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crispyjenkins · 3 years

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Rexobi. I really just wanna see Rex and Obi-wan drinking together and complaining about the disaster that is Anakin Skywalker. They decide to team up to get anakin to calm the heck down and to talk about his feelings. Anakin doesn’t realize what’s going on but gets the idea he needs to play matchmaker with his master and his captain. He thinks he’s the smart one but he’s really not

(i have once again chickened out of your full prompt and instead give you the leadup to rexobi getting anakin to talk about his feelings.

i uhhh may be unable to think of anything but a rexobi au à la this post by @norcumii and @dharmaavocado about roleswap-ish senior padawan obi hella vibing with this mutant clone that can’t get above the rank of captain even as an arc trooper because the kaminoans are Like That, and qui-gon is going spare, because between anakin somehow being allowed to be in charge of a whole battalion and obi-wan picking fights with every single seperatist leader, he and cody never get a moment of peace. and like. just obi and rex being dumbass 20 year olds trying to deal with a general/master like anakin in the middle of a war. i don’t have TIME for that though

thank you for the prompt as always, i think this is the only rexobi/obex prompt i’ve ever gotten and this ship is criminally underappreciated. like?? kadavo?? anyways here’s whatever this is)

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Not for the first time, Rex wishes Kote were the one here dealing with this, because “how to comfort your favorite Jedi” hadn’t exactly been covered in ARC training – actually, Alpha probably withheld the information on purpose, the fucker.

But Kote is on the other side of the galaxy with the 187th and just as upset they’re not here in Rex’s stead: it’s barely a month off General Kenobi returning to his own face, and Rex knows his vod would strangle the entire Senate if given even half a chance for deploying them separately on their general’s first mission back after the Hardeen... incident.

And Fett’s Ghost knows Rex’s own general is going to pitch a fit when he finds out Rex is here instead of taking leave like the rest of the 501st, but Kote certainly wasn’t about to let Kenobi go all the way to Alderaan unguarded so soon after his supposed death; and honestly, Rex would have been offended if they had asked anybody else to do it. Thankfully, Kenobi hadn’t seemed offended when Rex had shown up at the Jedi Temple’s flight hangar before he could take off; instead, he had been rather amused.

Even luckier, Alderaan is barely a day’s jump from Coruscant, so they don’t have to spend too much time awkwardly pretending that Rex hadn’t attended the man’s funeral in Kote's place (that he would have attended anyways), or that Rex doesn’t know Anakin hasn’t spoken to his former master since their debrief to the High Council about Cad Bane. Which Rex should absolutely not know in the first place, but Anakin is his friend, for better or for worse, and Ahsoka thinks her master airs far too many of his grievances to his captain.

It isn't until their cruiser is making the descent over Alderaan that Kenobi finally addresses the tension between them, which only proves that Kenobi is well aware of it, but had put it off as long as he could. It's a humanising observation, that Rex wishes he could have had when he isn't the only vod in a ten mile radius that isn't the pilot, because at least then he wouldn't be the sole receiver of the soft smile Kenobi gives him as he joins Rex to wait by the shuttle's access hatch.

Rex thanks his progenitor's laughing corpse he has his bucket on, because all he can do is stare.

"You are worried about Anakin," Kenobi says matter of factly, though not unkindly, and Rex lets out a breath that's almost a laugh.

"I promise I am far more discrete with my thoughts in the field, sir."

Kenobi chuckles warmly, tucking his arms behind his back to watch the planet under them grow larger as they approach. "Do try not to worry so much, my dear, this will all resolve itself in time."

It's hard to stare right at his gentle assuredness, so Rex looks away. "You have far more faith in his ability to forgive than I, sir."

That laugh strains at the edges. "Yes, well, I'm afraid some of my lessons seem to have been... lacking."

Rex has regs carbon-printed on his brain, he knows that even without the direct chain of command, the soft push and pull of his relationship with Kenobi, the steady, serene growth of it, is... problematic, for so many reasons that he wouldn't know where to start. Not least of all is rank, how much more important a Jedi is than a replaceable CC-track washout, but, well, Rex had washed out for being too emotional, so it's not as if he's exactly unused to reacting to things inappropriately for a good little soldier.

"It's not my place, sir," he murmurs, remembering Kadavo, remembering Umbara, remembering the hand Kenobi had laid on his shoulder for far too long after the Blue Shadow virus, and has Rex really been this gone since then? "just say the word and I won't mention it again. But just because Kote isn't here doesn't mean you have to... shoulder all of this alone."

In fact, it's wildly not his place to make such an offer, however implicit, but that month on Kadavo did happen, and Rex isn't so self-deprecating to believe he hadn't had a heavy hand in helping Kenobi make it out on the other side as well as he did. He doesn't think so little of the bond they had formed then, to believe that Obi-Wan is unaware of it.

Not when he smiles at Rex like that, like he's a warm cup of caf after a week in the trenches, like Rex is... worthy of such sincere affection.

As the shuttle settles around them and the pilot announces their arrival over comm, Obi-Wan simply says, "I did not for a moment believe I was, my dear."

"You and Rex seem close."

Normally Obi-Wan can feel Anakin coming from an entire corridor away, but he also knows Quinlan has been teaching him a few Shadow tricks, so he isn't entirely surprised when Anakin appears at his elbow in the empty bridge looking like a smug necu.

Aside from eating firstmeal with Kote in the mess, Obi-Wan hasn't even seen Rex today, much less interacted with him: as he understands it, Rex is trying to round up the remaining 501st shinies that are running around the Negotiator, so Obi-Wan really doesn't know where Anakin had gotten that notion. Recently, at least.

Anakin rolls his eyes and scoffs, leaning back on the railing next to him and crossing his arms. "Please, Master, even Snips has noticed."

Obi-Wan refrains from telling him that anyone with a modicum more self-awareness than him has noticed. Be that as it may, "This is one of those times where I truly don't know what you're trying to say, my dear: I have been close with Rex since he was in the 212th."

It isn't even an exaggeration, that there had been... something between them before Anakin whisked Rex away to his own battalion after his knighting, though back then it had been nothing more than friendship. If he recalls correctly, and he does, the cleanup of the Ryloth capitol had been the first time since then that they had worked closely, while Anakin had been on the ground with the locals and Mace had been with General Syndulla, and Obi-Wan had found he still quite enjoyed the way they worked together. Their time on Naboo combating the Blue Shadow virus had only endeared the captain more to him —he does remember a slip in propriety in his relief that Rex had been rescued safely with Padmé and Ahsoka, a hand left too long on the captain's shoulder until Kote had called him away— enough that Obi-Wan had been both relieved and horrified that it was Rex there to support him on Kadavo.

"Cody said Rex was the one to go with you to Alderaan; you sure nothing 'happened' while you were there?" Anakin chuckles to himself like he's being incredibly clever, like there isn’t a hickey visible over the collar of his under tunic.

Obi-Wan raises a brow slowly and refrains from rolling his eyes. "Despite what you may believe, Anakin, not everyone leaps into committed relationships after life-threatening situations." Not that Alderaan had been life-threatening, it had actually been as close to actual leave as Obi-Wan has had the entire war.

"Please, it took Padmé and I ages to–"

Anakin seems to swallow his tongue, then, face rapidly going purple, and it really is a miracle the entire Republic doesn’t know about his marriage; the GAR certainly does.

Sighing, Obi-Wan checks the chrono and decides it isn't too early for another cup of tea. "If you have a specific question about my relationship with Captain Rex, I do wish you’d be direct, my dear."

Anakin splutters. "Relationship?!"

"Great Maker, Anakin, you’re easier to spook than a half-starved blurrg." He pats Anakin’s arm, his sonbrother floundering for anything other than abject confoundment, as Obi-Wan turns away from the bridge to go locate both tea, and his commander to hopefully finalise their newest mission orders. "Don't worry," he calls over his shoulder, "I'll actually let you come to the wedding, unlike someone."

Not that Obi-Wan has any such plans, Maker knows he and Rex have yet to address their feelings in the first place, but he'd be lying if part of him doesn't want to conspire with the captain in question —and perhaps Ahsoka— to see just how far they could take this before Anakin realises they're stringing him along.

Remarkably, Rex is waiting by Obi-Wan’s office with a flimsi cup of tea and a harried smile that promised quite the day chasing after shinies, and Obi-Wan decides conning his former apprentice can wait.

Mando’a: vod/e — “brother/s”, “comrade/s”, “sibling/s”, technically gender neutral but used most often in fandom as “brother/s”

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clonecest-bin-account · 3 years

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I totally agree on your opinion re: dogma isn’t a mistreated baby uwu nor did the 501st bully him. He is a man who made bad choices based on poor judgement while in a very shitty situation. So on another vibe, may I request fives/dogma nsfw with aftercare where dogma, emotionally vulnerable, apologizes for his actions and fives forgives him, knowing how much it’ll mean to him? 🥺

(I’m so glad other people agree with me. Idk I’ve always felt like that by making Dogma an uwu soft boi bean you basically destroy his character and the purpose he has in the story. As for the prompt, it’s probably different from what you had originally in mind: I’ve decided to make it happen right after Umbara, so the feelings are a bit raw still, but it has a hopeful ending nonetheless!)

(WARNING FOR SOME MILD DUB-CON)

(Fic under the cut)

This isn’t how Fives thought his evening was going to be, but oh well, so is life.

They’re all still recovering from the mess that was Umbara; some are doing it on their own, some with their brothers. As for Fives, he’s been with Rex mostly, and with the men, trying to reassure them as best as he can, but he needs some time alone now, that’s why he’s taking a walk through the Resolute.

He meets a few brothers here and there, all huddled up together, but otherwise the ship feels pretty empty.

When he arrives close to the hangar, he decides he’s ventured far enough and that he’d better get back to the barracks. As he turns to do exactly that, however… he slams against someone.

He barely has the time to react that the person he’s slammed against grabs him by the wrist and drags him to the first open room he finds, which turns out to be the fresher. It’s…

“Dogma? What are you doing?”

He drags him to one of the stalls and slams him against the door. “Hey!”

“I’ve been looking for you…” Dogma says then, as if that explains anything.

“So?” Fives asks, confused by what is happening. What the hell does he want now?

At this point, Fives expected him to start a fight - though a fight in the fresher doesn’t sound that great, doesn’t it? - but to his surprise, Dogma drags him for a kiss. What?

Fives is so shocked that he’s paralyzed, not moving a muscle, prompting Dogma to pull away and look at him with a delirious intensity that he never felt from him before, not that he’s known him for such a long time.

“Don’t you hate me?” Dogma asks then. “Don’t you want to make me pay for it?”

Fives keeps staring at him, not knowing what to say. He does hate Dogma a bit, though he feels guilty about it, because he’s a brother and they’re supposed to be united… But isn’t Dogma the first one who broke this unity? He almost had him executed, and for what, saving the day?!

Dogma leans closer, whispering to his ear. “I’m giving you an opening.”

Fives isn’t able to resist his instincts anymore, even though he feels there are still many questions that haven’t been answered at all, but it doesn’t matter for now.

He turns them around, slamming Dogma, who’s grinning at his actions. “You think this is funny?” he snarls. Does he think this is some kind of fucked up game?

Dogma shakes his head, though he still has that annoying expression on his face. Fives is going to wipe it away.

One good thing is that Dogma isn’t wearing his armor, and like this Fives can visibly see just how much he’s liking this. He grabs his bulge through his blacks, squeezing it so tightly that it makes Dogma hiss in pain. “Do you enjoy being treated badly? Is this why you’re such a bitch all the time?”

Dogma whimpers, but otherwise keeps his mouth closed. It’s fine: the less he talks, the better.

He makes him kneel down in front of the toilet, stripping him off his blacks without uttering a word.

He’s not that evil not to prepare him however, although he goes quite fast with that. The only sounds that come out of Dogma’s lips are whines and moans, and nothing more, as he scrambles against the toilet’s surface to hold onto it. It’s quite the image. Fitting, Fives would even dare say.

He’s harsh in the way he moves his fingers in and out of Dogma, keeping his free hand on Dogma’s back to keep him still if he begins to move too much.

“Fives… Sir… Please…” Dogma’s voice comes out more as a chocked sob, but Fives doesn’t mind that at all. Besides…

“Sir, huh? I like the sound of that.”

He removes his fingers, quickly moving to replace them with his cock. He could go slower, but frankly he doesn’t care enough for that; besides, it doesn’t seem that Dogma minds.

Once he’s completely inside, he waits just for a moment before beginning fucking the daylights out of Dogma.

Sometimes Dogma grunts in pain when he’s slammed against the hard surface of the toilet too hard, but he never asks the other to stop, so he keeps going. At some point Fives even grabs his head and pushes it inside it, close to the water level, but never enough to actually drown him; he could do it, but unlike Dogma, he’s a decent person, so he doesn’t.

He keeps going, he keeps going and he keeps going, until he reaches the apex, coming still buried deep inside Dogma, just to add insult to injury.

Once this is over and he finally manages to catch his breath, Fives comes back to himself. What has he done?

He pulls away from Dogma, one hand in his hair, tugging at the curly strands. Oh shit.

“Dogma? Are you okay?” he asks, getting closer again. Oh no, he’s trembling, and when Fives reaches out for him, he realizes that he’s crying.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Dogma continues to sob. Fives has no clue what to do. Why did he provoke him like this? Is it because of Umbara?

He hesitantly draws Dogma into a hug, caressing the top of his head. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done this to you,” he mutters then, meaning every single word of it.

“No, no… I deserve it.”

Fives sighs. Sure, Dogma has been a dick, almost having them killed, but not to the point of deserving this. As much as he almost doesn’t want to admit it, but… “You don’t. You understood your mistakes, I hope. I can’t say that everything’s been mended, but… C’mon, why don’t we get out of here? Let’s get you someplace nicer.”

Dogma doesn’t say anything. He just looks baffled by the kindness he’s showing him now, a kindness that he doesn’t feel like he deserves, not after what he’s done. Still, it feels nice, he can’t deny that.

He nods then, hurrying to dry his tears with the palm of his hand - he hates that he’s ended up crying - but soon he’s joined by Fives, who dries them away with his thumb. He’s giving him an apologetic smile, but Dogma doesn’t understand: he’s the one who pushed him to act like this, so why does he feel like this?

“Dogma?” “Yes?”

Fives begins helping him up, only to stop halfway to shoot Dogma another gaze. “Alright?”

For some reason, Dogma can’t help but to smile. “Alright.”

It feels weird walking back to the barracks with Fives so close to him, holding his waist gently by draping one arm around it. It makes him feel safe, even though they’ve been getting looks from other troopers who must be wondering what the hell happened.

Fives takes him to the ARC quarters, which grant them more privacy, even though Dogma isn’t sure if he should be there, but he doesn’t voice his doubts.

He helps him clean up, even lends him a fresh pair of blacks, then offers his bunk to him, an offer that Dogma accepts, but only if they’re sharing, first of all because he’d hate to take something that is Fives’, and secondly because… it’s been a very long time since he last shared a bunk with someone. He wants to feel that closeness again.

Thankfully, Fives agrees. It’s a tight fight but they make it work. Dogma doesn’t really mind it that much.

He’s almost fallen asleep when Fives whispers his name. “Dogma?”

“Yeah?”

“… I’m sorry, really.”

Dogma sighs. “Look, let’s just say that we were both wrong and move on, alright?”

Fives stays silent for a while, then he shifts, pulling Dogma closer to his chest. “Alright.”

Soon, he falls asleep, leaving Dogma as the only one awake.

He still feels guilty for Umbara, but maybe things will get better; if Fives is willing to treat him decently, then it must be true.

Oh well, only time will be able to tell.

Tag list: @maulusque @captainrexwouldnever If you want to be added feel free to let me know!

