A/N: *obi-wan voice* hello there

~Guess who's back, back in black~

(In clone wars announcer voice)
When we last left off, our heroes had been through a harrowing experience at Geonosis that leaves Hevy crippled and his squad mates in shock! After the reveal of the clone control chips by the Domino squad to Generals Obi-wan Kenobi and Skywalker, the Republic decide how to proceed while Hevy, aided by Skywalker and his allies planets away, struggles to battle a new enemy—the Republic itself.

Hevy wakes up.

The entire room is pitch black. There are heavy black curtains in front of the window across from him that blocks out the light, but it can't hope to impede the sound of hundreds of ships buzzing outside. It's not even dawn, but that doesn't mean anything here—Coruscant never sleeps.

He glances to his left, shifting uncomfortably because of the pillow positioned under his head (he has to sleep halfway sitting up to protect his damaged spine) and double-checks on the other inhabitant of the room just to be safe. He can't see him in the darkness, but Flak's breaths are even and calm. Ahsoka's pilot had been through the surgery to restore his legs yesterday, and he's been unconscious since then. The medics had said it was a success. That had put Hevy in a good mood. A grounded pilot is a moody one, and poor Flak had been dying, listening to the roaring engines just outside their hospital room. It had been a constant reminder of what he'd lost. Now it is restored.

Hevy's own surgery is tomorrow.

He hates to admit it, but he's nervous. He wants it to work. Prays for it to work.

It's been two weeks since Geonosis, and Hevy's sick of being useless. He's also more than ready to give General Skywalker's plan his whole attention.

His comm rings. That must have been what had woken him originally —he just hadn't heard it in time. He sighs and flails one hand out awkwardly to grab the communicator perched on his nightstand. Hevy thumbs the button to answer as he brings it to his lips.

"...lo?" he slurs.

"Hevy! "

The greeting of his name, said at normal volume but ringing loud in their quiet room, makes him jerk in surprise, sending a nervous look towards Flak —but the pilot's medication was strong, and Flak doesn't even stir. Well, at the very least, Hevy's more awake.

"Hi, 'Bait," Hevy replies with a tired grin. He sits up a little more fully in his bed. "How's it going?"

" Good! " Droidbait replies cheerfully on the other end. There's background conversation and clattering in the background of the call, it sounds like he's in the mess hall. Hevy had forgotten that his daytime might not be the daytime of where his batchmates are. " How did Flak's surgery go? "

"The medics said he's gonna make a full recovery," Hevy reports, unable to keep the smile off his face at Droidbait's upbeat tone. "He's sleeping now. Still on heavy drugs. I haven't gotten to talk to him, but I assume it's going to be fine. He's a tough one."

General Skywalker had wasted no time in getting Hevy and Flak to Coruscant once everything had blown over on Geonosis. The journey there had been fairly quiet, both of them tired and mourning for their respective injuries—but upon their arrival in Coruscant and their assignment to the same hospital room, they'd quickly become friends. There was nothing else to do, after all. Wait, and talk.

"That's good to hear ," Droidbait says with a sigh of relief. "Hey, guys! Hevy says—" Hevy snorts as Droidbait proceeds to repeat what he'd just said to the surrounding men. Hevy hears a chorus of cheers from various others before Droidbait speaks again. "And you? How are you?"

"Just… waiting," Hevy huffs. "Waiting, and waiting more. I'll go in tomorrow. They're… gonna do some stuff. It's not just a fractured vertebrae, there's also a couple torn ligaments. I'm lucky it isn't a burst fracture. I don't understand all the details exactly, but… it's fixable. I'll be on bed rest for a good time after. Probably spend some time in a bacta tank."

"Kriff. Could be worse though," Droidbait comments. "What time will you get out tomorrow?"

"Don't know," Hevy tells him. "Senator Amidala was planning on passing by in the morning, and later I'll go in for the appointment."

"Tell her General Skywalker says hi!" Fives yells from somewhere in the background. Hevy snorts.

"Were you able to find that brother I was telling you about?" he asks them. Droidbait lets out a chuckle.

"Hardcase? Yeah, we found him alright. It wasn't that hard! We searched for records of explosive damage done to the training rooms and found his record pretty quickly. He's very… hyper-active. He fits in well. Fives adores him, I think."

Hevy grins. Hardcase had left a good impression after the battle of Felucia, several months ago. He'd never gotten a chance to reconnect with the other clone, but he'd told the others to keep an eye out for him and try to get him into Beta if possible.

"I knew Fives would like him. He's a talented kid."

"Of a tender ten years old, just like the rest of us,"Droidbait mutters, and Hevy laughs. "On another note, Del and Coric got their chips removed the other day. Beta squad is chip-free. The 501st is nearly there too."

It's great news. Now that General Skywalker knows about the chips, he approves every order of medical supplies necessary to get the surgeries taken care of. Hevy pumps his fist in the air and barely resists the urge to whoop in excitement. He's still in a hospital, and it's still late.

"We're getting there," he tells Droidbait happily. "Has the 501st been able to contact any other battalions to let them know yet? The other day I think Cutup told me they were trying to figure that out."

" Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what Echo and Cutup are doing right now. They just—"

Across from him, Flak lets out a long groan. Hevy bites his tongue and tries to peer through the darkness, but he doesn't see anything or hear more movement. He drops his voice significantly.

"Hang on, hang on. I don't want Flak to wake up, could I call you tomorrow?"

"Oh, " Droidbait says, sounding disappointed for a moment, but he perks back up. " Okay, that's fine! We can call you before you go in for the surgery or something." Bait lets out a little sigh that makes Hevy chuckle under his breath. The 501st is bored right now. They're off duty, waiting for a reassignment and supplies after the horror that was Geonosis. The lack of danger should be a relief, but it's not, really. Not to a people bred for war.

"I'll call, DB, don't worry," Hevy reassures. "It's the middle of the night here, and Flak's drugs are wearing off, but tomorrow in the morning I'll call."

"Force, are you serious? I wouldn't have called if it was so late, we drifted into a new sector yesterday and I didn't think—"

"Really, it's fine. I'm willing to talk with you any day. I'm bored out of my mind here," Hevy says grumpily. "I miss the Resolute. Sleeping here isn't the same." It's not a battlefield or his home cruiser, and for the first few nights he couldn't figure out how to get comfortable in the bed. It was too soft. Too malleable, he wanted something solid beneath him. "I don't like Coruscant at all. The sooner I can get back into action the better I'll be."

"I know," Droidbait tells him. Hevy hears the hint of a smile in his voice. "Just a little longer. We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," Hevy agrees. "See you, brother."

The comm goes silent, and Hevy lets his arm drop to deposit it back onto the nightstand. Domino squad has been keeping him sane with their calls. Hevy quite literally has nothing to do.

He'd nearly leaped out of his skin the first time he'd heard a speeder bike backfire in the street and he'd watched adrenaline and fear flash across Flak's face too—until they'd realized that it's a common occurrence here and that no one was under attack. Hevy just… is too used to the warzone at this point. It doesn't feel right, to be waiting in peace. His body is waiting for the betrayal. He and Coruscant aren't exactly getting along as of yet.

Technically, the enemy is still close by. The Galactic Hospital is a few blocks from the senate building. But that's a different type of battle.

Hevy takes a deep breath and lays back the best he can on his propped-up pillows. Sleep rises to take him. He'll remember to return the call in the morning.

"What do I need to do, sir?" Hevy had asked General Skywalker, a growing sense of purpose budding in his chest. General Skywalker had grinned at him.

"I'm getting you into contact with the Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala," he had said. "If there's anyone that could help us think through all these problems, it's her. When you arrive, she'll be there — and you'll be in the right place to start fixing things. Whatever we can manage. I'm willing to sacrifice what I can to repair my mistake."

"Ready?" Cutup asks, glancing at Cutup. His brother seems very on edge—he keeps fiddling with his gauntlets and shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"I—fine," Cutup responds, without looking at him. "I'm good, Echo, don't worry about me."

Echo snorts.

"Don't lie to me," he says lightly. "Calm down. We're just there as representatives, that's all." To be fair, if Echo hadn't been through ARC training, he would be nervous about something like this too, but he has, and he's used to it. "With any luck, we won't even have to say much. General Skywalker is going to take care of most of it. That's how it usually goes."

Cutup sighs, and his shoulders sag.

"I know," he groans. "I know, I'm just nervous. Why me instead of Fives?"

"Because General Skywalker asked for us, " Echo reminds him. "Come on. We don't want to be late." He takes a step forward and grins when Cutup swears under his breath before following.

Their task is important today. With the 501st almost entirely clear of chips (Kix being one of the few exceptions, no one's been able to pin him down long enough to get his chip out. He stubbornly refuses anyone who tries in favor of removing the chips of others and has sworn to be the last), it's time to inform others. They'd met with General Skywalker to discuss a few battalions to start spreading the news to. There are several good, trustworthy Jedi in charge of battalions that had been discussed, but eventually they'd settled on informing Generals Aayla Secura and Plo Koon first before expanding, to see how it goes. General Kenobi had offered his support as well.

Echo reaches the blast doors leading to the bridge of the Resolute, and they slide open for him, revealing Captain Rex, Commander Tano, and General Skywalker standing around the main long-range holoprojector in the center of the room. The three of them turn to greet Echo and Cutup.

"Echo, Cutup," Rex says with a smile. Despite that, he has bags under his eyes again. Echo makes a mental note to talk to him about that later. Commander Tano grins at them in excitement. She'd taken the news of the chips seriously, but with optimism. General Skywalker looks… sort of nervous. Echo never thought he'd see the day.

"Ready, men?" he asks as Echo and Cutup take their places around the holoprojector. "The other Jedi are assembled. They're willing to listen to what we have to say."

"Ready, sir," Cutup answers. For all his nerves beforehand, he's calm now. Echo smiles in pride under his helmet.

"Ready," he adds. "Let's start this, General."

General Skywalker nods at him in agreement and presses the button to call.

