Chapter 5 - ch5

Chapter 5: Episode 5: Sabacc! And How to Stay Entertained when There's Literally Nothing Else to do!Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter TextOut of the speakers, a cacophony of noises spilled out. A shrill drill to his ear drums. Why anyone would find this amusing was beyond Dooku. But, per the request of his master, he sat and watched every brain-dead episode of 'Creche to Command'. He was trying to see what his master was so worried about.

As one of the clones pranced around the room, shouting in broken and poorly pronounced mando'a, he struggled to see anything more than a series so void of intelligence, only the most idiotic of creatures would find any source of amusement in the videos.

The playlist finished. His brow furrowed.

"So?" Lord Sidious prompted. Rather rudely and sharply, he might add.

He still struggled to see what the big deal was. And he was thankful Qui-gon had never had access to such a series. He had been difficult enough to manage as is. Something like this would have only given him more ideas.

He sighed and tossed the datapad down on the desk. "So what?" he asked, looking towards Lord Sidious' hologram.

"What do you think?" he hissed.

He decided it was best to be honest. Maybe that would get him out of this conversation faster so he could get back to work. "It appears to be nothing more than a mindless holonet series. An exercise in buffoonery that serves only to distract the forces. I will say, based on what I am seeing here, I am ashamed my apprentice has struggled so much with killing these clones. They do not seem to be the advanced warriors we were promised from the Kaminoans."

"You may see it as a frivolous, innocent series. But it gained an ally with Jonda."

Ah, yes. He had heard about that. A loss, to be sure. Jonda's strategic position and natural resources would give the Republic a leg up. The war tilted ever so slightly in their favor. But what was Lord Sidious expecting, sending all those Jedi and Senators there? Mistress Ja'ani was still allowing them to come. Any separatist attempt to contact them were chased off with weapons. It was clear who she had a preference towards. Eventually, she would have joined the Republic.

"War is unpredictable. There is no way of knowing if Jonda joined because of this series, or because of some other force. Perhaps she was already planning on joining but this was simply the thing that tipped her hand."

"That's not good enough!" Lord Sidious shouted. He slammed his hands on something, probably his desk.

Dooku hoped he was not currently in the senate building having this conversation. All those internsand senators and shock troopers wandering around could overhear them and figure out their plans. He was not convinced the inhibitor chips were all the Kaminoans promised and he did not like to put his faith in a group of people so clearly enamored with their Jedi.

"I know all the key players in this war," Lord Sidious continued. "I know the sides. I know the leaders. I see every move everyone is going to make. I have it all planned out who needs to be where and at what time. War is unpredictable, I understand! I cannot control the losses and sometimes even the victories. But I can control the major outcomes. This series was never part of the plan. It was never supposed to be a tool. But now it's here and despite my best efforts, I cannot gain control of it. Not without arousing suspicion. It's dangerous."

Dooku managed not to roll his eyes. He rather thought this was an overreaction. "Even if you're manipulating both sides, there are other factors that will be outside of your control. If you had known about this abhorrent series, would you have ever predicted the clones would use it to win over Jonda's people? Would you have ever guessed something this ridiculous would be a valuable asset to the Republic? I would not have. It is a silly, little series by a silly, little girl."

"It feels bigger than that. More powerful." Lord Sidious shook his head. "Tell me you feel it too. In the Force."

Dooku reached out to try and feel what his master felt. There was… something there. A small bit of light that had not been there before. Glimmering in the distance. Like hope. For a brief moment, Dooku was blinded by it. Drawn to it. It reminded him of Qui-gon. It reminded him of Yaddle, of what she had said to him in the hangar.

For a brief moment, he had hope.

He snuffed it out quickly and returned to the topic at hand. He had made his choice. Sealed his fate. The Jedi were serving a corrupt system that only sought to line the pockets of rich and greedy senators. The separatists were no better but at least they were open about it. That light meant nothing.

War was hell.

Eventually, that light would get snuffed out as everyone that girl loved died horrible deaths.

It might even help them in their cause, in the long run. The brighter they were, the harder they fell to the Dark Side.

"Why would you think that?" he asked. He hoped Lord Sidious did not sense his brief temptation back to the light. "What about its appeal makes you so cautious?"

"That's the thing," Lord Sidious growled, "I don't know. I asked my intern to gain some insight."

"And?"

"She got this dimwitted, dreamy look in her eyes and said 'Jesse is handsome'." He scoffed and truly looked disgusted at the admission.

"Don't they all look the same? Which one is Jesse?"

"I don't know!" He snapped. "But, Amidala's intern overheard and decided to barge into my office to tell me that no, Jesse wasn't the hot one. Echo was."

"Okay?"

"And before I knew it, I had about sixty Senate interns in my office arguing over which clone was the hottest!"

"Did they come to a consensus?"

"No. They did not. At one point, Chuchi overhead and decided to chime in."

"Who did she find attractive?" It was fascinating that so many people had such strong opinions over a group of men that were bred to all be the same. It would be like having a favorite droid.

"She said 'Commander Fox was rather nice to look at'. Disgusting." He did look like he was going to vomit at those words.

"Has Commander Fox even been in one of these episodes?"

"I don't know! I sure as hell can't tell them apart. All I know is now all the Senate interns are arguing over which clone is the most attractive. They have a poll going and everything."

"At least we know that for the 18- to 26-year-old demographic the draw seems to be the general attractiveness of the troops. I suppose you could ask the Kaminoans to make them a bit less appealing or something."

"That's not going to make a difference now!"

Dooku looked back at the datapad on his desk. Another playlist had started. This one was titled 'Best of the GAR'. These were much shorter episodes and seemed to be taken primarily during battle with the body cams of the clones. He winced as he watched one clone grab a metal pipe and swing it at the head of a tactical droid. The hit knocked it clean off and into the cameraman, who fell back on the dirt from the force. His armor was painted green.

He tapped his fingers on the desk, still struggling to see what Lord Sidious saw in this series. From what he could tell, there was no ill intent or strategy behind these episodes. They were unfocused drivel that devolved into chaos not long after they started. The camera they were using wasn't even of high quality. He expected this to be a novelty for the citizens of the Republic. One that would wear off soon as taxes were raised and the war continued. And then things would go back to normal.

"My lord," he started slowly, picking his words wisely so as to not anger his master any more than he already was, "I assure you this series will not cause us to fail in our mission. The little girl is no threat to us. My apprentice tells me she is over-confident. Cocky. Sloppy. There is a good chance she'll die in her next battle."

"She survived in a fight against Grievous."

"Luck was on her side that day. But good luck runs out eventually without a plan to bolster it."

Lord Sidious snarled.

"All I'm saying is that she does not appear to be a brilliant tactician. Nor does she appear to have any indication that you are a Sith and is using this episode to undermine your authority and your planning. Therefore, this series has no reason to be part of the war effort. Let her have her fun. After Order 66 is executed, she'll see where the loyalty of her brothers truly lies. And she will suffer for it."

"Very well." Lord Sidious still did not look convinced. "I want to keep an eye on this series for now. Something is happening with the Force. It's small now, but even the smallest ripples can create tidal waves. I want to stop that from happening."

Dooku bowed. "As you wish, my lord."

Lord Sidious' image disappeared and he was left alone once more. He glanced back down at the datapad. Now, a clone was walking away from a tank as it exploded. The fireball lit up against the sky. How he wasn't thrown to the ground from the shockwave was beyond him.

"It's a silly little series from a silly little girl. There's nothing we need to worry about," he assured himself.

Now, then, he had actual work to do.

*****

Ponds absolutely hated coming to the Corrie base. Maybe that was because he had never come down here for fun or a nice chat. No, he only ever came down here when his men got drunk off their shebs'eand were thrown into Fox's drunk tank. And, because the man never slept, he always called Ponds as soon as it happened. It didn't matter if it was two in the morning or if he had an important meeting with the general. In fact, Fox seemed to have a particular knack for calling him at the most inopportune times. He would have thought Fox was doing it to mess with him. But that was giving him too much credit.

Fox didn't do anything for fun and a 'vacation' to him meant 'more than thirty minutes of sleep in one sitting'. The man was absolutely insane and not fun to deal with. Yet another reason Ponds hated coming down here.

But he was here now. Cody's orders. Someone had to get Fox in the loop now that Palpatine found out. Sadly, that person was Ponds.

At least no one had gotten arrested this time.

Yet.

He stood outside the entrance longer than he cared to admit. Maybe he could just lie to Cody about talking to Fox and then go back to his barracks where he could get some much-needed rest.

No, that wouldn't work. Cody could sniff out a lie from the other end of the galaxy. It was an annoying trait.

"Why did it have to be me?" he groaned.

A few Corries were milling about around the entrance, starting to take notice of his loitering. He might as well get this over with. He'd prefer to be arrested because he was speaking blasphemy against the Chancellor, not because he was loitering outside the base.

