Chapter 3 – Will I Ever Know

Author's Note: This fic IS Crosshair-centric, but there are POVs from other characters. There will be a total of five POVs: Crosshair, Hunter, Echo, Fives, and Emerie. ;)

Have fun learning more about Echo's past! :D

~ Amina Gila

Echo wakes up slowly, and he can almost swear he hears his processors whirring as his brain – or what passes for it – tries to regather the last pieces of memory. He's in a medbay – he'd recognize those walls anywhere – and as his eyes open, a med droid comes into view. It's scanning him, and that instantly sets off a self-defense reflex, and he jolts upright, knocking it away from him. He doesn't want scanners or medical devices anywhere near him, not unless it's Tech who's behind them.

"No! Get them off!"

"But my tests are not yet complete," the droid protests, and Echo does his best not to shudder visibly, pieces of broken, fragmented memories assaulting him.

He doesn't remember much from after the mine exploded, but he remembers enough. He remembers the burning, searing pain, remembers being taken into Separatist custody, remembers them poking at him in the medbay, trying to keep him alive so they could torture information out of him. They did torture him, but he was so injured and so out-of-it that it didn't amount to much. It's something he's never told anyone, what he remembers from his captivity. They gave up on him, and he was transferred to the Techno Union, which promised to use him to get "useful results". He tried to kill himself to escape them, so he wouldn't give away anything that could be used against his General and brothers, but he'd been so weak and injured that he hadn't gotten very far. The next thing he consciously knew was when he was being rescued on Skako Minor.

"Echo. Echo, it's okay." He recognizes the voice, and he blinks, the memories fading away as he focuses on Omega's face, but he's still shaking, his breath coming in short gasps as he tries to reorient himself. "It's me. Omega," she continues, reaching out to touch his arm, his right one, at the elbow of his scomp piece. He can see her hand, but he can't feel it. "I understand. I don't like being hooked up to their machines either."

Why – why would –?

"Hello, CT-1409," announces the droid, interrupting the half-formed question.

"His name is Echo," Omega corrects.

"I am AZI-345211896246498721347, your assigned medical droid," it continues, ignoring Omega entirely. Is he supposed to remember that number? No way will he remember that number.

The door opens, and Echo relaxes when he sees the rest of the Batch. "Told ya he's alive!" Wrecker calls with a laugh, shoving Crosshair's shoulder playfully. "You owe me two credits."

They gather around the foot of his bed, and he takes a couple deep breaths to chase away the ghosts and memories that haunt him. Even if Hunter is… off, it's still relieving to have him here. Echo might not be able to trust that Hunter will make the right or moral decision with respect to missions, but he does trust that Hunter will protect him from anyone who might seek to turn him into a lab experiment or worse.

"CT-1409's condition is stable," the droid – AZI – says to them, "But I have some distressing news for the rest of you. According to your test results, you all appear to be genetically defective clones. I will leave you to process the shock of this revelation."

Echo blinks at the droid, confused – doesn't everyone know that the Batch are genetically different? – as it leaves the room, before turning to the others. He remembers how he ended up here now. The cafeteria fight had happened, and then, he'd happened to look up and seen… "We've got a problem," he states. Hunter had mentioned someone being sent to evaluate the clones.

"Not really," Tech answers, shaking his head, "We're more deviant than we are defective."

"No, not that," Echo answers. "When we were in the cafeteria, I saw someone. Two people. Admiral Tarkin is here. He's probably the one evaluating the clones." He hesitates, knowing how insane it'll sound, but – "I thought I saw my old General."

"General Baylan Skoll?" Tech clarifies, glancing at him briefly before tapping on his datapad, "But he was severely injured during the Battle of Tatooine when General Skywalker took control over the 501st Legion. He never fully recovered, and he ought to have been at the Jedi Temple when the order went out. He's a Jedi. There is no way he was here, much less with Admiral Tarkin."