#assorted clonecest fics #clonecest #cloneshipping #fogma #idk what their ship name is sorry #arc trooper fives #clone trooper dogma #my fics #spicy tag #dub con #letitrainathousandflames

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koyacyi-vode · 4 years

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@phantom-of-the-keurig asked for 4 headcanons of Cody but I'm STUPID and deleted the ask by accident so here it is as a post.

---

Headcanon A - realistic:

Off the battlefield, Cody is quiet and rather softspoken compared to many of his brothers. He prefers to observe people and doesn't mind silence for the most part. Cody's incredibly perceptive and analytical and will remember small details from the tiniest interactions (whether he uses it to do something nice like requisition Obi-Wan's favorite tea from Naboo or being a mischievous little shit and teasing his brothers for their embarrassing cadet mishaps is up to how he's feeling that day on the bastard-scale).

Cody's most relaxed when he can sit down and work through paperwork with Obi-Wan in companionable silence over tea and caff in the late hours of the rotation, when he doesn't have to be Marshal Commander Cody or his brothers' vod'alor for a few hours.

Headcanon B - while it may not be realistic it is hilarious:

Cody is not a morning person. He's barely recognizable until he's had about 3 cups of caff. Waxer was traumatized when he accidentally asked Cody a question before Cody had his first cup. He told Boil with a haunted expression that the look on Cody's face was "unspeakable".

Headcanon C - heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends:

Being a Marshal Commander, there's a tangible distance between Cody and the rest of his brothers. He holds the highest rank a clone can hold in the GAR, there's only three other Marshal Commanders we know of - Bacara, Neyo, and Bly. That title comes with a helluva lot of authority, commanding ~39,000 men (according to the GAR wiki page, or a lot more if you consider other meta). It also comes with a lot of paperwork.

By paperwork, I mean that Cody has to fill out thousands of casualty reports. Men he knew personally, men he didn't know at all. Cody has to fill them out and date them. His memory is good, he has a tally in his head, he knows exactly how many men have died under his command.

He copes by just, keeping his distance, emotionally and physically. He knows his men by name and everything about them tactically and he cares deeply for them. But he can't really participate in the shenanigans and antics that his brothers get up to. If he gets too close, it hurts too much and is too unbearable when they eventually are killed.

It makes Cody appear as hardened and unreadable, but he's a Marshal Commander! He's amazing! His men worship him, honestly and Cody wants nothing more than to keep them alive through each campaign, even though he knows that's impossible and he knows they were designed to die for the Republic. He keeps his distance to keep himself clear-headed, to keep him focused on the big picture of completing the mission with the fewest casualties possible.

And there's a palpable loneliness to never getting close to anyone. And Cody is not immune to it. But he hides it under layers and layers of duty and responsibility and 'just don't have the time'. Sometimes brothers weasel their way past the shields he puts up over his heart. Rex was the first outside of his batchmates that got close, and Cody's deepest fear is that he will have to one day put CT-7567 on a casualty report. He knows that his closeness is a weakness and will make him impulsive and reckless if they are in danger.

But the longer troopers stay in the 212th the more likely it is for them to close the gap of distance. It's why Waxer's death on Umbara probably hit Cody incredibly hard. Waxer and Boil are some of the 212ths most senior troopers. Waxer, who Cody knows is kind and gentle and loves kids. Waxer who was killed by friendly-fire on the traitorous orders of Pong Krell that Cody probably had to relay to him, not knowing what Waxer's platoon was walking into.

In the aftermath of Umbara, Rex brings Waxer's helmet to Cody. They both sit in silence with the helmet between them, unable to say anything at all. And it's the first time Cody really, really thinks: what is the point of all of this?

But he still fills out his paperwork and adds Waxer's number to the casualty report for Umbara, and does his duty to the utmost perfection, as he always has.

Headcanon D - unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own:

The reason that Cody chose not to wear a kama, despite it being standard kit for his rank and from ARC training, is that it impeded with his ability to kick the shit out of things. When his go-to tactic for unarmed combat is a roundhouse kick to the face, a kama would only slow down his momentum.

On the topic of Cody kicking the shit out of things (I saw the term foot-to-face combat for Cody and never looked back), Cody's got thighs that could kill a man. He can crush watermelons with those babies. Cody's. Got. The BEEF.

#not my saddest headcanons this time cause i couldnt handle braving post 66 cody okay i couldnt do it #commander cody #sorry this took so long!!!!! idk what happened the words just werent comin'#fluff answers #also forgot his doodle i am on fire for failing today

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moonbittern · 3 years

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@duckweed said: i was already thinking 'rex would totally mention what pong krell had said about a new dark power rising/the republic falling from the inside under cross-examination and there's no way phoenix and co. would let that go and--' 👀 this is going to consume my night haha

palpatine would have an aMAZING breakdown sprite

yes!!! oh man, umbara from the perspective of various members of the 501st giving testimony...kix would be that one witness who wants to cooperate but is & was so upset by the situation that he has a hard time providing coherent testimony. (throughout the game you’d run into problems getting testimony from various clones bc of things like not understanding life outside kamino/the GAR and being ordered by superiors to withhold certain pieces of information...)

i want to include slick here somehow but i’m not sure how he’d work as a defendant given that he is very much unambiguously guilty of treason. maybe he could be a witness in a case set on kamino while he’s (presumably) being held there?

ABSOLUTELY, i’m imagining gant’s lightning bolt animation but dialed up to 15 lol. he’d have one of those villain transformations too where he starts as palpatine and ends up as sidious as he stops pretending to not be an asshole.

i was trying to think of who could be the main prosecutor for the game, and i could throw out like blaise debeste or smth but tcw already gave us tarkin in that role and i really would like to see phoenix kick his ass in court

(this is getting off of the clones theme but phoenix could defend ahsoka in the wrong jedi arc...) (if we’re going whole hog on wish fulfillment he could even prove that barriss’s confession was false and really dig into a better take on how that all went down...)

#replies #duckweed #aa sw au

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clonebabes · 4 years

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Top 10 Codywan Fics in no particular order I can’t rank these. They’re all good. AKA fic recs

These are not in order! Just my top ten fics from these hopeless boys.

1. These Things Happen Rating T. Summary: Obi-wan Kenobi keeps promoting Cody. The promotion gets out of hand, and suddenly the balance of the universe shifts into the palm of a very competent, caffeinated man. Why on the list? Well, first of all I love me a good crack fic that is written nicely and flows well. Also I just? straight up love? the chapter? about Taxes that made me laugh so hard. The relationship Cody has with everyone else in the story is just... good. It’s so good. And the FIRST PART IS A CHAT FIC and im. not gonna lie i'm a sucker for those.

2. httpsCC-2224 (Cody)’s Guide to Obi-Wan Kenobi Rating T. Summary: a collection of one- and two-shots in cody's pov, and his adventures and thoughts on the 212th's general. Why? So I know this isn’t like HEAVY codywan and I don’t always need it but his fic is really good. There’s some really nice chapters in here and I love just the whole relationship and dynamics between everyone it is so good. 3. Cèile Anam Rating G. Summary: In a universe where sentients can only see in black and white until they meet their soulmates, Jedi are born seeing color. It is said that their souls are bound to the Force and need no one else to complete them.Obi-wan Kenobi, as it so happens, was missing a color. Why? Because it’s written so beautifully. Cody and Obi-Wan have BARELY INTERACTED YET AND ITS STILL SO GOOD listen. There’s more than just their relationship at play and there’s platonic soulmates TOO. It’s really well written and well- just read it. Please. It’s ongoing! 4. diogenes (what makes a man?) Rating T. Summary: Why does he get a name and I don't?Cody, grappling with identity, purpose, and what it means to be a brother. Why? It’s a good study on clones. I love the kind of character study aspect and! Ace! Obi! I’m! feeling! the REP. It’s really well written and has a post order 66 aspect of it. There’s also TRANS CLONES and NONBINARY CLONES and ITS *chefs kiss*

5. Take A Chance On Me Rating T. Summary: Eventually five chapters with different stages of Codywan. Why? Soft, gay yearning? Pining? Kissing for a mission? Teasing vode? what more could you ask for!

6.do you love me Rating T. Summary:In a universe where Mandalore did not become pacifist, where Jango Fett took up the darksaber and the title of Mand'alor and reunited the clans after a last, devastating civil war, there are three Fett children: Cody, Rex, and Boba, with Cody taking up the title as Duke as the eldest. In this same universe, Obi-Wan Kenobi is more involved with his homeworld's politics and government, while still holding a position as a Jedi Knight. Their worlds could not be more different.When Stewjon reaches out to Mandalore for protection from pirates and other thieves, Mandalore agrees, with one condition: clan ties must be made. A member of Stewjon's government must marry Mandalore's Duke.They choose Obi-Wan Kenobi. Why? I was a bit skeptical at first about this one. I wasn’t too sure how I would feel about an arranged marriage fic. BUT BY GOD IS IT GOOD. THE WAY IT HANDLES MANDALORE AND THE MAUL ARC I JUST UHHHGHHHGHHG its really good. There’s a lot of pining and angst and fluff and it just real good.

7. Will you hold me tight and not let go? Rating E. Summary: "Thank you," he croaks out, wincing at the harsh, broken sound of his voice.He tastes blood in his mouth.Meanwhile, the figure slowly raises their hand, peels off their goggles and--Cody's heart stops.---Cody is abandoned by the squadron on Tattooine as a punishment. He finds more there than just memories. Why? Well my friends this is post order 66 and it is. GOOD. I love how theres a gentle progression to it. Plus there’s a second part from obi’s perspective. I just. Love me some nice post order 66 fics.

8.Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything Rating G-T. Summary: Pushed to and perhaps past his limit, Obi-Wan takes on some "drastic" (read: logical) new views on his beliefs and things start to fall into place from there.Or how the clones get the care they deserve and Obi-Wan accidentally changes the world. Why? Well actually this is a series! and it is! so good! I love! how much Obi-Wan cares for the men and I love how it plays out. It’s post Umbara and there’s a lot of Appreciating Clone Hours in it.

9.Books and Cherry Blossoms Rating T Summary: Cody definitely didn't expect to meet a gorgeous man in the library, he was fully prepared to silently weep over is due assignments. Apparently seeing someone injure themselves is a great distraction.Maybe the amazing thighs definitely helped. Why? Gay college students. GAY COLLEGE STUDENTS. Modern au where they’re in college and theyre GAY and brothers will be brothers. Its also ongoing, well written and i just want them to kiss.

10.Say You Won’t Let Go Rated T. Summary: “Get in the smuggling compartment, then,” Cody says. “We’ll be there in a minute.”He’s not moving without a promise.“Cody-” Obi-Wan starts.Cody doesn’t let him finish. “You gonna promise me, Obi? Or are we just going to stand here until the stormtroopers show up?”[aboard the Millennium Falcon, on their way to the Death Star, Obi-Wan makes Cody a promise] Why? It’s short, yes but this fic is. SOFTE. I love the idea of the fic and it was!!! really nice.

#Codywan #cody/obi-wan #cody x obiwan #clone wars #the clone wars #tcw

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crazyclonefan · 4 years

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A chance to say goodbye

I wrote this right after tcw 7 finale and completely forgot to post it. Oops.

Very angsty.

Summary: It took Kix a long time to get used to the idea that nothing he once knew existed anymore. He meets Ahsoka and she takes him to the snowy planet where Jesse died.

It took Kix a long time to get used to the idea that nothing he once knew existed anymore. That the Republic being replaced by the Empire. His brothers fought and died for three long years for nothing. They all became toys in the hands of the cruel Emperor. That the war ended with the destruction of the Jedi Order. That while he was sleeping, the Empire fell under the onslaught of the rebels and in its place the New Republic was born. And that fifty years have passed since the separatists kidnapped him.

Fifty years ... Kix felt completely devastated when he learned of this. Waking up from stasis, he hoped it wasn't too late to prevent a catastrophe. That he could prove to General Skywalker that Fives was right and that the Chancellor was really up to something terrible. But ... He was late. Hopelessly late. There was no more Republic to warn, and no more brothers he desperately wanted to save. The realization that he was the last clone tore his heart apart.

It hurt Kix to think of his brothers. But it was especially hard from the unknown. How did Jesse die? Did he obey Order 66 and become a stormtrooper, or did he die long before that? What happened to Rex? Did he decide to remove the chip, or did he obey the order and kill General Skywalker? What happened to Echo and the Bad Batch? A lot of questions were spinning in his head, but he had no answer to any of them. But the most painful thing was to realize that he could not say goodbye to any of them.

He was grateful to the pirates of the Crimson Corsair, even if they helped him out of selfish motives. The destruction of the old bases of the separatists helped him to feel like a soldier of the Grand Army of the Republic again. A republic that will no longer appreciate his efforts. But when was it different? But that was the only goal that helped him move on.

What will happen when the last base is destroyed? Kix didn't want to think about it. Kix tried not to think about the future at all. Fifty years ago, life was much simpler and clearer. He was a soldier who took care of the health of his brothers and the general. He fought for peace and saved lives. Did he think about the future then? Of course yes. But in those dreams of the future, there were always brothers by his side, and he did not feel so painfully lonely. The future now seemed like something cold and hopeless.

***

Another planet where pirates wanted to sell their loot. Another cantina where Kix wanted to get drunk so as not to think about anything. And as always, he only felt worse.

"Kix?"

Kix froze at the familiar voice. He turned around and faced the surprised blue eyes. If their owner hadn't touched his shoulder, Kix wouldn't have believed it was true. He hadn't expected to see Ahsoka Tano alive.

Fifty years ago, Ahsoka Tano was a child. She was cocky, smiling and brave. He trusted her with his back more than he could count. Kix remembered her this way and mourned her death along with General Skywalker.

The woman in front of him didn't look like that child. Her face was adorned with wrinkles, her montrals and lekku were much longer than before, and her eyes were full of sadness and surprise. If not for the familiar pattern on her face, he might not recognize her.

"Commander Tano?"

“It's so unusual to hear that title again,” a smile touched her lips. "Since Rex died, no one else has called me that. It happened two and a half years ago."

Something inside him broke. He was late again. If he had been found much earlier, he would have had the opportunity to spend time with the captain ... If only he could have prevented the disaster ...

He spoke and spoke, not paying attention to the flowing tears and the fact that people had already begun to look back at them. He didn't care about anyone but Ahsoka. It was as if he was still somewhere deep down hoping that the information that he learned could save at least someone. Maybe it was so. He didn't know how she survived Order 66, but he certainly didn't want her to believe that his brothers betrayed her of their own accord.

He could have saved everyone if he had been more careful in his investigation. He should have shared this information with Rex much earlier. He had to ... The only thing he could do now is to save at least the memory of them.

Ahsoka also had tears in her eyes as she hugged him tightly.

“I never blamed any of them. None of them wanted this, none of this was their conscious choice. The Emperor did everything so that none of us could stop it. By the time it started, nothing could be fixed. So please don't blame yourself. "

It was weak consolation, but Kix felt a little better. Perhaps at that moment, she used the Force to soothe his pain. Perhaps the reason was that she understood him much better than the pirates of the Crimson Corsair, who never knew his brothers. Ahsoka knew them all. Or perhaps he felt better from the realization that this information, even after fifty years, reached the ears of the Jedi.

When Ahsoka finally released him, Kix finally braced himself to ask the question that had tormented him for a long time.

"Did Rex tell you how ... how Jesse died?"

Ahsoka nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Follow me, I'll tell you along the way. It's a long story and I don't want anyone else to listen to us."

***

She spoke only when the ship went into hyperspace. Kix could see how hard it was for her to think about it, but it was what both of them needed. What he personally needed. All this time, while he was tormented by the unknown, Kix imagined all sorts of options for what could happen to Jesse and the others. But he did not suspect that what actually happened would be much worse.

She talked about the siege of Mandalore and what happened on the Republic cruiser when Darth Sidious ordered her to be executed. How Rex gave her a clue, how she removed his chip, and how Jesse fought them despite the ship falling apart.

