#*cries in loving domino squad*

[jgvfhl]

Two Wrongs Make A Right: Part 2

Alllllrighty well this is the second part of a blurb I posted in like... what January? February? Where Domino Squad aggressively befriends the Bad Batch, bc I think it's nice. Here is the link to Part 1!

Words: ~8890

Summary: Domino Squad is put to the test yet again, but this time the stakes are considerably higher.

Warnings: If you don't like thinking about that scene where Ventress chokes Colt, then you might want to skip a small portion of a scene. Obviously, I hate it too, so I fix it before anything horrendous happens, but just thought I'd mention it.

Echo sat back on his heels and started packing up his tools. This pesky holotable was finally functional with the new software and security updates, and he was finally done for the day. As he stood and made for the door, the lights went out. Before a coherent thought could form in reaction, the emergency red lights came on and in the distance, he heard Kamino's attack siren.

Well, fierfek.

He opened the door and looked carefully, his neck prickling as adrenaline started pumping through him. Maintenance or not, he was a trained soldier. The hall was a flurry of activity--an odd sight for this part of Tipoca City. Clones and Kaminoans rushed by, orders flying fast through the air. Something about the main hangars under attack, and getting all the junior cadets to the barracks.

Echo's stomach dropped. Fives and Droidbait had been assigned to the main hangars today. Dropping his toolbox, he took off towards the hangars, against the flow of people down the hall.

As he rounded a corner, he side-stepped someone in his path purely on reflex. He was about to keep running when the person grabbed his arm.

"Echo!"

After taking two seconds to register their face, he grabbed their arm in return. "Hevy," he said. "How'd you get here so fast? You were in the range--"

"The trainer there got wind of the assault before the lights cut," his batchmate explained, pulling Echo along. "I split off to find you when we evacuated."

Echo pulled back. "Fives and 'Bait are in the hangars today," he argued. "Right where the main attack started."

Hevy nodded, his face set grimly. "Yeah, and the five-oh-first and Commander Havoc are with them. We have to go."

“The five-oh-first are here?” he couldn’t help but ask as he let his batchmate drag him back down the halls, aiming for a shortcut they’d learned from Ninety-Nine. “Did they come for the attack?”

Hevy shrugged. “Dunno. I didn’t hear much aside from Commander Havoc mentioning Captain Rex and General Skywalker.” He pulled them up short at an intersection. “Sithspit, which way is it, again? To the barracks.”

Echo looked both ways. He hadn’t used this shortcut by himself yet either, only with Ninety-Nine as a guide. The red-lit walls were all identical. “I… don’t remember.”

“Okay, well.” Hevy looked both ways again. “Here’s hoping we’re not supposed to die yet.” He grabbed Echo’s arm again and went left.

-scene break-

Droidbait had never imagined his first battle would happen on Kamino, with him completely unarmed and unarmored. He was absolutely terrified. The only things keeping him from freezing up were the steady stream of orders from Commander Havoc, and the quieter remarks from Fives beside him, grounding him. Thus far, they had been helping Ninety-Nine distribute new weapons as the older clone ran trips back and forth to nearby armories. Fives had been adamant that he shouldn’t get closer than that.

At least he and Fives had training for this, he argued. Droidbait knew he was just scared.

Another massive strike shook the hangar as yet another mechanical beak from one of the … squid droids (?) pierced the ceiling. Another squadron of droids dropped out of it, red eyes blinking to life as they opened fire.

“We don’t have enough firepower,” Droidbait told Fives, casting an eye around the hangar.

“Then we’ll go out blasting if nothing else,” Fives replied, handing off the last rifle in his arms to a trooper running by.

Over his shoulder, Droidbait caught sight of a pair of droids detached from their squadron and creeping up the side. He grabbed his batchmate’s shoulders and yanked them both flat to the floor behind some crates. Two red blaster bolts slammed into the crates in front of them.

Before they had a chance to process the brush with death, they heard someone shout for transport. Ninety-Nine was back, appearing seemingly out of nowhere in the chaos, and limping towards the call’s origin.

“Ninety-Nine!” Fives yelled. “Don’t!”

Droidbait let out an “oof” as Fives scrambled to his feet to go after their friend, his knee landing in Droidbait’s side as he stood. He grabbed Ninety-Nine and dragged him back to their cover, planting him next to Droidbait.

“Fives–”

“Not happening,” Fives snapped. “You want to help, you can still hand out weapons, but transport is not your place right now.” Turning to Droidbait, he added, “Watch my six, yeah?”

“What?” He shouldn’t have been surprised when Fives took off running through the haze of blaster fire. But it was still horrifying. “Fives!” he cried, raising his head as high over the crates as he dared to watch him.

The cry for transport had come from Commander Havoc, who was crouched over a fallen trooper, alone. Fives ran to them, skidding to his knees to grab the trooper on the ground. Droidbait saw the commander do a double take at Fives’ uniform, but Fives was on a mission–for once Droidbait was grateful for Fives’ laser-like focus on the task at hand.

He missed the next few seconds because Ninety-Nine grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down just as more blaster fire whizzed overhead. “Thanks,” he breathed, and Ninety-Nine nodded. In a second, he was peeking out again, searching the ever-changing battlefield for his batchmate.

“‘Bait!” His name drew his eyes to Fives in a flash. “The commander!”

Commander Havoc was down–but not unmoving.

Oh, Maker help him, he had to go out there.

Sending a silent prayer to anyone who was listening that his name wouldn’t be his undoing, Droidbait took a breath and darted out from around the crates towards Fives. The old lessons from being a cadet scrolled through his mind. Keep your head down, keep your feet moving, keep your eyes sharp. A trooper crashed to the ground as he passed, nearly jolting him out of his focus.

When he reached his brother, Commander Havoc was trying to sit back up. Droidbait shoved him down roughly as more red bolts shot by. “Sorry, sir,” he muttered.

“We’re pinned down here,” Fives growled. Then his eyes landed on the pistol hanging from the commander’s belt. Without more hesitation, he grabbed it and turned it on the advancing droids.

“Fives–” Droidbait hissed. He knew Fives, Cutup, and Crosshair had been making more time to spend at the range, but now was not the time to test those new skills!

“Get the commander out!” his brother told him, shooting down two of the droids. It wasn’t with the trained elegance or efficiency seen in the higher ranking troopers, but the bolts did the job.

“Don’t–” Commander Havoc’s rebuttal was cut off by a grunt of pain when Droidbait grabbed him under the arms and started dragging him towards the back of the hangar.

“Sorry, sir, we’re not really known for following orders,” he said. “And we don’t leave men behind when they can be saved.”

-scene break-

Going left had been the wrong choice. Hevy realized that now, of course, after he had gotten himself and Echo thoroughly turned around on their journey back to the barracks. They’d managed to find their way back to roughly where they had been before, but as they rounded a corner, this time confidently in the correct direction, the unmistakable sound of clanking footsteps reached their ears.

“Oh come on–” Echo hissed as they turned back to plaster themselves flat against the wall.

Across the hall and a little ahead of them, a squad of troopers jogged into place, led by Commander Colt, taking cover around corners until the droids came into view.

“They’re covering, we can go for it,” Echo said, nudging Hevy’s back.

Hevy’s reply was cut off by the sound of blasters firing. For a moment, it was only metal hitting the ground. He risked a glance around the corner, and saw about half the droids on the ground, and only a couple troopers down. But the tables turned quickly. In only a few seconds, Commander Colt was the only man left standing. Something cold settled in his stomach as he looked over the dead clones.

The remaining droids fell quickly under the commander’s precise fire. For a second, there was quiet, until more metallic footsteps sounded, and a second squad of droids appeared where the first had fallen. He looked at the commander, who hadn’t moved or seemed to notice them as onlookers.

“The commander’s alone,” Hevy said. “We can help–”

“He’s a commander–”

“Grab the blasters from the men down, at least we can cover for him for a retreat.”

“Hevy!”

He ignored his batchmate’s protests. He saw the commander step out for a last stand, and dashed for the nearest blaster on the ground. It was nothing compared to the Z-6 he missed so much, but it would do. As he dropped to one knee and lifted the blaster, he was vaguely aware of Echo muttering a stream of quiet curses as he ran to another blaster and did the same. The first line of droids went down easily, but the second and beyond were difficult. While Domino had completed basic training, they were still, well, shiny. Or as shiny as one can be without new armor. This was the first live fire Hevy or Echo had ever seen, and while Commander Colt stood firm ahead of them, sometimes literally dodging bolts, he couldn’t deny the chill of fear accompanying the adrenaline pumping through his system right now.

What Hevy wouldn’t give for a thermal detonator about now…

As if someone had answered his prayer, his eye caught motion at the droids’ feet, recognizing the blinking red light instantly.

“Grenade!” he yelled, just as he had been taught. Echo and Commander Colt did as they had been taught, with Echo diving back around the corner from which he and Hevy had come, and the commander doing likewise across the hall. Hevy scrambled after him.

The explosion sent a wave of heat and shrapnel down the hall past their cover, lighting up the dimly lit corridor for a brief moment. It smelled sharp and tangy–not quite like blood, but not dissimilar. But as soon as it was over, the commander was back out, picking off the last of the droids with practiced ease.

Hevy had set one foot around the corner when the commander’s hand flew to his throat. He watched in horror as the commander’s boots lifted off the floor, his blaster falling from his hand as he clawed at the invisible thing tightening around his neck. And the sounds–

A slim figure emerged from the direction the droids had come, one hand held aloft towards Commander Colt, holding him in the air. Ventress. Hevy had never seen her before, but he was pretty sure he could tell the difference between the cyborg and the witch, and she was the witch. Her pale skin reflected the red emergency lighting, lines of ink on her face standing out even darker in the red glow. There was a chill thrumming in the air around her unlike anything he had ever felt, and it made his skin crawl.

Hevy wanted to run. The humanity in him was screaming and yelling for him to grab Echo and run as fast as he could away from her, but his feet just wouldn’t move. He couldn’t look away, even when the commander’s struggles grew weaker and his noises grew fainter, he just couldn’t take his eyes off them.

And then a curious thing happened. Something dropped out of the ceiling just behind Ventress’s back, but before it even hit the floor, it erupted into a shower of electrical power. Little bolts of electricity arched to Ventress, her body jolting at the sudden assault, breaking her focus just enough to free the commander.

The instant Commander Colt started falling–maybe half a second before then, even–someone charged out from an unseen corridor behind Ventress and shoved her roughly into the wall before grabbing the commander just as his boots touched the floor.

“Go, Tech, go!”

“Wrecker?” Hevy called, finally registering that the person was about seven feet tall and heavily armored.

A ceiling panel fell to the floor, and Tech dropped out head first and rolled to his feet, then sprinted after Wrecker. “Hevy, Echo, let’s go!” he called. He and Wrecker didn’t even slow down, and Hevy caught Echo’s eye across the hall.

A ragged scream from Ventress was all the convincing they needed, and they took off after the other two.

-scene break-

“We’re running low on ammo,” Cutup remarked quietly so the motion didn’t jostle his scope too much.

“Yep,” Crosshair agreed. After a beat, he fired twice, and two droids on the bridge fell. “Then again, this isn’t exactly an ideal perch,” he added.

“We could go grab some ammo for you,” one of the 501st troopers next to them offered. They’d been assigned sniper positions by Commander Havoc, but after Cutup and Crosshair found them on their way to the hangar, they’d taken over. After a few shots, whatever protests they had been trying to conjure vanished. Cutup hadn’t even learned their names yet.

“Correction,” his buddy added. “You could go grab some ammo.” This second trooper, the one with a Republic cog on his bucket, had taken a hit to the shoulder while getting into position.

Luckily, they didn’t have to make the decision. A beat later, Ninety-Nine came running up to them, a pack slung over one shoulder. “I brought some ammo for you boys,” he announced, kneeling beside Crosshair and setting the pack down.

“Thanks, Ninety-Nine,” Cutup replied, moving to his hands and knees to get to him.

“Is there a better position than this?” Crosshair asked, reloading his rifle without a glance. “Higher?”

“Yeah, I think I know a place,” Ninety-Nine nodded, handing ammo packs over to them.

Whatever the older clone had been about to add was interrupted by the uninjured trooper pointing in the direction Ninety-Nine had come and barking, “Incoming!”

“Use the thermos,” his injured companion said, pointing at Ninety-Nine’s pack.

Cutup reached over Crosshair’s back to grab one. The detonation button clicked when he primed it, and he waited just enough to see the silhouettes of battle droids through the smoke from the bridge below, then he tossed the device at their feet. They all crumpled in the following explosion.

“Nice shot, Cutup,” Ninety-Nine smiled. “Here, follow me, I’ll show you the spot I’m thinking of.”

The four of them got to their feet to follow him, then Crosshair grabbed Ninety-Nine’s shoulder and pulled him back. “There’s more of them,” he warned, looking towards the cloud of smoke left from the detonator.

Everyone with a weapon raised it, poised to shoot.

But the shadows coming through the smoke were much too short to be droids.

“Cadets?” Cutup asked, lowering his rifle.

“What the hell are you boys doing here?” the uninjured trooper demanded.

“We got separated,” the first cadet explained, looking more than a little shaken.

“Where were you headed?” Cutup asked.

“The barracks, that’s where our trainer said to go.”

Cutup looked to Ninety-Nine. “We know a shortcut, don’t we?”

The older clone nodded. “Sure do. Come on.”

As they started to leave, hugging the wall away from the droids’ blaster fire, the two 501st troopers hung back. “We have to rejoin our platoon,” the uninjured one explained, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “And probably get him to our medic, if we can,” he added.

Cutup nodded. “Safe travels, then.” As the two groups turned to go their separate ways, he bumped Crosshair’s arm. “Have you heard anything from the others yet?”

The sniper shook his head. “I was just about to comm them.” He raised his vambrace and pressed a couple buttons, then waited. After a few seconds, Tech’s voice came through. It sounded like he was running.

“Tech here,” he said. “Status: running for our lives from an angry witch.”

“You found Ventress?” Crosshair asked.

“Hevy and Echo found her first,” his brother replied, and Cutup’s heart stuttered a beat.

“Are they okay?” he blurted.

“Oh, they’re fine–” Tech said, pausing to breathe. “Running with us. And Commander Colt, but he’s not running.”

“I’ll ask what that means later, I think,” Crosshair said. “We’re heading to the junior cadet barracks. See if you can meet us there. I’ll comm Hunter and tell him the same.”

“Got it. We’ll do our best to get there.” The comm clicked off, and without pause Crosshair dialed up Hunter next.

“What’s it looking like, Cross?”

“Tech and Wrecker found Hevy and Echo, and Commander Colt, apparently, but they’re also running for their lives from Ventress.”

“They what?”

Cutup relaxed slightly when he heard his own batchmate’s voice. “Hi, Fives.”

“Hey, Cut. Could you elaborate on the part where they’re being chased by a very scary evil witch lady?” Fives replied.

“Sorry, Tech didn’t give many details. Is Droidbait there?”

“Yep, we’re all fine,” came Droidbait’s answer. “Where are you headed?”

“We’re escorting a squad of cadets back to the juniors’ barracks,” Crosshair explained. “Tech says they’ll try to meet us there.”

“Better hurry,” Hunter said. “I heard the clankers were almost to the barracks.”

“Will do,” Crosshair answered, looking to Ninety-Nine, who nodded back.

-scene break-

The barracks were under the same red emergency lighting as the rest of Kamino, and after the firefight he and Droidbait had already survived, Fives was really starting to hate the eerie look it gave the place. He, Hunter, and Droidbait arrived–following Crosshair’s locator from Hunter’s comm–to find the whole group gathered at one end of the barracks. Cutup was sitting on one of the benches under the sleeping pods, chatting with some of the cadets, probably trying to cheer them up, if he knew Cutup.

He was a little surprised to find Ninety-Nine there, but relief soon took over, because at least he wouldn’t be on the front lines here. As soon as the three of them came into the little alcove, Cutup got up and grabbed Fives and Droidbait in a hug.

For the moment, Fives just let himself enjoy it. He watched Hunter find Crosshair and pull their foreheads together. When Cutup finally released them both, his smile was infectious.

“How’s this for a first field day, huh?” he said as cheerfully as he could.

“Sure is something,” Fives agreed, looking around at the cadets. “Where’d these guys come from?”

“We got separated from our training block, sir,” one of them said quietly. Most of them were huddled together in twos and threes, which was understandable for what they’d been through.

He sat down on the bench, and Cutup and Droidbait soon joined him. “Don’t worry about sirs, kid,” he said. “We’re just maintenance crew.”

“What are we supposed to do?” another cadet asked, his longer-than-regulation curls bouncing with the emotion of his outburst. “We’re not trained!”

“What do you mean, you’re not trained?” Cutup frowned. “You’re what–five standard? Six?” The cadets nodded at him. “So you’ve started your firearms training. You’ve held a blaster, at least. You know how they work, aye?”

“Yeah, but…” the same cadet started. He trailed off.

“But what?” Fives said. “We’re all one and same, right? Same face, same blood.”

“We’re soldiers,” Droidbait told them. “Meant to be.”

“We’ll give any clankers who mess with us a run for their credits,” he finished. “We’ll make ‘em think twice about coming to our planet and trying to destroy our home, yeah?”

The cadets had perked up noticeably, some even with small smiles on their young faces. There wasn’t much time to savor the moment, however, because a clatter of footsteps came from the door, and everyone jumped to their feet. Crosshair and Cutup leveled their rifles at the noise while Fives, Cutup, and Droidbait helped Ninety-Nine herd the cadets away from the open corridors on either side of the sleeping pod towers.