Yes, and that's the problem because Echo is certain he wasn't hallucinating. He hasn't seen General Skoll since his injuries, but rumor had it that he would never be on active duty again.

"Admiral Tarkin from the Citadel?" Hunter clarifies. "The one who…"

"– Nearly had Fives decommissioned for backtalking?" Crosshair finishes.

Echo sighs. "Yes." He doesn't like to think about the Citadel very much. Almost their entire attack force was lost there, and then Fives – and… if not for his General, Fives would have been decommissioned. "He's not a big supporter of clones."

"I couldn't possibly have guessed that," Crosshair deadpans.

"Well, we'll find out," Hunter says, expression serious, almost worried. "We've been summoned by the Prime Minister."

Echo shakes his head, unsurprised.

"Guess he didn't find that mess hall fight amusing," Wrecker volunteers with a laugh, "But I sure did!"

Oh, of course, he did.

"C'mon," says Hunter as Echo slides off the examination table, stretching himself out. He feels fine despite having gotten a tray slammed over his head. "We'd best get this over with."

"Wait!" calls Omega as they start for the door, planting herself in front of them. "The fight was my fault. I'm going too."

"Not happening," Hunter answers immediately, firmly, moving past her, "We'll handle it."

"But –" she starts, visibly crestfallen.

"Listen, kid," Hunter interrupts, pausing by the door to look back at her. "Our squad's nothing but trouble. For your sake, keep your distance. Got it?"

Omega looks unhappy, but Echo can't figure out why, and he doesn't have time to worry about it, either. The Batch have been called in for scoldings several times since he's joined them, but never by the Prime Minister. They probably didn't make a very good impression, though, what with Tarkin watching them and possibly – but Tech is right.

He shouldn't be here. He ought to be dead, along with the rest of the Jedi. It had been a very brief glimpse, and Echo knows he might have seen wrong, especially with the mask on the lower half of the man's face, but those eyes – he could never forget the icy intentness of his old General's eyes, or the darkness of his hair. He's unmistakable. And he could swear that there was a glint of metal – a lightsaber hilt – on his belt. It doesn't make sense, so he pushes it from mind. One thing at a time.

They're intercepted by Coruscant Guard in the hall. "Admiral Tarkin has requested to see more of your squad in action," one of them says.

"We're not being reprimanded?" Tech asks, confused.

"No, you're being tested. Now, go gear up," comes the answer, and they turn toward the training room. For some inexplicable reason, Echo has a bad feeling about this. But he seems to be the only one.

"So, we're not in trouble, and they want us to fight more?" Wrecker queries, delighted, as they turn toward their new destination. "Maybe this Empire thing's not so bad after all."

But Wrecker doesn't understand. He's so… naïve, in many ways. Innocent. He doesn't see things the way Echo does. The way the others do. There's more to this than what they can see, and Echo can't figure out what or where. Before, he would have trusted Hunter to lead them, but he can't do that anymore. Hunter is… compromised.

Echo can never forget the horror he felt when Hunter shot General Tiplee in the head without hesitation, and it scares him. If Hunter will do that, and say there's nothing wrong with it, not even realize how horribly wrong that was, what else will he do? Justify? He'll protect them, of that Echo has no doubt, but he can hurt them in ways other than the physical. Could Wrecker walk away from killing Jedi younglings or padawans and still be the same? Crosshair? There's no way that all the Jedi died in the order. They're too resourceful, and if the Batch stays with the Empire and continues following orders, it's only a matter of time before they encounter one of those survivors, and what then? What will they do then? What will Echo do then?

He can't imagine walking away from the Batch. He feels responsible for them, too, not only because they're younger than he is. He cares about them, and he doesn't want them to get hurt, but if they insist on following Hunter – Tech might not, but he may well be the only one – then Echo may not have a choice but to walk away. He will never compromise his principles and morals. That was something he learned from General Skywalker. After the Battle of Tatooine, when he properly met his new General for the first time, one of the first things he had made known to them is that he would never consider them expendable the way the other Jedi did, that he would not throw them at the droids just to achieve victory.

