For The Prompts, If You're Still Doing Those, Maybe 39 With Rex?

“I’m not technically on leave.” Rex says, shifting uncontrollably on his feet, “Im just waiting for Anakin to return from his meeting with the Chancellor.”

“You totally have time to hang out with us then!” Cordé replies excitedly, and something about her brilliant smile makes him slightly nervous.

“Well-“ Rex begins, but Sabé cuts him off.

“Oh come on, live a little,” Sabé says, pushing his shoulder, “A little rebellion is good for you, healthy even.” Her tone is sincere, but there’s a wicked grin across her face and a glint in her eyes.

“Fine.” Rex caves, “but if General Skywalker comms me, we leave right away.”

“How about right away-ish?”

-The Right Hands of Amidala, a sequel to Right Hand of the Republic

I’m finally working on this again bc I’ve got too many good Rex jokes and I’m giving them to Sabé-

Character development moment for both Anakin and Ahsoka: imagine Ahsoka is heading one small leg of a mission on her own, with Rex as her second while Anakin is on the other side of the planet managing another part. Disaster strikes. Ahsoka and her men are attacked on a cliff. She survives, but Rex is severely injured and her other men are dead. This is early enough in the war that Ahsoka's more inexperienced than not, and the inability to get to safety + lack of sleep + lack of food + worry for Rex have her panicking

So she comms Anakin, who despite the distance between them is able to step up as a master and get her to calm down and think before she breaks down. I have some rough dialogue worked out of when Ahsoka first comms Anakin after the dust settles and she realizes Rex may die

Ahsoka's speaking in half sentences because adrenaline is scrambling her brain. Anakin asks what's wrong, think they've been ambushed, and she says "no, I'm digging him out. I'm digging Rex out" and then she's able to explain what happened

She's a little banged up but okay because she was able to jump away (which she feels guilty for) but shes having problems sensing her other men in the force but she knows at least one has to be alive. So anakin has to not force himself to cross an entire planet to get to his Padawan and captain. He asks Ahsoka is rex is free, she says mostly. He tells her she can use the force to clear the rocks away, she keeps saying she can't, he says something along the lines of Visualizing scooping the rocks up with her hands rather than trying to yank them off the top, and it works. The entire time he's walking her through this, he's remaining entirely calm even though visibly he's extremely tense.

An earlier version of Anakin would have been Moving mountains to get to them. By the time Ahsoka is done moving the rocks, everyone else is dead. This mission is taking a toll on her. She's trying to check Rexs vital signs but he's unconscious and she doesn't know if it's safe to move him due to the risk of spinal cord injuries. Her voice sounds wobbly when she says "I don't know what to do" and Anakin has to firmly cut her off and offer a solution: lay both her hands on Rex and check if she can feel his injuries through the Force. It's a Force healing technique that beginners can Learn easily enough. Rex wakes up though and says that he can still wiggle his toes, legs, arms, and hands, but that other things are definitely wrong. He more than likely has a concussion and internal damaging, so he still can't be moved. Anakin asks Ahsoka what she thinks She's meant to do next. She calls a medevac, which is almost a blow to her pride because she'd been hoping that she would solve the problem and save the day the way she's seen anakin do a dozen times by now.

Okay, so my one-shot might not be a one-shot anymore

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

The first time Obi-Wan Kenobi sees CT-7567, he's balanced on Commander Wolffe's hip like he belongs there, the cadet pointing to a holographic map and giving intel about certain sections of Tipoca City. It was still alarming to hear the voice of a soldier come from the body of a child, and this one was screaming loss hurt anger into the Force that made his heart ache. Wolffe is relaying such intel to his troopers down on Kamino, and it takes a moment to register the Jedi had joined them with his ever-present shadow behind him.

"General, Cody." He nods, and the cadet looks up in curiosity. Kenobi could feel Cody suddenly radiate an innate need to protect this child, and knows things are about to become interesting. "The kih'vod has been helping us with some of the last strongholds."

"Very well, please continue...?"

"CT-7567." The cadet responds, and Kenobi wonders what name he'll be given one day. Cody, who usually stuck to his Jedi's side like glue, instead moved to stand beside Wolffe, who hands the cadet over without a moment's hesitation. In turn, Cody adjusts so 7567 is on his hip now, and the cadet is eyeing his golden armor with a dozen awed questions. The older clone just gives him a soft look, and 7567 turns to keep explaining the weaknesses that could be accessed, as gathering up Lama Su and his remaining doctors was critical for a complete takeover. He apparently had been good at sneaking around with his batchmates, and true to fashion, Lama Su is dismayed to find his secure bunker was quite the opposite. The cheers of thousands of clones rise up when he's secured, and Kamino was theirs, theirs to do with what they wanted, what they should have been able to.

