"If you haven't yet heard, then I'm letting you know/ There ain't shit we don't run when the guns unload. / And no one make a move unless my people say so! / Got everything outta control; / Now everybody, go!"

"Wretches and Kings"

Linkin Park

A contemplative silence fell among the four as they sat in their darkened shelter and listened to the fighters shift their focus toward another, more distant, section of Cree'dee. Each seemed lost in his or her own thoughts; Sheresh fiddled with her datapad, Fives leaned back against the wall and lifted his visor toward the ceiling, Saa paced back and forth without a word, and Cody quietly longed for the taste of Tay's lips and the comforting warmth of her body.

It felt as if everything that needed to be said among them had already been spoken. Fives was still suspicious – Cody could tell that in the set of his broad shoulders and the unforgiving rigidity of his back. He had no illusions about his brother's focus, either; while Fives' visor might have been pointed toward the ceiling, Cody was more than familiar with the view-range of a Phase II helmet HUD. His brother was watching them – just as certainly as they all were watching him.

Past choices, sins, and memories seemed to whisper in the darkness around them. Cody crossed his arms over his chest and thought of Waxer for the first time in nearly a year. He remembered the affable scout's ready smile and how quick he'd always been to make a friend. For all the death that he had seen – for all the death that he had visited personally on others – Waxer had managed to make it through the Wars with most of his humanity intact. In retrospect, Cody was certain that it had something to do with the close relationship Waxer shared with Boil and with the infrequent letters that would occasionally come, addressed to them both.

Cody had glimpsed a picture from one of those letters, once. He hadn't been exactly certain of the picture's subject matter, drawn as it was by childish hands. But, best guess assumed that it was a picture of a nerf, or a bantha, or some other domesticated creature. Why Boil and Waxer had been sent the picture of a nerf, Cody would never know – but it had made his two troopers insanely happy. He would always remember the goofy grin that would lift the corners of Waxer's mouth whenever he held those child-scrawled pictures in his gloved and often-violent hands.

Waxer, Cody fought the urge to bury his helmeted face in his hands. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

He should have never given that fateful command to fire on that Jedi and his padawan. He should have never given the order to execute Order 66 on a young Rutian Twi'lek. Cody never doubted that it was the skin color and age of that Twi'lek youngling that had made Waxer waver in a moment of indecision – a moment that ultimately cost him his life.

And it didn't matter to Cody that it was Waxer's indecision that lead to his untimely decapitation at the hands of that young padawan. The fault still lay in his own hands, in his own mouth, in the command that he had given to execute the Jedi who's only crime had been to survive the initial slaughter of their Order.

Cody mulled over the past and longed for a shot of whiskey, for a shot of stims, and – most of all – for the comfort of Tay's soft hands. He squeezed his eyes shut behind his visor and tried to force himself to think about the night before, when he had followed her to her bedroom. He tried to push Waxer out of his mind and fill the void with the memories of Tay's welcoming arms and ardent passion.

His attempts were particularly unsuccessful. Guilt weighed heavily at his heart and in those moments, all he could long for was Fives' lost respect and for Waxer's wasted life.

"Whoa, there," a twangy voice pulled Cody out of his dark reminiscence and into the present.

It had been several long minutes since they had all fallen silent; several minutes longer, too, since Cody's thoughts had turned to Waxer. The former commander lifted his head abruptly at the introduction of a new voice and realized – with considerable annoyance at himself – that he had failed to notice the arrival of three new bodies.

The tall, lanky figure framed against the moonlight and the flame flickering just beyond the warehouse doorway was positively unmistakable. Even without the erect ears of every picture of his kind that Cody had ever seen, the narrow-shouldered, big-footed silhouette wasn't hard to identify as belonging to a Lepi.

Fives had moved from his position against the wall and Cody realized that the second silhouette framed in the doorway belonged to the hyper-vigilant ARC. Saa hadn't moved much from where he'd been pacing, though his attention was toward the door and his hand had already pulled his blaster free from its holster. Sheresh, too, had struggled to her feet – though she kept her blaster secured and only held out her hand toward Fives in supplication to hold his fire.

