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warsamongthestars · 1 year

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WHEN IT DIDN’T TAKE AN ARGUMENT

It took an argument, to go and save Gregor.

The thing about shows and fiction, is that to give the audience any story, you have to either build up context clues On-Screen or give implications even in the small details. That takes some skill in writing and visual arts, but it can be done, easily. And repeatedly.

So.

It took an argument, to go save Gregor. And Echo was right there, and he had to argue it.

Second episode in? No word on saving Crosshair, even though they had previous talked of “programming” in the Clones, without ever knowing of the chips.

( Not just no word either. No consideration for it. Whilst understandable, you don’t want to go back to someone who was shooting at you, there was no talk about what happened. No implication of talk, nothing. In order for it to happen in the story, you have to have either visual indication that something had gone on behind the scenes, or context clues that the audience can follow )

( And there were no context clues, no behind the scenes implications )

The Bad Batchers don't’... communicate. I imagine this is a nature consequence of their situation. They don’t fit in, they don’t appear the standard, they have wildly different attitudes and strong personalities--- they are the odd ones out.

And like in any community with strict guidelines, the odd ones out will be excluded, bullied, and each odd one will cope differently.

Collectively? The Bad Batchers simply don’t talk about it. And that’s become one of their main flaws. They don’t talk. They don’t confront the problem. They don’t have any indications that they do talk. They suck it up, and keep moving on...

... And I imagine they have severe backlash when confronted with previous events. For the most part, its just passive-aggressive talk.

Not confronting the problem is a coping mechanism.

So is the other problem... Survival at all costs. When one has been doing the Impossible, as the BBs’ mission record is suggested to, they know how to survive. When one is the odd one out in a culture that has a lore-history of culling the odd ones, they know how to survive at all costs.

And that survival mechanism, can be a flaw here.

Because it took an Argument to Save Gregor.

...

It did not take an argument to save Mayday (or try to).

It didn’t take a fight to save Cody.

32 Days abandoned on a glassed World, surrounded by ocean, to ensure that the BBs would be left alone by the Empire. No matter the cruel, and rather evil-sounding words.

It did not take a fight, to comfort Echo. Comfort him on screen. When every other BB distrusted him audibly and visually, one BB comforted Echo on screen.

That’s important.

There is a BB that does confront the problems no other BB does. Albeit he tends to be one mean sunnovabitch (You can’t deny that, he can very cruel with his words--but if he was a total asshole, I wouldn’t be talking about him now). He’s tactless, he’s not wrong, but he’s not exactly nice. He does tend to earn those decks to the face.

Crosshair has a much bigger heart than he lets on. His cruelty and disregard is often circumvented by his actions--he says one thing, and then does the opposite.

That’s telling. That’s telling of someone who’s probably been hurt repeatedly, and figured that its better to strike first. That’s someone who’s been hurt by loved ones, and went too far in vindictive anger and said a lot of things he shouldn’t have, (he wasn’t wrong, but he’s still one mean tactless sunnovabitch).

Its clear that Crosshair doesn’t actually put that much stock in Greater Purposes. He was apart of an experimental unit that did crazy missions, that were probably sent on suicide runs more often than naught.

His disregard for Rex’s rank, and Skywalker’s rank by extension, as well as a distaste for awards, and picking fights with the local ARC-Trooper-- tells of someone who does not like authority all that much. We simply saw it not from his perspective, but from the perspective of a character we were with for 7 seasons--Captain Rex.

(Emotional connections like that can’t be disregarded. It would be easier if we had taken from Crosshair’s perspective, and Rex was some random clone captain too prideful for his own good--then you’d get a sour detective story dealing with delusional overly optimistic commanders. The tone of a story changes when you have the Perspective, that’s why its important to Visually and Audibly see things happen).

And he’s not wrong. The Arc we get introduced to the BBs to, also has something that Crosshair later displayed in S2 of The Bad Batch-- a Regard for the “Regs”.

Because of Rex’s mission to save Echo (who by this point of the game, would be dead. He’s been “dead” since Season 3 of the Clone Wars, and S7 only came up nearly a decade later in our time), it by all accounts does look like survivor’s guilt.

And that guilt killed someone already-- the Pilot of the ship that got shot down in Ep1 of the TBB (The Bad Batch) Arc. And Crosshair would’ve have seen that.

As of S2 of TBB, we know he doesn’t take that kind of thing kindly. That isn’t necessarily a new character development, its probably an old one we’re just seeing come to the surface after the chip.

After all, high-stress in Star Wars shows your mettle. For Anakin, high stress means killing a lot of people.

For Crosshair? It means saving as many as possible. Because inspite of everything? He tries, and he does so again and again. He’s not nice about, gods knows he’s one mean sunnovabitch.

It doesn’t take an argument, to save someone.

and that’s something the rest of our “Heroes, his brothers, don’t have.

ADDENDUM

# This isn’t to nark on the rest of the Bad Batch. I get it, they’re idiots, and I love em.

But I’m not going to ignore the reality of the situation.

I get it, they’re surviving on scraps. And lot of their arguements also make sense. And defending themselves against Crosshair makes a cruel logic, because that’s exactly what Rex did, when he found out the BBs weren’t de-chipped.

They likely didn’t take Crosshair completely at his word, but they respected him enough to leave him to his choices.

And that’s hard in real life, honestly.

But the fact is, is that they are fully capable of doing shit on their own, and repeatedly, but it takes an argument to save people. Omega and Echo had to argue with them to save people, even other clones.

# Omega as the Morality for the BBs is wrong. She’s a kid, and I get it, one wants to impress the kid by doing good things, give her good manners and morals to live from.

But she spends a lot of time telling them they could do better, and that they should, and a lot of time debating about doing the right thing.

While understandable, in this cold galaxy, with the Empire about, one may back away from doing the right thing in order to survive. Frankly, a righteous cause means nothing if you end up dead and nothing changes.

But the point is, she’s a kid, and she’s acting as the Good Guy in all this. Some of the conversations had with Omega, tend to impress on her that she’s the only reason her brothers hadn’t gone evil (gone Empire), rather than, they just talking things out and getting honest feelings here.

Explain to the kid the full scope of the situation, gods damn it.

Again, we go back to the fact that the rest of the BBs do not confront their problems. Omega struggles to.

Crosshair, however, will head on confront an issue and be tactless. I mean, he is confrontational, and I can see why he is--but gods its like a monster truck rolling over a plastic Barbie Car.

# I’m not ignoring the reality of Crosshair either. He’s said a lot of stupid shit, really hurtful, down right evil at times. But like everything else, from what we have seen, he does it to get under someone’s skin and hurt them where it hurts most.

He does this when there’s a problem in the situation. We saw this with Rex.

And we’ve all been there. Been angry and hurt, and said something horrible. Oh yeah, that’s a real human feeling. More than what the rest of the BBs have done.

And yeah, he’s said things that do sound evil. A villainous speech one tends to get in video games from the psychopath rival characters. Or bullying characters that simply won’t shut the fuck up for five seconds.

But he’s already proven that he doesn’t honestly think that. He may have thought his place was with the Empire, but he doesn’t honestly think he’s that superior to “Regs” or he wouldn’t be spending so much time saving or trying to save each one he encounters.

He’s up against a hopeless circumstance. He knows it. He’s trying regardless. It is hopeless, but, someone with that kind of heart? Shielded with cruel words and prickliness and tactless observations?

You don’t get to tell me that he’s a bad guy, when he’s marched through a tundra and hypothermia and deadly situations and temperatures, trying to save someone.

# Really, it honestly implies that he’s not with the Empire for the Bigger Picture--But because he wants to belong. He wants to belong in a sea of brothers, hell, most of us would too love to belong with the Regular Clones--look at the fanon, and fanfiction, we adore them.

Seems like, Crosshair does too.

#star wars #the bad batch #bad batch #star wars crosshair #theories and speculation #analysis

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mwolf0epsilon · 2 years

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Whumptober Day 3: Hair's Breadth From Death

Prompt: Gun to Temple & "Say Goodbye."

Warning: Depiction of a Murder-Suicide

Summary: For as long as they could remember, Bully and Jawbreaker had always been a duo. Death wouldn't separate them. Not for long...

[Mae's story, from her point of view, is about righteous and vindictive anger. In truth however her story has always been and forever will be about grief and the affect it has on her life. Bully's and Jawbreaker's fates after Order 66 went live are a great part of that.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

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Their comms were on an endless loop. A constant droning of the same words repeated over and over again, as if they hadn't heard it the first time. Or the second. Or the third, and so forth.

A new order had come through. One that was prioritized over every single other order they already had to follow, to complete the current campaign to take down the Separatist presence on Cato Neimoidia. The incessant repetition on comms made it seem like absolutely everything had to be put on the metaphorical back-burner, until this one simple task was completed.

Which, to Jawbreaker at least, didn't make any sense. He wasn't exactly sure how he knew what Order 66 was (a lot of protocols were taught to them via flashcards while they were itty bitty cadets tucked away in their pods, so they were very subconsciously ingrained in them), but the faint recognition was there.

The prioritization of it over literally everything else, however, was ridiculous. Not to mention somewhat dubious.

After Krell, it had become second nature to him to be cautious when it came to getting strange orders from the command chain. Especially if it wasn't a GAR official calling the shots. The chancellor ordering them to attack general Plo Koon was nothing short of strange... But the others didn't seem to agree.

Which was where the current dilemma lay.

It was like the flip of a switch. One moment both he and Bully had gotten that strange message, the next Bully was hunting Mae with a cold calculative demeanor while ignoring him entirely. And Jawbreaker didn't know what to do besides follow his closest brother, watching helplessly as the dear sister that had saved their lives duck and weaved between debris, evading shots that came a hairs breadth away from hitting her.

All of this was happening while the three ignored the roar of maneuvering ships, as the Wolfpack honed in on their unsuspecting prey.

There wouldn't be a general soon, and Jawbreaker didn't understand why everyone else was complying so eagerly with protocol 66. Plo Koon would have never betrayed the Republic. Just as Bully would have never turned on Mae like this...

It just didn't make sense. Didn't feel right.

And then finally a shot connected with one of Mae's prosthetic legs and she was on the ground. Like a rabid massiff ready to deliver the killing bite, Bully lunged on top of her. Ready to kill a traitor sympathizer.

