#BUT WHERE WAS REX AND HIS BLUE JAIG EYES!!!

[stardusthuntress]

So I finally watched the 2D clone wars show, and I gotta say, it’s PHENOMENAL!!!

I now adore every second of it, in all of its sassy, oversimplified, primitively scripted, 2D glory!!!

I LOVE how Kenobi spends practically the whole time 100% done with everything, Anakin really is a disaster at heart, half the time the animators zoom in on something, just to start at a picture of a droids face while it talks - with zero motion whatsoever, Windu’s rocket punches, Yoda’s dramatic expressions, PADME and the marriage drama, the bazooka ARC (that guy had tired Rex energy, I LOVED it), a very different perspective of the moments right before Kenobi and Skywalker enter the battle of Coruscant, and it clearly was so inspirational for so many other SW shows!!! Not to mention how it flushes out so many things I’ve always wondered about!

And this is where the tradition of warning Anakin of his fate begins! And he still doesn’t get it! AND he’s 100% dramatic ALL THE TIME!!!

It’s amazing!!!

But it does bother me how many of the clones are truly treated as disposable! It’s like the only ones that make it out of the conflicts are the Jedi and the Sith! They just got mowed down left, right, and center!!! It was so cruel to them!!! And they mostly avoided giving ANY of them names!!! Cody was in it, and 1 other named guy but I couldn’t figure out what his name was. The Commander in red who led the ARCs! They were the only clones that (mostly) survived!!! It was so sad to watch them all just get disposed of so quickly and easily! They didn’t have to do that!!!

[sashketter]

His pauldron remained

Summary: Rex leaves a piece of his armor with you.

Word count: 1.1k

Warnings: Implied established relationship, a little fluff, a little angst. Gender-neutral reader. Fully SFW.

Notes: My first fic! This takes place immediately after season 3 episode 7 of The Bad Batch (“Extraction”) and jumps ahead twice, first to the middle of the Rebellion and then to the start of the New Republic. I’m obviously still processing the loss of Rex’s pauldron lol

“Rex!”

You called out to him from the edge of the small airfield. He was facing Howzer and Echo at the end of the Remora’s platform, his back to you. He turned at the sound of your voice, and even at this distance, you could see the right corner of his mouth tug up. Echo nodded and directed Howzer towards a group of clones to their right. Rex started towards you, the jaig eyes of his helmet peeking out from under his left arm.

“You left this behind,” you said as you lifted Rex’s pauldron from where it hung down by its straps over your left shoulder. You stretched it out to him and closed the distance between you.

Rex sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Weariness seemed to sag his shoulders. He stared down, eyebrows furrowed, at the piece of his armor balanced in your hands.

Noticing his posture, you looked around and asked, “Your men… The mission failed?”

Rex met your eyes briefly before shaking his head and averting his glance to his left. The sadness in his features shifted to contemplation. “Yes, but it brought us some intel.”

Before you could push further, Rex rapped a knuckle on the scorched blue material in your left hand. “I left that for you,” he said. A smirk spread across his face and wrinkled his eyes, softening his gaze on you.

Your eyebrows shot up in shock, then down in confusion. “Uh, if this is your way of promoting me,” you leveled the pauldron and its straps across your collarbones, “you should know this won’t fit. And not just literally, captain.” You hummed his title a litter lower in your throat.

His smile faded, lips thinned into a taut line. “No, I don’t need it anymore,” he mused, eyes downcast. “The rank that came with this,” he pinched the straps, “doesn’t exist without the Republic. We’re all equals now.”

You watched a haze of emotions flicker across his face before he lifted his eyes back to yours and smiled again.

“Besides,” he slinked a step closer to you and dropped to a murmur that rumbled in his chest, “I had to tell you I’d be back without waking you.” The knuckle of his right forefinger came up to gently tap your chin upward.

As his hand came down, you let out a shy huff and smiled into his gleaming face. He could’ve left a note on your desk or a message with one of his brothers, but you knew instantly the weight of this gesture: he trusted you with a piece of himself, a part of his past that he was learning to live without in this brand-new galaxy. You gathered the pauldron and its straps into your hands and hugged it to your chest. “I’ll keep it safe,” you promised.

~~~

Years passed as bases of operation were abandoned and reassembled throughout the galaxy, the proto rebellion ever on the run from the Empire’s probe droids. As the movement’s numbers grew, your belongings dwindled. Papers and pillows and plenty of extra weight were shed to improve speed and efficiency. You could fit most of your things into one bag, ready to be slung across your back at a moment’s notice, but you still used a second larger case to carry supplies necessary to acclimate to each new planet’s environment. Buried beneath various coats and oxygen masks and rappelling rope was Rex’s pauldron, always the last item to be unpacked and hung in your sleeping quarters.

You had lost track of Rex awhile ago, but kept his pauldron where he could most easily pick it back up. At least, that’s what you told yourself - you promised, after all - but you knew that beyond the words that had passed between you, from late night whispers to hastily scribbled notes, you kept it as a reminder of him and the hope you had kindled together.

“What’s that,” someone would inevitably inquire, piqued by the antique armor.

“It’s a friend’s,” you had said for a year, before acknowledging instead, “It was a friend’s.”

Most probed no further, satisfied with the assumption that the memento’s owner had died. After all, most in the Rebellion had lost at least one person to the unyielding Empire; meaningful keepsakes were common. Those who pressed further were met with the story of Rex and his activities during those early years of Imperial control: how he and his brothers had set up a small network of militaristic strongholds hidden in the ruins of the Clone Wars, equipped them with Republic technology salvaged from decommissioned cruisers - the same ships they had manned and traversed the galaxy in for years - and essentially laid the foundation for the ground operations of the current iteration of the Rebellion. You hammered home that last point especially hard for those unfamiliar with the clone captain. If he is dead, you thought, his memory should live on.

Years passed, and his pauldron remained.

~~~

Galaxy-wide celebrations after the Battle of Endor lasted for weeks, but for some, the work was just beginning. Building a New Republic would be a different fight altogether, one that required skills more subtle than shooting blasters. Nonetheless, some members of the Rebellion came forward to help.

You were still finding your place in peacetime when your former general, now distinguished senator, summoned you to her office. A short flight brought you to Coruscant, which for all the upheaval of the past two decades, seemed almost like it had been during the Republic. Glittering surfaces above hid neon darkness below, with every species of the galaxy converging on its streets.

Walking the halls of the Senate building, however, felt less familiar. All the finery of its members couldn’t replace the emptiness left behind by the time that had passed. Unlike some, you remembered the Republic before the wars, before legislative bills and secret motions had set the galaxy on a course to be undone and remade into something to survive. Ghosts from a lifetime ago lingered most potently where change originated. I wonder if he ever came here, you wondered idly. He would’ve hated it.

Senator Organa wasted no time in offering you a position as one of her aides. She was detailing the job’s responsibilities when another senator, breathless with news, entered and urged her to the lower chambers. I might not be cut out for this, you thought as she left the room.

You waited in front of her desk, standing at attention out of habit and cataloguing the contents of the senator’s shelves, when a familiar voice drifted from the doorway behind you. His honey dulcet tones matched the golden haze filtering through the windows and silhouetting the room.

“Still got my pauldron?”

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

H/T to @fox-trot for this post re: clone bases. I was thinking the same, although I’d go a step further and argue the clones set up the earliest Rebel bases. I just love the idea of remnants of the Republic haunting the Empire by forming the foundation of the Rebellion.

And I know we don’t technically see a fully formed, cohesive Rebellion until circa Rebels and Andor, but I also like to think there were several attempts at a coalition that failed, or at least smaller cells like Saw Gerrera’s that had been operating independently, for years before. Hence “proto rebellion” and then “the current iteration of the Rebellion” (emphases added lol) 😇

[vytels]

Part Five of the Rex Raises Luke AU

For some context, Rex paints Jaig Eyes onto Luke's helmet after the Battle of Yavin. Furthermore, Luke has a phase one clone helmet because "it's skinny and lightweight, easier for me to move in!!" Let me know if guys have any questions about this AU or more!!

Previous - Next

Scene #10

“Where can I find the Jedi?” Din’s voice had cut through the tension in the air, leaving no room for questions or avoidance. 

Bo-Katan had slid her helmet off and looked at him, her eyes piercing through his visor. “There are two Jedi that I know of. If you take your foundling to Calodan on the forest planet of Corvus, you will find Ahsoka Tano.” 

Calculations had filled his head as his head dipped, his voice lowering once again. “And the other one?” 

“No one finds him.” Bo-Katan had taken a breath. “He finds you.” 

He finds you.

He finds you.

He finds you. 

And as Din stared up at the man towering over him, he understood what the wayward Mandalorian meant. 

Dents and scuffs littered the white helmet, dirt smeared across the narrow sides, and soot covered the filters. Blue splashed up from the chin, drenching the visors and mouth guard, but they couldn’t hide the flecks of orange cradling the sides of the helmet that rose in two lines toward the back. But it was the two two triangular lines across the brows that caught Din’s attention. 

The man was adorned with Jaig Eyes. 

That fact almost wiped away every other detail about the man, like how his armor continued across his shoulders, trailing to his arms in sweeps of orange and blue. It was nearly hidden by the black cloak clinging to him, wrapping around his body and hiding the warrior inside. 

Of course, there was his lightsaber too. 

The green saber hissed out of life as the man stepped back, retracting the spray of light that it had given. 

Din didn’t know what to say, so he said the first thing that he could grasp.

“Are you a Jedi?” 

“I am,” the man replied. 

“Are you Mandalorian?” 

“Not quite.” 

Confusion swept across him, but before he could ask, the man reached toward his helmet. His fingers played across the edges of his helmet, hissing as the seal released and it slipped from his head. Blond hair swayed out of bunched curls, sticking to sweat across his forehead, and blue eyes opened with a smile. 

Something pounded against his heart, nearly stealing a breath. 

“My name is Luke Skywalker,” the man said, “My father is Rex, a former Clone Captain.” 

The words swirled in Din’s mind and his vision tilted, his head beginning to pound. “Your father… Was he a Mandalorian?” 

Luke’s brows furrowed and concern flashed in his eyes. The emotion swept across his face as he knelt down and placed a hand on Din’s shoulder, his fingers hovering over the tender flesh and aching muscles. 

“You’re concussed,” Luke said. 

Din frowned. “No, you just don’t make any sense.” 

The comment dragged a smile across the man’s face. “Maybe that’s true, but blood is also seeping from your helmet.” 

“Oh,” Din replied.

[clonemando]

Haunted Clone Week

Written for the Day 1 prompt: Dark between the Stars

@clonefandomevents

AO3 version here

Ponds is left abandoned in space after he is shot but that doesn't mean he's dead.

Ponds wasn’t dead. He should have been seeing as he had been shot in his head and then spaced. But somehow he wasn’t dead. The pain had been intense but then the cold had numbed it until it faded away. The burning of lungs without oxygen had done the same. He knew, logically, that without a pressurized suit he should have imploded or something but instead he just… drifted. Between specs of light he knew were lightyears away. He only felt cold and numb and… empty. 

He had so much he had wanted to do still. He had a letter in his bunk that was unaddressed that still needed to be left on a certain other Commander’s desk. He had a little blue and white stuffed tooka doll that had carefully sewn jaig eyes on its forehead he had wanted to give to Rex. He had a tin of specialty caff he had forgotten to tell his General about that was supposedly both tasty and good for helping headaches. So much was left behind and all he could do was think about how now he’ll never get the chance. 

It could have been minutes or days or years as Ponds drifted through space with his path fueled only by the momentum caused by being forcefully ejected from the ship and the gravitational pull of the nearest stars. He wondered if this was what death was. Was it your consciousness existing in your body even when all life in it was gone? Would he be trapped like this for the millions of years it took for his body to eventually get dragged into a star until he burnt away? Would he keep existing even then? Were stars filled with the souls of all they had devoured all watching without any way to cry out or be seen? 

Another lifetime or just a few more minutes passed. The darkness around him seemed to cradle him like he was in some sort of dark water. It reminded him of being in a bacta tank and then it dug deeper and brought back memories he didn’t know he had of being in a tube floating in a warm thick fluid. It made him think of the first time he swam in one of the many irrigation channels on Kamino that caught rain water and funneled it into basins where the water could be purified into something drinkable for humanoid species. He had always loved the water. Cody had suggested they call him fish or frog but it had been Fox that came up with the name he kept. Ponds. It had been a joke. Something about how he was always calm when the rest of them weren’t and his love of water and something about mud had been brought up but he had liked it. He wanted to be a place his brothers felt at peace and safe. He liked the idea of being a little messy but full of life and surprises. Not as mucky as a swamp, not as grand as a lake. Just a little pond. 

He missed his family. He missed Wolffe’s gruff love and Cody’s warm hugs and Fox’s sharp wit. He missed Bly running his fingers through his hair when he would rest his head on his brother’s thigh while Bly was working on a training module. How long has it been? Did they remember him? Did they cry over him dying? Bly definitely would have cried. Wolffe likely would have needed to punch something until all the feelings went away. Bly didn’t know how Cody would have reacted to the news. At this point so many of them had died, was Cody already numb to losing their brothers? Fox probably was. He had already told them how hard it was on triple zero and how fast they went through troops because the senators wanted them decommissioned any time they messed up. They all supported him the best they could but it was hard being so far away. 

The darkness was growing. Ponds had been staring at the same little speck of light now for ages and it was getting dimmer. There was nothing else to do by this point. He had given up on trying to figure out why he was aware and he had gotten bored of hypotheticals on how his brothers were reacting to things. He had been trying to figure out where he was based on what he could see and what he had known about where they had been headed. He was pretty sure the light he was looking at was near Coruscant or in that same direction… maybe. It was hard to tell. He really was just in empty space. No planets close enough to make out. No stars close enough to be more than a distant dot. He started doing calculations on how long it would take for light from Coruscant to reach where he thought he might be on a galactic map and then subtracting that from the timeline he knew from galactic history to try to figure out when the light he was seeing might have been from. 

Cody had always said he was a nerd. He liked math and equations and filling out data forms. He liked puzzles that could be solved and hard facts that added up nicely. He was proud of his scores in astrophysics. If his numbers were right then he was looking at Coruscant back before the cities were even first built. It would still have oceans at this point. If he could zoom in his eyes to see it in detail instead of just a white flickering dot, he might even be able to see land there. He remembered learning that the Taung had lived there first… those who would create the Mandalorians… would they still have been the primary species? It might have been from even before them. 

A ship suddenly stopped near Ponds from hyperspace and he felt a tractor beam start tugging his body toward a cargo hatch. His mind had stopped processing things ages ago so he couldn’t remember if he knew this ship or not. It felt familiar.

“I have retrieved the body. The boy didn’t lie about the coordinates. It’s covered in… some sort of inky stuff but I’ll clean it before we arrive back at the temple so it can receive a proper funeral.” A familiar voice said as Ponds’ body was dumped on the floor of the hold. Ponds felt the pain returning and groaned, his body starting to spasm causing the being that dragged him from space to jump back in fear. 

Ponds slowly came back to his mind. He was wrapped in cold but it was comfortable. He slowly moved his fingers and relaxed as they moved as he willed them despite now being the same empty black color as the space he had been left in. 

“You’re supposed to be dead! How are you alive?!” A voice filled with terror said and he looked at them with eyes filled with starlight as their blaster shook from where it was pointed at him. 

“I am dead.” He muttered and ignored it as the being shot him twice when he finally stepped forward. He took the blaster and snapped it in half with his hands like it was nothing but a twig. 

He didn’t know what he was now but it wasn’t living and that meant he couldn’t die. Which was good because he had things to do. 

“I already got shot, I’d like to not be shot anymore. Can you take me to my General Mace Windu?” He asked and grinned when the spacer nodded and ran for the cockpit.

[wild-karrde]

In Command - Part 11

Master List | Previous Part | Next Part

A/N: As always, thank you to the wonderful @teletraan-meets-jarvis for beta-reading this for me!

Chapter Rating: T

Warnings: language

Word Count: 7.3k words

Blaster bolts whizzed by her ears, and the smell of burning flesh and death filled her nostrils. Screams of the dying echoed around her as she raced through the forest. The vines and brambles tore at her clothes and her long hair stuck to her neck and face. 

They were coming.

A branch near her head exploded from a plasma bolt intended for her. The splintering wood sliced her cheek and cut open her shoulder to her collarbone. She tasted blood and sweat and was choking on smoke and fumes, but still she ran. Suddenly, she heard blaster fire to her right. Looking over, she saw the clone with the Jaig eyes on his helmet running next to her, turning to fire backwards with his twin DC-17 pistols. 

“Keep running!” he shouted, his voice buzzing through his helmet’s modulator. She nodded and ignited her lightsaber, deflecting blasts behind her as they ran.

The forest suddenly opened up in front of her, and she skidded to a halt, her foot stopping mere centimeters from the the edge of a cliff, sending a few pebbles tumbling into the abyss. She leaned out, frantically searching for a ledge to scramble to, but all she could see was the darkness with tendrils of fog reaching upwards from the depths, beckoning her.

She was trapped. 

