#mission to scipio

[catboydogma]

for fox prompts:

thorn's mission to scipio (uh oh) but fox is on a blackout mission when the news comes in so he finds out later

the road south

soleil soleil - pomme

send prompts !

notes: u are very evil for this.

wc: 479

Fox was feeling good about himself when the news came in. That was always what stuck in his memory, after: the feeling of having just come out of a shower, of shaving, looking forward to sleeping on his own cot, cleaning and organizing his kit to put it away for the first time in weeks, and then the shock like falling into cold water at speed.

“Say that again,” Fox said, pressing both hands against his desk. He wasn’t even supposed to be in office—he was off until tomorrow morning, a necessary measure put into place after any trooper’s deep cover mission.

Thire just gave Fox a miserable look, lips pressed into a thin white line and eyes half-lidded with grief and exhaustion. “The Republic takeover of Scipio wiped out two full squadrons. Thorn was KIA. It should have been a damn milk run, escorting a couple of senators into talks with Banking Clan reps.”

And instead, they’d just lost some of their best and brightest. Fox sat down with a jolt that rattled him down to his bones, pressing his knuckles into the top of his desk until he was sure he’d leave two fist-sized dents in the cheap metal. He opened his mouth but no words would come. All he could think was that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Thorn and really looked at him—had it been just before Fox’s deep cover mission? Their last Command meeting? Even before that? It couldn’t have been that long—Thorn was his SIC and a vital piece of the CG Command Corps to boot. But all Fox could think was that it hadn’t been soon enough. A tenday between them, two on the outside, but it hadn’t been soon enough.

He tried again for words, something, anything. “Thorn,” he said, voice cracking on a note of helplessness. “Thorn.”

“Fuck, I know.” Thire’s face crumpled, expression giving in on fault lines of stress and sleeplessness. “I know.” He rounded Fox’s desk to haul Fox to him, heedless of the way his chestplate stabbed Fox in a shoulder through his flightsuit.

“Thorn,” Fox rasped again. His vod. His Commander. His friend. His bulwark. The CG Command Corps was tightknit by necessity but Thorn had always been the most loyal of them all: he volunteered for the hard missions, the missions guaranteed to turn into all-out melee fights, he’d been at Fox’s side since Fox’s promotion to Marshal Commander. All that and more: gone in Fox’s absence. He tried to pull up a memory of Thorn’s smile—frequent and blinding—and could only remember a time before the crow’s feet at the corners of Thorn’s eyes had deepened, before one of his front teeth had chipped. He held onto Thire as tightly as Thire held onto him and let his words slip away from him one by one.

[invaderlynx]

First day of work vs. 900th

[fynsh]

Unlike his brothers, Marshall Commander Fox hadn't suffered a single scar on his regulation perfect face over the whole course of the war

The GAR's system armies returned to Coruscant to reunite with those who survived the war that had come to an abrupt break after High General Windu had decapitated the Chancellor to rescue General Skywalker. Suddenly the heart of the republic was flooded by men who had lost everything but themselves to protect it. Men who were trying to recognize their brothers in scarred faces and warm voices.

Fox had always been adamant about wearing his distinctive red armor. His bucket was the only face he'd ever shown to natborns and GAR troopers planetside Triple Zero alike.

The only sentients who had consciously looked into Fox eyes during the years of war shared on Coruscant were those on duty with the Guard. It was not like there was anything special to see, all his features were picture perfect according to the regs set up for the alpha CCs on Kamino. Not a single scar or hair out of place, no glint in his eyes and no personality to his curt responses.

Wolffe didn't recognize his little brother in the man standing in front of him. He didn't know that this was how Fox had been able to wear a thousand faces on Coruscant. That after Commander Stone had vanished during a prison riot one year into the war the Guard had never been able to retrieve his body, only his armor. That since then it had been Fox or Thorn who had worn it. Or how the Marshall Commander still desperately wished he had been the one wearing the SIC armor on an escort mission to Scipio. Wolffe didn't know the recently promoted Guard commander, a young CC named Thire, was way more experienced than his mission profiles let on.

Wolffe didn't know what Fox had not told him. He did not know how every single scar lighting into his brothers body had faded without medical attention. How the pure pain etched into the smooth skin over and over had made Fox numb. There was no sign or proof of what he had suffered. So Wolffe just handed the package he was tasked to deliver over to the blank version of Fox that Triple Zero had spat into his face, his cybernatic eye trying to catch any sign of what thoughts ran through the other's mind. It was one of the first times he could look into Fox eyes with no visor in between. He still came up empty.

A quiet "Thank you Commander" was all Wolffe got when Fox carefully accepted the bundled item with two hands and retreated into the empty room he and Thire had been assigned to. Wolffe wanted to scream at the door closing in front of his face. He just kept staring at it in silence.

Looking at the package didn't give away much about it's origins to Fox. It was a pathetic thing honestly, something small, not bigger than a pauldron but flat, and wrapped in old rags looking like some destroyed fabric from prison blacks. Fox hands began to tremble slightlyat the familiar smell. He carefully turned the bundle around.

There's a small piece of flimsi stuck to the back. Fox recognized the chicken scribble without reading the words. He knew it from thousands of little annotations that had been stuck to his data pads over the last years. He could not bring himself to decipher it.

Fox slowly unwrapped the item. The sharp edges would have cut into his skin if not for the gloves he was wearing. Thire had not yet convinced him to leave more than his bucket on the armor stack in the room.

Fox blinked at the shard in his hand. His own eyes stared back at him. His brothers' eyes stared back at him. His face looked like a million other faces on this force forsaken planet. He could be anyone, there were no actual scars on his skin that had been burned by lightning countless times.

But the face looking back at him was distorted by a single crack in the makeshift mirror, running straight along his nose and down to his left jaw. It was Thorn who was looking back at him. Thorn whose armor had been destroyed on Scipio. Thorn who had carried him through the pain and desperation when they had lost Stone. Thorn who he had trusted the most, whom he he had loved more than any other brother even his own batch. Thorn who had died kriffing a tenday before the war ended. It was Thorn's scar carefully etched into this small unpposio shard.

Fox clutched it like a a lifeline. His breathing started to rasp. Desperate for a word from the brother he had lost he tried to concentrate on the message that had been attached to the fabric. But the flimsi didn't offer any explanation, just two questions stealing more air from his lungs.

"Can you acknowledge that I live? That we lived?"

Fox armor clattered when he fell to his knees. A high keen tore from his throat before he began to weep loudly.

Wolffe overrode the door lock and ran to his little brother.

The cracked mirror resembles Thorn's facial scars to a t. It is wrapped in a piece of fabric of the same kind Stone wore on prison duty the day he died. It still smells like prison. Fox mourns the brothers who can only live on in his memory because Thire hasn't been around long enough. I wish this piece turned out different but I could not find the right words. Maybe I'll rewrite it one day. Inspired by @howdidthisevenhappenanyway's post on how Lichtenberg figures actually fade over time and this post by @cc-tens

[commanderfoxdeservesbetter]

Headcannon here, but since the Corrie guard probably has extremely limited/zero access to things like speeders or hover bikes, they picked up parkour?

