Chapter Text
It was a surprise when they first contacted him.
He’d checked the Imperial records back in the day and didn’t find much about these particular clones, other than they had vanished right after the Jedi Purge. It was probably for the better; they would’ve been marked for swift termination under the new regime. The Empire would not suffer defective clones within its ranks, no matter that Clone Force 99 had proven time and time again to be a valuable asset in particularly difficult missions.
It was Echo, of course, who contacted him on behalf of the Bad Batch , as they liked to call themselves, and after the exhilaration of finding out that they were still alive came the concern about their current status: they’d become fugitives, mercenaries, living their lives always on the run.
“Fives saved us,” Echo said when they all reunited in their headquarters, an abandoned shipyard on some distant moon. “We didn’t really have time to talk after you rescued me and I figured something had happened to Fives, so Tech and I did a little investigation.”
“It was a mess,” Rex said, apologetically. “I should’ve told you, but it was hardly the right moment…”
“Of course,” Echo agreed. “But you did leave behind some valuable information in your grievance report, and it was only a matter of time before we knew what the inhibitor chip was really about.”
“We removed our chips,” Hunter joined the conversation and pointed to a faint scar on his head. “And not a moment too soon; we were already planning how to reveal our findings when Order 66 came through.”
Rex turned to look at the rest of the team, who were chatting leisurely with Gregor further away; Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, they all looked ragged, tired but determined, their appearance slightly different, a mustache here, longer or darker hair there, and he realized that he was actually glad that they had survived.
“So, what do you need me for?” he asked, warily. “I don’t suppose you came out of the shadows just because you missed me.”
***
He joined them in some of their missions, mostly covering the logistics of their plans. It was an easy task for him, he knew a lot of people across the galaxy and some of them even owed him a favor or two, so whenever the Bad Batch needed additional support for a particularly difficult job, they knew they could count on Rex to get them what they needed.
The last mission, though, proved to be rather… complicated.
“Our client has asked us to secure a certain individual for them,” Hunter briefed him, “but the Empire had been following the same lead."
“They’re holding our target in a facility located on the planet Corellia,” Tech added. “They seem to be waiting for something, or someone, before taking any actions.”
"Either way, we're not going to wait and find out,” Hunter said. “We need to move now .”
"And you need me for what , exactly?" Rex asked. The Bad Batch already had a reputation in the days of the GAR, so he always made sure to listen carefully before committing to any plans.
"Codes," Crosshair said. " Imperial codes."
“Normally, we would face this mission head on… you know our style,” Hunter smirked. “But this time, we figured we needed to borrow a page from your book, Captain."
Wrecker sighed next to him and Rex guessed that he wasn’t too happy with the idea.
“Well, if it’s codes that you need, I see no problem in that,” Rex said.
“Actually, we’re a little short-handed for the job,” Hunter said, and nodded to Gregor. “We were hoping that you two would join us this time. Nothing fancy, just a bit of backup support.”
Rex frowned; he’d made a point not to include Gregor in their missions, considering that he’d been making progress with his mental issues in a mostly peaceful environment back in Hosnian Prime. He turned to look at his brother and noticed a slight hesitation before he finally nodded.
“It should be fun,” Gregor said. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen some action.”
“Alright, then. We’re coming with you,” Rex said, and he hoped that he wouldn’t end up regretting this decision.
***
The Imperial facility was a fortified twelve-story building, well guarded and located in a highly populated zone deep within Coronet City. The plan was really simple: Hunter and Tech would disguise as stormtroopers and infiltrate the facility using Rex’s codes, while Crosshair would be on guard duty in case things went downhill, in a sniper position near the east side of the building, where the target was being held prisoner on the fifth floor. Once they were inside, they would let the rest of the team in through a garbage chute, while Rex and Gregor would keep watch in their hiding spot, in a tall building near the main entrance. Communications were key to the mission, so Rex, Echo and Tech had spent long hours the day before checking that their comlink devices were fully operational.
Things proceeded as planned and Rex thought that this might just be another successful mission for the Bad Batch, until he heard Crosshair curse in the comlink.
"Kriff's sake… we've got company ."
Rex heard it before he actually saw it, a big black shuttle approaching the building and landing right on top of it. Gregor pointed his scopes towards the ship to get a better view and suddenly started trembling.
