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"Sun and Rain Part 3: A New War"

Chapter 14

"Two Hearts"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: This one took a lot longer than I originally anticipated, but I've finally gotten it done! This one was definitely hard to write, given the episode it's a part of...🥺

This chapter is a little longer than the last few, but that's cuz there's a lot that happens in this episode of the show and it was hard to try and cut some things out. Plus, the ending had a bit going for it, too, and you'll see why...

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @kenxbibarnes , @tech-aficionado ,

@ladykatakuri , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @thebadbatchscyare ,

@chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend ,

@nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @myeditsava , @idoubleswearimawriter ,

@techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @totallyunidentified , @theknightofivanhoe , @dreamsandrosies ,

@seaofsunberries , @flowerfellfrans

《 Chapter 13

》 Coming soon!

All chapters (Part 3) (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The race to get proof against Admiral Rampart and bring him to justice is on with two teams fighting on two fronts: in the Senate and the Imperial shipyard. However, the mission takes a turn none of them expect...in more ways than one.

The message that had been sent to Senator Chuchi proved to be from Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, who had been secretly helping her efforts under the radar. Riyo informed Senator Organa of the basic goings-on with her operation with the Clones and that she hoped other Senators had helpful information that could help take down Admiral Rampart. In turn, he suggested one person who might be able to help her: Halle Burtoni, the former Senator of Kamino. Organa mentioned that, before being removed from office, Burtoni had once been a part of the Defense Finance Committee, so if they followed the money, it could lead to some evidence against Rampart. He warned, however, that Burtoni might not be very cooperative, to which Kida reassured him that such a thing wouldn’t be an issue. Riyo, Omega and Kimber retreated back to Riyo’s private apartments while she sent Kida and the other Pantoran guard to invite Burtoni to meet them. Time was running short and the Rampart’s bill would be put to a vote the following day, so they needed to act fast.

Eventually, the door to Riyo’s apartment swished open and in walked Burtoni with Kida and the guard. Kimber instinctively clenched her jaw at seeing that Burtoni was a Kaminoan, which in hindsight, she should’ve expected. Burtoni was tall, just like all Kaminoans, but her posture was hunched slightly as she was a much older Kaminoan. She wore a gray formal dress with green embellishments and a leather headband that had jewelry hanging on both sides.

“Are armed guards really necessary?” Burtoni asked in a raspy voice, gesturing to the two behind her.

Riyo gave a nod to the one Pantoran guard, who exited the room and closed the door behind him. Burtoni got a confused look on her face as Kida removed her helmet and gave a shake of her hair.

“Oh, I’m not a guard, so I don’t need to go anywhere,” she said casually.

Burtoni took a seat in a chair by the door while Riyo and Omega sat on the sofa. Kimber and Kida remained standing. Riyo then asked about some missing Senate appropriation funds that had been specifically designated for the cloning operations and facilities on Kamino, saying the funds had been siphoned off for over the past year. When asked if she knew about that, Burtoni responded that she did know.

“Where did the money go? Who diverted the funds?” Riyo questioned.

However, Burtoni turned to her and chided her, her body and voice shaking from age, “You're a fool to bring me here. Do you know what happens when you dig around where you shouldn't?”

“Your people deserve to--”

“My people are gone. The few remaining Kaminoans scattered throughout the galaxy are of no importance to me, and therefore, not my concern.”

Something about her dismissive demeanor only reminded Kimber of Lama Su and Nala Se’s own arrogance from a long time ago. Was haughtiness just a trait of all Kaminoans?

Right then, Omega questioned Burtoni, “How can you not care about what happened on Kamino?”

“Why do you care, child?” Burtoni asked back, annoyed.

“Because I'm a Clone, too. It was my home,” Omega told her. Then her tone grew more heated as she went on to say, “I was there. I saw the Empire destroy everything and I'm angry. What they did, it's not right.”

Kimber then stepped forward. “I was on Kamino, too. There needs to be justice for what actually happened,” she stated firmly.

“Who are you?” Burtoni asked.

“Someone who cares greatly about the Clones and, as my young friend said, Kamino was their home,” Kimber replied. “The Empire is a menace to this galaxy and they can’t be allowed to get away with what they did to Tipoca City. That was only the beginning. Who’s to say they won’t destroy the next city that they deem an inconvenience just because they can?” She took another step forward. “You can help make this right, Senator Burtoni. Please, you must,” she nearly begged.

Senator Burtoni was silent for a brief moment before saying, her tone becoming more ominous, “I suspected an attack was imminent. Lama Su was arrogant; too confident his Clones were a necessity to the Empire…but none of us are.”

“Did Admiral Rampart divert the funds?” Riyo asked, hoping for a direct answer.

Burtoni turned to her. “You already know the answer…but yes.”

After that, Riyo implored her to testify in front of the Senate the next day to indict Rampart on his crimes, but Burtoni insisted that her word wouldn’t do them any good.

“You need concrete proof,” Burtoni told her.

“I need both…and I'm running out of time,” Riyo said desperately.

Kida added, “We already have a team working on procuring physical evidence. They’ll come through, but we still need your help, Burtoni. The more evidence we have against Rampart, the better.”

Burtoni still kept silent…but her expression seemed much more contemplative than before.

Down in the maintenance tunnels of Coruscant, the Clones and Lex were making their way through to the underbelly of the shipyard where they’d find Rampart’s Venator. Rex led the way, knowing right where to lead them. The tunnels were dark and somewhat treacherous in spots, especially once they got under the shipyard with running engines and electricity running through them.

They climbed up a ladder into a dark, empty room that was only lit by the lights in the floor and in the walls. As they all came up, they withdrew their weapons, readying themselves for anything, while Tech ran over to the singular console in the center of the room and Wrecker got to working on opening up the hatch in the ceiling above them at Hunter’s command. Sparks flew down as he started sawing through the hatch door with his laser tool.

“Haven't been in these maintenance tunnels since the war,” Rex remarked, looking around.

“Gotta say, Rex, Coruscant's the last place I'd expect you to be,” Echo told him.

“Yeah, not exactly helping your low profile, if you ask me,” commented Lex, giving her vibroblade a spin.

