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wanderinginksplot · 1 year

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Gar Cyare Chapter Nine

More Alpha-17 x fem!reader!

Word Count: 5,000

Warnings: mentions of past harassment and assault, descriptions of an investigation/interrogation, mentions of the Kamino attack, brief mention of medical procedures, a hint of fluff.

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Echoy (Search)

You scrubbed a hand down your face as you sighed. You smiled when you realized that it was one of Alpha’s gestures you had apparently decided to copy, but it was short-lived. General Ti and Commander Colt had requested you for a ‘special project’ and the Senate had agreed, so you were officially helping with the investigation of the information leak. This was the second day you had sat in on bounty hunter interrogations and it wasn’t going well.

Currently, the general and commander were speaking with Otsa Kiro, a Pantoran male whose specialty was in information retrieval. He was an odd case - a bounty hunter whose missions had been much less violent than the others, but much more lucrative. He spent some of his time teaching the cadets how to slice, but the majority of his time was in curriculum development. He was intelligent, clearly, but very dry. You couldn’t claim to know him well, but you had difficulty picturing him doing anything as daring as spying on the Republic.

That being said, Kamino likely didn’t pay its bounty hunters very well. Maybe Kiro was searching for an outside form of payment. That had been the commander’s theory, anyway.

The holocam feed let you watch the proceedings without being inside the room itself. These interrogations were happening under the guise of a performance review. The general was in charge of the training process and, by default, the bounty hunters, so she was the natural choice of person to review effectiveness. Commander Colt was covering the trooper success rates for each bounty hunter. General Ti could monitor their responses through the Force while Colt watched their body language. You were in another room, watching the monitor used to record the sessions for future study if necessary, and could see readings of their temperatures, heart rates, and other physiological responses.

None of it had done you any good so far.

“Thank you for your time, Kiro,” General Ti said politely. “We will be in touch if there are any other findings we wish to share with you.”

“Thank you, General,” Otsa Kiro said, rising gracefully from his seat and inclining his head at her. He left the room without acknowledging Commander Colt at all.

You shook your head as the general and commander fell into quiet conversation on the screen. The galaxy at large tended to be incredibly dismissive of clone troopers, but you would never have expected to see the same attitude displayed by beings who worked with them so closely.

When you glanced back at the screen, the commander and general were gone. You had a moment to prepare yourself before a knock sounded at the door. “Yes?”

Commander Colt opened the door, letting General Ti enter first before he followed. “Any luck with the monitors in here?” he asked.

“Nothing, unfortunately,” you replied. You had been briefed on what to look for during an interrogation, receiving a crash course in the physiological symptoms of guilt and stress for a dozen different species before putting your new knowledge to the test, but you had yet to see any confirmation of suspicious behavior. “Neither of you saw anything either?”

“Nothing,” General Ti said. If she was as frustrated as you and Colt were with the lack of evidence, it didn’t show on her serene face. “We have another interview in a moment. Do not lose hope.”

You offered her a weak smile. That was easier said than done. You had gone through a reasonable percentage of the bounty hunters on Kamino and found nothing. It wasn’t a good sign for solving this mystery.

“There he is now,” Commander Colt commented, gaze drifting to the screen behind you.

You glanced back as well, stomach dropping as you recognized the familiar face and form of Doni Pender. Your interactions with him had been remarkably limited since the incident, and you couldn’t pretend you weren’t grateful for that. There was a good chance that he was avoiding you - probably spurred on by some well-placed threats delivered by Alpha - but you were happy regardless of the cause.

Surely Pender wasn’t stupid enough to sell Republic intelligence to the Separatists… though that would be remarkably in keeping with what you knew of him. But even if you did manage to see something incriminating, would your findings be considered valid since you had your own troublesome past where he was concerned?

The sound of your name made you jump slightly, and you turned to find General Ti giving you a quizzical look. “Is something wrong?”

“I-” The immediate urge to brush off your experience with Pender was strong, but you knew better than to lie to a Jedi. Besides, it would be relevant to the investigation - either because of your own feelings or because it was telling of Pender’s personality. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to be impartial with the next interrogation.”

Commander Colt made a noise that sounded like a hastily stifled snort. “You’re friends with Doni Pender?”

You also suppressed the urge to snort, shaking your head instead. “He harassed me for a brief period of time after the attack. Ended up punching me in the face before the end of it.”

General Ti’s expression showed a mild shock and an even milder distaste. Commander Colt looked like he had just connected some dots. “Wondered where you had gotten that shiner. Anything ever happen with that?”

“Uhh…” you trailed, unsure of whether you should tell them the truth given that they were two of Alpha’s direct supervisors. But they had asked you a question and you had to answer. “Alpha walked up just in time to see everything happen. He… he had some opinions.”

Commander Colt’s face cleared, his frown turning into something like satisfaction. General Ti inclined her head slightly. “Good.”

You choked back a surprised laugh at that, but the general continued before you had to come up with an appropriate response.

“If you are able to do so without any discomfort, please watch Pender’s responses,” she instructed. “As you have doubts about your own impartiality, Commander Colt or I will check your findings to ensure accuracy, but I do not anticipate a problem. Commander?”

Colt inclined his head and followed General Ti from the room. They appeared on the monitor only moments later.

“Doni Pender,” General Ti greeted politely.

Pender had stood from his chair when the general and commander walked in. He nodded to her. “Hello, General. You’re looking lovely as ever.”

It was a good thing the room you were in wasn’t being monitored as well. The violent gagging sound you had made would probably have been considered unprofessional by most people. From the look on his face, Commander Colt felt the same way - though he mostly managed to direct his expression away from the holocam.

“Thank you,” General Ti replied, sounding serene. “Please, take a seat.”

He did and she settled into the chair opposite him. Pender glanced up at Colt. “Aren’t you going to sit, Commander?”

“I’ll stand,” Commander Colt said, voice cold.

“Now, Mr. Pender,” General Ti started. “How do you feel the quality of your instruction has been over the past months?”

Pender’s face grew thoughtful. “I feel my instruction has been high quality as ever, though I’m sure everyone has to adjust their expectations after the attack. That was an inconvenience for everyone.”

The way your fists clenched was instinctive and you were thankful again that you weren’t in the interrogation room. The rest of the interrogation was more of the same: General Ti asking her questions and delivering polite recommendations while Commander Colt revealed that the success rate of Pender’s trainees was below average. Unsurprisingly, Pender took no responsibility for any of the problems, but insisted that he didn’t need any help or advice about fixing problems.

“And how are you adjusting to life somewhere as remote as Kamino?” The general’s voice was kind, but you could see her concentration in the set of her face. “Do you get the opportunity to contact your family or friends often?”

“I don’t have much family, not that I’m in contact with,” Pender answered, frowning. “You already know that from my file, right?”

“Always good to double-check,” Commander Colt said, expression blank. “We’ve seen an uptick in long-distance communications lately. Security is always a concern.”

“Is that communication from Kamino employees or Senate administrators?” Pender joked. No one else in the room laughed, though his own chuckling lasted longer than you would have expected. When he had collected himself, Pender said, “If there’s been an increase in long-distance comms, it hasn’t been from me. I keep to myself other than the occasional call to a friend back in the civilized parts of the galaxy.”

“Very well,” General Ti said after a moment’s pause, rising from her seat. “Thank you for your time.”

“Hang on,” Pender said, managing to stand up halfway before Commander Colt sent a stern look of warning in his direction, stopping him cold. “Is that what this is really about? Long-distance comms? I knew it was weird that you were doing a performance review. Kamino doesn’t care about our performance; just how the cadets do. And it’s not like the Jedi pay close enough attention to care. No offense.”

General Ti waved away Pender’s lazy apology. “We are trying to play a more active role in the training processes found on Kamino.”

“No,” Pender denied. “You’re trying to find something… or someone. You’re asking about the comms for a reason.”

Back in the monitoring room, you stared at the screen, aghast. How could it be that someone like Doni Pender was sharp enough to pick up on an ulterior motive when beings far smarter than him had missed any chance to do the same? It was mind-boggling, and in the worst possible way. Pender could keep a secret well enough - he certainly hadn’t told anyone what had happened with you - but if he had information he thought could impress someone else? He would share it with everyone he could.

“Forget the comms,” Commander Colt told him.

“No,” Pender repeated. “If you came to me specifically to ask about it, that means you’re investigating me. Why? I haven’t done anything wrong!”

There was a beat of heavy silence in the room, one that the unfortunately perceptive Pender picked up on. “Is it that administrator? The one working for the Senate? Did she tell you I did something? That I’m guilty of something? Because I’m not. She’s a liar-”

“We are not here to discuss the administrator,” General Ti said, her voice firm in a way that reminded you that some of the Jedi had powers to influence people. “Do not tell anyone what we’ve discussed here today. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter - it would be a pity to find that someone involved so heavily in training the Republic’s troops was unable to behave appropriately in such a delicate situation.”

Pender sat at the table a moment longer, staring down at his hands as the general and commander watched him. “What do you need from me?”

General Ti glanced at Commander Colt, who crossed his arms over his chest. With a casual tone that somehow managed to be menacing, he said, “Nothing, apart from your silence.”

“You are dismissed,” General Ti told Pender, who stood and left the room so quickly you couldn’t believe he hadn’t broken into a jog.

Commander Colt eyed the holocam and lifted his comlink to his mouth. You were already reaching to accept the call by the time your own comm rang. “Yes?”

“Anything noteworthy?” the commander asked.

“A lot of fear, but no guilt,” you admitted, feeling a petty surge of disappointment. It would have been a neat end to the situation if Pender had been the source of the information leak. “None that I saw, anyway.”

Commander Colt glanced at General Ti, who shook her head slightly. When the commander spoke again, his voice held a tinge of disappointment as well. “It’s the same on this side. We’ll keep at it.”

Dimly, you realized that you had been standing through the entirety of Pender’s interrogation. Now that the tension had lessened somewhat, you collapsed backward into the chair you had centered in front of the monitor.

The next bounty hunter had entered the room and was settling into his own chair. This one was a human male named Lenjam Banti. You didn’t know him well, but you recognized him easily enough by his customary headscarf. In fact, you had never seen him without it. Not that it was saying much. Other than Pender and Trem, you didn’t really know any of the bounty hunters.

As the interrogation started off with a polite greeting from General Ti and a monosyllabic reply from Banti, you rubbed your forehead.

You were never going to find this leak.

---

“We have made excellent strides today,” General Ti told you, her voice kind. “We are finished for this session.”

You frowned, feeling the sting of an unproductive day. “We didn’t find anything. I can keep going. We can keep looking for the leak.”

Commander Colt glanced over at her, his eyebrows quirked slightly. You were hardly close with him, but you had a feeling the commander was willing to continue with the interrogations as well.

General Ti shook her head, clasping her hands neatly. “We will begin again tomorrow morning. Enjoy your evening.”

And she walked away, clearly allowing the words to act as a dismissal. You glanced over at Commander Colt, trying to gauge his attitude about the day’s lack of progress. He was watching the general leave with a thoughtful look on his face, but he soon noticed you looking at him.

“Uh, good work today,” he told you, taking a moment to settle back into his typical crisp tone. “Get some rest.”

“You… too?” you replied questioningly as he left as well.

Did you seem like you needed to rest or was that just a standard dismissal among the troopers? You shook your head, checking your wrist chronometer. Well, since you apparently had some free time…

You made a quick stop and then set out for the ARC training area.

You hadn’t seen Alpha at all that day, and it was strange. The ARCs-in-training were doing an endurance exercise, one designed to stretch two full days with minimal rest, rations, and supplies. Apparently, it was meant to simulate conditions they might expect to find on more intense field missions, facing grueling work in harsh environments. It sounded exhausting to you, but you had dutifully recorded it on your datapad. It was important information for your report.

