Part 1
Plot: They've gone through eight Imperial bases in the last fifteen days, but Echo, Hunter, and Wrecker won't stop, not until they find Omega and bring her back. But on the ninth base, they walk into a trap. Echo doesn't know what to make of the dark-armored cyborg waiting for them, or his insistence on helping once he hears about Omega. And why does he seem so familiar?
Author's Note: This fic was requested by Thsle on ao3, and I hope you enjoy it! It was written for the Clone Bang. :D Our artist for this fic is ReadingBlueWolf on ao3 ( DivilusCorner on tumblr). ^-^
There's three parts to this fic, and we'll update weekly. :)
PS. This is for the square "depression" on the 501st bingo, and the square "apocalypse" on the Bad Batch bingo.
~ Amina Gila
It's the eighth Imperial base they've hit in the last fifteen days, and they aren't stopping. They can't stop, not until they find Omega and bring her back. They gave up everything for her, and she's only a child. They failed to protect her when they should have, and because of that, she's been taken.
But they're going to get her back, no matter what the cost.
She's their kid. They aren't going to stop until they find her.
Echo is worn, tired, but he's also angry, angry enough that he can push past the exhaustion, the grief over Tech's death, the fear for Omega and what she's going through. He's angry enough that he can ignore everything else, even logic, which tells him that this ninth base they've hit has maybe been too easy. They haven't attacked with any type of pattern, and they've left everything in flames and ruins when they leave, if only out of spite.
And still, there are no signs of Omega or of Hemlock. But there's got to be something. No one is a ghost, even if Hemlock is very good at hiding. They'll find something eventually, they will. They just... need to keep looking.
"This seems too easy," Hunter murmurs over comms as they sweep through the halls, blasters at the ready. There's no signs of resistance of any kind, and that's weird. It's setting off alarm bells in Echo's mind, the faint worry that this could be a trap. Maybe it would be better to pull back and do more recon first.
But looking at the grim, determined profiles of his brothers, remembering the broken way they've all but clung to each other over the days, being the last members of their batch, and Echo can't even say it. He's angry. Angrier than both of them, because they – the Bad Batch took him in, and they took care of him when he didn't have a place anymore. They took him in, and now, they've lost Crosshair and Tech. And Omega. They have to find her, get her back, and if Hunter and Wrecker will plunge headlong into this, no matter that it's probably a trap, Echo will be there with them, to the end.
"Yeah, agreed," he says, cautiously glancing around the corner, looking both ways. "Feel anything? The control room is up ahead?"
"There's... something there," Hunter replies, backing against the wall, blaster raised. "I don't know what it is, but I don't like it."
"Something what?" Wrecker asks.
"It's a concentrated energy source. Similar to a droid, but not quite."
"Cyborg?" Echo guesses, because Hunter had said the same thing about him."
"Maybe. It's similar, but much stronger than any one I've met." He sighs. "Let's move." He's afraid, and Echo is too, just a little bit, but it's fine. They have a mission, and they are going to get Omega back, no matter what it takes. Even if none of them are left to see it through, he won't rest until he knows it'll happen.
Echo scomps into the wall, opening the door ahead of them.
The control room is mostly dark, except for the lights on someone standing right inside waiting for them. The armored figure towers well over them, but what makes Echo momentarily freeze is the... ignited red lightsaber.
No Jedi would be here waiting for them, so it must be a Sith, fighting for the Empire. Maybe he really should have advised a recon after all.
Wrecker instantly moves forwards, ready to charge into it like he is everything. Though the childishness of the way he used to be is mostly gone; now, it's more angry. Echo once didn't know it was possible for Wrecker to be that way.
"Wait!" he warns, before either of the others can do something foolish. "He's a Sith. They have... electric fingers." Yes, there was a proper term for that but he can't remember off the top of his head, and doesn't have time to worry about that right now.
"The correct term is Force lightning," the cyborg replies immediately with the pause of his cycling respirator. His voice is deep, mechanicalized.
That's something the General used to say, something he had said one time when the boys were talking about it. That memory sends a sharp stab of pain shooting through his heart, and Echo forces that away, refocusing on the Sith. He has never faced down a Sith before, and he doesn't know what to do. They're completely outmatched.
