The curse of being a slow artist is that I would get an idea, and then it would only take me three years to bring it to life..
(INPRNT) ☼
Show & Tell
No title available
occasionally subtle
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Cosimo Galluzzi
Stranger Things
cherry valley forever

if i look back, i am lost
noise dept.
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her

titsay
ojovivo
$LAYYYTER
Today's Document
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
sheepfilms

Product Placement
h
todays bird
we're not kids anymore.
seen from United States

seen from Malaysia
seen from Spain
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Belgium

seen from Malaysia

seen from Malaysia

seen from Malaysia
seen from Belgium

seen from United Kingdom

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Malaysia

seen from Indonesia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Bulgaria
@redheadgirl
The curse of being a slow artist is that I would get an idea, and then it would only take me three years to bring it to life..
(INPRNT) ☼
I'll love you darling, either way (Part 5)
Pairing: Fox x Padawan!Reader / Fox x fem!Reader
Summary: The end of the war brings changes you could’ve never imagined. And news you’ve never wished to hear. Now living on Pabu, you must find a way to keep going – even if your Commander in scarlet armor is no longer by your side.
Word count: 8k Tags/Warnings: angst. like, this is pure angst; you guys remember me mentioning "tragedy" in the last chapter's warnings right?; mentioned major character death; flashbacks/memories in italics; a shit ton of crying; guilt; depression; suicidal thoughts; reference to death/serious injuries; hope i'm not missing anything; anyway this one's heavy
A/N: ok so my plan was to do 5 parts of this story, but this last one turned out so. fucking. long. and i'm yet to reach a conclusion. therefore i decided to split it. this is (i hope) the penultimate chapter
Part 4 | Part 6 | Taglist
Congratulations ✨ please do fox x reader and prompts35 and 22
Too Real
Pairing: Fox x fem!JediReader
Word count: 3.8k
Tags/Warnings: NSFW 18+; suggestive; a little enemies-to-lovers; heavy make-out sessions; Fox is an asshole who can't dance; implied pining
Promps: 22. You have exactly three seconds to stop looking at me like that. + 35. Undercover as a couple
A/N: Not me with 300+ followers still making my way through the 100 followers event requests 🫣 Really sorry it's taken so long.
taglist | Masterlist
a distant echo
It's always one of them
Here’s the piece I did for @theclonewarszine !!! Super proud of it heheheh
Just another Tuesday on Coruscant I guess
Just a reminder that I AM still writing my Liar Liar Series with Commander Fox
I am however being lazy and just haven’t got round to posting it on here. 🤭
HOWEVER. You can read it all up to date over on my Ao3 here
I am currently up to chapter 17!
Warm weather on the patio with a good book, let's go 🥰
remember when the outpost episode aired and all the hunter girlies died because of this shot
because same
Clone Troopers Compilation
Cody's full art on link lower. Sorry, can't put it here or the whole post would be labeled again (I have no idea why)
Rex (orig)
Fives (orig)
Cody (full)
Fox
Howzer
Kix
Boba
Wolffe
I'm not sure just how far this road will go (Part 2)
Pairing: Fox x Padawan!Reader / Fox x fem!Reader
Summary: After weeks of distance and silence, the fleeting moment you shared with Fox seems destined to fade into memory. But your Commander in scarlet armor has other ideas.
Word count: 8.7k (when i said he possessed me...) Tags/Warnings: NSFW 18+; the plot got in the porn again; fingering; semi?-public sex; pinv sex; unprotected sex (armor up your little trooper before deployment guys); armor kink if you squint; pov parkour because I like knowing what everyone is thinking; so much fucking angst; slightly even more awkward!Reader; soft!Fox; would anyone be interested in a part 3?
Read part 1 here.
Flight Risk
Pt. 1
Summary: What do a murder, a personal assistant, and a massif hound have in common? Commander Fox. Typically, an assignment with the Coruscant Guard is reserved for the hand picked candidates of the Commander. And when you’re suddenly thrust into the world of the Corrie Guard, you quickly realize that you’ve got your work cut out for you in dealing with Marshal Commander Fox.
Pairing: Commander Fox x Reader
Warnings: 18+, MDNI. Eventual Smut, Canon Typical Violence
Words: 8,629
Deep breath.
You weren’t easily intimidated. You’d known plenty of shady, underhanded, questionable, and unquestionably corrupt politicians in your lifetime. Hell, you’d even personally escorted most of them around the city on private tours of Coruscant’s more circumspect alleyways.
