Hello There! I would like to start off by saying I am a HUGE Star Wars fan and I have been wanting to write a Clone Wars/Bad Batch fanfic story for a while now and the series finale of Bad Batch sparked an idea that kind of blossomed into this story which I am very excited to share with you all. I spent months preparing for this story and I had hoped to release this on the 3-month anniversary of the Bad Batch series finale but unfortunately I am a day past due to an illness. I just wanted to preface that this story picks up during the last few minutes of the Bad Batch series finale and I may have sprinkled in a few Clone Wars/Bad Batch references throughout this story as well. Please enjoy & Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Lucasfilm's Clone Wars/Bad Batch tv series. All series and other franchising rights belong to the Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Corporation.

Chapter 1: Escape from Tantiss

"Come on. We gotta get to the shuttle."

Lightning streaked across the sky with the low rumbling of thunder following closely behind as Hunter and Crosshair slowly limped out of the rain and back inside the Tantiss Base with Omega by their side. Agonizing pain surged through their bodies with every step thanks to Hemlock's painful conditioning methods. Hunter's over heightened senses seemingly magnified every shockwave of pain tenfold but none of that could deter from the feeling of relief that washed over him whenever he glanced down at the young girl by his side. Omega is safe. He repeated to himself over and over as they entered an elevator, taking it to the aircraft hangar where they planned to meet up with Echo, Wrecker, and the other clone prisoners. Hunter glanced over at his youngest brother and another wave of relief washed over him. Crosshair is safe. He remembered how resolute Crosshair was earlier about infiltrating the Tantiss Base alone, willing to sacrifice himself for his squad. Hunter anxiously shifted at the thought of another 'Plan 99' attempt. He still had not fully fathomed the reality of losing Tech, although he would never admit it to anyone. He was their leader, his resilient attitude is what his squad expected from him.

Hunter's eyes wandered down to Crosshair's missing right hand. He knew he could not stare at it for too long because Crosshair always had an uncanny sixth sense about knowing when someone had eyes on him. 'Sniper paranoia' the brothers' would say to tease Crosshair during the Clone Wars but there was some truth to it. Sometimes Hunter could almost swear Crosshair had heightened senses like himself. But sometimes Crosshair was wrong, Hunter never was.

"What."

Crosshair's judgmental tone convicted Hunter. He knew he had been staring for too long and now he was busted. Hunter's eyes quickly shifted away from his brother's missing hand until he realized Crosshair was not talking to him, he was staring down at Omega.

"Your hand. Did Hemlock do that?" Her kind brown eyes were filled with concern.

"No. One of the Operatives did." Crosshair averted his gaze, he hated receiving sympathy.

"There were too many of them." Hunter stepped in, knowing he could help divert Omega's attention away from his brother. "We were outnumbered. Even on our best day this would've been a challenge."

Crosshair tenderly held his right arm, "We would've stood a better chance if we had-"

"Don't." Hunter's voice was firm but lined with a tinge of sadness. He had the same thought when they were in the jungles of Tantiss. If we had Tech. He had similar thoughts almost every single day since that fated mission on Eriadu. He tried not to dwell on them too often because he knew he could not change the past. Consumed in his own thoughts, he almost did not notice Omega placing a sympathetic hand on his and Crosshair's arm.

"I miss him too." Her voice was soft and empathetic, "I think about him almost every day. But I know he would be proud of you, both of you."

Hunter gave her a small smile and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "He would've been proud of you too, Omega. As am I." He looked over at his brother, noticing how Crosshair was avoiding both of their gazes again. Hunter felt bad for Crosshair, he noticed how his brother always tended to shy away from the topic of Tech. Hunter knew that losing Tech hit Crosshair a lot harder than the rest of the Batch so he tried to cut him a bit more slack when the subject was brought up.

Crosshair noticed them staring at him, waiting for some sort of response to this touching moment. "Hmph." He pulled out a toothpick, "If Wrecker were here, he'd probably cry."

Hunter would have rolled his eyes if the elevator door had not just opened. The trio stepped out onto the large partially destroyed hangar deck, glancing around for any sign of the rest of their squad or the clone prisoners.

Wrecker. Echo. Are they safe? The last Hunter saw of them was in the Training Room, fighting alongside the rest of the clone prisoners in an attempt to eliminate Hemlock's Clone Operatives. Given by how devastatingly efficient the Operatives disarmed his squad earlier, Hunter had an uneasy feeling about the outcome of this rematch. Granted, Echo and Wrecker had more backup with all of the clone prisoners fighting beside them but the clones were not exactly at their prime. They had been tortured, experimented on, and inhumanely treated for months, even years. And Wrecker was at a disadvantage due to his injures from trying to wrestle the dryax earlier. Meanwhile the Operatives were like a pack of hungry rathtars; aggressive, ruthless, and deadly.

