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jgvfhl · 3 years

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Tup’s in A Better Place

This is a one shot in some AU where Fives and Tup both survive?? Or like... the chip is never revealed?? Idk that’s not the point of the writing, the point of the writing is Murder Tup being adopted by Alpha-17. Enjoy!

The new ARCs would be back from training in a few days, according to the dispatch from Kamino. The usual excitement was already sweeping through the 501st barracks in anticipation of their brothers returning after so long away. The shinies in Torrent were being regaled almost every night with stories about Tup and Jesse before they returned. Rex had sat in on a few of these sessions for his own amusement. Fives and Kix certainly weren’t leaving details to the imagination, although Rex didn’t quite believe some of the numbers they were throwing around. Half a platoon of SBDs seemed like a stretch. Even someone like Rex would be hard-pressed to scrap that many clankers at once, though he had come close a few times.

His comm beeped, pulling him from his thoughts. “Yes?”

“There’s a transmission here from Kamino for you, sir. Do you want me to forward it to your personal device?”

Kamino? “Uh, yes, forward it. Thanks, Spot.”

There was a brief pause, then Rex saw the light on his holoprojector turn on. “Sent, sir.”

“Got it, thanks.”

He clicked his comm off and picked up the holoprojector to read the frequency. Oh… this didn’t look good. Why would Alpha-17 be sending him a transmission a few days from the end of ARC training? But, he had to answer.

“This is a bit of a surprise, sir,” he said carefully after the miniature hologram of the ARC trainer appeared in front of him.

“You’re captain of Torrent Company, right?” Alpha replied bluntly. “I’m talking about one of your promotions.”

Rex sat up a little straighter. Had something happened to Jesse or Tup? “Sir?”

“I have to report to you that your kid Tup isn’t coming back from ARC training with the others.”

“What?” he blurted before he could stop himself, very glad he was in his quarters and not somewhere more public. “Why--what happened? Is he hurt?” Injuries were part of ARC training. It wasn’t uncommon for troopers to come back from the program with new scars and stories. More… permanent issues were rare, but not impossible. If it was possible for cadets not to make it through basic training, it was possible for troopers not to make it through the more rigorous ARC program. But… Tup?

The way Alpha’s head moved implied an eye-roll. “Quit sobbing, Rex’ika, you’re a damn officer, not his mother. The kid’s in a better place now.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean, sir?” Rex demanded, bristling at the kiddie nickname.

“It means--” The trainer’s answer was cut short by a loud commotion in the background of the transmission. It was loud enough to carry to Rex’s ears.

“Take that, Hutt sludge! I’ve eaten kriffing bugs tougher than you, tooka brains!” This enraged outburst was followed by the unmistakable sounds of blaster fire and armored bodies hitting the ground. From what Rex recalled, it sounded like a training run--one with droids and obstacles and the like.

Alpha’s helmet was turned to watch whatever chaos was unfolding out of view. “Move it, kid!” he yelled, then turned back to Rex. “Anyway, he’s mine now.”

For what felt like way too long, Rex just stared at Alpha’s hologram, trying to put together what had happened. Those insults were characteristic of the 501st. And Rex had heard Tup use “tooka brains” on more than one occasion. So that was definitely Tup in the background. Which meant Alpha-17 really had been talking about Tup when he’d claimed him. But what… did that mean?

“Legally, I had to let you know,” Alpha went on when Rex’s stunned silence continued. “He’ll be staying with me a bit longer. The kid’s got a real spark, y’know, real thirst for blood--”

Against his better judgement, Rex interrupted him. “Sir, what do you mean Tup’s ‘yours?’ He’s part of Torrent; he’s under my command.” Then the second half of Alpha’s statement caught up to him. “And--thirst for blood?”

“Don’t interrupt me, soldier.”

Rex’s mouth snapped shut automatically. Then he opened it again because he still had a lot of questions, but Alpha inclined his head in just the way he only did when giving a death glare, and Rex shut his mouth again.

“As I was saying, Tup’s shown some real incentive during ARC training, and I think he’d benefit from a bit of a level up.”

“Level up?”

“Yes.”

Sorting through the small planet’s worth of questions in his mind, Rex settled on, “Will Tup ever be back with the 501st, sir?” Or are you stealing one of my ARCs from under my nose? his mind completed. He’d nominated Tup and Jesse for promotion because he’d expected to get both of them back.

Alpha was pensively quiet for a moment before replying, “Tell you what: when your boys in blue need some backup, he’ll be first in line for you.”