But as you stood in front of the Commander’s office, waiting, you could feel your heart hammering in your chest.
You’d knocked twice already. It would be rude to knock again…right?
You glanced down at the slim watch on your wrist, the holoface lighting up against your skin to let you know a solid five minutes had passed with no answer. You began to gnaw on your bottom lip, your finger tapping anxiously against your thigh.
You weren’t nervous.
Nope.
Not at all.
Your bag felt like a heavy weight against your side, the strap digging into your shoulder as you shifted your weight from foot to foot uneasily. Another minute ticked by in silence as you debated whether or not to knock again. Finally, you raised your fist and rapped your knuckles on the dark wood, the sound echoing in the empty hallway.
Silence.
It rang in your ears, the sound annoys annoying trill in itself. A frown took over your features as you stepped back from the door and crossed your arms. You knew you were in the right place. Mas Amedda had personally sent you the floor plans days ago to memorize. You had also received a copy of the Commander’s schedule, which you knew was subject to change, but was fairly standard.
Right now, he should be looking over incident reports from the previous night, checking arrests, and overall status of the Guard.
You knew he was aware of your new position, and the fact you were supposed to be working closely with him.
So…why wasn’t he here?
With a huff of annoyance, you blew a strand of hair out of your eyes before tucking it behind your ear and scowling at the door.
You weighed your options, trying to decide what to do. The seconds ticked by in your mind, the buzz of quiet your only company as you rapidly tapped your finger on your bicep while you thought. Well, if all else failed, the morning debriefing was supposed to be in half an hour. You could stand to go for a caf.
Dammit.
You turned on your heel, getting ready to head back through the maze of hallways, when you came face to chest with shockingly white plastoid armor that was surrounded by crimson.
“Woah,” you exclaimed, quickly stepping back to avoid the collision. “Sorry!”
The trooper didn’t move, his helmet tilting to the side as he studied you. “Ma’am, this is a restricted area.”
You nodded, your thoughts racing as you steadied yourself and cleared your throat. “Right. I’m looking for Marshall Commander Fox.”
You could just imagine him quirking a brow at you by the way he crossed his arms. “What for?” he asked gruffly.
You smiled. “Well, I was hoping to meet him before the morning debriefing and being thrown into the chaos.” you said, tilting your head. “I’m supposed to be helping him with his workload, and whatever else he needs done.”
“Since when?” he asked, more than a little suspiciously.
You shrugged. “Today, I guess. Mas Amedda gave me the assignment last week, told me I had three days to prepare.”
“And you are?”
You introduced yourself, offering your hand. He seemed surprised, his shoulders rising as he reached to take it. “Commander Thorn,” he responded. “You’ve been waiting out here?” he asked, nodding to the door.
“Yeah. I’ve knocked several times and I’ve been waiting a solid ten minutes now.”
He let out a low whistle. “Kriff. You’ve got more patience than me. I would’ve left after the first knock.”
You snorted. “Does he make it a habit of making himself scarce in the mornings?”
He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
A small frown tugged at the corners of your mouth. You’d read through the schedules that Amedda had sent you, and all of them placed the Marshall Commander in his office precisely two hours before the morning debrief. You assumed it was because he had a routine of paperwork and other miscellaneous things he needed to do before the day started, but now you wondered if it was something else. “Is he…not here?” you asked tentatively.
Thorn barked out a laugh that immediately had your frown fully forming. “Oh,” he choked out, his arm clutching around his abdomen as he continued laughing. “Oh shit, you don’t know!”
“Don’t know…what?” you asked, a sense of morbid curiosity taking over. Given his reaction to your first question, you were honestly a little afraid of his answer.
Thorn cleared his throat and righted himself, a chuckle still finding its way past his lips as he did. “You have access to the schedule already?”
You nodded.
“Good. Pull up this morning’s debrief.” You did as you were told, grabbing your data pad from the bag at your side and looking at Thorn suspiciously. His helmet was impassive, and his body language gave nothing away. You keyed in your access code and watched as the system slowly logged you in. You made a mental note to ask Leru about that later. “The Marshall Commander runs a very tight schedule. If you don’t have your name on a time slot, you don’t see him.” he said with a shrug.
You blinked slowly before giving him an incredulous look. “…what?”
