Hello, everyone!

imaginationflies: Yes, Haali has really carved herself a place in this story in as many ways as I can put her in. I love protective Rex too! I always have to work hard to strike a balance though. I want him to be reasonably protective, not overprotective. I really wish we got to see the end of Barriss' story in Canon. I feel like there's still a story to be told with her. And I'm very proud to have nearly brought you to tears! And don't worry, I have plans for Hemlock. (It's also terrible considering that this is basically what's happening in canon…)

Aquarica: I feel like Tech has blackmail material for all his brothers, especially since he records everything. I too want the clones to be happy! You wouldn't be able to tell by what I put them through! Though I do think they're in a better spot in this fic than in canon…

In case you missed it, I've got my own Discord channel on the Emerald Library server! Here's the link: discord . gg . / elibrary

(without the spaces because fanfiction . net is dumb)

(it's free of charge if any of you were concerned) (also I'm not super familiar with how the server works yet but I think

what you're supposed to do is say you're a reader when it asks and then my channel is under the misc fandoms/superhero section

for some reason)

We have a bit of a shorter chapter today, but it has some good stuff!

This chapter contains a bit of T rated hint of spice! At least, it's the most spicy thing I've written… But anyway, implied sexual content

Mando'a translations at the end!

ABSOLVED: Chapter 32

"All right, form up! I said, form up!"

Ahsoka smiled as she watched Commander Fox attempt to organize the younglings. Several shuttles sat waiting on Yavin's verdant grounds. Fox, holding little Grogu, was apparently in charge of loading them up. Today was the day that the majority of non-combatants would be going to Ossus.

"Lines of five, like we've done before!" Fox went on. "If you want to ride with your friends, get in line with them now. I'm not shuffling things around right before take off."

The kids finally did get into decently straight lines of five.

"We're going to be on four shuttles!" Fox said, ignoring Grogu patting his cheek and pointing at the ships. "Split up evenly for shuttles A, B, C, and D! Stand in front of your chosen vessel!"

"Commander, what shuttle will you be on?" A five year old Falleen girl asked sweetly.

Fox sighed.

"C." He said.

Ahsoka watched the crowd of kids push each other to all squish into the space in front of shuttle C. She stifled a laugh at Fox's defeated expression. Then she spotted Plo, who was also watching the debacle.

"Master, aren't you going to help him?" Ahsoka asked as she approached him.

"Commander Fox is well equipped to handle this." Plo said, amused. "I believe in him."

Ahsoka smiled, but it didn't last long.

"I'll miss you, Master." She said.

Plo looked at her, and Ahsoka could feel the warmth of his love for her.

"It is unfortunate that we must be parted physically, little 'Soka." He said. "But the Force connects us and with your remarkable ability, it shall seem that our distance will be very small indeed."

He hesitated, and then went on.

"But you are correct. I shall miss you as well."

He opened his arms and Ahsoka hugged him. He felt thin and bony. He seemed to have lost much of the muscle mass he'd had during the war.

Rex was right. It would be better for Plo to go and rest.

"Goodbye, Master." Ahsoka said.

"Goodbye, Little 'Soka."

As Ahsoka let go, she found herself laughing. What looked like the entirety of the remaining Wolf Pack were waiting patiently on the outskirts of the landing area.

"I forgot I'm not an only child." Ahsoka said. "I hope Fox didn't expect to leave anytime soon."

Plo gave a low chuckle and squeezed Ahsoka's shoulder one last time. Wolffe and his brothers approached as Ahsoka retreated. Ahsoka watched for a little bit as each member of the Wolf Pack clamored to say goodbye and as Plo gave an embrace to every clone he could reach.

Tech frowned at his data pad. He had not truly looked at the Kaminoan doctor's research before now. He had been- preoccupied. But General Skywalker had come to him with the request. They were in the beginning stages of planning a large assault, now that the noncombatants were offworld, and being able to bring the remaining clones to their side would be most helpful.

