#knockout fic

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 31 (Final Chapter!!!)

Chapter Summary:

“Where’s… Fives? I gotta… gotta tell him— gotta warn him… it’s a—“ Echo paused to let out a wheezing cough, the painful sound making Fives’ heart ache. “— it’s a trap— t-the citadel.”

Another thready breath. “They’re waiting for us—“

Fives pushed past the tightness in his throat to respond. "I’m right here, Echo. We’re not at the Citadel anymore. We’ve got you,” Fives’s voice broke as he tried and failed to sound more confident than he felt.

At Fives’ voice, Echo turned to face him briefly, but his gaze went straight through him, unseeing. He coughed again, body shuddering against Fives’ armor before he turned back to Rex, asking again, “W-Where’s Fives? Where is he... where is my brother?”

Ch. 31: Reunion

“Where’s… Fives? I gotta… gotta tell him— gotta warn him… it’s a—“ Echo paused to let out a wheezing cough, the painful sound making Fives’ heart ache. “— it’s a trap— t-the citadel.”

Another thready breath. “They’re waiting for us—“

Fives pushed past the tightness in his throat to respond. "I’m right here, Echo. We’re not at the Citadel anymore. We’ve got you,” Fives’s voice broke as he tried and failed to sound more confident than he felt.

At Fives’ voice, Echo turned to face him briefly, but his gaze went straight through him, unseeing. He coughed again, body shuddering against Fives’ armor before he turned back to Rex, asking again, “W-Where’s Fives? Where is he... where is my brother?”

Fives looked helplessly at Rex, whose eyes were soft with sorrow— not pity, but close to it, as he glanced between his ARC troopers, unsure how to help. All this time, he’d been so sure that Echo was alive, but to see him here in front of them, body emaciated and marred by scarring and gleaming durasteel in equal measure, the words “I told you he was alive!” churned bitterly in his chest.

He’d never wish that one of his brothers was dead, but he never could have imagined the state that Echo was left in, clinging to life by a thread and unable to recognize his closest brother.

Hopefully he’d be a little more with-it once Tech figured out how to unplug him from the machines, but for now, all Rex could do was wait, and even that grated on him as he heard the commotion in the hallway get quieter with every passing minute as the rest of the Bad Batch dealt with the last few clankers.

Looking up as the doors whooshed open, Rex saw General Skywalker’s expression soften the smallest bit at the sight before him. Rex had been quick to inform the others over comm about what they’d found– who they’d found, and Rex was grateful when the General seemed to compartmentalize and focus on the here and now.

“Situation’s almost under control out there. How’s it going in here?”

Tech was the first to reply from his spot at the central console. “I’m still trying to decrypt Echo’s cerebral interface. Until I do, we cannot disconnect him from the computer system.”

General Skywalker nodded, a crease of worry between his brows. The enemy knew they were here now— so much for stealth— and they were running out of time. Turning to the huddle of troopers around Echo, General Skywalker leaned down to get a better look at the trio. “How is he, Rex?”

Rex shook his head, tone somber. “He’s too weak to walk. Very disoriented. Doesn’t even remember how he got here. He remembers being at the citadel, but that’s about it.” He left out the bit about him being unable to recognize Fives, but as the ARC trooper’s arm tightened around his missing brother, Rex knew what Fives was thinking about.

“Any word on the extraction squad?” The General asked, even as he knew the answer.

“We called it in, but no word back.” Rex responded.

He’d done a basic check on Echo with their medscanner, and in theory he should be safe to move once he was removed from the machine, but Rex still couldn’t push away his worry. A basic medscanner checked lab values, skin integrity, fractures, and internal bleeding, but even the most complex medscanner would struggle to account for all the changes that Echo had been put through, even to Rex’s untrained eye. It certainly didn’t account for Echo’s mental state.

Anakin huffed out a resigned breath at the news. “Well that’s no surprise, we knew when we got into this that we’d be on our own.”

The doors opened again as the rest of the Bad Batch joined them, Hunter’s voice tense as he spoke. “It’s gonna be more difficult to get out of here. There are several squads of droids closing in.”

Rex didn’t need enhanced senses to know they were running out of time.

Flipping on his infrared scope, Crosshair adjusted his grip on his firepuncher from where he stood near the door. “Enemy approaching— droids. Lots of them.”

General Skywalker nodded an affirmation, “How long do you think you can hold them off?”

“How long do you need?” Hunter countered. They’d hold it off as long as they could– the Bad Batch never failed a mission, after all, but even he knew that a General’s safety ranked over a rescued POW, and it would probably only be so long before they had to cut and run, if Tech couldn’t get him unplugged.

Thankfully, Tech hadn’t let them down yet.

“Tech, how much longer?” Anakin called, an edge of frustration entering his voice as they got closer to being pinned down by the droids.

“Not yet, I need more time.” Tech replied. He’d managed to wade through the auxiliary systems’ security and life support passkeys, but now he needed to figure out which systems were self-sustaining and which were truly necessary. Echo had apparently taken damage to his pancreas in the initial explosion, for example, but he could survive the rescue attempt long enough to be unplugged from a bulky continuous glucose monitor, but if those cybernetics were stabilizing spine function or diaphragm function, they’d be in a lot more trouble.

While Tech busied himself with rooting around Echo’s life support software, the others secured the room, with Hunter and Crosshair sealing the doors as best they could in such a short time.

Between the steady marching of droids and a new whirring noise Rex could hear on the other side of the door, he knew it wouldn’t be good to get caught in the open if they stayed put for much longer.

Thankfully, Tech came through just in time, turning towards them with a victorious nod. “I’ve got it! We can unplug him now.”

Rex stepped forward to offer his help, but Fives was already there, squeezing Echo’s shoulder with a quiet murmur of support and steadying him when the jolt of removing the neural interface caused his previously tenuous strength to crumble.

Letting out a rattling wheeze, Echo’s breathing was shakier than it had been before, but less mechanical, more real, and Rex took a knee in front of the duo just in time for Echo’s eyes to meet his own, the hazy unseeing gaze from before replaced with recognition and painful hope.

“Rex!” Echo croaked before giving a painful cough again, sagging into Fives’ hold.

“What is it?” Rex asked, anxious to see just how much had changed with the neural interface removed. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long before Echo responded with another small cough and a familiarly lopsided smile that made Rex’s chest ache in relief.

“I’ve got a big headache.” Echo laughed, wheezy but full of life.

“Better to feel something than nothing, old buddy.” Rex gave Echo’s shoulder a squeeze, just to reassure himself that the other was real.

They weren’t out of the woods yet, but Rex would take this Echo any day over the shell of himself he had been.

As Rex turned towards the others to better secure their position, Echo glanced down to see two familiar arms supporting him. Blinking twice, Echo twisted around and jolted at a familiar face he thought he’d never see again, with Fives’ ARC helmet long-removed.

“…F-Fives?” Echo stuttered, breath thready with disbelief, and Echo had barely a second before he was engulfed in an achingly familiar hug, returning it with surprising strength even as internally his mind raced. The algorithm– the mission– he’d been so sure that Fives was dead– and by his hand, no less…

But here he was, a firm steady presence keeping Echo from crumpling to the floor.

Fives’ guarded expression crumbled into pure relief and warmth, but Echo didn’t miss when his brother’s voice turned thick. “I’m here, vod. I’ve got you.”

Speech muffled against Fives’ armor, Echo trembled in his hold. “I-I thought you were dead…”

Fives’ voice was wet as he responded, arms wrapped around Echo like he’d never let go. “Funny, I could say the same thing about you.” He gave a teary chuckle, and for a moment, Fives could have forgotten the droids outside, or even the other troopers in the room before General Skywalker brought him back to reality.

“It’s a touching reunion, guys, but we need to get out of here, now!” He ordered, not unsympathetic, but definitely feeling the encroaching pressure of the Seppies just outside their door.

Thankfully, Fives could always count on Echo to have a plan.

“I– ” Echo gave another wheezing cough before managing to catch his breath, pointing to a vent in the ceiling. “T-There’s an exhaust vent that leads to the cooling system— right there.” He’d ran the numbers before, and that was their best way out of this mess.

Another concerning crash sounded outside, and Crosshair gave a sharp status report. “They breached the front door. It won’t be long before there through the second.”

Before Fives could so much as protest, Echo moved with surprising speed, shuffling towards the nearest scomp port. Fives’ heart leaped in alarm, suddenly terrified that his batchmate would collapse– or electrocute himself– or turn back into the hollow image of himself that he was before. But not even two seconds later, Echo was removing his scomp from the port as the vent above them opened with surprising smoothness.

“That should get it open.” Echo smirked in satisfaction, and Fives screamed internally at his batchmate’s newfound skill, torn between worry and feeling impressed.

His batchmate was alive– now Fives just had to keep him that way.

After a narrow escape through the vents, and a spectacular explosion that Echo had dreamed about for years, they were navigating the tunnels as fast as they could, and Echo was doing his best to support himself with Fives’ help. His prosthetics ached with the cold, but between the adrenaline of the escape and a carefully dosed painkiller that Tech had administered earlier, Echo could almost carry his own weight. Even still, spots clung to his vision, and he could feel the slight give in his joints as he attempted to stand under his own power. He’d like to think it was getting easier, but that might just be wishful thinking.

As the squad paused at an intersection, Echo took a moment to survey the rest of their group. His senses might not be what they used to be, but these troopers definitely weren’t standard issue— although, really, neither was he.

“Huh, this ventilation corridor acts as a cooling system for all the computers in the facility.” The one with the goggles, Tech, marveled to himself as he led the squad through the maze of corridors.

“How did you know it was up here, Echo?” General Skywalker asked quietly, walking alongside them while Fives supported Echo, with Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair bringing up the rear.

Glancing up from his unsteady legs, Echo raised his chin defiantly, eyes bright with wry humor. “Well, they got access to my memory— and I got access to the Techno Union Database. All their plans, inventory, building schematics— everything.”

The Seppies thought they’d had the upper hand, and while Echo didn’t have a leg to stand on for most of his time as a POW, either figuratively or literally, heh, he’d been able to dig his fingers into their systems the minute he figured out how his interface worked. Not that he could do anything with the information he gained at the time, but it was definitely coming in handy now.

All this time in captivity, the Seppies had done their best to turn Echo into a droid– another lifeless cog in the machine of war… but Echo had never been very good at doing what he was told.

And he’d happily use that knowledge to get his rescuers out of a tight spot, planwise.

“You mean you can find us a way out of here?” Hunter asked, intrigued.

Pausing his stuttering steps, Echo turned around to face the others, straightening to his full height the best he could. “Well, there is a way, but you’re not going to like it.” He grinned.

Running on adrenaline, pain meds, and pure glee at seeing Fives alive again, it probably looked a bit crazed— but he had his batcher back, he was out of that durasteel box, and prosthetics be kriffed, if any Seppies tried to get between him and a fast exit, he’d show them exactly where they could shove their servos.