He stepped through the door and marched to the front desk. A trooper named Sol didn't even look up as he thrust a datapad in his direction.

"Fill this out and wait here while we collect your troops," he said, eyes glued to something that decidedly did not look like work.

Ponds took the datapad and tossed it back on the desk. "I'm not here to bail people out. I'm here to talk to Fox. Is he in?"

Sol looked up at him. "He's always in."

"I know. But is he in a meeting? Or sleeping?"

Fox would kill him if Ponds were to interrupt him during a meeting. The rest of his men would kill Ponds if he were to interrupt Fox while he was sleeping.

"Um…" Sol looked conflicted. "I don't think he's in a meeting. But I would come back later. He's kind of busy."

Understatement of the century. Ponds rolled his eyes. He should probably stop hanging out with Wolffe so much before that became a habit.

"He's always busy. I'll see myself to his office."

In one smooth move, he hopped over the desk and marched towards the back.

Sol made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, wide-eyed and once more conflicted over what to do. Stay at his post, or try and stop Ponds from distracting Fox.

In the end, he seemed to favor stopping Ponds as a chair clattered to the ground and he called, "Sir, you can't go back there!"

"I am a commander. I can and will speak with Commander Fox. The matter is urgent." He used his best 'I'm a commander do as I say or else you'll be cleaning carbon scorching off the hulls of ships for the next eight months' voice.

It did not seem to deter Sol. "Yeah, I know, sir. But… the commander is really busy right now. We've been tasked with dealing with a serial killer in the lower town. I think Senator Amidala has eight hits out on her today—"

"Nine!" Another trooper called. "New one just got called in."

"Yeah, nine hits out on her. Jonda's in the process of joining the Republic so that's a shit load of paperwork that we have to deal with for some reason. There was an escape attempt at the prison yesterday. Palpatine's been more pissed off than usual—"

Ponds turned a corner, kind of enjoying the fact that Sol was having to jog to keep up with him. "All things he normally has to deal with. This is important and I won't be long."

"Archer, help!" Sol hissed. "The commander is going to kill us if we let him in there."

Ponds rolled his eyes and shook his head. But could anyone blame him? Corries could be so dramatic.

"He's a commander, though. Can we do that?" Archer asked.

He stopped in front of the door and turned to face the two troopers. "Commander Cody asked me to speak to Commander Fox himself. I'll be in and out. There's no need to freak out and panic. Maybe it'll even put him to sleep."

"Sir, please," Sol begged one last time.

It was no use. Ponds would not leave here without at least trying to talk to Fox. And, if he did kick him out (which he would) then that would be Cody's problem, and he could try his luck.

He didn't even bother to knock as he stepped inside. "Fox, I need to talk to you."

He kicked scattered caf cups and some sort of energy drinks nicknamed 'chargers' out of the way. Fox was at his desk, a stack of datapads almost reached the ceiling and several more were stacked on the floor.

He took one look at Ponds and snarled, "Get out."

"I'm sorry, sir. We tried to tell him that you were busy—"

Ponds rolled his eyes and shut the door in Archer's face. Yeah, he definitely needed to stop hanging out with Wolffe.

"Ponds, I'm busy. I don't have time to deal with whatever it is the rest of you idiots are up to."

"I'm not getting out until you listen to what I have to say. It's important."

"Everything is important!"

"It's about Palpatine and the GAR."

Fox threw his hands in the air. "Yeah, of course, it is. Everything is about Palpatine and the GAR because that's our whole existence. War, and Palpatine making our lives miserable. I know you lot seem to think I do nothing but twiddle my thumbs and help old ladies cross the street, but I do actually have a job."

Ponds winced at the accusation. There was a pretty wide divide between the Corries and the rest of the troopers. It was like they operated in two different worlds.

"I don't think you do nothing all day. Hell, Fox, the amount of caffeine in this room alone is proof enough that you work hard. And that your heart rate is probably way too high. But this is serious and you need to be in the loop. Cody's freaking out and Rex might be thinking of committing treason. Do you even know what's going on with the holonet right now? Have you even heard of—"

"Nope." Fox stood up and shoved Ponds towards the door. "No. No. No. No. No. I am not getting caught up in whatever it is you're doing. The more I know, the more trouble everyone will be in when this inevitably comes crashing down. It's Cody's job to make sure Rex stays in line. Not mine."

Ponds dug his heels in but knew he was losing the battle. "If you would just listen for five minutes—"

"Five minutes with you mean five more hours of work for me. I don't have five hours, Ponds. I'm not listening. If you lot are planning on overthrowing the government, you're going to have to do that on your own time."

"That's not what this is!"

"Then it really does not concern me." Fox won the battle and shoved him out the door. "If he comes back in here, you have my full permission to stun him and throw him in the drunk tank until his general comes to pick him up. Is that clear?" Fox didn't wait for an answer before shutting the door on Ponds' back.

He stumbled forward and turned back to glare at it.

"Um…" Sol glanced at Archer who seemed unsure of what to do.

Ponds sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was not getting General Windu involved in this.

"It's fine, boys. I'm on my way out." He went to do just that when a thought occurred to him. Fox might be overworked and unable to enjoy even a simple holonet series, but the rest of the Corries might not be.

"You boys ever watch 'Creche to Command'?"

"Yeah, of course, we do," Archer scoffed. "Who doesn't?"

"Commander Fox," Sol said.

"Oh. Right. But the rest of us do! And the 'Best of the GAR' shorts. Commander Wolffe hasn't accepted any of our submissions yet, though."

"You're not alone in that." Ponds grumbled.

Wolffe seemed to delight in being a gatekeeper for what counted as 'cool battle moments to inspire the troops, spark fear into the hearts of Seppies, and make the neverd'e love us even more'. It annoyed Ponds to no end.

"Do Thire, Stone, and Thorn know about it?"

"Yes, sir," Sol replied. "They don't watch every episode but they do know of its existence."

Cody was just going to have to accept that answer. "Good. Tell them Palpatine wanted to shut it down and then when he was told no, he wanted to turn it over to the Senate for full control. We would appreciate it if you guys could keep an eye on him. Maybe alert Commander Cody or Captain Rex if he tries something else. Okay?"

They saluted. "Yes, sir."

"And, if you can get Fox to sit still for ten seconds, fill him in on what's going on."

"With all due respect, sir," Sol started cautiously, " why are you so concerned with Chancellor Palpatine?"

Ponds' eyes flickered up to a camera on the wall. Recording everything. Reporting back. Gathering evidence.

"We just know that aruetiise can sometimes be confused with the trooper culture." He said, hoping that was vague enough that anyone trying to gather evidence wouldn't think twice about it.

"Right," Archer said. He didn't sound convinced by Ponds' explanation.

He should get out of here. "Alright. I'm not going to bother you, boys, anymore. Good luck on that serial killer or whatever it is you're chasing."

They saluted him once more as he walked towards the front. He headed back to the barracks. Not to sleep though. Oh no, his trek around Coruscant was not complete just yet. But, he needed some unmarked armor for where he was headed next.

Cody wanted a report. But what they were talking about couldn't be discussed over GAR-issued equipment.

Everything was recorded and filed away. Every single chat log. Every single holotransmission. Every single report. All of it. No one was sitting at a desk monitoring every single thing that had ever been uploaded on the GAR network. That would be madness. But it was all recorded. Just in case something happened and evidence needed to be gathered. Or just in case a random inspection was called for to search for evidence of a mounting insurrection. Or even just to check and make sure no one was selling death powder to the troops.

All this was to say that any chat that didn't feature unwavering loyalty to the Republic and its Chancellor was dangerous. Cody was right to shut down Rex's questions the second they appeared in the logs. If anyone got a hold of it and saw that Rex so much as hinted that Palpatine may not be the best Chancellor in the galaxy, he could be accused of treason, arrested, and decommissioned.

This was one of the reasons Ponds wished Cody would stop this hyper fixation of Palpatine's reaction to a holonet series! Palpatine was incapable of having fun! And a sense of humor! And being personable, especially towards the younger generation! He should leave it alone and let Palpatine continue to be a stick in the mud.

But he wasn't.

Which was why Ponds was currently trekking his shebs through Coruscant in unmarked armor to access one of the only places he could for sure know he wouldn't be listened in on. When everything you ever said was monitored in case of treason, you had to get pretty creative when it came to finding some privacy for conversations.

Stepping into 79's, he brushed past a horde of troopers who would probably be meeting Fox very soon and pushed his way up to the bar. Hopefully, no one recognized him. There were a few benefits to sharing a face and voice with thousands upon thousands of men all over the galaxy. It made it very easy to blend in.

"I'd like a 97 on the rocks," he said, sliding a handful of credits to him.

The bartender nodded and gestured for him to follow. They made their way through the crowd and into a small back room. It was sparsely furnished with only one ancient, aging, barely working holoprojector on a dingy, run-down table that had uneven legs. The room itself was disgusting and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since Coruscant was founded.

