wanderinginksplot-writes

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Scorch + Happiness

Scorch x gn!reader (no reader description or pronouns, no use of 'Y/N')

Word Count: 3,900

Warnings: guilt, grief, depression, mentions of past mourning, mild PTSD, lying, references to morally gray characters, references to the Republic Commando book series, and spoilers for the series finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. (It is a happy story, I promise! The warnings are just a little dire.)

For the lovely anon who sent in this request: After the TBB season final may I request something happy with Scorch? I didn’t expect him to die in the season finale, I actually scream “Scorch no!” At my tv

Same, friend. In this house, we're in denial!

Masterlist

---

The knock on your door was unexpected and unwelcome. 

It had been a long week and you had used the first of your two days off to run errands. Groceries, assorted errands, and chores around your apartment had eaten away at one of your precious free days.

When night fell, you had opted to stay home, which wasn’t a wonderful choice because it only served to emphasize how lonely you were. Of course, going out to a restaurant or exploring the city had exactly the same effect. So had grocery shopping and errands, come to think of it…

Stars, who were you kidding? The throbbing loneliness was always there, no matter where you were or what you were doing. 

Another knock had you rolling off the couch and onto your feet. For half a second, you thought about putting on something to look even slightly more put-together, but you discarded the idea just as quickly. Whoever was outside the door was interrupting your evening, not the other way around. However you looked, they could simply deal with it. 

The person had started to knock again, but you opened the door before they could do anything more than give a single, half-hearted tap. 

“What?” you demanded, speaking before the door panel had even slid far enough open for you to see the stranger’s face. 

“I-” 

“Scorch?” you gasped, wrenching at the door panel as if you could force it open any faster. 

His handsome face broke into the ghost of his old grin. It was slow and shadowed, but so achingly familiar that you knew beyond all doubt that your riduur had come home to you. 

You had dragged him inside before remembering to give him a choice, but it gave you more privacy to run your hands over every inch of his face and torso. You still weren’t fully convinced that you were awake, but your shaking fingers hadn’t found a single plane that was anything other than the way you remembered Scorch. 

“How are you back?” you asked, voice trembling as hard as your fingers. “I haven’t seen you since the end of the war. No one has.” 

“I wasn’t on Coruscant,” Scorch explained haltingly. “I didn’t have a choice - I would never have left you if I didn’t have to.” 

“But it wasn’t just you.” You searched Scorch’s eyes, cradling his face in your hands. “Every trooper I know left. Everyone I know who’s with a trooper said they disappeared just when you did. And all we could do was ask each other why.” 

You didn’t realize that you were crying until Scorch smoothed away the tears with his thumb, but you weren’t actually surprised. If anything, you were shocked that you hadn’t started before that point. 

“Cyare,” Scorch murmured, pressing his nose against the crown of your head as he held you a little tighter. “I’m so sorry. I failed as a partner. As a protector. I should have been there. I should have been able to…” 

When Scorch trailed off, you glanced up at him. “Where did you go, Scorch? You said you didn’t have a choice. What happened to you?”

Scorch took a shuddering breath and started explaining things to you. How the troopers had been notified that the Jedi had betrayed the Republic. How the GAR was responsible for wiping out the Jedi. How all of the vod’e Scorch spoke with seemed to be utterly different than he knew them to be. 

He told you about working with Kal Skirata - a familiar name, even if you had never met him personally - to gather intelligence on the new Empire. Scorch hesitated a little before describing a cruel scientist named Hemlock, but he told you about being headhunted by Hemlock to help with a highly classified project in a place called Tantiss. 

Shaken as you were by his explanation up to that point, you were most taken aback when tears began to track over Scorch’s cheeks. “I never thought I would see you again, cyare. I never thought I would get out of there.”

“But you did, Scorch,” you reminded him. “You’re safe. You’re free.” 

“I shouldn’t be,” he said, straightening. The utter certainty in his eyes chilled you to the bone. “I did the worst thing any trooper can do. I betrayed my brothers.” 

You tried to argue, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. “You don’t understand. I did. I betrayed them all. I turned away when they needed me. Even worse, I had to prove my loyalty to Hemlock every day. I… I did terrible things.”

“Why did you stay so long?” you asked, mind racing to find a new angle to argue. If Scorch wouldn’t let you comfort him, maybe you could think of a different way to convince him. 

“The comms were monitored, heavily.” You must have looked as lost at his explanation as you felt, because he explained, “I couldn’t find a way to get the coordinates to Skirata. If I sent them from Tantiss’s comms, Hemlock could have found the clan. I couldn’t risk them. I thought about stealing a ship, but that would have sent the whole place into lockdown and we could never have gotten the troopers out.” 

“How many of them were there?” 

“Dozens.” Scorch shook his head. “Hundreds, maybe. Too many for me to take with me. It would have taken a large-scale effort.” 

His use of past tense made your stomach curdle, but you did your best to look expressionless as he went on. 

“I had to look loyal to Hemlock, and any of the dozen troopers waiting to take my place,” he told you, starting to sound desperate. His fingers tightened around yours, as if he thought you would pull away from him. “If I didn’t, it all would have been for nothing. There would be no way to tell Skirata, no rescue, no hope-” 

“Shh, Scorch,” you soothed, massaging his hand. 

Scorch chanced a single glance at your face before he buried his head against your shoulder. He muttered something unintelligible against your skin, but you didn’t want to ask what it was. When Scorch was in a Mood, he tended to talk himself into a spiral if someone didn’t break him out of it. Sev had been the best at it, but you could do it well enough when he wasn’t around. 

“It sounds like you didn’t have a choice,” you reasoned. “It’s horrible that you had to do bad things, but you didn’t choose to do them. It was an impossible situation. There was no right answer, no way to get out of it with your hands clean. It will take time to come to terms with everything, no one would argue that, but-”

“You don’t understand,” Scorch interrupted, pulling away to reveal features twisted into an anguished expression. “There was a kid.”

That made you pause for the first time. “A kid? Whose kid?”

“She was a clone, somehow.” Scorch shook his head slowly, wonderingly. “I think she was a true Fett clone - a non-augmented one. No increased strength, no heightened metabolism, no accelerated aging. Hemlock made a big deal out of her. Everyone made a big deal out of her.” 

You frowned. “Weren’t the Kaminoans worried about the original Fett sample degrading in quality since his death? If she really is a true clone, could they want her for another genetic sample? Especially since they can’t find Jango’s son?” 

“I thought that at first, but not anymore.” Scorch sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. The motion accentuated the new stress lines carved into his face and the red tinge to his eyes. When you glanced up, you saw silver glinting in his hair. “They’re discontinuing the clones.” 

You were so preoccupied with the changes in Scorch’s appearance that his words took a moment to sink in. “They- what? What do you mean?” 

“The Galactic Empire has a new recruitment strategy.” Scorch’s explanation was dripping with sarcasm. The name of Palpatine’s new order has been especially soaked in it. “They’re taking in natties. The clones who are left act as instructors to the mongrels or muscle for the officers.”

It took some effort to fight back your wince. You hated when Scorch and his brothers used the term ‘mongrel’ to describe non-clones, but now didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up. 

“Is the girl okay?” you asked quietly, trying not to sound anything other than curious. 

“As far as I know,” he confirmed. “She was on the platform with the squad who shot me.” 

“Excuse me?” you demanded, shooting to your feet. You had been studying Scorch’s changed appearance since he had gotten into your apartment, but you shoved his dark cloak aside to run your fingers as well as your eyes over his face, neck, and torso. “You were shot?” 

“Easy, ner karta,” Scorch soothed, grabbing your hands and cradling them in his. “Yes, I was shot. By another commando, part of a squad who went AWOL after we were ordered to kill the jetii. I was protecting Hemlock, who was trying to take the girl away from Tantiss. It made sense to eliminate the threat I posed before stopping him.” 

“You’ll have to forgive me if I still hold that against him.” You ran a critical eye over Scorch. “He must have missed everything important if you’re here now.” 

“No, he hit where he was aiming, my heart. Three shots.” 

Scorch must have anticipated that you were going to chastise him again, because he tugged gently on your hands until you collapsed onto the couch beside him. “I know, but my armor protected me.” 

“But how?” you asked desperately, searching his eyes. “I heard the new armor is terrible. Protection against gas and concussive blows, but almost nothing against blaster bolts.” 

“How did you-?” 

You waved a dismissive hand. “When all of you disappeared, anyone left on Coruscant who had been involved with a trooper ended up in the same circle. We were all looking for information. That’s a lot of collective contacts in the GAR and Senate. We couldn’t find any of you, but we took all the information we could find and made sure to pass it along to anyone else in the circle.”

Scorch shook his head slowly. “Clever of you all. No, the armor isn’t any good against blaster bolts. But I wasn’t exactly going to give up my Katarn armor, was I? Not when I finally had it painted like I wanted it.” 

You reluctantly returned Scorch’s teasing grin with a small smile of your own. Scorch’s obsession with painting and repainting his armor had toed the line between endearing and irritating… much like everything else about him. 

“Of course, you’ll have to start over now,” you pointed out. 

Scorch’s face sobered. “In more ways than one.” 

You squeezed his hands comfortingly. “What happened when you were shot?” 

“I knew that I couldn’t stay there anymore.” Scorch glanced away. “They wouldn’t believe that I was on their side, not at that point, and Hemlock had a blaster aimed at the kid. I knew he wasn’t getting out of there alive, so I let the bolts knock me off the platform.” 

Despite your best efforts, you let out a strangled noise at that. Scorch’s lips curled up on one side in a pale reflection of his usual grin. He knew exactly how you felt about heights. 

“I caught myself on the way down,” he reassured you, rubbing gentle circles over the back of your hands. “Used my ascension cable to connect to a few different places until I could get back into the lab and download an extra copy of the lab’s work. Tarkin showed up a little later, so I snuck onboard his Star Destroyer to get back to a civilized system.” 

“So… the Empire thinks you’re dead?” you asked slowly. 

“As far as I can tell.” Scorch glanced away, admitting, “I haven’t gotten in touch with anyone on Kyrimorut yet. They would be able to find out for sure.” 

“Kyrimorut?” you repeated, stumbling over the unfamiliar word. “I’ve never heard of it.” 

Scorch rubbed at his tired eyes. “That’s the point. It’s a secret camp on Mandalore. Skirata and his Nulls have been hiding there since the fall of the Republic. They take in clone deserters, hide them from the Empire. That’s where they’ll want me to go. Where I’ll need to go, if I don’t want to be pressed back into the Empire’s service.” 

Your heart stopped for a moment, your hand clutching convulsively at Scorch’s. “You- you’re leaving? Again? You just got back-” 

“Shh, mesh’la, shh,” he soothed. “It’s too dangerous for me to stay here. It wouldn’t be safe for me or for you. I have to go. But… you don’t. You can stay here, keep living your life. You’re welcome to come with me to Mandalore, but I know that’s a lot to ask-” 

“I’m coming with you,” you announced, standing. “I need to pack. How much should I bring?” 

Scorch was staring blankly at you. 

“Scorch?” you prompted, already putting together a mental list. “Focus. Do I need to bring the basics, or will they have them already? I don’t want to take up space with blankets and stuff if we could just get them there.”

“You’re… you’re amazing, ner karta,” Scorch said eventually, pressing a kiss to the back of your knuckles. “The best riduur I could have chosen.”

“I missed you so much, riduur,” you murmured, letting him pull you closer. “Now, blankets?” 

Much later, you had managed to consolidate all the necessities into a few packs for each of you. Scorch had been the one to insist on bringing more things. He swore it was because he didn’t want you to go without, but you saw the way he cradled an old pair of sweat pants like they were a stuffed animal. 

You didn’t have the space for everything, of course. But you packed the sweat pants anyway. It didn’t surprise you that Scorch would need some comfort after everything he had been through. You’d help him find it where he could. 

When you had finished packing, you glanced around for final necessities that you might have missed. The important thing was to leave no sign that you didn’t intend to come back, so most of your stuff was still where it always was. For some reason, that made it much harder for you to feel the urgency that shadowed your every step. 

“Should we leave?” you asked, reaching for the front door panel. Scorch hand stopped you, wrapping around your arm just above the elbow.

“Hang on,” he said, dark gaze scanning around the space like you just had. “I spent so much time thinking about this place. I want to make sure I remember as much of it as possible.”

You let him look for a minute or two, but the tension ratcheted back up. “Scorch? How are we getting to Mandalore?” 

“One of the clan will come get us,” he explained, “but we need to get to the Industrial Sector first. That’s the easiest way to disguise a cargo vessel.” 

“When will they meet us there?” 

He shrugged. “They’ll probably need a couple of hours after my call. The trip is usually around 12 hours, with an extra hour or two to get into position.”

“And when did you call?” you asked, already checking the current time. 

“I- Uh, I haven’t yet,” Scorch hedged, raising his hands defensively when you rounded on him. “I will, though!” 

“Why did you wait?” you asked, dropping your packs by the front door. “You could have called while we were packing. Unless… Why haven’t you called yet?”

He sighed lightly, reaching into a hidden pocket. He pulled out a small data drive, holding it up with a guilty expression. “Because of this.”

“The research?” you guessed, confirmed by his nod.

“I don’t know if I want to hand it over to Skirata,” Scorch admitted, with the air of someone admitting their darkest, most shameful secret. 

You frowned. Delta Squad had never quite understood the hero worship Kal Skirata received from his men, but they had never given you any reason to think Skirata was untrustworthy. “Okay.”

Scorch did a double-take. “Okay?” 

With a shrug, you said, “I trust your judgement.  I’ve never met Skirata and I don’t know what’s on that drive. You do. If you don’t want to give anyone the data, I assume you know what you’re doing.”

“Just like that?” 

“Just like that,” you confirmed. “But I have to ask: This was why you were on Tantiss. You wanted to transmit information to Mandalore for so long. Why are you hesitating now?” 

Scorch was quiet for a long time. Silence was an odd state for him, and it lasted long enough that you thought he might be permanently broken. Eventually, he shook his head, the movement small enough that you weren’t sure whether you were really seeing it. 

“Skirata wants to give us longer lives. If there’s anything he can do to make sure that happens, he’ll do it.”

You were trying to think of a tactful way to admit that you wouldn’t think that was a bad thing, either, when Scorch caught your gaze. 

“He’ll do anything.” 

You let the words die on your tongue. 

“This research,” Scorch emphasized, holding up the data drive, “involved a lot of vode. Skirata has been known to keep an ex-Seppie scientist or two on the payroll. If I give him this copy, he’ll give it to his scientist to check if there’s anything useful for the cause. They might decide the experiment is worth a second round of testing.” 

Scorch sat back down on your couch, leg jiggling incessantly. You stared at the movement as you followed him back across the room. “Even if they don’t want to keep it going, this is an automatic pardon from old Palpatine. He bankrolled the research. I’m not sure how much he already knows, but I’m sure he would want to know more. And he’d be willing to pay every credit in the Imperial banks to get his hands on this. I don’t trust anyone to fight that kind of temptation.”

“Even Skirata?” you said, more of a summary than a question. 

“Skirata is… independently wealthy,” Scorch explained. You knew without asking that there was much more of a story there, but you didn���t need to hear it just then. “But he has a tendency to think the best of his people. Earn his trust once and he’ll cover your back while you burn down the galaxy.”

“So if just one of the people around him realizes what that information is worth…” you reasoned slowly. 

Scorch nodded. “It’ll end up right where it started: with the Empire.”

“It’s your data drive.” You smiled sadly at him. “If you don’t trust them with it, better that it never leaves here. We can destroy it before they pick us up.”

“And if they don’t believe that I didn’t get the information? That’s the whole reason I was there. And Vau’s boys don’t leave until a mission is done.” 

You snorted. “There are a thousand things that can go wrong with a data drive. The Empire embedded some kind of virus. The drive itself was corrupted and you didn’t know before you used it. It was exposed to an electric shock aboard Tarkin’s Star Destroyer. It got wet. You sat on it in the wrong way-” 

“Okay, I get it,” Scorch said, waving you away as you came up with sillier and sillier things that could have happened to the chip. The grin on his face eased a tightness you hadn’t noticed forming in your chest. 

“I’m just saying,” you finished, settling beside him on the couch again. He took your hand, still staring at the pile of bags by the door, and you settled against him with your head on his shoulder. “And if they still don’t believe you, what are they going to do? Turn you away? Then you and I will just go find a place of our own, away from the Empire and Kamort.” 

“Kyrimorut.” 

“That’s what I said.” 

Scorch chuckled, but the only reply he gave was to dial a frequency from memory into his wrist comm. “Ordo? I’m on Triple Zero. Can you arrange a ride for my riduur and I? Our ship’s in the shop and I hear the shuttles off-planet have gotten very stingy with their tickets.”

“Scorch,” a voice greeted, an edge of relief clearly present. “Welcome back to the civilized galaxy, vod. Lucky for you, we were about to head out on a grocery run. We’ll comm when we’re close. Ten hours. Ordo out.”

“Grocery run?” you repeated, tilting your head to glance up at Scorch. 

“There are some supplies you can’t get on Mandalore,” he explained. “Not without attracting the wrong kind of attention. They make regular trips to the Inner Rim for anything that can’t be grown on the farm.” 

“Farm,” you sighed dreamily. “We’re going to live on a farm.” 

Scorch openly laughed at you. “I’ll remind you how excited you were when we have to butcher our first animal or fix a hole in a sock.” 

You made a face at him. “I’ve lived on Coruscant for a decade, Scorch. I’m so excited about the idea of seeing a plant that I could fly. Don’t ruin this for me.” 

He kissed your temple. “Okay, fine. Enjoy your fantasy. Just don’t be too upset with me when it’s different than you expected. Let’s get some sleep before they get here. If Ordo said ten hours, he meant it.” 

“I wish we’d known that before we packed the big blanket,” you grumbled half-heartedly, grabbing some throw blankets from the basket in your living room. 

Scorch made the bed for you both, using far too many blankets to make some kind of nest he insisted would be more comfortable than the comforter had ever been. 

You watched him, a soft smile on your face as he demonstrated all the benefits of a blanket nest. It would be nice to live on a farm, you thought. You never had before, so it would be new. But what you hadn’t told Scorch was how excited you were to be with him, without secrecy or worrying about who might be watching. You would be able to hold his hand in the open, tease him for telling one of his ridiculous jokes, kiss him when he did something sweet.

When you left the apartment eight hours later, the data chip was destroyed beyond all saving and ready to be quietly ejected while the ship was in hyperspace. The tight set to Scorch’s shoulders had disappeared and his smile matched yours. Even the tension of sneaking down to the Industrial Sector couldn’t lower the quiet happiness you shared.

Kyrimorut could end up being the worst place in the universe and you would cheerfully live there if it meant being with Scorch. Wherever you ended up would be perfect.

---

Author's Note - According to AO3, this is the 66th chapter of my soft clone trooper fics. A deeply cursed number for us prequel fans, but I like how this turned out!

I am still a little in denial that the clone trooper in The Bad Batch is Scorch at all, but I'm in FULL denial that Scorch is dead. I refuse to believe that. Anyway, this was requested almost a year ago, so… I am not fast.

Also, before anyone comes for me: no, Scorch's destroyed data chip would probably not fool the Nulls. I think they're smart enough to figure out that Scorch got the information. However, I also think that Skirata's single-minded loyalty to all clone troopers would be enough to make them overlook it.

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Hunter + Separated

Hunter x fem!reader, established relationship

This was written to answer @leotawrites request from... like a year ago: They get separated during the battle on Tantiss and find each other again after it's all done.

I realized way too late in the process that I didn't need to write what she was doing during the battle itself. 🤦 But this got me through the worst of my writer's block, so thank you!

Word Count: 3,100

Warnings: Spoilers for the series finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, references to battle, mentions of torture and myriad injuries, guilt, and grief.

Masterlist

---

Hunter scanned the dark treeline over and over, calling your name as loudly as he dared. 

“Shut up!” Crosshair hissed, shoving at his shoulder. “You’ll give away our position.” 

Hunter glared at his brother. “Pretty sure those bolts mean they already know our position.” 

Crosshair gave him a mulish look. “Not exactly. They have an idea, but everyone who actually saw us was neutralized by Wrecker’s new friend.” 

“Wouldn’t call it a friend,” Wrecker muttered, gripping his shoulder. The unknown beast had done its best to take a chunk out of him before Wrecker could fight it off. Even through the cover of his helmet, Hunter could tell that Wrecker was wincing. 

“She’s gone,” Hunter told them both, not needing to explain who exactly ‘she’ was. You were the only unknown in the situation outside of Echo and Omega. And the Batch was closing in on their location as quickly as possible. 

“I saw,” Crosshair agreed. “She went after Rampart.” 

Wrecker scoffed, glancing out at the forest. “Rampart? He’s not gonna last ten minutes out there with those things.” 

Hunter could feel the look Crosshair gave Wrecker, just as he could sense Wrecker’s sheepish regret. “Not that she won’t- She can take care of herself. She’s fast.” 

“I can find her,” Hunter insisted. It wasn’t a lie, or even an exaggeration. The two of you had been dating for some time - well, as much as anyone could find time to date around the horrors of fleeing the Empire. He knew your face, your voice, your scent, the vibrations of your footsteps. 

He knew where you were at that very moment. Not an exact location, since there were a lot of people in these woods, but he could get within a few yards of your trail and track you from there.

Even as Wrecker and Crosshair glanced at each other, Hunter scowled behind his helmet. He could find you with his eyes closed, even on Tantiss, but there just wasn’t time.

“But we’re here for Omega.” The gravity of the situation dripped from Hunter’s tone, mingling with frustration and a tinge of defeat. “We need to get her out of there while we still can.” 

“You two track her and I’ll go get Omega,” Crosshair offered. “You can get past the creatures and Wrecker can guard your back from the reinforcements that were sent out.”

Wrecker froze. “Wai- What? No. We need to stay together.”

You were getting further away. Hunter could feel it, sense the way your footsteps were heading deeper into the forest. He listened until the sound of his own heartbeat covered the sound of yours. It seemed… empty without the steadily echoing thump of your heart behind his. 

“Clone Force 99 died with Tech,” Crosshair snapped, and Hunter pulled his full attention to the conversation at hand. Crosshair was… offering to go retrieve Omega. Without backup. He would be totally alone, all so Hunter could search for you with Wrecker along for backup. 

“No,” Hunter refused, drawing on the familiar authority he’d held when he was the sergeant of the squad. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but he slipped into the old role like it had never left him. “Omega needs us. All of us. So we’re doing this together.” 

Hunter glanced between his brothers, seeing the ghost of a goggled face among them. “Let’s go get Omega.” 

—

You were so sick of Rampart. 

The man had never been anything other than a thorn in your side, but you had agreed that capturing him was your best chance of finding Tantiss’s location. That didn’t mean you had to like him. 

Still, you weren’t willing to let him run off and die horribly… or, as a bigger concern, tell the Empire about the Bad Batch’s location. That would be exactly something he would do, you thought grimly, give up everyone else in a last-ditch effort to save his own skin. 

And then you had to try really hard not to think about parallels, because you watched a group of troopers capture him, and you did nothing to help. You reasoned that there wasn’t much you could do against a whole platoon, but you really didn’t feel guilty in the slightest as you watched them attach the binders to Rampart’s wrists and march him roughly onto their waiting transport. 

At least you had done your best to recapture the asset. 

You turned, fighting the urge to literally dust your hands free of the situation, but you froze soon afterward. You… had no idea where the rest of the Batch could be. Rampart had run in a reasonably straight line, but there weren’t many distinguishing marks in the forest. You had no idea whether you could find the others and, even if you could get back to the right clearing, whether anyone would still be there. It wasn’t like they could wait around forever. 

Traveling with the Bad Batch had honed a lot of your skills, especially in choosing a path and executing the right steps for it, but you froze for a moment as you weighed the pros and cons of the different ways you could handle the situation. 

A loud, horrible crack drew your attention toward the mountain. You had half a moment to wonder whether the Empire would be stupid enough to build their ultra-secret laboratory into an active volcano, but a rush of sound told you something else was happening. 

You picked your way through the trees, moving gingerly to avoid the hyper-alert troopers. Eventually, you made your way to a ridge tall enough to look out over the mountain. There, so far around the other side that it was nearly out of view, you could see an interruption in the otherwise-uniform silhouette of the mountain’s slopes. 

Squinting didn’t help much in the dim light of the moon, but you tried it anyway. Was it a landslide? That would be an incredible coincidence, and you were starting to doubt that those ever truly happened. 

Your eyes widened when you finally saw the towering creature fighting its way free of the mountain. You hadn’t the slightest clue what it was or how it had gotten there, but it had to have something to do with the Bad Batch. There wasn’t enough coincidence in the entire galaxy to explain that away. 

At first, the giant hole in the side of the mountain seemed like an ideal place to get inside, but then you saw a swarm of troopers descending on the area. 

You ducked for cover as an approaching ship hovered lower and lower until it gently came to land in a nearby clearing. The doors opened, releasing another platoon. Every trooper took up a position, aiming into the forest. You held your breath to cut off all movement, but you noticed that they weren’t aiming at anything in particular. 

“Make for the entrance, men,” the leader ordered, his voice slightly rough through the distortion of his helmet’s external speakers. “We got warning that some of the insurgents are trying to infiltrate through it.” 

One of the other troopers piped up: “Sir, we don’t have the men to build a formation big enough to-”

“Then we’ll start a partial formation,” the leader said grimly. “Our backup can fill in the gaps when they arrive. Understood?” 

A chorus of ‘Yes, sir!’s met him, then they clattered their way off through the dark forest toward the smoking ruin that formed a large chunk of the mountain’s base. 

You eyed the now-empty ship. There was a pilot onboard, and you didn’t think you could do anything as wild as capture a transport before he alerted the chain of command about what was happening. But you could sneak on, especially since he was only just starting to prepare the ship for takeoff. 

A low, scurrying run wasn’t elegant and you knew that Crosshair would mock you mercilessly if he ever saw it, but it got you to the ship before the doors closed, and the pilot didn’t seem to have seen you. There were holorecorders in the main section of the ship, but their activation happened fairly late in the pre-flight process and you were pretty sure the pilot hadn’t gotten there yet. 

The small corridor built for droids would work to shield you from the holorecorders, as well as anyone who might board the ship. If you were lucky, you could get off the ship between landing inside the mountain and the next group of soldiers getting onboard. And if you were unlucky, you could ride comfortably in the corridor. It wasn’t pressurized, but you would be fine as long as the ship didn’t break atmosphere. 

However, when the ship landed, the pilot powered down the ship and left. You sat huddled in the droid corridor for a count of three-hundred, but didn’t hear any sounds. Not on the ship, anyway - distant explosions echoed through the hangar. 

Finally, you emerged, checking carefully that you were alone. You were, but you hesitated before you left the dubious shelter of the LAAT/i. It wouldn’t be impossible for the Batch to blow up Tantiss entirely, in which case, it would be smartest to take the ship and leave. 

But they could also need your help. And if they did, you couldn’t bear to leave them behind and risk them being injured or worse. 

So you stepped off the ship, reasoning that they wouldn’t have had time to evacuate all of the troopers yet. Still, there was an extra energy in your step as you raced toward the action. You needed to make sure they knew you were there so they didn’t leave you behind.

When you were close enough to smell the smoke, a skull emerged from the shadows. 

You gasped, freezing in place with your hands raised defensively. With more than a split second to look ahead, you could see that it wasn’t a skull at all, but a dangerously emaciated clone trooper. 

He was watching you, sunken eyes wary. You kept your hands where they were, though you were less concerned about ghosts than you were about the DC-17M blaster rifle the trooper held pointed at your heart. 

“Who are you?” he demanded, a reedy edge to his harsh voice. 

You gave your name. You were only dimly aware that there were other troopers approaching behind the one with the rifle - your entire focus had narrowed on the muzzle of the blaster and the wild eyes of the clone trooper. “I’m with-” 

“Stand down, trooper,” a more familiar voice ordered. 

“Echo!” you greeted gratefully. A glance to the side made your smile grow. “And Omega! Good to see you both.” 

“What are you doing here?” Omega asked, watching the unfamiliar clone trooper lower the blaster. 

“Looking for the others,” you explained. “I lost them outside of the mountain. Have you seen them?” 

“Captured,” Echo said grimly. 

Your heart squeezed with fear and horror. Some of that must have bled through to your expression, because Omega gave an encouraging nod. “Don’t worry - we’re going to save them now. We just need to get these injured clones to a ship.” 

“There are a few LAAT/is in the hangar,” you remembered, hooking a thumb back over your shoulder. “That’s how I got here.” 

“You can fly a LAAT/i?” Echo asked. 

You shook your head. “I stowed away.” 

“I can,” one of the other troopers volunteered. “I can fly any ship in the Republic fleet. Just get to me to it and I can do the rest.” 

There was a sinking feeling in your gut at that. Sure enough, Omega was watching you hopefully when you turned around.

“Omega, I-” 

“We need you to,” Echo interrupted firmly. “I’ll take a volunteer group of troopers to go save them, but we need you to get these men to a ship.” 

“I can’t just leave,” you argued. 

“No one said you have to leave,” Omega corrected. “Just take them to the hangar and get them on a ship. Then come find us. You have Echo’s comlink frequency. Track it and that’ll show you where we are.” 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Echo said, looking uncomfortable at the idea of bringing someone new into whatever situation he expected to find. 

Omega shrugged up at him. “We need all the help we can get.” 

Echo’s sigh only served as a wordless agreement. 

“Fine, I’ll see you both soon,” you decided. “Everyone else, follow me. I’ll get you to the hangar.” 

The process of guiding the troopers wasn’t quick, but it was remarkably efficient. They had already figured out who was well enough to help the others and who should be at the front of the group to help set the pace. That was especially convenient, since it allowed you to help the troopers who were struggling the most without having to leave your place leading the group. 

At long last, you had helped everyone load onto a LAAT/i and passed along the coordinates Echo had sent to get them to a safe system. The instant you were safely off the ship, the pilot deftly flew the ship into the pouring rain and you rushed back into the belly of the mountain. 