"If we lose sight of those who are under our protection, those who we are leading, then how are we any better than Dooku or Grievous?" The words stuck with Echo, and he saw the way that General Skywalker always, always put himself on the line for the clones, the way he would sacrifice a victory if pushing forward meant the casualties would be too high. Echo respected him for it. So did Rex and Fives. So did all the boys.

He isn't going to fight with the Empire against the Jedi. He can't do that. It's not what his General would have wanted. Echo asked him, once, why he walked away from the Order. His expression had been thoughtful, maybe a little sad, and finally, he said, "because I wanted to free my people, and the Jedi wouldn't let me do it. They were beholden to the Senate. The Senate keeps the Jedi on a short leash, and I realized that only through leaving could I help the people I have always wanted to protect."

His General had the courage to walk away, and Echo can only hope that he does, too, if it comes down to it. But by all the stars, he hopes it doesn't. He doesn't want to leave the Batch behind.

They rise into the training room, and it nearly gives Echo a feeling of déjà vu, remembering the many times in the past that he and his squad, both this one and especially the Dominos, went through training here. Their helmets are on, their weapons ready and aimed as they wait. Tarkin is watching them, Echo knows, and it might put him on edge if he wasn't so confident in them.

"The value of all clone troopers is being challenged by the Empire." Tarkin's voice rings out across the area through the speakers. "To demonstrate your effectiveness, a combat-proficiency test is in order. Take your positions."

Hunter shifts but doesn't look back at them. "We've done these a thousand times, boys. You know what to do." Yeah, they do. They've fought together so long that they can do this in their sleep. Nothing Tarkin can throw at them could be a greater challenge than what they've faced on the fronts. … Right?

Droids rise up all around them, and Echo lets his battle awareness sweep away all other thoughts. He's an ARC trooper, and whatever conflicts he might have don't matter here. Wrecker scoffs when he sees the droids. "A battle simulation? Give us a real challenge."

Echo feels the same, but he's also cautious because this is Tarkin, and he knows what he's doing. He's testing them, and not just their ability, no doubt. He'll watch how they fight, analyze it, see how effective they'll be for whatever purpose the Empire has in mind for them. And then the simulation starts. Hunter gestures, and they split apart exactly as they've always done, Echo going with Hunter and Crosshair to the first barricade while Tech and Wrecker go to the second. He lifts his head long enough to shoot down the droids advancing on them before ducking down behind cover.

"Crosshair, take the towers," Hunter orders, and their sniper splits away, scaling the wall and shooting out the towers firing at them from above. "Move in."

Wrecker whoops. "Finally!" And takes off sliding down the first incline with Tech right behind him as they move toward the center area.

Hunter covers Echo as they move in, too, picking off droids one by one until Wrecker gets frustrated by their lack of progress and charges in, wrecking all the droids in his path until they're all down. It was too easy, and Echo can't help but feel uneasy.

"What else ya got? Gimme more!" Wrecker yells, and Echo very, very badly wants to tell him to stop talking. This is Tarkin. They shouldn't invite trouble with him. Or maybe it's just that he's vividly remembering what happened at the Citadel when Fives backtalked. That was when they realized how dangerous Tarkin was and the power that he held, even as a captain.

There's a moment of quiet, the calm before the storm, before the floor in front of Wrecker opens, and two new droids come out. But these are unlike any droid Echo has seen or trained against here. Wrecker, of course, doesn't share the same reservations. "New toys. Now we're talkin'!" He lunges at the first one, but it blocks his fist before he can hit it.

Echo has half a second to think oh kriff before the second droid shoots Wrecker and he goes down. They – it – he – those are live rounds!

