I'm glad you guys are picking this back up so quickly! This story is really fun to write. We're a little bit more than halfway through it.

Enjoy this next chapter!

/—/—/

Echo tapped his fingers along the desk scanning through the coding of the chip analysis they had. The cyborg clone hummed lightly, sitting back in his seat. The more he started at the screen the more frustrated he got. He had hated being a personal algorithm for the Techno Union and then Dooku's own personal mercenary. Staring at this algorithm just reminded him if how much of a slave he was.

"Hey. You listening to me," a voice brought Echo out of his thoughts startling him.

"Huh, what," Echo gaped lightly as he spun in his chair.

"You looked a little out of it, ARC," the clone rose an eyebrow at him.

Echo flicked his gaze up and down the clone, studying the guy. He wore black and scarlet armor which distantly reminded him of the armor Reaper used to where. About a third of the guy's face was covered in ink that reminded him of a skull, and then there was the headband.

"Sorry I just… I've been staring at the computer screen for too long," Echo finally answered once he had catalogued the clone into his memory.

"I could tell. General Shaak Ti said you were the one hacking the chip algorithm," the clone nodded at the screen.

"Yeah, ARC Trooper Echo," Echo smiled sticking out his hand for a handshake aware that his hand was cybernetic now.

"Sergeant Hunter of the Bad Batch," the guy took the hand without even flinching which soothed Echo's consciousness.

"Nice to meet you."

/—/—/

"Sir, I know I'm not a Jedi, but… you believe in reincarnation, right," Fives asked as he walked with General Shaak Ti.

"In a sense. All beings have the force with them. Whether or not that they are string enough to become a Jedi or not does not exclude them from it. Reincarnation is very rare, but it can happen. I wondered if this happened to you. Your signature is much darker, more damaged if you will. It would be more noticeable should you have woken up from your demise as a cadet," General Shaak Ti dipped her head at the question.

"You know I'm from a different time," Fives asked in shock nearly stumbling in his steps as they passes a kaminoan.

"Yes. You just confirmed it," General Shaak Ti smiled her shoulders shaking with slight laughter.

"Oh. Right."

/—/—/

Echo felt sick to his stomach as he stared at the screen. Fives cursed beside him, the venom in his voice making Echo flinch.

"This is sick. It's like we're droids. How many of them are there," Fives whispered putting a hand up to his mouth as the two ARCs stared at the list of orders.

"One hundred. I counted," Echo croaked out his throat constricting as he said the number.

"Kriffing nine hells," Fives cursed again making Echo nod in agreement.

"I think I'm gonna puke," the cybernetic enhance ARC gritted out.

"We have to tell the General. We have to find out what happens once one of these things is activated," Fives swallowed as he scrolled through the list.

"Or how to shut it off once they've been activated," Echo whispered his voice shaking.

Silence fell over the two as they met each other's gazes. Only half of the GAR had their chips out. If they were to be activated now then The Republic could end up having a lot of friendly fire on their hands.

"General first. That second."

/—/—/

A mission. On Geonosis. Right. General Shaak Ti needed them to work with another battalion to get the information they needed to see who had access to the chips. It was a get in and get out type of mission.

Right like in and out missions ever ended up like that. If there was one thing that Fives learned while working as an ARC was that many missions ended up going to hells. That and that Anakin Skywalker was not a good example.

"What battalion did the General say we would be working with," Fives asked as he glanced around the hangar bay.

"Battalion 99," Echo reported without looking up from his data pad.

Both ARCs were fully dressed in their gear and had their helmets on. Echo's gear was slightly different than Fives' due to the fact that Echo now had cybernetic limbs. Fives sighed as he turned his head back to look at Echo before returning to his scanning.

"Incoming," Fives announced as he stood taller at the sight of four clones, well what looked like clones, walking over to them.

The black and red armor was slightly unnerving, but it wasn't unheard of. Echo glanced up from his data pad and stood up from the crate he was sitting on.

"Interesting," Echo whispered as the four clones finally made it over to them.

"Are you apart of Battalion 99," Fives asked the lead clone his curiosity peaked.

"The name is Hunter. That's Crosshair, Tech, and Wrecker. We're the Bad Batch. Who the hell are you," the lead clone nodded gesturing to each of the others beside him.

"ARC Trooper Fives. This is my brother-by-choice Echo," Fives shook Hunter's hand doing his best not to gawk at the others.

Yeah clones who didn't really look like clones. Interesting indeed.

"We've met briefly," Echo nodded when Hunter glanced over at him at the name.

"I figured. I'm sure you've already been briefed," Hunter dipped his head slightly.

"Yes, we have."

"Good."

/—/—/

"I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying, I hate flying," Fives repeated as he nearly cursed out ever god he knew the name of.

Yes. Fives hated flying. Especially when the damn pilot was trying to get them killed!

"Would you like to try, reg," Crosshair grinned at the ARC as he whipped the aircraft to the side.

"Kriff you," Fives snarled back.

They were crash landing. Because why the kriff not. In and out his ass.

"Echo please tell me you know what you're doing," Fives begged as he held on for dear life.

"Shut up I'm concentrating!"

"Crosshair pull 28 degrees to your left," Tech called out from where he was doing his calculations.

"At least this time there will be an explosion," Wrecker looked pleased which cause an argument between Tech and Wrecker almost immediately.

"Echo?"

"If you don't shut the kriff up I'm going to castrate every single kriffing one of you! Starting with you Fives!"

The ship went deathly quiet besides the sound of the ship burning and cracking up. Yeah. Echo could be kind of terrifying.

"Kriffing harchak!"

No. Just plain terrifying.

/—/—/

"Is everyone okay," Fives called out amongst the smoke of the burning aircraft.

"I'm missing a leg and half my hand. Do I look okay to you," Echo snipped quietly as he struggled out of the scrap metal of the former aircraft.

"Let's move out," Hunter practically snapped out.

Yeah. Fives hated flying.