A/N: WOOHOO! I got the chapter out in time! I was kind of worried, because I was busy most of today attending my great-grandmother's memorial service, and I wasn't sure I would get the chance post the chapter today. But here I am, with a new offering for my awesome readers.

Oh, and I might as well warn you now. I only edited this chapter once. Sooooo... may the Force be with you.

Echo let out a steadying breath as the others turned around to face the horde of stormtroopers. The log had stated there were only two platoons stationed at the quarry, and the majority of them had been on guard duty when they arrived. There was only one way this many stormtroopers could have gotten there this quickly.

They knew we were coming.

But before he could ask himself how, a stormtrooper commander marched out from behind the others, pristine orange pauldron flashing as he approached.

"You are under arrest for treason against the Galactic Empire. Surrender your weapons, now!" He ordered, and the line of stormtroopers raised their weapons.

Despite his best attempts to keep his breathing steady, Echo could feel his pulse quickening.

"Kanan…?" Zeb said under his breath, question going unasked. What are we going to do?

"Weapons down, now!" The stormtrooper commander repeated, growing impatient.

"Jump," Kanan said in a low voice. Echo faltered.

"What?"

"Jump!" The Jedi repeated, this time in a shout.

Before Echo could rethink his actions, he threw himself off the ledge. A split-second later, his sensibility returned to him in the form of a scream as the cracked, twisted pavement rushed up to meet him. Over his own yelling, Echo heard Wrecker's more panicked screaming as they plummeted together, faster and faster. Echo squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the impact. If it didn't kill him, he'd probably break most of the bones he had left. Then, as if grabbed by an invisible hand, Echo jerked to a stop in midair. His eyes shot open again, but before he could register what was happening, he dropped the remaining distance and fell to the ground with a heavy thud. At the same time, Kanan landed lightly beside him.

So this was what Rex dealt with on the daily, Echo thought ironically, remembering the amount of times his general had tossed the captain around like a ragdoll during the war.

"Come on!" Kanan urged, eying the ledge where stormtroopers were already assembling, shouting commands, and readying their weapons.

Echo launched himself to his feet, along with Wrecker to his left, and a blaster bolt struck the ground where he had just been sitting. Without hesitation, he charged after Kanan and Zeb, with Wrecker hot on his tail, as they dove for cover.

"I don't think we're getting out through the shipyard," Wrecker commented as he vaulted over a low heap of debris and pressed his back to it.

"You don't say!" Zeb snarled back.

"Cut it out," Kanan snapped, patience clearly being tested by the situation as much as his team. "We'll find another way out of here."

Zeb peeked out from their cover, only to be forced back behind it when a blaster bolt almost hit its mark. "Where!?" He shouted.

"I'm working on it!"

Struggling to tune out his teammates' bickering, Echo tried to think up an answer. Where? Where did they have to go?

Desperately, Echo risked peeking his head out from behind their cover as he searched for a weakness in the Empire's offence, somewhere, anywhere they might be able to squeeze through. Behind them the fractured walkway dropped off into a massive sinkhole, and in the other direction, the control tower still loomed over the entire quarry, darkened after the explosion had once more knocked the power out. They were pinned behind barely sufficient cover, and the Stormtroopers from the shipyard were slowly picking their way down the rockslides formed in the explosion. They only had one direction to go: the control tower.

We'll never make it. Echo's heart sank into the dust at his feet as he realized the direness of their situation. With the stormtroopers occupying high ground, and so little cover, it would be too much for even a Jedi to handle. They would just be picked off, one by one.

Then, he remembered. He peeked out from the rubble again, to see a dull, grey shape barely visible, among the rubble. A crate. He laughed bitterly to himself at the sudden sense of deja vu and he ducked back into cover. It was a long shot, but it was also their only shot.

"Get ready to run," he called to the others, struggling to keep his voice steady as another bolt collided with his cover.

"What? Where?!" Kanan hollered back. "They've got us pinned!"

"When I say so, run towards the tower, and don't stop. Do you hear me Wrecker? Don't stop."

