"It's a tragedy."

"It's boring."

"It's a disaster!"

"It's a broken Dejarik board, Soph."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's our only form of entertainment."

"It was the worst form of entertainment possible," he argued. "And I'm glad it's broken."

She gasped. "You're a monster."

"You're extremely dramatic."

Soph couldn't keep up the serious and upset look she was giving him. Her lips twitched upward and she snorted. "Can't argue you there. But really, I have no idea what to do now."

"Jettison it?"

She grinned at him. "You're brilliant. We can get a new one when we get to BKara."

"If we ever get there."

She shrugged as she picked up the broken pieces of the board. He leaned down to help her. "These Separatist blockades of the hyperspeed lanes are getting insane. Going all the way around sector fourteen to reach sector nine is ridiculous."

"I don't think you made it better by using their hyperspeed lanes the other day."

She made a face at him while they walked over to the pod they used to jettison things. He opened it and she shoved the pieces in as she spoke. "Yeah, remember yesterday when I left the room for that call?"

"Yeah?"

"Master Windu was chewing me out for making everyone's lives more complicated," she admitted. "Master Plo came in and made him stop, but he got a few good insults in."

"Insults?"

"Mostly about the chaotic Jedi line I come from," she shrugged. "Nothing he and others haven't said before."

"Wait, really? They insult you because of your Jedi dad and grandpas?"

Soph choked out a laugh. "Yep. The chaos all started with Master Yoda, though, and the insolence has only continued from there. Master Plo said it gets worse with every new padawan. Ahsoka's young, but I think I agree. Our line is difficult to order around."

"I will say, you don't take orders well."

She scoffed. "I take them fine. I just don't like them sometimes and have to modify the plans."

"Yeah, that's called disobeying direct orders."

"Well," she shrugged. "Shit happens, and Obi Wan is overly cautious."

"I really don't think he is."

"Well that's because you're really overly cautious as well," she said. He stared at her, offended - because it was definitely an insult.

"Are we going to jettison it or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, closing the pod. It hissed as the pressure changed in the pod. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"It would be my pleasure," he replied, moving forward. He pressed the big button on the wall and they watched in satisfaction as the Dejarik board was launched into space.

"Well. Now what?"

"Now we stop taking a break and get working again," he told her. She rolled her eyes.

"I thought I was the general."

"Well, you definitely don't act like one."

"I can't tell if that's an insult or compliment."

"A little bit of both, really."

Soph sighed dramatically, but she headed to the cockpit with him behind her. "Fine, but after that, we go pick up the rest of Domino again. Anakin said they're back and ready to be picked up."

"Thank the Force," Echo tipped his head back. "Sabacc."

"I knew you'd be bored, too," she laughed as she began piloting them toward their next location. "Shouldn't be long."

Two deliveries later and they were back at the Resolute. When they made their way to the command deck, they found Anakin, Rex, and the rest of Domino waiting with Obi Wan over the holo, Cody at his side.

"Woah, what'd we walk into?" Soph wondered as she looked at them. There were grim faces all around.

"There was another assassination attempt on Padme," Obi Wan told her when no one else spoke. Soph's eyes shot to Anakin, and she quickly realized how much energy he was expending trying to keep himself under control with her in mind. "We're heading to Coruscant immediately."

"We'll come with," Soph said. Rex shook his head.

"It's too dangerous and you haven't been gone long enough doing counseling."

Soph's eyes darkened. She leveled him with a glare. "Captain, I'm sure you're not telling me I'm not allowed to join?"

Echo's eyes widened. He glanced at Fives, who was shaking his head - Rex was an idiot, they were all thinking it.

Rex's lips thinned. "Of course not, sir."

"Because I really don't think that would be the wisest decision," she continued, her eyes shining with anger. "No one but I will know when I'm ready to return. As it is, I'm not going to be joining you as a general."

"What?" Cutup asked, confused.

"I'll be coming with you as a Jedi negotiator and bodyguard," she told them firmly. "Padme will need Obi Wan and Anakin to be searching for the assassins, and I will be protecting Padme and, Force forbid, holding negotiations for peace as Jedi are meant to do."

"Well, whatever the case, you need to be leaving now," Obi Wan cut through the thick silence. "And if this becomes a problem, I'm sidelining both of you."

"Yes, Master," she muttered. He shook his head at her and turned off the holo.

"I'm going to go tell Yularen about the change in plans," Anakin said after a moment. They watched him leave and silence fell once again. After a long moment of neither of them saying anything, Soph scowled and turned on her heel.

"I'm going to find Ahsoka. Get the Twilight ready for the trip down to Coruscant."

"You got it, boss," Fives replied when no one else did. She walked out and a moment later, Rex turned and walked in the other direction. Fives's eyes turned to Echo. "What the hell's going on?"

Echo sighed. "Let's go talk."

