Cutup wakes to darkness, and to a voice moaning in pain. He blinks up into the sky, staring numbly at the dark shapes around him.

His whole body hurts. Throbs, as if his skin is a plethora of bruises. He tries to sit up and hisses when the motion causes sunbursts of color to fritz across his vision.

What… what had happened? He remembers the meteor shower and the commando droids, but everything after that is… fuzzy. He reaches a hand up to hold his aching head and jumps when his fingers come away sticky and crimson. He hadn't even realized he'd hit his head.

"I've got you, brother. I've got you," he remembers hearing, and then…

The platform had fallen.

Where are his brothers?

Sheer panic seizes him, and he blinks the haze away from his eyes to peer anxiously around at his surroundings.

The outpost is far, far above them, at the top of the canyon, and Cutup is at the very bottom. Large fragments of metal and durasteel are beneath and around him, crumpled and twisted from the impact. Cutup stares at them in numb shock and wonders how he isn't dead.

He jerks when a deep groan of pain echos through the canyon. He struggles to his feet. Ignoring the pain of his body is easy—it's one thing ARC training had taught him to do, and when the voice cries out again he's able to pinpoint where it's coming from.

Echo's leg is broken. It's twisted at a horrific angle that makes Cutup feel queasy just looking at it. Echo had lost his helmet sometime during the fall as well, and his eyes are glassy with pain. His fists are clenched shut, and he's breathing through tightly gritted teeth. Cutup can't imagine the pain he's in.

"Cutup," Echo forces out slowly as Cutup kneels at his side. "Cutup, where—the others…?" He starts to sit up. Cutup's no medic, but he knows that sitting up is a bad idea. He puts a hand on Echo's chest and gently pushes him back down. Echo's breathing hitches, and his fingers claw gouges into the dirt as another wave of pain washes over him.

"I haven't seen them yet," Cutup says, struggling to keep his voice even. "But we'll find them. If we survived, they did, too." He sounds much more confident than he feels. "They can't be far."

Echo sucks in a harsh breath.

"They're… gonna be fine," he gasps out. "Fives was, was by me when we fell. Droidbait… unconscious, I think, but—" he breaks off with a hiss and clamps his teeth down on his lip. Cutup winces in sympathy and wishes that he knew what to do.

His sniper rifle had been lost in the fall, but the DC-17 hand pistol Fives had insisted he carry is still in it's holster, miraculously unmoved. He presses the pistol into Echo's hands.

"I'll go look for the others," he says quietly. "Stay here."

Echo chokes out a humorless laugh.

"Not going anywhere," he hisses out as Cutup gets to his feet.

There's debris everywhere. Cutup picks his way through the destruction and picks up one of the droid's E-5s along the way. It's silent within the canyon—silent except for Cutup's own breathing and the sound of his boots striking the metal. The dark rock walls stretch far above him, pocketed with holes that Cutup is not going to think about.

(He can't afford to think about it. His brothers need him. He pushes past the fear that hovers at the edge of his mind and clenches his fists to stop them from shaking.)

He gets lucky. Only a few minutes into his search he lays eyes on a armored body.

Droidbait is still unconscious, and fortunately, that seems to be the extent of his injuries. He stirs weakly when Cutup shakes him but doesn't wake, which isn't a good sign.

He carries Droidbait back to Echo, who stills when he sees their limp brother.

"Is he…" Echo begins, voice fearful, and Cutup waves a hand quickly.

"Just unconscious," Cutup explains quickly. Echo's body sags in relief. "Watch him. I'll go find the others."

Echo nods. His jaw is clenched, and his face is scarily pale. Even so, he braces himself and rises to a sitting position, propped up against a chunk of metal. His chest heaves as the movement jostles his leg, but if he makes a sound, Cutup doesn't hear it.

"Be careful," Echo tells him shakily. "Don't take any unnecessary risks. The others will kill me if you do something stupid on my watch."

The others are probably dead, Cutup wants to say, because it's true, and he knows they're both thinking it. For Cutup and Echo to have survived is miraculous. For Droidbait to also survive, with hardly any additional injuries, even more miraculous. But the others—well, the odds are extremely high that at least one of them hadn't made it. Cutup's stomach rolls unsteadily at the thought.

"I'll be back soon," he says, and turns to leave—

A hiss cuts through the darkness. Cutup's blood runs cold, and he stiffens. Echo's eyes widen.

