"Right'eye."

"Yeah, Tens?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? About what ner vod?"

"About everything... putting you, Jumps and Riot in danger. Thinking I knew what I was doing, thinking I could lead you guys to safety. I was wrong. Jumps was almost killed, I almost lost you..."

"Tens, we're alive, aren't we? Last time I checked you've become the hero... you saved us, fek, you saved thousands of brothers drifting aimlessly in space. According to the General, had we not fled the system, the Separatist would have stayed and killed every single trooper! And now Earth. Sure, we may have 'led' the CIS here, but we certainly are making a difference defending the planet so far."

"Yeah... but... but what I did earlier, when we first landed here... that wasn't right, vod, I was a di'kut, I wasn't thinking, I could have gotten us all killed! It was just pure luck that our attackers turned out to be the good guys. Don't you see that, don't you see how I messed up? I was acting like I used to, like a young cadet, not a Clone Trooper!"

"Look, Tens, I'll admit, when I was in the interrogation chamber, not knowing where I was, who held me, or where you guys were, I was pissed at you. But I've forgiven you. That's what vode do Tens, they fight, they make mistakes, but they're still vode in the end."

"Ehh... yeah, okay Right'eye, I suppose your right. I'm still sorry though."

"You're a stubborn di'kut, you know that, right?"

Tens tilted his helmet ever so slightly at his brother, "I like to think that's why I'm so charming..." he quipped, before quickly changing topics, "now if only the GAR had a few more Twi'lek's, I could get used to that."

"Heh, yeah, how about if the GAR had any to begin with?" Right'eye gave Tens a shrug from across the larty, "That would be an improvement. An army of several million identical clones doesn't really boost morale. But a Twi'lek dancer, now that would."

"I suggest taking your request to High Command, it should be processed in a few months, along with everything else in the war..."

Tens smiled hearing the laugh that greeted him over comm's, it made him feel good knowing everything between them was the way it should be. In fact, if it wasn't for the imminent battle approaching, Tens would consider his life to be pretty good. General Kenobi had apparently overlooked the 'mistakes' he had made while being 'lost'. Not only that, but the General was crediting him with saving half the 442nd from his doomed Star Destroyer, and discovering a brand new people, and star system. Go figure that deserting your comrades could turn out so well?

"Tens," Riot's voice came through the comm.

"Yeah Riot, what's up?"

"I was thinking..."

"Wait, you? Thinking?" Tens interrupted with a chuckle, "That's new."

When Riot didn't respond, Tens instantly felt guilty. Sometimes, the shinie couldn't tell the difference between bullying and good-natured teasing.

"Riot, I was joking, go on."

The shinie shot Tens an accusing look through his helmet before continuing, "I was wondering about the Marines."

"How so?"

"Well," Riot began, choosing his words carefully, "When we're done fighting on Earth, and we move on... do you... do you think they could come with us?" Riot's voice sounded hopeful.

Tens frowned under his helmet, "You mean Trevor's entire squad? Why? They belong here, on their planet."

Across the hull of the larty, Riot shook his helmet, "Yeah, but you heard how many soldiers this planet has. What was it? 10, 20 million? They won't miss a few."

"I believe it was 15 million," Right'eye reminded, joining the conversation.

"Wait," Tens tilted his helmet in curiosity at Riot, "Why do you want Trevor's squad to come with us?"

The shinie shifted uncomfortably in place, before grabbing the overhead hand rope as the transport hit turbulence.

"I..." Riot wasn't sure how to continue, "because of Julia."

"Hah! I knew it!" Right'eye exclaimed, content with his powers of brother observation.

"I think we all knew that, ner vod," Tens stated to no one in particular, "So you like her, huh?"

"No fek Tens, she the most fekking beautiful girl I've ever seen!"

"She's the only girl you've ever seen, ner vod!" Jumps added, making everyone except Riot burst out laughing. He never missed an opportunity to embarrass his brother.

"Hey, that's not fair, I've seen plenty of women! Lot's in fact..." Riot's tone was anything but certain.

"Oh really? I never saw a women on Kamino that I'd want to fek, unless you're talking about the long-necks?" Both Tens and Right'eye were dying of laughter in their helmets, "In which case, maybe I don't want to know..." Jumps finished, chuckling.

"Wait, there was General Shaak Ti!" Riot exclaimed, desperate to prove his brother wrong.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," Tens said while Right'eye face-palmed his helmet.

Poor Riot didn't know what to say or do. Luckily he didn't have to.

"It's okay Riot," Tens stated lightly, through chuckles, "I understand why you'd want Julia along with us. I'll be the first to admit, when I'm around her I have feelings in parts of my body that I've never experienced before. And you know what, I don't mind!"