Jawbreaker never even realized he'd pulled out his blaster, until his older brother collapsed on top of his quarry. A shot clean through the back of his head. Glassy eyes staring unblinkingly at nothing, while blood pooled all around on the ground and onto Mae's horrified face.

Bully and Jawbreaker had lost their original batch before they'd ever left Kamino. The trainers they'd been put under had been ruthless and cruel, often unsatisfied with the cadets they beat into submission.

Their squad had been made entirely of similar strays. Tup and Dogma who'd been reared in pure isolation and experimented on by an especially deranged cloner. And Acronym who'd watched Dread Priest throw all his littlest siblings into the unforgiving seas.

They'd ended up separated in the end. Lost Acronym to a vexus on Umbara, then Dogma to the Senate's cruelty, and promptly disowned Tup in their fury over what they'd overheard him let slide at 79's.

For as long as they could remember Bully and Jawbreaker were a duo. Just the two of them against the world, often content that way.

Mae had often been with them but she never got in the way of their most precious brotherly bond. She was their older sister, but they were a duo. Death wouldn't separate them. Not for long...

Jawbreaker didn't think he could make it without his older brother. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye. But Mae would have that chance.

Heart heavy, mind full of fear and grief, the blaster rested against his temple as he stared down at the corpse of his brother and best friend. His older sister staring up at him in muted horror as he gave her a wet smile.

"Goo'bah shish... Luhf y'u..."

He didn't get to hear her scream.

#Eps Writes #star wars #the clone wars #whumptober2022 #star wars ocs #clone ocs #arc trooper bully #arc trooper jawbreaker #mae eppa #order 66 #murder suicide #character death #abandonment issues

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tarisilmarwen · 11 months

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Rebels Rewatch: "Through Imperial Eyes"

Spy antics, infiltrations, and endless stress holy crap.

Obligatory live reaction version. Be forewarned there's a lot of incoherent screaming in that one.

IIRC from the Rebels Recon for this episode they had briefly considered doing the whole episode as a POV shot from Kallus, which would have been cool and interesting and very artistic as a narrative decision but which they probably realized very quickly would have been a crapton of work they'd never finish on time.

So a bit of a compromise with this opening shot here, still getting across the pun, as we are literally looking through an Imperial's eyes.

Poor man looks exhausted.

They still haven't started strip mining the planet surface just yet. That wouldn't happen until right when the factories were ramping up production in preparation to start shoving TIE Defenders off the line.

So Thrawn literally had his funding pulled last minute. No wonder he was so cranky in the finale lol.

Lyste has put the light carrier on full red alert for a stolen shuttle. Not the first time he'll be flaunting his authority this episode.

Hi Ezra!

Straining the limits of Kallus' poker face already lol.

Love this little uncertain look before he takes the opportunity to sass that Stormtrooper.

Troopers once again just bullying around a teenager for no reason. Ezra's literally their favorite target for this, even when the others have gotten captured they aren't manhandled nearly as much.

I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything...

I do remember thinking that this seemed a rather dangerous course of action, and it's a bit at odds with the events of "The Antilles Extraction". Despite Ezra's reassurances to Kallus that most troopers don't actually know what he looks like now, he still has a pretty recognizable face. That was why they sent in Sabine the last time.

Buuuuuuuut Sabine's not here anymore. And they can't exactly send in the aliens of the group either. Rex and Kanan could have infiltrated by themselves though. So why exactly is Ezra sent in alone with just Chopper and AP-5 as backup?

He must have insisted on being involved in the extraction plot, like he couldn't have been for Skystrike, for the same irrational emotional reasons--because his sense of hyper-responsibility means that he will deliberately take on the most danger in order to prevent any potential harm or hurt coming to the people he cares about. It has to be him, because if he takes all the risks, no one else has to, and no one else will get hurt.

This loops back into his guilt over Malachor. Ezra's been projecting his shame and fears about Maul, about his failure there, onto everything else. He's still a bit prickly and suspicious towards Kallus several times this episode, not willing to trust so easily again and repeat his mistakes.

"I have to do this, I have to destroy the Sith and fix my mess, I have to protect my friends." Ezra's been trying to take on way more than he can actually handle, and it's gotten him in trouble multiple times this season. At Reklam, when he leaves himself for the last to get out and winds up stranded and plummeting to his doom. In the krykna cave, when he insists on going in alone without Kanan and nearly gets mulched. On Dathomir, when he nearly winds up possessed by Nightsister spirits, just to get a hint at the "key to destroy the Sith".

And here, where things very nearly go completely pear-shaped due to Thrawn unexpectedly turning up, and Lyste hoping to present Ezra as a bid for the Grand Admiral's favor.

I'll talk more about this character arc, as I've said, in "Twin Suns" when we get to the end of it.

For now let me just enjoy the hysterical strain in Kallus's voice as he bitches about being rescued. David Oyelowo does "shrill and full of stress" really well.

I love this expression so much, he cannot comprehend the Rebels risking so much just for him it's so sweet.

Despite his complaining, Ezra looks very ready to maybe trust Kallus, look at this face.

Feigning prisoner mistreatment shouldn't have worked as well as it did but lajhafksfjhkjh this is the Empire.

Thrawn conveniently turning up right when the Rebels have made a move again. It's uncanny how the man can do this. It never felt like normal narrative contrivance it always held just a bit of uncertainty and paranoia about it all.

So yeah ONE THING THIS EPISODE DOES REALLY REALLY WELL IS AMP UP THAT SUSPENSE AND TENSION. I was so anxious watching this the first time, pins and needles, it was effective but horrible.

Ezra with that brief fearful flash of, "Ohhhhh crap, we did not plan for this."

Knew from the moment we panned down to Ezra's helmet on the floor there with that brief music box snippet of Thrawn's theme that it would come into play.

Ezra's hidden cheeky smiles at AP-5. <3

And a nice little callback to "A Princess On Lothal".

See, this is what I'm talking about there's literally no reason to smack his head here, they're just being petty and mean.

Love the subtle worry in Kanan's eyes here. <3

Hi Brunsen! Hi Titus! Hi Slavin!

This moment here in front of the door serves two purposes effortlessly. First, it lets Lyste kick the dog by pulling a Karen on this poor guard, so we're not as sad when he's framed for the Fulcrum deal later. (Though I was still a little bit sad, he was pitiful and didn't deserve that.) Second, it establishes the obstacle we're going to have to overcome later.

....All right, fine, the Thrawn girlies can have one cap.

I'm pretty sure this music cue is a carryover from TCW.

God the fondness and admiration in Kallus' voice at seeing Yularen, ouch. This is a man he used to look up to and now he's betraying everything his old mentor stood for.

Right, so obviously showing them the map was a ploy, but it's wonderfully clever of him. Thrawn likes to throw curveballs at his opponents to see how they react and adapt. He develops the same kind of villainous respect for Kallus that he has for Hera, though more to do with how Kallus outmaneuvered him in the mind game and spy espionage thing.

Kinda dig that Pryce wasn't in the previous meetings because her loyalty is without question.

Also yes, I do crack!ship it a little bit.

Oh hey, the moment that inspired my "Mirrorverse" AU!

Will never not laugh at Kallus' tired, "Please stop that." at Ezra on the ceiling of the cell.

It's kind of astonishing how good Ezra looks in Imperial outfits. Really too bad his interactions with Kallus are limited because they bounce off each other in one of the most interesting and entertaining ways.

"Oh good, the thankless job." AP-5 is the best and I will hear no slander.

I was... unclear on how exactly the decoy planet was supposed to have fooled Thrawn. Still am, a bit. Surely the man has a photographic memory, right?

But then maybe that was one of the things that pinged him as being too clever for Lyste to have done.

Hilarious that Kallus managed to pull a Stealth Hi Bye on a Jedi.

This scene is so well done in the tension department. The cloying silence. Thrawn calmly walking in to check the map. The sudden attack from the sentries with a flare of dramatic music. Ezra feeling like he's just barely hidden out of sight behind the retaining wall. (Once again, symbolically using Sabine's artwork as a shield, I mean what?)

And props to Thrawn, he does really well surviving against his own sentry droids. I'm down with letting the man have a little physical combat to show off his athletic prowess. As a treat.

And I dig that the override code is his bodyguard's name. :)

This expression is delightfully chilling. The man is seething.

Another episode which does a good job handling Kanan's blindness, Kanan has to ask for clarification on what Rex is "Woah"ing over and he doesn't recognize Pryce by voice so he doesn't know not to try the Mind Trick on her.

And again, the competence of other Imperials increases dramatically with Thrawn merely present. Yularen immediately finds a shuttle asking to dock right after an assassination attempt fishy. Pryce tries to arrest them immediately and recognizes the attempt at a Jedi Mind trick. Thrawn makes people smarter just by being in the room.

My girlboss just straight up Thunderdome-ing it with Rex here. I love that she's so physically tough and brutal. <3

Lyste still would have gotten in trouble for stunning Pryce here, just saying. That bit of idiocy is all on him.

Awww a snippet of the "Shenanigans" cue!

Like I said, Lyste is kind of pitiable here. I wonder if they ever let him go, at least for the "treasonous spy" thing.

Kallus you're playing it up just a little too much here, my love.

Gods, it's just instantaneous, all he has to do is look at the helmet for a second and he recognizes, "That's Sabine Wren's work."

And then immediately draws the line from "Sabine Wren painted this helmet." to "Clearly it was done for Ezra Bridger to wear."????

See, even Thrawn can tell how close they are and how important they are to each other. He must have noticed from, idk, security holos or something that Ezra likes to wear things that Sabine's painted for him.

Thrawn sounds really smug here, I think he'd long suspected Kallus for Fulcrum and is gleeful at being right.

He's such an arrogant prick. "That's why you've been deceived." oh shut up you pompous ass just because you're super smart doesn't mean you need to be condescending about it.

And the "Thrawn's Web" organs to close us out. Nice.

*points inarticulately*

This episode! Many much good! Stress! Espionage! Cat and mouse mind games! Ezra peril! Did I mention the stress?

Hhhhhnnnnnghhh I love this one so much, it's my favorite of the season, just barely eeking out "Twin Suns".

