Chapter Text
The best relationships are forged under the worst circumstances.
-
At this point in Rex’s short life, he was now positive that the universe had it out for him.
An already arduous experience at Kamino, being raised to be a soldier, had been made more complicated by the mutation that gave him blond hair. He was kept under careful observation because of it, the Kaminoans making sure that the mutation didn’t affect his scores or abilities.
He fell behind in group training with his batch and because of it he tanked their scores as he was often not present for strategy talks. They’d learned from trainers to take their frustration and anger out on him. That was until Cody, CC-2224 at the time, stumbled across him in the hall.
He’d been dragged, rather unwillingly, into the CC’s barracks and hadn’t been released. He’d trained alongside Cody and his batch, Fox, Wolffe, Bly, and Ponds as much as he was allowed under Alpha-17 and life had gotten… better.
Well, as good as life could be for an army of soldiers designed to be more like super soldiers than normal humans.
Then the war had started and he was assigned to Anakin Skywalker, the former student of High General Obi-Wan Kenobi, who Cody was now serving with. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that Cody kept him assigned to serve in the 7th Sky Corps, nor did he think it was a coincidence that he was assigned to the most unorthodox commanding officer in the GAR. This was probably Cody’s way of payback for all the years of grief he caused him while growing up, pairing him with Skywalker. The man’s hair was freshly cut of his padawan braid and he carried a certain swagger and confidence onto the battlefield that Rex couldn’t help but follow behind. His plans were bantha-osik crazy, but they worked and Rex learned quickly to adapt.
The 501st battalion quickly became notorious, both in the GAR and in the Separatist channels. They were sent to the roughest battles and scrapped by victories when the odds were completely against them. Rex didn’t know if it was luck or some sort of Force intervention. He didn’t complain.
However, he was starting to think that the universe or the Force or whatever cosmic entity that ran things had it out for him. Time and time again it seemed to be trying to drag him to an early grave. He could practically hear all his older brother’s laughing at him from their various posts across the galaxy.
He seriously did not know why the galaxy hated him.
All this was because standing right in front of him was a child. An honest to the Force, child. A child who had just informed him, Skywalker, and General Kenobi that she was the new padawan commander of the 501st battalion.
Rex continued to stare slack-jawed at the child even as Skywalker attempted to disown her.
A surprised and almost hysterical laugh burst out of him as the kid effortlessly sassed the living Force out of his general.
Skywalker looked over at him, offended at his laughter.
“Rex here can teach you a thing or two about respect.” Skywalker informed her as he smirked at his captain.
Rex pulled a face, something that would have gotten him beaten back on Kamino. However, after about five months alongside his Jedi, specific obedience training had gone lax.
He quickly screwed his face back up into something professional.
“Right.”
“Get her over into position, I need to go have a talk with Obi-Wan.” Skywalker said with a glare toward where the high general had disappeared.
He left him standing before the child, both staring at each other, neither knowing exactly how to address the other. If what the kid had said was true, she was now his commanding officer. Rex found that hard to stomach as he stared down at her.
She wasn’t human, he was pretty sure her species was called Togruta, like General Shaak-Ti, whom he’d briefly seen on Kamino.
She had dark orange skin with white markings on her face that swept over her brows to give her the impression of having eyebrows, despite not having hair. She had two short horn-like structures on her head, a short head tail on the back of her head, and two more hanging down to her shoulders. He was pretty sure those were called lekku.
She was wearing absolutely no armor and instead had on a tube-like top, a patterned sash over a skirt, and leggings. The only thing to point to the fact that she might be somewhat intimidating was the lightsaber at her hip and the crown of large, serrated teeth on her head.
The tips of her horns just barely reached his shoulder bell and she looked like a strong breeze could blow her over. She was kriffing tiny.
Her brilliant blue eyes roved over his armor and he assumed that she was sizing him up, just like he was to her.
“Skyguy said to take me to get into position?” She finally prompted.
“Right.” He swiftly turned and began to make his way through their makeshift camp.
They didn’t have much time before the fighting would start again, but he pointed out a few things, key structures, and whatnot as he walked and her head darted this way and that, making an effort to map out the camp. Despite her much shorter legs, she managed to keep pace with him well.
“So if you’re a captain, and I’m a commander, I technically outrank you right?” She finally asked.
It wasn’t an entitled question, he could tell from her tone that she was genuinely curious.
“In my book experience outranks everything.” He answered.
She nodded.
“That makes sense, I’m looking forward to gaining some of that while working with you.” She paused and turned to look up at him. “I’m Ahsoka by the way, I don’t think I mentioned that earlier.”
He looked down at the hand she was offering to him.
“Rex.” He answered and carefully took her small hand to shake it.
Her hand was tiny in his, but she had a surprising strength as she gripped his.
Rex hadn’t known what to think when he’d left her in the position Skywalker had pointed out earlier. She was excitedly chatting with a few other troopers there, not at all seeming concerned about the looming battle.
The next time he’d seen her, she was ripping across the battlefield on the heels of Skywalker, swinging her lightsaber in practiced arcs to slice through droids and deflect blaster bolts.
When he’d met with his general after the battle, enemy forces on Christophsis were decimated, their own forces heavily depleted, and the kid was still there. This had been a rough campaign, and she’d only arrived for the final battle. She had a cut on her cheek and a few scrapes on her arms, each leaking a dark rust-colored substance that he assumed was her blood.
She stuck close to Skywalker’s side and Skywalker didn’t seem to mind. Right then, Rex knew that the kid would be sticking around.
-
They didn’t even have a break after leaving Christophsis, immediately getting sent to Teth.
Torrent Company would be assisting Skywalker and Tano on the planet, running a rescue mission for the Hutts. From what little Rex knew about the Hutts, he knew that they were bad news. His general had been in a piss poor mood since learning who they were trying to rescue. He constantly muttered what Rex guessed were insults in Huttese the whole time.
The new Jedi commander was in a much better mood though. A strand of silka beads, ending in a blue, red, and yellow bead now swung beside her back lek.
Rex had still not had time to actually discuss the new commander with his general. He knew next to nothing about her or where she was actually supposed to fit inside the battalion or even how to properly take care of her.
His general had made an offhand command about being more aware of his emotions because Tano was an impath? No, an empath. Like Rex knew what the kriff that meant.
The commander excitedly chattered with any trooper that would listen, excited to be on her first real Jedi mission. For Rex and his men, this was just any other mission.
Or so they’d thought.
By the time the dust settled on Teth, Rex didn’t need to do a headcount to know that most of Torrent had been killed. Bodies were strewn across the dirt and stone floor, some with lightsaber burns ripped across their armor while others had gaping blaster bolt holes torn through their bodies.
Skywalker walked back in, his mouth dropping open slightly at the carnage before him. His wide eyes met Rex’s across the room. Lighter footsteps approached and Rex gave a small shake of his head.
Anakin nodded, a silent agreement passing between them, and he quickly turned to stop Ahsoka from entering, instead diverting her down a different hall.
Rex turned back to the trooper under him. He had blue flowers painted across his chest plate and shoulder bell. The few other survivors were also moving through the room, trying to find any injured. Coric was a little ways away from him, hefting a shiny up onto his shoulders to carry him out. Not far away Rex spotted the red mark of another medic, a blackened hole right through his visor.
“Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la.” Rex mumbled, his voice echoing through the room as the other survivors repeated it.
-
Cody: How’s your new commander Rex’ika
Bly: rex has a new commander?
Ponds: No didn’t he get a new Jedi?
Bly: what happened to skywalker
Wolffe: nothing you kriffing di’kut. He got a padawan commander, Ahsoka Tano
Bly: oh well how the kriff was I supposed to know that mir’sheb?
Fox: You all are idiots
Rex groaned as he read the string of messages from his brothers. He didn’t really know what he expected from them. He was still trying to figure out what to do about Torrent and dealing with his vode was the last thing on his to-do list. However, they wouldn’t stop bothering him until he answered.
Ponds: Wolffe how do you know who his commander is?
Bly: he’s got her name and everything
Wolffe: Koon brought her by a few times
Rex: Skywalker is fine, I’m fine thanks for asking, and my commander is fine. Probably traumatized from Christophsis but that’s to be expected
Bly: how is it having another jetti around?
Rex: she’d kriffing tiny and is as foolhardy as her kriffing master
Ponds: So you like her?
Rex: don’t have much choice, she’s my CO and Skywalker practically shoved her at me to teach her how to lead
Cody: He likes her. Called me after Christophsis asking how to take care of a child
Bly, Ponds, Wolffe, Fox as typing…
Rex shut off the com log with a huff and went back to his task of sorting out who he was going to choose to join Torrent. For now, he planned on keeping it to more experienced troopers, but after Teth and Christophsis, they were running low on those. He might actually have to put in a request for more troopers, something he hated to do.
He’d sent out requests to the other companies for whom they’d recommend transferring, Carnival, Tango, Jako, or any of the still full companies. He knew he needed to give Torrent another medic after they lost Mac.
Triage had recommended a young medic, Kix was his name, he’d been with the 501st for over a month now and he looked promising.
Another one from Carnival caught his eye, a scout called Jesse. There was a note under his name that he showed promising leadership qualities. Maker knew they’d lost quite a few scouts on Christophsis, and to have one with a special note from Rango was appreciated.
Once he’d sorted through all the ground troopers he’d need, he went back to the specialists. They were always in need of heavy class troopers and Carnival seemed ready to shove this one at him. Beside the trooper’s name, Hardcase, was a small note on his behavioral issues. Rex shrugged as he read them over.
Sometimes impulsive and unpredictable was a good thing.
-
Kix was sorting through supplies in the med bay when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see his sergeant, Rango, standing behind him. He immediately jumped up to attention.
“At ease. Looks like it’s your lucky day, or unlucky.” Rango mumbled the last part. “You’ve been transferred to a different company.”
Kix blinked at Rango in surprise.
“A new company sir?”
“Kid you’ve been transferred to Torrent company.”
Kix’s eyes widened.
The whole of the 501st knew about Torrent Company, the most skilled group in the battalion. They were directly commanded by Captain Rex and usually worked right alongside General Skywalker on missions and always held the most valuable positions on the battlefield.
Kix swallowed thickly.
He knew that on the last mission, Torrent had been on, they’d been ambushed by a sith and a legion of droids. Despite winning the battle, they’d lost more than two-thirds of their men.
“Go pack your stuff, Jesse and Hardcase also got transferred.”
Kix had known Jesse from Kamino, but he was only vaguely familiar with Hardcase. Back in the barracks, the other members of Carnival mumbled good wishes to him as he packed. It had once been everyone’s dream to be in Torrent company, now they stared at him with solemn faces, as if he was a dead man walking.
At the door of the barracks, Jesse was already standing there with his small pack of personals.
“Can you believe this?” Jesse asked as Kix came to stand beside him.
“Not really. But it makes sense considering how many men died on the last mission.”
Kix saw Jesse wince slightly at his blunt term.
Suddenly there was a large crash followed by various people cursing. A moment later a trooper with a large Z-6 blaster slung across his back stumbled up to them. He flashed them a bright smile as he straightened and held his unoccupied hand out to them.
“Hardcase.” he told them.
“Jesse.” Jesse said as he shook his hand, followed by Kix.
“I’m Kix.”
“So we’re the sorry souls that got transferred.” Hardcase laughed. “Good thing they snagged a medic, we’re gonna need it.”
The three of them made their way through the ship towards Torrent’s barracks. Inside, there was a low murmur as troopers began to fill in the empty bunks. Kix could see various troopers with blue armor moving around, greeting the new troopers, some of whom also had earned their paint, others like him, and the other two from Carnival had yet to paint theirs.
A trooper sporting a red medic’s cross on his shoulder strode towards him.
“You must be Kix? I’m Coric, the current medic of Torrent.”
Kix straightened as the older trooper came to a stop in front of him.
“I’ve heard good things from Triage about you,” Coric told him.
“I’m honored, sir,” Kix answered.
Coric motioned for him to follow. Jesse and Hardcase glanced at each other before following after Kix.
They were led to a relatively quiet corner of the barracks. Coric patted a bottom bunk.
“You’ll crash here, we’re closer to the door for the med bay here in case of an emergency.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at another set of blast doors down at the end of the row.
Kix set his small pack down on the bed as Coric moved away to greet other troopers. Hardcase claimed the bottom bunk across the aisle from Kix and Jesse claimed the top.
“Least we didn’t have to fight for a spot, no one’s over here yet.” Jesse mumbled as he sprawled out on his bed.
“And it doesn’t smell like fish in here!” Hardcase said as he dumped his Z-6 onto the bed.
Kix heard the thump of feet and turned. His heart jumped into his throat as he took in the dark kamas, winged pauldron, and blue jaig eyes adorning none other than Captain Rex. He snapped up to attention, Hardcase’s eyes widened and he followed suit. Jesse practically fell off his bed to get to the floor.
The captain came to stop before them, surveying them with a trained eye. After a moment he spoke.
“What are your names?”
“Hardcase sir.”
“Jesse sir.”
“Kix sir.”
He nodded to them before moving on, setting something down onto the bunk butted up against the end of Kix’s. With a sudden sinking realization, the medic realized that they’d bunked down right next to where the captain had claimed a bed.
He knew that all COs had their own private bunk, but most clone COs bunked with the rest of the troopers, a force of habit and comfort from Kamino. They’d just had the possible misfortune of bunking with their CO. Though, Coric had directed them there, so that had to mean something right?
As soon as the Captain disappeared down the next aisle, they all let out a sigh and relaxed.
“He’s so cool,” Hardcase mumbled. “I heard that he smacked a Sith in the face once.”
“I heard that he wrestled a Rancor on Jakku,” Jesse said. “With his bare hands.”
“I’d believe it, he was trained by Alpha-17.” The heavy class held up his finger. “I had one class with one of the Alphas and it was probably the worst day of my life.”
Jesse and Hardcase continued to share stories as Kix shoved his spare blacks into the drawer by his head.
A flash of orange in his peripheral made him look up. Walking towards them on silent feet was a small child. He quickly identified her as Togruta and unconsciously noted the few still-healing scrapes on her bare arms.
“Hello.” She waved at them, making Jesse and Hardcase turn. “What are your names?”
“Um, I’m Kix.” The medic answered, confusion coloring his voice.
Why was there a child in the barracks?
“Hardcase.” the heavy class waved.
“Jesse.”
She smiled at them, just enough that Kix could see the tips of elongated fangs in her mouth.
“I’m Ahsoka Tano.”
That sounded familiar. Kix racked his brain for why it sounded familiar when it suddenly dawned on him. He saw Jesse’s face blanch as he too realized who this was.
“Commander!” Jesse snapped up, his spine somehow straighter than it had been for the captain.
The other two followed suit as they echoed him.
The commander’s eyes widened and she raised her hands placidly.
“Please, you don’t have to call me that, I’ve hardly earned that title.” She stared at them still standing ramrod. “Oh, what’s the term… at ease!”
They loosened their stance but only slightly.
Kix looked down at her. This was their new Jedi commander. Now that she was standing closer he could see the lightsaber hooked onto her opposite hip. He’d never met a Jedi before. He’d expected something much grander than meeting one in the dim light of the barracks.
“So you all were recently transferred to Torrent right?” She asked.
“Yes sir,” Jesse answered.
She made a face at the ‘sir’ but didn’t say anything.
“Which company were you from originally?”
“Carnival sir,” Hardcase replied. “Just made it in a few minutes ago.”
“Cool! I’ve heard good things about Carnival but I haven’t met that many from there. I guess I haven’t been here long but I’m still trying to get to know everyone.”
Kix saw Hardcase’s stance loosen more.
“That’s a lot of people to get to know sir.” The heavy class commented.
The commander laughed.
“Yeah, but I like a good challenge.”
She turned back to Kix.
“You’re the new medic right?”
He nodded. “Yes sir.”
She pointed to Jesse. “You’re a scout?” He nodded and she pointed to Hardcase. “Heavy class?”
“Sir yes sir.” He answered with a smile.
She smiled back, based on Hardcase’s face he guessed that he spotted her fangs.
“Well, I will probably be seeing you all around. Skyg- my master pretty much assigned me to Rex so I can learn how to lead troopers and stuff, so I’ll be spending a lot of time with Torrent for now!” Her head tilted to the side as her eyes darted to a far side of the barracks. “I better get going, a lot of people to meet and whatnot.”
She snapped them a quick salute before dashing away. They all stared after her for a few moments.
“That is not how I imagined a Jedi would be.” Jesse finally said.
“Same, I didn’t know they came that small,” Hardcase added.
Kix rolled his eyes.
“She’s a child, I’m sure she’ll get bigger.”
“That’s cool that we’ll get to serve alongside her though,” Jesse said.
Kix hummed in agreement.
Hardcase knocked a fist against Jesse and Kix’s shoulder bells.
“Hey we’ve already met two of our COs, that’s gotta be good luck right?” He asked before hooking an arm around both their necks. “This company can’t be that cursed with them here. Now, who’s got sabacc cards?”
Notes:
Tehe I am so excited to be posting this!
Mando'a trans:
kriffing: general swear (similar to fuck)
bantha-osik: bantha shit
Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la: "Not gone merely marching far away" Madalorian phrase for the departed
di’kut: Moron
mir’sheb - smart ass
jetti: jedi
Chapter Text
The hardest lessons aren’t always the best ways to teach.
-
True to her prediction, Ahsoka found herself working alongside Torrent a lot as Captain Rex worked to train and prepare them.
All the troopers he’d selected already had an understanding of 501st maneuvers, but they just needed to work on getting a feel for each other in the company.
Ahsoka began to pick up on the rhythm of the battalion as she slowly settled in. It seemed like most troopers didn’t fully know how to act around her. They were stiff in posture and their Force signatures shifted with confusion and unease. She didn’t blame them, especially after what Captain Rex said about experience. All of the clones outranked her in that aspect.
It was hard to even think of herself commanding them when she had no idea what was going on in the ship, let alone on a battle field.
Ahsoka didn’t fully know how to interact with the troopers either because of this. She saw Anakin joke with them and interact, but he also held himself a distance from them. The only troopers he seemed more close to were the COs. Ahsoka figured that was what she was supposed to do as well, interact, but also keep some distance.
So for the first week, she simply sat, observed, and followed orders given to her.
Anakin would train with Ahsoka in the morning, lightsaber combat, Force techniques, all the Jedi stuff. He was clearly as uncomfortable now as he’d been when he’d first met her. Pushing her too hard one moment, not pushing her hard enough the next. Though, he usually pushed harder and didn’t stop until she spoke up. Her muscles burned, her mind was fried, and she felt like her very signature in the Force throbbed after those training days.
She knew she could probably speak up, she didn’t think this style of training was exactly normal, Anakin’s philosophy of ‘learn or die’. But she didn’t.
She didn’t because her master had probably been right when he’d said that she was too young to be a padawan. She didn’t because The Master Yoda, had picked her to be apprenticed to Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear, the Jedi who’d been brought to the temple late and immediately swooped up by Master Kenobi, the first Jedi to kill a Sith in a millennia, the Jedi that people whispered was the Chosen One. She didn’t speak up because most of the older members in her creche had been sent to fight on the front lines, and many had come back in body bags.
It was an unspoken rule at the temple to not mention how the number of Jedi was already dwindling. They needed every able-bodied Jedi out there protecting people, and she’d happen to score high enough on her combat training to be counted as such.
So she trained and only complained when her head felt like it might split because she didn’t want to end up in a body bag. She wanted to protect people and wanted to become a Jedi knight so she could continue to protect the galaxy.
Anakin taught her the Jedi stuff and when he was done with her, he’d shove her off to Rex for the rest of the day. However, despite initial hesitations, the clone captain seemed to have been more than ready to catch her.
It had taken one practice briefing for the captain to take fully Ahsoka under his wing. Anakin hadn’t complained, he claimed that she would learn a lot more of the military stuff from the clone captain than from him. She was quickly learning that Anakin had a much more wing-it attitude than was generally seen in military settings.
Ahsoka often found herself seated on a spare cargo container in one of the larger training rooms on board the Resolute watching Rex drill the new Torrent company. She watched him bark orders and the men respond in kind, a well-oiled machine.
At first, it was like a different language to Ahsoka, numbers and words spat out to form complicated marches, charges, bunk downs, and Force knew what else. However, the longer she watched and listened, the more it began to make sense.
‘J-34’ meant to dig in to allow medics to reach troopers without risk of being hit. ‘Screw ‘em’ meant that a large force would push forward and drop the Heavy Class troopers right in the middle of a droid legion. ‘Flank ‘em and spank ‘em’ was pretty self-explanatory, let the middle fall back and trick the droids into a false sense of victory until the sides of the battalion would crash down on top of them.
“Droids are stupid enough to fall for it every time,” Rex told her as she watched Torrent carry out the order. “Some tactical droids are getting wise to it, but for the most part they don’t see it coming.”
She watched Rex train the troopers until exhaustion permeated the room and only then, like he had a sixth sense, would Rex call it quits. She’d then follow him to his private room to review battle strategies, formation, reports, etc.
Eventually, he had her call a few drills, forcing her to memorize certain patterns for certain scenarios.
Two weeks later when they found themselves on the battlefield once again, the foreign language of calls suddenly made more sense. She stuck close to Rex and Anakin regardless, focusing on cutting down as many droids as she could, a game her master had proposed. It kept her attention pointed forward and not at the chaos around or behind her. She did her best to block out the pain behind her, but in a situation like war, it was difficult. Anakin must have sensed this through their training bond because he pushed forward, spacing them further from the battalion at large.
Another thing that she noticed, is that Anakin either didn’t know the orders or didn’t bother using them. If he wanted something done, he’d usually describe it to Rex and then let his captain translate it into formation codes. She thought that was truly impressive.
The captain reminded her of Anakin in a few ways. He walked with confidence and a certain commanding atmosphere that not many other troopers had. It wasn’t hard for her to realize why Anakin preferred to keep Rex at his side.
After the battle Rex had her train with Torrent, marching along beside them and holding out in front of them as a shield. He taught her techniques that he’d perfected from working with Anakin, implementing a Jedi’s skills into the battle strategies he’d grown up learning.
With all her time spent with Torrent, it was inevitable for the clone troopers to begin warming up to her. Hesitantly dropping the stiff postures and sir in every sentence.
She began to pick up on their names and personalities. Denal seemed to be unofficially second in command to Rex, and he had a laid-back attitude. Jesse, she learned was the joker of the company, often making the group break out in laughter in the middle of drills. However, the scout also wasn’t afraid to take charge when needed.
Kix became a force to be reckoned with whenever injuries popped up, fully taking charge of the situation, regardless of who was injured.
She did her best to keep that professional distance, but it was more difficult than it seemed with their uncountable and distinct Force signatures pressing against her at all times. She did her best to block it out.
Ahsoka could tell she was improving, both her combat skills and her Force abilities. She’d long since lost the tube top, taking to wearing a vest-like top made from thick and hardy material, protecting her better from flying rubble and shrapnel.
Finally, they returned to Coruscant for two weeks of shore leave.
Ahsoka expected something to have changed in the Temple once she was back. Maybe it was because she had just witnessed a lot since she’d left, a certain childish wonder of having died on a battlefield alongside so many clone troopers.
Instead, the Jedi Temple stood as it always had, pristine, shining, and warm. There was a notable lack of individuals around but that wasn’t new since the beginning of the war.
There were few people in her classes, most out on battlefields or on venators. The few that were present carried a new subdued presence, so unlike the bright emotions they’d had before.
Ahsoka did her best to ignore it and focus instead on her upcoming skills assessment led by Master Sinube.
“I have some business I have to attend to in the Senate Building but I’ll be back for your test,” Anakin told her as she ate breakfast.
They now shared a room at the temple, as was standard for a master and a padawan. It was a small and simple space, a central room with a small kitchen and two connected rooms.
“Okay.” She mumbled, trying not to think too hard about the test.
“Hey, you’ll do fine,” Anakin told her as he nudged her shoulder. “Don’t worry or it’ll mess you up.”
She nodded absently.
Four hours later, Anakin had yet to return and she realized that she was going to have to make the trek to the assessment room by herself. She nodded to each knight and master she passed in the halls, trying to still her hands from nervously fidgeting behind her back.
She spotted a familiar figure outside of the assessment room and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Koh-to-yah.” She said as she came to stand before Master Plo Koon.
“Koh-to-yah little ‘Soka.” The Kel Dor responded. “How are you feeling?”
She huffed out a small laugh.
“Nervous for sure.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and let calm permeate the Force around her.
“I’m sure you will do fine. You’ve always had a habit of exceeding expectations.”
Ahsoka felt her face heat up at the praise.
“Well, I will let you prepare,” Plo told her with an encouraging nod.
She stepped into the room to find Master Sinube already there. He nodded to her and she began to do her warm-up stances. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few people enter the room. Plo, Master Kenobi, Master Windu, Grand Master Yoda, and Master Billaba who was followed by a youngling whose name she thought was Caleb.
Her own master continued to be a no-show.
She could tell Master Sinube was pushing the start time back to give her own master more time to arrive, but as each minute ticked by she was sure he wasn’t going to arrive. Her heart sank, but she was quick to release her ire into the Force, mindful of the room full of Jedi Masters.
Two tendrils of assurance brushed against her and she glanced over to see Plo and Kenobi watching her.
Ahsoka nodded to Sinube to begin her test.
She quickly fell into a steady rhythm of blocking and defending as the droid whirred around her. The togruta was quick to forget her worries as her hours of training came to use. Partway through she heard the door open and the familiar supernova of a presence that accompanied Anakin Skywalker filled her senses.
With a quick twist and flick of her saber, she disabled the droid.
She stood up to face Master Sinube once again.
He nodded to her and activated the barrier, tapping his own saber against it to demonstrate that she was, in fact, stuck in there until she was either downed, or she succeeded.
As she twisted and spun, she couldn’t help but notice how similar this training droid was to B-1 battle droids. It fired at the same cadence and had the same movements. She barely hid her smirk as she readied herself. She’d faced the real things in a much more stressful situation.
She swiftly took care of them, cutting through the last two with a swift spin. Behind her, she heard Caleb gasp as she landed and de-ignited her saber.
Ahsoka checked the Force before she stood, noting the quiet support from Plo and Sinube.
“Impressive.” She heard her Grandmaster mumble to Anakin.
She let herself feel a little proud of herself for a moment, she really had improved and she’d done well enough to receive a compliment from the Sith Slayer and famed Negotiator.
That was quickly damped by the disdain coming from her master’s side of their bond.
Her shoulders sank a little as she turned back towards her audience.
“Thanks for coming master.” She huffed as the man came to stand beside her.
“Well, I was in the neighborhood.” He mumbled back.
She wrinkled her nose at the sweet smell coming off of him, it smelled suspiciously like perfume. While Anakin Skywalker was many things, a perfume wearer was not one of them.
“Any notes?” She whispered to him.
If he was unhappy, it must have been something she’d done. She’d rather that he tell her outright than let her stew in silence.
“You don’t want to know.”
She twitched slightly at his response.
Ahsoka knew that Anakin was a hard teacher, never quite seeming to be satisfied with her performance, but she’d just completed this assessment like it was any other training exercise. Surely that had to earn her something in his books? Unless he still viewed her as the annoying kid pushed onto him by the Council.
She felt an inquisitive brush of support from Plo, all she could offer back was a half-hearted smile as she chased after her master into the hall.
“What’s the problem?” She demanded once she caught up to him.
He dragged her over to a quiet alcove before speaking.
“It’s a lousy test.”
Her eyebrow marking raised at that. So he wasn’t exactly critical of her performance, just the way it was exhibited. That didn’t make her feel much better.
“But it’s what every Jedi does!” She snapped.
“Exactly!”
She glowered up at him as he watched a Knight walk by, pushing her annoyance straight across their bond.
“Do you want a real test?” Anakin challenged as he turned back to her.
If it would get him off her back, and maybe earn her a compliment, anything to know that she was something more than a kid pushed on him, then she’d do it.
“Name it.”
Ahsoka had not known what to expect when she’d arrived at the GAR barracks, but a group of Torrent members circling around her with blasters was still a surprise.
She could just tell from their body language that they were uncomfortable, their Force signatures pulsing with unease. She could recognize many of them from drills, Jesse, Ridge, Denal, Kono, Charger, Chipper, and Mixer. Rex was watching the proceedings warily as well, constantly glancing at her Master like he was waiting for him to call it off as a joke. But Anakin didn’t.
She raised her lightsaber as she watched the troopers around her, waiting for the moment that one of them decided to pull the trigger.
The first shot came from Denal, then from Chipper, Kono, Jesse-
She hit the floor with a deafening clang.
-
Rex couldn’t stop himself from flinching when the commander hit the floor.
Jesse froze where he was standing, his blaster still raised to where Ahsoka had been seconds before.
His general made a disapproving noise at the back of his throat and let out a long sigh.
“At ease, we’ll go again when she wakes up.”
Rex walked over and patted the scout on his shoulder, finally breaking him from his frozen state. Jesse’s helmet jerked to Rex.
“I- she’ll be okay right?”
“Yes, it’s just a stun round,” Rex told him, trying to make himself believe it as well.
Ten minutes went by and the group began to break off into smaller parties to pass the time. Thirty went by and Rex had to restrain himself from pacing. Most of the time a stun round wore off after thirty minutes, but the little commander showed no sign of waking up. Fifty minutes and he was standing anxiously behind his general as he knelt next to his student.
Something at the back of his mind was telling him that the reason the kid was talking longer to wake up, was because she was a lot smaller and an entirely different species than they were. The stun round likely affected her more. It still didn’t quell his nerves.
“It’s alright Rex.” Skywalker said. “She’ll wake up.”
Not a moment after he spoke, the commander let out a small groan.
All the troopers in the area snapped their heads over to look before returning to their conversations, a notable thick air of worry gone now.
“How long was I out?” Tano asked as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
“An hour.” Anakin shrugged.
He was doing his best to sound nonchalant, but Rex could tell he was also relieved that she was awake again.
“An hour?” The togruta demanded.
“Yeah, Jesse really tagged you,” Rex explained.
“Sorry commander!” Came a call from behind him.
Rex glanced back to see Jesse waving apologetically towards them. Ahsoka gave a small wave back.
“Alright, again.”
Again she went down, this time from Kono. The next time was from Ridge. The sixth time was from Jesse again.
Skywalker was right that she was waking up faster and faster, but Rex could see the bruises forming on her arms from slamming into the ground again and again. Each time she got to her feet unsteadier, shaking her head in an attempt to focus.
He didn’t know why she hadn’t called it quits yet. In the short time he’d known her, Ahsoka Tano wasn’t a pushover and was incredibly headstrong. The fact that she was subjecting herself to this ‘training’ was beyond him, from what he could tell, she was barely improving.
He didn’t know why his general was pushing so hard either. He could understand intense training to prepare for battle, but Rex couldn’t really think of a time that a Jedi would be in a situation like this, and not be able to use the Force to escape. It didn’t seem practical to him.
After the eighth round, Rex was beginning to question the aftereffects of too many stun rounds. Being hit repeatedly could not in any way be healthy.
But Skywalker continued to push, pacing behind them like a caged sabercat. Unyielding.
Finally, he spoke up.
“I don’t know how much more of this she can take.” He told Skywalker.
His general once again shrugged.
“Eh, she’ll be fine.”
He opened his mouth to retaliate. This wasn’t helping anybody, and if they continued they could seriously injure their commander.
His commander cut him off before he could respond. Apparently, she was done with this as well.
Rex stepped away to give the two of them privacy but still caught the gist of it. Even if Skywalker was just trying to protect her, this was extreme… and probably very un-Jedi-like if the whole thing about attachments was true.
But as Rex watched the two Jedi in front of him, he realized something that he had rarely ever seen in his own general. Fear.
He was afraid. He was afraid that he wasn’t going to prepare her enough and she was going to die on the battlefield.
Rex let out a long sigh.
Every clone trooper had been raised knowing that they were likely going to die, and that their brothers around them would die as well. They didn’t fear death, even when they experienced it for the first time. To them, death was inevitable.
The Jedi were not raised like that.
He watched the commander in a new light as she accepted her lightsaber back from her master and took up her ready stance again, a new spark of determination in her eyes.
She went down after five shots.
-
Jesse watched as Captain Rex carried the commander out of the hangar, gangly limbs and small body cradled to his chest plate.
It seemed as though the Captain had finally had enough of this as well. Jesse had genuinely thought that this last round would be different. After the talk from her master, her hands had steadied and she’d been ready.
His stun round had smacked her right in the head anyway.
“Thank the Maker that’s over.” Jesse heard Ridge mumbled to Denal.
So none of them had enjoyed repeatedly shooting their commander either. Jesse shakily followed the others back to the barracks. Kix had been working in the med bay all day, helping sort out their restock of supplies. Hardcase had been stuck on bed rest after getting shot in the leg a few days prior on their last campaign.
Despite being welcomed into Torrent, the three of them had remained closer, all of them feeling a shared kinship from being in Carnival. He’d just been unlucky enough to be picked for this training. Though maybe he should be honored, Rex had handpicked all those here today.
The barracks were quiet when they walked in, most out at 79’s. He hadn’t even realized that it was already evening, the training having taken up most of the day.
Hardcase was sprawled unceremoniously across his bunk, tapping away at a datapad. His leg was wrapped in a bandage and propped up on a spare pillow.
“Kriffing finally, thought you lot would never be back,” Hardcase called as Jesse made his way over. “How was the training thing?”
Jesse made a grumbling noise at the back of his throat in response.
“Wow, that bad. What’da even have to do?”
Jesse paused from where he was returning his gear back to the drawers he shared with Hardcase.
“We, uh. The general had us fire stun rounds at the commander for her to block.”
“Wow, that’s a little intense. What happened when she’d get hit?”
“We’d wait for her to wake up,” Jesse answered before climbing up to his bunk and flopping down.
For some reason what they’d been doing today was more mentally draining than marching drills back on Kamino.
It didn’t surprise Jesse when he woke up later that night from a nightmare. The feeling of his blaster kicking back in his hands as a live round sailed through the air, punching straight through the little commander’s chest.
He struggled to get air into his lungs as he looked around frantically. The barrack lights were off, leaving only a few small lights to illuminate the space. Below him, Hardcase was snoring, something he only did after a trip to the med bay.
He hadn’t just shot his commander. Well actually, he had. He hadn’t just killed his commander. That was enough to help him get his breathing under control.
Jesse rubbed his hands over his face only to notice that they were shaking.
He knew he likely wasn’t going to fall back asleep after such a nightmare as that. It had felt so real, the weight of his blaster in his hands, the commander’s determined scrunch of her eyebrow markings, the echoing clang of her body on the floor, the smell of burnt flesh-
Jesse flicked on his small light and grabbed his blaster and cleaning gear.
The scout began to methodically disassemble his blaster and clean it, running the rag along the barrel, carefully avoiding the jagged firing mechanism.
He wondered if any of the other troopers were having nearly as much of a hard time after the training as he was. He didn’t understand why it was affecting him so much. Every trooper had stood before a stun round, he knew that it was largely harmless and didn’t hurt that much. However, he couldn’t erase the sight of his commander, the one he was supposed to give his life to protect, falling by his hands.
Jesse hissed when he felt a sharp sting on his palm.
He looked down to see blood welling up from a cut. So lost in thought he’d gotten rough with his cleaning, gashing himself on the firing mechanism.
He cursed as he clenched his hand into a fist in an attempt to slow the bleeding. It was a small wound but he didn’t want to clean blood off of his bunk sheets.
He was reaching for a rag in the drawers when he paused.
Maybe the reason his mind kept cycling back to the training was because he hadn’t actually seen if the commander was okay.
Back on Kamino whenever one of his batchmates was injured, they were able to visit them afterward, the longnecks believed that it made them perform better. Less distracted during training.
Maybe, that habit hadn’t been forgotten since being deployed, even if it was his commanding Jedi.
He looked down at his hand.
Maybe this was his ticket into the med bay and hopefully some peace of mind.
The few out at this time nodded to him as he passed, many returning to their own barracks after a night out. He kept his injured hand close to his chest as he trekked to the med bay.
Inside, the lights were dimmed, few of the beds were occupied, and only the most grievously injured were still in the med bay by now.
Jesse saw Kix glance up at the sound of the blast door sliding open. His brother narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously before standing to approach him.
“What is it?” He asked.
Jesse held up his hand in response, making Kix sigh.
“How did you manage to cut yourself in the middle of the night?” He asked tiredly.
“Cleaning my blaster, cut it on the firing mechanism.”
Kix huffed but motioned for him to follow him.
Jesse observed the beds as they passed, his breath catching as they passed a small figure. The commander was curled up on her side under the medical sheets, her face lax in sleep.
Kix glanced back to see what had stopped Jesse.
“Is she alright?” Jesse asked.
“She’ll be fine,” he noted the bitterness in the medic’s voice.
Jesse moved around to get a better look at her face, noticing a bruise forming on her cheek and a few on her headtails. Likely from hitting the ground so many times.
Kix pushed him down onto the bed next to the commander’s when he realized that Jesse wasn’t going to move past her.
Jesse didn’t take his eyes off the girl while Kix wrapped his hand, finding comfort in the steady rise and fall of her shoulders.
“Please don’t tell me that you cut your hand just to get in here to check on her.” Kix finally broke the silence.
Jesse blinked and looked up at the medic.
“I- no. No, I didn’t do that to get in here. I couldn’t sleep so I was cleaning my blaster and… got distracted… and then cut my hand.” Jesse attempted to explain.
Kix raised an eyebrow before shaking his head with a sigh and he sank down onto the bed next to Jesse.
“She’s gonna be fine. She’ll likely experience some mild myoclonus over the next few days but we don’t have to worry about heart palpitation anymore.”
Jesse gave Kix a blank look.
“Her muscles are gonna twitch but she is fine.” Kix dumbed down. “If what the Captain told me, that many stun rounds could have been dangerous, especially for someone her size and age. We’ll keep monitoring her for any abnormalities with her growth and whatnot for a while but as long as this training isn’t a regular thing.”
Jesse nodded. All he really needed to hear was that she was fine, but apparently, Kix had needed to explain it out, likely to make himself feel better.
“In fact,” Kix continued. “I advised Captain Rex to not let her do this again any time soon. Or if they are gonna do this osik, keep it to only three to four rounds.” This disdain in Kix’s voice was apparent.
Jesse just continued to nod absently.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Kix finally asked.
“Nightmares,” Jesse answered after a moment.
“About?” The medic prompted.
Jesse returned his gaze to the little togruta and swallowed thickly. Kix followed his gaze.
“About her?”
“The training.” Jesse amended. “I don’t know why it bugged me so much, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”
Kix hummed.
“I figured because they’d always let us so our batchmates if they were injured that if I saw her I’d be less distracted,” Jesse mumbled. “Don’t know if it worked. If anything this makes me feel worse.”
Kix glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.
“I was the first one to stun her. She went down hard and we just left her lying there for an hour until she woke back up. Then we did it again and again. She wasn’t improving, in fact, she was getting sloppier but the general just had us keep going.” Jesse tugged at the bandage around his left hand absently as he talked.
Kix thought for a moment before speaking again.
“Maybe it’s because we were always taught to defend the Jedi. That our whole purpose was to serve them and die for them. Shooting your Jedi commander goes against those core values.”
Jesse blinked as he thought about it. Kix was probably right and he told his brother as much.
“Of course I’m right I’m a medic,” Kix answered as he stood up. “She’s got a mild concussion so we are only letting her sleep in four-hour increments, I’ve got to wake her up now. You can stay if you’d like.”
Jesse nodded and stayed perched on the bed.
The commander blinked groggily as she was pushed into consciousness. She slowly sat up with a wince and Kix was at her side immediately.
“Take it, slow commander.”
“Ok.” She mumbled tiredly before yawning.
Jesse paled slightly as a set of large fangs that he hadn’t noticed before flashed in the dim light. Kix paused as well before shaking his head and returning to checking her over.
“We’ve gotta keep you awake for a while just to make sure there aren’t any other side effects from the stun rounds and your concussion,” Kix told her. “Luckily Jesse just so happens to be here to entertain you.”
Jesse’s eyes widened as he stared at Kix. Ahsoka blinked blearily over at him before giving him a small wave.
Kix left to grab his scanner, leaving Jesse to sit awkwardly as Ahsoka woke up.
“How are you feeling sir?” He finally ventured to ask.
“Eh, I’ve been better.” She replied, slowly stretching out her limbs and occasionally wincing. “I’ll live.”
“That’s good,” Jesse replied lamely.
He had no idea what Kix meant by entertaining her. He had no idea how to have small talk with his commanding Jedi officer. Sure she’d be nice during all those training with Torrent, but one on one was an entirely different scenario. Especially when only a hours prior he’d been shooting at her.
Kix thankfully returned his scanner before Jesse had to talk again. The medic ran through his standard questions as he scanned her and the girl answered, voice still rough from sleeping.
“Well, it looks like the only thing we still are monitoring is your head, sir. Just stay awake for about thirty minutes and you can go back to sleep.” Kix told her.
The commander nodded and the medic left to return to whatever paperwork he’d been working on prior to Jesse walking in.
“So why are you here?” His commander asked him.
“Oh um, I injured my hand while I was cleaning my blaster.” Jesse held his hand up for emphasis.
She blinked in confusion before glancing at the chrono on the wall. It read 0105.
“In the middle of the night?” She asked with a raised eyebrow marking.
“I uh… was having trouble sleeping.” It sounded more like a question than a statement even to his own ears.
“Nightmares?” She asked, watching him with large blue eyes.
You have no idea. He thought.
Jesse gave a small nod.
“I understand. I sometimes have bad nights as well. My master says that it’s normal and that they should go away after a while.” She tucked her knees up under her chin. “I don’t know if he’s right about that part though.”
That last part came out almost as a whisper and Jesse wasn’t sure it was meant for him. Nightmares had been a constant companion in his life and the life of his brothers, they’d just gotten worse since being introduced to war. More fuel he guessed.
“I’m sorry to hear that sir.” He answered.
She shrugged her narrow shoulders.
“It’s not your fault. You learn to deal with them.”
Jesse nodded at that. There were probably a lot better ways to cope than slicing his hand open on his blaster. His commander must have thought so as well when her eyes glanced down at his bandage.
“I usually read when I can’t sleep. Or I practice katas and stances, but mostly I read.”
That piqued the scout’s interest. Out of all the non-combat classes, reading comprehension classes had been his favorite. They’d usually only read old battle histories, but occasionally one of the trainers would slip in a non-battle read. He’d had the highest marks in his batch when it came to reading comprehension.
“You like to read sir?” He asked.
“Yep! Master Plo got me into reading young to help me pick up on Basic and Ryl. I personally like fiction more than non-fiction.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever read a fiction book,” Jesse admitted.
Her eyebrow markings raised.
“Really? What did you read on Kamino?”
“Mainly stories about old battles and strategies. Sometimes we’d get a biography on an old general but that was about it.” Jesse shrugged. “It was those or read the Reg manuals which no one would ever want to do-”
He stopped talking with a gulp when he realized that he’d just admitted to one of the GAR officials that he thought the GAR rules were boring. He waited for a reprimand, punishment, something, but it never came. Instead, the little commander snorted a laugh.
“I had to read those in one of my courses in preparation for becoming a padawan commander and I fell asleep each time I tried to get through it. I think my brain melted from boredom.”
Jesse’s shoulders relaxed immediately. A smile twitched on his lips as he watched his commander’s eyes roll dramatically.
They fell into a comfortable silence. The only sounds were the hum of machinery and the quiet snores of the few other occupants.
“You know,” Jesse looked back at his commander when she spoke. “If you’d like, I could lend you a few books you could try. I’ve got a few flimsi-backs in my quarters.”
Jesse stared at her with wide eyes. Had his commanding officer just offered to give him a book?
In the dim lights of the med bay, he saw her cheeks darken slightly and she looked away.
“I-if you like reading that is?”
“Oh- I uh- yes sir.” He stuttered. “I like reading I mean. A-and I’d be interested in trying one of your books.”
She beamed at him.
“If you like it I could give you more in that genre. I’d be happy to help you find what you like.”
Jesse felt a strange warm sensation in his chest as the commander rambled on about books. Only his batchmates had known that he liked reading but it had felt so easy to share that with the togruta. He’d never had someone this excited to help him indulge in something like this either.
“Thank you, sir.” He said when she had to pause to yawn. “I’d really like that.”
“Thank you for keeping me company while I’m in here.” She countered.
He must have been getting more tired or more comfortable than he realized because the next words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.
“I helped put you in here so it’s only fair.” He snapped his mouth shut with a click.
His commander looked at him with a surprised expression before her shoulders slumped slightly.
“Oh, forgot about that.” She glanced back at him. “I’m not angry at any of you for that. You were helping me train.”
He clenched his jaw at that.
“It still didn’t feel good watching you fall again and again.” He mumbled as he dropped his gaze away.
A moment later he felt a pressure on his arm and looked down to see a small hand resting on his bicep.
“I don’t blame you.” She told him, voice earnest. “It was a tough training and I’ll admit that it kind of sucked, but that’s what it was. Training.” He slowly raised his eyes to meet hers again. “Besides, you were following Anakin’s orders. He doesn’t take no for an answer.”
Jesse huffed at that.
Her eyes seemed to bore into his for a moment before they softened again.
“I’m sorry that you’re losing sleep over me.”
His eyes widened and he was about to open his mouth to deny, but then he remembered that he wasn’t just talking to one of his brothers. He was talking to a Jedi. Why it had been so easy to forget that was beyond him.
He fidgeted with his bandage.
“To be honest sir,” He mumbled. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I thought it would help me get some peace of mind.”
“Did it?”
He glanced at her and nodded. She smiled and the warmth in his chest returned.
She removed her hand from his arm to grab the cup of water that had been left on her bed. Jesse suppressed a yawn and glanced at the chrono on the wall, surprised at how long they’d been talking. His commander settled back down onto her bed, pulling the scratchy sheets up to her chest with another yawn. Jesse laid back on his own bed as well.
“If you like reading, we could make a little book club you know.” She told him.
“What’s a book club?” He asked, turning his head to glance over at her.
“It’s a group of people that all read the same book and then get together and talk about it.” He saw her nose scrunch up a bit. “Usually they drink alcohol but I’m not a big fan of alcohol.”
Jesse chuckled at that.
“That sounds fun sir.”
“Mm. We could get snacks.” She mumbled, sleep beginning to drag her back down.
Jesse knew that he should really get back to the barracks and his own bunk but felt his own mind fighting to stay awake, his eyes growing heavier by the second.
“I like snacks.” He said around another yawn.
“Good night Jesse.”
“Good night sir.”
-
Kix looked up when he realized that the quiet voices in the background had gone silent.
The commander was once again asleep, her small form curled up in her bed. On the bed next to hers, he saw a larger lump also asleep.
He felt his lips curl into a smile as he let out a small huff of exasperation.
Clearly the unintentional conditioning of clones going to check on people in the med bay extended to their Jedi as well. He shook his head good-naturally and tucked that information away for later.
At least the two of them were resting.
Notes:
This is by far the longest chapter but I decided not to break it up so enjoy a nice long one!
Do I like the training that anakin made Ahsoka do with the clones. No. Do I agree with it. No. Is it canon so I included it. Yes. Is it a great source of angst. Absolutely. I could write a whole essay on why the the training with he stun rounds is stupid but that's not the point here. :P
Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos feed my dark soul ;)
Kel Dor trans:
Koh-to-yah: greetings
Chapter Text
The lowest moments can be what reveal one’s true inner strength.
-
Torrent was finally functioning like a well-oiled machine again much to Rex’s relief. He had a good feeling about this group, and he didn’t have any doubts that they would live up to the old company’s name.
The commander was getting better at calling out battle terms and had picked up on their many battle hand signals quickly. She was quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with when it came to combat thanks to Skywalker’s constant pushing. The stun round training had continued, but only once a week and she would always be taken to the med bay after the fourth round.
Rex could tell his General wanted to keep pushing, but much to his surprise, Torrent’s new medic Kix had adamantly argued against it. The medic hadn’t backed down when Skywalker argued it was for her own good, instead, he’d listed off all the side effects of too many stun rounds, concussions, myoclonus, and stress, making the Jedi pale slightly. Ultimately they’d come to a compromise of once a week and a limited number of rounds.
Rex cycled through different groups in the battalion to train with her, helping keep it unpredictable. He also thought the troopers appreciated only having to shoot their Jedi once.
The battalion was settling back into a rhythm, more like it had been prior to Christophsis. They’d adapted to the new Jedi, the rearranging of companies, and the new troopers that had arrived.
The Torrent barracks were once again filled with laughter and voices and Rex found himself sleeping in there again. He quickly learned that Jesse and Hardcase were trouble when they wanted to be. However, despite his jokester attitude, Jesse was more than willing to step up and help command. Rex watched him in training and drills, noting when he’d take initiative or direct his group elsewhere. Rex guessed that Jesse had been the oldest and unofficial leader of his batch, the way he directed others. He’d also warmed up to the kid considerably when he’d walked into the med bay after Tano’s first stun round training to find him keeping the commander company.
However, training and drills only get you so far. When the 501st inevitably found themselves planetside for a campaign, Rex decided to put Jesse in charge of the scouting squad. His armor was freshly painted, blue outlining his visor and covering his shoulder bells. He also had a bold black Republic cog scrawled across his bucket, a match for the same symbol inked half his face.
All of Torrent had painted their armor before they’d left Coruscant, finally getting enough paint for the newer troopers to decorate their armor. Most troopers had also gone out and gotten their first tattoos distinguishing themselves from their brothers. Rex wouldn’t admit it to anybody, but that was one of his favorite things about coming back from shore leave. Seeing all the ways his brothers had chosen to mark themselves, to help make them belong to themselves.
“Sir there is a platoon of droids heading in our direction, Three klicks southeast.” Jesse’s voice crackled in Rex’s helmet. “Three tanks, three dozen Super Battle Droids, and about five dozen B-1s.”
“Circle back around to us,” Rex responded. “Don’t engage unless necessary.”
“Yes sir.”
By the time the droids finally came upon them, the 501st’s tanks were prepared and made quick work of the droid tanks. Rex was in the middle of directing them toward the Supers line when his com lit up.
“Captain there are two more platoons en route for your position. Coming from the south and from the west. More firepower than the one currently engaged. This one’s probably a decoy to draw us out.”
Rex cursed as he searched for his Jedi across the battlefield. A large gap separated the two of them from the rest of the group, cutting through the droid lines so their own troopers could fill in the gaps.
“Sir my group and I could engage the ones coming from the south to buy time. It would stagger the attacks.” Jesse suggested.
“Alright, G-04 for the attack, just slow them down,” Rex ordered after a moment.
“Yes sir.”
Rex quickly relayed the new information to his general.
“Alright, send our heavies to the west side, we don’t want them to crush our flank,” Skywalker ordered.
The battle quickly descended from organized chaos to general chaos as the droids crashed into the west flank. The heavy class group held strong, pushing forward to force the droids back. Rex got a warning from Jesse before the droids from the south reached them. Rex had long since lost sight of his general and his Jedi commander, but Torrent was holding fast alongside Tango.
The tanks from the south finally reached them and forced them back into a frenzy of fire.
“Denal, Kono, Ridge, with me. We need to immobilize those tanks.” Rex ordered.
The three troopers fell in beside him as he charged forward. A quick order to those around them and they had an opening.
They reached the first tank, taking out the droids up top and throwing the poppers into the body of the tank. Not a moment after Ridge jumped from the top, the tank listed sideways and careened into the droids next to it. The second tank fell like the first, leaving three more.
Suddenly the droids directed their attention away from the forward advance to fire at Rex and his men. They barely managed to jump behind the downed tank before a hail of blaster fire reached them.
Denal threw multiple droid poppers over the tank but it wasn’t enough to take out all the droids firing at them.
Suddenly the fire stopped and they heard noises from the droids.
Rex risked a glance over the tank to see Jesse’s squad of scouts slam into the droids’ flank. He saw Jesse throw him a quick salute before continuing their barrage.
“Kid’s got some guts.” Denal huffed with a laugh.
“Let’s get this done while he’s distracting them,” Rex said as he jumped from their hiding spot.
The last tanks fell quickly with a whoop from Ridge.
“I love the smell of burning metal in the morning.” He said as they sprinted back towards the battalion.
“It smells like osik.” Kono snipped back. “And it’s afternoon.”
“Yeah well, you should smell Chipper after a campaign,” Denal responded, firing over his shoulder. “Now that is osik’la.”
“Good to know sir,” Jesse said as he fell into step beside them, his squad fanning out behind them.
“That was a good distraction kid.” Denal complimented.
Despite their flat-out sprint, Rex thought he saw the scout’s shoulders rise in pride.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Not a sir kid,” Denal laughed. “Just been around a while.”
“Yeah and giving me a headache,” Rex mumbled.
They ducked under the blaster fire coming from their brothers on the frontline and slipped through the gaps back behind friendly lines.
While those around him caught their breath, Rex scanned the battlefield for his general. He saw a blur of blue off to his right, close to the west front. He couldn’t see the commander but he guessed that she wasn’t far away.
He turned to continue firing at the advancing droids when his internal com crackled and his stomach dropped.
“This is Hardcase requesting medical immediately on the west flank, the commander has been injured.”
-
Hardcase swept the nozzle of his Z-6 across the front line of droids, spraying them with blaster fire. Off to his left, he saw Boomer duck under a blaster bolt and proceed to shoot the head off the offending droid.
They were in the thick of it on this front, the droids pushing forward slowly but surely. Hardcase could just see the tops of the droid tanks as they fired at the 501st, sending bodies and rock flying in all directions. The 501st’s tanks were currently occupied on the southern flank and likely wouldn’t be coming over here to assist any time soon. Looks like the kriffing droids had pinned them pretty good.
“We need missiles up here!” Torque yelled off to his right. “We’re getting crushed over here!”
“This is commander Tano, I am en route to the western flank.” Their internal coms crackled. “Heavies prepare to fall back.”
“Missiles are two minutes out sir.” Chipper yelled to Boomer from behind them.
The Heavy Class sergeant motioned to Hardcase and the others and they took one step back. A few moments later they took another.
There was a flash of light off to his right and Hardcase instinctively ducked before the small figure of their commander landed in front of them. Before her feet even hit the ground her lightsaber was spinning in a blur in front of her.
Hardcase and Torque ceased fire and retreated back behind the main line of troopers, soon followed by the other heavies. They all took a moment to catch their breath as the bulk of blaster fire was directed towards the little Jedi and in turn was expertly deflected.
Hardcase unhooked his canteen from his belt and chugged down water, uncaring of the rule to not remove your helmet during battle unless absolutely necessary. Whoever made that rule should have thought of a way for them to drink water with their helmets on, or at least thought to equip them with straws.
He saw the troopers off to his left part as a group carrying missile launchers charged forward.
“Missiles are here.” Torque supplied helpfully as he too drank from his canteen.
Through the gaps in his brothers, Hardcase saw the commander bark an order to the troopers carrying missiles and they were quick to follow.
He’d admit that the commander had gotten a lot better at giving orders since she first arrived. When the captain had first had her start practicing with them, she’d second guess herself or sound unsure. Now she was beginning to sound more like an actual commander.
The first missile flew and slammed into the closest tank. The troopers ducked as metal went flying and a cheer went up when the tank caught fire. A second missile flew and crashed into a group of super battle droids.
Hardcase craned his neck to look across the battlefield. The general was not too far away, batting bolts aside and neatly cutting through droids. The commander herself was also pushing into the droid lines, dismantling as many as she could as the men behind her took out the ones off to her sides.
Hardcase couldn’t help but watch in awe as she moved, each step sure and each swing strong. She moved with a grace that he hadn’t seen before.
“Sure nice having another Jedi around.” Shatter remarked.
“Now we don’t have to steal General Kenobi,” Torque said with a laugh.
Hardcase was about to respond when he saw a blaster bolt make it through Tano’s swing and graze her bare arm. That wasn’t good.
Some deep-rooted instinct had him hauling his gun forward and pushing his way back out to the front while his brothers shouted behind him. He fired at the droids around the commander as he advanced, coming to a stop next to her as she continued to swing her lightsaber with a determined expression. Blood was trickling down from her bicep but she pushed on.
“Need a hand, sir?” He asked as he continued to fire.
“It’d be appreciated.” She responded, cleaving a droid in two. “Didn’t your squad fall back?”
“Eh, they won’t miss me that much.”
He heard her laugh as he swept his blaster around.
The com on her arm lit up and he heard a voice crackle through it but couldn’t make out the words. How she could in the middle of battle was beyond him but evidently she could because she responded.
“Concentrate the last few missiles on the two tanks.” She ordered.
A missile flew over their heads and slammed into the tank but only shoved it off course slightly. There were shouts behind them and Hardcase turned to see a group of super battle droids baring down on the missile launchers, the second tank not far behind them.
He thought he heard what sounded like a growl before the little Jedi launched herself forward towards the big droids. Hardcase struggled to follow after her, jumping over fallen droids and troopers alike while continuing the barrage of fire.
The tank was looming closer and closer to their front line, if it reached them, the droids would easily smash through.
He swung his blaster into the head of a B1, knocking it off as he shoved past it. His commander was in the middle of the super battle droids, trying to slow them down. He smashed his way forward, burning a hole into the back of one.
“Fire at the tank!” Tano shouted.
The tank was only a meter behind the super battle droids and subsequently the commander and the front line.
He heard some protest but the commander ignored it.
“Do it before they get through!”
With that, he heard the missile whistle through the air. He tore his way through the droids in time for the missile to connect with the tank in an explosion of sound and light. Small pieces of metal hit his armor and bounced off as he lunged forward to shield his relatively unprotected commander from the deadly hail. He saw her blue eyes widen before he was shoved backward hard enough to bowl over a few droids. He groaned and shook his head before snapping it back towards where the commander had been. The place he’d been standing at moments before was now occupied by a large chunk of jagged metal. He saw the commander lying on the ground a few feet behind it.
Hardcase swore and scrambled upright, swinging his blaster onto his back so he could run. The droids around them had been caught in the blast, eliminating the immediate threat.
The commander was lying on her stomach as she attempted to push herself upright. There was a small piece of metal embedded into the right side of her back.
“Commander!” He quickly knelt beside her. “Don’t try to move, you’ve got metal sticking out of you.”
She let out a pain-filled whine in response.
“Osik osik osik osik.” He chanted as he activated his com. “This is Hardcase requesting medical immediately on the west flank, the commander has been injured.”
The heavy class tried to remember any first aid classes he’d been to. Right, pressure.
He placed his hands around the metal and the Jedi immediately shouted in pain, attempting to shove away from him.
Osik was that too much pressure? He couldn’t tell when it came to natborns, clone troopers were designed with increased strength which was great for most everything on the battlefield accept for dealing with something delicate like a kriffing injury.
“Sorry sir but I gotta try to slow the bleeding.” He tried to reason as she continued to fight against him.
Already he could see her shirt darkening.
A blaster bolt grazed his shoulder bell and he swore again. They couldn’t stay here unless they both wanted to get shot. He was pretty sure rule number one for impalings was to not move the impaled person, but he didn’t have much choice.
“Alright sir, this is really gonna hurt but I’ve got to move you so the medic can get to you.” She turned her face to look up at his visor. “Is that alright?”
Her lips pursed before she gave a small nod.
He carefully helped her sit upright as another bolt whizzed past his head. She gritted her teeth as she wrapped her arms around his neck, causing him to freeze for a moment. This was definitely not how he was trained to move an injured individual but oh well. He hooked an arm under her knees and his other wrapped around her back, keeping her injured side facing out away from him. Each movement made her whimper as she buried her head into his neck, her short horns pressing against the cheek of his helmet. This could not be in any way shape or form comfortable for her but she didn’t seem to care.
On his HUD he saw that Kix was making his way towards them thankfully. Now all he needed to do was get her back behind their lines.
He waited for a break in the firing before he quickly stood, surprised at how light the commander felt. Her arms tightened around him as he began to run, curling his shoulder forward to further shield her from the blaster fire behind them.
A blaster bolt glanced off his shoulder and he hissed as he stumbled. Up ahead he saw Boomer point to them and shout. Immediately a gap formed and his brothers fired behind him, picking off the droids currently trying to hit him and the commander. Once again surrounded by blue and white armor, Hardcase whipped his head around as he tried to spot Kix. A flash of red made him surge forward, troopers swiftly jumping out of his way as he bowled forward.
“Hardcase!”
The heavy class slid to a stop in front of them medic.
“Sorry, I had to move her we were right in the splash zone,” Hardcase said breathlessly. “She got hit by some shrapnel its on her back right side.”
“Set her down here,” Kix ordered.
He quickly produced a hypo and was about to stick her neck when he stopped. Hardcase watched as Kix’s hand wavered slightly before he swore.
“None of these meds are adjusted for her.” It sounded like it was spoken more to himself than to Hardcase.
“What?” Hardcase asked.
Kix’s visor snapped up to him and somehow he could tell his brother was glaring at him.
“She’s smaller than we are so she needs less meds than we do and-” Kix stopped after a moment before cocking his head at Hardcase. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Hardcase blinked at the abrupt change.
“I mean yes?”
“I’ve got her from here, you can return to your squad.” Hardcase watched the medic’s attention turn back to his ward.
He nodded absently and began to slowly back away. Tano’s face was twisted in pain and her breathing was shallow, the dark patch on her shirt had also grown. He watched her eyes open a fraction to meet his. To his surprise, she offered him a small smile, and even though it quickly turned into a grimace, it did make him feel slightly better.
Hardcase turned and marched back towards the front.
-
Kix pressed down on the area around the commander’s wound as he rummaged in his bag. Her small hand was clenched tight enough her fingers were losing color but he could tell she was trying very hard not to squirm.
“Sorry commander, right now I don’t have the right painkiller ready for you, I’m going to try to stabilize the wound and get you back to the med tent.” He informed her as he grabbed a pair of cloth cutters.
Kix noticed his com flashing and quickly shut it off. He couldn’t afford to be distracted right now.
He carefully cut around the shrapnel, holding it in place to not let it further cut into her.
“I’m going to take the shrapnel out now and apply some blood clotter to slow the bleeding.” He mumbled. “Take deep breaths and it’ll be over quickly.”
She gave a small nod and squeezed her eyes shut. He looked and saw that she’d removed one of her gloves and had it firmly clamped between her teeth.
He carefully lifted the square of cloth away, making her buck and howled in pain. The troopers around them flinched at the sound as she sobbed.
“Shab.” He mumbled when he saw how long the piece of shrapnel was. “You’re doing good sir. Just keep taking deep breaths.” He encouraged, her sounds of pain digging deep into his chest.
Her shirt material had kept a large portion of the metal from embedding itself into her, but it was still deep enough that he knew he should worry about it puncturing her kidney. How she was still conscious was beyond him, that had to hurt like a bitch.
This wouldn’t happen if she wore armor. He thought.
Kix watched for a moment to see if anything other than blood was coming out of the wound before he quickly applied the gel to help the blood start clotting and pressed a bandage to the wound. Her breathing evened out and he realized that she’d passed out now. He let out a sigh of relief.
He quickly wrapped the grazed burn on her arm as well before shouldering his pack and carefully picking her up, trying to hold her back as straight as he could, cursing when a stray bolt flew over his head.
The troopers around him quickly moved out of the way when they saw him charging forward.
“I need a cleared gurney,” Kix demanded as soon as he shoved into the med tent. “Shrapnel to her right side, high possibly of a kidney puncture.”
Inside was packed with injured troopers, the medics bustling about as fast as they could. A trooper near the opening in the tent with a bandage around his head saw who Kix was carrying and quickly hopped off the bed. Kix nodded to him before laying the commander down on her stomach.
He removed the hastily placed bandage and wiped away new blood. He pressed down around the area of the wound, feeling for any more metal or any abnormalities. He didn’t feel any, but just because he couldn’t feel it didn’t mean that nothing was wrong.
He fumbled in the nearest cart for an internal organ stitcher. He was about to grab a scalpel to widen the puncture opening when he stopped again. Nothing was coming out except for blood, not urine, not anything that could signal a kidney puncture. The metal definitely went deep enough to have nicked the organ, or so he thought.
Kix suddenly swore again and scrambled for the nearest datapad. He searched for togruta anatomy and his shoulders sank. Her kidney, singular, was located on her left side and was much deeper than a human’s kidney.
His scanner also confirmed that nothing else was wrong.
Kix let out a breath of relief and got to work stitching up her wound, constantly searching for vital information on the GAR medical bank for treatment. Thank the Maker he did.
Not only was the dosage of the painkillers medics regularly distributed to troopers and the general far too high for the commander, but it was also a neurological disrupter for togruta. It could cause her intense hallucinations and possible permanent damage. Once he was done making sure she was settled he carefully measured out the proper dosage of one of the few painkillers they had that wouldn’t harm her. It also acted as an anesthetic.
Kix quickly wiped up the blood on the table, making sure to check her blood levels in case they’d gotten too low. Not that he knew what he’d do if they were, they didn’t have a transfusion viable for her, the best he’d do is give her more plasma.
“Where is Ahsoka!” Someone demanded from the tent opening.
Kix’s eyes widened when he saw that it was General Skywalker, the man was looking around the tent frantically for his student.
“Here sir,” Kix said as he snapped into a salute.
The Jedi didn’t pay him much mind as he scrambled around to get to his student.
“Is she alright? No one was picking up their coms.”
Kix winced when he realized that his com was still shut off. He discreetly opened it back up to see a string of messages from the general and Captain Rex.
“Yes sir. She was hit with some shrapnel but nothing internal was damaged. I’ve given her some pain relief so she’ll be out for the next few hours at least.” Kix informed him.
His general visibly relaxed upon hearing that.
“Good, thank you for treating her.” His general said.
“Of course sir,” Kix answered.
The general wavered, looking like he really wanted to stay right where he was by his student’s side. However his com started flashing, reminding him that they were very much in the middle of a battle. The Jedi gave his student’s hand a squeeze before he made his way back out of the tent.
Kix was soon dragged away to help another injured trooper, but his mind remained on the commander. As soon as they finished up planetside, he was going to put in requests for proper equipment and medication for the commander. Trying to pull shrapnel out of her with no painkiller was pretty terrible for both of them and he was going to make sure that it didn’t happen again.
-
Ahsoka was bored.
There wasn’t much to do in the med bay when you were recovering from an injury as it turned out.
She’d woken up not long after the battle had ended to find her master seated at her side and gripped her hand like he thought she was going to die. He’d murmured multiple thanks to the Force and had proceeded to launch into a lecture about taking care of herself and stuff like that. She’d fallen asleep part of the way through.
She’d woken again not long after and had found that her master had been replaced by Rex. He wasn’t holding her hand thankfully and he didn’t lecture her. He’d been working on post-battle reports when she’d blinked her eyes open. Even in her still groggy state, she felt the relief roll off of him in the Force.
“Good to see you awake little one.” He’d told her.
Kix had come over and told her that the metal had buried itself close to four inches into her side but none of her internal organs had been nicked.
“Congratulations commander, you survived your first battlefield injury.” There was blood on the medic’s armor, bags under his eyes, and his Force signature was unbelievably tired. “Next time, please get under cover when shrapnel is flying.” His sarcastic tone made her giggle.
She’d fallen back asleep on the transport to the Resolute and had woken up in the ship’s med bay. Her bed was set apart from the other troopers, which she was grateful for. Even though their emotions were muted in the Force from drugs, there was a large enough quantity to press through her mental shields and make their pain her pain as well. Over here it was quieter.
Ahsoka had already finished her reports and sent them off to Rex for him to look over and she’d asked her master to bring her one of the books she was reading, but that had been an hour and a half ago. Meditating was a no-go both with the painkillers still affecting her and the distractions. Her course teacher had told her that she should be able to meditate in any situation, but so far Ahsoka hadn’t had much success with that.
So here she was, lying on her stomach, with nothing to do. She buried her face into the scratchy pillow and groaned.
The blast doors to the bay opened and a new presence entered the room. She glanced over to see Hardcase step inside, he was now easily recognizable by the geometric blue lines he’d painted on his armor.
It had been exciting to see all the troopers in the battalion walking around with their newly painted armor. She’d only really gotten to know Torrent’s armor but she was working on Tango as well.
She saw Coric step into Hardcase’s path and quietly asked why he was there.
Ahsoka didn’t know if the clone troopers knew how sensitive her hearing was, she wasn’t even sure if Anakin knew. Either way, she could hear them well across the med bay.
“I’m here to visit the commander,” Hardcase answered.
Ahsoka’s head cocked at that. He was here to visit her?
“The commander is not taking visitors now because she’s resting,” Coric responded.
“Jesse said it would be fine,” Hardcase said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
She saw Coric open his mouth to rebuke but Kix appeared beside the other medic.
“Last I checked, she was stable and bored. Just let him in,” Kix’s voice lowered so even Ahsoka had to strain to hear. “He might not sleep if you don’t. Like back on Kamino.”
Ahsoka’s brows scrunched in confusion at that. What did back on Kamino mean and why wouldn’t a trooper be able to sleep?
The sound of footsteps approaching made her look up.
Apparently whatever Kix had said had worked on Coric, the heavy class trooper approaching her bed with a look of poorly concealed concern. He was also unknowingly projecting it into the Force. She pushed herself up to her elbows.
“Hi, Hardcase.” She said, hoping her bright tone would calm him.
It did the trick because he cracked a grin.
“Hello, sir. You’re looking a lot better now.”
“Thanks to you of course.” Ahsoka dipped her head towards him. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”
“Eh, it’s my job.” Hardcase waved his hand dismissively as he pulled up the chair next to her bed. “Mind if I sit sir?”
“Not at all.” She said.
The heavy class sank down into the chair with a content sigh. He still smelled like the dirt of the planet and blaster smoke. His once pristine armor was now smeared with dirt as well as rust-colored blood on his vambrace. Her blood.
Ahsoka realized that he had yet to even clean up after the battle, or rest, evident by the way he was trying to discreetly stretch out his muscles.
“Well, sir you officially earned your first battle scar.” The heavy class piped up. “That’s a right of passage around here.”
She scrunched her nose.
“Really?”
“Yep, for us it means you aren’t shiny anymore. Your face is marked, so you get to mark your armor.” Hardcase glanced over at her. “Maybe we can find something for you to paint.”
Ahsoka laughed at that, stopping when she felt a twinge of pain in her back. Hardcase seemed to notice this as well.
“You alright kid?”
She didn’t normally like people to refer to her as a kid, especially now that she was trying to earn respect from her troopers. Usually, when someone called her that, it was meant to demean her.
However, based on the genuine concern in his voice, the fact that he’d helped haul her off a battlefield, and that her blood was still smeared on his armor, she didn’t feel lessened. The way Hardcase said it made it sound like an endearment more than an insult.
“Yep, all good.” She cocked her head at him. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit.” She slipped into a faint Coruscanti accent when she spoke, mimicking Master Kenobi.
“Figured you’d be bored if you’re still stuck in here at this point,” Hardcase answered.
“How’d you know?” Ahsoka asked sarcastically.
“Experience sir, lots of experience.” The heavy class responded sagely, causing her to laugh again.
“Well, it looks as though my master abandoned me and I’ve already finished my reports for the evening. I’ve got nothing to do besides sit here and rest.”
The heavy class trooper chuckled as he fumbled around for something at his belt.
“Well, that sir, is why I always carry cards around.” Hardcase produced a deck from a pouch on his belt. “Fancy a game of sabacc commander?”
“Yes please!” She replied enthusiastically.
Ahsoka pushed herself up to sit cross-legged on the side of her bed as Hardcase shuffled and dealt.
“I take it you know how to play?” Hardcase asked.
“Yep, the 104th taught me how,” Ahsoka answered as she picked up her cards. “Are we betting anything?”
The heavy class paused as he thought over the idea. Finally, he shrugged.
“Why not sir, it’s no fun if there isn’t something to lose.” She saw his face scrunch as he thought. “How about this: you win, I help get you out of here early. I win I get to have a look at your lightsaber.”
“What does ‘help me get out of here early’ mean?” Ahsoka asked with a raised eyebrow marking. “I’m supposed to stay here overnight.”
Hardcase waved his hand dismissively. “No one listens to that. Besides who wants to be stuck in here overnight?”
Ahsoka pursed her lips as she thought over the wager.
“You know I’d have let you look at my lightsaber anyway.”
“Where’s the fun in that sir?”
-
Kix was quietly doing his work on one of the desks they have for paperwork when he noticed a shift in the room. He’d been in contact with Rancor battalion about togruta safe supplies, something they’d had to adapt to with General Shaak Ti leading them. They’d gotten back to him promptly with a list of supplies as well as other information. Turns out Commander Tano also needed meat rations and supplements and couldn’t eat too many of the standard ration bars without getting sick. They’d been lucky that they’d been well-supplied enough before the latest battle so they weren’t stuck eating those.
Kix had been halfway through his request form when he heard the volume in the room raise slightly.
He ignored it, assuming it was just a conversation. Then there was a noise that sounded like a cheer.
The medic turned to find the usually orderly med bay had been tossed into disarray. Beds had been shoved around to make a semi-circle on the opposite side of the room, near where the commander had been situated. Most of the injured troopers the medics were treating were now seated along the beds.
As he approached the group he spotted who he thought the culprit was for disrupting the peaceful med bay.
Hardcase was seated beside the commander and was currently dealing out sabacc. There was a pile of random objects in the middle, ration bars, jagged bits of metal, and an empty hypo canister.
He quickly realized that was the pile they were betting on. He watched one by one the troopers fold, even as their commander continued to draw. Soon it was just down to her and Hardcase.
Kix knew that Hardcase had an uncanny ability to win at sabacc. Even he had to admit that the heavy class trooper’s sabacc face was one of the best he’d seen. However, the commander looked just as at ease as his vod.
Tano suddenly pushed the rest of her small pile of junk into the middle.
“I’m all in.” She told Hardcase.
His brother’s eyes narrowed as he looked between his cards and her. Kix knew he was also examining the cards she’d chosen to discard.
“Oh, what the kriff.” Hardcase shoved his pile towards the middle as well.
The commander gave the trooper a truly terrifying grin before she drew again.
All the injured troopers leaned in closer and closer as the two continued to draw, murmuring amongst themselves excitedly. Tano kept discarding cards most would consider good, making it clear she was waiting for something specific.
Finally, Hardcase through his cards down.
“That’s it, I haven’t seen a good card since two games ago.”
He was right, his cards weren’t great, but his bluff had worked to knock all his other brothers out of the game. Kix would have thrown in his cards a while ago.
Their commander raised her eyebrow markings before laying her cards down with a devilish smile.
“Haar’chak!” Hardcase shouted.
“Language!” Kix tried to snap over the incurring ruckus but had little success.
Her cards were worse than his. Way worse.
She continued to grin as she pulled the whole pile of junk towards herself.
Only then did Kix realize what she’d done. She’d thrown any half-decent card she’d gotten out, bluffing her way into making the others think she had better cards than she really did. Who the kriff taught this kid to play sabacc like that?
“Good game.” The commander held out her hand to Hardcase.
He let out a long-suffering sigh but shook her hand.
“Good game commander.”
“Alright,” At the sound of the medic’s voice, the room froze.
They all turned to see him glaring at them, having been too engrossed in the game to notice him beforehand.
“If you all are quite done dismembering my med bay, gambling with your commanding officer, and going against strict medical orders to stay where you are and rest… I suggest you all move your shebs back to where you’re supposed to be.” The troopers began to scramble around, pushing beds back and helping the more injured vode to their beds. “Also, anybody that is not injured needs to vacate the premises before I make you have an injury.”
Kix put as much venom as he could into his glare at the heavy class trooper.
Hardcase shrunk under his gaze with a nod.
The medic helped settle people back down, administering painkillers as needed and nudging beds back into place. He saw Hardcase help the commander move her winnings onto the side table and give her an affectionate pat on the shoulder before standing and making his way toward the door.
The togruta smiled after him as she settled back down onto her stomach, clearly much more at ease than previously.
Somehow Kix just knew that those two were the orchastraters of this disruption. From now on he’d be keeping a close eye on those two.
-
Jesse was panicking.
Well, he was trying desperately not to panic actually but he didn’t know how well that was going. He had every reason to though, considering that his captain had just been shot.
He and Hardcase had taken out the commando droids that had gotten a potshot on him as they’d been patrolling across Saleucami for General Grievous’ downed escape pod, while Kix had circled back to treat him. Now they were just trying to find the kriffing homestead to whoever’s farmland this was.
Just find shelter, treat your captain, move on. Jesse kept repeating that to himself over and over again.
Finally, Hardcase pointed to a structure up ahead.
He didn’t blame the twi’lek for being suspicious of them, he was just grateful she’d been gracious enough to let them use the barn. Most people in the outer rim wouldn’t even offer them that. Most people out here didn’t even know that he and his brothers bled, instead believing that they were nothing more than flesh-covered droids.
“Is he gonna be okay?” Hardcase’s voice broke through Jesse’s thoughts.
“Yes, he’s gonna need rest though. He shouldn’t be up and moving around for at least the next twelve hours.” Kix answered. “Two inches to the left and he’d be dead.”
“What about the mission?” Hardcase asked.
Jesse chewed on his lip as he watched Kix work.
“We’ll wait for Rex to wake up before making any decisions,” Jesse said.
Jesse paced back and forth while they waited, Hardcase’s leg was bouncing up and down a mile and a minute, and Kix kept a steady hand on their captain’s pulse.
Finally, his eyes began to flutter open.
“Easy vod,” Kix said quietly. “Clankers got a potshot on you but it didn’t go all the way through.”
Jesse was back at Rex’s side in an instant, offering an arm to help him up. The older clone took it with a wince.
“Why can’t I feel my left arm?” The blond demanded.
“The shot likely caused some nerve damage, feeling should return soon. I’ve stitched it up and applied a bacta patch with some painkillers for now, once we get back on the ship we’ll treat it properly.” The medic explained and the captain nodded.
“Sit-rep.” He ordered.
“You were hit by a pair of commando droids that we disposed of. We’re about one klick off course from our original path and the others are still searching. We were able to find a farmstead to treat you in sir.” Jesse reported.
“It’s a good thing droids are osik’serim.” Hardcase told the captain. “Two inches to the left and it would have gone through your heart.”
“Praise the Maker.” Rex huffed sarcastically. “Let’s get back to it, we’ve got to meet up with General Kenobi-”
“No, you’re not going anywhere.” Kix grabbed his uninjured shoulder to stop him from moving. “You need rest.”
Rex narrowed his eyes at Kix.
“We don’t have time for that. We need to finish our route and pin Grievous down.” Rex shrugged off Kix’s hand. “Let’s get moving, that’s an order.”
Kix’s eyes also narrowed.
Jesse and Hardcase glanced at each other nervously.
“Alor’ad or not, as team medic the health of the squad is my responsibility. When it comes to injuries and health, I outrank everyone.”
Jesse watched as Rex held the medic’s gaze for another moment before dropping it in defeat.
“Alright vod, ni’pel.”
Kix nodded in satisfaction and Jesse stood up to grab the tray of fruit that Suu had dropped off earlier.
“Jesse,” The scout turned back towards Rex. “You’re in charge of carrying out this mission from now on.”
Jesse dipped his head in understanding, feeling pride warm his chest. His captain trusted him to carry out this mission in his stead, especially one as important as this, he couldn’t help but puff out his chest a little. When he passed, Hardcase knocked his shoulder with a knowing smile.
“Here, our host left us these,” Jesse said as he dropped the plate of fruit next to the captain. “You should eat, the sooner you’re better the sooner your back with us… ori’vod.” The last part came out much quieter than the rest of the sentence, more hesitant.
Sure they were all vode to each other, all brothers. But to use a more direct term, it made it more personal.
Rex’s wide eyes cut up to Jesse’s. The scout could have sworn he saw the captain’s lips twitch up into a small smile before he looked away again with a small nod.
“You all had better get out of here. The last thing we need is Cody and General Kenobi to beat the group to the crash site.” He said.
They snapped to attention and quickly cleared out.
Jesse didn’t think that he or Kix and Hardcase took a full breath until they spotted their captain approaching the 212th’s ship on a pack animal. The three of them rushed out to meet him, followed at a much slower and respectable pace by Marshall Commander Cody.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes sir!” Hardcase laughed as their captain slid down from the animal’s back.
“Glad to know I was missed.” He huffed as he straightened up. “Sit-rep?”
“Grievous got away.” Cody’s voice behind them made them all straighten up. “Your boys almost got him when they met up with us, bastard is a slippery one though.”
Rex cursed before letting out a resigned sigh.
“Sir I highly suggest coming with me to the med bay so we can check your wound.” Kix piped up, eyeing the scorched hole in the captain’s chest plate.
Rex looked like he was about to argue but a silent glare from the commander behind them made Rex’s mouth snap shut.
“Lead the way vod,” Rex mumbled.
Jesse and Hardcase did their best to busy themselves with the 212th as they waited to get off the planet. Only a small part of the 501st had been sent to assist the 212th, the rest was with Skywalker on a different planet in the system clearing out the droids. Their commander was still recovering from her injury so she was stuck in charge of the fleet for now.
Once they were done packing all the transport ships, Jesse and his brother made their way back towards the travel med bay. There were only a few other troopers stuck in there at the moment. Commander Cody was seated next to Captain Rex’s bed with a datapad in his hands. The two were discussing something when Jesse and Hardcase asked Kix and Helix if they could help disassemble anything.
The medics were happy to put them to work.
After about an hour Jesse’s head snapped up at the sound of his name.
Both Rex and Cody were staring at him expectantly from the captain’s bed. Hardcase let out a low whistle and gave him a ‘good luck’ face.
Jesse came to stand at attention in front of the bed.
“At ease,” Cody told him.
“Cody was just telling me how you handled the mission after I was injured,” Rex informed him. “To be honest, I’ve been watching you ever since you joined Torrent.” Jesse tried to keep the surprise off his face, hoping that he wasn’t about to get sent to maintenance or worse. “You’ve impressed me more than once with your willingness to step up to a leadership position and your ability to keep a level head in a stressful situation.”
Jesse felt himself straighten up unconsciously from the praise.
“Because of this, I’ve made the decision to promote you to corporal.”
Jesse’s mouth fell open slightly.
“Once we join back up with the 501st we’ll train you and notify the General of the change,” Rex explained offhandedly before giving Jesse a firm nod. “Good job trooper.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m honored.” Jesse said, fighting to keep the grin off his face.
“I expect good things from you.” Rex’s head tilted to the side and his face softened slightly. “I don’t doubt that you’ll deliver, vod’ika.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw the Marshall Commander’s face soften to a faint smile.
Later when he informed Hardcase, his brother let out a loud whoop and wrapped his arms around Jesse’s waist before hauling him off the ground.
“Ack- really ‘Case?” Jesse complained as he tried to shove away from the vice-like grip around his middle.
“Oh come on, it’s not every day you get promoted to Corporal!” He answered as he swung Jesse back and forth.
“Who got promoted to what now?” They both turned to see Kix staring at them wide-eyed.
Hardcase dropped Jesse back onto his feet and moved to hook his arm around Kix’s neck.
“Our little Jess’ika got promoted to corporal for his ‘exemplary performance in the field’ today!”
Jesse rolled his eyes at the endearment.
Kix looked between the two of them, mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes narrowed.
“Oh, Maker save us all.”
“Hey!”
Notes:
I totally lied on the last chapter this is the longest chapter so far.
I am a firm believer that the 104th is one of the most notoriously good battalions at sabacc, and they of course imparted their knowledge to Ahsoka when Plo would bring her with him. As we've seen in canon Hardcase appears to be one of the ONLY clones that can pull off a lie so I image he makes a pretty good sabacc player as well!
Also, Jesse is canonically a lieutenant in season 7 of the clone wars as well as an ARC trooper... we need to put some respect on his name. Anyways I don't think we have the story behind his promotions so I'm making them up. ;)
I just got back from skiing with my mom and my knee really hurts but that's what you get for blowing out said knee two years prior and forgetting your knee brace... 10/10 would not recommend.
Thank you for reading!
Mando'a trans:
osik: shit
osikla: shitty
Shab: fuck
Haar’chak: damn it
shebs: ass
osik’serim: shit aim
Alor’ad: captain
ni’pel: i yield
ori’vod: older sibling
vod’ika: younger sibling
Chapter Text
Sometimes all one needs is a guiding hand back to the light.
-
“Hurry your shebs up would you?” Hardcase growled. “We don’t have all day.”
“I’m going as fast as I can, if you would just hold still I could do it faster di’kut.” Jesse snapped back.
“Mir’sheb.” Hardcase mumbled.
Jesse jabbed his heel into his brother’s side, eliciting a yelp. He was currently sitting on Hardcase’s shoulders and attempting to rig up multiple buckets paint along the ceiling of Carnival Company’s barracks.
Jesse’s tongue was sticking out of his mouth as he carefully looped the string through the most recent bucket. Their old company was currently doing drills in one of the training rooms, leaving their bunks empty. A perfect opportunity for them to sneak in there and leave their old squad a little gift in the form of multiple tubs of mismatched colors.
“It’s just to show them that we miss them.” Hardcase had explained.
With Jesse’s new promotion he was able to acquire some of the supplies they’d need without much question.
“You’re really abusing your new title in order to kriff with our old company?” Kix had asked.
“It’s called using your resources.” Jesse reasoned.
Kix rolled his eyes.
“When you get caught and demoted, don’t come crying to me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it vod.”
So here they were now, they’d taken proper precautions to avoid anybody being able to trace it back to them by doning shiny armor. There used to be cameras in the bunks, but they’d all been removed after the Jedi had found out about them, so they were able to remove their buckets once inside.
“How many left?” Jesse asked.
“Four.” Hardcase answered. “Almost done.”
“Good.”
“I just wish we’d be able to see Rango and Dart’s faces when they get hit by the-” The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them cut Hardcase off.
Jesse yelped as his brother gave a startled shout and lept off the ground. They whipped around to see Commander Tano seated on one of the beds watching them in amusement.
Hardcase snapped into attention, once again jarring Jesse who was still perched on his shoulders. Jesse’s back straightened and he did his best to sit at attention.
“At ease,” She waved her hands down. “I hope I’m not interrupting something?”
“Not at all sir.” Hardcase answered stiffly.
Jesse was internally panicking. He was definitely about to be demoted. There was no way in the Nine Corellian Hells he was going to get away with this.
The little togruta stood up to approach them, her eyes trained curiously on the string of buckets attached to the ceiling.
“This is quite the set up.” She complimented as she came to a stop next to them.
“Thank you sir?” Hardcase said hesitantly.
“I take it when they trip that wire,” She pointed off to their right. “It triggers them all to drop?”
“Yes sir?” Jesse answered.
“Wizard.” She said with a smile.
Hardcase shifted under him at that. This was not the reaction that Jesse had thought they were going to receive, that was for sure.
Yes, he’d been spending more time around her due to book exchanges and discussions. She’d been nothing but kind and even playful with him at times. However, he didn’t actually know what the commander was going to do next. It seemed Hardcase was thinking the same thing.
“Um, sir… are we in trouble?” The heavy class asked carefully.
“What for?” She glanced up at them with furrowed brows. “This just looks like fun to me.” Her face brightened into a smile. “My creche mates and I used to pull pranks on each other and the knights all the time. One time we secretly raised a whole bunch of frogs in one of the green rooms and released them into the vents.”
Both clone troopers blinked in surprise.
“Really?” Jesse asked in disbelief.
“Oh yeah, we got into all kinds of trouble.” She answered.
It had never occurred to Jesse that Jedi, even young ones, pulled pranks or jokes just like the clone cadets did. Just another thing the Kaminoans hadn’t been truthful about… or maybe it was just a less-known fact about the group of Force yielders.
“I know you probably already have this all planned out but I would suggest being careful attaching one to the air vent cover, they aren’t secured that tightly and it might pop off.” She told them.
Both troopers glanced back at the bucket they had attached to the vent cover.
“Thank you,” Hardcase said before walking Jesse back over to the cover.
“And if you’d like, I can rig up a holopad with a timer that will start recording when they get back in here so you can see their reactions?”
Jesse glanced down at Hardcase to see his brother grinning devilishly.
“That would be much appreciated.”
Soon enough Hardcase had his commander perched on his shoulders securing the pad to the ceiling.
“How’d you know we were in here anyways?” He asked as he glanced up.
The girl shrugged.
“Blast walls are a lot thinner than you think they are.”
Jesse glanced over with raised eyebrows at that. From his experience, the durasteel walls were damn near soundproof.
Sensing Jesse and Hardcase’s confusion, she pointed to the two hornlike structures on her head.
“I’ve got way better hearing than humans do because of my montrals. Really helpful for sneaking around.” Jesse and Hardcase shared another look.
Maybe their commander was a lot more trouble than they thought.
“All done!” She told them, staring proudly up at the holopad.
“Good, it’s about time we got the kriff outta dodge.” Hardcase said as he reached up to grab her around the waist and gently set her back down on the ground. “I can’t wait to see those osik’ikas reactions.”
-
“So Rex’ika,” Cody nudged the back of his seat as he spoke. “How’s your commander doing?”
Rex huffed as he finished the ship checks he was doing.
He’d honestly been waiting for this question for about an hour now. General Kenobi had assigned Cody to do outpost and base inspections after an injury on Cato Neimodia, light work but still important, which was the only thing his ori’vod would accept. If Rex’s medics thought he was bad, they should meet his older brothers.
“She’s fine. Settled in nicely.” Rex responded.
“No issues then?”
Rex rolled his eyes.
“Sure, if you don’t count her refusal to wear armor, all the kriffing trouble she and a few of the men cause, turning the rations purple, switching the caf sweeteners for sodium supplements, or rigging all the ship alarms and alerts to tooka noises… everything’s fine.”
Behind him, he heard Cody snort.
“I swear, every time I look the other direction, she, Hardcase, and Jesse are wrecking some other part of the ship.” Rex threw his hands up in the air. “You’d think, considering two of them are COs that they would be perfectly fine but no, they are kriffing nightmares.”
Cody continued to chuckle.
“That’s command for ya. And being an ori’vod. Now you know how we all felt with you around.”
Rex made a disgruntled noise.
“I never did anything like this.”
“No, but you bit us and Alpha and you licked the best ration bars so we wouldn’t eat them.”
Rex crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.
“So the kid is really growing on you it sounds.” Rex could hear the smile in Cody’s voice.
“She’s fine,” Rex repeated. “She uh, she’s kind. Kinder than most natborns. She also pushes herself, a lot of times it’s too hard. She acts like she has something to prove.”
Rex fiddled with the ship’s controls as he spoke. There was a long pause.
“Does she need to prove herself?” Cody asked.
Rex chewed his cheek.
“She’s proven that she can be taught. She picked up on battle language fast and is getting good at strategies. Skywalker pushes her hard, but she’s gotten a lot better in combat because of it.” Rex thought back to the most recent battles and Hardcase’s report. “She’s got a tendency to put our wellbeing over her own. She takes fire for us even when she doesn’t need to and that’s why she ended up in the med bay.”
Cody placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Unfortunately I think that’s just how Jedi are vod.”
Rex shook his head.
“She’s just a kid Cody, small one at that. We’re the ones that are supposed to take fire, not her.” Rex gave a humorless chuckle. “I swear I’m going to go gray soon from all the grief she causes me. I guess the good thing is Skywalker worries about her just as much.”
Cody shook his shoulder encouragingly.
“I think this is good for both of you. You both are reckless and foolhardy and now you’ve got someone to worry about. A taste of your own medicine if you will.”
Rex turned to glare at his brother.
“Was this all some sort of elaborate setup you and General Kenobi planned?”
Cody snickered.
“No, believe me, we thought she was gonna be ours.”
The captain felt his chest clench in an unfamiliar way. He suddenly felt defensive, maybe even a tad protective over the commander.
“Sooran bic, we got her fair and square.”
Cody outright laughed at that.
“See, now you definitely sound like an ori’vod.”
Rex rolled his eyes in an attempt to shrug off that statement. Clones weren’t aliit to Jedi, that wasn’t how it worked. He’d likely be decommissioned for the blasphemous thought of it. They were there to follow the Jedis’ orders, take blaster bolts for them, and that was about it. It was a professional relationship, not much more.
But then Rex thought back to a night when he was walking through the ship and he’d heard the distinct sound of crying. He’d followed the noise until he came upon a shiny curled up on the floor. That was to be expected, especially after a battle, what he hadn’t expected was to find the little commander seated on the floor next to the shiny murmuring soothingly to him.
He remembered the numerous times he’d seen her laughing at a joke Denal or Jesse had told and her careful considerations when practicing strategies with him.
The memory of waking up in the med bay after leaving Saleucami and finding her curled up and fast asleep in the chair by his bed also rose to Rex’s mind.
Maybe…
The proximity alert flashed in front of him, shaking him out of his thoughts.
“We’re approaching the Rishi Moon now.”
-
The three hours it took for the Negotiator to come and pick them up felt like some of the longest in Rex’s life.
Maybe it was because it was really kriffing cold outside on the moon, it could be the feeling of dread from how close the droids came to slipping past them and reaching Kamino, but it was most likely due to the two grieving and traumatized shinies huddled on the ground off to his left.
It was probably the last one.
Rex knew that Hevy’s sacrifice would be remembered by both him and Cody. From what Rex had gathered, the kid’d had potential, now he was dead. He’d done it to save his batchmates, and all the other clones back on Kamino.
Rex glanced over at the two.
Echo had his head resting on his brother’s left shoulder. Fives had his head resting on top of his brother’s bucket with his arms wrapped around Echo’s shoulders, his knees were tucked up between them.
They’d both fought well today, both had the baring of good soldiers.
Rex glanced over to see Cody was watching them as well.
They both knew what it was like to lose aliit, but they still had their batches mostly in one piece. To lose most of your batch in one fell swoop… Rex could only imagine that.
Based on Cody’s body language, he was thinking the same thing.
His ori’vod’s gaze was drawn back to him.
“What are we gonna do with them?” Rex asked quietly as he came to stand next to the commander.
Cody tilted his head to the side in a way Rex knew he was raising his eyebrow.
“Really?”
“What?” Rex asked in confusion.
Cody clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“Blue’s not really the 212th’s color vod.” Rex looked over at the bloody handprint he’d left behind on Echo’s armor with a wince. “Congrats Rex ole boy you just got yourself two more troublemakers.”
“Kriffing haran,” Rex mumbled as he rubbed a hand over the front of his helmet.
“You need to stop stealing my potential recruits. First Tano, now these two, next thing I know you’ll be stealing my general.”
Rex rolled his eyes.
“Of they turn out to be pains in my shebs, I’m sending them to you. I’ve already got enough people driving my stress up.”
“Just wait till you get promoted to commander, then you can talk to me about stress,” Cody informed him with a firm cuff to the back of the head.
“Never in a million years am I going to accept a promotion to commander,” Rex growled. “I’ve seen what it’s done to you all, you all look terrible. Especially Fox.”
Cody laughed.
“Don’t let him hear you say that. Besides, you’ve got a buffer with Tano in place.”
“Thank the Maker,” Rex said.
Cody grabbed his chrono off his belt.
“Pick up should be any minute now.”
Good, Rex thought.
He couldn’t wait to get off this kriffing rock.
-
Ahsoka watched as the LAAT-I descended into the hangar with a thud. The side doors opened and out stepped Rex followed by two troopers in shiny armor. Well, one actually had a dark blue handprint smeared on his chest plate, but for the most part, they appeared shiny.
She quickly made her way over to greet Rex.
“Hey Rexter, glad to see you made it out in one piece.” She greeted cheerfully. “These must be the shinies you talked about!”
Rex slipped his helmet off and he gave her a nod, she saw his lips twitch up slightly in a small smile.
“Glad to be back in one piece sir.” He gestured to the two troopers behind him who were staring at her. Their expressions were hidden by their helmets but their Force signatures rang with trepidation and curiosity. “Commander Tano, this is Echo and Fives.”
She saw the exact moment it registered to the two troopers her title. They snapped up into stiff-backed postures with perfectly rigid salutes.
“At ease.” She quickly told them. “Really you don’t have to be stiff like that around me. It’s nice to meet you both.”
The one with the blank armor, Fives she was pretty sure, loosened his stance more than his brother, his Force signature also curled with curiosity as he regarded her.
“I understand that you were stationed at an outpost before this right?” She asked.
“Yes sir. We were stationed at the Rishi outpost with the rest of our squad.” Fives answered.
Grief cut through both of them. Ahsoka didn’t have to be a genius to figure out why there were only two of them here now.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” She told them solemnly.
Their heads snapped up at her words and Ahsoka saw Rex stiffen momentarily before loosening his stance with a small shake of his head. She’d heard more than a few troopers lovingly mumble jetti-osik at moments like this.
“T-thank you, sir. They died protecting the Republic.” The one with the hand print, Echo, told her.
Rex’s com lit up with a familiar frequency.
“Yeah you better go help him Captain, Skyguy is lost without you.” She told him with a smirk.
The blond huffed but Ahsoka could tell it was more of a laugh.
“I’ll com Denal to come settle you boys in.” He told the two shinies.
“I can settle them in.” Ahsoka volunteered.
They all turned to look at her with wide eyes.
“Are you sure sir?” Rex asked.
“Oh yeah,” She flapped her hand dismissively. “I’ve already finished my reports and stuff for the day. Besides, it wasn’t that long ago that I was shiny.”
Something warm flashed through Rex’s Force signature. It took her a moment to realize that it was directed at her, but before she could fully get a read on it, his signature had already shifted back to normal.
“Alright.” As he passed, he ducked his head down to speak to her. “Try not to get them into too much trouble.”
She looked up at him with mock offense.
“Me, trouble? I’m very well-behaved.” She replied playfully.
He shook his head good-naturedly as he straightened and made his way out of the hangar. That warm feeling lingered even after he’d gone.
Ahsoka turned back to the shinies with a smile. She didn’t show her teeth though, she’d learned early in life that flashing her fangs was a sure way to cause most humans, and now most clone troopers, unease.
“Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the ship, tell you which places are good to hide from Rex or Anakin, which days to get to the mess early if you want good mash, you know the important stuff.”
She led them out of the hangar and led them down the hall towards the main med bay.
“This is where you’ll end up if you get hurt.” She told them. “The medics are very strict about what happens inside so definitely don’t try to escape or start sabacc tournaments if you don’t want to get strapped to your bed.” She gave them a wink. “You guys are in Torrent company so the two medics you’ll be seeing a lot of are Coric and Kix, Kix is right there.” She waved through the transparisteel.
The medic gave her a slightly confused wave back.
Next, she led them to the mess hall.
“Here is where you get food, or what we call food. I’m still not sure what they give us is actually food but oh well.” She glanced back at the two. “A word of warning, if you are going to get into a food fight in here, make sure that Rex or Captain Appo don’t find out you started it, they will make you clean it up.”
A spark of interest surged through the two troopers’ signatures. One of the first things she’d noticed was how similar their signatures were in the Force, almost twins. However, Fives’ was much more erratic while Echo’s was more composed. That didn’t stop him from being interested though.
“Food fight sir?” Fives asked.
“Yep, happens more often than you’d think, especially right before campaigns when everyone is tense. I think in the time I’ve been here I’ve seen three different fights.”
“Isn’t that against regulation thought sir?” Echo asked.
Ahsoka shrugged.
“I wouldn’t be surprised but you’ll see that some regulations go lax when you’re actually on the ship. If we enforced every single regulation the manuals told us about, we’d never get anything done.”
Triumph and excitement zapped off of Fives. Fear and anxiety dripped off of Echo.
“Hello, commander.” Ridge greeted as he came to a stop at the door to the mess.
“Hi, I’m showing some shinies around the ship, they just got in.” She gestured to the two behind her. “This is Fives and Echo, they’re the new Torrent recruits,” Ahsoka informed him. “I was just telling them about the time you poured soup down Denal’s back in a food fight.”
Ridge scrunched his nose up.
“Did you tell them it was because Denal hit me in the face with his protein mash.”
She laughed as she shook her head. The older trooper turned back to the twins.
“I’m Ridge, by the way, I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you two in the barracks.”
He snapped a quick salute to Ahsoka and continued out.
“Ridge is nice, he’s been here longer than I have so any questions can go to him or Denal. We’ll probably see that djeba-dai somewhere around here.” The two troopers cocked their heads at the unfamiliar term. “Let’s go to the bridge.
Along the way, she chattered about the ship, maintenance, tasks they’d have to do as punishment, and anything that came to mind. She intertwined the tour with stories from her first days on the ship, hoping to ease their anxiety about ending up on an actual warship with a full battalion. She also did her best to project calm into the Force, while all troopers were Force-null, Master Plo had told her that it still had some effect in calming them.
With each new hallway, the twin signatures behind her grew steadier, relaxed in a way.
They began to ask a few questions, Echo asked questions about procedures and Fives asked questions about training and downtime. One thing she did notice is that Echo had a habit of repeating certain bits of information she’d give them.
She introduced them to any trooper that passed, knowing they’d probably have an easier time remembering names, armor, and faces better than she did. In her defense, a lot of humans looked similar to her already, throwing in a couple million that were made identical didn’t exactly help.
Finally, when her voice was just beginning to grow hoarse, they made it to Torrent’s barracks.
She knocked on the door, a rhythmic pattern she’d come up with for fun. A few moments later the doors slid open to reveal Hardcase.
“Aw if it isn’t my favorite Jedi commander!” The heavy class greeted with a cheeky salute.
“I’m your only Jedi commander.” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest with a sly smile. “I’d better be your favorite.”
“Details details.” He glanced over her head at the two shinies. “Are these the sorry souls Rex was telling us about?”
“Yes,” Ahsoka laughed. “I was just finishing up their ship tour.”
“Oh great so you bored them to death sir?”
Ahsoka let out an indignant squawk.
“I give great ship tours! They were highly entertained.”
The heavy class gave her a look.
“Oh whatever, they need bunks, and some extra blacks.” Ahsoka turned to look back at the twins. “Echo and Fives, this is Hardcase, he’s a heavy class and he will likely steal your shoes.”
“Come on kids let’s get you settled in.” Hardcase waved them in.
Ahsoka followed in after the new recruits, waving to any troopers currently in the barracks.
“Lucky for you two, there’s a rack right next to Jesse and me that you can take. We also happen to be right next to Rex so don’t do anything too bad and you won’t get in trouble.”
“Anything too bad?” Echo asked.
The heavy class through them a devilish grin over his shoulder.
Ahsoka noticed that both troopers reacted positively to learning that they’d be bunked by Rex, probably because he was the only other person on this ship they actually knew. Rex did have a way of calming shinies, whether he admitted it or not.
“Hey Jesse,” Hardcase kicked the base of his bed. “Get off your shebs and greet the ade.”
A grumble sounded from the top bunk.
“You know some of us have to actually do reports and stuff now.” Ahsoka saw Jesse’s head poke over the side of his bunk. “Hello, commander.”
She waved back as Hardcase rolled his eyes. He slung an arm over both Fives and Echo’s necks.
“If you look up there, you’ll see what happens when you are a try-hard. You get promoted and you have to do reports.” The two shinies tried to keep balance as Hardcase swung around with them still trapped. “He’s ori’buyce, kih’kovid now that he’s a corporal.”
Echo attempted to straighten up so he could salute but was unable to escape Hardcase’s hold. The image of corporal was also ruined by Jesse throwing his boot at Hardcase’s head.
“Alright alright, “ Ahsoka said. “Let’s get them settled in.”
“Sir yes sir.” Hardcase promptly released the two, leaving them to stumble away.
The heavy classes stepped up to the bunk that butted up against the foot of his and Jesse’s.
“This is gonna be your bunk.” He patted it as he spoke. “I’ll go grab you spare blacks.”
As Hardcase ambled off, Jesse hopped down off his bunk to stand next to Ahsoka.
“Before you ask, yes he’s always like that,” Ahsoka told the twins.
“Sorry about him, he can be a little much at times,” Jesse added. “What were your names?”
“Echo sir.”
“Fives sir.”
“Rex said you two were at the Rishi station. Not much going on out there huh?”
“No sir.” Fives responded.
“Not until recently, that is sir,” Echo added quietly.
The twin signatures dulled as grief once again swept through them.
Jesse shifted beside her as he noted their change in body language.
“I can promise you that it’s not boring in the 501st.” Ahsoka piped up. “We’ve always got something happening.”
“Besides, you’ve also got a lot more brothers around now. Usually, a few of them are itching to cause trouble.” Jesse added.
Ahsoka snorted at that, causing the shinies to look back down at her.