"Where are Crosshair and Tech?" the cyborg answers, but it sounds like a genuine, confused, curious question. Not mockingly, the way Echo would have expected from an Imperial.
And that doesn't make any sense.
Why would he care? Why would he ask? Echo's eyes narrow. He's a Sith, and he's Imperial. What game is he playing?
Hunter's hands tighten over his blaster at the mention of their names, and Wrecker outright snarls, about to lunge at him. Echo steps forwards, pointedly positioning himself in front of Wrecker, half defensively and half to keep Wrecker from doing something that would get himself killed.
"Why do you endanger yourselves coming here?" the cyborg asks, when no one replies.
The sheer oddness of the question strikes Echo the most. 'Endanger'? As if the Empire doesn't want them here, to trap them and kill him, as if the Sith, whoever he is, wasn't sent here to kill them.
"What does it matter to you?" Hunter throws back sharply, fingers twitching towards his vibroblade. "You're going to try and kill us regardless of our reason."
"I know you do not take risks without reason," the cyborg says, "So I merely question what has happened which has led you to do this." He pauses, extinguishing the lightsaber, though he keeps the hilt in his hand. "What has been done to you?"
Did he used to know them? Echo can't imagine who he could've been, for that to be true. They worked with many Jedi, though, and he's heard rumors of... Dark Siders who may have been former Jedi. (But the odd way he is speaking so painfully reminds him of his General. Sometimes, Anakin would say the strangest things that were altogether bizarre, and he suspects it's because he didn't grow up speaking Basic; it was his second language, and he learned it... differently. He always spoke very unusually.)
And he still doesn't understand why the cyborg is even asking, but he's clearly waiting for an answer. "I've lost enough of my brothers to the Empire," Echo throws back, finally. Even if this time, it was his little sister who was lost. (Caring for Omega reminded him so much of how the General used to treat Ahsoka. It was what made Echo truly understand what it was like to have a child to care for.)
"They were... harmed?" he guesses. His vocoder doesn't convey any emotion, so Echo doesn't know how he's feeling. He's... unreadable. A threat he doesn't know how to assess. It would be easier if they could just fight, and get it over with, but this is a Sith, and it's not a force they understand.
None of them answer verbally. Echo doesn't know what he would say, anyway. There are no words that can describe what happened to them, how the Empire took Crosshair, how Tech died trying to get him back, and how Omega was taken from them.
The silence drags on, and finally, the cyborg speaks again. "What do you hope to accomplish by raiding these Imperial bases? You will only get yourselves killed."
He says it like he cares for some unfathomable reason. Is he just playing with them? Toying with them like Sith always do? Waiting for the right moment to kill them all once he's gotten whatever information from him that he needs to? But why is he asking these questions, when he already must know the answers?
"What difference does it make to you?" Echo demands, finally. He's tired of dealing with whatever the Sith's playing at.
"It matters," he answers vaguely. His helmet tilts, assessing. "You lost someone," the Sith states evenly. "Someone of whom I was not aware. A child."
Echo's hand tightens on his blaster, itching with the urge to fire at him just for mentioning her. It sounds like a threat, even if it wasn't meant as one. The Empire took Omega from them, and Echo knows what it's like to be turned into an experiment. He can't imagine what it would be like for her to go through that.
"The Empire took her," Hunter answers finally.
"Under what grounds?" he inquires.
"She's vital for whatever experiments they're doing on the rest of my brothers," Echo retorts. He doesn't know what exactly they wanted her for, but he can imagine.
There's a pause of silence, the respirator cycling. "Experiments? What experiments do you speak of? The clones have been given retirement benefits, to honor their service to the Republic. I am unaware of any experiments." Though the vocoder keeps his tone mechanical, unreadable, Echo can almost feel the anger creeping in at the end. Suspicion. Mistrust maybe, too, but mostly, just anger, as if the Sith believes them over whatever he's apparently been told.
"That's what the Empire claims to the public." He doesn't know how someone working in the Empire military couldn't know, but... if Echo had to guess, this Sith is someone who used to work with the clones and apparently at least respected them. It would explain how he used to know them, and why he even cares what's happened to them, though Echo still has no idea who he could be. They never knew that many people, though. They didn't know very many Jedi – rarely ever worked with them. They were rarely needed in places where Jedi were.
