Chapter Twenty-Five

Packing the memory box didn't happen easily. Or quickly. She took breaks, holding each thing and talking to her baby, just taking it one day at a time.

Today it was a wonderful distraction from her 'imprisonment' until Ahsoka was located. While invading Felucia, she mysteriously disappeared. Knowing how protective of her friends Ella was, her friends and the General made sure she was kept inside and under watch, safe from her own longing to abandon all sense and go charging off to find her. Hardcase had however admitted that an enraged pregnant woman would likely be enough to traumatize whomever had dared abduct the commander.

So while she was doing her time, she began the memory box.

"You'll see this one day, sweetie," she murmured. "This is your Daddy's favorite shirt. He wore it on our honeymoon. It smells like him. Maybe you'll smell him and think of Daddy then too. And this..." she picked up the metal anchor bracelet she'd given him.

Fives had informed her that wherever he slept, he hung it where he'd see it whenever he closed his eyes to sleep or blinked them open as he wakened.

"This is the bracelet I gave him right after we got together. Right before the Second Battle of Geonosis. Right before he learned how to make you from Uncle Anakin!" She giggled at the image that appeared in her memory of his stricken face. "And this—"

She paused. What was this?

There was a large album with a picture of them on their wedding day on the front, smiling and embracing under her veil. In blue letters across the front read:

Forever and Always, Echo and Ella Starrow. January 19, 20 BBY

Ella opened the album to see her getting ready with Riyo, Galene, Ahsoka, and Padmé, her mother giving her the blue garter. Ella blushed at that memory.

She turned the next page and this time it was Echo, smiling humorously as he smoothed his collar in the corner. Behind him were Fives, Hardcase and Jesse. All were laughing, and it was evident their amusement was directed towards Rex, who was sitting on a bench, covering his red face with his hands. She wondered what had embarrassed him.

Then there were the pictures of them both leaning against windows, looking out for each other. Their prayer behind a wall, to keep her appearance a secret until he saw her at the wedding. Their clasped hands as they reached behind each other and whispered words of love and faith, thanking the Maker for bringing them to each other and asking for wisdom and guidance.

Ella nearly cried when she came to the ceremony. She hadn't seen how nervous her husband was just before he saw her. His brothers were patting his shoulder, he wrung his hands, shifting minutely.

Then his face when he saw her. Her face when she saw him. Their vows. The rings exchanged. The candle. Their first kiss. The newlywed photo shoot right after.

The garter toss was one that she was glad Amon hadn't viewed. She still felt Echo's phantom teeth on her thigh as he dragged it down her leg. The picture was further away, capturing her blushing face, hardly masked by her hands as he did just that, then sent it into the crowd of brothers.

Kix's face when he caught it was priceless.

She came to the end, their departure amidst the dazzling lights, and she held it to her chest. These memories were so sweet. She didn't ever want to forget a single detail of that day.

Something fell on her lap.

She looked down to see a holo disc.

Padding over to her holo projector, she pushed it in and hit play.

It was their wedding video.

"The day I met Ella, I thought I was just going to check on my brother. But then I saw her and... I forgot how to breathe."

Echo...

"I could only give her these kinda dull answers about me. When I told her I liked reading regs, I thought she'd be weirded out; but she asked why and was seriously intrigued. It was just mind blown that this girl was actually interested in what I said and liked." He ducked his head, "She caught me staring at her, but didn't say I was weird. Asked if I'd ever seen a girl before, which I actually hadn't. Not really besides pinups or jedi who were either like mother figures or sisters."

She listened to him talk about her, and the pain in her heart at his absence began to crumble and grow into joy that he had loved her so much, that she'd been given the opportunity to love him, even if the time was cut short.

Instead of anger, she was grateful.

Then came the letter she'd written him.

"Darling Echo. I can't believe we're really here, and that we'll finally be married today. I have been honored to be your crush, overjoyed to be your girlfriend, and am ecstatic to be your bride. But nothing compares to the complete joy and excitement I feel as I grow closer to being your wife."

