Chapter 5 Of The Inevitable War AU Is Up!

Febuwhump Day 17

Alt. Shrapnel

Spoiler: This is an excerpt from an unnamed fanfic.

The Force suddenly flares in warning, and Anakin looks up sharply to see an explosive – he didn’t see where it came from – flying right towards them. Instinctively he throws up his hands, altering its path, pushing it away from the palace and from the clones.

It crashes down in the midst of the droids, tearing through them, sending pieces of metal flying in every direction. Some of the clones are still too close, though, and he sees several of them collapse to the ground.

Rex.

Anakin’s eyes fall on the captain. He was too close, and he’s injured too, and the droids are heading right towards him, still shooting, and the few others who are injured next to him.

No one will be able to get to them in time. Except for maybe him.

Anakin springs into motion in a flash, sprinting out from behind the cover of the palace, and running towards where Rex is lying. He ducks the blaster bolts fired at him, raising a hand and calling his lightsaber to him from Obi-Wan’s belt.

The blade hisses to life in hands, and he deflects the last few shots away, yanking the super battle droid about to shoot Rex over to him with the Force, slashing it in half. He hastily finishes cutting through the rest of the droids right around him, and hurries over to the captain.

The explosion took out most of the droids, and the others should be able to handle the rest. Deactivating his lightsaber, Anakin crouches next to Rex, looking over his condition. The injury isn’t as bad as he first thought it was, but some of the injuries are much like shrapnel wounds, thanks to the flying metal from the explosion. Some of them are bleeding badly, and he definitely needs to be treated soon.

Anakin looks past him, to the other clones next. He doesn’t know any of their names, but their conditions don’t look much better. He needs to get them somewhere safe. They’re too exposed out here, with all the fighting.

“Don’t worry about us, sir,” Rex insists.

Anakin throws a glance over his shoulder at the approximately two dozen droids remaining. “They can handle it,” Anakin replies moving to help Rex into the palace.

rex and constantly bashing his head on poles :)

Ah yes, a classic. Thank you for this, it was really fun to write!

Bonk

Bang!

“Ow!” A chorus of laughter rises up from the brothers around him as Rex rubs the top of his head. He gets up much more carefully this time, ducking under the low overhang before being swept into Cody’s side.

“You good there? Hit your head pretty hard. You should probably get it checked out.”

“S’fine.” Cody levels him the look™, the one that says ‘I know you’re lying’, but Rex just looks away. “Really, it’s all good.”

“Mhm. Do I get to say I told you so when you go to the infirmary for a concussion?”

“Won’t happen, but sure.”

***

“Looks like a mild concussion, he’ll have to skip the next few training sessions.” Rex nods, and the medic leaves. He can practically feel the smugness radiating off of Cody now.

“I told you so.”

“Shut.”

“Hey, you said I could say that!”

“Mmmmmm.”

“You did.” Cody sits down on the bed next to him and pulls him into a hug. “I gotta look out for my little brother, you know?”

“I know.”

“Good. Now rest, I don’t want to see you even inch out of that bed until the medics clear you.”

“Sir yes sir,” Rex says, mocking a salute as Cody walks away, earning a fond eye-roll.

*****

“Hey Rex!”

“Wha-” Rex doesn’t even get a chance to see what Cody had tried to point out. Instead, he smacks his head against the top of the opening to the cave, sending himself roughly to his back. He has a lovely view of the cave ceiling, and he can just barely make out the sky at the edge. He groans as he sits up, Cody bounding over and nearly knocking him back down.

“Rex are you okay oh my god oh my god oh my god.”

“I’m fine. Just… had a disagreement with the roof.” He knows Cody is hiding a laugh at that, his lips are pressed thin but he can’t hide the smirk. “Aw come on, that was funny.”

“Okay a little. But seriously, that looked pretty bad. Can you stand up at all?”

“Yeah yeah, look.” Rex tries to stand up and immediately regrets it. His head starts pounding and he leans over. Cody catches him and sits him down against the cave wall, right at the entrance.

“Okay no, you stay here. I’ll bring you some food and water and get the medkit.”

“Yep, that sounds great,” he says, his voice tight with the pain. He closes his eyes and waits as Cody runs around to get the various supplies he needs. It’s not long before he hears a cantine and medkit clattering to the ground, and he opens his eyes again.