“It's worth the risk,” Rex said back. He looked back at Echo. “More and more of our brothers are waking up to what's been done to them. I can't turn my back on them.”

“How many have you reached?” Echo asked him.

“Not enough,” Rex answered, his arms folding across his chest. “Troopers who know too much are a liability to the Empire. I'm working with a few contacts I trust, but we're spread pretty thin.” His face fell and he hung his head. “Help's hard to come by these days.”

Out of the corner of Lex’s eye, she saw Echo’s head fall slightly. Despite his helmet covering his face, she was able to picture the expression he most likely had underneath it: one of guilt and sorrow. She knew how hard it must be for him to hear the struggles of his other Clone brothers throughout the galaxy.

She laid a hand on Echo’s arm as Rex moved away to keep eyes out for anything. “They’ll all be okay. Rex has resources; I’m sure he’ll be able to find more people to help all your brothers.”

Echo sighed. “I know…but what if it’s still not enough?”

“It will be. You trust Rex, don’t you?”

“You know I do.”

“Then that’s all you need. Trust that he’ll rescue the other Clones who need help. He’s got this.” Then she leaned in a bit closer to him and whispered. “While we’re waiting, can I please talk to you?”

“Is this really a good time to do this, Lex?”

“When else are we gonna have a chance?”

Echo sighed quietly. “All right. Go ahead.”

Shyly, Lex asked him, “Can you please…take your helmet off? I want to see your face.”

His head tilted a tiny bit, but then he did as she asked and removed his helmet, his pale, handsome face and golden eyes coming into view.

“Echo…what I want to say isn’t easy for me,” she began, “but I’ve been mulling over this for days now.”

He looked at her intently, waiting for her to go on.

“First, I want to say…that I’m--”

“Got it!” Wrecker declared just then as he pulled the hatch open, the metal creaking loudly. As he looked up, his helmet then illuminated in red, he grumbled, “Great…ray shields.”

“Leave it to me,” stated Tech, turning back to the console and plugging his datapad into it.

Echo turned again to Lex and said quietly, “Listen, we’ll talk later, all right?” Without waiting for a response, he walked towards the console, slipping his helmet back on.

Lex’s hands balled up into fists. “Karabast…!” she cursed through clenched teeth.

As Hunter asked Rex how they were getting onto Rampart’s Venator, Rex told him, “I’m taking a lesson from your squad…we improvise.”

Sauntering over to them, Lex commented to him, “Well, look who’s embracing the chaos. I knew I always liked you, Cap.”

“You guys know I’m not a Captain anymore, right? You don’t have to keep calling me that,” he said.

She smirked. “Would you rather I call you ‘stiff’ like Rina?”

He blinked for a second and then said, “Point taken.”

With a couple more taps of the keys on his datapad, Tech managed to disable the ray shields and they all climbed another ladder to the outside, finding themselves now in the middle of the Imperial shipyard. It was now late at night, so it was dark out, save for any of the overhead lights throughout the yard. They all snuck through as best they could, ducking behind pillars underneath a walkway to stay out of sight of the troopers patrolling the area. Though, there were quite a few of them and it was a more open area than the Clones expected.

Echo observed aloud that there wasn’t enough cover for them and they wouldn’t be able to sneak through undetected. Right in front of them, one of the repulsorlift platforms lifted off the ground into the air and flew away in the opposite direction…which gave Hunter an idea.

“Not on foot,” he said.

Another repulsorlift platform was powering up a couple yards away from them and just as the engines fired up, Hunter gave the signal for everyone to move. The Clones all booked it towards the platform. Echo slid under it first and grabbed onto one of the metal legs as the platform lifted off the ground, followed by Rex beside him. Hunter and Tech jumped onto the legs on the opposite side while Wrecker grabbed the middle one between Echo and Rex. Lex took up the rear and jumped up towards the side Hunter and Tech were on. She missed it just by an inch, but Hunter was quick to catch her by the hand and haul her up just before the platform took off at a high speed.

“Thanks for the save, Hunter,” she said as she climbed up onto the leg.

“No problem,” he said back. Then he pulled out his own blade, plunged it up into a panel above him, pulled it open and then handed Tech a cable that fell out from inside. Tech proceeded to plug it into his datapad and started working on it yet again.

As they held on to the bottom of the flying platform, Lex stole a look across the way at Echo while overhearing Wrecker groaning and telling himself not to look down. The poor guy….

“He’s still not better with heights?” she heard Rex ask Echo.

“This is him better,” Echo answered.

Then right beside her, she heard Hunter quietly say her name. “You okay?” he asked her when she looked at him, just loud enough for her to hear him over the wind.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m all right.”

“Listen, Lex…you two are gonna be fine,” he calmly reassured her.

Her gaze turned away. She figured someone was going to notice her earlier attempt at talking to Echo and it didn’t surprise her that Hunter had been the one to do so. “I really hope so,” she said.

“I know you want to work things out, but…maybe this isn’t the best place for that,” he told her.

“Dangling a hundred feet in the air on the bottom of a repulsorlift? Yeah, I figured,” she replied.

He let out a small chuckle. “I meant here on Coruscant.”

He was about to keep going when Tech spoke up on his other side, “I’ve bypassed the controls. Hang on.”

Now under Tech’s control, the platform picked up speed and then deviated off in another direction. Lex tightened her grip on the leg she stood on to keep from falling off. She heard a couple beeps from Tech’s datapad and the platform jolted as it suddenly veered further upward towards the sky. Hunter lost his hold and started to slip, but Lex reached across, grabbed his arm and pulled him back up.

“Tech…?” Hunter growled in frustration.

The platform flew up a bit higher and then leveled out a couple feet above the surface of the Venator they were looking for. A few seconds later, Tech disconnected the cable and called out for everyone to jump. They all let go and dropped down onto the Venator, hitting the ground and rolling before getting back up to their feet and continuing forward. They ran until they reached an exterior door, where they all knelt down to stay out of sight while Tech hacked into the controls for the door.

Lex glanced at Echo at the same time he looked at her. Neither said anything, but Echo gave her a distinct nod, which she returned. Seconds later, the door opened up and they all quietly went through.

