Rex and Ahsoka walked side-by-side to the medbay, their steps hurried. It was a substantial walk from the rec deck to the lift and another long walk to the medbay.

No wonder the Kaz'harians were such formidable warriors, Ahsoka thought, as she quickened her pace to keep up with Rex. Walking the corridors of their ship is a cardio workout in itself.

Her thoughts strayed back to their last few moments on the observation deck. It had been pleasant to be held in Rex's arms. Too much so. She would have liked to have stayed much longer. She cast a glance over at Rex, but he was staring straight ahead. His face was a mask of worry, and she turned her mind back to Echo.

I shouldn't be thinking of myself, when Echo is so sick. He saved us all.

There was something else, though, she could sense about Rex. Something that went even further than his concerns about an injured trooper. They stepped into the lift together.

"What is it, Rex?" Ahsoka prompted.

Rex blinked, as if only just remembering she was there. His eyes were slightly unfocused and his voice gravely. He pushed the words out as if they came at a great cost. "ArmyMed."

"The medical facility on Coruscant- what of it?"

"It's where I was sent, Ahsoka."

"Oh." Rex was staring at her with his intense brown gaze waiting for her to make an important connection. The Resolute had been sent away on a mission while Rex was undergoing his treatments at ArmyMed. She had been so sure he was in good hands at the medical facility. He'd been through so much and none of them had been there for him. "I'm sorry, Rex. This must be dredging up some awful memories."

Rex hit the stop button on the lift and gripped her arms to stabilize her as the lift came to an abrupt halt. "That's not it, Ahsoka. I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about Echo. Troopers who don't get well are not given second chances."

"We have to believe he's going to get better, Rex," but even as Ahsoka said the words, they tasted ashen in her mouth, like she was making false promises.

Rex sighed, giving her a look that made her feel like she still wasn't getting it. He released her arms and starting up the lift again with a backwards jab of his fist to the controls.

"Rex, it's not that I don't believe you. What you went through was terrible and never should've happened. It's just..." Ahsoka's tried to impart a soothing tone into her words, but quickly found she didn't know what to say.

It's just... what?

It couldn't happen again? Did she know that for certain?

That the Republic was not capable of such actions? That the GAR always had the best interest of the clones at heart? That the Jedi considered the interest of the clones first and foremost.

At the beginning of the war, she was so sure of her beliefs. She was so sure of what they were fighting to preserve. But, so much of what she believed before the war had been shattered. In the name of winning the war it seems there was no end to the ways in which the Republic was willing to sacrifice their values.

Or, maybe... just maybe... the Republic never was the place she thought it be.

The lift doors opened and Rex stared straight ahead as they walked down the long corridor together. He seemed a thousand light years away. He was withdrawn and not looking at her. Even when she knew his anger wasn't directed at her, she hated seeing him like this.

"Rex, tell me everything you can so I understand," she blurted the words out in a rush, trying to find out as much as they could before they reached medbay. "You were injured and the doctor we spoke to- Anhalt, I think his name was- he claimed that you were not 'salvageable.' The Jedi Council said they put an end to the practice of clones getting sent away-"

Rex snorted.

Ahsoka looked at him in surprise.

"And, just where did they say these clones are now being sent?" Rex asked.

"I... don't know," Ahsoka admitted. "I'm not sure that was ever worked out."

"In all likelihood, the Council's attention was pulled to something else, and the Kaminoans jumped in to 'handle' it for them. If I had any credits to my name, I would bet damaged units are still being quietly sent to Kamino for disposal. Maybe it's being done more discreetly now, but the Kaminoans have no tolerance for anything that could compromise the reputation of their product."

Ahsoka gritted her teeth. She hated it when Rex, or any one of the other troopers, referred to themselves as units. Or property. "You are not property."

Rex jammed his fist into the wall. It was not near her, but startled her all the same. "Wake up, Ahsoka! We are not free men by any stretch of the imagination. We are property, whether you wish to acknowledge it or not." Rex withdrew his fist and bowed his head. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Ahsoka stood on her tiptoes so she could place a gentle kiss atop Rex's bowed head. He sighed and reached a hand out to seek her own. She gripped it and they stayed there another moment, holding on to each other. "Rex," she whispered quietly, not wanting to break the peace of the moment, but this conversation was too important to let drop, "you refer to yourself as property. Property of whom?"

Why had she never thought to ask that question before?

Maybe because she never wanted to think through these issues before.