"It's okay, Fives – it's Rowin," Sheresh's voice was forced, but soothing, as if she was trying to talk down a particularly vicious beast.

"Kil, Numa," Fives ignored both Sheresh and Rowin and directed his address toward the two figures hovering behind the Lepi. "Is that you?"

"Nerra!" a female youngling's voice cut through the tension and a small form launched itself toward the ARC.

For a moment, Cody held his breath, afraid that Fives' aggressive training would react poorly to the unannounced movement. But, Fives responded positively to the wavering voice and before Cody could blink, the ARC's blaster was out from under the Lepi's chin and back in its appropriate holster. Fives immediately took a knee and held out his arms toward the moving shadow that propelled itself toward his chest. Cody blinked in surprise as a side of Fives that he had never seen before suddenly surfaced – the side of a nurturing olderbrother.

"Numa!" the clone closed his arms around the small frame that settled against his shoulder with a muffled sob.

Another shadow moved and this time Cody assumed that it was the female named 'Kilia'. Another memory stirred in the back of his head and he frowned at his HUD, suddenly distracted.

Kilia...Kilia... it was oddly familiar. Where have I heard that name before?

The clone blinked his eyes and activated his night-vision for a second time that evening, in the hopes of perhaps gaining a better grasp of the situation. He couldn't really see around Fives, who had his back toward the inside of the warehouse, and the woman-named-Kilia was now kneeling on the ground in front of the ARC. Rowin moved toward the side, in what appeared to be an attempt to give Fives, Kilia, and Numa a little more space, but that didn't afford Cody a better line of vision.

"I thought you were d-d-dead!" Numa wailed into Fives' armored chest; Cody could see her thin arms wrap tight around the ARC's neck.

"Shhhhh, Numa," Fives tightened his own grip on the slender Twi'lek and struggled to his feet.

The adult female crouching down in front of him reached out and grabbed his elbow. With her help, Fives stood up, his arms still full of crying youngling. Cody noticed movement to his left and he turned to see Sheresh pull her own arm back, as if she had just stepped forward to help Fives and then thought better of it. He wondered a moment, then, about the female Mandalorian, and about the antagonistic connection that seemed to keep her and Fives at hostile odds.

There was a history between them – though of what depth or length, Cody couldn't say. In fact, as he watched the drama unfold in front of him, he mused that the biggest problem facing them all – besides the Empire – was the fact that neither Fives nor Sheresh seemed willing to discuss their past interactions. Rowin seemed to be obliging enough to spell out the obvious, but time wasn't in his favor. Caught as they were between the Imperials and a hard place, now was not the moment to be unraveling convoluted interpersonal intrigues.

Fives was the first individual to turn away from the doorway and Cody could see the features of his helmet highlighted in bright shades of green through his night-vision. It was a bit of a start for him to see just how much Numa had grown; even though she had her face buried in Fives' neck, she was clearly bigger and her lekku longer than the last time she had crossed paths with Cody. Albeit, they had only met once, and very briefly at that – but Cody had fixed his memory of her as a thin, slightly-undernourished five year old with bright eyes and an even brighter smile. She still looked thin, especially in contrast to the extra breadth afforded to Fives' shoulder by his pauldron, but Cody could see slender curves that hadn't been there before.

The hints to Numa's impending womanhood surprised him, but he recalled reading somewhere – probably in some Kamino manual – that maturation occurred at an earlier age in Twi'lek females, in comparison to their human and near-human counterparts. It was one of the many reasons why they had long been favorite victims of the galactic slave trade; Cody nearly kicked himself for remembering such a morbid tid-bit and looked uncomfortably away from the oddly familial scene unfolding in front of him.

Fives has his hands full, that's for sure, the thought stirred something deep inside Cody that he had never felt before – he suddenly felt a yearning for something that he couldn't name or place.