He nodded, gesturing to the schedule. “There. Look. Each Commander and Sergeant is assigned five minutes during the morning debrief to discuss any incidents, casualties, arrests, or anything else of importance. You see the names listed this morning? Myself, Stone, Hound…Shiny.” He snorted and shook his head. “Since we’ve got no new transfers, Shiny must be you, kid.”
You frowned. “Shiny?”
He shrugged. “That’s what we call new troopers that haven’t seen battle. Their armor is clean. No blaster marks or tallies.”
“Okay, hold on a second,” you said, putting the pad back in your bag and holding up a finger. “You’re telling me that the Marshall Commander locks himself in his office and ignores everyone unless they’re on his schedule?”
Thorn snorted and you could hear the amusement in his tone. “Like I said. You’ll find out pretty quickly how structured things are around here, especially with Fox in charge. And you’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re on the schedule, Shiny.”
You groaned and pinched the bridge of your nose. “Please don’t start with me, Commander.” you said tartly. “I have not had nearly enough caf to deal with this…especially if it’s going to be long term.”
He chuckled, reached up and taking off his helmet. The smirk on his face made you wonder just what you were going to be getting yourself into. You’d had some experience with the clones during your tenure in the Senate building, but it was nothing compared to being thrust into the middle of the Guard. If this first interaction with Thorn was anything to go by, it was going to be one hell of a ride.
“Come on,” he said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “The stuff they keep in the mess is sludge compared to what Hound manages to get his hands on. I’ll show you where we keep it.” You fell into step beside Thorn as he tucked his helmet under his arm. He ran a hand through his cropped hair, messing the short strands to stand up on end. “You’ll get used to Fox’s quirks pretty quick. He’s a bit of a stickler for protocol, but he’s a good man.”
You hummed. “What other ‘quirks’ does he have?”
Thorn grinned at you, flashing his teeth and letting out another brief laugh. “We don’t have all day, sweetheart. We need to be waiting outside his office five minutes before the debrief.”
Those kinds of quirks, then. you thought to yourself. Interesting.
You listened, taking mental notes as Thorn ran you through a standard morning routine. The small break room he led you to was just down the hall, which looked more like a converted storage closet than anything. It was large enough to house a small counter, a sink, and cabinets below the counter. He set his bucket on the little table that was pushed into the corner before turning back to the caf bar. There were two types of caf machines, and Thorn bent down to grab two mugs and the milk from the conservator. “I dunno how he pulls it off, but Hound always manages to get his hands on the best caf. Probably sweet talks the waitresses at CafAddicts.” he said. You grinned and watched as Thorn carefully began preparing the caf.
“How do you like it?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at you.
“A bit of milk, no sugar.”
He raised his brows and let out a quiet huff that you equated to a laugh before quickly mixing the steamed milk and freshly brewed caf. After tapping the spoon on the rim of the mug, he stuck it in his mouth before handing you the cup and beginning to pour an obscene amount of sugar into the bottom of his mug.
You raised the caf to your lips, smirking to yourself as Thorn dumped in the brew and stirred it before adding the milk. “That’s a lot of sugar,” you said offhandedly.
Thorn turned to you, a grin on his face. “I need all the extra sweetness I can get,” he replied. “Helps to keep me from being salty.”
You snorted and choked on your caf, coughing and having to set it aside to catch your breath and calm your cough.
“What-“ you coughed again, covering your mouth as you tried to stifle a laugh. “What do you have to be salty about?”
He shrugged. “Eh, a grumpy Marshall Commander, shift hours that suck balls, barely any leave time, thankless citizens. Take your pick.”
Thorn was wearing a shit-eating grin, and you knew he was messing with you, but that didn’t stop the wrinkling of your nose. “I’m sure,” you said. He looked up at the sound of a knock on the doorframe, and you turned, a smile immediately taking over your face as you fell into the role of the helpful assistant you were supposed to be. The trooper standing there was looking at you with raised eyebrows, his lips pursed slightly and his head tilted to the side. You caught a glimpse of the tattoo on the side of his shaved head, but you had a hard time figuring out if it was the number 53 or 58.
“Ah, Stone! Just in time!” Thorn exclaimed, coming up beside you and slapping your shoulder. “Meet the Shiny.”
You rolled your eyes. “I have a name, you know.” you mumbled.
“A civvie?” the other trooper, Stone, asked. You weren’t surprised to see the curiosity in his expression as he took in your appearance. Your hair had been piled into a messy pony on top of your head, and your red and black chevron blouse was tucked into the waistband of your black slacks. Your height had been added to by the heeled boots, bringing the top of your head level with their chins. “I’m surprised the Marshall signed off on that.”
