Put your hands up you're surrounded

They're circling me

'Cause I'm a hustler, baby

Come on, I bring it on, can't turn it off

Another day, I'm gone again without you

Gotta get it while it's good

I know I'm robbing the hood

Come on, baby, come on

Gonna put it over there

White flag in the air

Gonna get my way when I cease the fire

I wanna be with you

I'm dropping everything

I'm gonna take it easy

No, not gonna do a thing

Gonna take it easy

I'm gonna take it easy

No, not gonna do a thing

'Cause I know you miss me

Rex had never had the cause to look twice at one of Senator Chuchi's Pantoran guards. The men chosen for her personal security detail were on the whole competent soldiers, they worked well alongside the clones, they were discreet and loyal sometimes to the point of death as Rex had unfortunately had occasion to witness. So there was no reason for this particular Pantoran to have caught his attention.

The man's skin was just as blue as the senator's. Though his eyes were a slightly darker shade of brown than the typical native of the system. And then there was the scar that curled in low relief above his left eye. Rex couldn't help but wonder where he had acquired the thing.

The war hadn't really gotten out this far. True the Separatists had attempted to build a base on the ice planet of Ordo Plutonia but they had been thwarted by the natives. Could this man have fought with them against the Talz?

That might explain the man's devotion to Riyo if he had seen the way she negotiated the peace between the savages and the people of their moon. It could also explain this nagging sense of familiarity that Rex couldn't shake when he looked at the man.

Well, there was no time for that now. Senator Singh was due to arrive at any standard minute and none of them could divert their focus from the matter at hand.

…

Gregor was bored.

Now, he was no stranger to boredom. There had been plenty of hurry up and wait situations when he was with his original commando squad and the interminable hours between shifts at the cafe when he had lost his memory on Abafar. Then hanging around after he had cleaned up that Sep supply depot until the Republic sent somebody to pick him up. Oh, and that cell on Daro, that had been no picnic either.

He had actually been looking forward to this mission. By all accounts he and Echo had a lot in common: losing their entire first squad, getting blown up, losing several months of their lives to mental trauma. They could have passed the time reminiscing about the good old days.

Gregor didn't blame him for rushing off as soon as he got the news that his sister had been recovered but this mission was important too. If they had the opportunity to lay hands on the Trandoshan who had sold out their squad they should take it, before she could be captured by their enemies. And it would be good to know what intel she had already passed along that might lead to their allies.

He could handle this on his own. He was trained as a commando after all. Piece of uj'alayi!

And before he could let his mind wander to the sweet fruit and nut cake it seemed his wait was over. There was the aruetii in the flesh, or scales rather.

He placed the comm more to let the patroness know his status, rather than to ask for guidance or permission, but it seemed he would receive neither.

The only sound that emitted from the other end or the connection was a screech of agony.

Manda! Was someone murdering Mollymauk? That was his initial thought. And then he realized, no, the woman had just decided that this very moment would be a good time to deliver her child.

Well, he could just give her the good news after it was over.

He was about to put the comm unit away and move in for the kill so to speak when the alert for another message lit up the device.

Rex's voice demanded urgently. " We need you back on Pantora! There has been an attempt made on the lives of the senators and we have the culprit in custody ."

Gregor made ready his gear to comply and while he did he whispered, "enjoy your temporary freedom, Scaleback. We'll be back on your trail soon enough."

…

Crosshair felt that he had endured enough of his reg brother's interrogation. Now it was high time he had a few questions of his own answered.

"So you gave her a blaster lesson?"

"Who? Genna?" Echo frowned. His mind had obviously been on something else or someone else.

"Mm-hm."

"Tech gave her the blaster but never had the chance to teach her how to use it."

"Before they instituted plan double zero."

"That's right. She almost shot me with the thing when I went to see her a couple of months later." He chuckled at the memory.

Crosshair wondered if the visit was for his own sake or because he'd been sent. "You went to deliver a message?"

"Actually I was in the neighborhood to see if I could get Mollymauk to work with us rescuing our brothers and some of the regular nat-borns who want to get away from the Empire."

He paused in the chewing of his toothpick and then transferred it to the other corner of his mouth. He had heard the name Mollymauk tossed around while he was still with the Empire and in Genna's salon when she was showing off her ring to Omega. Though he had no idea what the stylist could have to do with a notorious criminal fence. "And did he?"

"She." Echo chuckled again. "And yes, in a manner of speaking. She works more on the nat-born side of things and Rex and I are more focused on the clones but we do cross paths from time to time."

Crosshair wondered if that meant that Mollymauk knew about where Genna and the girls were now but Echo didn't seem worried about the association. He steered the conversation back in their direction. "And the message you were supposed to deliver?"

"Oh, that." Echo's smile fell away. "After we heard about the stormtrooper initiative being passed by the Emperor, we knew what it would mean for the clones who were being replaced and anyone who might be allied with them." He sighed. "Tech asked me to tell Genna that if she was worried that their being… together put her in danger… that she was free to find someone else." The last few words came out in a bit of a rush.

