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tech-tbb · 1 month

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Since there are a lot of theories coming up at the moment, I want to join in now. Especially since a few theories make me question whether these people have ever ACTUALLY watched Clone Wars, Rebels, and Bad Batch.

It's about the new CX-2 clone from the latest episodes, season 3 episodes 6 & 7.

Many assumed it was Cody. Others say it's a clone of Crosshair itself. Others and most believe it's Tech, that I have to go along with.

And not just because he's my favorite, but morally in general.

First point:

Many say it's Cody because of the vibro knife and the art of using it. But if it had been Cody, he would have already had one and wouldn't have had to steal it first.

First of all, he didn't have the vibro knife with him from the start, he stole it from the clone he killed in the security room.

Second, if this CX clone was Cody, why is this never mentioned further elsewhere? It's never mentioned in Rebels, nor is it mentioned further. And Cody betrayed the Empire by running away. At best they would give him death, but not a second life as one of their own. And Cody, like Hunter, is a master with the vibro knife. Crosshair would never have been able to fight him off if it had been Cody. But he was able to keep up with him and even get the knife out of the CX clone's hand. With Cody, Crosshair would have died.

Third. The Bad Batch are more highly trained soldiers than Cody himself probably was, after all, the Bad Batch are special commandos. Accordingly, every single Bad Batch member could handle a vibro knife.

Second Point:

The theory of many that this CX-2 is a Crosshair clone. The technology and excellent knowledge to clone is in Nala Se's head. However, it was only with Omega's presence that Hemlock was able to get her to research and work for him. Accordingly, Hemlock only had access to the DNA and the knowledge of cloning and the knowledge of the Clone Force 99's DNA for a few months, if at all. He only had Crosshair himself in his hand for a few months, including his DNA. As we all know, growing too quickly is not good for clones, the best and sad example is Clone 99, who bravely gave his life in the fight for Kamino. He had grown too old too quickly and he was unfortunately disabled and unable to be a soldier. Therefore, the only thing the Kaminoans could do was double accelerated aging. Clones would have to grow for at least 10 years in order to be able to be a soldier without such complications. But Hemlock has only had DNA and cloning science in his hands for a few months. A Crosshair clone would therefore not be possible, as this clone would then be disfigured, similar to Clone 99. And yes, CX-2's shooting abilities are identical to those of Crosshair. But let’s get to point three first.

Point Three:

Here now to my last point. Tech. I most likely think it will be Tech.

Here is the explanation at the end of my second point. Shooter skills. CX-2 has equally excellent marksmanship capabilities as Crosshair. But I know the final episode of season two is emotional. But the shot Tech took to fall was excellent. So the next best shooter to Crosshair is? Exactly, it would be Tech. The connection that Tech had shot down on the wagon was out of reach and very far from Tech's position and he still had the entire wagon in the path of view of this connection. Nevertheless, he only fired a single shot, which went through the glass of the wagon and hit the connection, severing it. *A shot Crosshair would have praised him for.* So it would be highly likely that this CX-2 could also be Tech with this rifle and the accuracy. But not only that. His movements and his voice and his accent are also added. The helmet's modulator allows us to hear a voice in the undertone that a Reg doesn't have. It sounds a lot like Tech's voice, even if it's heavily filtered. (But clearly noticeable with headphones and increased volume and honest concentration). In particular, his grunts of pain, gasping for air, and moving the stones are identical to the grunts Tech made when he broke his femur and so on. His movements are also identical. Kicking Crosshair with his outstretched leg was identical to the kick Tech gave a clanker on Kaller. His posture when walking is also a little slouched, like Tech. *Like a shrimp, I've often read many posts once.* His intelligence to destroy all ships so that there are no means of escape. His tendency to simply disobey Wolffe's orders. *(When have we ever followed orders).* Infiltration, alone, unnoticed, fast, agile. And he knew exactly where to shoot to destroy the desk that Rex his clone friend was working on to connect the communications to get a rendezvous with Echo.

Ah, his equipment is also different than the other CX clones we've met so far. He always carries the backpack. He doesn't have a datapad, but he now has something similar on his right upper arm. He also has a visor that folds down, and the movements he makes to do so are identical to those that Tech always did with his visor. And the pocket around the thigh and the one pocket on the right lower leg. This is very unusual for the CX clones.

And he recognized Omega immediately. He had only been activated relatively recently and not much time had passed since then. He had no way of knowing for sure that this girl was Omega he was looking at. He also hadn't checked any holos of targets during screen time. Which means this CX-2 clone knew Omega and knew exactly that this girl was her. Many also claim it can't be Tech since he said clones instead of Regs when talking to Scorch (maybe Scorch). Maybe it's the change in himself. But if not, Tech would know full well to avoid using Reg. It is the Empire and the word Reg is not used by any of the Empire's clones, especially the CX clones. And then to his accent. Tech's British accent is very noticeable among all the clones. But even among his own Bad Batch brothers, his accent is very audible. And this CX-2 clone has a strong accent and its modulator in the helmet is even stronger than the other CX clones. If it were a reg, then a very strong modulator wouldn't make sense. All in all, this CX clone is very talented. But we all learned from Season 2 that Tech is the same way. He is a genius in all possible aspects. And he is a fully trained commando soldier, like his brothers. And if he is, he definitely received further training to become a CX clone.

Extra point: the memory wipe. Many also claim that it couldn't possibly be Tech because Crosshair said he himself was too defective for that. But let's take another look at the first episode of season 1. Tech said they're more deviant than defective. And another thing is the condition. Tech definitely didn't come out of this crash unscathed if he really is this CX-2. Accordingly, his mind and especially his body were perhaps very weakened and vulnerable to attack and take over. Crosshair was never healthy under Hemlock's care, but he wasn't very close to death's door. Tech, on the other hand, might have been.

And almost forgot to mention. His height has been changed from 1.93m to 1.82m, but why change his height when he is dead?!

Another extra point. It is the story of Clone Force 99, i.e. Crosshair, Tech, Hunter, Wrecker, Echo and Omega. It's not Cody's story and, in fact, it's also not just Rex's. Rex appears often at the moment, but he is not one of the protagonists. The protagonists are the members of Clone Force 99, and their story is written, not others. That's exactly why I believe that the CX-2 clone has something to do with the Clone Force 99, i.e. Tech, the only one missing from the group, the family.

So yes, it could most likely be Tech, alive.

But it's not canon, not yet. I have my own theory as you all have your own. I hope it was still informative and that you can get a little more out of it.

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mock-arts · 1 year

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Happy approaching new year all! I just wanted to look at all the covers I’d made for Star Wars fics in 2022 all at once lol

links to each beneath the cut!

Crashing Down by @oakwyrm (art)

Marshal Commander Cody of the 7th Sky Corps is, despite his reputation, mortal. When a severe injury threatens his life and his continued ability to function should he recover, protocol states he should be sent back to Kamino. It does not explicitly state that he would likely be decommissioned, but his vode all know how to read between the lines.

General Kenobi’s response is equally predictable.

Careful What You Wish For by @shadowlight17 (art)

Cody was head over heels for his Jedi General, so when Order 66 was executed, he was in emotional turmoil. And then he died. Or so he thought. He said he would give anything to fix this...would it be worth it if fixing it meant leaving everything he knew behind? Thrown into the past, Cody is given that chance. To make things right.

In This Our Liberty — currently unposted, series here.

from ancient grudge (to soap opera television) by @eclipsemidnight (art)

The Jedi and the Sith, in fair Coruscant where we lay our scene...ancestral enemies, whose battles these days are more likely to be to first spend rather than to first blood. This does not amuse the clone security forces who have to break them up, or Chancellor Windu who has to deal with them afterwards.

Meanwhile, Maul and Ventress's marriage is arranged by Sidious and Dooku. Obi-Wan and his friends Ahsoka and Quinlan crash their engagement party. We all know how this is going to end--a wedding, of course! It just takes a few hands, the threat of the Coruscant Guard, and a porg-print towel to get there!

This I Vow by @wanderingjedihistorian (art)

To secure a planet's help for the Republic, Obi-Wan and Cody must get married. Having been quietly together for some time, it is an easy decision for the pair to make. They didn't expect what followed. Nor did anyone else.

Once Upon a Dream by @glimmerglanger (art)

The man was still warm; not warm enough but he obviously hadn’t been dead long. Cody thinned his mouth, looking at the man. He had a fall of copper hair and a beard, scars here and there on his body. He looked like he’d been a fighter, all muscle, trim and--

“Sith’s spit,” he added, cutting over the chatter in his bucket, as his assessment reached the man’s hand, curled, even in death, around a familiar metallic cylinder. “General Tachi, I think he was a Jedi.”

OR, the one where Marshal Commander Cody finds a mystery figure three years into the Clone Wars, and it changes the course of history.

Or Why Comes Thou to Caterhaugh? by Afiregender (art)

In the midst of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan very abruptly goes on leave to attend a "personal matter" on his homeworld Stewjon. Both Cody and the Jedi find this somewhat odd, and Cody goes on leave himself to investigate. He finds his General at a banquet meant to celebrate the new Fae King... which turns out to be Obi-Wan himself. Or: Tam Lin but Codywan.

Descent by @kutaisi (art) (we’re just getting started on this one!)

As they're fighting in the rain on Kamino, Jango Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi are thrown forward in time to a version of the galaxy that neither of them could have imagined.

Finding themselves fifteen years in the future, their struggle to get back to their own time is complicated by devasting discoveries and a nightmare of a reality that they have no idea how to navigate through.

...and also by each other.

I also illustrated a bunch of other fic this year, that didn’t necessarily get covers.

Soul Found by @darthtarvera (art)

It had been five years since he’d dreamed of his soulmate.

Five years since the council broke the bond between them.

Now, a last test as the council sends Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to Mandalore to protect the Duke of Mandalore and his two daughters. Obi-Wan is determined to prove once and for all he has what it takes to be a good jedi.

But can even the jedi truly break a bond between a jedi and their soulmate? As Obi-Wan discovers more of the culture and people his mark ties him to he realizes that maybe his path isn't so rigid as he thought.

i don’t wanna feel stuck by @ghostlandtoo (art)

Three years after the war, Obi-Wan has stuck to diplomatic missions from the Order, tired of fighting. When he's burned by the Republic on the tail-end of one such mission, Obi-Wan finds himself stuck on Myam-1, a beach planet in the Outer Rim. Work doesn't stop, even on a vacation planet. Reunited with an old flame and a few old friends, Obi-Wan can't help but help the several people on Myam-1 in need of help, even if he lost his lightsaber a few planets back.

This, too, was a gift by @lttrsfrmlnrrgby (art)

The Rako Hardeen mission was a success, but it left Obi-Wan Kenobi sick at heart after the empathic stresses of the mission, and questioning whether the mission was worth it. The troopers of the 212th welcome him back, wanting nothing more than to assure him he did the right thing, and Obi-Wan works to make their trust in him worth it.

The Force, however, shows Obi-Wan a detailed vision of the future to come. He eliminates the threats posed by the Sith, but feels he cannot return to the Order or to his men, and sets out alone, letting the Force direct him to the grimmest parts of the galaxy and the people who were always overlooked and underserved.

Marshal Commander Cody takes his general's warning and evacuates Kamino and all of the clones from Republic space. As the Jedi work to recover from the Sith plot and the Republic stalls out on how to move on, the clones settle a new world, try to heal, and look for their missing general. Along the way, apart and together, Cody and Obi-Wan make discoveries that will change their and the galaxy’s future, and learn how to move forward even when things are broken and like nothing they'd planned.

I think that’s it as far as Star Wars fic I’ve illustrated/made covers for goes? (There’s a little bit of punisher/daredevil fic I’ve still been working on illustrating this year but that would be off theme lol)

if you’re a Star Wars fic author I’ve worked with this year and I’ve somehow missed you, let me know and I’ll add a link in! I’ve had an absolute blast collaborating with everyone this year, and I’m looking forward to digging in next year too! ❤️

#Star wars #jangobi #codywan #obimaul #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #jango fett #darth maul #star wars clone wars #star wars prequels #cover collection #1k+#big bang

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r-2-peepoo · 11 months

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Thinking about how instead making him less sure of his beliefs as a Jedi, Cody would only make Obi Wan more secure about them. I’m generally against fics that have Obi Wan doubt the Jedi because of his feelings for Cody because he is absolutely capable of having both (Kanera are proof it’s possible).

He replies deeply on the force to guide him, and he’s lived his entire life by that concept and the force led him right to Cody. He flew all that way to Kamino and it resulted in Cody being by his side. Even if the war ended badly, it wouldn’t mean Obi Wan would regret having had him in his life.