She turned just in time to see the clone burst through the brush, his blue and white armor covered in mud with one blaster hole in his pauldron that hung over his left shoulder.

“There’s nowhere else to go!” she panted. “What do we do?”

He holstered his pistols, reaching out towards her with his gloved hand. “We jump.”

She felt a strange calm come over her. “Who are you?” she asked as she let her fingers slip into his without hesitation.

“Ready?” he asked, ignoring the question.

She nodded.

“Together.”

They leapt into the fog below.

Senna sat bolt upright in bed panting as sweat trickled down her brow, and she gasped wildly, digging her fingers into the sheets. The soft morning light was beginning to illuminate the room from the single window, and she could already see some flecks of dust fluttering in the rays that trickled in through the curtain. Even in the quiet room, it felt as though her stomach was in her throat, and she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of falling. Her hand flew to the other side of the bed only to find it empty. The divot where Rex had slept had gone cold. 

Fuck.

She swallowed hard, trying to slow her breathing, which was still coming in deep, frantic gulps. For some reason, it was harder to calm herself in the moment. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the clone trooper and the way his hand had felt in hers or the sudden drop or just the continued terror that came with her repeated nightmare. Her hands trembled as she pushed her hair back out of her face, closing her eyes and trying to inhale through her nose to hold for a moment before releasing out of her mouth. It felt as if she were choking on repressed sobs, and she could feel her pulse hammering in her ears, seemingly impossible to slow no matter what she tried, only deepening her frustration. 

I am one with the Force.

The door of the room hissing open made her jump, and her eyes snapped back open, finding Rex’s brown ones in the dim lighting. He’d clearly been trying to keep quiet in case she was still asleep, clutching a bag in one hand and balancing two cups in the other. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake-” The apology died on his lips, and his sheepish grin evaporated as he took her in, his eyes drifting to where her hands were tightly gripping the blankets and then back up to her face before she could shift her expression to something more neutral. “Senna,” he said softly, quickly setting the bag and cups down on the desk before making his way to her side of the bed and sitting on the edge of the mattress. 

Tears leapt into her eyes as Rex’s warm hands found hers and enveloped them. Senna swallowed hard again, but her breathing still wouldn’t slow, and a sob finally escaped her. Rex’s hands flew to her face, cradling it, and she clasped his wrists as he pressed his forehead to hers. 

“Breathe with me Senna. You can do this. Deep breath.” He inhaled, and she mirrored him, some of the tears finally breaking free from the corners of her eyes. “Hold,” Rex commanded. She met his gaze, his irises glowing and warm in the early morning light as he stared at her before allowing his eyelids to flutter closed. “Let it out,” he whispered, and together, they exhaled, long and slow. 

“Atta girl. Again.” 

They repeated the breathing cycle again and again, with Rex’s thumbs swiping over Senna’s cheeks as he whispered quiet encouragement. The warmth of his hands against her face felt like safety, and the way he said her name felt like home in a way she couldn’t explain. She could feel his breath against her lips, and it took everything in her not to lean in and kiss him, to let herself fall into him. It terrified her as much as soothed her, but the trembling eventually subsided, and she loosened her grip on his wrists, releasing them and folding her hands in her lap. Rex sat back, watching her carefully. 

“Nightmare again?” he asked quietly. 

She nodded, her mind racing still. 

That’s too far. Too close. Don’t let it happen again.

“Been a bit since you’ve had one of those. That one seemed worse.” Rex’s quiet voice snapped her back to the moment. 

She shrugged, brushing her hair out of her face. “About the same. Just couldn’t calm down for some reason this time. It just felt… more real. I-I can’t explain it.”

Rex chewed his lip. “You don’t have to. Not if you’re not ready.” 

“Thanks.” She could see a shadow of something in his eyes, a pain at her not trusting him enough to let him in. 

That’s not it. Kriff, I’m muddling this up. All of it. Because of my own issues. 

She reached forward, resting her hand on his forearm. “It’s just… it’s hard to talk about. To relive those moments. And talking about them just reminds me of everything that I’ve lost. That we’ve all lost. How everything is different now and the life that I once pictured is gone forever.”

“You’re still grieving that.” 

“Yes. Exactly.” She gave him a small smile. “And still trying to figure out what the new way forward looks like.”

Something she couldn’t identify flickered in his gaze, and she could see a muscle in his cheek twitch, as though there was something else he wanted to say but couldn’t find the words. She waited patiently, giving him time, but he shook his head after a few seconds. “I went down and got some breakfast. A few pastries and some caf.”

Senna blinked as he stood hurriedly, rubbing at the back of his neck. 

“Rex? Something wrong?”

He turned, still seemingly floundering words. “No. Nothing. I just didn’t sleep well.” 

“I snore?” she teased, finally feeling like she’d regained some of her footing.

He chuckled at that, and some of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders. “Like a rancor.” 

Whatever had existed briefly in the moment seemed to have passed, and she was curious. There was a slight tug in her chest too, one that she pushed away as hard as she could. Rex met her eyes, and she quickly turned her mouth up in a smirk to hide the whirlwind still churning within her.

“Alright, that’s enough out of you,” she retorted, throwing a pillow at him. 

Rex caught it with a grin that made her heart flutter before he tossed it back at her. “Yes, ma’am.”

Senna watched as he walked over to the desk, bending over it to open the bag and rummage inside. She could see the way the muscles in his shoulders moved through the tan shirt he was wearing, the way he shifted his weight to one foot, all of it tiny little things that summed to make up the man in front of her, the one who could pull her from her waking nightmares and calm her, the one she trusted with her life. 

The one that made her question every plan she’d ever made. 

He turned and glanced over his shoulder at her, and she ducked her head, pretending to work on disentangling herself from the sheets.

Kriff. Get it together. 

She stood, pulling the blankets back to resemble a somewhat-made bed before she straightened her clothes, smoothing some of the wrinkles from the shirt she’d slept in. His eyes were still on her, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious about her appearance. 

As if he hasn’t seen you in a worse state. 

But you weren’t in love with him then.

She inhaled sharply at the unbidden thought. 

Absolutely fucking not.

“You alright?” 

Her eyes snapped to meet his. He was chewing a pastry he’d taken from the bag, something flaky and warm. There were crumbs around his mouth, and one of his eyebrows was slightly raised as he watched her. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as he waited for her response, and her eyes were drawn to the scar on his chin. 

“Senna?” he asked again.

She shook her head. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. What’s in the bag?” The smell was just beginning to waft to her, and she took in the notes of warm butter and cinnamon. Her mouth watered as he held the bag out to her. 

“Just whatever pastries they had at the kiosk downstairs. The caf’s weak. Sorry.” 

Senna shrugged, taking a bite and basking in the flaky warmth of what appeared to be a cinnamon bun of some sort. “I just may require multiple cups. This is pretty good by the way. Thanks for getting it.” 

“Figured we’d have a better time listening in on a full stomach.”

She grinned through her mouthful. “I respect that line of thinking.” Pulling one of the chairs from the corner of the room, she dragged it towards the desk, slipping a pair of headphones around her neck as she tinkered with the comm node. “What’s first on the docket today?” 

Rex grimaced as he sat down next to her, handing her one of the cups of caf. “Don’t be mad, but I listened to the first few sessions to let you sleep in a bit.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him before glancing at the chrono on her datapad. She’d slept through three sessions. Pulling one headphone to her ear, she could clearly hear the background audio of a room of people, moving amongst one another and speaking in somewhat hushed tones. 

Karking hells. 

“You got it turned on yourself?” she asked.

“Paid attention to what you were doing yesterday. Probably was a lot more luck than anything that I got it working.” 

“Oh.” She felt some heat in her cheeks.

Rex was speaking quickly, clearly worried she was about to tear into him. “It wasn’t anything we hadn’t already heard before. A lot of what the planet has to offer in terms of natural resources, which we already knew. They took a mid-morning break about half an hour ago, and that’s when I ran down for breakfast. Figured you’d definitely want to be up for this one though,” he stated as he consulted the notes he’d taken the day before on her datapad. “Interplanetary resource management.”

Senna nodded, ignoring the warm feeling in her stomach. “Sounds promising.” 

And I did need the sleep. Fitful as it was.

Rex’s shoulders dropped, clearly relieved that she wasn’t going to rake him over the coals for excluding her. “Agreed. Might even hear some details about what’s planned on Ilum.”

Senna shuddered. She could feel Rex watching her again, but she kept her eyes focused forward on the comm equipment as the audio crackled to life. 

“Yeah. Maybe.”

They listened to the sounds of a room full of people, presumably the Imperial Admiralty and their aides, mingling with one another prior to the session. 

They’ve probably got good caf, Senna thought bitterly as she sipped at the weak liquid in her cup. This might as well be hot bantha piss. 

A call to order echoed over the feed, and the murmur of the crowd fell silent as the attendees found their seats. 

“You think they’re broadcasting holo feeds as well?” Rex whispered. 

Senna huffed. “Probably, but those are a hell of a lot harder to tap into, especially on short notice. I could have pulled it off if I had another week.” 

Rex nodded, but said nothing further as the main speaker, an admiral with a name Senna didn’t recognize, kicked off the session.

“Esteemed officers of the Galactic Empire, I come before you today with a proposal that shall play an integral part in leading us into a new age of military dominance. As we all know, there are those that would wish to destroy the Empire and all that it has accomplished, but with the resources from my proposal today, I outline how we shall develop the greatest superweapon our galaxy has ever seen, one that will restore peace and order and ensure the security of the Empire for millennia to come. In this effort, Lothal will play a large part, but there are other planets that will also be required to donate their resources in order to ensure this project’s success.”

Rex and Senna glanced at one another, the unspoken understanding passing between them. 

This is what we’d hoped for. Information about the superweapon.

The speaker continued with his presentation, listing the various resources Lothal had to offer and what those resources could be used for in terms of manufacturing. It was all more information Senna and Rex had already garnered from their work the first few months on Lothal, but Senna still frantically typed notes into her datapad, keeping her mind focused on the task at hand and only pausing to confirm the occasional detail with Rex. Her concentration seemed to make her less aware of Rex’s close proximity to her, and at the moment, she was desperate to not think about that. After half an hour, the lecture turned to the volume of production required for the project.

“In order to produce the amount of durasteel and other resources we need from this planet, we will have to create new jobs on the order of millions. We shall have to bring in labor from other systems in order to accomplish this, and once complete, the Lothal of the future will be very different from the world we know today. We shall establish production facilities across the planet that will be able to not only refine and produce the materials we need for construction from Lothal’s resources, but will also be responsible for construction of various components of this new superweapon.” He began listing figures of resources needed, and Senna let out a low whistle. Rex turned to look at her, and she pulled one earphone off to speak with him.

“Rex, the volumes he’s talking about…this is immense. And at the rate that they’ll go about this, the planet’s environment and biosphere will never recover. They’re talking about rendering Lothal nearly uninhabitable with the amount of resources they’ll be taking from the planet and the amount of waste products that will be coming out of those plants. They’re going to completely obliterate the ecosystem here.”

Rex’s gaze hardened. “Surely they can’t do that.” His voice was gruff, but she could still hear the waver of his certainty in the statement. 

Senna looked into his eyes, chewing her lip. “Why not? Who’s going to stop them? From day one, Palpatine has stated one of his main goals is strengthening the Empire’s military, no matter the cost. I imagine this is a worthwhile sacrifice in his eyes. A means to an end. You know as well as I do that he’s done worse to gain less.” 

Rex sat back, crossing his arms. Senna knew he was thinking about Kamino, about Kashyyk, about the countless other worlds the Empire had damaged, discarded, or destroyed in the first year of its existence alone. There was little doubt there would be more, and an Outer Rim world like Lothal was hardly a blip on Coruscant’s radar. Anyone that spoke out would be easy enough to silence. That is, if anyone cared enough or was brave enough to speak up in the first place. 

The muscle in Rex’s jaw was flexing as his brows furrowed in thought. After a few moments, he slipped his headphones off and stood. “I need to report this to Senator Organa. I’ll be right back.”

Senna nodded absently as he grabbed his commlink and disappeared into the refresher so he wouldn’t disturb her. Slipping the earphone back over her ear, she listened as the admiral continued.

“…but not all of the resources we need can be taken from Lothal alone. My proposal includes the largest interplanetary mining operation the galaxy has ever known in which Lothal will play a crucial part. We shall have to coordinate operations in such a way that all of the resources we could possibly need will be available in a timely fashion and at our disposal for this weapon’s construction. One of the largest contributing planets outside of Lothal will be the ice world of Ilum.”

Senna’s heart stuttered in her chest. She couldn’t breathe again. 

Focus. Take notes. This is important.

—

Rex had just completed his briefing with the senator and clicked off the call when he heard a crash from the room outside. 

Senna.

Hand already reaching for the blaster on his hip, he bolted through the door back into the room.

Senna was still sitting in her chair, but her entire body was slumped forward and shaking. The cup of caf he’d handed her earlier was dribbling down the wall of the room. Quickly, he reholstered his weapon and moved to kneel at her side. 

“Senna, what is it? What happened?” he asked, reaching for her. 

She shoved his hands away, standing hurriedly and flinging the headphones down. Her breathing was coming in short gasps much in the same way it had when he’d found her this morning. He could see she was angry, and tears were glistening in her eyes. 

“It’s over,” she muttered. “They’re on a break.”

“Senna.”

She continued pacing, ignoring him and muttering to herself. Rex slowly stood, rooted to the spot and unsure what to do as she ran her hands over her hair, trying to smooth down the flyaways that had come loose. Aside from Empire Day, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her this upset. 

“They’re going to harvest the kyber crystals from Ilum. All of them,” she said, her voice shaking with rage. “They’re going to destroy it too. They don’t care.”

“Why? What good does that much kyber do?” he asked, trying to understand as quickly as he could. The only use he’d known of was in a Jedi’s lightsaber, and considering the fact that the Empire had waged a campaign to murder all of the Jedi, Rex found himself confused as to why they’d need more in such a large quantity, particularly since Senna so clearly had some idea of the significance.

“Kyber crystal is able to store and amplify energy. That’s its use in a lightsaber, it channels the energy into the blade. This principle could be applied to any weapon if you think about it. To harvest the entire planet’s worth…I can’t even imagine what kind of weapon they’re building. And to desecrate the entire planet…so much will be lost.” Her voice broke, and she cleared her throat as a vein throbbed in her temple. 

He realized that she was grieving, but it was different this time; Senna was grieving the loss of the Jedi holy site and the kyber tradition that had lived on in the Jedi Order. She was losing one more piece of the faith and traditions that had defined most of her life, and while he’d never understood all of the various ways that the Jedi connected to and used the Force, he understood loss, and that Senna was feeling that now. He tried to close the distance again, but she stepped away from him. 

She’s never pulled away before.

She was looking at him as he floundered for the right thing to say. “We will stop this, Senna.” He knew the words rang hollow. He could see how little they reassured her in the way her shoulders slumped. 

She stood quietly for a few seconds before turning on her heel and grabbing her jacket. “I need some air.”

“I’ll go with-”

“No. Sessions resume in fifteen minutes. Someone needs to be listening, and I’m in no condition to do it. Besides, you had no problem doing it without me this morning.”

Her words stung, but Rex held his tongue as she disappeared out the door, leaving him alone in the room. He sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. 

—

Senna pulled the hood of her jacket up as she blindly stormed out the front doors of the inn and onto the busy street. She made a quick left, following the flow of foot traffic as she tried to calm her mind. There was a slight chill in the early afternoon air, and it felt as though it was biting in her lungs as she took deep gulps of air. 

One more thing lost to the Empire. All they do is take. It’ll never be enough. They’ve killed everyone I’ve loved. 

Tears stung her eyes. 

And now there’s him. 

She’d wanted to go to Rex, to lean on him as she’d become so accustomed to doing, but as he’d reached for her with that look on his face, she’d felt startlingly vulnerable, like an exposed nerve about to be touched with a hot iron. 

I couldn’t be in the room with him then. Not with everything that was happening. 

It had felt different from the night where he’d saved her from Fisk. That night, she’d felt more sure of herself, like she still had balance, but the news of Ilum had sent her reeling. She hadn’t expected it, whether that was due to her own ignorance or denial, and it had knocked her off of her axis and into an uncontrollable spiral. Then Rex had stepped towards her, and in that moment, she wasn’t sure what would happen next if she’d allowed him to hold her. 

And that had terrified her more than anything.

So she’d run. Well, not run, but put space in between them, hastily throwing her barriers back up to insulate herself as she had for the last year. It wasn’t fair to him, and she could see that she’d hurt him. 

The parting shot was uncalled for. 

But she knew it had been a desperate attempt to stop whatever was happening between them right then. 

Still. Need to apologize when I get back. Especially since I left him with a mess to clean up.

A sharp, familiar scent wafted into her nostrils, and she inhaled deeply. It was comforting to her, something to cling to. She finally stopped walking, taking another deep breath in.

Caf. Good caf too by the smell of it. 

Senna turned slowly to get her bearings. She’d wandered into a large square that appeared to be in the early stages of being decorated for an event. There were stalls setting up and strings of lights being hung by workers. A few shouts and laughter carried through the air, and for a moment, she watched a small group that were trying to untangle a string of lights that had become wadded up at some point. The joyful outburst seemed to contrast so sharply with her own internal struggle, and it gave her pause.