But they recognized Tech’s voice when he called, “Hold your fire! It’s just us.” He sounded winded, and it took a lot to get clones like that.

Tech, Wrecker, Hevy, and Echo appeared at the other end of the barracks and made their way over, looking like they’d just run around all of Tipoca City twice–and perhaps that wasn’t far off. But they were all here. Just like Cutup had done for him and Droidbait, Fives came forward and let Echo practically fall against him, exhausted. Hevy did the same, and Cutup and Droidbait wrapped their arms around as much of them as they could reach.

“Glad you’re okay, you two,” Fives said.

Echo made some nonverbal response, too tired for words. Hevy sighed. “Yeah. It got close.”

When they stepped apart (although Echo was still leaning heavily on Fives), Wrecker had set down Commander Colt on the floor, propped up against the lockers across from the cadets.

“What happened to him?” Fives asked.

“Ventress,” Hevy answered.

“I am awake, so you know,” the commander rasped, startling a few of the cadets.

“Welcome back, sir!” Wrecker said, and it was clear he was smiling under his helmet.

“Isn’t this ironic,” Echo muttered so only Fives could hear it. “He failed us for leaving Droidbait behind, and now we helped save him from being left behind.”

Fives hummed a short note of amusement. It was something, to be sure.

“I hate to be the downer,” Tech said, “but there are droids coming this way. We won’t be safe here for much longer.”

Commander Colt lifted his helmet off and tugged at the collar of his black undersuit. He cast an eye over the cadets across from him. “Then we’ll all be fighting our way out,” he said. “Age or training be damned.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Commander,” a new voice said from the direction of the door. Fives turned, pulling Echo around with him. He had to work to keep his mouth from dropping open.

Captain Rex and Commander Cody walked over and came to stand beside Ninety-Nine and Hunter in the corridor next to the lockers. Captain Rex and Marshall Commander Cody. Holy Force.

Commander Colt smiled, a little strained. “Cody, Rex, what are you two bucketheads doing all the way back here?”

“Clearing the place out,” Captain Rex answered, and Commander Cody nodded. “The clankers are moving this way, and I was going to gather some of my men to put up a fight and stop them here, but if I don’t have to pull them from where they are, it’d be better.”

“So,” Commander Cody said, setting the hand not holding his blaster on his belt, “I’m assuming you four have ample training, yes?” He looked at the Bad Batch expectantly.

Fives tried to ignore the small twinge of annoyance. It made sense, he reasoned. The Bad Batch already had armor, he reminded himself. Plain, dark grey armor, but… they actually looked like they had training. Domino’s blue maintenance uniforms didn’t instill the same confidence in their skillsets.

Hunter, as usual, became the spokesman. “Yessir, we’ve been trained as a specialist squad because of our uh, unique abilities.” He pointed around at his batchmates as he listed them off. “Tech’s our analyst, Wrecker is our demo and weapons expert, Crosshair’s our sniper, and I’m Hunter. A tracker, mostly.”

Cutup snorted quietly. “And a wrangler for the other three.” Hunter couldn’t hide his smile quick enough.

“Sounds impressive. Let’s see how you do.” Commander Colt replaced his helmet and started to stand up. Wrecker grabbed his arm and almost pulled him off the ground while trying to help him up.

“Careful, Wrecker,” Hunter warned.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” the commander said, giving Wrecker a real once-over. Probably rethinking what Hunter had meant by unique abilities. “And how much training do you boys have?” he asked, and Fives found his visor trained on Domino Squad. They were all still clustered roughly together.

Fives caught Cutup’s eye and they shared a brief grin, maybe a bit too obvious, but come on. Commander Colt had been the officer who had landed them here. He’d failed them on their final test, they’d ended up in maintenance, and now here he was, needing their help.

Hevy stood up as tall as he could, a similar smirk struggling to stay hidden on his face. “Commander, we’re fully trained troopers.”

“What?” Fives turned to glance at Captain Rex, who had spoken, but he turned back to the commander to watch his reaction when the whole truth hit.

Cutup nodded. “Aye, we were all set to graduate, but…”

“I’m sure you remember us, sir,” Fives offered. “We’re Domino Squad.”

“We broke rule one,” Droidbait added.

“No man left behind,” Echo finished, still leaning on Fives’ shoulder.

Commander Colt was motionless for a moment, and Fives could feel the captain and the marshall commander’s gazes on them as well. “Domino, huh?” he repeated at length. “Go figure.”

“Is that all they failed on?” Commander Cody asked. “Because we don’t exactly have time on our side, and I’d like to know what I’m dealing with from the start.”

“Yeah,” Commander Colt nodded. “Technically speaking, their skills were up to par. Just the teamwork that was lacking.”

“We’ve gotten better, sir!” Droidbait said quickly.

The commander turned his head to look at him. “You better have. Lives depend on it this time.”

-scene break-

A few moments later, Hevy was jogging down the red-lit corridor with Wrecker, Cutup, Commander Cody, and Captain Rex towards the nearest armory to stock up before the droids arrived. It was a short distance away, but it was only reachable through the halls, so once the clankers showed up, it would be almost impossible to go back. Ninety-Nine probably knew some shortcuts, and Tech apparently had the Tipoca City vent system memorized, so it might be easier than it looked.

“Alright, load up!” the captain ordered when he opened the door.

Oh, so many weapons, so little time. Fortunately, Hevy was rather particular. He made an immediate dash for the nearest rotary canon he saw and hefted it with a grin. “Thing of beauty,” he said to himself, looking around for a shoulder strap to use with it. Normally, he wouldn’t bother, but he needed to carry more than this back to the others. Finding one, he clipped it in place and slung the blaster across his back, somehow feeling lighter with the familiar weight in place.

Across the room, Wrecker was holding a blanket open for Cutup to load with DC-17 blasters for the cadets, and Commander Cody and Captain Rex were grabbing thermals and ammo packs to load into backpacks they’d found in the room.

“Hey, Cut’,” he called. “Do you want more rifles?”

His brother looked up, placing a final blaster into Wrecker’s blanket. “Uh–yeah, one more for safety’s sake, why not?” Pointing to the rack of blaster rifles next to the rotary canons, he said, “One o’ those will do.”

Hevy grabbed one, giving it a once-over to make sure nothing was obviously wrong. “What else can I grab? I’m pretty light still.”

“Here.” Captain Rex dumped a couple of pairs of pistols into a backpack, along with a few droid poppers. “Take that, if you can.”

Hevy grabbed the straps and managed to sling the pack across his front in a reasonably stable position.

“I think we’re set,” the commander said. He and Captain Rex shouldered their backpacks already and moved to the door. “Let’s move, men.”

As they filed out the door, Wrecker’s eyes landed on a case set on the wall and lit up. “Ooh!” He pulled the box open, revealing three vibroblades tucked away inside. Grabbing two of them, he explained, “Hunter likes these.”

And then they were on the move again. Despite the fact that Hevy had just run through half of Tipoca City at a full sprint, he found himself brimming with a restless energy as he thought about the droids getting closer and closer. He was a soldier, dammit, and he’d been cooped up doing maintenance for far too long. He wanted to shoot something.

-scene break-

It was distressingly quiet in the barracks while they waited for the droids to arrive. Echo crouched beside Tech, Cutup stationed somewhere above them in one of the sleeping pods with the cadets. The marshall commander was on the other side of Tech, his comm light blinking green with an open channel between Captain Rex and the other commander. Whoever heard clanking first would alert the group.

Finally, Commander Colt’s voice came through from Commander Cody’s wrist. “Tin-heads incoming.”

“Copy.” The commander crept forward until he could poke his head around the side of the support column. The sound of metallic marching reached their ears. “Alright, boys,” he said in a low voice, turning back to look at them. “Ready for your first firefight?”

“Yessir,” Echo and Tech chorused. Echo didn’t think it had been strictly necessary to point out his and Hevy’s brief stand-off with the droids before Ventress had appeared.

“Tech, are your things set?” the commander asked.

Tech nodded, glancing at a mini holoscreen projected from his vambrace. “Ready on your word, sir.”

The commander turned back to once again peer out from behind their cover, watching and waiting. The clanking grew steadily louder, and Echo thought he heard one of the droids order the rooms searched. A few seconds later, the metallic footsteps were in the room with them.

“Anyone see any clones?” a modulated voice asked aloud.

Echo grinned and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They’d been taught the average B1 battle droid wasn’t exactly programmed for intelligence, but he hadn’t quite expected that.

“Spread out and check,” the same voice (well, maybe it was a different droid, but they all had the same voice.)

About two seconds later, Commander Cody pointed to Tech. “Hit it.”

Tech pressed a button on the holoscreen display. Immediately, a huge crackling sound came from the far end of the barracks as the concealed pile of super-strength droid poppers detonated. There were a few anguished cries from the clankers before the only clanking came from their bodies hitting the ground.

Commander Cody sprang up from behind cover, leveling his blaster at the intruders. “Hey, clankers! Over here!” he called before opening fire.

Echo followed Tech out behind him, raining lasers on the startled droids. Unfortunately, while Tech and Echo were fully trained, the commander had experience on his side. Even with his precise aim, the droids weren’t falling fast enough.

“Fall back!” the commander ordered, and they did, retreating to the next support column.

Echo dared a glance up at the sleeping pods, finding the ones he knew concealed Cutup and the cadets. Still a bit farther to go…

“Echo, grenade!”

Mainly on reflex, he grabbed a grenade from the pack they’d placed here before, hit the primer button, and chucked it at the advancing droids. It went off perfectly, felling four. But more droids had come into the room to replace those already scrapped. Their efforts were making a small dent in their numbers, but they had a ways to go.

“One more!” the commander ordered, but a second detonator was already in Echo’s hands. He started for half a second, surprised at himself, but the commander nodded, and he tossed it out. “Let’s fall back.”

The second blast took out another three or four droids. He hefted the pack of thermos onto his back and darting after Tech as they retreated to the next column. Commander Cody and Tech were barely doing enough to keep the droids in place, even after Echo added his own efforts. But they had to stay put.

Movement off to his left caught his eye, and just in time too.

“They flanked us, sir!” he called, turning his blaster on the few droids coming from the other side of the barracks.

“Finally,” the commander replied. “Cutup, now!”

Several sleeping pods shot out of the wall, each occupied by an armed cadet, with Cutup on the highest perch, training his rifle down on the main body of droids. “Open fire, boys!” he called.

-scene break-

Compared to the combat he'd witnessed in the main hangar with Fives earlier, Droidbait decided he much preferred fighting when he had a blaster and several other people around, also with blasters. He still wished he had some armor, though. Fives, honestly, might have been having a little too much fun, if his nearly unwavering grin was anything to go by. He and Droidbait were following Captain Rex's orders as the droids poured in from the hallway after Fives had volunteered to draw them in (wasn't that supposed to be his job?).

“Keep ‘em busy, boys, that’s it,” the captain said, raising his voice above the blaster fire.

They were set up next to one of the support columns and behind a blockade made of the crates each cadet was issued to keep belongings other than armor and weapons. They weren’t completely laser-proof, but they were doing enough at the moment. Captain Rex was the only one standing, close enough to the column so he could use it for cover. Droidbait and Fives were on their knees beside him. He could tell Fives was literally having the time of his life: he’d seen his batchmate’s face when the captain and Commander Cody had appeared.

“Are the other two in position yet?” Droidbait said so just Fives could hear. He knew Hunter and Crosshair would signal the captain when they were ready, but he didn’t like how many droids were marching through the barracks door.

As if the captain had heard him, he said, “They’re set.” He paused shooting just long enough to open a comm channel, and Fives took the momentary lull to toss a thermal detonator into the clump of droids to buy time. “Have at ‘em, you two!” Captain Rex ordered into his comm.

A second later, one of the sleeping pods sprang out from the set closest to the door through which the droids had entered, now a few feet behind them. Crosshair took another second to line up his rifle, then droids started dropping like flies with every bolt. Hunter appeared soon after, also behind the group of droids. He slammed his hand into the door controls, blocking any droids from joining in from the hall, then drew a vibroblade and ran head-long towards the backs of the droids.

“Help ‘em out, boys,” the captain said, aiming his pistols once more.

“Yessir!” Fives said with a smile, and Droidbait found he was smiling along as he raised his blaster as well.

-scene break-

Cutup and the cadets worked together to hold the main force of droids in place. While they were busy, Commander Cody charged past Echo and Tech towards the droids that had broken off of the main force. Two he shot down as he ran, then he dropped to his knees and slid a few feet into the midst of the other three clankers.

“What the–!” one of them exclaimed before its next words were cut off by the marshall commander springing to his feet and slamming its face into the lockers.

He lashed out at the second with a magnificent side kick that momentarily stunned the droid as it careened into the other wall of lockers with a crunch. The third droid was practically rattling from nerves, but it still raised its blaster, only to be met with a point-blank shot between the eyes. The first droid–the one originally slammed into the lockers–received similar treatment, as did the second.

“Wow.” Echo glanced at Tech, expecting more words, but the normally verbose trooper didn’t have any more.

“What’s left?” Commander Cody asked, returning to them.

“None, sir!” Cutup called down. “These lads made their decanting vats proud today.”

The cadets cheered briefly, beaming down at the commander. He nodded at them.

A final sleeping pod slid open, and Ninety-Nine stuck his head out to survey the damage. He smiled at them. “Well done, boys.”

Tech lifted his helmet’s visor and turned to Echo. “This was fun,” he said.

“Yeah, it was,” he agreed. Now that the room was quiet again, they could all hear sounds of battle from the hallway, as well as Wrecker’s delighted laughter. “Sounds like they feel the same.”

-scene break-

Wrecker was almost disappointed there weren’t more droids to take down. When he, Hevy, and Commander Colt had first heard them approaching, he hadn’t bothered to contain the buzzing anticipation in his body. Finally, a chance to scrap some real droids!

Commander Colt had raised his blaster. “Steady on, you two.”

People were always saying that to him. Hevy’s tiny eye-roll and smirk had told him he probably got the same. But they stayed put. He already knew Hevy had his own baggage in not following orders, and Wrecker was fairly used to waiting for Hunter or Tech to point him in the best direction.

Several minutes of fighting later, the droids were right where they wanted them. Through taunting and carefully restrained destruction (something Wrecker didn’t believe actually worked until it did), the two dozen or so left were stuck between the two barracks, framed between the two doors on either side of the hall.

“There are only three of them!” one of the droids in front said. “How hard can it be!”

Wrecker laughed. Come on, he counted for at least three guys. His eye picked out Commander Cody and Captain Rex poking their heads out of the far doors to each barracks room, giving the signal they had cleared their rooms.

Commander Colt nodded, then they all ducked back behind the makeshift cover they’d built across the hall. It was largely a pile of empty supply crates from the armory, plus some of the mattresses from the barracks. They were surprisingly good for shoring up a blockade.

“Alright, the barracks are clear,” he said. “There’s only a few left, what do you boys say to giving them all we’ve got?”

“Sir yes sir!” Hevy grinned, reloading his rotary canon.

“Pulverize ‘em!” Wrecker added, clenching his fist.

“Thought so,” the commander said. “Three, two, one… go!”

As a unit, they stood and hurled themselves at the intruders. The commander stopped about half-way to the enemy, but he and Hevy just kept running. He saw Hevy bludgeon one droid with his Z-6 before cranking it up and mowing down the ones closing in on him. Good for him.

Wrecker preferred using himself as a bludgeon, so he did. Liberally.

He used his blaster to smack the first two droids he came across, then grabbed on of them by the arm as it fell, and used its limp metal body to bash the next few, occasionally pausing to shoot at the ones getting too close for comfort. Now this was having fun!

By the time there was only one droid left, the other clones had gathered in the doorways to watch.

“I’ll never surrender, Republic dogs!” the droid croaked, sounding scared even for a machine. Go figure, they actually had some sense of self-preservation.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too worried,” Hevy said, aiming his Z-6 at the droid.

“We don’t take prisoners,” Wrecker finished with a smile. He lashed out and grabbed the droid by the head, lifting it off its feet.

It squawked and raised its blaster.

“Oh, no you don’t,” he said, knocking it out of its hands. He held the babbling droid out to Hevy. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks,” Hevy said, and shot it.

-scene break-

“That was awesome!”

“How did you learn to do that?”

“Hunter, Hunter, Hunter, Hunter, will you pleeeeease teach me how to do that with the vibroblades–”

“Wait, wait, what’s this I’m hearing about Fives volunteering to taunt the clankers–”

“--and then Commander Cody just kicked one of them into submission–”

Colt rolled his eyes listening to the slurry of excited conversation between Domino and Clone Force Ninety-Nine. He’d heard it all before, he’d said some of it himself. But it was nice to hear. He left the two squads to their own devices for the moment, exiting Clone Force Ninety-Nine’s quarters–miraculously untouched by the invasion–to meet the other two officers a little ways down the hall.

He approached them in the middle of what sounded like a very typical argument for Rex and Cody.

“Hey, I saw them first,” Rex frowned.

“Yeah, but you’re still a captain,” Cody shot back, an infuriating smile on his face. He must have picked that one up from General Kenobi, because Colt didn’t remember him using it as a cadet. “So I get first dibs.”

“Oh, come on, Cody!”

They broke off when they noticed him.

“Hey, Colt.”

“Hey, Cody.”

Rex very suddenly shoved Cody to the side and blurted, “Sir, can I have Domino?”

“No!” his unofficial older brother yelled, grabbing his arm and attempting to grapple him. “I wanted Echo, you little bastard!”

“How do you two get anything done on joint missions?” Colt asked, taking his helmet off and pinching between his eyes.

“Gentlemen, is there an issue?”

