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Jan 16

Sword and Shield 16

Tags: Bad Batch x reader (you), fem!coded, poly!relationship, multi-part series, nonhuman!reader

Part 15: A Distant Echo

Warnings: War related violence.

16: Retro, Intro, Spect

The next time you woke up, your mind thankfully brought you slowly out of a deep sleep. For a moment you just lay there, letting your mind slowly swim to consciousness and focus to hear the voices all around you.

"Shhh, Fives, you're gonna wake her up," someone hissed.

"I know, I'm being quiet, Kix," a familiar voice whined back.

"Give him some slack, Kix. We're all worried about Shiv. After that mission report the Cap gave..."

"I know, Hawk. But she needs rest, you heard what Commander Cody said about their last mission."

"We know. But— Echo, Vod, what did you say? She destroyed two whole Walkers and three legions of droids herself?" an incredulous voice asked.

"I mean, we all knew Shiv was powerful, but Maker—"

You stirred, sluggishly stretching. Someone's hand was holding yours, you realized belatedly, and you clutched at it, nuzzling closer to the hand and curling up. You didn't want to wake up quite yet...

Wait, had someone just mentioned the battle?

You shot straight up with a yelp, earning a few startled shouts. Blinking sleep out of your eyes, you focused through sticky eyes to finally see the whole 501st sitting huddled by the bed, staring wide-eyed back at you. For a moment you just sat there, your brain wildly trying to re-process the conversation you'd just heard as you'd woken up.

Your breath caught. Slowly, you turned your head, and met Echo's confused eyes.

"Echo," you whispered, voice laced with horror. "Did you tell them?"

He blinked. "Y-yeah, course, Shiv," he said blankly. "What's wrong-?"

Gulping, you started to scoot backwards up the cot. "Kriff," you whimpered under your breath. Oh Maker, kriff, they'd heard, oh stars, oh gods—

It was Fives who moved first. His eyes narrowing, he leaned forward. "Shiiiiiiiiiv," he said darkly.

Your whole body tensed, already halfway retreated behind Echo.

"I think you have some explaining to do."

Your shriek echoed down the hall.

Fives reached his arms out toward you, and you wildly flailed straight off of the bed in an attempt to get away. To your dismay as you wailed in protest for someone to come save you from your stupid, overprotective, clingy Vode, Jesse promptly caught you and handed you off unsympathetically to Fives. Fives grabbed you firmly by your shoulders, then shook you.

“Shiv you genius, stupid Vod, what were you thinking?” he demanded, a surprising edge of hysteria in his voice.

You stopped struggling, staring up at his face in shock.

Tears hovered in the corners of his eyes as he pulled your frozen form into his chest. “You worried us half to death, and then— then you come back with Echo, and you collapsed, and all we knew was that you might have gotten injured— The Cap told us that you’d had a hard battle and had been stretched thin and needed to recover and that’s all we heard, Shiv. Then Echo told us when he woke up about what happened and how you apparently had a huge battle and we just— Maker, Shiv. No one has ever terrified me more in all my life,” he choked.

Despite yourself, you felt the hot tears well in your eyes at the relieved frustration in Fives’ voice that resonated deep inside you. Didn’t you feel that way all the time about them? About the ones you cared about? You sniffled, pulling back and reaching up to smear away the tears that suddenly wouldn’t stop falling.

“I’m sorry,” you sobbed out. “I’m sorry, Fives. I’m sorry,” you cried, leaning against his chest and feeling like a small child all over again. “I— I wanted to bring Echo back and I— I couldn’t fail him again, and I was so scared that we’d be too late and I’d fail all over again,” you know couldn’t stop yourself, all your pain and worry and fear spilling out of you. “And I wanted to fix it because I should have stayed at the Citadel, I should have done better! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m the worst,” you said hysterically, shaking with the force of your sobs.