It's all hits from here, baby. (Maybe? I don't actually remember "Double Agent Droid" that well I don't rewatch it often. We'll see.)

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #agent kallus #grand admiral thrawn #rebels rewatch #liveblog #cute boys in peril

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techs-feral-wife · 1 year

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mirshebs-meshla presents:

Scenes From The Havoc Marauder 1

The Bad Batch Plays Resident Evil 4

Summary: Everyone's favorite defective clones get their hands on a new game. Chaos ensues. [Canon Divergent (obviously)]

Content Warning: Mild descriptions of violence/gore(?). Mention of weapons (?). Brotherly bickering and light bullying.

A/N: This is just a funky lil idea I had while playing Resident Evil 4 and I thought we could all use some lighthearted fun. Pretty much spoiler free for those of you who have not played the game. Is it crack? maybe a little bit, but this idea has been haunting me for days. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I hope it makes y'all smile. Tags: @techtalksfics

The Havoc Marauder was docked in a sleepy spaceport on an equally sleepy outer rim planet. The sun shone brightly overhead. All was quiet and peaceful. Well, outside of the Marauder at least…

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“C’mon Tech!” A voice boomed from within the ship’s hold. Wrecker sat square in the middle of a grubby old couch, watching impatiently as Tech fiddled with the device in his hands. “Hurry up will ya? You’ve been at this forever”

“That statement is factually incorrect,” Tech said flatly. “Now, if you would stop complaining and allow me to work I would finish much faster.” Tech moved the analog sticks this way and that, adjusting sliders and calibrating settings until they were what he deemed ‘optimal’.

“Is he still fiddling?” Echo entered the makeshift living room clutching a bowl of what looked to be homemade Mantell Mix if you squint hard enough. He made his way over to the couch, stepping over the rat’s nest of cables that covered the floor of the hold. Their gaming setup was rigged quite precariously. One misstep, one snagged wire, and it would all come crumbling down.

“Optimizing,” Tech said, the slightest hint of annoyance coloring his tone. “and I am almost finished.”

“You said that ten minutes ago,” Wrecker groaned through a mouthful of “Mantell Mix”. He’d shoved his hand into the bowl the second Echo sat down, spilling a considerable amount into his brother’s lap. Wrecker coughed and sputtered, grimacing at the flavors that assaulted his tongue. “Tha’ tastes terrible,”

The glare Echo shot his brother could’ve cut glass.

“Don’t talk with your mouthful,” Was all he said, brows furrowed and arms wrapped protectively around the bowl. This was the last time he’d try doing something nice for Wrecker. He leaned his body hard into the couch’s heavily stained arm when the large clone inevitably went for another handful. “Get your own! And scoot over, will ya? Other people have to sit here too.”

“Careful Wrecker,” A smug voice called from the shadows. “You’ve activated mom mode.”

Crosshair draped himself over the back of the couch, meeting Echo’s glare with a satisfied smirk. The ex-ARC trooper huffed.

“You’re lucky I’m not your mother, you’d all be grounded indefinitely.” Wrecker clapped Echo on the back, spilling even more of the mix onto the floor.

“HA! I’d like to see you try,” Wrecker laughed. Echo’s glare turned into a pout as he hugged the bowl closer to his chest. He opened his mouth to scold Wrecker, but was cut off when Tech cleared his throat.

“If you are quite finished, we are ready to begin.”

“FINALLY”

Tech managed to squeeze in beside Wrecker on the small couch. He was still amazed that they had actually managed to fit this particular piece of furniture in here, though Wrecker always had a knack for cramming useless items into the Marauder. Tech pressed the ‘x’ button on the controller to confirm his newly optimized settings and the game’s title flashed across the holoscreen before them.

Resident Evil 4

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“Get in here, Hunter! You’re missin’ all the action!” Wrecker called, bouncing with excitement as Tech maneuvered the player character through the twisted ruins of a dilapidated farmhouse.

“I do not believe that this domicile can be deemed liveable,” Tech remarked as he examined what looked to be a simmering pot of rotted offal. Echo scoffed, eyes scanning over the wires, junk, and literally garbage littered about the ship. Don’t even get him started on the smell.

Hunter made his way out from the cockpit just in time to hear Wrecker scream as a hostile took hold of Leon. Unfazed, Tech began rapidly pressing buttons in a sequence that ended with a hunting knife lodged in his assailant’s neck.

Hunter swiped a hand over his face and sighed. He could feel the beginnings of a headache pressing against his skull, but he was determined to spend some quality time with his brothers. This was going to be a long day.

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“We should probably get the scope.” Echo suggests as the brothers bickered over the merchant's wares.

“Don’t waste your money,” Crosshair said through his toothpick. As if to prove a point, he plucked the small sliver of wood and flicked it away. It bounced off two walls and Wreckers forehead before landing in the garbage bin that Echo didn’t even know they had.

“More storage space would be quite useful given that Wrecker insists on picking up every explosive he comes across,” Tech stated, casting a pointed side eye at his largest brother.

“Hey! We need the ammo!” Wrecker defended, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Maybe if you were a better shot,” Crosshair snarked from his perch at the back of the couch.

“I’d like to see you do better” Wrecker was pouting now, craning his neck to glare at Crosshair.

“Hand over the controller then, di’kut,”

“Play nice you two,” Echo warned from beside Wrecker. His bowl of mix had long since been emptied, but he still held it tightly in his lap.

“Yes mom,” Wrecker and Crosshair sang in unison, causing Echo to scowl.

“OOO! We should get the treasure map!” Omega called out excitedly, emerging from her hiding spot beside the couch to try and wrench the controller from Tech’s hands. The goggled clone lifted the controller out of her reach with ease, looking mildly offended at the attempt.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Hunter called out, placing a hand on her shoulder to still her. “You shouldn’t be here. This game is too scary for you.” Dad mode: Activated.

“Aw, but Wrecker said I could,” Omega whined.

“Yeah! S’not tha’ scary.”

“Says the one who's been cowering behind Lula the whole time.”

“You leave Lula outta this!” Wrecker cradled his beloved tooka plushie close to his chest.

“I thought I told you two to play nice.”

“Sorry mom”

“S T O P calling me that!” Echo gave yet another exasperated huff and went back to watching the screen. Tech was silently examining the weapon upgrades, trying to determine which to expend their very limited funds on. “Besides, Hunter’s right, Omega. This game is rated M for Mature.”

“Wrecker should definitely not be here then” Tech remarked, eyes still glued to the screen.

“HEY”

“Please Hunter,” Omega begged, drawing out her vowels as she looked at the ex-sergeant with the biggest puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen. He didn’t stand a chance.

“Fine,” Hunter sighed. Echo rolled his eyes and shook his head. His brother never could say no to Omega.

“Pushover”

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“Wait, go back!”

“No, not that way!”

“You missed a crate back there!”

“I think I see something on the ceiling!”

“WATCH OUT FOR THAT GUY ON YOUR LEFT!”

The gaming controller was not exactly scomp friendly, so Echo had been forced to take a back seat on this activity.

“It's for the best, '' Crosshair had joked. “I always heard the Regs were terrible shots.”

“You want to test that theory out for yourself” Echo had challenged, chest puffed with pride and shoulders squared. Crosshairs smirk widened, eyebrows quirked with intrigue.

“I’d love to-”

“No!” Hunter barked, and that had been the end of it.

Echo had resolved to make the best of a bad situation. Just because he was in the backseat didn’t mean he couldn’t be useful, right? It had begun innocently enough. He would occasionally call out something his brothers had missed or warn them of a hidden enemy. But as the session dragged on, Echo’s “help” had become marginally less helpful.

“You’re supposed to shoot those ones in the head,” Echo remarked as the ‘You Are Dead’ screen flashed up for what felt like the hundredth time this session. That simple phrase had seemingly been the last straw for Tech.

“Echo, if you do not cease your backseat gaming, I will stun you.” Tech threatened, pressing the continue button with more force than was necessary.

“Just tryna be helpful,” Echo grumbled, slumping back against the couch.

“And while the occasional assistance is appreciated, you do not need to tell me how to play the game. I am well aware,”

“Well maybe if you played better-”

“Do not start with me, Wrecker,”

They carried on in silence for several minutes until the death screen inevitably reappeared before them.

“You didn’t shoot him in the head,”

Hunter wordlessly gripped Tech by the shoulder and shoved him firmly back down on the couch before he could reach for his blaster.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“I told you we should’ve bought the scope,” Echo tutted as both Tech and Wrecker struggled to take down an enemy manning a turret.

“No need,” Crosshair scoffed as a pair of long spindly legs crested over the back of the couch and shimmied between Wrecker and Tech. “Move over losers, it’s Crosshair’s time to shine,”

Cross took the controller from his brother’s hand. The room went silent as he lined up the shot…

And it erupted in raucous laughter when he promptly missed.

“Nice shot, Cross,” Wrecker cackled, wiping a tear from his eye. Crosshair scowled and Hunter quickly ripped the controller from Crosshair’s hands before he could bludgeon Wrecker with it. The sniper was fuming and resigned himself to sulking in the background for the rest of the evening, all the while muttering about poorly designed game mechanics.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“Hello, Beautiful,” Wrecker leaned forward towards the holoscreen. A goofy grin spread across his face and his eyes sparkled at the sight before him. Wrecker was so excited that he was practically drooling over the latest addition to the merchant’s stock: a kriffin’ rocket launcher! In Wrecker’s mind, this game just got a thousand times better. “Oh yeah! Now tha’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

“There is no room for that in our inventory,” Tech announced, quickly quelling his brother’s excitement as he resumed scrolling through the merchant’s wares for a more pragmatic purchase.

“I’ll make room,” Wrecker moved to snatch the controller from Tech. The attempt was easily avoided; it had become such a regular occurrence during this session of gaming that Tech had begun to do it on instinct and it was beginning to get on his nerves if he was being completely honest.

“We do not need a rocket launcher. And besides, we can’t afford it.” At 30,000 pesetas, the rocket launcher sat well out of their limited budget, and that was before the upgrades and repairs that needed to be made to their arsenal.

“Sell some of those health sprays then,” Wrecker grumbled, still determined to get that rocket launcher. His habit for making impulse purchases was exactly why he was no longer allowed to hold the controller when they approached the merchant. “Who needs five health sprays anyway?”

