My Unfortunate Fate

chapter 75

Friends are family.

The Poletecs have brought us to a somewhat steep cliff to survey the nearby area. One of them points at a faraway cluster of lofty, slim structures, muddling something and then the word 'Purkoll'. That must be the city.

Anakin and I nod, then turn around to face our squad. "Hope nobody's scared of heights," he remarks.

Hunter and Crosshair turn towards Wrecker, who says, "Well, I'm not scared of nothing," and looks down beneath the cliff. "I just...when I'm up real high, I got a problem with gravity."

I suppose that's one way to put it.

"Speaking of problems," Tech interjects, "I'm no longer picking up Echo's signal."

"I...I don't understand," Rex says, expressing the very sentiment I'm experiencing. "You said it was coming from this city."

"I can only speculate," Tech explains, taking out his datapad, "but it is possible there's a latency issue with the frequency caused by all these...atmospheric disturbances."

"Or...maybe they sent the signal to lure us into a trap," Hunter speculates. "And maybe your friend's actually dead. Well, I can't be the only one thinking of that."

"Look, every mission could be a trap," Rex says, pointing a finger at Hunter in an accusing manner. "This one is no different. I'm telling you that signal is being sent by Echo himself! He's alive!"

"I think you're letting your personal feelings get in the way because you left him for dead at the Citadel," Crosshair butts in.

"We never had a choice, and none of us suspected that he could've survived what had happened," I argue.

"Oh, I don't blame you," Crosshair says coldly. "I would've left him for dead too. Besides, he's just another reg."

Rex lunges at him, but I come between the two of them before the situation escalates.

"Hey!" I scold. "We aren't here to compete for who's better and who deserves to be right. Our job here is to rescue Echo if we can and take him back to Anaxes. And you," I say, turning to the remaining members of the Bad Batch, "you chose to partake in this mission, well aware of the risks it entails. The only thing I ask of you is your cooperation and respect, which should be guaranteed regardless of who you're working with. Am I clear?"

Their response comes in a staccato of "Yes, Sir"s from the entire group.

I feel Anakin step up beside me. "Sergeant, take your men and scout the area for a tower entrance," he says. "I'd like to talk to my captain alone."

Hunter leads Wrecker and Crosshair down the cliff. In the meantime, I look at Anakin, unsure of where I fit in this situation. He cocks his head towards the bottom of the cliff, inciting me to follow the squad there. I oblige, leaving him and Rex alone to talk.

I suppose it makes sense—Anakin is far less biased than I am on Echo's account, and therefore it would be better if he talked to Rex about this.

***

After a while of waiting at the base of one of the towers, I see two silhouettes emerge from the dust storm shrouding our visibility. I raise one arm to protect myself from the storm and look into the distance. It's definitely them.

I glance to my left and see that Tech is still attempting to open the lift's doors.

"We're in business, General," Hunter informs Anakin as he and Rex reach our position. "Tech regained Echo's signal. It's coming from this tower. How's it going, Tech?"