“Just lemme check, alright?” He nods. Cody gently pushes back his hair, pressing lightly where Rex hit his head. “Mmm, I’ll just put a little bit of disinfectant cream on it for now, it should heal quickly on its own.” There’s the sting of the cream, and Rex scrunches his face a little, but a hand on his cheek reminds him to relax.

“Done?”

“Done. Here, drink.” Rex takes the offered cantine and has a few sips before putting it down. Cody sits down next to him, and Rex lays his head on his shoulder.

“Any better?”

“A bit. Thank you.”

“Of course. Anything for you.”

*****

Rex knows he should probably turn on night vision to be on the safe side. He shouldn’t rely on the glow of his general and commander’s lightsabers; they’re not bright enough to be reliable. However, they are bright enough to be blinding if he looks at them with night vision, which is hard to avoid here.

Bang!

Well, now he knows. He shakes his head a little, ducking under the pipe and hoping he can retain some sense of dignity before turning around to address his men.

“Night vision on.” He can feel Cody’s smirk even though he’s not there, and hear him fussing over him. He feels lucky Cody hasn’t seen this. Now he just has to make sure he doesn’t find out.

Curses, Cocoons and Clones part 4

Fives stared blankly at the wall

Half an hour ago he had awoken to a horrible sensation in his body and a massive headache. He remembered the events of the previous time of his nap (he refused to say he fainted) his nausea increased when he stared at his new body and promptly emptied his stomach.

Rex wasn’t doing much better, after crawling out of his cocoon and being fussed over by whole group wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t helpful that they both were naked and could see the major changes. The poor Captain had unfortunately came out with another change with two sets of arms rather then two.

Oddly after a close examination by Kix noted that Rex’s and Fives’s parts that changed where noticeably different. To their Wing pattern’s and to the leg joints hells, their antenna where different.

Thankfully Skywalker ripped some of his tunic to make a makeshift poncho for the both of them and and Kenobi surprised the rest of them by stitching some pants for the both of them. When asked how he knew to sew, he said and Fives quotes “Between having Qui Gon as a Master and having to watch Anakin, one needed to learn a such a skill.” Whatever that meant. Anakin sulked slightly after that.

Now, Fives and the Captain was sitting on the makeshift table half-heartily nibbling on some rations that Kix and sternly ordered them to eat.

Fives could tell that Rex was barely keeping together and honestly he felt the same, so he called over Echo and Ahsoka to distract them both while Skywalker, Kenobi and Kix quietly debated on if this was a permanent.

Fives pulled his poncho over himself and curled his wings closer to his back, praying if this was some shitty nightmare or prank.

“Fives? You look like you need some rest, why not you lay down for a bit?” Ahsoka eventually offered after she sensed the mood dropping.

Fives only nodded, Ahsoka took a spare cloth and folded it a couple of time to resemble some sort of bed mat. Fives ignored the worried stare of his batchmate and shut his eyes to pretend that he was going to sleep.

Rex was panicked when he woke up to say the least.

After struggling to open some sort of thick slimy film over himself he discovered himself with wings, antenna and inhuman legs. What was even more humiliating was he was small, small enough to fit in Cody’s hand who had nearly picked him up in a distressed attempt to see if he was ok.

Rex bit his hand though when he came to close, though he might had hung out with the Wolfpack too much. After some much needed calming down (Rex thanked the stars that Obi Wan Kenobi was there) they settled on focusing on maintaining on Fives and Rex’s dignity and made them both ponchos and pants. It helped a little, thankfully due to Skywalker’s lest then impressing handwork on the ponchos it covered most of their wings. Thankfully Obi Wan’s work ended up fitting more nicely.

Rex twitched when Fives quieted down and went to bed, Rex knew Fives was only quiet when he was really distressed or dissociating after a bad battle. Rex would of course comfort his Vode, however Rex wasn’t feeling the best himself and quietly excused himself to bed. As he laid down he wondered what this meant for him and Fives.

As everyone was asleep, with only the soft snore being the only noise, nobody noticed the growing rash on Kix’s and Cody’s legs and back

The cadet raised his head, the blond curls cut short enough that they couldn’t really be called curls anymore, and his dark eyes examined 10 head to toe, with such intensity that 10 had to look away.

”This is CT-7567”, Alpha introduced him, and CT-7567 got up, standing straight and looking somewhere at 10’s eyebrows. 10 recognised what he was doing and looked up at Alpha, who was smiling at him, despite 10 not seeing any reason to do so.