“I don’t know about this…” Fives muttered uneasily as the hermetically sealed doors opened, nerves spiking as Echo leaned closer to the sheer drop in front of them to get a better look. Echo hadn’t always been this… fragile, but surely he hadn’t always been this fearless.

“I’m telling you, there’s a landing pad on that other building.” Echo yelled, voice cracking as he attempted to make himself audible over the wind.

Physically diminished as he was, Fives couldn’t help but feel like Echo was simply… more than when he last saw him— more personality, more unwavering determination, more genuine shereshoy– lust for life– even as he leaned perilously close to the edge of their escape route and made Fives’ stomach drop in dread.

He’d never been afraid of heights before, but that was before his last living batchmate leaned over a thousand foot drop without so much as a safety line.

Mind made up, Fives reached into his utility belt with one hand to grab his grappling line, even while the other arm stabilized Echo. “Hold up a tic,” He called to the others, shooting his line at the door at the other end of their escape route, securing the other end to the wall near them and tugging on it to check the stability. It wouldn’t bear the combined weight of more than one or two troopers, but as a handhold, it was better than nothing, and all he could do for now.

“Worrywart.” Echo snorted in amusement, rolling his eyes even as his body trembled with the exertion of keeping himself upright. He’d have to stand on his own to cross their pipework bridge– it was too narrow for Fives to support him, unless he wanted to be carried entirely.

“Someone has to be,” Fives countered in a familiar refrain. For some reason, everyone in the 501st was convinced that Echo had been the reasonable one in their duo, but it was Echo that always took the biggest risks, running first into the line of fire and doing what no one else would, trusting Fives to be where he always was… just one step behind him.

But this time, it was Fives who took the first step onto the bridge, trusting Echo’s plan to get them home free, and with a moment of hesitation, the others followed.

“So you think there’s a ship we can steal?” Hunter asked as they started crossing the gap, tone belaying begrudging respect for the reg’s rather inventive plan.

“Well, I hope there’s a ship we can steal.” Echo responded, one hand on the grappling line railing.

Sending a worried glance back at the rest of his squad before continuing, Hunter had to raise his voice to be heard above the wind, Hunter replied. “Let’s hope this trip isn’t for nothing!”

Fives had half a second to wonder at the Sergeant’s tone before he remembered the big guy’s fear of heights.

“Oh boy, I can’t even look. Just keep walking, Tech.” Wrecker moaned, voice full of nerves.

“That’s fine, but if you fall, don’t take me with you.” Tech countered, keeping his eyes on his own footing. As long as Wrecker didn’t look down, they should be able to—

“Uh oh, I looked!!! Augh!” Wrecker cried, one hand gripping the grappling line railing even as his steps quickened. “I think I’m going to be sick! Not gonna panic—“

“Hang on, Wrecker! We’re almost there.” Hunter called out reassuringly.

Wrecker’s breathing quickened as he attempted to get ahold of himself. “Gonna be okay, breathe!” He muttered to himself, and he’d almost managed to get a handle on his nerves when the durasteel door in front of them whooshed open with a metallic hiss.

“Droids!” Fives barked, unholstering his twin pistols even while General Skywalker leaped to the front of the group, intent on blocking any stray blaster bolts.

“Turn around, go back!” The General ordered, but the words had barely left his mouth before another squad of droids opened the service door behind them, spilling out onto the pipework behind them.

Surrounded on all sides, the General’s lightsaber could only do so much.

Pivoting rapidly towards the oncoming droids, Crosshair had half a second to be grateful for the reg’s convenient handrail when his boots threatened to slip out from under him on the slick piping, righting himself with a stumble before bringing his rifle up to bear. Hopefully nobody saw that— especially not a reg.

His hopes were shattered when Echo met his gaze, shooting him a brief look of concern, face surprisingly expressive even while his eyebrows creased with the effort of keeping himself upright. “You good, vod? I’d offer to give you a hand, but I’m a little short on those at the moment.” He joked wryly, pitching his voice to be heard above the wind.

With the General up front and Wrecker behind, they had a small buffer between them and the droids. Unfortunately, that buffer went both ways, and other than tossing his last droid-popper towards the landing behind them, Crosshair couldn’t get a good angle on the droids surrounding them. Tough as it was, even Wrecker’s reinforced armor wouldn’t hold up forever.

Rolling his eyes under his helmet, Crosshair couldn’t help the snarky reply. “How long have you been waiting to say that one?” He asked before he could stop himself. He could practically hear Hunter’s voice in his head, fretting about offending the poor reg.

Thankfully, rather than being offended, Echo let out a wheezing chuckle before responding. “There’s a lot more where those came from!”

The glee in his eyes only doubled when Crosshair rolled his eyes hard enough to be visible even while wearing his helmet before tossing him his holdout, a modified DC-17. Echo caught it easily with his one good hand, without hesitation, and Crosshair's estimation of the other trooper went up another notch.

Echo didn’t end up needing Fives’ handrail, as the General leaped forward, taking out the squad of droids ahead of them while Tech and Wrecker tag-teamed the droids behind them, but when he stepped off their pipework bridge and his legs gave a definitive wobble, it was Crosshair who gave him a steadying hand up to the relative safety of the vent door.

Echo was just thinking their plan would go off without a hitch when they arrived at the landing platform to find it completely empty, not a ship in sight.

“Does anyone else have any brilliant ideas?” Hunter asked, wishing that just one of their missions could go the way it was supposed to.

Thankfully, Tech was never one to disappoint.

“I do have a brilliant idea!” He exclaimed triumphantly, retrieving his datapad from his belt. “When the locals attacked us, I recorded their creatures’ distress signal.” Tech continued enthusiastically.

Crosshair rolled his eyes again before explaining. “He records everything; it’s a hobby.”

“—Which allows us to call those creatures to us!” Tech finished, finally finding the audio file he was looking for, and without preamble playing it at full volume for anyone within the nearest five klicks to hear.

“Ow! Enough with the sound!” Wrecker complained, covering his ears over his helmet, and after another second, Tech obediently deactivated the screeching sound, looking towards the horizon for their ride out of here.

Turning to the others, General Skywalker spoke up again. “We need to make sure the droids don’t follow us back to the Skakoans. Do we have anything that can slow them down?”

“I think we’ve established that the Techno Union is anything but neutral in this war,” Rex added, looking to their resident demolitions expert for suggestions.

“Finally!” Wrecker’s eyes practically sparkled as he raised his helmet to scan the landing platform for critical junctures and loadbearing beams within the durasteel architecture. He’d just managed to place the last of his charges by the time that Tech spotted their ride. Flying towards them at full-tilt, the loose formation of nearly twenty giant creatures careened towards them, the line breaking like water on rocks as they arrived at their tower.

“Now, how do we get on them?” General Skywalker asked, looking back at Tech for an answer.

“How else? We jump!” Tech exclaimed, and the others gave him a dumbfounded look.

Echo felt his already taxed energy reserves shudder at the idea, but given the options of jumping or having Fives haul him out of here like a half-drowned tooka, he knew which he’d choose.

“I’ll go first,” General Skywalker called before neatly flipping himself towards the nearest Keeradak, with the rest of the squad following soon after. Fives had just enough time to give a squeak of protest when Echo jumped before his stomach lurched with the drop, landing hard at first but then buoyed upwards by an invisible force– or Force, apparently– before he could wrap his arms around the keeradak’s neck and pull himself up to sit on its back, with Rex’s help.

Blinking spots out of his vision in time to see Fives take a running leap towards the keeradak just behind theirs, Echo was relieved to see that they all made it out in one piece. The explosion they left on their way out burned into his retinas, and Echo would have it no other way.

“How you holding up, Echo?” Rex called as their ride glided back towards the Skakoan’s settlement, practically home free.

“Never better, sir!” Echo grinned back. He might be running on fumes at this point, and he’d definitely overtaxed himself in this escape in ways that he’d be feeling for a long time, but he was free, he was breathing fresh air, and he had his batchmate back again; he couldn’t ask for more.

Somewhere between landing at the settlement and returning to their ship, Echo’s vision turned to hazy mush, each step burning through his nerves before Fives finally gave into the urge to cart his batchmate back to the ship like a crate of overripe meilooruns.

Echo could vaguely remember Tech giving him some kind of glucose gel once they got back to the ship– probably not the best thing to consume on an empty stomach, but it was the best they had at the moment for upping his blood sugar– but as he fell asleep on a standard-issue bunk, joints aching, curled up under a blanket and sandwiched next to his closest brother, Echo would take all this pain and more if it meant this moment in time was real.

And it was.

—————————————————

AO3 Link:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[theravencawsatmidnight]

Preview

Bakugo is a underground Cage fighter, he comes home every morning around 3AM, hurt, bloody and pockets full of money. He does all of this to support you , his daughter. His coach, Aizawa warns him of the dangers that come with being a underground fighter but he never listens .

8 o clock sharp there was a knock on the door. Right on time like always. Little eager footsteps rushing down the short hall past the even smaller kitchen stopping at the door. Little short hands grabbing at the knob, the little feet on their tip toes so the hands could reach. A twist and a click opened the door but only a smidge. The chain lock prevented the door from opening fully.

“Papa!!!!!” You yelled all huffy. “Let uncle Midoryia in!!!”

“Now now y/n..” Midoryia said with a chuckle in his voice. “Give him a second” he smiled down at you trying to calm you down.

“Y/n.” It was a deep heavy voice. Quick to the point.

You whipped around, the pigtails in your hair hitting your face to see your father, Katsuki Bakugo making his way down the hall to you, he had a gym bag over his shoulder and his other hand in his pocket. Katsuki reached over you giving you a look as he let Midoryia into the tiny apartment. You shot him one back and it got an eyebrow raise outta him and a giggle out of you. He swears he does not know where you got this attitude from.

Midoryia shut the door behind him and you hugged his legs till he picked you up giving you a hug.

“Papa said he has to work late tonight!” You told the nervous happy man.

The green haired man just looked at his friend. How late? How long this time? How beat up will he be.. Midoryia shook his head and brought you to the couch to sit down. “Hes a important man y/n” he told you, trying to cover up the real reasons.

Katsuki noticed the headlights pull up and with a gruff he closed the door behind him before saying; “make sure she's asleep by 9” and he was gone.

Aizawa drove Katsuki to the venue. He was his coach and good friend.

“Hows y/n?” He asked, trying to break the tension.

“Just turned five. Got this attitude.” He answered. He was wrapping up his knuckles with tight tape.

“I wonder who she got that from.” Teased his sensei, pulling into the parking lot.

“What's the deal tonight?” Katsuki asked, annoyed with this current conversation. “How much money”

Aizawa pulled his hair back into a ponytail and held it to tighten it. “$300, 600 if you stay down till 8”

Katsuki bit the tape, tucking it into his palm rolling his eyes. “Sick of this shit.” He told him.