That got Riot chuckling too, if only a little, "So, does that mean we can keep her?

"You don't 'keep' a woman Riot, not unless you're a slaver, and we're not slavers di'kut," Right'eye chided, "You have to make her like you, then maybe she'll come along."

"Right'eye's right, ner vod," Tens confirmed, "you got to make her like you; at least, if the Holovid's I've watched have anything to say about it."

Riot considered what his brothers said carefully. He had to make Julia 'like' him. How hard could that be?

"Thanks Tens, I'll think about it."

"That a boy..."

For a few moments, a comfortable silence descended over their helmet comm's before suddenly being interrupted.

"Say Tens?"

Tens sighed, rolling his eyes. There was a reason he had a mute option in his HUD, "Yes, Riot?"

"What's the strangest looking alien you've ever seen?"

Tens resisted the urge to face-palm his helmet. How Riot could switch from talking about women to aliens was beyond him. But then again, Tens could see the similarities between the two.

"I don't know..." Tens shook his helmet, "a Nuna,"

He hoped that would satisfy Riot, but unfortunately, no.

"A Nuna?! Of the millions of alien species out there, that's all you could think of?" Riot asked incredulously.

"I hear the Gungans use them as balls... heh, go figures they'd mistake a living creature for a ball, they're such di'kut's..." Jumps remarked.

"For me it would be a Chevin," Right'eye commented thoughtfully.

"A what?" Tens, Riot and Jumps all repeated simultaneously.

Right'eye sighed, "Trust me, they aren't known for their looks. Imagine someone took a boar's head and gave it two arms and two legs."

Riot snorted at the description.

"Yeah, not pretty," Right'eye continued, "I saw one on Coruscant being escorted by the Guard, and boy do those things have a foul mouth too."

"Huh, well at least your alien is better than Tens," Riot chuckled, "okay, what about you Jumps..."

#

Obi-Wan silently observed the four troopers. He knew they were having a conversation, but of what he hadn't a clue.

"Sir," Cody said, "is there anything wrong?"

Obi-Wan looked to his Commander, a hint of amusement on his face, "No Cody, I was just wondering what our four rescued troopers could be talking so intently about? Any ideas?"

"Heh, sir. No offence, but better not to ask. I've been privy to enough pre-battle conversation to know that nothing is off-limits..."

Obi-wan only nodded, content to watch the trooper's continue their 'silent' conversation.

"General," the pilot's voice suddenly came through, "ETA 2 minutes to land. Captain Rex has engaged the droids. He says they need help, ASAP. Permission to engage the enemy with our guns before we land?" the way the pilot said 'Guns' showed how eager he was to use them.

"Permission granted," Obi-wan confirmed, "Cody, I don't recall giving Rex the go ahead? He was to wait for our arrival."

Cody shook his head slightly, "I don't know General, the Captain can be somewhat..."

"Strong-willed, foolhardy, stubborn?" Obi-wan supplied, "Yes, I can tell when someone's been around Anakin too long... let's just hope his eagerness for battle hasn't cost us more men. We need as many as we can for Christophsis."

Cody nodded, chuckling a little at his General's description of Rex.

'Ol'Rex old boy, I hope you know what you're doing...'

Above Pennsylvania Avenue, 3:51 pm:

"Closing blast shields, hold on everyone..." the Pilots voice resonated dully through the interior of the Larty as the blast doors slammed shut, cutting off the outside light. A few seconds later, red light illuminated the interior, turning the clones into blood-red figures.

They all felt the Larty lurch and then plummet towards an unseen ground as their pilot got the gunship into position. A few seconds later, the interior reverberated with the sound of the larties green laser turrets firing and rockets being launched.

It was an immensely satisfying sound to Jumps ears. He knew with the amount of fire they were laying down, that untold amounts of droids had perished, making the job of ridding the city of them all the more easier.

What Jumps didn't know, was their arrival was just in the nick of time. Rex's men were getting butchered, but thankfully, the arrival of the reinforcements changed that.

Suddenly, the sound of laser turrets stopped, and the transport shuddered.

Then the lights inside went green.

Jumps clutched his weapon tightly.

"Go, Go, Go!" the pilot yelled.

"For the Republic!"

As Obi-Wan ignited his saber and ran out with Cody, Jumps ran out as well followed closely by Riot who didn't want to leave his brother's side again, not after Jumps close brush with death back at the Hangar. Riot was determined to keep his brother alive, no matter the cost.

Tens and Right'eye jumped out together, Tens staying on his brother's right-side, as always.

Trevor kept pace with them all, the marine hadn't talked at all during the flight.

Meanwhile, 501st troopers already on the ground were just arriving to the ravaged droid defenses. What little droids remained, were quickly being wiped out by both legions.