Rex blinked. “So, I have to find someone else to fill the position I assumed Tup would be able to fill?”

“You’ve got plenty of material, stop whining. You can still contact him. It’s not like he’s going undercover or into intelligence.”

“Oh, good, we can contact him in all that spare time you’re famous for giving your troopers,” Rex replied instantly, the shock of the conversation having shredded his normal verbal filters.

Alpha’s helmet tilted to one side. Before whatever biting retort came, however, Tup’s voice carried through again, sounding closer than before. “All set, sir.” And sounding a bit out of breath. “Accidently took the head off one of the training droids, but I set a new time record, so I’m calling it even.”

“Good work, kid,” the trainer said.

“Is that Captain Rex?”

Alpha handed the holoprojector over, and Tup’s figure replaced his in front of Rex. “Hey, Tup.”

Tup beamed, training helmet tucked under one arm. “Hi, Captain!” His bun was a frizzy mess from the session he’d just finished, and one of his cheeks looked like it was healing from a nasty bruise, but other than that, he was glowing.

“Do you know about this arrangement Alpha’s set up?” Rex asked, not caring if the trainer didn’t want to talk about it.

Tup’s expression turned a little sheepish. “Yeah… look, I know you wanted Jess and me back with the 501st, but I’m doing really good with this.”

Rex nodded, unable to resist a small smile. “Okay. As long as you’re on the same page.”

Tup perked back up. “Hey, maybe I can visit, though--”

“No.”

“No, but you said I wouldn’t be deployed all the time, so maybe instead of going on leave I can join some of their campaigns.” He looked to Alpha out of view, turning up what Torrent had affectionately named the Tuppy Eyes.

Rex almost snorted, but he did smirk. There was no way they would work on Alpha.

There was a long pause. Longer than it should have been. The smirk started slipping from Rex’s face.

“No.”

“Please?”

Another long pause. “I’ll have to ask General Skywalker.”

“Thank you, sir!”

Holy kriff.

Tags! @big1ron @im-x-winging-it @423rd-solar-legion @raf-loves-everything @sw-maddie @soclonely @mrfandomwars @sophaeltheangel @23-bears @padme--amygdala

#my writing #my fanfiction #tcw fanfic #alpha 17 #clone trooper tup #captain rex #murder tup #murder babey #alpha is not immune to the tuppy eyes

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finnstansonly · 3 years

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I really will never understand how Disney decided to let themselves sink rather than focus their trilogy on a Black Jedi. Truly tragic. And now they’re just going to retcon the whole thing 😂 anyway, in your version - does Finn get trained by Luke? And is there a storm trooper rebellion that he leads? How do he and Jannah reunite and was there a plan for them to find their family?

so in the VERY beginning yes I did have luke kind of be an inspiration for him and a starting off point before he goes on to train himself but somewhere in 2019 i realized that luke would be someone that finn still likes and respects but leia is the one who can resonate with him and give him pointers that he will best process bc she is so direct and focused but not overbearingly so. finn’s strongest relationships are with the skywalkers (i am including anakin who’s ghost he sees once and who’s presence he’s felt since childhood back in the FO but he didnt know it was him exactly), jannah and rey and he sees lando as like an uncle figure (jannah sees him more as a father figure, she is much closer to him than finn but this post isnt techincally abt her so i’ll shut up).

as for the stormtroopers its slightly complicated? okay so there's ppl who get really inspired by finn when he defects, but in my storyline, jannah is still there after finn is gone bc she’s one of the knights and cannot Just Leave bc like...she’s under a much finer microscope. so there are a few missions in which ppl try to defect and like im gonna be honest a lot of them do not make it out, but those who do see finn as a legend bc like yeah some ppl defect under the guise of dying in a mission but finn left and did not fade away he literally went and got Starkiller destroyed and fought kylo ren in the woods. so while its safer to basically go into hiding (and very few blame them for doing so) some do try to seek finn out specifically. finn honestly encourages them not to join the resistance immediately if they’re not ready for that but that they can still be incredibly helpful in other ways (some are like yeah i dont REALLY wanna be a soldier again and some are like i see what ur saying....anyway lets beat some ass) but the point is he’s like dont just do it bc i’m doing it.