Then, when he thinks he’s had to say goodbye to yet another person he cared about, the force leads Cody right back to him years later on Tatooine. He doesn’t have to be alone anymore and how could that not make him trust the force even more than he already did?

Cody is part of the reason Obi Wan becomes the much more at peace version of himself we see in ANH and no one can change my mind. He’s a better Jedi from having known him.

#codywan #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #clone wars #star wars prequels #star wars

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mandos-mind-trick · 8 months

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Please Don't Be Gentle

Summary: You asked for it. He's more than willing to comply.

Pairing: Crosshair x reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, rough sex, blowjobs, rough blow jobs, hair pulling, slight choking, manhandling, the author’s glove kink showing back up, brief fingering but otherwise not much foreplay

A/N: I'm trying out something new before I get real busy. Just some short drabbles of varying filth levels. (There will be some sfw ones as well, I was just in a mood today.) I say short but it's like 500 words so...

MASTERLIST

Your knees ache. Not that you could really complain with Crosshair’s cock stuffed in your mouth. You’ve been here probably too long, on your knees before him. He hasn’t cum yet, one hand wrapped firmly around the base of his cock, the other tangled in your hair. You meet his gaze, his eyes squinted as they always seem to be as he stares down at you. He loves your mouth. He’d told you before you started.

He’d spent a long time kissing you, mapping your mouth with his tongue before you’d uttered the words that had put you in this position in the first place.

“Please don’t be gentle with me.”

Crosshair’s lips had lifted in a smirk, eyes going dark before his hand wrapped around your throat and his teeth sunk into your lip hard enough to draw blood.Not long after you’d been forced into this position. Your jaw aches, and you know your voice is going to be hoarse tomorrow.

Crosshair releases the base of his dick, the hand in your hair forcing you forward until you physically can’t take anymore. You grip his thighs to steady yourself, breathing through your nose as he holds you there for a moment. You choke around him and he releases you, letting you draw back off his cock completely. You take a deep breath, coughing a little at the irritation in your throat.

He still hasn’t cum yet, cock hard and angry as he stares down at you like you’re nothing but dirt on the bottom of his boot. His hand grabs the back of your neck, dragging you to your feet and onto the table in the middle of the room.

Your body hits the table with a thud, hard enough to draw a noise from you.. The hand on the back of your neck keeps you from moving, a booted foot pushing your legs further apart. You’re practically dripping, naked folds glistening in the low light of the barracks.

Gloved fingers trail your folds, ghosting over your clit. You’re just far enough back you can’t use the table to your advantage, for any sort of friction you’re desperate for. A glove hits the table next to your face before two fingers are stuffed into your pussy. You moan as you finally get some relief.

“Hear that?” He says, his words slithering under the squelch of your soaked pussy. “So wet for me.”

“For you,” You gasp, hips pressing back against his hand. “Only for you.”

He chuckles, withdrawing his fingers. “Good girl.”

His fingers are quickly replaced by his cock, and he gives you no time to adjust as he sinks into you to the hilt. You whine at the discomfort of being stretched so suddenly, hands curling into fists where they rest against the table.

“Still so kriffing tight.” Crosshair gasps, his free hand trailing over your back. “You’ve been neglected too long.”

You whimper, pushing up onto your toes as he begins to move his hips, forcing you against the table as he thrusts into you. You moan and whine as he fucks you, legs trembling from how close you are already. You’ve been wet since he proposed this idea, wet at the thought of taking him, of letting him have his way.

The hand on the back of your neck forces your face to the other side, your lips parting as you get closer and closer to the edge. Your eyes meet Hunter’s where he’s seated just mere feet away, secured tightly to a chair.

Taglist:

@kaminocasey @rosechi @mxkyrie @bobaprint @star-trekker-0013 @padawancat97 @bamfahsoka @rain-on-kamino @thrawnspetgoose @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @starrylothcat @blueink-bluesoul @freesia-writes @anxiouspineapple99 @wings-and-beskar @dystopicjumpsuit @littlemissmanga @madameminor @eris-k @clio3kantarella @moonlightwarriorqueen @sleepingsun501 @originalcollectionartistry @maddiedrmr @idontgetanysleep @clonemedickix @523rdrebel @deejadabbles @starqueensthings @multi-fan-dom-madness @sinfulsalutations

#star wars #star wars fic #the bad batch #the bad batch fic #crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair x reader #bad batch crosshair x reader #x reader #clone thirsting #the dark side fic

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nightfall-1409 · 2 months

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like its ok to wish that hunter did more to get crosshair out but i will say PLEASE stop saying that rescuing the literal helpless child from the child murdering fascists was somehow wrong of Hunter.

also like. can we stop undermining the very clear and obvious way that crosshair liked the power that he was given in the empire, especially over others, he was radicalized. he convinced himself that the war crimes were justified in the name of power. that is a far bigger problem and something that is going to haunt him far longer and requires a lot more to undo and forgive (and some people will never and should never do that, and others can't bc they are Dead)

to say it was all the effects of the chips, at this point in the series, its just not true. the events of aftermath specifically are 100% the chip. Everything after that is up for debate. We don't know when it was taken out, but at some point it was, and crosshair's pov is that it doesn't matter when, bc he likes where he's at. Had he not been abandoned by the empire on Kamino for so long, I doubt he would have ever changed, had Cody not deserted after confronting him about what it was the clones were doing, I doubt he would have ever changed. Had he not been forced to see Mayday's struggle and fight to bring him home and still after everything they both gave after everything suffered mayday died not in battle but because someone couldn't be bothered to even try to help him, I don't think he would have changed. I don't think Hunter could talk him out of it, and maybe he didn't try hard enough, or really, at all. Crosshair's version of loyalty, though, is blind, unquestioning, a soldiers loyalty. Obeying what they were doing, things that Hunter couldn't obey, and would have made him a monster to do.

But I can't imagine the disgust I would be forced to contend with if like, my family member came forward like "oh yes we're built to be soldiers, that doesn't mean preserving or protecting innocents, It means power and killing those who get in my way. its my purpose in life and i think you're stupid for not getting over the moral objections" like what do you even say to that. Hunter at that point had SEEN what the empire was doing. They both had, their home planet, (and head canons aside, all clones did in fact, in canon, see it as their home.) orbitally bombarded to secure power. How do you talk someone out of that, if fundamentally what your disagreement is on the value of life. You don't. Hence Hunter's demands in S3E5 to know what changed. What finally made Crosshair realize what he believed, about power and his purpose, was wrong.

Crosshair didn't want out. Crosshair was upset they didn't stay. He saw their purpose as being with the Empire. They escaped and ran and deserted. If they weren't with him, in the Empire, then they should die, like the Jedi, and Crosshair did absolutely believe that.

So this is all to say that. they are not equally responsible for what happened to their squad. Crosshair didn't have a choice at first— but once he did keep running right over that line. And a lot of us hoped that he was lying about the chip, that he wasn't entirely responsible for all that he did. But he was. That's clear at this point.

Even the whole chip matter— it's prolly really hard for Hunter to separate it. logically, he knows it was partially the chip at this point. But at that point in the story he watched someone he was incredibly close to nearly kill them all and at the time he had no idea why. If Hunter'd not grabbed Omega by the leg and tripped her she would be shot dead. If omega hadn't surprised Crosshair by shooting his gun out of his hand he would have killed Hunter. He shot wrecker, to use him as bait against the rest of them? Like, again, we all knew about the chip, but I can understand the emotional toll of such a thing bc he DIDNT at the time. The betrayal in that moment? How do you let it go?

But thats all fine! its interesting its character development and its the story they were determined to tell. But like. we can be honest.

Now if someone thinks that im wrong i'd love to know what exactly hunter needs to be sorry about, and why he's equally responsible that doesn't like either downplay the war crimes and murder and doesn't throw Omega like directly into harms way and under the bus.

#im still seeing variations on he CHOSE a GIRL HE DIDNT KNOW over his BROTHER #yes. bc crosshair is a grown man who can kill people whom for reasons unknown to hunter At The Time was trying to kill them. and almost did #even not knowing her. omegas a fucking innocent child. yes most sane people with an ounce of compassion will prioritize making sure shes ok #they're prolly never gonna have a blowout argument where hunter grovels guys and its bc. what would he be groveling for.#im sorry i didn't do the war crimes with you they looked fun? please be real #the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers

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spacemagicandlaserswords · 2 months

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The Bad Batch 3.1 ‘Confined’ Recap

Image from this post by @isthereanechoinhere96

Fuck you for starting with that line

Why are the captions in a serif font?

Going heavy on the theme of freedom for the clones already in the recap. Foreshadowing?

Rex!

CODY

Meme by u/No-Needleworker5295 on Reddit

Ah fuck here we go again

Why must I be made to relive this?

Damn the music is really hitting hard and it’s only the recap

Spoilers for Season 3 below!

Mayday! *sobs*

Oh great, it’s fuck face again

Hemlock being a bastard as per usual

Poor Omega

“Prisoner? Omega, you are no such thing.” Said to the child kept in a cage.

Still not trusting and heavily side eyeing Emerie

Why do they let Omega carry around a little lunchbox? That seems like an obvious security risk. As does the cell with a window, even if it has a heavy grate on it.

LMAO Crosshair looks the saddest, wettest, most bedraggled little meow meow in existence

Who are those other clones??? I must know

Why are they taking blood samples from the top of the hand? That seems like the least useful place to take it from

“All of us serve a purpose here” Big oof

The shots and framing are making it pretty clear that the blood, and Omega's blood in particular, is important

So many commandos with the glowing visors

Oh, it’s a door scanner. I thought Omega was sitting in a cell in that shot in the trailer

Nala Se (derogatory)

Lmao that wasn’t even subtle. She just destroyed Omega’s blood sample without even hiding what she was doing

“This research, it’s not like what we did on Kamino, is it?” Pretty sure what you did on Kamino was just as horrific. Though you can’t really blame Omega for that seeing as she’s a literal child who was also probably experimented on

M-count. That’s midi-chlorians isn’t it. Lol they aren’t even being subtle about this. Force sensitive clones ahoy!

“Experiments on the specimens” Jesus H Christ

Vault? That doesn’t bode well

Everything about this episode is very eerie and sinister

Ok that is an excessive, overkill amount of security. Who the fuck is in there?

And straight into electrocuting space dogs. Great.

I knew the lunchbox was for hiding something!

Batcher? Aw, she named them after the Bad Batch

Yes, stick your arm into the cage with the aggressive space dog. That’s a good idea

Nuggies???

He was shivering T_T

Who are all of these clones??? I keep pausing the video and zooming in but I can’t see any identifying characteristics on any of them yet.

And there he is

Oh fuck Crosshair’s hand is shaking. I know most people have probably watched the clip of this already but I deliberately didn’t. Shaking hands for a sniper is Not Good. That’s his right hand too, so presumably his trigger hand/finger/whatever it’s called? Is this a physical injury inflicted on him by their experiments or PTSD or both?

I’m intrigued at how much relative freedom they’re giving Omega. She’s not being kept in a cell all the time like the other clones. Though I suppose this is part of their plan to make Nala Se cooperate.

Ok the tap dripping in Omega’s cell is definitely a visual metaphor for how repetitive, dreary, and isolating this all is

That’s 21 tally marks

Oh, she made a straw Lula. Ow

[shrieking in distance] – what shrieking? Captions, what are you going on about?

Oh fuck that’s a lot of tally marks. And a hair change. Lots of time has clearly passed. They’ve updated Omega’s model too but I think it’s a tad heavy handed as she hasn’t aged that much.

Wow, she didn’t even look at Crosshair. Is this attitude change Omega being ground down by what’s happening to her or something she’s doing deliberately to try and play along and be more cooperative so she can find out about more stuff? Also, that’s the second time she’s walked past Crosshair in the same spot at the same time of the day. That seems deliberate.

Lol could you be any more obvious with the lighting in that shot that Omega’s blood is important? It’s like the vial of her blood has a moody spotlight on it. Important plot point here!

Nooooo Batcher’s hurt 😭

Bacta sponge?

“If I get the chance to escape, I wouldn’t think twice about leaving you behind.” Hmmm, you keep telling yourself that Crosshair

“I’m not them.” T_T

“Don’t risk anything for me. I belong in here.” Oooooooooowwwwwwwww

“None of us belong in here.” Damn right

There is some really lovely cinematography and framing in this scene between Omega and Crosshair

Well that was brutal and heavy handed

A successful transfer? A successful transfer of what?

The “specimen” has a high M-count. So they’re force sensitive. Now for the speculation on who it is?

“You should not question my loyalty to science, Doctor.” LMAO bitch what?

Urgh, of course they’re killing the dog once it’s friendly

Ahahaha squished

Aw, she’s setting Batcher free but she doesn’t want to go.

