#tano irl | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rexxdjarin · 2 years

Text

Captain's Log: Chapter 9

Classified

Series Summary: The galaxy is in turmoil. The Republic has fallen, giving rise to the sinister reign of the totalitarian Empire, led by the insidious Emperor Palpatine. The millions of valiant clone troopers of the former Grand Army of the Republic are now blindly sworn, against their will, to protect a regime they once sought to destroy. After being saved from a terrible fate by his former-Jedi ally and close friend, Ahsoka Tano, seasoned veteran CT-7567 Clone Captain Rex remains loyal to the pillars of Democracy, freedom and truth that shaped the former Galactic Republic. We follow him now struggling to deal with the personal aftereffects of survival and finding his place in the galaxy alongside the only person he has left. You. The love of his life.

[previous] [next] part of Captain's Log series post on ao3

Pairing: Captain Rex x Fem!Reader (she/her pronouns used) Word Count: 15k (I know I'm sorry lol) Series Rating: Explicit (18+ only, Minors DO NOT INTERACT) Chapter Summary: Our dynamic duo becomes a trio. Surprising help from the inside reveals that some clones haven't forgotten where their true loyalties lie while others cannot help what they've become or how far they'll go. Chapter Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, Smut, p in v sex (use protection irl plz), sub!Reader, soft!dom Rex, Daddy!Rex if you squint, Language, Violence and Interrogation Tactics, Political References and Propaganda Mentions, References to Canon Plot, Political References, Canon Typical Violence

The ship’s docking tube door hisses open and through the fog steps Rex and his heavy plodding blue and white boots. I exhaled a deep breath I didn’t even know I was holding and pushed myself off the wall I was leaning on, arms folded and hips leaning to one side.

He’d only been gone a couple of hours, meeting up with Cid at her Cantina to get some supplies and waiting for our new crew member to arrive for pickup. But even in those few hours, I worried about him. Anything can happen planetside these days. I didn’t like the idea of having to sit around waiting for him, but someone had to stay hidden with the ship and Cid wouldn’t trust anyone but another clone to hand this kind of intel off to.

As the fog of coolants at different temperatures mixed in the air, Rex’s smirking face appeared, a flicker of warmth in his big brown eyes as if he was staring at dappled sunlight. A spark to him I hadn’t seen in such a long time spread immediate joy through my bloodstream, through every nerve ending, my heart bursting and pounding something that can only be described as love sickness throughout my entire body.

Before I could walk forward to embrace him and kiss him so hard it knocked the wind out of him, a second nearly identical silhouette passed by him inside our cargo hold. The clone we were sent to pick up was a brother whose name I didn’t recognize. Wasn’t at all familiar.

Gregor. A clone commando.

Well ex-clone commando now. Not even sure if Rex was all that familiar with him.

He stood upright in the doorway, just a tad taller than Rex. Maybe it was the commando boots. He had jet black hair, buzzed almost as short as Rex on the sides, but long and slicked back on top. His eyes looked just a twinge lighter like he’d previously been somewhere that bathed them in a harsh sun’s glare all the time. He had high cheekbones and a chiseled jaw, just like they all did. But something about him…he was almost dashing in a way. Stepping into the ship, he had a presence about him that could only be attributed to a natural magnetic sex appeal. Would’ve probably given even Fives a run for his credits. He was good looking and, hell, if I could get in contact with any of my friends, I’d set him up with one of them for sure.

His eyes widened and his dark brows raised, cocking his head as if to take me in as some mysterious creature before him. “Well, well, well, Rex…I didn’t know they’d send you with an angel to pick me up.” He said smoothly, running a weighted, heavy palm across the back of his neck.

He came only with the armor on his back, which seemed to be incomplete, no shoulder pauldrons, nothing lining his biceps and not a stitch of color expertly painted atop the plastoid. Not even a helmet. It looked odd. The new Imperial clone armor was truly inferior in every way to the artfully crafted and beautifully unique Republic armor I’d come to know and love. Yet another way to erase their individuality, their comradery and their humanity, I suppose.

The simmering amber in Gregor’s eyes met mine and he squinted in playful, flirtatious amusement. He’d done this before and something tells me his success rate was high. Very high. Rex cleared his throat to subtly remind his brother to watch himself. Was he a little jealous? “With a mouth like hers? Trust me, she’s definitely not an angel.” He replied with a filthy, taunting smirk. That’s a definite, yes.

Since meeting up with the Bad Batch on Bracca, Rex had become more domineering, needy and watchful over me than he ever had been. Not that I could blame him. The deep-seeded feeling of tremendous loss made him want to hold me close and practically mark his territory over me in a way he ordinarily wouldn’t have before. And I didn’t hate it. Not at all. The possessiveness made heat lick down my spine and smolder in my belly. I guess no longer having to keep things a quiet secret to save our own asses brought out a desire to be shown off in both of us.

I raked my gaze down Rex’s wide frame, wondering if he’d somehow gotten even better looking than he was a few hours ago. “Hmm and if you want anything from this mouth again I suggest you watch it.” I teased, winking at him knowingly. A proud, determined and hungry glimmer darkened his pupils at such a retort and he retreated, licking his lips as he hoisted the bag on his shoulder down to the floor at my feet.

Gregor let out a slightly hoarse and lilted nervous giggle. “Oh, I see. I did not peg you for the committed type, Rex.”

“That’s funny. He was awfully committed to getting something out of me the last time I saw him.” I immediately let out a teasing giggle to match Gregor’s. Rex mouth dropped open to speak or protest my boldness, but he was clapped on the shoulder by Gregor.

Gregor tilted his head back and laughed, “Maker- what a woman. I like her.”

Rex nodded, rolling his eyes at me in surrender and taking in a deep breath, “I’m glad you like her. Even when she’s getting a bit out of hand.” He joked, walking past me to follow Gregor and taking the opportunity to grab a nice handful of my ass. Oh yeah, so out of hand.

I’d been comming him the filthiest thoughts and sounds directly over our secret channel to pass the time the best way I knew how. Rex and I had both been practically insatiable for days since we’d left Naboo. Something about the promise of inevitable death that really made us both want to be together as much as possible while we still could. Though now with a virtual stranger on board with us, there probably wouldn’t be as much time for that as we both wanted.

I followed Rex and Gregor up the ladder to our cockpit, taking Rex’s hand and sliding onto his lap as we got as cozy in the cabin as was possible for the three of us. I could feel Rex’s thighs flexing under me, a tell tale sign that he had certainly not forgotten my messages from earlier, his cock thickening beneath his codpiece. I turned to glare at Rex, apologizing for firing him up so badly in front of company neither of us were too familiar with. He curled his massive hand around my thigh, glancing up at me with an unbothered look he was desperately hoping was convincing enough to hide the blown out lust in his darkened pupils.

He was always a terrible liar. I knew him well enough that I could always tell when he was worked up past the point of being able to think straight.

Gregor watched us both with a smirk on his face, running his hand over his dark hair and kicking his feet up on the dash. “How long’s this been going on for?” He boldly inquired, pointing out the obvious tension in the room. “I had heard a lot about Skywalker’s men when I was being reacquainted on Kamino. You’re some kind of legend, Cap. Guess we clones are not the only ones who noticed.”

“My blondie’s hard to miss.” I joked, running my fingertips through the hair slowly curling around his ear. “Hair’s gotten sorta long. Longer than I ever remember it being.”

He wrapped his hand around mine and tugged me tighter to him, both to hide the growing bulge in his lap and to give him an excuse to hold me. “Want me to cut it?” He offered, his eyes searching my face for unspoken answers, but only finding unfettered lust.

I shook my head, tracing feather light fingertips down the scruff lining his perfect jaw. I hummed in delight, the dangerous seduction darkening my pupils at the sight of my Captain growing more rugged by the day. “No. Keep it long. This little beard of yours too.” He drew his head back in surprise and chuckled, the hand on my back falling lower to rest on the curve of my ass. I leaned into him closely and traced the shell of his ear with my tongue. “I want you to remember how much I like how it feels.” I whispered seductively.

He gripped my ass hard and cracked his neck, taking a deep breath to disguise the twitching I could feel stirring in him beneath my thighs. He kissed my cheek modestly, before grunting “Later.” in my ear sternly. Between the taunting I’d done all day and the physical teasing I was doing now, I knew I was more than in for it with Rex tonight. Which was exactly what I wanted.

“Can’t say I’ve ever been around too many clones in any relationships…and never one that seems quite this deep.” Gregor acknowledged, watching us with curiosity. “The 501st really is a different breed I guess.”

Rex, feeling me desperately trying to egg him on even more, shrugged me off slightly, trying to pay attention to his brother’s words. “Yeah, probably as good as your commandos, I reckon. My boys were the best and we have the numbers to prove it.” He winced, “Well…had.”

Gregor took a deep breath and swallowed, “I’m sorry about your Squad, Cap. You deserve better. We all do. That’s why I ran. It wasn’t right. I’m thankful for the Bad Batch boys coming to get me. And especially Echo's commitment to me. Said he learned that from you.”