The research here was fairly interesting, though Tech would have rather made a few more attempts against the Imperial system. Apparently the chips were grown from Jango Fett's DNA. That made sense, as it would have been extremely easy to detect them if they were of some other organic material.

But after this initial revelation there was much speculation and trial and error from this Neya Ha. Tech got the sense that the doctor was perhaps not as intelligent as his fellow Kaminoans, but made up for this in his determination.

Unfortunately that meant a majority of the research was a rather dull read, theories that Tech could immediately see could go nowhere. Tech still continued. Any important Imperial target could hold all manner of clues to Omega's location. It could perhaps hold Omega herself. And if this could make that mission easier, Tech would go through as many failed experiments as he needed.

Omega was not his only driving force, though she drove him most efficiently. Taja was also in his thoughts. Palpatine, according to reports, was letting the slavers of the galaxy run amok.

And, well, the attempted systematic extermination of the Jedi and the subjugation of the galaxy were just things he objected to on principle.

As he researched in one of the chairs of the Marauder, he became aware of Crosshair standing near as if waiting to catch his attention.

"Is it important, Crosshair?" Tech asked, sparing his brother a glance.

Crosshair smirked and flicked his toothpick away.

"Oh, I just thought you'd want to know that your girlfriend is back." He drawled.

"We have not chosen to use that terminology." Tech said automatically, but his heartbeat had quickened.

He stood without consciously choosing to do so and found himself at the ramp of the Marauder in seconds. Even as Tech looked out of the ship, he saw Taja walking towards it.

"Have fun." Crosshair said as Tech hurried down the ramp.

Taja's face split into a radiant smile as she saw him. Tech found his own lips twitching upward. But as she came closer, he found he did not know what to do. He looked down at the ground. He watched as her garnet red hands took his. He vaguely thought of how much he liked the shade.

"Hello." Taja said. Tech did not respond, still deliberating on how he should act. "Is there something wrong?"

"I should have researched this before you returned." Tech said. "I do not know what reuniting couples do."

Taja laughed a little.

"Embrace and kiss, I believe." She said.

"Ah." Tech said.

That made sense. He still did not move. If he embraced and kissed her now, that meant that he considered them in a relationship. He did not know if he did. He wished to be in a relationship with her, but he did not know if she wanted it as well. And of course, there was the issue of the fact that Tech had never been in a relationship and did not know how it would affect him and his life. Perhaps it would be best to merely stand here and hold her hand.

As always, his tongue betrayed him.

"Are we a couple?" He found himself asking.

He glanced up at Taja, who was looking at him with her remarkable green eyes.

"Would you like to be?" She asked.

"Yes." Tech was surprised with how easy it was to say. "Very much so."

Taja reached up and touched his face.

"Good." She said. "I'd like it too."

"In that case," Tech said. "I believe this would be appropriate."

He reached out and pulled her to him. He could feel that he was still somewhat stiff as he held her, but that was likely due to a lack of practice. Then he leaned down and kissed her.

She let out a long sigh as he did so, as if she had been waiting for his kiss in particular. Perhaps she had.

He had meant to tell her of his new project, but that could wait.

Rex flicked through the list of files on his datapad, looking at how many he had left. It was a good idea to make profiles for each of the nat born rebels, but he wished they had had the idea when the recruits first arrived. Even after splitting up the workload among the trainer clones, Rex still had a good fifty left to create.

But with General Skywalker's plans, they needed these, to see who was ready to fight. Rex didn't exactly look forward to the operation, but it felt good to be able to fight for what they believed in once again. Or maybe for the first time.

But before he could fight, he had to finish these.

He sighed and began inputting what he had observed about the next cadet.

Accepts orders well. Struggles to execute. His nerves get the better of him. Rex wrote. Needs more expos-

Long arms draped themselves over his shoulders. Rex smiled slightly as Ahsoka set her chin on his shoulder.

"I thought you were going to talk to Offee." He said.

"She wouldn't speak to me." Ahsoka said. "I thought that since it's been a few weeks-"

She trailed off, but she started caressing his chest.