Last time Cutup had heard that sound, he had died.

"Kriff," he mutters. "Kriff, kriffing—"

"Cutup!" Echo hisses. "Cutup, get ahold of yourself! Calm down!"

Cutup hadn't even noticed that he had started to hyperventilate, and even once he does notice, he can't stop. Movement flickers in the distance in the corner of his eye. He whirls, wildly pointing the E-5 into the dark.

No, no, no—leaving the base wasn't part of the plan. They weren't supposed to be down here, they were supposed to be up in the base, safe, protected—

"Cutup..." Echo says again. Cutup hears him, but it's as if his brother is a long distance away. His whole body shudders. He sees a flicker of motion again, and catches a glimpse of a long tail as it slithers into one of the tunnels.

Jaws close like a steel trap around him, four teeth puncture his armor and slice into his skin, through his bones and organs—everything goes dark a moment later, but he isn't dead, not yet, the eel drags him through Rishi's underbelly for miles before it's jaws finally tighten even further and Cutup screams even though no one can hear him anymore—

"Oh, Force," he whispers brokenly. "I can't—I can't—Echo?" His voice trembles. He wants to run. He wants to hide, he wants to bury his face in his hands and not look until it's all over.

"I'm right here, brother," Echo says reassuringly. "You aren't alone. You aren't ever alone, hear me? I've got your back, and I'm not going anywhere."

Echo's right, but not in the way he's no doubt intending. Echo's not going anywhere, because he can't. He can't stand, he can't even talk without flinching. He's armed, but he won't be able to defend himself, not really. Droidbait hasn't moved, either. They're helpless, and the moment Cutup realizes it he nearly falls over again.

If he runs, his brothers will die.

Echo is trying to reassure him, but Echo himself is in no position to do such a thing. Cutup is the only one who can defend them.

He clenches the gun in his hands, sets his jaw, and plants himself squarely in front of Echo.

He's terrified, but he's not going to let any of his brothers suffer the same horrific fate he did in his first life.

"Where is it?" Echo asks, hushed, because the eels are mostly blind, and only react to motion and sound. Unfortunately, even the minute motions of breathing are enough to alert them to Domino's presence, but speaking softly should delay it for a few moments.

Cutup doesn't respond, because he doesn't know the answer. The hiss sounds again, much closer this time. Cutup has to fight not to flinch.

Captain Rex had, according to Fives, killed an eel with a single shot. The vestigial eyes are a weak spot, but Captain Rex is a legend. Cutup isn't certain he can recreate such a shot.

He stiffens when he finally sees the creature, poking it's head up out of one of the tunnels. It's head sways back and forth, searching, and Cutup knows the exact moment that it locates them, because

it's mandible-like jaws flex open, and sharp teeth longer than Cutup's forearm are exposed. Cutup's head swims at the sight, and suddenly he can't move.

"Clear your head, take a breath," Echo says softly from behind him, voice steady but tense. "Feel the earth beneath you, the air above. Breathe. Focus. Relax."

Cutup almost chokes. Echo is quoting their first drill instructor—the one who had taught them how to fire a weapon—and it's ridiculous, but as he speaks Cutup can feel his body relaxing, reacting to the words just as he had done as a cadet.

"Breathe, Cutup," Echo tells him, and now he isn't quoting. It's just Echo. "You can do this. Steady. Steady, brother. You've been trained for this. You're a good shot. Just breathe."

His voice is grounding. Cutup grits his teeth together and breathes, envisioning his fear draining out of his body, flowing down to the ground and disappearing in the soil. The tension running through his shoulders fades, and all at once his vision clears.

The eel hisses and starts to slither forward. It's huge. Cutup nearly falters, but he catches sight of Droidbait's motionless body below him and can't turn away.

His vision tunnels, and suddenly he can see as clearly as he had been able to with the sniper rifle. The eel's eye is a clear target, obvious and larger than he'd expected.

The eel's long body tenses, preparing to strike, and Cutup knows he has to take the shot now, before it charges forward.

He fires. His shot is dead on, and the eel shrieks, a piercing sound that makes Cutup's eardrums throb. A moment later it collapses, shaking the ground.

Cutup collapses, too. His legs won't hold his weight anymore. His relief is so great that he feels dizzy.