Rex tilted his head so they were looking eye-to-eye. "It was the Jedi who commissioned us, Ahsoka. While the Kaminoans keep very heavy-handed quality control over every aspect of our existence, ultimately even they have to bow to the whims of the Jedi. I don't think it is because they respect the Jedi. I've only seen the Kaminoans have respect for each other. But, because the Jedi are paying customers. Probably the biggest client the Kaminoans have ever had. So, my brothers and I are property of you, Skywalker, the Council, every padawan out there, and any other Jedi that wishes to tell us what to do." He released Ahsoka's hand and gestured for them to begin walking again. "Do my brothers have any rights? No. Can Echo be sent away because he is now damaged goods? Absolutely. That is the arrangement the Jedi have with the Kaminoans. Whatever it is they tell you, the Senate or the public is a bunch of shab. The Kaminoans say one thing and do another."

They arrived at the entrance of the medbay and Rex made a gesture for Ahsoka to enter before him. Among the thousand things Ahsoka liked about the clones were their manners. They were impeccable- on par with any Jedi in the Order.

And, yet, the clones had no rights. Not even to their own lives. Especially not to their own lives.

"Go on, I need a moment."

Rex gave her a formal nod, appropriate for a Captain to his commander, and entered the medbay alone.

She leaned back against the corridor, trying to think through Rex's words. In a way, she'd already known everything Rex had told her. She just hadn't wanted to admit it. It was easier to think of the clones as her friends, versus something the Order had commissioned. The thought of it turned her stomach. There were shops on Coruscant where you could buy exotic animals and take them home as pets. Ahsoka had once wondered what happened to the animals when people no longer wanted them- when the novelty wore off. She tried to ask her Master about it once, but he said such things were not "Jedi business' and to 'leave it alone.'

Fives rushed by, barely casting her a glance as he charged into the medbay.

What had the Jedi turned into? Or, like the Republic itself, was she just now seeing everything in a different light?

Whatever doubts she had, now was not the time to look weak in front of the men. They needed her to be strong. She gathered herself up and walked into the medbay, trying to look composed and serene.

Sensing a tight ball of tension coming from one corner of the room, she cast out an air of calm across the medbay. Coric and Kix both quickly glanced up at her arrival. Coric's lips twisted slightly as if he knew exactly what she'd done with her slight Force suggestion before he returned his immediate attention to the clone lying prone on the medbay table in front of them.

Echo.

# # #

Fives was walking to the mess after third shift when the call came in from Coric.

"Fives, I need you down here in medbay now." The medic ended the call without giving any further details and this alone was enough to set Fives' heart racing. He charged through the corridors, his armored boots clicking against highly polished floors. Fives' recognized the tension in Coric's voice, even as the medic tried to keep his tone flat and neutral. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

He couldn't make it to medbay fast enough.

This is all my fault. We didn't find Echo soon enough on Darkknell. He's too sick. Too weak. They can't save him.

I should have been there to watch his back, but instead I went charging into the dungeons. I should've known Echo wouldn't sit still. He couldn't. Not when there was a battle going on. He's my brother and I'm supposed to watch over him. We're partners. Squadmates. All that is left of the Dominoes.

If he dies, this is all my fault.

'Look at the Dominoes fall...'

I didn't watch out for Echo. I know him better than anyone. He saved us all and then he got attacked. Repeatedly. And, I wasn't there to watch his back. I'm so sorry, Echo. I did this to you. I'm a terrible brother.

The heavy pounding of his footsteps echoed with the damning thoughts in his mind. My fault. My fault. My fault.

He couldn't free himself from the self-recriminations. If Echo died, he would never be able to forgive himself. It was his worst nightmare.

"Fek! Move it shinies!" he yelled at a group of 212th troopers, not caring if they were shinies or not. He barreled through them, sure he would hear about it later from Rex or Commander Cody. But, right now, he didn't care about any of it. They could write him up and strip him of his rank. If he lost Echo all of that was meaningless. They'd accomplished all of that together.

If Echo died, he would die, too.

He reached medbay and only dimly registered passing by Commander Tano. He charged in and headed toward the bacta tank Echo had been occupying since he'd first emerged from surgery.

The tank was empty. Bits of bacta still clung to the sides and it hadn't been cleaned yet- all signs it had recently been emptied and in a hurry. Liquid was sloshed around the base of it. But, there was no Echo.

He was too late.

He sank to his knees in a puddle of spilled bacta and hung his head.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

A strong hand underneath his armpit both startled him and lifted him up to his feet. "Fives, he's over here," Rex gestured with a jerk of his chin, and slid his arm down to Fives' waist to guide him over to a nearby corner out of the way.

Fives allowed Rex to guide him, not paying attention to where he was going. His eyes were glued to the frantic activity on a nearby medbunk. Echo had been pulled from the tank and was surrounded by what looked like every available medic onboard. Fives had met all of them in his self-imposed pilgrimage by Echo's bacta tank. Digger and Glitch were on one side of the medbunk running diagnostics, heads bent together in a manner that reminded him painfully of the way he and Echo liked to work together on a difficult problem. The two junior medics were tallying up results and calling out readings. On Echo's other side, Kix and Coric worked in tandem to administer shots to Echo and get IVs into him. It looked like a chaos of activity, but as Fives took it all in, he realized the four medics were carefully coordinating results. There was a shimmering glow around the medbay bunk, and it took Fives a moment to realize a sterilization field had been set up around Echo.