"I don't know about those being sent to 'retirement' –" Though he highly doubts they're being given any such thing, "– but all those accused of treason are being sent... to a facility somewhere. They have Omega there."
"You have... proof of this?" the Sith asks finally. He sounds almost disbelieving, but there's still a distinct edge of anger there, too.
Hunter glances at Echo, as if asking his opinion. They don't know what the Sith's goal is, but it doesn't entirely seem like he's planning to use whatever information they give over against them. Echo could be wrong, but he thinks he's genuinely curious. It wouldn't make sense for him to just be stalling them, either. He's a Sith. If he wanted to kill them, Echo morbidly doubts there's anything they could truly do to stop him. Maybe if their entire squad was here, yes, but now...
"Yes," Echo replies with certainty.
"What have you... found?" he asks.
"Files of the thousands of clone prisoners sent to the Advanced Science Division," Echo supplies, a fresh wave of pain that quickly bleeds into anger washing through him. "The chief scientist himself was there to take Omega." He doesn't think remembering Eriadu and everything that followed will ever get easier, especially for Hunter and Wrecker.
They have to get her back, no matter what. And if Crosshair is still there... maybe him too.
But nothing they do now can bring Tech back, just like the countless other brothers who were lost.
"I will assist you," the Sith replies, and for a moment, they just stare at him, because, what?
Why would a Sith want to help them? He's Imperial. ... That doesn't necessarily mean anything, though, because they're not all evil, even if Echo has yet to see one who's not.
Hunter glances at him again, and if Echo could see his face, he knows he'd look stunned, or wary. Probably a mixture of both.
"Why?" Hunter queries, warily.
"The clones were supposed to be given retirement for their service," the cyborg answers, clipping his lightsaber hilt to his belt, "And if that is not so, I must know of it, so I can speak to the Emperor about this matter and ascertain if he is aware. You – all of you – have sacrificed much for the Republic; you helped the Empire rise, and you have given the galaxy a chance to find peace and order. You deserve to be treated well."
Echo stares at him, a little mind-blown by the matter of factness of the words. Never – never has heard any natborn speak of them that way, as if they're important, except his General. His General, who is said to have died at the Temple with the rest of the Jedi. He looks away, swallowing, wondering why this Sith is reminding him so much of Anakin.
Probably, he would recognize the cyborg's name if he heard it, under the assumption he was a Jedi. That doesn't mean it's a guarantee. "Who are you?" Echo asks, because they at least have the right to know that much if they're going to risk working with him.
"Vader," he replies, after a momentary pause.
... Right, he should have remembered that Sith always pick the most bizarre names for themselves. If this Vader is someone he knew, there'll be no telling it from his name alone. (He hates the way Vader reminds him of his General though. It hurts, because he misses Anakin so badly, and he tries to let it go, because he'll never see him again. He's dead, gone, just like the rest of the Jedi.)
Not as though it matters, anyway.
**w**
Having Vader on the Marauder is not something any of them are comfortable with. Echo doesn't even have to ask Hunter or Wrecker to know that. He could kill them easily, but if he wanted to, he probably would have already. Unless he's just trying to find out more about their network.
But if he actually is here to help them, the assistance of a Force-user could be invaluable.
Vader looks around the Marauder, assessing, but he follows them to the cockpit when they head towards it. Echo sits at the computer port, plugging in his scomp and pulling up all the information that they've collected thus far about Hemlock and the Advanced Science Division, trying to ignore the way Vader hovering over his shoulder makes his skin crawl.
The others are lingering in the background, not moving from each other's sides, much the way they have been the entire time since Eriadu.
He says nothing when Echo finishes, merely standing there, his fingers hooked into his belt. If not for his breathing, Echo could almost think he's become a statue. "This is far more extensive than I imagined," he says at last, "And I do not know how my master could be unaware of it. I must know the truth of all this."
'My master'? Echo... is not going to touch that statement. He already knows, from Rex, that Palpatine is a Sith, and that Dooku was his apprentice, and that presumably means that this Sith is now Palpatine's new apprentice.