Make it a home, rather than a place to suffer and be stifled.

7567 has no more tears to shed, watching through footage as Lama Su and the others were placed in cells for interrogation. He rests his head on Cody's shoulder, and the commander just murmurs something in Mando'a before adjusting his hold. Kenobi excuses himself so he can return to the city, leaving Wolffe and Cody with the young clone, and for a moment they stare at each other.

"Gree and Ponds are already on their way, I told them to meet us in your quarters," Cody speaks first, and Wolffe grumbles. "It's either that, or fight your wolf pack for the kid, like I don't feel them staring at me."

"Wolf pack?" 7567 asks, and Wolffe puffs out his chest, and some of the clones working on the bridge let out a few whoops.

"It's what we all call ourselves here." Wolffe grinned, and 7567 giggled a bit at how proud they all were. Cody just rolled his eyes, but the smirk on his face betrayed his amusement. There's a beep on Wolffe's comm, and he groans after reading the message.

"Kriffing Neyo heard about it, and he's coming with Monnk. Just how many commanders did you let in on this?" Cody had the decency to look sheepish, and the datapad in his hand becomes a shield.

"Well, I told Fox first..."

"No you didn't." It was no wonder some of the harder-to-reach CC's were poking their heads in. "You do know Neyo is an adenn chakaar when it comes to kih'vod's right? Fox needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut."

"Right, you tell that to the man in the worst position." Cody scoffed, and it was not long before the two devolved into a bitching fest, with 7567 watching with wide eyes.

He was learning so many curse words.

"Is THIS the one I've heard so much chatter about!?" Commander Bly had the subtly of a raging bantha, and there was some laughter from various clones as he practically force jumps his way across the bridge. "Let me see let me see!" 7567 doesn't get a chance to say anything when he's scooped up from Cody's hold, gripping onto armored arms as he's spun around with an excited gasp. His voice has the twinge of some accent 7567 has never heard before, and he finds he enjoys it almost immediately. "He's a blonde!"

"Careful, you'll fling him through a wall if you're not careful," Wolffe grumbled, but chuckles when the cadet grins at the new CC.

"I'm keeping him, it's official," Bly stated quite proudly, before grunting when someone slaps his helmet from behind.

"You don't get to decide this early." 7567 noted the CC who had smacked the now spluttering commander holding him was decked out in green, and recognized that he serves under a Jedi he had seen about a year prior on a rare stop on Kamino.

"Fox would rip you a new one if you did that before he got to see the kih'vod for himself." The one in green berates Bly, and the accented clone grumbles before setting the cadet down for the first time in hours.

"Is the Fox you keep mentioning the Coruscant Guard commander?" He feels a little awkward asking, but the various CC's nod in answer, and 7567 grins. "I've heard he's really cool."

"Fox? Cool? In what universe?" Bly cackles, removing his helmet to grin at the cadet, and his fellow leaders do the same. Despite each of them sharing the same face, 7567 can already pick out differences in each of their faces, and it reminds him of his batchmates.

No, he's not going to cry in front of all of them, not right now.

"He serves the Chancellor, and according to some...data we found, he gets to see all the Senators all the time!" 7567 is beaming as he rambles off what he knows, and every CC is suddenly transported to the times they were younger and a little more carefree before the war sunk its claws into them. 7567 doesn't see the way they look at each other, and what Wolffe saw in him was made solid for all of them.

"Sorry I'm late, someone wasn't in their barracks like the comm said."

Not a single soul on The Triumphant had ever seen so many commanders in one place before, and work was abandoned to watch one of the rarer clones grace their presence. Not many of them got to see one of the men hand-trained by Jango Fett himself, so comms are beeping all across the ship as those on the bridge recorded what they could, as well as sending said news out to the nearby other cruisers.

"Sorry Ponds, Bly here decided to ignore that, and here we are." Gree greeted, the two knocking their forearms against each other before Ponds looks down at the small clone, whose wide eyes are looking up at the recon expert.

"Blonde?" Ponds knelt down so the two were eye to eye, removing his helmet and setting it on the floor by his knee. "Lama Su hates blondes."

7567 didn't realize just how wide his eyes could go.

"I forgot you were blonde, the shiny dome makes one forget," Cody smirks, and there are more than a few snickers, including one from 7567. The commander just shrugs, and seems to just analyze the younger clone in front of him for a moment, before giving a small smile.