“It just so happens that you are bunked next to two of the largest troublemakers in the 501st.”
The two glanced curiously at Jesse. The scout himself looked offended.
“Let’s not go around pointing fingers, sir. If I remember correctly you were the one that slipped green dye into the protein mash.” He said.
“If I remember correctly you and Hardcase strung up paint buckets in your old barracks with a trip wire.” She countered, crossing her arms over her chest.
“If I remember correctly, you and Hardcase are the reason med bay visitors are strictly monitored now after you organized a sabacc tournament.” He copied her stance and crossed arms.
“If I remember correctly you stole Denal’s blaster and bedazzled it red.”
The two shinies watched the exchange with wrapped interest, looking between the Commander and the Corporal comically as they went back and forth. The two of them were suddenly blinded by black fabric as Hardcase returned.
“Here you go. Now you can get out of the gross ones. Did the commander show you the showers?”
“Uh, no sir.” Fives responded.
“Oh please I’m not a sir.” Hardcase glanced over to see Jesse still in a rather intense debate with the commander.
Ahsoka had her feet splayed and her arms crossed, she also had a determined and fierce look on her face. It might have been intimidating if Jesse didn’t tower about a foot over her montrals and have about a hundred pounds on her. They were standing close enough that he had to tilt his head down to meet her gaze.
Ahsoka was about to rebuke Jesse’s latest statement when she felt someone grab her under her arms and lift her off the ground. She made a surprised noise and twisted her head around to see that it was Hardcase who had picked her up.
“Here you go, sir.” He said cheerfully.
She turned back to see that he was holding her at eye level with Jesse. She crossed her arms back over her chest.
“Thank you, now as I was saying, I wasn’t the one that-”
-
Echo scrubbed Rishi Moon off of himself in the sonic shower. They hadn’t been on the Negotiator long enough to clean up after being rescued so it felt good to finally get clean after three and a half days of wearing the same blacks.
He stayed in the stall longer than he needed to but he found that he didn’t care. Stepping outside of the stall meant facing the reality that he and Fives were the last surviving members of their batch. Droidbait, Cutup, and Hevy, each gone within the span of two rotations. Their brothers whom they’d been with since they were decanted, trained alongside, ate alongside, almost died in training alongside, they were gone.
Echo scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to keep his tears at bay but with little success.
Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum. The mando’a was picked up from the Mandalorian trainers and spread by the older clones. Echo had never had a need for the remembrance, but now he did.
“Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum Hevy, Droidbait, and Cutup.” He quietly mumbled under the vibrations of the sonic.
Finally, he stepped out and began to pull on the clean blacks Hardcase had retrieved for them. A few moments later Fives stepped out too.
Echo sat down on the floor to wait for him to finish dressing. The exhaustion was catching up with him after three days of nonstop motion. All he really wanted to do right now was curl up in his bunk and cry himself to sleep. However, good soldiers didn’t cry themselves to sleep, they sucked it up and moved on because if they didn’t then that meant they were defective or not fit for duty. Whoever made that rule hadn’t watched their brothers die one by one. Or maybe the trainers were right and Domino had been a bad batch of clones.
Fives nudged his foot.
“I call the top bunk.” He told Echo, forcing a small smile onto his face.
Echo huffed with a small nod, grateful for the attempt to lighten the mood.
The two of them exited the showers and made their way back through the bunks. The troopers still awake nodded to them as they passed. Another reason Echo couldn’t cry in his bunk, he had to make a good impression on his new battalion. He still couldn’t fully believe that he and Fives had been recruited to the 501st battalion. He’d honestly thought that he and his squad would be destined to cycle through outer rim posts, only ever seeing combat a few times. He’d come to terms with that in the month and a half they’d spent on Rishi, that it would be nearly impossible to attain any rank of worthwhile sitting on his butt in an outpost.
However, the possibility of real combat, of a real honorable death, was so much more real now.
“One day maybe we’ll be ARC troopers.” Hevy’s voice rang in his head.
“As if they’d take us into the ARC program.” Cutup snarked back.
“Hey, I think we could do it.” Droidbait cut in. “If we could just pull our shebs together.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.” Echo had mumbled.
“Listen here mir’sheb…”
Echo shook his head as they reached their bunks.
Jesse and Hardcase were seated on the bottom bunk next to Echo’s head talking to another trooper on the bunk opposite from them. The new trooper had distinct lightning bolts shaved into his short hair with a tattoo stretching from his temple to past his ear.
The only good droid is a dead droid. It read.
Echo recognized him from earlier when the commander had taken them by the med bay.
“Oh Kix, this is Fives and Echo, they just got back with Rex,” Jesse said as he gestured to them. “Echo, Fives, this is Kix, he’s going to be your worst nightmare.”
Echo saw Kix’s eyes narrow at the corporal dangerously.
“Next time you get shot in the shebs, I’m not giving you pain meds.” He threatened before turning back to them. “I’m one of Torrents’ medics.”
“Sir,” Echo said as he dipped his head.
The door to the barracks opened and Captain Rex strode inside.
Echo lurched upright to attention and Fives followed much slower. Echo heard mumbling from Hardcase and Jesse but he kept his back straight. As soon as the captain reached them he waved them to sit.
“I take it you survived the ship tour?” He said as he set his datapad down on the bunk right across from Echo.
“Yes sir.” He responded.
“Good, last time the commander led one, someone almost ended up in the airlock.”
“Yeah, Lock is still afraid to go near them.” Hardcase snickered.
“No, the commander gave us a good tour,” Echo responded.
“Kinda wished we’d gotten the airlock tour.” Fives mumbled behind him.
Hardcase laughed at that.
“Maybe we’ll give you one later shiny.”
The captain and the medic rolled their eyes.
“No venting the shinies. I busted my shebs keeping them alive,” Rex said as he began to strip his armor off. “Besides, the commander likes them.”
Echo felt his cheeks color slightly at that. Fives shuffled behind him.
Jesse sighed.
“It’s a crime to make the commander sad.” He informed them. “She’s got lethal tooka eyes. I remember when the General took the last meat ration bar…” His eyes gazed off dramatically. “Tragic.”
“Good to know,” Fives said.
This banter calmed something in Echo’s mind. The calm he’d felt earlier with the commander came back, maybe these troopers weren’t as intimidating as Echo thought they would be.
The captain settled down onto his bunk.
“We’ll have drills tomorrow at 0700, if you’re late it’s extra laps.” He told the group. “Echo and Fives, you be there at 0630 so we can go over procedures.”
Echo and his brother nodded.
The captain’s eyes softened slightly.
“Get some sleep, it’s been a long day.”
Fives clambered up onto the upper bunk as Echo settled down under his covers. The lights in the barracks began to dim and the quiet sounds of murmuring slowly died down.
Echo slowly curled in on himself once he was sure those around him were asleep. He was in an unfamiliar bunk with unfamiliar brothers and the realization that this was his new post slowly settled in. He wouldn’t hear Hevy’s snoring or Cutup’s sleep talking, he wouldn’t wake up to Droidbait’s accent or Domino squad’s general complaints in the morning. He wouldn’t hear their voices or see their faces until he himself joined them marching on ahead.
Echo bit his thumb in an attempt to keep his tears at bay.
There was shifting from above him and suddenly Fives’ form dropped to the floor next to him. Silently Echo shifted over and his brother crawled into his bed with him. They curled up together and Echo was so incredibly grateful that at least one member from his squad was here. Fives’ butted his head into Echo’s chest and wrapped his arms around his waist. Echo hooked his arms around his brother’s neck and shoulders. A single tear slipped down Echo’s cheek and Fives’ grip tightened.
Whatever came next, at least they had each other.
Notes:
I'm posting this a day early because I fly back to college tomorrow and I wasn't sure if I was going to have any time, sooooo here have an early chapter.
The Dominos have arrived everybody stay calm...
You can yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments fuel my dark soul ;)
Mando'a trans:
os’ikas - little shits
Sooran bic - suck it
ade - children
Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum - I’m still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal
ori’buyce, kih’kovid - all helmet, no head
mir’sheb - smartassTogruta trans:
djeba-dai - (hoofstock animal) rear (compassionate insult)
Chapter Text
Not every fun decision is actually a good choice.
-
The next month was a blur of activity for Fives. Settling into a new battalion was one thing, settling into one in such high demand and with a seemingly crazy general was another thing.
He and Echo were with the 501st for five days before they were shipped down to the surface of a planet to aid in a campaign. It was organized chaos in the war zone but the captain and Jesse kept a close eye on them. Hardcase did too when they found themselves on the front lines by the heavies.
It was easy to fall back into habits beaten into them on Kamino. Years of training were finally put to use on the battlefield. Echo, for his part, kept the repetition of orders to a minimum. Whenever he’d start to do it a lot Fives would give him a firm cuff to the back of the head. It worked most of the time.
Fives liked it best when they were positioned behind their general or their commander. During drills with Torrent he’d seen the little commander move, but out here in battle it was another thing entirely. The two Jedi were so deep into the droid ranks that sometimes all he could see was the flash of blue or green.
Whenever they could, the Jedi also made a point to circle through the troops when there was a lull in the fighting. Commander Tano in particular came through to check in on Fives and his brother, exchanged a quick word with Rex, a joke with Jesse, and a compliment to others. Despite being covered in dirt, her voice hoarse from yelling and inhaling blaster smoke, she managed to maintain a smile and an optimistic attitude. Fives felt more at ease after she’d passed through.
“We think it’s just a Jedi thing.” Hardcase explained nonchalantly when Fives asked. “Some kind of Force-osik. Don’t know if she does it intentionally or not though.”
“I’d vote unintentionally,” Denal said.
“General Skywalker did say that she was an empath, when she first got here.” Rex said. “From what I’ve picked up that means she senses other peoples emotions more, I think it might be a little bit of both. A little intentional, a little not.”
“Or maybe we just feel better when our little commander comes to say hello.” Jesse suggested.
Fives thought it might be the last one. Whenever she saw him she made a point to say hello and offered advice for navigating the battle field.
“Shinies look out for each other.” She’d told him with a wink.
He wasn’t sure if she counted as a shiny but he liked the sentiment.
As the battalion hacked away at the droid lines, Fives couldn’t help but think how happy Domino squad would have been to be here now. Blasting clankers’ heads off, running through hails of blaster fire, just fighting alongside their brothers. It was what they were bred for, what they were trained to do their whole lives. Fives felt a certain satisfaction deep in his gut.
However, after two weeks planetside with almost nonstop fighting he was getting exhausted. He’d long since learned how to sleep with the sound of canons in the back ground, as well as how to spring into action even if he’d just been neck deep in his dreams.
A weariness began to set in, but they kept pushing forward. The Jedi fought tirelessly out front and finally after another three days they cleared out the rest of the droids.
The mine they’d been protecting fell into Republic hands and finally Fives felt like there was time to take a breather.
“Not bad for your first campaign kid.” Hardcase cuffed him on the shoulder. “We’ll find you and Echo some paint once we’re back on the ship.”
Despite the seemingly chronic exhaustion and shaking in his legs, Fives straightened from the praise.
When they finally made their way back to the Resolute, Fives and Echo crashed into their bunks and slept for twelve hours. The only reason Fives had woken up was because Jesse had tripped and fell on the floor on his way on the fresher while half asleep.
The next day he and Echo got to work painting their armor.
“You know you’re kind of cheating with the hand print already being there.” Fives told his brother as he knocked shoulders with him.
“Ha ha, just say that your jealous.” Echo countered.
“I’m not jealous.” Fives defended.
Echo cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Here, I’ll give you a mark.” Echo leaned over and dragged his paintbrush over Fives’ blank shoulder bell.
Fives let out an indignant squawk and tried to smear paint over his brother’s armor in retribution.
“Hey!” A voice cut through their fight. “Don’t waste paint.”
They both turned to see Captain Rex standing with his arms crossed across his chestplate, Jesse and Kix were snickering behind him.
“Sorry sir.” They both said in unison.
“Good.” The blond said as he sank down onto his buck next to them.
“What are you two thinking design wise?” Jesse asked as he sat down on Hardcase’s bunk.
“Don’t know yet, now I guess I have to do something with my shoulder.” Fives shot Echo a withering look.
“How did you all decide on your armor?” Echo asked the three older troopers.
Jesse shrugged.
“I went simple with mine, it doesn’t work to well to be totally blue when you’re scouting.”
“Same here,” Kix said from his bunk. “Simple but not too basic. I’ve got more color because I’ve got more pride in my battalion.” He shot Jesse and Rex a snarky wink.
Jesse’s boot sailed through the air which the medic barely dodged.
“You should really be asking Hardcase. He said he’d been planning his armor ever since he saw one of the older troopers with paint.”
“What about me?” Hardcase demanded as he came to stand in front of the group.
“They wanted to ask about your armor design.” Came a higher pitched voice behind the heavy class.
Fives saw the commander peak around Hardcase’s back to spot Rex.
“I’ve got my reports done.” She waved her datapad at him. “Hardcase invited me in so I thought I’d just give you them in person.”
Hardcase flopped onto his bed next to Jesse as the commander settled down next to Rex, creating a circle around the two troopers on the floor.
“Well, the reason my armor is better than everyone else is because I actually planned mine.” Hardcase told Fives and Echo. “One might call it an artistic feat.”
Kix snorted at that statement.
Fives glanced to his left when he heard a small intake of breath.
“Oh you’re painting your armor?” Commander Tano asked, her eyes wide. “I can go if you’d like I know it can be personal.”
Fives glanced at his brother. They both gave identical shrugs.
“We don’t mind sir.” Echo told her.
“You might help us come up with something.” Fives added.
She flashed him a quick smile.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty.” Rex told them. “It could also have meaning.”
“A tribute.” Jesse offered.
“Oh like to another trooper?” Ahsoka piped up.
The older clones nodded to her.
Fives chewed his cheek as he thought. A sideways glance at Echo told him his brother was thinking something along the same line.
“Do you have any gray?” Fives asked.
-
Fives had his face pressed against the transparisteel looking out of the ship. Echo was close behind him, his face wasn’t pressed against the wall like Fives was but that was only because he showed more restraint.
Below them was Coruscant. The magnitude of the city planet was immense, Fives couldn’t even begin to image the number of individuals that resided there. The surface glowed with city lights, complex rings of different states, they were approaching the one of the largest and brightest.
He turned his eyes up to see a different venator ship rising up out of the atmosphere, another ship full of troopers ready to head back out to the war.
“Don’t you two slackers have somewhere to be?” A voice from behind them made the two troopers jump.
They turned to find a sergeant behind them, Fives thought he was from Tango company.
Before either Fives or Echo could respond a small blue and orange figure appeared.
“It’s alright Rango, they’ve never seen Coruscant before.” Commander Tano said as she came to stand before them. “They’ll be right back to work.”
The sergeant looked suspiciously behind her at the two trooper before giving a short nod.
“Yes commander.”
The two trooper stayed stiff even after the sergeant left.
The commander turned back to them with a knowing smile.
“It’s crazy isn’t it, how big it is.” She came to stand in front of the transparisteel.
“Yes sir.” Fives said as he directed his attention back outside.
“I’ve lived there most of my life and I’ve barely seen any of it. They say that no one has ever been down to the actual surface of the planet because there are so many levels of the city.” She told them.
“Really sir?” Echo asked.
“Yep, there are people on Coruscant that have never seen sunlight.” Her lips tipped down in a frown. “They are born on the lower levels and they never make it up to the surface.”
“That sounds…” Fives trailed off.
“Sad?” Ahsoka supplied. “The Jedi often take missions down in the lower levels to offer whatever support we can, food, shelter, medical but the city is so big that it’s difficult.”
The troopers stared out in awe of the planet but it was tinged with apprehension. A moment later the feelings of unease were swept away. They glanced at each and down at the commander. She was already walking away and she waved over her shoulder.
“You better get back to whatever you are supposed to be doing before you get yelled at again!” She glanced back. “Once we dock and you settle into the barracks you’ll be able to go out and explore the city!”
The process of docking was a lot more complicated than Fives realized. He knew his job, had been trained for it on Kamino, but it was still so different to actually be doing it on a ship with hundreds of other people also bustling around.
Two hours later Fives was following Torrent and the rest of the 501st to the clone barracks on Coruscant. On the walls was a myriad of colors, all corresponding the the different battalions that used this same bunk room when they were on planet. Troopers around them were already talking about their plans for the evening, there was an overwhelming number of times Fives heard 79’s. Sure he and his squad had heard of the bar even in the outpost, he’d just never thought he’d have the chance to go himself.
An arm hooked around his neck.
“Hope you two are ready for tonight, everyone’s first 79’s outing is important and exciting!” Hardcase said. “We are gonna get you so plastered you won’t remember your own name.”
“Just know that I won’t be giving out any dead-raisers tomorrow.” Kix warned.
“Yeah yeah you medics never do unless someone is dying.” Jesse complained.
“We believe in you all learning from your own mistakes.” Kix told them with a osik-eating grin.
There were multiple groans from all around them at that. Fives guessed more than a few had learned the hard way.
“We need to get you boys some grays, spilling drinks on your armor is no fun to clean off.” Jesse said.
“Kriffs with your paint.” Hardcase mumbled into their ears.
Fives and Echo stumbled as they were suddenly released from Hardcase’s headlock.
“Alright, this show boat’s leaving in an hour, be there or be square.”
An hour later Fives and Echo were following Jesse, Hardcase, and Kix into a cab.
“These cabs are all payed for by the Republic, same with 79’s.” Jesse explained. “There are a few tattoo shops are that also are reimbursed but the Jedi pay for those.”
“The Jedi pay for that?” Fives asked.
“Oh yeah, as soon as they saw a bunch of vode going out of their way to change their appearance, they started doing it.” Hardcase said.
“Though,” Kix added. “They probably saw one trooper with a tattoo gun giving everyone tattoos and didn’t want a blood-borne disease outbreak from using the same needle.”
Fives stared at the flashing lights of the building as they flew by. All around them, speeders zipped between lanes and off to different destinations.
“So what do you do at 79’s?” Echo asked.
“You drink, you dance, you find someone attractive to make out with,” Jesse said with a shrug. “Whatever you like really.”
Fives perked up at that.
“There will be girls there?”
Jesse shared a knowing look with Hardcase and Kix.
“Vod’ika, there will be everything there.”
Inside there were clone troopers everywhere, dancing, drinking, playing darts, or billiards. Music pumped through the establishment and there were more than a few scantly clad men and women around.
“Welcome to 79’s.” Hardcase declared.
“You go find a table, I’ll get drinks.” Jesse declared.
“Don’t get that Corellian osik again!” Kix shouted after him.
They settled down into a booth with a view of the dance floor. The cushioned seats were sticky and Echo made a face.
“Don’t worry, after a couple of shots you stop worrying about it,” Kix told him.
“What exactly does getting drunk feel like?” Echo asked the medic.
“The front of your brain gets fuzzy and all the bad decisions start looking like good ones.” Kix said. “It can make you feel tired in some cases but once you get past the tired, that’s when you know you’re buzzed.”
Jesse returned with a bunch of small glasses filled with a glowing green liquid in them.
“Alright boys, let’s get this party started.” He passed out the glasses to each of them.
Fives examined the fluid while Echo sniffed at it. From his face Fives could tell this wasn’t going to taste good.
“Alright, cheers to another deployment made out alive, Jesse’s promotion, and the new recruits!” Hardcase raised his glass up. “And to kicking clanker shebs!”
Fives leaned over to Echo.
“O’Niner once said to breathe through your mouth so you won’t taste it when you do a shot.” He told his brother.
Echo gave a nod.
They watched as the three older troopers tilted their heads back and swallowed the glowing liquid quickly.
Fives held up his glass to Echo. His brother clinked them together before raising the glass to his lips.
The alcohol burned on its way down and even breathing through his mouth it still tasted horrible.
Fives coughed as he tried to clear the sensation from his throat while Echo stuck out his tongue and shook his head back and forth.
“Good job!” Jesse cheered.
“I think I spit mine out the first time,” Kix told them.
“Another round!” Hardcase declared.
This time Jesse came back with a shaker of sodium supplement and a few slices of what looked like a green fruit.
“Here, you lick the salt, take the shot, then take a bite of the lime, it helps with the taste.”
“Why didn’t you give to us in the first place?” Fives demanded.
“Oh come on, everyone’s gotta suffer on their first shot.” Jesse countered.
Sure enough the salt and lime did help. After the second shot Fives began to feel the corners of his eyes blur slightly. After the third, he had no reservations when the older troopers hauled him and Echo to the dance floor. They sang and danced amongst the other clones present, at one point Fives found an attractive twi’lek a hair’s breadth away from himself. Clearly, the alcohol had gotten to him more than he realized because he didn’t think twice about pressing close to the twi’lek. After a few songs, he realized it was a guy but in his alcohol-hazed mind, he didn’t mind one bit.
When he finally stumbled out of the crowd Hardcase shoved a tall glass of something bubbling into his hands. It tasted oddly of fruit and alcohol, an overall improvement from the shots. Looking back into the crowd he saw Echo with a theelin female in front of him. Fives quickly downed his drink and jumped back into the crowd.
He wasn’t sure how long it was before he found himself seated back at the booth with the others. Echo’s cheeks were blushed from dancing and drinking and Fives had no doubt that he looked exactly the same.
“Alright you two,” Hardcase gestured to them. “You two can go get the next round. Get what you think looks good.”
Fives and his brother nodded as they stood up. They skirted the dance floor to reach the bar. The bartender was a droid with multiple arms, it turned to take their orders. After some intense debate with no shortage of insults and swearing they settled on a mandolorian tihaar.
Fives grabbed three of the glasses and Echo grabbed the other two. Just as Fives turned around another group of troopers stepped right up behind him. He ran right into the first two troopers, spilling the drink down their fronts.
He grunted as he stumbled backward, shaking liquid off his hands. He glanced up to see that the two troopers that he’d just run into were soaked now. Fives groaned when he saw the front of his uniform was drenched too.
“Are you kriffing kidding me?” The first trooper growled, he had a mohawk.
“Sorry.” Fives mumbled as tried to wipe off his front.
“What was that?” The second trooper snapped at Fives.
“Moss, Kay, you two good?” One of the troopers that had been in the group behind them asked.
“Yeah just some shiny that drenched us.” The second trooper, who Fives guessed was named Moss, answered.
The glare he shot Fives mixed with the demeaning way he’d said shiny sparked anger in Fives. He wasn’t a kriffing shiny anymore.
“Hey,” Echo snapped from his right side. “He said sorry. Maybe you should watch where you’re walking next time.”
The whole group of troopers turned to stare wide-eyed at the two of them. Fives and Echo straightened up defiantly, the alcohol in their system and their squad’s history of fighting bolstered their confidence in the face of the older and more experienced troopers.
“Copaani mirshmure’cye, mir’shebs?” Moss snarled.
“I think you are.” Fives answered as he narrowed his eyes.
One of the troopers behind Kay tugged on the man’s sleeve.
“Just leave it. Their drunk and I don’t want to spend another night in the tank.”
Kay and Moss turned their gazes back towards Fives and Echo, assessing them.
“There you two went, thought you’d gotten lost for a second there.” A hand clapped onto Fives’ right shoulder.
Fives glanced back to see Hardcase and Jesse standing behind them.
“Is there a problem here?” Jesse asked calmly.
Kay glared at the corporal for a moment.
“No.” He and his group turned away. “Keep your kriffing shinies under control next time.”
Fives let out a growl and he saw Echo twitch next to him.
The grip on his shoulder tightened before it was removed. Jesse stepped between Echo and Fives to grab Kay’s shoulder.
“Hey shebs’palon,” Jesse’s arm cocked back and he slammed a fist into the other trooper’s cheek. “Nobody gets to disrespect our vod’ikas.”
“Hey-!” Moss whirled to swing at Jesse but Hardcase lunged forward with a war cry and slammed into the other trooper.
The group that had been with the troopers immediately turned to try to help defend their brothers. Echo let out a shout and drove his shoulder into one trying to catch Jesse in a headlock while Fives punched the one trying to take out Hardcase’s legs.
The alcohol numbed the feeling of getting hit but amplified his rage. He did not work his shebs off on Kamino, lose his squad to a droid invasion, and make it through a two-and-a-half-week campaign to be called a kriffing shiny still.
Someone suddenly grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him backward. He took a sloppy swing at the person but it was blocked by an armored vambrace. He turned his head to see that the armor was painted a bold red and he cursed. He’d heard stories about the Coruscant Guard but had yet to actually see one. All he did know was that he was kriffed.
“Break it up, break it up.” One of the guards ordered as he pulled Jesse off of Moss.
More guards moved in to break up the fight, despite the numerous boos coming from around them. Fives looked around to see that most of the clones in the bar and circled up around them to cheer on the fight.
Kix was standing with a drink in his hand and his arm slung around the twi’lek man Fives had been dancing with earlier. He raised his glass to Fives with an eye roll, threw back his drink, and tugged the man back onto the dance floor.
Fives had also been warned about the drunk tank prior to arriving on Coruscant for the first time. It wasn’t really a tank, just a group of closed-off cells in the Corrie Guard post specifically for drunk troopers. Fives thought he’d heard Rex mention that Commander Fox had installed it so that they wouldn’t have to send clone troopers to the actual prison with other criminals who would love to take their frustrations out on the Republic’s property.
Fives guessed that was a small blessing as he was shoved into the cell with Echo, Hardcase, and Jesse.
“501st, why am I even surprised.” The guard mumbled as he took their designation.
“We have a reputation to uphold Deck.” Jesse smiled blood-stained teeth at the trooper.
He had remnants of a bloody nose, a cut on his cheek, and his left eye was beginning to bruise.
“Jesse, this is the third time you’ve been here, you’d think you’d get sick of this place.” Deck mumbled with a tilt of his head that Fives knew meant he was rolling his eyes.
“Well, it certainly isn’t for the hospitality.” Hardcase huffed as he reclined back on the metal bunk.
His nose had been broken but he’d reset it on the ride over to the prison with a well-practiced hand, he also had a sizable gash on his cheek.
“We might as well just name this cell after you two.” Deck grumbled as he walked away.
While Fives was still very much drunk, his body was beginning to tell him that he’d sustained a lot more injury than he’d thought in the fight.
He walked over to the sink that had a small mirror over it. One eye was swelling up, he had a split lip and a bruise on his cheek. There was also a trail of purple lipstick marks leading down his cheek. He vaguely remembered dancing with a pretty pantoran girl. He glanced over to his batchmate to see that he didn’t look that much better.
Though Echo had red lipstick stains on his neck.
“Sorry sir,” Echo mumbled as he looked down at his hands.
“Don’t be, those guys were a bunch of shabuirs and we protect our own,” Jesse said. “You two held your own in that fight, good on you.”
“And you didn’t back down beforehand, I respect that,” Hardcase added before laughing. “Maybe you’re 501st material after all.”
“What you didn’t think we were beforehand?” Fives asked as he turned back to look at the heavy class.
“The 501st has a reputation to uphold that’s all.”
“Of what, bar fights?” Echo asked skeptically.
“Of being osik-disturbers.” Jesse supplied.
“You two are going to fit right in.” The heavy class gave them another large grin. “Now if I were you, I’d try to sleep before we get picked up tomorrow. Knowing Rex, we’ll be running drills drunk or shine.”
Notes:
How about some light hearted brother bonding for this week? If there is one thing I know about getting drunk... all the bad decisions do look like good ones... please always drink responsibly and always make sure you have a sober friend there to help you if needed!
I've always liked the idea of Jedi just kind of unintentionally projecting calm around other sentients to put them at ease and they also do that around their men to keep them calm in highly stressful situations.
Also, Echo was the one that started the fight with Hevy in the barracks and Echo is 100% a shit disturber so I thought he deserved to show his true colors today ;)
You can yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary ;)
Thank you so much for reading! comments and kudos feed my dark soul! <3
Mando'a trans:
Copaani mirshmure’cye, mir’shebs - are you looking for a smack in the face smartasses
shebs’palon - asshole
shabuirs - motherfuckers
Chapter 6: Comfort and Book Club
Notes:
The middle part of this chapter is inspired by @cacodaemonia and their artwork "Hey Commander, did I ever tell you about the time...?" I've been wanting to write something based on this piece for a while and I finally got around to it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Being vulnerable does not make you weaker, it can make you stronger.
-
War was loud. It was loud and bright and shaking. It almost threw Ahsoka off her feet as she ran through the battlefield, swinging her lightsaber to deflect blaster bolts or to sever a droid in two. The thunder of canons from behind her and in front of her made it hard to hear orders yelled from her master or Rex.
A bright explosion off to her right side left her montrals ringing and a stinging cut across her cheek as dirt was flung aside. With it came pain, not hers so much, the pain of the clone troopers too close to the explosion. She was grateful that she couldn’t hear their screams right now.
“Forward, we have to cut off their advance!” She shouted as loud as she could, hoping it didn’t sound as muffled to her men as it did to her montrals.
She deflected a bolt on her left, above her head, her left again, her right. One slipped past her and pain seared through the Force before blankness.
Ahsoka zeroed in on the droid that had fired. The next bolt she deflected hit it square in the face plate.
“Dig in!” She yelled.
“Yes sir!” Came the resounding answers.
Ahsoka pushed forward, giving her a broader range to act as a shield to her men. The hail of blaster fire from behind her decimated the front line of droids. However, as it always seemed to happen there was always another droid. Politicians, civilians, and younglings, all thought the fighting was fast and that they just kept moving forward to cut the droids off at the source. In reality, fighting was slow. In war, you found your ground and you held it, patiently taking out the ranks of your enemies slowly but surely. That’s what Rex had told her, her master always seemed to be trying to push forward no matter what but that was Anakin Skywalker for you.
Behind her, two more troopers were shot, this time she heard one of them scream. A mortar whistled by overhead and crashed to the ground a ways behind her, more blistering pain from her men. She gritted her teeth and held her ground, focusing on anything but the swirling of emotions that surrounded her.
It was easy now to block out the troopers’ emotions on the ship, easily pushing them to the back of her mind or releasing them into the Force. Out here someone was always grieving, in pain, terrified, filled with rage. She’d yet to master the art of blocking out intense emotions while also keeping hers in mind and trying not to get herself shot or anybody else shot.
The droids kept coming, rank after rank. She was itching to charge forward, to dive deep into their lines and clear as many out as she could. It would certainly sped things up.
Patience. Master Plo, Master Kenobi, and Anakin’s voices blended.
A jolt of pain and nothingness behind her.
She was gripping her lightsaber hard enough that her sparring trainer would have scolded her.
Patience.
Another Force signature snuffed out.
Ahsoka bared her teeth in a snarl.
“Hold the line.” She ordered before dashing forward.
The Force rang with fear and she jumped aside as a mortar crashed down, far enough away from her line of troopers to not worry for now.
“Shoot the Jedi before it gets over here.” One of the B1s said.
“Too late.” She huffed under her breath as she swung her lightsaber.
She didn’t bother with any pretty form motions, hacking back and forth worked just as effectively in such close quarters. The droids shouted to each other in their modulated tone but even if they managed to aim for her they usually just ended up hitting another droid.
Ahsoka was so preoccupied with the swarming droids around her that she didn’t immediately notice the prickle in the back of her mind until it shot down her nervous system.
She bunched the Force around herself and launched herself up and out of the droids. She landed in a roll meters from the front line of droids, she hadn’t realized how far in she’d gotten… or how far they’d advanced.
Ahsoka took off towards her men, there was red on the ground, shattered pieces of plastoid, and pain.
She whirled around to deflect the incoming fire but continued to backpedal. Half her line was down, and the other half still standing was desperately trying to keep their position.
“Commander tanks are inbound to assist,” Chipper yelled to her. “ETA is seven minutes.”
“Good.” She grunted as a blaster bolt grazed by her shin.
Stupid stupid stupid you should have stayed here.
She could hear the arrival of Coric, the frantic shouts for help that accompanied his presence.
They’re injured because you weren’t here to protect them.
She threw out her hands and sent a strong push of the Force to send the incoming mortar off its trajectory. A blaster bolt clipped her shoulder, the protective material of her shirt absorbing most of it but she felt the stinging heat of it.
The droids were pushing forward and Ahsoka had to retreat a step, then another.
“ETA on the tanks?” She demanded.
“Three minutes sir!”
Three more minutes. She made that her mantra as she kept swinging.
Two more steps back and her heels hit something hard, she fell with a yelp.
“Sir!”
Ahsoka shook her head as she quickly reoriented herself. She looked down to see what she had tripped over and barely bit back a scream. The blank eyes of a clone trooper stared up at her through the shattered mask of his helmet, a neat blaster bolt hole seared right through the left side of his forehead. His armor was stained red where another bolt had hit him in the stomach, the wrenching of his body when he fell tearing at the cauterized edges of the wound to spill blood across the ground.
She scrambled backwards but the dark red of human blood had already coated her back and hands. Blood didn’t make her sick, but she was very close to it now. A bolt tore into the ground next to her, reminding her of where she was and what her job was.
The togruta shoved herself upright and quickly reignited her lightsaber.
Now was not the time to panic, panicking would get her men killed and likely her as well. Breath. Stow it away for later, keep fighting.
The ground rumbled underfoot.
“Tanks are here commander!”
“Fall back.” She shouted back. “Let’s let them do their job.”
Ahsoka held her ground until she saw the tank out of the corner of her eye. A thunderous boom sent a mortar hurtling toward the droids, parts flying in all directions. Her troopers cheered behind her and she backed up slowly, keeping her eyes open for any stray bolt that might sail their way.
She risked a glance behind her to see that only a third of her men remained now. Her jaw clenched as she turned back away. A prickle on her cheek made her reach up to scratch it. She froze when she saw the blood still coating her fingers, its metallic scent filled her nose. Instead of exciting the predator instinct in her brain, she found herself swallowing down bile.
A nudge at the back of her mind told her that her master had definitely picked up on her shift in emotions.
The light on her wrist com flashed.
“Snips are you alright?” her master’s voice immediately came through.
Ahsoka sucked in a shuddering breath.
She very much wanted to tell him that no she was not okay. She was covered in blood, her arms were shaking from overexertion, and only a third of the men he and Rex had trusted her with were still alive.
She wanted to break down right here, to curl up into a ball and never come out. However, she wasn’t just Ahsoka Tano his padawan learner, she was Ahsoka Tano Commander of the 501st, commanders didn’t curl up and cry on the battlefield (she was not about to ask Commander Cody if that was allowed).
“My side held out till the tanks arrived.” She informed him and she hoped he didn’t hear the wobble in her voice. “We’ll be clear over here soon.”
There was a pause and she knew her master was trying to read between the lines as to what had unsettled her.
“Alright, regroup with Rex and Torrent as soon as you’re clear.” He told her.
She cursed silently. He couldn’t be there to figure out what was wrong so he was sending her to the next best option.
“Yes, master.” She ended the com call with a huff.
“Commander,” She turned to see Coric standing behind her. “Are you injured, sir?”
She did her very best to keep her face blank and serene but doubted it translated well.
“The blood isn’t mine.” She informed him. “I’m fine.”
The medic’s Force signature narrowed in on her suspiciously and she had no doubt he was trying to stare into her soul. It made her fidget. She felt like she was getting in trouble with one of the creche masters for sneaking a tooka into the sleeping rooms.
“My right shoulder got grazed by a bolt.” She finally huffed.
Coric nodded and steered her towards a clear spot on the ground for his gear. He knelt by her side as she remained standing, when he pushed her sleeve back, she hissed quietly in pain. The medic wiped the area clean before rubbing something that smelled like speeder fuel onto it.
“There, all done,” Coric told her. “See how painless it is when you actually let us keep you alive and well.”
“That wasn’t exactly painless.” She mumbled, finding it harder than usual to bite back tears right now.
“Well, a few more rounds of swinging your lightsaber around and it would have been.” He informed her as he stood back up.
His Force signature was heavy with a bone-deep tiredness. He was covered in blood, not as much as she was but still enough to tell her that this was definitely a high casualty set of battles.
She turned to the rest of her men.
What’s left of them.
“We have orders to join up with Torrent Company to assist them,” Ahsoka informed them, grateful her voice was clear of its wobble for now. “Let’s get moving.”
There was a chorus of ‘yes sirs’. A few troopers helped Coric gather the injured and haul them to their feet to follow. Ahsoka fell to the back of the group, bringing up the rear and acting as an extra line of defense.
It’s the least I can do now. She thought as she looked at the troopers limping in front of her.
Exhaustion was pulling at the edges of their signatures, weariness for a reprieve.
Ahsoka glanced down at her blood-stained arms. Maybe they wouldn’t be so ready to drop if she’d stayed where she was supposed to and done what she was supposed to. Sure it had cleared out more droids, but was the satisfaction of speeding up the process worth the lives of her men?
There was blood under her fingernails she could feel it, it was dried into the left side of her leggings, and it flaked off of her lightsaber.
No, it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t and she knew the face of that trooper’s ruined face was going to haunt her for a very long time.
She closed her eyes, sucked in a long and deep breath before slowly releasing it. Another one in and out. Let the feeling in. Breathe. Acknowledge it, feel it, know it. Breathe. Release it to the Force and let the mind be clear.
Her breath stuttered and Ahsoka found that she couldn’t release it. The feeling of grief sank deep into her gut, mingling with the emotions of the troopers before her. It pressed in around her, forced the air out of her lungs, and threatened to drown her.
Her master gave a more insistent push against their bond, pushing feelings of comfort and warmth to her. It released enough of the pressure for her to breathe.
Ahsoka gave a small nudge back and squared her shoulders in an attempt to force control back over her body.
Now was not the time to break. That would come later but not now. Now she had a job to do. She didn’t intend to fail again today.
-
Rex needed a drink. Or two. Probably three if he was being honest with himself but that wasn’t really an option right now.
After a week and a half on this rock he was ready for some serious R&R. He didn’t need to read any reports to know that they’d lost a lot of men in this series of battles. He could tell from the sunken shoulders of the troopers unloading the gunships in the hangars, in the general lack of cheer and relief that came after a successful battle.
This had been the toughest drop they’d had in a few months, probably since Christophsis. The hangar quickly cleared out as the last gunship was unloaded and the ground troopers were released from duty, their jobs being taken over by the maintenance crew. As usual, the older troopers were helping keep the new ones moving, either to the showers or just straight to their bunks. There would be no shortage of sleep lost later tonight due to whatever stalked shinies dreams after a bad battle, it best to get an early start to bed.
Rex glanced around the hangar and his eyes landed on a pair of blue and white montrals. When he’d first seen her earlier during the battle, he was sure his heart had stopped. His commander had been covered in blood and even had some smeared across the white markings on her face.
It had taken the rational part of his brain a while to realize that the blood was the wrong color to be her own, but it still hadn’t been pleasant. She’d given him her report in a clipped and even voice, but he could tell that she was deeply bothered by the battle.
Now she was standing by one of the gunships with a wet rag in her hand as she scrubbed at her arms. It was already dripping red.
He let out a sigh as he started towards her. He guessed that she’d fallen into a pool of blood, that’s why the back of her shirt and arms were the most coated.
As he grew closer he began to see that her hands were shaking as she tried to mop up the blood, her breathing was picking up, and her teeth were digging into her lip. He picked up his pace.
The rag nearly slipped out of her hands and she let out a wounded whining sound when she tried to reach over her left shoulder. Next thing he knew it looked like she was trying her hardest to rip her shirt over her head.
“Commander-” With a shout she yanked the shirt over her montrals and dropped it onto the floor.
She was left standing in a lightweight undershirt that also had blood marks on it where it had fully soaked through the heavy material of the outer vest. Rex noted the bandaged patch on her right shoulder.
“Commander, are you alright?” He asked as he came to stand in front of her, concern colored his voice.
Her wide blue eyes cut up to his. She blinked at him in surprise like she hadn’t realized he was there. That wasn’t good, Jedi were good about being aware unless something was wrong.
“Rex I…” She looked down at her shirt and the bloody rag which were now a rumpled heap on the floor.
The back was stained a much darker red than the rest of the material now, hopefully, it would be able to get washed out.
“I-” She tried again but her voice wobbled. “Um, I uh… I was going to go get cleaned up and start my um, my reports.”
Rex could see it clearly now. She was trying to keep in control of her emotions, trying to keep up the front of commander. He’d seen it on his older brothers, his lieutenants, even himself.
His commander rubbed her arms with shaking hands, either trying to comfort herself or warm herself back up, maybe both. Rex slipped his bucket off his head, he had more than a little experience offering comfort and he wouldn’t consider himself a very good captain if he wasn’t there for his commander.
“You look cold little one, let’s warm you up first.” He offered gently, knowing that any push too hard could end in a cold shoulder.
She continued to chew on her lip before she nodded. The togruta stooped to pick up her shirt but Rex scooped it up for her, keeping the bloody side from rubbing on his armor as much as he could. He carefully steered her around the bustling maintenance crew workers towards some of the supply boxes off on the side of the hangar. There were only a few troopers left here, Rex thought he saw Hardcase’s helmet but he wasn’t sure.
Rex stopped in front of the one he wanted and popped the lid off, reaching inside his fingers grasped the soft material that clones’ blacks were made out of. He pulled the long-sleeved shirt out and handed it to Tano.
She blinked at it for a moment.
“This is your guys’ shirt.” She said.
“Yep, it’ll be warm.” He told her as he clipped the lid back into place. “Trust me?”
Her head tilted back so her wide eyes could meet his. She nodded and began to pull the shirt over her head. He helped his slip her injured arm through when she whimpered in pain.
As she finished straightening it out he led her further back behind the crates, knowing it would be quieter. When he reached the wall he stopped and deposited the bloody shirt and rag onto the top of the nearest crate before unhooking his pauldron and chestplate. Out of the corner of his eyes, he made sure to keep watch of his little commander as he shucked off the top part of his armor, stacking it onto the floor next to him.
“Rex?” He turned back to see her watching him questioningly.
The black top was more than a few sizes too big, the usually formfitting material fell off her small frame like a dress, reaching well down her thighs. It made a part of his chest ache unfamiliarly because right now she looked unbelievably young. However, no one this young should have such a haunted look in their eyes, they shouldn’t walk off of a battlefield covered in someone’s blood, and she sure as all kriffing hells should not be expected to lead men to their death and possibly her own.
He sank down onto the floor, his back propped up by the wall. Ahsoka was still watching him quietly, fidgeting with the material on her arms as he settled down.
Rex looked up at her.
“Come on little one, you look like you could use a hug.”
The Jedi stared at him for a moment, then another. Rex began to wonder if this had been a bad idea, that this wasn’t the approach he should have taken. That was quickly remedied when she abruptly dropped to the floor, scrambled between his knees, and curled up against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her, securing her against him. With her so close he could now feel each shuddering breath she took.
“It’s alright, it’s done now.” He mumbled.
Her shoulders quivered.
“I’m so sorry Rex,” she spoke in a watery voice. “I didn’t protect them.”
He sighed.
“You can never protect them all. You did the best you could.”
He felt her head shake.
“I didn’t. I got impatient and I left them uncovered and I don’t know if I even slowed the droids down and they died because of my mistake and-”
Her breath hitched in a sob.
Rex tightened his grip on her.
Growing up, he and his brothers had run through countless simulations, they’d studied innumerable battles and strategies. If they made a mistake it was just a simulation and they knew better for the next class.
Ahsoka and all the other padawan commanders didn’t have that luxury. Their mistakes cost lives, they bore down on their souls and there wasn’t anything that Rex or his brothers could do. It wasn’t fair to any of them, to those who died, and to those who had to live with those consequences.
His commander finally broke, sobs wrenched from her chest and she buried her face into his neck. He slowly rocked them back and forth, trying to keep his mind calm on the off chance that she’d pick up on it in the Force or whatever Jedi did. His blacks were growing damp but he found that he didn’t much mind. They all could be pushed to the breaking point, apparently, this had been it for his little commander.
He wasn’t entirely sure when Ahsoka Tano had stopped being just the commander and had become his commander. Probably somewhere between waking up in the med bay with her asleep at his side or taking it upon herself to settle Echo and Fives down into the battalion. Or maybe it was now… seeing the girl that had been nothing but strong and resilient break just like any other sentient. The Jedi facade had fallen away for now, now she was just like his vode.
Rex rested his cheek against her montral and pulled her just a little closer.
“This is war Ahsoka. We can never save everyone no matter how hard we try. They died fighting for what they believed in, it was an honorable death.” Her shoulders curled. “They’re marching on ahead with our other fallen troopers, at peace.”
The tears soon ceased, her body stopped shaking and her breathing began to even out. Even then he didn’t remove his grip.
The thump of boots on durasteel made Rex look up.
Weaving through the crates toward their corner was a familiar group of three. Hardcase led them, followed by Jesse who was trailed by Kix.
“Hey sir, we were looking for you,” Hardcase said, his voice quiet.
“What can I do for you?” Rex asked.
“A quiet corner would be nice,” Jesse said. “Mind if we join you?”
Rex glanced down at the girl still curled up against him.
She gave a small nod.
“Thank you, sir,” Hardcase said.
Hardcase and Jesse went about shucking off the top part of their armor. Rex noticed that Kix didn’t seem to be fully present, with the amount of blood smeared across his armor Rex didn’t much blame him. Jesse and Hardcase shared a look before they turned to unclip the medic’s chest plate and back plate. That was enough to spur the man to de-kit himself.
Once they were free of their upper armor the three men settled down around Rex and Ahsoka. Jesse settled down next to Rex, his knees brushed against Rex’s. Kix was pulled down next to Jesse, though the medic was facing away from Rex, exhaustion pulled him to curl forward, resting his head in his hand. Hardcase plopped down right across from Rex and Ahsoka.
The heavy class glanced at the bloody shirt and rag a little ways away and back to the girl curled up against Rex. He met his gaze and a silent understanding passed.
“Hey commander,” Hardcase prompted.
Rex felt Ahsoka turn her head slightly to eye the heavy class. It wasn’t much but it was something.
“Did I ever tell you about the time I fell asleep in the fresher after my first battle?” Rex couldn’t see her face but he could tell her curiosity was peeked. “Yeah, I crashed after we made it off the planet and I happened to be face down in the bowl. Rex sent Jesse looking everywhere for me but I think he gave up because I woke up myself five hours later.”
Rex snorted at that and Jesse let out a scoff. Hardcase’s face softened.
“To be honest I was kriffing terrified after that battle. In the moment I was able to keep going because I had to but once we were back on the ship it all hit me… and well I was sick.” He admitted. “Lost my breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one go.” Hardcase cocked his head. “I’d just like to let you know that you’re doing a hells of a lot better than I did after my first hard campaign.”
Ahsoka shifted against him at that and Rex winced. That might not have been the right thing to say right now.
“But I’m your commander.” She mumbled. “I’m responsible for you all. I should be better than this.”
“With all due respect,” Jesse cut in. “Commander or not, Jedi or not, that was a tough couple of battles and you were out on the front for most of it. I’d be more concerned if it didn’t affect you.”
“Yeah, it makes all us sorry chaps feel better about it,” Hardcase added. “It reminds us that you’re human too.”
Ahsoka let out an offended huff and Hardcase’s eyes widened.
“I mean not human, you’re not human you are togruta, I uh… you know what I mean.”
Rex felt her shoulders shake up and down in a small laugh, and her grip on his shirt loosened a bit. Rex shot Hardcase a grateful look.
“Kix,” Rex asked. “Aalar’gar jate?”
The medic hunched a little more forward at that, giving the captain a pretty good idea of what his answer would be. Ahsoka flinched against him and curled tight again.
“No matter what I do I feel like it’s never enough to save anyone,” Kix mumbled. “That’s my job and I can’t even do that.”
Jesse threw his arm over Kix’s shoulder and Hardcase leaned to press his leg against his brother.
“You save vode every battle,” Rex said. “Death is inevitable, especially for us. Don’t let the bad outweigh the good you do vod’ika.”
He felt Ahsoka shift against him and he loosened his grip on her. She twisted and reached out a shaking hand to rest on Kix’s arm. The medic looked at her, eyes shining.
“I’m sorry Kix.” She said simply.
A tear slipped down his face but he nodded in understanding. He brought his other hand up to cover hers and Jesse tugged him in for a hug. Hardcase pressed against Kix’s side and nudged at Rex’s legs.
For the first time in days, Rex felt peace.
-
Jesse made his way through the bunks toward his area. Troopers were pretty well dispersed around the ship by now, having had two days now to unwind from the last battles. Most shinies had found their support groups by now or at least had found ways to calm themselves down post-battle, for some it was sparring, others it was card games, and even a few found solace in painting and helping with ship nose arts. He’d found his in reading.
It was much easier now with his commander supplying him with various works, some flimsi-backs and others on his datapad.
Speaking of which he was on his way to meet with her now. He just needed to make a quick stop at his bunk to grab the book.
As he approached his bunk, he noticed a figure seated on the bunk behind his. Echo was propped up against the wall with a datapad held between his knees. Fives was noticeably absent, likely getting into whatever trouble Hardcase was undoubtedly dishing out.
The young trooper looked up at Jesse’s approach. He nodded to him respectfully but didn’t jump to his feet to salute like he used to. Echo had been a strict rule follower when it came to protocols. It was a little exhausting really, but after being with the 501st for over a month now he’d eased up. Maybe all they’d really needed to do was get him drunk once.
“Surprised you aren’t in one of the sabacc rings,” Jesse said as he passed. “Last time you played you went home with a lot more than when you arrived.”
Echo shrugged.
“Figured I’d take advantage of the quiet.” He said as he gestured to his datapad. “Easier to read now.”
That piqued the corporal’s interest.
“Reading you say?” He asked.
“Yes, it’s uh, always been a hobby,” Echo told him.
“Really? That’s something we have in common.” Jesse said as he grabbed the book off his top bunk and waved it for Echo to see. “Whatcha reading now?”
“Oh, I was just catching up on the reg manuals.”
Jesse shot him a blank look.
“You’re reading the reg manuals?” He blinked rapidly. “Willingly?”
“Yes?” Echo shrugged his shoulders. “Chapter one, section three point one states that all troopers are to be well informed and up to date on all regulation manuals during active duty.”
Jesse blinked rapidly at the other trooper. Not only was he actually reading the kriffing manuals he was quoting them? Oh boy.
“Are the reg manuals the only thing you read?” Jesse asked.
“Yes?” Echo answered, sounding confused.
Jesse gave Echo an incredulous look, waiting for him to tell him that this was a joke. When it became clear that it wasn’t, he let out a long sigh.
“That’s it, you’re coming with me now.” He said.
“What?” Echo asked as Jesse plucked the datapad from his hands. “Hey!”
“Vod, the fact that you like to read and the only thing you are reading is the reg manuals actually hurts my soul,” Jesse told him as he grabbed his arm to pull him out of his bunk. “That is being remedied today and right now actually. Grab your boots we’re going to be late.”
“We’re going to be late?” Echo asked as he stumbled to pull on a pair of his dress pants and his boots. “Late for what sir?”
“Book club.” Jesse answered as he started towards the door.
Echo scrambled after him with a quiet curse.
“What’s a book club?” He asked when he finally caught up to Jesse.
“You’ll see vod’ika.” Jesse told him with a smile. “I’m sure the commander won’t mind if I bring an extra.”
“The commander?” Echo demanded, looking down at his attire of his blacks shirt, his dress pants and his boots.
“Oh please she doesn’t give a kriff about what we wear. I think she’s accidentally walked in on more than a few vode changing.” Jesse told him. “Can’t get much worse than that.”
Echo followed after Jesse as they trekked from the clone bunks toward the private quarters. Finally, they came to a stop in front of a nondescript door and Jesse reached out to knock.
“Is this the commander’s sleeping quarters?” Echo asked.
Jesse could hear the trepidation in his younger brother’s voice.
“Yes,” He patted Echo’s shoulder. “I was nervous the first time she invited me in too. Feels weird going into your Jedi’s quarters but it’s alright, really.”
The door slid open to reveal a pair of blue and white montrals.
“Hey Jesse right on time.” She said cheerfully before glancing behind him. “Hey Echo.”
“Sir.” Echo nodded.
“Hope you don’t mind me bringing him along.” Jesse asked. “I found him reading the reg manuals for fun.”
Ahsoka’s face scrunched in disgust.
“That’s horrific of course he can come.” She motioned them in.
Her quarters were bare of any decoration save for a few spare robes thrown over her bed. He guessed it really shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did when he first entered her room, Jedi were known for not having much material possessions, but it was so different from the painted walls filled with posters or pictures that decorated the barracks.
She had set up a blanket on the floor with some bags of snacks she’d brought with her from the last shore leave.
The little Jedi settled down on the blanket and motioned for them to follow.
“So Echo you like reading?” She asked.
“Um, yes sir. I believe I do.” Echo replied. “Haven’t had much to read outside of the regulation manuals though.”
She clucked her tongue disapprovingly.
“That’s a crime.” She held up a flimsi back she had on the floor next to her. “We are going to get you into real literature.” She turned back to Jesse. “First off though, how did you like the book?”
Jesse handed the book back to her.
“I really liked it, I think I have a thing for fantasy and romance.”
Ahsoka smiled at him.
“Were you team Anul or Howay?”
“Howay all the way.” Jesse said, making Ahsoka give an affronted sound.
“Really? But Anul was so good! He was devoted and he’s attractive.” She argued.
“Yeah well Howay is a bad boy but he wouldn’t let anyone touch those he loves.” Jesse argued back.
Ahsoka’s eyes cut from Jesse to Echo, who Jesse saw was staring at them in wide-eyed confusion.
“Sorry, we’re talking about this love triangle that’s in this book.” Ahsoka explained.
“What’s a love triangle?” Echo asked tentatively.
Ahsoka and Jesse shared an excited look.
“Well you see…”
They spent the next hour explaining various genres of books as well as reoccurring tropes one might find in them. They put together a list of books Echo could try reading if he was interested in moving away from the regs.
“You don’t have to read anything if you don’t want to.” Ahsoka assured him.
“No, you are definitely reading something other than reg manuals.” Jesse cut in as he munched through a bag of chips. “It’s not healthy vod.”
“Maker you sound like my batchmates.” Echo mumbled as Jesse jostled him.
“Good, you should listen.” Jesse said.
“You’re more than welcome to keep coming to book clubs.” Ahsoka told him. “Even if it’s just to listen. I think Jesse just sat and listened for the first one or two and I did all the talking.”
“Your rant about classic literature compared to contemporary was riveting.” Jesse told her.
She whacked his arm playfully.
“Thank you for the invitation,” Echo told her. “I think I might take you up on that offer.”
“Good, we can indoctrinate you with raunchy novels.” Ahsoka clapped happily.
“Raunchy?” Jesse asked.
Ahsoka smiled mischievously with her fangs on display at him.
“Oh you haven’t seen anything yet Jesse, just you wait.”
Notes:
Oh no Ahsoka is going to corrupt her men with smutty books :P
When I was originally writing this chapter, Ep 5 of Ahsoka had just come out and I was going to base it off of that battle (I was going put in a scene of her holding that clone trooper's hand post battle) but ultimately I decided to go a slightly different route!
Oh no Rex you better be careful or else you might adopt that little togruta Jedi as your vod'ika (-(
You can yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments feed my dark soul <3
Mando'a trans:
Aalar’gar jate? - you feeling good?
Chapter 7: Metal Monsters
Summary:
Ahsoka's first run in with grievous
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Overestimating one’s ability can be their ultimate downfall.
-
Ahsoka should have known as soon as Anakin told Obi-Wan that R2D2 hadn’t had his memory wiped that this was going to be trouble. Or possibly when Obi-Wan called out her master’s blatant attachment to the droid. Really, she should have realized how much of a baka-show this was gonna be when Rex hauled her master’s crispy behind back onto the ship without R2 in tow.
She didn’t think she’d ever seen her master so distraught before losing R2, he didn’t even give his replacement droid a second glance. Honestly, she felt bad for Goldy, she was sure he was just doing his best. It wasn’t his fault he had to live up to R2’s name.
She really should have been concerned when the master was able to identify R2’s binary from across the transmission they received. She could definitely see where Obi-Wan’s idea of Anakin being attached to the droid came from. It really couldn’t be healthy.
She was pretty sure Rex agreed with her based on the exasperation that lit up his Force signature for a moment.
“We’re bringing the droid?” He asked her as they all prepared to descend on the Separatist listening post.
“Yep, we need him to open secure hatches and whatnot.” She shot her captain a smirk. “Oh and Rex, you get to carry him. Skyguy’s still mad at him about earlier.”
“Eh, that’s just great.” She heard him mumble as she walked away.
“Thanks, Rexter!”
Denal’s signature lit up in mirth behind her as well.
The doors to the Twilight opened, revealing the swirling yellow clouds of the moon. Ahsoka looked over the edge as her master and her men lined up on either side of her.
“Follow me, boys!” She called as she launched herself off.
Of course her master chose to split off to find his droid, leaving her and the troopers to blow up the ship.
“I sure hope that droid’s still in one piece.” Rex mumbled as they watched him take off. “For all our sakes.”
“Same here,” Denal said. “Or else we’re stuck with this one.”
The other troopers snickered as Goldy wobbled back and forth.
“Hey, he’s doing his best.” Ahsoka defended. “He got us this far.”
Rex tilted his helmet at her, a motion she’d come to learn meant he was giving her a skeptical look.
“We’re hardly in this yet commander.”
“Even so.” Ahsoka said. “Its his first mission. He has a right to be nervous.”
“Can droids get nervous?” Denal asked.
“We need to get moving sir.” Rex cut off further debate.
“Right, let’s go.” Ahsoka took off at a jog down the hall.
They had a few close calls with droid patrols and at one point Goldy fell way behind but other than that they made it to the generators largely unbothered. That was until a whole squad of droids reached them while Goldy was taking an unnecessarily long time to open the ray shield.
She wasn’t even aware that he’d triggered the outer blast door to close until after the droids were disabled.
She swore in ryl when she looked back at the doors.
“Force damn-it Goldy, you were supposed to open the doors not secure them.” She snapped.
“Sir I think there is something up with this-”
“They sent a child to destroy my ship?”
They all whipped around to see General Grievous approaching them. For their part, none of the clones let a dash of fear into their signatures. Ahsoka had never come face to face with the general before, but she’d heard plenty from Master Kenobi and Cody.
She fell back into a ready stance with her lightsaber out. She needed to distract the general so her men could get into the reactor room and set the charges.
There is no fear, there is only the Force.
“He’s just another tinny boys,” She bared her teeth at the cyborg. “Let’s scrap him like the rest.”
Ahsoka charged at him, locking her green blade against his pillaged blue blade, she could faintly hear the sorrowful song of the kyber crystal in his grasp. She ducked under his swipe, bringing her blade up to aim for his faceplate but he parried. He wrenched his blade to the side, throwing her off balance and pressing forward so she had to retreat.
This kriffer was fast, faster than she’d seen some knights fight. That coupled with how big he was, was not an ideal situation for her. She was already struggling to keep up under his relentless blows. The cyborg slammed down on her blade hard. Once, twice, she rolled out of the way of the third blow. He dodged her swipe at his legs and only then did she realize her mistake.
She’d left herself open in her swing, which the cyborg took advantage of. He grabbed her with a metal foot and threw her at the wall. Her head hit durasteel and her montrals rang. Ahsoka groaned as she tried to shake off the dark spots in her vision. The Force rang with pain before silence.
She snarled and shoved herself up right in time to see Grievous preparing to deliver a killing blow to Rex. She sprung forward.
“Sorry to interrupt your play time grumpy,” She growled. “Only a coward attacks those defenseless, wouldn’t you prefer a challenge?”
She needed to get him away from her men. Rex was alive, Denal was too as well as one in the corner, though his signature was dimming. The other two…
“And you’re saying you would be a challenge, so far I’m not impressed.” He ignited a second green blade.
Ahsoka jumped backwards to create space and he quickly followed. His blows were fast and sure, all she could do was try to keep up. As he pushed her down the hallway, he laughed, a whirlwind of color in front of him as he bore down on her. Only now did she realize why so many Jedi had fallen to him, he was a relentless machine. His Force signature burned with rage, a promise of revenge. It made her want to be sick.
It took one more swipe just a hairsbreadth away from her neck to realize something that made her blood run cold. He was toying with her. He could have killed her seconds ago but he was drawing it out, he wanted her to think she stood a chance.
Despite every primal instinct in her body telling her not to, she listened to the Force and ran. A moment later she saw that Goldy was tracking along beside her as she dashed through the halls.
She came across a storage room and quickly ducked inside, hiding behind various crates. Ahsoka watched the door wide-eyed as she heard the clang of the general’s footsteps draw nearer and nearer.
Why did her master have to ditch her and the men to go find his star’s damned droid? Grievous had cut through them like they were nothing and now-
The door slid open and the general stalked into the room.
“Where is the fight you promised me youngling?”
How many other children had he killed? How many of their lightsabers adorned his belt?
Her heart jumped into her throat when her com suddenly lit up.
“Ahsoka, it’s Rex.” She let out a small sigh of relief. “There are only two of us left, should we abort the mission?”
“No, complete the mission. Set the charges and rendezvous at the landing bay.” She told him.
“But sir-” She could hear the concern in his voice, the fear.
She had yet to see Rex scared until now.
“That’s an order, Rex. I’ll keep the general busy, Ahsoka out.” She quickly shut off her com as she heard the clang of metal on metal draw closer to her.
She crouched low under the racks and silently made her way around the edge of the room.
“Come here child, I’m looking for you.” Came the rasping voice. “So far you’ve failed to impress me.”
A flash of gold caught her eye. Sure enough a few meters in front of her she saw Goldy roll into her aisle.
“Goldy, over here.” She whisper yelled.
If they could just sneak out of here they could lock Grievous in here and get back to the others. That idea was quickly dashed from her head when the droid put the spotlight right on her.
“Goldy-!” A lightsaber cut inches from her face.
She gasped and dropped into a roll and her com went flying. It was quickly crushed under the general’s foot just as Rex called in that they were in the reactor.
“Your friends can’t help you now.” The general said as he stalked forward. “You are stuck in here with me.”
Ahsoka rolled away and the cyborg quickly followed. She quickly clambered up onto the top of the rack and out of his view. He glared around for a few moments before approaching Goldy.
“R3, what do you have to report?” He rasped.
Ahsoka’s jaw dropped.
That stubby little backstabber! She thought.
No wonder he’d been a terrible help he was trying to sabotage them and to think that she’d stood up for that little baka.
Ugh, next time she was listening to Anakin and Rex.
The togruta looked back over the edge of the rack to see that Grievous had disappeared.
That’s not creepy at all. She thought as she silently climbed down.
Ahsoka kept low as she slowly made her way towards the door, keeping her head on a swivel for any movement. The cyborg was shielding from her so she couldn’t pin him on his Force signature, she was left walking blind. She had to remind herself to steady her hands on the handle of her lightsaber as she made her way forward.
Finally, the door was before her and she let out a small sigh of relief. A moment too late the Force screamed in warning before a metal hand wrapped itself around her throat. She kicked her legs and clawed at the hand as she was hauled off the floor, another hand slapped her lightsaber away. The general gave a rasping laugh as he landed back on the floor and bent to pick up her saber, igniting it and bringing it right up to her face.
“Another lightsaber to add to my collection.” He turned it over in his hand to examine it. “My spy droid has trapped your friends. When I am done with you I will go deal with your precious master.”
Ahsoka bared her fangs at the monster.
“You’re wrong, he’ll be gone by now,” She rasped out around her crushing airways. “They are going to blow up your precious spy station.”
He drew her in closer to his face.
“Not this time.”
Suddenly the floor shook, making the racks rattle around them. The general was thrown off balance and she took the distraction as her opportunity, reaching out to grip the hand holding her saber she pushed it down on the one holding her throat. The green blade cut through neatly and she dropped to the ground, gasping for air.
The cyborg made a grab for her but she rolled out of the way, launching herself up onto the toppling racks before diving into the open-air vent. He climbed up after her, and his blue blade once again ignited. She drew her own lightsaber back into her grip and ducked into the vents.
Ahsoka jumped out of the way in the cramped space as a blue blade ripped into the vent by her feet, then by her head, next by her feet again.
“Next time I see you Jedi, I will take your lightsaber and your head as a trophy.” He roared as she scrambled away.
Her throat felt like it was closing again and she gasped for air. Both hands flew to her neck only to find scrapped and bruised skin.
Breathe Ahsoka, breathe. She pulled all the panic she was feeling to the forefront of her mind before quickly dispelling it into the Force. Breathing slowly became easier and she continued her mad scramble through the vents.
She really hoped her group hadn’t already left. That would not be good.
Sure enough, there was still a large firefight happening in the hangar. She sucked in a deep breath before throwing herself at the droids.
“So what did I miss.” She asked as she fell into step with her master.
She winced at how raspy her voice sounded, hoping he got the main idea of what she’d tried to say.
“Oh, the usual.” Her master said as he deflected a blast before he snapped, “It was very foolish to take on Grievous alone.”
Felt like a good idea at the time. She thought, not trusting her voice anymore to sound comprehensible. Probably best right now to save her limited airways for actual breathing rather than argueing.
She gave him a grunt.
“Did he tell you that stubby little traitor works for him?”
She gave him another grunt.
“General Skywalker, there are fuel cells over here!” Rex yelled.
“Get ready Rex.”
One large explosion later they were starting take-off procedures.
“General Skywalker’s getting into his fighter, what’s he doing?” Rex demanded, exasperation rolling off of him.
“Getting R2.” She rasped out, rubbing her throat with a wince.
“Don’t wait for me.” Came Anakin’s order over the coms.
She shot Rex a knowing look before stifling a cough. It really sucked being choked out like that, especially by a giant cyborg monster.
“Are you okay sir?” Rex asked as he took a step toward her.
She waved him off with a tight smile, giving him the field hand signal for ‘fine’. She knew he was skeptical and would likely haul her to Kix once they returned to the Resolute, but that was an issue for future Ahsoka.
Her master docked back with the ship and took command of the controls. The troopers gratefully took the leave to go get some rest after the mission. Ahsoka knelt down on the floor to look over R2 as her master called Obi-Wan to inform him of the success.
“So let me get this straight Anakin,” She could hear the incredulous tone in her Grandmaster’s voice. “You risk the mission, the lives of your men, and even your own padawan… to save a droid?”
Ahsoka struggled to swallow around the soreness of her throat at his words. She should really go grab the medical pack and see what she could do about her damaged airways and vocal cords.
“R2 found the listening post and he saved our lives, we couldn’t just leave him there Obi-Wan.” Her master defended, sounding more like a berated child than a Jedi knight.
“Oh Anakin,” the high general groaned. “One day.”
She was lucky that her master had yet to inform her Grandmaster that she’d fought Grievous alone. That was likely not going to be a fun call, especially if her master also chose to mastiff-pile on her.
Ahsoka rubbed her throat as she remembered the cold clamp of metal it, the cry of kyber crystals that mourned their users, and the rasping voice of that monster.
“You okay snips?” She felt a nudge through their bond as Anakin spoke.
She looked up and gave him a quick nod and a reassuring nudge back before standing up and patting R2’s dome. She turned to leave the cockpit when she felt something wrap around her middle to keep her from moving.
“What’s wrong, why aren’t you talking?” Her master asked as he released his hold on the Force around her.
She huffed.
“Throat hurts from fight.” She rasped. “Going to get bacta.”
Her master’s eyes narrowed dangerously and something dark flashed across his signature before he quickly smothered it. His brows furrowed in worry instead.
“Did Grievous hurt you in the fight?” He demanded.
When did someone ever not end up injured in a fight with that creature? She rolled her eyes with a partial nod.
“You’re going to the medics as soon as we get back to the ship.” He ordered.
She didn’t have much energy to argue so she just gave him a thumbs up and turned to leave.
Once out of the cockpit, she fought the urge to cough again. She knew there was nothing in her throat or still obstructing her ability to breathe, just swollen muscles. She rubbed her throat as she forced herself to take measured breaths.
Ahsoka didn’t think she’d ever felt as close to dying as she did today. She cursed herself for her actions. She could not keep overestimating her own abilities if she wanted to stay alive. She didn’t have room for mistakes like that, it had cost the lives of her men today and had almost gotten her added to Grevious’ trophy list.
A hand landing on her shoulder made her jump. She looked up to see Rex standing in front of her, his helmet clipped to his belt.
“How about we get the med pack.” He said, using the hand on her shoulder to steer her forward and from escaping to one of the private cabins.
They came to a stop in the Twilight’s small hangar which also doubled as the supply room and in this case the med area. Denal was talking with the two other troopers that had stayed with the ship during the mission, they nodded to her and Rex as they passed.
They came to a stop in front of some supply crates and Rex left to retrieve the pack. Ahsoka rubbed her bare arms, one thing they didn’t tell you about space travel was how cold it could be. Her master’s rust bucket of a ship didn’t have very good insulators, making it even colder. She really wished she had her robes.
Rex returned and set the pack done on the stacked crates behind her. She turned to rummage through it before Rex caught her under the arms and lifted her up like she weighed nothing, which to him she probably didn’t, to sit on the crate as well, putting her more or less eye level with him.
“Alright, what’s wrong and we’ll see if we can fix it.” Rex prompted her.
She brandished her bruised shoulder for him to see before also pointing to her neck. He leaned in close to inspect her throat before hissing.
“Kriff kid.”
The captain dug into the pack before pulling out a tube of bacta and two packs of what looked like oral painkillers. He examined both before tossing one back.
“This should be the right stuff for you.” He handed the painkillers to her. “Pretty sure that’s what Kix told us all to give you if needed.”
She gratefully accepted the pills and his canteen of water. It took a few tries to swallow them around the swelling in her throat but finally got them down. By then Rex had applied the bacta paste to her shoulder and arms and handed the tube to her for her throat.
As Rex packed up the med pack he spoke.
“Sir please don’t ever do something like that again.”
She turned to see him staring at the floor as he cinched the pack closed. His Force signature rang with worry and regret.
“What?” She rasped.
“Order us to leave you behind.” He planted his hands on the crate next to her. “And take on Grievous alone.” His shoulders slumped. “We thought… we weren’t sure if…”
Ahsoka reached out her hand to place it over his large one.
“Had to protect you guys. Had to complete the mission.” She responded.
That clearly wasn’t the right thing to say based on the way his Force signature flashed with anger and his fists clenched. She did her best not to flinch away from the strong emotion.
“We’re supposed to protect you,” he said.
Ah, so that’s what this was. She’d seen the way troopers were always willing to throw themselves in between her and danger, they did the same with her master. If she had to make a guess, it was probably something they were instructed to do while on Kamino. It was rather infuriating how little regard they seemed to have for themselves.
She patted his hand.
“Keep telling yourself that.” She offered him a small smile. “Saved your life today. Going to start keeping tally.”
It was small but it was enough to relax his hands and let some of the apprehension slip away.
“Good to know.” he huffed.
-
Kix waited anxiously for the commander to arrive in the med bay. He’d received a transmission from Rex and not long after he’d gotten one from his general as well telling him Tano would need medical assistance.
Rex had informed him that it didn’t appear to be anything serious but that didn’t stop Kix from pacing. His captain had also mentioned that the commander had taken on General kriffing Grievous by herself.
Yep, he thought he had a right to be worried.
Finally, his com lit up informing him that the commander was on her way. Not long after his commander, general, and captain entered the med bay. The medic ignored the two boys and instead focused on the girl. He immediately clocked in on the bruising on her shoulder as well as some on her montrals.
“Commander.” He greeted.
She nodded to him in response and let him lead her to one of the beds.
“What’s the problem sir?” He asked.
“She has intense bruising and swelling around her neck.” Rex answered for her.
“She also has a headache and the lights hurt,” Skywalker added.
He looked back to see the girl roll her eyes at them. She brandished her neck for him, holding her left lek out of the way so he could see.
Sure enough, he spotted a large bruise that wrapped around the ocher skin of her neck, including thinner tapered bruises disappearing behind her back lek.
Strangulation. His brain supplied.
His commander had been strangled. By a kriffing cyborg monstrosity. He clenched his jaw as he reached to pull the med cart closer.
“What’s the verdict Kix?” Skywalker asked.
“It’s nothing some bacta and some stims can’t fix.” He informed him curtly.
“Good.” Skywalker patted his student’s shoulder. “Stay here until the medics clear you to leave.”
She gave a tired nod with an accompanying wince. The general nodded to Rex before slipping out of the med bay.
Kix handed her an anti-inflammatory medicine drop. She scrunched up her face at the taste as she sucked on it but soon she relaxed as it soothed her throat.
“I’m gonna give you this hypo, it’ll get the swelling down and help your vocal cords.” He told her as he held up the canister.
She eyed the hypo suspiciously before finally nodding and moved her lek out of the way for him.
“So sir I hope this experience means that you won’t be going off to face down that dema’golka Grievous ever again?” Kix asked as he shoved one of the drawers on the cart closed with more force than necessary.
“Not you too.” She mumbled around the medicine drop.
Kix crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at her.
“I hear the stories from the other medics in the GAR about the aftermaths of running into Grievous. None of them are pretty,” He told her. “That is if the troopers or Jedi even make it out alive.”
“I know it was stupid.” She rasped. “But I had to do something, we had a mission to complete.”
“Kriffing jetii bal’val jaro.” He mumbled, earning him a smack on the head from Rex.
“Ja’hailir gar’joha vod.” His captain chastised.
Kix rolled his eyes.
“Commander, did you understand what I just said?” He asked the togruta.
“I understood like, one word?” She responded.
Kix gave Rex a look.
“Which word did you know?” Rex asked suspiciously.
“Kriffing.” She told them with a small smile. “You all swear a lot. Including you Rexter.”
Rex rubbed his hand over his face.
“Don’t repeat what you just heard in front of your master, or General Kenobi.” He told her.
She rolled her eyes.
“My master swears in Huttese all the time, Obi-Wan swears in every language he knows even more.” Ahsoka paused to cough. “I wasn’t born yesterday you know?”
The two troopers huffed at that. Kix guessed he really shouldn’t be surprised at this. At least she hadn’t picked up on too many of the bastardized mando’a ones the clones used.
“Are you saying that you swear a lot too sir?” Kix asked.
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.” She answered. “But I’m older than you all so I have a right to.”
Both Kix and Rex made indignant sounds of protest at that.
“Now hold on a minute sir,” Kix said.
“Just because you are chronologically older doesn’t mean you get to use that card,” Rex claimed.
“We are all mentally in our twenties and we all are physically mature,” Kix told her. “Developmentally we are older than you.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Still been around longer than you.”
She was willing to talk more now, which told Kix that the steroid medication he’d given her was working at least.
“Fine you’ve been around longer than, and we are all trying to make sure you are around long after us,” Kix said as he ran his scanner over her for any other hidden injuries.
Ahsoka frowned at that.
Kix packed up his gear when he saw that there were no other injuries, nudging Rex out of the way so he could roll the cart back to its spot by the wall.
“You all should get to live long lives too.” his commander said when he returned to her bed.
Rex shifted uncomfortably next to him.
“Maybe,” Kix said. “But it’s our job to keep you alive.”
The togruta shook her head.
“You shouldn’t throw your lives away to protect mine.”
Kix shared a long look with his captain.
“Sir, it’s our honor to die protecting the Republic. It’s our honor to give our lives protecting our Jedi too.” Rex told her. “It’s what we were created to do.”
Ahsoka shook her head.
“Your lives are not worth less than mine. It’s a Jedi’s job to protect all life because all life is sacred to us. It’s what we were raised to do, it’s what we choose to do.” She told them, her eyes fierce. “I don’t care what they told you on Kamino, your lives are worth just as much to us as the Chancellor’s.”
Both clones stared at their commander in shocked silence.
It was one thing to claim was anything more than canon fodder, to have their lives compared to the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic’s was down right blasphemy. If any of them had thought that while growing up on Kamino they would have been severely punished.
But… that would certainly explain why all the Jedi were so willing to throw themselves in front of danger. Because they believed that their troopers were more than just meat droids.
Kix swallowed thickly as he eyed the collar of bruises around his little commander’s throat. Sometimes he wished the Jedi would think of them as meat droids. Anything so that he wouldn’t have to wake up at night fearing one day they’d be bringing back their general or their commander’s body instead of their life.
That feeling of fear suddenly retreated to the back of his mind. He blinked up to meet his commander’s intense blue gaze.
“You don’t know what the future will bring Kix. You shouldn’t mourn what hasn’t happened yet.” She told him.
That was one of the most Jedi-ish things he’d ever heard his commander say, but he’d be lying if he didn’t think it suited her.
He sucked in a deep breath before releasing it with a nod.
“The same goes for you captain.” She told the blond. “I have no intention of dying anytime soon. Especially not to some separatist baka.”
“Was that a swear?” Kix asked with a huffy laugh.
“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.” She told him. “Do you have anything else for me Kix?”
The medic handed her another medicine drop as well as a pack of pills.
“Take the drop in another two hours and the pills in three, get rest and you should be back to normal in two or three days.” He told her as he patted her unbruised shoulder. “I mean it when I say get rest, sir. I don’t want to see you in the training rooms for three days.”
“Thank you, Kix.” She said as she hopped off of the gurney. “Remember what I said!” She called out as she slipped through the door.
Both clone troopers watched as the door whooshed closed.
“She’s going to be the death of me.” Rex mumbled as he rubbed both his hands over his face.
“She’s certainly going to be the reason I go gray.” Kix agreed as he got to work stripping the bed. “I don’t know if I will ever understand the Jedi.”
“Me neither vod.” Rex mumbled.
“At least we know why they seem so prone to stupid injuries.”
“I don’t…” Kix glanced up to see Rex swallow. “I don’t know what I’d do if she was killed protecting us.”
Ah, so maybe Kix wasn’t the only one slowly becoming a tad attached to their little commander. Kix didn’t know what he’d do either. Somehow despite only being here for a few months, she’d made a large enough impact on them that the thought of her dying for them made Kix want to be sick.
Kix reached out to pat his brother’s shoulder in solidarity.
“Hopefully that day will never come.”
-
It was quiet in the rec room. Considering it was pretty late into the sleep cycle, it shouldn’t have surprised Hardcase.
He was seated at one of the round tables they had in the rec room with Echo and Fives off to his left, Jesse and Kix off to his right. The table was littered with sabacc cards and whatever valuables of credits they’d managed to scrounge on campaigns or on leave.
As it turned out, Echo was a rather formidable sabacc player. He had a much better sabacc face than his twin that was for sure. The commander referred to the two of them as twins, something about their Force signature thingies, leading the rest of them to do it too. Hardcase liked having a real challenge for a change, especially considering the commander wasn’t around to play right now.
As the round ended Echo pulled the pile of valuables towards him midst Fives’ and Jesse’s complaints.
“What were they teaching you in the outpost?” Jesse demanded with a smile.
“How to cheat probably.” Fives grumbled.
“Clearly you missed those lessons.” Hardcase laughed as he reached and clubbed his brother in the shoulder.
“Just because you are losing doesn’t mean he’s cheating.” Kix said as he leaned back in the seat.
Echo grinned at his brother.
“Hear that Fives, you’re losing because you suck.”
“Shebs’palon.” Fives snapped as he reached to smack Echo.
The other trooper expertly dodged and shoved him away.
Hardcase handed the deck to Kix to deal.
“Gonna grab a bar, anybody want one?”
There was a murmur of yes’s from around the table as he stood.
They couldn’t keep food in the rec room itself due to some stupid reg manual rule so they had to trek across the hall to the designated snack storage room. Hardcase stepped out of the room and was about to head over when a flash of orange out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to see a small figure crossing at the end of the hall away from him.
It was much too late for anybody sane to be awake, let alone the commander still. Especially if what Kix had told them yesterday about her run-in with Grievous, she was supposed to be resting.
Ration bars forgotten, Hardcase turned to follow after his commander. When he turned the corner he found her waiting by the lift. She had an oversized robe draped over her shoulders and pulled tight around her front. She didn’t seem to notice his presence until he was right behind her, quickly whipping around to stare at him wide-eyed.
“Hey, commander.” He said as he held his hands up harmlessly.
Her tense stance immediately relaxed and her hands moved away from her hip where her lightsaber usually resided.
Alright, so that was definitely new. Next time he would announce himself before startling a laser-sword-wielding wizard.
“Sorry, sir didn’t mean to startle you.” He apologized.
“No, it’s okay I shouldn’t have freaked out.” She responded, her usually bright voice raspy.
Now that she was facing him, the heavy class could see the dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in a while and based on the yawn she tried to stifle he’d believe it. He could still see the shadow of a large bruise around her neck.
“What can I do for you Hardcase?” She asked, making him realize he’d been staring.
“Oh um…” He didn’t really know why he’d decided to follow after her when he’d seen her.
He’d just gotten distracted really.
“I uh, just wanted to ask how you were doing,” He improvised. “After the last mission, I mean.”
She tensed at the mention of that. He hadn’t really ever seen Jedi tense unless there was danger or pain.
“I’m fine, following Kix’s strict orders.” She said with a hint of exasperation.
Hardcase hummed as he glanced at the lift. She’d clicked the down button, but the private quarters were up a few floors. The training rooms happened to be down a few levels though, seemed too suspicious a coincidence to the heavy class.
“Where were you headed sir?” He asked.
“Oh uh,” She glanced back at the lift. “Down?”
“I can see that.” He chuckled. “Can I speak freely sir?”
“Always.” She answered.
He smiled faintly at that.
“You look exhausted, aren’t you supposed to be resting?” If Hardcase was being honest she looked like a strong breeze could knock her over. “Medic’s orders and all?”
The girl fixed her eyes forward as her hand reached up to rub at her throat.
“I’m fine. I have work I still need to get done even if I’m resting.”
He was beginning to guess that she wasn’t fine, considering she kept needing to state it. Maybe the last mission had taken more of a toll on her than she wanted to admit. He could understand that, he’d seen countless troopers do it too, especially considering the conversation on the floor of the hangar not too long ago.
He pursed his lips as he regarded her.
If he couldn’t persuade her to rest, he could at least steer her clear of any strenuous activities. Kix would be so proud of him right now.
“We’ll sir if you’d like, me and some of the boys are in the rec room right now if you’d like to join us.”
She looked up at him before giving a small shake of her head.
“It’s your guys’ downtime. I doubt they’d want their commander walking in on them.”
“Oh please sir, they love you.” He looped his arm around her shoulder and turned her away from the lift. “Fives wouldn’t shut his trap about you for a week.”
“Wait but-”
“‘Did you see Commander Tano do this?’ and ‘Did you see Commander Tano do that?’ I swear he even thought the way you walked was incredible.” Hardcase continued, marching her back down the hall. “I’d say he’s one of your biggest fans.”
He felt her give a sigh under his arm as she let him walk her toward the rec room.
When the door slid open the group at his table turned to look at him.
“Maker ‘Case I thought you were grabbing bars not making them from scrat-” Jesse’s eyes widened when he saw who Hardcase was leading in.
“Figured I’d bring something back more enjoyable than a ration bar.” Hardcase announced.
“Commander!” Echo was about to jump to a standing salute but Hardcase shook his head rapidly and cut his hand in front of his throat.
The younger trooper thankfully picked up on it and sank back down to his seat.
“Echo.” Ahsoka nodded in greeting. “Fives, Jesse, Kix, I hope I’m not intruding?”
A piercing glare from Hardcase had all of them shaking their heads quickly.
“Not at all sir.” Fives said.
“We’d be happy to have you join us.” Jesse agreed.
Kix shot Hardcase a questioning look, to which Hardcase discreetly signed ‘later’.
“I hope you don’t mind Hardcase, you were taking so kriffing long we started the next game.” Jesse told him.
Kix shot Jesse a wide-eyed look of realization as Hardcase plunked back down in his seat and tugged his commander down in between him and Fives. The young trooper scooted over to give her more room as she re-wrapped her cloak around her.
“Are you going to join the game?” Jesse asked her.
She shook her head.
“I think I’ll just watch. Little too late to be thinking right now.” She told them with a tight smile.
“Good, you won’t take my credits.” Hardcase said as he snagged cards from the table.
He was aware of the commander pulling her knees up under her chin and curling forward. He wondered if she was cold, all the troopers had their blacks that were designed to insulate body heat, but he didn’t know if Jedi robes did that. Hardcase slowly shifted closer and closer until his side was pressed against hers.
She definitely felt cold to him. Maybe togruta were colder than humans? Maybe she was just… he wouldn’t call her scrawny, but she didn’t have much meat on her bones.
He hoped this wasn’t overstepping his boundaries. Although considering that she had accepted Rex cuddles previously (however, who in their right mind wouldn’t accept Rex cuddles), he guessed she was receptive to physical touch.
Sure enough, she slowly relaxed against him and Hardcase counted that as a win. Soon she leaned over to glance at his cards. He angled his arm down for her and she assessed him.
“Who’s deal?” She asked him quietly.
“Jesse’s.” He answered, sharing a knowing smile with her.
“Hey,” Jesse called from across the table. “I don’t like you two conspiring.”
“She’s not in the game.” Hardcase protested. “Besides, I don’t need help to beat your sorry shebs.”
“Shabuir.” Jesse declared.
“Love you too vod.” Hardcase replied sweetly.
Ahsoka giggled before leaning away from him to glance at Fives’ cards. The younger trooper looked at her wide-eyed, clearly not as used to his commander being close as Hardcase was. After a moment he lowered his arm for her just like Hardcase had.
At Fives’ next turn he reached for one card but a small movement from Ahsoka made him pause. He reached for the next one and Ahsoka shot him a quick smile.
Sure enough, the card was the correct one to make Echo tap out.
“Oh so if she helps me you get mad but if she helps Fives’ it’s fine?” Hardcase asked Jesse.
The corporal rolled his eyes.
“Vod, Fives barely has anything left to bet, you have half the pile. He needs more help than any of us.”
Fives made an affronted noise at that.
As the game continued Ahsoka relaxed enough to drop her knees into a cross-legged position, laying her knee over Hardcase’s thigh. He guessed that his and Fives’ combined body heat was enough to warm her up.
The whole group relaxed back into easy banter. They eventually swapped seats around the table to mix up the dealing order. Echo was now seated on Ahsoka’s right and Fives was still on her left. Hardcase was happy to note that the two young troopers had shaken off some of their earlier hesitations around the commander and willingly pressed in close to her sides.
The commander herself looked much better than earlier. She was much less tense and more open to talking.
The door to the rec opened and Hardcase glanced up to see Rex tromp in.
“Figured I’d find you all here.” He mumbled as he sank down next to Fives. “Though I didn’t expect to find you here sir.” He said as he nodded to Ahsoka.
She shrugged.
“What are you doing up this late sir?” Kix finally asked.
Hardcase knew he’d been itching to for a while, despite Hardcase’s request to wait.
“Could ask you all the same thing.” She responded easily.
Jesse held his hand over Echo’s head and she reached up to high-five it. Kix rolled his eyes.
“I think he means that you are on strict rest orders.” Rex supplied.
Ahsoka fidgeted with the sleeve of her robe.
“I couldn’t sleep.” She finally admitted quietly.
That was enough to halt further questions. Hardcase had been right with his previous assumption that she hadn’t slept in a while. Nightmares were a well-known entity in the clone barracks, none of them would fault her for it or push her for answers.
To Hardcase, he felt a little honored that his commander felt safe enough to admit that here. Maybe the talk in the hangar had been more fruitful than they’d thought.
That seemed to be what the other troopers were thinking too. The two twins shifted just a hair closer to their commander.
“Well sir, you are more than welcome to seek any of us out if you need to,” Jesse told her.
“Anytime, anywhere,” Hardcase added.
Her lips twitched into a small, but grateful smile.
“Thank you.” Ahsoka glanced around at all of them. “The same goes for you all and me. I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”
“Are you saying I can come cuddle with you if I need to?” Hardcase asked, earning him a sharp reprimand and slap on the back of the head from Rex.
Ahsoka just laughed.
“If that’s what you need, sure.”
Hardcase grinned triumphantly. Rex buried his head in his hands with a groan.
The group calmed once again. The game dragged on and soon Hardcase could see his brothers’ stifling yawns. He glanced at the commander and let out a small huff of breath.
Her head was tilted against Fives’ upper arm and her knees rested on his legs. Her feet were sprawled across Echo’s lap and her face was lax in sleep.
The two younger troopers looked frightened to move at all with their commander curled up between them.
The four older troopers smiled fondly at the sight. If Hardcase snapped a picture of the three in front of him, no one said anything.
Notes:
Yes I know that Ahsoka has extreme plot armor, however, Grievous is literally one of the most notorious Jedi killers at this time, so we had to put some respect on his name. Also, Ahsoka def had nightmares after that encounter, ffs I would have nightmares just from watching that episode at a young age.
Oh dear Ahsoka is starting to pick up on Mando'a, but its only the swear for some reason... *side eyes Jesse and Hardcase*
You can yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos add years to my life <3
Togruta Trans:
baka - fecesMando'a Trans:
dema’golka - monster
Kriffing jetii bal’val jaro - kriffing jedi and their death wish
Ja’hailir gar’joha vod - watch your language brother
Chapter 8: Lessons Learned
Summary:
Storm over Ryloth and the end of what I'm calling the 'Lessons ARC' of this fic
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The gravest mistakes can be the best teachers.
-
Rex didn’t need someone to tell him that his commander was nervous. He didn’t blame her, this was her first time commanding a squad of fighter pilots.
He and Skywalker had debated on if she was ready for this kind of mission, but considering her previous successes, they decided that she was ready for it.
He was currently in the hangar as they approached Ryloth, finishing up the briefing with the pilots when he spotted her by the ship she was going to be flying. She had a red and green R2 unit by her as she observed the final preparations being made to her ship.
Rex dismissed his men before making his way over to her. He noted that there was a block on the seat for her, it reminded him that these ships were made for full grown adults, not children. He quickly shook off the thought.
“Commander.” He said in greeting.
“Captain.” She turned to look up at him. “Is the squad ready?”
“Yes sir, they’re ready for some action.”
She nodded as she looked back at her ship.
“Hey kid,” He said gently. “Don’t worry about the mission. I know you’ll do fine.”
Ahsoka looked up at him with those big blue eyes.
“Thank you Rex.” She said. “Thank you for trusting me with this too. I’ll do my best to not let you down.”
He nodded, knowing full well that she meant it. He patted her on the shoulder.
“May the Force be with you little one.”
-
Ahsoka was hiding.
She was hiding from her master, from her men, and especially from Rex.
Not only had she done exactly what she’d promised herself not to, put her men in unnecessary danger, she’d cost the 501st an entire karking venator.
Yeah her master had told her that it was a trap, but she could have turned back. If she had, her fighter squad would probably be alive. She had said she wasn’t going to let anybody down but she had let everyone down. How would anybody trust her to lead ever again?
Ahsoka buried her face in her knees.
She was the worst commander in the GAR and probably the worst Jedi in the Order.
Forget everyone else, she didn’t trust herself to lead anymore. She could not be responsible for peoples lives.
Never again.
-
Echo walked through the quiet halls of the Resolute.
Everyone was sleeping after the hectic scramble to take out the Ryloth blockade before General Windu and General Kenobi arrived.
The only troopers to be deployed had been the fighter squads so the rest of the battalion had found a good vantage point to watch the aeriel battle. News that their commander was leading this fight had spread like wildfire through them all. Which had only made the fact that it was a trap even worse.
It had been pretty bad.
However despite what looked like objection, their commander once again stepped up to lead the successful counter attack. Not only that, she’d created a rather impressive and effective aerial maneuver to protect the fighters.
When the squad arrived back on the ship the battalion greeted them with cheers. Despite the success, Tano’s face was still tight, her smile was forced. Before long she’d slipped away and no one had seen her since.
“Losing her squad was really hard.” Rex told them back in the barracks. “Knowing her, she’s beating herself up real bad over it.”
“It’s not her fault it was a trap.” Hardcase pointed out.
“No, but she knew that she should have turned back.” Kix said with a sigh. “She visited Axe and Hammer in the medbay to apologize to both of them for her actions.”
“She made a mistake.” Fives said.
“Yeah, but unfortunately mistakes in command lead to a lot of deaths.” Jesse huffed. “It isn’t fair to her or any of the other Jedi commanders.”
They fell quiet as they contemplated.
“I didn’t see her after we picked up Skywalker.” Rex said. “I think she’s hiding from me.”
“From you sir?” Echo asked.
Rex nodded.
“Well someone should check on her.” Hardcase piped up.
“If anybody can find her.” Rex huffed. “She probably just needs her space, vod’ika.”
They began to settle down in the quickly quieting barracks.
Despite being tired, Echo found himself tossing and turning in his bunk. Finally, after an hour, he gave up and quietly slipped out of the barracks. He was making his way towards the mess before he paused and turned down a different hall. Echo figured that if he walked around the ship enough he’d eventually tire himself out.
Hardcase’s words were circling around his head non-stop.
Commander Tano had her master to check up on her. He was pretty sure that was his whole job. He kept telling himself this even as he continued to trek through the ship.
Eventually, Echo found himself in the hangar. Most of the maintenance crew had retired to their bunks for the sleep cycle leaving the large space mostly quiet.
He walked through the different sections until he happened to notice a flash of blue and white out of the corner of his eye.
He turned to see a small figure seated with her back against the wall looking out at an empty section of the hangar. Echo wavered for a moment before slowly approaching his commander.
Her head tilted slightly at the sound of his approach but she didn’t acknowledge him until he was standing next to her.
“Hi, Echo.” She said without looking away from the empty space.
“Commander.” He responded.
He wasn’t entirely sure what to say after that. After a minute of him standing there awkwardly Tano glanced up at him briefly.
“Would you like to sit?”
“Uh, yes sir.”
He gratefully sank down on the floor next to her.
“You don’t have to call me Sir Echo. I fell asleep on you not that long ago, I think that constitutes some lack of formality.” She said.
He snorted at that.
“Alright.”
Echo stretched out one of his legs and propped the other one up to rest his arm. He looked out at the empty hangar, though he noted that there were two ships down at the end of this section.
“What are you doing up?” His commander asked.
“I uh, couldn’t sleep.” He answered. “What about you commander?”
“Same here.” She responded.
They fell quiet again as Echo worked up the nerve to ask the question he really wanted to ask.
“Is something wrong Echo?” He blinked as he looked down at her in surprise.
Right, Jedi.
“Oh um, I uh, I just wanted to ask…” She was looking up at him curiously. “I wanted to ask how you were doing after the… after today.”
Her expression seemed to shutter and she turned her eyes away from his to look back out at the empty hangar.
He watched her mouth open to respond before she paused. Her eyes turned down to her hands which her resting in her lap.
“To be honest…” She chewed on her cheek for a moment. “Not very good.”
Echo shifted so that he was facing her a little more.
“I… it was my first-time solo leading a mission like this. I mean yeah I’ve led troops in battle but Rex or Anakin were always not far away and they were calling the shots. This time, it was just me.” Her fingers fidgeted. “I told Rex I wouldn’t let him down but I did.”
“Commander,” Echo started cautiously. “We all make mistakes from time to time, Rex understands. If anything, he’s worried about how you’re holding up.”
Ahsoka shook her head and raised her knees up to her chest.
“I lost so many of my men in that run.”
Echo looked for something to say. All troopers spent a good amount of time with their younger vode either in training or demonstrations. However, Fives had always been the one who had a way with words, especially when it came to lifting up a younger cadet.
Echo huffed as he tried to channel his inner Fives.
“But you made up for it during the second run commander.” Echo pointed out. “You came up with the strategy and you flew out with your men again to make the final push.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She rested her chin on her knees. “My master kind of didn’t leave me any other options when he rammed his ship into the blockade.”
“That was…” Echo tried to find a word to describe it without insulting his general.
“Chaotic?” Ahsoka supplied as she glanced over at him. “Crazy? Bantha-osik?”
Echo laughed at that.
“Something along those lines.”
She had the faintest of smiles on her face now.
“Look commander, I know that I’ve only been with the 501st for a little while now, and it really isn’t my place to say…” Fives had never had to try to make a commander feel better after a hard training day.
And here he was trying to break through to a padawan commander after a bad mission. To say his confidence in his words was failing was an understatement.
Ahsoka was once again looking up at him with searching blue eyes.
She’d done so much for him and Fives when they joined the 501st, she’d helped them find their new home and place amongst their brothers. He just hoped he could return that favor in some small way.
“Yes, you made a mistake. But mistakes are something that we learn from.” He said quickly as he looked back out at the empty hangar. “That was a hard lesson, one that I personally don’t think you should have ever had to learn but it’s over with now. Lessons help us get stronger and from what I’ve seen from you already commander, is that you seem to have a habit of coming back stronger.” He took a moment to catch his breath. “I know that my faith in you hasn’t changed, neither has Rex’s or Fives. I’d still follow you into battle, especially when I know you don’t make the same mistake twice.”
With his sudden rush of words done, they fell back into silence. Echo still hadn’t looked back at his little commander, a little afraid of what he’d see.
Suddenly she shifted beside him. Small hands came to rest over his. He glanced up to see Ahsoka kneeling in front of him. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as her gaze bore into his.
“Echo I promise you that I will never make that mistake again. Your life, all of your lives, matter to me and I swear to you that I will prove it.”
His breath caught in his throat. To be promised something by a Jedi was regarded as one of the most powerful things in the galaxy. And to think his commander had just sworn one to him in an empty hangar in the middle of the sleep cycle. The only witnesses were the ghosts of the squad that used to reside in this space.
A chill raced down Echo’s spine as he nodded to her.
She returned to her spot on the floor next to him and wiped her face.
They fell back into silence as Echo tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He truly meant what he’d said, he would follow her into whatever battlefield came next.
“I really did think your strategy of approaching the blockade the second time around was cool.” Echo finally spoke up.
Ahsoka glanced up at him.
“Really?”
“Yes sir. I’ve never seen anything like it for sure but it was really creative.”
Ahsoka hummed.
“No one in the command room was so sure about it,” Ahsoka admitted.
“Seemed like a pretty standard 501st maneuver.” He said with a shrug. “Crazy on flimsi but in practice really effective.”
“If I were you commander,” Both Echo and Ahsoka turned to see Fives leaning against the wall watching them. “Believe Echo when he says something strategically is cool, it’s cool.”
“Is that so?” Ahsoka asked with a small smile.
“Yes sir, I was blessed with amazingly good looks, he got the strategy brain.” Fives answered, making Ahsoka laugh.
“Copaani mirshmure’cye, vod?” Echo asked as he narrowed his eyes. “How did you even know we were down here?”
Fives rolled his eyes as if it was obvious.
“My super secret batchmate sense where I can pinpoint your location at all times. Kaminoans designed us that way.”
Echo stared up at Fives.
“You tracked my com didn’t you.”
Ahsoka snorted at that.
“Why by the stars do you carry that thing around with you even this late at night?” Fives asked as he shook his head.
“Chapter 12, Section 4 of the Regulation Manuals states that all troopers-”
“Are supposed to carry their coms with them at all times in case an emergency alert comes through.” Fives cut in as he rolled his eyes.
Ahsoka giggled as Echo glared at his brother.
“Would you like to join us?” Ahsoka asked Fives.
“Yes sir.” Fives said as he sank down onto the floor on Ahsoka’s other side.
Ahsoka huffed.
“I already told Echo, I fell asleep on you both not that long ago, you don’t have to keep calling me sir.”
“Do you think that would work if I got Rex to fall asleep on me?” Fives mused. “Or General Skywalker?”
Echo groaned as Ahsoka laughed again.
He was happy that she seemed to be feeling better than when he’d found her at least.
“So what are you two doing up anyways?” Fives asked.
“Couldn’t sleep,” Echo answered and Ahsoka nodded as her eyes were once again drawn out to the empty hangar.
Fives made eye contact with Echo over her montrals. A silent conversation passed between the two of them.
“Hey commander,” Fives said as he glanced back down at her. “Did we ever tell you how Echo got his name?”
Echo shook his head slightly as he stared at Fives. That was not what he’d attempted to telepathically suggest.
Seeing his brother’s affronted face only made Fives crack a wide smile.
“I don’t think so,” Ahsoka answered as she turned her eyes away from the hangar to look up at Fives.
“Well,” Fives made a show of settling down. “It all started when we started training with our squad in the live simulations. Blaster fire and shouting and chaos everywhere.”
Echo rolled his eyes at his brother’s dramatics but it looked like their commander was enthralled.
“Our trainer, a real mean old Mandalorian, would give us orders throughout the simulation. And right after he’d tell us all them, we’d hear good old Echo not two seconds behind retelling us the orders as if we all hadn’t just heard them.”
Ahsoka glanced back at him with a gentle smile.
“Soon enough we just started calling him Echo. He didn’t like it at first but we grew on him.”
“Yeah like a fungus.” Echo huffed. “He forgot to mention that our squad was so bad at following orders that we were almost sent to be maintenance clones. We needed all the help we could get when it came to orders.”
“Yeah well, the repetition didn’t seem to do much outside of annoying everyone.” Fives snarked.
“You know,” Ahsoka cut in. “Sometimes I wish I had someone to repeat orders to me. I’ll get them and almost get my head shot off by a droid and immediately forget.”
Echo gave his brother a winning smile.
“See, I was being helpful.”
“Keep telling yourself that vod.” Fives answered.
Ahsoka once again pulled her knees up to her chest but instead of trying to appear smaller, she was relaxing. A yawn exposed her elongated fangs and it quickly passed onto Echo and Fives.
“So Echo you had your name picked for you, and I assume you picked your own name Fives?”
“Yep. Got tired of CT-5555 all the time.” He replied around another yawn.
“I always think it’s cool finding out how you all got your names,” Ahsoka said as she tucked into herself. “Names are powerful things.”
Echo hummed as he nodded.
They fell back into silence, all of them beginning to feel sleep tugging at them.
“Well I don’t know about you two but I am certainly getting tired.” Fives admitted as he sat up.
Their commander nodded in agreement as she straightened out her legs.
“Could we escort you back to your room commander?” Echo asked her.
She looked at him gratefully.
“You don’t have to, you both are tired too and it’s not entirely on the way to the barracks.”
“We’d be happy to sir.” Echo said as he stood up.
He held out a hand to the togruta which she accepted and he carefully pulled her upright.
The three of them made their way out of the hangar and through the quiet halls. The crew that was on duty right now nodded to them when they passed but didn’t seem that confused as to what they were all doing out at this time.
Finally, they reached the private quarters.
The general’s room was right next to Ahsoka’s and there few other doors lining the halls were occupied by Yularen and sometimes a clone CO.
Ahsoka turned to Echo and Fives.
“Thank you for the escort. And the talk.” She looked up into Echo’s eyes once more. “Thank you for your confidence Echo. I… I really needed to hear it.”
“Of course commander,” Echo said. “Us newbies gotta look out for one another right?”
She giggled and made a step towards him before hesitating. Uncertainty crossed her face before she shook it off and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Echo froze.
Was he allowed to hug his commander? He didn’t think it said anywhere in the reg manuals he couldn’t… and considering the conversation they’d had earlier…
Echo carefully wrapped his arms around her narrow shoulders. She sighed into his chest before stepping back and nodding to him.
“Do I get a good night hug as well commander?” Fives asked from off to Echo’s left.
Echo turned to cuff the back of his brother’s head as Ahsoka laughed.
“Yes, Fives.”
She wrapped her arms around his middle and he gave a broad smile as he squeezed her back.
With that, she turned and stepped into her room.
-
Rex was nose-deep in a report as he sipped his steaming cup of caf. Losing a venator meant a lot of kriffing paperwork, he could only imagine how much his general had to fill out considering that they had actually lost two. It was rather cramped in the Resolute with the entire crew of the Dominator and the large group of the Redeemer crew all packed on board.
However, this early there still weren’t that many people in the mess yet.
He was faintly aware of the door opening and closing behind him but he assumed that it was likely Appo, his fellow captain also hoping to take advantage of the quiet time.
Rex jumped slightly when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find that it wasn’t Appo but it was Ahsoka. She was wrapped in an outer cloak to fight off the cold of hyperspace and he could just see her sleepwear underneath. She looked tired and she was shuffling nervously.
“Commander.” He greeted.
“Captain,” She said as she shuffled her feet again.
He turned around so that he was facing her fully.
“I… I wanted to apologize for my actions yesterday.” She said as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “It was highly irresponsible and I let you down and I let my men down.”
Rex blinked in surprise.
“Ahsoka-”
“I broke your trust in me by not following orders and I know what I did was really bad and it cost the 501st a lot and almost cost Ryloth even more.” Rex opened his mouth but she charged on. “But I want you to know that I will never make that mistake again. I talked it over with Echo last night and realized that I can’t change what happened, as much as I would like to, but I can promise you that I will never make that mistake again. I value all of your lives so much and I want to prove to all of you that I do.”