“Lets just get this over with, i bought y/n some things i want to give her”

“You spoil her.” Katsuki said while getting out of the car pulling his bag over his arm.

“Ah well, its no trouble, shes cute.” He beamed happily, making Katsuki roll his eyes.

Katsuki was sitting on the ground in his corner of the cage looking up, his arms on his knees. The cage was a legit cage.. no way out . If you wanted to get out you had to fight.. and hope they opened that door and not force another match. His eyes wandered to the boxing gloves Aizawa gave him that were on the dirty floor , he never used em, never wanted to use em.

People could be heard now and the room was filling up around the cage. Aizawa tapped Katsukis shoulder and the man leaned over.

“This guy is called Hanta, quick on his feet and built like a tree.”

“Uh huh.” He eyed the man walking into the cage pacing in place with a big grin. Katsuki got up with his hands up.

The bell rung and both men walked the cage staring each other down, Katsuki could hear people yelling and rattling the cage shouting names and money bets. It wasn't long before Katsuki threw the first punch.

*

@squeaky-ducky @thesimpsclub @knifeewifee @kingtamakimurder @lady-bakuhoe

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 26

Chapter Summary:

In another universe, when the squad entered the gunship for their mission, Commander Cody had shifted a little to the right to make room for Kix and the medkit hanging off his shoulder. He tilted his helmet, giving the medic a friendly greeting as they prepared to infiltrate the Separatist listening post.

In another universe, that gunship crashed in a barrage of cannonfire, and Cody was pinned by the weight of an entire gunship– legs trapped and torso creaking from the stress of it all– until Wrecker lifted an entire gunship singlehandedly and got him out of there.

In this universe, however, when the squad of troopers shuffled into the gunship, one trooper short, they gave each other wary glances– some more obviously than others. This time, it was Crosshair who slipped around Commander Cody’s side, standing at the back of the gunship, enjoying how the vantage point allowed him to see all its occupants and analyze their body language.

Chapter 26: Not So Distant

In another universe, when the squad entered the gunship for their mission, Commander Cody had shifted a little to the right to make room for Kix and the medkit hanging off his shoulder. He tilted his helmet, giving the medic a friendly greeting as they prepared to infiltrate the Separatist listening post.

In another universe, that gunship crashed in a barrage of cannonfire, and Cody was pinned by the weight of an entire gunship– legs trapped and torso creaking from the stress of it all– until Wrecker lifted an entire gunship singlehandedly and got him out of there.

In this universe, however, when the squad of troopers shuffled into the gunship, one trooper short, they gave each other wary glances– some more obviously than others. This time, it was Crosshair who slipped around Commander Cody’s side, standing at the back of the gunship, enjoying how the vantage point allowed him to see all its occupants and analyze their body language.

This also allowed him to stand in the blind spot of the unfamiliar reg with the cog tattoo, Crosshair mused to himself with a smirk, but that was just an added bonus.

The reg and his Captain seemed to be pretty close, given how easily they fell into step beside each other. Crosshair also tracked the sympathetic look the Captain sent the reg when he instinctively looked over his shoulder only to find that space empty, their eyebrows crinkling in microexpressions that made Crosshair want to retch.

Regs would yap all day about their “brotherhood” and commitment to the cause, but Force forbid a so-called “brother” be anything but a carbon copy of their donor. As far as Crosshair was concerned, the regs could take their ideas of brotherhood and shove it.

Brotherhood had never justified saving the life of just one trooper… but apparently that was a part of their mission.

Crosshair had been read-in on the dual purpose for this infiltration– looking for intel on a new strategist or algorithm that might explain the change in the Seppie’s strategies, along with their missing vod– but it seemed like a lot of trouble for just one reg, especially one who’d been jareor enough to get himself kidnapped by the Seppies on purpose.

He ignored the whisper of guilt in the back of his mind, saying that those vode hadn’t been entirely horrible to his squad, even befriending Wrecker, helping him manage his pain after his injury and teaching Crosshair how to help too.

Their visit had also convinced Tech to sneak them into the Kaminoan’s medbay late one night to ensure that all their chips were truly nonfunctional like he had initially assumed– and it was a good thing he did. Luckily, Crosshair already kept his hair short and Wrecker had shaved his hair even before the explosion that took his eye, so their surgeries went without notice or extra complications. He could only imagine the dramatics that would have taken place if Hunter had needed to shave his mop.

And sure, the buzzcut was a little itchy, but Crosshair could manage.

From his vantage point in the back of the gunship, Crosshair could make out a sliver of the view through the pilot’s viewport, so he passed the time glancing between that and the back of the reg’s helmet, knowing it unnerved the other trooper from the sideways glances he’d been given in return.

Crosshair noticed when the pilot’s muscles tensed, previously relaxed shoulders going taut, but nothing could have compared him for the hard jerk to the side as the gunship took a hit from enemy cannons.

He could hear Wrecker’s grating yell, followed by a laugh as he shouted, “We’re going down!”

For someone so afraid of heights, Wrecker seemed to have a revolting amount of pure glee every time they crashed.

The ship plummeted suddenly into the rocky surface, careening downward with a screeching, shearing sound before Crosshair’s entire world was engulfed in black.

—————————————

“Move, Move!” Commander Cody yelled, helmet swiveling to see the wreckage of the gunship around him. Rex gave a firm nod to Jesse as the other exited the smoking hull of the ship, but his headcount was interrupted by a shout.

“Where’s Crosshair?” Hunter barked, somehow navigating the smoke with ease as he circled the wreckage.

“He’s under the wreckage of the aft cargo compartment!” The trooper with the goggles shouted— Tech, Rex remembered. He signaled down under the buckling doors of the ship, which had been nearly crushed on one side, the wing practically obliterated in the crash. Rex surged forward to help, wishing with all his mind that Kix was here— they weren’t well equipped for a medical emergency here— only to get stopped by Hunter.

“Hang on, Captain.” The Sergeant put a hand on Rex’s arm, pulling him back before calling out to their larger squad member, “Wrecker!”

Rex opened his mouth to protest, because what could one trooper possibly do— before pausing when he took note of Cody’s calm demeanor, stance easy as he nodded to Rex, signaling to let them do their thing.

And sure enough, Wrecker got Crosshair out of there— rather, he got the ship out of there, tossing it aside like an empty supply crate, not even flinching at the explosion that followed before helping his wounded brother out of the smoke with surprising gentleness.

Gangly limbs materialized out of the smoke as Crosshair stiffened before straightening enough to stagger back to the rest of their squad, still supported by the much larger trooper.

“Crosshair, status?” Hunter called back, focus ahead as he listened for whatever had shot them down.

Armor scorched and battered, Crosshair very deliberately did not crumple in a heap as he was forced to sit down by Tech, who quickly scanned him for internal injuries.

“We always get shot down when we travel with regs.” Crosshair grunted testily, voice tight with pain but otherwise steady, which was impressive given the crack down the side of his breastplate.

Rex had seen crush injuries like that before, and the sniper would be lucky if it signaled anything less than a broken collarbone, and shooting a blaster with that kind of injury was excruciating under any circumstances.

Tech completed a brief scan, confirming as such, but they didn’t have long before the echoing march of clankers reached their position. He reached into their minimal medpack without so much as a warning before jabbing Crosshair in the neck with a hypo.

“To cut the pain after your natural epinephrine production reaches its peak,” Tech explained, clinically unapologetic when Crosshair cursed him for the sharpness of the movement before moving to stand once again.

“Stand down, trooper,” Rex ordered firmly but not harshly, knowing all-too-well how much a broken collarbone could hurt. Crosshair seemed to think differently, however, and Rex earned a derisive snort from the sniper as he came to stand at his full height in front of the Captain.

“And do what? Whine about it?” Crosshair questioned icily, and Rex didn’t have to wonder if the other trooper was looking down at him in more ways than one.

He glanced at Hunter, expecting the Sergeant to rein him in, but Rex was shocked when Hunter simply sighed before tilting his head to one side, gesturing for Crosshair to join the rest of them, like he didn’t have a broken collarbone and a probable concussion on top of it.

Honestly, Rex was impressed the other trooper was still standing, let alone slinging his sniper rifle over his shoulder before letting it rest at his side as his squad jumped into motion.

“Plan 83,” Hunter shouted, and Rex and Jesse were left dumbfounded when Wrecker lifted Crosshair into a modified shoulder carry— modified because Wrecker barely looked like he was carrying anything, using one arm to stabilize the other’s position, and Crosshair’s balance was near-perfect as he lined up his scope on Wrecker’s shoulder rather than his own, eliminating three rocket-launching clankers before Rex could blink.

His surprise doubled when, rather than ducking for cover behind the shell of their destroyed gunship, Wrecker used his free arm to rip the doors off before flinging it a good 50 meters closer to the attacking clankers, converging with Hunter and Tech, who had thrown their own smoke grenades to provide temporary cover, before racing for their new vantage point. Rex didn’t miss how Wrecker positioned himself between his brothers and enemy fire— his armor was the thickest, after all, and he was surprisingly fast for his size as he careened down the valley.

During their wild sprint, Rex had raised his own blasters, preparing to charge across the battlefield for cover when Cody stopped him with a hand on his pauldron. Rex could hear the dry amusement in the other’s tone as he spoke, “I think we’ll just get in their way.”

And sure enough, the Bad Batch in all their glory, slaughtered their way through the entire contingent of droids, easily half a battalion’s worth, nearly as quickly as Rex had seen General Skywalker go– maybe even faster.

Briefly, Rex remembers what Jesse had muttered back on the landing platform before they’d officially met the unconventional squad of troopers.

“I’ve heard mixed things about these guys. It’s not that they win, it’s how they win that worries me.” He’d muttered under his breath at the time.

Apparently, they won because they were kriffing crazy.

—————————————

Once they’d collected the rest of their gear and made for the ridge above them, Rex couldn’t help but notice that Crosshair was lagging behind, one arm now secured in a makeshift sling. But when he tried to suggest that the other trooper request an evac, now that their situation was a little less dire, he only earned the sniper’s ire, as well as the incredulity of the rest of the batch.

Crosshair looked like he’d swallowed something bitter as he responded. “Last I checked, air support doesn’t make pit stops mid-mission for one measly little trooper with a couple of bruises. But maybe it’s different for regs– at least, if they’re friendly with their captain.” The sniper met Rex’s gaze once again, challenging.

Rex hadn’t been subtle, after all, when explaining the mission’s dual purpose to gain the intel necessary to rescue their lost brother while also looking into a new enemy algorithm. And more than that– something about this mission, the Separatist’s pushback on this campaign– Rex couldn’t deny that it felt familiar.