Just imagine corries learning how to safely descend/ascend various levels without access to things like stairs or ladders, because they know the price of losing the suspect.

And what would the reaction of the GAR be?

AHAHAHAHAH YESSSS

Fox started the trend - he saw a kid do it with their friends and in a moment of desperation, he asked them straight up what they were doing

They showed it to him and in the times he had available, he learned from them how to ascend and descend from buildings to levels safely

Now, he wasn’t about to teach the Corries that until they were doing a patrol and one had him following a suspect and his patrol of shinies that was with him saw and RECORDED him doing parkour and in the end, he was hounded by his men to learn

(Turns out though many Corries were attempting to do parkour without even knowing that’s what it was during patrols because they had no speeders or transportation; Fox just taught them how to do it more efficiently, effectively and safely)

The GAR was never meant to find out. That was Fox’s only rule to the Corries doing parkour: don’t let the GAR find out

Thorn swears Fox broke the rule first. Fox knows it was Thorn who broke it though

Them two were having their monthly parkour competition and were jumping and flipping off buildings and levels for fun. It was the only time they both had time off at the same time together

Bacara and Neyo’s battalions were on leave at the time; hence, Thorn and Fox avoided the 79s

HOWEVER, the Corrie Commanders forgot that Bacara and Neyo like to explore Coruscant whenever they’re together and those two saw Thorn scale a building and flip to another building during their exploration

They also saw Fox curse out Thorn and do a double flip to the same building his SIC was on, almost falling when he didn’t land quite right.

(Luckily, Thorn was there to catch him)

According to Thire, the two weren’t originally going to say anything except Stone accidentally pissed them off when he and Thire was on patrol and Stone bumped into Neyo which caused him to drop the ice cream food he had in his hand to the floor. (Stone denies he bumped into Neyo; swears it was actually Thire who did it but the video cam apparently glitched during that time so there’s no concrete evidence). Either way, Neyo was willing to let it go but the ice cream cost all the credits that Bacara saved up during his missions and he wasn’t about to have his best friend disrespected that way

Hound doesn’t care who did what. What he did do was put up a sign in the barracks that has the words “OUR CCs ARE THE REASON WE CANT DO PARKOUR ANYMORE”

(They still do parkour though. They just become extra careful on not getting caught)

That lasted for about two weeks before Fox threw in the towel when on patrol and saw a suspect right behind Cody and General Kenobi and decided his job was more important than a secret and said “fuck it”

This caused not only the GaR to want to learn how to do parkour, but many Vod who had batchmates in the Coruscant Guard began reaching out to learn why they do parkour, how to learn, and it become spread out in the GAR to have competitions with the Corries (the Corries always won)

Thorn still has on camera Cody’s expression of awe and disbelief as Fox straight up ran, flipped over him, scaled the building next to them a few feet and jump off towards the suspect’s speeder. It’s hearted on his camera roll so he has easy access to it and can show it to Fox when he’s having a bad day

(Fox deletes the video when Thorn doesn’t come back from the Scipio mission)

(He also stops doing parkour until the end of the war)

[spiralingemptyness]

I want more… clone hc pt. 2

why not more hc, I’m bored and wanna ramble… sorry if I repeated any.

99 is the best vode, he knows everything. If a brother is said, he’ll hug them, give words of encouragement and stuff and a mysteriously some illegal contraband that whatever the clone likes will randomly show up.

Shaak ti is buff and can hold her own if not demolish the Alphas on the training mats (The Rancor battalion found that out the hard way)

Jek, Rys and Thire became close after the mission with Yoda, Thire is still close with the commanders on Coruscant, but he’s even closer with the other two

While Hound may be a sergeant, he’s still an honorary commander member, he became the little brother of the group

…Thorn didn’t die on Scipio, nope, no way. Amidala saved him, always carrying a blaster or smth.

Dogma became really good at braiding hair because of all the time he braided Tups hair, so after Umbara when he definitely goes to Coruscant, Amidala finds out and sometimes ask him to do her hair.

Colt may essentially be Buir of Kamino, but all the alphas (especially 17) out Buir him, and it can be very comedic how a big burly alpha is hauling a ARC commander just to force them to sleep.

Fox absolutely denies or threaten to black mail shebse squad if they bring up the fact Fox was the first to fold and call Alpha-17 buir.

Colt and Wolffe have regular holo-calls just to shit talk Ventress.

Rex got adopted into Shebse squad after he bit Cody (Wolffe was proud)

When Kix is on shift in medbay, most of the time Jesse is there with him, he doesn’t have to be their but he’s a good batch mate.

Each shebse squad member have a quirk in fighting droids: Cody punches and spin kicks them, Wolffe bits them, Rex throws his blasters at them if they run out of ammo, Fox for some reason carry’s a high voltage taser, Bly drop kicks them, and Ponds throws rocks at them to catch them off guard

On multiple occasions animals like Loth cats and Tookas have been snuck on board the venators and multiple times have had to been taken off board

Fives has a girly scream, Torrent found out after he was caught singing in the barracks

Comet (and Plo Buir) can convice Wolffe to take care of himself (little brother privileges), unlike Boost, Warthog, and Sinker who have to sedate him of physically haul him away from the bridge

MEDICS GIVE STICKERS, if a your a good patient, you get a sticker. So there is a lot of vode with stickers inside or outside there armor

Colt keeps himself loaded with weapons, many different types of blasters, check. Lots of vibroblades and vibroswords (that he stole from commando droids), check. It will take a solid 10 mins for him to de-weapon himself

after Khorm, Plo threatened Captain Ozzel…. It was terrifying, Kit Fisto was both shocked and absolutely scared of getting on Plo Koons bad side.

Monnk collects different shells and rocks from the ocean floor and give them to different vode

kit fisto taught his battalion how to fish, just randomly, out of the blue he said they were going fishing and they went fishing

Ashoka definitely stole the ‘I’m no Jedi’ line from Rex.

everyone form the 212th and some 501st members were more traumatized by a bold Kenobi than the fact he faked his death to be a bounty hunter for a time period

kix has trouble staying warm after the cyro-freeze, like he’ll be bundled up in layers on tatooine

quinlan snuck into fox’s office once and was hit with a data pad on the head when he scared him and got himself a concussion, safe to say he doesn’t sneak up on fox anymore

clones have a sweet tooth

Once Hound got hurt while chasing a suspect and Grizzer went absolutely feral on the person who hurt him, it took Thorn and Stone just to separate him from the suspect, (fox and thire were just watching in shock as they helped hound)

padawans always use vents for travel (ex. Echo: where’s the commander. Fives casually: oh she’s in the vents. Echo: oh.. WHY IS SHE IN THE VENTS)

(Might be in the other one) The corrie guard have a bet everytime a battalion is on leave, the bet is: which members of what battalion will have the most in the drunk tank.