There's a split second of silence as the signal goes through, and then the holoprojector flashes to life. The first hologram to appear is General Kenobi, with Commander Cody helmetless at his side. Cody looks very stressed, while his General is much calmer. General Kenobi crosses his arms and smiles gently at General Skywalker.

"Hello, Anakin," he says. General Skywalker's serious expression softens.

"Hello, Master," he replies, and it's impressive to see how such a simple interaction calms the General.

General Secura is the next to appear, with Commander Bly at her side. She greets Generals Kenobi and Skywalker warmly. Bly nods at Rex. A moment later, General Plo Koon appears as well. Commander Tano greets him enthusiastically, and he responds in kind, in a fatherly sort of way that makes Echo smile. Wolffe is helmetless behind him, inspecting the assembled men with his good eye.

"Now that we're all here," General Skywalker begins, calling everyone's attention, "I'm afraid we have some… news."

That makes the other Jedi narrow their eyes.

"What kind of news, Skywalker?" General Secura asks with a tilt of her head. General Skywalker takes a breath.

"News that would have been bad had we not found out about it," he begins. "With the help of a few of my men, we've discovered a Seperatist—well, maybe not seperatist, but a plot that very well might have been designed to destroy the Republic."

Plo Koon makes a rumbling noise. "Go on."

"There is—" General Skywalker starts to continue, but then he stops. Echo blinks in surprise when General Skywalker stays silent for several moments, staring around at all of them. Echo can't decide what he's looking for. Obviously something, because the General's brow furrows and he takes them all in one at a time. When his gaze drops to Echo's, suddenly he takes a step to the side.

"Actually, I'm going to let Echo and Cutup explain this," he says suddenly. "They're responsible for the discovery, after all." Echo blinks in surprise. He glances around them and realizes what the General must have seen—the Jedi, with the clones standing at attention off to the side, silent. General Skywalker motions them closer and closes his mouth pointedly. He's already attempting to fix things.

"Kriff," Cutup breathes, and Echo resists the urge to snort. He steps forward.

"Generals," he says. "My name is Echo. My brother is Cutup. We are members of Torrent Company, Beta squad, and before this, we were specially enlisted under General Shaak Ti as intelligence agents." A lie, but oh well. There's no better way to explain. Shaak Ti will support them, as she always does. "We were led to discover some unsavory information about the Kaminoan production of clones."

He tells them about the chips. It feels like a ton of bricks is lifted off his shoulder as he does.

Cutup jumps in about halfway through the story, explains a little more about the function of the chips and includes the contingency orders. When they finish, General Skywalker plugs Echo's datapad into the holoprojector and sends the other Jedi a copy of the chip information.

For a long moment, there is silence.

General Secura's eyes are very wide. At her side, Bly's arms originally had been crossed but they are loose at his sides now. He keeps glancing at his General, but Echo can't see his face so he can't tell what his brother could be thinking.

General Plo Koon's brow is furrowed—he's thinking very carefully about what has been said. Wolffe's face is twisted in anger. General Kenobi is stroking his beard, and the corner of Cody's mouth is twitching downwards.

"What you're saying is… the chips could make us do anything?" Bly asks in a horrified voice. He seems the most shaken, out of all of them. Echo nods grimly. General Secura and Bly share a look that—well, Echo can only see General Secura's expression, but it's interesting. Extremely concerned.

" Who," Wolffe snarls. "Who is responsible for this?"

"We… we don't know yet," Cutup grits out. Wolffe glowers at nothing. General Plo Koon raises a hand towards Wolffe in a pacifying manner, and Wolffe exhales before visibly calming himself. Echo understands. He'd felt the same way. Anger, betrayal, fear. Anyone could make them do anything.

"How should we go about resolving this situation?" General Plo Koon asks. "Have you managed to find a solution yet?"

Echo waits for General Skywalker to answer, but he doesn't, so Echo jumps in again.

"A simple surgery is enough, General," he replies. "Within the data sent should be the standard procedure our medics have been using to remove the chips. The process isn't the problem, it's the supplies needed for the surgery."

"The entire 501st has successfully been de-chipped," Rex chimes in. "We had to order extra supplies, but the moment they came our medics have been working non-stop to remove them."

"It's possible. But has it been fully tested yet, if the de-chipped clones will follow the orders or not?" The question comes from Commander Cody, who's been quiet up until now. General Kenobi nods at the question, and Echo falters.

"A-actually, sir, we haven't tested that yet. To be honest, I'm not sure exactly how the orders function. If it has to come from a certain person, or if there's a codeword to activate it… I have no clue."

General Kenobi is frowning thoughtfully. He pulls up a datapad to review the datapack of the chips that Echo had sent and starts scrolling through.

"How could we test something like that?" General Secura asks. "The record does not say anything about how the orders are issued. Only what they are."

"The information does say that the chip was implanted to enforce the orders… but who knows if the chip's influence can remain in the brain once the chip is removed or not," Wolffe speculates grimly.

Suddenly Commander Cody huffs, and turns to his General.

"General, could we try something?" he asks, startling the rest into silence. General Kenobi meets his Commander's gaze and nods once, absolute trust visible in his eyes.

