#krell's battalion

[mwolf0epsilon]

Shadowing Assessments

Cody, sitting down at midmeal with Rex to check up on current affairs: Hey Rex, how are you holding-- Rex, glancing at Cody looking all kinds of disheveled and tired to the bone: Hey Codes... Cody, shocked by his little brother's state: Stars, what the heck happened to you?! Rex, sighing: You know how the Jedi Council decided to temporarily divide the 105th into squads and send them off to shadow other battalions? Cody: Yes? It's to assess their capability to work with other Jedi, since we couldn't be sure they would trust the generals after what Krell put them through. Rex: And you know how the 501st took on their veteran troopers as a squad, because we thought we might have a better chance at connecting with them? Cody: Yes, I remember you being very adamant about it when we were getting squads assigned... Are they not adapting to the new arrangements? Rex, hiding his face in his hands and groaning loudly: That's... One way of putting it... -glancing over to the other corner of the mess hall- Cody, looks as well and gawks at what appears to be a full on brawl between 3 members of the 105th and 3 others of the 501st: What is going on over there?! Rex: So, it turns out that the Jedi were right to suspect Krell's men aren't overly cooperative. They just didn't realize to what extent and, stupidly, neither did we... Cody: Meaning? Rex: Cody, they don't trust anyone. Not even vode. And those who do usually stick to tiny groups. Which means, anything and everything is seen as either a threat or a challenge for dominance. Cody, visibly confused and concerned: D-Dominance? Rex: Krell had a twisted system of some sort. If I got it right then I think you had to earn amenities under him by gaining favor. This means food, sleep, medical treatment and equipment weren't readily given to them unless they pleased Krell in some way. Which means the 105th had to compete with each other at literally everything to earn what little a clone should have available to them... Cody, repulsed by what he's hearing: That's disgusting. And barbaric. How did no one notice this?! Rex: I know, trust me I know and I honestly wish I could get my hands on whatever natborn officers let this slip. The worst part is, no matter how hard I've tried, I haven't managed to get them to see General Skywalker and Commander Tano won't deny them things, or punish them for something as minor as breathing too loudly. Nor will they reward them for bashing each other's faces in over a place in the mess hall line... Cody, looking back at the brawl: Is that why they're fighting over there? For a place in line? Rex, looking at the group: ... Hm, no I think James just felt like antagonizing Jesse. And Fives tried to mediate but he got shoved back and collided with Lobo, who didn't take kindly and attacked him. Which is when Tup and Caprichoso got involved. Cody: ... Should we do something? Rex: I tried but... -points behind him- Cody, looks: Carno, sitting in the next table over staring at Rex while breathing heavily which his helmet vocoder transmits rather threateningly: Cody, blinking slowly: Carno, shakes his still helmeted head slowly in warning: Cody: .... I think we need a new approach to this problem. Rex: No kidding. If they can't work with other clones they won't have much of a future as troopers... And I'd rather not sign off on that kind of flimsywork. Cody: I'm sure we'll find a solution. We just need to figure out what works for them...

[sweaterandcoffe]

Anyone got a Krell's Battalion Fic AU where they join the 501st on Umbara?

need angst

[frogfrogfrogfrogoose]

Fives, calling Anakin on Umbara: Mom can you pick me up I’m scared.

Anakin: Fives-

Fives: All our men keep dying.

Anakin: I-

Fives: And Krell is being mean to Rex.

Anakin:

Anakin: Guess I’m starting my villain arc early.

[theblacktigrr]

"Look around-we're one and the same. Same heart, same blood"

Clones are more than just biological experiments. We learn this through the course of the Clone Wars. They care for each other, civilians, their Jedis, and even droids. They have fallen in love, started families, lead normal lives. The clone bar is always packed with soldiers trying to forget the war, trying to have fun, be people instead of experiments. There are so many horrifying missions they live through. The brain worms on Coruscant -- the Rishi Station -- Umbara -- Christophsis; they are feel the pain. They know when each brother dies, whether they're there when it happens or they hear about it in the mess hall 12 rotations later. The battle continues in their minds, when they are trying to sleep, examining strategies, trying to find what could've been done differently, how they could've saved lives. It's not by choice, it is in their programing. Sure they're a step up from droids, with some free thinking abilities. But since their birth they have been conditioned for war, rapid growth cycles aside: they are children, they just don't know it. The Nightmares. How many battles did it take before the average clone woke up in a cold sweat. How many pilots hands shook when they got in the cockpit, images of their brothers seared into the viewport. How long did it take for the constant battle to erode their humanity until they're no better than droids. Every clone knows The Nightmares. The failed missions, the weight of your brothers cold body in your arms. I can only imagine how the chip felt in their minds, could they feel it at all times, a tiny nagging in the back of their head saying "you can't be trusted, you're not in control." A sense of doom hanging over their heads, knowing their destined for greatness, an extermination. How did it feel, Tup, Fives, when they were free? When for just a moment, there was silence in their minds. Just a moment their thoughts were clear.

My poor poor boys, suffering things the mind can't even comprehend. Anyways, I'm rewatching the clone wars if you didn't notice (:

[roseaesynstylae]

If the 104th Battalion was sent to Umbara with the 501st, it would be over in an episode. The second Krell gets suspicious, Wolffe calls his dad and half an hour later Plo is dragging Krell to the Council.

[hastalavistabyebye]

That post about the similarities between the Guard and Krell's battalion ? Yeah, well now I'm obsessed. Krell's battalion are now my new lovelies. I'm so going to write them in one of my future projects. I've already got a few OC's forming and I already absolutely adore them.

[mrfandomwars]

I'm Trying to get through phase one of High Republic and was just reminded of one (well, two technically) au

It's basically of the Jedi Order from TCW and from HR switching places, as in, suddenly 10 000 TCW Jedi (... probably less, depending on the time) are in places where the HR Jedi were...

... And the 100 000(?) Jedi from the High Republic - thinking like, either in the middle of the phase I Or a year before it end up in the clone wars, the Strong Majority in the Tempe but many in the middle of battles

And right now my issue is deciding who gets which battalion (bc I'm thinking they are forced to take arms, or even Just soon after the teleportation)

Like who would get the 501st? The 212th? The 124th?

Thoughts and proposals?

[amberskyyking]

Clone Wars gave me big feelings and I accidentally wrote several hundred thousands words about it and now I’ve got fanfics (and paintings??) and pieces of my soul are on the internet and I blame the hat man. But turns out writing is cheaper than therapy and less likely to injure me than my other hobbies, so. Master list below! Please mind the tags and TWs.

