#Tibrin

[oh-no-eu-didnt]

Tibrin was a tropical planet located in the Mid Rim Hadar sector, and home to the amphibious Ishi Tib species. Tibrin’s surface was covered by shallow oceans, with coral formations extending out of the water. Most Ishi Tib cities were built on the coral. The people of Tibrin were particularly enviornmentally conscious, understanding the delicate conditions that allow the coral to grow. During the Clone Wars, Tibrin joined the Confederacy.

Source: The New Essential Guide to Alien Species (2006)

First Appearance: Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (1989)

Read more on Wookieepedia.

[laz-laz-ace-pilot]

Little Echo doodle from when I got stuck writing the Siege of Tibrin. Kinda pleased with how it turned out!

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 22

"The Imperial Masquerade Gala"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: I'M BACK, BITCHES!! 😆😆

Seriously, the writer's block I had over this whole chapter was insane and I hated not being able to just write a single word for months! Then finally, it all hit me like a freaking freight train! So here I am, back with another chapter and it's my longest chapter yet! There's a lot to cover in the gala, so I apologize if a couple characters don't get as much attention as others, but they will next chapter cuz the gala is definitely being split into two parts! Also, any other characters or places mentioned in this are canon and the explanations of who or what they are are also true! (Thank you, Wookiepedia!)

And, because I spent a lot of time figuring out the outfits for the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force for this, I'm going to include pictures of their attire in the chapter as well so you don't have to imagine everything on your own! Everything's too detailed for that 😜

Lastly, a huge thank you to my bestie @l-lend for her help with this chapter and for inspiring the idea of an Imperial gala so long ago! Now, we're finally here!!

Enjoy, my lovelies!! 💜

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @cole-kenxbi , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions

《 Chapter 21

》 Chapter 23

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The time has come for the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force to attend the Imperial masquerade gala that they've spent weeks preparing for. Will they obtain the information they need or will their cover be blown before they can succeed?

Before they all knew it, the day of the Imperial masquerade gala was upon them. All preparations for the infiltration plan were finalized and reviewed several times in the week that led up to it. Now was the time for it to finally be put into action. 

In the last few hours of the trip through hyperspace on their way to Tibrin, Kida singlehandedly got everyone ready for the gala. She made sure everyone's outfits were properly fitted, hair was styled and she did makeup on all the women as well as, much to his chagrin, Hunter. Kida thought it would be safer to cover up his tattoo since it stood out so much, even if it was going to be mostly covered by a mask. Hunter wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of putting makeup on his face, but he reluctantly agreed. Kimber also wasn't too fond of it either, but that was solely because she loved Hunter's tattoo. Seeing him without his signature feature was…incredibly off-putting for everyone, to say the least. 

The Clones were all dressed and dealt with first. Hunter was clothed in all black; leather boots, form-fitting trousers and a dress shirt. The shirt had a high collar with silver buttons on both sides and then silver chains pinned on one side in the front that swept over his chest and connected into a collection of sewn in silver leaves that cascaded up onto his other shoulder. On the arm below the leaves was a single dark red armband made of satin wrapped around his bicep, that naturally, Kida's hand had lingered on just a little too long when putting the armband around it in the first place. The mask he'd been given was black with a wave of red similar to his armband painted on to look like a flame across one side. He no longer wore his bandana and, for the first time practically ever, his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail at the base of his head. It was a different look for him, but Hunter didn't mind it all. 

Wrecker's outfit was somewhat similar to Hunter's. He too was dressed in all black, but his dress shirt had gold floral patterns embossed with thread up one side as well as on the collar and cuffs of the sleeves. The buttons going up the center of his shirt were also gold like the patterns. His mask was simply black, but the left side of it was longer so it covered his entire scar. When making his mask, Kida figured his giant scar would be a giveaway or would draw too much attention. Luckily, Wrecker thought it made him look even tougher.

Echo's gala garb was a bit more elaborate than the other two Clones in order to hide his cybernetics. His shirt and slacks were a dark green and his boots were black. Over his clothes, he wore a long, flowing side cape of the same color that draped over his right side to cover up his scomp arm, making him look quite sophisticated. He also wore a black leather, gold-studded pauldron on his opposite shoulder. Kida had taken great care in designing his mask because she'd made him an entire helmet that also served as a mask. The reason being that it would help disguise his cybernetic headpiece so he wouldn't have to remove it, especially if he was going to be using his scomp to obtain information and he'd need the headpiece to regulate everything. The helmet was made similarly to his regular helmet where it had an opening in the back to fit over his cybernetics and blend together perfectly. It was painted silver with green accents to match the rest of his outfit. On the sides of the helmet were large, curved metal wings, made to cover the sides of Echo's headpiece and further disguise it. The front covered the upper half of his face, had two eye holes for him to see through and left the lower half open where his mouth could be seen. He was certainly more done up than his squadmates for good reasons, but Echo was no less impressed at Kida's work.

Some time later, Kida finished with all of the ladies going to the gala and they came out in full garb and makeup, ready to go. The Clones, however, were not prepared for the sheer, jaw-dropping beauty they were about to see. 

Rina came out first in a sleek, form-fitting sparkly dress of bright red. It was floor-length with a low, revealing neckline, straps for shoulders and a red ribbon sash around the waist. There was a slit up the front of one of her legs that ended at her mid-thigh. Around her neck was a large silver necklace with red jewels and the mask on her face as a gold mask decorated with red lace overtop it and cream-colored ribbon and lace splayed out along the edges as well as some extra red jewels. Her lips were also painted red and there was a light dusting of rouge on her cheeks. Her hair was lightly curled on the ends and half of it was pulled up into a jeweled clip on the back of her head. 

The look Wrecker had in his eyes gawking at Rina was enough to make her blush enough that she could've blended in perfectly with her red dress. "I picked red because I thought you'd like this color," Rina told him as she approached him. 

Finally finding the ability to speak again, he declared, "I do like red...but now I love red!" He took her hands and said excitedly, "You look incredible, Rina!" 

She smiled happily. "I would kiss you, big guy, but I'm pretty sure Kida would skin me if I messed up my makeup. You clean up pretty good yourself."

He just grinned proudly. 

Then Lex came out next. Her entire getup was much simpler than Rina's. Her dress was navy blue with straight skirts, two open slits on the sides of her waist and the top was made of loose, ruffled fabric that hung down in waves almost like a scarf. Around her neck, she wore a sparkling choker necklace made of white jewels with the single charm of a star dangling in the middle. Her mask was black with pearl accents and curls along the edges; a classic yet still refined masquerade mask. The dark outlines around her lips were gone and they were now painted a light pink instead. Her hair was still braided in rows along her scalp and around her Zabrak horns and the rest was pulled into a curled ponytail that fell down her back. She still wore her single black arm glove over her robotic arm, which still complemented her overall look. 

Echo's eyes caught sight of her and he was stunned immediately. He already found her attractive and thought she looked pretty when she'd gone to the doctor's party on Balmorra, but seeing her like this almost rendered him completely speechless. She was so gorgeous and his heart threatened to beat itself right out of his chest and through his clothes.

She approached him, timidly tucking a loose part of her hair behind her ear. "Your look is very unique," she commented, looking him over. "Kida did a good job with the helmet. You almost can't tell you're wearing a cybernetic headpiece."

"And you…you look beautiful," he said, still just in awe of her. 

Her cheeks went hot and she smiled shyly, but then she turned away, embarrassed. She shouldn't be reacting this way. Not when she was trying to bury her feelings for him for her own good.

Kida was the next to emerge in one of the most elaborate, stunning outfits thus far. Her dress with long skirts that flowed out below the hips was metallic silver with a single long sleeve, a plunging neckline and a slit on the waist where there was no sleeve. A large, gaudy choker necklace made of silver chains and big teardrop diamonds adorned her whole neck and then her mask was elaborately floral in design with a wing jutting out from one side. Her hair had been pulled up into an updo with two curled strands hanging by her ears. Her lips had been painted silver and dusted with glitter to match her dress.

“You look amazing, Kida!” commented Wrecker.

“Why, thank you, Wrecker,” replied Kida proudly, doing a small curtsy in front of him.

Then Echo spoke up, saying, “I thought Kimber was the one who was supposed to stand out?”

Kida’s eyes lit up and she declared enthusiastically, “Oh…she will. I can guarantee that. She and I have a sort of moon and sun thing going on, as you will soon see.” Then she looked back over her shoulder and called out in a singsong voice, “Oh, Kimber, darling! Your adoring fans await you!” 

“I feel ridiculous, Kida!” they all heard Kimber call back from around the corner. “Do I really have to go in this?”

“Yes, the entire ensemble is essential to making sure you capture and keep every Imperials’ gaze on you,” Kida answered in a loud voice. “Besides, you look fabulous! Now, come out so we all can see you as Kahna Sora, musician extraordinaire!”

They all heard an exasperated groan come from Kimber and then finally, she emerged from around the corner. As she appeared, everyone’s jaws dropped in awe.

Kimber was garbed completely in glittering gold from head to toe. Her dress was a form-fitting, shimmering gold fabric with shorter sleeves that had a flowing cape attached to the shoulders. On her neck rested a multi-chain necklace of gold stars, the largest one in the middle possessing a glowing blue stone. Her intricate mask was gold, as well, with flowers in the corners and a curtain of beaded chains hanging from the bottom, cascading over the lower half of her face. The most noticeable feature of her ensemble was the giant halo crown that adorned her head, nine points spreading out from one side to the other like sun rays over her head. It was golden, naturally, with inlaid gems on the base as well as in the tip of each point with several loops of beaded strings hanging from both sides. Underneath her mask, she was done up with metallic gold makeup on her eyes as well as her lips and her hair was in her custom braid, but this time on the side instead of down the back and had sparkling gold ribbon interwoven within the braid.

As she came into the room, despite the fact she looked uncomfortable, Hunter couldn’t take his eyes off of Kimber. To him, she radiated beauty and power like a goddess. He had thought the way she’d dressed for her first undercover op on Kuat and at the gathering on Balmorra were already amazing enough…but this look outshone them all. He truly had never seen a more beautiful, captivating woman in his life and he found himself just falling even more in love with her. 

Everyone else also stared and gawked in awe at how fantastic Kimber looked, Kida looking especially proud of her work. 

“Whoa…you’ve really outdone yourself this time, Kida,” commented Lex.

Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, Kida replied, slightly choked up, “Yes…this is my finest work. Perhaps the best I’ve ever done!”

Omega, whose face was practically beaming with delight, cried out with a small, excited jump, “Kimber, you look gorgeous!”

Kimber walked in stiffly and gave Omega a grateful smile, but it quickly vanished as she then declared to everyone else with a huff, gesturing to the crown, “This thing is so heavy, I feel like one move is going to snap my neck!”

Rina stepped up and quipped to her, “Just don’t turn too fast and you’ll be fine. Though, you might hit some people. I’ll be fine, but I worry about some of the taller folks here.”

Kimber grimaced at her, unamused.

“That style is all the rage on Naboo, my dear, worn especially by the Queen,” Kida said back to Kimber.

With a flat look on her face, Kimber responded, “I know you once told me you could make me look like the Queen of Naboo, but I didn’t expect you to actually do it.”

“What better way to possess every Imperial’s attention at the gala than to show up looking like you could possess everything else already?” Kida simply asked in reply with a cheeky grin.

“You’re certainly going to achieve that goal. She’s even more golden than my skin,” commented Irys, holding up one of her hands and comparing her golden skin to Kimber. 

“I am inclined to agree,” said Tech. 

Kimber gritted her teeth together and looked down. “I hate this,” she muttered, dreading the unwanted attention this whole getup would earn her.

She saw someone’s hands come into view and gently take her own. When she looked up, Hunter stood in front of her, a look of love and enchantment in his eyes that he couldn’t hide even behind his mask. 

“I know you hate this, sweetheart,” he soothed her, “but if it’s all the same…I think you look wonderful…and I know you’re going to be amazing at the gala. You’ll play your part as well as the rest of us and everything will be all right. I promise you.”

As always, the words of comfort Hunter offered her made Kimber start to feel less anxious about the pending mission. While she knew it was necessary, she still wasn’t overly fond of being so overdressed than normal and in a way that would definitely ensure all attention would be on her. It just wasn’t her thing. She sometimes hated being the one that ended up doing all the undercover missions, especially when she was at the forefront of the operation, but it was just part of being in a squad and for being as skilled as she was in espionage. 

“I needed that. Thank you, love,” she said quietly to Hunter.

Right then, Kida stepped up in front of everyone and clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “All right, all my fabulous darlings!” she announced. “I have done everything in my power to not only ensure you all look extravagant, but that you also blend in and are disguised enough so no one should be able to tell who any of you are, especially the Clones. Please do your best to not ruin any of my work, if you can.”

“No promises,” said Lex.

“Remember the plan: all of you are part of my personal entourage; we’re not going in as Imperial higher-ups or anything, so try and glean as much information from the other partygoers as you can without acting like you know more than you should,” explained Kimber. 

Then Echo spoke up, “While you all monitor the main floor, Lex and I will infiltrate the Senator’s office and extract whatever information we can from his main computer.”

“With Irys, Omega and Tech’s help watching the security cameras,” Lex added, gesturing to the other three. “We all have the earpiece comms ready to go and synced to the same frequency so we can all remain in contact."

"As well as additional comms on the Clones, should we need to pick up any outside communication," added Kida.

“Good, we’re all on the same page,” said Hunter.

Looking at his datapad, Tech spoke up, "After some extensive research, Irys and I found three key figures to watch out for or whose names to listen for in conversations: Senator Gume Saam--obviously, since he is the host--, Mak Plain and Arsin Crassus."

"That last one sounded real pretentious," said Rina.

Tech went on, "Mak Plain is the liason for the Intergalactic Banking Clan, one of the interested parties attending the event, and Arsin Crassus is an Imperial financier and money lender who was once employed by the Trade Federation. Our hypothesis, given what we found on him, is that he's looking to take as much as he can from the Separatist financial accounts and use them to help build this new Empire as well as elevate his own status."

"There's a rumor that Crassus helped lure the Separatist leaders to Mustafar, where they were executed," added Irys.

"At least he did something right," commented Echo. Naturally, everyone understood what he meant, knowing his former captor was among those killed on Mustafar.

Then Hunter said to the group, "We'll keep our eyes and ears open for any information we can get and relay it over comms back to Tech and Irys."

Just then, a datapad in Irys’s hands began to beep and all eyes turned to her. She lifted it up to read it and then declared, “Excellent timing. It appears we’re coming up on Tibrin and are about to enter the planet’s atmosphere. While the rest of you finish your final preparations, I’ll go oversee our approach.”

“I shall assist you,” Tech stated as she turned to leave.

“What, you don’t think I can land my own ship by myself?” she questioned.

"You are mistaken. We are paired together for this mission, so I simply thought it best for me to help wherever possible," he simply responded. 

Irys seemed a little taken aback by that answer. "Oh…well…I welcome your help then," she said back.

As the two of them left the room, everyone heard Tech then add, "And to ensure you do not miss the checkpoint upon entry."

"See, I knew there was a catch to it!" Irys exclaimed. 

With a good-natured snicker, Kimber commented, looking to Omega, “You better make sure those two get along and don’t kill each other. That’s an extra special assignment for you on this job.”

Omega gave her a determined grin in return and said with a nod, “No problem.” After that, she trotted off after Irys and Tech.

Rina then slammed a fist into her hand and declared, “Let’s go crash an Imperial party!”

“Oh yeah!” yelled Wrecker in agreement.

The Senator of Tibrin’s mansion was just as lavish as they all expected. Multiple stories, widespread grounds, statues along the pathway up to the house; the works. An ocean of partygoers of various species and dressed in numerous colors moved along the pathway up to the doors of the mansion. There were also plenty of gray Imperial uniforms seen scattered about amongst the rest of the crowd. Imperial troopers lined the edges of the pathway and provided security at the doors to check invitations. After Tech and Irys dropped them off, the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force seamlessly weaved their way into the mass of people. Kimber had to be careful to make sure she didn’t accidentally hit anyone with the giant sun crown on her head. They all stuck together save for Echo and Lex, who hung back a bit in the crowd so it would be easier for them to slip away and get to the Senator’s office. There were troopers at the front doors checking invitations and letting people in. The Bad Batch and Koriena Force all had theirs ready and Kimber prepared to introduce herself as the entertainment to ensure they were directed the right way. 

Inside the Aurora, Tech, Irys and Omega watched the live security camera feed at the front on the monitors as the teams approached the entrance. Hunter, being the closest to the front behind Kimber, had his extra comm hidden in his sleeve turned on so the three in the ship could hear everything. The guards asked for Kimber’s invitation first and she spoke to them in her refined Alpha voice as she handed it to them.

“I am Kahna Sora, one of the entertainers for tonight’s festivities,” they heard her say before gesturing to everyone else behind her, “and these people are with me. Tell me where I am expected to perform.”

The soldier in front of her answered in a Clone’s voice, “Go into the main ballroom and there is a door that leads behind the stage. You can wait there until they’re ready for you.”

Kimber simply bowed her head and said nothing as she strolled on past into the building with everyone else trailing behind her. Tech switched to a hallway camera to keep an eye on them as they went and then he switched to yet another camera feed that overlooked most of the ballroom. There were multiple cameras that caught the room at different angles, so Tech pulled all of them up at once on the monitors so they could see everything. 

“They’re coming into the room,” Omega observed, pointing to the feed closest to the ballroom entrance where they could see their friends going in. 

“Excellent,” said Irys.

As they made their way into the crowd, they heard Hunter’s voice over comms go, “All right, once we’re in the crowd, split up.” 

Tech stated over comms, “Echo and Lex: you will need to head to the Westernmost corridor.”

A few seconds later, the group split up into four teams going in separate directions: Kimber continuing forward further into the room on her own, Echo and Lex heading to the West side of the room as per Tech’s instructions, Hunter and Kida going to the East and then Rina and Wrecker hung back and stayed in the middle of the crowd for the time being.

“All teams are in place. The plan is a go,” Tech declared.

Just after he said that, they heard over the ship’s sound systems the cries of Kori waking up from his nap.

“Omega,” hinted Tech.