“I don’t care if you’re injured– You can’t talk to Captain Rex like that!” Jesse butted in, temper sparking because that was his brother that Rex was trying to save, and since when had evacuating the injured been a sign of favoritism? Surely their Sergeant didn’t expect them to stay and fight when safe recovery zones were within easy reach.

Except…

“Clone Force 99 operates in deep cover and black ops more often than not.” Commander Cody murmured under his breath to Rex and Jesse, mindful of flaring tempers as the other Bad Batchers tensed, ready to defend their injured brother.

He continued, “They’ve had to learn to make-do with less than most.” Privately, Cody knew that some battalions were a little less forgiving of their nonconformities, and would take their sweet time in arranging their extractions even when they were possible.

Rex seemed to pick up on the unspoken meaning behind Cody’s words and took the cue to back off, even when Crosshair’s expression went smug at the supposed victory– if staying in the field while injured could really be called a victory– but his niggling sense of doubt wouldn’t go away, even when they stopped for the night.

Taking the first watch in the dimly-lit campsite, Rex couldn’t help but feel melancholy as he tapped through his datapad until he came to a holopic of himself, Cody, Echo, and Fives.

His brooding was interrupted by a familiar voice. “What are you looking at, vod?” Cody asked quietly, moving to sit beside him in the dark.

Rex huffed to himself– somehow Cody always knew when he was getting in his head too much. He nodded at the datapad in question, responding. “Kix, Echo… before that, Hevy.”

Rex sighed, “There’s so many troopers, gone…”

Cody squeezed his shoulder in solidarity, offering Rex an empathetic look. “Yeah, regular folk don’t understand. Sometimes in war, it’s hard to be the one that survives.” As a Marshall Commander, he could hope for Kix’s survival, but he still had to be realistic, knowing the chances all too well.

“... that’s what I’m worried about,” Rex admitted, voice pensive.

“What do you mean?” Cody questioned, caught off-guard.

Rex bit his lip before speaking again. “I didn’t tell the Generals– they might think I’m crazy… you might think I’m crazy.”

“What is it?”

Sighing, Rex braced himself for rejection, “... I think Echo’s alive.”

Cody straightened in his seat, incredulous. “That’s not possible. He died at the Citadel.”

Rex shook his head, continuing. “The way the droids are countering us here– the strategies they’re using, they’re all old battle plans Echo and I drew up together–“

Cody paused for a long moment, taking in Rex’s lost expression, and sighed. “Look, Rex, I hear what you’re saying, but it’s just not possible.”

Releasing a breath of air, Rex sagged in defeat. “I hope you’re right–” After all, he wouldn’t wish that kind of slow death on any of his troopers. “But the fact is, Echo’s fingerprints are all over these Separatist strategies.”

“Rex, you have to admit that what you’re saying is a long shot, at best,” Cody grimaced, “... and most likely, misplaced hope.” He’d follow his vod anywhere, and he hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he’d rather spare Rex the pain of disappointment now, if he could.

After all, brothers so rarely returned from the dead, and Cody couldn’t risk losing Rex to the fantasy of a long-lost brother back from the grave.

“I need you to be focused on this, vod.” Cody finished, firmly but not unkindly.

“I-I know. I know,” Rex stuttered, nodding in weary agreement. “Don’t worry.”

Cody gave him a tight smile, gripping his shoulder in solidarity once again before leaving the captain to his watch, wondering if he’d done the right thing by telling Rex to give up on one lost brother while searching for another.

————————————————

AO3 Link:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 25

Chapter Summary:

Rex and the Jesse return to the 501st just in time for their deployment to the outer rim, while Fives and the others start their long journey home.

Chapter 25: Groundwork

Marching up the ramp of the Resolute, helmet still firmly in place in an attempt to look a little more put together, Rex moved to stand next to his General, observing the troops returning from shore leave. From here, he could just spot Jesse and the shinies who’d joined them at the temple. It didn’t look like anything was amiss, but after everything, he was counting on Jesse to keep an eye on them when he couldn’t.

“Rex, good to see you! I heard you had quite the adventure.” General Skywalker clapped the captain on the back enthusiastically, earning a muffled groan.

“Only you would call a speeder crash an adventure, sir.” Rex sighed, clearing his throat.

Between the cover story for the chips and the dechipping hypo itself, Rex wasn’t feeling great, but after nearly three years of working with Skywalker, the banter came naturally. It helped that he hadn’t had to directly lie yet— Fox had talked him through his cover story just in case— but thankfully Skywalker was quick to move on.

The General’s mind always seemed to be elsewhere on their first day shipping out— probably with a certain Senator— but for now, it came in handy.

Of course, even General Skywalker noticed when Rex muffled a round of coughs in his elbow.

“You alright, Rex?” He turned around, seeming to finally notice how Rex looked a little worse for wear.

Thankfully, Fox had drilled him on this exact question. “Fine. Must’ve caught a bug in the lower levels.” He tried to keep his eyes from wandering, pushing down the urge to over-explain that always clued people into the fact that he was lying through his teeth. Thankfully, the General seemed to buy it, shooting him a brief look of concern.

“Make sure you get checked out by medbay. Anything that can get past a trooper’s defenses must be a nasty bug.” He made a face, grimacing in sympathy.

Rex returned the look with a wry grin. “Thank you, sir. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

——————————————————

It pained Fives to leave the distribution of the de-chipping hypos to the Guard. Tup had almost died– Fives had almost died– kriff, Kix had sacrificed himself for that information–!

But the Guard had a better understanding of Coruscant supply lines and battalion ship-out dates, and they were much more conveniently placed to collaborate with the Jedi Shadows on the actual logistics of delivering the hypos. ARC training prepared Fives for many things, but not for this. And as much as he hated to admit it… the Guard had it under control.

It also helped that the Chancellor had recently instituted an executive order– one of many, these days– to provide support to troopers at-risk for exposure to a new Separatist bioweapon. This bioweapon had already been used once on Kamino, according to recent reports– it had even resulted in their supposed deaths, according to Jesse’s recollection of the Chancellor’s debriefing.

Jesse was still a little foggy on some of the later details of that meeting, but at this point, they were fairly sure that the Chancellor knew about the chips and he knew how to use them. The only question was whether he knew of the Separatist’s involvement, how much, and what that meant for the war effort and the Republic at-large.

Fives couldn’t stop a smug smirk from showing on his face when he thought about how the Chancellor’s attempts at a cover-up actually provided the perfect opportunity for them to distribute the needed supplies to eliminate the chips from the entire GAR. If Echo were here, he’d probably talk about the poetic justice of it all, but Fives had never been one for literature.

That didn’t mean the Chancellor was off the hook. Between Commander Fox and General Vos, they’d be keeping a much closer eye on things, and that included the Chancellor as well as the intricate work of sneaking the dechipping hypos into GAR supply depots, all without being discovered.

Even with the Guard taking care of the logistics, they still had to think about battalions who were far enough out of contact that they wouldn’t be receiving supplies for the next several months, but General Vos said he had a plan for that. He said one of his contacts would get a kick out of acting as a Jedi delivery boy– for the right price.

“Hondo saves the Republic! Hah! You know, my sweet mother always said– that a powerful friend in debt was worth three powerful men with good favor.”

Rex had paled significantly when General Vos had performed that impersonation, muttering something about double-crossing pirates, but General Vos had countered with an argument about how galaxy-wide chaos was bad for business– this time mimicking General Kenobi. Fives thought it sounded pretty logical, and hopefully General Vos’ contact would think the same.

After the larger pieces of the puzzle had been hammered out, it was time for Rex and Jesse to ship out. The fierce embrace between Hardcase and Jesse had been hard to watch– Hardcase had just gotten his vod back and they were being forced to separate again, but thankfully not for long. They’d see him again, and with luck, Kix would be back with them too.

Fives tried not to think too hard about the chances of that reunion. Besides, he knew a crew who excelled in beating the odds.

Fives had passed off the Bad Batch’s contact info to Rex, handing him the last copy of their info on the chips– Fox and the Jedi Shadows had the other copies, just in case, but Commander Fox had made it clear that they shouldn’t hold onto anything they cared about while making the journey back to the 501st via public transportation. It’d probably take around two weeks, from start to finish, if they were lucky.

Fives just hoped they didn’t miss their next campaign.

—————————————————

Rex didn’t know what he was expecting when Fives and the others had recommended getting in touch with Clone Force 99 to kickstart their search for Kix, but he definitely hadn’t expected the screeching of engines and near-strafing of their landing pad when his poor, overworked troopers had to duck for cover to narrowly avoid becoming a smear on the duracrete.

They’d come with Cody’s seal of approval, apparently, but Cody must not have seen them fly. Even General Skywalker knew not to scare the living daylights out of the deck crew with his flying.

Still, Rex tried to keep an open mind as he moved to greet them, walking in-step with Cody. He felt grateful for his brother’s presence– it’d been a while since they had a joint campaign with the 212th, but they’d needed the manpower, with the fight the tinnies were putting up on Anaxes. It had been enough that, even with the Wolfpack providing in-air support and the 187th covering their flank, they were still fighting tooth and nail to avoid being overrun.

Most of the time, the droids tended to fight in wave after wave, predictably surging and ebbing in a way that kept their Jedi Generals constantly on-guard, wearing them down over time, rather than overpowering the clones with their sheer numbers. Sure, the droids usually outnumbered them five-to-one, but it didn’t matter as much when that was spread out over days at a time, giving their brothers a chance to switch out and take turns being on watch.

The usual Seppie strategy ensured a never-ending pressure on the Jedi, one that never let up until either the Jedi was dead or the last clanker was defeated. This campaign, though, seemed like it was aimed at the clones.

It was something he tried not to think about, after a long night strategizing with Echo.

“Do you ever think about how, if the Seppies wanted it, they could wipe us out all at once? Send in a thousand troops rather than waves of fifty spread out over seven clicks. They could be a knife, but they choose to be a battering ram, hammering away at the Generals’ stamina for days at a time instead.” Echo pondered, looking up at Rex from his position slumped over in the Captain’s lumpy couch in his office after another long battle.

Rex sighed, “I try not to think about it, honestly.” He’d offered Echo another cup of caff before returning to their work, but the quiet sense of unease hadn’t left them that night.

Even if the droids managed to take down every last clone, they could only hope to corner a Jedi General, which is why they usually chose to tire them out with a long-standing siege. But these rapid-fire blitzes in the Outer Rim… it worried Rex, wondering what had made the Seppies change their strategy, and how they seemed to know his every move before he even made it. If they knew his playbook, what else did they know?

It was this, along with Rex’s need for intel on recent troop movements along certain supply lines near Kamino, that had urged him to contact the Bad Batch for backup… despite some misgivings.

Determined not to think about it anymore, Rex pushed away thoughts of Echo and the Separatists, trying to avoid the persistent voice in the back of his mind insisting that Echo’s fingerprints were all over the Separatist’s strategies.