Here he had to stop, his voice breaking and a few tears sliding down his cheeks. "Gosh, Ella, I should've known you could make me cry before I even got to the wedding venue!"

Someone laughed in the background and she thought she heard Hardcase calling him a sap. Echo stuck his tongue out at him playfully before resuming.

"I have loved you since you were the boy in the medbay, shyly looking around for his brother. The way you looked at me that day is the way I prayed the man who would be my husband would look at me. You're the most amazing part of my life, and I am so blessed that the Maker has led us to each other. I cannot imagine a life without you in it; it wouldn't be nearly as wonderful or joyful as the one I'm going to live with you. You're my everything, Echo, and I love you more than anything in the whole galaxy."

He sniffled and wiped his eyes, covering his face.

"You're an amazing man, and I have no doubt that you will be an even more amazing husband, and someday an incredible father. I love you so much. I can't wait to be yours. You better kiss me good up there or I might riot."

Rex laughed and said, 'And you know she would!'

"I'll see you in a little bit, Echo. Never forget how much I love you. Let's make it official. Forever your angel, Ella."

Ella sat through her own reading on the edge of her seat. Forget her. Give her more of the wonderful man who'd captured her heart.

The camera finally came back to him, and Echo took a breath then looked into the camera. "Ella, you're the only girl who I could ever imagine being my wife, and I will be waiting to make that real at the end of the aisle. Forgive me if I'm a mess. I think it's inevitable now. I love you. I can't wait to be your husband."

Then he saw her, and she saw the entire crowd gape at her, and Echo started crying, a star struck look on his face.

She listened to his vows. She felt his arms around her as he kissed and dipped her, tasted his lips on hers.

She didn't even realize she was crying.

Someone knocked on the door, and Ella sniffled, pausing the video to call out, "C-Come in!"

Rex entered, sitting beside her and holding her in his arms. "Oh, grayi'r'ika..."

Ella whimpered and held onto him. "I-I just was packing his memory box for the baby... I saw the wedding album and video and... ugh, stang these kriffing pregnancy hormones!"

He shook his head, "Don't. Don't be mad at yourself for grieving someone who meant so much to you. The only person who would blame you is yourself."

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, "I guess you're right." Then she sighed quiveringly. "You didn't come all the way here just to see if I was crying, did you?"

He chuckled, "No. I wanted to tell you that Ahsoka was found. I know how worried you were about her."

Ella sighed in relief. "Worried is putting it lightly."

"I think that since it took three of us to hold you back from racing off into the Felucian wilderness alone to find her, I agree with you."

They laughed at this.

Then Ella smirked, "You remember this picture here?" She opened the album to the first page of them getting dressed and ready.

Rex nodded, blushing. "Yeah. I remember. Didn't know they got a picture though."

"Why were they all laughing at you?" she asked.

He snorted, "They played a prank on me. Even the General was in on it. The night before, General Skywalker told me about a kind of reptile - a snake, called a Whistler Bite. Apparently it likes to hide on the inside of shoes, and when it whistles, it's about to bite." He shook his head, "They put some sort of thing in my shoe that would whistle when pressure was applied. I stuffed my feet in my shoes, heard the whistle, jumped eight feet high. Fives said I screamed like a girl."

Ella laughed with him at this, "I wish I had a video of that!"

He rolled his eyes, "Thank God there isn't one."

Ella was about to say something, when she stopped, gasping. Her eyes widened.

"Ella? You okay?" Rex asked.

She nodded, "Rex... I think... I think I just felt the baby move."

His eyes widened, "Really?"

She nodded again and grabbed his hand, expertly taking off the glove and pressing it into an area of her stomach.

The butterfly feeling came again and his mouth dropped open, looking down at the place the little life was growing.

"Oh, Ella... this is big."

She nodded, biting her lip. "I know!"

He shook his head, "How long until you find out what it is, again?"

Ella laughed, "Why? How much did you bet?"

Rex wrinkled his nose at her. "Not much. I said I'd dye my hair pink if I was wrong."

"Everyone still thinks you bleach your hair?"

"Yup."