“Already on it,” the young Clone replied as she ran from the room to tend to the baby.

Irys watched Omega as she exited the room and then said to Tech as the doors slid shut, “She’s quite adept, that girl. She’s a fast learner.”

“She is, indeed,” he responded. “My ambition is to help expand her mind and give her more proper lessons and education when things die down a bit, if possible.”

“I’m sure she will greatly appreciate that. As long as she doesn’t pick up your ego, as well, then she’ll turn out great,” she said to him with a smirk.

He, however, was not as amused about that comment as he snidely said back, “I would rather Omega inherit my ego than your arrogance.” Then he turned away and started pressing different buttons on the console in front of him, making sure their links into the security systems remained intact.

Irys just smirked more and rolled her eyes, knowing her words got under his skin. “All the same, it’ll be good for her to be knowledgeable about other things in the galaxy that will prove useful.”

Pulling out his datapad and not even glancing her way, he replied, “Then perhaps one day, she can start answering the many questions my squad usually directs my way.”

“You and your intelligence are a valuable asset to your squad,” she assured him.

He faltered for a moment and the hand that held his datapad lowered into his lap, his gaze distant as he looked forward at the screens. Something about what she’d just said resonated with him for both positive reasons and negative. He could feel a sensation squirm in his stomach; he wanted to share something in response to her statement, but he normally was not as open about his personal feelings, never being sure if he could effectively communicate them. However, despite his opinion of Irys, he was not blind to the fact that they were similar in a lot of ways. Perhaps she could understand the repressed thoughts he usually hid away from others…especially his squad.

“It is…,” he said, “...but it is also something that brings me much tension.”

That wasn’t entirely the response Irys had been anticipating. Her head turned to look at Tech and she was surprised to see a light look of melancholy in his eyes. “Care to elaborate?” she asked.

Tech took a moment, his eyes flitting back and forth to different things around the room as he tried to manage his thoughts. Then he told her, his voice a pitch lower than normal, “When we do not know or are unsure of something in certain situations, my squad usually turns to me for answers or clarification. I am well-versed in various topics, but…I do think sometimes that I must know everything in order to serve our squad to the best of my ability. I must confess that is why I am always immersed in my datapad. It is my belief that I must always be studying or learning so I may continue to provide aid when needed. Otherwise…I may potentially let my squad down.”

She was taken aback a bit at not only Tech entrusting her with such a secret, but the fact that all this time, he’d put such unnecessary pressure on himself to basically achieve perfection in order to be an asset to his squad. In response, she blurted out, “Well, that’s just utter nonsense.”

His head finally whipped around to face her, his eyes widening ever so slightly at her reply.

She went on, her voice calm yet firm with conviction, “Your squad; your brothers, if I may remind you, regard you highly and would never think such notions about you. Kimber certainly would not, either. Even the smartest people don’t always have all the answers, but that does not deter from their overall intelligence. I too have an intelligent mind like you, but I couldn’t tell you anything about the Force and how the teachings of the Jedi work. That would be Rina’s expertise. That, however, does not mean I am letting my girls down by not knowing such things. The same can be said for you, Tech. Just because you don’t know something doesn’t mean you’re useless in any way and I can guarantee your brothers or Kimber would never think that way of you. You shouldn’t put such pressure on yourself. It’s perfectly all right to not know something.”

Having grown accustomed to constantly bantering back and forth with her, he didn’t expect such a civil and albeit helpful response from her. It took him a few seconds to seemingly get his bearings and then he said to her, “That was…rather cordial of you to say, Irys.”

With a simple shrug, she replied, “I am merely speaking the truth.”

“Yes, well…your confidence is appreciated,” he said.

“I do hope my confidence outweighs my arrogance,” she said back, emphasizing the last word to call back to his earlier comment towards her.

Tech didn’t fail to notice her not-so-subtle hint and his eyes looked away timidly. “Perhaps I was a bit brazen in that statement towards you,” he then said. 

Irys was even more astonished at receiving what was almost akin to an apology from him. It wasn’t outright, but it was close enough, which was most likely about as much as his pride would allow him. That satisfied her enough. 

“Perhaps. Never you mind, though. I’ve forgotten it already. There are more important things to deal with,” she told him with a grin, redirecting her attention to the monitors. 

"Indeed," he said, following suit. 

Though, her grin began to fade slightly a few seconds later. "However, if I may say so: you and I are more alike than you think," she stated. They both looked back at each other and she went on, "I too once believed that I would be useless to the Koriena Force if I didn’t have an answer for everything." Then her confidence returned in her expression. "Eventually, I learned to accept that, no matter how hard I try, I’m never going to know everything and that's okay. I know what I know and it’s already enough."

The corners of Tech's lips curved up a little. "A rather motivating mindset."

She gave a small shrug. "I like to think so."

"You are wiser than I gave you credit for. I shall endeavor to follow your example," he said. Then his eyebrows furrowed. "Never thought I'd say that."

Irys chuckled in amusement. "Neither did I," she agreed, "and I'm not going to let you forget it."

He let out a good-natured "hmph" and then said, "This has been a rather…illuminating conversation."

"I can't but agree," she replied. 

Just then, they heard Rina's voice come in over the comms, "Look alive, know-it-all's. The Alpha is about to take the stage."

“Copy that,” answered Tech.

Echo’s voice then spoke, “Lex and I are by the Western wall just by the corridor. Once Kimber gets everyone’s attention, we’ll give them the slip.”

“Let us know when you’re out and we’ll guide you to the Senator’s office,” Irys responded. 

Back in the ballroom, Kimber was glad that her face was mostly concealed by a mask because she was more nervous than she’d ever been. All she could do was hope her performances were enough to keep most of the Imperials’ attention occupied while Echo and Lex snuck out. Once that happened, then it didn’t matter if people watched her or not. They still needed the partygoers to talk business so the other teams could intercept the information. Her alias name was announced and she climbed up on the stage, keeping as much of a sophisticated posture and appearance as possible as she took her position. The musicians present had already been informed of the song selections she would be performing and awaited her cue to begin. She took a long and slow breath, hoping to quell her nerves. Then her eyes found Hunter and she saw him bow his head to her. She knew what that meant: a silent gesture of encouragement from her love and that was all she needed. She waved her hand to the musicians and an upbeat tune began to sound from their instruments. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see quite a few heads turning and looking in her direction. She was already off to a good start. Then her mouth opened and she began to sing a lively melody that she’d learned long ago, her voice captivating many Imperials’ attention.

Kida leaned over to Hunter and whispered, “You said Kimber could sing…that was an understatement. She’s practically enchanting!” 

“I told you,” he said with a smirk.

His eyes glanced across the room to where he knew Echo and Lex would be. They were slowly and subtly inching along the wall as more onlookers gave their attention to Kimber and, a few seconds later, he saw them sneak into the corridor and out of sight. 

Subtly running his finger over his ear to activate his comm, Hunter said, “Echo and Lex are en route.”

“We copy, Hunter,” replied Irys. “I will guide them to the Senator’s office and Tech will continue to monitor your position in the ballroom.”

He took his position back beside Kida, who then all of a sudden looped her arm through his. “Let’s take a turn about the room and catch all the gossip, Sergeant. It’ll be a good chance for us to be...alone” she said with a flirty grin, getting in real close. 

“Uh…right,” he said back hesitantly, a bit unsure regarding her behavior. 

As they began gradually walking arm in arm, Kida leaned in a little and told him quietly, “I’m joking, Hunter. You don’t need to be so nervous. I only flirt to tease you; I know full well you belong wholeheartedly to Kimber. I love and respect you both too much to even dream of coming between you. You can put your worries to rest.”

He grinned slightly with relief “Uh, well…thanks, Kida.”

“Besides, I’m a mother now. I don’t have time for any flippant dalliances anymore,” she added. “If I ever let a man into my life, he’ll have to seriously commit and also accept that my son comes first.”

Then Hunter inquired, “What about Rex?”

He felt a small flinch in her arm that held onto his and there was a flash of slight shock followed by melancholy in her face at hearing her beloved Captain’s name. He could see it clearly even under her mask. Hunter felt sorry for her, his senses catching her longing, and he laid a hand on her wrist reassuringly.

"I don't dare hope for anything with Rex," Kida admitted in an uncharacteristically low voice. "He's in hiding for a reason and even so, I'm sure he has more important things to worry about than a woman he shouldn't have slept with and his illegitimate child."

"You think too little of yourself," he told her. "I know Rex. He's a good man who honors his code and only breaks it when he has a good reason. When we found out he was the father of your child, I knew right then that you were special enough to him that he chose to break that code for you. I have no doubt that, if we ever find him and he finds out about Kori, he’ll be happy with both of you.”

Her lips only twitched up a little, but he could tell she wasn’t convinced. “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay. He’s more well-known to the Empire and if they find out he’s alive, he’ll be hunted just like us. He needs to stay hidden, even if it means…I never see him again,” she said, her voice quivering with the last few words.

“Kida…,” Hunter began to say, but then his heightened hearing picked up something right then. He heard the name “Crassus”; the name of the Imperial financier they were supposed to watch out for. “Arsin Crassus is nearby,” he told Kida.

Her downtrodden look disappeared and immediately switched to determination. “Let’s find him,” she said. Then she reached up nonchalantly by her ear, activated her earpiece and said, “We might have found Crassus. Hunter and I are moving to intercept.”

“We see you, Kida,” she heard Wrecker respond. 

Hunter casually led Kida in the direction he’d heard the name being spoken, Kida snatching a drink off of a waiter’s tray as they went along. She downed the thin glass in one gulp and then pushed the glass into the chest of another waiter without even looking at them. Hunter reached down and activated the hidden comm device in his sleeve so everyone else could hear their upcoming conversation.

“Mind if I take the lead on this one?” she asked Hunter quietly as they approached a small group of people.

“You lead, I’ll follow,” he responded. 

They were just outside the small gathering of partygoers when they heard a woman in the group state, “I heard that there were rumors of possible Rebel activity happening tonight at the gala. The Senator requested extra security be here to monitor the evening’s events.”

Kida and Hunter snuck each other apprehensive looks. Did that somehow have anything to do with them? Kida then jumped into the conversation, exclaiming in a hushed, fake-nervous voice to appear as though she didn’t want to cause a fuss, “Extra security? What possible Rebel activity are they assuming is going to happen? Surely, this gathering is already well-protected.”

A pompous-looking man in an Imperial uniform and a plain gray mask said in a snobbish voice, "Supposedly, they plan to infiltrate the gala, but that's highly impossible. Any Rebel scum wouldn't get past the gates and they surely would be unable to get their hands on an invitation. I'm certain we have nothing to worry about and can continue on with our business here."

Hunter heard Rina let out a laugh in his earpiece and reply, "Wow, I just love ignorant Imps. They're hilarious!"

Keeping her cover, Kida went on, "You seem so confident in that belief, sir. Might I inquire as to who you are?"

"Arsin Crassus, my silver beauty," the man answered with a hungry look in his eyes that emanated strongly from behind his mask. "And you are?"

"With me," replied Hunter instead, placing a hand on Kida's waist and pulling her closer protectively against his side. 

She was a tad surprised at how forward he was being and for even coming up with such a lie, but she could tell he was doing it to ensure her safety from Crassus. The way he was looking at her made Hunter uncomfortable and she at least was thankful to have him looking out for her.

Luckily, Arsin noticed this and held up his hands. "As you wish," he stated.

Moving past the situation, she went on to ask, "What do you hope to gain at this gala, Mr. Crassus?"

With a pleased grin, he told her, "I'm simply meeting with the remnants of the Separatists parties who…tragically lost their leaders recently in an attack on Mustafar."

Kida, Hunter and everyone listening in didn't fail to notice his dramatic emphasis on the word "tragically", knowing that more than likely confirmed he did have a hand in setting up the Separatists' execution.

“It’s up to me, as one of the Empire’s top financiers, to obtain, divide and allocate their funds to the appropriate places,” he then added.

"Sounds like you've got your hands full," said Hunter. 

Arsin just laughed. "Oh, it's child's play, my friend. Besides, my plans for the money will greatly benefit the Empire in ways you cannot even fathom yet."

"It would seem our hypothesis was correct," Tech spoke over the comms in Hunter and Kida's ears.

"He's a bit too proud of that," added Lex's voice. 

Then they heard Rina, whose voice came through a bit more urgently, "Guys, the Imps are losing interest in Kimber's performance. We gotta step up our game. Big guy, time for Operation 'Cut a Rug'."

"Operation what?" Tech questioned. 

Just then, Hunter and Kida heard a commotion in another direction; not far from where Kimber was. They directed their attention that way and saw the crowd were all turning heads and parting, making a path through them. All of a sudden, in the space that formed, Wrecker and Rina appeared and, to Kimber, Hunter and Kida’s shock--as well as Tech and Irys, who could see it on their monitors--they were dancing together. Not just dancing, but dancing well, especially for two people with a much greater height difference. Wrecker led Rina through the crowd, moving almost effortlessly with the music, and Rina followed him with surprising grace that her friends didn’t know she possessed. He then stopped in the middle of the people, picked Rina up and somehow managed to spin her around his body, the flowing skirts of her dress trailing behind her like the tail of a red shooting star. He set her down with ease and they resumed moving around each other, keeping their eyes on one another, almost as if the sea of people surrounding them didn’t even exist.

Echo’s voice broke through on comms, “What’s going on?”

Irys was the one to answer, still in a stunned state: “They’re...dancing.”

The more the members of the Bad Batch and Koriena Force in the ballroom kept watching, the more impressed they were with both Rina and Wrecker’s dancing skills and how well it seemed to pair with Kimber’s beautiful singing. Even more fortunately, it seemed to take the rest of the party’s focus back to them, which they knew would give Echo and Lex more time to fulfill their objective.

Kida leaned over to Hunter and whispered, “I’m quite impressed. It doesn’t entirely surprise me that Rina can pull off dancing, but I never knew your brother was such a talented dancer.”

“Honestly…neither did I,” he replied.

Echo and Lex had just successfully reached Senator Saam’s office, thanks to assistance from Irys, when they’d heard Rina’s warning about losing the attention of the Imperials and “Operation: Cut a Rug”. 

“What’s going on?” Echo inquired into his comm.

“They’re…dancing,” both he and Lex heard Irys reply.

The two of them exchanged bewildered looks.

“Wrecker can dance?” Lex asked, taken aback.

Echo, who seemed even more shocked, said to her, “Apparently. I’m just as surprised as you are.”

They turned to survey the room and to them, it just appeared like a normal Senator’s office: plain walls, furniture and with a few computer monitors and consoles. There was also a holotoable off on the side of the room.

“All right, you’d better scomp into the main computer. I’ll stand guard by the door,” she stated.

However, he responded back to her, “Actually, it’d be better if you came over with me. You can help me examine whatever data I find.”

Once again, she subtly gritted her teeth and silently cursed him for keeping her close. This situation wasn’t helping her try to avoid anything more developing between them, but it seemed everything and everyone was working against her.

“All right,” she relented and followed him over to where the computer console was.

Echo flung back the cape he wore that covered his scomp arm out of the way, got down on a knee and inserted the scomp into the appropriate slot. Right away, the screens lit up and multiple data files began opening.

“Keep your eyes out for any information we can use that Cid mentioned: weapons deals, shipping contracts, financial agreements; whatever you can find,” he told Lex. “Hopefully, the Senator has something that ties his deeds to any business that’d be taking place here at the gala.”

“Understood,” she replied as she started glancing at other files on another screen, scrolling through multiple files that seemed to solely be about trade agreements or legislature dealing with different issues on Tibrin.

After a couple silent minutes, apart from the whirring of Echo’s scomp arm or Lex clicking buttons to go through the files, Echo stole a look over at Lex, watching her closely as she focused in on the computer screen. He wished he could go over to her and tear her mask away so he could look at her. He wanted to see her face; her beautiful Zabrak face with her intricate, black tattoos whose patterns he’d almost committed to memory and her violet eyes that he felt he could lose himself in until time stood still. There were already walls she’d put up about her and she already wore an unseen mask when she was around him, hiding her pain and real feelings from him. She didn’t need a real mask along with it, even though he knew, of course, that it was for the mission. It was just a thought that didn’t sit well with him, knowing she was shutting him out for reasons he’d yet to figure out or get from her. 

Finally, he spoke up while still going through the files, “Lex…why did you not want to be paired with me for this mission?” 

Lex stiffened up at the question now posed to her, unsure of what to say in reply. She recalled him noticing her discomfort when they'd all originally been split into teams a while ago. Should she tell him the truth or just make it out to be not a big deal? He was smart and would most likely see past her lie, but if she told him the truth, what then? 

“I…I don’t know,” was all she managed to say, keeping her eyes forward on the screen in front of her.

Just as she suspected, he responded, “Don’t lie to me. What have I done that’s made you uncomfortable with me now?”

“I already told you. It isn’t you; it’s me…and I can’t talk about it,” she reminded him.

“You can’t or you won’t?” he fired back.

Her hands balled up in frustration and she hung her head. Why wasn’t he making this easy for her?

Then he chose to add, “While we’re on the subject of things you won’t talk about…I know it was really you who saved me from the fire on Balmorra.”

Now, she really was frozen in place. How had he found out? She knew the answer just about as quickly as she wondered the question. It had to have been one of the Koriena Force ladies. Given how much they’d pushed her about her feelings for Echo before, she wouldn’t put it past any of them to rat her out for what she’d done for him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she heard him ask.

She swallowed nervously. “I just...I didn’t want you to think you owed me unnecessarily for it,” she explained, hoping that explanation would suffice.

“Unnecessarily?” he repeated. “Lex, you saved my life. I owe that to you whether you like it or not.”

“I don’t want anything from you, Echo,” she said.

“Yes, you do. I see it in your eyes every time you look at me.”

Her whole body locked up.

“You might hide how you feel on your face, but your eyes reveal everything to me,” he added. Right then, he withdrew his scomp from the socket, forgoing the task at hand for a moment, and he walked over to her, startling her since she had expected him to stay where he was. 

As she turned to face him, her back hitting the desk behind her, she urged him, “This really isn’t the time for this.”