It was unbearable to know that Jesse was a victim of the chip. Jesse would never point a blaster at Rex, whom he respected with all his heart. Kix remembered exactly how Tap had behaved when his chip crashed. And he was horrified by the very thought that Jesse was trapped in his own head, repeating just one phrase that controlled him like some droid. Good soldiers always follow orders. Even if this order was to kill your own brother ...

Jesse was a good soldier and a great friend. He had a great sense of humor and always gave good advice. He was a man! A human, not a meat droid. And he deserved the best. All his brothers deserved a better fate than what the emperor condemned them to.

Kix could feel his head spinning and his heart breaking in pain. It could have been different if only he had not been so weak then. If only he hadn't drawn Count Dooku's attention to himself ...

The old, shattered Venator lay on the planet's surface as a memorial to the fallen Republic and its loyal soldiers.

Time took its toll. Snow wrapped his brothers in a thick white blanket, allowing only a few of their helmets to look out. They looked at him indifferently with the darkness of their visors, forgotten and alone, like the entire era of the Jedi. Like the Republic they once fought for.

Ahsoka touched his shoulder and quietly returned to the ship, leaving him alone with his pain. Kix was grateful to her for that.

Having dug up the snow a little, he saw what he was looking for. He lifted Jesse's helmet and ran his fingers over the nearly faded Republic symbol at its base. Jesse did his best to make this symbol visible once he became an ARC-trooper.

Kix could not help remembering how Jesse had been bragging to all the brothers for a whole week about his new armor and the fact that he was now an ARC-trooper. It was very funny for the first couple of days, and then Kix would just roll his eyes when Jesse started talking about it again. He was so proud to be promoted to lieutenant and become an ARC-trooper!

He was one of the most loyal soldiers of the Republic and took pride in his service. This is what this symbol was supposed to represent.

Kix couldn't hold back his tears when he saw the burns and abrasions that the helmet received, probably after the ship fell. He didn’t want to think about what his friend was experiencing and what Jesse was thinking in his last minutes, and whether he could think about anything other than a damn order in general. Was he afraid of death at this moment? Did he die quickly, without feeling anything, or did he suffer before he died?

Jesse always did what he thought was right. This is why he agreed with Fives' plan on Umbara, which is why he did so many good things. He shouldn't have died like this, a limp puppet in the hands of the emperor, wanting to kill his own brother and Commander Tano.

Kix pressed his forehead against Jesse's helmet, finally being able to say goodbye to his best friend properly. With a friend whom he actually doomed to a terrible death. If only he could tell about the conspiracy before he was captured ... If only he was not so weak and captured by the droids ... If ... Jesse and Rex would not have to go through all of this. Their brothers would not have to die in vain. And Rex would not have been plagued by guilt all his life, burying all the brothers he ever loved.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, hoping desperately that Jesse would hear him on the other side. "Forgive me, brother."

The last time they saw each other, Jesse was filled with hope for the future. They both dreamed of getting drunk in '79, once the war was over. How they will stick together and will definitely find something to do in a new peaceful life. Kicks wondered what Jesse was thinking when he suddenly disappeared without giving any reason.

"Sleep well, Jesse... I'll see you on the other side."

Kix forced himself to leave Jesse's helmet in the snow where his body rested. He did not find the strength to separate them. This place has been a monument to the Grand Army of the Republic for these long fifty years and should remain so in the future. Someday he, too, will be under this snow next to his brothers.

***

The way back to Felucia went in silence. Kix felt devastated. He was grateful to Ahsoka for not trying to convince him again that everything that happened was not his fault. Whatever she said, he could never forgive himself after what he saw today.

"What do you intend to do next?" She asked when the ship finally landed in port.

“I don’t know,” Kix replied honestly, wiping his eyes. “Back to the Crimson Corsair's team.

He must finish what he started. There were still two bases that he needed to destroy. In memory of Jesse and all those brothers who stayed on that snowy moon. In honor of all the clones that died decades ago. What will happen next? Who knows. He'll think about it later.

“If you are sure of this, then I have no right to stop you.” Ahsoka smiled at him. “But if you ever get tired of being a pirate, let me know. I know people who will welcome a skilled soldier. "

"I'll think about it," Kix found the strength to smile. - "But I have to finish what I started."

Ahsoka nodded in understanding and rubbed her chin thoughtfully, looking somewhere behind Kix. Merry sparks lit up in her eyes.

"Do you mind if I join you? Destroying Separatist bases sounds like an interesting idea."

“How can I refuse you, Commander?” Kix's smile was sincere this time. “Only one condition. Don't throw me with the Force like you used to do with Captain Rex. "

Ahsoka laughed.

"I will try to resist the temptation."

He saw before him the old Ahsoka Tano now. For some reason, his soul became a little calmer. For the first time in these long months, he could finally think about his future, and it no longer seemed so lonely.

He knew he could not forgive himself or bring his brothers back. But he can still do something for them. He will live honoring their memory for as long as he can. Until one day meet them again.

#My fic #tcw fanfic #the clones wars #tcw #kix #clone trooper kix #Ahsoka Tano #ARC trooper Jesse #angst and glass

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authortobenamedlater · 4 years

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WIP asks

I’m doing that thing where I list every WIP on my hard drive for the world to see, because I’m having a big case of writing inertia right now. Ask away, tumblr:

Hazardous Duty (Clone Wars): I think I’m going to change the title on this one. It’s an AU crack-treated-seriously where Anakin calls Rex in for reinforcements with Luke and Leia, and Anakin and Rex absolutely do not talk about how they’re both high-functioning disasters after the war.

(I’ve been staring at the first draft of this for about an hour and can’t get off my butt to edit it)

How The Strong Man Stumbled (Clone Wars): Almost has a first draft finished. Super heavy Umbara aftermath. Rex is a complete mess, Anakin talks him down, Cody comes in for the mop-up.

Sharpening Iron 2 (Star Trek reboot): Definitely getting a new title and has been collecting dust for awhile. Second chapter of what I’m affectionately calling my Pike/April Family Business AU. We meet my version of Sarah April.

This Next Choice (Clone Wars): Rex, Ahsoka, and the series finale.

Untitled Rex Ahsoka (Clone Wars): Yes that’s really the working title. Anakin dispatches Rex to teach Ahsoka hand-to-hand combat--without the Force. Rex has to give her some straight talk about the realities of war, and there’s a little fun bonding in there too.

LOTR what do I call this (Lord of The Rings): Another super imaginative working title. Arwen and Eowyn gossip about their husbands and Aragorn gives Faramir a valuable nugget of wisdom about the battle of the sexes.

Unintended Consequences (Clone Wars): Another AU. Rex/Ahsoka which I don’t normally write. The unintended consequences (hence the title) of the Galactic Civil War.

All Things New (Star Wars OT): Anakin and Obi-Wan sort things out at the end of ROTJ.

Men Like You (Lord of The Rings): Before leaving for Rivendell, Boromir wrote a letter to his younger brother. Faramir reads it.

A Place To Crash (Clone Wars): After Obi-Wan “dies” in the Rako Hardeen arc, Cody crashes on Rex.

Strong To Save (Clone Wars): This one is mostly a concept still. A company witnesses the burial rites of a local religious order and adapts one of their songs...all the way through Order 66.

Two Natures (Star Wars PT/Rebels/OT): Anakin Skywalker rages in the recesses of Darth Vader’s consciousness for 20 years.

The One That Survives (Rebels): Kanan asks Rex about Cody.

No Words (Star Wars PT): Bail and Obi-Wan after the galaxy falls apart.

Bring You Home (Rebels): My contribution to the “What the heck happened to Cody” speculation.

EDIT—I forgot one! The Adult in The Room (Clone Wars): Anakin and Ahsoka get into a fight and act like teenagers because they are. Rex has to stage an intervention.

I have...way too many WIPs. No wonder it takes me forever to finish them.

And now it’s almost midnight.

#writer ask game #fanfic #star wars fanfiction #fanfiction #star wars #clone wars #clone wars fic #clone wars fanfic #star trek alternate original series #star trek fanfiction #lord of the rings #lord of the rings fanfiction #lotr #star wars rebels #rebels fanfic #wip #wip asks

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ryder-s-block · 4 years

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Jaig Eyes (Ch 66)

Jaig Eyes (66/?)

Summary:

Kida, a former slave who now thrives as a bounty hunter, finds herself sucked into the war she advised Jango Fett against. Now that she’s involved, she has to finally mourn the loss of Jango, seeing his face in the clones that man the GAR. What happens when she allows herself to get attached to one, not for his resemblance to her former mentor, but for his heart?

————————-

Chapter Sixty-Six: Treason

I didn’t want to open my eyes. Because I knew the hands that caught me when I pitched towards the floor in our shared cell, my arms released by my guards.

“What the hell did he do to her?” I heard Jesse yell, as if through water. My mind was still swirling with grief and death. There was no response from my guards as the ray shield engaged again.

“Kida?” It was Fives’ voice now. His fingers touched the side of my face gently. “Come on, kid. Wake up.”

I opened my eyes slowly, exhausted from the onslaught. It was less now… the fighting had stopped when I was in the tower. At the swell of grief from Rex...when it rippled through his brothers.

Tears burst from my eyes and I lunged forward to bury my face in Fives’ chest. He fell back a bit where he sat on the ground, the clone hesitating at my uncharacteristic behavior. I usually….kept it together around them. I held the facade of arrogance and capability. But I couldn’t do it. Not now.

Finally, Fives’ arms settled around my shaking frame, holding me to him. His cheek touched the top of my head, his jaw shifting my hair when he spoke. “What happened?” His voice was soft, but firm. He needed to know, but he was frightened by how I was acting.

I shook my head, still buried in his blacks. “Krell. I felt something...horrible. So many men dying--” my voice broke, the sound muffled by his shirt.

“Dying?” Jesse repeated, crouching to sit beside us now, his hand touching my shoulder gently. “Who?”

I turned slightly, peering out over Fives’ bicep. “I don’t know. Not Rex. But he’s hurting. They’ve all done something….terrible.” The brothers glanced at each other with worry as I shifted, still needing the comfort of Fives’ body near mine.

The ARC trooper shifted a bit, making me sit back for a second so he could look at me. He held me at arm’s length, his hazel gaze searching me for physical injury. “I know it’s hard,” he said when he determined me unharmed. “But you need to tell me everything.”

Each breath I took left my shoulders shuddering. But I nodded, trying to speak between the tears. “Krell. He sent our guys out, telling them that the Umbarans were wearing clone armor.” Fives and Jesse each held their breath, glancing anxiously at the other. “It was one of Kenobi’s units,” I sobbed, my hand coming up to cup my mouth as I said the words aloud.

Fives stood abruptly, sending me sprawling until Jesse caught me in his arms. The ARC Trooper paced, pulsing with rage and grief. “They were killing each other,” he connected, his fists clenching at his sides. “Krell set them up like animals for slaughter!”

He punched the side of the cell angrily. I jumped in fright, earning a surprised look from Jesse. He slowly eased me against the wall before standing beside his brother, touching his shoulder. Fives shrugged him off.

Jesse turned back to me. “Can you still feel them? Our brothers?” Fives turned at that.

I breathed slowly, gently tapping at the barrier I’d hastily formed against the onslaught of death from the battlefield. I nodded mutely to the clones.

“How many?” Fives asked, his voice low.

I shook my head. “I can’t say. Enough.” Fives nodded, his jaw tight. I breathed in sharply, feeling a particular thought resonating from my link to Rex. I’d rarely ever heard his thoughts as words, but this was backed by fury and anguish, pushing into my mind like a blaster shot.

“Waxer.”

“It was Waxer’s battalion,” I whispered, tears flowing again with Rex’s emotions. I shook my head. “He’s gone. I don’t know for sure who’s alive other than Rex.”

“How do you know about Waxer?” Jesse asked.

I shook my head again. “Rex.”

“So you have some….special connection with him?” Fives asked, crouching before me. I felt like I was being examined, recoiling slightly. He saw my expression and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Kida. It’s not like Jesse and I don’t know.”

That was fair.

I shrugged. “I guess? I suppose I’ve felt his Force signature enough that it’s easy for me to find him.”

“Force signature? Is that what they call it now?” Fives’ brows were wiggling with comedy. He was trying to lighten the mood in any way he could.

I slapped his chest, earning a light chuckle. “Not what I meant, and you know it.” I chose to return to filling them in as I focused on Rex’s mind. My head fell back to rest against the wall while I reached out with the Force, surging over the battlefield to zero in on my captain. I brushed his thoughts like I was touching my hand to his face, earning a spark of recognition from Rex.

I smiled gently, despite the horrible situation. He felt my presence with him… It was endearing to know he recognized me now. And he didn’t recoil or build a wall this time. He sat back as he walked through the misty darkness, letting me rifle curiously through his memory.

Rex would flinch slightly when I touched the next painful memory. On those, I would only skim the surface enough to understand, but not enough to see it fully. I didn’t want to know, anyways.

I felt his relief at my safety, as he felt mine for his. And then I felt the anger that was bubbling to the surface. I touched his mind more firmly, cooling his temper just enough to tell him I loved him. He returned the sentiment.

And then, with a billow of determined anger that wasn’t directed at me, his mind urged me to prepare myself.

I snapped my eyes open, withdrawing from Rex’s mind in an instant. Fives’ face was close to mine, his gaze intense. “Well?” he asked.

“Rex realized they were shooting their own men and stopped it. There were already too many dead, though,” I glanced down at my hands, feeling the grief Rex had felt when he’d looked down at his in that moment.

Fives moved away, running his hands through his hair endlessly. Jesse pinched his nose. “Rex won’t let Krell get away with this.”

“No, he won’t,” I answered. “And neither will we. They’re coming to get us out.” Fives and Jesse glanced at each other in confusion before looking back at me. “They’re angry,” I explained, glancing away, feeling it wash over me in waves, daring to drown me in my own darkness. “Very angry.”

Fives knelt again, his hazel eyes staring into my stormy ones. “And you can feel that?” My gaze cut to him with suspicion, but I nodded anyways. “Kida….can I ask you something?” I swallowed, but nodded again. “Was Krell exaggerating when he said you’re dangerous?”

I wanted to tell him that I absolutely was dangerous, because I was a renowned bounty hunter. But that wasn’t what he was talking about.

“You don’t have to be afraid, if that’s what you’re asking. I can control it.”

“But what if you didn’t?”

“Fives,” Jesse bit harshly, but his brother would have none of it, waving him away.

“Krell is a Jedi Master. And he has two double-bladed lightsabers. No offense, but you don’t stand a chance against him, even with your saber. But Rex told me about what happened on Vandor.” Fives shrugged his shoulders, looking a bit sheepish. “Maybe that could--”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said curtly, looking away.

He sighed through his nose, earning a small smack from Jesse. Fives gave him a look in return. “I’m right and you know it. I trust Kida, don’t you?”

Jesse’s mouth opened and closed in hesitance. “Of course I trust her…” The clone glanced at me with an apologetic gaze. “He has a point, Kida.”

“You guys don’t trust me to handle this how I am?” I asked. Still, they both frowned at me.

“Do you?” Fives returned. That was a fair point. I closed my eyes as he spoke, listening, but wishing he would stop talking. “If Rex is coming, we need you to be the most powerful ally you can be. It might be the only way we can take down Krell. You just have to…”

His voice faded between the sound of my breaths, my mind focusing on the thing he was asking me to do. It was dangerous ground. And terribly tempting. I’d pulled myself away from the Dark Side before….but could I do it again?

-------------------------------

“It’s not like you to doubt yourself.”

My eyes snapped open at the voice, knowing in an instant that it wasn’t Fives or Jesse. I was no longer in the cell on Umbara. Rather, the walls were strikingly white, the windows contrasting with the dark storm outside. Before me, clad in his casuals the Kaminoans gave him, sat Jango Fett. He was shining his armor, the silver and blue beskar piled neatly on the white table.

I swallowed, finding myself sitting in my usual spot on the windowsill. “I’m not.”

