Chapter 6 Squad Mates
"We spake of many a vanished scene,
Of what we once had thought and said,
Of what had been, and might have been,
And who was changed and who was dead."
The Fire of Driftwood – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"We'll see you in four days." Anakin stood just outside the command post. "The transition team arrives in the next day or two, and once you've got everything handed over to them, you're to leave here immediately."
Cody and Rex nodded in unison.
Obiwan added, "If you need more time, contact us. We want to make sure this transition goes smoothly, or we could lose the support of Orator Deccat."
Beside Anakin, Ahsoka thought she detected a subtle scowl. Her master's next words confirmed it.
"But don't forget, you're here only to help the transition team settle in; not to stay on and act as their lackeys," Anakin said. "And you're not military advisors, either. The diplomatic team is bringing their own advisors." He looked pointedly at Rex. "I want you back on the Resolute in five days, six at the latest. The battalion can't afford to have you out here for weeks directing traffic."
"Understood, Sir."
Anakin grinned in the way of man who has stumbled upon a secret and knows how to use it to his advantage. "Besides, I know how much you hate this kind of mission. I trust you'll want to get out of here as soon as possible."
Rex thought the general was too clever by far.
"Yes, Sir."
Obiwan only shook his head. "Cody, make sure the team stays until the mission is complete."
"Yes, General Kenobi."
The three Jedi turned and started heading for the awaiting gunship that would take them to the Resolute, which had entered the atmosphere two days ago, after the airfield and the military base had been declared secure.
Ahsoka wasted no time. "Master, are you sure you wouldn't like me to stay here with them?"
"I think Rex and Cody can handle this themselves, Ahsoka," Anakin replied.
"Then why were you so persistent about them leaving as soon as possible?" she asked.
Obiwan chimed in with interest. "My thoughts, exactly. Lackeys? Honestly, Anakin."
"Look, I've seen these diplomatic missions in action before. They may bring their own trooper detail with them, but they won't hesitate to make use of any other military assets they find hanging around. I don't want to get a request from the transition team leader, asking for my soldiers to be detailed to their operations," Anakin explained. "That's why I put Rex in charge of the 501st's contingent. I know he won't volunteer to stay here any longer than he has to. And he'll resist any request they have for our troopers to stay."
"That may be, but Cody is the team commander," Obiwan pointed out.
A small crinkle belied the humor Anakin found in this statement. He knew Cody and his reputation for strict adherence to the rules. But he also knew that Cody—like Rex—was a combatant, at his best and most at home when on the battlefield. This sort of mission Cody would fulfill because it was his duty; and he would excel at it, just as he exceled at every undertaking.
But if Obiwan thought that his commander was immune to the pressure Rex could bring to bear, then that was simply wishful thinking. Rex could make any idea sound plausible, no matter how ridiculous; and because Cody trusted him, that usually led to Rex's ideas prevailing. That was not to say that Cody was easily influenced, for that was not the case. Rather, Cody knew that Rex was smart, an ingenious thinker who could always be counted on to find an alternative to failure.
Still, Cody also recognized that Rex was, at times, unduly moved by his emotions and the bond he had with his men. There had been times when Rex's discipline had been . . . well, lacking in firmness and severity. Still, the 501st was Rex's battalion, and Cody would not want to go into battle beside any other unit in the entire GAR*.
"I wouldn't mind staying, Master," Ahsoka pressed. "It would be a good experience for me."
Anakin looked askance at his padawan; and despite Ahsoka's earnest expression, he wasn't fooled for a second.
Almost immediately after Ahsoka's assignment as his padawan, Anakin had noted what seemed to be a partiality on the Togruta's part. Over the months, that partiality had blossomed into an infatuation, which—to her credit—Ahsoka kept mostly discreet. The fact that it was Rex who was the object of that infatuation tended to make the situation rather humorous in Anakin's eyes; for it remained unknown whether Rex was aware of the padawan's feelings or not. He carried on as a soldier must, steadily and without distraction. And if he didn't notice Ahsoka's admiring eyes and the occasional longing gaze, then that was probably for the best. As it was, Rex treated Ahsoka like he treated any other commanding officer – with respect and professional decorum.