But Fives gently shook you again. “Stop it, Shiv, that’s nonsense and you know it,” he said savagely. Letting go of your arms, he reached up and started to wipe away your tears far more gently. “You didn’t fail Echo, and you didn’t fail us. You did your best to protect him, and you brought him back. You fought off a whole army to bring him back. That’s everything we could have asked from you, Shiv. And now you’re both back, safe.”

The other members of the 501st murmured agreement, shuffling around you and Echo’s bedside.

“Listen to him, Shiv,” Hawk said lowly. “He may be the dumbest of us but he has his moments.”

You let out a watery laugh amidst Fives’ protests. Looking up, you sniffled. “I was so scared,” you whispered, trembling. “I— I really wanted to protect Echo, and— and I was scared and wished you were there to tell me that it was gonna be okay,” you whispered, head hanging.

“Hand her over,” Tup demanded. Sweeping you up, he hugged you so hard that you wheezed. “You did great, Shiv. The best,” he said firmly. “You brought Echo back.”

Kix all but wrenched you away, bustling you back into the bed next to Echo and fussing. “All well and good, the lot of you, but both Echo and Shiv need to eat and rest,” he said sternly. “They’re off soon to finish the mission and they need to be up and functional by then. Afterwards, you can come back and scold and praise all you want. For now, let them rest,” he scolded. “Go. Scram.”

They grumbled but slowly stood, shuffling toward the door.

“Get some rest, Echo, Shiv,” Jesse called. “Good luck with the mission.”

“I expect to hear about that battle from you when you’re back, Shiv,” Fives added as he was ushered out the door.

They filed out, and Kix shook his head in the ensuing silence. “I knew they needed to see for themselves that both of you were alright,” he sighed. Then he gave both of you a small smile. “It’s good to see you both back, you know. They’re right.”

You and Echo both nodded, smiling back.

Then Kix nodded. “I’m bringing by some soup. Get some rest. Your next mission is tomorrow morning early, so until the last minute I’m not letting you out of here,” he warned, shaking his head.

“Yes, Kix,” both you and Echo chimed out of habit, glancing at each other.

Kix rolled his eyes but stalked out, muttering under his breath.

After a beat of silence, you turned slowly to Echo. Timidly, you met his eyes. Both of you just sat there, tongues tied for a second. Then you swallowed.

“Echo—“

“They’re right,” he blurted. Then he took in a breath and looked down at his hands. “I’m the one who forced you to leave, Shiv,” he said lowly. “It’s not your fault. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re the reason I survived. And you came back for me, you and Rex. Despite the odds.”

“I tried to convince myself you were dead,” you whispered, staring down at your lap miserably. “I told myself... I knew you would say that, but I— somewhere inside me, I still blamed myself.” Reaching up, you dug at your eyes. “I know what Admiral Trench is capable of.” Your voice broke. “I— I should’ve known better, should’ve— should’ve done something, made sure—“

“Shiv.” Echo grabbed your hand, stopping you. “You’re the one who kept me alive. Let me keep fighting, kept me struggling to hold on and remember, to fight back.” Lips pressed together, he stared down at your fingers, clasped in his. Even as gaunt as he was, his hand still dwarfed yours. “And you’re the one that came back.”

The lump in your throat felt too tight. You couldn’t speak, shaking your head as you swiped at your streaming eyes.

“They told me... they said you were with the Bad Batch, now,” Echo said quietly, voice hoarse. “Do you... are you happy?”

You looked up into his face. “Nothing was the same without you,” you whispered, the pain in your chest almost agony. You wanted to tell him, so badly. That you loved him. Had for so long. Still did, so, so desperately. That you’d found others who loved you, cared about you, took care of you, fought with and for you. But you couldn’t. Not when you didn’t even know what would happen.