Firing their blasters, Tens and his brothers laid down a constant stream of blue on several B1's who'd escaped the initial attack by the larties.

The droids didn't last long.

Jumps shouted excitedly, he was ecstatic, having just killed his first droid. His adrenaline was on high, he felt great.

"Nice shot Jumps!" Riot chimed in, he too was thrilled. They were shinies, after all.

'I was made for this,' Jumps thought determinedly, running with his brothers, all of his brothers, 212th and 501st alike, as they advanced down Pennsylvania Ave..

3:54 pm:

"Captain Rex," Obi-Wan's voice was brisk and tinted with anger, "Could you please explain why you ordered your men to attack before our arrival?"

The General was, if anything, to the point. In the middle of battle he had to be.

The 501st Captain stiffened, if only for a second, "Sir, with all due respect, I had it by D.C. Command that reinforcements would be here more than ten minutes ago. I waited but you didn't show up. I called in, and Command said you would be arriving in exactly 4 minutes. At 4 minutes, I started our attack, assuming the reinforcements would be arriving at the same time. What I didn't expect, was our reinforcements arriving 2 fekking minutes later!"

Commander Cody shook his head, "Sounds to me like someone at D.C. Command got it wrong. It's a wonder we can coordinate anything through these antiquated systems."

It was true, because Earth and Republic technology wasn't completely compatible, all long-range communication and data transmissions from the Resolute and Negotiator to ground forces had to be temporarily relayed through D.C. Command until a more permanent ground based Republic communications system could be established. D.C. Command, which was the term everyone used to describe the ISA and its underground facilities, had evidently miss-relayed the ETA's of the reinforcements inbound to Rex's location.

In any battle, even the smallest of errors can be disastrous, as was the case for Rex's men. Twelve dead, another twenty injured, six critical. Rex suspected that after such a disastrous assault, Coric wasn't going to talk to him anymore, blaming the 501st Captain for Command's mistake.

Obi-Wan sighed, looking down the avenue as the troops advanced, "that's very unfortunate. But I understand your frustration Rex. We can't afford another miss-communication in this battle. Cody, contact the Negotiator and have them send down Runt to D.C. Command. Have Dace take over for both ships while he's gone" Cody smiled broadly into his bucket; the general was right, if there was a man who could fix something like this, it was Runt.

Cody nodded, and immediately sent out the order.

"Sir," it was Commander Fulton with the US Army, "I have new orders from Command."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, "Commander... Fulton, right?"

The man nodded.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, General Obi-Wan Kenobi at your service."

"Yes," Fulton smirked, "We know who you are. But anyway, our orders stand. Continue down Pennsylvania Ave. for a few more blocks, flush out the droids, and secure the White House."

The Jedi General frowned, "While it's not my place to disagree with your government on how best to defend itself, it would be wiser to continue directly to the droid transport ships. With those disabled, we stop the flow of droids into your city."

The Army Commander nodded his head, "Yes, I agree. But only after we secure the White House."

Obi-Wan folded his arms, a frown beginning to develop, "Why? We'd only waste time better spent dealing with the source of the droids."

"Because," the Commander sounded impatient, "the White House is a symbol of vital importance for our country. It's the home of our President and symbolizes our nation's strength and power. We cannot allow it to fall into enemy hands, if we do it shows our government as weak, and it suggests to the American people that we are losing. It's would be as if your..." Fulton suddenly paused, he couldn't say things about the Republic if he wasn't supposed to know anything about the Republic, "Does your Republic have a capital? A symbol of power?"

"Yes, the Galactic Senate." Obi-Wan knew where this was going. It was political game, in that respect, it seemed Earth was no different from the rest of the galaxy.

"Well, let's say the Separatist invaded whatever planet your Galactic Senate is on, and it fell into enemy hands? Now, would the Republic not make it a priority to take back the Senate?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan knew the answer, "we would make every effort to take back the Senate buildings, but..."

"Sorry to interrupt sirs," Rex pointed down the now droid-free avenue, "but the men have cleared out the droids in this section and the injured have been evaced, shall we continue?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "very well. It seems we have a White House to secure. Commander, would you mind joining me and my men at the front lines?"

Fulton nodded, "it would be an honor."

It didn't take long for Obi-Wan, Cody, Rex and Fulton to reach the front of their forces, now 212th and 442nd colors joining the ranks of blue and cameo colored soldiers.

"Sir," Cody took position next to Rex, "all forces are ready to advance across the city, our reinforcements included. Shall I give the order?"

Obi-wan ignited his Lightsaber, "go ahead Cody," Obi-Wan raised his Lightsaber, before sweeping it down in a charge signal.

Then, he joined the fray as US, and Republic soldiers charged down the avenue.