They’re just going about their day while my galaxy is crumbling. They have no idea of the grief I feel. Completely unaware. 

And maybe that’s one of the reasons we’re here, doing this. So that they never know what it’s like to lose your home and your family to the Empire. So they never know this feeling of hopelessness and loss. 

One of the young men split off from the group, and her eyes followed him as he made his way to a booth that appeared to be selling steaming cups. 

That seems promising. 

Senna moved to the booth, already feeling warmer on the inside. She purchased two cups of caf, inhaling the bitter scent that wafted off the drinks, carried by the wisps of steam. 

You can do this. You can work with him. Maybe just keep taking breaks. Taking walks. Keep space between you when you need to. Tell him you need to think. Because you do. 

The festival being prepared around her seemed to present a promising distraction, one that she would gladly take advantage of in a few rotations. 

Her mind was still a whirlwind as her feet carried her back to the inn, but she pressed on until she was standing outside of the door to their room. With her hands too full to dig out the keycard, she raised a knuckle to rap the door, trying to not slosh any of the caf down her arm. But before she could knock, the door sprung open, and she came face-to-face with Rex. He had his jacket halfway on, and his eyes widened when he saw her standing out in the hall. 

“I was just coming to find you,” he said.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. No. You… you’ve just been gone a while. And I was starting to worry. You didn’t take your commlink.” 

She smiled sheepishly. “Well, I’m back. And I have good caf. Or at least better caf.” 

He nodded, standing aside and letting her pass. She noted a certain rigidity to him that hadn’t been there this morning. She set the cups on the desk, shrugging out of her jacket. 

Fix this. It’s not his fault. None of it is. Not how you’re reacting to him. Not the Ilum news. None of it.

“I owe you another apology. Seems I’m racking a lot of those up lately.” 

He leaned against the wall with one shoulder, arms crossed. “You’ve got a lot going on. A lot to process.” 

“Don’t do that. Don’t give me excuses. I… I just needed time to process.”

“I understand.” His tone didn’t match his words. It was clear she’d hurt him. He was more withdrawn. Senna felt as though she was struggling to say the right thing, and she was beginning to wonder if she could anymore. 

Maybe he’s finally tired of your shit. Tired of putting up with you. 

“Whether you understand or not, what I said to you as I left was wrong. It was a cheap shot because I was hurting,” she tried again. 

“I understand.”

“Stop saying that.”

“But I do.”

“And it doesn’t make my reaction acceptable.” She huffed a sigh. “You’re going through the same thing I am.” 

“It’s different.”

“Yes, I know it is. But still… it’s a lot, Rex.”

“It is. But I’ll be alright. And if space is what you need, then you take as many walks as you need to. Whatever is needed. This is going to be a long week. It may be frustrating. It may be painful. When it gets to be too much, do what you need to do. I’ll do the rest. Understood?”

Senna watched him for a moment. He was definitely more distant, and maybe that was for the best, but it still twisted something inside her chest. However, she kept her face neutral, and after a few moments, nodded. 

“Alright.” 

—

The next few days passed in much the same way. Rex would typically wake first, retrieving breakfast while Senna set up the comm device, then they would sit together, listening intently and taking notes on the various panels. They sat close, but not too close. They touched each other, but only to get the other’s attention. They took turns ordering room service or retrieving food from nearby vendors, comparing notes. They’d sleep in the same bed each night, but never press against one another. 

And at least once a day, Senna would take a walk. 

Rex would never stop her, always seeming to know when it was coming and already handing her the jacket she’d brought with her before the headphones were completely pulled off of her head. He’d take her datapad from her, continuing where she left off with notes. He’d never ask where she was going or how long she’d be gone, seeming to know that she was working through something, although she hadn’t said what. 

If she was honest, she wasn’t sure what she’d tell him even if he asked. So many things clouded her mind. 

They weren’t getting enough information to justify them being there, to make the risk worth it. The Ilum news on the first day had been something, but in her mind, it wasn’t enough. Every day seemed to weigh heavier on her as she combed the notes on her datapad before bed, highlighting things that would be worth passing along and archiving things they already knew while Rex snored softly, his back turned towards her. 

He’d been more distant since the first day as well, and that bothered her too. She knew she was erratic from his perspective. A month ago, she’d been annoyed that he’d been withdrawn, and then she’d been relieved when he’d come back around. She’d leaned on him heavily in the aftermath of the evening with Fisk, and she wondered if that had been her error. She’d allowed her walls to come down, to think of what it might be like to have Rex as a more permanent fixture in her life. And maybe allowing those thoughts in had been her undoing, and that’s why she’d pushed him away again, even though every cell in her body was screaming at her to fall into his arms. 

That life has never been a possibility for me. Not when I was a Jedi. Not now. I can’t walk away. I can’t go live on a farm with him and turn my back on this fight. 

And I can’t let it get so far that it hurts him. Although I may have already failed there. 

She was fairly certain he reciprocated at least some of what she felt, although half of the time she was certain she was imagining it and just hoping for some sort of justification for her feelings. But there was just a warmth when he looked at her and a familiarity that drew her in and made her feel safe, one that he didn’t seem to reserve for anyone else. Granted, she hadn’t seen him interact with other people that he would consider close, but she thought she saw some of the same glimmer when he talked about Ahsoka or Anakin or Echo. 

Maybe that’s all it is. That he just ranks me with them. Which is good. It’s nice. 

But you’re still in love with him.

On her nightly walks, she wondered if love was really the right way to frame it. Of course she’d loved people throughout her life. Her master, her friends at the temple, Anakin, who she thought of as a younger brother. But this was different. This was a type of love that she wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced. She’d had the odd crush here or there and had even kissed another padawan once in the temple garden to see what all the fuss was about. It had been silly and she’d felt nothing in that moment, not so much as a flutter of her heart or a flush in her cheeks, and she’d thought that was the end of it. There had been others that she’d turned to for comfort after the end of the war, but even those that she’d felt something for, those that she’d slept with and thought that she perhaps loved somehow still felt less intimate than the most tame moments she shared with Rex. 

But if you allow yourself this and you’re wrong, you’ll lose everything. Him. The rebellion. The chance to make a difference, to have it all have been worth something.  

It isn’t worth that.

Senna’s mind seemingly ran through the same train of thought every time she set foot outside. She kept trying to find a way forward, and ultimately, came to the conclusion each time that the risk wasn’t worth the reward. There was of course, the possibility that everything worked out, but she was too afraid of the failure to consider that option, the one where she and Rex stay together and continue fighting, the option where they’re more than just partners. 

Each time she went out, she found herself drawn back to where the festival was being set up. She wasn’t certain if it was just because it was easy to find without getting lost, but her feet seemed to always carry her down the main avenue to the square, and with every passing day, it grew more and more beautiful. On the second day, streamers and lights were strung, and on the third, there were even more vendors, setting up displays for their various wares. On this walk, Senna stopped to buy some sweets to share with Rex in the room and a blue sundress that caught her eye in one of the shops. As she strode back towards the hotel, she considered how their time was dwindling and how frustrated she felt with their lack of a groundbreaking discovery. 

We only have tomorrow and the day after. And then it’ll be back to our dwelling, waiting for an Imperial to slip and divulge something useful. Or maybe they’ll pull us entirely since we can’t seem to find anything else. 

The thought turned her stomach. She wasn’t ready to leave yet, and while a large part of that was the mission and her desire to glean as much information as possible, the other part was that she wasn’t ready to part from Rex. Once they left Lothal, there was no guarantee she’d see him again, no more adventuring that would allow her to continue to try and determine the best path forward. Fate would take it from there, and she was certain she’d never see him again. 

Maybe it would be for the best. 

A glint of metal in a rubbish bin caught her eye, and she paused. An old datapad was poking out of a dumpster, and suddenly an idea formed in her head. 

That wouldn’t be traceable back to me. I could contact him. Set up a meet. Something covert. He wouldn’t have to know it’s me. Might be time to squeeze him. And since we’re far from home, he has no reason to suspect I’d be here. 

Her brain was already formulating a new plan as she plucked the discarded datapad from the bin. A quick examination proved that it was still functional. In fact, she could see nothing wrong with it beyond the fact that it was an older model. 

Someone just probably got a new shiny toy. Oh well, their gain is mine as well. 

Tucking it into her hip holster where her own datapad normally sat, she continued making her way back towards the inn, smiling to herself. 

Rex is going to hate this. But he’ll forgive me. 

I hope.

—

“Absolutely not.” 

Rex was seething as Senna sat on the bed, a smirk curling her lip and a playful glint in her eye. He’d missed this side of her the last few days, but that didn’t make him any less uneasy about what she was proposing.

She can’t be serious. She can’t.

“Hear me out before you start making a ruling,” she said, raising her hands in what he assumed was supposed to be a calming motion. It wasn’t doing anything to quell his frustration, but that didn’t stop her from pressing forward. “I’m not suggesting I go on another date with Fisk. I’m thinking of something more covert where he doesn’t know it’s me.”

“Why you in the first place? Why shouldn’t I go?”

“Because you can’t lie at all, and I know how to push his buttons.” 

“Why meet him at all? We’re gathering intel. We have information to feed back.”

“It’s not enough, Rex. Plus, we have an opportunity here. He’s out of his element. He has no reason to suspect we’re here. And he’s going to be twitchy with all of the top brass around. We have a chance to catch him completely off guard.” 

Rex sighed, sitting down and facing her. “Go on then. Lay it out for me. I’m hoping you at least have a plan.” 

“Of course I do,” she replied with mock hurt. He watched as she reached for her hip, pulling a datapad he didn’t recognize from the holster there. 

“Where the hell did you get that?”

“Someone’s trash. It doesn’t matter. It can’t be traced back to me.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “You have got to stop going through people’s garbage, Senna.”

“Technically, it was sitting on top of the bin, so I didn’t have to go through anything,” she countered without looking up from the datapad. 

Rex rolled his eyes, but she ignored him, continuing on. “So if we know anything about Fisk, it’s that he’s a big talker, and I think if his career as an Imperial were on the line, he’d be even more talkative. What if we could use all of his protocol breaches to blackmail him? Not checking disks back in when he’s supposed to, losing classified information that he was careless with, flaunting rules and regulations and threatening to assault women. Any one of those would be enough to get him a court martial and knock him down a few ranks. So I say we set up a meeting outside of the conference. Some place public like the market at the edge of the city. I’d go disguised, and we could threaten to expose him if he doesn’t tell us about the weapon. I think he whines about bureaucracy, but his position in the Empire gives him the recognition and power he desperately craves. If we were to threaten it, I think there’s not much he wouldn’t do to save his own skin. And with the kind of security breach threat he poses, there’s no way he’s not facing demotion if not loss of his clearance and expulsion and prison time if it all came to light.”

Rex chewed the inside of his cheek, running through how it would work in his mind. He believed she was right in her assessment of Fisk, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. “I still think I could be the one to meet with him. I’m bigger, more intimidating.” 

“You’re the better shot, and I’d need coverage and eyes to help make sure I don’t get caught in a trap,” she countered. “You’re more tactical and can get me out of a jam should one arise.” 

“There can’t be any jams, Senna. Not with everything on the line.”

She shrugged. “Better to plan for all contingencies. And like I said, I’ll be disguised. Plus, you don’t have that much height on me.” 

He bit back a chuckle, nodding somberly instead. “I still don’t like it. When would this happen?”

“I think day after tomorrow would be best. Last day of the conference, and judging by the schedule, it’ll be a lighter day, so he won’t be missed as much. And then we head back home the following morning. Easy.” 

“It’s never easy,” Rex muttered. In fact, he felt most uneasy about all of this. In contrast, Senna appeared completely and infuriatingly relaxed, punching away on the new datapad, but her eyes briefly flicked up to meet his. He could see hopefulness there, hope that he’d let her do this. 

Rex couldn’t deny that he shared her frustration with the lack of new information they’d gathered. He couldn’t count it as a total loss of course, but he’d hoped to find something big, something that would perhaps warrant more work, more investigation. 

More time with Senna. 

He could see her growing discouraged with every passing day. She needed a win, but he wasn’t sure if this was the best way to get it. Rubbing at the scruff on his jaw, he studied her carefully.

You trust her. You have to believe that she’s learned from the last encounter with him. You have to understand that she doesn’t need your protection, no matter how much you want to keep her safe. 

Rex sighed. “Alright. Set up the meet for the day after tomorrow. We can always no-show if we need to.”

Senna smirked, punching a few buttons on the datapad. “Done.”

“What did you say?”

“Something along the lines of ‘We know you’re the largest security threat on Lothal and if you don’t come meet me, I’ll tell your superiors and let them teach you about proper protocol.’” She tossed the datapad aside. “And now we wait.” 

“And now we wait,” he repeated, picking at a cuticle. The silence dragged on between them for a few moments before Senna sighed, tapping her fingers on her knee. 

“You think the market is the best location?”

“Hm?” 

“For the meet. Do you think the market is best?” 

Rex had been studying maps of the city during the week, and he did like the local market for the meet. It was large, public, and there were plenty of rooftops he could use as vantage points. “Yeah, I think that’s the way to go. Plenty of outs if needed. Make sure he understands he’s to come alone.”

She nodded, chewing at a fingernail. 

“You think he’ll take the bait?” Rex finally asked. 

A soft chime of the datapad answered his question. A wicked grin spread across Senna’s face as she leaned over and read the message. “Oh, he’s mad, and definitely wants to meet up. She punched a few more buttons in response. “That settles it then. I’m meeting him the day after tomorrow. I’ll have to come up with a disguise or something, but that shouldn’t be too hard.”

Rex nodded, picking at a piece of lint on his pants. He still didn’t like it.

Senna pushed herself to her feet. “Alright. I’m going to take a shower then before heading to bed.” She patted him on the shoulder as she passed, and he caught her hand. Senna stopped, looking down at him. 

“I… I just need you to be careful with this,” Rex said softly. “I’m still not comfortable with it. Please be careful.” 

She smiled down at him, squeezing his hand back. “Always am, Rex.” 

He returned her smile half-heartedly, releasing her. The ‘fresher door hissed shut behind her, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. 

Did I just make a mistake? 

Did I give in because it was the right thing to do, or because it’s her? 

The shower water hissed on behind the door, and Rex sighed, eyeing the bag of candy she’d placed on the desk next to him. It was some sort of toffee that seemed to be Lothal specialty, something she’d noted he favored early on. It was hard to find, yet she always seemed to come up with a bag of it when he least expected it. Popping one of the sweets into his cheek, he leaned back in the chair, interlacing his fingers behind his head and letting his vision drift to some distant point. 

Am I ever going to be able to tell her how I feel? 

And will she feel the same?

Tag List: @seriowan @partoftheeternalsoul @rosmariner @misogirl828 @ellichonkasaurusrex @zoeykallus @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @staycalmandhugaclone @redheadgirl @fordo-kixed-rex @wizardofrozz @ariadnes-red-thread @extrahotpixels @justanothersadperson93 @leftealeaf @meekaielmyerhs99 @kaminocasey @echos-girlfriend @lucyysthings @obihiddlenox @merkitty49 @littlemissmanga @clonecyaree @baba-fett @sleepingsun501 @rexxdjarin @samspenandsword @babygirlrex0504 @ladytano420 @fxlsealarm @runforrestr @rain-on-kamino @ladykatakuri @ladykagewaki @arctrooper69 @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall

[nukebag]

I was bored so I gave the Rex cat some lore??? (nuclearteabag tries writing a story for the first time in a year)

Anakin, Rex, Ahsoka, Echo, and Fives are on a bog-standard mission on some generic planet in the Outer Rim, and things take a very bizarre turn��?

No work of science could have explained this. No ancient tome in the Jedi Archives of old, no Dark Magic of the Nightsisters, no twisted knowledge of the Sith.

And yet there was no denial of the truth.

Anakin looked at Ahsoka, dumbfounded. Ahsoka looked at Fives with utter disbelief. Fives wasn’t sure whether to feel amused or bewildered at this turn of events, and stared at Echo, as if looking for some kind of explanation, but he was equally as speechless.

The stoic figure of Rex was gone. Replaced with the diminutive shadow of a small creature who stood frozen, staring directly at the bunch in utter terror.

“A… Tooka???”

Ahsoka was the first to reply, followed by Fives.

“Where the actual kark is Rex though?”

Once the smoke had cleared, the group saw that this particular tooka has blue stripes running down its arms, bright blue ears that closely resembled Jaig Eyes, and an uncomfortably large cone on its head; it was the sort a vet might put on an animal to stop it from licking itself in injured areas.

It was Echo who realised the truth first, and he questioned his sanity.

“Did he turn into a tooka?!”

This truth wasn’t too hard for Anakin to believe, and he broke down in laughter, followed by Ahsoka.

“Oh kriff it really does look like him.. How are we going to explain this to Obi-Wan?”

The tooka sat there in frustration, making a vain attempt to kick off the cone on its head.

[silverwings22]

Song of the Sea: Chapter 12: Swandive

Chapter Warnings: almost getting eaten, mind control, profanity, venom Series warning: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a.