They were now inside Rampart’s Venator.

The corridors were dark and near silent, save for the occasional distant comm chatter from patrolling Imperial troops. The Clones and Lex stealthily made their way through the hallways, their weapons drawn. Every so often, they halted at Rex’s signal to wait for patrols to go by so they weren’t spotted.

They came to one large set of doors when Rex stopped, prompting everyone else to follow suit, and he looked at Lex and asked, “Lex, do you have any smoke bombs on you?”

She popped her hip and put her hand on it, her lips pursing in mock offense.

Then Echo added, “Of course, she does. It’d be more concerning if she didn’t have any with her.”

Lex grinned slightly. Echo knew her so well. “Thanks, Echo,” she said as she pulled out a smoke bomb from a pouch on her belt. “Wait for my signal and then open the door.” With that, she activated the bomb. As the beeping sped up, she said, “Now.”

Rex hit the controls and the doors swished open, showing two Imperial soldiers inside what appeared to be a control room. Lex tossed the bomb inside just in time for it to go off in a cloud of smoke, catching the troopers off guard. With them distracted, Hunter and Wrecker were quick to take them out with stun blasts, dropping them to the floor.

“Nice work,” Rex complimented Lex as they moved into the room.

“We can always count on you or Wrecker to have explosives on hand,” Echo commented to her as he came up by her side.

“I appreciate the confidence,” she said back.

“Well, I expected it because I know you.”

“Yeah, you do…sometimes better than I know myself.”

He simply bowed his head and they both lightly jogged forward to catch up with the others as another large set of doors opened up, revealing the bridge of the ship. It was even darker on the bridge, save for the faint light coming from the shipyard outside through the front viewports. They all fanned out through the room while Echo and Tech went over to a console tucked away in a little alcove on the side of the room. Tech once again connected his datapad to the computer and tapped a few keys.

“Well, that is unfortunate,” he stated aloud.

“Wanna narrow that down?” Rex asked, concerned.

Tech responded, still tapping away on his datapad, “Energy conduits are off-line. The only way to retrieve the data is to reroute power, which will most likely signal a security breach.”

Hunter asked him, “How much time will we have?”

“Not much,” Tech answered.

“Then let's make it quick,” said Echo. Then he called Lex’s name and gestured for her to come over by him. He withdrew his blaster as she approached. “Take this. If any troopers make it through, your vibroblade isn’t going to be enough to keep you safe.”

“I think you underestimate my skills with the blade, but I’ll take it if it makes you feel better,” she replied, taking the blaster from his hand. Despite everything, Echo was still doing what he could to ensure she was looked after and kept safe, which made her heart feel warm inside. That’s who he was: protective and loyal to a fault.

Now knowing that Lex would be protected, Echo was ready to move forward. Tech knelt down, opened up a small cupboard under the console and pulled out a metal case. From inside the case, he pulled out a data card. He showed it to Echo, who gave him a nod to proceed. Tech inserted the data card into a slot on the console while Echo pushed his scomp arm into a socket on the opposite end at the same time. The whole Venator soon hummed back to life and the lights flickered on inside the bridge. The silence was then interrupted by the ship’s alarms blaring over the sound system.

“Well…they definitely know we’re here now,” Lex said out loud.

“We’re gonna have some company,” stated Rex.

“Wrecker, seal the door!” Hunter ordered quietly.

Wrecker nodded and immediately shot the control panel on the wall to deter the Imperials from getting through the door. A few seconds later, they heard voices on the other side and they all raised their weapons at the ready. Then the doors pulled apart just slightly before shutting again repeatedly as the troopers on the other side attempted to override the controls to open them.

“The door won't hold much longer,” said Hunter.

“I am expediting the file transfer as quickly as possible,” Tech said in return while still tapping on his datapad.

Right after, the doors burst open and the Imperials infiltrated the room, immediately firing shots into the bridge. Wrecker, being the closest one to the doors, retaliated with stun shots. Hunter and Rex did the same as they dropped for cover into the pit to the left of the bridge walkway.

Lex moved to Tech’s other side by the edge of the alcove and started firing stun shots, calling out over her shoulder, “Keep working! I’ll cover you!” A blaster shot hit the very edge of the alcove, narrowly missing her head and she ducked back.

“Be careful, Lex,” Echo told her.

“I’ll be fine. Just get that data and quick,” she said back before moving out and firing more shots.

Before long, she heard sounds from outside the windows and when she glanced back, she saw small ships flying by. “Karabast, they brought in backup!” she cried out.

Down in the pit, Hunter calmly said while firing his blaster, “New plan. 14, 5, 86.”

“All of them?” Wrecker questioned.

“Yes,” Hunter replied. Then he added, “Echo, man the cannons. Deal with the air support.”

Echo did as ordered and switched his focus to controlling the exterior cannons,

As Lex fired a couple more stun rounds, a blaster shot grazed her left arm and she cried out, ducking back into the alcove. She sucked in through her teeth through the pain before exclaiming, “Son of a rathtar!” She knew it wasn’t a serious injury, but that still didn’t take away the fact it hurt like hell. “Tech, please tell me you’ve almost got it.”

Right on cue, Tech stated, “Data transfer is complete.”

Immediately after that, Echo called over his shoulder, mainly to Hunter, “Plan 5, set!”

“Activate,” Hunter ordered.

Echo spun his scomp even faster in the socket and they could hear something powering up outside. Shortly after that, the entire room began to tremble and they all had to focus on keeping their footing, including the Imperial soldiers, who had ceased their fire.

“Echo, what did you do?” Lex asked, leaning back against the wall.

“This ship’s about to go for a ride,” he answered, “which means we need to move fast and get out of here.”

Then Hunter called out, “Lex, handle the exit.”

Lex gave him a nod. “On it, Sarge,” she said, pulling out a small thermal detonator and activating it. She leaned out from behind the alcove wall and lobbed the detonator into the control room where the Imperials were still struggling to stay up due to the shaking. The bomb exploded midair and sent a lot of them flying backwards.

Wrecker then charged forward with a loud yell through the doors, shoulder checking a couple soldiers that were still standing and sending them sprawling to the floor. The others followed close behind him. As they ran, Lex tossed Echo back his blaster.

