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For as long as he could remember, Echo had always been with Fives. Even when they were cadets, they were inseparable. They were only 2 years old (4 developmentally) and they were already together. Twins from the same tube, a rarity on Kamino.
This rarity could have caused them to be decommissioned at a very young age, but when they were only a few hours old and the Kaminoans were questioning their viability, Kal Skirata, a Mandalorian member of the Cuy'Val Dar, a group of mercenaries hired by Jango Fett to train his clone army, intervened and allowed Echo and Fives to survive at least long enough for them to prove their worth.
And Echo and Fives had proven their worth. And fortunately, they weren't alone; their fellow batch-mates were with them, accompanying them every step of the way.
Hevy, twenty minutes older than them, often fooled around to draw the Kaminoans' attention to himself and not the twins, while also being careful not to draw too much attention to himself. After all, if he was decommissioned, there would be no one left to look after his little brothers.
Cutup, fifteen minutes older than them, was the mediator. He was the one who connected Hevy and the twins, between their protective but fiery older brother and Fives, who was quite a hothead as well.
And finally, Droidbait, or DB for short, five minutes younger than them. The youngest of the group, and also the most discreet. Echo liked DB; he didn't shout all the time like Fives and Hevy, and he was easy to talk to.
In their squad there were the hotheads with fiery tempers (Hevy and Fives), the calm observers (Echo and DB) and Cutup, the in-between, who was as comfortable in the chaos of Fives and Hevy as in the calm of DB and Echo.
And while the 5 brothers, despite their differences, were very close, it was nothing compared to the relationship between Echo and Fives, who were simply inseparable.
Fives was Echo's voice when his words betrayed him and he could no longer speak, and Echo was Fives' anchor, soothing him and keeping him calm in all circumstances.
In general, Echo wasn't a noisy person. If they had 10 minutes to carry out a simulation, Echo preferred to remain motionless for 5 minutes, observing the scene from every angle and thinking about one or more plans before acting, unlike some of his brothers who preferred to rush into things without really taking the time to think about what they were doing.
And if Hevy sometimes made fun of Echo for thinking too much for his own good, he too had learned to appreciate this side of his brother and if Hevy quickly found himself in the informal position of team leader, Echo was the strategist, there was no doubt about that.
And even though everyone knew it, there was only one person who never forgot how valuable Echo really was, and that was Fives, Echo's twin, his other half.
After years of training, the day of the final test arrived. This test would determine whether they would leave Kamino to join a GAR division or remain as Cadets on Kamino. And the Domino Squad failed miserably at this test.
Once back in their dormitory, each of the 5 Dominos had a very different attitude. Hevy was pacing back and forth, muttering; DB was curled up in a ball in his bed, devastated; Echo was sitting on the floor, his back against a bunk and gently rocking back and forth, his eyes closed; Fives was sitting on the bunk against which Echo was leaning, his arms crossed and his brows furrowed; and Cutup was lying like a starfish on his bed, staring at the uniform ceiling.
Apart from the sound of Hevy's footsteps on the cold, metallic floor and the "thump, thump" of Echo's back against the bunk, there was silence in the cold room.
Then, perhaps after an hour of not really saying anything, Hevy suddenly changed direction and came to stand in front of Echo, arms crossed.
Echo didn't even notice his older brother's presence and didn't change his pace. And rather than taking offense or interrupting him, Hevy looked at Fives and gave Echo a small nod.
Fives nodded but did not act immediately, observing Echo for a few minutes without moving before gently moving his leg, causing Echo's left shoulder to rub against his right knee.
It took him a few more minutes, but Echo finally stopped rocking and looked up, briefly meeting Hevy's eyes before fixing his gaze somewhere on Hevy's forehead, a sign that he was listening to him.
Taking that as his signal, Hevy finally opened his mouth. “What did we do wrong?”
“Hmm?”
“We failed the test. Completely. You're our strategist, Echo, I know you know what we did wrong. And I know you know what we need to do to pass this test.”
“Are you ready to listen to him this time, or are you just going to sulk when he questions your practices?” Fives asked sharply, always ready to defend his twin brother.
Hevy rolled his eyes in irritation but swallowed his pride before replying. “We tried my method, and it clearly didn't work. We have to try something else if we want any chance of leaving this ocean of misery. I think—no, I know—that Echo is our best strategist. If we have a chance of passing this test, he has the solution. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to spend my life here, so if we have a chance to leave this cursed planet, I want to take it.”
Echo did not respond immediately before nodding his head, determined. “If we want to pass this test, we need to work together.” He said simply before standing up.
Hevy nodded, determined in his turn.
“DB, Cutup, come over here, it's time to review our plan.” Fives called, looking at their two remaining brothers. It took them a minute or two, but soon the 5 Dominoes were gathered, listening to Echo’s plan on how to succeed in this dreadful test.
About an hour later, 99 arrived at the Domino dormitory, having heard about their disastrous performance on the final test and wanting to offer them some advice for success next time. However, when he found them all gathered around Echo, who was outlining his plan for their success, 99 decided that, in the end, these kids didn't need him. If they learned to work together and build on each other's strengths while compensating for each other's weaknesses, they would go far, he had no doubt.
And indeed, when the Domino Squad retook the final test, they passed with flying colors. At the start of the simulation, Echo had taken a few minutes to carefully analyze each element, his four brothers protecting him and forming a barrier around him without trying to advance without him.
When Echo had established his strategy, he quickly explained it to Fives, who was able to translate his twin's wishes, and Hevy took command following the twins’ plan.
And by working together, making sure no one was left behind, the Domino Squad aced the simulation, even finishing ahead of schedule.