“You do,” Tech stated matter-of-factly, adjusting his goggles so that he could better read the item descriptions before continuing. “Seeing as you refuse to take anything less than significant damage whenever you are in control. However I do not understand the logic behind the first aid sprays. Given the type of injuries we sustain simply spraying-”

“I do not!” Wrecker spat, ignoring Tech’s ramblings and cutting him off before he could delve any further into the medical inaccuracies of a fictional world.

“You walked into three consecutive bear traps and a tripwire on your last turn, vod,” Echo recounted. With nothing to do other than spectate, Echo began keeping track of his brothers’ fumblings, but kept them mostly to himself to avoid being stunned.

“‘S’not my fault I couldn't see ‘em’” Wrecker grumbled. “We had to adjust the brightness so someone could see the screen.”

“My eyesight is not to blame for your lack of skill.”

“Why you-”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The sun had long since slipped below the horizon, and the night carries on in much the same fashion as the day, both within the Marauder as well as without. The stars shone brilliantly overhead. The night was still, the quiet punctuated only by the bickering and booming laughter that echoed against the durasteel walls from within the modified attack shuttle.

Whenever the boys inevitably ran out of ammunition, they passed the controller to Hunter to melee’d his way through wave after wave of infected hostiles almost entirely unscathed. He managed to defeat one of the bosses armed with nothing but a hunting knife and a single green herb (Wrecker had depleted their stock of health items in record time).

“You brought a gun to a knife fight, osi’kovid,” Hunter muttered as he slashed wildly at a rather large man with a gatling gun. “Ne shab’rud’ni!”

Echo tried to cover Omega’s ears, silently cursing the fact that he only had one good hand. His Mom Mode had been thrown into overdrive.

“LANGUAGE!”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The crew of the havoc marauder had no idea how much time had passed since they’d begun, too engrossed in the game to get up for anything more than a quick trip to the ‘fresher.

The session however came to a very abrupt end when Hunter had finally grown so fed up with all his brothers’ bickering and threatened to fully unplug the console from the power source. Gonky honked nervously at the threat and the group sat in dead silence as Tech quickly made his way to a save point.

#bad batch fanfic #the bad batch #bad batch #tbb #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb omega #star wars tbb #hunter #tech #echo #crosshair #wrecker #omega #max writes things

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hijackalx · 7 months

Text

Behold, my most favoritest durge in the whole universe:

Rowan!!!

*sitcom crowd cheering sound effect*

She’s a redemption arc durge and also my lil boo thang.

Some insight to her appearance:

The scripture on her face and black eye are supposed to represent her Badness (like a physical manifestation of her shame and guilt, no actual logical reasoning for it lol) and it also indicates the two different sides of herself that she struggles to balance. Her tear stains represent that struggle.

After she redeems herself (2nd photo), the scar on that side of her face still remains, a bitter reminder that her past will always be a part of her regardless of how desperately she tries to set things right.

Anyway, follow her in her journey of self discovery and better drip

*Dark Urge questline spoilers below*

Rowan is a human bard, her instrument of choice being the violin. I think that it compliments her personality since its versatility allows it to be either somber/haunting (classic violin), or spunky/upbeat (fiddle). Particularly during the beginning of her journey, she flips back and forth between these contrasts frequently.

She’s kindhearted, often willing to help those in need, but she is not a pushover. She doesn’t mind bullying those she deems as “bad” to get what she wants— or just bullying them in general (subconsciously projecting how she views herself onto them and punishing them the way she believes she should be punished for her urges).

She will expect something in return for her good deeds, as she believes good should be rewarded. “If being good is thankless, then who will want to be good anymore?” She’ll accept rewards in the form of assistance, gifts, and gold (obviously gold is preferred, she has to save up for a better fit. Being that swagless is just adding onto her list of crimes against humanity)

Rowan is a very difficult person to gain the trust of, and she does not initially tell anyone about her urges. She is very suspicious of everyone’s intentions and generally keeps her distance.

She has a hard time with Astarion, since she immediately senses that he has a lot to hide (again, projecting— she is hiding horrible things from everyone, and assumes the same of anyone else who is equally as secretive). They don’t typically get along to begin with, but there is a mutual attraction.

When he confesses his vampirism to her and hopes that she’ll spare some blood, she feels empathetic. Although they had not seen eye-to-eye before, she sees herself in him at this moment— both victims to their urges under circumstances they didn’t ask for. She finds it in herself to help him out.

Unfortunately, he kills her (bruh moment). She is angry once revived and pulls away from him again, feeling as though her trust has been taken advantage of. Ultimately, she decides to forgive him for reasons unknown to her (this is circling back to seeing herself in Astarion, and she is fulfilling her desire for forgiveness by forgiving him. She has 8 wisdom though so she has zero ability to realize this LMAO)

Not long after this, Alfira is killed at camp. She’s able to get away with it, but the guilt eats away at her day by day.

Despite her attempts to choke it down, the truth forces its way out, desperate to be known and understood. She decides to tell Astarion, someone who she hopes will acknowledge her struggles instead of shunning them due to their similarities. His acceptance of her draws her closer to him, taking interest in the solidarity between them.

Eventually, she finds out that red is definitely her color. Although, while the fits are hard, they are impractical (booboo armor class). Trooper that she is, she accepts it as still being an upgrade from before.

She gradually becomes less patient as time goes on, growing weary from constantly keeping a lid on her urges. She allows herself to participate in more minor cruelty as a result, hoping it will grant her some relief. She is still keen on doing the right thing, but her attitude plummets and she often takes pleasure in maiming those who are on the opposing spectrum of her morality.

Around this time, she is also approached by Astarion, who wishes to sleep with her. Since she is attracted to him, she agrees, though she doesn’t expect anything other than a FWB situation. They both end up catching feelings (bruh moment #2). They become almost inseparable and he takes her to poundtown every other night until he pulls away for Astarion reasons (y’all know I’m not writing all that).

It isn’t until her urges almost kill Astarion—the only person she’s been able to truly trust with who she is— that she solidifies the fact that she has to stop giving in to them, no matter how small, as they clearly snowball into something uncontrollable.

After this, she realizes it would be safer for everyone to know the truth, even if it means losing a few friends. Luckily, they accept her, lifting the excruciating weight off her back.

This brings her much closer to Gale and Shadowheart, who have been with her every step of the way and choose to continue to do so even after she confesses. She concludes that she was wrong about them, and that not everyone is out to get her like she previously feared.

As you can see, it’s only uphill from here baby. She finally turned her swag on, acquiring armor that not only looks cool as fuck, but also has a respectable armor class. She even got drip for the entire crew, generous queen.

With support from her companions, she’s encouraged to go through with freeing herself from her urges. Although, she refuses their help during her fight with Orin. She sees that they’ve played their part, and that this fight is something she has to go through alone one last time. She reigns victorious in the end, though this leaves her feeling a little lost. How can she continue living after the suffering she’s caused?

Instead of wishing to punish herself for her actions, she tries to atone for them. In order to do this, she leans fully into “hero” status, no longer accepting the title of “morally-debatable hero”. She helps whoever she can, accepting the good karma as payment rather than objects or actions. She finds that this leads to better things than an immediate reward.

She also stops torturing bad guys like a freak and becomes more reasonable in her reprimands (if she can get better, can’t they?)

I don’t think she has fully forgiven herself yet, and I don’t know if she ever will, but she’s on the right path.

😋✌🏻

That’s it for now. If you read this far you’re actually crazy as hell but also very cool and swaggy.

Rowan’s story isn’t quite finished yet, since I know the latest patch messed up some of the ending scenes, so I’m waiting for those to get fixed. Just know she’s at the citadel waiting to save the world like the good-aligned shorty she is (And yes her face has cleared up. I’m so proud of my bae 💗).

Feel free to share your favorite tav with me!!

Some bonus pics:

#why did i write all of this am i actually crazy? be honest #she just means a lot to me ok…………. 💔#fleshing out my bg3 oc like this is extremely cringe but understand that i am fuckong free #tav bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion x tav #dark urge #astarion x dark urge #dark urge oc #tav oc #bg3 spoilers #bg3

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toska-writes · 1 year

Text

“Outcast”

This is a fic about my clone oc Ocho! Sorry if this isn’t your cup of tea and don’t care about this but I like this fic

Read here on Ao3 (✩)

Summary: CT-3825 didn’t fit in anywhere, after causing more and more problems for his new squad and himself the threat of decommissioning is waved in front of the young cadet who is desperate to rise above everyone else

Warnings: Mentions of blood and death- bullying and the dehumanization of clones but nothing too severe

Word count: 1657 (guess who proof read baby!!!)

Notes: Please enjoy the rocky “childhood” of my baby Ocho! Also the collage I made that pretty much sums him up as a person

Fun Fact: his CT number (CT-3825) if transitioned to letters would spell duck 🦆 quack quack

He didn't understand, CT-3825 didn't understand a lot of things but this was at the top of the list. What would happen to him now.

Blood ran from his own nose and his fists. One was held slightly to his chest, the other was being used to drag him through the white halls of Kamino. The walls were ugly in his opinion- everything about this place was.

A mandolorian clad in dark armor quickly snapped his head back and tugged on the arm that was held tightly in his own hand. He couldnt see it but the scowl was seared into his head from the first few times this has happened.

CT-3825 was pulled so he was walking next to the mandolorian now. Other squads that walked by gave him a small look, the younger cadets laughed and pointed instead.

'They wouldn't be laughing soon' CT-3825 thought to himself as he turned his attention to the looming person who has yet to let go of his arm with a death grip.

"Are we going to the med-bay?" CT-3825 asked slightly unsure if this was his place to talk as the man barely gave him a look. He knew when something was broken, and with the way his nose wouldn't stop bleeding and the noise it made when hit he had a pretty good guess it was.

That was a first. He was normally good about keeping his face guarded.

The mandolorian scoffed as he quickened his pace. "No kid, the Kaminoians want a word with you. My guess they're going to stop your training here. Too many strikes to let this one pass"

Decommissioned was a word that floated around the cadets normally at night through scary stories. But the dark reality seemed to loom at the end of the hall as he watched the doors to the office approach way to rapidly for his mind to accept.