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The door to the Twilight slid open with a slight hiss. Soph turned around, expecting Echo, and froze when her eyes caught on Rex instead. "Oh."

"We have to talk."

"I really don't think that's a good idea right now."

Rex frowned at her. "Soph, we have to talk or nothing will get better."

Frustrated, she crossed her arms over her chest. "We have spoken. More than once, and yet the behavior hasn't changed."

"What behavior?" he questioned. Soph shook her head.

"We've got two issues right now, Rex. The first one is the way you're treating Echo and the inappropriate grudge you're holding against him."

"And the second?"

"The second is that you no longer trust me. You're so controlled by your fear that it's like you're a different person. I didn't think knowing I've died would change how you treat me, but it has."

"Kat-,"

"Right now, I don't know what to do," she admitted. "Because over and over, I've asked you to let it go. Over and over, I've told you that I'm safe, I know how to do my job, and that I'll be okay. I made it through years of this war before being betrayed and killed. Now, I know that won't happen again, so I just do not understand."

"You don't know that something else won't happen," he argued.

"No, I don't, but I could say the same about you. The problem, really, my love, is that you never truly saw me as imperfect and human. I was a creature of magic, but the veil's been lifted and you can't handle what was behind it."

Rex had quieted. She saw the way her words rang true within him and felt more helpless and lost than ever.

"And I really, truly want to discuss this with you to figure out where to go from here, but our friend was almost assassinated and I think she needs to be our priority right now. Can we agree to work together as efficiently and professionally as possible until this is over and we can talk?"

"Of course," he said softly. "Kat, I need you to know that I just love you and I'm afraid for you."

"I know," she frowned. "And that's the problem, isn't it?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"What's wrong?"

Soph resisted the urge to snap at her friend. "Padme, as much as I appreciate the concern, the last thing I want to talk about right now is my problems."

"In that case, we can discuss how things are moving on in the Senate," Padme offered, always one to accommodate a friend's needs. "Things are going well. We've been getting testimonies from clones throughout the GAR that sort of work to show the Senate that they're… real people. Very unfortunately, that is proving to be a hefty task."

"I knew it would be," Echo glanced at Droidbait, who was nodding.

"With all the propaganda that we're as disposable as droids, it's not a surprise."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Droidbait blinked at Padme. "Well, yeah. Directly after the first battle of Geonosis, they started rolling out propaganda about clones, most of it talking about how we're 'manufactured people', which meant they could always make more and therefore we are as disposable as droids."

"Oh, god," Padme whispered. "That's horrible. What happened to all of it?"

"It's out there, but it isn't pushed anymore now that it's majority public opinion," he explained. "I'm sure I could find some of it if you want."

"That would be more amazing proof of descrimination against you and your brothers," she said. "I'd be very grateful if you'd bring me some of it. I think it'll go a long way toward the cause."

"I can get Fox's help getting it immediately, if you feel confident in her safety without me, Soph."

"Go ahead," she nodded. "Just be safe."

He snapped off a two finger salute as he exited the penthouse.

"You guys wanna do another sweep for me?" Soph asked Domino. Echo raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. "Please?"

"You got it, boss," Fives rolled his eyes and pushed Echo toward the windows. Once her team had spread out, Soph sat down with Padme, who nudged her.

"You sure you don't want to talk?"

Soph sighed. "It's a very long story that I can't share the details of, but something happened that caused Rex to be forced to confront the idea of my mortality and now he… he's treated me different. It's compromising both of us, and… Padme, I can't risk losing this war just for him. He and I need to be able to do our jobs well and do them together, and right now, he's questioning straight orders."

"That's a really rough place to be," Padme validated Soph's frustration. "I see why you're upset. Have you guys talked about it?"

"I told him the issues I'm having with him, but we haven't truly talked yet. There's a large part of me that doesn't want to until I know what I want to do."

"And do you?"

"For now, I just want some space to cool off. Depending on how this goes, maybe he and I can talk about what to do when we're back on the Resolute. Otherwise…" she sighed. "I don't know, Padme."

"I think you do," she disagreed. "But it's okay if you don't want to discuss it right now. Just know that I support you no matter what."

"Thank you," Soph inclined her head gratefully.

"Incoming!" a voice yelled. There was a mere moment before a window broke and smoke filled the room. Soph was startled by someone grabbing her immediately. She moved with them as they pressed something cold and metal against her neck. They walked backward toward the bathroom. When they got inside, the door was closed and locked. Soph spun and frowned.

"Ventress."

"Oh, it's nice to see you too, my dearest," Ventress smirked at her as she shoved her down to sit. She had her lightsaber out and pressed against Soph's neck. "I just need one tiny, little favor from you."

"Oh, fuck off," Soph cursed. She resisted the urge to jerk back and hit Ventress's head with her own. She had to keep in mind that the other woman was a Sith and could kill her at any moment.