If he could talk, if he could just- force the words out, he’d ask what the kriff was he trying to do.

”He’s like you”, Alpha explained, confirming 10’s suspicions. ”His brain is wired the same way as yours: a little differently than the rest of us. I think you’d get along just fine.”

CT-7567 glanced between Alpha and 10 before frowning. ”We’re not the same. Similar, but not the same.” His voice was monotonous and even, unlike 10’s whose voice trembled and stuttered and made weird pitch changes throughout his sentences.

Yeah. Definitely not the same.

Alpha nodded and stepped between them, offering CT-7567 his hand, which he didn’t take, but took a step forward regardless. 10 faced the ground and shook Alpha’s hand off of his shoulder, the beam of the light above him striking his eyes like shattered glass. He blinked and pulled his shoulders to his ears, clenching his fists.

”I know that. But you’re more similar to each other than you’re to me, or the other cadets. I thought this way you could have some company, maybe help each other with tasks and training, and maybe, maybe-”, Alpha looked pointedly at CT-7567, ”become friends.”

10 glanced up momentarily to look CT-7567 in the eye, standing the eyecontact long enough to maybe find out how he was feeling. Of course it was to no avail, his eyes were as much of a mystery as anyone elses, except for the intense frown.

Frown: an indicator of disapproval or displeasure.

10 turned his head to look at the corner of the room, hiding his pained grimace. He glanced at Alpha, who looked back at CT-7567, and humphed.

”He’s always frowning. Nothing personal.”

Fox breathed out and stubbornly faced the other way. He counted the tiles of the wall, going up and to the right and down in a geometric shape.

65.

He heard Alpha’s kama shuffle when he sat down, CT-7567 following suit, but 10 couldn’t make his legs move.

”Take your time”, Alpha reassured and whispered something to CT-7567. 10 breathed out and started counting, the steps from the messhall to his bunk, the windows on their way from the classroom C-2 to B-14, the amount of freckles on his nosebridge, the snores it took from Wolffe to wake Cody up and slap him awake.

236.

19.

7.

4.

10 inhaled deeply, facing Alpha and CT-7567 again, and exhaled as he sat down opposite of CT-7567. He was still frowning, looking at 10 like he was dirt stuck on his shoe, and 10 wanted to cry.

”Easy now”, Alpha said, and laid his hands on the floor. 10 did the same, feeling the cold durasteel prickle his palms, a grounding sensation that he put all his focus on, counting the stings on each hand before he lost count. When he did, he began again. And again, and again, until his palms were numb and his hands started to warm up the floor.

10 looked up at CT-7567, who was still sitting straight, his hands folded in his lap, stubbornly facing the ground between them. 10 wondered if he’d have wrinkles on his forehead as deep as Jango Fett’s before he would even get deployed to war.

CT-7567 seemed to sense 10’s staring and he picked his head up, staring back. 10 glanced uncertainly at Alpha, who nodded and smiled.

”OK. You’re both OK now, yeah?”, he asked, his voice sounding gruff and deep like he had something stuck in his throat. He coughed, making CT-7567 flinch and instantly slap his ears, before hastily putting them back down in his lap and look down, his ears reddening along with his cheeks.

Blushing: a sign of embarrassment, shyness or shame.

”It’s OK”, Alpha said, tapping the ground next to CT-7567’s knee, ”like I said. You’re both OK. This is a safe space, like we discussed. Here you don’t have to hide your stims.”

CT-7567 nodded rigidly and started instantly picking at the skin of his palm, where 10 could see a faint red mark already forming on top of a light patch that seemed like a scar. 10 wondered if he had been picking it for a long time, or if it had been a wound from practice which CT-7567 had then picked the scarring off of, like 10 used to. Before he had been threatened to stop.

10 looked at Alpha, wondering. Alpha didn’t seem to want CT-7567 to stop, he just stared out the window with an expression that made the lines on his face smoother and the tension in his eyes loosen. He didn’t pay attention to CT-7567, so 10 wondered if he’d make 10 stop either.

10 decided to test out his theory and tapped his right thigh with his fingers. Alpha didn’t react, but kept looking at the window, eyes following the motions of the racing raindrops. 10 looked at CT-7567, who hadn’t noticed it either, or maybe he just didn’t care.