Ideally, you could go in to get an update on the ARCs’ progress, find out some more details, and record those - with sensitive information redacted as necessary, of course. You wanted to emphasize that ARC training had to shift and evolve with the strengths and weaknesses displayed by each group and each individual trainee. Any changes made mid-training program were of particular interest to you.

But there was also a chance Alpha would have to turn you away. The rules surrounding endurance exercises could be tricky, he had explained. He would allow you to visit and observe if he could, but there were certain sections that the Kaminoans kept utterly secret.

You smiled to yourself, thinking about the way Alpha had complained about this training. Not about the need to do the training itself, though. In fact, when you had asked if he would bring in another trainer to help so he could rest, he had scoffed at you. “How can I train them to be effective for two full days if I can’t do the same, neverd’ika?”

No, Alpha’s biggest complaint was that he wouldn’t be able to see you. You had spent some time together the night before last, just before he had started with the training. You had eaten dinner together and he had given you a few windows of time when you might be admitted to the training area.

Fortunately, General Ti’s insistence on stopping for the day meant that you were in one of those windows just then.

You were hesitant as you stepped inside the training area, but Alpha greeted you with a nod. He may have even sent a smile your way, but the thick plastoid of his helmet blocked you from seeing it.

Not that you were confident you could have seen it, anyway. The training area was darkened, whipped with a chilly wind that took your breath away. The ground was uneven and rocky, and you struggled to keep your balance as you walked toward Alpha.

He was walking toward you as well, steadying you when you stepped on a rock that rolled under your feet.

“This way,” he ordered, his modulated voice scarcely rising above the howling wind. You let him herd you toward the observation deck.

When you were standing safely inside, the platform rose into the air, lifting out of the worst of the gloom. The transparisteel walls flickered with statistics and images so Alpha could continue observing training from a slightly different location. He took off his helmet, eyes scanning over the information with a practiced understanding.

You blinked up at Alpha, trying to clear that water that was running down into your eyes. “What was that? Is it raining?”

“Yes,” he confirmed, frowning. “You’ve seen the training area before.”

“Not like this!” you told him, stepping toward the outer wall of the observation deck to peer down at the ground.

Every other time you had seen the training area shift to suit the needs of the trainees, it had been almost clinical. The small white squares of the floor and walls had lifted, slanted, or lowered to form a landscape still made up of white squares. The whole area had still been bright with the lights embedded in the ceiling.

This was an entirely different story. You assumed the room was still made up of those squares, but they were different colors now, mimicking an actual landscape, complete with debris and obstacles. The lighting was massively reduced, dimming to the point of being gloomy. The effect was worsened by the way fat raindrops fell from the ceiling, swept in all directions by the wild wind. You couldn’t even begin to guess where that was being generated, since it had seemed to emanate from every direction simultaneously.

Lightning flashed just outside of the deck. It was closer than you had expected and your hands shook. That reminded you about what you had brought for Alpha, and you wordlessly handed him the caf.

It was the largest cup you had managed to find, but it still looked small in his hands. He blinked at you, taken aback. “You brought me caf, neverd’ika?”

“Well, it certainly isn’t for me,” you told him. “You know I don’t drink it black.”

He took a deep draw from the cup, smiling slightly when he was done. “What’s the point in caf if you can’t taste the caffeine?”

“You don’t have to taste it to feel the effects!” It was an old, teasing argument the two of you had shared almost every time caf came up in conversation. By now, it was nothing but a farce - both of you knew every point the other would make. Still, you shuddered. “It’s like drinking sludge if nothing is in it.”

“Good sludge, though,” Alpha insisted, taking another large swallow from the cup. “But you didn’t need to bring this for me. I was fine.”

You both knew he was lying, though neither of you said as much.

“Of course,” you said instead. “Can you talk me through what’s happened so far?”

After you wiped the water from the screen of your datapad, you took careful notes on what Alpha told you. He warned that most of the information couldn’t be added to the final report… even considering that he hadn’t told you everything.

“There’s one thing I still don’t understand,” you admitted. “What makes this different than any other training exercise? It’s important, I understand that, but why the weather and the specialized landscape?”

“ARC training is divided into a few different sections,” Alpha explained, slipping into his instructor voice. “This is considered the test at the end of the first section. By now, the ARCs should have learned to do the basics - thinking and moving independently, prioritizing tasks, disregarding orders when necessary - and this is the test of that. They’re still not ARC troopers at this stage, obviously, but they should have broken their patterns from when they were standard troopers. If any of those patterns are still there, we’ll find ‘em now.”

You hummed as you wrote that down, glancing up at him when you had finished. “So, how long am I allowed to stay?”

His expression twisted with regret. “Not long. We’re moving into an intense section in a few minutes and I need to be on the ground to make sure everything goes smoothly. Besides, I need to focus.”

“You can’t focus when I’m here?” you asked, delight clear in your tone.

Alpha grumbled, but his free hand found yours. “Never know where the kamiini are, or I’d show you how distracting you are, cyare. But I’ll make sure you have access to my report after we finish up here. You’ll learn a lot more from that than you will by standing here, especially without me to tell you what’s going on.”

“That sounds good,” you agreed, fighting back your disappointment. You wanted to watch the training, but you also didn’t quite know how to act without anything to occupy your time.

Alpha’s fingers gently squeezed yours. “How has the mess been without me? Are the cadets leaving you alone?”

“Mostly.” You smiled. “Limit and the kids have been sitting with me, so no one has had the chance to get too stupid.”

“Don’t underestimate them,” Alpha grumbled. He drained the last of the caf. “I better get down there. I’ll come find you after the training is over, but I’ll need to get some sleep.”

“I’m sure,” you agreed. “If you need more caf, let me know.”

“This is the last window for visits,” he reminded you. “We’ll be working nonstop from now until the end. Thank you for this, neverd’ika. I appreciate it.”

You smiled at him and tightened your hand around his before releasing it. “Good luck.”

“Don’t need it.”

---

You hadn’t told Alpha that you actually would be eating dinner alone that night. The Bad Batch were going through some kind of genetic testing in the medbay and - while you normally would have insisted on being there just to make sure nothing horrible would happen - the procedure was being attended by Limit.

Limit wasn’t the head medical professional for the tests, but the Kaminoans had been letting him help in the medbay more often lately. It made Limit happy, so you were all for it. The kids seemed more at-ease, knowing that Limit would be there to watch their backs. It was a good situation for everyone… except maybe you, as you sat alone in the cafeteria.

You sighed as you picked unenthusiastically at your food. It seemed ridiculous to regret that everyone was fulfilling their assigned duties, but it had been so long since you had eaten a meal without having someone to share it with.

It was fine. You were fine. You would finish your food and go do other things in other places that didn’t put such a strong emphasis on how alone you were at the moment. Stars, it might even be good for you. Everyone needed a chance to take a step back every now and then. You had been surrounded by your job since you first stepped onto the arrival platform at Tipoca City. It would be good to distance yourself, even if just for a single evening.

You missed Alpha.

Scowling, you shoved the thought away, ate a few quick mouthfuls, and went to dump your tray.

From the cafeteria, you went to your office. You were on temporary reassignment, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t transmit the sections of the report you had completed earlier in the week. Uploading the sections took less than an hour and you refused to do any more work than necessary. It was an uncomfortable shift given how much time you had devoted to work only a few weeks earlier, but the end of the assignment was approaching fast enough as it was. You felt no need to increase that speed.

You puttered around in the office for a while longer, straightening up your desk and removing some of the clutter that tended to build up. When you started wondering if there was a way to clean the windows, you forced yourself to leave.

Eventually, you ended up in your room. There was a holofilm you had meant to watch, so you put it on while you backed up a datapad and wrote out a few messages to friends who had asked how you were doing. It was a quiet evening and part of you was soothed, but it also felt… shallow. Unfulfilling. There was value in spending time alone and distancing yourself from this place, you decided, but it wasn’t what you needed then. You missed interacting with people and learning more about this place.

When you thought about it, this was precisely the way you had spent your first few weeks on Kamino. It was a wonder you had managed not to quit, you thought with a soft snort. If you hadn’t met Alpha when you had, you might have.

You missed Alpha.

Fortunately, you would see him in only a few hours. He would need to sleep after he finished with the training exercise, but you would see him the next day. More likely than not, Alpha would sleep through breakfast, but maybe he would join you for lunch.

With that hope buoying your low spirits, you decided to go to sleep.

It was the early hours of the morning when you woke to the sound of your door opening. You sat bolt upright in bed, staring at the door frantically, though your vision was limited in the room’s low ambient light.

“Udesii,” Alpha rumbled, his voice instantly soothing you. “It’s me.”

You relaxed slightly as he closed the door and began removing his armor. “You scared me.”

Alpha glanced at you, dark brows furrowed. “I said I would come find you after the training. What did you think I was talking about?”

“You said you were going to get some sleep!” you defended, nettled by the confusion and wry amusement in his tone.

To your surprise, Alpha chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint you, little one, but I am here to sleep. I suppose I could be persuaded, though…”

You shook your head, amused despite yourself. “You need rest, Alpha, and so do I.”

He hummed an agreement and settled into the bed beside you. He was dressed only in his body glove, heat emanating from him in waves. In seconds, Alpha was wrapped around you, his body cradling yours from behind as his fingers laced through yours. “Rest then, neverd’ika. Sorry to wake you up.”

“I would rather have you here than anywhere else, Alpha,” you said honestly. You were too comfortable to shuffle around and kiss him, so you lifted the hand that was cradling yours and pressed your lips to the back of it instead.

Alpha’s inhale hitched slightly, but he relaxed soon enough, settling deeper into the mattress as his breathing evened out.

Unfortunately, sleep was more elusive for you. Your brain, having woken to a surge of fear, was whirring faster than ever. It had chosen to fixate on the information leak, turning the problem over and over as you considered every possible angle. You made no progress, but that didn’t stop the mental gymnastics.

You watched the chrono on your bedside table tick away the minutes as you waited impatiently for sleep. As minutes became an hour, you gave up any hope of sleeping again that night. No matter how weary your eyes were, your mind wouldn’t stop.

You gave a light sigh.

Alpha shifted slightly behind you at the sound and you caught your breath, hoping you hadn’t woken him up. It was no use - he kissed the side of your neck a moment later. “Everything okay?”

His voice, thick with sleep, made you smile even as you apologized. “Yes, I’m sorry. Go back to sleep.”

“Nice try,” he told you. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

You sighed again. “I can’t stop thinking about the leak. The bounty hunter interrogations aren’t going well, and the general hasn’t been able to find any evidence of a problem with the long-distance comms. It’s… frustrating.” You paused, an unlikely path presenting itself to your tired mind. “Maybe the Kaminoans are working with someone? Giving them information?”

Alpha snorted. “The Kaminoans don’t do anything that would jeopardize their profits.”

It had been half a theory, requiring no time at all to invent, but you were stung by his immediate denial of its likelihood. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Nothing else could be going on. Why else wouldn’t anything show up on the comms?”

“Maybe they’re not going through the comms at all,” Alpha mumbled. You could hear the weariness in his voice and felt a sudden surge of guilt for keeping him from the sleep he so desperately needed.

“Maybe,” you agreed. “But it’s not something we need to worry about right now. Sorry to wake you up. Please go back to sleep.”

“Mmm,” he replied eloquently. “Only if you come with me.”

You smiled at that despite yourself. “I’ll try,” you promised, turning to snuggle into Alpha’s chest as his arms closed behind your back.

---

Author's Note - we're officially in the investigation! For those who were excited to see the reader do more spy-type stuff, don't worry, you'll get your chance...

Thanks for reading, happy holidays, and I'll see you soon!

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ech0-1409 · 1 year

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youre laughing? your padawan is morally outraged and youre laughing?

#this is SO funny to me #i hc that it still happens when obi wan gets older #obi wan kenobi #star wars prequel era #qui gon jinn #master and apprentice

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teddie-bear22 · 2 years

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Me? Not posting TMA art? Its more likely than you think!

