Marie Antoinette

don't let your dreams be memes.

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Just a sweet lil something to brighten up your day… ♥️♥️♥️

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[antoinettesb]

made my day indeed, so sweet❤️🥰

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

New Arrivals - Part V

Part 37 of Starstruck

Summary

Echo and you learn more about Pup‘s background over dinner and Echo is reminded of the man he used to be.

Rating: Mature (16+)

Word Count: 3464

Warnings: several mentions of the death of comrades, memories of war

AO3

The atmosphere is a little tense when you sit on the table at your place, the plates with the pasta in front of you, Echo to your left, Pup to your right, poking their meal.

You try to get Echo‘s attention and give him a look that makes it unmistakably clear that he should take the first step. He clears his throat and pokes the pasta with his fork one more time.

“So I…heard that Cheeky called you LD - lapdog…“ he starts tentatively.

Pup blushes and looks down at his plate. You understand - it makes him terribly uncomfortable that Echo knows this unflattering nickname, especially since it refers to his relationship with his role model…

You give Echo another encouraging look. He puts the fork down.

“Do you know how I got my name?“ he asks the newbie.

Pup quietly shakes his head.

“When I was younger I used to repeat orders and regulations. My squadmates Hevy and Cutup called me 'Echo‘ to mock me for it. I absolutely hated it…don’t get me wrong I never gave a fuck about other people's opinion but it…it was disrespectful. I couldn’t see an ARC trooper have a nerdy mock name like that…“

Echo pauses for a moment.

“You know what made a change?“

Pup shakes his head but then he asks quietly “When they died on the Rishi moon?“

Echo scoffs and ignores the rather inappropriate answer.

“Well that too but word would have spread beyond my original squad a long time before that happened and the story would have haunted me way beyond their last mission. No. I started to accept that name. I owned it. Introduced myself with it to others, made sure that Hevy and Cutup saw it when I did, used it with pride. That took the fun out of it for them. And over time they all forgot why I got it, it was just a name.“ Echo picks up his fork. “And how I became ARC trooper Echo one day. And no one ever asked me about it ever since.“ He smirks contentedly. You know I always wondered how many of those ARC troopers initially got their names to mock them…it always struck me that “Blitz“ seemed to be the slowest ARC trooper in the Rancor battalion but I was just a shiny when I met him and would never have thought that someone could have given him this name to mock him…but maybe that‘s exactly what happened and maybe he’s not the only one and they all just did the same as I did, owned their names and everybody forgot where they came from once they had made their peace with it.“

You give Echo a smile - he did it perfectly, but what else did you expect.

Pup, however, doesn't really seem to be convinced.

“But I already have a name...“ he looks over to you. It may not be the name he hoped for but it welded you together.

“Well then you introduce yourself as “Pup, but some people call me LD“ without any further explanation“ Echo suggests.

You look over to him and imagine Echo as he introduces himself to someone new as “My name is Echo but some people call me Corporal Overachiever“ without any further explanation just the same way he just suggested for Pup. You suppress a grin. You better not make a comment about it.

“It probably doesn't matter anyway“ Pup says quietly to his plate. “They already got a new name for me.“

“Well that didn't last long...what is it this time?“ Echo asks.

“Spiderman.“

You and Echo look at each other. It's pretty obvious that it refers to the image of Echo's chest implant on Pup's armor. In a way it's good because it offends Echo just as much as Pup - now they are in this together.

Come to think of it it was probably chosen for this exact reason...this has a certain someone's name written all over it.

Smart boy...

You try not to show how satisfying this development is for you and do your best to pretend to look outraged.

Echo looks over to Pup.

“Well I guess that means we're in the same boat“ he states dryly.

Then he looks over to you again. “Didn't Spiderman have a sidekick? Rory or something?“

“Robin...but that's Batman. Spiderman doesn't have a sidekick“ you reply.

“What a shame...It would have been nice to turn this around and make us ‘Spiderman and Rory’.

You shake your head and laugh.

“Believe me, no one would understand that.“

Echo tilts his head and shrugs before he turns to Pup again.

“Well at least this means that they haven't decided on a name to mock you yet and the new one probably won't stick either so Pup will be your only constant. It's a good thing.“

Pup gives him a shy smile and you're not sure but there might be a little bit of pride in his eyes too because Echo considered to adopt his nickname and make him his sidekick.

The rest of the dinner is more relaxed and you slowly find some topics to talk about with more ease, especially when you realize that Pup really has no idea about life outside of Kamino and you have a lot to explain to him about credits, groceries, individual bedrooms, holomovies, rent that has to be paid and...well all the little things that are normal to you but new to someone who practically grew up in a giant orphanage far away from the rest of society.

After the three of you emptied the first bottle of wine you get up to get a new one and give Echo and his mentee some alone time. Besides there is something you'd really like to know...

You vanish in the kitchenette and write a message to Fireball on your communicator. Just one word: “Spiderman?!“

“I hope Echo got that reference after he was too much of a killjoy to watch it with you because it's unrealistic BS...but then again that won me a nice evening with you“ Fireball responds and adds an emoji with a bright smile.

“What gave me away?“ he adds while you still think about an answer.

“It was too smart for Cheeky“ you reply and get a nerd emoji back.

“I know what you tried to do and I think it worked. Thank you“ you add.

“Nemec and Bumblebee told me what happened. I knew I had to look out for him when Rex told me that Echo is his mentor.“ Fireball responds and you laugh lightly.

“You don't understand!“ you hear Echo growl. Well great...you've been gone for two minutes and they already managed to run into each other. You take the new bottle of wine and rush out.

“You were always within the sterile confines of Kamino, you've never seen war! War is messy! War is..." Echo looks for the right words "...it's fucked up! There is no glory! There is no fame! There is no nothing!" Echo shouts. "It doesn't matter whether some people called me hero of anything to keep their propaganda going, it's irrelevant! It doesn't even matter if you win or lose, we all suffer the same! In war there is only death, loss and pain! It takes you months, maybe years to grow close, make friends, trust each other, care for someone, but it takes only a blink of an eye for them to vanish, be turned into dust by the enemy! The only thing that's left are the images of blood and shit and brain matter and the stank of burnt flesh that haunts you at night!“ Echo angrily stares at Pup who looks pretty shaken but somehow manages to maintain eye contact. You look back and forth between the two. Echo's chest is heaving, his lips pursed. You get it, he doesn't like to get praised like this, he lost a lot of people he loved and a lot of the things that led him to end up as a hero weren't his choice.

Pup finally breaks eye contact and looks down to his plate.

He takes a few trembling breaths.

“I haven't seen much in my life, I know that“ he finally says with a quiet voice.

“You know I didn't know the others that came here with me before they threw us in the brig together.“ Pup pauses and takes a breath. His face can't hide the pain and it obviously takes him all his strength to say the words at all. “When Order 66 took effect I was in the training room with my squad and a jedi who was our instructor.“ Pup pauses and looks into Echo's eyes again. A hurt, accusing look.

“The chip didn't make any difference between a seasoned soldier and a cadet. None of my squadmates stood a chance when they attacked the experienced jedi. I don't know why the chip didn't work for me but I didn't understand what was happening and I didn't know what to do, I just stood there, frozen. She must have sensed that I was different because she spared me."

Pup swallows in a futile attempt to keep his trembling voice under control and he keeps his eyes on Echo. It is suddenly very quiet at your place.

"It probably took just two seconds but it felt like an eternity. My head keeps on replaying it in slow motion when I lay in my bunk, I see and hear every little detail over and over again, every cut of her light saber, every drop of blood, the thudding when their bodies fell down.“ Pup pauses to push himself to finally say it.

“I saw all my brothers, my whole squad, cut in half by a light saber. Everyone I've ever known, everyone I've ever cared for died in those two seconds.“ He swallows and his trembling breath is all you hear.

“So you don't have to tell me what burnt flesh smells like.”

Tears fill your eyes while you still stand there, the bottle of wine in your hand, the two men at the table in front of you. Echo keeps on looking at Pup, not angry anymore but shocked, his bad conscience taking over when he begins to realize that Pup just needed something and someone to hold on to after all he's been through and that someone was him, that something was the legend that surrounded him, the faith the young clone had in the war hero who'd been through hell and back and still prevailed. It gave him hope that he would prevail too. And you can see it in Echo’s eyes, he realizes that he was so busy trying not to be put on a pedestal, pushed it all away…and failed to be that someone.

The silence is suffocating, the painful mix of emotions almost unbearable. Everything feels like you're watching it through fog – the guilty look in Echo's eyes, Pup's sadness and disappointment in the role model he needed so badly...

Somehow you manage to wipe your tears away with the free hand, slowly put the bottle of wine on the table and sit down. You lick your lips and think about the breadcrumbs that Rex left you in the hallway...maybe not quite coincidentally.

“You know...“ you start just as slowly and quietly as Pup. “...I know a certain someone who lost almost his whole squad on one day too. It was the same day when he met a man who gave him hope, someone to look up to. This man stained his armor with the blood of a Rishi eel and the shiny...ended up painting that stain on his armor.“

Echo looks over to you, surprised but grateful for the lead.

“I didn't shave my head and tattoo his jaig eyes on my dome though“ he adds dryly. Then he looks over to Pup and smiles cautiously, trying to see if his mentee can forgive him.

“I might have thought about it for a second or two though. But I wasn't daring enough and too attached to my hair.“

Pup gives him a slight smile. There is probably nothing Echo could do that he wouldn't forgive anyway and he obviously appreciates that he is trying.