All three of them straightened to attention when they recognized General Ti’s voice. How that woman could sneak up on anyone being over six feet tall, Colt still did not understand.

"Uh–no, sir–ma'am," Rex said while saluting.

"We were just… talking about a squad of maintenance clones Colt found," Cody added.

General Ti raised a brow and glanced at him. "And this squad… it wouldn't happen to be Domino Squad, would it?"

Colt restrained a smile as Cody and Rex's eyes narrowed and they exchanged a curious look. Finally, Cody admitted, "Yes… it is."

"They were discussing which of them would recruit Domino," he told the general. "Which I believe we should discuss, ma’am. They showed some real improvement today.”

She smiled warmly, her eyes lighting up. “Wonderful! I would be more than happy to discuss where to place them, Commander.”

“What about the other four, ma’am?” Cody asked. “Ninety-Nine’s boys?”

“Pretty sure they’re all his,” Rex  said quietly, maybe with a hint of something jealous.

The general nodded. “Clone Force Ninety-Nine is a specialty squad, yes.”

Cody nodded, shifting on his feet slightly. “So they’re… not for the offering?”

“Cody!” Rex bristled, only managing at the last second to rein in his voice so he didn’t sound completely like a whiny little brother.

“What?”

Colt looked at General Ti and raised an eyebrow at her. See what I deal with? She smiled again, and stepped forward. Rex and Cody immediately dropped their argument.

“I’m afraid Clone Force Ninety-Nine has not been cleared for the field yet,” she said. “Nala Se still has some reservations about them. But,” she turned to Colt, “perhaps an account of the accomplishments of both squads today would help change her mind.”

He nodded. “Considering some of those boys managed to save me from Ventress, I’ll be happy to inform the good doctor.”

The general’s expression crunched in concern briefly, before returning to careful neutrality. “That does sound like a story worth hearing,” she said finally. “I will make the necessary arrangements as long as you both notify your generals.”

Cody and Rex nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

Colt smiled. They probably wouldn’t like the solution they found, but he had a feeling he would.

-scene break-

It had been about two days since the Battle of Kamino, and for the most part, any able-bodied clone in the city had been involved in clean-up and repair efforts. Domino Squad had been in the thick of it–though they had been spared the forrays to retrieve the dead. Still, Hevy couldn’t erase the memories of the Kamino Guards carrying body after body after body down the halls. It made his skin crawl.

They hadn’t had much time to spend with the Bad Batch either. Tipoca City was a big place, and with one of the incubation chambers nearly destroyed, there was a lot of work to do. Domino was usually too exhausted to plan a visit, and the other four must have been busy somewhere else, because they didn’t stop by.

But it had felt so good to actually fight. Hevy could tell he wasn’t the only one among them coasting on that high. He’d honestly thought he’d never get a chance to wield a Z-6 again, but he had, and it had been glorious.

The morning of the third day since the battle, Domino awoke to their own internal chronometers as they always did. Echo was the first in the ‘fresher, followed by Droidbait, as usual. Fives and Cutup always took a bit longer to get up, and Hevy liked to get in some stretches before actually starting his day.

Echo emerged from the ‘fresher, dressed and fully awake, and plopped down on his bunk below Droidbait’s. “Morning.”

“Mmph,” said the lump in Cutup’s bunk.

“Morning already?” mumbled the lump in Fives’, below.

Echo rolled his eyes and got up so he could plop down a bit heavier onto Fives, who made an “oof” sound as the air was pushed out of his lungs. “Yep,” Echo said. “The planet has once again spun all the way around, Fives.”

“Ugh. Make it don’t do that. Don’t wanna dig through stuff to find stuff again.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Cutup seconded from above. At least he’d rolled over.

Hevy walked over and grabbed a corner of Cutup’s blanket. “C’mon, guys. Time to at least pretend to be conscious.” He tugged at the blanket, and Cutup whined and tugged back.

Echo stood up, grabbed Fives’ pillow, and yanked it out from under his head. “Get up, idiot.”

“Hey–”

Their brother’s protest was cut off by Echo bringing the pillow down onto Fives’ head with a thwump.

“Hey!”

Droidbait came out from the ‘fresher and took in the situation. “Oh, are we beating on Cut and Fives again? Why’d you start without me?”

“No!” Fives quickly extracted himself from the blanket he always managed to cocoon around himself during the night and got to his feet, snatching his pillow back. “Rude,” he grumbled, tossing it on his bunk.

Cutup sat up as well, rubbing his face and scowling. “Right bastards you are, the lot.”

All of their attention was drawn to the door to their barracks room when the unmistakable sound of Wrecker calling their squad name reached them. In seconds, they were all on their feet by their bunks when he came running in and skidded to a halt in front of them. The sounds of footsteps behind him were soon followed by the appearance of Hunter, Tech, and Crosshair, all four of them in their unique black and red fatigues rather than armor.

“Hey, guys!” Wrecker beamed.

“You guys are up early,” Echo remarked, and Hevy knew he wasn’t the only one noticing Hunter and Tech looked a little out of it still.

Hunter shrugged, opened his mouth to speak, but yawned instead. Tech filled in. “Commander Colt got us up early. He said to come get you as soon as we could.”

“All of us?” Fives asked.

Hunter nodded. “Yep. We’ll wait until you get some clothes on, though,” he added, looking to Fives, Cutup, and Hevy, who had yet to change out of the underwear they’d slept in.

“Maybe,” Crosshair added. Unable to resist it, probably.

Domino Squad was ready fast enough to make any CO proud, and less than ten minutes later, the two squads were on their way to the Bad Batch’s quarters. They had to take a different route than before, because of all the damage still under repair. Hevy and Wrecker got lost in some conversation about the massive squid-looking droids the Separatists had used in the assault, because they both agreed they were pretty cool, even if they were terrifying.

Eventually, he heard Echo behind him ask, “Uh… isn’t your room that way?”

Hevy paused, looked around, and saw his batchmate was correct. They should have taken the last right if they were going to their room.

“Not anymore,” Tech said. “We have a new room.”

The group started moving again, and Hevy looked up at Wrecker. “A new room huh? Did you guys outgrow the last one?”

Wrecker grinned. “Yeah, I guess.”

The answer was strange, but not strange enough to warrant more questions. He could already hear Echo and Fives pestering Hunter and Tech about it anyway. He wanted to talk about the giant squid machines more.

A few minutes of walking later, they arrived at a closed door marked with a number ninety-nine. Hunter stepped forward and turned to face them all.

“Alright, Domino, eyes closed.”

“What?” Echo and Fives asked together.

“Why?” Cutup added.

“Because!” Wrecker answered.

Hevy looked around at his batchmates, then shrugged. “Okay.” He closed his eyes.

He heard the door whoosh open, then felt Wrecker’s big hand on his shoulder, gently urging him to walk forward. There was a little jostling, and he heard Fives and Cutup grumbling under their breaths about it, but eventually, they were signaled to stop.

“Open up,” Hunter said.

Hevy wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, if he was being honest. But there were two things present he certainly was not expecting. His eyes were first drawn to Commander Colt standing not that far away, looking as commander-y as ever with his hands behind his back. Then he heard Droidbait gasp–a good gasp, and as he turned his head to find him, his eye caught something else.

Something shiny.

He stared. There was a storage case in front of him–the kind troopers got to hold their gear, and on top of the case, gleaming and polished and sharp, was a graduation medal.

His head snapped up to look at the commander.

“These–they’re for us?” Echo asked, voicing what they were all hoping was true.

The commander nodded. “You earned them.” He paused to take his helmet off, revealing a small smile. “Congratulations, Domino Squad.” He moved forward, setting his helmet carefully on Hevy’s case. “Usually, you trainers would give these out,” he began, picking up Hevy’s medal. “But I hope you boys don’t mind me doing it as your future trainer.”

“What?” Droidbait squeaked.

The commander’s smile grew a little as he affixed the medal to the front of Hevy’s uniform, then moved on to Cutup. “I had to fight off Captain Rex and Commander Cody for this opportunity. They were more than willing to nab all of you–including you four,” he said, nodding at the Bad Batch. He finished with Cutup’s medal and moved to Echo. “But, after General Ti took my side, they didn’t have much of a chance.”

Hevy’s mind was reeling. He looked down at the medal, then looked up and found Wrecker, who was beaming fit to split his face, and he couldn’t help but smile back. The reality of this moment probably wouldn’t sink in for a while, but right now he would bask in the glow of amazement.

“Besides,” Commander Colt said, now working on Fives’ medal, “you five need more training if you’re going to keep up with Clone Force Ninety-Nine on any missions you might go on.”

“Missions?” Cutup repeated, utterly incredulous.

“If you do well enough.”

Wait– “Sir, you said keeping up with them,” Hevy said, looking between the commander putting on Droidbait’s medal and the small, sly smiles on Hunter and Crosshair’s faces. “Are we–are we gonna train with them?”

Finished with the medals, the commander walked back to retrieve his helmet, then went to stand across from them. “You five have been transferred to Clone Force Ninety-Nine, yes. Go ahead and open your trunks.”

Cutup pounced on his, and Fives and Echo weren’t far behind. Hevy and Droidbait were a bit slower. Hevy still could barely believe this was happening. He slid the lid off the crate and looked inside.

“Oh, hells yes!” Cutup smiled, grabbing a dark grey helmet and holding it up to examine it. It resembled Crosshair’s in most aspects, with modifications favoring a marksman.

Hevy reached in and pulled out a bundle of red and black cloth, unfolding it enough to recognize it as the top half of new fatigues–of his new fatigues.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you your training won’t be easy,” Commander Colt said. “There’s a reason I help train the ARCs, after all. But Ninety-Nine told me on no uncertain terms that you five can do this.”

“We can, sir,” Hevy said. “We won’t take this for granted.” The other four nodded vigorously in confirmation.

The commander gave another small smile and nodded. “Good. Well,” he said, gesturing to the right half of the room, “pick your bunks and get settled in. Your training starts as soon as we’re done putting the city back together.”

Domino gave a mixed chorus of “Yes sirs” and “Thank you, sirs” before the commander put his helmet back on and strode out of the room.

For a beat, there was silence. Then Fives pumped his fist in the air and cheered. “Yes! Thank the kriffing Maker, holy Force.”

His outburst broke the seal, and the Bad Batch swarmed them. Wrecker lunged forward and swept him off the floor in an almost crushing embrace, his loud cheering almost painful in this proximity, but Hevy couldn’t care less. He just cheered along, hugging Cutup and Echo once Wrecker released him.

“We’re kriffing troopers, guys!” Fives crowed.

The end... or maybe it's a beginning? Idk feel free to speculate. @23-bears @darth-void idk who to tag in these things @hazelahhh @theultimatesandwich @soclonely

#i write things sometimes #the bad batch #tbb fanfiction #tcw fanfic #domino squad #*cries in loving domino squad* #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #clone trooper cutup #clone trooper droidbait #clone trooper hevy #clone trooper wrecker #sergeant hunter #clone trooper crosshair #clone trooper tech #clone 99 #shaak ti #commander colt #commander cody #captain rex

[theartgremlin2]

I love the fact that the minute it looks like the mission might go south, Cody hands it over to Rex. That is such a older brother thing to do, and it makes me laugh every time!

(I couldn’t find a gif of them in the cockpit and don’t know how to make one yet, so we’ll just have to use our imaginations)

There are a lot of reasons to love this episode. For starters, it’s the first time we meet the Domino Squad. It’s also probably their first real battle. Of the Dominos, Hevy was instantly my favorite. He was confident, brave and most importantly he loved his brothers. He loved them so much he wasn’t willing to let one of them make the choice to detonate the tabana fuel. The first time I watched this episode, I cried when he stood there, staring at the vent and I realized he wasn’t going to follow the others to safety. I miss him. Pour one out for Hevy, Cutup and Droidbait…

This episode is also one of the first times we get to see Rex really showing off! Working separate from Skywalker and Tano, it really gives us a peek at his preferred leadership and fighting style. He is creative and willing to take risks, and he is also very focused on keeping his brothers safe. I admire Rex for a lot of things, but this is the most important for me. He understands that he’s working with less experienced men, and though he doesn’t coddle them, he also gives them all the tools and instructions they need to succeed. He listens to their input. He believes in them. I think this is what makes him such a good leader. Being able to depend on the men around you to be just as competent as you, and helping them to live up to that expectation; that is the true strength of Rex’s character.

And how could I write about this episode without giving my thoughts on Cody? People say that Cody was underdeveloped in the Clone Wars series. While it’s true he didn’t get much screen time, this is one of the few times we get a good look at who the Marshal Commander is. He trusts his brothers. He gave the mission to Rex and did not interfere when Rex’s plan made him nervous. Cody clearly likes to have a plan that ensures success. But he knows Rex is experienced enough to gamble a risk on something as silly as impersonating a droid, and so even when he doesn’t think Rex’s plan will work, he supports his brother from the sideline. Like Rex, he depends upon his men almost as much as they depend upon him.

#star wars the clone wars #star wars clone wars #clone wars #episode analysis #Rookies #domino squad #clone trooper hevy #hevy #captain rex #clone trooper rex #commander cody #clone trooper cody #marshal commander cody #clone brotherhood was one of my favorite themes from this series #I miss Hevy a lot #I wanted to see him grow with his squad #he was robbed and so were we #GremlinReflections

[nezahx]

501ST’S LEGION PLAYLIST

Songs they blast while committing war crimes with Anakin Skywalker

Captain Rex, Appo, Jesse, Echo, Denal, Dogma, Fives, Fox, Hardcase, Kix, droidbait, heavy, cutup, Cody, Boil & Waxer (Yes, I added some 212th attack battalion clones because I love them and, also the whole Domino squad is here because in my perfect word, they all made it to the 501st legion, shhh)

1-Gosthbusters-WALKED THE MOON

If there’s something strange in the galaxy, who you gonna call? 501ST LEGION. Honestly, this song fits their vibe perfectly, even if this playlist is a mere joke, I feel like they would listen to this religiously, specially the Domino squad.

2-Never Gonna Give You Up-Ricky Astley

When master Kenobi and Cody join them for a mission, they enjoy this song unironically, as well as Rex, tho he’s better at hiding it.

3-You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)- Dead Or Alive

Fives and Echo dance to this together, end of story.

4-I Want It That Way- Backstreet Boys

Fives learned the complete choreography and forced the rest of the 501st legion to do so, Obi-wan and the 212th attack battalion always watch the show and clap with proudness at the end, but Boil, Boil wonders how the fuck they’re still alive.

5-Payaso de rodeo- Caballo Dorado

Ahsoka leds the way, boss queen can dance to this in heels, she even adds the little spin, she be forcing everyone to stand up when the song starts playing.

6-Welcome to the jungle- Guns N’ Roses

So, Boil’s song, yes, can someone argue that? No.

7-U Can’t Touch This-MC Hammer

Music hits me so hard, makes me say “Oh my lord, thank you for blessing with a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet’- Ahsoka and Anakin sing to this together while the clones do dance break in the middle of the ship.

8-Who Let The Dogs Out- Baha Men

Jesse: WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

Everyone else in the ship: ‘BARKS INTENSIVELY’

9-All Star-Smash Mouth

The idea of the tcw characters as the Shrek characters is quite a concept, Anakin is donkey, not arguing that either.

10-I’m Too Sexy- Right Said Fred

Kenobi hates this song more than anything, but that ain’t stopping Fives & Heavy from feeling their selfs.

11-The Ketchup Song (Aserejé) Spanish Version-Las Ketchup

So…Ahsoka knows Spanish and loves to sing music in that language (it haves noting to do with me being Mexican ofc…) So this is her solo, the clones and Anakin hype her up doing their little dancy dance.

12-Pump It-Black Eyed Peas

Dogma be loving this song, and no one can change my mind, also Ahsoka always sings the Fergie verse, no matter what.

13-A Thousand Miles-Vanessa Carlton

Is this a dumb headcanon with zero arguments? Yes, it indeed is, but no one will ever change my mind about it, waxer loves this songs and Kix sings and cries to it every time it plays, no one really knows why, but no one cares enough to ask.

14-Y.M.C.A-Village People

Kenobi use to sing this to Anakin when he was a child to make him feel better, he even thought him the dance, so whenever the song plays the whole ship turns to Obi-wan and expect him to do it.

15-Like a Virging-Madonna

Am I dropping more dumb headcanons about Kix? Yes, because he loves this song, but not as much as Anakin, Anakin breaks his vocal chords when it comes to signing it.

16-Wannabe-Spice Girls

Once, cut up said, ironically, that this was the song of 'The domino squad' however, heavy took it very seriously.

17-Barbie Girl-Aqua

Grupal song? group song! It’s so catchy that sometimes even Kenobi catches himself signing the ‘Come on Barbie let’s go party’ line, and even if he think no one has seen it, Cody always reply’s with the little ‘Ah ah ah yeah’

18-Dancing Queen-From ‘Mamma Mia!’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack- Merly Streep

Please don't notice how obsessed I am with Ahsoka and her wholesome relationship with the 501st clones, Rex always sings this song to Ahsoka, along with the rest of the clones as a magnificent choir.

19-Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)-Backstreets Boys

Fives has a bit of an obsession with the Backstreet Boys, but Echo won't let him die alone, so he always sings the little 'Yeah's’ in the song so Fives won’t feel so alone.

20-Mambo No.5 (A Little Bit of..)-Lou Bega

‘A little bit of Appo in my life, a little bit of Jesse by my side, a little bit of Rex is all I need, a little bit of Kix is what I see, a little bit of hardcase in the sun, a little bit of Echo all night long, a little bit of Fives here I am, a little bit of you makes me your man’ And after coming out with that line at 3 am in the morning, Anakin knew it could’t get any better, once Kenobi heard it, he knew it couldn’t get any worst.