His eyes seemed to search yours. “Shiv... I—“ For a brief flicker, something hovered on the tip of his tongue. Then he swallowed thickly. “This mission,” he rasped instead. “I—“

You turned your face away. “I’m going to end it, Echo,” you said quietly. Promising him, and yourself. “It’s going to end here. He’ll never touch anyone else again. He’s already taken so much away from me. I can’t let him take anything else from anyone else, ever again. He failed to break me. Now it’s my turn.” Your eyes burned as you clenched your jaw. “And I will break him.”

Echo seemed speechless. Before he could say anything, though, the door opened and Kix returned with the soup. You let go of his hand and gratefully took the bowl, giving Kix a pitiful smile as though you hadn’t said anything.

For the rest of the day and evening, you leaned against each other in silent understanding and dozed.

Trench would not live to see another day.

Nervously, you trailed behind Echo as he walked determinedly toward the meeting room.

"We have more than a dozen active battlefronts on Anaxes," General Windu was saying as he stared at a holomap, "and we are losing nearly everyone."

"But if Admiral Trench can no longer anticipate our moves, we now have the opportunity to retake the planet," General Skywalker persuaded.

"We can improve your chances," Echo spoke up, walking toward the gathered generals. "Excuse me, Generals."

"Echo, are you sure you're even ready for battle yet?"

"I'm not a liability, Rex." Echo frowned. "I'm the best chance we have to take back Anaxes."

"If the trooper has a plan, I'd like to hear it," General Windu said.

"May I?" Echo moved toward the holoscreen, pulling up the blueprints. "While Master Windu leads a team to retake the assembly complex, the Bad Batch will escort me into Trench's new comm vault, which, according to current intel, is now located on this Separatist Dreadnought above Anaxes."

You hung onto his sleeve, peering around him uncomfortably at the plans.

"Once I'm plugged in, I can feed Trench strategies, but this time, you'll know every move before he makes it," Echo finished.

"And you are certain that if we get you onboard that ship, that you can convince Trench's army to do what you want?" Windu asked, skeptical.

"Absolutely." Echo nodded sharply. "Unfortunately, I've been doing this for a while. But this time, I can help bring about a Republic victory instead of a defeat."

"And who is this, behind you?" General Windu raised an eyebrow at you.

Your eyes widened, but before you could answer, General Skywalker spoke up.

"Master Windu, this is Shiv, a special ops that is part of the Bad Batch. She used to be part of the 501st for a while, and she's a valuable source of information about Trench. The 501st rescued her several years ago from slavery under Trench."

You forced yourself to step out from behind Echo, bowing politely. "At the Republic's service, General Windu," you greeted quietly. "I was part of the recent mission to retrieve Echo from Skako Minor. I can vouch for his trustworthiness."

General Windu raised an eyebrow. "You were once a slave to Trench."

"Yes, General," you answered evenly. "I'm... one of a rare kind, the In'ko'charte. There aren't many of us left in the galaxy as far as I know. The 501st rescued me from Trench's.... experiments. Commander Rex eventually assigned me to Clone Force 99 since my strengths lie in a smaller, more elite special force."

"And what exactly is it that you do?"

"On this mission, I can offer both valuable intel on Trench as well as working closely with Echo and the Bad Batch. Previous experience with all of them gives me an edge that we otherwise wouldn't have," you answered, knowing that you'd have to sell yourself.

Echo turned to you. "Shiv. Permission to Transfer." He held out his hand.

A little startled, you turned to him, taking his hand a little jerkily. "Transfer Granted." You Shifted almost immediately into a blaster, letting your astral form materialize over Echo's shoulder.

"I see." Both of General Windu's eyebrows raised, but he said nothing else. Giving you a lingering glance, he nodded at Rex and General Skywalker. "Then I suppose this plan will have to do."

You stayed with Echo, listening as they finalized the strategy. You made a few mental suggestions to Echo, but otherwise said nothing yourself. By the time they'd finished, Commander Rex seemed resigned that you and Echo would most likely be facing off against Trench at some point, though he didn't necessarily say anything outright about it.

General Skywalker nodded to you and Echo as the meeting adjourned. "Get on the Havoc Marauder and fill Hunter in, you two," he said.