Instead, he turned back to Cody, asking, “So why haven’t I heard of this squad?”

Cody shrugged, a weary smile on his face as he glanced at the ship in front of them. “Experimental unit Clone Force 99. They’re… defective clones with, uh, desirable mutations.”

“99, eh? Nice.” Rex grunted, silently approving the nod to a familiar brother who’d gone far too soon. He hadn’t thought twice about the designation, originally, but with that new information in mind, it made sense.

It almost made up for their flashy, and nearly deadly landing, in his mind. Almost…

“They call themselves “The Bad Batch.”” Cody continued and Rex’s gaze was drawn to the ramp lowering and a squad unlike any he’d ever seen, all stepping out onto the platform.

“The cavalry has arrived!”

—————————————————

Ao3 Link:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 28

Chapter Summary:

Flying back from their mission to the Listening Post, Rex felt like he was viewing the world through a fog.

Echo was alive… and they’d left him to die.

Logically, he knew there was nothing they could have done for Echo at the time. Back at the Citadel, they’d been pinned down. The shuttle had exploded, spilling out noxious fumes and hot slag, and the only thing they could see of Echo was his charred helmet, everything else engulfed in flames. In any other situation, there would be no doubt that Echo had died.

And yet…

"CT-1409."

Chapter 28: Knowing

Flying back from their mission to the Listening Post, Rex felt like he was viewing the world through a fog.

Echo was alive … and they’d left him to die.

Logically, he knew there was nothing they could have done for Echo at the time. Back at the Citadel, they’d been pinned down. The shuttle had exploded, spilling out noxious fumes and hot slag, and the only thing they could see of Echo was his charred helmet, everything else engulfed in flames. In any other situation, there would be no doubt that Echo had died.

And yet…

CT-1409

CT-1409

CT-1409

Rex went through the motions getting back to the Marauder, but it felt like his consciousness was detached from his body. He mechanically cleaned his gear and listened to the bad batchers manhandle Crosshair into getting some sorely needed medical attention.The sniper had been harangued into removing the top half of his armor, although some of his blacks had needed to be cut off when he couldn’t raise his arms past his shoulders without nearly blacking out. Eventually though, Crosshair’s wounds had been treated and the sniper had been ordered to rest until they got back to base, which he had submitted to with all the grace of a pissed-off tooka.

After all these years of war, Rex had let go of the naïve hope that missing brothers could ever be returned. At this point, they were lucky if they even managed to find the body of a missing trooper. Even Kix’s own absence had only emphasized the terrible dread and uncertainty of not-knowing– somehow even more unbearable than the all-encompassing grief of a confirmed loss.

Finally managing to pull himself together in time for the debrief, Rex found himself looking back and forth from Cody to Jesse. Cody, who was radiating quiet concern after Rex’s stunned silence, and Jesse, who was practically vibrating in impatience as he waited to hear any updates on the search for his missing batchmate.

Rex didn’t want to lie to Jesse– Force knows, the chances of Echo and Kix being held in the same place were infinitesimal, and he’d never been one to give his brothers false hope, especially not after Umbara. But the same intel that was leading them ever-closer to Echo would also pull them away from the search for Kix, and Rex couldn’t do anything to change that fact.

So when he gave his briefing to the Generals, sharing their suspicions about the algorithm and what they’d found– who they’d found, he was surprised by General Skywalker’s quiet question, expression thoughtful. “Rex, was there… anything else?”

Rex swallowed past the tightness in his throat, mind turbulent from all these recent revelations. He didn’t miss Jesse’s fiery look as he shook his head, but suspicions and hopes had no place at an official briefing, as much as he wished they did.

“No sir, just… considering who should accompany the team to Skako Minor. Clone Force 99 and myself would be the obvious choice, but with ARC Trooper Fives’ team coming back from Corellia at 1800–” They’d finally sent a shuttle to retrieve the wayward squad earlier that week, and while he knew they had to be running on fumes at this point, he’d never bar the ARC Trooper from a mission to retrieve his long-lost batchmate.

The tone of the room grew considering. They’d all been relieved to hear about the miscommunication that had led to the squad’s presumed death, with General Kenobi making a comment that General Skywalker’s troops clearly shared his flair for dramatics. But Rex knew that conversation wouldn’t be an easy one, and Cody seemed to share that sentiment.

“Want me to talk to him?” Cody offered, but Rex was already shaking his head. Fives was his trooper– as was Echo, and he’d never been one to hand off responsibilities when it came to his men.

That’s what he told himself later as he pulled Fives aside, knowing how much the truth would hurt one of his closest brothers.

“It’s about Echo… he’s alive.”

A long moment of silence passed between them before Fives scoffed, incredulous. “Not funny Rex.”

Rex rubbed at tired eyes, feeling much older than his 26 standards. “I wish I was joking.”

Fives’ brows furrowed as he tried to process what Rex was saying before finally responding, voice sharp with denial. “Echo is dead— we saw him die! You saw that explosion too, Rex. H-He…” Fives swallowed and looked away, voice raw. “Nobody survives that.”

Vaguely, Rex noticed that Fives’ hands were trembling.

“I’m not sure how it happened, Fives, but this campaign’s been… The droids knew all my battle plans— The counter-strategies were so specific. It’s my strategies the droids know— my playbook!” Rex’s fists clenched, guilt seeping in. For every failed strategy, his brothers paid the price.

“When we infiltrated the Listening Post, we connected to a live signal on Skako Minor— not just a code. They used Echo’s number, and I could hear him, Fives—“ Rex stressed, voice raw with conviction.

“I just…nothing else makes sense...” He trailed off, looking back at Fives.

Fives’ eyes flashed, expression shifting before he finally snapped. “Sure it does! It could be a trap! A Separatist algorithm! Maybe a different vod unlucky enough to get taken alive. It can’t be Echo.” He exclaimed, throwing out a hand for emphasis.

He seemed to catch himself, reining in his temper with a slow breath of air. When he finally spoke again, his voice was hollow and empty.

“Echo, h-he can’t be alive.” Throat bobbing as his eyes glistened with unshed tears, Fives continued. “If he’s alive, then that means—“ He stopped, voice choked off.

That means we left him there to die.

Head bowed and shoulders shaking, Fives stayed like that for a long moment. Finally, he gave his head a violent shake, voice still trembling at the edges to mask his grief.

“I’m not sure what you found, but it’s not Echo. My batchmate died a long time ago. Whatever this algorithm is, it can’t be him.” The ARC’s voice wavered, and Rex knew he couldn’t push it right now.

“A-Alright, Fives.” Rex let it rest for now. Even if he was convinced that Echo was alive, he wouldn’t force Fives to come to the same conclusion.

Tone careful, he continued. “We’ll be shipping out to Skako Minor at 0700 to infiltrate the signal’s source.”

Fives sighed, sounding resigned. “It’ll probably be a trap.”

At that, Rex smirked. “Probably, but you know the General. Never one to leave it be.”

He looked back at Fives, assessing. “…You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Fives.”

Fives shook his head, and finally the grief in his gaze shifted to wry amusement. “And miss the party? Not on your life, vod.”

—————————————————

AO3 Link:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 27

Chapter Summary:

Fueled by a combination of sheer determination and spite, Crosshair settled into his position providing overwatch while his squad and the regs snuck closer to the objective. He’d already resigned himself to the fact that his collarbone was going to hurt no matter what position he took, hidden safely in his sniper’s nest, but he couldn’t stop the quiet hiss of pain as the butt of his rifle brushed his shoulder wrong.

The Bad Batch, along with Cody, Jesse, and Rex, infiltrate the Listening Post, but none of them are prepared for what they find.

Chapter 27: The Safety Net

Fueled by a combination of sheer determination and spite, Crosshair settled into his position providing overwatch while his squad and the regs snuck closer to the objective. He’d already resigned himself to the fact that his collarbone was going to hurt no matter what position he took, hidden safely in his sniper’s nest, but he couldn’t stop the quiet hiss of pain as the butt of his rifle brushed his shoulder wrong.

“Everybody in position?” Commander Cody asked over comms, with Hunter and Crosshair giving an affirmative.

They’d already cleared one outpost– his kill count was currently five ahead of Wrecker’s, injured reserve or not. They might not sideline him to the same extent as the regs, but at this point, he could all but guarantee that Tech would be assaulting him with ice packs and a bone-mender the second they got back to the Marauder. They’d already been acting like overprotective mother nexu's, either making sure he was in the middle of their formation or relegated to overwatch. Wrecker had offered to carry him more than once, but Crosshair hadn’t accepted since the initial shuttle crash. He still had some pride left.

Honestly, if any of them were to be injured on a mission, an injured Crosshair set them back the least. Between the four of them, Tech’s expertise in most things made him indispensable for the vast majority of their missions– and if Wrecker was ever knocked unconscious under a gunship, he’d be stuck there until he woke up enough to get himself out of that mess. As a squad, they’d been grounded for nearly a month when Wrecker had been caught in the explosion that cost him his eye. Even now, the demolitions expert was still getting back to his full strength. Sure, he’d managed to lift the gunship to rescue Crosshair, but Wrecker would probably be feeling it later.

And between the four of them, Hunter was the only one who could talk to regs or civvies for any length of time without it resulting in a fistfight. The Sergeant accounted for at least 80% of the Bad Batch’s restraint. Crosshair would never admit it to the reg, but Jesse hadn’t been half-wrong earlier when he’d muttered something about Hunter’s enhancement being his ability to put up with the rest of them. They certainly didn’t make it easy for him, but they’d be more than a little lost without their Sergeant leading the charge.

But Crosshair wasn’t the brains of the operation; he wasn’t the muscle or the glue that held them together, not like his brothers were. He was their backup, their safety net– their insurance when everything went to kark, and he could do that job blindfolded with one hand tied behind his back. Surely, he could do it with a broken collarbone and half a concussion.

That’s why he was on overwatch for this part of the mission, and later he’d help secure their transportation out of there. He wasn’t looking forward to that sprint across enemy lines when the time came, with the way he could feel his insides shift a little with each painful inhale, but he could do it.

He was still functional. Even if his injuries had left him a little shock-y and painful for the better part of the previous night, he knew how to push through. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all.

With that in mind, he forced himself to push past the fog of discomfort and listen to the others’ updates on his comm.

“Cap, you wanted to know when those Separatist forces breached the outpost?” Tech asked over comms. “Well, they’re getting there just about now.”

From his position in the petrified fungi making up his cover, Crosshair could see the dust cloud forming from the Separatist transport in the distance, and he knew they’d have a pretty short window of time to infiltrate the listening post.

Crosshair’s suspicions proved correct when one of the battledroids guarding the perimeter answered a comm call, looking alarmed. It was all too easy to blast its head clean off when the time came, although his vision flashed a searing white when his rifle kicked back into his shoulder, a pattern that repeated itself for every round he fired. But he gritted his teeth and kept firing despite the pain, hoping to split the droid’s attention between himself and the reg’s team while his squad snuck around the back.

