Chapter Text
Drip,drip,drip…
The roof of Fox’s office was leaking again. A small puddle was forming in the corner of the cramped supply closet he called his office.
He should probably comm someone to come fix it again—or at least take something to catch the water—but he was just so tired. Sparks was the one who always fixed it. But Sparks was gone, left to rot in an abandoned-alleyway in the lower levels of this force-forsaken planet.
Useless. Defective. Failure. Weakling.
The voices in his head were screaming again. He sighed and turned back to the mountains of paperwork stacked on his desk that never seemed to get smaller.
…drip, drip, drip…
==============
…drip, drip, drip…
Fox let the paint drip off the brush in small splatters, covering his vambraces in red, red, red. Red like blood, like what he found when Sparks and Firefly and Moon—
No. He would not be thinking about that. He needed to be present and aware. What kind of soldier would he be if he couldn’t even paint his armour without panicking like a shiny strait off Kamino?
The shinies. How would they react when he told them that they couldn’t even paint their armour differently anymore for their own protection.
To stop the needless decommissioning of troopers who did nothing wrong. Troopers who fought in a war for a government that hated them. A government that was just a collection of old lazy—
Why couldn't he keep those thoughts quiet ? If he kept that train of thought he would get executed for treason. And then Thorn would have to take over.
Over my dead body, he scoffed in his head. Which at this point could be a very real possibility in the future with all the punishments and the decomms and the riots and the—
He kept painting. Covering his armour in Corrie red, so that the senators would be drawn to him, only him, not Lee or Iris or Highlights or CT-8090 who didn't even have a name yet.
He kept painting for his vode, for the ones still living and the ones marching on.
==============
…drip, drip, drip…
Fox’s armour was still dripping, even as he walked away from the senator, his skin screaming in pain from the burns he had just acquired.
He had been walking on patrol in the senate dome when a senator demanded he get her some caff. And of course, like the good soldier that he was, he followed orders.
Good soldiers follow orders.
And wasn’t that a sad thought : Poor old marshal commander Fox CC-1010, fetching caff for a senator while his brothers fought and died on the frontlines of a war they would never win.
When he brought her the cup, she took one look and promptly tipped the entire thing on his chest and arms, burning him with the scalding liquid. But of course he couldn't say anything otherwise some poor defenceless shiny would never come back to Guard HQ.
He wouldn't go to the medbay—what was the point when they couldn't even spare enough bacta for serious cases let alone a small burn (he purposely ignored the fact that his “small burn” covered most of his torso and was probably second degree).
He was so tired.
Thorn met him as he entered the barracks, took one look at Fox’s stained armour and started dragging him off to see Nightlock. Fox winced as the movement rubbed against his injuries.
“Thorn, stop it, I have—”
“Work, yes, I know” Thorn cut him off, “but right now you need to go see Nightlock before you drop dead”
“Im fin—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence because I can tell you now that you certainly are not.”
By the time they made it to the entrance his vision was graying around the edges and the ground was swaying slightly but he forged on, trying to push past it all. He hadn’t even been awake for that long, ignoring a voice that sounded suspiciously like Nightlock telling him that 72 hours was definitely long,you di’kut.
Right as his CMO reached him, his knees buckled and the ground rushed up to meet him.
Chapter Text
Rex screamed as Fox aimed his blaster at Fives. Screamed as Fives fell, a hole right where his heart was. Fox never missed.
—“You monster, what kind of vod kills another brother! Never speak to me again, dar’vod”—
====================
…drip, drip, drip…
Fox’s datapad hung loosely in his hand, screen distorted by his tears but he couldn't bring himself to move his hand a slight bit to the side.
A whole squad, a whole squad of amazing troopers, gone, buried under the rubble of an explosion in the lower levels.
This was his fault, he was the one who decided which troopers to send on that patrol. He thought it would be an easy one, good for the new shinies that had arrived recently.
And now the six of them were dead.
They must hate him now. Their terrible, useless, defective, failure of a marshal commander and vod.
Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Crash, Lex, Maya, ‘57, Byrd, Blades, Bonds, Check, Press.
====================
Fox’s limbs were tingling and blood was slowly spreading down his side but still he looked on as the Chancellor continued to rant about his exploits.
This aruetii was the root of every single one of the Commander’s problems and there he was smirking smugly to himself as he looked out towards the planet that was in his grasp.
He didn't turn as Fox’s foot slipped in the slowly growing puddle of blood on the floor.