medics have to have a smex-ed meeting with every new shiny that boards

Bly (respectfully, cause he is a gentleman) asked Aayla to wear armor, the next day she was wearing Bly’s spare armor. Bly couldn’t stop blushing the whole day and it made his tattoos orange

When one or more of the Shebse squad is on leave, they bully fox into going to 79’s with them or to take care of himself. Safe to say, that whenever that happens the corrie guard can relax a bit

the most annoying patients for medics is any CO or jedis, all medics curse like sailors

when Kix was a medic shiny he hadn’t yet mastered the disapproval stare or the ‘shut the kark up and do what I say’ stare, so the vode listened to him just because it was so cute and funny, they quickly learned to stop thinking like that.

once after a battle Obi-Wan found Cody lying star fished on his back, he kicked a droid and broke his foot and collapsed once his foot gave out. Obi-wan just sighed, forced healed his foot a bit and carried him to the medics (Cody was turned into a sputtering and flustered mess)

Rex was already being corrupted by Skywalker’s tendencies when he was just a lieutenant in the 212th, Cody was horrified and wanted to bash his head into the wall.

Boil and Waxer secretly adopted Numa after Ryloth, each just co-parenting her

Kids on coruscant would sometimes come up to a guard member and hand them a paper of a drawing, ask for a hug, or just give them goodies. The guard now has a wall full of drawings given to them by kids in the barracks

the guard have stupid names for operations, it’s just a serious op about observing and trying to take down a drug ring (with vos’s help) and it has a name like “operation: too high to fly”

the cadets will hang off from any limb they can reach of their clone trainers and shaak ti

medics will lay on a cot with an injured clone on it to help them sleep, they’ll either be sleeping with them or doing data work

so yah… I’ll make more. Might make some of cod, fnaf , Dc, etc. as well and try to do art as well

[cc-tens]

Hey, do you happen to have a list of all TCW episodes that have Corries in them? Even if they just appear for a little bit. I want to get a better grasp of what exactly canon tells us about the boys in red. (Side note, if you also have a list of any other Star Wars media with Corries in them that would be amazing)

Hello Anon. So, few things. For starters, I'm going to be basing all listed Corrie appearances based off of all TCW episodes listed on Wookiepeedia's appearance section, so if you end up wanting to just go to episode synopsis I suggest there to start with. Secondly, most Guard appearances are unfortunately really really brief. So for ease, I'm going to add a little key for this list to hopefully make it a bit easier to pick out what you want to check out. (Also! Idk if this is 100% accurate, I did my best though.)

Happy Corrie watching!

Key - Bold titles will be where (from my memory at least) Guard play a moderate - significant role in the episode - 🦊Fox appearances - 🪨Stone appearances - 🌹Thorn appearances - 🖋️Thire appearances - 🐶Hound (and Grizzer) appearances - 👥 Other Guard

Episodes

Season 1 S.1 Ep.1 - "Ambush" - 🖋️ + 👥 - Yoda + 3 Guard troopers are stranded together S.1 Ep.12 - "The Gungan General" - 🪨 + 👥 - Stone, several Guards and Senator Jar Jar Binks are sent on a mission to try and ransom Count Dooku from pirates - Unfortunately this is the first and last Stone appearance we see :( S.1 Ep.22 - "Hostage Crisis" - 🦊+ 👥 - Bane and several bounty hunters are trying to get Ziro the Hutt freed from custody Season 2 S.2 Ep.14 - "Duchess of Mandalore" - 👥 S.2 Ep.22 - "Lethal Trackdown" - 👥 Season 3 S. 3 Ep. 7 - "Assassin" - 👥 S.3 Ep.9 - "Hunt for Ziro" - 🦊+ 👥(flashback appearance) S.3 Ep.10 - "Heroes on Both Sides" - 🦊+ 👥 S.3 Ep.11 - "Pursuit of Peace" - 👥 S.3 Ep.20 - "Citadel Rescue" - 👥 Season 4 S.4 Ep.15 - "Deception" - 🦊+ 👥 S.4 Ep.16 - "Friends and Enemies" - 🦊+ 👥 (flashback appearance/Fox appears in deleted scenes) S.4 Ep.17 - "The Box" - 👥 (flashback appearance) S.4 Ep.18 - "Crisis on Naboo" - 👥 Season 5 S.5 Ep. 17. - "Sabotage" - 👥 S.5 Ep.18 - "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much" - 🦊+ 🐶 + 👥 - After the recent bombing of the Jedi temple, Ahsoka is being chased down by the C.G. - First Hound appearance! S.5 Ep. 19 - "To Catch A Jedi" - 🦊+ 👥 (Fox appearance in flashback) - Idk if I'd say they play a prevalent role in the ep but they do get beat up :( S.5 Ep.20 - "The Wrong Jedi" - 👥 Season 6 S.6 Ep.4 - "Orders" - 🦊+ 👥 - As Fives escapes, the CG are sent to capture him - Probably the episode I feel most people remember relating to the Guard (also the most divisive episode for perceptions of Fox) - Non-guard character death S.6. Ep.6 - "Crisis at The Heart" -🌹+ 👥 - Thorn and other Guard are sent to accompany Padme on Scipio - The second most notable Guard episode I think - Character death Season 7 S.7 Ep.5 - "Gone With a Trace" - 👥 (flashback appearance) S.7 Ep.11 - "Shattered" - 👥 The Bad Batch S.1 Ep.1 - "Aftermath" - 👥 S.1 Ep.3 - "Replacements" - 👥 S.2 Ep.8 - "Truth and Consequence" - 👥

I know there's also several comics that the Guard appear in ("Darth Vader" 2017, #7, #9, #10) have Fox in them - #10 having Fox's character death. Other Guard appearances are in image only or there's mention in audio books or in flashbacks but nothing else particularly significant. Oh! And Thire and a few Guard appear in Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

Sorry the reply is so late. Hope this helps though!

[rooksunday]

because @whiskygoldwings

thorn writes notes.

Thorn wrote the first note quickly. He’d received last minute orders for an off world escort mission, and Fox had been disappeared for days on a blackout; Fox’s absence meant he and Thorn couldn’t exchange their usual parting words. Something about that made Thorn uneasy and he grabbed a scrap of flimsi from the stack of GAR invoices on his desk that had yet to be filed.

Sorry I couldn’t take the stupid with me, since apparently you’re still using it. I’ll be back to relieve the burden soon xoxo

He left the note folded on Fox’s sad limp pillow in the barracks. Fox didn’t say anything about the note when Thorn returned a tenday later, with some new bruises and chipped paint to show for his time away, but he drew Thorn into a keldabe that lasted longer than usual.

The next time an off world mission came, Thorn had received more notice, and Fox had been around to exchange farewells the night before, but Thorn had to leave planet while Fox was on-shift. It felt strange to leave Coruscant without one last look at Fox growing small in the distance. Thorn’s own red sun setting.

Another GAR invoice sacrificed for the cause.

