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- General Skywalker
BOOM! The ground shakes, dust and fire exploding mere meters from where Captain Rex and his squadron are crouched behind a small ridge. The explosions and laser gunfire rain down around them, the chaos of the battle turning the rocky terrain into a slaughtering ground.
They’ve just received orders to retreat, protect what men they can while falling back to the gunships, where they might be able to make it to the cruiser.
“Get ready to fall back!” Rex yells over the blasts.
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Rex nearly flinches at the hand that is suddenly clapped on his shoulder. He whirls around, coming face to face with a confident grin.
General Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, soldier of the Republic, reckless leader, fearless, slightly unhinged, and unashamed committer of war crimes.
“If I may, Captain, I think I have a better idea,” General Skywalker says casually.
Rex doesn’t like where this is going.
“I think we’ll have a much greater chance of survival, or victory, if we continue our press. I see a weak spot in the enemy lines over there.”
Sure enough, the General waves at a small break in the lines of battle droids, next to the assault tank and a giant spider droid.
“General, with all due respect, we have our orders to retreat.” Rex replies, not impolitely. Skywalker smiles in response, igniting his lightsaber. Not good. Not good at all.
“Come on, Rex, don’t you trust me?”
Rex sighs.
“With my life, General.”
He means it.
- Kix
Kix loves his brothers. Really. But sometimes, they can be really kriffing stupid, and it annoys him to no end.
He just saw the Commander take a blaster bolt to the chest, and now he’s stupidly sitting up and trying to move.
“What? What happened?”
Kix places a firm hand on Cody’s shoulder to stop him from sitting up further.
“We were ambushed by commando droids, and you got hit pretty good,” Jesse supplies helpfully.
“Ah.”
Sir, you have a hole in your chest, Kix wants to say, but that probably wouldn’t help with things.
“You have some internal damage,” he says instead.
“Understood. Now patch me up and let's get moving. We have a mission to complete.”
“Cody is a good soldier, and one of the smartest men I know,” Captain Rex had said early that week. Kix was starting to doubt this. Commander Cody was temporarily filling in for Rex, who was on a mission with Commander Tano. And conveniently, he was already hurt.
“Sir, I hate to argue with you-” That’s a lie. Kix has no trouble arguing with his superiors. “-but you're in no condition. You’ll heal, but it will take time.”
“Kix, we’re in the middle of the battlefield. We’re moving. That's an order.”
Kix is really tired with dealing with all of his hero-complex brothers, but he understands them all too well. It’s not easy being born and bred for war. To be soldiers. To be pawns. However, he’s not going to let this get in his way.
“Commander, with all due respect, sir, as the team medic, when it comes to the health of the men, including you-”
He can’t help but smirk slightly.
“-I outrank everyone.”
“... Alright, trooper. No need to be so smug.”
No one said the 501st was adept at following orders.
- The Domino Twins
Echo’s eyes wander over the desolate landscape, scanning the rocks and ridges. It’s a quiet night, a delicate break after weeks locked in desperate battles. He hasn’t been monitoring scopes since his days on the Rishi moon outpost, when his armor was still shiny and unblemished by the horrors of war.
“It’s quiet,” he murmurs to his patrol partner.
“Mm…” Fives hums in response.
Echo glances over at him, leaning against the railing and half-asleep.
“Fives, you know you can’t be sleeping on night watch,” he reprimands. “You can get court-martialed from this, you know.”
“Shut up,” Fives mumbles, “Of course I know that. I’ve read the reg manuals.”
“No, you haven’t,” Echo replies, only to feel a weight against his shoulder. He turns his head to see Fives knocked out cold, leaning against him with a peaceful look on his face. He looks slightly younger now that he’s asleep, like they’re back in their training days. The accelerated aging having taken a toll on them all. Things seemed a lot easier back then.
“We all heard the orders, Echo!”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Stop repeating every order!”
-
“Thanks, CT-27-5555, that was close.”
“It’s Fives, the name is Fives!”