“When else are we going to discuss this then? Because you hardly speak to me now as it is,” he replied. He approached her and stopped directly in front of her as he told her, “I thought there was something special between us, ever since the night we spoke in the med room. We were open and vulnerable with each other. What’s changed since then?”

Lex only stammered out a couple syllables, completely at a loss for what to do or say. At this rate, it seemed he wasn’t going to back down from this conversation and she was trapped there until he got the answers he was seeking. 

“I know you felt it, too…,” he said, “...but you act as though your hands are tied and you pull away from me. Why can’t you be honest with me or yourself?”

“You think I don’t want to be?” she asked back. “You think I want to torture myself like this, keeping myself away? I don’t…but it’s what I have to do.”

“But why?"

"All of this…it’s hopeless. You wouldn't understand."

"I understand you better than anyone else could…but if you still believe that, then help me to. I want to understand."

Everything inside of Lex was screaming at her to just trust him with the rest of the truth of how she felt; she knew she could…but if she did, then she would be risking her heart again and that still was a thought that terrified her no matter how much she cared for Echo. Her torn and bruised heart was at war with itself and it caused a great ache in her chest. Her guilt only built up more at seeing the pleading in his eyes, so she turned away from him, averting her eyes back to the screen. 

As she wracked her brain on what she could possibly say to him, something on the screen caught her eye; an abbreviation she recognized on a file that she’d opened just before Echo had gone up to her. 

“Wait…hold on…,” she said, focusing in on the letters. She wanted to be sure they were what she thought they were.

For a second, Echo was frustrated, thinking she was avoiding the subject, but then he saw her looking closer at a file on the screen and enhancing it, zooming in closer on a set of three letters: “CEC”. She’d noticed something. 

“What is it?” he inquired, leaning down so he could see, too.

She pointed to the letters. “Look at this: CEC. Do you know what that is?”

He shook his head. “Should I?”

“That’s the Corellian Engineering Corporation,” she told him. “They manufacture starships and starship weapons.”

“Then that must be what we’re looking for,” he concluded.

“See if you can find any more data connected to the CEC on the main computer,” she stated. “Maybe any sort of transaction history or weapons contract.”

“On it,” he replied, already heading back to the main computer, where he scomped into the system again.

Lex got on her earpiece and informed the others, “We might have something. Echo’s looking for the data now.”

“What did you find?” they heard Irys respond.

“There was a file with the abbreviation for the Corellian Engineering Corporation,” Lex said. “We’re looking for any other documentation that could connect the Senator to them.”

“If you find anything, Echo, you’ve got the datarod,” said Hunter over comms.

“Roger that, Hunter,” replied Echo. A few seconds later, he cried out, “I’ve got it!”

Lex left the computer she was at and moved over by Echo, her eyes going straight to the main computer screen to see what information he’d found. There were three files that he’d brought.

Peering closely at the first file, Echo said aloud, “This is a weapons contract between Senator Saam and the CEC, commissioning the building of special weapons for ‘new Venator-class cruisers known as…Star Destroyers’.”

“That sounds ominous,” Lex observed. 

Echo then switched to the second file. “Here’s the Senator’s personal shipping manifest. The weapons are scheduled to arrive tonight during the gala.”

Lex activated her ear comm. “Tech, Irys, there’s a shipment of starship weapons that are due to arrive tonight while we’re at the gala. Be on the lookout for any incoming cargo ships.”

“A coincidence that you bring that up because I just scanned an incoming ship entering the planet’s atmosphere a few clicks out from the mansion,” answered Tech.

“Belay that. There are two ships on the scan,” said Irys. “The second one is a smaller shuttle. Looks like a possible escort of the cargo ship.”

Hearing that made Lex concerned and she glanced nervously at Echo as she asked over the comm, “How long do we have before the ships arrive?” 

“Five minutes,” they heard Tech say.

Both Echo and Lex were feeling the pressure now after hearing that answer. They didn’t have much time; they had to find a way to stop those weapons from reaching the gala.

“What are we going to do?” asked Lex. “We can’t steal the weapons nor can we pose as anyone who’s authorized to handle them.”

Echo’s expression steeled as he declared firmly, “Then we have to destroy them.”

“How?” she questioned. “We were expecting people here to be trading firearms, not weapons for Imperial cruisers. We don’t have the right explosives or nearly enough of them to destroy those weapons.”

He looked away for a brief moment in thought before pressing a finger to the side of his headpiece and saying, “Tech, we’ll need you and Irys to destroy that cargo ship.”

“What?” asked Tech.

“We can’t let the Empire get their hands on those weapons and this is the only way to make sure that’ll happen,” he explained.

Then they heard Hunter’s voice come through and say, “Echo’s right. Do whatever it takes to keep those weapons from getting here.”

“Irys, does this ship have guns?” they all heard Tech ask.

Irys answered him, “You’re talking about a ship harboring a group of fugitive women on the run from the Empire. What do you think?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” said Tech.

“Echo, there’s one last file,” said Lex, who had been pulling up a third and final file on the computer as the previous conversation had been happening. “It looks like it’s a recording of a transmission between the Senator and the CEC.”

“If we access it, it should appear on the holotable,” said Echo, gesturing to the table close by.

Lex opened the file and sure enough, the holotable lit up and a hologram projection appeared, showing Senator Gume Saam, a male Ishi Tib alien with a scaly, almost X-shaped face and a beak, dressed in fine Senatorial robes.

“These weapons are of great importance to the Empire,” the Senator said in the message. “I will need you to deliver them on the night of the gala I am hosting on Tibrin. There will be many trades agreements and business arrangements made that night, so you should have no trouble making the drop. We had other weapons schematics we were intending to use for a prototype of a new advanced weapon; however, Wat Tambor was sent to retrieve them on Kuat and they were lost. Supposedly, he says they were stolen by a woman and a group of Clones, so these new weapons we’re acquiring from you are our next best option.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…!” Echo exclaimed, running a hand over his face. Just as Lex was about to ask what was wrong, he said aloud, “This is all because of us?” He turned to face Lex. “A year ago, we were called in on another assignment on Kuat to intercept plans for modified starship weapons being given to a Separatist operative, which ended up being Wat Tambor. He tried to attack Kimber and, even though he escaped, she still managed to get the intel.”

“So this weapons deal with the CEC is because you guys stole their original plans? Karabast, no wonder the Empire has it out for you,” she commented.

“I need to quickly download that message as well as the other files onto the datarod,” he stated as he pulled the rod from his belt, went back to the main computer and inserted it into the proper slot. Then he started tapping keys to start the process.

As the download started, they heard Kimber’s voice, whom they weren’t expecting to hear since they thought she’d be busy singing. However, her message was spoken quickly and quietly, more than likely because she was still performing and only had a second to communicate: “Echo, Lex, security’s coming.”

As Echo and Lex glanced at each other from across the room in surprise, Wrecker then confirmed, “She’s right. A couple guards went off down the hall where you went. I think someone must’ve seen you two sneak off.”

“I have them on cameras,” said Irys. “We’re about to engage the cargo ship, but I’d estimate you two have only a couple minutes before security arrives. Hurry and get yourselves out of there!”

"Is it finished?" Lex asked Echo. 

"Not yet. I can't make it go faster," he replied. 

Lex could feel her anxiousness building. They were so close and now were about ready to get caught. Their whole operation could be blown! 

"We'll come help you. We'll stop the guards before they get to the office," they heard Rina say.

"No, don't," responded Kida. "If more people go down that corridor, it'll only arouse more suspicion."

Lex said back in reply, "She's right, it’s too dangerous, especially when we’ve got the information we need. We appreciate it, though, Rina. Though, if you hear blasterfire in the next few minutes…then be ready to come running."

"Be careful, Lex," said Hunter. 

She stole a look at the closed door to the office, getting the feeling they were going to have to prepare to fight. Her hand hovered over the hidden pocket of her dress that hid her vibroblade, her fingers twitching in anticipation. If she started hearing voices approaching the door, she’d be ready.

Then she heard Echo exclaim behind her, “I’ve got the files! Let’s go!”

“All right…though, one last thing,” she said. She withdrew from another pocket in her dress a couple small thermal detonators and tossed them over to Echo before he moved away from the computer. “Place these on the computer. Once we’ve made it back to the ballroom, I’ll activate the detonators and it’ll create enough of a diversion for us to escape.”

With an impressed grin, he said in response, “I like the way you think.” Once the bombs were in place, he jogged over to her and said, “Let’s go before the guards get here.”

However, as the two of them exited the Senator’s office and got only a few feet away, they could hear voices that were getting close in another nearby hallway. Security was now closer than they thought and by the time they could get to another corridor, it’d be too late.

“Karabast!” Lex quietly exclaimed.

“Looks like we'll just have to fight our way out of this,” stated Echo. 

Just as he was about to withdraw his blaster from under his cape, he was suddenly shoved up against the nearby wall and Lex was holding him in place, a determined look in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“What I'm good at...taking a risk,” she replied.

His eyes narrowed at her. The look he could see on her face, even with her mask on, concerned him. He feared she was about to do something reckless and he didn’t like that. 

“Lex, don’t--” he began to say.

“Do you trust me?” she interrupted him. 

He found himself falling silent at that question. The more he searched her eyes and face for any sign of what she was thinking, the only thing he could discern was that she was dead-set in whatever idea she had. Even though he was still worried over what she was about to do, he knew that he had to trust her, just like he always did.

“I do,” he said.

Lex stole one last look towards the other hallway where they could hear the security guards approaching. If she was going to act to save their skins, she had to act fast.

“Guess it's now or never. I'm sorry, Echo,” she thought in her mind.

She inhaled deeply, moved forward and made her move, hoping it was going to be enough to save her and the man she fell for as well as salvage the rest of the mission for the others.

[walkawaytall]

Eh, this is as good as this is gonna get, I think.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“You remember that ramp code I gave ya for the Falcon for that mission to Tibrin?”

Leia nods, wondering why she was being quizzed out of the blue.

“It’s still active, you know? In case ya need some quiet.”

Something about the way he says it makes her wonder if he had been hoping she’d try to use that code at some point during the two months since it had been assigned to her.

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars 1x5 ‘Rookies’ Reaction Take 2

STILL SCREAMING

(I wrote this as I rewatched the episode, pausing as I went so that's why it's probably disjointed and all over the shop). Edit: Adding gifs to this because I can and I feel like it suits the more live-blogging style that these types of reaction posts end up being.

Lmao @ the GAR radio hologram

Omg Echo. It’s baby Echo! Look at him and his reg manuals!

Hello Sergeant Reed Richards and your lovely silver temples. Is this Sergeant O'Niner? More silver fox clones plz.

Are his eyebrows grey as well?

Deep Thoughts with Kenobi

Lol look at Obi Wan, so happy to see his space husband. Or its just the dated animation. But we’re all delusional here so let’s go with the first option.

Ah so this is where the ‘Good man, that Cody’ line comes from.

Rip not getting to know more about the lovely clone with the facial hair. Was this Droidbait?

Oof, foreshadowing for Hevy rip

Rip Sentry

Oh hey Fives has his little 5 Aurebesh tattoo already!

Droids! Well that was subtle lmao

I know this is very early on in TCW but there are some funky accents going on with the clones.

Rip Sergeant Silver Fox

Ventress is hilarious. She’s so completely beyond OTT. Ridiculous. I love it.

The entire comm exchange between Cody and the commando droid pretending to be a clone. CACKLING

Droid: Roger roger Rex: *narrows eyes*

Lol @ Cody palming off his problems to Rex. Have fun being in charge of this one!

“The reg manual says that the next–” Omg Echo. 

Rip Cutup. What a gruesome way to go.

“What the hell was that?” A “bad” word? In my animated children’s television show?!

“Ah, that was an eel.” Yes thank you Echo

“Now, that’s why we have the regulation not to go outside.” omg I love him

Lol @ the fanfare when Cody and Rex turn up. The heroes have arrived.

I know I’ve said this before but Rex looks all special with is kama and captain’s pauldron and different helmet and whatever else and then Cody just gets some golden painted bits of his armour and 2 aerials? What is he, a designer retro TV?

Omg the droid pretending to be a clone. You can just tell the animators had a field day with that one.

Thank you for visiting and have a safe trip back? Question mark?

Gif from this post by @dindjarism

“A droid attack flare?” OMG REX DID NOT HESITATE. Even Cody was shocked.

At this point, “Roger, roger” is basically enough to send Rex’s spidey senses into overdrive.

“Woah, Rex! What the heck are you doing?” An even less of a “bad” word? In my animated children’s television show?! 

Also lawl @ Rex’s drawled “Relax” after shooting the droid disguised as a clone at point blank range.

Does Cody not have his gold paint yet?! His armour looked distinctly grey, though they are on a moon so the lighting might be why it looks grey.

“Off the platform!” Rex you just yeeted yourself. And Cody. You actually want to be yeeted don’t you Rex?

Cody is the kind of friend who would jump off a cliff if his friend said to.

What happened on Tibrin? I must know. Is this The Clone Wars version of what happened in Budapest? Will we never know?

It’s a tiny little exchange but you can really tell from the change in voice how familiar Rex and Cody are with each other already.

Also that shot of Rex after he lands from their lines under the platform is absolutely a hero shot and hero pose. There’s quite a few of these throughout the episode and you can really tell that this is absolutely the introduction episode of Rex. So many moments throughout this episode exist just to show what an absolute BAMF he is. Seeing as the character was originally supposed to be Alpha-17 it makes sense. You can really Rex’s jaig eyes really prominently throughout this episode too. Makes sense, seeing as they’re on the front of his helmet, but it almost feels even more emphasised that you’d expect.

Sun bonnets!

Rex just turning around and one shotting the Rishi eel like it’s nothing omg sir stop

Gif from this post by @dindjarism

Echo gets his Rishi eel blood hand print from Rex! Seminal moment unlocked!

Lmao at Anakin and Obi Wan snarking about their clones.

Rex calls Echo kid! I AM WAILING!

Rex old boy? Since when was Cody bri’ish?

Rex, your ideas are as bad as Anakin’s.

The whole scene with trying to get in the blast doors and Rex kneeling there holding up the decapitated head of the commando droid? CACKLING

Cody is so done with your nonsense Rex

That was the most badass delivery of “Roger. Roger.” I have ever seen and we’re only 5 episodes in.

Aw Echo is already worried about Fives.

Rex is basically the personification of ‘so anyway, I started blasting’ at this point.

Rex, Sir, you did not have to go so hard in taking apart that droid with your bare hands

<insert line about hell in a kids tv show here>

Is this the first hero shot we get of Rex, Cody and Echo together? Sure looks like it! Look at Rex looking all noble in the background.

More foreshadowing for Hevy rip

Closest thing we clones have to a home. SOBBING

The little nod between Rex and Cody.

Random gronk droid.

"Didn’t say please." There are so many good cheesy one liners in this episode it's like an 80s action movie. I love it.

"We could use a jedi about now." I think Cody is missing his space husband.

That admiral definitely feels like a stereotype of a posh british officer from WWII or similar

Oh damn this is Hevy's last stand. What a way to go out.

Hevy nooooo what are you doing

“I don’t like your tone rookie” Rex was that a growl?!

Hevy just yeeting the machine gun at the droids.

Noooo Hevy

"I don’t." Wow those were some last words. Rip Hevy

Gif from this post by @theclonewarsdaily

Naw Echo and Fives getting medals. And joining the 501st! Also their completely in sync salute and about turn was the definition of crisp. I know it’s probably just the same animation copied and pasted but we can ignore that and focus on how it’s totally cause they’re the twins in their batch.

OMG THAT EPISODE. MY HEART. CLONES. THE CLONES HAVE MY HEART. EVERYTHING FOR THE CLONES. 

I think I’m going to have to go back and watch some episodes again because when I first watched this I a) didn’t remember most of it and b) hadn’t started to fall in love with the clones. I should imagine coming back and watching important and memorable episodes again after the finale will have another different meaning to it all as well. Though, given what happens in the finale, I might need to wait a bit. Maybe I’ll come back to it after watching Rebels and a few other things I want to catch up on. I did realise though that I did actually watch this episode when I started watching The Clone Wars, I just didn’t remember most of it. The only bits that I remembered were when the 4 clones (Echo, Fives, Heavy and Cutup, I think) escaped through the tunnels to outside the base, right before Cutup got eaten by that eel. 

[clonesimpextra]

A Shattered Peace: Chapter 9

Long Goodbyes

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Pairing: Commander Wolffe x FemJedi!OC Word Count: 11.2K Chapter Rating: T Chapter Summary: After Tibrin and her argument with Wolffe, Amara makes a choice for her future with the GAR and as a Jedi. A/N: This is a long one lmao, but it's very important and a set up for where the series is going from here! Also available on AO3

Fifteen years ago Amara had stood before the Jedi Council for the very first time, when Master Windu brought her to Coruscant. She was five years old, tired and weary from her first trip through space, but she was not afraid. Though she was young, she had already faced much scarier things in the vast plains of her home world than in the faces of anyone seated in the circle around her.

But five-year-old Amara had an advantage over twenty-year-old Amara in that she had only ever been running forward — she never had anything, or anyone, she was worried about leaving behind. Even throughout her fifteen years at the Temple and despite all the friendships she’d gained, Amara was hardly ever worried about what was, what had been. Because she knew that whatever she found at the Temple, whatever became of her being a Jedi, would be more than she’d ever have had back on Lothal.

And so she’d spent those fifteen years cultivating her life as a Jedi. Caring for people more than she’d been cared for before the Order. Loving them to make up for the love she’d only experienced five years too late. Preparing to let them go with more gentleness and empathy than her family and planet had ever shown her.

She understood the tenements of the path that she had chosen — and that she continued to choose every day — and she followed them because she truly believed in them.

Amara Korra, once an abandoned child of Lothal, was a good Jedi.

But after several months surrounded by war and clones — by men whose very existence reminded her that sometimes abandoned beings were never saved, her entire world had become very different.

Without her even realizing it, the 104th had become a family to her in a very different way than the Jedi. She fought, celebrated, cried, laughed, bled, healed with them, and, somewhere along the way, she had stopped running forward at so fast a pace. Suddenly she had people she didn’t want to lose and a very specific person she didn’t want to leave behind.

Standing in front of the Jedi Council this time, Amara couldn’t help but feel afraid.