“I don’t recall raising you to be a hu’tuun.” I flinched at the harsh insult, but Jango didn’t even look up from his work. When I didn’t respond, however, he stopped polishing and cut his eyes up to me sharply.

“You didn’t,” I replied quickly.

Jango pursed his lips while watching me before shifting to put down his armor and lean on his knees to look at me. “I know I didn’t. So what’s really holding you back?”

I sighed, glancing out at the storming sea of Kamino. How I missed it. Missed the tranquility of having a home with a family in it. “What if I don’t come back?”

“You’ve resisted the dark before,” he reasoned.

I rolled my eyes back to him. “That was different. I was guided out.”

“Why do you doubt yourself?”

“You’re not here,” I whispered. “You’re just a memory.”

Jango’s shoulder lifted slightly. “Your memory.” He didn’t deny it, as I knew he wasn’t coming to me through the Force. Yet...the Force was showing me this for a reason.

“Then why are you here? To tell me I should do this? That I should tap into the darkness within me….and lose control?”

“Who said anything about losing control?” Jango stood, crossing his arms in disappointment at me. “I taught you that control is a bounty hunter’s greatest asset. Have you forgotten this?”

“No,” I growled, “But how can I unleash this terrible darkness and not lose control?”

Jango smiled at me. “You were always a clever girl. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“No,” I said again, looking out the window, “I don’t want to do this.” I jumped slightly, feeling Jango’s knuckles lift my chin to look at him again. His eyes were warm, his expression soft.

“I know you weren’t born a Mandalorian, but you’re my ad’ika. I raised you to have honor.” Jango smiled gently, grazing my cheek with the gentle touch of a loving parent. “Burc’ya vaal burk’yc, burc’ya veman.” I swallowed, my eyes tearing up again, but I nodded, leaning my head forward. Jango rested his forehead against mine gently, his voice soft. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Believe in yourself, like I do.”

I nodded against him again, my eyes sliding closed. I felt his lips touch my forehead gently, before the feeling of him was gone entirely.

---------------------------

When I opened my eyes again, I was looking into Fives’ hazel gaze, rather than Jango’s. Fives was watching me intensely, as if waiting for an answer. When I said nothing, he sighed heavily. “Were you even listening to me?”

“No,” I admitted, feeling some of my grief already shift towards anger under the influence of the arriving clones. I got up, hearing the door above open and sensing Rex approaching. “But don’t worry. I was listening to someone else who convinced me.”

The clones blinked at me in confusion. “You what?” Jesse asked.

“Wait, wait,” Fives cut in, waving his hands, “Convinced you? So you’ll do it?”

I turned to the door as the elevator began to descend, the clones standing at my sides. “I’ll do what I can. But you need to promise me something,” I turned to them both, staring them in their eyes. “If I really lose control….and I mean being dangerous to you guys,” I bit my lip for a second. “You need to promise me that you’ll stop me from hurting any of you, no matter what that method is.”

“I’m not going to shoot you,” Jesse argued with a frown, but Fives silenced him with a hand to his shoulder.

Fives’ expression was serious. “You really want us to promise that? You want us to stop you, even if it means killing you?”

“Yes,” I answered immediately before swallowing, “Though I’d prefer if you stopped me without killing me.”

To my relief, they both chuckled as we all faced the door again, the elevator drawing near our level. “And I’d prefer if you take down Krell and then come back to us,” Jesse teased, nudging my side.

I didn’t smile as three pairs of boots came into view on the elevator. “Yeah,” I whispered, more to myself than the clones, “Me too.”

The elevator stopped, revealing Rex, Kix, and Tup in full armor. Rex said nothing as the ray shield disengaged, offering Jesse and Fives each a rifle. The clones glanced at each other before taking the weapons with grins. They stepped past me onto the elevator, Rex watching me through his visor.

I wanted to say something. Wanted to say I was here for him and that I was sorry. But now wasn’t the time to grieve. Now was the time to be angry.

And I felt that resonating from him, so I nodded to my captain, touching his arm gently with as much reassurance as I could channel through the small contact. But I said nothing as I stepped past onto the elevator.

Kix engaged it immediately, our group rising past the Umbarans who were jeering at us from their cells. I stood in silence, closing my eyes slowly to reach out with the Force. The command center, where Krell still stood, was pulsating with the Dark Side. While it would be a great route to opening stronger powers, I hesitated to use it. That was all from Krell….I didn’t want his influence anywhere near my mind when I let my emotions take over.

“We have your gear ready for you,” Rex announced as we rose through the brig.

“What about Kida’s lightsaber?” Fives asked, earning a glance from all but me. They were wondering why he asked, rather than me.

“Krell still has it,” I responded for the others, my eyes still closed.

Jesse sighed through his nose. “We’ll have to figure out how to get that back to you.”

“Kida,” Rex said hesitantly, “You can’t hope to fight him in a lightsaber battle. You couldn’t win.” He meant it as a realist, and never meant to insult me. I didn’t really take it as an insult either; it was damn true.

“She’ll be fine,” Fives assured the captain, “Right, Kida?”

I still didn’t open my eyes, but I could feel the worried glances from the clones who had yet to know the plan. “What am I missing here?” Kix asked. Everyone looked to Fives, but I felt Rex’s gaze on me still.

I ignored him, instead reaching out to all the horrible emotions his brothers were feeling. The darkness of death. Loss. Fear. Anger. Hate. Vengeance. I let it feed into me, let my hatred for the Jedi flow. I recalled all the times he’d insulted me. Called me names. Belittled me in front of others. How he tried to have me killed. How he betrayed the Republic and the Order he claimed to fight for. How he murdered my new family with wild abandon.

“Kida took on Dooku once. She can do this,” Fives reasoned.

Rex’s mind spiked with fear immediately. My heart ached. “Dooku was different. That was...before. Right?”

This was asked to me. Finally, I opened my eyes as the elevator came to a stop, the doors hissing open to reveal our gear waiting. Still, I didn’t respond as we exited the elevator and began putting our armor back on.

“Sure,” Fives said finally when I didn’t speak. “But she can do that again.”

Rex grabbed his brother by the arm, stopping him in the middle of gearing up. “Do you realize what you’re asking her to do? The place you’re asking her to go?”

It occurred to me in that moment that Rex’s fear had nothing to do with his own safety, or even that of his brothers. He...trusted me with that. His fear was for me. For the toll doing those things and going to those dark places took on me.

I smiled gently, stopping in the middle of strapping on my beskar. “Rex,” I said finally, my voice softer than I expected it to be, considering the darkness building within me. “I agreed to this. We need to stop Krell. I can do this.” I glanced at Jesse and Fives, giving them a significant look. They both seemed to get the point: Rex wasn’t to know about our little deal.

It would bother him too much. And I didn’t want him worrying about me while he should be trying to keep himself from being chopped in half by one of Krell’s blades.

Rex swallowed, but nodded, saying nothing more. I felt his distress, reaching out with my mind to smooth over his worries gently. His mind reacted immediately to my touch, his thoughts practically embracing mine. It was like he was trying to bury me into his brain, so he would never have to let me go.

I snapped the last piece of beskar into place, feeling whole again as I holstered my pistols. Well, as whole as I could without my lightsaber. It felt good to put my armor back on, but I didn’t feel like I’d earned it.

Not yet, at least.

I withdrew my mind from his, Rex grasping at the tendrils desperately. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew the fear that was expressed there. He was afraid for me. Afraid I’d get hurt.

I ignored him, completely blocking him from my mind. Severing our link...even if temporarily...made me feel empty. Alone.

It was enough for my Force signature to darken significantly. It must have shown in the cloudiness of my face, because all the clones glanced at me as we walked to the base of the command tower to meet the others. There were men in 212th gold, too. Waxer’s men.

I gave them all a nod in greeting as we entered the tower, the elevator lifting us towards the traitorous general. I was thankful in that moment that Rex wasn’t Force sensitive. His mind was screaming at mine even without it.

Also….he’d have been able to feel my fear begin to shift towards confidence.

As the elevator rose, I closed my eyes one last time, breathing deeply. In that breath, I sucked in all of the anger rippling from the clones. I felt their loss and grief. Swam in their lust for vengeance.

And as I sucked it all in, the darkness in me rose to a powerful storm. I kept it contained, though. I would keep control. I could do this.

The doors hissed open, revealing Krell in his usual stance on the observation deck, his back to us. The clones poured out, surrounding the general with guns drawn. I followed Fives and Jesse, my pistols aimed at the Jedi.

“General Krell,” Rex announced as he entered behind us, “You’re being relieved of duty.”

The Jedi turned slowly, all of his hands folded calmly behind his back. His yellow eyes danced over us all with a sinister glimmer. “It’s treason, then.”

Rex drew his pistols immediately, sinking into a ready stance. “Surrender, General.” His words were calm, but both Krell and I could feel his fear.

“You’re committing mutiny, Captain,” the Jedi informed him, striding forward easily.

“Not a step further,” I growled, shifting myself closer to Rex, my pistols aimed at Krell’s forehead. The Jedi stopped, giving me a scowl, but ignored me otherwise.

“Explain your actions,” Rex demanded beside me. Behind Krell, our clones shifted into the place he’d just left, surrounding him completely.

“My actions?” the Jedi asked mockingly. I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t sure why we were even doing this. It wasn’t like we expected Krell to surrender.

Rex’s anger flared. “For ordering your troops against one another.”

“Oh, that,” Krell chuckled, touching his chin as if he’d completely forgotten the event. “I’m surprised you were able to figure it out….for a clone.” The darkness in me flared at his comment, earning a look when he sensed it. “Oh, you’ve brought the Sithling along. What fun.”

Fives motioned to his brothers, the clones stepping past me to close in on Krell. The ARC trooper brushed past my shoulder gently, urging me to hold back. For now, at least.

“Surrender, General,” Rex commanded from beside me. “You’re outnumbered.”

I sensed the Force moving around Krell before he moved. On impulse, I dropped my pistols to cross my arms over my face. Krell shoved outwards with the Force, sending all of the clone careening backwards. With the Force bracing me, I stayed upright, thrusting my hand forward. My lightsaber detached from Krell’s belt in an instant, flying in the air towards my palm.

And then it stopped.

One of Krell’s hands was stretched out after the lightsaber I’d stolen, doing everything he could to take it back. Raw power blew past me, threatening to throw me backwards as I struggled to maintain a grip on my saber through the Force. The beskar hilt flitted back and forth in the air, being yanked like a helpless child caught in the middle of a dispute.

Krell was too powerful. I couldn’t gain control of my saber, even with the kyber being bonded with me. I glared at Krell, channeling my anger. Still, I didn’t lose control. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. I--

Shots went off, Krell releasing my lightsaber to draw his own. He deflected the fire coming from the clones, who had all found their feet again.

However...Letting go of the saber meant that both it and me went flying backwards. I toppled into Fives, knocking us both back to the ground. “Alright?” he asked, helping me back to my feet. I nodded mutely, silent in my anger. I scooped up my fallen lightsaber, eyeing the Besalisk that was a whirling ball of lasers, deflecting any shot that came near him.

And then he began slicing through clones, tired of this game. “How dare you attack a Jedi!”

My white blade ignited at my side in an instant. I leapt forward, slamming my lightsaber into Krell’s just in time to spare a clone’s life. His yellow eyes met mine over the smarting of our blades.

“Sithling,” he growled, “You are no match for a Jedi Master!”

I screamed, shifting my blade sideways to detach myself from our lock. I spun away as the remaining clones did their best to help. Still, every time I detached from Krell, more clones died.

But we weren’t getting anywhere with fighting either.

I tried one last, desperate time. Lunging forward, I went for a quicker attack. Taking from Ahsoka’s book, I relied on my speed around Krell, snapping my blade against his in quick succession. He was far stronger than me, after all.

Still, it was no use. I tired quickly against him, even with the help of the clones. And I was unfocused. Even he could feel that. Despite the confidence I’d felt in the elevator, Krell’s presence had all but extinguished it. His Force signature resonated deeply with power and darkness.

How could I match that….without losing control?

Krell took advantage of my wandering thoughts, locking my lightsaber between his blade and striking me across the face with his free hand. I careened sideways, my lightsaber being wrenched from my grasp.

The Jedi growled in front of us as I laid at Rex’s feet in a pile. Another clone flew over our heads, slamming against the door, his armor smarting with the touch of the lightsaber. “I will not be undermined by creatures bred in some laboratory!”

He was looking straight at Rex, his expression filled with rage. The Dark Side moved around him….a man ready to kill more than he already had. It was like slow motion. As Krell shifted to leap forward, his sabers lifted to strike down my captain, I felt something in me break.

“Burc’ya vaal burk’yc, burc’ya veman,” I heard in my mind. It was true. I couldn’t defeat Krell without losing control. I was afraid to do that, because I could hurt Rex or the other clones I loved.

But what good was me keeping control if they died anyways?

So the floodgates opened, that hidden part of me, that I had put to sleep long ago, awakening with a vengeance. It writhed with pleasure at the pure power that coursed through me. It was familiar and strikingly warm. Hot, even.

Dangerous.

I screamed as I pushed out with my hands, the Force rushing from me like a tidal wave. It caught Krell in mid-air as he tried to strike down my captain, throwing him across the room and through the observation window.

We all breathed for a moment in the silence, listening to the glass still clattering to the floor. Below, more gunfire erupted; Krell had found more clones to terrorize. We all ran to the window quickly, peering down to see the Jedi slicing through entire squads of clones.

“Come on,” Fives commanded, turning to lead the others to the elevator. They stopped, turning to look at me at the door.

“Kida,” Rex said hesitantly. I felt his fear. I could feel that I looked different. Through his mind’s eye, I saw the woman standing before him amidst the broken window. I didn’t recognize her.

While the painted beskar was familiar, the woman stood tall with something more than confidence….power. Her usually pale gray eyes were dark and glinting with anger. She looked at Rex, strands of her dirty hair slipping from her ponytail to hang limply around her shadowed face. She reached out with an air of carelessness, the lightsaber on the ground flashing up to her hand in an instant.

I withdrew from Rex’s mind when I felt the beskar hilt hit my palm, frightened by the version of myself that I saw. Still, there was something about it that felt….good. Without my permission, I felt my lips curl into a cruel smile. Every cell in my body wanted to split Krell in half. And I had every intention of doing so. Each death of a clone below spurred me more as I took another step towards the shattered window.

“Kida, what are you doing?” Rex asked again, his hand holding the elevator door open.

I glanced over my shoulder, knowing that dark circles were beginning to form under my eyes. If it was from exhaustion, the Dark Side, or both, I couldn’t be sure. “Go,” was all I said before I tipped forward and out of the window with reckless abandon, driven by the dark power coursing through me.

-----------------------

MANDO’A

Hu’tuun-- coward

Ad’ika-- daughter/son/little one

Burc’ya vaal burk’yc, burc’ya veman--- a friend during danger is a true friend

-----------------------------

Author’s Note:

It feels very fitting that this chapter is named “Treason” and it’s chapter 66. (‘It’s treason, then’). Still hurts, especially after the conclusion of the series!

Thank you for the continued support! I’m so glad to see that people are finding some joy in this fic during quarantine. I know it’s keeping me sane to write it hahaha!

As always, reviews/reposts/shares/likes are always appreciated and encouraged!

May the Force be with you,

Ryder

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vultures-and-scavengers · 4 years

Note

For the Star Wars asks. 1, 11, and 14!

1. do you find force users or non-force users more interesting?

i answered 1 here but i always take an opportunity to not shut up so im going to talk about the force users i do find interesting- and thats force users who are good but are part of an organization they grapple with, or mavericks who go off to do thier own thing. this changes era to era so im gonna go chronologically with the order and type of jedi i find interesting for each. which generally aren’t any canon characters because SW writers aren’t willing to consider the in-universe implications of some of their writing decisions

SWTOR Sith: Sith who don’t do evil things. I’m talking Sith who have personal moral code, sith who live with honor in their lives, sith who are attempting to reform the Empire. sith archeologists who are trying to recover history from their glassed homeworlds.