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"Bracca is a junk planet." Echo grumbled. "I trust Rex, but I'm not sure what he's getting at here."

“He had to have found something.” Hunter sighed. “Not thrilled we’ll be picking through garbage, though.”

Shiani looked up from where she was fiddling with the scanner she’d helped Tech build, going through the settings while he piloted. “Garbage isn’t so bad. I lived in the garbage for four years under Tipoca City.” 

Hunter and Echo looked uncomfortable at that. Tech just glanced at her face as she kept working on the scanner. The sergeant knew Tech had wanted to bring her onboard the ship far sooner than they had, but he’d refused for the sake of their missions. He hadn’t thought too much about what her life looked like when they weren’t on Kamino. Now it was a glaring realization that punched him in the gut; Shiani had been alone in a scrap heap underwater. Abandoned in the garbage of Tipoca City. 

"Shiani… I've got something for you. Stay put a minute." The sergeant got up and walked back towards the hold. 

"Where would I go?" She smiled with a shrug at Tech. 

Tech shook his head. "I am not sure what he's up to."

When Hunter came back, he handed two rattling lengths of chain to her. "I couldn't make myself sell them. I meant to give them back sooner, but things got a little distracted."

Shiani set the scanner aside and picked up the durasteel, running her thumbs over the links. She smiled slowly, bringing them to her forehead after a moment. "Thank you." She said in a quiet voice. "Good to have them back. Feel like a siren again."

Tech gave Hunter a grateful look as she stood and put the manacles back on her wrists, adjusting the wire armbands carefully. "Meshla." He told her, getting a grin from her and a smirk from his brothers. She’d been scouring every resource she could find on Mandalorian language, customs, and history for weeks.

"Ready for the garbage planet." She patted the blaster on her hip with a grin. 

Echo chuckled. "Good. Cause we're here."

Tech sat the ship down and they all stepped out, Hunter doing his best to shield Omega's eyes from the harsh sun and dust. Shiani giggled next to Tech. "Hunter’s such a dad." She whispered. 

"He is simply being responsible for her well-being as the leader… is the dry air going to be alright on your skin?"

"Now Tech's being a mother tooka." Wrecker grinned. 

"Tech is a good friend." Shiani gave him an adoring look, one of many the rest of the Batch were getting to be familiar with, and gave his arm a quick trio of squeezes. I love you. "There’s Captain Rex."

Sure enough, the blue painted white armor was trudging towards them eagerly. She realized after a moment that Rex must have been the captain Echo had told her about when he’d told her what cyar’ika meant. He had Mandalorian jaig eyes on his helmet, which she hadn’t seen when he’d come to the Parlor. It spoke to the type of brave he must have been, and filled in a few blanks she’d been wondering over since she’d first met the blonde clone. Namely how the squad notorious for not getting along with “regs” seemed to have so much respect for him. "Good to see you boys. And ladies." 

Omega beamed at the recognition, Shiani just nodded with a smile. "What treasure did you find in the trash?"

"The Venator over this way. The medical pods inside should be intact… it's the only way I know to get those chips out."

The group went silent and nodded, remembering the very real reason they were there. Wrecker squirmed uncomfortably. "I hate this."

"It'll be okay." Omega took his hand, and Shiani saw her giving him three squeezes.

Wrecker looked at her curiously. “What are you doing?”

Omega waved for him to lean down to her so she could whisper. “It’s a secret code Shiani taught me. Three squishes means I love you.”

Wrecker smiled a little. “Aww, Omega…”

“So don’t worry! Everyone will be right there with you." She went back to normal volume after sharing her “secret”. 

"Easy for you to say. No one's cutting open your head." Wrecker’s worried frown returned immediately.

"Technically, all of our heads except for her and Shiani." Tech sighed. "But the alternative is unacceptably risky."

"You’re going to be okay. Me and Baby Mega will protect you." The siren patted the big clone's back. "Come on."

They followed Rex through the sand, having to duck once to hide from Scrapper guildsmen. "They won't like it if we're operating on their turf. And they'll have no problem contacting the Empire." The captain explained. 

Shiani hissed softly at the mention of the Empire, covering her mouth. Her personal experience was relatively limited, but the story Tech had told about Tarkin and the fate of the regs was enough to make her fangs glisten with venom. The Empire was no better than the long-necks of centuries ago, who'd stripped everything from her people. Now a new evil did it to the clones. . 

"Here it is. Original Venator class, first off the line." Rex looked up at the scrapped ship when they reached it, and they could almost hear the smile under his helmet. 

"Kinda like you, Rex." Wrecker teased. 

"Knock it off and climb." Rex huffed and they started their ascent inside. Tech frowned when both Hunter and Shiani stiffened at a miniature lake that had formed in the belly of the ship. 

"What's wrong?" Omega tugged the sergeant's hand.

"Just stay above the waterline." He cautioned, getting between her and the murky puddle. 

Tech looked at Shiani. "Is everything alright?"

She nodded, pushing him slightly further from the water. "You stay close to me, okay?."

They worked their ways up, until they reached an open chasm from a collapsed deck. Rex pulled a large cable up. "Guess it's time to make a bridge. Wrecker, throw this over."

"You know, my head doesn't hurt anymore… you guys go on without me." He squirmed.

"Need me to sing?" The siren offered gently. "Don’t be scared, Wrecker."

He nodded, helmet pushed up on his head to reveal very unhappy eyes. "I hate heights…"

Shiani smiled and wrapped herself around the end of the cable. "Throw me. I’ll sing for you when you go across."

Wrecker swallowed hard and nodded, picking up the end. "Okay…"

When he tossed the cable, she let out a delighted little noise on her flight across before securing the end for the others. "Be careful!"

Rex went first, followed by Omega and Hunter. Echo sighed at his one hand and made it using his elbows, cursing in Mando’a under his breath. Tech followed, focused and calm, leaving only Wrecker. 

"I could really use that song now." Wrecker mumbled. 

Shiani stood on the edge and cupped her hands around her mouth, pouring out an echo of that emboldening note from before. Echo nudged Rex as Wrecker started inching his way over. "It's pretty, and damn does it help. But it sounds like this herding call I saw on the holonet once, and now all I can think is she's bantha-calling us."

Rex laughed. 

Wrecker was feeling a bit better about this whole adventure when the cable popped, and he went plummeting down. Omega was screaming his name when the cable caught, fortunately around his ankle instead of his neck.

"Wrecker, you okay?!" Shiani yelled.

"It smells awful down here! Pull me up!" He groaned, trying to bend at the waist to get his hands on the cable. His bulky armor made it difficult. 

The rest of the squad started pulling obediently when Hunter spotted a shadow under the surface. "Shit! It's a dianoga."

He grabbed Omega when she started to run for the edge in a panic. Nobody, however, grabbed Shiani. 

The siren took a running leap and dove off the ledge headfirst, dropping like a dart into the water just as a pink tentacle grabbed Wrecker and dragged him under. Tech darted to the edge, eyes wide. "Shiani!"

The water was roiling viciously, too murky to see clearly, until Wrecker popped up with a terrified gasp. Then Shiani appeared, wrapped entirely around one of the dianoga's limbs. She was holding on with her own tentacles, teeth clamped hard into its flesh as her claws ripped at it. When she glanced up and saw Wrecker had cleared the water, she disappeared again and let go, shooting down to the bottom and letting the creature chase her while she delivered another series of bites anywhere she could reach. It chased her around for a while, unable to match her speed, until the venom did its work and it passed out at the bottom of the pool.

Wrecker anxiously waited, clinging to the cable with wide eyes, until she surfaced. "You okay?" She peeped.

"Are you?" He reached a hand down and she took it, pulling herself up with him and wrapping her tentacles around the cable to secure them both. 

She wiped her mouth on her hand, smearing dirty water and dianoga blood across her face. "Ick."

The rest of the clones hauled them to safety, Omega tackling Wrecker in a hug. Tech had definitely been scared, as he grabbed Shiani and pulled her to his chest without even a second glance at the mess all over her. He was usually so particular about dir. "Are you injured?" He cupped her face in both hands to inspect it.

"No. I’m okay." She smiled. 

"What were you thinking? That was a fully grown dianoga, it could have eaten you."

"Nothing’s faster than a siren in the water." She nuzzled into his hands. "Wrecker was in trouble, so I helped."

Tech sighed and hugged her to him again. "Do not… scare me that way. I thought you would be killed."

“I’m okay, Tech." She headbutted his shoulder, but hugged back with a trio of squeezes. Wrecker and Omega both saw it, and exchanged a slow grin.

Tech just nodded, squeezing her a little tighter before letting go. "Just… please be cautious."

They turned around to find everyone else smirking at them. "Alright, you two. Just a little further to the med bay." Rex chuckled. 

The men all turned to follow, back to business like they hadn't almost seen two people get eaten. Omega reached for Shiani. "How do they just get over stuff so fast?" The little girl whispered. 

"Soldiers see lots of bad things." Shiani shook her head sadly. "Just got used to it. The only thing we can do is try to keep up, and try to be brave."

Omega nodded and clung to her hand as they entered the med bay. It was a dark, creepy place with a clear womp rat problem. Even soaked to the skin with stagnant water and dianoga blood, Shiani picked her tentacles up off the floor and wrapped them around her waist. 

"This is not what I would consider sterile." Tech adjusted his goggles. 

"You want to try the facility on Kamino?" Rex huffed.

"... point taken." He sighed. "Wrecker, come here. I've analyzed the data from our scans and compared it to Rex and Omega's. With this, I should be able to identify the chip location for removal."

An unhappy Wrecker sat down on a gurney, rubbing his temple as Tech scanned him. Shiani was distracting Omega by holding her in the air with her tentacles and rotating her like a puzzle cube, since the girl was clearly nervous about the whole situation, when she felt something shift in the air. Like the sudden presence of a barracuda among a batch of eggs, it had her spinning on her heel and pushing Omega back behind her. Wrecker’s face had shifted, his typical sheepish smile now a vicious glower. "Get that away from me." He hissed.

Tech blinked, looking up just as his brother caught him by the throat and hurled him into the wall. 

Hunter, Echo, and Rex jumped. "Wrecker, what the hell?!" Hunter’s voice was tight, realizing very quickly that Wrecker was much too big to be fucking with when he was determined to hurt them.

"You're all in violation of Order 66! You're all traitors!" Wrecker snarled.

“The chip.” Shiani swallowed hard. Fuck.

He rushed the guys, who were scrambling for their blasters, when Shiani jumped on his back. Her arms locked tight around his neck, legs at his hips and her tentacles pinning his arms to his sides before he could get to his weapon. "Wrecker stop. Stop!" She tried to keep her voice level in his ear, clinging as he bucked and struggled to throw her off him. "This isn’t you. It’s the chip!"

She didn't want to hurt him. He was her friend, Tech's brother, but she couldn't let him hurt everyone else. So she hung on even as he threatened to tear every tendon she had with his strength. They’d wrestled before, but he seemed stronger now. Maybe it was because he didn’t care if he hurt her right now. When he finally wised up and slammed his back into the wall, she whimpered painfully. "Let go, bitch!"

"Don’t talk like that… in front of Baby Mega." She wheezed before resorting to drastic measures and sinking her teeth into the side of his neck. 

Wrecker yowled at the bite, slamming her into the wall twice more before his brothers hit him with several stun rounds and he finally went limp from the combination of shocks and venom. Shiani rolled off him and lay on her back, blinking up at the dingy durasteel ceiling until Hunter and Echo’s concerned faces appeared. "Hey. You okay?" The cyborg fretted.

"Ow." She mumbled, letting him help her upright and covering her mouth in the crook of her elbow. "He’s strong..."

"Yeah. Lemme see, kid." He pulled up the back of her shirt and winced at the immediate display of green coloring bruises. "Shit. I gotta check your ribs."

“Where’s Tech?” She winced. “Is he okay?”

"He's coming to." The captain sighed. "This is what I was worried about."

"Better here than Ord Mantell." Shiani grumbled as a cold scomp prodded her sore but surprisingly unbroken ribcage. "Wrecker’s gonna be itchy when he wake up… Sorry, didn't want to bite…"

"You did what you had to. We'll get him in the pod. You and Tech lay down for a minute." Hunter ordered. Echo helped her to the gurney Rex had dumped Tech in unceremoniously. She curled up against him, checking his neck as he came mostly back to consciousness.

"You okay?" She breathed, fingers moving against his newly acquired bruises. 

"I am mostly unharmed." He winced when he spotted the greening marks coming out from under her crop top. "I cannot say the same for you."

"Just bruises. I’ll be fine." She put her head against his shoulder, holding onto him worriedly. Tech just sighed and let her as the others dragged Wrecker into a pod and got to work on his head. 

"I should have anticipated this being a possibility, with what we knew of the chips and the trauma of that fight with the dianoga." He finally muttered. "But violence against any of us is still so far out of Wrecker’s nature…"

"Not Wrecker. The chip." Shiani mumbled, not lifting her head. "Wrecker’s gonna be upset when he realizes what he did. He didn’t want to hurt anyone… just like Crosshair."

"Wise words, cyar’ika." Tech put his chin on her head. Public displays were not his thing, but after almost getting murdered by his big little brother… maybe a cuddle was in order. They watched in silence as Wrecker’s procedure went through, him coming out unconscious. Echo went next, then Hunter. Rex explained the process as he worked the pod controls, Tech nodding and making notes on his datapad until it was his turn. "I'll be right back." He finally untangled himself begrudgingly from the siren’s limbs.

She nodded, hands squeezing his three times before finally letting go. I love you.

He smiled heedlessly and returned the gesture before he climbed into the pod. She knew he didn’t understand what it meant, but that was okay. She could pretend, and keep pretending as long as he came out of that pod safely.

Rex glanced over at the siren as she walked over to watch him go under. "He's gonna be fine."

"Better be. I’d fight the Melody and Harmony themselves for Tech." She smiled, standing beside him to watch Tech's face. Even if the scalpel moving towards him made her uncomfortable, she'd be right there next to him for every unpleasant moment. 

"That was brave, kid. Jumping on Wrecker like that." The captain commented after a minute. "You're no soldier, I'd expect you to freeze up."

"I promised… if I ever got off Kamino, I’d never let anything happen to my new family." She touched her chains lightly. "I was scared, yes. But being scared doesn’t mean stop. Chainbreakers were scared, but they kept going. I have to keep going too, for what really matters."

"I could use a fighter like you, you know. Against the Empire." He glanced back where Hunter was starting to wake up. "All of you would be a great asset."

"Hunter’s not going to take Baby Mega into war." She shook her head. "He wants better for her. And Tech won’t leave his brothers. I won’t leave Tech."

"That's a pity, but I get it. I don't like fighting another war… but for me, it's the right thing to do."

Shiani patted his back. "I know. You have brave hearts, and you’ll do what you can to help other clones. If we can, Hunter will probably let us help you sometimes. He has good hearts too, just other things to worry about now. A Mandalorian took one look at the scared little one and had to adopt them. I read about it, just like I read about those eyes on your helmet."

Rex chuckled. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

When Tech came out of the pod, Shiani climbed into the gurney with him and made herself into a backpack once again. Echo, now awake, nudged Hunter and smiled. "Girls are something else, vod."

"Yeah they are." Hunter agreed, looking over where Omega was sitting vigil by Wrecker and had refused to move. 

 They really were. And they deserved that loyalty in return… he'd overheard some of what Rex had said to Shiani. He knew what the captain was going to ask him. And Shiani had been right about his answer. 

Shiani was laying in front of Tech now, eyes closed as he gently ran his fingers down her bruised back and inspected it. They were still waiting for Wrecker to wake, but he'd assured everyone that the giant's vitals were stable. "Venom should wear off soon." She mumbled sleepily.

"Good. I will get you some bacta as soon as we return to the Marauder." He breathed. "This appears painful."

"Touching feels nice though." She smiled. Her head was pillowed on his bicep, and he'd kindly removed that armor to make it more comfortable for her. "I remember when you didn’t like touching."

"I generally do not. You are special." He paused. “I recognize that I am still less physically affectionate with you than you are with me.” He sounded like he was thinking. “Is that a siren trait?”

“We touch a lot. Some of our language is touch based.” She shrugged and winced at the motion. “We share feelings between touch and song. Especially strong emotions.”

“Such as?” He paused, fingers splayed across her scapula.

“Sharing grief. Comforting fear. Soothing anger. Showing love.” She hesitated on the last part, but decided she couldn’t lie. He didn’t have to think too hard about how she felt about him. They were only talking about sirens in general, right?

“I see.” He murmured. “I suppose it is a good thing I tolerate your touch better than most others. You are special, as I said.” His fingers went back to moving soothingly over her aching back.

"I like being special." She turned to look up at him. "Your neck okay?"

"Yes." He reassured her. 

Behind him, he heard a groan. Shiani turned back around to see Wrecker wake up slowly and put his hand on Omega's head where she napped fitfully in the chair beside him. 

Her eyes opened immediately. "Wrecker! You're okay!"