Echo just nodded, not mentioning that you'd been projecting the plans across the Bond with Hunter the whole time already. You didn't worry about confidentiality, knowing that it would have happened anyway.

You boarded the Marauder and led Echo toward the common room. Hunter was in the middle of pointing out the strategy to the rest of the team when you both came in, and he gave you a curt nod.

"Time to get moving, I guess," he remarked.

"Please tell me we are blowing something up," Wrecker begged.

"Sorry, Wrecker, this is strictly stealth," Hunter answered.

"I hate that word."

Hunter turned to Echo, crossing his arms. "Echo, I know you've worked with Shiv before in the 501st, which is going to be good for us. She'll be helping you out primarily, of course, but if we need her—"

"She's part of Force 99," Echo said with a nod. "If you need her, I can pass her on."

"For this mission, you're part of this Force," Hunter said, shaking his head. "Just keep that in mind and we'll be fine."

You Dissolved the Bond, landing on the floor. "I'll do my best," you promised, clasping your hands behind you. "Please use me well."

Captain Rex and General Skywalker boarded, greeting everyone. You gave them quick greetings before scurrying off to find Crosshair. You found him at his bunk, polishing his rifle.

You paused, then decided to take a chance and sat next to him, curling your legs up. Deciding to let him initiate conversation if he wanted it, you simply leaned your head against your knee and watched his methodical, practiced movements. The ship shuddered, then took off, rattling a few objects around the room.

"You're going to kill Trench."

For a moment, you stayed quiet, just staring at the rifle. Your eyes lingered on his fingers, thin and lithe. "I don't know."

Cross turned his head, looking at you, silently demanding an explanation.

"I don't know," you repeated. "One way or another, I'll end it today. But that doesn't mean I'll be the one to kill him." You shrugged. "War and Battle are never fair, or entirely predictable."

"So you're going to let the Reg do it."

"Not really a Reg anymore," you observed with a little, sad sigh, thinking about Echo's new modifications. "He's more... machine than man, now."

Irritation flashed across Crosshair's face for a reason you didn't understand. "So you'll let him do it," he bit out.

You blinked, then tilted your head at him. "If he does, either way, Trench is dead, Cross," you said, frowning in confusion. "It doesn't matter who does it. I just want it to be over."

Crosshair stared at you for another minute, then turned and looked down at his rifle. "And once it's over, then what?"

"Once it's over... I'll pick up my pieces, and we'll go on our next mission," you said slowly, your confusion mounting. "Cross... what is it? What's different about this mission compared to all the others?"

"What isn't different?" Cross demanded, lip curling. "We're sharing you with a Reg and—and whatever you call him, he's not one of us," he sneered. "And we're going against Trench. In case you forgot, he's the one who enslaved you, brutally tortured both of you."

The hurt pierced you for a breathless moment, and you shrank in on yourself on the bunk. For an instant, you found yourself afraid of Cross. Of his temper, his sharp words. But in the next breath, you forced yourself to keep quiet, to think before you spoke. Clearly, Cross was angry about something. But what?

We're sharing you. Reg. Other. Tortured both of you. Not one of us.

"Cross," you said slowly into the tense silence, "do you think I'm... going to leave?"

Crosshair's shoulders tensed, and his lips thinned, eyes narrowing.

Understanding bloomed in you. Uncurling, you reached out and tentatively touched his arm. "I don't want to leave you. I... I never even thought about it, Cross," you said, voice brittle. You didn't know how to handle this. Didn't know how to reassure Crosshair when you yourself were so unsure, unbalanced. "Do you... want me to leave?"

"Don't lie to me," Cross snarled, not looking at you, but not shrugging your hand off either. "You've got your precious 501st back together. Why wouldn't you?"

"Cross, that's not fair, why would I?" you cried, heart breaking for a reason you couldn't place. Not for yourself. "I..." Tears welled in your eyes. "I love you, Cross," you whispered, once again so vulnerable to him.