"Not this time, Ahsoka," Anakin replied.
"Yes, Master." Her disappointment was only mildly papable.
They stepped aboard the gunship.
"JP, we're ready," Obiwan commed the pilot.
A moment later, the gunship was airborne and on its way.
"What the—"
Rex cut himself off and stood staring in shock, which was quickly replaced with anger—an anger he managed to temper with restraint.
"Explain this," he said in as calm a voice as he could muster.
"Oh, uh, Sir—we—we—eh . . . I, uh . . . " Fives stammered and stumbled through a non-explanation, then suddenly recovering his wits, he blurted out, "Echo didn't make it onto the last medical transport."
"Why not?" Rex had mastered the scowl, and he used it now.
"We, uh, uh, well, I—" Fives had only cast about a few splutters before Rex grew impatient.
"Where's Kix? Kix!" he bellowed. "Get in here!"
Kix came skittering in from the adjacent prefab. "Yes, Captain!"
"Why is Echo still here?"
A perplexed look crossed the medic's face. "I thought that . . . " He glanced towards Fives and Echo, then apparently not seeing what he'd hoped to see there, he concluded, "I thought this had been cleared with you, Sir. I'm sorry. I should have come to you directly myself."
"Who made the decision for him to stay here?" Rex demanded.
"I did, Sir," Kix replied.
"Then let me rephrase the question," the captain glowered. "Whose idea was it for him to stay here?"
"It was mine, Sir," Fives spoke up.
"And mine," Echo added.
Rex drew a deep breath in an attempt to maintain his calm, such as it was. "Kix, you can go back to what you were doing."
The moment the medic was gone, Rex pierced both men with a glare that at least one of them had seen many times already.
"Let's hear it."
Fives opened his mouth to begin, but it was Echo who beat him to it.
"Captain, I didn't want to go back. I knew that as soon as I got to the Resolute, they'd send me to the medical frigate to convalesce and . . . and if the fleet moved out without me, it could be months before I'd catch up with them again. Or they might reassign me to another unit," came the jumbled yet clearly honest explanation. "I didn't want to take the chance of—of being separated from Fives." A pause. "We're all that's left of Domino Squad. We might be all that's left of our batchers, for all we know. I didn't want to risk being separated."
Some part of Rex relaxed a bit. This wasn't as horrendous an explanation as he'd been expecting.
"Okay, so that explains why. Now, I want to know how," he said.
Now, Fives had his turn. "I agreed with Echo," he began. "So, I . . . I went to Kix and told him I'd . . ." He let his head drop and the words rolled out unimpeded. "I told him I'd spoken to you, and you'd agreed to let Echo stay here and be treated in the field hospital until we all left." He tried to mitigate his actions, but even so, his voice contained a note of self-recrimination. "I asked him first if he thought it would be safe for Echo to stay here a few more days. I did ask him if that would have a negative impact on his condition. He said that it wouldn't matter, that the injury was responding well to treatment, and—"
"Don't try and pin this on Kix," Rex warned.
"I'm not trying to do that, Sir," Fives replied, and there was something desperate in his manner. "Kix had no reason to think I was lying to him. I just wanted to show you that I never would have done this if I'd thought it would jeopardize Echo's recovery."
A long silence ensued. Then, at last, Rex looked at Echo. "I'll talk to you about this later." To Fives, "Come with me."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Rex stopped and faced Fives squarely.
"You messed up," he said pointedly. "You put Echo's health at risk, you lied to Kix, and you did all this without speaking to me first."
"I was going to come to you, Sir. I just—I had to do it or else they would have sent Echo out on one of the transports," Fives replied, knowing it was a weak explanation.