"Hey kid…" He blinked when she dove into his arms, hugging her impossibly gently for such a big man. "I'm sorry, Omega. I tried to stop it, I really did…"

"It wasn't your fault." She sniffled. "I'm just glad you're okay."

He rubbed his neck when he let her go, wincing at the sting and itch of the blackened siren bite. "Everyone else okay?"

"We’re okay." Shiani got up and walked over. "Sorry I bit you."

"I kinda deserved it." He shrugged sheepishly. He got a six limbed hug for his troubles. "I'm sorry, Shiani…"

"It wasn’t you. And the chip is gone now, so it's okay." She smiled, squishing his arm with her hands three times and giving him a wink when he looked at her. “You’re a good brother. I know that.” 

Beside her, Omega held up a handful of something sweet smelling. "The mission is over… we can't break tradition."

Wrecker nodded and took a piece of the offered snack before Omega offered one to Shiani. "What is this, Baby Mega?" The siren picked a piece up in her claws.

"Mantell Mix!" The girl grinned. 

Shiani blinked. "That explains the charges on our account from Cid." She popped the snack in her mouth. "You two eat lots of snacks."

"We can probably find something in this scrap to pay Cid off." Hunter sighed and walked over. "Good to have you back, Wrecker. Stop putting snacks on tab."

Wrecker just grinned weakly. "I'll make it up to you guys."

"You better." Echo huffed, but he was glad Wrecker was back to himself too. And when Omega gave him some Mantell Mix, he could kind of see the appeal. 

[obirains-archive]

Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor had lived in that AT-TE for years before anyone found them. By a bunch of kids, too! Younglings, even--though none of them could bring themselves to say the word out loud. It felt, to everyone, like a forbidden word from the distant past, a past they had tried to escape and a present they were trying to rectify.

If Ezra had been more observant, he might have noticed the all the artwork inside the retirement home. It ranged from austere, geometric patterns to the natural to the abstract. Sabine did notice, of course. How could she not? Her artist's eyes saw them everywhere, anywhere the clones could get paint to stick: wedges of blue and gold along metal seams, red triangles, red diamonds, angular blue stripes applied with a steady hand. Black and white and gray animals hid in janky corners, foxes or wolves maybe; here and there a faded old Republic crest. She understood that, at least--these three seemed loyal to a fault and loyal up to death--but the rest escaped her. Maybe they all had an active imagination and an artist's eye like she did. All the same, she couldn't help the nagging in her chest, telling her, whispering to her that she should recognize them.

But no matter how much she thought about it, that blurry familiarity never focused. The furthest she got was asking where they got their paint. Rex, flushed and scrambling for words, finally told her they'd distilled some from the joopas they'd caught. Scales and tissues and the like. Sabine, who had asked more to understand their intent rather than technique, dropped the subject. Clearly they didn't want to talk about it. Not now.

But Kanan--Kanan knew. He knew as soon as he stepped foot in the damn place, as soon as he saw the old helmet with the chipped jaig eyes. He knew when Sabine asked her questions, knew when Rex avoided them--he knew and he remembered and he felt sick to his stomach just to be there. Wanted to set the whole walker on fire.

But he knew, too, that they were here to make allies. Here to find soldiers in old traitors. He doubted they'd make it that far, but if by some miracle they did--he knew they shouldn't be trusted with a bucket of paint.

[bacarasbabe]

[Rec*]

NSFW +18 Only

Pairing: Captain Rex x F!Reader

Word Count: 700+

Moodboard by @saradika

Summary: The reader and Rex get creative in their use of the recording function in Rex's helmet.

Tags: sex, p in v sex, consensual recording of sexual activities, brief allusion to previous oral sex (m receiving), mention of m masturbation, emotions

Read Part Two [Play] Here

Notes: This ficlette was conceived after some late night thoughts. Original post can be found here on @delusionsxfgrandeur blog.

"Fuck. Look at you, mesh'la. So fucking gorgeous cuming on my cock like this." Rex continues rolling his hips. His hands are on your ass, squeezing and pressing you down into the mattress. He's keeping you in place as you fist your hands in the sheets, legs shaking, head pressed into his pillow as you cum around Rex.

He's been fucking you for what feels like hours. Any position he could possibly want. Every position he could feasibly get you in. Your pussy is tired, your throat still burns a little, but you know Rex is going to try and coax another orgasm out of you. You don't even need to guess because as soon as your cunt begins to relax, Rex is turning you over.

"That's it. That's my girl. One more. You've got one more in you, yeah?" You're nodding in answer before he's even done asking you the question. "Of course you do, love. So perfect. The best. The best girl I know." And he's sliding home inside you again.

His hands are reverent in the way he holds you and you know if you could see his face, you'd be able to see the love he holds for you in his eyes. But tonight, instead of his warm brown eyes blown black in lust, you can only see the blue jaig eyes that are painted on his helmet. He's recording this, him fucking you.

He was shy, asking you for this. Wanting something more than a holopic of you while he's shipped out. Needing something more while he's alone and desperate and thinking of you. Rex will be able to view the recording of this night anytime he wants when he's too far to reach you. All he has to do is put on his helmet, enable the recording, and he'll be able to watch himself fuck you in any position he wants.

Just thinking about him jacking off to this makes you tighten up around Rex's cock. "Mesh'la. Fuck, how did I get so karking lucky?"

You're shaking your head in disagreement now. Him lucky? No, no its very much the other way around.

Rex's thrusts are long and powerful, and you feel like you need to hold on to something before you forget which way is even up. He's palming your breasts, rolling your nipples between nimble fingers. Wrapping your hands around his you press him in hard against your chest as you buck your hips up to meet his thrusts. Air escapes your lungs every time he fucks into you, forcing you to take his entire length every time.

You miss him already. You miss looking at face as his eyes, brown eyes, gaze into yours. You miss being able to read what Rex is thinking by the expression he wears even if he can't say it out loud. You miss giving him your kisses, brushing noses, and pressing foreheads together. He's leaving again soon, and you already miss him more than what you think your heart can take.

Still rolling your hips, still meeting Rex thrust for thrust, you let go of his hands. Leaning up on one arm, the other wrapping around the back of Rex's helmet, bringing him in close. Your hot breath fogs his black visor, and you stare at where you think his brown eyes are hidden underneath.

"I miss you Rex," you whisper, needy and full of emotion.

Rex's thrusts falter. You hear a strangled moan being forced out with a punch from the helmet's modulator. He's grabbing your hips, cock fully sheathed, and just grinds against you. His cum is hot and the feeling of it filling you up and the pressure on your clit drives you into one more, one more long gut-wrenching orgasm. Tears are pricking your eyes and you’re not sure if it's because of how fucking amazing you feel in this moment, completely wrapped up in Rex, or if it's because of how badly you already miss him.

You don't even realize you've shut your eyes until you feel Rex's lips on cheeks. He's kissing the tears away that you unwillingly shed. "That's my girl. Kriff. Love you so much, mesh'la."

His brown eyes are the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

"Love you too, Rex."

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[phoenixyfriend]

If you are doing them the soulmate fic starter 3 or 9 for rexwalker? I love all your star wars stuff so much

soulmate au prompts

3. the one where you and your soulmate have matching marks on your bodies. 9. the one where your soulmate’s last words to you are written on your body.

Featuring marginally-less-terrible Jango with more excuses than usual.

------

The Kaminoans hate soul marks.

Rex knows this from the day he knows to ask. The Nulls and Alphas don’t have any soul marks, just scars where there was once a promise. The eldest clones have records, at least, where the scientists had taken photos before beginning th surgeries, but the marks themselves are long gone.

Prime had found out about the removals and thrown a fit, raging so intensely that Nala Se had ended up intubated from the damage he’d dealt, and she hadn’t been the only one. Rex isn’t old enough to remember that, but Cody is, and he whispers the story in the dead of night more than once. Nobody likes Prime very much, except Boba, but that’s one of the few instances they can point to and say ‘he cares more than he likes to admit.’

It’s anathema on Mandalore, one brother claims, a light in his eyes that Rex hasn’t ever seen before. That’s what I heard him telling one of the aruetti trainers.

So is refusing your children so much as a name, another grouses, and the conversation dies an ugly little death. So is letting your children die just because you don’t think they’re good enough. So is turning your back from even letting them be part of your house, let alone part of your clan. Sounds like he cares more about our soul marks than he does for our lives.

Rex doesn’t know how to address that. He does get a personal visit from Prime, one day, gets asked to show his little marking to the man that is, in some ways, his father.

“Another one,” Jango Fett mutters to the trainer that came with him, the woman holding a datapad and ready to record whatever it is that they’re looking for. He passes a thumb over the marking, frowning. “A lightsaber, lit white, with pale blue halo, between a set of symbolic Jaig eyes. The eyes are dark blue, slightly desaturated. I think they’re meant to frame it like an exaggerated beskad crossguard.”

“Sir?” Rex asks.

“That makes six,” Jango says, still so quiet, and then shakes his head. “Thank you for showing me, 7567.”

“Rex,” he corrects, before he can second-guess himself. “I’m Rex.”

“Thank you, Rex.”

------

The rumors say that anyone with a lightsaber soul mark is going to have a jedi for a soulmate.

Rex isn’t sure how true that is, but he’s eager to find out.

Prime gets more erratic, more unpleasant at times and almost awkwardly nice at others. Rex meets the others who got Jedi soul marks. He’s the youngest, so far.

Jango tells them all to hide the markings, and to keep them secret. They’d already all known that much, that only batchmates should be told about soul marks. All the adults that should know already do, after all.

“Where’s your dad going?” Rex asks once, when Boba’s been handed over to Cody’s squad for looking after while Prime goes haring off on some trip that nobody gets to know about. Rex hangs out with Cody’s squad more than his own batch, it feels like, but that’s a whole thing that he’s not supposed to talk about since the late transfer to command track.

“Dunno,” Boba says, kicking his feet back and forth. “My soul mark came in. Something about it made him really angry, I think.”

Rex doesn’t ask to see it.

It’s not his place.

------

The Alpha batch is getting quieter, angrier, and end up in hushed conversations with Prime and some of the trainers so often that the rumors start up harder than before. Rex keeps his head down, because the Kaminoans get antsier when Jango does. Soul marks come up more often, and Rex gets called in to talk to the Alpha clones about his mark. He’s not supposed to, but Prime says it’s important, and Prime is in charge.

“Oh, is that all it took?” one of the Alphas sneers, and Prime shoots them a look that has Rex taking a few hasty steps back. The Alpha clone isn’t even fully grown yet, by natborn standards, but they don’t back down. “What, ready to stop being a dar’buir--”

“That’s enough,” Prime says, low and hard, and the Alpha clone rolls their eyes. “There’s a child here.”

“So now you care about that?”

Rex is escorted back to his rooms.

------

Decommissioning finally stops, for all that it requires Jango almost decapitating a Kaminoan, and someone Rex hopes he never sees again shows up.

(His memory is blurred. He’s sure the man was human, and tall. Elderly enough to have white hair, probably? A... there was fabric that swished when he turned, something dramatic, but...)

(He is not the only one that cannot remember.)

It takes years for anything else to come of it all... at least where the clones can see.

------

Rex is fully grown, as far as clones go. His aging is supposed to slow down to ‘natborn normal’ now, because he’s reached his full height and most of his brainpower, and he’s officially old enough to fight on the field if the war starts tomorrow.

It might.

“Hey, look up.”

Rex listens, and looks, and sees a natborn with Nala Se, pale skinned and with reddish hair, soaked to the bone. They wear robes, brown and heavy-looking. Even as he watches, another natborn jogs up from behind, also sodden and pale, but with darker hair that sticks up despite the water. A third joins them, a tad slower and more controlled; this one wears all white, and they--maybe she?-- are slight and small and poised in a way that Rex thinks might be how a natborn leader carries themselves, if they aren’t a soldier.

They pass on through the walkway, showing emotions that the Kaminoans can’t read and the clones absolutely can. None of it is... good.

“Shit,” someone mutters. “That was a Jedi.”

“Venn--”

“What if they don’t want us?”

------

Rex is called to Prime’s rooms.

He tries not to look at the wide eyes of the brothers he’s been gossiping with, just stands and pulls on his full kit. He hesitates at his bucket, but then pops it on and marches to what might be his doom. It’s probably not.

He hopes it’s not.

He knocks, and is let in by Boba, and sits down on the couch when Prime tells him to. He removes his helmet when asked. Boba hops up onto the couch between Rex and his father, and leans in against Rex’s side.

There’s a list on the table, one he recognizes, quickly writing out all the paired elements on the Jedi-Clone soul marks. Nobody who isn’t already involved in the project would know it. He spots the ‘yellow tickets’ that Bly got tattooed on his face recently, the ones he won’t claim are or aren’t related to his mark. He spots his own listing of Jaig eyes.

“Prime?”

His... progenitor, maybe, in this situation, looks at him, and holds up a hand. “You saw the list. You can guess why Rex is here.”

Oh. Prime’s using his name without prompting. That’s nice.

“I can’t read it,” the younger Jedi says, with something that might be a pout. Rex wants  to roll his eyes, but his helmet is on the table. People would see.

“It’s in Mando’a,” the elder tells him, voice low, and then glances between Rex and the younger Jedi. “Fett, how did you know which one to call? I can guess some things, but--”

“I have a good eye. The hilts are all different. Only one matches.”

“I see.”

Rex fidgets, and tries not to wonder at... at... oh. The younger Jedi’s lightsaber hilt does match Rex’s soul mark.

Boba notices when Rex starts picking at his glove, pressing a finger right to the mark on his wrist, and frowns up at him. He grabs Rex’s hand to still it, and tries to ask a question with his eyebrows. He is mostly unsuccessful.

“Anakin,” the elder Jedi says. Rex still doesn’t know his name. “Your hand, please?”

“Why?”

“...you’ll understand in a minute,” the Jedi says, long-suffering in the way of the trainers who dealt with the youngest cadets. “Your hand. No, the other one.”

“Why do you need my hand?”

“Reasons, Anakin. You there, ah... Rex, was it?”

“Yessir.”

The Jedi flinches. “Right. I suppose I’ll have to get used to that... right, Rex, can you come here? I imagine you know what it is that I’m looking to compare.”

Rex has been taught to listen to Jedi, but he has no idea who he’s supposed to listen to here. The older Jedi is probably in charge, but Rex hasn’t been assigned to anyone yet, so isn’t Prime still technically the closest thing he has to a CO?

He glances at Prime, who just gestures for Rex to go ahead with it.

Rex pulls off a glove, pulls back his sleeve, and bares the symbol on his wrist for inspection.

The younger Jedi’s face morphs from confused irritation to surprise, and then... something Rex doesn’t want to analyze too closely. He’s not sure if it’s wonder or horror. He wasn’t aware the expressions could look so similar.

The Jedi--Anakin--pulls back his own sleeve, moves his wrist to Rex’s and watches as the marks glow faintly from the proximity.

“Looks like Fett was right,” the elder Jedi mutters. He doesn’t sound happy. He looks at the other natborn, the one Rex is pretty sure is a woman, and raises an eyebrow.

She shakes her head, eyes closed.

“You said there were others?” the elder Jedi prompts, and Prime nods. “We are no more open about our marks than most, but I can spot one, maybe two, that I can guess at. I’d need to see the actual markings to confirm, of course, and I imagine that wouldn’t be something anyone would be happy with.”

“The rest can happen naturally,” Prime dismisses. “This was just proof.”

“Not just proof, I hope,” the Jedi mutters. “I’m.. I have to call the Council.”

Rex sees the panic in Anakin’s face, and is seized by the urge to do something, anything, to fix it.

“Obi-Wan, you can’t let them--”

“Nobody’s going to separate you,” the elder Jedi says. Obi-Wan, apparently. “And there’s no ‘let,’ Anakin, they outrank me. Significantly. Right now, I’m concerned about the implications of this war, of multiple of these cloned soldiers that have been indoctrinated to fight for and serve the Jedi having soulmates among us, especially given that I have no idea how recently our wartime protocols on such things were updated. There is an entire army that is supposedly in our name, ordered by a man ten years dead.”

“Count Dooku is involved,” Prime says, dark and satisfied and petty. “Calling himself Darth Tyrannus. The Kaminoans mostly believe he is an isolated and reclusive Jedi Master that serves as their contact when Sifo-Dyas is unavailable.”

The Jedi named Obi-Wan closes his eyes and breathes deeply, and then stands. “Right. That’s... well, alright, I absolutely have to call the Council now.”

Prime smiles, pulling Boba into his side. Rex finds himself tugged down to sit where Obi-Wan had been a few moments earlier.

“Why are you telling us all this?” the natborn woman says. “This Count sounds like he hired you, did he not?”

“The project predated his involvement, but yes, he’s my supervisor, so to speak.” Prime smiles that same dark smile, runs a hand over Boba’s head and pointedly doesn’t look at Obi-Wan. That smile is... unpleasant. Rex doesn’t want to look at it, and so he looks down to the faint glow at his wrist instead. “Did you know, they told me the clones would be sub-sentient and halfway to droids? Not really people? That my DNA was for the bodies, but the minds would be little more than lines of code? Do you know how much they hated that I saw the evidence of their lies written into my children’s skin?”