"We don't know where to start looking," Echo tells him. "That's why we haven't found their base yet."
Vader turns, looking around idly as if searching for something, slowly exiting from the cockpit – he almost has to duck his helmet with how ridiculously tall he is – moving towards the bunks. Hunter stiffens, following him, and Echo unplugs his scomp before trailing after.
Wrecker hovers closeby, as does Gonky.
The Sith stops next to Tech's bunk, holding out a hand towards the broken goggles, though he doesn't touch him. Around him, something cold and dark trembles in the air, trailing pinpricks of ice down Echo's back, and he shudders from the sensation. He could feel it when his General used the Force sometimes, a warm, golden glow that soothed him. This is nothing like that. This is... dark.
... But he can feel it, which is all kinds of odd. He shouldn't be able to feel it; he's not Force sensitive, and there are no Force users who are powerful enough to make those who are Force null feel the Force – except his General.
But that's impossible. Anakin is dead. Echo needs to stop thinking about him so much. He needs to focus on his squad and let go of the echoes of the past – no pun intended.
"Tech – what happened to him?" He turns away. "All I feel is pain, not death. When these were last with him, he was alive."
For a moment, Echo can't breathe. Tech – alive. It should be impossible, though, given how far he fell, and yet... He knows that Force users have abilities that they can never hope to understand. Hope is a dangerous thing, and while he does not want to hope, he cannot deny the flickering ember that bursts to life within him. He wants to hope. He wants to hope that Tech is alive, that it's not too late to bring the entire squad back together. He wants to hope, but he's afraid to, after mourning Tech and Crosshair and Omega.
"We were on Eiradu," Echo answers, trying to keep his voice even though he knows some of the grief and anger shows through. "Searching for more about the Advanced Science Division. I found word that they took Crosshair, and we were looking for him. We were trying to track Hemlock to... the location, but it went badly."
Badly still feels like an understatement of what happened that day.
"Then we have somewhere to begin searching," Vader replies, at length. "If Hemlock was on Eriadu, Tarkin will know of this... operation."
"How does that help us?" Hunter queries, instantly wary.
"I will speak to Tarkin myself."
He is Imperial. He does, technically, have the authority to do that. Maybe this will help more than Echo first realized.
**w**
They're on their way back to Eiradu again, and Echo knows none of them are ready to see that place. Not that they ever would be, but if it's the only chance they have to get Omega back, they'll deal with it.
Vaguely, he remembers that it's been a long time since he last ate, but what else is new? All of them have hardly eaten or slept since this all started. They've hardly even had the resources to, with all their time spent looking.
Not even Wrecker has shown nearly as much interest in food, especially now when they're going back to the place where they lost everything.
"Do you... need any ration bars?" Hunter asks the Sith, uncertainly.
"I do not eat," Vader replies shortly.
Considering what he looks like, Echo suspected he had... issues in that regard. Echo himself does, too, though they're minor in the scheme of things. There are things he's sensitive to.
He has never been as... creative as some of the other boys in regard to food, and that got much worse after the Citadel. He can't take anything too sweet, or too salty, or really, anything that isn't just right.
Considering Vader's state, Echo can't be fully certain he's physically capable of eating at all, without being in a special facility somewhere.
That, of course, catches AZI's attention. Vader twitches back sharply, practically flinching, when the droid starts scanning him. Echo has to look away himself – machines bring... bad memories for him. That's another thing that's true about them both, and Echo doesn't really know how to feel about that.
"You have extensive third-degree burns across your entire body," the droid yelps, "Which require immediate treatment."
"I am aware," Vader snaps back, and if it were possible, Echo is certain he'd be snarling.
Wrecker looks wide-eyed at Hunter, who twitches, uncrossing his arms. He looks like he wants to do something, and Echo does, too, but it's not really something they can help with. "Uh, should we take him to a medbay?" Wrecker whispers, about as quietly as he could actually talk anyway.
"Worry about it after we finish this," Hunter replies, moving back up to the cockpit and settling down in the pilot's seat. He tilts his head back against the seat and closes his eyes. He looks exhausted, but the slight tightness on his expression betrays it's more than that. None of them have slept much, but something's... hurting him.