"He said, what?!" Crosshair's voice rose in volume so that the others in the transport looked up. He immediately dropped his voice again to a whisper. "But they had said vows? They had…" Well, they had obviously already conceived the twins at that point. "You didn't tell her."

"She had just found out she was pregnant. I couldn't." Of course he couldn't.

"But then, you didn't tell Tech about his kids either."

"She asked me not to."

Crosshair understood her reasons but that didn't mean he agreed with leaving his brother in the dark about something so vital. It might have meant that Tech would have guarded his own life more dearly so he could get back to his family. It might have meant that he would choose them over the crazy scheme to rescue his prodigal brother.

Echo was studying him. "Why are you so interested?"

Crosshair bristled at the seeming accusation and the toothpick in his mouth suddenly snapped when his jaw clenched. He took a moment to spit it out and flick the thing into a dark corner of the cockpit. "They're Tech's kids, aren't they? If we're not going to look after them, who will?" He got up under the pretense of finding another toothpick but he also didn't need to explain himself any further.

…

While his conversation with Crosshair had been… interesting, Echo was more than ready to drop off his siblings on Teth and get back into hyperspace. Such was his hurry that he almost forgot to give Omega the energy crossbow he had procured for her from one of his Mollymauk network associates. It was great to see her again, well and safely away from Tantiss, but she was in good hands now and he didn't feel any qualms about leaving her with Rex and their other brothers.

He had told them that his rendezvous with Gregor was top priority but when he reached the government building in the capital city of Pantora he brushed right past the commando and into Senator Riyo Chuchi's private office.

"Almost caught Cid," Gregor called after him.

"Good." Echo closed the door putting an end to further comment.

From within the office Gregor and the other gentleman standing guard could still hear raised voices.

" You need to be more careful… taking too many risks! "

" Me? You take risks all the time! How do you think it feels for me to wait around every time you fly off, wondering if I'll ever see you again? "

After that the talking ceased but there were other sounds emanating from the room.

Gregor gave an embarrassed sort of giggle. "Are they always like that?"

"Don't really know. I haven't been working with the senator that long." There was something about the man's voice that was familiar and then he wiped his forehead with his sleeve and Gregor did a double take.

There was a blue smear on the cuff of the man's jacket and a hint of tan coloration beneath what had clearly been face makeup.

"You're…" Gregor reached for his blaster without further hesitation. "Dank Ferrik! You're one of those shadow operatives!"

"I'm not! I swear!" The man raised his hands in submission. "I'm a clone, yes, but the senator knows all about it! She was the one who…" He caught sight of the blue on his sleeve and knew that's what had given him away. "You can ask her."

Just then there was a crash from the other room as if the contents of her desk had been swept off onto the floor. Neither of them really wanted to interrupt whatever was going on in there unless it was absolutely necessary.

"What's your name?" Gregor asked, not daring to lower the blaster. He knew the operatives had their identities completely wiped. Huh, they should have gotten to him before his memories were returned and then they wouldn't have needed to bother.

"My name is… Cody." He looked defeated.

Gregor paused for a moment. He thought he might have remembered someone mentioning that name but it wasn't anyone he had worked with personally so he shrugged and lowered the blaster slightly. "Cody. Why didn't Rex tell me about you?"

"Rex doesn't know. He- he almost recognized me. I - we fought together during the war but then… I've done things. My Jedi…"

"You followed the order." Gregor's own chip had been deactivated, maybe because of the original head trauma that had caused the amnesia or maybe getting blown up. Anyway he hadn't been assigned directly to a Jedi as part of a commando squad so he didn't really know what that would have been like. He put away his weapon.

"Yes." Cody lowered his hands. "And then I stayed with the Empire for longer than I should have."

"Hey, I was training their new troopers." Gregor chuckled. "You got out, that's the important thing."

Cody nodded.

It was obvious now that Gregor looked at him that he was really a brother, and that scar above his eye that the makeup couldn't quite cover spoke volumes about the action he had seen.

"I know about the chips. The senator borrowed that thing from Echo to make sure that mine wasn't active anymore." He clone rubbed his temple and more of the makeup came away from his skin onto his fingers.

"So then, Rex won't bother about whatever you've done and we could surely use all the help we can get. We've been building up our forces. You could come with us when Echo and I go back to base."

"I can't." Cody looked toward the closed door. "The person who helped me get out made me promise to keep an eye on the senator and after today…"

"You mean Mollymauk?" Gregor grinned. That little fence had so many cons running he didn't know why he should be surprised that she had her own AWOL clone on the payroll.

"What?"

"Yeah, I was just running a side gig for her, too, and she's not likely to be happy with me either. At least you've still got your objective in custody so to speak."

They both glanced again at the door to the senator's office and Cody mumbled something that Gregor didn't catch.

Again the commando shrugged. "Well, we'd welcome you at base anytime. I could cook you up one of my recipes. I just hope Fireball hasn't poisoned anyone with one of his spicy modifications in my absence."

…

She put the girls to bed and told Deke to keep an ear open for them so that she could go for a walk. Genna let her mind wander and her feet led her to the landing platform at the top of the island.

