When they disembark from the gunship, the 501st welcomes them with cheers.

It's so achingly familiar. So much so that it doesn't seem real—like a dream, or rather something out of Fives' wildest fantasies. He never thought he'd be back here, never imagined that he could experience this with all four of his batch-mates behind him.

It feels like he's home, and with every step he takes into the depths of the Resolute Fives relaxes further, tension he hadn't even realized existed crumbling.

The gunships had deposited them in the middle of the Resolute's main hangar. Fives doesn't recognize many of the clones clapping and shouting around him, though that doesn't change the sensation of safety and belonging. Many of these brothers are dead, in the original time, and had been for ages. Even when he does see an armor pattern he recognizes, or hears a distinct lilt to a voice, he can't always place the name. Fives has seen a lot of brothers come and go. Despite his best efforts to remember them all the names slide from his mind, like grains of sand slipping from his fingers.

They get swarmed by enthusiastic brothers once they've gotten a decent ways away from the gunship. It's impossible not to be swept up in the excitement. Hands reach out, slapping armor and ruffling hair. Even Echo, perched on a stretcher being held between Hevy and Cutup, sits up to grin and accept the compliments.

It had been like this last time, too, except Fives and Echo had been in too much shock to care that they had just saved their home planet. This time, they're all alive, and Fives gets to watch as Droidbait turns bright red under the attention, as Cutup joyfully bounces beneath the praise, as Hevy basks in the shouting and does plenty of it in turn.

The officers don't bother to push their ways through the throngs of men. Celebration is necessary, especially now, for the sake of morale. Rex is slapping backs with just as much enthusiasm as his troops. Cody, for his part, stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Rex, just at ease here as he would be among his own men—slightly more dignified than the members of the 501st, but there's a pleased smile on his face.

The three shinies (well, Fives won't be able to call them shinies for much longer, will he?) are staring around at the Venator-class Star Destroyer with wide eyes. Fives fights back a grin and remembers when that had been him and Echo. They're shown images and holos of the Republic's best ships on Kamino, but to actually be there in person is a completely different experience.

A trooper with a backpack comes their way, sidestepping the celebrating crowd. Fives does recognize this man—it's Sergeant Coric, medic-in-training and one of the six Teth survivors. He zeroes in on Echo with single-minded determination, and upon reaching the stretcher's side, plunges a syringe of painkillers into their injured brother's neck. He and Echo exchange brief, quiet words that Fives can't quite make out, but Echo doesn't look pleased. Eventually, he nods in what appears to be reluctant consent, and Coric motions for another trooper's assistance as they take the stretcher from Hevy and Cutup.

They're obviously taking Echo to the medbay, and while that act itself doesn't bother Fives, he does end up tensing a little. He's spent the last few months hyperaware of every single one of his teammates—it's hard to convince himself to unwind, to let the rest of the 501st take care of them for a change. He has to physically make an effort to relax.

Despite his attempt hide his unease, Droidbait shoots him a strange glance, and leans closer to him.

"Want me to go with them?" he whispers. Fives sighs. Trust Droidbait to realize what's wrong so quickly.

"He's in good hands. You don't have to," Fives tells him. Droidbait lifts an eyebrow.

"You're still worried, though. You'll feel better if someone else goes with him."

"You aren't wrong," Fives replies softly. "It would put me at ease, but only if you want to. You'd miss out on the festivities."

Droidbait glances over to the crowd, where Hevy and Cutup are gleefully reenacting the battle to the immense enjoyment of their audience.

"It's more their scene than mine," he says in response. "Besides, I don't mind. None of us like to be alone." He flashes Fives a quick grin and pats him on the shoulder before turning to join the procession of medics, but he only makes it a few steps before an orange gauntleted arm crosses in front of his chest. Commander Cody stares Droidbait down. His expression is carefully neutral, but there is a hardness to his eyes that makes Fives nervous.

"Stay here, men. We've got some things to discuss," Cody tells them slowly. Fives winces, and Droidbait opens his mouth.

"But sir, Echo—"

"Will be fine with the medics, Droidbait. You can go see him as soon as we're finished with our talk."

Sithspit.