Echo’s comlink frequency wasn’t moving. 

That wouldn’t have been too concerning, but it continued not to move for most of the time it took you to reach it. You sent up a prayer to whatever gods were listening that he had simply dropped the comlink. The idea of something worse happening was enough to send you into near-panic. 

The sound of your name being called behind you made you freeze. “Hunter-?”

When you had passed the large door, it had been closed. You hadn’t actually known that it led outside, but with the door panel standing open, you could see the long path to a landing platform fading away behind sheets of rain. 

More importantly, Hunter, Crosshair, and Omega were just inside that door, dripping wet and looking exhausted. 

“What happened?” you demanded, rushing to them. “Are you hurt? Crosshair, your hand… We have to go! Hemlock could be here any moment-” 

“Mesh’la,” Hunter cut in, grasping your shoulders so you would pay attention. “We don’t have to worry about Hemlock. Not now. Not ever again.” He took a shaking breath and hugged you close. “We’re finally safe.” 

You cradled him against you, nodding in acknowledgment as Omega gestured that she was going to find a ship. She and Crosshair moved around you both, headed toward the hangar. 

Hunter smelled like sweat and electricity, his body trembling like a leaf. He pressed his face beneath your jaw and took a deep breath. You could feel the heat of tears against the skin of your neck. Even there, in the horrible aftermath of a long and painful battle, you found a moment to soak each other in. 

Later that night, you jolted awake in your bunk aboard the Havoc Marauder. The lights of hyperspace flashed beyond the viewport covers, but that wasn’t what had jarred you back to consciousness - the bed was empty. 

It didn’t take long to find Hunter; he was in the cockpit. There wasn’t any manual flying to do, since you were in hyperspace and would continue to be for hours, but he was staring through the viewport as if he was concentrating intently. 

“Hunter?” you asked gently. 

With his enhanced senses, there was no way he hadn’t heard you approaching, but there was something odd about the set of his shoulders. You wouldn’t risk startling him, not after he had been through so much so recently. 

He hummed softly in answer. You took that as an invitation and stepped into the cockpit. 

When you were sitting in the copilot’s chair, you let yourself look over at Hunter. His eyes were aimed out of the viewport, but they weren’t as sharp as you thought they would be. Instead, he seemed to be staring through the transparisteel blankly, his focus clearly aimed at his own thoughts instead of at the stars rushing past. 

“Are… are you okay?” you asked, fully knowing how silly the question was but unable to articulate it any other way. 

“I don’t know yet.” 

The answer was quiet and soft, more thoughtful than dismissive. You nodded understandingly. 

“It’s hard to believe it’s all over.” 

“Is it over?” Hunter shook his head. “Every time I think about… about today… I have to wonder if there isn’t something else going on.” 

You frowned. It was hard not to ask too many questions, especially when he was saying things that made you worry. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Hunter sighed lightly, little more than an exhale through his nose. “Not much to talk about. The Kaminoans could break us down and put us back together by the molecule. Hemlock had to do it the hard way. Shocks, beatings, psychological reprogramming. He wanted to turn us into his own soldiers.”

Your throat went tight at the dismissive tone he used. You reached out, closing the distance between your chair and his to hold his hand. Hunter accepted the touch easily, slipping his fingers through yours and giving a little squeeze. 

“You want to know the worst part?” Strictly speaking, you weren’t sure that you did, but you nodded anyway. “There were others there that were Hemlock’s soldiers. He had a team he used to capture us and I couldn’t stop thinking… What if he did that to Tech? What if one of those men was my own brother?” 

Hunter’s eyes were bright with unshed tears, his voice tight. You stood, wrapping him in the tightest hug you could manage. Even as he returned your hug, Hunter choked out, “How can things be over if Tech could still be out there?” 

“Let’s get everyone to safety first,” you suggested slowly. “When that’s done, we can go wherever you want. We’ll find him.”

“And Omega?” he asked, almost desperate. “She finally has a chance to be a normal kid. How could I take that from her?” 

“Stars, Hunter, we have contacts across the galaxy.” You stroked gentle fingertips through his hair. “We can gather leads from Pabu and, if we find something solid enough, we’ll go check it out. You can decide then if you want to get anyone else involved or not.” 

Hunter’s laugh was teary but sincere. “How do you make it sound so simple?” 

“Because it is,” you reminded him. “We’re together and we’re alive. We can figure out anything else.” 

“You’re right,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to your palm. “We’ll figure it out. Together. I love you, mesh’la.”  “I love you too, Hunter,” you murmured, pressing kisses to his forehead, cheeks, and finally his lips. “Everything will be okay. We’ll make it okay.”

---

Author's Note - As you can probably tell, I lean toward the theory that Tech isn't perma-dead. We'll see!

Thank you for reading, and thank you to everyone who made requests and is being so so patient while I work through my insane number of wips.

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Life Update

Hey, friends! Life threw me some really interesting curveballs this last month. I've spent most of the last two weeks in a hospital waiting room (not for me) or traveling to and from the hospital, so everything was on pause.

I should have let you all know what was up sooner, but here we are. Lack of sleep really does a number on your memory! 😅

Anyway, I hope to put something out in the next few days and to return to the normal update schedule in April.

Thank you for your patience!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

If you're currently reading Gar Cyare and are confused by the chapter renumbering:

I'm sorry! I was previously labeling the spicy chapters (hosted on an alternate account) as *previous chapter number* .5 so that the numbering would be cohesive on this account.

I decided I don't like that method after all. The spicy chapters are still part of the story, so they will be numbered as their own chapters. They will continue to be hosted on the other account and will not contain any real plot, so readers can still choose to skip spicy chapters if they prefer.

Also, I couldn't deal with the chapter numbering being different between AO3 (where all chapters are part of the same story) and here, so that was definitely part of things.

I apologize for any confusion!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Twenty-One

The trial of Akridia Brid is mercifully short... for you and Alpha, at least.

Alpha-17 x fem!reader (no reader description, no use of 'Y/N')

Word Count: 4,800

Warnings: Fake courtroom drama stuff, accusations, victim blaming (kinda), vague threats, misunderstandings, suggestive conversations

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Burk’yc Urcir (A Dangerous Meeting)

Your shirt itched terribly. 

The seat at the front of the court was uncomfortable - even more so because you were currently in the middle of being cross-examined - but all that kept running through your mind was how itchy the shirt was. Not for the first time, you envied Alpha his armor. It probably wasn't comfortable, but at least it was protective. You could use a little protection just then. 

“Administrator,” Brid’s lawyer reprimanded sharply. “I asked you a question.” 

She had, actually. In fairness to you, though, you had already answered the same question multiple times. 

“No, I didn't think it was overly strange that Brid didn't contact me about the additional help that was coming to Kamino,” you repeated, striving for patience. “Our previous communication had been strained, and I believed that she was trying to avoid contacting me directly.”

The lawyer, Myndel Sall, didn’t seem to appreciate your attempts to be gracious about the repeated questions. “So rather than do the slightest bit of investigation on your own behalf, you chose to believe that Ms. Brid had neglected her job duties in favor of relegating tasks to her own supervisor?” 

You were so tired of this line of questioning, but a glance around the courtroom treated you to the sight of a silently fuming Alpha. Abruptly, you were struggling to keep from grinning. You turned back toward Sall, who was still watching you expectantly. 

With a shrug, you admitted, “Yes.” 

A stifled laugh went around the courtroom. Brid was not well-liked, and much of the trial had taken place before you were brought in. 

Sall’s lips parted in a sneer and you braced for whatever rude question she would pose next, but she was interrupted by Dedric Trosteld, the lawer speaking on behalf of the Senate. “Objection, your honor and all members of the court. The administrator is not on trial here. I move to strike this line of questioning from the record as irrelevant.”

Sall interrupted before the judge could speak. “I would posit that the administrator’s choices are relevant, as we are here to assign blame for the attack on Kamino.” 

“Counselor, we are here to discover whether or not your client knowingly and maliciously allowed outside forces onto Kamino,” the judge stiffly reminded Sall. “The administrator is not on trial.” 

“On the contrary,” Sall insisted, “the fact that the administrator didn’t question the absence of her direct supervisor is a large part of the reason that Kamino was unprepared for an attack-” 

“Counselor Sall,” the judge said, voice severe. “I will not correct your conduct again. Counselor Trosteld, your objections are sustained. This line of questioning will cease immediately. Counselor Sall, do you have any further relevant questions for the administrator?”

“No, Your Honor,” Sall admitted begrudgingly. 

“Very well.” The judge looked to Trosteld. “Your witness, counselor.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Trosteld tucked his hands behind his back and paced steadily in front of you. “Administrator, how well do you know your supervisor, Akridia Brid?” 

You considered that for a moment. “Not well. We never worked together prior to my assignment on Kamino. The contact we had was short due to the unreliability of long-distance transmissions and limited strictly to work-related matters.” 

“I see,” Trosteld said with a nod. “And did you notice anything in Ms. Brid’s behavior or work that would suggest that she was disloyal to the Republic?” 

“No,” you answered honestly. “As I said, I didn’t work with her closely enough to pick up on anything about the quality of her work.”

“And how about her behavior?” 

Hm. That was more difficult. “Nothing stands out too strongly, but she did start to get more impatient as I continued writing the report. She accused me of wasting time on Kamino instead of working.”

Trosteld nodded. “In your written testimonies, both you and Captain Alpha-17 claimed that Ms. Brid tried to eject you from Kamino. Can you describe that incident to me?” 

“Of course,” you agreed, taking a deep breath to remind yourself that impartiality was the most important thing. “Supervisor Brid was unhappy that I missed a deadline for my report on the Kaminoan cloning process. She asked me to resign. I believed she meant to remove me from the project and I initially accepted, but she attempted to have me resign from the Senate workforce altogether. I refused.” 

“On what grounds?” Trosteld asked. 

“My hours were far beyond what the Republic considers acceptable overtime,” you explained. “I offered to send my logged time to a Republic investigator as proof that the original deadlines were impossible, but Supervisor Brid didn’t seem to think that was necessary. She also opted not to request that I be removed from Kamino by the Senatorial Administration Office.”

“Why?” 

You blinked. “I… I can’t begin to guess why Brid didn’t follow up on replacing me.” 

“Forgive me,” Trosteld requested with a small smile. “I meant: why did you fight to stay on Kamino?” 

“I believed that I could make a difference through my work on Kamino,” you told him, nonplussed. “How could I leave?”

Another glance around the courtroom showed smiles and approving nods from onlookers and the jury. Alpha gave you a warm look, smiling with his eyes alone, but you were distracted by a man at the back of the courtroom. He was standing beside the large doors, as if he had only stepped inside for a moment. He seemed to be wearing… armor under his long cloak. The single line of armor that was visible through the parted front of the cloak glinted golden in the light of the courtroom. 

When the man saw that he had caught your eye, he offered a shallow tip of his head. The motion looked somehow familiar, but you couldn’t begin to place it. 

“Esteemed members of the court, I have no further questions for this witness,” Trosteld announced, sweeping away from the raised booth where you sat. The judge dismissed you and that was that. 

Since you and Alpha had both finished testifying, you were ordered to leave the court. You did so gladly, hurriedly changing into comfortable clothes at the hotel. Alpha lounged on the bed. He hadn’t seemed overly concerned about the trial, but now that it was over, you could see the way the near-invisible tension had melted from him. 

“Do you think they’ll get her?” you asked, collapsing onto the bed beside Alpha. Even with the full force of your body hitting the mattress, he was barely jostled.

“Dunno,” he said, shrugging up at the ceiling. “Didn’t seem to have much of a case, did they?” 

“Nora warned us about that, remember?” you reminded him. “She said that we would only see part of the case. Brid’s law team brought us there to prove that there were other people who wanted to destroy Kamino, but I’m sure the legal teams have other arguments.” 

“I hope so.” Alpha turned slightly onto his side so he could watch you. “I want her in prison, but it should at least be a fair fight.” 

You stared silently at the ceiling, considering that for a moment. 

Brid was, in Alpha’s words, a di’kut. She had always been a di’kut, and trying to push blame for the attack on Kamino onto you? Well, if you had believed that you couldn’t think less of her, you had been mistaken. 

But something about the situation didn’t feel right. You had gained a fine sense of when someone was taking advantage of a victim for their own ends, and that sense was tingling. Brid would be a terribly convenient scapegoat, and she hadn’t made many friends during her time at the Senate. With no one to side with her, Brid was vulnerable. And if she hadn’t orchestrated the attack on Kamino, the Republic wasn’t searching for the real perpetrator.

Before you could even start to articulate that, Alpha’s stomach gave a loud grumble. You grinned over at him. “Hungry?” 

“Always,” Alpha agreed, rolling off the side of the bed and standing in the same motion. You would have been more impressed, but he had explained that it was basically the only way to stand up while wearing full armor. 

“Come on,” you invited, standing in a less flashy way. “A lot has changed since the last time I was on Coruscant, but I’m sure I can track down something tasty, cheap, and filling for dinner.” 

Alpha barked out a laugh. “How could I say no to an invitation like that?”

Skeptical as he was, you had managed to do exactly what you had promised. The street cart was nearly abandoned and it admittedly looked less than sanitary, but you had spent your time on Coruscant learning which carts were trustworthy and which were better to avoid. Somehow, this one met all your standards and you convinced Alpha to try it. 

The cart boasted an assortment of skewers, each one with a variety of vegetables grilled to perfection. The vendor, a human female from Castilon, had briefly lamented to you that Coruscant’s seafood selection was so poor. 

“There’s nothing like rokkna meat roasting over a wood fire,” she claimed, eyes bright with fervor. “But Coruscant is so far from a good ocean…”

You nodded sympathetically. With so many people in such a confined space, meat of any kind was uncommon on Coruscant, but seafood was especially rare. The nearest ocean planet was still too far for easy access, and most of the fishers on those planets charged a premium to the wealthy of Coruscant. Accordingly, seafood was a rare indulgence for the rich. The Coruscanti poor had no chance of affording it. 

“Have you tried-?” you started, but Alpha’s fingers brushed your elbow before you could finish the thought. 

“Neverd’ika,” he said lowly. “We need to go.” 

You glanced around, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Still, you trusted Alpha, so you nodded, offering your thanks to the vendor as you started back in the vague direction of the hotel. 

“What’s going on?” You had waited until you and Alpha cleared the square where you’d started, but you couldn’t stand the uncertainty any longer. 

Alpha took a moment to answer, scanning your surroundings with a grim set to his mouth. “Thought I saw someone I know.” 

“One of Obrim’s men?” you asked. When Alpha gave you a strange look, you shrugged. “That’s who was following Maze and I yesterday. Apparently, I’m a flight risk.” 

Despite the tension in his posture, Alpha smirked. “That so, little one? I’m glad you warned me now. I’d hate to wake up one day and find that you’d stolen a transport and disappeared.” 

You smiled back. “Could happen, but I hope that you wouldn’t make me disappear alone.” 

“Never.” Alpha’s expression sobered as he looked around again. “Let’s continue this conversation when we get back to the hotel.” 

For a large man, Alpha could move when he wanted to. He did the hard part of clearing a way through the crowd, even with his head ducked to help him blend in. All you had to do was stick close to his heels and get through the crowd before the halves re-merged behind him. 

There was a noticeable decrease in the number of people as you approached the hotel. The area was mostly commercial zoning, so there were few housing complexes in the area. And apparently, not many tourists wanted to stay in the legal district.

When you and Alpha were two streets away from the hotel, a figure pushed steadily away from a wall. You could see it in silhouette - tall and lanky, but bulky in a way that seemed both familiar and utterly alien. 

“Alpha,” you breathed, trying to keep the warning as low as possible. 

“I know, neverd’ika,” he soothed, fingertips brushing over your forearm. “Keep an eye on ‘em - I have one back here, too.” 

You eyed the figure nervously. “Do we stop?” 

“Do anything but stop,” Alpha told you sternly. “Get to the hotel room and lock the door, even if I’m not with you. Don’t stop or wait for me. I’ll meet you there.” 

“Alpha…”

“No time,” he hissed. 

He was right. By that point, you were close enough to the figure ahead of you to see that it was wearing dark armor and a visor. 

You did your best to skirt around the figure, clutching Alpha’s arm hard enough that your nails bit into the skin beneath his body glove. He slowed behind you just as the person reached out to grab your wrist in an iron grip. 

“We need a word.” The modulated voice came from the helmeted face, sounding vaguely humanoid, but you didn’t recognize the tone. The accent was precise, almost polished, but dripping with menace and threats left unspoken.

It was hard to pinpoint when the change happened, but your mind was abruptly taken over by all of the training you had done with Trem. You let the figure keep a grip on your wrist, barrelling into their chest hard enough to knock them off-balance. One of your legs was planted slightly behind one of theirs, and when they stumbled backward, they tripped on your calf and fell heavily to the ground. 

Initially, the figure didn’t let go of you, but working around clone troopers had left you with a keen understanding of armor and its weak points. With their arm extended upward to keep their hold on your wrist, their unarmored armpit was exposed. You planted the toe of your shoe against that unprotected joint and their grip faltered long enough for you to pull free. 

“Su cuy’gar, Alpha,” someone greeted from behind you. 

You were beyond the point of caring who these people were, tugging at Alpha’s arm so insistently that his shoulder joint probably hurt just as badly as that of the figure on the ground. Alpha, however, stopped short at the friendly voice. 

Alpha’s solid body stopping halted you as well, if only because you had such a strong grip on his elbow. You collided heavily against Alpha’s chest and he caught you almost absent-mindedly, already turning to face the other person. 

This one was much shorter. They were also wearing full armor and a helmet, though the gold plates of that armor were partially hidden behind a long cloak. Something tickled at the back of your mind, but the rumbling of Alpha’s voice through his chest distracted you before you could seize it. 

“Skirata,” he greeted flatly in return. 

You stared from the figure to Alpha and back again. “Skirata?”

“Alpha. Administrator.” The helmet inclined slightly, as if Skirata was eyeing the figure on the ground. “Alpha, my boy, you aren’t going to let an old man lie helplessly on the sidewalk, are you?”

A pang of guilt burned through the pit of your stomach. An old man? You had knocked down an old man? Armor or no, you were suddenly terrified that he had been hurt. Reflexively, you started forward, but Alpha’s hand on your shoulder stopped you from getting too close. 

Instead, he glanced down at the man lying on the ground in his black armor and gave a loud snort. “Weren’t expecting that, were you, Vau? Suspect some of your boys would pay good credits to see you get taken down by a civvie.” 

“I never did like you, Seventeen,” the dark-armored figure spat out, pushing himself up to his feet. 

Alpha watched him, unimpressed. “The feeling is mutual.” 

Skirata cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “Sorry to interrupt your evening, son, but I heard the two of you were going to be on Triple Zero and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet your charming friend.” 

“I’m not your son, Skirata,” Alpha dismissed. “And my friend is no business of yours. Let us pass.”

“Oh, but she is,” Skirata insisted, reaching up to remove his helmet. His freshly revealed face wasn’t as old as you had expected from his statement about Vau, but you weren’t truly surprised. Skirata carried himself with an aura of capable menace that warned he was still well able to fight. The features were schooled into an expression of kindly consideration, but you weren’t entirely fooled. There was a glint in his eyes, one of both keen interest and deadly focus. 

“Kal Skirata,” he said, by way of an introduction. You had already braced yourself for his opening salvo when he added, “My boys tell me that you read all of of Ko Sai’s notes on genetic manipulation.” 

The mood turned to something dark and frozen. You could feel the way Alpha was getting ready to tear into the older Mandalorian man, but you couldn’t let him. This was nothing more than a bluff. An incredibly high-stakes bluff, but nothing more than that. 

With your most professional smile, you shook your head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Skirata, but I think you were misinformed. I never read the notes, just saw that they existed. I was able to see the note headings briefly using my Kaminoan administrative password, but I never accessed any of the actual files.”

“That so?” he asked, sounding unsurprised by your denial. 

“Sadly,” you agreed. “I tried to warn your boys not to try slicing into the files, but I couldn’t convince them to listen before they set off the self-destruct feature.” 

“They’ve always been hasty,” Skirata agreed with despairing smile. “Comes with the accelerated aging, is my guess. They know how little time they have, so they’re more likely to jump into things with both feet. Can’t really blame them, can we?” 

The casual tone of Skirata’s voice was belied by the staggering intensity in his gaze. He was testing you, probing to see whether you knew more than you were letting on. Unfortunately for everyone, you didn’t. You had technically seen Ko Sai’s notes, but for all that you had understood, you may as well have been reading Huttese. 

So you deflected, not with another lie, but with a truth so deep and close to your heart that there was nothing more honest you could hope to give this stranger.

“I can’t blame them at all,” you agreed, emotion tightening your throat until your voice sounded almost painful. “The only ones I do blame are the Kaminoans. It’s a cruel and heartless thing, to give life but make sure it’s short as well as being painful and frightening. If I ever found a way to reverse the accelerated aging, I would risk everything I have to get it out of Kamino and to the right people. That’s the reason I agreed to help your sons.” 

Alpha’s hand skimmed over your forearm, settling just below your elbow with a light squeeze. You took a shaking breath, relaxing your muscles and expression with effort. There was a fine line between fervor that would convince someone like Skirata, and giving him ammunition to have you locked away by the Republic if you made a move he disliked. You had likely crossed back and forth over that line several times so far, but you couldn’t pretend it wasn’t the truth.

“I feel the same way,” Skirata said when you had collected yourself. “I wish more people did, but more people see the clones as expendable than as living beings.”

“They’ll learn someday,” you insisted. “They’ll have to. This war won’t last forever.”

Skirata’s expression grew sad. “We’ll see.” 

Alpha cleared his throat. “We won’t see anything if someone reports us talking and the Republic decides to pay closer attention to what we’re doing on Kamino. We should go.” 

“Pragmatic as ever,” Vau admitted, scanning the area around you all. “And a good point. Let’s wrap this up, Skirata.” 

“Alpha has always been able to cut through to the point,” Skirata told you, leaning in as if Alpha wouldn’t be able to hear him from a yard away. “I’m as proud of him as I am any of my boys.” 

Alpha rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. 

“It was nice to meet you,” Skirata said, offering his hand in a firm shake. “Always like to get the measure of the people my boys work with, especially when they say someone is trustworthy.”

You tilted your head at that, but returned his handshake. If the Nulls found you trustworthy, you would think it was a shock, but you decided against saying it. Instead, you stared into Skirata’s face, attempting to get a sense of him in the same way he was trying with you. 

He wasn’t as kindly and paternal as he pretended to be. You had realized that almost immediately. And now that you had spoken with him, Skirata’s air of harmlessness was laughable. He made you wary. He was a good man who loved his sons as fiercely as any parent you had ever met, and he was willing to do anything to keep them safe. If you were ever in the way of him doing so, you were as good as dead. 

“Nice to meet you, too,” you agreed. “Always nice to see the ways children take after a parent.” 

The corners of Skirata’s lips curled up in an appreciative smile. He seemed like a man who liked to speak plainly when possible, but he also seemed the type to enjoy a good verbal spar. “One last piece of advice? It’s a little harder to make changes from outside the system, but not impossible. And it takes care of any privacy agreements you may have signed. Working in the private sector means that you can rally the public to your side when you need to.” 

“How-?”

You had stopped yourself before fully admitting that you had gotten a job offer from Nora, but Skirata still gave you a knowing smile. “It pays to have friends in strange places.”

“I’m sure she appreciates career advice from a mercenary,” Alpha interrupted, clearly having reached the end of his patience. “If you have any other wisdom to pass along, comm us.” 

No one got in the way as you and Alpha left, but you didn’t exactly give them the chance. Your quick steps didn’t stop until you reached the safety of your hotel room, and you locked the door the moment you and Alpha were inside. 

“How much of that was a threat?” you asked in the artificial silence of the room. 

“Plenty,” Alpha said shortly, checking the locks on everything from the windows to the hatches covering the climate control vents. You watched in silence, antsy from the heavy tension of the room. 

Sure enough, Alpha turned expectantly to you when he had finished. “Something you need to tell me?” 

You took a breath to steel yourself. “After you left the restaurant last night, Nora told me about a group that might be interested in hiring me.”

“Are you going to finish the report first, or leave immediately?” he asked and you flinched at the blank expression he wore. Even his tone was flat, distant. “Are you coming back to Kamino at all, or do you want me to pack up your things and ship them back here for you?” 

“No, Alpha,” you pleaded softly. “I’m not leaving. That’s the point. I wanted to talk to you about this myself after I knew a little more-” 

“Is that why you didn’t tell me?” 

You stared at him, aghast. “I just found out about this last night! And we were a little busy today. But I would have said something tomorrow or the next day. Don’t forget, we have another three days on a transport to get back to Kamino.” 

Alpha didn’t join in with your nervous laughter. “I don’t like that Skirata knew before I did. And Czajak - did she purposefully wait until I had left?”

“No…” you said uncomfortably, but you couldn’t let the lie stand. “Well, yes, but not because you weren’t supposed to be part of my decision. She just wanted me to have the chance to turn it down without anyone else weighing in. And I have no idea how Skirata knew about it.” 

Alpha’s spine was painfully straight as he turned to check the locks on the window again. It took a long moment before he spoke again. “I would never force you to stay on Kamino. You know that, don’t you?” 

The raw vulnerability in the question made your heart ache. 

“Of course I know that, Alpha,” you reassured, starting toward him. You stopped when you saw the way he tensed even more at your approach. “Nora was trying to look out for me, but she doesn’t know how our relationship works. I’ve been terrified about finishing the report for months. Now I have a chance to stay on Kamino - to stay with you - if I play my cards right. I want that so badly, but I don’t want to get your hopes up in case they don’t want to keep me.” 

“They would be di’kuts if they didn’t keep you,” Alpha said with a scowl. 

You smiled despite yourself. “You don’t even know who they are.” 

“Doesn’t matter,” he grumbled. He sighed a moment later. “I’ve been worried about you finishing the report, too.” 

You did an inelegant double-take. “You were-? You never said anything.”

Alpha shrugged. “It wouldn’t have helped. You were already worried. You didn’t need me making it worse. Who wants to hire you?” 

“Some group called Sentient Rights,” you explained haltingly. “I haven’t heard of them, but Nora said she works with them quite a bit. They’ve read my report and they like that I treat the troopers as… people. They want to use some pull to keep me on Kamino as a way of preventing any violations of your rights.” 

“We’re clones,” Alpha reminded harshly. “We don’t have rights.” 

“Right now, the Senate hasn’t made any ruling on you except that you can be used as soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic,” you countered. “Until they make an official decision, you don’t have rights, but you don’t not have rights.” 

“That makes no sense,” he grumbled after a long moment of trying to find a gap in your logic. 

“The Republic rarely does,” you agreed. Alpha’s lips twisted in a suppressed smile. 

“What’s your plan?” he asked instead of remarking on your opinion of the Republic. “Work with them and hope they can keep you on Kamino?” 

“I’m hoping to get confirmation that I’ll stay on Kamino before I submit the report,” you admitted. “I want to comm them before we leave Coruscant in case they want to meet in-person. I know the Kaminoans will kick me off-planet as soon as the report is done, and I don’t want to give them a chance to bar me before I get a permanent post.” 

“Smart,” Alpha said with a nod. “Just as smart as hiding from Skirata that you read Nala Se’s notes.” 

You grimaced, sitting heavily on the bed. Your knees felt a little weak at the reminder. “Hopefully, the misdirection was enough to throw him off. He definitely seemed suspicious.” 

“He won’t waste time chasing down a lead like that if he doesn’t believe it’ll pay off,” Alpha reassured, sitting down beside you. “I don’t think you have to worry about him. At least, not in that way.”

“Good,” you said fervently. 

There were ways to recapture information that a human or humanoid had seen, even if they couldn’t consciously remember it. But those ways were never pleasant and they were frequently dangerous. No sane being would willingly submit to the process. Unfortunately, it often happened to beings who were less than willing. If nothing else, Skirata seemed like the type who wouldn’t necessarily care about little things like ‘coercion’ or ‘war crimes’.

“Don’t worry, little one,” Alpha said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and squeezing as if he could hear your internal worries. “I said I would always keep you safe and I meant it.” 

“I know, Alpha,” you agreed, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck and smirking when he shuddered a bit. 

“Keep that up and you’re going to be in for a night,” he warned lowly, voice rumbling delightfully next to your ear. 

“I know, Alpha,” you repeated, smiling as you pressed another kiss to his neck. 

It was impossible to know how full the hotel was, but your neighbors - if you had them - probably weren’t thrilled at your pleased squeal as he flipped you onto the bed.

---

Author's Note - Hey, friends! I'm going to start with a few disclaimers in case anyone is upset.

No, Brid's trial is not going to be a major plot point moving forward. It and the outcome will be mentioned in passing, but only in relation to other changes. This story is already running longer than I meant it to and we have other places to be.

Walon Vau is a certified badass, not a feeble old man who could be knocked down by a civvie. We're chalking it up to him expecting Alpha to cause problems and momentarily shifting his focus away from the administrator, who he expected to be rather helpless.

Kal Skirata is not someone to be fooled by an impassioned speech from a stranger, but he and the administrator were speaking their own little language in that scene. It was less about what they said than about getting the measure of each other, and giving the right impression in return.

The next chapter will be a spicy one, and I intend for it to be out next week if I can get my life together long enough to write it. It's been a busy few weeks (also my excuse for why this wasn't posted on Wednesday like I had originally intended).

Thanks for reading! I'll see you all soon!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Twenty

You and Alpha travel to Coruscant for the trial. Nothing is quite the same as you remembered it.

Alpha-17 x fem!reader

Word Count: 6,500

Warnings: Nervousness, descriptions of space flight, made up descriptions of space flight, made up judicial proceedings, descriptions of a planet at war, feelings of alienation and displacement, loneliness, price-gouging

Previous | Next | Masterlist

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Coruscanta (Coruscant)

“Are you okay, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked, resting a hand over the fists you had clenched in your lap. 