"'Soka, I'm trying to work." Rex protested.

"You need a break." Ahsoka said. She was toying with the clasps of his shirt now. "You've been working on those for hours."

Rex tried to come up with an appropriate reason to keep working, but Ahsoka's clever fingers undid the first fastening. Then the next, and the next, until she had peeled away the shirt from his chest and shoulders. Rex let out a long sigh as she kissed the curve of his neck.

Maybe she was right. A break sounded excellent right about now.

"Come here." Rex said.

Ahsoka rounded his chair, grinning. Rex reached out and pulled her to his lap. She straddled his hips and with a slow, deliberate motion, finished removing his shirt. Rex's skin burned where she touched him.

He took one of her lekku in his hand and pressed his lips to it. He kissed his way up it, enjoying the sound of Ahsoka's increasingly heavy breathing.

"You're gorgeous." Ahsoka murmured into his ear.

Rex let out a breathless laugh as she kissed his neck again.

"Millions of men have my face." He said.

Ahsoka pulled away to look Rex in the eyes.

"None of them are you."

Rex cupped her face, swiping his thumb over her cheek.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" He said.

"I'd prefer it if you showed me." Ahsoka said.

Rex took her hip in one hand and trailed the other upward to the catch of her dress.

"Yes, sir." He said.

And as he caught sight of the first few inches of her enticing skin, his comm gave a loud screech.

Annoyance fell on Rex like a blow. The tone indicated a critical message, so he couldn't just ignore it. He made to move, but Ahsoka raised her hand and the comm came to her. Mutely she held it out to him.

Rex took it. If Fives had once again decided to use the emergency channel for something frivolous, there would be hell to pay. That thought quickly drained from his head as the light on the comm flashed in a very specific pattern. A distress signal.

He didn't have to ask Ahsoka to grab the data pad from his desk; she knew what he wanted as soon as he did. Rex connected the comm to the datapad and three lines of information appeared.

ID: CC-5576-39

ORIGIN: DARO

CODE: GAA'TAYL

"Kriff." Rex whispered. "It's from Gregor."

"Gregor?" Ahsoka asked. "The Commando?"

Rex nodded.

"He must have been stuck in the army after the Order went out." He said.

"Where is he?" Ahsoka asked.

"Daro." Rex replied.

"That planet's uninhabited." Ahsoka said with a frown. "Why would he be stationed there?"

"I don't know." Rex said. "Maybe he escaped there. Maybe they're building a base. But it doesn't matter. We have to get him out."

Hunter watched Echo kit up, unsure of how he felt about the whole situation.

"Rex is only taking you, Fives, and Tup?" He asked again.

Echo nodded.

"Jesse's staying to help train the recruits and Kix is CMO now." He explained. "Besides, Rex doesn't think we'll need more than us."

"That is illogical." Tech said. "You have virtually no information beyond the sender and the location. You do not even know if the signal truly is from this Gregor."

"He's not even bringing his Jedi wife?" Crosshair asked. "And they say we went on suicide missions."

"Commando Tano still hasn't rebuilt her lightsabers." Echo said. "Besides, Rex thinks that Gregor might be with other clone Commandos that are still chipped. He doesn't want to risk them seeing her."

"There is no base on Daro, Republic or otherwise." Tech said. "It is far more likely that this Gregor is stranded by himself."

"Rex doesn't think so." Echo said. "It's a short message. If Gregor was alone and had the ability to transmit, he'd send more info."

Hunter glanced at Tech, whose brow was furrowed.

"If that is the case," Tech said slowly. "Then it is a possibility Gregor is stationed at a secret Imperial facility. One that is off the records."

The Marauder went dead silent.

"Are you saying there's a chance Omega is there?" Hunter asked.

For the first time in months Hunter felt something akin to real hope as Tech gave a short nod.

"Even if she is not at this facility, there is a high chance that it will hold records of other covert Imperial sites." Tech said.

"Then we gotta go!" Wrecker said.