"Of course, sir," Droidbait says anxiously. He sends Fives a panicked look, who can do nothing but shrug in horror and cluelessness. He has no idea how they're going to get out of this one.

Maybe… maybe they should tell the officers the truth. It would be easier, after all—especially since Echo is the only proficient liar in the squad.

"Alright, boys, that's enough! Bring it down!" Rex shouts over the celebrating brothers. Once the hanger has quieted significantly Rex points to Hevy and Cutup. "Come on, you two. Once you're debriefed, you can get back to celebrating." The gathered clones let out a hearty cheer at the end of his statement, and Cutup and Hevy snap out quick salutes before jogging over to join the rest of Domino.

Cutup takes a look at Fives' face and blanches slightly, eyes going wide in question. Fives isn't quite sure what expression he'd had, but it obviously hadn't been good. Fives chooses to explain with two simple hand signals.

They know.

Hevy clenches his jaw and appears to be preparing to say something, but before he can do so Captain Rex and Commander Cody step close, motioning for Domino to follow as they turn.

"Come with us, men," Rex says quietly. He sounds completely normal, to Fives' surprise. He wonders what his Captain thinks of all this and tries not to picture Rex as he'd last saw him—with an expression of shock and horror on his face, as Fives had slipped from the land of the living in his arms.

The officers lead them down a hallway into a room with a conference table in it. Rex and Cody set their helmets down on the wood surface, motioning for Domino to do the same.

"Take a seat, gentleman," Rex says neutrally as he himself sits into a chair. "It's been a long day. I'm sure you're exhausted."

Fives swallows nervously and obeys. He sucks in a surprised breath at the way his body aches afterwards. He hadn't realized how tired he was until the moment he'd gotten off of his feet, and suddenly his head swims in a disorienting combination of relief and exhaustion.

Dimly he's aware of his brothers sitting as well. Cutup lets out a groan next to him, and Droidbait all but collapses into his chair with a gasp of relief. Hevy exhales shakily and puts his head down on the table.

All of a sudden, the only thing Fives wants to do is climb into the nearest bunk and sleep for a week.

The officers are watching them carefully. The corners of Rex's mouth twitch upwards in a fond expression—one that Fives has seen him wear time and time again, and the sight is almost like a punch to the gut.

He never thought he'd see that look again.

"Easy, boys," Cody tells them. "Easy. Take a moment. Relax. Breathe."

Fives breathes, and frowns. Part of his ARC training had included obtaining mastery over his own body and emotions—including PTSD and exhaustion. He swallows and reaches deep inside himself, restraining his weaknesses with an iron grip.

They aren't out of the fire quite yet. Rex and Cody have questions, and Fives can't afford to relax until it's all over. He has to stay strong for just a little longer.

As soon as he locks away his fatigue he raises his head, sitting up straighter. His squadmates have the physical side of ARC training, but not the mental side. Rex and Cody allow them a few minutes to wind down. Once everyone has appeared to settle, the officers exchange a quick glance.

"Gentleman," Rex begins. "To start with, congratulations are in order. You five saved the Republic from what would have been a devastating attack. If that doesn't deserve a medal, I don't think anything does."

Fives watches him warily, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Cody steeples his fingers together and lays them on the table in front of him. "Your entire squad performed at a level that is difficult to achieve even among the most skilled troopers," he says. "It was very impressive, especially for a group of shinies. In fact, one might wonder if you even are shinies."

"You're hiding something," Rex concludes. His voice is still on the side of gentle, but there's an edge of firmness to it. "You know ARC signs, and had aim good enough to rival that of the 501st. Your plans were excellently developed and well executed. I'd like to think it's just the results of very good training, but I think we all know that isn't the case."

Domino tenses further with every condemning word. Hevy catches Fives' gaze, and Fives immediately sees the question in his brother's gaze: "Do we tell them?"

Fives wishes Echo were here. Echo would know exactly what to say—whether that be the truth, or some twisted form of it.

His brothers are all staring at him now, with identical deer-in-the-headlights looks, trusting Fives to make the right call. Fives bites the inside of his cheek and makes a decision.

He trusts Rex with his life—and the lives of his brothers, as well. If anyone deserves to know, and can be trusted to keep their secret, it's their Captain, and their Captain's most reliable friend.