“I didn’t know you were so cruel, Omega.” Oh fuck right off

Piss weak attempt to help there Emerie

Hemlock getting his evil baddie laugh moment

Clever. Omega knows why she’s here.

Urgh, of course Hemlock would threaten Crosshair to get Omega to cooperate.

Re-education?!?!?! You sick fuck

“Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not in the ways we imagine.” I am really hoping that line comes back to bite him in the ass later on

Oh fuck off with bring back the doll Emerie. That is such a bait to try and get Omega to like her and behave

That’s 164 tally marks. Omega’s been on Mount Tantiss for 5 and a half months

Aw, Batcher made it out. And that’s the crashed shuttle from earlier that she’s howling on the top of. More foreshadowing?

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antianakin · 1 year

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AU where Ahsoka sides with Maul on Mandalore because she thinks that if she works with him then she can get his information and help against the Sith Master but plans to double cross him to make sure Anakin lives. They leave Mandalore immediately on a stolen ship, so they make it back to Coruscant just in time for Anakin to still be there after attacking the Temple, but before Obi-Wan and Yoda arrive. While Maul goes off after Palpatine, Ahsoka goes after Anakin to try to save him, thinking he's been tricked or that it's some sort of Dark Side magic controlling him perhaps, but it's not.

Maybe Anakin is just leaving the Temple, so it's still belching smoke into the air and of course it's still overrun by the 501st who aim blasters at Ahsoka the moment she shows up to try to get in, but Anakin stops them, orders them not to shoot.

Anakin offers her the same choice that he will offer Padme later, the same choice he offers Obi-Wan on Mustafar in canon: join him or die.

Ahsoka chooses to join him. Because if she joins him, she might be able to do something to save him, to change his mind. She refuses to abandon him, to walk away, to fight him.

Anakin's just gotten his orders to go to Mustafar, but he asks Ahsoka to go look in on Padme, maybe even take her somewhere safe, take her to Naboo.

When Obi-Wan and Yoda split up, Obi-Wan finds an empty apartment and Yoda finds MAUL, still waiting for an opportunity to attack Sidious, unusually patient. They come to an extremely uneasy truce as they decide to tag team Palpatine. Obi-Wan has to go through security recordings again at Padme's apartment and sees Ahsoka show up, hears her say she's working with Anakin, and that Anakin wants Ahsoka to take her to Naboo, to Varykino. He hears Padme agree and sees them both leave. He knows it could be a trap, but it's the only lead he has.

Obi-Wan arrives on Naboo and while Ahsoka is initially delighted to see him and discover that he survived, she quickly realizes he knows about what Anakin's done and becomes protective. She knows that Obi-Wan is a Jedi, a member of the High Council, and that Anakin being a Sith will strain his loyalties, but that Obi-Wan will ultimately do what he must, even if Anakin refuses to back down. Ahsoka tries to get him to leave without knowing where Anakin is, and Obi-Wan refuses, which forces Ahsoka to pull out her lightsabers to try to force him to leave. She loses.

Obi-Wan takes the opportunity to try to get to Padme and convince her to tell him where Anakin is, but Padme refuses. Even if she DID know where Anakin was, she wouldn't tell Obi-Wan because she doesn't trust him not to try to kill Anakin and she doesn't believe that Anakin would ever do the things Obi-Wan is accusing him of doing. So Obi-Wan has to pretend to accept defeat and leave, but he knows that eventually Anakin will come back to check in on Padme, he just has to wait.

Yoda and Maul together are able to overpower Palpatine and kill him, although Maul dies in the process, as well. With Anakin waiting for orders that will never come on Mustafar, this leaves something of an opening for Bail Organa and the loyalists to step in and try to quickly undo some of what Palpatine just did. They undo the Empire, they quickly try to reach out to some of the Separatist worlds (the "leadership" Anakin kills on Mustafar appears to be predominantly the Corporate Alliance, not the actual Separatist Senators) to broker peace. They reach out to Kamino to figure out how to deactivate the control chips in the clones. They expose the lies Palpatine told about the Jedi, expose the truth of what Palpatine was and what the Jedi tried to protect them from, declare the Jedi to be fallen heroes, persecuted by Palpatine, not traitors of the Republic.

By the time Anakin figures out Palpatine's dead, the newly born Empire has begun to crumble, and his first priority is Padme anyway, so he goes straight to Naboo, where Obi-Wan is waiting for him. But while Obi-Wan could take Anakin alone, he can't take on Anakin and Ahsoka together. Ahsoka keeps Anakin from killing Obi-Wan, but Obi-Wan is badly injured and left behind on Naboo as Anakin, Ahsoka, and Padme all go on the run. To add insult to injury, Anakin takes Obi-Wan's lightsaber with him.

Anakin and Ahsoka both have effectively sworn themselves to the Sith, but neither of them spent much time as Sith before Palpatine's death, so they're fairly ineffective Sith. Anakin had thought to take Palpatine's Empire as his own, kill Palpatine after Padme was saved and then rule the galaxy, but the Empire is already gone and Palpatine is dead. Anakin did not inherit Palpatine's ability to scheme and plan, just his anger and passion and selfish greed. He has a pregnant wife who might die in childbirth, so he gets them all somewhere to hide and leaves Padme with Ahsoka while he goes out scouring the galaxy for a way to save her from what he believes to be her impending doom. He fails, but Padme doesn't die. It changes very little.

Anakin and Ahsoka are welcome nowhere in the galaxy after what Anakin did, and Ahsoka refuses to leave Anakin a second time. They all have to start living on the run, living in the shadows, finding places where they can disappear among the populace. People are looking for Anakin, looking for Padme and Ahsoka, and Anakin isn't interesting in being merciful usually. When Ahsoka tries to step between Anakin and their pursuers the way she did with Obi-Wan, it rarely goes well anymore. And they still have to find ways to get supplies, clothes for the twins, food, fuel, and transportation without leaving traces that can be followed. Anakin isn't afraid to use mind tricks to force people to give things up for them, citing that obviously they need it more. When Ahsoka tries to speak out against killing the pursuers, against violating the minds of random citizens just trying to make a living, Anakin threatens to leave her behind because if she truly loved him then she'd do whatever it took to protect him and his family, tells her that when it was Ahsoka on the run he was the only one who believed in her innocence. So she kills, she helps with the mind tricks, she steals and lies.

It's so far from the perfect life Padme had dreamed for herself on Naboo. And her discontent fuels Anakin's anger, his fear of losing her in a way he hadn't truly considered. He starts lashing out more and more, at Ahsoka, at Padme, and even one or twice at the twins. And finally, Padme can no longer take it and snaps when he aims his ire at the twins and tries to kill him. Anakin doesn't let her, and this time, Obi-Wan isn't there to tell Anakin to let go.

Devastated at this final betrayal, Ahsoka leaps in to stab Anakin through the heart, and Anakin can absolutely sense her coming, he could stop her if he wanted to easily. But Anakin, broken at the realization that he just killed Padme, would rather die than have to live with that consequence. And Anakin decides to let Ahsoka's killing blow land. Padme and Anakin die within the same heartbeat. And so Anakin fulfills the prophecy, he destroys the last Sith with his apathy and selfishness, and brings balance to the Force with his death.

Now left completely alone and emotionally shattered, Ahsoka takes the twins to the only people she knows that might be able to help them. She takes them to find the survivors of the Jedi Order, living now in a different Temple as they try to recover alongside a healing galaxy. Even if they won't trust her, help her, accept her, she knows they would never abandon Luke and Leia.

The Jedi happily accept Luke and Leia into their Order, but after a few days, Ahsoka knows she can't stay there under their protection. She knows that she hurt people, she knows she left a path of pain behind her as much as Anakin did. And she knows she has to make amends for that as best she can, and that path starts with turning herself in to the Republic to face the consequences of her choices. The Republic has done some healing of its own and with the Jedi Council speaking up for her to a Senate and Chancellor more willing to listen, Ahsoka is asked to make amends by joining a reconstruction crew that's helping patch up the galaxy in the wake of the Clone War for a few years and meet with a healer to help her through the trauma once a week (she's allowed to use a Jedi mind healer given her Force Sensitivity and history in the Order and particular relationship to Anakin).

Slowly, Ahsoka starts to heal. She spends her time being constructive and peaceful, rather than destructive and fearful. She builds new connections to support her as she moves forward down a new path. And at the end of it, Ahsoka decides that she still wants to walk the path of a Jedi. She always has, even if she got lost along the way. So she heads back to the Temple, once again ready to be a Learner.

#star wars #sith ahsoka #ahsoka tano #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #obi-wan kenobi #the clone wars #tcw #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #sw tcw #sw: tcw #dark ahsoka #dark apprentice au

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hugmekenobi · 7 months

Text

S2: The Bad Batch (12)

Chapter Twelve: The Outpost

Gif by @dreamswithghosts

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: Crosshair's mission for the Empire finalises what he'd feared would happen to him. Meanwhile, you and the Batch take on a tame job yet you find yourself filled with anticipatory dread but you have no sense of why.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, angst, Lieutenant Nolan, character death, my interpretation of Crosshair's thought process, Force-related anxiety, descriptions of exhaustion, poor attempt at kidnapping, light injury descriptions, reader isn't quite on top of things, briefest instances of innuendo (it's tiny and you might not even notice it but including just in case), me making up some of Hunter's past, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 5.9K

Author's notes: Told you I hadn't forgotten about Crosshair lol, the poor boy goes through it. Also added my own thing to go with it and thank you to @fuckoffthanos and @arctrooper69 for helping me out with deciding how this should go! Also, @arctrooper69, loved your idea and had to incorporate it somehow but just the way other things panned out, it's a bit on the tamer side but thank you again! Hope you everyone enjoys!

He waited by the shuttle and watched. He watched the group of newly redundant clones walk past. It was the same spiel from the Imperial officer every time- “The Empire thanks you for your years of service and wishes you well on your retirement.” Like that would really make a difference.

“CT-9904?”

Yes, that was who he was to them now. Just a designation, but at least he still had a purpose here, not like the countless others he’d seen be forced out. He turned to face the lieutenant who addressed him.

“You’re out of uniform.”

Right, yes. Can’t be seen to look too different. He put his helmet on and awaited his instructions.

“I’m Lieutenant Nolan, your commanding officer for this mission. We’re heading to the Imperial Depot on Barton-4. High-value cargo stored there has been targeted by local insurgents. We’re to secure it until it’s transferred at week’s end.” Nolan paused as he heard the faint voices of the clones already in the shuttle. He let out an irritated sigh. “Fantastic. More clones.”

“Problem, sir?”

“Yes. I don’t like used equipment.” He boarded the shuttle. “Let’s go.”

Right. ‘Used equipment.’ He couldn’t afford to give that more thought. There was a mission to complete. He grabbed his sniper rifle and stepped onto the ship.

Barton-4 was an ice planet. And a hostile one at that. The cold wind howled and worked its way through to his armour and seeped into his bones, and the gusts of snow made it hard to see ahead. It was understandable how things had been going so wrong. Getting caught off guard by native insurgents in a place like this would mean the squadron here would have no chance of defending themselves successfully.

The group made their way into the main cargo haul and Nolan addressed the droids moving the shipments. “Where is your supervisor?”

“You must be our reinforcements.”

They all turned in the direction of the voice who emerged from behind one of the containers.

“We expected you 36 rotations ago. Did you get lost?” The clone asked coolly.

“We work on the Empire’s schedule, trooper, not yours.” Nolan replied.

“It’s Commander, Lieutenant.”

“Well, Commander, your orders were to guard and protect this facility and its cargo, yet this outpost is grossly unguarded.” He followed the clone round the corner. “Where are the rest of your men?”

“Dead.” He replied bluntly before he introduced the clones cowering round a heat lamp. “Hexx, Veetch, and I, we’re all that’s left.”

Their names. He was using their names. Not designations.

“Your failings will be dealt with later.” Nolan scolded. “For now, I am in charge here until the cargo is transported.”

“I feel safer already.” The commander drawled.

“Look here, clone, you speak to me with respect.” Nolan snapped.

“In my experience, respect is something to be earned.”

The Lieutenant sneered. “Yet the Empire assigned you to this desolate rock, were you let the majority of your squad get killed.”

The commander didn’t rise to it. “Tell me, Lieutenant, how many missions have you commanded?”

Meanwhile, he watched the interaction between these two men with hidden interest. He liked that this clone wasn’t backing down so easily.

“That’s what I thought.” The commander said as his question was greeted by silence. He addressed his group behind him. “Boys, why don’t you help the new boss get situated?” As soon as they all left, he focused his attention on the soldier in black armour that had followed the lieutenant in. “You, uh, know the lieutenant well?”

