My condolences. You’ll adjust to this devastating loss.
—
You know sometimes it can be hard to tell if you’re being nice or gloating… but I’ll be naive for a moment and assume nice and say thank you for your condolences.
~~OOC - Writing under the cut (not necessarily canon accurate but im proud of it so oh well)~~
—-
This wasn’t the first time Jango had been called to the medbay for one of the Alpha ARCs. They were aggressive, even as kids, and they’d make a serious threat on the battlefield.
But cramped on Kamino, with all the reckless energy of 4 year olds in eight year old bodies, they just ended up fighting each other.
The door hissed open without him even lifting a finger and he stepped in to see a Kaminoan pouring over a datapad, while a med droid floated around and fussed over a young trooper with thick curly hair down to his chin.
“Alpha-29.” Jango said, not unkindly- but not all that gently either. That was… not who he expected to see. 29 was consistently one of the few ARCs who didn’t get into fights.
The boy turned around when he was addressed, beaming like Jango had complimented him.
His face was...bad. Blood was drying in rivets down one side of his face, while his nose poured fresh blood down his chin and over his red fatigues. His right eye was swollen with a fast darkening bruise on his cheekbone, and the whites of his right were red.
“What happened?”
It was the Kaminoan, not Alpha-29 that answered.
“He sustained multiple blows to the face, resulting in a cracked nose, several rupture blood vessels in his eyes and a gash on his head.” She said, in the slow languid way common to the slender amphibians. Jango nodded slightly- the Kaminoan was apparently she seemed to decide she wasn’t needed there to babysit now that Jango was in the room.
“Alpha-29.”
“Sir?”
“What happened?”
29 swung his feet nervously, looking down.
“I lost, sir.” He said with a grin. Nothing phased this kid.
“To who?” His grin faltered. Maybe not nothing.
“I can’t tell you sir. He’ll get in trouble.”
Jango raised an eyebrow. “Will he now? Does he know you’re covering for him?”
29 laughed. “No sir. I don’t think he even realizes we’re from the same batch, nevermind-“ He gasped and covered his mouth.
“So, Alpha-28 then.”
29 looked as miserable as Jango had ever seen him. Not that he saw 29 that much.
“Why?” Jango pinched the bridge of his nose.
29 blinked up at him- well he assumed it was a blink. It was hard to tell when one of the kid’s eyes was swollen shut.
“Why did you and Alpha-28 get into a fight, and why are you covering for him?” Jango clarified. The Kaminoan didn’t say it, but he was probably concussed.
“Oh. 28 was mad that Ma-- sorry, Alpha-Two-Six and Alpha-Two-Seven beat us during a training exercise. He wanted to show them that he could beat them, but he was going try to take both of them at once and get himself killed, so I convinced him to spar with me first to “warm up”.” He did little finger quotes that Jango had no idea where he learned them from. “But really it was so he’d be able to feel better without trying to fight the others and get himself killed.” Alpha-29 paused to catch his breath, rubbing dry and flaking blood off his cheek. “I’m covering for him because I don’t want him to get reconditioned. He doesn’t like me but the older ARCs always say we’re brothers, and brothers look after each other.”
——-
The blow landed on his jaw and he stumbled back against the wall as 28 rushed him again. His stomach hurt.
“Twenty eight!” 29 bellowed, trying to catch his shoulders, only to get hit in the chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him.
“You’re useless, 29.” 28 hissed, slamming his back against the floor. “You’ve always been kriffin’ useless. They should’ve killed you when we were on Kamino. You slowed us down- you slowed me down!” 28 bared his teeth- they were sharp. Too sharp. Those aren’t 28’s teeth.
His stomach hurt.
“I’m gonna kill ya. I’m gonna tear your throat open.”
“No!” 29 tried to squirm out of 28’s hold, but it was no use. Then- bootsteps. He was saved! He twisted his head. Thank the Force. It was Kane.
The nautolan stood over the two struggling troopers, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Ka-Kane please, you gotta help me-“ 29 gasped. “Get him off me-!”
His stomach hurt.