"You're going to have the most annoying adoptive ori'vod this side of the known universe." It's a statement more than an observation, and Ponds was never wrong. "I have spoken."

"Sir, Commander Fox sent word he'll arrive within a rotation, and to quote, "not let the others steal the kih'vod, or he'll have all caff allotments pulled'." A communications clone reported to the group, and he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Not fair!" Bly complained, and the various commanders start bickering and laughing at each other all at once. 7567 is picked up by Ponds when he stands to join the fray, and for the first time since he had left that horrible room, it's like his batchmates are the ones bickering and laughing with him.

He doesn't realize he's fallen asleep, face buried into Ponds' chest plating like it's the most comfortable pillow in the world.

"I think he'll fit in just fine." Gree hummed, standing beside his friend as they watch the others bicker.

"He'll have to, we're not letting him go."

Deadcember Day 17: Dark Night

Ever since he was a cadet fresh out of the tube, CT-7567 has been different.

Yeah, the blond hair is a pretty obvious indicator, but there’s something else. Something below the surface.

CT-7567 was always slightly faster, slightly stronger, slightly smarter than his batchmates. He has the best scores in training. Sometimes he knows which one of them was about to sneak up behind him, even if they weren’t making a sound. All of these inexplicable things added up to an anomaly that the Kaminoans just barely missed, despite them keeping a very close eye on him because of his “cosmetic defect.”

And there was the Voice.

The Voice isn’t his inner dialogue or anything—CT-7567 knows that. He can’t explain how or why, but he just knows. The Voice helps him, will tell him to take a left instead of a right to avoid being caught if he was out past curfew, will tell him when to dodge in order to avoid being shot during a training sim.

During one sim, something went wrong and CT-7570 is killed. The Voice seems to scream in pain and it’s almost as if ’67 feels CT-7570 die.

Such an explanation seems ridiculous, but he can’t think of a better one, and it just fits.

CT-7567 knows that his… quirks are strange and unique (are dangerous, are defects) when he asks one of his closest batchmates about it.

“When ’70 was killed, did you… feel anything? Like, pain or something?” He asks CT-7583, who taken to calling himself Keeli.

Keeli looks at him strangely, as if he had suddenly grown a second head (CT-7567 has heard rumors of such defects, though if they ever existed, the Kaminoans would decommission them at the first sign of abnormality). “No,” his batch mate responds. “Did you?”

“N-no. I just… I felt bad after, I guess.”

Keeli wraps his arm around ’67’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Me too.”

Then Keeli pokes ’67’s side, and they devolve into giggles and roughhousing, the day’s events forgotten.

%#%#%

Sometimes, the Voice is less of a Voice and more of a Feeling, like the day the War begins.

By this point, CT-7567 has received a nickname—Rex. He was also bumped up to the command track. He felt slightly out of place, but CC-2224, who likes to be called Cody, took him under his wing.

Over the past two days, there have been whispers of a Jedi on Kamino. Rex knew they were true: he felt the Jedi as soon as they entered the atmosphere. They glowed, brighter than all of his brothers.

Though no one is exactly sure why the Jedi came, they all knew what it meant—the War was here.

The day they are deployed, Rex wakes up feeling tense, as if he’s in a training sim. There’s this sense of foreboding, and Rex wants to prepare, but he doesn’t know what to get ready for, let alone how to do so.

He’s walking back to his barracks after midday meal, his head pounding, when the announcement comes in.

They’re being deployed to Geonosis. This is not a drill.

Rex turns around and runs to the hangars.

%#%#%

On Geonosis, Rex dies countless times.

He’s never felt so much death, so much despair, and it takes everything he has to keep his blaster up and remain on his feet. He keeps fighting, even as brothers and Jedi alike are shot down right in front of him.

He knows his purpose, knows he was bred to fight and even die for the Republic, but he’s not sure he can take it.

%#%#%

Somehow, Rex had been made a captain—he even earned himself some jaig eyes (no matter how undeserving he felt of them) and was assigned to the recently-knighted Anakin Skywalker. They’re headed to their first deployment when General Skywalker pulls him into his quarters.

“I have a question for you, Rex,” General Skywalker begins. Rex isn’t sure what’s about to happen. Did he already do something wrong? Is he going to get decommissioned?

The General continues. “Have you… ever noticed anything different about yourself? Like you know someone’s about to come through the door even if you can’t hear their footsteps, or you can dodge faster than those around?”

Oddly specific questions, but he’s not about to lie to a superior. “Y-yes, sir?”

General Skywalker exhales and smiles. “Cool. I was like 90% sure that I was right, but I had to check.”