He couldn't be decommissioned now, CT-3825 didn't finish his training, didn't serve the republic, didn't become an ARC trooper, he didn’t even get rid of his stupid number. All he accomplished was being kicked out of multiple different squads before any of them became something other than tubies to their older brothers.

The tall figure of master Shaak ti emerged through the huge doors, it was better than a long neck in his book.

The mandolorian without another word pushed CT-3825 in front of him not so gently and gave him a quick shove towards the Jedi.

“Master Jedi.” He said with a slight bow, the boredom in his voice was very poorly hidden if at all.

The Jedi was too kind to him, she was the only one who tried to understand- the others wanted the problem making cadet gone already. His second chances were wearing thin.

So why did he deck that cadet?

Simple. CT-3825 could stomach all the shit that was said about him, ignore it if he could. For some reason no one ever thought to be on his side. It was him and himself against the entire galaxy and everyone in it.

This one cadet couldn’t for the life of him leave CT-3825 alone. Comments were made about everything he was doing or was about to do at any time. With this squad it wouldn’t be a surprise if CT-3825 hasn’t said a word to anyone.

He was done trying. Nobody cared, nobody would help him, so why should he. No cadet wanted to talk to him or let alone sit next to him in the mess. Of course he’d get the blame if anything ever went wrong in any batch he was placed in and that’s exactly what happened this time.

The prick of his brother, though of course he would never consider CT-3825 his, pushed the wrong button of CT-3825 after a failed attempt at a sim. The fault inevitably landed on CT-3825, saying that he wouldn’t listen to his orders since the roll of leader fell on that cadets shoulders.

CT-3825 had had enough, he knew his skills were polished and up to par, way higher than this cadets, but the fact was that he did listen to this sad excuse of a leader, even if the plan would have gotten them all killed on the battlefield. One insult after another dug there way under his sink when finally he snapped, not for the first time.

He was on the cadet in seconds, he could feel the hands scratching his back trying to pry him off. The blood covered his knuckles after a few hits. Others joined trying to defend their brother and got some hits on CT-3825 as well, the brother he tackled got a free shot to his nose since his arms were being pulled and his middle was exposed.

Some long necks and trainers who were watching were on the scene in seconds pulling CT-3825 off the bloody face of the cadet he originally jumped on after he wrangled himself free from the others.

Words were shouted as he was dragged from the simulation room, in response CT-3825 spat the blood that was collecting under his tongue at the boots of the other cadets that watched.

Thankfully it was their turn to be held back quickly.

CT-3825 was snapped back into reality by a firm hand on his shoulder, his reaction time was off and he flinched back slightly. The face of the torgruta Jedi was now leveled with his own as master Ti crouched down.

The mandolorian was dismissed with a small wave of the kind Jedi’s hand to which was responded with a grumble.

“Dear what happened?” She wiped a hand across his check no doubt smearing some blood. He stood at attention just as he was taught and conditioned to do as Master Ti quickly looked him over.

“This isn’t looking good for you.” She paused for a moment. Whether she was talking about his injuries or the actions he made he wasn’t sure.

CT-3825 stood with a stiff back and his hands at his side, the blood that wasn’t his own slightly dripped on his boots and the pristine walkways.

With a moment of doubt of the very real possibility he let himself ask one question without any guard that normally armored his words. “Am I going to get decommissioned sir?”

He thought that she would respond with a laugh saying of course not those jerks were going to get punished this time not you, but that didn’t happen. Instead a cold gaze countered the warm Jedi greatly.

Master Ti sighed for a moment. “I’m not sure, the kaminoians don’t like your record. Almost eight different squads, soon they’re going to run out of place to stick you for another chance.” She paused for a moment to wipe off her hand on the long robes that draped over her. “CT-3825 I’m almost scared to ask what happened this time.”

He almost missed the opportunity to speak, to speak freely about what was troubling him, he could tell her about all the shit the past cadets did to him, what they still do to him now. Would that make him weak?

“I punched one of the cadets in the face.” He spoke quietly for a moment. “Multiple times.”

“It seems you didn’t go unscratched as well.” She ran a hand down the long colorful lekku CT-3825 couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful patterns.

She was one of the only people he knew that didn’t speak his number with vigor or disgust.

“I tried to talk to them you know.” Master Ti led him over to the side of the hall, just outside the office doors that taunted him.

“Not everyone wants to continue to waste resources on something that continues to make problems but I think you’ll become a good soldier. I said that much” She said with a scoff standing back up to her full height.

Was he suppose to say thank you? Oh yeah thank you for speaking against the people that thought I was a waste of resources and was better to just get rid of. Why don’t you think that too?

He didn’t say anything, instead he toes his dirty boot a bit not meeting her gaze.

A moment of silence passed between the two before Madter Ti sighed

“After I escort you to the med-bay I want you to collect everything from your bunk so I can show you where you’ll be staying for now.”

Master Ti got up and started to walk expecting him to follow.

He stood there for a moment in the halls, the window close by was pounded on by rain. So he wasn’t talking to the long necks after all? Thank the maker.

It wouldn’t take him long to get the few things that belonged to him, the couple of things that weren’t stolen or broken by the others. Nothing seemed to be waiting for him to collect even now.

Looking over his shoulder CT-3825 could swear he could hear the taunts of the long necks who practically held his life in their hands. What would he do when the next group of cadets casts him out?

“CT-3825.” Master Ti turned around and tapped her foot on the ground to snap the young trooper out of his thoughts. “Goodness we need to find you a proper name, what a mouth full.”

Something in the back of his mind whispered slightly to him, he’d be casted out again, another ‘incident’ would happen and that would be the end of him. Everyone would always go against him, waiting for him to fail.

As long as a fire stayed lit under him maybe just maybe he could see the world outside of the Kamino walls before everyone gave up on him for good.

—————————————————————

Taglist: @arctrooper69 @thereforepizza @padawancat97 @pb-jellybeans @floffytofu @verybadatwriting

#star wars #star wars clone wars #the clone boys #the clone wars #clone wars #my writing #toska-writes #clone boys #my clone oc #oc insert #Arc Trooper Ocho #Ocho my beloved

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littlemissmanga · 4 months

Note

Hello! I would love to be matched with a brave trooper!

I am naturally quite at first but love in depth one on one conversations when I become comfortable. The quickest way to my heart is to make me laugh. I laugh very hard and loud to the point of tears sometimes.

I’m a jeweler by trade and have a deep appreciation for other craftsmen. I love any activity I can do with my hands! Music is a constant in my life and I enjoy discovering new artists and genres.

As far as dislikes I cant stand injustice or petty bullying. Actions speak louder than works and if your actions don’t match your words we’re done here.

Thank you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yen Ori'ken's Valentine's Day Matchmaker Services

Yen: Then matched with a brave trooper you shall be, @wax-birds!

I believe your best match is ...

ARC Trooper Fives of the 501st Legion.

I know he may have a bit of a reputation among the ladies, but I can assure you most of that is just rumor. While Fives is certainly charismatic, he isn't a play boy.

In reality, he is a passionate man with a big heart who feels things very deeply. He has a similar dislike for bullies and injustice, and finds your inner moral compass attractive and admirable. You'll never wonder where he stands on any issue - he'll tell you straight off. And he doesn't believe in duplicity, so you know when it comes to your relationship, he's as trustworthy as they come.

He'd also admire your craft and dedication to it. He understands just how much training is needed to become skilled in a discipline and he is impressed by yours. That your creations are things that become significant and treasured by others is precious to him. He loves to see that creativity that brought you joy now bring it to someone else via the finished product.

I imagine he'd have a few musical suggestions for you to listen to while you work as Fives is also a big music fan. They won't all be hits (he has eclectic taste) but I think you'll like the variety.

It won't be long though before he uses that to segue into deeper conversations. Fives may not be as strategic as his twin Echo, but he is a fast learner. And he'll use his charming conversational skills to learn everything he can about you. You won't notice it, though, as he'll likely have you rolling on the floor with some of the antics he uses to keep the conversation going. Even after he mines you for details about yourself, he'll still keep going just to hear your laugh. He loves making everyone laugh, but yours is something else.

I think the two of you should go to a mosaics class together for your Valentine's Day date. The casual atmosphere, the creativity, the challenge, all of it seems to be up your alley.

I hope you enjoy your date with Fives, and thank you for writing in!

#i hope you like it!#arc trooper fives #i genuinely think y'all would be a good match!#valentine's day ask game

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clonemedickix · 10 months

Text

Rating: M

Word count: 6.9K

Pairing: Commander Neyo x OC General Lara Lin

Warnings: implied clone warfare, dark humor, snarky banter

Excerpt Summary - Part 2 of the Neyo vs Lara chapter. Using the intel Neyo and his group collected, the Dragon Company is sent to find General Grievous. Neyo has met his match if he thinks he can bully General Lin into fearing him.

If you would Iike to read the full chapter on AO3, click here WARNING - full chapter is NSFW, MINORS DNI, UNDER 18 DNI

If you would like to see more fanfic posts, click here

@blueink-bluesoul @523rdrebel @anxiouspineapple99 @dystopicjumpsuit

Excerpt:

Lara walked to the ramp of the Talon, escorted by Fives, Rex, and Cody. While she couldn’t take Rex with her on the mission, they had at least seconded Fives to their group for this trip to the small Outer Rim backwater Neyo had given them as the location for Grievous. Pausing at the foot of the ramp, she looked up at her sleek flagship, its black and red paint with gray hues giving the onlookers the impression of dragon scales. Lara was proud of the detail Anakin, Kenobi and Rex had paid when getting the ship outfitted for her, taking the time to put an intimidating paint scheme on her, befitting the Dragon Company.

She glanced over at Rex and Cody and said, “Well, guess I’ll see you when I see you. Hope this doesn’t turn into a wild goose chase.”

Cody smiled at her and said, “Neyo and his group are usually pretty spot on with the information. There will definitely be something there, though whether Grievous still is - that’s up for debate. You and your lunatic Dragons be safe, General.” He reached out his hand for hers, and she answered by grasping it, skinning the fingers and giving him a firm fist bump.

“We’ll be fine. Keep Rex out of trouble,” she said with a smile. Rex smiled back into Lara’s eyes, and they repeated the little handshake, though they lingered a bit before giving each other fist bumps. They couldn’t say goodbye properly with a whole ship full of clones watching, as well as all the dock workers.

