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lonewolflupe · 5 months ago

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aLoF ch3 | High Fives

Here is chapter 3, which was so much fun to write! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Spoiler: Fives finally makes his debut (so expect some more of him in my upcoming chapters).

Summary: after Lupe achieves Jedi Knighthood, she finds herself and the Wolfpack in trouble again - but not on the battlefield this time Rating: Teen and up/Mature Tags: comradery, drinking, intoxication by booze, insulting, fist fighting Words: 3.033k Characters: Lupe (OC), Plo Koon, CC-3636 Commander Wolffe, ARC-5555 Fives, ARC-1409 Echo, CC-1010 Commander Fox, unidentified 104th troopers, unidentified Coruscant Guard troopers aLoF masterlist | AO3 ch2 < | ficlet < | ↓ | > ch4

21 BBY, Coruscant | 79’s

Although Coruscant’s 79’s cantina was open to anyone, it was known to be a clone bar. Yet this night there were considerably more clones than usual. Most of them were wearing armour with flint grey markings; the 104th Battalion was noticeably present, and they were celebrating. Lupe, former Padawan to their General Plo Koon and thus their Jedi Commander, had achieved Jedi Knighthood.

Whereas Padawans normally were knighted around their mid or even late twenties after successfully completing their Jedi Trials, the war asked for unprecedented measures. Young Padawans were now rushed into knighthood, skipping their trials so the Grand Army of the Republic could reinforce its commanding ranks. And since Lupe had already proven to be a quick thinker and a capable leader, the Jedi Council had approved of her step up in the Jedi Order.

Despite the ongoing war, Master Plo Koon wanted to celebrate in some way and Lupe wanted to include the Wolfpack. After all, she wouldn’t be where she was today if it hadn’t been for them. And so she had chosen 79’s as location, much to the surprise and amusement of her former Master and to the utter dismay and horror of Commander Wolffe, who felt obligated to attend, but preferably for as short a time as possible. Which had nothing to do with Lupe; he just didn’t want to see his troops as they became unruly in this unbearable bar.

Since Master Plo Koon had started off the evening with a speech for Lupe, the crowd had gotten rowdier. Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe had stayed for a while, engaged in conversation together - probably concerning something civilised, like strategics. But as the evening progressed and the amount of booze had multiplied, they had left the partying to Lupe and the troops. Troopers had come and troopers had gone, but late into the night, there was still some Wolfpack audience in the cantina.

---

Although clearly present, the troopers of the 104th Battalion weren't the only clones attending 79’s that night. At the bar sat two ARC troopers from the 501st Battalion, recognisable by their blue markings.

“Last time I checked, this place wasn’t exclusive to one battalion,” the first one complained when a rowdy trooper from the Wolfpack stumbled against him, making him spill his beverage. “You wouldn’t be complaining if it had been the 212th,” the second ARC trooper replied as he took a sip from his drink. The first one, defined by the tattooed ‘5’ on his right temple and the well-trimmed goatee on his chin, groaned as he watched the Wolfpack being served more drinks. “At least Cody and the boys are civilised,” he sighed, as he attempted to drink what was left of his beverage.

Before he managed to take a sip, his drink was knocked out of his hand as a flint grey-marked trooper walked past and padded him heavily on the shoulder, clearly intoxicated by whatever he had been drinking that evening. The ARC trooper clenched his now empty fist and hit it on the counter of the bar.

“Fives..,” the other ARC trooper said slowly, trying to stop his brother from whatever he was going to do, but he didn’t come through. Fives rose from his barstool, a screeching sound filling the cantina as the metal leg of the stool scraped the floor when he pulled it aside. He turned himself to the centre of the bar, where the remaining troopers of the Wolfpack were located. “It smells like wet hound in here,” he shouted over the rowdy voices of the troopers.