He wrinkled his nose as some rat-like creature scurried across the floor. There should be two rooms for clandestine calls. One for troopers who wanted to call secret lovers, and another for commanders who needed to discuss possible treason.

Beggars couldn't be choosers, though and he did his best to ignore the state of the room.

"Twenty minutes," the bartender said.

Ponds nodded and shot Cody a coded message to let him know he was ready to talk. He better be available. Ponds was not dragging his ass back down here and spending even more credits to talk to Cody at another time. If he wasn't available, Cody would just have to deal with it.

The holoprojector lit up. Cody had his helmet tucked under his arm and looked like he had just finished a battle. "I'm guessing you didn't have any luck?"

"Where are you calling from? Not on a GAR network, right?"

"Relax, vod. We're planetside right now. I'm using a neverd network and a holoprojector I had Racer pry off a tactical droid."

Ponds shook his head. "Telling me to 'calm down' is rich coming from you. You're so worked up about Palpatine plotting something that you're acting like we're planning to overthrow the government. It's a holonet series. Relax."

"Did you get Fox up to speed or not?"

"No, I didn't. He threatened to stun me and throw me in the drunk tank if I tried talking to him again. Seriously, Cody, what are you so worried about? What about this situation has you so on edge? Palpatine tried to take over the series and turn it into propaganda. That's par for the course with that man."

"Only after he tried to shut it down." He said.

He took a deep breath. Cody was definitely one of their more high-strung brothers and it got on Ponds' nerves sometimes.

"Vod," he started.

"It's weird that his first reaction was to shut down a series that helped us gain an ally," Cody cut him off before he could speak. "And an ally we desperately needed. If he had started with the propaganda, I wouldn't be suspicious. But Rex is right. Why would he try to shut down something that's, at best, helping us with the war? And, at worst, something that's just for fun?"

"What are you trying to say? Do you think Palpatine is some separatist sympathizer? A traitor leaking information to our enemies?"

"Maybe. Come on, Ponds. This war, it feels like no matter what we do, we never make any progress. Every win is countered with a loss. Intel is rarely right. We suffer high casualties when we do win. Massive pieces of information are missing. We're the best-trained fighters in the galaxy but we keep losing key planets or drawing stalemates at others."

"Because we're fighting a war, Cody. And while I haven't fought in any other wars before, I'm pretty sure it's not easy to win one. So, pieces of intel are missing? That seems logical to me considering we piece it together from transmissions, spies, and informants. Wins are countered with losses? Yeah, that makes sense. It's not like the separatists are poorly funded. They've got some massive firepower behind them."

"You fought their clankers. They're useless. Stupid! We should easily be able to wipe the floor with them," he countered.

"They also are produced en masse. Sometimes, war is just a numbers game. It's not about strategies, it's about who has the most bodies to throw at the enemies."

"What is the plan for troopers after we win the war? Why isn't the Senate discussing what they want done with us?"

"Because half of them don't see us as human. They'll probably have mass decommissioning. Cody, please, this isn't some conspiracy. This is life."

"Something else is going on here," Cody urged, refusing to back down.

"No. Why would Palpatine be a separatist? And why would he be such a piss-poor spy? He literally leads the Galactic Republic. What could he possibly gain by having this war in the first place? Spending all this time and money and energy while he plays both sides?"

"Maybe he has a different goal."

He let out a long suffering groan "Oh, come on. You can't seriously believe that 'shadow leader' rumor all the shinies keep yammering on about."

"It's an explanation."

"It's a ghost story to try and make sense of a universe where nothing makes sense. The idea that Palpatine is fighting some third, secret war and we're all just pawns, including the separatists, is too complicated. The simplest explanation is that he's a dick who hates that clone troopers are shown having fun and bonding with their commanders. He tried to shut it down because, like I stated before, and literally every trooper knows, he's a dick."

Cody was not convinced and Ponds was starting to get a headache.

"Thire, Stone, and Thorn all know and they'll keep an eye on the bastard," he relented. "Vod, gedet'ye, don't go looking for conspiracy theories where they don't exist. If anyone were to find out you've been thinking shit like this…"

This got Cody to deflate ever so slightly. He massaged his brow. "Maybe you're right. I just… in my gut, I feel like something here isn't right. Something here isn't adding up. It's driving me mad."

He understood what he was talking about. Sometimes, when it was quiet and he had trouble sleeping, something settled in his bones. Thoughts and questions swirled in his head until he felt dizzy trying to find explanations for puzzles he wasn't supposed to be solving.

Something here isn't right. That's what his mind would scream at him as he desperately pushed those thoughts away.

"I think you're just tired." Maybe he meant Cody. Maybe he meant himself. It didn't matter. They were all tired. "Go. Finish out your campaign. Get some rest with the 501st for a bit. I promise, if something is up, we'll figure it out and we'll deal with it."

He nodded. "You're right. Thanks for trying, Ponds."

The holoprojector flickered off. Ponds was left alone in the dingy room in the back of a dingy bar, with nothing but his thoughts and a growing headache for company.

There was a pounding on the right side of his brain towards the front. He hissed and pressed his hand to it. He'd have to have one of his medics take a look at that. They had scanned his brain in the past but hadn't found anything. The headaches were frequent though. Frequent and annoying.

He rubbed at his forehead and stepped back out into the main area, leaving the bar before anyone could recognize him.

He hoped Cody was wrong. He prayed Cody was wrong. Because if he wasn't, if something else was going on here, if Palpatine had some other plans for them, that could only mean trouble. And if Palpatine really had the power and influence to pull off what Cody was suggesting he could pull off, that made Ponds very, very afraid.

*****

"There's more clankers incoming!" Gree shouted over the sounds of blaster fire.

Barriss was quick to follow his gaze to the opposite end of the canyon they were currently pinned in. It was supposed to be a pretty easy sweep of the canyon to see if any other droids had survived their initial assault. Droids had survived their initial assault. A whole army of them, in fact. There had to be double what the intel originally stated. They had called her master for backup almost as soon as they realized there was a whole other battalion's worth still on the planet. However, they weren't the only ones that had stumbled upon more enemies. Master Unduli had her own army she needed to defeat so they were on their own for now.

The team was holding their own against the droids that kept spilling into the canyon, but maker there was no end to them.

"How many are there?" Blackout shouted. He scrambled out into the open for a brief second. Shots nipped at his heels before he dove behind a small pile of rocks, popping up and firing at the enemies. Barriss was relieved when he was not injured. Sometimes these troopers could be so reckless!

Gree said they were lucky. Apparently, Ahsoka's troopers were even worse when it came to throwing themselves into dangerous situations.

"I need to get over to the mouth," Barriss said, turning to Gree. She felt useless crouching behind rocks with Gree. She still had her lightsaber, but that required her to be out in the open to deflect back the shots. Maybe she should take up Gree's offer to learn how to use a blaster.

Though, the use of a blaster felt very un-Jedi-like. Jedi used lightsabers. An elegant weapon meant to keep peace, not to prolong war. Though that also required her to be out in the open and up close with the very things trying to kill her and her men.

"There's too many," Gree said.

"Precisely. Droids are slow to turn. If I can just get behind them I can cut them down before they even know what's happening and give us a chance of getting out of this alive."

At one point, winning had been the ultimate goal. She had lost too many men today for that to be a goal any longer. Now, she just wished to keep those who were still breathing, alive.

"I can move along the cliff sides and get behind them."

"Sir, there could be even more around the corner, though. You'll be caught in the middle."

Why did troopers insist on arguing with her every time she proposed something? They never argued with Master Unduli.

"We are suffering heavy casualties and we are pinned down. I am willing to take that risk."

Gree hesitated.

"Either I die here cowering behind rocks, or I die at least trying to cut down their numbers. I know which one I'd rather do. And I am not asking for permission. I am telling you so you can give me cover."

Gree sighed, muttered a string of what she assumed to be curses in Mando'a (she really needed to ask Ahsoka what they meant), and then nodded. "Fine. Only because you're stubborn. Blackout, Light, Taze," he shouted, "get ready to direct those clankers' blaster fire at you. The Commander needs some cover."

"Copy that, sir!" Taze replied.

He turned back to Barriss. "On three. One. Two—"

He didn't get to three. In the corner of her eye, she saw a tank round the corner. She barely had enough time to react, throwing both herself and Gree out of its range. They were lucky to avoid getting blasted to pieces.

Their luck only went so far. Or, rather, her luck only went so far. The combination of the shock wave, the windy nature of the planet, and the way she fell knocked her head covering off. She knew it was off because she could feel the wind in her ears. Her head covering… she needed it! It had to stay on at all times. She needed… where was it?

She felt the dirt beneath her palms and the wind in her ears. Completely froze on her hands and knees as her mind descended into shock.

"Dar'beskaryc!" someone shouted.