Feeling a bit concerned, Hunter took out his comm, "Echo. Wrecker. Status report?" No response, only the sound of static.

"They're jamming our comms." Crosshair commented as he slid his helmet on.

Hunter copied his brother and put on his helmet as well. Just because Hemlock was dead does not mean all of the TK Stormtroopers gave up on pursuing them. The trio spread out and taciturnly explored the flight hangar, keeping an eye out for friendlies, enemies, or a ship they can escape upon.

"Hunter! Over here!"

He and Crosshair hurried over to Omega and saw her pointing to a couple ships in the far right corner of the hangar that had not been destroyed by the Zillo Beast. "Alright, let's start up the science vessel. It should be big enough to carry everyone. Crosshair, you stay here with Omega and help her get the transport ready. I'll try to locate the others."

"Wait." Omega reached out and grabbed his arm, "Maybe I should go look for them. I know my way around the base best and you two are still recovering from Hemlock's treatment."

Hunter glanced over at Crosshair, noticing how unstable he seemed on his feet and how often he kept holding his right arm. Clearly he was still feeling the effects of what Hemlock did to him and the pain from losing his hand was probably beginning to take its toll. Hunter did not feel all that well himself, his usually keen senses were still overstimulating him. Every loud noise, bright light, and strong scent seemed to contribute to his growing migraine. He did not want to let Omega go alone, they had just gotten her back, but as the leader he had to make the best choice for his squad.

"Alright." Hunter hesitated, "You go. We'll stay here."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Crosshair's head sharply turn to him. Even with their helmets on, Hunter knew what look his brother was giving him; He thinks I'm crazy. Blast, maybe I am. Who knows what Hemlock did to us.

Omega gave her brothers a reassuring two finger salute before she hurried across the hangar and entered the door to the elevator. Hunter could feel his brother was about to say something, "Don't." He turned to face him, "Let's get the ship ready to depart. If something went wrong, this may turn into a swift exit."

Omega hurried through the maze of hallways, running as fast as her legs could carry her. The only time she stopped was when she came across a deceased TK Trooper and decided to pick up his blaster. Not the same feel as my energy bow but it'll have to do. She continued her sprint through the compound, surprised by the lack of security on this level. Hemlock probably sent most of the troopers to hunt down the Zillo Beast thinking his Clone Operatives would finish off the rest of the escaped prisoners. She hastily turned another corner, hearing the squeak of her shoes rub against the slick floor. She hoped everything was okay, the last she saw of Wrecker was when he had broken free from his restraints in an attempt to save her. She remembered seeing the large slash marks on his chest plate, concerned about what kind of toll that took on his health. Wrecker is a tough soldier to take down, but he is not invincible.

When she finally reached the Training Room door, she noticed a strange faint green mist circulating within the chamber. She did not care what the mist was, her primary objective was to find her brothers and the clone prisoners so they could get out of here as soon as possible. It was only a matter of time before Imperial reinforcements showed up.

As Omega approached the door, it automatically slid open and she froze once she stepped inside, blaster poised and ready to shoot if provoked. But everything was quiet, even the green mist was quickly dissipating into the vents. She was not sure if she felt relieved there was no blaster fire because they had won or if she felt terrified there was no blaster fire because they had lost. Remembering her training, she slowly scoped out the area with her blaster drawn, noticing a mixture of fallen clone prisoners and clone operatives. She stayed close to the raised platforms randomly spread out around the room, using it as a way to help her navigate the maze. As she turned another corner, she heard a familiar voice close by. "Echo?!" She called out, "Echo, where are you?!"

"Omega?! We're over here!"

She followed the sound of her brother's voice, seeing some of the clones beginning to wake up from whatever gas knocked them out. She turned one last corner and lowered her weapon in relief, "Echo! You're alright!" She ran to over to him in excitement but it was short-lived when she realized Echo was hovering over an unconscious Wrecker. "Wrecker?!" She knelt down beside her fallen brother, "Wrecker, wake up!" Her panicked eyes looked up at Echo, "What happened?"

"We got in a bit of a fire fight with the Operatives. Looks like Wrecker took a couple blaster shots to the chest. Not sure how these claw marks got here though." He saw her frightened expression so he hastily added, "He's alive though. Critical condition, perhaps, but alive." Echo noticed some light bruising around one of her wrists, he assumed it was from binders, "Where's Hemlock?"