You snorted and shook your head. “It…wasn’t exactly his decision. Or mine, for that matter.” you explained as you sipped your caf. You introduced yourself and gave Stone a smile. “The Chancellor thought the Guard could use some help. I’ve got quite a bit of experience in relations, as well as management and assistance positions.”
Stone raised his eyebrows even further. “And they just plucked you out of a pool of candidates?”
“Not exactly,” you said with a wry smile. “I’ve got a history of working with some very high profile people and very discreet positions. Mas Amedda pulled me from the Senate building.”
He hummed. “That’s why you look familiar, then.” he said, nodding to himself. “I remember seeing you in the Senate building on my rounds. You worked closely with Senator Amidala on several projects, didn’t you?”
You raised your eyebrows, surprised he’d remembered. “Yeah. I’m impressed, Commander.”
He gave you a small smile. “You’ve done some good work.”
“Thanks.”
Stone nodded before gesturing to the caf machine. You quickly got the hint, moving out of his way and tightening your grip on your mug. “Hound should be stumbling in at any time.” he said. “He had to get himself seen at the med bay.”
Thorn raised an eyebrow. “Again?”
Stone shrugged and started making his drink. “I guess there was a shop robbery he was in the middle of stopping. One of the kids, probably no more than fifteen, shoved a shank through his shoulder.”
Thorn shook his head. “Damn. All the way?”
“From the sound of it. Jammer radioed it in after they got the robbers detained. Sliced clean through the muscle. Hopefully Kix was the one on duty.”
Thorn let out a low whistle. “What level?”
“Uscru District. It was actually one of the markets near 79’s.”
Thorn hummed. “Any relation to the Scrap and Scarab Garage incident?”
You frowned, your brow furrowing.
“I don’t think so, but Hound says it’s too early to tell. No bodies on this scene. Just some kids trying to steal some credits. But he said one of them did have the same tattoo as Kavo…I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a new Family trying to make a rise.”
“The…Scrap and Scarab?” you asked tentatively, your fingers digging into the ceramic mug as your heart began to beat a little faster.
Thorn nodded. “It’s a garage on level Level 250. We haven’t been able to tie anything solid to it, but I’m pretty sure there’s a laundering operation going on.”
You swallowed. “How long has that been going on?”
Stone shrugged. “Probably the last ten to fifteen years, I’d say. Judging by their records and everything we know about them, at least. Krass, the owner, is about as shady as they come. But, like Thorn said, we haven’t been able to tie anything solid to them. But if Hound has footage from his bucket, we might be able to ID this kid with the tattoo. If it happens to be some type of Family symbol, then we can set up an op to get more information.”
Ten to fifteen years.
The implication had your heart rising into your throat. But you couldn’t think about that. That wasn’t your job. You were there to help the boys with their workload. Not play investigator.
“Interesting,” you managed to choke out. “I didn’t think Coruscant had more than a few crime families.”
Thorn snorted. “You’d be surprised. Fox has managed to keep them stomped out for the most part. But every once in a while, one tries to pop up.”
You hummed before looking down into your mug, your eyes unfocusing as you felt your thoughts start to spin. Stone said something to Thorn, and they started up a conversation about their patrols the night before. You were thankfully left out of it, alone with your thoughts.
Thirteen years…had it really been that long?
You closed your eyes, trying to force the memory of the CSF on your doorstep out of your mind.
You were startled when you heard the harsh snap of a gravelly voice.
“What are you di’kuts doing standing around? We’re going to be late for the debrief.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep your kama on.” Thorn said, waving off his brother.
“Who the hell is this?”
You blinked, trying to drag your mind back to the present instead of your childhood. The trooper had his arms crossed (as best he could with one of them in a sling) and was wearing a type of helmet you’d never seen before.
Before you could answer, a growl sounded from beside him and you were startled to have a large massiff planting its paws on your midsection and letting out a rumbling chatter as its spines rattled. You let out a yelp as the creature began to nuzzle against you, its whole body practically wagging as it tried to shove its muzzle between the mug and your hands.
“Grizzer! Off!” he barked.
The massiff ignored him, happily chirping and rubbing against your abdomen. You threw a panicked look to Thorn and Stone, not quite knowing how to react.
“Do I…?”