He didn't even turn as Fox grabbed his blaster, hands slick with blood, and pointed it at his back.
He did turn when Fox’s shot hit him, right in the chest, right where his heart would be (if he even still had one). Fox never missed.
====================
…drip, drip, drip…
Fox always knew he was going to die eventually. He knew how he wanted to die : On the battlefield, facing his enemy, in defence of the Republic.
This is not how he wanted to die. Alone and bleeding out in an unknown alleyway of Coruscant. No one even turned to look at the person dying at their feet—no, not person, he wasn’t even sentient according to them.
I hope they got my message, he giggled a little deliriously from the pain and the blood loss and the very possible concussion as he thought back to the message he had sent to his batchmates before entering the Chancellor's office.
Everything was fading to black but he thought he could hear yelling in the distance. Wow, I must be really close to death if I’m hallucinating now he thought as his breath rattled in his chest.
He had to concentrate on breathing. In, out—’ox!—in—fox!— out, in, out, in,.... FOX!
Notes:
Tranlations °-° :
Aruetii : Traitor
Dar’vod : no longer a brother
Ika : Suffix added to the end of a name as a nickname ex : Fox’ika-Little Fox
Jetiise : Jedi plural
Kote : Glory -> Cody’s original name given to him by Jango Fett
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
Ret'urcye mhi : Goodbye - lit. *Maybe we'll meet again*
Vode : Plural of vod -> sibling,brother,comrade,etcHow fun, a cliffhanger.
Chapter 3
Notes:
All mando'a translations are at the end
Happy reading, hope you like it :)
Chapter Text
The best group chat + Rex : 7 members
19:37 (1 active members)
CC-1010 (Fox): I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to all of you. I’m a failure of a vod and I’m sure you hate me so with whatever happens tonight I know you’ll be happy. Ret'urcye mhi, vode.
19:40 (6 active members)
CC-5052 (Bly): What ?
CT-7567 (Rex): He’s being dramatic again. You know how he always is. Ignore him.
CC-3636 (Wolffe): you sure Rex ? because this feels different
CC-6454 (Ponds): @CC-1010 (Fox) Fox’ika you better answer us
CC-1004 (Gree): He’s not answering when I comm him
CC- 2224 (Cody): I’m going to ask Thorn what happened.
20:05 (6 active members)
CC- 2224 (Cody): Thorn answered and I’ve got bad news and even worse news
CC-3636 (Wolffe): Bad news first
CC-1004 (Gree): ^^^
CC- 2224 (Cody): The Chancellor’s dead, he got shot
CT-7567 (Rex) is typing
CC-6454 (Ponds): WHAT
CT-7567 (Rex): What???
CC-3636 (Wolffe): How can there be worse news than that
CC- 2224 (Cody): It turns out he was the Sith lord that the jetiise have been looking for. Fox was the one to kill him but right now he’s missing somewhere on Coruscant with multiple stab wounds and lightning burns.
CC-5052 (Bly): Oh shit
CC-6454 (Ponds): Kark, who’s closest to OOO right now
CC-3636 (Wolffe): We were just heading back for a resupply so we’ll be there soon
CC-5052 (Bly): Ayla’s been recalled to investigate with her master who was apparently the one to find out he was a sith lord.
CC-3636 (Wolffe): Ayla
CC-6454 (Ponds): Ayla
CC-1004 (Gree): Ayla
CC- 2224 (Cody): Ayla
CT-7567 (Rex): Ayla
CC-5052 (Bly): Shut up all of you. We’re supposed to be worrying about Fox’ika right now. Also you can't talk Kote, you’re basically married with your jedi at this point
CC- 2224 (Cody): Shut up
CC-3636 (Wolffe): @CC-5052 (Bly) There's no point worrying now, there’s nothing we can do while we’re in completely different systems. We can worry once we see what state he’s in.
CC-6454 (Ponds): Fine. Stay safe vode.
CC- 2224 (Cody): Stay safe
CC-1004 (Gree): bye
CC-3636 (Wolffe): See you soon
CT-7567 (Rex): Bye
CC-5052 (Bly): Stay safe
=====
This is not how Cody had planned to spend his shore leave, looking for his stubborn, crazy, brave brother who had managed to kill the chancellor.
He— no, all the corries—had been suffering so much while the rest of the GAR mocked them and scorned them and separated them from the only people they could really confide in.
What great brothers they were.
Cody shook his head to dispel those thoughts before they could get any further.