Her narrow shoulders rose up and down rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. Rex stared at her wide-eyed as he worked through everything she had just said.
A promise from a Jedi was no small gift. Everyone knew it.
He’d also been right in his assumption that she had been hiding from him the day before. She was nervous to face him right now. That wasn’t right, Ahsoka Tano didn’t seem to fear anything, didn’t seem to back down from any challenge. That had been proven yesterday on her second run with the fighter squad.
Rex reached out his hands to grip both her shoulders.
“Ahsoka, we all know how much you care about us. We see you put your neck on the line during every battle for us. What happened yesterday, yes it was bad and not following orders didn’t help, but you also proved to all of us that you weren’t going to tuck your tail between your legs after one bad loss. You stepped back up and you found a way to beat the blockade without putting anyone else in danger.” He shook her shoulders slightly so she’d look at him. “I’m proud of you for that. And I hope that Echo told you that we’d all still follow you into whatever battle lies ahead.”
She gave a small smile.
“That’s exactly what he said actually.”
“Good, because it’s true.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I would follow you vod’ika.”
The endearment slipped out before Rex registered that it was. Never before had he referred to anybody but fellow clones as vod’ika. Even then it was only those he was closest with.
Yet it felt so natural with the little togruta in front of him.
She tilted her head to the side a little, not familiar with that mando’a term yet. He’d admit that he was a little grateful.
The door behind her opened and a group of Torrent entered, chattering and otherwise disturbing the quiet peace period. Rex gave Ahsoka one last squeeze before releasing her.
She gave him a smile and a nod before she followed the group of troopers to the food station. They all happily greeted her and pulled her into the middle of their group as soon as they saw her.
Rex watched the group fondly.
Yes, vod’ika was a fitting title for the little padawan that somehow managed to wriggle into his heart, right alongside his other vod.
Notes:
Domino Twin fans I decided to feed us a little bit this week, who doesn't love Ahsoka, Echo, and Fives trio? (you know I do *cough* Till Stars Break *cough*
The last three chapters have been filled with teaching moments for Ahsoka and I'm calling it the Lessons ARC :P I knew that I was going to need to cover Storm Over Ryloth because I think that it was a kind of turning point in the show for Ahsoka and how she started taking command.
This chapter is a lil shorter than the others, but the next two are longer and exciting so I hope you forgive me :)
Please yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary <3
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments feed my dark soul :)
Mando'a trans:
Copaani mirshmure’cye, vod? - are you looking for a smack in the face brother?
Chapter 9: Unexpected Detours
Summary:
A little bt of an outsiders view on Ahsoka and her friendship with her men, and by unexpected detours, I mean two people fall of a cliff btw
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It takes a village to look out for each other, especially during the hardest times.
-
Obi-Wan Kenobi watched Anakin stifle a yawn out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t entirely fault his former student for it. The 501st had just finished up a campaign in the Turkana System and had earned a break. It would likely only last about a week but that would hopefully be enough time for them all to recuperate.
On the holoprojector in front of them, Anakin finished relaying is reports from the campaign to the council and the various Clone Commanders present.
“Thank you knight Skywalker, your battalion’s efforts are very appreciated.” Mace Windu said.
“Take this time to rest, you and your battalion must.” Yoda told Anakin.
“Thank you masters.” Anakin bowed before shutting down the projector and rolling out his neck. “I thought that would never end.”
“You certainly are improving on the military protocol front.” Obi-Wan commented.
Anakin rolled his eyes and threw him a mock salute.
“Come, you should eat something before you pass out.” Obi-Wan led the way out of the bridge towards the lift that would take them to the mess.
“I might fall asleep in the mess.”
“Then don’t face plant into your food again.” Obi-Wan told him.
Anakin shot him a look before shaking his head with a laugh.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Obi-Wan said as the lift sank down to the main body of the ship. “How has your padawan been doing as of recent?”
The doors slid open as Anakin ran a hand through his hair.
“Ahsoka has been doing better. She’s a fast learner, I’ll give her that.” Obi-Wan hummed as they exited the lift. “She’s had to learn some pretty tough lessons very fast.”
The older Jedi’s heart panged at that. It didn’t sit right with him or many others that their young were being raised in war and not peace. A battlefield was no place to grow up.
“I try to be there for her as much as possible, try to help her work through it.” Anakin continued.
“Sometimes that’s all you can do.” Obi-Wan said. “Just being there has a support can mean the world.”
“I know.” Anakin sighed. “I just…”
Obi-Wan glanced to his friend.
“I just worry that I’m not always what she needs. That I’m not enough to always be there for her or I don’t know what to say to her.”
Another thing lost with the war. When a knight took on a padawan to learn, they usually had the support of their lineage as well as their fellow knights and masters. Raising and teaching a child wasn’t meant to be a sole person’s job.
Obi-Wan placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder and let calm and assurance permeate the Force around them.
“I know it is difficult at this time, but if there is any way I can help or support you both, just let me know.” Obi-wan said. “I wouldn’t mind taking her on for a short while if you’d like. My men were a little put out that she ended up with you and not with the 212th.”
Anakin let out a short laugh.
“I can’t really see Cody being put out by anything.” He huffed.
“You spend enough time around anybody, you see all sides of them.” Obi-wan said.
Anakin nodded before something seemed to spark in eyes, accompanied by a flare from his force signature.
Obi-Wan nudged back questioningly.
“Well, I guess I just kind of realized that maybe I haven’t been teaching Ahsoka by myself.”
The master cocked his head inquisitively but Anakin just continued down to the hall to the mess. As they grew closer, Obi-Wan noticed the general light and warmth seeming to pulse as they got closer. Stepping inside he quickly saw why. After most campaigns the troopers ate their food before going off to crash in their bunks, the ship heavy with exhaustion.
However in the mess there was currently a sizable group seated around two tables off to the right. Among the troopers gathered he noted Rex, Jesse, and the medic Helix had taken a liking to Kix. A parting in the group revealed Ahsoka right in the middle, talking animatedly to the group about something that had them smiling or laughing.
Sensing their arrival, the girl looked up at them and waved before returning to her story.
There was exhaustion blurred at the edges of the group, even around the togruta herself, but the lightness of amusement and joy kept it at bay.
Obi-Wan felt a small tugging at his lips as he followed Anakin to the food counter. The two of them settled down on a quiet corner of the mess to eat as they observed the group.
Ahsoka said something and a trooper with blue geometric patterns across his face and armor threw his head back in a roaring laugh.
“I’m glad to see that Ahsoka has settled in with some of the troopers.” Obi-wan commented.
Anakin nodded as a flash of fondness zipped through the Force.
“When she first joined, Rex and I had no idea what to do with her. I’d told Rex I wouldn’t have a padawan so we were both thrown for a loop.” Anakin shot him a meaningful look. “I figured that Rex would be able to teach her the ropes of command better than I would, I guess I just didn’t expect him to put his all into it.” Anakin chuckled. “I think Ahsoka knows more about how to run this battalion than I do.”
Obi-Wan would be the first to admit that Anakin wasn’t the most professional. He’d done his best right at the start of the war to give him a crash course in command but he wasn’t sure how much of it stuck. He was a gifted strategist there was no doubt, couple that with Rex’s talents and the 501st had quickly become notorious.
“Rex trained her with Torrent so that’s who she’s most comfortable with, but she’s made an effort to get to know everyone else as well. I don’t know how but all of them are very good with her, I think they’ve done just as much comforting a I have.” Anakin nodded to the group closest to Ahsoka. “She’s especially close with those six. When Fives and Echo first got here she made it her job to show them the ropes.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that she’s created such a connection with her men, she’s an empath is she not?”
“Yes, which I thought would make things harder.” Obi-Wan gave him a questioning look. “She feels everything when we are on the battlefield, more than I do I think. I try to give us distance so it’s muted but that doesn’t always happen. Yet somehow she walks off every battlefield and goes right up to those grieving and helps them.”
Obi-Wan’s eyes widened slightly as he looked back at the padawan.
Ahsoka had fallen quiet as she listened to another trooper speak. She was leaning against the arm of the medic, looking like she was close to falling asleep right there.
“She worries about them all.” Anakin said quietly. “But, I think they worry about her just as much. It makes me fell better that she has them looking out for her. They can be there when I can’t always be.”
They both fell silent as they continued to regard the group.
Many troopers were leaving now, no doubt returning to their own bunks to sleep. Ahsoka had finally surrendered to sleep herself, head tucked against the medic. Obi-Wan watched as Kix glanced down at the girl asleep in his arm, nothing but fondness in his gaze.
Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe the padawans weren’t jilted out of being raised by a group. Maybe the circumstances had just changed, instead of other knights they were being looked after by the clone troopers.
He watched as four of the six troopers engaged in a rapid fire game of rock paper scissors, Rex and Kix watching it with amusement. The victor, Jesse, let out a silent cheer and flipping a vulgar hand sign at the other troopers before walking around to Kix’s side. Ever so gently he hooked an arm under Ahsoka’s legs and her back to lift her up off the bench.
He followed Rex out of the mess towards the officer quarters as the rest turned towards the barracks.
“I think they love her as much as she loves them.” Anakin said through a yawn.
Obi-Wan found himself inclined to agree.
—
Rex followed after his general as they made their way through the hangar, troopers rushing past to finish up preparations for their upcoming drop.
“Tempus has unpredictable weather patterns.” His general was saying. “As of right now we have a clear shot to the ground and conditions should remain good hopefully for a few days. We won’t know if there is any incoming storms until they are right on top of us.”
“Not our first time fighting in the snow.” Rex told him.
“No, doesn’t mean it will be pleasant.” Skywalker replied.
Transports were quickly filling up with troopers, all vibrating with the excitement that came right before a battle. A little ways away he spotted Jesse directing supplies and men for Torrent, voice loud enough to be heard over the raucous. Kix tossed him an extra thermal blanket as he went by and snapped something at the Corporal that made him tuck the blanket package into his belt with no complaint.
A flash of orange and red made Rex look to his general’s other side where Ahsoka had appeared.
“Tango, Carnival, and Vulptice are all locked and loaded master.” She informed Skywalker.
“Good, we are just waiting on Torrent and Dionoga.” The Knight looked out the hangar at the looming planet, its surface covered in swirling cloud formations and flashes of lightning. “Now let’s just hope the Force is on our side with the weather.”
—
As it turned out, the Force was not entirely on their side when it came to the weather. A day into the fight it began raining and didn’t stop. The rock and dirt under their feet grew slick and treacherous as they chased after the droid legion.
Finally on the fourth day there, the rain let up to a drizzling mist. Icy wind swept through their ranks and Ahsoka knew that the next thing to fall was snow. She told her master as much.
“We need to make it over this ridge before the snow sets in.” Rex said as he pointed to the hollow map in front of them. “The only issue is that its bordered by canyons. We need to cut the droids off from escaping down those and we need to make sure we don’t march our own troopers right over the edge.”
There was a narrow bridge of rock that stretched over the the canyons, if they got stuck crossing that in the snow, it would be an osik show.
“Ok, we’ll make our move now.” Anakin said before turning to Ahsoka. “I want you to take the right flank near the canyon. Take out any droids trying to escape down there and make sure none of our own men fall in there.”
“Yes master.” She answered.
“Commander I would suggest taking a few men with you.” Rex told her.
Ahsoka gave Rex a salute with a smile.
“Sure thing captain.”
With that she ducked out of the command tent, tugging her long coat tighter around her, before taking off through the hastily erected camp. Troopers nodded and saluted to her as she weaved past them, mindful of all the moving supplies in preparation for the storm. An inkling in the back of her mind made her snatch up a few extra ration bars to tuck into her belt before setting off once again.
Up ahead she saw a group of heavy class troopers prepping their Z-6 blasters and other heavy weaponry, helmets off as they laughed at some joke.
She weaved around behind them before winding up behind Hardcase. Across the circle Torque spotted her but she held a finger up to her lips, he nodded in understanding.
Ahsoka leaned in as close as she dared before letting out a low growl by Hardcase’s ear. He jumped a mile high with a string of swears before whirling to glare at her. She gave him a sharp toothed smile.
“Commander one of these days I’m going to return the favor.” He threatened.
“I’d love to see you try.” She laughed before pulling herself back into a more formal stance. “I’ve got a job for you on the right flank. We’re blasting droids that try to slip down the canyon and keeping everyone else from falling down the canyon.”
“Finally some kriffing action.” he said as he pushed himself up to standing. “Feel like we’ve been sitting on our shebs forever.”
“We’ve been here four hours max.” Boomer mumbled as he rolled his eyes.
“As I said,” Hardcase slung his Z-6 over one shoulder and a pack of extra ammunition over the other. “Forever.”
Ahsoka set off again this time with Hardcase at her back. They trekked into the heart of Torrent’s area before she found her next two. Echo was meticulously cleaning his blaster and Fives was asleep propped up next to him, blaster half assembled on his lap and head tipped back in sleep.
“I’ve got a job for you both.” Ahsoka told Echo.
Hardcase reached over to clap a hand on Fives’ shoulder, jarring him awake with a yelp.
“Up and up kids, grab you boots and batten your breeches were slugging it.” Hardcase said as he grabbed Fives’ backplate and lifted him up to standing.
Fives attempted to finish assembling his blaster with clumsy half-asleep hands as Echo grabbed the rest of their gear.
“I’d suggest grabbing an extra ration bar, it’s gonna get cold soon.” Ahsoka said.
“Sir yes sir.” Echo and Fives responded.
Soon enough the four of them were slipping out of the camp to make their way towards the canyon. Ahsoka could hear the sound of distant blaster fire carried in the cold wind. They skirted around the far edge of the battlefield through a large stretch of mud, coating all of their legs and adding to the cold. Finally, they carefully slipped behind droid lines towards the point where the ridge was bottle necked by the canyons.
Ahsoka sent a pulse of command through her bond with Anakin, a signal that they were ready. Moments later the sound of multiple explosions and the thudding vibration of hundreds of feet pounding across the rocky ground reached Ahsoka.
“Their charging in now.” Ahsoka told the three trooper behind her.
“That’s cool you can hear that from here sir.” Fives said through a yawn.
“You better not be falling asleep again.” Echo mumbled.
“Me? I’d never fall asleep on the battle field.” Fives responded.
“I have.” Hardcase said from where he was leaning up against a boulder.
Ahsoka, Fives, and Echo turned to look at him inquisitively. The older trooper just shrugged.
“I was really kriffing tired.”
It wasn’t long before the first of the droids appeared. Hidden in the rocks, the troopers made quick work of the scragglers, leaving twisted metal parts strewn across the muddy ground. The number began to increase as the wind picked up, whipping the first flutters of snowflakes around them.
A shout from the droids drew Ahsoka’s attention away from the sounds of the distant battle.
“There’s a whole bunch of spare parts over here!”
“Wait a second, those look like blaster holes.”
“That means there are clon-”
Fives shot the head off the droid.
As one the group of droids turned towards their position and began to fire. Ahsoka leapt out from behind the rocks to deflect their fire back into their own ranks. In between swings she activated her wrist com.
“Master the droids know we’re on this side.”
“Hold your position, we are covering ground quickly.”
Ahsoka didn’t bother signing off, just shut her com down and went back to deflecting.
“Hey wait a minute,” One of the droids said. “Their blocking the canyon!”
“Wasn’t that our exit?” Another droid asked.
Ahsoka marveled at how stupid these things were.
The two droids were suddenly dismantled from a barrage of fire from Hardcase’s Z-6.
Snow began to fall heavier, the strong wind obscuring their visibility. Ahsoka gritted her teeth against the cold, her fingers starting to go numb despite her gloves. Togruta were most definitely not built for these kinds of conditions.
More droids rushed towards them, no doubt preparing to shove right through them. Ahsoka gathered the Force around her and sent a large push, sending the first two rows of droids tumbling back into the back rows. The ground vibrated violently as a missile rocked the ground not to far away.
The bodies of droids were piling up but she hadn’t sensed anything from the three men behind her. The only one of them bold enough to stand just off to her side and not shielded by rocks was Hardcase, the older trooper laughing as he mowed down droid after droid.
“Glad someone is having fun.” She called over to him.
“Oh come on sir this is great!” He called back.
From behind her she thought she heard one of the twins mumble, “Dini’la bastard.”
The wind carried the sounds of shouts from the 501st line. Even if she couldn’t see them through the snow, Ahsoka knew they were getting closer.
“Our frontline is closing in!” She shouted to her group.
“Good, they can join the action.” Hardcase yelled back.
A droid missile crashed down much closer to their position, sending droid parts flying. These tinnies really were cross wired. Despite their lack of brains, their numbers made up for it, which was becoming evident as the droids on the flank pushed closer and closer to them. Ahsoka backed up a step, then another.
As predicted the large body of the droid platoon were more focused on making it through the bottle neck of the canyon before it got snowed in. Only the edge was pushing towards them.
All around them snow swirled, sticking to the ground and leaving her steps slick. Off to her right through a break in the snow she saw a familiar flash of blue.
Another droid missile sent a shower of rocks raining over them, making Echo jump out of the way from getting blasted.
Ahsoka scanned through the droids she could see, looking for the one that had the launcher. Off to her left she could see Hardcase doing much of the same. They were kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of maneuverability to escape a missile, the canyon edge yawning only a meter or two away.
A break in the snow and Ahsoka for sure caught a flash of blue, a moment later a glint of polished metal drew her attention to one particular droid. Red was painted on its arms as it followed another droid’s direction to aim the missile launcher. Time seemed to slow as the nozzle pointed right at the three foot space between her and Hardcase.
A plume of smoke and a thunderous crash sent the missile hurtling towards them.
Ahsoka lunged to slam into Hardcase.
He seemed to have a similar idea when he dropped his large blaster to whirl towards her. She slammed into his hard plastoid armor, throwing them backwards just has the missile struck the ground.
An intense wave of heat washed over them, searing through Ahsoka’s left pant leg and burning into her skin, causing her vision to fade and a pain filled shriek to be ripped from her lungs. She felt Hardcase spin himself in front of her to block the rest of the flame.
The shock wave sent the two of them flying backwards, right over the edge of the canyon.
Her stomach launched into her throat as they dropped, a shower of rock and ice chasing them down and this time the scream didn’t come from her as they fell.
Hardcase’s large arms wrapped around her middle as he curled his body around hers. A moment later they hit some sort of outcropping nearly jarring Ahsoka’s teeth out of her skull. Hardcase’s durasteel like grip was what kept her from bouncing free as they continued their free fall.
On instinct Ahsoka wrapped the Force around them protective a split second before the slammed into the ground. They bounced before rolling a few more feet, finally sliding to a stop.
Neither of them moved for a few moments, the only thing Ahsoka was aware of was the shallow rise and fall of Hardcase’s chest against her cheek.
“Are you alright?” Ahsoka finally mumbled, her voice shaking slightly.
“I think so sir.” Hardcase mumbled back. “What about you?”
“I think so.” She responded.
Slowly he released his grip on her, landing her into a pile of cold. She carefully turned her head, noting a sharp pain on the left side of her neck and a steady throbbing through her left lek. She glanced down to see that they had landed in a snow, likely left over from the last major snow storm that had swept through this canyon. It had seemed like a miracle from the Force that it had been here to help cushion their fall.
“Commander!” A voice drifted down to them. “Hardcase!”
That sounded like Fives. Ahsoka glanced at her wrist to see that her come was gone. Great, no communication.
Ahsoka sucked in a breath.
“We’re down here!” She shouted back, feeling a wave of dizziness sweep over her.
Something else was shouted but she couldn’t make it out over the ringing in her montrals.
Hardcase attempted to sit up and gasped in pain. Ahsoka quickly turned to assess him for any obvious injuries. He carefully rolled over onto his back before slowly propping himself up on his elbows. Ahsoka could hear his ragged breathing through his helmet.
Ahsoka attempted to scramble up to help him but quickly noticed three things. One, her head spun violently enough to make her nauseous, two, her left calf and thigh burned with pain, three, her ribs also violently protested that movement, causing her to let out a strangled cry.
She pressed her head into the snow until the pain subsided a little. This time she moved much slower, trying to keep her left leg from touching the snow and from moving in general. She got her right knee up under her and pushed herself back towards Hardcase.
“How can I help?” She asked him.
“I don’t think my back is broken so helping me sit up would be nice.” He grunted.
While his back not have been broken, his right side looked torched, just like her leg. Though his plastoid armor looked to have taken most of it when he’d shielded her.
Ahsoka crawled so she was behind him and pressed her back into his, carefully avoiding the blackened part of his side to helping shove him up. Soon enough they were both panting from their own pain.
“Remind me not to fall down a canyon again.” Hardcase said as he attempted to roll his neck out. “Shaba’osik.”
“Only if you promise to do the same for me.” Ahsoka huffed as she leaned back against him.
She glanced up at the bright opening above them. Snow flakes were drifting down to them but she thought she might have seen a flash of blue and white near the rim. Or her head was really messed up after that fall.
“Do you have coms?” She asked Hardcase.
“No, helmet was busted on the way down.” He sighed. “Hopefully Echo and Fives tell someone we’re down here because I don’t know if I’m making the climb out of here.”
Ahsoka hummed in agreement.
At the very least they would be able to tell Anakin of their position. Considering the wind carried the promise of a powerful storm, it wouldn’t be a very good idea for them to send assistance down to them. The 501st needed to get through the pass before snow made it treacherous. Wasting resources and time to get them could cost the majority.
“Commander, Hardcase sound off!” A voice shouted from above them.
They both hollered back.
“If it’s available we need medical!” Ahsoka added.
There was a shout of confirmation.
Snow continued to fall, slowly but surely piling up around them. Ahsoka attempted to keep her burned leg out of the wet snow as much as possible and she knew Hardcase was doing much of the same. Against her back she could feel Hardcase beginning to slump forward, exhaustion and pain throbbing from his Force signature and mixing with her own exhaustion.
“Hope no one else falls down here with us.” Ahsoka piped up, trying to battle back the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.
From the few medical and first aid classes she’d attended, Ahsoka knew that it was a risk for either of them to fall asleep after the trauma they’d just endured.
Hardcase grunted.
“I mean it was our job to keep people from falling down here, and now we aren’t up there to direct them.” Ahsoka continued.
“You’re right sir,” Hardcase huffed. “Hopefully the twins hold the line up there.”
Ahsoka opened her mouth to agree when a new voice called down to them.
“Commander, Hardcase, it’s Kix. We are gonna repel down to you, do not move.”
“That won’t be a waka problem.” Ahsoka mumbled.
“Yay, rescue.” Hardcase pumped his fist weakly.
Up above Ahsoka heard the tell tale sound of arguing and metal on rocks, then the hiss of cable.
She didn’t bother looking up, knowing it would likely hurt about 75% of her body to do so. Instead she closed her eyes and used her other senses to tracked Kix’s progress.
There was a thump of boots on the ground, followed closely by another.
“Well aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes.” Hardcase said.
Ahsoka twisted as much as she could to see Kix and Rex quickly unhooking themselves from the cable and dashing over to them.
Kix slid to a stop in the snow and dropped down to his knees next to them, swiftly swinging his medical pack as he did so.
“Vod’ika.” Rex dropped down on their other side, scanning them both to take in whatever exposed injuries they both had.
Ahsoka was slowly but surely picking up on the mando’a terms that the clone troopers commonly used. She understood that they had picked up the mando’a from the trainers Jango Fett and the Kaminoans had employed but they hadn’t been formaly taught it. After Rex had used that term for her she’d listened out for it until she’d determined that it was a term of endearment, one usually reserved for close brothers.
It had warmed her heart then, as it did now, even if she didn’t know who Rex had directed the term of endearment at.
Kix quickly ran his scanner over Ahsoka, then over Hardcase. While his helmet hid his expression, his voice signature flickered in trepidation and worry.
“You two sure took a beating.” He mumbled.
“Really?” Hardcase asked sarcastically. “I hadn’t realized.”
Ahsoka huffed a laugh before hunching over in pain. Rex placed a worried hand on her arm, shooting Kix a likely concerned look.
“How are you feeling.” He asked.
“Et sva.” Ahsoka answered.
Kix and Rex looked at her in confusion.
“Wonderful.” She replied sarcastically before she sniffled.
“Let’s move them to the wall.” Kix told Rex. “They’ll be better sheltered.”
With that Rex slowly eased his arm between her and Hardcase’s back, letting her lean her weight against him instead. Carefully he began to shift her, but no matter how gently they moved Ahsoka was still biting back tears of pain.
Finally her back met the cold rock wall. Just as Rex removed his arms, his wrist com lit up.
“Yes General.” He answered.
“Have you found Ahsoka?” Her master’s voice crackled through.
“Yes, both the Commander and Hardcase are here, Kix and I repelled down the canyon and are administering medical aid.”
“What’s their condition?”
Rex looked to where Kix was.
“They shouldn’t wait for us.” Kix answered.
“Don’t wait for us sir.”
“Alright, keep me updated.” With that Anakin signed off.
Ahsoka leaned her head back against the wall with a long sigh.
-
Kix was absolutely sure that he was going to get driven into an early grave by his vode. His heart had certainly stuttered when Echo commed him in a panic saying that Ahsoka and Hardcase had fallen off the kriffing cliff into the canyon.
Once he’d gotten over to where Echo and Fives were positioned he’d been greeted by the large drop that his commander had apparently fallen down. On top of the obvious issue, snow was falling harder and harder, already up to his ankles. Visibility was low, however the two troopers had been smart enough to set up markers for the advancing troopers to avoid so that they too didn’t end up down with their commander.
He’d guessed that the two troopers had called Rex first because his captain was already there setting up cables.
He had informed Coric where he was going and hadn’t waited for a confirmation or a denial. They were running low on medical supplies, the 501st was supposed to receive a resupply before the campaign but it had been delayed. If Ahsoka and Hardcase had been blasted off of a kriffing cliff, that would require a lot of supplies, that is if they were even salvageable.
That was all the last thing on his mind as he’d sprinted across the field. He was more concerned currently about getting to his vode, as illogical as it likely was.
Now here he was trying to figure out just where to start in order to fix his commander and his brother. He was honestly shocked that they weren’t more damaged than they were.
Kix carefully lifted Hardcase’s helmet off of his head, his helmet which the medic noted had a sizable fracture on the side, revealing his brother’s slightly battered face. There were dried trails of blood from his nose, likely from slamming his face into the front of his helmet.
The heavy class bared his teeth at Kix in what looked like a mix of a grimace and a smile.
“Good to see you doc.”
“It’s a miracle you two are still alive.” Kix mumbled as he stuck a hypo into his brother’s neck.
Almost immediately he relaxed as the strong pain killers got to work. With that Kix shuffled around to his commander’s side, administering another shot and getting to work on treating her injuries. The medical scan had shown that she was less injured than Hardcase, a few cracked ribs likely from Hardcase’s grip, a concussion, bruising pretty much everywhere, some internal bleeding, as well as the burns up her left leg.
At least his brother had done his job in protecting her from the worst of it.
Kix carefully cut the cloth of her pants around the burn, noting that some of it had melted onto her skin. That has not going to be pleasant to remove.
Kix injected a numbing agent into the area around the burn.
“Commander, this is most likely going to hurt.” He warned.
Ahsoka gave a stiff nod, accepting the hand that Rex offered.
Kix counted down, yanking the cloth on two instead of one. The little togruta let out a pain filled yelp as burned skin was yanked away as well. Both Rex and Hardcase flinched at the sound she made. Kix quickly got to work cleaning the rest of the area as best he could before applying a bacta-patch. He treated the rest of her injuries as best he could, this field treatment really just needed to tide her over until they got back to a medical facility.
Finally he moved back over to Hardcase.
He had Rex help him remove Hardcase’s armor without jostling their injured vod too much. Even so, Hardcase wasn’t looking too hot by the time they were done. Kix and Rex shared a look through their visors as they removed Hardcase’s back plate, noting the large crack marring the plastoid. Other pieces of Hardcase’s armor was cracked or outright shattered. Likely one of the reasons more of his bones weren’t.
“You’re doing great vod’ika.” Rex told him quietly.
“Am I gonna get a hand to hold while Kix treats me?” Hardcase asked through panting breaths.
Kix heard Rex’s exasperated huff as he gave a few bacta injections to the heavy class’ back.
“I think you’re old enough to not need some one to hold your hand.”
“The commander is older and she got a hand.” Hardcase pointed out.
“No she is not.” Kix and Rex chorused at the same time.
As Kix moved down to Hardcase’s side where he had a few burns that seared through the gaps in his armor, he saw Ahsoka reached out her hand.
“I’ll hold your hand.” She offered with an exhausted smile.
Hardcase’s grateful smile turned to a hissing grimace as Kix cut around the portions of his blacks that had melted to his skin.
“Thank you commander but I really don’t want to break your hand.”
With that, Rex did grab his hand. Kix began to count down, this time actually yanking at one, causing a slew of swears.
Hardcase leaned his head back against the wall as Kix moved away from his burned side.
“If we want to keep up with the battalion we need to get them out of here soon.” Rex told Kix.
He knew his captain was right, however he wasn’t entirely sure that either of the two in front of him were in any condition to get hauled up the side of a canyon wall.
Snow was still piling up around them, causing both his commander and Hardcase to shiver.
Kix sighed before activating his com.
“Echo, Fives, you still up top?”
“Yes, the last bit of the battalion is going by now.” Echo answered.
“Can’t see much of anything up here though.” Fives chimed in.
“How are they Kix?” A new voice piped up.
The medic shared a confused look with Rex.
“Jesse?” Kix asked.
The scout had not been there when he and Rex had repelled down.
“Yes, General Skywalker sent me over to check in.”
“Their both stable for now.” Kix answered. “We need you guys to come down here to help up transport the commander and Hardcase back up top.”
“Yes sir.”
As they waited, Kix gave the two injured a ration bar and fished for the thermal blankets he’d pack in anticipation for cold weather. A strong gust of wind blasted down the canyon as he wrapped both of his patients in the blankets.
Just as the three arrivals landed at the bottom Rex’s com lit up again. The captain patted Ahsoka’s head before stepping back to answer.
Jesse, Echo, and Fives quickly slid to a stop next to Kix.
“Thank the Maker you both are still alive.” Jesse exclaimed. “You look like osik.”
“How about you get down here and I’ll give you a first hand experience of what it feels like.” Hardcase growled.
Kix whacked the back of Jesse’s helmet.
“Quit antagonizing my patients. Or else you are going to have to haul him up the cliff by yourself.”
Just then Rex stepped back to the group.
“The general ordered us to remain where we are. Weather is getting worse up top and they are picking up the pace to clear the pass before they get snowed in. We won’t be able to catch up, especially with their condition.” Rex looked around at all of them. “He told us to find a safe place to bunk down and wait out the storm.”
The three new arrivals went to secure the repelling cables as Kix gave a few last minute injections before the group worked to haul Ahsoka and Hardcase up right.
Rex wrapped an arm around Ahsoka’s middle to keep her stable while Jesse and Kix hocked Hardcase’s arms around their necks. Echo and Fives went on ahead to scout for a cave.
With snow falling thickly around them, the group began to make a slow march down the canyon.
Notes:
I love when AO3 stops italicizing halfway through -_-
I don't know much about falling off of cliffs but I assume that they hurt a lot, however they are alive because of the Force and plot armor, deal with it. Oh no they are stuck in a canyon together, hope they don't bond (-(
You should go yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary <3
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments feed my dark soul :)
Mando'a trans:
osik: shit
Dini’la - insane
Shaba’osik - fucking shitTogruti trans:
waka - damn
Et sva - like death
Chapter 10: The Bond
Summary:
All 9 chapters of bonding have brought us to this moment
Notes:
THERE WILL BE NO UPDATE NEXT WEEK, REGULAR POSTING WILL RESUME THE NEXT WEEK
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Family is not always forged by blood, but instead by hardship and triumph.
-
Wind and snow battered Fives’ visor as he and Echo trudged ahead, looking for any kind of shelter for their group to wait out the storm. Every step seemed to be getting more difficult, he could only imagine what it was like for his commander and Hardcase.
When the missile had crashed down almost right on top of Ahsoka and Hardcase, Fives had frozen. One second it the scene of snow and fire and the next it was Rishi station and he watching one of the last members of his batch get blown up along with all those commando droids.
He’d been jarred out of his frozen state by a hunk of rock slamming into his chest plate in time to see Hardcase and Ahsoka get thrown backwards into the canyon. Fives and Echo had both scrambled over to the edge of the canyon, trying to see where the two had landed and if they had even survived, however they were delayed by the ever advancing droids towards them. They hesitantly returned to their positions to fire at the droids, thinning them out as they drew near.
Not long after the first group of 501st troopers broke through the snow hot on the heals of the droids, giving Fives and Echo the distraction they needed in order to peer down into the canyon. Fives had let out a large sigh of relief when their shouts down had finally been answered by their commander.
In short order they had Kix and Rex heading their way, letting Five and Echo return to their original job of shooting droids and keeping their brothers away from the canyon edge.
When Fives had finally ended up on the canyon floor and seen that both Hardcase and Ahsoka were still breathing, a tightened knot in his chest lessened. Losing three members of his aliit had been damn near crippling, he didn’t plan on losing any more of his vode anytime soon.
That task started with finding a cave to get out of the kriffing cold.
A small gap in a pile of rocks a little ways in front of him made him pause. He peered inside, seeing what looked like a sizable dark space. He shoved the nozzle of his blaster through the hole and fired a shot. The bolt illuminated a good sized cave that was currently unoccupied.
Echo, alerted by the blast, came up behind him.
“What would you have done if that had ricochet back into your bucket di’kut?” He asked.
“Then I would have lost an eye and gotten a super cool looking eye patch.” Fives answered as he clipped his blaster to his belt. “Now help me clear some of this away.”
Together the two of them pulled at the rocks, yanking them out of place to clear a hole.
“Go tell them we found a place, I finish this.” Fives told his batchmate.
Fives kept hauling rocks out of the way until he could pick up on the sound of Hardcase’s heavy breathing. He ducked through the opening and clicked on his helmet light to illuminate the space. It might be a little bit of a tight squeeze but they’d live.
Jesse and Kix hauled Hardcase into the small space followed by Rex and Ahsoka. Fives stepped out to help Echo pile back up some rocks in the entrance to keep the snow and wind out. By the time they ducked back inside two lanterns had been lit up and supplies was being unloaded from bags and belts. Ahsoka and Hardcase were situated on the two of the only three bed rolls they had, right in the middle of the cave.
“Not the worst place I’ve slept.” Ahsoka said, small shivers making her voice quiver slightly. “Can’t be worse than Mimban.”
Jesse groaned.
“Don’t remind me of that slimeball of a planet. I don’t envy the Mud Jumpers that’s for sure.”
There were murmers of agreement from Kix, Hardcase, and Rex.
The able bodied of the group took inventory of their supplies while Kix went back to fussing over the less able bodied. Fives piled the extra ration bars he’d grabbed before they’d headed out with the small pile of other supplies. At least they all had a blanket and food.
“How long do you think the storm is going to last for?” Fives asked Rex.
By now the rest of the troopers had started to de-kit, placing their armor in neat piles by the entrance to keep them out of the way.
“Who knows with this planet.” His captain answered.
“A while.” Ahsoka piped up. “More than a few hours.”
“I just love getting stranded in a snow storm in a small cave.” Jesse huffed.
Hardcase growled in pain as Kix prodded his back.
“Well vod you didn’t have to repel down with everyone else.” The heavy class said.
“Someone had to haul your sorry carcasses back up the canyon.” Jesse responded. “I’m still surprised you two are still alive.”
“We are truly inspired by your confidence in us.” Ahsoka said as she rolled her eyes.
“Well Jes you coulda kept up with the rest of the battalion, not wasted the energy to come after us.” Hardcase said as Kix helped him slowly lay back on the pad. “Live to fight another day and all that.”
Fives glanced up at that. He must have had a perplexed look on his face because Hardcase chuckled.
“Sometimes you’ve got to choose your battles wisely.” Fives nodded along as Hardcase spoke. “Sometimes you have to make a decision that doesn’t make your life easier but it helps the battalion. Jesse would have just been absolutely devastated if we died,” there was a grumble from the corporal. “But in the long run it might have been a better choice to leave us.”
“You’re lucky you’re already on deaths door.” Jesse grunted.
Hardcase blew a kiss towards him, followed shortly by a wince and a reprimand from Kix for moving at all.
“I’ve heard other troopers say that,” Echo nodded to Hardcase. “I just didn’t fully understand it.”
“The Jedi have a similar philosophy.” Ahsoka said quietly.
They all turned to look at their commander. She had more than a few bruises forming on her face and montrals, giving her the appearance that she’d been pummeled by a boulder. Fives didn’t think he was too far off the mark on that one.
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. The choices we make have to take into account all sides of the issue. We aren’t supposed to let our emotions negatively influence our choices.”
“Attachments, you mean?” Rex asked.
“Yeah, aren’t Jedi not supposed to be be attached to people in case it makes them biased?” Fives asked curiously.
Ahsoka scrunched her nose at that.
“Not necessarily. We learn from a young age that our relationships with people are what make us stronger.”
Fives propped his arms on his folded knees as he listened with rapt interest to his commander’s words. It wasn’t everyday that they got to hear more about how the Jedi operate.
“The thing with attachments is that there is a fine line between healthy and possessive. When someone becomes possessive that is when fear and other negative emotions can start to influence them.” Ahsoka fiddled with her glove as she spoke. “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. All of which lead to a fall to the Dark Side.”
Fives and his brothers sat quietly as they absorbed her words.
“So the people that fell to the dark side, they were too weak to stay balanced?” Echo asked.
“Yes, well, my teachers at the temple would say that they they were either too weak or they were strong enough to, but I think they were weak.” Ahsoka answered with a haughty tone before her face fell slightly. “I guess I’ve never exactly sat down with a Sith and asked them about it. I bet their side of the story would be different.”
“So Jedi can have attachments?” Kix asked.
“We have to be careful with them.” Ahsoka nodded, a little stiff. “It just comes with the risk of being dangerous. A Jedi is supposed to be compassionate, but when the time comes we shouldn’t throw everything away for one person.”
This certainly sounded all way to complicated for Fives, he was glad he wasn’t a Jedi. He most certainly was attached to pretty much everyone in the cave at the moment, at least if they died he wouldn’t turn evil and start killing people. Death was something clone troopers were familiar with, they learned early on that it was unavoidable and that they and their brothers were to embrace it. He supposed that was also a factor to the whole attachment thing.
Her big blue eyes rose to look around to all of them. She worried her bottom lip with her fang and an almost ashamed look washed over her face.
“It’s difficult. To love people but also be willing to let them go.” The togruta looked like she wanted to curl into herself but lacked the mobility to do so. “I’m still trying to learn it, but it’s difficult, especially with all of you.”
Fives glanced at his brothers in confusion.
“What do you mean sir?” Rex asked gently, almost like he might know the answer already.
Ahsoka’s shoulders crept up by her lekku.
“When I first joined the battalion, I told myself that I should keep at a distance because that’s what Anakin was doing and because I was your commanding officer.” That idea sounded laughable to Fives considering all the time he’d spent with her. “But then I started to get to know you guys and I realized that you were more than just my men.”
She looked at Jesse.
“You spent the night in the medbay with me after my first training session with the men,” She looked at Hardcase. “You carried me off the battlefield after I got stuck with metal and you helped cheer me up after that battle on Turkana.” She looked at Kix. “You always fuss and give me the quietest corner of the medbay and you sneak me candy.” She looked at him and Echo. “You both helped me restore some confidence in myself after Ryloth.” she finally looked at Rex. “You’ve taught me everything I know about leading and took me under your wing even when you and Anakin had no idea what to do with me.”
She sucked in a deep breath.
“You’ve all done so much for me, helped me, pulled pranks with me, bled with me. You aren’t just my men, you’re more than my friends, you’re more like…”
Fives felt the breath catch in his throat and he was aware of something similar happening to Echo as well.
“Aliit.” Jesse finally spoke.
This couldn’t be right. Clones were canon fodder, made to die, they were not even close to kin with Jedi. It sounded downright blasphemous to even insinuate it.
He’d long since considered the older troopers in the cave to be his aliit, his ori’vods, and they’d seemed quick to accept them in.
However… Fives couldn’t ignore the warmth he felt in Ahsoka’s presence. How effortlessly she brushed aside his anxieties and teased him just like his vode.
Ahsoka looked at Jesse with a look that she understood the gist of what he’d uttered. There was no disgust, not like what Fives would have expected from a natborn. No, there was only relief.
“Family.” Rex added quietly.
“Clan.” Ahsoka said. “Not everyone repels down a cliff in a snow storm for their commanding officer.”
“Not everyone jumps in front of a clone trooper to take a missile for them.” Hardcase pointed out with a small smile.
“Aliit ori’shya tal’din.” Rex said, eyes raising to meet Ahsoka’s.
Fives watched her head tilt slightly at the unfamiliar phrase. He himself hadn’t heard it in relation to the clone army. They were all family by default if nothing else. They all quite literally shared the same blood. But he could understand now what they were offering to Ahsoka.
“Family is more than blood.” Kix translated. “Vod’ika.”
Ahsoka looked around the cave at all of them, her eyes wide. Fives did his best to project the right emotions as he was sure the others were as well.
Her eyes shone.
“I accept.”
-
Ahsoka was laying on her back staring up at the ceiling of the cave because that was the only position she could lay in without half of her body hurting. Hardcase was in the same boat as she was.
At her side Rex shifted an inch closer. She was the only one awake at the moment, everyone else having already fallen asleep. They had all agreed that nothing would be moving around in a storm like this so no one was on watch.
After some debate, they’d laid out the three pads so that everyone had at least their backs on the pad, keeping Ahsoka and Hardcase in the middle to keep them the warmest. The others would shift around in the night to ensure no one was left on the edge to freeze their dia off.
However, the fact that she had fallen off a cliff a few hours prior and were caught in a snow storm could not dim the events that had transpired not to long ago.
‘Live to fight another day.’
That’s what Hardcase had said. That’s what they all should have done instead of coming after them in the canyon. While she still might not totally be set in her military position, she knew that even though she was a Jedi and a commander it probably wasn’t worth it to come after her and Hardcase. They were running low on medical supplies before the campaign, and both of them had required quite a bit from Kix.
All of the troopers knew it, yet they hadn’t hesitated to come after them. As a result they’d gotten stuck down here and separated from the 501st during a rather vicious storm. However, both she and Hardcase were alive because of it. They’d chosen to save them above the alternative.
Rex shifted just a little closer, making it so her side was pressed into his chest. Down by her hip she could feel Fives’ hand where it was slung over Rex. She knew clones were cuddlers, she had just never been lucky enough to be in the middle of one of their piles.
That just made the events earlier all the more surreal.
The discussion of attachments had been the beginning of the end. She had drawn from her conversation with Master Secura, better understanding it now than previously. She was scared to admit that she cared deeply for her men, but she guessed that would do nobody any good. Fearing her feelings would only lead to ruin, especially when she’d spent her whole life so deeply intone with everyone else’s emotions.
No, the only way to start overcoming her fear had been to acknowledge it. She just hadn’t expected to do that in the room with the people she was having those feelings towards. As she’d been speaking, her fears and doubts had almost made her shut down.
What if they didn’t feel the same kinship towards her as she did towards them? They had made it clear in the past that they did not believe themselves worthy of being considered equal with her because they were clones.
Those fears had evaporated when almost simultaneously they’d started projecting the exact opposite. If anything they’d all felt shocked that she felt the same way they did.
‘Aliit ori’shya tal’din.’
She knew that clones didn’t have much besides each other. It made the fact that they were willing to accept her into their family even more powerful.
They cared about her as much as she cared about them. It was a scary thought, but Ahsoka believed that this was a fear she could conquer, especially with them there to help.
Hardcase’s hand flopped over her middle as he snored quietly.
Ahsoka closed her eyes and let herself reach out to brush against the six other minds around her. Any darkness receded at her gentle prodding, each seeming to accept her presence willingly.
Exhaustion was winning over her, and she knew Kix would be up in an hour or two to check her and Hardcase over.
As sleep tugged her down, she let her signature tangle with each other theirs, feeling them unconsciously respond in kind.
Just before she fully surrendered to blissful darkness, she felt a tentative bridge form between the six minds. They tangled with hers as well as each others, connecting like a puzzle, a bond snapping into place as sleep took over, none of them aware of how things were about to change.
Notes:
END PART 1
As I said up above, there will be no chapter update next week, I feel like this is a good place to take a breather ;) Also how are we feeling after the first 3 eps of The Bad Batch?
Oh no, they bonded. What a shame. That isn't what you all came to read at all is it ;) THEY'VE DONE IT, THEY HAVE BONDED AND REALIZED THAT THEY ARE MORE THAN FRIENDS THEY ARE FAMILY NOBODY PANIC and ope, I sure hope that strange linking of minds thing Ahsoka accidentally did doesn't have any last repercussions 9-9
You can yell at me on tumblr and you can hear all my rambles: @saggitary
Mando'a trans:
aliit - family
Aliit ori’shya tal’din - family is more than bloodTogruti trans:
dia - ass
Chapter 11: Matters of the Mind
Summary:
A trip to archives is necessary to understand this new bond they seem to have developed. Also, its much easier to guilt trip your commander into armor now!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Stubborn students can make the most patient teachers.
-
Someone was breathing warm breath directly onto Kix’s neck. It was at the point were it was no longer ignorable but had finally started to drag him out of sleep.
The warm breath, courtesy of Jesse who had completely wrapped around him in sleep, was the first thing he noticed. The next thing was that he felt like he was having a dream except he was now becoming very much awake. It was like he was getting images of a dream when his eyes were closed but they weren’t images his brain was conjuring up. No he’d never had a dream about riding a rancor like a bucking eeopie.
The last thing he noticed was the persistent ache through his body. Kix blinked awake and shifted his body slightly, the pain didn’t intensify or anything. It was like the pain wasn’t his.
He looked over at Hardcase to see his brother still asleep with a slightly scrunched expression. He couldn’t see Ahsoka, but he heard her shift around slightly, pain run up his left leg like he was aggravating a burn.
Kix stiffled a groan, aware that everyone else in the cave was still asleep. He didn’t know how he knew that, he could only see Jesse and Hardcase. He also didn’t know why he felt like he was feeling two different sets of aches and pains that weren’t his own. He carefully distangled from Jesse and from Hardcase’s legs which had somehow ended up laid over his, and slowly sat up, once again checking if his body would respond with pain. Once again it didn’t.
His mind felt… muddled. Almost like it was tangled up and it was making thinking more difficult. In the dim light coming in through the entrance of the cave he observed the rest of the group and sure enough they were all asleep. Echo was curled up at Ahsoka’s side, his arm hooked through hers, Rex was tucked behind Echo with Fives huddled into Rex’s back.
Now that Kix was more awake he was able to push the weird dream images from the front of his mind to the side, as strange as it was he was pretty sure he could pinpoint that the images were coming from Hardcase. Figures.
Kix paused.
Why was he able to do that?
Kix attempted to focus on the images but he couldn’t get a direct read on them now that he was trying, only when he wasn’t focusing did they really push through. He attempted to distangle his mind but had little luck, he wasn’t even sure what exactly he was trying to distangle from.
Hardcase twitched in his sleep and Kix felt pain shoot up his back. At that moment he felt for sure that Echo was waking up. The medic watched as the kid’s eyes blinked open, looking around blearily.
Okay that was a little freaky.
The younger trooper’s eyes settled on who he was sleeping next to and nearly recoiled, but stopped before he jostled Ahsoka.
Kix somehow felt the shock and nervousness that his brother was feeling in that moment, as well as the controlled calm that quickly took over. The little togruta had been accepted into their aliit last night after all.
Echo’s brows scrunched and once again Kix felt his confusion, felt like something was prodding at his mind, before Echo’s eyes snapped up to meet his.
They were both equally confused, and based on the wince that Echo gave when Hardcase shifted again, they both felt that weird ache.
They both turned when they felt Jesse walking up.
The corporal yawned before quickly doing a survey of their surroundings and finally pausing when he spotted Kix upright, and focused over his shoulder where Echo was.
Kix experimentally prodded at the weird knot in his mind and Jesse shook his head rapidly in response.
Ever so slowly Echo extracted himself from Ahsoka and Rex’s grip to sit upright as Jesse also sat up. Now all three of them shared that confused feeling.
“Do you feel that too?” Jesse leaned forward to asked Kix quietly.
“I think so, a… knot? In your head?” Kix answered and Jesse nodded.
Kix felt like his mind was being tugged one way just as Jesse winced and rubbed the side of his head.
“Sorry.” Echo said.
Kix could feel that the kid really was apologetic.
“You did that?” Jesse asked.
The younger trooper shrugged.
“I think? I was just like… I don’t know how to describe it, pulling on one of…” He waved his hand around his head.
“Okay why can I feel you both prodding in my head?” Jesse mumbled.
Kix and Echo shrugged at each other, equally perplexed.
The three troopers jumped when their Captain gave a long sigh. They all looked down to see him blink his eyes open to look at them. It took him all of four seconds before his confusion became abundantly clear to them.
Rex’s eyes unfocused and Kix felt that strange phantom feeling of someone poking his brain.
“Who the kriff…?” Fives’ groggy voice suddenly sounded.
Behind Rex, Fives unhooked his arm from the captain’s waist to rub his head.
Kix glanced at Ahsoka and Hardcase and was happy to note that they were still asleep. He’d been waking up every couple hours to make sure neither of them had stopped breathing or some unforeseen injury had popped up, put he wanted them to get as much sleep as they could now.
Echo, as if he’d read Kix’s mind, quickly reached over Rex to clap a hand over his twin’s mouth.
Now that there were five of them awake now, the tangle in his mind was even more prominent. It did not make any kriffing sense that Kix could for some reason feel his brothers in his mind.
He knew that they all were trying to figure it out as well. This wasn’t something that just happened, while they might not know much about how the galaxy worked, they knew this.
Kix felt what he was pretty sure Rex’s part of the tangle… perk up? He didn’t know how to describe the feeling, but either way he felt the captain’s attention abruptly shift. His eyes were drawn to Ahsoka, somehow knowing that was who the captain was focused on.
He was sure that if he looked around he would see everyone else’s eyes also on their little commander.
Force-osik.
Oh.
The galaxy certainly didn’t work this way normally but sleeping right in the middle of them was a being that could literally manipulate the cosmic power that held the galaxy together. Was this something Jedi could do? Was this because of the conversation that had happened last night?
Suddenly Hardcase snorted awake right next to Kix. The abrupt awakening startled all of them, making Jesse and Fives jump.
The heavy class abruptly attempted to sit up before Kix could stop him and immediately they all felt the accompanying sparks of pain from injured ribs. More than a few of them doubled over as Hardcase swore colorfully and fell back to the floor.
Ahsoka groaned, her arms wrapping around her middle as she curled onto her side by Echo’s knees, eliciting another wave of pain for all of them as more than a few of her injuries were hit.
“Stop moving.” Kix snapped, fumbling for a chrono so he knew how long it had been since they’d last received medication and if they could have more.
“That really hurt.” Fives panted as he sat all the way up.
“Why the kriff could we all feel that?” Jesse demanded. “And why can I feel what the rest of you are feeling?”
“I’d also like an answer to that too.” Echo mumbled.
Kix ignored the rest of the group as he prepared two hypos.
“Lay flat.” He mumbled to Hardcase and Ahsoka as he administered the pain killers. “If either of you just shabbed up one of your injuries again I swear.”
Ahsoka uncurled, but this time Kix braced for the pain he knew she’d feel. For a few moments she laid just staring up at the ceiling, then her brow marking scrunched. Kix felt a a gentle prodding at the knot in his head, far more gentle than anything he or his brothers had done.
His commander sucked in a breath as her eyes widened, meeting Kix’s.
He felt a gentle pulse reach his mind, making him blink. He furrowed his brows as he attempted to poke back. He heard a responding hiss of discomfort from Rex. Oops.
Ahsoka’s jaw dropped open.
“Sir what is going on?” He asked her quietly.
All around them the others had fallen quiet, waiting to hear what the little Jedi might say.
Ahsoka swallowed as she glanced around at all of them.
“Baka.”
-
In the words of her master, Ahsoka had karked up.
Not like how a trooper might forget extra ammo or misinterpret an order on the battle field, no she’d karked up in the sense that she’d somehow managed to connect her mind with six of her men while also connecting them to each other.
She thought her head had been groggy when she’d woken up because of her injuries or the medication Kix had been giving them, no it was due to the giant tangle of minds in her head.
The issue was, she didn’t really know what she had done. It felt a lot like the bond she shared with Anakin but also distinctly different. Because she didn’t know what the kriff she’d done, she didn’t know how to fix it. What really baffled her was that she made a connection in the Force with a group of people that were not Force sensitive. None of the clones were.
Of course right after the groups big heart to heart, her laying her heart bare to them and them accepting her into their aliit readily, she goes and makes a kriffing mind connection with them. She’d been mentally berating herself for it when almost simultaneously all the troopers spoke up to reassure her.
Right, no feeling was private right now. That just made her more miserable.
It was a few more hours before the storm had passed and they were able to move out of the cave. The snow was up to everyone else’s knees, up to her thighs. Echo and Fives pushed a path through the snow so that she had Hardcase would have an easier time walking. By now Kix had run out of medication for them, so they just gritted their teeth to the pain.
The issue was that Ahsoka knew how to block the pain she was feeling as well as the rest of her emotions from the strange connection she felt with her men, Hardcase did not. As a result everyone felt pain every time he breathed.
Ahsoka attempted to explain how to him how to block it off but he had no idea what she was trying to tell him to do.
She knew that she wasn’t the only one thrown for a loop, everyone was a little panicked over this new development. Even Rex, who Ahsoka could literally feel was very unsettled.
Once they were finally back on the venator, she scoured through the handful of texts she kept on board to for her coursework but didn’t find anything.
The good news was that they were headed back to Coruscant, Ahsoka knew there had to be something about this sort of connection in the Archives.
For now she just focused on gathering as much information as she could about the connection, what it felt like, what the limitations were, etc.
So far it appeared that distance didn’t affect it, considering that Hardcase had sneezed in the medbay and she’d felt it in the control room. She’d done her best to not fall over as her back lit up in phantom pain.
The other thing that made this a little difficult was the fact that she had decided to not inform her master of this development. He didn’t appear to sense the connection and honestly she wasn’t keen on informing him until she’d gotten more information.
She didn’t want to tell anyone else because she didn’t know what would happen to the others if she did. It wasn’t their fault that she’d somehow linked their minds more or less, she just wasn’t sure how people would react to learning that they now carried a mental link to their Jedi.
Despite being thoroughly treated by Kix after returning to the ship and being grudgingly cleared by him, her master still took her to the Halls of healing in the temple once they’d landed on Coruscant. Whatever small damages remained were quickly remedied and her master’s worry eased in the Force.
Once free, she immediately took off for the Archives.
After many minutes of fruitless searching she sucked it up and went to Master Jocasta. The elderly Jedi looked up with a gentle smile as she approached.
“How can I be of assistance Padawan Tano?” She asked.
“I was hoping you could help me find information on… Force connections.” Ahsoka said.
The woman tilted her head and gave a confused nudge in the Force that basically said ‘I need more information than that’.
“Like, I need information about Jedi forming connections with other people with the Force. Like in their mind?” Ahsoka said.
At that moment she felt a bolt of irritation and sparks of mirth swirl into her brain. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she attempted to block out and ignore whatever Echo and Fives were doing.
She was doing that constantly. Every feeling or sensation one of them felt, was pushed through the connection or bond it had gotten tiring after the first hour, five days of it was exhausting.
“Ah, I believe I know what you are looking for.” Ahsoka dragged her attention back to the Jedi in front of her. “Section 36, row FJR I believe.”
Master Jocasta stood up from her desk to point down one of the seemingly endless rows of knowledge.
Ahsoka bowed before hurrying down through the stacks.
She passed a a few other Jedi searching through the Archives. More than a few hours of hers had been spent in here with her crechemates as they worked on coursework or projects. They’d learned from an early age how to traverse the texts, all Jedi had. It was constantly growing or being updated, all of the knowledge. Ahsoka just hoped it had the information she desperately needed.
Finally she came upon her desired destination.
She dragged one of the ladders her way with a flick of her hand and quickly climbed up to her the row she was looking for.
The thing about the archives, is that they contained information from actual Jedi scholars as well as all other sections of the Jedi. Some were articulately titled and others were just plain. Ahsoka skimmed her fingers over the glowing backs of the texts pulling out multiple volumes and stacking them in one arm before she stopped on a title that stood out.
Matters of the Mind: an in Depth Exploration of the Inner Workings of the Force and the Mind by Jedi Master Aristole Yukira
What a mouthful. Ahsoka thought ruefully as she added it to her pile and climbed down the ladder.
She found an empty table and spread the texts out before selecting one, pulled out her datapad to take notes, and began to research.
Down in this section of the archives, there were no windows to alert her of the passage of time. Ahsoka wasn’t sure exactly how long she’d been there it it felt like a while.
So far she’d only found brief or vague mentions to Force connections or bonds. She was getting down to her last few volumes of this first round of searching, though the thought of going back to find more research articles made her want to yank her lekku off.
Ahsoka closed out the latest volume and glanced at her datapad of notes. She’d listed out all of the symptoms she’d identified and had only added a few from her research so far.
Symptoms:
can sense other’s emotions and tell specifically who they are from
can sense others pain (feels like my own despite there being no damage)
looks/feels like a tangle of strings, each person’s mind being it’s own string
Kix said he could get images from other people’s dreams when he wasn’t paying attention
can directly connect with one persons mind instead of everyone else’s as well
feels a little like a master padawan bond but more equalized
Ahsoka sighed and pulled the volume with the really long title her way. She quickly scanned the table of contents and perked up when she noted a chapter on bonds.
She scrolled to the chapter and began reading.
Force bonds are a fickle and strange thing. Every Jedi experiences at least one Force bond in their life, the bond they share with their master during their padawan stage of training. A Force bond is a two way connection, unless using methods in the Dark Side of the Force (see end of chapter notes). Once the connection is made the individuals connected sense emotions, feelings, and sensations of the other. It is possible for a Jedi to form a bond with more than one individual and even to connect multiple individuals together. However this is only ever seen when the other individuals being connected are very close before the bond, family members are the most common to have this ability.
Ahsoka smiled in victory. Her hours of research had finally given her something useful!
A moment later she felt inquisitive prods from the others in her mind, no doubt sensing her triumph. She winced slightly and much more gently focused on sending a pulse of warmth back to them. Another reason she needed help, they didn’t know how to regulate how strong or soft they transmitted feelings or yanked at the bond.
It has also been known for Force Wielders to form bonds with non-Force sensitive individuals. The problems that can arise with this is that Jedi are trained from a young age how to navigate the Force and their connects to others, it is second nature to us just like moving a limb. A individual not gifted in the Force has to learn these skills for themselves and may require much different guidance because they lack the skill and ability to cope with the bond as a Jedi does.
Force bonds are typically only formed between individuals who are deeply connected. In this sense they can be uncommon. Children are more susceptible to making them as they are not as well versed in handling themselves in the Force, however most younglings and padawans won’t find themselves in situations to create such precarious bonds with their masters teaching them. Highly stressful situations can also be a factor, but once again most young Jedi won’t be in situations at a young age, especially ones that would leave them without their master or other masters to guide them.
The best way to approach Force bonds and connections is with patience. It takes time getting used to new presences in ones mind and can be overwhelming for all parties. If needed bonds can be blocked off or severed but it is ill advised as it can cause extreme distress or even damage to individual’s minds by doing so.
Ahsoka blinked at the text.
Well that appeared to go against her thoughts of cutting the bonds between herself and her men, not if it could possibly harm them. So far all of the information was checking out. No wonder it had been easy to link the clone trooper’s minds together, they were all family. Ahsoka highly doubted that the writer of this expected padawans to be fighting as commanding officers in a giant galactic civil war. How’s that for stressful situations.
She scanned the rest of the page and found that the author went on to spell out coping mechanisms and ways to handle the bond.
A tug in her mind drew her attention away momentarily. Rex usually didn’t interact with the bond, not like how Fives or Hardcase prodded and tugged (usually too hard). When he did interact it was soft, almost too soft nudges, which Ahsoka admitted was much better than sharp tugs.
She could sense his interest, likely from her frustration of not finding an easy way to disassemble the bond. She sent a comforting nudge back.
Her datapad quickly filled up with new notes as she read and reread the whole chapter. Finally she got a different nudge at her mind, one she knew was from Anakin. It carried a clear message of questioning, slight worry, and hunger.
Oh.
She glanced at the chrono on her datapad.
1700
Yep that was about time for dinner. A moment later she got a message on her com.
Anakin: Snips I don’t want to eat Jedi cafeteria so I figured I could finally take you to mine and Obi-Wan’s fav diner
Ahsoka huffed a smile. She’d heard him and her grandmaster talk about the diner, and he had promised her that he would take her there soon. He told her that he thought she’d love the shaak burger there.
Ahsoka quickly piled up the volumes of texts and returned them to their rightful places. Tomorrow she’d swing by the barracks and go over everything with her friends, now she focused on having a relaxing evening with her master.
-
Rex was doing his very best to hold himself together. That’s what he’d been doing ever since he’d heard Fives com him to inform him that Ahsoka and Hardcase had fallen off of the canyon.
So much had happened in such a short amount of time he was honestly still trying to catch up with it.
First, his commander and one of his close brothers had been blasted off of a cliff but had managed to survive. Secondly, they’d been separated from the 501st midst a snow storm with two very injured individuals. Third, he and his closest vode had admitted to Ahsoka that they saw her as aliit and she had accepted them as her own. Fourth, he now had some sort of Force related thing in his head that tied his mind with six other people’s.
That last two were the main reasons he was struggling to hold it together.
The clone army had been raised to know that they were canon fodder, they were meant to die. For kriffs sake they were only going to live to be fifty years old max, there wasn’t any life for them except to serve and die for the Republic.
Yet despite knowing this, Ahsoka had still chosen them.
Rex would have been questioning her sanity if not for the literal mental link that now connected them. Ahsoka had a way of blocking most of her emotions from the rest of them which was a welcome relief to have one less person pushing their emotions onto each other. No, Ahsoka had been so painfully sincere in her acceptance to their aliit that he’d seen Kix and Hardcase swipe at their eyes.
It was becoming easier to believe that Ahsoka genuinely wanted a place amongst them the longer she was present in his mind. It was an honor unlike any Rex had ever seen.
This led Rex to feel the need to prove to Ahsoka that she had made the correct choice in choosing him and his aliit. He was fairly certain that the feeling was mutual based on how the others were currently feeling.
It still freaked him out, this whole connection thing. He was trained to handle some of the strangest issues and problems when it came to combat and war, or even just everyday. Clones were made to be adaptable. However when it came to the Force, he was like a kriffing fish that just got dropped out of a starship.
He doubted that he would ever understand the Force, honestly he didn’t feel a need to. Everyday it seemed that he learned that it was a little more complicated than he’d previously thought.
Despite the constant background chatter of emotions, sensations, and occasionally images that he was constantly receiving form his vode, it did have a few perks. So far there didn’t appear to be a discernible distance that caused the connection to lessen, which meant it was easier to keep track of his six vod’ika. Even when Ahsoka was all the way in the Jedi Temple he could feel her.
Adapt and overcome.
That’s what clones did, and they could do that now. They could prove to their little Jedi that she’d made the right choice to put her lot in with their aliit.
That’s how Rex had found himself seated in a circle inside one of the private offices Clone Command were able to use in the GAR barracks on Coruscant. Ahsoka was seated in between himself and Jesse as she read off of a datapad all of the information she’d gathered from the Jedi Archives.
She’d even been able to find tips for non-Force sensitive individuals dealing with this kind of osik. As it was, Ahsoka was doing her best to coach them through setting a barrier between themselves and the other bonds.
Kix and himself had actually been able to start making some progress, he just imaged a durasteel wall. Ahsoka explained that it couldn’t be a solid wall with the type of bond she believed they had.
“It’s never a good idea to set up such a solid and unyielding block in one’s mind, especially when it comes to bonds.” Ahsoka explained. “If Anakin or I tried to block off our training bond, it would cause a lot of discomfort for both of us. When I was younger, Master Yoda explained it would be like setting up a dam on a river with no way to release the pressure.”
They all stared at her transfixed as she spoke.
“All those feelings that are meant to flow in a bond would get stopped up and eventually the pressure becomes too great, the dam breaks and its a giant flood.” She throw her arms out to emphasize. “So you have to come up with a block that is enough to not let a constant flow come through, but one that still can release pressure.”
The way Rex had done that is imagining the wall with windows and doors.
“That’s really good Rex,” Ahsoka complimented him as he mentally built up the wall.
“Thank you vod’ika.” He replied.
The only issue now was, he needed to figure out how to control how much information got through. Every time he ‘opened’ a door or window he was once again overwhelmed by the full force of the bond.
He sighed with frustration and blinked his eyes open, not realized that he’d closed them. Around the circle the others were in similar states of disgruntle annoyance or deep concentration. Fives and Hardcase looked cross eyed, Jesse looked like he was trying to burn a hole into the wall of the office with his eyes, Kix and Echo had their eyes closed.
Beside him, Ahsoka gave a small huff before crawling over to Hardcase. The heavy class shook his head and blinked to focus on her.
“I don’t think I’m cut out for this Jetii osik.” Hardcase mumbled.
“Here, let me see if I can help you.” Ahsoka said.
She reached up to place her fingers against his temples.
“Just try to match my breathing.” She instructed.
Rex felt a jolt in his mind before he realized that the constant stream of information he’d been working to block out from Hardcase slowed. He let out an involuntary sigh of relief which was echoed by a few others. Ahsoka continued to mumble instructions to Hardcase and there was a sudden sharp tug as all the information from Hardcase was cut off.
Rex grimaced and rugged his head. Yep he understood the discomfort part now.
Slowly but surely the weird loss of sensation was lessened until he could feel Hardcase again.
Ahsoka had barely flinched when the block had gone up, and she hadn’t reprimanded him for it, just continued to coach him patiently. Rex sank back a little as he regarded her. Even though she was young, he could see her being a good teacher in the future.
Ahsoka suddenly turned her head to smile at him.
Osik. He had not meant for that to get picked up.
Rex pursed his lips and went back to his mental wall. Adapt and overcome. That worked a lot better with there wasn’t any osik’la Force stuff to deal with.
-
The end of the 501st’s shore leave was closing in. Everyone was starting to rally themselves to ship back out, including Ahsoka. She was using the last bit of her time to finish up a bunch of work she needed to get done for her courses at the temple so that she would have a little bit of leeway once they were back on the frontline.
After a few days of intense focusing and sharing all the notes she’d taken with her men, they were getting the bond issue figured out. It was much more manageable now, everyone had set up barriers and were starting to work on controlling which emotions came through to everyone else.
Despite having been back on Coruscant for a little over a week, Kix still made her come in so he could do one last physical examination before they shipped back out. She’d attempted to argue against it but Kix had abruptly dropped the shielding around his mind to push the fact that this was not optional and that he was a very large worrier, among a lot of other things. She gave into his guilt trip.
Hardcase was in the same boat as she was as they both found themselves seated on medical gurneys as Kix ran multiple scanners over them. Rex was sitting on a stool next to them putting in supply requests.
“Still in one piece?” Hardcase asked sarcastically.
“Surprisingly.” Kix grumbled.
“I was cleared by you and then I was cleared by the Jedi Healers, and now I’m getting cleared by you again.” Ahsoka huffed.
Kix narrowed his eyes at her and she felt his ire snap across the bond, making her, Hardcase, and Rex wince. Okay so they were still working on regulating strength of emotions, and accidentally giving everyone else headaches.
“You both fell off of a cliff, sorry for wanting to keep my vode alive. Both suffered from multiple broken bones as well as some internal bleeding.” Kix explained. “The only reason you two weren’t more damaged was A) Hardcase took the brunt of the damage and clone are made more durable than the average human and B) Hardcase’s armor broke instead of your skull.”
“Yeah I had to get most of a new kit.” Hardcase grumbled.
“If,” Kix turned his gaze back to her. “You were wearing some armor you might have walked away with fewer injuries.”
Ahsoka let her head fall back as she let out a groan.
“He’s right little one.” Rex said without looking up from his datapad.
“Armor would restrict my movements so I wouldn’t be able to move as fast on the battlefield. Not moving as fast means less droids destroyed and more troopers injured.” She answered.
This was a conversation she’d had with Anakin a few months ago. She’d also had a conversation like this with Rex about that same time.
Kix rolled his eyes and she felt almost identical expressions of exasperation from the three troopers around her.
“General Skywalker wears armor.” Rex said. “It doesn’t restrict his movement.”
“General Kenobi wears armor.” Kix said. “So does General Koon.”
“General Windu does as well.” Hardcase added, his legs swinging back and forth off of the bed.
“Bly got General Secura into armor as well.” Rex concluded. “Lots of Jedi wear armor.”
Ahsoka huffed.
“I’m pretty sure that most Jedi started doing that because we noticed how worried it made all of you.”
The troopers all looked at each other in surprise.
“Well because they wear armor, Kenobi survived a shot to the chest that would have killed him.” Kix recovered first. “Helix told me about it.”
“We worry for good reason.” Rex said.
“Yeah, jetii have a jaro.” Hardcase said.
Ahsoka opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by Rex.
“Look vod’ika, we just worry because we would very much like to keep you alive.”
“It would do a lot more to protect you from blaster bolts and also from shrapnel.” Kix added.
A phantom throb from her back reminded her of her first injury on the battlefield.
Ahsoka glanced around at all of them. Each of them were projecting their worry both into the Force and across the bond. Next thing she knew Jesse, Echo, and Fives were also projecting concern, likely picking up on it from the others.
It was a lot harder to argue against them on this with the bond in place. Not when she could feel their concern as if it was her own.
The togruta finally heaved out a large sigh.
“Alright, if we can find armor that fits me and doesn’t mess up my movement, I’ll wear it.”
The bond was quickly flooded with relief and triumph as well as confusion from those not present.
“That’s a challenge I’m willing to take up.” Rex said.
“I doubt you’ll fit into clone armor.” Hardcase joked as he reached out to cuff her shoulder. “Not with you being pint sized.”
Ahsoka scowled at him and used the Force to hit the back of his head, eliciting a yelp.
“Oh cut it out you two.” Kix admonished.
Both of them looked at him innocently.
“He is right though. We’ll need to look else where.” Rex said as he drummed his fingers against the edge of his datapad.
“We can look through the Jedi storage before we ship off.” Ahsoka offered reluctantly.
The next day she led Rex and Jesse through the temple towards the supply storage. While outwardly the two troopers appeared professional, they were both filled with curiosity and wonder as they took in the Jedi Temple.
Most GAR business was handled in the Head Quarters or in the barrack offices but occasionally troopers would come to the temple with their Jedi. The Jedi they passed in the halls nodded and smiled to the group as they passed, a group of younglings playing tag weaved expertly between the two troopers, one even slid through Jesse’s legs much to the corporal’s surprise.
Ahsoka smiled as she sensed the two troopers watch the younglings with fondness and just a tad bit of worry. From what she’d seen, most clone troopers seemed to like kids a lot. She’d heard her grandmaster joke that it was Jango Fett’s mandolorian gene that he’d passed on to the troopers.
Finally they stepped into the dimly lit room lined with all sorts of storage containers. Jedi had a tendency to collect relics and artifacts from planets and a large amount of the stuff down here was from the Jedi Exploration Corps. This was where Jedi went for missions if they needed specific clothing, weapons, or anything really. It would take months to get through all of the stuff down here, thankfully Ahsoka knew generally where the armor was stored.
“Well, here we are.” She gestured in front of her to the large crates stacked.
“Fun.” Jesse said. “Where do we start?”
“From the top.” Ahsoka answered as she held her hands up to carefully lift the heavy crate with the Force.
It thunked down to the ground in front of them and the two troopers wasted no time popping the lid off to begin sorting. A large amount of the armor had been taken to be worn at the beginning of the war but there was still quite a bit to pick through.
The first crate didn’t wield much so Ahsoka levitated the second crate down as well.
“Oh kriff my bucket, I’m wearing this from now on.” Ahsoka and Rex turned to see Jesse grinning at them.
On top of his head was a metal helmet with two spiraled horns mounted on top. The helmet was probably three feet tall with the horns.
Ahsoka burst out laughing as Rex grumbled.
“Put that back you di’kut.”
“Oh come on Rex, I think I could pull it off.” Jesse answered.
“You wouldn’t be able to fit through the door.” Ahsoka laughed.
Jesse lifted the helmet off of his head with a sigh.
“Everyone’s a critic.” He mumbled.
“Try these on, little one.” Rex said as he tossed a pair of greaves to her.
They were light gray in color and sound vibrated from them like some sort of metal. They were a little heavy but nothing too bad. She got to work clipping them to her calves.
Once attached she stood up to get a feel for them. She experimentally swung her legs, performing fast kicks and other hops and skips.
“We can also help teach you how to fight in close quarters with the extra weight.” Rex offered.
Ahsoka nodded as she sat back down.
“These feel good, just need to get used to them.”
Rex and Jesse nodded in satisfaction and went back to digging.
Jesse produced a couple of pairs of vambraces for her to try and he helped her attach them to her forearms.
“While most other armor pieces can be up for debate, you definitely need a pair of these.” He said. “Especially with you Jedi and your fancy lightsaber show. You’re arms are some of your most important body parts. You can still shoot with no legs, can’t shoot with no arms.”
The third pair he’d found ended up being the ones she chose. They were a dull silvery color but were rather light in weight.
“Another fun thing about armor, is you can paint it 501st colors.” Jesse said as he stepped back so she could practice swings with the vambraces.
Finally Rex found a chestplate small enough for her. She glared at it reproachfully.
“This is another piece of armor that is nonnegotiable.” Rex said. “You’re chest is where your vital organs are.”
Ahsoka continued to glare at it but Rex and Jesse tugged at the bond in her mind until she relented.
“I shouldn’t have taught you guys how to do that.” She grumbled as Rex and Jesse helped her clip it on.
The chestplate was a similar color to her vambrace but it was shinier. The weight of it settled over her chest and her back as they secured it.
With a sigh she began to perform a series of katas to test her movement. It was slightly too big for her and she told Rex and Jesse as much.
“With a thicker undershirt it should be fine until you grow into it.” Rex told her. “We can also swap out the greaves and vambraces as you get older too.”
Ahsoka carefully unclipped the plates and piled her new armor together.
“Alright, are you guys happy now?” She asked in exasperation.
“Yes.” They both said.
Ahsoka huffed but felt her lips twitching into a smile. They were both very pleased with their accomplishment, and sensing this the other four in the bond chimed in with their own happiness at the success.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as they all had thought.
Notes:
Did you miss me? The "That's Not How the Force Works" tag will be coming to play from here on out because I am completely making shit up about Force Bonds but I do not care >:) Also I decided Ahsoka needed armor so SHE GETS SOME and yes Jesse you totally could rock that helmet.
You can yell at me on tumblr: @Saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments feed my dark soul :)
Mando'a trans:
shabbed - fucked
osik’la - shittyTogruti trans:
baka - shit
Chapter 12: Sickness and Health
Summary:
The blue shadow virus, and a new perk of the bond
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Hope can be all one needs to stay alive.
-
Ahsoka didn’t particularly like the med bay. It smelled of pain and antiseptic chemicals. Humans didn’t smell pain and they weren’t as bothered by the chemical smell it seemed. She had also had a hard time when she first joined the 501st blocking out the pain that troopers felt in the Force. It permeated the air and made it feel like her own.
But after being in and out of the med bay and med tents enough, she’d built up her mental walls to keep everyone else pain out.
Still didn’t mean that she enjoyed the med bay. However, she wasn’t here because she was injured, she was here because Jesse and Echo were injured.
The squad Jesse had been leading was ambushed by a group of droids and Echo hadn’t gotten out of the way of a mortar in time. However, despite being on opposite sides of the battlefield, Ahsoka was pretty sure that one injury had led to another.
Ahsoka had been neck-deep in droids when all of a sudden a searing pain made it feel like her arm was getting ripped off. She’d staggered on her feet and had searched her shoulder for a scorching blaster mark, but her arm was unmarked. It had been such an intense feeling that her master had torn across the hill to get to her, also thinking that she’d been shot.
Just as he’d been about to reach her she’d realized that it wasn’t her pain but one of her friends. A few seconds later pain seared up her side as if something had just become lodged in it.
Ahsoka had gasped in pain, dropping to her knees as her master cleared the droids away from her. Ahsoka had attempted to assess who had been injured but that involved opening herself up to the pain more, so finally she’d shut it out and forced her legs back up under herself.
Ahsoka had scanned the field to see Rex not that far away from her similarly labored. Their eyes met through his visor and he’d nodded to her, a weak pulse of encouragement before he too had straightened.
“Ahsoka are you alright?” Her master had demanded as he slid to a stop in front of her.
“I’m fine.” Ahsoka had forced herself to take deep breaths and calm herself.
“You didn’t feel fine, you felt like you were in a lot of pain.” Anakin had said worriedly.
She didn’t like not being truthful with her master, but for now, until they’d worked out most of the kinks with this new bond, she was keeping him out of the loop.
“I’m fine, I just picked up on someone else’s pain.” It wasn’t a lie.
Her master had scanned her again worriedly, absently blocking a blaster bolt headed their way before nodding.
“Alright.”
A few moments later she felt the pain lessen from one of the strands in her mind and a reassuring nudge she guessed from Kix.
Ahsoka got back to work hacking away at the incoming droids.
During the next break in the fighting, Ahsoka contacted the others to find out what had happened. As it turned out Jesse had gotten shot in the shoulder and Echo had gotten a piece of shrapnel lodged in his hip. He’d been so distracted with feeling Jesse’s injury he hadn’t had time to move.
Ahsoka had dropped into the med bay as soon as the fighting had finished up and she hadn’t left since. Fives had been sitting in here with her for a while before she’d shooed him off to get food. She wasn’t feeling too hungry herself, guilt felt like it was gnawing at her chest.
If she hadn’t accidentally created the Force bond, Echo wouldn’t have gotten hurt. While Jesse’s injury wasn’t necessarily within her control, Echo’s was.
Around her, the med bay was full of injured troopers. She’d already gone around once to check in with each of them and had since settled in a chair across from Echo and Jesse’s beds, out of the way of the busy and tired medics. Both of them were asleep for now, letting the bacta injections get to work on healing from the inside while bacta patches worked on the outside.
By now things were calming down, most troopers here had been stabilized and were now sleeping off injuries. The medics were settling down to rest after multiple hours of nonstop work.
Ahsoka glanced up as Kix approached and sank down heavily into the chair next to her, letting out a long sigh. His exhaustion was making her exhausted, causing her to stifle a yawn.
“You’re still here.” He commented.
“Yeah, thought they might like to have someone here when they woke up,” Ahsoka answered, tucking her knees up to her chest on the chair.
Kix hummed as he examined Jesse and Echo from where he sat. Out of the group, Kix was the best so far at managing the Force bond. His walls were secure and he was starting to get the hang of carefully directed nudges or pulls. For Ahsoka, using the Force like that was second nature, subconscious, it impressed her that much more that Kix was doing it after only having the connection for a few weeks.
Ahsoka wondered if it was because he was a medic. Jedi Healers projected calm pretty much at all times and it seemed they were masters at keeping negative emotions at bay.
There was a slight shift from Echo that drew her eyes to him. He huffed and shifted in his sleep slightly before falling still again.
Ahsoka reached up to rub her shoulder as she remembered the feeling of a phantom blaster bolt burning into it.
By now everyone had erected their own barrier to block out unwanted feelings or to keep their discomforts to themselves. It certainly had been put to the test when Torrent had down mat training and sparring. Ahsoka thought for sure that they’d all be walking with a limp the way that Rex put Fives on his baa, however the younger trooper had been the only one to walk off bruised.
Nonetheless, the pain Jesse and Echo had felt had been severe enough that it blasted past all of their barriers.
That concerned Ahsoka. It had left them vulnerable, unable to operate for multiple moments in the middle of a battlefield. These were just injuries, more severe ones, but injuries. What would happen if one of them died? What would the others feel?
Kix seemed to be thinking the same thing as they both turned to meet each other’s gaze.
“We’ll keep working on this vod’ika.” Kix assured her. “We’ve only been living with this for a few weeks now, I’m sure that we’ll get stronger.”
Ahsoka worried her lip with her fang as she glanced again at Jesse and Echo.
“It also caught us all by surprise. We’ve never experienced one of us getting injured with this connection before.” Kix scrunched his nose. “Well not injured severely.”
Ahsoka let out a huff.
“That’s true, next time we should be able to recover better, we know what to look for now.”
“Exactly.” Kix leaned over to bump his shoulder with hers. “How did the armor feel in action?”
Ahsoka appreciated the change in subject.
“Good. Skyguy was a little confused when I first showed up with it but he was happy.” She rolled her eyes. “If Master Windu hadn’t been on the call he’d have probably danced around me.”
Kix let his head fall back against the transparisteel behind them and chuckled.
“I would like to see that.”
“Next time he does it I’ll com you to come watch.” Ahsoka said with a smile.
They fell into a comfortable silence as Ahsoka slowly leaned her head to rest on Kix’s shoulder.
Maybe the med bay wasn’t so bad after all.
-
Ahsoka had never been to Naboo.
She’d heard a lot about it, especially leading up to and after the beginning of the war. That was where the B-1 battle droids were first found and it was where Chancellor Palpatine was from. She’d heard her master talk about it a lot, it was usually accompanied by warm feelings of love. She had yet to decipher that particular puzzle.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t there for a nice retreat from the war, where she could sit outside in the sun all day and read a nice cheesy romance novel. Nope, she was here with her master and her grandmaster because some mad scientist was doing something in a laboratory in the swamp.
She had learned about the Blue Shadow Virus from a healers course she’d taken right before being deployed with the 501st. Of course, a mad scientist would think it was a good idea to recreate it and spread it across the galaxy.
She did her best to avoid deep mud puddles as she followed Peppi through the marsh, following the tracks left behind by Senator Amidala and Representative Binks. Even with her careful steps, her greaves were splattered in mud. She’d have to ask Echo or Hardcase how to best clean her armor off when she got back to them.
As if sensing this, Echo and Hardcase nudged her gently through the bond. As it turned out, the bond was slightly dampened over distances. The Resolute was orbiting planet putting her further away from her friends than before. While it wasn’t too much, there was a slight disconnect.
Only a few squads of the 501st and the 212th were following them to Naboo, mostly because nobody was convinced the threat of an invasion was real. She’d been in charge of calling Rex to debrief the troops via holocall as they’d been descending into the atmosphere, and she hadn’t missed the anxiety that had shot through him when she mentioned Representative Binks.
“What’s wrong?” She’d asked.
There were inquisitive prods from the others as well, though none of them were coming with them to Naboo.
Rex heaved a large sigh.
“Let’s just say that I’ve had my fair share of run-in with Representative Binks. He’s an… interesting character.”
Exasperation colored the link between their minds, making Ahsoka laugh.
“Why is that Rex ‘ole boy?”
She’d heard Cody call Rex that on more than one occasion, and had taken to using it on him as well. So far it appeared that she and Cody were the only ones allowed to get away with it.
In the holoprojection, she saw Rex’s eye twitch.
“Let’s just say that bad luck seems to follow the representative everywhere.”
Ahsoka kept that in mind as she swiveled her head left and right as they trekked deeper into the swamp. It was a little distracting to have her Master’s overbearing worry coursing through their bond. She didn’t think it was entirely directed at her though.
“This is where their tracks end.” Ahsoka said as they came to a clearing.
She pursed her lips as she examined the area again before a whirring directed her attention to her right. Her Gungan guide was rising in height next to her, courtesy of the kriffing scope she was standing on.
“Peppi, don’t move, it’s a scope. Don’t let them see you.”
The Gungan made worried noises as the scope rotated around, and Ahsoka jumped to avoid being spotted. Mud splattered up her legs and she rolled out the way before finally jumping up to tackle the woman off of the scope and behind a root.
Ahsoka waited for the scope to drop back down into the ground before activating her com.
“Master, are you there?”
“Did you find her?”
Her being Senator Amidala.
“Negative. I’m pretty sure she’s inside the lab, but I have located the location of the lab. It’s surrounded by pressure-sensors. There is no way to get in without being detected.” Another flood of worry from Skyguy, what was his issue today? “I’m more than happy to-”
“Do not attempt to get inside.” Master Kenobi’s voice cut in.
Good maybe with Master Kenobi there he can get Anakin to calm down. This was almost more distracting than when Hardcase kept sneezing while his ribs were healing.
A holomap of the lab popped up from her com device.
“I need you to detonate a bunker bomb at the south end of the facility. It should cause a nice distraction and seal off the bomb area, while we come in through the hatches.”
“You can count on me.” She responded.
“Rex and his men will be right behind you Snips. They’ll have your back.”
As her masters signed off, she could feel Rex’s presence in her mind growing stronger with proximity.
Ahsoka waited as darkness fell over the swamp until she could feel Rex was almost on top of them, before detonating the bomb.
Ahsoka jumped down into the bunker and immediately ignited her saber, taking up a defensive position in front of her men. Things were advancing smoothly until a group of rollies came down the hall. Thankfully Master Kenobi was quick with an assist.
“Need some help?” He asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.
“So good to see you, Master Kenobi.” Ahsoka sighed with relief.
She felt similar relief color the Force from her men behind her.
Master Kenobi split off with his men as Ahsoka and Rex reengaged the droids.
“Why is it that people are crazy enough to try to wipe out half the galaxy?” Ahsoka grunted as she deflected and dodged.
“Don’t know sir, maybe he was dropped as a kid?” Denal offered from her left.
“I just want to know why the Senator and Representative decided it was their job to check this out themselves.” Ridge said.
“The Senator has a background of getting into trouble.” Rex said as he nailed a droid right in the head.
Once again exasperation flooded their bond.
Ahsoka winced as she felt Hardcase prod at her mind. While so far the others had been good about keeping their minds out of hers and Rex’s to not cause distractions, Hardcase wasn’t very patient. It didn’t help that they were all kriffing worry warts. Especially Fives and Kix.
She jabbed him back, eliciting what she could imagine was a yelp of surprise. There was a similar tug from Rex to chastise him. The troopers had certainly learned corrective stuff quickly.
Finally they cleared out the droids.
“Let’s keep moving.” Ahsoka urged as they charged down the hall.
“Ahsoka we have a situation. Send all the clones to search the facility. We’ve got a-”
Ahsoka rounded the corner and slid to a stop right in front of Anakin.
“Master?”
Wasn’t he supposed to be handling the scientist?
“We’ve got a missing bomb and a trigger-happy mad doctor on the loose.”
She opened her mouth to ask if wasn’t it his job to deal with the doctor but was stopped by Senator Amidala’s voice.
“Missing bomb? I saw Dr. Vindi give a little droid a bomb.
Ahsoka blinked at the Senator. She’d only seen her from afar, but had never met her formally. She knew that she was good friends with her master as well as Master Kenobi. She felt a surge of warmth towards the woman, despite this. Wait, that wasn’t hers.
The warmth was gone as fast as it came as her master fixed his gaze back on her.
“You guys split up. Find that droid.”
Ahsoka nodded to Rex.
“Let’s move.”
At the next branch in the lab, Senator Amidala and Represenative Binks split off.
“Denal, Hops, go with them.” Ahsoka ordered before mumbling. “I don’t understand politicians.”
“Neither do I.” Rex mumbled in agreement.
After three empty rooms, Ahsoka’s com link lit up.
“Ahsoka, I found the last bomb.” Amidala said.
“Stay there,” Ahsoka ordered. “I’ll get the bomb squad.”
If the politicians died on Ahsoka’s watch, she knew there would be more hell to pay than from just the Jedi council.
Ahsoka met the two gold-clad troopers from Kenobi’s squad right outside the room where Amidala was.
“We don’t have much time.” The senator said as she carefully handed the bomb off to the trooper.
Ahsoka watched nervously as the trooper began to dismantle it, pulling out multiple sets of wires as the light flashed closer and closer to the end. Ahsoka pushed Amidala behind her and motioned Rex and her other men back. If it exploded she’d be able to raise a shield to at least block them from the blast, however…
Rex’s hand landed on her shoulder and she didn’t need to turn to know he was equally concerned.
The trooper snipped two wires and the flashing stopped on the last segment.
“Deactivated,” He said as he turned to look at the group. “Plenty of time to spare.”
Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief and Rex gave her shoulder another squeeze. Representative Binks fainted behind them.
“Ahsoka are you there?” Her com activated.
“I’m here Master, the bomb has been deactivated. Did you find Dr. Vindi?”
“He’s been deactivated as well.” Relief from everyone in the room. “Have you seen Padme?”
“She’s right next to me.” Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “I’m fine too, thanks for asking.”
Senator Amidala smiled at her warmly.
“You did amazing Ahsoka.” She told her. “Anakin has taught you well.”
Ahsoka felt a familiar jolt of warmth towards the woman. It was her emotions, she thought. She was going to be talking to her Master about whatever was going on with the Senator, however right now she was just relieved to have not blown up and taken down the whole planet with them.
“Thank you Senator. You were pretty amazing out there as well.” Ahsoka replied.
“Let’s just say this isn’t my first time around the block.” The senator turned to com someone, likely the queen, about their success.
Okay, Ahsoka had to admit she was really cool.
“Ahsoka, I want you and the troops to clear out the remaining droids down there.” Her master said. “We don’t need any getting out into Naboo.”
“Yes Master.”
-
Rex should have known this mission was doomed to disaster as soon as he heard Representative Binks’ name. He was pretty sure that about a third of the clone army were immediately filled with dread upon hearing the Gungan’s name. He didn’t envy Fox, who was forced to be on the same planet as the Representative most of the time.
Rex could have grabbed Ahsoka and the rest of his men and deserted right then and there, but he’d thought to himself, maybe this time it would be different. Maybe the mission wouldn’t end disastrously with Binks on the premise.
That’s the last kriffing time.
Rex charged down the tunnel as a wall of literal death chased them.
“We can make it to the safe room, keep going!” Ahsoka urged them on as they sprinted.
Rex knew that she easily could have outpaced all of them by now, but for some reason she had chosen to run with them instead of getting to safety.
He projected that as best as he could across the link in their minds but she stoutly refused.
The others connected to them had sensed their panic and were urging them on, sending waves of resolve and determination across the bond. Rex felt his legs pump faster with all the support.
“There it is!” Hop yelled next to Rex.
“We aren’t going to make it!” Catch said.
“No chance!”
Sure enough the doors to the safe room began to slide shut.
Ahsoka slid to a stop as they all continued forward. Rex and Ridge reached the door first, bracing the doors to try to keep them open. The door groaned against their increased strength, making their arms shake. Suddenly the pressure was removed and Rex glanced back at Ahsoka.
“Get inside Captain!” Ahsoka ordered as she held the door cracked open for them.
Rex grabbed the nearest shiny and all but shoved him through the door. Only once the others were through did Rex jump through.
“Come on commander!” Ridge yelled as Rex returned to keeping the door open.
The wave of blue death hurtled towards them as Ahsoka lunged through the door. With that, the room sealed shut with a clang.
Rex did a head count and was relieved to see that they weren’t missing anybody. Now they just had to hope none of the blasted virus made it in here.
“Ahsoka what’s going on?” Rex turned to see his little commander’s com link light up.
“One of the droids detonated a bomb with the virus, we managed to seal the facility and made it to a safe room.” Ahsoka answered.
“Where is Padme?”
Rex did his best not to roll his eyes. His general sure wasn’t being subtle about his affections for the Senator. Based on Ahsoka’s good natured exasperation, he guessed that he wasn’t the only one picking up on it.
“I don’t know. I would try her personal com.” Ahsoka snipped back.
“Stay where you are and don’t move until I or Obi-Wan tell you to. We’ll figure out a way to get you all out of there safely.” Her com link went dark.
With that their group began to take account of their supplies and the supplies in the room. They’d all stocked up on ration bars and water in the chance that something like this did occur and they were stuck down here for a while, so they were set for a few days.
The issue that remained was not only the highly deadly virus right outside the door, but the remaining droids left in the lab that they had yet to scrap. It was likely that those droids would be trying to escape and with the virus loose-
Rex shook his head. One crisis at a time.
All the while Rex was doing his best to give encouragement to the questioning prods of his aliit in his mind. For kriffs sake Fives was still young and he was one of the most insistent and worried. Ahsoka was also offering encouragement however her nudges were getting less and less. She seemed… unsettled?
Rex glanced over to where she was unpacking a bag of supplies to see her brow markings scrunched together slightly and she was tilting her head this way and that. The fact that she was uneasy was enough to put Rex on high alert, it was never good when a Jedi felt something was off.
“Are you alright sir?” He asked.
She glanced at him, her lips pursed, before she turned towards the other men.
“Hop, please perform a scan of the air in the room to check for contamination.”
Rex’s hands stilled.
Shab.
He’d held onto a small bit of hope that there would be an easy way out of this… but they very well could be karked regardless.
Ten minutes later, Hops fists slammed down on the sides of the monitor.
“No no no!”
Rex and Ahsoka quickly made their way over.
“Some of the virus got in here.” Hop said as he turned to look at them.
They were kriffed. They were dead. Even the clone troopers had learned about the Blue Shadow virus on Kamino. While clone troopers were designed with a higher body temperature to fight off most diseases in the galaxy, the Blue Shadow Virus was known for how infectious it was.
They were going to die here.
There were confused and slightly panicked inquisitions from his aliit.
Rex sucked in a large breath before slowly letting it out. They were dead, but death didn’t scare him, nor any of the clone troopers. That’s not how they were raised, and Rex wasn’t about to die with the knowledge that there was something they could do to protect the rest of the planet.
Rex turned to Ahsoka.
“We may be dead men, but we may be able to stop the droids still trapped in here with us.”
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes up at him and knocked her vambrace against his with a click, the same time that she tugged gently at the bond.
“Don’t worry. Anakin and Master Kenobi have the doctor and they are outside the facility. Knowing them, I’m sure they can figure out a cure.” She gave him a smile. “We aren’t dead yet.”
Rex’s shoulders sank slightly and he nodded to her just as her wrist com lit up again.
“Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me?” Senator Amidala’s voice rang out.
Maybe there was a chance for them yet. With Amidala and Binks in protective gear, they did have a better chance of finishing off the droids before the virus got to the rest of them.
It was another hour before the politicians reached them. By now those in their group that had sustained an injury during the initial raid of the lab were looking ill. Catch had started cough not to long ago, and he was sounding worse by the minute.
Their faces were grim as the door slid open and blue fog swirled into the room, not that it mattered now, what was done was done.
“I am so sorry Ahsoka.” The senator said.
“Don’t worry about us,” Ahsoka told her. “We still have a job to do.”
“There aren’t that many droids left, we saw some headed for the south exit.”
“As long as we are able, we will help you destroy the droids before they can breach the compound.” Ahsoka told her.
Rex unclipped his blaster and handed it to the Senator. She accepted it with experienced hands.
“You take the North Corridor, we’ll take the south.”
With that, Rex followed his commander into the dim lab. It didn’t take long for them to come across a group of droids, sure as osik, headed for the exit.
“Let’s get the job done.” Rex yelled to his men before they charged forward.
All the practice that Anakin and Rex had made Ahsoka do for the sword and shield maneuver was coming in handy on this mission. Even so, in such tight corridors and with air thick with the virus, it was inevitable that a few blaster bolts got through. Hop took a hit to his arm and Catch took another hit to his leg.
They met with Amidala in the middle just in time to dispatch the last droid attempting to make it up through the exit.
“Good job.” Amidala said.
“Let’s go again.” Ahsoka said as she turned towards the east exit. “We’ll take the long way and meet you in the middle.”
They were moving slower now, Catch limping along behind and trying to stifle his hacking cough. Hop was also starting to weaze a little, even Rex was starting to feel under the weather.
They’d only been exposed to the damn sickness for a few hours now and it was tearing through their bolstered immune systems like it was nothing. That only made his concern about Ahsoka doubled. She was a natborn, the only defense she had was the Force, but he wasn’t even sure how well that would work. She hadn’t started coughing yet, but like him, she’d been uninjured, not giving the virus as much of a foothold.
Maybe togruta had better immune systems than humans? No, Kix had mentioned that her body temperature was slightly below an average humans.
She was moving slower than earlier, but that was the only indication that it was starting to affect her.
They stumbled across another small group of droids and were able to quickly dispatch them without taking another injury. They took a moment to rest and Catch sank to the floor.
Ahsoka knelt down next to him worriedly as Rex attempted to com his general.
No luck.
He really hoped that his little commander was correct and that Skywalker would be able to figure something out, if not for them then at least for the rest of the galaxy.
When he turned around, Catch’s bucket was off and Ahsoka was examining his face.
There were dark veins along his temples that ran down his neck and disappeared into his hair. The skin around his eyes was also turning dark, taking on a bruised blue shade. If Rex had to guess, that is what likely gave the kriffing virus its name.
Hop let out a harsh cough as he too slipped his helmet off. There were faint dark veins around his neck, not yet as prominent as Catch’s but still there.
Kix gave an insistent tug at his mind. It would be easier if they could communicate with words instead of just yanking at each other’s minds.
At the next exit, things took a turn for the worse. Another trooper took a hit to the shoulder, and Amidala’s suit was compromised. leaving her exposed to the virus.
“Senator!” Ahsoka slid to the floor in front of Amidala. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright, these things tend to happen in a war zone.” The older woman assured her.
Ahsoka nodded before slowly standing back up. Rex narrowed his eyes and gripped her narrow shoulders to turn her around to face him. His heart sank when he noted the dark veins beginning to appear on her cheeks.
“Oh vod’ika.” He mumbled.
“I’m fine Rex.” She told him. “I will be. We just need to finish up our job, and I have faith that Anakin and Master Kenobi will find a solution.”
Rex released her reluctantly.
While he might not fear death’s embrace, he did fear it for Ahsoka. He prayed to whatever deity would listen that Skywalker and Kenobi would be able to find a cure.
Their group once again split up to head for the final exit. By now Catch was all but down permanently. Ahsoka sent him back to the safe room to rest and wait up for them. That was also where their food and water was, hopefully some fuel would give him some strength.
“I hear them!” Ahsoka yelled back to the group. “Let’s finish this now!”
They all forced speed into the weakening muscles to charge forward. Ahsoka hurled herself at the droids, slicing through them deftly. Rex shot the droid behind Ahsoka as she reached up into the exit hatch to yank the last droid down with the Force.
Rex felt the bond between him and Ahsoka falter as she groaned and caught herself against the ladder. His knees suddenly felt weak at that feeling.
“Ahsoka!” Amidala yelled as they both charged towards the togruta.
“I’m fine.” Ahsoka assured them as she pushed herself back upright.
Rex quickly hooked his arm around her back to keep her steady. The darkened veins had extended to her lekku as well as the exposed skin on her biceps.
“Let’s get back to the safe room.” Rex told the group as he supported Ahsoka’s weight so she could walk.
It was telling when Ahsoka didn’t try to step away to walk herself. Another spark of fear for Rex. As they walked, Rex did his best to focus in on his bond with Ahsoka, trying to figure out if it was real or if he was imagining that it felt weaker.
The worry from the others was growing.
“They can feel us getting sick.” Ahsoka mumbled to him as they walked.
They were at the back of the group so they didn’t have to worry about someone hearing them discuss the connection.
“That’s why they are worried. It’s like when Jesse was shot in the shoulder.” She explained before clearing her throat.
“Are they going to get weak too?” Rex asked.
“I don’t think so, its all in their heads.” Ahsoka said. “But I think it would be a good to try to shield from them. In case…”
In case they die. It had been pretty kriffing bad when Jesse and Echo had been injured, Rex had thought his arm had been blasted off, but then the fear that it wasn’t actually his injury had set in to make it worse. He could only imagine what it would feel like if one of them did die.
He swallowed thickly and tugged Ahsoka closer to his side.
Time was not on their side. Rex was starting to feel weaker and weaker and even Ahsoka had seemed to reach the conclusion that it wasn’t if they would die, it was when. They had not heard from Skywalker or Kenobi, but Ahsoka and Amidala sent them one final message.
Do not open the lab.
By the twelve hour mark of being contaminated, they all were hacking up a lung. Food and water had helped replenish some of their strength but only for so long. Amidala looked as bad as the rest of the clone troopers did, despite her being infected for a shorter period. Apparently their heightened immune system had been working to keep them alive. Ahsoka was still moving, but there were more flickers in the bond, or until she’d blocked most of her connection to him.
He’d tried to get her to sit down, but she had refused, instead moving to offer more water to another downed trooper. Amidala was much the same way.
Catch had started coughing up blood, then he’d fallen unconscious, then…
Ahsoka’s flinch had all he’d needed to see to know.
Rex dragged a spare blanket over to cover Catch’s body.
“What a waste.” Amidala said as she watched with sorrowful eyes.
Rex gritted his teeth as he secured the blanket.
Even though Skywalker was infatuated, that didn’t mean Rex had to be. The Senate was the one leading the war effort, directing funding and supplies, they were the ones that had yet to give clone trooper sentient status. Politics was way above Rex’s pay grade (which he didn’t even have), but he’d listened through enough rants from his older brothers to have at least some understanding. Especially from Fox, do not get him drunk and on a tangent about the Senate.
Maybe it was the fact that he was currently dying from a particularly vicious virus, but the senator’s comment irked Rex.
“With all due respect Senator,” Rex said through a harsh cough. “It’s what these men were created to do.”
This was the fate of the Senate’s army, best she see it now.
“I hope that their sacrifice will bring us closer to peace.” Her voice was quiet, almost reverent.
Rex glanced sideways at her as he continued to run a cool rag over Ridge’s forehead.
“It will Padme.” Ahsoka said as she staggered to her feet.
The little togruta coughed harshly into her arm as she spoke and despite the block she had put up, Rex felt their connection flicker again.
“You must believe…” Rex was surging up before her sentence was done.
“Ahsoka!” Amidala followed after Rex.
Ahsoka’s eyes rolled back in her head as she tipped to the side. Rex caught her before she could hit the floor. She was limp in his arms and her bond was quiet, weak.
Osik osik osik.
The others were panicking now.
Rex sank down onto the floor fully, keeping Ahsoka propped up in his lap. He removed his glove to press his fingers against her pulse point and found it irregular.
He mentally slapped himself.
She wasn’t human, of course she wouldn’t have the same pulse rate.
Rex wrapped his arms around the togruta and leaned back against the wall. Denal and Ridge dragged themselves closer to check on her as well while Amidala went back to supplying the other troopers with water.
Catch had fallen unconscious before he’d died. And now…
Ahsoka Tano was not supposed to die. Not only was she still just a kid, she was a Jedi, one that had walked off of more than one battle field with nothing more than a scratch. To think that something as kriffing simple as a virus was what brought her down, it didn’t sit right with Rex. If she were ever to die, (which Rex hoped would never happen) it would have to be in a blaze of glory.
Rex leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. If he could lend her some of his strength, he would. It might not even do her any good considering that they were all dead anyways, but he was not supposed to outlive Ahsoka Tano.
Rex focused on the line tethering his mind to hers. What good was this kriffing Force bond if it couldn’t help him keep her alive? He caught a hold of it, felt how weak it had become. It was almost like it was becoming translucent as she grew closer and closer to death.
To be honest, he was pretty osik at the whole Force thing, but as Ahsoka had described earlier, it was all in their heads. He might not be a Jedi but he had some control of the Force, at least in the bond in his head.
Rex focused again on Ahsoka’s connection and envisioned it becoming solid again, he imagined it like a string of light slowly brightening back up.
In his arms, Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath. Rex let out a rattling cough as he watched in surprise as the bond slowly strengthened.
Rex blinked down at Ahsoka blearily, his head swimming. She looked the same, but her breathing was just a little stronger. The next coughing attack Rex had, he felt like his ribs were going to crack. Dark splotches appeared and he leaned his head back against the wall with a groan.
“Take it easy Rex.” Denal’s raspy voice said next to him.
While Ahsoka seemed to have gained some strength, he felt like he’d just run a gauntlet under Alpha-17. Maybe that’s how it worked, he could transfer some of his own strength to someone else, but it would cost him. Wasn’t that neat.