Fives takes a breath. "Sir," he says. "You… aren't wrong. We—"

His voice sticks in his throat. It startles him more than anything else, because suddenly he can't get words out. He can still breathe just fine, but his vocal cords refuse to cooperate.

"We—" he tries again, and is stopped just as fast.

"Not yet."

The voice is audible, a mere whisper in the wind, but Fives knows instinctively he hadn't imagined it. His brothers around him jerk in surprise. They'd heard it, too. When he looks at the officers, they are perfectly collected, watching Domino patiently.

They hadn't heard.

Shaak Ti's words suddenly come back to him. He remembers: "Although you cannot sense it, it is there—and if you trust in it, the Force will guide you."

Had that voice… been the Force?

The Force could talk?

Fives is so confused. So are his brothers, who keep glancing around the room as if expecting an ethereal figure to appear. But the officers will get even more suspicious if Fives stays silent for much longer, and, well… if that was the Force, it would probably be best to heed its words.

"Sirs. We can't tell you yet," Fives says, trying to convey more confidence than he actually feels. "Maybe we can eventually, but until then, we have… uh, we have been ordered to keep our silence."

That last part is a lie—and Fives is a bad liar. Rex's eyes narrow.

"Who issued you those orders?" Cody asks skeptically. Fives freezes, mind frantically searching for something convincing—

"General Shaak Ti, sirs," Cutup says, coming to his rescue. And his answer is… technically true, from a certain point of view. "Under her authority, we can't answer your questions yet. We'll be able to tell you eventually, but we don't know when."

The officers exchange another glance—this one is longer, and it feels like the older men are having a silent conversation. Eventually, Cody shakes his head, and Rex sighs.

"I believe you're telling the truth," he says. "But I don't like it."

Fives doesn't like it, either, because some part of him had really wanted Rex to know.

Why couldn't they tell him?

"So, men, now the question is, what do we do with you?" Rex asks. "I was planning on folding you into one of my units, but if you're under orders from Shaak Ti maybe it would be best if we got your squad transportation back to Kamino—"

"No," Fives interrupts immediately, and then realizes that he'd just interrupted his commanding officer. He winces before continuing. "We're authorized to be folded into whatever squad you'd like, Captain. Now that the Rishi base is gone, our standing orders are obsolete. Let us help where we're needed."

That's all true, if a little bit deceiving. Their original orders were simply to defend the Rishi base, but if the officers want to assume there was some alternative motive to those orders originating from Shaak Ti, well, Fives isn't going to correct them.

Rex nods slowly. "Alright," he says. "I'll have to confirm your transfer with General Ti, but after that, we'll see about putting you into a squad."

Shaak Ti will be surprised by the call, but Fives is fairly certain she'll roll with it.

Commander Cody shakes his head. "Is there anything you can tell us?" he asks.

"Yes, sir, there is one thing," Droidbait answers. Fives shoots him a surprised look. "Our mission's end goal is to end this war and to save as many brothers as we can," Droidbait continues. "We are loyal soldiers, and we'll do anything we can to help the Republic. It's the same goal as any other clone out there. Don't think of us any differently than the others just because we know ARC signs."

Rex smiles.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Droidbait," he answers, and Fives breathes out another sigh of relief.

It's not what he had wanted to happen, but it could have been much worse.

"It talked to you?" Echo repeats. "I didn't know the Force could talk. It's a force. Kind of in the name."

"That's what we thought, too," Fives tells him. They're clustered around his bed in the medbay. There are only two chairs in the room, one of which Droidbait had claimed with a slightly out-of-character snarl at Cutup, who had tried to beat him to it (and failed). He seems to be halfway asleep, not that any of them blame him. Hevy is seated smugly in the second chair, leaving Fives and Cutup to perch awkwardly on the edge of Echo's bed, taking extreme care not to jostle their teammates' leg.

"Huh," Echo says. "Well, what did the Force say?"

Fives frowns.

"It said, not yet," he quotes. "Which doesn't… it doesn't make sense to me. Why can't we tell the Captain? He's probably the first person I did want to tell, and now I don't know what to do."

Echo hums thoughtfully. "There must be a reason."