Hunter echoes the thought aloud, ordering Tech to get Wrecker while they cover him. Echo lifts his blaster, firing, but the energy dispels harmlessly, not stopping it at all, and alarm bells go off in his mind as more droids rise all around them. This is bad. Tech drags Wrecker behind the barricade, and they fall back together as the droids advance. Crosshair is forced to retreat from the towers above as the droids fire on him. "This is going well," he snips, sliding to a halt next to Hunter and Echo, ducking as another blaster bolt hits the barricade next to them.

"These training blasters are useless on them," Echo agrees, angry. They could be killed here, or at least injured far worse than Wrecker was already. They don't have any weapons.

"Then we improvise. If Tarkin wants to test us, let's not disappoint him," Hunter answers. He's angry, too, but he's also focused. They aren't like most clones. They never have been, and Echo doesn't even know half of what their training was like, but he knows enough to know that it was bad and undoubtedly unfair to them.

He lifts his helmet, whistling to get Tech's attention, signing their plan to him. Then, they split apart again, Echo rising from his place and running in an arc to draw the droids' attention away from Wrecker looping behind to tackle one to the ground while Hunter and Crosshair draw their fire. He joins Wrecker as he wrestles the droid onto the floor, jumping onto the top of a second and driving his scomp into the top. It sparks as its circuitry is overloaded, collapsing, and Echo rolls off, helping Wrecker pin the other droid while Tech hacks into it to control it.

And that is when the actual battle begins.

Tech climbs onto the droid's shoulders to guide it as it shoots down the others while Hunter follows the path, stabbing droids with his vibroblade. Wrecker tackles the ones they miss, and Echo stabs them with his scomp while Crosshair finds a vantage point to draw their fire away from the others. It's the strangest mission – training session, actually – that Echo has ever been through.

One of the droids fires on the one Tech's controlling, sending him crashing to the floor. "We need more cover fire!" Hunter yells to Crosshair, tossing his knife at the droid to stop it from shooting Tech. It doesn't stop it entirely, though, and Crosshair has to shoot Wrecker's vibroblade at it to power it down.

For a moment, everything is still and then, two more droids rise up from the floor. These ones are different. Their design is different, and they're holding a rod of sorts that looks electrified. Maybe like it's supposed to mimic a lightsaber, and Echo's bad feeling only gets worse. Hunter leaps forward and yanks his vibroblade free from the downed droid, spinning to meet the two as they approach. They're more nimble then the others, probably designed based off the Separatist's assassin droids. Echo hates those things.

Echo fires to divide the two, rolling away when one of them leaps at him, trying to hit him.

"Stay clear of its weapon," Hunter calls to him. "It's electrified, and I don't know how much damage it'll cause if it hits you." Yeah, good point. Echo and electronics have a very complicated relationship. Being part machine is both a strategic advantage and a major weakness. He's vulnerable to electricity in a way that not even Hunter is.

Wrecker retrieves his own vibroblade and charges it. He and Echo time their attack just right, and Wrecker blocks its swipe with his vibroblade while Echo stabs it with his scomp.

Hunter, on the other hand, is not fairing quite so well, partially because he's covering for Tech, who is injured and trying to get behind cover. It hits him, making him stumble back, and Echo is too far away to stop it as it brings its weapon down at him. He blocks it with his arm, so it won't hit his head, and he goes down with a cry of pain, body spasming. Kriff. How much voltage does that thing have? Is Tarkin trying to kill them?

"Hunter!" Wrecker yells, and Hunter rolls back from the next attack, catching the knife that Wrecker throws at him and slamming it into the droid. He's nearly hit again, but he blocks it with his own knife. It works, at least, but Echo has no idea what Tarkin was trying to make them prove. Perhaps that they're capable of fighting Jedi? For all that he hopes not, he's not stupid. The biggest threat to the Empire will be from the surviving Jedi. What better use for the Batch would there be than to have them neutralize that threat, especially when Hunter demonstrated their effectiveness at doing so on Ringo Vinda?