“Right about… what, sir?”

“Ok, what do you know about the Force?”

Rex stares.

“Nothing. That’s alright. The Force is like… an energy field. It flows through the entire universe, from the biggest galaxies to the smallest womp rats. Some, like the Jedi, are Force-sensitive, which means they can sense and use it. So basically, um… congratulations, you’re Force-sensitive!”

What.

What.

On Kamino, they learned about the Jedi, how they wield swords made of light and can move objects with their minds. The Jedi sounded mythical, god-like.

And here Rex is, learning that he’s got those same powers.

Oh kriff.

This is it. He’s done for.

“If you’d like, I’d be happy to teach you some stuff. Basic shielding, Force usage, and maybe even some saber training. How does that sound?”

Rex looks at General Skywalker. The man is grinning from ear to ear, not a hint of disgust or deceit on his face.

Trust him, the Voice says. Trust him.

…So he’s not getting decommissioned?

Rex considers the General’s offer. “Do… are you going to tell anyone?”

“No. If you wanna tell people, that’s on you, but I figured, well, if you didn’t know you were Force-sensitive, then it’s not normal for you guys. I don’t want you… getting in trouble or anything. And no need to call me ‘sir.’ Just ‘Anakin’ is fine, at least when it’s just us.”

Rex isn’t quite ready to do that, yet.

After all, he still needs to process that he can potentially move things with his mind.

%#%#%

The war goes on.

Brothers come and are just as quickly caught in death’s chilling grasp. The deaths don’t hurt as much, though, since General Skywalker Anakin taught him how to shield his mind. He’s also learned some basic Force applications. He’s not great at it yet, but he pretty much has the basics down.

He excels at lightsaber training, and enjoys it more than the other things he’s learning. Upon expressing this to Anakin, the Jedi smirks and admits to being much the same.

Despite his protests, Anakin is assigned an actual Padawan, a sassy togruta by the name of Ahsoka Tano. She’s fresh and far too young in Rex’s opinion (like he can talk), but she’s a fast and eager learner. She grows on him and the 501st far faster than he’d like to admit, and for all his initial reluctance, it’s clear that Anakin adores her.

While the Jedi is obviously largely responsible for teaching his Padawan, Rex imparts some of his expertise. Rex learns from her, as well; upon discovering his Force-sensitivity, Ahsoka eagerly contributes to his knowledge and training.

He forges bonds (figurative and literal bonds. Yet another thing you can do when you’re Force-sensitive, apparently) with both Anakin and Ahsoka, which strengthen with every battle fought. It reaches the point where their efficiency and effectiveness are almost unparalleled.

They win battle after battle with minimal casualties. On one memorable occasion, Rex has the opportunity to use his new lightsaber skills, to the shock and awe of his troops.

The tide is turning in the Republic’s favor, and an end to the war is in sight.

Rex isn’t sure what’ll happen to him and his brothers after the war, but he finds himself filled with hope.

And then Ahsoka leaves.

%#%#%

Rex fights battle after battle. He’s lost track of the planets they’ve been on, the brothers he’s lost.

Anakin is more irritable, more prone to giving in to his anger.

Coruscant is attacked.

Count Dooku is killed.

The war is nearly over.

And then—

“Execute Order 66.”

Good soldiers follow orders.

“Yes, Lord Sidious,” CT-7567 replies.

The Jedi are traitors, and they must be dealt with as such, and—

A piercing pain erupts to life on the right side of his head. He staggers, gripping his head. The Force screams and the pain grows and grows and grows—

It explodes in a flash of blinding white light.

%#%#%

CT-7567 Rex wakes up in… a medbay, though he is unsure where he is, exactly. The pain in his head has decreased to a dull throbbing.

His General returns with a new name, confined to a suit because of his former Master’s betrayal. The Jedi attempted to assassinate the Chancellor, Anakin Darth Vader tells him.

The Republic no longer exists and has instead been rebuilt into an empire. The Empire.

Some things stay the same, though. Rex remains at his General’s side, both on and off the battlefield. Vader continues to teach him about the Force, but his methods are far different.

The Force feels twisted and dark, but Rex ignores the unease stirred within him.

After all, he’s right where he should be.

%#%#%

One day, Rex tells Vader of the strange experience he had prior to waking up in the medbay.

“My Master attempted to enslave you,” Darth Vader growls. “Not to worry. One day, I shall possess the strength and skill to strike him down and take his place as Emperor, as is the way of the Sith.”

On the third anniversary of the Empire’s birth, Darth Vader does just that.