Star Wars Long Fics Disillusioned - My big passion project story that started me down this rabbit hole in the first place! Cinnamon role rogue clone OCs and Luz the disaster pilot trip and fall into a series of rogue missions saving vode and taking names (mainly Krell, the name they are taking is Krell). 66 chapters long for… Reasons. 👀 Enemy - Sequel to Disillusioned, where big-hearted clones and a seriously pissed off Luz navigate the early seeds of a rebellion, doing their best to save each other and fuck the Empire while they're at it. Posting on Sundays! Dying Isn't Very Regulation - Fives should know better than to touch weird force shit, but what's the silver orb going to do? Kill him again? Pfft. (Time travel fix-it inspired by Snapback, by TooManyTeeth! With a sequel in the works - Murder Isn't Very Regulation, feat. Fox, because I have feelings okay???) Unattended Adiik'e Will Be Given Beskar'gam And A Free Tooka - Jaster Mereel finds a sad mandokarla child and Good-Buir-Jaster angst ensues (Written as a gift, but doubles as fic-therapy, I guess!) Implications Of Being Alive - Tech Lives but make it maliciously canon-compliant. That man is alive dammit, kriffing Domicile. Star Wars Short Fics & One Shots Facing Down Demons With A Drink In Hand - Captain Killswitch and his General have to face an old trauma in the form of his Jedi's old master, Pong Krell (Eventual series...?) You Trust Too Easily - Crosshair trusted the Bad Batch one too many times... And now it's too late. (Based off the BB S3 leak!!!) Brothers Gained Brothers Lost - Coruscant Guard CMO Stitch is fiercely loyal to Fox, and there's a fucking good reason for it. Collab work with TooManyTeeth! And part of a Corrie EU we've put together! How The Commander Crumbles - The story of Fox's downward spiral through the eyes of Stitch, who will never stop fighting for Fox's life, no matter how much darkness they face or how much of a self-sacrificing asshole Fox can be. Also part of the Corrie EU <3 Ten Out Of Ten - Fox stops himself from making a KMS joke. One thing leads to another, and the Corries throw the best talent show that Coruscant has ever seen.

Not-Star-Wars Fics, Lol Friend-Coded - Tron fic, post Legacy. Rinzler betrayed CLU. Rinzler fell into the Sea. Rinzler was not expecting to wake up in the presence of a *friend*.

PLANT BUIRE ART SERIES!!!! - I started painting clones with plants after making some jokes about it with TooManyTeeth and they're actually really fun?? I don't know how these guys are coming out of my own paint but they deserve lil plant friends!!! If you'd like a print of any of these please PM me! I'm glad to share the love <3 Commander Fox and his Cactus, cause he's a prickly guy Commander Wolffe and his Wolfsbane, he's proud it's so poisonous

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars 4.07 ‘Darkness on Umbara’ Reaction Take 2

I’m doing this post and the rest of these second watch reaction posts to the Umbara arc in the more live-blogging style reaction posts I’ve done for other episodes like 1x5 ‘Rookies’, 2x10 ‘The Deserter’ and 4x5 'Mercy Mission'. So much happens in these episodes and I feel like I missed a lot of it in my first reaction posts because I was going through all the emotions.

“Just like old times, Rex” WHY AM I SAD ALREADY

That is some very cool looking nose cone art on the 501st LAAT/i behind Fives. Can’t quite tell what it is but it certainly looks cool.

More Anakin and Obi Wan snark. Excellent. Business as usual then.

Well that’s not ominous at all

Naw, Rex checking in on Tup. I read somewhere that Tup was a shiny on Umbara but I can’t remember if this is canon or fanon.

The clone piloting the LAAT/i is named Hawk! Or at least he is according to the captions. Hey Hawk! More named clones! :D 

“Time to lock and load” CACKLING

The walkers just leap backwards out the back of the low flying LAAT/i’s? How is this a good idea? 

BOING. Yeet the walker.

I think this is the first time we actually hear what the clones are saying on a battlefield. Usually it’s just dialogue between the main characters but now there’s so many of them shouting and cheering and screaming and dying.

Rip the poor clone that jumped out of the LAAT/i and didn’t even make it onto the ground before being shot.

“The enemy could have the whole place rigged with traps.” Dammit Anakin you jinxed it.

“I can’t even see the enemy” Oh that’s going to come back and bite everyone in the arse really badly.

“It’s just a vine” Oh dear.

It’s the Umbaran sarlacc!

Fives being a badass and taking out the monster like it’s nothing. That was quite clever thinking in terrifying circumstances for him to keep his head and figure out he needs to get the monster to eat the explosive.

That shot of the trenches definitely reminds me of WWI and II. They’ve even got the troopers leaning against the sides with their blasters poking above the top.

“Maybe… back in the day” Dayum Rex, there a lot of feeling in that one. 

Surely an ambush and skittering assassin bugs would be something that Anakin would sense in the Force?

Lmao @ Hardcase trying to take out the bug with the blaster equivalent of a rotary canon. That’s like taking a flamethrower to a spider.

Fives have you been gargling gravel or something?

Well at least Anakin got rid of the assassin bug. Again.

That shot of the bombers and Odd Ball bombing the ridge and the ensuing explosion definitely felt like a reference to the Vietnam war.

Ah great, fuck face has arrived. Fuck off Krell.

Lol the ominous music at Krell’s arrival was definitely not foreboding at aaaaaaaaall.

“You won’t find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere.” DAMN STRAIGHT

How dare you impune Rex’s honour. How dare.

Cackling at Fives look at Rex immediately after Krell buggered off. He is so unimpressed.

Something about Fives’ voice is very… husky. 

“The men don’t need rest” ah fuck off

Oh you did not just address Rex by his fucking number

Is this where Rex got his dramatic flair for disappearing into the fog like he did in ‘Battle Scars’ in The Bad Batch?

I just had a heartbreaking thought. Is Fives here because Echo is gone and he doesn’t have an ARC partner (and twin) anymore? So Rex is doubling as his ARC partner for now until Jesse ends up as the other ARC in Torrent and the 501st? Do ARCs have partners and come in pairs? More angst for this already angst riddled arc (in more ways than one). Yay.

Is this Phase 2 clone armour? I think it is.

Poor Rex is trying to be diplomatic and balance dealing with Krell while also showing his men that he understands their concerns as well. I do like Fives’ view on this. He’s very ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’. I also loved that little exchange, you can really tell all of their different personalities just from that conversation. Hardcase is so gung ho, bless him.

“It’s too quiet out there.” Tup you precious anxious little bean

Rip Oz and Ringo

“You wanna piece of this” Hardcase living his best ‘blast everything’ life 

“I think Hardcase made ‘em mad.” CACKLING

Damn, Tup just taking out that Umbaran with a flip and a point blank blaster rifle shot to the face

“Make ‘em eat heat!” Hardcase is definitely in same vein as an 80s action hero

Rex just casually dual wielding with a horizontal grip like it’s nothing. Sir, you are showing off.

I would let Fives flip me over his shoulder and pound me into the ground. And then thank him for it. I have watched that part multiple times and it does not stop being hot. And the way he just casually stands up all cool and deadly and puts multiple blaster shots into the Umbaran. Sir, please contain your badassery. @nobie also has a fantastic gifset of this moment

Rex’s little flippy roll straight after this made me realise that he and Fives are fighting together. Oh Echo.

It’s almost jarring how noticeable it is that there isn’t a Jedi fighting alongside the clones. I couldn’t quite pick what felt off the first time until someone (Fives, I think?) mentions it later but it’s so obvious now. 

“Ha, ha, ha! Where ya goin’?” Hardcase is having the time of his life atm

Did Krell just shoulder check Fives?!

You can't jab Captain Rex in the shoulder like that!