It didn’t help that things had ended so badly with Wolffe the day before. Amara was still trying to understand how they had gone from almost kissing to potentially never speaking again in so short a time. Despite the way she’d acted — and she knew she had acted poorly — she hadn’t meant to push Wolffe away. At least, not that far away.

She’d been scared, much like she was now as she pretended not to see the concerned crease between Master Windu’s brows. Scared of moving too quickly, of gaining so much only to have to lose it, of overstepping boundaries drawn out in lines she couldn’t believe she hadn’t considered before. It had been too much, all at once, and she’d panicked.

Her own personal survival mode, which had been lurking in her bones for fifteen years just waiting for a chance to show itself again, had kicked in: isolate yourself by any means necessary, close yourself off.

It was the survival method of the hunted, of the lone prey, and it was what Amara had all but been born into. In her panic, she’d forgotten that Wolffe — the person she trusted at least as much as she did Master Plo — was on her side. She’d forgotten they were a team.

She wondered if they ever would be again.

“You know why you’re here, Amara,”  Master Windu’s voice rang through the council room, interrupting her from her deviating thoughts. He observed her with hard but kind eyes from his seat in front of her. “It is the opinion of this council that you be given more responsibility. Specifically, a clone battalion to lead.”

Amara nodded once, her eyes focused on the space between Masters Windu and Kenobi. She wondered if they could sense the turmoil in her. The fear. The uncertainty. The dread.

“You appear to have much on your mind, young Kora.”

Master Mundi spoke with an unusual gentleness and Amara turned to the Cerean Jedi, contemplating her response. He wasn’t wrong. Of course he wasn’t wrong. Tibrin, Wolffe, leaving the 104th, Anakin’s outburst. So much was on her mind she wasn’t even sure what to deal with first. Surely, this wasn’t what a general of the Grand Army of the Republic should be feeling? 

Regardless, the masters would sense her unease — could sense it already. One wrong answer, one hint at her not taking this as seriously as she should and she’d likely be sent back to the 104th, deemed unfit for a higher leadership role.

Could she do it, though? Lie to the people who had raised her just so she could hide from her fears of an uncertain future? Part of her screamed yes, begged her to tell them nothing they wanted to hear.

But lying, even withholding the truth, had never been a strength of hers — Wolffe was proof of that.

“I do, Master,” she paused, stretching out the kinks in her neck that still hadn’t recovered from the explosion on Tibrin. “Though, I don’t feel so young right now.”

Master Mundi allowed a small smile to pull at his lips. “Hmmm I suppose you wouldn’t.”

The room lapsed again into silence as the masters waited for her to continue. Amara looked into the eyes of each Council member, slowly turning, both to steady her resolve and to give herself time to be sure of the answer she wanted to give.

“I’m … still troubled by what happened on Tibrin.” Her voice, at least, was stronger than she felt. “And by this war. And by my place in it.”

Though she’d mentioned her worries briefly to a few of the masters, and Anakin, immediately after their escape from Tibrin, this was the first time she’d been so honest in front of the entire Council. She hadn’t known what, exactly, to expect, but she certainly wasn’t expecting a chorus of agreements. She found herself opening her mind to their Force colors to make sure they weren’t merely placating her.

“You are not alone, Jedi Kora,” Master Unduli spoke from her perch behind Amara. She’d lost nearly half her battalion on Tibrin, too, and her usually vibrant yellow Force color had darkened over the past days.

“We fight this war on behalf of the Republic,” Master Kenobi said as he leaned back in his chair, hand stroking his beard, his own bright orange Force color settling into a subtler hue, “but that does not mean we are ignorant to its consequences. We all have our questions, I imagine.”

Obi-Wan turned to face Master Windu, who, Amara noticed, was still staring thoughtfully at her. She met his gaze, measure for measure just as she always had, and felt the tension in her shoulders ease as he sent quiet waves of reassurance toward her. All the while, the purple hue that always felt just a bit like home, felt a bit like confidence now, too. Confidence in her choices, whatever they might be. Confidence in her ability to be who she knew she could be … maybe.

“Take this promotion you do not have to,” Master Yoda spoke softly for the first time since they’d entered the room, but his words were heavy with their import as Amara turned her gaze to him. “Yours the choice is. But a decision now you must make.”

Amara let all of the masters’ reactions and words settle in her mind. Let them exist with her own feelings and thoughts and concerns. Master Unduli’s quiet pain. Master Kenobi’s contemplative concern. Master Windu’s steady confidence. Master Yoda’s direct empathy.

Amara did not want to fight in this war. But neither did any of them.

So. Why were they fighting it?

For the Republic, as Master Kenobi had said. But also, Amara, suspected, because they didn’t really have any other choice. The Jedi had supported the Republic for so long, it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended.

Master Yoda said the choice was hers. And she knew he was talking about more than just the choice to lead a battalion. The choice to fight at all was also on the table.

Except, it wasn’t. Not really. Not if Amara was honest with herself.

She had spent her earliest years fighting for her survival. And then, when she’d become friends with the likes of Anakin Skywalker, she’d spent her growing days fighting for her friends. Amara had never been the type of person to stand by and do nothing.

Whether she was fighting for the Republic, as so many Jedi chose to believe, for the people of the galaxy, or for the clones who really, genuinely had no other choice, it all led back to the same decision.

Whether to fight was not the question here. Whether to leave the 104th was.

She could say no. She could thank the masters for their high regard of her, but insist that she was still not ready. She could look at Master Plo as she spoke and hope that he wouldn’t sense the guilt in her words, hope that he would side with her.

But he would know the truth. They would all know. Most importantly, Amara would know. And she knew herself well enough to also know that she would never forgive herself for making such a selfish decision.

Because the Council was right. She was ready. She was capable. Her leadership would help keep the Jedi from being spread too thin. And maybe, just maybe, her input as a general rather than a commander could prevent them from making such ignorant mistakes as Tibrin again.

Amara didn’t want to leave the 104th. She didn’t want to say goodbye or to let them go. But what if letting go was what she needed in order to do some actual good in this war? After Tibrin, doing good was what her soul sorely needed. Doing good — for the war effort and for those fighting — was also something she knew Wolffe wouldn’t be able to stay mad at.

If he ever talked to her again, of course.

Closing her eyes, she pushed Wolffe to the side of her mind — along with Boost and Sinker and Comet and all the other men she would probably never lead again — and once again thought of the girl she’d been fifteen years ago. The girl who had looked the worst of fear in the face and kindly told it to stay away. The girl who had been sure of the future because she was sure of her place in the Force.

When Amara opened her eyes, she didn’t see the masters, not at first. Instead, she saw the plains of Lothal. She gazed into their depths and made her choice.

“I don’t want to do this, masters,” she blinked, and the Council came back into view. She made eye contact with each member, ending with Master Plo, who nodded at her to continue, “But if it is what the Republic needs, what the people need, then I will do my duty. To them and to the clones.”

There was yet another lapse into silence as the masters looked around at each other, quietly contemplating Amara’s future in front of her very eyes. She had a moment to wonder what they might be thinking, just a moment to wonder what would happen if they rescinded their faith in her, before they straightened in their seats and turned back to face her.

“Very well,” Master Yoda bowed his head, his shoulders sure, his gaze steady. “Meet with your battalion tomorrow you will.”

There was no fanfare, no final goodbyes. Just a reminder to check her datapad for information about where and when to show up the next day.

With a nod to the masters and a last glance toward Master Plo, Amara Korra, former co-commander of the 104th battalion, was dismissed.

She wasn’t sure why she’d expected anything more.

*****

As Amara exited the Council room, she realized that she had no idea where she would go from here — both figuratively and literally. Normally she would spend the first day back on Coruscant after a mission in the GAR compound, either going over mission reports with Wolffe or checking 104th statuses. But the 104th wasn’t her responsibility anymore. And the thought of running into Wolffe right now was just as terrifying as it was appealing.

She wasn’t aware that she’d come to a full stop in the middle of the corridor until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Amara closed her eyes, not needing to even look up to know who stood beside her.

“Come with me.”

Master Plo led the way down the corridor, Amara walking silently at his side, recognizing the route he was taking almost immediately. A small part of her wished he would have taken her anywhere else, somewhere she would have been able to hide her feelings.

The Jedi Temple garden had never been a place where she could be anything but honest.

When they arrived, Master Plo guided her to a bench in the far corner. The silence between them continued as they sat and Amara allowed herself to exist in it for a moment, to gather her thoughts. 

She’d always loved the garden, had found peace many times in the comfort of plants and trees and flowers that she’d never seen before. Sometimes, it felt like there were new ones every time she returned — endless possibilities, endless discoveries.

Tilting her head, she contemplated the flowers across the path in front of them now. The petals were closed, hiding what Amara knew was a beautiful emerald center that was near impossible to not appreciate. Yes, she knew these plants a little too well and would have sworn she’d never seen them in this garden before now. Her throat tightened at the memories the mere sight of them brought back. Heat, fear, thirst, hunger, desperation.

Home.

Green daisies were native to Lothal. They bloomed everywhere on the planet, even in the harshest conditions, so long as there were other life-forms around them. They’d bloomed around her even as she starved.

Looking away, Amara felt the silence between her and Master Plo a little too heavily. But she knew her old master would not speak until she chose to voice her worries. Sighing, she gave in.

“I used to come here a lot with Anakin, when we were younger.”

Master Plo let out a deep laugh, the sound reverberating through his mask. “Oh I remember. I imagine the whole council remembers, considering the amount of complaints Master Nu submitted every time the two of you ran off from your courses in the archives.”

Despite everything, Amara felt herself smile at the memories. “I’d blame it all on Anakin, but—”

“You were just as much of a troublemaker.”

Amara shrugged, her smile slipping. “Things were easier back then.”

Master Plo nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “They did seem that way, but,” he sighed, “tensions were brewing for a long time.”

She cocked her head. Master Plo rarely spoke this freely. “What do you mean?”

“This war, Amara, is merely a product of decades, centuries even, of disagreements, of choices made that perhaps should not have been,” he paused and looked up at the sky for a moment before returning his gaze back to the plants in front of them. “I worry sometimes that we’ve lost sight of what the Republic was always meant to signify.”

Amara wanted to take time to consider his words, but ones of her own slipped out almost before he was even finished. “Did I make the wrong choice? Agreeing to lead a battalion?” 

She hadn’t meant to say that, hadn’t meant to give a voice to the worry so deeply engrained in her she feared it might be her undoing. But Master Plo’s talk of choices and past mistakes touched a nerve. Besides, if there was anyone she could trust with her concerns, it was the man who had trained her.

She watched as Master Plo contemplated her question. One of the many things she had always appreciated about her master was that he always treated her concerns with respect. No question was out of place around him.

“We all must make difficult choices in war,” he turned to face her and Amara wished not for the first time that she could see his eyes beneath the mask. “The question is not whether you made the wrong choice, in the grand scheme of things. I do not believe any of us knows the answer to that. The real question, rather, is whether you believe you made the choice that is most right at this time.”

Amara stared at him, her eyebrows scrunched together. She didn’t completely understand what he was saying.

The edges around Master Plo’s mask crinkled and she knew he was smiling at her in his own way.

“Do you believe you are capable of leading a battalion?”

Immediately, Amara nodded. For all her concerns, her abilities as a leader were not among them. Months ago, it would have been a different story. But now, after so many missions with the 104th, with Wolffe—

She cleared her throat. “Yes, I know I’m capable.”

“And do you believe you will take responsibility for the well-being of not only yourself, but of civilians and your soldiers as well?”

Again, Amara’s answer was immediate. “Without a doubt.”

“Then, my former apprentice, I believe you have your answer,” his voice was full of the confidence he’d always had in her and Amara tried to feel like she deserved it. 

“Never forget that not all leaders — not even all Jedi — are as strong in their convictions.” Master Plo took a deep breath before continuing, his next words more strained than before. “There are some, as I’m sure you know, who view the clones as merely tools for our own success. You, and your compassion, are needed, Amara. Even if only to prevent those who would sacrifice everything around them to possess the smallest semblance of power from gaining too much traction.”

Amara allowed herself a moment to let his words sink in. They were essentially the same as the ones that echoed through her mind when she’d made her decision in the Council room, but it was still nice to have them affirmed by one of the people she trusted most of all. The determination with which Plo spoke also gave her more to think about.

Of course she knew about the people who considered clones as less than human. She’d heard them speak in the senate, seen their faces tighten when they passed clones in hallways, on walkways. At first she’d thought it was because they didn’t know the humans under the armor. Surely, if they spoke with them, fought alongside them, they would see things differently.

But recently, just as Master Plo had said, Amara had noticed this same behavior exhibited within the Jedi Order — within some who did fight with the clones. The behavior was few and far between, but it was there, simmering, nonetheless.

Her old master was right. If she didn’t lead, someone would take her place. And what if that someone was a Jedi who didn’t care for the clones, who didn’t care for the people? Amara might, one day, be able to forgive herself for fighting in this war. But she didn’t think she’d ever forgive herself for letting clones be led by a selfish Jedi when she had the power to step in.

Still, the accuracy of her choice wasn’t the only worry weighing on her mind. And she feared if she kept her other concerns too close to her chest, she would run the risk of distraction. Distraction from her duties, from her focus, from her own balance in the Force. Who better to tell than the man who had trained her?

Keeping her eyes staring ahead, Amara finally said out loud what had been plaguing her since the night they’d escaped from Tibrin. 

“I’m afraid of leaving people behind.”

Master Plo hummed, leaving her words hanging between them for a moment before he spoke. “Any one person in particular?”

For a moment, Amara considered telling him. Considered admitting, truly admitting, to her feelings and her actions and the almost kiss in the medbay on the Resolute. For a moment she let herself imagine a version of herself that was unburdened by the weight of a secret that wasn’t really a secret — but that also wasn’t hers alone to share.

However desperately a part of her might have wanted to release that burden, she couldn’t quite make her mouth shape the words. Couldn’t quite bring herself to be that honest.

Even so, she had too much respect for Master Plo to ever outright lie to him. So she stayed silent. Stayed staring at the green daises across from them and wondered how a wild thing, native to a place so far away, could still flourish in such a confined place, so far from home.

When Master Plo finally spoke, it was with a hesitancy she hadn’t often heard from him. Almost as if he was saying something he knew he shouldn’t. 

“You know, Amara, there is nothing in the Jedi Order tenements that say we cannot love, only those that warn of the danger of attaching ourselves too intricately to another person or place.” He paused and, for the first time since they’d walked from the Council room, turned to her fully. 

“Just as you should not fear death, neither should you fear love. If there is one thing I hope you learned from your time with me, it is that you can love someone and still be able to let them go when you need to.” Master Plo placed a hand on her shoulder yet again, a comforting weight that Amara realized she had taken for granted throughout all these years. He squeezed and continued, “I hope you also learnedthatthere are various levels to letting go. It need not always be all or nothing. After all,” he let out out a small huff, “it isn’t for us, is it?”

Amara let herself smile at the last part. Though she knew the day would likely come when Master Plo would no longer be around to guide her, she found it hard to imagine. But he was right. She wasn’t just leaving the 104th clones, she was leaving Plo, too. For the first time in years she would go longer than a few days without the steady guidance of her teacher. She couldn’t imagine a life where a goodbye to him would mean a goodbye forever — even in death.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if there would every be a time when she was capable of passing on wisdom of her own. Or if she would always be the one searching for answers.

Speaking of answers …

“Earlier you said you worried that we’ve lost sight of what the Republic was always meant to signify.” She glanced across at the Kel-dor’s masked face. “What is that, to you?”

Master Plo wasted no time in answering. “Unity.”

Could a single word really describe an entity like the Republic? Would unity even be possible after something like this war? Had it ever been possible, even in the centuries before? Amara wasn’t sure. But she wanted to understand.

She opened her mouth, ready to ask Plo to explain what he meant — explain what he knew from all his years in this galaxy, the number of which he still wouldn’t divulge to anyone, to the ire of all the 104th — when a loud noise echoed across the garden.

“Master Plo! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Amara turned her head at the familiar voice, a smile already tugging at her lips despite the heavy weight on her mind. It was hard to stay upset around someone as jubilant as the little Togruta who was currently running toward them.

Master Plo chuckled quietly next to her as Ahsoka approached. Amara knew that her old master had always been fond of Ahsoka, ever since he’d found her on Shili shortly before choosing Amara as his apprentice. The two shared a bond that reminded her of the one she held with Master Windu.

The truth was, Amara was quite fond of Ahsoka, too. She’d accompanied the 104th on some of the more routine local missions, but even before that, they’d been close. Ahsoka had even been part of the group of Jedi initiates Amara had supervised on a trip to Ilum to find their Kyber crystals. After that, Amara had spent spare moments training Ahsoka, hoping she’d gain a little more confidence in herself. 

Sometimes, Amara wondered if she felt so close to the youngling because she reminded her a bit of Anakin: talented but unsure, headstrong but caring. Too bad they’d probably despise each other.

“Hi Amara!” Ahsoka smiled at her before focusing on the other Jedi. “Master Plo, I need to talk to you,” she paused, grimacing. “If you have time, of course. I don’t mean to interrupt.”

“I’m not the one you should be asking, Little ‘Soka.” Master Plo nodded to Amara and Ahsoka bit her lip.

Amara laughed, patting Ahsoka on the shoulder. “No need to worry, young one. I excuse Master Plo from our meeting now.”

Ahsoka’s smile returned and she backed away, waiting for the master to follow her.

Plo stood to leave, his eyes on Ahsoka’s retreating figure, and placed his hands behind his back. As Amara watched him, she felt a sudden ache for her time as his apprentice. Things had been easier then, when she wasn’t the one forced to make all these decisions.

Likely sensing her further distress, the Kel-dor glanced down and met her gaze. The corners around his masked mouth and eyes crinkled yet again.

When he spoke, it was with such gentleness it made Amara close her eyes, if only to hold on to it a bit longer.

“It can be much harder to let go of something, even just a little, when you’ve not yet properly said goodbye.”

Amara kept her eyes closed as she heard the soft clip of his footsteps down the garden path, as she felt his Force signature mingle with Ahsoka’s before they slowly faded away. Soon, she was alone. Master Plo’s last words ringing in her ears.

