Echo looked around the garage that Rex had brought him to after handing the command log to Omega. Hunter had already informed the others that Rampart was arrested for his crimes, though it came at a cost.

The Senate was going to invest in the new Imperial stormtroopers.

Soon, the need for the original clone army would end completely, and Echo dreaded to think how that would affect his brothers who had not deserted.

They would all be silenced and killed.

Sighing, he glanced over to Hunter and the rest of the squad as they waited for Omega to return from the Senate with Chuchi.

Hunter had firmly said that he couldn't afford to risk the squad's safety to do more to help those who were suffering. If Echo even suggested that they devoted some time to assisting Rex in rescuing clones, the Sergeant would quickly shut him down.

It was too risky for the kid, and for the squad.

"What's on your mind, vod'ika?" Rex's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

The Captain was looking at a few different datapads on the table that was littered with pieces of flimsy. The use of the old-as-time nickname had Echo's heart quenching in his chest.

After Skako Minor, Echo always struggled to know where he belonged.

Rex had encouraged him to go with the Batch, knowing that with his injuries, he would find it difficult to re-adapt to life within Torrent Company. He would fit in better with the squad of misfits, and he did.

Now, the war was over, but so many people still needed someone to fight for them.

Echo was willing to help.

Hunter had different priorities.

"I feel bad for not helping," he admitted to his ori'vod. Rex had always been reliable, surely he would be able to offer some advice. "We're soldiers; we're supposed to be fighting for those without a voice."

Rex looked up from his work with a small smile, "You haven't changed a bit since I met you on Rishi Moon."

Echo tried not to remember the moon that claimed most of his squad.

He walked closer to the Captain and looked at the pieces of flimsy on the table. It mostly looked like maps and hand-written notes signed by numbers and names.

They were written by the clones that Rex was trying to help.

His contacts.

"Comms aren't always secure," Rex informed him, noticing that he was staring. "It's difficult, but even if I can save a few, it's worth it."

"How many contacts do you have?" Echo asked.

"Too many." Rex replied with a slight sigh, "Every day, I get more messages from clones looking for a way out. Rafa and Trace allow me to use this garage as my base of operations. It's almost like being a Captain again."

To him, Rex would always be a Captain.

"How did you meet the Martez sisters?" He asked.

"Ahsoka came here after she left the Order, right before Bo-Katan enlisted her to end Maul's occupation on Mandalore." Rex said, scrolling through a datapad. "They're pretty reliable when there's something in it for them."

Echo looked at him, shocked. He knew that Rex was returning from Mandalore when Order 66 came through. He didn't realise that Ahsoka was with him too.

Suddenly, it made sense why Rex was so insistent that the squad removed their chips.

How he had tried to protect Omega from them.

"Did Commander Tano..."

He trailed off, watching as Rex inhaled sharply. He put down the datapad and stared straight ahead.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Echo nodded, allowing himself a moment to remember the sparky Togruta who was the life and soul of the 501st. He wondered if Rex was the one who killed her, or if it was another clone.

Either way, Rex likely blamed himself.

In some ways, Echo wondered if his sympathy for Rex was what triggered his decision. He and Hunter had butted heads a few times over the last month about their responsibilities and priorities.

His departure was due, but the desire to accompany his former-Captain and help the clones who were otherwise voiceless seemed to tip him over the edge.

"You're leaving?" Wrecker gawked, eyes wide.

Echo winced, suddenly glad that Omega still hadn't returned. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with her present. Telling his squad that he would be away for a while was hard enough without Omega's large brown eyes staring at him.

Would she feel betrayed? Hurt? Abandoned?

"Not permanently." Echo quickly said, looking at Wrecker and then Hunter, who hadn't flinched at his announcement like the others had. "I need to go where I feel useful."

He looked at Rex, "Fives died trying to get the truth out. I owe it to him, and my other brothers, to do my part to help."

Echo remembered sitting in the medbay on Anaxes, huddled under multiple blankets and a cannula sticking into his flesh arm, as Rex told him about Fives' fate. The Captain had apologised to him, as if he didn't do enough.

Echo never blamed him, only himself for getting caught in that explosion at the Citadel.

Now, he had the chance to make it up to Fives by helping others.

"Are you sure you can deal with his health problems, Captain?" Tech, ever the analyst, asked. "He might pretend that he is fine, but Echo's body is quite literally giving up on him."

Echo looked at Rex. He didn't like to think about his disabilities, but Tech had a point (even if he had a poor way of going about it).

He looked okay on the outside, albeit the prosthetics, but Rex didn't know about his health problems that could sometimes bed-bound him for days at a time.

He suffered an extremely sensitive stomach, phantom pain in all of his replaced limbs that could drive him to insanity, and he got migraines almost as often as Hunter.

Combined with his suppressed immune system and recurring infections in his neural ports and cybernetic respiratory system, Echo was- in Tech's words- 'living on borrowed time.'

"We'll be fine," Rex assured, giving Echo a smile. "If he can keep up with you lot, then he sure as hell can keep up with me."

Echo turned back to the Sergeant, uncomfortable with his silence.

"Hunter?"

In many ways, he looked up to Hunter like he looked up to Rex. He was an ori'vod to the entire squad, and had taken Omega under his wing with ease. Echo understood that he might feel angry that he was taking a leave of absence, especially after losing Crosshair.

They would be one man down, and that would put them in danger.

He had every right to be mad, or even downright refuse.

"I know you feel strongly about this, Echo." Hunter said, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. "I'm not going to stop you. If you ever want to come back, you know how to contact us."

Echo felt relief flooding his chest. He had Hunter's blessing.

"When are you gonna tell the kid?" Wrecker asked.

"I don't know." Echo sighed, dreading the thought of watching Omega's face crumble, "I kind of wish I didn't have to tell her."

"No, Echo." Rex cut in, shaking his head, "Don't leave without saying goodbye."

He was talking from experience.

When Rex told him about Ahsoka's sudden departure from the Jedi Order, Echo couldn't understand how she left without telling the clones, especially Rex who had watched her back for the duration of the war.

Jesse later told him some of the details, how Skywalker hadn't been the same since his student left and how the Jedi Council had made a sloppy apology to Ahsoka after casting her to the Senate to be executed for a crime she didn't commit.

Echo didn't blame her for walking away after everything she went through, but Rex deserved better than to be left without even a goodbye.

Omega deserved better too.

"I'll tell her before you guys leave." Echo decided, "I don't want her to dwell on it."

Hunter scoffed, "You've got to give her some warning, Echo. Why don't you give it a week? We can meet Rex somewhere to drop you off. That way, she can spend some time with you and accept that you're leaving."

Echo looked at Rex who offered a sad look.

"I'm staying on Coruscant for at least another week for Intel collection." The Captain said, "You need to get away from this planet as soon as possible. If Echo's going to stay, he'll have to tell Omega when you leave."

"I do not believe she will take that news well," Tech stated.

"No, she won't," Echo sighed, "But I'll talk to her, try to get her to understand."

He would have to think about what to say. Omega was sensitive, which was expected considering she grew up alone on Kamino and then suddenly spent twenty-four hours a day with the same three men.

She was attached to all of them.

"You'll keep in touch, right?" Wrecker asked.

"Of course." Echo said, "When I can."

"If you ever need any help on a mission, give us a call," Hunter told him, "We can always leave Omega with Cid if it's too dangerous."

"The same to you," Rex replied, "You know how to contact us if you're ever in a tight scrape, Hunter."

Hunter held the Captain's eyes, nodding in appreciation.

"Take care of him, Rex."

"I will."