10 tapped his thigh again, now with his whole hand, making a sound loud enough that Alpha had had to hear it, but he didn’t look away from the storm. 10 curled his hand into a fist and hit his thigh, now making his whole body shake, and Alpha still didn’t look at him.

10 raised his eyebrows and curled his other hand into a fist too, now hitting his hips in turns, a second in between each hit, after four hits he’d inhale and after two hits he’d exhale. He didn’t look at Alpha anymore, deciding that if he didn’t care, neither would 10. He instead stared in front of him, not concentrating on anything, but letting his eyes unfocus and his eyelids droop as he breathed and hit his hips lightly, making his stomach bounce from side to side, counting each hit in an even rhythm.

It felt good. With his eyes closed the lights were dim, only light sparks above his eyelids, not making his eyes water and drill pain into his skull. He could only hear the steady breathing of Alpha, the occasional sound when CT-7567’s fingers would tap together, the howling wind outside, the rain hitting the glass. The world went quiet, only his fists hitting his hips, his stomach jiggling, his whole body swaying from side to side.

Before he even noticed it, he was shaking, but in a good way, not in the way that he did when the trainers yelled at him, or when the messhall was too loud, or when his brothers were talking on top of each other making it too hard to concentrate. He felt his anxieties disappear and the pressure in his chest vanish, his thoughts quieting down and the outside seemed to feel enough. Not too much or too little, but just enough to keep him grounded, but not pressurized. It felt right.

10 huffed out a breath and wiped his cheek. To his surprise his hand got wet and he opened his eyes to look at it, his tears glistening on it. He wiped it quickly on his pants, sheepishly glancing up at Alpha, who had now closed his eyes. He looked at CT-7567, who was swaying from side to side, his eyes closed, his fingers lightly tapping his knees. 10 breathed out his relief and quickly dried his face and sniffled as quietly as he could, but in the silence of the small room it didn’t go unnoticed. Alpha opened his left eye and smiled at 10. 10 tensed his left cheek, lifting his lips into something Wolffe called a smirk.

”You feeling better?”, Alpha asked quietly, and 10 nodded, turning to look at CT-7567, who was still swaying gently, quietly humming now. ”Let’s give him some more time.”

10 turned to stare out the window, his eyes watering a little, but not just from the lights. He felt so safe, so- so light, like he had been at the bottom of the ocean and had finally resurfaced and breathing fresh air. His breath didn’t catch when he inhaled, and his hands didn’t tremble, but were steady and ready to hold a blaster, and hit his targets. 10 did some practice motions, aiming everywhere around him, and Alpha hummed.

”You trying to shoot me?”, he grumbled, and 10 was ready to shout his protest, before noticing Alpha’s smile.

Oh. A joke.

10 smiled, ”smirked” in return, and shook his head. Alpha huffed out a laugh, the ground trembling slightly, and CT-7567 opened his eyes. They looked dim, relaxed, his eyelids were drooping and he kept swaying however slightly.

”You ready?”, Alpha asked, placing a hand next to CT-7567’s knee.

CT-7567 blinked at him, and 10 could almost see his brain trying to form words.

”F-for what?”, he stuttered a little, and 10 thought maybe they weren’t so different after all.

”For sleep”, Alpha smiled, and got up. 10 glanced at CT-7567 at the same time as CT-7567 glanced at him, and if not for his blond hair he could’ve been 10’s reflection.

”You- we- we did all this- and now- sleep?”, CT-7567 kept stuttering, and got up, dusting his pants. ”I thought we’d-”

”You’re both tired, no?”, Alpha asked, looking at them both with his hands on his hips. ”If you feel like it we can train or do math..”

”No thank you,” CT-7567 said quickly and 10 could feel his face muscles quiver. He embraced the smirk creeping on his face and smiled at CT-7567, then at Alpha who looked at him with the same pride and fondness as the day 10 had spoken his first word.

CT-7567 didn’t smile back, but his frown mildened a little into something that 10 had to search his mind for a long time.

Smugness: having excessive pride in oneself’s achievements.

10 tilted his head at CT-7567, who took a step forward and offered his hand to 10. He hesitated a little before accepting it, and let CT-7567 pull him up. 10 dusted his pants too, and stood in line next to CT-7567 as Alpha looked at them both fondly.