Rex jolts, head whipping about and hand pulling away from his soulmate, staring at Prime, his mouth agape in a way a soldier’s shouldn’t but--but he’s--

Rex has never, ever heard the Prime refer to any of them except Boba as his child. His copies, his echoes, his clones, but not his children.

A hand curls into his, and he looks down to find Anakin’s lacing their fingers together. He looks up into a hopeful, unsure smile.

Anakin tilts his head and leans in, lips to Rex’s ear, and says, “When I told Obi-Wan he was like a father to me, he didn’t even know how to respond. Just made a bad joke about it and then pretended it didn’t happen. Is this the same?”

“...close enough,” Rex breathes out, because now isn’t the time to explain just how different a clone’s existence is from what they’ve seen in the holos meant to prepare them for interacting with civilians. That ‘family’ here has always been brothers, your squad and any brother that chooses to take you on, or a brother you choose to nurture, that the Alphas raise them more than Prime or the trainers do, that the older squads are who they turn to because the adults won’t help, that they don’t have parents, and they are discouraged from thinking of children in their futures.

(Protecting intellectual property, one of the scientists had mused. They’d made it very, very difficult for any of the clones to impregnate a partner. Not impossible, because to make it impossible was itself impossible, but... nearly so.)

“There’s millions of us,” Rex says instead. “He doesn’t... he doesn’t usually acknowledge most of us as his.”

Anakin’s face twists, already angry, and the glare he aims at Prime is ghastly. Rex might already be a little in love, just for that. The way Anakin’s fingers squeeze around his is nice, too.

Prime does not notice.

“Can I see the contract you say you signed?” the natborn woman says, and Prime eyes her. He nods, at length, weighing her worth and finding she measures up to whatever it is that he’s decided is necessary.

“Boba, go pack like we’re going on a hunt,” Prime says, pulling out a personal datapad and only dropping his gaze to find the right file. “We’ll probably be leaving tonight.”

“Okay, buir,” Boba says, sliding off the couch. “Am I telling the Alphas the thing you said?”

“No, I’ll handle that myself. You just pack.” He stands, nods to the natborn woman, and moves around the table. “Senator, I’ll sit with you, if you don’t mind. I imagine you and Knight Kenobi are the best suited to get this problem fixed.”

“And me?” Anakin demands.

“You,” Prime says, with a just a hint of condescending drawl. “have just met your soulmate. I assumed you’d want some privacy to get to know each other.”

Anakin flushes, a little angry and a lot embarrassed. It’s frighteningly cute. “I--I mean--I don’t--”

“The clones are mentally the ages they look, but do remember they’ve had practically no time to gain any sort of experience,” Prime says, already ignoring them in favor of pointing something out on the datapad to the senator. “Take advantage of any of my kids, and I’ll be the one hunting you down. I’m told I’m rather good at it.”

Anakin’s face does some acrobatics. Rex would pay more attention, but he can feel himself turning just as red.

“Rex, you know where the private meeting room is,” Prime says, and waves a hand in the direction of the tiny, tiny office that’s by the door. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Be nice,” the Senator hisses, smacking Prime’s arm.

“He’s ten.”

“...still.”

Rex just stands and pulls Anakin away to the little room before things can get worse.

They’re delayed when Obi-Wan asks what they’re doing from the kitchen he’s been using to get a spot of privacy, but then Anakin says “we’re just going to talk, Master,” and they get an aggrieved sigh and a response of “the clothes stay on, padawan, and you’ll need to finish up whatever conversation you have soon, there’s work to do and being a padawan only excuses you from so much.”

Rex backs into the meeting room, yanks Anakin in, and then decides to throw caution to the wind and just press their lips together.

Oh.

Okay.

He’s kissing back.

Lack of caution: good.

The mark at his wrist thrums, warm and comfortable, and Rex pulls away. He stifles the noise he wants to make, and when Anakin whines, small and soft but clearly disappointed, Rex offers him a small grin he knows would get him called ‘shy’ by his asshole older brothers.

“We probably should actually get to know each other,” Rex says. “I don’t even know your last name.”

“I... yeah, I don’t know yours either, unless it’s Fett.”

“It’s not. I don’t have one.”

Anakin’s face does another one of those ‘I’m angry for you’ twists that Rex is quickly coming to recognize, and then he sighs and falls into one of the chairs. “Okay. So. I don’t know much about the soldier life. Tell me about it.”

And he does.

[meep-morp-s]

Febuwhump 22- alt 1: buried alive + alt 2: trapped under a collapsed building + alt 6: natural disaster, Fives

I call this one the earthquake special. 😈

“What was that!?”

“Must have been an earthquake. Sort of felt like a krayt dragon ripping through.”

“We just felt it too on the south side of the city, sir!”

“Intelligence just commed. They said we’re only feeling aftershocks. The epicenter was on the north side of the city.”

“They didn’t report anything.”

“That’s not good. North side teams, report in!”

…

“North side, what is your status?”

…

“Who was leading there, Rex? … Fives, right. Has anyone heard from Fives since the Earthquake?”

“No sir.”

“No, sorry sir.”

“General, this is scouting team Alpha. Haven’t heard from him but we have visual of his last known location in the business district. It’s… all rubble. Nothing left standing.”

“Kriff… no sign of him or anyone else?”

“No sir.”

“Alright. I’ll contact the Admiral and see if he can spare a rescue team. In the meantime let’s redirect forces to search for survivors. But if the enemy shows up there’s nothing we can do until the fighting is over.

Oh, and Captain Rex will meet you over there. He wants to lead the search.”

-

A continuous ringing woke Fives up. Other sounds floated in, the crumbling and crunching of rock, an annoyingly persistent chime, and his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

He was disoriented, light-headed, and he couldn’t breathe. Once he cracked his eyes open and blinked away the dust that had caked them he could see why. There was a solid metal beam pressing down on his chest. Around him was what used to be the building he had taken shelter in when the shaking had started.

Now it had collapsed on top of him. Except for a pinhole beam of daylight he was essentially buried alive.

Despite his training he was starting to panic. The bar on his chest left no room for his lungs to expand. Each time he shot a short breath out it seemed to press further down so he couldn’t inhale again. Without his armor on it would have been easy to slip out from underneath it but it added a few too many inches to his width.

Fives shifted, using his mostly free legs to shimmy up. His arm knocked a boulder of duracrete loose and the bar wrenched deeper into his chest.

“Gah!” The more he struggled to more impossible it became to move at all. It felt nearly impossible to breathe. The few short breaths he could take in were more dust than oxygen. His vision was starting to darken at the edges.

This might be his end, Fives realized. Stuck in rubble not from a harrowing battle, but a natural phenomenon. It wasn’t exactly how a clone trooper usually died. Fives had always been a natural at doing the unconventional.

There was one good thing that could come of this. He would finally be able to see his fallen brothers again. Droidbait, Cutup, Heavy, Hardcase, Echo. The thought relaxed his mind enough that his breaths did not come out as quick gasps. They were short, but steady and controlled.

The ringing in his ears was still there to block out most outside noises, but Fives swore he could hear someone calling his name. He wanted to call back but nothing louder than a whisper could escape his lips. Soon he could hear someone marching. It was far away but coming closer…

The pinhole of light grew larger. A blue-helmeted head poked through. From the angle where Fives craned his whiplashed neck as much as he could, it was hard to tell whose.

“-cho?”

“Fives! I found him! Hold on, vod.”

The soldier pushed more rubble out of the way and crawled closer to Fives. He was able to catch the jaig eyes on the clone’s helmet and relief flooded the ARC. “Rex.”

“Don’t talk, save your breath,” Rex replied. His hands floundered, unsure of how to free Fives. He tugged the beam but it would not budge. “Give me a minute.”

“Dn’t worry,” Fives mumbled. “Not… going.. ‘Nywhere.”

“Glad your sense of humor’s intact.”

Fives couldn’t see him, but he could hear Rex knocking things out of the way. He slowly deconstructed the puzzling mess that locked the beam on top of Fives and cleared the space above his head to make a path to the open air. After a few minutes of crawling around he returned to Fives’ side and tested the beam again. It groaned, but lifted up just slightly. He could take in a deeper breath for just a second before Rex let go again, preparing himself.

“Okay. I’ll pull it up as much and for as long as I can, and you slip out. You can still move your arms and legs, right?” Fives nodded.

“Okay,” Rex gripped the beam and bent his knees. “Three… two… now.”

The pressure lifted and Fives scrambled. His chest felt like an expanding balloon, his ribs burning as he rolled over and crawled towards freedom. When he was out, he didn’t even look back. He ripped off his helmet and took in gulps of air. He looked at his surroundings with wide eyes as he paced in disjointed circles, his legs wandering in front of his body to keep himself from falling forward. The city around him was gone. All that was left were piles of crumpled buildings made hazy by clouds of smoke and dust. He could spot a few other soldiers in the distance pulling others free. Some helped the rescuers with their efforts and others were limp; deadweight.

Something– arms, the back of his mind provided– wrapped around his chest. It threatened to constrain him so he pushed it back and stumbled away. “Get off of me!” He didn’t want to be stuck, unable to move on his own any longer.

His knees hit the ground and he crumpled in on himself. “Sorry, sorry,” Rex apologized.

His life had flashed before his eyes. Maybe flash was the wrong word, because it had felt so long. His life had drawn out before his eyes, and so many of the things that had made it worth living were gone now. Not that there had been much other than his brothers to live for in the first place.

“I miss Echo,” he said simply.

Rex, his brother-in-arms who was still alive and at Fives’ side, once again stepped close to him. He put his hand gently on Fives’ shoulder. After a moment Fives leaned into the touch. He grabbed Rex’s forearm and held onto it like a lifeline.

[if you liked this, please consider checking out the whole collection on ao3!]

[daylightanakin]

Do you ever think Luke Skywalker found a box of his father’s old things? A short string of silka beads tucked behind a scratched silver lightsaber with a blue blade? A framed holopic of a young man with messy brown hair standing alongside a group of clone soldiers clad in white plastoid armor? Propped up against a letter with the return address of Senator Amidala?

And suddenly his gaze adverts back to the jaig eyes etched on one of the pictured clones’ helmets, and then to the silka string now sprawled on the wooden floor, and Luke has this feeling—this knowing—that there is someone out there who could help him make sense of all of this. Who was that woman, that Padawan learner Captain Rex had spoken of? Luke thinks to himself. Commander Tano?

Ahsoka Tano.

And just like that, Luke Skywalker has a new mission. Gone are the days of shattering the tyranny of the Sith, of Darth Vader, beyond repair. Now it is time to piece together the legacy of the Jedi, of Anakin Skywalker, his true father. He has to be out there somewhere. And the young Jedi knows exactly where to start.

so...do i write the fic or not?

[kyber-queen]

to build a home (rex x jedi!reader)

Summary: A slight rewrite of the ‘ARC Troopers’/Invasion of Kamino episode in season 3, where reader is a Jedi general who has worked alongside the 501st in the past. After a dramatic battlefield encounter, the reader confronts questions of the clones’ place in the universe as well as their own burgeoning feelings for a certain clone captain.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: Medical stuff, mentions of drowning, mentions of blasters, rex is awkward and fives is a lil shit, slight suggestive content, a kiss perhaps

Author’s Note: this one’s for the lovely @porgnugget !! this was originally gonna be a quick blurb to pull me out of my writer’s block but oops anyways I hope you enjoy!!!

***

You stared out the bridge port, watching as ships emerged one-by-one from hyperspace to surround a watery-blue planet. With each new starship, your heart sank. This battle wouldn’t be easy, but then again, easy battles were hard to come by these days. You’d been temporarily assigned to the 183rd, and your men were already weary from two months of slugging their way through the outer rim under Separatist fire. They had been eagerly awaiting their return to the capitol, but after your head communications officer received word of an imminent Separatist attack on Kamino, just about every man in your unit was eager to come to the aid of his brothers.

You heard rustling from behind you, followed by the two consecutive thuds of standard-issue boots fixing themselves to the ground. The trooper they belonged to issued you a respectful salute.

“Sir, the Council requests you answer their holocall immediately,”

You had figured your weak excuse for rerouting your unit wouldn’t hold for long.

“Transfer them through,”

As the stern blue faces of the Jedi council materialized before you, you steeled yourself in preparation for their reprimands.

“General, you’ve received explicit orders to return to Coruscant at once. Why, pray tell, is your starship about to breach the Kaminoan atmosphere?”

Master Windu glared down at you expectantly.

“With all due respect, Master, this is the home of the men we fight alongside each day. The 183rd has expressed their commitment to defending this planet, and it is my job as their interim General to honor their desires whenever possible. I and the 183rd will be assisting with the defense of Kamino,”

Windu glanced at Master Unduli over his shoulder. Before another Council member had the chance to speak, the transmission crackled. The Separatists were jamming your signal. Your comms went dark.

You glanced over to the officers piloting the ship. Their hands danced from button to button, working to maintain communication with the ground forces on Kamino. The comm failure had settled it—you were going in.

“Prepare for entry,” you called. A stiff nod from your commander reassured you that the officers had heard you. You turned in a swirl of deep brown robes and made your way to the armory. You had troopers to prepare.

***

You hit the ground from about twenty feet above, using the force to cushion your fall. Confident that the LAATs would find their way into the heart of the battle as planned, you set off on foot for the nearest row of battle droids. As you dodged the seemingly endless stream of blaster fire, you took note of the troopers already facing off against the waves of separatist droids. You recognized the grey armor of the Kamino guard, as well as the deep blue of the 501st. You’d worked alongside the 501st several times before—you searched for a certain familiar face in the crowd.

You were already sure General Skywalker and General Ti were nowhere in sight. You deflected a few blaster bolts while planning your next move. You spotted four troopers aiming for a new line of droids, close to the edge of the platform. One of their brothers lay motionless behind them—they were probably in need of backup. You would make your way over there after you took down a few more rows of droids.

The adrenaline of battle roared through your veins. Your saber swung with a precision you were only able to master with the cacophony of blaster fire rattling in your brain. You heard shouting in the distance, but it didn’t seem to register. All you could focus on was the glide of your saber’s blade through the unforgiving metal skin of the nearest droid.

As you neared the small squadron of troopers, their shouts gained clarity.

“…we’re cutting it close, here. Steady trigger fingers, men,” one of them called.

A glance over your shoulder caused your stomach to flip. The voice belonged to the trooper in the center of the formation—his single pauldron and jaig-marked helmet identifying him in an instant, even through the blaster-fire haze of the battlefield. Rex. A formation of super battle droids closed in on the position his men struggled to hold. You deflected one last blaster bolt before charging in their direction.

You watched what happened next in slow motion.

A droid raised its fist at a trooper in all-white armor. The man didn’t even seem to notice. He raised his blaster, aiming at a droid to his left as his right side remained open for what had the potential to be a deadly blow. The droid swung. Rex dove. He yanked the trooper out of the droid’s trajectory, though the side of his helmet failed to escape its swing. The metal fist landed its blow with a sickening thunk, Rex’s body falling limply at the edge of the platform as his helmet clattered uselessly to the side. His unconscious form slipped. You jumped.

The three other troopers watched in awe as you leapt over a row of battle droids and into the churning Kaminoan waters. You hit its roiling surface feet-first, searching the whitecaps for a glimpse of white plastoid. Clone armor was built to float, right? You took a stroke to your left, dragging yourself through the water urgently when you spotted a glimpse of Rex’s blue pauldron through the waves. You vaguely felt your outer robes drift away, carried off by the tumultuous current. Your hand latched onto the blue plastoid, and you pulled hard. Rex had landed face-down in the water, you realized. You gulped.

Pulling his back to your chest, you kicked backwards as hard as you could in the direction of one of the durasteel supports. You called on the force to be present—you were going to need it if you were going to successfully haul Rex’s unconscious form forty feet upwards. You ducked underwater, shifting your grip on him so he was held in a makeshift fireman’s carry. You secured his body to yours with the force, invisible hands gripping tightly to the arm and leg slung around your shoulders. You grasped the first rungs of the ladder. You climbed.

With aching hands and trembling muscles, you hauled yourself foot-by-foot to the top of the platform. As soon as your fingers curled around the last rung, it was as if all the strength had been sapped from your system. Your chest burned with exertion. You rolled Rex onto his back, crawling beside him as you began your examination.

“He took a hit to the head, fell into the water. I was able to pull him out, but I need a medic,” you explained.

The three troopers stared, shocked. Had you really managed to drag a 200-pound man forty feet into the air from the water?

You glanced up from Rex’s face, noting the lack of movement from the three other men.

“I need a medic, now,” you ordered.

One of the troopers charged off. Satisfied that he’d retrieve someone far more qualified to administer first aid than you, you turned to the man before you. Rex’s face was pallid and sickly-looking. Alarm clawed at your insides. You felt for a pulse, and to your relief, the beat of his heart rose to meet your fingers steadily. His breaths were shallow and inconsistent, though—they sounded to be thick with seawater.

Remembering your training, you pinched his nose closed. You used the index finger of your other hand to tilt his jaw open, before taking a deep breath and sealing your mouth over his. You exhaled, watching carefully as his chest rose in response.

“Wake. Up,” you urged.