His head lolled to the side as his mind went fuzzy.
Something in his mind felt like it was being tugged. Or poked. How was someone poking his brain? Now there were three of them. One of them…
The room came into focus with sharp clarity as his head snapped up. His fingers regained feeling, though he didn’t remember losing feeling, and his chest stopped aching so much.
Wait, what?
Another prod at his mind and he was drawn towards Fives’ bond in his mind. For lack of better description, it was glowing. Brighter than the others for sure.
By the Maker had Fives also just figured out how to transfer some strength? He was certainly one of the more imaginative ones.
Rex looked around the room. Amidala had finally sank down to the floor to rest, Denal and Ridge were propped up next to Rex, two shinies were seated back to back hacking up a lung, and Hop didn’t look like he was breathing.
Rex let his head sink back against the wall as he ran his hand up and down Ahsoka’s arm.
They each had been bought a little time. Soon the only way to count the passing of time was his own rib cracking coughs. Ridge was unconscious and Denal looked like he was close to it as well.
Ahsoka’s breathing had grown raspy again, Amidala had red staining her hands from her own thrashed airways, one of the shinies had fallen sideways but his chest was still rising and falling, if labored.
Darkness was once again creeping into the edges of his vision, he felt disconnected from reality and form the others in his mind. So this was finally it.
Just as Rex let his eye lids drift shut, his wrist com lit up. He blinked at it blearily before he fumbled to activate it without jostling Ahsoka too much.
“Rex are you there?” Skywalker’s voice flooded the room.
All those still conscious tilted their heads towards his com device.
Rex coughed to clear his throat, flecks of blood hit his closed fist.
“Yes sir.”
“Prepare for evac, we have a cure.”
Notes:
There aren't enough fics featuring the blue shadow virus, like Ahsoka, Rex and Padme were all on the verge of death and there is much angst potential!
This group is quickly learning that they still have a lot to learn about this bond of theirs ;)
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments actively add years to my life <3
Togruti trans:
baa: ass
Chapter 13: Uncivilized
Summary:
Post BSV and some blaster training for the little commander
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The best warriors have the skills to adapt to any situation.
-
Clones were not made to get sick. They had quite literally been designed to not get sick. It was because of this that Kix and the rest of the 501st were medics were woefully unprepared to be handling ten clone troopers plus their commanding officer recovering from one of the most deadly and devastating illnesses in the galaxy.
A day after receiving the cure, the infected troopers and Commander Tano were transported back to Resolute and placed into the medics hands. The Naboo scientists had been quick to cultivate the cure and deliver it, they’d also sent the medics with a few extra vials of the cure encase anyone else managed to get infected.
Those that had been infected were quarantined to one med bay in the corner of the ship that they’d isolated the vents to recycle only the that air, lest they accidentally circulate the virus to the rest of the kriffing ship.
The medics had to wear PPC gear when they entered the medbay to treat them as well.
Honestly, it scared Kix. It scared Kix because Ahsoka and Rex still looked close to the edge of death even two days after receiving the cure. All of them still had darkened veins across their skin and the bruised shadows around their eyes.
The clone troopers had woken up within twelve hours of receiving the cure but Ahsoka hadn’t woken up until after they’d all been transported back to the ship a day and a half later, even then she was only awake in short bursts. The first few days were quiet, everyone that was recovering slept most of the time which Kix counted as a blessing. They didn’t cough as much when they were asleep, which considering that more than a few of them had broken their ribs from coughing, they needed the time to heal.
After three days on the ship, the recovering troopers started to be more alert and began to gain their strength back. Ahsoka remained weak, which concerned all of them and made her master nearly neurotic. Kix deducted that the clone troopers fast acting immune system and increased regenerative ability was contributing to their fast recovery. A call to Naboo revealed that Senator Amidala was still down much like Ahsoka, Kix guessed that was another reason Skywalker was so high strung.
Kix was monitoring Ahsoka and Rex all day, and when he finally got dragged out of there to eat and sleep by Coric, he monitored them through the bond.
He didn’t think that he would forget the feeling of Ahsoka’s bond faltering and growing weaker.
It was made even worse because none of them were there. They were all stuck back on the ship while Ahsoka and Rex had run the mission. They’d felt all of the high stake emotions that came with battle but they hadn’t been there for it, they didn’t know what was even happening.
That was something that they’d have to work on, blocking out emotions while others were on missions and battles, just another thing to an ever growing list.
Jesse had finally gotten one of the bridge techs to relay any information coming in, which honestly made it worse because they found out almost right away when Ahsoka and Rex were stuck in the lab with the virus loose. They’d all been subjected to feeling both of their vod growing weaker and weaker, their dizziness and weakness had even made them all sluggish.
Then Ahsoka had started slipping. Her bond in their minds had flickered liking a dying star before Kix had felt Rex latch onto it and… he did something. It was like he’d drained some of the light from his side and gave it to her. Then Rex had started flickering and they’d all panicked again, trying to figure out what the kriff Rex had done for Ahsoka so that they could do it for him. Fives finally figured it out, and had then passed out, which made them all panic again. Once he’d woken up, Fives said that he’d just pictured Rex’s bond getting stronger by Fives giving some of his own.
“I had no idea what I was doing, I just kinda imagined it, then his bond started getting stronger and then everything was black.” Fives had said.
Just another crazy thing to add to their other growing list of symptoms from the Force bond.
Once Kix was done with check ups and care for everyone during his shift, instead of sitting at the desk medics usually used he sat in between Ahsoka and Rex’s beds to work. Once Rex had regained more of his strength he’d demanded to be allowed to work on reports.
“This kriffing ship will fall apart without someone handling it.” he’d mumbled.
Kix relented after his ori’vod wore him down, it took a whole day but it happened.
The end of the quarantine period was approaching and the troopers were finally getting back on their feet. The dark veins had faded mostly as well as the shadowy bruises around their eyes. Kix was finally able to shed the PPC in favor of gloves and a face mask when he entered the med bay, he think that also made the troopers stuck in here more at ease.
The others in the group wanted to see Ahsoka and Rex, understandably so, however Kix and the other medics had staunchly refused to let any visitors in, even after the troopers were getting back on their feet. The last thing that any of them needed was to get riled up while they were healing, especially Ahsoka.
By the time that the troopers were getting well enough to walk and do simple exercises, Ahsoka was finally managing to stay awake for extended periods of time. She still had a nasty cough which the troopers had shaken off days ago and her skin was still pale. However she was regaining enough strength to voice her complaints about still being bed ridden while the others were moving.
“Vod’ika we are literally designed to bounce back quickly, you should know this by now.” Kix said as he rolled his eyes.
“Still, I’m a Jedi. I’m supposed to bounce back quickly too.” She grumbled before dissolving into a coughing fit.
Kix reached down into the door on the nearest med cart and pulled out a bottle of cough medicine. Ahsoka’s face scrunched up at the sight of it in disgust.
“It will make you feel better.” Rex said from where he was performing a series of push ups on the floor. “It’s not that bad and it will help you cough go away.”
Ahsoka rolled her eyes before very reluctantly accepting the cap full of fluid.
She tipped it back into her mouth as she fixed her glare on Kix. Suddenly his tongue was flooded with the bitter sweet taste of the cough medicine.
“Real mature.” He mumbled sarcastically as he took the empty cap back.
She stuck her tongue out at him, which was now stained blue.
“We need you better soon so that Hardcase and Fives don’t try to sneak in here through the ceiling.” Kix told her. “Believe me, they’ve been plotting.”
“They are such mama nexus.” She said with a huff. “They haven’t left me alone since I woke up.”
Rex grunted in agreement.
“Luckily for you, once Rex is out of here they will spend all of their time bugging him and not you.” Kix informed her.
The next day the troopers were released. The CMO finally let Skywalker come in to see his padawan which helped boost her spirits, however other visitors were still strictly off limits. As much as his vode were bugging him, it would be hard to explain why the only visitors allowed were her master and a select group of troopers. Unless they wanted the whole ship to know about the Force bond.
Now with only Ahsoka left in the med bay, most of the medics finally got a break, however Kix volunteered to stay with his little commander.
He felt her trepidation as the night cycle grew closer and knew that he wasn’t going to let her sleep in here alone. Instead he’d pulled a couple of the chairs over to her bed side and made himself comfortable.
-
Jesse liked to pride himself on keeping a level head in high stress situations, it was one of the reasons he’d been made into a corporal. However, if he didn’t lay eyes on Ahsoka himself to make sure that she was alive and not dead in a Naboo lab, he was going to start clawing at the walls of the barracks like some rapid animal.
It had been worse when Rex and Ahsoka were quarantined because then he was doubly worried for both his older brother and his vod’ika, with Rex back some of his concern was alleviated. He was able to focus some of his attention Rex, making sure he had water, was warm enough, didn’t do anything too strenuous to make him start coughing again. Finally the captain had all but bit their heads off for worrying so much.
Now Jesse was just concerned for their youngest aliit member.
He’d been in the training rooms dancing around a punching bag to distract himself when Ahsoka’s bond had started to flicker. Waiting for news about what was happening on Naboo was torture, especially considering that General Skywalker and General Kenobi had left the planet to find a cure after Ahsoka and Rex had been trapped down there with the virus loose.
It had startled him so much that he’d almost ended up on the floor when it happened. When he realized why it was flickering, a wave of dizziness had washed over him. Ahsoka’s strength was failing, and she was dying.
Then Rex’s had started to falter too.
Then…
Well now they were getting better, but that didn’t make Jesse feel much better because the only evidence he had was Kix’s word, which should be enough but it wasn’t.
Two days after Rex was released, Kix finally green lit Ahsoka for visitors.
Jesse felt like he was able to take a full breath when he saw Ahsoka sitting upright on the medical bed and smiling at them.
“Well sir you sure are a sight for sore eyes.” Hardcase exclaimed as they all came to stand by her bed.
“It’s nice to see some new faces around here.” She responded.
“You’re saying that as if we don’t all share the same face.” Kix huffed.
“Not to me.” Ahsoka said as Fives leaned down to wrap his arms around her. “I missed you guys too.”
“Please don’t ever almost die again.” Echo told her.
Ahsoka gave a god natured huff as Hardcase replaced Fives to hug her.
“I think I’ve promised something similar to that before.”
Jesse nudged Hardcase out of the way so he could hug Ahsoka. She felt thinner than before, her cheeks did look more hollow, was this normal for people when they got sick? She hooked her arms around his neck and let peace warm the bridge between their minds, soothing out his worry.
“At least its good to know that you would miss us if we died.” Rex huffed were he was seated in the chair next to Ahsoka’s bed.
“They’d be lost without us Rexter.” Ahsoka said.
Jesse and Hardcase scoffed.
“We could manage just fine without you.” Jesse said.
Ahsoka and Rex shared a look.
“If we left you in charge I bet you’d manage to find a way to crash the ship.” Rex said as he rolled his eyes.
“I’m offended by your lack of confidence in me.” Jesse said, looking affronted.
“I’d trust leaving Echo in charge.” Ahsoka said.
The younger trooper beamed as Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase protested.
“I would make a great leader.” Fives said.
“Sure you would.” Kix scoffed.
They continued to argue with each other, debating the pros and cons of leadership until Ahsoka looked about ready to tip over sideways in exhaustion. Kix shooed them out with the promise that they could come back tomorrow.
“Sleep well kid.” Hardcase called from the door.
“We need you back out here with us to help us cause chaos.” Jesse said.
“Absolutely not.” Kix snapped as he shoved Jesse out.
Jesse dodged Kix enough to poke his head back in and wink at his little commander. She gave him a sharp toothed smile back.
-
Rex slowly and meticulously cleaned his DC-17s, his carbine was laying on the desk next to him, already spotless. On the chair next to him, his general was carefully cleaning and repairing his lightsaber. Many people believed that the 501st infamous plans for success were concocted in the bridge or in some serious setting. In reality many of the plans were born in quiet moments like this one.
And for once it was quiet. Through the Force bond Rex could feel that Kix, Hardcase, and Fives were asleep, Ahsoka was with the others based on the gentle tugs and pushes he could feel on their side. Likely book club.
Skywalker had found him in the CO office finishing up his reports before he’d sat down and began to careful process of disassembling his saber.
Rex liked these moments. This was how Skywalker and him had first started to get used to each other at the beginning of the war, it had made Rex realize that Jedi could be as domestic as the troopers were and it had made him respect his general, even more so than his fighting ability.
The Jedi had told him in spaces like this they were equal, and that if any of his plans sounded too kriffed Rex was allowed to shoot them down. It had taken a little bit, but now Rex was comfortable enough to do just that.
“Next time we find ourselves out flanked, we can send Ahsoka with a squad of heavy class troopers to beat the droids and hit their side.” Anakin said. “That way we’d both be able to keep our front line in tact.”
Rex nodded absently.
“She’s been working with them in training recently. They’re learning how to work with her.”
Heavy class troopers were generally a rowdy crowd that tended to have a mind of their own, even when working with their Jedi COs. Surprisingly, Hardcase kept them in line when it came to working with Ahsoka, which truly was a feat in itself.
“She’s improved a lot.” His general said.
“You’re training is paying off.” Rex said as he wiped grease away from the firing mechanism, careful to keep from slicing himself.
“Mine and yours.” Rex glanced up to see the Jedi watching him with an amused look. “I think you’ve trained her just as much as I have.”
“Maybe in military matters.” Rex shrugged as he looked back down at his pistol. “I think she’ll make an amazing Knight one day sir.”
He heard Anakin huff a little.
“I don’t doubt that. However, she’ll make an even better general because she was taught by one of the best.”
Rex paused and looked back up at his general.
“Rex I really do want to thank you for what you’ve done for Ahsoka.” The man’s blue eyes bore into his. “I honestly don’t know if she’d have made it this far without you and the other troopers. Thank you.”
Rex wondered if he would be saying thank you if he knew that he currently shared a kriffing Force psychic link with his padawan.
“I think that Ahsoka’s saved my life more times than I care to count.” Rex answered. “And, to be honest sir, she’s grown on all of us, we’re all happy to help out in any way we can.”
His general smiled at that.
The fell back into comfortable silence as Skywalker finished cleaning his lightsaber and reassembled it. A flick of his fingers and Rex’s carbine flew from the desk to Skywalker’s hands.
Rex watched out of the corner of his eye as his general carefully examined the blaster with practiced hands. He’d seen the Jedi use a blaster a few times during campaigns, but he hardly ever saw Jedi wielding any other weapon besides their lightsabers.
“I’ve always wondered sir,” Rex said.
“Hm?” Skywalker said as he sighted the blaster.
“Why is General Kenobi so… averse to blasters?” Rex asked carefully.
Skywalker snorted as he continued with his examination.
“Supposedly Obi-Wan has a complicated history with them. He knows how to use them, and he made sure that I knew how to use one, but I think he’d rather shave his beard off than be forced to use one.”
Rex wrinkled his nose slightly at that. His blasters were like an extension of his arm, being without one made him feel naked almost. However, that’s just how he’d been trained, how all clones had been trained.
Rex was finishing up reassembling his pistols when Skywalker suddenly frowned.
“I need to teach Ahsoka how to use a blaster.” he mumbled as he dragged a hand through his hair. “Kark I should have done that months ago! We’re literally in a war.”
Rex blinked at that. It hadn’t occurred to him either that Ahsoka didn’t know how to use a blaster. Now that he thought about it, he’d never seen her use one. He shared an equally perplexed look with his general.
There were three confused nudges in his head from those awake as they sensed his distraught.
“If you’d like sir, I can teach her.” Rex offered, a plan already forming in his mind.
Skywalker let out a sigh of relief.
“That would be amazing Rex. I’d trust you with that particular lesson over me any day.” He levitated Rex’s carbine back to the desk. “I still don’t know how you talked her into armor.”
Rex huffed.
“I uh, tried a new tactic.”
Yeah, guilt tripping her by literally pushing his concern and fear across the connection in their minds simultaneous with two other people. It proved to be highly effective.
His Jedi stood up and stretched.
“I’ll go write down our ideas, have a good night Rex.”
“Thank you general.” Rex said as he holstered his pistols and clipped his carbine to his belt.
The walk back to the barracks, Rex worked out what exactly blaster training would entail, he then remembered that he had five other people that would happily join in the chaos.
-
Ahsoka stared out across the firing range and the countless target dummies lining the far wall.
All venators had a firing range down in the deep belly of the ship, the walls were reinforced to stop any stray blaster bolts from doing damage to the ship itself. As of right now, there were only a few squads at the far ends of the large room training with some of their shines.
“What a beautiful day for some target practice.” Hardcase declared as he thunked his Z-6 on the floor with a clang.
“We are on a star ship in hyperspace ‘Case,” Jesse said. “There is no night or day.”
“I can feel it, somewhere out there, its a beautiful day.” Hardcase answered.
Jesse let out a yelp and Ahsoka guessed he’d just received a sharp jab right to the brain.
They’d finally gotten to the point that they were getting the hang of sending signals only to select people instead of the whole group in the Force tether. Ahsoka was proud of them.
“Knock it off, we are here to teach not jagyc around.” Rex snapped.
“Yes sir.” Jesse and Hardcase grumbled.
Ahsoka snickered quietly as the rest of the group set their bags down and got to work prepping their weapons.
“So what exactly prompted this training?” Ahsoka asked.
“It was brought to my attention recently that we’ve failed to teach you how to handle a blaster.” Rex answered. “As a captain in the Grand Army of the Republic and someone that cares about you, that was a wrong that needed to be corrected.”
Something told her that her master had something to do with this too.
“For the record, I know how to handle a blaster.” Ahsoka said. “Just not how to use one very well. Master Kenobi always says that blasters are uncivilized.”
There was number of grumbles at that.
“I want to know how Commander Cody sleeps at night knowing his general thinks that.” Jesse said.
“Not very well from what Helix has told me.” Kix said with a shrug.
Ahsoka laughed at that. Before long everyone had their blasters loaded and ready.
“Alright,” Rex started off. “As you are aware, there are many different types of blasters that you can come into contact with on the battlefield. We are going to do our best to teach you how to handle as many as we can. To start off, we’ll get you going with the most common blaster you’ll find, a DC-15S Blaster Carbine.”
At that, Fives, Echo, and Jesse stepped forward.
Jesse held out his blaster for Ahsoka to take. It was heavier than Ahsoka expected, despite the hours she spent training with her lightsaber, her muscles weren’t exactly made for carrying heavier weapons. To accommodate for this, she used a touch of the Force to bolster her strength enough to wield the blaster.
The three of them took turns telling her about the different parts of the blaster, how to handle it, and finally walked her over to the area for her to stand and shoot.
When it came for them to show her the proper way to hold the blaster, they descended into argument, as it turned out everyone had their own way. Although, Fives was more or less excluded from the argument because apparently the way that he held his blaster was particularly offensive, even to Rex, Kix, and Hardcase. Echo and Jesse were arguing about the placement of their non-trigger finger hand, which Ahsoka had given up on trying to follow about five minutes ago.
“Should we say something?” Ahsoka saw Kix lean over to ask Rex.
The captain shook his head and made himself more comfortable on the floor.
“Nope, they volunteered for this, they can work it out.”
Ahsoka huffed a laugh as she turned back to Jesse and Echo.
“No, if you hold it like that you aren’t supporting the barrel properly and that can make your shot go off the mark.” Echo argued. “Where did you learn to shoot like that, the nurse droids?”
“No it doesn’t, you still have a good base of support.” Jesse snapped. “And besides I don’t think your are a very valid source considering that your batch almost flunked final assessment.”
Echo and Fives sputtered as Ahsoka clapped her hand over her mouth to contain her surprised laugh.
After a few more minutes Ahsoka sighed and gave sharp tugs on all three of their bonds, making them wince.
“How about I try both grips and see which one is more comfortable.” She compromised.
The three of them grudgingly nodded before they set her up to shoot.
“Alright if you want to hit something you need to know how to sight properly.” Echo told her.
“See these two hook shaped ridges right here.” Fives pointed at the end of the barrel. “These are for very basic sighting. If you are shooting from far away or are just being lazy, you use these to sight. They aren’t very precise, but if you are in close combat and don’t have much time to line up a perfect shot, these will do.”
Ahsoka nodded as she held up the blaster to stare down the middle of the two hooks at the dummy.
“And these,” Jesse pointed to a much smaller notch at the start of the barrel. “Are for actual sighting. Whatever you are trying to hit, line the bottom of it up with the bottom of the notch and you should be dead on, assuming no one has kriffed with my sights.”
“The only one that kriffs with your sights is you vod.” Kix called where he was seated next to Hardcase and Rex.
“Shab off.” Jesse answered before turning back to Ahsoka. “So what I want you to do is line the bottom of the bullseye up with the bottom of the notch.”
Ahsoka stepped up to the line on the floor and raised the blaster up to her eye. Ever so carefully she lined up her shot.
“Don’t forget to breathe vod’ika.” Rex called. “That’s how troopers pass out.”
“Yeah one of my batchmates was really bad at remembering to breathe during target practice.” Hardcase said. “Started calling him Fainter.”
Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath before letting it out again and steadying her hands.
“Once your ready, just pull the trigger and remember that it will kick back a little.” Echo told her gently.
Ahsoka took in another breath before she pressed down on the trigger.
The blaster jerked back in her hands, making her arm vibrate as the bolt went flying and slammed into the second ring from the bullseye. Ahsoka huffed in annoyance at missing.
“Good job vod’ika!” Jesse said as he grabbed her shoulder.
“I missed.” Ahsoka frowned.
“You hit the target.” Fives said. “That’s way better than I did when I first used a blaster.”
“Weren’t you like eight when you did that.” Ahsoka grumbled.
Fives opened his mouth to respond but his twin cut him off.
“You can’t expect to be perfect on your first time.” Echo said. “But for a first attempt that was good, you got within a few inches of the bullseye.”
Ahsoka huffed but lifted the blaster back up to her eye to go again.
Multiple attempts later and her arm was going numb, the unfamiliar weight of the blaster working her muscles in an unusual way even with a little bit of the Force helping her.
She’d gotten a little closer to the bullseye, but hadn’t hit it.
“That was a good first round commander.” Fives told her.
“It just takes practice, a lot of it.” Echo added.
Ahsoka handed Jesse back his carbine and shook out her arms.
“You all make it look so easy.” She huffed.
“That’s because we’ve been doing it for years.” Jesse said as he nudged her arm the same time he nudged her mind. “You make swinging your lightsaber around look easy, but if any of us tried to do it we’d likely lose a limb. But that’s because you practice with it every day.”
A rather comical vision of Hardcase attempting to twirl a lightsaber around and it stabbing him in the foot flashed across her mind, and she was positive that she wasn’t the one that imagined it.
“Alright,” Rex stood up from where he’d been seated. “Now onto pistols.”
He unholstered one of his DC-17s and handed it to her before holding up his other one to run through the schematics.
“When it comes to these, there is less recoil.” Rex explained. “These are good for fast firing especially in close quarter combat. They are lighter but they don’t hold has much ammo and they aren’t as powerful over longer distances.”
Ahsoka nodded as she followed Rex over to the firing line again.
“The sighting is more or less the same, line the notch up and fire.” Rex stepped back to give her space.
Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath before lining up the shot and firing. Her arm vibrated much less when the bolt was released, however, her aim was much further off.
“These can take a little getting used to for aim.” Rex patted her shoulder. “Because they don’t have as much power, you have to aim much more precisely.”
Ahsoka huffed but popped off a few more shots, the last two getting close to the middle.
“Good job vod’ika.” Rex said with a smile. “Practice will make perfect.”
Ahsoka nodded, shaking her shoulders out slightly. They were right, she didn’t have to be perfect at this yet.
“I think I’d like to get one of those.” Fives said from the floor. “They look kriffing cool.”
“You can get one when you become an ARC trooper kid.” Rex said as he rolled his eyes. “Next up is the rifle.”
Kix used his rifle to push himself up from the floor.
“This is the second most common firearm you’ll find on the battle field.” Kix explained as he held it out to her.
She carefully took the blaster.
“It’s not much too heavier than the Carbine.” She noted.
“No, they are bigger but they aren’t going to slow you down.” Kix said as he moved her hands to properly grip the rifle. “These have a bit more of a kick though.”
He lifted the rifle up so the butt rested against her shoulder.
“You brace it with your shoulder so your arms don’t take to much of the recoil.”
Kix went about explaining the different parts of the blaster just as the others had, before he unclipped the scope from the underside of the rifle and attached it to the top.
“Another thing different about rifles is they have a targeting scope on top of a standard scope.”
Ahsoka leaned her cheek against the cool metal to look through the scope. There were four lines all pointing towards a center dot, which she guessed was where her blast would go if she handled the blaster properly.
Kix led her over the the firing line before taking the rifle back from her.
“You also need a wider base of support because rifles have more kick.” Kix said as he splayed his feet on the floor.
He raised the rifle to his shoulder, lined up the shot and fired. The blaster bolt sailed true and slammed into the bullseye. His shoulder rocked a little from the blast, but considering the recoil from the Carbine, she knew there was more force than she saw.
Next she prepared to follow Kix’s example. The blaster appeared much bigger and more cumbersome in her hands but she got it in the right position.
Deep breathe in, long breathe out.
She fired and the rifle jumped in her hands, jolting her right shoulder back.
The blaster bolt landed in the third ring of circles.
“Nice first shot.” Kix told her. “See what I mean by more kick?”
“Yeah, that has a lot more kick than the others.” Ahsoka said as she rolled her shoulder.
“Like we’ve been saying, you’ll get stronger and you’ll get used to it.” Kix told her. “Next shot, I want you to try using your left shoulder, some troopers shot better from one shoulder verses the other.”
As it turned out, Ahsoka shot just the same from either shoulder.
“Maybe it’s a Jedi thing?” Fives offered.
Ahsoka shrugged as she handed Kix is blaster back.
“I have a feeling that you are gonna be a natural when we actually get into training you.” Kix said. “From what I hear, Jedi are very good marksman.”
“Is that because you cheat with the Force?” Jesse asked.
“We do not cheat with the Force.” Ahsoka scoffed.
Jesse raised an eyebrow at that.
“I wasn’t using the Force for any of those shots.” Ahsoka gestured back at the scored dummy.
“Obviously not.” The corporal said.
Ahsoka grabbed their bond and jerked it, making Jesse give an indignant yelp.
“That is very corporal like behavior.” Ahsoka said with a smug smile.
“That’s very commander like behavior.” Kix mumbled as he sat back down.
Hardcase cracked his knuckles with a wide smile as he jumped up.
“And now we get to the big guns.”
Kix’s brows scrunched.
“My rifle is longer than yours.”
Hardcase waved his hand.
“Yours is all length, no girth. And everyone knows that ladies prefer-” His response was cut off by a pained yelp.
Ahsoka didn’t think she’d ever seen humans turn that shade of red so fast, or seen Rex, Jesse, and Kix coordinate a reprimand through the Force bond quite so in sync. Echo and Fives were staring at Hardcase wide eyed, looking a little lost.
“Just show her how to shoot, you di’kut.” Kix snapped.
Hardcase rubbed the side of his head with a wince as he hauled his Z-6 off of the floor. By the time he’d turned back to face Ahsoka, he was smiling again, a slightly maniacal smile.
“Alright commander, time to show you how to do some real damage. In order to do that, we need a different target.”
Hardcase lead her away from the scored dummy towards the end of the firing range that had larger firing boxes for maneuvering, the rest of the group following after them.
“Here we go. Now, they’ve all shown you how to handle blasters that require scoping and all that good stuff.” Hardcase said as he set the butt of the rotary canon on the ground and rested it against his leg. “You obviously know that heavy class troopers use rotary canons to provide cover fire for ground troopers as well as anti-craft fire. Aiming is good, but not entirely required with these bad boys.”
He motioned to the muzzle of the blaster.
“As you can see, there are six blaster canons, each are like their own mini blaster, and you can pop off one hundred sixty six shots per second.”
Ahsoka let out low whistle. She’d seen Z-6s in action many times, but it was still impressive.
“Now, one of the reasons that more troopers don’t use these are because they are heavy and they require troopers to carry extra energy cartridges for the central cooling unit.” Hardcase held up an energy cell. “These can take a few minutes to exchange, however if you get really good at it you can have them switched out in thirty seconds.”
He rehooked the energy cell to his belt and hefted the blaster up to his hip.
“You think you need a good base of support for the rifle? You see all heavy class troopers balance with their hips because this packs a lot more punch than a rifle. It will also help balance you out.” Hardcase scrutinized her for a second. “This thing probably weighs half as much as you do.”
Ahsoka gave an offended noise.
“I can lift it.” She snapped. “I can use the Force to bolster my strength.”
“Really?” Echo asked.
“Yep, not like a whole lot, but enough for whatever task I’m doing.” Ahsoka answered.
“Good, you are gonna need it for this.”
Ahsoka followed Hardcase over to the firing line.
“Alright, if you feel like you are gonna drop it, tell me.” Hardcase told her before he handed the blaster canon over.
Ahsoka knew it would be heavy, she just wasn’t quite aware of how heavy. She grunted as she was pulled forward before Hardcase caught her shoulders.
“Yep, told you it was heavy.” He laughed.
Ahsoka slid her feet apart and mustered a bit more strength to her arms as she hefted it up to rest against her hip. It really was a cumbersome piece of equipment, she was beginning to understand Master Obi-Wan’s stance on blasters.
“Alright good, the firing mechanism is back here.” Hardcase tapped the grip under her right hand. “The scope is adjusted so you can aim while looking down, but in my opinion you just point and fire.”
“Don’t let the trainers hear that.” Fives mumbled.
“Don’t let Alpha-17 hear that.” Rex shuddered.
Ahsoka felt Rex’s lingering fear and huffed a laugh as Hardcase waved them all off.
“Today, let’s just focusing on hitting in the general vicinity of the target.” Hardcase told her as he came to stand right behind her. “I’ll help brace you so you don’t end up on your shebs.”
Ahsoka nodded.
The heavy class trooper planted his legs right behind hers and placed his hands on her shoulder.
“Fire at will sir.” He said, and she could hear the mirth in his voice.
Ahsoka sucked in a steadying breath before squeezing down on the firing mechanism.
The Z-6 erupted to life in her hands and she quickly released the firing grip. There was a line of scores about five feet above the dummy she’d been aiming for.
“Baka.” Ahsoka swore as she stared at the scores wide eyed.
“Yep, she packs a punch.” Hardcase patted her shoulder.
Ahsoka nodded with a swallow before she readied herself again.
Her whole body felt like it was being rattled as the rotary canon came to life once again. She gritted her teeth to keep them from rattling as she attempted to lower the nozzle towards the target, letting herself lean back into Hardcase for stability.
The blaster felt like it was a mind of its own as it swung towards the left and towards the floor, leaving scorch marks on the ground. If Hardcase wasn’t behind her she was pretty sure that she’d have slid backwards from the force of the canon.
Ahsoka released the firing grip and panted for breath.
“How do you do this for hours.” Ahsoka asked breathlessly.
“Lot’s of practice.” He said. “And why do you think I can bench press Jesse so easily?”
The corporal made an indignant noise as Ahsoka attempted to aim before firing again.
The spray of blaster bolts ran up the wall to the right of the dummy and instead of trying to use her arms to direct the blaster fire, she shifted her hips and feet to angle, something she thought she’d seen Hardcase do on the battle field.
The line of blaster bottles cut into the dummy and she stopped moving as the dummy was decimated by the rotary canon. She released the firing grip as her arms shook.
Before she could drop the canon, Hardcase reached down with one hand to catch the grip.
Ahsoka tilted her head back against his chest to look up at his face. He had a wide smile and his other hand shook her shoulder.
“Nice job! You actually hit the target!”
Ahsoka used her free hand to pump her fist half heartedly.
“Yay.”
Hardcase laughed as he lifted the canon out of her grip.
“Once you pack a little more muscle on your bones, you’ll be up there with us Heavies!”
Ahsoka huffed a laugh as she stepped away from Hardcase with a slight stumble.
“Alright, I think that was a good first day of crash course to blaster training.” Rex said as he stood up. “This will become a weekly training until you feel comfortable with all of these blasters.”
Ahsoka stretched out her sore arms with a wince.
“Yipee.”
“If you’d like,” Echo offered. “You can train some weights with us.”
“Yeah, build up some more muscle and you won’t be so sore.” Fives said.
Ahsoka pursed her lips.
Adding some extra exercises wouldn’t hurt, it could also help her improve her lightsaber skills and other fighting abilities.
“I might just take you up on that offer.” She told them.
A burst of happiness washed across her bond with Fives, making her laugh.
“Just you wait sir, soon we’ll have you ready to go up against all the commanders.” Fives said.
Rex huffed at that.
“Now that’s something I’d pay to see.”
Notes:
As an american who grew up around firearms because her family hunts and learning how to safely handle firearms, I hope that my real world experience transferred at least a little well over into Fictional blaster land :)
Sorry for a slightly later update I am on spring break and enjoying life. Also, would you guys be interested in seeing some more behind the scenes of this fic over on Tumblr? Like my outline for the first part of this fic, or other little things like that?
You can yell at me on Tumblr: @saggitary <3
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos add years to my life
Mando'a trans:
jagyc - dick
Chapter 14: An Osik’palon Planet
Summary:
Second Battle of Geonosis lets go boyyyys
Notes:
HEY If you'd like to join the taglist for info about this fic on Tumblr, please reach out to me over there! These posts include snippets, fun facts, behind the scenes, etc.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Trust is not something to be given easily, it must be earned.
-
“Geonosis is a kriffing osik’palon of a planet with the worst shabuirs of inhabitants in the kriffing galaxy.”
The others stared at Rex wide eyed where they were gathering their gear from the bunks.
There weren’t too many in the 501st that had participated in the first battle of the clone wars, most of them were split up across the rest of the GAR.
Despite most not participating in it, the battle was well known throughout the clone army. Most troopers knew someone that had been on Geonosis, many had lost someone on Geonosis. It was the first shock of death they’d experienced, and there was some lingering resentment.
The battle had been rough, it was their test run, their first time in the field, and they’d been dropped directly into the center of a fire fight. The bodies of Jedi, too many Jedi, littered the ground before Rex’s boots had even met the sand.
Then the real fight had begun. Droids mixed with Geonosians with blaster fire flying every where.
Yes the fighting had been hell, however it was the aftermath that was worse. Battle, they were trained for, losing brothers, trekking over the bodies of your brothers on your way back to the center of your forces, the screams of those injured or dying, those are what stuck with Rex the most after the battle.
There was a lull between Geonosis and the official deployment of the clone army, the nights after the battle were filled with nightmares. He still occasionally had a dream about Geonosis.
Rex had since learned that a troopers first battle was usually the one that haunted them the most, after that they knew more or less what to expect, but the first battle was always a shock.
So yes, to say that he had a particular aversion to Geonosis might be an understatement. However he believed that he was sharing the sentiment with his general, his general who kept fidgeting with his prosthetic arm more than usual as they attended the briefings for the second invasion of Geonosis.
When Fives had asked him what Geonosis was like, he’d probably been expecting something along the lines of ‘rocky terrain, wear thick socks’ or ‘dust and sand, bring extra filters for your bucket and extra rags for your equipment’.
Now his vode were staring at him wide eyed with a slight touch of fear. He could feel their apprehension through their bond, if he was a better ori’vod he’d try to comfort them. However right now he was too stressed out to do that.
His ire was evidently rather palpable in the connection because Ahsoka, from across the ship, reached out with a questioning prod. Right, the least he could do is shield properly.
“Look,” Rex sucked in a deep breath to regain some semblance of control over himself. “This is going to be a rough campaign. Geonosians have advanced weaponry, they have the advantage of knowing the terrain, and they have a grudge.”
He knew he wasn’t exactly easing their worries, but it would be better for him to prepare them. Fives and Echo were both worried or cautious, Kix was apprehensive more than worried, Jesse was shifting his worry to something more productive, anger, and Hardcase… well Hardcase was excited.
Of kriffing course he was. Rex thought.
“Just be prepared to deal with some real osik once we get down there.” Rex said.
“We kriffed them up once, we can do it again.” Hardcase said.
“One of my batchmates was on Geonosis.” Jesse said as he cracked his knuckles. “I’m itching for some payback.”
The anger made sense now.
“Keep your head clear.” Kix told him. “Being pissed off won’t help you much if you have too much tunnel vision and get shot.”
“He’s right.” Rex said as he heaved another sigh. “We especially cannot afford to be sloppy on this campaign. If we kriff up, that droid factory will be spitting out hundreds of droids a day.”
Resolve hardened in all of them at that. This wasn’t just about them, but all of their brothers that would suffer if they didn’t take out the factory.
“We have a job, we’ll get it done.” Fives said.
Rex tightened his grip on his emotions as he nodded with the others.
Before he knew it, he was standing in the hangar getting the battalion loaded up into the gunships. Skywalker was calling last minute orders and details to the battalion, he was tense but his face was set with resolve. Ahsoka was weaving through the ships offering encouragements, but even her usual carefree and cocky attitude was toned down. Rex guessed that she was picking up on her master’s apprehension as well as his own.
Rex watched Kix and the other medics finalize their medical supplies and split up to their respective gunships as Ahsoka sidled up next to him.
“This is going to be rough, isn’t it?” Ahsoka asked as she surveyed the 501st.
“Most likely sir.” Rex answered.
Ahsoka nodded as Skywalker made is way towards them. The last unfilled gunship was right in front of them, Hardcase, Echo, and Fives already onboard.
“Let’s get this over with.” Skywalker said as he stepped into the ship with Ahsoka and Rex.
“General Kenobi’s forces are descending as we speak sir.” Rex reported.
“Good, let’s not keep him waiting.” His general motioned for the pilot to take off.
“Oya.” Hardcase thunked his fist to his chest as Geonosis loomed before them.
Something told Rex that something bad was about to happen.
-
Echo now understood Rex’s major disliking of this plant. It really was an osik’palon.
Droids weren’t sentient, yeah they didn’t like clones, but they weren’t programmed with much of a mind. Geonosians were very much sentient, and they really did not like clones, their eyes were filled with rage and vengeance. They were also quite a bit smarter than droids and a whole lot messier when they were killed.
Echo felt like he’d walked through the Nine Corellian Hells in the week that they’d been here. He was exhausted, he’d taken a hit to his side early on but thankfully his shielding was good enough now that the others weren’t debilitated by it. Kix had slapped a bacta patch on his side and told him to sleep it off, as far as his injury went, it was minor compared to the others in the tent.
He’d hardly seen Ahsoka since they’d landed, she was usually leading a different front that his. He knew that she was relatively uninjured, which was comforting enough. He was getting quite a bit of annoyance and exasperation from her though.
Fives had gotten a concussion three days ago, but that was more or less sorted out now. Jesse and Rex were fine, Kix was exhausted.
Each time they stopped, Echo and his batchmate all but collapsed to the ground in a pile of limbs. Sometimes they remembered to take their armor off, other times they didn’t.
Finally the droid factory was in sight. They’d been joined by Master Luminara’s forces for the final push tomorrow. Echo was grateful for the reprieve, however short it was.
Hardcase had stumbled across Echo and Fives’ small fire an hour ago, his armor was coated in dust and smoke and he looked close to falling asleep standing up. Despite this, the older trooper still had the energy to smile and joke with them. It made Echo feel better.
He suddenly felt a pulse of warmth from Ahsoka before his little commander appeared through the maze of tents and small fires. She had a few healing cuts across her cheeks and some scattered across her lekku. She unceremoniously flopped down practically in Echo’s lap.
“Well if it isn’t my favorite commander.” Hardcase said from where he had his feet propped up on his rotary canon.
“Be careful how loud you say that.” Ahsoka said were she was still sprawled on her stomach across Echo’s legs. “The 41st might take offense considering Commander Gree and Barris are around here.”
“Who is Barris?” Fives asked as Ahsoka slid off of Echo’s legs and onto the ground next to him.
“Barris Offee, she’s a padawan like me, Master Luminara’s student. She’s a few years older than me.” Ahsoka said with a sigh. “She and Master Luminara are much more by the book, more like what you all think Jedi are like.”
“Disciplined?” Echo asked.
“Distant?” Fives offered.
“Dimorphous?” Hardcase guessed.
The three of them looked at him in confusion.
“Um, more like the first two.” Ahsoka said. “Master Luminara certainly has faith in Barris, I don’t think my master trusts me at all.”
Echo patted her shoulder as her annoyance flashed across the bond.
“I’m sure that’s not true.” He said.
She looked at him with an ‘I’m so done’ expression.
“Every time he let’s me lead a briefing, he interrupts me and covers all of my points for me and then says that he was just helping me out.” Ahsoka huffed. “Like, I am not eight years old I can lead my own waka battle briefing.”
While she was definitely exhausted, apparently she still had enough energy to be her usual snippy self. Echo wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.
“He must have a reason right?” Fives asked.
Ahsoka shrugged as she yawned.
“Don’t know. All I know is that Barris and I are leading a mission tomorrow and he couldn’t very well argue with Master Luminara about it because it would definitely make it look like he didn’t trust me.” She gave a smug smile. “But anyways, how are you all holding up? Has anyone checked on Kix?”
“He’s fine, I dropped him off a ration bar earlier.” Echo said. “Nearly bit my head off about being in the med tent without an injury, but that’s normal.”
“That is exactly why I avoid the med tent at all costs.” Fives said.
Ahsoka and Echo rolled their eyes.
“How is your side?” She asked him.
“Better, nothing a little bacta and sleep couldn’t fix.” Echo answered. “I take it you’ve seen Rex and Jesse?”
“Yeah I just got out of a briefing with them about tomorrow.” Ahsoka said. “So far Jesse’s managed to not die, which is surprising considering he fist fought like three Geonosians.”
The three of them sat up straighter at that.
“Did he win?” Hardcase asked.
Ahsoka nodded with a sly smile.
“Good.” Hardcase reclined back again.
Echo was about to ask about the briefing and her supposed mission before she spoke.
“Well I’d better get going and get some rest.” Ahsoka said as she stood with a yawn. “You all should too, tomorrow should hopefully be one of our last days here.”
“Good night vod.” Fives called as she disappeared back into the tents.
As it turned out, Echo really should have pressed about the mission the night before, because when he woke up the next day he was told that Ahsoka would be sneaking into the kriffing droid factory and blowing it up, her only backup being the other Jedi commander.
“I’m sorry, back up,” Fives said as he held his hands out in front of him. “We are sending our fourteen year old commander into the middle of a droid factory with Maker knows how many kriffing Geonosians to blow it up?”
“I’m not fond of the idea either,” Rex said with an exhausted sigh. “But the generals proposed it and believe they are capable. Gree isn’t too happy either, but he trusts Commander Offee.”
“They have no backup!” Echo pointed out. “What if something goes wrong, or what if they forget the way and get stuck down there?”
“What if those kriffers notice them and capture or kill them?” Hardcase asked, equally as pissed off.
Rex raised his hands in an attempt to calm their questions down as Jesse came to stand beside him. The corporal’s armor had more than a few smears of dark green, which Echo had learned about six days ago was Geonosian blood.
“Commander Offee has the map of the tunnels memorized.” Jesse told them. “If we do our job of keeping the attention on the front gate hopefully they won’t notice what’s happening inside.”
Even though Jesse was attempting to calm them, his true feelings of trepidation and concern colored their connection.
Echo knew that Ahsoka was capable, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. The last time she’d gone on a mission without them there, she’d almost died from a deadly virus.
Speaking of their commander, she must have sensed their combined concern because she sent placating waves of comfort their way. Echo ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm himself down.
“They should send a squad with them to watch their backs.” Fives said.
Rex huffed.
“Tried to offer that, but we all know that they will move hells of a lot faster without troopers. A smaller group will also decrease the chance of them getting caught.”
He was right, Echo didn’t like it but he was right.
“Alright, point me towards the front so we can get this distraction under way.” Hardcase said as he slung his Z-6 across his back.
With that, they all set off, Hardcase splitting off to find the rest of the heavy class troopers while Echo and Fives followed after Jesse.
Before he knew it, they were in the thick of it, the dust from explosions, marching feet, and blaster bolts making it hard for Echo to know which way was forward and which way was backwards. As they advanced, Echo kept checking across the bond to make sure Ahsoka was still alright.
He faltered once when a sharp pain rang through his head, a lot like when Fives’ had gotten his concussion not too long ago. That likely meant that Ahsoka was in a fight.
He swore the same time as Fives did as they both realized this.
A blaster bolt seared by his helmet, pulling him out of his head and back into the present. Through a clearing in the dust, Echo spotted the offending droid and fired.
The fighting picked up the pace before the generals were able to blow up the bridging, cutting off the droids reinforcements. A cheer went up through the troopers and they attacked with new energy.
All seemed to be going right before he felt something tug at his mind.
His view of the battlefield faded out and was briefly replaced by what looked like the inside of a droid tank. He blinked his eyes rapidly and shook his head. A surge of warmth swept the bond from Ahsoka’s said, it was peace and… it felt like she was asking for forgiveness?
“Live to fight another day boys.”
His vision cleared as a pit formed in his stomach. Echo stared at the droid factory looming before them as his mouth dropped open.
Wait-
The factory erupted in fire. Explosions erupted from the center and expanded outwards, collapsing the towers and sending a shock wave that washed over them. The troopers around him began to cheer as the droid factory was destroyed, but Echo hardly heard it over the ringing in his ears.
Live to fight another day.
He didn’t know how he knew it, but Ahsoka had still been in there when they’d hit the reactor. Ahsoka was still in there.
Echo’s legs suddenly gave out as black smoke billowed up from the destroyed factory and his knees hit the ground hard. He was distantly aware of Fives next to him, similarly horrified.
Noise started to come back to him as he carefully reached for the tether connecting his mind to Ahsoka’s fearful of what he might find.
Instead of a black hole, the bond was still in place. It felt like she was unconscious, but her line wasn’t faltering. Not yet.
Echo sucked air into his lungs as relief washed over him. She was still alive.
He turned his attention back to the collapsing droid factory and any relief vanished. She was still alive, however she was buried under all of that. Echo shoved himself upright and reached down to haul Fives to his feet as he activated his com.
“Captain, where do you need us for excavation?”
“General just commed, they are bringing machinery over now. Get to the transport ships now.” Rex answered.
Echo could feel his older brother’s terror.
As the two of them marched towards where the transport ships would land, an alert went out to the two battalions about the excavation. The cheers grew quiet as the rest of the troopers realized the price that had been paid to blow up the factory. It wasn’t long until Echo was knee deep in rubble and dirt, digging a path down. There were more than a few smoking craters to sort through, now that the factory was demolished, it was hard to tell exactly where the main generator had been.
Above him, tank lifters flew back and forth, hauling out huge chunks of metal to clear away ever deeper holes in the factory.
Echo hissed as something cut through his glove. He grimaced as he lifted his palm up to examine it only to find nothing. Oh, that wasn’t his pain, it was Jesse’s. A moment later the pain dulled as Jesse blocked it off from them. Apparently stress and exhaustion weren’t too good for maintaining shields.
Echo shook his hand to rid himself of the phantom pain before he went back to digging. Every minute that went by, Echo could feel Ahsoka growing weaker, she was running out of oxygen. This was not happening again. He was not going to be stuck as his sister faded from their bond yet again. With renewed vigor, Echo dove back into the rubble.
He wasn’t sure how much later it was before he felt a hard tug on his mind from Rex. Echo stumbled on unsteady legs in the direction he felt like his brain had been pulled in as Fives shook dirt off of himself and followed.
By the time they clambered out of the hole they’d been digging in, Echo could feel Ahsoka’s bond surge with strength again. He looked down to see the two Jedi Generals peering down into one of the bigger craters as multiple members of the 501st and 41st jumped down into it. As Echo and Fives finally scrambled down beside Rex, they watched Ahsoka get lifted out of the crater by a 501st trooper and straight into her master’s hands. Echo let out a sigh of relief when he saw she was in one piece. There was a sizable gash from the tip of her right diamond marking that stretched out onto her montral that was leaking some of her rust colored blood, but it didn’t look like anything some bacta couldn’t heal.
Hardcase and Jesse slid to a stop beside them and Kix gave a questioning prod. They all responded with relief, likely giving the medic a headache.
Echo watched as General Skywalker ran his hands over her arms as he worriedly checked her over. His hands brushed over her head and a headache that Echo hadn’t realized belonged to Ahsoka, lessened.
“I’m fine master.” She told the general with a small huff. “It’ll take more than a droid factory dropping on me to take me out.”
Exasperation from Rex washed through the bond, making Ahsoka’s hand twitch a fraction. Her master also did not seem fully convinced of her health.
“We’ll see what the medics have to say about that.” Ahsoka’s nose wrinkled but her master held up a hand. “You and Barris did a good job on destroying the factory, however that doesn’t make you invincible.”
“Your master is correct, Padawan Tano.” General Unduli spoke up. “You both should be attended to by the medics.”
The older Jedi rubbed her hand over Commander Offee’s arm soothingly as she spoke. Ahsoka bowed her head to the other Jedi as Barris nodded. General Unduli turned to her own men as Skywalker turned back to Rex and started a little when he saw him, Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase also beside their captain.
“I want you all to escort Ahsoka to the medics. Rex, we still have a bit of a mess to clean up here.” The general said.
“Yes sir.” They all chorused as they straightened.
Skywalker carefully handed Ahsoka off to Jesse, who was the closest, careful to support her weight as her legs wobbled. The corporal quickly wrapped his arm around her back and hooked his fingers on the bottom lip of her chestplate to keep her steady.
Rex reached out to squeeze her shoulder before he turned to follow their general.
Ahsoka nodded gratefully up at Jesse before they gathered around her to lead her to the gunships.
“Who knew all it took was me dropping a factory on myself for my master to start trusting me.” She mumbled as soon as she was out of earshot of her master. “And stars you all are worriers.”
“In our defense vod’ika,” Jesse said.
“You did just drop a factory on top of yourself.” Fives finished tartly.
Ahsoka flapped her hand dismissively.
“I walked it off.”
Echo let out a laugh at that. It was probably a little hysterical but he was just happy that she was okay.
“Just wait till Kix gets his hands on you.” Hardcase said as Jesse picked her up to lift her over a large and jagged piece of metal.
Ahsoka grimaced.
As predicted, Kix was not pleased in the slightest.
“Ni ori’haat bah’te Maker al’verde, ni’mav kyr’amur gar nerst meh’gar vurel nari’ibac tug’yc.” Kix snapped as he bandaged a large scarp on Ahsoka’s arm.
The togruta stared at him confused, but fearful enough that Echo guessed she understood the gist of what he’d said. To be honest Echo only really understood the gist of what he said. Along the lines of ‘do that again and I kill you’. Kix had told him that on Kamino the trainer for the medics was an older mandolorian that spoke in mando’a a lot by accident, leading to most of the medics to pick up on it more than others may have.
“If we didn’t complete the mission, it would have wrecked havoc on Force knows how many different systems.” Ahsoka defended.
“You dropped a kriffing droid factory on yourself and expected us to be okay with that.” Kix snapped. “‘Live to fight another day’ my shaba shebs.”
“What he’s trying to say is,” Jesse said. “He was very worried and please don’t do that again.”
Kix practically growled at Jesse and sent a sharp jab his way via the bond.
As Kix moved to apply bacta to the bruise forming on her montral, Ahsoka reached up to grab his hand. He paused and Echo felt her send a wave of peace over all of them.
“I’m all right Kix.”
The sincerity of her statement made Echo relax with a sigh. It seemed to be a communal reaction as Kix’s shoulders dropped a little. Ahsoka released his hand and he want back to tending to her injuries. As he pressed a particularly sore spot on her montrals, she winced.
“Jesse I think I’m with you on this,” She said. “I don’t like Geonosians.”
-
Hardcase had been sleeping peacefully, the first time he felt he slept any good since stepping foot on Geonosis. He guessed that a familiar bunk will do that. He’d been sleeping peacefully when all of a sudden shook and fear shot through his mind, jarring him awake.
He blinked blearily around the dark barracks. Nothing seemed amiss. He heard Jesse shift above him, Kix and Rex were asleep in the bunks across from him, he heard a quiet huff from Echo and Fives, and Ahsoka was on an easy medical supply mission with Tango company. There didn’t seem to be any reason to be afraid.
Just as Hardcase was settling back down he was jarred awake by a bolt of adrenaline. He jerked upright the same time Kix and Rex did. Jesse groaned above him as he shook his head.
It took Hardcase a few moments to realize that the adrenaline wasn’t from any of them, but instead from Ahsoka. By now, she’d shielded off her connection mostly but when Hardcase focused in on it, he noted that she was anxious and confused. Betrayed even.
“What’s happening?” Fives asked groggily.
“Don’t know.” Rex answered quietly.
“I think Ahsoka is in trouble.” Hardcase mumbled.
“I think so too.” Kix agreed.
Rex rubbed a hand over his head, his concern palpable in their still tired minds.
“I’m going to go check in with Skywalker to see if he knows anything.” Rex told them. “I’ll keep you posted.”
“Yes sir.” They all mumbled.
Rex grabbed his com link before quietly slipping out of the barracks. Hardcase situated himself cross legged on his bed as Kix sat all the way upright as well. Sleep was now far from his mind as he focused on monitoring Ahsoka cross the bond.
It seemed that whatever was happening, she currently had it handled, she was focused instead of confused at least. Maybe whatever the issue was had been resolved?
That thought was quickly dashed when he felt a burning sting of a blaster bolt graze across his arm.
“Kriff.” He hissed as the others also jolted.
Betrayal. That was the overpowering emotion again before she once again shut them off from her side.
“Did she just get shot?” Jesse demanded.
“Felt like it.” Echo responded as he rubbed his arm.
“What the kriff-?”
“Can you guys nutenni te shab’laam.” Someone groaned a little ways away from them.
Right, middle of the sleep cycle.
Hardcase stood up from his bunk, grabbed his com, and made his way towards the freshers. He heard the others following after him hurriedly.
“She is supposed to be a on a kriffing medical supply run.” Kix said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “How the kriff is something going wrong there?”
“Maybe they were ambushed by separatists?” Echo offered.
“In hyperspace?” Jesse asked skeptically.
Echo hummed as his brows scrunched.
“Could be an attack from in the ship?” Fives asked.
“The only ones on the ship are Ahsoka, Commander Offee, and Tango company.” Hardcase pointed out. “Tango is 501st, they’d never cause her trouble.”
They were interpreted by Jesse’s com buzzing.
“Rex what is going on.” The corporal demanded.
“Ahsoka just contacted the General. It would seem that some of the troopers in Tango were infected by some sort of parasite on Geonosis that is causing them to turn on the other clones as well as Tano and Offee.”
Despite being worried, Fives sent a victorious prod at all of them.
“The troopers turned on Ahsoka?” Kix demanded.
“It would appear that way. They are trying to infect more, Ahsoka and Offee were almost cornered by two troopers pretending to be normal.” Rex answered. “Skywalker is going to the Geonosian Archduke to try to get more information.”
Hardcase grimaced. He did not envy that bug at all, if there was one place you did not want to be, it was between Anakin Skywalker and his padawan.
“For now, there isn’t much we can do but wait.”
Hardcase was not a patient individual. Just two minutes after Rex’s news, he was alternating between pacing, sitting with his leg bouncing a mile a minute, and closely monitoring the bond, though he found it hard to focus on any one of the tasks for very long difficult. His mind was jumping from one possible outcome to the next, none of which were particularly desirable. This waiting was killing him. He would rather walk back across Geonosis or Mimban than have to sit here and wait. At least he’d have something to blast there.
Suddenly Hardcase noticed how cold it was in the fresher. Space was cold, that was just a fact. However the venators not only were heavily insulted, but they had temperature controls to keep the ship at acceptable levels. So it was rather odd to say the least, thankfully his blacks would help stave it off.
Or so he thought.
Each minute that went by, he seemed to be getting colder and colder. He glanced questioningly at Jesse only to note that Jesse looked as cold as he did.
“What is happening?” Echo asked.
Hardcase turned his attention inwards back towards the bond. Ahsoka was freezing. She was freezing, exhausted, wounded, and terrified, all of which had dropped the shielding on her mind.
He began to shake, his teeth chattered, and he half expected to see his breath billowing out in front of him.
“We have to block her out if we don’t want to freeze our shebs off.” Kix said through chattering teeth.
“We aren’t very good at that yet.” Echo pointed out.
Hardcase remembered what Ahsoka had told them about forming their barriers and blocks.
You shouldn’t fully block someone off, as he’d experienced briefly. There had to still be some form of connection or transmission.
He imagined a thick glass door, one he could see his bond with Ahsoka through. It cracked and shattered in his mind, leaving painful cuts and once again robbing him of breath with the cold. He tried again but it wasn’t effective again, the cold and fear seeping through the cracks. Finally he switched from a door to a window, one like the various view ports around the ship, clear enough to see out of but thick enough to keep things out. The cold he felt lessened as he reinforced the window. Ice formed across the glass, but it held.
He let out a sigh of relief as feeling returned to his fingers.
If it was freezing enough from this side of the bond, he could only imagine what it was like in person. His worry for the kid grew. She really could not catch a kriffing break. First she gets buried under a factory and now her troopers were turning against her and trying to infect her with some kind of mind controlling parasite.
A few minutes later Jesse’s com buzzed again.
“General Fisto has Ahsoka at the medical station and they are getting the situation under control.” Rex told them, making them all sigh in relief. “She had to drop the temp in the ship to zero in order to take out the parasite. She wasn’t infected and once she’s treated, she should make a fast recovery.”
Hardcase ran his hands over his head as he gave a relieved sigh. Ever so carefully, he slid open the window to Ahsoka’s bond. It was still cold, but she was asleep now. Resting.
Her own exhaustion and lack of being conscious made him yawn. She was safe now, it was time for all of them to follow her example.
As he climbed back into his bunk, Hardcase couldn’t help but think about what Tango must have just gone through. Turning on their commander with no control, trying to hurt them and even kill them, evidence of the phantom pain of the blaster bolt he’d felt earlier. It must have been a walking nightmare.
Why did Hardcase feel like he’d had a nightmare like that before? His blaster pointed at the back of Ahsoka’s head?
Despite the exhaustion, Hardcase slept restlessly.
-
Fives wondered if all Jedi were this prone to bad luck or if it was just his vod.
Fives and Echo stood in the hangar waiting for the transport ship that would return their commander to arrive. Rex was busy with the general, Kix was preoccupied in the medbay, Jesse was doing some officer thing, and Hardcase was training with the other Heavy Classes.
That left Fives and his batchmate to welcome her back.
Fives had been unsettled for the three days it had been since the incident with Tango. Their brothers and Bariss were still under observation at the medical station but they were rid of the parasite thankfully. Despite this, Fives hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Being forced to turn on your commanding officer and your brothers, it sounded horrific. He kept dreaming of his blaster being turned on Ahsoka or on Echo or any of their aliit.
He hoped that seeing Ahsoka alive and well would ease his mind.
The sound of the approaching transport drew his attention up. The ship dropped into the hangar and its ramp dropped down. Ahsoka walked down followed by numerous troopers returning to duty from the medical station. She smiled and exchanged some last words with the closest troopers before turning to make her way over to them.
“What did I say about almost dying?” Echo asked as she came to a stop in front of them.
“Hey I don’t look for trouble, it looks for me.” Ahsoka held her hands up defensibly.
“Yeah that’s what Droidbait used to say.” Fives said as he rolled his eyes. “Now, how about some food, I’m starving.”
He hooked his arm around her shoulders as he turned towards the exit of the hangar. For good measure he let his own hunger bleed across Echo and Ahsoka’s bond.
“I’ll eat anything but medical station food.” Ahsoka stuck her tongue out and shook her head in disgust.
Echo bumped her shoulder.
“All GAR stations are supplied with the same mash and rations I believe.” He said.
Ahsoka shook her head adamantly, making her silka beads click against Fives’ chestplate.
“I don’t know how, but that baka tastes worse than what we are served here. And that is saying something!”
Fives laughed at that.
As they ate, Ahsoka explained what exactly had happened on the transport ship. She was doing her best to keep her apprehension and unease under control, but Fives picked up on it. He shifted a hair closer to offer a little physical support. What had happened had certainly unnerved her, even if she was hiding it.
Not particularly wanting to let her out of their sight yet, Fives and Echo silently agreed to bring her back to the barracks with them.
“Our other vode should come back here eventually, they’ll want to see you.” Echo told her.
She nodded as she ran her hands over her arms. It could have just been a nervous habit, but a focused glance at her tether in his mind made Fives realize that she was cold.
“You’re cold.” He said.
Ahsoka looked up at him in surprise before returning her gaze to the floor.
“I’m fine. It’s just a lingering chill from the supply ship.”
She sent an assuring nudge through the bond but that didn’t stop Fives and Echo from worrying.
Once in the barracks, Fives opened his drawer and pulled out a clean blacks top and held it out to her.
“I-I’m fine really.” She repeated.
“We’ll just keep worrying if you don’t take it.” Fives told her.
“We do not need a repeat of what happened.” Echo added. “That wasn’t enjoyable for any of us.”
One worried nudge was all it took for Ahsoka to sigh and take his top. She pulled it on over the shirt she had on, careful to not let the material catch on her montrals or her headdress. His sleeves dangled far past her finger tips and fell down to her thighs.
Oh that is adorable.
Ahsoka’s head snapped up to look at him before she sent a sharp jab right to his brain, making him yelp.
Echo began to laugh as Fives rubbed his head and Ahsoka rolled up the sleeves and smoothed it out.
Okay, not adorable, got it, will not happen again.
She gave him another long look, a promise of violence no doubt, before turning to look around.
“How about a game of sabacc?” She offered.
“Yes sir.” Echo said as he went to retrieve Hardcase’s deck.
“Oh no.” Fives groaned. “I don’t know if my pride can take any more loses.”
Frankly, he was pretty bad at sabacc. He had improved some since joining the 501st, but he still got his butt kicked every game.
“Aw come on,” Ahsoka said as she bumped her shoulder into his arm. “I’ll give you a little lesson. You really need to work on your sabacc face though.”
That’s how Rex and Kix found them a while later. Ahsoka coaching Fives through a one on one game with Echo.
“Vod’ika I think that’s a lost cause with this one.” Kix said through a yawn as he squeezed her shoulder.
Fives made an affronted noise as Kix moved to start unclipping his armor.
“Good to see you back in one piece little one.” Rex said as he rubbed the dip between her montrals before turning to his own bunk, butted up against Kix’s.
Ahsoka gave a lighthearted huff at that.
“I am very interested in hear the full story on this particular osik-tengaara.” Kix mumbled.
“How about I wait until the whole group is here.” Ahsoka said as she pointed to one of Fives’ cards. “That way I don’t have to keep repeating.”
Kix joined the game the next round, and Fives was pleased to note that he did much better than usual.
“And you said I was a lost cause.” He prodded Kix’s bond.
“Clearly Ahsoka is a much better instructor than I thought.” Kix answered.
This time both Fives and Ahsoka gave Kix a sharp tug.
“Maker the two of you are menaces.” Kix grumbled as he rubbed his head.
Fives shared a look with his commander before they both turned to gave sharp grins at the medic. More troopers began to make their way back to the barracks, most stopping by to say hello to Ahsoka. A few more joined the game, each surprised by the fact that Fives didn’t lose in the first round.
“Now that’s just downright hurtful.” Fives huffed to Ridge.
“It’s not our fault that you sucked shebs before.” The older trooper replied.
Not too long after Hardcase stumbled in followed moments later by Jesse.
“Ah my favorite vod.” Hardcase exclaimed upon seeing Ahsoka.
There was a number of indignant grunts from the other torrent members at that. Fives and Echo sent twin jabs of lighthearted annoyance to the heavy class.
Before long the two newest arrivals were settling down as the game wrapped up. Most of the troopers bid their commander good night and went off to shower or sleep. Ahsoka hopped onto Kix’s bunk next to the medic as the others circled around to hear her recount what had happened on the transport.
Despite having already hearing it earlier, Fives was still unsettled by it.
By the end of the story, Ahsoka was exhausted and everyone else was uneasy.
“Nothing good comes from that kriffing osik’palon of a planet.” Rex mumbled.
“Nothing but nightmares that’s for sure.” Echo said with a small shiver.
“We are happy you are safe back with us vod’ika.” Kix said as he wrapped an arm around Ahsoka’s shoulders.
“I’m happy to be back,” Ahsoka said. “It just…”
Fives gave an inquisitive prod. Ahsoka’s shoulders curled in a little before continuing.
“It really freaked me out, having Tango hunting us down. I mean I know that they were infected and being mind controlled but still.” Ahsoka gave a small shudder. “Then when I had to fight Bariss, it was just horrible really.”
Kix pulled her a little closer.
“You have every reason to be unsettled.” Rex told her. “What you went through sounds horrible from any side.”
Ahsoka nodded.
“I’m not particularly looking forward to sleeping tonight.” She admitted.
“You could always sleep in here.” Hardcase pointed out.
Fives could already feel the reflex reciting of the reg manuel about to come out of Echo’s mouth, to halt it he sent a sharp jab across their bond. Echo gave a small noise before turning to glare at Fives as if to say, ‘I wasn’t going to say anything’.
Sure you weren’t.
Echo answered by cuffing the back of his head.
“It’s your guys bunk room, I wouldn’t want to impose.” Ahsoka’s voice pulled them back to what was happening across from them.
“We wouldn’t mind.” Jesse assured her.
“I’ll be fine,” Ahsoka told them. “I promise.”
The rest of the group glanced at each other and reached a silent agreement. This Force bond did come in handy at times like this.
“Alright, whatever you’d like sir.” Fives said.
“Did Skywalker tell you about his and Kenobi’s run in with the Geonosian queen?” Rex asked.
Ahsoka’s head cocked to the side.
“No.”
Rex began to regal the story as the rest of them listened, each of them carefully nudging a bit of their exhaustion across the bond to each other and to Ahsoka. It wasn’t that difficult really, Hardcase was tired from training, Rex was worn out from debriefings and reports, Kix had just pulled a double shift in the medbay, and Jesse was mentally drained from officer training. Fives yawned, triggering a chain response. Their tactic was working based on the way that Ahsoka’s head was nodding more and more.
Near the end of the story, Ahsoka finally surrendered to sleep, about the same time Hardcase did. As Rex finished the story, Fives and Jesse both clambered up into their bunks as Kix settled down onto his bunk with Ahsoka still tucked under his arm.
A strange rumbling noise filled their quiet area, making them all look at Kix’s bunk.
“What is that?” Fives asked.
“It’s Ahsoka.” Kix answered. “I think she’s… purring?”
Fives’ jaw dropped open.
“She can purr?” Jesse asked, sounding enamored.
“That’s…” Rex watched the small lump at Kix’s side. “That’s pretty kriffing adorable.” He admitted with tired resignation.
Rex was lucky Ahsoka wasn’t awake to here that considering the retaliation she’d shown when Fives had merely thought it earlier. He knew that Rex would never say that to their commanders face, none of them would. They all respected her too much. However, yes that was one of the cutest things Fives thought he’d ever seen.
A while later, right as Fives was falling fully asleep, his mind was filled with strange images. It looked like the inside of a ship, light gray walls, it smelled faintly of a sterilizing agent which he somehow knew all medical equipment or supplies smelled like, despite never noticing it before. He was running and something was chasing him.
He slid around a corner only to have something slam right into him, knocking him to the floor. It was Scythe who pinned him to the floor now, and for some reason the trooper looked a lot bigger than he should, stronger than Fives was, making it impossible to dislodge him. Even so, he continued to thrash.
Over Scythe’s shoulder he saw the rest of tango company, their faces slack, eyes pale and glazed over.
Wait, this wasn’t his dream. This was Ahsoka’s, that’s why he could smell the medical equipment and why he felt a lot smaller and not nearly as strong.
He looked back to see Scythe’s eyes glazed over with as he choked up a green worm, the creature wriggling out of his mouth and launching itself towards him.
He woke up with a gasp, his eyes immediately turning down toward Kix’s bunk.
Ahsoka was upright, breathing heavily as was Kix.
“Are you alright?” Kix asked her breathlessly.
In the dim light of the barracks, Fives saw Ahsoka’s eyes widen as she jerked away from Kix. Fear cut across the bond.
Kix carefully held his hands up.
“It’s alright, I’m not Scythe. You’re safe.” He told her gently.
Right, she’d just woken up by a nightmare of being attacked by clone troopers, only to wake up surrounded by them.
By now he could see Jesse and Rex sitting up as well.
Ahsoka’s breathing began to slow as she took in her surroundings.
“It’s alright Ahsoka. Everything is alright now.” Kix continued to mumble to her quietly, undoubtedly offering comfort through their connection as well.
“I-I’m sorry.” Ahsoka finally said quietly. “I know you aren’t Scythe.”
“It’s okay vod’ika.” Kix assured her. “It won’t hurt our feelings if you want your own bunk.”
In response, Ahsoka shifted back next to Kix and nudged him back down so she could curl back into his side. She sent an apologetic nudge to all of them for waking them up before focusing back on sleep.
Kix wrapped his arms around her with a small chuckle.
Their little commander really did enjoy cuddling. Who knew.
Notes:
You really thought I was gonna go through this fic and NOT include Geonosis? Nah, that is one of the best angst plots here! But like literally, baby girl could not catch a break, first she drops a droid factory on herself then she gets attacked by infected clones, like let this poor child rest!
Echo a little but of your mom side is showing.
There is a lot of mando'a swearing in this chapter lmao, anyways AHSOKA PURRS ITS CANON FILONI TOLD ME. If you've read Till Stars Break there are some similarities between this chapter and the chapter about Geonosis in that but you know what why change a good thing, PLUS this is like the perfect spot for nightmare mention and foreshadowing!
You can yell at me on tumblr: @saggitary <3
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos add years to my life
Mando'a trans:
osik’palon - shit hole
shabuirs - motherfuckers
Ni ori’haat bah’te Maker al’verde, ni’mav kyr’amur gar nerst meh’gar vurel nari’ibac tug’yc - I swear to the Maker commander I will kill you myself if you ever do that again
shaba shebs - fucking ass
nutenni te shab’laam - shut the fuck up
osik’tengaara - shitshowTogruti trans:
waka - damn
baka - shit
Chapter 15: Theories and Aliit
Summary:
Ahsoka is sick which freaks everyone else out, but that normal, also some theorization and some funsies
Notes:
There will no longer be weekly updates! More info down below!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Even the most far fetched plans can bare some fruit.
-
As it turned out, that old healers tale about how going out when it was cold without a jacket will make you get sick, was true.
Being stuck on a transport ship at below freezing temperatures had not only given Ahsoka a persistent chill, but had also weakened her immune system enough for her to pick up a cold. It also could be attributed to the fact that her immune system was still weakened from the Blue Shadow Virus.
She was fully blaming her master for his illness. He was the only human currently onboard that could get colds, seeing as Yularen was on the other 501st ship the Dauntless, and all of the clone troopers had enhanced immune systems to fight off diseases. Togruta had lower body temperatures than humans, which meant that anything a human could catch, a togruta could definitely catch, so even though Skyguy wasn’t sick, that didn’t mean he hadn’t passed it onto her.
She made her ire very much known to him when she woke up congested enough to make her suspicious of illness.
“Look, how do you even know I gave you a cold?” Her master asked.
“You are literally the only one on this ship that could have.” Ahsoka pointed out.
“You could have picked it up from the medical station.” He responded.
“Those are like the most sterile places ever.” Ahsoka wrinkled her nose.
She felt Anakin’s exasperation turn to worry.
“Are you sure it’s just a cold and not something else?”
Her own ire lessened at his genuine concern.
“I’m pretty sure it’s just a cold. You know that wonderful feeling in the back of your throat when you know your getting sick?”
Anakin nodded.
“I just have that. I highly doubt its anything too bad.” She assured him.
“Okay, if it starts to get worse, go see Kix or we can see about stopping somewhere for some medicine.” He told her. “We can lessen up on physical training until you feel better.”
“Thank you master.” She sang.
“You’re welcome snips.” He said with a laugh.
By the next day, the congestion in her nose had transferred to to throat, giving her a very glamorous cough.
I kriffing hate being sick. She thought as she made her way to the mess.
She’d gotten a few questioning prods from the others, likely from her feeling off or just annoyed.
Ahsoka sank down onto one of the benches in the back and gloomily began to shovel the mash of the day into her mouth. Having just woken up, she had not obtained the ability to breath out of her nose yet, further leading to her misery as she attempted to eat and breath at the same time.
“Good morning little one.” Rex said as he sank down onto the bench across from her.
“Morning.” She answered through a mouthful of food.
“And I thought I sounded rough in the mornings.” Jesse said as he sat down next to her.
Ahsoka jabbed him in the brain.
“Ash nas’nuhoy’laam ba’te dush’eso be’te haav.”
Ahsoka growled at him. She might not have understood most of what he said, but she could guess what he’d meant.
“Naak.” Rex said sharply.
“Dia-udit.” Ahsoka mumbled before shoveling more food into her mouth.
Rex tugged questioningly at the bond, making Ahsoka sigh.
“I’m-” Her voice came out garbled.
She tried to calmly clear her airways, however that lasted for about two seconds before she descended into a coughing fit.
I hate being sick.
Finally she felt like she could breath without obstruction.
“I’m sick.”
She glanced up to see Rex and Jesse both wearing almost identical looks of horror.
Okay that coughing fit hadn’t been that bad.
“It’s just a cold.” She said dismissively. “Pretty sure I got it from Skyguy.”
“Are you dying?” Jesse suddenly asked.
“What?” Ahsoka looked up at him. “No.”
“You’re sick?” Rex asked.
Ahsoka sniffled, trying to gain nasal breathing but didn’t succeed.
“Yeah.”
She could feel both Jesse and Rex continuing to stare at her worriedly as she finished her food.
“Alright, I’ve got to go finish up an assignment for one of my courses.” Ahsoka said. “I’m going to get to pick my next set of courses and classes soon and I’m trying to finish up my current ones on a good note.”
“Yeah, no.” Jesse said.
“You are going to the med bay.” Rex declared as the corporal grabbed her tray for her.
“What?” Ahsoka asked. “I don’t need to go to the med bay this is just a cold.”
“No offense sir,” Jesse said. “But you sound kriffing horrible.”
“I’m not dying, just congested.” Ahsoka said.
Her point was emphasized by another coughing fit.
A bolt of unease and worry shot through both Jesse and Rex. Clearly her being ill was really setting them off for some reason. She heaved a sigh before letting the two of them usher her to the med bay.
Kix glanced up unhappily when the three of them arrived.
“What is it now?” He demanded.
“I’m sick and these two worry warts dragged me here.” Ahsoka huffed.
Kix sat up at that, clearly clueing in on the fact that she felt off and Rex and Jesse’s concern.
“What do you mean sick?” Kix asked.
“Like I have a cold. I think I picked it up from Skyguy considering none of you get sick.” Ahsoka explained.
Kix’s brows scrunched a little, the face he usually made when he was trying to remember something.
Ahsoka felt the familiar tickle in the back of her throat and attempted to suppress her cough to little avail. Rex and Jesse had that terrified look on their faces again and Kix looked concerned. All of them were ill at ease.
“Of by the stars, it’s a cold.” She groaned. “Pretty much everyone gets these, it’s not like I have the Blue Shadow…” She stopped.
The only other time she’d been sick since joining the 501st, was when she’d contracted the blue shadow virus. That was the only other time they’d seen her sick was when she was on the verge of death. Her cough probably sounded similar to the one she’d had during the virus.
That’s why they were so uneasy.
Ahsoka let out a long sigh and let calm permeate across their bond.
“Getting sick is a very normal thing for natborns, as it is for Togruta’s living on highly populated planets. I promise, not ever illness is nearly as bad as the Blue Shadow.” She told them. “With enough sleep, fluids, and some vitamins I should be back to good health in about a week.”
“I remember learning briefly about colds on Kamino.” Kix said. “She’s right, this is common.”
Ahsoka sent assuring pulses to all three of them, with a little help from Kix, Rex and Jesse finally began to calm.
She had to go through a similar process of explaining to Echo, Fives, and Hardcase and even then Echo repeatedly asked her if she was okay. After a few days she was beginning to feel better as predicted, however the 501st received news that they would be getting sent to aid in an assault on Separatist mining facility. She was well enough to fight by now at least.
The air of the planet was thoroughly polluted from the various mining operations that dominated its surface. It was bad enough that she and Anakin were equipped with filtration masks, the troopers helmets were made to filter out pollutants like this. Even so, it exasperated her still sore throat, which led to Kix being particularly up her dia about taking breaks.
Ahsoka batted aside blaster bolt after blaster bolt, steadily inching towards the droid front lines. Her groups job was to distract while her master lead a different group to target the control center.
“Snips,” Anakin’s voice crackled through her com. “Pull your group back and-”
Ahsoka narrowly dodged a blaster bolt sailing towards her head and jumped back away from a rain of flying dirt and metal.
“Pull back and head to the northern side of the mine so the general’s group can slip in from the south.” Echo’s voice was the next sound through her com.
Thank you Echo. She thought as she gave him a nudge in the bond.
“Alright let’s swing ‘em around.” Ahsoka shouted to her men. “Smile big, boys, we’re baiting them.”
There was a chorus of affirmatives as the group began to move. A blaster bolt glanced off of Ahsoka’s vambrace, scoring the blue strip she’d painted there recently. Okay, maybe they all were right about the armor.
Sure enough, the droids were hot on their heels as they retreated. Ahsoka stood facing them as she slowly backed up offering some protection to the back of their group. Her throat was raw and she was getting tired. She could feel the need to clear her throat growing more persistent, not exactly ideal while on the battle field.
Ahsoka felt a shot of warning from Fives and she looked up to see three droids with missile launchers line up at the front of the droids.
Baka.
She reached out a hand and through one of them aside, the other she crippled with a well aimed blaster bolt deflection, she was too late to stop the last one. Someone slammed into her, throwing them both to the side as the explosion hit the back of their group. Ahsoka clapped her hands over her montrals as the shock wave washed over them and troopers cried out in pain.
Ahsoka turned her head to see Fives’ rishi eel right above her, covering her with his own body against the blast. The jarring of being tackled as enough to dislodge whatever build up she had in her throat. Ahsoka yanked the filtration mask off to cough up her congestent, she spat to the side and felt fear spear through Fives.
She nudged him through the bond to tell him she was fine.
“Just phlegm.” She said as she refitted her mask. “I feel like I can breath again.”
“Being sick sounds horrific.” Fives said as he rolled off of her.
“Believe me, it is.” Ahsoka said as she accepted his hand up. “Now, where is that kriffing droid launcher.”
It was many hours later before they had a chance to rest. Ahsoka took some night time medicine and hoped that if anything bad happened she would be able to wake up. Many days later when they finally beat back the droids, Ahsoka was well and sick again. Probably more so than before considering all of the pollutants she’d been breathing in.
Her master had tried to get her to sit out the last few days of the battle but she’d refused. It probably didn’t surprise him much when she fell asleep on his shoulder on the way back to the ship and he had to carry her to her room.
Thankfully they were finally returning to Coruscant for a leave, one that should be long enough for her to get better on. She would also be picking her new courses for the year and starting them up.
She consulted her master, his grandmaster, and called Master Koon to help her decide on courses. While her main focuses were on lightsaber skills and combat, mechanics, and piloting, she also wanted to take a class on Force Theory. This Force bond business had inspired her and maybe the class could further help her and her group to figure out more of the mysteries of the bond.
Once on Coruscant she would go grab the materials and texts she would need and start working.
“Let me tell you, the only plans I have for tonight are to get absolutely wasted and dance until I drop.” Jesse declared as they unloaded from the ship.
“That sounds like an amazing plan.” Fives agreed.
“I’ll just be happy to sleep without waking up because I can’t breath.” Ahsoka grumbled.
Hardcase clapped his hand onto her shoulder and pulled her to his side.
“I guess that sounds fun too.” He said as he jostled her. “I know that there is a beautiful person just waiting to dance with me.”
“I think you all should focus on not ending up in the drunk tank tonight.” Rex told them as he rolled his eyes.
“Do you have any plans tonight captain?” Echo asked.
“Bly, Cody, and Ponds are on leave now too, I was going to meet up with them later.”
Ahsoka felt the happiness Rex was feeling about getting to see the three commanders. She knew he was close with that command batch and that he missed them.
“Aww our ori’vod is going to hang out with his ori’vods.” Hardcase cooed.
Rex cuffed Hardcase on the back of the head.
“What if I decided that you all needed 0600 drills tomorrow?”
There was a number of apologies and denounces from the group and from the surrounding troopers overhearing the conversation. Ahsoka laughed as Rex smirked.
Ahsoka welcomed the peace of the temple as she made her way towards the quarters she shared with her master. It felt nice to back after a few months. Once they were settled in, her master tugged her down to the healers where she received a quick session that relieved quite a bit of the congestion she’d been feeling as well as the headache she’d had.
After that she dragged him around the temple to help her collect materials she needed for her courses before they finally made their way back to their living quarters.
Considering that she’d spent the last few cycles on the way back to Coruscant resting and not doing much, she was happy to have something to do again. As soon as she was back, she jumped straight into her work.
One of the required courses she was talking was covering Force objects, and objected that had been imbued with the Force.
“The art of imbuing is a time honored tradition of the Jedi. The power of imbuing can be used for a great many things such as creating charms for calming, crystals to help healers focus their abilities, to giving an object the ability to shield against a Force suggestion or even putting a piece of ones self into an object. In this course we will be covering simple imbuing techniques as well as the history of the practice.”
Ahsoka wondered what it meant to put a piece of yourself into an object. What would that do to the person that had done it, what was the point?
“To start off you will be supplied with charms to use, however as the course continues you will be encouraged to make your own charms. Different materials are easier to imbue than others, it also depends on the being that is imbuing. Throughout this course you will be encouraged to try with different materials and with different techniques until you find one that suites you the best.”
Ahsoka fidgeted with the wooden pendent that she’d been given to use.
The next few hours were spent reading on the history of simple imbuing, placing emotions into charms like happiness, sadness, and calm.
She was aware of Obi-Wan arriving not too long ago and having a passionate debate with her master about something. Across the bond, her group was excited and relaxed as they prepared for a night out.
A cup of tea was set down beside her by her grandmaster as he brushed against her peacefully in the Force. She accepted it gratefully as she focused on the pendant.
She’d been making some process on capturing the feeling of peace to place in the pendant, however she was starting to lose focus now as her men reached 79’s. On the last leave she’d quickly become acquainted with the feeling of them getting drunk through the bond. It usually meant that their shields were diminished or dropped completely, their emotions became brighter and more colorful.
She shook her head and strengthened her own shields to keep them out as she focused on her work.
If she could get this right, whoever was in possession of the charm would be able to draw peaceful feeling or relaxation from it. Well, if she could get the kriffing thing right. She let out a breath of frustration as she started back over.
Ahsoka was getting close when she felt something push through her shields. She knew it was from Fives, he was tipsy, but not overly intoxicated. That shouldn’t have been enough to push through onto her. That was until she felt that it wasn’t the usual intoxicated happiness that had pushed through.
She felt someone trailing their lips along her jaw, running their hands over her chest and tangling up in her hair.
That certainly was a strange sensation considering that she didn’t have hair.
Her body felt like it was one fire as desire rain through her. She was feeling…
“Oh ew!” She yelped as she slammed down a block on her bond with Fives hard.
Both Anakin and Obi-Wan paused in their conversation to look at her in confusion. Ahsoka snapped her mouth shut, she had not meant to say that out loud.
“What is it?” Her master asked.
Ahsoka internally panicked on how to spin this. She certainly was not about to say that she had just been subjected to feeling one of her troopers arousal.
“I uh,” She began. “I just understood a joke… Skyguy told… earlier.”
Her grandmaster’s presence in the Force sharpened as he turned to glare at Anakin.
“What did you say?” He demanded.
Her own master’s face was panicked now and she could tell he was trying to recall every conversation he’d had with her today to figure out what he’d said.
“I-I don’t know! I swear I haven’t said anything!” He sputtered.
“You have an impressionable young student in your care,” Obi-Wan began to lecture.
“W-what did I say Snips?” Her master asked.
She knew that she was digging him a large grave, but she had to do what she had to do. Ahsoka gave a disgusted face.
“Oh I’m not repeating it.”
Obi-Wan’s face darkened even further.
“Anakin I swear to the Force-”
“I’m innocent I swear!”
Ahsoka winced as her master jumped to put the couch between himself and his old master. Her grandmaster looked like he was ready to take his shoe off and throw it at Anakin. While she did feel bad for throwing him under the bus, that was kind of funny. She turned back to the pendant and got back to work.
-
“Did you know that Jedi scholars believe that traveling in time is possible using the Force?”
Rex hummed as he cleaned his blaster.
He was seated in the communal area of the barracks the 501st were staying in on Coruscant with Ahsoka, Kix and Echo around him. Jesse, Hardcase, and Fives were currently sparring, mostly Hardcase and Jesse beating up on Fives. None of them had been particularly happy when they’d witnessed what Fives had gotten up while on shore leave. It had also clued them in that if they really needed to strengthen and maintain their shields if they were going to be doing something private.
Rex had nearly choked on his drink that night with his brothers when it had happened. They’d all looked at him like he was crazy, and maybe at this point he was.
“Time travel?” Echo asked curiously.
“Yeah, we believe that there is no beginning and no end in to the Force, it just is. So theoretically, if one could gather enough knowledge and power, they could travel through the Force to a different time.” Ahsoka said excitedly. “That sounds so cool.”
“Has anyone actually managed it?” Kix asked.
Ahsoka tapped through her data pad for a moment.
“I don’t know, I haven’t read that far in the text yet.” She answered.
“Certainly would be a good fail safe if the Republic lost the war.” Echo said.
Rex paused in his cleaning.
It certainly would be an interesting concept. Would only one person be able to go back or would multiple? Would you even be able to control how far back you went?
He shook himself out. He was a soldier, and while Force-osik might be cool, he would rather rely on real strategy to win the war.
“I’m really excited to learn more about Force Theories in this course.” Ahsoka said. “I think it will be a nice break from lightsaber training and battle strategies.”
“Sounds like a bunch of Force-osik to me.” Kix said.
“This bond is Force-osik and yet you seem to be picking up on it pretty well.” Ahsoka countered, waving her hand around her montrals.
“I think this is more of a sink or swim situation.” Echo piped up. “And we still sink on some parts.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourselves, you guys float better everyday.” Rex knew Ahsoka was smiling even without looking up.
Rex liked this moment, it was calm, half his aliit was here and the other half was nearby. Nothing at present was going wrong. It was just peaceful.
“Okay but theoretically,” Echo started up once again. “If someone were to figure out time travel with the Force, would they physically be sent back or just like, mentally.”
Rex looked up questioningly at that.
“What? It was in a book I read.” Echo said as he nudged Ahsoka with a smile.
“What like you mind gets sent back in time to your younger body?” Kix questioned.
“I think that would make more sense,” Ahsoka said. “You could probably connect to your own Force signature.”
“That would put a limit on how far back you could go.” Rex spoke up. “You could only go back as far as you’ve been alive.”
“And you wouldn’t want to go back to when you were a tubbie,” Echo said. “You wouldn’t be able to get anything done.”
Rex’s three vod continued to debate, and he occasionally offered his input, the other three of the group announced themselves via the bond before they swept into the room.
“You all missed out on a wonderful sparing session.” Hardcase said with a wide grin.
“Yeah, wonderful.” Fives grumbled as he rolled his shoulder with a wince.
“Oh lighten up,” Jesse said as he clapped him on the back. “We were teaching you valuable skills.”
“Yeah, like how to get your shebs kicked.” Echo smirked as his batchmate sank down next to him.
Jesse dropped down between Kix and Rex with a sigh. Ahsoka wrinkled her nose.
“You all smell like a shaak’s baa.”
“Worked up a sweat surprisingly.” Jesse said.
“What commander you don’t want a nice hug?” Hardcase asked as he held his arms out.
Ahsoka’s eyes widened and she jumped over the back of the couch away from the heavy class.
“Nope, I’m good.”
Rex chuckled as she backed away from the slowly advancing trooper.
“Aww but don’t you love me?” He asked with a maniacal grin.
“Just because I love you doesn’t mean I want a sweaty hug.” Ahsoka countered.
“You’ll break his heart vod’ika.” Kix called as she dodged a grab Hardcase made for her.
“If you can’t love us at our worst, you can’t at our best.” Rex added, as he sat back to watch.
Hardcase made another grab for her, but Ahsoka leapt over his head and kicked off his back to propel herself away from him. The heavy class quickly gave chase, charging across the room after her with a a loud whoop.
Fives jumped up to join in the chase, nearly catching Ahsoka and making her shout what Rex assumed was a curse.
“Watch your language vod’ika!” He called. “There are young ears here.”
“You all are younger than me!” She shouted back, rolling away from Fives. “Especially the twins!”
“At least we’re taller.” Echo said, earning a high five from Jesse.
While Ahsoka was distracted with Fives, she failed to notice Hardcase sneaking up behind her. Under normal circumstances, Rex was positive that she would have clocked in on someone trying to get the drop on her. But here, with just their aliit around, she had her guard down, she trusted them.
It made Rex smile even bigger when Hardcase wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her off the floor with a victorious cry. Ahsoka shrieked and writhed in his grasp but she was no match for the heavy classes’ strength. Hardcase rubbed his cheek against her side with a laugh.
“Vor’e vod’ika for being a good sweat rag.”
Ahsoka finally gave up with a sigh and subjected herself. Fives walked over and wrapped his arms around her and Hardcase, being sure to rub as much of himself as he could against the togruta illiciting another string of complaints from the little Jedi.
“You two are like tookas.” Ahsoka griped. “Rubbing your sweat and hair all over me.”
“We aren’t the ones that purr.” Fives said.
Ahsoka sputtered in Hardcase’s grasp as the rest of them laughed.
“I’m still mad I was asleep before I got to see that.” Hardcase complained as he walked back over to their seating area. “You have to do it again for me ‘Soka.”
“Absolutely not.” The togruta huffed.
Hardcase sank down, still keeping Ahsoka firmly wrapped in his arms. He leaned back and propped his feet up on the center table, making their little commander sigh in resignation and shift around a little to get more comfortable.
Rex smiled as the group found a new topic to debate on. They were wild, could be a bunch of di’kuts at time, were some of the worst worriers he’d ever met, but they were his aliit. He wouldn’t change it in any way.
Notes:
I decided we could use a chill chapter of just fun stuffs. Fives never forgot to shield ever again, and everyone else learned a very valuable lesson. This was also a good chapter for some good old fashion foreshadowing ;) (the last scene is my favorite in the fic by far I do believe!) Also, I just got over being sick for like the 3rd time this year??? Why.
I have some bad news... we have officially caught up to what I had written. The days of weekly updates unfortunately are done *long sigh* it is also approaching finals for me soooo um, yeah. It was fun while it lasted :P
If you'd like more info, behind the scenes, fun facts, etc you can find me on Tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos add years to my life <3
Mando’a trans
Ash nas’nuhoy’laam ba’te dush’eso be’te haav - someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed
Naak - peace
Vor’e - thanksTogruti trans
Dia-udit - asspit
dia - ass
baka - shit
Chapter 16: Old Squads and New
Summary:
How about attack on Kamino with our fav domino bois
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The ghosts from our past aren’t always haunting, they can also be the forces that push us forward.
-
There are times between campaigns when the battalion has a few cycles to rest, with no place to deploy for a little bit, they usually drifted in empty space to conserve power for the ship. They were usually joined by one or two other battalions for these cycles of rest. Rex liked these times, the ship was quieter because they weren’t hurtling through hyperspace. It also happened that most of these times the 501st was docked with the 212th.
It gave him time to catch up with his ori’vod in person and let the 501st catch up with their brothers in the other battalion.
Considering that both battalions had just wrapped up their own exhausting fighting, they were happy to get some rest together. Rex had finished up his work, hopped on a transport over to the Negotiator, trekked to Cody’s private room, and crashed into his bunk. He’d woken up a while later to find his brother had shoved him to the wall and squeezed in next to him.
It also meant that he could escape the trouble that his own men were likely stirring up on his own ship. If the glee and mischievous intent he was receiving from the troublemakers in his head was anything to go by, Rex thought that he’d stick to Cody’s ship for a few cycles. Considering that he was pretty sure that he spotted Kix with Helix earlier, he figured his brother had the same idea.
“So it seemed like those two kids we picked up off of Rishi appear to have settled in nicely,” Cody said as he cleaned his armor on the floor of his room. “Especially considering I’ve heard Fox mention that two new 501st members have been ending up in the drunk tank recently.”
Rex huffed as he scrubbed at a particularly dark score mark on his back plate.
“Yes, they’ve settled in.” Rex said.
Enough so that I have a direct Force mind link to both of them. He thought ruefully.
“Good, I figured they’d do better in the 501st.” Cody said.
Rex glanced sideways at his brother to see him wearing a knowing look.
“Yeah well, it helped that Ahsoka took it upon herself to settle those two into Torrent.” Rex turned back to his armor. “Then of course Kix, Jesse, and Hardcase took them under their wing.”
“And your wing.” Cody pointed out. “Who knew my vod’ika would end up with so many of his own vod’ikas.”
Rex smiled slightly at that.
“Somehow I keep ending up with the troublemakers.”
Cody reached over to clap him on the shoulder.
“It’s karma for all those years on Kamino.” The Marshall Commander gave him a large smile.
Rex rolled his eyes.
“Those two have potential.” Rex changed the topic back to the twins. “They’ve proven that they can keep a level head. Fives isn’t afraid to take charge and Echo is a gifted strategist.”
Cody hummed as he spoke.
“The only issue is that they are both pains in my shebs.” Rex groaned. “They’ve been involved in three bar brawls now and they get into whatever trouble Hardcase cooks up and Echo knows the kriffing reg manuals inside and out so he knows how to get them out of whatever trouble they find.”
As if sensing that his exasperation was pointed at them (which they probably did), both troopers sent prods at his head.
Cody was smirking at him.
“What?” Rex demanded.
“Nothing,” Cody said as he went back to his armor. “Just seems like you like them a lot.”
He couldn’t deny it. There was no point really, not with a bond formed from their love towards each other binding them together. They were aliit, there was no doubt about it, there admittedly wasn’t much Rex wouldn’t do for them or for any of the others in his head. The feeling of Fives transferring over some of his own light to keep him alive was not one he would ever forget.
“You make a good ori’vod Rex.” Cody told him, pulling him out of his thoughts. “I imagine with your training and guidance, as well as Jesse’s, they are gonna go far.”
Rex huffed at that.
He didn’t doubt it either.
The sound of Cody’s com pinging made them both pause. As the commander was reaching for his, Rex’s started to vibrate as well. The two brothers shared a look.
“That can’t be good.” Rex sighed as he activated his com.
“Rex, we need you on the Resolute bridge ASAP.” His general’s voice came through.
“Alright, I’ll be there in twenty.”
It appeared that Cody received a similar message as they both quickly clipped their armor on.
“Well, the quiet was nice while it lasted,” Cody said.
“I just hope my ship isn’t too damaged when we get there,” Rex said with a grimace, making Cody chuckle.
Twenty-one minutes later they arrived on the bridge. Ahsoka was there with Skywalker and Kenobi, as well as a couple of 501st officers, Jesse included, all of them standing around the com bay. Ahsoka and Jesse both had smiles on their faces that told him to be very careful when entering his private quarters and office later on.
“Good, now that we are all here,” Kenobi started. “We have just intercepted a message from General Grievous to Asajj Ventress.”
All of the troopers in the room tensed up at that. Asajj Ventress was a name that was widely loathed in the 501st, as one would expect from so many encounters with the dema’golka.
Rex focused on the holoprojection with narrowed eyes.
“The clone planet of Kamino will be a dangerous target.” Maker Rex hated her kriffing voice.
Ahsoka sent a gentle nudge his way through the bond, allowing him to relax the death grip he had on his helmet.
“Just make sure you hold up your half of the mission.” Grievous snapped. “We must stop the production of new clones if we are to win this war.”
Once the transmission ended, everyone was quiet.
“Kriff.” Jesse hissed.
“They are gonna attack our home planet,” Rex said faintly.
“The Separatists are taking quite the risk even considering this,” Kenobi said.
To be honest, Kamino was not on Rex’s list of top planets. It was cold and sterile, something he hadn’t fully realized until he’d seen dirt for the first time. He didn’t have very many fond memories of the Kaminoans either, not when the simple fact that he’d been born with a kriffing blond mutation had almost been enough to decommission him.
That being said, Kamino was where he’d grown up and been trained. It was where he’d learned to fight and protect others, learned to look at a battle map, and draw out the best strategy for success. It’s where he’d met Cody and the command batch that had taken him in as one of their own. On nights he had trouble sleeping he’d found that the background of rain sounds lulled him to sleep.
It might not be a great place, but it was theirs, it belonged to the clones as much as anything really could. He felt Jesse’s anger flaring up to match his.
Ahsoka glanced between them, and there were inquiring prods from the rest of the group. Rex kept his determined stare on his general.
“With all due respect general,” Rex said. “If someone comes to our home, they better be carrying a big blaster.”
“I concur with Captain Rex sir,” Cody spoke up. “This is personal for us.”
“We’ll make sure Kamino is secure,” Skywalker assured them.
He turned to look from Rex to the rest of the clone COs present.
“Tell your troopers, they’re going home.”
“Yes sir.” They all chorused.
With that, they marched out of the room, anger and pride burning bright. They would make those shabuirs regret the day they laid their sights on Kamino.
-
It was bizarre, to say the least, the deja vû that hit Echo as soon as they stepped foot off of the transport and onto the landing pad on Kamino. For once it wasn’t raining and the sun was dancing off of the ever-moving oceans.
The 501st and 212th were told to spread out across Kamino, check for anything that seemed off, and report back in an hour or two. Really, it was the COs way of letting them reacquaint themselves with Tipoca City and give them time to reconnect with anyone they knew here.
Echo was surprised by the nostalgia that hit him as he and Fives’ made their way through the city. The nostalgia was tinged with sadness though. The last time he’d walked these halls, he’d had the rest of his squad by his side. All of them had their new shiny armor on and their heads were held high, he remembered Cutup whispering a joke that only they could hear, causing Hevy to laugh loud enough to startle a passing group of cadets. Droidbait had cuffed him on the back of the head and the group had descended into an argument. Even so, nothing could dim their spirits.
Now, Echo walked alongside the only remaining member of his squad. Fives’ head was swiveling around with a smile on his face, but he had that same sense of grief. Echo nudged him gently and received a comforting nudge back, tinged with calm.
Echo sucked in a deep breath and straightened up his posture a little bit. His armor was no longer shiny, it was scuffed and there was a bit of dirt on his shoulder he couldn’t get off no matter how much he scrubbed, he had a tribute to Hevy on his thigh on proud display for all those that passed, and it was painted bold 501st blue.
Cadets knew each of the battalion colors, and even they had heard the stories of the 501st. Many stared up at them in awe as they passed, it didn’t help Fives’ ego at all, but Echo let himself puff his chest out in pride.
“Can you believe it Fives?” Echo asked. “Seems just like yesterday we were here.” He nodded towards a group of approaching cadets. “Look at that, on their way to target practice.”
“Now that is something I don’t miss.” His brother laughed. “But practice enough and you’ll be able to ricochet your blaster bolt off of four droids and take them all down.”
He said it just a bit louder than necessary as they passed the group, causing several awed whispers to begin.
Echo rolled his eyes and jabbed Fives in the brain.
“You are so full of osik.”
The sound of multiple blasters clattering to the floor drew his attention up. There, stooping down to grab the fallen blasters, was 99.
“Hey, 99!” Echo called as he quickly dropped down to help the older clone gather the blasters.
99 looked up and his face lit up with recognition.
“Echo, Fives, it’s good to see you!”
Surprise flickered across the bond.
“You actually remember us?” Fives asked as he also knelt to gather the blasters.
99 smiled at them.
“Of course I do, I remember all my brothers.”
Warmth flared in Echo’s chest. Yes, he and Fives had established a new aliit with the 501st, but the fact that 99, the one that they’d always looked to when a training day had gone bad to make it feel better, remembered their names and cared that they were there, despite not having seen them for months. It clogged Echo’s throat slightly, giving him another wave of nostalgia.
99 glanced between the two of them before looking behind them, like he was looking for others.
“Is Hevy with you?” He asked. “Or the rest of your squad?”
Grief spread across the bond as Echo shared a look with his batchmate.
“There was… an incident, on the Rishi moon.” Fives said, his gaze falling to the floor. “We were the only two in our squad to make it out alive.”
“Hevy, he gave his life to protect ours, and everyone’s here on Kamino.” Echo told 99.
99’s face fell in grief as he reached for something in his pocket. Echo’s eyes widened when their older brother pulled out Hevy’s graduation medal.
“Hevy’s medal?” Fives asked.
“He gave it to me before you all shipped out.” 99 explained. “I’m sorry to hear about your squad. Everyone always called you lot a bad batch, but I always knew you guys would be great.” He smiled at them. “And look at you two, members of the 501st battalion.”
Echo smiled at that.
“It feels like a dream come true.” Fives told him. “We’ve found our aliit there.”
99 smiled broadly at them. 99 was from the first generation of clones, meaning that he’d been exposed to a lot of mando’a from the trainers. He was one of the reasons Domino had known as much of the language as they did, the reason many squads knew so much of the language. 99 had always been a patient teacher. That reminded Echo.
“Believe it or not, one of our aliit is our Jedi commander,” Echo said, seeing Fives’ face light up.
“A Jedi?” 99 asked.
“Oh, Ahsoka would love you!” He said. “We’ll have to introduce you after this is over.”
99 smiled at that before his face fell in confusion.
“What do you mean by that?” He glanced around, seeming to pick up on the increased security. “What exactly are you guys doing here?”
“Our Jedi intercepted a message from Grievous, there is supposedly an attack planned on the city.” Fives explained. “We were sent as reinforcement to protect Tipoca City.”
99 looked up at them before straightening.
“How can help?”
As it turned out, the attack on the city was far more than a mere threat. Echo nailed droid after droid from their sniping position. If the battle hadn’t been directly underway, he might have marveled at getting a specific order from ARC Commander Blitz. He still remembered every time the ARC troopers would come to lead a class, inspiring all of Domino to want to become an ARC trooper one day.
A blaster bolt sailed by his head, making him swear colorfully.
Kriffing nostalgia.
Reports of the Sith Asajj Ventress began to pour in through the coms. He felt anger pierce through Rex’s link in his mind and the after image of red lightsabers flashed across Echo’s vision. He’d only seen the dema’golka in person once, and once was enough. Fighter ships roared by above them, locked in a fierce aerial battle. That’s where Ahsoka currently was, protecting them from the ski while the rest of them were spread out across Tipoca City.
A quick check-in revealed that all of them were doing alright, Kix was stressed which was normal, Jesse and Rex were pissed and determined, and Hardcase seemed to be having the time of his life. He could practically hear his vod cheering as he tore into droids. Ahsoka offered him a nudge of encouragement back.
“99!” Fives’ voice made Echo glance to his right.
“I brought you some ammo.” He said as he deposited two sacks onto the ground.
“Is there a better defensive position than this?” Echo asked the older clone.
Before he could respond Fives cut him off.
“Kriffing osik droids!” Fives yelled as he shoved 99 down and fired at the squad advancing on their right.
“Look,” 99 pointed to one of the sacks. “Grenades!”
Fives lunged towards the bag, grabbed a grenade, and threw it, destroying the group of droids.
“Thanks 99,” Echo said as he nudged him. “Good job.”
Movement through the smoke made Echo and Fives take aim before none other than a group of kids emerged.
“Cadets?” Echo asked as he lowered his blaster. “What are you doing here?”
“We got separated from our group.” one of them answered.
“Where were they taking you?” He asked.
“The barracks.”
“Oh!” 99 exclaimed. “I know the best way there.”
Trepidation colored the bond, and Echo glanced at Fives.
‘We can’t exactly leave them unprotected.’ Fives seemed to say.
‘We are supposed to hold our position.’ Echo nudged back.
Fives picked up the bag of grenades, activated multiple, and threw them down on the advancing droid lines below them. An explosion rocked the ground and sent bits of metal flying everywhere.
Echo sighed.
The trip through Tipoca City was stressful, the sound of droids and blaster fire seemed to echo down every hall. However, 99 was true to his word on getting them to the barracks fast. They only ran into one group of droids which Fives and Echo quickly dispatched.
Once they secured the doors behind them, Echo slid his helmet off and reached for the canteen at his belt, taking a long swig of water.