THANKS FOR READING!

If someone is interested on the playlist, here it is!

20 songs, 1 hour and 13 minutes long, best listened in shuffle

#Spotify #star wars #clone wars #anakin skywalker #obiwan kenobi #anakin #captain rex #clone wars anakin #arc trooper fives #arc trooper jesse #arc trooper echo #clone commander cody #clone commander fox #clone commando appo #clone trooper denal #clone trooper dogma #clone trooper hardcase #clone trooper kix #clone medic kix #clone trooper hevy #clone trooper cutup #clone trooper waxer #clone trooper boil #501st #501st legion

[matchademi]

I can't draw for shit but I can do hcs on my clone oc. He is a sweetheart but is also a little shit

His name is Falls he is Tups batch mate

He is a medic but not a field medic like Kix is he is mostly on the Resolute and is in charge of the bacta tanks and on ship critical patients

He is also on Rex control. Since Rex is constantly avoiding medical. Kix will send Falls to some how manipulate and get Rex into medical or to take a nap

Falls is extremely protective over Tup and later on Dogma.

Falls is practically untouchable with pranks that Fives, Hardcase and Jesse pulls since he is Kix's favorite

Falls has a mutation that gave him hetrochromia and patches of white hair. Tup saved Falls from being decommissioned.

He may look up to Kix for his medical skills but he looks up to Rex for showing off his mutation and being proud of it

Cody scares the shit out of Falls at first until Cody walks into the med bay carrying a struggling Rex with him

Besides Tup and Dogma, Falls got super close to Hardcase since they both have issues sitting still and focusing and was devested when he died

He wasn't deployed when Echo 'died' but he loved listening to the story's Fives told about Echo and the rest of Domino squad

The only time Falls was put into combat was Umbria when him Tup and Dogma were all Shines. He still shakes when a blaster is put in his hand. The only reason he wasn't reconditioned after was because he is a talented medic

Despite Rex keeping his helmet off when dealing with Krell, Rex forbade Falls taking off his helmet, which to Falls was understandable

Despite him most of the time not fighting he is damn good with any kind of melee wepon

Even without the force you can't escape the medbay without him knowing

He once traqued Rex and the poor guy almost had a panic attack

When Tups chip malfunctioned Falls was right next to Kix trying to figure out what was wrong and had to be held back when Tup was brought to Kamino.

When he found out about what happened to Tup and Fives he cried for hours

He braided a blue ribbon with a tear drop charm in his hair after growing it out in tribute to his batch mate

When he found out that Echo is alive he went on the mission after arguing with Kix for hours

He didn't like the Batch at first

Not only because of the way they treated Rex and the others but because he had to fight and prove himself not to be decommissioned but they didn't? And were made like like that?

He punched Hunter after the Sergea made a comment about his eyes

After rescuing Echo it was Falls that told him about Fives since he knows what it's like to be the last one standing

After talking to the Bad Batch he started to grow fond of them understanding that even though they were made with their advancements they were cast out and isolated from the rest of their brothers

He like Echo was offered a spot on the squad but he didn't take it. His place was the 501st

He did tell them that if they ever need help to comm him

When Kix went missing Falls was promoted to CMO

He put in another blue ribbon in his hair after that

He was with General Skywalkers side of the battalion when The Order happened

His chip started to glitch a few months after everything happened

He threw up when he realized he helped kill children

After he calmed down he removed his own chip

He both hates and desperately misses his general but relises that Anakin Skywalker is gone

He manged to get off Corasant and get in contact with Rex

But it was The Bad Batch that got him

When he met Omega he felt awful that she was alone for so many years

He and Echo spent hours talking and they both agreed to not tell Rex about what happened to General Skywalker

They knew it would break Rex

Falls becomes TBB's temporary medic and he very quickly learns that Hunter is just as stubborn about getting help as Rex

When he found out the Batch still had their chips he flipped out he begging Rex help find a place he could remove then safely

When Tech broke his leg Falls traqued him so fast it concerned even Echo who knows how scary 501st medics were

When Echo decided to leave and help Rex Falls was really conflicted but decided to help Rex knowing his cause would need a medic

When he found out about Tech dieing he put another ribbon in his hair

And when he finds out about Omega.....let's say will on a war path.

For Omega for Tech for Fives for Tup for Kix

For himself

#clone trooper oc #clone medic oc #star wars #the clone wars #the bad batch #501st battalion #clone medic Falls

[voices-of-my-brothers]

Hi! Could I ask for a fluffy parental Shaak Ti ficlet with either little Domino squad or some tubies (or both)?

- Robyn

So this is literally one of the sweetest things I have ever thought of, I don't know why I never thought of writing Shaak Ti with the tubies before!

But anyway, thank you @babynonbinarywitch for the prompt. I had a lot of fun writing this, especially of thinking of it from the tubies point of view and how they know how they're feeling but they can't put the words to it.

Got a few more words than the last one, 532 words in 20 minutes, which I'm quite proud of. Thank you to @eyayah-oya for giving it a quick read for me, as I didn't trust my work tired eyes to notice any mistakes.

Word of warning, there is a slight undertone/hint of child neglect on the part of the Kaminoans but nothing is explicitly said.

Ship: No ship

Rating: Gen.

Warnings: No warnings apply

Tags: Tubies, Shaak Ti, baby Fives, slight undertones of child neglect, from the point of view of a baby

He didn’t have the words for it, but if he did he would say that the world around him was bright. When it had been so dark for the months that he had been inside, the bright white of the room around him was too much. It made his eyes water and when he cried they watered even more. 

The blanket that he was wrapped in was scratchy. He didn’t know that the feeling had a name but he knew what the feeling was. It made his skin feel wrong in all of the wrong ways. He wanted the warmth of the water back. When he didn’t have to think about anything, when he never knew hunger or tiredness or pain. When he last felt safe.

He could feel the plastic walls around him, when he managed to free himself from the blanket he could feel the cold and the hard material above him and to the right and left. He couldn’t move like he used to. He couldn’t understand that before he was also encased. He couldn’t comprehend that there was a time before now. He only knew the now, the next meal, the next change. 

And sometimes, sometimes he knew the warmth.

Someone would come. And she was colourful. And her voice was soft and kind and she held him close and she fed him and she changed him and she sang to him and she played games with him and she soothed the pains that he had and she never left him to cry alone.

He couldn’t understand what she said, he didn’t even know they were words, but he knew that the sound was comforting.

“Hello there again little one,” Shaak Ti spoke softly as she scooped the tubie out of his bassinet. The label on the edge of the cot labelled him as CT-5555. Shaak Ti had learned to process through her feelings when she saw the tubies numbers, instead of names. She had wanted to name them, but the older clones had explained the importance of choosing their names and what it meant to them. And she would not take that away from them. She rocked the little one in her arms and smoothed a hand over the forming curls. “Time for a bottle I think.”

The child gurgled, and Shaak could feel his joy at her hold radiating out into the force. She knew that they all benefited from the touch of another living being but she was only one person, and she could not give them all the contact they needed every single day. But while she could she stretched herself as far as possible and moved between different batches. 

“And this is for you,” Shaak smiled as the child let out a squeal and sucked hungrily on the presented bottle. She held him as close as she could, for the time that she could, and she would never let them hurt the babies again. “I’m sorry I can’t hold you for longer little one, but while I am here, know that you are loved. And you are your own person, and one day you will grow into a strong and determined young man.”

#ask game #drop a prompt in my asks #star wars #star wars the clone wars #the clone wars #star wars clone wars #ficlet #shaak ti #fives #tubies

[brother-genitivi]

Pls post more abt vedaat cuz anyone who's close to echo in so many ways should be spoken about more often.

you are absolutely correct (and thank you, I've been dying to talk about him but never know how to ahsdjdhsjs).

His full name is Vedaat Altın, Vedaat being derived from 'Vedat', which means loving or friendship in Turkish, and Altın meaning gold. There's heavy inspiration from my own cultures - Turkish + Syrian -within parts of his design.

Vedaat was taken to the Jedi temple on Coruscant from a very young age, and became Padawan to Ima-Gun Di at 13 years old. They had a father/son relationship, something Master Di encouraged rather than shunned. He started transitioning around the age of 15. His Master was supportive all the way, making sure his Padawan was binding safely, and often reminding the reluctant teenager to take breaks.

His story begins at 18 years old; the start of the Clone Wars. After an incident at a formal dinner, Vedaat becomes fast friends with a clone captain he would come to know as Keeli. Their friendship does not last. Soon after Geonosis, both Keeli and Ima-Gun Di perish on Ryloth. To honour their memories, Vedaat has a tattoo inked into his right wrist in the shape of Keeli's helmet paint and his master's horns. He never receives closure for their deaths, something that haunts him for the rest of his life.

He ends up in command of Slick's squad some time after Slick's betrayal on Christophsis. At the start, their relationship is tense. After all, they aren't too eager for a new commander, and Vedaat feels he doesn't have what it takes to be a good one. After a few missions together, the squad recognises their need for a commander and Vedaat’s need for a squad. This mutual understanding is their first step towards becoming one of the most elite squads the GAR has ever produced. They work alongside the 501st, sporting 501st blue and gold paint on their armour.

Vedaat takes a lot of pride in his culture, but he doesn't know too much about it. He feels disconnected, and what connection he does have, he keeps close to his heart. However, he'll find himself sharing things with the clones, including making the clones baked goods like baklava.

He tries to do good by others. Vedaat wants to be there for his men, but forgets to look after himself in the process of looking after everyone else. He's kind and emotional, selfless, impulsive and stubborn. He would die for the clones under his command. He's self-sacrificing, insecure and easily frustrated. Tired. He jumps to conclusions and hurts himself in the process. He also cries a lot. He means well, so it destroys him when that goodness is turned against him.

Vedaat lacks confidence. Some would say he cares too deeply, though he claims there is no such thing. He's too hard on himself. He's a Jedi; he should be able to perform miracles. People look up to him. When he can't do the impossible, when he's reminded of how painfully mortal he is, he mentally tears himself to shreds.

Vedaat is a good tactician, a skill born from anxiety. He's able to heal others with the Force, though it takes a toll on him physically. He's able to sense the emotions of those who aren't trained in mental fortification. As a result, he's essentially a lie detector.

Vedaat's relationship with the Jedi Order drastically changes over the years. It was the Order who raised him, who taught him how to swing a saber and lift objects with the flick of his hand. Without the Order he has nothing, is nothing. As the years pass and more men lose their lives to a war they never asked for, Vedaat grows more conflicted. Meeting Pong Krell is the first step in sowing the seeds of doubt in his mind. How many other Jedi treat their clones like cannon fodder? And why would the Order let it happen?

He meets Echo and the rest of Domino Squad on Rishi's moon. The entire squad makes it out alive, though they're not unscathed. Somewhere afterwards, Vedaat starts falling for Echo. He's not entirely sure why (aside from the obvious being Echo's kindness, his competence, his sincerity), and such feelings are alien to him.

They begin having... moments. More celebratory hugs after battles. Vedaat makes sure he’s eating enough, then takes the time to sit with him when they have meals. He gives Echo extra blankets because Vedaat knows how much he hates the cold. Echo lets his commander rest on him when they travel in gunships because he knows it helps Vedaat’s motion sickness. If they had the time, they could talk to each other about their specific interests for hours.

Vedaat is not particularly touchy either. He hates being touched by people he doesn't know, and would prefer to be asked first even if he's known the person for years. Vedaat struggles to initiate touch, but when he sees Echo, all he wants to do is touch him. Brushing shoulders, knee to knee, an arm slung around the shoulders.

At first he is too oblivious to realise he even has feelings for Echo. When the lines between platonic and romantic begin to blur, he panics. At times like these he would go to his Master for comfort, but he doesn't have that luxury. Attachment is forbidden, but it doesn't feel wrong. Still, he tries to suppress his feelings because in his mind, they would only cause pain towards Echo, who likely does not and never will feel the same. Little does Vedaat know that he does.

The Citadel puts a halt in any long-term relationship they could've had. The Force tells him that Echo is still alive. He has to be stunned and carried from the shuttle explosion site because he refuses to leave otherwise.

Thanks so much for your ask! I'm currently writing a fic on him, Domino Squad + a sort of 'everything is slightly better' au with emphasis on slightly. I'm naming it 'Return to Me Like Water'. It's inspired by a Turkish phrase - 'go like water, return like water'. Also I need a ship name for Vedaat and Echo but I'm too tired to think of one rn

#star wars #star wars oc #jedi oc #vedaat altın #writing wip #return to me like water #thank u so much for your ask i literally squeaked with happiness when i saw it #also this is veeerrryyy long ahhdhdhsa

[starlitfunkster]

Wrong Quotes (LRG's Fav Characters from Object Shows edition)

Starring: Star Lamp as Herself Cake as the The Power of Two! Rep Gelatin as the Battle for BFDI Rep Trophy as the Inanimate Insanity Rep Domino as the Animated Inanimate Battle Rep and Holly as the Open Source Objects Rep

Made using a Generator on perchance. None of this is accurate to the characters, btw. If stuff seems added on, it's usually from me and not the generator. Fair warning that some of these can get long. Viewer discression is advised.

Cake: Posts a super low-quality image to the group chat Gelatin: If I had a dollar for every pixel in this image, I’d have 15 cents. Cake: If I had a dollar for every ounce of rage I felt in my body after I read this text, I would have enough money to buy a cannon to fire at you. Star Lamp: Actually I did the math, Gelatin would have $225, not $0.15. Gelatin: Fam I’m right here…. Holly: If I had a dollar I would buy a can of soda :) Cake: while you’re there could you buy me an apply juice please? Holly: Sorry I only have a dollar. Cake: :( Star Lamp: Hey I just realized my friend is right, Gelatin would have $22,500 because it's a dollar for every pixel, not a cent. Holly: If I had $22,500 I would buy a can of soda and an apply juice. Star Lamp: You can buy anything you want with $22,500. Trophy: Yeah and they want soda and apply juice. Star Lamp: Apply juice to what. Trophy: Directly to the forehead. Gelatin: Great chat everyone. Domino: Domino: I didn't even get to weigh in on this!

Trophy: Fine! Judge all you want but… Trophy, points at Gelatin: Married a lesbian. Trophy, points at Star Lamp: Left a man at the altar. Trophy, points at Cake: Fell in love with a gay ice dancer. Trophy, points at Domino: Threw a girl’s wooden leg in a fire. Trophy, points at Holly: Lives in a box! Star Lamp, giving a smug look towards Trophy: Where'd you learn that, Wikipedia? Trophy: ………….

Trophy: Rules were made to be broken. Gelatin: They were made to be followed. Nothing is made to be broken. Domino: Uh, piñatas. Holly: Glow sticks. Star Lamp: Karate boards. Cake: Spaghetti when you have a small pot. Trophy: Rules. Gelatin: Gelatin: breaks Trophy's back

Squad reactions to being called straight: Gelatin: The f---, no I'm not. Trophy: Excuse the hell out of you? Domino: Ding dong, you are wrong! Star Lamp: Who told you that? And why did they lie? Holly: Rude. Cake: kicks the person with a smile on his face

Domino: If I fall… Holly: I’ll be there to catch you. Trophy: looks at Cake What if I fall? Cake: Then I’ll fall with you, never leaving your side. Gelatin: watches these two interactions Gelatin, to Star Lamp: stupid-looking grin And if I fall? Star Lamp: Not in a good mood I’ll be the one who pushed you.

Gelatin, at Domino: You're my significant other. Domino: *presumably in-toxicated* Yeah I am! Gelatin, at Cake: You're my child. Cake: Yes boss. Gelatin, at Star Lamp: You're my b----. Star Lamp: Yeah I am- wait, what? Gelatin, at Holly: My bestie. Holly: Naturally. Gelatin, Trophy: HA, GAY! Trophy: F--- you.

Holly: Who else is hiding in the laundry room trying to listen to Cake and Trophy's convo? Domino: Me. I'm in the laundry basket. Star Lamp: I'm in the washing machine. Holly: You are WHAT?! Star Lamp: It isn't on, chill! Gelatin: I'm in the closet. Domino: We accept you Gelatin. <3 Gelatin: No I'm literally in the closet. Domino: Love is love. <3

Holly: Domino is too tall for me to kiss them on the lips. What should I do? Cake: Punch them in the stomach. Then, when they double over in pain, kiss them. Gelatin: Tackle them! Trophy: Dump them. Star Lamp: Kick them in the shin! Domino: No to all of those! Just ask me to lean down!!

Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’ Trophy: Thanks fam! Star Lamp: Oh no. Domino: cries I love you too. Cake: Sounds fake, but okay. Gelatin: A flustered mess Holly: Can I get a refund?

Trophy: Holly kissed me! Cake: Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Trophy: It was unbelievable! Cake: Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Gelatin: Okay, we wanna hear everything. Cake, get the wine and unplug the phone. Trophy, does this end well or do we need tissues? Trophy: Oh, it ended very well. Cake: Do not start without me! Do not start without me! Gelatin: Okay, alright, let’s hear about the kiss. Was it a soft brush against your lips or was it like a, you know, “I gotta have you now” kind of thing? Trophy: Well, at first it was really intense, you know? And then, oh God, and then we just sort of sunk into it. Gelatin: Ohh… So, okay, were they holding you? Or were their hands on your back? Trophy: First they started out on my waist and then they slid up and then they were in my hair. Cake and Gelatin: Ohhh. meanwhile Holly eating pizza in their house: And, uh, and then I kissed them. Domino: Tongue? Holly: Yeah. Star Lamp: Cool.