Rex’s face lit up, a proud smirk spreading across his face. “Echo is one of my best. He and I are all that’s left of the 501st now. Glad we could help rescue a good one.”

I shifted uncomfortably in Rex’s lap, the wetness between my thighs and the bulge growing underneath them had me more impatient and antsy to have him inside me than I’d felt in months. Poor Gregor was just trying to settle in and I couldn’t wait even another five seconds. I had to have Rex now. I squeezed Rex’s bicep impatiently, looking up at him with needy desperation filling my eyes. To my delight and relief Gregor sat back in his chair and sighed.

“Thank you both. For everything. I’m-” He yawned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands and stretched. “I’m going to get some desperately needed sleep and watch over the ship. I’ll let you both know if anything goes off.”

I thanked the maker silently, nodding as I leaned into the crook of Rex’s neck. “We should too. See you in a bit. Let us know if you need anything, of course.” I said quietly.

“Yeah we’ll be in our bunk. We’ve got rations on a shelf behind you here and the freshers down in the cargo bay on your left. Get some sleep, soldier. You’ve had a long few days.” Rex stood up, wrapping my legs around his waist and carrying me toward the ladder down to our room.

“Will do, Cap. Will do.” Gregor nodded, closing his eyes and leaning back into the pilot’s chair.

Rex let out a sigh of relief as he slid both of us down the ladder toward our room. “You’re killing me, mesh’la. Can barely fucking think straight I’m so hard.” He groaned, pressing the panel to our room’s blast doors and watching them slide open.

I giggled into his neck, kissing it softly as he spilled us onto our bed. “I’m sorry, Sir. I just can’t help it when I’m around you.” I cooed, my tone dripping with both play innocence and whispered lust. I blinked up at him, biting my bottom lip and pawing at his chest. “Been thinking about having you all day.”

Rex ghosted his hand up under my shirt, “I know. You were determined to make it impossible to get through my mission, you little brat.” He teased, pulling my shirt up over my head and onto the floor beside our bunk. He ran his thumb around my hardened nipple and leaned down to wrap his lips around the bud. “That wasn’t very good of you. Should punish you.” His fingertips slid down to circle my navel.

I let out a shaky exhale, the desperate need for him making my body ache. “If that’s what you think I deserve, Sir.” I whimpered, resting my hands on the nape of his neck and softly stroking the growing length of the soft blonde curls there. I was trembling as his warm tongue circled over the bud repeatedly, goosebumps erupting on my skin. “I’m…so needy.” I whined, rolling my hips against his thigh.

His eyes darkened at the contact and his hand brushed past the band of the lacey underwear I put on just for him to reveal when he got back. At the feeling of the lace between his fingers, he groaned softly, the warm breath of his exhale cooling over the trail of wet skin his kisses left behind. “I can tell, my naughty girl. You put these on just to drive me even more fucking nuts hmm?” He asked, the scolding tone to his deepening voice sending more warmth pooling up between my folds.

I nodded and tapped on his shoulder pauldron lightly, “and this is driving me crazy. Off. All of it. Please?” I asked, “I want to see you too.”

He sat up and pulled my hips into his lap, slowly removing each piece of armor and making me watch as he did it, the armor clattering onto the floor beside our bunk. I bit down on my forefinger, swirling my tongue around it as I imagined it was him between my lips instead. He nearly tore the top of his blacks off his back and smiled, smirking as my eyes roved over his torso hungrily.

He leaned over me carefully, his fingertip trailing up my torso to hold my chin as he leaned in to kiss me tenderly. His tongue slipped past my lips and twirled with mine in endless looping shapes. I looped my arms over his shoulders and gripped his rippling back muscles, his free hands smoothing down my sides. “There…you see me. Now I want to see you.” He whispered against my lips as he pulled away.

He sat back on his haunches, tearing my panties down my thighs and practically growling at the sight of me completely bare before him. “Been a filthy fucking girl all day.” He shifted closer, pushing my thighs apart around him with his hands. Slowly, his thumb slid down my folds, collecting the wetness and circling my opening. “Look how fucking wet you are. Unnf…you feel so fucking good. Don’t think I have it in me to punish you when you feel this good.”

I rolled my hips forward, desperate for more of his touch where I was craving it all day. “I didn’t touch myself all day. I waited for you. Because I need you.” I smiled, reaching out for him and grabbing onto his free hand. “You’re just so big and strong…I can’t do it like you. I want your cock, not my fingers. Please Rex. Please?” I pouted up at him, circling the back of his hand with my thumb.

He collected my slick on his thumb and brought it between his lips, making direct, almost threatening eye contact with me as he tasted me on his tongue. He huffed out a brutal, unrestrained moan and closed his eyes in delight. “Is that how you beg for me? Hmm? I know I taught you better than that.”

I whined, the coiling pressure that was steadily building in my lower belly all day becoming way too strong to bear at this point. “Please, Captain. Can you fuck me? Please? I need you.” I asked, correcting myself as politely as I could muster, “I’ve wanted you all day and I can’t take it anymore.”

He chuckled softly, “That’s my mesh’la. Much better.” Pride sparkled in his darkening amber eyes, the irises shrinking as the lust expanded his pupils. He leaned forward slightly, sliding the bottoms of his black body glove off his legs and with one hand, began twisting soft pressured circles against my clit with the pad of his thumb. “I think you’ve suffered enough without me all day, haven't you?” He cocked an eyebrow at me, expecting a response.

“Mhm. Been aching all day. Need you to make it better, Sir.” I muttered softly, rolling my hips toward him more trying to force him to press harder, work faster. Anything to get a bigger burn going to counteract the painful pounding swelling in my core. “I’ll be good. Anything you want, my love, anything.”

He twisted looping circles on my clit faster and harder, giving into what I asked for. With his other hand, he stroked up the length of his cock, throbbing with need I’d been responsible for all day. He pumped it in his hand, sliding the drops of precum from the tip down the shaft. My eyes went wide at the sight of him, hoping desperately that he’d just spear me with it and finally end the brutal ache inside me.

I moaned as the pleasure began building at his touch, my eyes fluttering closed as the sparks of pleasure ignited. When I opened them again, Rex had brought his length down to just above my parted legs, sliding himself between my drenched folds and tipping his head back in ecstasy. He moaned from deep in his broad chest, letting his hands travel up my thighs and holding them for leverage as he slipped himself against me.

“Is that good, Rex?” I asked teasingly, egging him on more than I should when he was in charge. He opened his eyes, the sound of his name snapping him back to reality. He winked at me before slapping the throbbing tip against my clit roughly. My mouth dropped open and I gasped, the rush of pleasure too much too soon.

“Ah, ah. What are you supposed to call me?” He instructed, lifting himself off of me again and waiting for my correct response before granting me any semblance of pleasure again. His weighted palms gripping the meat of my thighs felt just as good as him touching my center in the overexcited state I’d been in all day.

I gulped and drew in a deep breath, meeting his eyes with my own to address him properly. “Captain or Sir.” I responded with a mewl, biting down on the back of my knuckle to help contain myself enough to behave.

He returned his cock to the warmth between my folds and guided the tip deeper within them, circling my opening with the weeping, swollen tip. “That’s better. Now flip over, cyar’ika. Gonna take you how I want to remind you what happens when you don’t behave.”

I nodded and obeyed his command, rolling myself over and lifting my ass high up in the air to give him better access. “Like this, Captain?” I wiggled my ass playfully, and looked back at him glaring at me like he was ready to pounce.

His palm met the plush of my ass with a swift slap and I yelped at the sting, the delightful pain a distraction from the burning pressure inside me begging to be dealt with. “Yeah, just like that. Show me that pretty pussy you got all wet for me. No waiting anymore, pretty girl. Need to feel you all around me now, ok?”

“Okay, Captain. Anything you want. I need you too. Inside me, please.” I begged, watching him from over my shoulder and giving him the subtle permission he had asked for to just skip all the foreplay and start in on me now. My knees were trembling more from the anticipation than from the position they were in to hold me up.

Suddenly, both his palms gripped my hip bones and pulled my ass toward his lower torso. He kneaded my ass in his hands and growled loudly, the unbridled lust finally breaking the last bit of control he had left to hold him back. With a deep breath in and back out, he lined himself up to my fluttering hole and pressed himself inside slowly. I moaned loudly, curling my fingers into the sheets as the size of him stretched me open the way I had needed since he left me hours earlier.

In a quick jerk, Rex’s massive hand pressed into my lower belly, tucking my hips up and back into his and letting out a delighted hiss. “Fuuuuuck…feel that? How I fill you up so good? Right there, mesh’la. So fucking deep.” He grunted as he rested his hand onto where his cock pressed deep into my belly. It felt so good I could barely breathe and I shut my eyes to let the overwhelming feeling of fullness wash over me.