"You said yourself that you loved that— Echo," Cross fairly spat, bristling. "Don't delude yourself—“

"Stop it," you shot back, a burst of anger curling in your chest. "You've been in my head, Cross, you know I didn't lie to you. I've never lied to you, and you know it. I don't think I'm the one deluding myself here. Just because Echo was my first love doesn't mean that I suddenly somehow stopped loving any of you. Echo doesn't even know my feelings for him. And do you think just because he's alive that I'd— what, leave the Bad Batch? When I'm happy here with you?"

You bit your lip, taking in a shaky breath and closing your eyes, trying to calm yourself. You'd just started to pull your hand away when his fingers wrapped around your wrist. With a startled gasp, you found yourself pulled into his lap, replacing the rifle.

Your eyes widened. His hand clenched around your waist, grip tight and bruising. His other hand buried in your hair, pulling your face up to his. His mouth opened over yours, sliding across your lips with a desperate heat that left you dizzy and a little confused. Still, you closed your eyes and let Cross practically stake a claim on you, curling your fingers against his chest.

Flushed, you panted for air as he let go of the bruising kiss. "C-Cross?" you whispered, peering up at his face.

His breaths were harsh against the corner of your lips. "You're ours, Shiv."

You closed your eyes, heart aching for him. Even if you didn't know why, you only knew that the ragged edge of desperation in the hoarse plea came from some hurt inside your stoic sniper. And even if you didn't know how to fix it, didn't know how to help... you just closed your eyes and reached up to gently brush your fingers under his eye.

"Yours, Cross," you whispered, the promise floating between you. "Yours."

"Echo, you're up."

"Don't worry." Echo slid into the copilot's seat. "As soon as I plug in, I'll send a signal to the command ship."

You hovered over Crosshair's shoulder, Transferred to him.

"What type of signal are you gonna send?" Hunter asked. "Nothing that'll give us away, right?"

"As far as the droids are concerned, we're just gonna be another one of their shuttles coming in for a landing," Echo assured.

"And the regs think we take risks," Cross muttered.

"Sending the signal.... now," Echo said, while everyone held their breath.

You stayed quiet, trusting Echo. His plans had always been solid before.

"Roger, roger, Shuttle TC-159. You may approach and land," the droid at air control's monotone came over the comms.

Everyone silently sighed in relief.

"I'd still rather blow it up," Wrecker insisted, sulking.

"I have a feeling you'll get your chance," Tech said, shaking his head.

"Gold Leader, you're cleared for launch," General Skywalker said into a comm.

"Copy that, General. We are going in."

A few minutes later found everyone peering out of the door of the ship, making sure the halls were clear. For the time being, you'd stayed with Cross as his modified sniper rifle for better stealth purposes. Tech led everyone to the correct area, doors sliding shut behind them.

"Tech, can you rig an interface?" Echo asked, immediately going to the computer systems set up.

"I assume that's a rhetorical question," Tech sniffed, joining.

"We should make sure this comm vault has no other entrances," Rex said, sending other scattering.

Crosshair, I need Shiv.

Cross turned and tossed you to Tech, while you Transferred and immersed yourself in his mind.

Tech's fingers started flying over the keys. Shiv, help me track this the most secure way, Tech requested.

You carefully matched up your thoughts, starting a rapid exchange as you both worked to create a secure channel that would be near impossible to backtrace.

"All right, I have access to everything," Tech said, eyes flitting over the screens.

"I just scanned a strategy request Trench sent to the Techno Union," Echo said, connecting to the system you and Tech had rigged.

"Wait. You can't just send a signal from here," you piped up, appearing over Tech's shoulder.

"Why not?"

Tech backed you up. "We have to make it appear as if your signal is originating from Skako Minor. Otherwise, they'll know we are here," he said, starting to make an entry point.

Echo quickly followed the path that you and Tech opened up for him, rerouting the signal to go through Skako.