“Rex...“ Echo continues “...Rex was incredibly important for me. Still is. He is my constant, my tower of strength. He always believed in me and he took us in, Fives and me, when we had lost all our brothers. He gave us a new home, a new place to belong to. The 501st was legendary and it was beyond our dreams that we would become a part of it when we hadn't even completely finished our training.“ Echo scratches his neck and clicks his tongue.

“I always hoped to become an ARC trooper but after Rex took me in I...I still wanted that but living up to Rex’s standards was what really drove me - everything I did was to make him proud, repay him for taking us in by being the best I can be. It was what kept me going - and what ultimately made me become an ARC trooper.“

Echo smiles and for a moment he is lost in his memories.

“My encounter with Rex had a huge influence on me. It made me the man I am today. And now look at me...I am still in his wake.“

Echo's words leave for yet another moment of silence, but this time it's not the uncomfortable kind.

The seasoned war hero finally looks over to the right and locks eyes with you, moves his scomp arm out of the way and reaches for your hand to hold it.

“I think you should tell him why you gave him that name“ he says softly.

Your raise an eyebrow...not what you expected.

“You sure?“

Echo nods.

Pup looks back and forth between you and finally keeps his eyes on you.

You scratch your cheek and decide to pour all of you some of the wine first to win some time and get mentally prepared – after all this story is just as personal for you as it is for Echo.

“So erm...you went through the mission debriefs and you know that Echo and I were on that supply run together“ you begin cautiously.

“You probably also read that we hit an anomaly which rendered me unconscious for some time.“

Pup nods, obviously clueless where this is going.

“It also says that...“ you look over to Echo “...how did you put it?“

“It appears to be likely that you were subjected to time travel by the anomaly.“

You nod. “Yeah. It appears to be likely...“

Echo looks over to Pup.

“We're actually pretty sure that happened.“

Pup looks at Echo, then over to you, unsure what to expect from that story.

“I met Echo when he was younger“ you continue and Pup's eyes widen even more.

“Not as young as you, an ARC trooper already, but...still very sweet and innocent.“ You look over to Echo to seek approval again and he nods to reassure you. You look into Pup's eyes.

“I called him sweet puppy dog Echo. And you are the spitting image of his younger self...well you were before you shaved your head. That's why I looked at you like that when we first met. And that's why I called you 'Pup'.“

Pup's eyes move left and right while he tries to process what you just told him. His disbelief mixes with a shy smile.

“I am...I feel flattered that you painted your armor with a reference to me“ Echo states with his low baritone. “It is an honor. I had someone who helped me find my place and I'd love to be that someone for you.“

Pup is so overwhelmed he almost doesn't dare to smile.

“If you allow, I'd like to make an addition to the painting on your helmet tomorrow“ Echo adds.

“Thank you“ Echo gives you a loving look when you join him in your bed.

“What for?“

“For reminding me of the man I used to be. It was too easy to forget that I was...a pup once too.“

You chuckle and kiss his nose.

“Rex might have helped a bit...“ you admit.

Echo scoffs.

“Of course he has...“

Echo gently runs his hand over your naked shoulder.

“Is Fireball proud of the stunt he pulled with the 'Spiderman'?“ he asks.

You laugh lightly. You are not surprised that Echo understood right away where this was coming from.

“Well actually I am proud of him too. It was a good idea.“

Echo snorts.

“And there really is no Rory by his side?“

You shake your head.

“Nope.“

“You know you could tell me anything since I didn't watch that movie.“

“Fireball is still grateful for that evening he got with me“ you answer with a grin.

For a moment you close your eyes and enjoy your lover's gentle caress. Then you open your eyes again.

“Did you really think about jaig eye tattoos?“

Echo laughs.

“Does it matter? It made Pup feel good.“

“I thought so...“ you answer and grin. “I was just a little worried when you said you were too attached to your hair...“ You run your fingers over his bald head. Echo closes his eyes and takes the feeling in.

“That part was true“ he says after a while and opens his eyes again.

“You know when we were kids I was often worried..." Echo scoffs "I was worried about a thousand things. I used to overthink everything, laid in my bunk and went over all the mistakes I made during our training and...it was hard to calm my mind. And whenever Fives heard me toss and turn he'd come over to my bunk and ran his fingers through my hair. It grounded me. I don't remember a single time when he left, he always stayed with me until I had fallen asleep.“ Echo looks away and sighs. Then he looks back into your eyes again. “I wish you could do that for me. But it's not the same when you're bald. It's something no one will ever be able to do for me ever again.“

You press your lips together and share the regret about the missed chance.

“It's the little things, you know“ Echo adds with his baritone. “The little things you miss about a person who is gone and the little things you miss about a body...that's gone. Like the feeling when someone gently runs his fingers through your hair or when you rub your toes against each other. I didn't know I'd miss it until I did...“

You lock eyes and you move your hand under his shirt and run your fingertips over the skin next to his spine implant. Almost immediately goosebumps spread over Echo's shoulder. And you wonder whether the glass is at least half full.

There is no way he could have been that sensitive on his back before.

Echo didn't tell you about the modification he wants to make to Pup's helmet and you are curious so there is no alternative – you have to get to work a little later and join him at the clone underground's hideaway first to see what he's up to.

Echo looks over to you when you arrive at the locker room. The loud chatter of the shinies is hard to miss. You stay back and lean against the door frame when he enters, lets his look roam over everyone and approaches Pup.

"Hey, Pup, can I have your helmet?" Echo asks and the other conversations stop. He has their full attention now.

"This painting is really well done" Echo states while he moves the helmet in his hand, tilts it left and right. "The ports are painted with a remarkable precision."

Pup looks at him with pride. Who knows how long it took him to get it right.

Echo tucks the helmet under his scomp arm and takes out a permanent marker.

"Is it still OK for me to add a little something?" he asks Pup who nods eagerly.

Echo gives him a reassuring smile, takes the cap off with his teeth, tends to the helmet and carefully adds a thin line on the right hand side, right above the two concentric circles that resemble the two ports closest to the front. He gives Pup a content smile while he puts the cap back on.

“Your scar from the chip“ Pup whispers in awe.

“No Pup" Echo responds and points at Pup's forehead with the fresh scar.

"OUR scar."

Then he returns the helmet to Pup, gives the others a nod and leaves with you.

Starstruck is taking a break but I have a gazillion WIPs and will be back with more! Send me a DM if you want to be informed when there will be new chapters or join my taglist!

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Adorable!

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

New Arrivals - Part I

Part 33 of Starstruck

Summary

Fireball has a cuteness overload emergency and you make a new acquaintance with someone who looks awfully familiar.

Rating: General Audience

Word Count: 3668

Warnings: bad conscience

AO3

"They are soooo cuuuuute!" Fireball's voice on the comms is unnaturally high-pitched and very loud. You automatically look around and hope no one will hear him. When you saw that there was a message on the clone underground's encrypted channel you felt that you had no choice but to sneak out of your workplace for a few minutes to see if there is an emergency – but it was obviously just a cuteness overload kind of situation. You start to feel upset about that unnecessary interruption of your work – if you stretch the rules for social calls you'll soon be in trouble.

"Did you find some kitten?" you ask your friend dryly.

"Better! Cuter! Shinies!!!" Fireball forms a heart with his hands and puts it close enough to the camera for you to see it even with the mediocre quality of the holo. You don't understand and shake your head.

"What do you mean?"

"It was a surprise finding! We just wanted to do a very small and even more insignificant data mining run and we found a brig with shinies! They are sooo cute! And innocent. And sooo young. Aaaaw!"

In the background you see Gregor who steers the vehicle during Fireball's little outburst. He looks back into the camera and rolls his eyes.

"Cut to the chase FB" he grunts.

"I swear to you they are sooo young and sweet they will make your milk come in..." Fireball continues, unimpressed by Gregor's attempt to make this a mature and swift conversation. You give him an angry face.

"Ugh...Fireball, when was the last time I told you that you're disgusting?"

"Oh that's three days ago, minimum" Fireball responds, still unimpressed. "They are sooooo small" he uses his index finger and thumb to give you an idea.

"So you rescued clone troopers that are 3 inches tall. I'm sure they will be incredibly helpful for stealth operations" you answer dryly.

"FB I swear to you I will make you change their diapers for the next months if you don't get to the point" Gregor threatens his brother half-seriously.

Fireball rolls his eyes and returns to his normal voice.

"Alright, alright. We need all hands on deck to get the new guys settled – you think you can leave work early today?"

You take a deep breath. No is probably the more reasonable answer but...well you could make up a family emergency.

Not much later you enter the hangar next to the network's building. The Remora graciously rests in the background. You are still impressed by the huge size of the ship...

You look around and see some new faces.

But then you freeze – one of those faces looks familiar.

Very familiar.