Fives saying what everyone is thinking there. Also, what kind of Jedi threatens a clone with a lightsaber? Oh that’s right, a Sith.

Rex being an absolute badass

“I think he almost complimented you.” CACKLING

Fives and Rex just casually snarking while in the middle of a battlefield

[mwolf0epsilon]

The good thing about animals is that they don't judge you, which Captain Carno definitely needs more than anything...

— ☕️ Ko-fi | 🧡Commissions

[aspenstarflare]

Hello There! I haven’t really had much interaction with the clone wars community much so I’m just gonna put all my head cannons out there and hope for the best. (By the way it is Ok to disagree with these I am just putting these out for the fun of it)

-I imagine that Anakin is like this “fun dad” to the entire 501st, all the clones look up to him as a mutually respectable general but also the guy who would fight tooth and nail to keep each and every one of them safe and cared for. He has definitely helped a lot of his men through medical emergencies and panic attacks due to flashbacks, and also done goofy pranks on Obi-Wan the 212th to help distract his men from the dread that washes over when traveling to the next campaign. This guy was made to just be a father.

- Biromanic Asexual Obi-Wan. This guy flirts with all his opponents, must I say anything else?

-I know there’s a lot of confusion on if Ahsoka and Anakin have a Father-Daughter or Older Brother-Younger sister dynamic. I honestly believe that they way they view their dynamic is shifting a lot and seen as different from the duo but I do personally lean the Father-Daughter side as Ahsoka was a living being that Anakin was given the role of looking after and taking care of.

-Ahsoka definitely has jokingly called Obi-Wan “grandpa” to tease him for being the oldest of the three and Obi-Wan definitely deflected but hid a smile at the “joke comment”.

-AroAce Ahsoka. Why you may ask? Because I said so. I don’t wanna see her dating anyone. She need no romantic partner, she got her little chosen family. Cough Her color theme for Mandalore arc is the one for the AroAce flag Cough. When Ahsoka told Anakin that she didn’t romantically get attachments he definitely celebrated the fact he didn’t have to hunt any potential romantic partners down.

-No matter how awesome Ahsoka is at her job of being a commander, she definitely still is a child and definitely has some Anxiety issues to deal with. The order definitely ignored this and told her to “release these feelings through the force” and Anakin knowing better and being the good master he is keeps a extra bed in his chambers (on the cruiser and in the temple), bought her a tiny stuffed tooka for her to keep around when her “flight or flight was on at unnecessary times” (panic attack), and let her trail him around like a lost child when she felt like she couldn’t be alone. Rex and Fives definitely also found out and keep a eye on their little commander, inviting her to bunk with them and the men whenever they notice she keeps following the general around like a lost loath-cat.

-Pansexual Anakin. I don’t need to justify this. He loves everyone, he’s a guy who wares his heart on his sleeve. His most admirable trait is all the love he openly has to give.

-Sometimes when they’re on leave, Anakin and Ahsoka go visit Padme together just to simply have nights out or watch holonets together and just chill out and pretend to be a calm normal family for once.

-Anakin has PTSD. You cannot tell me that this man has been through so many freaking traumatic events in his life and does not have it.

I have so many more but I’m very tired of writing these so here you go for now, I wanted to speak more of the clones, I’ll probably do a second half when I get to it.

[theoraclej]

OOOH i’m in the umbara arc and my hate just ENGORGES for pong krell like every time

like i know he is killed for his crimes and extremism and still i rage

THOSE ARE PEOPLE YOU ARE THROWING AWAY

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

I'd feel safe too.

Krell!!!

Come Here Often? - Part 2

Here's Part 1. And finally Part 3

Warnings: Descriptions of blood and injury. Descriptions of medical procedures. General Krell being a total dick.

--------------------------------------------------

The second time you met Kix was on Umbara. You’d been sent by the council to work as a tactical advisor under General Krell. It wasn’t unusual that you’d be sent to work with Jedi other than your master and you were glad to work once more with the boys of the 501st.

Explosions of neon green plasma lit up the sky as you ducked behind a large rock. Working with Krell was nothing like you’d expected and frankly he made your stomach churn. You couldn’t believe that you’d been excited to work under his command. You had actually been looking forward to seeing the master tactician at work. However in the past 48 hours, the General had displayed a total disregard and disrespect for the lives of his men. You felt awful for shrugging off your friend Fives when he’d expressed concern at seeing you step off the transport beside Krell. You hoped he’d forgive you.

“Sir!” you snapped, trying but failing to control the frustration in your voice as you stood on a ridge overlooking the planet's gloomy darkness. General Krell regarded you coldly. “Sir, as your tactical advisor and second in command, I am asking you to reconsider. You have to see the flaw in a frontal assault here!” Captain Rex and Fives stood behind you silently backing your words, hoping that the General would listen to reason when it wasn’t coming from a clone.

“I’ll remind you that you are not in command here, Padawan Y/l/n,” he retorted putting emphasis on padawan. “Time is of the essence and I simply do not have time to listen to you whine. The feelings you harbor for these clones distract you. I suggest you put them aside and do your job.”

“With all due respect, sir,” you spit, letting your anger slip through, “it is my job to lead these men and I will advocate for them when you so carelessly put their lives in unnecessary risk and jeopardize the success of this mission!” The air seemed to grow silent and thick as Krell’s eyes flashed angrily.

“You are dismissed, Commander.” He turned and walked away. Fine. If the General insisted upon sending these men - your friends- on a suicide mission, you’d be right there in the front with them. You squared your jaw in defiant resolve and turned to face Rex and Fives.

“Prepare your men. We will continue with the all-out assault.” Rex frowned but nodded. Fives was scowling. You turned away then spun back to face them, “Make no mistake, I do not agree in the slightest with General Krell but it seems we have no other choice!” Maker, you hated this. Rex saluted and turned to follow your orders. Fives didn’t meet your eye.

“Captain,” you called after them, trying not to let your emotions bleed through to your words. Rex turned back towards you. “You can tell your men to follow me. I’ll be right beside you leading the charge myself.” Rex nodded with a pained expression, “Thank you, sir.”

So you had continued on with your lightsaber ignited, deflecting barrage after barrage of enemy fire. You’d stretched yourself beyond exhaustion protecting your men as best as you could with your force shields as you advanced on the air base.

It all happened so fast. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw an Umbaran fighter training it’s guns on the unsuspecting Fives and Hardcase as they engaged hand to claw with another flying native creature.

“LOOK OUT!” you screamed, but it was too late. In one horrifying moment, you raised your hand sending them flying out of the way. The next you were on the ground, ears ringing. You vaguely recalled the blast burning through your armor, flinging you into something hard. You felt like you were floating under water, everything was distant and fuzzy. Spots flitted in and out of your vision and you tasted blood. “Am I dying?” you thought. That scared you. You must have blacked out at some point because when you opened your eyes, someone was kneeling over you. His hands were pressed to your body, nimble fingers skillfully packing gauze into a bleeding wound in your side torn by shrapnel. It hurt. By the Force, it hurt. You opened your mouth but all that came out was a whimper.