Suddenly, he longed for what it seemed Fives had found. For a family – for something small and helpless to defend. The instinct to protect was inherent in nearly every clone; Cody wasn't sure if it was something passed down in Jango Fett's genetics, or if it was a by-product of how they had been raised, dependent on each other in their own tight-knit brotherhood.

He wasn't sure, either, how Fives and Numa could have become so close; as far as he knew, they had never had contact during the Wars. In fact, Cody wasn't so sure that Fives would have ever had contact with either Waxer or Boil in the line of duty – while the 501st often worked together with other units, scouts of all battalions often operated like many of the special forces clones, independent of their larger commands. The former commander realized with a slight mixture of surprise, that Fives and Numa must have met through Boil – and that both Boil and Numa must have been members of the crew for some significant amount of time. Either that, or Numa had simply imprinted on Fives in replacement of Waxer...

Cody winced at the thought. And here was yet another who had suffered because of his thoughtless orders, because of his blind loyalty to a programmed "duty". The former commander struggled to push a sigh out through slightly clenched teeth and absently pressed his hand to his side, where a dull ache had begun to pierce through muscle and bone. Tonight, it seemed, all the remaining ghosts from his past were finally drifting to the surface, no longer content to lay forgotten and unredressed.

Sudden movement drew his attention back to the matter at hand and Cody glanced up just in time to see who he assumed to be Kilia suddenly grab the Lepi by the arm. Every adult body in the shelter stiffened – Saa, who was in Cody's direct line of sight, even reached reflexively toward his blasters – but mere seconds proved that there was no need for the alarm.

Kilia wordlessly pulled the Lepi into an embrace similar to that which Numa had given to Fives. After a shocked moment, where his paws hung uncertainly at his side, Rowin reached up and pulled what appeared to be a human woman into an even tighter embrace.

"I'm sorry for leavin', Kil," Rowin's heavily accented Basic echoed softly across the walls as everyone else looked silently on. "I-I just didn't know what to do with all ya're pain."

Kil said nothing, but she seemed to tighten her arms around the Lepi's narrow shoulders. There was a brief sniffling sort of sound as Rowin pulled away from his companion just long enough to reach up and wipe the back of a paw across his whiskers.

"I thought maybe I could help keep ya' safe, y'know? Doin' what I've always done...huntin' down the bad guys. I-I've just been tryin' to help, tryin' to find some place you can call 'home', if even for just a bit," a distant boom rattled the walls and Rowin looked sorrowfully up toward the ceiling, his oddly lopped ears pressed a little closer against his skull. "Guess I've managed to make a mess of things anyway, huh?"

Kil said nothing, but she let go of Rowin and began to make a series of complicated hand motions in the space between them. This caught the Lepi's immediate attention and the Rabbit's eyes followed the woman's slender hands closely. He nodded every moment or so and then a wide smile suddenly broke across his face. A few seconds later he "interrupted" Kil by grabbing a hold of her shoulders and pulling her back into an enthusiastic embrace.

"What just happened?" Sheresh ventured cautiously after a moment or two of puzzled silence.

Cody, too, was rather perplexed. He could only infer from her hand signals that Kil was unable to talk, but he was unfamiliar with her silent "language". As a result, he couldn't even begin to unravel Rowin's seemingly one-sided conversation.

"She says that she's been frustrated with me, but there's no need to worry. She never doubted me for a second and she's sure that there's a good explanation for everything, despite appearances being what they are," the gigantic rabbit hugged Kil a second time before finally letting her go.

Fives somehow managed to convey his skepticism perfectly, despite having an armful of youngling.

"Well, I'm glad that makes oneof us," his tone was dry, but not half as hostile as it had been before; Cody rather suspected that having Numa safe in his arms was a major contributor to his brother's slight shift in attitude.

Fives was still wary, however – Cody could tell that by his body language. He held Numa tight against his body, too, as if to challenge anyone who might foolishly try to take her away from him. Cody eyed the grip Fives had on the youngling and decided that – as far as he was concerned – it was probably safer to try and get between a mother nexu and her cub. Fives had the stance of a man who would commit unspeakable atrocities without a second's qualm, if it meant keeping his newly-reunited Numa safe from harm.