SWTOR Jedi: Jedi who say, revan’s murder droids are a little fucked up, dont you think? jedi who believe in the republic and want it to be better than it is. jedi who think belsavis is a little fucked up.

KOTOR Sith: kreia kind of cornered the market on interesting, tbh. but sith who joined revan and felt they have maybe no choice to go back to the jedi order, even though they joined for the reason of protecting people from mandalorian raids, and so they keep on with revan without believeing in it or they go their own way. also the monkeys paw aspect to the force that hits the sith pretty hard in KOTOR2, thats fun to play with

KOTOR Jedi: was revan the only one who got a personality transplant? were there jedi who didnt go to war and regretted it? i have questions and i need answers

TCW Jedi: “i cant reconcile being a good person and having a clone army” jedi, “i dont want the senate to decide which people im compassionate towards” jedi, “i love the order and i want it to be better” jedi

11. who is the most underrated character?

JESSE. he goes through this huge background character arc, and the writers dont... super seem to consider him a lot, but its fine, ive been out here making jesse meta for forever.

jesse and barris post order 66 brotp

jesse becoming an arc trooper

previous jesse ask

he goes from a squad leader who is professional, warm, and dutiful, while also quick to react and yet has a foot-n-mouth problem in deserter to a far more jaded leader (and i would argue he’s still a leader in umbara, since he’s one of the ones that speaks up the most and decides to to fly the ships into the seppies supply ship with hardcase and fives). then by the time of bad batch and order 66 he seemed to hit more of an equilibrium, but then maul. which by the way, people who ship maul and jesse are an instant block from me. shits gross.

and admittedly i like him because i see my own flaws in him. he’s struggled with a loss of faith (this isn’t ever talked about, but like... he tattooed himself with the republic symbol and then umbara. he had a loss of faith.), he struggles with saying things to people he cares about that hurt their feelings accidentally. he definitely seems to be more comfortable as the second in command rather than the first in command, and yeah, same.

i need you to know how hard i worked to not turn this into a 5 page essay. but the tl;dr is that he has some interesting character development, i think you can pull a lot from the moments he is in, he’s a veteran member of the 501st but rose through the ranks in the 501st rather than becoming an arc and rising through the ranks outside the 501st like fives, and has a strong mentor relationship with rex that hits bumps in umbara.

14. what is your favorite alien species?

twi’leks! though pantorans are sneaking up behind them. i just really like designing twileks. like as an alien species, they’re ripe for so much creativity with colors and designs and outfits and backgrounds.

man i just think they’re neat

#arc trooper jesse #i love him so much #thank you for the ask!#its writing essay night #whitephobic-rex

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wr1t3-my-wr0ngs · 4 years

Text

Good Soldiers—Chapter 3/4

Remembering Yesterday’s Tomorrow (In the Here and Now)- Part 4 cont.

As much as Rex wants to move directly onto the next step in removing Krell, there is still a war that needs to be dealt with. Having Fives in his corner helps immensely as both a sounding board and support. It has taken a weight off his shoulders that he is infinitely glad he no longer has to shoulder alone. However, he had forgotten the specific brand of insanity that comes from working with his brothers, and while he is happy (among the other emotions that swirl dangerously close to the surface) to have them in his life again, it does, at times, make him wish his hair was longer so he could pull it out. Especially as he, Jesse, Tup, and Hardcase listen to Fives' infiltration plan.

"You want to what?"

He knows his plan to deal with Krell isn't perfect, but he hopes beyond all sense of reason that it's better then what he just heard Fives suggest.

"Have the men and myself fly the Umbaran craft into the supply ship and blow up the main reactor."

Last time, he hadn't asked for details. The thinking being he couldn't report what he didn't know. If this was the same plan that Fives had used to take down the supply ship, Rex knows why it went so horribly wrong.

"You are aware that General Skywalker was already one of the best pilots in the galaxy at that time? And that most of it was an accident?"

His brother looks sheepish. From his perch atop a table, Rex pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. Despite knowing the answer, he asks his next question anyway.

"How many men are you planning to take up?"

"It would be us three, Sir."

Rex looks at Jesse who has momentarily looked up from cleaning his blaster to indicate Fives, Hardcase, and himself. The Captain unconsciously brings a hand up to stroke a beard that isn't there, thinking over the specifics that he was privy to the first time around — regretting his lack of involvement and the subsequent lack of information.

“If you have a better plan, we’re all ears.”

He thinks of Ahsoka, of her uncanny ability (force given or natural, he never knew) to plan on the fly. To take a pile of unknowns and somehow rearrange them until they created actionable intel. There was a reason she was one of the leaders of the Rebellion, and he, her right-hand-man.

But she's not here. Surrounded by a room of living ghosts, the only thing he has of her is his ring and the memories of advice they had shared. One in particular whispers across his mind.

Work with what you know.

So that’s what he does.

He thinks about the Separatist ships he's been on. The narrow passages designed for droids and not much else. Considers the size and challenges of the Umbaran crafts. Three would be a tight squeeze and tricky to maneuver in such a limited space, even with the best of pilots, never mind when operated by foot soldiers who considered demolishing a hanger a successful test run.

"Send only one pilot."

"Without backup?"

Tups concern is valid, a brother without backup was always a dangerous thing, for the mission and the soldier both. But he doesn't have a better plan, not one that would work with their limited number of men, resources, and time. He can only pray that what he can change will be enough.

Rex leaves that part out when he explains his thinking, although Fives gives him a brief side-eye. He watches as each man mulls over the idea, weighs the pros and the cons, considers their part.

"I'll do it."

His heart sinks.

"The Captains right, and I have the most experience with the tech."

"Hardcase, " He isn't sure what to say without giving himself away to everyone in the room. When he had first woken and started putting together his plan, he had considered that there may be things he couldn’t change, couldn’t make right. Hardcase it would seem, is one of those things. A knot of emotion catches in his chest as he considers the very real possibility of watching his brother's death a second time over. Eventually, he settles on the only question available to him.

“Are you sure?”

His brother squares his shoulders, easy-going manner set aside.

“I am, Captain.”

The room is silent for a moment, heavy with the knowledge that this very well may end up a suicide mission.

"What about—"

At that moment the doors to the barracks open, cutting Jesse off mid-sentence, revealing Dogma, head bent over a datapad and lips silently moving.

The collective group freezes, including Dogma who seems to realize he has the full attention of everyone in the room. His head snaps up and eyes go wide, jaw clicking shut, and for a second Rex thinks he can see fear in his brother's eyes. But his time to observe is limited, as Dogma, without so much as a word, about faces and leaves the room with the speed of a man being chased by cannon fire.

The group exchange glances and all Rex can do is shrug at the inquiring look Fives sends his way, just as stumped by his brothers behavior as the rest of them. He had expected suspicion and anger, or even the cold shoulder. Those he could understand, but fear?

He shakes himself internally. His concerns about Dogma hardly the top of his priorities at the moment.

"What about Krell?" Jesse repeats, looking between Fives and Rex in equal measure.

"We need a Jedi."

Hardcase scoffs and crosses his arms.

"Yeah, I don't know if you noticed Captain, but they're in short supply."

"I'm just saying that his ability to receive transmissions with new orders is awfully convenient, considering they're supposed to be being jammed."

Jesse looks up from cleaning his blaster with a critical eye.

"You think he's lying about communications with the 212th?"

Rex nods.

"It's a possibility. And it won't hurt to try and get General Kenobi here to assist."

"I think, " Tup starts slowly. "That I might be able to convince a few of the men to try and establish contact against orders. No promises, though."

Rex looks over to Fives, who nods in agreement.

"That's all we can ask for Tup."

Tup inclines his head at the ARC Trooper.

"And what if, and that's a karking large if mind you, we can't get the General to assist?"

Rex sighs.

"Plan B and prey."

----

Dogma was acting strange.

Usually, Tup wouldn't have paid much attention to his brother's odd habits. But he had never seen him that upset before or that close to exchanging blows with another brother. He understands Dogma's anger; he does. Is still reeling from the implications himself, even though nothing he heard really surprised him when he thought about it. But he also understands, as best as he can understand his brother, why it would affect Dogma more than the rest. He’s aware that he is the closest to Dogma, one of the few Vod’e who took the time to get to know the tightly wound trooper. And as a result, is far more used to the quirks of behavior than most and has learned to read Dogma with some degree of accuracy.

But he’s not sure what to make of his brother's recent behavior; walking into rooms, only to turn back around when he spots any of them, constantly reading at every available opportunity. Not that Dogma hadn’t done his share of recreational reading, but this was something different. The few times Tup had found him in the past hours, Dogma seemed to be enthralled, reading as if his life depended on it.

And now he is missing from his bunk.

It feels like avoidance, but never in his short life has Tup known Dogma to do anything less than face a problem head-on.

It concerns him, for Dogmas sake. His one consolation being that he knows his brother would ask for help if he needed it.

Whatever it is Dogma is up to, he only hopes it won't cause a problem for the Captain.

-----

Watching the sky for the impending destruction of the Separatist ship is by far the tensest twenty minutes of Rex’s life, and he intends to spend them with his eyes glued to the sky as if he might be able to see the raging space battle and the one small ship that contains his brother if he looks hard enough. Futile, he knows, but it's all he can do. The troops mill around him, coming and going at their own paces, running information back to the main tower, or just enjoying what rest they can in the middle of a war zone. At some point, Fives joins him.

"Any word?"

"Not yet, Captain."

"Any sign that Krell suspects?"

Fives shakes his head.

"No, Sir. I don't know what you told him about the takeoff, but he doesn't seem suspicious."

Rex didn't expect he would be, since he's almost certain that Krell knows what they are doing despite the lie Rex had fed him. Suspects that Krell knew the first time too, and that everything that followed was designed to torture himself and the men as much as possible.

They laps into silence and Rex returns his focus to the sky.

"Permission to ask a question?"

Rex glances at his brother, gauging the request.

"Granted."

"How did this mission go, last time?"

Fives is looking at him, but Rex can't meet his eyes and hopes that his brother will let the topic go with a simple answer.

"It was a success,"

"Rex, " The plea is soft, and it strikes him how much younger his brother is; the gap between them able to be measured in decades instead of a few years. Aware that behind the bravado and the swagger, Fives is as scared as Rex, wondering if he just sent his brother to his death.

He's hesitant to talk about it, the memories from Umbara old wounds that never fully healed. The sound of distant artillery and shelling only hammers home the futility of attempting to avoid them.

"I wasn't as involved last time, didn't really condone the course of action. I don't know what went wrong exactly, but from what I gathered something happened to sound the alarm, and the Seppies raised the ray shield around the main reactor. It had to be detonated by hand."

"Which brother...?"

"Hardcase."

The inhale of breath is sharp, and its what makes Rex finally look at his vod'ika, sees the pain in his eyes.

"Fives, I'm sorry."

"He knows the risks."

Rex isn't sure who the phrase is trying to console, Fives, or himself. He reaches out a hand to the back of his brother's neck, gently bringing their foreheads together. He can feel his little brother tremble ever so slightly under his touch, and he gives what he hopes is a comforting squeeze. They stay like that until the Captain feels the ARC Troopers breathing even out. When he pulls away Fives looks better, less shaken, and although his grin isn't as large as normal, it's still there. (He marks it down in a new column in his heart, right next to Ahsoka's smiles and laughter, counting it as a small victory against a war that's designed to cause as much misery as possible).

"Thanks, Gramps."

Despite himself, he laughs. Perhaps, he thinks, the nickname isn't so bad if it brings a little joy.

He's about to respond, when a flash of light overhead draws their attention; Bright orange and yellow that bleeds through the dark clouds. Hardcase did it. But he doesn't let himself relax, not yet, because for all the changes made, he still doesn't know if he changed enough.

His heart pounds in his ears and he's fairly certain that he's forgotten to breathe. The seconds tick by, each one seemingly longer than the last. Beside him, Fives is tense; eyes also fixed to the sky, waiting and watching.

The relief that foods him when he spots the speck of light approaching is indescribable. However, it quickly fades when he notices the erratic flight, the way the ship lists dangerously to one side, and (when it gets closer) the sparks that trial behind it.

The landing, if it can be called that, is rough, and when the shield comes down, Rex is there ready to catch his brother if need be. It's a good thing too, as Hardcase tumbles from the seat, blood leaking from under his helmet. It takes a matter of moments to find the pulse at his brother's neck and only then does Rex breathe. Unconscious, but miraculously alive.

Boots on the pavement prompt him and Fives to look up.

"The General requests your presence."

---

Knowing the execution order is coming doesn't make it any easier to hear or make him want to strangle the fallen Jedi any less. Especially as Hardcase, barley able to stand from what Rex strongly suspects is a concussion, has to be assisted to his mark.

“Do the prisoners request blindfolds?”

Tup looks disturbed to even be asking the question, and Rex’s heart goes out to him. No brother should have to face killing their own family.

Not right.

He has to check again to be sure he isn't imagining it, but no, it is Tup at the firing line.

Fives has begun speaking, but Rex doesn’t pay attention, too busy doing a headcount, grateful for the lack of helmets obscuring faces. He does it again, just to be sure.

Dogma isn't there.

Distantly, he's aware that Fives speech is winding to a close, but only just. Too busy running over the possibilities, the implications, and drawing a blank.

The sound of blaster fire draws his attention violently back to the present, and he is no less relieved to see that the firing squad had come to the same conclusion as before.

Fives glares at him as he walks up.

"A warning would have been nice." The ARC trooper hisses under his breath.

"And miss that speech? Look at them Fives, " he surreptitiously gestures to the men as he begins undoing the binders. "Sometimes we forget that we're more than walking numbers, especially under men like Krell. They needed to hear that."

The binders come off with a click, and Fives rubs his wrists.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I needed to hear it."

The ARC Trooper looks at the Captain for a moment, eventually nodding his head in acceptance.

"Besides, " Rex cocks an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't believe me?"

Fives punches him in the arm.

---

To say that Krell is displeased at the news of the failed execution would be an understatement. The fallen Jedi is livid, and standing before him held in a fourhanded grip, forced to look up to meet the massive force users gaze, Rex is reminded of standing up against the Imperial AT-AT on Seelos, just him, Gregor, and Wolffe; Easily uncrushable and very small.

“You are making a mistake by crossing me clone.”

It is fortunate then, that he isn't immune from the insanity that plagues his brothers, and that his tolerance for disrespect dwindled significantly with age.

“Its Captain.”

The lack of ‘Sir’ does not go unnoticed, and Krell’s grip on his arms tightens to the point of bruising. Rex does not look away. Neither does Krell, not even as a trooper relays the incoming transmission.

Rex is aware that were they alone, Krell would drop all pretenses of being a General. When the Besalisk does let go, it's accompanied by a shove and despite his best efforts, Rex stumbles.

“Lock the traitors in the brig. You have your stay of execution, Captain.”

The way Krell says his title slides like ice down Rex’s spine and leaves a rancid taste in his mouth.

“We take the Capitol now.”

---

The battle passes in a blur and by the time its over, he's shaken to his core. The reality of it so much worse than the nightmares ever were. Worse because he can still taste the ion trace from the blasters that lingers in the air, the screams of his brothers ringing to loud in his ears. Unable to console himself with the knowledge that it was just a dream.

The blood caked into his blacks.

He's only one man he tries to remind himself, only one man against a tide of destruction and death. He can't change everything.

Intellectually he knows its not his fault — that it's Krell and Krell alone that is responsible for every life lost in this sector of the planet.

It doesn't help, knowing that the battle - the loss- was designed to be a form of torture, not when it worked so well. Not when he still blames himself—his orders for the troops to not wear their helmets into battle being too little, too late, with far too many brothers dead by friendly fire.

Blames himself for every brother lost.

For Waxer.