“Y/n?” he turned his head to look at you. You could barely hear him over the ringing in your ears. “Y/n can you hear me?” You tried to focus your eyes on the man calling your name. It was Kix. A small grin formed on your exhausted face, “You come here often?” you choke out, wincing in pain. Kix chuckled,

“Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact, Commander.” His kind eyes filled with concern as he tied off the bandage and moved his hands up to your chest just below your left breast. You shivered as you realized your top had been cut open, leaving you only in your chest band. White hot pain shot through your body and you cried out, grasping at his wrist as he secured a large bacta patch. You were shaking, no doubt in shock. “Shh… I know it hurts, y/n.” Kix brought a hand to your face gently wiping tears away with his thumb. You took a shaky breath, looking up at him with wide eyes. He looked back at you with compassion. “I know it hurts, y/n,” he soothed, “but I need you to stay quiet for me, okay?” You leaned into his touch, finding comfort in the hand caressing your face. “Can you do that for me, Mesh’la?” You nodded, giving him a shaky smile. “Good girl.” He reached into his pack, “this will help with the pain.” He brushed your hair away from your neck and gave you an injection. You flinched as the needle pierced your skin. The medicine burned fiercely but only for a second and soon all of your pain dulled exponentially. With reprieve from the pain, your body grew heavy with exhaustion and you let your head rest on Kix’s shoulder as he carried you over to where the rest of the wounded were staged. You closed your eyes, leaning against the rock where he’d set you down. A smile played at your lips as you heard him speak gentle reassurances to his wounded brothers before taking charge and giving commands to the soldiers sent to help him. You faded into sleep feeling safe under his careful watch.

[cloned-eyes]

Big info drop under the cut

Ghoul

CC-1313 I Formerly Commander Jenot of Battalion 331st (destroyed)

Currently leading Special Cloneforce Hellhounds

Backstory

Upbringing

CC-1313 was raised and trained to eventually become a Clone Comander for the GAR. The majority of his childhood years were spend with his batch brothers and fellow soon to be Commanders Fox and Wolffe to which he remained a close bond of brotherhood even after the tragedy of Toydaria and his fall into absolute disloyalty of the GAR and the Republic. During this time he still used the name Jenot.

Tragedy of Toydaria

Jenot and the 331st served under Pong Krell for the first few months of the war. Even though the 331st was a very skilled and sturdy battillion it suffered great loses under the reckless and uncaring lead of the Jedi General. Shrinking it down to half it's size in the span of only three months.

While still unshaken in his loyality to the GAR and the Republic Jenot couldn't help to develop doubts and distrust in his supiriours. Struggeling a lot to keep his ranks together and his men motivated.

Eventually the separatist launched a grand attack on Toydaria and even though Pong Krell was well aware that he hadn't the capacity to stand against it he still gave the order to engage - although not leading his men himself but calling in the Jedi Knight Uros Io who at this point just recently rejoined the Jedi Order and lacked any practical expirience on the battlefield. Even though General Io was an extremly skilled Jedi, she was of no use as a General in a dire situation like this. And even though she realised her short comings and let Jenot take charge it was apparent that with lacking men and gear this battle was one that couldn't be won.

They managed to hold the line for three weeks before the overpowering seperatist forces started to push them back. Jenot watched his men die like flies and was aware that it would be a shared fate. Being pushed back to the capital the last remaining men of the 331st were killed by an airstrike. A fate Jenot almost shared but escaped due to General Io keeping him alive long enough for the arriving reinforcements to evacuate them.

Recovery on Kamino

For his recovery Ghoul and a handful severly damaged other clones of his battilion were shipped to Kamino while General Io - who suffered from great injuries herself - was treated back at the Jedi Temple. Due to a missunderstanding only Jenot was actually treated on Kamino. His recovery the only one prioritised while the rest of his men were utilised as test subjects for kaminoan expiriments - all of them lethal.

Unable to move or talk or respond in any way Jenot had to wittness the rest of his loyal battilion perish and listening to the staff in charge festered an untamable rage and hatred for the GAR, the Jedi and the Republic. His trust and loyalty shattering for ever, turning him into the man he soon would become. Even though his life was spared due to General Io, he began to nurse a life long hatred of her. Blaming her orders for the inhumane deaths of his men.

During his time in recovery Jenot developed a habit of sneaking out of the medical wing in which he was treated. Seeking silent corners for himself where he could watch the see outside rage. It was in one of those fateful nights he found himself in the company of three clone cadets who had caught rumor about "dead clone walking" - a ghoul risen from the battlefield.

Jenot, unable to overcome his anger and pain- decided to show those unsuspecting kids the reality of war and the reality of what it meant to be a clone: being property and being exploited.

Little did he know that those three exact cadets would become his new squad only two years later.

Embracing the crude name whisperd behind his back, he decided to let Jenot die and embraced the man he had been beaten into - Ghoul.

A Dead Clone Walking

Even with the loss of his arm, fingers, hearing and lower face Ghoul recoverd exeptionally swift. Making no secret out of his newfound hatred for the GAR supiriors in charge intended to get him decommissioned. Plans that fell short due to General Io convincing the Jedi Order to extent protection over the clone commander.

And while Ghoul proved himself to be difficult to work with he was also exceptionally skilled. The decision was made that he would operate solo, taking on special tasks that where considered suicide missions. Whether he failed or not was relativley not important. If he succeeded the Republic had intel, if not they had one pesky clone less to worry about. While getting accostumed to his new prosthetics and regaining back his former strength Ghoul was shortly tasked with overseeing the training of Cloneforce 99. His battlefield expirience deemed highly valuable and wanted to be taught to the expirimental unit to better their chances of success later.

After Kamino

Ghoul spend his time with achiving the impossible. Retrieving whatever was asked off him. He was well aware that the missions picked out for him were exclusively lethal ones. Yet he returned every single time to spite the GAR. To make a point. He was avidence of what the war was actually. The ugly shadow of the Republic. And he wasn't to be silenced. During this time his mind spiraled deeper and deeper into rage. His opinions became borderline traiterous and he walked a very fine line of getting caught for them. It was also the time he dettached himself from the idea of clone brotherhood. Getting rejected in the truth he had lived by fellow soldiers and shuned out, being nothing but a ghost story for them Ghoul grew resentful. Usual loyalty and empathy clones reserved for eachothers died out in Ghoul. Isolating himself even further from others, going as far as questioning if the men he called his actual brothers saw him still as an equal - Saw Ghoul as an equal - or if they only tolerated him because of what they once had.

Becoming Human again

Being pressured by Wolffe to join him for a drink at the 79's Ghoul met Odessa, a Twilek bartender and refugee from Ryloth. Having no interest in making "friends" Ghoul didn't spare Odessa much mind, just as everybody else. But fate brought both of them back together over and over again, causing a presumed dead side of Ghoul to seek out connection again. Slowly falling in love with the gentle, bubbly Twilek back on Coruscant. Giving him an actual reason to come back. A newfound motivation to keep fighting. Not for the GAR, not for the Republic but for her. Falling helplessly in love with her.

Asking her for her hand only a year after only to almost die on a mission and going mission for months afterwards. Leaving a pregnat Odessa behind, unbeknown to him. Though luckily being offered the chance to return due to the unyielding loyalty of his new unit. His Hellhounds - Wizard, 2020 and Fang - who had accompinied him during the mission and kept searching for him after being seperated and eventually succeeding in tracking him down and bringing him back. Greatly injured but alive.