“For about two hours.” He responded.

The commander scoffed. “Two hours too long, I bet.”

He hummed in agreement and was both surprised and grateful to see his fellow clone bring over the heat lamp.

“So, what’d you do to get stuck with this mission?”

“Just lucky, I guess.” He said distantly.

The commander’s laugh turned into a sigh. “The name’s Mayday.” He looked at the clone expectantly.

He debated for a moment. It had been so long since anyone had wanted to know his name and cared enough to ask about it. “Crosshair.” It almost sounded foreign; it had been a long time since he’d had a reason to use it.

“Welcome to The Outpost.” Mayday with faux celebration. He grabbed his helmet and blaster. “I’ll give you the lay of the land.”

Nothing was out of the ordinary, the ship flew peacefully through hyperspace, with you all deciding that you were going to heed Cid’s instructions- after all she had said you shouldn’t return if you didn’t scavenge anything from the crash site so you were doing as you were told and the added benefit of not being in her employment worked things out quite nicely.

So, why as you sat on the edge of your bunk, was it that with nothing being out of the norm, you had a deep sense of dread lingering in your heart? This was the worst it had been; you had sensed it creeping in the days since the failed mission from Cid and your sleep had been very limited but you had put the cause down as being the mission and assumed it would go away. It hadn’t. And last night had been the worst. It overwhelmed you and had prevented you from sleeping entirely and the exhaustion you were feeling wasn’t helping matters. A light tapping on your leg forced you out of your head.

You glanced down to see Hunter kneeling in front of you, hand on your knee. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“What’s going on?”

“Didn’t sleep well.” You said briskly, not wanting to create a fuss.

“Something on your mind?” Hunter asked kindly. He could tell you were putting a brave face on but even that couldn’t hide the dark shadows under your eyes and the way you could barely keep your head up.

You shook your head. You didn’t want to bother him with something you couldn’t even put a cause or label on. “Is something happening?” You jutted your head in the direction of the cockpit where the others were gathered.

Hunter let your deflection pass for now. He knew you well enough to know that he couldn’t push you to talk. You would come to him when you needed it.

“Phee got in touch. She’s got a mission for us, but she needs us to get some credits from a contact first.”

“And the catch?” You asked, stifling a yawn.

“Her contact seems to have five possible addresses to keep people guessing his location.”

You nodded slowly. “Honestly was expecting worse.”

Hunter gave you a small smile. “I’d figure I’d keep Omega with me and the rest of you split to check out each of the other addresses?”

“Sounds good, Seargeant.” You said as you stood up to go to the refresher. You splashed some water on your face, and you caught a glimpse of your reflection. You did look pretty rough. Your eyes were puffy and dark circles graced the skin underneath them. Maybe a distraction from this feeling would be a good idea. There wasn’t much you could do about the tiredness expect for push through but even doing a small job might help with forgetting for a little bit.

Not only had it sounded like Mayday and his team had been hung out to dry with degraded equipment and poor support all the while protecting cargo the Empire hadn’t deemed necessary to inform them of what exactly it was, but it also hadn’t taken long for the first attack on the depot to occur since he and the rest of them had arrived.

The raiders had made it in and out fast and had caused the deaths of the rest of Mayday’s team and had stolen more cargo. The only saving grace had been that Crosshair had been able to hit one of them as they retreated, and the blood trail led to a system of ice tunnels that had allowed them to slip through undetected for months.

Upon Nolan’s request, he and Mayday had gone in search of the crates, and they started with the ice tunnel.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Hunter asked you gently as the others stepped off the ship.

You knew he was coming from a good place, but your sleep-deprived state took it as more of an insult. “Yes.” You said tetchily.

Hunter raised his hands in appeasement. “I’m just checking in.”

You exhaled wearily and ran a hand across your face. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s probably best to just leave me be for the moment.” You lifted your hood and mask up.

Hunter debated pushing the matter further, but he decided to wait until this task was over. “Okay.” He put his helmet on and let you leave the ship first.

It turned out that Wrecker had the current address and after he confirmed everything went smoothly, Hunter had said you were all to head back to the ship. You cut down an alley way that was a shortcut but also a means to avoid a public scene since you’d been followed once you’d rounded the corner from one of the contact’s alternative residences. “Please, I’m in no mood to do this today.” You said tiredly as the figure dashed in front of you, halting you in your tracks. You stared the Weequay. “What do you want?”

“How’d you know about the money? I’ve been watching that house, and I heard your comm. Where’d you find him?”

“I don’t have it.” You ignored the crux of his question.

“No, but someone you know does. And you’re going to help us get it.”

You really couldn’t be bothered with a simple kidnapping. If you were going to be threatened today, you’d rather it be a bit more interesting than this. “You know you’re not actually going to get anywhere with that plan, right?”

The Weequay simply sniggered and drew a blaster.

You sighed heavily and reached for your holster. Your entire body was slow. You’d never felt so sluggish.

And that was probably why you didn’t pick up on the ‘us’ or register the person that came from behind and smacked the butt of their blaster across the back of your head.

“Alright, let’s get going.” Wrecker said cheerily as he stepped on board and put the case down. He took his helmet off.

Hunter glanced past him. “(Y/N)’s not with you?”

Wrecker shook his head. “Was she supposed to be?”

“She’s not come back yet, and we haven’t heard from her.” Omega informed him, her own troubled face matching Hunter’s.

Hunter reached for his comm and tried for you, but he got no reply. “She wouldn’t go radio silent without being told to.”

“You guys aren’t in a fight, are you?” Wrecker asked.

Hunter shot his brother an irritated look. “No. And even if we were, she knows better than to ignore any of us if we’re checking in.”

“(Y/N), come in.” Omega tried but again was met with no response.

Both Wrecker and Tech also attempted to get in touch with you, but nothing came through.

Hunter started pacing. You wouldn’t ignore all of them. You just wouldn’t, no matter what was happening. The panic was starting to set in now. It was something he rarely did and when he did do it, he didn’t like it, but now he was thinking he should’ve pulled his rank with you and at least made you stay on the ship. He’d known you were in not shape to go out there, even if it was a simple mission, whatever you were going through and the exhaustion you were experiencing would have an effect on anyone.

“Hunter, it’s her.” Tech called over from the cockpit as the ship’s main communication control lit up. Only it wasn’t your voice that came through.

“If you want to see her again, meet us with that lovely case of credits you picked up in 30 minutes.”

“How do we know she’s with you?” Hunter asked, doing his best to keep his voice level.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Her top has half a white skull on it.”

Dammit. Hunter paid no attention to the looks the others gave him. He needed to know more. He needed to know if you were okay. “I want to hear her. For all I know, you just saw her and that was the first thing you noticed.”

The voice chuckled unkindly. “She’s currently… unavailable for speaking. If you want that to be a more permanent state, then by all means, don’t do as we say. But, if you want her back, you better be here.”

“If you’ve hurt her-”

“It’s 20 minutes now. By all means, keep talking and pissing me off if you want her to suffer but I’d suggest you start walking.”

“Wait, but where are-” Omega started to say but the transmission cut out. “How are we supposed to find her?” She addressed the others.

“They used her own comm. I can trace it easily enough.” Tech said calmly as he got to work.

“The rest of us will go over her steps.” Hunter directed before he led the way off the ship.

If it wasn’t for the throbbing radiating throughout your skull, you might’ve been grateful for being knocked out. It was the closest thing you’d had to a rest. But the resulting headache and embarrassment at being so easily caught took precedence over any relief at being able to not think about what signals the Force was trying to send you. Now that you were awake, the feeling was back.

“Ah good, you’re up.”

You ignored the voice and took in your surroundings instead. The room was dark, the only light came from the faint glow of a lantern, and you were sitting with your back to a damp wall. Your hands were tied loosely in front of you with a piece of frayed rope. It was the worst attempt at kidnapping you’d ever experienced.

“Don’t worry. We’ve been in touch with your friends. Once we have the money, we’ll let you go.”

Your eyes had adjusted to the dimness, and it was then that you saw the two Weequay men standing by the doorway. You snorted. “Yeah, I’m not all that worried.”

“Oh yeah?” The one that had originally cornered you in the alley said.

“You two really don’t do this a lot, do you?”

“What are you talking about?” The one you didn’t recognise asked.

“Kidnapping people. You two are clearly new to the game.”

“Meaning what?” The first Weequay asked suspiciously.

You released an aggravated huff. You were too tired to do this, but it was your way out of here. “Meaning if you were regulars at this, you wouldn’t have used my comm to send your demands to my team- I’m assuming that’s what you did, right?” Their anxious glance to one another gave you your answer. You continued, “Ideally, you also would tie my hands behind my back, or, at the very least, you would double check the strength of the knot.”

“Check it.” The one you had seen first ordered his companion.

Perfect. As he kneeled down in front of you, you punched him on the underside of his jaw, and he crumbled to the floor. Acting quickly, you broke your hands out of their restraints, and you fired a stun blast from his blaster to the second one, who had been too taken aback by your actions to get his blaster out in time.

You grabbed your stuff and headed for the door, but it was then you heard the faint sound of someone grunting. You were still pretty out of it so as you moved to dodge the blade, your reaction wasn’t quite fast enough. You inhaled sharply as the knife sliced the part of your forearm that wasn’t protected by your armour. It wasn’t much more than a graze, but you could feel blood slowly secreting from the wound and it stung like hell. You whipped around and fired a stun bolt to the half-collapsed figure, and he fell unconscious.

You opened the door to be greeted by three familiar faces. “Oh. Hey, what brings you all here?”

“We were coming to rescue you.” Omega said as she peered around you to see the two knocked out Weequays.

“I appreciate it, kid. I’ll save you something to do next time.” You dug deep for the smile that graced your face as you touched her shoulder. “Thanks for coming after me, guys.” You said to the group.

“Did they hurt you?” Hunter asked urgently as he scanned your body for any obvious injures.

You shook your head. “Nothing major. It was my fault anyway. I completely switched off.”

“Yeah, what even happened?” Wrecker asked you.

“Don’t really wanna relive the humiliation at the moment, Wrecker.” You took a breath. “We good to go?” You asked Hunter who nodded and the four of you walked back to the Marauder.

“Tech, would you mind bringing the medkit down here?” You asked as you boarded the ship and sat down on your bunk. “Also, thanks for helping find me.”

“No thanks are necessary. Although, it was a relatively simple mission; I do not understand how this incident occurred in the first place or how you managed to injure yourself.” Tech said frankly as he pulled the medkit down and started to make his way over to you.

He was right but you were embarrassed enough to be so caught off guard like you were and you didn’t need more reminders. “Tech, what about my general demeanour right now makes you think I’m unaware of that fact?” You said through gritted teeth as you tossed your vambrace with a little too much zest judging by the way it smacked off the wall by your bed. You were doing your best to keep it together. You were determined to not let your mood affect the relationships around you.

“I only meant-”

“Tech.” Hunter warned him off calmly as he took to medpack from him. “Just get the ship in the air, okay?”

“Very well.” Tech said with a nod before he turned back for the cockpit.

Omega and Wrecker followed him.

“Do you want-” Hunter started to offer.

“I can do it myself, it’s a really small cut.” You said touchily as you held your hand out for the case.

Hunter didn’t fight you on it and he was prepared to give you space, so he handed it to you. “I’ll be in the cockpit with the others if you need me.” He risked a step forward and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

You did feel instantly more tranquil after he did that. “I’m sorry.” You uttered quietly as he stepped away.

Hunter tenderly rubbed a thumb across your cheekbone. “Get some rest.”

Crosshair and Mayday rounded the corner of the tunnel, and the blood trail came to an end. Both their lights found the dead body of the raider hunkered against the wall.

“He didn’t get far.” Crosshair said wryly.

Mayday kneeled down to examine the body. “Not sure what bothers me more. That he’s wearing armour stolen off my men or that his cohorts just left him here.”

“No point in carrying deadweight.”

Mayday glanced back at Crosshair. “Remind me not to die on your watch.”

Crosshair didn’t pay the comment much mind. He just carried on walking past, but he didn’t get very far as he suddenly came to a complete standstill as he heard the activation click of something hidden in the snowy ground. His best chance was to not move a muscle.

“Pressure mine.” Mayday stated.

“Mm-hmm.” Crosshair nodded.

Mayday brought his light down to examine it. “What were you saying about deadweight?”

“Do you know how to disarm it?”

“I’m not an explosives expert, but since I don’t feel like carrying your body back to the outpost, I guess I’ll give it a shot.” Mayday took off his helmet and put his blaster on the ground as well as his torch- but he kept the light trained on the pressure mine- as he crouched down. He blew away the flakes of snow still covering it. “Hmm. This mine’s a little different than ones I’ve seen before, but I’m pretty sure they’re all the same. Guess we’ll find out soon enough, huh?”