"Or maybe the Force is just screwing with us now," Hevy mutters darkly. Echo shakes his head.

"I refuse to believe that," he replies. "We're here for a reason, Hevy. There must be a reason. Listen, here's my theory—if we told Captain Rex we knew all about future battles, he'd probably start asking us for information. He's the kind of man who cares for his men—he doesn't want to see any of us killed, if he can help it."

"Why's that a bad thing?" Cutup asks.

"If he starts to rely on us for information, he'll be less confident when making decisions on his own, because he'll be afraid to change what happens so our information isn't relevant. But things are already changing. Rex needs to be at the top of his game. If he doubts himself, or is constantly turning to another to help him decide what to do, his effectiveness in battle will be cut in half. It's the same deal with the Commander. Well… at least, that's my best guess." He shrugs. "Who knows if it's actually correct, though."

"It's the most solid theory any of us have been able to come up with," Fives tells him. To his credit, Echo does try to hide his pleased grin, but he doesn't do a very good job.

Footsteps approach the room, and Coric reenters the medbay. He has his helmet tucked under his arm, and grins when he sees Domino clustered around his patient.

As much as Fives misses Kix, he is extremely grateful their younger brother is still on Kamino right now. If Kix were here, Domino would have been in for a chewing-out instead of a smile, because visiting hours technically ended two hours ago.

"Somehow I knew you'd all be in here," Coric says wryly. "But considering the circumstances, I'm willing to let it go this time." He lifts an eyebrow at Echo, who has the decency to look guilty. "You're supposed to be resting, Echo. I can't let you get into the bacta tank until you've slept for at least eight hours."

Echo shrugs sheepishly. "Sorry," he replies. "I really don't have a good excuse."

Coric rolls his eyes.

"Don't make me sedate you," he threatens half-heartedly. His gaze sweeps across the room, taking in the way Cutup's shoulders are slumped and how Droidbait is practically asleep in his chair. Hevy is staring off into space. Fives knows for a fact that there are dark bags underneath his own eyes—he can practically feel them.

"Okay, I'm prescribing at the very least eight hours of sleep for your entire squad," Coric says in a tone that leaves no room for argument. He turns to Fives. "Take them down to the barracks and ask for Del. He'll get you set up with bunks, and then I don't want to see any of you here but Echo for the next twenty-four hours. Am I understood?"
Fives doesn't bother arguing. Instead he nods and motions for his brothers to follow him. Cutup nudges Droidbait awake, and nearly has to do the same with Hevy. Eventually, they all make it to their feet, and Fives leads the way down towards the barracks.

Despite their exhaustion, the journey through the star destroyer is still exciting enough for the shinies to perk up. There's a lot going on, and a lot to take in. By the time they make it to the barracks everyone is a little more coherent—but still stumbling on their feet.

Fives flags down the first trooper he sees and asks for Del. The trooper points him towards a corner, where four clones are lounging about on their bunks in their blacks. They get to their feet as Domino approaches, and one steps forward.

"Are you guys Domino squad?" he asks. Fives nods. The man holds out a hand. "I'm Del. Coric told me you'd be coming." Fives shakes his hand and suddenly realizes that he remembers Del—like Coric, he had been a Teth survivor. He glances around at the other three and concludes that they're all Teth survivors—the only Teth survivors, at that (excluding the Captain).

"You've been folded into our Company, according to Captain Rex," Del tells him. "I'm squad leader here. This is my mechanic, Nax. Coric is our medic, and those two are Attie and Zeer."

The new clones nod as their names are called. Attie gives them a little wave that reminds Fives dimly of Droidbait.

"I'm Fives," he replies. "This is Cutup, Hevy, and Droidbait. Echo is in the medbay with Coric."

"Good to have you," Del tells him. "Welcome to Torrent Company. We're platoon two, Beta squad."

Fives blinks in surprise. The first time he had lived, he and Echo had been folded into a small squad outside of Torrent, and had been there for months before being moved again.

It's just as Echo had said. Things are already changing. Fives isn't sure if this change is for better or for worse, though.

"We have bunks set aside for your squad already, Fives," Del tells him, and gestures towards a couple of the beds. Fives takes one look at a pillow and nearly sways, the iron lock on his emotions rusting and wavering.