on the other hand, there are the ppl who use the dethroning of snoke and the fight from TLJ (which for storytelling reasons i am NOT having happen three seconds after TFA finishes, and maybe months or a year later). while kylo is literally having his king of the world breakdown jannah breaks out of the knights of ren (which is partially a survival measure anyway bc they can tell there is something up with her and were like 5 seconds from ratting her out but kylo was not there and snoke was being assassinated so *shrug emoji* L for them but it is a big fight). anyway after she breaks out she takes some troopers with her (her former troop actually tried to protect her so they don’t even need persuading they are ready to LEAVE–i like her having some real ride or dies bc finn was put with some FAKE ASS PUNKS plus she can keep the clique from canon) and dips to the ocean moon.

i would keep certain elements from TROS but you already know its the finn/kylo dynamic and rey is a very helpful supporter who will genuinely kill kyler on sight given the opportunity. anyway bc i keep some of that finn and company still meet jannah on the ocean moon and have that scene (but insert some KOR stuff which fyi is when she makes up her name and gets rid of her number). that’s really all they have UNTIL the big showdown–which they have the rebellion in the middle of. idk if it’s right to say that finn leads it tbh. jannah is more of the organizer finn is really just a symbol here and they listen to him because he’s a legend and jannah is like ok cool he’s great are y’all ready to fight or nah bc she’s the one who has actually had practice as a leader.

post-battle is where they actually decided that they are going to conduct themselves like siblings and jannah tells finn abt how she saw him in her visions and that she believes they’re blood relatives even tho she has no proof and finns like that’s good enough for me so they make their birthday the day they met on the ocean moon.

[insert lightsaber fic with healing and during this jannah is working with former troopers helping them find out what they’re gonna do with their lives] it’s not for like a year after this that they go on a mission with lando where they find out they’re literal twins so that moment is very special and i would say that this is their reunion.

okay i THINK i wrote this out coherently but i’m really fighting sleep disease so excuse plot holes and ask me if something sounds absolutely insane. but yeah i tweak the plot every once in a while to make it fit more so some stuff is not concrete but the relationships and major events are pretty much fixed

#yes jannah is better at everything than finn bc at the end of the day...he's a man #a lovely man i would die for but a man nonetheless #mo the force be with us #forged #rebeljannah #rebelfinn #finn #jannah #mo thinks about writing sometimes #anon #mo answers #finn meta #that which binds #sw ideas

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jgvfhl · 3 years

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Number Lads!!

GUYS I hit 700 followers today?? Amazing. So, I worked extra hard to get this part up and finished for ya!

Part 2/??? Read Part 1 here :) Words: about 4k, no warnings

So I remembered the Battle of Kamino is a thing. And I had just put Sevenset in Rancor battalion. Whoops! But, if you know anything about me, you know nothing really bad happens.

CT-2222 = Do-si-do = Double Trouble

CT-3333 = Trees = Green Bean

CC-6666 = Sixes = DEATH

ARC-7777 = Sevenset = ARCBoiiiii

CT-8888 = Loops = Loopy

Reading the inventory lists from the datapad in his hands was increasingly difficult. Loops rubbed his eyes and shook his head roughly, trying to refocus, to put the overwhelming feeling of helplessness behind him. The whole Wolfpack felt similarly. Every announcement over the PA system made them jump. General Koon was using his limited free time to gather with groups of troopers to help ease their minds, and it was helping, but the general had chosen an uphill battle.

Kamino was under attack. The closest thing any clone had to a home, and the Separatists were trying to destroy it. The Wolfpack hadn’t been called to the front, as was their normal position. When the battle cleared, and the dust settled, they would be there to help pick up the pieces, until another assignment called them away.

So they waited.

Worse for Loops, he knew Sevenset was in the thick of things, following the ARC commanders at the helm of the defensive actions. He knew the ARCs were the best soldiers on Kamino, and he knew the 501st and 212th had boots on the ground as well, and Generals Ti, Skywalker, and Kenobi would be there with them. He knew this. But it barely helped ease his worries.

Technically, the next Numbers meeting wouldn’t be for another three weeks, but Do-si-do had commed everyone to ask if they wanted to move up the date because of the battle. Obviously, they hadn’t heard much from Sevenset. Or from Commander Sixes, but that wasn’t as much of a worry. He was a commander, he had a whole Star Fighter wing to lead into battle. Still, the radio silence only made Loops more uneasy. But Trees and Loops had agreed to meet with Do-si-do, at least, and that would start in about ten minutes.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Loops tried to put aside the gnawing worry in his mind to finish this inventory before the meeting. It wouldn’t be fair to hand over a half-finished inventory to the next guy on shift. So he slogged through it, walking around the denoted section of the Lightbolt’s cargo hold, reading the crates, scrolling through his datapad, until he was finally done. As he left the hold, he handed off the device to Tanner, one of the officers overseeing inventory at the moment.