He did another quick glance at the bond. He’d felt Hardcase get grazed in the arm, but so far everyone was still doing good. Rex felt like he was close to where Echo and Fives were now.
“So,” One of the cadets began. “What do we do now?”
Echo glanced at his batchmate.
“A separatist victory would mean death for all of us clones.” 99 said. “The cadet is right, what are we going to do?”
Rex’s bond flared, making Echo and Fives snap their heads towards the doors moments before their captain stepped through.
“We fight.”
Everyone else’s head jerked towards the newcomers as Commander Cody and Rex slid their helmets off.
Echo let out a sigh of relief.
Yes, he felt capable of doing this, but it was also a relief to have his older brother there now. Rex nudged him through the bond affectionately. Yes, the odds were looking less bleak now.
One of the cadets hopped up.
“But we haven’t even finished our training.” He said. “How are we supposed to fight?”
Determination flared across the bond from Fives. His batchmate stepped up in front of the cadets.
“Look around,” Fives told the cadets. “We are one and the same. Same heart, same blood, you’re training is in your blood.” He straightened up. “And my blood is boiling for a kriffing fight.”
Echo was not sure where Fives had learned to rally people like this, but he’d been gifted with it since they were decanted. It had helped their own squad back in training more than a few times when they were struggling, instinctively Echo found himself straightening up. He saw the cadets do something similar.
“This is our home,” Echo said as he stepped up beside his batchmate. “This is our war.”
“But what about weapons?” Another cadet asked.
“The armory.” 99 said. “It’s just a few corridors away in the barracks, I can retrieve all the firepower that we need!” He gave them all an excited smile. “So, who wants to blast some droids?”
The cadets stepped forward, determination glowing in their eyes.
“Fives, Echo,” Rex said. “I want you two to stay and organize the cadets, and figure out a good attack strategy while Cody and I go with 99 to get weapons.”
“Yes sir.” They both said.
Rex nodded to them, gave them an encouraging nudge, and turned to follow 99.
“No pressure am I right?” Fives mumbled.
Echo shoved his shoulder as the cadets gathered around them.
“Alright, what training do you all have?” Fives asked.
As the kids answered, Echo looked around the room, mapping out the exits, the defensive positions, and what they could use. His eyes stopped on the sleeping pods.
Yep, those will do.
By the time Rex, Cody, and 99 returned, Echo was just finishing up explaining the attack plan to the cadets. Each of them accepted the carbine handed to them and quickly scrambled up into the sleeping pods. Fives and Echo explained the plan to Cody and Rex as they took their positions.
“That’s a good plan,” Cody told them. “Good job you two.”
Echo and his brother puffed with pride, earning them small jabs from Rex, just to deflate their egos a little bit.
The sounds of the droids cutting through the durasteel doors filled the room. Echo calmed his breathing, checked his ammo, and steadied his hands. As soon as the first droid marched in, he fired.
The fight was going well, the surprise attack from the cadets had worked perfectly, now more droid parts were scattered on the floor than marching forward.
“Kriff we are out of grenades.” Rex snarled.
“I’ll get more.” 99 declared as he shuffled out from behind cover to run.
“Wait 99!” Fives yelled.
Echo nailed a droid in the face before turning to watch their older brother out of the corner of his eye. A blaster bolt sailed inches away from Echo’s faceplate and time seemed to slow. His eyes widened as it hurtled through the air and he thought he might have shouted, he wasn’t sure, before the bolt slammed into 99’s shoulder. Another hit him in the back, crippling him. The third bolt hit his other shoulder.
“99 no!” He shouted.
Rex and Fives’ anger bled into his own as 99’s body hit the ground. His vision tunneled, it was almost like he was seeing the fight from Rex and Fives’ perspective on top of his own, their strength and familial rage bolstered his own. He let out a furious howl as he turned back towards the droids. The droids were torn apart within moments, just as Fives lined up his final shot, Echo whirled and ran for 99.
He slid to the ground next to him, reaching out and pulling him up slightly. 99’s eyes blearily blinked up, looking up at him. There was blood on the floor, the fall having wrenched the wounds open, it stood out against the sterile white floors of Tipoca City that 99 had spent his life cleaning.
“No, no, no, no.” Echo found himself chanting as he lifted 99 further off the floor and more into his lap.
“Naak, vod’ika.” 99 mumbled before letting out a rattling cough.
Tears pricked at Echo’s eyes.
Growing up, training had changed, their squad had fought and almost torn itself apart, but 99 had been the constant. He’d always been there. He’d outlived most of Domino Squad and had outlived countless brothers. Echo had lost too many of his vod.
“Please don’t go.” Echo whispered, tears prickling his eyes.
He was aware of the others kneeling around them. Fives reached out to grab 99’s hand, grief already seeping across the bond.
The concerned demands from the others were background sensations.
“Died a-a s-soldier.” 99 whispered, his voice shaking.
“Yes, you are a solder,” Cody said softly as he reached out to grab 99’s shoulder. “You will march ahead as a warrior vod.”
A smile lifted the corners of 99’s lips as his head lolled to the side.
“Please no,” Fives whispered as Echo wrapped his arms around 99’s chest.
“I’ll,” 99 mumbled, almost too quiet for them to hear. “Tell Hevy… you said… hi.”
A sob wracked itself out of Echo’s chest as 99 sucked in one last rattling breath. Everyone’s head bowed forward and Fives dropped down next to Echo to wrap his arms around him and 99. Rex’s hand came to rest on his shoulder as tears slipped down his face.
All that 99 had ever wanted was to be a soldier, to fight like the rest of them, and now he had died protecting this city and all their brothers. A warrior’s death is what he’d deserved, and it’s what he’d been given. That gave Echo some solace.
“Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la.” Cody mumbled and they all echoed.
-
An extensive amount of damage had been dealt to the city, smoke rose from craters in the roofs, droid parts were scattered everywhere, but the battle had been won.
Fives sucked in a deep breath of salty air as he and Echo helped clean up the outside landing bays. It had been a few hours since the Seppies had retreated and they were all feeling a little dead on their feet. There had been a lot of casualties, the cloning facilities had taken some bad hits, but everyone in their group had made it out without too much injury, which helped keep Fives’ upright.
99 had been laid down next to the countless other troopers that had fallen, taking his rightful place amongst their ranks. 99 would be mourned by many, there were few in Tipoca City that hadn’t come into contact with the older clone. It made Fives’ feel better that they wouldn’t be mourning him alone.
Before they’d left the hangar full of bodies, he’d seen a group of four cadets circle around 99. He thought they were clones, they looked a little odd, one was too tall and big for his age, one had gray hair, one had glasses, and the other looked like his nose had recently been broken. Fives’ had turned away from them to let them mourn, following Echo outside to start with the cleanup.
99’s final words kept circling around Fives’ head. He wondered if Domino Squad would be proud of what he and Echo had accomplished. He hoped they would.
Fives suddenly felt Rex tug on the bond. He was tired enough that he stumbled in the direction that Rex was. Echo must have received the same message to come because he let out a long sigh before turning.
When Fives noticed that Cody was standing with Rex, he straightened up a bit more. He came to stand at attention before them with Echo at his side.
Rex looked at them with a smile, it was one of comfort but also one of… pride? Fives focused on his bond with Rex and noticed that yes it was pride and it was directed at him. Pride and happiness.
“Echo, Fives,” Cody addressed them. “You both really stepped up in the heat of battle today.”
“We did what we had to sir.” Echo answered.
“What any clone would have done.” Fives added.
Rex stepped forward.
“You both really showed valor out there, real courage.” Rex smiled at them and gave them a playful nudge in the brain. “Reminds of me actually.”
Fives was positive that he saw Commander Cody roll his eyes at that, but it didn’t quell the rising excitement in his middle, one mirrored by Echo.
“Echo, Fives,” Cody offered them each a small smile. “You are both officially being made ARC troopers.”
Fives felt his jaw drop open.
ARC troopers.
Holy kriffing osik.
Echo turned to look at him, disbelief clear in his face and in the bond. Fives looked at his batchmate and a smile cracked across his face.
“I don’t think the Separatists will be coming back here any time soon,” Rex continued. “But if they do, Kamino will be lucky to have troopers like you defending it.” He smiled at them. “Good job vod.”
Fives’ felt like his heart was beating out of his chest as he snapped his arm into a salute.
Cody nodded to them one more time before turning with Rex beside him.
Fives watched them walk away for a few moments before he let out a victorious shout. Echo laughed as Fives wrapped his arms around his waist and hauled him off the ground.
“We did it!” Echo laughed breathlessly. “We actually kriffing did it!”
“Shab every kriffing trainer that said we were destined to be maintenance clones!” Fives shouted as he dropped his batchmate. “Rangi an’be vala!”
“If only Domino could see us now.” Echo said. “They could see that we made it all the way.
Fives threw his arm around Echo’s shoulder.
“I think they do.” He said as he jostled him a little. “I think they are smiling down on us.”
Echo laughed.
“Yeah right, they are probably giving us the middle finger.” Echo waved his arm in an arc towards the ski. “Droidbait is probably saying ‘those shabuirs are a disgrace to the ARC title’.” He made sure to mimic their late batchmate’s accent as well.
Fives joined in his laughter as an image of it crossed their shared connection. Echo was right, their old squad was most definitely complaining. At least 99 would be there with them.
Questioning tugs from the others drew them back to the present.
“Oh, I am so rubbing this in Jesse’s face.” Fives said as he dropped Echo’s shoulders to crack his knuckles.
“Be careful, he can still toss you around the mats,” Echo said as he cuffed Fives on the head.
Fives gave his brother a wide smile.
“Not for long.”
Echo rolled his eyes but he was smiling.
It wasn’t hard to track down the rest of the group. Jesse was helping organize clean-up units, Hardcase was participating in said units, and a tired Kix and Ahsoka were in the med bay with the injured.
When Fives’ ducked into the medbay he saw a disproportionately large number of cadets in there, and his heart sank. That was before he noticed that most of them didn’t look too bad, most now had bandages on their hands, wrists, shins, and feet. He was confused until he found Kix in time to hear him gently but firmly explaining to a group of cadets that yes, Marshall Commander Cody does punch and kick droids but no, that does not mean that any of them should do it too because it is a very stupid thing to do.
That would explain the broken arms and shins.
Ahsoka was doing her best to smother her laughter as she carefully wrapped a cadet’s leg. The kid looked to be about the same age as Ahsoka.
“How many times has he said that speech?” Fives asked as he sidled up to her.
“About a dozen times,” Ahsoka responded.
She quickly finished wrapping the kid’s leg, and offered him a warm and comforting smile. Fives saw the cadet blush furiously as he nodded his thanks, which made Fives chuckle.
Most cadets had only ever seen the female scientists or the female trainers, if Fives had seen a girl his age when he was young he’d probably have a crush too.
“Be careful or else you’ll have a group of cadets following you around like lovesick puppies,” he told her.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes.
“I already have a group of boys that follow me around.” She said through a yawn.
Fives’ brows furrowed as he tried to recall if he’d ever seen boys around his commander. It took a moment to realize that she was referring to him.
“Oh haha,” He said sarcastically.
Ahsoka threw him a smile that bared her fangs.
He sent a jab through the bond which she expertly blocked, she sent one back at him that seemed to hit him right behind the eye.
“Not fair.” He grumbled as he winced.
“All is fair in love and war.”
Fives huffed as Kix finally released the kids.
“Come on you two,” Fives said. “You both look tired.”
“I’m fine.” Both Kix and Ahsoka said.
Fives shook his head before poking at their exhaustion through the bond. They both heaved a sigh. Kix nodded to one of the passing medics before following him out of the med bay.
They met up with the others in the mess. Hardcase had a bandage poking out from his vambrace and Jesse had a black eye forming. A wave of nostalgia hit Fives as they filed in, the cacophony of hundreds of voices echoing off the walls. A part of it had partially collapsed from a droid machine but for the most part, it had been cleared of debris. Echo waved them over after they’d retrieved their food and they waited until everyone had eaten some before they dropped the news.
Everyone stared at them, wide-eyed and jaw-slacked for a moment before Hardcase let out a cheerful whoop and hopped up out of his seat.
“ARC troopers,” Kix said in awe as Hardcase wrapped an arm around both Echo and Fives’ waists, promptly hauling them up off of their seats.
Other troopers looked over at the commotion as Ahsoka laughed.
“That’s amazing vod’ika.” Jesse said with a smile.
Hardcase dropped them and wrapped his arms around their necks.
“Look at our little brothers getting all grown up and becoming ARC troopers.” He said as he jostled them. “I might cry.”
“I’m sure you will.” Echo said as he laughed and shoved at Hardcase’s arm.
“You aren’t mad we made it before you?” Fives asked Jesse.
Jesse huffed.
“Did you consider that Rex just wanted you two out of his hair for a little while?”
Fives made a show of gasping.
“Rex would never, my captain loves me.”
“Sure he does,” Hardcase said as he finally dropped Fives and Echo.
They all sat back down at the table. Fives saw Echo tilt his head at Ahsoka.
“You don’t seem that surprised.” He told her.
Ahsoka shrugged nonchalantly.
“You two are both amazing troopers, it was only a matter of time.” She took a sip of her water. “Rex and Cody also checked in with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and I about it. I gave, my shining approval.”
Echo laughed as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Thank you thank you thank you commander!”
She smiled at both of them.
“You both are going to be great.” She sent a wave of compassion towards them. “Who knows, one day you might save the republic or something like that.”
Jesse raised his cup.
“Cheers to our little brothers, who were picked up by Rex off some backwater outpost like a couple of stray tookas,” Echo and Fives groaned. “And are now on their way to being ARC troopers. Oya!”
“Oya!” The rest of them called out, the bond vibrating with happiness and cheer.
It had been a hard day, but this moment made it better.
It took a few days to clean up the city enough that the 501st and 212th could depart. It was still a bit of a mess but not nearly as bad as it had been. There were goodbye between the battalions and those stationed on Kamino as well as between brother in the 212th and 501st.
With the city cleared, training would resume, including ARC training. While everyone else was shipping back out, Fives and Echo would be staying behind. It sent a pang of trepidation through Fives’ chest, they two of them hadn’t been alone since joining the 501st. Sure they weren’t permanently loosing their aliit, but they would still be away from them for a while.
“Don’t worry about it Fives,” Kix told him. “You’ll be back in a few months, and besides from what I’ve heard about ARC training you two are probably going to be too tired or preoccupied to miss us.”
“Besides you have a com, you can call us.” Hardcase said. “I want to hear all the nitty gritty stories.”
Echo laughed.
“I will happily share all the stories about Fives’ getting his shebs handed to him.”
Fives jabbed his batchmate in the brain.
“You two should be fine,” Jesse said. “I mean if Colt and Blitz don’t chew you up and spit you out.”
“Thanks.” Fives grumbled sarcastically. “You are giving me so much hope.”
Jesse laughed as he pulled him into a hug.
“You’ll live.”
“You all realize that you all have to live too.” Echo pointed out. “If we get back and find out that one of your sorry shebs got shot or blown up by some droid I’m not going to be happy.”
“Don’t worry, I’d come back and haunt you.” Hardcase informed him. “You wouldn’t miss me.”
Fives sent a playful jab as Rex approached their group.
“I hope you all aren’t scarring them from stories.” Rex said to the group. “Becuase whatever they tell you isn’t true.” Fives and Echo let out a sigh of relied. “It’s about five times worse, trust me.”
Rex gave them both a osik-eating grin at that.
“Oh captain, my captain why are you like this.” Fives groaned.
“I feel deeply inspired.” Echo grumbled.
Rex grabbed their shoulders.
“You two are going to do great. I wouldn’t have chosen you if I didn’t think you’d make it.” He told them.
Pride pulsed across the bond and Fives smiled.
“Thank you ori’vod.” He said.
Rex pulled him into a Keldabe before pulling Echo in for one.
“I want in on this.” Hardcase said as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the three of them.
Jesse joined into the group hug before pulling Kix in as well.
A twenty minute boarding call sounded through the hangar as they released each other.
“Did Ahsoka say good bye yet?” Rex asked them.
“No,” Fives answered.
“I haven’t seen her since yesterday.” Echo said.
“That’s odd, I’d think-”
A bright flare of light lit up their bond, drawing Fives’ attention to the left side of the hangar. He spotted a flash of orange and blue weaving through troopers before Ahsoka appeared and skidded to a stop in front of them.
“Sorry I’m late.” She said, sounding a little out of breath.
“It’s okay.” Echo told her with a smile.
She looked up at both of them and sent them both nudges of comfort.
“I’m sorry about your brother 99.” She told them. “He sounded like a kind soul.”
Fives let out a small sigh.
“He was. You would have liked him.” He told her. “And he would have loved you.”
Ahsoka sent them another nudge of comfort before reaching for one of her pockets.
“The reason I was late was because I had to grab my gift for you two before we left.”
Fives shared a look with Echo.
“A gift?” Echo asked curiously.
Ahsoka nodded before she pulled two small and thin leather straps out of her pocket. Dangling from each of them was a pendant that looked like it was made out of some type of hardwood. She handed one to each of them.
“Like I’ve said, in one of my courses we are learning how to imbue objects with the Force.” Ahsoka explained. “These are imbued with calm and relaxation, I’ve heard enough stories from Rex about ARC training that I figured you’d need a little bit of calm.” Ahsoka fidgeted with her hands behind her back. “These were the first ones I was able to succeed with.”
Fives and Echo looked at Ahsoka’ wide-eyed.
“But these are your coursework projects.” Fives said.
Ahsoka waved her hand.
“You guys need them more than I do.”
Fives held the pendant up to see an image carved into the center. It was a little crude, but he thought he recognized it as one of the predators from Ahsoka’s home world of Shili.
“Lehtana d’ana. Ud yehsa a’na.” Ahsoka said, her voice sounding melodic over her native tongue. “In togruta culture, charms are carved and given to hunters for good luck and fortune on hunts.” She nudged them gently through their bond. “I know you aren’t exactly hunting but I figured you could use the luck, but if-”
She was cut off by Fives surging forward and wrapping his arms around her.
“Vore entye Ahsoka.” He said.
“Ba’gedet’ye.” She stumbled a little over the mando’a but it warmed his heart anyways.
Echo nudged him aside so he could hug her too.
“How do you say thank you in togruti?” Ech asked.
“Teysa yeh.” There was a slight purr to the first word.
“Teysa yeh.” Echo echoed to the best of his ability, and Fives’ copied him.
Ahsoka beamed at them as they slipped the leather straps over their necks.
“I know you aren’t force sensitive, but to access the calm just hold it and breath slowly. It should react to your feelings and start to work.” Ahsoka instructed them.
“Are we gonna get cool calming necklaces too?” Jesse asked.
“We’ll see how fast I can make them,” Ahsoka said. “And the one that gets one first is Rex or Kix.”
Fives chuckled at the affronted look on both of his ori’vod’s faces.
“Are you saying we need to calm down?” Kix asked.
“Sometimes, I think it would be healthy.” Ahsoka responded with a cheeky grin.
The fifteen minute boarding call sounded.
The group looked at each other.
“Like I said earlier,” Echo said. “You’d better all be there when we get back.”
“I’ll keep them in one piece.” Ahsoka assured him confidently.
“Keep yourself in one piece too vod.” Fives nudged her arm.
“I’m very capable.” Ahsoka told him. “It’s Hardcase or Jesse you need to worry about.”
“Alright alright, let me hug you again before I’m tempted to throw you both into the ocean.” the corporal said as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around them.
He was once again joined by the rest of the group.
“I might combust from all this affection.” Fives said as Ahsoka wrapped her arms around his waist.
Kix chuckled against his shoulder.
“You’ll miss it.”
The group released each other and Jesse cuffed Echo and Fives on the shoulder.
“Maybe by the time you get back you’ll be an actual challenge on the mats.”
The two batchmates gawfed at that as the troopers around them began to head towards the transport ships.
Echo and Fives stayed until the ships took off, waving to their departing aliit.
The next morning, both of them were wide awake as soon as they woke up. The approached the training rooms with a lightness to their steps, the good luck charms tucked under their chest plates.
Commander Blitz was standing at the door.
“State your business troopers.”
“Echo and Fives sir, reporting for ARC training.”
Fives swore he felt the ghosts of their squad behind them as they marched into the room. He smiled.
Notes:
HA I WROTE IT GET GOT WRITERS BLOCK AND FINALS. Actually my finals are NEXT week and this is just dead week BUT I digress
DOMINO SQUAD BABES COME EAT. You really thought I was gonna write about ARC Troopers and not use it as an opportunity to talk about Domino Squad and their grief and also 99? WRONG I LIVE OFF OF ANGST. Also no, they can not telepathically communicate, they are just very good at having silent conversations, telepathy is not part of the bond.
Speaking of angst, how are we feeling after The Bad Batch finale? I figured this chapter would hit a little extra hard because of it ;)
You can yell at me on tumblr I love new friends :] @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos feed my dark soul <3<3
Mando'a trans:
dema’golka - monster
Naak - peace
Rangi an’be vala! - to hell with all of them!
Vore entye - thank you
Ba’gedet’ye - your welcomeTogruti trans:
Lehtana d’ana - charm of luck
Ud yehsa a’na - for good luck
Teysa yeh - thank you
Chapter 17: Legends Under the Stars
Summary:
How about some campfire stories?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Legends and stories carry lessons that we can learn from even if you must figure out which part of the story to learn from.
-
Kix would admit that it was odd not having the Domino Twins around. It felt a little wrong to leave them on Kamino even if it was for a good reason. He was used to having all his vode in one place, easily accessible if needed. The bond was dimmed and seemed to have more tension at being stretched far, however he still felt both of them.
He felt their excitement, frustration, their aches and pains, and above all their determination. It made it better.
There was also the bonus of removing two of the troublemakers from the ship. Hardcase, Jesse, and Ahsoka still incited chaos, but with it just being the three of them again it seemed more manageable. Or maybe having the twins here had upped all of their tolerance to mischief.
They fought their way across the galaxy, marching over deserts and cities, visiting planets that Kix couldn’t help but stop and marvel at occasionally.
Corric had Kix shadowing him more often now, they’d lost one of the 501st’s Clone Medical Officers right after the Battle of Kamino and it was a position that needed to be filled.
“You’ve impressed me, kid,” Coric told him after a campaign. “You’re a fast thinker and you’ll get osik done when you need to.”
“Thank you, sir,” Kix responded, feeling a bit of pride swell in his chest.
“We need medics like you in charge, I want you to shadow me while I work for a few days and I’ll evaluate you to see about promoting you,” Coric told him as he clapped him on the arm. “I will warn you, it’s more paperwork.”
Kix laughed at that.
“So I’ve heard.”
Those in the bond had immediately clocked in on his pleased attitude.
“What’s got you all happy?” Jesse asked when he sank down next to him in the mess.
“I may or may not have just been informed that I might, and emphasis on the might, be promoted to CMO.” Kix answered.
Jesse stared at him wide-eyed and Kix shrugged.
Happiness burst across the bond in their mind as Jesse slung his arm around his shoulders to jostle him back and forth.
“Congratulations vod!” Jesse cheered.
“Hey it hasn’t happened yet, and it might not happen.” Kix reminded him.
“Oh please,” Jesse rolled his eyes. “You can wrangle Hardcase and Fives when they are injured, and I’ve seen you take on the General before and come out victorious. That should be reason enough to promote you.”
Kix rolled his eyes good-naturedly at that.
“But seriously Kix,” Jesse dropped his grip on his shoulder. “I am proud of you. You work your shebs off in the med bay looking after all of us. You deserve it.”
Jesse emphasized his words by tugging insistently at their bond affectionately. Kix smiled slightly at Jesse’s words. He prodded back thankfully.
“And, when you do get promoted we are going to go out to 79’s to celebrate and we are going to get so hammered,” Jesse said as he dug into his food.
“Now that sounds like a good plan.” Kix laughed as he turned back to his own tray.
Greetings flickered across the bond from Ahsoka as she slid into the seat on the other side of Kix.
“Who are you two gossiping about today?” She asked with a mischievous smile.
Kix and Jesse shot her twin looks of indignation.
“What makes you think we were even doing such a thing?” Jesse asked.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes and tugged both of their bonds.
“You both are notorious osik talkers.”
Kix placed a hand on his chest.
“You wound us, commander.” He said dramatically.
Ahsoka shoved his shoulder with a laugh and they all returned to their lunches.
Between battles and campaigns, the group took the time to do a little more research about their bond. They regularly recorded any new things they noticed about it as well as the progress they were making with shielding and communicating.
One thing that they wanted more information on was the ability to transfer energy or strength to another person in the bond. Seeing as they’d only done it while under a kriff ton of stress, Kix and Ahsoka wanted to better understand it under calmer circumstances. Seeing as Rex was the only one present who had successfully transferred his energy to another person before, he was selected to try it again, this time he’d be transferring to Jesse.
“Do we think there could be any negative side effects from this?” Ahsoka asked as they all sat in a circle. “I mean, none of us are injured right now. What if you have to be injured to do it?”
“I wouldn’t think there would be any negative side effects.” Kix mused across from her. “Considering that it gave you and Rex enough energy to stay alive, it shouldn’t be harmful. I’m curious to see if you can control how much you give or if you just give the same amount every time or not.”
“How about we stop speculating about it and kriffing do it,” Hardcase said from where he was leaning back on his hands looking bored.
Jesse was also exuding boredom from where he was lying on the floor next to Rex.
Rex let out a long sigh before he shut his eyes.
Kix followed suit, focusing on the tangle of minds within his own until he could visualize it. Rex’s normally calm bond flashed with trepidation as he began.
As it turned out, it would take a little more practice to get the hang of it.
While Rex passed out, just like during the whole Blue Shadow bantha-osik, Jesse was suddenly amped up like he’d taken five stims and was practically bouncing off of the walls, his tether to the tangle of the bond searingly bright.
Kix attempted to treat Rex while also keeping an eye on his suddenly hypercharged brother, which proved much more difficult than he thought. It was like he’d given a child three cups of straight sugar, or let a rancor snort a line of spice. Within minutes Jesse had dashed out of the room with Hardcase and Ahsoka in hot pursuit.
He sighed as he went back to checking Rex. It had only taken Fives a few minutes to wake up when he’d done it for Rex and he’d been exhausted with a headache after it but he’d been fine.
Still, Kix didn’t feel more at ease until he felt Rex’s presence flare back into consciousness and his eyes blinked open.
Only then did he go after the other three. He was led on a wild tooka chase around the ship, Jesse somehow managing to evade all of them before changing strategy to get Ahsoka and Hardcase on his side.
As it turned out, Jesse had convinced them that he could easily bench press Hardcase and Ahsoka at the same time. He could tell that they were just intrigued enough to shrug off the concern and let him.
By the time Jesse strained a muscle in his back on his sixth rep, Kix was about ready to stun him.
Thankfully the injury slowed him down slightly. Even so, Kix ended up having to put restraints on Jesse to keep him still in the med bay.
Another thing they learned that day, was that when they transferred energy to a healthy person, they definitely also had a boost in their physical strength. This was discovered when Jesse tore through the straps on his arms and on his legs. They all stared at him in shock before he made another run for it.
Kix tackled him in the hallway.
After another half an hour, all the extra energy seemed to work itself out of Jesse’s system and he was left with aching muscles and a headache.
“I feel like I ran twenty miles and gut run over along the way.” He groaned.
“I think you did run twenty miles,” Hardcase grumbled. “We are on downtime I shouldn’t have to chase your crazy shebs around the ship at a full-tilt sprint.”
“Oh please, plenty of us have chased your shebs around the ship,” Kix told the heavy class, making Ahsoka laugh.
They made a note that when they were next planning on attempting to practice the energy transfer trick, to lock all doors and hide the keys from the person that volunteered to get jacked up on Force osik. The group also agreed that Echo would never be allowed to have energy transferred to him while healthy, and that osik’ika would probably find a way into the kriffing walls.
-
Ahsoka preferred the planets with lots of greenery on them. She’d marched across enough barren wastes for her lifetime. It was usually more common for them to fight on desolate planets as opposed to ones in the green line of star systems. Desolate planets were generally where mining operations, factories and warehouses, and colonies existed. Attacking a highly populated planet led to the planetary military being organized as well as the GAR so it was usually more work than it was worth to attack highly populated planets unless it was for a specific reason.
This planet of Eufornis Minor was an odd case in that it wasn’t highly populated even though it was green with an atmosphere that many sentients could breathe. The reason it wasn’t highly populated was how far it was from any major hyperspace lanes. It took a while to navigate there and most people didn’t have the fuel or the desire to travel all the way out here.
The separatists wanted it because it was rich in ore needed to build droids.
They’d been scouting out the mining operation for a few days now, planning out the best course of attack.
It was only a few squads from Torrent here, not wanting to alert the droids with a large force just yet. After weeks on the Resolute and the Dominator II breathing recycled air, she was grateful for a chance to breathe clean and new air.
This part of the planet was populated by tall trees with frondy branches that shaded most of the floor. The ground was covered in grass and a type of fern plant.
Small reptiles hopped through the branches and skittered across the ground. Their meat was a little gamey but Ahsoka wasn’t going to turn down from fresh meat, and neither were her men.
Of course, her master had been perfectly happy when he found a large beetle-looking thing, and after confirming that it wasn’t poisonous, proceeded to eat it. Ahsoka and the troopers shared their disgust at the display.
On the fourth night, they returned to their camp with new intel and multiple of the lizard-like creatures ready to cook.
Night fell and though the trees blacked many of the stars, Ahsoka could still catch glimpses of them through the branches of the trees.
“I never thought that I’d be happy to eat a lizard,” Jesse said as he finished cleaning one.
Ahsoka had taught them all on the first day how to clean an animal to eat, having learned it from the few months she’d stayed in Shili when she was younger as a cultural learning experience. It was the same trip that she earned her Akul tooth necklace. None of her men shied away from blood, making the process much easier, they were also all very good with knives.
“There are much worse things to be eating right now,” Rex said as he tossed a clean lizard into the crate.
“Yeah like that high protein mash, the long necks gave us when we were growing,” Hardcase said with a shiver.
Similar feelings of disgust flashed across the other troopers’ bonds.
“Why was it so bad?” Ahsoka asked.
“From the ages six to nine, the time when we were all hitting our growth spurts and whatnot, we needed a kriff ton of calories to keep up with growing as well as our training,” Kix told her. “At the time we didn’t know how bad it was until he tasted it again after we’d stopped needing it.”
“It’s pretty bad.” Rex nodded.
“I’d say there is no flavor, but I think my tongue was just so violated by it that it couldn’t process it,” Jesse complained.
Ahsoka raised her eyebrow marking at that.
Hardcase tugged at her bond and suddenly the phantom taste of… something, invaded her mouth. She stuck her tongue out with a gag, shaking her head rapidly.
The flavor dissipated as she coughed.
“I never should have taught you how to do that.” She grumbled.
Hardcase laughed as he tossed another skinned lizard onto the pile.
“I’m just mad he is the first to figure it out.” Jesse huffed.
Warming at the back of her mind alerted her that her master was drawing near, his supernova-like presence in the Force pressing against hers.
“You were right Snips, there was a patch of herbs by the stream.” He said as he came and plopped down next to her on the crate she was seated on. “Ridge, Hawk, and I grabbed as much as we could.”
He held out a bundle of greens to her and the two other troopers also appeared.
“See, this is why I always research the flora of the planet before we get here.” She said with a grin. “And to make sureyou and Rex don’t get eaten by another plant.”
Her captain shivered at the memory as Anakin scowled.
“I thought you were done bringing that up.”
“In your dreams Skyguy.” Ahsoka smiled as she accepted the bundles of greens from Ridge and Hawk.
The pilot shot her a cheeky wink as he sat down next to Kix and Ridge sank down next to Jesse.
Yes, eating fresh meat was wonderful, but after three days they were all looking for something to spice it up, hence the herbs. Ahsoka had learned how to cook some from Master Plo before the war and the troopers knew how to cook over an open fire. Combining these talents, Ahsoka was sure that tonight they’d come up with a good rub for the lizards to spice them up.
Her master knew how to cook basic things, mainly in a pot, so he let her have free reign to do as she pleased as long as the meat was cooked enough for the humans and it didn’t kill them.
“Oh, I remember that!” Jesse laughed. “Was it Felucia?”
“Where else do the kriffing plants attack you,” Rex grumbled.
Ridge handed Ahsoka the crate full of clean lizards as Hardcase laughed.
“I didn’t know that you could scream that high Rex.” The heavy class said.
“Oh, I thought that was Skywalker,” Ridge said.
Ahsoka began to crush the herbs up into a usable paste, using some of the oil and fat she’d collected the night before from the cooking lizards. The rest of the small group of troopers gathered around the circle, dragging crates over or sitting on the ground.
“Oh, you want to talk about screaming, how about when our three COs jumped off that wall on Geonosis?” Jesse said.
All the troopers laughed and even Anakin chuckled at that as Rex glowered at the Corporal. Ahsoka felt him give a sharp jab through the bond.
“I was thrown off, there is a difference.” Rex pointed out.
“We caught you,” Ahsoka said as she massaged the rub into one of the lizards.
Hardcase walked over and dropped down next to her, offering to take a few of the lizards to help her. Rex gave her a slightly softer jab than he’d given Jesse.
“I think I learned some swear words that day,” Charger spoke up at that.
Many troopers snickered at that. Rex certainly had a colorful vocabulary as it turned out, he’d even used from of the Huttese and Togruti swears Ahsoka and Anakin say.
“I don’t think anybody here is lacking in the swearing department.” Ahsoka pointed out. There were murmurs of assent as Anakin looked at her wide-eyed. “Yes even you Skyguy.”
“Great so I’ve corrupted my impressionable young padawan.” He lamented, adding Obi-Wan’s Coruscanti accent to the ending and making Ahsoka and Hardcase laugh.
“Respectfully sir, I think Commander Tano was already a lost cause.” Jesse pointed out.
Ahsoka sputtered at that.
“Baka, djeba-dai, waka, dia-udit-” Ahsoka smacked Hardcase’s arm to cut him off.
“Oh I see now,” her master said. “They sent me an already defective padawan so as to not corrupt a pure one.”
“And they sent me to a headstrong knight to teach him Karma.” Ahsoka snipped right back.
The troopers around them oohed and laughed at that. Ahsoka poked her tongue out between her fangs at him with a winning smirk.
Anakin heaved a sigh and reached out his hand to push her face away good-naturedly.
As the sun set behind the trees, the troopers built up a large fire which enabled them to cook quite a few lizards at a time. Before long, everyone was chowing down on the hot meal.
“Oh wow,” Kix said as he chewed.
“This is really good commander,” Ridge told her.
“Seasonings is what we needed.” Hardcase groaned around a mouthful of food.
Despite having snagged quite a few lizards, there were none left over. They built the fire back up as they all laid back to rest after dinner. Before long, stories began to be passed around the fire. Seeing as the battle stories had been exhausted in the first few nights here, they all had to think back for new entertainment. Many were recounted from stories the Mandalorian and bounty hunter trainers had told the troopers on Kamino. Anakin shared some of the missions he’d been on while he was a padawan with Obi-Wan.
There was a lull in the conversation as someone got up to grab more wood.
“Do you have any stories, commander?” Kix asked with a gentle tug.
Ahsoka thought for a moment.
The Jedi had extensive texts full of stories and legends, but many were also passed down orally to the younglings. Most nights had ended with her and her crechmates circling up around one of the creche masters or Huyang, listening to stories from a galaxy far far away.
Her philosophy course had recently gone over a few for their most recent unit and she was pulled towards one story in particular.
“Yes, I do.”
Everyone shifted their attention to her, some propping themselves back up from the ground.
“As you all know, the Jedi have been around for a long time. Growing up in the Temple, every night we were told a story, some sort of legend from thousands of years ago, but they always had a lesson involved with it.” Ahsoka explained. “It is one of the ways to help prepare us for entering the galaxy as Padawans.”
Anakin titled his head at that.
Right, her master hadn’t grown up in the Temple like most Jedi. He hadn’t gotten to sit and listen and learn like she had. Ahsoka wondered if he’d ever even heard this tale.
Her men seemed to perk up more. They always seemed to enjoy Jedi stories. Echo had told her that they’d grown up being told that they were created for the Jedi, but they hadn’t known much about them. It was almost instinctual for them to want to learn as much as they could about their Jedi, even now that they were working together.
“Alright,” Ahsoka said. “Let’s see if I can remember all of this.”
She looked around the circle, feeling intrigue pulse from her clan before she began.
“A long time ago, in a time before the republic, there were two Jedi, Jesawa Norda and Quilla Arbosta.
Their masters were long-time friends, leading the two of them to be trained alongside each other for years. As they grew older, their friendship grew as well, and when they were both knighted they embarked into the galaxy together.
For years they traveled together, following the will of the Force to where they were needed. They loved each other as family, though it was rumored that it might have been more. Jesawa and Quilla formed a bond, one that linked their lives together and one that could only be broken by death itself.”
Ahsoka felt her group shift, interest sparking across the bond in recognition.
“The Force led them to a star system that has long been forgotten, that was threatening to tear itself apart from the inside, condemning millions to war. They got to work attempting to de-escalate the situation as they had done many times before. However, both Jesawa and Quilla could feel that something was different here. Darkness lurked at the edges of the minds attempting to wage war, it seeped through the wall of the buildings, saturating the planets.
Quilla believed that the Dark-side might be at work but her partner dismissed the notion as no Sith had been seen in years.
Both of them worked tirelessly for months to stabilize the star system, carefully steering them clear of the path of war and instead towards one of peace. The darkness seemed to recede, and Quilla began to believe her partner.
However, at one of the meetings, the Force reached out to her, willing her to look again. Sensing that not everything was as it seemed, she set off to find the source of the disturbance, leaving Jesawa to continue negotiations.
She finally found herself on the last planet in the system, one that barely felt the warmth of its central star. The planet was cloaked in darkness, hiding what might lurk there. This is where Quilla found the source of the darkness. Not one Sith, but two. Master and Apprentice, both of them feeding off of the chaos and dissent that the brewing war had brought.
The fight that ensued left large swaths of the planet destroyed, their abilities far surpassing any Sith that had been studied in recent history. Jesawa felt his partner fighting and set off for her, but was too late to save her. It is said that the blow that felled Quilla left such a gaping crack in the surface it shook the whole planet.”
A few troopers mumbled to each other. They had never seen such a display of power from her or Anakin, or any Jedi.Ahsoka remembered one of her crechmates asking why the Old Republic Jedi seemed so much stronger when they were younger.
The creche master had explained that they’d had to contend with more conflict and had the need to fight more powerfully than the Jedi currently needed to. Ahsoka and her crechemates had spent the next week trying to train themselves to deliver more powerful attacks. They hadn’t achieved much more than a few bruises and a long lecture from their creche master.
“Losing one close to you can break your heart, losing one that is entwined with your soul can shatter your very being. Jesawa’s grief was felt far and wide, his devastation threatening to drown him in the darkness as the star system fell into a bloody war, pushed along by the Sith.
With the fall of the first star system, came the fall of many. The Sith’s influence stretched out across the galaxy, growing stronger with the wars that were waged and the blood that was shed. It consumed worlds, faster than the Jedi who weretrying to fight it. Quilla’s master was felled in battle, and Jesewa’s was cut down by the Sith.
The memory of Quilla was the only thing to keep him from falling. Instead of seeking vengeance, he sought out a way to stop this event altogether, to stop the Sith from gaining power. For it is the Jedi way to accept that returning to the Force is a natural part of life, a Sith’s way to strain against the bindings of things natural.
Jesawa tore across the galaxy, searching for some way to reverse what had happened. Those who came across him steered clear, saying that his eyes were rimmed with gold and he was balancing on a narrow ledge between light and darkness. Any who knew him did not blame him for his very soul had been cleaved in two with Quilla’s death. The Jedi still alive across the galaxy fought to stop the Sith, not paying much mind to a Jesawa or what he sought after.
Finally, after scouring any and all legends and books Jedi kept scattered across the galaxy he found what he was searching for. A planet that one could only find if they were good and truly lost. A place that is said to lay at one of the crossroads of the Force, steeped in all sides of it, where time does not exist, only the Force does.
He delved in deep, holding onto the bit of light where Quilla still existed in his mind as his anchor in the Force, he hung onto the place where their bond had once resided. Jesawa played out all of the events that had led to her death and the spread of the Sith and found the precise moment that he needed to change.
Jesawa dove into time itself, falling back to the time he needed. He crashed into the precious moments before Quilla left to find the Sith, and he stopped her. Instead, he called on any nearby Jedi to come assist them and when they faced the Sith, they defeated them.
With the Sith’s influence gone, the star system did not tear itself apart as it had previously, instead, it settled into peaceful negotiations. The galaxy at wide was spared from the conflict Jesawa had witnessed previously, simply continuing on undisturbed.
Quilla did not know how her partner had known that there were Sith, or why at times he looked at her like he was seeing a ghost, or why he walked a narrow edge of light and dark.
Jesawa had changed the course of history, but he was the only one to remember what had happened. No one remembered the grief he’d felt, no one was there that he could speak to about what he’d experienced and he also soon learned that some events were set to occur even with his change. No matter what he did to stop it, his master and Quilla’s master died in their arms. Wars still sparked on the edges of the galaxy like they had in the forgotten time, and no one seemed to heed Jesawa’s warning of what was to come.
He attempted to find the planet again so he could prove his stories, but he never found it again.
The cost of saving his partner may have been his mind. Some believe that Quilla and Jesawa settled down on a quiet planet and lived out the rest of their lives peacefully, others say Jesawa was driven mad by what he had done and witnessed, and the fact that he couldn’t fix everything that had gone wrong. Many believe that Quilla ended up dying a different death, that moment being one of the ingrained events no matter the timeline.
While it has been confirmed that Jesawa Norda and Quilla Arbosta indeed existed, there is no proof of whether his trip back in time happened.
However, the legend of Jesawa Norda and Quilla Arbosta is an example that the solution to an issue might not be the obvious one, and should encourage us to think outside of what most would call normal, for there are many paths within the Force, even if we can’t always see them at first.”
The group of troopers was quiet as she finished the legend. Anakin had a thoughtful look on his face as he continued to roll a long stick in the fire.
“That was kriffing intense,” Hardcase mumbled.
“How are you supposed to be lost in order to find the planet?” Kix asked, his nose wrinkled slightly. “That doesn’t make any sense, especially if you are trying to find an actual place, let alone a planet.”
“You can be lost in more ways than just physically,” Ahsoka answered softly.
The group fell back into thoughtful silence after that.
-
Many of his brothers thought he was a little crazy, and they might not be entirely wrong. His trainers back on Kamino had thought him insane and hyperactive.
However if there was one place that Hardcase felt truly alive, it was on the battlefield. Clone troopers had been created for war, designed to withstand the stress of it better than natborns, trained to be at home in it.
As his Z-6 rattled against his hip, mowing down line after line of clankers, he felt a broad grin crack across his face. Battle was thrilling, it was a game that he and his brothers had been trained to play and win. Games were meant to be fun,or at least give you a rush. Sue him for trying to milk it for as much enjoyment as he could. After all, he was here for a good time, not a kriffing long time.
Everyone’s shields were up, but he could still monitor them from here. Kix was calm as usual, Jesse was a little pissed off which was also usual, Rex was firm, and Ahsoka was fluid with a slight bit of trepidation. Everyone was good.
Distantly, Fives gave him an almost incredulous prod, as if to ask why he was focusing on everyone else during battle. He batted Fives’ prod aside. He could multitask, better than others at times it seemed.
Hardcase’s Z-6 clicked and rattled as it ran out of ammunition.
“Tebec!” He yelled as he backed up to reload.
Immediately, another heavy class took his place as he knelt. All heavy class troopers had been selected from their squads to train in extra classes.
Two things made Z-6 rotary canons very unpopular amongst the galaxy, how heavy they were and reloading them.
It normally took someone almost forty-five seconds to a minute to reload a Z-6, which is why they weren’t more widely used prior to the clones. They were also kriffing heavy, which was another issue that the Kaminoans bypassed by making all troopers stronger than the average human and near-human.
The Mandalorian trainer that had been assigned to the heavy class troopers had made them unload and reload their Z-6s for hours every day until they could complete the task in under twenty seconds. Hardcase had the callouses and scars on his hands to prove it. He could dismantle most blaster or heavy weapons in the GAR in under seven seconds, faster than most other troopers, but he hadn’t made it through those classes for nothing.
Hardcase was up again in seconds. A few moments later their internal coms went off.
“Fall back, draw as many droids to your side to pull them away from the main mining area.”
Retreating wasn’t something Hardcase or his fellow heavies enjoyed, but orders were orders. Slowly but surely, they pulled back. Sure as osik, the droids followed, marching away from the giant hole they’d slashed into the planet to mine. Even now, droids’ stupidity still dumbfounded Hardcase at times.
A tug from Ahsoka informed him that she was on her way to their position, which was likely a good thing because they were running out of cover.
The area was also narrowing as piles of excavated dirt were rising up on either side of them. For shab’s sake not only did the seppies have to exist on this planet but they had to tear up such a beautiful place.
Look at that, another reason to enjoy this battle, ever head he shot off a droid he imagined a tree or a shrub or some osik popping up to replace it.
Just as Ahsoka was closing in on their location, they ran out of whatever little cover they’d had.
Hardcase tore about four more droids before he heard a shout of pain to his left. Boomer’s Z-6 hit the ground with a clang as his brother clamped a hand to his side, a large score mark now marring the surface of his armor. Another bolt grazed by his arm and Hardcase quickly shifted over to cover him.
“I’ll get you out of here!” Hardcase yelled. “Just hang in there a little longer!”
Ahsoka’s presence flared and moments later her green lightsaber cut through the air as she landed on the ground before them.
“Get him up!” She ordered.
“Sir yes ma’am,” Hardcase said, swinging his canon around to his back before reaching down to lift Boomer up from the ground where he’d fallen. “Come on vod, our little commander is covering our shebs.”
Boomer grunted as Hardcase slung his arm around his neck and began to drag him backward. The other heavies were slowing their fire, with Ahsoka in front of them they didn’t want to risk a stray bolt.
Ahsoka sent a commanding prod his way.
“Keep falling back!” Hardcase yelled at the group.
His HUD informed him that the nearest medic was not in fact, nearby. He sent out a request as they continued to retreat between the dirt mountains, Ahsoka expertly deflecting and shielding them. The droids gave chase.
The good news was, that the plan was working effectively. The bad news was, that it was working so effectively that there was a huge platoon of droids bearing down on them, and considering the tight confines, they couldn’t return much fire and have a shield.
Coric received his request and started his way over.
Hardcase watched Ahsoka back up a step, then another, the blaster fire becoming more intense. He watched her heels hit the Boomer’s fallen Z-6.
“When I give the signal,” Ahsoka yelled back at the heavies. “Give me some cover and return fire.”
They all gave affirmative shouts as Coric drew nearer. Hardcase watched as Ahsoka suddenly ducked down on top of Boomer’s blaster. Immediately, the heavies opened fire, tearing through the first few lines of droids in seconds.
Hardcase dragged Boomer back as he caught sight of Coric and set him down on the ground.
“I have to remove the fabric where it’s burned into his skin.” The medic told him as he removed Boomer’s chestplate and plackart. “Hold him so he doesn’t thrash.”
Boomer shouted in pain at the same time that troopers suddenly began to cheer. Hardcase looked up in confusion to see the heavies closest to them waving their arms excitedly.
What the kriff?
Hardcase stood up as Coric worked on Boomer.
He craned his neck to see over his brother and when he finally caught sight of what was causing the cheers, he felt the largest smile he’d ever had spread across his face.
There, out in front, was Ahsoka, and in Ahsoka’s hands was Boomer’s fallen blaster. Her feet were spread wide, her stance strong, her hands positioned perfectly as she ripped into the front line of droids.
Hardcase blasted their bond with praise and pride as he began cheering as well.
“That’s my little sister!” He howled as he grabbed the nearest trooper to shake him. “I kriffing her taught her that!”
“Hardcase!” Coric snapped. “I need you to hold him again.”
Hardcase dropped back down next to Boomer.
“Why’s… everyone… cheering?” Boomer asked through panting breaths.
“Because our little Commander Tano, is out in front mowing down Clankers with your blaster,” Hardcase told him.
“Wait, really-” Coric pulled the fabric away, causing Boomer to swear viciously in pain.
“Oh yeah vod, like a kriffing battle angel.” Hardcase laughed. “And I taught her how to do that!”
The battle dragged on for the rest of the day, but by the end of it, the droids were dismantled, the mining operation was under Republic control, and Hardcase was still beaming with pride.
He saw Ahsoka talking with Rex and headed their way.
As soon as he was close enough, he wrapped his hands around Ahsoka’s waist and lifted her off the ground with a laugh.
“You did amazing today!” He said as he spun her around above his head, causing her to laugh.
“I had a great teacher.” She said with an affectionate nudge through their bond.
“You bet your kriffing shebs you did.” He said as he lowered her back enough that he planted a large kiss on her cheek.“My sister is officially the coolest Jedi ever.”
“What’s this about Ahsoka being the coolest Jedi?” Jesse said as he came to stand next to Rex.
Hardcase set Ahsoka back down onto the ground and wrapped his arm around Jesse’s neck.
“Today, not only did our vod’ika come to help us out on our front just in the nick of time, she then proceeded to pick up a Z-6 and blow the heads off of dozens of droids.” He swept his hand in an arc in front of them. “Picture it, our own little battle angel there to lead the charge against the clankers.”
“Oh by the Force,” Ahsoka said as she pinched the bridge of her nose with a smile. “I would hardly call me a battle angel.”
“All of the heavies seem to believe so,” Rex said. “I can’t wait to tell Cody about this, he’s gonna be so jealous.”
Ahsoka laughed at that.
“I just know that Echo and Fives are going to be mad that they weren’t here to see it,” Jesse said.
“Serves them right for being cool enough to be ARC troopers.” Hardcase flapped his hand. “I will be gloating about this until the day I die.”
-
Echo flopped face-first onto his bunk with a groan.
He was pretty sure that every part of his body was either sore or bruised. Kriff, parts of his body that he hadn’t even known he had hurt. Fives was in the same predicament as he was trying to strip off his blacks, but could only raise his arms so far off of his sides.
To put it simply, ARC Trooper Training was hell. It was supposed to be. They were meant to be training some of the best troopers in the GAR and if they couldn’t last through training, they didn’t have what it took.
They sparred until they couldn’t stand, they worked through strategy simulations until the symbols swam in front of their eyes, and pushed them to the breaking point. Yet, they endured.
They came back to their bunks each day sore and exhausted, but they felt satisfied. It felt right being here.
Echo slowly rolled until he was on his back.
It had taken some adjustment, being away from the rest of their aliit for so long. The bond was slightly muted with them so far away, but he could still feel them and still get a read on them. During long training that involved repeated work, Echo would often focus inward on the bond and monitor them, guessing based on what they were feeling on what they were doing at that moment in time. It became a bit of a game. Sometimes Ahsoka would notice and a flash of her surroundings would appear in his mind.
A few days ago there had been a large amount of excitement, mainly from Hardcase. He wondered what it had been about, none of them were injured thankfully and it seemed to be happy excitement instead of bad excitement.
The thing about being so far away was the ever-present fear that one day, one of them would get seriously hurt or even killed. He didn’t know what it would feel like to experience one of them die, and he never wanted to find out. If one of them died while he and Fives were on Kamino, Echo didn’t think he’d be able to forgive himself.
He’d already lost his original squad, he’d lost brothers in the 501st, and then he’d lost 99, he wasn’t exactly looking to lose anybody else. Echo would rather sacrifice his own skin than one of his vode. Sure it would probably be hell for all of them and might be a little selfish of him, but he would willingly give his life if he could before anyone in his aliit.
Idealy, if he was going to die, he would do so saving his aliit.
“Why are you all moody and brooding now.” Fives asked, cutting into his thoughts.
Echo huffed a small laugh.
“Sorry, just thinking about our squad and the others.”
Fives hummed.
“Every time they go to battle, it’s like I’m bracing myself for the worst.” Echo continued.
“They’ve all been doing this longer than we have.” Fives reminded him. “They know what they are doing and they are good at it.”
“I know, but still,” Echo mumbled. “I don’t want to lose anybody else.”
Fives heaved a large sigh. A moment later he flopped down on top of Echo, making him grunt.
“Maker Fives.” Echo wheezed.
“Sorry not sorry.” his batchmate said. “And besides, we all are going to live to see the end of the war.”
Echo pushed him until he flopped onto his bunk next to him.
“And how do you know that exactly,” Echo asked sarcastically.
“Because as soon as we graduate from here, we are going to be assigned an ARC mission to assassinate Dooku and Grievous and we are going to kill both of those shabuir, be given big shiny medals by the Chancellor himself, and the war will be over.” Fives answered. “Then we are going to go live on some quiet planet and never see a droid again.”
Echo couldn’t help but chuckle.
“And this plan is validated?”
“100%, it came to me while we were doing that kriffing swimming drill last week.” Fives answered. “Six hours in the ocean had me hammering out all the details.”
Echo shuttered slightly at the memory of that training drill.
“And where would we get the credits to do this?”
“Well we’d collect the bounty money that’s on the head of both shabuirs, then we’d reveal that it was us and by then we’d have already bought the place to live.” Fives replied.
“And what about Ahsoka, you know, the Jedi knight in training?” Echo asked.
“She’d complete training and be knighted and go off in the galaxy to right wrongs and do what she needs to do, but she’d always be able to come back with us.” Fives said. “She’d be bored to tears without us. Kriff we’d probably go on those missions with her, just as some backup.”
Echo smiled as he imagined it.
“That sounds like a pretty good plan,” Echo said.
“Thank you, I almost drowned while thinking it up.”
Echo laughed, feeling a small weight lift off of his chest. It was dangerous to plan on anyone being around for too long while in a war, it only made it worse when they marched on ahead without you. But right now maybe, just maybe, he’d allow himself to hope for a brighter future.
Notes:
The og Dominator was destroyed in the Ryloth Arc but I'm too lazy to come up with a new name for a 501st ship sooooooo. If you read Till Stars Break you might recognize Euphornis Minor as the planet at the end of the fic, and I am reducing, reusing, and Recycling because I didn't feel like doing research for a specific planet again ;-;
I was hoping to get this out before June 1 but i finally sat down the last few nights and cranked it out! And I'm posting it at a reasonable hour! (well at least for me its about 5:30 pm asfhusdhf)
You can find me on Tumblr: @saggitary <3
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments feed my soulless form ;)
Mando'a trans
Tebec - ammunition
Chapter 18: The Gray Areas
Summary:
Hero's on Both Sides Ep as well as some sabacc
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
There are always two sides to a conflict.
-
The first time that Ahsoka had been inside the senate chamber, she’d been completely awestruck. She’d known in theory that the Republic was large, but actually seeing the room where all of the representatives sat and debated put it into perspective just how immense it was.
Now as she stood overlooking it, she was a little less inspired.
Her master had brought her here to give her a taste of the political atmosphere of the Republic.
“We often work alongside representatives and political members during missions and its important to know how the Senate System of the Republic works.” Anakin had told her on the flight over. “This war won’t last forever and you most likely will be seeing political negotiations up close and personal.”
It had sounded much more glamorous than whatever argument was currently taking place between the senators.
“This is a matter not of philosophy, more troops are needed. The Republic cannot allow the Separatists to gain any more ground.”
Ahsoka frowned at that.
So this was a matter of money and paying Kamino to make more troopers. It was like they were discussing machine parts and not sentient men’s lives. Besides, it would take years for any new troopers to be old enough and trained enough to engage in combat. Instead of trying to buy more troopers, they should invest in better weapons and armor for the troopers.
Her master shifted closer to her, obviously picking up on her mood.
“The Republic is near bankruptcy from the cost of this war!”
They were concerned about credits and not about the lives that droids and Separatists were tearing apart.
Now her troopers were brushing against her bond, sensing her growing agitation. Anakin also gave her a meaningful nudge.
Ahsoka let out a sigh and released her ire into the Force.
Shore leave was supposed to be relaxing, stars knew they all needed it. They’d been deployed for four months when the standard time between shore leave was supposed to be two months. The war wasn’t slowing down, and neither could they, even if they were being pushed harder and harder.
She’d also hit the first of many growth spurts, finally. Ahsoka had about had it up to her montrals with the short jokes from Jesse, Fives, and her own Master.
Everything had hurt for many weeks, her montrals ached and rang as they lengthened, her legs and joints panged as they grew, and her lekku had been extra sensitive for a bit. It had been an uncomfortable experience but Kix had kept her supplied with pain meds.
The nice thing was that her chestplate and other armor pieces were starting to fit her better now, coupled with the weight and strength training she’d been doing with her brothers to build up her muscle.
So yes, she’d been ready for shore leave to sit and relax for a while and not have to march into battle with her legs feeling like they were going to fall off.
Admittedly she’d had five days of rest before this sudden learning moment, but she thought she had the right to be a little peeved about this disruption to her peace.
“Members of the Senate,” Ahsoka blinked back to focus as Padme spoke up suddenly. “Do you hear yourselves? More money, more clones, and more war say nothing of fiscal responsibility, what about moral responsibility? Hasn’t this war gone on long enough?”
Anakin watched Padme closely as her pod floated out into the center of the chamber, her voice echoing through it. A flicker of… something, flashed across his presence before it smoothed back over. Protectiveness? No, it had felt stronger than that she thought.
Ever since meeting Padme on Naboo during the Blue Shadow Virus, she’d grown to see Padme as a good friend, it was nice to be around another girl after spending months on a ship full of men. In that time she’d definitely picked up on the strange tension that her Master shared with the Senator. Not long after that, she found out that they had some kind of relationship.
To be honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the… nature of their relationship, and no one else seemed concerned about their blatant flirting, so she figured she wouldn’t be concerned either.
“Senator Amidala, are you suggesting we surrender to the separatists?” Asked Senator Song.
Ahsoka frowned once again.
That wasn’t an option, not with the destruction that Separatists seemed intent on wreaking. Ahsoka knew that Padme knew that too.
“Of course not,” Padme objected immediately. “But negotiation might be a better course of action.”
“You can’t negotiate with those animals!” A senator shouted. “Keep the war going, vote now!”
Ahsoka flinched slightly at that. He was full of anger, and rage, and he was projecting it to the others. The other senators in the room took up that same rallying cry.
Keep the war going.
To Ahsoka, it seemed like they were all acting animalistic right now, letting their anger and fear direct their actions. Of course, why wouldn’t they care, they weren’t the ones who would pay in blood for this decision on the front line. That was for the Jedi and her brothers.
“Members of the Senate,” Bail Organa’s voice cut through the cheering. “I suggest we table any emergency bill until it is determined whether or not deregulation of the banks is the right course of action.”
Ahsoka let out a relieved breath. She’d only met Senator Organa a few times, but she liked the man. He had a calm presence with a hint of mischievousness that sparked across his Force signature.
“Very well,” Mas Amedda called. “We shall let calmer heads prevail.”
The was a mixture of emotions from the senators. Senator Song and the Banking clan representative were disappointed and angry. Greed colored them darker than the others. Ahsoka looked to Anakin to see if he’d noticed but his attention was focused on Padme.
Ahsoka sighed.
“That could have gone better,” Padme mumbled as she stepped out of her pod.
She motioned for them to follow after her as they headed towards the lift to take them to her office.
Ahsoka could tell that Padme was tired, both physically and mentally. Perhaps it was more tiring than she had thought it was being a senator during a war.
“You must ask the Jedi Council to speak with Chancellor Palpatine.”
“Don’t involve me in this.” Anakin grumbled, ire flickering across their bond.
“A peaceful solution is the only way out of this morass of war.” Padme argued.
“That’s not my role, Padme.” her master answered.
Ahsoka’s brows scrunched.
“Why not?” She piped up, moving to walk beside Padme. “Why isn’t it your role? Aren’t we Jedi Knights? Isn’t it our duty to speak out minds and to advise the Chancellor?”
Her master’s discomfort replaced his ire as he cleared his throat.
“Uh, I suggest you teach my young padawan a thing or two about politics.” Anakin told Padme, making Ahsoka frown slightly.
This didn’t seem that political if you asked her, it was a war, surely the Chancellor wanted to end it as much as the Jedi did?
“After today’s debate, I was hoping she learned a great deal,” Padme said.
“Truthfully,” Ahsoka responded. “I don’t understand any of it. I know the Separatists are evil, but all anyone argued about was banking deregulation, interest rates, and well almost nothing about why we’re fighting in the first place.”
An explanation as to why she was acting as a commander in the military and leading her troopers to battle would have been much appreciated. Some sort of reason as to why so many lives were being lost and worlds torn apart. But so far all she’d heard about was credits.
“War is complicated Ahsoka.” Her master came to stand in front of her. “But let me simplify it. The Separatists believe that the Republic is corrupt, but they’re wrong, and we have to restore order.”
She raised her eyebrow marking at that. That answered absolutely none of her questions. Why did they think the Republic was corrupt? Why were they invading worlds? Why was a Sith leading them? Why were they letting a Sith lead them?
Padme was similarly dissatisfied as she crossed her arms and stared at her master.
“Maybe talking to the Jedi Council isn’t the role for you after all.” She brushed passed him and gave a mock cheery tone. “Thanks for your help. Come on Ahsoka.”
Ahsoka passed Anakin, following after the Senator. Indignation flashed across his Force signature.
“Hey.”
“You told me to teach her about politics. So I’m going to.”
Ahsoka threw a smirk over her shoulder at her master, earning her a slight reprimanding tug from his side.
When they finally arrived at her office, one of her aides came out and helped her remove some of her Senator garb before disappearing into a side room. Padme went to stand in front of her window, looking out over Coruscant with a sigh.
Sensing that the senator needed a moment to collect her thoughts, Ahsoka propped herself up against the desk. As she waited, she began to inspect her nails. Seeing as they were on shore leave for a little while and she finally had access to nail polish again, she’d taken the time to paint her nails, relishing in the small creature comforts that came with it. When she’d visited the barracks the next day, her men had been particularly curious about it and she’d ended up painting Hardcase and Ridge’s nails.
She’d made a note to stock up on some polish for their next deployment.
“If only I could talk to Senator Bonteri.” Padme suddenly huffed.
“Who’s he?” Ahsoka asked absently.
She still wasn’t fully sold on this whole political learning experience.
“He is a she,” Padme corrected. “A senator in the Confederacy of Independent Systems.”
Ahsoka jerked up at that.
“Your friend is a Separatist?” She asked, bewildered. “One of Dooku’s pawns?”
Padma’s signature dimmed with sadness.
“The Separatists used to be a part of the Republic.” Padme turned towards her. “I was close with many of the senators who left. I may not agree with them, but they’re more than pawns.”
Ahsoka considered that for a moment.
“If you think negotiation is the right way to go, let’s talk to her,” Ahsoka said.
Padme huffed.
“The Senate had made it illegal.”
Ahsoka scrunched her nose at that.
“Illegal?”
“They say official meetings would only legitimize the Separatists.”
Ahsoka stood up to pace a little.
“Well, Master Skywalker and I hold what we call aggressive negotiations all the time,” Ahsoka said, thinking back to all the encounters with spies and Separatist generals they’d had. “It’s a shame you can’t hold more peaceful negotiations.”
Padme’s signature lit up suddenly.
“You just gave me an idea,” Padme said. “You’re a Jedi which gives you special clearance.”
“Right?” Ahsoka said skeptically.
This was beginning to look like one of those crazy plans that Master Kenobi had told her about.
“And Jedi are allowed to travel to neutral worlds like Mandalore, where we could then board a cargo ship to a Separatist system.”
Yes, definitely one of the crazy plans.
“Are you suggesting I use my status as a Jedi to smuggle you behind enemy lines?”
Not to mention that this would take up some of her shore leave and recovery time.
“It’s just that you could get us through to meet with her, and I haven’t seen her or her family in so long.”
“Relax,” Ahsoka said with a smile. “I’ll help you. Besides, Master Skywalker said you should teach me about politics.”
“Right,” Padme said with a matching smile.
Her troopers reached out questioningly as she contemplated this. They could not know about this. She could imagine Rex’s voice right now listing out all of the ways this could go wrong.
However, this was a learning opportunity, and it was promoting peaceful negotiations, so technically she was fulfilling her Jedi duty.
“When do we leave?” Ahsoka asked. “Just so you are aware, my shore leave ends in two weeks.”
“We can leave tomorrow, early morning,” Padme said. “We’ll need disguises.”
Ahsoka pursed her lips at that. She only really had Jedi robes. Any disguises or civilian clothing she’d worn before now were checked out from the temple and considering that they weren’t asking permission for this mission, she didn’t think she’d have much luck getting clothing.
“I don’t have much in the way of undercover clothing on hand,” Ahsoka said.
“That’s fine.” Padme said dismissively. “I have clothing you can wear.”
Ahsoka raised her brow at that.
“Really?”
“Of course, I was going to give it to you on your lifeday but I guess this will be an early gift.”
Ahsoka’s mouth dropped open slightly.
“My lifeday?” She asked. “You got me a gift?”
Padme looked at her.
“Of course I did. I know it’s still a little ways off but as soon as Ani mentioned it I started looking. Of course with your growth spurts a few things might not fit but the rest should be fine.”
Warmth spread through Ahsoka’s chest at that and she couldn’t help but smile.
The next morning she found herself seated next to Padme on a shuttle to Mandalore. Not only had Padme found clothing that was in fashion for her age, but had also found some more traditional Togruta fashion for her as well. The thoughtfulness made it hard to wipe with grin off her face and she couldn’t stop herself from hugging Padme.
The trip to Mandalore would take a little over a rotation, but with Padme being rich, they’d secured a private room on the shuttle. Despite this, Ahsoka didn’t sleep. The trip from Mandalore to Raxus would be about half a rotation, but it would be much more difficult.
Ahsoka was on high alert as soon as they entered the shuttle, her lightsaber was hidden in her bag but her fingers itched to have it in her hand. They were entering enemy territory, and if they were discovered, there was no telling what would happen.
The overhead announcement went out that they were nearing Raxus.
Ahsoka looked out the viewer to see them approaching a Separatist blockade positioned around the planet. The 501st hadn’t been sent to Raxus yet, but she couldn’t help but analyze it, hearing Rex and Echo in her montral telling her how to best strategize an attack, storing the information away for late.
She’d told her troopers that she was going on a short Jedi mission off-world for a few days so they wouldn’t get worried when she didn’t show up for a while. It would also explain any stress or concern she felt.
She was certainly feeling stressed and concerned right now, but she focused on taking deep and even breaths, letting the Force calm her down and clear her mind.
The exit ramp to the shuttle lowered, letting in a gust of warm air that smelled of dust and people. Ahsoka immediately tensed and her breath hitched slightly as she picked up on the sound of droid feet.
“Move along please.” A droid ordered them.
Her fingers twitched for her lightsaber.
Padme noticed her shift and hooked her arm through hers, comforting and grounding. Ahsoka let out a breath as Padme tugged her forward.
“Identification please.” A droid asked another passenger.
Ahsoka did her best not to shy away as they walked past.
She noticed a droid that seemed to be headed right towards them. Her arms locked, preparing for a fight before a woman suddenly cut in front of the droid, asking it for directions. Another woman appeared at her and Padme’s back, gently pushing them in a different direction.
She was calm, with no malice in her signature. Ahsoka let them be led.
They approached the edge of the platform where another human woman with short hair that was graying on the ends was standing. She turned towards them, her signature lighting up with joy as she saw Padme.
“Hello, old friend.” She said to Padme.
“Ahsoka, I’d like you to meet Mina Bonteri.” Padme said, equally joyful. “She was my mentor when I was growing up on Naboo.”
Ahsoka looked the woman up and down. She had a calm exterior, her Force signature was warm, like a mother’s, with no dark or evil intentions at all.
“You’re a Separatist?” Ahsoka asked skeptically.
She didn’t seem like any Separatists that she’d ever met.
“Well, of course, my dear.” Bonteri chuckled. “What were you expecting?”
Something more like Dooku, or Admiral Trench. Cruel, maybe eats babies?
“Now come.” She told them. “I have a transport waiting.”
They flew out over the planet and Ahsoka observed the various flora and fauna the planet had to offer. The terrain changed from desert-like to forest in a few minutes as they approached a large estate nestled in the trees.
Ahsoka let her hood fall off of her montrals as they exited the ship.
“Lux,” Mina called out. “Please come down and help our guests with their luggage, please.”
Ahsoka watched as a human boy, hopped off of his perch and headed down the steps towards them. He had on nice clothing, clearly high-end. His signature was curious but also guarded. He had a sense of sadness or grief about him like he was missing someone.
As he approached, she realized that he was probably around her age.
He was slightly on edge, which put Ahsoka on edge. He was also a Separatist, another reason to be on edge.
“Please allow me.” the boy, Lux, said to Padme, taking her suitcase from her.
As Mina ushered Padme forward, he approached her now.
“May I?” He asked as she reached for her bag.
“I can handle it.” Ahsoka said, moving her bag out of his reach as she looked him up and down.
Definitely around her age. A teenage boy, oh what a joy.
Ahsoka followed the women into the house, keeping one eye on Lux as they were shown to their rooms. Ahsoka opened her bag and retrieved her lightsaber, hooking it to her belt with a sigh.
Across the bond, Rex nudged her questioningly. It was pulled taut at this distance, and her bond with Echo and Fives even more so now. It gave her the slightest feeling of discomfort.
She gave Rex a reassuring prod before leaving her room to follow after Padme.
They entered a large sitting room with windows that overlooked a large garden.
“How about a refreshment,” Mina offered. “You’ve both traveled quite some ways to get here.”
“No thank you.” Ahsoka politely declined, taking up a position by the door.
They were in enemy territory and while Padme was at ease, Ahsoka was not. If anything happened to the Senator not only would her Master have her head, but the Senate and the Jedi Council likely would too.
Padme looked out the window as the older woman carried their drinks over.
“He’s grown so much Mina.” Padme said.
Ahsoka extended her senses out and found that Lux was down in the garden.
“Time won’t stop, even if we are at war.” Mina responded, handing Padme her drink as sadness tinged her Force signature. “And I’m afraid these events are shaping his young life.”
Ahsoka’s brows furrowed at that as she approached the senators.
“With all due respect, as a Separatist, didn’t you create this war?” Ahsoka asked.
“Ahsoka!” Padme reprimanded sharply.
“It’s all right,” Mina told Padme before turning back to Ahsoka. “That’s a very polarized point of view, my dear. Would it surprise you to know that many of the people you call Separatists feel the same way about the Republic and the Jedi?”
Ahsoka frowned slightly at that.
“Lux’s father was like that.” Grief colored her signature now.
Ah, so Mina and Lux had lost someone.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Ahsoka told her quietly.
Mina nodded as she walked towards the window.
“A year ago next week, he was setting up a base on Aargonar when clones attacked. My husband fought bravely in self-defense, but was killed.”
Ahsoka winced slightly at that.
The troopers were effective, and ruthless when needed. They were soldiers, and Mina’s husband had been an enemy.
“Excuse me.” Ahsoka said. “I think I’ll get some air.”
She slipped out the door to the garden, breathing in the fresh air.
It was an interesting point that Mina had brought up about the Separatists believing the Republic had started the war. She’d been taught that the Separatists had started the war, they had convened on Geonosis to create it after all, and that was when the first battle of the war happened. How many Jedi had died during that battle? Had been innocently tricked into coming to help one of their own and had been ambushed by the Separatist army?
But why had they felt the need to leave the Republic in the first place to incite the bloodshed?
Ahsoka let out a long sigh as she started down the stairs towards the garden. She noted Lux seated about halfway down, swinging his leg over the side of the stairs. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she walked, her lightsaber a comforting weight at her side. For some reason though, she’d begun to feel slightly off-balanced, like she needed a counterweight on her other side.
She’d been drawn towards the masters practicing Jar’kai recently and had more than one dream of herself with another lightsaber in her hand. Her dreams had also been filled with a strange siren song like something was calling to her across the stars. She hadn’t had much time to contemplate those dreams though, with battles and briefings happening.
“You’re a Jedi aren’t you?” Lux’s voice startled her out of her thoughts.
“Yes.” She answered, quickly turning to look back up at him. “Why do you ask?”
“Before the war,” he began. “I was always told the Jedi were good.”
“And now?” She prompted.
He hopped off of his perch and began down the steps towards her.
“I don’t know anymore. There are a lot of terrible things happening. A lot of killing.”
Oh, you have no idea. She thought.
“And now my friends are saying the Jedi are to blame.”
Ahsoka scoffed at that.
Yes because Jedi are going in and burning down cities and certainly not the droids his government builds.
“I’m the first Jedi you’ve met, aren’t I.”
“Well, um… yes.” He admitted.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Ahsoka turned towards him.
“Look at me.” She told him. “I’m not so bad, am I?”
He looked skeptical as he took his time looking her up and down. And down and up again.
His signature calmed, tilted in color.
Ahsoka had been around people long enough to have picked up on the slight change they undergo when they find something attractive. She’d also learned the slight shift in intentions that happens when someone is checking someone else out.
“No, not bad at all.”
“Ugh,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “Well, it seems boys are the same whether they are Republic or Separatist.”
She turned away from him and began to walk away.
“Wait,” He called, jogging to catch up with her. “How many Separatists have you met.”
“What?” Ahsoka asked, glancing up at him as he fell into step beside her.
“Well I mean, you think we’re all the bad guys. But how many of us have you actually met? And droids don’t count.” he said the last but with a small laugh.
She twitched away from him at that but did her best to cover it up.
“Well, besides military officers… none, I guess?” She realized. “You and your mother are the first.”
“Well, look at me?” He echoed her words as he held us hand out. “Am I so bad?”
Ahsoka pursed her lips.
“I’m not quite sure yet.” She responded.
Lux laughed a little as he returned to walking at her side through the garden.
“So what is it like?” Lux asked. “Being a Jedi I mean.”
Ahsoka glanced at him before looking out at the garden.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Like, what is the Force like or learning how to fight with your light sword things?” he clarified.
Ahsoka huffed slightly at that.
“It’s a lightsaber.” She corrected, absently brushing her fingers over the one on her right and the empty spot on her left. “And it takes many years to learn how to wield one. We all learn the different forms of lightsaber combat over many years, and we aren’t ever really supposed to stop learning.”
Lux’s signature pulsed with curiosity as they turned a corner to more yellow-leaved trees.
“The Force is… hard to explain,” Ahsoka said. “Have you ever woken up early to watch the sunrise?” She asked him.
“Yes, I used to do that with my father,” Lux said.
At the mention of his father, grief curled around the edges of him.
“Well,” Ahsoka said gently, pulling him back. “It’s a little like those first rays of warmth you feel as the sun first peeks over the horizon.”
Lux fell silent as they continued their walk.
That night, Ahsoka did not sleep well. There was no present threat, none that she could sense, but there was just that anxiety of being in enemy territory with no backup. Any snatches of sleep she managed were plagued by nightmares of battles and droids.
So it’s one of those nights. She thought to herself.
The came and went, stretches of time when she couldn’t sleep because of nightmares or some other reason. Usually going and sleeping in the barracks would help with it, but that currently was not an option.
The next morning she was exhausted after two days of not sleeping well. Fives and Echo were also tired, likely just finishing their training day, which also didn’t help her at all.
The tea that Mina had was helpful to perk her up slightly, but she decided that keeping her mouth shut would be the best course of action so as to not offend anybody.
She’d just been dozing off on the couch next to Padme when all of a sudden a droid’s voice filled the room.
Ahsoka was up in a flash, her lightsaber ignited as she looked around, searching for the enemy, mapping out the best plans of escape for Padme, who they could trust.
“Ahsoka!” Padme whisper-shouted at her, her eyes wide in surprise.
Ahsoka continued to search the room. The voice was coming from the front door, they weren’t in the house yet. Then Mina’s voice responded to the droid.
“No there is nothing wrong here.”
Padme stood up quickly and tugged Ahsoka towards the corner of the room, gently placing her hand on Ahsoka’s to lower her lightsaber.
“It sounded like a weapon of some kind.” The droid said. “Are you sure there isn’t anyone in there with you Senator?”
“Just me, my aides, and my son.”
Ahsoka quickly shut off her lightsaber, trying to focus on slowing her breathing.
“It’s okay Ahsoka, it’s all okay,” Padme mumbled to her, trying to calm her down.
Echo and Fives both reached out to her in concern, the only ones currently awake and aware of her panic.
“Alright.” The droid said, its automated voice somehow sounding skeptical.
Ahsoka’s breathing didn’t even out until she heard the droid’s footsteps retreating. She placed her hand over her chest, feeling her heart pounding. She’d never had a reaction like this to droids in the field.
“Is everyone alright?” Ahsoka glanced up at Mina’s voice.
“Yes, I believe so?” Padme gave Ahsoka an imploring look.
Ahsoka swallowed and nodded.
“Droids have been delivering confidential packages and papers since the war began,” Mina explained, shuffling through the documents that she’d been given. “Extra security, I was not expecting a delivery today. But fear not, you have not been discovered.”
“I assume it was muscle memory.” Padme said, rubbing Ahsoka’s arm soothingly.
“That tends to happen when you constantly have droids shooting at your head,” Ahsoka said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Bonteri stopped, blinking at her in confusion.
“Droids shoot at you?”
Ahsoka couldn’t stop herself from scoffing.
“Of course they do, it’s what they are programmed to do, kill.”
“No, no I mean,” Mina waved her hand slightly. “You are fighting the droids?”
“Yes.” Ahsoka said, exhaustion giving her voice a slightly harsher sound than she meant it to. “I’m a commander, what else would I be doing?”
Mina blinked at her as Padme shifted uncomfortably. Suddenly realization seemed to dawn on the older woman, horror flashing across her signature.
“But you are a child. You are fighting on the front lines?” She demanded.
“I’m a Jedi,” Ahsoka responded. “We have to lead our men.”
“I-I’d heard the rumors but I didn’t think they would actually have children fighting.” Mina sputtered, looking to Padme.
“I am a perfectly capable Commander,” Ahsoka said, her voice taking on a hard edge.
Padme squeezed her arm slightly.
“I was not present for the vote to deploy the Jedi as military leaders. But if I was, I would have fought it.” Padme explained. “Unfortunately now that the war has been going on, its hard to change the structure of the GAR.”
Ahsoka looked at Padme.
“Who would lead in place of the Jedi?” She asked.
If she said that the clone commanders would take up the leadership roles, Ahsoka would be all for that. She was pretty sure that Cody and the other Marshall Commanders would end the war in two weeks if they were given full control of the GAR. If even standard troopers like Echo were such effective strategists, she could only imagine how efficient the commanders would be with nothing holding them back.
“The military officers that had been in place before the war.” Padme answered.
“The natborn officers?” Ahsoka scrunched her nose disdainfully at that.
She knew from her men that many natborn officers didn’t see the troopers as fully sentient and had no issue with high casualties. They also weren’t nearly as effective as she thought the clone leadership was.
“The Jedi wouldn’t step down,” Ahsoka said. “We wouldn’t leave our men with natborn leadership, they don’t see them as sentient.”
“I thought clones weren’t sentient.” They all looked up to see Lux standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Of course they are,” Ahsoka said. “They are people just like you and I are.”
“But weren’t they grown in a lab?” Lux asked, disdain coloring his voice.
Ahsoka sighed.
“Yes, they were. But many species over the years have turned to cloning to restore their populations, and no one thought less of those that had been cloned.” She pointed out.
“Yes but the clone troopers were designed to be soldiers, they follow orders and give no mercy,” Lux argued.
Her eyes narrowed at him, the exhaustion she was feeling making her want to rip him a new one. But she paused, took a breath to calm herself, and examined his and Mina’s signatures. Right, Lux’s father had been killed by troopers.
“Yes they are soldiers,” Ahsoka confirmed. “They were trained to be the best the galaxy had to offer. However, that doesn’t make them less sentient. They have names and they have likes and dislikes, they make jokes and they love each other. They would die for each other and the Republic because they are loyal, sometimes to their own detriment but that is why the Jedi would not want to be removed from command.” Ahsoka glanced at Padme. “We rely on them and they rely on us. You’ve seen how Anakin and Rex are I’m sure.”
Padme nodded at that, a small smile pulling at her lips.
“If there is one thing An- Knight Skywalker, loves to brag about, it’s his captain.”
Ahsoka turned back towards the Bonteris.
“Our Senate wants to buy more clone troopers instead of investing in the ones that are already here and fighting. They want to do this instead of actually trying to end the war and end the fighting, both to spare innocent lives and to spare their lives.” Ahsoka informed them. “But if the Separatists could show that they are interested in starting peace negotiations, it could stop lives from being lost on both sides. Lives like your husband’s and my men’s.”
Everyone was quiet when she finished talking.
Then a grin broke out across both Padme and Mina’s faces.
“There is the Jedi I remember,” Mina said. “I’d feared that the stories were true that about the Jedi being warmongers, but I am glad to see that peace is still what they fight for.”
Padme squeezed Ahsoka’s shoulder affectionately.
“I will raise the idea in the debate this evening, at the very least it will put it out there and start a discussion,” Mina told them.
“Thank you Mina.” Padme said.
The Separatist Parliament was different yet the same as the Republic Senate. It was smaller but still filled to the brim with competing voices. Ahsoka couldn’t help but notice how many more non-human species were here in the Separatist Parliament.
Ahsoka had shrunk away when Dooku’s holo image first popped up at the head of the congregation. How could any of them sit still with a Sith Count right there in front of them?
The parliament seemed to be arguing about the same thing as the Republic too, credit. More droids, funding for the war, shortages, etc.
“Do you know what usually ends wars?” Padme asked her quietly as they watched.
“The opposing side is wiped out, or one side usually runs out of resources,” Ahsoka answered, remembering this particular lesson from Rex.
“You asked earlier about why we argue about credits, credits are the most coveted resource. Credits by you better weapons, more troops, and they buy you information.” Padme told her. “Does that make sense?”
Ahsoka nodded slowly.
Despite her initial fear, she watched in amazement as Mina took the floor, proposing the peace negotiations, and was met with many cheers of agreement. Ahsoka watched as Dooku held a vote and felt a smile break across her face as the aye’s for negotiations won.
The Separatists had just voted for peace, something her own government had not been able to decide on. The people that she’d been convinced were the bad guys who wanted nothing but Republic blood. Perhaps her grandmaster’s aversion to politics was well founded if it was always this complex.
“Thank you for everything Mina.” Padme said as they stood in front of the shuttle that would take them back to Mandalore.
“Thank you for having the courage to come over here to fight for peace.” Mina said as she pulled Padme into a hug, then she turned toward Ahsoka. “And thank you young one for giving me hope for the next generation of peace.”
Ahsoka nodded and gave a small bow. Lux came to stand in front of her.
“It was nice to meet you, Ahsoka Tano.” He said, extending his hand out to her.
Ahsoka gave him a small smile and took his hand.
“It was nice to meet you as well.” She tilted her head slightly. “I hope these peace negotiations are successful, I’d hate to meet you on the battlefield. For your sake.” She gave him a sharp-toothed smirk.
He laughed nervously as she turned away.
The trip back to Coruscant was much less stressful than the trip leaving it. She watched the stars blur past, a far of song ringing in her montrals.
“When we get back, we need to go to Chancellor Palpatine and inform him of this development,” Padme told her.
“Won’t he be suspicious of how we got this information?” Ahsoka asked.
“Let me handle that.” Padme assured her.
The red of the Chancellor’s office always made Ahsoka slightly uneasy, it looked like human blood, something she’d come into more contact with than she ever would have imagined. The Chancellor himself had the appearance of a kind older man, his presence in the Force was unassuming, but for some reason, a predatory part of her always wanted to be on high alert around him. Due to her master being friends with the Chancellor, she had come into contact with him a lot more recently, she’d taken to brushing those feelings to the side. It was probably just residual stress from the war after all.
Ahsoka watched as Padme spoke with the Chancellor, convincing him that the information they were bringing was real.
“I will propose it in the debate tonight.” He told Padme. “Thank you my dear.”
“Thank you, Chancellor Palpatine.” Padme said with a small dip of her head.
Ahsoka followed the Senator out of the office, a small bounce to her step.
“Do you think this is really going to happen?” Ahsoka asked.
Padme smiled slightly.
“I think it could, it will at least open up that path to peace.”
Everything had been going well, the Senators had been receptive to the idea of negotiations. For a moment, just a moment, the Force seemed to lighten up around her. Then the floor shook as explosions rocked the city.
A Separatist attack.
The first emotion that Ahsoka felt was betrayal. After everything that she’d just witnessed, voting for peace instead of war, choosing to overcome their pride for the betterment of their people, showing her that they were so similar to the people of the Republic, only to throw it back in their face.
Her men were panicked, confused, and angry.
She was angry.
But then she saw the heartbreak in Padme’s eyes and she reconsidered.
She’d witnessed the sincerity of the Separatist Parliament firsthand, she’d felt it thrum through their Force signatures. This didn’t seem like deceit, this was more like sabotage. The light flickered as darkness surged and the taste of the dark side turned her mouth sour.
This was Dooku’s work.
Ahsoka took in a deep breath, letting her initial anger release into the Force and instead, disappointment filled its place. She ushered Padme out of the chamber as her handmaids appeared to surround her and escort her out of the building. Padme pulled her into the hover vehicle, holding tight to her hand as they flew towards the Senator District. Multiple fires were burning in the city below, and the power was out, leaving the district in darkness.
Coruscant Guard and GAR shuttles were dispersing out to help contain the fires. Based on what she was feeling through the bond, her men were being put to work right now.
A familiar vehicle was already parked at Padme’s apartment and Ahsoka could feel her master’s ire and concern even from here.
“Are you alright Padme?” Anakin immediately rushed up to them as soon as they entered the apartment.
The apartment was illuminated by various lanterns her master had set up, giving the space a soft glow.
“Yes, we’re fine.” Padme said with an exhausted sigh. “The Senate building wasn’t directly targeted.”
Her master’s relief was palpable in the Force.
“However, any chance of peace negotiations is ruined.” Padme continued. “The Senate voted to deregulate the banks, and more clones are going to be commissioned for the war.”
“I’m sorry your talks with Bonteri failed.” Her master said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“How did you know?” Ahsoka asked.
“We have eyes and ears everywhere, Ahsoka,” Anakin chastized, taking a step towards her. “That was dangerous and careless going to Raxus, not to mention illegal.”
Ahsoka lowered her head with a defeated sigh.
She should have known they wouldn’t be able to go undetected.
“You went too far this time.” He gave a meaningful look to her and to Padme.
“You would do the same.” Ahsoka argued. “You do the same all the time.”
“This was too much.” He admonished her.
“Maybe so,” Ahsoka admitted. “But I did realize something. The politics of this war are not as black and white as I once thought they were. Meeting with the Bonteris helped me realize that.”
Her master seemed to contemplate this as he glanced at Padme. She gave him a sad, but small smile.
“And you did tell Padme to teach me about politics.” Ahsoka continued. “I learned a lot from this exchange and I am grateful for that.”
Her master rubbed his flesh hand over his face with a sigh.
“That still doesn’t change the fact that this was very dangerous for both of you.” He said. “But at least something useful came out of it. But you are never doing something like that again.”
Ahsoka shared a look with Padme before nodding.
“Yes, Master.”
“Good,” He turned towards the door. “Now come on, we have a fire to put out.”
When she stumbled into the barracks a few hours later, she smelled of smoke and exhaustion. Most of the 501st were in similar situations as they also returned from helping with the explosions. Power had been restored an hour or two ago so thankfully they weren’t stumbling around the barracks in the dark.
She spotted Kix’s familiar hair and tattoo up ahead and let out a sigh of relief. She unceremoniously crashed headfirst onto his bunk next to him.
“Long time no see commander.” he said as a way of greeting.
Ahsoka waved her hand without lifting her head.
“You look about as rough as we do.” Jesse said, giving her an affectionate nudge in the bond.
“Smell about as nice as we do.” Hardcase added.
Ahsoka let out a groan that was muffled by Kix’s mattress.
Her muscles were just beginning to relax when a throat cleared behind her. She immediately tensed back up as Rex’s anger and concern became very clear across the bond.
“Is there something you’d like to tell us, commander?”
“Oooh he’s using his disapproving ori’vod voice.” Ahsoka heard Jesse whisper to Hardcase as she reluctantly sat up and turned to face Rex.
His hands were planted on his hips and his face was a mask of disapproval.
“About what exactly?” She asked, doing her best not to fidget under his glare.
“Oh, how about your little joy ride over to Raxus?” He snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.
The other’s froze at that, their shock clear.
“Oh uh, that.” Ahsoka rubbed her hands over her face. “Well, it sounds like you already know then.”
“Yes, I do know because Skywalker came over here, panicking because the child that he’s in charge of decided to kriff off to behind enemy lines with a Galactic Senator and no backup.” Rex snapped.
“You went were?” Kix demanded.
“How?” Hardcase asked.
Ahsoka sighed and settled down to tell them what had transpired.
By the end of the story, they were all quiet as they mulled over her words.
“They were going to open up peace negotiations?” Jesse asked, his brows furrowed. “But you think Dooku intentionally sabotaged them?”
“Yes, I do.” Ahsoka affirmed. “The Senators in that Parliament were sincere, they genuinely wanted this, they wanted an end to the bloodshed.”
“Well if they didn’t want bloodshed they shouldn’t have started a war.” Hardcase pointed out.
“I can now understand them wanting to have their own voice, I don’t believe violence is the answer for it.” Ahsoka said. “I guess it was just so interesting to meet people that I considered the enemy, only to find that they were normal people who had also lost something in this war.”
They hummed contemplatively at that.
“This Lux Bonteri sounds like trouble.” Rex finally conceded with a slightly disgruntled sigh.
“Don’t worry Rex, I can handle myself when it comes to people my age.” Ahsoka told him with a good-natured eye roll.
That night, she had a vivid dream of Ilium, the cave of kyber crystals. The song she’d been distantly hearing in the back of her mind was so much clearer now.
Her master hovered behind her the next day, seeming to keep an eye on her every move as if she’d slip off to Count Dooku’s house at any moment. So she felt his confusion and intrigue much more clearly when she chose to participate in a Jar’kai class in the training rooms.
“What was that about?” He asked as she returned her training sabers to the Jedi master leading the class with a bow.
“I need to meditate, I think,” Ahsoka said, her brows furrowed.
“I’d be happy to do some katas with you.” He offered.
They found an empty room and promptly started working through the different poses and fluid motions. Ahsoka let herself sink into the Force, feeling her master follow after her, the peace of the Force washing over her.
That siren song grew louder now, thrumming through her core like a homing beacon.
By the time they completed their katas, the answer was glaringly clear to her. They both bowed to each other as they rose back to the present.
“I sense that you’ve figured something out.” Her master said.
She gave him a broad smile.
“I need to take a trip to Ilium Skyguy.”
-
Jesse threw down his cards with a string of swears that he would have probably earned him a slap on the back of the head from Rex. Hardcase grinned at him evilly as Ridge and Chipper followed Jesse’s lead.
“Why do I even still play with you?” Jesse demanded.
“Because it keeps your head from getting too big.” his brother answered as he pulled the pile of winnings toward himself.
The pile contained a handful of credits, two large candy bars, three small bottles of alcohol, and a necklace someone had probably found on the ground. Most of the troopers collected odds or any shiny objects they found to barter in sabacc. They didn’t have much in the way of credits or anything valuable after all, and for them, it was more about bragging rights than anything else. So to have a pile of what others would call junk, was a source of pride for the troopers.
It was always exciting when they got to play against their brothers in other battalions because it would change up the odds and ends they used to barter. Jesse had won a belt buckle from the 41st that they’d taken off of a bounty hunter trying to take out their Jedi Commander Offee. From what he understood, there wasn’t much of the bounty hunter by the time Commander Gree was done with him.
Ahsoka had dumped numerous carnivore teeth and bones into the sabacc circles, General Kenobi had put many different types of tea out (which Jesse didn’t particularly enjoy but Hardcase loved them), General Windu had been the source of many intricate beaded bracelets, Commander Kestis was responsible for certain spoons and even a shot glass or two.
Jesse thought that the Jedi liked their way of playing more than the traditional way. He’d once walked past a group of generals playing during downtime and had seen a truly bizarre assortment of winnings. He guessed that people who traveled all around the galaxy helping people would end up collecting an assortment of diverse items.
“We need the commander here to keep you in check,” Ridge grumbled.
“Too bad, she’s off on her Jedi Force osik thing.” Hardcase said.
“I think you need to go play some of the CCs in sabacc, I hear that Wolffe is terrifyingly good,” Jesse told his brother.
“Yeah who do you think taught Ahsoka.” Hardcase laughed. “And I happily would if they invited me. I’m sure it would be a better game than with you lot.”
Jesse gave a sharp tug on Hardcase’s bond, making the Heavy class yelp in pain and rub his head. Ridge and Chipper looked between them in confusion and Jesse coughed, reaching out to shuffle the cards.
At that moment, Kix entered the barracks, stripping off his med bay garb and settling down on the bunk next to Jesse.
“I’d ask who’s winning but I think the answer is obvious.” The medic said as he yawned.
“Now that’s hurtful.” Ridge said as Jesse sent a brain jab Kix’s way.
“How’s our newest CMO doing?” Hardcase asked as Jesse dealt the cards out.
“Fine.” Kix answered. “By the time we deploy again, I’ll be all settled in and ready.”
Jesse thought about calling out a misdeal when he saw his cards. These were osik.
“Who dealt this baka.” He grumbled.
“You did di’kut.” Chipper informed him.
At least Hardcase looked displeased too. Or Jesse thought he looked displeased, he couldn’t tell very well. He was also expertly masking his emotions from the bond. Sneaky bastard.
“Well on the bright side, after a campaign you and Jesse can do reports together, you being all high and mighty officers and all.” Hardcase pointed out as they started placing cards down.
“I’ll be sure to sit on your bunk while I do them.” Kix answered. “If I know no peace, neither will you.”
Rex’s bond in Jesse’s mind flared and he looked up moments before his captain strode into the barracks. His tether was bright, excited, happy, and proud. Jesse tugged questioningly as Rex gathered a few spare blacks and his grays into a small bag. He shared a questioning look with Kix and Hardcase.
“What are you all smiley about?” Hardcase finally ventured to ask.
Rex secured his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“I’ll be gone for a few days, but I’ll be back before we deploy again.” He informed them as he turned around. “Any issues will go through Appo until I get back, remember that Commander Tano won’t be joining back with us until we are off Coruscant.”
Rex began to head towards the door.
“Where the kriff are you going?” Jesse asked.
Rex paused at the door, pride brightening up his tether in Jesse’s mind even more as he turned to look at them, a smile stretching across his face.
“Cody and I have a graduation on Kamino to attend.”
Notes:
This episode was always a little weird to me but also very important for Ahsoka so I figured I'd add it in with my own lil flare! and NO AHSOKA DOES NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON LUX IN THIS I ACTUALLY DISLIKE THAT CHILD SO MUCH I literally love how sassy she is with him like 'boy you need to back tf up please' but I also thought that I'd dive a lil more into how meeting him would help change her views on the Separatists.
I am going to try to start posting at least two chaps a month, I think that's a reasonable and achievable commitment... we shall see! HA LOOK WHO POSTED ON A MONDAY AGAIN BACK TO MY ROOTS
You can find more content for this fic on my Tumblr: @saggitary <- I posted a full list of all the mando'a I've used in this fic there -> https://www.tumblr.com/saggitary/752907356913942528/words?source=share
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments feed my dark soul! <3
Chapter 19: Of Life and Ice Cream
Summary:
Some twins are back and Ahsoka is 15 in the middle of a war
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It’s alright to enjoy yourself, even if the world feels wrong, it is still okay to find joy
-
It had been two and a half months since the 501st had shipped out again. Two months since Ahsoka had returned brandishing a new lightsaber with excitement. A week since he’d last seen Cody. Four days since the last battle. Two hours since someone caused unnecessary trouble or chaos.
Rex let out a long sigh as he lifted his third cup of caf to his lips.
He had a pile of reports and datapads in front of him that he was working through, trying to get them done during this cycle so he wouldn’t be burdened with them afterward.
Ahsoka was currently training with her master, practicing with her new shoto blade to cover her flank that she often left open. In just two months her skill with the second blade had improved leaps and bounds, aided by both Skywalker and Kenobi who apparently had a certain proficiency for dual blades.
Based on the jeering and competitive burst he was feeling from Hardcase, Jesse, and Kix, he knew that they were currently on the sparring mats.
Fives and Echo… they were asleep.
Based on reports and the bond, he knew that they’d just finished up their second ARC mission.
Immediately after their graduation, they’d been deployed on back-to-back missions, the GAR in desperate need of ARC troopers. For once, the day on Kamino had been sunny, the waves calm. The graduation was by no means exciting or grand. It was efficient and to the point just as things always were on Kamino.
It hadn’t dampened Rex’s pride toward his two younger brothers. Seeing them standing up there with their new armor that they’d already painted with 501st blue, their shoulders pulled back and heads high, the tethers in his mind positively glowing, that had been the highlight of Rex’s month. Maybe his year. Definitely one of the top moments of his short and osikla life.
Even Cody had been smiling a little.
“Still happy you sent them off with me?” Rex had asked his ori’vod.
“Yes, I am well aware of how nightmarish vode can be when they aren’t being competent,” Cody responded with a knowing look. “But you did good Rex ole’ boy. You taught them well.”
Hardcase, Jesse, and Kix had all been disappointed that they weren’t able to see their vod’ika after their graduation, but they understood the need for ARC troopers.
“That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.” Hardcase had grumbled when Rex had returned. “I mean I showed those two how to use a bunch of the weapons they’ll get to use on ARC missions.”
“And I taught them better sparring techniques,” Jesse added.
Rex had felt Kix jab them both in the brain.
“You can’t take credit for all of their glory.” The medic had chided.
“I can try.” Hardcase had challenged.
Getting Ahsoka back with a shiny new toy had kept them all busy for a little while but they still all missed Echo and Fives. The bond wasn’t settled with them stretched apart, and it wouldn’t feel whole until they were all back together again.
What they all didn’t know, was that Fives and Echo were currently on their way back to the 501st.
Having finished up their two missions they had earned a small break, well break by GAR standards. Really it meant that they rejoined their battalion until a new mission popped up.
Another reason he was trying to get all his reports done. He wanted to be able to relax with his aliit when they all arrived rather than working on reports.
Just as he finished his third cup of caf, Ahsoka’s tether lit up with proximity as she walked into the office that he, Skywalker, and Ahsoka shared. Appo got his own kriffing office on the Dominator II because he was the commanding officer on that ship. Yes, he did share when Ahsoka or Skywalker were with him but often they were alongside Rex.
His commander pulled one of the chairs next to Rex without lifting her hands and sank down into it with a groan.
He eyed her as she rolled her shoulders with a small wince.
“An’jate?” He asked.
“Yes, just tired from training.” She answered. “I think my master is trying to make my arms fall off.”
“If you hadn’t been doing that weight training they might have.” Rex told her.
She hummed in agreement.
Rex examined her out of the corner of his eye.
In the past few months, she’d been on a growth surge. Sure she’d grown a little since she’d been dropped on them on Christophsis, but this was the first real growth spurt he’d seen her undergo. Her montrals had lengthened up from slightly nubby points to proper horns while also thickening up around the crown and sides of her face. Her lekku had lengthened down toward her chest, but they still retained a slightly stiffer shape. The markings on her face had also broadened out and were ever so slowly lengthening around her eyes and down her cheeks.
Her eyes had slowly crept up, nearly level with his shoulders now. Her limbs had lengthened, making her look a little gangly but with all the physical training she did, Ahsoka quickly adapted to any physical changes.
Rex was just the slightest bit miffed by this. When he and his brothers hit their puberty years, it had been a nightmare learning how to fight and move with limbs that seemed to grow overnight. He was pretty sure that he’d grown a foot in just under a year, the constant aches in his limbs and joints had made him consider jumping into the ocean.
Ahsoka stretched her arms up over her head with a sigh.
“Any word from Echo and Fives?” She asked him.
“You have access to the same reports I do commander.” He reminded her as he scribbled on his datapad nonchalantly.
She groaned, poking at his brain in annoyance.
“You know how many of those reports I get? It would take me days to read through them all, let alone find one specific report.”
Rex hummed noncommittal.
“I thought we’d have gotten to see them by now.” Ahsoka continued as she leaned back in the chair, using her toes to teeter it back slightly. “I know that they have important skills but still, I miss them.”
“I miss ‘em too little one,” Rex said.
“You’re lucky because you got to go to their graduation.” Ahsoka said, motioning towards the newest holo taped up to the wall.
There was an assortment of holos that they’d printed out since the war began, some of landscapes, most others of people. Rex’s particular swatch on the wall held holos of his brothers mainly but there were some of her and Skywalker sprinkled in there too. His picture that he’d taken with Cody and the twins on their graduation day was the newest addition.
“Not my fault you were off on a Jedi mission.” Rex told her, nudging her through the bond. “You could have come with.”
Ahsoka huffed another long sigh, making her exasperation clear across the bond.
“It can be hard, to ignore the call of your kyber crystal,” Ahsoka admitted after a moment. “It’s a little like when you have a song stuck in your head and it keeps repeating itself and repeating itself.”
Rex had quickly become very familiar with the feeling, all of them had. He didn’t think there was a moment when Hardcase didn’t have some sort of tune playing in the background, unconsciously subjecting them all to it through the bond.
“That song keeps getting louder and more persistent and you know the only way to make it stop is to listen to the song, or go find your kyber crystal.” Ahsoka concluded. “The song of our kyber crystals is just as much a way for us to find them, as it is a way for them to find us.”
Rex cocked his head and paused at that.
“What do you mean the crystal will find you?” He asked.
Ahsoka’s gaze drifted off to a corner of the room.
“The Force works in mysterious ways, sa’daar.” Ahsoka said softly.
A chill raced up Rex’s spine at her words. He felt deeply unsettled by that notion and did his best to shake it off as he turned back to his reports.
A few hours and another full cup of caf later, Rex’s reports were finished, allowing him time to relax. Just in time too it seemed, the twins’ shuttle was set to arrive in the next rotation.
Trying to get his aliit to the hangar at the same time without raising suspicions turned out to be a lot more difficult than it should be. Jesse had questioned him why he needed them specifically in the hangar at that specific time of the day cycle on that particular rotation. Hardcase had also been oddly suspicious of his intentions, only growing more so at Rex’s vague answers.
Ahsoka had to be bribed with the bantha jerky Bly had given to Rex, which he usually kept hidden from his brothers because it was really kriffing good.
Kix had shown up on time with a cup of caf and no questions asked. Kix was officially Rex’s favorite out of their group.
Jesse and Hardcase entered cautiously, looking all around as if they thought something was going to jump out and eat them. Kix rolled his eyes at them with a huff as he took another sip of his caf. Rex wasn’t sure he wanted to know what cup that was at this point in the day cycle.
Ahsoka bounded in like a bright ball of energy just as an alert rang through the hangar of an approaching shuttle.
“What’s got your undies all in a bundle?” She asked Jesse and Hardcase, who were still tense.
“That’s what I’d like to ask Rex actually,” Jesse said, turning to glare suspiciously at him.
Rex raised an eyebrow at his little brother.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been all cagey for days now.” Hardcase pointed out. “Creeping around like you’re hiding something.”
“You wanted us here at this time and place and were concerningly vague with answers.” Jesse continued. “If we didn’t know any better, I’d say you were planning something.”
“Revenge maybe?” Hardcase prompted, crossing his arms over his chest.
Ahsoka snorted.
“I think any revenge would be warranted after that stunt you pulled with the glitter bombs and flamethrowers.” She pointed out.
“I’m still finding glitter in places glitter shouldn’t be,” Kix grumbled.
Rex didn’t know if he should groan or laugh triumphantly. The glitter bomb flamethrower incident was permanently seared into his mind, yet he hadn’t been able to deduce for sure who had been behind it. Troopers had been tight-lipped, not giving in to his bribes or interrogation tactics. If it wasn’t so irritating he might have been proud.
Multiple troopers had acted suspicious enough to make him question if the usual suspects were behind it. Now that he had a confession, he was going to make his younger brothers wish that it was Alpha-17 giving out the punishment and not him.
Hardcase and Jesse blanched as he projected that particular notion across the bond.
“No, that isn’t why I called you all here today.” Although this had been a wonderful bonus. “I have a much better surprise than that.”