Your heart misses a beat. Echo… Not yours but sweet puppy dog Echo from the past. He’s sitting there, gratefully accepting a glass of water from another civilian supporter, a shy smile on his face when he nods and thanks him. Your eyes meet. You are so stupid. It can’t be Echo. It’s just a young clone without tattoos, scars or other distinct markers and with a certain sweetness in his face. “Do we know each other?” he asks and looks in your direction. You turn around, hoping he isn’t talking to you, but there is no one else. Blood shoots into your face. “I’m sorry…I…you reminded me of someone…” you mumble, unable to hide your embarrassment. The man chuckles. “Yeah I get that a lot…I must have one of those faces.” You laugh lightly and muster up the courage to get closer and sit down next to him. “What’s your name?” “CT-8996” he answers. You raise your eyebrows. He hasn’t been named yet? “Your parents must have loved you very much if they gave you a special name like this” you joke. CT-8996 chuckles. “You got a better one?” “Hm?” “Well I’m not happy ‘bout it either but I was just a shiny when Order 66 took effect and stupid enough to be on the right side of things so…I’ve only seen Kamino, a few brigs and this hangar so far. I have an unspectacular look and no outstanding traits, I’m a standardized man in a former clone army that has nothing decent to do anymore so…there was no opportunity to have enough of an edge to get a name. I am boring, so to say.” “Nah, Boring is not a good name” you reply with a grin. CT-8996 nods and smirks. “Come on, do it. Give me a name. I promise I will accept it no matter what. Might hold a grudge if I don't like it though. But we can agree that everything’s better than CT-8996.” “Or Boring” you add, still processing what kind of an offer this is and trying not to freak out about it. Your mind races. This man who reminds you of young sweet puppy dog Echo asks you to give him a name. A name that he will keep for the rest of his life, that he will hear tens of thousands of times and you’re supposed to come up with something on a whim, not knowing him at all.

CT-8996 looks over to you with puppy dog eyes. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging. You know it is the perfect day to finally get a name. It will forever remind me of my rescue.” Your mind is still blank. There is no way you can be spontaneous on command and change his life like that. “What was the first thing you thought when you saw me?” he asks you. ‘You really don’t want to know…’ you think and yet somehow you mumble “Pup…”

The clone gives you a curious look. “Like in ‘I need to have another beer in the pub?’” “No…” You smile, slightly embarrassed about the word that slipped your mouth. “Like in ‘puppy dog.’” The clone looks at you with surprise, then chuckles lightly and shakes his head. He had probably hoped for something more manly. “About that grudge…” he starts. “You can still claim it’s ‘Pub’ with a ‘b’ and make up some indecent stories to back it up. The bullshit brothers will help you with the backstory.” You point in the direction of Nemec and Fireball who are chatting with another new arrival. Pup scoffs and grins. Fireball picks up on your look and comes over, a datapad in his hand. He smiles at you.

"Glad you could make it!" Then he looks over to Pup. “Making new friends already?”

Pup shrugs.

Fireball lifts up the datapad. “So I think I haven’t registered you yet - Corporal Overachiever takes his paperwork pretty seriously. What’s your name?“ “Pup“ the new arrival answers and looks over to you.

“With a 'p' at the end.“

Turns out Pup never had to fill out a form in his short life so you help him make it through the paperwork until you see Rex walk by in the corner of your eye. You turn to the shiny. “Gimme a sec – Rex?“ You jump up to intercept the leader. Rex turns around and looks at you. “Hey! That was quite a successful data mining run, huh?“ “Indeed“ you answer and grin. “Hey Rex I…I wanted to ask you something. This clone…“ you point at Pup “…just got his name. I was wondering if we could give him a little ceremony…501st style.“ Rex smirks. “Seems your experience with Tup left a long-lasting impression.“ You shrug and suddenly realize that Pup sounds a lot like Tup. In your mind you can already hear your friends chant "Pup, Pup, Pup" just the way you heard the 501st boys chant Tup's name in the armory. “Well I just thought it would be a great excuse to have a celebration" you reply.

Rex bends over to the side and takes another look at Pup. “This poor guy has no idea what‘s waiting for him, huh?“ “None whatsoever.“ “Good. Who named him?“ “Me“ you answer and Rex gives you a piercing glance. He probably didn’t miss Pup‘s striking resemblance with young Echo either. He clicks his tongue before he starts to speak again. “Who else was there?“ he asks. You shake your head. “No one…“ “Well I guess we‘ll have to bend the rules a bit or it will be a very small party.“ “It might be good to make our own tradition anyway“ you respond. Rex nods and takes another look at Pup. “But some parts are non-negotiable“ he says. Pup looks up from the datapad and your eyes meet - he obviously suspects that you’re talking about him. Rex smirks and moves his head to signal you to follow him on his way to the newbie. “Name‘s Rex, I'm running this place. I heard you just got your name, trooper“ he introduces himself. Pup gets up and offers his hand. “Erm…yes“ he answers, the datapad still in his other hand. Echo joins you. You didn’t even see him come in and start to feel a little guilty in his presence. You curse yourself…you should never have allowed yourself to let go like that and name the spitting image of his younger version after the nickname you gave his past self.

Rex looks over to his XO. “We got a little celebration ahead - this trooper just got his name.“ Echo musters Pup whose face has suddenly changed. He stares at him in disbelief. “What’s your name, trooper?“ Echo‘s gruff baritone fills the air and commands even more respect from the new arrival. “P…P…Pup“ the young clone responds, his face pale, his eyes wide open. You can see Echo‘s jaw work. No need to tell him who named the shiny. And you won't have to explain that the new guy's name is written with a 'p' either. “Like puppy dog“ Echo states with a low voice, visibly keeping it under control before he starts gritting his teeth again. “Y…yes“ Pup responds, still visibly nervous. Echo takes a deep breath and his look shortly roams over your guilty eyes before he looks back at Pup and nods. Rex puts his hand on Echo‘s shoulder and tries to resolve the tension.

“We were thinking of a little ceremony…501st style.“ “Ah“ Echo nods. “And we‘ll need to assign mentors to the newbies to get them up to speed. They have been in captivity for quite some time and most of them haven't even finished their training. We need to get them back in shape asap. We should draft up a list tomorrow.“ Echo nods and keeps on clenching his jaw in a rhythmic motion. Then he tilts his head in Pup‘s direction. “If he decides to stay I’ll ll take him under my wing." Pup‘s eyes widen even more – he looks as if he’s about to faint. Echo looks over to Rex. “I‘ll go get a chair and a towel“ he says, turns around to Pup and adds "Whatever happens today, your training begins tomorrow at 0600 sharp". Then he gives you a nod and leaves. You exhale and groan. You never meant to hurt Echo…you are really really stupid.

"Was...that...was that really..." you hear Pup whisper with his last bit of composure. You look over to him, a knot in your stomach from your bad conscience.

"...was that the Hero of Anaxes?" Pup whispers in awe.

Of course. Every clone knows about the battle of Anaxes and a cyborged clone is easy to recognize. He is starstruck...just you like you were when you first met Echo.

"Yeah" you mumble.

"And he...he will be my mentor?" Pup's eyes go left and right while he's still trying to process what just happened.

You nod, still dealing with your bad conscience. Rex looks over to you – he knows exactly what's going on in your mind. You give him a forced smile.

"So are you done with your paperwork?" Fireball is back and reaches out for the datapad.

"Dude, what happened?" he asks when he sees Pup's face.

"He just got his name and Echo will mentor him" Rex answers. Pup is still in no condition to say a single straight sentence.

"Oh!" Fireball shouts and laughs. "Yeah, that explains it! Welcome to the world of strict rules and overachievement!" He puts his arm around Pup.

"So...since you're his protégé now...could you find out a little something for me? Sarah won't tell me because of doctor-patient confidentiality, she..." he points at you "...won't tell me because she knows me too well and Echo won't tell me because he's an anal killjoy. But maybe you can find out if his scomp has a..."

"Fireball..." you groan and shake your head.

"What? He's my best chance! I need to know!" He turns his head back to Pup again. "See...he even has his own multipurpose lubricant, Sinful Cyborg. There are currently three different flavors: purple passion, cherry chopstick and..."

"Alright, gather up!" you hear Echo's loud voice. Pup looks genuinely confused about Fireball's bullshit and seems to be just as happy about the interruption as you are.

The four other rescued clones come over – three are shinies like Pup and one seems to be a little older. He looks different than the others with his side parting and slightly lighter hazel hair and above all – he is wearing glasses. Black nerd glasses, to be exact. His eyes are not visibly distorted, besides you have never seen a clone with glasses before – their genetic makeup is too perfect for bad eyesight. It's probably a style choice. It's curious how the empire let him keep them in the brig...but then again stormtroopers are not necessarily known for their superior intelligence.

He sticks out - not only by his look. You notice how the other three clones keep on looking over to him for approval. He obviously gives them safety and comfort and probably played an important role for their mental health during their captivity. Even now it feels like he's their safe haven. No wonder, the others are very young and he radiates a reassuring calmness and tranquility.

Echo put the towel over his scomp and loosely holds the chair in his hand. He waits for the new arrivals and the established members of the clone network to get closer before he starts to speak with a firm voice that immediately commands everybody's respect.

"Welcome to our hideaway! Name's Echo and I'm the XO. We didn't expect to find clone prisoners on this mission so sorry in advance, we had to improvise a little but you will all be taken care of. We have a place for you to stay – a shared bedroom shouldn't be new to you. You are free to leave and live your life if you want to, or you can stay and become a part of the clone underground, fight for our brothers who are still in captivity like we fought for you. Those of you who stay will be assigned a mentor and start training tomorrow. We have civilians who support us; that includes Sarah who will perform a medical checkup and remove your chips. She is already preparing everything in her office but before you all go there we have a special patient for her."

You grin. So Sarah will be the next to have the honor of being the mistress of ceremony. She's gonna love it. And if you can get over your bad conscience you're gonna love it too – it will be great to watch the whole show from the other side this time.

Echo looks over to Pup and moves his head to get him to join him. Pup swallows and comes over. Not what he had in mind when he asked you to name him, probably just to have a conversation. Pup eyes the towel and the chair and looks a little lost with all the unexpected attention he gets – especially that of one former ARC trooper who sticks out so much. It will take some time until he's over his nervousness in the presence of the seasoned war hero. He looks over to the clone with the glasses who gives him a reassuring nod.