Echo never would have foreseen what the years ahead had in store. For a second, Echo considers waking him. Rules and regulations used to be all he ever cared about. It’s how he got his name, after all. Things have changed. As the saying goes, no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. And now, maybe Echo has realized that that there are some things more important than orders.
- Commander
“They shouldn’t salute me anymore,” Ahsoka says softly, “Not since I left the order.”
“It doesn’t matter to them. It’s a sign of respect. Loyalty means everything to the clones,” her former mentor replies easily.
The doors ahead slide open, revealing the hangar bay full of clones in perfect formation, helmets painted orange and white. Her colours. Ahsoka’s eyes widen at the sight.
“Attention!” Captain- no, Commander Rex shouts, the 332nd company falling into line. A division of the 501st, dedicated to her. Ahsoka feels a surge of guilt. It’s been years since she left. Walked away from her mentor, her post, the men she fought beside.
“Go ahead, they’ve been waiting to see you,” Anakin says from beside her. She walks slowly down the line, past the dozens of helmets boldly marked with orange and white. For her.
“As soon as Rex and the boys knew you were back, they got to work.”
Back? Ahsoka knows this isn’t supposed to be some grand return. She’s here for one final mission, one last battle. It’s all temporary.
She walks back to the front of the hangar, where Commander Rex waits for her.
“The paint job’s a little crude, but we think it gets the idea across.” Ahsoka reverently places her hand on the helmet, carefully detailed and full of meaning. Warmth comes to her chest, existing alongside the ache.
"Glad to have you back, Commander." Rex says with a smile. Her heart twists.
"Rex, thank you. But you don't have to call me commander anymore."
"Sure thing... Commander."
They share a smile, just like old times.
+1. Good Soldiers Follow Orders
Jesse and some other troopers are gathered around the holo-table when the transmission comes.
-
“Execute Order 66.”
“Yes, Lord Sidious.”
Jesse is confused, but he lets the sudden throb in his head take over.
Good soldiers follow orders.
As if on cue, the doors slide open, revealing Ahsoka, looking distressed.
“Rex, I feel like something terrible has happened.”
To Jesse, it sounds like they’re underwater.
Good soldiers follow orders.
Rex’s helmet falls to the ground with a dull thud.
“Rex?” Ahsoka’s concerned voice.
Good soldiers follow orders.
Blasters clock, pointed towards the former Jedi.
“No! I’ll do it.”
Rex raises his twin pistols shakily.
“Rex, what’s happening?”
Good soldiers follow orders.
Whatever happens next is a blur.
Rex says something about Fives.
The firing begins.
Good soldiers follow orders.
Jesse isn’t sure why he’s supposed to kill her. He just knows he is.
Good soldiers follow orders.
This isn’t right, a part of his brain protests.
Good soldiers follow orders.
Blaster fire. Smoke. The flashing of Ahsoka’s lightsabers.
Good soldiers follow orders.
He blacks out for a bit. Ahsoka Tano is missing, but there isn’t many places for her to run on this ship. They will find her. They will hunt her. They will kill her.
Good soldiers follow orders.
When he comes to again, he and the 332nd are stationed in the hangar, blasters ready and prepared to stop anyone from leaving the ship.
At all costs.
At any cost.
“Hold your fire, Jesse!” Commander Rex walks towards them, Ahsoka in his possession. Jesse feels the 332nd shift behind him, blasters aimed carefully at the former Jedi.
Good soldiers follow orders.
Rex is saying something. Jesse can’t really hear it over the pounding of his head. He wants to listen. He wants to hear reason. He just can’t.
Good soldiers follow orders.
The words that come out of his mouth next are not his own.
“Commander Rex, you're in violation of Order 66. I accuse you of treason against the Grand Army of the Republic. You’ll be demoted in rank from Commander and subject to execution, along with the traitor Ahsoka Tano.”
Jesse's head hurts.
He doesn’t want to do this- why is he doing this? Why? WHY?
Good soldiers follow orders.
Jesse and the 332nd open fire.