Order 66 and the aftermath

During Order 66 Ghoul was still recovering from his injuries. Allowing himself to spend some time with his wife and newborn child. It didn't take him long that with the fall of the Republic the time of clones was also limted. While during the Republic he had imunity granted due to the Jedi he was defenseless under this new Imperium. Determined to keep his family save Ghoul deserted and escaped the Imperiums graps just in time.

Settling on a small, unimportant planet in the outer rim where he and Odessa build a live for themselves. Around two years after the fall of the Republic, awaiting a second a child Ghoul was visited by Rex, Echo and an old friend Howzer. The three seeked support in their cause to save clones. Ghoul, while initially unwilling to help feeling resentful over the treatment he had reviced over telling the truth even before Order 66 still, eventually agreed to help after Howzer explained that his Hellhounds had fallen victim to the Imperium aswell and were held captive.

Though never fully part of Rex's and Echos clone rebellion, Ghoul often found himself helping out.

With the years passing Ghoul and Odessa had another two kids - teh youngest seemingly sensitive to the Force. Doing what he was best at, Ghoul spend his time building a Guild for Bounty Hunters. Most of them other clones but also his oldest son and daughter. Though the latter eventual leaving the family business to travel the universe alone.

Trivia

Jenot is the polish word for Raccon dog.

Ghoul is deaf and requires hearing aids. Odessa taught him Ryl sign language. He's fluent in basic sign language and Ryl sign language

Ghoul due to his lack of a real tongue can't taste regular food. Odessa makes him super spicy protein bars that he can take onto mission with him.

The tattoo on his right arm is Odessas Lekku pattern. He got it before he asked her to marry him.

Ghoul killed a stalker of Odessa without ever telling her. It also sparked his friendship with Halo - who was an accidental wittness and helped him dispose of the body.

Ghoul is the middle brother of the Vulpus Trio- Fox, Ghoul, Wolffe

His favorite colour is azure blue. It reminds him of Odessas eyes

The order of his children is Vahan, Tarkona, Reyk and Rha

Ghoul can understand Ryl but is very rocky when it comes to speaking it. His kids love to tease him with it.

His favorite drink is Oryxxian Catsblood. An alcoholic beverage that leaves a nice warm burn in his throat despite his prostethics

Ghoul was very proud of his beard and its one of the things he misses dearly since his injury.

Vahan and Tarkona are characterwise carbon copies of Ghoul, while Reyk and Rha resemble Odessa

Odessa is @therisingdarkness character. Their kids as well as the Hellhounds are our shared effort

If you want to know more about Ghoul and Odessa check out these amazing fic of her

Five times (Ghoul x Odessa story)

[hastalavistabyebye]

Hi Hasta! Please tell me all about your OCs, Marcia and the Cantina Ghosts. I know absolutely nothing about them but I would like to!

Hi Thirsty !! Thank you very much for the ask <3

You can find Marcia's presentation here (there's add info on him in his tag, including a ficlet I've written for trans clone week) and the Cantina Ghosts' lore here + their picrews

Marcia is my (french) 80s music inspired baby ! She's an engineer of the 327th and the exact definition of a party boy. Gender is just glitter they use as makeup and xey collect pronouns like pretty rocks. He's a bleeding heart chewing bumble gum and drinking the most colorful cocktails available.

I adore zir. She's always in my mind xD

They're loud but care with their entire heart. Vae can be brought into tinkering prank material, vae's a very talented engineer (but she's very expensive). And zir engineer siblings always keep strawberry and chocolate ice cream around because it's the heartbreak comfort food (Marcia falls in love very very easily. Alas she's not always lucky)

I want to write a meeting between her and some of our favorite Torrent troopers. Because there is no way she didn't hit it off with at least Fives. And I'm also thinking of finding Marcia a Corrie partner 🤔🤔

I sadly didn't found a satisfying picrew that was at the same time cute, with 80's vibes outfits, and having both a haircut similar to the one Marcia has and a moustache option :( I might be asking for too much, I know x'D (the closest I did for now was a cute picrew I shared here but it doesn't have Marcia's hair)

~

The Cantina Ghosts are a music band composed of Whistler (banjo and harmonica + "percussions", deployed with the Wolfpack, more country music, he/him), Ivory (medic in the 41st, pianist, more classic music, she/her), Lydian (Ivory's batchmate, was under Mace Windu's battalion but was the first of the three to desert, trumpet plus some others instruments, jazz music) and Hadil Ziveri, the orphaned Mirilian-Twi'lek girl that Lydian adopt.

During the Empire, they are a very mysterious and famous band that appears in various cantinas and bars across the Galaxy before disappearing again. Every spacer knew about them. Or at least knew the name of the band. Some even tell tales of the time they had been lucky enough to see them perform. An entire section of the holonet is dedicated at following their apparitions. The legends are very thick around them. Nobody knows their name, nobody knows who they are (especially not Lydian who even their pronouns are a complete mystery).

But back into the safety of their ship ? They're a family simply going through the days little by little. Hadil and Lydian learn to cook together, and both are pretty good at it. They love to test recipes from Hadil's different cultures and recreate as much as possible the flavors of her childhood. Sometimes Whistler or Ivory will try to learn too, but it's mostly their quiet moments for just the two of them.

Whistler took a liking to engineering while learning how to repair their pretty ship who's also their home. He's also the one that had created Lydian's earring aid. But regarding the prosthetics of his little siblings he doesn't really have much to do, Lydian doesn't really like to wear their aid (the sounds are all wrong, better to barely hear anything than hear robotic, flat sounds only), and Ivory can tuned her leg prosthetic herself, thank you very much.

And Ivory took a liking to piloting. It's more because she like the sight of the stars from the cockpit than she like piloting in itself (even if it feels meditative too). None of them end up really passionate about piloting really. Especially not when they have to swiftly escape from imperial patrols, but it doesn't happen often (they stay carefully out of the most troublesome areas).

[vizslasaber]

FRIENDLY FIRE ──── i.

summary: after landing on the umbaran surface, you butt heads with your fellow general—but get along swimmingly with your temporary clone captain.

pairing: captain rex x female jedi!reader

word count: 3.9k

warnings: combat/action, mentions of injury + death, krell being a bitch, reader with a name instead of y/n because i hate it

a/n: it’s back!!! previously i posted this series on my main, @brrmian, but i changed that blog’s username and have mostly shifted over to fanart and general SW content. i’ve decided to dedicate this new side blog’s content entirely to fic writing under my old username, posting reader insert on here and everything else on ao3! this fic will be updated sparsely but definitely more often than it was on my main. i’ve changed a few things regarding the plot of this series specifically, and i like it a lot more now!!

series masterlist | click here to add or remove yourself from the taglist!

You hadn’t wanted to leave the Temple behind—you still don’t, even lightyears away from the Core.

When the Jedi Council had first made you aware of the plan to have you and a Master you’d never met capture an Umbaran airbase with troops that were not your own, you had put up something of a fight. What right, you demanded, did the Chancellor have the right to simply pull a Jedi from their sacred duty for a trivial air-to-ground assault?