"This boy just got his name" Echo states and you notice how he doesn't call him man. Still, Echo is very professional about it, he's playing the role he's expected play to with perfection.

The other new arrivals look at each other. They have known CT-8996 by his number all the time – they will have to get used to his new name.

"We'll pick up on our tradition from the 501st and honor his name with a little ceremony. So here's how it works: this trooper will tell us his name and you will NOT repeat it until the mistress of ceremony says it, understood? It is her right to be the first one to use it after he got it. But we won't tell her that. So it's your job..." he looks over to Pup "...to make her say your name. In a subtle way - you must not let her know that this is her task."

Pup nods carefully – he has no idea what's ahead of him and is obviously overwhelmed by all these new developments.

Echo gently pushes his protégé further into the spotlight.

"Come on, tell them your name."

Pup looks around, still overwhelmed by the turn of events this day offered to him, something he surely hadn't expected when he woke up another day in the brig this morning. He takes another look at the clone with the glasses, then looks at the other new arrivals and swallows.

"Pup..." he says quietly. The others frown.

"Speak up, trooper!" Echo encourages him.

"Erm...Pup" the young clone repeats a little louder. The other new ones look at each other, tilt their heads and shrug. Maybe it’s your imagination but one of them seems to have a slight sneer on his face. You may want to keep an eye on him…

"Remember, no one gets to repeat his name before the mistress of ceremony does." Echo looks over to Pup.

"All right, trooper, you're up for a full body mole check. Get ready."

Rex and you grin – you already know what that means.

Pup gives Echo a confused look. "Erm...OK...erm...where do I have to go?"

"Oh I'm gonna show you where. But the ‘how‘ is more important..." Echo smirks.

And that's how Pup ended up walking all the way from the hangar to Sarah's office stark naked. Since he'd been a prisoner he didn't even have a helmet to cover his crown jewels, but Echo and Rex generously allowed him to use his hands.

It was the first ceremony for everyone else, but especially Fireball and Nemec quickly got the idea – so did Sarah who couldn't stop laughing all the time and treated Pup's red buttocks with baby powder after Rex and Echo were the last ones to make sure he would get decently spanked and thus have a long life, just as the 501st legend claims.

After that little assault you all agreed that Sarah had played her part for the day already and the real medicals and chip removal could wait until the next day. All the established members of the clone underground split up for a few minutes to get some booze from their not so secret stashes and return to the hangar to adequately celebrate Pup's new name.

You didn't miss that Echo left for his office too and use the chance to make up for your misbehavior. You knock formally and wait for him to ask you in - he probably knows it's you anyway. Then you close the door behind you and look at him contritely.

Echo presses his lips together with his eyes on you.

You sigh a few times and finally decide to say something with a trembling voice.

"Echo I'm sorry..."

"Mh..." Echo nods. You close your eyes.

"For what it's worth he does look like me when I was younger" Echo says, keeping his voice under control.

You feel heavy-hearted for slipping like this.

"I...you know it's not like I have..."

"I know" Echo interrupts you, then he adds more quietly "I know." He takes a deep breath. "The younger original from the past was no competition for me so why would a copy be a threat."

"Copy...that's a funny word for a clone to use for another one."

"Yeah" Echo scoffs.

"Can you forgive me?" you ask him quietly.

"Already have" Echo responds. "It's...it's just strange to have someone around who looks the way that I used to."

"Yeah..." you answer and nod. "Why'd you offer to take him under your wing?"

Echo scoffs.

"It's not his fault that he looks the way he does. Or that you named him that way. He deserves to get a decent chance to earn my respect, maybe even my friendship. If I don't keep him close he'll probably never get that chance. If he fucks up now at least I know I tried and that he got the best training he could get."

You smile and nod. "That's erm...that's a really good idea."

"It wasn't mine" Echo answers dryly. You frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think it was a coincidence that Rex brought up the mentors in that very moment?" Echo asks.

Your eyes widen. You never thought about that...You would never have gotten that subtle hint, but Echo did. They go way back...they don't need many words to guide each other.

Silence fills the room for a while until Echo speaks again.

"You know I used to have a perfect ass like that..."

You give him a loving smile. Of course...Pup's rear was the center of attention at the ceremony. You didn't think it would make Echo feel this way but maybe the similarity between the two made it easy to make that connection for him.

"You still have buns of steel" you respond.

Echo laughs dryly.

"Yeah literally. Just that it's not MY ass anymore..."

You smirk and walk towards him.

"You're damn right!" You smack his steely butt. "It's mine now."

Part 34: New Arrivals - Part II New part on 15th July

Starstruck Masterlist

General Masterlist

PLEASE REBLOG TO SUPPORT YOUR WRITERS ♥️🖤🦾

Taglist: @padawancat97 @starrylothcat @pb-jellybeans @littlefeatherr @sunshinesdaydream @the-bad-batch-baroness @antoinettesb @the-rain-on-kamino @neyswxrld @elephantwoman4 @proteatook @goblininawig @kometqh @oceansssblue @sevdidntdie @heidnspeak

[antoinettesb]

Amazing, the ceremony never fails to entertain! 😂😭👌

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Amore - Part I

Part 31 of Starstruck

Summary

Echo and you return from the supply run and become part of an unexpected celebration. Senator Chuchi pays a visit to the clone underground and Echo gets his time to shine.

Rating: Teens and Up

Word Count: 5826

Warnings: jealousy

AO3

”Home Sweet Home” Echo smiles at you when you see the familiar shape of Coruscant. You smile back and enjoy the view of the beautiful man to your left.

Echo chuckles.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Mh…not yet” you giggle, lean over and kiss him.

“Now you do” you say with a twinkle in your eye and keep on kissing his cheeks.

“Mh…I need to contact the traffic controller and get a vector to start the approach and land this shuttle…” Echo mumbles.

“I’m sure you can find a holding point…the others will be grateful if you let them go first…” you whisper between kisses.

“I’m gonna bust the deadline to return the shuttle and we’ll have to pay another day” Echo responds with a husky voice. “It would be a waste of our resources and...”

“I’ll pay for it…” you murmur.

Echo laughs lightly and slowly pulls away.

“I can’t allow that to happen. But I’ll make up for it. As soon as we’re back at your place we’re gonna pick up where we left off…OK?”

He runs his scomp along your cheek and down your neck.

“I hate your karking discipline” you answer with a smile, the trace of his metal still cold on your skin. Echo winks.

“No, you love it. You love my karking discipline.” He grins and reaches for the radio button. Shortly before he gets there he stops. “…and my karking scomp. You love that too.” Echo gives you a suggestive grin and quickly activates the comms to get in contact with the space traffic controller.

You land directly at the hangar of the rental company and are picked up by Gregor to get back to the hideaway of the clone network.

“Hey lovebirds!” he shouts out loud and Echo raises an eyebrow at him.

Gregor starts the engine while you throw your bags in the back of the vehicle. Some droids will take care of unloading the supplies and will get them to a storage.

Echo gets to the front with his brother while you get in the back.

Gregor leans back towards you.

“You won a date with Sarah. Need to get your brain checked after the time travel thing.”

You give him a surprised look.

“Word spreads fast” Gregor adds. “You know how it is.”

You nod and take a mental note to be careful with what you do or say before you have an idea which indecent stories the bullshit brothers already made up about your time there.

“And Rex wants to see you” Gregor says in Echo’s direction.

You sigh. Looks like it will take some time before you can pick up where you left off.

“How are you doing?” Sarah’s friendly eyes are on you while you lay down to be examined.

“My headache is gone and I’m just a little tired and dizzy now and then but it’s getting better” you answer, trying to play the whole thing down. “You know Kix did a scan like this right after I got there.”

”Oh great could you travel back in time and ask him to transfer the data to me?” Sarah asks jokingly.

You give her a look and scoff. “Alright, alright, I'll do the tests again” you finally say, not without rolling your eyes.

”You know we don’t have much data about the effect of time travel on the brain…” your friend states. “But I can make a few general assessments about your physical condition. Besides it will be interesting to see the results, add another piece to the puzzle and compare it with the data of other known incidents of this kind.“

“Well great, sounds like my case makes an amazing peer-reviewed paper“ you respond with a chuckle. “So I take it everyone here knows about it?”

Sarah sighs.

“Well yes…it came up in the Monday briefing. Normally Gregor covers for Echo in his absence but he was indisposed and Fireball took over…”

“Say no more” you groan. Sarah giggles while she keeps on running scans. “Do I want to know what indecent rumors they came up with?”

“Probably not” Sarah answers and types on the datapad. “So…how was it?” she asks tentatively.

“What do you know already?” you ask her back.

“I know that you were on Coruscant, met the 501st and witnessed something that only Rex knew about which made it likely that you did, in fact, travel through space and time.”

You take a deep breath.

“Yes…”

You know the obvious question and decide not to wait for it.

“And yes I met Echo…you know the Echo he was before…before all that happened to him” you tell her openly.

“And how do you feel about it?” Sarah asks and stops typing at the datapad to give you her full attention.

“It was…confusing” you answer. “And it…I don’t know if that makes sense to you at all but I feel bad because I couldn’t save him from that mission that…changed his life. It hurt to see him, this sweet innocent naive boy and know what’s ahead of him. And it was strange to see him knowing that this is the boy my Echo was before he became the Echo I fell in love with.” You swallow. “I haven’t quite sorted it out in my head.”