Anyway this is one of my many star wars ocs who I haven't drawn in a while her name is Manda Velai (she/her) and I adore her she has two florist boyfriends (a feral Twi'lek and a himbo Togruta) and she dies in order 66 :)

Also expect Stellar Firma art next because I finished it tonight and have not stopped thinking about it since-

#star wars #star wars oc #original character #togruta #jedi oc #i love her very much #she is very dear to me #star wars prequel era #idk if jedi robes have pockets but #i did the sketch before deciding the character so #yuh #my art

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alfredsmanor · 5 months

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Darth Plagueis - James Luceno, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious & Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader Characters: Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Leia Skywalker, mentioned Jabba Desilijic Tiure | Jabba the Hutt - Character Additional Tags: Age Regression/De-Aging, sort of - transferring an old soul to a young clone body, Slavery, Worldbuilding, Domestic Fluff, Dark fluff, Young Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Planet Tatooine (Star Wars), Tatooine Slave Culture & Customs (Star Wars), Young Luke Skywalker, Young Leia Organa, Anakin Skywalker Raises Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader Raises Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Good Parent Darth Vader, he's trying his best to be one in very difficult circumstances, Bad Parent Darth Vader, encouraging the twelve year old to be a surrogate mother is bad parenting, even if your culture says that it's normal and expected, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Unreliable Narrator, Cultural Differences, Class Differences Series: Part 1 of Sidverse Summary:

“Sid, you may have the mind of a sixty year old Sith Lord, but you have the body of a twelve year old boy. Drinking all that jet juice last night was a bad idea. Slaves, unlike rich young shitheads from Naboo, don’t get to stay in bed all day just because they decided to get blind drunk the night before.” Anakin’s tone was one of mild reproof, his voice low.

Three years after Master Yoda shoved his lightsaber into Emperor Palpatine's throat and Padme died giving birth on Tatooine, Ani, Sid, Luke, and Leia wake up to face another day in Jabba's palace.

#Star Wars #Star Wars Fic #Star Wars Prequel Era #alternative universe #sheev palpatine #anakin skywalker #Darth Vader #Suitless Vader #Slavefic #Luke Skywalker #leia skywalker #Dark Domestic Fluff #dark humor

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ana-cantskywalker · 29 days

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Having BIG™ feelings about how most of the Jedi that survived Order 66 were literal children.

Children whose brothers turned on them, and whose parental figures were ripped from them for reasons that they would never understand. Children who didn't know how to live in a galaxy who accepted them, much less one that didn't. Children who had to shed the identity they'd had longer than they could remember just to survive. Children who watched as their people were labeled terrorists and the things they held sacred were desecrated to the purpose of hurting the people they were made to protect.

Children who had to pick up the (often literal) sword of those who'd come before them to protect innocents and hold onto what scraps of their culture that were left. That, to their limited knowledge, believed themselves to be the very last of their kind. Children who bore the weight of bringing justice to the deaths of thousands of their kin, not through revenge, but through the restoration of peace. Who in the fight towards peace, had to once again become weapons instead of peacemakers.

Of them training padawans when they were technically still padawans themselves. Who had to teach what broken pieces of their culture that they could still remember, because they were still learners when they stopped learning. Who taught in the middle of surviving in a galaxy that was out to get them on all sides. Whose padawans never got the chance to go to Ilum, or see the Temple on Coruscant, or bond with other padawans, or any other experience that should've been theirs by birthright.

If I think about it for too long my brain stops working and I cry.

#they just make me so sad #they deserved so much more #star wars #star wars prequels #star wars the clone wars #star wars rebels #Cal Kestis #Ahsoka Tano #Kanan Jarrus #Caleb Dume #rebellion era Jedi

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stealingpotatoes · 1 year

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i have one braincell and it is constantly occupied with the twins going to naboo and meeting padmé's family

(support me on kofi!)

#pooja naberrie #luke skywalker #leia organa #princess leia #star wars #my doods #comic #in my being normal about padme in the og trilogy era!#look ive been living in padme lives aus since i was like 7. for my own sake. but im finally taking a peek into the outside (canon) world #also my prequels fan is showing this is the first time in 14yrs of being into sw that im drawing luke #skywalkers & naberries

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hayden-christensen · 2 years

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Blade-to-blade, they were identical. After thousands of hours in lightsaber sparring, they knew each other better than brothers, more intimately than lovers; they were complementary halves of a single warrior.

OBI-WAN KENOBI and ANAKIN SKYWALKER Obi-Wan Kenobi - Part V (2022) Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

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mearchy · 1 year

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All the different types of fascists and fascist enablers on display in Andor and all of them being equally reprehensible and equally functional as tools of the Empire’s atrocities… Dedra, the gaslight gatekeep girlboss who has worked her way up through the ranks of military intelligence through her cleverness and grit, despite the bias and obstacles facing her. Karn, the blue lives matter, ben shapiro-ass renegade cop from a working class background who desperately wants a seat at the table. The nameless politicians at Mon Mothma’s parties, who discuss whether or not to support useless legislative bills against empire-wide repression while sipping thousand-credit champagne. The “I’d like to hang him” prefect on Ferrix whose desire to wield power over others at every possible opportunity manifests in the cruelest and most visible forms of oppression. The prison guards and the prisoners who protect their system. The civilians like Timm who make small-scale fascist goals achievable with insider information. Again and again and again we see how every person within a fascist regime who is not actively moving against it becomes a cog in their system. And I hope you’re all paying attention because some of you need to hear it.

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marveltaughtmetoread · 1 year

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I think the crux of the disconnect between Prequels era fans is that the Jedi supporters believe the Jedi are good and right, and it is on this that we should support, and the Jedi critical fans are like no one in this era is good and right, including the Jedi, and the fact that you won't admit the Jedi are wrong is driving us insane

Because frequently when Jedi supporters are arguing with me, they are dismissing the notion that the Jedi could ever do anything wrong and then bring up how awful Anakin is as a way to say I am wrong, because I support Anakin

Which I don't support Anakin????

I like him, he is an incredibly compelling character especially as someone who knows what it is like to repress your feelings and want so badly to hold onto the ones who care for you

But I don't support him, it's actually because I relate to him that I don't, I wish I could save him, I have compassion for him, but he killed people, he committed genocide, twice??? In the Prequels??? He is exactly the type of person who terrifies me in real life, I don't support him

My love of his character writing does not mean that I am overlooking his clear moral failings or even that agree with him, because I don't, I actually love his character more because he is written to be so flawed morally, he is an exploration of emotional repression and how wanting power, even if it is to save someone else can still make you a bad person, it is this complexity that drew me to him as a character

I am drawn to morally complex characters in spite of the fact that their actions go against my morals, because I personally find morally complex characters to be more compelling

So why then, if I like morally flawed characters do I have such an issue with the Jedi and their morals in particular

Quite simply, it's the way they aren't written (especially in the Clone Wars) with that same moral complexity, they are written as if they are moral good

And it is this framing of them that a lot of Jedi supporters have clearly sided with and made their reason to support the Jedi, they believe the Jedi are good and believe that fans should support morally good characters so they can't understand why I wouldn't support them

But the Jedi aren't morally good and I find the inability to acknowledge that alarming

The Prequels movies do a much better job of showing how their inaction leads to bad things, but even in the Prequels there isn't a full of acknowledgement of how far they have fallen

Whereas the Clone Wars just doesn't acknowledge it, at all, they flatten the story down so it has no moral complexity, they have clear cut good guys and bad guys, the Jedi are the good guys, no matter what, the bad guys are the Sith, their is the occasional attempt at making the morality of the Clone Wars more grey but it is inconsistent, and overall the approach is a binary

The issue is, in painting the Jedi as morally good, the Prequels era glosses over how they aren't, they aren't objectively good, no one in the Prequels era but in pretending that they are, you make the meta around the canon morally complex

You have people defending the Jedi's use of the clones, choice to ignore slaves and chain themselves to the Repiy, handling of Anakin and the Padawans in general, involvement in the war and everything else because the Jedi are framed as good guys

I have yet to meet anyone defending Anakin's actions because he is so clearly framed as the guy falling to the Dark Side, we are meant to mourn his fall but we aren't meant to think he was in the right

Not everything the Jedi did is bad, but enough is that placing them on a pedestal and calling them the heroes, acting like they don't deserve this slander when Jedi critical fans are just pointing out how the Jedi are morally compromised, is messed up

There is no moral high ground when it comes to the Prequels, everyone compromises themselves (including Padme, she stayed with Anakin,), but some fans want to act like there is and so we have a disconnect

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mrfandomwars · 1 year

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Last Day On Mandalore

Summary:

Everyone knows that the Grand Clan Wars officially ended on 39 BBY with a treaty signed between the Old Traditionalists and the New Mandalorians, but they also know that the Grand Clan Wars actual last fight was fought at night in 32BBY.

And the New Mandalorians lost.

Or,

Drabur Kryze's (the oldest child and only son of Late Duke and Mand'alor Adonai of Clan and House Kryze and Late Lady Emira of Clan Ordo and House Kryze, elder brother to the twins Satine and Bo-Katan of Clan and House Kryze) last day alive, spent with his son (Kartay of Clan and House Kryze) and Husband (Arasum 'Arasu' of the Clan Vencoypaan and House Kryze).

A/N:Hope you like it! I will Probably make a post about some random facts about of this fic or something related to this fic.

Words: 3503 words

[AO3]

Drabur groaned as he woke up, blinking away the sleep that he had just waken up from, wondering what had jumped unto his chest to bring him back to the land of living.

“Bu’bu! Bu’bu!” Came from above him.

And as Drabur’s vision cleared, he saw the offending party, who had decided it was the right time to wake him up from a wonderful dream involving tookas and lollipop-shaped droids.

The offending party, the one who had dared to wake him, was, in fact, his young and very adorable son.

“Good morning, ner kar’ika 1.” Drabur greeted, making sure that his ad’ika didn’t fall off the bed by accident.

“Bu’bu, can we have cake for breakfast?” Kar’ika2 asked him, straight to the point.

“We had cake for lor’vram3 yesterday, we are not eating cake again, especially when there’s no more cake in this house since ruug’tuur4.” The love of his life grumbled from his side on the bed, head hidden under the special pillow made specifically for his montral shape.

(Drabur was allowed to spoil his husband - even if said husband was sometimes too tired to use the presents properly, so leave him alone.)

“But Ara’Buir! It’s cake!” Kar’ika whined, looking at Arasu with big massiff, Kryze patented eyes (well, not really, although if he remembers right his Buir tried to jokingly patent it once and almost got it before backing out).

Not that Arasum saw it.

“Come on, Arasu, just for today.” Drabur said, also making the eyes to his husband.

“Nooooo.” Arasu said, but Drabur already knew he was won over.

“Please Buir5!” Kar’ika begged, moving, so he was on top of his other Buir.

“Pleeeeeeeease!” Kar’ika said, pulling the pillow off his Ara’buir’s face.

A bold move, Drabur noted as he shifted to better look at his son and husband, even if his Kar’ika didn’t know that taking away the pillow from his Buir would be a literal death sentence to anyone else.

(And Drabur wasn’t even kidding on that part, as there was one time when Arasu had thrown the pillow-remover out of a window once when he was awakened.

Although, to be fair, Arasu had been in the middle of a terrible nightmare and hadn’t fully come out of it when he was woken.

And they were on the ground floor.

And Bo-Katan had been fine in the end, barely any scratches even! Just a hard spook for her in the end.)

“Fineeee.” Arasu said, sighing, having become still so that he wouldn’t accidentally take away their son’s balance and make him fall.

“But,” Arasu started to add, “Your Bu’bu won’t eat cake, he needs a strong lor’vram for a mission tonight.”

“You are going away tonight?” Kar’ika asked, frowning as he turned to his other Buir.

“Just for tonight, I will be back nakar’tuur vaar’tur6.” Drabur said, sitting up just so that he could kiss his son’s head.

The almost eight-year-old, however, wasn’t pleased with that if his pout was anything to go by, as Drabur quickly noticed as soon as he pulled away.