She knew who he was referring to when he implied she needed to say goodbye. Not just Wolffe — though he certainly was high on the list. The 104th had become an extension of her family. Letting go of them, even when she was in the Council room and they were across the city at the GAR compound, had been excruciating. She’d told Plo she was afraid of leaving them behind. That was true, but it was more than that. 

She was afraid of the look in their faces when they found out she wouldn’t be coming back.

But if there was one thing Amara was absolutely sure of, even amidst all the chaos rampaging through her body, it was that the 104th men didn’t deserve to hear about her departure from the HoloNet or their general or fellow clones from other battalions. They deserved to hear it straight from her.

Amara might not be able to fight alongside them anymore. She might not be able to protect them with everything she had. But she could give them this one last symbol of respect, after everything they had given her.

Decision made, she opened her eyes and cast them across the green daisies one final time. 

They were just flowers, nothing more. Still, she watched in fascination as she hovered a hand along the stem and the petals blossomed, emerald center shining in the setting Coruscant sunlight. They were beautiful. Despite every bad memory she associated them with, she couldn’t deny that.

She removed her hand and smiled to herself as the petals closed, the flower protecting itself from the world until someone cared enough to watch it bloom again. Walking out of the garden, destination firmly set in her mind, Amara found herself wondering what the green daisy might look like in maroon.

*****

Walking into the 104th barracks for possibly the last time ever felt a lot like the first time Amara went into battle. 

Her hands were clinched tightly at her sides, senses on high alert, heart pounding in her chest, through her veins and into her ears. If she listened carefully enough, she almost believed she would hear the scrapping of metal against metal from battle droids that had spent too much time away from their ship. 

If she looked behind her and slightly to the left, she almost believed she’d see Wolffe giving her a nod of reassurance that had, somewhere along the way, become almost tradition. She’d look, he’d nod, they’d move together.

Amara’s first battle had been a bit of a mess. She could admit that now. She’d had good intentions and, ultimately did get the job done. But she cringed to think of the person she was then — overconfident yet still unsure, determined but unintentionally reckless, eager to prove something to everyone but especially to herself. She was different now, she’d grown. Both on the field and off.

So why did every single one of those qualities she thought she’d left behind come barreling back the second she pressed her palm against the barracks door panel? 

At least during her first battle, she’d had Wolffe backing her up. Now, she didn’t even have her men standing behind her, waiting for her orders. No. This time, they were all before her, waiting for her to say goodbye.

Amara still wasn’t sure how she was supposed to tell the men who had fought by her side for months — who had saved her life, carried her to safety, treated her wounds — that she was no longer someone they could depend on. Telling Wolffe had been bad enough. The silver lining of that conversation, she supposed, was that there was no possible way anything the boys said to her would hurt as much as Wolffe’s cold disregard.

She could still feel the ache in the pit of her stomach when she thought of how his face had shut down when she’d told him she might be leaving. How his eyes, so warm and golden every time he looked at her, had narrowed and hardened. How his back had straightened, his shoulders squared, his hands resting behind his back. How he looked just past her eyes, spoke at her as if she was just another officer he didn’t have time to bother with.

Maybe she was, now. Maybe that was for the best.

Amara was interrupted from her thoughts and self-pity by a shout from further down the hall.

“I swear to the Maker, Boost, if you don’t hand that over RIGHT NOW—”

Boost stumbled out of the rec room, a datapad in his hand and a grin on his face that only ever appeared when he was being a pain in the ass. Comet ran out of the room next, his face flushed and eyes narrowed, hands latching on to one of Boost’s arms in an effort to pull him back.

Amara rolled her eyes and coughed, just loudly enough to break through the bickering that had picked back up between the two. At the sound, Boost and Comet stopped in their tracks, heads jerking in Amara’s direction.

“Commander!”

She raised an eyebrow, struggling not to laugh at the look of pure shock on their faces, and they both stood up straight, hands at their sides, silent before a loud crack! echoed through the hall as Comet’s data pad slipped from Boost’s hand and fell to the floor.

“For fuck’s sake, Boost, really?!”

“Don’t blame me! How was I supposed to know the commander was going to walk in?”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t taken my ‘pad in the first place!”

“No, no, no. This wouldn’t have happened if you had just answered my question about who you were messaging.”

“Of course, because it’s never your fault for being too nosy it’s always—”

“Hey, guys?” As much as Amara loved watching Boost and Comet in their full brotherly element — and as much as she really wanted to know who Comet was messaging — she didn’t really want some of her last moments with them to be in the midst of an argument. “We can blame me. I didn’t tell anyone I was coming. I interrupted you. I take full responsibility.”

Comet looked horrified at the suggestion. 

“It is absolutely Boost’s fault, commander, but, uh,” he scratched the back of his neck and Amara smiled at the expression of nervousness that seemed to be shared by all the clones, “it’s not actually that big of a deal I suppose.”

To his credit, Boost picked up the cracked datapad and shoved it at Comet. “I’ll, uh, put in an order for a new one.” He cast Amara a small smile and shrugged. “Sorry you had to see all that, commander.”

“Please,” Amara laughed, trying to ignore the pang of guilt that shot through her at being called ‘commander’, and walked closer, patting them both on the shoulders. “I think we all know I’ve seen you two behave much worse.”

Comet ducked his head and Boost chuckled while Amara steered them into the rec room. Her men filled out the area. Some lounging on the couches reading holo books or watching a bolo ball tournament, others playing pool on a ratty, run-down table on the far side of the room. To her left, Amara saw a small group playing a game of Sabacc and she smiled at the memory of the first time she ever played the card game — in the hangar of the Triumphant with Comet, Sinker and Boost.

So many of the other 104th men she’d known back then — faces and names that she held close to her heart — were no longer with them. But those three, who had welcomed her first, had made it this far, along with her and Wolffe. And now … now she was about to leave them all.

She shook the thought away and focused on the men around her now. She could give herself this time, this short time, to make a few more memories before she had to say goodbye.

Wanting to discuss something other than her reasons for being here, she turned back to Boost and Comet, who were now pointedly ignoring each other. “Glad to see everyone here seems to be in better spirits.”

“Tibrin wasn’t the first loss we had. It won’t be our last either,” Boost shrugged. “You know us. We’re good at regrouping.”

Amara hummed, crossing her arms as she opened her mind enough to sense the morose undertones of every Force color in the room. She hated they were feeling like this. Hated they felt like they had to push it down, away, out of sight. Hated even more that there was nothing she could do about it.

“Still,” she said softly, waiting to continue until Boost finally looked her in the eye, “I’m glad Command has given all of you extended leave. Tibrin might not have been the only loss we’ve had, but it was the biggest. That deserves some recognition.”

That earned grunts of approval from around the room and a softer than usual smile from Boost. Amara smiled back, the knot in her stomach that had formed when she walked in tightening as she wondered how she could add one more level of worry to their minds.

“Speaking of extended leave …”

Amara turned to see Sinker standing in the doorway, an eyebrow cocked. “Not that we’re not happy to see you, commander, but what brings you to the barracks on your day off?”

“Don’t you know by now, sergeant?” Amara forced out a laugh. “Jedi don’t have days off.”

The men around her chuckled, but Sinker stayed staring at her, eyebrow still raised, arms now crossed to match her own stance. Amara sighed. She never could get anything past him. He was almost as perceptive as Wolffe.

At the thought of Wolffe, Amara closed her eyes and ran a hand over her forehead. Where was he, anyway?

“Sinker’s right, boys,” she lowered her hand and looked around at all of them, eyes not lingering on any one of them for too long. “I did come here for a reason.”

The men at the couch put down their books and switched the bolo ball game to mute. Feet shuffled over at the pool table and thunks of wood hitting durasteel sounded as they lowered their pool sticks. The disgruntled voices that had earlier come from the group playing Sabacc silenced immediately as they all turned to face her. 

Once again, a memory flashed before Amara’s eyes. Hundreds of white helmets, not yet painted with the maroon stripes and designs she saw now, with the visors trained on her. Fear and uncertainty and sadness in her heart.

“I, um,” she cleared her throat, urging the memory away, and settled her gaze somewhere above the level of their stares. “The Jedi Council and the GAR have assigned me to a new battalion. As a general.”

For a moment, no one moved or said a thing. No one so much as shifted on their feet.

Then all hell broke loose.

“So you’re leaving?”

“They can’t just take you away, commander!”

“But you saved all of us on Tibrin!”

“Why would they shift things around like this when we were just getting into a good rhythm?”

Voices that had become unique to her ears melded into one as the men broke away from their stations and crowded closer. Amara couldn’t bring herself to look away from them, then. They had a right to be confused and angry and upset. But she found that she couldn’t look at them and hold onto her composure at the same time. 

Her eyes flitted across their faces as they spoke. She wanted to say something, anything that might clear up the confusion, but her throat was too tight, the words stuck in her mouth. Usually in situations like this, when she found she couldn’t quite get across what she needed to, she could count on Wolffe to speak up and buy her some time.

But he wasn’t here, now. And wouldn’t be there with her from now on.

As the questions and shouting continued, she tried again to speak. The lump in her throat only tightened. 

Amara didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted salt on her tongue.

Finally, a hand clamped down on her shoulder and she looked up to find Sinker by her side.

“Alright boys, settle down, yeah?” He tugged Amara back a few steps. “Give the commander some breathing room for fuck’s sake. You want to suffocate her before her first day on the new job?”

Slowly, the voices lowered until even the mumbles of annoyance settled into silence. The men, however, stayed staring at Amara, waiting for her to speak. Waiting for an explanation she wasn’t sure she knew how to give.

But she wasn’t just a commander now. Tomorrow, she would be in charge of her own battalion of men who would look to her for guidance and for the first time, she wouldn’t have someone to fall back on.

She needed to face this. For herself, and for them.

“This isn’t a punishment,” she spoke slowly and firmly, making sure to look into all of their eyes. “My time in the 104th, with all of you, was always meant to lead to this.”

The men around her grumbled but nodded their understanding. They were soldiers, after all. Like Boost had said, they were used to regrouping after a loss.

Amara knew their ability to move on was necessary in war. But now she couldn’t help but wonder how quickly they would move on from her.

“I don’t want to leave all of you,” the words came out in a rush, flowing from her mouth in an effort to make them understand just how badly she didn’t want to leave, just how badly she didn’t want them to forget her, even if she hadn’t been able to get it across to Wolffe. “I don’t want you to think that I—”

“We know, commander,” Comet spoke, his voice gentle as always. He smiled, genuinely smiled, at her, and Amara felt a weight lift off her chest as he continued. “You’re a good leader,” the clones around him nodded, slowly coming out of their stupor. “We’ll miss you, but it would be selfish of us to keep you from the other soldiers for too long.”

Amara felt a smile lift the corner of her mouth as she looked around at the men again. Felt it widen as they spoke, sharing memories of past missions and long trips on the Triumphant, wishing her luck, reminding her that they would miss her and that she’d always have a spot with them in the 104th.

“I’m just saying,” one clone, a trooper called Bash who Amara had infiltrated a tricky Seppie base with once, shouted as his brothers shoved him. “If your new battalion is full of a bunch of wimps, commander, I would gladly transfer to show them a thing or two about how to get things done.”

“Maybe if you had ever applied that much work around here,” the clone closest to him, Del, a fellow infiltrator, said as he pulled him into a headlock, “the commander would actually take you up on that.”

He looked across at Amara, then, and gave a small salute. “It was an honor working with you, sir.”

Amara barely held back her laughter as she saluted back. “Likewise, Del.” She nodded at Bash, who was still struggling under Del’s headlock. “Keep an eye on this one, yeah?”

Bash rolled his eyes and let his brother drag him back to the pool table, yelling “Bye commander!!” the whole way.

When the last clones had their chance to say goodbye, Amara walked over to the table where Boost, Comet and Sinker were sitting. Sinker kicked out the last remaining chair for her and she sat down. 

She didn’t have favorites among the 104th — of course she didn’t — but there was something about the three men around her now that had always made her feel most at home. Maybe it was because she’d known them longest. Maybe it was because they had never been afraid to treat her like one of them, even when the other soldiers had been hesitant because of her rank and her status as a Jedi.

Amara realized with a heaviness in her heart that maybe it was because these three men weren’t just family, like the rest of the 104th — they were her friends. There was a difference, in her mind, and that somehow hurt even more.

“Well,” Boost said, interrupting her quickly intensifying thoughts, “I guess this at least explains why Wolffe’s been an extra pain in the shebs since we landed.”

The mention of Wolffe’s name made Amara fidget in her seat and she tried to play it off as her merely adjusting her posture. Of course, Sinker noticed. He raised an eyebrow at her before turning to Boost.

“‘Pain in the shebs’ is an understatement, brother. I was at his office trying to talk with him about orders for new armor before I heard all the commotion in here. He wouldn’t even open the door. Just shouted that he didn’t want to be bothered unless, and I quote, ‘someone was already knocking on the Maker’s door’.”

Amara swallowed past the lump in her throat. Was he really in that bad of a mood? Had she really fucked up so badly with him that he wouldn’t even come to say goodbye? A flicker of anger came to life in her veins. She knew she had fucked up, but she didn’t think she deserved this.

“Probably for the best,” Boost shrugged before chuckling. “Maybe you should try talking to him, commander. Reassure the old guy that you won’t forget about him anytime so— OW!”

Boost reached down to rub at his leg, glaring at Comet who was already glaring at him. Amara sighed, desperate to get the conversation away from herself and away from Wolffe. She’d deal with him later.

Spotting a stack of cards next to Comet, she nodded in his direction. Sabacc would take their minds off everything real quick. Maybe it would even distract her.

“Been a while since we last played.”

Boost snorted, Comet’s kick to his leg suddenly forgotten. “That’s because you cheat.”

“I do not cheat,” Amara protested, leaning back in the chair.

“Then why do you win all the time?”

“Because, you di’kut,” Comet said while reaching for the cards, “she’s smarter than you.”

Boost scoffed and folded his arms on the table, his eyes holding a mischievous glint that Amara had come to know all too well. “Alright fine, let’s play. But only because it’s the commander’s last day as a commander and I’m feeling generous.”

“If I always win, then shouldn’t it be me who is feeling generous?”

“Yeah whatever, just no Force magic this time!”

Sinker rolled his eyes as he picked up the cards Comet passed around. “You should know by now, Boost, that’s not how the Force works.” He looked up at Amara and winked. “Right, commander?”

Amara laughed, thoughts of Wolffe slowly ebbing to the back of her mind. For the moment, anyway. She took a look at her own cards and pushed away the wide grin that wanted to spread across her face at the hand. Yes, this distraction would do nicely.

“Your sergeant’s correct, boys. Now,” she cocked an eyebrow, “may the best soldier win.”

*****

An hour later Boost was grinning down at his winnings: a pile of sweets Amara had brought along to leave with the men, but which she’d tossed across the table at him after the last round.

“Guess you lost a bit of your touch, commander,” he said as he pushed a round candy into his mouth.

Amara grimaced, at both her loss and the sight of him chewing his food. “Can’t win them all, you know. Losers have to have their time to shine, too.”

Boost waved a hand in her general direction before scooping the sweets into his helmet and standing from the table. Amara rose and clapped him on the shoulder, leaving her hand on his shoulder bell. When he peered down at her, she smiled.

“Take care, Boost.”

He smiled back, placing a hand over hers and squeezing gently before he stepped back. “You too, commander. Come back ‘round to play Sabacc any time.” He winked. “I’d love to beat you again.”

Comet pushed him out of the way and stood in front of Amara, his back straight. A soft smile on his face, he saluted her, standing still until Amara reached around him for a hug. He stiffened slightly at the contact, but it wasn’t long before his arms wrapped around her, returning the hug.

“I know you let him win,” he whispered into her ear.

Amara held back a laugh. “Only the last round,” she whispered back. “If you tell him, I’ll remind him why he stole your datapad in the first place.”

“Don’t worry,” he laughed, eyes wide, as he pulled back and made to follow Boost. “I won’t tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Boost yelled from across the room.

Amara shook her head and tossed a salute in their direction, to the cheers of her men. When she turned to Sinker, he’d stepped out to the hallway, waiting for her.

She took one last look at the scene around her, committing to memory the sight of the men, her men, happy and laughing and forgetting, for just a moment, that they were fighting in a war. Her throat tightened and she had the sudden, nauseatingly intense feeling that she would never see most of them again. Clinching her fists at her side, she forced herself to turn around. Forced herself to walk out of the room. Forced herself to not look back.

She’d said her goodbyes. That would have to be enough.

She walked silently alongside Sinker toward the exit and her thoughts wondered back to Wolffe. He’d never shown up. He had to have known she was there, would have been able to hear the shouts and the laughing in his office that wasn’t all that far away.

And he still didn’t show. Not even to say goodbye.

Amara stopped suddenly and looked back the way they’d come. Maybe Boost was right. Maybe she should try …

“For what it’s worth, commander,” Sinker said from by her side, having stopped when she did, “I don’t know if he’d listen to you right now, either.”

Still staring at the door in the distance that she knew led to Wolffe’s office, Amara pursed her lips. “You don’t understand, Sinker. Boost was right. He’s like this because of me. It’s my fault.”

Sinker moved to step in front of her, blocking her view. He crossed his arms and tilted his head until she had no choice but to look up at him. “Maybe you are the reason he’s mad, I don’t know and I don’t want to know. But what I do know is that Wolffe’s a grown man. You aren’t responsible for his behavior.”

Amara looked away, blinking back tears. She was still Sinker’s commander for a few more hours, she couldn’t have him seeing her cry for something so ridiculous. Despite her evasion, Sinker placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I also know that regardless of what happened between the two of you, he’s going to miss you. Just like the rest of us.” Sinker chuckled as he removed his hand. “Probably more, actually.”

Amara was about to refute what he said, but just as she opened her mouth she felt something familiar in the back of her mind. Something heavy and comforting. Something hesitant but still insistent. Something that reminded her of a battlefield after the last shot rang through the air, when the smoke shifted, the shouts quieted, and she saw a helmet turned towards her.

Something that felt an awful lot like Wolffe.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the feeling. When she opened them again, Sinker was still there and Wolffe was still absent.