"Of course, Commander," he replies.

"Give me an order, and we'll see if it works."

Echo inhales in shock. Fear shoots through his blood like ice. Cutup jumps next to him, and Rex sucks in a deep breath. The Jedi Generals all gasp. Wolffe and Bly go rigid.

General Kenobi blanches for a brief moment, but he steadies himself in the next moment and determination settles across his face.

"Are you sure, Commander?"

"Of course, General. I trust you. We need to test it." The blatant declaration of trust is said without hesitation or room for doubt.

"Cody, don't—!" Rex starts to say, then apparently bites his own tongue, looking away.

"Wait, but—if we hear it, won't our chips be activated too?" Bly protests. "What happens if it's permanent, or—?"

"Better me than someone else, in that case," Cody snaps suddenly. Echo understands where he's coming from. Better that the one giving the order is someone you trust, if you have to receive an order. Better that it's in a safe environment. Better that they test it now, before there's any slip-ups. "Do it, General. Put them on mute and do it." A bit reckless, a lot stressed—too concerned to wait.

General Kenobi obeys him. It's too fast for anyone to protest. They lose audio from the 212th, and General Kenobi's mouth moves. Echo watches, not even breathing as Cody flinches, eyes going wide for a brief moment—!

And then nothing.

A couple more seconds, and still nothing.

Audio comes back.

"—supposed to do something?" Cody is asking, sounding confused. "I didn't feel anything at all. They were just words."

"Kriffing idiot," Rex mutters, still tense at Echo's side.

"Then it isn't just anyone who can activate it," General Kenobi says. Cody nods at him, looking relieved despite his insistence on being the guinea pig. Looking to the others once more, General Kenobi explains, "I told him, Execute order seven. But it seems as though only the programmers are able to give the orders."

Echo exhales in relief. Everyone else relaxes too.

"More problems, then," General Skywalker mutters. "Great. We still don't know how it works."

"For now, we need to settle for removing the chips from our battalions," General Secura contributes. "From what I understood, we have no information concerning who is behind this scheme. Nor do we have any leads. The best course of action is get rid of them before the orders can be activated."

"In the meantime, we should be tracking down more information as well," General Plo Koon advises. Echo opens his mouth, but Commander Tano beats him to it.

"Carefully, though!" she says. "If the enemy learns that we're aware of their plan, there's nothing stopping them from activating everything early. We can't let them find out we know."

"Well said, young one," General Kenobi compliments. "We will proceed with extreme caution. Eventually, once we learn more, the information can be distributed to the entire GAR, but until then, it needs to stay between us."

"Understood," General Plo Koon says with a curt nod. General Secura nods as well.

"We will inform our medics and begin the operations as soon as possible," she says.

Echo grins in excitement. Two more battalions, free of the chips. Lots more to go, but two down, at the very least.

"It's settled, then," General Skywalker announces determinedly. "We dechip everyone we can, and until we have more information, lay low but keep our ears open. With time, we'll uncover more data. Until then, we stick to what we have."

"Agreed," General Kenobi says. Cody nods. So do the other clones.

The plan is finally being put into motion. Echo closes his eyes behind his helmet and hopes and hopes and hopes that nothing goes wrong.

"A message from Tipper and Zeer came in a few minutes ago," Del says. Fives lifts his head from where he was laying on his bunk in the barracks and meets their squad leader's gaze.

"How are they doing?"

"Good, from the looks of it," Del says, scanning over the message on his datapad again. He looks happy to have received the news. "They're finishing up some training on one of Kamino's moons. Doesn't say which one, they can't, of course, but they're alright. Zeer says he's always hungry. Tipper says he's finally not getting beat up every day."

Fives chuckles. He remembers those days well. At the beginning of ARC training, your body is one whole bruise. By the end, you start to get the hang of things, both mentally and physically.

"That's good," he says. "They should be near the end, I think." They're close to finishing. What they lack should be T&I, some final coordinating training, and a few final tests. Then they'll be sent out to conquer the world.

The door of their barracks slides open and Hardcase saunters in. Fives grins at the sight and sits up to slap a hand on his shoulder as he passes.

"Finished causing trouble?" he asks, and Hardcase shoots him a cocky grin.

"Noo ooo, Fives, please. Me? Never, absolutely not. I never do anything troublesome."

Nax, who'd been sleeping a few minutes ago in his bunk, snorts loudly. Hardcase grins at him and tosses something. Nax rolls out of his bunk to dodge it and the little metal part Hardcase had thrown clatters against the wall.

"Sabacc, anyone?" Hardcase offers, plunking himself down on the bench in the middle of the room. Del shakes his head, and Nax sighs.

"Pass. I wanted to get some sleep while I could."

"Or we could spar," Hardcase suggests, and Fives perks up at the idea. Doesn't sound too bad right now. Something exciting to break up the boredom.

"Okay, then," he says, getting up and rolling his shoulders. Hardcase looks far too excited. He's fitting into the group like he's been here for months already. Fives had known he would.