The two commanders laughed. “I think he likes you,” Thorn said. “Go ahead and pet him.”
You looked quickly back to the other Trooper, your eyes wide and hands held out to avoid touching the animal without permission. He huffed out an annoyed sound before giving you a clipped nod. Looking down at the massiff, Grizzer, a small smile took over your face. “Hey buddy,” you said. A deep rumble came from within the creature’s chest and he leaned into your touch as you gently laid your hand on top of his head. His body began to wiggle even more as you scratched at his head, and your smile grew wider. “Nice to meet you too.”
The Trooper watched in silence as you doted on the massiff for several long moments. “They’re right,” he said gruffly. “He does like you.”
You looked up, having set your mug on the counter long ago, your smile lighting up your face. “I like him too.” you said.
He huffed again. “And you are?”
You glanced at Thorn and Stone. “The shiny, apparently.” you drawled.
He tilted his head, humming. “Interesting.”
“I take it you’re Sargeant Hound?”
“How’d you know?” he deadpanned.
You nodded to his injured shoulder. You could see the bandages under his armor and knew it was probably soaking in bacta. “Stone told us what happened to your shoulder.” you explained.
He grunted. Grizzer nudged your hands once again before dropping back to all four paws and padding into a heel beside Hound. He plopped into a sit, his tongue hanging out as he began to pant lightly, looking up at his handler. With his good arm, Hound reached down and patted Grizzer’s head, to which the creature closed his eyes and leaned into Hound’s leg. “Grizzer helped out a lot. Took down a couple thugs all by himself.”
“Good boy,” Thorn said with a nod. “He’s doing well.”
Hound nodded before squaring his shoulders with a wince. “Well. Are we going to stand around yapping all day, or are we going to get to work?”
Stone sighed and finished off his caf, setting the mug in the sink. “Fine,” he drawled. “Let’s go.” Both he and Thorn picked up their helmets, jamming them over their heads and making their way towards the door.
You followed suit, making a mental note to come back after the debrief and clean up the small break room. It wasn’t much, but you had a sneaking suspicion these boys liked things in order. Thorn led the way down the hall and you took up the rear, mentally going over your notes from everything you’d studied about the Guard.
But, then again, a lot of good it had done you so far.
It was a short walk to the Marshal Commander’s office, and you couldn’t help the butterflies that started low in your stomach. They all stood in a single file line, backs to the wall. None of them made a move to open the door, and you glanced down at your watch. There was still a few minutes of waiting.
You had a feeling that was going to be the death of you.
You heard the click of the door unlocking. You straightened your shoulders, seeing the rest of the boys stand at attention. You waited patiently for one of them to move, but you couldn’t help clenching and unclenching your fist at your side.
You couldn’t remember the last time you were this nervous for an assignment. Or, nervous at all for that matter. You couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was that was setting you on edge, but the feeling was intense. Something deep in your subconscious was telling you that you were a Tooka that had walked into a Rancor’s lair. It was unsettling how quickly you’d found yourself being put in such a compromising mental state by a man you’d never even met.
In your line of work, you were used to being the one holding the Prime Sabacc. But in this case, you felt like you were stuck holding a one and six.
Your mind snapped back to the present when Thorn nudged you, motioning with his head to the door. Thorn led the way into the office, followed by Hound, Stone, and yourself.
You glanced around the space, noticing the shelves that took up the east wall that were filled with a surprising amount of books and bound records. Your eyebrows rose when you realized they were senate records, recognizing a few of the etchings on the spine. It made sense they would keep them somewhere safe…where safer than with the Commander of the Guard?
The desk was situated in the center of the room, stacks of folders and data pads scattered across the surface. A table the same length as the desk was sat in front of it, containing maps, diagrams, and even a few photos of crime scenes on the upper levels. The south wall was taken up by a large window, and your eyes narrowed as you examined it. The panes were no doubt made from the same layered and tempered glass as the ones on the Jedi star cruisers, knowing the level of security for the building you were in. But what caught your attention was the gentle shimmer of the shield.
Interesting.
To your right was a counter, what looked like a weapons locker, and a few crates. A few pieces of what you assumed to be spare armor was also scattered about, which made you raise your eyebrows slightly. Then your eyes fell on Fox.