“Will you tell him—” she paused, thinking of all the things she wanted him to know.

I care about you more than I know what to do with.

I never wanted to leave you.

I wish I had let you kiss me.

Meaningful words for a more meaningful time when she wasn’t about to turn her back on everything she’d ever known in this war.

She squared her shoulders and focused back on Sinker. “Tell him I said goodbye?”

Sinker nodded, his eyes still scanning hers as if he didn’t quite believe her. But this time, for the first time since she’d met him, he let it go.

“See you around, commander.”

With a two-fingered salute and a wink, he turned around and left Amara at the door, alone. 

She watched him walk back down the hall for a moment before reaching behind her for the panel. As she scanned her hand and waited for the door to slide open, she let herself hold on to Wolffe’s presence for just a moment longer, let herself melt into the familiarity of all that was him.

When the panel beeped and the swish of the door let in the cool Coruscant night air, Amara stepped outside and let her co-commander go.

*****

Wolffe felt something at the back of his mind.

A push. A nudge. A question.

It didn’t belong to him, but it reminded him of something familiar. Something light but warm, concerned with a twinge of anger. Something like eyes watching him from across briefing rooms and across battlefields.

Something that felt an awful lot like Amara.

It lingered around his thoughts as he stood in front of the door in his office and stared at the panel. Seconds before, he’d been willing his hand to reach out and press the button, open the door, walk into the hallway, look at her.

He’d heard her arrive, an hour earlier. Of course he’d heard her arrive. How could he have missed the shouts of his brothers as they found out their favorite commander wasn’t coming back to the 104th? How could he have missed the laughter that came after, when they took the news much better than he had?

When Sinker had finally left him alone, his footsteps echoing down the hall to the rec room, Wolffe had almost followed. He’d wanted to follow.

And even though Wolffe would swear up and down that he wasn’t really, truly a stubborn man, he hadn’t been able to find the strength to leave this room and face her.

He’d worked through the noise and the unmistakable sound of her voice floating through the durasteel walls and into his ears. And then, all too soon, it was quiet. Two pairs of footsteps walking down the hall and Wolffe knew she was out there. Again, he’d wanted to go. 

But that something, whatever it was that felt so much like her, also felt too much like goodbye.

And Wolffe wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Not yet. Not now. Not when he was still angry. Still hurt. Still wanting the very things he could no longer have.

Saying goodbye — or letting her say goodbye — would be too close to saying everything that happened over the past months was OK. And it wasn’t.

It was not OK, not fair, not right. Just like so many other things in Wolffe’s life.

If he was honest with himself, he didn’t even know why he was surprised. Clones were bred for war, and he’d been ignorant to think he could find any kind of peace in the midst of that. 

Especially with a Jedi.

So he pushed back against the feeling. Curled his fists at his side instead of opening the door. Turned back to his desk instead of walking outside. Stared at his datapad in silence instead of looking at her.

He went back to his work. Signed off on battle reports. He sent requests for new armor for some of the battalion, a new helmet for himself. Tried not to think of why he’d taken his helmet off before the explosion on Tibrin in the first place.

He worked. He signed. He sent.

Again and again until enough time had passed that he was sure Amara was gone and not coming back, because the feeling was gone, too.

When he set the datapad down, he realized just how silent it was. None of the usual noises came from the hall, meaning it must be later than he thought. He flicked to the chrono on his ‘pad and saw that in his effort to avoid thinking about Amara, he’d worked straight through dinner.

Wolffe heaved a sigh, contemplating his options. He could go to the cafeteria, grab what little portions might be left, and risk running into one of his brothers who would no doubt ask why he hadn’t gone to say goodbye to the commander. Or worse, ask him questions about what the future of the 104th would look like without her.

Quite frankly, he’d rather go hungry than deal with that.

Besides, he could admit, here in relative privacy, that he was tired. He hadn’t slept well on the Resolute before his argument with Amara, and he hadn’t slept at all since. Hunger he could push aside — he’d eaten lunch earlier in the day anyway — but he wasn’t idiot enough to ignore his exhaustion for much longer.

One of the few perks of being a commander meant that his office also acted as his own sleeping quarters. He could go to bed, right now, and not have to face anyone at all until training tomorrow morning. By that time, he’d know what to say to his men. By that time, the heaviness in his chest would have lightened.

Probably.

Pushing back from the desk, Wolffe made his way over to the bunk on the far side of the room. He took his time removing his armor, relishing in the methodical process of it that always felt like a sort of meditation — a final end to the day that meant he was somewhere safe. It was one of the few things he liked about being back on Coruscant.

By the time he’d finished, though, his armor in a neat pile on the wardrobe next to his bunk, he didn’t feel as rested as he’d hope. His mind, the traitorous bastard, kept flicking back to the briefing room with Amara. The hurt in her eyes, the pain and the anger in his chest.

He shook the memories away and lay down in his bunk. The mattress was cool and rigid even through his body suit, the pillow for once too soft.

Wolffe found that, despite his exhaustion, his mind didn’t want him to sleep. It was a feeling he was used to, but one that hadn’t made itself known over the past few months.

In that time, the dreams had gotten better. The closer he had gotten to Amara, the stronger their friendship grew, the less his nightmares returned to haunt him.

Now, though … he wasn’t sure what would happen. Or, rather, he knew what would happen and was afraid.

Wolffe didn’t hide from his fears. Well, not usually, anyway, and Amara was a different story altogether. But this … this Wolffe wouldn’t hide from. He couldn’t. Because denying it wouldn’t make a difference. In fact, it often made it worse.

And so, in the silence of his room, with no one around to see, Wolffe could admit that he was afraid of the nightmares he knew would come.

If he was smart, he would sit up, walk around, find Fox and ask if he needed help with anything. As if his brother wouldn’t see right through him. Wouldn’t take one look at his sunken eyes and scratchy stubble and send him straight back here, with strict orders to one of Wolffe’s men to make sure he slept. 

As much as he didn’t want to enter a state of being over which he had no control, he couldn’t deny that his body was exhausted. His still healing bones ached, his muscles seized at the very thought of standing up again so soon. 

No, he would stay on the bed and relax, but he wouldn’t sleep. Instead, he would stare up at the ceiling and fight off the creeping drowsiness.

He blinked once. Twice. Shook his head and refocused his gaze when the lines on the ceiling grew a little too blurry.

Blink.

Focus.

Blink.

Focus.

Blink.

“Commander Wolffe!”

He shot up from the bed, on his feet and heading for the door before the echo of his name even quieted. He didn’t know what trouble there could possibly be in the barracks at such a late hour, but his training took over regardless. A hand to the door panel and he stepped out of his room, glancing frantically up and down the hallway for the origin of the shout.

He heard footsteps, the sound of dozens of soldiers marching, to his left and hurried that way. What his men were doing marching down the halls of the barracks, he had no idea, but he went anyway, intent on taking control of whatever this situation was.

As he neared the end of the hall, the marching grew louder, mixing now with more shouts in his brothers’ voices.

“Watch your left!”

“Push through, NOW!”

Were they training? At this time? Had there been a glitch in the scheduling and Wolffe hadn’t noticed? No, no he’d gone over the schedule only a couple hours earlier. It was perfect. It was routine.

Then what the fuck is this? He thought to himself, more than willing to admit now that he was slightly panicked.

He turned the corner, hoping to find whoever was in charge of what was obviously an ill-advised prank, and that was when the lights went out.

Wolffe blinked.

And blinked.

And blinked as he tried to adjust his vision to the sudden absolute darkness around him.

Was it one of the planned blackouts? They’d become more and more common over the last month as Coruscant tried to conserve energy prices, and the barracks were the only places on the GAR compound they could risk going lights out. But no. This wasn’t on the schedule either, Wolffe was sure of it.

And anyway, an energy blackout wouldn’t explain the heavy air, the moisture that felt like it was seeping through his armor.

Wait.

His armor?

Wolffe patted at his chest and was met with the hollow thump of a glove against plastoid. Had he put his armor back on? He distinctly remembered removing everything but his bodysuit before lying down in bed. He didn’t remember taking the time to kit up before he ran out of his room, either, but maybe he had …

He shook his head, dispelling the confusion because none of that explained the intense rise of humidity in the air. Neither did it explain how, when he moved his head, he could feel the bottom of his helmet rub slightly against his neck.

Wolffe didn’t have a helmet right now.

There would no doubt be one waiting for him at some point the next day, but he’d put in the paperwork just before bed and he’d dealt enough with GAR admin to know they never worked this quickly.

“Commander! On your right!”

Wolffe stuck his right arm out, blaster already in hand, and shot without thinking twice. The sharp aroma of plasma meeting metal filled his nostrils and Wolffe blinked.

Once.

Twice.

When his eyelids rose the third time, he was no longer encased in darkness. There were rapid flashes of blaster fire coming from all around him, followed occasionally by shouts in voices that too closely resembled his own. In the distance he could see reflections of the moonlight on white and maroon clone armor and ivory droid metal alike. The ground was soft and wet beneath his feet and when he lifted a boot to inspect the mud, he saw dark red instead of brown.

He wasn’t in the 104th barracks. He wasn’t even on Coruscant.

Wolffe was on a battlefield on some far-flung planet. And he had no idea how he’d gotten there.

Screams pierced the air all around him. Shouts echoed in his ears. But before he could panic, before he could question again what the fuck was going on, one thought forced its way through his mind and consumed every corner.

Good soldiers follow orders.

He blinked and straightened his back. Looked left, right, forward and back to assess his surroundings. He knew where he was now.

Good soldiers follow orders.

He blinked and charged a battle droid. Reached one hand around the bottom of its head, another around its arm and yanked until metal screeched against metal one last time to reveal wires underneath. This wasn’t the mission, not quite, but it was coming. He could feel it.

Good soldiers follow orders.

He blinked and sensed movement behind him. Spun around, blaster already trained to center perfectly on his next target. One squeeze of the trigger and he’d be free.

Good soldiers follow—

“Wolffe?”

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

The darkness around him faded into a dull grey. There were no more shouts, no more screams. Just silence and a strange substance falling all around him. 

Snow? 

He’d only seen snow once before, on the mountains of some planet they’d been sent to for a rescue mission only a few weeks earlier. Amara had smiled up at the sky as the flakes fell around them, laughing as she turned to him and said it had never snowed where she lived before the Temple. Pushing aside the reminder that he’d never actually found out where that was, Wolffe held out a gloved hand, ignored the blood he could see painted on his gauntlet, and watched as ash, not snow, drifted onto his palm.

“Wolffe?”

The all too familiar voice called his name again, quieter, softer this time. He knew what — who — he would see when he looked up. But he didn’t want to see her. Didn’t want to admit, even to himself, even in his nightmares, that he still needed her.

So he kept his eyes trained on his open hand, on the small pile of ash. Where was the ash coming from anyway? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, so he just kept looking at his hand. Maybe if he stared long enough, she would go away. Maybe if he focused hard enough, she would disappear like the flecks of ash floating around him. Maybe—

Maybe he did want to see her.

Maybe he was tired of hiding.

He blinked.

Once. 

Twice.

When his eyelids lifted for the third time, her hand was curled around his. And the feeling of her skin through his glove, even though he knew this wasn’t real, knew it was a nightmare turned into a dream of things that might but never could be, was just enough to make him raise his head and settle his gaze on her.

If he didn’t know this was a dream, he would have sworn she was actually here, with him. Everything about her was so clear. The freckles across her tan cheeks, the braids hanging down her chest and resting on her light brown tunic, the sadness in her eyes that were now nearly as black as the leggings she always wore.

“Wolffe,” she whispered again, but this time it wasn’t a question. 

It just was.

He opened his mouth, desperate to say all the things he should have walked out into the hall to say earlier that day. Because it was safe here, in his dreams. He could say whatever he wanted and it would be nothing more than a forgotten memory as soon as he opened his eyes to the real world. But just as his mind had settled on the truths he wanted to lay before her, something in Amara’s face changed.

She glanced around, eyes flicking from their hands to somewhere in the distance and then back to his gaze. Her grip on him tightened just before she let go completely, shaking her head all the while.

Wolffe moved to follow her, intent on not letting her leave without a proper goodbye this time, but she held up a hand to stop him. Her eyes were wide, pleading in a way he’d only seen in the medbay on the Resolute.

“Wolffe, you need to wake up.”

Wolffe blinked.

Once.

Twice.

When his eyelids lifted for the third time, he was staring at the durasteel ceiling above his bunk. The only thoughts in his mind distant echos of a hand gripped too tight and not tight enough, ash falling around him like snow, and the words that he always remembered but longed to forget.

Good soldiers follow orders.

[sevenseasofbye]

@infinitejedilove

My submission for the 2024 Jinnobi Challenge

Obi-Wan sat in his council chair, his robes doing nothing to hide the swell of his 6-month pregnant belly. The Council was waiting for Emmeline Seidler, a Jedi who had recently returned from a yearlong journey to Tibrin to recover battle plans and schematics from the Separatist base there. She was a very loud, opinionated Jedi, and her talents were mainly aimed at raising younglings straight out of the creche. She was also madly in love with Qui Gon.

“How much longer do you think?” Ki-Adi Mundi whispered to Obi-Wan, who smirked.

“Probably waiting to make a dramatic entrance,” he replied, holding back a chuckle.

Ki-Adi grunted his assent, returning to his usual impeccable posture. Several other members seemed to be asking the same question, and some were fidgeting, which was understandable, given the 30-minute wait.

Obi-Wan shifted slightly in his seat. His back was killing him. The child inside him was growing extremely heavy and it was getting difficult to stay in one position for long.

Finally, the Sentenial at the doors announced “The Jedi Knight Seidler” and the doors swung open. A short, fat woman with messy black hair and heavy makeup walked into the room, her mouth curved in a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Masters,” she said, bowing as she reached the center of the room.

“Knight Seidler, late, you are,” Yoda said, the displeasure in his voice evident.

“I apologize, Masters, I was held up at the landing pad and my speeder wouldn’t… work.” Her words trailed off as she saw Obi-Wan, who did not bother to conceal his smirk when her eyes went wide at the sight of his round middle.

Tearing her gaze from Obi-Wan, Emmeline continued with her report.

“In conclusion, the Separatist movement there is very strong and extremely widespread,” she said, hands folded under her robes.

“Then we will send Kit Fisto along with yourself as soon as we can, the movement there must be stopped,” Mace said, his voice heavy with authority.

Emmeline nodded, her eyes straying once more to Obi-Wan, who now had his hands folded over his stomach.

***

“Who’s the father?” Emmeline asked as soon as she was out of the Council Chamber, turning to Kit with desperate eyes.

“Qui Gon, of course,” Kit replied proudly, “They’ve been mated for about a year, and Obi’s about six months along.”

“Well, I supposed I’ll have to congratulate them both at the banquet tonight,” Emmeline replied coldly.

Kit forced a smile as he sent a Force message to Obi-Wan.

***

“Dear one, are you sure you’re up for this?” Qui Gon asked for what seemed to be the seventh time that night, “You haven’t wanted to go to a banquet in a while.”

“I’m sure,” Obi-Wan replied absently, trying to decide what on earth he should wear so he would look presentable.

Sighing, Qui Gon wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan’s shoulders, kissing his temple. “You’ve just been so tired lately, love,” he whispered, “I don’t want you to feel obligated to go.”

“I want to,” Obi-Wan said, turning around to kiss Qui Gon. “Besides,” he added nonchalantly, “I’m sure you don’t want me to leave you alone with Emmeline,” laughing when a look of utter horror passed over Qui Gon’s face before he buried his head in the crook of Obi-Wan’s neck.

“She’s going to be there?” Qui Gon groaned, “Now I don’t want to go.”

“But darling, don’t you want to see the love of your life?” Obi-Wan teased.

“We both know that I only tolerate her because she was Mace’s padawan, and I have a great deal of respect for him,” Qui Gon said, moving one hand to rest under Obi-Wan’s bump, “And we both also know that you’re the love of my life.”

“I would hope so,” Obi-Wan replied, moving a hand under his belly to twine his fingers with Qui Gon’s, “Seeing as I’m very pregnant with your child.”

“And you’re carrying him beautifully, might I add,” Qui Gon whispered, kissing Obi-Wan’s shoulder before drawing away.

“Hush,” Obi-Wan said, blushing.

“Force, your child has made me fat,” he lamented, examining his reflection in the mirror.

“You know that’s nowhere close to being true,” Qui Gon said in his Alpha voice, drawing a shiver out of the younger man.

“Yes, Alpha,” Obi-Wan said submissively. His Omega side had been much more powerful during his pregnancy. At 5 months, Qui Gon could bring him to his knees by tone alone.

“We’ll continue this conversation later,” Qui Gon continued, his face stern, making Obi-Wan feel much younger than he actually was, “But if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late.”

“Well, this would go much faster if I could tie my kriffing boots,” Obi-Wan grunted, sighing in relief when Qui Gon knelt and did it for him, pressing a kiss to his belly before standing fully and entwining his hand with Obi-Wan’s. “Ready, dear one?”

***

The banquet hall was exquisite. Chandeliers glistened brightly, their ornamental crystals projecting beads of reflected light on the walls. The food was subpar as usual, but that wasn’t why they were here.

“Qui Gon! It’s been so long!’ The voice of Emmeline rang out across the room as she addressed 

Qui Gon.

“Yes, it has been a while,” Qui Gon replied, silently praying for Obi-Wan, who had gone to talk to Mace, to save him. While Emmeline continued talking, Qui Gon glanced around the room, searching for his mate who was leaning against the wall and smirking as he watched Qui Gon struggle to extricate himself from the conversation.

Help, he shot down their bond. Obi-Wan only smirked. I want her to think she has a chance before I shoot her down, he replied.

Vengeful creature.

Only for you.

“Emmeline-” Qui Gon began.

“Please, call me Em, my darling Qui, after all, we’ve known each other for our whole lives,” Emmeline said sweetly, reaching for two glasses of black ale and handing one to Qui Gon, who accepted it reluctantly. “To new beginnings,” she said, holding up her glass.

“Alpha, darling, there you are!” 