"He's not responding to the adrena-cortisizine," Digger announced calmly, holding up an oversized datapad so Kix and Coric could see the results. With the steri-field reflecting the light at odd angles, Fives' couldn't see anything that was on the datapad.

Coric leaned into the field to get a better glance at the datapad. "We need to increase his EGDTs, then."

Kix nodded with agreement and signaled to Glitch. The 212th medic knelt down to rummage in his medic backpack, emerging a moment later with a carmel-colored bag of fluids.

"I have two more after this if we need them," Glitch handed the bag to Coric.

Rex and Fives stood side-by-side back and out of the way. It took Fives a moment to register that Commander Tano had entered the medbay and was standing beside Rex. She didn't say anything and didn't ask meaningless questions like: 'how is he?' He always appreciated that about Commander Tano. While she was as green as a year 4 cadet when she first joined them in Christophsis, she learned quickly from her mistakes and always tried to do right by the men. Now, in the third year of the war, she turned into a formidable warrior and Fives was proud to count her among his brothers. Sensing his gaze, Ahsoka shifted positions and slid into between Rex and Fives, removing his arm and placing her own around his waist instead. He leaned into her, appreciating her warmth, and the comfort she offered. She slid her other arm around Rex on the other side, and together the three of them waited.

# # #

Several hours later, Echo was still alive, but the look on Coric's face was telling. He signaled to the three officers to leave medbay with him. Everything about Coric's bearing spoke of his exhaustion. "Let's get caf," Coric mumbled, his voice gravely, refusing to say anything more.

He was covered in fluids from a torn IV bag and stripped off his shirt and pants by the entrance of the medbay. Ahsoka didn't even raise an eyebrow at Coric standing with his back to her in his decanting suit. He rummaged in a nearby cabinet from a fresh set of Kazzie fatigues, pulling on the oversized clothing with clumsy movements that laid testament to his exhaustion. His hands fumbled at the waist of the pants, trying to hold them up on his too thin waist. Rex stepped forward and pulled a cord from his belt pouch and wrapped it around Coric's waist, securing it around several times to keep the medics pants up. He knelt down and rolled up the bottoms of the too long pants. If the situation with Echo wasn't so grim, Fives' would've found it amusing to see the Captain dressing one of the men like a patient father.

None of them spoke as they walked through the corridors together. The silence was unnatural. Clones were never silent unless they were sneaking up on the enemy in battle, or they were sleeping, or... they were dead. There was always laughter or chatter or complaints or bickering or teasing or the low murmur of voices supporting each other. But, not this silence.

The walk to the mess seemed interminable.

"I'll bring you boys caf. Sit down." Ahsoka gestured to a booth in a secluded corner of the mess. She headed off to wait on the mess line and bring them drinks. Fives' loved their fierce little commander even more in that moment. She was always there for them and treated them like equals in a time when no one else in the galaxy thought to see them as such.

Fives' hadn't realized how exhausted he was until he sank down into the oversized padded seating. For enormous warriors, the Kaz'harians liked comfort on their ships. Portions of the mess had long bench tables, like on a Republic cruiser, but the seats were infinitely more comfortable. And, unlike a Republic cruiser, the mess had booth seating around the perimeter which gave the place more of a feel of a Coruscant diner. Or, a night at 79's, without the pounding music and your boots sticking to the floor.

Ahsoka made it to their table faster than Fives' thought possible. The brothers on line must have insisted she move to the head of the line. They all adored her as much as he did. Her arms bore a tray with mugs of caf and a pile of the Kazzie fruit. Fives hadn't eaten in hours, but right now all he wanted was caf. Coric needed it more than he did, though, so he pushed the first cup before the exhausted medic, before taking a mug for himself.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping the deeply, bitter liquid that was too hot and yet somehow was just what Fives needed at the moment. Ahsoka set her down her mug and polished off a piece of fruit, making short work of it with her sharp fangs.

Coric was halfway through his caf before he finally spoke.

"It's not good," Coric began.

Somehow Fives already knew that, but to hear the medic say the words out loud stabbed him in a way he suddenly couldn't breathe. Sitting down to his right, Ahsoka leaned into him, offering sllent support.

Coric's fingers toyed with the rim of his cup. "He was already critical when evaced him from the planet. Normally, after being in bacta for a few days, there are signs of improvement, but he's not getting better." He continued to drum his fingers against the cup. The tableware was oddly delicate. How did such massive creatures ever decide to use such fine dishware? Bizarre. "There's a Kaz'harian bacterium in his system. Something the scanners missed initially."