“All set, sir.”

“Thanks, Loops. Get some rest.”

“Will do.”

He didn’t rest, not really. When he got to his bunk, he propped himself up against his pillow at the head of his bunk, waiting the last few minutes until Do-si-do sent the transmission to start the meeting.

“Hey, Loops.”

He looked up at the face looking upside down at him from the top bunk. “Hey, Racket.” Loops was always grateful his bunkmate never complained about some of the late-night Numbers Meetings.

“How you holding up?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“I know you’ve got a buddy in Rancor, just wanted to check in.”

The knot of worry in his gut tightened. “Yeah.” His voice felt hollow. “Thanks, Racket.”

“Haven’t heard anything yet, huh?”

Loops shook his head. “Two and Three and I are having a call soon to talk it out.”

“Ah,” Racket said, “I’ll give you some space.”

“Thanks,” Loops said, although his brother’s head had already retreated to his own bunk. Right on cue, his comm blinked its light. He hadn’t had the chance to get a holoprojector today. But he would be able to hear the others.

“Hey, Trees,” Do-di-do’s voice had a smile in it. “Loops?”

“Couldn’t get a projector today, sorry,” Loops said. “I can still hear you.”

“Oh, good.”

“Hi, Loops,” Trees said.

“Hey, Trees.”

“How’s the Pack?” Do-si-do asked.

Loops shrugged, before remembering they couldn’t see him. “It’s… well, you know. Everyone’s on edge. The general’s been helping though.”

Trees agreed. “Yeah, General Unduli and Commander Offee have been holding group mediations for the ones who want it.”

“I’ve heard General Windu’s working on that too, but…. He’s busy as all hell.”

“Yeah, High Generals usually are,” Loops said.

“Anyone else… find it kinda weird, though?” Do-si-do furthered.

“What do you mean?”

“Like… I dunno. I didn’t expect the Jedi to care this much.”

“Oh,” Trees said flatly.

“I mean--obviously, they care if Kamino is attacked,” he went on. “Because it’s producing the whole damn army, but I never thought they’d… do all this.”

It was a fair reaction. Most clones, upon encountering their generals, were a little unsettled at how… human they were. Loops had certainly had a learning curve when he’d joined the 104th. General Koon was… amazing. So, honestly, Loops hadn’t been surprised when he had offered to help his troopers through the stress of the Kamino attack. But, Do-si-do had always been a bit skeptical of the Jedi, even though, from what Loops had heard of General Windu, he would regularly go out of his way to defend his men.

“I’m not complaining,” Loops said.

There was a longer than normal pause afterwards. He eyed the blinking light on his wrist comm, wondering. It wasn’t uncommon for the signal to get interrupted by space travel.

“What are you boys gossiping about now?” Ah. Not space travel. Just Commander Sixes. His brain did a mental double take as that thought formed. Just Commander Sixes.

“Oh, uh…” Do-si-do searched for words. Trees was probably frozen again. “Just… thought some of us could use the conversation. With Kamino under attack. And all.”

There was a gruff, nonverbal reply from the commander.

“Don’t suppose you got any updates we laymen didn’t, sir?” Do-si-do asked cautiously. Loops couldn’t help leaning towards his comm. Even a little news would help…

“None any of you have clearance for.”

Loops rolled his eyes, falling back against his pillow. He should have expected it. But that didn’t make it any less disappointing.

“Sir, you know the point of this call was to ease stress, not make it worse?” Do-si-do replied.

“Armor up, shiny, we’re at war.”

_____

ARCBoiiiii: Guess who’s not dead!!!!

Loopy: kriff is it over???

ARCBoiiiii: Yep! Sent the clankers running and the Hairless Harpy and Evil Spider Legs too

Green Bean: did you just nickname… Grievous and Ventress?

ARCBoiiiii: what’s it to ya?

Loopy: are you okay sevens?

ARCBoiiii: aw loopy were you worried?

Loopy: get karked

Loopy: ...but yeah

ARCBoiiiii: where’s do-si-do?

Green Bean: dunno. might be on the wing.

Loopy: sevenset. are. you. okay.