“He was really worried about you“ Sarah replies. „I’ve never seen him this way before.“ You nod.

“Yeah… I know. The supply run brought us closer together, maybe not the way the others hoped when they left us the honeymoon shuttle but…on a different level.”

“And how was Rex?” Sarah asks curiously.

You laugh.

“Rex was…pretty much the same as we know him. He had fewer lines on his face but…he was a proud father of..well a lot of children. No wonder the bullshit brothers aren't much of a challenge after the chaotic boys he had under his command by that time” you reply with a grin.

Sarah chuckles.

“That is hard to imagine but it does explain why he always keeps his cool. Speaking of the bullshit brothers – I'm sure Nemec and Fireball are dying to see you and there will be a big gathering in…Sarah checks the time “…twenty minutes so why don’t you go see them? We can do the rest of the tests later.”

You tilt your head and give her a curious look.

“Gathering? What for?”

“You’ll see…” Sarah answers with a mysterious smile. “Oh but you’ll need to wear something more festive!”

“Festive…?” you reply. “I just hopped out of the shuttle and it’s not like I took something festive with me on a supply run.”

“Don’t worry” Sarah answers with her signature smile. “I have some spare clothes in my closet.”

She moves over and takes out a classy black satin shirt.

“I think this will fit nicely…”

You look at her wardrobe and the impressive selection of backup clothes in it.

“Erm…why do you…”

Sarah laughs cheerfully. “You really don’t want to know how often people puke at me…and that always happens when I have somewhere to be afterwards.”

You stare at her and are somehow grateful that you chose a more…sterile profession.

Sarah giggles when she sees your disgusted face and you laugh about yourself, shake your head, turn around and quickly get changed.

“Aaaaaamooooreeee! Amoreeeeeee Mioooooo!” you hear someone sing loudly in the little shop when you leave Sarah’s office. You don’t need to see who it is - while the clone voices are essentially all the same there is only one of them who has enough bullshit energy in his head to flood the hallway with his poor imitation of a Venetian gondolier without ever having been close to the Solar system, let alone Earth or Italy.

“Aaaaaamooooreeee! Amoreeeeeee Mioooooo!” Fireball keeps on singing from the top of his lungs without hitting a single note.

“Fireball, I told you a hundred times it’s Re...” you hear Nemec but he stops when he sees you.

Fireball is cleaning his already shiny vembrace and tries to remove an invisible stain from his armor.

“Is your armor clean for a change?” you ask instead of saying hello.

Fireball looks up and smiles brightly.

“Ah look who’s back from the dead!” He drops his cloth and gives you a big hug. You chuckle.

“I was never dead…”

“If you had stayed in the past it wouldn’t have been any different for us” Nemec replies.

“Did you meet us?” Fireball asks curiously. Nemec rolls his eyes.

“How many times do I have to tell you that we were on Kashyyyk by that time?”

Fireball rolls his eyes back.

“Well I guess it’s better this way. You know…” he wraps his arm around you and gets very close – close enough for you to smell his aftershave, something he normally doesn't wear for work. “It‘s hard to believe but I looked even better back then. You probably wouldn’t have returned if you had met me.”

You chuckle and get yourself out of his grip.

“Sure Fireball…so…tell me, what’s all that singing about Amore about?”

Nemec and Fireball exchange glances and it takes a suspiciously long amount of time until one of them answers.

“Oh erm…that's because...erm because of my future bride from Pantora, you know” Fireball answers. It sounds like a low pull-out but you are too curious to get into that and giggle.

"Oh…have you made any progress with senator Chuchi?“

Fireball gives you a confident grin.

"Not yet but she will be here today and I won’t waste that chance.“

"She’ll be here?“ you start to feel a little uncomfortable because…well because of her feelings for Echo. You haven't met her in person since you and Echo got together and there’s no way this is not going to be weird.

"Uh-hum“ Fireball answers, his mind obviously fully occupied with his advances towards the senator. You feel Nemec's eyes on you - he can see you feel uncomfortable. You quickly continue to keep the conversation going.

"Why is she here?”

Nemec and Fireball look at each other again. This is getting more and more conspicuous…

“You’ll see” Fireball replies with a mysterious smile that seems awfully similar to Sarah’s, just like the wording.

"Ah come on, give me something!“ you plead. You’re not sure whether this is the kind of surprise you’re going to like.

“OK…just because it’s you…and because we’re friends" Fireball replies with a grin and looks to the side to think about his words. "So it is an important event - otherwise the senator wouldn’t be here - and Echo will play a very important role but he doesn’t know yet. And above all there will be free booze and food. I‘m pretty sure you’re gonna like it.“

You listen to the words and don’t really share your friend’s enthusiasm. In fact you’re beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Only Echo and you know about Chuchi's feelings for him and the whole setup together with their secrecy sounds very dubious. Knowing that clones often don’t know much about normal standards of society doesn’t help either. You’re a little afraid of the answer but you know you have to ask…

“Please tell me you didn’t plan a surprise wedding after you got us the honeymoon shuttle“ you groan. "You know people should consent to…”

“No that’s not it” Nemec interrupts you and chuckles. "You know we have a lot of bullshit in our heads but that would cross a line, even for us.”

“Speak only for yourself” Fireball replies.

You give him a little puff. You are still not convinced that you're gonna like whatever is happening but at least you ruled out your biggest worry.

The gathering takes place at a hangar right next to the clone underground‘s old industrial building. It’s not really the newest and shiniest hangar you have ever seen which is probably a good thing in terms of keeping a low profile. To be honest you never realized it was there...you never really wondered what was in the vicinity of the clone underground‘s base in general and it was all good as long as it was abandoned but you are sure that Rex and Echo knew about it all along, probably even chose this specific building for the clone underground because of the hangar next to it and the possibility to expand.

Nemec and Fireball enter before you and mingle with the other clones.

In spite of the worn and shabby outside – OK and inside – of the hangar you can feel a change, a ceremonial atmosphere. The hangar is dark in the back, there seems to be a force field to hide what can be found there. In the front you see a stage with a microphone at a lectern and in front of that high tables, champagne glasses, even some snacks. Some are still being set up by a few Pantoran aides.

And then you see her.

Senator Chuchi.

A rare guest - her heavy schedule doesn’t allow her to be here in person that often and her presence would increase the risk of being found out, not only by the Empire but also by the yellow press - the paparazzi would love to get something compromising about Mrs. Perfect.

You muster the senator’s perfect dress - several layers of flawless silk, purple and blue with golden brocade, not a single crease, not a single stain, perfectly ironed, perfectly worn. Her blue skin softly shimmers in the lights of the hangar, her long dark eyelashes bring out her big golden eyes.

And then there’s you. Jeans and the shirt Sarah borrowed you so you don’t have to show up in your sweaty t-shirt from the trip, dark circles under your eyes from the aftereffects of the concussion and the time travel. You look like shit.

Sarah waves in your direction and signals you to come over. You tear your eyes away from the senator and walk towards the high table with your friend. She looks at you and grins.

"Jealous?“

You roll your eyes.

"I know I don’t have to be jealous but…can’t she at least have…a pimple or something?“ you complain.

Sarah chuckles.

"Maybe she has one on her rear. A really nasty huge whitehead filled with...“

"No…“ you interrupt her.. "I don’t even wish that for her, I‘m just…being stupid.“

You groan about yourself. It's not like you are particularly proud about your indifferent feelings for the senator.

"You know it’s funny...” you start with brutal honesty “…as soon as I hear something that even remotely resembles body shaming I get really mad and dogmatic but she can’t change that she’s beautiful like that either and still a part of me judges her for it. I know it’s wrong but I can’t…I just can’t feel differently.“

“Well that's probably because you are a real bitch” Sarah answers and chuckles. “Just kidding. At least you’re aware if it.“

The senator finishes her conversation with one of her guards, picks up one of the trays with snacks and walks towards Rex. It doesn’t take more than three steps for an assistant to rush to her and take the tray off of her hands. For a second you see frustration flicker in her eyes - a senator is not supposed to carry around trays, there is dedicated service personnel for those kind of tasks. It is not appropriate for someone in her position and it doesn’t matter that she wanted to go where the tray had to go anyway. She probably never actively signed up for having her ass wiped all day but it’s the price she has to pay to be in a position of power.

Come to think of it it is really remarkable to have her here with her entourage, fully dressed up, knowing exactly that there will be no press release, no fame, no votes gained with what she’s doing here - she is here because of what she believes in, paying the clones her respect. She probably doesn’t have many appointments of her own choice - the vast majority will be mandatory events with people she doesn’t care about to talk about agendas she cares about even less. And with the press waiting for her to slip, look tired, misspeak or talk to someone a little too long or do anything else that would be worth a headline.

You don’t envy her.

She may be in a position of power but it comes at the cost of her personal freedom.

The senator moves on to Rex and they start to talk. The tray with the snacks has already arrived at the high table next to him. You can see with how much respect they treat each other. You are lucky to have political support like that.

Echo approaches the two and gives Chuchi a formal nod. He has changed and looks breathtaking with the black and red kama around his hips. She gently puts her hand on his shoulder and gracefully lowers her gaze before she looks him in the eyes.

You hold your breath.

She‘s touching him…

She's touching your man.

Gently.

You grind your teeth.

How dare she touch him in front of your eyes.