"Even though there are several others who have the same genetic mutation causing blond hair?"

He snorted, "Yes. They think I disappear for hours to dye my hair before they figure it out every week or so."

She shook her head, "What do you do instead?"

He sighed, "I actually just go to the quiet place Echo used to go to."

She gasped, "You knew where?"

He nodded. "And I... actually he told me to take you there if something ever happened to him."

Ella stood immediately. "Then what are we waiting for?"

•~§~•

Rex double and triple checked that no one was following them as he led his brother's wife to the secret place. He didn't want Ella to be spied on when she took it in.

When they got to her husband's hiding place, she gasped.

All around her, hanging from the walls, were pieces of flimsi.

On each piece was drawn a picture of people in Echo's life; but the majority were of her.

Ella shook her head, gently fingering one. "I didn't know he could draw. He never told me."

Rex sighed, "He didn't tell anyone. Not even Fives knew."

She turned, "How did you know?"

Rex shrugged, "I keep a close eye on my shinies, especially after they were transferred from a broken battalion, or lost many brothers, or close friends. After the first few weeks of him being in the 501st, I noticed Echo was disappearing almost every afternoon for a few hours. Sometimes, we wouldn't see him until that night or the next morning."

"You found a way to follow him," she guessed.

Rex nodded. "I did. It wasn't easy. That boy was nimble and almost as fleet-footed as a Twi'lek. He was good at making himself scarce to get here undetected. But fortunately... I knew a bit about his routine. He had one. He liked being punctual. Even about slipping away. So I waited and followed him at a distance, making sure he didn't see me. And he led me here."

Ella nodded, sitting down. "Than what?"

Rex nodded, "I saw him slink up here, so I waited until his head had disappeared, then followed him up."

/ It was hard to follow Echo undetected. If he had any credits to his name, he'd bet a good many of them that the boy could be a good scout. Elusive. Swift. Attention to detail. All scout qualities.

Though, when he climbed up a shelf in a storage closet, Rex really wondered what had gotten into him. And how oblivious everyone was. Did Echo really just sit on top of a shelf in a storage room when they looked for him?

But then he pushed up on one of the ceiling tiles, and it moved, he understood why it had been a hassle and stang near impossible to locate him.

Echo slipped into the ceiling and lay the tile back.

All was quiet.

Rex silently crept forward and climbed onto the shelf, then carefully lifted the tile, making sure to do so without emitting even the slightest sound. He stuck his head through, looking around.

It was a bit dark up here.

But there was light coming from somewhere.

He was positive that when he found the source, he'd find Echo and his hiding place.

A little sliver of guilt gnawed the captain. Should he really be exploiting the shiny's secret? Wasn't it a huge infringement on the little privacy that every trooper held dear?

He shook his head to clear the rush of heat to his throat from the thoughts his shoulder angel was feeding him.

No, he was the captain, and he needed to be present in his men's lives.

Especially when they were going off to hide someplace a few weeks after losing three batch mates.

Rex climbed into the metal pipe and reset the tile. How did Echo remember which one it was when it looked exactly like the rest of the ceiling tiles?

Shuddering, he realized he would need the kid with him to get out of here, or he could be trapped for days until someone found him. And then he'd have to explain. He didn't want Echo's private spot to become common knowledge. It wasn't wrong for the kid to want a quiet, safe place for himself, especially after the events on Rishi Moon.

Taking a readying breath, Rex walked in the direction of the light. As it drew steadily nearer, he heard a voice.

"I know. But I think you'd like it here, 'Bait. It's a bit loud at times, and it would take some adjusting, but you'd like it here. You and Wander would likely get along. You're both kinda like that; quiet, cautious, but caring about people to an enth degree."

A sigh.

"I wish you were here, vod'ika. You'd wear 501st blue so well, and you'd keep the three instruments of chaos in line. Fives is one of them now. He's the third. Hardcase, he's the most chaotic. He strapped rocket launchers to his feet the other day and went sailing across the hangar. I'm surprised his still alive. Dislocated his shoulder too. But he's fine. I don't think Kix went easy on him, with the medical attention or the lecture. I didn't stay. Too much attention in one place, you know?"