ARCBoiiiii: ah okay. and yes! i am okay, loops. little sore, but i’m not hurt. Rancor’s casualties weren’t bad.

Double Trouble: SEVENSET YOU SONAUVA HUTT HOW ARE YOU

ARCBoiiiii: Do-si-do!!!!!! im okay :D

ARCBoiiiii: Cmdrs havoc + colt in medical tho… colt had a run-in with ventress i guess

Loopy: oh kriff--

DEATH: he’s alive after that?

DEATH: … really, boys? the name?

Double Trouble: Sevenset’s idea sir

ARCBoiiiii: Do-si-dos idea

ARCBoiiiii: kark dammit

Double Trouble: beat u haha

Loopy: lol

Green Bean: How ironic. He survives Kamino only to be reaped by Death later

DEATH: ha

Double Trouble: 0.0

ARCBoiiiii: i feel unsafe

Loopy: trees where has that biting wit been hiding my friend

ARCBoiiiii: WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT SOMETHING IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!

Double Trouble: ??????

ARCBoiiiii: I FOUND NUMBER FIVE

Loopy: Yay!! He was the one in 501st right?

ARCBoiiiii: yeah! pretty damn good sniper too from what i heard. AND GUESS WHAT ELSE

Green Bean: There’s more?

ARCBoiiiii: He and his batcher got promoted to ARCs so THEY’RE STUCK WITH MEEEEE

DEATH: I almost pity them.

Green Bean: ha

Loopy: wait what’s his name??

ARCBoiiiii: fives

Double Trouble: oof unoriginal

DEATH: Oh really, Do-si-do?

Double Trouble: wait no

Loopy: do-si-do it’s been nice knowing you

Double Trouble: nO WAIT it’s hardly fair, you’ve got Death as a name too

DEATH: Sure thing. Anyway, Fives and his batcher are Rex’s freaks, and he always takes his ARCs with him. They’ll be gone after graduation.

ARCBoiiiii: aw shucks :(

Double Trouble: that’s still like… almost three months tho

ARCBoiiiii: yessssss i’ll drag em into the next couple holos

Green Bean: But… it’s just Fives that has the repeating number, right?

ARCBoiiiii: well yeah but they’re practically inseparable, i’d feel bad

DEATH: that’s pathetic

ARCBoiiiii: one of these days we’ll find a recruit you actually like

DEATH: No

Double Trouble: speaking of, did you find number nine? Isn’t he in the 212th?

ARCBoiiiii: no… I’ll ask around, the orangios are still planetside for a bit. and i’m still on the lookout for a cadet 1111!

Loopy: glad you’re alive

ARCBoiiiii: *mwah*

Loopy: aaaaand now I’m not

-----

For the second time in about two minutes, Fives once again lagged a step so he could reach back and tug Echo along by the sleeve. “Keep up, will you?”

“Fives--”

“I don’t want to hear it, Echo, I told you already.”

His batchmate wasn’t going quiet without debate. “But we’re supposed--”

“--to be doing something very boring, now quit complaining.”

“It’s ARC training, Fives,” Echo hissed, yanking his sleeve away, but keeping pace with him behind Sevenset. “It’s all important, even if it’s boring.”

Their leader turned around, walking backwards as he said, “Well… I mean, I’ll be honest, I’ve never used the desert field training once, so…” He shrugged.

“Yeah, because you live on an ocean planet,” Echo pointed out.

“Pays off,” the ARC trooper grinned.

“Doesn’t it get kinda boring, though?” Fives asked. “The same planet over and over?”

“Boring?” Sevenset turned briefly to avoid a squad of junior cadets being led by medic. “Nah, not boring. Maybe the scenery leaves something to be desired, but hey--so did Coruscant. But helping to train brothers like you two? Never boring.”

“I think Fives would have to try to be boring.”

“I’m boring when I sleep.”

Echo turned a skeptical look on him.

“What?”

“What do you mean ‘what?’ you snore like a rancor--”

Remembering who was walking with them, they both looked at Sevenset to add, “No offense.”

And then Fives cut right back in with a rebuttal. “Well maybe I wouldn’t snore if I didn’t have your entire weight on top of me?”

Echo waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, no no no, don’t you pull that argument--”

Fives scoffed. “I am absolutely pulling that argument--”

“You snored on Rishi, and we all used our own bunks.”

That was true. They hadn’t had a reason to share until after…. “Okay, but how do you know that wasn’t Cutup?”