The Wolfpack fell silent as they turned to look at the man that had just drawn their attention. Before anyone could respond, Lupe stepped out of the group, revealing herself to face the ARC trooper. She was smaller than the clones, so he hadn't noticed her before. “What was that, grunt?” she shot back, as she raised a brow. Fives recognised a Jedi when he saw one, and although he was already properly intoxicated at this point, he thought picking a fight with one wouldn’t be his brightest idea.

He swallowed back a witty comeback and shrugged, his eyes rolling as he hated to give in so easily. “My bad, sir,” he said, awkwardly waving his hand as some sort of apology, before turning around. He put back the barstool and was just sitting down again, when the Jedi shot out another remark. “That’s what I thought. Nice skirt, though,” she shouted, and the Wolfpack troopers started laughing. Fives closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, ignoring his brother's hand on his pauldron, before picking up his empty glass and tossing it towards the noisy group.

Without any effort, Lupe stopped the glass mid-air by using the Force, as it was only centimetres away from her face. She looked from the glass towards the ARC trooper and let go of the Force. The cantina was completely silent at this point, except for the sound of the shattering glass as it hit the floor. Deafening silence, before Lupe turned her head towards the Wolfpack. “Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys,” she grinned, as she nodded towards the ARC trooper. That was the moment mayhem erupted.

Two Wolfpack troopers darted forward towards Fives, who waited until the last second before jumping off the barstool and dodging both of them. He hit one in the face with his fist, taking him out immediately, and briefly choked the other with his elbow before pushing him back towards the she-wolf and her pack. The other ARC trooper, still seated at the bar, slapped his hand to his face. “Not again,” he whispered with a sigh, before getting up and readying himself at his brother’s side.

From there, a chaotic bar fight ensued. Glasses and barstools were tossed around, as well as an occasional trooper. The ARC troopers engaged in an intense hand fight as they seemed to stand their ground. The Wolfpack had the numbers, but that included the amount of booze they had downed already. It was only becoming interesting when Fives came face to face with the Jedi. Every moment one of them attacked with a fist, a foot or a knee, the other dodged or blocked it skillfully. And so they were intertwined in what almost seemed like a dance; a tough, unrewarding one, for that matter.

It wasn’t until Fives noticed the Coruscant Guard entering the cantina that he interrupted his fighting. Lupe was just swinging another blow at him, and was startled as much as he was when she fully hit him in the head, expecting him to block like he had done with all her previous blows. They fell down to the ground, Fives hitting his head hard as he reached the floor. Lupe landed on top of him with a slight thud, and she found herself having trouble getting up. Fives wasn’t even trying at this point, closing his eyes as 79’s started to spin around him.

The cantina quieted down as the Coruscant Guard took in the troublemakers. When Fives opened his eyes, an acquainted clone was looming over him, his arms crossed before his chest. “Commander, how good of you to show up,” Fives said jokingly, immediately regretting it as a thrusting pain emerged in his head. “Not this one again,” Commander Fox sighed, as he gestured to his troops to take him in. “Sorry sir, you’re coming too,” he said to Lupe, as two Coruscant Guards dragged her to her feet and took her in with the rest of the troublemakers.

---

“Put him in his regular cell,” Commander Fox ordered as they dragged Fives through the corridor of the Republic’s military prison complex and tossed him into the cell. His ARC brother walked in willingly behind him, glad the chaos was over and ready to sleep it all off on the bench at the back of the cell.

As the cells around them were filled with Wolfpack troopers and some other military disruptors and nuisances, Lupe was brought into the same cell as the 501st ARC troopers. Nearing the back of the cell, she stumbled to the floor, but managed to crawl to the bench where the other ARC trooper had positioned himself. She sat down on the floor, leaning her back against the side of the bench.