"Dead. Crosshair and Hunter took care of him." She continued to stare down at Wrecker's limp form, feeling a wave of anxiety wash over her, "We need to get everyone out of here. Hunter and Crosshair are getting the transport ready as we speak."

Echo glanced down at Wrecker's injures and then scanned the room with a concerned expression, "Hmm." He spotted a nearby computer terminal and hurried over while taking his robotic hand off. Omega watched him crouch down beside the terminal and insert his scomp hand, concentrating as he filtered through some sort of data, she was not sure what he was looking for. Finally, he firmly nodded and unplugged himself from the terminal. "Aha. Just as I thought. There was a recent communication between Hemlock and Admiral Tarkin. Shortly after the communication ended, there was an order sent to dispatch Imperial Destroyers here as back up. They're on their way as we speak." Echo reattached his robotic hand and stared up at Omega, "Is there a second ship available?"

"Yes, an Imperial transport shuttle. Why?"

"A lot of the other clones are still struggling to get on their feet, they'll need help making it to the hangar." He stood up and located the lift his brothers were carried in on by the Operatives. "You need to get Wrecker and the rest of our squad out of here. Wrecker needs to get medical attention as soon as possible. I'll stay behind to help the other clones escape."

Omega tightly grasped his arm, the fear on her face growing, "Echo, we just got everyone back, we're not gonna leave you-"

"I'll be right behind you. We'll rendezvous on Pabu." He gave her hand a gentle pat before peeling his arm away from her grasp. Omega worriedly watch him grab the lift and park it next to Wrecker. "This is the quickest way for you to haul Wrecker back to the hangar on your own. Can you give me a hand?"

Omega obediently did what Echo asked of her as she helped him load Wrecker's enormously heavy body onto the lift. Although she agreed Wrecker needed medical attention right away, she hated that her squad was splitting up again. She was in such deep in thought, she did not notice Echo grabbing three backpacks until he tossed them onto the lift with a heavy THUD.

"What's that?" She blinked wildly, a bit startled.

"Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair's packs." He knelt down to secure the packs to the lift, "Vik found them tucked away. Looks like Hemlock was going to discard them. Good thing he never got around to it. Every pack carries a couple personal items for each brother."

"Really?" She knelt down beside him, her curiosity peaked, "What's in your pack?"

Echo froze, a sad nostalgic smirk on his face, "A few holophotos from my Domino Squad and 501st days, as well as a couple medals. I thought all of my belongings would've been discarded when I supposedly died at the Citadel but Rex kept them with his personals." He continued working by securing Wrecker's body onto the lift, "Then of course I have a couple holophotos from my Clone Force 99 days."

"You make it sound like that's all in the past." Omega handed Wrecker's helmet to him, "You're still apart of the squad, Echo."

He stared at Wrecker's helmet in his hands, observing how all traces of the individual paint designs were erased and a soulless dark helmet stared back at him, "Those were different times, Omega. We're not the same squad anymore." He tied down Wrecker's helmet then released a long sigh as he stood up, admiring his handiwork, "That should do the trick. Thanks for the help but you better get back to the hangar."

Still feeling a bit conflicted about Echo's words, she grabbed the lift handle with hesitation, "You promise you'll be right behind us? I'll see you on Pabu?"

Echo gave her the caring, parental smile he always did whenever she needed comforting, "I promise. Now go-"

"Wait!" Her hands gripped the handle tighter as realization hit her, "What about Nala Se? She went to the lab to destroy Hemlock's research."

"I'll find her. Don't worry, kid. Just go take care of our squad."

A small smile played across her lips when she heard him say 'our'squad. Despite most of his time and focus being spent with Rex and the rest of the clone underground squad nowadays, he still thinks of himself as apart of the Bad Batch family. And that brought her a sense of ease, "Yes, sir."

Without waiting for a response, he jogged away and headed towards a large group of clones struggling to get their bearings.

Omega glanced down at Wrecker' lifeless body and that was all the motivation she needed to get the lift going as she hurried out of the Training Room. A couple more minutes passed as she skillfully maneuvered the lift through the maze of hallways, still relieved there were no TK Troopers running around. She finally entered the elevator that would take her up to the hangar deck, her thoughts running wild. Echo is staying behind. Wrecker is hurt. Hunter and Crosshair are still recovering from Hemlock's conditioning. This is not an ideal situation at all.

The elevator door opened up and Omega hurried out into the hangar, racing as fast as she could towards the two ships. "Hunter!" Almost immediately she saw her two brothers run out of the science vessel, both with their helmets still on so she could not see their reactions to Wrecker's critical state. "Change of plans! We're taking the Imperial transport shuttle!"