You mustered a smile. “Yes, I’m fine. This is just… the first time I’ve left Kamino since I got here. It feels strange to be leaving. To have left.” 

Watching the water-covered surface of Kamino disappear into the distance had been a nerve-wracking experience. Alpha had asked several times if you were afraid of hyperspace travel, clearly picking up on your discomfort, but you had truthfully told him that you had no problem with hyperspace flights. 

No, leaving Kamino made you think of a permanent departure. Despite your best efforts, it would probably happen soon. Jaiss had asked about scheduling a meeting when you were on Coruscant, and you were sure that she wanted to speak with you about finalizing the report. 

The trip from Kamino to Coruscant was not quick or easy. There were numerous star systems that you had to skirt around, and the gravity wells would only grow denser as you approached the Core Worlds. 

Fortunately, the Republic had authorized one of their faster ships, and you were granted access to the Corellian Run hyperspace lane. Even so, the trip would take roughly three days. You were scheduled to spend a full week on Coruscant, but with your own ship, that time could be lengthened or shortened as needed depending on how the trial went. 

Trial. 

Your stomach twisted every time the word floated to the surface of your mind. 

“Breathe,” Alpha murmured, thumb rubbing over the stark peaks of your straining knuckles.

The two of you were in the small seating area between the cockpit and the bunks. There were two pilots in the cockpit, which was designed to stay enclosed. You had been quietly amused by that when you stepped aboard - did the Republic think there was a risk that you and Alpha would have stolen the ship and disappeared if left to your own devices? 

Fortunately, you had thought better of it before you pointed that out to Alpha. The idea of being a suspect for desertion probably wouldn’t have struck him as being as funny as it did to you. 

There was a small kitchen opposite the seating area. It was little more than a flash-reheater, a conservator, and a sink, but it meant that you wouldn’t be eating ration bars for the entirety of your journey, so you thought it was beautiful. 

When you had peeked into the barracks, it had held four bunks, but Alpha had already informed you that the pilots would switch off. Each one would get eight hours to sleep, then they would share the cockpit for another eight before the cycle continued. 

You had been a little awed when you asked Alpha how he knew. He had scoffed lightly. “Standard troopers are trained to follow orders, not to think for themselves. Pilots can be a little more difficult to anticipate, but not much. They’ll stick to that schedule because it’s how they were instructed, and how the regulations say to work a flight of this length.”

There was a lot in that statement that made you want to ask questions, but you were preoccupied by other matters. All you had caught was that they had a definite routine, which meant that you and Alpha were free to spend as much time together as you wanted. As long as you tracked when the pilots were due to be passing through on their way to the bunks, you would probably be fine. 

“Are there recorders on Republic transports?” you asked suddenly. It was such a natural continuation of your internal thoughts that it seemed plain to you, but Alpha gave you a strange look. “Visual or audio?” 

“Of course,” he confirmed. “The Republic wants to know everything that happens aboard one of their ships, and if the ship is attacked, they want to know what happened.” 

“Do you still have your disruptor puck?” you asked, much quieter. 

Alpha nodded. “Never go anywhere without it.” 

“I’m surprised they haven’t figured you out yet,” you said, unable to keep the note of admiration out of your voice. 

“They may have,” Alpha said with a shrug. “But no one wants to formally call me out on it. If they did, they would have to admit that there is a way to disrupt their recording devices. The damage that knowledge would do is much worse than anything I might be doing while they can’t observe me.” 

“You know, we have several days with nothing else to do,” you pointed out, watching the shadows cast by hyperspace form under Alpha’s raised eyebrow. “You could teach me how to make a disruptor of my own.” 

“I could,” Alpha agreed, in a leading tone that made you narrow your eyes at him. “But you’ll have to do something for me in return.” 

For a wild moment, you thought Alpha was going to say something lascivious. Admittedly, you were intrigued, but it would be tricky to avoid the pilots…

Then he said, “You have to show me civvie life on Coruscant.” 

The surprise made you blink at him, but you valiantly tried to recover. “Civilian life, really? I thought you weren’t interested.” 

“I don’t trust you to choose a holofilm anymore, but the rest of it?” Alpha shrugged. “You’re the expert. And you lived on Triple Zero for a while. I trust you to show me what I should see.” 

Possibilities raced through your mind. It had been a while since you were last on Coruscant, but it would be nice to show Alpha some of your favorite places… “Okay, that sounds like fun! It’s a deal.” 

Alpha nodded, but his eyes were fixed on yours with an intensity that made you nervous. “What did you think I was going to ask?” 

You felt your face heat and reflexively looked away. “Nothing.” 

That, of course, didn’t work. With a renewed interest sharpening his voice, Alpha leaned forward and pressed, “Didn’t seem like nothing. Seemed like you had something very specific in mind.” 

You shook your head, still refusing to look at him. “Nope, it was definitely nothing.” 

Alpha gave a skeptical hum, letting his thigh press more heavily against yours. “Too bad. Though you were gonna be brave. Tell me, me’copaani?” 

Alpha must have influenced you more than you thought. Being lightly accused of cowardice put you on-edge, and then the soft entreaty to tell him what you wanted? You couldn’t help but respond. 

You rested your hand on Alpha’s thigh in a way that could have been casual, if it weren’t so high up toward the juncture of his legs. He gave a low groan. 

You met his eyes and lifted a brow, your lips curving into a playful smile. “Maybe it’ll be another fun civvie thing to show you once we get to Coruscant.” 

Alpha’s spine stiffened slightly as you leaned into his lap to give him a kiss, but he returned it eagerly. When you pulled back, he tried to follow, stopping only when you turned your head away teasingly.

“Anytime,” he growled fervently. “Just tell me where and when. I’ll make it happen.” 

You laughed, giving his thigh a squeeze and a pat before you removed your hand. “For now, let’s just focus on those disruptors.” 

That work kept you busy over the next few days, especially since you could only work on it while the pilots were in the cockpit or the bunks. They didn’t spend much time in the common areas of the ship, but they emerged for food or to use the ‘freshers fairly often. Alpha had been right about their schedules, though, and avoiding them was easy enough. 

By the time you were warned to strap in for the descent into Coronet City, you had created an array of three disruptors. The largest one was for your room on Kamino, the second largest was for your office, and the smallest was for you to carry on your person. 

Alpha had been a remarkably patient teacher, but he had insisted that you learn how to do everything yourself. He hadn’t taken over, even when you were stuck on a step and frustrated about it. But he had taught you how to get past every problem and fix every mistake you made along the way. You had even made your last disruptor while Alpha was sleeping, as a way to test yourself. 

When Alpha had examined the finished product, he had announced that he was proud of you. He had also added that he would have you make disruptors for him in the future, but you mostly focused on the pride. 

The sight of the spires and lights of Coronet City made your stomach twist in a combination of nerves and excitement. The landing was steep, but smooth. Since both pilots were in the cockpit to assist with landing, you held Alpha’s hand during the whole process. You really weren’t scared of ships or flying, but you were starting to wonder if you were afraid of Coruscant itself. 

When you were safely on the ground, the pilots announced that you and Alpha could gather your belongings, but that they had to be the ones to release the locks on the doors. 

You had packed light, but Alpha’s bag was little more than a backpack. He was wearing full armor, with the exception of the helmet he carried beneath one arm. He had already explained that he could go to retrieve an extra body glove if necessary, and he needed very little else. Even so, he slung his pack over one shoulder and pulled your larger bag free before you could even reach for it. 

“Don’t leave the hangar yet,” one of the pilots said, pausing on his way off of the ship. “Commander Fox needs a word with you both.” 

You managed to wait until he had left before you turned to Alpha, alarmed. “Fox? The commander of the Coruscant Guard needs to speak with us?” 

Alpha’s brows quirked. “How do you know that Fox is the head of the Corrie Guard?” 

“I was a Senatorial aide,” you reminded. “Some of the Senators had to have security escorts if they were threatened. I only met Commander Fox once, but I’ve worked with the Coruscant Guard quite a bit.” 

Alpha nodded slowly. “Good man, Fox. I’m not sure what he needs from us, but I trust him.” 

That was high praise, coming from Alpha, but your shoulders were still tight with tension as you followed him off the ship. You relaxed when you caught sight of the commander. Fox looked vaguely irritated, and you could see why - Nora was standing beside him with an impish look on her face. 

“Nora!” you greeted. 

The lawyer beamed, stepping forward with her arms already open for a hug. You stepped into them gratefully, happy for the familiarity of someone you already knew. 

“It’s so great to see you in person!” Nora gushed when you pulled back. “And Alpha, of course! He’s a big guy.” 

The last part had been delivered in a whisper, and you nodded emphatically. Sometimes, it was easy to forget how much larger Alpha was than the standard clone troopers, but the difference was especially striking when he was standing next to Commander Fox. 

Fox wasn’t a small man, himself. He was the same height as all of the other troopers, with a sturdy build that spoke of hours spent working on his strength. Fox had always exuded an air of competence, and the sense of authority he carried was noticeable enough to make even hardened criminals think twice about testing him. 

“Fox,” Alpha greeted simply, jerking his chin in recognition. 

“Alpha,” Fox returned. He glanced over and, seeing that you were looking back at him, greeted you by name as well. “I don’t know if you remember, but we met a while ago.” 

“I definitely remember,” you agreed, half-laughing at the idea of forgetting a meeting with Commander Fox. “It’s been a while, though. I’m surprised you remember.” 

Fox’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “I had a vague memory of you, but we’ve gotten more than a few shinies from Kamino since you started working there. They have plenty to say.” 

Your spine straightened reflexively, not sure whether or not that was a good thing.

“The pilot said you needed something from us,” Alpha said, subtly redirecting the conversation. “What is it?” 

Fox nodded slowly. “I thought it would be a good idea to let you both know the expectations for your time here. I’m not sure what she’s doing here.” 

Nora met his sidelong glance with a broad smile. “I heard that Commander Fox would be debriefing you both, so I decided to come along in case there are any questions or information that your counsel should be aware of.” 

“Again, this isn’t a debriefing,” Fox said, sounding tired. “Second, you aren’t their counsel for this trial. They don’t need counsel since neither of them are defendants.” 

“Well, I’m already here,” Nora said bracingly, shooting you a wink when Fox turned away to roll his eyes. 

“Captain, you’ll be staying in the GAR barracks,” Fox started at last. “Since court isn’t in session until tomorrow morning, you have some meetings scheduled for this afternoon. I’ll escort you to them personally. Advisor, the Senate has reserved a hotel room for you near the courthouse. They will update the reservation as needed for your testimony. I’ll transmit the details to your comlink.” 

He glanced back and forth between you and Alpha. “You are both expected to be in the courtroom at nine tomorrow morning. I cannot stress enough that you do not need legal representation.” 

“They’ve already tried to pin this osik on her once, Fox,” Alpha reminded lowly, tilting his head at you so Fox couldn’t possibly misunderstand. “I don’t trust that they won’t do it again.” 

“Much as I hate to agree with the commander,” Nora interjected. “I have to say that Fox has a point. If you come in with obvious legal protection, it could make you a target if their charges against Brid don’t stick.” 

“Could you just be… around?” you asked. 

Nora shook her head regretfully. “The proceedings are closed to the public since the trial is an internal Senate and GAR affair. I will give you some pointers about questions you should and should not answer, though. We’ll go out for dinner tonight, the three of us. After Alpha’s meetings, of course. Unless you’d like to come along, Fox?” 

Fox gave her a dry look, but didn’t offer any other response. Instead, he said, “The captain’s scheduled meetings will run fairly late in the evening.” 

“Oh, no…” Nora lamented, grinning all the while. “However will we find a Coruscanti restaurant that’s open after sunset?” 

Fox shook his head and looked back at you and Alpha. “Nine tomorrow morning. Alpha, let’s go.” 

Alpha’s eyes were on you and he stepped closer in an effort to speak more privately. Nora cleared her throat and hastily engaged Fox in conversation - and you were fascinated to see that he went along with it. 

“I’ll see you tonight, neverd’ika,” he promised. “Go get settled in the room and I’ll meet up with you and Nora as soon as these meetings are finished.” 

“Are you sure they’ll let you leave?” you asked. “Sounds like they’re trying to keep you occupied.” 

Alpha’s grin held an edge of violence. “They can try all they like. I’m an expert at keeping meetings brief. One way or another.” 

“Okay,” you agreed. “Be…” 

You trailed off. ‘Be safe’ seemed nonsensical. Alpha was going to the GAR headquarters. He would be surrounded by his brothers, many of whom he had worked with in the past or personally trained. Arguably, Alpha would be safer there than anywhere else, but you still fought not to tell him to be safe. 

Alpha seemed to understand. He rested his hand briefly on your shoulder. “You too, little one.” 

The warmth and solid weight of his touch stayed with you long after he had left with Commander Fox. 

You did as Alpha suggested, checking into the hotel room. It was… fine. Nothing fancy, but it was clean and quiet, near enough to the courthouse that you could easily walk there when it was time. You unpacked your outfit for the next day, hanging it up to avoid any creases. You were back on Coruscant, which meant that appearances were everything. 

You found enough to keep yourself occupied for almost an hour. But when your toiletries were arranged and your personal datapad was charging on the bedside table, the room started to feel… wrong. It was too small, and dark, and cluttered. It was hard to to breathe. 

Minutes later, you had gathered your wallet, comlink, and room key. A walk through the city was exactly what you needed to keep your mind off of the stress. 

You set a course through a familiar section of the city, waiting to feel the peaceful sensation of homecoming that had been lacking up to that point. In a perfect world, you would have commed some of your Senatorial aide friends to meet up. But the last you had heard, most of them had left Coruscant. Some had moved on to new jobs while others were part of personal staff for Senators. Since it was currently outside of the Senate’s season, they would only meet up on Coruscant if there was an emergency motion. For the moment, the Senators and their staff were on home planets and estates, or traveling reelection circuits.

It was startling to realize that you didn’t know many people on Coruscant anymore. It was even stranger to realize that you hadn’t lived on Coruscant for well over a year. 

The second realization became more and more apparent as you wandered through Coruscant. When you had left, the discussions of bringing in a clone guard force to augment the Coruscant Security Force had been raging, and there hadn’t been any sign of a consensus. To the displeasure of the CSF - and its union - Chancellor Palpatine had overridden the objections and pushed through a clone regiment. Now, the red-armored Coruscant Guard seemed to be everywhere you looked.

The war had taken its toll on the city in other ways. Every advertisement board switched between ads and governmental PSAs. Announcements about rationing and decreased utilities blared from assorted street corners. Graffiti splashed the walls - usually anti-war or anti-Republic, but you saw a few anti-trooper tags. 

Public services had clearly taken a hit with the budget constraints of waging a war. Every drinking fountain you passed was broken, street lights were out more often than not, and the duracrete sidewalks were starting to crack and crumble along the more popular streets. 

Most notably, plenty of businesses were closed. Some of the places you had loved when you lived on Coruscant were shuttered, a few of the doors bearing announcements that they hadn’t been able to compete in the wartime economy. One of your favorite restaurants had closed and your heart panged. You had planned to take Alpha there during your time on-planet.

Your already-low mood plummeted and you morosely turned back toward the hotel. 

With your inevitable expulsion from Kamino coming up as soon as you submitted the report, you had wanted this trip to be more than it was. You hadn’t realized it at the time, but you had pinned your hopes on Coruscant feeling like home, and using that feeling to bolster yourself about the possibility of returning to a life of semi-normalcy. 

Instead, it was growing more and more apparent that Kamino wasn’t allowed to be your home and that Coruscant no longer felt like the exciting surroundings they once had. Nothing was going as planned, and that made you feel irritable and off-balance. 

And since you were already thinking of unplanned things, it seemed entirely fitting that you didn’t recognize where you were. A combination of closed businesses, changed facades, and partially closed walkways made even the most familiar of streets seem utterly strange to you. 

You swore softly and tucked yourself off to the side, leaning against the railings to avoid passersby while minimizing how much Coruscant grime came away on your clothing. You might be able to find a comlink-accessible map, assuming that the frequencies hadn’t changed…

The sound of your name called in a familiar voice made you turn. When you glanced behind yourself, there was a tall, broad figure cutting easily through the crowd. You smiled. “Alph-”

You cut yourself off, frowning at the approaching trooper. His armor was red, and he made no move to take off his helmet as he stared down at you. More importantly, there was something about his bearing, the way he moved… 

This wasn't Alpha. 

At last, the trooper repeated your name and you nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry, have we met?” 

“I’m here on my brother’s behalf.” 

That didn’t directly answer any of your questions, but there was a suspicion forming in the back of your mind. You had never seen another trooper who could compete with Alpha's height and build, but this unfamiliar armored man was an exact match.

You tilted your head at him, studying the blank visor of his helmet as if you could see his eyes behind it. “You're another Alpha-class trooper, aren't you?” 

He touched his gauntleted hand to his visor, giving a short nod. “Alpha-26, ma'am.”

“Do you have a name, or do you prefer Alpha-26?” You did your best to ask the question without any inflection that could be misconstrued as derision, but you really hoped that he had a name. Preferably not ‘Alpha’, either. That would simply be too strange.

He watched you for a moment, visor unmoving. You did your best not to fidget under the pressure of his hidden gaze. At last, he said, “Maze.” 

“Maze,” you repeated with a smile. “It's nice to meet you.” 

He tilted his head in acknowledgement, but gestured for you to start walking. “Let’s get you out of here.” 

“Is everything okay?” you asked, already hurrying in the direction he had indicated.

Maze was a solid presence behind you. He followed a little further than Alpha usually did, but the similarities were uncanny. “You’re getting ready to testify in a Republic case, possibly linking to Separatist conspiracy. Wandering around in the depths of the city isn’t a smart idea.” 

The idea seemed laughable at first. After all, you were still on the surface of the planet. Things didn’t usually get dangerous above level seventy or so. But you remembered how the Separatists had planted detonators in the Coruscant power grid. You had been on Kamino when it happened, but the news had rocked the galaxy. Coruscant hadn’t been successfully attacked in over a thousand years.

Maybe you weren’t as safe in the city as you had wanted to think. 

You walked a little faster. “Did Alpha send you?” 

“He mentioned that you were here,” Maze said vaguely. “He was kaden because they have him in di’kutla meetings for the whole day.” 

“Yeah, Commander Fox said someone had made sure he had a full schedule.” You glanced around when you got to the next intersection. “Where are we going?”

“Up to you,” Maze said. “But wherever we go, we need to take the long way. I need to check for tails before we get anywhere important.” 

“Is that necessary?” you asked, fidgeting uncomfortably with your wrist comlink. 

Maze alternated between walking beside you and behind you. Since he was currently beside you, you could clearly see his nod. “There’s a humanoid following you. Has been for the last half-hour. I want to check it out before you return to your lodging.”

It was idiotic to glance behind yourself, but you tried until Maze physically blocked your way. In a dry tone of voice you had only heard from Alpha before, he said, “The idea is not to tip anyone off that you see ‘em.”

“Sorry,” you apologized reflexively. “Instinct, I guess.”

Maze hummed noncommittally. “How did you know I was an Alpha-class trooper?” 

It was your turn to answer in a dry tone. “Just a feeling.” 

From the tilt of Maze’s visor in your direction, he wasn’t impressed.

You waved a hand. “Alpha is the only trooper I’ve ever met who is so much larger than the average. I know he’s not the only Alpha-class trooper, so it was pretty easy to guess.” 

Maze was quiet beside you. You had honestly assumed that his attention was on whoever was following you, until he said, “A civvie with critical thinking skills? Wish there were more like you.” 

“That was… almost a kind thing to say,” you replied. 

He shook his head. “Kindness isn’t really what I’m known for. The same used to go for Alpha, but looking at you… apparently, that has changed.”

The idea of anyone but you calling Alpha ‘kind’ was too funny. Maze shushed your laughter. With a stern look, he warned, “You’ll draw attention.”

“If someone is tailing me, I think I already have their attention,” you countered. 

Maze’s sigh reminded you so strongly of Alpha that you laughed again. 

“Doesn’t matter. I was trying to get him close enough to get a good scan of him, but if he gets a look at me, he’s more likely to hang back and blend into the crowd.” Anything you had planned to say in your own defense was cut short when Maze straightened, pushing you onward as he disappeared into the swarm of people surrounding you. “Keep moving. I’ll find him and catch up.” 

Even with his considerable height and the breadth of his shoulders, Maze disappeared into the crowd within seconds. You caught the eye of several curious onlookers, but they lost interest when you just offered them a bewildered shrug. 

You kept going in the vague direction of your hotel, walking alone for long enough that you started to wonder whether Maze had been injured. For a moment, you hesitated, ready to turn back, but a gruff-sounding sigh at your side made you think better of it. 

“Keep walking, civvie,” Maze ordered. 

You did, aiming a curious glance in his direction. In answer to your unspoken question, Maze lifted one armored shoulder. “We’re all good. It was one of Obrim’s boys. Apparently, you’ve been labeled a flight risk.” 

“Obrim?” you repeated. “A flight risk? They think I would run?” 

“Apparently.” Maze seemed unconcerned. “But if it makes you feel better, Seventeen is marked down as the one they would send to retrieve you. So whatever you’ve got going on, you’re keeping it reasonably ranov’la.”

While you were happy that Maze thought you and Alpha were being subtle, you weren’t entirely sure that Alpha would want his brother knowing about his personal life. He could be strange about things like that, and you didn’t officially know how Alpha felt about Maze. 

“Alpha's a great friend,” you said carefully, “but he's a loyal Republic soldier. I'm sure he could find me easily if I decided to do something as foolish as running.”

Maze gave you a look that strongly implied you were losing grip on reality, but he just snorted instead of actually saying anything. 

“Did he send you?” you asked at last. “How did he know I had left the room?” 

“Comlink,” Maze said succinctly. “But Seventeen didn't send me.” 

A sense of foreboding tightened your stomach. “Oh.” 

“I've heard about you,” Maze said, after giving you a minute or two to scan for possible escape routes. “Not from Alpha, but others. Vode who came from Kamino. You're important to him. So you're important to me. I got your comm frequency from one of them.”

“Really?” you asked, forcing yourself to relax as you feigned curiosity. “Who was it?” 

Maze snorted. “Trying to check whether I am who I say I am? Clever civvie. Seventeen didn’t send me. He didn’t have to. He mentioned that you were wandering around the city while he can’t be nearby to keep an eye on things. Seventeen doesn’t do small talk. He mentioned it because he was worried about you. So I came to find you.” 

That made a lot more sense, and your wariness faded. Maze eyed you, shouldering through a group of beings who were blocking the pathway and keeping you falling victim to their disturbed centers of balance. 

“Still don’t trust me?” he asked after you had made it through the crowd. 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you-” you argued.

“But you don’t,” Maze finished, nodding like he had made some kind of decision. “Hold.” 

You were trying to figure out whether to offended by being given a single-word command like a trained massiff while Maze typed a message into his comlink. You had decided to overlook it just as he lowered his arm to his side and watched you expectantly. 

A moment later, your own comlink chimed. When you checked it, you had a message from Alpha: 

I see Maze found you. He’s a di’kut, but he’s not dangerous. You’re in good hands.

You chuckled at that as you glanced back up at Maze. “Fair enough. You’ve been vetted.” 

“What a relief,” Maze said, tone dry. “Let’s get you back to your hotel.” 

A nearby chronometer caught your eye. “I’m supposed to meet Alpha for dinner. Is that something that is still happening, or will his meetings take the rest of the night?” 

“They’ll keep him busy for a while longer,” Maze explained. “But if you don’t want to go back to the hotel, we can go to the GAR headquarters. Alpha can meet you after he’s done.” 

“The GAR headquarters?” you asked, perking up a bit. “Can I take a look around while I wait?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

You must have looked disappointed, because Maze sighed. “Not without an escort. And I suppose I’m not doing anything important right now.” 

The GAR headquarters were dull at first. Everything was painted in varying shades of tan and gray, laid out in a grid pattern that left you both bored and utterly dependent on Maze to lead you through the labyrinth. 

But when you actually paid attention to your surroundings, you found that they were far more fascinating than you had believed at first. Beside every door was a neat little label explaining what you could find inside, and you had read through enough GAR documents to understand the enormity of the operations that were housed in the unassuming building. People you passed in the halls ran the gamut from shiny trooper to famous general, all of them greeting Maze with a salute or a kind word, respectively. 

Maze wasn’t much of a conversationalist. You couldn’t bring yourself to be surprised by that, but it made the trip less of a tour and more of a fun experiment in keeping pace with someone whose legs were so much longer than yours. But he mentioned things here and there, and when you asked him a question about something you saw, he always knew the answer. He reminded you a little of Alpha. 

Then, when one trooper stopped to make conversation with you and got flirtatious, Maze reminded you strongly of Alpha. If that trooper ever spoke to another woman inside the GAR headquarters, you would be surprised. 

“That was a little harsh,” you remarked as the trooper rapidly disappeared from sight. 

“A little?” Maze repeated unhappily. “I’ll have to do better next time.” 

You didn’t actually see Alpha’s approach. You were watching a group of troopers approach from the opposite direction when you saw their eyes slide past you and widen. You turned, horrified that there was a general behind you, someone who would object to a civilian in GAR headquarters regardless of who was accompanying them, but when you turned, it was your boyfriend. 

“Alpha,” you greeted happily. “I was starting to worry that they were never going to let you leave.” 

“They did their best,” he agreed, looking irritated.

Maze glanced down at his comlink. “That why there’s an announcement to keep lookout for you? What did you do - walk out?” 

“Yeah.” 

You gaped while Maze gave an appreciative chuckle. “Good on you - they’d have kept you all night, otherwise.” 

“Aren’t you going to get in trouble for that?” you asked. 

Alpha’s mouth stayed pressed into a grim line, but the corners of his eyes crinkled the way they always did when he was trying not to smile at you too obviously. “I can handle it.”

Maze scoffed. “You two are disgusting. Get out of here before I report a sighting of you.”

Alpha nodded, but stepped close to Maze before they could split too far apart. Alpha spoke lowly in Mando’a, far too quickly for you to keep up. But he clapped Maze on the shoulder when he was done, so you assumed it wasn’t anything too negative. Maze gave him a shallow nod in return. 

Before he could completely turn away, you called, “It was nice to meet you, Maze. Thank you for showing me around.” 

Maze froze, glancing back at you for a long moment. Then he offered you a nod, too, and left.

You smiled up at Alpha. “Ready to go? I can comm Nora about where we’re going, but I’ll need you to lead me out of here. I have no idea where the exit is.” 

Alpha chuckled lowly. “Follow me, neverd’ika.”

—

Nora had chosen a lovely restaurant for the three of you. 

It was small, especially by Coruscant standards. There couldn’t have been more than a dozen tables in the building, but the atmosphere managed to be cozy and intimate rather than cramped. The effect was helped by plentifull windows that displayed the lights of Coruscant’s cityscape to best advantage. Inside, small lights hanging from the ceiling mirrored the lights outside, giving the impression that the city extended even into the restaurant itself. 

You weren’t shocked when the owner came out to speak with Nora personally, greeting her by name. 

You were shocked by the amount on the bill. It was going to take a substantial chunk of your savings to cover the meals that you and Alpha had enjoyed, but you valiantly grabbed the check anyway. 

Nora snatched it from your hand in an instant. “Oh, no. I chose the restaurant. This is my treat.” 

“I can’t let you do that,” you argued. Alpha watched the discussion with an inscrutable look in his eyes. “It’s too much-”

“If you think that’s too much, you should have seen how much I charged the owner of this place to get out of their legal troubles,” Nora informed you with a smirk. “I think he overcharges me in revenge, but the food is so good that I come back anyway.”

When you left the restaurant, Alpha said goodbye. You stared up at him, dismayed, but he shrugged and explained, “I was given strict orders to stay at the GAR barracks tonight, and I would never disobey a superior officer.” 

Nora snorted, but Alpha looked sincere. You may have even believed him if he hadn’t snuck a wink in your direction and tapped his comlink. 

As Alpha’s hovercab disappeared among the swarming traffic of the Coruscanti skies, your comlink chimed lightly. 

I have to check in at the barracks, then I’ll be at the hotel. ETA one hour.

You didn’t even realize that you were smiling until Nora cleared her throat lightly. “So,” she asked leadingly, “how long have you and Alpha been dating each other?” 

Stars, how did this keep happening to you? And why did it always come up when Alpha wasn’t around? 

“I’m- We’re not-” 

If Nora’s eyebrows arched any higher, they would levitate from her head. “Please. Anyone who has seen the two of you in the same space knows better than that. And, honestly? If you weren’t dating, you would be the biggest idiots in the galaxy. It’s obvious that you both care about each other.” 

You sighed. “Are you going to tell me it’s a terrible idea?” 

“Why would it be?” Nora’s tone was genuinely curious, which lowered your hackles a bit.

“Well, he’s a trooper, permanently stationed on Kamino and I…” You shrugged. “The process of writing that report isn’t going to last forever. I’ll have to leave Kamino eventually, then we’ll never see each other.” 

“I mean, would leaving Kamino be the worst?” Nora asked gently. “I would think you’d be a little happy to come back home.” 

You rubbed the back of your neck. “Is it strange that this doesn’t feel like home anymore? I’ve been gone so long and so much has changed…” 

“That makes sense,” Nora agreed. “Would you stay there if it was an option?”

“In a heartbeat.” You laughed ruefully. “But I haven’t exactly made friends with the Kaminoans. At this point, I’ll be lucky if they don’t permanently ban other Republic officials from the planet.” 

Nora gave a thoughtful sort of hum. “What if you could stay?” 

The simple question sent a wild wave of hope through your chest. “What do you mean?”

“Did you know that parts of your report have spread outside of the Senate?” she asked instead of giving a direct answer. 

“My- It has?” You shook your head, befuddled. “I can’t imagine who would be interested in reading it outside of the Senate. It’s a little… dry.” 