His fists clench in a mix of rage and sorrow, before pulling himself back to present. They have minutes left before they go to confront Krell, and he needs to focus as they go over the plan one last time. The prison is hardly private, but at this point, discretion no longer matters. He knows that every brother, not just the little band he has assembled, will stand with him.

"I still say we should just kill him."

By rights, Hardcase shouldn't even be out of medical, but Rex strongly suspects that only death would have kept him from joining the fight against Krell at this point.

He shakes his head.

"And I'm right there beside you Vod, but unless we want to end up shipped back to Kamino for reconditioning, we need-"

"Evidence."

All four heads whip around. There, standing in the door to the cell, looking haggard and broken is Dogma. No one says a word as he makes his way toward the group and silently extends a datastick, hands trembling.

"I couldn't get what you said out of my mind." He addresses Rex. "About how things didn't add up. So I read his reports, ran the numbers. You were right."

His face is stony, but in his eyes, Rex can see the betrayal, the anger, the overwhelming sense of loss that comes from having ones whole world come undone around them.

"He didn't even hide it."

Ah, he read those reports. Brutal and full of plain language detailing his choices. The kind of reports where it didn't make sense how they could have gone without being flagged, not until Rex had learned the truth about Palpatine, just one of the many puzzle pieces that fell into place. Rex carefully takes the datastick.

“How do I help?”

He looks from Dogma to the cylindrical tube. Evidence, he had said.

"Is this what I think it is?"

Dogma nods.

"Every file, every report, every statistic." His smile is a wry, bitter thing. Sharp and self-deprecating, edged with the anger of a man who will never again be played for a fool. "It's amazing what you can get access to when someone thinks you're in their back pocket."

Then they have all the evidence they need.

"Tup, any word from the 212th?"

"No, Captain."

His frustration slips past his lips as a growl and he rapidly does the mental calculations, handing the datastick back to the tattooed Trooper.

"Dogma, get this to General Kenobi. I don't care how or who you have to go through to get it to him, but it's for his eyes only. Understand?"

The Trooper salutes, new purpose lending strength to his bearing, and as he barks out a "Yes, Sir!" he almost looks like the Dogma Rex remembers from the start of the campaign.

He looks around the cell at his brothers, fully kitted and armed, faces set with grim determination.

"Alright, men: Plan B."

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wolveria · 6 years

Text

See You on the Other Side

Fic Excerpt: “See You on the Other Side”

Word Count: 1,710

Relationships: ARC Trooper Fives & Captain Rex

Summary: Having survived the blaster bolt to his chest, Fives thought the worst was over. It wasn’t. No one believes him when he says the clones and Jedi are in danger, and he’s beginning to wonder what was the point to surviving.

Warnings: Panic attacks, mourning, morbid thoughts

Written for @celebrate-the-clone-wars‘s prompt: Evolve and Adapt

Fives slammed his fist into the grey duracrete wall – an action he came to regret immediately.

“Fuck!” he cursed and hissed at once, bringing his bruised knuckles to his mouth as his eyes winced shut from the throbbing pain.

Nice going, idiot.

He couldn’t help it. The frustration had been building ever since General Kenobi had given him the news.

“I’m sorry, Fives,” the copper-haired man had said, regret painfully clear in his blue eyes. “The Chancellor demands you be turned over to the military police. You are to stand trial for conspiring with an enemy of the Republic.”

“But… but,” the ARC trooper had stammered stupidly, desperately looking to his own general. Skywalker remained ominously silent, though the angry curl of his fist spoke volumes.

“What about the mental block? The shield on my mind?” Fives had asked with growing desperation. “If you Jedi can breach it, I know you’ll see what I’ve been trying to tell you!”

“The Council will continue to try, and we will try to hold you as long as possible, but the Senate is quite adamant,” Kenobi had responded uneasily. “I am not sure what more we can do, but I… wanted you to be aware of the situation. And that we shall do our best.”

Fives was fairly sure their best wasn’t good enough, and it was that thought that had festered in his mind long after the Jedi generals had retreated from his makeshift prison. With a frustrated growl, the ARC trooper sat on the edge of the medical bed, cradling his palms against his closed eyes.

“What was the point of all of this?!” he demanded of the empty room. “What was the point of Tup dying! What was the point of me living! When I… when I couldn’t make it mean something…”

The mention of his brother did more to temper his agitation than pointless ranting and raging. He hadn’t had much time to process Tup’s death, and now that he was imprisoned and alone, all he could do was think about his dead brothers.

Hevy, who had stayed behind on Rishi Station to detonate the liquid tabanna in order to protect Kamino and his thousands of brothers.

Hardcase, who had scarified himself in order to blow up the droid control ship above Umbara.

Tup, whose seemingly senseless death had helped expose a deadly conspiracy that would shake the very Republic to its core.

Echo…

There were more. So many more. And what had Fives done? He’d been tricked by the Kaminoans, framed by the Chancellor, and in the end, he couldn’t even give his life to save anyone. Not like a true soldier would.

And Tup… Tup had died for nothing.

Fives became aware that the hands against his face were trembling. There was a hard lump in his throat, and he suddenly felt… cold. The fading anger in his chest was rapidly becoming something else. Something he had only experienced in any sort of definable quantity while he had been on the run.

An overwhelming feeling of dread slammed him in the gut, and he was soon gasping for air. He rose to his feet, feeling the urgency of physical movement. But he had nowhere to go. So he paced across the tall, cramped room, back and forth while he felt his muscles tighten of their own accord.

What’s wrong with me?

The silent question sent a new electrical surge of fear through his body, and he couldn’t get enough air. He needed to get out, but he was trapped. Alone. No one truly believed him, not even Rex.

All of it was for nothing…

The pacing seemed to only be making the tightness in his chest worsen, and his legs were beginning to shake hard enough that he thought he might collapse. Retreating to the bed, he crawled on top of it until he was situated in its exact middle, curling in on himself as he sat with his legs folded and his face cradled in his hands.

Calm down. Need to calm down.

He couldn’t get a grip on his breathing, couldn’t slow his heart, and he definitely couldn’t stifle the fear that sizzled through every nerve in his body. He felt like he was dying, and a choked sob was the best he could do when he began to hyperventilate.

We were designed to withstand any stress, came the ghost of Rex’s voice, addressing Kix as he stood next to Tup’s prone form. Withstand any stress.

I’m defective, Fives thought as he pressed his hands against his head. Defective. That’s why I couldn’t help Tup. That’s why I hesitated when I had my chance. I failed my brothers… I failed the Jedi…

I failed them I failed them I failed them—

The mantra repeated in his head as he shook so violently his teeth chattered. So much so that he never heard the door open. He didn’t hear the footsteps either. But his already-panicked heart leapt in his throat as he felt hands on his shoulders, and he jerked back with a startled cry.

Captain Rex’s concerned face met his wild gaze, and he didn’t release his grip on Fives’ shoulders. Instead, he sat on the bed right beside the panicking ARC trooper, his eyes and hands steady as he spoke.

“You’re okay, Fives. You’re okay. Just breathe.”

Fives could feel his face twist in anguish as he trembled so hard he wondered if he would fall apart. “What’s w-wrong with me?” he asked, pure terror overriding whatever shame he would have felt from the break in his voice.

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Rex replied calmly, as if Fives wasn’t shaking to pieces under his hands. “You’re experiencing some anxiety. That’s all.”

“S-some… anxiety?” he asked through chatting teeth. Some anxiety? This wasn’t a little bit of nervousness. He felt like his world was coming undone. He’d been sliced up, shot up, blown across a room with shrapnel in his hip. And yet… he’d never felt this kind of pure, unadultered terror before. And there was no reason for it. Fives was physically safe, deep within the Jedi Temple.

So why couldn’t he stop shaking?

“You need to focus on my voice. Can you do that?” Rex asked in that low, firm voice of his that would make his men follow him to the ends of the galaxy. It helped Fives calm down, at least a little.

“I can… I can try,” he responded as another tremble rocked his body. “I just… I failed th-them. I failed them…” Fives couldn’t maintain eye contact with the captain, instead retreating within himself as he closed his eyes, his whole body vibrating in distress.

Why was he so cold?

“I… I failed… there was no point… no point…”

Another violent shudder ripped through him, and his jaw tightened so fiercely he thought his teeth would break as they ground together. His spine felt odd, as if it were made of jelly, and he was so sure this was it. This was the moment he would die. At least he would be with his brothers. At least—

Fives shuddered as warm arms wrapped around his shoulders, instantly soothing the harsh panic that was running rampant through his thoughts. The sensation was… comforting. Like he was returning to a place of safety. He knew he would be okay. Nothing could harm him now.

Fives drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and realized he could breathe without any hindrance. The panic was passing. He opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of Rex’s old battered gauntlets pressed across his chest as he embraced him. He wondered if the captain needed this as much as he did. After all, Fives had nearly died in his arms, and the danger wasn’t over yet.

“Better?” Rex finally asked, a slight smile in his voice.

“Better,” he answered truthfully. There was a vast improvement, but already the doubt and uncertain crept at the edges of his mind, waiting for the moment when he would inevitably leave.

“Good,” Rex responded as he finally released the ARC trooper. “You need to rest, Fives.”

He gripped Rex’s wrist before he realized what he was doing, the beginnings of panic causing him to grip harder than intended. But the captain didn’t wince or snatch his hand away. Instead, he fixed him with a calm expression.

“Please,” Fives pleaded, hated how small his voice sounded. “Don’t go. Don’t leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Rex responded. Fives opened his mouth to continue to beg for him to stay… only to shut it again with an audible pop.

“You’re not?” Fives asked faintly.

“I’m staying right here,” Rex responded with a hint of a smile. “That okay with you?”

His mouth felt painfully dry, and his tongue refused to obey him, so Fives simply nodded and released Rex’s wrist. Under normal circumstances, Fives would have felt embarrassed over his outburst, but he knew Rex wouldn’t judge him. Wouldn’t laugh or gossip later. He was a true brother.

Fives laid down and made room for Rex, feeling like a scared shinie again after an especially traumatic battle. He used to crawl into Echo’s bunk, knowing what nightmares would come, and they would huddle together until passing into a dreamless sleep. Having Rex beside him now wasn’t exactly the same, but it was what Fives needed.

“How long can you stay?” Fives really didn’t want to keep Rex from his duties. There was a war still going on after all. A selfish part of him didn’t care.

“As long as you need me to,” the captain replied, knowing full well the Jedi could come in any moment and kick him out. But Rex didn’t seem afraid of the possibility, and maybe he’d worked something out with General Skywalker or Kenobi so that he could stay. Either way, Fives was grateful he wouldn’t have to be alone while his fate was decided by councils and senates.

“Thank you,” Fives whispered, the lump in his throat making his words rougher than usual.

“Whatever happens, we’ll survive this,” Rex responded in a low, gentle voice. “We always do.”

Fives’ eyelids drifted shut, and with the warmth of his brother beside him, he was finally able to rest.

#writing wednesday #celebrate-the-clone-wars #fives fix-it fic #fives #the clone wars #i'll finish this fic one day

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letitrainathousandflames-archive · 6 years

Text

Picking a Side

Rating: Teens and Up

Warnings: Blood, Violence, Drinking, Clone Angst, Rex trying to get Cody to escape order 66 with him

Characters: CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody, ARC-5555 | Fives (mentioned)

Additional Tags: a lot of dialogue, Rex can’t just spill the whole deal because he’s afraid everyone could be a spy, Cody is an honorable soldier, morality divergences, why is this story so sad

The first shades of a shy purple paint the horizon, entering the round-edged square windows of the 99 bar in Coruscant. The place is closed already, at 5:00 am, but a name like Rex’s could get the place just for himself for a couple of hours, so the owner had just left the bar keys with the captain and asked him to close the place when he was done. Rex holds his half-full glass to his eye level, slowly swirling it. The ice cubes clink softly against the glass and the bar door swings open. Rex takes a sip. The raw, burning sensation covers his tongue and he feels like he’s swallowing fire down his throat. It kind of wakes him up from his daze a little, which is good.

“Lock it.” He says out loud, and the men who’d just walked in locks the door to then walk between the tables with chairs piled on them towards Rex; on top of his table there are two bottles and his helmet with jaig eyes painted on it.

“So you really weren’t kidding” the other man says, and his voice sounds a lot like Rex’s, but it’s perhaps a little deeper “Why meet me here? Why not at the barraks? Why not literally anywhere else?”

Rex is back to looking at his drink, placed over the table and held between his fingers.

“Safer. Away from cameras and spies and stars know what else.” he pauses “Sit down, will ya?”

The man looks at Rex for a few instants, then he sinks into the chair across from him as Rex takes another sip, swallowing hard. Damn, the ice did nothing to water down this shit. Still scorches his throat on the way down. Rex places the glass back on the table and lifts up his eyes to the clone sitting across of him. He wears a commander armor with details painted in orange, and he places his helmet next to Rex’s. The two visors stare back at their users, Rex’s jaig-eyed helmet marked by the many tally marks he’d scratched on it and Cody’s black visor almost entirely covered by the orange piece over it. The other clone, Cody, rubs his temple marked by scars, one of them running over his cheekbone as Rex downs his drink at once.

“It’s still being required for all of us to wear our armors outside here in Coruscant.” Cody, says with a sigh “After all that mess…”

“’Elek.”

The agreement in Mando’ didn’t get Cody’s particular attention. The brothers all would slip some Mando’ in the middle of their Basic as they’d speak betweent themselves. They were raised on both languages, but Mando’ had always felt nicer on their tongues. Mellow and easier to speak. Cody looks up to Rex’s face.

“D’you bring me all the way here to talk about what happened? Are you finally gonna open up?”

Rex runs his finger on the rim of his glass. There was something to Rex, he wasn’t a man that would show himself in words, but in gestures. Each pause, each wordless moment said more to him than a ten-minute conversation would. Right now he thinks. Ponders. Wonders what he can say and how much of it he could say. Then…

“There’s something messed up going on, Cody. Something big, something…”

He trails off, still running his finger over the rim of his empty glass. Cody knits his brows.

“What are you talking about?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Cody doesn’t answer at first; he analyzes. Rex’s small gnawing at his lower lip, the way he increases his pressure around the glass in his hands. Something is eating the 501st Captain from the inside, he can tell, and it’s kriffing weird. Rex doesn’t let whatever’s troubling him show on the outside, ever. Cody was closed off himself too, sure, but Rex… He seemed to be always in peace with himself, despite whatever this war tossed on him. He walked out of goddamn Umbara with his squared shoulders and eyes straight ahead. Whatever is happening now, it has to be bad.

“Sure, Rex. Anything.”

Rex raises his gaze to Cody’s. The purple-ish light of the early morning is reflected on his bloodshot eyes, and for the way Rex is slightly swaying, Cody can guess he’d been drinking a lot. He confirms that when he actually looks at the two bottles next to him, one empty and the other halfway done.

“Do you trust me?”

Cody knits his brows to then snort softly.

“‘course I do, Rex. All those years and you even ask?” Rex nods a few times and Cody sighs “Is this about Fives? I really wish you’d talk to someone about what—“

“This is not about him.” Rex cuts him off abruptly in a harsh tone “I don’t... This is not about him.”

Rex hasn’t said Fives’ name ever since he died. When they cremated his body and destroyed his armor, something done to all dead clones whose bodies the Republic could retrieve, he kept his hand guard. Until then, Cody hadn’t noticed the symbolism. Right hand man. That’s what Fives was to Rex, and despite Jesse’s recent promotion to ARC trooper and his excellent work so far, Rex feels that the spot is still empty. No one could ever replace Fives’ advice, his intelligence and strategic way of thinking, his concern for his brothers, his undying bravery.

Cody sighed again.

“Rex, you asked if I trusted you, now it’s time for me to ask if you trust me.”

“Trust.” Rex pauses, frowning “Trusting has become complicated these days, Cody”.

“What do you mean?”