"What?" Hunter ran towards her with Crosshair right behind him, "What happened, Omega?"

"Where's Echo?" Crosshair scanned the hangar as if Echo was somewhere behind her.

"He's staying here a bit longer to help all the clones escape. They'll take the science vessel to Pabu. We're taking the Imperial shuttle and we're leaving now. Imperial reinforcements are on their way here and Wrecker isn't doing too well, he needs to get to a medic right away."

Crosshair looked to Hunter for his final say on the plan. Hunter stared down at Wrecker for a couple seconds before he firmly nodded, "Alright. We'll take the Imperial shuttle." He grabbed the handle of the lift and pushed it up the ramp into the shuttle, "Omega. Crosshair. Prepare the ship to depart. I'll see what I can do for Wrecker."

Omega and Crosshair obediently followed his command and raced into the cockpit. Although Omega had many flying lessons with Tech and navigated through a couple dog fights herself, her piloting skills still dimmed in comparison to her brothers' war experience so she let Crosshair take the lead. However, she noticed that Crosshair was working a lot slower than normal due to his missing hand and the pain in his right forearm must have been getting worse because he was doing his best to avoid hitting buttons with it.

"Want me to take the helm?" She kindly offered.

"No. I've got it." Out of habit, he accidentally hit a button with what would have been his right hand. Omega grimaced as she watched him writhe in pain.

"You don't have to do this alone. We're a team, remember?"

"Fine." He stood up with a sigh, letting her take the pilot's seat, "I just hope this goes better than when we landed on Lau."

Omega humorlessly laughed, "Thanks for the confidence boost." The duo remained quiet so she could concentrate and in a couple minutes, the Imperial shuttle began its departure. "Told ya I could do it."

"The takeoff is the easy part." Crosshair scoffed as he took the co-pilot seat beside her, "Let's see what happens when the Imperial reinforcements show up."

Omega quietly thought to herself; He has a point. We're not going to last very long if the Empire sent a fleet of Destroyers. She glanced around the cockpit, noticing an Imperial officer's hat hanging nearby, and then an idea struck; We're in an Imperial shuttle. We could just pretend we're part of the Empire and fly right by them.

"I have an idea." She carefully piloted the shuttle through the dark stormy clouds, trying to keep the turbulence down to minimum for Hunter and Wrecker's sake which was proving difficult thanks to the thunderstorms. "Can we fool the reinforcements into thinking we're Imperials?"

Crosshair slowly shook his head, "Not without an authorization code."

"You were apart of the Empire, don't you know any?"

"I was a foot solider. I didn't pilot any ships. I didn't need to know that information." He pushed a couple buttons on the dash to help stabilize the ship, "Besides, any codes I did know would be expired by now."

"Didn't you use one to come to Tantiss?"

"We used one to dock at the Imperial orbital station over Coruscant but only Echo knew the codes."

Omega let out an irritated breath, "Well, at least he'll have an easier time than us."

"Lucky him." Although his helmet was still on, Omega could tell by the sound of his voice he was wary of what to expect next.

They finally broke through the stormy atmosphere and reached the vast darkness of space just in time to see an Imperial Star Destroyer and two Venator Star Destroyers come out of hyperspace. "Hold on!" Omega yelled as she pulled a hard right causing Crosshair to tightly grasp the control panel in an attempt to remain in his seat.

"What is going on up there?!" Hunter gritted his teeth as he tried to keep Wrecker's limp body from being thrown around the shuttle.

Omega cringed at the exasperated tone in Hunter's voice, "We've got a bit of a situation here!"

Off in the distance they spotted small rounded ships, most likely TIE Fighters, beginning to pour out of the Destroyers. Seeing this, Crosshair immediately raised the deflector shield before he hopped out of his seat and headed for the rear laser cannons. On the way he passed a bewildered Hunter who was still attending to Wrecker's injuries. Before Hunter could even ask what was happening, Crosshair divulged, "We've got company. Three Destroyers and a fleet of TIE Fighters coming for us. I've got the rear cannons but you should join Omega up front."

"On it." Hunter strapped Wrecker down and hurried into the cockpit, "How're you doing?"

Omega took another hard right as the incoming TIE Fighters began to open fire on them, "I've been better!"

Hunter tightly grasped the back of her chair to help keep his balance while the shuttle violently shook from taking on blaster fire, "Can we make the jump into hyperspace yet?"

Omega hesitated, feeling a bit of guilt from her oversight, "I, uh, haven't entered the coordinates into the navicomputer yet."

