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This is one of the hardest things that Fives has ever had to do. Even fighting Palpatine was easier than this. At least then he pretty much knew what to do, he could rely on his instincts alone. He couldn’t do that now, not for this mission. But the mission had to be completed nonetheless.
Master Tapal had given him this task before he died, and entrusted it to Fives, so Fives has to see it through. He has to be the one to tell young Cal Kestis that his master was dead, he has to tell him his dying words. Cal had most likely already felt the loss of his master, but even so, Cal deserved to hear it from someone who was there, he deserved to know how much his master cared for him. And he very likely did feel the loss already, considering Fives had sensed it and he didn’t even have a force bond with him. Which was a thing apparently.
He’s learned a lot from his limited jetii training in the past few days and had even formed a bond of his own with Gen-Obi-Wan. He had been very clear that Fives was to call him Obi-Wan or Master or literally anything other than General or General Kenobi. “The war is over,” he had said, “I don’t wish to be a general any longer.” the man had insisted. The man had also insisted that Fives try talking to some of the jedi and try to make friends. And apparently, his brothers didn’t count. Fives ignored that request, still feeling uncomfortable around the other jedi. Which made his mission that much harder.
It had been less than a week since he had defeated Palpatine, and Master Tapal’s words still echoed in his mind, “Tell Cal that I am proud of him, of how far he has come-” The Jedi had coughed, cutting himself off, “-Tell him that I wish I could have been there to see him…to knighthood,” he had grit out, growing weaker every second , “But it is my time, I must go. It is the will of the force, Fives. Make sure Cal knows that. Trust only in the force.” And then he was gone with a surge of energy bursting through the force.
Death has always been a weird concept for clones. They were practically bred for it, it was inevitable, and even though a brother’s death would hurt like you were dying personally, it was never an excuse to stop fighting. War didn’t stop and wait for you to mourn. By now, there wasn’t a person in the GAR who hadn’t experienced the death of at least one close brother. They had grown used to death, always expecting it to happen eventually. He wasn’t quite sure what to say to a child as young as Cal Kestis. Because that’s what he is, a child. A child too young to be fighting in a war but doing so anyway because he had no choice but to fight or die. Fives understood that, to a degree.
He had reached Cal’s quarters by now but hesitated by the door. How could he properly relay such an important message when he hardly knew Master Tapal, let alone Cal Kestis? The door slid open before he could even raise his hand to knock.
“Are you going to sit there all day or come in to say what you have to say?” A young voice called out to him.
He stepped into the room to find Cal sitting cross-legged on the floor with a worn blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His eyes were slightly red, his short hair messy and out of place. He looked exhausted.
“Um, hello, Cal.” He said awkwardly, giving him a small wave. “I’m Fives.”
“I know why you’re here,” Cal muttered. “You’re here to tell me that it’s going to be okay, that Master Tapal died to stop Palpatine, that he died with honor. You can skip the speech and just leave, okay?”
“Cal-”
“No. Please, I know I should get over it, that it’s un-Jedi like to be grieving this long, but I can’t get him out of my head. He was my master! He trained me, made me who I am today and I just-” Cal’s breath hitched, “I wish I could have been there, I could have saved him. I tried to convince him to let me come, but he said I wasn’t ready. He said I needed more discipline, and that I was not ready to join the fight. That’s-that’s the last thing he ever said to me,” Tears welled in his eyes. “I know what he meant to say though, that I’m a disappointment, that I’m not strong enough.”
Cal took a shaky breath.
“You know, they won’t even tell me everything that happened. Just that he was killed fighting Palpatine. I-”
Tears were streaming down Cal’s face now and he looked down at the floor. “Please,” he whispered in a broken voice, “Please just leave.”
“I...I was there, you know.” Fives said quietly in response, “I can tell you what happened if you like?”
Cal’s head snapped up and he blinked at him through his tears, “You were?”
Fives bowed his head solemnly, “Yes I was. It was a rough fight. We confronted him at first. I revealed that I had faked my death after he had ordered me to be killed and he tried to activate the chips in the heads of us clones. When that didn’t work, he snapped. He threw us all across the room.” He took a breath and looked at Cal.
“When I recovered from being thrown I looked around for my brothers and the Jedi. I saw everyone except for your master. Then I looked over and I saw him. Some of the debris from Palpatine’s desk had hit him and he was bleeding out. I managed to get over to him, I tried to save him, I really did. But there was nothing I could do.”
Cal had tears in his eyes and he leaned against Fives for support.
“He did not die alone, Cal. I was with him. And he told me something before he died, gave me a message to pass on. A message for you.”
Cal looked up, confused, broken.
“He wanted you to know,” Fives’ voice broke as he struggled to keep his composure in the face of the young Jedi. “He wanted you to know that he was so incredibly proud of you and the Jedi you have become. He wanted you to know that he was sorry he wouldn’t be able to see you to knighthood. He said that it was the will of the force, that it was his time. There was nothing that could be done. He said to trust only in the force. He wanted me to make sure you knew that.”
“He really said all that?” Cal whispered.
“Yes, he did, Cal. His dying wish was to make sure that you knew how proud of you he was.”
“Thank you, for telling me,” Cal said, still quiet.
“Of course, kid. Final wishes are kind of a big deal for us clones. It’s the best way to honor the memory of your loved ones. We lost a lot of brothers in this war, and it helped us feel closer to them, I guess.”
“I’m sorry,” Cal said, “For your losses, I mean. I can’t even imagine what that must feel like.”
“It’s alright, kid. The war is over now.”
“Why do you keep calling me kid? I’m thirteen.” Cal grumbled, smiling slightly.
“Oh, are you?” He smirked back, “Then we should be in the same jetii classes then.”
Cal tilted his head. “What do you mean? You’re a clone, and you’re an adult.”
“I’m force sensitive. Master Kenobi is training me now that the war is over.”
“Really?” Cal said excitedly. “That’s so cool! But why would we be in the same classes? You’re still an adult?”
Fives scratched his neck, “I might be physically an adult, but technically I’m twelve.”
“So I should be the one calling you ‘Kid’. I’m older than you are!” Cal said excitedly.
“Not a chance, kid. To quote a great captain, ‘Experience outranks everything’, and I’ve sure got a lot more experience than you do.” He said, ruffling his hair.
“Now what do you say we get out of here and go grab something to eat? I’m starving.”
Cal giggled. “Alright.” the boy agreed.
Fives smiled and helped him to his feet. That had been easier than he expected, and he might have even made a new friend who wasn’t a brother. Obi-Wan would be proud of him.