Echo is grinning at him, when he finally looks toward his brother.

"Now that's what I call an ARC-worthy shot," Echo says. "Nice job, brother. How do you feel?"

Cutup pauses to consider the question (and to steady his breathing), and is surprised when he realizes the answer.

"I'm not afraid," he replies softly. "I was afraid. I hadn't realized I was good enough to kill it. But that was… easy. After I stopped being scared."

Echo's grin gets wider.

"I knew you could do it," he says.

"Cutup! Echo!" a different voice shouts, and Cutup jumps, scrambling to his feet.

Fives and Hevy are picking their way through the debris. Echo lets out a cry of relief at seeing them, and Cutup sags, finally allowing himself to relax.

Fives is limping, and one of Hevy's hands is visibly broken, but they're alive.

They all survived. Cutup doesn't know how that's possible, but he is so, so grateful that it happened.

For now, they're still in the game. Cutup isn't ready to give up, and he knows his brothers aren't, either.

They move to a shallow cave on the edge of the canyon—too narrow for eels to get into. Fives and Cutup carry Echo, hissing apologies every time they jostle his leg. Hevy carries Droidbait, who's always been slightly lighter than the rest of them, slung over his shoulder as to not agitate his broken hand.

They're broken and battered, but they're far from beaten.

Fives checks Echo's leg while Cutup helps Hevy make a splint for his hand. Droidbait finally wakes as they're nursing their wounds, but Fives barks at him in that no-nonsense tone of his to stay down, at least until they can confirm he isn't concussed. Cutup had completely forgotten about the blood on the side of his head. Once he's done with Hevy's hand he hisses as they trade positions and his own head wound is bandaged.

Then, they huddle together and try to decide their next move.

"So," Fives begins slowly. "None of that went according to plan."

"Understatement," Hevy mutters.

"But that doesn't mean we didn't succeed," Fives says. Cutup blinks at him in confusion. "We're all alive, aren't we? I'd say that counts as a success."

"Sure, a success for us," Droidbait contributes quietly. "But what about the rest of our brothers? If we can't figure out a way to kill the all-clear signal, Kamino will be attacked."

"And there's other things to consider as well," Echo says. "For one, the droids destroyed the platform. That didn't happen the first time. Captain Rex and Commander Cody won't be able to land, and they'll suspect something's wrong the moment they see it."

"Well, that's good then, isn't it?" Hevy asks. "If they see something odd like that, they'll be suspicious, and reconsider the all-clear signal. Easy, our job's done."

"Unless the droids shoot them down before they're able to send a transmission to the fleet," Echo says darkly.

"If they do that then the officers won't report in, and the fleet will learn something's wrong that way," Cutup argues. "Regardless, someone will know that something's wrong."

Fives growls.

"If Rex gets killed on this kriffing moon, I'll never forgive myself," he hisses. Echo winces.

"Rex won't die," he says. "He's too stubborn for that."

Droidbait sits bolt upright. They all jump at the sudden movement. Fives is opening his mouth to yell at him, but then he notices the alarmed look on their brother's face.

"If they shoot down the inspection team, they'll be on a time limit," Droidbait says. "Their goal is to invade Kamino, yes? So they'll just move their timetable up. They'll attack Kamino before anyone realizes the offices haven't reported in."

Cutup stares at him, horrified.

"Force. He's right," Fives says grimly. "They'll move up the invasion, and if they do that, who knows what else is going to change?"

"That doesn't mean we don't still have time," Echo reasons quickly. "Moving their timetable up no doubt caught the droid forces off guard. We've got a little bit of time, but not enough to sit around here and plan for a few hours."

"So what do we do?" Cutup asks. Fives sighs.

"The way I see it, we've got two options. The first one is similar to…" he trails off, falling silent and tilting his head. A moment later, Cutup hears it, too—the sound of a ship's engines, drawing closer and closer.

The unmistakable sound of a rocket-launcher firing is audible a moment later.

They scramble for their scavenged weapons and helmets. Echo almost tries to stand, the idiot, but Cutup punches him lightly in the chest before he can do so.

"Droidbait, Echo, you two stay," Fives orders. Echo almost looks like he's going to argue, so Cutup very, very lightly nudges his broken leg. Echo pales and tosses his head back in pain, eyes squeezing shut.