As they ran through the corridor, stunning more troopers that came their way, Rex said, a touch of concern in his tone, “Security teams will be swarming this trench. We need an exit strategy.”

“Got one. We're going over them,” Echo said back.

“Over them?” Rex and Lex both repeated.

The ship suddenly jolted and everyone temporarily lost their balance as the hallway shifted back. Lex started to fall over, but Echo swiftly stopped her fall and caught her. He guided her up towards a closed door just around a corner, where Tech quickly tapped into the control panel and opened up the door.

“Get in, hurry!” Echo urged Lex, gently pushing her through the doorway ahead of him after Tech ducked in.

Hunter and Rex stunned a few more troopers before going into the small room Tech had opened up, which was where all the escape pods were. Tech and the others had all piled into the second one, where Tech was seated in the main pilot’s seat.

“These escape pods are nonoperational,” Rex pointed out from the open doorway.

Turning the chair around, Tech informed him, “We only need them to eject. I can handle the rest.”

“This should be interesting,” said Rex curiously as she shut the door to the escape pod behind him.

While Tech dealt with the controls, Echo quickly turned to Lex, who was almost practically in his lap from being put between him and Tech. He gestured with his head to the wound on her arm. “Are you all right?” he asked, his worry evident in the tone of his voice.

“I’ve had my other arm blown off. This is nothing,” she assured him. That part, at least, was true. The burning she was feeling from the blaster graze was honestly nothing compared to the unbelievable agony she’d endured from the explosion that had taken her arm. Her current wound hurt, for sure, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

With a jolt, the escape pod launched up into the atmosphere. Tech, holding the controls, carefully guided the pod through the air as it began plummeting towards the ground. A few seconds later, the pod crashed and they all lurched hard in their seats from the impact. Lex felt Echo's arm come around her protectively as the pod continued to skid down the trench. A few bumpy seconds later, it came to a stop.

Hunter opened up the door and peeked out to see where they'd landed. Luckily, where they needed to be wasn't too far away. “Not bad,” he remarked before climbing out of the pod.

Rex got out next followed by Echo, who helped Lex climb out after him. As Tech exited after her, he commented to Echo, a little disappointed, “I was off by 6.4 meters. Not my best.”

“You still got us close enough and that’s what matters,” Lex told him as they all took off over to the hatch that led down into the maintenance tunnels.

“It's almost morning. We need to hurry,” Rex urged them as they climbed down.

They hurried back through the maintenance tunnels under the shipyard and made their way back to where they had stowed away a speeder. Hunter insisted Rex and Echo get to the Senate building and then come back for the rest of them so they could get the data to Senator Chuchi as quickly as possible. Time was running short and they had to be quick. Lex volunteered to go with them and hopped into the seat next to Echo, who was driving, while Rex hopped in the back.

“I appreciate your help, both of you,” Rex said to the two in front. “We wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you guys.”

“Always a pleasure, Cap,” said Lex.

“Felt like old times, didn’t it, Rex?” Echo asked.

“It sure did,” said Rex. “Though, we’ll never get those times again, not with everything that’s happened with the Empire…and so many brothers trapped by them or lost.”

Lex looked at Echo and saw his face drop again at the mention of the other Clones. “You’ll find a way to reach them, Rex,” she said, looking back over her shoulder. “You’ve already saved a bunch of Clones once before. That’s how we met, remember?”

Rex grinned. “I could never forget.”

“The challenges may be different this time, but I have no doubt you’ll be able to do it again,” she told him. “I know the girls and I would love to help, but we’re still looking for Kida’s niece, too, and we need to be ready for any leads that may come up.”

Rex bowed his head. “Of course, I wouldn’t pull you all away from that. Finding her is important to Kida, so it’s important to me, too. I’m sure I’ll find more help eventually.”

They turned a corner and up ahead, they could see Omega waiting for them along with Kida, still in her guard uniform. Another speeder was parked right behind them. Echo pulled alongside them and brought the speeder to a halt as Rex held the case with the data inside over the side.

“Get this to Senator Chuchi. Hurry!” Rex said urgently as she took the case.

As Omega ran over to their speeder, Kida ran up to Rex and quickly kissed him. “You’ve done your part, love. Now, let us handle the rest while you get yourselves to safety. I’ll see you soon.”

Rex was silent, but bowed his head in understanding before taking her hand and pressing a quick kiss to the back of it.

“Lex, go with them in case things go south with the Senate. They might need your help,” Echo suggested.

Lex agreed and hopped out of the vehicle, following Kida over to the other speeder. After they both jumped in, the two of them and Omega sped away.

While Echo’s reasoning for sending Lex with Kida and Omega was true, there was one other underlying reason for it…a reason he knew he didn’t want her around for because he knew she wouldn’t approve of it.

As he and Rex rode off, he said over his shoulder, “Rex, I have an idea…I don’t know how the others will react, but I know Lex, Kimber and Omega aren’t gonna like it.”

“What is it?” Rex asked.

Echo inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Since earlier in the mission, there was something that had been on his mind that he couldn’t shake. He knew he had to talk to Rex about it right away to get it off his chest. Soon, he’d have to bring it up to the rest of his squad. Talking to his brothers didn’t worry him, though.

It was bringing it up to Omega, Lex and, above all, Kimber that he dreaded most.

Inside the Senate hall, the time was now upon the delegates of the Senate to vote on Admiral Rampart’s Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill. Omega and Kida had been tasked with waiting outside for the others to bring the data log from the decommissioned Venator while Kimber had remained inside with Senator Chuchi. She and the other Pantoran guard were standing inside the Senator’s pod along with her as well as Halle Burtoni. The hundreds of other pods were now occupied by Senators and Representatives from all over the galaxy. Kimber found herself even more in awe than she had been before at seeing so many high-ranking people all in one place. Not only that, but it would be in this very room that the entire fate of the Clones would soon be decided. She could feel her heart rate increasing and sweat forming on her brow.

This was either going the way they hoped…or terribly wrong.