Then, as quickly as her head covering had flown off, something slammed over her head, covering her face completely. The force it had knocked into her and rattled her brain. For a second, she feared in her frozen horror, a ton of rocks had crumbled on her.

But that wasn't what had happened.

What had happened?

"Don't worry, commander. Didn't see nothing." Someone rambled, right beside her. "Neither did the other boys. Too busy trying to take out the tank. Soon as I saw it shift, I closed my eyes. Surprised I got it on your head so easily. That's aim for you, I guess. Practice and whatnot. Come on back to us. No need to panic. We still got a battle to win."

Barriss blinked several times. She brought her fingertips up to whatever was covering her head. The pads met hard plastoid.

She looked over at Gree, still numb from shock. Shock gave way to panic when she saw Gree no longer had his helmet on. She could see his face, completely unmasked and exposed to the elements.

"Come on, kid. I know this is a big deal for you so I'm trying not to rush, but we do kind of need to keep fighting," Gree urged once more. He still wasn't looking at her; focused completely on firing at the droids.

"This is your helmet," she said, finally realizing what was on her head. It was too big for her, wobbling precariously as she moved to look around. The HUD was odd to look through. There was a lot of information flying across her eyes. Was this how Gree saw every battle? How did he focus on anything?

"Yep. Hope it's not too sweaty in there. Probably would have been better if you needed to wear it at the start of the battle."

"You need your helmet! It protects your head!" Despite her protests, she made no move to pull it off. She couldn't see her head covering anywhere. And she shivered at the thought of fighting with nothing covering her head.

"I'll be fine. Especially if you take out that tank." He looked at her and grinned. "Come on, commander. Let's finish this fight. Alright?"

She knew he was right. The faster she took out that tank, the less danger Gree and the others were in. She took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Grabbing her lightsaber, she readied herself for the final push. "Same plan as before?"

"You know it. I'm still hesitant, but you're right. We don't have another choice. The boys have done a good job distracting them. You're good to go, sir."

She nodded. The helmet wobbled on her head, forcing her to use her hand to tilt it back up so she could see. That was going to be annoying to deal with.

She jumped up onto the cliff wall, lightsaber drawn as soon as she got into position. She leaped down on the tank, slicing through the barrel and sending it veering into another cluster of droids. Once that was completed, she hopped from droid to droid. Slicing through them with ease. They reacted just as she anticipated they would, struggling to turn and follow her. Sometimes, when they did turn, they didn't stop firing, taking out their own comrades in the process and making her job much easier.

She would have gotten the job done faster, but this blasted helmet made it difficult to fight with. It kept wobbling all over the place, creating blind spots she wasn't used to dealing with. Sometimes, she'd turn her head and the helmet wouldn't turn with her! And, when it wasn't wobbling to and fro, the information scrolling across the display was just as distracting. It kept locking onto droids as if she were aiming a blaster and feeding her information she had no use for. It was a miracle Gree didn't walk out of every battle with a massive headache. And it just further solidified her decision to never wear a helmet or armor.

She powered through it and made a note to not mention any of this to Gree. He had made himself vulnerable for her sake and she was not about to let it go to waste or react in any manner other than gratitude.

She sliced through the last droid and the sounds of blaster fire ceased.

"Good work, sir," Gree said, trotting up to her.

The rest of the men all but collapsed on the ground, panting from the long and hard battle.

"Taze, anything else showing up on the scanners?"

Taze groaned and lifted a scanner in the air. "No, sir. I think we're good."

"Alright. If you boys are all uninjured, try and see what data you can strip from the clankers. I want to know why they didn't show up on our scanners. I'll take the commander to the med station and get her situated."

"Yes, sir," Light saluted him and gathered up the remaining troopers to dig through the pile of scrap Barriss had left during her assault.

"Would you like this back?" she asked. "I can rip off a piece of my clothing and—"

Gree put a heavy hand on top of her head. "Oh no, you don't. Keep that thing on until we get to Spine."

"But—"

"We're not being shot at so it's fine. Besides, now I have an excuse to ignore whoever is bothering me on the comms." He grinned.

She decided not to argue. There was no reason to and she appreciated not having to rip her dress apart to create a makeshift head covering.

They made their way to the other end of the canyon where their med tents had been set up. The closer she got, the more troopers there were. These were all her men and she trusted them, but now that she had Gree's helmet on, she couldn't help but feel exposed. Possibly even more so than if she didn't have her head covering on.

The feeling caused her stomach to twist and turn in all manner of ways. She had fallen behind Gree, cowering and hiding behind him like a child. Her Head ducked as if that would stop people from realizing what she had on her head. Gree made no mention of it and led her through the mess of tents and troopers receiving medical care.

She braced herself for the inevitable comments and stares. What would they say? Would they be curious? Or would they scoff at the fact that she apparently could not function without a piece of cloth on her head? Would they poke fun at Gree? Or would they simply roll their eyes when they saw her?

Sometimes mean comments and stares happened back at the temple. When she was younger, other children would constantly ask her why she covered up. They teased her constantly and a few of them even tried to pull it off when she was least expecting it. Thankfully, the Creche Masters did not put up with that nonsense and punished any children that tried such a thing.

They couldn't stop the stares, though.

And the whispers.

She feared the day she'd be assigned to a Jedi master who didn't understand how important it was to keep her head covered. The relief she felt when Master Unduli introduced herself as her master was staggering. That feeling quickly went away when she met hundreds of human men who probably didn't know the first thing about her culture or her biology. They never made any comments, but she assumed that was because their either respected Master Unduli too much to make a comment, or they didn't care.

She convinced herself that these differences would never become a problem. They'd never have to be addressed. She'd never have to worry because she'd never lose her head covering.

Except she was wearing Gree's helmet. She had worn it during a battle. She had yet to take it off. Remarks should have been made! Men should be staring at her like she had grown an extra head! Why was no one commenting on this?

"Gotcha another patient, Spine," Gree said as they entered the furthest tent.

This one was suspiciously lacking in injured troopers. Now that Barriss thought about it, she and Master Unduli were often placed in tents that were empty or nearly so. In the last episode of 'Creche to Command' Ahsoka's medic, Kix, had made a comment about how they had a special protocol for her. She hadn't thought much about it at the time. It was getting harder to ignore now.

Spine looked up. "Ah, nice to see you again, commanders. Follow me." He motioned for them to go even further back and pulled up a curtain that completely blocked Barriss from the outside.

"Hang on, let me just scan you to make sure you're not dying." He pulled out a scanner and ran it over Gree, fiddled with it a bit, and then ran it over Barriss. "Right. Mild scratches and burns. No concussion. Congratulations, neither of you are dying. Which means Green has officially knocked Nova off as having the lowest number of injured troopers for the month."

"Finally!" Jester called from somewhere else in the tent. "Those bastards have been hogging that top spot for six months now."

"You have a competition to see who has the lowest injury rates?" Barriss asked. She didn't like how her voice sounded coming out of the helmet.

Spine shrugged. "The medics have to make their fun somehow. We did talk about having a 'most injured' or 'weirdest injuries' competition. But it was decided Torrent would win every month and that wouldn't be fair. Alright, out you get, Gree. But don't go far. I want to put some bacta on that arm of yours."

"Yes, sir." Gree slipped out from the curtains. Barriss could feel his presence nearby, lingering.

"He's only being so cooperative because he's afraid Kix will tell me how to make a tranq blaster." Spine smiled at her.

"It's a valid fear!" Gree cried.

Spin chuckled but made no move to deny it. "Alright, Commander, you know the drill. Alright if I take off the helmet?"

He always asked for permission, even though she had never denied him. This time, she did hesitate, still feeling exposed and vulnerable with the helmet on. She swallowed those emotions down and nodded, hands gripping the sides of the medical cot as he gently lifted it off her head.

Spine was quick to start his work. He rubbed some bacta gel on cuts that had come about when she had been thrown to the ground.

"How often do I have to tell you not to stand near explosions?" He clicked his tongue.

"I did attempt to move myself and Gree out of the range as soon as I realized." She grumbled.

"Alright. I'll let it pass this time." He reached behind him into a field kit, pulling out a black cloth. "Now that your head's all done, let's get you situated. Need any help putting this on?"

He held out the black cloth and she stared at it. Was that what she thought it was?

"Why do you have a head covering in your field kit?" she asked.

"In case something like this happens." Spine replied. "All the medics have one. And, if you ever are with another squad, we make sure their medics are debriefed and have extras as well."

She took the head covering in her hands. It was softer and thinner than what she usually wore, but it would do in a pinch. She pulled it on. The weight settled on her head and calmed her nerves. "I didn't know you were tracking that."

Spine scoffed. "Please, it's necessary to you so it's necessary to us. Be warned, though, Stix is going to expect compliments. He's the one that sewed them all up."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Of course, he made us a couple hundred. But, only a dozen or so are useful. His sewing skills are… subpar. He's getting better though. Goal's to have one on every trooper in the next month. Medics get priority, though."