Unfettered by his Master’s demands, Vader cracks down on slavery, his justice swift and sure.

He rules with an iron fist, stomping out any signs of dissent, tolerating nothing less than complete loyalty and absolute perfection.

Rex remains by his side, as he always was.

%#%#%

Darth Vader becomes complacent.

Complacency is what gets one killed.

Darth Vader’s problem is that he never suspected his loyal captain, his eager apprentice.

Darth Adenn uses the Force to shove Darth Vader’s body off the throne, stepping on it as he ascends to his rightful place.

Even as the Force plunges ever deeper into the Dark, Emperor Adenn’s eyes glow like the rising sun.

[Adenn= Mando'a for "merciless"]

Hello :) Missing my siblings so I wrote this :)

It’s sorta a continuation of this, which is a modern AU where Alpha is the oldest. @plainshobbit all of this is your fault <3

*

Alpha had agreed to babysit for the morning so mom and dad could catch up on sleep. He didn’t have work, his only class was in the afternoon, and for once he was caught up on homework. So while their parents slept in and the other boys left for school, Alpha got Cody his breakfast and Rex a bottle. 

There was one couch in the living room where you could sit and see inside the kitchen, so Alpha settled there with Rex and the bottle and kept half an eye on where Cody sat in dad’s chair with the armrests, smearing scrambled eggs across the kitchen table. Hopefully he got some inside his mouth. Alpha would have to remember to get him a snack later. 

Cody had good balance and Alpha had specifically put him in the only chair he couldn’t fall out of, so eventually he turned his attention from the kitchen to trying to get Rex to fall asleep with the power of warm milk. It was slow going. Rex was a weirdly alert baby. 

Alpha had been five when Fordo was born. He hadn’t been able to help at the time but he’d helped a lot in the ensuing years. He didn’t remember much from when Fordo was a baby, but he remembered everything from when Cody was a newborn, and Cody had been sleepy and serious and calm. 

Rex cried. A lot. If he wasn’t being held he was crying. Anyone who said babies didn’t have personalities didn’t spend much time around them. 

But Rex had also been up all night, and apparently warm milk was just as effective on fussy babies as happy ones, and eventually Rex fell asleep, his little scrunched up face going lax and milk dribbling out of his mouth. Alpha wiped it up and set the mostly empty bottle on the floor and adjusted Rex to be upright against his shoulder. He didn’t want to burp him while he was asleep, but if he did burp or something Alpha wanted to be prepared. 

Finally he breathed a long sigh and closed his eyes and let his head thunk against the back of the couch. He hadn’t been up all night, but he hadn’t gotten as much sleep as he should have, knowing he was going to be dealing with a toddler and a newborn in the morning. 

This was going to be a long day. 

After a few minutes he actually started to drift off so he didn’t notice the terrifying pitter patter of little feet until it was almost too late, jerking his head up just as something squishy slammed into his legs and catching Cody’s slimy hand right before it landed on his jeans. 

“No. You can’t touch, you have egg on you,” he said, very stern. 

Cody gave him a look that said as soon as Alpha let go of that hand he would also have egg on him. 

“Don’t test me, brat,” he muttered under his breath. 

Maintaining eye contact, Alpha released his grip and gently nudged Cody in the stomach with a socked foot. Cody scowled and took a few steps back. 

Leaning as far over as he could without dropping Rex, Alpha fumbled around in the diaper bag next to the couch and found a packet of wipes. Cody whined and wriggled as Alpha cleaned his face and hands, but suffered the indignity. Alpha would have to remember to clean the kitchen before their parents woke up. 

When he was clean Cody again threw himself against Alpha’s legs, waving one fist in the air in Rex’s general direction. 

“Wha’ ith?”

“What is it?” Alpha translated. “It’s baby Rex.”

“Baby Reth?”

“Baby Rex.” Alpha shifted the baby, regarding Cody with a raised eyebrow. “You want to hold him?”

“Ho’l da baby?” 

“Hold the baby, that’s right. Come sit.”

Cody pulled himself up onto the couch, grunting with exertion and heaving a sigh as he flopped next to Alpha. 

He’d held Rex once already, in the hospital when they’d all gone to visit mom, propped up next to her in the bed and with dad’s arms supporting his own. But that had been a whole four days ago and he likely didn’t remember. 

Alpha hesitated, and then carefully set Rex on the cushion on his other side and reached over to pull Cody into his lap. Cody kicked his legs, giggling as he settled. 

“Hold still. You have to hold still.”

“Ho’d still?”

“That’s right. Hold still. Now, put your arms like this.”

Alpha tugged at Cody’s arms until they were curved with enough room to cradle a baby.