"You can't help us," Cutup reminds him gently. Echo glares at him but backs down. It must be akin to torture, Cutup thinks, for an ARC to be grounded like this.

"Cutup, Hevy, let's move," Fives says. Cutup and Hevy flank him as they exit the cave, and they look up just in time to see the Republic shuttle go down, flames billowing from its side. Fives swears in Huttese.

The shuttle careens past them, slamming into the wall of the canyon and dropping even further. Fives turns on his heels and sprints after it. Cutup and Hevy follow.

When the ship hits the ground, the whole canyon shakes.

The trajectory of the falling ship had taken it an unfortunate distance away from them, but that doesn't deter Fives. The ARC sprints for the wreckage, and it's only because of their training that Hevy and Cutup are able to keep up. Even so, they're breathing hard by the time they arrive at the ship.

The remains of the ship are in flames. Two figures are visible, dark silhouettes against the blinding light of the fire. One seems to be half-dragging the other, struggling to escape the blast radius of the ship before the fire reaches its fuel source. Fives plunges forward and lends the survivors a hand, helping to drag the limp trooper away.

The ship explodes a moment later, just as everyone gets clear, and the shockwave tears Cutup's breath away.

Cutup races to rejoin Fives, who is crouched next to the motionless newcomer. The ARC tears the limp trooper's helmet off, feeling frantically for a pulse, and Cutup's breath hitches at the sight of the blond hair.

Fives must feel a pulse, because he relaxes.

"He's just unconscious," he says, relief clear in his voice. "The impact must have knocked him out."

"He was sitting in the front," the other newcomer says, making Cutup jump. "He got the worst of it." This clone's armor is painted in orange. Cutup recognizes him instantly—because what clone wouldn't? He snaps to attention instinctively. Hevy does the same on his other side.

"At ease, men," Commander Cody says, waving a hand without looking at them. His gaze is focused on where Fives is checking Captain Rex over, searching for head wounds. "Are you three men of the Rishi station?"

"We were, sir, but we were attacked by commando droids," Fives reports briskly. "We tried to hold them back, but we were on the landing platform when it was cut away from the base. Two of our squadmates were seriously injured. Our commanding officer was killed long before that."

Cody sighs and takes his helmet off. Cutup has seen holos of his face before, but in full color the scar is even more intriguing. Cutup wonders how he got it.

"We suspected something was wrong, but we didn't react fast enough to avoid the rocket. Where are the rest of your men?"

"We're holed up in a shallow cave about a half mile south of here, sir," Cutup tells him quickly. "We don't have very much by way of supplies, but we've scavenged some weaponry, and we were coming up with a plan to take back the base when we heard your ship."

Cody nods. "Good man," he says, and Cutup has to fight to keep his chest from puffing out, because he was just complimented by the Marshal Commander. He's admittedly a little starstruck.

"Sir, I believe Captain Rex can be safely moved," Fives informs them. "If it's alright, we'll carry him back to the cave."

Rex is heavy. Cutup isn't sure if it's his armor, or if their older brother got lucky and has more muscle mass than the rest of them. Fives and Cutup work together to carry him, and Hevy gets to walk up ahead with Cody, the lucky son of a hutt. Cutup isn't jealous. He isn't.

Halfway back to the cave, they pass the wreckage of the platform. Cutup isn't really paying that much attention, at least, not until he trips over an object half-hidden in the dust and nearly drops his half of Rex. Fives curses at him as Cutup stumbles, struggling to keep his balance. He glances back up to see what he'd tripped over… and nearly drops Rex again when he recognizes the sleek shape of a GAR-issue sniper rifle—the very same one he'd used earlier.

"Oh," Fives says when Cutup lifts it up to show him. "Now, that could be useful."

Hevy, Echo, and Fives are very amused at how awed Cutup and Droidbait are towards the officers. They keep casting knowing looks at Cutup, who wants to punch them all (especially Hevy, who'd only known the officers for two kriffing hours before he'd died, so why the kriff is he acting so smug?), but Droidbait is all wide-eyed amazement, and makes no effort to hide it. At least Cutup is being subtle. Cody seems amused by it, too, very much aware of Droidbait's impressed gaze. Unfortunately, the teasing looks don't survive for very long, because as soon as Rex is settled and Domino has introduced themselves, Cody sits down and gets down to business.