Groaning, Fives heaved himself on his lower arms as he looked back at the cell’s door. “I’m sure Fox is going to shoot me one of these days,” Fives uttered from the ground where the Coruscant Guard had tossed him. With a groan he managed to get up, walked towards Lupe unsteadily, and crashed down beside her. "So, you're the one they call Lupe, right?" he asked as soon as he laid his pounding head to rest on the bench behind him. "They do. What do you prefer to be called?" she answered, her eyes closed as she rubbed her eyelids with her fingers. "Well, you can call me-"

"Your name. She asked for your name," the other ARC trooper interrupted, exactly knowing what his brother was playing at. Fives sighed out loud as he slapped the ARC trooper behind him on his chest plate, where a blue handprint stood out. "Yeah yeah, fine. Mirsh'kyramud*. Name's Fives.” Lupe withdrew her hand, opened her eyes and looked towards the clone as if he had just called tookas insufferable creatures. "What, like the number?" she retorted. The ARC trooper sighed out even louder. "Fives. It's Fives,” he reacted, whilst making abrupt hand gestures, as if that was making his point clearer.

*Mirsh'kyramud = brain assassin (boring person)

Lupe looked at the ARC trooper’s face on her left, as she tried to process the fact that the tattooed ‘5’ on his temple wasn't resembling a number. Her head was whooshing. "That still sounds like a number,” she concluded. Fives shot an angry look at her before coming with a witty remark, although as the night progressed, the level of intelligence decreased. "Yeah? Well, Lupe sounds like.. Like Dupe," he snorted back, quite pleased with what he'd come up with.

As her headache worsened, she closed her eyes again and rested the back of her head on the edge of the bench. "I'll Dupe you, next time we're in a fight," she replied softly, as she let her mind drift away and she gave in to her sleepiness. "Well, how Dupe you do," Fives said smirking. The other ARC trooper rolled his eyes, turned around on the bench to turn his back towards them, and tried sleeping off his booze- and brother-induced headache. Not for the first and probably not for the last time, he was absolutely done with the nonsense of his brother.

---

With no sense of time, Lupe woke up in the dimly lit cell. Her head was still aching and her throat was dry, but at least she was able to think clearer again. As she recollected her memories from the previous evening, she found her head resting on the pauldron of the ARC trooper Fives, still sitting beside her. She straightened herself abruptly, looking around to make sure no one had noticed.

Fives started to wake, stretching himself unduly as he yawned. With his right arm stretched out, he almost hit Lupe in the face. “Watch it,” she said, as she whacked away the arm. Fives turned to her in shock as he had no idea where he was and that she was still there, his arm on the bench as he turned his torso, hitting his brother with his elbow in the process. As it dawned on him what had happened the previous evening, he heard his brother groan a low, irritated sound as he had accidentally woken him.

“How's your head?” Lupe asked softly, as Fives started to remember parts of last night. He put his hand on the back of his head, where it was still hurting. That was going to leave a bump. “Insufferable,” the ARC trooper on the bench answered before Fives could respond. “Speak for yourself, Echo,” Fives shot back at his brother. With audible difficulties, Echo lifted himself on the bench, until he was sitting upright. “I just did,” he said dryly. “But we have the same head,” Fives replied, slightly annoyed. Echo bumped his fist into Fives’ upper back before saying: “That's my point.”

Lupe chuckled briefly as she was observing the brothers arguing. Although she was in a fight with them last night, she had to admit, she could have gotten herself worse cellmates. As she sat there, her head clearing up again, she sensed a burning feeling on her arm. When she laid eyes on the culprit, her eyes opened wide in shock. “I have no recollection of this,” she blurted out, as her fingers went over the freshly set tattoo. There, on her upper left arm, below her shoulder piece, the Wolfpack emblem was now immortalised on her skin. Fives looked at her as if he was sorry for her. “My condolences,” he said to her cautiously, as he tried to remember if he'd seen a Jedi before with such a prominent tattoo.

“Are you kidding? I love it,” she shot back at him, looking up at him with a glister in her eyes. He laughed, before tapping his finger on his tattooed temple. “Good, because they're hard to get rid of.” Still touching her tattoo, Lupe got up and stretched herself. She hadn't felt this stiff after any battle she remembered, and the thudding in her head was quite new to her too. It looked like the ARC troopers were experiencing a similar feeling, although she guessed it wasn't new to them.