It had been strange, the first few days. Hardcase hadn't known him at all. But within four or five days it was almost completely normal—the jokes and the cockiness Fives had once known is back. It makes Fives' chest hurt, sometimes. But it's a good hurt. A long-lost brother has returned to his life.

Fives is determined to keep him this time, too.

They're on their way out when the door opens to reveal Echo and Cutup, returning from their report with the generals. Fives stops dead and searches Echo's face immediately for bad news—but Echo is smiling. So is Cutup.

Everyone is suddenly alert, waiting for the announcement.

"How'd it go?" Del asks. Cutup sits himself down.

"Well," he says. "Generals Secura and Plo Koon took it well. It was almost… the brothers, that made it harder. They were more shaken up. But they're okay. They're going to be removing the chips from their battalions and watching out for clues."

"That's great news!" Nax exclaims. Hardcase pumps the air with his fist. Fives slaps Echo's shoulder in congratulations. Echo grins triumphantly, and they exchange a hopeful look. They're closer than they'd ever thought they'd get.

"Where's Droidbait?" Echo asks. Fives shrugs.

"I was with him a minute ago in the mess hall. We were eating, but afterwards I lost track of him. We called Hevy too, but he couldn't talk for too long."

Fives grimaces. "His surgery's tomorrow, right? Aw, Force."

"He'll be fine," Hardcase chimes in. "He's tough. He'll be back here before we know it."

Without warning the door slides open again. Fives turns, fully expecting to see Droidbait there. He isn't wrong, it is Droidbait, but Captain Rex is there as well.

"Captain!" four identical voices exclaim at once, and everyone jerks to attention. Rex waves them into ease again.

"Relax, men," he says reassuringly, standing in the doorway as Droidbait shuffles past him to join his squadmates. "I'm here to deliver some news, that's all."

Del blinks at him. "Sir?"

Rex takes a step to the side. Coric and Jesse, of all people, are behind him, and Fives' heart leaps in his chest. Another brother. Jesse had still been alive when he died, and Fives wondered if he had lived long enough to see the end of the war or not.

"Your squad is still technically two men down, while Hevy is out of commission," Rex says. "I thought we could help you out by filling at least one of those spots."

Jesse grins at them, helmet under his arm, and offers a little wave. Cutup gasps.

"Jesse!"

"His squad was just dissolved and reassigned to other squadrons due to their number of casualties at Geonosis and Kix's bad habit of planting himself in the medical bay and refusing to budge," Rex says with a fond smile on his lips. "I thought he could be a great help here."

"Kriff, you're gonna make me blush," Jesse mutters in amusement. Rex rolls his eyes at him, but it's all in good sport.

Fives can't erase the smile from his face. Echo's excited, too. He had known Jesse in his first life, but they'd never gotten very close, unlike Fives and Hardcase. (Umbara did that to them, though. The strongest bonds are forged in fire.)

"Jesse's very welcome here," Del comments, looking pleased. They'd all grown fond of Kix and his loyal batchmate Jesse while dealing with the whole chip debacle.

"Glad to hear it," Rex says, sounding pleased. He'd known what their answer would be. "I'll leave you to it, then. I have a thousand calls to take from the 104th battalion. And thank you," he adds honestly, "for your help in the briefing today. It was a critical move. Soon this will be over, and no clone will have to worry about the chips ever again."

Fives clenches his fists in excitement. They're getting there. Progress.

Rex leaves them, and for a few minutes the squad is busy slapping Jesse on the back and congratulating him. He takes Zeer's old bed and sets the few material things he has there. When everyone's settled, Hardcase raises a hand.

"So… now that everyone's awake and excited… anyone down for a spar?"

He picked a good time to ask. Beta squad is excited. Even Del. They head for the training rooms, joking and bickering as they go.

Fives is happy. Except… the only thing missing is Hevy.

"How are you feeling today, Lieutenant?"

Hevy smiles at Senator Amidala and shrugs from where he's propped up in his bed.

"Normal, I'd say. A little bit nervous for the surgery, but it should be fine. The medics are very optimistic that I'll regain full use of my legs."

"I have no doubt," the senator tells him, taking a seat in the only chair in their room. She offers Flak a little wave, and the pilot, still recovering, manages one back.

"Ma'am," he slurs out. She huffs out a little laugh.

"Good to see that you're recovering. How long will you be on bed rest?"

Flak sighs.

"Probably for just as long as Hevy," he admits glumly, and Senator Amidala winces but maintains her smile.

"Good thing you're getting a head start then," she teases lightly, and Hevy chuckles. He can see why General Skywalker likes her so much. (Whether it's that he likes her or that he likes her is another question. Hevy's honestly betting on the latter, if Fives' jabs are any indicator.)

"How have you been, ma'am?" Hevy asks her. She sighs.

"I spoke with An—with General Skywalker this morning," she begins. "He proposed many different things to me, about what our next move should be. And most of his ideas include using you as a spokesman."

Hevy blanches.

"Me as a spokesman?" he asks incredulously. "You'd want a different clone for that. And spokesman for what, exactly?"