“Cutup--!” Echo’s incredulous tone was somewhat marred by the smile creeping onto his face. Their arguments could never keep a serious face for too long. “You don’t snore in a kriffing accent, Fives!”

Fives could no longer keep the smile off his face either, and he gave Echo a gentle shove with his shoulder. “Okay, you got me.” The gesture was returned a little more violently. Then they noticed Sevenset had come to a stop by a door, and they pulled themselves together to face him.

“You guys were on Rishi Moon?” Sevenset asked, passing his vambrace in front of the control panel to open the door. He gestured them in.

It was a small meeting room--very small, from the others Fives had seen. The holotable jutting out from the far wall probably left room for about seven people. He and Echo stood to one side of the door, hands behind their backs. Fives decided against asking why Sevenset had access to to this place.

“Yessir, we were the last men stationed there.” Echo’s answer was curt, almost blunt, but kept carefully under the veneer of professionalism he managed so much better than Fives did. It had become their standard answer for Rishi questions.

Sevenset glanced over at them from where he was typing at the holotable. “Echo, buddy, I just commandeered you from under your CO’s nose. You can drop the ‘sir.’” He looked back to the blue holograms in front of him. “So were you the ones who blew up the all-clear signal? Saved us a hell of a lot of trouble around here, I’ll tell you that. Should be thanking you.”

“There’s… no need for that.” Echo’s voice shrank slightly, his eyes dropping towards the floor. Fives sighed as quietly as he could, silently bracing for the unpleasant exchange that was sure to follow that deflection.

“Really? I hope you got medals or something, though,” Sevenset replied. He finished typing and stepped back from the table, facing them. “How’d you do it, anyway? Not easy to blow a base like that.”

“No…” Fives agreed hollowly, hoping the ARC would eventually get the karking hint and change the subject. There were already a half dozen scenes of memory playing through the back of his mind as he did his best to pointedly ignore them.

“Liquid tibana.”

He turned to look at Echo, who caught the unasked question in his eyes.

“He asked,” his batchmate shrugged helplessly, now looking anywhere except at their faces.

Sevenset’s eyebrows rose, crinkling the tattoos on his scalp, and he nodded. “Yeah, I guess LT would do the trick, wouldn’t it?”

Nope. Not getting the hint. And Echo--Maker bless him--would keep answering his questions even if it gave him a panic attack. Maybe ARC training could help him kick that habit.

“Did they really send commando droids--”

Fives didn’t let him finish. “Look, Sevenset, we don’t really like talking about Rishi.” Next to him, he noticed some of the tension leave Echo’s shoulders. “Our whole batch was stationed there, and, aside from Commander Cody and Captain Rex, we’re the only ones who survived that attack.”

Sevenset blinked, realization hitting like a splash of cold water. “Oh. Yeah, of course,” he looked down, scuffing one of his boots on the floor without much enthusiasm. “Sorry about that. Should’ve realized.”

Fives dipped his head, acknowledging the apology. He knew Sevenset hadn’t meant any harm by asking, but at least he’d apologized. The holotable made a noise, and Sevenset practically flew to answer the incoming transmission. Fives couldn’t blame him for wanting to dissipate the uncomfortable silence that had followed his apology. He nudged Echo with his elbow, and they moved closer, still shoulder-to-shoulder, as the first two holograms appeared.

The first clone they saw sat in what looked like a cockpit, although “sitting” was a generous term. More like lounging. His head was shaved on the right side, and the long curls left were bleached and dyed a cold white. His face lit up upon recognizing Sevenset.

“You are alive!”

“Of course I’m alive, Do-si-do,” the ARC replied, once again all smiles. “I am almost offended you thought my first fight with Rancor would finish me.”

The second clone--in recognizably 104th gear--gave a tiny smile. “Here I am surprised Do-si-do hasn’t gotten a surprise visit from Death after his remarks about originality in the chat.”

The pilot, Do-si-do, made a show of looking under and behind his seat. “Nope, all clear. Sorry to disappoint, Loopy.”

“My name’s not Loopy.” He turned to look at Fives and Echo. “My name’s not Loopy, it’s just Loops.” Kind of a fun name, really. Fives wondered what his number was. Eight, probably?

“And for once you beat Trees here,” Sevenset remarked. Another hologram appeared. “Ooh, but not by much.”

Trees, by the looks of his armor, was in the 41st. But, unlike the others, he looked downright regulation, like Echo. “Sorry, I got stuck behind a gonk droid in the hall.” Catching sight of Fives and Echo, he added, “Oh, are these the new guys?”