“Rex…” I cried out a choked gasp, tears starting to stream down my face from the feeling of him piercing into me so powerfully. He pinned me down beneath all the weight of his rock hard muscles and mouthed passionate kisses up my spine. His cock consumed every empty inch of me, the blood in his veins pumping into him so hard I could feel the race of his pulse pounding against my walls. It was an erotic euphoria unlike any other I’d ever experienced and it wasn’t stopping.

With each shallow withdrawal of his hips, the muscles inside me screwed tighter, gripping onto him and the feeling he provided for dear life. He could barely bring himself to pull out, the grind of his hips pressing him deeper within me felt too good to stop. He curled his arm around the plush of my hips and ghosted his fingertips in twisting circles against my throbbing clit.

His other palm curled around my neck, turning my face to meet where his hovered lazily over my shoulder. He leaned forward to bite my lower lip softly and open my mouth to let his tongue slip inside. Hot exhales and dripping tongues filled the minimal space between us and he smirked devilishly at the desperate haze of lust overtaking me. “Keep that pretty mouth open for me. Don’t want anything stopping me from hearing those sounds you make. Does my cock make you feel good? Tell me mesh’la. Talk to me gorgeous girl…”

“Yes, Sir, it’s s-so good.” I whined as his harsh thrusts slowed, but his hips circled against my ass and sent the blunt tip prodding into a beautifully sensitive spot. I felt sparks of pleasure zip through my core and my vision blurring as the numbing flow radiated outward in surges. “I love it, I fucking love it. More- please, Captain, please more.”

“That’s my good girl, fuck- asking me so nice…” He whispered harshly in my ear, his grip on my throat holding me close to him, the scruff on his jaw brushing my cheeks a welcomed burn. I couldn’t control my muscles anymore, my walls contracting around him and my opening fluttering around him to pull him deeper. “Stars, mesh’la you feel so fucking good, you’re gonna drain me. Is that what you want? You can have it…fuuuuck- anything you want I’ll give it to you.”

“I want…need you to fill me. Please come in me, Rex. I want to feel it in me tomorrow.” I turned to look up at him through lust heavy lids and moaned his name as he took me apart thrust by thrust, giving me only a harsh grunt and several aching whines in response. Each jolt of his hips plowed me deeper and deeper into the mattress beneath us. He guided his hand down the length of my arm and reached for my hand, my fingers tangling with his and holding tightly.

“I’ll pump this little cunt with everything I have. You deserve it. Want to watch you walk around tomorrow with me dripping down your legs, my filthy pretty girl. Can you do that for me?” His hand around my throat slid up my neck and fisted into my hair, pulling my face up for him to grip. “I know you can. You’re such a sexy little show off. Makes me so proud to call you mine.”

My eyes rolled back at the pure possession that was him claiming me like this. I dug my fists into the sheets underneath me, holding on for dear life as I braced myself to let him completely overtake me. The throbbing of his cock inside me was stuttering against my vice grip around him, letting me know just how close he was to spilling all of himself. He grunted loudly, huffing in deep, almost gasping breaths and plowing three bone-shattering thrusts down into me.

My entire body shifted so far up the mattress I wouldn’t have been shocked if his strength had knocked the ship clear out of its path in the hyperspace lane. I let out a high pitched cry, as the brutal pressure that was built up in my core burst. “REX!” I moaned loudly, a beautifully blissful numbness blooming outwards slowly and tightening around him so much he moaned too.

“Mesh’la…that’s it. Let go.” He cooed in my ear, kissing up my neck as the wave of my high just kept coming stronger and stronger. My body tensed as the tingling feeling cascaded across all my limbs and all I could actually feel was where Rex and I met. His fingers affectionately tangled with mine and our centers joined while he maintained his brutal pace, desperately chasing after my high toward his own. “Let me see that pretty face when you come for me.”

I could feel his eyes exploring my face as it contorted in pleasure; my lips dropped open, my jaw slack, eyes closed and brows lifted. His fervent whispers of loving encouragement mixed with enduring curses of tortured ecstacy as he sent me hurtling past the point of climax and into uncharted territory. It felt like everything slowed but the pounding in my core and the prodding of Rex’s cock to meet it. My body writhed underneath him, his free hand holding my waist steady and carrying me through it.

With a few more solid thrusts deep inside me, I felt his warmth flow into the uncoiling heat in my belly. Rex’s grip on my waist loosened as he emptied himself in me, my ears filling with sounds of our wet, sticky climaxes mixing together. His cock twitched at least three times, followed by white hot ribbons of his spend painting my inner walls. His gruff moans in my ear faded to exhausted whimpers as his climax explosively ripped through him.

The sound of him moaning my name filled my ears as bright spots of static clouded my vision. He was all around me, inside and out, wreaking havoc on my overtired body. I laid underneath him, spasming in the undertow of both of our hardest climaxes ever and panting loudly. Rex was peppering soft kisses up and down my neck and jaw, his fingertips tracing slow, loving touches on my skin. I was barely holding on, the blissful exhaustion dragging me closer and closer to unconsciousness.

“I…love you…” I whisper, closing my eyes and feeling myself go under as I started to catch my breath, but too tired to move a single inch. Just as I felt myself drifting away happily, all my muscles slack and relaxed I felt him roll over beside me, tucking my body into his. He hummed so soft and deep, full of warm contentment and he muttered,

“And I love you, my mesh’la. So very much.”

I woke up to the dark, lofty silence of our bunk. We must’ve been drifting for hours in deep hyper space, heading back toward the inner rim waiting for Cid to give us coordinates for another job.

Rex’s warm body rested beside mine, his arms and legs clutching me tightly, never wanting to let go of me after going at each other like that. The intensity of our orgasms this time around was so stunning I wasn’t sure if either of us would even remember how to move.

But fuck, I had to pee. And maybe I should check on Gregor.

Slowly, I rolled over Rex, my legs straddling his still very naked thighs and resting my chest on his. I looked up at him snoozing away, his strong jaw finally unclenched for once and his plump lips drawn in a very satisfied permagrin. Yeah, he was very, very happy. How could he not be?

I reached over and kissed his cheek very delicately, taking extreme caution not to wake him. After how hard he’d gone, he needed a deep sleep to recuperate. I brushed my fingers along the curling blonde hair on his temples and grinned. He was so beautiful and handsome and passionate and strong.

And he was mine. No matter what.

I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bunk, testing my ability to stand as I gingerly pressed my feet on the chilly metal floor. I wobbled a bunch, very nearly falling onto my face, before I gripped the bed behind me and chuckled softly. Damn Rex for going so hard. My inner thighs were practically creaking with soreness as I walked into the refresher to pee. I examined my thighs and smiled at the finger shaped bruises dotting my hips and waist. They’d match Rex’s exact grip like perfect puzzle pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’d left his fingerprints the bruises felt that deep.

I took a deep breath and stood up, splashing water on my face and smoothing my hair down. Gregor didn’t need to see just how much Rex had demolished me. I pulled Rex’s red fatigues top from where it hung on the bathroom wall and slipped it on over my head, the length of it long enough to hide the small sleep shorts I slid on underneath them. I giggled and blushed thinking of how taken aback Gregor would be comparing what I looked like now to how I did when he first met me.

Speaking of him, I could hear someone humming through the echoes of the ship and smiled to myself. It was so comforting, the melodic tone deep and resonating inside the metal hull. I opened the refresher door and headed up the ladder peaking into the small cockpit.

Gregor was laying back in the pilot’s chair, feet crossed up on the dash and his arms locked behind his head. He’d taken off his armor, the white plastoid piled in a heap on the floor behind the co-pilot’s seat. He seemed more at peace here than he’d probably been in months. Which I was about to disturb.

“Your voice is nice.” I muttered, pulling myself up into the cockpit and making my way over to the co-pilot’s seat. He turned toward me and opened his bright brown eyes slowly. His gaze widened as he saw the state of me and he grinned with knowing amusement.

“Thanks. Needed some way to block out the noise.” He chuckled softly, arching an eyebrow and shaking his head to himself. He watched with mock disapproval as my face blushed seven shades deeper than it was.

“I’m…so sorry. We just-” I coughed, tucking my knees up into my chest and folding my arms over them. “How much did you hear?” I asked, hiding my face behind my arms to avoid the embarrassment of knowing we were definitely heard.

“Plenty.” He huffed, fiddling with the edges of his black underweave top and raising his brows suggestively at me. “You animals.” He joked, getting way too much enjoyment out of my utter mortification.

“We aren’t used to sharing our ship, you know.” I retorted, tossing one of his plastoid gauntlet plates at him. He laughed, catching the piece with ease and waving away the shame and shrugging.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to hearing it. Maybe not quite that intense, but…” He pointed out, running his hands through his hair and quieting his giggling. “Won’t make fun or get in the way. Just warn a guy first.”

I shot him an apologetic and thankful smile, cuddling deeper into Rex’s top and inhaling the warm, musky smell of him all around me. Before I could ask Gregor something else to change the subject he spoke again.

“How do you know..?” Gregor asked slowly, trailing off and gazing out the transparisteel starshield at the cosmos he was still more than grateful to see. His light brown eyes blinked slowly, sighing as he fiddled with his hands in his lap. Sure, this particular brother was really very charming and handsome and smooth, but what he was asking was the same thing they all asked about. Love.