"That… depends," she says. She's laughing at him on the inside, he knows. He's seen that little glint in her eyes several times during their brief interactions. With the medics all over him, she couldn't come by often, but with luck it should be easier to plan later. "That will have to be discussed later, when we have more time. What I wanted to ask you about is if you have any examples of times when Republic clone troopers have been mistreated, or discriminated against. According to General Skywalker, our end goal is to free the clones. I want to gather together a folder of information like this so we can chart our next move. It would be much easier to give you your rights if we have evidence that there is mistreatment first. Half of the Republic thinks you're just as unfeeling as the droids, but the rest of us know that isn't true."

Hevy scowls.

"Kriffing Republic. Um…" He really can't think of anything on the spot, and when he glances at Flak, the pilot doesn't seem to have anything either. They've been lucky. General Skywalker doesn't mistreat them. Didn't mistreat them, even before his realization.

"Ma'am, I'll be honest, my only Jedi General has been General Skywalker. Same with him," he says, jabbing a thumb at Flak. "He's one of the best. Him and Kenobi. But I'm sure there are others with different stories, because the Jedi can't be everywhere at once, and there are millions of us clones. If we send word out, someone will get us examples. I'm sure of that."

Senator Amidala nods. "This way, while you're recovering I can do research. When you're back to your normal self we can plan more effectively as well. How do we get that word out?"

Hevy frowns. He… doesn't know.

"You could just send a chain out to any commander that we have the datacoordinate of," Flak suggests weakly. "The commanders can pass it on, and on, gathering evidence as they go, and then boomerang the signal back to us. It's safer that way, too. More personal. That way anyone who might be against the movement won't know that evidence is even being gathered."

"That," Hevy seconds, pleased. Senator Amidala hums and pulls out a datapad to make a quick note.

"Could you two send that message?" she asks, voice hardening—she isn't mad, just thinking. Ready to plunge in and fix things. It makes Hevy excited.

"Yes," he says, and then pauses. "Actually, Flak will have to do it. In a few minutes, I'm not really going to be in any place to do it." In three hours he'll be under the knife. Sithspit. His stomach writhes nervously. The Senator had distracted him for a brief moment, but with every passing moment it gets harder and harder to ignore the time.

"I can do it," Flak volunteers. "But can I send the draft to you first, Senator?"

"Perfect," she answers. "I can read it over before you send it."

Hevy has no doubt that she'll have a large number of information and resources to choose from once he recovers. She's fast, and quick on her feet. General Skywalker hadn't doubted that she'd be able to help, and Hevy knows it's true.

Things are changing. He didn't live very long in his old life, but he's lived long enough in this one to know that lots of things are different now.

"Hey, Echo?"

Echo turns to look at Fives, confused by the soft tone that the other clone uses to say his name. Fives' voice doesn't get like that often.

"Yeah?" he asks, glancing back at the fight going on in the ring. Beta squad is doing doubles—right now Nax and Hardcase are teamed up against Jesse and Cutup. It's an interesting fight. Hardcase is like a wrecking ball, but Jesse's willing to take him on while Cutup keeps Nax at bay. Nax is difficult to pin down. He twists and turns and never stops moving, but Cutup is determined and keeps after him, throwing punch after punch. It's a battle of endurance. Jesse and Hardcase are already on the floor grappling. That's just a straight-up battle of strength and willpower. Jesse's on top right now, but every few seconds Hardcase bucks to throw him off balance, and it won't be long until he gets up again because Jesse's grip on his wrists is slipping.

It looks weird without Hevy.

Fives doesn't say anything again, so Echo shifts his full attention to his batchmate again.

"Yeah?" he repeats, curious. Fives lets out a sigh.

"Do you ever miss it?" he asks. Echo blinks at him.

"Miss what?"

"Being ARC."

The question doesn't surprise him, but it does make him ponder. Echo presses his lips together and thinks.

"I… don't know," he admits. "I…"

ARC was not a bad thing. Not at all. The training had been difficult, to the point of considering dropping out for sure—but they'd been together, and that had gotten them through the grueling tests. Easy, no, but the skills they had gained had kept them alive and together for some time after.

It had ended eventually. It hadn't made them invincible.

"Do you?" Echo asks Fives. Fives shrugs, eyes trained on the fight—Cutup lands a hefty blow on the back of Nax's head that sends him sprawling. On the other side of the mats, Hardcase finally throws Jesse off of him and now they're scrambling for the upper hand again.

"Sometimes I almost do," Fives says. "Sometimes I miss the thrill of it. Of the recons, the special ops. Other times I don't miss it at all. You're… alone. It was just the two of us a lot of times. Not quite part of the group, but not apart from it, either."

Echo nods, wincing as Hardcase lets out a shout of frustration and throws himself at Jesse, who meets him steadily again and blocks a fast kick.

"You always like the thrills more than I did," he comments. "Wasn't a bad thing. Made you a fighter no one could touch. I was more in it for the problem-solving. The algorithms and the espionage."

"You and your algorithms," Fives breaths thoughtfully. Echo knocks their shoulders together.

"Trip down memory lane?" he asks. "You were fine a few minutes ago, what's going on? Real life problems not exciting enough for you?"

Fives chuckles.