“I agree,” Nora admitted, “but certain parties would beg to differ. Including a group I work with often, Sentient Rights.” 

Your heart was racing. 

“They think you’re doing important work on Kamino,” Nora continued without prodding. “When you’re finished with your report, they want to make sure you stay on Kamino, to prevent any sentient rights violations. What do you think?” 

You hesitated. “Why did you wait until Alpha was gone to bring this up?” 

Nora smiled, shaking her head. “The last thing I want to do is pressure you to stay somewhere you don’t want to be, even if the company makes it tolerable. If Alpha was here when you answered, I’d never know for sure whether you really wanted to stay on Kamino or if you just didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Fair enough.” You thought about the resignation on Riptide’s face and the corresponding helplessness on Colt’s. You thought about the horror and devastation in the voices of Riptide’s squadmates, then about the way Alpha described reconditioning. You gave Nora a firm nod. “Give me their frequency. I’d love to talk with them.” 

“I had a feeling you would,” Nora said with a smile. “Just like I have a feeling that a certain captain will be very unhappy if you’re late to meet him at your hotel room. Have a good night and we’ll talk after the trial.” 

You agreed, thanking Nora for dinner before calling a hovercab. You were still worried about the trial, but the day had given you plenty else to think about.

---

Author's Note - This is the chapter that Tried Not To Be. It was a struggle to write, and I've been trying to post it for three weeks now. Then tumblr and AO3 both tried to get cute when I finally had a chance to work on it. Anyway, sorry for the wait. Hopefully this monstrous chapter was worth it!

If any Legends fans have opinions about how I did with Maze, please feel free to let me know! I tried not to make him an exact copy of Alpha, but I see them as being very similar.

Thanks for reading! The next chapter is still planned to come out at the end of this month, so I'll see you soon!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Nineteen

Your quiet night with Alpha is interrupted.

Word Count: 2,900

Warnings: Tension, dread, mild panic attack

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---

Naakla (Peaceful)

The last scene of the holofilm faded into nothingness, the player shutting off automatically as it was programmed to do (you had accidentally fallen asleep to films too often to use any other setting). You glanced at Alpha from the corner of your eye, nearly bouncing with eagerness. 

“So?” you asked, a leading tone in your voice. “What did you think of it?” 

Alpha started to answer, pausing briefly as if he needed to consider what he should say before it came out of his mouth. “It was… not what I expected.” 

“You said you’ve never seen Pantoran cinema before,” you reminded. “What expectations did you have? And where did you get them?” 

He pursed his lips. “I hear things.” 

“Well, apparently they were incorrect.” You folded your hands primly. “But that doesn’t really tell me what you thought.” 

“I think…” Alpha drummed his fingers against his thigh. “I could tell how much you loved it. You get very quiet when a part you like is about to happen. And you know all of the music. I could hear you humming along.” 

Your face heated - you hadn’t thought that he would be able to hear you. “None of that is an actual opinion, Alpha.” 

Alpha sighed, scrubbing a hand over the top of his head. “You’re putting me in a tough spot, neverd’ika.” 

“So you didn’t like it?” you asked, trying not to let too much disappointment seep into your tone. 

“I didn’t-” Alpha broke off with a frustrated sound. “Very clever. Fine. I didn’t like it.” 

You nodded, glancing away so he wouldn’t see your expression. 

A moment later, he took your hand, voice gentle. “I’m sorry, cyare. The story wasn’t my favorite, and the characters were… frustrating. I know you like it and I wanted to like it, too. Will you look at me? Please?” 

His fingers were delicate on your jaw as he turned your face back toward him. You managed to tamp down your grin into a small smile, but you knew your eyes were sparkling with scarcely-suppressed laughter. 

He frowned. “What-?” 

“Sorry!” you apologized, already laughing. “I’m sorry, Alpha. That film… is terrible. Famously so. Not on purpose, but it’s so bad that everyone watches it to make fun of it. The story makes no sense and neither do the characters, but that’s the reason everyone loves it so much.” 

“They love it…” Alpha trailed, clearly trying to figure out what you meant, “because it’s not good?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” you agreed. “People love it more because it’s so weird. There are theaters that show it regularly and even a few film festivals that have screenings at the end of the night.”

“You knew it was terrible and you still made me watch it?” Alpha asked, an edge of irritation in his voice. 

“I said that I wanted to introduce you to nat-born culture!” you reminded him defensively. “I figured this would be a good introduction - that sometimes, people like bad things because they’re so bad. People like imperfection.” 

Alpha stared at the place where the projector had been running, utterly silent. That lasted long enough that you started to worry, but he eventually shook his head. “You’re mean, little one.”

You laughed. “There are a lot of wonderful and perfect things in the galaxy, Alpha, but not many that are wonderful because they’re imperfect.”

“Mmm hmm.” The skepticism made you laugh harder while Alpha pretended to be stern. “How long have you been planning this? Maybe that’s why your report isn’t progressing as much as you want it to.” 

That cut your happiness short. “You… uh, you know about that?” 

“I overheard your last meeting with Jaiss,” he told you. “It’s not like you to miss a deadline.” 

You shifted uncomfortably. This was a subject you had been avoiding for a long time. Frankly, you had hoped that you could continue to avoid it a little longer. But now that you were actually discussing it, it seemed a little too much like lying not to be completely honest with Alpha. 

“The reason I missed that submission date,” you explained carefully, “was because I’m almost done with the report.” 

There was another moment of extended silence from Alpha’s side of the bed. 

“How close is ‘almost’?” 

You shrugged, picking at the hem of your shirt. “I haven’t given it a title yet.” 

Alpha blew out a long breath, and you could hear the heaviness behind it. You had known it was coming, but you hated it all the same.

It was rare that your schedule and Alpha’s overlapped enough for you to both be off for multiple days like you currently were. It had seemed a shameful waste for you to spend that time making him worry about something that neither of you could change. 

“What’s the plan?” 

You sighed, flopping heavily onto the mattress and staring up at the ceiling of your quarters. That question was exactly why you hadn’t wanted to tell Alpha about this. He was the epitome of a man of action. You know that he would start making a plan as soon as you presented him with the problem. It was what he had been raised to do since he was born, and he was good at it.  

“I’m not sure,” you admitted. “But the Kaminoans are going to make sure I leave. Not that there would be any justification for them to let me stay. A civilian on the planet would be seen a potential method of leaking intelligence to the Separatists. Besides, they don’t like me enough to let me stay.”

“Especially not after the reconditioning incident.” Alpha’s tone was filled with smug satisfaction at the memory. 

It had been several weeks since Riptide had left Kamino. You had gotten a short message on your comlink a few days later. He had been placed with most of his old battalion, now under command of a Jedi. You trusted the Jedi… but you still requested that he send you a message if there was another incident.

“Yes,” you agreed dryly. “Especially after that. I don’t know what to do.” 

“I could request a transfer,” Alpha suggested. “If I was part of the Coruscant Guard, we would be on the same planet, at least.” 

“Alpha,” you said in surprise, tipping your head down so you could stare at him. “You love being an ARC trainer. I wouldn’t ask you to give that up.” 

“You didn’t ask for anything, neverd’ika,” he reminded you. “I’m volunteering. I want to be with you. I don’t care about anything else.” 

“And who do you think they would choose to train the ARCs?” you asked. 

Alpha’s jaw clenched, muscles dancing with irritated tension. “I don’t know. Not my concern.” 

You let that lie hang in the air, tilting your head slightly to study him from a different angle.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “I can’t think of anyone who could train the ARCs well enough to keep ‘em alive out in the field. I don’t trust anyone else to do it.” 

“Which is why you can’t request a transfer.” You shook your head. “I’m not convinced that the Kaminoans would be willing to let you go even if you did ask.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t ask.” Alpha met your gaze belligerently for a moment before he sighed. “Fine, I won’t. But if we can’t think of anything else, I’m keeping that as a last resort.”

You smiled, but didn’t try to argue with him. When he set his jaw like that, there was no argument that would make him change his mind. 

“What we should be talking about is how we’re going to spend our days off,” you said instead, neatly sidestepping the ongoing debate. 

Alpha chuckled warmly, his hand settling into the curve of your waist to pull you closer. “I have some ideas. We’ll have to see what you think of ‘em.” 

You shrieked with laughter as his stubble teased against the sensitive skin of your neck and jawline. Alpha grinned, doing it again and again until you were breathless. 

The first time your comlink buzzed, you didn’t hear it. You had set it to vibrate lightly instead of chime so it wouldn’t interrupt your time with Alpha, and the two of you were being far too noisy to hear something so minor. 

You missed a second call, then a third. But when the internal communications system in your room rang, there was no way to ignore it. 

A moment after the announcement chime, a voice announced your name. You sat up. Alpha had already stood. 

“Yes?” 

“There is a long-distance comm call waiting for you in the official communications array room,” they told you. “Would you prefer to have it dispatched to your quarters?” 

“Is it a call or a holo?” you asked. Alpha was already ducking toward the refresher. 

“A holo.” 

You waited a moment until Alpha was safely tucked inside the refresher with the door closed. “Patch it through, please.” 

“Yes, ma’am.”

The projected image flickered up an instant later, and you found yourself staring at Jaiss. Guilt surged in your gut, wondering if she had called to ask you about the report. You had been avoiding some of her more… time-based questions, but nothing that should have made her look so worried. 

“Jaiss?” you asked. “Is everything okay?” 

“I wanted to warn you and Alpha,” she said, and a stab of fear mingled with the guilt. “Keep an eye out for an official Republic communication. It’ll be real this time, so please pay attention to it.” 

“What?” you asked, rolling off the bed. You could feel the tension radiating off of Alpha from where he stood behind the ‘fresher door, and you asked what you both wanted to know: “What’s the communication? What’s happening?” 

Jaiss looked grim and - more concerningly - resigned. “You and Alpha are going to be called to Coruscant. The Republic wants your testimony about what happened on Kamino.”

“What? But I thought they-”

The hologram image of Jaiss glanced back over her shoulder. “I have to go. I'm sorry. We'll speak soon, I promise.”

You watched the empty space for a beat after the call had ended, then sprang into action. You were pulling a pair of pants out from a dresser drawer by the time Alpha's hand landed on your shoulder. 

“What are you doing, neverd’ika?”

“I need to get to my office,” you explained hurriedly. “I need to see the message for myself, then I'll need to get in touch with Nora Czajak. And after that, I need to find a transport to Coruscant-”

“Breathe, little one,” Alpha soothed. You heard him, of course you did. But with so many other things swirling around in your mind as you fought to remember them all, you couldn't spare the brainpower to answer him. 

Your hands, still holding the pants, jerked as if you were putting them on in mid-air. Your lips were moving slightly, like you were trying to mutter something without being caught, but there was no sound. It would have been a comical combination if your psyche hadn’t retreated so far inside of your own mind.  

Alpha pulled the clothing out of your hands, gently tugging it away until he could place it back on top of the still-extended dresser drawer. “Let’s take a minute before we rush into anything.” 

“Rush?” you echoed faintly. It had sounded much more emphatic inside your head, when you shrieked it in disbelief. This wasn’t a casual invitation to caf - you were being summoned. This was most certainly a situation that called for rushing. “Alpha-” 

“Would it make you feel better if I called Czajak?” he asked. 

You nodded woodenly. 

Alpha had his long-distance communicator out and ringing before you could register him moving. Dimly, you wondered why he had Nora’s frequency so readily at hand, but you knew why. Alpha had seen this coming long ago. 

The next thing you knew, Alpha was finishing his explanation of everything to Nora. You remembered that she had picked up the call with a friendly smile through the holoprojector, but you had been so distant from the present that you hadn’t really registered it. 

That, in turn, made you realize just how panicked you had allowed yourself to become. You focused intently on calming down, breathing slowly and purposefully until you were able to listen in on Nora’s response without being distracted by the screaming of your nerves. 

“The good news is that you’re probably wanted as witnesses,” Nora started. You calmed a little further. “There’s a whole different set of processes needed to summon a deponent to trial and they’re not being followed. And the Republic won’t risk a mistrial. Not for this.” 

“We'll have to take time off work,” you said inanely, struggling to rejoin the conversation in a way that seemed somewhat natural. 

Judging by Alpha's disbelieving look and Nora’s smothered grin, you hadn't succeeded. 

“You both work for the Republic,” Nora said at last, “They're going to give you the time off. If anyone implies otherwise, you know my comm frequency. You aren't the ones on trial, but witnesses failing to appear when summoned by the government for which you both work? That could very well put you on trial in the future.”

“We’ll put in official requests for time off and transport tomorrow,” Alpha said decisively. “Is there anything else we need to do?” 

Nora shook her head. “Not that springs immediately to mind. When the official communication comes in from the Republic, send it to me so I can read the actual summons. It would be highly irregular for them to ask anything else from witnesses, but I’ll make sure. Until then, don’t panic.” 

“We won’t,” Alpha assured her. 

Nora glanced at you as subtly as possible through a holoprojection, but you all knew what she was thinking: there was only one person in the room who was panicking, and it wasn’t Alpha. 

Nora wished you both a good night and severed the connection. 

You shared the uneasy silence with Alpha for a full minute before you sprang nervously to your feet once more. Dimly, you wondered when you had sat down. 

“Hey,” Alpha said, reaching out to tangle his fingers together with yours. “Where are you going?” 

“To my office,” you said, confused about why he was confused. “Remember? I need to check whether the communication came through, then I need to send it to Nora. It should have dates, so we know how urgent to make our transport request. And, if it’s soon enough, we may want to think about packing.”

Alpha used your tangled fingers to keep you close when you tried to walk away. “That communication will still be there tomorrow.” 

“Yes, but it’s also there tonight,” you countered. 

“I’m just saying that maybe you don’t need to rush off right now.” Alpha tugged lightly at your hand. “Maybe just take some time to relax before we jump into the next crisis.” 

“I thought we weren’t thinking of this as a crisis?” You shook your head stubbornly. “I don’t need time to relax.” 

“I do.” 

The quiet admission stopped you in your tracks. You wheeled around, staring intently at him. “You…  need time to relax?” 

Alpha looked away, studying his comlink like he needed to recalibrate it. “Our lives are about to get busy. Again. I want…” 

He stopped. You crossed back to the bed, sinking down beside him close enough that your thigh was pressed alongside his. “What, Alpha?” 

“Doesn’t matter,” he brushed off, standing and offering his hand. “If you need to go to your office tonight, I’ll go with you.” 

“Don’t do that,” you pleaded, looking from Alpha’s hand to his face without accepting his help up. “Please. What do you want, Alpha? What do you need?” 

“One night,” he murmured, still avoiding eye contact. “One night of peace, just you and me. Before we get too busy to focus on us.” 

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” you agreed. You did take his hand, then, using it to pull him down beside you. “I can wait until tomorrow to send that message to Nora. You’re right - it will be fine to stay on my datapad tonight.”

“Are you sure, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked, squeezing your hand. “I don’t mind.” 

“Now that you mention it, a quiet night together sounds like heaven,” you admitted, leaning against him. He hummed just as your head found a place resting on his shoulder. 

“I’m glad you agree,” Alpha said, soft amusement filling his voice. “Knew I’d be holding you back eventually.” 

“Shush,” you told him, scooting so you could lean back against the headboard. Alpha followed, settling so that his head was cradled in your lap. 

As you stroked tiny patterns across the silky roughness of his close-cropped hair, Alpha’s blinks grew longer. He fell asleep shortly after, face smoothing into the most carefree expression you ever saw him wear. 

Your eyes started to grow heavy after a while, but you fought it as long as you could. Alpha was right - there wouldn’t be many more chances for calm evenings between the two of you. You had to savor them while you could.

---

Author's Note - The film in this chapter was basically a cross between The Room and Rocky Horror Picture Show, in case it sounded familiar.

My apologies that this chapter is both short and late. The week was even busier than I expected and it took me a while to get this one edited and formatted. Also, the previous chapter and the next chapter are super dense, so I figured having one lighter chapter couldn't hurt.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Eighteen

You come across a new arrival on Kamino

Word Count: 7,400

Warnings: Missing a friend, stress, lies, threats, mentions and discussions of reconditioning, investigations, conspiracy, war crime mention

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Traat'Aliit (Squad)

It was strange, the difference that one person could make in something as big as a city.

When the original ARC class had left, Tipoca City had felt empty. You hadn’t spend much time with the ARCs-in-training outside of mealtimes and the occasional training you attended, but the whole planet had felt a little colder without the boisterous troopers hanging around. 

You had expected something similar with Limit gone from the planet, but you hadn’t expected that it would hurt just as badly as the ARCs. Sheer numbers would suggest that it wouldn’t, but Limit had been such a large part of your life on Kamino. You felt his absence every moment and each one took your breath away. 

Alpha had done his best to help fill the void Limit left, but he had his hands full. The new ARC group had arrived, and they were at the stage of their training that needed the most attention. You still saw Alpha regularly, but that was largely because he always found his way to your quarters at the end of the day. 

None of that helped take your mind off the most concerning thing for you: the report was essentially complete. You had purposefully left a few sections unfinished so you would have something to work on, and you still had to proofread everything and organize it into the Republic’s desired format, but none of that would take longer than a month. Jaiss’s polite requests for updates had turned into more urgent reminders that your extended deadline was coming up quickly. 

You were, undeniably, running out of time on Kamino. 

And that was why, unable to bear the idea of staying trapped in your office for another moment, you had found your way to one of the break spaces deeper in the interior of the stilt-city. If asked, you would claim it was because the caf there was better, but you needed to be somewhere else. Somewhere you couldn’t see the datapads and report notes. 

To your surprise, you had been in the break room for less than ten minutes before you were interrupted by the arrival of Commander Colt. 

“Oh,” he said, pulling up short. It seemed that you had surprised Colt just as much as he had surprised you. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here. Everything okay?” 

You started to give a rote assurance, but something about Colt seemed… off. There were stress lines etched into his face, which was filled with an expression of weariness. Even his posture was less perfect than usual, and you started to worry. “Is everything okay with you?” 

“Avoiding the question isn’t going to do you any favors,” Colt lectured. 

You crossed your arms, unintimidated by the way he was looming ominously over you. It was easy to do, since you were sitting down. “Back at you. I’m fine. And you?” 

Colt rolled his eyes at the pointedness of your question, but relented a moment later. He pulled out another chair at the table, slumping into it and rubbing at his forehead. “We have a new arrival on Kamino.”

“You mean the new ARC trainees?” you asked, befuddled. “They arrived a few days ago. Are they making trouble?” 

“No, Alpha’s already got them in line,” Colt said, the ghost of a smile passing over his tired face. It faded quickly, leaving you concerned and watching him closer than ever. “This one is… something else.” 

You leaned forward, scarcely aware of the motion. “Something else. Can you explain how?” 

Colt eyes you in weary amusement. “You and your tionase. He was sent here by his general for disobeying an order.” 

“They sent him to Kamino for disobeying an order?” It came out as a question, but you weren’t really asking. You had understood Colt, but the reasoning behind it was a mystery. “Why wouldn’t he go to Coruscant to be held accountable by the GAR? If it was that serious, why isn’t he facing a court-martial?”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Colt told you, looking away in apparent discomfort. Before you could apologize for upsetting him, he stood, muttered a goodbye, and left. 

Maybe this was exactly what you needed, you thought with a twinge of guilt. If the Senate wanted a report about the clone troopers, surely it couldn’t hurt to include an example of a time when a trooper didn’t obey orders. 

You hopped to your feet, discarding your caf and snatching up your datapad before hurrying out of the room. You had to find the trooper before anyone could stop you. 

At last, you located him. Kamino didn’t have much cause for a jail, but one of the smaller instruction rooms had been turned into a makeshift holding cell. The single clone trooper inside looked almost comically small, a single dot of color in the blank white expanse of a Kaminoan space meant to hold dozens. 

Then you stepped in the room and he looked over at you. He looked resigned, and weary enough to give Colt a run for his credits. 

Internally, you reclassified the unfamiliar trooper from ‘almost comical’ to ‘gut-wrenchingly sad’. There was something so desolate about him in that space, something that looked like a human version of a plaintive cry. Your heart ached just looking at him, especially when he struggled to his feet and offered a salute made clumsy with bound hands. 

“Sergeant Riptide, ma’am,” he reported. 

“Please, don’t…” After a moment of hesitation, you remembered the words. “At ease, trooper.” 

Riptide’s posture moved to something less formal, but he didn’t look any more relaxed. 

“Riptide?” you mused, trying to find a way to make him feel less worried. “Are you a SCUBA trooper?” 

He blinked, looking like you had thrown him off for the first time. “No, ma’am. I wanted to be, but I wasn’t chosen for the training. The name stuck, though. I hoped to get certified eventually, but…” 

The hopeless gesture at himself made you frown. “Well, I’m going to be honest with you, Riptide: I’m not officially part of this investigation.” 

“I figured that out, ma’am,” Riptide said slowly. “If you were, you’d have read about me in my file. You’d know I’m not a SCUBA, and you’d know that this isn’t an investigation. I won’t get one of those.” 

If ever there had been a phrase designed to make you want to fight, Riptide had found it. “I’ll have to disagree with you on that. I’ll make sure you get an investigation, even if I have to conduct it myself. But I need you to start by telling me what happened.” 

Riptide’s story was hard to listen to, but it was made worse by the detached tone he used to tell it. He didn’t sound uncaring, simply numb and resigned to facing the consequences of his actions. 

And what actions they were. 

Riptide had only just finished speaking when the doors opened to admit a small group. Nala Se was at the front, head swaying gracefully as she crossed the distance between you. Kaminoan expressions were notoriously difficult to read, but you didn’t believe she was pleased to see you. 

Behind Nala Se - and partially hidden by the Kaminoan’s height - was Shaak Ti. She looked serene as ever, though her expression was serious as she glided behind the Kaminoan. 

At the back of the group was Commander Colt. His eyes were fixed on the group ahead of himself, and the weary lines of his face seemed to be etched even deeper. He was nearly halfway across the space when he glanced up to find you standing beside Riptide. He didn’t pause, but you could see the instant of confusion that flashed across his face. 

“Administrator,” Nala Se greeted when she had approached. Her voice was gentle and polite as ever, but there was a coldness to it that gave you a glimpse of her true feelings. “We were not expecting you here.” 

“Really?” you asked, pretending to be confused. “But how can I write an accurate report for the Republic if I don’t see how the clone troopers behave when they are not performing to anticipated standard?”

The skin around Nala Se’s large eyes tightened. “Like any product, the clones can contain aberrations that make them function less effectively, but such incidents are rare.” 

“I agree,” you interrupted. “Even more so since I don’t believe that there is any reason for Riptide to be here at all.” 

“Is that so?” Shaak Ti asked, watching you consideringly. “And what brings you to that conclusion?”

“Riptide refused to follow an order issued by his commanding officer,” you explained. “But that order itself goes against the laws of warfare as determined by the Republic. All soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic must recognize Chancellor Palpatine - and the Republic by extension - as the ultimate authority, superseding even their generals and others in their direct chain of command.”

“And what was the order you believe he disobeyed?” There was something pointed in Nala Se’s tone, and it was enough to put you on-edge. Maybe this wasn’t a simple misunderstanding, as you had hoped.

Still, you forged ahead with the explanation Riptide had given you. “His general ordered him to burn a village filled with Separatist sympathizers.” 

“We were given a different version of events, from a far more trusted source,” Nala Se countered. “CT-6287 refused to pass on his general’s order to retreat. His stubbornness and inaction resulted in the deaths of several clones. His general was disappointed and reluctant to send 6287 to Kamino, but he ultimately agreed that the clone’s continued presence on the battlefield was a risk to his entire battalion.” 

There was a finality to Nala Se’s tone, as if she had given a recalcitrant child such a logical explanation that the conversation could do nothing but end. 

She didn’t know you very well. 

“As admitting the truth would mean immediate jailtime for attempting to commit a war crime, I’m not surprised that Riptide’s general shifted the blame. But there are a half-dozen witnesses who saw what really happened. What have they said?”

Nala Se blinked. “They were not asked for their statements. Due to their enhanced loyalty, clones would be far too willing to lie for each other-” 

“Even if asked a direct question?” Shaak Ti asked incisively. “Because that would also constitute an unwillingness to obey orders. That is a far more serious problem, and one that may dissuade the Republic from making further orders from the Kaminoan laboratories.”

“General, I must protest.” Nala Se’s head bobbed more rapidly, her long fingers clasped together tightly. “You have seen many clones and work with one on a daily basis. Surely any true reason for concern would have been apparent far before now.” 

“I agree,” Shaak Ti said with a nod. “So I agree with the administrator: it is odd that this clone trooper would struggle with orders when so many of his brothers do not. Upon reflection, I believe it would be wise to dig into the accounts of the incident more thoroughly.”

Nala Se straightened, drawing herself up to an even more impressive height. “And who will be responsible for the investigation? You are quite busy and I certainly do not have the time.”

“I’ll investigate,” you volunteered. “I already have the names and comm frequencies of Riptide’s squadmates. That will be a good place to start.”

“I would think your focus would be on finishing your report so you may leave Kamino,” Nale Se said, sounding the closest to impatient you had ever heard from a Kaminoan. 

You lifted your chin stubbornly. “This is more important.” 

“And what about you, trooper?” Commander Colt asked, speaking for the first time since he had entered the room. “Anything to say for yourself?” 

“The only order I disobeyed was the order to kill civilians, sir,” Riptide said, voice quiet at first, but gaining strength as he spoke. “We clones only have our honor, sir. As you taught us.”

Colt nodded. 

“One more thing.” You were reluctant to snap the tension of the moment, but you needed to get started contacting Riptide’s brothers. “I want Riptide to get food and water. And a blanket. And a place to sleep.” 

“One more thing?” Nala Se asked waspishly. 

“Haven’t you had any food, trooper?” Shaak Ti asked, kneeling in front of the low cot where Riptide sat. The motion put her on his eye level.

He shook his head slowly, staring at her as if transfixed. “No, General.” 

She patted his knee kindly. “We will remedy that. Give us a few minutes to get the items you require.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

With a gentle gesture, Shaak Ti ushered everyone out of the room, closing the door behind herself. She faced the door for a long moment and you wondered if you were still supposed to be standing there. You leaned away from the door, ready to start walking back toward your office as soon as you gauged the tone of the conversation and whether you were going to be reprimanded. 

“Mistress Se,” Shaak Ti started as she turned around, fiercely glinting eyes contrasting against her otherwise peaceful expression. Nala Se straightened, seeming almost nervous… even to your human eyes. 

Suddenly, you decided against leaving. There was nowhere in the galaxy you would rather be at that moment. 

“Yes, General Ti?” Nala Se asked. 

“Why is it that clone trooper Riptide was deprived of food, water, and basic comforts?” Shaak Ti asked, going immediately for the verbal throat. “That is now how we treat detainees of any sort, and especially not those who belong to our own army.” 

“There is a perfectly reasonable explanation,” Nala Se assured her. “Riptide has been scheduled for reconditioning. The procedure is safest if there are minimal contents in the stomach. And it is far simpler if the clone’s body temperature is lower. It is customary for them to wear only their body glove in a cool chamber in the time leading up to the process.”

You had to look away from Nala Se or you were going to get violent. Instead, your eyes went to Shaak Ti - who looked more than a little capable of violence, herself - then to Commander Colt.

The sight of him made you twitch. Colt was always strong, ready to take charge and lead, especially if it meant protecting his brothers. But an unfamiliar man stood beside you. The discussion of reconditioning had made him draw into himself, as if he were creating a smaller target by instinct or design. His expression was miserable and haunted, eyes fixed on Nala Se as if she would turn her intentions to him, next. 

You took a slow step closer, subtly lifting your hand to press it against Colt’s back. He twitched hard, gaze shooting to you in shock and defensiveness. You offered an apologetic smile and lightened your touch in a silent offer to break the contact. Colt shook his head and leaned back slightly, pressing your hand against his back once more. 

“And you intended to… recondition this man without any approval from the GAR, the Senate, or the Jedi Order?” Shaak Ti asked, her voice dangerously polite.

“If our product does not perform to expected standards, we reserve the right to correct the issue,” Nala Se reminded her. “It is part of our continued contract with the Republic.” 

“It sounds as if there may be cause to believe that Riptide’s actions were correct,” Shaak Ti countered. “I propose we allow the administrator to proceed with her investigation. We may make our decision when she has found any additional information that may prove Riptide’s case against his general.” 

Nala Se silently swayed her head back and forth as she worked through that. “No, CT-6287 is a defective clone. He is our responsibility. The Republic has no say in this matter.” 

“I would argue that he is property of the GAR and the Republic.” Shaak Ti straightened even further, tucking her hands behind her back. “And as I am the liaison for both of those groups on Kamino, I am the one responsible for Riptide.” 

“Perhaps I should contact Senator Tohu,” Nala Se threatened. 

You were at a total loss on that name until something clicked in the far recesses of your brain. Lon Tohu was the new senator for Kamino, replacing the likely corrupt Klaanuc Dralnulo.

“You may certainly try.” Shaak Ti’s customary smile looked sharper than you usually saw it. “Given that it is shortly after midnight on Coruscant, I fear you may have to wait for a response.” 

Nala Se didn’t answer. Instead, she stalked away, headed toward the section of Tipoca City that housed the long-range comm system. 

“I believe you should start your investigation sooner rather than later,” Shaak Ti told you. “I cannot claim to know what hours Lon Tohu keeps, but he will answer eventually. Thank you for bringing all of this to my attention.” 

You frowned. “Your attention? I thought you were aware of whatever the Kaminoans were planning. Why else were you down here?” 

“Nala Se told us that someone had broken into the holding cells,” she said, shaking her head. “If I had known what sort of conditions they were holding Riptide in, I would have been here much sooner. Please trust that I will take a keen interest in any troopers returning to Kamino in the future.” 

You nodded and turned away, but paused at Colt’s soft voice. “Go get ‘em, ad’ika.”