“What are you waiting for, 28?” Kane said, as calm and cool as ever. “You have your orders. 29 is a no longer an asset to the Republic.”
“No-“ 29 cried as 28’s hands grabbed his jaw. He dimly realized 28 was going to snap his neck
“No! Please-!”
His stomach hurt.
-
29 bolted upright and fell out of his bunk, hitting his head on the duracrete floor, breathing heavily. He was ok. Right? He wasn’t fighting 28, he wasn’t having his head twisted around-
His stomach hurt.
He almost didn’t make it to the fresher before his rations from the night before came up again.
What a wonderful wake up call.
The fresher door hissed open and 29 didn’t even bother to lift his head as cool hands gathered his dark curls away from his face.
“Are you alright?” Kane asked. Kill him, 28. You have your orders.
29 shook his head. That hadn’t been the Kane holding his hair. It was just a nightmare
“Been better, boss.” He rasped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You didn’t happen bring my painstims from that kid- Sugar, sorry- in here did you?”
“I’m afraid not. Can you stand?”
“Sure can try.”
It took some effort for 29 to haul himself to his feet, without puking again. He almost managed to hurl on Kane’s robes. That would have been embarrassing.
“So what’s the plan for today, sir?” 29 asked as he pulled fresh fatigues on. His stitches on his stomach ached with the movement. Pain is a rock. Climb over it and don’t whine.
Kane didn’t answer at first, adjusting his glasses with that telltale furrow between his brows.
“Twenty-nine, perhaps we should go see Sugar. If you’re getting sick-“
29 winced.
“I’m not sick. Just...my rations weren’t agreeing with me. I’m fine.” Kane looked like he was about to argue. “I’m fine, sir.”
“...very well.” The Nautolan seemed resigned- clearly he wanted to press, but 29 could be as stubborn as Forge when he wanted to be. “Let us begin the day then.”
—-
He was dozing again. Curled up on the armchair behind Kane’s desk while he talked to people coming in and out of the office.
Twenty-nine.
Who knew Jedi did such menial jobs, like paper work? It was enough to drain you down to exhaustion.
“Twenty-nine! Get up, you useless fool.” Kane’s voice. But not his words. Not his clothes- it was his face, his head, but from the neck down, a mandalorian. Standing over 29.
“I said get up, sacitadr geraor.” A boot to his ribs. “Good for nothing! You don’t deserve the head on your neck. Jango was wrong about you good-for-nothing Alphas. Get up!”
“Twenty-nine, wake up.” His eyes snapped open. Kane. Why was it always Kane? A protest started in his throat, but he smothered it down.
“You were having a nightmare.” Kane said softly. A cup of tea was being pressed into his hands. “I could feel it through the Force down the hall. Enough dodging. What’s wrong?”
His throat didn’t want to work. Finally he just lifted the cup to his lips, staring at a spot over Kane’s shoulder.
Kane frowned. “Twenty-nine, why do you keep lying about this? I just want to help.”
29 winced. Why do you keep lying, why do you keep failing, why are you so useless-
“It’s just a bad dream, sir. Nothing for you to worry about.”
Kane shook his head and nudged 29’ hand holding the tea. “Drink. It’ll calm you down.”
29 was a stubborn bastard, but he didn’t disobey direct orders. He lifted the cup as Kane continued.
“It is something for me to worry about, 29, because you’re under my command. It’s my job, right now, to make sure you don’t get hurt-“
“No, it’s not,” He shouldn’t have interrupted, 29 knew that. “It’s not your job to make sure I don’t get hurt. It’s your job to order me into battle. It’s my job to jump in front of a blaster shot for you. That’s what our jobs are, sir.” He didn’t set the cup down. “Sorry. I just- don’t sugar coat things for me sir. I know what I’m meant for. I won’t be useless.”
Kane was quiet for a long moment and 29 thought maybe- maybe- he would let it drop, and just give 29 some weird Jedi tea to make the nightmares stop.
“Is that truly what you think? That you’re...that you’re useless if you don’t die for me?”
Or maybe not. Damn. 29 looked down at the tea cup, trying to chose his words carefully.