Don’t let Thire work triple shifts again, I caught him eating soap last night. I left the last of the good caf hidden in your socks and it worries me you haven’t found it yet. Change your socks. I can’t always be there to remind you.

Thorn returned with a story about a narrow miss with a gundark and a rash of burns on his calf. He found three new pairs of socks in his drawer; one had a packet of bon bons tucked inside.

(On one of their shifts, he thought he’d spotted Fox reading a piece of flimsi and tucking it behind his chest plate. That had probably been Thorn’s imagination.)

When the mission came for Thorn to go to Scipio, Fox was around and off-shift, and he accompanied Thorn and the squad to the bay to salute them away. After their exchange of farewells, Fox lingered, touching Thorn’s pauldron briefly, a curious tilt to his helmet.

Grinning behind the shield of his bucket, Thorn tucked his folded note into the cuff of Fox’s glove, saluted him as jauntily as he could get away with, and boarded the ship without looking back.

[riderofblackdragons]

A Part Of Me's Dead With You

Day 20: Emotional Angst | shoulder to cry on | giving permission to die | "it's not your fault"

Me? Posting a fic on the wrong day? It's more likely than you think :) Fr though, I'm a few hours late, but I've enjoyed making this. It originally was going to used a different prompt than "shoulder to cry on", but I ended up going with this one instead bc it fit better i felt.

If anyone has any specific AU they want more of, send me an ask or something and I'll see what I can do :)

Hope you enjoy!

It was one of the only true things that was known: some days were worse than others, but no days were truly Good. A good day meant that there was enough food to have two meals that day, instead of the typical one. A good day meant that the Senate wasn't as bad as usual, that there was nothing of any substance going on.

Days tended to blend together after the first few months anyways. When pain was a constant, the few days without it begun to feel like a blessing, even when they really weren't. Injuries healed wrong all the time, but they still had to walk and run and move on them regardless. It was their job.

Being spat on was, quite frankly, one of the better things to happen. All the commanders could remember when Stone had lost his voice - they'd been lucky he'd lived past the bleeding, let alone being able to talk afterwards. He was never the same, without his voice.

He'd been relegated to the prison shift, afterwards. No point in having him on Senate Duty, when the Senators demanded he talk to them, even if it was just to say "yes sir" or "yes ma'am". Despite the frequent riots, prison was best.

At least then, he wouldn't be decomissioned for it. Not like some of the unlucky Corries on Senate Duty, who'd misspoken, or stumbled over their words, and had a form with their number on it promptly sent to Fox to sign off on it. As if he'd had the option of refusing without his own decommissioning request passing his desk.

The worst thing to happen was when Thorn had died. Fox had failed in his mission the weeks prior. Despite having killed the 501st man, they all knew that Thorn's death was because Fox had failed. The Corries weren't hidden to the dark depths of the Chancellor, they knew that he would absolutely go that far.

It made sense, to them, that he'd be able to get the Sepertists to invade Scipio whilst Thorn was there. Amidala's death would've been a bonus, but the real target had to have been Fox's men.

Stone could remember the day they'd found out about Thorn's death. For that matter, so could Thire. Fox's official office may have been far from the rest of the Corries, but it was an open secret that he'd work with the other commanders in their office when one of them was off-planet.

His screams, when he'd discovered it, would haunt the other commanders. The way he'd begged his datapad, like it could bring back his dead troopers. Like it could bring back Thorn.

Neither of them had realised what was going on at the time, either. Fox had been hyperventilating too hard to explain what had made him break down, so they hadn't realised until Stone had found his own message, informing him of Thorn's death.

It was such a small message, too. Thorn had died and they got a note saying that all their men on that mission had perished. There was another message from Senator Amidala, expressing her sorrow about it, but that didn't mean anything to the commanders.

They'd squeezed into one bunk that night, all three of them. There wasn't much room, but there was enough to let them cry together, to let out their emotions before they had to face their men in the morning.

Before they had to break to them the news that Thorn was dead, alongside a dozen men.

Tag List: @captain-effy @what-the-fuckis-happening @robininthelabyrinth

If anyone wants to be added lmk!

[thrawns-babygirl]

Here’s a Crosshair request for you if you’d like!

I’m a sucker for the undercover-at-a-gala trope so what if you’re a Jedi shadow (like Quinlan Vos) who works with the Bad Batch once and awhile, and you’re in an established relationship with Crosshair. There’s a separatist gala you need to infiltrate and Crosshair goes as your date. While you two are sneaking around the venue, you have to hide in the nearest room that turns out to be a bedroom and Crosshair has ideas 😏 thank you! Love your writing!!

ANON!!! I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!!!! I have literally no idea why i struggled with this ask for what? over a month??? I must have deleted a combined like 3k words for this over the time i was trying to write it. But i would not let it beat me, i had to finish this ask for u for waiting so patiently.

also its like, a bingo card of every trope for this trope so i apologies for how uninspired this is lmao

Side note, I am very sick at the moment and on a lot of painkillers, so like, I proof read this but please let me know of any glaring issues or mistakes because I'm not of this world currently.

Rating: E (18+) Warnings: Unprotected PiV, Creampie, Clothed Sex Word Count: 1700+

Masterlist

Walking through the elegant halls of a senator’s estate on Scipio you can’t help but gawk at the splendour of it all. The insane amount of money one must have to own a home like this simply baffles you as you walk arm in arm with your date for the night through the ornate halls.

Some leaked intel let the republic know that some unscrupulous things were to go down tonight within these halls, and you don’t doubt the accuracy of that information given the amount of high ranking members of the Banking Clan you have seen engaging in hushed conversations in hidden alcoves of the grandiose estate.

Your partner turns to look down at you and you can’t help but blush under his gaze. Crosshair was always a handsome man, but seeing him clad entirely in a fine, black suit was a whole new level of desirable. A service droid passes you, stopping long enough for the two of you to grab a flute of what appeared to be more bubbles than liquid before continuing on its way through the winding halls of the building.

“You look absolutely ravishing tonight mesh’la” Crosshair whispers, breath fanning over your ear as you take a sip of your no doubt pricey beverage. You couldn’t find it in you to disagree with him, black silks hugged your frame, accentuating your figure in all the best ways, something your jedi robes were absolutely not designed for. While you did feel naked without your lightsaber, you understood the necessity of remaining entirely undetectable. You smile up at him, noting the make-up that has covered his trademark tattoo, his slicked back hair and absolutely dazzling smile.

When the moment called for it, Crosshair could reluctantly play the part of suave, chatty businessperson which honestly surprised you at first. He was absolutely the least talkative member of the squad by a mile, all short replies and clipped words, so when this mission was assigned to the Batch you were shocked that they had all immediately turned their attention to Crosshair.

“He’s the most arrogant, thus will fit in perfectly with the typical crowd at one of these types of functions” Tech had said, earning himself a smack on the back of the head from the Sniper, “among other reasons, Hunter looks too much like a regular clone, I am needed to extrapolate the data that you acquire and Wrecker is… Wrecker” Tech adjusts his goggles before continuing “It would also look out of place for one of us to go alone, and you two already have, um, chemistry, for lack of a better term”

He wasn’t wrong about that; you and Crosshair hadn’t exactly put a label on anything yet, but everyone knew there was something there.