What was it like? When do you know you feel it? How can you ever know when someone is yours?

“Oh…when did I know…it was him?” I replied, lifting my head from where it rested on my knees and back up toward Gregor.

“Yeah…h-how do you know when you’re in love like that? When did you feel that with my brother?” He asked, the careful longing words of a man who had probably never felt anything like what Rex and I had before.

I remembered it vividly. The lack of answers. From his comm, from the holonet, from Fox, from anyone I asked. Zygerria. That’s when I knew.

“It was during a mission. A long one. Rex left for the Kadavo system, I didn’t know the details. He couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me. No news, good or bad, for nearly two full rotations. No one knew if he was alive or dead.” I shuddered as I recalled the few chilling details I’d managed to coax out of him.

Gregor’s eyes explored the changes in my body language, studying what realizing one was in love looked like.

“He was in an enslavement processing facility with General Kenobi. They tortured him. I know because I saw the scars. He couldn’t hide those. Not from me. I’d never seen injuries like that.” I gulped, still able to feel the scarring and his electrically burned skin under my fingertips. “But he came home to me. He ran to my apartment as soon as he could. Ran. He was in pain physically and mentally. Yet, I was all he thought about. I hugged him so tight I could feel his heart beating so fast. I just knew. The way we held each other. He’s everything to me. I would’ve taken that torture for him.”

“You’d do that? For a clone?” Gregor asked incredulously, like he’d never met a natural born person who had ever shown him that kind of equal care and treatment. I wasn’t surprised, but it still made me sad nonetheless.

“For a man.” I corrected, meeting his gaze with the same fierce one I showed during Senate meetings toward any of the life forms who dubbed them as less than human. “The man I love. That fear I felt not knowing where he was, if he was ok. I knew then that he was special. I wasn’t afraid that he couldn’t handle anything that came at him. I was afraid that he’d never make it back to learn how I felt. The second I started thinking about the kind of life I wanted to give him, the things I wanted for him before I worried about myself…I love him, Gregor.”

He looked out into hyperspace for a long time, quietly mulling over my words in his head. He didn’t speak, just adjusted in his chair and focused on breathing. Finally, he turned to me and huffed softly, “you’re the nicest nat born I’ve ever met. Didn’t know anyone outside the GAR talked about us clones like that. Like we matter. Thanks for that.”

I smiled and rested my hand on his forearm, the black duraweave fabric slick and new, like he hadn’t been in this piece long. Maybe it was new. But he didn’t look like a shiny or talk like one. Whatever happened to him, wherever he came from…he’d seen things. Enough to come to the realizations he had. “Don’t thank me for doing the bare minimum. It’s just the right thing to do.”

He smirked and shook his head, exploring my face like he might vaguely remember me from somewhere. “You’re really good for him, you know. He’s a soldier. A fucking great one, probably one of our best. He’d go down for what he believes in, to save others, if he didn’t have you. And he deserves better than a soldier’s life. We all do or…did. If we do come across others. If we want to convert some more defectors, the two of you are a pretty good promise of what life could be like if you leave the Empire, if you leave fighting behind.”

“I don’t think Rex will ever stop being a soldier. And I don’t think I will ever stop loving him for it. We both are as committed to the fight as we are to each other. I did work for the Senate, you know.”

“Men show you what they’re made of when they’re facing certain death.” Gregor giggled nervously, turning back to where Rex was sleeping down below us. “He won’t admit it. But Rex is braver than most, even amongst clones. In a way, death is the easier option. He endured pain and torture because surviving honored his loyalty to you. I’m not surprised. He’s…different. I don’t get why he never made Commander.”

“He did. Before…”

“Oh. That wasn’t in his file. Guess it never fully went through huh?”

“No. Let’s just say he’s lucky the Force is looking out for him.” I said, knowing full well I meant Ahsoka. About Rex mentioning how much he worried about her. I didn’t blame him. If things were as bad out there as they seemed, I hoped she had gone far away from the Empire’s presence. As far away as you could go.

“The Force isn’t the only one looking after him.” Gregor said suddenly, leaning over to dig in his bag for something. He pulled out a datapad and tapped into what looked like the Imperial holonet, his credentials luckily still working.

“What do you mean? Someone else inside knows he’s alive?” I asked, frantically running through every possible person in either of our lives who might have an inkling that we had survived. “Who?”

Gregor pulled up Rex’s file on the Imperial network, the same one Tech helped Rex and I hack into a few rotations ago. He was listed as missing in action, but presumed dead and the entire Siege of Mandalore wiped from his record. He was still Captain Rex, not Commander.

“Don’t know. But someone is covering his tracks. I know Rex said Senator Organa pulled a few strings for you, but I don’t think he’d be able to access military records. This had to be another clone.”

“Someone who knows Rex well enough to want to help him. That’s only a handful of brothers.” I stood up to grab the datapad that Tech gave us and walked directly into a groggy Rex. He had stripped down to only his black bottoms, with nothing covering the width of his rippling chest. I smirked remembering exactly why he was so tired and naked right now. His arms looped around my back and he nuzzled his face into my neck. “Did I tire you out, Captain?” I giggled, caressing the nape of his neck.

“Yes, mesh’la. How are you not exhausted?” He chuckled, placing soft kisses along my jaw as I let him lift me off my feet. He pulled back, staring at where Gregor sat waiting expectedly to finish our conversation. Rex smiled sheepishly, before setting me down and leaning on the arm of the pilot’s chair next to where I sat. “Sorry Gregor, what’s going on?”

Gregor giggled, flipping the datapad his direction and placing it in Rex’s hands. “One of our brothers has been cleaning up after you, Rex. Any ideas who?” Gregor ran his hand over his dark hair and down his chest, unclasping his armor.

Rex’s eyes glossed over the info on screen, his other hand thoughtfully scratching through the facial hair growing along his jaw. He hummed, tapping through the screens on the datapad and searching for any CT numbers who might’ve signed off on it.

I rested my head on his bicep, my eyes darting between his handsome, pensive face and the seemingly unlimited information at his fingertips now. Someone was looking out for us. One of the clones we probably both knew somehow. In my heart, I hoped it was Fox. I missed my friend. Bringing him caf in the morning, venting to him when I was missing Rex while he was gone, the numerous times he’d sent a Coruscant Guard detail to walk me home from a late night at the Senate building. I missed him so much and hoped he was alright.

“There’s nothing to indicate a clone has touched this, which meant they weren’t supposed to be doing this. It’s possible whoever this is has either removed the chip or is coming to their senses. They might want to get out. Maybe this is a sign?” Rex asked out loud, looking between Gregor and I for responses.

“Not sure I’d go that far, but you’re not wrong. These were changed against protocol. Any men of yours with a certain knack for breaking rules?” Gregor asked, subtly hinting to Rex that he absolutely read up on the 501st and their reputation for wreaking havoc to get results.

“All the men I really knew are gone, Gregor. I buried what was left of Torrent Company myself. The rest of the 501st serves the Empire now. I already checked. Every night I look up the names of every brother I can ever remember fighting with me. Most are only referred to as numbers now.” He sighed deeply, looking down at his boots and handing the datapad back to Gregor. “They’d consider me a traitor even if they did care I was alive. It’s not anyone from the 501st.”

“What about Fox?” I asked, watching Gregor’s eyes widen in shock. “He’d definitely notice I was missing from the Senate and go looking for me. Plus he knows about me and Rex.”

Gregor ran his hands over his face and bit his lip nervously. “I don’t want to scare you, but Fox is not the man you once knew. He works directly under Palpatine now. He was always beside him on our weekly training calls at the facility I escaped from. I don’t think he’d be able to break ranks without being noticed.”

My heart sank. Fox hated the Chancellor more than anyone. More than a few times he’d expressed annoyance at the constant running around and back breaking treatment he was subject to to please the man. Poor Fox always looked brow beaten and absolutely exhausted. I questioned him often, worrying that what he was going through was more than just being overworked. Yet, anytime I pressed him about the cuts or new bruises he wore, he denied any abuse and even lacked any recollection of the events that caused them. If that same Fox was blindly following the Emperor now, then that was indisputable proof that the chips were widespread and working properly at the highest of levels.

Rex felt my demeanor change and nudged my hand with his own, curling our fingers together on his thigh to reassure me. “So if not Fox, then who? Any word on the other major clone commanders? Did they all..?”

“Follow the order? No. Not all of them. Most of them, yes. But there was an issue within the 104th…”

“Wolffe’s men?” Rex asked, turning to look out at the hyperspace lane and calculating something in his mind. Probably trying to recall when the last time was that he saw Wolffe.

“They’re not Wolffe’s men anymore. Wolffe’s gone. Been MIA since the order was issued. Something happened. But Wolffe was one of the few clones who refused the order. He just wouldn’t do it. Last I heard he escaped custody while en route to the Citadel for processing.”