She ran her fingers along the material. "Well, thank you. You didn't have to."

"No problem, sir. Gree, get your shebs in here. I was serious about the bacta."

Gree let out some difficult-to-hear grumbles and stepped in. He smiled at her. "All good?"

"Yes, thank you for your quick action." She handed him back his helmet.

"No need to mention it. We've been running drills on this very scenario after you joined us. Just in case, you know?" He hissed as Spine slapped a bacta patch on his arm. "Do you have to be so rough?"

"Yes. Heals it faster."

"I don't think that's true."

"Are you a medic?"

Gree glared at him.

"Then don't argue with me."

As much as Barriss enjoyed watching the two bicker and poke at each other, she still had questions she wanted answers to.

Biting her lip, she looked down at her hands and asked in a quiet voice, "What does Dar'beskarycmean?"

She had never heard him shout that before. Nor had she heard any other trooper shout that.

"Hmm? Oh, it means 'no longer armored'," Gree explained. "Quick way to tell the men that your head stuff is off and they need to look away. If they can. You know? Living is more important but we're going to try our best."

An emotion twisted its way into her heart as the full picture revealed itself. They were prepared for this. They had practiced this. They had a protocol for this. They had special materials in their field kits for this.

All for her?

"Why?" she asked. She did not mean to speak it out loud.

Gree looked taken aback. "Cause you're one of us. We look out for our own."

He sounded so sure of this. He felt sure of this. It wasn't even a question in his mind. The emotion twisted itself even more.

"Thank you, commander," she choked out. She needed to get out of there before they realized her mind was spinning and whole waves of emotions were crashing through her.

"No problem," Gree said. "You should probably go call the general and let her know we're done here. See if she needs any help."

"Right. Of course. Thank you, Spine. Thank you, commander." She hopped off the cot and practically ran outside. Once more, no one made any comments. Not even Stix. He only beamed when she thanked him for his work.

She was grateful her conversation with Master Unduli was over the holoprojector. She only half paid attention and her mind kept wandering to what had happened on the field. Thankfully, Master Unduli did not notice or comment on her state. Perhaps she thought Barriss was distracted because the adrenaline was still draining from her system after a hard-fought battle.

She needed to know what to do about these emotions. The pressure in her chest was building and she feared it would break her ribcage. Perhaps she should talk to her master? Something about that suggestion made her wince. Talking to her master often required her to have a certain amount of decorum in her speech. She chose her words carefully and worried about making a mistake.

Maybe she was making a big deal out of this. Maybe she needed to just let it go and accept that the troopers cared about her and she cared about them and everything was fine.

Her mind kept wandering back to the moment she realized Gree had taken off his helmet and put it on her. Her chest twisted again.

"A distraction is what I need," she said, pulling out a datapad and scrolling through the holonet.

It appeared Ahsoka had uploaded another video on 'Creche to Command'. A perfect distraction! She clicked play. As soon as the video started, a thought came to her. She could talk to Ahsoka!

After all, if anyone knew what it was like to have troopers care deeply about you, it'd be her. Even when they first met, she felt the troopers' attachment to her and Ahsoka's attachment to them. At the time, she felt angry that Ahsoka was disregarding what it meant to be a Jedi so flagrantly. That anger faded and twisted into what she truly felt: jealousy. She was jealous Ahsoka could be so open with the troopers. She was jealous she had a string of men visit her after they had been pulled from the rubble of the factory, and then again at the med bay after the brain worm incident. She was jealous that they had inside jokes and that Ahsoka could speak to them in Mando'a.

Barriss was so lonely sometimes and she wished she had Ahsoka's relationship with the troopers. She struggled to engage with them, though. She worried it was too late. They had known her as their stiff and distant commander. Any attempts to forge a friendship would likely be awkward.

Or so she thought.

Because, apparently, while she was trying to maintain the relationship she had established between herself and the troopers, the troopers were having none of it. They were forging their own relationship with her. And she was completely unaware!

But now she wasn't.

In an instant, everything had changed. She felt both giddy and scared at the prospect.

"Yes, I need to call Ahsoka. She'll know what to do," she said. But first, to finish this video.

*****

Sabacc! And How to Stay Entertained when There's Literally Nothing Else to do!

"Hi, guys! We're still trapped in the med bay," Ahsoka said.

"You're not trapped, you're healing!" Kix shouted.

"Don't listen to him. We're prisoners," Fives moaned. "Prisoners of War."

"For the love of the Force," Kix muttered as he hauled Rex up on the bed.

"Did they try to run?" Hardcase asked. "Is that why they're tranqed?"

"Nah, we just didn't want to have to deal with them awake," Coric said as he got Anakin situated on his cot.

Hardcase shuddered. "Are all baar'ur'e ori'bescaryc? Or is it just ours?"

"Heard back from Waxer and Boil. All of them are ori'buyce, kih'kovid."

"I will keep you here longer. Don't test me, Fives," Kix growled.

"N'eparavu takisi," Fives said quickly.

"Are you guys done now?" Ahsoka asked. "I doubt our viewers want to watch you argue."

"You underestimate how entertaining we are," Fives said.

"They're laughing at you, not with you," Coric said.

"No, they're laughing at Hardcase. They're laughing with me."

"Why you—"

"Guys!" Ahsoka said though she didn't seem too bothered by the argument. "Come on, let's follow the script."

"Fine, vod'ika" Hardcase grumbled.

"Thank you. Now, since we're stuck in the med bay with nothing better to do, we decided to go over ways to keep ourselves busy when there's literally nothing else to do. And you don't want to do your temple work."

"And you don't want to fill out paperwork," Fives added.

Ahsoka laughed. "Yeah, that too. You guys should recognize these two by now. But, just in case you're new, this is Hardcase and Fives!"

"Hello once more to all you tiny, little, baby Jedi!" Hardcase beamed.

"And for all of you asking, the thing Ahsoka and Jesse did to me was stick glitter in my hair and all over my kit. I'm still trying to clean it off and I don't regret selling Ahsoka out to Kix." Fives glared at her.

She laughed. "Great segue, Fives!"

"That wasn't a segue. I'm still trying to figure out a way to get you back."

"The first way you stay entertained on long journeys is by pranking each other," Ahsoka continued. "Don't underestimate the creativity of the troopers. They can get a lot done with almost no supplies."

"Like that time we moved all the captain's stuff in his office five inches to the left." Hardcase started laughing, wiping tears from his eyes. "He kept running into stuff all day!"

"It looked like he was about to cry by the end of it," Fives added, howling with laughter.

"He did cry when he went to put his caf cup down and missed the table, spilling it all over the floor."

"Guys, he didn't cry." Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "He stared at the ground for several minutes and then said in a monotone voice, 'Maker, why have you abandoned me?'. It was great."

"Not as good as the time we tricked General Skywalker into believing Dogma could use the Force."

"That was amazing!" Ahsoka beamed. "I hid in the vents and we pre-planned out this whole routine as 'proof'."

"We started small," Hardcase continued. "Moving plates around and whatnot. The General kept denying it."

"And then," Fives slapped his knee and gasped for air. "And then Echo started levitating! General Skywalker's eyes popped out of his head! I thought he was having a stroke!"

"Truly one of the greatest," Hardcase said. "I highly recommend it to the baby Jedi out there. You can mess with a lot of heads that way."

"Moving on from pranks, another way you can, and should, spend time is sparring with the troopers." Ahsoka continued. "Yes you have your lightsaber forms that you need to practice, but learning to fight hand-to-hand like a trooper is invaluable. You really expand your knowledge and gain a whole new cache of skills you can use."

"Especially since Jedi never seem to be able to hold onto their lightsabers." Fives sent Ahsoka a pointed look.

"I hold onto my lightsaber!"

"The only reason we were near the building Hardcase was blowing up was because you lost it and needed my help to search through the rubble."

"That was one time!"

"This battle! I swear, we need to tether you and Skywalker to your lightsabers. Kenobi too. I know Commander Cody is constantly going off into the wilderness to find it whenever he drops it."

"This would all be fixed if they also had a blaster to use," Hardcase pointed out.

"For the last time, I'm not going to use a blaster."

"A vibro knife then? Or a cannon? Or a large stick?"

"Or I can just punch the droids."

There was a clattering from off-camera. "Do not! Under any circumstances! Punch. The. Droids!" Kix screeched. "I hate that Jesse did that in front of you and I have never forgiven him for doing so."

"But," Hardcase said, "Commander Cody once kicked the head off a clanker so—"

"If you kick a head off a droid I swear to the Maker I will kill you!"

"Alright, so no learning how to punch droids," Ahsoka said before Kix's blood pressure increased anymore. "But, the hand-to-hand thing still stands. Sometimes you'll be in a situation where you can't use a lightsaber. Sometimes you're undercover and someone puts you in a chokehold and you need to break out of it. Sometimes, Fives tells a group of shinies that torgrutas say hello by howling and growling at each other and you spend a week wondering why people keep growling at you and when you do figure it out, you need to wipe the floor with him."

