The Ties That Bind Us - Sees_writes (2024)

Chapter 1: The Little Commander

Chapter Text

The best relationships are forged under the worst circ*mstances.

-

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?”

Chapter 2: Prodigy

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.

Chapter 3: First Battle Field Injury

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 co*cking 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 co*cked 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 co*cked 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!”

Chapter 4: Troublemakers and Twins

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 amusem*nt.

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 os’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 through 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 co*cked 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’osik…”

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.

Chapter 5: 79's

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 co*cked 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 co*cked 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.”

Chapter 6: Comfort and Book Club

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 co*cked 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.”

Chapter 7: Metal Monsters

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 co*ckpit 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 co*ckpit, 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.

Chapter 8: Lessons Learned

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.

Chapter 9: Unexpected Detours

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 co*cked 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 amusem*nt 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 circ*mstances 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 amusem*nt. 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.

Chapter 10: The Bond

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 baa 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.

Chapter 11: Matters of the Mind

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.

Chapter 12: Sickness and Health

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.”

Chapter 13: Uncivilized

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.”

Chapter 14: An Osik’palon Planet

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 co*cky 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 co*cked 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.

Chapter 15: Theories and Aliit

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 circ*mstances, 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.