Rex grinned, chuckling softly to himself and sending the humming of his deep voice rippling through me. “Sounds like Wolffe, that stubborn dinii.”

I’d only met Commander Wolffe once. The interaction was…awkward to say the least. He wasn’t soft, supportive and nurturing like Rex was. He was very much the opposite; grumpy, domineering, demanding and closed off. Yet women threw themselves at him, which I wasn’t shy about pointing out. I figured he was too cocky, careless and impersonal. Needless to say, he did not like being stereotyped and cold shouldered me for the rest of the night.

But he had to have something sweet in there. His men worshipped him, his many (many) sexual partners raved about him to anyone who would listen and his General loved him like he was his own son. Rex swore he had a bigger heart than any of them, he just would never admit it.

“Wolffe’s probably in hiding somewhere. Could’ve been him messing around with the GAR records to protect me. He was always a good big brother like that.” Rex finally spoke, squeezing my hand a little tighter as he thought about how his older Commander class brothers took care of him like one of their own. Wolffe especially.

“I suppose. He’s been gone as long as you have though. Not sure his clearance codes would even work anymore. He was going to get reconditioned if he didn’t get away.”

I shuddered. The idea that the Republic consented to reconditioning clones who violated some kind of stupid law made my blood boil. The morally right thing, at least as far as law breaking went, was to send them to prison to answer for what they did. Instead, they erased their memories and reset them like they were a droid with a bad motivator or a starship past its prime. It was dehumanizing and vile. The thought of someone as esteemed, talented and valiant as Commander Wolffe being subject to that. It was just so cruel and unthinkable.

I stroked Rex’s bicep and hummed softly, “Baby? What about Cody?” I sat up, reaching for the pad in Gregor’s hands. “He was your best friend. He would do anything to protect you.” I typed his info into the Imperial database and his file popped up instantly. Yet something about his record was different than the others we looked at. Marshall Commander Cody was still in high command within the Empire. His file included a list of accolades and achievements post-order 66.

“Cody..” Rex sighed, reading the info in his file and cringing. “It says here that he successfully executed the order. He’s as involved in the Empire as any of them.”

“My commando unit worked alongside the 212th. He was the CO we were closest with…last I heard he was arguing with Imperial command about poor strategy. Yeah he was one of them, but he didn’t seem…thrilled to be there.” Gregor thought aloud, looking over mission photos on the pad with me.

While Cody looked menacing and cold in the photos, the look in his eyes told a very different story. He looked dejected, detached, distant, and not at all the driven, focused and charming commander we all knew him to be. The look of deep pain and regret, I knew that look. I knew because I saw it in Fox every day for years. It was something that the average person, who didn’t really pay the clones any attention, would never notice.

“It was him. Cody is the one who did it. Look at him Rex..” I ghosted my fingertips underneath the deep set brown eyes and glanced at Rex with exasperation written all over my face. “Really look at him.”

“He’s miserable. I see it. But why would he do this? As far as he knows, I died in the Tribunal crash with the rest of my men.” Rex reasoned, massaging his temples between his thumb and middle finger and sighing.

“Maybe he doesn’t know anything, but he’s holding out hope you survived and is trusting that you’re missing right now for a good reason.” Gregor turned back to the ship's dashboard and checked the navicomputer. “Changing your file around is a pretty good way to signal you subtly. He’s at least thinking about you. That’s not normal behavior for a clone with a functioning chip.”

As Gregor worked on checking on the ship, Rex turned to me and rested his forehead on mine. “Mesh’la…if there’s even a chance he might need our help we have to go.” His brows furrowed as he concentrated on all the thoughts of strategy and success rates of a rescue mission this risky in his head.

I leaned forward and kissed his lips softly, resting my palm on his chest and stroking his curling hair between my fingers. “Of course we do.” I whispered as I pulled back, brushing my cheek against his as I slid down into his lap. His hands gripped my sides and rubbed up my back soothingly.

“I know you must be tired of running and missions…and I’m sorry. I wish it was easier. That we could run away. But I can’t stop being who I am. If we could save Cody, he could help us fight back.” He rambled excitedly, hopefully, and with all that fiery determination lighting up in him. That passion in him that I loved and admired so much.

“Don’t ever apologize, Rex. I’m by your side. For all of it. We’re doing this together. Just tell me what you need me to do, baby. How can we find him? Where do we start?” I cooed, watching a gentle and grateful smile cross his face.

“Imperial Inspectorate HQ on Coruscant. Imperial chatter says all clone commanders are to report there for a briefing in 0600 hours. Cody should be there.”

“Imperial Inspec…what? Never heard of it.” Rex exclaimed, the puzzled look on his face signaling the fact that so much had already changed in the former Republic and he’d only been gone a few months.

“It was formerly the Republic Center for Military Operations. Place should be familiar to you…your Commander almost blew the place up.” Gregor giggled, adjusting the ship’s steering and turning off autopilot as the navicomputer signaled we’d be arriving soon.

I knew he was referring to the incident that led to Ahsoka leaving the order. The bombing she was framed for. The Military Ops Center was where they held political prisoners and Jedi, in a pinch. Ahsoka had been one of the first lifeforms to ever escape and it did not go unnoticed by anyone exactly how she’d done it. Clones were killed the night she got away and anyone outside the 501st was not quick to forget it.

Even though Rex and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was innocent, not many others understood what happened that night. Barriss Offee was said to have been the actual perpetrator of all of it. She admitted it in open proceedings in front of Jedi and Senators. Ahsoka was acquitted of all charges, but many, even clones, felt she had some hand in the incident. Her closeness with Barriss and the lack of hard evidence that a second force user was present the night the clones were killed led conspiracy theories about her to run rampant on the holonet.

That was only one of the many reasons Ahsoka left. Rex and I knew her heart and trusted her word the way we did our lives. How could we not? She’d saved Rex from a terrible fate and risked her own safety to bring us together as we were now.

Rex and I looked at each other and said in unison, “That’s not what happened.” Gregor raised his hands in surrender and grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry, bad joke?” He turned back toward the view before us as the ship dropped out of hyperspace and the familiar sight of my home planet loomed large ahead. “Whatever happened to her anyway? She…wasn’t technically a Jedi. You certainly don’t seem like you executed the order, Cap..” Gregor eyed us both suspiciously, like he could tell there was something unspoken between us that we weren’t telling him. It was a little too soon for us to know if we could trust him with something that secret.

“That’s a long story…for another time Gregor.” Rex replied, standing up to turn the chair around and slide in as the ship’s copilot. “Besides, we’re here and we need a plan. How the hell are we going to get into an Imperial prison?”

“Carefully.” Gregor replied with that signature clone smirk and eased us into Coruscant’s crowded transport lane, behind rows of waiting starcruisers, liners and ships alike.

I sighed, looking between the two brothers lost in thought while they navigated the ship into its landing cycle and groaned, “we’re breaking into an Imperial Prison, aren’t we?”

“Yep, definitely.” They replied, Rex turning to look at me with an apologetic shrug and Gregor a defiant wink.

I settled back into the dropdown chair that we’d never had to open before now and slid my pack into my lap, looking through its contents to take stock of what else we might need. “Yeah, that’s what I was afraid you’d say.”

–-

If the state of Coruscant was any indicator as to how the galaxy was doing under the new Empire, then I was afraid to see what other less wealthy planets might look like now. The entire planet was covered in military personnel, the flashing lights of Coruscant Guard transports tailing every new ship that entered the atmosphere.

We were lucky Gregor knew how to scramble our ship’s signature quickly or we would never have been permitted to enter the lower levels. There was no way in hell two renegade clones would’ve made it past security checkpoints on the surface level. Our old pirate freighter looked passable enough to be just a simple supply ship importing goods from off-world.

Rex somehow knew of a safe platform to land on and hide our ship and we were off, stalking around the Coruscant underworld on foot until we found the Imperial Inspectorate HQ. Or rather their sewage drain pipes leading out of the massive facility.

One good whiff of the lovely entryway had me seriously second guessing how much trouble we’d get into if we just knocked on the door instead. “We really have to go in this way?” I whined, scrunching my nose as our boots padded into the echoing metallic pipe.

Rex chuckled, flicking on his helmet’s light source and holding his beloved dual blaster pistols up for protection. “...unless you’ve got a better idea, cyar'ika…” He nodded me forward, the blue jaig eyes on his helmet looking eerily similar to the way his eyes scrunched up in amusement whenever he smirked at my lack of field experience.

“Place is a dump…” Gregor laughed, fitting himself with one of the spare blasters our ship’s former owners left in our bunk. “Get it?” He pointed to the ruddy water passing by our boots while we inched deeper into the bowels of the prison.

“Oh brother…” Rex scoffed, letting me walk ahead of him slightly with his lights leading the way now. I drew my own blaster from inside my leather coat pocket and pulled the hood of my cloak up to protect myself from the mystery liquid dripping down on top of my head. Gregor and I weren’t afforded the luxury of helmets like Rex was.

“Fives would’ve loved you.” I giggled, picking up the pace slightly as the first crossroads in the drainage system appeared up ahead.