3:58 pm:

Riot watched with in awe as General Kenobi, Commander Fulton, Commander Cody, and Captain Rex led the renewed attack with a small group of 501st troopers. They were the trailblazers, leading by example, as they cut their way through hundreds of droids.

"Tens," Riot said, "I think I understand why the Generals are Generals…"

"Heh! Yeah Riot, the Jedi are impressive... wish they were the ones the Kaminoans cloned, sure would help win this war!"

Everyone silently agreed with that.

4:08 pm:

For ten minutes, they had continued fighting, forcing the weakened droid forces to retreat further down the avenue towards the National Mall and White House, near where the massive droid transport ships had landed.

But General Kenobi and Commander Cody left nothing to chance, ordering squads of troopers down every side-street they came across.

It was when the main Republic forces were a block away from the White house, that Commander Cody contacted Tens.

"Tens, I'm sending you and your squad with Gamble Squad down 14th Street, the street directly to your left. Clear it of droids," Commander Cody ordered briskly, "According to Fulton, in a block or so the road enters the National Mall. Do not enter, rather hold the entrance. There's too many droids in that park for you guys to take..."

Tens looked down the road at where Cody stood, looking back at him. It took a moment for the meaning of what his commander said to sink in.

'He said, 'your squad',' Tens felt light-headed, 'is he giving me command of my brothers?'

For almost the entire time they had been separated from the 442nd, Tens had been the impromptu Sergeant for his brothers. Now, it seemed Cody was giving him real authority. But was it just for this battle, temporarily? Or was he being promoted?

Realizing he was keeping his Commander waiting, Tens quickly responded, "Sir, how long will we be holding the park entrance?"

"Until our main force destroys the droid transport ships in the park. It might take us a while to secure the White House before we can do that though. But when we finally do begin the final assault, we may need you to secure a landing zone in the park for one of our Tanks... I'll contact you when the time comes. Understood trooper?"

"Yes, sir!" Tens shouted.

Turning from his Commander, Tens looked down the street they were supposed to secure.

It was hard to see all the way to the park in the distance, smoke and ash from fires obscured the view. The street was strewn with ruble and burned out vehicles. Tens could see 5-10 story buildings lining the road, clad in grey pillars of rock. Several red-white and blue flags hung limp from the buildings and poles, they were tattered, torn and charred. It was the US flag, Tens had learned from Trevor, it was supposed to be a symbol of national pride, but today, Tens thought it stood for hope more than anything else.

Looking around, Tens was pleased to see his brothers were next to him, and so was Trevor. He opened a comm channel to all of them.

"Alright guys, the Commander's ordered us to secure that street with Gamble Squad," Tens pointed to the road in question, "We're to hold the park entrance a block down. Trevor, you're with us. If that's okay?"

The Marine was watching the main battle starting to unfold farther down the avenue next to the White House. Looking to Tens he nodded, "I've been ordered to cover you guys, so yeah, it's fine."

Tens could hear the stress in the Marines voice. He knew somewhere, in some hospital, Connor was being treated for life-threatening injuries. And that Julia and Aaron were there with him. Tens suspected that's where Trevor wanted to be too, with his men. Had Tens been in Trevor's position, he would want the same.

Tens nodded, "very well, any questions?"

"Let's scrape some clankers!" Riot yelled, eliciting whoops from everyone else.

"Okay, now, where's Gamble Squad?"

Tens scanned the avenue, as trooper's stream passed, then, he spotted them.

'Oh, boy,' he thought as a group of battle worn trooper's sporting orange on their armor advanced, 'those brothers look mean.'

A/N: Well, hope you enjoyed the long overdue chapter. Sorry, busy as fek, can't be helped. But I have worked ahead in-between postings, on chapter's 29 and 30, so I'm not stopping in case you were worried. : )

A big thank to my Beta, the illustrious Ms CT-782. Couldn't have gotten this chapter out there if not for her. So thanks.

If you noticed, Gamble Squad is new. They were a request made by the reviewer below;

Guest chapter 24 . Feb 15

Being a soldier, you're out there risking life and limb, so here are some of my own name suggestions for a squad: Blackjack, Gamble, Spades, Deuce, and Solitaire (he's the loner in the group).

Well, I'm happy to report that they will be featuring heavily in the next few chapters and possibly the rest of the story. As will all the other character suggestions I received.

That's all for now, stay tuned for more updates, when they come out. I can't thank you guys enough for your patience with the story... it's one of the reason I keep writing, so thank you.

Oh, and the other reason, is for reviews, so please review! : )

-Sly

P.S: Pay attention to the time in this chapter. If anyone can figure out the significance of the time at the beginning of one of the scenes, they get a Muja fruit.