It wasn’t the most comforting of statements for Crosshair to hear, but he’d take any help he could get at this point.

Mayday pulled out his tools and carefully got to work. “I wish I had the proper equipment for this, but the Empire’s ignored all my requests. I’ve learned to improvise though. I guess all clones have had to since the war. Can’t say I ever thought much about the war ending…” he sighed, “… until it did.”

As Crosshair stood still on the mine and waited for Mayday to get him out of it, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander and start thinking about his old squad and how different this mission would be going. Tech would have the suitable equipment. Hunter would’ve known where to step to avoid a situation just like this and he’d have made finding these raiders look easy despite the conditions. And, even if one of them still found themselves in this position, Wrecker would’ve disarmed it with a degree of ease and sophistication people wouldn’t necessarily expect from him. While he would never admit it out loud, he was finding that he missed them. Mayday’s question to him pulled him out of his thoughts.

“What unit were you with?”

That was a question he did not want to answer. “It doesn’t matter.” He just about manged to grind out.

“Humour me. I could use the distraction.”

Well, if he wanted them both to make it out of this, he had to do what Mayday was asking of him. “Clone Force 99.”

“What happened to them?”

“They’re gone.” He replied subduedly. It wasn’t a lie. They were gone and he didn’t know where they had wound up or even if they were all still together and alive. It had been a long time now since that day on the platform on Kamino.

“And here we are, the survivors.” Mayday peered up at Crosshair. “Hmm. Combat troopers stuck babysitting cargo shipments.”

If he let his mind start to drift down that path any more than he already had on occasion, then he’d lose all sense of purpose. He’d lose that purpose he was so sure this Empire would provide. “Mission’s a mission.”

Mayday chuckled sarcastically. “Yeah, I used to say the same thing.” He inspected his work and grabbed his gear before he stood up. “There. That should do it.” As he saw Crosshair start to move, spoke up swiftly. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t pick up your foot yet. Wait until I tell you, then lift it, but real slow like.” He started to walk past him. “I’ll wait around the bend. If I don’t hear a boom, then I’ll know it worked.”

“Glad your confident in your work.”

Mayday put his helmet back on as he continued to walk away. “Oh, I’m confident. I’m just not stupid. Remember, nice and slow. On the count of three. One. Two. Three.”

Crosshair lifted his foot and sighed in relief when there was no explosion.

The two of them made their way out the tunnel into the storm. It was then they saw the light radiating from the raider’s base and they put their plan of attack into action.

It had been going well. The enemy bas was destroyed, and they were able to reclaim the cargo. They went down to the area where the cargo had spilled. But it was then when it had started to go wrong as they both discovered what it was they were risking their lives for and what it was Mayday and his men had men had devoted their lives to defending. And… and it wasn’t worth the fight they had put in.

“Gear?” Mayday said aloud as he examined the boxes. “We’ve been risking our lives to recover equipment we could have been wearing this whole time?”

Crosshair nudged a helmet with his foot to expose the design. “It’s not clone trooper gear.” Because why would it be? They were disposable after all.

Mayday picked up a breastplate. “New toys for their shiny new military, and we get the scraps. After all the clones have done, all we’ve sacrificed… We’re good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?”

Crosshair didn’t have an answer for him. He thought he’d been a good solider but how was that being rewarded? He couldn’t see it. If he had any lingering doubts about where his place in this Empire was, this mission was doing a good job of eradicating them. He, Mayday, and all his fellow clones weren’t valued. They weren’t worth anything to this Empire.

Suddenly, a growing rumbling echoed around them.

“Go!” Mayday ordered as he saw avalanche hurtling towards them from the mountain behind them.

They ran as fast as they could through the deep snow, but they couldn’t outrun it, the best they could do was make it past the rock ahead.

Crosshair didn’t know what happened. One minute both of them were running side by side, and the next Mayday was knocking him past the rock and letting himself get swept up by the snow first which meant he smashed into the rockface.

Crosshair’s helmet was knocked away and the best he could do was take a deep breath as the snow smothered him.

Crosshair punched a hand through the top of the snow before his head followed and he breathed in the cold air. His entire body was numb and shivering but he couldn’t dwell on that for too long since he’d caught sight of Mayday’s helmet a few metres ahead. He heaved his way through the waist deep snow towards it and started to desperately dig through to find his companion.

It was after a few moments that Mayday’s face came into view, but his eyes were shut, and his body was limp as Crosshair propped him against the rock behind him. “Mayday? Mayday, wake up!” The faint groan from Mayday’s mouth was enough of an indicator that he was alive… that there was hope for him. “Come on. We have to move.”

Mayday’s eyes flickered open. “Go.” He gasped. “I won’t make it.”

Crosshair didn’t know what possessed him to grab Mayday’s helmet and put it back on his head. All he knew now as he supported Mayday’s body was that it was something he had to do. He had to make sure they both made it back and Mayday would survive. He was going to get them both through the storm.

Hunter came back from the cockpit to see everyone else asleep but you. You were perched on the edge of your bunk looking utterly shattered and anything but relaxed. You still had all your gear on, minus the one vambrace you’d taken off to tend to your cut earlier. “Sweetheart, you need to get some sleep.”

“I can’t.” You mumbled, utterly defeated, as you brought your head down to lean against his shoulder.

Hunter rested his head on top of yours. “Tell me what’s wrong?”

“I can’t because I don’t know.” You sighed deeply and pushed your face into the crook of his neck. “I’m just so tired.”

“What can I do?” Hunter asked softly.

“Knock me out until we rendezvous with Phee.” You suggested, only half kidding.

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea, but we can keep it as an option.” Hunter said lightly. “Come on.” He gently nudged you up, ignoring your slight groan of protest. He went to the ground in front of you.

“Okay, but I’m pretty tired, can’t promise I’ll be super enthusiastic.” You attempted levity but your tone was too flat.

“Hush you.” Hunter said with a slight grin. He got to work on taking your boots off before he came to sit next you. He started to delicately take your remaining armour off before he reached for the ends of your first layer. “Arms up.” He prompted tenderly.

Your arms felt heavy, but you did as he asked and he brought it up and over your head, taking care to not let you get caught in the material. “Now what?” You asked drearily.

“Now you lie down and close your eyes.”

“You know, I have tried doing that.” You said drily.

Hunter gave you an imploring look. “Just trust me, okay?”

You did and so you found yourself lying back down.

Hunter enveloped you. He rubbed, light, soothing patterns across your arms and back. He could feel how tense you were. He kept his voice quiet and low to create as restful an environment as he could for you. “I want you to focus on me. Nothing else. Nothing else matters. It’s just you and me here right now. Switch off. Focus on my voice. Focus on my heartbeat. Breathe with me.” He stared taking slow, deep breaths whilst continuing his peaceful touches. “It’s just us. I’m right with you. You don’t have to think about anything else. I love you. I’ll always be right here.”

You did as he asked. His hands were warm- if a little rough- against your arms but years of wielding a blaster would have that effect and you welcomed that feeling. It reminded you of all that he had survived, of what you all had survived and that he was there with you. Deep breaths. He’s here. He’s okay. Everyone’s okay. Shut it off. You thought to yourself. You mirrored his breathing and continued to listen to his words.

As the minutes grew longer and you continued to listen to him, you felt yourself start to relax into him. Your eyes grew heavy, and it was easier to keep them shut this time. How’d you know how to do this so well?

“Growing up with enhanced senses had its difficulties. I had to learn how to manage it.” He felt you nuzzle closer to him, and a deep sigh left your body. “There you go” He murmured as he kept caressing your body. “Keep breathing with me.”

Things felt easier now as you focused on him, on his scent, on the feeling of his hands on your body, on his breathing. And the last thing you remembered was you telling him you loved him and the kiss to the top of your head from him before you drifted off.

Crosshair staggered onto the main platform of the outpost and fell to his knees. He tried to be as gentle as he could when it came to putting Mayday down.

“About time you two returned.” Nolan said harshly as he approached the two men.

“He-” Crosshair broke off with an exhausted pant before he removed Mayday’s helmet. “He needs a medic.”

Nolan ignored him. “I see you didn’t retrieve the crates, which means you’ve failed your mission.”

How could that be all he was concerned about? “Did you hear what I said? Help him!” Crosshair begged as he could feel the pain and weariness creeping into his own body, but Mayday needed the help first. He had to be saved.

“Certainly not. That would be a waste of the Empire’s resources.”

“He’ll- He’ll die.” Did they truly not care? And it was then he heard one last pained cough from Mayday before his eyes shut and he fell silent. Crosshair searched for a pulse but found none. No. No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“He served his purpose as a soldier of the Empire.” Nolan said unsympathetically.

Crosshair could feel white hot anger start to rise within him. “You- You could have saved him!”

“Perhaps you didn’t hear me. He is expendable, as are you.”

And there it was. Confirmation of the doubt he had been trying so hard to deny. Hunter had been right. They were only ever numbers.

“And if you speak to me again with such disrespect, I’ll see to it you meet a similar fate, clone.” Nolan continued disdainfully.

Crosshair caught the sight of the shadow of one of the ice vultures. He knew they were coming for Mayday. But it shouldn’t be here for him.

“Now, leave him and get back to work… while you’re still useful.” Nolan started to walk back to the shuttle.

Crosshair looked up to the sky and started at the circling bird. He’d thought he’d found a way to survive on his own too but that had changed. He was supposed to have this incredible ability to see things others couldn’t. How had he been so blind for so long? Well, no more. He’d had enough. He wasn’t concerned about the consequences he would face with what he was about to do. All he knew was that he wouldn’t give this Empire anything more.

He got unsteadily got to his feet and trained his blaster on the retreating back on Lieutenant Nolan. “Lieutenant.” He didn’t hesitate and the shot went straight through Nolan’s chest as soon as he turned around. It was after that final act that he finally let the exhaustion and agony take him and his sight went dark.

You awoke with a start and sat up. Things had been going well but that was a new development. You rested a hand on your chest as you felt your heart pounding. You shivered. You were cold, both outwardly and inwardly. There was a deep chill in your veins that left you feeling frozen and unsettled. You took a few deep breaths to settle yourself.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter rasped; his voice still thick with sleep as he sat up alongside you and laid his hand on your back.

“I don’t know.” You murmured uneasily as you fiddled with the bandage on your arm. “Something woke me up. There was this cold shadow and all I could feel was fear and pain, but I couldn’t see what from or who.”

“It was just a bad dream.” Hunter comforted. He kissed the back of your shoulder. “Come on, you should try to get back to sleep.”

“Right… a bad dream.” You whispered distantly as you let him lay you back down. Whatever it was that had woken you up, it felt real, it wasn’t just a bad dream, you were experiencing what someone else was going through but you didn’t have a face to put to the feeling and you didn’t know what it could be. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of Hunter’s arm draped over you, holding you close, but you couldn't shake the feeling like there was something more to what just happened and so sleep didn’t easily come this time around.

Crosshair woozily came around to the sound of equipment beeping. He didn’t recognise where he was, and it was then he heard the muffled sound of someone addressing him.

“Hello, CT-9904. Or do you prefer, Crosshair?”

His name. She was using his name. The woman that was speaking to him seemed to be some kind of doctor. “Where am I?” He asked wearily.

“I’m holding you for observation. Once you’ve healed, the doctor will come for you.”

She was holding a needle to his neck, yet she wasn’t the primary medic? “Who- Who are you?”

“Remain calm. Cooperate and you might survive.” That was all he registered before the needle pierced his skin and he fell into darkness once more.

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @starwarsnerd111,

#the bad batch #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch s2 #hunter x reader #hunter x femalejedi!reader #hunter x fem!reader #hunter x female!reader #sergeant hunter #sergeant hunter x reader #hunter tbb #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch hunter x you #hunter x y/n #tbb hunter xreader #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars #angst #friends to lovers #hurt/comfort

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inkformyblood · 9 months

Text

i lose all (but not him) #1 CWW2023

Kamino, First Meetings, Slow Burn. Cody x Obi-Wan @codywanweek Day 1 prompt: Cody with a lightsaber. Ao3 link here.

It’s raining. Again.

CC-2224 jams his thumb into the door controls, forcing them open once more with a rush of frigid air that sends the hair on his arms prickling, the sensation crawling over his scalp in a bygone evolutionary tick that does nothing but irritate him. It had been several rotations since the pipes on the lower levels had broken and sent a tidal wave of coral and tiny lost insects into the corridors but the feeling of something crawling over his skin had yet to entirely fade from his immediate memory. It possibly never would. CC-2226 still woke screaming on occasions about the crash from sixteen rotations ago.