”I’m proud of you two”, he said, and 10 could feel warmth spreading in his chest. ”I know it was just a few minutes in a closed space but- this is the first step into unlearning your mindset towards stimming. It feels good, doesn’t it? I saw how you both easened up, relaxed.”

10 and CT-7567 glanced at each other, and CT-7567 shrugged. 10 mimicked the gesture and glanced at Alpha.

”Yes”, he whispered, his throat strained and scratchy, ”it felt nice.”

CT-7567 nodded eagerly beside him, and Alpha smiled.

”This room is for you two. I’ll make sure that you have your space and peace, so that you can do whatever, whenever, when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, or just want to be alone. You can also meet up here, if you ever need to, OK? This is for you two, only. I promise.”

10 took a deep inhale and looked at CT-7567, who nodded at him and 10 exhaled. He nodded back and smirked, to which CT-7567 stopped frowning for a moment before doing so again and looking back at Alpha.

”Just us?”, he asked, and Alpha nodded.

”Just you.”

”Will we- will we be- could-”, CT-7567 tried, and coughed. ”Could- Cody-”

”If you want to, you can ask someone to come with you”, Alpha said, crossing his arms. ”Mainly I meant this as a… secret lair of sorts, so that the Longnecks won’t find out what you’re doing. The trainers too. So, try to keep it lowkey, OK?”

CT-7567 confirmed affirmative, 10 nodded. Alpha smiled at them and turned around. ”Come on. I’ll take you to bed. And- remember, keep this a secret, OK? If a non-brother asks, you’re here to receive extra training. Understood?”

This time 10 and CT-7567 confirmed affirmative aloud in unison.

Angstober Day 25

Mind-control / Brainwash

Spoiler: This is an excerpt from Inheritance, a fic we have yet to release. ^-^

It’s probably been close to an hour by now though Anakin’s not exactly sure when he finally pulls himself up onto a higher platform of the building. Right up ahead, light glints off a familiar armored figure, who’s standing his back facing him.

“Rex?” Anakin calls cautiously, taking a step towards him.

Something about his presence just feels off. Almost… double maybe. And he can sense the Son right around here, but he doesn’t actually see him anywhere.

“Rex?” he calls again when the clone doesn’t respond, “Come on, let’s go.”

Finally, he slowly turns around. “We can’t,” he objects, “He’s right. Right about everything. You have to join him.”

That’s… totally unlike him. Both what he’s saying, and the way he’s saying it. What did the Son do to him? “Rex, what’s wrong?” Anakin asks warily.

“What’s wrong?” he repeats like that’s the stupidest question he’s ever heard, “What should I go back for? To fight in a war I have no say in? As a slave to the Jedi?” Anakin flinches back at the unexpected question. He’s not exactly wrong. That is all the clones are, slaves to the Jedi and the Republic. They have no say in any of it, and even if they didn’t want to fight, it wouldn’t matter. He tries to take care of his own clones as well as he can, but he knows other Jedi aren’t the same way.

But he needs to focus on the situation at hand right now, not… this. An issue that bothers him all the time even if he never talks about it to anyone. “This isn’t you, Rex. He did something to you.” That he knows for sure. Rex may have a point, but he would never say something like that in his right mind. It’s not the way he is. It’s like – like the Son is somehow controlling his mind, and Anakin clings to that hope, because he refuses to believe that the man who’s always had his back would turn on him like this.

“He did nothing to me,” the clone retorts, “He just asked me to give you a message.”

“What?” Anakin demands, cautious and suspicious.

“He said if you don’t join him, he will kill me.” What?! No, he’s never going to let that happen.

“I won’t let him!”

“Then you will do it yourself,” Rex snarls suddenly, whipping out his blasters and open firing. Only years of constant training allow him to react in time, diving out of the way as the shots tear into the ground around him. He hastily ignites his lightsaber, deflecting the shots away, trying to avoid sending any of them too close to Rex as he does so.

No, just no. He doesn’t want to fight him. He can’t fight him. He’s like – something almost like a brother. Anakin takes a few steps back as Rex keeps shooting at him, then jumps down from the ledge and continues advancing towards him. The only way he’ll be able to stop this is if he stops just defending himself and disarms Rex. Somehow, without hurting him.

“I don’t want to fight you, Rex,” he says, but the clone doesn’t even respond, just keeps firing.