Tracking down Riptide’s friends had been trickier than expected. His general clearly hadn’t expected there to be any repercussions after he sent Riptide away, so the rest of his battalion remained intact. However, no one seemed inclined to answer their comms. 

The last comm frequency you had belonged to Stick, Riptide’s second-in-command. “You’re who? No, Riptide isn’t here.” 

You patiently explained the situation to him again, hoping the connection would be stronger the second time. It would be easier to use the official long-distance comms, but you didn’t trust Nala Se not to interfere somehow. If she even allowed you to use them while she was trying to contact Lon Tohu. 

All you could do was hope that Alpha’s illegally modified long-distance wrist comm would last until this investigation was over. 

“Sarge is on Kamino?” Stick asked, sounding horrified. “The general told us that he had requested to be transferred to another unit. Did they-? Are they gonna-? Is he okay?” 

The hopelessness in Stick’s tone made your heart pang. “He’s fine, but not for long. I need some kind of proof that your general asked him to burn the Separatist sympathizer village. Because the general is saying that Riptide ignored an order to retreat. Says a bunch of troopers died.” 

Stick swore vividly, some of it in languages you didn’t even recognize. “That liar. The only men who died on that mission were the ones who listened to the general instead of the sarge.”

“Do you have any proof of that?” you pressed. “I’ve stalled them for now, but I don’t have long.” 

“I don’t,” Stick admitted. “But if anyone has some kind of proof, it’s Holo. The man records everything. Maybe he got something without the general knowing.” 

“Can you give me his comm frequency?” You hoped the urgency in your voice carried over the comms, but you could never be sure. “Or I can give you mine to pass on to him. But I need to speak with him as soon as possible.” 

“Give me two minutes,” Stick said, and the line cut a moment later. 

You were anxiously counting the seconds when your comlink rang again. “The general sent Holo out on a mission yesterday evening. He’s in hyperspace right now and I can’t get through to him. How long does the sergeant have?” 

“Not long,” you replied, biting your lip. “I’ll do everything I can, but the Kaminoans are fighting to keep him, and I don’t know how much longer Shaak Ti and I can fight them off. I guess there’s something in their contract that says they get to deal with troopers however they decide is best.” 

“Karkin’ long-necks,” Stick said grimly. “Let me keep trying. I’ll contact some of Holo’s squad-mates. Maybe he sent them something.” 

“Can you give me a frequency?” you asked. It was pushy, but there was only so long you could keep Riptide away from Nala Se and her reconditioning. Especially if Tohu got involved. “We can contact more people if we’re working together. Besides, this is my only focus for the day. I’d rather not just sit here wondering…” 

“I understand,” Stick agreed, and there was a weary understanding in his voice that said he understood all too well. You wondered how many times he had been stuck wondering about the safety of someone he couldn’t protect, but had to stop thinking about it. You didn’t have time to feel sad and hopeless. Not when there was a chance you could still save Riptide. “I’ll send you Dex’s frequency.” 

“Thank you.” The gratitude rang out over a line that had gone dead. Stick’s comm manners were a little rough, but he had other things that were more important. 

By the time you pulled the comlink away from your mouth, it was chiming with an incoming message. You called the frequency as soon as you could enter the proper commands and listened with your heart in your mouth as it rang.

“H’lo?”

The voice was rough and slurred with either sleep or alcohol. You hoped it was sleep, or Dex may not be the resource you needed. “Is this Dex?” 

“Speaking.”

“Hi, I’m an administrator on Kamino and I need-” 

A loud sigh interrupted you. “I don’t have any money. Di’kutla scam comms…”

There was a pause that made your fingers twitch - Dex was getting ready to end the connection. “Dex, wait! Please! It’s Riptide, Stick gave me your number because we can’t get in touch with Holo and I need-” 

“Hang on, hang on,” Dex ordered, sounding more awake than he had during the rest of the comm call. “Sarge? Thought you said you were on Kamino. Riptide is with his new battalion on Geonosis. Something about those bugs coming back for another round.”

“Riptide was never assigned to a new battalion,” you explained quickly. “Your general sent him back to Kamino for reconditioning.”

The silence stretched long enough that you thought Dex may have severed the connection after all. When he finally did speak, Dex’s voice was unsteady. “Is he already gone?” 

“He’s still here, for now,” you reassured him. “The Kaminoans are trying to send him for reconditioning. I’m working with Shaak Ti and Commander Colt to prove that Riptide didn’t disobey an order, but I need proof.” 

“Riptide did disobey an order, though,” Dex told you, sounding wearily resigned. “The general ordered him to do something and he refused. We aren’t allowed to do that.” 

“From what Riptide told me, the order needed to be disobeyed,” you countered. “But your general says Riptide disobeyed a retreat order, which got several troopers killed. Stick said that isn’t true, and his version of the story lines up with everything Riptide told me. I need proof, though. Otherwise, it’s Riptide’s word against the general’s. Stick seemed to think that Holo might have recorded it.” 

Dex swore. “The general must have thought the same thing. He ordered a total wipe of all HUD records and storage a week after the mission. Anything Holo might have had is gone now.” 

Your shoulders slumped and you had to bite back tears. You barely knew this trooper, but you hated to admit defeat. How could you look Riptide in the face and tell him that you had failed? That he was going to be punished for doing the right thing, and there was nothing you could do to stop it because the party who was actually in the wrong was untouchable? 

It… wasn’t fair. Few things were - and even fewer in a warzone - but that didn’t cut through the bitterness on your tongue. 

“But wait,” Dex said, perking you back up. “You said it was the sergeant’s word against the general’s. I’ll vouch for Riptide, and so would half the men in the battalion. We all heard the orders, and heard him refuse to follow them. We can tell whoever we need to that there was no retreat order.”

The hope melted away faster than an ice shard on Batuu. 

“It won’t work,” you said mournfully. “The Kaminoans have already said that they won’t believe the troopers. They think you’ll all stand up for each other, even if that means lying about what really happened.”

Dex swore again, and you half considered joining him. 

“I’ll reach out to some of the other men in our battalion,” he promised. “Maybe someone has something. And I’ll keep trying Holo, just in case.” 

“Good luck, Dex.” You grimaced. “Let me know if you find out anything. Stick is also comming everyone, so you might come across some troopers who already know what’s going on. I’ll stall the Kaminoans as long as possible.” 

“Thank you.” Dex’s voice was tight with emotion again. “He’s a good man and it isn’t right, what they’re trying to do to him. It’s a battle worth fighting, I promise.” 

“You don’t have to convince me of that.” You smiled sadly. “I knew as soon as I spoke with him that I couldn’t let this happen, not if I can help it. Just hurry, please.” 

Dex agreed and severed the connection. 

Unfortunately, that left you in a lull. Stick hadn’t give you anyone else’s comm frequency, and you didn’t want to comm him back and interrupt more productive conversations. Besides, if Dex had been anything to go by, there were good odds that the next trooper would sever the connection before you had a chance to explain yourself. It was asking a lot, to talk to a stranger and take their word on an internal event that had seemingly been handled. 

Something felt off to you, though. You managed to put your finger on it after a few minutes of soul-searching - the general had lied about where Riptide had gone. 

It could be that they weren’t very popular with their troops. Maybe it was easier to mislead everyone about where their sergeant had gone. But it could also be that the general didn’t want anyone to know where Riptide really was so they couldn’t try to interfere. With, say, some evidence that things hadn’t gone exactly how the general said they had. 

No, you refused to believe that the evidence had been fully destroyed. You refused to believe that someone so corrupt could be allowed to continue acting against everything the Republic stood for. You refused to believe that the situation was hopeless. 

You just needed to buy Stick and Dex the time they needed to follow up on leads. With nothing else to do, you started back for Riptide’s holding area. You sent a quick message to Stick on the way - written, so he could see it between calls: 

Stick, I got in touch with Dex. The general had Holo delete his files a week after the mission. Dex is following up now in case anyone had copies. I’m going back to Riptide now. Contact me with any news. 

You had signed the message with your name, though you weren’t actually sure whether you’d given it in your conversation with Stick. If nothing else, you reasoned, there were plenty of context clues for him to pick up on. 

Before you put the comlink away, you called Commander Colt. “I’m headed back down to Riptide. Have you heard or seen anything?”

“Nala Se hasn’t been back there.” 

You frowned. “Good, but did they give him a blanket and some food?” 

“He has a blanket and a ration bar,” Colt reported. “It’s not much, but he’s better off than he was earlier.” 

“Thank you, Colt.” 

You detoured on your way downstairs, picking up two more blankets and a pair of fuzzy socks you had ordered for Alpha (he had steadfastly refused to wear them). The mess hall wasn’t serving food at the moment, but you knew where the previous ARC groups stored their treats. If this group missed the handful of snacks you had taken, you would restock the stash yourself.

Riptide was asleep by the time you arrived. He was curled on the narrow cot as best he could be, huddled under a blanket that looked like it would be too small for a much younger trooper. The remains of a ration bar wrapper rested neatly under the cot. It looked as if he had all but licked it clean.

You carefully spread the blankets over Riptide, moving gently so you didn’t scare him awake. The socks and snacks ended up next to the ration bar wrapper. You sat on the floor, carefully angled so that you could see Riptide and the door, as well as block any intruders’ immediate view of the trooper and the gifts you had brought him.

And then you had nothing left to do but think. 

That was a bad thing, since you immediately fell into ruminations about your report. You weren’t going to include Riptide’s story in it. You had decided that much within minutes of meeting him. 

Which brought you right back to where you had started: the report was done. Yes, you could stretch things out for a while by working on the editing process, then making sure it was properly formatted, but Jaiss would probably offer to help you with all of that. You needed to figure out what your next steps would be. You needed to talk to Alpha.

A low groan came from behind you, followed closely by the sound of someone trying to carefully turn onto their side. 

You turned, finding yourself face-to-face with Riptide, who watched you with surprise. When he finally looked away, he glanced down at the blankets. The way he rubbed them between his thumb and forefinger bordered on reverential. 

“Thank you.” 

With a grimace, you shook your head. “You’re welcome, but I would prefer you didn’t thank me. The blanket they brought you was an embarrassment.”

Riptide snorted. It was the first time you had seen him smile, weak as it was. 

“I also brought you some food.” 

He blinked at you. “I already had a ration bar.” 

With effort, you managed not to make a rude noise in response to that. Instead, you said, “Yes, well… If you decide you want something with a bit more flavor, everything is under the cot.”

Riptide lasted all of three seconds before he glanced under the cot. “Oye! You brought the good stuff.”

“I did my best,” you agreed. 

He ate in silence for a minute while you kept an eye on the door. Eventually, Riptide asked, “Did you manage to get in touch with any of my men?” 

“Some of them,” you explained. “I spoke with Stick and Dex. Everyone is trying to reach Holo, but he’s in hyperspace right now and no one can tell me when he’s supposed to be back in range.” 

“They can’t,” Riptide answered automatically. “Confidential information. It would be a breach of Republic protocol to give away details like that.”

You didn’t answer that. It would be cruel to remind him that the current breach of Republic protocol was what had left his life hanging in the balance. 

Well, probably. If you were being honest, Nala Se had never said exactly what reconditioning was, but you had gathered that it was surgical in nature and - by her own description - ‘corrected’ the problem of troopers disobeying orders. It sounded suspiciously like they were killing troopers who they thought weren’t performing to expected standards. 

And it hadn’t escaped your notice that the troopers from Riptide’s battalion seemed to dread the idea of reconditioning. 

When the door opened again, you were on your feet quickly enough to disorient yourself slightly, but the sight of Nala Se’s cold gray eyes brought you back. 

“Well, administrator?” she asked, voice as dispassionate as her gaze. “What have you discovered about CT-6287’s mission?” 

“I have plenty of people who support Riptide’s version of events,” you told her, lifting your chin even as you wondered where Shaak Ti and Colt were. “None of them have even referenced an order to retreat, much less that Riptide refused to follow it.” 

“But do you have proof?” she pressed. 

“Not yet.” You took half a step forward. “But I will soon.” 

“It does not matter,” Nala Se said. “I have received confirmation from Senator Tohu that we have a contractual right to correct any manufacturing flaws that we discover.” 

“But the clone troopers belong to the Republic,” you argued. “The GAR and the Jedi Council are the ones who have to agree before you can make any ‘corrections’. If Tohu answered your comm, that means that the others should answer soon. Where are General Ti and Commander Colt?” 

“They have not come to find me since our earlier conversation.” Nala Se’s head bobbed thoughtfully. “You could always go discuss the topic with them personally.” 

Something in her inflection made you want to lift your arms to shield Riptide. “No. I have no guarantees that you won’t try anything if I leave.” 

“You do not,” she agreed. If Kaminoans made a habit of smiling, you thought she would have done so.

Your comlink buzzed and you glanced down long enough to see a short message: 

I always make copies of everything. 

There was a file attached. 

“Am I keeping you from something?” Nala Se asked, voice silky. 

“It was Commander Colt,” you lied, meeting her gaze. “He and General Ti are on their way.”

You forwarded the message to Colt, keying a quick request for him to remove any identifying information. You would not be responsible for any other troopers getting in trouble. 

The silence was uncomfortable, and Nala Se didn’t seem inclined to make it any less so. The air seemed thick with tension, almost difficult to breathe, and every time you or Riptide shifted, it felt like the loudest sound ever made. 

It was almost a half-hour before Commander Colt arrived, slightly breathless. “We’ve received the transmission. It shows all the proof we need. I copied it onto a data stick.” 

He handed it to Nala Se and you tensed, somehow sure she would destroy it. Colt glanced at you, a hint of a smile on his face. “And I took the liberty of creating an additional copy to display here.” 

Colt lifted his forearm, flexing his fingers to start a small holographic projector in his vambrace. A tiny pair of figures appeared, caught in mid-argument. 

“I can’t do that, sir,” the holographic Riptide said. 

“You can and you will, trooper,” the general ordered. You could see that he was humanoid and wearing a full uniform. Probably not one of the Jedi generals, then. “I gave you the order once and I do not appreciate repeating myself. Burn it down.” 

Some of the troopers around Riptide shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other. Riptide spoke again. “Sir, there are civilians inside. Only civilians. No military leaders or targets at all.”

“You think i don’t know that?” the general snapped. “Nothing but Separatist sympathizers in there. The galaxy is better off without them.” 

“No, sir,” Riptide said firmly. “That is against the Republic’s Articles of War and therefore runs counter to the orders given by Chancellor Palpatine at the start of this conflict. I won’t burn it, and neither will any of my men.” 

The general snarled, but before he could reply, shots started firing from beyond the scope of the recording. Cries of the injured rose in the air and the general heaved an irritated sigh. “Retreat to the ship!” 

“Retreat!” Riptide echoed. “Stick and Justice, grab a few men to help the wounded. Let’s move!” 

The recording cut, leaving the room quiet once more. 

“That does seem fairly conclusive,” Shaak Ti said from the doorway. 

You hadn’t heard her approach, but you were indescribably relieved that she and Colt were there. You had never trusted Nala Se, and you certainly hadn’t decided to start now. 

“Should we start an investigation, General?” Colt asked. 

“Absolutely,” Shaak Ti confirmed. “In fact, we should go now. Mistress Se, please accompany me to the long-range comms. The Jedi Council has gathered, along with several key representatives of the Grand Army of the Republic. They are waiting for our report on this incident to open the investigation. Commander, please release Riptide and arrange for his transport back to Coruscant, then join us at the comms. Thank you. And thank you for your effort on this matter, administrator.”

You returned Shaak Ti’s nod with a smile and watched as the Jedi and the Kaminoan swept out of the room. 

“Old Holo came through after all, eh?” Riptide asked as Colt unlocked the binders. Riptide’s fingers were trembling, though he tried to hide it by gathering what remained of the snacks you had brought for him. “Good man.” 

“Especially since the general ordered them to delete their HUD footage,” you added mildly. “Speaking of, did you..?” 

Colt nodded. “Tech helped me anonymize the recording before I copied it.” 

You relaxed at that. If Tech had removed any identifiers, you could be certain that there was no way to trace the recording back to Holo, not through electronic means. 

“Want to come with us to the transports?” Colt asked. 

You smiled, but shook your head. “I think I need a little time to relax. That was the most stressed I’ve been in a while.” 

Before you left, Riptide shook your hand warmly. “Thank you, truly. I don’t- I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t… Thank you.”

The immediate urge was to reject Riptide’s thanks, to insist that he didn’t need to thank you or that it had been nothing. But it hadn’t been nothing, and both of you knew it. He had almost lost his life because a general had lied about him and no one had searched for the truth. 

So you simply nodded instead, wishing him the best. 

By the time you got back to your quarters, Alpha was already there, lounging comfortably on your bed. You blinked at him, a little surprised before you realized exactly what the time was. 

Alpha looked up as you walked in. “Late night, little one?” 

“Long day,” you said. Alpha looked increasingly interested as you started stripping off your clothing, but you excused yourself to take a long shower. 

He was still awake when you came back out, and it only took a little prodding before the whole story came pouring out of you. 

To your utter shock, Alpha started to laugh. 

“What’s so funny?” you asked frostily. 

“You prevented a reconditioning,” Alpha explained. It wasn’t much of an explanation, and you gave him the evil eye until he continued. “That’s the closest thing the clones have to a horror story. Dying in battle is one thing, but reconditioning? And you just stopped one. Because you didn’t think it was fair.” 

“What… is it?” 

Alpha’s amusement didn’t fade immediately, but still faster than was typical for him. “We don’t talk about it.” 

“Why?” You silently promised yourself that you would stop asking questions the instant Alpha started to look uncomfortable, but he looked as unbothered as ever.

“Because it’s something no one wants to think about,” he said. “Much less admit happens to our vode.”

That wasn’t any better an explanation than you had before, but you tried to keep any frustration out of your voice. “So they… kill you? That’s what Nala Se implied.” 

“Did she?” Alpha leveled an arch look at you. “When have you ever known the kaminii to waste a perfectly good product?” 

You made a face at that. “She said they had full rights to control the quality of their products. That’s why she was fighting to recondition Riptide.”

“No, his body was fine,” Alpha argued, despite never having seen Riptide before. “They control for that from the growth tubes on. But if a trooper’s mind is bad, there’s no use in wasting a perfectly good body…” 

“So they… what? Brainwash troopers?” you asked with a chuckle. It disappeared entirely when Alpha didn’t join in on your amusement. “Wait, really? They brainwash you?” 

“Putting it lightly,” he muttered. “The Kaminoans built us, shaped the way our minds developed. If they don’t like how one turned out, they can tear it back down to its base components. You still look like you and sound like you, but… it’s not you. And you can never know how much of a trooper will survive the process. Some of ‘em act like they’ve been reset, but others… Well, no one wants to imagine being trapped in their own body for the rest of their life.”

You had to try a few times before you could speak. “But… But Nala Se made it sound like it was some kind of surgery?” 

Alpha tapped his temple. “Where do you think personality comes from? Remove the right part of the brain and you kill the non-spec parts of a person.” 

“That’s horrible,” you said with a shudder, climbing into the bed. You weren’t tired in the slightest, but wrapping your arms around Alpha always made you feel better. You could use that right now. “You’re lucky they’ve never done it to you.” 

Alpha snorted. “They could try.” 

“No, Alpha,” you chided quietly. “I can’t- can’t even think about that happening to you. I would never recover.” 

“Shh, neverd’ika,” Alpha soothed. “I’m in their good graces right now, and I don’t see that changing soon. Besides, if they reconditioned me, who would train their ARCs? No one else is lining up for that osik.” 

“Just be careful,” you pleaded, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. 

He squeezed you a little tighter, seeming content to cuddle you in silence for a while. You were almost asleep when he said, “You got a message on your comlink while you were in the ‘fresher.” 

You rolled out of the bed instantly, heart stuttering with cold fear that Nala Se had managed to trap Riptide after all. Instead, you found a message from a frequency you didn’t know. Your eyebrows lifted as you scanned over it.

“What is it?” Alpha asked. 

You read aloud, “You’ve been busy. If I’d known what kind of transmissions you’d be sending, I would have done more encryption. I’ll add some extra coding to it tonight. Power it off when you wake up tomorrow morning, wait five minutes, and turn it back on.”

As you read, another message came through. “Be careful.”

“I don’t recognize the frequency,” you said when you had finished reading. 

“Ordo,” Alpha supplied immediately. “He’s the one who encrypted the comlink for long-range calls. He must have seen more activity than usual from you and decided to check it out.” 

“He was listening in on my calls?” you asked, discomfited. “I don’t think I like that.” 

“I don’t like it, either,” Alpha admitted. “But Skirata keeps the Nulls busy. I doubt any of them are listening to your calls. Ordo probably just saw more activity than usual and decided to check it out.”

You grimaced. “Still.”

“Would it help if I threaten him over comms?” Alpha asked. “It wouldn’t do anything for me, but if it would help you feel better, I’ll do it.”

His tone was longsuffering, but there was a glint in his eyes that said he was teasing you. It wasn’t enough to make you forget about the stress of the day, but it did make you bite back a smile.

You rolled your eyes at him and Alpha grinned, clearly proud of his ability to get a reaction from you. When you stuck your tongue out at him, his surprised laughter made you feel warm all over. 

As Alpha recovered from the apparent shock, you crawled back into bed and cuddled into his side.

---

Author's Note - This was a really long chapter, but the next one will be fairly short. The two should even out nicely. Riptide is an OC and Alpha's definition of reconditioning is the fanon version. I'm pretty sure the canon reconditioning is just Kaminoans killing troopers, but this is somehow worse.

Thank you for reading!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Hey guys, I've been prepping for a natural disaster all week and couldn't write anything new.

I want to apologize for this account being so quiet lately. I'll do my best to get something new written soon!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Dame Maggie Smith as Muriel Donnelly The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Seventeen

You and Alpha prepare for an unexpected departure.

Word Count: 4,200

Warnings: Worrying, stress, impending goodbyes, mentions of past attack on Kamino, flirtation, nerves, tears, general references to the stress of living in a galaxy at war

Previous | Next | Masterlist

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Burcyan (Friendship)

“Limit!” you greeted happily, setting your tray down on the surface of your lunch table. You continued to smile at him as you took a seat beside Alpha. “I thought you forgot about us.” 

Limit stammered half an excuse, clearly flustered by your teasing accusation. 

Alpha rolled his eyes, half-smiling to soften it. “He’s been busy.” 

“I know that.” You patted Limit’s hand where it rested on top of the table. “They’ve really had you working like crazy.” 

It was the truth, too. When Limit had finished taking inventory, rotating all supplies, and ordering new items during the lockdown, the Kaminoans had assigned him to work on a total reorganization of the medbay supplies. And when had that had been done, they had him teaching basic medic classes for the recruits and offering some advanced first aid courses to the ARCs-in-training. 

Amid all of it, Limit had truly blossomed. You had worried about how the stress would impact him, but he had risen above it all. The troopers and cadets all adored him, and they sought him out just as much as they did Alpha. More, actually, since Limit had never shouted at anyone, as far as you were aware. 

“I finally got a-away,” Limit explained with a smile, finally relaxing with your friendly touch to reassure him that you weren’t really upset. 

“And I’m glad,” you admitted, taking a bite of your lunch. “I was a little worried that the Kaminoans would keep putting you to work further and further away from the general public. Working with the troopers in the medbay is really where you shine.” 

There was a moment of quiet - an uncomfortable pause in a conversation that had been filled with the comfortable air of a long friendship. 

Limit laughed, the sound a little too quiet to be casual. “No, no mo-more work on the inventory. It shoul-sh-... It will be good for the next fe-ew years.”

You frowned, letting your fork settle on the tray as you gave Limit a hard look. “What’s going on?” 

“No-nothing,” Limit denied nervously. 

“Limit,” you warned. “Something is happening. I can tell. What is it?” 

“I don’t-” Limit started, giving a desperate look over at Alpha. 

“Is it something bad?” You frowned, drumming your fingers on the table. “You’ve been in the medbay… Is something going on in there? Is someone hurt? Worse than normal, I mean? You never get this nervous unless it’s something really bad. Was there a training accident? Or have you heard something else? Did they find out that Dengar wasn’t the only spy?” 

“Neverd’ika,” Alpha interrupted, rough fingers touching the back of your hand to draw your attention. “Udesii.” 

Between the physical contact and the soothing Mando’a, you managed to stop and take a deep breath. 

Alpha nodded at you approvingly, pulling slowly away from you. If there wasn’t so much danger in being seen, you would have held his hand to keep the comforting contact between you. “Limit, you should probably just tell her.” 

You were instantly on-edge again. “So there is something! Tell me, Limit, please.” 

Limit tried to avoid your pleading eyes, but gave in with a sigh. “The Kaminoans saw th- saw the work I did during the lo-lockdown, and they heard ab… about how I helped during the attack. They d-decided to cl- clea- They said I’ve been cleared for duty.” 

You sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, trying to process everything you felt about that, but you snapped out of it when Limit peeked up at you. “Congratulations, Limit! That’s…” 

“That’s great,” Alpha finished when you flagged. “Do they know where you’re going to end up?” 

Limit looked nearly as grateful for Alpha’s interruption as you had been. “I’ll be in the 327th, ser-serving with General Aayla Secura.” 

“Ah, you’ll be with Aftermath.” Alpha gave a satisfied sort of rumble, deep in his chest. “Good. Seems like a dependable group of vode.” 

“When do you leave?” you asked, trying not to sound as close to tears as you were feeling.

From the stricken look on Limit’s face, you hadn’t succeeded. “I’ll ship out w-with the ARCs. Makes the- makes the most sense. Fewer transports.” 

Your stomach dropped, and you took a bite of your lunch in an effort to disguise whatever expression your face had fallen into. The food tasted even more bland than usual, but you chewed slowly to give yourself time to think. 

If Limit was leaving when the ARCs left, that only gave you a few days with him. The next ARC graduation was scheduled to take place in four days. 

“Congratulations, Limit,” you offered. “It’s about time the Kaminoans recognized what a talented medic and soldier they have in you.” 

Limit’s face tightened imperceptibly, as if he was also trying to hide his expression. Alpha - never one for hiding his true feelings - snorted aloud. “Not exactly what happened, little one.” 

“What-?” you started, only to be distracted when a broad smile spread across Limit’s face. “If they didn’t, then..?” 

“It was a group effort,” Alpha said vaguely. 

You stared hard at Limit until he gave a real explanation. “Taun- Taun We received pet- peti- petitions from the captain, but also from General Ti, Commander C- Colt, and some of the ARC troopers.” 

For a strange moment, you pictured Salvo and Maw going to specifically request that Limit be sent out with a battalion, but Limit clarified, “That is, some of the ARC tr- troopers from the last group.”

“Yeah, the ones who you saved from that explosion,” Alpha added. “They haven’t forgotten about that part, and neither should you.” 

Limit shook his head. “Just did wha- what any man would do t-to save his brothers.” 

“And that’s why you belong out there, taking care of them.” 

Limit and Alpha both looked surprised at your declaration. It must have seemed like an abrupt change of your position, but you meant it. Limit was one of the best parts of Kamino, had been ever since you had met him, but there was only so much he could do in Tipoca City. He needed the chance to help more people. Who were you to be upset that he was leaving?

You smiled at them, hoping it looked natural. You were sad to see Limit go, but you never wanted him to think you weren’t happy for him. “I’m just a little sad that you won’t get your own graduation or goodbye party.” 

“It’s b- better like this,” Limit assured you. “With ev-erything that’s hap- happened on Kamino lately, I’m happier thi- this way. I d-don’t want to… want to draw too much attention.” 

You studied him, but he seemed to be telling the truth. “Fine. But I hope you know that I’ll want the three of us to spend as much time together as possible before you ship out.” 

Limit’s smile was sudden and bright, so genuinely sincere that it made your heart ache to see it. “I c-can agree to… agree to that.”

—

You and Limit did your best to do exactly that. You ate meals together, you visited him in the medbay, and he spent one peaceful evening chatting with you and Alpha. 

Through all of it, you were trying to come up with an idea for a present. Before you had left home - or even back on Coruscant - a friend leaving for an adventure like this one would be met with celebration and a gift to make sure they started their next chapter with a reminder of how deeply they were loved. 

But Limit was surprisingly hard to find a present for. As a clone trooper and a medic, he had to follow strict guidelines about personal belongings and what he could expect to bring from one duty station to the next. 

You had considered buying him some medical equipment - maybe a medscanner? - but discarded the idea just as quickly. Beyond the requirements about personal belongings and the fact that the 327th definitely had a medscanner, there simply wasn’t time to order anything for delivery to Kamino. 

Whatever you decided on, it had to be something you already owned or something that you could make. Nothing jumped out at you from either category, and you were beyond frustrated. Time had been limited from the beginning and you were quickly running out of it. Limit would leave the day after the next, and you were no closer to an idea than you had been when you first thought of it. 

Your only saving grace was that Limit did still have duties in the medbay. The Kaminoans had never been a sentimental species and they didn’t seem likely to start then. They kept Limit just as busy as he always had been, so you had time to brainstorm. 

You would rather have spent time with him, of course, but you couldn’t say it wasn’t convenient. 

You were on your way back to your office after a quick trip to a supply closet, muttering gift options to yourself, when a voice behind you made you jump. 

“What are you talking about?” 

You whirled, pressing a hand to your chest as you stared up at Alpha. “Where did you come from?” 

Alpha jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “ARC training wrapped up early. They have their final test tomorrow morning, so I give ‘em the chance to do some individual practice the day before. They know where they’re struggling. Now, what’s going on?” 

“Nothing.” 

Alpha clearly wasn’t going to let you get away with that non-explanation, folding his arms across his chest as he continued to silently watch you. 

You sighed, toying with the identification card you had taken to wearing after the Null ARC incident. “I just… I want to give Limit something when he leaves. But I can’t figure out what and I’m almost out of time.” 

“You don’t-”

“Don’t tell me I don’t have to get him anything,” you interrupted hastily. “It’s a nat-born thing, I guess. But I need to make sure he has something from his friends here when he’s out in the field.”