Behind him, the transport shuttle docked, depressurizers hissing as the ramp slowly dropped open.
Ahsoka’s head snapped towards the shuttle as Rex felt the bond flare with proximity. She was already rapidly making her way towards the ship as the others finally clued in on the change.
His brothers looked at him with wide eyes and he couldn’t help but give a self-satisfied smile at their expressions.
They all turned to make their way toward the ship as two familiar figures began their descent down the ramp. When they reached the bottom, Ahsoka lunged the last few feet to reach them, throwing her arms around both of their necks and making them stumble back a few steps.
Echo and Fives both laughed as they wrapped their arms around Ahsoka, the bond flaring with warmth that even Rex could feel.
They set her down just as the rest of them reached the twins.
“Well, aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes!” Hardcase laughed.
“I was beginning to think you’d never come back,” Jesse added as he clapped Fives on the shoulder.
“Oh come on, we knew we needed to see your ugly mug at least one more time before we died.” Fives snarked back.
Jesse cuffed him on the back of his head before pulling both ARC troopers into a hug. Hardcase somehow managed to get his arms around all of them enough to haul them slightly off the floor
“Awe you really did miss us.” Echo cooed as Hardcase dropped them.
“Only in our moments of true weakness.” The heavy class responded.
“Good to see you both in one piece,” Kix said as he tugged them into a hug.
“I could say the same about all of you.” Fives pointed out.
Rex accepted a hug from them both before they stepped back to examine each other.
He watched as Echo’s gaze snagged on a new scar cutting a line down Hardcase’s neck, he noted a bruise spanning across Fives’ cheek, likely from their mission.
Both Echo and Fives’ shoulders were pulled back slightly, their stances strong and their eyes had a new sharpness to them. They seemed to have grown comfortable in their skins and their new status since their graduation, Rex figured that back-to-back ARC missions did a good job of banishing any lingering doubts they might have had about their abilities.
Fives squinted at Ahsoka.
“Commander you look… taller.”
“Maker Fives she looks like she grew half a foot.” Echo rolled his eyes. “What have they been feeding you?”
“The souls of my enemies.” She responded with a sharp-toothed grin.
“Kriff we were gone a few months and you are starting to actually look like a threat.” Fives said.
Ahsoka squawked indignantly at that, making Fives wince as she likely sent a sharp jab his way.
“Kamas and pauldrons look good on you,” Jesse said as he circled around the twins to examine them. “Now I might have to actually take you seriously.”
Now it was Fives and Echo’s turn to make noises of indignation.
“Oh please, I could easily kick you shebs.” Fives challenged.
“Awe look you got all the new toys.” Hardcase said as he poked at what looked like a modified DC-17 at Echo’s hip. “ARCs get all the kriffing good osik.”
“If you’re nice to me maybe I’ll let you play with it.” Echo told him.
Hardcase sucked his teeth.
“That is a steep price vod’ika.”
Rex couldn’t help but chuckle at their antics. Despite being away for months, it seemed so easy to slip back into old habits.
“Alright, I’m starving so I say we go find something to eat,” Fives said, slinging an arm around Jesse’s shoulders. “And I want to hear all about what’s been happening around here while we were gone.”
“I guess we have one or two stories to tell,” Ahsoka said, tapping her finger to her chin.
“We certainly felt quite a bit of excitement.” Echo told her as they began to walk out of the hangar and toward the mess hall.
Jesse hummed as he made a show of thinking it over.
“I guess the gundark story might be worth mentioning.” He said.
“Or how about the time we juiced Jesse up on Bond energy and he tried to rip a blast door out of the wall.” Kix huffed as he affectionately smacked Jesse on the side of the head.
“Or Ahsoka sneaking off to the Separatist system with her only backup as Senator Amidala,” Hardcase added.
“What?” Fives and Echo cried in unison.
Ahsoka made a ‘yikes’ expression at that, her shoulders pulling up towards her cheeks slightly.
“You snuck into a Separatist system? Without any backup!” Echo demanded.
She shot Hardcase a baleful look before lunging at his shoulders.
“Thanks for throwing me under the speeder.” She growled at him, snapping her elongated canines right at his ear threateningly.
Hardcase shrugged, completely unbothered by the new weight on his back.
“I want to hear about ARC training,” Kix said. “A few times it felt like you were dying.”
“I think I did die a few times.” Fives offered.
“But it was good, grueling but in a good way.” Echo added as Ahsoka hopped from Hardcase’s back to his, barely making him sway. “It definitely gave me a new appreciation for life.”
Rex chuckled at that.
“That must mean they took it easy on you.” He said. “Back when I was in ARC training-”
“Rex, ori’vod, that was like years ago.” Fives said.
“Years?” Rex exclaimed. “At best it was a year ago.”
Fives jabbed at their tether pointedly.
“My point is proven Mr. Generation One.”
Rex responded with a sharp jab and a slap on the back of his head.
“Keep on this road and I’ll teach you what they taught me in ARC training.” Rex threatened.
He knew for a fact that nothing could have been as bad as ARC training under Alpha-17. Nothing. Not even getting captured and tortured by Ventress or Dooku. Although, now that Rex thought about it, that was likely the point.
On their way to the mess, multiple troopers stopped to congratulate Echo and Fives, each comment making both young ARCs preen slightly and subsequently earning good-natured jabs and jeers from everyone else through the bond.
By the time they’d all grabbed their food and settled down around a table, Hardcase was halfway through recounting the story of Ahsoka wielding a Z-6. His little commander slid off Echo’s back, even though the ARC protested the loss of contact, and plopped down between Rex and Kix. Throughout the meal, she engaged both Echo and Fives in a rather ruthless-sounding game of footsies.
The look on the Domino ARCs’ faces when Ahsoka brandished her new lightsaber out to them had been priceless.
Rex and his aliit spent the rest of the day cycle swapping stories around, all of their voices growing rough from the constant talking and shouting. His link in the bond appeared both battered and healed from the constant trading of jabs but also the close proximity of everyone.
It was relatively simple to move the conversation from the mess into the barracks. A few other Torrent members jumped into the circle to share their own stories with the ARCs, adding to the camaraderie.
Eventually, everyone else retired to their bunk areas, once again leaving Rex and his aliit to themselves.
Ahsoka had once asked him if the other troopers would think it was odd that she spent so much time with their group. He’d reminded her that it was fairly common for groups of troopers, be them squads, batchmates, or just a random assortment of brothers, to form into tight-knit circles. It had been made by Rex and his aliit that Ahsoka was one of their vod, resulting in most other troopers not giving their strange group a second thought.
“I will say that I did miss my bunk a little while on Kamino.” Fives said as he sprawled out on his mattress.
“They are the same mattresses as on Kamino.” Jesse pointed out.
“Maybe, but this one is just, more comfortable for some reason.” Fives sighed before he glanced at Rex and Kix’s beds. “Hey, where did you get those blankets?”
At the foot of both of their bunks (and now many throughout the barracks) was a multicolored and soft blanket.
Ahsoka suddenly perked up with a bright smile.
“Oh oh oh right!” She smiled broadly. “Remember how you all were complaining that you all only really had your blacks, armor, and grays?”
“I vaguely remember that conversation.” Fives said.
“You all wanted more clothes for going out to 79’s.” Echo said with a huff.
“Like you weren’t also wanting the same thing.” Jesse pointed out.
Echo threw his pillow at the corporal.
“Anyways,” Ahsoka cut back in. “Well I mentioned it to a few of the crechemates and Bariss and they agreed that their troopers also wanted some variety. So we came up with a little proposal for the council about donations.”
Echo and Fives both sat up to look at her, interest sparking in their eyes.
“As you know, Jedi often go on undercover missions and whatnot that require civilian clothing. Some Jedi also prefer to not wear traditional robes all the time. The main source of our civilian clothing comes from donations, stuff that people would otherwise give away.” Ahsoka explained. “Well, we asked if we could divert some of those clothing donations to the troops, seeing as the order receives so many donations that a lot of the time we end up giving it to shelters for homeless sentients.”
She pointed to multiple large bins near the wall of the barracks.
“Those bins we picked up before leaving Coruscant, they’ve already been picked over by the others but you both are more than welcome to look through them. We should be getting some new bins on the next supply shipment.”
Fives and Echo looked at Ahsoka with awe.
“You went out of your way to find a way for us to get more clothes?” Echo asked.
Ahsoka shrugged with a smile.
“You all deserve it.” She said. “Besides, it was relatively easy to do and is helpful to the Order because it gets some stuff out of the way. Helps keep us more organized. "
Fives rolled off of his top bunk and lifted Ahsoka into a hug.
“You are a Maker-sent blessing ‘Soka!” She laughed as he spun her around.
“Alright alright set her down,” Kix said as he hauled his mattress onto the floor. “I’m tired and want sleep.”
The others scrambled to lay their mattresses and blankets down, making a nest-like sleeping area on the floor. Echo and Fives ended up in the middle with Hardcase in between them, Rex on Fives’ side, and Kix on Echo’s side. Although he couldn’t see her, Rex was pretty sure Ahsoka was tucked in between Jesse and Kix.
There was some grumbling, a few more bond-related jabs, and laughs sent around before their group settled down, slowly but surely drifting off to sleep. Fives kept occasionally twitching against his side, the only other one still awake in the group.
“Rex,” Fives quietly said.
“Hm.” Rex hummed, staring up at the ceiling.
“Did you…” Fives shifted slightly. “Did you think, we’d make good ARC troopers?”
Rex sent a questioning nudge his way through the bond.
“You didn’t just pick us for what we did on Kamino?” Fives elaborated quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “You really thought we had what it took?”
Rex turned his head slightly so he could look at Fives. The young ARC trooper was looking at the bunks, hands fidgeting nervously.
“It wasn’t just Kamino,” Rex told him, Fives’ eyes cutting to meet his. “I’ve seen you both go from Shiny to full-fledged troopers. I know about your batch’s record on Kamino, I checked it after bringing you both back with me. I’ve watched you through countless battles, how you each handled difficult situations and thought outside the box.”
Fives’ hands stopped fidgeting on his stomach.
“I’d been contemplating it before we got to Kamino. Seeing how you both handled yourselves and the cadets, it solidified the choice in my head.” Rex shifted his shoulder slightly, jostling his vod’ika’s head a little. “You two were born to ARC troopers. I know we clones know shab’an about fate or the universe, but something tells me you two were meant to be ARCs. I’m just happy I got to see it happen.”
Even in the darkness of the barracks, Rex could make out Fives’ wide eyes. He gave Fives an affectionate flick through the bond, letting his sincerity bleed across too for good measure. Fives blinked rapidly, sucking in a deep breath.
Rex wrapped his arm around Fives’ neck with a quiet chuckle.
“Make you feel better vod’ika?”
“Yeah.” Fives mumbled before settling against Rex a little more.
Soon enough, he drifted off to sleep too.
Rex let the quiet of the barracks fill his mind. His breathing was coming easier than it had in months like a strain had been removed from his lungs. The bond hummed contently, finally settled after months of unrest. Rex hadn’t noticed the physical and mental strain that had been placed on them by being separated, not until it was gone.
He felt truly at peace now, his aliit curled up by his side and all here.
That thought in his head slowly but surely lulled him into the best sleep he’d had in a long time.
-
Ahsoka Tano turned 15 galactic standard years old on the battlefield. They’d been fighting nonstop for days now, each sunrise and sunset seeming to blur together.
She hadn’t even known it was her life day because she kept all non-battle-oriented communications silenced. She hadn’t checked her com until she’d finally stumbled into her hastily erected tent, her armor and skin coated in dust and human blood after spending the last two hours in the med tent with Kix helping calm down injured troopers.
Ahsoka sank down onto her cot, her legs giving out halfway down from exhaustion. Her arms were sore from days of use, her throat raw from shouting orders and inhaling blaster smoke, and her bicep was wrapped in a bandage where she’d cut it while slicing through droids. She hadn’t even felt the sting of the gash until an hour later.
Some inkling had made her pick her personal com up instead of slumping over into sleep. There were dozens of messages, from her crechemates, some of her course masters, Master Plo, Padme, and from her grandmaster. She blinked in surprise, checking the galactic date. Yes, today had been her life day.
Ahsoka was glad that she hadn’t known, it would have made it harder. It would have made it harder to block out the pain and fear from those around her, made it harder to make tougher decisions that resulted in casualties, it would have haunted her as she’d tried to help that shiny that was attempting to hold his guts in his body from where shrapnel had shattered is armor and cut across his abdomen. His blood was splashed across her chest plate.
She set her com down before stripping her armor off, dragging her bag with sleeping robes toward her with a flick of her hand.
Kix would be relieved from duty soon so he could sleep, his exhaustion was weighing heavily at the back of her mind, Hardcase was sleeping, Jesse had just woken back up to begin his shift out on the front, and Rex and the Twins were currently out on the field.
The process of checking on them all through the bond acted as a grounding technique, tethering her back to this reality even though she felt like floating away from it.
The ‘happy life day’ messages were left unanswered as she flopped sideways on her cot, curling herself into a small ball before she slipped into a dreamless sleep.
-
“Jesse!” Rex snapped. “Language.”
Ahsoka gave a long suffering sigh as the others groaned.
They were all perched around as Kix changed the dressing on a blaster bolt wound Jesse had received near the end of the battle. The campaign hadn’t been too bad as far as casualties went, but Jesse had told Kix to save the bacta for the brothers that really needed it.
Thankfully they were on their way back to Coruscant for a much-needed break, meaning that he could rest and be fully healed by the time they shipped back out in a week.
“For kriffs sake Rex she’s heard it all before,” Hardcase said. “And she’s older than we are.”
“No, she’s not,” Kix said as he sharply tightened Jesse’s bandage, causing another string of curses. “She’s like seven.”
“Well, actually she’s like fourteen.” Echo pointed out. “So technically she is older than us.”
Ahsoka sat back in her chair, swinging her leg under her slowly.
“Actually,” She spoke up. “I just turned fifteen last week.”
All of their eyes snapped to her.
“What?” Jesse asked sharply.
“Aren’t… decanting?” Fives looked for the proper word.
“Life days.” Hardcase offered.
“Right, thanks.” Fives said. “Aren’t life days kind of important to natborns?”
Ahsoka fidgeted with her gloves, focusing her attention on her hands as she shrugged.
“They can be. I mean many people in the Order celebrate.”
Rex tugged on their bond questioningly.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” He asked, arms crossed over his chest with an imploring look on his face.
Once again Ahsoka shrugged.
“We were in the middle of a campaign. Didn’t seem like a good time.”
Not with her troopers dying around her.
Kix and Echo both gently tugged at her bond and Hardcase nudged their bond comfortingly.
“Even so, you could have told us,” Echo told her.
Ahsoka sighed before looking back up at the group.
“To be honest, it isn’t really my life day.” She admitted, turning her eyes back down to her lap. “I don’t know when my life day is. I was too young to remember it before…”
The energy in the room shifted slightly as they all seemed to inch closer to her. She hadn’t told them about her early start to life, she was pretty sure that she’d only ever mentioned that Plo had been the one to bring her to the temple.
None of them spoke, likely giving her time to collect her thoughts, all of them were gently projecting warmth across the bond.
Ahsoka brought her hands up to scrub her face with a huff.
“When I was young, very young, my village discovered that I was Force-sensitive. From what I can piece together, I was from a rather remote village on Shili, so they didn’t have much knowledge of Jedi or anything like that.” She explained. “The transmission that they sent to the Jedi was intercepted by a bounty hunter or something similar. He arrived before a master did and posed as a Jedi.”
The others were silent now, concern coloring all of their Force signatures.
“I could tell that he wasn’t to be trusted, but I was so young and most of the elders in my village couldn’t understand my hesitation but they sent me with that bounty hunter.” most of this story had been told to her by Plo, she only had a few flashes of images and emotions that she could remember from this time. “Master Plo was able to track the bounty hunter down and got me out of there thankfully.”
Her aliit shifted around her.
“My life day,” she used her fingers to make air quotes. “Is actually the day that I was brought to the temple, which is usually what happens with younglings that were in similar situations like me.” Ahsoka raised her gaze up to the ceiling. “I think I was born in the summer. I remember the hot sun and the smell of dry grass. At times I think I can remember the sound of my mother’s laugh, or my father’s markings, but when I try to focus too hard on it, they slip away.”
A flicker of movement and then someone’s hand clasping both her hands between theirs. She looked down to see Fives kneeling in front of her chair.
“That’s a pretty osikla way to start life.” He said bluntly, letting his sincerity flick across the bond.
The others protested but Ahsoka just laughed, the melancholy feelings receding.
“Yeah, I guess it was.” She responded breathlessly.
“Well I think osikla starts to life are a rather common occurrence in this group,” Jesse said, matter-of-factly.
“I started my life off in a leaking tube.” Hardcase lamented. “My commander on Kamino told me that. And he said that it made me hyperactive.”
Ahsoka doubled over with laughter as the others gawfed and argued.
“Well,” Echo announced loudly over the din. “I vote that we do something for the commander’s life day. A belated celebration.”
There were murmurs of ascent as Ahsoka looked around wide-eyed.
“There really is no need for that-”
“Oh please commander, from what I understand, you only turn fifteen years old once.” Jesse pointed out. “Why not celebrate.”
“We are on shore leave after all.” Kix pointed out.
“If it’ll make you feel better, we can tie in your life day with officially celebrating our Domino di’kuts becoming ARCs.” Hardcase added.
There were grumbles of indignation from said domino di’kuts but Ahsoka was already nodding.
“I think I’d like that.”
“It’s settled then.” Jesse clapped. “We’re taking the commander to the bar!”
“Wait-”
It took some intense back-and-forth debating, mostly Rex attempting to explain why Ahsoka should not step within two hundred feet of 79’s, and everyone else chipping his argument down further and further. Finally, Rex threw his hands up in the air.
“Fine, you know what fine.” He groaned. “But one of you has to ask her master, General Skywalker if you can take his student to a bar.”
Ahsoka laughed as the others sobered slightly at this notion.
“Surely when we explain to him what we are celebrating, he will agree.” Hardcase reasoned.
“Besides she doesn’t have to get drunk.” Echo pointed out. “Or even have a drink if she doesn’t want to.”
“Oh, I want to.” Ahsoka piped up, making Rex and Kix groan.
“Ok then it’s settled, we’ll all go ask the general.” Fives said.
Rex held his hands up.
“You mean, you all will go ask the general.”
“Or I just could,” Ahsoka said.
Rex shot her a suspicious look, eyes narrowed as he searched her face.
“You’ll tell him exactly where you plan on going to celebrate and what you might do there.” He asked a challenge in his voice.
Ahsoka bared her fangs in a grin.
“Yes, I will.”
Rex did not specify when she had to ask her master this question. When or where. So Ahsoka picked the most opportune time to ask her master’s permission for anything. Right after he left to go do ‘senate duty’, aka hang out with Padme. She gave it enough time for him to reach the Senate building and Padme’s office and then a few more minutes before she commed him.
It took a few moments for him to answer and Ahsoka was smiling broadly. He currently had their bond blocked off, that was a good sign.
“What is it Snips?” He sounded slightly exasperated and slightly out of breath.
“Hey, Skyguy would it be ok if I went out with Rex and some of Torrent to 79’s tonight? They want to celebrate my life day and Fives and Echo’s ARC promotion.”
“You’re life day?” Anakin asked.
“Yes, it was last week during the campaign.”
Ahsoka was pretty sure her master swore quietly. She also thought that she could hear another person breathing in the background of the call. They’d have to be pretty close for the com to pick up on it.
“Will Rex be there?” He asked after a moment.
“Yes.” She decided to not point out that she mentioned that literally three seconds ago.
“Then sure. Please don’t get caught doing something illegal.”
“Thanks, master!” He’d already hung up before she finished her sentence.
It would never cease to amaze her how agreeable people could be when they really wanted to be doing someone something else.
-
Ahsoka arrived at the barracks at 1700 hours sharply. She’d forgone Jedi robes for one of the outfits Padme had gotten for her, a pretty blue blouse that complemented her skin nicely along and left her shoulders and mid-drift bare. Around her neck, she wore her usual gold necklace but also a new one that had a white crystal pendant attached to it. She had a black skirt that ended just above her knee with a small slit on her right leg to allow for movement. She highly doubted that she would need to perform any acrobatic feats tonight but it never hurt to be prepared.
Her lightsabers were housed in a small leather purse at her hip that had been a gift from her crechemaster before being assigned to her master.
The energy in the barracks was high, and everyone was excited for their evening. More than a few 501st members paused to compliment her with bright smiles.
A few were dressed in their grays or their armor but most had compiled an outfit from the bins of donated clothes. Anybody who had ever said that clone troopers couldn’t get creative had never seen them build their own outfits from hand-me-down bins. She saw everything from crop tops to bootie shorts, to multicolored gloves. Many also had bits of their armor on in addition to new clothing.
Finally, she spotted her group amongst the bunks.
Fives and Echo both had their ARC armor on, happy to flaunt it tonight. Fives also had on a pair of slatted shades that had the words ‘hot stuff’ written across them. Rex had his lower armor and kamas on with the top part of his grays on. Hardcase had his leg armor and his vambraces but wore a multi-colored crop top, revealing a number of scars from battles as well as various tattoos pattered across his stomach and back. Jesse had a tank blue tank top on with green cargo pants on. Kix had a long-sleeved button-up shirt with the top few buttons undone, his vambraces, and dark pants.
They made quite an odd group but each of them was projecting their happiness across the bond.
As she drew nearer, she noticed one thing that they all had in common. Each of them was wearing one of the Force-imbued pendants that Ahsoka had gifted them.
She’d gotten much more efficient at making them, earning her praise from the course master. Her carving skills had also gotten a little less crude with all the practice she was getting.
Ahsoka felt warmth bubbling up in her chest as she looked at the pendants.
“Ah, there’s our little commander,” Hardcase called as she approached.
“You look very nice vod’ika.” Kix told her.
“So do all of you.” She told him with a smile.
“Oh, I know I do.” Fives said as he threw his arm around her shoulders. “I’m willing to bet that I will a bunch more people will be hitting on me with this armor.”
“You’ll be lucky to have one person come up and talk to you,” Echo said dryly.
Ahsoka smothered her laughter behind her hand as Fives sent a sharp jab at his bond with Echo.
“Alright alright, let’s get moving,” Jesse said as he hooked his arm around Echo’s neck and began walking towards the exit. “We have places to be, drinks to drink, and people to celebrate!”
They all piled into one of the waiting cabs, Jesse tapping his wrist to the panel as a way of payment.
Seeing as the troopers weren’t technically considered sentient (something the Order was attempting to petition the Senate about) they didn’t have any real income as soldiers. Maybe the Marshall commanders received some sort of stipend, but for the most part, troopers weren’t paid. However, several places on Coruscant were funded by the Jedi Order or sometimes the GAR which welcomed troopers as customers. 79’s was the designated clone bar, but there were various tattoo parlors and a few cafes accepted Coruscant Guard customers.
Once it had been disclosed by the Kaminoans that they’d inserted identification chips into all clone troopers’ wrists, it had made for a convenient way to track how many clone customers businesses got, all the troopers had to do was scan their identification chip. It still weirded Ahsoka out a little bit that the troopers had been chipped like someone might chip their tooka or masiff.
Squished in between Hardcase and Rex, Ahsoka found herself engaged in a heated debate about how a certain scouting mission had gone while stationed on Felucia recently. The lights of the city planet flashed below them as they sailed toward the entertainment district.
Despite it not being too late in the evening, there was already a sizeable crowd inside and outside 79’s. The vibrations from the loud music inside reached Ahsoka’s montrals before she even stepped out of the cab.
The 212th and the 104th were currently off-world, meaning that the only troopers Ahsoka recognized were the 501st troopers. As they walked into the establishment, the vibes that Ahsoka immediately was laid back, fun but not crazy. It was too early for anybody to have gotten too drunk yet apparently, and now that Ahsoka thought about it that was probably why Rex had suggested this time.
They found an open table near the back of the room with a nice view of the dance floor and the bar. Rex slid in first followed by Ahsoka and then Echo. The others slid into the other side.
“Alright, what drinks do we want?” Jesse asked.
“Well, I think we have to start the evening off with a celebratory shot for our commander and our ARCs.” Hardcase said.
Rex opened his mouth to protest that but Kix cut him off.
“One shot will not kill her, trust me Rex.” The medic said. “I’d like a Naboo sunrise.”
“I’ll take one of those too,” Echo said.
“I want to know what they have on tap.” Fives said as he stood up with Jesse.“Anything for you oh captain my captain?”
Rex gave a long sigh.
“Tihaar.”
Ahsoka tilted her head back to look around the space. Troopers were grouped up in various spots, some dancing, some arm wrestling. She spotted a few billiard tables in the corner with troopers crowded around them. Near the bar, there were a couple of men and women from various species chatting with troopers, batting their eyelashes. Lights pulsed with the music along the ceiling and the walls, illuminating various faces that all looked the same but also distinctly different. Ahsoka didn’t think she’d ever been around this many clone troopers with all of them acting so carefree. However, that could very much be because of the alcohol.
Jesse and Fives reappeared with various drinks and shot glasses in their arms.
“There was a surprising lack of spillage,” Jesse said as he flicked something off his tank top. “Now, to get this party started.”
He quickly passed out shots to every person and also produced a sour-smelling citrus.
Ahsoka eyed the liquid in her glass. It glowed a faint blue and smelled a lot like something you’d put into a ship engine.
“Alright, we are gathered here to celebrate our commander’s life day, which she neglected to mention to any of us, as well as Echo and Fives ARC graduation, which none of us were invited to except Rex.” Jesse held his shot glass aloft as the table laughed. “Cheers vod!”
Jesse, Hardcase, Kix, and Fives immediately threw their shots back. Ahsoka cautiously lifted hers up as Echo leaned toward her.
“It’ll taste bad and kind of burn but if you bite this it will help.” He slid her one of the slices of the citrus.
Ahsoka gave him a look.
“I’ve had alcohol before you know.”
It wasn’t exactly uncommon for Padawans to sneak back alcohol from missions, and even less uncommon for them to share it with the older younglings. While she’d never been drunk or even buzzed, she had tasted it before.
The liquid tasted sweet than it tasted like what the med bay smelled like right after a campaign. Her tongue and throat burned before she quickly grabbed the citrus and sank her fangs into it, letting the potently sour juice distract her taste buds from the offensive taste of alcohol.
“Good job commander!” Hardcase cheered as Rex patted her on the shoulder, having shot his back the same time she did.
“I still don’t like the taste of alcohol.” She mumbled, scraping her teeth on her tongue in a half hearted attempt to remove the lingering taste.
“Few people do little one.” Rex told her.
“You might like this better.” Kix said, offering her a sip of his multicolored drink.
It was much sweeter, tasting like fruit juice that slightly hid the taste of alcohol. It did taste better than straight…
“What type of alcohol was that?” Ahsoka asked, gesturing to the empty shot glasses.
“Nikta.” Jesse answered, sipping on some sort of slightly carbonated drink, an ale she thought.
“Hm.” She took another sip of Kix’s drink before sliding it back to him.
“If you like that we could probably find you a light alcohol drink similar.” Rex pointed out.
“Sure.” She decided, stealing another sip from Echo’s glass.
Before long a red drink was dropped in front of her. It smelled a lot better than some of the drinks at the table, especially Fives’ and Rex’s. She tasted it experimentally. The taste of alcohol was still present in the background but it was much more bearable now. She took a large swig of it happily, feeling the warmth in her stomach grow.
A large wave of troopers suddenly burst into the bar, flooding the bar and any remaining tables.
“Looks like we just missed the rush.” Fives said.
“Osik.” Echo hissed. “It’s the 75th.”
Jesse and Hardcase’s head snapped over to the new group, both groaning.
“What’s wrong with the 75th?” Ahsoka asked Echo.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Let’s just day that we… got into a disagreement with them. Last time we were here.” He told her.
She raised her brows at them.
“For the record,” Jesse said. “We didn’t start the fight.”
“No but we ended it.” Hardcase said.
“Yes and ten 501st members ended up in the med bay, fifteen in the drunk tank.” Kix sighed.
“Fifteen of their troopers were in the med bay. Twenty three in the drunk tank.” Rex pointed out. “The only reason you all weren’t running drills is because there were plenty of eye witnesses that agreed that the 75th did in fact start it.”
“Thank the Maker for the 212th.” Echo mumbled.
Ahsoka leaned around Echo to examine some of the newer troopers. They didn’t particularly appear darker than the other troopers in the Force, nothing really made them stand out, so Ahsoka relaxed.
Suddenly the music changed, a song that Ahsoka knew blaring over the speakers. Her eyes widened with excitement, making everyone look at her in surprise as she began to quickly down her drink. She blasted her intentions over the bond as she chugged.
“Dancing?” Kix asked.
She sent an affirming nudge as she finished her drink, the bitter taste of alcohol lingering at the back of her throat.
Echo did his best to drink as much of his drink as Ahsoka pushed and shoved him out of the booth and toward the dance floor. She used the Force to tug everyone else towards the floor, making them laugh.
“I’ll stay with out drinks and table.” Rex said, holding his hands up with an amused smile.
“Fine.” Ahsoka stuck her tongue out at him.
She bounced up and down as she led them to the floor, making them laugh as she grabbed Hardcase and started singing along. The nearest troopers on the floor made space as Ahsoka jostled her group into dancing.
Out here the music seemed to vibrate in her chest as well as her montrals, the lights seemed to blur together slightly as her voice raised along with the song.
Seeing their commander on the dance floor encouraged more 501st members to jump up and join in. Ahsoka kept them all on the dance floor for the next couple of songs, bouncing up and down to the beat of the songs and belting out the lyrics.
By the time they stumbled back to their table, Ahsoka was breathless and had sweat dripping down her back.
“More drinks!” Jesse declared.
By the time Ahsoka was part way through her second drink, she had to admit to herself that she was probably buzzed. Which didn’t seem totally fair because the others had another round of shots and Jesse still seemed fine.
After the next round of shots they started to show signs of being not totally sober. Hardcase was the one to haul them to the dance floor this time, Ahsoka happily skipping along. There were more troopers here now, but Ahsoka hadn’t noticed them coming in. The smell of alcohol had grown more prominent out here as the troopers here got steadily more intoxicated. However Ahsoka was beginning to believe that non-sober dancing was decidedly more fun than sober dancing.
Ahsoka sang until her throat was raw, jumped and pranced until her feet hurt, and let her self for the first time in a while enjoy herself. It was suddenly easier to push aside those feelings of unease that she’d had since her life day alert on the battle field. She could see why her troopers always looked forward to 79’s on shore leave. She knew in theory that alcohol or other substances were not a healthy coping mechanism but damn if it didn’t work.
It might have been twenty minutes, it might have been an hour before Echo tugged her back to their table. She slid in next to Rex, pressing her side to his with an exhausted sigh.
Kix planted a glass of water in front of her which she gratefully took.
“Are you having fun?” Rex asked her.
“Yes!” She declared before lowering her voice a little as she giggled. “I think I’m a little buzzed though.”
“Try a little drunk vod’ika.” Jesse reached over to rub the spot between her montrals affectionately.
Ahsoka snapped her teeth at him.
“It’s alright little one, you just have a low tolerance.” Rex told her, nudging her comfortingly through the bond.
“You have a low tolerance.” She countered before taking a large sip of water.
Rex chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Ahsoka found herself resting her head on Rex’s shoulder, her eye lids suspiciously heavy.
“Why am I tired?” She asked.
“That is kind of what feeling drunk can be like.” Echo told her.
“I feel like I could fall asleep here.” She said. “Although it smells kind of weird I don’t think it would make a good bed.”
Rex snorted at that.
“Was this a good life day celebration?” Jesse asked her.
Ahsoka nodded with a smile.
“Yes, I can’t really think of anybody else that I’d rather spend it with than my clan.” She told them.
Multiple affectionate nudges flooded the bond, making it glow bright.
“And this was a good ARC celebration?” Hardcase asked the twins.
“Oh yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever danced this much.” Echo said with a laugh.
“For the record,” Fives declared. “I’ve had three different people come up and hit on me and yes one of the mentioned the armor.” He brushed non-exitent dust off of his pauldron with a self satisfied smile.
Ahsoka giggled at that, remembering the instance where they’d all learned the importance of shielding.
She must of accidentally projected that notion to the others because Fives went bright red and the others laughed.
“I think we should get ice cream!” Ahsoka suddenly declared.
Ice cream sounded really good and she was unnecessarily warm and who didn’t love to celebrate with ice cream.
“What’s ice cream?” Hardcase asked, sipping his drink.
Ahsoka blinked in alarm before attempting to find a way to describe it.
“It’s like… frozen milk. But like, good.”
The others stared at her blankly.
“It’s like frozen milk but good.” Echo repeated skeptically.
Ahsoka groaned.
“You’ll like it trust me.”
The nearest ice cream place was a few levels below them so they had to take a cab. The worker at the ice cream parlor seemed surprised when their group walked in.
“Don’t worry I have some credits from one of our missions.” Ahsoka declared, fumbling with her purse.
She had to explain to them how you could sample different flavors which would normally be a much easier task if her brain wasn’t moving slower than it should. Ok, maybe Jesse was right and she was a little drunk.
The first moment one the small tasting spoon hit their tongue, Ahsoka watched their eyes grow wide with wonder.
Each of them got two different flavors, a decision made so that everyone could try everyone else’s as well as their own. The worker seemed rather amused by the time they left.
Ahsoka began walking down the street instead of heading to a cab.
“I want to enjoy it out here before we head back.” She loudly declared, spinning in a circle as she licked her ice cream.
They probably made quite a sight, a group of six clone troopers in various states of armor and dress with a teenage togruta leading the way, all of them stealing bites of each other’s ice cream.
Considering that they were still in the entertainment district, all of the neon signs were lit up, creating a pretty display of twinkling colors.
There were others out and about tonight as well, some giving them strange or disdainful looks. Ahsoka stared each and everyone of them down until they hurried along. No one was going to wreck this night for her or her vode, especially not some stranger on the sidewalk.
They continued their slow stroll through the district even after they finished their ice cream.
Ahsoka’s limbs were growing heavier as well as her eye lids, but she didn’t want the night to end, not yet. She hadn’t felt this light since… well probably before Christophsis. Before she’d bared witness to war and all the loss that comes with it. Here with her group, she felt light and safe, at ease and content.
She didn’t protest it much when Rex lifted her up to give her a piggy back ride, instead she enjoyed the new vantage point and proximity to one of her brothers.
Finally they ended up in a cab and on their way back to the barracks.
The group was staunchly against her attempting to make it back to the temple and instead insisted that she just stay at the barracks for the night. Honestly, she didn’t put up much of an argument.
She traded her going out clothes for an undershirt and a pair of shorts she’d scrounged out of one of the clothing bins. These really were a fantastic idea.
She’d been headed to the bunk she sometimes slept in that was located at the head of Kix’s bunk when she slept in the barracks, either on the ship or on Coruscant, but was pulled into Echo’s bunk instead. She curled into his chest with a yawn as Fives flopped down on the other side of her.
“Congratulations on completing ARC school.” She mumbled into Echo’s chest, making him chuckle.
“Happy life day ‘Soka.” He told her.
Notes:
Sorry I wanted to get this out earlier but life's been a bit crazy lately. Both of my dogs got sick at the same time. One had a pretty bad cough that might have been bronchitis or kennel cough we don't know. The other one had a vestibular/vertigo thing, a respiratory or urinary infection (might have been both the vets weren't sure), pancreatitis, and she's 14 years old o_O. PLUS a giant forest fire started literally 10 mins away from my house (we thought we might have to get evacuated and if they wind shifts south we might have to). The fire is officially the biggest for California this year so yay go us we stay winning, at the time I'm writing this it is 360,141 acres burned and only 12% contained which is so pussy pussy cunt cunt slay. on the bright side I am going to be an RA for the upcoming college year and I get to live in one of the nicest dorms so HA
It appears that I am incapable of writing straight fluff, my hand slipped and now ahsoka feels the guilt of having her birthday because they were in battle and her troopers were dying and there wasn't much she could do about it and SHE'S A CHILD SOLDIER SOMEONE GET THIS GIRL SOME THERAPY! However going out and getting ice cream makes things better. yes she gets to drink alcohol even though I headcanon the galactic drinking age as 18 because she's literally a child soldier and i think they all get a little pass for one night out.
Also we went from a more serious ahsoka last chapter to a more carefree ahsoka this chapter which I think is fine in hindsight because she feels safe enough around her brothers to be happy and carefree :)ANYWAYS you can find my on tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos feed my dark soul :)
Mando'a trans:
An’jate - all good
shab’an - fuck allTogruti trans:
sa’daar - brother
Chapter 20: Places Bitter and Sweet
Summary:
Some of our group get to visit a strange planet and then they get a beach episode
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Some answers are found in unpleasant places.
-
Even if Fives had only held the mantel for a short while, he knew that he absolutely and wholeheartedly loved being an ARC trooper. He loved getting to see parts of the galaxy he never had before, loved the thrill of missions, loved creating and executing his own plans even if they never would have flown under Jedi leadership.
He would have loved it more if he didn’t have to leave his aliit behind so often.
It seemed like he was constantly on missions with Echo, falling asleep on one planet and waking up on the next. Sometimes they only had a rotation or two back on the Resolute, which they usually spent sleeping, before they were on to the next task. At least when they did end up having overnight stays, Fives would fall asleep alone and wake up with one of his vode in his bunk. Hardcase had a tendency to flop on top of him, Jesse preferred to spoon him apparently, and Ahsoka would tuck herself under his chin and into his chest.
Fives yawned as he sank down next to Echo on the transport ship. They’d partnered up with another pair of ARCs from the 327th, who were asleep across from them on the bench. Their pilot was up navigating them back to a hyperspace lane.
Fives removed his helmet and set it on the floor at his feet. His armor was coated in a fine layer of dust and some mud from the planet they’d just been picked up from. They’d spent a week tracking a Seppie frequency to an outpost, well hidden in the mountainous terrain. The post had contained stolen GAR intel as well as some helpful Seppie intel. They’d gotten to blow the place sky high once they retrieved their objective, surely making Hevy proud from where he was marching on ahead.
Fives leaned against his batchmate as he let his head rest against the wall. The dim light from Echo’s datapad was the only real source of light in the dark area.
Echo hummed a song as he tapped through it, writing up their report. He was pretty sure the song was the one Hardcase had going in the background of their bond currently. Fives was pretty sure that his older brother always had some sort of background noise going in his mind.
Fives tugged on Echo’s bond to pull his attention away from the datapad.
“Do we have our next set of orders?” He asked quietly.
Echo hummed and tugged back as he pulled up a file.
“Yes, we are returning to the 501st to help accompany Generals Kenobi and Skywalker on a Jedi mission.” He told him. “It’s on a planet called Argmora in the Outer Rim.”
“Is ‘Soka coming too?” Fives asked.
“I’d imagine so.” Echo told him, happiness flickering into the bond.
Fives sighed as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Good, they’d be back with their vode soon. Even if it is for a mission he’ll take it.
He began to run through the possibilities of what a Jedi mission might entail before he stopped.
Echo nudge the bond questioningly as dread spread through Fives.
“Generals Skywalker and Kenobi?” Fives asked for clarification, eyes still closed.
Echo nudged back in affirmation.
“Kriffing haran any missions those two go on are bound to be a disaster.” Fives groaned.
Echo paused before he chuckled quietly.
“Maybe their luck will change for this one.” Echo said thoughtfully. “Besides we should have Ahsoka. I highly doubt she’d let them go on a mission without her.”
“Very true.”
Rex and Kix were there to greet them when the transport shuttle touched down in the Resolute.
Kix did his usual visual assessment of them as Rex clasped their forearms in greeting.
“Good to have you two back for a while.” Rex said with a small smile.
“Good to be back oh captain my captain.” Fives answered with a broad grin.
They quickly settled their stuff in before heading to the bridge for the briefing. The generals weren’t there yet but Ahsoka was. Fives had barely crossed the threshold into the room before a small bundle of bright energy slammed into his middle.
He laughed as he leaned down to get his arms around her middle.
“Miss us?”
“Not at all.” Ahsoka said, her voice muffled by his chestplate. “Well maybe I missed Echo.”
Fives clapped his hand over his heart and made a strangling noise. For good measure he sent a jab at Ahsoka’s bond, which she expertly blocked. Kriffing Jedi.
Ahsoka released him to hug Echo, who sent him an osik-eating grin over her montrals.
Osik’ika. Fives thought as he stuck his tongue out at his batchmate.
“What an extremely mature display of professionalism,” Rex said from the other side of the com bay.
Echo gave him a two-fingered salute that earned him a sharp jab to the brain.
“I’m glad you guys get to come with us on this mission.” Ahsoka said as she stepped back. “Maybe you can help me keep my masters in line.”
“We were talking about that on the flight in.” Fives told her. “They have a tendency to end up in trouble on missions don’t they?”
“Don’t remind me of the Gundark mission.” Ahsoka said with a shudder.
“Oh I remember that one.” Echo said thoughtfully.
Ahsoka flicked them through the bond as she made her way toward the com bay moments before the two older Jedi walked in.
“Ah good, we’re all here.” General Kenobi said as he nodded to all of them. “Thank you all for coming.”
General Skywalker approached the com bay and pulled up a hologram of Argmora. They circled up at attention around the flickering blue image.
“Alright, one of our Jedi Knights recently ran across an old form of Night Witch magic while on a campaign. The records of this type of magic are incomplete in the Archives on Coruscant.” Skywalker explained.
“The Council has deemed it necessary to recover more complete records of the magic seeing as it nearly wiped out the battalion on the planet.” Kenobi continued. “The last known location of many Jedi records is on the planet of Argmora in one of the abandoned Jedi temples on the surface.”
The holomap zoomed in on a flashing dot near the equator of the planet.
“We don’t have much information about Argmora, nor about what else we might find there.” Kenobi said. “Hence the Senate’s decision to send us with a small trooper escort.”
“Ideally, we’ll be in and out of there in under a rotation.” Skywalker said. “However we believe it is currently the storm season for this region of the planet, meaning we might be delayed if anything too bad rolls in.”
As far as Fives could this seemed like a rather simple mission, no real high stakes besides a possible storm warning. It wasn’t like they were trying to sneak behind enemy lines. This was like a vacation! Except the vacation would still be useful if witch magic was as big of a deal as it sounded.
Rex sent him a nudge to draw him back to meeting.
“Are there any questions?” Skywalker asked.
“None about the mission sir.” Fives responded, earning a snort from Ahsoka and a snide jab from everyone else.
His general shot him a grin before shutting the holo projection down.
“Alright, we’ll be moving out in an hour. By in the hangar and be ready.”
With that they dispersed to prepare for the mission.
Much to General Kenobi and Rex’s dismay, they took Skywalker’s rust bucket of a ship the Twilight down to the surface of Argmora. Fives had not had the opportunity to fly in it yet and now he realized why Rex had not been very thrilled. It looked like it was one bout of bad turbulence from falling apart entirely. Ahsoka, somehow, didn’t seem concerned by the ship in any way, probably because she’d flown in it the most.
Fives gripped the seat restraints tightly as they descended through the atmosphere, Echo doing the same next to him. Ahsoka sent a comforting and calming pulse through the bond, which did help a little.
In all honesty he didn’t take a full breath of air until he felt the ship set down on the surface. In his defense, he’d heard of and seen the General crash numerous ships throughout the war.
“Kriffing buyc’osik.” Rex mumbled as he stood up from his seat.
“Riyok.” Echo huffed.
The Jedi strode into the room as Skywalker activated the exit ramp. Ahsoka tugged her hooded cloak closer to her as cold wind poured into the ship. Fives’ helmet filtered out the bright and harsh light of the sky but it still made him squint a little. There was a large and dark cloud bank above them with only the sky off to the west offering white light. The land directly out of the ship was barren and flat, the soil dark. Off to their left, ruins of a city seemed to rise up from out of the ground. The wind whistled through the buildings and gusted over the bare ground, making chills race up Fives’ spine. This place was creepy.
Ahsoka brushed by his arm as she came to stop, her eyes roving over the ruins. He could feel a bit of her own unease brush against his in the bond.
Echo dropped the scanner on his helmet as he came to stand on the other side of Ahsoka.
“Scans aren’t picking up any signs of life.” Echo reported. “No heat signatures, no movement.”
“Good, let’s get going.” Skywalker said as he took off toward the buildings, the ends of his coat flapping behind him almost like a cape.
Kenobi followed after his old padawan with Rex at his side while Echo and Fives fell into step beside Ahsoka.
“Not the most hospitable planet is it.” Echo said as he glanced around.
“No it’s not.” Ahsoka agreed. “It’s…”
“Creepy?” Fives offered. “Unsettling? Weird?”
She gave an affirming prod in response as her heard craned back to look up at the buildings rising up around them.
The buildings looked like they were falling into disrepair, paint was faded, concrete was cracked, and the roofs were caving in. But there was no over grown vegetation climbing out of windows or up walls. In fact, Fives hadn’t seen anything resembling flora since they’d touched down.
They continued to wind through street after street a few strange looking vehicles left abandoned on the sides of the road. They looked like a type of ground vehicle with wheels instead of hover capabilities.
Fives kept his eyes on the cracked windows above them, looking for any movement, as they followed the GPS toward the temple.
Echo brushed off some of the black silty dirt that had accumulated on his belt as Ahsoka cocked her head back and forth, no doubt listening for any strange sounds. Fives felt like he was being watched, a quick look with his scanner didn’t reveal anything but the feeling didn’t go away.
Finally they turned a corner and were suddenly greeted with the towering form of a large temple. It wasn’t nearly as large as the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but there were some striking similarities including large spires, though a few of them had toppled with disrepair.
There were skeletal trees twisted out in front of the entrance to the building, the first sign of life they’d seen. A gust of wind whistled through the gnarled and brittle branches, adding a rattling noise that had Ahsoka back up a step into Fives. He tried to give her a reassuring nudge but it was difficult when he was just as unsettled.
Rex glanced back at them and fixed him and Echo with a look and an insistent prod. The message was clear: Stay close to Ahsoka.
“Well this looked like it.” Skywalker said as he examined the temple with a skeptical expression.
“This place gives me the creeps.” Ahsoka mumbled.
Kenobi tilted his head as he too examined the temple.
“What afraid we’ll find a ghost Snips?” Skywalker turned back and asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ahsoka bared her teeth and growled at him before she began marching forward toward the temple.
“If I see one, I’m sending it your way Skyguy,” Ahsoka said as she stalked past.
Inside the building didn’t look too much better than the outside. However, the walls inside were covered in a strange dark climbing plant with small leaves. They had to crawl over collapsed pillars and through crumbling doorways as Skywalker navigated them deeper into the abandoned temple.
They only had to double back once or twice when they came upon a collapsed hallway that the Jedi couldn’t clear out. Finally they came upon a large set of doors that Skywalker yanked open with the Force with ease, revealing a dark room with shadowed bookcases.
Fives, Echo, and Rex clicked their helmet lights on to help illuminate the space as they stepped in. Even with a large part of the room being obscured in shadow, he could tell that the space was large. The group descended into the darkness as the Jedi led them through the archives, no doubt following some sort of sorting system to reach the information they were here for.
They finally came to a stop as Skywalker crouched down to pull out a number of information tablets, a few flickering to life with light as they were moved but most remained dark, likely long out of battery.
Ahsoka began to pace as Skywalker slowly sorted through the tablets. Picking up on her unease, Kenobi turned toward her.
“The Council had a few more subjects they wanted us to pick up while we were here.” Kenobi held up a data pad. “You and I can split up to retrieve these so we can leave sooner my dear.”
Ahsoka accepted the datapad and flicked through it before nodding at her Grandmaster. Fives and Echo immediately fell into step behind her as she turned down a different aisle.
They walked in silence before Ahsoka spoke up.
“I don’t like this place.” Her voice was quiet, like she was trying to not disturb the archives around them.
“Why?” Fives asked quietly.
All clones knew that if a Jedi didn’t like something, you very quickly figured out what it was for the sake of everyone around.
Her sharp teeth glinted in the light as she turned her head this way and that.
“I feel like…” She began. “It feels like someone else is here.”
Fives didn’t like that notion at all.
“Let’s find those documents and get going.” Echo nudged her gently.
They came upon a leaning stack that had a collapsed stack propped up, creating a tunnel like alley. Fives and Echo ducked in as Ahsoka made her way forward, her fingers skimming along the back of long dark tablets.
Rex was on high alert from where he was with Skywalker and Kenobi. In hindsight, Fives or Echo should have stayed behind to watch one of the general’s backs, but their sister’s preternatural unease had overridden that idea.
It felt like hours before they were finally leaving the dark archives. As they came to one of the intersections in the hall, Ahsoka’s head turned toward the dark hallway, not the one they’d come from earlier.
Her eyes were wide as she stared into the darkness, Fives light making them flash, a low growl rumbled in her chest. It was times like these that Fives was reminded that his sister was not human, but an entirely different species.
His light and his blaster were pointed down the hallway, he wasn’t able to see whatever Ahsoka could, even when he flicked his scanner down, he didn’t see any heat signatures, or droid signatures for that matter.
“What is it?” Skywalker asked as he scrutinized the hallway.
Ahsoka’s head tilted and her growl stopped. She took a step forward, than another.
“I think someone is down there.” She finally answered. “I… I think I feel them. I’m getting small flashes of emotions.”
“I’m not…”
Fives quickly flicked his gaze back to see Kenobi and Skywalker staring down the hallway with peculiar expressions.
Ahsoka started forward, her lightsabers in her hands but not activated. Fives very much did not want to walk into the sketchy dark hallway but if that was where Ahsoka was going, that’s where he was going. Echo wordlessly fell back to flank Kenobi as Rex guarded Skywalker.
What little light had been filtering in from the outside through holes or windows was swallowed up by shadows, the only lights being the ones the clones carried. They moved quietly forward, Fives and his brothers being cautious of how their armor brushed against itself or their kamas whispering over their legs.
They came to an intersection of halls and Ahsoka paused before turning down the left one. Fives tilted his head up, directing his light toward the vaulting archways and high ceilings. Through the next archway, they came to a wide hall, the sides decorated with large stone statues.
Fives recognized the robes each statue was adorned with, they were all Jedi.
“What is this place?” Ahsoka asked quietly, her neck craned back to take in the nearest statue.
“Looks to me like a hall to honor those that have become with the Force.” Kenobi responded, his voice touched with awe.
“I thought the Order didn’t like things like this.” Skywalker mumbled as he brushed his hand over the foot of a statue.
“Not in more recent times, no.” Kenobi answered.
Fives lowered his gaze from the statues and found Ahsoka several paces away, in front of a statue of a large Besalisk. As he approached her, he watched her tilt her head at the statue curiously and reach her hand out as if to touch it.
A chill raced down Fives spine just as Ahsoka gasped and stumbled backward. He was grabbing her and pushing her behind him in a second, his blaster aimed at the statue. He wasn’t exactly sure what had spooked her, but the statue was now freaking him out so it got his blaster.
“Ahsoka!” Skywalker was beside them in seconds. “What is it, what’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t…” Ahsoka hadn’t taken her eyes off of the statue. “It- the statue it…”
Skywalker turned to examine the stone before his brows pinched in confusion.
Fives glanced over to see Kenobi approaching them, his eyes fixed on the statue. The older Jedi walked up and placed his hand on the statue, staring up at it before he let out a small sigh.
“There is no need to be alarmed, nothing here will harm us.” Kenobi told them, motioning for Fives and his brothers to lower their blasters.
“Why does the statue feel like that?” Ahsoka asked.
Kenobi gave the stone another look before he turned to address his students.
“You are taking a class on Force Imbuing are you not my dear?” He asked.
“Yeah.” Ahsoka answered.
“Then you are aware that wielders of the Force have the ability to imbue their emotions and such into objects.” He asked.
Fives suddenly felt the weight of the small good luck charm Ahsoka had gifted him prior to ARC training tucked under his chestplate.
“Yes.” Ahsoka responded again.
“Well,” Kenobi gestured to the statue behind them. “This statue has been imbued, just like the pendants and charms you are learning with.”
“That doesn’t feel like a simple imbuing trick.” Skywalker pointed out.
Ahsoka nodded in agreement, her wide eyes roving over the statue.
“Later in the course I believe you will learn about imbuing an object with more than your emotions, but with a part of yourself.” Kenobi explained.
“Imbuing a part of yourself?” Ahsoka asked skeptically.
“Yes, it takes a lot of strength to perform and usually isn’t done so except under extreme circumstances.” The older Jedi told her. “While it is simple enough to imbue an emotion, imbuing part of yourself means that you are taking a part of yourself, cutting out a part of your soul is a good way to describe it, and placing that part of yourself into an object.”
Skywalker rubbed his chin.
“Why would someone feel the need to do that?”
“There are a number of reasons.” Kenobi shrugged. “They might be doing it to preserve apart of themselves, or they are imbuing an object with the Force and using themselves as a holder, or it is for protection.”
He patted the statue.
“I believe that may have been the purpose of this imbuing. To stand as a guardian over this temple.”
Fives eyes that Besalisk like it might come alive. He didn’t know exactly what protecting this thing would do, it looked pretty stationary.
The Jedi must have picked up on his skepticism.
“We are Jedi, we walk the path of the light, so there was no need to protect the temple from us.” Kenobi explained. “If we were Sith, this might have been a very different trip.”
“That’s why I was getting flickers of emotion.” Ahsoka said quietly. “They are still alive in a way, a part of them self is preserved like this.”
“Yes my dear.” Kenobi said with a small smile.
Skywalker hummed before he shifted the bag full of their collected tablets up further on his shoulder.
“Well now that the mystery is figured out, I say we get out of here.”
“Agreed.” Rex mumbled from off on his left.
The sun was just beginning to set off to the west as they made their way back to the ship. Fives was thoroughly creeped out but that feeling of being watched had gotten better now that he knew it was probably just the statue. Ahsoka knocked her vambrace against his gently as they walked the ship and sent a small nudge through the bond.
Just as they were boarding the ship, Fives looked back to see Skywalker paused at the bottom of the ramp, staring off to the south.
“What is it sir?” Rex asked as he stopped at their general’s side.
“Obi-Wan,” Skywalker called, without looking away. “Are there other temples on this plane?”
Fives watched Ahsoka glanced at her Grandmaster questioningly.
“Yes,” Kenobi answered slowly. “There is a sith temple on the other side of this planet. It was far enough way to not be deemed dangerous for the mission.”
Oh well wasn’t that just great. No wonder this kriffing planet was giving him the creeps.
Ahsoka shuffled closer to Echo’s side at the news, a new wave of unease flickering across their bond.
“Huh.” Was all Skywalker said before he turned and headed toward the cockpit.
Ahsoka gave him a strange look as he walked past before glancing over at Fives and shrugging.
Yep, Fives was done with creepy planets for the day.
-
It wasn’t often that they were deployed somewhere nicer, but when it did happen it boosted everyone’s mood ten fold.
They’d been here a week, helping the 187th clear out droids. They’d finally gotten the message that the area was officially droid free and they were done. Normal protocol would have them packing up and leaving, but she and Skyguy might have pulled a string or two to let them stay here a day longer.
So now Ahsoka was happily laid out on the sand in front of a large lake soaking up the gloriously warm sun. The base was situated next to a group of lakes that offered the access to freshwater and the long term occupants of the base had long ago instated various beaches around for recreation.
This was the closest that the 501st had ever received to a vacation that wasn’t just shore leave on Coruscant and Ahsoka was determined to soak up every second of it.
Off in the distance she could hear troopers splashing in the water, chasing each other around in some sort of war game they’d played on Kamino, but with much lower stakes here.
She glanced over to see her master setting up a net in the sand with the help of Jesse, Echo, and Fives. He was excitedly explaining something to them as they anchored the net into the ground.
Ahsoka huffed, knowing that as soon the troopers learned the rules of volleyball, they’d be unstoppable. She propped herself up as troopers grouped around her master, watching him demonstrate hitting the ball and the rules. Excitement and anticipation seemed to vibrate off of her men as they sorted themselves into teams, Jesse and Fives ending up on one team and Echo with Anakin on the other.
As the game began, troopers began to group around, watching with rapt interest as the ball sailed over the net and back again. Soon enough more troopers jumped in, adding onto each team.
It might have surprised her that they had picked up on the game after only watching it for a few rounds, but that’s just how the troopers worked. They were terrifyingly good at learning new skills quickly, and that included games.
Ahsoka sank back a little as she watched.
The swirls of tattoos across Hardcase’s shoulders caught her eye. The geometric patterns arching over his head wrapped around his neck and arced out over his collarbone to circle his arms, mixing 501st blue with gray and black. Dark arrows and curls wound around his arms all the way down to his wrists. He turned to high five a nearby trooper, giving her a view of the spirals spanning the back of his shoulders. She knew that up close each arc and circle had smaller details meanings etched in.
Some parts of his tattoos were now marred by scars. There was a large number of patches around where the gaps on his armor sat as well as more than a few blaster bolt scars pockmarking his shoulders and a few on his legs.
Jesse shouted something at Hardcase, drawing her attention to him.
The Corporal’s right arm and part of his chest was covered in arching tattoos similar to Hardcase’s but a different style. On top of pattered lines, there were also dark and colored shapes of planets sprinkled throughout, a tribute to some of the more difficult planet’s they’d won on. Around his left arm he had a band of 501st blue bordered by dark lines.
A large slashing scar cut across his left shoulder and chest from a close run in with grievous. He had a neat triangle of blaster bolt scars on his lower right side which had all happened to fall their by coincidence.
Ahsoka’s attention shifted to Fives as he stepped back into the court.
Above a matching 501st color band to most troopers in the battalion, he had a simple Z-6 rotary canon on his tricep. On the lower right side of his back, he had 99 inked in gray which she guessed was a tribute to the older clone that had died on Kamino. His left shoulder had a large krayt dragon skull, it’s jaws yawning wide open and revealing rows of teeth. He said that it was bad ass and he liked it, he’d also told her he’d named it Karen.
A long scar run up Fives’ right thigh that had happened on an ARC mission, a bounty hunter almost getting to drop on him and an ARC from the 212th.
Fives opened his mouth in mock offense as Echo flipped him off.
Echo had a Rishi eel slithering up his spine, it’s jaws opening at the base of his neck. A matching 99 adorned his back and like Jesse his 501st band is bordered by dark patterned lines. A rotary canon was inked over his right thigh and a red bullseye covered is left thigh. He also proudly wore a skeletal hand print over his chest about where the one on his armor was.
Echo had a ring of teeth marks on his left forearm from when he’d had a run in with a large lupine like creature on Felucia. He also had a large scar from a piece of shrapnel that had gotten stuck in his shoulder.
Kix sent a hard spike right at Echo’s head, making the ARC trooper duck out of the way, causing the ball to hit the sand. Ahsoka laughed as Echo began yelling at their ori’vod, who had a very unapologetic smirk on his face.
The medic had thorny vines wrapped around his left arm, a smattering of flowers sprinkled along the vine. Those same vines wound around his right leg and wrapped around his ankle. He had the Carnival company symbol on his right bicep just above the Torrent symbol, both beneath a dark red Medic symbol on his shoulder.
Kix had a number of scars peppering his back, many he’d received from when he was carrying injured troopers off of the front lines.
Anakin leaned over to saw something to Rex as they prepared for the next set, making the captain smirk.
Rex had a 501st blue band wrapped around his arm that was bordered by black pattered lines. Scrawled across his right side was a chunk of script, he’d told her one night that it was an old mandolorian story. One of the first memories he had was of Jango Fett telling them this story when they were young, and Cody had a matching tattoo on his side.
Experience was written across Rex’s body like a map. Slices from lightsabers seared his front, blaster bolt wounds dotted his back, burn blisters wrapped one of his knees, and small shrapnel scars marred his sides.
They all had their fair share of marks. Her master only had one tattoo, a series of numbers and letters on his collarbone and it was crossed with a branded line. She’d been too scared to ask her master about it and instead had asked her grandmaster. He explained that it had been a slave mark and the brand meant that he’d been freed. Other than that he had various scars littered across his mid section and arms, some from fighting, others from mechanical work.
Ahsoka had no tattoos, but she thought she might want some when she was older, especially considering all of her brothers were decorated in them. Hardcase had pointed out that her markings were a calling card to them, just like their tattoos were to her. The ones on her face being the most prominent, but also the similar ones that spanned her back, starting near the base of her neck and pointing over her shoulder blades before dipping down her back and curving over her hip bones. Jesse had told her that he wished her had home grown marking like that. It had gotten a laugh out of her.
An insistent tug pulled her out of her thoughts and back toward the game.
Kix and Jesse were waving her over, broad grins stretched across their faces. Alright, looked like she needed to show her men exactly who was boss when it came to beach volleyball.
It wasn’t until the sun had set behind the horizon and it was too dark to track the ball that they called it quits. Everyone was decidedly exhausted but they went to sleep with the knowledge that they had one more day here to rest before they moved on.
Ahsoka woke up later in the morning than she normally did, slowly letting herself move through her morning routine.
The sun was just beginning to poke it’s head over the surrounding trees as she made her way outside. The air was still cool from the night, making it the perfect time to do her katas on the sand.
She went slowly through her stances before she moved onto the ones that had her lightsabers dancing around her. She became aware of presences behind her but didn’t turn until she had finished her set.
Hardcase and Echo were sitting behind her a little ways away, each with a steaming cup of caf in their hand.
“Just enjoying the show sir.” Hardcase said as he toasted his cup up to her.
She rolled her eyes with a huff.
“Why are you sitting all the way back there?” She asked.
“Don’t want to get in the way of the light show.” Echo said.
Ahsoka cocked her head curiously.
“Have I ever taught you guys how to handle a lightsaber?” She asked.
Echo and Hardcase look at each other with a shrug.
“Nope.” The heavy class said. “They are like you sacred weapons or something like that.”
“You’re lightsaber is your life.” Echo added, living up to his namesake.
Ahsoka huffed before giving them each a tug toward her through the bond.
“Well I think it’s time you guys learned.”
Hardcase and Echo downed their caf and eagerly approached her.
“We’ll start off without lightsabers first.” She told them, attaching them back to her belt.
Ahsoka led them through the katas she had been doing previously, repositioning their feet and arms when needed until they were able to flow through the stances with ease.
“I already feel more in touch with the Force.” Hardcase said sagely as they came to the end of the stances.
Ahsoka and Echo sent him good natured psychic slaps before Ahsoka called two long sticks to her hands.
“Alright, imagine these are your lightsabers.” She said, handing them both a stick.
“Aw I wanted mine to be purple.” Hardcase said as he examined the stick.
“I wanted mine to be green.” Echo added.
“You can imagine them whatever color you want, you tazi bakas.” Ahsoka informed them. “We are starting off with sticks so you don’t accidentally lose an arm.”
Both snickered at that.
The reasoning for using sticks quickly became apparent when Echo accidentally hit Hardcase in the groin with his stick, to which the Heavy Class had dramatically doubled over and dropped to the ground.
It took a little bit, but they soon got the hang of the sticks. After another run through of those sets, Ahsoka unhooked her lightsabers from her belt and handed them to her brothers.
“Please don’t make me regret this by ending up in the medbay.” Ahsoka warned them both.
“We won’t.” Hardcase said as he carefully took her saber.
“It’s heavier than I thought it would be.” Echo mumbled as he weighed her shoto in his hand.
“Alright now you can carefully activate them.” She said as she snatched one of the sticks up off of the ground.
She turned back to see both Echo and Hardcase marveling at the plasma blades, experimentally swinging them back and forth as they got a feel for them. Ahsoka slowly led them through the katas again, her lightsabers humming behind her as they moved.
By now, they had attracted a small group of troopers watching them with rapt interest.
Once Ahsoka felt like they were confident enough in their movements, she led them through a new set of katas, one that was meant to be performed with two people. Her blades flashed as they met and spun apart, as she coached Echo and Hardcase through them.
“That when well.” Ahsoka said with a smile as they powered off her sabers. “How about a little sparring lesson?”
The ARC and the Heavy Class nodded enthusiastically.
Ahsoka knew that troopers were trained in melee weaponry, but it was still surprising how at ease they became while wielding lightsabers. It made her wonder how fast the war would end if they equipped troopers with lightsabers. The thought of Cody with a lightsaber made her smile.
It didn’t take long for Jesse and Fives to show up and ask for a lightsaber lesson. Ahsoka made them practice with sticks first as she showed Echo some of her Jar’Kai katas.
Ahsoka didn’t mind spending the rest of the morning teaching her brothers how to use her lightsabers, it felt calming, a lot like when they’d volunteered to teach her how to use their blasters. She could hear her kyber crystals singing all morning.
Notes:
I fully made up Argmora but now I have vivid mental imagery of what the planet looks like as well as it's history and lore and it may or may not end up in this story again 0-0 Also I like to think that Hardcase and Jesse's tattoos have strong Moari/Polynesian inspiration but seeing as neither of those exist in space I did my best to describe the vibe of them!
Sorry for not getting any chapters out in August that month kicked my ass in about five different ways PLUS I began my second year of college and I am babysitting freshman as a Residential Advisor so yay me (please tell these guys to stop doing weird things in the bathrooms) That being said, I am VERY excited for the next chapter and I already had part of it written so we shall see if I can get that chapter out in a timely manner :P
You can find me on tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos motivate my battered and wary soul
Mando'a trans:
buyc’osik - shit bucket
Riyok - AgreedTogruti trans:
tazi bakas - little shits
Chapter 21: Snap and Reform
Summary:
The Jedi take a trip to Mortis and everyone else has to deal with it
Chapter Text
One of the most powerful abilities we have is the power to choose.
-
As far as shore leaves went, this was one of the more calm ones. For once none of the 501st ended up in the drunk tank and Rex didn’t receive a threatening message from Fox about his ‘di’kut’ troopers.
The only real incident was Echo throwing up in the hallway leading to the barracks. Rex had been heading back to his bunk after meeting up with Cody and Bly when he came across his vode making their way back from 79’s. Echo was the most inebriated followed by Jesse and then Hardcase and Fives. Echo had drunkenly informed him that he had to defend the 501st’s honor by winning a drinking contest against the Marines.
Rex had felt that nasty feeling in the back of your throat when you were about to throw up before he realized it was Echo and not him. He’d stepped to the side as the ARC doubled over. He’d decided to not even engage with this right now, not wanting to ruin his night.
“Make sure you clean that up.” Rex had called over his shoulder as he continued into the barracks.
His com had pinged with a message in their aliit’s secure channel.
Ahsoka: Why the kark are you guys throwing up at 2am?? I’m trying to sleep
Yep, all things considered, relatively calm.
The next day Fives and Echo had to ship out for a mission, the second of the two looking a little worse for wear.
“Kix can I please have a dead-raiser?” Echo groaned as he rubbed his temple.
“Nope, need to learn from the consequences of your actions.” the medic answered, his arms crossed over his chest.
All of them knew that the medics had curated and perfected a hangover cure, eloquently named dead-raisers. However, they were also very stingy when it came to handing them out, only under certain circumstances did they.
Clearly, Kix had better shields in the bond than he did because even with Rex blocking out Echo’s headache to the best of his ability, there was still a dull throb behind his eyeballs. He’d have given Echo the dead-raiser for his own sanity.
The door to the GAR hangar opened and Ahsoka jogged out.
“Sorry I’m late I was stuck in class,” Ahsoka said as she slid to a stop in front of them.
“It’s alright we wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.” Fives said with a smile.
Echo tried to offer a smile as well but it came out more like a grimace.
Ahsoka tilted her head at him with a frown before holding her hand up toward his face. He leaned down slightly as she flexed her fingers slightly and the dull ache behind Rex’s eyes diminished. Everyone but Kix gave a sigh of relief.
“You should have let him suffer vod’ika,” Kix said with a disapproving look.
“I didn’t fix it all the way,” Ahsoka told him with a wink. “Just enough so everyone else doesn’t have to deal with it. And so you can actually pay attention at the briefing.”
“Thank you.” Echo said with a sigh of relief.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“I’m still not happy being woken up thinking I have to throw up.” She informed him.
Echo winced as Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase ducked their heads.
“Sorry about that.” the ARC mumbled.
“Oh didn’t you hear commander,” Rex said with a sharp smile. “He had to defend the 501st’s honor by winning in a drinking contest.”
Ahsoka rolled her eyes to once again fix Echo with a look.
“Did you even win?” Ahsoka asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
He glanced at the other three who all shrugged.
“I uh, I don’t remember.” He admitted sheepishly.
The togruta reached out a pinched his arm between a gap in his armor, making him yelp.
“Ow!”
“That’s for being…” She snapped her fingers and looked at Kix. “What’s the word?”
“Di’kut?” He supplied.
“Yes thank you.” She turned back to Echo. “That’s for being an idiot.”
“What- that wasn’t-” Echo gestured between Ahsoka and Kix before tilting his head back in a groan.
The others snickered at him.
“Alright, alright, you two had better go.” Rex said. “I can’t have you making me look bad because you were late.”
Fives placed his hand on his chest plate.
“We’d never intentionally make you look bad.” Fives said in mock offense.
“It’s like you don’t even know us.” Echo mumbled.
Hardcase hooked his arms around both the ARCs’ necks.
“Don’t go die on a cool mission.” He instructed them.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Fives said. “We’ve got to outlive you.”
Jesse cuffed their heads before plunking his forehead against both of theirs.
“Still think you should have suffered a little longer,” Kix said as he mused Echo’s hair. “Hukagar’kama.”
“We will,” Echo said as he tried to get his hair back into regulation order.
“Be safe,” Ahsoka said as she wrapped her arms around their waists. “And may the Force be with you both.”
“You all need to be safe as well.” Fives said as he wrapped an arm around Ahsoka’s shoulder. “Nobody is allowed to die till we get back.”
“K’oyacyi,” Rex told them as he clasped their arms.
They gave him twin cheeky salutes before they took off toward the transport shuttle.
“Kix what would I have to do to get a dead-raiser?” Hardcase asked as they watched the ship take off.
“You’d have to be on the verge of dying from alcohol poisoning,” Kix answered. “Or you got blackout because of grief.”
“See I can arrange the alcohol pois-”
“No!” They all snapped at the heavy class.
A few days later, Rex received details on a new mission they were being assigned on. A very ancient Jedi distress signal did not sound like a good thing at all. There was something suspicious about it and he made his hesitations known to his general.
“It’ll be alright Rex.” Skywalker said as they approached the hangar.
The signal had pinged off a few locations that Skywalker, Kenobi, and Ahsoka would be investigating on their own before rendezvousing with the Resolute at the main location where the signal was coming from.
“Something like this very well could be a mistake or faulty equipment.” The Jedi continued. “But something is telling us that might not be the case, so we are just being extra cautious.”
Nope, he didn’t like it.
Rex really shouldn’t have been surprised when almost immediately the mission was going wrong. His Jedi were supposed to pop out of hyperspace right in front of the Resolute considering that these were the coordinates of the distress signal. But instead apparently, the Jedi had managed to hop out of hyperspace at these exact coordinates but were nowhere in sight.
“Sir we aren’t picking you up on any of our scanners.” Rex informed his general.
“These are the exact coordinates,” Skywalker responded. “Are you sure you are in the right place?”
“Yes sir,” Rex said, exasperation coloring his voice briefly. “Positive.”
He felt a nudge of amusement from Ahsoka.
The odd thing was, he knew Ahsoka was close. The bond was clearer than it had been moments ago, it was like she was right there but also not. This was most certainly some Force-osik. He looked over to where Jesse was talking to one of the bridge techs. The Corporal was also confused by this.
“What is that?” Ahsoka’s voice sounded through the com.
“It looks like some sort of structure.” Kenobi’s said.
Rex’s brows furrowed as he looked out of the bridge. There was nothing out there besides the Resolute. Jesse abandoned the conversation he was having to come to stand in front of the com bay, worry coloring the bond.
“I am not seeing anything generals,” Rex said.
“It looks like-”
The com went dead.
Rex worriedly attempted to reestablish the connection before turning the nearest bridge tech.
“Get them back online now.” He told his brother.
The techs had little success. It was like they just disappeared.
“Could they have been shot?” Rex asked.
“No sir, if they had we’d at least be able to pick up an echo of their frequency.” The tech told him.
“People’s signals don’t just cut out like that.” Jesse pointed out.
What the kriffing hells?
“Keep trying,” Rex ordered.
A moment later Ahsoka’s bond flared back, he hadn’t noticed that it had gone quiet. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, it was like he was hit with fifty different emotions in rapid succession from Ahsoka. It made his head reel enough that he had to reach out and steady himself against the nearest console.
He was vaguely aware of Jesse experiencing something similar.
It was like days worth of emotions were suddenly coming through in seconds, what the kriff?
Suddenly Ahsoka’s bond flickered and plunged. Ice cold, rage, fear, pain, all of it punched a hole right through Rex’s chest. Her bond turned from a strand of light to one of darkness, one that seemed to suck the light out of everything around it. It was dark and cold, and even though Rex wasn’t force-sensitive, somehow he knew that this is what the Dark Side of the Force felt like.
Rex’s wide-eyed stare met Jesse’s, he could have sworn his brother’s eyes glowed gold before Ahsoka’s bond snapped.
His knees gave out and he hit the floor hard.
Where Ahsoka’s bond should be, there was nothing, it was a void. Not even darkness like what had infected it moments ago, it was just gone. Blood pounded in Rex’s ears, and he was distantly aware of someone saying his name, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Ahsoka was gone.
She was gone.
Dead.
A keening cry was working its way up his throat before light blinded him. It wasn’t from the bridge, it was from within his kriffing head.
Ahsoka’s bond flared back to life, burning like a thousand stars. The afterglow left Rex dazed as another hundred emotions flashed through his head.
Just as suddenly as the flood of emotions began, they calmed. Over the ringing in his ears, he heard the com bay surge back to life.
What the shaba haran just happened?
Rex blinked his eyes open, focusing on the console he was on the ground in front of.
“Captain, are you alright?” Rex looked to see the bridge tech, Slip, kneeling next to him worriedly. “Do you need a medic sir?”
Rex shook his head and forced his feet underneath him. The sound of vomiting made him look to the side where Jesse had his head in the nearest trash bin. The surrounding techs and troopers were watching him with concern.
Rex stumbled a step back towards the com bay.
“Sir, can you read me?” He said, his voice shaking slightly.
“Yeah Rex, we hear you.” Rex never thought he’d be so damn happy to hear his general’s voice.
“Good,” He said, his shoulder sinking in relief. “We uh, we lost you there… for a few seconds.”
Or he thought it was a few seconds, it might have been a few hours.
“A few seconds?” Skywalker asked. “It’s been longer than a few seconds.”
“Sit rep?” Rex demanded. “Are you all alright?”
Is Ahsoka alright?
“We will do our best to explain once we get to the ship.” Kenobi answered. “But yes, I believe that we are all unharmed.”
Rex looked out of the front of the bridge to see the Jedi’s ship fly by. His eyes cut to Jesse’s which were the normal amber all clones shared. Had he imagined what he’d seen? A flicker of his own face, eyes glaring gold flashed through his mind. Jesse looked sick again.
He definitely was going to need some kriffing answers.
There was confused tugging and shoving as the others in the bond demanded answers on what had just happened.
Rex turned and marched through the doors toward the hangar, Jesse hot on his tail, as he sent out a short message to their com channel.
Rex: Don’t know the full situation yet. Kenobi says they are all ok. Going to get answers.
He wasn’t sure if Echo and Fives would be able to receive the message right now or if they were on radio silence. He could feel Ahsoka in the bond again, she was a little shaken and tired, but she seemed alright even after that. He hoped they would clock in on that for now if they couldn’t get messages.
Hardcase stumbled out of the mess, his eyes wide and slightly panicked as he jogged to catch up with Rex and Jesse. Kix also met up with them close to the hangar.
They stepped out into the large space just as the Jedi ship landed. Rex and Kix continued forward as Jesse and Hardcase hung back, unsure if any medical attention would actually be needed.
Skywalker was first off the ship, followed by Ahsoka who was closely followed by Kenobi. Rex let out a sigh of relief when he saw Ahsoka, Kix doing the same next to him. She sent a flicker of comfort over the bond as she approached, but Rex was quick to clock in on the bags under her eyes and the slight slump to her shoulders. She was exhausted like she’d been moving non-stop for a week.
All of the Jedi were streaked with dirt and grime, Kenobi had a bandage on his arm, and all of them looked tired.
What the kriffing osik had happened in those few moments of silence?
“Boy Rex am I happy to see you.” Skywalker said with an exhausted smile.
“Glad to see you as well General.” Rex responded cautiously. “You all look like you’ve been through an ordeal.”
Kix had already moved to examine the bandage on Kenobi’s arm despite the Jedi trying to wave him off.
“That’s one way to put it.” His general responded.
“Were you able to find the source of the signal?” Rex inquired slowly, best to approach Force-osik with caution.
Skywalker rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah we did. Let’s just say that we handled it.”
Rex narrowed his eyes under his helmet. Nope, that was not a satisfying answer.
Skywalker looked at him for a moment before he heaved a sigh.
“Alright, we uh, we crashed on a planet named Mortis where there were these three beings…”
His general proceeded to give a simplified recap of the events that had taken place as Kix redressed Kenobi’s cut and Ahsoka sank down onto a nearby create with a tired huff. Even though Rex knew he was getting a gross oversimplification, he was still struggling to keep up with all that had transpired.
A father, son, and daughter, dark side and light side, something about a magical knife, chosen one, and now the weird force family was dead so there was nothing to worry about. He was grateful that his helmet was covering his twitching eye. Why was it his Jedi? And why the kriff did it feel like Ahsoka died?
His eyes cut to his commander. Her gaze was unfocused on the floor and the bruises under her eyes looked even worse up close.
“Is anybody else injured?” Kix asked as he turned away from Kenobi.
Ahsoka looked up and shook her head as Anakin gave a negative.
Kenobi straightened up slightly.
“I believe that it would do you both good to get a thorough examination from the medics.” The older Jedi told them. “We don’t know what effects Mortis might have had on us.”
Ahsoka opened her mouth to argue but a sharp look from Kenobi and Kix had her sighing in resignation. Skywalker gave her a hand up and kept his hand hovering over her back as they followed after Kix. Hardcase and Jesse fell into step behind the group, both of them a little more at ease now.
Coric and Kix bustled around the Jedi, running tests and asking questions as they went. Kenobi even set a good example for the younger Jedi by subjecting himself to it as well, though Rex could tell he was insistent for a reason. Clearly, something had happened that Skywalker hadn’t mentioned in the summary that put Kenobi on alert.
After a while Coric and Kix gave them the all-clear. Ahsoka let out a jaw-cracking yawn as she slid off the bed.
“I’m exhausted.” She declared. “I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.”
With that, she slipped out of the med bay. Jesse pushed off the wall where he’d been leaning to follow her but Ahsoka must have already disappeared by the time he stepped out because he let out a sigh and shook his head.
Rex could feel something was off with her. She was exhausted but also shaken. He would most certainly be reading over his General’s full report when he wrote it up.
He did not sleep well that night. Neither did the others, all of them were tossing and turning, unable to erase the experience they’d had that day. He desperately wanted to sit Ahsoka down and figure out what had happened but he got the sense that she wanted space right now.
The next day everyone was busy with a new batch of shinies that were arriving and Rex hardly saw Ahsoka at all. None of them slept well the second night either, flashes of images that looked like something out of a nightmare kept creeping into their subconscious. By the third day, Rex was starting to realize that Ahsoka was avoiding them. Very rarely had Ahsoka ever tried not to seek them out, ate with them or even just sat in the bunks with them.
The others were realizing it too and if anything it made them all even more uneasy. The Jedi’s report of what had happened on the planet was frustratingly vague and offered very little insight into what had happened. There was one seemingly offhand comment about a conflict between Ahsoka and the Son, but that was even more vague than the rest.
That night, Rex lay on his bunk, eyes narrowed at the bunk above him as he tried to figure out what was wrong. Clones were designed and trained to be excellent problem solvers. Very rarely had Rex himself come across a problem he couldn’t eventually work out. But usually, he had more information for the kind of problems he was trying to solve, he most certainly lacked the information to solve this problem.
He was exhausted after two nights of little sleep and this was shaping up to be a third, but his mind wouldn’t quiet. After a while, he became aware that Ahsoka was awake. Not only awake she seemed to be active, but he got a few flashes of aching muscles like she exercising.
He glanced at the chrono on the wall nearest to him. It read 0100 hours. What the hells was she doing up this late running drills? Something was clearly not right.
Rex sat up from his bunk with a sigh.
As he walked by, Kix blinked blearily up at him. Rex motioned for him to go back to sleep before slipping out of the barracks, following the pull of the bond.
Even though there were still a fair amount of clones working the night cycle, the halls were relatively empty and quiet. It was an uneventful trip down into the depths of the Resolute where the training rooms resided. Sure enough, the only occupant was a small togruta running through drills with one of the Jedi droids that fired stinging blasts at them.
Rex approached quietly but he didn’t doubt that she’d clocked his arrival, even as she continued to swing and twist. Rex stood and watched.
Back when the war had first started and he’d been assigned to Skywalker, it had been mesmerizing to watch him train. Being raised on stories about Jedi to working alongside them had been an adjustment, and the sight of a Jedi Knight twisting and spinning their blades around expertly had been a novelty. Yes, it was still incredibly impressive, especially with Ahsoka spinning both her blades around, but he couldn’t help but watch her footwork, noting every small misstep that she took that ended with her overcorrecting and almost earning her a sharp zap.
She was exhausted, sloppy, and unfocused. It didn’t take an expert to see that.
Rex watched as a bolt hit her arm, making her snarl. A few moments later one hit her thigh followed by one to her foot. After the fourth hit, the droid shut itself down, sinking to the ground with a beep.
Ahsoka rubbed her arm with a hiss as she deignited her lightsabers. Now that she was standing still, Rex could see a few other red marks from previous stinging bolts, a frankly concerning amount if he was being honest.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise as she shook her shoulders out and reached down to reactivate the droid. He thought about speaking up but then thought better of it. She was down here for a reason, maybe it was best to let her work this out.
She didn’t last very long this round, her arms were shaking slightly like they had when Skywalker had been instructing them to fire stun rounds at her. Rex was happy those trainings had stopped.
The droid sank to the ground lifeless as Ahsoka panted, four new red marks littering her arms. Rex wondered how long she’d been down here now. Perhaps this is where she’d been for the past few nights.
As she reached down with shaking hands for the droid, Rex stepped forward.
“I think that’s enough for now.”
Ahsoka’s fingers twitched slightly as she hesitated, but she swept it off the ground a moment later. Before she could reactivate it, Rex found himself in front of her, his hand covering the top of the droid.
Ahsoka flicked a sharp glare up at him before she released the droid and stalked toward the bench where her canteen was. Rex walked the droid over to the shelves of equipment and placed it on the top before making his way back over to his commander.
“Want to tell me why you’re down here right now?” He asked slowly.
“I’m training.” Ahsoka deadpanned.
“I can see that,” Rex said patiently. “But why are you down here right now?”
“Couldn’t sleep.” She answered, her eyes focused on the wall across from them.
Rex heaved an internal sigh at her short and clipped responses.
“Fine.” He said as she crossed his arms over his chest. “Want to tell me why you’re avoiding us?”
He felt surprise flicker across their bond as her eyes darted to him before shifting away.
“I’ve just been busy lately.” She responded as she scuffed her foot on the ground.
Rex resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the obvious lie.
“We’ve all noticed it.” He said as he sank down onto the bench. “You’ve been doing it ever since the distress call.”
Her shoulders crept up by her cheeks as she curled in on herself a little bit, but she didn’t say anything.
“What is going on Ahsoka?” He asked softly.
“Nothing has been-”
“Gev.” Rex cut her off. “You haven’t been sleeping.”
She didn’t correct him.
“You haven’t been sleeping, and when you do it’s all nightmares.” He continued. “You’re exhausted, you’re avoiding all of us, and you are down here in the middle of the sleeping cycle.” Her eyes had dropped to the floor as he spoke. “Something is wrong Ahsoka, all we want to do is help.”
“You can’t help me.” Ahsoka finally said, her voice quiet. “I don’t think any of you can.”
Rex watched her, waiting for her to elaborate. She scuffed her foot on the floor as her head lowered, shoulders slumping down. In the bond, it felt to Rex like she was defeated, tired, and a little scared.
“Something…” She began. “Something happened. On Mortis.”
Rex leaned a little closer.
“I don’t remember it fully, but bits and pieces of have been coming back.” She said.
“What happened?” Rex asked, his voice low.
He had a feeling that he already knew. He’d felt it, but he needed this last bit of information to help him solve this issue.
“I was captured by the Son.” Ahsoka shoved herself off of the bench as she began to pace in front of him. “One second it was just us three on the shuttle, then he was there and he grabbed me.”
Rex leaned back slightly as she paced, tracking her movement across the floor warily.
“When I woke up, I was chained to the wall and I tried to get out using the Force but it was like I was blocked off from it. Then this… thing, showed up and released me.” Her hands came up to tightly grip her biceps. “I thought he was there to help me but then…”
Her voice faltered.
“But then he bit me, and all I could feel was this… this cold, crawling through my veins. It was like I was on fire and freezing at the same time.” Ahsoka took a shuddering breath. “Then it all went dark and when I woke up, the Son was standing there an-and I knew, I felt it, the darkness.” She stopped suddenly, her eyes distant. “I’d fallen.”
Rex’s eyes widened.
So that is what they’d all felt. That blinding flash of darkness, that shivering touch of cold and searing gold eyes.
“I remember how it felt, the darkness. Even if I wasn’t in full control, I remember how it felt.” She continued. “It was dark, but it was powerful, addicting. I remember thinking to myself, ‘This isn’t so bad’, even as I tried to kill Anakin and Obi-Wan. It was like I knew I wasn’t in control, but I didn’t care, because I felt that power, and I…” She trailed off, her breath hitching slightly in her throat.
Rex found himself leaning forward again, his arms braced on his knees.
“Then, when my purpose was served…” Ahsoka continued, sounding strained. “He killed me. A-at least I think he did. Whatever control he had over me seemed to turn inward. I remember everything going dark, but then it went light again and when I woke back up the Daughter was dead but it was like I could still feel her, inside of me, purging out the darkness.”
Rex swallowed thickly as he processed everything Ahsoka had just told him. So she had died. She’d died and none of them had been able to do anything about it.
She was dead but now she’s standing right in front of you. Rex had to remind himself.
“You died,” Rex said slowly.
“And fell,” Ahsoka said.
“You died, and because of this… you felt the need to avoid us?” Rex asked slowly, trying to work it out himself with little luck.
Ahsoka shook her head in a sharp and jerky motion, making her lekku sway, before she started pacing again.
“No, I…” A growl rumbled through her as she moved.
“Then why?”
“I fell, Rex!” She finally shouted.
Her eyes were wide and wild as she turned to face him.
“I fell. I used the Dark Side, I used it against my master and my grandmaster.” She cried.
“But you aren’t still.” Rex pointed out.
“No, but… ugh you don’t understand!” Ahsoka snapped.
“Then explain it to me,” Rex told her.
Ahsoka began to pace again.
“Falling to the Dark Side… it’s a choice. You choose to fall. It takes a toll on your body and your soul because you are giving up some of your control to let it be influenced by the Dark Side of the Force.” Ahsoka said. “It is almost unheard of for someone who has fallen to rejoin the light, it’s an extremely difficult process and even if you do manage to do it because you’ve had that taste, it’s so much easier for you to fall again, to slip back into the Dark Side.”
Rex narrowed his eyes slightly as she talked.
“I fell, I’ve had that taste because the Son, he forced the fall on me and now I have to live with the fact that I tried to kill Anakin and Obi-Wan and that I kriffing liked it. I liked how powerful I felt.” Her hands came up to grip her montrals. “I can’t close my eyes without seeing his face. I can’t sleep because I dream about what I tried to do. I can’t stop thinking about, how if I fell once I can do it again, and if I do it again how I might try to not just hurt my masters but also try to hurt all of you and-”
Her breath hitched into a sob.
Rex quickly pushed himself to standing and stepped into her path, making her stop to avoid running right into his chest. Her eyes were on the floor, her hands clasped over her mouth as another sob threatened to rip itself out of her chest.
He reached out to grab her narrow shoulders and leaned down until he was eye level with her.
“Ahsoka.” He said, nudging his thumb under her chin until she met his gaze. “You would never hurt us, not intentionally and not like this.”
“But what if I did?” She asked, her voice hushed almost to a whisper as a tear slipped out of her eye.
“You just told me that falling was a choice, right?” He asked.
She nodded, eyes wide and shining.
“You also just told me that the Son forced you to fall, correct?” Another nod. “Ahsoka you didn’t choose to fall. This was forced on you. I know for a fact that you would never choose the dark side. Especially after what we all felt.”
Her eyes widened further.
“You- what-?”
“We all felt it,” Rex told her. “We felt that darkness, that rage, and the cold. It was like a void. We felt your pain.”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she stared up at him.
“Ahsoka you said that falling once would make you more susceptible to it?” He asked. “I know that you’ll never fall because of what you experienced. You’re avoiding us because you fear what could happen, that is what makes me so certain that you never will let that happen. You would never choose that, I know it, and all of our brothers know it too.”
Another tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and Rex gently rubbed it off her cheek as he sent her a comforting pulse of affection through the bond.
“Even if you still feel like you might, just remember that you have all of us.” Rex reminded her, pushing his resolve across their bond. “You aren’t alone vod’ika. Let us help you.”
One moment she was in front of him, the next her arms were around his neck and she was crying into his ear.
Rex wrapped his arms tightly around the little togruta, rubbing soothing circles into her back and shoulders as she clung to him. He sent wave after wave of assurance through their bridge of light.
In the back of his mind, he was aware of some of the others being woken up by this display of emotion, but he didn’t pay them much mind. If anything they’d probably begin to bombard Ahsoka with affection just because he was, never wanting to be outdone.
Slowly but surely her sobs began to quiet down and in their place was exhaustion. Rex straightened back up without releasing Ahsoka, lifting her with him and feeling his back pop in multiple places after being stooped over for an extended period of time. His little sister responded by wrapping her legs around his middle as she buried her face into his shoulder.
Slowly, Rex let his own exhaustion filter across the bond, twining it with hers until she began to fall asleep. With that, Rex secured his grip on her and began to make his way back up through the ship to the bunks.
When he stepped back into the dark room, he could see that the others were awake. They sent relieved nudges when they saw that he was carrying Ahsoka.
The three of them circled around as Rex carefully deposited Ahsoka onto his bunk.
“Is she okay?” Jesse asked.
“I think she will be,” Rex answered quietly.
“What happened?” Kix asked.
Rex sighed before he gave a brief overview of what had transpired, leaving much of it back up to Ahsoka to disclose in the morning. Even with his summary, Rex was sure they would be able to piece it together fairly quickly.
“I think another check-up would be good for her.” Rex finally concluded, with a look to Kix.
The medic nodded.
With that, Rex moved to settle back down on his bunk, hooking his arms around Ahsoka and pulling her to his chest. She nudged her montrals up under his chin before a quiet purr began to vibrate his chest. Rex looked over to see Hardcase staring at her with a broad smile.
Right, the heavy class hadn’t had the privilege of hearing her purr yet.
“Kriffing adorable,” he whispered.
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Rex mumbled.
“She will undoubtedly kill you.” Kix agreed around a yawn.
“Painfully,” Jesse added as he settled back down in his bunk.
Rex chuckled a little before letting out a long sigh as he surrendered himself to sleep. Things might not be alright now, but they would be. He hoped.
-
The shuttle had barely set itself onto the hangar floor before Echo and Fives were off of it, marching straight for the hangar doors without a backward glance.
Despite still having his helmet on, clones were remarkably good at reading body language, especially other troopers’ body language when they were kitted up, so when they saw Echo marching forward, his head tilted down the slightest bit, shoulders pulled back, and ridged, fists clenched at his side, they knew to get the kriff out of the way.
It was an ongoing joke that Rex had a particular walk that made his kamas sway in a certain way that made other troopers know that osik was about to go down, it had eloquently been named his murder strut. Echo wasn’t sure if anyone besides maybe a few of the commanders were able to replicate the particular strut, but he was pretty sure his own stride was close to it.
A few shinies jumped out of the way as Echo and his brother rounded the corner, whispering to themselves as they went by that something had to be very wrong for ARC troopers to be moving like that.
In truth something had been wrong, Echo didn’t think it was still wrong but he didn’t know for sure. All he did know was that he’d been on watch during their most recent assignment in the middle of the night when all of a sudden Ahsoka’s bond had gone quiet, then it had gone ballistic. Then it had plunged into the darkest parts of empty space, colder than some of the ice planets they’d fought on, and so full of rage and pain. Fives had woken with a gasp, his eyes with an odd gold tint to them before Ahsoka’s bond had snapped.
Despite never having experienced it through the bond before, Echo had known with a sinking pit in his stomach that Ahsoka was dead. Why else would it hurt this much? Then all of a sudden she’d been back, the glow blinding him.
He’d wanted to know what the kriffing haran had been going on, but they were on strict radio silence. It had been a while before they were able to check coms and Echo had felt a little better seeing that Rex had confirmed that Ahsoka was alive and unharmed but hadn’t given much explanation as to what they’d experienced.
So yes, Echo was tearing through the Resolute currently, following that glowing strand in his head to find his sister because he wouldn’t be able to take a full kriffing breath until he laid eyes on her himself to confirm that she was alive and unharmed and okay.
It was a little morbid, but Echo had wondered ever since the bond had formed what it would feel like if one of them were to die. It was a fair thing to wonder considering that they were all soldiers fighting in battles that many troopers didn’t walk off of. Statistically, it was only a matter of time.
Now Echo knew. It felt like a hole was being punched through his chest as the bond snapped, lashing at his mind to leave scarring marks. The echo of the bond in those few moments that had been gone had been painful, knowing that the bond was supposed to be there but no longer was.
Echo and Fives burst into the bunk room, making a beeline for their bunks. Sure enough, there was Jesse propped up on his bunk with a flimsi book in his hands, and tucked under the arm opposite from them, was Ahsoka.
Her head lifted toward them and she quickly hopped off of Jesse’s top bunk in time for Echo to sweep her off her feet in a crushing hug. He just stood there for a few moments, Ahsoka dangling from his grip, breathing, alive. Fives was jabbing his bond insistently but Echo ignored him, instead reaching up to remove his helmet and toss it onto Hardcase’s bunk before hooking his arm back around Ahsoka.
Her montral pressed into his cheek as she sent a wave of assurance through the bond.
“Alright, Echo your crushing me and I can’t really breathe.” She finally wheezed.
Echo’s eyes snapped open and he quickly set her down but kept his hands on her shoulders as he looked her over worriedly. She didn’t appear to have any cuts or bruises, no obvious signs of distress or of whatever had kriffing killed her, even if it was only briefly.
Fives finally lost his patience and shoved him out of the way so he could wrap his arms around their sister.
“What the kriff did we say about not dying while we were gone.” Fives snapped hoarsely at her without releasing his grip.
“Sorry,” Ahsoka replied. “At least it didn’t stick.”
“No, we are not going to start joking about dying.” Jesse chastised as he hopped off of his bunk. “Good to see you both in one piece.”
Echo clasped his brother’s forearm in greeting with a nod.
“Now would someone like to elaborate on what the kriff happened?” Echo asked, turning his narrowed eyes at Ahsoka.
The togruta heaved a sigh before she sank down onto Hardcase’s bunk to recount the tale to them. By the end of it, Echo was once again eternally grateful that he was not Force-sensitive or a Jedi. They dealt with some kriffed up osik that was for sure. Echo was just kriffing happy that all three of those Force beings were dead now.
He watched Ahsoka as she talked, noting every small twitch and flinch. What had transpired was still taking a toll on her, that was clear to see. He briefly glanced at Jesse and received an assured nudge back, they were handling it.
Now that he’d fulfilled his mission of finding his sister alive, his new mission was to keep his eyes on her at all times. Echo quickly realized that this seemed to be a shared goal for all of them, none of them wanting to risk it again.
Echo expected Ahsoka to snap at them for being ‘overbearing’ but she never did. If anything, she seemed to be constantly assuring them all that she was fine to keep them calm, as if she herself hadn’t kriffing died, even if it was briefly.
He sank down next to Rex at dinner as the others went to grab food.
“Do you think she’s going to be alright?” He asked his older brother quietly.
Rex took a sip of his water as his eyes tracked the group in line.
“She’s strong,” Rex answered after a moment. “I think her biggest obstacle will be herself.”
Echo cocked his head and sent a questioning prod through the bond. Rex sighed.
“What she had to go through… it rattled her,” Rex said. “She’s scared she’ll fall again because she was forced to once. She’s scared she’ll hurt us if she does.”
Echo turned back to see Ahsoka give a small smile to Kix as he spoke to her.
“I think what she needs to assurance that she’s not a risk.” Rex finished.
That night, Fives shoved his way into Echo’s bunk with Ahsoka smushed between them. Rex’s words from earlier were still ringing in his head. Echo had no doubt in his mind that Ahsoka would never hurt any of them intentionally, but then again he’d never felt like a stranger in his skin as he watched someone else puppet his body.
He tightened his hold on her as he nudged her gently in their bond. Her head tilted up and he caught her eyes in the darkness of the bunks.
“You know that I would follow you to the ends of the galaxy, right?” He mumbled quietly to her, an echo of a conversation once held in an empty hangar.
Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.
“Through hell or high water, or whatever Force osik there is, I’d follow you Ahsoka.” He said. “I trust you with my life vod.”
Her eyes shimmered before she buried her face into his chest, warmth making their bond glow. Echo tilted his chin down to kiss the dip between her montrals.
He found himself counting her breaths as she fell asleep, once again assuring himself that she was alive. The thought of outliving Ahsoka Tano made his stomach turn. That wasn’t how the universe was supposed to work, Echo couldn’t imagine a galaxy without his sister.
Echo vowed then that he would do everything in his power to make sure that never happened.
-
Jesse tilted his head toward the two suns shining down on Turango. They’d spent the last two weeks here defending the capital city Aytaru from droids and finally, they were getting a break.
Jesse had stuck close to Ahsoka throughout the campaign. They were all still hesitant to lose sight of her after the whole Mortis bantha-osik, which could you really blame any of them after what they’d felt? He’d been happy to see Ahsoka's confidence come back throughout the campaign, which lowered his own worrying many degrees.
The sound of the city had been getting steadily louder over the recent days as the residents worked to return their lives to normal after the attacks. There were still a few smoking craters and decimated buildings, but they’d managed to defend the city from most of the attacks. The 501st had been sticking around for a few days now to help clear some of the rubble and droid machinery out, which was in a way a vacation. Anything that wasn’t fighting droids was counted as a vacation, which was honestly a pretty sad standard to have.
Jesse felt a tug in his mind and turned away from the city back toward the camp the battalion had set up. He wound through the various structures before he came upon Ahsoka and Echo. Their commander had a bright smile on her face and she was rocking back and forth on her feet.
“What’s got your blacks in a knot?” He asked as she came to stop in front of them.
“I’ve got a bit of a surprise for you both,” Ahsoka answered as she motioned for them to follow.
Jesse shared a confused look with Echo before they both followed after their sister. She led them back through the camp and through the makeshift wall that had been erected during the battle around the city.
Jesse looked around at the buildings as they walked deeper into the city. The further away from the wall they got, the less damage appeared on the streets. The residents of the city took notice of them as they passed, some of them just stared at them as they walked, which was honestly a pretty normal interaction for clones, but many people waved or even thanked them as they passed.
Finally, they came to a stop in front of a large building with white stone walls. Ahsoka shot them another excited look before she hurried up the steps to the doors, pushing them open for Echo and Jesse. It took a moment for his vision to adjust to the dimmer interior but when it did, his eyes widened in shock.
Jesse slid off his helmet as he looked around in awe. This whole building was filled with rows and rows of books. Not just datapads, but actual flimsi books. His awe was replicated on Echo’s face as they both took in the space.
“As soon as I’d heard that the public library in the city had survived the attack,” Ahsoka said. “I knew that I needed to bring you both.”
Jesse turned to look at Ahsoka, his eyes still wide. She smiled at him before giving him a shooing motion.
“Go, frolic. Bask in the glory of it all.”
Jesse didn’t have to be told twice as he started forward, eyes roving over the shelves and the titles. He ran his fingers along the spines of the flimsi books, traveling through the different genres of stories. Before long he had a stack of books in his arms and he was making his way toward some of the tables set up in the middle. Ahsoka was already there with a book propped open in front of her. He plunked his stack down across from her and eagerly cracked open the top one.
A little while later Echo found them with a small stack of his own and a satisfied smile on his lips.
Their only interruption was the arrival of an elderly twi’lek woman approaching their table.
Jesse and Echo straightened up when they saw her approach. Ahsoka turned and offered the woman a smile.
“Hello.” She greeted.
“Hello, dears.” The woman had a faint Ryl accent and her name tag read Alean. “I take it you are the ones to thank for keeping this city standing?”
“Yes, well, just doing our part for the Republic,” Ahsoka answered.
The woman nodded with a hum. She then turned toward Jesse and Echo.
“Based on the looks on your faces when you walked in,” Alean said. “I take it that you’ve never been in a library before?”
Jesse felt his cheeks darken slightly.
“No ma’am.” He answered.
“Oh so polite,” The woman chuckled. “I’m glad to see you both have found some happiness in this little old library.”
Jesse glance at his sizable stack of books.
“Well, as a thank you for protecting us all, I’d like for you all to take whatever books you’d like with you.” Alean held up her hand when they began to politely decline the offer. “You all have saved us from destruction. The least I can offer you in exchange are a few books to keep you company on your travels.”
Ahsoka glanced at Jesse and Echo, before nodding with a warm smile.
“Thank you so much.”
The twi’lek dipped her head before turning and disappearing back into the shelves.
The rest of the day was spent sitting in the library reading, the only way to tell the passage of time was the suns through the skylights above them. Jesse glanced up to see both Echo and Ahsoka completely enraptured with their books, they were calm in the bond, both relaxed for the first time in weeks.
Jesse let out a small sigh of relief as he let that calm permeate his own mind. He didn’t think there was anywhere he’d rather be right now than this quiet library with his vod’ikas.
Notes:
Aloha my friends. I was so looking forward to this chapter and getting to explore what happened on the Mortis but through the lens of the Force bond and if you know me you know that I am a sucker for 'the clones find out what happened on mortis'. SO HERE WE ARE
Did their eyes actually change color or was it just an illusion? Hmm, don't know 0-0
Also tell me how I am sick for the like the second time this month what is this bullshittery
You can find me on Tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos fuel my eternally dark soul <3<3
Mando'a trans:
Hukagar’kama - watch your back
K’oyacyi - come back safely (lit. stay alive)
Gev - stop
Chapter 22: Trouble on Aurgo
Summary:
Revenge isn't the Jedi way except for when it comes to pranks
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The bright moments outshine the dark moments to keep moving forward
-
The purple skies of Aurgo gave the planet a slightly whimsical feeling, it also made the blue paint of the 501st appear darker, closer to a black. After the first few days of the campaign, Fives’ eyes had grown used to the strange atmosphere. They’d been sent to help the part of the 327th clean up the last of a droid invasion and now it was mostly just the 501st hunting down the stragglers.
“Why do I always feel like we’re stuck with clean up duty.” Jesse huffed.
“Because they know that we’ll actually get the job done.” Hardcase said, rattling his rifle against his shoulder for emphasis.
Fives brushed through the yellow fronded plants that dominated the surface of the planet. A few of them left a weird residue on his armor, making him scrunch his face in disgust.
“Why can’t the plants just sit there and look pretty and not get this osik all over us?” He grumbled as he tried to swipe some of it off to little avail.
“That would be too simple vod’ika.” Jesse answered as he used to blaster to brush aside the plants.
Fives could feel a similar feeling of disgust from the other half of the group where they were scouting in the next quadrant of the forest. Fives envied Kix’s pass on this scouting mission as he dealt with wounded back at the camp. At least he didn’t have a bunch of this plant slimy osik all over him.
Jesse tugged on the bond to make them stop as he crouched down. Fives glanced over his shoulder to see what he was looking at as the the corporal’s signature sharpened from calm to alert in the bond. Now Fives spotted the tramped dirt in the shape of a droid foot.