Finally, after a few hours of simply wandering the halls you find your target, a simply unassuming Muun that has been implicated in embezzling funds and using it to pad separatist pockets. He was speaking in hushed whispers with a human male before the man passed him a small, innocuous looking data stick before parting ways with a polite nod.

Your time to shine.

You leave Crosshair’s side, giving his hand a quick squeeze as you go, before sauntering over to the target and ‘accidently’ spilling the contents of your flute, onto his silk robes. Stuttering and apologising you begin patting him down, slipping your hand into his pocket and retrieving the data stick as he shoved you away, telling you he was going to send you the bill for getting the stains out of his clothes. “This is pure shimmersilk you know!” he yelled at you as you made your hasty exit, apologising profusely as you retreat towards where Crosshair was waiting, arms crossed as he leaned against a marble pillar, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

“You got it doll?” he whispers, wrapping a long arm around your waste as he begins leading your further into the throng of people and towards the exit. “Of course” you reply, sinking further into his side. Hopefully the two of you would make it out before he even noticed it was missing.

Your hopes were dashed as you heard a panicked “Hey! Wait!” coming from behind you.

Crosshair grabs your arm, pulling you into the nearest unlocked room before softly closing and locking the door. Both of you hold your breath, listening to the sound of approaching and then thankfully retreating footsteps. It doesn’t seem like anyone saw you, but you still wait together in silence before turning the light on to look at the room you have found yourselves in for the foreseeable future.

It's a luxurious bedroom, a four-poster bed draped in magnificent silks with more pillows than anyone could possibly need adorning it. Crosshair takes his comm and a small datapad out of his pocket, reaching his hand out to you for you to pass him the datastick before plugging it into the device and comming Tech to let him know he can begin starting the transfer and telling him of your less than ideal situation at the moment. He tells you that Hunter will be there within the next standard hour for extraction but until then you just need to hang tight.

You sit down on the bed, running your hands along the silken sheets before looking back up to Crosshair. His eyes are raking over your form as he placed the datapad down on one of the bedside tables before walking over to you.

“So doll, it seems we have the better part of an hour to keep ourselves occupied…” He trails off, sitting next to you on the bed, one hand finding your thigh while the other softly pushes you back onto the plush surface. “And no one knows we’re in here” his thumb begins soothing circles into your hip as he looms above you, one hand holding himself up as he stares down at you.

“So it seems…” you smile as you use the fact that your legs are still hanging off the bed to your advantage, kicking your heels off before you shimmy further up the bed, until you’re leaning back against the mountain of pillows. Crosshair crawls up the bed after you before his lips meeting yours in a passionate kiss.

“Kark doll, you look so good in this dress, it’s been so kriffing hard keeping my hands off you all night” he mumbles against your lips, calloused hands already working their way underneath your dress towards your panties. You let out a small whimper, the feeling of his rough fingers digging into your flesh making heat pool low in your belly as Crosshair begins placing languid kisses against your neck, working his way down to your collarbone before sucking dark marks into your skin.

The chirping from his comm startles both of you, making you jump before Crosshair angrily grabs the device “What do you want Tech?” he growls out. “I just thought that you would want to know that Hunter will be arriving earlier than expected and to be ready for extraction in the next 30 standard minutes” Tech replies, obviously somewhat irate, not enjoying the tone that his brother is giving him. “Understood” Crosshair replies, turning off the device and throwing it onto the bed before returning his attention back to you.

“Looks like we will have to make this quicker than I wanted, but don’t worry princess, I’ll worship you like you deserve once we get back to base” his fingers begin toying with you over the fabric of your panties while his lips busy themselves against yours once again. His mouth swallows every sound that you make as his skilful fingers rub tight circles against your clit, already bringing you close to the edge with practiced ease.

Your panties are soaked at this point, his assault on your senses overwhelming you as you try to stifle your sounds as not to alert anyone who could potentially be loitering outside the door. His hand leaves you momentarily as he fumbles with the fastenings on his pants, opening them just far enough to free his weeping length.

Pulling your panties to the side, he sinks into you, letting out a breathy groan as he slides into your heat in a single motion. Resting his weight entirely on one hand he brings his other to cover your mouth as he begins an absolutely brutal pace, the layers of your clothing helping to muffle the sounds of him relentlessly driving into you.

You silently thank him for covering your mouth, the way he’s fucking into you would have you screaming for him. You wrap your legs around his waist, bringing him closer to you, trying to get him to go deeper and deeper with every thrust. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as he hits that spot inside you with the head of his cock with every thrust, turning you into a mess with every drag of his hard length through your slick folds.

Lowering his head you can feel his breath fanning over your ear as he whispers filth into your ear “so tight for me kriff… I can feel you choking my cock you’re so close aren’t you?” you nod, staring up at him with wide eyes. He angles his hips, grinding down onto your clit with every thrust as he loses his rhythm, chasing his own release as he feels your walls fluttering around him. “cum for me doll” his whispers have an almost pleading nature to them, like he’s holding himself back from the edge waiting to tumble over the peak with you. A few more deep thrusts pull your orgasm from you, flooding your nerves as pleasure washes over you, causing your walls to clench around him. With a strangled groan against your neck he follows you over the edge, pumping ropes of hot cum inside of you, hips stuttering as his cock throbs.

You’re lying on the bed, Crosshair still sheathed inside you as his comm chirps again “Oh for the love of… Yes?” he slips out of you, tucking himself away as he talks, apparently Hunter is only five standard minutes away so you adjust your panties and swiftly put your heels back on.

Crosshair places a kiss to your temple before you make your escape.

@where-is-my-mind-tho @starborncyare @antishadow2021 @healingskywalker @crosshairlovebot

[ask--shattered-kingdom]

An official oneshot for Shattered Kingdom!

This isn't my finest work, (I wrote it a few months back and I've made some progress since then as a writer) but I think it's passable and gives everyone a good idea of who these characters are, more or less. So, without further adieu, here you go.

Frisk solemnly stepped into the darkness, preparing for the mission ahead. As they moved into the room, they grabbed the machine and pulled it up the ramp into place. They connected the machine to a power source and made sure all the settings were right. After some final checks to make sure it was all ready… it was time… for Karaoke! They ran and flicked on the lights for the room, and unveiled the curtains, raising their hands dramatically to Scipio, Aoki, Aiden, and Garnok all sitting in front of the stage. They spoke up in a loud, announcing voice 

“Lady, Gentlemen, I present to you, my greatest idea and bonding activity yet, KARAOKE!” 

They unveiled the karaoke machine and proudly put their hands on their hips, giving a broad grin. They looked out over the crowd of four. They noticed the lack of enthusiasm, but remained undeterred, despite the seeming inability of their audience to see their genius. Aoki soon reluctantly spoke up.