“I just… I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

Cody sees Rex’s hands still holding his glass so hard he doesn’t know how it hasn’t cracked yet.

“I’m sorry for asking again but this is about Fives, isn’t it?”

Rex turns his eyes away from Cody for a moment.

“No.” he hesitates “A little. I…” he inhales deeply “If I were to tell you something… Something about our enemies, something horrifying, would you believe me?”

Cody tenses up, squaring his shoulders.

“I prob’ly would, vod. I don’t think there’s anything about these seppies that would surprise me anymore.”

Rex looks to the locked door as if someone could walk in. The brighter shades of blood red replace the former purplish ones painting the sky in the horizon out of the window by their table.

“I think there’s someone trying to control us.” Rex says, and he hesitates at every word as if he regrets saying each one of them as soon as they leave his lips “All the clones, all of our brothers.”

Cody frowns. He sees the tension in Rex’s face and scratches his chin.

“Who would this someone be? Do you have a lead?”

Rex’s eyes dart back and forth for a moment.

“I don’t know. Someone from the inside.”

“One of us?” Cody snarls “I wouldn’t doubt you, not after Slick.”

“No. Not a clone.” Rex presses his lips together “Someone at a much higher position than any of us.”

“Higher than a commander? Do you mean one of the Republican high commands?”

“Yes.”

Cody tilts his head, tensing up.

“Well, do you have proof?”

Rex blows out a heavy sigh and opens his mouth two times, hesitating before finally saying in a quiet voice:

“I have what… What Fives told me before he died.”

Cody rolls his eyes to then rub his temple, his voice sounding aggressively tired.

“Ah, for the love of—” he slouched on his seat, sighing “Fives was sick, Rex, and so was Tup. They had this virus… and it affected their minds, the Kaminoans doctors said it so, we all read the report. They started seeing enemies everywhere, you see what happened to Tup did to General Tiplar. You can’t trust something that Fives said when he was… Well, in that state.”

Rex narrows his eyes, his tone suddenly very sharp.

“I can trust anything he says. He was the wisest man under my command. He saved my life more times than I can count, he…”

“Was insane, Rex.” Cody says dryly “After he got infected, he was insane. You can’t compare the soldier that devised brilliant strategies in Umbara to the madman that you met in tha warehouse with general Skywalker.”

The glass between Rex’s hands finally cracks in sharp glass splinters that cut through Rex’s gloves. He crushes the larger pieces of glass with his fists and the blood drips from his now soaked gloves on the steel table.

“He knew what he was saying.” he snarls “I trust him, I’ve always trusted him ever since he joined the 501st I knew there was something special about him. I trust him, Cody, and now I’m asking you to trust me.”

Cody put his tongue between his teeth, glancing away from Rex for a moment.

“Why are you so worried?”

Rex opens his bloody hands, pushing the glass shards off the edge of the table with his forearm and shakes his head.

“Havent you heard it when I said that there’s people wanting to control us?”

Cody nodded:

“Let’s say I believe whatever Fives said. Aren’t we under their control already? We are born from their tubes in Kamino, we are bred to fight and die for them, we are of property of the Republic.” Cody absently runs a finger over his scars “I don’t understand what’s your point.”

Rex frowned, running a hand over his head; his blond hair became reddened where his hand touched it.

“What… What if it’s someone form the inside who wants us to turn against our own people? I… I don’t know, turn us to the Separatists’ side? Maybe… Maybe even use us to attack the Senate, or the Jedi?...”

Cody interrupts him with a gesture.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” he says flatly “We have to trust our superiors, Rex, we have a code to honor. If a soldier doesn’t trust his generals, his higher ranks, then what’s left of him?”

“I trusted Kell.” “It cost me my men, and yours. I hope you haven’t forgot about Waxer, because I sure as kriff haven’t forgotten about Hardcase.”

The fist that Cody suddenly bang against the table makes the bottles on it clink, but Rex doesn’t even flinch. Cody’s voice is low and stained with anger.

“I haven’t. I’m not talking about blindly following orders, but I…” Cody clenches his teeth “Damn, Rex, this is complicated.”

Rex nods, crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back away from the table.

“Ret. It demands us to think for ourselves, and it’s time we start doing that.”

With his fist still on the table, Cody leans in looking Rex in his eyes with a stern expression on his features.

“Look. If there’s something you wanna tell me, just do it now.”

Rex runs his hand over his head and just continues to rub it over, as if he’d be looking for a wound on his skull. He lowers his eyes and his voice drops to no more than a murmur.

“I… There’s something I need to tell you, but I have to know you are 100% with me. I wanna trust my brothers now, Cody. I don’t think I can trust anyone else. Not the Republic,” Cody’s eyes went wide at that “Not even the Jedi, not after what they did to commander Tano.”

Cody squints at Rex, hesitating.

“What do you mean?”

Rex lowers his hand to the back of his neck and then places it over his chin.

“I wanna go off the grid. Away from the Republic’s reach, away from our quarters. I want to… I want to make sure I get to the bottom of it and not end up like Fives.”

Cody’s confused expression turned to a tired, controlled anger.

“Fives was resisting arrest.”

“He found something--”

“He was clinically insane!”

Rex bares his teeth.

“I trust him!” he snaps, supporting himself on his hands placed on the table and getting up from his seat; his breathing is rapid and his face is red, veins popping up where his neck is visible under his blacks, meeting his tensed up jaw. “And if he says something is threatening my brothers, I will turn against whatever this is, and I don’t care if it’s the Republic or even the Jedi, I will protect them!”

Cody gets up too, looking wide-eyed at Rex as he runs a hand over his mouth and chin.

“You care more about your brothers than about your mission?...” he asks, raw anger dripping from his words “Than the Republic?!”

“Yeah.” Rex says as he stares at Cody’s eyes without blinking “You can write that down.” Cody walks to the table’s side but Rex blocks his way “They’re not only my brothers, Cody. They’re yours too.”

There’s scorn in Cody’s voice now too, but it doesn’t overshadow his anger.

“Your imaginary threat doesn’t scare me as much as your paranoia. You should get tested for the virus.”

Rex snarls, pushing him by the chest.

“Why do you have to be like this?! Why can’t you, for once, see that this republic is rotten to the core?! We are slaves, Cody! Bred, born and killed in slavery, and you--”

Cody is taken aback by Rex’s push and licks his lips. The punch he drives to Rex’s face comes so fast the Captain can’t avoid it. He staggers and grunts, feeling the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. Cody grabs him by the neck of his chest piece, pulling Rex closer to him and whispering close to his ear:

“In the name of our friendship… In the name of all we’ve seen… Of all we’ve lived so far…” his breathing is ragged and he swallows hard “I’ll pretend I haven’t heard thess words of high treason. Don’t tell me a single thing about your plans, because when they ask me where the hell has Captain Rex disappeared to, I don’t wanna know anything about this, and I don’t wanna have to lie, and if you really go through with this you better not get caught.”

Rex doesn’t answer. He’s looking at Cody’s helmet placed next to his. He’s remembering each mission they’ve worked together with their generals, the balanced Kenobi and the eager Skywalker, all the bombings and sieges and different planets they’ve been to. It feels like a goddamn lifetime. Cody doesn’t sound only angry, he sounds disgusted:

“Ni'duraa. I think what you’re doing is dishonorable. Shameful. But if you think it’s the right thing to do, Captain, go ahead. Just make sure that when the time comes, what happened with Fox and Fives doesn’t end up happening between me and you.”

He pushes Rex away, and the Captain looks at him wide-eyed. Rex looks devastated, and he half-whispers Cody’s name before he says:

“If you only tried to listen—”

Cody reaches for his helmet to then push Rex off his way with his shoulder.

“I am a soldier of the Republic, Rex. It’s who I am. Whatever you’re looking for, I hope it works for you.” he walks to the door, unlocking it.

“Ret'urcye mhi, vod.” Rex says between clenched teeth with his back still turned to Cody, his fists clenched by his sides.

The mandalorian farewell meant a wish to see the other again. Cody knows that, but he doesn’t know if Rex means he wishes to see him once again or if he wishes Cody to be the one to kill him, should it happen. Not even Rex is sure of what it really meant, and as the reddened skies turn to bright orange, the commander of the 212th pulls the door violently to then leave the bar.

#drinking/#violence/#angst #clone bois #my fics #sw #tcw #blood m/#captain rex #commander cody #arc trooper fives #long post/#hm i do gotta remember to post this on ao3 later #i'll probably forget #bc my life is a mess #but writing this distracted me from the mess so #yay

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rex-ol-boy · 6 years

Note

for the character meme: rex!

Sure thing!

1: sexuality headcanon: Rex is bisexual 2: otp: Unashamedly, my OC Sera Var’Shae 3: brotp: Commander Cody. Cody is one of Rex’s best friends, they shared everything  4: notp: Rex/Ahsoka or Rex with any of his brothers. Hard pass on Rex and Ahsoka especially.  5: first headcanon that pops into my head: At this moment he is eating chocolate right now enjoying the peace and quiet, while his space wife is (illegally, probably) fetching dinner.  6: favorite line from this character: I️ have several favorite lines from Rex. Top three are “Experience outranks everything”, “It’s Captain, sir”, and the one where he was yelling at Krell and says “many men have died today. Not clones, MEN!” I️ really love that part.  7: one way in which I relate to this character: I’ve always been drawn to Rex ever since I️ started the show. I️ relate to him a lot actually because of his whole stance in the war. He is loyal to the Republic which he serves, and at first firmly believes in what he was told to. Then he questions all of that and finds the truth, but he is still faithful to the light and the ideals that the Republic should be. I️ mainly relate to that on account of me being religious and still accepting my orientation and other things in my life that I’m figuring out. I️ really understand how he feels when he’s being faced by two large conflicting ideals which cause him to question everything he believes in.  8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Honestly idk? Rex can be a dork but not in a secondhand embarrassment way. The thing that draws closest to it tho is that one scene in TCW where he’s smiling up at the sky and the animators fucked up and made his eyes stare in different directions. It’s in the Umbara arc  9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: Captain Rex is definitely a cinnamon roll. A good, honorable man who cares about others deeply and who you can depend on.

#captain rex #headcannons #asks #ask meme #I love divulging these to you guys

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brothers-all · 7 years

Text

Aru'e Tio'r (Enemy Within)

... I wonder if I should say anything about me wanting to quit on this story. Figured I would, maybe it’ll help. Maybe it won’t. Whatever. I just want to say that, I’ve lost a lot of will to continue writing this, mostly because of the utter lack of response from readers. Across three places (FanFic, Ao3 and Tumblr) I get a combined total of four reviews per chapter (chapter I work on for a week) so, I imagine you may understand why I saw it as a lost cause. And yet here I am, throwing out another chapter. I tell myself it’s because I’m suborn as hell, and actually like the story. But maybe it’s because of those few loyal readers, who I don’t want to disappoint. It might even be both. I guess it doesn’t really matter..

In any case, to those who still bother reading this - here’s the new chapter.

[Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [FanFic] [AO3] [Master-list] Aliit ori'shy tal'din (Family is more than blood). [FanFic] [Ao3] Memory (Tome'tayl) [FanFic] [AO3] or [Tumblr]

Chapter 7

Rex found them in the barracks, getting ready for some proper sleep. He was still thinking over just how to tell them as he walked in and saw all eyes on him.

“What did the General say?” Jesse was the first to ask, hopping down from the bed.

“He gave us the go ahead,” the Captain said, forcing a smile. He doubted many would notice and he himself felt chills at the lie. So, that’s how he’ll do it…

“Seriously?” Hardcase looked at him with eyes wide, a glint of excitement in them.

“General Krell, actually agreed to our idea?” Fives had his arms crossed as Rex walked to a table and sat on it.

“It… took some convincing but… yes,” the blonde saw their belief faltering and sighed. “But only if you learn how to fly before we need to march off.” The added lie was what seemed to make them really believe it because it sounded like something the Besalisk would say.

“Well, we better learn,” Jesse shrugged, looking at the rest. “You two managed to fly – it can’t be that hard,” there was a playful grin on his face.

“You’re gonna eat those words Jess! But I’d be willing to teach you a bit,” Hardcase smirked and raised his chin as the rest laughed.

“You know Jesse, there’s nothing wrong with admitting you’re scared of heights when you’re up there,” Fives added, the boys snickering.

“But there isn’t time… We’ll be blasted out of the sky before we get anywhere,” Tup was still skeptical, looking down from atop the bed.

“That’s why we’ll be in their fighters. No one’s gonna be shooting at us!” the ARC grinned, pleased that for once, they have an actual plan.

“Then this just might work…” Rex said quietly, almost to himself, but Fives heard him and looked slightly puzzled. It was the tone that threw him off. Something wasn’t right… A second later, the doors opened and Dogma walked in, looking confused.

“Ah, what’s going on?” Dogma asked, standing next to the Captain.

“Uh, nothing,” Tup scratched the back of his head, but couldn’t help the small smile as it came to his lips.

Rex stood up and started walking towards the door, when Fives felt something tingle up his spine. Like it was giving him a push or something. The bad feeling in his gut grew and he quickly stepped after the blonde.

“There’s something else, isn’t there,” Fives asked once they were both outside the barrack. “Something you aren’t telling us.”

“Fives-,” Rex started off, but the ARC stopped him before he could get too far.

“He didn’t agree to the plan, did he?” the younger man only just realized it and looked in disbelieve. “Were you going to tell us?” his expression turned to anger and even betrayal as he took a step back from the blonde.

“…No,” was the simple answer as Rex still stood calmly, but there was guilt in his eyes.

“You-!” Fives’ eyes turned to sadness and sorrow as he realized what the Captain had planned to do. “No. Rex, no!”

“Fives,” Rex’s steady voice and the arm on his shoulder brought him out of it. “You are under my orders, to fly those ships. No one else can know about this,” his eyes burned with assurance and promise, and the ARC felt his chest tighten. “Do you understand, Fives?” there was sadness there now as the hand squeezed a bit tighter.

“Please, don’t,” Fives swallowed, voice coming out weak and low. “Don’t take it on yourself. If Kell finds out-!” his voice broke slightly by the end.

“If, he finds out,” there was a pause as the two only looked at each other. Their expressions said more than words ever could and Rex hung his head.

“We can’t lose you, Rex. You’re the only one still keeping this battalion together!” the younger man struggled for words, for something to say because this couldn’t be happening.

“You worry about flying those fighters, and I’ll worry about the General,” with a final squeeze and a nod from the man, Rex turned around and left.

“Do you require escort, sir?” Thorn asked as the ramp was lowered and they walked down. They could see the Senate Building, hear the engines of the aircrafts around them and smell the change in air. Coruscant was always a wonder to see.

“No, thank you Commander. Get some rest,” Anakin bowed his head before his eyes dropped and he spoke more quietly: “And hope for your brothers.”

“Thank you, sir. If you need anything, contact us,” Thorn gave a salute before turning back to the ship and giving instructions to his men.

Skywalker looked up at the Senate Building with a sigh, still hating how he had to leave his men behind. But there’s no turning back now. So with a deep breath, he walked forth into the building. In the back of his mind, he sensed that this wasn’t right – that he should be with his men back on Umbara. But he moved onwards anyway.

“Anakin?” he paused at the call of his name and turned to see Padme standing there, a look of surprise on her face.

“Padme!” the Jedi smiled, moving closer to her and pulling her into a warm embrace.

“What are you doing here?” the Senator asked, looking up at him, arms still on his forearms.

“What, not happy to see me?” Skywalker raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Of course I am!” she shook her head, a smile on her lips. “I’m just wondering why you’re here. You said you’d be away for a while because of a new assignment…” her eyes turned to worry as she looked up at him.

“The Chancellor has called for me,” Anakin answered, his eyes downcast and taking half a step away from the woman.

“I see… I hope it’s nothing serious…” Amidala gave an assuring smile, before giving the man a peck on the cheek.

“I’m sure everything’s fine,” Skywalker smiled more truly, before walking up the stairs to get to the Chancellor’s office.