"Nothing like that," he defends lightheartedly. "Just… remembering. Del got an update from Tipper and Zeer, that's all. They should be headed to T&I soon."

"Sithspit," Echo swears, shaking his head. "Never again. You couldn't pay me enough."

Fives laughs again. Echo eyes him.

"You would?"

"Maybe. I didn't enjoy T&I any more than you did, but… I liked the title. The pauldron, the kama. Made me feel like I was giving my all."

Echo smirks.

"And… you aren't giving your all here?"

"Of course I am!" Fives tells him honestly. "It's just… different. It was so much simpler when I was ARC. So much simpler than time-travelling universe-fixing, or whatever the kriff we're doing here."

"I get it," Echo says. "I do, Fives." It's true. ARCs have more freedom, more initiative, and are left to make their own decisions more often… but they follow orders in the end. Here, they're making it up as they go. They're calling all the shots. They have to, with their knowledge. It's a lot more pressure than they had when they were mere ARCs.

"Well… whatever," Fives mutters eventually. "We're here now, aren't we? The kama's cool, but it doesn't mean anything in the long run. Wanna spar?"

Echo grins at him. "Working together or against each other?"

Fives snorts.

"Please. I'm looking for a fight. You're the only one that could give it to me."

"Not even Jesse, or Hardcase?"

"Maybe Jesse could, in our old life," Five answers, stepping towards an unused mat on the other side of the room. The rest of Beta squad is cheering as Hardcase finally manages to hold Jesse down long enough to knock him out of the game, but at the same time, Cutup manages to get Nax into a brutal armlock that leaves him incapacitated. The beaten step out so that Cutup and Hardcase can circle each other, continuing. "But right now, no. Spar with me?"

Echo grins and follows his brother, stretching out his limbs as he goes. When he gets to the mat, he takes a deep breath—and immediately drops into a roll, because Fives hadn't wasted a moment in attacking him. That's how it works, when you're ARC. The second you step onto the mat, you're fair game. It doesn't matter if you aren't ready.

He gets back to his feet on the other side as Fives whirls around, an infectious grin on his face.

"I'll take you down," Fives challenges, and Echo grins, settling into a fighting stance and balling his fists.

"Come try it," he urges, and Fives is quick to obey.

Echo's on the defense. He knew he would be. Fives whirls at him with two quick punches and a kick aimed at his torso that Echo has to twist to avoid. Echo retaliates by dropping and attempting to sweep Fives' legs out from under him, but Fives is no fool and leaps back. It buys Echo maybe .3 seconds of time. Fives returns with a fury, elbows and knees and no holding back, so Echo does the same. The clash is brutal. Echo knees Fives in the kidney, but the other ARC only grunts and returns the favor, wrenching Echo's shoulder back before Echo can extract himself from his grip.

It's going to bruise, but Echo doesn't care. His adrenaline is surging. This is the kind of sparring he'd missed.

He sidesteps Fives' next attack and shoves an elbow into the other's ribs, grabbing for Fives' arm and flinging him around. It's disorientating enough to stun a normal man, but Fives gets a knee under himself and doesn't go down. Instead, he kicks backwards and connects with Echo's ankle. Echo hisses and has to let go of him to regain his balance, so Fives dives for him again.

Echo bares his teeth and meets Fives head on, grappling with him. Fives is stronger, but Echo can hold his own for a few seconds—enough to plant his feet and duck to use Fives' weight against him. Fives flips over Echo's own back—this time, he is on the ground, but it doesn't last long. Before Echo can get on top of him Fives rolls, far quicker than an ordinary clone would, and pops back up to his feet.

That's another thing, with ARCs. Get knocked down? Get on your feet. Even if the world is falling apart around you and if you want nothing more than to black out, get up. Get up unless you're dead. It will save your life.

"Force," he hears someone else say, off to the side—Echo doesn't care who it was, not right now. If he takes his eyes away from Fives he'll lose.

They square up again, and Echo makes the first move, swinging a punch at Fives' head. The other clone ducks, and suddenly they're far too close, swinging and kicking at a pace that Echo hasn't used for a while. He and Fives had sparred a few times on Rishi since the resurrection, but they hadn't after that. It seemed like a giveaway among the other clones. For that he's tiring faster than normal. Fortunately, Fives is too. Even so, their footwork is perfect. Echo's muscle memory is still there. It was drilled, almost burned into him during ARC training.

He makes a risk and fakes a kick, but instead throws all his weight at Fives, who hadn't expected it. They go down to the mat, and the watching clones shout in excitement.

"Get off!" Fives snarls, thrashing and trying to roll again, but Echo is expecting it. He digs his elbow into Fives' diaphragm and shoves his brother to the floor while Fives curses and gasps for air. He thinks he's won until out of nowhere Fives manages to get a leg up, lashing out. Echo has to dive backwards so that his cheekbone doesn't get shattered. (But Fives remembers that he's fast enough to avoid it.)