"I'm intercepting a transmission," Tech reported a second later as General Skywalker strode up. "Trench is ordering all of his droids to the assembly complex."

"All right, Echo, what are you trying to pull?" General Skywalker asked, glancing over the holotable.

"Don't worry, that's what I told him to do," Echo reassured.

"But our troops will be vastly outnumbered," Tech said, startled.

"Not when he sends them a feedback pulse that shuts down all the droids," you said, picking up on Echo's strategy. He'd always been efficient, preferring as few moves as possible.

"Echo, we're all counting on you," General Skywalker said with a nod, then pulled up his comm. "Master Windu, I know this sounds crazy, but it's about to get a little more crowded where you are."

"We have our hands full as it is. What's your plan?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," the General quipped, "it isn't my plan. Echo is drawing all the droids to your position so he can neutralize them all at the same time."

"Echo, wait," you said suddenly, pointing at a screen. "Don't send the pulse yet. Look at this."

Echo and Tech both leaned forward.

"Good catch, Shiv," Tech said, adjusting his goggles and beginning to patch the door that had presented itself. "That could have led back to us."

You pointed to Echo's side of the screen. "Stabilize the tunnel to the droid forces, Echo. Otherwise we're going to get feedback or it'll be easier to trace."

Echo nodded, and soon the three of you were quickly triple-checking your work.

"We're ready," Tech said with a nod. "Do it, Echo."

Echo twisted his hand, determination stamped across his face.

General Skywalker grinned as he pulled up a holofeed of the battle, watching droids shudder and spark and fall. "It's working!"

General Windu came over the comm. "I am pleased to report that we are in control of the assembly complex, and all of the fronts are falling to the Republic thanks to Echo's plan," he reported.

"That's good news, Master Windu," General Skywalker said with a nod. "We're on our way back to the base. May the Force be with you." He turned back to Echo. "Good job, Echo."

But you felt distinctly uneasy. Never would it be this easy. Tech. Don't disengage. Trench is ruthless, and he will do anything and everything to succeed, regardless of the cost. This won't be this easy.

Tech nodded, continuing to scan the frequencies. Understood, Shiv. Scanning any communications from him.

"Well, I guess you really did pull it off," Rex said with a nod, clapping Echo's shoulder.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Echo smiled wanly.

"Some." Hunter walked by.

"Well, thanks," Echo muttered.

"Come on, brother. Unplug and let's get out of here," Rex said cheerfully.

Your Bond abruptly lit up. Shiv. Tech sounded frantic. Look—

You hissed. I see it. Patch it, Tech, I'll get everyone on it. You quickly popped up.

"Everyone stop, we're about to have company!" you yelled, freezing everyone in their tracks. "Echo, do not disengage, they've figured out it's come from this ship, there's a security dispatch on the way. Trench isn't finished."

Everyone leaped into position, taking up defense at the door.

"Wait," Tech blurted, fingers flying. "I just scanned a new order from Trench. He's initiated a countdown. There's a bomb hidden in the assembly complex, and it's big enough to destroy most of Anaxes."

"Can you stop it?" General Skywalker asked tightly, grabbing his weapon.

"Well, I can try," Tech answered.

"General, where are you going?" Rex asked, alarmed, as the General started to stride toward the door.

"If they can't stop the detonation, perhaps Trench can," he called back grimly, sweeping out the door as Rex followed.

Tech slammed the comms. "General Windu, this is Tech. We've discovered a bomb in the fusion reactor. We need someone to go down there and help disarm it," he said quickly.

"I'm on my way," General Windu said, barking orders to the rest of his men.

The security team had reached the doors. "We're going to buy you time, hurry up!" Hunter shouted from the door.

"Echo, I found the bomb. Tell me the sequence to shut it down!" General Windu shouted over the comm.

"I'm decrypting it now," Echo answered tightly, hunched over the screens. You and Tech were occupied, keeping all other signals jammed or busy being rerouted into each other or doubling back. Between the two of you, you were barely managing to buy Echo enough time to decrypt unhindered.