"Ha, classic," Fives wiped a tear from his eye.

"All good points," Hardcase said. "Ask the troopers to spar. They can teach you how to punch. Kick. And, if you're assigned to Commander Wolffe, bite. And a few of the dirtier moves."

"But sometimes, you don't want to fight. You don't want to prank. You just want something mindless and easy to occupy your time." Fives pulled out a deck of cards. "As promised, Sabacc! It's a card game that is perfect for passing the time."

"Basically, you have to collect a hand with an absolute value closest to 23, but no higher," Hardcase added. "There are a couple of different versions so you'll have to see which your troops use. Especially since there are variations in the card decks. "

"You can play it with as few as two or as many as eight players," Ahsoka added. "But, talking about a card game is boring. So how about we play a round and show them how it's really done?" she grinned.

"Interesting proposition there, vod'ika," Fives grinned back. Smile as equally sharp as hers. "But how about we make this a little more interesting? What are you willing to bet?"

Ahsoka thought for a moment. "I'll do to Rex what I did to you if I lose."

"Oho," Hardcase laughed. "The captain will kill you if you dump glitter all over his kit. You know that, right?"

"I do," she said. "But I won't lose."

"Really?" Fives said. "We'll see about that. Hardcase, what's your wager?"

"Hmm," Hardcase stroked his chin. "That's a hard one. How about, if I lose, I have to do the winner's work for a day. All the cleaning duties. The inventory duties. The paperwork, within reason, of course. All of it."

"Oh, that's a good one!" Ahsoka said. "I'm definitely winning now."

"Not if I don't win first." Fives shot back. "The Captain's got me on gunship cleaning duty this week and I'd love some help, Hardcase."

"Oh, you won't win, vod. But what's yours? What is your wager?"

Fives smirked. "If I win… I'll… give Commander Cody a sappy love confession."

"In front of everyone," Hardcase added.

"And we get to write the confession," Ahsoka said.

"Hmm, I don't know about that," Fives furrowed his brow. "Yours all seem mild compared to mine."

"Fine," Ahsoka said. "I'll also dump glitter all over Cody."

"You are mad," Hardcase shook his head.

"So, what do you say? We have a bet?"

"Hmm, I don't know."

"Oh, afraid you'll lose?" She grinned at him once more.

"Oh, no I won't. I am going to see the captain and commander covered in glitter if it's the last thing I do," Fives said. He finished shuffling the cards and handed them out.

Now, it was up to fate and luck to determine the winner.

*****

Ahsoka was in her quarters, struggling with what to write when the message came in.

Barriss: Are you free for a talk?

She felt her heart skip a beat. She and Barriss did chat fairly often. It was nice to have another padawan (and another girl) to talk to. Yes, the troopers were her brothers, but they were all battle-hardened guys. Sometimes she just wanted to talk about girly things with Barriss.

So, while Ahsoka wasn't shocked to see the message come through, something about the way it was worded seemed urgent and different.

Ahsoka: Of course! Is everything okay? I'm in my quarters now.

Barriss did not respond. Instead, the holoprojector lit up with an incoming message. Rex had given it to her not long after she had joined. She never asked him where he got it from, sure he hadn't gotten it through approved means.

The fact that Barriss was calling her and not using the chat logs really made Ahsoka worried. Something had happened. She only hoped it wasn't too tragic.

She answered it immediately. "Barriss, are you okay? Did something happen? Is Gree okay?"

Barriss bit her lip and glanced around as if she didn't want to be heard. "Commander Gree is fine."

"Another trooper, then?"

She didn't answer right away. Ashoka felt her heartrate skyrocket as all the worst possible scenarios ran through her head. Should she call Anakin? Rex? Cody? Master Unduli?

No, she should wait until Barriss told her what was going on, and then she could panic.

"Please, what is it? You can talk to me, I promise."

Barriss took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well. I… um… that is to say… do you…"

She was torn between letting her stutter it out or start asking leading questions. She wasn't exactly in this position very often. Usually, she was the one stuttering and tripping over her words.

Maybe she should reassure her! "It's okay, Barriss. Whatever it is, we can figure it out."

"Right… Sorry… I just… it's a little complicated and I don't know who else to talk to but I figured you likely have more experience than most but I also don't know if maybe I'm reading too much into it."

Okay, now Ahsoka had the opposite problem. Instead of stuttering half sentences, she was rambling. Without any context, she couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"Barriss, please, start from the beginning."

She nodded and took a second to compose herself. "How attached to the troopers are you?"

Ahsoka's mind went blank for a beat and then started to race with panic and worry. Yes, Rex and Wolffe had assured her that her attachment to the troopers was not going to be her eventual downfall, but she still worried. Anakin wasn't exactly a great person to learn about attachments from. And, truth be told, she spent most of her time around troopers instead of other Jedi. It wasn't like she had a lot of sources she could turn to. What if Barriss heard that Ahsoka was going to be kicked out of the order because she was too attached to the troopers and was trying to figure out if there was a way they could fix this?

"What do you mean?" she laughed nervously. Should she call Anakin and ask if he had heard anything about this? Or maybe Master Kenobi? Or Master Plo? One of them had to know something about it and be able to help her! She didn't want to leave the order!

Barriss swallowed. "Well… I fear I might be… attached as well." She winced as the words tumbled from her lips.

Oh.

Oh.

That was not what Ahsoka was expecting her to say. "You think you're attached?"

Barriss winced. "No? Yes? Maybe?" She let out a groan and threw her hands in the air. "Today in battle my head covering came off."

"Oh no! Are you okay?" She didn't know much about why Master Unduli and Barris wore the coverings, but she knew it was important they stayed on no matter what.

If it came off during battle, it was probably very traumatic for her.

"Yes, I am alright," she said. "Before I could fully comprehend what had happened, Commander Gree took off his helmet and put it on me. He did not hesitate. He left his head vulnerable and open so I could keep my head covered. They even had a special word to let the other troopers know not to look at me!"

"And this makes you think you're attached to them?"

She nodded. "When I went back to the med tents, no one said a word about it. They all acted as if it were perfectly normal. As if it's an everyday occurrence. I don't think anyone even stared at me. And people always stare at me even when my normal head covering is on. And then when I was with Spine, he revealed that they've been sewing me emergency head coverings and keeping them in the field kits just in case. Something about the fact that they have special items just for me made me feel… weird? It's hard to explain."

Now that, Ahsoka understood. When she found out Kix had a special field kit all for her, it made her feel both incredibly vulnerable and incredibly protected. Those attachments, which had already run pretty deep, had now deepened even more. They cared for her. They were looking out for her. No one asked them to do it. She had read the reg manual (or rather asked Echo to recite relevant passages for her) and nowhere did it say Medics had to take into account non-human issues. She certainly never asked Kix to do that. But he did.

Rex had told her she was vod, a brother. To be treated and looked out for like any other brother. But they weren't looking out for her like any other brother, they were going above and beyond. Beyond what even she expected from them. Something about that made her stomachs do all sorts of flops and flips.

So yes, she did know what Barriss was talking about. And she did understand why she was so nervous talking about it.

"And now you think you're attached?" she asked cautiously.

Barriss was always more of a stickler for the rules than her. She and Echo would probably get along great. If Ahsoka struggled with the Jedi Code and how the troopers fit into that, then this must be tearing Barriss apart. She didn't know if she had the necessary skills to help her friend through this. But she would try.

"I don't think I am. I know I am," she admitted. "And I'm afraid to talk to my master about it in case she is disappointed in me. I'm a Jedi. I'm not supposed to have any attachments."

Right. Not every master was like Anakin, who got so attached to everything she doubted he'd see the problem.

"I know how you feel," she admitted, bringing her knees in and resting her chin on them.

Barriss looked relieved.

"I'm attached to the troopers too. Rex, Wolffe, Cody, Kix, Jesse, Fives, Echo, Dogma, Hawk, Sinker. There are so many of them. And I care for them all so deeply I'm afraid that if they get hurt, I'll fall."

"Exactly," Barriss breathed. "Gree could have gotten seriously injured today. And it would have been all my fault."

"What, no, Barriss, it wouldn't have been!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "You didn't willingly take off your head covering. And he made the choice to give you his helmet, not you."

"Still. They're soldiers. They get hurt. That's what they were born to do."

Rex had told Senator Amidala something similar back when they were infected with the Blue Shadow Virus. The troopers were born to die. And she hated that they were. No sentient creature should ever be born just to die. That was the sticking point for her. They'd all die eventually. It was inevitable. But why go through the process of creating a living, feeling, thinking creature just to treat its life as meaningless?

This wasn't about her, though. This was about Barriss. She had to say something. What would she want someone to tell her?

Probably what Wolffe and Rex had told her not too long ago.