“Yep!” Sevenset looked to them.

Without warning, Echo’s hand appeared, grabbing Fives by the jaw and turning his head to the left. “And you’ll never guess which one of us is named Fives.”

Fives swatted his hand away, Echo ducking the half-hearted attempt to put him in a headlock. “I am going to kill you,” he growled at his batchmate’s stupidly smug expression. So he liked the number; he had a good reason to like the number!

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with it, come on,” Sevenset smiled. “You and Loops can match.”

Loops turned his face so the tattoo on his right cheek was visible. An infinity symbol? Stylized number eight? “First thing I did when I got the chance.”

“How’s ARC training treating you two, then?” Do-si-do asked with a smile.

Fives glanced at Echo. “Not too bad,” he answered with a shrug.

“Yet,” Echo added.

Sevenset smirked and nodded knowingly. “Emphasis on ‘yet,’” he agreed. “Right about the three- or four-week mark, you’ll really start regretting some life choices.”

“You survived, though,” Trees pointed out. “Can’t be that bad if they managed to drag you over the finish line.”

“I do have more than one personality trait, you know.”

“Whaaat?” Do-si-do shook his head. “Can’t believe you’re more than your carefree facade. Actually upset now.”

Sevenset raised an eyebrow at him, but Do-si-do ignored the silent challenge and just blew him a kiss through the screen. Sevenset had mentioned he and “number two” had started this group, and now Fives could indeed understand they knew each other pretty well.

“Wait,” Loops spoke up. “What’s your name?” He gestured a little vaguely towards the two batchmates.

“Oh.” Echo straightened up a bit. “I’m Echo.”

Loops waved at him.

“Is this everyone?” Fives asked, looking to Sevenset. He had mentioned the group wasn’t “complete” yet, but he hadn’t expected it to be this small.

The other four shook their heads. Sevenset answered. “No, there’s still the commander, but we don’t pretend to know when or if he’s gonna show. The others--number one, number nine, number four, and zero--we haven’t found yet.”

“And Commander Fox wants nothing to do with us, thanks to Sevenset,” Do-si-do added.

“Also true.”

Echo’s confused expression matched the questions Fives had in mind. He didn’t know Commander Fox’s number off the top of his head. Echo probably did. He’d known the captain’s and Commander Cody’s like that. But… there was another commander? They turned to look at Sevenset together, although two different questions came out of their mouths.

“What commander?” Fives asked.

“You asked Commander Fox?” Echo said at the same time.

They didn’t get answers. Well. Not explicitly. A fourth hologram appeared beside Loops, Trees, and Do-si-do. The single pauldron denoted rank. The full kit of black armor, helmet included, didn’t give many other details. So. That commander. Whoever that commander was…

Next to him, Echo tensed, just barely, but Fives could read him too well to miss it. He looked over. Fives recalled his batchmate’s reaction to meeting the captain and Commander Cody for the first time. They had reputations, they had stories, and Fives had been right with him in that sense of awe--aside from the whole… being invaded by commando droids… thing that had been happening at the same time. And right now Echo kind of looked like that. But his expression had none of the subtle reverence Fives remembered. More… fear? Not quite. He’d seen Echo scared. Who was this guy? And why couldn’t Fives place him?

“Hey, Commander,” Do-si-do greeted, like there was nothing strange about a commander in all-black armor appearing on their holotable. None of them had even gone to attention. That was a little odd.

The commander folded his arms across his chest and grunting a nonverbal reply. His visor landed on Fives and Echo. Again, Fives saw Echo’s whole body stiffen in his periphery. “New guys?” the commander eventually asked, his voice sounding an awful lot like Alpha-17’s gruff speech.

“Yep,” Sevenset nodded, not even addressing him as sir. “This is Fives, that’s his batcher Echo, and you have magically chosen to appear right when they started asking questions about you.”

“These the inseparable ones?” This man had absolutely no variation in tone, and it was going to get creepy.

“Looks like it,” Loops replied.

The commander stared at them for a few more seconds, before giving another wordless huff and looking away. “No one’s inseparable.”

Fives did not like the chill that sent down his spine, despite the words having, as before, no discernible emotional tone. Behind his back, his hand tightened around the opposite wrist, the dull pain momentarily distracting his mind from the commander’s implication. Glancing to Echo, he saw his brother’s jaw clench, his mouth pressed into a line as he stared down the holograms. Fives shuffled closer until their shoulders and arms touched, feeling his brother lean into him.