He laughed, but Rex heard the bitter toll in his voice.

"I miss you, Droidbait. You didn't even get to meet the captain. You'd like him too. I'm sorry I didn't... you should've made it. You and Cutup and Hevy. You all should be here. Hevy always said he wanted to be on the front lines. I wish he'd gotten his chance. I think he'd have been good here. Though he and Cutup would probably make the three chaoses into five. I don't know if even you and me could handle that. Who knows? Maybe you'd make it six!"

If Rex wasn't mistaken, he heard his voice wobble.

"I'm sorry, Droidbait. I promised I'd look out for you. Back in cadet training, remember? One of the bigger guys was picking on you because you hadn't gotten a growth spurt yet, and I said, 'don't worry, vod'ika; I'll watch your back on the battlefield even if you stay that height forever.' I guess I broke that promise, didn't I? I let that droid get you. I should've... I'm sorry, 'Bait."

Echo didn't say anything more.

Rex peeked around the corner and almost gasped.

There, hanging from every wall, we're drawings.

Drawings of his brothers.

Fives, leaning back with his arms behind his head, an almost lazy expression of contentment on his face. He must've been about to tell a joke or something. There was a certain gleam in his eye whenever he was about to do that. Like he knew how bad it would be but would tell it anyway.

Hardcase, Jesse, and Kix. Kix had his hands thrown up in despair, and was rolling his eyes, but he was also smiling. Hardcase was laughing, one hand descending to slap his knee. Jesse was leaning over his shoulder, his face teasing and gleeful, laughing with him, his chest puffed out.

The captain himself, talking to Commander Cody; there was a mantle of respectful decorum over his shoulders, but his lips were slightly turned up in an amused smile. His eyes were tired; battle-weary. Cody was standing restfully, though some stiffness weighed down his comfortable posture.

Then there were some people he hadn't met before.

A boy hefting a Z-6 just about twice his own body weight. Rex could tell he was a year or two away from his final test, and was just getting a hang of the large weapon. He peeked at the label, and couldn't help the bittersweet smile. He had known this boy after all. Hevy.

Another boy hanging upside down by his legs from a bunk, his tongue sticking out tauntingly, his arms crossed. The artist had obviously been looking up at him from the ground, and had likely told him to stop his tomfoolery before he got hurt. Rex almost broke his cover and chuckled at that one as he read the name. Cutup.

He and Hardcase would've likely got along.

Then there was a brother with a sweet expression, whose face looked young and innocent. A shiny at his shiniest. He was staring out at something in absolute wonderment,his eyes shone brilliantly, as if he held a galaxy of lights in them. There was a slight background to this picture. A ship. The lights must be the lights of hyperspace, and judging by the wonderment, it was his first time off Kamino.

Underneath the artwork was written Droidbait. This was the one that Echo was standing before, his hand hovering over it as if he wanted to reach through the flimsi and pull him into his arms, and protect him from whatever violent end had taken his young life away.

Rex felt his heart go out to that boy he'd never met, wishing that they'd gotten there in time to save him.

He was pulled out of his admiration for the art when the artist's shoulders shook slightly, and a soft sniffle was heard in the near silent air shaft. Echo balled his fists by his sides and slipped down the wall he was leaning against, breathing hard as to try to put a stop to his grief.

Rex's feet moved towards his younger brother before he was aware of commanding them to do so, and he rested a hand on his shoulder.

Echo jumped so hard from the shock of someone being in his supposed secret place that his captain wondered if his bones would still be rattling in three days. His eyes widened, and his mouth gaped, opening his mouth to ask how he'd found him. In his surprise, he let up his control, and a lone tear slipped down his cheek.

Rex didn't say a word, but sat beside him and wrapped an arm behind his shoulder, just allowing the quietness to rest upon and around them as they waited. The captain kept his eyes on the wall opposite, roving over the beautifully crafted works of memory. Who had known that Echo was so a gifted?