Qui Gon could have sighed in relief at the sound of his mate walking towards them. As soon as Obi-Wan was near, he gently grabbed him by the hand, pulling him into a brief kiss. “Hello, my love,” he said warmly, bending down to kiss Obi-Wan’s belly, “Hello, little one.”

“The Chancellor is about to give a toast,” Obi-Wan said, completely ignoring Emmeline, “And Mace wanted to talk to you about the upcoming mission.”

Qui Gon knew the last part was a lie. When Obi-Wan reached his third month of pregnancy, Qui Gon absolutely refused to leave the temple for longer than a week. Since then, Qui Gon had been teaching classes on the Living Force while Obi-Wan continued to (try) to train Anakin.

“I suppose congratulations are in order,” Emmeline said spitefully, her beady eyes fixed on Obi-Wan’s belly, “Is it twins?”

“No, just one,” Obi-Wan replied sweetly, placing a hand on his belly.

“Hmm, I would have thought that you were carrying twins,” she mused. The not-so-subtle dig was not missed by either of the Jedi masters.

“No, he’s just an excellent Omega,” Qui Gon said, pressing a kiss to Obi-Wan’s cheek, Alpha instincts flaring as he felt Obi-Wan’s feelings of inadequacy through their bond.

“Hmm.” Emmeline shrugged, her eyes still narrowed. “It was nice to see you, Qui Gon.”

***

Qui Gon sat, fuming, as he watched Obi-Wan play with his food, his cheeks slightly red. He knew what was going on in his Omega’s head, knew what effect Emmeline’s words had on him, and knew that Obi-Wan, no matter how much he tried to hide it, was self-conscious about his growing baby bump.

Darling, are you alright? He asked.

The response came a second too fast. Fine, just not hungry.

Sighing, Qui Gon returned to his meal, making sure to send reassuring words down their bond every few minutes. Obi-Wan remained silent, his thoughts locked behind a barrier that Qui Gon could have knocked down easily. It wasn’t as though he was trying to keep Qui Gon out, it was simply a request for privacy.

***

“Well that was long,” Qui Gon said wearily as they stepped into their quarters.

“Too long,” Obi-Wan agreed, throwing off his cloak and sinking onto the couch, “Do not ever let me go to one of those again.”

Qui Gon smiled, sitting beside him and letting Obi-Wan rest his head on his shoulder. He chuckled when he heard soft snores coming from the Omega. Shaking Obi-Wan gently, he grinned when his husband looked up at him with murderous, sleep-muddled eyes.

“Let’s go to bed,” he suggested, moving to stand. Obi-Wan said nothing, simply wrapping his arms tighter around Qui Gon. “Obi, come on.”

“No,” Obi-Wan groaned, “Let me stay here.”

“Under normal circumstances, I would, but you'll thank me later for not leaving you to sleep on a lumpy couch hunched over and pregnant, dear one,” Qui Gon said gently, “Do you want me to carry you?”

“ ‘M too heavy,” Obi-Wan mumbled.

Qui Gon’s heart ached as he guessed the deeper meaning behind those words. Gently, he picked Obi-Wan up, careful to support his back, which had begun to ache under the strain of a growing baby, and carried him to their bedroom, laying him down in the soft nest Obi-Wan had made 3 months earlier.

Once he made sure that Obi-Wan was comfortable, he began removing Obi-Wan’s clothes, knowing he preferred to sleep in the blankets covered with their scents. However, when he reached his tunic, Obi-Wan sleepily swatted his hands away. “Not the belly,” he murmured, “Don’t want you to see me like this.”

Qui Gon felt tears prick his eyes as he gently rubbed the swell that contained their child. How could Obi-Wan not see just how beautiful Qui Gon thought he was? 

“Dear one, please let me take off your shirt,” Qui Gon whispered, “It’ll help you sleep.”

“No,” Obi-Wan said, his eyes fluttering open, “Too big.”

Defeated, Qui Gon moved to lie next to Obi-Wan. “You’re absolutely stunning,” he whispered, knowing Obi-Wan had fallen back asleep. Gently, he undid the tunic and slid it off Obi-Wan’s torso, leaning down to kiss his belly. “Hello, little one,” he mumbled against the taut skin, smiling when a foot pressed against his nose, stretching the skin of Obi-Wan’s belly slightly, “When you get here, you’ll help me remind your papa how handsome he is, right?”

Another kick, this time against the hand Qui Gon had placed on Obi-Wan’s belly. “Thank you, little one,” he whispered, pressing one more kiss to Obi-Wan’s belly before he leaned back against the pillows, leaving one hand to rest protectively over the swell of Obi-Wan’s belly.

[444names]

early noldorin and gnomish names

Aglinder Aglos Agonde Aidsmad Aiglon Ailios Aithondoth Aithothlin Aluil Ambang Amborctim Amiath Amreet Amron Andorthe Andrisleg Andsmad Anglivan Anwil Ataug Ateth Auglim Auglimfin Augraugron Aurianders Aurimbates Aurin Aurmalls Aurods Avener Azint Azinth Babland Babwer Baither Balath Balce Balrod Bancithods Banweg Bares Barldos Barod Barost Barthlin Beldows Beleilf Belwin Bermail Bilerin Biros Bluinom Blusworgil Bodorwen Bolfir Branstath Brisaith Brith Bóriengof Cargol Celin Cellin Chost Ciridhirs Coladol Colth Corld Cortang Cothar Coundoweg Crang Crethil Crodruthim Crothil Cuiling Cuitheliol Culum Cunglómir Curuir Curum Curusith Cuseend Cusglim Cîmil Daidhil Daithormth Dalusgilil Damreword Damrosain Darth Dauglim Deard Debrod Deresgin Dhinglos Dhoscess Dhreth Dhrise Dhros Doriand Dorlds Dorwin Dorwing Dothret Drahi Dridhin Dridost Driong Duidrion Duing Dummeg Durimin Durin Durisfin Dwegleg Dwerp Eanoth Eding Egilvalcel Eglacha Eglin Eglon Eianth Eight Eightnin Elfring Encli Engbablams Ennind Ennor Ennumboth Erhusion Evare Evrangnon Faing Faingress Faithmoth Falin Falods Famel Fanin Fears Fieft Finge Fingold Finwfin Fladothers Fladrat Flamrod Flavron Floamro Flotha Fluer Folder Foundraf Frion Frionirs Frostaseg Fruidh Gairth Gaithru Galdrim Gearc Geleg Geluin Genth Gilin Gillen Gingliost Gions Giord Githon Glinrishe Glinth Glion Gliond Glothneb Gnoth Gobadsmor Gobal Gobardhan Gobey Godin Golake Golfhon Golflack Golfloc Golfrior Golim Golmorgil Goltheleg Gongoldold Goriant Goristra Gorodrumb Gorweg Gotharl Gothli Gothodor Gothodrin Guidring Gulways Gumableb Gumaiglir Gumlor Gurui Gwaingresc Gwair Gwars Gwary Gwear Gweas Gwelcon Gwenly Gwinlaith Gwinthli Gwivrien Hadrin Hadrion Haill Haith Hallos Hathip Havros Headwen Hebelt Heborth Helchareet Heleg Helirs Helodh Hernaða Hinda Holdow Homegli Hosaidhi Hurfin Húris Icelm Iddelminûm Idhothond Ilbrinesce Ildlothoss Ilithothin Ilkorctur Imlinel Ingarosto Isgor Ivrailot Juilb Laden Laken Lanarth Leathlife Lhalwin Lindánaða Linhon Lirlir London Lones Loollmor Lothi Lothin Loweg Luint Lumnirom Lómithweg Lórim Lúmhonque Lúmir Lúthadon Lúvien Lûriols Mablindim Maden Maglim Magling Maidhi Maingth Malass Maurd Mectumbor Meglimbant Melin Mendol Mianfuing Misfin Misle Moothoros Mores Mothangair Mothon Moust Mouttar Naimling Nalmalor Nalon Nangols Nangthomen Nauldow Naurworim Ngaileat Nieftshi Niglion Niglis Nigoli Ninont Nioldaim Niris Noming Nonst Nothorose Nowet Nínion Nírilb Ogbarm Ondin Orosaidred Orren Orwing Ostandos Ostress Othirod Outedhru Outeth Palgrin Peadribrin Peadwes Pennynwes Pladoblon Plaver Plummele Polon Poodor Poodres Pooft Rachon Ranfoul Rassilvar Ridrenest Rielal Rimlafty Romen Roweathod Rúmhor Rúmin Sachimlion Sachonters Salimforn Salls Saluindior Sared Seagle Seaglodwal Secklaken Secthriol Sedly Sevennolon Sheagelth Shiold Silfhost Simlint Sirind Sirons Sithaish Sithilmair Smine Sovring Sovron Standent Stavracth Stynwer Sunbod Sunril Swedh Tagrin Talma Tamban Tambo Tamevielle Tanks Taressear Tathangos Tavrien Tearn Terilin Tessevan Thaval Thelmailth Therly Thlasgil Thling Thoth Thrin Thring Thromoron Thron Thwalir Thward Thwil Tibrin Tindin Tinen Tineth Tinûr Tiond Tirince Tirith Tiver Torilard Tridhinds Trilgoront Trints Triorm Tuiliord Tulms Turwil Túrifely Túrith Uchatcht Ufing Uimbant Uldurogs Ulmireg Umgaim Unrin Untery Urweg Ustatir Usworthros Vanthilin Vánande Wailpion Wailth Waind Walle Wanwfir Warodre Weanger Wethil Wethritel Withurnha Wolfing Woomelly

[howie-ner-cyare]

i’m running out of young temuera pictures.... here’s some more realistic clone edits :]]] my campus finally gave us a two week ramadhan break so everything is less hectic and i got more free time in my hands teehee 😊😊😊

Screencaps are from Never Say Die (Boil and Sinker), Barb Wire (Boost), and Shortland Street (Gregor) 

part 1 here!

part 2 here!

part 3 here!

[thecodyagenda]

hey did anyone else know that gree has that haircut bc of "honouring fallen comrades" from the battle of Tibrin or was i just supposed to read it myself while wondering what the hell the battle was when it was referenced in "Rookies"?

[krimsonwings]

Languages Din Djarin speaks:

-Basic

-Mando’a

-Tusken (sign & spoken)

-Huttese

Understands:

-Droidspeak (at least he seems to in TBoBF ep.5)

-Ishi Tibrin

-Jawa (kinda? He seemed to understand some in ep.2 and maybe learning to speak it (even if he sucks at it apparently lol))

Does not speak:

-Frog

[oh-no-eu-didnt]

Suribran Tu was the Ishi Tib despot of Tibrin at the onset of the Clone Wars. Ruling with an iron fist, Tu’s dictatorship was feared by the population of the planet. As his people grew dissatisfied with the Republic (in no part due to their support of Tu’s regime), Tu met with Count Dooku to discuss terms for joining the Confederacy while maintaining his power. Dooku killed Tu, galvanizing Tibrin’s support for the Confederacy.

Source: Jedi: Count Dooku (Art: Jan Duursema; 2003)

Read more on Wookieepedia.

[laz-laz-ace-pilot]

In The Shadow Of His Brothers

Chapter Ten of In The Footsteps Of His Enemy

...

There was something magical about watching a sunrise from orbit. The star of the Tibrin-Paradi system burned bright behind the ocean planet before them, creating a spectacular crescent of light that illuminated the blue hues of Tibrin and appeared to make the surrounding galaxy just a little brighter.

Nejj had woken Echo up just to point it out. He would have needed to wake anyway; it was customary for all passengers to be awake when passing through a planet’s orbit, in case anything went wrong and the situation demanded all hands on deck. And besides that, he had a whole star cruiser’s worth of things he needed to prepare himself for - they still had no idea what sort of situation they would be faced with back at camp, if there was even a camp to go back to.

But Echo felt strangely calm - not necessarily at ease, but not as blindly panicked as he might once have been. After so long chasing leads that led to nowhere, they had finally made progress on Jedha - they had someone who could help Mara, and they’d found more allies than they’d expected. The warnings Gi’kira had given them were worrying - the idea of being in this fight for twenty- thirty-  forty  years was enough to drive someone mad - but at least they could act on them now. He knew that Rex was alive… even if he couldn’t reach him. And despite the state their rebel cell had been in when he left, he had faith that Cody could hold them together.

The future they faced was grave and unrelenting, but for the first time in too long, Echo felt like they could withstand it.

That they could make a difference.

And maybe even find happiness along the way.

...

@imrowanartist @ameanstoanendor @lovebugglow @nighting-gale17 @itsstrangelypermanent @aflightysparrow  @british-hero @generaltano @partoftheeternalsoul @dreamingofcreation @rt-d00-t @tazmbc1 @theedwardianone

If you would like to be tagged in updates either message me or comment on this post - I’d love to add you!

[cienie-isengardu]

Alpha & Cody and how they addressed or talked about Anakin in Legends sources (2002-2005/6)

Back in the old days (2002-2005/6), the books and comics did not focus that much on clone troopers. Of the few named that interacted with Generals Kenobi and Skywalker,

ARC trooper Alpha was introduced in Star Wars: Republic comics series (#50-52, 55, 60, 62, 2003-2004) and later showed up in Obsession (2004-2005)

Cody was introduced in Labyrinth of the Evil (January, 2005) and included in Revenge of the Sith (April, 2005).

The source material was limited, and so direct interaction between Cody or Alpha and Anakin. In the case of Alpha, he and Anakin knew each other almost from the start of war and worked on various occasions, from Defense of Kamino (2 months after Battle of Geonosis) to Battle of Boz Pity (5 months before RotS). Cody took part in campaigns such as “Aargonar, Praesitlyn, Paracelus Minor, Antar 4, Tibrin, Skor II, and dozens of other worlds from Core to Outer Rim”. The Battle of Aargonar (Republic #59: Enemy Lines) and Praesitlyn (Jedi Trial) were two battles that Anakin took part in without Obi-Wan Kenobi. Which means both Alpha and Cody have ties to Anakin when he was still a padawan (commander). 

One of the funny things from Legends is how in the limited source material Cody and Alpha addressed / talked about Anakin Skywalker - a Jedi General, their superior - in-between battles.

During a mission on the enemy territory (LotE), Cody did follow the standard protocol and used military ranks and a polite “sirs” to both Kenobi and Skywalker. Similarly, Obi-Wan addressed him back as commander, while Anakin seemed to not bother using rank whatsoever: either addressed the soldiers as “you” (which I suspect may sounds now rude, maybe even impersonally since beside Cody no clone was named in the text) or calling Cody just by name ("Where did you say Obi-Wan and Cody are?")

But then there is RotS and this moment:

"I can keep them distracted for quite some time," Obi-Wan had told Cody on the flight deck of Vigilance. "Just don't take too long."

"Come on, boss," Cody had said, smiling out of Jango Fett's face, "have I ever let you down?"

"Well-" Obi-Wan had said with a slim answering smile, "Cato Neimoidia, for starters ..."

"That was Anakin's fault; he was the one who was late ..."

"Oh? And who will you blame it on this time?" Obi-Wan had chuckled as he climbed into his starfighter's cockpit and strapped himself in. "Very well, then. I'll try not to destroy all the droids before you get there."

"I'm counting on you, boss. Don't let me down."

"Have I ever?"

"Well," Cody had said with a broad grin, "there was Cato Neimoidia . . ."

In which Kenobi is called the “boss” while Anakin is referred to by name by Cody. No general, no master, not even Skywalker. Just Anakin. And the fact that Cody doesn’t use any military rank to address both Jedi shows the informal aspect of their relationship. Which is even more interesting considering how the scene played in the movie.

In the film, to my despair, the mention of Anakin and Cato Neimoidia was cut off from full dialogue but Cody talked with Obi-Wan about General Skywalker with a few other clones around, like he was talking about their mutual friend rather than the most famous Jedi General who saved Chancellor and killed Dooku not so ago.

Then, we have Alpha. 

Frankly, Alpha from the start had a more informal relationship with Anakin which was influenced by several factors - including the fact that when they met they were more or less on equal ground and most likely because of that ARC trooper nor Anakin addressed each other by rank even in later stage of war (in contrast, Alpha usually referred Obi-Wan as General Kenobi). Which is fine, because despite a rocky start, a mutual respect developed between them so it makes sense they allowed themselves to act less informal in their own (and Kenobi) company. 

But then we have Star Wars: Obsession #4, and room full of Jedi Masters - the generals

talking between each other about the mission

with Alpha adding his own input

and calling Anakin Skywalker - Jedi Knight and higher rank - the kid in front of dozens of other generals / Jedi Masters.

(In all fairness, Alpha called Anakin the kid on a few occasions which in itself is hilarious considering the fact Skywalker was older than him by 10 years).

The source material related to Clone Wars released around Prequels gave little examples of direct interaction between Anakin and those two named clones. Yet, even with so limited materials to work with and different types of media (books and comics), old canon at least imply that Anakin were on good terms with both Alpha and Cody, to the point both could and did address or talk about him in less formal (no military rank) way and were called by him in similar fashion, by their names.

Which is a true shame the relationship between Anakin and Cody or Alpha is so often underrated or worse, not acknowledged.

[walkawaytall]

wip wednesday

“The Tibrin mission report,” General Rieekan said after a long moment of quiet. “Seertay noted that you, Voln, and Cleave were encouraged to talk to one of the the therapists about witnessing the executions.”

Leia highlighted a random phrase in her notes for want of something to focus on other than this conversation. “I believe we were,” she said once the silence became unbearable.

“Did you?”

Leia pressed her lips together, frustrated with the direction the conversation had taken. “It wasn’t a requirement to return to the field.”

“So, that’s a no. Leia?” Carlist tapped her wrist lightly with his finger until she turned her attention back to him. “I’m not asking this in any official capacity; I’m asking as a friend: Why didn’t you?”

She set her jaw, tamping down her irritation so it wouldn’t show, and shrugged. “I have survived far worse.”

An expression of grief Leia had rarely seen outside of memorial services and briefings about lives lost crossed Carlist’s face. He parted his lips as if he meant to say something before clamping his mouth shut and looking at her for a moment. Leia met his gaze with steely resolve, unwilling to go too far down the path of why she was resistant to continuously talking about her experiences.

The older man’s expression softened further and he nodded. “I suppose that is unfortunately true,” he finally said, and Leia couldn’t ignore the quiet emotion in his voice.