Domino: I’m the smartest person in my friend group. Cake: You hang out with Gelatin, Star Lamp, Trophy, and Holly. Cake: It’s not as high a compliment as you think.

Star Lamp, to the Squad: I’d die for you. Trophy: Then perish. Cake: You will. Gelatin: Please don’t. Domino: Cool. Holly: I’d die for you first. Star Lamp, to the Squad: Okay, I wasn't being literal because of 'ya'll know why'.. but wow. These responses are wow.

Trophy: Is it still visible? Where Star Lamp slapped me? Holly: Your face looks like a don't walk signal. Gelatin: Your face looks like a photo negative for the hamburger helper box. Domino: A palm reader could tell Star Lamp's future by looking at your face. Cake: The phrase 'talk to the hand cause the face ain't listening' doesn't work for you, because the hand is your face. Trophy: …A simple 'yes' would've sufficed.

#no context needed ~ out of context posts #(you are free to draw these) #(humanized or otherwise) #(if you need a ref of star lamp i'll give you one) #(it's her current design in my upcoming reboot of object isles though)

[cloneforceenby]

Bad Batch AU: Omega and her many, many uncles ✨

This is a continuation of the "Five Clones & a Little Lady" Bad Batch AU/headcanons about The Bad Batch raising Omega from a baby. Let's talk about how our favourite clones would be as uncles to little Omega growing up! This was so fun to write, honestly.

Thank you @scarlettroseog for the help with these!!

Note: I've finally been decisive and this AU assumes everything up until and maybe just after the Citadel arc happened, meaning all our faves are still alive, except the Domino Squad; please accept my apologies to Droidbait, Cutup and Hevy for not being included in this. If its any consolation, this means Fives would absolutely for sure been there to help rescue Echo on Skako Minor.

Oh, and 99 is alive. He just is. Don’t question it.

Mando'a glossary:

Buir(e): father(s)

Ad'ika: daughter/little one

Ba'vodu: uncle

Ba'buir: grandfather

So, the many, many uncles, let's begin with the 501st (I will do other clones in another post!). I haven't fully decided where they are/what they're doing in this AU. Maybe they're on a nearby planet, I don't know. The main thing is that they visit often and Omega loves them. 

Rex: 

Hands down, the most trusted uncle of them all (you'll see why as I go on), besides Cut Lawquane. When Rex is in charge of babysitting, Hunter in particular can actually relax and get on with whatever he's doing, because he knows Omega is in good hands.

Rex is nervous to begin with, but Echo picks up on it and guides him through how to hold her safely. Tech quietly offers to show Rex the extremely useful baby care videos. Rex quietly accepts.

Due to incessant teasing from the 501st, Omega first refers to him as Grandpa Rex and calls him Ba'buir, but eventually she switches to Uncle/Ba'vodu Rex. She adores him, though, particularly because they're both blonde! He always has time for cuddles (no really, he will drop everything if Omega calls for him), is full of stories to tell her, and he might just secretly be her favourite.

Fives:

The self-proclaimed favourite, coolest uncle in the galaxy. Cried when Echo first called and told him about Omega. Due to being so close to Echo, Fives seems to believes himself to be the uncle-est of uncles. They're all her uncles, but he's the most uncle of them all. In fact, he was offended that no one got him a "congratulations on becoming an uncle" card. Rex writes a half-assed one on the back of a receipt to shut him up. Fives wasn't amused.

Fives is not allowed to babysit Omega alone and especially not with Jesse and Hardcase, because the three of them caring for her only ends in disaster, or Hunter crying. Case in point; Fives was once left in sole charge of Omega for 30 minutes and she wandered off without him noticing. It took him ten minutes to realise the child had disappeared. Cue panicked clones, Hunter in hysterics (can you tell he is the Anxious Dad™️ of the bunch?). Omega was found napping under Echo's bed. Turns out Fives had forgotten they were playing hide and seek. For Hunter's own sanity, Fives is never left in charge of Omega anymore.

Jesse:

Assumes he is in charge when Rex isn't around to babysit but he isn't. In reality, he isn't allowed to babysit without Kix of Dogma around to keep him and the others in check. Fives and Hardcase are the ringleaders for mischief, but he eggs them on and joins in, making him just as untrustworthy.

Once, he just stood back and watched as Fives and Hardcase allowed tiny Omega to eat her bodyweight in junk and candy, despite Crosshair having specifically left a meal for them to heat up for her. Crosshair gets home to his ad'ika looking a little green, and receives a lovely welcome home gift in the form of vomit. All over him.

For real though, Jesse is a sweetheart, and he was so honoured to even get to hold her when she was a baby. He turns into a total softie around her, making faces, playing peekaboo, all the baby talk. He listens so intently whenever she babbles or talks, and will fight any of the others to get to read her a bedtime story. He would quite literally kill a man for this little girl.

Hardcase: 

The Funcle™️, or so he claims. Heard once that babies are made of rubber (and therefore bounce), and believed it. He loves Omega to bits, but can't figure out why her buire (especially Hunter) look so fearful everytime he goes near her. Might have been the time he tried to yeet the weeks-old Omega into the air because he saw a guy throw his child in the air once, and the kid seemed to love it. Or when he brought an old 501st jetpack for four year old Omega to play with (Rex did not see him smuggle that on the ship when going to visit them, or he would have confiscated it). He means well, he does. But he also has little to no sense of danger, and for that reason, mone of Omega's buire allow him around her unsupervised.

Much to their despair, Omega adores Hardcase's chaos and often tries to copy him, which has previously ended in upset or injury. If Omega is hurt on his watch, though, Hardcase feels utterly awful. But then he never learns.

Kix: 

Now being a full time medic, the Bad Batch (mainly Hunter, Wrecker a very close second) practically have this guy on speed dial. Seriously, that little girl will fall and graze her knee and you'd think she was bleeding out. When Omega bumped her head because Wrecker wasn't looking where he was going with her sat on his shoulders, it was as if her head had been sliced clean off. Kix finds it adorable though, they just want their ad'ika to be safe and healthy, although he knows for a fact that Tech self-taught himself basic medical aid, and almost definitely extended that to baby and child care. He doesn't mind too much, Omega might just be the sweetest kid he knows, she comes out with the funniest and most profound things, so he'd never turn down a call from them.

He got Omega a tiny medkit because he'd always catch her trying to look inside his when he visits. One time they had a great day where he taught her some basic first aid, and her buire and many of her uncles ended up all wrapped up in bandages.

Kix is the actual second in command if Rex can't babysit, although he has on occasion allowed Hardcase, Fives and Jesse's antics as long as Omega is in no immediate danger. He is still one of the most trusted uncles, though.

Tup: 

MY SWEETHEART. THE MOST PURE. THE GENTLEST BOI. Tup knows two things when he goes to visit. First? He'll have a little shadow the entire time. Second, he will have his hair braided (with added flowers) at least twice. Omega will fight anyone who mocks him, usually Hardcase. Tup doesn't think he looks lovely, Tup KNOWS he looks lovely.

Tup is such a gentle soul and little Omega always ends up gravitating towards him. He's such a natural, and he's just so sweet with her. She'll chat away to him about anything and everything and he'll just sit and listen and talk about whatever she wants. He'll play dolls with her, take her out for walks (even if only to give her buire a break), read her stories, he'd do anything for his little niece. Their favourite activity together is probably painting, they create all kinds of masterpieces together, and usually Omega ends up putting a blob of paint under her eye like his teardrop tattoo. In fact, they often give each other face "tattoos" when they get bored of painting on paper.

Dogma: 

Has absolutely no interest in babies and barely knows Clone Force 99 anyway, so why should he care. He will emphasis his disinterest until he's blue in the face, and yet almost always ends up taking charge when the 501st babysit. Not to mention that he's been caught making faces at Omega to make her laugh and doing aaalllll the baby talk. And the fact he is consistently able to sooth Omega to sleep (something that annoys Hardcase endlessly, she always cried whenever he held her). Rex also found a holo picture of Dogma holding Omega, both of them smiling away. But sure, Dogma doesn't like babies.

Bonus! 99: 

Omega's Ba'buir! 99 might just be Omega's favourite person in the world, and her buire quickly realise that they have to take her to visit him every single day, or she will take matters into her own hands and take herself. No, really, Hunter was walking home one day to find little Omega toddling along on her own, Lula dragging behind her, on her way to 99's house. He only lives down the road, but its obviously too far for a small child to go alone.

99 was a large part in why the five of them committed to raising Omega. In the early days of her arrival, they were full of self doubt and didn't feel they could give her what she needed or be who she needed them to be. 99 reminded them that she was their blood, and that they never leave their own behind. He was so proud to see his squad become such great, loving buire to little Omega. They were so grateful that he helped them see sense.

Omega adores her ba'buir (who she called Ba/Baba when she was very little) and loves hearing all his stories of her buire growing up as well as all the clones he met on Kamino. She chats away to him about anything and everything, and they'll often bake all kinds of creations together. He also starts teaching her how to fish! He always enjoys her company, she reminds him so much of each of her buire, and he's so proud to he the one she calls her ba'buir.

Random extra headcanons:

- Fives, Jesse and Hardcase once had a great time tormenting Hunter by sending him constant holo-images of Omega in various staged hazardous situations. One of Fives pretending to put Omega in the oven, another of her sleeping on the couch surrounded by empty beer cans (this one freaked Tech out because he thought she really had been given alcohol, bless you Tech), you name it. Hunter did not enjoy his child-free night and went home early. Kix was in charge that night, but he saw it as harmless fun, so didn't put a stop to it.

- sometimes the 501st have a contest where they all kneel down and try to get Omega to run to them. Fives always insists it'll be him, but it never is. She usually runs to Rex or Tup, although at least once Dogma was the lucky clone. One time, Omega stared at the line of clones staring back at her and instead just burst into tears and ran right back to her Cross'buir, who scooped her up into his arms and very smugly said "I win."

#star wars #star wars headcanons #the bad batch #bad batch headcanons #the clone wars #clone wars headcanons #hunter tbb #crosshair tbb #omega tbb #wrecker tbb #echo tbb #tech tbb #captain rex #arc trooper fives #arc trooper jesse #clone wars kix #clone wars tup #clone wars dogma #clone wars 99 #clone force 99 #bad batch au #clone wars au #star wars fanfiction #clone wars hardcase

[screamingchipmunk]

I finally finished vol 9!!!!!! YAY

I literally loved this volume so much, prolly one of my favs actually.

Anyway back to the point,

WARNING I CANT KEEP MY FUCKING MOUTH SHUT SO THERE WILL BE A LOT OF SPOILERS HERE LMAO ⚠️

Back to the point,

-THEO THEO THEO. Back after vol 8, I genuinely thought he was gonna get a prosthetic or smth to let him continue to fight but I had no idea he was switching to a different regiment?!? Or maybe not even fighting in the war at all?!? I had to put the book down when we saw him for the first time in the book, tho Theo and his “uncles” relationship is so nice I’m glad he finally found someone other than the squad that he considers family.

-Kurena my beloved!!! The book was 90% about Kurena so I got to see her a lot. Which I thought would annoy me, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was nice to see her finally move on from her strange attachment to Shin, and I finally got to look in her head a little about her opinions about the war. Also, so many ppl confessed to her?! LMAO. She definitely girlbossed her way through this volume.

-The theocracy, as I already mentioned I thought was a Theo cult for a bit. Was rly interesting. Though I didn’t like Hilna for quite awhile, when Kurena compared herself to her I was like ohhhhhhhh. By the end of the volume, I was kinda worried for how things would turn out for her cause the theocracy is batshit crazy, but I think she’ll be fine….? Honestly the federacy should do more about the use of VERY small children to fight, not just focusing on the republic. Hilna in general was a very fleshes out character and she reacted how a very stressed child would in any situation lmao. Though her trying to take the 86 down with her a trashing on Lena pissed me off, she’s still in the 11-13 and that could’ve been any of the 86 in her place actions wise.

-Shin’s whole god of death thing was so funny to me and I don’t know why 💀 Fr Shin’s getting so many titles like unbroken blade, reaper, Lena’s boyfriend and now GOD OF DEATH. Still waiting for more of Lena’s rep to grow tho, so they can be The Bloody Queen and her reaper or smth #couplegoals

-SPEAKING OF COUPLE GOALS, SHINLENA IN ALL THE SCENESSSSSSS. Lena finally fucking confessed to Shin, and it was beautiful *wipes away tear* Both Shin and Lena are so dramatic in their confessions and I love that for them. +Shin crying around Lena?!?! He hasn’t cried since volume one and it just so precious that he trusts her that much to cry around her. ++They’ve started to teases each other, and surprisingly Lena can hold her own which I find rly funny 😂

-The nobles in the federacy have to much to unpack tbh. Svenja was a little…prideful but yknow she has a reason for that so I’ll give it a pass ig. So proud of Frederica though, she didn’t hesitate to yell at anyone in the vol like the Queen she is ( in the figurative and literal sense ) Older nobles tho, hate them. They control the publicity and seem to have a rly large influence that just makes me worry for Shin if the war ends that he’ll have to deal with that crap.

-Also most of the 86 moved on from depression! Yay! Shin may have started the whole I don’t wanna be left behind thing, and it sent a domino affect with the rest of them cause Shin is great like that ( cept Raiden maybe but that’s a death flag I don’t wanna look at ) Seeing them finally want the war to end is great, but with the counteroffensive starting next vol, I’m worried a lot of them will die like raiden and I’m already emotionally damaged from Shana’s death and Shidennnnnn😭. Overall the 86 have all become normal with the exception of their borderline stalkery involvement in every one of ShinLena’s interactions. Which either says that they have nothing better to do, or are ignoring how desperately single they are ( looking at u Anju )+ everyone hates Dustin now and idk why lmao

It was overall a super amazing volume! And I’m not sure I’m ready for the possible depression that will come with volume 10, but I have the anime to keep me alive, so crossing my fingers!

#86 vol 9 #spoilers #86 eighty six #eighty six #86 anime #shinei nouzen #vladilena milizé #shinlena

[jgvfhl]

Im Memoriam

Howdy this is yet another one of Owlie's Fives Is Perfectly Fine fanfictions. Please enjoy!

Summary: After the Clone Wars have officially ended, the Senate commissions a memorial to be built on Coruscant honoring the men who fought and died for the Republic. Echo realizes he hasn't dealt with certain things as well as he'd hoped. ~6K words

Warning: There is some description of a panic attack in here, so if that's not for you, please go explore other works in my (unofficial) Fives Is Perfectly Fine Collection on my Ao3 page. Take care of yourselves!

Looking up from the obstacle course of scattered parts and equipment he and Tech had created, Echo flipped up his eyeshield and waited. He was pretty sure he’d heard Hunter call his name, but with the noise these tools made, it was impossible to be certain.

“You need me, Serge?” he called back after several seconds of silence. Tech had helpfully paused his own work.

“Yeah, Rex is on the line, it’s for you,” came the response.

“Be there in a bit,” he replied. Turning to Tech, he said, “I’ll be back, I guess,” as he took off the eyeshield and rearranged his right limb into something more hand-like. Tech made a noise of acknowledgement, then powered up his welder again.

When he got to the cockpit of the Marauder, sure enough, there was Rex’s little blue hologram hovering above the control panel. “Hey, Echo.”

“Hi, Rex. What do you need?”

“It’s about the memorial they’re putting up on Coruscant–the one for the clones.”

Echo nodded. “What about it?” He glanced at Hunter, who just shrugged. After the survey he’d gotten to help decide which of the 501st’s fallen soldiers to honor on the GAR memorial, no one in the Bad Batch had heard anything, it seems.

“Well, they need experts,” Rex said. He was trying to play this as a casual conversation, but he was not succeeding. Something about it had him uneasy. “The designers want to make sure they’ve got the blueprints right before construction begins, so they’re asking us to send in someone to make sure they’re on the right track.”

Echo frowned slightly. “For the statues?”

“Yeah, just to… y’know, make them look right. All the battalions are sending someone, from what I gather. I… figured you’d want to go, since–well, since we found out who they chose.”

He nodded slowly. The Bad Batch were only a few hours’ flight from Coruscant, patching up after a short mission before heading back, so it wouldn’t be much effort. “Yeah.”

Rex paused, shifting on his feet. “Yeah, you’ll go, or…?”

Echo nodded more firmly. “I’ll go. Gotta make sure he looks like a proper idiot for future generations, right?” Despite the attempt at humor, the words almost caught in his throat. He had a bad feeling about this.

If Rex noticed, he didn’t mention it, thank the Maker. “Yeah, something like that,” he said with a small smile. “I’m still around, so I’ll see you when you land. I’m sure Jess and Kix will want to say hi too.”

“Yeah, I look forward to it,” Echo replied. Rex gave another little wave or salute, then the transmission ended.

Hunter looked up at him from one of the pilots’ chairs. “Heading to Coruscant, then, yeah?”

Echo took a breath and nodded. “Looks like it. I’ll let the others know.”

-scene break-

Echo had never been to the Jedi Temple before. He wasn’t entirely sure why this meeting was taking place here, but perhaps it had something to do with the Jedi having a better reputation with the clones than the Senate did. The Senate had been the ones to commission the memorial, but the Jedi had fought and died alongside the clones on the field. But, then again, the Jedi were offering the space for it, outside in one of the public gardens.

He shoved down another pang of anxiety as he continued up the steps, following the group of multicolored clones on the same mission. It was certainly something to see this many battalions represented in the same place. Some colors, Echo had never seen in person before, like the Nova Corps. He felt a little odd, being there in grey and red, not blue and white, but he’d made that choice months ago.