Finally, there was a slight pressure on his shoulder from the boy's head as he tentatively tested the waters of the offered comfort, not allowing himself to relax as he was still timidly waiting for the invitation to be withdrawn.

Rex leaned his cheek against Echo's thick curls, and smiled a bit when a little more weight was added to his shoulder. This kind of weight, he loved carrying. The trust. The brother bond. It was the best part about being captain; it automatically put him in a position to be caring for his men - his little brothers.

Echo's hair was getting a little out of regulation length. Likely, the boy would cut it back soon, but it was alright if he didn't. Not like anyone would report him for it here. Not like he'd really be punished if anyone dared. The 501st wasn't like that; Captain Rex would make sure that it never began to shift in that direction.

"I'm sorry, sir," Echo whispered. "I just... I wanted to... I—" he cut himself off, shivering as a sniffle cut through the quiet, doubtless proceeding another tear.

There were too many ashamed tears hidden in this war as they fell, eyes glancing around, vigilant not to be caught and exposed for the heinous crime of being a human.

Rex knew that feeling all too well.

When you grew up treated like an object, a means to an end, a soulless meat droid, you weren't allowed to feel. Explosions of anger or grief could result in reconditioning for the 'defective product.' And so you either learned to lock away that human, living, breathing, caring part of you where no one could discover it and label it as a defection, or you died for it. Or worse.

Rex wondered how many. How many times his brothers had hidden behind their helmets when the war took too much from them to be borne in placidity? How many little boys back on Kamino shuddered in trained silence when they were afraid or injured in training?

He returned his attention to the vod'ika beside him. "Whatever you're apologizing for, let it go. It doesn't matter."

He gasped, "It doesn't? I thought you'd be... I slip away without... I thought..."

Rex shook his head, "No, Echo. If I was mad at you for wanting someplace quiet, a private place to have time for yourself, I'd be a hypocrite, and might as well condemn myself and the rest of the people on this ship." He paused and blew out a short whistle. "I didn't know you could draw."

The boy shifted nervously, "I... I started to. On Kamino. But I got in trouble. When I went to Rishi, I drew there, privately. We had logbooks and stuff. Case we wanted them. It kinda got blown up."

Rex chuckled, "Well, these are spectacular. I can imagine being there easily."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw him blush and beam in bashful pleasure. "Really sir?"

"Really, vod. You're a first class artist. It doesn't surprise me much, with your attention to detail."

Echo practically glowed with pride.

"Has no one ever told you before?" Rex asked.

He shook his head, "Last time anyone knew about my sketches, I got corporal punishment for misuse of Kaminoan materials and they were... they got rid of them. I was watched closely from then on whenever I was around supplies." Echo sighed, "I thought I could be careful. I took a few pieces of flimsi when we were in class, hid them under my tunic. Had my stylus with me. Got caught again. This time the punishment was more firm. Severe corporal punishment and isolation for a week."

Rex bit his lip, grimacing in sympathy. Nearly everyone had earned a corporal punishment in their time on Kamino. Rarely had any dared to repeat the same thing and gotten worse. He'd never have guessed Echo was one of the few who had tried again. Isolation was so rare a punishment he could count maybe three people he knew now who'd received it.

"How old were you?"

He swallowed, "Five."

Rex shut his eyes, trying to keep from clenching his jaw and fists in anger at the unfairness of it all. "What happened then?"

Echo shook his head, "For as long as we were on Kamino, I didn't dare draw again. Instead I remembered things and drew them when we left or when we got here. I have a pretty good memory, sir; not to be boastful or anything. It's like taking a picture in my head."

Rex just chuckled, "Maybe that's how you remember which tile gets you out of here."

Echo shrugged, "I guess so."

They were quiet for a minute.

Then, "Tell me about them, Echo."

"Sir?"

Rex sighed, "Tell me about your batch mates. I didn't meet Droidbait or Cutup. I barely knew anything about Hevy. Tell me who they were. Remember them out loud for me."