“No sir. Not you specifically.” 29 finally managed. “Jedi in general. We- clones- exist solely to fight for you, to protect you, to defend the Republic. Follow orders. I- I’ve never had an issue with that, believe me, and you’re- you’re nice sir. Really.” 29 hesitated. Stop whining Alpha-29. How can you follow orders if you’re whining?
But he asked! He wants to know! He can help. He’s a Jedi- he can make it go away.
His breath caught in his throat again before he could continue.
“But I can’t follow orders. Not- not when I’m like this. I’m broken and useless because I got sloppy and got shot and I-“ A sound he hadn’t made since Kamino rose up in his throat and 29 cut himself off harshly. “I’m sorry sir.” He said, after a long pause. “I’ve just...it’s been giving me nightmares. I’m sorry to have troubled you.”
Kane looked like he was going to argue again, but 29 didn’t give him a chance. He stood up and handed the tea back to the Jedi.
“You’re right, sir. I should go check in with the medic. I’ll get out of your way.” He sidestepped Kage and was down the hall before he said anything.
-
“So you...ran away. From a Jedi.” Sugar paused, med scanner in hand. “Hey Twenty-nine? What the hell?”
29 groaned and held his arms up so Sugar could scan his torso unobstructed.
“Sugar, I was acting like a three year old on Kamino again.”
“I thought you trusted that one? You said he was one of the good ones.” Sugar grabbed one of 29’ shoulders and forced him to turn. “You said you got sick earlier?”
“I do trust him, but that doesn’t change the fact that whining about something like a bad dream is how you get screwed over.” He groaned and dragged his hands down his face. “Yeah uh- after the first one. I woke up and threw up my rations from last night.”
Sugar paused, his scanner beeping helpfully.
“Well, nothing’s wrong with your gut. No contagens or anything either, so it’s not a virus or infection.”
“Lovely. So I’m sick for no reason.” 29 dragged his hands down it face and Sugar rolled his eyes.
“Well, if there’s no medical reason for it, then you can enjoy these with me.” Sugar put down two cups of something semi-frozen with whipped cream on the counter. 29 laughed.
“Pretty sure that’s not sanitary, kid.”
“Do you want one or not?”
“Hand it over.”
They sat there in silence for a bit, drinking the civvie drinks. 29 barely got two sips into his before he set the disposable cup back down on the counter, his nose crunching up from the amount of sugar in that thing. The medic barely seemed to notice, as he had already downed almost a third of it, and had a glop of whipped cream on his nose to match.
Twenty-nine grinned, despite the tension and dread that had been coiling between his shoulder blades all morning. Sugar was from one of the younger batch cycles, he knew that, but to see the other clone so relaxed and casual…. at first, he would have expected to feel jealous. All the comforts he had, both as a medic at a relatively peaceful outpost and from the lack of scrutiny and constant watch he got as a rank-and-file soldier- 29 would never get those things. But he wasn’t jealous, or upset or even annoyed- it was nice, actually, to stand next to Sugar and just enjoy his company.
His cheeks were softer, 29 noticed with a start as Sugar set aside his own cup and looked to 29’s basically untouched one hopefully.
Fuller, not quite as sharp and angled as 29’. His hair looked softer too- kid probably had time to actually style it into the little half bun he wore, rather than just push it out of his face before slamming a bucket on.
“All your’s.” 29 waved a hand to Sugar who happily snatched up the cup.
“I’ll find a civvie food you like one of these days, Twenty-nine.”
“Yeah, uh-huh- you can keep trying.”
“I think I will.” Sugar looked smug, like a tooka that just swiped a piece of meat off a plate when someone wasn’t looking.
“‘S not gonna work.”
“Have some faith in me!”
“Nope, think I’ll keep all my faith for myself, thanks.”
Maybe if you stopped eating plastic, you'd have normal guts. ┐(´∇｀)┌
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arc-77
Did you check it was edible by humans first?
-
I meant the time I got shot through and through, and the patchjob kept getting reopened by being tossed around by a Jedi on a battle field but thanks for your support guys.
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