“...Karaoke? …Why?” 

“Simple, my stylish friend, I, as the newest addition to your group, need to find a way to incorporate myself, and bond!” They said confidently

Aiden spoke, in a gentle but reluctant tone “Right, we got that, but… why Karaoke, of all things? Is there… anything a little less embarrassing we could do?” 

“No there is not! That’s part of the plan, it’ll be a shared experience! Shared pain is great for bonding!” The rest of the room did not seem as enthused about this idea.

“Frisk, you seem, uh… pretty confident about this, huh? What uh… what gave you the idea?” Scipio asked, trying to be supportive although he clearly wasn’t very excited about the prospect either. Frisk frowned a little, somewhat surprised at the sheer lack of enthusiasm. They anticipated some pushback—particularly from Garnok and Aiden, but they’d at least expected Aoki to get behind the idea, and for Scipio to go along with it for their benefit. Still, they felt like if they could just convince them, get them started, it could still work! 

“Well, I just thought we should do something together, and this felt like the best option… besides, it’ll be fun, promise! At least one of us has to be able to sing, right?” Frisk said, trying to muster up some enthusiasm from their audience. After a small pause, Scipio slowly got up out of his chair, and walked up onto the stage with Frisk, grabbing a microphone. They figured it was mostly a pity thing, but nevertheless, progress is progress, and they will take what they can get!

“Alright, alright… Frisk, how about we just do the two of us to start, ok? Let them warm up to the idea,” Frisk nodded quickly, glad to finally get some momentum going for the plan. 

“Sounds good!” They said enthusiastically, leaning down to choose a song from the machine “Why is it all old crap…?” They muttered to themselves, getting a chuckle out of Scipio.

“If you haven’t noticed by now kid, the Underground is kinda behind on tech and culture, what with being isolated from the outside world and all. The only tech from the surface that we get down here is junk that they throw away. That particular machine’s from the 2040’s, I’m honestly surprised it still even works.” 

“Oh. Well, whatever, we’ll make it work! I’m sure you can pick out a good song or two from this list, right old man?” Frisk said, taking a small playful jab at Scipio, getting a small smile out of him.

“Heh, I can try, though I think most of these songs are a little before my time, so no promises” Scipio scrolled through the options on the machine, before finding one of the few he recognized and casting it onto the screen. He and Frisk began to sing together.  Frisk’s energy was infectious, spreading throughout the room, slowly melting the ice. They weren’t the best singer, certainly worse than Scipio; who’s skill shocked Frisk, but the rest of the room seemed unsurprised by;  but the energy and passion they brought was starting to spread to their audience below. After an energetic finale, the song ended, and Frisk turned to the audience, a proud encouraging grin on their face.

“Anyone else wanna get in on the fun? One time only offer!” Upon hearing this, Aoki’s expression changed—from an expression of mild interest and nostalgia directed at Scipio—to a mischievous grin, as a plot came to her mind, “Alright, Frisk, I’ll take you up on that. Aiden, you gonna join us?” She asked in a teasing tone; giving Frisk enough clues based on what they knew of her and Aiden’s relationship; To decipher what her plan was. Aoki was joining them for the sole purpose of pressuring Aiden, and putting him in a lose-lose situation. Frisk found this hilarious, as an avid enjoyer of pranks and other assorted mischief. In their appreciation however, there was a flicker of melancholy, as Frisk briefly wondered how long it would take for them to get close enough to those two to be able to act like a younger sibling to them, the way they do. They’d never quite had that kind of relationship and were fully aware that, while they had integrated somewhat, there was still work to be done before they could fully consider themselves part of the family.

They shook their head, deciding to table their worry for the time being, as they drew strength from the knowledge that they had a plan in action, and the knowledge that it was having an effect, with Scipio and Aoki on the stage as the proof.

“Uhh… maybe not yet…” Aiden said awkwardly, squirming in his seat slightly, more than aware of the tricks Aoki was attempting to play, after years of living with her.

“Well, how about you then Garnok? Care to join us? I think it’ll be worth your time.” Scipio asked invitingly, turning to Garnok after toggling with the Karaoke machine briefly, and gesturing discreetly towards Frisk, a subtle indication that he wanted Garnok to do this for their sake.

 “Is… that an order, sir?” Garnok replied hesitantly, aware of Scipio’s intentions, but highly reluctant. After Scipio asked the question, Frisk’s mind began to wander, and they began to wonder what Garnok’s singing could sound like. They imagined it was likely similar to his normal voice; deep and gravelly, yet gentle.

“Eh, sure, why not, get on up here,” Scipio spoke casually, knowing full well that Garnok would not disobey a direct order, regardless of the informal setting. Garnok let out a small sigh and stood 

“As you wish sir…”  His wings drooped behind him, and his tail dragged as he reluctantly walked up to the stage. Frisk found this small misuse of his loyalty rather funny. Soon everyone but Aiden was on the stage with a microphone, leaving Aiden alone in the crowd. 

“...Why are you all staring at me?” Aiden squirmed in his seat, as they all looked expectantly at him. Frisk in particular looked smug, knowing that they could pressure Aiden onto the stage now that they had the support of everyone else.

“Oh c’mon, I’m not even good at singing!” This did not seem to change their minds, as the all stared at him, and Frisk held out a microphone for him. 

“Ugh, fine, whatever!” Aiden grumbled, sitting up, trying briefly to put a small hex on Aoki’s chair as revenge while she wasn’t looking, but failing to find an opportunity— due to having everyone’s eyes on him. He stormed up to the stage and snatched the microphone from Frisk. Scipio prepared the music, and the others waited in anticipation—with Frisk looking over Scipio’s shoulder to see the song, bouncing excitedly, Aoki impatiently waiting for the song to begin, and Aiden and Garnok apprehensively standing; far from eager, but unable to back out now.

Scipio finally selected a song, and they began to sing as a collective as the song was casted onto the screen, each with their own role to play. Frisk and Aoki took over the role of lead singer, with Aoki eager to show off, and Frisk excited to finally be doing this with everyone, enthusiastic to sing. Garnok and Scipio sang the same parts as Aoki and Frisk, but quieter, in a much deeper tone—while Aiden sang the backup vocals reluctantly, trying to avoid having to sing as much as possible.

After they finished the song, Frisk turned to the group, a broad grin on their face, satisfied with finally having pulled their idea off, and happy to be able to spend some time with them all.

“So how was that? C’mon, I know you liked it” They smugly spoke, nudging Aoki, fully aware of her desire to flaunt her skill. 

Aoki sighed, “...Yeah, yeah, it was fun, don’t get smug about it” She hesitantly replied, albeit with a small smile on her face. This elicited a grin from Frisk.

“Exactly!” Frisk turned to the other three “And thank you, for humoring me. I… I know you didn’t love the idea, but thanks for going with it.” 

“ ‘s no problem, Frisk.” Scipio replied, tilting his hat to them “Anytime.”