Echo drew in a breath and sighed, "Cutup was a goofball. More so than Fives, if you can believe it. Kinda on par with Hardcase. He was witty, and had a good sense of humor. He didn't have it easy. Our trainer kinda hated him after his weapon malfunctioned and stung his shebs. Wasn't his fault, but he didn't care. He made everything difficult for him out of spite. But Cutup just worked harder. Laughed harder. Joked more." He paused. "He was eaten by an eel when we tried to escape the tinnies. He was right behind me. If I'd just... just pulled him out of the way..." He shook his head.

"Hey," Rex said, turning to grab his shoulder, "it isn't your fault. Fives told me that it came up behind you and grabbed him before anyone could do anything about it. If you'd known, you'd have gotten him out of the way."

"You shot it like it was nothing," he pointed out.

"It hadn't snuck up behind me. It launched out of the ground and was up in the air. And I knew it's weak point was it's eye. I doubt you even knew that, did you?"

Echo shook his head, "But I should've."

Rex sighed, speaking firmly "Take it from someone who knows, kid. You can only control so much out there. You cannot blame yourself for such a freak accident. That eel was stalking you, and could've eaten you all. It could've grabbed you. Or Fives, or Hevy. It just chose him. You aren't to blame." He softened his voice, "And Droidbait's death isn't on your head either. He died because a droid got him. A droid none of you had ever seen before. One I hadn't seen before I came there. If you knew then that he'd die how he did, you'd have saved him. But you didn't because you didn't know. And I'm sure he wouldn't blame you or want you to blame yourself because of something you didn't do."

Echo but his lip so hard the captain wondered if he'd chomp right through it. Rex pulled him against his chest as the tears slipped down his cheeks and a few strangled sobs shuddered against his ribcage.

Echo didn't himself cry for long, reining in those forsaken emotions before he'd further humiliate himself. Rex didn't know how to tell him that it was okay; that he didn't need to hide. That there was no cause for shame in wishing his brother lived, for hurting at his absence. He just steadied him as he evened his breaths, wiping his face on the sleeve of his blacks.

They both sighed in unison.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Echo asked.

Rex wasn't sure if he meant his tears, his secret talent, or the location of his hiding place. Maybe it was both.

He shook his head and smiled, "No, Echo. I won't. I promise."

And Echo finally managed to smile. Not for ceremony. Not for a joke that he was supposed to find funny, or a time he was supposed to find jubilant.

This time, it wasn't for show.

It was real.

Rex just hoped that smile would show up more often in the coming days. It was bright and kind, hopeful.

They all needed a little more of that. /

•~§~•

"So, when did he tell you to bring me here?" Ella asked.

Rex chuckled, "Before you got married, when he was leaving for ARC Training. He says to me, 'If anything ever happens to me, Rex, you can show her. Just her. It can be her place to go for an escape too.'"

She sighed. "I bet he never really thought this was how I'd see it though."

The captain sighed, "Likely not. But I think he'd be glad that you know about it now."

Ella nodded, smiling as she felt the baby kicking, reminding her of the living remnant of her beloved husband that was forming within, uniquely connected to her. She lay her hand over it, savoring that strange but special beating.

"Yeah. I think he would."

Rex sighed. "I'm hungry."

She groaned, "So am I. I'm really craving some nuna and leek stew. Oh, and ice cream with muja fruit sauce."

Rex rolled his eyes. "How weird can pregnancy cravings get?"

She giggled, "Let's just say that I never would've eaten potato chips, oatmeal, and spinich dip at the same time before today."

Her friend gagged. "Eugh! Please stop! I'm not hungry anymore! You achieved the impossible!"

She just laughed and slowly stood up, walking back towards the tile. "I still am, though! Get your shebs over here before I fuse the entrance shut."

Rex was up and at her side in seconds. "You are ridiculously cruel for someone who is always so angelically sweet and looks so innocent."

She wrinkled her nose as she let him go first before helping her down. "Good. I'm a good actress."

He rolled his eyes, "Race you to the mess!"

"No fair!" she cried indignantly, hugging as she was forced to walk along behind him.

Rex laughed and returned, "I wouldn't really. Come on. Let's go."

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Mando'a Translations

Grayi'r'ika - little sister

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