Fine. He raises a hand, Force shoving Rex into the wall behind him and ripping away his blasters with the Force, him in place. The captain strains against the Force grip, but it doesn’t break. This doesn’t really solve the problem of how he’s going to free him from whatever the Son did to him.

He’s still pondering it when Obi-Wan runs into view, pulling out his lightsaber. “Any suggestions?”

“The Daughter said she might be able to do something to break the mind control, but she’s fighting the Son right now.”

Then what are they supposed to do?

Call of the Sea

Chapter 5 - Revelations Read on AO3

Summary: Ashla climbed the ladder. It gave her enough height to comfortably reach over the side of the tank. Rex rose slowly toward her, keeping eye contact as his head broke the surface.

Words: 2629

Warning: physical violence (nothing graphic)

 **********

 One of the men in red and gold livery was waiting for her when Ashla pulled up to Palpatine’s mansion. He opened the front door for her, then followed as she headed for the seascape hallway.

 “This way, miss,” the man said. “He’s in the lab.”

 Ashla’s gut clenched. That didn’t sound good at all.

 The man led her through a new hallway, through a door that led outside to a wide expanse of lawn.

 “What’s your name?” Ashla asked, trying to distract herself from the growing unease crawling up her spine.

 The man gave her a surprised look, then said, “Thire.”

Keep reading

Rex, Pint-Sized Battlemaster

(Ben and Luke, Ahsoka, Rex, and Leia, Chrono)

Intensely on my mind right now: Rex’s weird role as just That Mando Kid Wandering The Temple in the Uncle Ben and Little Luke verse

He walks in on padawan strategy classes, looking all of ten or twelve years old, and just sits in the back. He waits. He audits. When someone complains about how they don’t need battlefield strategy classes, that they’re Jedi and there hasn’t been a war in so long, when the teacher is just exhaustedly explaining for the fifth time that Jedi are regularly called in to warzones, to negotiate ceasefires or extract Senate representatives, when the teacher tries to impress upon their students that reading a battlefield is important even if you don’t expect to lead a battle…

Rex just sets a dejarik board in front of the padawan, who’s twice his size and can tell that Rex is about as force-sensitive as a barely-more-than-null brick, and says, “If you can beat me, you can claim that you’re good enough at reading a battlefield to skip this class. If you can’t, you’re sticking around. Understand?”

The teacher didn’t agree to this ahead of time, but has seen Rex pull this on other people, including experienced knights and masters, and just. Gestures for them to go ahead. Fuck it! The weird Mando kid is capable of outmaneuvering highly-ranked masters, Force or no! Clearly he knows his shit!

Rex, seasoned battle commander that he is, with literal decades of training and experience, wins easily. The padawan is very upset. Rex doesn’t care, because in his mind, the padawan’s behavior was going to get brothers from Kamino killed fifteen years down the line.

And he just keeps on doing that, to the point where all the masters who run those kinds of classes on war and strategy and tactics just reach out to Ben like “Hey… is this kid legit or just hyperfocused on the subject or–” “He grew up in a military cult.” “…” “For reasons I cannot disclose, yes, he’s legitimately more experienced in this field than most field-ready Jedi masters. Just be glad the military cult in question wasn’t Kyr’tsad, honestly.”

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Clone Commander Blackout & CT-7567 | Rex, ARC-77 | Fordo & CT-7567 | Rex, Coric & CT-7567 | Rex Characters: Clone Commander Blackout (Star Wars), CT-7567 | Rex, ARC-77 | Fordo, Clone Trooper Coric (Star Wars), ARC Trooper Stec (Star Wars), Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano Additional Tags: Planet Teth (Star Wars), Post-Battle Of Teth, Post-Battle of Christophsis, Teth is its own warning, Battle of Hypori, there’s a lot going on ok, Alternate Universe, Jai'galaar Verda AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, No Beta we die like. like. everyone from torrent-, Author Is Sleep Deprived, The Author is Screaming Series: Part 3 of Jai'galaar Verda Summary:

Blackout received his Jaig eyes recently - only to learn that, apparently, he now is part of ancient magic. Fordo and his squad have been called in to save Jedi, but there is more than just one thing off about… well, everything, unfortunately. It just can’t ever be easy, can it? Rex has a lot to do, between the shriek-hawk in his head and the new padawan in his legion. Soon, both will be the least of his problems.