His pulse still beat strongly against your fingertips. A good sign, if nothing else.

You leaned down once more, praying to the Maker that he would breathe already. You exhaled, channeling much-needed oxygen into his flooded lungs. Minutes passed. His pulse grew steadier against your fingers.

You administered a final rescue breath, leaping back as if stung when you felt a splutter of air and water against your parted lips. Rex’s eyes fluttered open. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but curled in on himself as a coughing fit overtook him.

Scooping a hand around Rex’s shoulder, you pulled him onto his side, straining against the dead weight of his body. His chest shook as he expelled a sizeable puddle of water from his lungs.

You looked up at the rest of the battle for what felt like the first time in hours. There wasn’t a functioning droid in sight. Several troopers, their armor adorned with 501st blue, stared unabashedly at the scene before them. You looked back down at Rex, your cheeks warm.

“You gave us all quite a scare, there,” you murmured.

He stared at you with wide eyes, his face growing red. Panic jolted through your system. Was he choking?

“Rex? Are you alright?”

He blinked, shaking his head to himself as he hauled himself into a seated position.

“Yeah, General, I’m alright,”

His voice was rough and wavering, almost grating against his throat—from the saltwater, you assumed. You fell silent, focusing just a little too intently on his face.

Sensing that the imminent danger was over, chatter erupted from behind you.

“Some first kiss, eh, Cap’n?”

“Just like a fairy tale,” another trooper added on with a chuckle.

“Always thought you’d be the knight in shining armor, though—the General here dove after you before we even saw you fall,”

Blood rushed to your cheeks. You glanced at Rex out of the corner of your eye before quickly looking away.

“Fives, Hardcase, enough,” Rex grumbled. He made a move to stand up, rising shakily until you slung his arm over your shoulder in support. He stiffened for a moment at the contact before leaning into you slightly.

“Do you know where your medic is?” you questioned quietly.

Rex nodded over to his right. You ushered him through a few stumbling steps before the medic—Kix, you recognized—swooped under Rex’s other arm. Rex turned to you, his lips parting as he mulled over what exactly to say. His brows furrowed, and a new round of flush colored his skin.

“I—thank you, General,” he murmured. His eyes met yours for an instant, just before Kix pulled him toward the Kaminoan medbay.

***

You saw Rex again a few hours later.

A gentle knock sounded against the durasteel wall of your temporary quarters. With a wave of your hand, the door slid open effortlessly.

“Sir, I have your copy of the casualty reports,”

You turned around sharply. Your expression softened. Rex stood in your doorway, extending a stack of flimsi in your direction.

You took it with a quick nod of acknowledgement. Rex lingered in the doorway—you knew he could have easily asked a subordinate to deliver the reports, yet here he was. A wistful half-smile graced your lips—you were glad he came. You had missed him. You motioned for him to take a seat at the small table near the corner of your room, murmuring something about ‘old times’ sake’.

The two of you quickly fell into the routine you had established for yourselves when you worked alongside his unit—after a tough battle, you always seemed to end up together. At first, Rex tended to sit quietly alongside you. He wouldn’t offer much in terms of conversation, but his presence was always strangely comforting as you both silently mourned those you had lost that day. You weren’t quite sure when it happened, but eventually, the two of you began to share little fragments of your lives with each other. Your friendship grew stronger. Just before you were reassigned, you found yourself seeking him out daily—it was almost strange for you to admit just how reliant you had become on your conversations with the Captain.

Rex pulled out a chair and settled himself down.

You talked for an hour—you hadn’t seen him in months. Wartime seemed to stretch out the days until they felt endless, and you were both eager to hear how the other had spent their time. You explained your experiences in command of the 183rd, and Rex discussed his increasing responsibilities as Captain. He actively skirted any discussion of the day’s rather tense events.

“You did well today,” you offered. A couple of the men had quite generously filled you in on their Captain’s heroics after he was carted off by the medic. “I know it mustn’t have been easy, with your home planet in danger,”

“Thank you, but Kamino’s no home to us,” Rex responded. “It’s where my brothers are, and it was them I was protecting. Not Kamino. The Separatists threatened the one thing I had that’s worth defending—my family. It sure wasn’t easy, but it was a necessity,”

You nodded.

“I understand, in a way. I was taken from my parents when I was young, and the Order filled the void their absence left. We aren’t allowed partners or children, so the Order’s all I really have. If they were threatened, I suppose I’d put my life on the line for them, too,”

Rex propped an elbow up onto the table.

“What’s it like?”

You tilted your head in confusion.

“Having the Order as your family?” Rex clarified.

You smiled softly, memories both blissful and bittersweet flooding your mind.

“It’s different, I guess. The Council can be cold, sometimes, but the Order did its best to raise an honorable Jedi. I do my best to remember the lessons my master taught me. The temple was my home for a long time—though not so much anymore. What about you?”

Rex thought for a moment before chuckling to himself.

“The closest thing we clones have to a home is 79’s. Kamino’s got a lot of bad memories attached to it—the longnecks were indifferent to us at best, but most of ‘em just treated us like livestock. At least you feel human at 79’s,”

“What’s it like, there?” you questioned.

“Loud,” Rex grinned. He sobered after a moment, his gaze drifting as he lost himself in thought. “Civvies’ll show up from time to time—makes it feel a bit more normal—but they’re only ever there for the spectacle of it all. Most of ‘em are just there to find someone to spend the night with. I’ve never been able to…” Rex trailed off uncomfortably, directing heavy eye contact towards the back of his hands. “…but some of my vod will. They know they’re being used, so they use ‘em right back. For most of us, there’s no real chance of a family outside our brothers—the Republic’s made sure of that,” 

Disdain tinged Rex’s tone. It was rare for him to express anything other than loyalty to the Republic, but thinking back on the regulations preventing the clones from entering relationships, or having children, or even showing their faces to civilians while on duty, you couldn’t say you blamed him.

You hummed in acknowledgement.

“But it’s not always like that, is it? So meaningless?”

Rex shrugged.

“Most of the time, it is. I’ve only met one brother who’s been able to get out, to build a life and a family outside the GAR. I’m happy for him, sure, but I won’t lie and say it wasn’t hard to see that other path and still follow the one that we clones are meant to follow. I think it’s the hope that’s worst in the end—hoping this blasted war will end, hoping someone other than your vod and a handful of Jedi’ll understand that you’re human. Unless you’re really in the thick of it, unless you really see that we’re flesh and blood, you just don’t care,”

You nodded, reaching across the small table to hold one of Rex’s hands in your own. Your heart ached for him. His expression softened slightly as he looked down at his hand in yours.

“I’m sorry about my brothers, by the way. The teasing today was—”

“It’s alright, Rex. I did what I had to do,”

You instantly regretted your phrasing when Rex’s hand fell slightly slack between your own.

“You saved my life,” he murmured. “I can’t thank you enough,”

He squeezed your hand before gently resting it back on the table. He rose from his seat, glancing at the chrono on his wrist.

“It’s getting late—I should get back to the barracks,”

Your gaze lifted to trace the sturdy lines of his face. His eyes met yours, his expression indiscernible, and in an instant, something clicked. The absence of his hand in yours felt like the loss of a limb.

He took a step towards the door. You stood up from your seat.

“Rex, wait—just…” you trailed off, reaching forward to catch his hand lightly in yours.

A hand—your hand—rose to cup his cheek. His breathing slowed in response. Taking a cautious step forward, you leaned in just close enough to feel the warm exhale from his nose against your cheek. You paused. You would leave it to Rex to close the gap.

After a second that felt like an hour of hesitation, Rex’s lips met yours. Maker, he was soft—yet still steady in his movements. You loved him, you knew it in an instant. Little fragments of each other’s lives had never been enough—you needed him, in his entirety, in every sense of the word.

Just as your thumb traced the sharp line of Rex’s cheekbone—just as Rex realized that he was finally kissing you and you were kissing him back—he pulled away.

His brows knotted in confusion.

“You didn’t mean to—”

“I meant it,”

You realized your hand was still intertwined with Rex’s. You held it like a lifeline.

His eyes—oh, his eyes—glimmered like the flicker of a flame in the dim light of your quarters. He didn’t back away. In that instant, Rex knew that he’d remember this moment for the rest of his numbered days. You meant it.

As his lips met yours for the second time of many, Rex figured there were an awful lot of ways to build a home.

***

Taglist: @peacefulwizardfox @a-lil-perspective @marvel-starwars-nerd @nelba

[saturdaynightfives]

let the light back in

Character: Post-Skako Minor!Echo

Pairings: none, and if you’re a cl*nesect shipper move tf along

Rating: Teen for heavy emotional elements, mention alluding to sexual encounters

Warnings: heavy angst, mentions of canon character deaths, losing a sibling/friend, dealing with grief, allusions to echo’s torture/imprisonment/forced body modifications

Brief summary: Echo is wondering where Fives is after he is rescued on Skako Minor.

Word count: 932

Hope is dangerous in war. So is grief. That’s an unspoken rule: don’t grieve.

As clones, it’s especially dangerous. Clones may fight for the Republic, but that’s all they are. An asset.

Echo found himself relearning this all over again. During his torture, he would dream of the 501st storming in, Rex and Fives leading the charge, Jedi general and padawan allowing for this rescue. Dreams led to hope.

And hope can destroy you faster than a blaster.

So Echo threw out hope and focused on survival.

They don’t know you’re alive.

Let them know.

That’s not hope, it’s what any soldier would do.

When blue and white came blasting in, he felt his heart soar. Rex - his captain came for him. He was accompanied by General Skywalker and this new squad in contrasting armor compared to the squad he was used to. The empty space where Fives should be wasn’t unnoticed.

It was a fight all the way to the ship.

Only once they were in hyperspace did Echo mention his twin.

“My brother?”

He didn’t even have to say the feisty ARC trooper’s name to see Rex slightly flinch then stiffen across from him. A trooper not familiar with the blonde captain would have never noticed. But Echo knew.

“Fives. Where is he?” Echo demanded when the black and red clones shifted nervously at the new energy in the cabin.

Rex took a deep breath and removed his blue jaig-eyed helmet. His eyes were far off, like he was reliving a distant, sad memory. Anakin’s hands were balled into fists next to the captain.

“Rex,” Echo pleaded harshly, “what happened?”

“He died looking out for his brothers,” Rex finally said too calmly while looking Echo in the eyes, but his breathing betrayed his true feelings. His breathing was shaky, so unlike the captain even in the worst of situations. Rex was sparing him, he realized.

Shit.

It was bad, then.

Echo didn’t press. He knew not to ask for further details. Honestly, he didn’t think he wanted to know the details. Definitely not in front of mere strangers, no matter if they helped rescue him and are technically his brothers. It just didn’t feel right to discuss something so personal in front of someone other than the 501st.

Hunter, the long-haired one, cleared his throat and motioned for his squad to follow him to allow for a little more privacy for Echo in the small cabin.

As young and as different as their batch was, the sergeant understood something of loss.

Echo was starting to feel it, all he’d loss because of the war, the Separatists, every brother, nearly every piece of his will.

Five minutes. I’ll give myself five minutes. Echo thought as this hollow pain aches through his entire being.

He felt hot tears leak from his eyes as he glared at the ceiling. His brother, his best friend. The most obnoxious, hilarious, and headstrong person he knew was just gone.

He shuddered with his next breath and tried to calm it out. There was still a war. He couldn’t fall apart now.

All of the memories with his twin came rushing in like an avalanche. Memories training with the nearly hopeless Domino squad, their first outposting on Rishi Moon, their brother 99, going to 79s and picking up a fling (or two) for the night, defending Kamino from the Separatists and becoming ARC troopers, the late night talks that clones weren’t supposed to have about the war ending and having a life outside of the GAR.

And Echo let it. He was sure no one, save for Rex, truly mourned for Fives. Fives deserved to be remembered.

He was his brother, and he knew damn well Fives stood up for every injustice he saw. He was not a quiet man and if someone was done wrong, Fives would rally behind that person. He was loving and caring, and he had a brain despite some people thinking he was only action.

Echo didn’t care about losing physical parts of himself. As soldiers, they were trained to adapt. He’d work with what he was giving.

At the moment, his pain was clawing its way out from his throat like a nasty sarlacc. He bit down hard on his bottom lip to keep from shrieking his pain into the whole galaxy.

His entire body was shaking with the force of the sobs he was holding in as his vision blurred with tears.

His five minutes to grieve were up. He took in the deepest breath he could and calmed himself down. He noticed a touch of something else calming him down after a bit.

He looked over to see compassion pouring through Anakin’s face. He was using the Force to ease some of the pain. Echo was never more grateful for an act of kindness.

When they finally landed Anaxes, Echo was ready for battle.

It didn’t feel right. It felt off. And not because he was drained from the horrors he had endured.

He no longer fit in. They had moved on without him, and rightly so.

So when Hunter offered him a place with the Bad Batch and Rex encouraged him, he felt it might be good for a fresh start.

When his new squad was asleep and he couldn’t find solace, when it was just him and hum of the Marauder zipping through hyperspace, he would find himself scratching on his metal prosthetics. If his brothers saw the Aurebesh five, they didn’t remark on it.

It seems they were all familiar with that kind of loss, too.

[greaterawarness]

501st and 212th Workout

(I wanted to write a story with the clones with more realistic military things. So here's what a PT day looks like in the military.)

It was 0400 by the time Rex made it out to the grinder. It was a brisk morning with dew settled on every surface making goosebumps appear across Rex’s exposed arms and legs. Today was PT for the 501st and the 212th. They usually worked out in the mornings together at minimum three times a week when not on deployment. Rex stands towards the front of the grinder in his PT uniform which entailed a white shirt where Ahsoka had drawn his jaig eyes on his back and blue shorts. He began to rub his arms wishing he had worn the long-sleeved shirt and workout pants.

“Morning!” Cody calls walking onto the grinder in his white shirt and yellow shorts per the 212th PT uniform.

“Fucking cold!” Rex yells back. Cody was one of those anomalies who loved early workouts. Didn’t matter the weather or what type of workout he was always gearing to go. The man hasn’t even had any caf yet, but he wears a big eager smile on his face when he approaches Rex. They’re the first ones out there which is no surprise to either of them. Rex results to hopping up and down to generate some warmth by the time the men start showing up. Kix being the reasonable and smart man he is wears his long-sleeved shirt and long pants while Jesse winces the second he steps outside the way Rex did. Hardcase always wears the long-sleeved shirt and the shorts no matter the weather. They approach Rex and Cody looking more eager to go back to bed then to stand in the grinder waiting to start a workout.

“Morning.” Kix says softly. Jesse says nothing with his shoulders hunched and teeth chattering.

“Morning.” Rex and Cody say chuckling at Hardcase who can barely keep his eyes open. After those three arrive the rest of the men begin pouring out onto the grinder. When Fives and Echo approach Rex, Fives has his hands up rubbing his nipples through his shirt.

“First round at 79’s is on me if the first words out of that boy’s mouth aren’t ridiculously stupid.” Cody mutters to Rex.

“Fuck Cody I don’t want to play this game.” Rex mumbles back already knowing Cody will win. Echo opens his mouth to speak but Fives beats him to it.

“My nipples are hard boys.” Fives says still rubbing them and looking around to see if anyone else was doing the same. Rex lets out a long and disappointing sigh through his nose with a small shake of his head. Cody turns facing behind Rex with his hand rubbing his chin in an attempt to hide his laughing. Echo closes his eyes to possibly stop himself from smacking Fives.

“Good morning Captain.” Echo says opening his eyes again.

“Morning Echo.” Rex sighs before Echo elbows Fives in the ribs.

“Fuck Kix switch shirts with me!” Jesse finally pleads before they start forming up with the other men.

“I’m not rewarding you for being unprepared.” Kix says as they take their spots. The 501st form up on the right while the 212th form up on the left.

“Okay first, it is cold and even mynipples are hard, so I don’t know if that really constitutes as something ridiculously stupid!” Rex hisses to Cody when his men are out of ear shot. Cody just throws his head back laughing. Ahsoka slowly emerges from the crowds of men with a deep frown on her face.

“I’m offended by how cold it is this morning.” She mumbles standing beside them. Rex grins crossing his arms.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cold? Commander Cody is it cold to you?” Rex asks. Cody tilts his head as if thinking.

“No, not familiar with that word.” He says. They both grin while Ahsoka rolls her eyes.

“Its to early for you two.” She groans rubbing her face.

“I’m cold!” Jesse calls from the ranks. Rex shakes his head as they wait for the last few stragglers to form up. Boil walks up from the 212th with a datapad.

“Here’s the roster.” He says with a yawn. Cody takes it and scrolls through the names. Appo finally makes it to the front with the datapad for Rex.

“Cutting it late there you think?” Rex says taking the datapad from him.

“Had to make sure the new guys had PT gear.” Appo shrugs. Rex frowns while scrolling through the roster. That’s right. Clone Force Zero. Rex watches as they walk around the rows of men to stand in front. They all wear 501st PT gear looking uncomfortable. X stands bored. Side-eye can’t stop yawning. Stitch and Flex can’t stop looking around the grinder while rubbing their arms from the cold. Ghost looks like he had just walked out naked and pushes himself against Side-eye with arms hugged tightly to his sides.