The Council had either not wanted to answer this question or had not known how to, so now you stand on a transport gunship with two clone troopers and an intimidatingly tall Besalisk Jedi Master by the name of Pong Krell. Both of you are holding onto the grab handles hanging from the ceiling; you’re gripping the handle so tightly your knuckles are slightly pale, but Krell looks perfectly steady.

Of course he is, you think bitterly. He has four arms.

The atmosphere of Umbara is breathable but strangely thick—fog seeps through the blast door openings, and the lights inside the gunship’s passenger bay seem to have dimmed. Your lightsabers bump against your hips and you wince slightly as sounds of frantic gunfire reach your ears.

This will be your first campaign.

You have seen death before, on missions as a Padawan before the war—but never on this scale, if the reports of your already-knighted friends from the Temple are anything to go by. You only hope that you will be assigned your own battalion soon, so you don’t have to go running around replacing wayward Generals.

It’s hard, standing at the side of an imposing Master, not to feel like a Padawan. The skin behind your right ear burns with the memory of the braid that had been there just last week, waiting to be sheared off as you prepared for your ascension to Knighthood.

While your battalion assignment is pending, Master Windu told you as you stood in the center of the Council Chamber, the Senate has requested that we send two Jedi Knights to replace Skywalker on Umbara.

Master Krell is already on-world, assisting Master Kenobi, but he will need another Jedi’s help if he and the 501st are to take the capital in Skywalker’s stead, Master Plo explained, his hologram flickering as he called in from some faraway world.

All due respect, Masters, you remember asking as you willed yourself not to tremble, but why me? I’ve never been anywhere near the front. I wouldn’t be much help.

Believe in your potential, we do, Master Yoda said. An opportunity for you to do good, the Force has given you.

And that, it was decided, was that.

Even now, after meditating on your anxiety for practically the entire journey through hyperspace, your nerves feel impossibly frayed. The transport jostles, but you only sway slightly, arm already holding onto an overhead handle for balance. There’s a shiny new military-issue commlink attached to your right vambrace. A morbid thought, of calling in a medevac for injured soldiers with this very communicator, crosses your mind—but you let it dissipate.

The gunship suddenly makes a sharp dive, and your stomach swoops—you must be about to land. You spare a glance at General Krell, who has now let go of the grab handles and has crossed all four of his arms over his chest. For a moment, you’re almost tempted to ask how he manages to stay so balanced while the ship is moving, but then the blast doors slide open and the gunship lands in shadowy darkness.

The first person you see is Anakin Skywalker. He’s around your age, maybe a bit younger—despite having been knighted several years earlier, as one of the first Padawan victims of the Jedi Military Integration Act. Your Master, ever traditional even when the Order began to stray from its centuries-old teachings, did her best to keep you apprenticed for as long as possible, but even that eventually proved futile.

In the end, you and Anakin are practically of the same age, and yet he has infinite more experience than you. Uncertainty wheedles its way into your chest and slips a pin into your lungs; you’re holding your breath as you follow Krell off the gunship.

Being far shorter than the Besalisk, you have to jump down. When you hit the ground, you shiver at the misty atmosphere, watching as bioluminescent specks of dust fly up underneath your boots.

As the two of you approach, you hear the troopers of the 501st legion mutter amongst themselves, but you push it aside and focus on the pleasantries.

“General Krell. General Neridian,” Anakin says, smiling graciously. “My thanks for the air support.”

“Indeed, General Skywalker,” Krell replies, bowing politely. “The locals have proven to be more resourceful than we anticipated.”

“We managed to get here in one piece, though,” you add jokingly, and Anakin smirks, his eyes twinkling. You gesture to the troopers unloading the gunship behind you. “And we brought ration resupplies.”

Anakin nods appreciatively, then raises one eyebrow after a moment, looking slightly confused. “But—that’s not the reason for your visit.”

“No,” Krell admits. “The Council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effective immediately.”

“What?” Skywalker demands. “Wh-why?”

“The Chancellor...” you pause, searching for a word, before you settle on, “insisted that you return. The Council had no say on the matter.”

“That is all they would tell us,” Krell adds, though he doesn’t sound displeased.

“Well, I—I can’t just leave my men!” Anakin protests, and for the first time you notice the trooper standing at attention beside him.

He’s identical to all the clones you’ve met, of course, except for one detail—his hair is blond. You wonder vaguely if it would be polite to ask him whether or not it’s natural as you survey his armor. The pauldron on his left shoulder indicates a position of command, but he carries a sense of individuality in the Force that, despite your inexperience with working with them, you’ve come to realize every clone has. His helmet is painted with a distinctly Mandalorian sigil, but it’s not one you recognize.

His gaze is pointed directly ahead; he makes no eye contact with you. Probably just as annoyed at the change of plans as Anakin is, you realize.

Krell moves to speak, jolting you from your thoughts. You recognize Anakin’s agitation, however, so you calmly move to intercept.

“The Council would not just leave your troopers to fend for themselves—not that they aren’t perfectly capable of doing so, of course,” you add, which merits the barest hint of a smile from the trooper standing beside Anakin. “It’s just… well, the Senate needs a Jedi to be at the head of every campaign, and I guess they figured subtracting one of you would mean—”

“—adding two other Jedi,” Anakin says with a snort of derision. “Yeah… sounds like the Senate. But you guys’ll probably get it done faster anyway.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, sir,” interjects the trooper, and Anakin looks to him. “We’ll have this city under control by the time you’re back.”

“Generals, this is Captain Rex, my first in command,” Anakin says fondly, and you see something like pride show itself in Rex’s eyes. “You won’t find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere.”

“I don’t doubt it,” you affirm earnestly.

“Yes, that is good to hear,” Krell agrees, then places a large hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “I wish you well, Skywalker.”

Anakin simply nods at him, then stops beside you and says, “I hear you passed the Trials.”

You gesture to your hair, now void of a Padawan braid. “Apparently so,” you reply. “Funny, I didn’t think you were one to get swept into the rumour mill.”

A grin, boyish and bright, springs to Anakin’s face. “Nah, I’m always one for good gossip.” His expression turns softer, then, and he puts a hand on your shoulder. “Seriously, though… congratulations.”

“Thank you,” you say, but he’s already approaching the gunship and taking hold of one of the grab handles. The ship is off within seconds, and you can’t help but feel apprehensive as it flies away, up into the fog.

Taking a moment to gather yourself, you turn to Rex and offer a polite nod. He returns it, then says, “It is an honour to be serving with you, Generals.”

“The honour is all mine,” you return graciously, and Rex looks like he’s about to say something else, but stops when Krell begins to speak.

“I find it very interesting, Captain, that you are able to recognize the value of honour,” he begins, then—almost as an afterthought—adds, “for a clone.”

Silence.

Your eyebrows shoot up, and as Rex stares at Krell in shock, you feel your armored chest tighten—with frustration or shock, you don’t yet know.

“Stand at attention when I address you,” Krell snaps, turning to face the other troopers, and as Rex obliges, you narrow your eyes and step forward.