"That should've been done before we left Tantiss!" Hunter desperately held back the irritation in his voice, this was not the time to give a lecture.

"Told ya I should've done the takeoff!" Crosshair mockingly yelled over the sound of TIE Fighters and their blaster fire.

"If I didn't take over then we'd still be on Tantiss!" Omega retorted back.

"But at least the coordinates would've been entered!" Crosshair snarked in response.

"Enough!" Hunter did not mean to yell so harshly but his migraine was getting worse with the TIE Fighters screeching by and the rumbling of the shuttle, he did not have the patience for sibling bickering at the moment, "I'll enter the coordinates to Pabu and when I tell you it's all clear, you make the jump. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." Omega dodged another round of fire from the TIE Fighters, causing Hunter to stumble to the computer. While he feverishly worked on getting the coordinates inputted, Omega continued to bank left and right in an attempt to avoid being hit by their pursuers.

Although she thought she was doing a decent job, Crosshair was getting frustrated with her erratic flying, "Can you hold the ship still? I can't hit a single target with all this movement and we're taking a lot of hits back here."

"You fought in the Clone Wars, I assumed you'd be used to this!" Normally Omega had the patience for his snarky attitude but her tolerance was getting low. Besides, given by the war stories her brothers' had told her, this dysfunctional bickering was not uncommon.

"I had two hands during the war!" He groaned as he struggled to get a good grip on the laser cannon's controls, "Besides, it was Wrecker's job to cover the rear cannons."

"What was your job then? Complaining?!"

"The coordinates are entered." Hunter eagerly cut them off, his head was pounding, "Just get us a clear opening and then make the jump into hyperspace."

Omega grinned; I know exactly which maneuver to use.

"Crosshair! I'm going to do the Tech turn! I need you to open up a path!"

"The what?"

She rolled her eyes, she forget he did not know her nickname for Tech's famous maneuver. "Executing a sharp swing back to port with zero thruster pull!"

Crosshair chuckled, "Now we're talking." As Omega steadied the ship, he expertly shot down three TIE fighters which presented the perfect opening to escape through. "You're clear!"

Omega turned off the thrusters and performed a sharp turn with zero thruster pull. But when she tried to reactivate the thrusters while simultaneously preparing the jump into hyperspace, the shuttle briefly stalled. Unfortunately, this meant they were sitting ducks for a couple seconds which was a big enough window for a pair of TIE fighters to swoop in and unleash a barrage of blaster fire on the stern. Knowing the shields would not hold up against another attack, Crosshair tried to get out of the rear gunners seat as fast as possible but he was not quick enough to completely avoid the blast from the rear laser cannons exploding. The shuttle violently shook and his body was thrown several feet, landing limply with a harsh THUD.

"Crosshair!" Omega turned to look at the damage but Hunter stepped in to block her view.

"Get us out of here! I'll check on him!" He ordered.

Omega did as she was told and retried the sequence to reactivate the thrusters, this time successfully. Thankfully, the opening Crosshair created was still clear so Omega hastily made the jump into hyperspace just as another round of TIE Fighters descended upon them. Once in hyperspace, Omega slouched back in her seat with a long sigh of relief that was short-lived when she turned to see Hunter kneeling beside his youngest brother. She hopped out of her seat and hurried over to them, "How is he?"

She watched as Hunter carefully removed Crosshair's helmet and some of his armor, revealing awful looking bruises and small lacerations, "Doesn't look too serious. The blast definitely knocked him out though so there's the possibility of a concussion." He looked up and saw Omega's worried expression, "He'll be fine, Omega. Nothing AZI can't fix." He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, "You did good back there."

"No, I didn't." She violently shook her head in defeat, "I messed up. I should've done the coordinates before leaving Tantiss and I messed up the Tech turn. He taught me better than that."

"We all make mistakes, Omega. The important thing is to learn from them." He removed his helmet so she could see the calmness in his eyes, "Besides, taking on three Destroyer's worth of TIE Fighters and making it out alive in mostly one piece? That was not an easy feat."

Omega halfheartedly nodded, "I should run a ship-wide diagnostic to see what sort of damage we took."

Hunter chuckled, "Now you sound like Tech."

Omega sulked back to the cockpit while Hunter continued to look after his injured brothers. Despite Hunter's words of encouragement, she still felt like she failed. She kept running the situation through her mind over and over again, thinking about what she could have done better. She wanted to make her brothers proud. She wanted to do her best to live up to Tech's legacy. But this skirmish with the Empire made her realize she still had a lot more to learn.