"So, you put your own wants ahead of Echo's well-being—"
"Echo wanted this, too, Sir," Five insisted. "We just—we didn't want to be separated."
"I understand that, Fives, and . . . I appreciate your concern, but I need you to listen to me, and listen good," Rex said. "I brought you and Echo into this battalion because you both impressed me on the Rishi Moon. I saw a lot to admire in you two, but there are a few things that need correcting. In your case, it's your headstrong attitude of making your own decisions without any regard to the chain-of-command. You've come awfully close to crossing the line. On this mission alone, you've done your own thing twice. From now on, you need to follow orders."
"Yes, Captain," Fives replied, and he sounded contrite. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble."
Rex sighed. He was afraid he was already becoming too much of a pushover. "Look Fives, I know you and Echo are the only ones left from your squad. And I know you want to stay together." A pause. "But I want you to understand . . . you have to say good-bye sometime. We all do."
Fives was silent.
"You're one of the most promising troopers I've ever had," Rex went on. "Just reign in some of that . . . maverick attitude."
"Yes, Captain."
Rex felt like he wanted to say more, but what?
Maybe it was better to just leave things where they were.
"Dismissed," the captain said. He waited until Fives had walked away, then he headed for the underground bunker. He had rounds to make.
"Are you mad?"
Echo asked the question cautiously. Kix was changing the bacta patch on his leg; and other than the minimum necessary, the medic had not said a word since re-entering the room after Captain Rex's visit.
His answer now was curt. "Yeah."
"I'm sorry," Echo apologized. "I didn't know what was going on."
Kix spoke in an even, neutral tone. "I would have told Rex it was okay for you to stay here a few days until we all shipped out. I told Fives as much. I don't know why he didn't just ask me to talk to the captain. All of this could have been avoided."
Echo frowned.
"I know it's only been four weeks, but Fives needs to learn to trust us," Kix went on. "We're all part of the same team. You and Fives are part of the 501st now. We look out for each other. We do what's best for each other. I happen to agree that it's best for you to be with Fives. He seems to need . . . a restraining hand. But the way he went about this . . . I don't blame Rex for being angry."
"Neither do I," Echo agreed. "But don't be too hard on Fives. He took the loss of our brothers really hard. He's just afraid something will happen to me. I'm all he has left."
Kix shook his head. "He has an entire battalion of brothers. He just needs to work on fitting in, getting to be a part of us. He's not the only who's lost batchers. There's only 12 of mine left. The captain doesn't have a single batcher in this unit. He doesn't even know how many of his are still alive. When he came here to command the 501st, he left all of them behind. We became his family." A pause. "You and Fives need to let us become your family. You seem to be adjusting well enough. Fives needs a little help."
"He's a good man," Echo attested. "A good brother. He just takes things very . . . personally." He rolled carefully onto his side with Kix's assistance. "In Domino Squad, he never—he never took the same kind of ribbing that the rest of us did, so he never learned how to deal with . . . that kind of adversity. I mean, I was yelled at and made fun of every day by my brothers for the way I repeated orders and quoted the regs. That's how I got my name."
Kix simpered. "I sort of figured that out."
Echo let a moment of silence go by before asking, "How did you get your name?"
Kix's smirk turned into a smile. "I have Hardcase to thank for that. He's one of my batchers, one of my squad mates. Way back on Kamino when we were cadets, he got pretty badly banged up on a training mission, and he needed something to keep him going or else we would have failed. I'm sure you remember what it was like: leave a man behind, and your entire squad failed. So, I gave him a stimulant that, uh, did the job for him." He chuckled quietly. "And then some. After that, any time someone got hurt, they wanted the same sort of 'kick' that I'd given Hardcase. Needless to say, that sort of drug is only warranted under certain conditions, but the name stuck." A pause. "And I like it."