“And if we ever do actually find Cody he’d probably slap you for that.” Rex shook his bucket and jumped over a particularly filthy pool of sludge before grabbing onto my shoulder to steady himself. “Bad enough we have to even come back onto this overcrowded, scrap pile of a planet. These lower levels were always miserable.”

I punched Rex’s shoulder pauldron softly, “hey! I came from this miserable lower level, remember?” I smirked up into his dark visor, giving him a warning teasing look that I knew he wouldn’t miss.

He rubbed his shoulder, feigning a more serious injury and looked down at me, “you were always the only fucking thing worthwhile on this planet.” I opened my mouth in shock, expecting to have to rebut, but instead closing it to smile as my face blushed. He shouldered me forward gently, stopping to rest his hand on the metallic side wall of the underground tunnel.

“If you two are done with the trip down memory lane, you might want to look up.” Gregor rolled his eyes, directing our attention to a high-up deposit point with a ladder that extended only halfway down the shaft. “That’s our way in.”

I looked up with calculated intrigue and scowled as I tried to figure out how the hell I’d ever make it up there. “Unless you think I’ve mysteriously gained jedi abilities overnight, there’s no way I could jump that high.” I waved my arms wildly, watching Gregor and Rex exchange glances.

“Angel, I could lift twice your weight with one hand. Rex and I could definitely give you a boost.” Gregor explained, flashing a toothy grin and smoothing his hand over his now wet hair. He flexed his biceps and stretched, motioning for us both to stand beside him. I took a deep breath and stepped into where they joined hands, looking up at the small opening I needed to catch onto.

On the count of three, they hurled me upwards, sending me up the tube with perfect aim. I scrambled in mid air like a distressed tooka until I felt my palms latch onto the second lowest rung on the ladder. I clamped down tightly, using all my upper body strength to reach for the next step and the next. My dangling feet finally found purchase on the bottom rung and I looked down for the first time, Rex and Gregor’s heads both cocked in amazement up at me.

“Well don’t just stare..c'mon let’s go.” I hissed, walking up the ladder toward the entry hatch, probably magnetically sealed above us. In an instant, Rex was behind me, the familiar touch of his gloved hand supporting my back. I kept crawling forward, my face now only inches away from the access panel.

“How are we going to get past the access panel without an astromech, Gregor?” Rex asked, hurling his body to the side to allow Gregor a place to grab onto. The sound of clattering armor beneath me meant Gregor had finally joined us and left the filthy drainage tube behind, for good hopefully.

“I mean…we can’t just blast it…either of you know anything about overrides?” Gregor cringed, looking between Rex and I and only finding scowls.

I thought about the many things I shoved into my pack before I remembered. I had an old droid spike that I took with me from the Senator cruiser I stole. “Rex, open my pack. I think I packed an old droid spike in there. Probably from a rusty old C1 mech, but it should work right?”

I felt Rex fishing around in my bag, until he found what I was talking about and whooped softly behind me. “Look at you…being all clever.” He handed the spike to me and returned his hand to a place a little bit lower on my backside.

“This is all well and good, babe, but what the hell am I supposed to do with it? I don’t really know how to hack anything.” I stared at the old, rusty metal part in my hands and then at the access port in the wall. I thought back to the very last time I’d ever seen one of these droids use this. I guess if you just put it in and felt around for the lock mechanisms, you could probably figure it out, right?

Gregor opened his mouth to speak, only to quiet again as I pushed the spike in and turned until I felt the gears clicking in a way that just felt right. I repeated the action over and over until the doors above our heads whooshed open.

“Stars- I fucking did it…” I laughed, removing the spike and gripping it in my teeth as I hauled myself further up the tube and through the opening quickly. The room I entered was filled with junk and spare parts, probably not far from an incinerator room. Luckily we chose the right door.

I looked around in the dimly lit room for any security droids or scanners in the room, but didn’t see anything. The Empire, and especially fellow clones, should know better than to leave any room, even the junk unattended.

“How’s it looking up there?” Gregor called up as Rex hurled himself up in a flip over my head and landed surprisingly quietly on two feet. I blinked in shock, for some reason stunned at my biologically superior boyfriend’s athletic prowess in action.

“Looking pretty good…” I grinned, stepping closer to Rex who was scanning the room with his helmet. I rested my hand on his bicep and waited for him to finish his scan before he tore his helmet off to wipe the muddy water off the front of it. “Very good.” I insisted, pushing up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He smiled shyly, the lightest flush coloring his cheeks. He twirled his blasters in his hands and pocketed them in one motion.

In another second, Gregor was beside us in the center of the room. The blast doors before us weren’t sealed and didn’t require shotty mech work to get through them. “I take it we’re good to move forward with the plan?”

The plan. Or whatever we could scrape together that resembled a plan. First step was to the intelligence center to find out if there was anyone in this prison that we might want to free. Our clone friends, political prisoners or even Jedi. Second step was to find out where the Commander’s meet up point was happening and intercept Cody if we could find him.

The biggest problem was that the whole plan was contingent on a ton of If’s. If we could hack into the network and get the intel. If there was anyone here we’d want to free and how we’d do it. If there was even a supposed Commander’s Conference here at all. Maybe this was all just a trap.

“Ready as we’ll ever be I guess.” I groaned, drawing my blaster and stepping toward the doors. Before I could move, I was pulled backward, spinning around into Rex’s arms. Both his hands cupped my face and he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me so passionately I felt my legs wobbling and my mind blanking. He pulled away, resting his forehead on mine.

“For luck?” I muttered, brushing his cheekbone with my thumb. He leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, his lips curling into a content smile.

“For love. We don’t need luck.” Rex replied, his weighted palms easing down my shoulders and patting my ass to motion us forward with Gregor rolling his eyes behind us.

“Saps.” He muttered, pulling his cloak over his face as we entered the hallway. I shrugged and pulled my own hood up, following Gregor’s lead as Rex brought up the rear.

“We should probably find better disguises.” I mentioned, moving swiftly down the empty, gray hallways of the dark prison. There was very little light in the hallways, which only helped us, but was intended to keep prisoner’s from knowing the difference between night and day. An especially miserable form of torture.

“Don’t think we’d be able to find stormtrooper armor small enough for you, angel. Not unless this prison happens to have any cadets hanging around.” Gregor commented, bolting quickly around a corner and into a hallway filled with cell block doors.

“Well they certainly wouldn’t have cadets covering the detention block.” I hissed, looking down the long corridor at rows and rows of cells probably filled with people I stood by and supported for years. “Where’s the network room, Gregor?”

“Down the end of this corridor to the left. Hopefully we can find at least some kind of helmet, so I can get away with being an escort to you two. I prefer that to sneaking around.” His eyes flitted into the few small openings of each cell block door we passed, trying to get a glimpse of whoever might be inside.

Shouts from behind the doors increased as each prisoner on the detention level heard us outside and, judging by the things we were saying, could tell we were not Imperials. I could almost sense Rex’s apprehension, hoping to every star system in the galaxy that we didn’t hear Ahsoka’s voice from behind one of these doors. Even though we could more than use her help right now.

Suddenly, blast doors on the right side of the hallway opened and two sharply dressed troopers stopped dead in their tracks. I froze on sight, all the training and tips I learned to fight back going right out the window. “Hey! No visitors allowed in the Detention Level. What are you doing down here?” The two voices spoke, the familiar sound of their brother’s voices making both Rex and Gregor sigh with regret.

The two shinies approached the two men who far outranked them no matter what army they served under. “Just wanted to see what you’ve done with the place. Been a minute since I’ve seen the inside here.” Rex scoffed, leaning up against the wall and tearing down the flag of the Empire from its fixture in the metal wall to look at it in his hands.

Following Rex’s lead, I improvised, “Is that any way to speak to a Commanding Officer, boys? What kind of strength does our Empire have if you cannot respect your chain of command?” I chided, straightening up and doing my best Senator’s impression, something I’d gotten good at after working alongside them for so long.

Gregor straightened up and waited for the men to salute as they should. “We’re here for the Commander’s Briefing.” He stated plainly, like a directive. Nobody moved.

The shinies looked at each other in confusion and then up and down at us. “If you’re both Commander’s then where are your uniforms?” They both raised their blasters thinking they had us. Slyly, Rex traced his hands down to his holsters on either side, trying not to draw attention to himself. With both hands on the hilts of each blaster pistol, he whipped them out as fast as I’d ever seen and raised them to their faces.

With a deep growl of contempt, Rex’s graveled voice spat, “You’re wearing them.” and blasted the both of them with blue stun blasts. The men collapsed in a heap and Gregor snorted at their stupidity.

“That was good, Rex. Now let’s drag them down the hall to the network room, so we can change.”

Gregor and Rex dragged their two unfortunate brothers down to the network room at the end of the hallway. With everyone getting ready for a large briefing upstairs, the room was unguarded save for a few droids milling about. The network console in the center of the room flashed the unmistakable signet of the Empire while waiting to boot up for the next user.