“Oh, no…” he said, his voice a whisper. “Oh, no, no…”
“What is it, Gregor?” Rex asked, moving closer.
“It’s them… oh, no, it’s them !”
Rex took the scopes from Gregor’s shaking hands, and as his brother moved further away, cowering and muttering to himself, he focused the scopes on the dark figures that were descending from the shuttle, noticing their distinct black and red armor shining under the city’s neon lights.
“Those are purge troopers !” Rex hissed into his comlink. “Hunter! What the hell is going on?”
After a few long seconds of silence, Hunter’s answer came like a defeated sigh. “Our target is a Force sensitive girl. Her uncle wanted her out of Corellia, but her abilities caught the Empire’s attention before we could extract her.”
"Are you out of your mind?” Rex raged. “Do you know what those clones are capable of?"
"Of course I do," Hunter said, his voice dry with static. "Their commander is an old acquaintance of ours."
Rex opened his eyes wide and once again focused the scopes on the shuttle. When the purge troopers stood in formation and saluted another black armored figure emerging from the ship, he felt a deep pit in his stomach. The commander’s armor looked almost exactly like the one his men were wearing, but there was a visor attached to the helmet and an antenna on the left shoulder, red stripes replacing the characteristic 212th orange.
Rex covered his face with his hands. He didn’t need to ask; he’d recognize that armor and commanding pose anywhere.
“You didn’t bring me here just for the codes, did you?” he whispered bitterly into the comlink.
“We’d hoped that he wouldn’t show up,” Hunter said, rather apologetically. “That we’d be long gone before he arrived.”
“But he is here,” Rex reproached him.
“Yes… and so are you. You’re the only one who can get us out of here alive, Captain.”
Rex turned to check on Gregor, who was still trembling by his side, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Gregor, can you get to the rendezvous point on your own?”
His brother focused his eyes on him and Rex cursed himself for bringing him to the mission; he was clearly not ready for this. “Yes. I think so,” Gregor said after a while, and Rex noticed that he seemed to get calmer with the idea of going somewhere safe.
“Good. Wait for me there, I’ll be right behind you.”
“What are you going to do?” Gregor asked, frightened.
“I have to get them out. Don’t worry, I won’t take any unnecessary risks.”
With Gregor gone, Rex pulled his ragged cape over his head and moved downstairs, taking cover behind a building right in front of the Imperial facility, where he could observe the purge troopers as they were standing guard in the perimeter. Their commander paced around giving them instructions, and Rex strained to hear what he was saying without revealing his position.
“Echo, Tech, give me ears,” he whispered into the comlink.
“On it,” Tech said, and after a brief moment Rex’s receiver was patched into the troopers’ frequency.
“No one enters or exits the building without level-A authorization,” the commander was saying. “We’ll secure the fifth level now and hold positions until the Inquisitorius arrives. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Did you guys hear that?” Rex asked. “This is going to get ugly.”
“We’re already on the sixth level, approaching the girl’s cell through the vent shaft,” Hunter’s voice chirred on the comlink.
“How much longer?”
“Just a couple of minutes, we’re almost there.”
Rex turned to look at the troopers and his eyes lingered on the figure of their stern commander. If he tried to get closer, would Cody recognize him, despite the mustache and the beard? He would know that he was a clone, of course, but would he know that it was him , Rex, his friend and colleague?
There’s still a chance that it isn’t him under the bucket , he thought, but deep down he knew that he’d been deluding himself ever since he checked the Imperial records and found out about Cody’s gruesome part in the subjugation of Kashyyyk.
The sound of turbines got him out of his thoughts and he raised his head to see a black, stylized ship land atop the building.
“The Inquisitor is here,” Crosshair announced.
“The troopers are moving,” Rex warned. “Get the hell out of there!”
“Sod it, we’ve got the girl!” Wrecker protested.
Dammit. They needed a diversion fast .
“Echo, patch me into the building’s closed circuit comms!”
Rex waited for Echo’s confirmation and cleared his throat.
“Attention, all personnel: this is a code eight-ninety nine. I repeat: code eight-ninety nine. Please proceed to your designated safe areas.”