"You have to unplug soon, they're going to detect us," Tech warned.

"We need these codes," Echo bit back. "The first number in the sequence is three."

The doors began to buckle, while Hunter, Echo, and Cross shouted and began to fire through the cracks.

"The next is... one."

You snarled, pushing Tech to catch yet another attempt to crack into your rigged system.

"Eight," Echo continued, pushing as fast as he could.

Behind you, the doors burst open.

"Seven."

The screens blared red for you and Tech, warning you that someone had found your jamming signal and was attacking it.

"They're on to us, you need to unplug now!" Tech shouted. "It's going to—"

Echo abruptly crumpled.

"Echo?" General Windu's voice demanded over the comms.

"The server overloaded his neural system," Tech gasped out. "Shiv, you have to take his place."

You didn't question, Dissolving the Transfer and rushing to Echo's station. You kicked off your boot, beginning to continue the decryption that had stalled. Just one more number, you thought desperately.

A screen nearby bleeped, and you kicked out to slam your foot against it, knowing that Tech needed both hands for his own task.

"Echo!"

"Trench knows we're here," Tech called over to the others. "He's going to be on his way personally!"

"Echo, are you there?"

"Letting out a hiss of frustration, you smacked the button on the comms. "General Windu, Trench took out Echo. I'm getting the last number, five ticks," you rushed, lunging to block another splicing attempt.

"All right, Shiv. Where's General Skywalker?"

You bit your lip and frantically tapped at the screen. "Going to find Admiral Trench. Two ticks."

"We got company!" Hunter yelled. "Hurry it up!"

You groaned, one foot up on the console as you glanced back at Echo knocked out cold. "I'm trying!"

"Shiv—"

"Seven!" you hollered, ripping wires out of the decryption device and practically throwing yourself across the console. You slammed your foot back into your boot.

A new voice came over the comms. "Admiral Trench was kind enough to confirm the final number Shiv gave, Master," General Skywalker said in satisfaction.

A pause. "Good work, Skywalker, Shiv. The bomb has been disarmed."

"Done!" Tech shouted to the others. He shut down the system, grabbing his blasters.

"I'll get Echo up," you said, waving him off. Scrambling over to Echo, you noticed with relief that he was stirring. "Echo," you said insistently, patting his cheek. "Echo, c'mon. Transfer with me, I'll get you up."

He stared blearily up at you. "P-Permission—" he slurred, still trying to shake off the dizziness. "To Transfer—"

That's all you needed. You almost reeled mentally as soon as you entered his mind, instantly hit with the screech of overload. Shaking yourself, you let out a countering pulse, driving out the other frequency and clearing away the remaining buzz and fog.

Echo shook himself, then stood with a grimace. "Thanks, Shiv," he rasped. Taking a breath, he started towards where Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech were holding the doors.

"We can't blast our way out, there's too many of them," Hunter grunted as Echo joined.

"I'm heading back toward the ship. Meet me there, I've got a plan," General Skywalker said over comms.

"Well how are we going to—"

"There's a back hatch to this room through a vent," Tech said, jerking his head backward. "It'll lead to a back route we can take to get around, even if it'll be crawling with droids."

"It's our best bet," Hunter agreed. "Wrecker, take Shiv and release the wrecking ball!"

"Yeah!" Wrecker roared, turning to Echo.

Echo tossed your blaster form to Wrecker, and you effortlessly Transferred. You Shifted into Wrecker's battle gloves, supressing a smile at his unrestrained glee.

Wrecker whooped, beginning to bowl over droids like a pack of nine-pins and giving the others a needed break.

"I honestly feel bad for those droids," Echo remarked wryly behind you.

You having fun, Sunshine? Even if it's a stealth mission? You asked, amused.

"Yeah!" Wrecker smashed through the last of the wave of droids, turning to the others with a wide grin. "It's all clear!"