"If the droids are attacking this base, they can only be after Kamino," Cody begins. "We can't let the Separatists get to our brothers. You five know this base better than anyone. I want any piece of information that could be considered useful, no matter how small. What have you got?"

"Sir," Echo says before anyone else can speak. "Droidbait and I were brainstorming before you arrived, and we believe we came up with some semblance of a plan that may work."

Cutup grins. Force forbid Echo ever take a few minutes to truly rest. Naturally he would come up with a plan.

"Let's hear it, Echo," Cody replies. Cutup nearly grins again. Cody remembering their names is just making Cutup admire him more.

Fives elbows him and leans closer to whisper in his ear.

"Careful now, Cutup. We're 501st, not 212th. Don't get too attached. You haven't even met Rex yet."

Cutup scowls and swats him away. If Rex is anything like Cody, Cutup thinks he'll happily settle for either one.

"There's a maintenance tunnel that leads from underneath the base straight to the command room," Echo is saying. "We split into groups, and have one group act as a diversion outside below the base to lure the majority of the commando droids out. The second group can climb up the maintenance tunnel and clear out any droids remaining inside, then come around to trap the droids attacking group one in a pincer movement. From there we'll be able to kill the all-clear signal and get a message out to the Republic fleet."

Cutup grimaces. Said maintenance tunnel is the very place he'd died the first time around.

Cody looks surprised.

"It's a good plan," he admits. "Especially for a group of rookies."

If only you knew.

"And, since Cutup brought back a sniper rifle, I can position myself on a nearby ridge and assist group one from afar," Echo adds, almost as an afterthought. Fives jerks.

"Oh, no you don't," he growls. "You're staying right here, Echo. You're injured. You can't fight."

"That's the single most incorrect thing you've said since we got here, Fives," Echo replies without missing a beat. "I am not sitting this one out. There's too much at stake."

"It's dangerous enough when you're at full strength, and right now you're crippled," Fives says harshly. "You can't even walk. I'm not letting you—"

Echo's eyes narrow dangerously.

"You don't get to order me around," he snarls "Besides, I won't even be within the line of fire. I'll be hundreds of yards away, on a ridge, far above the enemy."

"Echo, listen to me—!"

"Alright, that's enough," Cody interrupts. "Fives, in an ordinary situation I would be inclined to agree with you. But we're alone, against some of the toughest clankers in the army. We'll need all the help we can get. If Echo says he can back us up, I believe he can."

Five's expression is resigned. Echo sits up straighter.

"I know I can help, sir. This isn't going to easy, and I'll die before I abandon my brothers to face something like this alone."

"Well said, trooper. That's the kind of attitude I look for in a man," a hoarse voice contributes. Every head snaps around to watch as Captain Rex gets to his feet.

"Sir!" Fives snaps, and straightens to attention. Echo's eyes go wide, and he stares at the Captain as if Rex has just told him that the war is over. Cutup exchanges a smirk with Droidbait. Now who's fawning over the officers?

Cody grins. "Welcome back, Rex. It's about time you joined the party."

"I'm surprised you didn't start without me," Rex says, rubbing at his temples and wincing. "It feels like I got run over by a kriffing bantha."

"All due respect, sir, you probably shouldn't be upright yet," Hevy tells him. Rex shrugs.

"It's not the worst injury I've ever had, rookie. Not even close. Don't worry about me, though. From what I could gather as I was coming around, we've got a bunch of clankers to scrap."

"As usual," Cody mutters. Rex's smile is fierce.

"Well then, fill me in, men. What's our plan of attack? I hope it's a greeting worthy of the 501st."

Echo's answering smile is near-manic.

"I think you'll approve, sir," he says.

Cutup shakes his head. Now he knows where Echo and Fives got their insane streaks from. The entire 501st must be psychotic.

He's starting to think they've actually got a chance.

The droids won't know what hit them.

A/N: I worked my butt off this weekend to get this chapter out, mostly because my next two weeks are full of exams, so I won't be able to write very much. I was going to wait to post anyway, but then I realized it was cruel and unusual punishment to leave you guys with a cliffhanger like that (but I'm not apologizing. Gotta keep you on your toes!). Rishi was only supposed to last two chapters, but the boys ran away with me a little bit and fawned over Cody and Rex for much longer than originally anticipated. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry I won't be able to update for a little bit!