Del shoots him a knowing look.

"We do have some things to discuss, Domino, but I think that would go over better after you four get some much needed rest. Does that sound alright?"
"More than just alright," Cutup groans, and flops face-first into the nearest empty bunk. He says something else, too, but his face is pressed into the mattress, so no one has any idea what it is. Attie and Droidbait snort at the same time, then glance at each other, grinning. Fives can already see that friendship blooming.

Hevy sighs and climbs up to the bunk right above Cutup's, shedding armor as he goes. His chestplate thunks loudly on the floor, making the assembled troopers wince. Hevy doesn't seem to care, and no one has the heart to rebuke him for it.

Cutup is already asleep. He hadn't even taken his armor off.

Fortunately for Domino, the sleep cycle is fast approaching, so they don't have to worry about napping while everyone else is up. Droidbait's fingers fumble clumsily at his armor, he's so tired, but eventually he gets the plastoid alloy off and has just enough state of mind to lay it down properly before collapsing into another bunk.

Del's hand comes down gently on Fives' shoulder.

"Rest, brother," he says. His gaze meets Fives', and there is understanding in the other squad leader's eyes. "They're all safe now. You can relax."

Fives relaxes. It feels like a ton of bricks has been lifted from his shoulders, and this time he really does sway on his feet. Only Del's steady hand keeps him from falling.

"Kriff," Fives whispers softly. "Kriffing… we're alive."

He has to say it. He always has to say it now, just to remind himself that it's real.

"You're alive," Del confirms. "They are, too. You did good, brother, and now you can take it easy."

It's so tempting. So tempting, but still, something is stopping him. He grasps Del's forearm with his hand and holds the other clone's gaze.

"You'll… you'll watch them for me?" he asks slowly. Del nods.

"Of course I will," he replies. "You're with us now, and we look out for our own."

Only then does the rest of Fives' resistance crumble.

Everything after that is a bit blurry. He barely remembers taking his own armor off and climbing into the bunk above Droidbait. Sleep comes easily, for once in his life, and it is dark, dreamless and peaceful.

They are finally safe.

Fives wakes up twelve hours later, groggy and absolutely starving. He hasn't eaten since the morning of the attack, and as a result his head spins when he sits up. There are lines across the side of his face from the creases of the pillow.

"Back to the land of the living, Fives?" a brother says.

"Somewhat," Fives replies slowly, blinking against the light of the barracks. He peers over the side of the bunk to see Cutup and Hevy sitting cross-legged on the floor across from Zeer and Nax. There are cards strewn on the ground between them—they're in the middle of a sabacc game. Fives stares down at his squadmate's cards and raises an eyebrow.

"You two are getting destroyed."

"Yeah, we know," Hevy grumbles.

"Isn't it great?" Cutup says enthusiastically at the same time. Cutup is the best sabacc player in Domino, and had gotten so good at it that he could easily beat the rest of his squad. It had become boring for him, then, and now he seems delighted to finally have competition.

Fives swings his legs over the side of the bunk, unwilling to fully get up yet. The bunk beneath him is empty.

"Where's Droidbait?" he asks. Cutup puts a card down and grins up at him.

"Over there, with Attie," he says, and points. Fives glances over to one of the tables in the barracks, where Droidbait and Attie are deep in conversation, waving their hands excitedly. Fives grins. He had seen that one coming a long ways away.

"What are they talking about?" Fives asks, and finally slides off his bunk onto the floor. He sits next to Hevy, who appears to be seconds away from throwing his cards down in frustration.

"Who knows?" Zeer answers. He's one of those brothers blessed with a larger muscle mass than most—his chest is broad, and there are thick calluses on his fingers that can only be obtained from handling heavy weaponry for long hours. "It's Attie, so it could be anything ranging from the sunrise to the logistics of the Separatist Army."

Nax puts a card down and snickers as Hevy groans again. The mechanic has a buzz cut, so when he tilts his head, Fives can see lines of ink running behind his ear. It appears to be something written in binary—three little clusters of ones and zeroes. Fives wants to ask what it says, but he doesn't, just in case it's personal.