But suddenly you realize - their eyes meet only shortly and there is this awkwardness between them that you only see when one confessed their love and the other didn’t return their feelings. It is just a fracture of a second but you know Echo too well and observe the senator too closely to miss it. It is just a friendly greeting and none of them wants this to become more awkward than it already is but they are professionals. And Chuchi…again…can’t afford to let any feelings affect what she is doing. She can go home and cry about her heartbreak later and probably she will but now she‘s a senator playing her role.

You remember Echo‘s words. "I need someone with an edge.“

He chose you.

Your jealousy leaves for sympathy. No, you really don’t want to walk in her shoes.

You watch Echo, Rex and Chuchi exchange a few sentences before Echo leaves the stage and walks towards the group of clones. He puts himself in position.

"ATTEN-SHUN!“ His loud voice cuts through the air, confident, loud, clear, commanding respect.

Immediately all conversations stop and the clones stand at attention. Echo swiftly turns around with military precision, faces the stage and lifts his chin up.

This is him.

The man you fell in love with.

The disciplined soldier, the man you looked up to from the moment you met him.

He may be your partner, the one you tried to convince to get into a holding pattern to have some sexy time in the cockpit before you land.

He may be the man who always makes breakfast for you.

He may be the man who was afraid you could have had an affair with his past self.

But he is also - and always will be - the man who makes you starstruck. The perfect soldier, determined, loyal and precise.

You allow yourself to swoon a little bit and miss the first words Rex has been saying into the mic.

"…thank the senator for the generous gift of this event. And I‘m not only talking about the booze and the buffet…“ The civilians and a few clones allow themselves to chuckle, a clear sign that even though the troopers are standing at attention the core military standards are more relaxed now that they are no longer a part of the GAR.

"…but also for something much bigger than that. This day is nothing less than a cornerstone in the history of the clone underground.“ Rex pauses dramatically to give his words some weight. Sarah looks over to you and winks at you with a smile.

"But I don’t want to steal senator Chuchi's show…senator?“

Rex makes an inviting gesture and leaves the spot at the lectern to Chuchi.

The senator puts her hand over the microphone and quietly asks Rex an inaudible question. He gives her a reassuring nod and she lifts her hand from the mic again.

“Please…stand at ease” are her first words before she starts her speech. The clones loosen up a bit and put their hands behind their backs.

"My dear friends…“ Her soft yet fierce voice echoes in the hangar.

"…I am very grateful to stand before you today and be able to finally see all of you in person again.“ Chuchi pauses shortly before she continues.

"My political efforts for your rights and the rights of all your brothers continue to be the most important part of my daily work. I could convince a growing number of parties from all over the galaxy to support this very essential human rights topic. But I have to be honest with you - our progress is slow, very slow, and almost as quickly as we gain supporters we lose them because people bow down to the intimidation of the empire.“

The senator lowers her gaze and shakes her head to show her regret.

"The practical hurdles also proved to be more challenging than expected and our lawyers have a hard time getting a grip on legal issues like the question about reparations for years of work without wages versus the cost of life and training the republic provided versus the lack of a free choice of your profession. Drafting up a waterproof and convincing basis for questions like these takes time.“

The senator‘s look changes from that of a politician into that of a fighter.

"Time we don’t have! Time many of your brothers don’t have because they are held captive as insurgents because they refused to follow illegal orders. Time the clones who are with the empire don't have because they don't have a free will and every day the chip forces them to act in a way they normally never would. Time none of you has because of your accelerated aging. Time is against us. We can’t wait for years until a political solution takes effect, we need to act now!“

The senator takes a few breaths and lets her eyes browse over the crowd.

"Three weeks ago a Pantoran patrol found a former mining ship hidden at a remote dwarf planet in our solar system. It was occupied by pirates who used that place as a basis between raids to perform modifications. A member of the patrol who captured the pirates is a confidant of mine and immediately realized its value for the clone underground. According to the books this ship was decommissioned and scrapped two weeks ago - but I can assure you it’s still in one piece.“

Senator Chuchi gives her adjutant a nod and on the push of a button the visual force field is deactivated and a huge ship is revealed in the back of the hangar, professionally showcased by perfect lighting of a dozen floodlights. A murmur goes through the members of the clone underground and you gasp when you begin to realize what is actually happening.

Rex has a confident and proud smile on his face. The senator looks over to him and once the murmuring has left for curiosity about her next words she continues to speak.

"This is the Remora. We named it after a fish you can find at different places in the galaxy that harbor aquatic lifeforms. Two of these places are Pantora and Kamino, giving the name context from both our homeworlds. Remoras are fish who leech onto bigger fish, sometimes also ships, to accompany them. This specific Remora…“ she points at the ship "…can extend a bridge and leech onto docking ports. But there is more…“

Senator Chuchi looks over to Rex and steps aside to give him the floor again.

"The pirates turned the escape pod into a leech vessel that can be attached to other ships and breach their hull. The transformation has not yet been completed and there are other works on the ship ahead of us but it will be feasible to finish them with our resources. Once operational it is the perfect ship for stealth infiltration, insertion and extraction missions like rescuing clones from prisoner transports.“

Rex smiles brightly with confidence and looks every one of his man in the eyes, gives his words some space, lets them understand what it means.

You feel a tingling in your stomach when it dawns on you how huge this development actually is. This ship offers a thousand possibilities for the underground, independence from the shuttle rental service and way more space and flexibility. Given its size it could even provide housing for every member of the clone underground if they were found out on Coruscant and it would still be almost empty with everyone living on board.

You begin to understand what this has to do with Echo - he will probably spend the next weeks drawing up tactics and strategies for its effective use, concepts of operations, required refurbishments and also plans for secondary effects like a probable increase in numbers of the underground - partially by having rescued prisoner join them, partially by getting more supporters because of the strong symbolism of this ship's very existence.

"Now Echo, would you please join us?“ Rex asks. Echo immediately follows his former Captain‘s request but you have the feeling that he doesn’t know what Rex is up to. Maybe he wants him to give a passionate speech on the fly, something Echo is incredibly good at. If someone can electrify the masses it’s the war hero, the only former ARC trooper at the underground, the embodiment of never giving up and unparalleled determination.

You realize that your face already has a smile on it - you are really looking forward to see Echo in this role again, see him enthrall the audience after he just stumbled out of the shuttle with you.

Well it seems it was good you couldn’t convince him to spend some sexy time with you at the holding point - they all would have waited for you.

Echo marches up to the stage with sharp military precision and finally stops to stand at attention facing Rex, perpendicular to the audience. You admire his beautiful prominent nose, the nose he pressed against the most sensitive parts of your body so often. You just love his profile…

'Lucky me‘ you think and soak in this moment.

Rex chuckles. "At ease.“

Echo relaxes a bit but not too much. He links his hand and scomp behind his back and still has his chin up and his body straight.

"Echo…“ Rex starts and it suddenly feels as if he forgets about the crowd, the senator, the ceremony for a moment and it’s just the two of them, just these two old companions and noone else. This is a very personal moment.

The hangar is quiet, you could hear a pin drop. A strange solemn atmosphere fills the room.

"The Remora is an excellent ship, a beacon of hope for us.“

Rex pauses and firmly looks Echo into the eyes. Everyone is holding their breaths.

Without breaking eye contact Rex slowly reaches out his left hand and puts it on Echo‘s chest. Just the way he must have done it a long time ago, back then when Echo was just a shiny and they first met on the Rishi moon.

Rex still takes his time to make this moment last, with his palm firmly pressed against Echo‘s chest and their eyes locked. This is obviously not about a speech…

"And an excellent ship needs an excellent commander" Rex continues. "Echo, we go way back. And I can't think of a better man for the job than you. As of now, I‘m giving you the command over the Remora.“

The audience needs a second but then the first people start to clap, mostly civilian supporters, but soon the clones give up their position and join them.

And all you see is Echo, Rex‘s hand still firmly placed on his chest, their eyes locked. You remember that picture you saw during your time travel, the picture of Fives and him when they were promoted to ARC troopers and young Echo looked as if he was about to faint. You don’t see much of that man anymore. This is not a pup who’s about to faint because he gets promoted. This is a seasoned soldier who knows he is, in fact, the best man for the job. Without arrogance and with enough humility to be aware of the big responsibility he’s taking but at the same time with the certainty that he is able to live up to the expectations that come with this command. He is proud but never cocky and gratefully accepts the trust put into him.

He‘s perfect.

He‘s in his element.

In his head a thousand ideas manifest already, a thousand battle plans, a thousand strategies unfold. Success has never been a reason for him to lean back but a motivator to be the best he can be and show everyone why the trust placed in him is justified.

You have never been prouder.

Rex slowly lets go of Echo’s chest once the applause begins to fade and he gives him a nod. Echo nods back.

A Pantoran assistant approaches the stage after senator Chuchi gave her a subtle signal. She carries three glasses with champagne. You are so captivated by the scene and the beauty and confidence of your man that you almost miss the tray next to you. A Pantoran gives you a friendly smile and offers a glass to you too. You take it like in trance and join everyone‘s toast on the new commander.

Your man.

The man who deserves it most.

He worked so hard and never expected anything in return.

And yet he got his own command today.

Rex could have claimed it for himself but he stepped back and made Echo the person who would be in the history books, the one who would change the fate of all clones.

Part 32: Amore - Part II (on 1st July)

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PLEASE REBLOG TO SUPPORT YOUR WRITERS ♥️🖤🦾

I have a taglist! Please send me a dm if you want to be on it.

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[antoinettesb]

So happy your amazing series is back! Enjoyed every moment, looking forward to the next part😍

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Beach Echo

This is a gif ☺️ Take your time to look at it.