Alpha was silent for a moment. “You didn’t get anything for the last ARCs when they graduated and everything was fine.” 

“That’s different,” you dismissed. You lasted exactly eight steps before you asked, “Stars, should I have gotten them something? What if they were expecting me to-” 

“No,” Alpha denied, cutting you off mid-guilty question. 

Then it was his turn to be quiet. If you hadn’t known him well, you would have wondered if he wasn’t going to answer you at all, but you had spent the last few months analyzing his facial expressions and their meanings. He was thinking about something. 

“I may have an idea,” he told you. “But I’ll have to be the one who sets it up. I’ll need your help at the end, but most of it will be on me. Do you trust me?” 

“With my life.” 

Your automatic answer made Alpha smile, the expression wide enough to crinkle the corners of his eyes. “Glad to hear it. But do you trust me with Limit’s gift?” 

Part of you wanted to tease him, to wait a moment while you pretended to think about it. But you could never lie about this, even for something as minor as teasing him. “Of course I do, Alpha.” 

The playful smile faded from Alpha’s face, replaced with a warm softness in his eyes. He glanced away long enough to make sure no one was around, then pulled you into a gentle keldabe.

You held the contact between his forehead and yours, letting your eyes fall shut as you breathed in the heat and scent of Alpha that surrounded you when he was this close. His nose briefly brushed yours before he pulled away. 

“Give me six hours,” Alpha requested, disappearing the moment he saw your nod. 

—

You woke up early for the graduation. 

Alpha had been gone the night before, completing whatever set of traditions and rituals he did with each ARC group before they left, but you got a call from him as you were finishing getting dressed. 

“You awake, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked. 

“Almost ready, actually,” you replied, deciding not to tell him about the array of alarms you had set for that morning. “I wouldn’t be late for this.” 

“Good,” he answered. “Same hangar bay as last time.” 

The hangar bay in question was easy to find. You were fairly sure they used it for ARC graduations because it was on an upper level of one of the outlying stilt-cities. The location meant that the departing transport wouldn’t fly over or past anywhere else, keeping security tight and preventing any noise disturbances for the laboratories or training areas. 

In any case, it was a bit of a trek to get there and you were glad that you had left early. You needed enough time to make sure Limit got his gift before the ceremony started. 

Alpha had delivered on his promise, setting up most of the moving pieces for Limit’s gift before he got back to you. It had been perfect, and you had gladly finished your part that night. Since Alpha had been busy with the ARCs most of the previous day, everything needed to be finished even earlier than you had planned. You were still a little surprised that you and Alpha - mostly Alpha - had pulled it off at all. 

The ARCs were gathered on one side of the large space, a little closer to the door than Alpha and Limit were. When you stepped inside, they called greetings to you. 

Despite Alpha’s best efforts, the ARCs had met you and learned a little about your role on Kamino. You weren’t sure how much they knew about your relationship with Alpha, but you trusted that they all understood the stakes of secrecy. 

“No one told me we were going to have a beautiful spectator,” Fives crowed. “If I had known, I would have finished the final mission even faster.”

You smiled at his outrageous flirting, shaking your head as he flexed. “We both know you like cutting it close for dramatic effect.” 

“Don’t encourage him,” Salvo grumbled, giving an amused huff as Fives elbowed him in the side. “We barely finished under the time limit, and not for dramatic effect.”

“We would have been faster if someone hadn’t decided to try for the optional objective,” Maw interrupted. 

Aftermath scowled. “We made it, didn’t we? And it countered the civilian casualty.” 

“You guys lost a civilian?” you asked, caught between amusement and horror. It was all simulated, of course, and you knew they had passed, but that was one of the biggest point deductions a group could get.

“Not lost,” Echo clarified. “We recovered the hostage, but he was injured during exfil. Non-fatally.”

You managed to (mostly) smother your smile. “I’m glad to hear you passed. Sorry I couldn’t be there to see it.” 

“We didn’t need the distraction.” To your surprise, the flirtatious remark came from Maw. You glanced at him in surprised amusement. 

A deep, weary sigh sounded from behind you and then Alpha was stepping between you and the ARCs. “That’s enough of that. Say goodbye, men.” 

“Bye and congratulations!” you called. 

Fives ducked around Alpha’s side to shake your hand. “Nice to meet you. You’re good for him, you know.” 

Fives had just tipped his head to indicate Alpha when he was grabbed by the back of the collar and peeled away from you. 

“Fives,” Alpha said conversationally, “it would be shame to finish training and pass your final mission, but never make it to graduation, wouldn’t it?” 

“A terrible waste of potential,” Fives agreed, having to stare upward to meet Alpha’s eyes. 

“Then let’s avoid any more theatrics. It’s not worth the paperwork.” Alpha turned back to you, jerking his head toward Limit. “We need you over here.” 

You frowned, but followed behind Alpha willingly enough as he led the way to where Limit was standing. That had been a little more intense than you had expected; Alpha rarely got physical with the troopers, unless they were in a training session.

As soon as Alpha stepped out of your line of vision, you understood. 

Limit looked… scared. He was about as pale as you’d seen any of the troopers get. His face was drawn into tight lines of concern, and his fingers were trembling. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if he couldn’t bring himself to stand still for too long. 

“Hey,” you greeted gently. “Big day, huh?” 

Limit blinked at you in confusion and even Alpha looked a little underwhelmed at your attempt to soothe your friend. 

You wracked your brain for anything that might actually help instead of sending Limit into a deeper spiral, but you doubted that talking about nerves had ever helped anyone overcome them. Instead, you decided to redirect the conversation to another course. 

“I know I’ve said this before, Limit, but I’m so proud of you,” you told him, taking one of his hands in yours and giving the back of it a little pat. “When I first met you, you wouldn’t even boss Alpha around and now I’ve seen you take charge of any situation that happens in the medbay! You’ve come so far, and I’m glad you’re going to have the chance to keep growing.” 

In an interesting reversal, Limit’s face had gone from pale to almost painfully red. Some of the effect was negated by the deep tan of his skin, but he was clearly embarrassed by your praise. But embarrassed was better than nervous, wasn’t it? 

“I d- don’t know about tha- about that,” he protested weakly. 

“It’s true, though,” you countered. “You’ve helped most people on Kamino at this point. It just makes sense that you’d need to branch out to a whole battalion.” 

“But…” Limit looked away, drawing a deep breath as he did. In a voice almost too low for you to hear, he admitted, “This will b- will be my first t-time off of- off- being away from Kamino. I’m a little w- worr- worried.” 

You softened, doing your best not to aww aloud. Thankfully, Alpha interrupted before you could.

With a hand on Limit’s shoulder, he said, “You’ll be fine, kid.” 

Limit visibly relaxed. For half a second, you were offended at how Alpha’s four words had a greater effect than your speech had, but you smiled warmly at your boyfriend a moment later. He had such an influence on these men - how could you begrudge him for connecting with them? 

“But we have something for you,” you told him, eyeing Alpha in hopes that he wouldn’t mind you being the one to reveal it. “We want to make sure you get it before you go.” 

“Some-something?” Limit repeated, brow furrowing in confusion. “For m- me?” 

You went to retrieve the gift from where Alpha had left it leaning against a nearby wall, but it was heavier than you expected. You huffed inelegantly as you lugged it back over to where Alpha and Limit were standing. 

Limit accepted the gift easily enough that you felt foolish for struggling as hard as you had. Alpha had covered it with a rough piece of fabric, but Limit unwrapped it like the cloth was something precious. When he could clearly see it, he frowned, glancing between you and Alpha with growing befuddlement. 

“A chestplate?” he asked, thumbs stroking over the white plastoid. “I w-was already issued one when I… when I got my orders. I’m sorry.” 

Alpha chuckled - a real, warm chuckle, unlike the sardonic laugh he sometimes gave in response to ARC-in-training silliness. “Turn it over, vod.” 

Limit did, and you watched his eyes go wide. You knew what he was seeing: in the greenish-yellow of his new battalion was a kar’ta beskar - a Mandalorian Iron Heart. 

Surrounding it were handprints, multicolored and multi-directional. Some of them overlapped due to the limited space on the inside of the chestplate, but all were clearly visible. Each one was painstakingly painted the exact color of the corresponding trooper’s battalion. Alpha’s handprint was near the top, painted in black. Your handprint was its mirror image, but in emerald green. 

“Who-?” Limit started, his voice breaking before he could finish the question. Limit’s eyes were bright with tears and you lost the fight against your own as he glanced from you to Alpha. 

Alpha tugged you to his side, his hand finding yours unerringly. “Ours, of course. The kids. The last ARC class. Just some of the people you’ve helped. The first of many, I’d assume.”

Limit nodded a few times, swallowing hard before he spoke. “And th- the blue?” 

You frowned, taking a step closer to look at the inside of the armor. Sure enough, there was a thin brushstroke tracing the outline of the chestplate, painted in a deep and vivid blue. 

Alpha grunted. “Learn your heritage, vod. Everything means something to the Mandos. Even colors.” 

“I’ll learn,” Limit promised. 

“Can you explain it now?” you pried. “I want to know, too. And someone hasn’t gotten to that point in Mando’a lessons yet.” 

Alpha looked exasperated and you scowled at him. “Are you seriously telling me that it was more important to teach me how to curse in Mando’a than to explain that there’s a color language?” 

“Not a language,” Alpha corrected. “Symbolism. Blue is reliable.” 

Limit’s breath caught, but you nodded. “Reliable is the perfect way to describe you, Limit. We all rely on you. And I’m not sure what we’re going to do without you.” 

“The general is coming,” Maw warned, ducking back into the room. You hadn’t realized that the ARCs were paying attention to anything other than their own conversation, but your little group had their full attention. 

Limit looked scared, and you stepped forward to wrap him in a tight hug. He melted into it, hugging you just as tightly in return. When you let go, Alpha stepped forward to offer him a handshake. 

“You’ll be amazing, Limit,” you told him. 

A hand came down on Limit’s shoulder. You glanced up to find Aftermath offering Limit a nod. Aftermath turned to you. “I’ll keep an eye out for him, ma’am.” 

“Thank you,” you managed through a throat that had gone tight. 

Shaak Ti and Commander Colt swept into the room and the ARCs fell into a neat line. Limit came to stand beside you. You put a hand on his back only to find that Alpha’s was already there, offering silent support from Limit’s other side. With a slight adjustment, you pressed your palm slightly lower. 

The ARC graduation passed in a blur. It followed much of the same format as the previous one you had attended. You weren’t sure how Shaak Ti found the time to learn so much about each man and his strengths and weaknesses, but they seemed to be true. 

When each man had been given his kama and was congratulated by their general, commander, and captain, they headed for the ship. 

“Limit,” Shaak Ti greeted, stopping in front of him. 

Limit’s spine straightened. “General.” 

“You have been a shining example of duty and brotherhood for as long as I have known you,” she told him warmly. “I look forward to seeing the wonders you work for your brothers in the outside galaxy.” 

“Yes, Gen- General,” Limit agreed, cheeks slightly reddened. 

Colt clapped him on the shoulder. “Best head for the ship, vod. And if you need anything, I’m only a comm away.” 

Limit nodded. “Thank you, Commander.” 

Colt smiled, following Shaak Ti from the room as Limit turned back to you and Alpha. “I do- don’t know how I can… how I can thank you-” 

“So don’t,” Alpha interrupted. “There are some debts too big for words. But at least these go both ways.” 

Limit nodded, giving a quick salute. Alpha returned it while you offered a sad wave, and then Limit was gone.

The ship had long since disappeared into the distance when Alpha finally spoke. 

“Are you going to be okay, neverd’ika?” 

“I think so,” you said, offering a tight smile. “It’s never going to get easier, is it? Knowing there are people out there in the galaxy who I can’t keep safe.” 

“No,” Alpha confirmed, voice not unkind. “It never does get easier, little one. All you can do is trust that they know how to look after themselves. And, if it comes down to it, that they gave their lives for something greater than themselves.” 

That made you shed a few more tears and Alpha pulled you in for a hug. When he spoke, it rumbled through you in a way that managed to be just as comforting as the hug itself. “I’m sorry. What can I do?” 

“Are you done for the day?” you asked, leaning your chin on his chest to look up at him. Alpha nodded, and you hugged him a little tighter. “Can we go back to my quarters? I just want to hold you for a while. Is that okay?” 

“That sounds perfect,” Alpha agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

---

Author's Note - I didn't want to get too deep in the weeds about how Alpha pulled it off, but I feel like it could stand to be explained: I imagine Alpha contacted the original ARCs and had them send an image of their hand. Alpha then would have brought it back to full-size, projected it onto the inside of the chestplate, traced the outlines, and painted them with the correct colors. (I can't fully explain without giving away personally identifiable information, but I can verify that this works, both with painting and woodcarving specific designs onto a surface.)

Anyway! Sorry about Limit. I've written one-shots of him with the 327th, so I knew this was going to happen eventually. Still hurts, though. Thank you for reading!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

I haven't written anything new this month since most of my writing time has been spent finishing a fic for the other account, but I hope you'll appreciate the announcement that I've updated my masterlist. Enjoy!

---

All of the works below are generally SFW, but may not necessarily be appropriate for minors. Please mind the warnings at the top of each fic. 

To keep things tidy, I have works split up by character. The links will take you to a page of everything I’ve written for that character.

The 501st:

Rex   |   Kix   |   Fives   |   Echo   |   Hardcase    |   Tup   |   Dogma     

Jesse   |   Denal   |   General 501st (No Pairing)   

The 212th:

Cody   |   Trapper

Wolfpack: 

Wolffe

The Coruscant Guard: 

Fox   |   Thorn   |   Thire   |   Hound  |  Stone 

The Bad Batch:

Hunter   |   Tech   |    Crosshair   |   Wrecker   |   Echo 

Delta Squad (Republic Commando): 

Boss   |   Fixer   |   Scorch   |   Sev  

Omega Squad (Republic Commando):

Fi 

Legends:

Alpha-17   |   Fordo   

Other Characters: 

Howzer  |  Cad Bane  |  Hondo Ohnaka 

Original Characters: 

Limit   |   Curl   |   Drift 

Series

Gar Cabur - Alpha-17 and fem!reader

Gar Cyare - Continued Alpha-17 and fem!reader

Warriors in Red Armor - Fox, Thorn, Thire, and Hound and fem!OCs

Now Boarding - Various 501st with various fem!readers

Refuge - Delta Squad and fem!reader (Eventual poly fic)

Nobody Listens to Kix - Kix’s patient files (no reader characters) 

Just for Kix - Extras from Nobody Listens to Kix

Voices Carry - Null ARC Mereel and fem!reader

Clone Trooper Rambles - Journal-esque blurbs featuring clone troopers

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Sixteen

The lockdown ends. Alpha has a serious discussion with the ARCs-in-training.

Word Count: 3,600

Warnings: References to past threats, teasing, mentions of physical training, serious conversation, discussions of war.

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Jorhaa'ir (Talk)

After a total of four days on lockdown, the Kaminoans finished a full audit of their systems. The information that had been sliced and duplicated was largely limited to what General Ti had discovered before beginning the original investigation. 

The threat level was still considered to be high, but the Kaminoans started to fortify the areas that were deemed to be the most at-risk. The additional troopers were dismissed back to their previous assignments. You had been just as sad to see Neyo leave a second time, but you and Alpha had spent quite a bit of time with him in the few days he was on Kamino. 

The Null troopers were some of the last to leave, but they came to say goodbye personally. 

You hadn’t been thrilled when they came through the door of your office, but Alpha had clearly been holding himself back, simply asking, “What.” 

“Just came to get her decision about our deal,” A’den told him with a smile. 

“I’ll help you,” you told him, eyes on the datapad you were working on. There was a victorious sort of noise from one of the six men and you looked at them sharply. “With the understanding, of course, that I’m doing this of my own free will. I’m not working for you or doing anything outside of finding Ko Sai’s journals. Even then, if I need to stop, I will.” 

“You’re a bold little civvie,” Kom’rk said. “I don’t see a problem with those terms.”

“I do,” Ordo countered. “If we leave, it’ll be harder to get back on Kamino. We can’t just hope she isn’t going to change her mind.”

“Have you broken the code for the journals’ location yet?” you asked. 

Ordo gave you a hard look. “No.”

“Then unless you’re going to hide on Kamino and hope no one finds you before you can get to the journals, accepting my offer might be your only choice.” 

“We don’t have a better option,” Jaing said lowly. “It’s either this or try to find a way back on-planet later. There’s nothing to lose.” 

“We accept your offer,” Prudii told you, wearing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“We’ll be in touch when we find out something about the location of the journals,” Mereel said, tapping the comlink on his vambrace. Your comlink chimed and you glanced down at it. “That’s the code we’ll reach out from. If you see anything from another code, don’t answer it.” 

“Got it,” you said, saving the code into the comlink’s directory and linking it to your datapad in case something happened to your comlink. “I’ve gotten a few more parts of the coded message translated if you want them. It looks like a rotational cipher of some kind, but it’s hard without a key.” 

Ordo gave a derisive snort, but Kom’rk stepped forward. “Let me see it. I want to see how you’ve done so far.” 

You held out the cipher, marked with theories and final decisions on what different letters were. Kom’rk studied the flimsi for a moment, nodding slowly. “We’ve got a lot of the same letters done. It looks like your work is right.” 

“Do you want me to comm you when I get the rest done?” you asked. 

“It’s not safe,” Ordo cut in. “The more transmissions that pass between us, the more likely it is that someone will notice. And since long-distance transmissions from Kamino are monitored, it’s better if you just wait for us to contact you.” 

“Have you thought about how we’ll do a data transfer, then?” Alpha made it sound like a challenge. “The kaminii are gonna notice if we start transmitting secret data.” 

“I’m glad you’re so confident, Captain,” Prudii said with a smile. “But let’s focus on one thing at a time. We’ll find a way to get the data from you when there’s data to transfer.” 

“The transport is getting ready to leave,” Mereel reported. “Let’s go.” 

“We’ll be in touch,” A’den told you, just before he left, closing the door behind him. 

You sighed. “They’re exhausting.” 

Alpha snorted. “That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say about them. I have to wonder how Skirata managed to get all six of ‘em on Kamino at once. The kaminii never liked the Nulls, and they especially hated Skirata.” 

“Maybe the Nulls were the compromise,” you suggested. “If they weren’t allowed to come, Skirata would come instead.” 

A surprised laugh burst from Alpha as he looked down at you. “Maybe so, little one.” 

“Why don’t they like him?” you asked after a moment, curious despite yourself. 

“Asks too many questions,” Alpha answered immediately. “They don’t like anyone who does that. Reminds me of you that way. He thinks the clones are the greatest thing since the hyperdrive. Wants to protect all of ‘em, give us lives.” 

You hummed. That didn’t sound like a bad thing, but there was something in the way Alpha said Skirata’s name that told you he didn’t care for the man. “Sounds like we would get along.” 

Alpha grumbled in Mando’a for a second. “You’d either menace the entire galaxy or try to kill each other. Or both, depending on the minute. It’d be hell.”

“Flatterer,” you accused, smiling. 

He worked very hard at being grumpy for another few seconds, but an answering smile spread slowly across Alpha’s face. “You would take that as a compliment.” 

“Of course,” you agreed. “I’m sure you weren’t trying to insult me.” 

Alpha opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the chiming of his comlink. “Hold that thought, mesh’la. I have to take this.” 

You watched him step a polite distance away to answer the comlink, still smiling to yourself. The tension had eased slowly from Kamino since Tipoca City was released from lockdown. There were still more guards that usual around the laboratories, and the process of getting information for your report had grown even longer, but the departure of the troopers had been a signal that things were getting back on track. 

Alpha ended the short conversation, turning back to you with an expression of resignation. “I have to get back to the ARCs. Since Kamino’s security is going back to normal levels, training needs to pick back up. You coming?” 

“Definitely,” you decided, catching up with him easily before he left your office. 

The training for that day was relatively simple - exercises to make sure that fitness levels for the ARCs-in-training hadn’t dropped in their brief time away from training, then a group exercise meant to challenge them at all of their weak points. 

You watched Salvo defer leadership to let one of the other troopers take over, then saw Aftermath stop for one of the others who had fallen. “They’re coming along, aren’t they?” 

“Yeah, they’ll turn out okay,” Alpha agreed absently, making notes on a datapad. “They were always going to.” 

“Really?” you asked, skeptical. Alpha quirked a brow, his silent question clear even as his gaze stayed focused on his datapad. “You seemed worried earlier in their training. Something about them lacking the motivation to be ARCs.” 

Alpha finally let the datapad drop away from his face, narrowing his eyes at you. “That’s all training talk, neverd’ika. I haven’t failed a group yet. This was never going to be the ones to change that. They just needed some… motivation.” 

You shook your head. “I didn’t realize there was psychological warfare happening at the same time as the physical training.” 

“Yes you did,” Alpha argued. “I told you that at the beginning of this.” 

“You did,” you conceded after taking a moment to think about it. “I guess I didn’t think you had the patience to follow through on it.” 

“I always have patience for the important things.” Alpha glanced at the field, mouth flattening into a harsh line. “Like… Maw! Put the karkin’ datapad away or I will make you repeat this exercise as a solo mission!”

By the time you had settled your heart rate, Alpha had already turned back to you with an expectant look on his face. You shook your head slowly. “I forget how loud you are, sometimes.” 

“Thank you.” 

“How much longer does this group have?” you asked, deciding that it wasn’t worth it to follow up on the ‘compliment’ you had given him. “They’re a few weeks in, aren’t they?” 

“They’ve been here for a month, so they only have two weeks left.” Alpha’s tone had gone distant once more as he focused on the ARCs-in-training. 

“I know the last group wasn’t typical, but that seems like a really short time,” you noted, frowning. “You’re a great trainer, but it doesn’t feel like they’re going to have time to learn everything they need to.” 

“They won’t,” Alpha agreed, meeting your dismay with an understanding look of his own. “Have you wondered why the kaminii don’t just train all their troopers like ARCs? It’s because it takes a different way of thinking. ARCs have to be individuals, able to think on their feet and alter the orders they were given to achieve an objective. They already have the skills - I’m just teaching them how to think like an ARC trooper.” 

Alpha’s explanation forged a connection inside your brain. “That’s… isn’t that… That seems like the opposite of what the Kaminoans were trying to do when they altered the Fett gene.” 

“Go on.” 

You took a deep breath, hoping you weren’t about to offend him. “I don’t remember everything I read in Ko Sai’s notes, but she seemed very proud of the way they altered the troopers’ genes so they would be more loyal and group-minded.”

“Exactly,” Alpha confirmed with a nod. “That’s why they can’t train everyone to be an ARC. Individual ARC troopers and commando squads are a useful precision tool, but you need armies to fight a war. Personally, I think that the ARC candidates are the troopers whose genes are a little closer to Jango’s.” 

“I wouldn’t think that the Kaminoans would be happy enough about that to give ARCs special training and designations,” you noted, changing your stance entirely about the subject. “I would expect them to try to hide any differences in genes.” 

“Then it would look like an accident,” Alpha countered. “By separating ARC troopers as uniquely capable of difficult missions, the kaminii can act like this was all part of their plan.” 

You shook your head in amazement. “That makes a lot of sense. I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t see it myself.” 

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.” You felt the warmth of Alpha’s smile, though he was still facing the training field. “Endex, men. On me.”

The platform where you had been observing the ARCs-in-training started to lower toward the floor and you stepped toward where the door would be. “Need me to leave?” 

“No, I think you’ll like this part,” Alpha told you. “Since they only have a few weeks left, we have a meeting to discuss more personal matters. It’s a… motivational conversation.” 

You were instantly delighted, beaming at him and the troopers who were just coming into view. Alpha looked at you long enough for you to catch the warmth in his eyes, then he shook his head as if despairing your lack of a sabacc face.

“Men,” Alpha greeted, stepping off of the platform. You trailed behind him, trying to school your face into a neutral expression. It wasn’t easy, but you managed. “Let’s talk.” 

A pall fell over the group instantly, and you realized that they expected to be berated for something. You watched them shuffle after Alpha, forming a loose semi-circle around him and standing at attention. 

Alpha - cruel man that he was - let them dangle for a moment before saying, “At ease.” 

The ARCs-in-training glanced at each other as they complied, but the tension didn’t ease. 

“Tell me about your battalions.” 

That was clearly not what they had expected Alpha to say. The men hesitated as a group, as if they weren’t sure how to answer… or, more likely, because they were looking for a trap in Alpha’s invitation. 

Salvo spoke first. He had gotten better at letting the other men take the lead and caring less about his place in the chain of command, but he was older than all of the other men and they clearly looked to him for certain things. 

“I’m part of the 22nd Air Combat Wing,” Salvo explained. “Led by Jedi General Roan Shryne.”

“I know that,” Alpha explained patiently. Well, maybe he wasn’t patient, but he wasn’t actively impatient, which was nearly the same thing for him. “I have access to your assignment files. Tell me about the 22nd. Tell me about your General.” 

“The 22nd is an air combat wing,” Salvo repeated slowly, clearly trying to gather his thoughts as Alpha watched him steadily. “We’re mostly pilots, but there are plenty of support roles. Because we’re a smaller group, a lot of our support is natties who were assigned to help out. My best pilot is a trooper named Rally. He’s almost as old as I am.” 

“And your general?” Alpha prompted. 

“General Shryne is… different from most Jedi,” Salvo said carefully. “He doesn’t use the Force very often. He carries a blaster and a lightsaber, but he’s more likely to use the blaster. Wears plenty of armor, too.” 

“Good man,” Alpha said approvingly. “More jetii could stand to learn that no one is invincible on a battlefield. Who’s next?”

As if encouraged by the lack of negative reaction to Salvo’s answer, Maw began to speak. “I’m with the 104th, serving under General Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe.”

“What do you think about serving with a Jedi?” Alpha asked Maw. “Must slow you down out there, especially with a commander like Wolffe.”

“You must know the commander, then,” Maw said with a slight smile.

“Well enough,” Alpha agreed. “Enough to know how impatient he can be.” 

You struggled to keep from laughing aloud at the idea of Alpha calling someone impatient. From the looks on some of the troopers’ faces, they were thinking the same thing. 

“I’m one of the younger troopers in the Wolfpack,” Maw explained. “They brought me on because I had access to some of the updated tech modules in flash-training, plus some experience with my original battalion. They needed someone who could slice into terminals on their missions and I was looking for a change of scenery.” 

“Where were you before?” Alpha asked. 

“Parable Outpost.” Maw shrugged. “It wasn’t the worst place to be, especially for a shiny just off of Kamino, but it was quiet. I got to thinking that I could do more for the war effort, so I requested a transfer.”

“And?” Maw blinked uncomprehendingly, and Alpha expanded, “Do you feel like you’ve done more for the war effort?” 

You expected Maw to shrug off the question, to say something about how life was more exciting away from Parable Outpost or that he got to see more of the galaxy. But a sincerity seemed to have filled the air between the troopers. 

“Yeah,” Maw said with a nod. “I do.” 

Alpha gave him an understanding sort of look and turned to Fives and Echo. “The two of you can go together or separately, up to you.” 

“We’re with the 501st Battalion,” Fives said. “General Anakin Skywalker.” 

“How do you like it?” 

“The general is a little… unorthodox,” Echo said slowly, and you watched the others try not to smile too obviously. Clearly, ‘unorthodox’ meant something specific to the troopers, and it must not be entirely a good thing. “But his plans usually end up working. And he’s always front and center, so he can help fix the ones that go sideways.” 

Alpha gave a short hum. “And the other men in the 501st?” 

“Crazy, all of ‘em,” Fives said with a broad, fond grin. “But you have to be, otherwise you transfer out.” 

Echo looked a little more thoughtful. “Good men, though. No 501st man has ever left before completing the objective or getting the call to retreat. And we’ve never left a man behind, not if there’s any chance that he’s still alive.” 

The warmth and pride that had shone from both of the men when they spoke about their general only intensified when they talked about their brothers. 

“That leaves you, Aftermath,” Alpha prompted. 

“327th,” Aftermath said reflexively. “Led by Jedi General Aayla Secura.”

“And Commander Bly.” Alpha gave a rare nod of approval. “He’s a good soldier. A good brother.” 

“Good commander, too,” Aftermath agreed. “Everyone in the 327th knows he’s got our backs. Never met a battle he’d back down from.”

“He’s always been that way,” Alpha revealed, “even when he was training as an ARC. No one can fight every battle all the time. But rangir! If there was ever someone I’d believe could do it anyway, it was Bly. Not that I’d tell him.” 

“That’d be dangerous.” Aftermath looked thoughtful. “The other men are good, too. Loyal. We’ve only had one transfer out in the past two months.” 

“Impressive.”

Aftermath nodded. “Bad news is that it was our medic. But they needed him at one of the med stations.” 

“He must have been solid,” Alpha remarked. “Med station medics have to be the best at what they do.” 

“He was.” 

Alpha took a step back, centering himself in front of the group. “I want you men to think about what you just said. What each other said. Not every man has what it takes to be an ARC trooper. Odds are, most of the men you left behind will never be able to perform at the level you do. But they don’t have to.” 

“We’re troopers,” he continued. “We’re stronger together. Us ARCs take on the specialty missions, the ones that require independence and higher skill levels so the other troopers can wear down the enemy with sheer numbers. We’re a sniper rifle; they’re a battering ram. Both have their place on the battlefield, and you need both to win a war. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” 

Nods appeared around the group - some more hesitant than others. 

“Remember your brothers,” Alpha commanded them. “Remember where you came from. But you also have to remember that your skills are important for everyone’s brothers. As an ARC, you’ll occasionally work with your brothers from your original battalion. But you could be sent anywhere. When you’re working with unfamiliar troopers, they’re brothers, too. Not only because they’re troopers, but because they’re someone else’s brothers. Another ARC stood here thinking about them, speaking about their importance in his life. We watch each other’s backs, because every trooper is important to someone.”

Alpha tucked his hands behind his back. The angle was too sharp for you to see his face, but the way he leaned forward made you think that he was giving the men a look. “You’ve already made ‘em proud. Now keep ‘em safe. Dismissed.” 