“Dis?”

“This. Right. Good.”

Alpha leaned over, making sure he didn’t dislodge Cody, and picked up Rex. Ever so carefully he maneuvered the baby into Cody’s hold, keeping his own arms wrapped around both of them so as to keep the whole squirmy mess of small child contained. 

Cody made a little sound of excited wonder when Rex settled in his arms, miraculously still asleep. Alpha smiled, resting his chin on top of Cody’s head. They were both so very small. 

“Sleepin!”

“Yes, the baby’s sleeping.” 

Cody pulled a hand free– Alpha adjusted his own hold to compensate– and patted Rex forcefully on the head. 

Alpha sucked in a breath. “Gentle, Cody. You have to be gentle. See, like this.”

He maneuvered until he could free his own hand, and then took Cody’s and smoothed down Rex’s curls. “Gentle.” 

“Gent’o.” 

“That’s right. Good job.”

With Alpha’s help Cody sat still and stroked Rex’s hair for almost a full minute, before he got bored and wiggled to be released. Alpha lifted Rex up so Cody could squirm down out of his lap. 

Cody took off towards the stairs, thundering up with all the strength in his little legs. The older boys had started locking their doors as soon as Cody learned to walk, so he should be fine on his own up there for a bit. 

Alpha settled back against the couch once again, Rex a warm weight against his chest. His hair was very soft, and he had a lot of it– dark wispy curls on his head and dark soft fuzz on the back of his neck and shoulders. The blue blanket he’d been sort of swaddled in had come untucked with all the movement, though somehow Rex had remained asleep. Maybe the harder it was to get a baby to sleep the harder it was to wake them up. 

Alpha re-wrapped the blanket as best he could, pressed a kiss to the top of Rex’s head, and then grabbed his phone with the intention of doing some mindless scrolling while he waited for the sound of something breaking to echo down the stairs.

Seguir leyendo

I just thought of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad au where during Umbara it’s Rex that’s injured and he’s begging Kix to leave him behind so Kix can keep outrunning the tanks. And Kix still tells Rex he sounds like General Krell but he’s more frustrated and afraid than angry. Kix manages to group Rex with the rest of the wounded and Rex orders Kix to leave them behind and initially Kix is like no Fucking way I’m leaving you all out here but Rex reasons with him that he’s the only medic with the company right now and he had to keep moving with the group and Rex would keep an eye on and defend the rest of the wounded. At this point Kix knows he’s right so he leaves with them with a bunch of supplies and keeps going with Torrent. At the end of the battle when their recovering everyone’s like oh Kriff where’s Rex?! Did we loose him?! Is he dead?! And Kix speaks up and tells them he’s with the wounded, which spurts Fives and company to try and go back and look for them but in the name of progress and sacrifice Krell forbids it. He temporarily promotes Jesse to captain because i think at the time he was Rex’s lieutenant but mostly because Krell liked Jesse’s attitude more than he liked Five’s. The rest of the arc continues the way it originally did but with Jesse and fives at the lead. Meanwhile, Rex and like 25 other troops are lost in a foreign environment in the center of hostile territory on a planet far from any republic system, dwindling rations and medical supplies trying their best to live off the land for weeks. Rex had found a cave for the men to hide out in and made a camp there. Since he’s the captain and one of the least injured he goes out trying to locate and contact the gar while finding food and supplies. Between encounters with natural predators and Umbaran squads he always comes back more injured than he left. At this time Anakin gets back and he’s also like umm where’s Rex?? When the 501st tells him what happened he’s pissed and immediately goes out into the jungle to find Rex. And he does, just in time too because Rex had gotten his legs caught in a trap and was too injured to walk or fight and was surrounded by enemy Umbarans. Rex and the others wounded are rescued and get shipped of to a medical station for a while. When they get back hella comfort ensues and torrent is never letting Rex out of their sight again. Over the next few months however it’s clear that Rex has developed a significant amount of trauma and ptsd from the experience and is finding it hard to integrate back into and function within the gar.

i love these two characters. i need to trap them in a collapsed building so they can talk about their feelings as one of them slowly bleeds out.

Whumptober Day 7: The Way You Shake And Shiver

Prompt: Shaking Hands & Silent Panic Attack

Warning: Mentions of Suicide

Summary: Rex isn't doing so great when they're finally on their way back to 000 from Umbara...

[Sometimes in moments of weakness we turn to old coping mechanisms. Whether that's a good thing or not is up for debate... Sometimes it makes it easier to lie to yourself that something broken can still be fixed.]