Why was he so nervous about this whole thing? Glancing around, it didn’t look like anyone else was bothered. A few clones were talking quietly with each other. The task was simple, was it not? Go in, look at a drawing someone had made, tell them the goatee needed to look just stupid enough, that the grin needed to be cockier, then he could go. So why couldn’t he shake this feeling of unease? It was the same feeling that came after avoiding one ambush, yet knowing there were more out there. Waiting.

He hated it.

“Welcome, troopers.” Echo looked up, and some of the anxiety dispersed upon seeing General Ti at the doors. He suspected that was purposeful, on the part of the Jedi. General Windu stood next to her silently. “Thank you all very much for agreeing to help in the design of the GAR memorial. Please, follow Master Windu.”

Echo saw Commander Neyo of the 91st Recon Battalion fall in step beside his former general. Old habits really did die hard. Especially the genetically programmed ones. Even if the Jedi had stepped down from their military positions now the war was over, the clones were finding it hard to shake the instinctual need to follow them.

General–well, he supposed he should call her Master Ti waited at the doors as the men filed past her. Echo was towards the back of the group, and he was surprised to see her features light up with recognition as he approached.

“Echo, what a pleasant surprise,” she said.

Masking his own surprise, he dipped his chin, resisting the urge to salute. “Master Ti. I’m… surprised you recognized me.”

She gave a knowing smile as she started walking with him, bringing up the rear of the group. “Your signature in the Force has not changed as dramatically as your physical appearance has.”

Right. Jedi stuff. “Of course.”

“I see you have transferred to Clone Force Ninety-Nine,” she said, and again, he struggled not to gape at her for a second. Of course she knew about them.

“Yes, ma’am. I transferred soon after I was rescued from Skako Minor.” He was finding it difficult to maintain a casual conversation while passing through some of the most spectacular architecture he had ever seen. Lofty ceilings, huge stone pillars, doorways upon doorways leading off to countless hallways and rooms–the Jedi Temple was enormous. He caught some of the clones ahead of him craning their necks back to look around.

Master Ti barely noticed. “It would make Ninety-Nine happy to know one of Domino Squad is working with those four,” she went on. “He doted on them as cadets.”

Echo nodded. He’d had a couple conversations with the Bad Batch about Ninety-Nine. The chit chat usually stagnated once it got to the part where he’d died in Echo’s arms on Kamino. He chose to omit that from this conversation. “Yes, I’m sure he’d be thrilled just to know one of Domino Squad actually stayed alive this long. Rishi Moon didn’t give us the best head start in that regard.”

Maybe he was just used to the slightly morbid, dark humor most clones shared. With other clones, that would have drawn a few chuckles, but it only made a shadow fall briefly over her face. “No,” she agreed, “it did not.” There was a pause in which Echo silently berated himself for murdering the conversation yet again, then Master Ti extended a hand and said, “We’re here.”

The room into which the Jedi had led them was elliptical, and large enough to comfortably accommodate the several dozen troopers gathered there. Large arched windows ran around two thirds of its perimeter, and there was a large crate at one end holding cushions to sit on, if Echo had to guess. A holotable stood in the middle of the room, slightly off center, and what Echo quickly recognized as blueprints already hovered above it. A rodian man and a pair of ithorians stood next to it, having a hushed conversation as they turned the hologram this way and that.

Master Windu and Master Ti made their way to the three individuals by the table, then Master Windu turned to the clones gathered and spoke.

“These are the architects designing the memorial that will be built in honor of the soldiers who fought and died in this war. They’ve created holographic blueprints of the memorial, as well as scale models of all the men your battalions have nominated.”

One of the ithorians lifted a create from the floor onto the edge of the table. Echo hadn’t been able to see it past the troopers in front of him.

“We asked you all here to look at both of these and give your feedback. This memorial is honoring your brothers. We want to make sure it is as accurate as it can be.”

With that, he nodded to the ithorian with the crate, and they began handing small figurines to the rodian, who then called the battalion or legion number, and the trooper representing that group came forward to collect it.

The feeling of unease that had been plaguing him since receiving the transmission from Rex was worsening by the second. It seemed the figurines were ordered by battalion number, which meant he had some time to wait, but he just couldn’t shake this feeling. He suddenly wished he hadn’t eaten as much for breakfast as he had.

A gentle tap on his vambrace brought his attention back to himself. “Hey, Echo.”

He blinked. “Oh. Hey, Boil. How’d uh…”

Boil caught the unasked question. “Cody mentioned you’d transferred. And I didn’t see any royal blue paint around. Figured someone had to be here. Makes sense it’d be you.”

“Right.” He turned to look at the rodian handing out figurines again, then realized he hadn’t asked an obvious question. “Who are you here for?”

Boil’s mustache twitched when one corner of his mouth raised slightly. “Waxer. Who else?”

Echo nodded after a moment. He’d only run a few missions with the 212th before the Citadel, but he did remember Rex and Cody making plenty of jokes about each having their own pair of inseparable troublemakers. Not so inseparable, it seemed. “I didn’t know he’d died,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Boil gave another strained smile, turning his helmet in his hands to examine a small painting of a twi’lek girl on its side. “Yeah,” he said. “Umbara. You weren’t there. It’s alright you didn’t know.”

That was understandable. No one in either battalion liked to talk about Umbara. Echo had coaxed bits and pieces out of Rex and Jesse, so he knew about the firing squad, and Hardcase blowing up the supply ship just like Hevy, and about the trap that forced the two groups to fire on each other. But the bare bones was about all he’d gotten. Kix and Coric wouldn’t say anything other than calling it a bloodbath. He wouldn’t press Boil about what had happened.

After a few moments, the rodian called for the 212th, and Boil made his way through the troopers in front of them towards the center of the room. Echo took a glance around the room. They were only about a quarter of the way through the battalions, but he could already see a trooper in 41st green wiping his cheeks roughly with his free hand as he held onto his figurine with the other. A closer look around revealed more than a few troopers doing the same. He felt his heart rate tick up just a bit more.

Boil returned seconds later, turning over his figurine in his hands. He stood next to Echo and held it out so they could both see. It was made of some kind of plastoid–not dissimilar to their armor, a little longer than the length of Boil’s hand, and painted with the battalion’s colors just as it had been on Waxer. He stood at rest, feet slightly apart, helmet under his left arm, facing straight ahead. The golden orange paint and the dot of black for the soul patch were the only colors on the otherwise white figure, but even so, Echo could see the detail was incredible.

“Huh.” He looked at Boil. His eyes had glossed over, and his mouth was pressed in a thin line, as if both a smile and a frown were tugging on it at the same time. Eventually, he sniffed, blinking away the threatening waterworks, and cleared his throat. “It’s good, I’ll give ‘em that. Paint’s just about spot on.” Turning the figure in his hand, he tapped the helmet with a finger. “Gonna need to add Numa to the bucket though.” For reference, he brought up his own helmet, turning it so the twi’lek girl’s face was clearly visible. “Waxer’d kick my ass next time he saw me if she wasn’t on there.” He nodded to himself, then added, much quieter, “And he’d want to be smiling.”

He studied the figure silently after that, and Echo had nothing to add, so he was silent with him. More troopers walked up to the rodian to receive a miniature, and more and more, Echo saw men struggling to keep their composure as they examined them. That nervousness in his gut grew sharper. He still didn’t really know why it was there in the first place.

Finally, the rodian picked up a figure and called for the 501st. His deep indigo eyes roamed the crowd until they found Echo as he made his way forward.

He gave Echo a once-over, looking between him and the figurine. “Five-oh-first?” he asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

It was then Echo noticed the room had gone largely quiet. There was only the occasional sniffle as the whole room focused on him. He looked down at his red and grey armor, understanding the designer’s hesitation. “Yeah, I’m here for the five-oh-first,” he said, very aware of how well his voice carried from this point in the room. He held out his remaining hand for the figurine. “I’m… I’m his batchmate.”

A ripple of whispers circled the room as the rodian nodded and handed him the figurine. Echo could understand the attention, even if he hated it. The former chancellor’s assassination had been plastered all over the holonews and holonet for months, not including the subsequent investigation. From what Echo had gathered, people were just as eager to speculate on the evil Sith Lord Palpatine as they were to theorize about the assassin being shot out of Coruscant’s atmosphere and killed.

It was one of the few reasons Echo appreciated wearing red and grey, not blue and white. He’d watched Rex, Kix, and Jesse fend off reporters and other brothers left and right for months, all begging for more information about what had happened. He thought that if any of them had figured out who he was and had started asking questions about the “ARC turned assassin,” he might have throttled them.

Echo didn’t look at the figurine as the designer handed it to him. He took it, turned away, and made his way back through the crowd of very attentive troopers back to Boil. The feeling of that many eyes on him was oppressive. It made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle like he’d just walked through a high-powered scanner.

Boil nudged his arm again. “How’s it look?” he asked quietly.

He finally uncurled his fingers from around the figure, and looked.

It was the same pose as Waxer’s figure, one hand behind the back, the other curled around his helmet. The helmet was emblazoned with a remarkably clear Rishi eel design–tiny red eyes and tongue included, despite the small scale. The blue paint on his kama, vambraces, and boots was that slightly lighter blue he’d found Maker knows where and grown so attached to. Black and grey pauldrons, each color over the correct shoulder. His hair was painted black, his goatee was painted black and just the right shape, and there was a tiny, perfectly clear number five marked on his temple.

It was Fives. It was his brother, whom he hadn’t seen in… in…

How long?

It would have been before the Citadel, and that…. How long ago had that been? How long since he’d seen him outside of a screen? Outside of the couple hundred pictures and videos Rex had saved on their datapads?

Echo stared at the figurine’s face, at the white, motionless plastoid. If he tried hard enough he could imagine what it would look like if someone told a really stupid joke. He could remember what his laugh would have sounded like. He’d spent countless nights in a medbay clinging to memories because he couldn’t sleep, or he was cold, or his limbs hurt, or he was just lonely. He remembered wishing Fives had been there–just for a moment, just for a few seconds–to tell him he was going to be okay. He remembered begging silently with tears streaming down his face, clutching a datapad to his chest with the same videos playing over and over again.

And he remembered nothing happening.

Because Fives was gone.

Fives had been gone before he’d even resurfaced from the frozen hell of the Techno Union facility.

Suddenly, Echo was aware the room was much larger than he remembered it being when he walked in. It was too quiet–far too quiet. He could hear his own heart pounding behind his ribs, but everything else was lost to this heavy, clinging silence. There were far too many people around, and they were crowding him in, squeezing all the air from his chest and not giving him room to breathe more.

He couldn’t breathe.

Where was the command to breathe?

There was always a command code to breathe, it came like clockwork–it always did.

Why couldn’t he find it?

Were they letting him die?

He didn’t remember seeing a termination command. They would send one, if they were done with him.

Force, his legs hurt like all nine hells all of a sudden.

Where was the command to breathe?

“Echo, breathe!”

He gasped. Someone had flicked his ear, and it hurt.

“Again, breathe.”

He refocused, recognizing a clone’s face in front of him. Ah, he was rescued.

No, wait, this was–

“Breathe. In with me.”

Boil, right. This was Boil. He took a shaky breath, following Boil’s direction.

“And out again.”

He breathed out, too quickly, but still felt the constriction around his chest and throat loosen just a bit.

Boil nodded. “There we go. Again, in with me.” They breathed in. “And out again.” They breathed out. They breathed in. They breathed out. They breathed in. They breathed out.

Echo was on the ground, sitting against a wall with his knees curled to his chest. He didn’t remember sitting down. He could breathe much better now, though. Turning his head, he almost jumped out of his skin to see General Ti there, her montrals looming over him, looking very concerned.

“Echo,” she said softly. “Can you tell me where you are?”

He looked over their heads and saw a high ceiling. Right. “Temple. Jedi Temple.”

She nodded. “Yes, very good. Do you remember the date today?”

He did, and told her as much. She nodded again.

“Do you remember why you are here?”

Echo looked at her, then at Boil on his other side. He saw his helmet lying on the ground beside him. He looked down at his hands, and they were curled tightly around the figurine he’d just received. Opening them, he ran his left thumb over its face.

Fives’ face.

His eyes burned, and he didn’t have the strength to fight the tears. “I miss my brother,” he croaked, fighting to get the words past the lump in his throat.

If he could, he would find some corner away from the rest of the world, curl up against Fives, and cry until the world fixed itself. It was all wrong right now. It felt like no time had passed since he’d woken up out of cryofreeze, and suddenly it had been almost two years without Fives. How had that happened?

“I know.” Boil put a hand on one of Echo’s knees. “Believe me, I was around when he lost you. He was a wreck too.” Echo suspected the sincerity of his words had more to do with the figurine he had received, but it didn’t matter.

“Is there anything we can do right now,” Master Ti said, “that might make you feel better?”

Echo sniffed and felt tears start running down his cheeks. “Um.” He wiped his eyes and squeezed them shut against the deep ache in his chest for Fives’ nonsense ramblings–the ones he always pulled out when Echo was upset and needed something distracting to listen to for ages at a time. When the worst of it had passed, he opened his eyes again and said, “I would like a hug and somewhere to cry.”

Master Ti and Boil both nodded. “That can be arranged,” she said, getting to her feet in a sweep of brown robes.

“Come on,” Boil said, standing and offering a hand to help him up. “I’ll comm Cody to comm Captain Rex, I’m sure he can send someone over if he can’t come himself. I’ll stick around until then.”

Echo took his hand and got to his feet, taking his helmet back when Boil handed it to him. “Thanks.” The other troopers in the room had backed away to give them space, and Master Windu and the three designers were attempting to keep them occupied, but it was pretty clear where everyone’s attention was. Echo hated it. Turning the statuette in his hands, he looked up at Master Ti. “We can keep these, right?”

She nodded. “Of course. As long as the designers get any feedback you have, you may keep them.”

Boil stooped to grab his helmet and the Waxer figurine from the floor. Putting himself between Echo and the rest of the people in the room, he said, “I know how it is. Hits you all at once, doesn’t it?” Echo nodded. “Same thing happened to me when we got back from Umbara.”

“Follow me,” Master Ti said, and Boil put an arm around Echo’s shoulders as they left the room.

-scene break: several months later-

Fives had never been to the Jedi Temple before. He’d been taken to the Chancellor’s … office? No, his office had that big window. Anyway, he’d been taken somewhere else to meet Palpatine, but he’d never been to the Temple, let alone their public gardens. And he’d never expected to see so many clones heading the same way.

It was odd to be back on Coruscant after so much effort spent getting away from it all those months ago. He had to keep reminding himself the war was over, the inhibitor chips had been unearthed and dealt with, and if those reassurances didn’t work, everyone thought he was dead regardless. So, here he was, back where it had all gone up in flames over two years ago, on a night just like this one.

The new memorial monument had only been open about a week, so the crowds were understandable, and frankly, he wasn’t complaining. The more people, the easier it was to slip away unnoticed. He’d learned that the hard way over the past months.

He followed along with the crowd as they turned a corner, allowing himself the momentary distraction of looking up at the bright lights of the cityscape above him. Speeders and ships whizzed by overhead, lit up white and red in streams. Neon signs and lit windows made the streetlights almost redundant as they poured so much light onto the sidewalks.

It felt good to be around clones again. Hearing familiar voices and seeing the same faces around was far more comforting than he had expected it to be. It made him realize just how lonely he’d been out there in the wide open galaxy. And, as long as the war was over and Palpatine was evil (and dead), he could stay. He could come home, finally.

The entrance of the memorial gardens was heralded by a chorus of oohs and aahs from the people walking ahead of him, and, like everyone else, he craned his neck and bobbed from side to side to catch a glimpse. The crowd pressed forward, funneled between massive stone statues of Jedi, complete with lit yellow lightsabers, into the gardens.

Fives had never suspected this much greenery could survive on Coruscant, but of course, the Jedi would be the ones to make it thrive. There were massive trees on either side of the stone walkway, their boughs crisscrossing overhead. Thick underbrush lined the path, with little signs labeling the plants. Lit lanterns hung on metal posts cast a warm glow on the foliage around them. It was a sight so surprisingly beautiful, Fives nearly forgot why he was there, until the steady movement of the crowd forward brought him out from under the canopy to the main part of the gardens, and there he saw–

Himself.

Well, a twenty-foot tall stone version of himself, with the colored image projected onto the white stone from below, but, yes. Himself. Complete with goatee and confident smirk.

When he’d seen the opening ceremony on the holonews, he hadn’t really considered what it meant that he was the central figure in this memorial monument. But here he was, front and center, framed to be seen by every single person entering the gardens for the next… ever. Hopefully, they weren’t too upset he wasn’t actually dead.

He hadn’t realized he’d stopped to stare until other visitors jostled him back to reality.

Moving through the crowd until he was almost at his statue’s feet, he stopped yet again. His enormous stone boots were crowded with… stuff. Flowers, candles, empty bottles of his favorite beer–there were even notes left, weighted with rocks. Looking to the statues beside his on either side, he found their feet likewise swathed in offerings. They were gifts. Tributes to the fallen soldiers.

As he stood there, he watched other visitors–nattie visitors, quite a lot of them–come forward and add to the offerings. He started walking, following the circle of statues to his right, and saw it happen again and again. A little zabrak boy walked up to the 41st legion trooper’s boots and placed a model X-wing on the ground nearby, then ran back to his guardian, who patted his hair and smiled, telling him she was sure the trooper would have liked it.

Fives walked all the way along the long oval path around the statues. He paused at a moment when he recognized Waxer’s face. Looking to his feet, he saw a group of three twi’leks stop there too. The little girl with blue-green skin walked forward with a small doll in her hands, and placed it gently on top of Waxer’s stone boot, propped against his ankle. The little girl patted his stone leg, then hugged it, before going back to her parents.