“Master Krell,” you start, your jaw tightening, “I do believe it would be far more... prudent to show respect to the soldiers who have so graciously agreed to undertake this mission with us.” You tilt your head questioningly, sending your ponytail swaying. “After all—we are the ones who just arrived.”

A ripple of white-hot anger moves through the Force with lightning speed, but it’s gone before you can take time to process it. Now, all you can feel is something akin to gratitude, trickling like a cool waterfall from where Rex stands, back straight and eyes ahead.

“They agreed to nothing,” Krell counters, and you blink as his wide upper lip curls back to reveal a row of dangerously sharp teeth. “Do not forget, young one, that we are the Generals they serve under at present.”

“I...” you pause, momentarily at a loss for words, then clasp your hands behind your back and force your jaw to unclench. “I haven’t forgotten that. But I also haven’t forgotten that the only way to succeed in this endeavour is to work together.”

“And with what experience do you so kindly bestow this advice upon us, Knight Neridian?” Krell asks, and the question is like a bucket of ice water down the back of your robes.

You swallow, and search for the words to say, but none come. Cheeks burning with shame, you stare determinedly at the ground.

The tension in Krell’s Force signature disappears, as sudden as the crack of a whip, and he draws in a deep breath. You look up as the pouch-like piece of flesh under Krell’s chin grows in size and he begins to pace.

“Nevertheless,” Krell brushes off, acting as though none of your words register with him, “there’s a reason my command is so effective, and it’s because I do things by the book.” He walks past a soldier in an ARC Trooper uniform who has the number five tattooed on his right temple. The trooper doesn’t move as Krell passes him, but you can see a vein on his forehead bulge.

“And that includes protocol,” Krell puts in. He turns to you. “Have all platoons ready to move out immediately.”

You bristle. “I—I thought we were to make decisions together,” you protest, raising your chin defiantly.

Technically, there’s nothing to defy, seeing as you hold equal rank with Krell—but the Council specified in their briefing that this was supposed to be a learning experience, an introduction to combat before receiving your own battalion. And something about Master Krell demands respect, or at the very least obedience, despite the fact that you’re starting to want to do everything you can not to give it to him.

Krell simply huffs and turns around, his yellow eyes flashing, and walks away, leaving you surrounded by a platoon troopers.

You frown after him. “Well, now I know why Master Venn wished me good luck,” you mutter, mostly to yourself. Some of the troopers snicker, but you hardly notice.

Your former master, Esya Venn, had pulled you aside just before leaving. The look on her face had been nothing short of concerned, but you’d shrugged it off in the moment, even when she’d told you to be careful, Padawan. She never told anyone to be careful—it was simply a reflex to think twice about your actions around Esya.

But now you understand.

Scrubbing a hand over your tired face, you take a deep breath and turn to Captain Rex. “Shall we set off?” you ask, and he nods, promptly putting on his helmet.

“Move out, soldiers!” he shouts, starting down the path after Krell. “Come on, let’s go!”

You give Rex a grateful smile, and though you can’t see his face, you know he’s returning it. With one last glance at the battalion, you hurry to the front and fall into step next to General Krell.

It’s silent for some time. Krell doesn’t deter, no matter how dark it gets, and after a while you begin to grow uncomfortable next to him. The anger you’d felt in the Force earlier is dormant, but certainly there, and it makes chills erupt down your spine.

"I’m going to check on the Captain,” you say, and Krell only nods when you turn around and quickly find Rex, who’s walking about two meters behind where you previously were.

The Captain salutes briefly. “General.”

“Captain,” you reply politely, before glancing back at Krell. “I can’t help but notice that there’s—” you pause for a moment. Do these troopers know enough about the Force to have conversations with you about it?

Knowing Anakin, you realize, they probably do, so you clear your throat and continue. “I get a strange feeling from Master Krell,” you say quietly.

Rex’s shoulders relax just slightly. “How so, sir?”

You bite your lip and shake your head. “I don’t know, exactly,” you reply, then gesture vaguely in front of you, where Krell is half-visible in the murky fog. “The Force around him is unclear. It’s... hard to explain.”

“Hard to explain, as in it’s a Jedi thing?” Rex guesses, and you grin widely.

“Yes,” you say. “It’s a Jedi thing.” Reaching up, you curl a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

“I may not be a Jedi, sir,” Rex says after a moment, “but I think I know what you mean by strange feeling.”

“Quicken that pace, battalion!” Krell suddenly shouts over his shoulder, and you jump. “This isn’t some training course on Kamino.”

You sigh and raise your voice, turning to the troopers. “What General Krell means,” you call, pointedly shooting a glare at the Besalik’s back, “is that we must continue to make good time. Keep up the good work.”

Krell gives no answer, but you feel a ripple of frustration coming from his direction. There’s another thread in the Force, one of gratitude, but you can’t tell where exactly it’s coming from. You latch onto it nonetheless and file the feeling away for later, letting yourself make an easy pace just ahead of Rex.

“He certainly has a way with words,” you hear one of the clones say, and when you glance behind you out of the corner of your eye, you can see that the source is someone with similar armor to Rex’s. Another ARC, or someone of similar rank.

There’s a sigh. You think it’s from Rex. The troopers obviously don’t know you’re listening, so you direct your gaze ahead, keeping your pace steady.

“He’s just trying to keep us on schedule,” Rex explains, voice hushed and sounding a bit sheepish.

"By raising everyone’s ire?” the other trooper grumbles.

“Either way, he’s in charge,” Rex protests. “And we’ve got a job to do.”

“She’s in charge, too,” hisses the trooper, and you purse your lips, knowing he’s pointing to you.

Another sigh, again from Rex. “Just—treat them both with respect, and we’ll all get along fine.”

You’re about to turn around when your neck stiffens. It’s an instinctual reaction, like the Force tapping you on the shoulder—one that you’ve learned to interpret as a warning. Less than a second later, a loud screech echoes above your head.

“Ready your weapons!” Rex shouts, at the same moment you draw one lightsaber.

Faster than your eyes can process, a winged creature swoops down and grabs a trooper—but you don’t need your eyes. The cyan beam of your lightsaber casts a glow on the shadowy ground, and you jump upwards, landing on a large plant that allows you to swing from a vine and graze the blade across the wing of one of the creatures. It falls to the ground with another screech before flying away, relatively unharmed.

One to go.

You’re about to grab hold of a second vine and swing towards the other creature, but a flash of blurred blue and green makes you pull back—Krell beats you to it, landing on top of the creature and wrestling it to the ground.

“Wait—stop!” you shout as he draws his lightsabers, but it’s too late. He’s already skewered the creature mercilessly, and it lies dead on the ground, life blinking out of the Force in an instant.

You jump off of the large plant, landing on both feet, and hook your now deactivated lightsaber onto your belt. “Why did you kill it?” you demand, pushing past several onlooking clones.

“It is nothing more than a violent inhabitant of this area,” Krell dismisses, and you feel your jaw drop.

“But…” you start, at a loss for words. “The Code decrees—”

“The Code,” Krell says coldly as he turns to stare at you, “allows for self defense.”