Even when the droids outside the listening post had been neutralized and both teams moved back, Crosshair forced himself to stay alert. He’d removed his sling earlier— a firepuncher was not a one-handed weapon, and his body definitely wasn’t thanking him for it. His vision may be spotty, his torso trembling from the strain of it all, but his aim never wavered.

When the first group of Seppie reinforcements came over the ridge, Crosshair shifted his rifle to meet them, managing to find a divot in his cover to hold his blaster steady even as he got ready to break cover. He’d positioned himself far enough away that he wasn’t at-risk of being overrun, but between the Spider Droids and Commando droids he could see from here, he knew he’d need a head start to secure their transportation out of there.

He barely registered Hunter’s voice over comms, saying, “Crosshair, we’re gonna need a lift,” before Crosshair forced himself to get moving.

“Not going to be a problem.” He responded sardonically but still moved to sling his rifle over his less injured shoulder before hopping down from his cover. Diving out of the petrified fungi forest, Crosshair hated every second that his back was exposed to enemy fire.

Switching to his hand blaster while in-motion, Crosshair cleared a path to the nearest troop transport. It wouldn’t be his first time single-handedly capturing a Separatist vessel, but he couldn’t hold back a wave of relief as Commander Cody started strafing left towards his position. Cody provided much-needed cover fire as Crosshair scrambled the last several feet before pulling himself up over the troop transport’s railing.

He landed hard in the pilot’s seat and couldn’t stop a hiss of pain as he waited for the spots in his vision to fade enough to pilot the transport to the rendezvous site. Cody slid into the seat beside him, shooting the sniper a worried look, but he didn’t protest as Crosshair piloted the transport into position.

While he’d been catching his breath, the Separatist Multi-troop transport had finally broken cover, depositing a contingent of Super Battle Droids on their front door. Thankfully, Hunter and Wrecker had already made their way through the Listening post and were providing additional support to the regs up front.

Crosshair brought the transport around the back to the others just as they were exiting the Listening post, and not a moment too soon. Crosshair registered the Captain’s stiff body language, but he didn’t let that stop him from flying them out of the crossfire and back to base.

It was only after they’d made their escape that Crosshair overheard Tech ask the Captain about whatever they’d learned at the listening post. “That number, Cap. What did it mean?”

Sparing a glance back at the Captain, Crosshair didn’t need his enhanced vision to see the shell-shocked expression on Rex’s face. “CT-1409– That was Echo’s number. He’s alive.” The Captain murmured, looking like he couldn’t believe it himself.

A long beat of silence followed. And then Crosshair glanced back at the regs in confusion, asking, “Weren’t you looking for a Kix?”

He was so done with this mission.

——————————————

Letting out a sigh of relief, Fives could have cried tears of joy as his feet touched the solid ground of Anaxes, finally back with the 501st. Commander Fox hadn’t been lying about Corellia, or their hectic transportation system. It had taken three weeks to get back to the 501st, even with Commander Fox helping them schedule their ride ahead of time. At this point, it’d been more than a month since he was back with his vode, and they were all more than ready for a reunion.

So when Rex pulled him aside shortly after their landing with a serious expression, Fives was ready to assume the worst. Had something happened? Where was Jesse?

“I need to talk to you, Fives…” Rex started after a long moment of silence. The Captain’s expression was grim and determined, but nothing could have prepared Fives for when Rex finally started talking again.

“It’s about Echo.”

———————————————

Ao3 Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49631137/chapters/163384378

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 21

Chapter Summary:

“Let me see your identifications, please.”

Rex’s gut churned as Jesse spoke, voice empty of any familiar inflections. The other trooper’s stance was stiff, and if Rex hadn’t known better, he would’ve assumed it was a Commando droid under that armor instead of his trooper– his vod.

Chapter 23: Commander

Then:

Finally, Fives relented. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Rex, but alright.”

Hardcase grumbled in disagreement, but in the end, he gave in too, reaching forward to clasp the captain’s arm with a bruising grip. “Make sure you come back to us, sir.”

“I will.” Rex huffed, a small smile gracing his face as he nodded in agreement. Fives was quick to repeat the gesture with just as much strength. Rex gave Tup and Dogma a quick squeeze on the shoulders before urging his troopers on their way. They’d be alright– all of them would be, and Fives could keep an eye on them until he saw them again.

Rex had almost managed to convince himself of this as they rounded the next corner– and ran straight into that same squad of troopers from earlier, clad in 501st blue, and a familiar voice startled Rex out of his thoughts.

Now:

“Let me see your identifications, please.”

Rex’s gut churned as Jesse spoke, voice empty of any familiar inflections. The other trooper’s stance was stiff, and if Rex hadn’t known better, he would’ve assumed it was a Commando droid under that armor instead of his trooper– his vod.

Sure, he’d heard about the chips, believed his troopers and watched the holo-recording of Commander Wolffe’s attack on his troopers, but it was another thing to see Jesse standing in front of him, nearly an empty shell of himself.

So distracted by the uncanny valley between this trooper and the Jesse he knew, Rex stayed silent long enough for the troopers behind Jesse to let their hands start to drift towards their blasters.

Thankfully, Fox was quick to intervene, handing them two slips of flimsi that Rex definitely hadn’t noticed before, and the other troopers loosened their grips on their blasters, now that they were cooperating.

Rex attempted to conceal his nerves, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead, bringing a chill despite the humid air of the cramped underbelly of Coruscant.

They might have even gotten away with it, if Sterling hadn’t noticed the familiar splash of 501st blue on Rex’s knee armor, just visible below the cover of his poncho.

Rex had one last moment to be thankful he’d given the datapad to Fives before everything descended into chaos.

“Helmet off! Now!” Sterling wasted no time reaching for his blaster, just as Jesse noticed the same thing.

“Hands above your head!” He barked, and Rex raised slow hands to remove his helmet, glancing back at Fox, who was starting to do the same when he spoke up, voice carrying all the authority of his rank as Marshall Commander of the Coruscant Guard.

“Stand down, Lieutenant.” Commander Fox ordered, voice placating. “I have Captain Rex in my custody, and I’m delivering him to the holding cells, in accordance with standard procedure.”

The Lieutenant’s grip on his blasters only tightened. “We have direct orders to bring him to the Coruscant Medical Center for an evaluation. He came into contact with an experimental virus, and we’ve been ordered to bring him in.”

Fox’s eyebrows raised and he shared a look with Rex, “A virus, eh? Rex, how’ve you been feeling lately?”

“Nothing to report, Commander.” Rex countered sarcastically despite the blasters pointed in his direction.

Jesse hesitated, glancing between the two of them like he didn’t know what to make of their conversation, but his blasters never wavered from where they were focused on Rex.

He seemed to come to a decision, though, as he stiffened before shifting one pistol to point in Fox’s direction. “All the same, Commander, we’re going to have to ask you to hand him into our custody for inspection.”

A long pause. “I can’t do that.”

Jesse’s tone hardened, sharp through his helmet filters. “Sir, I’m going to ask you one more time. We’re under special orders from the Supreme Chancellor to apprehend Captain Rex and any other clone who came into contact with the virus from Kamino, and if you’re defying the directives under Order 55, I’m going to have to bring you in.”

But Fox still stood his ground.

“Commander Fox, you’re in violation of Order 55. I accuse you of treason against the Grand Army of the Republic. You’ll be demoted in rank from Marshall Commander and subject to execution, along with the traitor.”

Eyes widening, Fox switched tactics, hands going straight up at the censure, stumbling over his words, half-acting and half the result of being on his feet for the better part of the last 48 hours. “W-Wait! What do you mean, the traitor? I-I thought you just said that Rex had a virus! Let’s talk about this!”

For a split second, a pit of dread rose in Rex’s gut, thinking for just a moment that Fox might turn him in. Back when they were cadets, Fox used to have a bit of a stutter, especially when he was nervous or when he was lying through his teeth. The Kaminoans had trained it out of him though, and Rex had only heard it a few times since then– once when he’d drunk-dialed Rex after the near-death of one of his Commanders, trying and failing to sound like he wasn’t falling apart at the seams, and once… once in front of the Supreme Chancellor, now that Rex was thinking about it.

That it was happening now could only be a bad sign that things were about to go sideways.

But then, Rex noticed the Commander’s hands counting down from five on the side Jesse couldn’t see, and he prepared himself to run, helmet gripped tightly in one hand while his brother bought them a crucial few seconds of time, knowing the longer they stalled, the closer his troopers got to delivering the datapad to the Jedi. After all, Fox was the only one of them who’d ever learned how to lie for half-a-kriff.

Timing it with an oblivious civvie flying behind the tense group of troopers, Fox struck just as a speeder beeped behind them.

3…2…1!

A sharp metallic clang sounded through the air as Rex and Fox chucked their helmets at them in unison, running to duck behind a nearby dumpster.

“I didn’t much like being a commander anyway!” Fox shouted, smirking despite the situation as he brought his pistols up to start stunning the other troopers before they got behind cover.

Nonchalantly ignoring the rain of blasterfire above them, Fox spared a glance for Rex’s ducking as he narrowly missed a shot to the head. Rex didn’t miss how a couple troopers seemed to trip on air in the midst of their pursuit, but he chose not to question their luck. He’d have to sign up Sterling and Sev for situational awareness training once all this was over, though. Assuming he made it out of this mess.

They managed to duck into another alley, but it was getting close enough to morning that the streets were getting more occupied and storefronts were starting to open for what passed as daytime on Coruscant.

Their little disturbance wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.

“Follow them! Don’t let them get away!” Rex could hear Jesse order before pounding boots followed them.

Nearly tripping over a pile of trash– and disturbing at least one sleeping tooka in their frantic escape, Rex clambered away from the scene of the confrontation starting to take the lead before yelping as a tight grip pulled him back, only for Fox to pass him up, one hand still clutching him by the arm.

“This way!” Fox ordered, and Rex didn’t have time to protest before they were practically doubling back on another street nearly parallel to the last one, ducking and weaving through streets with a dizzying speed. Rex wasn’t sure whether to feel miffed at being dragged around by the scruff like a tooka kit, or grateful for his ori’vod’s near-photographic memory and knowledge of Coruscant’s underbelly.

“We need to shut them down before they get a message out to the rest of the 501st. Comms should be cycling for another couple hours, but–” Fox stumbled to a halt as they narrowly avoided a second squad of 501st troopers, turning around again with a curse as another volley of blasterfire rained down above their heads.

“ –But word-of-mouth travels nearly as fast on the planet that never sleeps.” He finished, glancing from side-to-side before his eyes lit up as he spotted a particularly disreputable-looking night club.

“In here, quick!” Fox ordered, pulling his hood up and yanking Rex’s on for him before he could do it himself.