Fives suddenly recalled the little design Waxer and Boil had shared on their helmets on Umbara: a little twi’lek girl with blue-green skin. He wondered what had happened to Boil.

By the time he’d made it all the way around to his own statue again (what a weird thing to think about), so many emotions were swirling around his mind, he felt like he’d just left hyperspace without warning. The maelstrom slowed when something caught his eye. There was someone else standing at the foot of his… well, at his feet when he returned. He was a clone in black armor with red paint, but Fives’ focus was immediately drawn to the numerous metal studs sticking out of his scalp.

When Fives got closer, he noticed the man had a pair of drinks held in one hand, in a way that suggested they were definitely fake, because real liquid and ice would not defy gravity like that. Well, it was a conversation starter at the very least, because Fives recognized those drinks. Red liquid in a martini glass with a peel. A red-to-yellow gradient of liquid and ice in a tall cylindrical glass. Yes, there was no mistaking those.

“Are those supposed to be stuck in there like that?” he asked, grateful for his helmet’s vocoder that made it more difficult to pin his accent.

The clone hesitated for a moment, no doubt a little uncertain why a nattie would want to know. But he answered, “Yeah, they’re not real. Just made to look like the real thing.”

“Yeah, I guess leaving alcohol out here isn’t the best plan,” Fives agreed, glancing back at the empty beer bottles.

The clone smirked, and for a second, there was something oddly familiar about the expression. “Nope. Besides,” he added, “it’d be a waste of good booze.”

That, Fives could appreciate. “Yeah, especially drinks like that.” He would know. He and Echo had made a tradition of ordering those exact drinks every first night on leave. Echo got a Coruscant Cosmopolitan, he got a Tatooine Sunrise. He hadn’t had a Sunrise in… well. Since losing Echo.

“You know these?”

“Used to have the Sunrise all the time.” He gestured up to his statue. “Did he like ‘em?”

The clone raised the two glasses and looked at them, and the dulled pain of memory was all too clear on his face. “Yeah,” he finally said. “We used to get these every time we were on leave.” He stepped forward and placed the pair of glasses on the ground beside one of the boots. “Haven’t had one in ages.”

When he turned around to return to his previous spot, Fives had to restrain himself from pointing and saying something stupid like, “You!” The clone had a handprint–a blue handprint–on the right side of his chest plate.

He took stock of a few poignant observations.

One: this clone was leaving gifts at his statue.

Two: Fives recognized the gifts and their significance.

Three: he had a blue kriffing handprint on his armor.

Fives knew how to do math, and one plus two plus three meant that this–this was Echo. His Echo. The dead one.

Granted, he was supposed to be dead himself, so that didn’t mean as much as it would have otherwise. But still! Echo!

Hoping he wasn’t vibrating in place from sheer anticipation, Fives asked, “Hey, you know something?”

Echo–because it had to be him–tilted his head slightly as he looked over at him. “What?” he asked, understandably wary.

With his heart beating hard enough to hear on Kamino, he said, “It’s uh…” He paused, reaching up to his helmet, hearing the seal hiss as it broke. “It’s really weird staring at a twenty-foot tall stone version of yourself.” He looked at Echo. “Or is that just me?”

For a few seconds, Echo just stared, wide-eyed in shock. He did a double-take between the statue and the person in front of him. Then, he punched him in the shoulder.

“You son of a hutt!”

“Ow!” Fives rubbed his shoulder. “I’m not wearing armor. No fa–umph!” He hadn’t finished his sentence before Echo let his helmet fall to the ground and grabbed him for a hug. Fives dropped his own helmet as gently as one could drop anything, and wrapped his arms around his brother in return.

“‘Is that just me–’” Echo mimicked in his ear, hugging tighter. “You kriffing bastard.”

Fives tried to be stern, but a stubborn smile made it difficult. “Me a bastard? You’re supposed to be dead too, remember?”

His brother pulled back far enough to look at him, his hands moving to the sides of his neck, his thumbs resting on his jaw. For a moment, he just looked, and Fives did too. Echo had changed a lot. Finally, he sighed, and said, “Yeah, I know. Sorry about that.”

Fives rested his own hands on his brother’s vambraces, and noticed that only one of Echo’s hands seemed to radiate the typical amount of heat another person’s hands should radiate. “I mean, I did sort of get you back for it, I guess,” he said with a weak smile.

Echo glared at him, but the animosity wasn’t real. “Yeah, you didn’t need to, dumbass,” he replied. Holding up his right hand, he added, “I could’ve used the emotional support.” With a flick of his wrist, his hand broke away from his arm on a hinge, revealing a vibroblade-like tool and lots of wires. He snapped it back into place with another sharp movement.

The last time they had seen each other, Echo had been in the middle of a huge fireball, he did remember this. He added that to the pile of things to unpack later.

“Yeah.” He pulled Echo closer until their foreheads could rest against the other’s. “Me too,” he admitted. “Being fake-dead and on the run… kinda sucks.”

He heard Echo sniffle before he pulled away again. “But you’re back,” he said, a small tremor in his voice, probably unnoticeable to anyone else. “You’re back for real, you’re not…”

Even after the time they’d spent apart, there was no mistaking the look in his brother’s eyes as anything other than fear. Fives didn’t know what he’d gone through after the Citadel, but whatever it had been, he knew it had been twice as horrible coming out of it to find Fives wasn’t there to help him put the pieces back together. He nodded, tightening his grip on his brother’s arms. “I’m not leaving.” That was all Echo wanted to hear. “I am not leaving you, I promise.”

Echo nodded, once hesitantly, then again with more certainty. He moved in for another hug, bumping their foreheads together again as he did so. Fives leaned into it, burying his face against his neck and feeling Echo do the same to him. Force, he’d missed these hugs. He’d missed physical affection in general, but Echo hugs were something else. Concentrated Echo Hugs would probably make a killing on the black market.

“Welcome home,” Echo said softly, and Fives had to remind himself not to turn into a weeping mess in the middle of a public place with hundreds of people around. He could do that later, when he found Rex and Jesse and everyone else, and could afford to have no shame whatsoever.

“You wanna go get real drinks?” he asked instead to distract them both, working furiously to blink back the threatening tears.

His brother laughed, then sniffed, and Fives caught him wiping his eyes as he stepped back. “Maker, yes. I haven’t had a cosmo in years.”

He grinned. “You think they’ll give me free drinks for getting rid of the evil chancellor?”

Echo snorted as he bent down to grab his helmet. “I think we should find out.”

Fives grabbed his own bucket off the ground and hooked an arm around his brother’s neck. “I missed you like hell, you know that?"

His brother looped an arm around his shoulder and leaned against him as they started making their way through the crowds towards the garden's exit. "Right back at you, brother." He seemed tired, in a way. Fives couldn’t place it just now, but he felt it was his duty as a batchmate to keep the mood light.

"Hey, you think anyone will want my autograph?"

The disparaging look Echo aimed at him was worth the bad joke. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but just as it had always been, a fond smile wouldn't leave his mouth. Fives had missed that look. Jesse got pretty close, but it wasn't the same. "They're gonna need to change the statue at this rate," Echo said. "If your head's gonna be that big."

He gasped at him. "How--you--" Echo snorted and started laughing at his dramatics. "If my helmet weren't in my other hand--"

"It would be plastered across your wounded heart, I know." Fives gave a smug grin and reached up to ruffle the short crop of curls on Echo's head. "Welcome back, you dramatic idiot," Echo said, planting a kiss on his temple.

Fives' cheeks were starting to ache from smiling, but he couldn't care less. His brother was alive. The war was over. They were home.

Ta daaaa! The End 😊 now tags: @soclonely @23-bears @thechaoticfanartist @fate-and-destiny @mercurydancer @darth-void idk I don't have a tag list lol @hootydoot @fivesarctrooper @dominosqd

#i write things sometimes #tcw fanfic #my fanfic #*cries in loving domino squad* #domino twins #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #my boys ;-; #fix it fic #order 66? don't know her #a living palpatine? whomst? #i only know dead raisin man

[icouldntfinditsoiwroteit]

My rant of The bad batch

In my opinion it's not that bad but it's not good either, I feel that it lacks something when it comes to the protagonists, I do think they have potential and oculd have be interesting.

1. So I have two things to talk about:

The bad batch relationships and fears

Maybe go into more detail about why does Wrecker fear hights so much, give their relationship more screen time?

Maybe Echo likes to hear Tech ramble cause it reminds him or Fives or one Domino squad, maybe Crosshair reminds him of Hevy or something.

Echo doens't like being alone because it reminds him of the Tech union so he sleep with one of the others, usually wreacker cause he is the warmest.

Make Hunter a big bro who mother hens the others, we've seen him worry for Omega, why not the rest of his squad.

He fears not being able to protect them and Crosshair bacomes a lowblow to him?

Maybe Wrecker got Lula from Tech?

Tach is scared of not knowing something because it may cost the life of one of his brothers.

Crosshair even if he acts rude is the one who helps his brothers after a nightmare.

Anything, just give their relationships screen time for us to know it, because form what we've seen there isn't that much to see.

I personally liked how Howzer stayed for his men and how Hunter hesitated at this, bring some insight of what he felt of this, maybe him regreting leaving Crosshair his godamned BROTHER, but no not even a single line from that, just Wrecjer saying that KINDA misses him?!

Are they not brothers????

Maybe not spring into action and rescue him inmediatly but something internal, maybe not having the sniper who whatched their backs before makes them less eficient or fast?

2. The regs

Did Dave really try to make us dislike the clones?

The clones most of us freaking grew up LOVING?

I was freaking 6 when I fell in love with Rex and wanted a dog to name them like that!!

So here comes the Bad Batch series trying to make us dislike the clones we've been rooting for, for years and most probably since our childhood, the same clones we've cried for, the ones who we know are under the influece of a god damned chip that made genocide the Jedi who I am more than sure in most cases where like family to them???!!!

Howzer is the perfect expample of how much we love them, he doesn't have more than 5 minutes of screen time and already has headcanons, fan art, fanfictions, ships, like did they really think that we would forget about the clones and replace them with the Bad "I'm not like the other clones" Batch like nothing.

If anything what most of us loved from the clones was that they where normal, not special, not inmortal, but still fighting a war, even the Jedi weren't unbeatable.

And the family that the clones had as brothers because they had no one else was really throwed out the window for the bad batch, like really??

#the bad batch #swtcw #clone troopers #the clone wars #echo bad batch #hunter bad batch #wrecker bad batch #crosshair #crosshair bad batch #tech #tech bad batch #wrecker #hunter #omega #omega bad batch

[hellothere-generalangsty]

I just wanted to say my friend and I absolutely love and adore the tbb western au and we are soooooooo excited to read more about it.

In headcannon of the clothing, you mentioned how Tech received a monocole from his college friends. My friend was wondering who those friends were.

My curiosity is about the army and war that you mentioned with echo being a part of. I know domino squad is a part of the au, but were(?) Rex, Anakin, Ahsoka, and others a part of it? (I added that question mark after were cause I am unsure if the war is still going on).

Haaaaaa *cries in French*

Thank you, and shout out to you and your friend! Yee-haw! 🤠💙

So to answer your questions; it's going to be quite long (mostly the second part about the war and all) so you'll find more under the cut about that! 😊

So for Tech's friends:

At first I was like "hooo maybe I could say Kix and everything" but then I thought about the whole war thing and anyway-

I don't have a concrete idea about who they are, I don't think they are "clones" or people we've seen in the SW universe but I still have some ideas about what kind of people they are:

I think it was a group of 4-5 people (including Tech)

Tech is the funniest of the group. Like- Captain Holt okay. Same vibe.

Tech is also the youngest of the group

His friends are from the same city as him, and like him they left for smaller towns

All but one; the oldest stayed at the city because he planned on becoming a university professor later on and wanted to pursue his studies

Tech was the first one to leave the city

The monocle is a gift his friends paid for

They all wanted to participate because Tech was the only one who didn't had one and he always said that would be his "award" if he graduated

Yes, "if", Tech was hardworking yet a bit unsure about his skills

That's how he met his friends, by the way

He was alone in the university's library, and they just kinda saw him struggling with his class so they joined and offer help

They became a study group

Then they became friends

Now they don't really keep in touch that much because they all left; but that one friend from uni is the root of the group, they all get in touch with him and he keeps everyone updated about everyone!

I hope it kind of answer your friend's question 😂😂

Now, for your question about Rex, Anakin, Ahsoka and everyone else being in the AU:

Yes and no.

Yes, Rex and the clones are in this AU; but they are not omnipresent as this AU focuses mostly on the Bad Batch

Though I intend on maybeee extanding it a bit but we'll see

As for the "Jedis", I honestly don't know what I'll do about them. I don't want to completely erase them because their role is important and because the Kaminoans and [redacted] are here in the AU already but I also don't want them to be like... Too much. I want them more as background.

I really want this AU to focus on the Bad Batch, and on what I want it to focus on, aka [redacted stuff] 😂

So for now I can tell you for sure that Rex is in the AU, some of the 501st boys are here too; and there might or might not be a flashback involving them but I'm not going to say too much hehehe

Also yes the war is still going on; you'll learn more about that in due time 😊 it is a bit different from the SW universe - since there isn't magic (for now?) and space and super technology in this AU

But don't worry, I'll have it covered in future fics and hc posts! And if you have more questions please feel free to send them! I love getting asks about the Western AU 🥰

Taglist: @m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s @loth-wolffe @mintywriteswritings @for-the-love-of-clones @equalityforcats @maddieskywalker @m-e-w-117 @ladykatakuri @chaoticvampirejedi @andiebell2023

#tbb western au #star wars #the bad batch #tbb #sw au #tbb au #sw western au #mesa writes #doctor!tech #sweet anon 🌸 #thank you again for being so supportive of my AU! #it really means a lot to me 💗 #also sorry if there are some spelling mistakes or anything- it's like 3am here and I didn't proofread the post bc t i r e d 😴

[meridiansdominoes]

(same annon with the kittens) I would send a pic, but I don't have the Tumblr app. Fives even had a mustache!😍 Love your writing - keep it up!!

TINY CAT FIVES WITH A MUSTACHE??? A;LSKJDFAL;SDKFJ

.............

what have you done. I don’t have a cat. I’ve never had a cat. I don’t know how cats act. I don’t know cat body language. I don’t even like cats that much, I am the person least qualified to write a cat fic. But I did this anyway. It’s dumb and not even that great but you inspired me and it helped with my writer’s block at the very least asld;kfasdlfk;laskdf 

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919743

_________________________________________________________

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Fives snarls.

“I don’t… I don’t think this is a joke, Fives,” Droidbait says nervously--meows, actually, because Droidbait is a loth-cat. Inexplicably. Impossibly. 

So is Fives. And so is Cutup.

The barracks are massive around them. Fives shakes his head in horror. It’s even worse when he can feel muscles that he shouldn’t have twitching and moving as he does. His ears… they can move in so many directions. Not to mention the kriffing tail.

“Alright, just… there’s gotta be an explanation behind this,” Fives says, sitting back uneasily onto his back legs. “Someone will be able to fix us--the Jedi could… do something, I think, I don’t know--”

“Whoa,” Cutup says, staring down at his paws and letting his claws extend and retract, extend and retract. “That’s… kind of cool, actually.” He flexes his claws against the fabric of his abandoned blacks below him experimentally. He looks up at Fives and suddenly chokes on a laugh. Fives rounds on him, tail lashing involuntarily.

“What’s so funny?”

“Your hair… fur, I guess… it looks like you have a mustache,” Cutup sniggers. Fives growls at him--this is so not the time. It isn’t the most threatening sound, but it works to some effect. Cutup’s eyes go wide. He nearly trips clumsily over his paws as he scrambles to put some distance between them. Droidbait curls in on himself, tucking his tail around his paws and flattening his ears against his skull.

“Guys, can we not fight?” he meows plaintively. “We’ve gotta figure out what happened--”

Fives’ tail twitches again. He spares Cutup another dangerous look, but Cutup is spared from Fives’ wrath by the sound of a frustrated yowl from the hallway. 

“Oh, kriff. Hevy and Echo!” Cutup gasps. He darts for the door. Fives goes to follow him and is impressed at the speed that his tiny body can achieve. As long as he doesn’t trip over his own feet… paws… whichever, he can really move when he needs to.

The barracks door doesn’t open immediately--the three of them have to leap up to trigger the motion sensor, which isn’t too hard either. They can get higher than Fives had thought possible. Maybe their transformation isn’t actually that bad--

Then he pokes his head into the hallway and recoils in horror. 

“Guys! Help! I can’t get him off of me!” Hevy cries, scratching fruitlessly at Hardcase’ greaves. Hevy is puffing himself up to make himself look bigger, but it’s not doing him any good. Hardcase, however, looks like he’s having the time of his life, cradling Hevy in his arms and cooing at him in the middle of the hall. Which, ugh. Fives can’t decide if he wants to vomit or if it’s just a hairball. 

“Back up!” Cutup hisses in alarm, but they’re not fast enough. Hardcase glances down. His eyes go very very wide.

“Holy. Kriff. There’s more of them. Jesse! Jesse, get the kriff over here!”

“Oh no, oh no oh no--scatter!” Fives yelps. Droidbait and Cutup obey even as Hardcase drops to one knee in order to swoop one giant hand towards them. Force, he’s massive. Fives barely manages to avoid the fingers that reach out. Behind Hardcase, Jesse rounds the corner of the hallway and gasps. 

“What the--”

“Catch them!” Hardcase shouts gleefully. Jesse stops dead, stares, and then dives straight for Fives. Fives hisses at him and makes a desperate leap for freedom, because he is not going to be coddled like that today, no, not now, not ever, it’s humiliating and he won’t--!