The Marauder was still here, which meant they had to come back, right? How long did it take to hook up a data pad to an Imperial terminal?

She leaned against the hull.

Why did they even have to go and do this? Omega was free, and Crosshair! But, Omega said there were still prisoners being held in that awful place.

Tech would have gone back for them.

She remembered when they had gone to the aid of that Twi'lek girl and her family, and there was that brother. What was his name? Oh, elek, Gregor. They had never met him before but Echo insisted that they go and rescue him. And Genna had encouraged him.

That had been shortly after they had said their vows when they had all seemed so noble and so indestructible, before Hunter had been captured and they had all almost been killed on Kamino.

A few tears leaked down Genna's cheeks and then she quickly wiped them away at the sound of someone's voice coming up behind her.

"Ms Genna, you alright?"

"Mox, yes, I'm fine."

He must have seen her pass by Shep's place where he and Stak had been staying. Then he surprised her by asking, "did you need something from inside the ship?"

Genna had almost forgotten that she was standing beneath the thing. She hadn't meant to come here after all but she found herself suddenly inventing an excuse. "Their laundry. I was going to see if they had anything that needed to be washed when I send up the things for the girls and I. That way it would be clean for them when they get back."

The reasoning was a little feeble but now that she was here she had the powerful urge to see what else was on that ship, their home.

"Well, I could open it up for you." Mox blushed slightly in the island's twilight, eager to please.

She tried not to sound too eager herself. "That would be great, thanks."

He opened a panel and pressed a few buttons to open the hatch. "Sure, it's no trouble." Then he offered his hand to help her up the steep steps.

His assistance wasn't really necessary although it was sweet. She remembered that the only other two times she had come aboard she had been carried.

Once had been after they first met for the grand tour and the other, well, she and Tech had never had a real honeymoon.

The smell was worse than she remembered and it triggered a recollection that had nothing whatsoever to do with the clones. When she and her brothers had first arrived on Onderon after their flight from Mandalore there had been some toilet training regression not only for four-year-old Genet but also for her seven-year-old brother. Ret had attempted to hide the evidence of his accidents but of course Daryc had found them. Their biggest brother never complained about dealing with the mess or the smell.

The twins would be ready for potty training in not so very long. Their diapers were bad enough. It surely would be nice to have an extra pair of hands when they got around to that stage. Manda, she'd take even one extra hand if Echo was going to be spending more time on the island. The girls did love their Uncle Echo. Of course they also seemed to have taken to Crosshair…

Beside her Mox stifled a gag but he continued gamely on.

"I'm sorry. I promise I won't take long," she reassured him.

"No, it's alright. Take all the time you need." He had flown on the Marauder before but maybe at the time he and the other boys had just been so glad to get off that planet where they had been stranded that he didn't notice the pong.

Wrecker had mentioned something about the odor of that place and if he had been bothered by it, it had to have been bad.

Hunter never complained either. With his enhanced senses Genna would have thought that surely he… He was like Daryc, the consummate ori'vod.

Getting back to her purported mission, the first remotely launder-able material she found in her search was a crate full of spare bandanas. She handed the crate to Mox. Then she followed her nose to a stash of partially concealed black bodysuits that the clones wore under their armor.

Poor Wrecker, she thought. He really was just a big kid and the stress of searching for their sister had to have taken a toll.

As she added the garments to the pile of bandanas she offered an apologetic glance to the bearer.

Mox gave her a conciliatory nod.

"Just going to check if there's anything else."

She found the clothing that Omega had escaped in and added that to the load but she found nothing belonging to Crosshair. He had been away from them for so long perhaps all he had were the clothes on his back.

"I guess that's it." She turned to her conspirator with a sigh. "You know the couple who wash the twins and my things?"

"Yes, ma'am." He would have saluted if he didn't have his hands full.

"Good. I guess we'll take them there."

"I can do that if you wanted to…" of course he had deduced her ulterior motive.

"Thanks, Mox." She watched him exit the ship before turning towards the compartment she had been most interested to search.

She remembered from her first tour that there was a trick to opening it. There had been only a mess of wires and components inside when Tech had shown it to her then but she knew that Ellie had left something for him before that last time they had said goodbye.

Holding her breath, Genna banged twice on the upper left-hand corner of the door and lifted the latch. A sob escaped her. She hadn't expected to be so emotionally affected by what she found inside or maybe by what she didn't find.

She had seen the goggles, had refused them when Hunter had originally shown them to her and had been avoiding them ever since. She knew he kept those in the cockpit.

The goggles were a part of her husband like a foot or a hand. She hadn't even considered the idea of keeping something like that when they should be buried or burned or something. Not lying around like they were still staring at her judging her every action.

But these things in this private locker were the things that were special to Tech. They were the things that he chose to keep as his own possessions apart from the things that belonged communally to the rest of the squad.

The miniature painting of her wasn't here.

That might have meant that he kept it with him, that he had it in his possession when he fell. Or it could be that he threw it out when he gave Echo the message to tell her that she could be free of him. Maybe he hadn't wanted to be reminded of her after that.

She slammed the door shut. She'd never get the chance to ask him because he never came back.