As Omega started running the diagnostics report, she glanced back at Hunter. She noticed he kept rubbing his eyes and massaging his forehead as if something was bothering him. She wondered if Hemlock's conditioning had messed with his heightened senses. Despite whatever Hemlock did to them, Omega knew a lifetime of rest on peaceful Pabu would help their recovery. Away from all the battles they had fought and all the horrors they had seen. She knew Hunter wanted to give her a true childhood but she also wanted to give her brothers a true retirement. They all deserved to be happy and grow older on the tranquil island of Pabu together.

Omega did not have much more time to dwell on those pleasant thoughts because the findings from the diagnostics report began flooding in and they did not look good. "Uh oh." She rapidly scanned the report and let out a brief sigh of relief; Life-support systems weren't affected, we're fine. As if on cue, the ship lurched and the beautiful lights of hyperspace disappeared, revealing a large blue-green planet ahead.

Hunter was instantly by her side, "What happened?"

Omega began pressing a series of buttons on the console, trying her best to get the hyperdrive back online, "It seems like we took on a bit more damage than I anticipated." She pulled the lever that would have jumped them into hyperspace but nothing happened other than a ear-deafening BANG. "That…didn't sound good." She anxiously clenched her teeth, "Seems like our hyperdrive just went out."

Hunter tenderly rubbed his temples, his ears now ringing, "Okay, I'll see how far we are from Pabu. Hopefully our sublight thrusters can take us the rest of the way." While Hunter worked on the navicomputer, Omega continued to read the diagnostics report. It was not long until she heard Hunter sigh, "This isn't good. We're nowhere near the Outer Rim." He glanced back at Crosshair and Wrecker, "And they need medical assistance sooner than later. We used up all of our medical supplies on Wrecker's dryax injuries."

Omega's eyes went wide as she stared at the report, "We may all need some medical assistance soon." Before Hunter even had a chance to question her ambiguous comment, the shuttle lurched once more as another BOOM sounded and they immediately began to nosedive towards the planet ahead of them.

"What was that?" Hunter tried to hide the apprehension in his voice as he stood up once more and clutched the back of Omega's chair, concerned about what else was just lost.

"Looks like when the Imperial fighters hit us during the Tech turn debacle, they managed to sever our fuel lines." She looked up at him with fearful eyes, "We're going down, Hunter. We're going down hard."

"Is that everyone?" Echo adjusted his robotic hand as he jogged out of the science vessel with Vik, the clone trooper who saved his life by blasting the last Operative who had the drop on Echo in the Training Room. Out of all of the regs, it seemed like Echo and Vik were the only ones who were not heavily affected by the hazardous mist that consumed everyone in the training room. Because of this, he and Vik had been leading the able bodied clone prisoners to the science vessel and all those who were strong enough helped carry the wounded to the ship as well.

"That just about does it." Vik cradled his blaster in his arms, defaulting to his clone trooper training as he followed Echo into the elevator. "We're headed to the lab for the Kaminoan?"

"Yes." His eyes shifted toward the clone standing beside him, "How did you know?"

"I overheard you and the kid earlier." Vik paused, debating if he wanted to confess more of what he overheard. "You served in the 501st under General Skywalker, huh? Impressive." He glanced over at Echo who, given by his thousand-yard stare, was somewhere else. "How many squad mates did you lose?"

"All of them." Echo mindlessly answered, his glazed over expression not wavering.

"Yeah…me too." Vik mournfully sighed as he readjusted the blaster in his arms.

A brief moment of silence hung in the air, as both clones took some time to reflect upon all the brothers they lost during and after the war. The costs of war can never be truly accounted for. Echo thought to himself as he reminisced on his Domino Squad days; Hevy, Cutup, Droidbait, Fives…they're all gone. I'm the last domino standing. After a couple more seconds of silence, Echo blinked himself out of his trance and glanced over at Vik, "Who did you serve under?"

Vik also snapped out of his mournful thoughts, his tired eyes meeting Echo's, "I was apart of the 327th Star Corps under the command of Jedi General Aayla Secura and Commander Bly."

"Impressive."

The elevator door opened up and the two fell silent once more as they continued their jog through the Tantiss Base. Fortunately Echo knew where the laboratory was due to his earlier encounter with Emerie. As the duo turned the last corner, they screeched to a halt when they discovered the dark smoke and ferocious flames behind the closed laboratory door.

"I thought the Kaminoan was supposed to erased the data, not destroy the entire lab." Vik snickered.