The Commander himself was an imposing figure, sitting behind his desk with his visor trained on the datapad in his hands. His broad shoulders blocked the rising Coruscant sun from view. You couldn’t help but let your eyes wander over his form. There were a few tell tale differences in his armor compared to the rest of the boys. While most of them carried the Guard’s insignia on their shoulders, you noticed that his was larger than the others. His armor was also a darker shade of red, probably from years of use. The different blaster marks that littered the plastoid didn’t escape your notice either.
He didn’t look up as the boys lined up at attention in front of the desk. You quietly and dutifully stayed beside Thorn, biting nervously at the inside of your cheek.
The room was silent for a few minutes before the Commander let out a long breath, the sound coming out distorted from his vocoder. “Report.”
Thorn stepped up first, his hands clasped behind his back. “A mostly quiet night, sir.” he started. “There were several speeder crashes, although none of them were serious or caused injury. Just a lot of shouting and cursing.”
Fox hummed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
“Reports were filed, inspections were done, tickets issued. Though, I’m pretty sure General Skywalker was able to talk his way out of the ticket.”
Fox reached up and pressed his fore and middle fingers into the temple of his helmet. You were sure if he wasn’t wearing it, he would be rubbing circles into his head.
“Of course he did,” he sighed. “Anything else?”
Thorn shook his head. “All quiet, sir.”
He nodded and Thorn stepped back. Hound took his place, Grizzer following.
“Another trip to med bay?” Fox asked.
Hound grunted. “A robbery interception at Stallo’s Market. A group of thugs, mostly teenagers, trying to get away with a few credits. My cam got recordings of the ones that managed to slip away, and I’ve got IDs on them. Commander Beck has issued warrants for their arrest.” He rolled his injured shoulder lightly, flexing the fist of his good arm. “Reported to Kix after everything was over. I’m wrapped in bacta for the foreseeable future, and he put me on desk duty for the next several days.”
Fox nodded once. “Logical,” he said. He reached forward, adjusting the stack of datapads on his desk and making you tilt your head in curiosity. “But I can’t say I’m happy with you.”
Another grunt.
Fox sighed. “Any civilian casualties?”
“No, sir.”
The commander tilted his head back and was quiet for a moment. “Good work.”
Hound nodded and returned to his place in line. You looked over at Stone, who stood a little straighter and stepped up to make his report.
“Patrols were quiet, sir. General Kenobi and General Windu were holed up in the library for several hours late last night, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. All squads reported normal activity around the Temple and Rotunda.”
Fox nodded. “As expected.”
If you had to wager a guess, you thought he sounded relieved. You saw the tenseness in his shoulders relax ever so slightly.
“Shiny.”
All eyes turned to you.
Your breath caught in your throat and you had to swallow hard and clear your throat before introducing yourself. Fox’s visor focused on you, unmoving and unwavering as you briefly explained your presence. “Chancellor Palpatine and Mas Amedda thought it would be good if you had some help. So…I’m here. If you need anything. Any of you.”
He continued to stare at you, leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. You resisted the urge to fidget, instead meeting the gaze of his blacked out visor unflinchingly.
Whether or not you felt sweat beading on your neck was your business.
He turned back to his desk, unfolding his arms and grabbing the holopad he’d set down when the group had walked into the office. His focus turned back to whatever paperwork he was working on and his deep voice cut through the room, slightly distorted by the modulator on his helmet.
“Dismissed.”
All the men quickly saluted before heading out of the room. You hesitated, unsure of what your exact assignment was at this point. You shifted your weight, clearing your throat. “Sir?”
“I said, dismissed, Shiny.”
You blinked slowly. “I…don’t understand. What exactly is it you want me to do? I’ve been trained in several areas-”
He slammed his hand on the desk, making you visibly jump. “Shiny. I gave you an order. I’m not going to tell you again.”
“…yes sir.” You gripped the strap of your bag with white knuckles, heading out of the office. Your heart thundered in your ears and you wondered if that little tickle in the back of your mind was fear. When the door clicked shut behind you, you let out a long breath and leaned against the frame, trying to calm your racing thoughts.
That had not gone as expected. Or as planned. Or…as hoped.
“You alright, kid?”
You looked up, seeing Thorn across the hall, his arms crossed. Slowly, you nodded.
“Not what you were expecting, huh?”
You shook your head. “Definitely not.” you agreed. “Is he…always…like that?”
Thorn raised an eyebrow. “Like what? Seeming like he’s got a stick up his ass?”
Despite the situation, the corner of your mouth began to tug up into a half smile. “Something like that.” you mumbled.