Cross was staring down his scope. "More droids."

Tech had already removed the vent cover in the room.

"Go," Cross said, swinging his rifle across his back. "Shiv and I will buy you some time."

Wrecker jogged back toward the room, tossing you to Cross. You Transferred, Shifting into his modified rifle.

"We'll meet you at the infiltration point," Hunter called, climbing through the vent.

"Oh!" Wrecker's loud voice filtered back. "He's gonna try and top me. You watch."

Crosshair rolled his eyes, then peered down your scope at the approaching droids. You sat back and watched, keeping quiet in his mind as you simply trusted him and let him do what he needed, keeping your mind open to whatever he might ask. His breath came even and steady, mind almost dead silent as he picked them all off almost in neat rows, firing one shot after another in unbroken succession.

Once he'd cleared them out, he grunted and stood, heading back toward the still-open vent. Well done with the reduced recoil, Shiv.

You sent over the Bond a pulse of happy pride at his praise.

He rounded a corner in a jog in time to hear Hunter.

"Now all we're missing is Crosshair."

General Skywalker had met them at the crossroad in the hall.

"You miss me?" Cross drawled, jogging up. Turning around at the sound of droids, he lifted you to his elbow, peering down your scope. "How touching."

For a split second, he sighted straight down the line of approaching, single-file droids. Then he swiveled you, and you found yourself aimed toward a tiny port in the wall. Before you could take a breath, he fired.

As the weapon, you knew instantly that the shot was perfect before it even left the barrel of the rifle. You purred in contentment as Crosshair's fingers tapped your trigger in satisfaction, lowering you as he watched the shots ricochet and nail every single droid in the hallway with one shot.

Crosshair turned to the others, Wrecker staring open-mouthed down the hall.

"Relax, Wrecker. You'll top him next time," Hunter comforted, patting his arm.

Cross paused just long enough to comment. "No, he won't." Satisfaction slicked across the Bond.

General Skywalker turned to you as you all climbed into the ship. "Brilliant shot, Crosshair, Shiv. I've got a present for you, Wrecker," he added, turning to the sulking Wrecker. He offered a detonator with a wink.

Wrecker's entire face lit up. "Oh, seriously? I get to blow it up? The whole stinking thing?" he asked, grabbing the detonator.

"This is the happiest day of my life!" he cheered, whirling around to stare out the transparisteel as Tech guided the ship away from the base. He whooped, then slammed the button.

In the distance, the whole base exploded in a brilliant shower of yellow and orange, muted in the silence of space.

Materializing next to Cross, you leaned against his shoulder with a dreamy hum. "It's beautiful," you said wistfully, earning attention.

Captain Rex took off his helmet, giving you a nod. "Admiral Trench is dead, Echo, Shiv," he said, eyes observing you both with a soft sort of sympathy. "You're finally free."

You Dissolved the Transfer, standing next to Crosshair. Of all the emotions you expected to feel at the news you'd longed to hear for so long... You found yourself a little surprised. You felt... content. Of course, relieved, and happy. But mostly, you just felt content. Like a burden had been lifted off of your shoulders.

Giving the Captain a grateful smile, you reached up to wipe at your relieved tears.

"Thank you," you whispered, smiling even through your tears. "I'm so... happy." You laughed.

General Skywalker patted your shoulder gently. "You deserve it, Shiv, Echo." He nodded.

Wrecker bounded over to you, sweeping you up into a tight hug and spinning you around. You let out a startled laugh, bracing your hands against his shoulders.

"Oh— Wrecker—" you gasped.

"We did it, Shiv!" he cheered, still effortlessly holding you up. "And we blew up the whole thing!"

"I know, Wrecker, you were brilliant," you laughed breathlessly, placing your hands on his cheeks. Leaning forward, you kissed his forehead.

He grinned wildly, then set you down.

Did life during war get any better than this?

Part 17: Best Laid Plans

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