THIS STORY IS ALSO ON AO3

---

Before Fox had given him his name, Rex had made a list of options just like every other cadet in his age group. It was almost a tradition for most young clones who still only had their numbers. The task of compiling potential names that may one day suit them in some way, shape, or form.

None of the ones he'd considered had ever stuck.

He'd been rather unsure of himself (the sole golden haired child among a sea of dark curls), often made to hide behind his batchmates. Keeli and Jek had both found their names quickly, and they'd been quite indecisive themselves. But they'd never been as nervous as he had been, so finding something to claim as theirs wasn't hard for them in the slightest.

They knew who they were.

Rex thought he knew who he was. A king with a crown of gold growing naturally upon his skull. A fellow misfit among the CCs that had adopted him. Fitting of a title that had his ori'vod beaming with pride. Fox had made him believe he was a leader.

Fox was a very good liar.

The trip back to Coruscant is a slow one. Umbara long gone from their radar, but still closer than home. Its darkness following the vode well into the flight. The hollowness behind their eyes... It makes his stomach twist and his heart hammer in his chest cavity like there's a parade in town. For once in his life a campaign has left Rex unable to think.

Or rather, unable to process the sheer horror of what he had witnessed. What he had let happen. What he had done.

Little Force Gods what had he done?

So many brothers dead. So many brothers left for dead. So many more dying inside.

He swallows thickly around the lump forming in his throat, and stares ahead unblinkingly. Watching the blue-tinted lines of hyperspace zip by as he considers what's to come, while a voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Keeli whispers for him to take deep breaths, to start counting.

If he counts it'll help ground him. But does he want to stay grounded? When there is too much going on right now?

Three troopers have eaten their own blasters before departure from Umbara. The death tool rising steadily. Many more might follow. Will follow. The guilt is killing them all, and he doesn't know how to help.

They should be incapable of breaking. Should be impervious to diseases of the brain. But Krell has left an infectious mind. One that makes it hard for Rex to breathe even in the safety of this ship.

His eyes sting, his chest hurts, his heart is breaking into a million pieces, and there's a good chance he might throw up.

His hands are shaking. They shook back on Umbara too.

Dogma's hadn't.

He comes back to in the refresher. Jesse and Fives are at his sides. They look shaken and tired, and a little of something else Rex can't identify right now.

Angry? Disappointed?

Disgusted with their oh so great captain who couldn't even take the shot himself? Who'd let so many brothers die needlessly when he could have acted immediately and avoided disaster?

The thought makes him vomit up more bile. Salty shame runs down his face, snot bubbles up in his nostrils, foamy sick lands in the toilet. Rough but gentle hands rub at the small of his back. He knows whatever relationship he had with both Jesse and Fives is strained now. Justifiably so. But they still have his back. They're holding him through a panic attack.

He counts each circle, each finger on his back. Then counts the murmurs he can hear. Then the instances where he hears Kix at the door, checking up on them. Making sure he's not going to eat his blaster like the others who just couldn't bare the guilt anymore.

Counting helps. It helped back when he was a cadet. It still does now.

He can't for the life of him recall how many names he'd compiled before he'd been given his own. Maybe someone else knew. Rex doesn't think he knows anything anymore. But he has to move on, regardless of what happened on Umbara.

He had to believe in the cause.

Febuwhump Day 23 - "Don't Leave!"

Summary: While in mandatory quarantine, Rex's gets a visit from a brother he's been missing terribly.

Warning: Hallucinations caused by sickness.

[Sometimes I remember Rex got infected by the Blue Shadow Virus and that recovering from that probably didn't happen in just one day, regardless of there being a miracle cure... It's probably left a mark on his immunity system...]

[THIS STORY IS NOW ON AO3]

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Kix opts to quarantine him despite limited contact with the infected population of the little planet they'd been sent to help evacuate. A plague had run through, destroying a great part of the sentient life forms on said planet, and unfortunately Rex's armour had been breeched during an altercation with a delirious citizen.

Kix decides to quarantine him, because despite his limited contact Rex still got sick in the end. Because his immunity system had been absolutely ruined by his past run in with the BSV. The medic knows best in the end. Gives him several shots of whatever miracle cure the GAR has concocted to fight this menace of a disease, and leaves him to rest and recuperate. But the captain of the 501st can't help but feel uneasy by the decision anyway.

Everyone knew clones didn't do so good in isolation. They were raised in communal circumstances and trained to be dependant of each other's help out in the field, so separation anxiety was something of a common occurance among vode that either lost their squadrons or closest batchmates. Independent survival had to be taught to the clones that expressed enough hardiness to become ARCs.