I searched the dash for a place to input a security key and froze at the realization that my Senate staff clearance code might not work anymore. Gregor, who was now fully suited up in a Commander’s formal grays, stepped up beside me.

“What are you waiting for? Type in your codes. You had access as a Republic Senate staffer, right?”

“Yes,” I stated, moderately annoyed at his constant questioning. “I’m just not sure how good they’ll be. Senator Organa said he transferred me to his personal staff, I’m not sure if the codes needed to be renewed or something.” I rubbed my arm nervously, pulling up the aurebesh keyboard and plugging in the passwords I’d used a thousand times before.

Rex stepped up beside me, leaning his now ungloved hands on the table and nodding me forward. “Guess we’ll just have to find out. Worse comes to worse…we run.” He shrugged, the gray uniform broadening his shoulders even more than normal. It really was a fucking shame he was never promoted to Commander. Everything about the uniform, the position of power, his brilliant strategic mind suited him. Except for the hat, which hid too much of the blonde locks that made him stand out amongst his brothers and that I personally loved so much.

At his usual smirk of encouragement, I confirmed my password and waited the agonizing seconds it took to load the all clear entry signal. We all held our breath, exhaling at once when the monotone beep confirmed we’d gotten in. My codes came through.

“Thank the fucking Force.” Gregor sighed in relief, his light eyes panning over the info scrolling across the screen. The info about the conference popped up almost instantly and I reached forward to select a running log of who had checked in already. The list of registered attendees had small green indicators next to the CT numbers of troopers who had already reported in and red indicators next to those who had not.

“What’s Cody’s CT number?” I asked, running my eyes down a list noticeably shorter than I’d guessed it would be.

“CC-2224.” Rex stated without a second thought, his own eyes scanning through the numbers too. “Commander class.” Each Commander had their original Kaminoan ID holo displayed along with a long record of their military achievements and former battalion number. Most didn’t look all that different from the GAR’s usual files. Almost as if they hadn’t been touched since.

Finally, my finger hovered over the number we were looking for and I pulled up the file. This file was completely different. The list of accolades accumulated here were far more recent than those of the clones we’d already seen and the hologram of Cody before us wasn’t of him in his original phase armor like the others. This Cody was donning stormtrooper armor and standing beside none other than Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin.

“Admiral Tarkin?” Rex scowled, taken aback at the info laid out before him. “I rescued him from the Citadel years ago. Last I saw him was at Ahsoka’s trial. And he wasn’t on our side.” He huffed, the muscles in his jaw tensing as anger broiled up inside him.

“Looks like Cody was promoted. He serves directly under Governor Tarkin now. And they’re due to arrive today. Could be here already.” Gregor thought aloud, realizing this info hadn’t been updated since the night before.

Both Gregor and Rex looked at each other and then turned to me. “We’ve got to go look for him upstairs. He could be here right now.” Rex exclaimed, clearly distressed and looking at me as if he needed my permission. I knew what it really meant though. If they had any shot at finding him, they’d both have to go up into the briefing without me. Meaning we had to separate, which was the absolute last thing Rex and I ever wanted to do. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, gripping the holotable for stability.

If he left me here and something happened, neither of us could ever forgive ourselves. We promised each other we’d never separate for any reason. Never. For some reason, the crushing weight of fear was collapsing down on top of me all at once and it was taking everything in me not to cry.

He realized instantly what I must’ve been thinking and his hands wrapped around my waist, hugging me to him. “Don’t worry, ok? We’ll be fine.” He assured me, running his hand through my hair and kissing my forehead. I kept my eyes closed because if I opened them, I’d start crying and he’d never leave.

“Meet back here in an hour.” Gregor stated, turning on his brand new black boots and walking off to let us have some privacy.

“Go.” I whispered softly, slowly pushing him off me. “Be safe. And keep your comm channel open. I want to be in constant contact with you.” I felt his fingertips grazing my forearms as he slipped away, following Gregor’s footfalls back into the hallway.

“We’ll blend right in. I love you. I’ll be back for you, mesh’la. Promise.” He called out, the words echoing as he faded away.

“I love you too. I’ll see you soon.” I called out after him quietly, opening my eyes to an empty room filled only with the beeping and droning of binary droids and mechs working.

“Not if I see you first.” His voice suddenly rang out over my comm and I jumped, not expecting a response. I just laughed softly to reply, turning back to the holotable and starting to scroll through any other info I could find on the Imperial holonet now that I was here.

The Detention Block was surprisingly not filled with anyone I recognized, no Senator’s, former Republic or Separatist, and certainly no Jedi. This made this impromptu rescue mission of ours just a little bit easier. Having to make only one pick up was less risky than breaking a prisoner out and running them back through the sewage drain systems.

I checked in on the whereabouts of my friends and colleagues, none of them seeming to even show up at all, much less cause any incidents for the Empire. Which was actually somewhat disappointing. The friends I knew should be standing up to oppression like this, not cowering as it took over the entire galaxy.

I suppose not everyone was ever as bothered about the state of the world as I was. Most people I had worked with, even some of my friends, were from well off upper or surface level families who got into the Senate for the cushy job benefits, the off-world travel and the prestige. Though they were sympathetic to the suffering of others, they didn’t know it. Not like I had. Growing up with barely enough to survive in the Coruscant lower levels was a hard upbringing and seeing the upper level Senators doing such amazing work on billboards and online seemed like a decent way out.

Little did I know most of it was an act. Nearly every Senator not associated with Bail or Padme was a blood sucking leech on Republic society. Either profiting off of the suffering of their own people or secretly funding the very exhaustive war. At least I was helping expose and rid the underworld of actual crime. The lack of decency around me only made me want to push harder to get into an important role in the Senate. Which all seemed for nothing now. I was right back where I started, a scrappy underdog in a battle for something far bigger than myself. Ironic. Maybe it was always meant to be this way.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something interesting. A number. CT-9904. I wracked my brain trying to remember where I’d seen it. Then it dawned on me. The Bad Batch. Wrecker had this number etched onto his chest plate next to all the other boys.

I opened the file and up popped a pretty menacing looking Crosshair, the only member of the batch I hadn’t met. The file was filled with details on something called Project War Mantle. I tried to open it, but the entire project was sealed. However, the notes on each individual mission log were not. I played the first one and it was someone by the name of Vice Admiral Rampart noting the effects of chip removal on Crosshair.

“Most clones we tested the chip removal on showed dangerous and erratic behavior and were terminated. CT-9904’s chip removal has been an outlier. He exhibits total loyalty to the Empire with no undesirable effects and has forsaken his old squad and the Republic completely.”

“Interesting findings. And what of the testing of the termination order?”

Tarkin’s voice. Without a doubt.

“On those we tested, it has been successful, but CT-9904’s leadership skills are proving useful. His unyielding belief in the Empire seems to be keeping remaining clone troopers in line.”

“Excellent news. Would be a shame to let such superior soldiers go to waste. But need I remind you, Vice Admiral, that if there is even a whisper of dissent or rebellion amongst the remaining troopers, I am on strict orders from our Emperor to move forward with the eradication procedure. Ensure that CT-9904 plays into our hands and follows instructions or you and your vision for our Empire will receive the same fate as the rest of the former Republic’s army.”

“Yes, understood, Sir. Thank you, Governor Tarkin.”

I gulped, shutting off the audio recordings and scrolling through the list of clones, human men, who had participated in the trials. Nearly all of them were marked as terminated. The select few that had passed rigorous loyalty tests were now identified as In Training and multiple holorecordings of clones suited in black armor like I’d never seen before were undergoing what looked like torture tests.

Each man watched as simulations of civilians cried out for help while Galactic Empire propaganda played overhead. The men who caved to the cries for help were dragged aside while the ones unaffected sat unmoving and glossy-eyed, like they were in some sort of trance. The screams on the recording were not just civilians either. In the background, voices exactly like my Rex’s were crying out for help too.

The clones in the experiment were being repeatedly taught to leave any fallen troopers behind. A sentiment that was against everything the men I knew ever stood for.

I shut it off, rubbing the tears from my eyes and jamming a holodisk in the projector. This was evidence and Bail needed to see it. Needed the atrocities I saw to be confirmed to prove to the Rebellion that the clones needed to be saved. That no man, nat-born or otherwise, should ever be subject to the indoctrination and brutality I just saw.

I shuddered imagining what Rex would’ve done if he saw that. I hoped to all the stars in the galaxy he’d never have to.

The holodisk ejected back into my hand and I stuffed it into my pack. All I could think about was getting out of there with the evidence, and Rex and Gregor, safely. The sight of all those innocent clones being brainwashed further, the idea that Crosshair was supporting it willingly, Tarkin’s threats to kill them all if they found evidence of clones rebelling. There was too much at stake for just the three of us to deal with alone.

No, the Rebellion had to know. The Senators, with whatever power they had left, had to listen to this. Listen to us.

I stood up, spinning around to head out of the room and toward the drainage pipe entrance we came from when I ran directly into another lifeform, hard.