[clonemando]

For the Fox prompts, how about Riyo helping Fox through some of the guilt and self-loathing he feels at not being able to do anything to help the guard more and feeling like he’s failed as a commander?

I tried to write something soft but Fox just wanted a good long cry. So here's some hurt/comfort with more hurt and an attempt at comfort. At least Fox has some support.

//warning for referenced canon character death for Thorn//

The room was quiet but it wasn't in the way Fox was used to. The quiet was usually bad, meaning a lack of brothers, a lack of support. It meant being too far from Coruscant's endlessly busy streets to hear the normal hustle and bustle of activity. However, he wasn't in danger here. The quiet was due to the sound proofing of the Senator's office and Fox was there because... he struggled to remember.

"Commander? It's good to see you awake. How's your headache?" a soft, friendly voice called and Fox relaxed as he saw Senator Chuchi walk in and he stretched out his sore body on the soft cushions of the couch he had been drooling on pushing the blanket down from his shoulders to accept the glass of water she offered him.

"Senator... I apologize, I shouldn't have-" He started but she shook her head.

"Fox, we're friends. You needed a safe place to sleep last night and I don't blame you. You had a migraine and my office couch is the least I would offer to help you when you need it." She said kindly and it eased some of the tension away from his shoulders as he tried to remember what happened and how he ended up there.

"I... I can't remember." He finally admitted shamefully and she frowned reaching out to brush some of the dark curls that were starting to fall into his face away.

"I have heard that sometimes our minds try to protect us from remembering things that hurt the most. I once had a bad injury to my leg and still can't remember any of it even with the scar there that shows it really happened and everyone telling me the tale." She murmured sitting on the arm of the couch as Fox sipped the water.

"Something bad happened?" He asked and she looked down at her own hands fiddling with a gold bracelet she was wearing.

"You showed up at my office crying Fox. You told me that you got word back about Commander Thorn and his mission on Scipio with Padme." She murmured, her voice somehow sounding even softer than normal as if the tone of voice could lessen the blow of what she was saying.

"Thorn... Oh... Thorn." Fox swallowed hard and closed his eyes as tears started to threaten to fall. He remembered now.

"He was killed. He's not coming home again. He's gone." He said and Riyo reached out to squeeze his hand.

"I am sorry Fox. I know you were close with him. He was a good man and I remember his smile and jokes fondly. He was always so cheerful." She said and Fox had to nod at that even as the tears started to spill over and his hands holding the glass of water started to shake.

"He made it worth it. Kriff. How am I supposed to keep going without Thorn? I knew he shouldn't have gone on that mission. I told him he shouldn't go. I should have made it an order." He croaked out brokenly.

"He saved Padme's life. They all did. Maybe they still would have without him but maybe not. Maybe he would have stayed and tripped down the stairs and still passed away the exact same moment he did but without it having been of his own choice on how to go out. We can't say Fox and getting lost in what if's won't make this easier or bring him back. Blaming yourself won't do anyone any good." She said and Fox looked up to meet her golden eyes and sniffled hard.

"I try so hard to keep them all alive but I can't. If I can't keep them alive then what's my point? To serve the Republic that hates me?" He spat before flinching.

"Sorry Senator." He murmured but she shook her head.

"Just Riyo right now Fox. You're not wrong as much as I wish you were. I wish I had answers or that I could promise you anything other then a couch to cry on. I can only tell you that you are making a difference. Your brothers all need you Fox. They need you more now then before and I know it must be hard because you need someone too. You can't always carry everyone on your shoulders, no matter how broad they are." She said quirking her lips up at the little joke which also made him smile a little knowing Thorn had always said Fox would need to get new shoulder plates with how much of the planet he tried to carry.

"Thank you Riyo. I should check in. I don't need Thire and Stone sending out squads searching for me." He said taking a hand from the glass finally to rub at his tears.

"I'm honored you trust me enough to let me help you. Please at least stay long enough to finish your water before you call your brothers. I did let them know you were with me after you passed out last night. I figured you would prefer they know. Stone said they'll be taking the day off and you should do the same and to come find them when you were ready." She assured him an Fox nodded taking deep breaths to calm his heart again even as it ached.

Kissing Fox's cheek she stood. "I am here however you need from me Fox. I'm sorry for your loss. If there's anything I can do to help make this any easier for you and your brothers just let me know." She said before giving him some space. He looked down at the water and took a moment to be grateful he had Riyo in his life because without her he knew this would have hurt even worse then it already did.

[jazforthesoul]

corrie guard fixit fics that also include the scipio mission following canon are god tier

[commanderfoxdeservesbetter]

Okay so this post inspired this little snippet

Fox knew Thorn was on the Scipio mission which is why he was confused to see Thorn standing right beside him, waking him up at his desk.

“Oh? Did you come back early?” he asks surprised and Thorn smiles.

“My men are waiting for me at the ship. We have another stop to make.”

Fox furrows his brows, and rubs a hand down his face. “Then what are you doing here?” He stands, wobbles a bit and Thorn catches his arm.

“I wanted to check in on you first and say goodbye.” Thorn then pulls Fox close, wrapping him in a hug.

Fox hesitantly hugs back with an awkward pat on the side. Fox doesn’t do hugs. He doesn’t do touching in general but this is…nice.

Thorn squeezes him, and the comfort and safety Fox feels has tears building up behind his eyes. He leans more into it, afraid he’ll never get one like this again when Thorn comes back from his next mission.

Thorn pulls back and bumps Fox’s head in a Kedabe. “You’re strong, Fox and so incredibly clever.” Fox closes his eyes at the words, unable to face the unexpected praise that Thorn is giving. “You’ll always be apart of the Vod’e to me, Ori’vod.”

A tear falls down Fox’s eye unwillingly. Thorn’s words were a contrast to Cody’s harsh designation to him last week and he doesn’t understand why Thorn needed to stop and tell him that but he’s not ungrateful.

He knew he’d always have Thorn by his side.

“Thank you, vod’ika,” he says and they separate. Fox wipes his cheek and Thorn puts on his helmet, turning to the door.

“Thorn,” Fox calls, right before Thorn stepped out the office. His vod’ika turns his head ever so slightly and Fox swallows, the feeling that something is wrong washing over him. Stay, his lips urge to say but they both have jobs to do. He instead opts for “be safe” and Thorn tips his head down in acknowledgement.

“You too, Ori’vod.”

Thorn leaves.

Fox shakes his head at the uneasiness rising in his chest. It’s just nerves, he thinks, sitting down to get back to work. Thorn’ll be fine.

[mightyflamethrower]

After a recent summit between new partners China and Russia, General Secretary Xi Jinping and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin issued an odd one-sentence communique: “There can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be fought.”

No one would disagree, even though several officials of both hypocritical governments have previously threatened their neighbors with nuclear attacks.

But still, why did the two feel the need to issue such a terse statement—and why now?

Rarely has the global rhetoric of mass annihilation reached such a crescendo as the present, as existential wars rage in Ukraine and Gaza.