After certain things regarding providing for the Clones had been brought up by Senator Chuchi at the start of the assembly, Admiral Rampart soon took the floor in his own pod. “With the Clone trooper provisions requested by Senator Chuchi now addressed and the matter resolved, there is no reason to delay the vote of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill further,” he said to the Senate, his voice projected by the speaker of his pod.

“That is not the case, Admiral,” Senator Chuchi responded, her own pod floating out onto the floor, as well. “We cannot take you on your word when you have given us reason not to.”

“And what reason is that?” he questioned.

Kimber grimaced under her mask. The fact that he was acting so innocent in front of the Senate when she knew the truth behind his actions was beyond infuriating. How she wished she could just take out her blaster and shoot him right there, right now. That would bring about a swift justice that she, her boys and all Clones deserved.

Senator Chuchi then said to the Admiral for the Senate to hear that, according to Burtoni, that he was responsible for diverting Kaminoan funds to his own outside projects without Senate approval. The other Senate members started to murmur in surprise, but Rampart rebutted her statement by questioning why she would believe the lies of a disgraced Senator.

“A formal investigation should clear things up. Unless you want to tell us now where those funds went?” Riyo challenged him.

Watching the Admiral, Kimber noticed that he suddenly looked nervous for a second as he heard the rest of the Senate’s disapproving grumblings grow louder in volume. “Go ahead, try and smooth-talk your way out of this one, you worm,” she thought to herself with satisfaction. It was oddly amusing watching him squirm. The trap for him was almost set. All they needed now was the proof from his ship…which still had yet to arrive.

“I am not at liberty to disclose the nature of certain military operations. The funds you are referring to were redistributed, not misappropriated,” Rampart answered, once he seemingly collected himself.

“Such a vague response…how surprising,” Kimber mumbled quietly.

“Your actions began months prior to the loss of Tipoca City, almost as if you were preparing for it,” Riyo stated, leaning onto the front of the speaker of the pod.

“What exactly are you implying?” inquired the Admiral.

Sternly and with confidence, Riyo put forth the accusation she had been waiting a long time to say:

“I assert that the Kaminoan cloning facilities were intentionally eliminated.”

The Senate hall soon grew noisy with loud gasps and cries of astonishment as the Admiral looked around uncomfortably. As Kimber glanced around the room, it seemed that there were some Senators that looked like they believed Chuchi and others that weren’t sure what to believe. There looked to be a couple others that appeared appalled at Senator Chuchi’s accusation. There were bound to be some that would be on Rampart’s side, but it seemed that most of the Senators were leaning in their favor, which was encouraging.

However, Rampart fired back with, “I will not dignify such baseless accusations with more of my time.”

“Coward,” Kimber thought.

Halle Burtoni leaned forward and whispered to Chuchi, “Where is this proof you spoke of?”

“I don't know,” Riyo nervously whispered back.

Kimber then said quietly, “It’s coming. Trust me. My squad will come through.”

Then they heard Rampart’s voice speak up, urging the Senate with a hint of annoyance, “If there are no further issues, let us proceed with this vote. “

One male Senator--an Ishi Tib, the same species as Gume Saam, whom Kimber and the others had seen before from the masquerade gala--got on his speaker and aggressively stated, “I motion that Senator Chuchi be removed from these proceedings and she be censured for her misconduct.”

“I second the motion,” another female voice agreed.

Kimber’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Are you kidding me? This is how they react by placing the blame on Senator Chuchi instead of the Admiral who’s just been accused? This government is more corrupt than I believed,” she frustratedly said in her mind. Her hand then slowly inched closer to her blaster under her cape. She was going to protect Senator Chuchi and, if it came down to it, she would do so by force. It was probably a ludicrous idea, especially in a government building, but she was short on good ideas at the moment.

Just as she was beginning to fear that things were going to take a turn for the worse, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Her head turned to see another senatorial pod descending towards them and she realized that it was Bail Organa, the Senator who had been helping them. Past his shoulder, she also noticed Kida, Omega and Lex sitting back in the doorway that had led to his pod.

“Senators,” Organa called out, his deeper voice booming through the chamber, “new evidence has come to light which must be considered.”

A wave of relief swept over Kimber as the pod came up beside theirs and Senator Organa held out a case towards her. This was it! This was the proof they had been waiting for! “I knew they wouldn’t let us down,” she thought proudly to herself. She took the case from the Senator, giving him a thankful nod, before handing it to Riyo.

“What so-called proof do you have?” the Ishi Tib Senator skeptically inquired.

Senator Chuchi held aloft the case in her hands for all to see. “The recovered command log from Admiral Rampart's Venator….” Then she pointed an accusatory finger at the Admiral. “...which indicates his own ships caused the destruction of Tipoca City.”

The whole chamber grew loud with the clamoring of the many Senators as Riyo took out a data disc and inserted it into a slot on the console before her. A screen above it flashed briefly and then a giant hologram projected into the center of the chamber.

Kimber’s breath hitched.

The projection showed Tipoca City in its final moments, engulfed in flames and half of it sinking into the sea as three Venators rained fire upon it, the sounds of the blasting laser cannons echoed loudly before it froze. Kimber slowly exhaled and her shoulders relaxed. As hard as it was to see this destruction again, it brought her comfort knowing that they had gotten the concrete proof they needed; that this would ultimately bring down Admiral Rampart for good.

“You did it, boys.”

Even though she had mixed feelings about Kamino and Tipoca City, she was relieved that now, after many months, there would be justice for what was done. It’s what the Clones deserved. It’s what her squad deserved.

By this point, there was a commotion of angry shouts from a good majority of the delegates present, causing Rampart to squirm even more in fear. Kimber grinned to herself under her mask.

“You’re done for, Admiral,” she whispered to herself.

Watching everything from afar, Lex and Kida were surprised. While they had believed what the Clones had told them, it just hit different actually seeing it all for themselves.

“This was what happened to you guys on Kamino?” Lex quietly asked Omega.

“It was,” the young girl answered.

“Oh, that's awful,” said Kida.

Suddenly, an alarm blared in the Senate hall, which caused the clamoring to die down.

Apprehensively, Kimber leaned in closer to Senator Chuchi. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“It’s the Emperor…he’s coming,” Riyo answered, seemingly in shock.