It wouldn't help anyone to dwell on his past choices. His job was to find Fox before he did something stupid.
Of course they had only managed to track his general location. He could be on any of the lower levels.
But he had to find him, this was Cody's chance to save him before it was too late.
It might already be. He needed you and you weren't there.
Again, now was NOT the time to be thinking about that. He had to find Fox.
He turned the corner and caught a flash of reflected light coming from the dark of an alley.
That's when he saw the blood.
There was so much of it, leading further into the darkness, shining in the lights from the street behind him. And right int the centreof it, half leaning against a wall, was a clone in blood red armour.
As Cody sped up to a sprint, he commed the others and prayed, prayed to any gods that would listen, that his brother wasn't dead.
“FOX!” Cody skidded to his knees beside Fox, trying to find the source of the bleeding, putting pressure on the large gash in his side.
He wasn't moving. He wasn't moving.
“No, no, no… Fox! We were supposed to see the end of the war together !” Cody was partially aware that he was panicking, rambling to an unresponsive brother while waiting for help to arrive but what could he do when his brother was dying in his arms. “Remember when you used to steal extra rations from the mess for Rex when we were on kamino, Fox ? Everyone cares so much about you, you can't die now?”
It seemed like an eternity before the medics arrived.
Cody took a step back as they took over. He couldn't turn away as they scanned him, couldn't turn away as their movements sped up with a shout of “he’s not breathing!”
That's when someone grabbed his arms and let him out to the main street. He grabbed their shoulders blindly, trusting them to watch his back.
The brother held him in their arms for a while, grounding him as he shook.
Cody had no idea how long they had been standing like that for but suddenly a hand shook his shoulder and forced his head up.
“Come on Cody, we need to get going, the medics already left” Wolffe said, leading him out of the street and towards their waiting speeders. Cody pretended he didn't notice how his brother was purposely blocking his sight of the alleyway Fox had been found in.
As Wolffe navigated the speeder through the traffic of Coruscant, Codys wandered but it always came back to Fox. He couldn't stop seeing it.
Fox, crumpled against a dirty wall, barrel handing on to life. And the blood, so much blood. His arms were covered in it now.
=====
He wasn't very aware of when they arrived at the GAR or when Wolffe helped him wash the blood off his hands and change clothes.
He only really relaxed as he laid on the chest of his brother, feeling Wolffe’s breaths under his head as he drifted off to sleep.
=====
There was no more dripping.
Sure, there was still the pain and the intense tiredness but somehow, Fox woke up feeling considerably better than he expected—if he even expected to wake up at all.
The lingering coldness that only seemed to grow after each visit to that horrible office was gone, his body feeling lighter than it has since almost the very first day he arrived on this horrible planet.
He shifted, trying to figure out his range of motion, which he realised as hot fire laced up from his chest and down his limbs, wasn't the best idea.
A voice was calling his name, Fox realised as he became more aware again, a voice of a brother. They sounded very worried, why was that ?
Slowly, he peeled open his eyes, squinting and trying to see who was sitting near his head.
“Thorn ? ”
Wow, was that his voice ? He sounded terrible, no wonder Thorn was worried.
“Shhh Fox’ika it’s okay it’s Cody” Oh. So not Thorn then.
“Kote…hurts”
“ It’s okay you can sleep, I’ve got you”
Well that was good, he was struggling trying to keep his eyes open and he could feel himself drifting off.
“M’kay…love you…”
The darkness had almost swallowed him but he could have sworn he heard a wet chuckle and a whispered “I love you too, Fox” as he drifted off to sleep. He might've already been dreaming.
=====
The next time, Fox woke up to a feeling of warmth surrounding him on all sides. It had been a while since he’d felt this comfortable, since he’d let himself feel this comfortable. He let out a soft noise and burrowed closer to the heat source.
“Fox ? Are you awake?” Considering how he felt the words rumbling through his chest, he guessed that whatever he’d been trying to wrap himself around was in fact the soft chest of one of his siblings.
“Fox ?” Oh right, he was supposed to respond.
He lifted his head slightly to look up at the face of the person he was lying on. It was Wolffe. What was Wolffe doing here ? And why did he look like he was about to start crying?
“I thought you died, you idiot, why do you think I'm here?”
Oh, he was speaking.
“No shit you’re speaking. How’re you feeling vod?”
How was he feeling ? Better than he did before, that's for sure. Nothing was hurting but everything was feeling a little foggy. Probably the meds that he was almost certainly on.