[You have to read at least Blue before this one - it’s a direct continuation.]

Little Brother

Part Five of Te Ori Bal Te Kih

CC-2224 had grown used to seeing the aftermath of a trainer’s abuse, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still piss him off.

To say he was pissed when his batch come across the CT outside the training room was an understatement. He’d thought it would lessen up after Andin and the other trainers Fox scared off left but apparently not quite. 

“What’s your name vod’ika?” He asked as he knelt down in front of the young cadet.

The boy looked up fearfully at the sound of his voice. Besides the fact that he was blond and beat up, there didn’t appear to be anything else wrong with him. 

“Easy, we aren’t going to hurt you,” CC-5052 told him. 

The young clone’s eyes darted to each of the CCs nervously. He hunched his shoulders in to make himself seem smaller. 

“My designation is CT-7567.” He responded quietly.

“Look kid, what are you doing over here?” Wolffe asked. “These rooms are restricted to most of the clones.”

7567 looked up at Wolffe.

“I was training here.”

The CC batch looked at each other.

“You’re modified?” Wolffe asked skeptically. “You’re a CT though.”

7567 narrowed his eyes challengingly at Wolffe.

“Yeah and what of it?”

2224 shot his brother a glare.

“Nothing, we just didn’t know there were modified CT batches that’s all.” 

7567 slumped back a bit. 

“We weren’t intentionally modified. They think some of your tube juice leaked into ours.” The blond buried his chin into his knees. “Only me and another cadet in my batch can grow.” 

-

I'm thinking of posting this story to AO3 soon in it's full and continuous format!

CC-2224 -> Cody; CC-5052 -> Bly; CT-7567 -> Rex

Mando'a: vod'ika - little sibling

idk what to title this. it's basically about rex's life mostly pre-christophosis. ive been staring at wookiepedia for the past ten minutes and i've just now decided i'm going to use a mix of canon and legends content so if you thing something is factually wrong (and a lot will be) then your right, but im not spending two hours delving through old comics.

doing research it states as though arc troopers were made only after seeing battle, but idc, so rex and cody were made before they ever left kamino.

this is for @taylorswiftscar, i really hope this lives up to your expectations. if you (somehow) like it, i could do a part 2???

also, btw, most clone trooper numbers here are ones i made up. i googled each to make sure they wont real troopers but if they are, sorry.

warnings: death, mentions of war, war, fighting, battles, fight training.

CT-7567 reached a hand up to touch his short, soft blonde hair yet again, staring into the mirror with a shattered expression.

Why does my hair have to be different? He thought glumly, slowly running his fingers through the short hairs with glossy eyes. CT-7567 used his other hand to gently play with the ends of his cadet uniform - a blue tunic over a red long-sleeved top and red pants held close to his torso with a black belt.

Around him, the other cadets busied themselves with pulling on their own clothes, the room filled with quiet chatter and the sound of their black boots hitting the floor.

"You alright there, 7567?" A voice called and the blonde clone turned to his brother - who of course shared the same tan skin and hazel brown eyes but had his own cropped brown hair. CT-4826 gave him a soft smile before grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him along the hallway. "Let's go, 7567! I want to be first!"

-

"Did you hear?!" CT-7567 turned to see the other clone cadet - unique only for his shaggy dark hair - as he scurried across the silver floor to their bunks.

"What?!" CT-4826 called from the bunk above CT-7567, leaning down to hear better.

"I heard that CT-3383 went out in the rain and fell into the waters!" CT-4526 exclaimed quietly and CT-7567 shrank back in his bed, closer to the wall and further from the tales. "I heard he got eaten by the sea serpent!"

CT-7567 shuddered at the thought of the huge, mysterious creature supposedly lurking in Kamino's dark waters. CT-7567 wasn't afraid of much, but the tales he heard about the serpent made him shiver.

"Oh shut up, 4526," CT-4826 complained, rolling his eyes. "The sea serpents aren't real."

"Yes they are!" CT-4526 replied with a frown, a flicker of hurt playing at his features. "Stop lying, 4826! The Kaminoans said their real!"

"The only sea serpent here is you!" Another cadet giggled from across the room, darting over to the bunk and tackling CT-4526 to the ground. "You should be called Serpent!" The two cadets rolled around on the floor for a bit as CT-7567 turned to face the wall, pulling the sheets over his head and cowering.