Rex didn’t have time to complain at the manhandling, though, as Fox pulled him into the club, straight past the bouncers before they could protest, and through towards the back. Briefly blinded by the flashing reds and blues of the club lights, Rex caught a glimpse of a distinctly anti-clone symbol near the front door– one even he’d learned to avoid during his occasional trips to Coruscant– before he heard a commotion starting at the front entrance.

Great.

Apparently Fox had decided that an anti-clone bar was the perfect place to hide from the troops on their tail– and the perfect target for their chipped brothers’ aggression on a planet teeming with civilians.

Rex winced internally, caught between worry for his troops and begrudging approval for Fox’s plan. After all, a couple sleep-deprived bouncers were no match for his troopers, but it’d give them a much-needed moment to regroup and escape to the next level, although Rex still wasn’t sure they’d be able to avoid detection altogether now that at least eight troopers were on their tail.

“Out the back, go!” Fox pushed him further in and towards the back door, past an irate barkeeper and a couple wide-eyed civilians. A couple troopers made it inside and past the kitchen, so Fox stopped to take care of them while Rex cleared the alleyway ahead of them. They might have even gotten away with it too, if Rex hadn’t barreled straight into Jesse, who’d taken up a guard position at the back exit.

He heard a blaster fire, and for a moment, he thought it was all over, but the blaster bolt flew harmlessly over his head just as he felt a familiar prickle on the back of his neck, and when he turned to look back at Jesse, he was floating. Snarling and cursing as he was held aloft by an invisible force, Rex’s eyes widened, letting out a sigh of relief at the close save, wondering at their luck, running into two Jedi in one night.

At least, that’s what he thought until Ahsoka stepped out of the shadows, one hand raised as she kept Jesse from attacking them even as her stance stayed relaxed in a way that let Rex know she wasn’t hurting Jesse in her attempts to keep him still.

“Hey Rexter, long time no see.” Her stance was casual, like she hadn’t just saved Rex from his death at the hands of one of his closest brothers.

Speechless, Rex glanced up just as Fox raced outside to join them, the Commander immediately noticing a writhing Jesse, pinned to the wall with the Force.

Fox didn’t hesitate, stunning Jesse faster than Rex could blink, leaving them in the empty alley with Ahsoka’s questioning glance.

“What’s this I hear about a citywide manhunt for a commanding officer of the 501st?” She asked, tone light as she kept one eyebrow raised, and Rex submitted himself to what felt like the 5th explanation in the last 24 hours.

They had a lot to discuss.

_____________________________

Mace Windu let out a weary sigh, wondering if Quinlan’s request to have him meet with a contact for an info-drop, just outside one of the temple’s lesser-known access points, had been nothing more than a ploy to wake him up unreasonably early. Sure, most masters would pontificate on the benefits of early morning meditation, but Mace had always preferred to meditate just after dark— or what passed for dark on Coruscant. And it was just Mace before 0700, no matter how much his troopers tried to say otherwise when anyone referred to him as General, Windu, or sir.

After all, it was much easier to focus on the cosmic energy of the Force without the never-ending buzz of a trillion minds constantly making tiny ripples in the mosaic of reality. Although, even that focus had been more difficult than usual over these past few days, especially with the headache he’d had.

And if nothing else, Mace needed his beauty sleep. But with Master Ti out of the temple for the foreseeable future, any Coruscant-based Shadow responsibilities fell to Windu as the head of the order. At least he’d managed to grab a cup of kaff before heading down to the rendezvous point, grimacing at the muggy Coruscant air.

He was starting to think nobody was coming when he finally heard a shuffling noise around the corner before a group of four humanoids in ponchos— clones, he realized after a moment— approached him with an exhausted look of relief as they undoubtedly recognized him.

“General Windu, sir!” The one in the front saluted, shortly followed by the others as he removed his hood, and Mace’s curiosity only grew as he noticed stripes of 501st blue on the trooper’s armor. What had Quinlan been doing with Skywalker’s troopers, and why was his headache only getting worse?

It wasn’t Commander Fox approached their group, smugly piloting a large speeder that definitely wasn’t standard regulation, Skywalker’s former padawan in the passenger seat and Captain Rex in the back, looking a little worse for wear, that Mace gave up his wishful notions of going back to his bunk for another hour after dealing with this. He also didn’t miss the unconscious troopers slung into remaining seats of the speeder. Or the bacta-patch on Fox’s forehead that perfectly matched the location of the still-healing scar on the other troopers’ heads.

“General, we’re here to report a conspiracy against the Republic and the Jedi. The Kaminoans are working with the Separatists, and they placed a control chip inside the heads of every clone.” The trooper from before spoke again, and Mace knew it was going to be a long day.

In the face of the chaos that had just been dropped on his doorstep, Mace gave Tano a look he saved for the most stubborn of padawans– and Depa. His former padawan still pushed his buttons every time they met for shore leave.

Ahsoka held up her hands in mock-surrender as she slid out of the commandeered speeder. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just doing my duty as a concerned citizen, wanted to make sure these guys got here in one piece.”

Mace stifled the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off the headache-turned-migraine that was this entire situation, instead gesturing towards the understated door behind him that led to the lower levels of the Jedi Temple. “Troopers, follow me. I sense we have much to discuss.”

“Yes, sir!” They said, starting to follow General Windu inside the temple as-ordered. Halfway to the entrance, Rex paused, turning around again to face Ahsoka.

“Commander, you should come with us.” Rex pushed down the desperate hope in his chest. The Jedi had lost a great one when she’d left, but he’d lost his vod’ika when the kid left the Order behind.

Ahsoka’s eyes widened in surprise at the offer, even as her lips twitched upwards into a half-smile. “You don’t have to call me Commander anymore, Rex.”

“Sure thing, Commander.” Rex’s voice was soft as he gave her a small smile, hesitating before probing again. “So, what do you say?”

She took a moment to think before shaking her head, resolute in her decision. “Not this time, Rex.” She released a breath of air. “I’ve got a lot of growth I need to do first. I need to find out who I am without the Jedi before running back to them.”

She paused, hesitating for a moment before speaking again. “Will you keep me updated? Let me know how Jesse’s doing?”

Rex was about to open his mouth to agree when General Windu spoke up, tone firm. “I’m sorry, citizen, but these issues are for the council to discuss.”

Ahsoka’s half-smile tightened into a grimace, gaze cooling but still a hint of sadness in her tone as she took a step back towards the Captain. “Until next time, Rexter?”

Rex sighed but returned her smile with a wry one of his own. “They don’t deserve you, kid.” At this point, he didn’t care if the Head of the Jedi Order was around to hear it.

At that, Ahsoka smirked. “I know.” After a moment, she spoke again. “Tell the men I said hello.”

“Yes, sir.” Rex’s mouth twisted into a smirk as he gave her one of his sharpest salutes.

And then, with as much warning as her appearance, Ahsoka was gone. The kid would be alright, Rex reasoned with himself.

After all, she’d been taught by the best.

_____________________________

AO3 Link:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[toschestationed]

Knockout Ch. 23

Chapter Summary:

Dechipping and sci-fi pseudoscience commence while Jesse's situation is hopefully resolved.

Ch. 23: Midichlorians are the Powerhouse of the Force:

Head spinning dizzily, Captain Rex let out a heavy sigh as he laid back on his bed in the Halls of Healing. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be, and the bruises were mostly for show, but the Jedi healers had figured out how to put some force protections around his mind, just in case anyone went looking further and discovered his knowledge of the inhibitor chips. That, more than anything, had made him want to sleep for a week. 

A lot had happened in the last day–kriff, in the last week, and his head would be spinning even without the force osik and near-concussion he’d gotten from General Windu’s carefully-applied use of shatterpoints, giving him an alibi for his absence over the last rotation. Honestly, he was surprised he wasn’t feeling any worse. 

But with his alibi in place and his troopers secure in the Jedi’s Halls of Healing, he could almost give in to the urge to let go of consciousness… not quite, but almost.

While he’d been recovering from his ordeal, the Jedi had been at work removing the inhibitor chips from Sterling, Sev, and the other troopers they’d left in Medbay, excluding Jesse, who had stayed conscious throughout his stay and stubbornly refused any attempts at medical care. 

The last attempted interaction with Jesse had ended with him straining against his restraints, practically snapping at the Jedi Healers in true stubborn form. “We can go round and round in this circle if you want. I ain’t agreeing to anything.”

After that, they’d decided to leave him be for now.

At some point, the ARC-hopeful would have to sleep, and that’s when General Windu would attempt his shatterpoint manipulation to nullify the chip. The healers had come to a consensus that this was the least invasive decision while still respecting Jesse’s wishes as much as possible– especially with the knowledge that his decision-making was heavily influenced by his inhibitor chip. Technically, Jesse had only refused the surgery, not the chip’s deactivation, and as Rex remembered his own brief experience with mind control, he knew that Jesse in his right mind would forgive them.

Meanwhile, General Windu had called in a consultant from the Jedi Educorps, and Fox had left to report on Rex’s location and status. The commander felt reasonably confident that doing so now would help minimize the risk of this situation getting even further out of hand than it was already, and would prevent any concerned parties from sending bounty hunters after Rex’s head, or some other worse fate. Rex was just glad that General Skywalker was usually… preoccupied while they were on planet, or he’d be worried about a check-in from his General.

Attempting to tune into the Jedi’s discussion despite the pounding in his head, Rex wasn’t afraid to admit that most of it went over his head, but the bits and pieces he understood weren’t too bad. Apparently, the Educorps consultant was hoping to trial some inoculations with the removed chips before injecting anything into his brothers– again making Rex grateful that Fox had relented from his original resistance to involving the Jedi. Realizing he’d zoned out again, Rex turned back towards the debrief nearby.

“So how’s it work again?” Fives questioned, looking deep in thought as the more technical information went over his head despite his best attempts. The Kaminoans liked to brag about the clones’ memory and intelligence, but flash-training only gave them so much, and the Kaminoans hadn’t prioritized xenomycology in their education. 

Thankfully, a friendly-looking Dressellian looked more than happy to explain. “Most datachips are made with a high percentage of silicon, including the inhibitor chips. After some testing, we’re hoping to determine whether the degradation of the chips’ silicon components would work effectively to wipe any orders or compulsions– without creating any dangerous byproducts from the degradation.”

“Right, we wouldn’t want that…” Fives trailed off, only looking somewhat reassured– and more than a little confused by the unknown Jedi’s explanation, the Dresselian so excited about the topic that he’d completely forgotten to give an introduction.

Thankfully, General Windu was quick to offer some insight. “Knight Reeft is an educorps researcher, specializing in vector transmission and xenoimmunity.”

The Knight, Reeft, rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I used to be a field knight, back before the war, but I got into some heat with the Bounty Hunter Corps, and I’ve always been more of a learner than a fighter. The educorps have been an interest of mine since I was a youngling, and then with all the Knights and Masters out in the field, it’s good to have a few of us around who can handle a saber.”