And that’s how the 5 brothers left Kamino, to join Rishi station, their first assignment.
And while they were initially bored to tears, they quickly found a way to occupy their time: training to face any scenario. Cutup spent hours brainstorming increasingly improbable scenarios, and the five brothers then worked tirelessly to ensure they could survive any of them should they ever happen in real life.
And this pastime, although unusual for the Shinies that they were, proved very useful when the Rishi station was invaded by the Separatists.
If they hadn’t trained together so thoroughly, DB would have advanced towards the gate first and been cut down by the blasters of those damn droids. But instead, his first instinct wasn’t to head for the gate, but to move closer to his brothers, the five men adopting a defensive rather than an offensive formation.
Dying for the Republic was in their genes, but living one more day to continue defending it was far more valuable.
It was by staying united and thinking together that the 5 Dominoes managed to evacuate the base, finding themselves in the hostile atmosphere of Rishi.
And it was once again because they stayed together that they heard the giant eel come out of its hole. If they had been more scattered and less focused, perhaps Cutup would have been swallowed whole by that infamous creature, but as it was, since they were all attentive to each other, they managed to repel the eel and escape from that monster without losing any members of their squad.
Together they saw an allied ship heading towards the Rishi station, now in the hands of the Separatists. Together they met Commander Cody and Captain Rex. And the seven of them brainstormed how they could retake the base and warn the admiral ships that something serious was happening on Rishi.
As soon as he had all the information about the situation, Echo sat down on the ground, rocking slightly back and forth, his back touching Fives’ legs with each movement. Fives remained rooted to the spot, providing the solid presence his twin needed to stay grounded in reality. Without needing to say anything, Cutup and DB positioned themselves to the left and right of the twins, protecting their flanks, while Hevy positioned himself with his back to Fives, watching their rear.
"What is this formation, troopers?" Rex asked, faced with this more than disconcerting attitude.
“Echo is our strategist, but he needs a few minutes to think about the best course of action. Our role is to make sure nothing happens to him during that time. We’re protecting him so he can save us with his plan. Teamwork.” Hevy replied, without moving from his position.
Rex and Cody exchanged a surprised glance, but satisfied smiles quickly spread across their faces. These Shinies had potential, so they decided to trust them.
And when a new eel leaped from its hole before Echo had finished his analysis, Fives, Cutup, DB, and Hevy moved as one, directing their blaster fire at the creature. Rex and Cody joined the action, and the eel was finally defeated, collapsing just a few meters from the Dominos.
As if nothing had happened, Echo nodded and stood up, exchanging a few words with Fives that neither Rex nor Cody understood. Fives nodded, listening attentively to his twin before relaying his instructions.
"Our best chance of survival is to receive aid from the Republic ships in orbit. The Separatists have likely hacked the station's signal to transmit a permanent ‘all clear’ and have also jammed all our communications. To send a distress signal, we must destroy the entire base. Only then will the ‘all clear’ signal be cut and your will Jedi know something is happening here.” Fives translated.
Rex and Cody exchanged a slightly surprised look. “Is this your plan, rookie?” Rex asked, approaching Echo.
“Yes, sir. This is only a draft. I don't have all the elements that would allow us to take over the base and blow it up.”
“That's already a good start.”
Rex then placed his hand on the slain eel, covering it with blue alien blood. “You're no longer Cadets, and you're no longer Shinies. You're now part of the GAR. And we need strategists like you.” Rex declared, placing his bloodied hand on Echo's chest, leaving a blue hand-print there.
Echo flinched slightly at the unexpected contact but didn’t react much, much to Fives’ surprise, who knew his twin didn’t always handle unexpected contact well. Hevy and DB also tensed, but when Echo signaled that everything was alright, they returned to their positions.
“Now, all we have to do is figure out how to blow up this base without blowing ourselves up with it. And to do that, we first need to take the base back from those clankers.” Echo re-centered.
“I have a little idea of how to do it.” Rex replied, gesturing for the others to follow him.
Using Rex’s plan, which involved disguising themselves as droids using a deactivated clanker head, the 7 clones successfully recaptured Rishi’s base.
And when DB thought of using the liquid tibanna tanks to amplify the few detonators they had, Hevy had time to develop a functional remote detonator, which he managed to do despite a small setback.
That’s how, a few dozen minutes later, when Separatist reinforcements threatened to invade the base again, the Domino Squad, assisted by Rex and Cody, completely blew up Rishi’s station, which led to the arrival of the Republic fleet in less than 2 minutes.
Faced with the arrival of the Republic, the Separatist fleet did not remain on site for very long and our 7 clones were boarded on the Resolute without problems.
“Your new unit is lucky to have you. I will be proud to fight alongside you, anytime, anywhere.” General Skywalker congratulated them before he and General Kenobi took their leave, leaving Hevy, Cutup, Echo, Fives, and DB in the company of Captain Rex and Commander Cody.
“You're definitely not Shinies anymore. And you're exactly the kind of men I need in the 501st. Unless you want to take them away from me, Cody?” Rex challenged.
“No, I think they’ll be perfect with you. Dominos, it’s time to spread your wings!”
“Sir, yes, sir!” The 5 brothers replied in unison, more than delighted to be integrated into one of the most prestigious battalions of the GAR.
Undoubtedly one of the most unpredictable battalions, but they were ready to take on the challenge. After all, their first mission had been to defend Rishi Station at all costs, and to achieve that objective, they had ended up blowing up the base. So, they had no doubt they would fit perfectly into the 501st, under the command of General Skywalker and Captain Rex.