“Looks like we got ourselves a trail.” Jesse said as he brushed aside a few more fronds to reveal more boot prints. “Looks like a group of fifteen, their headed southwest. A few might have heavy weaponry.”
It was times like these that Fives remembered that Jesse had been a scout long before he got promoted. Sure he’d done his fair share of scouting and tracking courses on Kamino growing up as well as in ARC training, but it didn’t come naturally to him like it did to the scouts.
Jesse’s com pinged with Rex’s frequency.
“What did you find?”
“We’ve got tracks, looks like fifteen to twenty headed southwest, might have some firepower.” Jesse answered as he stood back up.
“We’ll head your way and pursue as a group.” Rex said before hanging up.
Before long Fives picked up on the sound of rustling and footprints. They all crouched down amongst the fronds until they caught sight of plastoid armor and familiar helmets.
One of Echo’s arms was dripping in the strange viscous residue from the plants, based on his stiff posture he was most certainly not enjoying it. Ahsoka appeared to be the only one without a large amount of the stuff across her. After a moment Fives realized she was using the Force to keep an almost imperceptible barrier between her and the plants.
“That’s cheating.” Fives waved at her as he spoke.
“No,” She said as she held her finger up. “I’m practicing using low energy amounts of the Force for an extended period of time. This is training.”
Fives considered taking his helmet off just so she could see his expression. He settled for projecting his expression as best he could over the bond and sending multiple small jabs. She shot him a sharp toothed smirk as she stepped up beside Jesse.
“We’d better get a move on if we want to catch up with them and deal with them before nightfall.” Jesse said. “They appear to be in a hurry.”
“Oya.” Rex said as he started off through the plants.
It took Fives a few moments to realize that Ahsoka’s invisible barrier had extended to the rest of them now that they were all in close proximity. It was a small gesture but one he was grateful for, he sent her a nudge through the bond in appreciation.
The sun crept over them as they trudged, slowly beginning to make it’s decent when Ahsoka gave the bond a tug as she stopped. Her montrals tilted this way and that in a way that Fives knew meant she had heard something.
She motioned them forward slowly, keeping herself crouched and moving silently through the underbrush. While not as silent as a Jedi, the rest of them were also able to move quietly. It was one of those drills that the Alpha class troopers on Kamino had made them run over and over and over again until they could move as quietly as possible in their plastoid armor. If they didn’t move quiet enough the whole group had to go back to the beginning and do some sort of exercises or suicide runs until they tried again. Fives still had nightmares about those classes.
It wasn’t too long before Fives began to pick up on the sounds of droid voices. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Echo dropped the scanner on his helmet, motioning them around to circle the group of droids.
As Fives crept closer, he also dropped his scanner, picking up onto the heat signature of multiple droids. There were mostly B-1s with a few Super Battle droids sprinkled throughout. Jesse was right about some firepower.
Rex transmitted what Fives thought has at least part of a plan across the bond, with Ahsoka’s help it sharpened a little more but they were still pretty bad at transmitting anything over than feelings and jabs. It was more like intentions, or that’s how he thought Ahsoka had explained it. Kriff this Force-osik.
As one they took aim and fired, immediately sending the droids into a panic as they attempted to return fire. Ahsoka sprang from the trees to give them a target while Fives and the others worked to pick off the droids.
It was a mixture of blaster fire, screaming droids, singed foliage, and the sound of Ahsoka’s blades cutting through the air. Before long one of the droids managed to get their rocket launcher loaded and as about to take aim at Ahsoka when Fives jumped out of the trees.
“Hey clanker over here!” He shouted.
The droid changed it’s aim toward him as he lunged to the side, the blast behind him sending him a little further than intended and he ended up face first in one of the fronded plants. Specifically one of the frond plants with the gooey residue.
“Yuck.” He pushed himself up out of it, the viscous residue dripping off of his front.
“Oh ew.” Echo said from off to his left. “That’s kriffing nasty.”
Fives looked up to see his batchmate looking at him, body language displaying disgust. He pushed himself up and attempted to wipe the stuff off of him but he could feel some of it seeping into his blacks underneath already. A prod from Echo and he ducked, avoiding a stray bolt from the droids.
Fives shuddered as he stood up and turned back toward the droids.
Hardcase nailed the rocket launcher and Ahsoka swept forward, slicing through multiple as Rex and Jesse took off after the ones attempting to flee. Fives shot the droid attempting to reach for it’s blaster behind Ahsoka as she cleaved the last Super Battle Droid in half.
Within moments it was quiet in the forest again. Ahsoka tilted her head for a moment before giving them a thumbs up.
“I don’t hear anymore. We got them all.”
Hardcase cheered as Fives tried to wipe the stuff off his blaster. Ugh it was dripping down his kamas and down his legs.
“Ah who doesn’t like a little action before dinner,” Hardcase said with a sigh. “Am I right vod?”
Just before Hardcase clapped him on the shoulder he stopped. He examined him more closely before taking a sizable step back.
“Kriff did you land in one of those plants?”
“Yeah.” Fives grumbled.
“Nasty, keep that to yourself.” The heavy class shuddered.
Fives looked up at his brother with narrowed eyes.
“What you don’t want a hug like this.” Fives held out his arms.
Hardcase scrambled to try to huddle behind Ahsoka, gripping her shoulders in an attempt to shield himself from Fives.
“Protect me commander.” He said to which she rolled her eyes.
Fives turned toward Echo next.
“Don’t even think about it.” His batchmate said, holding a finger out in warning.
Fives cocked his head as he held his arms out wide.
“Oh come on vod, I know you love me.”
“That’s up for debate.” Echo said as he backed up a step.
“It would make our squad proud if they saw us hugging.” Fives said as he lunged toward his brother.
Echo expertly ducked and dodged away, rolling to his feet and throwing himself behind Rex who had just reemerged from the forest with Jesse.
“What is going on?” Rex asked.
“Oh captain my captain Fives is attempting to assault a fellow trooper.” Echo said. “I suggest REG Code C-57 to Court Marshal any-”
“He face planted into one of the slime fronds.” Ahsoka cut in.
Rex turned back toward him, giving him a clear up and down look. Fives smiled broadly under his helmet and broadcasted it and his innocence across the bond.
“No one believes your innocence di’kut.” Jesse said where he was standing with his arms crossed. “Stay on your side of the kriffing trail with that osik all over you.”
Fives lifted his helmet up to stick his tongue out at his older brother, accidentally getting some of the slime on his face plate and his goatee.
“Let’s get back to camp so you can get that osik off your our armor.” Rex said as he turned back toward the camp.
Echo moved to walk alongside Ahsoka as Fives fell to the back of the pack, simultaneously flicking residue off of himself and keeping an eye out for any stray droids. Kix nudged them questioningly and he felt Hardcase respond back reassuringly. Fives was happy that they’d be back before dinner time, although he did hope that he missed having to watch General Skywalker eat any bugs.
Fives glanced up to see Echo tilting his head down as he talked to Ahsoka about something. His batchmate glanced sideways at Hardcase who was carefully avoiding any and all slimy fronds. Ahsoka glanced back up at him and gave the slightest nod. Fives had a feeling that whatever they were discussing wouldn’t end well.
No sooner had he thought that he saw Echo’s boot flick out quickly, tripping up Hardcase in the process the same time he felt an invisible hand grab his ankle and pull it out from under him. He went down with a shout and landed on another kriffing slimy frond. Hardcase swore colorfully where he too had ended up on his shebs in the slime.
“Gar’shabuirs!” Hardcase roared. “Ni’mav muun’bajir both your kriffing shebs!”
“I’ll help.” Fives growled. “You shebs’palons.”
He scrambled upright, slipping slightly in the slime as he attempted to get his feet under him, Hardcase facing a similar issue. Echo grabbed Ahsoka and took off running, the two of them cackling as they went.
Jesse merely stepped to the side as they sprinted by, his amusement clear in the bond. Rex touched his fingers to his helmet in exasperation as Hardcase and Fives tore after them.
-
Echo watched as Hardcase and Fives carefully scrubbed off their armor, Fives’ curls still hanging damp from the shower he’d taken to get the stuff off of his skin. The rest of Torrent was doing a good job of avoiding that general area as they cleaned.
They both looked up to make eye contact with him across the camp, both of them sending him withering glares. From where Ahsoka was sitting beside him as they ate their dinner, she blew them a kiss as Echo waved.
“You both shouldn’t antagonize them.” Kix said as he sank down next to Echo. “Maker knows they’ll find a way to retaliate.”
“We are clearing out of here tomorrow morning. Everyone is exhausted from the campaign and from the clean up.” Echo shrugged. “By the time they would retaliate we will be back on the Resolute to which there are many places to avoid them with.”
And by hiding Echo meant that he would 100% be bunking in Ahsoka’s room for a few nights to avoid getting Fives’ goatee drawn on his face in permanent marker again.
“Even so, I’d sleep with one eye open.” Kix warned.
Ahsoka shrugged as she shoved another bite of the protein mash into her mouth.
“How are the injured?” She asked instead.
“Many of them have already been released, if they actually listen to medic orders and rest for a little bit, they’ll be fine.” Kix grumbled. “The rest will be ready for the transfer back to the ship. We’ve used up more of our bacta here.”
Ahsoka frowned slightly at that.
“I thought we put in a request for more bacta?” Ahsoka asked.
“Sure did, however they don’t really seem to want to give us anymore than we already have.” Kix sighed.
“Stingy bastards.” Echo mumbled.
Ahsoka rubbed her forehead with a huff.
“What is GAR spending going towards if not medical stuff.” She grumbled.
“Probably into making more of us.” Echo said. “Or more ships, or blasters, or missiles.”
“Or some politicians pocket.” Ahsoka huffed. “Maybe Obi-Wan is onto something with disliking politicians.”
“I have a feeling that’s just a normal feeling toward politicians.” Kix said.
Ahsoka set her empty bowl down as Hardcase and Fives sent rather sharp announcement prods their way.
“Ah so nice of you to join us.” Echo said as they both sank down with their own bowls of food.
“You better enjoy your dinner vod,” Fives said. “It might be your last.”
“Threatening your own batchmate,” Echo placed a hand on his chestplate. “A new low.”
Ahsoka laughed as she stood up with her bowl.
“Well I’m turning in, we have an early start tomorrow.” She said around a yawn.
“I hope both sides of your pillow are warm tonight.” Hardcase told her.
Echo felt her send a jab his way through the bond.
“Another low blow.” Ahsoka said. “Some might say you’re a little petty.”
“Well the blow had to be low enough to hit you kid.” Hardcase said.
Ahsoka looked positively offended as Fives cackled.
“Now that is just rude and I hope you wake up and realize you missed a spot or three on your armor from the plant goo.” She said. “Now, good night.”
-
Echo woke up groggily the next morning, fumbling for his blacks so he could get dressed and get food before helping take down the camp. Fives had kicked him out of his tent for the night so he’d had to set up his own, which was probably for the better in hindsight.
He yawned as he began to strap on his lower armor saving the top half for later when he was actually packing up his tent.
Echo finished strapping on his kamas before he reached for his boots and shoved his feet in. Immediately he was met with a damp and slick feeling that jolted him the rest of the way awake. He pulled his boot off only to find strings of the plant goo from yesterday dripping off of his socks and spilled over his boots.
Are you kriffing kidding me? He internally groaned as he tried to shake his foot off without flinging the stuff all over his tent.
Moments later a wave of disgust flooded the bond from Ahsoka. Looks like he wasn’t the only target of this attack.
Echo yanked his sock off and began to yank his armor off so he could remove his blacks. His last clean pair of blacks mind you. It was a while before he was finally able to stumble out of his tent to dump the nasty osik from his boots. Already Ahsoka was over in the washing station cleaning her boots out, her lips pulled back into a disgusted snarl.
“Revenge is not the Jedi way but I swear to the waka kriffing Force I’ll wax them both for this.” Ahsoka grumbled.
“Agreed.”
As they cleaned in disgusted silence, Fives and Hardcase passed by them smug grins on their faces.
“Hey remember ‘Case when that was us yesterday?” Fives asked.
“I do vaguely.” Hardcase responded. “Wasn’t to fun was it?”
“No it was not.” Fives threw them a wink before the two of them headed toward the mess tent.
Echo and his sister shared a look. This was far from over.
-
“You look a little…” Cody searched for the word. “Stressed.”
Rex turned his glare to the holoprojection of his brother. His eye might have twitched, he wasn’t sure.
“Do I want to know why you look stressed?” Cody asked. “Is it Skywalker?”
Rex groaned as he dropped his head into his hands.
“I look a little stress, because the kriffing battalion is been partaking in an all out prank war for the past week.”
He could feel is older brother staring at him as the silence stretched.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Rex let his head thunk on the table before he tilted it up so he was resting on his chin.
“It all started when we were still on Aurgo helping Bly clean up.” Rex began. “Ahsoka and Echo tripped Fives and Hardcase into some of the native plants that secreted this slimy substance. That night both of them went out and gathered a bunch of it and put it in Echo and Ahsoka’s boots for the next morning. Then we get back to the kriffing Resolute and ‘Case and Fives’ mattresses are just gone. Then Echo’s blacks are bleached and Ahsoka’s toothpaste is bright red. Then they wake up and Fives’ goatee is shaved and Case’s eyebrows are gone.”
Rex watched Cody attempt to keep a neutral face, but with each new addition he watched the marshal commander’s lips twitch. He was finding amusement in Rex’s misery. Bastard.
“Okay, if it’s just between the four of them, how is the rest of the battalion involved?” Cody asked.
Rex thunked his forehead back against the desk
“Well then Jesse tried to step in to meditate, but then his bunk got trip wired with glitter, so he declared war on all of them. The paint bucket he set up for Echo ended up hitting Hawk instead, so then Hawk declared war on all of them as well. Before I kriffing knew it, all of Torrent was involved as well as Carnival and Execute. Now everyone’s left sock is missing, Echo’s hair is dyed pink, Ahsoka is bunked out in the vents and Skywalker was called in to the eat the bugs someone released in the barracks.” Rex threw his arms up as he pulled himself off of the table. “Where the kriff did they even find bugs? We haven’t been dirt side in days!”
Cody had his hand covering his mouth, but it was doing little to disguise his laughter.
“Sounds like quite the osik’tengaara.” He finally managed.
“I’ve been sleeping in the private bunk because someone, most likely Echo, sliced into the intercom system and rigged it to play ‘It’s a Tooka World’ every hour and 23 minutes after the lights go out.”
Cody’s quite chuckling turned into a full belly laugh.
“The worst part is,” Rex groaned. “Skywalker’s nightmare astromech got roped into Ahsoka’s team and now everyone is fearing for their lives even more.”
He could hear that kriffing droid’s ominous laughter as it shut all the lights down in the ship for Ahsoka and Echo to complete whatever task they had set out to do. How does a droid that only speaks in binary even cackle?
“Well at least your general isn’t a part of it.”
Rex snapped is head toward the holoprojection.
“Don’t even kriffing say that because all it takes is for Ahsoka to direct one prank his way and he’ll join in.” Rex snapped. “The only one I think is immune to it is Kix, Coric, and the other medics.”
In fact the medics had sent out a battalion wide announcement saying that if anything was amiss in the med bays, they would personally insight their wrath upon the battalion. Everyone had steered clear of them ever since.
Cody continued to laugh at him as Rex stewed in silence. In the back of his mind he could feel Jesse exchanging jabs with Hardcase and Echo through the bond. While everyone else saw the big pranks, he was privy to the jabs, prods, and sensations that were sent back and forth between his aliit. He didn’t want to know what Fives had licked to send them all that kriffing taste.
“Well Rex ole’ boy you sure are in the thick of it this time.” Cody conceded. “I wish you all the luck with that tsad’shab.”
Rex heaved a sigh.
“I’m going to need it.”
“Hey, at least their finding a way to be entertained.” Cody told him. “Takes their mind off of things for a bit.”
Rex nodded absently.
Cody was right. As much grief as it was causing him, Rex did have to admit that it was nice to be worrying about something else for a change. While it was approaching a little over a month, Ahsoka hadn’t seemed to be having as many nightmares about what had happened on Mortis while this whole prank war had been going on, her mind occupied with a new task at hand. Rex would take that victory any day.
“I guess your right.” Rex said.
“Of course I’m right I’m your older brother.” Cody responded.
Rex rolled his eyes.
“Sure you are vod.”
Cody waved the notion away.
“Did I tell you about the shinies we got two weeks ago?” Cody asked.
Rex sat back in his seat at that.
“No, why are they as bad as my very much not shinies shaving people’s eyebrows off?”
“No ones' troopers are as bad as yours vod’ika.”
Rex laughed at that.
It wasn’t until a few days later that the pranks began to dwindle. Finally Rex felt safe enough to return to his bunk in the main barracks, especially after he confirmed that the intercoms had been fixed.
The lights were dim as he made his way in, the sounds of quiet shuffling and the occasional mumble being the only sounds.
When he made it to his aliit’s usual bunking area, he found most of their mattresses stripped off of the bunks. At first he was prepared to just turn around and leave becuase he was not dealing with any more pranks tonight, until he noticed the dark lumps a little ways away.
When he stepped closer he discerned in the darkness the group all piled together on the mattresses on the floor in one big nest.
Rex heaved a sigh of relief as he dropped his things on his bunk. When he stepped closer he noted that
Echo and Kix were in the middle, Jesse glommed onto Echo and Ahsoka asleep with her head on Kix’s stomach. Hardcase had his arm thrown over Jesse and Echo while Fives was curled up into Ahsoka’s back.
It looked to Rex like a truce had finally been struck.
With that he settled down with his family and slept.
Notes:
Sorry y'all for not getting a chapter out in October, I tried but with midterms, job, and my sister's wedding I did not have the motivation. Also I sprained my ankle on Halloween lmao would not recommend BUT I cranked this whole chapter out basically between the last two nights and can deliver you some good old fashion fluff!
I decided a prank war was nessecary and Echo + Ahsoka deserved to be little gremlins. Anakin 100% got dragged into the prank war and caused chaos. Rex wanted to go hide out in the 212th but Cody denied his request.
Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos feed my dark soul ;)
Mando'a trans:
Gar’shabuirs: you motherfuckers
Ni’mav muun’bajir: I will (trounce, teach someone a lesson, kick butt)
osik’tengaara: shit-show
tsad’shab: cluster fuck
Chapter 23: Souls Afire, Bridges Burned
Summary:
:)
Notes:
The estimated read time on this chapter is an hour so do with that what you will
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
There are often multiple meanings to the word victory, not all mean what you want them to.
-
Echo slowly blinked awake, the sight of the bottom of Fives’ bunk meeting his gaze. He could faintly hear the sound of other members of Torrent slowly moving around the barracks. Mornings on shoreleave were usually pretty slow in the barracks if they didn’t have to run drills. They were only usually subjected to drills when one too many of them ended up in the drunk tank and Rex or Appo were annoyed enough to make them run drills.
But Echo liked the slow mornings. He slowly rolled himself upright, stretching out his limbs as he yawned. He and Fives had gotten back to Coruscant from an ARC mission only four days ago while the rest of the 501st had been on leave for a week and a half. Even if it was shorter, he was happy for the respite.
Slowly Echo stumbled out of his bunk and to the freshers before rifling through the more comfortable clothing he’d snagged from the clothing bins. Ahsoka and Commander Offee’s clothing bins really had been revolutionary because now he had a comfortable purple sweatshirt and loose-fitting pants that he could wear instead of his blacks or his grays.
He made his way to the mess and sank down into a group of Torrent members, catching the tail end of a story Ridge was telling.
“We were going to start up a sabacc tournament if you’d like in?” Chipper asked him.
“No don’t invite this shebs’palon!” Cameron griped. “He cheats, swear to the Maker.”
Echo shot him an offended look.
“Just because you can’t win doesn’t mean I cheat vod.” Echo countered.
There were oos from around the table as Chipper gave Cameron a whack on the back of the head. The group stood to move to one of the rec rooms, talking animatedly about how the leave had been so far. Echo settled down next to Ridge and Sneaker, right across from Cameron who continued to shoot him suspicious looks.
“Oh give him a break Cam,” Carver spoke up. “Be happy the commander isn’t here to kick you shebs. At least Echo as the ability to lose in sabacc.”
Echo rolled his eyes.
“Thanks.”
“No problem vod.” Carver shot him a sharp-toothed grin.
Echo liked this. He liked just getting to spend a day bantering with his brothers without the risk of someone shooting his head off. He felt a familiar ache in his chest as he thought about how much the rest of Domino would have loved the 501st. Droidbait had been a pretty good sabacc player too, he could picture him at the table now. Echo shook off the old grief, as much as he still missed his old squad, he’d found a new aliit here. So he didn’t mind the lighthearted jabs sent his way by the others at the table, no matter how graphic the threat of bodily harm was when Echo put down a specific card, it was all out of love.
Well mostly.
As he played he absently tracked his vode through the bond. Ahsoka was up and moving it seemed, though she was content and in no rush, Fives was still asleep as well as Kix, Jesse seemed to be working out based on the ghost aches Echo was feeling in his muscles, and Rex was up and focused on a task (per usual). With everyone accounted for Echo focused back on the game.
A half an hour later he could feel Hardcase absently tracking him through the bond before the heavy class appeared behind Ridge.
“Well, what do we have here?” He asked.
The was a collection of groans from around the table.
“Oh who the kriff invited you?” Cameron growled.
“Nobody vod, I just go where the wind takes me.” Hardcase responded as he clapped Cameron on the shoulder. “Besides, I’m not playing, I’m still reveling in beating Appo two nights ago.”
Echo snorted and shook his head as his ori’vod pushed in to sit down next to him, displacing Sneaker slightly. He draped his arm over Echo’s shoulders, pulling him down to the side a little as he observed his cards. He made a humming noise before leaning over to look at Chipper’s and making another humming sound. Echo knew that was a distinctly Ahsoka Tano action right there, clearly she’d been rubbing off on them all a little too much.
Though it was better than Hardcase picking up some of Fives’ traits, one Fives was already enough to have to deal with.
Echo ended up winning two of the next five hands, amassing a decent amount of winnings before they decided to change card games. Partway through the new game Echo’s com lit up.
He sighed as he stepped away from the table to take it.
“ARC-21-1409 report to the Jedi Temple for new mission debrief.” Came an automated voice.
“Acknowledged,” Echo said, curiosity taking root.
Anything that involved a trip to the temple was usually a big deal. He wondered if this mission would be anything like the escort mission on Argmora.
“Well vode, duty calls.” Echo said as he turned back toward the table.
“Where the kriff are you going?” Carver asked.
“Super secret ARC osik.” Echo said with a flourish. “‘Case if you’d be so kind to play in my place.”
The table hurled insults at him as he collected his winnings, a few of them patting him on the back and wishing him luck. He nodded to them with a smile.
“I wanna rematch in sabacc you di’kut!” Cameron shouted after him.
“If you like losing so much!” Echo yelled back before ducking out of the rec room.
Fives was sluggishly putting his armor on as Echo made his way back into the barracks, he looked like he’d just woken up.
“Where have you been?” Fives asked around a yawn.
“Rec room.” Echo said as he dumped his winning into the drawer below his bunk.
“Swindling people out of their goods?” Fives asked as he stretched.
Echo waved him off as he stripped from his comfortable clothes and pulled on his blacks and armor. It wasn’t long before they were on a shuttle headed to the temple. He felt along the bond and found that Rex appeared to be up ahead of them at the temple, but Ahsoka was back in the barracks. Odd.
The temple always had a sort of warmth around it, like a blanket was being wrapped around his shoulders. He did not miss the imposing Temple Guards who stood like silent sentinels, but the inviting feeling of warmth gave the space a safe feeling. It felt not dissimilar to the bond tethering his mind to his vode, warm, light, safe.
They had long since learned the layout of the temple both so they wouldn’t get lost when they were heading to briefings and also as a security measure. If the temple was ever the target of an attack, the clone troopers would be there to defend their Jedi. Echo knew where the archives were located, where the residential wings were, how to reach the creche dens, and the fastest ways to reach the Halls of Healing. He also knew of various tunnels spread out through the temple for evacuations, but many of the younglings liked to use them to move around unnoticed.
Echo and his batchmate arrived at the briefing room and stepped in to find Rex, Commander Cody, Commander Wolffe, General Skywalker, General Koon, and General Kenobi standing around the display table. He was aware of Fives shooting a questioning nudge, a flash of montrals crossing his mind.
This was a new thing that had been discovered while on a mission was this ability to shoot quick, blurred, or sometimes partial images across the bond. It still caused Echo a bit of a headache but Fives seemed to have a knack for it.
But the question was clear, if the rest of this group was here, the main missing person was obviously their sister.
Echo nudged Rex with that question but he shook his head slightly, sending a reassuring prod back.
Echo and Fives came to stand beside Rex as Cody, Wolffe, and the Jedi discussed something quietly. Cody looked over and nodded to both of them before returning to the conversation.
A few moments later the com bay lit up and two Jedi holograms were projected around the display table.
“Alright now that we are all here, let’s get started.” General Kenobi said as he approached the table.
He pressed a button and a planet with rings and debris around it appeared. It looked familiar but he couldn’t quite place the planet, as he thought he read the title of the mission report.
The Citadel.
He knew this planet. He knew the prison that resided on it. Suddenly he understood why Ahsoka would not be joining them on this mission.
Echo felt a chill race up his spine.
“Let’s get started.”
-
Ahsoka slowly blinked awake, her eyes meeting the dim ceiling of her room in the Temple. She slowly yawned, feeling her jaw crack slightly before she began to push herself upright.
She liked having a slow morning on shore leave. It gave her time to slowly wake herself, to carefully work her way through her katas and morning meditation, before setting off toward the cafeteria. The chrono in the living space of her shared apartment with Anakin read 0956 as she stepped out. Her master was gone, if she had to guess he was probably off with Padmé, that’s where he’d been spending most of this leave. Ahsoka guessed she couldn’t blame him too much, they’d had a longer deployment this time around.
The halls of the Temple hummed with light as knights, masters, and younglings strode through. She waved to familiar faces before entering the cafeteria. The food wasn’t exactly great but it was arguably better than the ration bars they ate on campaigns. Those things had to violate some sentient rights law with how they offended her taste buds.
After her breakfast, she swung back by her room to grab a few things before setting off to the barracks. She’d been invited to a sabacc tournament with the 104th who also happened to be on world. Considering that the 501st had largely banned her from most sabacc circles, stating that she won too much must be cheating (which it wasn’t her fault that Wolffe and Comet had taught her all of their tricks) she was happy for the opportunity to play.
The 104th barracks were full of noise as she strode in, multiple familiar faces calling out to her. The 1o4th battalion had been the first troopers she’d met, Plo had brought her by prior to her being assigned to the 501st so she could get more comfortable around military workings. Due to this, she had become good friends with many of the troopers, including the only remaining three from the original 104th. Their armor had gone from maroon to gray, but they still carried that lively and competitive spirit she’d grown to love about the 104th.
“Aw if it isn’t little ‘Soka!” Boost called as she approached. “We were hoping you’d be making an appearance.”
“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this.” She said with a smile, getting pulled down into the circle of troopers.
“Good to see that you still have all your limbs.” Comet said as he looked her over. “Especially considering the 501st’s reputation.”
“Oh, it’s not that bad.” Ahsoka waved her hand dismissively. “We’ve only crashed one venator into a banking blockade.”
There were laughs and mutterings around the table as the dealer shuffled the cards and began to deal. Ahsoka glanced around the room, noting who was there and who wasn’t.
“Where is Wolffe?” She asked. “I’d have thought he’d be here for this considering how much he likes to win.”
“Eh, he had some briefing thing with the general for a mission.” Boost said.
Ahsoka hummed as she picked up her cards. She’d spent the afternoon with Plo a few days ago, using the time to catch up with the master.
All thoughts of everything else but the sabacc game faded away as she settled in. It was always an exciting game when it came to the 104th, the stakes seemed to be much higher here than with the 501st, not that she’d ever tell her men that.
An hour and a half later the game began to wind down, everyone seemingly content with their pile of winnings. Comet was inspecting a sabercat fang Ahsoka had picked up on a campaign and had just lost to him. Not that she cared that much, she’d just one collection of sweets off of him that she was already working her way through.
“Well Lil ‘Soka it looks like your sabacc skills haven’t totally gone downhill since joining the 501st.” Boost said as he sorted through his pile.
“Gee thanks.” She huffed with a smile. “I’ll have to bring Hardcase with me next time, he’s got one of the best sabacc faces I’ve seen from you all.”
“I’d welcome the challenge.” Boost said as he clapped his hand on her shoulder.
She smiled before glancing at the chrono on the wall.
“Well, I should probably get going and say hi to my own battalion.” Ahsoka said as she stood. “Plus I have some course stuff I could get done now before leaving again.”
“It was good to see you kid, we miss you around here.” Comet said.
She smiled broadly at him and leaned over to give him a hug before heading toward the 501st barracks. The on-world GAR facility that housed the barracks was a bit of a maze and she’d gotten lost more than a few times when she was a new commander. There was a rotation of battalions that would stay in the same barracks whenever they were on-world and the walls of the bunks were painted with the respective battalion colors. Other than the bunks everything else was shared between the troopers.
She found a large group of her men playing cards in the rec room and she quickly spotted the back of Hardcase’s head. Ahsoka tugged on their bond in greeting as she waved to those who were facing her.
“Ah, our favorite commander!” Hardcase crooned as she came to a stop next to the table behind him.
“I’m sure you tell all commanders you meet that.” Ahsoka said, causing a couple of her troopers to chuckle.
Hardcase scoffed in offense as he jabbed at their bond in retaliation.
“So who is winning?” She asked.
“I am.” Ridge said with a sharp smile.
“Hardcase was for a bit because of the lead Echo left him,” Chipper added. “But then he fumbled it.”
“Sooran ni’jagyc shebs’palon.” Hardcase grumbled before wincing slightly and tilting his head back to look up at Ahsoka. “Don’t tell Rex I said that in front of you. Or Kix.”
Ahsoka rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure I’ve said much worse in Togruti in front of you all than what you just said.” Ahsoka assured him. “Echo was here? Where did he go?”
“Oh him got a call during the game and had to go.” Cameron said. “Some ARC thing.”
Ahsoka hummed as she tracked her bond with Echo. It seemed to lead in the direction of the Jedi temple. Usually, only missions that involved the Jedi got briefed at the temple. Interested, she also tracked Fives. He was also at the temple. Same with Rex.
Her brows furrowed slightly at that.
Wait.
She reached for the training bond she had with her master. He was also at the temple, with Obi-Wan and Master Plo along with her brothers.
Baka!
She searched her pockets for her device that had her calendar on it. It didn’t show any meetings or briefing today and yet the rest of the 501st leadership along with their two ARC troopers were all at the temple having a meeting!
“I think I need to go.” Ahsoka said as she began to back toward the door. “Good luck!”
“Hi commander, bye commander.” Hardcase huffed as she ducked out of the room.
There was no transport leaving for the temple anytime soon so she waved down a cab and paid him extra to get her back to the temple as fast as possible. Even so, it seemed to take forever.
She dashed through the halls of the temple, gaining her a few odd looks. As she blazed around the corner she suddenly felt an invisible hand wrap around her midsection and catch her off the floor. She flailed instinctively before turning around to see who had grabbed her. She was greeted by the small figure of Master Yoda, holding out his hand toward her with a calm smile on his face.
“At this speed, where might you be going young padawan?” Master Yoda asked as she gently released her.
“I’m sorry master but I think I’m very late for a briefing.” She said. “I sense my master and grandmaster there along with Master Plo.”
“Infiltrating the Citadel, the meeting is about, hmm?” the eldest member of her lineage inquired.
“The Citadel?” Ahsoka exclaimed. “Isn’t that the Separatist Jedi prison?”
“Correct you are padawan.” Master Yoda said as he placed his hands on top of his cane. “Rescue Master Piell, the plan is.”
Ahsoka wracked her brain to put a name to that face.
“Wait when was Master Piell captured?” Ahsoka asked. “And how? He is a skilled fighter if I recall correctly master.”
“Matters not how skilled a fighter one is,” Master Yoda reminded her. “A storm can be subdued, given the proper tools.”
Ahsoka nodded as she fidgeted with her fingers behind her back.
“Let you talk to your master, I will.” Master Yoda said as he nodded toward the hall she had been about to barrel down a few moments ago.
Ahsoka bowed respectfully before she turned and resumed her dash through the temple. Finally, up ahead she spotted the back of the three masters she was looking for.
“Master!” She called out as she slid to a stop next to Anakin. “I just heard about the briefing! So we are going to rescue Master Piell right?”
Her master stopped as Plo and Obi-Wan continued forward before pausing.
“You too have much to discuss.” Master Plo said as Obi-Wan shot a meaningful look back at her master before they both continued on.
Anakin sighed as he turned to face her.
“Ahsoka I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” He placed his hand on her shoulder as he spoke. “But you won’t be coming along on this one.”
“Not coming?” Ahsoka asked. “But you’re breaking into the Citadel! No one has done that before!”
“The Citadel wasn’t designed to hold common criminals. It was created to hold Jedi if any of us lost our way.”
“I know that.” Ahsoka cut in impatiently.
“It is not,” her master continued like she hadn’t spoken. “A place for padawans.”
Ahsoka had a retort ready on her tongue, but she sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly.
“You’re just being protective again.” Ahsoka pointed out as she crossed her arms over her chest. “That isn’t fair. How am I supposed to learn if you won’t let me share the risk?”
“This isn’t a mission for learning. You either do or die.” Her master snapped as he turned away to head down the hall. “And that’s not a risk I’m willing to share.”
Ahsoka glowered at his retreating back.
-
A few hours later Ahsoka stepped into the Jedi hangar where preparations for the mission were being made. Over on the far side she could see R2 leading a couple of reprogrammed battle droids toward the transport ship followed by her master and her grandmaster.
Her conversation with Master Plo hadn’t really helped relieve her annoyance at her master benching her for the mission. In fact, now she had a new feeling of unease stirring in her gut. Just great.
Her master had been decidedly more overprotective of her since Mortis, being even more overbearing than he’d been when she’d first arrived at the 501st. She could realistically understand why he was acting this way, but that didn’t exactly make her feel better. The whole point of being assigned to a knight or master who went on hard missions was so that she could learn on those missions. Anakin had a tendency to hold those he cared about with an iron grip, but she still needed to learn.
Ahsoka shook her head and instead turned away from her master to make her way over to where Fives and Echo were standing. She tugged gently on their bond, causing both of them to turn around to look at her. They nudged her back in greeting, but she could tell that they were more tense than normal.
“Hey commander.” Fives said as she came to stand beside them.
“Hey.” She greeted as she once again examined the shuttle. “Can’t believe you’re trusting droids to get you into the Citadel.”
“That’s exactly what I said.” Fives chuckled. “But it’s the best way for us to get past the life form scanners.”
“Kriffing hate droids.” Echo said with a sigh. “How are you doing commander?”
Ahsoka chewed on her lip.
“I wish I was coming with you.” She said. “I don’t think it’s fair that my master is choosing when and where I get to go on missions.” She glanced up at them. “Especially when I could be protecting those that I care about.”
Echo wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her to his side.
“We’ll be okay Ahsoka, interestingly enough we’d run simulations called the Citadel back on Kamino.” Echo assured her.
She glanced up at him.
“I read over the briefing. You guys are going in basically blind.”
“That may be true but we have Rex and we have Cody.” Fives pointed out as he nudged her arm. “Those two come with a guaranteed win.”
Ahsoka snorted as Echo pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Now you just jinxed us you di’kut.”
“No, I swear it’s true.” Fives argued. “I’ve heard that the universe fears Cody too much to let him die.”
“You need to stop listening to conspiracy theories,” Echo grumbled.
“I don’t know,” Ahsoka said. “I kind of believe it.”
“See!” Fives knocked shoulders with his batchmate.
“You two are ridiculous.” Echo sighed.
Ahsoka and Fives shot him twin jabs in the bond.
The lighthearted banter was helping, but soon Ahsoka found her smile sliding off her face. Her eyes roved over the group in the hangar. It was a small group, only some of the best plus a few specialists like Charger and Longshot. That uneasy feeling still hadn’t gone away.
Echo and Fives both nudged her imploringly through the bond, causing her gaze to return to theirs.
“It’s probably nothing.” She said in response.
Echo jostled her shoulders slightly.
“When it comes to Jedi it usually isn’t nothing.” He told her as Fives hummed in agreement.
“I just…” she hesitated, like speaking it out loud would cause the worst to happen. “I have a bad feeling… about this mission.”
Fives and Echo glanced at each other.
“It’s going to be alright.” Fives restated, although now it might have been to help reassure himself as well as her. “Besides once we get General Piell, we’ll have another Jedi with us. Everyone knows that the more Jedi you have, the better.”
Echo sent a reassuring nudge across their bond.
Rex appeared behind them.
“We’re about ready to get going.” Rex told the ARCs.
“Please be careful.” Ahsoka told all of them.
Echo removed his arm from her shoulders so Rex could place his hand there.
“We have a good idea of what we are getting into vod’ika.” He told her. “Whatever we find, we’ll adapt.”
Ahsoka hesitantly nodded.
“Look after the battalion while we’re gone.” He told her as he removed his hand.
Ahsoka nodded again before lunging forward to wrap her arms around his middle. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“Look after all of them and also yourself please.” She mumbled into his chest.
He nudged her through the bond before she released him to hug Fives and Echo as well. They both gave her an extra squeeze of assurance.
Watching them all head toward the carbon freeze equipment, Ahsoka felt that uneasy feeling grow. As Fives asked something about being a wall decoration, chills raced down her spine. Something bad was going to happen. This mission was not going to end well, she just knew it. She was going to be stuck here, unable to help her aliit.
Ahsoka touched her fingers to her forehead with a grimace.
Her master, her grandmaster, her great-great-greatgrandmaster, all of her course instructors, all of them had told her to always listen to what the Force was telling her, always trust her gut reactions. Her gut was telling her a pretty definitive path forward.
She knew what she had to do.
-
As it would turn out, her master was decidedly less than pleased with her decision than she had been. And by less than pleased, it was more like he was kriffing pissed. He was making that very much known over their bond.
As it would also turn out, Rex, Echo, and Fives were also less than pleased. They were also making that known over their bond. In fact, the moment Rex had laid on eyes on her as she stepped out of the carbon tablet he’d been confused and distraught.
“We will be having a very long talk after we get off this planet.” Anakin growled before turning away to check on their supplies.
“We will as well.” Rex said from behind her.
She turned to find him standing with his arms crossed over his chest and the twins flanking him with equally distressed Force signatures.
“I think we all know that General Plo did not assign you to this mission,” Rex said, his voice low. “If I’d pulled something like this on Kamino, Alpha-17 would have cut my head off and paraded it around for the whole city to see.”
“I had… have, a bad feeling about this mission.” Ahsoka told him. “I couldn’t let you guys come in here without backup.”
“Ahsoka this mission is-” Echo began to say.
“Dangerous?” She cut in, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know that. I know what the stakes are and I know that there is a chance that we might not leave this rock alive.” She sucked in a deep breath, the air tinged with sulfur and ash. “That’s why I had to come. I can’t explain it but…”
She did her best to project her emotions over the bond when she couldn’t explain them. The three of them heaved a sigh as their Force signatures loosened slightly.
“Guess there isn’t much to be done now.” Rex sighed.
“The more Jedi, the better.” Echo repeated Fives’ earlier statement.
“Living up to your name how ‘bout that.” Fives nudged his batchmate, helping lighten the mood.
Ahsoka looked up at the sheer cliff that they were about to scale. Electrical mines sparked and arced between each other all over the cliff as well. Without a glance back, her master began to climb.
Ahsoka had to grudgingly admit that all the strength training that her clan had been making her do was paying off at this exact moment in time. Even so, her arms burned as she pulled herself up. Every so often one of her brothers or her master would check in on her, but she was doing just fine keeping up with the group. Even so, Echo was climbing right below her, undoubtedly going to act as her safety net if she did slip.
When they finally reached the access doors the problem of getting inside became apparent. Ahsoka examined a smaller vent above where the entrance was.
“There’s an opening up there.” She called out to her master.
“We know, their ventilation ducts. But they are far too small for us to gain access.” He called back.
Ahsoka scrutinized it. Both her master and the troopers would definitely be too big, broad shoulders and all that. Her grandmaster would also probably be too big, but it was highly likely that she’d be able to fit.
“Maybe for you, but I think I can squeeze through.” She pointed out.
They both glanced up at Obi-Wan.
“Well we hadn’t planned on Ahsoka being here, perhaps she’s right.”
With a nod from her master, Ahsoka scrambled up the last few meters to reach the shaft. One tight squeeze and they were in.
The facility itself was proving to be something of a house of horrors. By the time they reached where they were holding Master Piell, they’d already lost two troopers. Ahsoka did her best to offer reassurance to her clan, letting calm brush against grief.
The next issue came when it turned out that Master Piell only had half of the coordinates and his captain had the other half. The good news was that the captain and the rest of Piell’s officers were still being held here.
Each turn of the halls of the Citadel seemed to bring new challenges, electrified walls, magnets on the ceilings, and commando droids. Fives took a solid ringer to the head from one of those while Cody full body tackled another one. Ahsoka sent a wave of the Force at a commando droid, although its feet were magnetized to the ground, it did throw off its aim long enough for Echo to grab it and rip its head off.
After a fair amount of swearing from everyone, they were able to continue forward. Finally, they found the rest of Piell’s officers.
“General.” The only natborn officer in the room of troopers stepped forward.
“Captain Tarkin.” The Jedi greeted.
“I never thought I’d see you again.” The captain said. “And I see you brought friends.”
“Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.”
As the adults greeted each other, Ahsoka walked over to the other officers with the troopers.
“Are you alright?” She asked one with blue eyes.
“Yes sir.” He answered. “Happy to see you all sir.”
She smiled reassuringly at him.
“Well today’s your lucky day, we’re getting you all out of here.”
She led them up the steps as Fives handed them blasters they’d collected from the droids.
“Snips.” Ahsoka turned to see her master. “We are going to split up into two groups. Obi-Wan is going to act as a diversion while we get our group out to the ship.”
She nodded in acknowledgment.
The hole her master cut into the wall led out into one of the old access tunnels of the Citadel. She slowly jogged ahead, scanning for any droids or any other sign of life. The heat from the nearby lava pits and the lack of airflow gave the tunnel stagnant air. Ahsoka didn’t like it.
“All clear!” She called back to the group.
With that, they began to make their way forward. Ahsoka took the lead, continuing to scan for any signs of droids, followed by Tarkin and Rex with the rescued troopers in the middle, while Echo, Fives, and Anakin brought up the rear.
“I am beginning to admire the design of this prison.” Tarkin said beside her as they crept around a corner.
“How can you admire such a horrible place?” Ahsoka asked.
Her bad feeling had yet to go away, which was not exactly putting her in the best mood.
“Aw, you reveal your short-sightedness. Our ordeal reveals how effective facilities like the Citadel are.” Tarkin said. “Pity it ended up in Separatist hands and not ours.”
Ahsoka paused as he continued forward.
Yes, what a pity it was that a Jedi prison ended up in enemy hands. He sounded wistful when he’d said it, it rubbed her in all of the wrong ways.
“He has a point.” Her master said as he came up beside her.
She gave him a bewildered look.
“Alright, I’m going to need you to lead the group.” He told her. “Keep following the tunnel, I’ll catch up.”
Ahsoka shook her head as he turned back down the tunnel. She didn’t really appreciate him leaving her with the shebs’palon natborn officer. Tarkin was starting to give her bad vibes.
Echo and Fives came to stand beside her.
“Not sure how I feel about Captain Tarkin.” Fives mumbled.
“I heard from some of the officers that he isn’t the biggest fan of clones,” Echo informed them.
“Oh, then he must hate that Rex is the same rank as he is.” Fives snorted.
“Good thing Cody isn’t here, he’d probably be extra unpleasant.” Ahsoka pointed out.
The twins poked her bond playfully as she resumed her place at the front of the group. Rex pulsed their bond with reassurance as he fell into step behind her with Tarkin.
They continued to wind through the maze of tunnels before Ahsoka turned a corner to reveal a dead end.
“Waka baka.” She hissed.
The sound of incoming droid fire had her leaping backward and deflecting blaster fire. A group of super battle droids appeared and Ahsoka was able to take one down before her master appeared and sliced through the rest.
“Why didn’t you blow the wall?” He demanded. “That was your part of the plan.”
Ahsoka cursed internally as she spun around to grab the pack of explosives from Rex.
“I thought it was a dead end.”
“If Master Plo really assigned you to this mission he would have briefed you on this.” Her master growled.
Instead of answering, Ahsoka blew up the wall and the droids for good measure. With that they continued on, eventually coming across one of the gas pipes that helped fuel the facility with help from the volcanic gases of the planet.
Ahsoka plugged her nose as the smell of sulfur wafted over them when her master opened the hatch.
“Make sure your weapons are locked,” he told the troopers. “Even the smallest spark can light this whole tube.”
“Just lovely.” Ahsoka mumbled as she began to climb the ladder, her arms protesting the action from the large climb from earlier.
After what felt like hours they crested the top of the ladder and the tube leveled out. Ahsoka looked down the dark expanse of the tube, trying to pick up on any movement but didn’t see any.
They rested for a moment, giving the injured officers a moment to catch their breath. Once they got moving she assumed her position out in front, scouting ahead and doing her best not to breathe through her nose.
When she turned back to check on the group with her fingers pinched over her nose, she felt amusement rise from Fives. He mimed pinching the bridge of his helmet as he offered her a cheeky salute. Right, their helmets would filter out the worst of it especially if they sealed it up after getting that first waft of the fumes.
Mehtej. She thought as she sucked in a deep breath and transmitted what she was smelling across the bond.
Fives immediately swore loudly and coughed, causing Echo to turn and whack the back of his head. Ahsoka turned away before the rest of the group could see her victorious grin.
Echo and Rex shot her a warning jab, one that they most likely sent to Fives too. She snickered as she transmitted mockingly innocent pulses their way, they expertly blocked them out.
She was proud of her group for learning to block as effectively as they were. It helped that they were all constantly trading jabs and other offensive gestures through the bond.
Finally, up ahead she spotted a ladder and a hatch. She turned back to her master and Captain Tarkin.
“I think I found us a way out.” She said.
“Good.” Her master said with a nod.
She clambered up the ladder and slowly propped the hatch open a little, scanning the landscape. Off in the distance she could see the Citadel, there was a large plume of smoke billowing out of the side of it which was probably thanks to Obi-Wan. Spotlights wove across the ground but they were far enough away to not be an issue.
“What do you see Snips?” Anakin asked.
“The coast is clear.”
“Any sign of Obi-Wan and the shuttle?”
“No, I don’t see him or R2 anywhere.” She answered, propping the hatch open a little further.
She carefully titled her montrals out, trying to catch on to any sounds of approaching assailants but the hiss from the fuel tube and the constant rumble from the volcanic surface masked most everything.
Ahsoka climbed halfway out when all of a sudden a blaster was pointed at her head. Then another. She looked around to see a group of droids surrounding the entrance, using the blind spot behind the hatch to sneak up. In a flash of movement, she ignited her saber and cut through them.
“We’ve got company master!” She called down as she began to deflect blaster fire.
Just like that, they found themselves in yet another fire fight. Force she was kriffing tired.
The flames from the exploded fuel line burned at their backs as they made their way toward the Citadel airfield. Ahsoka paused and cocked her head.
“What is it commander?” Echo asked as he came to a stop next to her.
“I hear blaster fire.” She told him. “I lot of blaster fire.”
“Shab.” He hissed before turning toward Rex and Anakin. “If we’re going into a firefight by the shuttle, I recommend attack plan AJAB.”
Ahsoka wracked her brain for that specific plan. Right, the rest of the group draws fire while one or two people slip through to get the vehicle going. A usual tactic when escape was the goal.
“Good idea, Ahsoka you and I will take point.” Anakin said. “Let’s move.”
The airfield was an abstract scene of explosive sounds, choking blaster smoke, and searing blaster bolts. It seemed like the Citadel was throwing everything it had to block their exit.
Ahsoka peaked out from behind the wall to see a crab droid getting dangerously close to their position.
It was impossible to shout over the sounds of blaster fire so instead, Ahsoka yanked on the bond, pushing her intentions across and holding her hands up to sign for cover to the three of them. They gave their affirmative through the bond and Ahsoka leaped up, scrambling on top of the wall as Echo lobbed a grenade at the droids, drawing their attention away.
A flash of movement behind her had Ahsoka ducking as four droids on flying scooters zoomed past. Master Piell leaped off of Anakin’s shoulders to slice through one while her master jumped onto the second one. Ahsoka began to run along the length of the wall, the fourth scooter chasing her as the other one chased her master. She didn’t dare look back as she sprinted toward the advancing crab droids, knowing that Rex was covering her dia. Sure enough, the scream of the droid could be heard as Rex hit his mark and the scooter went down.
Ahsoka jumped off of the wall, slamming down on the crab droid and cleaving it in two. She ignited her shoto blade, spinning both her lightsabers around her in a trick her master had taught her. The droids turned their attention toward her as she directed their blaster fire back toward them, taking down a good number of the closest droids as she was forced back toward the wall for cover.
Suddenly one of the turrets surged to life off to her left. Once it took out her master’s scooter it turned toward her. She scrambled and dashed back behind the wall as the turret left giant scores in the ground where she’d been standing.
Ahsoka panted for breath as her master and Master Piell also scrambled back behind the wall a little ways away from her.
Rex, Fives, and Echo were still alright, but they all could only last so long under this much fire. Suddenly she felt Echo’s resolve through the bond.
She turned to see him scoop up one of the blaster shields a droid had dropped and sprint for the shuttle.
Time seemed to slow as she watched him run. She saw the droid manning the shuttle spot him and turn the shuttle his way. Now that he wasn’t blocked by the wall, Echo had a clear shot for the turret controls as he backed up the ramp of the shuttle.
The turret fired off a blast, the sickly red sailing toward the shuttle but at the same time, multiple blaster bolts Echo popped off sailed through the air toward the turret and Ahsoka just knew that they’d hit their mark.
Her eyes widened as she reached out with the Force to grab Echo. Just as she began to pull him back, the turret blasts hit the shuttle and the airfield was engulfed in flames.
Blinding, burning pain seared across the bond, as if the very tether between Ahsoka and Echo’s mind was on fire. His pain blasted past her defenses, lighting her nerves aflame, and causing her to cry out in pain. Her cry was echoed by Fives and Rex.
Her knees hit the ground as the flames of the explosion receded, in its place the burning wreckage of the ship and the turret lay.
The pain didn’t stop, it continued to leave her gasping for breath. Echo was still alive.
Despite every sense that told her not to, she focused in on her bond with him. The line was fading, flickering like a dying ember. Echo was dying. He was dying and every second of it was pure agony.
She had a vague sense of Fives trying to pour some of his own light into Echo’s bond, not that it would do any good. Ahsoka tore her eyes from the wreckage towards the others. Rex and Fives were on their knees like she was, they were both shaking in pain, unable to move despite the blaster bolts raining down around them.
They needed to move, if they didn’t they’d all be dead.
Tears leaked down Ahsoka’s cheeks as she turned her attention back to the wreckage.
Echo was still there, a light slowly but surely dimming.
I’m so sorry Echo. Ahsoka sobbed as she reached for the bond. I’m so, so sorry.
She had created this Force damned bond, she had brought this on them. She had to fix it before anybody else died.
Ahsoka grabbed the faint string of light between Echo and the others. She did not know how to sever the bond, the books had warned her against it, but if she didn’t they may all end up as canon fodder. So she did the only thing she could think to do with her nerves still aflame with pain, she blocked Echo’s bond from all of them.
As soon as the study wall was erected, blocking the dimming string of light, air rushed into her lungs. The pain, the feeling of Echo fading into the Force disappeared, the only presence was the after-effects of his pain.
I’m so sorry Echo.
Hands grabbed her arms and hauled her upright, she looked back to see the wide eyes of her master. He was panicked, worriedly examining her through their training bond. That was enough to kick-start her body. Ahsoka forced her legs under her and raised her lightsabers to deflect blaster bolts. Cody had hauled Rex up and was in the process of grabbing Fives.
She could feel panic from the others who weren’t on the mission, it was so strong that it made her vision flicker in and out, going from the hellscape of the Citadel to the walls of the Resolute where they were.
She gritted her teeth as she slammed her shields down, cutting off the information they were unwittingly projecting to focus wholly on what was happening here.
Ahsoka could feel the dampness on her cheeks as they retreated away from the airfield. Every step away seemed like a bigger and bigger betrayal not just to Echo but to the rest of her clan as well. She was supposed to protect them, how spectacularly she had failed.
They kept running until the blaster fire behind them dwindled off and they ducked into a series of caves, hidden for now.
Someone grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face them. Her master’s worried face met her.
“Ahsoka are you alright? Are you hurt?” He demanded, once again scanning her for injuries.
Ahsoka opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out. How could she describe the soul-deep agony she was experiencing? How could she explain that a piece of herself felt like it had just been set aflame and ripped out of her body?
Her hands were shaking, her knees felt about ready to give out and she had a feeling that if she went down she wouldn’t be getting up for a while.
“You collapsed back there Ahsoka I need to know that you’re okay.”
She could feel his desperation through their bond. Their training bond didn’t hurt like the other one, so she focused on it instead.
Ahsoka managed a nod, rubbing at the itchy feeling in her eyes.
“Fine.” She finally managed to croak out.
Anakin reached out and handed her his own canteen, nudging her until she took a long drink.
“I just…” She swallowed around the raw edges of her throat.
He gently brushed against her Force signature, offering her some calm and momentarily brushing aside some of her shock. She sucked in a long and deep breath before nodding to him.
Anakin watched her for another moment.
“We need to come up with a new plan.” He told her quietly. “Take a moment to rest.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
Her hands were still shaking as he turned to walk over to where Obi-Wan, Piell, and Tarkin were standing.
Ahsoka sucked in another shuddering breath before she scanned the rest of the room. Fives was seated against the wall on the other side of the cave, his head and shoulders hanging low. Rex was pacing along the edge of the cave, his hands were shaking and he occasionally shook his head. Cody was kneeling beside the rescued officers along with his two men from the 212st and he was watching Rex, concern coloring his Force signature before Obi-Wan motioned him over to the CO group.
Rex paused and seemed to heave in a large sigh. His helmet lifted and turned to look at her. Ahsoka dropped her gaze and wrapped her arms around herself. How could she face him after she’d just failed to save Echo? By the Force how could she ever face Fives? She’d just blocked their bond off in the middle of him trying to save his karking batchmate. It had been a futile effort but she couldn’t blame him for trying, but now he might not just see her as the one that failed Echo but also the one that condemned him to death.
She was drawn out of her spiral by the CO group stepping back toward the rest of the cave.
“We have a Rendezvous point where Master Koon will pick us up from.” Obi-Wan said. “It’s a few klicks west of here and we still have droids trailing us so we will need to keep a fast pace.”
“Let’s get the kark off this hellhole.” Anakin said as the group rallied for the next leg of their journey.
She sucked in one last deep breath before taking her grief and shoving it to the side. They were still very much in the middle of this mission, if she didn’t have herself sorted out someone else might die. She could not let that happen. With her resolve sealed, she squared her shoulders and started forward.
Ahsoka cocked her head back toward the way they’d come. She could just faintly make out the sound of mechanical clanking.
“Master the droids are close.” She told her master.
“Then let’s give them a welcome committee.”
By caving in the tunnels they bought themselves a few extra minutes, which is all they needed to get moving. Ahsoka resumed her position at the front to scout.
The droids finally caught back up with them when they reached a cliff face. As R2’s reprogrammed droids covered their escape, they did their best to quickly scale down the cliff, the rescued officers hitching a ride on the rest of their backs. Ahsoka was the last one to descend, listening as R2’s droids were quickly ripped apart. One of the cables was hit by a blaster bolt and one of Cody’s men began to fall.
Her hands shot out to catch them, gritting her teeth slightly at the combined weight of the trooper and the officer he was carrying. Her arms shook as she did her best to slowly lower them to the ground but she could feel her exhaustion catching up with her as they neared the bottom. Once they were close enough that she knew they’d be fine, she dropped them, releasing a breath.
A hail of blaster fire began to rain down as she jogged the last few meters down the cliff face, her cable protesting the speed at which she was going. Rex grabbed her and shoved her in front of him before they jumped down into another cave.
“Thank you commander.” Cody’s trooper she’d saved, she was pretty sure his name was Kuy, told her.
“You’re welcome.” She responded with a nod.
The cave eventually spat them out in a ravine next to another river of lava.
“What will happen if we reach the extraction point and your Jedi friends aren’t there?” Tarkin demanded from behind her.
“Keep moving and you won’t have to worry about it Tarkin.” Master Piell said, a disdainful edge to his voice.
At least she wasn’t the only one getting fed up with this guy.
“Why did Master Piell have to share half the information with him.” Ahsoka grumbled to her master quietly. “It’s like he’s not even grateful we rescued him.”
“Captain Tarkin feels the Jedi should be… relieved from the burden of leading the war effort,” Anakin said.
Ahsoka wrinkled her nose at that.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe, but we aren’t soldiers. We’re peacekeepers.” Anakin reminded her. “The Jedi code often prevents us from going far enough to achieve victory.”
“A rather simple point of view.” Obi-Wan chimed in.
“Either way, he is a good captain,” Anakin said.
“He doesn’t treat the troopers very kindly.” Ahsoka pointed out. “If we weren’t generals and commanders who would look out for them?”
Obi-Wan inclined his head toward her.
“You’re padawan brings up a good point.” Her grandmaster said.
“What we should do is let the troopers lead the war effort.” Ahsoka suggested. “They’d have it over in like a week.”
“I’d have to agree with that as well.” Obi-Wan said as he glanced back at Cody.
Off in the distance, Ahsoka heard a screeching howl.
She stopped, tilting her montrals. Master Piell had also stopped in front of her, his own ears pricking toward the noise.
“Did you hear that?” Ahsoka asked.
“Yes.” He said. “We’re going to have company.”
“What is it?” Anakin asked, glancing between the two of them curiously.
“Sounds like anoobas to me.” Master Piell said.
There was another bugling howl, much closer this time.
“I heard that one for sure.” Anakin said. “Let’s pick up the pace.”
They continued forward, hopping down into another series of lava tubes to try to throw the creatures off. At the very least it would slow them down. Not too long later they heard more howls.
“Those things are gaining.” Fives called from the back of the group.
“Those things will lead the droids right to us.” Obi-Wan said.
“Do you think we can surprise them in the caves?” Ahsoka asked.
“That could work, but we will need a distraction.” Master Piell said. “Then a second group can take them out from behind.”
“Perfect. I can handle the distraction.” Her master said before Obi-Wan loudly cleared his throat. “And Obi-Wan of course.”
“Okay, the rest of you follow me.” Master Piell ordered.
As her master and grandmaster disappeared into the caves, the rest of them hunkered down and waited. Not long after, a group of hound-like creatures dashed past in pursuit of the other Jedi. Good. They started off after them.
Suddenly crab droids scaled over the cliff next to them, firing at the group. Master Piell leaped into action, cleaving them in two.
“Go, Ahsoka and I will deal with the droids.” Master Piell ordered.
She ignited her lightsabers and out of the corner of her eyes she saw Rex and Fives hesitate. She still had her shields up in the bond so she instead motioned for them to go as she twirled her sabers around in preparation.
The droids came fast but she hadn’t spent close to a year on the battlefield learning to fight them for nothing. With both her sabers spinning around her, she fell into the steady rhythm of the fight, letting everything else fall away.
All was going well until she heard Piell cry out. She spun around to see him in the jaws of another anooba. Ahsoka sprung forward and sent a powerful shove of the Force, throwing the anooba back against the wall.
“Master!”
She knelt down beside the elder Jedi. His robes had been ripped open, exposing deep wounds weeping his light-colored blood.
Ahsoka cursed as she applied pressure to the wounds, ripping off strips of his tattered robes to staunch the bleeding. Even so, she could feel him fading.
“I need to go get help!” She said, preparing to stand before his hand grabbed her.
“No. Don’t leave.” He told her. “Listen to me carefully, child. The information, I need you to deliver it back to the Council.”
Ahsoka shook her head.
“I should find Anakin or Obi-Wan. They need to hear this.”
“No, you must listen.” He ordered her.
“But I wasn’t assigned to this mission.” Ahsoka told him quietly as she dropped her head. “I lied so I could be a part of this mission because I…” She trailed off.
She’d snuck her way onto the mission because her gut had told her to. She’d known that something bad was going to happen and how right he had been. Echo was dead and she could feel Master Piell dying. She was supposed to have come to stop the bad things from happening but they just kept happening around her and she felt so kriffing helpless.
“Whether you were meant to be here or not, you are now the most important part of it.” He gripped her arm and pulled her out of her mental spiral. “Remember this and see to it that the information I’m about to give you is revealed to no one but the Jedi council.”
Ahsoka felt a tear slip down her cheek as he pulled her down closer to recite the coordinates. She could feel him growing weaker as his blood soaked into her leggings and the smell filled the air, but he continued to hang on to her until she successfully recited the coordinates back to him three times.
Finally, he released his tight grip on her and laid back on the ground.
“You have grief about you, child.” He mumbled. “You lost a part of you today.”
She shakily gripped his hand as she nodded.
“Do not let his sacrifice, or mine, be in vain.” He told her. “Live on.”
Ahsoka lowered her head as he took his last rattling breath. She took in a deep breath before releasing it and slowly standing, lifting Master Piell’s body over her shoulder. He was surprisingly heavy for having a small stature, or maybe the weight of her grief was settling on her shoulders. Or it could just be the exhaustion.
Ahsoka followed the tracks of the group out of the caves and into a hazy rock field, feeling her master and grandmaster up ahead. The group gathered as she carried Master Piell’s body forward until her master helped her lower him to the ground.
“He died honorably.” She didn’t know what else to say besides that.
“What about the information.” Her master asked quietly.
“I have it, he told me just before he died.” Ahsoka answered.
Obi-Wan placed a hand on her shoulder.
“We should put him to rest.” He suggested.
Ahsoka nodded as she stood. She glanced around at the rest of the group. They were all exhausted and a few were quietly grieving their losses.
“We should take a moment to grieve everyone that’s passed on this mission.” She said, looking at her masters as the troopers shifted around her. “We lost a lot of good men as well.”
Obi-Wan nodded.
Ahsoka watched as Master Piell’s body was lowered into lava, the other Jedis’ heads dropped as Tarkin watched from a step back. She let out a breath, releasing her grief over the elder Jedi into the Force. Then she turned toward the group of troopers.
One of Cody’s men was holding a battered helmet as the rest of them sat quietly, she could hear some of them mumbling remembrances. Rex had his hand on Fives’ pauldron, not speaking but just standing there.
Ahsoka wasn’t sure she would be welcomed into that group, to grieve one of their brothers. As if sensing her hesitance, Rex turned to look at her. With his helmet on, she couldn’t see his expression, but she could read him well enough in the Force. He shifted to the side, an invitation.
She lowered her eyes and slowly walked over to stand beside him. He grabbed the back of her chestplate and pulled her to his side. Her breathing hitched slightly. On the other side of Rex, Fives tilted his head up slightly to look at her. With her shields up she couldn’t tell if he was transmitting any emotions, but for a moment, she knew that their grief was shared. She dropped her eyes first. Ahsoka would be fine if Fives carried a resentment toward her till the day they died.
Fives cleared his throat and was about to say something to her before the sound of her master’s voice rang out.
“Alright, we need to make up some time so we make the rendezvous point.” He said. “Let’s get moving.”
While Cody resumed his position protecting Tarkin, Rex and Fives fell into step close behind her. Right, she now carried the key to this mission’s success. She took a fortifying breath.
Live on.
Live to fight another day.
Finally, uphead Ahsoka spotted the island where they were to rendezvous with Master Plo. However, there was also a large number of droids as well as a crazy Separatist commander on one of those scooter things.
Rex tackled her out of the way of a crab droid, using his body to shield her from glancing blaster fire. Cody had shoved Tarkin down a little ways away, the captain haphazardly firing at the advancing droids. Rex pushed himself upright, allowing her to stand and start fighting again.
Ahsoka couldn’t hear much over the roar of the fight and the hissing and spitting of the lava flows around them, but she did catch a flash of something in the distance. Gunships. Republic gunships.
“Our ride is here!” She shouted over the fight.
That was when she saw the Separatist commander gunning for Tarkin.
“I only need to kill one of you worthless rats to stop the information from being shared.” The phindian snarled.
How he knew Tarkin was one of the people holding part of the coordinates, she had no idea, not that it mattered. If Tarkin died this mission would have been for nothing. Echo’s death would have been for nothing.
Ahsoka snarled and charged forward, leaping over broken crab droids and commando droids. She batted aside blaster bolts on instinct alone, her eyes were locked on the two men.
Tarkin managed to shoot a blast that hit the scooter, sending the Separatist sprawling to the ground. The phindian was up in an instant, lunging forward to grab hold of Tarkin and drag him toward the edge of the island.
“I’m sure Dooku will understand the necessity of your death.” The commander growled and he tightened his grip on Tarkin’s neck and leaned him out toward the lava.
With a snarl, Ahsoka drove her lightsaber through the Separatist’s chest.
The man stiffened, his arms spasming slightly as his breath caught. Ahsoka reached out and hauled Tarkin back from the edge with the Force as she deignited her lightsaber. The commander turned slowly to look back at her, his mouth hanging agape. She could see her reflection in his yellow eyes. Dark circles hung under her eyes, blood and ash streaked her cheeks, and her teeth were bared in a snarl.
She blinked rapidly as the man tumbled backward in a heap, his life becoming one with the Force. She’d killed him.
“Ah, you have my thanks.” Ahsoka’s head snapped up at the sound of Tarkin’s voice.
Anakin ran up behind her, his concern clear.
“You’ve trained her well, General Skywalker.” The captain said as he fixed his shirt sleeves and stepped away.
“Ahsoka are you okay?” Her master asked.
Her eyes once again fell to the slain Separatist commander.
“Ahsoka,” Hands gripped her shoulders and she was turned to look up at her master. “You did what you had to do. If you hadn’t stopped him this mission would have failed.” Anakin told her. “I know you might be feeling a little spooked, but I want you to know that you did what you had to do.”
Spooked was one word for the feeling.
Right now it didn’t feel like she was in her body, not fully. She glanced at the body. For a moment, in its place lay a mangled set of ARC trooper armor. Ahsoka looked away but nodded hesitantly.
Her master led her over to where the 104th was thunking down the gunships, Master Plo stepping off to offer assistance to the injured officers. As Obi-Wan briefly explained what had happened to Plo, her master sat her down at the back of the shuttle. He soothingly rubbed his hands over her arms as the group loaded up.
“Just rest now little one, we’re getting out of here.” He told her as he stood.
She nodded to him before she tucked her knees up under her chin. Rex came to stand by her, hanging onto the handle by his head. Fives had hopped into the other transport with some of the injured officers.
Ahsoka stared at the feet of those in the gunship. Her montrals were still ringing from the battle and only now did she realize that her hands and begun to shake again. It didn’t sink in that they were really safe and getting out of there until she felt the gunship fight to exit the atmosphere, weaving between the asteroid rings that surrounded the planet. Only then did the adrenaline start to leave her, giving way to numbness and a soul-deep ache. Only then did she bury her head in her knees and start to cry.
-
Dead dead dead.
Echo was gone. Echo was dead.
Fives stared blankly at the wall of the 104th’s bunk room. His body felt numb, had been since the shuttle exploded. He hadn’t felt it when Rex tugged him to the med bay for the 104th medics to look over him, as it turned out he had a few blaster burns, wounds he hadn’t even noticed at the moment. He hadn’t felt the medic’s hands applying bacta or patching him up.
A flash of movement in the medbay had briefly drawn his attention. Ahsoka was led in by her master, her eyes distant had red, but Fives had been pushed out of the bay to make space for the injured officers they’d rescued.
Someone had plunked him down in the barracks, although the trip back to Coruscant wouldn’t take much more than an hour.
Echo was gone.
That thought kept circling around and around in Fives’ mind.
He hesitantly looked inward at the bond. He was still receiving confused and frightened signals from those who hadn’t been on the mission. Rex had done a good job of getting some shields up, there wasn’t much emotion coming from his captain’s side of the bond. Ahsoka had such thick shields up that he was pretty sure that he wouldn’t even be able to track the bond to her specific location on the ship. And Echo’s…
Fives let out a shuddering breath.
Echo’s line wasn’t gone, but it most likely was, Fives just couldn’t reach it through the impenetrable wall that Ahsoka had thrown up to block Echo’s bond from the rest of them. Maker it had been agony.
It had felt like his mind and soul were on fire, like the flames were licking across his own skin and not just his batchmate’s. He hadn’t been able to move or think or do anything, he’d just been forced to experience it, unable to breathe through the pain. Then he’d felt Echo’s bond fading.
It had been a lot like when Rex and Ahsoka had gotten the Blue Shadow virus, their bonds flickering as the light began to seep out of it. So Fives had done the only logical thing and had grabbed Echo’s bond to pour some of his own light back into his brothers. But as much light he put in, it seemed to be sucked out almost immediately. He’d known that Echo was dying, the logical part of his brain had known there was nothing he could do but it didn’t matter. It hadn’t mattered because it was Echo.
Echo, the last of his squad. The one that he’d been raised alongside, learned to walk beside, learned to fight alongside. He’d never really needed words with Echo, the twin to his soul. He’d have drained all of his own life and poured it into Echo’s, it probably would have killed him if Ahsoka hadn’t done what she’d done.
Echo is dead.
Distantly he felt the venator drop out of hyperspace.
Fives blinked blankly before he reached to his side and settled his helmet back onto his head. He took a fortifying breath before he stood and began to make his way back toward the hangar.
By all standards that mattered to the GAR, the mission had been a success. The two people with the hyperlane coordinates had made it back. It didn’t feel like a success.
“Fives.”
He turned to see Rex approaching him.
“Sir.” Formalities were easier now than anything else.
“Go back to the barracks when we dock,” Rex told him.
Fives furrowed his brows and cocked his head at his brother, confusion flicking across the bond.
“I can handle the debriefing,” Rex said as he placed his hand on Fives’ shoulder. “Go and take some time. I’ll be back as soon as I can be.”
Finally, Fives felt emotion from Rex’s side of the bond. Quiet reassurance. It was twinged with grief.
He nodded slightly to his brother.
A door off to their left opened and revealed the Jedi. Ahsoka was walking between Skywalker and Kenobi, her shoulders hung low but her head was up. Her jaw had a tight clench as her eyes swept over the room. They landed on him and Rex and he thought he saw her steps falter slightly. Her eyes quickly dropped away from his, but he couldn’t read any of her emotions through the bond.
Maker he wished he could get something from her. The only reason he knew she was still present in the bond was their link of light. It was like two different parts of his kriffing soul were suffering a loss.
Rex let out a slow breath before patting him once on the shoulder and nudging him toward a different transport.
Fives knew that the others were waiting on the airfield, he could feel their conflicting emotions. Kriffing hells what was he supposed to say?
The doors of the transport opened, revealing the setting sun behind the cityscape. Sure as osik, there were three distinct figures standing a ways away.
Fives stepped off of the transport and slowly began to make his way toward them as they hurried over to him. He came to a stop a few steps short of them. Fives’ found that he didn’t have the strength to raise his head to look at them, the hole in his soul kriffing ached.
He opened his mouth to conjure words but none came, nothing but a shuddering breath. A moment later strong arms wrapped around his shoulders.
“Udes vod’ika, udesiir.” Jesse mumbled.
Someone lifted his helmet off his head and another set of arms wrapped around his back.
Kix squeezed his shoulder as he leaned forward to rest his head against Fives’.
He hadn’t had to say anything, they knew.
The strength seemed to leave his body as he slumped forward, Jesse and Hardcase the only reason he didn’t end up on the ground. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, long enough for the sky to start darkening.
Finally, he was tugged into the barracks. His three brothers helped strip him out of his armor before he was shoved into the showers and told to scrub the osik off of himself because he smelled like sewage. He mumbled that it wasn’t his fault the plan had them crawling up a fuel shaft.
He absently scrubbed at his skin, removing sweat, blood, and any ash or dirt that had made it through his blacks. His fingers felt numb, his body twinged with aches and phantom burns.
If only he’d grabbed Echo when he tried to make it to the kriffing shuttle. He should have stopped him. Should have run after him and pulled him back.
Kix eventually had to come and grab him from the showers. He hadn’t realized how long he’d been in there until his brother pulled him out. Kix quickly reassessed his bandages and fixed one before letting him get dressed.
He could see Kix, Jesse, and Hardcase seated on the heavy classes’ bunk but his feet didn’t take him any further than his and Echo’s. Except it wasn’t Echo’s anymore. Echo was dead. A new brother would eventually move into it probably without a thought as to who the previous brother had been.
The sheets were still folded in perfect regulation precise folds. His few belongings were stowed in the drawers below while a few holos and what looked like some battle tactics were taped to the wall.
Hardcase appeared at his side and pulled him back to his own bunk. Although none of them asked, he knew that they wanted to know what had happened. They’d undoubtedly felt the flames stretching across their skin but that was about it.
Fives found himself haltingly recounting the story. At some point, tears began to fall and his breathing started to hitch. Jesse wrapped an arm around his shoulders and whatever composure he’d had disappeared. Sobs wracked his chest as the pain attempted to work its way out of his mind and his soul.
Echo was gone.
After a while, he managed to lift his head off Jesse’s shoulder. The other’s faces were red and tear-stained, a match for his own. He was kriffing exhausted.
“Sleep kid,” Hardcase mumbled to him.
Someone pulled him down to the mattress, exhaustion was pushed through the bond and soon enough he was out.
-
They’d been taught on Kamino how to compartmentalize feelings. It wouldn’t do anybody any good if the Republic’s soldiers were constantly overwhelmed by emotions and unable to fight.
Rex wondered if the Kaminoans had thought about trying to remove their emotions altogether. It probably would have crossed their mind once or twice in the cloning process.
Either way, he was pretty sure that was the only way that he was still on his feet. The only reason Fives had been able to keep moving until they were picked up by the 104th.
Of course, emotions were relatively easy to displace. The burning wound in the bond was much harder to ignore. Though most of it had been blocked by Ahsoka, it didn’t stop phantom pangs and didn’t stop the very clear sense of wrong that had darkened the bond. Echo’s light was gone.
Echo was gone.
Rex numbly spoke at the debriefing.
Behind his helmet his eyes were settled on Ahsoka who was across the table from him, tucked slightly behind Skywalker. Her eyes were fixed on the table, though he looked a million miles away.
Her shields were unmoving, nothing getting in or out. However, her body language was enough for him.
This mission had been hard for her. Harder than could have been anticipated. She looked moments away from tipping to the floor.
Only when Tarkin spoke about how he was only permitted to share the hyperlane coordinates with the Chancellor himself did something seem to spark inside of her. She blinked a few times before lifting her head to stare at the captain.
Her distaste for the man had been made known through the bond at the Citadel. It was a shared opinion between many it would seem. To Rex, he was just like many other natborn officers, pissy that the troopers were better at doing their jobs than they were.
Her brows furrowed as Tarkin stared down members of the Jedi Council. Rex watched her jaw clench and her lips pull back into a bit of a snarl.
“Well as it would be,” She spoke up, drawing the attention of the group to her. “Master Piell ordered me that only Jedi Council was to hear my set of the coordinates.”
Tarkin’s face did a complicated set of emotions before he lifted his head with a disdainful look at Ahsoka.
It made Rex want to reach for his blaster and unload a clip into the man. But Ahsoka just stared back defiantly.
After what felt like another hour, the meeting began to conclude.
From the other side of the bond, he could feel the others mourning. He wanted to get back to them. He wanted to lie down and sleep for a week. Most of all he just wanted his kriffing aliit to be all together.
Phantom flames licked over his arms and he snapped his head up to see the others beginning to be dismissed. Thank the Maker.
He looked around for Ahsoka and just caught a glimpse of her from behind General Koon and he could have sworn she glanced up at him before ducking back down. He skirted the crowd but by the time he made it around the room, she was gone. He internally cursed as he stepped out the door of the debriefing room only to see the shadow of someone disappear down the opposite hallway.
Rex wanted to go after her, dash down the hallway and grab her, but he knew that she was long gone by now.
The transport back to the barracks was silent. Cody kept his hand on Rex’s shoulder the whole time though, a quiet assurance.
When they stepped off, Cody nodded to his men as they headed toward the barracks.
“I’m sorry about Charger and Echo vod’ika.” Cody said as he slipped his helmet off.
Rex slowly removed his own helmet with a sigh.
“I’m sorry about Longshot and Recorder.” He told his brother.
Cody nodded before he reached out to grip Rex’s shoulder again.
“Are you going to be alright?” He asked Rex, eyes boring into his.
Rex stared at the ground as he thought. In the back of his mind, he’d known that it was likely inevitable that one of them would fall. They were fighting in a kriffing war after all. Victory and life were never a guarantee, no matter how skilled you were. It was just still so difficult for him to wrap his head around that Echo wasn’t just gone on a mission, he was dead. He wasn’t going to be on the next transport back, he wasn’t going to stay up late with Rex running through hypothetical tactics, and he wasn’t kriffing coming back.
He sucked in a shuttering breath before nodding.
“I will be.” He told his brother, even though he wasn’t entirely sure it was true.
Cody pulled him into a tight hug before he plunked their heads together and turned toward the 212th’s barracks. Rex slowly began to trudge his way to the 501st’s. Inside the lights were dimmed for sleep with a few troopers already in bed. Many would still be out considering it wasn’t that late.
He sent a nudge toward the others as he approached their bunk area. Fives was asleep on Hardcase’s bunk with Kix, Jesse, and Hardcase seated beside him or on the floor. The three of them looked up as Rex came to a stop by his own bunk and began to slowly dekit.
“Where’s Ahsoka?” Kix asked, his voice raw and quiet.
Rex shook his head before he turned and sank down on his bunk to remove his boots.
The bond was aching with emotion and exhaustion, but it appeared that Fives had already relayed the story of what had happened. Rex once again reached out toward Ahsoka but she was still shielding from them. He’d grown used to receiving background input from six other people, and to have her intentionally blocking off wasn’t exactly comfortable, it felt like his equilibrium was slightly off. But not only was Ahsoka not presently in the bond, Echo was…
His view of his boots became blurry.
Rex attempted to swallow past the lump forming in his throat but once the pain began to be known, he knew it couldn’t keep it suppressed.
His mattress sank down slightly as Kix sat down and reached out to help him finish getting the rest of his armor off. Once it was all stacked on the floor, Rex found himself staring blankly at his hands.
He knew that ‘what ifs’ were useless, but that didn’t stop his mind from running through them. What if he’d grabbed Echo? What if he’d fired at the turret sooner? What if Fives and Echo hadn’t been assigned to this mission? What if he’d never recommended them for ARC train-
Tears dripped out of his eyes.
“I should have-” His breath hitched.
“There’s nothing to be done now.” Kix mumbled as he hooked his arm around Rex’s shoulder. “Echo’d tell you that too.”
Rex let his head drop into his hands as Kix’s other arm wrapped around him.
He slept fitfully that night. His dreams were haunted and whenever he’d lurch upright to scan for his aliit, Echo’s bunk was empty and Ahsoka was gone too.
The next day wasn’t much better. The rest of the 501st quickly picked up on the missing faces, they mumbled quietly to Fives and the others before they went off on their own to add Echo’s name to their remembrances. Rex kept waiting for Ahsoka to unblock herself or for her to show up. She didn’t.
Rex couldn’t stand it after two days and night began to fall.
He knew the Temple layout and he knew specifically where Ahsoka and Skywalker’s shared rooms were. Knowing Skywalker he was probably with Amidala. He knocked on the door, listening for any movement inside. He thought he heard something.
Rex strained to push against her shields to get some flicker of confirmation that she was physically close to him or not.
He thought he heard a thump in the room but no one came to open the door. If Anakin had been home he would have answered by now.
“Ahsoka I know you’re in there.” Rex tried as he knocked again.
A few moments later the door slid open. Ahsoka looked paler than usual, bruises had formed under her eyes and her cheeks were puffy.
“Skyguy’s not here.” She mumbled, her voice sounding hoarse.
She refused to look up to meet his gaze, her shoulders hung low and she looked unbelievably small right now.
“I’m not here for him,” Rex said.
Ahsoka shuffled her feet slightly.
“I’m tired Rex, I’m going to bed.” She said quietly.
He placed his hand on the doorway, blocking it from closing.
“The others miss you,” Rex told her, causing her to flinch. “They’d like it if you stayed in the bunks tonight.”
Her shoulders hunched in more.
“Why are you hiding away?” Rex asked.
Ahsoka let out a short growl as she stepped away from the door and turned away from him. Rex took that as an invitation to step into the living space and close the door.
It consisted of a few couches, a holoprojector, a small kitchen area, and two doors that led to Ahsoka and Anakin’s rooms. It wasn’t exactly large but stray droid parts and clothing were left haphazardly around.
“I’m not hiding.” Ahsoka said, drawing his attention back to her.
“No, you’re just avoiding,” Rex said.
“No, I’m-” Ahsoka rubbed her hands over her montrals with a groan. “I’m not.”
“Then come back with me.” Rex said.
Ahsoka abruptly sank down onto the couch, her head landing in her hands.
“I can’t.” She finally said, her voice slightly muffled.
“Why not?” He asked carefully.
Ahsoka just shook her head, still keeping her face buried in her hands. Rex lowered himself to his knee in front of her and reached out to rest his hand on her knee.
“Ahsoka?” He gently prodded.
She lifted her face away from her hands, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“How can I look him in the eye?”
Rex blinked at her.
“Fives?” He asked.
She nodded, biting her lower lip.
“Why wouldn’t-” He was cut off.
“By the Force Rex, I cut off their bond!” She snapped. “I cut it off in the middle of him trying to save his karking batchmate. He was trying to save him and I stopped him and I should have reacted faster to grab him away from the shuttle and I-”
A sob wracked her frame.
Rex reached out and pulled her off of the couch into his arms as she cried.
“I felt him doing it,” Rex mumbled against her montral. “He would have kept it up even if it killed him. You and I both know that Echo was too far gone. You probably saved Fives’ life.”
Ahsoka continued to cry into his shoulder. It was still so odd considering that her shields were still in place.
Only when her breathing began to steady did he push her back slightly.
“Little one we need you with us right now.” He told her. “I don’t blame you for blocking off the bond, and neither does Fives.” Her wide eyes bore into his. “We lost Echo, and right now you’ve blocked yourself off from us. We’re all hurting but we…”
His voice faltered as his eyes burned with new tears.
“I need you there so I know I didn’t lose you too.”
Ahsoka’s head lowered as her shoulder curled in. Then all of a sudden her shields dropped.
Sadness, grief, guilt, pain, all of it came pouring out.
“I’m sorry ori’vod.” She said in a hushed tone.
If he wasn’t working on not breaking down with the fresh onslaught of her bond, his heart would have swooped at hearing her call him that.
She suddenly stood and went to her room. She emerged a moment later with a small bag and her lightsabers.
Rex didn’t wait an extra moment, he tugged her out of the room and onto a transport to the barracks, keeping her tucked under his arm.
Most of the 501st only stopped to give her a small nod or salute, clearly seeing that her usual spunk wasn’t there. Rex did see her attempt to give them small smiles in return.
Hardcase, Jesse, and Kix weren’t in the barracks when they entered. By the feel of things, it seemed like they were in the mess. There was a lump curled up on Echo’s bunk, Rex would have been more concerned if he and the others hadn’t already forced two meals into him today. Still, it wasn’t like Fives to be this stationary.
Ahsoka hesitated. He looked down to see her eyes focused on Fives. He could feel her distress through the bond, she was scared to face Fives.
He placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. She swallowed thickly before she started forward again.
It was a testament to a lot of things that Fives hadn’t noticed Ahsoka’s approach, not until she was standing right behind him, his back facing out while his front facing the hall side of the bunk.
Only when Ahsoka came to a stop did he twitch. Rex watched him slowly glance over his shoulder, his eyes widening slightly to find Ahsoka behind him.
Rex watched Ahsoka open and close her mouth, trying to work out the words she wanted to say. Then she sank to her knees in front of Echo’s bunk, her eyes on the floor.
“Fives…” She finally managed to choke out. “I-I’m so sorry-”
Her breath hitched as their bond flickered and the grief and guilt poured across it.
She opened her mouth to say more but Fives suddenly rolled over, dropped off of what had been his batchmate’s bunk, and wrapped Ahsoka in a bone-crushing hug.
The force of their emotions colliding and mixing in the bond made Rex lightheaded and he sank down onto his own bunk, quietly watching over the two of them.
He heard Ahsoka quietly confessing what she’d told him earlier, about blocking the bond. Fives shook his head and sat back against the bunk, pulling the togruta with him and into his lap.
Rex’s head turned toward the doors as he felt the others approaching, undoubtedly drawn by the fact that Ahsoka had finally re-opened herself up to them. Sure enough, a moment later three figures appeared and quickly began to make their way toward the three of them.
Ahsoka glanced up a moment before Kix, Jesse, and Hardcase descended on the two of them. Finally, finally, Rex had his aliit in one place. It felt like he could take a full breath for the first time since he watched the shuttle explode.
Fives looked up at him from where he was wrapped in the middle of the group. He pulled at their bond, insistently, the order clear.
Get your shebs down here now.
Rex sighed as he slid off his bunk and sank down against the huddle on the floor. Hardcase was quick to throw his arm around Rex at the same time Ahsoka hooked her foot on his leg.
The grief mixed together as they sat on the floor. Their grief, their loss, and their soul-deep loss. These five people here were the only ones to understand this distinct pain. There were only six people in his aliit now, six strings of light. One was blank, gone, burned. But the other six continued to shine. Rex intended to keep it that way. He would do what he had to keep his alitt safe. He would not fail again.
With a deep and shuddering breath, he leaned his head against Kix’s.
That would come later, for now, he would mourn with his family.
Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la. Rex thought as a tear slipped out of his eye and he gripped his aliit tighter. Goodbye Echo.
Notes:
END PART 2
Here ya go, a nice long chapter to make up for the lack of posting that has occurred here at the end of the year. Isn't it just so full of love and fluff and happiness like you all requested ;D i just LOVE IT WHEN IT STOPS ITALIZING HALF WAY THROUGH WHY AO3 WHY
Happy holidays, end of finals, or slightly late winter solstice, whatever you are celebrating. I just got finished up with finals (finals week or my final week am I right hahahah jk) and helped get the shinies out of the dorms for winter break and was running on 9 total hours of sleep but fuck it we ball, as the kids would say.
ANYWAYS I have been so excited to post this chapter ever since I drafted up this fic because of the PAIN I could inflict. This is most likely the last post of the year (which is crazy to me wow where did 2024 go?) we got two full parts of this fic done with 2 more to go!
Thank you all so much for reading with me this year you all mean the world to me and I am so excited to hopefully finish this up in 2025!
Mando'a trans
Sooran ni’jagyc shebs’palon - suck my dick asshole
Udes vod’ika, udesiir - rest/calm little sibling, rest now
Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la - not gone merely marching on aheadTogruti trans:
Waka baka - damn shit
Mehtej - bitch
dia - ass/rear
Chapter 24: Ink in the Skin
Summary:
It's hard to live to learn with a hole in your soul
Notes:
HA BEAT THAT COLLEGE I FOUND TIME AND I AM MAKING MY FIRST POST OF THE YEAR BOOM
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As dark as it may seem, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
-
Kix slowly became aware of the world around him, faint sounds, the scratchy sheets of their bunks, the steady pulse of the bond in his mind.
He let it all come back to him bit by bit, savoring these moments of calm and peace.
But just like every morning, the calm eventually ended. An ache in his core, grief in his mind, an empty bunk across from him. The missing piece of his soul didn’t like to go unnoticed for long.
Kix sucked in a long breath before slowly letting it out. His vode were still asleep around him, Rex in his bunk at Kix’s feet, Jesse and Hardcase directly across from him, Fives across from Rex, and Ahsoka in her undesignated designated bunk at Fives’ feet.
They were currently on the Resolute headed back to Coruscant after a short mercy mission. It seemed that your COs being sent on a high-risk mission earned you a bit of rest. It had been two weeks since the Citadel mission and Kix had a feeling that after their short stop on Coruscant, they’d be back out on the front. Or Fives would be back out on an ARC mission, and this time he’d be alone.
Kix grimaced at the thought.
Kriffing Maker how many brothers had he lost by now? Had to be dozens. None had hurt quite like this. Usually, you mourned after the battle, had a celebratory drink for them at 79’s or a different bar on whatever planet you had shore leave on, added them to your remembrances, and kept moving. Echo though…
Kix reached up to rub his head.
Echo had been aliit. But so had his batchmates on Kamino. He’d mourned Hugo for a while, even now he still felt an old pang of loss over his brother, but it had dulled with time. Hugo wouldn’t have wanted him to lay around wallowing in grief. His brother would have told him to get off his shebs and get back to work.
The same sentiment could be felt from Echo, although the domino twin said it a bit nicer in Kix’s mind.
With his eyes still closed, the medic visualized the bond. Everyone’s string still glowed, except for the dark wall blocking the void of Echo’s in their minds. Kix had fortified his own block against Echo’s bond on top of the initial one Ahsoka had placed. Feeling it once, even just for the split second Ahsoka had been dead, had been enough for Kix to know that he didn’t want to feel it again.
The remembrances that Kix’s instructor on Kamino had drilled into the medics came easily to him. It might not have been the old Mandalorians intention to impart some of his language and culture to the clones, but it had happened anyway.
Kix sucked in another deep breath before he got himself moving.
Not too many troopers on the ship’s day cycle were up and moving yet, leaving the mess largely empty which Kix appreciated. He cradled the warm cup of caf in his hands as he scrolled through medical reports. Looks like they were expecting a medical supply shipment as soon as they landed back on Coruscant, which meant that the storage rooms would need some reorganizing.
By the time he cleared his tray, he was aware of some of the others waking up now as well. A quick glance told him it was Ahsoka and Jesse who were walking up. It was good that Rex was still asleep, he’d been running himself ragged since the Citadel and Kix was worried that he wasn’t letting himself rest as a self-inflected punishment. While Rex was good at dishing out advice, he wasn’t very good at taking it much to Kix’s dismay.
He checked in at the main medical wing, nodding to the few other medics milling inside. It had been long enough since their last engagement that for once none of the 501st had landed themselves in the med bay, a truly remarkable feat.
After making sure everything was in order, he had nothing better to do but get a jumpstart on preparing the medical storage room for the new supplies.
He called for a few other medics to help him and started down to the depths of the Resolute. They started by dragging the dwindling supplies in the back of the room to the front left side, stacking the older supplies that needed to be used first on top and in the front. It was tedious work, back and forth, and back and forth, but this was the kind of work that allowed Kix to turn his brain off. He didn’t have to think, didn’t have to wallow. Work was good for grief, every trooper knew that.
After a while, a familiar presence appeared behind him. When he returned with another crate, Ahsoka was standing with Coric, levitating some of the crates to the top of the stack. She gave him a small smile before continuing to work.
This was good.
His body was starting to ache by the time the storage room was organized and ready. It was a good, productive ache.
Ahsoka fell into step beside him as he began to make his way toward the mess for lunch. He threw his arm around her shoulders, mindful of where her beck lekku fell. On top of her montrals growing, her lekku were also lengthening, and more chevrons beginning to appear on the sides. He frowned slightly when he noted that the new blue markings were a bit my striated than the previous ones. His deep dive into togruta biology after Ahsoka had been assigned to the 501st had given him some insight into things he needed to be looking for as she grew, including details on markings and whatnot. Striated marking tended to appear when an adolescent was in a highly stressful scenario.
He guessed it was unavoidable considering she was in the middle of a war, even so, it still tugged uncomfortably at his chest.
A gentle nudge in the bond had him looking back down to see Ahsoka looking up at him quizzically. Just as he kept tabs on her, she kept tabs on him.
He gave an assuring pulse of warmth and pulled her a little closer to his side reassuringly.
The mess was considerably louder than when Kix was in here earlier, the rest of the day cycle troopers up and moving for lunch. A tug on the bond had him swinging his head to the right where he spotted Hardcase waving at them.
Kix and Ahsoka carefully maneuvered their way over, careful to not spill their tray of whatever slop the mess was serving today. Kix settled down next to Rex while Ahsoka hopped over the table to sit on Fives’ side.
“What have you two been doing?” Jesse asked from the Fives’ other side.
“Prepping the storage room for new medical supplies.” Kix said. “Took ‘em long enough to answer our request.”
“Shebs’palons.” Hardcase mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Kix was pretty sure Jesse kicked the heavy class under the table as he said that.
Hardcase mimed talking with his hand as he shoveled another spoonful of food into his mouth.
“If you start choking, I’m not giving you the Heimlich.” Kix said.
“Don’t worry, I’d give you the heimlich.” Ahsoka offered. “I’m heimlich certified.”
Kix wrinkled his nose at that.
“There is no heimlich certificate.”
“Really, you didn’t get one on Kamino?” Fives spoke up with a cocked brow. “I did.”
Kix rolled his eyes, aiming jabs at his vode through the bond. It was good to see Fives getting his humor back, he’d been quiet since the Citadel. Kix was pretty sure that Fives hadn’t been quiet since his first week with the 501st. Even that might have been a stretch.
The lighthearted conversation carried on as Kix began to eat. Beside him, Rex looked like he was slowly working through a report. His jaw was clenched and exhaustion as well as ire was present from his end of the bond. Out of all of them, Kix was pretty sure Rex had been sleeping the least, which concerned him but at least he was still getting sleep, that was more than Helix could say for Commander Cody.
“Hey uh…” Kix looked up to see Fives rubbing the back of his head. “When we get back to Coruscant, I think I’m going to take a trip to Kita’s.”
Kix glanced at Jesse before looking back at the ARC.
“Do you have something in mind?” He asked carefully.
Fives nodded.
“I want to get something for him. I have one for the rest of Domino, I know he wouldn’t want to be left out.” Fives answered.
Ahsoka glanced around the table looking a little lost.
“What is Kita’s?” She asked.
“Tattoo shop that the Jedi pay for so we can get inked by professionals,” Jesse told her. “They started doing it not too long after the war started.”
“They did it so that one brother wouldn’t get a needle and start inking the whole battalion until everyone had the same disease,” Kix said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I didn’t know that we did that,” Ahsoka said.
“Yeah, a couple of places are getting funded by the Jedi so that we can use it.” Hardcase added. “Seeing as none of us really make any credits.”
Ahsoka wrinkled her nose at that reminder.
“Well if you’d like company, I’d like to come with.” Jesse told Fives.
“Same here.” Kix added.
“Count me in.” Hardcase nodded.
Beside Kix, Rex glanced up with a small huff.
“Been a while since I got a new tattoo.” Rex said.
They all turned expectantly to Ahsoka. She looked at all of them before nodding.
“I won’t be able to get one, I’m not old enough I’d need Anakin or Obi-Wan’s permission and I highly doubt they’d let that fly.” She said. “But I’d be happy to come if you’d let me.”
Fives pulled her to his side with an affectionate jostle.
“Shab I forgot you’re technically younger than us.” Hardcase grumbled. “Which is bantha-osik considering you’re actually older than us-”
“No, she is not.” Kix and Rex snapped at the same time.
Kix sent a jab through the bond to emphasize his point. Ahsoka laughed a little as Hardcase rubbed the side of his head with a wince.
An announcement came over the ship-wide intercom informing them all that they’d be dropping out of hyperspace in half an hour.
“Will you need help with the resupply?” Ahsoka asked him.
“We should be fine,” Kix told her. “And don’t you have coursework due once we get back?”
Ahsoka scowled at him. He held his hands up.
“Just trying to make sure you don’t flunk out of Jedi school.”
“Yeah, what would happen if you failed a course?” Hardcase asked, suddenly leaning in close.
“You’d have to retake it until you passed, but nothing that bad.” She told them with a shrug. “And depending on the course, Knights and Masters will sometimes come back and retake the to brush up on topics.”
They all stared at her wide-eyed, even Rex had lowered his datapad to gawk.
“What?” She asked.
“You just, retake the course,” Rex stated, shock filtering through the bond.
“Yeah.” She looked around at all of them.
Something akin to nausea hit the back of Kix’s throat before Rex blinked and smothered his bond. Kix glanced at the captain, swallowing thickly as he eyed his blond hair. Right, Rex would have had an osik time because of the slightly deviant mutation. There was a reason few blond clones existed.
Ahsoka glanced around at them again before her eyes turned sad.
“You couldn’t do that on Kamino could you?” She mumbled.
Rex shook his head before heaving a sigh and standing up.
“We’ve all got pre-docking tasks to get done.” He told them. “Don’t cause any unnecessary trouble.”
Ahsoka pursed her lips as he deposited his tray and left the mess. Kix might have imagined it, but he thought he felt a flicker of hurt across the bond from her.
“Well I don’t know about the rest of you,” Fives said as he stood and stretched. “But I’m going to go cause some unnecessary trouble. I was thinking of heading over to Kita’s at 1900 hours.”
“Works for me.” Hardcase said as he also stood up and the two made their way over to deposit their trays.
Kix turned back to see Ahsoka nodding before heaving a sigh.
“I’m concerned about Rex.” She said. “Fives too but Rex hasn’t been sleeping.”
“Yeah, I know.” Kix sighed. “I can try talking to him, but I don’t know how effective it will be. He’s kriffing stubborn.”
“Yeah, he likes to dish out advice but not follow it,” Jesse added. “And don’t take it personally ‘Soka, he had a harder time on Kamino than the rest of us.”
Kix nodded, glad he hadn’t been the only one to pick up on that from the togruta.
“And you know how cranky he is when he doesn’t sleep.” He continued. “It’s cause he’s kriffing old.”
“He’s only half a year older than you are.” Kix huffed as the three of them stood.
“And?” Jesse asked. “My point stands.”
Ahsoka laughed as Jesse bumped his arm into her shoulder.
-
Venator class ships usually took a kriffing while to unload. When Jesse first joined the 501st, it usually took them five or six hours to complete docking procedures. However, they’d gotten efficient enough to have the ship unloaded in three to four hours now. Helped that they’d all been doing it for over a year now.
One thing about docking that had gotten better was the crowd of onlookers that tended to gather by the gates to watch them. A mix of species, a good amount of women, all of which were happy to enjoy the show of hundreds of men that appeared in their twenties moving around in various levels of undress. Right now on Coruscant, it was warm, which led to most of them shedding their armor and some of the blacks. Hey, sue Jesse if it was nice to be appreciated once in a while. Even if it was behind the lustful eyes of a hungry-looking twi’lek.
It made the undocking process a little more fun at least.
Ahsoka had completed her commander duties before Rex and Appo took over for her so she could get back to the temple. If her feelings of boredom were anything to go off of, she would probably prefer to be out here with them working.
Once Jesse finished his unloading tasks, he made his way to where Kix was and began to help load up the last of the medical resupply. As he worked, he monitored his vode in the bond. He knew where Ahsoka and Kix were, Fives and Hardcase were helping with the ammunition, and Rex was working alongside the maintenance clone with ship supplies.
Kix and Ahsoka were right, Rex was tired. At least when he did sleep, it was mostly restful. Fives had slept very fitfully right after the Citadel but he’d been doing a lot better as of recently. It shouldn’t surprise Jesse that Rex was running himself ragged, they each had their ways of coping after all. There were certainly more destructive ways that he could be grieving.
Jesse sighed as he dropped the crate of medical wraps where Coric had directed him. Maybe he’d go talk to Rex before they went to Kita’s.
Half an hour later they were finally cleared to head to the barracks. Jesse was looking to steal a quick nap before they went out and was pleased to see that the others largely had the same idea, Fives and Hardcase already face down in their bunks.
When he woke up a little while later, he rolled over to see that Rex’s bunk was still empty, and untouched. Kix was asleep with a datapad under his cheek.
Jesse yawned before carefully climbing down and slowly sliding the datapad out from under his brother’s cheek and plugging it in for him. He turned to see that Fives was still face down while Hardcase was now sprawled out on his back, mouth open, as he slept. A glance at the clock told him that they’d probably be up and moving soon enough in order to get going to Kita’s at 1900.
Focusing inward, Jesse tracked his bond to Rex. It felt like he was relatively close by so he knew he was in the barracks, probably the 501st’s CO office. Well, it was the 501st’s while they were on shore leave. That or he was in the mess.
Jesse went first to the office but found it empty. There was a half-empty cup of caf on the desk so there was at least some proof of life. The corporal found Rex in the back corner of the mess, datapad propped up and a mostly eaten tray of food next to him as he tapped his stylist on the table. He grabbed a tray of food and approached his ori’vod. If anything, Rex looked more tired now than he had been earlier, the shadows under his eyes more prominent now than before.
Rex startled a bit when Jesse set his tray down across from him, the datapad dropping to land screen up on the table. Jesse glanced at the screen. It looked like a mission report, which was odd because they hadn’t run any missions recently. Then his eyes snagged on the title.
Citadel Report.
There were scribbles of red, blue, and green over the report, small notes, and slashes.
Jesse swallowed thickly. So this is what had been keeping Rex from sleeping for the past week. Based on the overlap of colors and scribbles to his own notes, he had to guess that it wasn’t his first time going over the report. Kriffing hells he should have guessed that was what Rex was doing. Rex and Echo had been very similar in the way they analyzed things, always poking holes into strategies and dissecting what had happened to fix it for next time.
This was what Rex had been doing to cope, going back to the report to work out what had gone wrong, what had led to…
Rex clicked the datapad off with a sigh, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly.
Jesse tugged at their bond imploringly.
“Sit-rep.” He asked.
Rex shot him a glare but Jesse just tugged on their bond again, letting his concern for Rex filter over until Rex caved.
“There were a lot of things that didn’t go according to plan on the mission.” Rex finally admitted. “Which is normal, but there were so many things that could have been done differently.”
Jesse nodded as he took a bite of his food.
“I’ve run through every decision, changed them around, switched who went with what group and even what would happen if we didn’t split up,” Rex said quietly. “Echo… it was so preventable. There are dozens of better options I just-”
“Rex.” Jesse cut in.
Rex glanced up at him.
“What ifs aren’t going to get anyone anywhere.” He said.
“I know that.” Rex snapped.
Jesse bit back his retort of ‘then why are you doing it’, not exactly desiring to get into that argument with his brother.
“Would Echo have made a different choice if there had been one?” He asked instead.
Rex’s jaw worked as he thought that over.
“You know as well as any of us how smart Echo was. Hells you wouldn’t have sent him to ARC training if you didn’t.” Jesse continued. “He probably ran through the scenarios out on that damn airfield and that was the best option he came up with. Knowing that osik’ika he probably did it so no one else would risk their own life.”
Rex’s gaze didn’t lift from the table, but his grief leaked through the bond.
“Kix, Hardcase, and I have all wondered if things would have been different if we’d been there,” Jesse admitted. “I wonder if I could have stopped him. I wonder it but then deep down I know that once he’d made up his mind he wouldn’t have been easily dettered off of it.” He grabbed the bond, making Rex look back up at him. “He wouldn’t want you to sit here and agonize over if his death was your fault because it wasn’t. Even if it had been, he’d never blame you and he sure as hells wouldn’t let you blame yourself.”
He did his best to flood that sentiment over the bond to Rex. It must have worked a bit because Rex’s shoulders slumped as he nodded. Jesse added an encouraging nudge, hoping it portrayed his ‘I love you ori’vod’ so he didn’t have to say it out loud.
“Maker now I know how Ahsoka must feel sometimes,” Jesse said as he shoveled food into his mouth.
Rex scoffed at that but he reached over to drag his plate in front of him to replace his datapad.
“Maker help us all if you have to comfort shinies.” Rex mumbled though he accompanied the words with a pulse of gratitude and warmth.
Jesse decided to not be too offended by that comment, sometimes tougher love was what needed to be dished out. It didn’t surprise him that it was more effective on Rex than others, he just hoped it would end with Rex sleeping more tonight. Maybe to be safe he’d shove Fives or Ahsoka into his bunk, both of them might be the best option.
Speaking of the others, he could feel them starting to get up and move. Every trooper knew that you should eat before getting inked, one too many had passed out on their first tattoo session. Fives appeared first into the mess, the front of his hair sticking up from sleeping on it. He sank down next to Rex with a huff and immediately dug into his food.