“Good, tired” Why was he already so tired ? Hadn't he just slept for a while ? Oh right that reminds him, he didn't actually know how long it’s been.
“How long have I been sleeping for ?”
Wolffe shifted at that and his arms wound themselves around Fox’s back.
“You’ve been sleeping for a week. I thought you were dead when we found you, Fox, there was so much blood—“
Wolffe’s voice broke and his arms tightened their hold against Fox as Wolffe started speaking again.
“The rest of the batch are here too if you want to see them. Thorn wouldn't let us all come in,” Fox’s pillow shifted as Wolffe chuckled, ”you have good men Fox’ika”
“Don’t call me that. I’m older than you.”
“One, you aren't, I was decanted a minute before you, and two, you can't expect me not to call you that when my baby brother killed a sith lord and nearly bled out in my arms.”
That caused Fox to start grumbling into his brother’s chest before the rest of his words registered in his brain. That's when he started trying to free himself from the prison Wolffe had trapped him in, trying to sit up.
“Whoa, whoa, lay back down, vod. Udesii, you’re not in any trouble. When the Jedi found out he was a Sith they made sure you were acquitted of any charges. With grievous dead and Dooku’s surrender, the war’s been ramping down the last few days”
“Grievous is dead?” Ew. His voice just went way too high.
“Lek, vod, the war’s almost over, you can rest all you want now.”
Fox desperately wished Wolffe would stop talking. His throat was getting tighter with every word his brother said and his face was getting suspiciously wet. Was he crying ?
He prayed Wolffe wouldn't notice but as his tears started soaking the fabric of the other commander's shirt, Wolffe's arm shifted and started running its fingers through Fox’s hair.
The war was basically over, his brothers were almost free. And wasn't that a thought. After all these years of constant fighting, and working and injuries and awful senators, he could finally take a break.
Not that he was actually going to but it was a nice thought.
They laid like that before Fox heard someone else come into the room. He wanted to see who it was but he couldn't gather the energy to do more than shift his head to the side.
Wolffe helped him sit up as Nightlock stepped into his view, focused on the datapad in her hands.
“Heyyy Locky” Oh great, his words were starting to slur again. Wonderful. And he could feel Wolffe laughing at him again.
“Hi Fox, Nighlock sighed tiredly, I thought i told you not to call me that”
Well that was rude, he just wanted to say hello.
“Sorry, ‘lock didn't mean to”
“It's fine Fox” She started fiddling with the IV he just realised was attached to his arm. “How are you feeling?”. Ugh they were so unoriginal, always asking the same questions.
“Wolfe already asked me that, he grumbled, but I’m fine”
“Fox” Again with the sighing, was he really that frustrating?
“Nightlock, really, it doesn't even hurt anymore”
“That's good, means i wont feel as bad about this” He didn't even have any time to think about that before she whacked him over the head with her datapad. “You di’kut, what were you thinking? Why didn't you call anyone when you were bleeding out in an alleyway? You’re lucky your batchmates found you in time cause otherwise you’d be dead.”
Shit. She must really be angry then.
Fox winced, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly where Nightlock’s datapad had connected. “Ow. You shouldn't hit your patients, ‘Lock.”
Nightlock didn’t even look up from her datapad. “I can, I will. Maybe you’ll remember to call me the next time you do something stupid.”
Fox opened his mouth to retort, but the words died on his lips. The medbay was too quiet, the air too thick with everything left unsaid. He could feel Wolffe’s gaze on him, heavy with relief and something else—something Fox didn’t have the energy to name.
“You’re all so clingy,” he muttered, burrowing deeper into Wolffe’s side. The fabric of his brother’s uniform was soft against his cheek, it smelled safe, like home.
Wolffe’s chest rumbled with a quiet laugh, his arm tightening just enough to let Fox know he was there. “We might be but you’re stuck with us, Fox’ika.”
Fox wanted to argue, to remind him that he was the oldest, that he didn’t need coddling. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he let his eyes drift shut, the weight of exhaustion and something suspiciously close to contentment pressing down on him.
Outside the medbay, the distant hum of the building was a dull murmur, the sounds of a galaxy finally at peace.
For the first time in as long as he could remember, Fox let himself believe it.
“Yeah,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep and something else. “Yeah, I am.”
not_a_people_person on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Aug 2025 10:51AM UTC
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Its2inthemorningaaaaghhhh on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Aug 2025 10:56AM UTC
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