The treated canvas hood would do nothing against the rain but CC-2224 still pulls it over the thin fabric of his blacks, double knotting the trailing cords beneath his chin and tucking them away. His boots are soaked through already, but he still leans down and secures his laces. He can no more stop himself than he could pluck the moon from the sky and rearrange the constellations on a whim. He has been trained, sculpted, made for this.

Query: is it going to stop raining soon?

Answer: no.

The thought isn’t his and yet it is, wired into his thoughts like an additional comm line. CC-2224 nods regardless, swallowing against the copper tinge that spreads over his tongue, and presses the door control once more. Water flicks against his face and he blinks, pulling in a deep breath through gritted teeth, and steps outside.

He regrets it immediately. Well, not regret it. The word doesn’t quite fit and CC-2224 turns it over and over in his thoughts to try and smooth over the ragged edges, to make it flat and smooth and as routine as everything else. He’d seen a piece of equipment fall from one of the higher platforms and become wedged between a barrier and the window it was attached to, too unimportant to warrant the slight inconvenience of lowering a magnet to retrieve it and so it had been left. He’d stopped by the window during his patrols, not for long and not with enough regularity for it to be a pattern and noticed, but enough times to track the decay of plastoid components to expose the fragile wiring beneath. That had only lasted a cycle before it had been torn free and lost, the outer casing following soon after. CC-2224 doesn’t regret having to perform maintenance on the filtration unit. It is a necessary task to prevent costly breakdowns in the future. It is a necessary task to keep the nutrients in their ration blocks from becoming altered due to their negligence. It is a necessary task to keep CC-2226 from being decommissioned.

There is no room for deviations, no room for error, but CC-2224 will try for as long as he can.

He is made for this task, just as he had been made for every task before. His genetic sequence had been meticulously hand-crafted, every base chosen and lined up where it was needed. He isn’t as much of a person as he is a tool, a weapon, whatever is needed for the situation at hand. He had been made for the Jedi.

ERROR.

He had been made for one Jedi.

ERROR.

CC-2224 raises his hand to his face, smudges at the sudden spike of pain in his nose. He’s already dripping, every step squelching through the scattered puddles that are only disrupting the rain in that they’re stopping the rain from immediately drenching CC-2224 to his skin, but he can see the dark stain of blood by the distant gleam of the landing pad lights from the platform above him. There’s no sky visible amongst the heavy press of the stormclouds, and the air is heavy with salt amongst the copper gleam of blood with every breath.

He needs to move quickly. He has wasted enough time already and the unit needs to be fixed.

The panel is clearly marked, the edges outlined in a mixture of scavanged armour paint by a previous batch and CC-2224 crouches next to it. He shivers, steadying himself on the slick metal and bares his teeth at the unforgiving sky. It doesn’t stop raining, but it makes him feel a little better. Stringing together a collection of scavenged curses at the panel as it refuses to budge also helps. CC-2224 stands, tugging at the tied cords of his hood. The outside is drenched through and there isn’t enough fabric for him to use it as leverage while he is still wearing it. Rainwater cascades over him as he pulls it free, his jaw clenched tight to try and keep his teeth from chattering. He is shaking and he will never be warm or dry again. He will rust and decay and the tiny nonexistent things that are crawling over him will eat his bones.

The panel moves.

Somewhere, a door hisses open.

Query: where?

Answer: Landing bay 4

CC-2224 stares up at the distorted lights above him. He can’t keep his eyes open long enough to pick out details, rain impacting against his cheeks and necessary instincts force him to blink. That landing bay is off limits for a reason. Jango had laid it out in his contract amendments when it had been decided for him to stay on Kamino. CC-2224 had heard whispers about how that had been decided, rumours passed between batches like treated water, only gaining speed with every retelling. The version he had heard first was the least fanciful and so the most likely to be true. There had been another man at the meeting, someone tall and dressed in a dark cloak with white hair, his hand heavy on Prime’s shoulder like he was steering him.

ERROR. NO. REDIRECTING.

There are two, no, three people clustered on the landing bay. Their shadows bounce off of the walls, distorted as the rain floods over the bay lights, and CC-2224 frowns, cupping his hands over his brow as he tries to make out their size. He had done this training, passed it in record time, but the chill the rain brought with it is entirely new. He won’t mention that to the trainers, however, in case they decide to implement it to the extreme. Two are fully-grown trooper size, one standard and one possibly from an alpha batch, head and shoulders taller but not as broad as he would expect. Slight variations are expected so it must be factored in, but the final figure is cadet-sized, scurrying across the landing bay, and CC-2224 tracks his movement closely, mindful of the dual facts of a restricted area as well as the lack of barriers around the edge of the platform. Cadets think they know too much and could do everything, their confidence matched only by the shinies until they trip on their still-too-large boots.

They’re one plan, one blueprint. Deviations are not tolerated for long.

CC-2224 turns his head just enough to check the positions of the cameras, one above the door on his level and one above the door on the upper level. They wouldn’t be active, not at this hour, but he still swallows against the burn of acid in his mouth. It must be what one of the scuttling creatures that swarm over the lower levels feels like when a larger fish comes swimming past, infinitely too small with a blade hanging over his head, preparing to drop. The sounds of the ocean shift into something hungry, something focused on him with the salt tang of intention, and CC-2224 stands to the sound of a blaster.

Single shot. Deflected. (Deflected how? Something itches at the back of his mind, right next to wired-in thoughts.)

Second shot. Third.

What the fuck is going on?

CC-2224 steps forward, cupping his hands over his eyes as he stares up at the platform. All three of them will be decommissioned, possibly himself as well just for being nearby in case he is involved somehow. So, he’ll get himself involved.

The control panel for the camera is locked just inside the door controls, a neat little bypass loop to let CC-2224 take a peek and try and find spot any markings, maybe a batch symbol if he’s lucky.

(What’s that sound?)

He doesn’t manage to make it back to the door before the ground trembles beneath his feet. Not a quake nor a wave. Not a test either. It is rhythmic, building, the slow roar of a ship beginning to take off. There is only one ship on Kamino that sounds like that, loud and insistent and demanding to be noticed because fear and notoriety are half the job, as Jango said during a training session. He had left recently, circling back a few cycles ago and now he was leaving again? The cadet should be Boba if the standard trooper is Jango.

He hopes it’s Jango. If there is a trooper stealing his ship, they’ll all be culled, just to be safe.

(There it is again. What is it? It sounds so familiar, like something he heard once in a dream.)

CC-2224 breaks into a run, heading for the railings between this platform and the next. The surface is old, pitted, with heavy data cords that run up the inside along with the structural supports. It’ll be difficult, but he should be able to climb up that way if he braces himself correctly so that he doesn’t immediately fall into the starving sea beneath him. It is a stupid plan. It is one of the worst plans that CC-2224 has ever come up with. It is the only plan that has a chance of working.

He hopes CT-7567 will be okay, whichever outcome befalls him.

(Catch it.)

CC-2224 obeys. He is a good soldier, afterall. He’s created to follow orders.

The weapon is still warm, holding onto the touch of an unknown person. CC-2224 looks up, one boot resting on the decaying railing, his hand still outstretched over the scant gap between the landing bays. There is someone looking down at him, backlit as the ship roars into the atmosphere.

“Hello there!” The stranger calls. Their accent is new, clipped at the vowels and made to carry. Even so, CC-2224 has to focus to hear them, blinking against the rain.A new trainer? Someone else?

He knows who they are. He knows the weapon he’s holding. (He knows how to kill with the weapon he’s holding, knows how to fight the wielder.) ERROR.

CC-2224 raises his hand in greeting, holding the tube between thumb and forefinger as he splays his fingers. He points towards the door, knowing that there is little use in calling back and forth and trying to make themselves heard over the storm.

The stranger mimics CC-2224’s wave, their skin paler in the brief pulses of light from the emergency lighting than CC-2224’s. They are already beginning to shiver, their hand wavering before they drop out of sight. Blankets are stashed in a reclaimed supply cupboard, two corridors over with a right and a short left and CC-2224 pins the location in his mind as he turns his attention back to the open panel. A quick patch would keep it functional until the next cycle, nowhere near the full repair he was hoping to perform but it’ll do.

The lower levels are quiet this time of night, but they aren’t deserted. CC-2224 slips into one of the supply room and knocks on the top of a crate. There is a moment before he hears the sleep-slow shift of fabric and a similar face appears in the slight gap between lid and side.

“We have a Jedi on Kamino. Have you still got your comm patch links to update everyone?”

CC-2224 barely waits to receive a nod and the fledging beginning of a question before he is moving away. There isn’t time for the endless supply of questions he would have to wade through once they start and there is already a headache pulsing on the left side of his head at the thought of all the curiosity to come. He taps the lightsaber — because what else could it be, documented in a thousand training sims and another thousand more forms and techniques they had learnt (but why, why did they need them ERROR) — against his thigh. The metal gleams beneath the pale internal lights of a sleep cycle, heavier than he would have expected for something so innocuous, and CC-2224 brushes his thumb over the switch just beneath the port. It is a slight stretch for him to reach, suggesting the Jedi is taller than himself or, at least, has a slightly wider grip.

He’ll need to be mindful of the extra reach this could mean.

The thought is forgotten as quickly as it arrives, tucked away amongst the nest of wired-in instincts that haven’t been taught or bound into him but were somehow there.

The blanket he collects from the supply closet in one amongst thousands of the same grey material, the same durable weave, and he slings it over one shoulder as he walks, barely breaking stride as he leaves a trail of damp and squelching footprints behind him. They all knew of the Jedi (they had been made for them) but soaked to the bone and shivering is not how he thought he would ever meet one. In his half-constructed dreams, the ones that were usually filled with a nebulous future of things he had never experienced but they could be out there, somewhere, maybe, CC-2224 doesn’t dream of battle. He thinks about a street, about a blue sky above his head and walls that are stone instead of metal. He thinks about a chance encounter, about hands fumbling on a stack of forms or an accidental encounter with a mug of caf. He thinks about his Jedi and what they will look like. He wonders who this Jedi is.

Rounding another corner, CC-2224 hears a matching set of wet footsteps, an unfamiliar voice grumbling in a cascade of syllables that seem to be bundled together in a roll for easy transport only to be unfurled at what sounds like the weather outside, the ocean below, the walls for looking too similar and somebody named Quigon for somehow being responsible, ultimately, for all of this.

“Sir?”

The Jedi begins to look over his shoulder before he catches himself and turns to face CC-2224. He is pretty in a soaked to the skin kind of way, the water shining beneath the flare of lights as they hum into life at CC-2224’s approach. His hair is dark, made darker by the storm, but it is the shade that captures CC-2224’s attention first, red like the distant glimpses of sunset he can make out from the higher levels of the facility whenever the speciality training overran.

“Hello again,” the Jedi says, his grin immediate and a little rueful. He bows, one shivering hand pressed into his chest. The leather bracelets around his wrist shift with the movement and CC-2224 flexes his free fingers with the urge to unfasten them. They could move and catch, irritating the skin beneath, and no other reason. None at all.

CC-2224 holds out the lightsaber, flipping it easily so the handle is extended towards the Jedi. He is aware of the potential blade within in the same way he would be aware of the possible humming energy field of a vibroblade, the prospect of danger and death. “I believe you dropped this, sir.”

“Yes. I did, didn’t I?” The Jedi steps forward, tapping his boot behind himself as he reclaims his lightsaber and snaps it back onto his belt. “Thank you for catching it for me.”

CC-2224 flexes his fingers, chasing after the scant memory of the handle still warm from another’s touch, and settles back into the correct stance before holding the blanket out. “For you as well, sir.”

“Thank you. And call me Obi-Wan, please. I don’t believe I’ve caught your name?”

CC-2224 twitches at the question, a momentary break in composure and his fingers bump against Obi-Wan’s. It is the barest instance of contact, gone in the same heartbeat, but he focuses on it regardless, something new to distract his racing thoughts with. He can’t answer. He has to answer. He—

“Jedi Master. I have been looking for you.”

Ice shears down CC-2224’s spine, stopping his heart and kickstarting it at the same time. His breath remains steady, his hands still as he drops into a waiting position at the Kaminoan’s approach. They didn’t venture down this far, preferring the drier floors high above, and she ducks her head beneath the sag of a broken strut before moving next to Obi-Wan. She doesn’t look at CC-2224.

“I see you have encountered one of our units.”

“I have.” Obi-Wan glances at CC-2224, his expression unreadable. All warmth that CC-2224 had been basking in has been carefully hidden, akin to shoving everything that could be considered contraband into an air duct and pulling the paneling back into place leaving it sheer and blank once more. “He showed great initiative, I’m very impressed.”