Kimber then watched as a portal opened up in the center of the ground below and a singular pod on a pillar emerged from inside. An icy chill ran up her spine as she spotted Emperor Palpatine standing inside the pod, clad in all black robes and a hood that covered half of his face. Beside him was the blue Chagrian male that had met with Rampart before. The entire Senate chamber was now eerily silent as the Emperor’s tower continued to rise from the ground.

Then she heard Riyo whisper to her again, “He and Mas Amedda haven't been present for any of these proceedings until now.”

Kimber swallowed nervously. “I hope that’s a good sign.”

The tower stopped in the middle of the hologram, which shorted out and then disappeared. Mas Ameda was the first to speak, declaring through the pod’s speaker, “It would appear that Senator Chuchi's horrific assertions are correct. This unprovoked attack on Kamino was a cowardly act by Admiral Rampart to further his own personal agenda.”

The hall erupted once again with furious cries and angry words for the Admiral, who was hunched over his pod console, his eyes wide with fear. Kimber quietly chuckled with triumph. His career was most certainly over now.

Mas Amedda then called for the arrest of Admiral Rampart as a pod of Coruscant guards floated over to him. They leapt over into his pod, where he was protesting something about following orders before being forced to turn around and getting his face slammed into the console as the guards put his hands in cuffs.

Watching this, Kimber recalled Rampart’s words to her on Kamino and said aloud before she could stop herself, just loud enough that it was caught on the speaker, “A shame that such a lovely face had to be so marred, Admiral.”

As Rampart was pulled upright, his eyes grew wide again, but this time with realization instead of fear. He glanced around until his eyes found Kimber and he kept his gaze on her as he was being led away into the Coruscant guards’ pod. Through the cacophony of dissent and anger from the other Senators, he had heard her voice; he recognized those words. That woman…how was she here? How had she gotten close to Senator Chuchi? Many questions ran through his mind as he was pushed into the next pod to be taken away.

Even though her goal hadn’t been for Rampart to hear her, Kimber didn’t care that he had. It was a nice little final touch on her revenge against him. Yes, he seemed to remember her, but she wasn’t worried. He had already lied so much to the Senate, there was no chance anyone would believe him if he tried to expose her real identity.

Lex clocked Kimber’s voice immediately and quietly snickered. “Nice going, Princess,” she said to herself, which got a small chuckle out of Omega, too.

“Order! We shall have order!” Mas Amedda cried out, pounding his staff into the floor of his pod.

As everyone calmed down, Emperor Palpatine stood up from where he sat and silence filled the whole chamber as they waited for him to speak.

“I am deeply troubled by this recent revelation. My gratitude to Senator Chuchi for exposing a rogue element within our ranks,” said the Emperor, his raspy voice filling every corner of the chamber.

Kimber shuddered slightly. Hearing his voice brought her back to Order 66 when she suddenly heard his voice in her helmet and a sense of dread had overtaken her. That same feeling returned now and she hated it. It was just something about the Emperor that made her uneasy listening to him, but she kept her calm as he went on.

“Many lives have been lost,” he went on, “but I assure you, Admiral Rampart will face the consequences for his treachery. However, he did not act alone. The fact that the Clones under his command so blindly followed orders, inflicting such carnage without hesitation, gives me pause.”

Those words made Kimber’s heart nearly jump up into her throat and she glanced at Riyo beside her apprehensively. The Emperor’s tone had shifted in a way that neither of them expected. Something felt incredibly wrong…what was going on?

Omega shared a confused look with Lex and Kida, who were also just as nervous about what was coming next.

Palpatine continued to address the Senate, “Perhaps, it is time for a change. Now more than ever, building a strong galaxy requires protection and security. Due to the nefarious actions of Admiral Rampart, and the immediacy of the bill on the floor today, it is my opinion that this legislation is our future.”

“No…!” Kimber gasped in despair.

Boldly and powerfully, the Emperor then concluded with words that felt like a blaster shot to her very soul:

“With this momentous act, we shall usher in a new era…heralded by the Imperial stormtrooper!”

Senator Chuchi leaned forward onto the console, dejected, and Kimber’s vision went hazy, her body turning numb.

“It can’t be…,” Kida whispered as she pulled a shocked Omega into her arms.

Lex was silent, but her mouth hung open in astonishment as she immediately thought of Echo, knowing this would devastate him.

In an astonishing turn of events, their attempt to bring Rampart down to make life better for the Clones had only resulted in the exact opposite. Their actions had brought Rampart to justice, but had brought potential and uncertain doom to all Clones.

Their mission had been both a success and a failure all at once…and the despondency of the failure overshadowed the joy of the success by a long shot.

The ladies all rendezvoused back with the Clones at the garage they’d met at before and relayed to them everything that had happened in the Senate chamber. It was not a story that was easy to tell, especially when the Clones heard the result of their efforts.

Frustrated, Rex stated aloud, “Palpatine was one step ahead of us during the war and he's still several steps ahead of us. We played right into his hands.”

“I don't understand,” said Omega, still looking unsure of what was all going on. “We did the right thing. We told the truth.”

“And he twisted it to his advantage,” Hunter said to her.

“The Emperor wanted us to implicate Rampart to get what he was after all along: Senate approval for his stormtrooper program,” Rex stated.

Lex sighed. “He played us all and we didn’t even know it.”

“He made complete fools out of us and took away the victory we deserved against Rampart,” KImber said with irritation, pulling her mask down and shutting off the color discs in her eyes. She ran a hand over her face. “We made everything worse.”

Then Echo said, his voice low with dejection, “The fate of all the Clones is now sealed…because of us. What's gonna happen to them?”

“I don't know…,” answered Riyo, “but I will keep fighting for the Clones. You all deserve the same rights as every citizen.” She walked forward and bent over to look at Omega directly as she said with conviction, “I won't give up.”

Omega smiled up at her gratefully.

“Never a quitter. That's Riyo Chuchi for you,” said Kida.

“Despite the outcome, thank you, Senator, for all your efforts on behalf of the Clones,” Kimber said.

Riyo gave her a nod back.

Hunter then said to Rex, “If you need anything Rex, just say the word.” He bowed his head to Riyo. “Senator.”