At that, Reeft and Master Windu shared a look, and not for the first time, Rex wondered at just how vulnerable the Jedi Temple was during wartime. With most of its protectors spread throughout the galaxy, the average Jedi Temple resident was either a youngling, wounded, or a noncombatant. Rex hadn’t missed the surprisingly low number of Jedi they’d passed in the halls, or the fact that, of the Jedi in the Halls of Healing, only Reeft, General Windu, and one other were actively carrying a lightsaber. 

During Rex’s musings, Reeft had gone on to explain his previous research– apparently he’d been looking at ways to expedite the vaccination-creation process through the use of synthetic bacteriophage vectors, although his most recent attempt had accidentally been exposed to a xeno-rhinovirus that corroded the media in his petri dishes, making a good object lesson for the younglings, but had set him back in his research by at least a few weeks, and–

“But how will we know if it works?” Rex interrupted, earning a relieved look from Fives now that the Captain was awake again.

“Human tissue reacts differently to electrical current than silicon. It should be relatively easy to determine when the chips have been deactivated by running a low intensity current through it.”

“Won’t that hurt?” Fives asked, looking nervous. 

Thankfully, Knight Reeft was quick to shake his head. “Not at all. Much higher currents are used safely in standard medical equipment. You’d need extrasensory organs like a Nautolan to even feel it.” He explained, earning a sigh of relief from Fives before he continued.

“As far as I know, there shouldn’t be any harmful byproducts from the fungi metabolizing the silicon, but we’re not exactly sure of the entire makeup of the chips yet, so that’s what we’ll be monitoring once the rest of them are removed.”

With the new 501st chips and the ones removed from Fives, Hardcase, and the others, it made ten samples– more, if the Coruscant Guard were able to transport their recently-removed chips to the temple. Apparently Fox’s medics had been busy in his absence, and while they didn’t have the supplies to remove everyone’s chips, between what Fox had collected in the lower levels and some support from the Jedi temple (Fox had been pretty reluctant in accepting the help, but had eventually relented), they should have enough chips to determine a safe dosage and ensure that there weren’t too many harmful side-effects. And with Fox returning to the room with a satisfied look on his face, they should be getting those soon.

“I think we’re in the clear.” Fox announced, subconsciously knocking twice on his bucket where it sat tucked under one arm. “Might want to up security here for the next day and keep an eye out on your next mission, but thankfully, the Chancellor has a pretty short memory when it comes to us clones.” 

Hard to hunt someone down if you forget they existed, Rex supposed, and based on what he’d heard so far, it wouldn’t be too far from the truth. He tuned in as Fox continued his report– thankfully, he’d been able to get in contact with his medics, and they’d be placing the removed chips at a secure drop point within the next hour for pickup so they could attempt their first trials with the chip deactivations.

“And what sort of side effects might we see from any of those… byproducts?” Fives asked, continuing his line of questioning, making Rex grateful for the ARC’s ability to look for loopholes in any system design– even the ones Rex wished he wouldn’t.

“It’s likely that, like most standard inoculations, you could expect some general fatigue or maybe a low grade fever. The only difference I’d expect is that, since this is a fungal inoculation rather than a bacterial one, you might see some respiratory symptoms, although those wouldn’t last as long, given that it's not endemic to humanoid life forms.”

“And why is that different?”

“Fungi like warm, moist environments, and the human respiratory system is unfortunately full of those.” Knight Reeft explained, earning a grimace from Rex as he remembered his time with the blue shadow virus. 

“Hey, I’ve got a question.” Hardcase interjected from where he’d been sitting on a nearby chair. “I’ve got a couple vode with prosthetic limbs– arms, legs, you name it. If this thing targets mechanics, what’s stopping it from spreading to those– or to the rest of the ship, for that matter?”

Rex winced, wishing he felt a bit more alert than he did– Hardcase made a good point.

Knight Reeft seemed to agree, grimacing at the statement. “In those cases, you’d want to opt for a manual chip removal, which would delay the process, but I’d imagine it would still be more doable than de-chipping the entire GAR that way. And the inoculation dosages wouldn’t be potent enough to warrant concern for something as big as a ship, or even a blaster, especially not if they’re being administered in a standard medbay’s frigid environment.

“I still wish we could tell General Skywalker. I don’t like lying to him about this…” Rex grumbled, resigned to why it had to happen, but still hating it.

“As soon as the last chip is out, have at it, vod.” Fox conceded with a huff of amusement. He couldn’t decide if he’d rather be a fly on a wall or halfway across the galaxy when that conversation took place, but it would definitely be an event.

They continued their discussion of logistics, and someone made a joke about how it wasn't too unusual to get a “recall order” in a product order of this size, but they all paused when General Windu’s attention shifted suddenly to the corner of the Halls of Healing housing the isolation ward.

“Your trooper, Jesse, has fallen asleep.” 

“Finally!” Hardcase exclaimed, jumping up from his chair.

“It’s time then?” Rex asked, struggling to contain his trepidation at what was going to happen. Sure, the shatterpoint thing had worked with him, but this was Jesse.

And as much as Rex hated it, he could only trust in the Force and hope for the best.

_______________________

Once Jesse had been confirmed to be unconscious, General Windu had entered the isolation room with an almost unnatural silence that even the most talented stealth troopers would envy. He raised a hand briefly with a look of focus before turning back towards the door and gesturing for the others to enter.

“He should stay unconscious now until he is ready to awaken, but I would advise against loud noises.” General Windu cautioned, stepping closer now that he wasn’t in danger of being attacked by a half-conscious Jesse.

Rex had questions, but he held them back, not wanting to distract the Jedi from his Force osik while rooting around in his brother’s brain.

Fives held no such reservations. “I get how this worked with Rex, but how does this work with something as small as an inhibitor chip?”

Thankfully, General Windu seemed competent at multitasking as he glanced briefly at Fives before returning to his mental scan of Jesse’s supposed shatterpoints. “Actually, targeting the inhibitor chip is relatively easier than what I did with the Captain.”

“Is it because it’s smaller?” Tup questioned, now curious.

General Windu shook his head. “No, but good guess. The chip relies on inorganic components for its base functions, and one measure of the Force is in midichlorians, which are microscopic life forms inside living organisms. By sensing these midichlorians within Jesse, I am able to better identify the shadows left by the inhibitor chips.”

“Midichlorians measure the force? Is Jesse Force-sensitive?!” Hardcase exclaimed, looking excited for his vod.

At this, Windu chuckled. “That would be unlikely. However, midichlorians are found in all life, giving each of you a presence distinct from the other.”

Rex straightened at that. He’d heard General Skywalker mention that each of them were different in the force, but it was new to hear that this difference was measurable.

Fives looked similarly intrigued, but continued on his line of questioning. “So, since the chips are made up of both living tissue and inorganic components, you’re able to differentiate between them? How do you know it’ll work?” 

General Windu made a quiet humming noise, tilting his head like he was listening to something none of them could hear. “Each of you has a unique presence in the force. When the chip was activated, Lieutenant Jesse’s presence was clouded, but now…” 

He paused, turning back to Jesse, the heaviness in the air seeming to peak and then, all of a sudden, it tapered off into nothing, and Rex noticed Jesse’s forehead furrow.

“He’s starting to wake up!” Tup exclaimed, voice thankfully quiet in the muted Halls of Healing.

Slowly, Jesse’s eyes opened, the cool indifference from earlier now replaced with the familiar warmth Rex associated with one of his closest brothers. Groaning as he finally started to notice the aches and pains of his earlier fight, it didn’t take long for his bleary expression to shift to one of alarm.

“Rex!” He exclaimed, a warring look of relief and horror crossing Jesse’s face, turning pale as a sheet as he realized where he was and what had happened. He attempted to reach for the Captain before finding his hands still bound to the rails, which, after a nod of approval from General Windu, were quickly removed.

“I’m sorry– I-I tried to stop, but I couldn’t, couldn’t control it.” Jesse gritted his teeth, gripping his forearms tightly. “I don’t– I-I wouldn’t… Last thing I remember is going with General Skywalker to the Chancellor’s office, and then, all of a sudden, it’s like I’m locked in the backseat of the speeder, and I-I could’ve–” He trailed off, looking lost before Rex reached forward to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.

“It’s alright, Jesse. It wasn’t your fault, vod.” He gave Jesse a sympathetic smile, heart twisting for his trooper. Jesse had been one of the lucky few to avoid the worst fiasco of Umbara, starting with friendly fire and ending holding dead brothers killed by their own blasterfire. He was glad that Jesse had been saved from that fate, at least, and that Ahsoka had come in time to save his skin.

“It was the inhibitor chips.” Fives stepped in. “The Kaminoans put control chips in our brains, and yours was activated, at least until General Windu used his force osik on it.” 

At that, Jesse glanced up at the Jedi General who had faded to the back of the room to give the others space. “Thank you, sir.”

“No thanks required, trooper. It is good to see you in your right mind again.” General Windu gave him a slow nod, which Jesse returned gratefully. He attempted to sift through his foggy memories before he remembered something.

“The Chancellor– he said there was an incident on Kamino and that you’d all been killed. It’s good to see you all in one piece.” Jesse smirked at Fives, Hardcase, and the others, giving them a smile before he noticed that something was missing.

“Where… where’s Kix?” He asked, eyes searching the room eagerly like he expected his batchmate to poke his head out from behind a corner and take charge of the medical room-at least, until his eyes landed on Hardcase— Hardcase, standing painfully still for longer than he’d ever seen him stand in one place, form frozen until his expression shattered like glass. Like the world was falling apart, he reached for Jesse almost desperately, burrowing into his shoulder like he hadn’t done since they were cadets.

Arms full of a distraught Hardcase muffling sobs into his blacks, looking lost, Jesse sent a helpless look to the others in the room, begging that his fear wasn’t true. When Fives stepped forward with an expression threatening to crumple, the pit in his stomach only deepened.

“Kix… he sacrificed himself, let himself be captured by the Separatists so that they wouldn’t find us. We– I was knocked unconscious, and none of us would’ve made it out of there without him, a-and the chips…” Fives swallowed thickly, forcing himself to keep it together for his brothers, even as Jesse’s eyes teared up and his grip on Hardcase tightened.

“If we’d all been taken, nobody would know about the inhibitor chips, and the orders on them… they’re pretty bad, vod.” He paused, taking another breath in an attempt to steady himself. “We have some data on his last known whereabouts and the shuttle that took him, but…” Fives trailed off. Jesse didn’t need him to spell it out. Recovering captured troopers from Separatist captivity was a long-shot at best.

And Jesse, brain swirling and feeling like a hole was ripped out of him, clung onto the last batchmate he had left and let himself break for the brother that was taken away from him.

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