His ad’ika always did hate whenever Drabur or Arasu went away on missions, even if only for a few hours and on the other side of Sundari or Kalevala.

Thankfully, this would be the last time that Kar’ika would be upset.

“How about, after I sleep, we can all watch the Kurs’ad Nari7 tomorrow? And we can do it at night, while eating ice cream.” Drabur tried, never being able to stand his son having anything but a happy smile on his cute little face.

“And I can stay up later today and tomorrow?” Kar’ika carefully asked.

“Only tomorrow, and only for 30 minutes after the film ends.” Arasu said from his bed side, head on top of his arms.

Probably looking at them, so to say, via his lekku and montrals.

“But Ara’Buir-!” Kar’ika had started to protest, arms uncrossing at the upsetting statement of his beloved Ara’buir.

“But nothing, that’s final. Now go and dress up, we can go to Me’suum’ika’ika8.” Arasu said.

And that’s all that Kar’ika needed, pout changing into a bright smile.

“Really!?”

“Not if you don’t hurry.” Arasu said, finally looking up and turning so that he could look his son in the eye.

“I’m going! I’m going!” Their ad’ika9 said, quickly getting off the bed and running to the door.

Fast enough that he had tripped and almost fallen, had Drabur moved fast enough.

“Be careful.” Drabur warned his ad, before letting go of the back of the shirt, his son going off in a flash barely after he had.

“You are spoiling him.” Arasu said after the door had closed, having sat up when Kar’ika had tripped, now leaning against Drabur.

“You say I’m spoiling him, yet you were the one to decided to go to Me’suum’ika’ika, the one who sneaks him candy before dinner whenever you think that no one is looking, specially he is looking sad, the one who is planning on ordering pizza for dinner tonight-” Drabur started teasing, only to shut up as Arasu quickly put a finger on his lips and kissed him on his forehead.

“Alright, Alright, we are both spoiling him. I guess then that Satine is the only one hard on him.” Arasu said, leaning back but keeping his left hand on Drabur’s shoulder as he rolled his eyes with a soft, beautiful, smile on his lips.

“Nah, Satine isn’t hard on him, or are you forgetting the time what she tried to do for Kar’ika's sixth birthday party?” Drabur asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arasu merely waved him off at that, shaking his head.

"Your sister hadn't slept in days when that happened, she can be excused for trying to buy an actual castle for Kartay's birthday, even if he still hasn't truly forgiven her for receiving a book when Satine had told him that she was giving him a party in the war castle and an armour built just for him, inspired by the warrior class he was obsessed with." He said, before moving towards the end of the bed and getting up.

"Now come on, we need to dress up quickly before our ad'ika starts complaining that we are taking too long."

And really, the way that Arasu leaning in for a kiss wasn't needed to convince Drabur, but boy he wasn't complai-

“Bu’bu! Ara’bu! I need help getting my top!”

As much as Drabur loved his son (and as much as he loved his husband’s back view), he felt like cursing at being denied a chance to kiss the most beautiful man in the galaxy as he watched Arasu go help their son get dressed (and make sure he didn’t end up looking ridiculous, what with Kar'ika having inherited Drabur’s own colour blindness - there was a reason why all of Drabur’s clothes had the colour or colours used in the pieces stitched in the back. No one wants him to go dressed as if he was mourning justice during a celebration of a bill passing, after all).

**********************************

After a very good breakfast - which involved getting Kar'ika to agree to get a healthy drink in exchange for eating a big slice of Mibanese Mud-Slice that he had insisted on sharing with Arasu while Drabur had to eat a toast (his most hated meal), a fruit salad bowl and a sunrise caf (something necessary for his mental stability, just like Satine needed a small cup of ne’tra gal10 or a Port in a Storm every morning to deal with politicians, or how Bo-Katan before she disappeared needed a Paonga Fresca to survive the week) - the small family headed to a nearby park at Drabur’s insistence.

Part of the reason they liked going to this park was because it was there that they met, when Drabur was visiting Sundari and was trying to keep his sisters from being arrested (and/or killed/captured by House Vizsla) while Arasu was merely walking back to his small flat after the public library had politely asked him to leave, as it had been hours since closing time.

(Not Arasu’s fault that they never thought to check the office he was in, he shouldn’t have to be banned for a week because it wasn’t his fault that he got so absorbed with studying.)

Since then, the park had been a special spot for them, and they tried to visit at least once a week if they were on the planet and not on Kalevala, as they usually were.

The park was great for Kar’ika too, as it had had recent modifications to let adike11. play around in a playground just for them while their Buire or caretakers watched over them.

Which was what Drabur and Arasu were doing right now, sitting on a bench as they watched Kar'ika play with his friend from school.

“I could swear it was yesterday that we met.” Drabur softly said, putting an arm around his riduur’s waist and pulling him close.

“Change a few things, and I say we are on our first date.” Arasu said softly back, leaning against his husband as he grabbed Drabur’s free hand, intertwining theirs together.

“Though, maybe without people shooting at us.” Drabur said, leaning in on Arasu’s face, appreciating how beautiful he was as he smiled softly at his husband.

“Yes, maybe without that.” Arasu said, chuckling slightly as he leaned close, almost touching his husband’s face.

And they both leaned closer, their smiling lips almost touching-

And then Kar'ika scream made them pull away, hands instantly moving to their concealed weapons as they got up, ready to attack whoever was hurting and/or scaring their son.

Only to freeze as they realized that their son was screaming in joy, not for nothing else.

Coughing awkwardly and hiding their weapons again, the couple tried to look everywhere but the parents looking at them, who were already used to it.

“We are never telling anyone that this happened.”

“Agree.”

**********************************

They stayed in the park for a few more hours - as they had gone there in the middle of the morning - before deciding to leave at noon for lunch.

“How about you go get Kar'ika while I call ahead Sun-Spot to save us a table?” Drabur suggested, still holding Arasu’s hand.

Arasu frowned slightly at that.

“Tranyc Taap12.? The place where we had our second date?” Arasu asked.

“Yes, why, is there a problem?” Drabur asked, slightly concerned.

Sure, it’s where they had their second date, but they had gone there often, like most recently 2 months ago to celebrate Eltern’s birthday.

“No, it’s just- … you have been very nostalgic today, talking about past things, taking us to places we have been to… is there something you want to tell me? Are you having a bad day or…?” Arasu carefully asked, as Drabur was usually not a man to look back on things unless it was on a specific day or on a bad day.

Drabur had opened his mouth to argue, to deny it, but-

-But Arasu was right, he had been nostalgic the whole morning (not even just that morning, what with the other day Satine and him having had talked about their Ado’Buir and how he had slowly stopped being estranged from his children and slowly agreed that Satine was right on how all the fighting was destroying Mandalore) and had been guiding his family through places that had a high emotional importance to them.

“I don’t… I don’t think I’m having a bad day, just that I am remembering a lot today.” Drabur settled on, after a minute of thinking how to answer that, “I promise it was just that.”

“You would tell me if it was something else, right?” Arasu asked, holding Drabur’s hand with his left and cupping his husband’s face with his right.

And suddenly Drabur was reminded of the fact that Arasu’s old best friend, Aja, had killed herself after spending the whole week reminiscing about the past.

Arasu never truly recovered, what with having found the body with Aja’s younger brother Kilan.

And Drabur hated that he reminded his husband of that.

“Of course, you would be the first to know if anything like that pops up in my mind, which I can swear to you on the Manda13. that it hasn’t, ori’haat14.” Drabur said, moving his free hand to hold the one cupping his face as he stared at his husband’s eyes.

His riduur stayed silent for a second, searching Drabur’s face for any lies - and Drabur hated that his riduur had to do that to know that, to know he wasn’t going to lose anyone else that he loved just because he didn’t see the signs soon enough - before nodding, shoulders falling from their high positions (and how did Drabur not notice that) and he let his head fall forward, letting it rest on top of Drabur’s head.

“N'eparavu takisit15.” Arasu murmured, moving his hands so he was holding Drabur close.

“No need, you were reminded of something traumatic, and I’m sorry that happened.” Drabur said, shifting so that he was looking at his husband in the eyes.

“Sti-”

“No, no apology needed, I understand why you asked that, and I’m sorry you felt like asking that, that I made you have to ask that.” Drabur said, cutting Arasu off.

Arasu just smiled at him, not sadly but close.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

“What did I say about stealing my questions?”

Arasu just snorted, shaking his head.

“How about you go and call our ad'ika over, and I'll go and check some restaurants out for us to try?” Drabur suggested, making Arasu nod, rising to his feet before stopping.

“We can go to the Sun-Spot, just call ahead to reserve a table while I call Kartay.” Arasu said, before heading towards the playground, already calling Kar’ika’s nickname (given by his friends that he insisted on everyone - minus his Buire, of course, who had ‘rights’ and could call him Kartay if they wanted to - calling him) to gain his attention.

Drabur merely smiled softly for a second before turning on his comm-unit to call the restaurant.

(And also a little something to make up for his husband after the mission, he is sure Satine wouldn’t mind having Kar’ika over for a night)

**********************************

“-and then we fought dragons and-” Kar’ika was recounting from where he was being held up by Arasu as they walked back to their flat, after a very good lunch (and of Drabur trying to kiss his husband but failing every time, either because Kar’ika or because of something else, enough to leave him slightly - only slightly! - frustrated at having yet to receive or give a kiss on the lips from/to his husband).

“And did you fight bravely?” Drabur asked, amused at the same time, as he made sure that the leftovers he was carrying didn’t spill over.

“Of course!” His ad’ika squawked indignantly, as if the whole idea that he hadn't been insulting.

“I’m sure your Bu’bu did not mean to insult you, Kartay.” Arasu said, also amused, shifting slightly his hold on his ad’ika so that he didn’t fall off.

“Your Buir is right, ad’ika.” Drabur said, before adding, “It is no shame to fight while being afraid, after all.”

“It just means that you have to later learn to control your fear, so that you don’t run the risk of letting your fear cloud your thoughts.” Arasu added as Kar’ika ‘ahhh’ed in understanding.

“You will also have to learn how to defend yourself from the other great enemy: Tickling.” Arasu said, just as Drabur opened the door and quickly stepped aside, letting Arasu rush through - quickly taking off his and Kar’ika’s shoes with practised ease, even with an eight-year-old struggling under his arm - and throwing their ad’ika on the couch.

And immediately started to tickle him.

Drabur smiled as he closed the door and removed his shoes, having no need to worry.

“Bu’bu! Help!” Kar’ika said between laughs, extending his hand towards Drabur to try and get him closer to help him.

Of course, that was a mistake as Arasu used that to tickle him under his armpit, making their ad’ika squeak more in joy.

“I think he learned his lesson, Cyar’ika16.” Drabur said, stopping beside them on the couch, arms crossed.

“Mmm, are you sure, ner Cyare17?” Arasu said, clearly amused but stopping nevertheless.

“Yes!” Kar’ika said, out of breath after such an intense ticking season.

“But did you truly learn?” Arasu asked, tickling one of the ad’ika’s feet for a second.

The result was a squealed “Yes!” as Kar’ika moved the foot away.

But not moving away, as he was too tired to even do that.

“Mhmmmm.” Arasu said, moving back, so he was sitting on his knees, hand on his chin - a habit that Kar’ika seemed to have inherited - as if in deep thought.

“Very well, I believe you.” Arasu said, making Kar’ika sigh in relief, only to freeze at what Arasu said next.

“For now.” He said, with a slightly evil smile.

“Don’t be mean.” Drabur said, smiling at his husband and son.

“I am not, being able to withstand tickling is a Very Important lesson.” Arasu jokingly defended himself, putting a hand on his chest - right in the kar’ta symbol on his clothes - to sell it further.

“Of course, of course.” Drabur said, before leaning in and - finally! - kissing his husband for the first time on the day.