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[antoinettesb]

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Runaway Echo

Masterlist

A love story for sweet Echo.

The Bad Batch is taking some days off and restless Echo isn’t happy about it. But then his encounter with a sassy female mechanic turns into a first date and a first kiss…if you can call it that. At least she’s kissing him. And he‘s…well it’s complicated. Both have to face their intimacy issues and Echo is forced to confront himself with his new body, something he had desparately avoided since his rescue from Skako Minor. Especially since not all of his missing body parts were replaced…

SFW. Mild implied sexual content. See individual parts for ratings and trigger warnings.

Note: There are crossover fics covering the other Bad Batcher’s stories, see end of the masterlist.

On AO3

Part 1: The Mechanic

Echo performs MRO on the Marauder and gets an aid who really pisses him off.

Rating: Teen and up

Word Count: 2615

Part 2: Getting Dirty

Echo learns that having a rag thrown in your face doesn´t have to be all that bad.

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 2640

Part 3: From Uncomfortable Silence to Uncontrollable Laughter

Hannah realizes why Echo looked like Hunter before.

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 1205

Part 4: Evening Plans

The members of the Bad Batch learn about Echo´s date.

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 700

Part 5: Sex on the Beach

When it comes to women, Echo shouldn´t listen to Tech. Ever.

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 868

Part 6: Hannah’s Place

Echo escorts Hannah back to her place. If he just wasn´t so anxious about the coffee thing...

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 634

Part 7: Hardware

Tech drops the bomb. Echo better never finds out.

Rating: Mature (mention of sex, no details)

Word Count: 881

Part 8: Curious Comrades

Everyone wants to know about the date. But Echo is not too happy with himself.

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 1285

Part 9: Picnic

Echo´s prostheses get more attention than he had planned.

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 3271

Part 10: A Momentous Decision

Echo makes a courageous decision.

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 2696

Part 11: Flashback

A flashback to Echo´s time in captivity. And Skako Minor really wasn´t the worst part.

Rating: Explicit (Graphic Depiction of Violence)

Trigger Warnings: Torture, Suicide Attempts, Angst, Despair

Word Count: 2897

You can skip this chapter without losing context if this is not for you.

Part 12: Naked

Hannah tells Echo that his fate was probably the best thing that could have happened to him.

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 2199

Part 13: Going too Far

Echo is in a good mood and ready for the beach until his desire to be done with his demons makes him go too far.

Rating: Teen an Up

Word Count: 1539

Part 14: Hannah’s Shop

After three years Echo returns to Casca 3 to meet with Hannah again and realizes he has had quite an impact on her life.

Rating: Teen and Up

Trigger Warning: Mention of Suicide

Word Count: 2862

Part 15: The Child

Echo and Hannah reunite. But she is not alone.

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 1437

Part 16: Ian‘s Story

Echo learns about Ian´s story and gets his face cleaned up again.

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 1632

Part 17: The Magic…Erm…Whatever

Hannah talks Echo into getting "physiotherapy".

Rating: Mature (implied sexual content)

Word Count: 1079

Part 18: The Last Night

Echo saves Hannah from the dragons.

Rating: Mature (implied sexual content)

Word Count: 697

More

The following fics cover the story from the other Bad Batcher‘s point of view:

Hunter - Sergeant, Brother, Dad

Tech - Two Hammocks and a Dashboard

Omega and Wrecker and the Space Stork from a Mandalorian Moon

Fanart

Awesome Tech fanart by the one and only @amorfista based on chapter 13: “Casual Abs-wesomeness”

[antoinettesb]

I just read all of them in one Single day. Absolutely thrilling! There were so so many different aspects of Echo and the main character introduced, it was amazing. I loved their chemistry ❤ I loved all of it ❤😊

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Domino Twins

Downtime With The Domino Twins Masterlist

Spring edition coming soon

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[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Oldie But And Goodie

Rebels Rex

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[antoinettesb]

Like a fine wine 🤌🍷

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

I Karking Hate This Planet

I think we all know what Echo‘s face looks like under the helmet.

Taglist: @padawancat97 @starrylothcat @pb-jellybeans @littlefeatherr @sunshinesdaydream @the-bad-batch-baroness @antoinettesb @the-rain-on-kamino @neyswxrld @elephantwoman4 @proteatook @goblininawig @kometqh

[antoinettesb]

😂😂❤️

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Domino Squad!

Yes! I finally finished customizing the domino squad and am really happy with how they turned out! They all got different faces too (I didn’t photoshop their expressions this time).

For those who don’t know the domino squad by numbers: 1-Hevy, 2-Droidbait, 3-Echo, 4-Cutup, 5-Fives.

I revisited the Clone Cadets episode to make sure that I get all the details. They all have their individual numbers on their chest, their left shoulder and on their back. I also adopted the individualized vembraces and the CT-number which is on a label at their left leg.

The label with the CT-number has a width of 1.2 mm, the number that is held by the tweezers in the picture on the right isn’t much bigger. In general it was quite a challenge for someone like me who has the fine motor skills of a three year old 😂

I mainly used printable waterslide decals for the details and designed them in Procreate. The green at the left shoulder is standard Revell color and I ordered the missing weapons online. I also gave them a used/dirty look with some black color.

The hardest part was the helmets which had to be mechanically altered. I used a Dremel 3000 with an engraving tool, however the slowest setting is still so fast that it melts the plastic so I had to do a lot of fixing with files and sandpaper. The visor is a transparent waterslide decal - it’s not the best solution but it’s the best I could come up with.

Just for fun: this was my elaborate plan:

And to give you an idea about how heavy the customization was: this is what they all looked before (standard phase 1 trooper).

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[antoinettesb]

The amount of work you must have put into this is insane!!! I probably wouldn’t have the patience to work with such delicate pieces and details. Speechless! They look amazing, just like they do in the actual series, maybe even better with the “used” look! 😍

I immediately have to think of their training and their little arguments…

“Oh yeah, and we all look nothing alike either.”

“We all heard the orders, Echo!” “Stop calling me that!” “Stop repeating every order!” “Less yapping more blasting!”

Got to love it! ❤️

[zoeykallus]

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Part 3/7 - Crosshair

Warnings: Hurt/Angst/Comfort/Fluff/Love Confessions

Masterlist

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

This is a continuation of this request :

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Crosshair

You don't really know how to talk to him. As soon as his intense eyes look at you, your voice crawls and a horde of butterflies flutter wildly in your stomach.

In the beginning it was okay, but at some point, Crosshair just had to look at you to make your voice fail.

He doesn't know that he has this effect on you, he doesn't know that his voice sends little shivers down your spine, making everything inside you go crazy, pulse, heartbeat, temperature, hormones, thoughts… everything.

Wrecker likes to play practical jokes on the Sniper. Out of an impulse to have more contact with Crosshair, you join in these pranks at some point. You sometimes feel a little immature about it, but this simple contact with Crosshair is worth it.

He usually reacts grumpily, but he's never really that angry, and your pranks are usually quite harmless. The only time he was really a bit sour was when Wrecker and you stuck all the toothpicks Crosshair had in stock to his helmet. Of course, you insisted on water-soluble glue when Wrecker told you the idea, a prank shouldn't cause permanent damage in any way.

One evening, you're all sitting together, having a good time, eating well, telling jokes, unpacking card games. Music is playing on the radio in the background, and occasionally one or two people hum along to one of the songs. In general, everyone is in a good mood, including the sniper. The evening is going great, and you even talk to Crosshair a little, you joke with each other, and you're beaming the whole time, totally happy about his attention.

He gently nudges you with his elbow as you play cards and says with a smirk, “You're holding your cards too low, hold them a little higher, almost everyone can see what's in your hand”

“Oh”, you say in surprise and comply with his suggestion, “Thanks”

Today is the day, you think, today you finally tell him how you feel. It doesn't matter that you lose almost every game. The boys are too good, and you can hardly concentrate on the game. You pay much more attention to every sound and every movement of your crush, Crosshair, who is sitting quite close to you. Sometimes, when your eyes meet during the game, he smirks mischievously at you, and you feel yourself melting inside.

You are still waiting for a good opportunity. During a break in the game, when Crosshair wants to get drinks, you offer to help him and accompany him. On the way to get the drinks, your heart races as you gently but firmly grab his arm.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

Crosshair stops and turns to you. He looks at you intently, and you feel yourself growing nervous under his serious gaze.

“Hmm, sure. What's this about?”

You take a deep breath, causing Crosshair to furrow his brows.

“Honestly, I don't even know how to start,” you say with a nervous laugh.

He remains silent, patiently, but he crosses his arms in front of his chest, which makes you even more nervous. His gaze is scrutinizing, almost critical. Your voice threatens to crawl out once again, and you try with all your might to stop it.

You say quite directly, “I have a crush on you”

For a very brief moment, Crosshair's posture wavers, his eyebrows shoot up, but in the same second, he pulls them back together, sternly.

“Was that your idea, or did Wrecker put you up to it?” he growls softly.

You look at him, perplexed. He thinks you're playing a trick on him again. At first, you don't know how to react, your thoughts are in a panic, and you can't organize them quickly enough. In the long pause that has arisen, he suddenly says, “Seriously? Did you think I would fall for this? You and me? As if that was even remotely realistic”

A helpless, “Uh,” escapes your lips.

Crosshair rolls his eyes, “Come up with something better”

He wants to turn away and keep walking, but you say much braver than you feel, loud and clear, “I wasn't kidding”

Crosshair sighs, stops and turns back to you, a few steps away from you.