"I talked to Rex about this," she said quietly. "Back when I realized, or rather admitted to myself, that I was attached."

Barriss looked up at her. "What did he say?"

"That no matter what happens, I need to choose the light. I need to turn towards it. If he dies tomorrow in battle, I need to make the choice not to turn to the dark side. I can't stop every bad thing from happening to them, but I can choose how to react." She looked up at her, sure of herself, more than she had been in the past. "And I know that I'll choose to turn towards the light. I'll honor their memories and win this war for them. But I won't let darkness guide my actions."

"How can you be so sure?"

She shrugged. "I guess I can't be until it happens. But, I also know that it's the only choice I have. I'm not going to distance myself from these troopers. If their lives don't matter, then no one's lives matter. It's my job to keep as many of them alive as possible. If I'm not attached to them, then they're just droids. To be used, abused, and discarded as soon as they've served their purpose. I refuse to let them be treated that way."

Barriss smiled at her words. "Thank you, Ahsoka, for speaking to me about this."

"Of course. It's not like we have anyone else to talk to."

"We have our masters."

"Eh," she rolled her eyes. "Let's face it, we're growing up in a different world than they did. Master Unduli never had to command a legion of clone troopers in a war against a bunch of siths. I'm sure all the masters are doing their best, but it's different now. Things are different. What it means to be a Jedi is different. The code never accounted for any of this. Sometimes I feel like the masters are making it all up as they go along. "

"I wish it were not that way."

"Yes, but we don't exactly have a say in the matter." She decided to switch the topic of conversation. "You should bond with the troops more, though. Especially since they're doing their best to make you feel comfortable and safe. "

"I don't know, that feels dangerous," Barriss said.

"Come on," she groaned. "You just admitted you were attached to Gree. The least you can do is be a bit friendlier towards him and the others. They don't bite! Well, Wolffe bites, but not without reason. Mostly. Sometimes if your hand gets too close to his face, he'll bite it. I'm getting off topic."

"But, I'm not like you," Barriss said, biting her lip. "I'm not sure I wish to partake in 'pranks' or Sabacc with the men. I'd rather discuss the latest peer-reviewed paper on—"

"Ugh, Rex mentioned some trooper named Tech who's also super into research and stuff. Maybe I'll see if I can scrounge up his contact information so you two can be nerds together.

"That doesn't exactly get me closer with my troops," she said.

True. They needed something Barriss and Gree could bond over. Barriss did not seem like the type to trick Master Unduli into thinking Blackout could use the Force. And she did not seem to think that dumping glitter all over a troopers kit was very funny (if her grumbling, while Ahsoka and Jesse dragged her along to shop for supplies, was any indication). There had to be something, though. Something that didn't involve reading boring papers about boring subjects.

Then, a thought came to her and she grinned. "Hardcase and I actually need some help with something. I'll add you and Gree to the chat. It's going to be great.

Barriss looked at her suspiciously. "Will this get us in trouble?"

"Maybe, but that's half the fun," Ahsoka said. She could not wait for the bonding opportunity she and Gree were about to get.

*****

The 212th had finally caught a break and were spending some time with the 501st after a long and hard campaign. Waxer was more than happy for a few days' break, even if the 501st could get a little rowdy.

It was nice to kick back, relax, and meet up with some old friends. Swap some war stories. Show off some new scars. Complain about how Wolffe rejected their badass moments for 'The Best of the GAR'. The usual.

Waxer and Boil were kicking back in the mess hall, where a lot of familiar faces were gathered. The blue and gold blended together as troopers talked, laughed, and ate with one another.

Commander Cody and Captain Rex were walking through, talking amongst themselves about boring CO stuff.

Waxer was starting to think this break would be their least eventful yet!

Then, Ahsoka, Hardcase, Fives, and Echo stepped into the room. This, in and of itself was not cause for alarm. He wouldn't have looked twice if he hadn't noticed Ahsoka and Hardcase practically vibrating with excitement. Hardcases' default state seemed to be 'vibrating with energy', but this was different. Maybe because Ahsoka had a camera in her hand and Fives looked like a man about to die. Pale, shaking, and with haunted eyes, Waxer had never seen a man look so terrified and defeated at the same time. Echo didn't seem to care; rolling his eyes, shaking his head, and muttering to himself.

Waxer's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Come on, Fives," Ahsoka chirped, pushing him forward.

Fives stumbled and turned back to her. "Vod'ika," he whined, "Gedet'ye. Can't we do something else? Anything else? I'll dump glitter on the commander."

"That's really the better option?" Echo said.

Hardcase laughed and slapped him on the back. "Nope. You're the one that put the bet forward. And you accepted when we raised the stakes. Now come on, we worked so hard on it. Commander Offree would be heartbroken if you didn't do it. She's a true poet."

Fives looked at Commander Cody and then back at the group. He whined again. "He's going to kill me."

"No, he won't! He's all bark, no bite."

"Like hell he is!"

"I believe in you!" Ahsoka gave him a big smile and a thumbs up.

Echo sighed and massaged his brow. "I can't believe you three are actually going to do it. Fives, I told you to quit playing with her. You never win."

"I thought I had it this time! And I still needed to get her back for what she did to my hair," Fives moaned. "And Rex covered in glitter, Echo! Surely that would have been a sight to see! Surely that would be worth the risk!"

"I'm still covered in glitter after your attempt to cover Jesse in glitter by replacing his practice detonators! I am karking done with glitter and I swear to the Force if anyone uses it again, I will be the one tossing people out the airlock. Not the captain!"

Fives must have realized he was never going to get Echo, Hardcase, and Ahsoka to give up and turned his head wildly for another ally. His eyes locked onto Jesse's. "Vod, please, help me!"

Jesse grinned and shook his head. "Quit stalling, brother. Go tell Commander Cody."

"And don't leave anything out!" Ahsoka said, pushing him forward once more.

Waxer nudged Boil and pointed at the group. "He looks like a dead man walking."

"What do you think they're up to?"

"Don't know. Let's get it straight from the source. Wooley!" He called.

Wooley trotted over to them. "What's up?"

"Fives is about to get his ass kicked by our CO and I want to know why." Waxer slid off the bench and went up to the group.

Ahsoka and Hardcase were still snickering while Fives practically dragged his feet on the floor as he completed his death march.

"Hey, Waxer, Boil, Wooley. How are you guys?" Ahsoka asked.

It always amazed him that she remembered their names. They had barely spoken to each other and he sure as hell wouldn't have blamed her if she hadn't remembered.

"If you're wondering what you smell like, Wooley you smell like cotton, Waxer smells like melted wax, and Boil you smell like snow."

"Oh. Interesting. And not what we're here for," Boil said.

At least they didn't seem to smell like anything weird or gross.

"What's with the camera, vod'ika?" he asked.

The word directed at Ahsoka felt foreign on his tongue and his heart may have skipped a beat when referring to her as such due to nerves. He had always referred to her as 'commander' or 'sir', no matter how many times she asked to be called by her name. To refer to her as anything else felt way too formal for a commander he barely knew. But, after seeing Jesse talk to her in Mando'a, he decided to try it. If the 501st decided she was a brother, then he best start treating her as one. Though, there was a chance that while she considered the 501st aliit, other troopers might be considered aruetiise. He didn't want to overstep her boundaries or misread a situation.

"We're going to record Fives and upload it to the site. This is going to be great," she replied. She didn't mention his use of the word. It was like he called her vod'ika all the time.

He relaxed a little. It did feel nice to be a little less formal than her.

"This for 'Creche to Command'?" Wooley asked.

"A special episode to go up with the Sabacc one," she said.

Pieces started falling into place and Waxer became a lot more excited for what was about to happen.

"We should be on an episode," Boil said. "We're way more interesting than these idiots. I don't see why the 501st gets to have all the fun."

Hardcase wrapped his arms around Ahsoka's shoulders and yanked her to him. "Our commander, our series."

"You're just afraid we'll show you up," Wooley said.

"Guys, relax." Ahsoka laughed. "I'd love to have you an episode. I got one on the mess hall that no one's volunteered for if you two would like to join."

"Oh, yes, give them the mess one," Jesse said. "Because, you know, it's impossible to make this slop look appealing."

"Jesse." Ahsoka groaned.

"Oh, you want to bet? I bet our episode will be way better than your stupid slang episode."

"You're on!"

"Nope! No. No. No." Echo said, jumping between the two of them. "No more bets. At least not until after we scrape Fives off the floor because Commander Cody squashed him like a bug."

"Fine," Waxer said, rolling his eyes. "Tomorrow, vod'ika?"

"That works for me."

They didn't have much more time to discuss as Fives had finally shuffled his way to Commander Cody and Captain Rex.

During his dead man's march, he caught the attention of every trooper in the mess. Slowly, the chatter in the room went quiet and all eyes were on him.

Commander Cody halted his conversation with Captain Rex and studied him, eyebrow raised. "Fives, can I help you with something?"