“Everything alright?” Jesse asked as Fives walked back into the barrack, a look of worry and concern on his face.

“Y-Yeah, yeah, it’s fine… But we need to start early with the flying,” Fives looked up, running a hand over his head.

“Good, ‘cause some of the boys are getting eager,” Hardcase grinned, glancing at the few gathered in the barrack.

“…Do you really think you can do it?” Dogma asked, sitting on the bed and looking at the ground. He sounded… worried and fearful.

“We have to believe,” Fives said, looking at him. “We have to at least try.”

“…You’re not going to sell us out, are you?” Jesse asked and everyone tensed up. Some gave him looks of disbelieve while Dogma dropped his shoulders.

“…N-No, no I won’t…” he answered, taking a deep breath before standing up, looking at the older brothers with determination. “I want to help.”

The looks turned to amusement and pleasant surprise now, as Tup put a hand on his shoulder. Fives and Jesse gave him nods and Hardcase grinned. The rest stepped closer as well, as they each shared a look.

“If we’re all in agreement then, let’s go.”

“Fives,” Dogma said, trying to reach for the man as the rest started heading towards the hanger. “May… I ask you something?”

“Sure?” Fives hasn’t seen the rookie so nervous or scared before. It was puzzling, but he had a small idea of what it may be about.

“…Who are the 112th?” at that question, the ARC felt chills up his spine and took in a shuddered breath. So it was Dogma who overheard the conversation… Damn.

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked carefully and saw the fear in the younger man’s eyes. “Trust me, Dogma, it’s better if you don’t know…” By the tone of his voice, it was clear the rookie didn’t really want to know.

“I-I understand, sir… S-Sorry for asking.”

Dooku sat at his table and looked down on the communicator. Krell’s call had made him doubt the Besaliks could truly handle the 501st – they were Skywalker’s after all. But then again, having information on them could prove to tip the tide. He decided to call someone who would have the most access to any file.

“Admiral Trench,” the Sith said, sounding as bored as ever.

“Lord Tyranus,” the Harch greeted back, chattering his teeth together. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” the Admiral was already implanted with cybernetic and was working off in a remote section of the Outer Rim.

“I need you to access information about the 501st Legion. As much as you are able, and transfer the data to one of my agents,” the Count informed, seeing the spider’s eyes widen.

“Oh, how interesting,” his teeth chattered again, as he almost smiled. “I will get it soon, my Lord. Though it might… take a bit.”

“Do not disappoint me, Admiral,” Dooku ended the conversation, not caring for excuses or anything like that.

Rex was walking outside, the cold air refreshing him as he wandered. He saw a few of the men sneaking into a hanger and allowed himself to smile, before letting out a shuddered breath. This is it. Whatever happens, is on his head. He can live with that.

He turned his eyes up, to the tower, and could see the silhouette of Pong Krell, looking at the cube-projector. Normally, he’d be worried the Jedi could sense what they were up to, but he doubted Krell would check on the boys in any way. So that gave them an advantage in hiding and buying time.

A part of him was enjoying this, actually. Rebelling against the General – it felt good. Showing him they’re more than mindless droids for him to throw into battle. And even if it might end in his decommission, he’ll know he stood up to a bastard. Because if the 112th couldn’t, he will.

They got into the hanger easily, and even told the ones guarding it what they plan to do. No one said anything, but they promised to inform them should Krell arrive. And if they were worried, then they hid it very well.

“Alright, let’s get started!” Hardcase was the first to try and get into the fighter, when Kix and Jesse both grabbed one of his shoulders.

“Hey, take it easy, alright? We don’t know what these things can do and we don’t want you getting hurt,” the medic said, looking with concerned eyes.

“…Yeah, I promise I’ll be carefully,” the hyper brother assured as he was released and slowly climbed into the fighter.

“Don’t push random buttons either!” Jesse called after him, smiling and shaking his head.

“Aww, but that’s half the fun of it!” Hardcase pretended to pout before laughing.

“That may be true, but if Krell finds us here, he won’t think so,” Fives said, walking over to the other fighter.

“Maybe we should keep to one fighter for now? You know, have one get the hang of it and then do the rest?” Dogma suggested, looking at the older brothers who seemed impressed he sounded so sure.

“Might be for the best, yeah,” Tup agreed, giving his friend a smile.

“Alright then – Hardcase is gonna be our teacher then,” Jesse laughed as his brother grinned, activating the ray-shield on the pod.

“I’ll do easy on you Jess, promise.”

Hardcase moved his arms around as Kix finished attaching the last parts of the ship. Fives gave the fighter a quick scan to see if everything was in working order, before nodding to himself and turning to Hardcase.

“Okay, now, try that out. It should be a little easier,” Fives grinned as the blue glow of the bubble lit up the area around them as the ship started to float.

“I got it,” Hardcase assured, keeping it surprisingly steady as his brothers watched. But, as soon as he tried to move forward, his steadiness was gone and he went spiraling all over the hanger, knocking over crates and nearly hitting the others.

“Hardcase, what’re you doing?” the ARC yelled, worry gripping him. This was far too loud – if Krell hears them, they’re all dead.

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be doing it!” the hyper soldier responded, a look of panic in his eyes as he tried to regain control. He still swirled around the hanger, knocking over more crates as the rest tried to find a way to calm it down.

“Great… This can’t get much worse,” Fives muttered, gripping the control panel for life, when he heard a strange beeping from behind. Turning, he saw Nitro looking back, trying to stop a signal from leaving the hanger.

“It just got worse,” he stood there, a wave of horror coming over him as Hardcase managed to smash into a wall.

Fangs saw the screen blipping red and hesitated to call out to the General.

“Sir, there appears to be a disturbance in hanger 9-4,” Krell walked closer and forcefully shoved the tech expert out of the way to access the control panel.

“Trooper, what’s going on down there?” the Jedi asked, extending his Force sense towards the hanger, but all he got was confusion and worry.

“Here, here, I got this!” Fives moved quickly, his body shaking slightly as he pushed Nitro away to get at the controls.

“Trooper! Report trooper!” came the Besalik’s voice from the other side as the ARC watched the ship fly around, smacking into walls and other ships.

“Um…” he started, not sure what to say, when he felt himself be pushed away.

“Everything is fine, sir,” Dogma was standing by the controls, eyes wide and a death grip on the controls, but his voice was steady. He even remembered to lowered the audio, so the disaster happening in the background was limited.

“Then why have the alarms been triggered?” the two could almost see the Jedi’s eyes narrow at the tone of his voice.

“Security malfunction, sir. We triggered an alarm when reprograming the central control panel,” Dogma continued to speak clearly, calming down and taking silent breathes. Fives and Nitro only stared at him, not even hearing the shouting in the back ground.

“I thought we had all of the security systems synchronized by now!” the three nearby cringed and shared a look.

“Hardcase, if you do not land that fighter right now, so help me, I’ll put you into a kriffing comatose state and feed you rations through an IV!” Kix yelled as everyone slowly backed away from him and Hardcase threw his hands in the air, effectively making things worse.

“Damn it Hardcase, I thought you knew how to fly this thing!” Jesse yelled, hiding behind some crates as the ship came around again.

“Maybe I should try-,” the would-be pilot started, already looking around the bubble.

“Don’t touch random buttons!” Tup reminded, covering his face as a crate came flying by.

“…Right, best not…” the hyper soldier nodded, but fear was in his eyes.

“C’mon brother, focus! I know you can do this!” Jesse called as he saw the distress on the man’s face. “Think of how Spots and Ober are laughing their shebs off right now at what you’re doing!”

“…” there was a pause in movement as Hardcase let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. The rest got scared that something big might happen, but instead, the fighter leveled itself.

“Got it! I got it!” Hardcase smiled, looking around. “It’s easy! Just level your hands…” he slowly started to descend and landed, not too gracefully, but much better than other times.

“Everyone, the General is on his way here!” they heard Fixer call as he moved inside, looking quite panicked.

“…How are we supposed to clean up this mess?” the boys looked around and saw the disaster that was the hanger.

Rex had heard something was going on in the hanger, but refused to go. He figured Krell would pick up on it as well and try to see to it personally, so he had to wait.

“General!” he called, seeing the Jedi leave the tower, looking even grumpier than before.

“Captain,” Pong didn’t even stop as he stomped past the blonde, towards the hanger.

“Is something wrong?” he played innocent, glancing with worry at the building. His gut was twisting in all the wrong ways.

“Do you mean to tell you haven’t heard the catastrophe going on in here!” the Jedi glared at the Captain, before opening the hanger doors and showing what was inside.

There were crates all over the hanger, some other fighters scattered on the ground. Some of the boys were trying to clean up, some were talking, Kix was checking some for injuries and Dogma looked like he might have a heart attack. As soon as they saw their superiors in the doorway, they tensed and stood at attention. Even Fives, though there was a flash of fear in his eyes as the two walked closer.

“What happened here?” the General demanded, folding his arms as the Captain’s mind ran through ways he could explain this.

“As we said, sir,” Hardcase stepped forward, Dogma standing near him to the left. “Security malfunction. It left a bit of a mess, but nothing we can’t handle. Sir.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Krell frowned, glaring at the gathered men. “Why is that fighter completely fine then?” he pointed at the one Hardcase had landed previously.

“We started cleaning as soon as things got under control. That is simply the first ship we managed to set up, sir,” Dogma spoke up, sounding as curt and proper as always, even looking past his superiors into a wall.

“Tell them to stop lying! They were trying to fly!” Pong turned to Rex, fire in his eyes and a finger pointed at the soldier.

“…For all I know, they are telling the truth,” the Captain gave a small shrug, eyes glancing at the boys and seeing them give him winks and nods. “It’s not unusual for things in this Battalion to… get out of hand.”

“Pathetic! You think I don’t what you are doing?” the Jedi turned, eyeing each soldier he could see.

“And what would we be doing, sir?” Jesse asked, barely keeping his cheeky smile in check. “After all, you forbade us from flying these fighters. We would never go against orders,” he saw Rex giving him an angry look, for pulling a stunt like that.

“…All hangers will be on lockdown from now on,” the General hissed and was about to turn around, when Rex spoke.

“Actually, sir, that isn’t allowed,” the slow turn Krell made, his head just glancing over his shoulder, made the men think he’d slice the Captain in half.

“What?” was the simple and annoyed question, laced with hatred.

“Protocol says that, during wartime in an enemy base, no doors must be locked. In case of an attack, soldiers must have room to maneuver, defend and retreat. That includes all hangers,” most of the boys had to cover up their faces to stop the laugher at seeing the blonde’s smirk as Pong started taking deep breathes.

“As our substitute General, you cannot change the protocols that simply. You’d likely need to ask the Council or Senate for permission. Sir,” the last bit earned a small and mocking bow of the head.

“This is not over, clones! Mark my words, by the end of this campaign, all of you will be court marshaled and decommissioned!” was the Jedi’s last threat before he turned around and stomped out of the hanger.

“Cannot wait…” Jesse muttered before the doors closed and all of the men let out sighs of relief. Dogma, Tup and Kix actually sat down, Hardcase started laughing, Jesse rubbed his face, Fives seemed to shake it off and Rex looked at all of them.

“That must have been the most reckless things you’ve done so far,” the Captain just shook his head. “And that’s saying something.”

“Hey, it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” Hardcase grinned, the others giving him looks of amusement and disbelieve.

“…How did you know Krell didn’t authorize the fighter flight?” that’s been bugging the blonde since he heard Jesse say it. And looking at Fives, the ARC put his hands up in innocence, saying he didn’t tell them.

“C’mon Captain, give us some credit! We’re not as dumb as we look,” Jesse laughed, while someone muttered something along the lines ‘Not by much though.’

“We figured out Krell didn’t agree and that you just… didn’t want to tell us. Wanted to take the blame for yourself – as always,” Kix had a knowing look in his eyes as the Captain sighed.

“Well then, I have to commend you. You managed to lie your way out of a very, very bad situation.”

“Hah, it’s mostly thanks to Dogma, actually,” Fives spoke up, nodding at the said brother who smiled back. Heck, he even looked slightly embarrassed. “He made a pretty good lie.”

“Better him than you – you can’t lie for your life.”

“Hey! I can!”

“Aha, sureeeee.”

As the idiots started bickering to lighten the mood, Rex stepped closer to Dogma, putting a hand on his shoulder and feeling he was shaking.

“It’s alright Dogma. You did good,” he said quietly, as the rookie looked up at him.

“I was – I was just… so scared… But I – I couldn’t let him hurt my brothers…”

“I know, I understand. You don’t need to justify yourself to me, or any of us.”

“C-Captain, can…” there was a pause, with the yells in the background turning to white noise. “Who are, the 112th?” he looked up, scared, but determine.

“…Krell’s Battalion. We… don’t have much contact with our brothers there, we just know it’s bad…” Rex didn’t have the heart to say more. Not yet.

“…We won’t become the next 112th sir. I promise,” Dogma has never sounded so sure and confidant in his life and it made the veteran smile.

“That’s my promise to keep, rookie. Also, hasn’t anyone ever told you not to eavesdrop on superiors having conversations?” the younger man looked in slight panic, until he saw the smile on the Captain’s face.

“…Bad habit, I suppose…” Dogma admitted, giving a small chuckle.

“We all have those. Though, given how many times they’ve saved our lives, I don’t think they can be considered ‘bad’ any longer.”

“So, back to training?” Hardcase asked once the hanger was cleaned up. Others had come to help when word got out, and those keeping an eye out said that Krell was back at the tower.

“Yeah, but you all better be more careful. Krell is going to be paying attention and you have about six hours left,” Rex said, seeing the gathered brothers.

“…Are you really planning on marching off?” Fives asked, staring at the Captain. There was concern in his eyes as others mirrored his look.

“We won’t have much of a choice… But we’ll be counting on you to take out that supply ship by then,” Rex gave them a steady look, as the boys nodded.

“We won’t let you down. Promise,” Tup seemed slightly anxious, but his voice carried confidence.

“I know you won’t,” the Captain smiled, patting the rookie on the shoulder. “Just don’t get yourselves killed out there, alright? That’s an order!”

“Sir yes sir!” they saluted, smiling. This just might work. No, it will work. It has to. Everyone is depending on them. They have to do this, for everyone.

Krell was livid. He was growling silently as he walked up to the room he had picked and heard the slight cracking of metal and crates as the Force responded to his anger. He didn’t come across any clones, and good for them. He would have killed them on the spot.

These clones were getting vastly out of hand. They’ve gone over and beyond what he thought possible of such creatures. His eyes narrowed as he added a mental note to take matters into his own hands, before they have a chance to do so.

“I underestimated them, I admit…” he said to himself, walking to the table. “But it’s time I rectify that mistake.” He saw there was a file waiting for him, from Lord Tyranus and smirked. Just what he needed. But it was actually a message from the Sith.

General Krell – the information you require cannot be transferred to Umbara. So, we are sending a way to access it all to you. It will arrive in a Republic transport ship with supplies. Be sure to receive it before any of the clones do.

The General was confused as to why this was an issues, but didn’t want to ask. Instead, he checked when the Republic ship was due to arrive – a bit before the attack on the capital. Wonderful. For now, he’ll simply have to deal with the clones on his own. Thinking about it, he actually frowned. He had hoped that fool – Dogma – would be following orders blindly. But apparently, he had chosen to stick with his brothers. And the ARC was still scared, he could sense it, but when his brothers were around, he wasn’t as much. That is something to keep in mind.

Cut! *Sigh* This one was... well, I'm not sure - I feel like it gives you insight into what happens, but not much. You'll see for yourself if you're right in guessing how it turns out - some of it, anyway.

#Aru'e Tio'r (Enemy Within)#Pong Krell #captain rex #fives #dogma #tup #kix #hardcase #jesse #Anakin Skywalker #Padme Amidala #commander thorn #Count Dooku #Lord Tyranus #My Story

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