Echo maneuvered into a sitting position in the bed, offering up his shoulder for an injection. "You have an interesting look. I've been meaning to ask you about it since joining the battalion, but I never really had the chance until now."
"What do you want to know?" Kix asked.
"A good droid is a dead droid. No argument there," Echo replied, quoting the saying in Aurebesh that Kix had tattooed on the side of his head. "Your . . . design is a little wild, not what I'd expect from a medic."
Now Kix beamed with humor. "Because medics are supposed to be squeaky clean and conservative in appearance."
Echo smiled back. "Something like that. And you look like you belong with a pirate band or some other gang of miscreants."
This made Kix laugh heartily. "A far cry from it, I can assure you. I owe this to my squad-mates, as well."
"Little too much to drink one night? They talked you into something crazy?" Echo presumed.
"Not exactly. Shortly after coming onto active duty, me and my squad mates made a bet – a sober bet," Kix explained. "The first one to get to 100 confirmed kills would never have to pay for another drink as long as any other squad mates were alive. The last one to get 100 would have to accept whatever sentence the others decided upon. It was a stupid bet. I should have suggested the first one to reach 100 saves, but that wouldn't have been fair either. Needless to say, I finished last. As a medic, you spend more time trying to save the injured than blasting the enemy. Anyway, it was Pitch who suggested some kind of crazy buzz, and Jesse, Hardcase, and Top all agreed. So, we all went one day, and they pretty much told the barber what to do and then hurried me off to get tattooed before I could reconsider – because the truth is I'm not a wild man, although the words were my idea." He shrugged. "It's kind of grown on me."
"It is wild, but it seems to suit you," Echo agreed, adding quickly with a turn of his countenance, "From what I've seen so far." After several seconds, he gave into his curiosity. "I've met Jesse, Hardcase and Pitch. But you mentioned someone named Top. I've never seen him. Is he . . . " He hesitated, not sure how direct he should be.
"At ARC school," Kix filled in the query. "He's due back in about two weeks."
"ARC school?" Echo's voice was filled with wistful admiration.
"The captain sends his best men," Kix replied. "Although some keep refusing to go . . . "
"Who would refuse ARC training?" Echo was incredulous.
"Jesse, for one," Kix said, shaking his head.
"You?"
Kix shook his head. "The captain's never recommended me. I'm not sure he ever would. I'm not cut from the same cloth as guys like Jesse and Top—"
"We're all cut from the same cloth," Echo put forth.
"Once you meet Flat Top, you'll discover that that just isn't true," Kix said with certainty. "We may all have the same genetic template, but some of us are more skilled at combat than others. Top is . . . I don't even know how to describe him. He and Hardcase are like this." He held his index and middle fingers tight together. "I think they're in a competition to show the captain which one is more of a threat to the enemy." A look of grateful recollection came into his eye. "They've both saved my neck more times than I can count. If it weren't for them, we'd have had to leave a lot of injured men on the battlefield. They always covered me when I went out to bring someone in, and they did it without a thought for themselves. So, believe me, I know about the bond between squad-mates."
"All your squad-mates are still alive, then?"
"Yeah." A thoughtful pause. "We've lost a lot of men in the 501st, but somehow, the five of us are still here." An unreadable expression settled on his face. "I don't how I would react if something were to happen to one of them. I depend on them in a lot of ways."
Echo sensed there was something arcane behind Kix's words, but he didn't feel as if it were his place to inquire. He was still too new to invite himself into an intimate conversation.
He fell back on simple kindness.
That kindness was one of Echo's greatest strengths. He was a benevolent soul, much more so than many of his fellow clones. "Then you're lucky that they're all still alive. And I look forward to meeting Top."
The closed look on Kix's face opened into one of knowing humor. "I guarantee you, that's a meeting you'll never forget."
Full disclosure: This is not a Rex-Ahsoka love story, so don't get your hopes up. There are references to her feelings for him, but no romance. Sorry!