Ventress twisted Soph to the side, dipping back some until their eyes met and Soph felt the invasion begin.

She wasn't sure what was happening at first, though there was a part of her that processed the torture just a bit too fast - too familiar with it to take it in slowly. She knew the position she was in - it was familiar, and she tried not to relax into the pain. It wasn't hopeless, she didn't need to give up - Ventress had no escape and the lock on the bathroom wasn't exactly a strong one. She certainly didn't have to worry about them not finding her, considering the volume of her screams.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The first thing any of them heard was the terrified and pained screaming that was far too familiar to Echo. He felt his chest tighten - he recognized those screams and knew within a shadow of a doubt that Soph's mind was being attacked.

She screamed differently when struggling to retain control of her own mind.

Echo broke out into a straight sprint toward the bathroom. He got there at the same time as Rex and the two exchanged a short glance before opening the door.

The explosion caught them off guard, of course. Rex was hit with a chunk of the wall and thrown straight back, hitting his head against the window behind them and passing out. While he lay there motionless, Echo was struggling. Soph had landed on top of him, and he felt blood dripping from her shoulder and onto his forehead. As gently as he could, he pushed her off of him and twisted to kneel at her side as the rest of Domino arrived behind them.

"Get me a bacta patch and a blood clotter," he ordered softly. Within moments, the items were in his hands. He leaned down and, ever so carefully, he gave her the shot and put the bacta patch on her collarbone, which was cut pretty badly. The bleeding slowed to a stop fairly quickly, much to his relief. When he'd done all he could, he turned back and nodded at Hevy and Cutup. "Go look for Ventress. I'm guessing she got up through the air vents. Find her before she gets off this damn planet."

"You got it," Hevy agreed, patting Echo's shoulder as they walked past him. "Take care of Soph for us."

"I will," Echo said quietly, staring down at her intently. Once it was just him and Fives, Fives came to kneel next to his brother and looked at him seriously.

"Is she okay enough to wake?"

"I think so," Echo confirmed. After a moment's hesitation, he leaned forward and touched her arm gently. "Soph?"

Her head turned to the side and toward them. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open. "Echo…?"

"I'm here."

"Are you… good?"

"'Course I am," he said lightly. "Don't worry about me. You're the one that nearly got blown up."

"That bitch," she cursed. "I'm talking to Dooku about her."

Echo searched her eyes. "Your screams…"

"You know," she understood. "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to hear that again. I'm sure it's triggering."

"I'm just scared for you," he shrugged. She reached out for his hand and took it within her own and squeezed.

"I'm good, too."

"Soph, you just got blown up."

"Yeah, aside from that."

He shook his head at her fondly. Her eyes turned worried, so he squeezed her hand back. "Senator Amidala's okay. She's in the living room."

"My head feels…" Soph grimaced. "Ow."

"Probably hit it," he sighed. "Can you sit up?"

"Yeah," she said, trying to do as he asked. She froze halfway up and grabbed her left side. "Are my ribs supposed to feel like that?"

"Like what?"

"Agonizingly painful."

"Probably not."

"Oh, cool," she muttered as she forced herself to sit up the rest of the way. She let out a groan of pain as she did so that roused Rex. Immediately, he stumbled to his feet and over to her, landing roughly on his knees at her side.

"Kat, are you okay?"

"I need you to go after Ventress," she told him. "I've got Cutup and Hevy looking, but they may not be enough."

"You need someone to look after you," he argued. "Send Echo."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "I happen to know Echo got some field medic training during ARC training. You don't have that, so go find Ventress."

"Your ribs won't feel better until we get you back to the Resolute," Echo said softly as he laid a cold bacta patch against them. "But this should help numb the pain."

"What's wrong with her ribs?"

Echo answered as he began looking at Soph's head closely for any blood or bumps. "Probably a couple broken. Nothing we can't fix with a bacta tank."

"Rex, go," Soph ordered. He stared back at her.

"You're my wife and you're hurt."

"And I'm your general and I'm ordering you to go after Ventress."

Rex's lips thinned. "You said you'd never-,"

"Outside of work," she snapped. "Right now, I am your general and I am giving you a direct order. Are you going to ignore it?"

He shook his head in frustration and got to his feet. "Where'd she go?"

"Fuck if I know, I just got blown up," Soph glared at him. "Try following the vents."

"Lay back," Echo told Soph, gently pushing her onto her back again. She groaned as she came back to laying on the cold floor. She shot him a glare, too, and he rolled his eyes. "I know it hurts, but you have to let me do my job. Just breathe through it, Soph."

"Yes, sir," she muttered, making a face at him. He snorted but said nothing. Her eyes slipped to Rex, who was staring at them with an odd look on his face, and she raised an eyebrow. Taking in a slow breath, he nodded once and left the penthouse.

It was going to be a long day.

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