You draw yourself up to your full height, switching off your lightsaber with a snap-hiss before hooking it back onto your belt. “That’s not what—”

Krell’s lightsabers deactivate loudly, cutting you off, and he returns them to either side of his belt before turning away and continuing on the path. “Anyone else want to stop and play with the animals?”

No one answers, but you feel your fists clench as if of their own accord.

This is going to be a long night.

Umbara’s plant life is fascinating. Observing the bioluminescent life forms is the only thing that serves a proper distraction from both the grumbling clone troopers and the pit of apprehension in your stomach. You’d been walking for twelve hours, give or take, and every time you’d tried to suggest a break to Krell, he’d snapped at you.

This can’t be allowed, you think bitterly, skipping over a glowing pink tree root, boots skidding on the dark purple ground.

You chew on your bottom lip and glance at the clones behind you. They are understandably worn out, and even with the extensive survival training Master Esya drilled into you as a Padawan, you were starting to get tired, too.

“Sir,” says a voice from behind you, and you jump, expecting in your exhaustion to see Krell—but it’s just Rex.

“We’ve been keeping this pace for almost half a rotation,” Rex points out, sounding vaguely nervous. “The men are... starting to tire. General Krell is...” he tilts his head, expressionless visor unreadable. “You know.”

You muster a smile, hoping you look at least a little like Master Enya, and nod.

“I know, Captain,” you say, and he shifts slightly, as though his blue-painted pauldron is uncomfortable. You can’t blame him. Running a hand over your ponytail, you blow out a breath and frown at the puff of air that appears in front of you. “Let me talk to him. Tell the men to start searching for a good spot to camp for a few hours.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you catch Rex giving an affirmative thumbs up to the troopers behind him, but by then you’re already approaching Krell, clasping your hands tightly behind your back.

“Master Krell,” you start, and Krell turns his head just a bit. “I’ve told the men to scout for a place to rest. I reviewed the mission plan on the way here, and we can spare three hours without being delayed, possibly more—”

“The men don’t need rest,” Krell interrupts, and you feel your cheeks flush with anger. “They need resolve to complete the task at hand.”

“Apologies, Master,” you say, squaring your shoulders as frustration heats your neck and face. You breathe deeply. There is no emotion, only peace. “But I don’t think the men will be on their best game when we reach the capital if they don’t take some time to gather themselves.”

“That they need to ‘gather themselves’ is a sign of weakness,” Krell cuts in, stopping and turning to face you with a sneer. “That is not what these clones were bred for.”

Not far away, many of the soldiers bristle at Krell’s choice of words, but you keep your focus on the yellow eyes staring you down for the second time that night.

“They weren’t bred to be mindless droids, either,” you argue, crossing your arms over your chest and making sure to keep your voice even. “And in case you’ve forgotten, even battle droids need to recharge. If we march on the Capital without any sort of break first, I promise you, this mission will not go as planned. Exhausted and underfed soldiers are a guaranteed disadvantage.”

Krell studies you, a sneer forming on his lips. “I see you take after your Master’s incessant need to get the last word on anyone she disagrees with.”

You scowl. “I beg your pardon, but Master Venn is—”

He ignores you, cutting past where you stand and walking away. “Do what you wish, Neridian,” he dismisses, then walks away to stand by a glowing tree.

A sigh escapes your lips, and you close your eyes. It’s becoming harder and harder not to snap at him—but you know what the Order’s teachings require of you. Emotion, yet peace.

You grimace as Krell retreats to the back of the line, then turn back to the troopers nearby and give Rex a nod. The captain returns it in what you hope is a grateful manner, then calls for the men to make camp at the top of the ridge your group has been climbing.

By the time you gather all the troopers together, the battalion has put together a hasty campsite, with half the troopers having fallen into a fitful sleep and the other half keeping watch while eating as many rations as the limit allows. You frown and approach the trooper you heard Rex talking to earlier, his Force signature familiar from when you were eavesdropping. His helmet is now sitting in his lap, being meticulously cleaned with what little supplies the battalion has on hand.

You study the soldier. He has a tattoo on his right temple, and upon studying it, you realize it’s the same ARC trooper who’d been glaring at Krell when you stepped off the gunship. You wonder what significance the number five has to him.

Taking another step forward, you clear your throat. “Trooper,” you begin, and the soldier looks up curiously before abruptly shooting to his feet and snapping off a salute. You wave a nonchalant hand. “No need for that. I only wanted to ask a favor—can you gather troopers to stand watch? Six at a time, tops, and make sure they take turns so everyone can rest. That includes you.”

“You got it, sir,” says the trooper, and you smile.

“Sorry, I don’t believe I caught your name...” you say, then, and the trooper blinks.

“Oh, uh—it’s Fives, sir.”

“I see,” you reply, gaze flickering to his tattoo and back again. “Thank you, Fives.”

You retreat to your own tent soon after, shrugging off your vambraces and arranging them neatly next to your bedroll. This wouldn’t be the shortest sleep cycle you’d had, what with the nature of your apprenticeship at the temple—but not the longest, either.

From what you can hear inside your tent, the camp is silent. Slowly, you poke your head through the canvas flaps to find exactly six men—as you’d requested—sitting in the center of camp. Farther away, at the outskirts of the circle of tents, sits Master Krell’s hulking form. In spite of yourself, you frown.

“General?” asks a sudden voice above you; letting out an involuntary yelp, you scramble backwards before stopping at the sight of Rex standing near the entrance to your tent.

Embarrassed, you stand up, brushing off your cream-coloured robes. “Sorry,” you say sheepishly. “I could swear I’m not usually so jumpy, I don’t know what—” you look up and stop short.

Rex has removed his helmet.

His blond hair isn’t a surprise this time around, but close up, you’re struck by how tired he looks. There are smile lines at the corners of his eyes, but his face is cast in exhausted shadows.

You wonder if a full night’s sleep is something he’s ever had, or if the training regiments on Kamino prepared him and his brothers for this kind of halfhearted sleep cycle. Curiously, you study him.

Rex’s eyes are golden-brown in the dying light of this shadowy planet. They’re the same shade as all the troopers in the immediate vicinity. And yet, as you stare into them, something in you stirs as your Force signature brushes against his—something you know you’re not supposed to feel.

“Er, General,” Rex repeats, jolting you from your faraway thoughts. “I just wanted to let you know—the scouts are detecting a clear journey from here on out. We have approximately four hours to kick back, as predicted.”

Hurriedly, you turn away and clear your throat awkwardly. “Very good, Captain,” you mumble. “Thank you. You’re—erm, free to go and rest.”

For a moment, Rex looks surprised, but he composes himself seconds later. “Thank you, General,” he says. “But I—”

“Not up for debate,” you interrupt, holding your hand up. Bemused, Rex blinks, so you shoot him a reassuring smile. “You said it yourself: the soldiers need rest. You’re a soldier, yes?”

Rex opens his mouth, probably to say something about him being a Captain, but you lower your hand to rest it on his shoulder. The kind gesture seems to quell him, so you continue. “Don’t exclude yourself in that. Rest well, Captain.”

When you turn and reenter your tent, you don’t catch the way Rex’s eyes linger on the closed flap for far longer than they should, heat prickling up his neck as the remnant of your touch burns itself through his pauldron.

“You too… General.”

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