“Don’t forget to prepare the paperwork for your meeting with Fenn Rau tomorrow.” Drabur said after a long (and amazing, even though Kar’ika had said ‘Ew!’ and run off to his room after his strength returned) kiss.

“I know, I know, I prepared them yesterday in case I forgot them.” Arasu said, before patting Drabur’s shoulder, “Now go, you need your sleep, I will go make something for you later so that you have clean clothes and something to eat when you wake up.”

Drabur only smiled.

“What would I do without you?”

“Let’s pray neither of us finds out, shall we?” Arasu said, seconds before Kar’ika voice was heard from his room.

“Ara’buir, can you help me get the video-game off the shelf? It's too high!”

“Go, I will go get it for him.” Arasu said, nodding towards the door of their room.

“See you tomorrow.” Drabur promised, stealing one last kiss before heading off to their bedroom, closing the door as he heard the love of his life tell Kar’ika that he was coming.

He had to sleep before his last mission, after all.

After this, he was officially retired.

**********************************

04:00 in the morning

“…there was nothing we could do to stop it or to recover the body, I’m sorry for your loss.” Pre Vizsla softly said, sitting on the armchair, “I came here as soon as I got back, knowing that you should hear it first hand.”

Still covered in blood.

In Drabur’s blood.

Arasum… Arasum was numb.

No, not quite numb but…something, so shocked, so horrified that he couldn’t even think.

His husband was dead.

And he hadn’t been there, he had been sleeping, not knowing what was happening.

Had his last thoughts been about their ad’ika? About Arasum himself? About his sisters?

Had he lied to Arasum earlier? Had he purposely let himself be killed because he had lost the will to live-?

Oh Manda, oh Manda, his husband was dead.

Arasum sat there in shock, stunned into silence as Satine started to sob from the other side of the couch, comforted quietly by Pre, who didn’t seem to care that he was getting blood all over the Duchess.

All over the sole leader of the Clan and House of Kryze.

Because Drabur, who had shared the title with Satine and Arasum since the civil war, was dead.

Arasum, who was now a single parent to Kar’ika and may have lost the job he had and thus had nothing to distract himself from the gaping loss he felt in his heart without Drabur or to help sustain his Aliit18.

Arasum was going to be sick.

The sound slowly faded away as Arasum felt tears run down his face.

His riduur was dead.

He was gone, body unable to be recovered.

Dead.

“Ara’Bu? Wha-What’s happening? Is Bu’bu back?” A young voice cut into his thoughts, drawing Arasum out to the real world.

Blinking and shaking Heir Vizsla’s hands (blood covered hands, blood of Drabur, oh Manda-) off, Arasum's tear stained, bloodied and shocked face slowly turned to face his ad’ika, who was holding a mythosaur plushie.

The present from Drabur on Kartay’s eight birthday.

Now the last birthday present that Kartay will ever receive from Drabur.

Because he was dead.

And now, through it all, Arasu realized he hadn’t even thought of something.

How was he going to tell Korkie that his Bu’bu was dead?

Dictionary: My Little Star/Sun/Heart Back Little Star/Sun or Little Heart, which ever you find the cutest. Back Breakfast Back Closes I could get to meaning yesterday Back Gender neutral of Parent, can be used by any gender. From what I know, you are meant to pick the first two or three letters of a person's name and then add "Buir" after, but since Drabur's name is literally Too close to "Dar'Buir" (which is basically what children or anyone calls their biological donor in a sort of 'divorce' with them, declaring them no longer related to them) I decided to go with Bu'Bu to stop anyone from having to do double takes, thinking I wrote "Dar'Buir" instead of "Dra'Buir". Back Tomorrow Morning Back Closest I could get to "Fox's Adventure", and it's meant to be a kids' film Back Closest I could get to little moon Back Affectionate name for a child Back Mandalorian Black Ale. Back Affectionate name for Children Back . Closest I Could get to Sunspot, but the actual meaning is "Sunny Location" Back 1"the collective soul or heaven - the state of being Mandalorian in mind, body and spirit - also supreme, overarching, guardian-like" - On this story, only means Mandalorian Heaven. Back "It's the truth, I swear - no bull." Back Sorry, or in it's literal meaning "I eat my insult" Back "Darling, sweetheart" Back "Beloved, loved, popular" - On this case, all of those meanings. Back Family, clan and house - On this case, all of those meanings. Back

#mandalorians #new mandalorians #drabur kryze #korkie kryze #korkie is not a kenobi #pre vizsla #satine kryze #fanfiction #fanfic #mr writes #arasu vencoypaan #star wars #star wars prequel era #sw

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wanderinginksplot · 2 years

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Gar Cyare Chapter Five

More Alpha-17/fem!reader fic! If you missed the last one, check your settings and make sure you can see adult material (marked for discussion of a makeout session and a brief mention of sexual arousal). Or if that makes you uncomfortable, message me and I can give you an overview of the important content.

Word Count: 8,900 😰

Warnings: mentions of parties, alcohol consumption, and hangovers.

Make sure to check out the author's note at the end of the chapter!

Previous | Next* | Masterlist

*The Next button will take the reader to the next SFW chapter. To access the NSFW chapter, follow the instructions at the end of this chapter.

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Ba'balut (On Patrol)

There was no question that the ARCs-in-training knew how to throw a party.

In contrast, there were many questions about how they had managed to pull it off, but that was another matter entirely.

“I don’t understand,” Alpha vented to you, tucked away in a corner of the room. “How did they get this much food? It’s all contraband on Kamino. And the alcohol! I haven’t seen so much kriffin’ alcohol since the last time I went to 79’s.”

“What’s 79’s?” you asked, speaking loudly in a bid to be heard over the throbbing music.

Alpha had been right: the party was wildly beyond what you had thought of being possible for a handful of ARC trainees to manage. There was food everywhere - good food - and you had gleefully loaded up a plate in celebration of eating something other than nutrient mush. The alcohol was plentiful and the drinks were strong. The music was so loud that you vaguely wondered whether the stilt supporting this section of the city was going to shake itself loose and leave you toppling into the sea. And then you stopped wondering about that because you were starting your second drink of the evening and even the thought made you dizzy.

Alpha acted like he hadn’t even heard you. “This is ridiculous. They’re supposed to be professionals, highly trained to handle any assignment the GAR can throw their way. And this is how they’re acting?” A scoff paired nicely with the irritated way Alpha shook his head. “How did they pull this off?”

“Alpha, seriously? Look around the room,” you instructed. “There are more instructors than I’ve ever seen in one place and all of them are drinking like they’re trying to drown. I think they probably helped the ARCs get what they needed for this.”

“How did they even afford it?” Alpha bit out. “Even if they convinced those utreekov bounty hunters to get them what they needed, no one is buying that much alcohol and footing the bill. Especially not them. They’d hunt down their own mothers if it meant an extra credit or two in their pocket.”

“You’re missing the biggest detail out of all of this,” you told him. “Frankly, it’s astonishing. You need to focus.”

With a deep frown in your direction, Alpha leaned closer. “What are you talking about? What am I missing?”

You took a burning sip of your drink and tilted your head to the side, smiling flirtily up at Alpha. “Even as we speak, you’re missing out on a chance to dance with me.”

Admittedly, you knew that had a remarkably low chance of working. You liked to dance and the room was full of proof that you weren’t the only one, but Alpha literally made a living by teaching tough men how to be tougher. He had admitted to being intense and he was always stern. None of those were traits that lent themselves well to dancing.

Or so you had thought.

The instant the invitation left you, Alpha took the cup from your hand, drank from it, and set it aside. You stared up at him in shock, but he was already motioning you onto the dance floor and you walked in front of him in a pleasant daze.

Alpha was a much better dancer than you would have given him credit for. Of course, your shock at the fact that he danced at all was an indication of your doubt where he was concerned, but you were still thrilled. While others may have started dancing a short distance away from you and gotten closer, Alpha stood confidently close from the start. You were in constant contact while the songs shifted. The music worked its way through genres and eras as you and Alpha worked your way around the room.

The time passed pleasantly until you were breathless and your cheeks hurt from smiling. You stopped and Alpha followed your lead, following as you walked around the periphery of people dancing.

“What are you doing, neverd’ika?”

“Looking for my drink.”

“I don’t know why,” Alpha told you. “Even if you find it, we’re getting you a fresh one.”

You paused at that. It had always been standard procedure for you in public to get a new drink any time you had taken your eyes off of your current one… but you trusted these people. Didn’t Alpha trust his brothers, his vode?

As if he had read your mind, Alpha explained, “Too many people around here. We can’t be sure that your drink would be safe and I won’t take risks with you. Besides, what if someone sneezed on it?”

You huffed at him. Throw away your meal once because Neyo didn’t know how to cover his mouth and no one let you live it down. There was only so irritated you could be, though. Alpha made a good point… and when his eyes sparkled with good humor, how could you be expected to resist his charm?

Alpha insisted on getting drinks for you both while you chose some of your favorite foods to share with him. Drift appeared beside you before Alpha came back, and you watched in horror as he reached out to take a nuna leg directly from the table and eat it.

“There are plates for a reason!” you reminded him loudly.

Drift grinned, wiping grease from his chin. “Yeah, the reason is because some people don’t eat fast enough.”

You laughed despite yourself. “Are you having fun?”

“Of course! Are you?”

The two of you chatted back and forth about the party for a while, but when Alpha returned, Drift said, “Looked like the two of you were having fun earlier. Enjoying the dance floor, Captain?”

“How did you pull this off, Drift?” Alpha asked, managing to turn a fairly curious question into something accusatory. “Why aren’t the Kamiini shutting it down? What do you have on them?”

“Why, Captain!” Drift exclaimed, pressing his hand to his chest. “Are you accusing me of doing something irresponsible?”

You snorted loudly enough that Drift heard it over the music and winked at you. Alpha was much less amused. “Do I need to remind you that lying to your commanding officer is generally considered a bad thing?”

“I’m not really lying…” Drift hedged. “Just avoiding the question.”

Alpha grunted at that, carefully picking at some of the food on your plate. He ate it deliberately, savoring it before he made intimidatingly direct eye contact with Drift. Nonchalantly, Alpha asked, “But will you be able to avoid the consequences?”

“Oh, you were asking about the party!” Drift said, chuckling nervously. “Sorry, Captain, must have misunderstood you. The Kaminoans aren’t stopping it because it’s their party.”

“Excuse me?” you asked. You had to express your disbelief somehow, and that seemed more polite than blatantly calling Drift a liar.

“Technically speaking, this is a party that the Kaminoans put on to celebrate the end of the repairs,” Drift told you and Alpha.

Alpha gave a slow nod. “I knew the final repairs had been made. Surprised they’re doing something as frivolous as throwing a party about it.”

“Apparently, they got the impression that someone wanted a party to bring everyone together and celebrate the work that has been put in on it.” Drift’s eyes flitted nervously to you as Alpha heaved a sigh and you glanced between them. “Someone sent by the Senate to write a report on the way we clones are treated.”

“Did you directly use her name?” Alpha asked, tone long-suffering.

“No, just hints and implications,” Drift admitted. “Nothing that could be traced.”

“Well, you learned that, at least.” Alpha shook his head. “Sorry, neverd’ika.”

“It’s fine with me,” you said, smiling when both men were surprised. “If I had thought about it, I would have suggested that the Kaminoans do something nice for you. I… probably wouldn’t have requested a party, but the men certainly seem happy.”

“They are!” Drift looked relieved that you weren’t angry. “I think I’m done here. Do you two need anything? Another drink? Some more ice?”

“No,” Alpha told him, voice so firm that Drift seemed to understand that he wasn’t talking about drinks or ice. “You’re not done explaining yet. Why would the Kamiini put so many resources into a party? There must be half the training budget in alcohol alone.”

“Well… maybe not everything came from the Kaminoans.” Drift guiltily shifted his feet. “They provided the basic funding and we… improvised.”

“Improvised,” Alpha repeated.