__________________________________________________________

“Fives.”

“Mmm.”

“Fives. You’re purring.”

“Kriff off,” Fives mumbles. The words rumble around in his chest. Vaguely he realizes that he is indeed purring, but he can’t really make himself care. Tup is warm and when his fingers scritch just right over Fives’ skull it sends the most pleasant little tingles down his spine and so what if he’s purring it doesn’t mean anything, shut up, Cutup.

Hevy had been rescued from Hardcase by Del and has been shunted around since then, passed from Coric to Dogma to Jesse. Cutup is perched happily on Tipper’s knee. Droidbait is free, but he’s winding his way around Kix’s ankles to ask for more scratches instead of escaping, the traitor. 

Though… to be fair, Fives could probably escape if he tried. It’s not like Tup is keeping him in place, but… but, uh, it’s a long drop to the floor. Yeah. Who knows if Fives would survive a fall. Not worth the risk, no, absolutely not. That explains it. Fives is stuck, no doubt about it.

Tup’s fingers run down Fives’ spine. He arches into the touch and purrs again. Tup grins down at him fondly.

“So… what should we name them?” Jesse wonders aloud. Fives groans. 

“It’s us, you idiots. I’m Fives. Hear me?” he huffs out. For a moment there’s silence, and Fives dares to hope that he’s been understood--

“Sithspit. That is the cutest sound I’ve ever heard,” Nax deadpans. Fives has to resist the urge to snap at Tup’s fingers in annoyance. Tup doesn’t deserve that, so he restrains himself, but it’s a close thing.

“We’re keeping them, right?” Hardcase says. “Come on, we have to!” 

Cutup rolls his eyes. Hevy lets out a muffled sound of protest. Fives sighs. Droidbait stifles a laugh, tail waving happily in the air as Kix’s fingers run through his fur. 

The door to the barracks suddenly slides open to admit Captain Rex. The men go to jump to attention, but they freeze when they fully register the sight of their CO. Echo is sitting proudly on the Captain’s pauldron, ears pricked up as high as they’ll go. His tail is looped loosely around his paws, and he looks smug. Beta squad’s mouths collectively drop open. 

“There’s another one?” Hardcase whispers. Echo sends him an unimpressed look as Rex holds out his hand in order to lower Echo gently to the floor. Droidbait immediately abandons Kix to rush for Echo, nosing him anxiously to make sure he’s alright. Echo bats at him half-heartedly.

“Your nose is cold, DB, holy kriff. Okay, alright, I’m fine!”

“I know, I know, I’m just making sure!” Droidbait tells him, curling himself up against Echo’s flank gratefully. Echo leans against him obligingly and turns to look back up at Rex. The Captain suddenly heaves the longest sigh Fives has ever heard from him, which… really isn’t a good sign. Beta squad tenses in concern. 

“Sir…?” Del prompts quietly. Rex clenches his jaw. 

“I’m comming the General,” he grits out. “We aren’t equipped to handle this.”

“Wh--what are you talking about, sir?” Tipper says in offense. “They’re just a couple of loth-cats, sir… I mean, they’re kittens. I think we can handle it--”

“Fives, Cutup, Hevy. Can you three come down here for a second?” Rex deadpans, sounding like he’d much rather be fighting a platoon of battle droids than dealing with magical transformations right now. Fives huffs and shuffles to his feet, reluctantly removing himself from Tup’s gentle hold. It’s a lot harder to manage a jump with four legs, but somehow his tail acts as an odd counterbalance and allows him to drop to the floor smoothly. 

Huh. Well, turns out the floor wasn’t actually that far down. Oh well. He sits down next to his batchmates in front of Captain Rex and stares back at the rest of Beta squad, tail lashing, challenging them to just try and pick him up again. Fives has claws and he’ll use them.

...unless it’s Tup. Tup is the only exception. 

“Wait. Captain, you’re not seriously telling me that--” Kix starts. Rex interrupts him with a raise of his hand. 

“Del, you asked me if I had any idea where the rest of your squad had disappeared to a few minutes ago. Here they are,” the Captain says tiredly. Fives glances at Echo as the rest of the room goes dead silent.

“Oh, thank the Force. You got him to figure it out?”

“Yeah. Typed it out on his datapad. I was near the bridge when it happened, so it wasn’t too hard to get to his office.” Echo licks his own paw. Cutup makes a strangled sound. 

“Echo. You’re… you’re. Licking yourself.”

“Huh? Oh.” Echo blinks at his paw for a moment in surprise. “I didn’t even realize…”

“That’s… Domino squad? Are you serious?” Tipper says incredulously. 

“Unfortunately.” The Captain raises an eyebrow at Domino squad inquisitively. “Kenobi, or Skywalker?”

“What kind of question is that?” Echo complains. “Kenobi. Do you really have to ask?”

Fives agrees. Not that General Skywalker couldn’t figure this out, but General Kenobi will probably fix it faster. Maybe. Hopefully. 

“Right, dumb question,” Rex agrees, even though there’s no way he could have understood what Echo had said. “I’ll be on the Communications deck to let General Kenobi know. Until then, stay here. Beta squad, watch them. Understood?”

He doesn’t wait for their affirmations, turning on his heel and leaving the barracks. Fives feels a thrill of horror. 

“Wait a second, wait wait wait,” Fives says, scrambling for the door, “Rex, don’t leave us with them, this is humiliating, they’re gonna--wait--!”

It’s too late. The Captain is gone. Fives’ ears droop. He stares up at the massive door in front of him in dejection. Oh no.  

“Force, he looks so sad. Someone grab him,” one of his horrible, terrible, awful brothers mutters. Fives gets scooped up unceremoniously by a large hand. He’s half a second from sinking his teeth into the finger closest to his mouth when suddenly that same finger scratches under Fives’ chin. Fives goes limp. Mmmmm Force, it’s nice. 

“Alright, Fives. At least, I think you’re Fives. Calm down,” Hardcase says, grinning in amusement. “We’ll keep you safe, don’t worry.” Fives glares at him. Hardcase chuckles. “Yep, you’re Fives, alright. No doubt about it.”

Fives nips at his finger anyway just to hear Hardcase hiss in pain, but then Hardcase stubbornly scratches under Fives’ chin again and Fives’ eyes slide closed. He can hear his batchmates receiving similar treatment from Beta squad, some protesting more than others. He opens one eye to check on them--Hevy is snarling curses, but Tup has him, so Hevy’s temper won’t last long. Dogma’s hands reverently stroke over Echo’s ears. Droidbait is curled up in the crook of Del’s arm. Cutup is batting lazily at Jesse’s fingers, stretched out comfortably on his back.  

“Just rest, Fives,” Hardcase orders gently. Fives sighs in resignation. There’s no escape. Fine, fine. He’ll rest. But only for a minute, as long as his batchmates are safe.

Eventually, five content purrs fill the room. Fives falls asleep. 

#domino squad #fives #cutup #echo #droidbait #hevy #captain rex #fanfic #animal transformation #dominoes

[fulcrumahsokaamidala]

Weekly fic rec #1

So it's been a while since I've done one of these. These used to be called spectacular Saturday (or Sunday whenever I remembered to post) fic rec. But I'm revamping because when they were under that name I was reading mostly Arrow fics but now I read mostly Star Wars (Mainly clone wars era).

However, I still want to get back into highlighting the great fics that I've been reading. All posts new and old will be under #weekly fic rec

Coming to Terms by Mudkipwrites | One-shot | Star Wars: Rebels

Summary: Hera Syndulla has just lost her partner. Now pregnant with child and heavy with grief, she leans on her family and learns how to carry on.

Stumbling Blocks by BatmanWhoLaughss | One-shot | Star Wars: Rebels

Summary: So she waits, even though it kills her to do it, running so many tests on the Ghost that they won’t need to check the main systems for another two months. Until eventually, after a couple hours have passed, she vacates her perch in the pilot’s chair and makes her way to Kanan’s room.

But when Hera gets there, keying open his door to find him curled up in the corner and surrounded by two mostly-empty bottles of liquor, she curses herself for being an utter, utter fool.

[otherwise known as "kanan was a raging alcoholic for years of his life and no one ever talks about it, so I'm going to"]

Messes of Our Own Making by carry_on_wayward_sister | One-shot | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summary: “Are you kriffing serious, Snips?! What happened here???”, Anakin cried exasperated when he tiredly shuffled into the common area of the apartment he shared with the aforementioned padawan. No answer. What had greeted him as he left his room after a well deserved night of sleep was not per se an unfamiliar sight. It was, however, drastically worse than usual.

Or:

Chaos, bickering and lineage feels.

The ghosts we leave behind by echoknight | WIP | Star Wars: Rebels

Summary: Falling in love was inevitable. Becoming a family was a choice.

A series of short stories about the Rebels family, and how they came to be that way.

PrepPy GoThic LoVe by @cruzrogue | WIP | Arrow

Summary: New Freshman at MIT, Felicity wants to party and she meets another drunken party guest Oliver and they hit it off. Not really thinking of consequences have a wonderful time together. Oliver been to two different schools and this one he finally wants to do better because of a beacon of hope that rubbed off on him with just one night a passionate gothic girl changes him for the better.

Cobalt & Gold by @communistkenobi | One-shot | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summary: Sieges were always brutal affairs, and the camp was in low spirits. Ahsoka enlists some help to cheer everyone up.

i'm only me when i'm with you idiots by renegadeontherunn | One-shot | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summary: who let Obi-Wan pick the holo? and where's the remote?

they might need a bigger blanket.

[or, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan have leave on Coruscant and holo night is the perfect excuse to all squeeze onto a couch together, bicker, and be, well, a family]

Jedi Night by LeiasLeftBun | WIP | Star Wars: Rebels

Summary: This is pretty much a Jedi Night fix-it that branches off into what I like to think would have happened after Rebels. With less death of good characters.

Gentle Hands by @novembermurray | One-shot | Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Summary: As Din lets the Sorgan villagers return to their usual work after blaster training, he notices Omera is injured.

A Delighted Preoccupation by clio | One-shot: Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Summary: Omera, he comes to understand, is many things. A mother. A widow. An ace shot. Omera is good.

Kind.

Beautiful.

But most of all, he realizes, is that she is distracting.

Not that it’s a problem.

Dominoes by @meridiansdominoes | WIP | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summary: "So. We died." Hevy's voice is flat.

“Yes, we died,” Fives confirms. Even though his hands are steady on Echo’s shoulders, his voice trembles. “We all… remember, right?”

Everyone nods. Droidbait shudders, and shuffles closer to Cutup.

“How is that possible?” he mutters. “We’re not Jedi. We can’t… see the kriffing future, or whatever it was. We can’t—it’s just not possible. How could we all have had the same dream?”

Domino squad wakes up to find themselves back on Kamino, hours from taking their final test... except they remember passing the final test, and they each remember dying afterwards, too.

lost again with no surprises by @katierosefun | WIP | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summary: When Anakin goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Obi-Wan takes it upon himself to find his former apprentice. However, finding Anakin is no easy task—which is why Obi-Wan teams up with a particular former grandpadawan.

[or: a galaxy-wide road trip au because nothing says ‘fix your family issues’ like a good old road trip between a Jedi dad and his estranged daughter.]

Wardrobe Malfunction by BatmanWhoLaughss | One-shot | Star Wars: Rebes

Summary: Inspired by this piece of art by @NeeeAnn on twitter

Kanan loses a bet, and the results are predictably ridiculous.

Chasing the Past by BatmanWhoLaughss | One-shot | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Summary: “You… you look like him.” The voice was quiet, almost awestruck, and Luke turned, startled. With his lightsaber in hand, he took a defensive position, stepping back and taking in the newcomer.

Standing before him and watching him with a warm, thoughtful expression, was a tall woman in a white cloak-- a Togruta, he realized. Her blue eyes were trained on him intensely, but as she slowly pulled back her hood, he saw she was smiling softly. She carried twin sabers at her waist, Luke realized with a jolt, and as he watched her warily, he felt… calmed, somehow. There was a sense of familiarity about her—he could feel it in the Force. It was like he… knew her somehow, even though he’d never seen this woman before.

It was unnerving.

I Scream But No Sound Comes out by @laxit21 | WIP | Arrow

Summary: When Oliver returns from Lian Yu after five years, he comes back different. What happened there damaged more than just his body. How will his friends and family deal with this new Oliver?

Space Dad Lives by @maximumsuckage | WIP| Star Wars

Summary: AU starting directly after TPM. Qui-gon didn't die, but he's sure not okay after taking a lightsaber to the gut. Obi-wan, still reeling after Mandalore, is now the hero who killed a Sith and vowed to train the Chosen One. Anakin is going to be a Jedi so he can free his mother and his people.

And the healers are kind of sick of dealing with the Jinn/Kenobi team.

#weekly fic recs #i'm back baby #here we go again #star wars fanfiction #arrow fanfiction

[silvermoongirl10swfics]

OC designs (and an added Fives and Echo) 5/10

(These were all made on Picrew, https://href.li/?https://picrew.me/image_maker/565738). This squad feature in the Vopak AU series. 

I will give short information about them in this post, but if you search on this blog using their squad name, you will get more detailed information about them.

Jek ARC Squad of the 501st - the ARC squad I have added Echo and Fives to. This is the squad in the Vopak series Echo is a corporal of before the Citadel mission. There is a reunion fic of Jek squad on Vopak, Together again, when Jek squad are able to reunite with Echo. (I’m not sure if ARC squads exist in canon, but in the Vopak AU series they do now.)

Jek squad - ARC squad:

ARC Sergeant Hefty (CT-5620) - Bald with a scruff beard. Hefty has a tough guy persona, but if you are in his squad, you know he is really a softie. Has the bad habit of not sleeping or eating enough when he is stressed about an upcoming campaign or just generally worrying about his Jek boys.

ARC Corporal Quote (CT-1721) - He was promoted to Corporal after Echo’s presumed death. Quote is bald and clean shaven. He has two quote mark tattoos on his head above his right ear. After Echo’s ‘death’ and after Fives refused Hefty’s offer of a promotion to Corporal, Quote was promoted to Corporal and while he accepted his new rank, he hated it. He felt like he was replacing Echo, but he had looked up to Echo for the nine months he served with Echo (Quote became an ARC Trooper three months after the Domino twins).

Dace (CT-4135) - Dace has buzz cut black hair. He was the second member of Jek squad, Hefty choosing him personally. Dace didn’t mind Echo being promoted to Corporal, he actually laughed at Echo when he apologised for being promoted before Dace. Dace doesn’t care for promotions, apart from being given ARC Trooper status, he is happy at the bottom of the pecking order. He silently taught Echo how best to be Hefty’s right-hand-man and helped Echo and Fives adjust to being ARC Troopers. He was very proud of the Domino twins and also helped them with some of their chaotic schemes, privileges of not being a higher rank.

Error (CT-5181) - Error has military regulation red hair and a red scruff beard. He was not named because of his hair colour, it was actually because every time he learnt something shocking, his facial expression would freeze, with wide eyes, representing/being a living embodiment of the error.code message you get on a computer.

Xerus (CT-2418) - Xerus has short blonde hair and is clean shaven. His batchmates are Patch and Fixer from the 212th. He loves that the 501st and 212th often work together as that means he gets to see his batchmates. While training on Kamino, he had initially wanted to be a pilot, but when he watched Commander Colt and some of the other ARCs train, he decided he wanted to be an ARC more than a pilot. After being assigned to the 501st and six months into the war, he happened to confess his aim to Rex while drunk. The next day, the Captain began training him and once Xerus distinguished himself in battle, he was given the official word that he was going to become an ARC Trooper.

Tactless (CT-2013) - Tactless has longish black hair he puts in a nerf tail. He became an ARC four months after the Domino twins. Tactless is named Tactless because he does not possess a lot of tact. But I love my petty boy.

Fara (CT-6118) - Fara has military cut brown hair and has a scruff beard. Fara is the baby of Jek squad and is the most protected of the squad. Fara became a member of Jek squad two months before the Citadel mission, Echo took Fara under his wing and Fara hero-worshipped Echo. When Rex told Jek squad about Echo’s fate on the Citadel, Fara found a corner of the hanger and cried.  Even though, thanks to Echo’s influence, Fara didn’t need to be watched over anymore, he let Fives be protective of him without a word.

#Vopak au verse #jek squad #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #original clone troopers #oc arc trooper hefty #oc arc trooper quote #oc arc trooper dace #oc arc trooper xerus #oc arc trooper error #oc arc trooper tactless #oc arc trooper fara #501st legion

[pentowrite-wingstofly]

What about my boy Fives?

 Fives? For sure! *cries* (Bad Padawan. Indirectly bringing up angst as if we talk about it frequently or something.)

How I feel about this character

I love Fives! He is a sweetie who deserved so much better and really just needs a hug. And to tell the Republic of the conspiracy wrecking everyone’s lives. But also a hug.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Uh... I ship him with Adorsha Renon-Tir (an OC belonging to @asobluerose)

My non-romantic OTP for this character

How can this be asked?! Obviously! Echo! They’re the Domino twins!

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don’t know if I have one. But I think Fives would have forgiven Fox. (Watch me rewatch that episode and come back screaming about how no one can ever forgive Fox.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Aside from the obvious I wish Fives could have known Echo wasn’t dead before he died. Fives died believing he was the last of Domino Squad, and that all the rest of them had gone before him. He died after going through the grief of losing his last, closest brother, who had been with him for his whole life. And he never got the relief of seeing or knowing Echo was alive.

#asks #Em answers #mackstrut #star wars #the clone wars #fives #arc trooper fives #character asks #not my oc