Sevenset looked between them and the holotable before taking half a step sideways towards them. “Okay, Commander Dark and Angsty, maybe don’t scare away the new guys? Thanks.”

The commander’s helmet tilted up ever so slightly--probably rolling his eyes--but he stayed quiet.

“And that,” Sevenset went on, turning to Fives and Echo, “is Commander Sixes, AKA Commander Death, and yes, he is always like that.”

Finally, it clicked in Fives’ mind. He knew about Commander Death, he just hadn’t seen any images of him. Sithspit, no wonder Echo had reacted like that. The Death Wings were downright terrifying by word-of-mouth, and that--that was their commander.

And these guys were just… chatting with him. They chatted with him… regularly. Sevenset didn’t even call him sir. What in the nine hells…?

The commander’s visor went to Sevenset. “How are Colt and Havoc? Haven’t had a chance to comm them.”

“Mm? Oh. Commander Colt’s just got out of medical. Commander Havoc got out a couple rotations ago.” Sevenset shrugged. “That’s all I’ve got.”

Fives had seen Commander Havoc during training yesterday. He’d walked a little stiffly, but from what he’d heard about his injuries, walking at all was pretty damn good.

“Did you ever find number nine?” Loops asked. “In the two-twelfth?”

“Eh…” Sevenset held up a hand palm-down and tilted it back and forth. “Sort of. I got confirmation he is in with Commander Cody’s boys, and that his name is Nines, but that’s all. Never got eyes on him or a frequency, or I would’ve patched him in.”

Echo opened his mouth, then closed it. Fives nudged him to speak. He’d already drawn attention from Loops, Trees, and Do-si-do anyway. “Well, just--Torrent works with Commander Cody’s men more often than most. We could keep an eye out for him.”

“Once we’re back with the company,” Fives added.

“Oh yeah,” Sevenset nodded. “Totally. Thanks.”

“Any word on the others we’re looking for?” Trees asked.

Sevenset shook his head. “No luck with number one over here. Still haven’t found any cadet with that number.”

Do-si-do added, “The ninety-first has leave in three weeks. My company will be on Coruscant for about a ten-day. Anyone else?”

“I’ll check,” the commander said, reaching out of frame for something.

While he was silent, Loops put in, “Well, the Wolfpack won’t be off for another month and a bit.”

Trees nodded. “The forty-first is still on for another two months.”

“And obviously the three of us aren’t going anywhere,” Sevenset said, tilting his head towards Fives and Echo. “Gotta say, that is one thing I miss about being in the Guard. Can’t see everyone when they’re on leave.”

“The one-eighteenth has leave in about a month,” the commander finally reported. “Should overlap with the ninety-first for a few days. Maybe you can find zero in there. My fighters have a mission with the Nova Corps coming up, too. I’ll see if I can find number four.”

A smug smile appeared on Sevenset’s face. “I thought you once said you weren’t our recruiter, Commander.”

The commander stared at him for half a moment, then answered, “The Marines won’t have leave for another six months. You want to find number four? This is how you do it.”

The ARC nodded, his smile never changing. “Okay, alright, I get it. We won’t tell anyone you like us.”

The commander huffed quietly, then muttered, “I’m still surprised Alpha-17 didn’t beat that attitude out of you over there.”

Echo smirked. “Well, at least that means there’s hope for Fives.”

Fives shouldered him. “Hey, I haven’t done anything.”

“Yet.”

Sevenset grinned at Fives, who found himself returning a small smile. Trees pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maker help us, there’s two of them.”

“Something wrong with that, Trees?” the ARC replied with mock severity. Fives would admit, he did like Sevenset. He liked seeing a higher ranking soldier maintain a lighter sense of humor. Most of the Teth survivors in Torrent had a dark streak--Coric might have it the worst, actually, and it was rubbing off on Kix.

“Nothing wrong, just means I’ll have to explain to my medics why my blood pressure’s so high.”

Do-si-do and Sevenset laughed, and Loops smiled. The commander just shook his head. Yeah, Fives could get used to this.

-----

Edit: I FORGOT TAGS @nl13 @darth-void @glubtheflyingfish (sorry i missed you in part 1) @blsmjoon @23-bears @theultimatesandwich @peacefulwizardfox @alamogirl80

#YAY #number lads #numbers gang #my writing #my fanfic #i write things sometimes #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #clone trooper ocs #clone ocs

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