He feels sick at the thought.

"We did good," Hunter tells them, sliding his knife back into its sheath and handing Wrecker's back to him. Crosshair and Echo pull Tech back to his feet, and Wrecker rubs at his injured shoulder.

They go back to their barracks, exhausted, most of them injured, and Echo doesn't miss the way Hunter keeps touching his left arm, the one that was hit by the droids.

"They used live rounds on us!" Wrecker yells once they're in their barracks, throwing his helmet across the room and slamming his fists down on the table. Good thing it's durasteel. He's more likely – hopefully – to damage his hands than the table.

"Yeah, we were there," Crosshair answers, knocking his shoulder against Wrecker's uninjured one as he disappears across the room to retrieve the medkit.

"I warned you about Tarkin," Echo adds, no less grumpy than he has been all this time. He's angry, too. They all are. This shouldn't have happened. Or at least they should have been warned. They could have died.

"Who's that Imperial snake think he is?" Wrecker growls.

"Our superior." Hunter's voice is sharp, warning. "We need to tread carefully. Whatever he wanted us to prove, I think we passed his test."

"You injured?" Crosshair asks, nodding to him, as Tech begins to scan Wrecker's shoulder to treat it.

Hunter grimaces. "I'm not sure. My arm is numb."

Tech's head whips toward him. "The voltage must have been very high for you to still not have any feeling back. Did it affect you otherwise?"

Hunter stretches a bit and shakes his head. "Nothing major."

Echo disagrees, but he doesn't argue. He knows a bit about electrocution aftermath from his General – he had… encounters with Count Dooku a couple times, and neither of them were pleasant; he also got electrocuted the time when he was briefly captured as part of their plan, and oh, on the Citadel, too – and it's not pleasant.

Crosshair settles next to Hunter on his bunk and helps him remove his vambrace before pulling up the sleeve of his body glove. "This looks unpleasant," he says, reaching for the bacta patches. "I'm betting you'll need pain meds when the numbness wears off."

"Probably," Hunter answers, sounding more annoyed by it than anything else.

Echo helps Tech treat Wrecker while Crosshair tends to Hunter. They work quickly, efficiently, and before long, they're done.

"We're not dummy droids," Wrecker grumbles, crossing his arms and scowling. "I can't believe they did that to us!"

Hunter stiffens suddenly, gesturing. "Someone's coming."

They're on their feet and hopefully presentable when the door slides open to reveal Admiral Tarkin himself, flanked by two shock troopers. "That was quite an impressive display," he says as they all snap to attention.

Echo can think of a number of choice words for him, but he keeps his mouth shut. He's not in the habit of backtalking to superiors, especially not natborns, but even if he was, what nearly happened to Fives would have kept him silent.

No one answers, and Hunter's expression is wary, guarded. All of theirs are.

"Our new Empire may have methods which seem a bit unorthodox, but so does this squadron," Tarkin continues, "Both certainly have their merits. Nala Se speaks quite highly of her five enhanced clones. She claims you're more capable than an army."

Hunter relaxes only a smidge. "You got a mission for us, sir?"

"Indeed. We have tracked a group of insurgents to the Onderon sector. They must be dealt with."

Echo can't resist the need to speak up. "What sort of insurgents?" He hopes that his wariness isn't as obvious to Tarkin as it must be to his brothers.

"Separatist forces intent on keeping the galaxy at war," Tarkin replies, "And there are also rumors that a Jedi has been spotted on the loose, riling up the populace. If you neutralize these grave threats, you will be looked upon most favorably as I assess the needs of the Imperial Army."

Echo doesn't know if he's more angry or anxious about what the future has in store for them. Whatever it is, he has the strong feeling that it won't be good.

Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^

Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)

We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

ALSO: We have SW gift request forms for General, Anakin-Clones-centric, and Bad Batch fics. :D (delete spaces) bit . ly / CourtesyTrefflinFicRequests