Before Wrecker could protest, Echo was shouting "GO, GO, GO!" He jumped out from behind cover, firing a bolt at the crate underneath the rubble. The shot glanced off its corner and sent a shower of sparks in all directions. He didn't dare look back to check if the others had kept going, even as a bolt struck his chest plate and knocked him to the ground with a clatter.

Echo rolled sideways as another bolt struck the ground where he had just been, gritting his teeth at the burning sensation spreading through his chest. Did someone just shout his name through the comms? Pushing himself to one knee as he dodged another blast, Echo aimed his pistol once more at the crate.

"Plan 99, Wrecker." Echo's voice was heavy as he spoke into the comms.

And fired.

The reaction was instantaneous, jettisoning rubble and smoke and fire in all directions. The shockwave slammed into Echo, knocking him off his feet as a sense of bitter irony settled itself in his chest. Then, his helmet hit the ground with a crack, and the world went dark.

"Echo!" Wrecker cried as the former ARC was enveloped in a cloud of dust and flame.

For a moment, Kanan was frozen, unable to avert his eyes from where the clone had disappeared under a slope of rocks and debris. Beside him, Zeb had stepped in front of Wrecker, and was trying valiantly to hold him back.

"Kanan!" Zeb's shout snapped him out of his shock. "We can't stay here!"

"We're not leaving without Echo!" Wrecker bellowed, struggling against Zeb's grip.

But before any of them could move, a familiar roar filled the air, and Kanan's stomach dropped into his feet. Above their heads, two Tie-fighters swooped into the quarry.

"RUN!" Kanan ordered, and this time, no one protested. None of it would matter it they were all reduced to scorch marks on the cracked pavement.

As one, they began to sprint down the walkway. Vaulting over an especially large crack in the pavement, Kanan risked a look over his shoulder to make sure that the others were following him. Which is why he couldn't have anticipated the cannon round that collided with the walkway in front of him in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.

The force of the blast flung Kanan back onto the ground, and the air in his lungs was forced out of his lungs. Gasping for air, Kanan forced himself to his hands and knees as fast as he could, and his eyes landed on Zeb and Wrecker, who were thankfully doing the same. Over the ringing in his ears, Kanan registered the roaring of one of the Ties change in pitch. They were coming back around.

Kanan's hand darted down to his belt for his lightsaber only close around open air. Pulse quickening, he desperately scanned the blast area for it, until his eyes found it lying on the ground a few meters away.

Time seemed to slow as Kanan stuck out his arm, fought to calm his racing heartbeat, and reached out into the Force for his lightsaber. He tuned out the shouting of the remaining stormtroopers as they struggled to regroup, the sounds of Zeb and Wrecker pushing themselves to their feet behind him, and the sound of the rapidly approaching Tie-fighter.

As his hand closed around the hilt, he activated it and jumped to his feet, eyes shooting open to see the Tie howling towards them. Again, he craned his neck to see Zeb and Wrecker behind him. If this was it, he would go down protecting something that was worth protecting, like Echo had.

Like his master had.

Raising his lightsaber, he steeled himself for the end.

But the rounds never came.

Lazerfire collided with the wing of the Tie, and it spun out of control, going up in a ball of flames as it crashed into the quarry. For a moment, Kanan stood speechless, until Wrecker and Zeb let out a triumphant cheer. Hera was here. The Ghost banked sharply out of the way to reveal several X-wings following in its wake. One of the X-wings rapidly homed in on the other Tie, which was just turning back towards the quarry, clearly taken by surprise at their sudden arrival. Another well-placed shot later, and the second Fighter exploded and plunged to the ground with a satisfying boom.

"Spectre 1, this is Spectre 2," Hera's voice called over their comms, "are you alright down there?"

"Yeah, and we couldn't be happier to see you," Kanan replied with a grin, more relieved than anything else.

"I'm touching down in the shipyard. Be quick. Imperial reinforcements are already on their way."

"Copy that."

With Hera, clearing the shipyard wouldn't be a problem. But before Kanan could even take a step, Wrecker dashed towards the rubble where Echo had disappeared. Kanan's stomach clenched.

"Echo!" Wrecker called desperately as he dropped to his knees next to the rockslide the explosion had formed and began digging through the debris. "Echo, can you hear me?"