Fives' opened his mouth to ask questions, but Coric held up his hand to silence him. "Let me finish. I should rephrase that- we did notice something off on his initial scans, but since he'd had chest surgery in a prison corridor, it wasn't surprising there were some nasty bacterium in his system. But, everything about Echo has been surprising us. His chest injury hasn't been the problem. And, his shoulder is staring to heal with the bacta, but..."

Fives' hated it when a medic paused like that because it meant bad news was coming.

Coric paused as if trying to gather his thoughts and figure out the best way to explain it. "This... is... something else. He has an infection in his system that we haven't been able to treat. At least not yet. What Echo currently has is not responding to any of our standard anti-infective protocols."

"Like a super-bacteria," Rex said.

Coric raised up his eyebrow in the way he did when he was impressed with someone.

Rex shrugged. "I had too much time on my hands in ArmyMed. I read medical texts and the terminology used in diagnosing clones."

Fives' winced inwardly, imagining Rex facing an unknown fate when his knee had been shattered. If he'd been in the same situation, he would've been trying to figure out every way out of the place, too.

"This superbug- is there a danger of it spreading to other clones in the medbay? Or, other clones onboard? We have two Legions on this ship," Rex was using his calm Captain-in-charge voice. Fives wasn't fooled. He knew Rex was as concerned about Echo, but he also had to consider the lives of every other trooper under his command.

"We will take every precaution until we are sure he is the only injured clone affected. But, no one else is exhibiting the same symptoms. Everyone else is recovering from their injuries as expected. Echo is the only outlier."

Only Echo.

The squeezing feeling was back around his chest.

"Breathe, Fives," Rex ordered, from where he was sitting on the other side of the table.

Was he that obvious? Ahsoka slipped one arm around his waist and Fives felt a sense of calm flow over him. She was doing some Jedi thing, but he didn't mind it. He shot her a quick grateful smile before turning his attention back to Coric. "What's the worst case scenario?"

Coric paused before answering, and Fives hated that pause. "It goes to his brain."

Fives went numb, but at least the squeezing feeling hadn't returned to his chest. He could still breathe this time.

"Kix and I haven't given up hope. There's other things we can try. Digger is pulling up some research on experimental treatments going on at ArmyMed."

"I don't like the sound of experimental," Rex's voice was tight. "Not when it comes to brothers."

There was silence around the table as the weight of his words sank in.

Fives surprised himself by being the one to break the silence. "Rex, we have to try. If the medics run out of options here, then we owe Echo this other chance to still recover."

Rex stared up at the ceiling. "That place... it's..." He brought his gaze downward and looked directly at Fives. It wasn't often that Rex looked this worried. "I don't trust them, Fives. If Echo goes in there, he might never come out."

Fives' didn't even stop to think. His response came out automatically. "I'll go with him, then."

"What?" Rex's brow furrowed.

"Permission to go with him to ArmyMed?" Fives' looked hopefully at Rex, and then Ahsoka, and then Coric, and then back at Rex again. If Fives' was there, surely nothing could happen to Echo.

"I haven't even been officially reinstated," Rex pointed out.

"You will be," Ahsoka said with confidence, "if I need to, I will make an appeal to the Council."

"Don't," Rex said it with such animosity, the other three at the table stared at him, startled. He pushed out a breath. "Sorry, Ahsoka, I mean, it's just... when the Council gets involved things always have a way of quickly escalating and not always for the better."

Rex was right. It had happened in the past. When the Council was dragged into something, Skywalker wanted to get involved and then he always wanted to pull his 'I know the Chancellor' card.

"I'm going, too," Coric's voice was filled with conviction. "I know his case. I don't know what the medics there are like."

Rex 'hmmmped' under his breath. "He'll be lucky to get a medic for his case. There are a lot of natborns working there."

Fives and Coric exchanged a worried look.

Ahsoka frowned. "I don't understand. Why is it an issue if there are non-clones working at a medical facility?" Just when he thought she was done making shiny comments.

Rex cast Ahsoka a look that was more patient than Fives would've expected in the situation. "That's a long story. It's... complex. But, I will explain it to you later."

Ahsoka nodded, satisfied with Rex's promise.

Coric finished off the last dregs of his caf and then stared at the bottom of the mug as if miraculously wishing more would appear. Without being prompted, both Fives and Rex pushed their mugs toward him. Coric smiled gratefully and dumped the remains of their caf into his mug.

"Alright," Rex straightened his shoulders in the way he did when they'd finalized a battle plan, "if we send Echo to ArmyMed, he is not going alone." He gave both Coric and Fives a pointed look. "Be careful in that place. Do not let Echo out of your sight."

I'll shoot the natborns myself before I let them take him away.

He didn't say it aloud. He was sure of it, but Ahsoka still shot him a wide-eyed look. Maybe there were some things that only a brother could understand, after all.

# # #