She shook her head slightly, still meeting Rieekan’s gaze. “Please don’t look at me like that, Carlist,” she pleaded softly.

He drew his eyebrows together in concern. “Like what, Your Highness?”

“Like I am a disaster you failed to mitigate.”

General Rieekan continued to look at her face. “That isn’t…” He shook his head. “I am concerned by the burdens you have been made to bear these past couple of years.”

“It is nothing I wasn’t raised for,” Leia said flatly. “You know that.”

“Bail and Breha didn’t want—”

“They didn’t,” she agreed before he could finish. “But I was raised for it nonetheless.”

[jokerscrazybrilliant]

Survive - Chapter 2 - (Captain Rex)

Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 · Chapter 4

Story on other platforms:

Quotev · AO3

________

“Master Kenobi,” I bowed my head to him as I entered the briefing room, reciprocating the smile he gave me.

“Hello Nimra, I hope you’re doing well today?” Master Kenobi was, as always, kind and warm, I had only heard about him before being assigned to Master Skywalker but now that I had met him, I wished I could’ve gotten the opportunity to learn from him sooner.

“Well, I’m glad the two of you are getting along.” Anakin commented, seeming to feel ignored. I smirked as I turned to face him, bowing deeply and exaggeratedly.

“Master Skywalker, you’re important too!” I grinned as Obi Wan laughed behind his hands at my teasing.

“Very funny Nim, we’re actually in the middle of a debriefing if you hadn’t noticed.” He gestured to the conference table where Captain Rex and Commander Cody of Obi Wan’s 212th battalion stood.

“Gentlemen,” I greeted as we joined them at the table, earning a polite nod from each in return. “My first mission?” I turned to ask Anakin, unable to hide my excitement. It had only been a few days onboard Master Skywalker’s ship, but that paired with my time on Coruscant, I had been out of the action for far too long.

Anakin shook his head at me with a small smile, “Not for you, not a mission. Just routine inspections of the outer rim outposts.”

“However, I think it would be good for Nimra to join the captain and Commander Cody. I believe it will be good for her to familiarize herself with the standard procedures and how these bases operate.” Master Kenobi said, stroking his beard in thought.

Anakin shrugged at me. “It won’t be too long, and as long as the commanders don’t mind, I don’t see anything wrong with it,” he looked to the clones in question.

“We don’t mind at all, General.” Commander Cody said, giving me a small nod.

“Alright then, that’s settled. You three can get underway then. And don’t forget to check in.” Master Obi-Wan said, then turning to analyze some information on screen.

Anakin pulled me aside before letting me follow them out. “I know you’re here to learn from me, Nim, but these clones have more experience than you and I combined. Make sure you show them the respect they deserve, and use this opportunity to learn from them, as well.”

I bowed my head respectfully, showing him I understood. “Of course, Master.” With that he gave me a pat on the shoulder and a small smile and headed to Master Obi-Wan.

“Have fun!” He gave a wave over his shoulder, and I smiled and walked out to catch up with the commanders.

I might’ve been offended that Master Skywalker felt the need to tell me to be respectful to the clone commanders, but I had heard enough comments from my peers to show that not all Jedi, and not all people, were as respectful as they should be towards our soldiers. While they fought valiantly and gave their lives to protect us, we had people insulting them, and viewing them as less-than. I couldn’t stand that, I had ended friendships with such disrespectful people, and I just couldn’t understand where they were coming from.

Shaking these thoughts out of my head, I quickly made my way to the hangar, not wanting to be left behind.

***

Inspecting the bases was very, very far from interesting, and I huffed as we finally settled in the ship, setting the route for the final base we had to check, the Rishi Outpost. It was definitely a learning opportunity, but I felt like I was back in the classroom, learning all sorts of codes and procedures I needed to have memorized. However, thankfully I didn’t have to do very much, rather I just observed, Commander Cody taking the lead on all the inspections thus far.

I could see how the commander and Master Obi-Wan got along, both of them having a high regard for protocol and rules, whereas Captain Rex was a little more flexible to adjust more to Anakin’s… unique way of doing things.

“You doing alright, commander?” Rex turned to look at me in the small open cockpit, smirking slightly at my slouched posture in the chair.

Giving him an expression that should’ve fried him where he was, I sat up straight, cursing him in my mind. “Fantastic, captain.” I forced the most polite smile I could muster.

“Good.” I didn’t miss the amusement that shone in his eyes, making me thankful I had been assigned to this particular battalion. I wasn’t sure I would’ve made it with Cody’s more serious personality.

“I’m going to contact the Generals, let ‘em know where we’re at.” The commander in question spoke up, gaining both Rex and I’s attention.

I nodded. “Good idea, commander.”

Me and Rex watched silently as Cody opened the frequency to contact Master Obi-Wan. “General Kenobi, General Skywalker,” Commander Cody greeted as they appeared in the transmission.

“Cody. How goes the inspections?” Obi-Wan asked.

“The tracking station at Pastel is fully operational. Captain Rex, Commander Nimra and I are proceeding to the outpost in the Rishi system.”

“Good. Report back once you’ve arrived.”

“Copy that. Cody out.” He ended the transmission as Rex set the ship into hyperspace.

“How long to the Rishi outpost?” I asked

“Feeling tired sir?” Rex turned his head to eye me in question.

“No of course not, I just want to know so that I can prepare myself.” I glowered at him.

“It won’t be a long ride, commander, Rishi isn’t far from here.” Commander Cody piped in.

“Thank you, Cody.” I gave him a sweet smile, wanting to be on his good side since he and Master Kenobi were friends.

“Not a problem sir.”

***

The trip to the outpost really wasn’t far and I was excited for the boring protocol checks to come to an end. Commander Cody signaled the base as we made our approach. “Rishi Outpost, this is Commander Cody, do you copy? Rishi Outpost, please respond.” My brows furrowed as it took them a while to respond to our hails.

“Sorry, commander, we’re experiencing technical difficulties.” A voice responded from over the comms.

“This is the inspection team,” Cody responded.

“Inspection? Negative, we do not require an inspection. Everything is fine here, thank you.” I shared a look with Rex at this strange response. They knew to expect us, and they were speaking with a superior officer, so what was with the unwillingness to comply?

“We’ll be the judge of that. Prepare for our arrival.”

“Roger, roger.” At this Cody shut off the comm, looking uneasy.

“Something’s not right here.” Rex commented, frowning as we approached the landing pad.

“Well, good luck. I’m putting you in charge of this one. I know Commander Sayla has been taking notes, let’s see how well you’ve been paying attention.” Cody said to Rex, me smirking at him behind Cody’s back teasingly.

“Well, you two go ahead, I’ll join you in a moment, I’ll just contact Master Skywalker and update him on our whereabouts.” The two men nodded at me before exiting the ship, leaving me to turn on the comm, tuning in to the correct frequency to reach Master Anakin. A small frown formed on my face as I was met with nothing but static.

Confused, I turned to follow after Rex and Cody. They were talking to an officer out on the deck. A flare showed in the sky, briefly catching my attention before I turned back to see Rex pulling out his pistol, shooting the officer in the head. “Rex are you mad?!” I shouted, running up to the two quickly.

“Relax, commander,” Rex responded, unconcernedly. He reached down and pulled off the dead officer’s helmet to reveal the faceplate of a droid, but not an ordinary battle droid. “Just as I thought. Looks like one of those new commando droids.”

“That flare must have come from the survivors.” Commander Cody noted.

Shots rung out around us as more of those droids revealed themselves, and they had us surrounded. Well, this is going well, I thought to myself sarcastically. “Ambush!” Rex shouted, moving back to find cover.

“Really? And here I thought it was just the welcome party.” I responded over the noise of fire, deflecting bullets to cover the two soldiers behind me.

“Those clankers have tough armour!” Cody commented frustratedly.

“Yeah, I never thought I’d miss those lousy B-One battle droids!” I responded, wanting to laugh but finding it difficult with all the shots I was taking. The droids had caught us unawares and had us completely surrounded, boxing us in between several storage crates and coming at us from all directions.

“We’re cut off!” Rex shouted between shots. Suddenly more commandos came out from inside the base, tossing handfuls of detonators in our direction. While I found it slightly flattering that they felt it necessary to devote so many explosives to destroying us, it also left us a very small chance of surviving the explosion. “Off the platform!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” The men jumped before me and I quickly followed, unsure of what I was diving into, but I had no time to think if I wanted to make it out of the small area before being blown to bits. Before I could fall too far, I felt the wind knocked out of me as someone grabbed me around the waist, stopping my descent.

“I gotcha, commander.” Rex spoke into my ear, causing a warmth to rise to the back of my neck.

“I appreciate the sentiment captain, but you forget, I’m a Jedi.” I turned to look at him with a crooked grin. “I have these cool magical powers that allow me to catch myself before I go splat.”

“Of course, commander.” I didn’t miss the amusement in his voice as he let go of me, and I landed gracefully on the ground, watching as the two soldiers lowered themselves using their cables.

“This certainly complicates things, commander.” Rex addressed Cody as we took in our surroundings.

“No worse than that time on Tibrin.” Cody responded lightly.

“We had the Generals with us on Tibrin. They helped.” My brow raised at how quickly he dismissed my presence. That paired with how he caught me when he certainly wouldn’t have caught Skywalker made me think they didn’t realize what I was capable of.

Well since you don’t think I can help, have fun on your own, I thought to myself, slightly annoyed. Master Kenobi and Anakin had sent me to observe and learn, after all. So that’s what I would do.

The approach of three unknown clones drew our attention and pulled me from my thoughts. I could feel their force signatures, and they were indeed clones, but I didn’t cut in to say that as Rex demanded them take off their helmets. They took them off, albeit confusedly, and introduced themselves as Fives, Hevy, and Echo. Rex and Cody introduced themselves, and me, and I gave a little wave from my spot in the back, but remained silent.

It was interesting to see the way they dealt with these younger clones. It was a new side of Rex I hadn’t yet seen. I stayed with my arms folded across my chest, leaning against a wall of the cave even as a giant eel like creature attacked, watching with only mild interest as the captain took it out with one shot. I was more interested in the young ‘shinies’, as Rex called them.

They were young and inexperienced but they had a firm determination that was refreshing to see. I walked in the back alongside Echo as we found better ground. “So, you’re a Jedi, sir?”

“Almost,” I responded with a warm smile. “Have you met a Jedi before?”

He nodded. “General Shaak Ti helped train us on Kamino. Without her belief in us, me and my batchers would never have succeeded.” He clearly had a lot of respect for her, and it made me smile to see.

“Of course. I have only met Master Ti a few times but she seems very wise.” Our conversation came to an end as we quickly climbed up closer to the outpost.

“Look sharp, rookies. As long as those tweezers occupy this post, our home planet of Kamino is at risk.”

“But there’s so many of them.” Echo’s nervous comment made me smile. They really were shinies.

“Doesn’t matter, kid. We have to retake this base, so we will retake this base!”

“And how do you propose we get through those blast doors, Rex, old boy?” Cody turned to look at Rex.

“I have a few ideas.”

He didn’t share his idea until we took out all the droids on the platform, me taking care of the stragglers before they could call for backup or notify anyone to our presence. But his brilliant idea was… well I could see how him and Skywalker got along, or perhaps they had spent too much time together because his idea was a very poor plan I could see Skywalker coming up with.

“This is never gonna work.” Cody sighed from beside me, making me chuckle and nod in agreement.

“I mean I could’ve just sliced it open with my lightsaber but I figured I’d let him have his fun.” I commented as we watched the captain faking taking off his helmet and holding up a decapitated droid head up in its place.

To our collective surprise, the blast doors opened, his plan succeeding. These droids might’ve had tougher armour than the standard B-One but they certainly weren’t much smarter. “Clones!” One called out in surprise, far too late, unfortunately for them.

“Roger, roger.” The captain responded coolly, shooting at it before we all jumped out and dismantled the rest of the droids. “Right, let’s move.”

“Permission to take point, sir?” Hevy asked, no doubt excited to be seeing some action.

“I’malways first, kid.” Rex responded, making me grin.

We were able to overtake the base quickly, Fives and Echo making me laugh as they argued over who got the kill on a droid. “Sorry Echo, that one really was Fives.” I gave him an apologetic smile.

“Get to the window. It looks like we have more visitors.” Commander Cody pointed out at the sky.

“It looks like a Separatist fleet.” I frowned at the sight above us. This was not good.

“That’s why they commandeered this outpost. They’re mounting a full-scale invasion,” Rex stated.

“Can we get a message out?” I asked.

“No good, they’re jamming all other communication and they’ve hardwired the all-clear signal. It’ll take too long to fix. And we’ve got company.” Rex pointed to the shuttle full of droid reinforcements that was making its way to us.

“Well buddy, you always said you wanted to be on the front lines.” Fives nudged Hevy lightly.

“We can’t protect the outpost long against that army of clankers.” Hevy said, turning to look at Rex.

“Then we’ll destroy the outpost instead.” My brows raised at this idea. It certainly wasn’t orthodox but it would cut off the all clear signal, which would capture our fleet’s attention.

Rex quickly got everyone on board with the idea and Echo came up with a solution on how we would manage to destroy the base itself, a plan quickly coming together. He really is a great leader, I thought to myself as I watched Rex divide the men into teams.

“Are you alright to go with Hevy and the boys to hold off the clankers, give us more time?” The captain asked me, fully aware that while he was in charge, I was above him in rank.

I nodded. “Of course, captain. Don’t worry about me.” I gave him a little smile as I followed after Hevy to the building’s entrance.

“Reinforcements reporting. Open up.”

Hevy opened the blast doors, blaster canon at the ready. “Didn’t say please.” He quipped, opening fire on the droids.

I laughed as I dove in front of him, deflecting bullets to cover him and taking out as many droids as I could reach. Many more took their place and I cursed at General Grievous in my mind, there was no doubt that he was behind this. “Just some routine inspections, they said, just to pick up some standard procedure. Yeah right.” I muttered, swatting away battle droids with my lightsaber as I grumbled to myself.

“Time to go commander!” Hevy called to me. I nodded at him and quickly jogged inside, still deflecting laser bolts back at the enemy. Quickly the blast doors sealed behind me and we made our way back to the command centre.

“Rex, time’s wasting.” Cody called out as we entered.

“Almost ready. The handset isn’t linked up with the detonator. Hevy.”

“Yes, sir?”

“This detonator isn’t working.” Rex said, handing it over to him.

“I’ll take care of it. It’ll be fixed in no time. You guys get out of here.”

“Just make it fast. Those droids are getting close.” Rex opened the ventilation shaft, gesturing for me to enter it first.

“I’ll wait, I’ll go last,” I opposed.

“Please commander, we’ll be right behind you. Besides, if you get hurt on my watch, the General won’t let me hear the end of it.” He made me laugh lightly.

“Fine then. Hurry up, all of you.” I quickly made my way through the tunnels, exiting and trying to find a good vantage point to watch the sky from.

The rest of the team was right behind me, and Rex looked up at the base. “Hevy, hit the – where’s Hevy?” I quickly turned at his words, noting that Hevy was indeed missing.

“He must still be trying to fix the detonator!” I quickly turned back and tried to make my way up the slope we had just come from, the rest of the team trying to get a hold of Hevy. He just needed to wait, I would be right there. Before I could clamber back into the ventilation shaft someone yanked me back by the arm, holding me back.

I watched in horror as the base exploded before me, debris flying everywhere, flames erupting from the pipes in front of me, nearly reaching my face.

I stared into the flames for several moments, face blank, before turning and walking away, the arm that had held me back finally letting go. How many lives now? How many lives had been given to save my own?

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose, the smell of smoke and scorched metal filling my nostrils. Trust in the will of the force, I repeated the line to myself. Quieting my mind, I turned back to the group, putting a reassuring hand on Echo’s shoulder as he looked up at the flaming base. “Hevy always did hate that place.”

Our own fleet appeared in the sky momentarily, clearly getting the message that something was wrong, and gunships quickly appeared to pick us up. Suffice it to say I was more than eager to get off that rock.

“So, what have you learned from your trip, Nim?” Master Skywalker asked as I joined him in the hangar bay.

“That you and your captain deserve each other.” I joked with a grin, earning a laugh from Anakin and a look from the helmeted captain himself.

“I’ll take that as a complement.” Anakin responded.

“You should.”

***

After a small ceremony indicting Fives and Echo into the Five Hundred and First and awarding them on their bravery and success, there was a small informal celebration in the mess hall. We had staved off an invasion on Kamino, and we had two new recruits, so there was some celebration to be had. However, I knew Fives and Echo had the recent events still in their minds, and someone else who was nowhere to be found.

Making my way back to the hangar bay I found the captain sitting in a corner on a workbench, helmet on the floor in front of him. I came to a stop before him, unsure if my company was welcome or unwanted. Several moments passed before he spoke.

"I should've stayed behind and made sure they all got out. I should've known he'd try something stupidly heroic." His head was in his hands, elbows resting on his knees as he stared at the floor hollowly.

I sighed, sitting down on the bench beside him, staring ahead as I fell into my own thoughts. "It's not easy, when I think about all the people who have given their lives to save me. So many soldiers on the battlefield, like Hevy, like my Master," My voice broke at the mention of my old Master. Talking about him still brought up so much pain, and so many memories I tried to forget. "Some days I feel like I wasn't worth it."

"And other days?" He looked to me questioningly.

"I realize that it was never about me." I said, giving him a small smile. He nodded at me, considering my words. "When those people give their lives, it is because they are selfless. It is because they want to save lives so desperately they are willing to sacrifice anything. In that moment they are not thinking about me, and whether or not I am worth it. They are only thinking about saving anyone they can." I let myself speak my thoughts aloud, needing this conversation as much as he did.

"We should do our best to live well. To honour their sacrifice."

I looked at him thoughtfully, drawn to his dark golden orbs that held such meaning. What had those eyes seen? What emotion did they harbour? What knowledge did they hold?

I resisted the urge to sigh wistfully as I looked into his eyes, wishing I could know what they hid. "And so we shall." I gave a small smile and stood up, gesturing towards where the others were. "Now let's go celebrate the newest additions to the five hundred and first."