"Well, either way would work." They hurried toward the automatic lab door and were met with a rush of heat and roar of flames once it opened, "Stay back!" Echo ordered, "I'm going to take a quick look around. If I'm not out in five minutes then leave me, go back to the ship, and get yourself and the others off this planet. The coordinates of where to go are already entered into the navicomputer-"

"No. You didn't leave me or the rest of our brothers behind, and I'm not going to leave-"

"This isn't open for discussion. That is an order."

Vik wanted to dispute that order but when he saw the seriousness in Echo's eyes, he reluctantly yielded, "Yes sir."

Echo pulled his stormtrooper helmet onto his head and activated the oxygen before stepping into the obliterated lab that was being consumed by the flames. Although he was grateful he had a fresh supply of oxygen, the scorching heat from the fire was debilitating. He stayed as low to the ground as he could in order to efficiently search for Nala Se below the billows of smoke. About a minute passed when he came across one of the lab instruments used to test the clones' blood. The good news was the instrument and the computer storing all its data was engulfed by the flames so Nala Se's science was truly destroyed. The bad news was he still could not find any trace of the Kaminoan. As Echo cautiously stepped around the computer he came across a body, or what was left of it. He peered closer at whatever distinguishable features were left until he noticed an emblem on the jacket, an Imperial Captain's coat. Rampart…what was he doing here? Echo glanced at the computer near the fragments of the former Vice Admiral and then it clicked. That hydrosnake! I bet he tried to steal Nala Se's science. That was his way of finding Imperial favor and rejoining the Empire. Echo shook his head in disbelief; His treacherous ambitions and inability to change was his downfall and he paid the price for it. He continued his search for the Kaminoan; if Rampart was trying to steal the data, he wouldn't have destroyed the lab while he was still inside…or at least I'd assume he wouldn't. Echo did not think very highly of Rampart, although he did have to give him some credit for his help in tracking down Tantiss. Assuming something in the lab didn't accidentally explode while he was in here, then someone else must've brought in a thermal detonator and activated it. Possibly Nala Se? Echo noticed how the remaining parts of Ramparts body were splayed out on the floor and he was able to deduce an approximation on the trajectory of the explosion. He followed his estimated path until he found a second body, and despite the scorch marks and disfigurement from the explosion, this one looked a lot more Kaminoan. Nala Se…she must've set off the thermal detonator when Rampart ambushed her. Echo glanced around the wreckage and the ravaged scientific instruments and computers. Her sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her science is destroyed. And with Hemlock dead, there's no way anyone can replicate these experiments. Omega is truly free and safe from the Empire, thanks to Nala Se's self-sacrifice. Noticing he was approaching the five minute mark, Echo grabbed Nala Se's headpiece so he could give it to Omega when he tells her about Nala Se's death and then he swiftly hurried out of the lab to meet up with Vik.

Once in the hall, Echo fell to his knees and began coughing. Despite the fresh oxygen from his helmet, his chest still felt tight and the extreme heat from the flames made his body feel weary. Vik knelt down beside him and took off Echo's helmet for him, "You were in there for awhile, I was getting concerned. You okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine." Echo continued coughing and gasping for breath. His entire body ached and he felt as if the flames were still nearby because his body was practically sizzling.

Vik helped him get onto his feet, "Any sign of the Kaminoan?"

"Nala Se is dead. As is Rampart." Echo let out a couple more harsh coughs, his lungs beginning to feel a bit clearer as they walked down the hall, "All of the research has been destroyed. But we need to leave before the Imperial reinforcements show up. They're probably already within the planet's orbit by now."

"How are we going to get through their blockade? I don't think they'll just let us fly by."

"That's exactly what they'll do. I've got the authorization codes."

As they entered the elevator, Vik gave Echo an unconvinced look, "And if they ask about our business?"

"Prisoner transfer. Hemlock's orders." Starting to feel better, Echo stood up straighter as his breathing returned to normal and the dizziness from the fire subsided.

Vik cautiously studied Echo's demeanor, "But I overheard the kid tell you Hemlock is dead."

"The Imperial reinforcements don't know that though. And by the time they find Hemlock's body, we'll be long gone." The elevator door opened up and the duo rushed across the hangar, practically sprinting up the ramp and into the science vessel. Echo quickly made his way to the cockpit and took his place in the pilot's seat, "Everyone strap in, this could get a bit bumpy." Thanks to Hunter and Crosshair, the ship was already prepared for takeoff which helped contribute to their speedy departure. Being an experienced ARC Trooper, he made quick work of maneuvering through the thunderstorm and entered the atmosphere in no time. Unfortunately he was right about the Imperial reinforcements and he tried to remain calm as they came face to face with not one, not two, but three Destroyers. Oh kriff…I hope the others managed to escape before these guys showed up.

