"So, how many missions has your team been on, Sergeant?" Anakin asked Hunter. They had just jumped out of hyperspace, and Ashara knew that they were approaching Skako Minor.

"Honestly, sir, I've lost count", Hunter said as he looked up from the computer he was looking at. "All the action sort of blurs together."

"I know you work with Cody sometimes, but who do you report to?" Rex asked.

"Hmm", Hunter said as he turned around to face the captain. "Good question. Can't say I've got an answer."

The ship rumbled, and Tech called out from the pilot's seat. "We are approaching Skako Minor. It looks to be a difficult landing."

Ashara found herself strapping herself in next to Rex, bracing herself for the landing. Wrecker ran past all of them to the copilot's seat, to help out Tech. The ship rattled and shook as they entered the atmosphere, and Ashara swear her brains felt like they were going to turn to mush.

They managed to land safely, but the togruta could sense something out there that didn't seem entirely friendly. She stood up, wobbling slightly, but she managed to maintain her balance. She moved toward the cockpit to see a dust storm swirling around them, making it impossible to see. 

"Rex, what do we know about this place?" Anakin asked the captain, who responded quickly. Ashara kept her gaze outside, hoping that whatever was out there would make itself known.

"On this part of Skako, there's a race of locals, the Poletecs. All we know is they're very primitive", Rex stated. 

"Primitive is being kind", Tech added. "My intel says the Poletecs worship flying reptiles."

As soon as he said that, something landed on the ship, gaining all of their attention. Ashara's eyes widened, but she made eye contact with the local riding on the back of the reptile.

"What was that thing?" Wrecker shouted. 

"It's one of those reptiles", Tech responded. 

"I want that thing off my ship!" Hunter yelled as the reptile slammed against the top of the the ship. Ashara turned and hurried with the others outside, but didn't pull out her lightsaber. Wrecker yelled at the Poletec, but Anakin shut him down quickly, with Rex backing him. Ashara made eye contact with the local, and she knew instantly what was going to happen.

"Everyone get down!" she yelled. They all listened, managing to dodge the two reptile riding Poletecs that came up from behind. The first one flew forward, and grabbed hold of Ashara, 

She almost screamed as they took off into the air, but she managed to hold it in. The reptile held on tight to her, and she chose not to struggle, not wanting to fall to her death, even if she could use the force to stop her descent.

Something wrapped around the lizards other leg, and she watched as Hunter came flying behind the lizard, shooting at the Poletec riding it. She shouted at the clone to stop, because if he did that they would both be dead, but her voice got lost in the wind. Thankfully, so did Hunter's blaster.

Shortly after, Ashara was held against the ground by the reptile. She knew it was pointless to struggle, and she found herself looking at the face of the Poletec that had taken her hostage. He spoke in someone unknown language to her, and she sighed.

"I think we're going to have a hard time understanding each other", she muttered. Fortunately, shortly after, something was shot into the reptile's leg, causing it to fly off of her. Unfortunately, there was a huge rock coming towards her, ready to squish her. She quickly rolled out of the way, and got to her feet.

The Poletecs were quick to surrender, and soon, thanks to Tech, they were able to speak with the locals. Ashara made her way over to Anakin's side, who looked her over to make sure she was okay.

The Poletec that had taken her looks closely at Tech, before looking directly back at Ashara and Anakin. He said something, and Tech translates.

"The chief says that he will provide us with scouts, and lead us to Tambor's city. From there, we're on our own."

"Any help is better than no help", Anakin said. 

"Tell them we say thank you, and that we are appreciative that they are willing to help us", Ashara added. Tech translates, and the chief nods respectively at the togruta. The two Jedi and five clones followed two Poletec scouts, who lead them as far as they felt comfortable going. Ashara nodded in appreciation to them, and the two scouts moved away, heading back to their small village.

"Hope nobody's scared of heights", Anakin said as he turned to look back at the clones. Ashara glanced back to see that both Hunter and Crosshair had turned to look directly at Wrecker.

"Well, I'm not scared of nothing", Wrecker claimed. "I just... when I get real high up, I got a problem with gravity."

Ashara bit back a laugh, but her amusement quickly died down when Tech spoke.

"Speaking of problems, I am no longer picking up Echo's signal", he said. 

"I... I don't understand", Rex said, turning to look at the smart clone. "You said it was coming from this city."

"I can only speculate, but it is possible that 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 said drily. "And maybe your friend's actually dead. Well, I can't be the only thinking of that."

Ashara bit her lip, knowing that it was a possibility, but she knew that Rex needed this. He needed confirmation, because he had so much hope that one of his friends was still alive. One of his brothers.

"Look, every mission could be a trap", Rex spat. "This one is no different. I'm telling you that signal is being sent by Echo himself! He's alive."

Ashara could feel Rex's anger, and she gently rested a hand on his shoulder. She could feel him starting to calm down, but Crosshair had to make it worse.

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

"I had no choice!" Rex yelled. "You hear me?"

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

At that, Rex leaped forward, punching Crosshair, knocking him to the ground. Wrecker picked up Rex, and threw him away from Crosshair.

"Why don't you pick on someone not your size?" he spat. Rex took the challenge.

"You'll be a whole lot smaller when I'm through with you", he growled. Anakin managed to get in between the two, ready to diffuse the situation. Ashara was glad, because she didn't know where to start with this. 

"That's enough!" he shouted, before looking to Hunter. "Sergeant, take your men, and scout for a tower entrance. Ash, go with them. I want to talk to my captain alone."

Ashara frowned, but nodded, allowing him to talk with Rex. She knew that he would know what to say to him, and she knew she would be able to get through to the Bad Batch about why this mission is so important for Rex.

The group of five walked away from Anakin and Rex, and as they did so, Ashara spoke quietly.

"If any of you were in Echo's position, the rest of you wouldn't hesitate to go get your brother would you?" At their silence, she took it as confirmation. "Go easy on Rex. He knows it's a possible trap. But he's hoping that Echo is still alive because he has lost so many of his brothers. He's hurting, and he needs this. He needs to know if Echo is actually alive or not, because if he is, and we left him here, Rex would never forgive himself."

The silence continued, and Ashara left it this time. She trailed slightly behind the group, and Hunter trailed behind with her. 

"You and Rex are together aren't you?" he asked quietly. Ashara shook her head.

"Not really. I mean, we've always had feelings for each other, practically from the first time we met. But we both have rules that we have to follow, and so we aren't acting on them. But I'm sure that helps you understand why I'm so defensive of him."

Hunter nodded. "You are right that we should go easy on Rex. If any of my brothers were in there, I wouldn't hesitate to go and get them."

"I know", Ashara said. "That's why I said what I said. You guys need to start to understand that you aren't so different from the regs. Yeah, you've got your own quirks. But you treat family the same as they do."

Hunter nodded, and the rest of the scout was quiet as they looked for a way up.