Holding his breath, he peered around the wall and waited. A short moment later, he could hear the sound of the evacuation alarm as hundreds of people hurriedly came out of the building, much to the confusion of the purge troopers who couldn’t stop the mass of fleing Imperials. He grinned; that should keep them busy for a while.
“Crosshair, we’re ready for pickup,” Hunter said on the comlink. “Rex, we’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.”
“Roger that.”
He took one last look at the trooper commander, who was angrily barking orders to his men, and almost felt sorry for him. Soon, they would realize that the girl was missing and someone had fooled them using their own codes, and Rex wondered if Cody would recognize the touch of the Bad Batch in all that mess.
We’ll get you out of the Empire, brother , he thought before turning to leave. I promise you that.
***
Gregor was doing noticeably better when Rex arrived at the meeting point, and they didn’t have to wait for too long before the rest of the team showed up. The girl was a little dark skinned thing riding piggyback on Wrecker's shoulders, her brown eyes wide and frightened, and Rex wondered why did the Empire go to such troubles just for a small child. He smiled at her in an attempt to cheer her up, but she turned her head away, clearly too afraid for any kind of friendly interaction. He didn’t blame her; it must be quite overwhelming to be rescued by the likes of the Bad Batch.
“Careful there, Captain,” Tech warned him. “She pulled a Force trick on Wrecker before we could even approach her.”
“Yeah, it still stings a little,” Wrecker complained, rubbing his head.
“I’m sorry,” the girl mumbled, hiding her face behind Wrecker’s massive neck.
"Oh, cheer up, girl," Crosshair said, walking next to her. "You'll be back with your uncle in no time."
As the three men took the girl to their ship, Hunter approached Rex for a brief chat.
“I’m sorry about what happened back there,” he apologized. “We really needed you for this mission and you wouldn’t have accepted if you knew Cody was involved.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t,” Rex said. “It’s too risky and there’s someone I need to protect."
Hunter turned to look at Gregor, who was sitting next to them, happily asking Echo all kinds of questions about the mission.
"It's alright, I understand," he finally said. “We got lucky, but you two were caught in the middle of the Jedi Purge. I guess some wounds need more time to heal.”
Rex nodded. Gregor’s wellbeing was another reason not to take any risks.
“So, this is it,” Hunter announced. “We’ll deliver the girl to her uncle now, and then… who knows.”
“You know where to find me,” Rex said. “But next time, don’t keep any relevant details from me.”
“Sure thing, Captain.”
Hunter saluted him and turned to walk towards his ship, but stopped midstep.
“By the way,” he said. “What was that code you used back there? The Imperials were running for their lives!”
Rex grinned widely. “Hazardous materials accident. Airborne toxic substances.”
The sergeant laughed out loud and shook his head as he walked away. Rex smiled; sometimes his plans did cause that kind of reaction on people.
As the rest of the Bad Batch prepared for departure, Echo moved closer to Rex to say his farewells.
“Thank you Rex. You saved the day, as always.”
Rex shrugged dismissively. “It’s nothing. Just another day assisting you, guys.”
Echo smiled and seemed to hesitate before speaking again.
"Say hello to Commander Tano for me. She's alive, yes? She’s the one you want to protect.”
Rex opened his eyes wide in shock. “How… how do you know that?”
"I’ve checked your records and traced your movements all the way back to your joint assignment to Mandalore and the subsequent crash of the Venator. It wasn't easy, but some details led me to believe that she wasn’t executed, and the Inquisitors’ activity in Thabeska and Raada matched my own personal conclusions. I take it that you both escaped together?”
Rex frowned, deeply concerned. "If you could figure it out, then someone else in the Empire can."
Echo pondered at this for a while. "I did the math and there was a small chance of 0,075 to 1 million." He grinned. "That’s why I deleted all compromising records about the two of you."
Rex let out a huge sigh of relief. "You're lifting a heavy burden off my shoulders, brother. Thank you."
“Keep her safe, Rex,” Echo said, solemnly. “She’s all that’s left for us.”
“I will,” Rex nodded. “Well… at least as much as she lets me, you know how she is.”
His brother smiled; of course he knew.
With a final salute, Echo boarded the ship that would take the Bad Batch back to their client, and soon after Gregor and Rex were on their way back to Hosnian Prime.