-

CT-7567 watched as CT-3383 walked back into the barracks days later, smiling sheepishly as he held his left arm - which was tightly bandaged from his elbow to thumb.

"3383!" CT-7567 cheered as the cadet waddled in, racing over and hugging the brunette's right side tightly - although carefully not touching his left. "You're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked with a tilt of his head and CT-4826 scoffed.

"4526 over hear thought a sea serpent got you" CT-4826 explained, turning to face the cadet with a disappointed look.

CT-4526's bottom lip turned up in a pout as he clambered into his bunk to hide. "Not my fault," he grumbled. "One of the squad-cadets said he did."

The three other cadets exchanged worried glances before the blonde scrambled over to his brother. "It's alright, 4526." He told him, draping an arm over his shoulders. "I believe there really is a sea serpent, but at least 3383's here, ay?"

"Yeah."

-

"Watch your step, 4526!" CT-7567 cried out, slouching down behind the metal barrier to hide from the droids. He glanced at his armor, which was now scratched up from diving and rolling around the citadel training center.

"Go, 7567!" CT-3383 called out, CT-7786 peering out over his shoulder. "Make the run!"

CT-7567 nodded, sucking in a breath before rolling out to the side, racing along the metal floor to the tower. His shaking hand grasped the grappling hook attached to his belt and tossed it up, latching onto the wall.

Clambering up and up and up until finally he was over.

The blonde clone grabbed the staff and held it in the air, cheering as the droids deactivated.

-

"CT-7567 at your service, sir!" The blonde clone saluted, shoulders shaking slightly as he stared at the ARC Trooper in front of him.

"CC-2224 at your service, sir!" The clone next to CT-7567 announced. He was one of the 'classic'-looking clones - the ones with the tan skin, hazel eyes and short black hair. CT-7567 had never met him before this moment.

"At ease, troopers" the ARC Trooper told them, and both their stances relaxed ever so slightly. "I've been informed you both performed valiantly in your training and therefore are being prematurely promoted to ARC Troopers." CT-7567's face broke into a grin that he tried to hide. "My name is Alpha-17 and I'll be taking you for the next part of your training."

"CT-2224" the brunette clone introduced himself again and so CT-7567 did the same, frowning when Alpha-17 shook his head in dissapointment.

"What are your names, boys? Not your numbers," Alpha-17 asked and CT-7567 bit his lip.

"My name is my number" he told the ARC Trooper hesitantly, and CC-2224 nodded in agreement.

"Well, we'll just have to get you names."

-

"2224!" CT-7567 cried out with a grin, lunging towards the clone and wrapping his arms around him. "That shot was amazing!"

"Your tactic was too, 7567!" The brunette exclaimed, punching his brother's arm softly.

"You two make a great team," Alpha-17 told them with a proud grin. "Maybe to greater a team."

-

"7567! 2224! Come here!" Alpha called from the other end of the barracks, and the two younger clones scurried to meet him. "I've decided on names for both of you, if you like them."

CT-7567 nodded eagerly, jumping from foot to foot in excitement. CC-2224 was in a similar state, bouncing up and down. Individually was something clones weren't usually recognized for, and having an individual name was startling.

"2224," Alpha began, looking him directly in the eyes. "I dub you... Cody."

CC-2224, no, Cody beamed with joy, happiness radiating off of him in huge, endless waves. "I love it, thank you Alpha!"

The older clone gave him a gentle smile before turning to the patiently waiting blonde. "And 7567! I dub you, Rex."

-

"You ready to go, Rex?" Alpha asked, gently placing a hand on the Arc Trooper's back. Rex nodded, breathing in deeply and letting his adrenaline take over.

"Yes, sir!" He told him confidently, rolling his shoulders back as he switched the hand gripping the handle of the gunship. It wobbled in the air slightly before making a backwards motion. They were landing.

"Good luck, kid" his brother told him gently. "K'oyacyi!" Alpha patted his back one last time as the gunships doors opened and the clones around them filed out.

"K'oyacyi!" Rex called back, grasping his dual pistols - something he'd been allowed only recently but instantly loved - and rushing out into the sandy terrain of Geonosis.

hope y'all liked that! (to anyone actually reading this)

K'oyacyi means 'hang in there' or 'come back alive' or 'stay alive' in Mando'a.

btw i haven't read over that so thats why there may be several mistakes...

Have a great day!