“I'm sorry for calling you wet hounds last night,” Fives finally said, Echo looking up surprised as he wasn’t used to his brother apologising. Lupe looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes, a smile on her face. “I guess we had it coming. Sorry for disturbing your night,” she replied genuinely. A moment of silence before she added softly: “Oh, and I do love your kama.” Fives smiled, proudly looking at his half-kilt, made out of sturdy leather.

The moment was interrupted when the door to the cell whooshed open. On the other side were Commander Fox, arms crossed before his chest, and Commander Wolffe, hands on his back. Lupe swallowed as she saw the expression on Wolffe’s helmetless face, whilst he shook his head disapprovingly. Although she was a General and Jedi Knight now, Commander Wolffe’s authoritative demeanour still scared her.

“Lupe, with me. You've got some explaining to do,” he grunted to her, as he turned around to start walking away. Lupe saluted the Commander, shot a quick ‘yessir’ at him, and turned towards the ARC troopers grinning. “Guess I'll see you around,” she said softly, winking before walking towards the corridor. “I bet you will,” Fives replied with a smirk on his face, before she disappeared outside the cell.

---

“You really had to put her in a cell with them?” she overheard Wolffe snapping at Fox, as she followed a few metres behind them. “I thought she might be a good influence on them,” Fox pointed out, his stature unchanged. Wolffe sighed and shook his head again. “I'm more concerned about their influence on her.” Fox turned his head, looking at Wolffe. “Rex is doing his best, Wolffe. It's his General that makes them.. Unmanageable.”

Lupe snorted softly as she thought of General Skywalker and the 501st. She hadn't had the pleasure of accompanying them on a mission, but their stories were legendary. And her encounter with the 501st ARC troopers last night had been.. Interesting.

They turned another corner and reached the guard station near the entrance of the prison complex. A red laser barrier was disabled, so that Wolffe and Lupe could walk past it towards the front of the guard post. Fox entered the post, where some of his Coruscant Guard troopers were monitoring the cells at the Republic military base, and handed back Lupe’s lightsaber. “Good thing you didn’t use this last night; you'd have been in a whole lot of more trouble if you had, sir,” Fox warned her, as she took the lightsaber’s hilt from him. Wolffe grunted, turned around and walked out of the base. Lupe sighed, and before following him outside, turned towards Commander Fox one last time. “Sorry for the mess.”

Lupe jogged behind Commander Wolffe to catch up with him, as he briskly strode away from the prison complex. She caught up with him, walking by his side, but she didn’t know what to say to him. For a moment, she felt small, like the Padawan she had been at the very beginning of the Clone Wars, fighting her first battle alongside the imposing clone troopers.

“I appreciate your comradery with the troops, sir,” Wolffe spoke at last, putting some extra weight on the ‘sir’, “but as a General, you have responsibilities and an exemplary function towards them.” He halted, looking her in the eyes intensely to make sure his point came across. “And what you set them up to last night was neither responsible nor exemplary.”

As she shuffled on her feet, still searching for the right words, he noticed the fresh Wolfpack tattoo on her arm. He sighed as his eye softened. “Argh, can’t stay mad at you,” he growled softly, almost under his breath, but she heard him alright. He turned again to continue his stride, as he gestured to her to keep up. “C’mon, General Koon is waiting for an explanation.”

…

Epilogue

Peculiarly enough, her conversation with her former Master had felt less awkward than the long walk back with Commander Wolffe. Although alcohol was not recommended to Jedi, especially in a time of war, it wasn’t forbidden. And if anyone understood Lupe’s bond with the clone troopers, it was Master Plo Koon. She promised him to stay low for a while, to not attract any more unwanted attention towards herself, and to focus on the war and the battles to come. The war had still enough in store for her, after all.

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