For a moment, Kanan met Zeb's gaze, and Zeb took a step forward. He reached out a hand to grab Wrecker's shoulder, but the big guy shoved him off, instead lunging for a larger chunk of debris.

Then Kanan hesitated. Again, he tuned out the background noises, the shifting of rubble, Wrecker's continued pleas, the steady rumble of the Ghost's engines, and focused. There. Faint, but still there. Another life force, weak and faltering, but there.

With a deep breath, Kanan closed his eyes, stretched out his hands, and drifted further into concentration. Through the Force, he sought out every chunk of rock, every particle of dust. He felt the air fill his lungs, the blood slowly pulsing through his veins. The rubble became one with everything else. Then, he imagined a massive hand out of the spaces in between, gently shifting, breathing, moving. He didn't hear Wrecker's stunned gasp, or see Zeb's wide eyes, or even recognize Echo's starved gasps for air, he only saw the Force, swirling around and through them like leaves on a soft breeze.

"Echo!"

Wrecker's voice broke through Kanan's concentration, and the image in his mind wavered. The rocks became nearly unbearable to carry, and Kanan grunted at the sudden weight. With a final gasp of relief, he allowed his arms to drop to his sides like deadweights, the rubble falling with them in a perfect circle around Echo.

Immediately, Wrecker rushed forward, calling his brother's name once more and practically vaulting over the ring of debris. Kanan nodded to Zeb, and they hurriedly followed Wrecker over the mound. Echo was alive but they weren't out of the fire just yet. None of them could be sure of what kind of injuries he might have sustained.

When the trooper came into view, Wrecker kneeling beside him, he was lying on his back, still.

"Echo, Echo, can you hear me? Are you alright?" Wrecker asked, gripping his brother's shoulder firmly and gently removing his helmet.

At Wrecker's touch, Echo groaned, before convulsing in a coughing fit. His eyes flickered open, and Wrecker's face brightened.

"I'm still breathing, aren't I?" The clone muttered.

Again, Kanan was reminded of just how tough clones could be. He'd seen it before, in his own men. He'd seen it in the resilience of Rex, Gregor, and Wolffe, in how they continued to fight the good fight after so many years of loss. And here it was again, that stubborn refusal to give up.

Wrecker let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, you're still breathing."

"Good." Echo said, before trying to push himself into a sitting position. He bit back a hiss.

"Woah, woah, woah." Wrecker placed a gentle hand on Echo's chest, forcing him to lay back down. "Take it easy. We're gonna get you out of here."

Kanan stepped forward. As nice as the moment was, they needed to leave. "Let's get to the Ghost. Quickly," he added, hoping Wrecker caught on to the urgency in his voice. He could already hear the blood-curdling roar of Tie-fighters in the distance.

Wrecker nodded, scooping Echo up with more tenderness than Kanan had thought possible from the brawny clone. Echo hissed again at the slight jostling but made no protest otherwise.

The group made their way quickly up the rockslide to the shipyard. Despite the rubble and debris shifting dangerously under their feet, they made it up safely, and as they came over the ridge, the comforting sight of the Ghost, set down peacefully among what used to be the shipyard, now hunks of smoking ruins, welcomed them.

By the time Kanan had reached the ship, Hera was already waiting at the top of the ramp, glancing anxiously up at the dark, clouded sky.

"Imperial reinforcements are on their way," she said, ushering them in. "Take him to the medbay, and I'll get us out of here."

"What about the others?" Zeb asked as Wrecker passed them, carrying Echo to the medbay.

Hera pursed her lips. "They still haven't called in, and I still haven't gotten anything from the refinery indicating they finished the mission."

On the other side of the quarry, an X-wing crashed into the ground and exploded.

Kanan hurried the rest of the way into the safety of the Ghost.

"Let's hope they get out of there soon."

A/N: Whaaaat? A chapter that doesn't end with a cliffhanger?! Are you okay, Bubblez?

All jokes aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter is almost finished already, so I will definitely post it on schedule.

p.s. I'm so sorry for the Plan 99 reference. I'm still coping.