"Hey, speaking of the Separatists," Nax says, "You just woke up, so you haven't heard yet. We're on leave for three days. Apparently the Separatists were so stunned when we stopped their surprise attack that they've gone into hiding."

"That's good," Fives says. "We can have a few days to assimilate before we have to fight."

At the other end of the barracks, a squad of clones come in, laughing and nudging each other playfully. Del follows them in, looking a tad annoyed. Fives grins at the squad leader's peeved expression.

"Del's a stickler for rules, isn't he," he says. Zeer and Nax nod.

"He wasn't, at first," Nax tells him. "But Teth changed him a lot. Teth changed all of us. He just wants to keep the rest of us alive, since we're all that's left."

Fives nods, and feels his respect for the man increase.

Del joins them and sits down on what must be his bunk. He's holding a datapad, and he passes it to Fives. Fives already knows what it is, so he skims it for appearance's sake before handing it off to Hevy. Cutup scrambles closer to read over his shoulders. After a few heartbeats, their jaws drop at nearly the same time.

"They're giving us medals?" Hevy says incredulously. "I mean—that's—"

"Well deserved, from what I hear," Del says. "The Generals of both the 501st and 212th will be there. It's quite an honor."

Attie and Droidbait make their way over, drawn by Del's return. Hevy passes the datapad to Droidbait, whose eyes go wide as he reads it.

"Two Jedi?" he asks. "Isn't that—isn't that overkill, just a bit?"

"Well, we helped both Captain Rex and Commander Cody," Fives reasons. "So it would make sense that their Generals are both there."

"Awesome," Attie breathes. He nudges Droidbait in the ribs. "Hey, how much do you think I could sell a Jedi's autograph for?"

"Here, in the ranks? No one would buy it from you. You'd have to go to Republic Civilians if you wanted to get anything for it," Droidbait answers without missing a beat. He nudges Attie right back, who shoots him a grin.

Without warning, Fives' stomach growls. It's loud. Cutup snorts. Even Del grins, so Fives glares at them.

"What? I haven't eaten in more than twenty-four hours," he justifies. "I was about to go to the mess when Del came in with the news."

"I'll come with you," Hevy says, abandoning his cards. "I'm sick of sabacc. There was no way I was gonna win, anyway." Hevy is easily the worst sabacc player in Domino. He's too impatient to stick to a good strategy, and always ends up getting beaten as a result.

"Why'd you even play if you knew you were going to lose?" Droidbait (who has a scarily impressive poker face but can never remember all the rules to the game) asks. Hevy grimaces and points accusingly at Cutup.

"He convinced me to play. I knew it was a bad idea, but he was insistent, and I was bored."

"At least we weren't playing for credits," Cutup says with a grin. Zeer chuckles and slaps Cutup on the back.

"Not this time, brother," he rumbles. "But next time, we'll rob you of everything but your armor."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Cutup doesn't have anything except his armor," Fives says dryly. Cutup yelps in betrayal.

Fives stretches and takes a deep breath. "I'll be in the mess if anyone needs me, and then I'm stopping by the medbay to check up on Echo."

"He'll be in bacta by now," Del reminds him, but Fives just shrugs.

"Doesn't matter. I'm going down there anyway. Anyone else coming?"

He isn't surprised when all of Domino decides to accompany him. Attie and Nax come as well. Zeer wanders off to the range, and Del stays behind to do paperwork.

It's… different. Fives walks the hallways of the Resolute with Domino at his back, chatting meaninglessly with their new brothers. Different, but not bad different. It's still familiar, still full of life and warmth and safety.

It feels like home, and for the moment Fives forgets about the chips, the betrayals, and the deaths—and just takes a moment to be happy.

He thinks he's earned that much, at least.

A/N: No action in this one, but I enjoyed writing it all the same. The clone dynamic is so fun to explore. Next chapter we'll get more 501st, and a little bit of action at the end.

The Teth survivors are CANON, btw. They aren't OCs.

Also, I did some research. This is how Torrent Company is broken down: Torrent Company has 144 men in it, and is divided into four platoons. A platoon is 36 men, who are then divided into smaller squads of nine. (ehhh so right now Beta squad technically has 10 members, but whatever.)

Hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review or favorite if you did! Thank you for your continued support!