Lara turned to look at Fives and gave him a little nod with her head, gesturing to the ship, and the two of them started up the ramp. “Gonna be just like old times, General,” Fives said with a chuckle.

“I do hope so, though it’ll be a bit less sunny with Neyo skulking around.” She looked up at the large hangar when they entered the ship, watching all the crew members moving to and fro, getting ready to sail. “I wonder if I can contrive to stuff him in a broom closet for the duration of the flight, so we can continue on our merry way?”

Fives snorted. “You know the scary thing is - I know you’re actually enjoying baiting that guy, and looking forward to however else you can dig the claws in. You’d better be careful around him - he’s known for being able to sniff out all sorts of dirt on everyone.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t call the knowledge of me and Rex so much ‘dirt’ at this point. Everyone knows. They just pretend they don’t.” The pair headed for the lift that would take them to the bridge. Lara and Fives were a striking pair - the rakishly handsome ARC Trooper in his full kit, carrying his helmet under his right arm, and the stunningly beautiful, tall General in her shining enameled, bejeweled armor and chain mail, her great sword’s hilt peeking over her shoulder while her short sword and dagger swung at her hips. Her mane of curls draped over her shoulders and down her back, bouncing slightly as she strode down the hallways of the Venator with her friend at her side. Fives was more than just a friend, though it was difficult to pin down a definition of his place in her life. There was only ever the thinnest layer of control between them, keeping them from ripping their armor off and finding a broom closet of their own.

When the door of the lift opened on the bridge of the Talon, heads turned to see the General step out, Fives one step behind on her left. She proceeded gracefully across the room, acknowledging the welcoming nods of the clone staff, her head high like a queen entering her throne room. She saw Admiral Shepherd standing before the great expansive windscreens, Primer and Neyo on either side of a holo table, watching each other with very guarded expressions.

Neyo saw the General arrive on deck and was actually rather taken aback by how changed she was in her armor. Only a completely blind fool would have thought she wasn’t beautiful, but her whole demeanor was different from the day he’d met her. She carried herself like a queen, head high, back straight, a composed air about herself that immediately snapped one to attention, knowing a leader was approaching. The clone commander watched her silently as she moved forward to speak to Admiral Shepherd, greeting him with a warm smile. He felt the eyes of both Primer and Fives watching him, sizing up his reaction to their General, both men perhaps a little nervous for her sake.

“Well, Shep, what say you to getting this ship off the ground? We’ve got a fairly long journey ahead of us.”

Admiral Shepherd smiled back at Lara; he truly admired and respected her as his partner in crime after having worked so closely with her Company. He knew her quirks and manner of leadership now without any question, and had gotten used to her insistence on blaring music everywhere they went over the loudspeakers. He no longer minded it and had long ago realized that the crew worked somewhat better, able to focus around the noise in a way that seemed sharper and more relaxed. He turned to address the room and said “The Dragon Rider is aboard, men. Admiral has the con.”

The Chief of the Boat replied “Admiral has the con!”

“Helmsman, right full rudder, come to heading 060, quarter steam, make our course hyperspace lane 151.” Shepherd gave the commands easily, watching as the crew moved to quickly and smoothly carry them out, their replies sharp and succinct to indicate their receipt and understanding. The Talon started to move, pulling away from the pier of the GAR space port. Lara stood before the large windscreens, watching silently as the towers and skyscrapers of Coruscant started to slide by, then dwindle as the ship gained altitude. “No music today, General?,” Shep asked her quietly.

Lara’s head came up, a small smirk on her face. “When we get out of atmosphere. I’m not sure Marshal Commander Grumpy Pants would approve.” She didn’t even look at him, but her voice carried to the clone behind her. Lara didn’t see Fives purse his lips in amusement, looking down at his boots quickly, nor Primer’s quick glance at her back. Neyo himself shot the other two a look. Lara turned, pulling a small rectangular disk from her pocket. She stepped over to the COB’s station and handed him the disk and murmured, “I’ll let you know when the time is right.”

“Very good, General,” the COB replied.

Lara stepped over to Primer to make small talk about the Company, whether all the small details were sorted. He answered in the affirmative, filling her in on some relatively unimportant information, assuring her that everything was ready for their mission. Meanwhile, the ship picked up both speed and altitude under the command of Admiral Shepherd. Once they were in the void of space, outside of Coruscant, Lara pulled her phone from the thigh pocket of her breeches, and thumbed through the screens to the music app. Without looking at the COB, she said “Alright Chief, it’s time. Let’s have some tunes.” The COB plugged the disk into a port and punched a button, activating the shipboard speaker system. Lara picked a first song and hit play. The opening chords of “Remember the Name” started streaming from the sound system and everyone aboard seemed to mentally move into a different headspace, ready for the mission, relaxed but anticipating the action to come.

Neyo watched the proceedings quietly, taking note of the easy manner in which the crew interacted with each other, the Admiral and the General. They seemed to be a well oiled machine, all confidant and well practiced in their roles. And it was clear that everyone there both respected and loved their leader. He’d seen nothing of the flighty, almost unprofessionally bubbly woman he’d met the day of the planning committee.

The ship’s crew got them into hyperspace, safe on their journey, and Lara nodded to the Admiral. “Alrighty then, Shep. I’m going to retire to my quarters. Gimme a holler if you need something.” She stepped over to Primer and Fives and said, “For my part, boys, you’re dismissed. Come get me if you need anything.”

Everyone murmured acceptance of her parting words as she made her way off the bridge, heading for her quarters. Suddenly she heard a voice call her back. “General Lin, what are my orders?” Neyo actually wasn’t all that interested in what she wanted him to do, but he was rankled that she’d ignored him the entire time he’d stood there.

“Oh, Commander Neyo…” her tone laced with a layer of amused loathing. “Forgive me, I did not see you there.” Everyone knew she’d seen him there, and she saw Fives reach up to cover a smile on his face, turning into a bit of thoughtful stroking of his goatee. “I don’t particularly have any orders for you; we have a guy over cleaning the toilets already.” She saw Primer’s head snap toward the windscreens to hide a laugh. “Maybe you could get a bucket of prop wash and go clean out the fallopian tubes in the engine room?”

Neyo’s neck started to creep with a dull red of annoyance at her sass. He was well aware of what she was suggesting; he was no ignorant rookie. “I mean a real assignment, General. I could perhaps update you on the latest information we have obtained, or be dismissed to my own devices,” he fairly snarled in a clipped voice, the strain of not biting back with insults evident.

“Perhaps when we get closer to our destination, Neyo. I have some very pressing, highly interesting paint to watch dry in my quarters and I’m afraid I just can’t spare the time for you right now.”

Neyo stared back at her, fury flaming in his hard brown eyes. “Very well, General. I will be sure to report to your quarters at the top of every hour, just to check in on the most appropriate time for an intelligence update.”

Lara let that veiled threat sink in, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes a bit. “Fine, Needo. Come on. Walk and talk.” Lara turned on her heel, striding purposefully for the lift; she punched the button to call it, smashing it like she imagined she was gouging Neyo’s eye out with her thumb. She heard him follow behind her quickly, almost running to catch up at the last; he felt sure she’d love nothing more than closing the elevator door in his face and leaving him to wait for the next ride. He heard Lara sigh a little disgustedly when he turned to stand beside her, shooting Primer a look of displeasure at the last moment, as the door slid shut on the pair. She muttered, “Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate,” in a dramatically low voice as the elevator descended to the level of her stateroom. Neyo had no idea what language she’d just spoken in, but he could at least understand that the tone indicated a distinct lack of enthusiasm for her company.

The lift door opened on the hallway; her quarters were at the end of the corridor. “So do you actually have an update or are you here just to haunt my steps like a ghoul?”

“General, I assure you, I could find all manner of things I’d rather be doing than remaining in your presence. For both of our sakes, I will make this quick.” Neyo didn’t look at her as he spoke, carefully concentrating on the approaching gray door.

“Very good, Commander.” She reached out and punched in the code for the door, stepping across the threshold when it snapped open. The clone followed her in quietly. Lara immediately walked over to the clothes tree standing against the wall, lifting her great sword, bow and quiver off over her head and setting them to lean against the bulkhead wall. Looking back she said shortly, “Have a seat Commander. You can start the briefing.”

Neyo took a seat at her desk, watching as she removed the layers of her armor, finally stripping off the chain mail shirt and hanging everything neatly on the clothes tree. She shrugged her shoulders a bit to relax after unloading the weight of her armor, then turned to step over to the desk. She was wearing the thin, translucent shift she customarily wore beneath the mail to prevent chafing; the clone took in the form of her curves and the dark shape of her sports bra through the gauzy material. Lara pulled the chair back and plopped down in it, leaning back and propping her boots on the edge of the desk, her hands folded over her abdomen, her snapping blue eyes fixed on him coolly. For a brief moment Neyo wasn’t sure where to begin, and couldn’t form words.

Lara raised an eyebrow, watching him stare at her. “I’ll remind you, Needles, I have many other incredibly uninteresting things I could be doing, rather than watching you sit her and glower at me. Tick tock.”

Neyo cocked his head a little at hearing her mispronounce his name - again - then started to speak. He reached into a pocket on his belt, removing a holo disc, and placed it on her desk, activating it. He moved through the briefing quickly, updating her on the new information blandly, watching as the General listened attentively, silently. When he was done, he removed the disc from her desk and stood. “If the General has any questions, I am at your disposal.”

“Oh, to be sure. Thank you, Commander.” Lara sat up, putting her feet on the floor again. She stood, turning her back on him, assuming he would show himself out. When she realized he was still standing before her desk, she turned around, her look askance.

“Am I dismissed, General?,” he asked in a cool voice.

“Very. Buh-bye, Nemo.” She turned away from him again, her whole posture dismissive. Get the point and leave, she thought to herself in an annoyed manner.

“I am at the General’s service,” he said with a little bow.

“Duly noted, Commander.” She was rifling through a drawer beneath the bunk, looking for a comfortable shirt to change into. As she pulled a baggy sweatshirt out of the folded clothes, she caught sight of the persistent clone still in her room. Lara stopped, turned to face him full on, and stood to her full height. “Neyoda. What the hell do you want? You’ve been dismissed. I’ve told you bye. I’ve turned my back to you in as clear a motion of ignoring you, as I could contrive. Why are you still here?!,” she asked, exasperation clear in her words.