Fives took a deep breath in and let out a whine.

It felt like everyone in the room was holding their breath. Waiting to see what chaos unfolded in front of them.

Ahsoka pressed play on the camera.

"Fives, I don't have all day. Spit it out or move along," Cody said.

Fives, knowing he could stall no longer, got down on one knee and in a loud, clear voice, proclaimed to the galaxy, "Commander Cody, I love you!"

No one dared speak a word.

"What?" No one except Cody, that is.

"From the very first moment I laid my eyes upon you, I knew you were perfection. A pure Adonis cast in the stars, sculpted by the Gods themselves as proof that man can be beautiful perfection."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your hair is as soft as a loth kitten's. Your eyes sparkle like cerulean diamonds."

"My eyes are brown and diamonds aren't blue."

"Love grows where ever you go. Soldiers lay down their weapons because to fight against perfection would be sacrilegious."

"They literally don't. I get shot at daily."

"I'm going to admit," Waxer whispered to Ahsoka, "this is not going in the direction I expected it. It's way more detailed."

"Yeah, Gree, Barriss, Hardcase, and I teamed up to write it." She whispered back.

"Then let me support his endeavors." He straightened back up and started clapping. "Go, Fives! Profess your love, you crazy kid!"

Fives flinched but continued on. "Truly, you are a man who can be compared to no other. I see the stars, and I think of your sparkling eyes. I see the sun, and it reminds me of your smile."

"How long does this go for?"

"Angels cannot compare to your beauty. Rancors cannot compare to your strength."

"I do actually have other things to do so if we could hurry this along…"

"When I am sad and alone in my room—"

"Please, do not finish that thought."

"I only need to think of your beautiful face and my day becomes a little brighter. The coldness of night becomes a little less cold."

"Oh, thank the maker."

"When life seems overwhelming, I only need to think of our next meeting and I get that push to continue on just a little longer."

Hawk let out a whistle. "Sing, it, Fives!"

"Every flower wilts upon gazing upon your beautiful face."

"You lost a game of Sabacc to Tano again, didn't you?"

"Every bird stops singing when you draw near because they know they cannot compare to your sweet, melodious voice."

"Force, it just keeps going."

"You're doing great, Fives!" Jesse called, cackling and clapping.

The longer Fives went, the more people were shouting out words of encouragement. Poor Captain Rex though looked like he was torn between amusement and horror. Frozen, rigid in place as he stared bug-eyed at Fives still down on one knee, waving his arms about as he worked his way through the sprawling and never-ending love confession.

Ahsoka had fully doubled over, one hand pressed to her mouth to stop herself from laughing while the other clutched at her gut. The camera was floating in the air, swirling around Fives and Cody and getting some truly cinematic shots of the confession. Did the Commander even know she was recording?

"And when I think of you in battle, muscles rippling as you fight like a beast, beads of sweat dripping down your chiseled pectorals—"

"And we're done here!" Commander Cody turned bright red and lunged at Fives, clamping a hand over his mouth before he could get any more words out.

The entire mess was howling with laughter. Several more troopers had entered to see what the fuss was about.

"Oh," Ahsoka straightened back up, tears streaming down her face as she tried to breathe. "Oh, but he didn't get to the part where he asked you to run away together and open up a loth cat rescue!" She barely got the words out before she fell to the ground, laughing.

"I think I got the picture," Commander Cody said. "Fives, I'm flattered, but that's a no from me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." He dropped his hand and stepped out of the room.

Captain Rex snapped out of his shock and chased after him. The mess still rang with sounds of howling laughter.

Fives flopped face-first onto the floor. "Shit, I'm alive. I thought for sure he'd kill me. Tano, I hate you. You're no longer aliit."

"If 501st doesn't want her, then we'll take her," Boil said, sweeping Ahsoka up and putting her on his shoulders.

"Oh, no you don't. Fives, I love you, but I'd trade you in for a single nerf nugget if it meant keeping 'Soka," Tup said.

"Betrayed by my own family," Fives moaned.

Echo sighed and walked over to him. "Come on, vod,let's get you off the floor before the Commander comes back and decides to kill you."

"You wouldn't trade me in for a single nerf nugget, would you?"

"No."

Fives smiled.

"I'd trade you in for a high five."

Fives let out a wail. Echo seemed undeterred by his wailing and hooked his hands under his armpits, hauling him off the floor, dragging his limp body towards the door.

"Denal, if I die, I want you to have my blaster. It was going to go to Echo but he betrayed me."

"No thank you," Denal said. "It's still covered in glitter."

Echo dragged Fives out of the room while the laughter continued.

"Brilliant," Waxer said, giving Ahsoka a high-five. "Absolutely brilliant."

"It was his idea. We just… provided the confession."

"Still brilliant. And I look forward to talking about the mess hall."

*****

GeneralKenobi has added CommanderCody to the chat.

GeneralKenobi: I had no idea Fives was so enamored with you. Shall I request a transfer so you two lovebirds can be together? I promise to look the other way.

CommanderCody has added CaptainRex to the chat.

CommanderCody: Rex, you better have tossed Fives out the airlock for that stunt he pulled earlier.

CaptainRex: What stunt? All I saw was a man deeply in love and trying to be open and honest about his feelings. There is nothing wrong with that.

CommanderCody: It got uploaded on the Creche to Command site! As your superior officer, I order you to throw Fives out of the airlock! Hardcase too.

CaptainRex has added GeneralSkywalker to the chat.

CaptainRex: General, Commander Cody has ordered me to execute Fives and Hardcase. As my actual commanding officer, what say you?

GeneralSkywalker: Love is love, Cody. Embrace it.

CommanderCody: I hate all of you!

GeneralKenobi: It is okay to need time to come to terms with your feelings. Fives was quite descriptive with his love confession.

CaptainRex: That is a good point. I don't think Ahsoka would have come up with the 'beads of sweat running down your chiseled pectorals' bit.

GeneralSkywalker: She better not have. She's too young to know about any of that.

GeneralKenobi: Hardcase then?

CommanderCody: I'm not entirely sure Hardcase can read.

CaptainRex has added Hardcase to the chat.

Hardcase: Ooh, I'm finally on a private chat with the COs. Awesome!

Hardcase: What do you mean I can't read!?!?!? I can read you bastard!

GeneralKenobi: Easy, Hardcase. We just wanted to know where you found some of the more descriptive pieces of your love confession.

Hardcase: Oh, I got them from Gree. Ahsoka suggested he and Offree get in on it. Some sort of bonding experience for the both of them? IDK.

Hardcase has added CommanderGree to the chat.

CommanderCody: Quit adding people!

CommanderGree: Are we here to support Cody and Fives' relationship? I always knew you two crazy kids were in love.

CommanderCody: Quit messing around. I know you wrote at least part of that love confession! Where the hell did you come up with that?

CommanderGree: Offree read some classic poetry. Tano came up with this whole 'happily ever after' osik that involved you and Fives opening up a loth cat rescue that I'm truly gutted he didn't get to. And I got my bits from some romance novels.

GeneralKenobi: I didn't know you were such a romantic literature fan, Gree.

CommanderGree: Not me, sir ;)

CaptainRex: No!

GeneralKenobi: Really?

GeneralSkywalker: You could have said you had gotten the romance novels from Master Windu and I would have had an easier time believing you.

CommanderGree: Don't tell General Unduli that you know. She doesn't even know that we know.

Hardcase: Her secret is safe with us!

CommanderGree: When we've got some downtime, we make a whole big production out of it. Funny voices and all.

CommanderGree: You should hear my Palpatine impression.

CaptainRex: No thank you. If there's one place I never want to imagine Palpatine, it's in bed with another person.

CommanderGree: Though, we'll probably have to stop that now that Barriss is hanging around a bit more. I don't think I'm comfortable with her hearing Light read out smut in General Yoda's voice.

Hardcase: Please. Send me a video. I have to see that.

CommanderGree: Get your own romance novels, Hardcase.

CommanderCody: I'm not getting Fives punished for this, am I?

CaptainRex: Accept the love, my friend. It comes rarely.

GeneralKenobi: Wise words indeed. 

Notes:Thank you all so much for your comments. I will be getting to each of them eventually! I'm just slow.

Also, I took inspiration for Barris and Gree's section from this fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23509630

Which is such a good read. Highly recommend it. Barriss deserves better (as do they all) and I am going to give them all better. Except for Palpatine, of course. He can die in a hole for all I care. But the rest of these people deserve all the hugs and love in the world.

Mando'a: 

Neverd: Civilian

Gedet'ye: Please

Vod: Brother

Vod'ika: Little Brother/Sister

Ori'buyce, kih'kovid: All helmet no head; inflated sense of self worth

Ori'bescaryc: no nonsense

Baar'ur: Medic

N'eparavu takisi: I'm sorry

Dar'beskaryc: No longer armored

Aruetiise: Outsiders

Utreekov'e: Emptyheads, idiots