The ship's comm whistled to life as an Imperial officer's voice came through the speaker, "Science Vessel 6512, please send your IFF transponder and authorization codes."

"Sending codes now." Echo responded as he inserted his scomp hand into the ship's computer terminal. The entire science vessel fell quiet as every clone practically held their breath in anticipation. A couple seconds passed, then a few more, and still no response from the Imperial fleet. Vik anxiously glanced at Echo but the ARC Trooper did not utter a single word nor did he peel his eyes away from the three Destroyers directly in front of them. His focus was locked in but he also wondered what was taking so long.

The officer onboard the Imperial Star Destroyer's bridge finished analyzing the codes that were sent over, "The codes checks out, Admiral." He turned to face his superior, "Should we let them pass?"

A stoic Admiral Tarkin stood at attention on the bridge with a deep frown on his face as he skeptically stared at the seemingly insignificant science vessel, "Not yet." He tightly clasped his hands behind his back, he had a strange inkling about this ship, "Ask them what their cargo is and scan for lifeforms aboard."

The officer relayed the question to the science vessel while another officer began scanning the ship. Almost immediately, Echo responded, "Prisoner transport. The Tantiss base is compromised. We are relocating all surviving prisoners."

"Admiral, I'm detecting multiple lifeforms onboard the vessel. This does seem to be a prisoner transfer."

Tarkin nodded in response but his suspicions were even more piqued when he picked up on the distinct sound of a clone trooper's voice, "What is your designation, trooper?"

Echo fought the urge to freeze up when he heard Tarkin on the comm, "RC-1262." Whenever Tarkin was involved, he knew it meant trouble and perhaps this escape was not going to be as smooth as he thought. Fortunately, when he stowed away on the incoming science vessel to rescue Omega, he managed to plug into the computer and downloaded a decent amount of useful information such as the identification codes for all clones on Tantiss who were working for Hemlock.

The Imperial officer quickly ran the identification number Echo had given him, "Sir, I can confirm RC-1262 was apart of Hemlock's private security."

Tarkin began to pace across the destroyer's bridge, "Where is this ship headed?"

Echo withheld from groaning, he wanted to wrap up this conversation as quickly as possible, "That information is classified, sir. Doctor Hemlock's orders."

"Let me speak to Hemlock."

"He's still at the base, sir. He is waiting to meet you on the surface, there is a lot to discuss." Echo unlinked his scomp hand from the ship's terminal and reattached his robotic hand. Without an immediate response from Tarkin, this gave Echo an uneasy feeling the Imperials had figured out what was happening. After another unusual amount of silence, Echo slowly clutched the ship's helm in preparation for a possible daring escape if need be.

Meanwhile on the Imperial Star Destroyer, just as Tarkin was about to clear the science vessel, another officer spoke up, "Admiral, I double checked the authorization code sent over from Science Vessel 6512 and it seems this code is the same code Clone Force 99 used to dock at the Imperial Orbital Station over Coruscant. This could be a ruse."

Tarkin smirked, he knew something seemed suspicious about this vessel. But as easy as it would be to blow their tiny ship into scrap pieces, he wanted to see where this ship was headed. Hopefully it would lead them to their secret clone uprising headquarters, "Vessel 6512, you have authorization to pass through the blockade. We'll send a TIE Fighter escort until you're clear to jump into hyperspace."

Echo's shoulders slumped forward in relief, "Yes, sir." He turned off their comms before glancing back at Vik, "Told you it would work."

Once the comms were turned off, Tarkin stopped his pacing and addressed another officer, "Tell the escort pilots to attach a tracking beacon onto the vessel. They'll lead us right to their home base."

"Yes, Admiral." The officer quickly relayed the message to the two TIE fighters paralleling the science vessel. Once the ship was further into open space, the TIE fighter escort began to peel away but not before one of the fighters effortlessly shot a tracking device onto the vessel's hull.

Echo waited until the TIE fighter's were far enough away before preparing their jump into hyperspace, "Looks like they bought it after all."

"It would seem so." Vik smirked as he took the co-pilot seat beside Echo just as the ship made its jump into hyperspace and more importantly, away from Tantiss and the Empire.

I would like to take a moment to thank you for reading the first chapter of my first ever Star Wars fanfic story! If you wish to leave a review, I would be most excited to read your feedback. As a writer I am always open to constructive criticism (please be kind) and any helpful tips you would like to share. May The Force Be With You and have a wonderful weekend! :)