“I have yet to hear you say ‘You are dismissed, Marshal Commander Neyo.’” There was a little gleam of amusement in his eyes as he delivered the reply; she was going to use his name correctly if he had to stand here and stare at her for an hour. Lara stared back at him, her face a bit blank at this challenge, then she ducked her chin a little and glared at him from under her lashes.

“Try this on for size, then. Get. Out. Marshal Commander Newman.” Of course he wouldn’t know what she meant, but she could completely envision the curl of Jerry Seinfeld’s lip as he snarled the name out.

“That is not my…” His words were cut off as she stepped around the desk and forcibly grabbed his shoulders, turning him and hustling him toward the door. To his surprise she was every bit as strong as any clone, and he had no choice but to move with her. She shoved him into the hall, half hurling him. Neyo quickly stood and turned, ready to finish his comment, but saw her raise her hand and shake her head at the same time.

“Don’t you dare, or you’ll be doing a FOD walk on the hull in hyperspace,” she said imperiously, pointing her finger at him. “Now, shoo.” Lara hit the button to close the door between them and then made a face behind it that he’d never see. What a pain in her ass, she thought. The door snapped open and she whirled, thinking she was going to absolutely lose her shit if Neyo was trying to come back for round two. She froze in surprise at seeing Fives and Primer, and relaxed visibly. “Oh, thank god, it’s you two.” She turned away and walked back to her bunk, quickly pulling the hooded sweatshirt over her head and arms while the two clones traded amused looks.

“Neyo get the better of you?,” Primer asked with a little chuckle.

“He did not. I was just warming up.” Lara rolled her eyes a little and bent to rifle through her bag for her iPad, then she came back to her desk and plopped back into her chair. “What can I do for you two gentlemen?,” she asked smoothly.

Fives sat in one of the chairs opposite her, leaning back and sprawling his legs out in relaxation. Primer took the other, sitting comfortably but less messily than Fives. “We were bored, and came to see what you were up to, and to know if you needed backup. Or a cleaning crew to disappear the murder we felt sure was coming,” Primer drawled out with a grin.

“Murder won’t be necessary. I can handle ole Ney-ewt there. He’ll make it back to Coruscant alive and in one piece, I promise.” Lara looked at her two friends - subordinates yes, but both so much more than that at this point in the war. “We’ve got what? Two days on the Talon until we get to wherever this place is? We can get in plenty of training between now and then with the men. Send out a general message and tell them meet up in the hangar in a couple of hours.”

Primer nodded and rose to leave so he could spread the order. Fives remained sitting in his chair. As soon as the door closed behind Primer he looked at Lara flatly and asked, “You do know Neyo isn’t a guy to be messed with, right? If you start a war with him, you better be able to finish it.”

Lara smiled and shook her head, rolling her eyes lightly. “It’ll be fine. He’s just a guy I love to hate at the moment, complete entertainment. Besides, under all that ice, I think he’s all bluff.”

Fives shook his head at her, eyes wide. “I don’t think so, Lara. I’m pretty sure that man was created without a soul.”

“Well, he’s no ginger, and he’s got something stirring around in there, else he wouldn’t have taken the time to have someone tattoo his name on his face. A man who’s got pride, has spirit, and therefore some kind of soul. It might be a thoroughly rotten one, smelling of death and bad cheese, but hey it’s there.”

Fives laughed. “If you say so. Just, be careful around that guy. Spooks can’t be trusted.

“A truer statement there never was. I’ll make a bet with you - 100 credits that he’ll show some form of actual human activity before the trip is out.” Fives thought about it and then nodded, reaching over to shake on the deal. Lara sat back and asked, “Okay, my friend, what are we watching today?” The two of them settled in at her desk and flipped through her extensive library of movies and TV shows. Fives was working his way through the Marvel series, and so this time he requested Thor: Ragnarok. They watched the movie, laughing along at the funny parts and sass until it was time to head for the hangar for physical training with the Dragon Company.

Two days’ flight brought them to the mysterious Outer Rim system Neyo had designated as the current lair of Grievous. Admiral Shepherd kept the Talon in the region but far enough from the planet to shroud their presence, while they worked through what scans of the surface they had available. On the bridge, Shepherd, General Lin, Neyo and his two spy buddies, Fives and Primer worked to come up with a plan for getting to the surface and moving on the structure the rogue cyborg general was supposedly hiding in. Lara stood back, watching the information on the holo table critically, while listening to the team hash out suggestions.

The team came up with a workable plan, and got to the surface to carry it out, but as with many best intentions, there was no Grievous present on the surface to capture. The facility was empty save for battle droids, which was a complicating factor but not over all a bad thing. The men got to blow them up, the dragon got to incinerate some, and it seemed everyone went home happy. Except for Neyo.

His intel had proved incorrect, and the mission had in fact turned into a wild goose chase. He could see that General Lin and Primer weren’t overly upset about it; in fact they seemed quite content with the day’s work. But Neyo felt the cold hand of shame creeping up his neck, knowing he would have to answer for being wrong, dragging a battle group out to the middle of nowhere, burning precious fuel reserves and supplies, for what amounted to target practice.

Baiulus landed a short distance away from the Venator as the ramp dropped, and Lara watched the progress of her troops from his back, keeping an ever mindful eye out for any droids that might appear. On the whole, the trip was a waste of fuel, but good practice for the men. There were only a few wounded casualties, and Volte assured her they would be perfectly fine by the time they got back to Coruscant. When the last of the clones boarded, leaving only Fives, Neyo and Primer on the ground, Lara dismounted the dragon and patted him on the jaw, murmuring praise to him and dismissing him back to wherever he went. The dragon turned in a lumbering circle and took off, disappearing into the distance. Lara turned to her escorts and nodded towards the ship, moving to climb the ramp herself.

“Well Commander Neyo, that was a fun little side trip for literally nothing. I may be forced to start calling you Commander Null-o.” She didn’t spare him a look.

The man blushed a dusky red color in embarrassment and annoyance. “That’s just how it works sometimes, General.” He was actually mortified that there had been no sign of Grievous at all. If the cyborg had been there, it hadn’t been very recent. Rather graciously, the General said nothing more and simply headed for the bridge while making small talk with Fives. Neyo was alone with his shame, wondering how they could ever live this down.

She was also kind about the situation on the bridge, when she updated Admiral Shepherd. He’d watched their approach to the windscreens and holo table, and asked rather lightly, “No Grievous, I see?”

Lara shook her head. “No Grievous. Just battle droids. Cyclops was able to pull this off the central data computer though.” Lara held up a disc with the information imprinted on the memory chip. “Maybe it will have useful information.” She handed the disc to a staff officer, who plugged it into the holo table and worked to decode the information. Looking up, she dismissed Fives and Primer, thanking them for their work and praising their efforts that day. Neyo saw them leave, and realized she hadn’t dismissed him. Perhaps the shoe was about to drop after all. “When you get the information decoded and ready, let me know. Commander, please come with me.” Lara turned and breezed off the bridge, heading for her quarters. Neyo followed quickly, knowing he was about to get dressed down by the General, after all the bravado he’d been fronting.

As soon as the door closed to her stateroom, Neyo saw Lara turn to stand behind her desk and face him. “I don’t really have to say anything; I know you’re wishing you could find a rock to crawl under at this point. You better hope there’s good intel on that disc we pirated.” Lara folded her arms over her armored chest and gave him a piercing look. “You and your guys need to go over that stuff and see what we can glean for our benefit.”

Neyo stood waiting for real chastisement to come from the General, and when she finished talking, his eyes kind of flickered in realization - she wasn’t going to rebuke him. Instead she was watching him with a curious expression of understanding and patience that was totally unexpected. Neyo’s mouth opened in his surprise, and for a moment he forgot how to speak. “General, I am… sorry for this whole affair. I cleared that intel and verified it to the Jedi - it’s my fault we are here.” He stopped talking, staring at the desk top.

Lara didn’t speak for a long time; rather she watched Neyo as he worked to salvage the shreds of his pride. She didn’t want to watch the man struggle, so she decided to throw him a bone. “Honestly, Commander, I liked you better when you were an asshole.” His eyes snapped up to her face at hearing her. “You screwed up. It happens. Nobody died, and we got to incinerate some droids. As far as the Dragon Company is concerned, it was a good day at the range. Now, you best scuttle off and go over that intel with a fine toothed comb.”

Neyo stood tall, realizing she had basically wiped the slate clean for him, and given him an invite to continue on as they had been before. He studied her with a look of appraisal and newfound respect. The clone commander snapped a perfect salute and turned to head for her door. Before he could leave he heard her voice. “Oh and Neyozle. It’ll be our little secret.”

“What secret, General?,” he asked, completely confused.

“That under that whole shell of tough guy, cute animal torturing, cold as a frozen dead fish exterior - there’s an actual honest to god soul.” She gave him a little devilish grin. “Fives and I had a bet going. Granted, it’s a small soul. A shriveled little thing, but it’s there.”

Neyo’s eyes narrowed but internally he laughed ruefully. “I’ll send you the bill for my next shipment of tookas, General. And I hate fish.” He turned to leave and called out, “I’ll update you as soon as I have a report on the decrypted intel.” He didn’t see the small amused smile on Lara’s face as the door shut behind him. She knew she’d won the man over, though he’d probably never admit it openly.

The pirated CIS intel contained some highly valuable information, thankfully. It did prove Neyo and his spies correct - Grievous had been using the random, isolated facility as a base for some Outer Rim activities. He’d last been there a couple of weeks before their raid. The biggest find though, was the information it contained concerning other hidden CIS bases, their armament, and which leader frequented them. Neyo was vindicated, quite by luck and Lara’s quick thinking to steal information from the computers in the building, and the mission was deemed a success. The flight back to Coruscant was relaxed and triumphant, and Neyo was privy to watching the rather secretive Dragon Company’s downtime routines on their ship.