The target slowly lifts from between CC-2224’s shoulderblades, a box in a system he’ll never be allowed to access remaining unchecked. He doesn’t move, keeps his face blank. He hasn’t been dismissed yet; one of the little games the long-necks like to play and some of the trainers too, the wait-there-because-I’ve-told-you, the pick-this-up-put-it-down, the go-stop-go-stop.

He hopes the Jedi will be different.

He is prepared if they aren’t.

“Do you require him for anything further?”

“No.” Obi-Wan turns away from the scientist, his mouth still pressed into a thin line that speaks a rage brewing behind it, tightly leashed and called to heel, but his eyes soften as he looks at CC-2224. “You’re dismissed. I hope our paths cross again.”

“Sir.” CC-2224 salutes, regimentally perfect like he has been pre-programmed with the gesture, and turns on his heel. He’s been a drowning man often enough to recognise an escape when one is offered.

Query: Who is Jedi Master Obi-Wan?

Answer: He is a Jedi. He is a target. (He has been made for you just as you have been made for him.)

Too many thoughts.

ERROR.

Just one.

Their fingers brushed. CC-2224 would like it to happen again.

#codywan week 2023 #codywan #codywanweek 2023 #commander cody #obi wan kenobi #obi wan x cody #fanfic #my writing

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kaminokatie · 2 months

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Valentines Day || Crosshair

Synopsis - You have no Valentines for this years Valentines Day.

Warnings - SFW.

Notes - Cross divider by the talented @stars-n-spice

Word Count - 750.

{Caffeinate Me}

Valentines Day was fast approaching and you had yet to secure yourself a date for the evening. It was hard, afterall. Being in the middle of war didn’t give you many opportunities to find a suitor, especially not when you had your boys to protect. You were currently sitting on the Havoc Marauder, on your way back to Kamino with your squad after the completion of your most recent mission. Hunter looked you up and down, eyebrows knitting together as he sensed your frustration. “What’s wrong Y/N?” He asked, sitting across from you in the cockpit.

You looked up at him, playing with your fingers and smiling softly before responding, “oh it’s nothing.”

“It must be something,” Hunter replied, his hand reaching out to touch your shoulder gently.

“I suppose I’m just feeling down,” you responded with a sigh, feeling his gloved hand rest against armour. “Valentine's Day is coming up and I have no date!”

“You celebrate it?” Echo’s voice came from the opposite side of the cockpit. You looked at him with genuine confusion.

“Yes! You don’t?”

“We’re soldiers Y/N,” Echo reminded you as he sat in the co-pilot’s chair. “We don’t do Valentine’s Day.”

You frowned. “That sucks.” The men just shrugged in response, Crosshair's gaze lingering on your form a little longer than usual as he chewed on his toothpick. “You’ve never had a Valentines?”

“It goes against our purpose,” Tech replied, not bothering to look your way.

“Well,” you said standing up. “This is my first year in a while without a Valentines and I’m upset about itt!”

“You have more important things to think and worry about now Y/N,” Hunter said sternly forcing you to roll your eyes at him.

“Yeah yeah,” you waved him off as you continued to roll your eyes.

“I’m being serious,” Hunter said.

“I get it,” you said. “Am I not allowed to be sad about it?” You challenged him, standing up and wrapping your arms across your chest.

“I don’t think that’s what Hunter means Y/N,” Tech interjected, looking away from what he was doing at the controls to notice your furrowed brows. “I think he simply means we have to focus on our missions instead of courting someone.”

“Besides, why would you need a Valentines when you have us!” Wrecker grins as he wraps an arm around your shoulder.

“Ew you’re like my brothers,” you groan, shaking Wrecker’s arm off your shoulder and storming out of the cockpit frustratedly.

You sat on your bunk kicking your feet and thinking when you were suddenly interrupted. “Brother’s huh?” It was Crosshair. He had his signature toothpick between his lips as he spoke to you, a singular eyebrow raised as he walked towards your bunk.

“What?” You asked softly, heart beat racing at the sudden intrusion.

“We’re like your brothers?”

“Well, yeah,” you mumbled, pulling your knees up to your chest.

“Then you won’t want me to ask you to be my Valentine then?” Crosshair asked, a smirk playing on his lips as he removed his toothpick. You swear your heart skipped several beats as soon as the words left his lips.

“Huh?” You asked, eyes wide.

“I think you heard me,” Crosshair pressed as he sat down next to you on your bunk. He placed a hand on your thigh after flicking his toothpick carelessly across the ship, leaning his face closer to yours just to whisper “do you want to be my Valentine?” You gulped slightly, fearing this was some sort of prank, but when you searched his eyes for any deceit and found none, you nodded quickly. “Hah, that’s what I thought.”

He pressed a soft kiss to your temple before pulling away and walking back into the cockpit, taking another toothpick out of his pocket and placing it between his teeth. It was only as Crosshair left did Hunter walk in, a knowing smile on his face. “Did you get your date then?” He asked, looking you up and down.

“I suppose I did,” you mumbled, eyes wide as you watched the door of the cockpit.

“About time he asked you,” Hunter said, sitting down next to you.

“What do you mean?” You asked, tearing your eyes away from the door to look at your Sargeant.

“He’s been pining after you for months,” Hunter chuckled lightly. Your heart began to beat rapidly against your ribcage as Hunter placed a hand on your shoulder, squeezing tightly. “Have fun, soldier. You both deserve it.”

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dystopicjumpsuit · 5 months

Text

ISB Suspect Profile: Jules Genoa (OC of Nika6q)

@nika6q!!! I was so excited to get your request for an ISB Suspect Profile for Jules! When I tell you I CACKLED while I was putting it together. I love her so much, OML.

Want a Datafile for your Star Wars OC? Find out how to get one here! Or check out other OC Datafiles I’ve created here!

Transcript in alt text and below the cut.

IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU

Case #82862959

Suspect Identification

Name: Jules Genoa

Chain Code: CT-9903 alias Tech created on Kamino, clone commando turn deserter; Jules Genoa, natborn on Pantora, age 18

Occupation: Unknown

Wanted for: Pirate and Rebel activity

Status: At Large

Criminal Profile

Criminal Activity: 132 Cryptographic attacks

5 Accounts sabotage to weapons facilities

40 Accounts theft of Imperial property

Arrest Record: Repeated cyber attacks resulting in change of "Moff" to "Muff" in official internal documents. Released due to underage status at time of arrest.

Known Associates: Defunct Clone Force 99

Remarks: Any information on current whereabouts are to be immediately forwarded to the office of Grand Muff Tarkin.

Current Location: Unknown

#dystopicjumpsuit's follower celebration #star wars #star wars oc #oc love #oc fanart #follower celebration #follower appreciation #star wars fanart

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letitrainathousandflames · 26 days

Text

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3.9 K

Character: CC-2224 | Cody, CC-5052 | Bly, Aayla Secura (mentioned)

Warnings: Major Character Death

Additional Tags: angst, drinking, suicide, grief, order 66 aftermath, major character death, post traumatic stress disorder - ptsd, canon divergence

Section Nine, Paragraph Twelve of the Clone Army’s Code of Conduct:

Should a unit, hereby referred to as “Clone”, suffer malfunction and self-destruct, their superior officer, preferably their Commander, must carry out cleanup of the remains and have your medic issue the following report:

“Clone trooper [insert number identification] has suffered a sudden illness and the medical team onsite was unable to resurrect him. The Clone Trooper’s time of death was [appropriate designation of time and date of the occurrence]”

Mental malfunctions are a non-standard deviancy from the norm, as all clones are design to withstand any amount of stress. Therefore, the body of a clone deceased in such manner must be immediately removed from the scene and shipped back to Kamino for further analysis of its anomalies.

Cody wakes up at what he is certain to be three, maybe four in the morning, which means he has only two or one more hour to sleep before he has to wake up, cranky and exhausted, only to then force his equally cranky and exhausted men to get up themselves as well.

Something feels weird. A buzz in the back of his brain. General Kenobi had once mentioned that, while not all beings could wield the Force like Jedi and Sith did, it did surround every living creature, even those as unusual as clones.

He would often say, too, that the creeping shiver Cody would feel up his spine whenever they set foot in a dangerous place could very well be a manifestation of the Force itself. A warning that reached the very core of his being.

Cody finds himself in the mess hall minutes later, dressed only in his blacks and boots, too tired to care for the proper use of uniform attire even though he was the Marshall commander and should lead by example. His commlink is still in his pocket, just in case any kind of emergency pops up. It’s not like anyone would be awake at this time anyway, not after that endless campaign in Cato Nemodia from which the 2224 had finally returned.

He realizes he’s wrong when he sets foot in the mess, only to see captain Rex sitting at one of the tables with a steaming cup between his hands. Rex is as careless as Cody himself, dressed in his Blacks and boots, his cropped blond hair a couple of inches longer than the Captain would usually keep it.

“Codes.” It’s murmured at him with a nod, and Cody takes a moment to fill his own cup before sitting in front of Rex “Sleepless?”

Cody nods, taking in Rex’s features. He looks positively shitty, bags under his eyes, five ‘o’clock shadow darkening his features and a gaze that said Rex was more sleep than awake at the moment.

Cody is pleased that he hadn’t seen a mirror in a long while, because he can’t be really sure he’s looking any better than that. Odds are that he’s looking even worse. He nods instead of answering, and Rex sighs.

“Heard you got captured. Are you alright, brother?”

A quick memory flashes through Cody’s head. The crack of a whip, screamed threats. Two of his fingers being pulled too far back until a nauseating crack came, followed by Cody’s own ragged yelling.

“Had worse.” He shrugs, downing a big gulp of too-bitter caf “General Kenobi got to me before they could quite get started.”

A troubled look passes through Rex’s expression, a slight tremor of his right cheek. Cody had seen the scars on Rex’s back in the showers, and he was honestly relieved that the men who captured him had only a bantha leather whip. Whatever those Zyguerrians had used on Rex had cut him almost all the way down to muscle tissue.

“Want me to fill in on anything for you tomorrow?” Rex offers, looking down to his cup “My general will be busy with, uh... some security detail duty for a senator so I’m mostly free.”

Cody shakes his head, drinking another sip with a grimace.

“Nah, I’m good. Life goes on, vod’ika.”

That was the last conversation he had with Rex before he got shipped away along with Commander Tano.

Before Order Sixty-Six happened.

Cody sits on that very same chair, looking at the empty space where Rex had been sitting on that very night one year ago. So much had changed since then. The Republic, now the Empire. The Chancellor, now his Emperor. His targets, now the men that had once been the generals leading his army.

It’s a sleepless night once more, this time due to the recurring dreams of his first – presumably dead – Jedi target. Obi-Wan Kenobi, falling from an incredible height, crashing into the waters below, disappearing in its depths…

Why does he keep thinking about it? He’s starting to look like-

Cody’s commlink rings, and he picks up the call.

“CC-2224…” he starts, trailing off once he recognizes one of his brothers’ voice; one that would often call him with questions they were never meant to ask themselves, or anyone else “Ah, it’s you.”

“Hey Cod- CC-2224.” Says CC-5052, sounding just as tired as the time demands one to be “Can you do me a favor? I won’t be able to take the men to that incursion on Dantooine.”

“I can’t keep covering for you, CC-5052. Get your act together for once. I don’t need more slacking clones now, with all this talking of phasing us out of active duty. Nothing’s stopping the brass from just kicking us all out in the street and replace us with those volunteers, and we need to show that we are still as useful as we were back in the clone wars.”

There is a pause, so long that Cody wonders if 5052 is still on the line. Then…

“Cody…” another drawn out pause “Don’t you ever think that what we did was…?“

“Silence!” Cody hisses, face tightening in anger “Kriff, 5052, how many times do I have to tell you not to talk about your- your deviant thoughts over the comms?! Just- Just hang up, get to your bunk, go to sleep…”

“I’m not at the base.” The drawl on the clone’s voice is much clearer to Cody now. he isn’t sleepy, he is drunk “I’m not coming back.”

Cody is aboard a transport headed to the location pinged from the other clone’s commlink within minutes, knowing that the missed sleeping hours are gonna be sorely missed at the meeting later that day.

He walks into the cheap hotel, places a hand on the grip of the blaster on his holster to get the flustered desk worker to let him in without a warning, climbs the creaky stairs and tests the old mechanical lock on the door, noticing it is unlocked.

He can hear the voice of a woman inside the room. His hand goes to his blaster, unfastening his holster. He slowly pushes the door open as its hinges whine in protest, and then he realizes that the voice isn’t clear enough to be a person’s. It is a recording.

“fifty-two?” he calls out, stepping in the room “Don’t waste my time, I have a meeting in three hours and I should be asleep.”