He was as fierce as Cody imagined Waxer would be, if in Fives' place. And, for all the misery and turmoil he felt over the wasted loss of Numa's "nerra", the former commander couldn't help think that the young Twi'lek had found a worthy surrogate.

"You've got a lot of questions to answer, Rabbit," Fives continued, oblivious to Cody's silent observations and musings. "I suggest you start now."

"I suggest he doesn't," Cody suddenly piped up; he lifted a gloved hand in warning and motioned solemnly toward the ceiling. "And listen, Fives, before you argue."

The ARC snarled quietly underneath his helmet, but to Cody's mild surprise, he obeyed. Silence fell among them all and Cody's point was eloquently made in the stillness that permeated their surroundings.

"The bombings have stopped. I can't even hear a fighter overhead anymore," his voice was raspy thanks to his chest wound, but his words were harder than Mandalorian iron. "They're going to move the troops in soon...if they haven't already."

"We need to get moving," Saa succinctly concluded Cody's train of thought.

Fives swore in a language Cody hadn't even heardbefore. He lifted an eyebrow, mildly impressed by the range of the ARC's linguistic capabilities. Though...Cody did have to question the use of such language so close to the impressionable memory of a youngling.

"How the 'fek are we going to out-pace Imperial storm troopers?" Fives turned abruptly toward Sheresh; his face was hidden by his helmet, but Cody could well imagine his brother's eyes flashing in fierce indignation. "And where, exactly, are we supposed to go?"

"I already told you," everyone could hear Sheresh grit her teeth in aggravation.

Cody stifled a sigh and wondered if the tension between the Mandalorian and his ARC brother would ever subside – withoutresulting in blows.

"I've already made arrangements with Sol'yc Kelborn and his family. If you'll follow us, Rowin and I can lead all of you to their vheh'yaimein the foothills just north-west of here. There's more than enough room there for all of us and more than enough Mandalorian hospitality to go around."

"An excellent idea, ad'ika," Saa broke his own silence and moved just a few steps over to put his hand on Sheresh's shoulder. "The Kelborns are well known for their hospitality...and for their unquestioning loyalty in a fight. However," the older merc paused and turned his back slightly on Sheresh in order to wave his hand at the small group gathered around her. "The good Captain has a point. How can we out-pace Imperial storm troopers with a child, two wounded, and our bad legs?" he pointed a finger toward his own leg and then at Sheresh's. "The only sentient capable of making a march right now is the rabbit."

"I could make it," Fives puffed out his chest and stood a little straighter. "My hand doesn't keep me from walking."

"No...but Cody's chest inhibits him," Saa turned yet again and transfered his hand from Sheresh's shoulder to the clone's.

"Kil would like to know something," Rowin wiggled his nose and shuffled a bit to the left so Kil could finally be seen by all the others.

Cody considered her in the green illumination offered to him by his night-vision. She was a woman of medium height, with long dark hair tied back into a loose ponytail. She had aquiline features, with a high forehead, a nose that looked like it had been broken once or twice, and sharp cheekbones. Her eyes were bright with intelligence, though, and alert; they never stopped moving as she looked around the group, from sentient to sentient. The clone realized a bit belatedly, that her hands were moving at about the height of her chest, in place of her own voice.

"She knows it's a bit off-topic, but she'd like to know everyone's name before she starts walking through the snow with us," Rowin translated with an ease that bespoke how well the two knew each other. "She knows Fives, and Numa, and me, of course – but you three," Rowin's paw mimicked Kil's own hand as she motioned toward the representative Mandalorians. "Are strangers."

"Sergeant Shereshoy Par'jain," Sheresh answered immediately, unabashed and undeterred by Kil's slightly untimely request; she dipped her head slightly at the other female in polite acquiescence.

"Saa Par'jain – chief of Clan Par'jain," Saa came next in line with a slight bow that was oddly quaint of him; he motioned briefly to Sheresh. "The good sergeant here is my daughter-in-law."

"And I'm Cody," the clone paused, suddenly uncertain; it didn't feel right to call himself "Commander", not anymore.

