don't bother them." Maze answered.

"We'll see."

"Heard there was a Chiss in the Imperial Navy. I wonder how that's going for him?" Maze said.

"Unpronounceable name, apparently but it's been shortened to Thrawn. The Emperor is enamoured." Vos' voice was hard. "And word is he's good, be careful."

"I'll get Essie to keep an eye out for him." Maze stuck his hand out, "It's been a bloody honour, as usual."

Vos clasped his hand around his forearm, "Thanks Maze. You're a kriffing grumpy sod but you're okay. I don't know how Essie puts up with you. Look after her."

"I always do."

"And congratulations, if I don't get back before the new one's born."

Maze nodded.

"Essie apologised, for the Jedi training jibe." said Vos

"She would. She didn't mean it." Maze knew his wife.

"I know. You two are good together." Vos commented.

"Knowing her, saved me." Maze admitted.

"I know what you mean." Returned the Jedi

Maze didn't enquire further but said, "You know where we are. If you need anything."

"Yeah."

"I mean it. Zey's getting on a bit now, so we don't do so much."

Vos looked at him eyebrows raised.

"What I mean to say is, if you need anyone to help out, just call."

Vos nodded, and turned to get on the ship, then turned back.

"At my darkest point Maze, I never thought I would trust a clone again but you've proved me wrong, you're alright."

Maze shrugged.

With that, Vos swung himself up the ramp, somersaulting, as Maze backed away shaking his head.

"But you're still a grumpy sod."

Maze rolled his eyes; he always had to show off and have the last word.

.

Geith clicked the small ID scanner into the standard medical scanner, you could not see it was there.

"You'll need to get really close to the ID tally but it will automatically scan it and record it. He won't be able to see what you're doing."

"Are you alright doing this?" Maze enquired.

"Yeah, of course. We need to know who he is but why don't we just ask him again?" Mel asked.

Maze rolled his eyes, until Essie nudged him, hard, in his ribs. He didn't have his armour on; she wasn't stupid.

"He's not very forthcoming. He doesn't trust us." Maze said.

"We did kidnap him." Mel stated the obvious.

"I'll do it. It records fine doesn't it? So if there's a problem we'll find out after I've done it." Essie offered.

"And if he recognises you?" Asked Djinn.

"If he recognises me then it may give me an in."

Maze rolled his shoulders, "If you bloody insist, I'll be just outside."

Essie smiled, "I know you will."

She kissed him on the cheek.

.

Essie pushed open the door putting on her best smile; she had dressed in Mel's clothes, luckily they were on the big side for her and fit Essie.

"Just need to do a check up." She announced, she lifted the old flimzi pad from the bottom of the bed and looked at it.

"Where's the other one?"

"We have more than one patient you know. Headaches?"

"No. Gone."

"Good." She replied, starting up the scanner.

"Any other aches, pains or anything unusual."

"No!" He shook his head. "You're very interested in my welfare."

"It's what we do. Help people." She scanned his head, moving slowly down his neck and around.

"In my experience, people only help in expectation of something in return. Unless you're a Jedi."

Essie laughed, "Jedi eh? I'm no Jedi."

"I don't know, you all act Jedi-y."

"Is that even a word?"

"Stop playing games with me.

"Okay! But I heard all the Jedi are dead. Have been for years."

She continued scanning, finally finding the ID tally. Then she felt his eyes on her all the while she was scanning then she switched it off, finished.

"If you start getting headaches let us know. Do you need anything else?"

"If you could just undo…."

"No, not yet."

Jac watched as she left the room.

"Not a Jedi, my arse."

.

Maze retrieved the tiny data card from the scanner and inserted it in his datapad to read. He let it load up and read the contents. His eyebrows drew down in frown.

Are you okay?" Essie asked, seeing the look on her husband's face.

"I don't believe this?"

"Did it not record?"

"Yes, it was recorded and the ID needs to be deactivated quickly."

"So do we know who he is?"

"Yes and he was in Vader's Fist."

"A commando?"

"No worse!"

"Who then?"

"Jab the medic from SOB."

Essie stood there open mouthed.

###

A/N - sorry if you were expecting a familiar clone. This is my OC from Entanglement.