Wrecker makes a beeline for the co-pilot's seat. He and Hunter have been constantly sitting next to each other since it happened. Echo settles down behind Wrecker, and they turn the seats a bit, enough to face each other.
"You alright?" he asks Hunter, who casts a glance towards Vader, who's lingering way in the back now. The Sith is giving them space right now, time to talk to each other. At least he has that much consideration.
"Fine," he replies unconvincingly, touching his forehead and sighing. "His frequencies are... a bit overwhelming."
Wrecker reaches out, patting Hunter's shoulder. "Do you need to lay down?" he inquires.
"I'll be fine," Hunter reassures, though Wrecker stands to pull him into a hug. Echo isn't really accustomed to very visible displays of physical affection, but with them, he's gotten a little more used to it. Hunter hugs him back, and Echo moves to touch his shoulder.
He used to do that for Omega, sometimes. Hunter is their leader, but he's reached his breaking point the way both he and Wrecker have. Wrecker is quiet now, withdrawn. He doesn't talk half as much as he used to.
They have a lead now, with Vader's help, but Echo still feels lost.
It would be easier if Tech were here. He might not have been their logic in any sense, but he still had a calm reasoning that Hunter has completely lost now. They all have, and Echo can only do his best to be strong for them.
(Vader said he didn't feel Tech's death. That doesn't mean he's alive. It was Vader's words, not – not his General. He could be wrong. Something else could have happened. Echo's too afraid to hope.)
**w**
Echo is not looking forward to seeing Eriadu again at all. Though, that goes without saying. This is the place where everything fell. He's bracing himself when they come out of hyperspace and fly for the surface, but that doesn't make any second of it any easier as the landscape comes into view.
The snow covered mountains are too familiar. They were here only weeks ago, and everything was fine, and they were going to find Crosshair, and now, they have nothing. He can't quite stop his eyes from scanning over the mountains, though, for as much as he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to know which one it was that... that Tech fell by.
Hunter's expression is tight and closed-off, but Echo doesn't even need the Force – like the Sith hovering almost awkwardly behind them – to feel the grief he's radiating.
Wrecker is lingering in the back of the cockpit, far enough away that he doesn't have to look out the front viewport at all, not that it'll help much when they land.
Echo really isn't looking forward to that. But it might be the only way they can find Omega, and they'll face whatever they have to, to get to her.
"How were you planning for us to get inside?" Hunter asks, looking at Vader.
"We will land in the hangar." He moves to the front, so he can send through some clearance codes when they get a message for them.
It feels too easy. If this goes wrong, they all could end up dead. Though way inside, Echo questions if it's truly possible to find this secret base and rescue Omega – and Crosshair – without losing someone else. He doesn't want to think about it. It's not like they'll go in without any reinforcements, though. Once they're ready, he'll call in Rex.
He's too tense to even breathe a sigh of relief when their codes are accepted, and they land the ship. None of them have time to even begin to discuss what their plan of action should be, because Vader merely stalks down the steps onto the floor of the hangar bay, leaving the three of them to scramble and catch up.
Guards approach, attempting to intercept him. "Governor Tarkin was not expecting you," begins one of them, and Vader shoves him back with the Force.
"Step aside," he all but snarls, "I have an urgent matter to discuss with Tarkin at once. You will take me to him."
They try to protest it, but Vader doesn't stop to listen, and just keeps moving, further into the facility. Echo exchanges looks with Hunter and Wrecker as they follow, but the guards are thankfully more focused on Vader than them, which is good, because they'd be overwhelmed in moments if the order was given to attack them.
They're escorted up to the top level where Tarkin's office is, and another guard steps forward, asking them to wait until Tarkin is ready.
"I will not wait," Vader answers, and Echo could almost swear he feels the rage crackling from the Sith. He Force shoves the guards aside, holding out a hand towards the durasteel doors in front of him and jerking. There's the groaning sound of metal as the doors visibly bend before being ripped straight from the wall, clattering to the floor.
Echo shivers when he feels the same icy cold trickling down his spine. It's – it's too similar to how his General felt, just dark, and he doesn't like it. (He doesn't know if he's more afraid of what it could mean or more scared to hope.)