In particular, Putin at least believes that he is finally winning the Ukraine conflict. Xi seems to assume that conventional ascendant Chinese military power in the South China Sea has finally made the absorption of Taiwan practicable.

They both believe that the only impediment to their victories would be an intervention from the U.S. and the NATO alliance, a conflict that could descend into mutual threats to resort to nuclear weapons.

Thus the recent warnings of Xi and Putin.

Almost monthly, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un continues his weary threats to use his nuclear arsenal to destroy South Korea or Japan.

A similarly monotonous, pro-Hamas Turkish president, Recep Erdogan, regularly threatens Armenians with crazy talk of repeating the “mission of our grandfathers.” And he occasionally warns Israelis and Greeks that they may one day wake up to Turkish missiles raining down upon their cities.

More concretely, for the first time in history, Iran attacked the homeland of Israel. It launched the largest wartime array of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones in modern history—over 320 projectiles.

Iran’s theocrats simultaneously claim they are about ready to produce nuclear weapons. And, of course, since 1979, Iran has periodically promised to wipe Israel off the map and half the world’s Jews with it.

Most ignore these crazy threats and write them off as the braggadocio of dictators. But as we saw on October 7, the barbarity of human nature has not changed much from the premodern world, whether defined by savage beheading, mutilations, murdering, mass rape, torture, and hostage taking of Israeli elderly, women, and children.

But what has radically transformed are the delivery systems of mass death—nuclear weapons, chemical gases, biological agents, and artificial-intelligence-driven delivery systems.

Oddly, the global reaction to the promise of Armageddon remains one of nonchalance. Most feel that such strongmen rant wildly but would never unleash weapons of civilizational destruction.

Consider that there are as many autocratic nuclear nations (e.g., Russia, China, Pakistan, North Korea, and perhaps Iran) as democratic ones (U.S., Britain, France, Israel, and India). Only Israel has an effective anti-ballistic missile dome. And the more the conventional power of the West declines, the more in extremis it will have to rely on a nuclear deterrent—at a time when it has no effective missile defense of its homelands.

In a just-released book, The End of Everything, I wrote about four examples of annihilation—the classical city-state of Thebes, ancient Carthage, Byzantine Constantinople and Aztec Tenochtitlán—in which the unimaginable became all too real.

In all these erasures, the targeted, naïve states believed that their illustrious pasts, rather than a realistic appraisal of their present inadequate defenses, would ensure their survival.

All hoped that their allies—the Spartans, the anti-Roman Macedonians, the Christian nations of Western Europe, and the subject cities of the Aztecs—would appear at the eleventh hour to stave off their defeat.

Additionally, these targeted states had little understanding of the agendas and capabilities of the brilliantly methodic killers outside their walls—the ruthless wannabe philosopher Alexander the Great, the literary patron Scipio Aemilianus, the self-described intellectual Mehmet II, and the widely read Hernán Cortés—who all sought to destroy utterly rather than merely defeat their enemies.

These doomed cities and nations were reduced to rubble or absorbed by the conquerors. Their populations were wiped out or enslaved, and their once-hallowed cultures, customs, and traditions lost to history. The last words of the conquered were usually variations of, “It can’t happen here.”

If the past is any guide to the present, we should take heed that what almost never happens in war can certainly still occur.

When killers issue wild, even lunatic, threats, we should nonetheless take them seriously.

We should not count on friends or neutrals to save our civilization. Instead, Americans should build defense systems over the skies of our homeland, secure our borders, ensure our military operates on meritocracy, cease wild deficit spending and borrowing, and rebuild both our conventional and nuclear forces.

Otherwise, we will naively—and fatally—believe that we are magically exempt when the inconceivable becomes all too real.

[xasha777]

In the bustling neon-lit city of Neo Rome, the cold winter night was a stark contrast to the warm glow of holographic advertisements. Citizens in futuristic attire hurried along the streets, their faces obscured by masks and high-tech winter gear. Among them, a young woman in a striking white puffer jacket with cat ears and a black mask stood out. Her silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her red eyes glowed with a determined intensity. She was known as Aeliana, a skilled operative of the city's underground resistance movement.

Aeliana's mission tonight was critical. The oppressive regime of the Praetorian Council had been tightening its grip on the populace, and whispers of rebellion were growing louder. Aeliana's task was to infiltrate the central data hub and retrieve information vital to the resistance's cause. As she moved through the crowded streets, she couldn't help but think of her ancestor, Scipio Aemilianus, a renowned general who had once fought to save the ancient Rome from tyranny.

Unbeknownst to Aeliana, the spirit of Scipio Aemilianus watched over her. In this advanced age, where technology had made the impossible possible, the consciousness of historical figures could be revived and integrated into the minds of the living. Scipio, with his strategic brilliance and unwavering courage, had been chosen to guide Aeliana in her fight against the modern-day tyrants.

"Aeliana," a deep, authoritative voice echoed in her mind, "stay focused. The data hub is heavily guarded. You must rely on stealth and precision."

"I know, Scipio," Aeliana replied mentally, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger. "I won't let you down."

As she approached the towering glass structure of the data hub, Aeliana activated her cloaking device, rendering herself nearly invisible. The security drones patrolling the area buzzed by, oblivious to her presence. With Scipio's guidance, she navigated the complex security systems and made her way to the central server room.

Inside, the hum of machinery and the flicker of digital displays created an eerie atmosphere. Aeliana quickly connected her device to the main terminal, initiating the data transfer. As the progress bar slowly filled, an alarm suddenly blared, and red lights began to flash.

"Intruder detected!" a robotic voice announced. "Security lockdown initiated."

Aeliana cursed under her breath. "Scipio, we have a problem."

"Stay calm, Aeliana," Scipio's voice remained steady. "Use the emergency exit route I showed you earlier. Trust your instincts."

With the data securely stored, Aeliana darted towards the exit. Security guards and drones closed in, but her agility and combat skills kept them at bay. She reached the emergency exit and escaped into the dark alleyways of Neo Rome.

Breathing heavily, Aeliana removed her mask and took a moment to gather herself. The information she had retrieved would be crucial in dismantling the Praetorian Council's control over the city. She glanced at the small holographic projection of Scipio that appeared before her.

"Thank you, Scipio," she said, a determined smile forming on her lips. "We'll make sure your legacy lives on."

Scipio nodded, his image flickering slightly. "The fight for freedom is never easy, Aeliana, but it is always worth it. Together, we will restore justice to Neo Rome."

As the first light of dawn began to break, Aeliana disappeared into the shadows, ready to continue her battle against the forces of oppression, guided by the wisdom and courage of one of history's greatest generals.

[ilsimplicissimusblog]

L'elmo di Scipio

Non è raro che le navi Nato nel Mar Rosso siano costrette a difendersi da droni e missili Houty, a volte con successo a volte riportando danni come è successo a due navi inglesi e una americana: è assolutamente normale visto il tipo di missione intrapresa e infatti queste notizie di abbattimenti nemmeno vengono più date essendo un rischio ampiamente scontato e le notizie arrivano alle cronache…