"Kriffing—" he hisses, but there's no time. Fives is on him, pinning him to the ground. A punch is landed across his face, and Echo struggles, but Fives has him trapped, arms pinned and legs without something to push off of. Echo's mind searches frantically for a way out. He jabs his elbow into Fives' thigh, but Fives just grunts and readjusts himself so that Echo can't do it again.

If this was a real ARC fight, or a real fight in general, Echo would probably continue by head-butting Fives in the face, and the battle would continue. It's the easiest option, and readily available. Fives' face is right there in front of his forehead.

Fortunately (unfortunately?), this isn't real, and Echo's not about to do that. But he very well could. Fives realizes it, too. His eyes go wide, and Echo knows that he's wondering if Echo will go through with it or not. Instead, Echo lets himself go limp. He doesn't yield, hasn't lost yet, but this is as far as they can go at that level without getting hurt.

Fives is breathing hard. It takes him a second, but he relaxes too, and lets Echo climb back to his feet.

"Force, that felt good," he says. Echo nods in agreement. His body is trembling, still on high alert.

"Sooo… who won, exactly?" Hardcase says excitedly. Echo turns around to see the rest of Beta staring at them in awe. He exchanges an amused look with Fives.

"Technically… no one," Fives answers. Droidbait lets out a whoop while Jesse groans.

"Pay up, boys!" Droidbait crows. "I knew they would tie!"

Echo laughs. It's not really a tie, either, but he's not about to tell them that.

"So… do you still miss it?" he asks Fives in a low voice and Droidbait continues to heckle.

Fives hums. He looks Beta squad over and smiles.

"No," he answers, and Echo puts his hand on Fives' shoulder in commentless support.

" I report in for surgery in an hour," Hevy tells them distractedly. Domino is huddled around the holoprojector, listening intently to their brother. "They told me I can't eat or drink all morning. That's bantha fodder, but okay."

"Do you want your legs, or food?" Cutup mutters, and Hevy laughs.

"Senator Amidala came to visit, too," he tells them. "She's collecting evidence that the clones aren't treated well. Flak should be sending out more information in a couple hours, so if you could make sure Rex gets word, that'd be great."

"You got it," Cutup tells him, making a mental note to do so. Hevy's nervous. Cutup can tell in the way his shoulders are set. "You'll be fine, Hevy. They're gonna help you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Hevy sighs. "I know, I know. It's just worrying. What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing's going to go wrong," Droidbait reassures him. "You're gonna get your legs back, heal up, free our brothers, and come home. Easy."

"Yeah, easy," Fives repeats to chime in. He's nursing a bruise on his leg from his spar. Cutup is still impressed. He'd never seen a spar so fast before between brothers. "You've got this, Hevy. You'll be completely fine."

Echo, on the other hand, has a nice shiner on one cheek, but he looks happy with it, strangely. Kriffing weirdos. Cutup would love to be able to fight like that.

"Trust the medics, Hevy," Echo advises gently. "General Skywalker is constantly calling them to check up on your progress. They wouldn't dare play any games, and they know what they're doing. Trust us. You'll be okay."

Hevy sighs. "I know. I'm just sick of bedrest already. I'm not looking forward to another three weeks of it."

"You know, in the old times you'd be out of commission for a year with that injury," Fives tells him with a grin. "Take the time to appreciate how far medicine's come."

Hevy doesn't look very enlightened by that thought, just fixes Fives with a dead stare before resuming the conversation. He's really nervous, Cutup realizes again. He can't imagine.

"I just wish I was there," he says as Fives cackles. "I would feel so much safer."

"I know," Cutup tells him. "We miss you, too. It isn't the same. Heal fast, please."

"Ugh. I'll try."

They explain what had happened with the other Jedi, and Hevy is visibly relaxed by the new information. They all are. Things are spreading, moving, taking their course. If they can keep it up… well. Victory is still too far to imagine but they're on the path.

They talk with Hevy until the nurse comes in to take him to the surgery. Hevy spends a long moment staring at the four other Dominoes, brow furrowed in stress. Domino says goodbye as cheerily as they can to try and keep his spirits up, and Hevy smiles as he cuts the call.

Cutup really does believe he's going to be fine, but he closes his eyes and sends a silent prayer to the universe anyway.

If— when the surgery is a success, the team will be whole again, and it will be just like how it was before.

A/N: Ive returned from my trip to Ecuador! I wrote this really really fast (in one day lol I didn't do anything else I missed writing so much) and I've also been speaking in Spanish for the last year and a half so I have no clue how this will look to your eyes, but to mine it's not bad at all.

This chapter is me remembering the Star Wars world, remembering english, and remembering my own plot. Sorry if there's OCness going on! I'm working on it slowly but steadily.

(If the author can sneak in Blyla she will sneak in Blyla okay)

Yeah... I don't know much about spinal injuries. I looked up some stuff, and what I can tell you is that google said that the injury I gave hevy is fixable. Don't know how, but it's fixable. (And it was google so idk how reliable it is but whatever). Don't sue me for skimming over the details please!

IT IS SO GOOD TO BE BACK. Thank you for the amazing support you've always given this story. I hope you'll continue to enjoy it. This is only the beginning. I'm always here if you want to chat!

With love, meridianpony ;)