“Sir,” Echo said hesitantly. Alpha paused mid-step. “Could I- could we - keep using the practice room? I have some maneuvers I need to work on.” 

“Granted,” Alpha said with a nod. “Anyone else?” 

The rest of the ARCs-in-training made noises of agreement, each one listing something they wanted to work on. 

“It’ll be unsupervised practice,” Alpha warned. “But I expect to see some improvements tomorrow. Understood?” 

“Yes, sir!” 

You couldn’t tell if that agreement had come from all of them or only a few, but all of them saluted. 

Alpha’s hand at the small of your back ushered you out of the training area. You led the way back to your office, not looking at him so you wouldn’t break. 

The cost of that, of course, was that you rounded on him the moment you were safely tucked away in your office. Alpha caught your mood instantly, a put-upon expression crossing his face the moment he saw your broad grin. 

“What?” 

“You’re so good at that!” You shrugged, still smiling. “You’re a wonderful trainer.” 

Alpha shook his head despairingly, turning to check that the door was secure behind him. That gave you the perfect vantage point to watch the back of his neck grow ruddy. Your grin only spread further. 

When he finally spoke, it was only to disagree. “Seeing as how you’ve never met another ARC trainer, I can’t get too carried away with that compliment.” 

“Exactly,” you told him. “If you weren’t doing an excellent job, the Kaminoans would have replaced you a long time ago. Or at least added another trainer. You are the best trainer anyone could imagine for the ARCs, Alpha. I’m sure of it. And your speech was wonderful.” 

“Speech,” Alpha muttered. “I just asked them a few questions.” 

“And reminded them how important their training is, even as they start wrapping it up.” You gave a satisfied sigh. “I could kiss you right now.” 

For a large man, Alpha moved unbelievably quickly. In no more time than it took you to blink, he was by your side, leaning down with his hands planted on the armrests on either side of you. 

“Well, neverd’ika?” he pressed, gaze roaming between your eyes and your lips. “That’s an offer I’ll gladly accept.” 

Alpha could hardly finish what he was saying before you pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his lips. You were both smiling, which made it taste all the sweeter.

---

Author's Note - Reminder that Salvo is a canon clone trooper (or was, in Legends). If you don't know anything about Jedi General Shryne, he's an... interesting character.

Anyway, thanks for reading! As always, comments and reblogs help share my work and make the long, frustrating, sleep-stealing hours I spend writing this story worth it!

See you soon!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Refuge Chapter Eight

It's finally time for your first mission with Delta Squad.

Continued slow-burn Delta Squad x fem!reader

Word Count: 4,300

Warnings: Anxiety, feelings of alienation, social awkwardness, teasing, minor verbal bullying, brief physical bullying, and general references to weapons and warfare

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

You would never get used to traveling this way. 

You had watched as the ship left from the hangar bay, directed by a GAR tower as you slowly rose through masses of Coruscanti traffic. Fixer had asked you to step out of the cockpit during takeoff. Well, it had actually sounded far closer to an order, but you apparently made him nervous with the intense way you watched everything.

Still, you had found another transparisteel pane to watch from as the planet fell away beneath you. You were in the air. That had always been something for other people to experience, people on distant planets. Voubosians had nowhere to go and the concept of space flight was more theoretical than something that average people expected to experience someday. 

And if your palm rose to press against the inside of the windowpane as Fixer put the ship into hyperdrive, who could blame you? Not a single person. Especially since the rest of Delta Squad were all crowded into the cockpit. 

You were going to Isiring, a small planet in the Outer Rim and very close to Separatist space. The planet was considering joining the Republic, and that consideration had put them under occupation by the Separatist Army. The GAR had driven off most of the droid army, but the Isiring people were in desperate need of supplies. The Wolfpack had brought a shipment of supplies, but there had been more refugees than expected. 

Delta Squad had brought additional supplies, enough to last until another battalion could get through the Separatist remnants with a full resupply. Additionally, Delta would help build and reinforce the refugee camp that the 104th was building. 

And, somehow, you were considered capable enough to be part of Delta Squad’s mission. You had your own doubts about that, but you had agreed to take on this assignment and you were determined to see it through. 

That didn’t stop you from jolting when someone spoke behind you. 

“It’ll be a while before we get there, even using the hyperspace lanes along the way.”

When you had recovered - trying to play off your surprise as a temporary loss of balance, you turned to nod at Sev. “Thank you for letting me know. How long do you think the journey will take?”

Sev was frowning, though. "Did you just get scared?" 

"I thought everyone was still in the cockpit," you explained, chuckling at yourself. Sev didn't laugh at all. On Toporik, a harmless fright was considered humorous, good for a shared laugh among friends. Sev didn't seem even slightly amused and you conceded internally that it could be a cultural thing. 

"You didn't hear me?" 

"No," you admitted, feeling fully awkward by that point. “I didn’t know I was supposed to be listening for you.”

Sev shook his head and returned to the cockpit, leaving you waiting uncomfortably alone in the transport's small seating area.

And you stayed alone for far too long. You couldn't hear any conversation among Delta Squad in the cockpit, but there were closed comlink channels in their HUDs. In all likelihood, they were talking about you. 

It wasn’t necessarily bad. They could be discussing how to fit you into the mission without risking themselves or you due to your inexperience. Though you knew they had already considered that, and probably had been doing so since they were first assigned to assist on Isiring. In that case, the conversation might be bad. 

You decided to convince yourself that they were all crowded in the cockpit, surrounded by pure silence. 

When everyone other than Scorch filed out of the cockpit, you were staring out of the viewport and toying with the material of your body glove. The shine of the transparisteel’s interior meant that you could watch Delta’s faces as they came into the ship’s main cabin. 

Sev glanced at you for a moment before he continued on to the back of the ship. Boss didn’t even look at you. Fixer watched you stretch and release the fabric of the garment’s shoulder a few times before he shook his head. Surprisingly, he reached out to still your fingers with his own. For all that he hadn’t seemed very easy with touch, the movement seemed utterly natural for him. 

“Don’t you remember how hard we had to work to get that glove for you?” he asked. The question could have been stern or harsh, but his tone sounded softer, almost gentle. “Try not to tear it on your first mission out, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” you echoed, releasing the fabric immediately. It snapped back into place with a sting that made you wince. You were still facing the window and thought your expressions were private, but when your gaze focused, you could see that Fixer was looking at the window as well. He was using the opposite vantage point to watch you in the reflection. When he saw that you had seen him, he offered a nod and pulled his hand away from yours. 

That touch - simple, but freely offered - sparked something in you. Suddenly, you realized how horribly, deeply lonely you were. Perhaps it was inevitable; this was the first time you’d had alone with your thoughts in some time. Without the stress of running for your life or the distraction of Jedi training, you could process it. 

Sitting still, staring out of the viewport at stars passing by too quickly to be anything other than streams of light, you were spiraling. You had no community, no place. Delta Squad had offered you a spot among them, but now that you were there, they seemed concerned about your presence. No, not concerned… inconvenienced. 

Had this all been a mistake? You were honor-bound to see things through, especially since this had been a choice, one you had made gladly. If you died, you couldn’t see that as a terrible tragedy, but what if one of the others ended up hurt or killed trying to protect you because you couldn’t protect yourself? 

“Hey.” 

You turned quickly at the greeting, desperately clinging to the interruption of your frantic thoughts. Sev was standing there with a box in his hands. 

When you didn’t say anything, he frowned. It seemed to be a common expression for him. Or maybe you just brought it out in him…

“You good?” Sev asked. “Your breathing has picked up.”

“Just… trying to meditate.”

It was an incredibly weak lie, one that hung in the air for an uncomfortably long time. Sev gave you a few seconds of incredulous silence to fess up, but you stayed quiet. 

“Yeah,” he said eventually, clearly still skeptical. He lifted the box slightly. “Brought you some food.” 

“You brought me dinner?” you asked, unreasonably touched by that. Your emotions were erratic - not a good sign before your first mission. 

Sev scowled. “I guess. You get some before Scorch gets his. We’ll be going lights-out in about an hour, so consider this your warning.” 

“Thank you,” you said, accepting the box from him. Then a thought struck you and you felt more than a little silly for not having considered it before. “Um… where am I sleeping? There are only four bunks and I don’t want to take anyone’s spot-” 

“Someone has to fly the ship,” Fixer pointed out. “We’ll rotate bunks - the new person takes the empty one. Everyone’s clean and in top health, so you don’t have to worry about hygiene.” 

“As long as Scorch remembers to wash the liquid tibanna off this time,” Sev muttered. 

“Hey!” Scorch objected from the cockpit. You jumped again. You hadn’t known he could hear the conversation outside. “That only happened once!” 

“Yeah, but I’m the one who ended up with gas burns on his-” Sev’s dark eyes slid toward you before he turned briskly away. “Anyway, I wouldn’t recommend sleeping in a bunk after Scorch has had it.” 

“At least my hair isn’t greasy!” Scorch called. 

That made you laugh despite yourself. Sev’s hair was shorn so close to his scalp that you didn’t know if you could grab one without the use of tweezers. The idea of grease being able to cling to his nearly bare head was so unlikely as to be truly entertaining. 

“Stow it, men,” Boss ordered, sitting across from you with his own box of rations. “Everyone other than Scorch needs to finish up and get some sleep.”

“I would love to, Boss, but dearest Oh-Seven hasn’t brought me my meal yet.”

Sev rolled his eyes toward the cockpit. “I don’t feel like helping you out today. Get your own food.”

Scorch said, “If you insist.” You could clearly hear the sound of a restraint being unbuckled, followed by a few footsteps. The ship gave an alarming dip, spilling some of your food and pulling an alarmed gasp from you. 

Boss was on his feet before the food had landed on the table. “Scorch, sit your shebs down before I figure out a way to keep them there permanently. Sev, get Six-Two’s food before he kills us all. Fixer, get a new ration pack for her.” 

“That’s not necessary-” you protested. 

Fixer was already speaking over you. “What should I do with this one?” 

“Give it to Scorch,” Boss ordered. “She can have the fresh one.” 

“Aw, Boss…” Scorch’s complaining tone was clear even from the cockpit. “You know flying makes me hungry.” 

You wanted to melt through the seat. The last thing you wanted to do was start off your first mission by getting one of your squadmates in trouble. “It’s fine, Sergeant, really. Only a little bit spilled.” 

“Okay,” Boss said with a nod. “Did you hear that, Scorch? Only a little bit spilled. Sounds like you’ll survive the rest of the flight without starving to death.”

As you continued to insist that everything was fine, Fixer whisked the ration pack away from you and delivered it to Scorch. You bit your lip, dread weighing heavy on your stomach. It spiked sharply when you heard a soft exclamation from Scorch. 

“Oya! You only spilled the greens, civvie. That’s the worst part. Think you did me a favor…”

Your murmured reply was unintelligible, even to you. 

The situation was uncomfortable. And it was made worse by knowing that everyone knew about it. Sev and Scorch had been there when you admitted that you may not know if you were manipulating them. Even if you didn’t mean to. 

And then you had told Boss about what had happened. He had seemed sympathetic, but he had probably mentioned it to Fixer, even if the other two hadn’t. That had to be the cause of the awkwardness among the group, you were certain of it. Conversations had been stilted and laughter was nonexistent in any of the men.

Sev slid a fresh ration pack in front of you, but you only managed a few bites before you pushed it away. “I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

“You’re not going to eat any more than that?” Sev asked, eyeing your barely-touched tray. 

“No, I just…” You trailed off, uncertain of what to say. Eventually, you decided to keep to simple sentences. “No, I’m done.” 

“You should probably get a little more down,” Fixer said skeptically. “You never know when you’re going to eat on a mission. Skipping meals before you get there means you’re going to be distracted, weak-”

“Go to bed,” Boss ordered. Dimly, you recognized that he had been watching you closely throughout the short conversation, his gaze searching. Whatever he found there seemed to make him take pity on you. He nodded at the other Deltas before he returned to cleaning and reassembling his blaster. “Get some sleep.”

You were too grateful to do anything more than nod back before you scurried toward the small bunk section at the back of the ship. If the conversation shifted after you had left, you didn’t hear it. You made a point of not hearing it. 

But, to your eternal frustration, sleep wouldn’t come.

One by one, Delta followed you to the bunks - with the obvious exception of Scorch. Each one seemed to settle easily into slumber, but it eluded you. 

Eventually, you opted to slip out of the bunk entirely. Instead of lying there helplessly, you wanted to sit in the main cabin of the ship and reread the field manual the GAR had scrounged up for you. 

It seemed like a safe bet - Scorch was flying the ship while the other three were asleep, but you had barely started reading before Boss appeared. 

His sudden and silent approach made you jump, pressing a hand to your chest in an effort to calm your racing heart. When you could breathe without feeling like you were going to vomit, you asked, "What are you doing?" 

"Funny," he said, leaning against the doorway between the bunks and the main cabin. "Pretty sure I'm supposed to ask that."

"I'm reading," you offered, lifting the datapad as if to prove it.

"What you're doing is disobeying an order," Boss countered. "I told you to get some rest."

You froze, staring at him with wide eyes. He had said that, of course, but you had assumed it wasn't a real order. He had also said that a single disobeyed order would result in him kicking you out of Delta Squad…

"Relax," he told you, pushing away from the doorway to settle in a nearby seat instead. "That was a test. For future reference, I only issue official orders in war zones. Everything else is just a… strongly worded suggestion."

You nodded, gaze dropping to your twisting fingers as you tried to calm your pulse. 

Boss gave you a few minutes to settle before he spoke again. “So, knowing that it isn’t an order… wanna tell me what’s going on?” 

“Can’t sleep,” you admitted with a slight shrug. “I think I just have too many questions.”

“Questions,” Boss repeated tonelessly. 

“Yes, but I feel like I should already know the answers, so I haven’t asked them.” You gave a mirthless laugh. “I don’t enjoy wasting your time, you know.” 

When you finally snuck a look at Boss’s face, he was frowning slightly. “Why should you know the answers to questions you haven’t asked? And think of it this way: I would rather answer your questions now and know that you have all the information you need than worry about you if things get bloody.”

“I thought blood was guaranteed?” 

“This is a relief mission,” he clarified. “We might see some action, so we need to be ready for it, but it’s not like we’re dropping into an active war zone. Not this mission, anyway. So what questions do you have?”

“Can you-?” You cleared your throat and started over, wanting to sound more like a specialist gathering information and less like a lost child. “Can you give me some idea of a timeline? For our arrival, at least?” 

“Sure,” Boss said, nodding. He didn’t seem irritated by the questions, which helped ease your nerves enough to actually listen to him. “We make sure everyone is awake and fully dressed at least two hours before arrival. An hour out, we do final weapons and equipment checks. By the time we hit atmosphere, everyone needs to be prepped for landing.” 

“Do we expect it to be a bad landing?” You hadn’t experienced too many landings - just the one, actually - but you had seen enough HoloNews footage to know that you didn’t want to experience a crash. 

A new voice made you jump again, and you turned to see Sev leaning against the doorway to the bunks. His voice was even gruffer with sleep, almost hard to understand, but you tried to listen anyway. “Landings can be rough, depending on how much fire we take. Fixer will get us through the worst of it. Even if we land hard, everyone needs to be clear within fifteen seconds.”

“And the time between breaching atmosphere and landing?” you asked, struggling to gather all of the vocabulary you had learned in the past few weeks. “Do we… wear parachutes or something? What’s the protocol?” 

“Parachutes?” Boss repeated. 

“Why would you jump out of a ship in a war zone?” Sev asked, nearly scowling by that point. 

You frowned a little yourself, but more out of confusion than irritation. “Well, you know… if it’s crash-landing or something-”

“Don’t jump out of the ship,” Boss advised. 

A groan drifted from the doorway behind Sev, followed by Fixer’s voice. “Who is jumping out of a ship?” 

“The civvie,” Sev tossed back, moving over slightly so Fixer could stand bleary-eyed in the doorway beside him. “The jetii must have taught her some strange tactics.”

“Shut it, Sev,” Boss ordered, tacking on a glare for good measure. His gaze evened out when he turned back to you. “You’re always gonna be safer inside the ship, even if it’s going down. There’s too much chance of taking a blaster bolt while you’re floating above an active battlefield.”

“Are we having a meeting?” Scorch called from the cockpit. 

“No,” Fixer told him. “Civvie’s just asking some questions. Wanted to know if we were going to wear chutes when we break atmosphere.” 

“Chutes?” Scorch echoed, bewildered. “Why would we jump out of ship in the middle of a combat zone?” 

“Okay, I’ve got it,” you hurried to say, getting to your feet. “Understood. Awake and dressed two hours out, checking weapons one hour out. Ready to go when we break atmosphere. When we land, get out of the ship within fifteen seconds. If we’re not dead from being shot down.” 

“We won’t be dead,” Fixer assured you. The confident tilt to his chin made you believe him. “I’ve landed bigger ships than this in worse areas.” 

“But everything else is right,” Boss confirmed. 

Sev shrugged. “Pretty much. Though if landing is quiet, you can miss the fifteen second mark by a few seconds without as much risk.”

“Seriously, I can come back there,” Scorch offered. 

“That’s okay; we’re done,” you told him. “Thank you all. I’m going to sleep now.” 

—

To your great relief, the landing part of the mission had been simple. 

You had been ready and armored far too early, but Scorch had been too tired to do much more than laugh. Fixer had guided the ship into a smooth landing on Isiring, and the Republic’s forces had secured the area around the relief camp. Boss had advised everyone to wear helmets anyway, and you gladly followed that advice. You were always a fan of overpreparedness, and you found yourself a little shy around the unknown troopers. 

The peace didn’t last long, though. Your first task was to operate the droid lifts, shuttling fully-loaded lifts to deposit their supply crates in the correct areas while dispatching the newly empty ones back to the ship for Delta Squad to restock. It was easy work, and you were grateful for the chance to decompress and brace yourself for anything else you might be assigned to do next. 

But what you hadn’t realized was that your position as the only one outside of the ship left you surrounded by unfamiliar troopers. 

One such trooper laughed far too loudly behind you, knuckles rapping sharply against the top of your helmet in a way that made the HUD give an irritated beep. “What is going on here? I think you could have used a little more time in that growth jar, eh, vod?”

None of that made any sense to you, so you stayed silent, shoulders hunching up toward your ears as you focused on the datapad you were using to direct the droids. 

“Hey, knock it off,” another voice said, and you relaxed slightly at the intervention. “Obviously, he hasn’t learned to talk yet!” 

Uproarious laughter, then you were jostled as someone knocked your arm. It was probably a playful gesture, you knew that. But the interaction had drawn attention, and being surrounded by strangers who were all tall and broad enough to make you feel trapped… Well, it wasn’t doing wonderful things for your peace of mind. 

The sound of your name in a crackling call made you startle. “What’s wrong? Why is your heart rate so high?”

Your HUD identified the voice as belonging to Fixer. “I’m-”

The explanation, whatever it was going to be, cut off as you were jostled again. This time, it was a hard enough hit to push you forward, and you staggered slightly as you tried to keep hold of the datapad without stepping into the path of droids whirring back and forth. 

“Back off!” a harsh voice commanded and you noted with more than a little relief that Sev was closer than any of the other Deltas. Clearly, he had left the ship. 

“Or what?” one trooper called challengingly. “We’re just having some fun.”

“Fun’s over.” You couldn’t see Sev’s face, but you knew exactly how it would look - darkness simmering behind a tightly controlled expression. 

Another trooper scoffed. “You commandos think you’re so much better than us. This one won’t even talk to us.” 

That made you freeze, overcome by a strange mixture of shame and fear. A gauntleted hand entered your frame of vision, wrapping around your wrist and giving a tug. You recognized the jagged lines of red paint and let Sev pull you toward him, stepping free of the group of troopers at the same time. 

“C’mon, vod,” a trooper jeered. With your new perspective, you could see that none of them were wearing helmets, and there was a look of derision on this man’s face. “You’d be better off letting us standard troopers into the commando force. That one’s clearly defective.”

“If you men don’t have anything more important to do than harass my people, I’ll speak to your CO and see what we can figure out,” Boss said firmly, such durasteel in his tone that the troopers straightened, looking uncertain. They didn’t walk away, however, and the reason why was apparent only a moment later when an imposing figure approached you. 

“Commander Wolffe,” Boss greeted with a salute. 

“Sergeant,” the commander returned. Like his men, he wasn’t wearing a helmet. His bare face was stern, the harshness of it accentuated by the wicked-looking scar over one eye. The helmet tucked beneath one arm was painted to look like some kind of animal and his posture was precise. 

Commander Wolffe looked like a man who had little patience, and that impression was only solidified when he asked, “Why are you giving orders to my men?” 

“Permission to speak freely, sir,” Boss requested. With a glance at the men still standing nearby, he added, “And privately.”

Wolffe gave a slow nod, eyes traveling to the men behind you. They watched him eagerly and his voice was sharp as he said, “Dis-missed.”

You had never seen a group disperse so quickly.

“Your men were harassing a member of my squad,” Boss reported, removing his helmet so the other man could see the disapproval on his face. “We can all deal with jokes, but I can’t stand by and let my people be physically pushed around.” 

The commander’s gaze moved to you, critically assessing you in a way that made you want to shift uncomfortably. “Take your helmet off.” 

With your eyes hidden behind plastoid and transparisteel, you had no idea how Boss knew that you had looked at him for confirmation, but you were grateful for his subtle nod anyway. As soon as you had your sergeant’s approval, you broke the seal on your helmet and lifted it free. 

The air on Isiring was cool at best, far from cold, but it felt frigid on your face after being confined in the helmet for so long. You took a deep breath, straightened your spine, and made eye contact with Commander Wolffe. 

“This must be your first mission,” he said cryptically. You had a moment of panic, wondering what you had done so wrong that he knew you were - as Scorch said - a shiny, but a corner of Wolffe’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “Otherwise, I would have heard about this already.”

You looked helplessly at Boss, searching for a hint about what to do next, but he looked as amused as the commander. Without any further leads, you let your manners take over. You held a hand out toward Commander Wolffe, introducing yourself as he shook it with a firm grip. “I’m a specialist assigned to work with Delta Squad.” 

“Commander Wolffe, leader of the 104th battalion,” he offered in return. “We don’t get many females out here, especially not attached to commando squads. If the men get stupid, come find me.” 

“I- will,” you stammered. “Thank you, sir.” 

Wolffe released your hand and nodded at Boss. “Sergeant.” 

“Commander.” 

And then the commander walked away. Your embarrassment, having faded during the semi-normal conversation, flared back to life as you caught sight of the dozen wide-eyed troopers watching you from the edges of the camp. You jammed the helmet back on your head and looked down at the datapad, frantically moving to catch up with the droid workers who were waiting for additional commands. 

“Hey.” 

You glanced up, attention caught by the urgency in Boss’s tone. “Yes?” 

“We have more work to do on the ship, but we’re on the same HUD loop,” he reminded. “If you have any more problems, shout ‘em out. We’ll come take care of it.” 

“Thank you, Sergeant,” you told him, but you felt yourself slump as he walked away. Half an hour on the ground and you’d already needed a rescue and caused a tense interaction between your commanding officer and the leader of the relief camp. It wasn’t an auspicious start.

---

Author's Note - I am so sorry, guys. I knew it had been a while since I last updated, but I missed that it's been EIGHT MONTHS. I post a chapter of a fic every week across my accounts (or, at least, I try), but I don't have a firm schedule about which fics get updated when.

Thank you all for your patience, assuming that anyone is still interested in this story. I can't promise that I'll start posting it super often, but I'm sure I can do better than once a year!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

I want to KISS the person who made this display, that is AMAZING

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Clone Trooper Rambles

Real life. Real situations. Imaginary clone troopers.

Warnings: Mentions of nervous tics, mentions of nervousness, references to clone trooper culture, avoidance, emotions.

---

Tics

I was looking at the screen of my laptop. My stare was hard enough that it was starting to make my eyes ache, but I wasn’t seeing it, not really. It was just a convenient backdrop for the intensity of my thoughts. 

“What is it?” Kix asked. 

I glanced over at him, already frowning. I was pretty sure no one had spoken in at least ten minutes, and I definitely hadn’t. “What is what?” 

“Why are you biting the inside of your cheek?” he asked, pointing vaguely at my face. 

I dropped my hand down into my lap. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Liar,” Crosshair said. 

“You always bite the inside of your lips and cheeks when you’re stressed,” Hound added. “Grizzer does the same thing, except he chews on his leg.”

Grizzer was undeniably adorable, but being compared to a massiff was less than flattering. “I don’t-”

“It’s a nervous tic,” Kix interrupted. “Most people have one. Or a few. Perfectly normal.”

“Then why point it out?” I asked, feeling inexplicably flustered. 

“Because it means you’re nervous about something,” Hound explained helpfully. 

“Or feeling more stress than usual.” Kix shrugged as he delivered that addition, apparently choosing to ignore my gaping. 

“That isn’t-” 

“You always do that,” Crosshair cut in, no remorse in his expression or tone. “Enough that most of us have noticed.” 

The quote about the ‘mortifying ordeal of being known’ went through my mind as I frowned at everyone. “Okay, sure. Let’s say that is a nervous tic of mine. Why haven’t you mentioned it before?” 

“We’re supposed to talk about every weird thing you do?” Crosshair asked loftily. 

“Well… no…” I admittedly slowly. That sounded remarkably close to hell, honestly. 

“You also bite your nails.” 

“Thank you, Hound,” I told him, giving my most sarcastic smile. 

“And there’s the fake smile,” Kix summarized. When he caught the look I was giving him, he sighed. “When you share a face with most of an army, you start to pick up on expressions and behaviors to identify people instead of features. That’s my theory, anyway. It means troopers are observant to a fault, even when we’re around nat-borns instead of other troopers.” 

Irritated as I was with the conclusion, I had to admit that Kix’s theory made sense. Not out loud, though. Instead, I asked, “Was there a point to this exploration of my quirks?” 

“Yeah,” Crosshair said, jerking his chin toward the screen of my computer. “What has you so nervous?” 

“I…” Deep breath, glance at the screen to check that I hadn’t misunderstood. “I got a job offer.”

“That’s great!” Kix cheered.

“Congratulations!” Hound told me with a broad smile.

“Why are you nervous about that?” Crosshair asked. 

At the same time, Kix’s smile turned to a frown. “Have you told the captain yet?” 

“No.”

“There it is,” Hound muttered.

I was feeling defensive all of a sudden. “Hang on, I just got the email. How would I have already told him?” 

Three fingers pointing at wrist and forearm comlinks were held up almost simultaneously and I sighed. “Okay, sure. I’ll tell him, obviously, but I want to do it in my own time.”

“What are you waiting for?” Kix asked. “Are you still trying to decide if you want to accept the job?”

“No, I’m taking it,” I dismissed immediately. “I agonized over whether I was going to apply, remember? That was when I did the soul-searching and decision-making. This is what I ultimately decided on doing, and I’m not going to turn down the thing I decided to do. That doesn’t make sense.”

“Add it to the list,” Crosshair muttered.

“If you know you’re going to take the job, why are you hesitating?” Hound asked, leaning his elbow on his helmet where it rested on the floor beside him. “You already did the part that makes most people nervous.” 

“This is… the last moment before- Well, before everything changes,” I explained haltingly. It wasn’t incredibly clear as explanations went, but it was the best I could offer. “Right now, I’m balancing on the edge between life going on as it has and it changing completely. I already decided that I don’t want things to stay the same, but I… I want to exist in this moment for a little while longer. Give myself the opportunity to look back before I close the door.” 

“Take as long as you need,” Rex said kindly. 

I swore as everyone else saluted. “How much did you hear?” 

“Everything,” Rex admitted with a shrug. “I keep telling you that you should install an alarm system.” 

“No alarm system on the planet will go off when someone steps through a door!” I argued. 

“Congratulations,” he said instead of continuing the argument.

I deflated. “Thank you. I just need a little time before I get back to them. As you know from sneaking around.”

“When I said you should take your time, I meant it,” Rex told me, gaze steady. “They’re getting an excellent worker with the brains to keep up with whatever they throw your way. They’ll wait for an answer just hoping it will be a yes.”

As emotionally fragile as I was at the moment, my eyes got a little watery at that quiet encouragement. 

“Now look what you did!” Hound said, scrambling to his feet. 

Crosshair frowned harshly at me. “Stop that right now.” 

My laugh was a little shaky, but I blinked the worst of it away. 

Kix shook his head. “I think you should just let it out.” 

“No,” I refused, echoed in unison by the other three troopers. I made a face at them. “I think that was enough of a moment after all. Things are going to change, but I’m okay with that. I think I’m ready.”

---

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Author's Note: I know I talk a lot about how out-of-order these are posted, but I have been working this job for over a year. Just in case that offers some additional perspective!

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

Gar Cyare Chapter Fourteen

You and Alpha explore Tipoca City under lockdown.

Word Count: 6,000

Warnings: Descriptions of a city under lockdown, mentions of the previous attack on Kamino, mentions of ambiguous threats, nightmares.

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Aran (Guard)

Troopers were everywhere.

Obviously, Kamino had never suffered a lack of troopers, but they tended to be mostly cadets. Sure, there were a few adults present - personnel, Jedi, instructors, ARCs in training - but most of them were cadets. 

Now, the recalled troops filled out the ranks until the hallways and common spaces of Kamino seemed ready to burst with troopers. 

When you and Alpha had finally left your office, you found it difficult to focus on anything other than your promise to help the Null troopers. If they found a way to decipher the location of Ko Sai’s copy of her notes, you would locate and transmit them. 

Your agreement wasn’t entirely out of self-preservation, either. You were invested in this now, though you didn’t know exactly what the unusual troopers intended to do with all of that genetic research. Surely Alpha would have stopped you if they meant to do something that would actively harm the galaxy as a whole. 

