Looking in hindsight, Geonosis was a waste. We commandoes were wasted doing things that any company of troops could have done easily. Now that it's over, the whole Republic pays the price of that mistake.

-Delta 40 after the battle of Geonosis

As he placed his battered and bloody helmet on the rack, Thrasher winced. A long jagged scar ran down from the top of his chest to his hip from a glancing sonic round. Echo 31's blood covered the side of his helmet from the long trip to HQ. The other commandoes sat back warily as they studied his behavior. Despite his nerves best efforts, he held his emotions in check as he faced his men.

"After the General debriefs us we need to get back to our quarters for an inspection. I want each of you to help me with Klick's gear."

Keith rose from his seat and maneuvered Thrasher into his seat. "Sir, you can rest now. We've been out of the zone for an hour. Calm down and rest."

Keith realized his mistake as Thrasher's fist slammed into his stomach.

"Rest! Rest while our brothers die by the hundreds fighting the droids after the battle is already won? Rest while Echo 31's remains are cremated along with dozens of other commandos that died on meaningless missions on the frontlines? Rest while I ignore the fact that I sent him to his death? Rest whi-"

Tears and pent up emotions burst out of Thrasher in a flood as he buried his head in his hands. Hot tears left lines on his dusty cheeks as a lifetime's worth of sorrow and anger drained out of his body. His cheeks burned in shame as he wept for his men, for his failures, for his…

The debriefing room door slid open. Thrasher wiped tears from his eyes and scrambled to stand up as Aayla Secura entered the room. She returned their salutes wearily and leaned heavily against a chair. Dried blood and gore clung to her body as she absent-mindedly picked bits off of her clothes. Her eyes searched each of the commandos' minds as she waited for one of them to speak.

Keith cleared his throat to get her attention. "General, was this operation a success?"

Aayla bit her lip as she mulled over the question. "In general terms, yes it was a success. However, most of the Confederate army escaped the field, meaning that we have a long and bloody war ahead of us. Personally, I believe that we failed."

Cable choked on his canteen in a poor attempt to conceal his surprise. Wiping water off of his face, he gave he ran indignant look. "What do you mean, we failed? Didn't we do what we were ordered to do? I thought we handled them pretty nicely."

Thrasher cut off Aayla's reply and pulled Cable back into his seat. "She means that we didn't do enough. Our leaders expected us to do what we needed to do, but that wasn't enough. We did our jobs, they didn't do theirs."

Cable mouthed a silent "oh" and grimaced. "So, does that mean we're going to go finish what we didn't do?"

Aayla silenced Thrasher's exasperated answer. "Yes, you'll be finishing your job, but not now. Your unit is off duty for a week in order to meet and familiarize yourselves with Echo 31's," She paused when she saw them wince at his ID number. She thought carefully for a moment before continuing. "…Klick's replacement. I hope that you'll all do well and be easy on him. He lost his whole squad."

Thrasher saluted one final time before standing. As he marched past the Jedi to the barracks hallway, she pulled him aside and whispered in his ear. "Your next mission will be much tougher than this one. Prepare for a jungle fight."

Thrasher gave her a confused look and nodded. "Thank you, General." He turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "Why are you telling me?"

Aayla punched him lightly in the chest as she slipped past him into the hallway. "Because I trust you. After all, you'll be covering my back out there."

Thrasher trailed his men into their room to find a newcomer waiting between the beds. The clone saluted and dropped a rucksack that he was carrying.

"Gamma 71 reporting for duty, sir!"

Thrasher paused to look over the commando and returned the salute with a grim frown.

"At ease, soldier. That bunk on the top-right is open. Drop your stuff there and settle in."

The clone nodded and tossed his pack one-handed onto the bunk. With practiced ease he followed the bag up, swinging onto the bunk and landing in a squatting position. Thrasher and the others exchanged amused glances and went to their respective bunks in a less flashy fashion.

"Sorry about Klick." Gamma 71 lifted his head from his pack for a moment and looked Thrasher in the eye. "He was a great soldier. Saved my life in training, too. All of you guys did."

Recognition dawned on Keith's face as he studied the clone's face. "Oh, shoot. Why didn't I notice you earlier? You're the crazy sop that took that anti-armor round aimed at Klick. How'd your wound heal?"

"It healed." Gamma 71 extended a hand. "My call sign's Sith."

Thrasher blinked stupidly and took his hand. "Sith? You know that's who we're fighting, right?"

"Yeah. But that's what my teammates called me anyway. They said it had something to do with me scaring them with my 'stealth skills.'"

"Right." Cable waited for Thrasher to let go of his hand before shaking Sith's hand vigorously. "Welcome home, Sith."