His eyes quickly assess the small room, his gaze being drawn to the small holoprojector placed on top of the desk in front of the opposite wall where an armored clone sits. The desk is pretty much covered in over a dozen bottles of different cheap alcoholic drinks, some of them tipped on their side, almost all of them either empty or half-empty. The shards of a bottle that must have rolled over are littered by the left side of the desk.

The old blinds are drawn on the window at the end of the room, shrouding the place in darkness. The only sources of light are the semitransparent blue hue of the holoprojection, and the rectangles of light cutting into the room through the broken horizontal blinds.

Cody walks further in, now recognizing the woman in the recording, a tall, blue-skinned twi’lek dressed in a brown headpiece, pants, a short top, and an open cloak. The recording seems to have been made with the camera of a trooper’s helmet, judging for the medium quality of the projection.

Cody knows the woman. She had been a Jedi General during the Clone Wars, and became a traitor to the empire near its very end. Her assigned clone battalion as successfully carried out her elimination in Felucia exactly one year ago.

“Alright, so we have Korin, Mar’eti or T’aleh. Which one do you like best?”

The twi’lek is grinning at the person filming her, and a clone’s laugh comes in response.

“Any name you pick will be good.”

The Twi’lek laughs at that, shaking her head and reaching her hands towards the camera. The image shakes, and the camera is moved until it is placed at their bodies’ height, most likely a crate, given the background that seems to be the weapons’ depot of a Venator-class Star Destroyer.

“Are you sure you’re okay, love?”

The clone, now helmetless and in view of the camera smiles brightly. His cheeks have yellow-colored tattoos and his hair is shaven close to his scalp.

“I’m still getting used to the thought that I’m going to be a father. It’s… it’s incredible.”

The twi’lek laughs again, this time nervously, her hands dropping to her stomach.

“I don’t know what we are going to do.” Her smile falters, vanishes “How are we going to raise a child in this war?”

The trooper gently cups her face in his hands, pressing a delicate kiss to her lips.

“Don’t worry about that. The war will be over before our kid arrives. We’re closing in on the Seppies, this whole mess is almost over, and our baby will grow up in a peaceful galaxy.”

There is a small beat of silence, and the twi’lek raises her arms to hug the clone, huffing out a long sigh.

“I won’t abandon my duty as a Jedi. I can’t. Even after the war is over, I will still be a Jedi. You understand that, don’t you, Bly?”

The clone pulls back just about enough to look down at the Twi’lek’s face and nod.

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”

“I might be called to aid others all the way across the galaxy, and I can’t refuse.”

“We will follow you wherever you go. Me and our ad’ika. We’ll make this work. Haven’t we made this work so far?”

“Commander?” another clone’s voice pipes up from afar, and the clone hastily grabs his helmet, placing it back on his head and cutting off the recording

“Just a moment, trooper!”

The recording stops there, and a different one starts. The background is different this time – colorful trees and leaves all around the Commander’s vision of the same commander.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” The Twi’lek says, looking around warily

Hundreds of clones seem to be lining in formations, preparing to an attack. AT-STs are being prepped and yelled orders fly through the air.

“We’ll be fine.” The Commander says, placing a gloved hand on the Jedi’s shoulder, his voice then dropping to a whisper that crackles on its way out of his vocoder “Aayla. Cyare. Please let me lead this time—”

“No.” the answer is firm, the Jedi’s eyes sharp and her posture commanding “I will lead.” Her voice then drops to the same whisper, barely audible among all the noise muddling the recording “There is no one else I’d trust to have my back, Bly. I know you’ll always keep me safe.”

“All set here, General!” An ARC Trooper yells somewhere from behind them

The Jedi places a hand on the Commander’s chest, smiling softly.

“May the force be with you.” before he can reply, she is turning around to march ahead “Alright, troopers, follow my lead!”

The commander sighs heavily.

The recording stops once more. A new recording starts, at a clearing of the same colorful woods, the commander and his men slowly trailing behind their general.

“It’s so quiet.” Bly mutters “Where have they run off to?”

Their general stops, gesturing at her men to do the same.

“Be careful. There’s something wrong here. I can feel it.”

A commlink rings, and the commander presses the blinking button on his gauntlet. A voice, raspy and all too familiar to Cody pours from the speakers over the ears of the Commander in his helmet.

“Execute Order Sixty-six.”

With trained muscle memory, the Commander raised his DC-15 rifle, the gesture echoed by the other six troopers of their assault squad as they moved in sync to form a semicircle behind the Jedi General.

“Good soldiers follow orders” he whispers almost too quietly for the recording to pick up

A large flying alien creature cawed from somewhere behind them as it crossed the gold-tinted skies, and the Jedi turned around with a startle, he eyes going wide at the sight of her men and the aim of their weapons on her.

The general attempts to raise her lightsaber despite the horrified shock taking over her features.

She doesn’t have enough time to power on the weapon on before something bright and blue flashes out of her own clone commander’s rifle, whistling through the air to strike her right between her shoulder blades at her heart’s height.

Her body is jerked forwards, her arms flying up as the second bolt hits her on the ribcage, the lightsaber slipping off her grip as a pained scream is punched out of her.

Two more bolts strike her on the back and shoulder, and Bly fires another just as she stumbles forward, her protective shirt smoldering brightly over her back as the fourth bolt hits her there.

She falls down on her chest, one hand shakily and uselessly trying to reach for her lightsaber, and the men keep firing over and over, blaster shots hitting her middle. Her arms. Her legs. Her lekku, which slowly cease all movement. They keep firing until the only movement from the fallen Jedi are the occasional twitches caused by the electricity charges from the blaster bolts.

“T-Target eliminated” the Commander says with an almost unnoticeable stutter “All of you, let’s rendezvous at the alpha location, we must assist the other troops. We can’t stop until every jedi is dead and accounted for.”

Nodding, the men turn away, leaving the ground of their massacre behind. The commander lingers for a moment, his breath catching and coming out in a stuttered, heavy exhale.

Then he leaves.

The recording loops back to the first video, where Aayla Secura is trying to get Commander Bly to choose a name for their unborn child. Cody walks closer to the desk, his gaze now looking past the blue light of the projecting and further to the man sitting at the desk.

CC-5052, known as “Bly” during the Clone Wars, watches Cody with weary eyes, the semitransparent projection floating between them from the small device placed on the table between several empty bottles of various alcoholic drinks. Cody stops in front of it, removing his helmet and placing it by a cluster of purple-tinted bottles. He, too, is fully dressed in his kit except for his gloves and helmet.

Bly’s elbow is resting on the arm of the chair, his hand supporting his chin, while his other hand rests on his lap somewhere out of Cody’s view. He gives him a drunken smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, which are reddened and swollen.

His eyelashes are wet and there are dried trails of tears down his tattooed cheeks.

“Hey there, Codes.”

“You need to come back to base.” Cody oders dryly.

“Told you I’m not coming back. I can’t.”

The recording has reached the moment where the troops are about to move out, and Cody ignores the audio overlapping over CC-5052’s words, pretending he cannot hear the trembling that underlines his own voice.

“You are a Commando clone, CC-5052, same as myself.” Cody says the words he had been told since his infancy back at the sterile white walls of the Kaminoan laboratories in Tipoca City “We can endure anything, and we do not deviate from our duty.”

He swallows down thickly, the sound of the blaster that had killed Aayla Secura along with the life growing inside of her echoing through the speakers of the projector on top of the table.

He had heard Bly’s confession of his anguish over having killed her during the issuing of order sixty-six multiple times. He had always told Bly to keep those thoughts to himself, and to never let their superiors hear these treacherous words.

But only today he truly understands the whole picture. There was more to his relationship with the deceased Jedi than that of a duty-bound trooper and their general.

Still…

“We will not have this conversation again – the Jedi were traitors” Cody presses on “and a threat to everything we fought for. They had to die.”

Good soldiers follow orders, whispers the Bly in the recording.

“I loved her.” Says the CC-5052 in front of him, and under the faint blue glow of the projection, Cody sees the glistening of the tears brimming in his eyes, trailing down his cheeks “I- I loved her, and we were gonna-- She was—”

An ugly, anguished sound comes through CC-5052’s - Bly's - gritted teeth, and suddenly the stoic mask of numb exhaustion drops, being replaced by an expression that is so twisted in agony, it reminds Cody of those he had seen in the battlefield on the faces of men whose limbs had been torn off by landmines and no amount of anesthesia could put an end to their pain.

Bly sobs, bringing to his eyes a hand that rattles against his brow with how hard it shakes. The pained noises being punched out of the clone between every sharp intake of air begin to die out as his breathing becomes more and more ragged.

A stuttered breath hisses out of him as he drops his hand, and he raises his swollen eyes to Cody again.

“I c-can’t do this anymore.”

Cody stares at him, at the hollow eyes and broken expression in that face that is a mirror of his own, and the two sentences that keep haunting his dreams.

Thank you Cody.

Blast him!

“You have to.” Cody says, the commanding tone slipping from his voice and giving place to a plea instead “You need to.”

Because a clone commander can withstand any kind of stress.

Even the horror of carrying out orders that changed the entire galaxy and the structure of their army and robbed them of the generals that would actually put themselves in the line of fire to protect them, even though they were nothing but expendable clones.

“I have nothing left, Cody. Nothing.” it’s like the words are being pulled out of Bly like shrapnel, fresh wounds being opened with every tug “I’ve served my purpose…”

The hand he’d kept resting over his lap, out of view from Cody’s gaze because of the desk between them is raised into view, along with a blaster in its grip.

“…and I hope you can find yours, brother.”

Slowly and without a hint of hesitation, Bly brings the muzzle of the weapon to the underside of his chin. Cody’s eyes widen, icy dread pooling in his core and sending a shiver up his spine, his entire body stiffening in tension as he understands what is about to happen.

“Bly— Hey, listen to me!” he tries to think through the distinct click of the blaster being cocked; he has to stop this, has to do something, anything “Bly, put the blaster down, now--”

“Never gone, only marching away…” Bly whispers with the faintest hint of a smile

“DON’T--”

The sharp whistle of blaster fire echoes in the room as a flash of bright blue illuminates the scene for an instant, Cody’s unprotected ears ringing loudly over the thudding of his own spiking pulse.

Bly’s head whips back with the blaster’s shock, a smoldering, perfect circle letting out smoke on the wound under his chin. His hand drops, the weapon slipping from his fingers and clattering to the floor with a dull thud.

Cody stands there, breath shallow and cut off by small gasps as he tries to fight the instinct to just turn around and run away from this nightmare. His stomach clenches in nausea, and he covers his mouth with his hand.

He stares at the lifeless body of a brother with whom he had shared many battles and down times with, a man he had trusted with his life and who trusted Cody with his. A man who had been birthed from a tube like him, had blasters instead of toys since he was five like him, scientists instead of a family like him.

A good soldier who had followed every order. And that had killed him.

Cody doesn’t know how long he stands there, petrified, the recording of General Aayla Secura’s short-lived dream of having a child with the man she loved looping so many times that Cody could recite it from memory, and then looping enough for Bly’s words to dissolve into a cadence of joy, tension, and resignation, joy, tension and resignation, joy, tension and—

Cody walks carefully around the desk, standing close by Bly’s side. He is supposed to report the self-termination immediately and wait for the Kaminoan staff in Coruscant to retrieve the body. He is not supposed to interfere in any way.

Bly’s eyes stare vacantly into nothing, brown and formerly full of life, shaped exactly like Cody’s. After a small moment of hesitation Cody reaches up to close them, his gloved hand lingering for an instant on Bly’s face.

He had failed him. He had failed his brother.

He thinks of Rex, whose helmet was the only one not found in the mass grave of former 501st clones in a distant moon. Could he be out there, still alive? His own words to Crosshair in front of the memorial of the clone troopers who had died in service of the Republic - and later the Empire - come back to him.

Do you know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions. Our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

Cody moves his hand to rest over Bly’s chest, on the stillness of his heart.

“Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Bly, ner’vod.”

He straightens himself up, finally stopping the recording and removing the memory chip from the device, placing it in one of his belt pouches. Someone should keep Bly’s story and keep it from being forgotten.

Swallowing thickly around the lump forming in his throat, Cody picks his helmet up from the desk, placing it over his face with its expressionless mask of carved white and turning his back on the scene.

The armor would help him up until some point, and then he would do well to change out of it. The outline of a plan begins to take form in his mind. Safe locations, away from the Empire’s ever-watchful gaze. Old friends that might show mercy on him in spite of what he had become.

A hope, faint and delirious, that his former general might still be alive and willing to forgive him for what he had done.

Bly was right. Cody had to find his purpose. And he had to start now.

#all the goblins in my brain ceased all activity until I bled out this fic #pls comment uwu??#goodnight its three am #fuck #my fics #tcw

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