Saa filled in the awkward silence for him; his rough, battle-scarred hand tightened warmly on Cody's shoulder.

"Also of Clan Par'jain."

Cody – who was still sitting and trying to rest from his injury – looked up in silent shock. Saa merely smiled a brief, but genuine smile and patted him once, twice on his shoulder. Now was not the time to ask Saa questions or to really acknowledge the significance of what had just been bestowed upon him, so Cody only dipped his head respectfully at his elder; he felt his heart swell with a deep pride and an abiding humility.

"You've met my companions – my crew," Rowin continued to translate Kil's rapid hand motions; the fluidity with which she "talked" was enough to make Cody's eyes blur.

He also couldn't help but be impressed by the apparent bond between human and Lepi. Rowin barely had to look at Kil, to know what she was trying to say.

"Fives," Kil pointed and Rowin spoke. "Numa. Rowin. I'm Kilia Tharen, captain of the late Daa'sun's Kryst'shun. I was also once a Jedi Knight."

Cody focused on Kil with a sharp and sudden interest. Her name finally clicked and he now recalled the holo-cast he had listened to in the darkening hallway of Mal's Tatooine home. Kil had been named and identified directly by the Wanted Lists as a fugitive of the law; Cody realized with great sobriety, that the stakes had just been raised much higher than he had ever expected.

A clone deserter was one thing. A fugitive Jediwas an entirely different kind of danger.

"Kil agrees that our situation might look hopeless, but surely there's a solution to which we can arrive. We're focusing too much on our physical limitations. But, we have three Mandalorians," Rowin's voice followed Kil's pointing fingers for a second time. "An ARC captain, a smuggler, and a Jedi Knight. Surely we've all faced greater odds before as mere individuals."

There was a brief pause, during which all present considered the weight of Kil's motivation and the hope of her suggestion.

Then, a new voice joined the conversation and even Saa stiffened like prey in a hunter's sights.

"Well put. But I'll match your Knight, your Mandos, and your ARC – and raise you one assassin."

A shadow detached itself from the deeper shadows along the far end of the warehouse walls. A figure in black matte armor stepped arrogantly into the weak light offered by the open doorway – and five blasters automatically aimed toward the intruder's torso.

A low, dark chuckle raised the hairs on the back of Cody's head as the black-armored figure raised his hand, fingers splayed out like a puppeteer's. He waved lazily toward the left...

Five blasters scattered across the length of the warehouse and clattered impotently against the duracrete walls.

A/N: Oh, the drama! But, never fear, dear reader! NaNoWriMo is upon us...and the next chapter is all but written. I know I'm spoiling you all with the speed of these updates - but enjoy them while they last!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews the last few chapters; thanks for all the amazing support! This "arc" has been really hard for me to write, because so much is being introduced here and so much of the following story hinges on what takes place in these most recent chapters. There's a lot of new characters...a lot of moving parts...and a lot of dialogue. Thanks for letting me know that I'm doing a good job and keeping things straight! :) It is very, very warmly appreciated.

Also...the suspense builds! And there's probably going to be a few places were you wonder about what's going on, or if there's a contradiction in the story-line. But never fear! Because of where Cody and company find themselves, it's not very plausible for them to have long conversations explaining all of their individual back-stories. One of the reasons these last couple of chapters have been a challenge, is because I've had to find a balance between giving just enough information for all of the characters to keep from killing each other...without giving too much away. So, bear in mind that all of the information the characters share with each other, are just snippets of larger stories. We'll get to the truth of everything, once they get safely to Sol'yc's foothill outpost.

Many warm and wonderful thanks to Codywolf, LongLiveTheClones, Kiana Tavers-Mereel, and laloga. :) You guys rock awesome-sauce (and such awesome reviews to boot! Thank you!) An extra-special thanks to laloga who beta-ed this chapter and most of the next one, even though she's working on her own NaNoWriMo endeavors. *massive hugs* Thank you, hon!

Love it? Like it? Hate it? Lemme know...!