“Hi Sunshine…”

Suddenly, I was face to face with the bright red helmet of one of my dear friends. Commander Fox.

I stood wide-eyed, looking up into the black visor where I knew the eyes of my friend should recognize me. “Fox…” I muttered breathlessly, reaching for his chest plate and getting almost close enough to touch it. A black glove shot up and gripped my wrist roughly.

“Senator’s aren’t permitted down here. And certainly aren’t permitted to do what you were doing.” He spat, the cool, sarcastic and witty tone that I was accustomed to completely gone from his voice, just like it had been the day the Order was activated. “You fucking traitor.”

“Fox…this isn’t who you are. You’re being used. There’s a chip in your brain. In every clone-” I began to explain slowly and gently.

He tugged me forward into his chest and glared down at me. “This is exactly who I am. This is what I was born to be.”

I scowled up at him, “No, Fox. This is what they made you to be. It’s not who you are. He took that choice away from you. Just like he tortured you before.”

He shook me and let out a chilling and sick laugh, “You should never have come here. Because I know exactly who you are. And I know why you came. There’s nothing you can do to stop the Empire. You’re coming with me, Sunshine. My brother can’t save you now.”

Before I could even think about turning to run, he stunned me and all the lights went out.

–-

Everything was fuzzy. I groaned softly, a numbing pain all over my body and finding myself barely able to move. I blinked repeatedly, the fog in my eyes starting to dissipate. I was in a dark cell, my body shoved onto a flat platform with nothing but a small sink for water in the corner. I struggled to stand, my knees wobbling as I stepped forward. Just as I moved toward the sink, my cell doors slid open.

Fox stepped into my cell with the hum of an Interrogation droid following behind him. He didn’t look any different, but his demeanor was all wrong. There was nothing about him I recognized. No warmth, no jokes to cope with his pain, no quiet compliments. He was stone cold, focused and terrifying. My mind rushed toward Rex and Gregor, praying they weren’t found out, even if I was. He stalked toward me, my weak knees collapsing underneath me and I fell on the floor in a heap.

“Where is he?” Fox boomed, standing over me with his fists held behind his back. “Where is CT-7567?”

“Dead. He’s fucking dead.” I lied, pushing the very real tears I wanted to cry for an entirely different reason forward and coughing. I pushed myself up to my knees in front of him and glared up at him with what I hoped looked like the most misery I could ever muster. “How dare you ask me about him.”

Without a word, Fox knelt down before me, his helmet face to face with mine. He raised his hand to my jaw and squeezed, turning my face from side to side. He tutted menacingly, “I’m not asking. I’m ordering.” He let go and shoved me back, “Don’t lie to me, cyar’ika. I know you too well. You’d be a fucking mess without him. You wouldn’t have any fight left in you if he really was gone.”

“Then you don’t know me as well as you think, Fox.” Fox waved the Interrogation droid forward and started to corner me.

“Well…if you won’t talk to an old friend, then I guess I’ll have to make you.” He hissed angrily, as I shuffled away from him, with nowhere to go but the corner I woke up in. I scrambled against the cold metal wall, wishing I had something, anything I could use to fight him off with. My bare hands would be useless; all the clones were just too strong for me.

And I couldn’t hurt him anyway. Somewhere inside was my friend and it wasn’t his fault this was happening to him. It was the chip. The Fox I knew seemed completely lost to it. He was out of his mind and beyond his own control. All I could think to do was try to jog his memory.

As the Interrogation droid closed in I cried out, “Fox, please. Don’t. You know how this feels. I know you do.” Fox stopped, holding out his hand and keeping the droid hovering over his shoulder. “When he used to make you fight for him and you’d come to me bruised and bleeding…I helped you. Do you remember, Fox?”

He muttered quietly, “that’s- I don’t answer to that name anymore. I’m CC-1010.” His hands were balling up in fists, like Rex’s did when he was fighting anger or fear inside. His arms were shaking like he was trying with all his might to fight off the urge to follow an order he didn’t want to obey.

I crawled toward him, slowly and calmly whispering, “yes, you do. You’re Fox. You’re my friend.

I care about you. I helped you when he did things to you that hurt…things that you couldn’t remember.”

Fox shuddered, his head lolling and his gaze falling to the floor, “m-milk and two…two sugars. You like it..sweet.”

I slowly stood up, nodding as tears brimmed in my eyes. “Yes, Fox. M-my caf order. You like yours black or however you can get it.” He stood motionless, his shoulders rising and falling as he did nothing but shake and breathe. Carefully, I reached up, placing my hands on the rim of his bucket and pulling it off him. The sight before me shattered me into pieces. The same gut wrenching pain I felt when I saw Rex for the first time after the Order.

His hair was a graying, curly mess, frazzled and unkempt. His cheeks, chin and forehead were covered in cuts, bruises and what looked like shock marks. As if he was hit with a bolt of lightning. Maybe several. He always looked tired, but this time was different. The dark circles under his eyes were deep and purple, combining with a black and blue shiner over his left eye to make it look like he hadn’t slept in months.

But his eyes themselves frightened me most. Normally warm and kind in the face of unspeakable cruelty, his pupils were dark and gloomy. Yet, they were dilating, the deep amber fading in and out constantly. He wasn’t looking at me. He wasn’t looking at the ground. It’s like he was far away, drifting in and out of consciousness.

I rested my palm on his cheek, the way I always did to connect with him when he needed it before. To wake him from the daily nightmare he lived under the Chancellor’s orders. The vulnerability, the need for softness and care. That was Fox. The way I knew he really was. The way I seemed to be making him recall.

“Fox…what did he do to you? Talk to me, I can help you. But…you have to let me go.” I offered, wiping the dripping tears off my cheeks. His eyes slowly traveled up my frame in front of him, the pupils narrowing and opening over and over. He blinked hard like he was trying to clear a fog from his eyes. Finally, his eyes met mine, blankly gazing at me and cocking his head like the right thing to do, who he really was, sat just out of reach.

“H-help-” He muttered so softly it was barely audible before suddenly his eyes darkened again and his frayed brows furrowed at me touching him. His painfully forceful grip latched underneath my arms and he lifted my entire body off the ground, pushing me roughly onto the platform. The Interrogation droid buzzed as Fox moved aside, motioning his directive with two fingers pointed on me. “Scan her for base vitals and then put her under.”

The droid’s red scanner ran over my body quickly, calculating all the information it was gathering as it floated toward me with the anesthetic needle ready. “NO! FOX! PLEASE DON’T!” I pleaded, fighting and kicking him, but unable to move him away from restraining me. The droid beeped to signal the scan was complete and rattled off my vital information.

Fox just growled as I fought as hard as I could. He was probably hoping I’d tire myself out soon. The droid inched closer until I was backed into the cool, metal corner of the room again, the outstretched needle inches away from pricking the side of my neck. “Tell me where he is, sunshine. No use struggling, you won’t win.” The sinister tone of his words made me sick, my stomach roiling and flipping in knots in a way I’d never felt before. The overwhelming need to puke from the stress of the situation, the fear of the unknown and who knows what else.

I felt a slight prick and a searing heat cascading through my bloodstream, the noise of the droid's mechanical voice echoing in my ears.

“Species. Human. Type. Female. Temperature rising. Heart rate slowing.”

My vision was fading again, the darkness of unconsciousness circling tighter and tighter until I could barely see anymore.

“How much longer?” Fox’s gruff voice demanded impatiently.

“Heart rate level adequate for interrogation. You may begi- Warning. Warning. Warning. Additional lifeform reading detected. Additional lifeform reading detected.”

“Piece of shit clanker. There’s no one else here, but me. Re-scan.” He shouted.

“Rescanning….Rescanning…Rescan Complete. Additional lifeform is detected internally. Age approximation 8 weeks.”

No.

It…it can’t be.

I tried to cry out, but the drugs were too strong.

8 weeks ago. On Saleucami. Only 2 days after the Order.

“What?” Fox said incredulously.

“Biometric Parental Genetic Match Found. Paternal Match. 50% Jango Fett. Species. Human. Shall we continue the Interrogation, Sir?”

And now he knows. They all will know. I gave him up without even trying.

“Well, well, well…the Captain lives. Looks like we’ll have much to discuss when you wake up.”

And with that I went out.

–-

Mando’a translation note:

dinii = lunatic

NOTES: sorry for the long wait…summer time is busy and work has been a nightmare. but i'm here now :) and more exciting stuff soon :)<3 I love all of my readers so much and I cannot thank you enough for your support in helping me love and find writing again

taglist (please let me know if you'd like to be added/removed):

@literallydontlook @moonstrider9904 @thefact0rygirl @pinkiemme @galacticgraffiti @queenquazar @ashotofspotchka @kaminocasey @fett-djarin @zinzinina @pedropascalsx @captainrexi @starwarsmeninhelmets @rexandechosandwich

#wip captains log chapter 9 #wip captains log #captain rex x f!reader #captain rex x reader #captain rex x you #captain rex x fem!reader #post order 66 #post order 66 rex #captain rex smut #the clones smut

88 notes · View notes