“Really? You insist on going through with this gag? Come on, let it go, surely you can think of something better”

You clench your hands into fists in frustration. But your gaze lowers dejectedly as you ask, “Why would you and I be an unrealistic thing?”

Crosshair listens up.

He asks lurking, “Does it matter?”

You answer quietly, “It does to me”

You hear his footsteps, finally see his boots and hear him say, “Look up, at me”

As you comply with his request, his eyes bore into yours.

“You really weren't joking, were you?” he asks seriously.

You swallow, but finally nod.

“I wouldn't joke about that”

His gaze is still scrutinizing as he asks, “Really?”

“Never”

Crosshair suddenly smirks, leaning towards you. Your heart doesn't quite know whether to jump out of your chest or stop, as his face comes closer. You hold your breath, your eyes close. First you feel his hand on the back of your neck, his arm wrapping around your middle, then you feel his lips on yours, warm, softer than expected, lingering gently for a long moment. Fireworks explode in your chest, everything tingles, hums, dances. Your entire body seems to be celebrating a feast of sensations and perceptions. You smell him, his aftershave, feel the warmth of his body, so close...

Then suddenly everything is as if wrapped in absorbent cotton, dull, numb. When you open your eyes, it feels a little like you've just woken up from a dream. Surprised, you realize that you are no longer standing, but hanging in Crosshair's arms, who is kneeling on the floor. “How did that happen?” you ask, perplexed, looking up into his worried face. “You don't know?” You think for a moment before answering, “We talked, then you kissed me”

Crosshair nods and says, “And you just passed out during the kiss”

“I was unconscious?”

Crosshair sighs, his features relaxing a little as he replies, “hmm, looked like it”

“How long?”

“Just a few seconds, maybe half a minute”

You laugh softly, shyly and confess to him, “I was so nervous, I was holding my breath and my pulse was so fast…. I think that must have been it”

You realize that you are still lying in his arms, but you don't really want to get up. You could get used to being held by him like this.

Crosshair smirks, “I make you that nervous?”

You can feel the heat rising in your cheeks.

“Well, yes.”

His smirk widens.

“I kind of like that, Kitten”

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

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@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

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[antoinettesb]

Ngl I would pass out too, like them damsels who were wrapped up too tightly in those torturing corsets 😭❤🔥🎀

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Parenting

Hunter, Omega & Echo

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[antoinettesb]

Two very different approaches of parenting ❤️🫶 This is so wholesome 💓

Hunter, the cluck, needs to let go 😭

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Need a Hand?

Note: Nemec’s and Fireball’s Sinful Cyborg™️ trope is from my Echo longfic „Starstruck“.

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[antoinettesb]

LMAO 😂😭 The Dad Jokes will live on forever!!!

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

Need a Hand?

Note: Nemec’s and Fireball’s Sinful Cyborg™️ trope is from my Echo longfic „Starstruck“.

Lego Comics Masterlist

General Masterlist

Limited Spoilery Taglist: @antoinettesb @neyswxrld @sevdidntdie @elephantwoman4

[antoinettesb]

LMAO 😂😭 The Dad Jokes will live on forever!!!

[isthereanechoinhere96-deactivat]

The Calm Before the Storm

(Echo x Reader)

Words: 1259

Rating: Mature (18+)

Warnings: mention of suicide and torture, reader has long hair, fear for Echo‘s life, sexual content

Spoiler Warning! You should have watched the finale of TBB season 3 before you read this!

This is a one shot that will become a part of my Starstruck series (you don’t have to know Starstruck to read it). It starts at the last night before Echo steals the Imperial Shuttle in S3 episode 14.

[…]

This night Echo made love to you like he never did before.

There was a certain calmness about him, a patience and relish that was far beyond what you’ve ever experienced in your life, not with him, not with anyone else.

He slowly untied your hair and guided it to fall on your shoulders, his hand softly brushing over your neck, his heaving chest almost made you feel as if this was your first time. There was a certain kind of nervousness about it, but not the insecure kind, more like the tingling of a new situation that was, however, not new at all. Echo savored every moment, ever movement, went with a slow pace that made you feel his love and attention and ran deep, so deep, directly into your heart and soul.

His big golden eyes soaked in every little detail of your body before they went back to look into yours, a whole galaxy hidden behind the eyes of this single man, a depth that would never cease to capture you, enrapture you.

He used the strap on, wanted to be able to look at you all the time, have his hand free for you, wanted you to feel him inside, wanted to have his whole body - organic and cybernetic - feel your skin and moved slowly, patiently without haste with his body on top of you, kept on running his hand over your head, kissing your face and took his time.

He didn’t even seem to be aroused, he just wanted to spend this moment with you, be close to you, soak in your scent, taste your skin. It was you and him in this moment and his loving eyes on you, his guard down, letting you in, allowing you to take a glimpse at his soul. It was the slowest, most intimate sex you’ve ever had, not driven by lust but by a profound desire to become one with each other.

You cried afterwards like you did on that fateful mission that brought you together, overwhelmed by your feelings, your love, your helpless heart looking for ways to put all the emotions that flooded you, feeling too small to fit them into your body. A whole galaxy would have been too small.

You fell asleep in his scomp arm, his hand gently caressing your naked skin. When you woke up at night his eyes were still on you, watching you sleep. It felt like he didn’t want to be asleep, wanted to watch you all night, wanted to take in all the little details of you. And you gave him a tired smile and nuzzled your nose against his chest, put your arm around him and quickly fell asleep again feeling sheltered by his love, gentleness and protection.

Echo softly wakes you up in the early morning. You insisted on getting up with him on the crack of the day to say goodbye to him. Who knows how long it would be until he’d be back this time.

You get dressed, have breakfast. And you realize how everything Echo does is still like in slow motion, very controlled. He is doing everything with mindfulness, with a strange calmness. It’s not like he’s dragging it out, he is just very focused. A subtle but recognizable difference in his pace, his movements, his breathing. Maybe the calmness before the storm, the focus he needs to become the one man army he needs to be.

This is not like any other mission.

This is personal.

This about saving Omega and his brothers.

His destiny.

Maybe a small down payment to make amends for the thousands of brothers who died because of what the Techno Union took from his mind.

You weren’t the only one who told him over and over again that it was never his fault, that there was nothing he could have done, that he should be proud that they never broke his will, had to go through all those lengths to put wires into his brain to get what they could have gotten in no time by torturing a lesser man.

Until one day you finally understood.

It was never about a futile attempt to resist the Techno Union’s efforts to extract his knowledge once they had put wires into his brain.

It was about letting it get that far.

It was about not being able to find a way to end his life before they could get to that point.

In spite of his ARC training.

In spite of the mind tricks he played on his enemies to get them to tip over and torture him beyond a point that would make him recoverable.

In spite of his injuries. He never got his karking body to give up.

That’s why he feels like a failure.

That’s why he feels that he needs to make amends.

That’s also why he feels that he owes a lifelong debt to Rex.

Not because Rex saved his life, but because getting him out of the hands of the Techno Union finally ended the senseless deaths of his brothers.

Because Rex did what he failed to do.

You look over to Echo and his soft, controlled movements while he checks his scomp arm, takes his jacket, put on his boots.

And you follow him to the door.

He puts his hand and scomp on your shoulders and holds them. You immediately feel sheltered and safe.

It is quiet.

Quieter than normal.

His chest heaves.

He slowly bends forward and softly kisses your forehead, his lips resting on your skin for a moment.

“I love you” he whispers before he slowly walks out the door.

Those three words…they hit you like a truck.

Echo often says “I love you” but he never does it to say goodbye.

And suddenly it dawns on you.

He never had any doubts that he would help Omega escape.

He never had any doubts that he would save his brothers.

But he is almost certain that this will be his last mission.

That he won’t come back.

That’s why he was so mindful.

That’s why he soaked in every memory of you.

He thinks these memories of you will be his last.

You feel sick to the stomach and can’t stop the tears from filling your eyes.

“Echo?” Your breath trembles when you call his name.

Echo stops walking and it takes a moment before he slowly turns around, his face even paler than usual, his eyes full of regret. He breathes through his mouth and swallows. He never wanted to turn around and have you see him like this.

And you can see it in his eyes. He can see that you know that he knows this will probably be a one way trip.

“Can’t somebody else go?” you stammer, fully aware how desperate this question must sound and how futile your attempt is.

Echo takes another few breaths before he responds, his baritone low and controlled but slightly hoarse.

“I am the best chance they’ve got. This is a one time opportunity, we may not get another one.“

You nod sadly and feel helpless.

You know you need to let him go.

You need to let him go knowing that he doesn’t expect to come back.

Echo gives you a forced smile before he turns around and walks away, just as controlled and calmly as he’s been all day and you follow him with your eyes while tears run down your face.

I wrote this a day before the finale and the day after it and it was heavily inspired by the possibility of Echo‘s death and the fear I saw in his eyes when he fought the CX clones.

And we already know he‘ll make it ♥️

For my loyal readers: there will be many chapters between the last Starstruck chapter I dropped and the chapter that will contain this part, but I wanted to give you a little something to help you pass the time before I finished the rest.

To everyone else - you can read the whole series here:

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[antoinettesb]

This made me tear up. So emotional, so intense. Amazing ❤

[cloned-eyes]

you think Echo went up to Crosshair after everything was over, took a look at his cut off hand and was like:

"Nothing beats the original"

flipped his absent hair and walked away

[antoinettesb]

the sass 💁‍♂️ 🦾

[azertyrobaz]

You're our kid, Omega.

[antoinettesb]

Crying 😭❤