It was an uneasy state of mind, made worse by the underlying tension of Tipoca City. More than a full day had passed since Dengar fled the planet, and there had been no sign of Separatist ships, but no one seemed willing to lower their guard. 

When you and Alpha reached the network of rooms surrounding the original Fett genetic sample, you found a familiar face waiting for you. 

“Captain Alpha-17, sir!” Hunter greeted, snapping a salute. The motion drew attention to the blaster at his side, counterbalanced by a sheathed vibroblade strapped to his other hip.

“Hunter,” Alpha returned with a nod. “What are you doing here?” 

“You’re not on your way to the medbay, are you?” you asked, worried.

“No, everyone is fine. We’re on patrol,” Hunter explained, sounding a little confused by it himself. “The kaminii ordered us to watch out for the sample. I guess they heard about us doing it during the last attack.” 

“Hunter, the motion sensors indicate that you have not proceeded with your patrol as planned,” a voice said, sounding very small and flat through the minuscule speaker of Hunter’s vambrace comlink. “Report.” 

“Copy,” Hunter replied, lifting his forearm to his mouth. “Found some friendlies.” 

“Slacking, then,” Crosshair said sourly, slouching through the door. He had a blaster by his side and a sniper rifle slung back to rest against his shoulder. When he saw you and Alpha, his expression eased slightly, but he didn’t smile. Instead, he offered a shallow nod in greeting. 

“Did the Kaminoans say anything about why they pulled you guys for patrol duty?” you asked. 

Hunter shook his head. “They didn’t give any kind of reason. They give orders and we’re expected to follow ‘em.” 

“Speaking of,” Crosshair said, glancing around. “I don’t want to deal with the headache if they find out we’re talking instead of guarding the sample.”

Alpha snorted. “Unless the clankers have figured out stealth, I wouldn’t count on them attacking anytime soon. We haven’t seen as much as a ship in orbit. Might as well get comfortable.” 

“Alpha,” you chided. “They just want to do a good job.” 

Alpha’s gaze softened as he looked down at you. “Sure, neverd’ika. Just remember, not everyone has your overdeveloped work ethic.” 

You pursed your lips at him, trying to look disgruntled while also stifling a laugh. “Well, I think they’re doing a wonderful job.” 

“Strictly speaking, we haven’t done anything yet,” Tech pointed out, rounding the corner. “The area has been quiet.” 

“Any hits on the motion sensors?” Hunter asked. 

“Negative.” 

“None of the grenades have gone off,” Wrecker said sadly, entering the room from the opposite direction as Tech had. “That means no intruders.” 

“You set grenades?” you asked, horrified. 

Alpha looked grave. “You boys should know better than to set those kinds of traps in a place where troopers and civilians are actively working.” 

“We did not set them recklessly,” Tech countered. “They are calibrated to pick up on the exact footstep tempo of a B-1 battle droid’s marching speed.”

“Even then, they’re set on an extended timer,” Crosshair told you. “If they’re triggered, the area’s holofeeds transmit to our comlinks and we can verify that there are enemy insurgents before they detonate.”  

Alpha gave a skeptical hum. 

“We’d better get back to our guard rotation,” Hunter said hurriedly. “Just in case the Seppie idea of stealth involves sending in another lone assassin.” 

You frowned. “This could go on for a while. If the Kaminoans don’t send anyone to relieve you, call me. Okay?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Hunter agreed with a respectful salute. 

“Did those friends of yours ever find you?” Wrecker asked before he left. 

“Friends?” you asked. 

“Who was asking you about us?” Alpha growled. 

Wrecker blinked in confusion. “There was a group of troopers. They were talking about how they were with you when you found the transmission station. Sergeant… Niner? I think?” 

Alpha’s expression relaxed, which made you relax as well. “Yes, Niner. He’s the leader of Omega Squad, who was with me on the station. Did he say what he needed?” 

“Didn’t say anything to us at all,” Crosshair said. “They were talking when they came through here. They have a patrol somewhere in the city.” 

Alpha walked away without another word. You offered a smile to the kids. “Thank you for letting us know.” 

As you hurried off behind Alpha, your smile flickered. You still thought of the Bad Batch as kids - they were still painfully young, in your eyes - but you couldn’t ignore the changes that they were undergoing. All of them had grown taller and leaner. Wrecker had put on more muscle while Hunter and Crosshair’s faces had narrowed as they lost baby fat. Tech was almost as tall as Wrecker and nearly as slender as Crosshair. You had seen the hint of stubble on their faces after a long day. 

They were growing up. It was far better than the alternative, but it still made you sad. 

“Where are we going?” you asked when you finally caught up with Alpha. 

He glanced back as if he were surprised that you were still behind him. “To find Omega Squad. If Niner is looking for me, he might have some additional information about the transmission station.” 

“How do we find them?” 

“Comms are down,” Alpha reported. You glanced down at your comlink, surprised to see that he was right. “But if I ask the right people, I’ll find out where they are.” 

“Who are the right people?” you asked. You had reached a far more populated area of Tipoca City by that point, and you rose onto your tiptoes to stare around the space. 

“Colt or the General would be a good start,” he mused. “But you don’t have to wait around. Head back to your quarters.” 

“Alpha, it’s one in the afternoon.”

He nodded. “You’re right. I’ll bring you some lunch after I talk with Niner.” 

You rested your hands on your hips. “Why are you trying to keep me out of your conversation with Niner? What’s really going on?” 

It took Alpha a moment to answer. “I thought I was the suspicious one.” 

The joke was a little comfort, but you weren’t going to let it mollify you. “I’ll stop being suspicious when you stop being weird. Talk to me.” 

Alpha sighed, glancing around the room to avoid meeting your eyes. “I’m not being-” 

“I thought we were a team,” you interrupted, even your quiet voice halting him mid-sentence. 

“Neverd’ika, we’re always a team,” Alpha assured you. “We just need to make adjustments based on who we’re playing against. And when the other team has jetiise, I want you to be safe.” 

“Not Jedi,” you told him. “Dark-siders. Sith.”

Alpha waved his hand dismissively. “Makes no difference to Mandos. A saber is a saber, and anyone carrying one is an enemy.” 

“No one here has a lightsaber other than General Ti,” you countered. “I’m not staying in my room. Didn’t we talk about this earlier? I want to help. I can help.” 

The weight of Alpha’s gaze was heavy as he studied your expression. At last, he sighed through his nose and nodded. “Come on, then.” 

Colt was in the middle of the busiest section of the city. He was personally checking the credentials of every ship that landed, then redirecting the squads to where they could best serve the defense efforts. When Alpha was finally able to talk to him, Colt directed the two of you to the perimeter of the main Tipoca City stilt. 

You glanced up at Alpha as you walked to find Colt. “How did you avoid being assigned somewhere? If every soldier is needed and you’re ARC-trainer qualified, I would have assumed they’d put you on patrol somewhere, if not doing what Colt is doing now.” 

Alpha smirked down at you. “Tryin’ to get rid of me, little one?” 

“Never,” you assured with a smile. “Just trying to figure out the logic here.” 

“Dunno if ‘logic’ is ever a term you can apply to a defense zone,” Alpha mused, “but I was assigned a job. Guarding you.” 

“Me?” If you frowned any harder, you wouldn’t be able to see past your eyebrows, but you couldn’t help it. “Why would you need to guard me? Am I under some specific threat no one has told me about? Other than the Null troopers, of course.” 

“Not guarding you against others,” Alpha clarified. “Guarding Tipoca City from you.” 

He knew that was going to create other questions. You could see the hint of a smile on his face as he relished the way you would have to ask for clarification. You only lasted a few seconds before you gave in. “What is that supposed to mean?” 

Alpha shrugged. “Means the kaminii don’t trust you. They think you had something to do with the data leak.” 

“I didn’t!” 

He gave you a look. “You know that and I know that, but the long-necks don’t want to think they’ve been wrong about you this whole time. It’s easier to believe that you’re secretly feeding information to an outside source than that their private files were sliced and altered. They’re too proud to admit the truth.”

“The general will vouch for me, and so will Colt,” you insisted. “They brought me into the investigation, not the other way around. There’s no way I could have plotted all of this out.” 

“They don’t like the general any more than they like you, maybe less. And they’ll assume you tricked Colt.” Alpha gave you a sidelong look. “Besides, it’s a good thing. I’ve been assigned to stay close to you and monitor your movements. Kaminii-sanctioned time to spend together.” 

You pouted for a moment, stung by the allegations of disloyalty that seemed to follow you everywhere. But then you realized that you could twist Alpha’s explanation to your benefit, so you did your best to let the hurt and irritation roll off of you. 

“Then it sounds like I can’t wait in my quarters while you speak with Niner.” You couldn’t help but smile at the dark expression Alpha was wearing. “You’re obliged to keep me with you at all times. You know, to keep up the ruse for the Kaminoans.” 

“Neatly done, neverd’ika,” Alpha admitted grudgingly. “But if I tell you to go inside, I need to know you’ll listen to me.” 

“Inside?” you echoed. “Does that mean we’re going outside?” 

He gave you a bemused look. “What did you think ‘perimeter’ meant?” 

You were working on a sarcastic reply to that when Alpha threw open the door you had come up to. He ushered you through and stepped out behind you as you took in the sight. 

You were on a walkway that bordered the edge of the stilt-city. It had to have been immeasurably long to have wrapped the entire way around, but that was presumably possible. Thankfully, the walkway wasn’t literally at the edge - you doubted you could have handled it if you suddenly found yourself suspended thousands of feet above the crashing waves. Instead, it lined the top of the city, placed at the edge where it was thinnest, but still firmly on the ‘ground’. 

The walkway was wide enough for three humans to walk side-by-side. If your mental estimations were correct, that meant roughly two Kaminoans could have done the same. There was a border fence along the outer wall, protecting guards from the precipitous drop, but letting them clearly see the danger they were in. 

You were staring down at that drop before you knew it, clutching the fence like you were in danger of falling over it if you let go. Alpha stepped to the fence beside you, glancing over with an expression of mingled concern and amusement. 

“Didn’t think you were afraid of heights.” 

You shook your head slowly, eyes still fixed on the waves. “I’m not. It’s just… I think there’s a certain amount of self-preservation in being wary around really high places.” 

Alpha didn’t have a response for that. 

It was a typically gray day on Kamino, but you were utterly relieved that it wasn’t raining. The clouds were high in the atmosphere, and incoming ships would be spotted long before they reached any of Kamino’s landing pads. The air was clear and free of fog, and it seemed like you could see to the very ends of the planet. The steely waves below you crashed furiously, and the winds vacillated between whipping around you and leaving you in peaceful quiet. 

“I can’t hear the ocean,” you mused to yourself. 

Since you had said it in a moment when the winds were quiet, Alpha overheard. “We’re much further up than when we’re on the lower balconies. Each of the stilt-cities is a half-dozen levels tall. And those are kaminii levels. You won’t be able to hear the waves, not unless there’s a bad storm.” 

“Stay right there!” a modulated voice barked. “Identify yourselves!” 

Alpha was in full armor other than his helmet, so that level of vigilance seemed a bit excessive, but you understood that there was a threat of internal betrayal. You carefully kept your hands on the fence and your head as still as possible, trying to glance over with just your eyes to see the trooper who had spoken. 

Alpha had no such qualms about moving. He kept his body still, but turned his head to direct a dry look at the trooper. “Captain Alpha-17.”

There was the distinct sound of a weapon being holstered. “Sorry, Captain.” 

A hand tapped your waist and you released the fence. Alpha nodded toward the trooper. “It’s okay, neverd’ika. Atin’s just a little ulyc. He knows me.” 

“Atin,” you repeated nervously, turning to face the trooper. It was a bit of a shock to see him wearing armor that was a matte black instead of the standard white plastoid, but you pushed that aside easily enough. He was fully armored, including a helmet. It was impossible to know just where he was looking, but his visor seemed to be fixed on you, so you offered a smile. “Nice to meet you, Atin. You were one of the troopers who found the transmission station with Alpha?” 

There was a short pause - nothing obvious, but enough for you to pick up on. “Yes, ma’am. I’m part of Omega Squad, the ones tasked with accompanying the captain.” 

“Thank you for bringing him back safely.” 

Alpha snorted loud enough to be heard over the wind. “Wasn’t much danger there. Especially nothing I couldn’t handle.” 

“Still, I’m glad you would have had backup if there was something,” you told him. 

Alpha didn’t smile, but his eyes were warm as he gave you a short nod. 

Atin cleared his throat. “Did you need something, sir? Has there been any news?” 

“No news,” Alpha refuted. “Unless there’s something you boys need to tell me? I heard Niner was looking for me.” 

“Sarge?” Atin shrugged. “He was wondering where you were, but I don’t think he needed anything specific. I’ll check, though.” 

Atin strode purposefully down the walkway until he was almost out of sight behind the support pillars and various antennae lining the roofs of the stilt-city. He made a complicated series of gestures to someone you couldn’t see, then came back. 

“Comms are back up if you hadn’t heard,” he told Alpha. “But they’re monitored so heavily that there’s a delay. And we’re requested to keep traffic to a minimum, so the messenger systems put in place by Commander Colt are still the primary method of communicating information.” 

Alpha nodded thoughtfully. “How many men did Colt put out here?” 

“Each stilt gets fifty troopers,” Atin listed, “plus fifty grown cadets to space out the ranks. There are a few higher-trained troopers floating between patrols to keep an eye on things, too.”

“So a hundred troopers per stilt, plus a few extras.” Alpha considered that for a moment. “What’s the assignment?” 

“Keep watch on the skies,” Atin said with a shrug. He glanced out over the water again. “Good visibility today.” 

You nodded, feeling a little awkward when both men looked at you. “I was just thinking that it’s good the cloud cover isn’t low today. More warning for incoming transports, and less chance of anyone slipping on the walkways.”

The slightest smile curved Alpha’s lips as he inclined his head. “Fair point. The atmospheric monitoring systems should warn about any unauthorized ships coming in, but… If the Seppies managed to breach Kamino’s databases, there’s a chance we can’t trust any security but ourselves.” 

Atin glanced at Alpha. “Uncomfortable thought.”

“That’s the bad part about automation.” Alpha rested his hands casually over the hilts of the blasters on his hips. “All of it can be sliced. Trustworthiness comes down to sentients whose loyalty you can trust.” 

“That’s a shorter list every day,” a new voice said. 

You all turned to find another trooper in black armor approaching, with two more following closely behind. 

“Niner,” Alpha greeted simply. “Heard you might have been looking for me.” 

“Not really,” Niner said. “Just wondering why they wouldn’t use the trooper who trains the ARCs. Now I think I see why.” 

You stiffened slightly at Niner’s nod in your direction. 

To your surprise, Alpha didn’t seem bothered by the veiled accusation. “You know how the kaminii are with outsiders. I’m surprised they’re letting Colt do anything other than trail around behind General Ti.” 

There was a beat of quiet, broken by Niner’s soft chuckle. “True. While you’re here, have you heard anything new about the transmission station? We’ve only heard rumors. Something about a beroya disguised as an instructor.” 

“I don’t know much about it myself,” Alpha admitted, stepping aside so they could all see you more clearly. “But the administrator might be able to tell us more.” 

You blinked blankly at him for a second before you collected yourself. “Yes, there was a bounty hunter here posing as an instructor. General Ti figured out that there was an information leak, but the Kaminoans said that their instructors had all been cleared. They claimed that their databases were incorruptible. Apparently, they weren’t.” 

“What kind of information do they think the beroya got?” 

“Blueprints, training schedules, numbers of cadets per class,” you listed. “Some stuff that doesn’t matter very much and some stuff that really does.” 

“All of it matters,” Alpha said darkly. “Especially blueprints. That means whoever it is plans to infiltrate this place at some point.” 

One of the troopers who hadn’t spoken yet shifted his weight slightly. “And that they don’t want to be caught when they do.” 

Alpha glanced over. “That’s a good point, Fi. You sure you don’t want to throw a joke into it to save time?” 

Fi shook his head. You couldn’t see his expression through his helmet, but you could hear the grin in his voice as he said, “A joke should always get to shine on its own, sir.” 

A deep sigh was the only response he got. 

“Do they know how much information the beroya got?” Niner asked. To your surprise, he seemed to be directing the question at you. 

“Not yet,” you told him. “The Kaminoans have locked down all data access terminals while they do a full system audit. Most passwords have been locked out.” 

“What about slicing in?” Atin asked. 

Alpha shook his head. “Not a good idea.”

“Some of the data is encrypted in a way that deletes it if an outside person tries to gain access,” you explained. “And it’s impossible to tell what is set for deletion until you’ve already activated the system. Hopefully, that’s well-known enough to cut down on anyone trying to infiltrate to slice in.” 

“I didn’t know it,” Fi pointed out. 

“Maybe anyone trying to steal kaminii secrets will be better informed than you, Fi,” the last trooper pointed out. “They probably-”

“Hold on, Darman,” Niner ordered. “Incoming.” 

You turned to look in the direction of Niner’s nod, and a beaming smile broke across your face almost immediately. “Neyo!” 

Neyo was wearing his unique helmet, but he pulled it off as he approached. He nodded at Alpha, then at you. “Captain. Administrator.” 

“How are you, Neyo?” you asked, searching his face. “How have things been since you left here?” 

“I’ve only been gone a few weeks,” he countered. 

Alpha chuckled. “You didn’t make it out of here for long, vod.”

You huffed at them both. “It’s been months!”

“Five weeks,” Neyo informed you. 

“Fine, it’s only been a few weeks,” you conceded, crossing your arms. “I still missed you. Have you been okay?” 

Neyo’s expression softened. “I’m fine. A couple good missions and one rough one. Still less stress than being around you and the captain.” 

You laughed as Alpha said something uncomplimentary in Mando’a. Neyo grinned. “How are the new ARC trainees?” 

“They’re just as hopeless as your group was,” Alpha grumbled. 

“Alpha!” you chided. “They’re interesting. Two of them are from the same batch, which is different. Fives is a troublemaker, but he’s so funny! Echo’s just as mischievous, but such a sweetheart that you can’t hold it against him.”

“I’m sure the captain does his best,” Neyo said, glancing past you. “You haven’t forgotten about us, have you? None of us have gotten many messages on our comms.” 

“I don’t want to put you in danger,” you admitted. “But I have sent a few messages.”

“I’m just giving you some osik.” Neyo smirked. “By Drift’s request.” 

“Of course,” Alpha said with a sigh. 

“How is Drift?” you asked, ignoring Alpha. “How is everyone? It seems like you might have been in contact more recently than I have.” 

“I’d be happy to catch you up on everything that’s going on, but I need to get these men back to their posts,” Neyo told you, nodding at the members of Omega Squad. “Besides, I’ve heard that Limit is looking for you. I wouldn’t want him to track me down.” 

“Fair enough,” you agreed, “but I want to catch up before you leave Kamino again!” 

“I can make that happen.” Neyo looked at you oddly for a moment. Quietly enough that Omega Squad would struggle to hear, he said, “You can hug me if you want.” 

You struggled not to laugh aloud with delight. A hug from Neyo that he had basically initiated? You accepted in an instant, wrapping him in as tight a hug as you could manage. He chuckled, patting your back a few times. 

When you pulled away, you smiled up at him. “It was so great to see you! I’m going to hold you to talking later. I want to hear everything!” 

“Deal,” Neyo agreed. 

“Let’s go find Limit,” Alpha suggested. He nodded at the others. “Neyo. Omega. Ordo.” 

You tried to turn, but Alpha’s grip was strong on your shoulder as he led you back over toward an entrance. You had walked enough with Atin and Neyo that you ended up using a different door back into the stilt-city, but you recognized the area as being only slightly further down. 

Before you stepped inside, you glanced back to call, “Nice to meet you, Omega Squad!”

When you were inside the stilt-city, you glanced up at Alpha. “How long was Ordo standing there?” 

“Long enough to see that you have friends here,” he said vaguely. 

You deflated a bit. “Is that why Neyo let me hug him? As some way of protecting me? Did you ask him to?” 

“I let a few people know to be on the lookout for you and the Nulls,” Alpha hedged. When you deflated, he hurried to add, “But the hug? I think Neyo may have just wanted to. There were other ways he could have shown closeness without it if he was uncomfortable.”

That made you smile all the way to the medbay. 

When you walked through the medbay doors, medical supplies were scattered all across the room, stacked in odd places. The cabinets where they usually sat were open and half-empty. It was a mess. You peered around the room, but Limit was nowhere to be seen. 

“Limit?” you called. Your voice rose in volume and pitch when you didn’t hear any response. “Limit?!” 

“Breathe, little one,” Alpha encouraged, squeezing your hand. “I don’t see any signs of struggle.” 

You gave him an incredulous look. “Really? How can you tell past the entire contents of the medbay lying on the ground?” 

He chuckled. “Mir’sheb.”

“No cur-cursing in my medbay,” Limit chided, emerging from a side door. 

“Limit!” you greeted in a rush. “What’s going on? Where were you? Is everything okay?” 

“Everything is- is fine,” he assured you. The deep shadows under his eyes didn’t make it overly believable. “Just reorganizing.” 

“See, neverd’ika?” Alpha asked. “He’s fine.” 

You made a skeptical noise. “And how long have you been reorganizing? Because Colt said that you were doing this yesterday. It’s been almost a full day since then. Have you left the medbay today?” 

“...Yes.” 

“Limit.”

He sighed, giving you a mournful look. “There’s a- There’s a lot to do. And the Kaminoans have agreed… They’re letting me resup- supply. I can get th-this place back on track.” 

“But that means you have to do a full inventory,” you summarized. Limit nodded. You cracked your knuckles. “Okay, what’s left to do? I’ll need a datapad or a medsupply counter, whichever you’re not using.” 

“You don’t n-need to…” 

“Give it up, Limit,” Alpha advised. “She’s on a tear today.” 

When Limit sighed, you beamed. That was the sound of someone who knew how serious you were about helping. 

“I still need some crates-” Limit started. 

You plucked the datapad from his hands, scanning over the list to get an idea of whatever inventory system he was using. “Alpha will get them.”

Alpha chuckled behind you. “So this is how natties feel about being conscripted…”

He had already turned to retrieve the crates Limit needed, so he missed the face you made at him. You felt better, anyway. 

When he was gone, Limit asked, “How are you ha-handling the lockdown?” 

You gingerly extricated yourself from the cabinet so you didn’t bump your head and blinked at him. “Colt asked the same thing last night. I’m fine! Does everyone think I’m going to start panicking?”

“You were injured la- last time there was a s-security threat,” Limit reminded, “but I’m actually more - more concerned about the captain.” 

“Alpha?” You frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“You were in bad sha- shape during the Separatist invasion, so I’m not- I’m … I’m not sure how much you rem-ember,” Limit started. 

“Bits and pieces, really,” you told him. There were theories that you would regain some memories with time, but no such luck.

“The woman who… who tor-tured Alpha w-was here.” Limit had put aside the inventory altogether, his full attention fixed on you. “She threatened him. Threatened y-you. He probably hasn’t talked… talked about it much.”

“No, he’s never said anything.” Even as the words left you, a dozen vague allusions and half-started stories sprang to mind. “Nothing direct, anyway. Is there-? Do you know if there’s any way I can help him?” 

Limit shrugged. “He hasn’t said any- anything direct to me, either. I’d s-say having you around makes hi- makes him feel a little better. Just be pa-patient if he’s more irritable or protective than usual. That w-will probably be how it prese- pre- how it manifests.”

“Ill keep an eye out for that, definitely,” you agreed. “Do you know if he’s talked to anyone?” 

“I don’t th-think so.” Limit frowned. “Not- not that he would have t-told me if he had.”

“I hope you don’t think that he doesn’t trust you-” you started, but Limit shook his head. 

“The cap- captain trusts me as much as he… as he trusts anyone. But if he told some- someone about it, it w-would have been you.”

You were touched by that, but you had to wrangle your emotions back under control quickly. Alpha came back inside and set to work on the inventory, and there wasn’t much you could do beyond help him. 

The night, the two of you retreated to the privacy of your quarters. The officers’ hall was much quieter - so much so that you suspected that the walls were literally thicker. You changed quickly, flopping onto the bed as soon as possible. You were exhausted after spending so much of your day trekking back and forth across Kamino, but it had left you feeling incredibly productive. 

Alpha was sitting at your desk, making notes in a datapad he had been carrying around. You hadn’t lasted very long before you asked what it was for. He had explained that Colt suggested the officers make notes on who they saw where throughout the lockdown. That could help narrow down who might be responsible for any unauthorized transmissions. 

When you had asked if he made notations about the Nulls, Alpha had replied with a smug confirmation. 

You watched him in the warm silence of the desk lamp. The light silhouetted him gold, as if he had been gilded into a moving piece of art. You wondered if he would blush if you told him that. Then you wondered why he had been sitting, frozen, for far long that he needed to write down who he had seen and where.

“Alpha?” you asked softly. Alpha controlled his movements well, but you still caught the edge of a flinch at the sound of your voice. “Are you okay?” 

“Of course, neverd’ika,” he assured you, a half-second too late. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“I’ve been thinking about the last attack,” you admitted. “It’s been on my mind all day.” 

Alpha stood quickly, and you almost flinched. “Don’t worry about that. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. No matter what- Just… go to sleep, little one.” 

And then he disappeared into the refresher, leaving you blinking in confusion. Of all the ways you expected that conversation to go, being ordered off to bed like a child hadn’t been among them. 

Despite your irritation, you must have fallen asleep, because you woke up tucked between your sheets, blinking confusedly into the darkness. An instant later, you came to full awareness of what had woken you up: Alpha was muttering and thrashing beside you. 

You had never seen him have a nightmare, though you knew he had them occasionally. He had talked you through how to handle the possibility a half-dozen times, but your hand still hovered over his shoulder for a long moment before you remembered his warnings. 

You retreated from the bed, rounding to his side. You were close, but still out of his arms’ reach when you put on your most soothing voice. “Alpha. Alpha, you’re having a nightmare. Alpha, you need to wake up.” 

The repetition of his name and the entreaties to wake up didn’t seem to affect him at all. With a grimace, you drew to your full height, took a deep breath, and snapped, “Captain Alpha-17!”

Alpha sat upright in the bed, doing his best to be at full attention even while he wasn’t standing. His chest heaved with desperate breaths and you could see beads of sweat glistening on his tan skin. 

His expression was blank at first, but slowly relaxed into one of mild confusion. The moment his personality bloomed in his eyes, Alpha looked around. You knew he was searching for you, and you carefully shifted your weight so he could hear you. “Am I okay to get closer now?” 

Alpha’s mouth opened, but all that emerged was a weak whisper. He settled for a nod. You sat on the bed, and Alpha folded his legs to make room for you. He seemed unsettled by your close study of him, but his breathing slowed and the tension slowly drained from his torso. That was enough for you, at least until he decided he wanted to talk about it. 

“How bad?” he rasped eventually. 

You shook your head slowly. “Not very. I woke up just before I got you up. You were mostly restless. A little talking, but nothing I could hear clearly. How do you feel?” 

“Fine,” he brushed off. He glanced down at the bed, smiling wryly. “Sweaty.” 

You stood, beckoning for him to do the same. “Go take a quick shower. I’ll change the sheets.” 

Alpha hesitated. “You sure, neverd’ika? I can help.” 

“It’s fine.” Alpha grabbed a new pair of pajama pants and headed for the ‘fresher, but halted the moment you spoke again: “I wish you would trust me to help you, Alpha. I can’t do that if you won’t talk to me.” 

With a ducked head, Alpha stepped into the refresher, closing the door behind him. 

By the time you had stripped the sheets from the bed and replaced them with a new set, Alpha had finished his shower. When you settled onto your pillow, Alpha was climbing into the other side of the bed. 

With the lights off, the two of you lay in the silent darkness for long enough that you wondered whether either of you would go back to sleep at all. 

Alpha turned toward you - you couldn’t see it, but you heard the sound. “I do trust you.” 

Guilt and regret twisted in your stomach. “I know.” 

You slid your hand across the surface of the bed, blindly searching for his. At the same moment, Alpha’s fingers collided with yours as he felt around for your hand. You shared a quiet chuckle as you held hands in the darkness. 

“I don’t like this,” Alpha said eventually. “I can handle… being in danger. It’s all I’ve ever known. But you- I can’t think straight when you’re at risk. Sometimes I think that’s all the galaxy could do to hurt me. You’re the only good thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t accept the idea that something could happen to you, something I couldn’t stop or kill.” 

He squeezed your hand at the end of his admission and you smiled up at the ceiling. “Thank you.” 

A breathy laugh shuddered from Alpha’s lips. “Don’t thank me, neverd’ika. I was half a step away from locking you in your quarters all day.” 

“I’m a little surprised you didn’t,” you admitted. “That’s why I left here before you this morning.” 

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” he replied, amused. “I could throw you over my shoulder and haul you back here from anywhere in the city. We both know that.” 

You snorted, squeezing his hand back. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m quick.”

The conversation faded after that. Alpha fell into sleep faster than you could remember him doing in the past, his hand carefully cradling yours until he had fully drifted off. 

You didn’t last much longer, but you did your best to commit every detail of the moment into your memory. Despite the ongoing threat of invasion, this time with Alpha was tantalizingly close to perfection.

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Author's Note - So. I'll admit that I don't love this chapter. I wanted to show a little bit about how Kamino was handling things this time around, but I know it felt like a lot of meandering across the city. I promise, the narrative gets tighter from here. Thank you for reading anyway!

For those of you who don't read my non-fic posts, I've been sick the entire month of July. I'm getting better now, but I was sick enough that it severely impacted the amount of writing I've done. I try to write a few chapters ahead so I can go back and connect some dots before things get posted, so missing those few weeks of writing is a disappointingly big deal. I'm trying to post a chapter of this fic every month, but I may have to rotate some things around in the coming months, depending on how much recovery work I can do in the next week or two.

Tl;dr - got sick, couldn't write, posting schedule may be a little funky for the next month or two. But I promise, I'm not abandoning this story and I don't have another year-long hiatus planned.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you as soon as I can with another chapter!