What he did next, however, surprised Kimber, Omega, Lex and Kida.

He walked up to Echo and laid a hand on his shoulder, as he said, “Wherever you end up, remember what I said.” After that, he simply turned and walked away towards the Marauder…but Echo didn't follow.

The girls all looked at each other, confused. What was Hunter talking about?

“Don't get into trouble without us,” then said Wrecker, giving Echo a light-hearted punch in the arm. Then he too walked off towards the ship.

“Without us?” Omega repeated, still puzzled.

What was going on, Kimber wondered, but she was too caught off guard to speak. As was Lex.

“Best of luck, Echo,” said Tech before following after Hunter and Wrecker.

“Luck with what?” asked Omega.

“Echo, what is going on?” Kimber questioned, concerned. Though, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer to that question.

With a grim expression, he answered, “I'm going with Rex.”

“What…?” Lex gasped.

Kida glanced over at Rex for confirmation and he just gave her a nod, which Kimber also noticed.

“The Clones will need our help now more than ever,” Echo went on. “I can't turn my back on them.”

Omega stepped forward. “You...you can't leave,” she pleaded. “We're...we're a squad.”

“Omega, this is something I have to do. I'm going where I'm needed,” he calmly explained to the young Clone.

Her hands went over her heart as she begged, her voice breaking, “But…we need you, too.”

He knelt down to her level and laid his hand on her shoulder as he promised her that he wouldn't be gone forever and encouraged her to keep up with her training. Overcome with emotion, she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him goodbye. He wrapped his arms around her in return, holding her close for a brief moment before she pulled away and ran back to the ship.

Echo then turned his attention to Lex and Kimber, the two women he'd feared breaking the news to the most. Kimber had a sorrowful look in her eyes while Lex appeared angry.

“Is this your idea of giving me space? Just flat out leaving with no word or discussion at all?” Lex demanded, both hurt and almost betrayed.

He sighed heavily. “It’s not that simple for me to answer, Lex.”

She gasped sharply. He had used her own words against her, the ones she had said to him when he asked if she didn't love him. “That isn’t fair,” she said back, a strain in her voice.

“I know…and I’m sorry. I hope you can understand.”

Lex didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry. Ever since they had arrived on Coruscant, she had wanted to talk to him; there were things she wanted to say to him, but every moment was either interrupted or inopportune. He knew she wanted to speak with him and now, he was suddenly not leaving Coruscant with them. How was she supposed to understand any of that? It felt like her feelings didn't matter as much to him anymore.

“I don't...so take all the space you want, Echo. Take the whole damn galaxy, for all I care,” she spat back before turning on her heel and running to the ship, her eyes stinging with tears.

Echo's face fell, disheartened, at watching the love of his life run away from him in anger. This wasn't at all how he pictured this going and, for a small moment, he regretted not bringing it up to her before.

“I'm going to go talk to her,” said Kida. Before returning to the ship, she walked over to Riyo and gave her a hug, whispering her thanks to her. Then she went up to Rex and gave him a deep, lingering kiss. Neither of them said anything, but silently promised through their held gaze that they would see each other again. Then Kida jogged to the Marauder.

The only one left was Kimber and Echo's throat tightened even more. He had been afraid to tell Lex everything…but he dreaded facing Kimber even more.

Kimber just stared at him, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions running through her mind. How could he do this? How could he just leave them…leave her? He’d promised he wouldn't.

He had promised….

“We all stay together and besides, you’re my best friend. There’s no way I’m giving you up.”

“Good because I promised I’d never leave you anyway. You’re stuck with me.”

“...Crosshair said something like that to me once…and he broke his promise.”

“I’m not Crosshair and no Empire or chip or anything could make me break that promise to you.”

She should've known this would happen. It had happened with Jesse and it had happened with Crosshair…it was just a matter of time before it was going to happen with Echo or Hunter.

“Kim…,” Echo started to say.

“You promised me, Echo,” she said, trying to keep calm. “After we lost Crosshair to the Empire, you promised me that we'd stay together.”

He slowly walked up to her. “I'm not abandoning you. I have every intention of coming back when I've done what I’ve needed to do.” He put a hand on her shoulder as she looked away. “What I'm doing is nothing like what Crosshair did to you. He chose the Empire…I’m choosing our brothers.”

Her gaze flicked back to his.

“No one deserves to be trapped somewhere against their will. You and I know this more than most.”

Those words struck a chord inside Kimber. She knew he was right and her breath trembled as tears sprang to her eyes. One slid down her cheek and Echo brushed it away with his thumb.

Then he said softly in conclusion, “Rex needs my help rescuing more Clones…and I can't stay knowing I could help them. You know I can't.”

Sometimes she hated how well she knew him and how well he knew her because, once again, he was correct. “Your nobility has always been one of the things I love most about you, Echo…but right now, I hate that about you because it's taking you away from me,” she admitted, her tone growing emotional.

He grinned and snickered lightly. “You could never hate me, Kim.”

She softly scoffed and shook her head. For the third time, he proved he knew her all too well. “No…no, I couldn’t.” As he leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers, she added, “You've been loyal to Rex longer than you've known any of us. I shouldn't be surprised that you'd want to be at his side for something like this. Just promise me you'll be okay? I couldn't bear it if I lost you the same way I lost Jesse.”

“Hey, it's like I've said before: you're not losing me that easily. If an explosion and torture couldn't kill me, then there's no way I'm letting the Empire take me down,” he said back.

Stifling a sob, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “You'd better not,” she replied as he hugged her back. “You told me I'm stuck with you and I'm holding you to that…which means you have to come home.”

“I will,” he said in her ear.

Even though she was trying to sound supportive, her heart was breaking inside. She'd never imagined she'd have to say goodbye to Echo, of all people. He had been the one constant through everything she had been through, even from the first time she'd woken up elsewhere outside of Tatooine when she had been rescued. He'd been there through every battle, through every hard time she'd had with Hunter or Crosshair; through every loss, every victory and every new adventure, from the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire. No matter what, he had always been there for her…and now, she was losing him for who knows how long.

Their journey together had officially begun on Coruscant…and now, they were parting ways on Coruscant.