"Echo, tell Rex he's got our help." Hunter said.

Echo nodded. Hunter could see relief in his eyes too. Finally, a lead with real potential, instead of half baked theories by smugglers who moonlighted as conspiracy theorists.

To his surprise, Tech got up as well.

"Where are you going?" Wrecker asked.

"To inform Taja of our imminent departure." Tech said. "As my significant other, she will need to be told."

"Send a comm." Crosshair said, annoyed.

"I prefer to do so in person." Tech said.

"Yeah, so you can snog her." Wrecker said with a laugh, a laugh that sounded real.

Tech adjusted his goggles.

"Displays of affection upon the departure of one party of a relationship is perfectly normal."

"You're not normal though, are you?" Crosshair said.

There was no real bite in his words. The teasing felt natural for the first time since Omega had been taken.

"You've got a half an hour before we leave." Echo said, as if to bring the conversation back to where it belonged. Then he glanced at Tech and smirked. "Do what you can with that time."

Tech turned pink.

"I hope you learn to curb your vulgar tongues when we retrieve Omega." He said testily. "You know she would have asked you to explain."

Hunter, Echo, and Crosshair laughed, while Wrecker still looked a little confused.

"Who snogs for that long?" He asked.

"We'll tell you when you're older." Crosshair said, patting Wrecker on the shoulder.

Hunter was still grinning as Echo and Tech left the Marauder together. The very air felt lighter. For the first time in too long, they were getting closer to Omega.

Rex accepted the help gratefully, and even asked to use the Marauder.

"It'll be a tight fit." Hunter told him.

"Unfortunately, your ship is the best for a mission." Rex said.

"What about the Twilight, Rex?" Echo asked.

"We don't want to get it recognized." Rex said.

Hunter nodded. He also liked to think that they didn't have a pilot that could keep up with Tech, besides maybe General Skywalker.

So they packed eight troopers into the Marauder. Well, seven, until Tech showed back up with five minutes to spare, looking somewhat disheveled. It looked like he had taken Echo's advice.

Hunter didn't know how he felt about the fact that Tech spent more and more nights at Taja's quarters. He was glad that Tech had found someone to make him happy, but there was always a nagging feeling that Tech was going to leave them.

"All right, men." Rex said as they gathered in the Marauder's bay. "I'd like to tell you that we know what we're going into here, but the truth is that we've got a planet and a brother who needs help. That's it. But you're the best of the best of the former GAR."

"Damn straight." Crosshair muttered in a low voice only Hunter could hear.

"If anyone can do it, it's you." Rex went on. "We're likely looking at a stealth situation."

Wrecker let out a huge sigh, but for once didn't shout his annoyance.

"Daro is supposed to be uninhabited, but I wouldn't put it past the Empire to have something hidden there." Rex went on. "So be ready for anything. Let's get going."

Hunter nodded to Tech, who slipped into the cockpit. Within minutes they had broken atmosphere and launched into hyperspace.

Everyone settled quickly: Crosshair up front with Tech, Echo with his reg brothers, and Hunter watching from afar. Only Wrecker kept moving around the ship.

It took Hunter too long to realize that Wrecker was restoring Omega's room. Wrecker caught Hunter's eye and gave the widest grin Hunter had seen in a long time.

"She might not be there, Wrecker." Hunter said quietly as Wrecker drew near.

"We're gonna find something." Wrecker replied. "I can feel it."

"You're a Jedi now?" Hunter said.

Wrecker barked out a laugh and went to adjust Lula.

It was nearly a day's trip to Daro. Hunter spent the time watching Tech wipe the floor with Fives and Tup in every game they had. The regs seemed to think it was funny, except when they were in the chair getting decimated at dejarik. But they were graceful in defeat, usually laughing at their own mistakes in the end and challenging the other to do better.

"This is the fifth attempt, Tup." Tech said as the ARC took the seat opposite him again.

"And I've got about 20 more strategies." Tup replied cheerfully. "One of them has got to work, right?"