“Yeah, improvised. See, the Kaminoans didn’t specify what kind of food they wanted us to get. Or how much of the budget could be spent on food and how much could be diverted to… other things.”

Alpha stepped forward, hissing something into Drift’s ear. The room was too loud for you to hear the question itself, but Drift’s face paled as he rapidly shook his head. “Oh, no, nothing like that, sir! Just transport costs for the food and drinks. Of course, I also told some of the instructors about it and they were willing to chip in so they could get some… uh… specialty beverages ordered in. Not often Kamino gets enough of anything to be considered a bulk order.”

“That better be true,” Alpha warned, stepping back far enough that he didn’t hit Drift as he folded his arms across his broad chest.

“On my honor, Captain,” Drift said cheerfully.

Alpha’s snort was loud enough to drown out the music for a moment, and you started to laugh. Drift shook his head at both of you. “I know when I’m not wanted!”

“Wait,” you pleaded before Drift could take more than a few steps toward the crowd. “I still don’t get it. Why take such a risk to bolster this party in particular? Just because it was happening, or is there something special I’m missing?”

After giving that a moment of consideration, Drift explained, “Consider it a pre-party. Probably the closest we’re gonna get to having one of our own.”

“That doesn’t really answer the question, though,” you pointed out. “This is the closest who is going to get to having a party? And for what?”

Drift beamed at you, throwing his hands wide open as if offering the entire room a hug. “ARC graduation, of course! This is our gift to ourselves for surviving everything the captain inflicted on us.”

You were knocked speechless at that, and the lack of conversation threatened to stretch into something uncomfortable. Before it got to that point, Alpha clapped Drift on the shoulder. “And my gift to you is that I won’t take it easy on any of you men in training tomorrow morning. You haven’t graduated yet.”

“Yes, sir!” Drift agreed, offering a salute in Alpha’s direction. “I’ll be around if you need me. Enjoy the party!”

When he had melted into the mass of people eating and drinking, dancing and chatting, you were left standing with Alpha. Eventually, Alpha heaved a sigh and handed you the drink he had gotten you, long-forgotten in the wake of your conversation with Drift.

“Let’s find somewhere quieter to sit down.”

That seemed like a good idea, so you followed Alpha through the crowd. He did most of the work, of course, his height and the breadth of his body carving a wide furrow through the party. All you had to do was trail behind him before the walls of people came back together like the waves behind a boat.

Alpha led you to a seating area tucked around the corner from where the majority of the party was taking place. You were far from alone, clusters of cadets dotting the area, but the noise level was far more manageable than it had been anywhere else.

You settled into your chair, sipping absently at the drink. With more than a little amusement, you noted that Alpha had mixed the drink to be far less strong than the ones you had been drinking before. Still, you set the cup down on the table before you had made a noticeable change in the level of liquid inside.

“Talk to me, neverd’ika,” Alpha rumbled abruptly.

You shook your head slightly - not as a refusal to do as he had requested, but as a lament for your own thoughts. “I don’t know why I’m so surprised to learn that the ARCs are going to graduate soon.”

Alpha shrugged. “They’re the first group you really knew. You wouldn’t have paid much attention to the typical ARC training cycle before them. Not that it would have done you much good.”

“What does that mean?” you asked, toying absently with the cup.

“This… wasn’t a standard training cycle, not by any means.” Alpha scrubbed a hand over his head in a way you rarely saw him do. “This cycle was extended by a lot. Mostly because of the attack and the aftermath, but there were some other factors involved.”

You frowned at him, but before you could ask exactly what those factors were, Alpha cut you off. “Point is, normally the ARCs don’t take as long to train as this group did. The extra time we took made sense considering everything that happened, but orders came down. They say we need to get back on track.”

“Who says that?” you pressed. As far as you were concerned, the ARCs had already resumed their training far earlier than was wise. You would have considered it a good idea to have the ARCs continue their training on Kamino for at least a few more weeks.

“The higher-ups,” Alpha told you vaguely, sighing when you shot him a sharp look. “The GAR, the Kaminoans… even the Senate sent General Ti a message asking when the battalions could expect to get their men back.”

“They didn’t!” you gasped.

“It was phrased better than that, but all the karkin’ politeness in the universe won’t hide the impatience when a general wants their soldiers back under their own command.”

“ARCs aren’t under any one general’s command.”

In his driest tone, Alpha said, “Thank you for the education, civvie. You’re right, but the ARCs tend to be attached to a specific unit. Usually it’s the one where they started or where they were just before ARC training. They normally get sent all over the place, sure, but they can request to work with a specific unit or general if they want.”

“Normally?” you asked, picking up on his unexpected use of the word. “When wouldn’t an ARC go wherever they’re needed?”

“Only in certain circumstances,” Alpha told you thoughtfully. “One of them is if an ARC-trained trooper takes on a leadership role in a unit. In that case, the scenario flips. Most of the time, the ARC is with their own unit, but can be called into service elsewhere if needed. That’s what’s gonna happen with Drift when he goes back. He’s a captain now.”

“Drift got promoted?” you asked, trying to hide your own surprise. Those efforts disappeared entirely as you repeated, “Drift?”

“Yeah, I think he may be blackmailing someone,” Alpha grumbled, making you laugh.

Your laugh faded slowly and you took another sip of your drink while you tried to figure out how to phrase your next question. Unfortunately, even a weaker drink wasn’t enough to save your mental acuity, and your thoughts came out in a long-stretched strand. “How long..? What day- When is their graduation going to be?”

Alpha lifted an eyebrow at you but didn’t make any comments about your current state. “Day after tomorrow.”

“What? That’s so soon!” You lifted your cup for another drink of whatever mystery concoction the ARCs had thrown together, but Alpha gestured for you to pass it to him. When you did, he handed you his in return. Obligingly, you drank from his cup and felt your expression shift. “Water? Alpha, why are you drinking water at a party?”

He shrugged. “Never seen you at a party before. Thought you might get a little crazy. I figured I would keep things under control if you did.”

“Under control?” you asked suspiciously, drinking more water when Alpha pointedly glanced from the cup to your face. “How exactly would you have done that?”

“The usual,” he replied easily. “Scare cadets, threaten ARCs, distract Kaminii. Get you out of here if necessary.”

“You would talk to a Kaminoan to keep me out of trouble?” you asked, eyes prickling like you were going to start crying. Then you took another drink. You must be worse off than you thought if you were getting teary over something so minor… as much as you could call Alpha being willing to talk to a Kaminoan ‘minor’.

“Yeah.”

You grinned at him. “I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Alpha smiled, the expression blooming slow and true across his face. “What do you think, cyare? Do you think you’ll be happy here with just me and Limit and the kids for company?”

“Of course,” you told him immediately, reaching across the table to lay your hand palm-up in the space between you. Alpha covered it with his own. “I’ll miss the ARCs, of course. They’ve done more for me - for us - than I can really thank them for. But I know they have different things they need to do, other places in the galaxy where they can do more good than they can here. But, in the end, you’re all I need.”

“Not need,” Alpha corrected, squeezing your hand gently. “Remember? You told me that just after you got your cast removed. You don’t need me around; you want me around.”

“Exactly,” you agreed. “And I’m gonna want you around for a long time.”

It was too dangerous to kiss him the way you wanted to in such a public location. Stars, it was a bad idea for the two of you to be holding hands as openly as you were. But you were tipsy enough and so lost in your own feelings that you convinced Alpha to round the table so you could lean against him and contemplate the galaxy for a few minutes.

---

There was no question that the ARCs-in-training knew how to throw a party.

In contrast, you had many questions about your ability to survive the aftermath of that party, but that was another matter entirely.

“Neverd’ika.”

You frowned, eyes still tightly closed against the light in your room. Stars, why was it so bright? You always kept the lights turned down as low as possible. Had something gone wrong with the automatic shutters that kept the room dimmed despite the large window?

“Neverd’ika, I need you to sit up.”

The sound of Alpha’s low voice rumbling through you made you wince - any sound did - but your aching brain was soon absorbed in trying to unravel the mystery of the night before. You had gone to a party for the ARCs - no, for the end of the construction. The ARCs had just taken it over before anyone had the chance to realize what had happened.

A heavy sigh rang through the room and the mattress dipped slightly.

You groaned and rolled the other way, pulling the sheets up to your chin and curling your body a little tighter, bracing yourself as if the pain were a physical attack you could ward off with the right defense.

“Neverd’ika, I’m serious.”

Alpha hadn’t stayed with you the night before. You couldn’t blame him overly much, especially considering how drunk you had been by the time you had left the party, but that hadn’t stopped you from being bitter about your empty bed that night. Well, in the thirty seconds it had taken you to fall asleep, anyway.

“I have caf and pain meds.”

That was enough to make you turn over, blearily opening your eyes. Alpha was indeed sitting on the edge of your bed, one hand holding a mug and the other cupped as he held something. You began to sit up and Alpha gave you a warning look.

“Easy and slow, guur’gal,” Alpha warned.

“Gurgle?” you asked, the dryness in your mouth hiding the horror you were feeling. “Why are you calling me gurgle? Did I throw up last night?”

“No, but you will if you sit up too fast,” he warned. “Take it slow and you’ll be okay.”

You sat up slowly, head pounding so hard that it made you feel unsteady and verging on miserable. Alpha was still sitting on the bed, so you slid over until you could use him to prop yourself upright. You reached for the caf, but your stomach lurched and you paused.

“There’s an order to these things,” Alpha told you, putting on his best instructor voice. “Water first. Drink it slowly.”

He passed you a glass of water. It was lukewarm and somehow the best thing you had ever tasted. When you had gotten down about a third of it, he handed you two capsules.

“Pain meds. Take ‘em one at a time or you could make yourself gag and there’s no stopping what will happen next.”

You did as he instructed, swallowing convulsively when the second capsule adhered to your tongue. It had been good advice and you went back to sipping the water.

“Now some caf,” he ordered, handing you the mug. The heat felt wonderful against your hands and you cautiously drank some. It didn’t have anything to cut the strong taste, but it was the perfect temperature and didn’t upset your system, hitting your stomach and spreading that delicious warmth through your entire body.

Alpha took it back from you before you could start to drink it in earnest, passing the tepid water back to you. “Finish this off and lie back down.”

“What time-”

“I left you plenty of time to get ready,” he interrupted, having anticipated your concerns. “You can go back to sleep for about half an hour. I’ll wake you up and we’ll try out some food.”

You groaned, moving carefully back to a comfortable position. You let your hands fall somewhere above your head, wincing sharply when your comlink connected with your forehead. Alpha sighed and worked gently at the band until it slipped free of your wrist, leaving it bare and you far more comfortable than you had been.

Before you could slip back into sleep, you mumbled, “What’s gurgle mean?”

Alpha chuckled. “Not ‘gurgle’. Guur’gal. It’s Mando’a. Means someone who likes their alcohol.”

“That’s not me,” you assured him, keeping your eyes closed. Sleep was beginning to pull at you. “I’ve decided I don’t like alcohol at all. Not if this is what it does to me. I’m giving it up. Never again.”

Alpha hummed something that could have been anything from a skeptical agreement to a weather report. You were asleep before you could begin to process it.

“Neverd’ika.”

You groaned. “Give it up, Alpha. I feel awful, even with the painkillers. I think I’m just going to stay here today, sleep it off.”

When an answer didn’t come immediately, you thought you had won… but then Alpha’s softest voice said, “Today will be your last chance to watch the ARCs have a training session. This will be their last one. The ceremony is tomorrow morning, then they ship out.”

Sleep was lapping at the edges of your consciousness like the waves of Kamino did Tipoca City’s supports. It was rising higher every second, threatening to wash you away entirely. The soft temptation called to you, promising to ease your pain and leave you feeling refreshed and ready to say goodbye to the ARCs.