It was really quite vanilla - they trained, they played a game called basketball which the General had taught them, and also lounged around listening to the music which was always playing over head. Neyo had seen the General play a few games of ball with her men, her easy laughter and camaraderie readily apparent with her troops. She was sassy, laid back, approachable, knew every single clone by face and name. She was a leader that men loved to serve and would fight for with their very lives. She saw Neyo standing by the basketball court at one point and turned, chunking the ball at him unexpectedly. He flubbed catching it, suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

“Come on Neon, catch the ball!” She was wearing the biggest smile, and had her hands up ready to catch the ball. She expected him to throw it back to her.

“That is not my name, General,” he said in a slightly bored tone.

“And yet you answered. Hmm. How about Neil? Neidermyer? Noodles? Ney ney? Come on, I like Ney Ney.” She kept floating silly names while Neyo shook his head, his expression getting more and more stony. But beneath that painful frown, Lara could see his eyes were lit with internal mirth - it was all he could do to keep the angry look up. Lara sighed. “Fine. Neyo…Nono.” She’d seen his posture relax the tiniest fraction and then stiffen back up at the second half. The men around her were all snickering with laughter at the General bugging the Commander; she had no compunction whatsoever to behave. “You disappoint me Commander. I thought we could be friends and I could have some really cool nickname just for you. Ah well, guess it just goes to show beauty and fame can’t buy everything.” She gave him a grin and turned to get back to the game.

Neyo kept watching, trying to understand the rules, but also just admiring the General’s athleticism and bubbly nature. She talked a lot of smack to her troopers, handling the ball well on the dribble and driving to the basket to score frequently. She wasn’t afraid to slam herself into their bodies to physically move them out of the way, and they gave it right back to her. At one point a player blocked her so hard she ended up on her butt on the floor, laughing ruefully and rubbing her sore cheek. “Nice hit Falco. Gonna pay for that though!” The game went on with varying results; Lara’s team came up one point short and the winners made a lot of noise about their loss. The men enjoyed rubbing it in her face, watching her smile sheepishly and make big promises about how the next game would go.

A command staff lieutenant ran up to ask Lara to report to the bridge. He turned to Neyo and said, “the message was for you as well, Commander.”

Lara passed the ball off to the clones so they could continue playing and turned to walk with Neyo to the bridge. As they got in the elevator, Lara took a sideways glance at the stiff clone beside her. “You dating anybody, Commander?” Her open frankness always caught him off guard.

Neyo stared straight ahead and didn’t speak for a moment. “No one in particular,” he grumbled. “You applying for the role?”

“You mean you can’t find someone with that bubbly personality of yours? I’m so shocked.” Lara huffed out a laugh.

“They don’t like all the body parts in jars in my foot locker. No one understands the value of being able to go back and study things in detail, at leisure.” He said it so smoothly Lara’s eyebrows shot up and she stood regarding him with her mouth open for a moment. He heard her close her teeth with a snap and snort a little.

“I can imagine eau de death isn’t a fragrance most girls want to smell.”

“Do I smell like death, General?,” Neyo asked her with an arched eyebrow.

“I’ll give you that much, Neeman - you don’t smell half bad. Should I feel honored that you washed up for me?” Lara smirked at him playfully.

“It’s Neyo… and I wouldn’t dare put you in a position of having to choose between myself and your Captain.” His voice smoothly purred that last out.

There was silence for a moment. “If you recall, I already told you there’d never be a choice in your favor. Remember - cattle prod, artificial insemination… I like you Neyo (yes I do know your name but since it annoys you so much, I’ll probably keep finding ways to change it). But you aren’t Rex. And, while I generally never have to resort to threats, I will say that if you try to throw Rex under the proverbial sky bus because of my relationship with him, I may be inclined to use that cattle prod sooner than the end of the world, and in ways you’d find surprising.” She shot him a hard glance with her glowing blue eyes and he stared back stonily.

“What if I enjoyed the cattle prod?” He watched her with a very flat look.

“I’m not above stuffing you in a footlocker and hiding you on a lonely planet, either. You can tell whomever you like there, as long and as loudly as you like. Besides, I know I’ve already won you over to my side.” She gave him a small conspiratorial wink as the elevator finally reached the level of the bridge and the door shot open. The pair walked forward to the holo table, behind which stood Admiral Shepherd, Fives and Primer. General Kenobi was present via holo, waiting for them to arrive so he could relay his message.

“Ah we are all here now. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend, General,” Kenobi said dryly.

“But of course, Obi Wan. I was teaching Marshal Commander NoNo the finer points of the use of a cattle prod on Earth. It was a riveting discussion.” Lara leaned her weight back on one foot and folded her arms over her chest, an incorrigible smirk on her face. Neyo looked at her like he’d never seen such a creature before, while Kenobi worked to decide if she was serious. He finally decided to just carry on with the reason for his communication.

“We have been able to verify the intel given us from your data piracy, and we are moving forward with plans for sending officers to those systems to see if the CIS leaders can be captured. The Jedi Council is thankful for the assistance of Dragon Company in this matter, and to you Commander Neyo, for your work in getting us there in the first place. When you return to Coruscant, you will be given new orders for your Reconnaissance Corps. Any questions?,” Kenobi asked, looking at the attendees around the table. Most of the heads shook in the negative; they understood and had nothing further to add. “Very well. We will see you when you return to Coruscant. Thank you again, General Lin.”

Lara smiled and gave him a lazy half salute with two fingers. Looking up to address the group around her, Lara said breathily, “Whelp, looks like that was the official kudos and blessing to be off the hook Commander. Attaboy, Noodles,” she said with a dramatic clap. Fives and Primer both grinned at her insistence on screwing with Neyo’s mind. Lara knocked her knuckles on the table a couple of times and then stood to leave. She was heading back down to the basketball game if they no longer needed her.

During their two day flight back to Coruscant, Neyo found small excuses to hang out in the vicinity of the General. If he was honest with himself, it was because he found her entertaining, and enjoyed the little battle of wits between them. The man was far from personable; after leaving Kamino with his birth squad he’d become frightfully solitary and taciturn. Few wanted to put up with his surly, isolated ways. He was friends with Commander Bacara, who was a similarly lonely shark, but in all honesty, Neyo stayed aloof among clones, dated when he felt the need to pick someone up for a one night stand and otherwise moved from mission to mission. He found General Lin a breath of fresh air that made him … feel… inside. Not so much attracted to her - he just found her a comforting presence, perhaps even someone he liked. It was a novel feeling for him. Regardless, she’d proven he didn’t intimidate her in the least, and that she found his gruff nature something of a challenge to conquer. Neyo had developed respect for her indomitable spirit, her battle skills and leadership acumen, and secretly he felt Rex was a truly lucky man to have won the love of this General.

As the Talon pulled back into port on Coruscant, he joined General Lin on the bridge of the ship. Admiral Shepherd was busy with the tasks of bringing such a large vessel into her berth, so Lara had the area by the windscreen by herself. She was watching the high rises and sky scrapers of the metropolis rise before her, as the Venator sank lower to the ground. Lara glanced over at her company briefly, and back out the windscreen. Neyo had become something of a skulking shadow the last couple of days, and while she didn’t mind, others had watched in amusement to near concern; Lara was notorious among the GAR and the Jedi for her antics, and none of the Dragons wanted to see her get into trouble. Outside the ship, standing on the pier, Lara recognized the familiar shape of a clone in white armor with blue accents, with a blue pauldron over the left shoulder. Neyo snuck a glance to see her wearing a little private smile on her beautiful face, her eyes shining happily at the sight.

Lara suddenly took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Well, Commander, it’s been a ride. I hope you enjoyed your time with the Dragon Company.” She shot him a little sideways look and grin.

“I have never been more miserable in my entire, short life. You and your Company are the biggest bunch of renegade, order refusing, nigh unprofessional soldiers I’ve ever traveled with. It’s no wonder you have the reputation you do within the GAR.” He stared back at her flatly, watching her reaction. Lara had blinked and drawn herself up, her expression one of slight befuddlement.

“Really, it was all that? Well then…” Lara pursed her lips and nodded a little to herself.

“Actually General, I would say this is the most interesting mission I’ve been on in a long time. The level of teamwork and respect between you and your men is unequaled in any of the other Companies I’ve served with. Your men love you and would follow you into any battle.” He paused and then said a bit hesitantly, “And I think I see why, now.”

She’d perked up quite a lot at his sudden change of tone. “Oh, Commander? Why is that, pray tell? Wait, wait, don’t tell me - it’s because I’m so beautiful and fantastic and irresistible that even you cannot resist my charms, isn’t it?” She delivered it with a giggle and a teasing tone.

Neyo’s ruggedly handsome face split into a smile - quite shocking for him. Lara wondered if his cheeks hurt from the stretch, and his teeth ached from the exposure to sunlight. She was shocked that they weren’t filed into sharp points. He didn’t answer immediately, trying to formulate the best reply. “I’d say it was more the lack of fear and loathing you showed me. I think most people really do think I torture small animals for entertainment, and survive off blood straight from the source. But you - you treated me like a man, no better or worse than yourself. And you didn’t let my manner insult you nor hurt your feelings. I’m not sure I’ve come up against a Jedi General of your … personality, before, and I’m impressed. If we ever get forced into another mission together, it won’t be the worst thing I’ve had happen.”

Lara accepted his words for the high praise it was, coming from this particular clone. “Wow Neyo, that was… Do I need to call someone to come check you out? You having any chest pain after all those feelings? Head spinning? I’m not gonna give you mouth to mouth but I’m totally down for foot applied CPR.” Her smile lit the room, as she laughed.

Neyo grinned back at her and put his hand over his chest. “You know General, the fact that you believe there’s even a heart to show concern over it more than most would believe. But no, all is well, I’m not having a seizure, and this was no hallucination. I will live another day to put the fear of the devil into someone.” The clone watched as General Lin turned to leave the bridge; the Talon had finally docked and taken on the mooring lines. She wanted to get to the pier to see her shore party. As she moved away, Neyo called out, “Don’t give away my secret though, General!”

He heard her laugh, and Lara turned back to face him as she kept walking backwards. “Oh don’t worry Needles. No one would believe me if I tried to tell them you have a soul in there. Your secret is safe with me. Catch you on the flip side, Commander!” She disappeared into the lift and the last Neyo saw of her was her slim form breezing down the ship’s ramp to greet Captain Rex. Her secret was safe with Neyo, as well.

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