“How was your first night?” Rex asks trying to pull a smile on his face. X gives a shrug.

“It was like sleeping on a bunk bed in a warehouse full of snoring men.” X says crossing his arms. Rex keeps the forced smile on.

“Oh good.” He says through gritted teeth. “You can just fall in with the 501st.”

When they’re walking towards the back Rex lets out a sigh and shakes his head.

“Was that the clones Master told me about?” Ahsoka asks staring after them.

“Yeah, odd bunch that one.” Rex says trying to focus on the roster. Appo turns and waves into the crowd for someone to come up front. Rex watches two clones slowly walk forward.

“Captain, these are the two new members that got in last night.” Appo says with the two clones standing at full attention. Some men in the ranks laugh at their stiffness.

“At ease men,” Rex chuckles. They loosen up but in a stiff way. “What’s your names?”

“CT-5385 Sir!” The clone with a bun says snapping back to attention. Rex holds up a hand to try and calm the seriousness from these two.

“No, not the CT numbers,” Rex says hearing Cody chuckle beside him. “I’m Captain Rex, this is Commander Cody. And your names are…?”

“Ah I’m—I’m called Tup Sir.” The one with the bun says. The other one who Rex stopped before spouting CT numbers has a V tattooed across his left eye.

“I’m Dogma Sir.” Dogma says. Rex gives them a smile.

“Welcome to the 501st,” Rex says. “Fall back in so we can start the warmup.”

Appo leads them back into the ranks of 501st. Rex signals Fives to fall out. He hands him the datapad.

“You get to take muster.” Rex says. Cody hands the datapad back to Boil before they both stand in front of their men.

“Atten-tion!” Rex calls making both the 501st and 212th pop to attention. He steps back letting Boil and Fives walk forward.

“501ST attention to muster. When you hear your name sound off!” Fives starts. Boil does the same for the 212th. While they give muster, Rex has to fight the urge to spill everything about Clone Force Zero but not wanting to disclose anything to Commander Tano to soon. He peaks down at Ahsoka who rolls her shoulders slowly waking herself up.

“I don’t know how you talk me into these things Ani…” a voice sighs to the side. Rex smiles at Senator Amidala and General Skywalker walking across the grinder. It wasn’t odd for the Senator to join their morning workouts.

“Good morning Senator. Working out with us today?” Rex greets her. She gives him a warm smile and then an eye roll at General Skywalker.

“Yes, I was talked into it somehow.” She says eyeing the General. The General just grins with his hands on his hips more energetic in the morning then normal.

“It’s good for you,” The General starts. “Besides, the boys always seem more motivated when you’re around.”

He gestures out at the men who have perked up since seeing the Senator. Rex and Cody exchange a look before General Kenobi walks through the ranks.

“Blast this morning chill,” He says standing next to Cody. Both General’s wear the same PT gear as the clones except with a brown shirt instead of white. Ahsoka does the same except Rex and Fives tried drawing her face markings on her back. It doesn’t really look like them, but they tried. Many of the men have decided to make even their workout uniform unique. Hardcase scribbled GET THESE GAINS on the back of his. Kix had #MEDIC. Jesse proudly wears I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE on the back of his. Jesse’s wasn’t Rex’s favorite. Fives has IF FOUND RETURN TO ECHO while Echo has, I’M ECHO on the back of his. Echo still insists to have a blue handprint stamped over the right side of his chest. Rex got a kick out of all the messages his men wrote on their shirts. It started somewhat of a trend with the other clones. He’s been noticing more and more clones have been writing or even drawing things on their workout uniforms. “Well don’t delay on my behalf. Let’s get this over with.”

When muster is over, they start the warmup. It’s a series of basic exercises with ten four counts. The 501stand 212th try and outdo the other by who can count the loudest. Rex always felt sorry for the nobles living near the Jedi Temple. They probably never imagined they’d be woken up at 0500 to a clone army warming up. when the warmups done, they decide to do a Temple run.

“Alright, fast runners will be in group A with General Kenobi while slow runners will be in group B with General Skywalker.” Cody explains with the men breaking up into two groups. Ahsoka starts towards group B.

“Uh-uh come on kid.” Rex says leading her back to group A. she lets out a groan but doesn’t argue further. Cody stretches at the front of group A with General Kenobi. Normally General Kenobi would lead group B but with the Senator here General Skywalker volunteered to lead the slow group. All of Clone Force Zero stands in group A with mixed emotions of boredom or eagerness to get started. X turns his head meeting Rex’s eyes as if he could sense him staring. Rex looks away feeling a chill run up his spine. His thoughts are interrupted with Fives shouting towards the back of group A. Rex walks towards the back raising an eyebrow.

“Curse you and your slow running speeds!” He yells back to group B where Echo holds a hand up shielding his face as if it could hide him from Fives dramatics.

“Fuck sakes Fives its just a run.” Kix says in group A. Jesse leans on Kix’s shoulder.

“Yeah, Hardcase is a slow runner too but you don’t see us crying over it.” Jesse laughs giving a little wave to Hardcase in group B. Hardcase shoots Jesse the bird.

“Well since you’ve abandoned me, I’ll have to find a new running partner,” Fives says before grabbing the first clone he sees. He wraps his arm around Tup’s shoulders. “I’ll just run with… what’s your name again?”

“Tup.” Tup says uneasily.

“Tup!” Fives yells. Echo rolls his eyes while Jesse and Kix laugh. Rex walks back to the front where General Kenobi and Cody raise an eyebrow at him. He just shakes his head and waves them away in a you don’t want to know manner. With everyone in their groups they begin.

Group A always takes the lead in a steady pace with group B not far behind. Clones weren’t slow but some definitely were better runners then others. Rex had always struggled with running in the past. He never had that natural speed that others like Ahsoka or Cody had. He had to work for it and he still has to maintain a decent running schedule to keep his pace. Once they hit the one mile mark the groups begin to fizzle into everyone’s own speed. Group A and group B have now turned into a long line of runners around the Temple. Rex was impressed to see Tup near the front with General Kenobi, Ahsoka, Cody, and Rex. Fives struggled to keep the pace with his new running partner.

“Why don’t you fall back to Echo? He probably misses his running buddy?” Rex calls to Fives.

“Yeah… Echo… probably… does miss me!” Fives pants before slowing his speed. Rex gives Tup a grin before slowing his own speed. Cody gives him a look before slowing his own speed so they could run beside each other. With everyone a mile and a half in they were focused on their breathing and running speed.

“What’s going on?” Cody asks calmly. Rex peaks back at X and his men. They aren’t far behind them, but they also look like they haven’t even broken a sweat. They aren’t even trying. They could probably blow right past Rex and the other leading runners. Rex tells Cody everything he heard from X’s little meeting. Cody doesn’t answer at first as they take a turn.

“I mean… who gave them their orders? It wasn’t the Jedi that’s for sure.” Rex says with a small shake of his head.

“I keep thinking back to the first time we saw them fight. I’ve never seen any clone fight that way and I’m guilty of going hand to hand with droids all the time.” Cody says. Cody glances at Rex. “You don’t think they could be with the Seppies do you?”

“I’m not sure… If they are then how did the Seppies get ahold of five clones? Did they desert and make a deal with them like Slick?” Rex thought out loud. When they hit the two-mile mark, he was having a harder time thinking. Cody looked unfazed with only the sweat dripping down his forehead as sign of struggle.

“And another question is where did they get those weapons? I know they aren’t from Kamino.” Cody nods. “I have a bad feeling about this Rex ol’ boy.”

“Me too. But we can’t just start making accusations without proof. We’ll have to keep an eye on them until we have something we can bring to the Jedi.” Rex says. Cody opens his mouth to say something when someone runs past them so fast it nearly caused Rex to trip. X and Side-eye run ahead passing General Kenobi and Ahsoka. Rex frowns feeling his speed pick up.

“Hey!” Ahsoka yells before chasing after them. Rex and Cody reach General Kenobi who frowns after X. Ahsoka catches up to him. He smiles and says something they can’t hear. Ahsoka says something back before laughing and running beside them the rest of the way. Something stirred in Rex that made his blood hot. Rex can’t keep his eyes off X and Ahsoka. He didn’t think X would actually try and hurt her out in the open with two clone battalions running behind him. And even if he did Ahsoka was more than capable of handling herself but he still felt protective over her. She was just a kid after all.

When they finally reach five miles they come to a panting stop in the grinder. There was a small victory in seeing X and his men panting as much as Rex. When General Skywalker and Senator Amidala reach the grinder, she bends over to put her hands on her knees panting. Running at her speed was no challenge for the General who looked less worn compared to everyone else. Hardcase rolls on his back when he reaches the grinder and pants loudly while complaining.

“He lives!” Kix calls before walking over to Hardcase. Jesse places a foot on Hardcase’s stomach who makes a gaging noise.

“He pukes, you two clean it up!” Rex says snaping his fingers at them. Echo and Fives roll in with Echo placing his hands on his knees while Fives walks around with his hands over his head. They watch as all their men reach the grinder and slowly crawl back into formation. Not wanting to waste any time Rex and Cody stand in front of their men leading them in stretches. When the cooldown is down, they let their men go.

“501ST, we have duty tomorrow! Stand by for the watch bill!” Rex calls out before being answered with groans and moans. He looks over at Ahsoka and X still talking and sharing laughs. General Skywalker walks up to them when Rex does.

“Nah, I beat you!” Ahsoka says putting her hands on her hips.

“You must have used the Force or something because I was in the lead.” X says placing a hand on his chest.

“Master, tell X I’m faster then him!” Ahsoka says looking to the General.

“No way. I’m staying out of this.” He says with a chuckle and putting a hand on his hips.

“Fine, you won. But I want a rematch Commander.” X says crossing his arms.

“Oh, you’re on.” She says with a grin before walking back towards the temple.

“Settling in nicely I see.” The General says to X. X pulls a smile on and nods at the General.

“Everyone’s been very hospitable.” He says eyeing Rex who shifts his weight beside the General.

“Glad to hear,” The General says before looking back at the Senator as she approaches them. “If you’ll excuse me boys, I have to make sure the Senator makes it home safe.”

“I’m more then capable of doing that on my own.” The Senator raises an eyebrow at him with a smile.

“I know but it’s my duty as a Jedi ensure your safety!” The General says as they start walking away. When the General is out of ear shot X’s smile fades.

“Well,” X starts when Rex faces him. “This was a nice little jog. Me and the boys are going to shower. See you around Rex ol’ boy.”

The hair on the back of Rex’s neck stands on end. He watches X walk back towards the temple with his men. Cody and General Kenobi walk over to stand next to Rex.

“I don’t like that bunch.” Rex says narrowing his eyes at him.

“Patience Captain,” General Kenobi sighs. “They will reveal their true intentions in time.”

With nothing else to do Rex makes his way towards the Temple with Cody and the General. They change the subject to past tactics, but Rex couldn’t keep X out of his head. There was something off about him and it wasn’t just his armor or his weapons. It’s how he carries himself. How he acts. Everything about him was so familiar but Rex couldn’t pinpoint from where. Rex shakes his head. Maybe he was just paranoid. He decided he wouldn’t think about them for now. Now he has to prepare a watch bill for tomorrow and keep the 501st out of trouble while they awaited their next deployment. That alone was hard enough.

Click HERE to read full story on AO3.

[whirlybirbs]

I remember before I got into tcw I didn’t really get all the Rex hype but a few episodes in and I was a GONER and now your Rex Drabble and one shots are s e n d i n g me

✩   –   REX/READER   ;   RAIN

pairing: war correspondent!reader x captain rex

a/n: thinking about my boys before shit hurted! ehehe!

“I’m soaked.”

The makeshift shelter is already sagging beneath the weight of the rain that pummels them on the small, unnamed Outer Rim planet. 

Before the clouds had gone jet black and before the skies had opened up, Rex had marveled at the lush green jungle they’d dropped into — seemingly uninhabited, except for the flora and fauna. The marvel quickly turned to irritation, however, when Skywalker ordered they fan out and push through the jungle. 

Best to try and reach the Separatist outpost by sundown.  

But sundown had long came and went — and between the rain, the vines, the humidity, the entirety of the 501st’s Torrent Company was just glad to rest. 

You find them well past midnight; you’d been stuck trekking along in the middle of the herd of troopers as per HNN correspondent arrival protocol. Sans your gear, and your handy broadcasting droid B9-99, you dart in and out of the tents scattered about the jungle trail as you try to find the company in question. 

When you do, there’s a slight wave of greeting that ripples through the muggy tent. All in all, it’s a miserable sound.

“Hell, you’re all in a mood.”

You wring out your hair, peeling the soaked poncho from your shoulders as you plop down in the dirt beside Echo — across the small latern's light, Fives is trying to open a tube of meal paste with his teeth. “Can y’ blame us?”

No. Not at all. 

You frown, not only at the struggle, but the color of the tube. 

“What flavor?” you ask.

“Bantha,” he grits, moving to pull the plastic with his morals, “My last one. Why?”

You’re quick to rummage in your own pack, flipped off your shoulder. You dig through your own assortment of protein replacement meals, tubular in shape and packaging for ease of transport. 

“Trade you for a nuna flavored one?”

Immediately there’s a scoff from Jesse and Kix. Your mouth falls open in faux-shock. The roguish smiles on the faces, if you weren’t starving for something not-nuna flavored, would have been endearing.

Echo shakes his head beside you as he cleans his visor with a stray rag from his belt. “Gotta do better than that.”

“Nuna?” Fives finally opens the tube as he speaks, “You drew the short end of the stick on that one, sweetheart.”

“Yea, well,” you scoff, zipping your pack shut and pushing your hand through your hair, “They didn’t really gimme a lot of choices when the threw me into a war zone. I mean, if I had it my way, I woulda picked the 104th...”

Another round of low whistles and laughter. You grin. Fives rolls his eyes and mirrors the bright expression. 

Better now. Not as miserable. 

“Speaking of dashing leadership,” you ask slowly to the amusement of the troopers around you, eyes darting around the crowded tent, “Where’s the Captain?”

“Helping put up shelters,” Kix supplies as she leans back on his medic pack and crosses his arms, intent on getting some shut eye, “You know him.”

You curse lightly, and without a second thought, throw on your poncho. Fives raises a brow. “I’ll go find him. If anyone will trade for nuna flavored meal pastes, it’s Rex.”

The reasoning is enough. The lot of them know you and the Captain are friends. The word is loose in definition, mostly because even Echo knows the way you two look at one another borders on something a bit more sticky. Gooey, even. 

Cap’s got it bad for the pretty little news anchor. 

You swing your pack back over your shoulder as you pat Echo’s pauldron and duck out of the tent, ushered out by Jesse’s good natured cry of good luck. You realize quickly that you need it — the downpour hasn’t let up, and the only thing illuminating the jungle trail are the passing headlamps of troopers moving supplies through the camp. 

It is odd to hear Rex before you see him — objectively speaking, he should sound like every other trooper out here, but... You know him well enough to note the inflections, the tone, and the bitter misery in his voice, all from being caught helping shinies pitch tents in the middle of a damn monsoon. 

You can barely see three feet in front of you, and you grip your poncho tightly around your face as you near. 

“Rex!” you nearly holler over the rain; it prompts the blue and white jaig eyes on his helmet to turn owlishly to you — and you greet him with a quick jut of the chin. 

Wordlessly, he steps away from the project and gestures towards a tent below a low hanging tree — but before you can move towards it, his voice crackles from his helmet with worry. 

“Everything alright?”

“Yea,” you nod, speaking up, “M’ good.”

He nods — and then he plants a gloved hand on your back as you weave towards the tent. Once inside, you exhale and pull your poncho hood down with a pained look. If you weren’t soaked before, you sure are now. 

Rex pulls the tent flap closed behind him, and you listen as his voice warms when not shielded by his helmet.

“I hate this planet.”

You laugh. You ask, with a playful tone: “Who made you babysitter?”

Rex exhales into a chuckle. Then, he drops his helmet on the supply crate by the door and leans against it, legs popped out as he crosses his arms. The Captain’s eyes flick across your face as he smiles, and you can’t help but laugh when his brow climbs his face.

“What’d you come botherin’ me for, huh?”

“To make sure you hadn’t drowned in your helmet yet,” you chirp, moving to lean against the crate next to him, “I checked in with Torrent. They said you were helping pitch tents, so... I figured I’d rescue you.”

“Oh, I see. You see a little bit of action in the field and think you’re ready to make rescues, then?”

“Shut up,” you snort, shouldering the trooper.

“Callin’ it as I see it s’all.”

“The second reason I came to hunt you down,” you wave a finger, “is because if I eat one more nuna food paste packet, I think I might walk into the jungle and never come back... and I know that’s a lot of paperwork for you, so I —”

Rex shakes his head again; the grin digging into his cheeks is shadowed by two days of stubble. Stark against his blonde hair, he looks the part of a dashing Captain — especially when he tosses you a look and speaks slowly. 

“You knew I’d trade you for the bantha pastes.”

He’s amused. Not so grumpy, and definitely not looking as dreary as he had when you’d first pulled him from the rain. 

Worth it. 

Even if you were soaked.