“Keep an eye on them,” Echo told her as they pulled apart, gesturing to the ship with his head, “and take care of Lex for me.”

She nodded her head, hesitated for a second and then gave him a final kiss on the cheek, which sent a calming warmth through him. Then she turned her attention to Rex and Senator Chuchi and saluted them. Rex saluted back and Riyo bowed her head in respect. Kimber walked backwards towards the Marauder, keeping her eyes on Echo just a few seconds longer before turning away and running all the way back into the ship.

Inside the Marauder, Lex was in one of the cabin seats, turned away and her arms folded across her chest as she tuned out Kida trying to convince her to go back out and talk to Echo. How could she after this? There was nothing left to say anymore. She'd blown her chance at trying to tell him anything and it wouldn't matter because he was just leaving her behind anyway.

Then Kimber climbed into the ship…she was the last one to return, which meant it was time to leave and Lex heard Hunter tell Tech to take off. This was really happening, then. Echo wasn't coming back with them. A part of her wanted to believe he would change his mind, but deep down, she knew he wouldn't. He was a soldier and a loyal one at that. When he set his mind to something, he stuck with it, which she had always respected. That was just who he was…so maybe she shouldn't be mad at him for wanting to help Rex.

A flood of memories of their times together overpowered her thoughts: when he had chased after her and accidentally discovered her cybernetic arm, when he'd helped her repair the arm the first time so she wasn't in pain, seeing his scars on the Aurora, kissing him as a distraction at the Imperial gala followed by their first real kiss later that night…her saving his life before falling off a cliff on their last mission…his words to her when she came to…

“Lex…you have no idea how much you mean to me. Since the beginning, you’ve brought out the best in me. You see me for who I am, not what I am, and I see you for who you are. You’re strong, resilient and kind, more than you may believe. You’re an angel…you’re my angel…I love you.”

Upon reflection, she did understand why he was doing this: he was being loyal to someone he cared about, which was how he always was. He had tried to prove his loyalty to her before by declaring his love, but she had been unable to say those final words back to him, which she'd regretted since. She thought she was free from her past with Dune, but it still haunted her enough that it had ruined what should’ve been a perfect moment with the man she’d chosen. Why had she let her past shame her present and possibly her future?

The engines of the Marauder started up and her chest tightened even more. No…it couldn't end like this. There was no knowing when she’d see him next…she couldn’t let him go without him knowing the truth. She had been a coward before in not telling him. She couldn’t lose her last chance now.

Just as the ship started to lift off the ground, she jolted up from her chair and yelled, “Wait! Don’t leave yet!” She ran past everyone who were sitting or standing around in the cabin and let down the ramp to ship as Tech held the ship hovering in the air. When she moved out onto the ramp, her hand holding onto the door frame, she looked down at Echo on the platform, who had already started walking back towards Rex and Senator Chuchi.

“Echo!” she shouted.

Down below, Echo halted in his tracks as his heart skipped a beat. That was Lex’s voice calling out for him. He whipped around and looked up to see her standing outside on the ramp of the Marauder that hovered a few feet above him, her braids flowing from the exhaust of the ship. What was she doing? She wasn’t going to jump, was she?

Seeing she now had his attention and had stopped him in time, Lex cried down to him, “I'm sorry! I do understand! You're doing this because you're brave and selfless! That's who you are! It’s what I've always admired about you! I've always been afraid and selfish, but that changed because of you! I'm not afraid anymore...and I'm going to prove it to you!”

Echo’s eyes widened and his heart nearly jumped up into his throat.

Everyone in the ship all looked in Lex’s direction, eagerly anticipating her next words.

This was it…this was the moment and she wasn’t about to lose it. Her past would no longer haunt her…never again.

Mustering up her courage, Lex shouted with a smile for all to hear, “ I love you!”

With those three words, she felt like the weight of the entire galaxy had been lifted from her shoulders. For the first time in forever, she felt truly free.

Echo softly gasped in both shock and joy as well as relief.

Rex and Riyo watched in astonishment, but said nothing.

The Clones all grinned with pride while Kimber and Kida were nearly in tears.

“I love you, Echo!” Lex declared with more passion, as if she had never been allowed to say such words until now. It felt truly liberating to finally say them without fear. Then she added, her voice still carrying down to him, “I told you once that Zabraks have two hearts...and both of mine belong to you! No matter where you go, that will never change! I see you…and I love you!”

Echo couldn't hold back an elated smile. He'd been so afraid that Lex didn't love him the same way he loved her and, after tonight, he thought he'd lost the chance of that ever changing. Yet she had done it; she had said it all openly and fearlessly…and he'd never been more proud of her. In that moment, he was certain he'd be able to go on with Rex without any regrets.

With his heart fuller than ever, he raised a hand towards her and cried back to her, “I see you, my angel, and I love you!”

Lex let out a mix of an emotional cry and a small laugh of joy. “Don't take any unnecessary risks, you hear me?” she called down as the ship began to lift off.

Echo chuckled. “When have I ever done that?” he cried.

With one last wave and a low laugh at his response, Lex stepped back into the ship and the door closed in front of her as the Marauder flew away, leaving Echo behind. She stood there, staring at the wall, processing what she had just done. At long last, she felt like she was finally herself. Her real self, free for the first time from the weight of her trauma and any worries that came from it. She loved Echo and she'd found the strength to make it known to him.

Though, with that, came the hard truth now settling in that she wouldn't see him again for a possibly long time. Her gladness quickly turned to sorrow and her eyes welled up with tears as she turned back into the ship. Through her blurred vision on her left, she saw the boys all giving her looks of sympathy. When she looked to her other side, she saw Kida sitting up in the gunner's mount comforting Omega in her arms as the girl hugged a large tooka doll. Then she found Kimber standing by the foot of the gunner's mount, looking at her with a similar sad look on her face.

Without a word, Kimber walked over to Lex and took her into a tight embrace, the two of them finding solace in each other after having both suffered an emotional toll that night. They knew eventually they'd be okay, but for right now, they would grieve together the sizable emptiness they felt from Echo's absence.

As long as he was gone, they both knew nothing would feel the same without him there.

#my sergeant

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