"The probability is low." Tech said. "Though I will not stop you."

"Echo, you've beaten him, right?" Fives asked as Tup made the first move.

"We've gotten to a draw once or twice." Echo said with a smile.

"Echo is the closest thing I have to a challenge." Tech added. "Perhaps when we retrieve Omega, you may attempt against her."

"The kid?" Tup said. "Kriff, our pride would never recover."

"I do not see why." Tech said testily as he captured a third piece from Tup. "She learned to play from me, is better than Crosshair and Hunter, and is able to defeat Echo regularly. Not to mention that she is older than most of us. There would be no shame in losing to her."

"In fact, I'd take it as a matter of pride when she beats you." Crosshair said.

He lurked behind the regs, keeping watch. Hunter knew he was waiting for Tup or Fives to say something cruel to Tech or even Wrecker, who had given up and was dozing with Lula in the crook of his elbow. Hunter wasn't expecting anything like that, but Crosshair's distrust of regs ran deeper than any of the Batch's.

Before anyone could react, a beeping from the cockpit interrupted them. Tech stood immediately and returned to his spot in the pilot's chair.

"We're coming out of hyperspace now." He called back.

The ship jolted beneath them. The joviality of a minute before was replaced by stern, mission ready faces. Hunter was glad to see them take this seriously. They didn't have the same stakes he and his brothers did.

Daro was one of the nicer planets Hunter had been on, but also one of the more overwhelming. The air was full of scents, of tree sap, of animals, of broken tree needles beneath their feet. Bugs and birds chirped together in a relentless cacophony. Hunter grimaced and vowed to keep his helmet on.

"I have locked onto Gregor's tracker." Tech announced.

"Lead the way." Rex said with a nod.

They found Gregor's tracker easily: stuck to a random log. Hunter knew there was something else. He could feel the electromagnetic waves from something. Which meant Tech was right.

"There's definitely some sort of base around here." Hunter told Rex, not bothering to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Rex frowned as he looked around the log.

"What's the Empire doing out here?" He muttered. "Hunter, where did Gregor go from here?"

Part of Hunter wanted to insist that they go straight to the base. Echo and Tech could surely find more information there than what a single commando would know. But instead he studied the ground around the tracker.

"He was chased by other troopers." Hunter said slowly. He sniffed the air, catching a hint of a musty scent. "Massiffs too. And- he wasn't alone."

"Other commandos?" Rex asked sharply.

"That's my bet." Hunter said. "I don't like their chances of getting away."

And then he froze. The sounds of shouting and barking reached his ears.

"Hunter." Crosshair had noticed. "What is it?"

"Gregor and his friends must have gotten away." Hunter said. "Because the Empire's still got troopers looking. And they're coming this way."

Mando'a:

Gaa'tayl: help

From the top! Fox gets to be adored by the younglings in this fic, as a treat. Since you know I killed him offscreen in my other one.

So Plo and the younglings are off to safety! Which means Anakin is getting ready to fight for real.

Tech finally works on Neya Ha's research! I think the chips would HAVE to be grown from Jango's DNA for the reasons I stated.

Quick relationship establishment for Tech and Taja!

And then my attempt at a slightly spicy scene. Like red pepper flakes.

Thanks Gregor, could you maybe call for help at another time?

It was a relief to write some just normal Bad Batch banter. They've been depressed for far too long. I'm also of the opinion that Wrecker is basically a big kid. He and Omega both get their ears covered during certain conversations.

Honestly, I've grown more attached to Hunter ever since I've been writing him more.

I've decided that Crosshair was the defender of the rest of the Batch when they were cadets. So he probably hates the regs the most. He's getting a little better.

If you've paid attention, unlike a certain author of this fic, you'll probably realize that it's a bit late in the timeline for Gregor's rescue. Luckily for everyone, I have decided that things will be a little different this time around.

Welp, that should be everything!

Stay safe, remember to review, and have a great week! (And hopefully I'll get the next chapter of Fives Effect finished on time)