In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 18

"I'm fine," she snapped, and then more calmly, "I'm fine, Tech. Thank you for your concern."

He nodded, turning to walk back towards the front of the ship.

Slowly, Senna got to her feet. Her legs still felt like jelly underneath her, and she slowly walked towards the storage bin. Gently, she lifted the helmet back out, running her thumb over the scratches in the plastoid. The blue was even more vibrant than it had been in her dream despite all of the wear and tear it had apparently received during the war. She traced her fingers around the eyes, deep in thought until Rex's rumbling voice interrupted her.

"Ah, good. They remembered to bring it." Hunter had Rex's arm slung over his shoulder as he helped him towards one of the fold down bunks across from the storage bins.

She almost dropped the helmet on her foot again. Quickly, she turned and placed it back in the storage bin and shut the lid.

"Are you alright?" he asked teasingly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

She hurriedly pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, desperately trying to think of something to do with her hands. "When...um, when did you...when did you get the Jaig eyes?" she asked.

He looked at her, trying to work out why she was so flustered. "Right out of training. Had them with me throughout the war. Always kind of liked how they looked in 501st blue."

Her mouth felt dry, and she nodded. It was definitely him in her dreams, there was no doubt. But why?

"Hey," he said softly. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She crossed the ship's width to help Hunter ease him back onto the bunk. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing."

The look on Rex's face made it obvious that he didn't believe her, but he didn't have time to press the subject further as Tech emerged with a large medical kit. "Alright, let's see your injuries."

Senna helped Rex pull his shirt off so that Tech could take a look at blaster wound on his chest first. After peeling the bandages back, Tech's eyes widened slightly. "You're incredibly lucky. I cannot understand how this didn't kill you instantly."

Hunter grunted. "Great bedside manner, Tech."

"I'm merely stating that this wound was quite severe," Tech said, pulling out another injection of painkiller and giving it to Rex before he began probing the injury. "This has healed very well though." He turned to Senna, giving her a nod. "Well done."

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Thanks. Will he be alright?"

Tech was already flushing the wound and making a few minor repairs with some medical instruments. "All things considered, yes, he'll be fine." After several more minutes of repair, Tech tore open a large bacta patch, placing it over Rex's chest. "Alright, let's see that leg."

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Several hours later, the clones and Senna were parked in empty space, waiting for orders. Senator Organa had finally responded and was trying to determine the best place for them to take refuge while they planned their next move. Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter were all asleep in their various places around the ship, and Senna was resting on the floor of the ship with her back against the bunk Rex was asleep in. Tech's work on his blaster injuries seemed to have helped with the pain significantly, and his face was relaxed. His right hand had trailed down to graze her arm while she tried to sleep, but her mind was restless. Finally, she gave up, tucking Rex's arm back across his chest and wrapping her blanket around her shoulders as she stood and quietly padded up through the ship. Wrecker and Hunter had opted on the two bunks above Rex while Tech was leaning haphazardly in a chair at the comm station, snoring quietly. His neck has got to hurt sleeping like that, Senna thought as she passed by him.

Making her way to the cockpit, she found Echo wide awake and staring out the windows at the stars around them. "Can't sleep?" she asked, settling into the chair next to him.

"Nah, I don't do that very well. At least not since...well, you know," he said, gesturing at his legs and scomp arm.

"Yeah, that'll do it," she said, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

"What keeps you up?" he asked.

"Memories, same as you," she replied. It was true, although tonight, her mind was mostly drifting to the blue and white helmet sitting in the back of the ship and the significance behind it in her dreams.

"Sorry about that," Echo said, giving her a sad smile.

"Don't be. You didn't do it," she said.

"Yeah, but I have to imagine it's Order 66. We were around for that, and it was...awful. I can't imagine living through it from your perspective."

She nodded silently, her fingers tracing the scar on her collarbone absentmindedly as the memories flashed through her mind.

Echo noticed the scar. "Does talking about it help you?" he asked.

She met his eyes. "Sometimes. You?"

"Sometimes."

Reaching over, she gave his arm a squeeze. "If you ever want to talk, I'm a good listener, despite what Rex might tell you," she joked lightly.

He let his hand rest on hers and squeezed back. "Thank you. The boys try to be sympathetic, but it's not something they really understand, and they're not sure how to handle it, and I certainly can't talk to Omega about it."

"Yeah, where is Omega by the way?" Senna asked. Rex had mentioned the young clone before, and she'd been surprised to not meet her on the ship when they had escaped. According to Rex, she had essentially become part of the Bad Batch when they rescued her and escaped from Kamino.

Echo chuckled. "She's back at base putting her medical skills to use. She had training back on Kamino, but she thought she could help out the cause by learning more with actual trained medics. Tech is knowledgeable, but even his expertise is limited. We drop in and check on her regularly, and she's been doing a great job from what we hear."

Senna smiled, settling back into her chair a little more. She liked how much pride Echo clearly had for the young girl.

"You know, you're good for him," Echo said after a few minutes.

Senna turned to look at him questioningly, but Echo gave her a knowing look. "Something's changed since the last time I saw you two. I've known Rex a long time, and the way you two are together...it's special."

She smirked back at him. "I don't kiss and tell, Echo."

He grinned at her. "Sometimes, you don't have to. I see the way he looks at you...and the way you look at him."

She sighed deeply. "Do you think it's a good idea? To have an attachment like this doing what we do?"

Echo laughed quietly. "No, it's a terrible idea. But life is short, especially for us." He turned to face her, meeting her eyes. "I missed more than a year of my life. That's precious time I can't get back and things I'll never be able to say to people that I loved." His eyes grew distant, and Senna knew he must be thinking of the brothers he'd lost while he was with the Separatists, especially Fives, the ARC trooper Echo was close with who had been killed while trying to warn Rex and Anakin about the inhibitor chips. "Don't waste a second of the life you have worrying about whether or not it's a good idea to tell someone you care for them. You never know how much time you have."