The Bad Batch - One shots

My heart was never meant for this

Echo looked around the garage that Rex had brought him to after handing the command log to Omega. Hunter had already informed the others that Rampart was arrested for his crimes, though it came at a cost.

The Senate was going to invest in the new Imperial stormtroopers.

Soon, the need for the original clone army would end completely, and Echo dreaded to think how that would affect his brothers who had not deserted.

They would all be silenced and killed.

Sighing, he glanced over to Hunter and the rest of the squad as they waited for Omega to return from the Senate with Chuchi.

Hunter had firmly said that he couldn't afford to risk the squad's safety to do more to help those who were suffering. If Echo even suggested that they devoted some time to assisting Rex in rescuing clones, the Sergeant would quickly shut him down.

It was too risky for the kid, and for the squad.

"What's on your mind, vod'ika?" Rex's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

The Captain was looking at a few different datapads on the table that was littered with pieces of flimsy. The use of the old-as-time nickname had Echo's heart quenching in his chest.

After Skako Minor, Echo always struggled to know where he belonged.

Rex had encouraged him to go with the Batch, knowing that with his injuries, he would find it difficult to re-adapt to life within Torrent Company. He would fit in better with the squad of misfits, and he did.

Now, the war was over, but so many people still needed someone to fight for them.

Echo was willing to help.

Hunter had different priorities.

"I feel bad for not helping," he admitted to his ori'vod. Rex had always been reliable, surely he would be able to offer some advice. "We're soldiers; we're supposed to be fighting for those without a voice."

Rex looked up from his work with a small smile, "You haven't changed a bit since I met you on Rishi Moon."

Echo tried not to remember the moon that claimed most of his squad.

He walked closer to the Captain and looked at the pieces of flimsy on the table. It mostly looked like maps and hand-written notes signed by numbers and names.

They were written by the clones that Rex was trying to help.

His contacts.

"Comms aren't always secure," Rex informed him, noticing that he was staring. "It's difficult, but even if I can save a few, it's worth it."

"How many contacts do you have?" Echo asked.

"Too many." Rex replied with a slight sigh, "Every day, I get more messages from clones looking for a way out. Rafa and Trace allow me to use this garage as my base of operations. It's almost like being a Captain again."

To him, Rex would always be a Captain.

"How did you meet the Martez sisters?" He asked.

"Ahsoka came here after she left the Order, right before Bo-Katan enlisted her to end Maul's occupation on Mandalore." Rex said, scrolling through a datapad. "They're pretty reliable when there's something in it for them."

Echo looked at him, shocked. He knew that Rex was returning from Mandalore when Order 66 came through. He didn't realise that Ahsoka was with him too.

Suddenly, it made sense why Rex was so insistent that the squad removed their chips.