Rex had earned that honour himself. But he was nothing if not a very social creature. And being confined to a lonely cot was... It was doing things to him.

Between the wet-sounding coughs, the sudden instances where he was overcome by vertigo even as he lay still, and the fogginess that came with flare-ups and fever, Rex wasn't sure what was worse... The fact he felt like he'd been run over and dragged by a hovercraft, or the fact it was getting hard to figure out if the things he was hearing and seeing were real or not.

Because he could swear Keeli was just sitting there with him. Watching him. Talking to him.

He didn't know his vod was on leave... He could have sworn he was on Ryloth...

"Easy now Seven..." His batchmate, his older brother, purred softly as he ran his fingers through the blond fuzz atop Rex's head. "It's just a little cold..."

"M'not supposed to get those..." He murmured back miserably, as he tried to lean into the contact. Everything hurt and he couldn't move. The covers felt really heavy on top of him. "M'a clone..."

"Even clones get sick vod'ika..." Keeli whispered soothingly. "We're engineered, but not even we can remain strong forever."

"No... s'just me... M'broken..." Rex whined. The aching muscles and sore throat made it hard to say more, but Rex didn't have to. Keeli knew. " Came out wrong..."

"No you didn't."

"I did..." His eyes burnt and he could feel tears slip down his flushed face. Past shame making his stomach feel funny. "Wrong... Hair... Everyone's... Everyone sees... M'cooked up wrong..."

"Your hair doesn't make you wrong. It makes you unique." Keeli frowned. "And I'm sorry... I'm sorry that we dyed it back on Kamino. That we tried to hide it, and made you think it was something to be ashamed of. We just wanted to protect you..."

"Ori'vod..." He wanted to reach out and hold Keeli's hand. He still couldn't bring himself to do so. It was all so unbearably hot and his body wouldn't obey.

"It's ok Rex... Rest now. I'll see you again some day..."

"Stay... Please..." The sickly clone whimpered. "Don't go..."

"I can't vod'ika... I'm dead..."

Keeli wasn't there anymore. Rex was alone. His heart ached as he remembered. Remembered that nearly all his batch was gone. That he was one of the last.

"Don't leave!" His nerve shattered and he yelled through a strained throat. "Keeli don't leave me! Keeli!!!"

The curtains parted. Kix rushed to check up on his captain as his strangled and incoherent screams and sobs annihilated the peace and quiet of the medical wing. Rex was out of his mind with delirium and fear, the fever reeking havoc in his mind as his immune system fought the leftover effects of the plague.

It was hard to see his brother so distressed, but there was nothing more he could do besides sedate him and wait out the effects...

Buzzcut -

Among the clone cadets, all the blondies have the same haircut.

In a collective of identical individuals who value their individuality as much as is feasibly possible, here's why -

When Boba is four years old, he doesn't quite understand why the clones are different from him. He knows they are, though. So he looks to the trainers to imitate how to behave, and he treats them kind of like toys. It's fun enough, for a kid with no one else to play with.

And one day he drags his newest playmate back to his rooms to show his father - "Look, he doesn't look right! Look at his hair! Isn't it funny?"

CT -7567 is a cadet who looks the same age as Boba, who has cowlick blonde curls over atop his tan face and his bright brown eyes and he stares up at Jango with wide, wide eyes as Jango stoops to look at him, swatting Boba's hand where it's dragging on the clones arm.

Jango remembers, for the first time in a long time, that his sister had hair like that. That she looked like that - round cheeked and brown eyed and bright haired.

He pats the boy on the head, ruffling his fingers through his locks, a little thinner than Boba's own thick brown. Than Jango's own.

The boy stands very still till Jango's had enough of running his fingers through the strands and stands back up, sending him on his way and ruffling Boba's hair when he pouts about it.

Jango decides not to think about it, after.

Four days later he enters the mess looking for that blonde hair, looking for any blonde hair, and he doesn't find it.

He does find CT-7567, half-hidden in the shadow of a template-perfect CC cadet who dares to fully turn around and face him when Jango focuses on his smaller companion.

That blond hair has been sheared practically down to the skin, those bright brown eyes big and wary of him.

CT-7567 doesn't remind him anymore of his sister.

Right, Jango thinks derisively. What was he thinking? It was nothing more than a defect in the process. the boy was nothing more than a product.

He leaves.

No blonde cadet ever grows their hair out, after that. Even back then the boys all knew - it was never a good thing to garner Jango Fett's attention.

Even after Prime dies, the tradition remains, one batch warning the next behind them to keep the blonde hidden.