It was an enticing prospect. You had never felt quite as bad as you did then…

But you had worked over the past few weeks for this. Well, not this, specifically. You hadn’t known that the ARC graduation would be approaching as quickly as it did. But you had realized through some hellish combination of overthinking and overplanning that it would be a good idea to work ahead slightly. You had done a little extra over the last few weeks - not an easy prospect considering that Alpha frowned upon you pulling long shifts - and gotten about a day’s worth of spare work done in case you needed to skip a shift for some reason.

And you couldn’t think of a better reason than spending the day with the group of soon-to-be ARC troopers who had saved your life and sanity on several different occasions.

You groaned again, deep and heartfelt, but it was accompanied by a struggle to shift your weight up and onto your hands as you levered yourself up off the bed. Through incredible willpower and stubbornness, you turned to plant yourself in a sitting position - ignoring the way the room seemed to spin from the motion - and tore the sheets away from you.

When you looked over at him, Alpha looked quietly amused, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he silently handed you a mug of caf made precisely the way you preferred it. You hummed in grateful pleasure at your first sip.

To your shock, the unpleasant dryness faded from your mouth and you were left feeling oddly… okay. The dizziness had faded and your head no longer ached. “Wow.”

“Exactly,” Alpha said, satisfied with himself.

The lingering unhappiness from having to get out of bed threatened to spill out at him, but you smiled at him instead. “Thank you, Alpha. I don’t think I would have made it through that if you hadn’t helped.”

“Glad you’re feeling better, neverd’ika, but no need to thank me,” he brushed off uncomfortably. “Lots of trial and error went into that. Just glad I could share it with someone who needed it.”

“Have you been making trips to all of the future ARCs? Sharing your wisdom?” You took a sip of caf to hide the smile threatening to break out across your face.

“Kriff that. Those-” Alpha cut himself off, scowling even deeper when you gave a soft snort at his response. “First off, troopers have an enhanced metabolism and process alcohol faster than a nat-born. Secondly, if they did have hangovers, that’s their own problem, not mine.”

You smirked into your mug, sputtering slightly when Alpha deliberately jostled the bed as he stood up. “But it will be my problem if I’m late for their last day of training. Get to the ARC area when you can.”

By the time you dressed and got there, the ARCs were already deep in a training session. You slipped in the doors as quietly as possible, sitting by the wall so you wouldn’t distract anyone.

The first time you had come here, rushing to deliver a message from General Ti, it had seemed like there were ARCs everywhere. They had been doing everything from running to boxing, all of them unfamiliar to you. But the more you had spoken to them and gotten more comfortable in the previously intimidating section of Tipoca City, you had realized that there were only five troopers training for ARC status.

That seemed like a concerningly small group to you, but Alpha had given you an incredulous look when you brought it up to him. “How long have you been writing that report of yours, civvie? And you still haven’t gotten to ARCs? Classes are small, no more than five troopers - sometimes fewer. How many ARC troopers do you think there are in the galaxy? ‘Concerningly small group’. Tell you what: when you start writing about ARC training, come find me and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

It was one of the first times Alpha had ever volunteered to spend more time with you, and the memory still made you smile.

“Hey, Captain said you might stop by,” Neyo said casually as he crossed in front of your seat. “Glad you survived the morning.”

You laughed. “Yeah, I heard your metabolism helps you avoid the hangover. Lucky.”

“Not entirely,” he hedged. “It hit Monnk pretty bad this morning, but he got through it.”

“Poor guy,” you mused, searching the room for Monnk. He was sparring with Bacara and holding his own. “He seems to have recovered okay, though. Alpha said something about not taking it easy on you guys today. I’m glad he wasn’t serious.”

“Oh, he was.” Neyo grabbed a pair of gloves and started back toward the group. “But Monnk was fine after he booted his breakfast.”

Neyo nodded at you and jogged back to the group, putting his gloves on, then began sparring with Drift. Faie was partnered up with Alpha. By this point, Alpha was shouting orders at them, encouraging the men or lamenting their skills in turn… keeping pace with Faie’s fists all the while.

There were times like these when the temptation to overthink rose sharply in you. You could feel it in the back of your mind: Alpha was so at home here, being harsh with these troopers. How could he be the same man who sat on the edge of your bed and coached you through a hangover that morning, only a few hours earlier? Could any one person have such different facets of their personality, or was he lying about one of them?

As you were pushing away those doubts, Alpha managed to turn in your direction, smile, and wink, all while blocking Faie’s punches and tossing a few of his own in return. Faie’s pace sped up, blows raining down against Alpha’s forearms and turned shoulders. Eventually, one of his hits slipped past Alpha’s guard and collided solidly with his face.

You gasped, leaning forward in your seat, but Alpha just shook his head sharply. “You can hit harder than that, Faie. Do we pull our punches here, men?”

“No!” the ARCs cried, the denial reverberating through the room.

Faie’s arms moved with such speed that it was fully impossible to anticipate where the hits would land. At least, it was impossible for you. Alpha seemed to be managing, blocking and dodging every one. The other two groups were the same: punches and occasional kicks blocked before being returned by the other person, none of them landing.

Until Faie snuck past Alpha’s block a second time.

The sound of his knuckles connecting with Alpha’s chest was loud in the quiet room - the men fighting in an eerie silence - and you could hear the slight shudder in Alpha’s breathing as he absorbed the hit.

You were standing before you could begin to track what had happened. “Alpha!”

All of the men turned to look at you… except Alpha himself. A split second later, Faie swore and whipped back around, only to find Alpha’s curled fist hovering just before his face. “How many times have I told you men? Never allow yourselves to be distracted, especially in the middle of a fight.”

Faie sighed so heavily that you could see his shoulders move beneath his workout clothes. “Did you deliberately let me hit you?”

“Yes,” Alpha confirmed. “I knew neverd’ika would say something and you would get distracted. Besides, it was a good way for me to find out whether you actually were punching with full-force, and you were. Good.”

“So we can let our opponents hit us?” Bacara asked, clearly skeptical.

“Well, since most of your opponents will be clankers, no,” Alpha instructed. “But occasionally, you’ll find it useful to show a little weakness. When the enemy moves in to exploit it, you have an opening to attack them. Maybe even ambush them, depending on how well you’ve planned it.”

Drift’s eyes were dancing. “A little weakness to hide your full strength. I like it.”

“But that’s getting close to psychological warfare,” Neyo argued. “We’re not allowed to do that. We’re supposed to work on battlefields, leave the psych stuff to the intelligence officers.”

Alpha’s expression hardened. “I’m training you men to stay alive, not to follow orders. And if you believe there’s no psychology on a battlefield, you haven’t been listening to what I’ve told you. Everything plays into the enemy’s strategy: weather conditions, geography, their army’s access to food or power sources. If you disrupt their supply lines, you stand a good chance at victory. If you ruin their morale, you’ve already won.”

The men glanced at each other, faces sharpening with eagerness and a fierce pride in themselves and each other. Alpha must have noted that change as well, because he gave a satisfied nod. “You men are going to be just fine.”

In the flurry of activity that made up the ARCs’ last day of training, you didn’t really get to speak with them until dinner that night. All of the ARCs were at the table in the mess hall with you and Alpha. The Bad Batch was attending a nighttime training, but Limit had been able to leave the medbay and join you.

“So how does this ceremony go tomorrow?” you asked, poking suspiciously at your food.

Alpha shrugged. “The General will make a speech, the men will salute, and they’ll be shipped off to their first assignments.”

That sounded… anticlimactic, but when you said so, you got a droll stare from almost everyone at the table.

“It’s the GAR,” Faie pointed out. “What did you expect?”

“I’m not sure,” you said with a shrug. “Something that shows how grateful the Republic is for your service and how we all want you to stay safe.”

Alpha’s snort was echoed by about six others and you found yourself ducking your head a little in embarrassment. “Not everyone has those ideas about us,” Monnk said kindly.

“No one has those ideas about us,” Drift muttered, grunting when Bacara threw an elbow into his ribs.

“We need to go,” Neyo announced, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth and standing up from the table. The others did the same, finishing the last of their meals before getting ready to leave.

“Where to?” you asked, befuddled. “I thought you were done training?”

“Not quite,” Alpha told you. “Go ahead, troopers. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Wait, no-” you said, terror suddenly tightening your throat. If they left directly from the ceremony, you wouldn’t get another chance to see them. There was more you hadn’t said, hadn’t gotten the chance to…

“Udesii, neverd’ika,” Alpha told you. The word was unfamiliar, but soothing somehow, especially coupled with the calming tone that Alpha was using. “We have to go, but you’ll see them again. We’ll come get you and go to the graduation together.”

“What is- Where are you going?”

“I can’t tell you anything specific,” Alpha admitted uncomfortably. “Let’s just say there are certain rituals we do the night before an ARC graduation. All of the future ARCs and their trainer have to participate.”

That didn’t make you feel better. “Rituals?”

Alpha made a frustrated sound. “That isn’t the right word. They’re more like… traditions. Superstitions. The men believe they keep the ARCs safe in the field. I have to go. Are you-?”

“I’m fine, Alpha,” you assured him. “Go. Have… fun? Just be safe.”

Alpha nodded, sneaking a kiss to your cheek as he ducked unnecessarily low to pick up his tray. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

When he had left, you turned to Limit. “ARC traditions?”

Limit shrugged. “I’m not e- even an official trooper. Let alone- let alone an ARC trooper.”

“What does that mean, not an ‘official trooper’?” you asked, not realizing how peevish your tone was until Limit shifted in his seat, clearly nervous.

“Y- yeah, you know- you know this already,” he said with a vague gesture. “Because I’m-”

“Limit, if you say ‘defective’, I’m going to get very cranky,” you warned.

Limit’s mouth slowly closed and you sighed, feeling guilty. “Come on, you and I are going to spend some time together. I’ve got a few holofilms I think you might enjoy.”

You didn’t sleep very well that night.

Alpha had said that he would come get you so you could say goodbye and attend the graduation ceremony, but you were terrified that you would somehow oversleep and miss everything.

When you heard a soft knock at your door, you paused your pacing and went to answer it. If Alpha was surprised to find you awake and already dressed, he didn’t say anything. The future ARCs were all standing in the hall behind him. Each one was wearing full armor and carrying a bag over one shoulder, helmets tucked under their other arm or dangling from their free hand. Despite the early hour, all of them looked alert and ready for anything.

“We’ll be the first ones in the hangar bay,” Alpha told you as the group started down the hall. “It’s usually a small ceremony. As soon as General Ti comes in, it starts. As soon as it ends, the ARCs leave. So if there’s anything you want to tell them, you need to do it before the general gets there.”

You nodded, glancing around at the troopers. “Are you all excited?”

“Ready to get back out there,” Monnk told you. “We’ve been away from our brothers for a long time.”

You just forced a smile and nodded at that. You suddenly realized that these troopers - the ones who had protected, supported, and befriended you - were going back to fighting in the war. A war with casualty rates that were disconcertingly high. Not only that, you realized, but these troopers were the ones who would take the riskiest assignments. They would be forced to think on their feet, outwit the most brilliant minds the CIS had planning their side of the war. Other than the commandos, perhaps, the ARC troopers were the ones who faced the most dire situations.

Your throat tightened with fear for these men, along with a terrible sense of powerlessness. You couldn’t do anything to protect them. In fact, if they were injured or worse on an assignment, you didn’t have GAR security clearance in the right segment to even learn about it. Every time the holonews reported on casualty numbers, you would wonder if one of these ARCs - one of your friends - was among the dead.

When you reached the hangar bay, the outer door was already open. With the incomprehensibly large gap in the seal that protected Kamino from the elements, the breeze from the sea was welcomed into the hangar. It danced around you with a pleasant salt smell, helping ground you. A lone transport ship was waiting in the open doorway, ready to whisk your friends to a nearby ship that would ferry them to their first assignments.

The men rested their bags in a pile near the bottom of the ship’s ramp, ready to be slung back over their shoulders as they left.

“We only have a few minutes, neverd’ika,” Alpha warned.