"What is the meaning of this, Lord Vader?" Tarkin demands coldly, staring Vader down as he storms up to him, slamming his hands down on the table. Echo nearly jumps at the noise it makes, because no human hand should be so... loud. Prosthetics then? "And why are you consorting with known traitors?" He glances pointedly at Echo and his brothers, and instinctively, Echo steps forward, as if to protect them.
"Did you know that clone troopers are being sent away to labs, to be experimented on?" Vader's voice is practically a growl, even through his vocoder.
Something flashes through Tarkin's eyes, almost too fast to be seen, and he draws himself up. "I have no idea what you mean," he answers coolly, "And if you only come here to throw childish tantrums, I demand you leave at once, or I shall call the Emperor to report your behavior to him."
Vader snarls, wordless static spitting through the vocoder, and all at once, everything that's glass or transparisteel – like the windows – that is in the room shatters, a shockwave rippling outwards so abruptly that Echo takes a step back in alarm. He felt it. He felt it the same way he felt it when his General drew deeply on the Force, and the pit in his stomach only grows as he stares at Vader with a new perspective dawning on him. That – Vader is his General, isn't he? He – he used to be Anakin. Echo is almost certain of it, though he doesn't want to believe it for what it'll mean – that his General is supporting the Empire – or that something injured him so badly that he requires a life support suit to live.
"You lie," he roars furiously. "You know of it. You – the Emperor knows of it too. He must, or you would not be threatening to call him in such a manner."
Tarkin is either too brave to be afraid or too stupid to be, because even Echo feels a little afraid right now, but Tarkin only stares at Vader coldly, not reacting. "The Emperor is doing what is best for the galaxy, as he always has, and I think you forget your place, Lord Vader. You know you will face harsh reprimand if you attempt to harm me."
"You are hurting the clones," Vader answers dangerously, rising to his full height. "You are hurting them." All at once, Tarkin is slammed into the wall, and Vader rounds the desk, approaching him. "You will tell me where they are being sent, one way or another. You will speak, or I will find the answers in your mind instead. I have no fear of hurting you. I will do more than hurt you."
Echo should probably stop him, but Tech is gone – even if not dead – because of Tarkin, and he has no love for the natborn whatsoever. If anything, he only feels a vicious, bitter satisfaction at seeing him brought to this level, especially when Echo is positive, in this moment, that Vader will kill anyone and anything that tries to harm them. He's so fiercely protective of the clones, and it's so, so familiar that he aches from it.
Tarkin starts saying something – another threat about the Emperor – but Vader cuts him off. Echo feels the way the Force twists around him, though he has no idea what he's doing.
They don't have time to watch or ponder either, because Hunter spins for the door, seconds before several guards run into view, shooting at them. Echo whips around, firing back. He and Wercker move to one side of the room, and Hunter to the other, taking cover from behind the walls.
They take them down quickly, but more are coming. Vader finally turns away from Tarkin, throwing the troopers in the hallway against the wall hard enough that they slump to the floor, motionless.
Now that the shooting is done, Echo's eyes snap back to Tarkin's motionless form. He's still breathing, though. He's still alive, still a potential threat.
"So long as he lives, he will bear witness to our presence," Vader says.
Hunter doesn't hesitate, drawing his blaster and shooting him through the heart. Wrecker crosses the room, picking up his body and throwing it out the shattered window. Considering how Tech died, likely on Tarkin's own orders, Echo has no sympathy whatsoever. Probably, he would have once. Things have changed though.
After what happened before, he has to admit it's somewhat satisfying to watch.
There's a heartbeat of silence, nothing but Vader's respirator cycling. (Is he really the General? Is he? Not that Echo could really ask.)
"We must leave before more come," Vader tells them, moving for the door, "The planet your brothers have been taken to is Tantiss. I do not know the precise coordinates, but if we go to the sector it is located in, it should not be hard to find."
"... When did you find that out?" Echo asks, blinking.
"Tarkin's mind," he replies.
... Oh. That's possible? At least it gives them somewhere to start.
"If we're going there, I... have a contact to call," Echo tells them. He needs to call Rex, and update him on how fast everything has changed.
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