“Sleep well?” Jesse asked. “Don’t know how you were able to breathe.”
Fives stuck his tongue out at him.
“At least I don’t snore.”
“The only one that snores is Hardcase after he’s been to the medbay.” Rex said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Could have sworn it was Jesse.” Fives said. “That or an asthmatic rancor.”
Jesse sent multiple jabs at his vod’ika as he reached over to swat at him as well. Fives chuckled as he dodged away, the sound brought a smile to Jesse’s face. The ARC hadn’t been laughing much recently, it was nice to hear it again.
Ahsoka lightly tugged on the bond as she appeared in the mess. She settled down next to Jesse with a huff.
“How was coursework?” He asked her.
“About as fun as it always is.” She responded. “What’s got you all so happy about?”
“Oh, we were just discussing the topic of who snores loud enough to wake the dead.” Fives told her.
She wrinkled her nose.
“Hardcase is the only trooper I’ve ever heard snore and it’s only-”
“After he’s been to the medbay.” Jesse pounded the table as he cut in.
“We were designed to not snore.” Rex pointed out. “Wouldn’t do well on a stealth mission to fall asleep and give us away if we snored.”
Fives shook his head.
“I stand by what I said.”
Jesse growled and sent a sharp jab straight to Fives’ brain, making his brother wince slightly. Ahsoka called Jesse’s fork to her hand and stole a bite of food.
“Hey, why don’t you go get your own.” He grumbled.
“Tastes better off of your plate.” She snarked.
“Are you sure we can’t convince you to get inked with us?” Fives turned to ask Ahsoka. “Surely Rex looks old and gray enough to pass as your guardian.”
Jesse laughed as Rex smacked the back of Fives’ head halfheartedly.
“No way in the Nine Corellian Hells am I getting on Skywalker’s bad side because I take his underage padawan to get a tattoo,” Rex said.
“I mean we did take his underage padawan to go drinking.” Jesse pointed out his next bite of food.
“Alcohol isn’t permanent. Besides it wasn’t like we were letting her do rounds of shots and she was throwing up in the toilet.” Rex sent a pointed look at Jesse and Fives, making Ahsoka snort.
“As soon as I’m old enough I will go get one,” Ahsoka assured Fives. “You all can come with me then.”
The ARC gave a satisfied nod as he finished off his food.
It wasn’t long before Hardcase and Kix made their way in and they were ready to head out. The cabs were busy with troopers heading out to 79’s or another nightly destination so they made the trek to the nearest public speeder stop. The sunset faded in front of the speeder as they sailed over the cityscape, thousands of other people also rushing through the speeder lanes to get to their destinations.
Their group stepped off the public speeder with a large group of young people in the entertainment district. Jesse guessed it was Benduday, it shouldn’t surprise him all the young people were heading out on the town.
Fives led them down two levels to where the main light sources were neon signs. They turned a few corners until the sign for Kita’s finally appeared. Jesse gave a sigh of relief to see that there wasn’t a crowd of troopers yet to get tattooed. Kita’s was a first come, first serve shop.
Inside it smelled like antibacterial soap and a pleasant floral scent to help mask it. Ahsoka wrinkled her nose at it but didn’t seem to find it too offensive. The walls were decorated with drawings of mock-up tattoos, adding color to the scene.
“Heya boys.” An orange-skinned twi’lek stepped out to greet them, tattoos swirled over her lekku and arms in colorful patterns. “What can I do for you today?”
“Five of us are looking to get tattooed.” Fives told her.
“Alright, we can do three of you at a time,” Kita informed him. “I suspect you know what you want?”
“I do.” Fives affirmed and the others added in their quiet agreement.
“Alright follow me.”
They all followed Kita through a side door to the main parlor of the tattoo shop. There were six tables in total, one was currently in use by two human girls and a pantoran tattoo artist.
Kita called out two other names as she settled down at the closest table with Fives. Jesse smiled as a familiar human man in his thirties appeared.
“Hey Gorrik.” Jesse called.
The man glanced at him with a smile.
“Ah good to see you, Jesse.” He said as he clapped Jesse’s hand into a firm shake. “How’s the sleeve holding up? Hope you didn’t get shot and screw it up again.”
Jesse laughed.
“Not this time. I’m here to make a small addition.”
“Well let’s get you settled in.”
Jesse followed Gorrick over to his table and settled down. Ahsoka wandered over as Jesse slipped off the coat he’d put on to reveal a plain short-sleeved shirt he’d stolen from Kix.
“Oh Gorrick, I’d like you to meet Ahsoka.” He said. “Ahsoka, Gorrick’s the one that’s been the one doing my sleeve for me.”
“And I tattooed that cog on your face.” The man added. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Ahsoka said with a smile.
Jesse settled down as Gorrick placed his sketchbook in front of him.
“Alright what are we doing and where’d you like the placement?”
He flipped his arm over to reveal the underside of his right elbow, a small blank patch he’d been saving for something cool.
“I’d like a handprint.” He said as he tapped the spot.
Gorrick nodded as he began to sketch, offering up multiple renditions for Jesse to pick from. The soap was cold on his skin before the stencil was laid down. He glanced around to see that Kix was on the third table, his forearm brandished to a twi’lek covered in piercings. Fives had his shirt off and was working out the placement of a good-sized drawing on the right side of his chest. Jesse’s chest squeezed slightly as he recognized the placement.
“Ready?” Gorrick asked, drawing his attention back.
“Yep.”
“Alright, I’m going to do the test line.”
Ahsoka leaned in closer as the tattoo gun buzzed to life. The first line was usually the worst for Jesse, just because it startled him. However, he’d been tattooed enough that his body was relatively used to the pain. Besides once you’ve been shot or hit with shrapnel a few times, it really didn’t hurt too badly.
The first time he’d been tattooed, it had felt like someone had been dragging a vibroblade over his skin. Admittedly it still felt like it, but to a lesser degree. Instead of watching the needle bite into his arm, he turned to watch as Kix’s skin began to be inked.
Hardcase came up behind Ahsoka to observe his process.
“Like the design, fits in with the rest.” He commented.
“Gorrick knows best.” Jesse huffed with a laugh.
“How much does it hurt?” Ahsoka asked curiously.
Right, they tended to put up pretty good blocks in the bond when they went to get another tattoo so the rest of their aliit weren’t subjected to it as well. He carefully removed the subconscious block and intentionally let the pain filter over to Ahsoka. She flinched a little as her eyes widened, a hand flying to her own arm. He blocked off the pain a moment later.
“About that much.” He told her.
She rubbed her arm.
“I can’t believe you sat through getting that done to your face.” She said.
He chuckled.
“I tried to be drunk but Gorrick has this kriffing policy about only tattooing sober people so I didn’t even have a pain barrier,” Jesse said.
“If you think a tattoo is good while drunk, then you’d better be willing to get it when you are sober,” Gorrick mumbled without looking up from his work.
“A good thing considering what Fives almost got while drunk that one time.” Hardcase agreed.
Fives gave an offended scoff and a jab to all three of them from where he was getting the stencil laid down. Jesse winced but kept his arm still. He’d seen what had happened to a brother who had sneezed without warning the tattoo artist. At least the artist had been good at cover-ups as well.
Ahsoka and Hardcase wandered over to observe Kix next, leaving Jesse to his thoughts.
He remembered the first time that they’d brought Echo and Fives to Kita’s. That was when they’d gotten their matching tribute tattoos for their batchmate Hevy. They’d both sworn profusely but had been immensely pleased with the results. Apparently, Fives had come back later that shore leave and gotten the five on his temple, considering how much his own facial tattoo had hurt he could only imagine what Fives had been like in the chair.
Echo had bullied his batchmate for the tattoo but Fives had stubbornly stuck by it.
Jesse had gone and gotten his sleeve expanded at the same time Echo had gone to get the Rishi eel on his spine. For this credit, he’d only sworn in pain once, the rest of the time he’d been exchanging stories with Jesse about their time on Kamino.
The next time their group had gone, they’d been jabbing each other back and forth with pain through the bond. It had been after Echo and Fives had returned from their first ARC mission, they’re eyes had still been lit up from the excitement of it all.
Kriffing hells he missed Echo.
The current pain in his arm helped dull the pain in his chest and vice versa. Echo had always been the one with a sarcastic comeback to anything that any of them said or he had a witty comment about the book he’d read. They all felt the loss of Echo like a limb, but how long would it be before they taught themselves how to operate without him? Jesse still unconsciously included him in his mental check-in only to find a thick and dark barrier where he’d resided.
The scratch of a towel on his skin brought him out of his thoughts. He blinked, finding wetness on his cheek as he looked down. There nestled amongst the other dark lines and floating planets was a dark blue handprint. He swiped at his cheek where a tear had unknowingly leaked out his eye as he held his arm up to examine it.
“What do you think?” Gorrick asked.
“It’s amazing, thanks,” Jesse said with a smile.
Gorrick nodded before cleaning it off again and wrapping it in a clear wrap to protect it.
“I take it I don’t need to explain tattoo healing to you?” He asked.
“I think I’ve got it.” Jesse laughed as he stood up.
Ahsoka bounced back over and he held his arm out for her to see as Gorrick quickly cleaned off his station.
“It looks so cool.” She said.
“Just wait till you can get your own.” Jesse said as he wrapped his other arm around her. “Though your homegrown ones are nice too.”
Ahsoka snorted as Rex settled into Gorrick’s seat.
He walked over to where Fives was lying, his eyes were scrunched shut as he controlled his breathing.
“Hanging in there vod’ika?” Jesse asked.
“Shabuir.” Fives growled.
“This design is so cool,” Ahsoka said.
Jesse had to agree. The placement on Fives’ chest was right where Echo’s handprint had been placed on his armor, the handprint he’d chosen was skeletal, the bones taking shape under Kita’s needle.
After a little longer Hardcase swapped seats with Kix and Ahsoka sat down to hold Fives’ hand. She must have used some Force trick because the ARC relaxed a bit. Jesse could attest to the fact that chest tattoos did in fact hurt like a shabuir, and Fives seemed to have a lower pain tolerance to tattoos than some brothers did.
Once they were all done, they thanked the artists and Jesse assured Gorrick he’d be back soon. Jesse resisted the urge to run his fingers over the covering on his new tattoo as they began to walk.
“Well I don’t know about anyone else but I’m starving.” Hardcase declared as he threw his arm around Kix’s neck.
“You’re always hungry.” Ahsoka said.
“Fast metabolism.” The heavy class said.
“I could eat.” Jesse said. “Tattooing always does that.”
“I think there is a noodle place around here somewhere,” Kix said. “Went there once with a… friend.”
Jesse and Hardcase snickered as Fives pulled Ahsoka to his side to whisper to her montral.
“Yeah, a ‘friend’.” He mumbled as he waggled his eyebrows.
“Must be a good friend,” Ahsoka said with a sharp smile at Kix.
Rex rolled his eyes as Kix sent them all sharp jabs in the bond.
“Oh kriff off. Do you want noodles or not?” Kix growled.
They gave affirming jabs back and followed the medic as he wound his way through the streets. Jesse craned his head back as they walked, taking in the twinkling lights climbing up level after level above them. Oddly enough, he felt lighter now than he had in a while. Sure his arm stung slightly but now there would be no way for Echo to be forgotten while one of them still stood. It was a comforting thought.
As much osik as the rest of them gave Kix, the noodles were very good.
Ahsoka got Hardcase to laugh so hard that one came out his nose which had the rest of them choking on their food. Even Rex had to take a moment to ensure his food was going down the correct pipe while Ahsoka leaned her head into his shoulder and laughed until she cried.
It was then that Jesse realized that it wasn’t just himself that felt lighter, the bond was also lighter. He hadn’t even realized that it had dimmed since Echo died, but right now it glowed. It gave him hope. Things might not be perfect now, but they would be okay. It’s what Echo would have wanted even if he was marching on.
Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’l.
He could live with that.
Notes:
Hello and happy new year (yes I know it's march my B) I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO FINISHING THIS CHAPTER. Sorry that took so long January and February kicked my behindy both with school and work. Plus this chapter just refused to be articulated in words I wanted so I apologize if it's a little clunky.
I decided that we needed a chapter of rest so to speak where we can all process the fact that they all believed Echo DIED AND FIVES DIED THINKING ECHO WAS DEAD AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE FILONI. But yes so they got to get tattoos and mourn a little. Also it's kind of funny because my friend and I are trying to work out a time that we can go get tattoos together (not matching just go at the same time) so I think that helped this chapter get written.
You can find more of my star wars thoughts and background stuff for this fic on Tumblr: @Saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments motivate me like never before <3
Mando'a trans:
shabuir - motherfucker
Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’l - not gone merely marching far away
Chapter 25: Without a Trace
Summary:
Someone gets napped, everyone else panicks, you know the usual
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
When you have people who love you, you will never be alone.
-
Felucia had to be in Hardcase’s top ten least favorite planets he’d been to. And for some Maker-awful reason, they kept having to come back here. Well, actually, he knew the reason, the Seppies wanted the planet because of the Trade Route it sat on or the magical healing plant that grew there or something like that, he’d zoned out during that part of the briefing. The only plants he was concerned about on Felucia were the ones that tried to eat his COs or spray acid at them to corrode their armor. They were all going to have to apply new layers of paint after this campaign.
Out of all of them, Ahsoka was the most excited, she’d been downright giddy when she found out that they were partnered with the 104th and General Plo Koon. Rex was also relatively pleased because he was going to get to see Commander Wolffe, something Ahsoka was also happy about.
Hardcase nodded to a group of gray-clad troopers as he made his way to their camp to get food. Admittedly, he also liked getting to work alongside the 104th, they were actually half-decent sabacc players. He’d hardly played any since Echo died, it just didn’t feel right without him there. But, if he could rally Ahsoka to a game with the Wolf Pack he would be down to play. However, they first had to get through the last bit of this campaign.
He came to a stop at the back of a short line for food, rocking back and forth from his heels to his toes impatiently. Kix was in the med tent, Jesse was getting debriefed on their next move, Ahsoka and Rex were in the com tent probably with the Generals, and Fives was halfway across the galaxy.
It had been a little rough for all of them when they’d had to split ways with Fives. It was his first ARC mission without Echo and they all felt it as keenly as he did. There had been a certain level of security knowing the two of them were out there together to watch each other’s backs when the rest of them couldn’t. That wasn’t the case anymore. Luckily Fives had been sent on a mission with a couple of ARCs he already knew and had worked alongside, it brought them all a little comfort.
Hardcase was brought out of his thoughts by Kix appearing beside him in line. The medic’s armor was marred in a few places from one of the acid-spitting plants. He’d dragged a shiny that had walked right into it out but hadn’t gotten out of it unscathed. The heavy class could still feel the phantom chemical burns on his knuckles.
He nudged his brother through the bond and nodded down at his hands. Kix waved him off with a sigh.
“If the worst I walk off the planet with is a mild plant burn I’m doing just great,” Kix said.
“You have a point there.” Hardcase agreed as they held out their bowls for food. “From what I’ve heard we’re pushing for the clanker base tonight.”
“Good, I’m ready to get out of here before someone else gets attacked by a plant,” Kix said.
Hardcase scoffed as they found a pair of crates to sit on.
“At least Rex hasn’t been eaten by one again.”
“Thank the kriffing Maker for that.” Kix laughed.
Hardcase examined the flora just beyond the boundary of their camp. It could be almost beautiful if you viewed it from far away and hadn’t been personally victimized by it in the past. Behind the large tree-like fungi, the sun was beginning to creep toward the horizon.
A gentle but commanding tug from Rex came through the bond. Hardcase and Kix sighed.
“Well, let’s go scrap some metal,” Hardcase said as he stood.
Hardcase couldn’t help but feel but think that the 501st should have more missions that involved dropping in on droids from above using jetpacks. The Wolf Pack looked unfairly cool as they did so over the droid base and effectively trapped a good number of the droids between them and the 501st.
His Z-6 rattled against his hip as they mowed through the droids. Ahsoka and a group of 104th troopers should be approaching the back wall by now to fully pin them in. Good, the faster this was done the better, he had a sabacc game to win.
A Super Battle Droid charged forward towards where Rex was staged. His captain managed to hit it multiple times but didn’t have a good angle to properly scrap it. Hardcase shifted his stance and unloaded bolt after bolt into the droid. It fell to pieces at Rex’s feet and he returned his blaster fire to in front of him. Rex sent him a grateful pulse as they advanced forward step by step.
Suddenly it felt like a jolt of electricity coursed through his nervous system. It was muscle memory that kept him from dropping his blaster as his body seized for a moment. The feeling dissipated as quickly as it had come, leaving his fingers tingling. That didn’t feel particularly pleasant, and he hadn’t pinpointed who it had been from. However more than a few of the droids were wielding those electric staffs, someone had probably just been unfortunate enough to get jabbed.
Hardcase shook off the disturbance and continued forward.
Half an hour later the base was the Republic’s and cheer raced through their ranks. Hardcase leaned his blaster up against his leg as Skywalker stood at the droid control center looking every bit the ‘Hero With No Fear’ title he’d been given. He scanned it to find Commander Wolffe and General Plo but didn’t see Ahsoka. He frowned slightly as he scanned the area but saw no sign of the togruta. Her side of the bond was quiet, which was abnormal considering it didn’t feel like she was trying to shield.
“I want a full perimeter sweep.” Skywalker’s voice rang out. “Locate Commander Tano.”
A sick feeling crept into Hardcase’s gut. He thought back to the electric shock feeling. Kriff had that been her?
Hardcase shook himself as Jesse waved him over.
She probably just had a run-in with one of the droids with electrostaffs and would be walking up soon, sore and unhappy. They’d laugh about it later. Hardcase sucked in a deep and reassuring breath. She was fine.
-
Three days.
They’d been scouring Felucia for three days and Ahsoka was still missing.
Three days the 501st and 104th had ripped apart the forest to find a clue as to what had become of the togruta but the only thing they’d found were her poorly hidden lightsabers away from the back wall where Comet and last seen her.
Hardcase stared at the small scuff marks on the ground, evidence that someone had been dragged. Then they disappeared like whoever had dragged her had picked her up, and they’d been very good at covering their tracks. He knew that she wasn’t still on the planet, she felt far away in the bond. He knew she was awake and moving based on the distant and muffled flashes he would get, but everything was so muted in the bond.
Someone had taken her. Some kriffing hut’uun had grabbed her right out from under their noses and now she was Maker knew where in the kriffing galaxy. Wherever she was, it was bad. He knew that because the small flickers that managed to filter across were anxiety and even a small flash of fear.
Karking hells he could not lose another one of his aliit.
He kicked the scuff marks on the ground and threw his fist into the nearest fungus with an angry roar. The plant shuddered and was partially overturned from the force of the hit. It didn’t make him feel any better.
Hardcase gripped his helmet as he paced back and forth.
Ahsoka was in trouble and there was nothing he could do about it. This was far too similar to the kriffing Citadel, he’d been stuck back on Coruscant receiving whatever adrenaline-stained flickers he could through the bond. Then Echo’s bond had been set aflame. Echo had died and Hardcase hadn’t been there to do anything and now Ahsoka was gone had he couldn’t do anything.
He slid his helmet off and let it clatter to the ground as he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, attempting to gain some sort of control of his breathing.
In the back of his mind, he could feel his brothers’ concern brushing against his own.
Hardcase focused on sucking a deep breath in as he ran his hands over his head. Under his armor, he could feel the lucky charm Ahsoka had given him press up against his chestplate. He tugged it free, careful not to pull too hard on the string. It was wood, it had a carving of some sort of fanged cat roaring, and it was imbued with peace.
He wrapped his hands around it as he sucked in another deep breath. His panicking or ripping a tree apart wasn’t going to help Ahsoka. Right now she would probably need them to be calm so she could focus on escaping.
One more deep breath and he tucked the pendant back under his chestplate before grabbing his helmet.
Just as he settled it over his head an order came through.
“All Units, terminate search and return to base. Prepare for departure.”
A pit opened in his stomach.
He didn’t want to stop searching. He knew that they’d already looked under every rock and stone for some sort of indication as to where she was to no avail, but this felt too much like they were giving up entirely.
No one was laughing as he made his way back into camp. The campaign had been a success but it was tainted by the loss of Ahsoka. Hardcase was used to leaving brothers behind, they all were. The one thing that had been drilled into them over and over again at Kamino was that they were expendable, they were canon fodder that was meant to be left behind once they served their purpose. Jedi were not expendable.
Jesse leaned on him on the transport back to the Resolute, his exhaustion permeable in the bond. Hardcase wondered if Fives had picked up on their distress, it would have been hard not to. Of course, he wouldn’t know what was happening until he returned from his mission.
Just as they were breaking the atmosphere, he felt a ripple down Ahsoka’s bond. Adrenaline spiked with anticipation. That anticipation turned to fear moments later. One second he was staring at the wall of the transport, the next he was seeing flashes of a dark forest and the distant ring of blasters.
He was running, bushes and branches scratched at his skin as the eerie cry of a hunter chased him. He was prey.
Hardcase gritted his teeth as he forced a barrier between himself and Ahsoka. The transport reappeared and Ridge was looking at him with concern.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
Only now did Hardcase realize his own labored breathing. Jesse was stock still beside him, his own chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Fine.” Hardcase managed out, his hand coming to rest on his chestplate as if he could physically calm his racing heart.
Ahsoka was in trouble. Wherever she’d ended up was bad, it was dark and it smelled of death. Togruta were natural predators, Hardcase had seen her hunt before, he knew what she was capable of. He didn’t know what had the power to make his commander, his kriffing sister, feel like she was prey.
His grip on the handhold tightened until the metal groaned. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing in and out. He tugged on Jesse’s bond until his brother focused on him and he did his best to convey the need to calm down. Jesse nodded and began to match Hardcase’s slow breathing.
Kriffing hells he felt like a shiny having to work through battle panic.
Slowly but surely he felt his heart rate begin to slow. He was still getting flashes from Ahsoka but nothing as vivid or as strong as previously. It seemed like she’d also calmed a bit, or more like she’d stopped her initial panic.
The transport jolted as it set down in the hangar.
Hardcase stumbled off, his legs feeling unsteady. He and Jesse made their way to the bunks passing countless blue-clad troopers with their heads hung.
It was easy to forget that the battalion at large had a connection with Ahsoka. Sure she spent a large amount of time with their aliit, but how many times had he walked past her bunk to see a shiny curled up with her? More and more he knew that she’d been helping in the medbay since she’d built up a tolerance to blocking out the pain that they accidentally projected. Her presence was missed by more than just those of them who were bonded to her.
When he returned from the showers, he found their bunks empty. Kix was in the medbay, Rex felt like he was in the upper levels, probably doing debriefs, and Jesse felt like he was attacking a punching bag.
Hardcase sank down onto the floor next to his bunk, his back propped up against the drawers underneath and his arms rested on his knees. Ahsoka seemed to have settled down at least, he was back to getting only a few emotions, the rest muffled by distance. What little he got from Fives was now tainted with a bit of anxiety. He’d likely been drawn into whatever Ahsoka had experienced and that meant he probably knew that she was decidedly not with the rest of them.
The heavy class let his head thunk against the rim of his bunk before he hung it.
Some ori’vod he was.
The rational part of his brain that sounded a lot like his commander back on Kamino told him that Echo’s death wasn’t his fault and neither was Ahsoka’s capture. The Citadel had been a very specialized force and the 104th was decidedly better at stealth missions than the 501st, so it made sense Ahsoka had gone with a group of them.
He knew that but it didn’t ease the pangs in his chest.
The thud of someone sitting down next to him drew him out of his thoughts.
Rex began to strip off his armor, stacking it in a neat pile beside him as he let out a long sigh. He had dark circles under his eyes and from what Hardcase could sense from the bond, he had slept very little. That made two of them.
“The reason that I will never take the promotion to commander,” Rex mumbled as he leaned back next to Hardcase. “Is that as a Captain my post-battle osik is way less when an actual commander is present. That’s all Wolffe’s job now.”
Despite everything, Hardcase couldn’t stop himself from snorting, which quickly turned into an actual laugh. It was probably his own exhaustion that made it funnier than it was but tears sprang to his eyes as Rex also chuckled.
“I’ll be sure to remember that if anyone ever comes asking if you should be promoted.” He told Rex. “I would hate for you to have to put up with post-mission osik.”
They lapsed back into silence as Hardcase found his eyes drawn to the empty bunk by Rex’s. A few pictures were taped up on the back wall of the alcove, most of them featuring their aliit.
Ahsoka wasn’t asleep, he guessed she was too high-strung right now. She should be here, in this bunk room right next to him, not on some planet halfway across the galaxy feeling like prey.
“She’s strong.” Rex suddenly said.
Hardcase looked over at his brother.
“She’s strong and she’s skilled. She’s been leading this battalion for almost a year now.” Rex continued, his eyes fixed on the empty bunk. “It would be difficult for her to come across a situation that she couldn’t handle.”
Hardcase didn’t know if Rex was trying to reassure him or himself. He knew that Ahsoka was strong, he knew that she’d taken to their training quickly and rarely backed down from a fight. She could properly put him on his shebs in a sparring match since she’d been training with Rex, Jesse, and Fives. Ahsoka was not someone to underestimate.
If he wasn’t planning on brutally dismembering whoever had taken her, he’d almost pity them for thinking Ahsoka would be a good target for whatever they were doing.
He clenched and unclenched his clasped hands as his leg began to bounce.
“How are we going to find her?” Hardcase asked quietly.
Rex was quiet as he let his legs straighten out in front of them.
“I don’t know.” He finally admitted.
“I hate this.” Hardcase mumbled. “How did we lose her? We were all right kriffing there. What good is this damn bond if it can’t prevent us from losing our aliit?”
He brought his hands up to grip the sides of his head, his elbows propped up on his knees.
What good were any of them if they couldn’t do the relatively simple task of keeping their Jedi alive? Sure he hadn’t been out in the galaxy for long but all of them had become uncomfortably aware of the fact that Jedi were highly sought-after wares. Padawans and younglings were prime targets for pirates or slavers and Hardcase had heard the horror stories of what could become of female Force-Sensitives. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach.
Rex’s hand landing on his shoulders drew his eyes back up.
“Without the bond, we wouldn’t know that she’s still alive.” Rex said, his eyes boring into Hardcase’s. “Without the bond, we wouldn’t know that she’s on a jungle planet of some sort, that she’s uninjured, that she’s alert and has a level head.”
Hardcase swallowed thickly as Rex gently tugged on their bond, warm pulsing across it.
“Tell me honestly that you’d give up the bond.” Rex said.
He heaved a large sigh as his leg fell still. Shifting the the side, he leaned into Rex’s shoulder and sent a flick across their bridge of starlight.
His ori’vod gave a satisfied nod as he settled back down a bit.
“I just…” Hardcase began. “I just don’t want to lose any more of you.”
He fixed his eyes back on his hands.
“My squad from Kamino…” He swallowed past the new lump in his throat. “Well everyone knows how high heavy class casualty rates are. We knew it growing up, we all accepted it and live with it.” He began to fiddle with his pajama shorts. “This shouldn’t be any different, but it is.”
Rex sent comfort across their bond.
“We’re bonded in a way we never could have been back on Kamino.” Rex said. “Hells we’re psychically linked or some Force bantha-osik, we feel everything everyone else does. Of course, it’s going to feel different, doesn’t make any of our other relationships any less though.”
Hardcase dropped the hem of his shorts and let his legs drop-down next to Rex’s.
“You’re pretty good at the ori’vod speech.” He said.
Rex chuckled as the doors to the bunks opened to reveal Kix and Jesse.
The two of them stripped their armor off and sank down across from Rex and Hardcase. He gave both of them a greeting tug through the bond.
“What are you two talking about?” Kix asked around a yawn.
“About how Rex has the whole reassuring ori’vod thing down,” Hardcase said. “And that our battalion has been through enough bantha-osik that Ahsoka is probably going to handle whatever situation she’s in with flying colors.”
Jesse’s shoulders slumped a little at the mention of their missing vod.
“We’re headed back to Coruscant now,” Rex explained. “We’ll get a grace period to give them some time to search for her before they send us back out.”
“And if no one can find her?” Hardcase asked quietly.
“Then we continue on without her,” Rex answered, all of them falling quiet as they thought that over.
Hardcase looked at her bunk again. He sent a prayer to whatever deity would listen to protect his sister and bring her back to them.
-
It had been days since Ahsoka had been dropped on the beach.
The days were spent hiding from the calls of the Trandoshan hunters, the nights were spent flinching at every sound in the event that they had an impromptu evening hunt. Splitting food between the four of them was hard, especially considering how thin the Kalifa, O-Mer, and Jinx were already. She could feel the boys’ spirits dimming by the day despite her and Kalifa’s attempts to reassure them. They didn’t even know how long they’d been here, a two or three from the sound of things. If she was this dead tired already, she could understand their broken resolve.
Ahsoka shot upright when she heard a branch snap outside of the small den they were hiding in. She strained her hearing and picked up on the sound of a small rodent scampering away from them. Heart still beating a mile a minute, Ahsoka silently pushed herself upright and stepped out of the den before walking down the branch of the gnarled tree the padawans had taken residency in.
The glow of the planet this moon orbited cast a bright glow over the island. A flicker of movement above her revealed a green and white convor. It fluttered its wings and flicked its long tail at her before lifting off of the branch and flying off to a different tree.
Ahsoka sank down on the branch and wrapped her arms around her knees.
She was tired but her brain wouldn’t let her sleep. She’d been running on adrenaline but her subconscious knew that it couldn’t stop being alert so she could barely get any rest. Whatever sleep she managed was fitful. At least her hands had finally stopped shaking from a close encounter with the hunters earlier.
It had been jarring to wake up on the ship, her lightsabers gone and her armor stripped off to leave her only in her under robes. The armor could be replaced, she was due to get new armor soon anyway to account for her growth spurts, but her lightsabers were far more valuable. Something told her that her lightsabers were safe, adjusting to the lack of them at her side was an adjustment that she didn’t think she’d ever want to get used to.
The bonds she shared with the others glowed in her mind, but it was dulled and dimmed by distance. She knew that they had been panicked when she woke up in the cage on the trandoshan’s ship. Ahsoka had tried to send some sort of reassurance to them but it was much harder to do so at such a distance. The main emotions that came through were the base and strong emotions.
What she’d give right now to have Jesse’s arm around her shoulders, or Fives there to crack a joke about her predicament, or Kix to calm her into sleep, Hardcase to lean against her back, and Rex to help her figure out what the kriff she was supposed to do.
She buried her head in her knees as she fought the urge to cry.
Ahsoka knew she needed to stay strong so she could get the others out of here, but all she wanted to do was curl into a small ball and hide.
The world around her suddenly seemed to brighten. She looked around but nothing was changed, then she realized that the glow was coming from her mind. Ahsoka focused in on the bond to find her bond with Rex glowing brighter than the others.
The ache in her arms and legs suddenly seemed to lessen. Her bond with Kix lit up next, the exhaustion causing her arms to shake diminished. One by one the bonds she shared with her brothers filled with light and moment by moment Ahsoka began to feel herself get stronger.
So this was what it felt like when someone poured some of themself into another bond.
Ahsoka sucked in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and released it.
Yes her aliit wasn’t physically beside her, but they were still with her, even halfway across the galaxy. That realization made her feel less alone, it gave her strength.
Ahsoka stood back up and turned toward the den. The convor whistled at her and she felt calm fall over her mind. When the sun rose tomorrow and they all got up to move, Ahsoka would have a plan. She would get them out of here and she would get back to her clan.
-
Fives knew something was wrong.
He felt it when his brothers all panicked at the same time and Ahsoka remained quiet. Eventually, Ahsoka seemed to wake back up, but she was anxious. Trying to puzzle it out from the fuzzy and distant emotions he was getting was next to impossible.
The first instinct he had was to worry, something bad had happened and he wasn’t there to help them or protect them. The more rational part of his brain pointed out that all of them were conscious, he hadn’t received any shocks of intense pain so none of them were seriously wounded either.
The other issue he faced was that he was in an entirely different star system than them with his own mission and concerns to deal with.
Despite everything, Fives ignored the echoing hole in his soul and focused on completing the task at hand so that he could get back to his vode and figure out what was wrong. After four more days of intensive work, one Separatist general was dead, the data he housed was in Republic hands, and Fives was cleared to return to the 501st.
Sleep and reports took up his time on the flight back to Coruscant which didn’t leave him much time to dwell on the bond. However, one evening he’d been dragged into an intense vision of an unfamiliar jungle moon. The feeling of being hunted had robbed him of breath. That made it difficult to focus on his mission reports and not to pace the length of the transport until he wore a tread into the durasteel floor.
His transport arrived back on Coruscant just after the 501st touched down. He hopped out and quickly made his way toward the Resolute where troopers were unloading supplies. The first thing he clocked was the sloped shoulders and down-turned faces of his brothers. A quick glance around revealed that this campaign hadn’t been a particularly hard one, there wasn’t a significant amount of troopers missing, this just puzzled him more.
Fives reached out to the bond to figure out who was closest to him. Rex’s bond pulled him to the left, he weaved in between empty ammunition crates and vode until he spotted Rex’s buzzed blond hair.
Rex turned around to search for him when he gave a tug in greeting. There were dark circles under his captain’s eyes and stubble covered his jaw from neglecting to shave for a few days. His ori’vod looked haggard in a way Fives had only seen after a particularly hard campaign, it made a weight settle in his stomach and his mouth go dry.
“What’s going on?” He asked as soon as he was in front of Rex.
His captain’s jaw clenched and suddenly Fives could taste Rex’s anxiety at the back of his throat.
Fives blinked before shaking his head and taking a step back from his brother. He visualized the bond in his mind, all the strands of light. Ignoring the looming blockade where Echo’s used to be, Fives scanned the rest of the strings of light. Now that he was close he was aware of everyone else’s emotions and experiences. Everyone except for Ahsoka, hers was still muted.
He looked at Rex.
“Where is Ahsoka?” He demanded.
Rex ran his hand over his face with a defeated sigh.
“We don’t know.”
Fives blinked at Rex in disbelief.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I mean that we don’t know.” Rex snapped. “She disappeared on Felucia, we searched the planet for any sign of who took her or where she is but found nothing.”
Fives eyes widened as the suddenly seemed to thicken in his lungs.
“All we know is what we’ve gotten in the bond.” Rex said quieter so only he would hear.
Ahsoka was gone.
Ahsoka had disappeared.
Ahsoka had felt like she was nothing more than prey in that vision.
“I- she…” He gripped his chest plate as he struggled to pull air into his lungs.
“The generals were hoping that once we got back to Coruscant, more resources could be put toward finding her.” Rex continued to explain, even if his voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.
Gone gone gone.
Ahsoka was missing.
Maker not again. Fives thought.
He was distantly aware of someone grabbing him and his legs moving but he ignored it in favor of focusing in on the bond. Surely there was a way to track her through the bond? They’d seen a vision of a jungle, it had smelled tropical. Behind the trees, he’d seen the large glowing outline of a larger celestial body so it had to be a moon. There were many moons that could support life across the galaxy but he could narrow it down to a few-
A sharp pain hit Fives right behind his eyes. He blinked rapidly, his vision once again returning to the shipyard and Rex in front of him. His brother was gripping his shoulders as his eyes bore into his own.
“Breath Fives,” Rex ordered, his tone sharp.
Years of conditioning had him following the captain’s orders without hesitation. Only now did he realize how labored his breathing had become. He sucked in another deep breath as he became aware of his heart speeding.
“I… she-” Fives reached up to run his hands through his hair roughly. “We can’t lose her.”
Rex sent a pulse of warmth down the bond before he pulled Fives forward into a tight hug. He gripped his ori’vod’s armor tightly as his breath shuddered.
He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that, but Rex only let go once Fives’ grip on his armor loosened. His boot knocked his helmet where it had been dropped and he stooped to pick it up with a sigh.
“The general has been working around the clock to try to track her down.” Rex told him. “And the Jedi have a kriff ton of resources. I have faith that they’ll be able to find her.”
Fives swallowed down his question of how those resources were affected during the war. It wasn’t like they could spare a whole lot of manpower during the war to go out and find one missing Jedi.
He shook his head roughly.
Jedi were coveted commodities, someone would be willing to look for Ahsoka. Worst-case scenario, Fives kriffed off and went searching for her himself. Because of the bond and the vision he probably knew more about where she might be than the Jedi, but he wasn’t exactly willing to go tell his general that he had a psychic bond to his padawan quite yet. That would have to be a worst-case scenario. Although he wasn’t sure if that fell before or after his deserting to go find her himself.
Not many troopers went out to 79’s or any other entertainment areas that night, most just seemed like they wanted to sleep. Fives could understand the sentiment as he dozed off sprawled over Kix’s legs despite his brother threatening to kick him if he didn’t get off. It didn’t seem like there was much to celebrate and even drinking to drown out his worry for Ahsoka didn’t sound appealing.
The next few days were miserable as well. Hardcase had lost any ability to sit still, he was constantly up and pacing or tapping tunelessly on his bunk or the mess table, Jesse’s and his own knuckles were bruised from the punching bags, Kix’s jittery energy from a few too many cups of caf gave them all a headache, and Rex’s eye bags were soon mirrored on all of their faces.
They weren’t getting much over the bond, although a few days ago they’d all been wrenched out of sleep by a vision of a young girl’s sightless eyes staring into their own. Ahsoka’s grief had almost been enough to turn Fives’ stomach and make his dinner come back up.
It was another week and a half before adrenaline flooded the bond. It was acrid and left the aftertaste of desperation in his throat. Fives reached for his bond with Ahsoka and poured some of his own light into their strand.
Fives shared a wide-eyed look with his brothers before a sharp stinging pain ripped itself down his side, making him hiss in pain. Ahsoka was in a fight, a hard one at that, and all Fives could do was sit here and pray that she would make it out okay.
A shield was suddenly placed between his bond and Ahsoka, it wasn’t as impermeable as the one she’d erected after the Citadel but it still made Fives feel discomforted.
“I don’t like this.” Hardcase said from where he’d begun to pace again.
“None of us do.” Kix grumbled from his bunk, his head braced by his hands.
“I should have deserted and gone looking for her myself.” Fives growled.
Rex sent a sharp jab his way, making him wince.
Back on Kamino, even mentioning desertion in passing could have gotten you in deep osik with the Kaminoans and their Mandalorian trainers alike. It had gotten much less severe since General Ti had taken over but some habits died hard in the Gen 1 troopers.
“I can’t sit here, who’s up for a sparring match?” Jesse declared as he hopped off of his bunk.
“Thank kriff.” Fives said as he also hopped off his bunk.
“Anything to get me out of here.” Hardcase huffed.
Jesse had always been a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. Fives had been on the receiving end of more than a few sheb-whoopings at the hand of the scout. Since he’d completed ARC training, he found sparring Jesse to be much more enjoyable, mostly because he was able to win. Of course, clones were designed to learn and adapt, so anything Fives threw at Jesse, after a few rounds he was working out counterattacks.
Sparring Hardcase, you never knew what to expect. Sparring both Jesse and Hardcase at the same time meant that he was going to be kriffing sore the next day and he’d be lucky to walk away with only bruises.
Kix paced along the edge of the mat as Fives dodged a jab from Hardcase and sent one at Jesse. The corporal jumped aside and swept his leg toward Hardcase.
They continued their dance for what felt like hours. At one point a group of shinies had walked over to watch them, mumbling to one another until Jesse landed a solid hit to Fives’ stomach.
At least when he was sparring, Fives felt like he had something under control.
He had just thrown Hardcase off of his back when Rex’s bond suddenly lit up. Happiness, gratitude, and light bombarded Fives’ head until he put up a shield between himself and his captain.
“Ah kriff.” Hardcase winced as he held his hand up to the right side of his head.
“Karking haran.” Kix mumbled.
One second Jesse was standing off to the side, the next he was tackling Fives to the ground with a battle cry. Fives grunted as they went down, immediately turning the fight into a scrapping match, Jesse trying to get Fives’ arms pinned behind him while Fives worked to get out from under his brother.
He snarled and snapped his teeth at Jesse’s calf, making the corporal swear. His teeth weren’t as sharp as Ahsoka’s but it had the desired effect of Jesse loosening his grip.
“Hey no biting.” He growled.
“You never said that.” Fives answered as he managed to get his knee under him and propel his shoulder into Jesse’s middle.
Just as he was about to shove Jesse off, Hardcase slammed into both of them, taking them back down to the floor again. His organs were elbowed more than a few times as Hardcase caught one of his legs and one of Jesse’s arms in a vice grip. Fives attempted to flip himself around but only managed to get himself more tangled in his vode.
There was a sharp tug on the bond that had all of them freeze and look up from the mat. Rex was standing next to Kix, his bond was still overwhelmingly bright and he had a broad smile on his face.
Fives blinked before his eyes widened.
“Did they find her?” He asked, his face partially smooched into the mat.
“She found herself,” Rex answered. “Skywalker got a com from the Wookies about ten minutes ago. She’s okay.”
“Thank the kriffing Maker!” Hardcase whooped.
Fives struggled to disentangle himself from the pile, accidentally kicking Jesse in the face once or twice before they finally managed to shove themselves upright. Almost immediately Hardcase had his arms around Fives’ waist and he was lifted off the ground as the heavy class continued to cheer. His own laughter bubbled up as the bond glowed with their relief.
“How the kriff did she end up with the Wookies?” Kix laughed.
“When is she going to be back?” Jesse asked as Hardcase dropped Fives.
“I didn’t get to many details from Skywalker, but she should be back tomorrow afternoon.” Rex answered.
A weight that had been sitting on Fives’ chest was suddenly gone. Ahsoka was okay and she was coming back to them. It would be okay.
He tossed his arm over Kix’s and Jesse’s neck.
“Well, this sounds like something to finally celebrate.” He declared. “How about we go spread the good news and drink to our commander coming home?”
“Finally someone has said something reasonable.” Hardcase clapped Fives’ back.
“I could use a kriffing drink.” Rex said with a sigh.
“Well said captain, my captain.” Fives said as he pulled Kix and Jesse forward.
They burst into the barracks and shouted the news about Ahsoka for the room to hear. It was met with riotous cheering as the dark cloud that had settled over the 501st lifted. Their commander was coming home.
Hardcase’s restless energy seemed to spread across the bond as Fives couldn’t stop pacing all day as they waited for confirmation that Ahsoka had made it back to Coruscant.
“She probably won’t make it over here until tomorrow.” Kix pointed out. “It felt like she was in a couple of fights, she’ll probably have to visit the Jedi healers.”
“I know but you could treat her just as well.” Fives said as he paced.
Kix outwardly barked a laugh at that.
“Kriffing haran I’m good at stitching someone’s guts back in while in the middle of a battle, not full medical procedures,” Kix responded.
“Even so,” Hardcase said from where he was pacing parallel to Fives.
Fives looked inwardly at the bond, he could feel Ahsoka steadily growing closer and closer, her emotions were becoming less muddled and easier to read now that they weren’t muffled by distance. He felt a persistent ache in his side which was probably from the most recent fight she’d been in.
“We could always break into the Temple tonight.” Jesse suggested from where he was reading on his bunk.
“No we are not breaking into the Jedi Temple.” Rex groaned. “Security is too tight and the Halls of Healing are heavily fortified.”
Fives turned to look at his brother.
“So you’ve considered it.”
Rex turned to give him a look. His face said ‘of course not’, the bond said ‘of course I kriffing have’. Fives shrugged as he continued to pace.
“Your pacing isn’t going to make her appear any faster.” Kix pointed out.
“Not my fault Hardcase infected me.” Fives argued.
Hardcase flipped him a vulgar hand sign just Ahsoka suddenly flooded the bond with warmth. Rex’s com lit up and they all practically threw themselves at Rex’s bunk as their captain picked up his com to read the message.
“She’s back at the temple.” Rex read aloud for them. “Says she’s a little banged up but doesn’t seem like anything too bad.”
“Maker vor entye.” Kix sighed, his relief palpable in the bond.
Fives reached out and tugged on Ahsoka’s bond, earning a tired but playful nudge back. It was still a little too muffled by the distance from the barracks to the Jedi Temple for Fives’ taste, but it was much better now. The strand of light didn’t feel like it was getting pulled taut anymore.
There was nothing Fives wanted to do more than catch the next speeder to the temple but it would probably be rather odd for a clone to be that concerned for their commander, one that wasn’t their brother. He heaved a large sigh and resigned himself to wait for Ahsoka to arrive tomorrow. It was probably for the best, she felt hungry and tired. She’d need some medical attention, a good meal, and then sleep. He could stand the distance for a little longer.
The mess was lively now that the news that Ahsoka was back on Coruscant had spread. Many were preparing to go out again tonight but Fives and his aliit were content to stay in. Mostly they didn’t want to over-drink and give Ahsoka an unnecessary headache when she needed rest. Plus the earlier he went to sleep the sooner, theoretically, the sooner Ahsoka would be here.
Kriffing hells was this what natborns felt the day before their life day or some other holiday? He felt too antsy to sleep, this was different than the kind of antsy he was used to getting on a campaign, at least with those he was exhausted enough to sleep as soon as his head hit his pillow or whatever other surface he found himself sleeping on. He could tell the others were also feeling it.
“Anyone up for a sabacc game?” Hardcase offered.
“Kriff yes.” Jesse said.
“Deal me in.” Fives called as he hopped off of his bunk.
“Distraction would be good.” Kix agreed as Rex also sank down to play.
Rex was a fairly good sabacc player, able to keep a better sabacc face than many of their other brothers. The last time he’d played Rex, Echo had almost strangled Fives for beating him three times in a row, convinced he was cheating. The thought of his batchmate tugged painfully at his chest, but it also made him smile a little.
Partway through the third game, Fives blinked as the world around him seemed to get a little lighter and warmer. He glanced around before he felt a gentle pull on the bond. His head snapped to the barracks doors just as they slid open and in limped Ahsoka Tano. It took him a second to process what he was seeing before he jumped upright with a shout.
The others all lunged upright as well and surged toward their sister but Fives got to her first by tripping Hardcase.
Ahsoka smiled as he charged right up to her and wrapped his arms around her in a fierce hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck before he lifted her off her feet and spun her around with a laugh.
“Oh thank the Maker you’re back.” He said as he tilted his head down to bump their foreheads together.
“It feels good to be back.” She said, her voice wavering slightly as she sent a pulse of warmth and comfort across their bond.
“Kriffing release her you shebs’palon.” Jesse snapped from his right side.
Fives turned his head and stuck his tongue out at his brother as Ahsoka laughed. He lowered her back to the ground only for Hardcase to snatch her up in a hug. Fives looked her over and noted more than a few bandages and bruises spanning across her skin. A sizeable bandage was applied to her cheek and onto her montral, one of her eyes looked like it was in the later phases of a black eye, and her cheeks were more sunken in than normal. She was currently adorned in an oversized set of robes that covered other injuries she might have had but right now his relief was outweighing his concern.
One by one they snatched her up in an embrace and with each one the bond got lighter and lighter.
Finally, Kix released her only to reach out and catch her face, tilting her this way and that as he examined her.
“When was the last time you had a real meal?” He asked her.
“When I got back a few hours ago.” She answered. “The healers already looked me over Kix.”
“I’m sure they did.” the medic mumbled as he continued to examine her.
By now the others that were in the bunk room had heard the commotion and had come over to investigate. Ahsoka greeted all of the troopers with a smile as they expressed their happiness over her being back.
“Where were you?” Hardcase demanded over the din of excitement.
“What the kriff happened?”
“How did you get back?”
Ahsoka held her hands up as they all began to bombard her with questions.
“I’d be happy to give a story time, preferably somewhere more comfortable.” She told them.
They quickly found themselves in the rec room, troopers seated at other tables as well as on the floor with Ahsoka situated between Rex and Kix who still seemed unsure if she was going to tip over unconscious or not.
Despite the number of vode suddenly packed into the room, they all quieted down as soon as Ahsoka began to recount her tale.
Every new piece of information she shared only served to fill Fives with more and more rage. He did his best to block it off from the bond, but he could feel the others experiencing something similar. She’d been kidnapped, she had been stripped of her armor and weapons, and she’d been hunted for sport. Those karking hut’uun had wanted to mount his sister’s head on a kriffing wall as a trophy.
If she hadn’t told them all that the Wookies had killed the rest of the trandoshan hunters, Fives would have taken off right there to slaughter them himself. No one had the right to take one of his aliit and belittle them into prey.
Someone tugged on his bond, dragging him out of his spiraling thoughts. Ahsoka wasn’t looking at him but she was clearly trying to get him to stop fantasizing about maiming those hunters. Assurance bled across the bond, assurance that she was alive and okay and here. Fives ran a hand through his curls as he sucked in a deep breath and focused on curbing his anger.
This story had certainly felt like an abridged version, he wondered what other horrors she’d experienced that she hadn’t shared with the group tonight. He could feel her shielding something in the bond.
Rex announced that it was time to leave when Ahsoka yawned one too many times. Troopers dispersed back to their bunks or to other areas, content now that their commander was back. Ahsoka moved to stand up but winced when she put pressure on her left leg, a phantom sting hitting Fives’ knee as well. Immediately Kix swept her off her feet and carried her out the door.
“Wait Kix it’s fine.” She tried to say as he turned toward the med bay.
“I’m quite literally in your head ‘Soka, I can feel where it hurts.” Kix replied.
The four of them followed Kix and Ahsoka into the med bay where Kix set her down and immediately ran a scanner over her. Kix looked at the scanner results before looking back up at Ahsoka, his eyebrow raised.
“Okay, so yeah I got a little banged up.” She mumbled.
“Two cracked ribs, bruised hip, malnourishment, dehydration, multiple lacerations across your back, side, and head and to top it all off a minor concussion.” Kix listed.
They all stared at her in shock.
“Why would you let us hug you?” Jesse cried. “Cracked ribs?”
“Did those shabuirs claw you?” Rex growled.
“Drink this.” Hardcase said as he produced his own canteen of water.
Ahsoka sighed as she accepted the water and let Kix fuss over her. There was a flash of exasperation in the bond before it was replaced with acceptance.
Fives dragged the nearest chair over to her bedside and sank into it. He reached out his hand and let it rest on her knee where her legs were crossed. Ahsoka glanced down at his hand before raising her gaze to his.
“Tell me about the other kids.” He asked her quietly.
The others fell quiet around them as she stared at him and he gave her a reassuring nudge in the bond. Her grip on Hardcase’s water tightened as her eyes suddenly glistened.
“I-” Ahsoka’s voice broke.
The shield disappeared from their bond and the weight of her guilt and sadness made their bond feel like it was sinking.
“I couldn’t save them all.” She finally managed to mumble. “Kalifah she… I tried-”
Fives reached out and pulled her to his chest as tears began to spill out of her eyes.
Kalifah, that must have been the girl who they’d seen briefly. The thought of someone that looked that young dying in such a brutal and inhumane way, it sent another spark towards the anger simmering in his chest.
In broken spurts, Ahsoka shared the story of Jinx, O-mer, and Kalifah. Fives found it very ironic that the lead hunter sought out revenge for killing his son, he wondered how many other sons and daughters that trandoshan had slaughtered and mounted on his wall.
Guilt and grief continued to permeate the bond as Ahsoka finished up the unedited story. Considering how exhausted she was, it didn’t surprise Fives that her mind was going to the conclusion that it was her fault somehow. She did it plenty with troopers on campaigns, hells they all probably did to some extent.
“But you got the other two kids out right?” He asked, prompting her to look up at him.
Ahsoka nodded.
“And you got all the other people off that island rescued.” He continued.
She nodded again, her shoulders dropping a little.
“It sounds like you did the best you could given the circumstances vod’ika.” Rex told her.
“You helped so many sentients get back to their homes and their lives.” Jesse offered. “You saved them when it seems like most everyone else forgot about them.”
Ahsoka let out a breath as she sat up a little straighter still propped up against Fives’ chest.
“I know I can’t save everyone,” she said quietly, looking down at her hands. “I know that statistically, this was a successful mission. I just wish I could have brought more of them home.”
“And you know that we’ve all felt that exact same way.” Fives mumbled.
Ahsoka nodded absently as she picked at one of her bandages before Kix must have jabbed her in the bond based on her small wince and stopped fidgeting.
“For what it’s worth,” Hardcase said as he leaned in. “I’m just glad you made it back at all. When all we found was your lightsabers…”
Hardcase’s head drooped as he wrung his hands together.
“I- we…. weren’t sure if we were ever going to see you again kid.” He finished quietly.
Ahsoka sent warmth and assurance flooding into the bond before she reached out and tugged Hardcase forward with the Force. He stumbled into her outstretched arms with a content hum. Fives reached out to hook his arm around Hardcase and Ahsoka.
“Alright, that’s enough jabbering,” Kix said as he clapped his hands together. “Time for bed before you fall asleep sitting upright vod’ika.”
Fives released his siblings and stood up to drag his chair back to the wall where he’d found it. He turned to see Rex scoop Ahsoka up off of the bed and move toward the door.
When they reached the bunk room, they didn’t bother trying to negotiate who was going in who’s bunk. Instead, they all dragged their mattresses down to the floor with blankets and pillows to create a larger sleeping area. Rex set Ahsoka down in the middle and turned to shuck off his boots. Fives took the opening to slide in next to Ahsoka, Hardcase quickly taking the other side.
“Hey, you two got her in the med bay.” Jesse complained.
“You snooze you lose di’kut,” Hardcase responded as he tossed his arm over Ahsoka to grab Fives and drag them both closer to him.
“So glad to see I’m such a coveted commodity,” Ahsoka said as she nuzzled her head against Fives’ neck.
“Only because we missed you.” Fives said. “In a few days, it’ll wear off.”
Ahsoka jabbed her knee up into his stomach at the same time that she sent a sharp pain straight to his brain. He gasped and hunched forward slightly with a wheeze. Ahsoka nipped his shoulder for good measure before settling down.
“You definitely deserved that.” Hardcase chuckled, his eyes sparkling.
Jesse settled down behind Fives, his arm snaking over his middle to brush against Ahsoka’s arm. Rex laid down by his head and Kix settled down somewhere near Hardcase’s legs. Within moments, Ahsoka was asleep and lightly purring every few breaths into his and Hardcase’s chests. Distantly he could hear the sound of other troopers getting back from their night at 79’s, undoubtedly they would hear that Ahsoka was back. It was also highly probable that they’d be getting an earful from Skywalker about stealing his padawan right after she got back, but that was all a tomorrow problem.
Right now, his aliit was all around him and if anybody else wanted to get to Ahsoka, they’d have to go through all of them. Fives let his eyes slide shut and the peace in the bond washed over him until he slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Notes:
HA I FINALLY GOT THIS DONE BEAT THAT
Sorry this took so long this semester has been kicking my ass and I'm sick for like the 4th time but fuck it we ball because I only have a few more weeks till summer so THANK THE LORD.
This chapter was unnecessarily difficult because I've known how I want it to go since the beginning but actually articulating that into words was a whole other beast so excise it if it seems choppy at all.
If you want more of my star wars content you can find me on tumblr: @saggitary
Thank you so much for reading! Your comments will make my headache go away :]
Mando'a trans:
vor entye - thank you (I accept a debt)
hut’uun - coward (‘worst possible insult’)
Chapter 26: The Good, The Less Desired, and The Osik
Summary:
the aftermath, a diner, and osik
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It can be hard to see someone grow up, but remember that growth is a natural part of life.
-
It really was no surprise when Anakin showed up at the barracks the next morning looking panicked, at least not to Rex. He couldn’t blame the man, he’d only just gotten his padawan back and hours later she disappears again. However, his general’s posture relaxed considerably when he came into the bunks only to find Ahsoka squished pretty firmly between Rex and Jesse.
Sometime in the night he’d managed to kick Hardcase out of his spot next to Ahsoka and Jesse had done the same to Kix who had already kicked Fives out of his spot. There was a lot of want to be near Ahsoka, but not much togruta to actually go around to all of them.
Rex had been in and out of sleep for a bit but he fully woke up when his general appeared in their bunk row. His muscles tensed to get up and salute like he’d been trained to do but he found that he didn’t want to give up his grip on his sister, and Hardcase was pretty firmly glommed onto his back and still very much asleep.
Skywalker knelt down by their pile of mattresses, his shoulders visibly relaxing when he spotted Ahsoka in the middle of their group. Rex carefully lifted his head enough to nod to his general, earning him a small smile in return.
Slowly but surely the others began to wake up, each of them startling a bit when they noticed their general seated next to them. Ahsoka remained fast sleep though, he had felt her exhaustion acutely the night before and considering the story that she’d told he could imagine that she needed the kriffing sleep. Kix had muttered something about adrenal exhaustion when he’d carried her to the med bay, like her body had been running on adrenaline so long that it was ready to crash without it. It warmed something in Rex’s chest that Ahsoka had finally felt safe enough with them to let her body crash and recover.
Around the barracks he could hear troopers rustling, a few even wandered over to lay eyes on their now returned commander themselves. Losing Ahsoka had been a hard blow to all of them, it felt a little like what Rex imagined phantom limb syndrome to feel like. Commander Tano had slipped into place in the 501st almost seamlessly, it was hard to imagine a time without her there.
Ahsoka twitched at the new intrusion of noise and buried her face further into his chest and Jesse reached up his hand to lay it over her more exposed montral. The others eventually got up to get food and Kix sorted through his medical bag that he’d brought with them last night in the event Ahsoka needed something. Fives returned with food and offered some to Anakin, the Jedi readily accepted, mumbling about how osik the Jedi cafeteria food was.
“Woulda thought Jedi food would be top notch.” Fives mumbled as he sank down next to Anakin.
“Used to be before the war, or at least it was better.” Anakin told him. “More time and resources to put into feeding a lot of people. It definitely beats anything I had growing up though.”
Rex winced a little when that prompted Fives to ask about their general’s childhood. He personally didn’t know too much about it, but he had picked up on bits and pieces Anakin had offered throughout the war. He also know what the line of numbers that were inked into his generals collarbone meant, and he knew that a gnarly scar was crossed through them. A slave, bought and sold into freedom.
He had never asked about Anakin’s childhood, just as Anakin rarely asked about any of theirs.
Instead of changing the subject or deflecting the question, their general shared what it had been like growing up on Tatooine, and when he’d first met Jedi. Apparently the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the barracks, and the fact that Ahsoka was only a few feet away from him, made him feel talkative.
Skywalker was partway through sharing his story about defeating the Banking clans blockade over Naboo when Ahsoka shifted and blearily blinked her eyes open. Rex glanced down as she gave a jaw cracking yawn, flashing sharp fangs rather close to his vital organs.
She closed her eyes again as she shifted closer to him before she paused. Ahsoka opened her eyes slightly, her brows furrowed and she twitched her head to the side. Next she lifted her head up just enough to see over Jesse’s shoulder to spot her master.
Anakin turned his head to meet his padawan’s gaze, his shoulders sinking slightly as his face relaxed.
“Morning Snips.” He told her.
“Fancy seeing you here Master.” She said around another yawn.
“Well it was quite the scene when I woke up this morning to find my padawan no where to be found but a rather cryptic note saying ‘barracks’ taped to the fridge.” He answered. “Figured it was either you slipping away or them coming and nabbing you.”
Anakin motioned to the barracks at large at the last part, causing Fives and Hardcase to snicker.
“With all due respect general, if I was going to kidnap someone I wouldn’t say where I was keeping them.” Fives told him.
“Unless I was ready to ransom them, then I would tell them A location but not the location the hostage was.” Hardcase said thoughtfully. “That’s just common sense.”
“No the way to do it would be to film the hostage alive and then set up the meet up location in the same place and move the hostage across the city.” Jesse chimed in. “Makes the person think they have the upper hand and throws them off their game.”
Ahsoka groaned and buried her face back into Rex’s chest, the bandage on her cheek catching a little on his shirt as he chuckled.
“What not up for a discussion on hostage situations?” He asked quietly.
“As someone that was just kidnapped recently, I think I’ll pass.” Ahsoka answered sarcastically, her voice muffled by his blacks.
The others continued on with their conversation, not having heard her but Rex immediately sobered up at that, as did Jesse.
“Kriff vod’ika, sorry.” Jesse said as he shifted a little closer and tugged her toward his chest.
Ahsoka turned to look up at him as she sent appeasing nudged across the bond.
“That was a joke.” She told them.
“Yeah well we sure didn’t kriffing like it when you were kidnapped.” Jesse said, sincerity bleeding through the bond even to Rex. “Scared us jaygce’nass.”
“Nayc.” Rex huffed as he jabbed at Jesse’s bond. “Language.”
Ahsoka just laughed a little and turned over to wrap her arms around Jesse’s neck.
“I didn’t like it much either.” She mumbled.
Jesse carefully wrapped his arms around her middle, being mindful of her ribs and claw marks, and scooped her to his chest.
“Alright,” Kix’s voice rang out. “Time for breakfast commander.”
Jesse groaned good naturedly but released Ahsoka from his grip. Rex and Jesse sat up with her, watching in case she faltered as his ribs throbbed in phantom pain. With better light and fresher eyes, it was still shocking to Rex how rough Ahsoka looked.
Her black eye still looked bad and her cheeks were sunken in, the bandage across her montral and cheek looked like it needed to be changed but the bruises on her montrals appeared to have faded a bit.
Kix gave Jesse a look that had him quickly vacating his spot on the mattresses so that the medic could sit down and hand over a tray of food. Ahsoka started eating as Kix started checking her over. Rex stood up and sank down on the bunk across from them so he could steal food off of Fives’ plate while Anakin sat down next to his student.
This was good, this was right. His aliit was all in the same place at the same time, none of them were gravely injured. The bond was light in his mind, the background noise of Hardcase’s buzzing and jabs between his brothers would have once left him with a headache, now he couldn’t imagine life without it.
Anakin’s com started flashing partway through Ahsoka’s check up. His general silenced it, but when it lit up two more times Ahsoka turned to give her master a look.
“Best not to keep the council waiting.” She told him. “You might get sent to accompany Representative Binks again if you do.”
Rex shuddered at the mention of the Gungan. He’d readily swear to the Maker that Jar Jar Binks was cursed. Not so much the sentient himself, but everyone that had to be in close proximity to him ended up with the worst luck.
Anakin flashed him a smirk, likely picking up on his disdain in the Force.
“Well I guess I have to now to spare Rex from such horrors.” Anakin said as he stood up.
“Thank you sir.” Rex groaned.
The Knight paced a little ways away, far enough for a bit of privacy bit close enough to keep an eye on his student. Ahsoka good naturedly complained to Kix about all of his checks and probes as she shoveled food into her mouth. He was pretty sure complaining about medical treatment was a habit she got from Hardcase and Fives.
“Well sir I think some of these deeper claw marks are going to scar but there isn’t much to be done about them now.” Kix mumbled as he applied a new bandage to her face.
“What a shame, she has new and cool battle scars to parade around.” Fives said as he waved his hand around.
“Probably will make shabuirs think twice before trying to nab her.” Hardcase pointed out.
“That would be ideal.” Ahsoka said with a sharp toothed grin. “Scars are a bit of a source of pride for Togruta. They display battles hard fought and survived. Dau d’det grut and all of that.”
She tapped her fingers to her forehead and then to her arm when she said that. Rex didn’t often see her using the hand signals that sometimes accompanied togruti, he found it a fascinating part of the language. It reminded him a bit of the hand signals they learned for battles and with the mando’a scrapped from their DNA donor and their trainers.
“Besides,” Ahsoka continued. “Not the first battle scars I’ve gotten.”
“And probably not the last.” Anakin finished as he returned to the group. “Snips the council wants to meet with us and got over what occurred on Wasskah.”
The bridge of light between Rex and Ahsoka dimmed a little with trepidation as Ahsoka’s lips pursed. It had been harrowing enough last night for her to recount the tale to them, he could only imagine what it would be like in front of the Jedi council.
The way her shoulders suddenly curled in slightly made him want to tell the Jedi to kriff off. However he knew that was not a wise decision, it also want against all of the carefully ingrained obedience training from Kamino.
Instead he reached across the bond to offer her comfort and strength.
Anakin knelt in front of Ahsoka, worry pulling his lips down as well.
“This isn’t a battle briefing Ahsoka, the council just wants to know about how you and the other padawans were targeted and how you got free. You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t want to.” Skywalker told her quietly.
Rex watched as Ahsoka sucked in a deep breathe before looking up and nodding.
“I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
They all stood as their general helped his student to her feet. Ahsoka sent them a quick smile before she followed her master out of the barracks.
As soon as Ahsoka’s bond dimmed a little with distance, Fives and Jesse’s side of the bond burned with wrath.
“I’m going to spit roast those kriffing lizards.” Fives all but growled.
“You heard Ahsoka last night,” Kix said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “The wookies took out the trandoshans involved when they rescued them.”
“They hunted her for sport.” Jesse snapped. “They deserved a fate worse than death.”
“Unfortunately we weren’t the ones to decide that.” Rex said as he grabbed one of his datapads from his bunk. “But the entire GAR knows what happened. If any battalion catches a whiff of trandoshan hunters they will be swiftly dealt with.” He waved the datapad around. “More than a few commanders were less than pleased to find out their Jedi might be targeted for something like this.”
“Why do I have a feeling you gave a detailed description of how you would deal with those shabuirs to half the GAR.” Hardcase wondered as he reclined back on the mattresses still littering the floor, a sharp smile on his face.
“I merely want them to be prepared.” Rex said with a shrug.
“I’ll forgo reading simply because I’d like to sleep at night.” Kix said as he snapped his medical kit shut. “Now if nobody minds I feel the need to hit something repeatedly.”
“With you on that one vod.” Jesse agreed.
Rex admitted that hitting something did make him feel mildly better. It helped when he replaced the punching bag with the face of one of the trandoshan hunters Ahsoka had described. Shielding how kriffing angry he was from his vode had been difficult. The last thing any of them wanted to do was make Ahsoka deal with the brunt of their rage. When she had been newer to the battalion she had flinched a lot at other people’s strong emotions. It happened a lot less now but considering that she was an empath in the Force and connected to each of them, the less they had to be the cause of her discomfort the better.
Here though, with Ahsoka away at the temple and nothing but his brother’s collective anger at what had happened to their sister, Rex let his rage guide his fists.
They’d all heard Ahsoka discuss how Jedi handled volatile emotions like wrath, something along the lines of feeling it, acknowledging it, and letting it go. That was how Rex knew he’d make a fairly osik Jedi, he’d much rather rip apart a punching bag.
By the time he’d worked most of his blood lust out of his system, he felt exhausted. Tired and sore in a good way that made him able to rationalize it as productive. Kix, Jesse, and Hardcase had already left the rec room but Fives was still beating up a bag a ways away from Rex.
Cold water from the shower doused the rest of what smoldered in his chest.
The mess was serving dinner by the time that he made his way there. He grabbed a tray and focused on following Kix’s bond to a back table. The medic nodded to him as he sat down and Hardcase immediately reached over to grab a spoonful of food off of Rex’s plate.
“Shab be’chaaj.” Rex scowled.
“Love you too.” Hardcase said around a mouthful of food.
It wasn’t long before Fives joined them.
“Where’s Jes?” He asked.
No sooner had he said that, the doors to the mess opened to reveal the corporal with Ahsoka on his back. A happy cheer went through the 501st at their commander’s reappearance.
“Show off.” Fives mumbled into his cup.
“Jealousy isn’t cute vod’ika.” Kix grinned. “Ahsoka needs to rest and that means she shouldn’t be up and walking around all that much. Not that any of you listen to me.”
“What was that vod I wasn’t paying attention.” Hardcase asked.
Rex chuckled as Kix sent a violent assault through the bond to the heavy class. Jesse appeared at the table and carefully set Ahsoka down onto the bench.
“You don’t have to carry me everywhere I can still walk.” She grumbled.
“Can and should are different things.” Kix chastised.
Ahsoka responded by sticking her tongue out at him.
The corporal reappeared with two trays and set one down in front of Ahsoka before he sat down with a sigh.
“Punching bags aren’t supposed to punch back di’kut.” Hardcase told Jesse.
“I miscalculated one hit.” Jesse mumbled as Ahsoka sniffed her food.
“I’m tired of this same mash every week.”
“Well welcome to the Grand Army of the Republic little one.” Rex told her.
Ahsoka looked like she was about to give a snippy reply when her face suddenly lit up. Excitement flooded the bond as well, excitement and anticipation. There was also the faint taste of greasy fries. He had never had a greasy fry, he barely even knew what greasy fries were, but now he wanted one badly.
“I’ve got a great idea!” Ahsoka declared.
“As good as the idea on Cato Neimodia?” Fives asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ahsoka must have sent him a jab in the bond based on the way Fives winced.
“This is a much better one.” Ahsoka said. “Tomorrow night I’m going to take you to Dex’s Diner!”
They all stared blankly at her.
“What exactly is that?” Hardcase asked.
“Food! Very good food!” She told them. “You guys will love it.”
Rex was a little skeptical when he heard that. He was even more skeptical when he found himself in civilian clothing standing outside of a dingy looking restaurant the next night. The speeders parked around the joint looked beat up, the patrons entering and leaving the establishment looked suspicious, and the stains on the sidewalk looked a little to dark to be food grease. However the smell coming from the diner did smell enticing.
“Come on.” Ahsoka said as she tugged him and Hardcase forward. “Dex is really nice.”
“How exactly did you find this place ‘Soka?” Fives asked.
Rex could see him scanning the surrounding area, cataloging every little detail just like he’d been trained.
“Oh Skyguy and Master Kenobi brought me here the first time we were back on Coruscant after Anakin became my master.” Ahsoka answered. “Master Kenobi likes this place because Dex gets him shady intel and contacts.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me.” Jesse mumbled as they walked into the diner.
They were immediately greeted by a server droid with a feminine vocal tone who showed them to an empty table.
“Thank you FLO.” Ahsoka told the droid.
“I’ll let Dexter know you are here.” FLO responded before whizzing away.
“Here take a menu and look at the dinner section.” Ahsoka said as she passed them sheets of paper.
Rex blinked in shock at the number of options he found. He didn’t know what more than half of the words on the page meant
“I recommend each getting something different and that way you can try more things.” Ahsoka told them. “Skyguy likes the nerf burger the best.”
Rex quickly located it on the menu and was reading through what was included with it when a loud laugh rang out.
“Well if it isn’t Ahsoka! It’s been too long little padawan.”
Rex turned to see a large besalisk approaching their table with a wide grin on his face. he had a grease stained apron secured to his front and smelled of frying oil.
Ahsoka escaped her spot between Kix and Fives to hop up and hug the besalisk.
“Sorry Dex, life’s been a little crazy.” She answered as she stepped back away from him.
“I’ll say, you look like you took quite a beating.” Dexter said as he examined her face.
Ahsoka waved her hand dismissively.
“You should see the other guys.” She said with a twinkle in her eye. “Dex I’d like you to meet my friends.”
She turned and motioned to their table. Ahsoka quickly rattled off their names for the cook who nodded along.
“Well any friend of Obi-Wan, Anakin, or Ahsoka is a friend of mine.” The besalisk told them. “Hope you all brought your appetites.”
“Yes sir.” Hardcase said with a bright smile.
“Oh don’t worry, they might actually be able to finish one of your dishes.” Ahsoka assured him. “They put Anakin’s appetite to shame.”
“Can’t blame us for having a good metabolism.” Fives said. “You try fighting clankers all day.”
“Well I appreciate the work you boys are doing out there.” Dex informed them. “Now I’d better get back.”
“Thanks for saying hi.” Ahsoka told him before he headed back to the kitchen.
“He doesn’t really seem like the guy to have shady intel.” Kix said as Ahsoka settled back down in her seat. “He’s got a good act.”
“I think the best cover is his food. He’s a really good cook.” Ahsoka replied.
Rex returned to scanning his menu. He had to admit that despite not knowing what most of the food was, everything that passed by the table looked good. Though he guessed his standards for food were probably at the bottom of all nine Corellian hells after eating nothing but different colored protein mash on Kamino while he’d been trained. The first time he’d had real food he’d been overwhelmed with flavors. Now that he’d been out in the galaxy more, he found that he enjoyed food with a bit of kick to it, however too much spice still sent him into an early grave.
“How are you supposed to decide on just one meal?” Jesse asked.
“Like I said, it’s more fun when everyone orders something different and then everyone can try each others.” Ahsoka said.
“What do you usually get?” Fives asked.
“Number 24 but I have him keep it extra raw.” Ahsoka flashed her canines at the ARC.
Rex found her meal. Seared shaak flank with an assortment of what looked like vegetables and some sort of sweet sauce. That did sound good.
He took a sip from the cup of water that had appeared next to him without him noticing.
“Kriff it I’m getting the nerf burger on number 12.” Hardcase said.
“Kriff that looked good.” Jesse mumbled. “Think I’m going with the shawada club sandwich.”
“Braised shaak roast.” Kix added.
“Going with the nerf ribs.” Rex set his menu down with a nod.
“Fried endorian chicken.” Fives finally declared.
As if summoned, the serving droid FLO reappeared and asked for their orders. The droid quickly whisked away to the kitchen.
Rex did one more scan of the diner, satisfied with the calm atmosphere, and settled back into his seat as Ahsoka asked Fives about his most recent ARC mission. Now that Rex thought about it, none of them really head asked their youngest brother how the mission had gone. He’d gotten back right in the middle of Ahsoka being missing, worry had been eating them all alive.
Fives certainly had a flare for dramatics and his recount of his mission was certainly dramatic. While certain parts of it were classified, he worked around them effortlessly. He was just getting to the point about planting explosives around a droid outpost to set a distraction when their food began to arrive.
Ahsoka had told them about the portion sizes Dexter was known for, but Rex was not prepared for the quantity of food that was piled onto the plates in front of him and all of it smelled good.
“Enjoy.” FLO told them before turning to greet more patrons entering.
“I don’t even know where to start with this.” Kix said as he stared at the pile of shaak on his plate.
Hardcase responded by reaching over with his fork and spearing a piece of meat and shoveling it into his mouth, accidentaly dribbling some of the juice down his chin. His eyes went wide and all buzz in the back of Rex’s mind from Hardcase came to a halt. A strong and savory flavor hit the back of his tongue as Hardcase’s eyes rolled back in his head dramatically and he swallowed.
“Kriffing hells give me a piece of that.” Fives demanded, already reaching his fork toward the medic’s plate.
“Hey eat off of your own plate.” Kix growled as he whacked Fives’ hand away.
Jesse let out a soft groan as he took a bite of his sandwich, happiness written all over his face.
Rex looked down at his own plate of ribs dripping in a dark sauce, there was an assortment of what looked like vegetables on the side and what looked like a mashed up pale root underneath the ribs. He carefully rolled up the sleeves on the shirt he’d snagged out of one of the donation bins and grabbed one of the large bones.
Fives did a whole body shake when he took a bite of his chicken, the bond glowing with joy.
The flavors that hit Rex’s tongue were a mixture of sweat, savory, and smokey. The meat pulled off the bone easily and the sauce got all over his face but it was probably one of the best thing’s Rex had ever eaten.
He glanced over at Ahsoka to see her chewing on a large piece of shaak. It appeared that only the outside of the flank had been seared, leaving the inside largely raw. She was smiling at the rest of them as they all dug into their meals.
Jesse snagged one of Rex’s ribs, Kix took a large bite out of Hardcase’s burger, Ahsoka stole a piece of chicken off of Fives’ plate, Rex got some of Kix’s shaak, and Fives finally managed to beg some shaak off of Kix as well. The only thing any of them swiped from Ahsoka were some of her roasted vegetables. All of the food was delicious, but Rex liked his own the best.
By the time FLO came back by to check on them, the only one with food still in front of them was Ahsoka. Each of the troopers had basically polished their plates clean, happily full and content.
“Very few can walk into my diner and polish a plate clean.” Dexter told them as they stood to leave. “That’s mighty impressive”
“One thing you cannot call us clones is bad eaters.” Hardcase laughed.
“It was all too good not to finish.” Jesse responded.
“I like to hear it.” Dexter told them. “Next time you boys find yourselves back on Coruscant come by for diner, it’ll be on the house.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Rex said.
The besalisk held up all four of his hands.
“It’s my treat. You shed enough blood for the rest of us out there, the least we can do is show some hospitality.”
Rex and his brothers nodded their thanks as Ahsoka gave the cook another hug, careful not to spill her container of leftovers.
With his stomach full of food and his aliit around him, Rex found it hard not to fall asleep on the trip back to the barracks. If it wasn’t for Fives and Hardcase trading jabs to each other’s sides over him, he probably would have.
Kriffing vod’ika.
-
Anakin was tinkering with an astromech part when he sensed Ahsoka drawing closer to their shared living space.
One of the other knights had asked him if he could repair the memory drive for their favorite astromech after it had been damaged during an aerial battle. Never one to turn down the offer to help out with a mechanical issue, Anakin readily agreed.
It was a form of meditation for him, having his hands busy and his mind focused seemed to work better for him than sitting and meditating like many Jedi preferred. Doing standing and moving katas, Obi-Wan’s preferred form of meditation, worked well enough for him and seemed to work well for Ahsoka as well. He didn’t do well with sitting still.
That had been one of the hardest parts about Ahsoka going missing. During the war he was in constant motion, traveling to different planets, carving his way across a battlefield, political negotiations, and everything in between. But there hadn’t been anything he could do when Ahsoka had vanished on Felucia.
He’d known she was alive thanks to the bond that linked them as master and padawan, but he hadn’t known much more than that. Only particularly strong emotions could reach across the bond unconsciously, any others were only transmitted if one of them willed them to.
Anakin had sensed a few flashes of fear, one of grief, and some of her anxiety.
She was scared and alone and he wasn’t there to protect her. He had no idea where she was, what she was facing, or if she had the ability to get out of it. Master Koon had seemed confident in her ability to survive, their conversation had made Anakin remember that Ahsoka wasn’t a youngling fresh out of the temple anymore. He hadn’t lied when he’d told Koon that Ahsoka was the most stubborn and determined sentient he had ever met. It made him wonder if that was why she had been sent to be his padawan, a test for them both to learn to work nicely with others and to learn patience.
Ahsoka had quickly learned the ebbs and flows of battle, she had flourished in lightsaber combat, and she had thrived under his and Rex’s guidance when it came to command. He was almost certain now that Ahsoka knew more about running the business side of the battalion than he did. She had fostered a connection with the troopers that still surprised him at times.
The entire battalion had been smothered in lose when leaving Felucia, it made it seem like the air in the venator was hard to breath with how it permeated the Force.
It really shouldn’t have surprised him when Ahsoka vanished hours after she had been back to visit the barracks. Finding her there curled up in the middle of a pile of mattresses surrounded by Rex and his brothers had made sense as much as it had perplexed him. Rex and the others treated Ahsoka like she was one of them, and she treated them like family as well.
The bond she had with the troopers had never concerned him, but witnessing how deep it was that she’d been unable to remain away from them for a night after returning had raised some questions.
Attachments were forbidden for Jedi, they cared the danger of fear and anger and all that stuff Master Yoda liked to warn against.
Anakin understood in principle why the Order was so cautious about such things, but in practice he found it far less black and white. Ahsoka was his padawan, her safety was in his hands, of course he cared deeply about her. Obi-Wan had taken him in after Qui-Gon’s death and had become more like a brother to him over the years. He loved Padmé, and she loved him just like billions of sentients loved their spouses across the galaxy. There was little he wouldn’t do to protect those he cared about. A Jedi’s duty was to protect others.
That being said, Ahsoka was young. She was young, still learning to move with the Force and control her emotions. They were in a war with death around every corner. Hundreds of clone troopers died every battle, regardless of it being a win or a lose, it was a simple fact of the war.
He wondered what lengths Ahsoka would go through if one of the troopers she was close with was in danger or killed. He knew more than a few padawans had fallen during the war, their rage and pain consuming them. Anakin hadn’t been able to erase what had happened on Mortis from his mind, Ahsoka’s glowing yellow eyes and her seething hatred.
If her love for the troopers posed a danger to herself or to them, he needed to address it.
The sound of the door to their living space sliding open alerted him to her arrival.
“Hi Master.” She said as she walked to their small kitchenette to deposit something in the fridge.
“Hey Snips.” He responded, a small part of him relaxing now that he had eyes on her again.
A flash of familiar red lettering on the box had him narrowing his eyes.
“Did you go to Dex’s?” He asked.
“Yeah, I took Rex and some of the boys there.” She responded. “Dex says hi and he told us that he’ll treat any trooper that stops by for food.”
“That’s generous.” Anakin said as he fit a piece of the astromech’s memory drive into place.
Ahsoka hummed in response as she kicked her shoes off and placed them by the door.
“You spend a lot of time with Rex and the boys.” Anakin pointed out casually.
“Of course I do, they are my friends.” Ahsoka responded as she grabbed a cup from the drawer for water.
“Yes I know that, it’s just that you…” Anakin searched for the words. “You’re really close with them.”
He saw her stiffen out of the corner of his eye for a moment.
“And is that a bad thing?” She asked cautiously. “To have a good bond with the men we fight alongside?”
“No, no it’s a good thing that you’ve found a place in the battalion.” Anakin said as he set the pieces of the astromech down on the table. “I just want to make sure that nothing bad is going to come from it.”
Ahsoka’s mood shifted from defensive to anger at that, making Anakin wince. Alright he probably could have worded that better.
“What do you mean ‘nothing bad’.” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Anakin sucked in a breath to fortify with resolve before he turned to face her better.
“Attachments aren’t allowed for Jedi. They can lead to harmful situations and can even lead a Jedi to the darkside if not handled properly.” Anakin said. “We are at war Ahsoka, there is never a guarantee that we are going to walk off of a battlefield.”
Ahsoka visibly bristled before she fixed him with a hard glare.
“You think I would do something rash if one of my b- friends died?” She asked, her voice deceivingly calm.
“Ahsoka,” Anakin started, trying to project calm into the Force to diffuse some of the tension. “The war has taken a toll on all of us. More than a few Jedi have fallen to the Darkside because of losses. If one of them dies on a campaign I don’t want you to be left shattered.”
“One of them has died.” Ahsoka snapped. “And I tried-”
Ahsoka reached her hands up towards her montrals as she began to pace in their small kitchenette. Emotions roared in the Force before she finally managed to rein in control again.
“Echo died on the Citadel.” She stated simply. “He died and I felt him dying. Do you think if I had an unhealthy attachment I would have let him go like that?”
Anakin opened his mouth to respond but Ahsoka held up her hand.
“No. I did everything in my power to try to help him but once I knew there was nothing to be done, I let him go. I let him go because we had a mission to complete and one death was not going to stop it.” Ahsoka continued. “As for the others, I have never given them special treatment on campaigns or missions, and they’ve never treated me with anything but respect on the battlefield. Yes I worry about them during every battle but I’m not holding on so desperately to them that I’d reach for the Darkside to protect them. That would be a disservice to them and myself. I have faith in their abilities because they helped me have faith in my own.”
Anakin stared at his student. Ahsoka was young, but she wasn’t as young as she’d been when she’d stepped off the ship on Christophsis. She’d been forced to grow up faster than she should have on the battle field. He’d done his best to protect her from it all but it was inevitable with her leading troopers into battle.
She had always been confident, but now she had the knowledge and skill to back it up. A glance at the Force and there bond revealed that Ahsoka was assured in her statement, her bond with her troopers would not be the reason for her own demise.
He wanted to continue to pry, wanted to keep questioning it but something warned him against it. A small itch in the Force telling him to leave it alone, it didn’t pose a threat and therefore wasn’t something for him to be concerned about.
Anakin heaved a sigh before he sent a placating wave of calm to brush against her Force signature, noting when her shoulders untensed a little.
“Snips I’m just trying to look out for you,” He said. “But if you have confidence in your abilities than I guess I need to respect that.”
Ahsoka rolled her eyes but he felt the good natured sarcasm underneath the action.
“Don’t pull a muscle doing it Skyguy.” She told him.
“Ha ha.” He mocked before sobering a bit. “You will tell me if it ever begins to feel overwhelming, right?”
Ahsoka pursed her lips as she looked at him before she nodded. He relaxed at that and pulled the pieces of the astromech back into his hands with the Force.
“Alright, you’d better get to bed before Master Che comes barging in to lecture you about rest and recovery.”
The togruta shuddered slightly before scurrying toward her room.
“A’nai mi, I hear it at the barracks from the medics and I come here and hear it from the healers.” Ahsoka grumbled before disappearing into her room.
Anakin chuckled a little at his padawan’s ire over medical staff before turning back to the task at hand. With one problem addressed, now he could get this other problem solved. He wondered if the knight would be opposed to having him fit the astromech with a blaster.
-
Over the past three months, Ahsoka had watched her claw marks fade into pale scars, felt her ribs knit back together, and witnessed the shrill hunting calls of the trandoshans slowly fade from her nightmares. It had also been three months since her master had brought up her connection to her brothers. She’d almost slipped up and confessed the bond to her master that night, how else could she have explained how she’s already had to deal with a death, a death of someone who’s soul was linked to hers?
Ahsoka knew her master had a strange relationship with attachments, he fought fiercely for the ones her cared about, sometimes even crossing lines Ahsoka would not cross herself. That was one of the reasons she had decided to keep her bond secret from her master.
Either way, he hadn’t prodded about her and the troopers again so what she had said seemed to have made it through his thick skull.
Three months had also been enough time for a new batch of shinies to appear and earn their paint. One of them had caught Fives’ eye, a relatively sweet trooper named Tup. Ahsoka was happy that Fives had taken the shiny under his wing, helping him settle into the 501st and into battle while also dragging him into a bit of trouble on leave the last time they were on Coruscant. No one would ever replace Echo, nor was anybody trying to. But to see Fives more carefree side again was good to see.
Beyond that, the war ground on in the galaxy around them.
The 501st was currently stationed on a small and rather damp moon the droids were hoping to set up a base on. Ahsoka didn’t think it had stopped raining, drizzling, or misting the entire time they’d been dirt side. Everything had a slightly damp quality to it thanks to the weather. Visibility, it turned out, was highly helpful in battle as well.
“Snips.” Anakin’s voice rang out from her wrist comlink.
“Yes master.” She responded.
“I’ve got a task for you and Rex.”
The task it turned out, was infiltrating a small shield outpost a ways away from the base. Ahsoka scanned the holograph of it, noting the entrances and potential access points just like Rex and the others had taught her to do. The large issue she saw was the large anti-craft guns posted around the outpost. Those would need to be dismantled while they got the shields down.
“We can’t get out tanks close enough with their electromagnetic shields up.” Anakin explained, small drips of water falling off of his hair. “You’ll take a small team in and get them shut down so we can get out of here and get out of the rain. They also have long range anti-craft guns set up as a back up to the shields that will need to be disengaged. I’ll leave the semantics of the team up to you both.”
He dismissed them and turned toward Appo in order to coordinate their own strike for when Ahsoka’s group succeeded.
“Well only need a team of about five to pull this off.” Rex told her.
“You, me, we’ll want Jesse for scouting it out.” Ahsoka said. “It would be nice if Fives was here to help slice their program but we’ll make do.” Ahsoka rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Vaughn is good with this type of stuff too, he’s a solid slicer.”
“Hardcase will be good for dismantling those big guns.” Rex said as they continued back into camp.
“He knows how to do that?” Ahsoka asked.
Sure she’d seen him dismantle blasters with an efficiency that few other trooper matched, but this seemed like a new level of difficulty.
“‘Course he does.” Rex answered with a slightly amused huff and nudge in the bond. “Heavy class troopers are better for more than just being good shots and knowing how to handle weaponry.”
Ahsoka gave him a prod back before honing in on her bond with Jesse and Hardcase to locate where they were. She followed the lines of light to a group of tents. Jesse was seated outside eating and it seemed like Hardcase and Kix were asleep.
“Feeling up for a little bit of adventure vod?” Ahsoka asked.
“Always am.” He responded around a mouthful of food.
Ahsoka ducked into Hardcase’s tent to find Kix and Hardcase asleep with the heavy class more or less sprawled on top of the medic. She gently prodded at their bond, injecting some of her energy across it to chase away sleepiness. A few moments later Hardcase’s nose scrunched before he slowly blinked one eye open to look at her. She added more energy and more insistent prods until he groaned and slowly extracted himself from Kix. The medic huffed but Ahsoka soothed over the bond and he rolled over and back to sleep.
Hardcase followed her out of the tent and promptly gave a jaw cracking yawn and a large stretch.
“Whatever I’m getting woken up for better be good.” He complained.
“You know how to dismantle anti-craft guns right?” She asked him.
He gave her a deadpan look.
“Does a gundark osik in a cave?”
“Well how would you like to go dismantle some and sneak into a droid outpost.” She proposed.
“I’m in.” He said around another yawn. “When do we leave?”
“Brief in ten minutes, head out of camp in thirty.” She answered.
Hardcase nodded as he shook his shoulders out, a little more light flickering through the bond as he woke up fully.
“I’ll have you know that I am a fantastic anti-craft dismanteler.” He said indignantly. “One of the fastest dismantelers in my batch. Might not be able to strategize as well as other troopers or scout as well but I know how to dismantle a kriffing gun vod’ika.”
Ahsoka laughed a little as she went to rejoin Rex.
Soon enough they were on their way across the damp landscape. They were taking three speeder bikes, two equipped with a gunner side position. Ahsoka and Hardcase were doubled up with Rex and Vaughn also doubled up. Hardcase and Vaughn kept their eyes on the surrounding for droids while Rex and Ahsoka maneuvered them around. Jesse got his own because he was scouting on ahead of them a little ways, carving their path cleanly through vegetation and open spaces.
“I think he just didn’t want to ride bitch.” Hardcase called over to her, not taking his eyes off of the landscape. “Don’t think he really needed his own speeder.”
The wind stole Ahsoka’s laugh but her mirth stretched across the bond.
After about an hours long ride that left them all dripping with condensation, Jesse pulled them to a halt. A brief break in the mist revealed the looming structure of the outpost and one of the guns.
“Alright, Hardcase and Rex, you handle getting the nearest anti-craft guns offline. Vaughn, Jesse, and I will get into the base and get the shields down. We will be entering through a small access port around the north side of the outpost.” Ahsoka explained. “The computers are only one floor up so we should be in and out in about thirty minutes.”
Ahsoka waited for a flicker of agreeance from Rex in the bond before she continued.
“That should give enough time to at least get one of the guns totally offline and another one partially offline if Hardcase is as fast as he says he is.” Ahsoka added with a sly smirk.
It earned her a scoff and a prod from her brother.
“Questions?”
When no one spoke up, she gave them all a nod.
“Then let’s get our job done so that the rest of the 501st can get their’s done.”
“Sir yes ma’am.” Hardcase gave her a cheeky salute before turning toward Rex.
Vaughn, Jesse, and Ahsoka had to slog through a knee high muddy creek to each their back entrance. Entrance was a but of a strong word, it was a trash dump chute, but it was large enough for the troopers to fit through and once they sliced into the panel they were able to turn the motion sensing lazers off.
Before long, Ahsoka found herself shimmying up a rather slick trash chute, using the Force to dampen the noise of Jesse and Vaughn’s armor banging on the metal walls.
“How much further?” Jesse asked.
“Only about ten feet.” Vaughn answered.
“Thank the Force.” Ahsoka mumbled as she inched upward.
One less than graceful entrance later, they found themselves in one of the hallways of the outpost. Ahsoka motioned for them to move forward, tilting her montrals left and right to catch the sound of any approaching droids. She picked up on some metal clanging but the echo’s were moving away from their position.
They paused outside of the control room. Ahsoka could faintly hear the droid voices from inside but couldn’t determine how many there were.
Ahsoka hit the button for the door and Jesse and Vaughn surged inside, shooting the droids around the room before they had time to call for help. She followed in and found smoking scrap metal.
“Alright let’s get the shields down and get out of here.” Ahsoka said as she sank down at the nearest monitor.
As soon as she sat, her com buzzed twice letting her know that Hardcase and Rex had disengaged one of the anti-craft guns. Vaughn got to work a few monitors over while Jesse did another sweep of the room.
Echo had been the best slicer in their group and he had made sure that Ahsoka knew how to get into any program she needed to. She could almost hear his voice in her montral coaching her through the code she needed to get access tot he shields.
The only issue was that she wasn’t exactly finding any shields. Sure she was getting the schematics and readings of the shields but she wasn’t finding the bit that she needed to turn them off.
Ahsoka cursed silently as she scrambled to work out the problem, feeling the minutes tick by. They needed to get out of here soon or else they’d have the entire outpost staff bearing down on them.
“What is it?” Jesse asked, sensing her growing distress.
“I can’t find the code for the shields.” She answered.
“Neither can I.” Vaughn said. “Anything I try it bounces off the main droid base.
“Kriff did we get bad intel?” Jesse asked.
Ahsoka worried her lip between her teeth as she tried again to little avail. It was looking less and less promising by the second. A sense of dread took shape in her gut. Something wasn’t right.
“We need to get out of here in the next minute or two.” Jesse warned. “With or without the shields down.”
“This is all pointing toward the shield controls being on the main base.” Vaughn hissed. “Do you think we were intentionally given bad intel.”
Ahsoka activated her com.
“Rex, Hardcase, do you copy?”
“Loud and clear commander.” Rex answered. “About halfway through the second gun.”
“We’ve got bad news on our end.” Ahsoka said.
“What hap-” There was a loud bang that made Ahsoka wince. “Kriff what was-”
Her com started to sputter before the signal was lost.
“Get them back online.” Ahsoka ordered Jesse as she and Vaughn shut the monitors down.
“I’m not getting a signal, they must be blocking our channel.” Jesse said.
“We need to get out of here now.” Ahsoka growled. “Follow me, I’ll clear a path.”
She waited for an affirmative from both her troopers before she powered her lightsabers on and opened the door. Immediately a round of shots were sent sailing her way but she deflected them back to their senders before sending a wave of the Force out to shove the droids back away from the door. Jesse appeared behind her and popped off multiple shots before Ahsoka surged out and cut through the five B-1 droids blocking the hallway.
“Go now!” She urged, continuing to deflect fire down the opposite side of the hallway where more droids were amassing.
“Come on commander!” Jesse called at the end of the hallway.
Ahsoka turned and sprinted, catching up to Jesse and Vaughn as they made it to the stairwell were more droids were posted. The three of them cleared their way back to the trash chute they’d climbed out of. Jesse jumped in first, followed closely by Vaughn and then Ahsoka who sent a slash through the controller to auto lock the chute. It wouldn’t be much but it would give them a few minutes.
They all tumbled out of the chute and into the creek, letting the current help urge them along away from the base.
“Rex, Hardcase, do you copy?” Jesse tried again as they ran.
They didn’t get a response until they had made it back to heavy vegetation cover. She knew they weren’t dead, Hardcase was shielding but giving good signals. Rex’s bond gave Ahsoka a sharp headache for some reason.
“‘Case for the love of the Maker come in!” Jesse demanded.
“Hardcase here.” Their brother’s voice crackled over Jesse’s com.
Ahsoka let out a small sigh of relief.
“What happened on your end?” Jesse asked.
“Got ambushed by a group of clankers halfway through disengaging the gun.” Hardcase explained, sounding a little breathless. “Neither of us took a bolt but Rex got a nasty head wound.”
“Is he alright?” Ahsoka asked, the headache on Rex’s side of the bond certainly made more sense.
“Should be, his helmet did its job.” Hardcase responded. “How do you want us to proceed commander?”
Jesse and Vaughn looked at her as well.
Kriff, with Rex out that really put her in charge. Sure she was always technically in charge, but Rex was her sounding board in military matters like this. With Rex out, she was more or less on her own.
Ahsoka took a deep breath.
She had lead groups by herself before and this was no different.
“Okay, we still need to get the shields down, but that will involve us going to the main base to do so.” Ahsoka mumbled out loud. “That last gun also still needs to be dismantled so our tanks can get in.”
She rubbed her chin as she paced back and forth.
“The base is more fortified than the outpost and we don’t have a solid blueprint of it so we will be essentially going in blind.”
“We’ll need to assess the base when we get near it for possible access points.” Jesse said. “But it’s safe to assume that the main base building and the outpost have similar floor plans. Droids are pretty uniform.”
“I can stow Rex with the bikes and sneak back in to the finish off the gun.” Hardcase said.
“You’ll need some sort of distraction to draw the droids away from the gun.” Ahsoka said. “Good thing I packed a sack full of grenades on my bike.”
“Course you did.” Jesse huffed.
“Can you safely modify the grenades to give them more power?” Ahsoka asked.
“Sir yes ma’am.” Hardcase answered.
“Alright give them a boost and set them off…” Ahsoka took a moment to orient herself. “Set them off due west so that they think we headed back toward our camp.”
“You got it sir.” Hardcase said. “I’ll put Kix’s lessons to good use for Rex then I’ll get a move on.”
There was a flicker from Rex’s side of the bond, Ahsoka assumed that meant he was waking up soon.
Ahsoka turned back toward Jesse and Vaughn.
“Let’s get moving back to the bikes if we want to get this done before tomorrow.”
-
The clouds cleared up enough to catch glimpses of the stars as they finally arrived at an overlook that gave them a good view of the droid base. Large machinery was moving around as they worked to erect the last of their outer walls.
The buzz of the electromagnetic shields was much louder here, almost irritating to her montrals. Just another reason to get the shields shut down.
Ahsoka lifted her binoculars up and zoomed in on the two sides of the base she could clearly see.
“I’m not seeing any trash chutes unfortunately.” Ahsoka informed.
“That’d be too easy.” Jesse grumbled as he also examined the base through his own pair of binoculars.
“They’ve got tight security around the construction zones.” Vaughn pointed out. “It’ll be easiest to go in on one of the completed sides.”
Irritation then acceptance sparked across her bond with Jesse. She gave him a questioning prod.
“Well I see a way in, it just isn’t going to be enjoyable.” Jesse spoke up.
She gave another questioning prod before remembering to ask out loud for Vaughn.
“Fresher output.” Jesse sighed.
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at him for moment before they widened in understanding.
“Ew no.” She protested.
“That’s looking like the only way in that isn’t monitored strictly.” He pointed out.
Ahsoka frowned at him, pushing her discomfort and general desire to NOT climb up a toilet shaft across the bond.
“It would gain us access to a central part of the base.” Vaughn said thoughtfully, unaware of the mental battle Ahsoka and Jesse were undergoing.
Ahsoka ran through all the alternatives in her head but they needed the shields down now and this was looking like the fastest way in. It wouldn’t be her first time having to crawl up a fresher output but that didn’t make it any more pleasant.
“Ugh fine.” Ahsoka groaned. “Let’s go climb up the baka tube.”
A muddy and slightly unpleasant journey around the base to the far side was followed by an even more unpleasant journey into the fresher output shaft.
“San davettu og’nai eh’baka.” She grumbled under her breath.
She was trying to take as few of those as possible. Jesse had given her a rag to tie around her mouth and nose but the smell still persisted. Honestly this wasn’t that bad of a osik shaft, she guessed that this base wasn’t manned by many sentients yet, mostly droids, so not many people had gotten a chance to use this fresher.
Ahsoka scrambled out into the fresher first, rushing to the sink to scrub herself off as best she could. Thankfully she’d been wearing more heavy duty clothing due to the rain, but she was pretty sure that she was just going to burn it all once this was over.
“This is taking skid plate to a whole new level.” Jesse griped as he pulled himself out of the toilet.
Ahsoka scrunched her face up at that.
Jesse had been right previously about the layout of the base being fairly similar to the outpost. The had a few close calls with a droid patrols but ended up in the control room easily enough.
For the second time that day, Ahsoka found herself neck deep in the Separatists’ code. This time though, the EM shield information popped up readily. Halfway through shutting it down, her com buzzed twice. Hardcase had gotten the second gun disengaged.
“Taking down the east and north side shields now.” Vaughn said.
Warning lights began to appear around the room but her got to work shutting them off.
“Shutting down the west and south shields.” Ahsoka said.
The insistent buzzing in her montrals finally went quiet and she let out a sigh of relief.
“I just shut down their signal jammer.” Vaughn told her.
“Good.” She flicked what she hoped was a piece of toilet paper off of her wrist com before activating it. “Master, the shields are down.”
“Took you long enough.” He answered. “Good job snips.”
“Maybe give us a minute or two to get out of the base before you attack.” Ahsoka said as she hopped up from her seat.
There was a pause.
“That might have been nice to know a second ago.” Anakin responded. “Well you’ve got your exit distraction.”
The ground under her feet rocked as a blast struck the base.
“Kriffing- we are evacuating now.” Ahsoka said before she shut her com down.
“I believe that was our sign to leave.” Jesse said as he palmed the door open.
Anakin had been right about the distraction. The droids were running around and mostly didn’t notice them slipping through the hallways. The few that did got sliced in half before they could put out a warning to the others.
“Do we really have to go back down the output shaft?” Ahsoka griped.
“Just get in the osiker.” Jesse pushed her toward it.
The one time Ahsoka wished it was raining outside, it wasn’t. She guessed mud was better than osik though. Behind them Ahsoka could hear the roar of their tanks and guns as Anakin and Appo ripped the base apart.
By the time the three of them arrived back at camp, the battle was well underway and Hardcase had already delivered Rex to the medics. Ahsoka and Jesse slipped into the medical tent and quickly found their brothers.
Rex was sporting an impressive black eye and looked a little worse for wear but other than that he was fine.
“You did a good job of getting the mission done after I was out.” Rex told her.
“Well it’s not my first time leading.” Ahsoka teased.
“Yes but you handled the changing situations and unforeseen issues well.” He reiterated. “I’m proud of you little one.”
Ahsoka nudged him gently in the bond, projecting her gratitude to her ori’vod.
Hardcase sniffed the air suspiciously.
“Is it just me or does it smell like osik?”
Rex sighed.
“Good I thought it was the concussion.”
Ahsoka and Jesse looked at each other.
“Well how do you think we got into the droid base?” Jesse asked. “I assure you not all of this is mud.” He motioned to his dirty armor.
Hardcase’s eyes went wide and he leapt away from them.
“Ni’duraa!” He cried. “Get the kriff away you shabuirs.”
“Hey we rinsed off before coming here.” Ahsoka said. “We didn’t want to be a biohazard. Plus we wanted to check on Rex.”
“So you though you’d just offend my nose with the smell of Separatist osik?” Rex said as he placed his hand over his nose.
“They’re ungrateful.” Jesse groused to her.
“Yes they are.” Ahsoka agreed. “What you don’t want a hug Hardcase?”
“Absolutely kriffing not.” He growled.
She tapped her finger to her chin in thought.
“You know I remember I time when you chased me around to give me a sweaty hug.”
His eyes widened in fear as she stood up. Hardcase shrieked when she and Jesse made a grab for him and sprinted out of the tent.
“I love you both, but please go take a kriffing shower.” Rex shooed them away from his bed.
“We will.” Jesse assured their captain.
“Just as soon as I get a little revenge.” Ahsoka declared before she sprinted out after Hardcase.
Notes:
IM ALIVE
Anyways I fully believe that Ahsoka was beat tf up after the hunt episodes and she deserved some RNR! Also Dex would love the troopers, they are polite and they love to eat, what more could he want and THEY DESERVE TO EAT NICE THINGS. Also the hand motions with Togruti i imagine are a little like the Navi language in Avatar just because its such a pretty language. Having Anakin try to lecture Ahsoka about attachments made me giggle like I know she almost through HIS WIFE back at him
Also sorry if the last bit of this feels clunky I am tired and so done with this chapter and just needed this chapter to end for my own sanity.
Sorry this chapter literally took 5 ever to get out, long story short finals exhausted me and then I had a full time job outside all summer doing watercraft inspections for invasive species and July was spent Artfighting and then I went on family trip where I ended up being the sole and secret witness to my cousins eloping?? And they had me photograph it all but also to not tell anyone in the family?? Huhm anyways then I moved back into the dorms and got all trained on RAing again and had to get my floor set up and now the freshman are here and honestly they are HORRIBLE WAY ARE YOU GUYS PARTYING ON A WEDNESDAY BEFORE CLASSES START LIKE WHAT? Anyways then classes started on thurs and here we are.
Thank you so much for reading! Your comments fuel the fires that burn within <3
You can connect with me on tumblr if you'd like: @saggitary
Mando’a Translations:
jaygce’nass - dickless
Shab be’chaaj - fuck off (away)
Ni’duraa - you disgust meTogruti Translations:
Dau d’det grut - might of the hunter
A’nai mi - lucky me
San davettu og’nai eh’baka - Can’t believe I’m crawling through shit
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