You nodded, facing the future ARCs. All of them watched you with expressions ranging from pleasantly waiting to outright smiling. Even so-serious Faie was wearing a mildly affectionate look for you.

And, of course, you didn’t know what to say to any of them anymore. While you and Limit were watching a holofilm the night before, your mind had been thoroughly occupied with this moment. The beginning of a dozen half-rehearsed speeches tumbled through your mind, but you couldn’t force any of it past your lips.

Instead, with all of them watching you, all you could muster was a broken, “Thank you.”

A warm weight against your back made you glance up. You found Alpha standing beside you, one hand resting comfortably between your shoulder blades.

With the solid reminder of everything you had gained here, you managed to expand a bit. “You helped me. You saved me. I’ll never forget that. I’ll always be grateful. If there’s anything I can do for you, anything… please contact me. I’ll do whatever I can to help. Thank you.”

You went down the line - Neyo, Faie, Monnk, Bacara, and Drift - offering every trooper a hug and a kiss on the cheek. You were careful not to overstep, knowing that physical affection wasn’t enjoyed by everyone, but each of them willingly wrapped you in their arms and accepted the kiss you pressed to their cheek.

When you had finished, you stepped back, offering them a watery smile. You had promised yourself that you wouldn’t cry, but you weren’t sure it was a promise you would be able to keep.

“If I had the choice, I would do all of it again,” Bacara told you, echoed closely by the others.

“I would have figured out a way to throw a punch at that supervisor of yours, though,” Drift added, grinning broadly.

You laughed despite yourself, and Alpha’s thumb stroked back and forth across your skin. To Drift, he only grumbled, “You’d have to wait in line.”

“I’m glad things worked out,” Faie told you, jerking his chin at Alpha so you would be sure to catch his meaning. “You’re good for each other.”

That was surprising coming from Faie, but you hid your surprise with curiosity when Monnk stepped a little closer. Conspiratorially, he said, “Don’t let the captain get away with that kind of osik again. I’m worried he’ll get stupid without us around to keep him in line.”

“Don’t worry,” Neyo assured him. “I’ve already taught the kids a few things about what to do if he starts up again.”

“I’m still your commanding officer - for the next few minutes, anyway,” Alpha reminded him, scowling in a way that managed to lack its usual edge. “Do I need to remind you that you haven’t graduated yet?”

As if on cue, General Ti swept gracefully into the hangar. Commander Colt was following behind her, his distinctly painted helmet tucked under his arm. The ARCs stepped into a quick, neat line to the right side of the transport’s ramp, each one snapping a salute as soon as he was in place.

“At ease,” the general told them as she crossed the room.

General Ti moved opposite them, on the left side of the ramp. Alpha stayed beside you, Commander Colt coming to stand on his other side. To say you felt out of place was an understatement and you vaguely wondered if there was somewhere else you were supposed to be standing, but the general began to speak.

“Gentlemen,” she started, her smooth voice flowing over your battered nerves and making your shoulders ease slightly. “It is no secret that you have not had a typical training cycle. What was intended to be a six-week course that trained you to become ARC troopers has stretched twice that length and you have learned so much more.”

“Typically, graduation ceremonies are a chance for me to advise ARC troopers on the challenges they will face in combat. You, however, have already experienced much of what is awaiting you in the galaxy. What is more, you have already proven yourselves capable.”

General Ti surveyed the men, a soft smile on her face. “You helped defend Kamino in our darkest hour. You repelled Separatist invaders who sought to destroy everything we have built. You protected Republic assets, particularly the ones that cannot be replaced.”

You shifted uncomfortably, somehow getting the feeling that the general was talking about you in that last part. Alpha’s hand - having dropped from your back when the general and commander walked in - found yours. Your joined hands were hidden in the folds of his kama, but you suspected no one in the room would begrudge you the contact even if you were open about it.

Ridiculously, it was only then that you realized no Kaminoans had bothered coming to the ceremony.

“In short, you men are the perfect embodiment of the values that we look for in an ARC trooper. We look forward to seeing what incredible things you do for the galaxy, but never forget the crucible of your training.” General Ti clasped her hands in front of herself. “You should be proud of the things you have already accomplished, just as we are proud of you for accomplishing them. Captain?”

Alpha released your hand, scooping up a small stack of neatly folded fabric from a nearby crate. He moved to the front of the line, General Ti and Commander Colt just beside him.

He stopped in front of Neyo. “CC-8826, Neyo.”

“Neyo, your steadfast dependability is your strongest asset,” General Ti told him. “Mind that it does not influence your ability to improvise. The ability to adapt is imperative, and you are well able to do so.”

Neyo saluted, accepting the cloth from Alpha. Something about the way it moved made you realize that it was his kama. It was plain at the moment, but Alpha had explained to you that the men were free to paint or otherwise personalize their kamas just as they did with their armor.

Alpha moved slightly down the line. “CC-4317, Faie.”

“Faie, you are well known for your pragmatism.” General Ti tilted her head slightly, her long lekku swaying as she considered him. “Mind that your adherence to the rules does not supersede your own judgment. You are capable of making your own decisions, and encouraged to do so.”

As Faie saluted and accepted his kama, Alpha went to the next trooper. “CC–4792, Monnk.”

“Monnk, your loyalty shines bright in your every action.” Monnk smiled slightly at the general’s praise. “Mind that it does not lead you to follow someone unworthy of that devotion. Your instincts will tell you when someone returns your loyalty. It is your duty to listen to those instincts.”

Monnk saluted, taking his kama, and Alpha moved. “CC-1138, Bacara.”

“You have a creative mind, Bacara,” General Ti told him. “You can find a new solution to any problem you encounter. Mind that you do not waste time attempting to create a clever solution when a simple one will do. Your brilliance lies in helping your men, and you do that quite well.”

Bacara saluted, taking his kama with a reverence that made you smile even through the tears that you were fighting.

Alpha stopped in front of the last man in the line. “CT-6476, Drift.”

“Ah, Drift,” General Ti said with fond exasperation. The rest of the room gave a quietly understanding chuckle. “You have a great deal of spirit. You will be the soul of your men, inspiring them to go further and work harder than they would otherwise. Mind that it is because you are leading them, not striving to fill a role you no longer hold. Be an inspiration.”

Drift saluted, taking the kama from Alpha with a shadow of his typical grin.

“Men,” Commander Colt announced bracingly. The ARCs, already standing at full attention, somehow managed to straighten even further. “I charge you to serve the Grand Army of the Republic. I charge you to follow the orders you are given. I charge you to protect your brothers. You are officially… ARC troopers.”

All of the troopers saluted the commander, along with the general and the captain standing behind him. General Ti offered an elegant nod in return while Alpha and Colt saluted in return.

“Dismissed!” Commander Colt said, dropping his salute at the same time Alpha did. A moment later, the new ARC troopers did the same before moving to collect their bags.

Each of the ARCs managed a glance back at you. Faie gave you a half-salute, touching his fingertips briefly to his hairline. Bacara nodded at you while Neyo gave a small wave. Drift even blew a kiss in your direction. The most confusing, though, was Monnk. He tapped his finger on his wrist, cocking an eyebrow at the same time.

Despite the lingering befuddlement and the sheen of tears that were threatening to leak down your face, you beamed at all of them. “Be safe,” you murmured, counting on the fact that they would be able to read your lips.

And then they were gone.

You held it together while the transport took off, fading quickly into Kamino’s gray clouds. You held it together as Commander Colt nodded at you and General Ti thanked you for coming. When they had left and you were alone with Alpha, you started to cry in earnest.

Before the first tear could roll over your jaw to drip onto your clothing, Alpha had wrapped you in his arms. For a man as tough and stern as Alpha tended toward being, he gave magnificent hugs. He was warm and safe, holding you just tightly enough while leaving you room to breathe. He hummed softly for you. If there was a tune to the humming, you couldn’t hear it, but the sound comforted you just the same.

Eventually, your tears slowed and Alpha shifted his grip to stroke a comforting hand up and down your back. “Are you all right, neverd’ika?”

“Yeah. I’ll miss them,” you admitted freely. Alpha nodded, giving your shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Why was Monnk pointing at his wrist?”

Alpha’s brows furrowed for a moment, then his face cleared as he realized what you meant. “He was reminding you that you need to get your comlink back.”

“My comlink?” Your gaze automatically traveled down to your wrist, and you were startled to see that it was bare. Since you got the replacement after the Separatist attack, you hadn’t taken off the comlink for longer than it took you to shower. The sight of your bare wrist was unsettling, somehow. “What happened to my comlink?”

“Let’s make this a fun memory exercise,” Alpha said, making you smile. You had heard him do the same thing to his ARCs when they asked a question they already knew the answer to. “What did happen to your comlink?”

You grumbled a little despite your internal delight at Alpha’s teasing, just enough to keep up appearances. Alpha kept his gaze on you, steady with confidence that you would answer.

"I had it recently," you mused, trying to puzzle an epiphany from your own mind. "At the party for sure."

You distinctly remembered that you had thought about leaving the comlink behind since it looked out of place against your outfit, but had decided to bring it. After all, parties could be attacked just as easily as anything else.

"I think I was wearing it the next morning," you said, though the upward lilt of your voice made it partially a question.

Alpha caught it. "You think or you know?"

"I think," you admitted. "It's an educated guess, but I'm not certain."

"Good guess," Alpha told you eventually, cracking a small smile. "You had it yesterday morning. I took it when you hit yourself in the face with it."

That sounded vaguely familiar and you groaned. "Okay, that makes sense. What did you do with it?"

"Took it with me to training. The ARCs asked me to get it from you and the chance came."

You waited as patiently as you could, but Alpha seemed content to leave it as a half explanation.

"What did they want with it?"

"To give you a present."

He handed the comlink back to you. You resisted the urge to ask if they had planned to give you back your own comlink as a present. Instead, you spent your time studying the communicator. You didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Until you looked at the list of known comlink frequencies.

There were a few more frequencies than there had been the last time you went through it. Five more frequencies, in fact. They were neatly labeled Monnk, Neyo, Faie, Bacara, and ‘Favorite ARC’ (which you assumed was Drift).

You didn’t realize you were beaming until you glanced up at Alpha and saw that he looked pleased as well. “They told me they wanted to give you a way to contact them. Those are their personal comlink frequencies, not tied to the GAR in any way. They told me to remind you that you can contact them if you ever need anything.”

“That’s so sweet of them! I’ll have to send a message thanking them.” You released a bittersweet sigh. “They’re good men.”

One of Alpha’s brows arched. “Just be sure the power doesn’t go to your head, neverd’ika. You have more dangerous people willing to help you than most people in the galaxy. Except maybe Skirata.”

“Who?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Alpha glanced at the door of the hangar bay. No one had come in yet, but it was only a question of time. You and Alpha reluctantly disentangled from each other. Alpha cleared his throat. “The kids wanted to see you after the graduation. Are you doing anything for the rest of the day?”

“No, it’s the weekend,” you explained pointlessly. Alpha smiled but didn’t tease you for telling him something he already knew.

“Let’s go, then,” he suggested. You paused for a moment to put on the comlink before you left, but Alpha gently took it from your hands and looped it around your wrist himself. When he had fastened it, he glanced up at you. “Good?”

“Perfect,” you told him with a smile as you left the hangar bay.

---

Author's Note - Okay, allow me a bit of housekeeping:

First, sorry this chapter is late! I tried to post it last night, but I forgot it's horrendously long.

Second, guur'gal is a Frankensteined term I made up by combining two other Mando'a words.

Third, Alpha's hangover method is completely made up. Please don't try it (but if you do, let me know if it works)!

Finally and MOST IMPORTANT, the next chapter will be NSFW and posted on my NSFW sideblog, @somedaylazysomeday. I will add a link from this chapter to that one, but remember it is 18+! Read at your own risk. There is virtually no character development and certainly no plot in it, so you won't be missing anything if you skip it.

Thanks for reading! You can find other works on my masterlist or sign up to be added to my taglist here!

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