Thorn shook his head. “Nah, he’ll come around. It takes him a while to get used to changes in routine. Especially if there’s a new person involved. Shinies and transfers he can handle…but we haven’t had a Civ on board before. You’re throwing him for a pretty big loop.”
You sighed, nodding and straightening, before tucking stray strands of hair behind your ear that had fallen out of the pony tail. That made sense. You could work with that. Just give him some time.
“Right,” you said. “So…I’m guessing you’re headed back to your barracks?”
Thorn hesitated for a moment. “What’re you planning on doing?”
You shrugged. “Commander Fox obviously doesn’t have a need for me at the moment. But, I’ve got a lot to learn. My clearance level was upgraded, so I have access to plenty of files and data. For now I guess I’ll just be learning about protocols and trying to stay on his good side.”
“Shiny, you’ve seen the majority of this building. We’ve got the Mess, Hound’s special break room, the War Room, the Training Center, and the Flight Control Tower. Where you gonna work?”
You gave him a wry smile. “Guess that name’s gonna stick?” you asked with a chuckle. “Eh, don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out. My job is to be resourceful.”
Thorn hummed. “You sure?”
You shrugged. “I’ll be fine, Thorn. Thank you for everything today. I really appreciate it. Go get some rest.”
He sighed but nodded. “Alright then. Good luck with…that.” he said, vaguely gesturing to the door behind you. You glanced over your shoulder and snorted. He grinned before taking off, stifling a yawn as he went.
You stayed put for a moment, trying to figure out where to start. Remembering the mugs that were left in the sink, you took a breath and rolled your shoulders. You made your way down the hall and back to the little converted supply closet. Seeing the Guard’s symbol painted on the doorframe to the left of the door made you smile softly, and you opened the door and flipped the light back on. Your bag was set on the counter and you set about washing the mugs and carefully putting them back where Thorn had gotten them from. When you were finished, you glanced at the chrono on your wrist and decided to make another cup of caf for yourself, using your same mug from earlier, before returning to your post to figure out what the hell you were going to be doing the rest of the day.
You hummed as you busied your hands, mulling over the options in your head. You still didn’t really have a set place to work…and you didn’t know what to do about it. The Commander was obviously going to be ignoring you, if the morning’s briefing had been any indication.
The Mess was at the opposite end of the building, which wouldn’t do if you needed to be in range of the Commander. The War Room would definitely have enough space, but it was also considerably farther from Fox’s office than you’d like to be. The fact that you still weren’t officially connected to their comm frequency (despite your requests) didn’t help matters either. And, considering Mas Amedda hadn’t given you anything other than an updated clearance badge and an official Coruscant Guard lapel pin, you didn’t really know what else you were supposed to do. There were no empty rooms or offices you could convert into your own.
You made the walk back to Fox’s office where you found yourself facing the same dilemma.
“It’s gonna be fine,” you muttered to yourself, tapping your fingers on the old fashioned ceramic mug (you made a mental note to be extra careful with the dish; you didn’t need Hound upset with you for busting it on your first day). The next best thing you could think of, as distasteful as the idea was, would be to tuck yourself into a corner on the floor. You’d be close enough to Fox’s office on the extremely off chance he would need anything, and it was the most centrally located room in the building. But you did want to check out the Flight Deck later, maybe poke around the hangar and see if you could run into a pilot or mechanic.
As you continued to mull it over, you grabbed the datapad from your bag with your free hand and brought up the schedule to make sure you hadn’t missed anything. Buzz, Locker, Grille, and Samson should be walking past you at any time. They were going to be leading the morning patrols. It was likely they had already checked over Thorn’s report from the debrief, which you’d seen him typing up out of the corner of your eye during the meeting.
As you stood in the hallway, off to the side to not be in the way, you raised an eyebrow as Fox’s door opened to reveal the troopers in question heading out on their patrol.
They nodded to you, but none of them really stopped to say anything.
Your eyes snapped back to Fox’s door, that was beginning to seal, and you bit your bottom lip.
You really wanted to get in there.
But Fox had made it abundantly clear that you weren’t welcome in his office. It was apparent he didn’t think you had any merit, which honestly raised your hackles.
So you’d just have to find a way to make yourself useful and stay out of his way at the same time.
“Might as well figure out where to get started.” you said with a sigh, shaking your head and adjusting your grip on your cup before carefully folding your legs and dropping to the floor with your bag and datapad in your lap.
It wasn’t the first time you’d had to work in an uncomfortable situation, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be the last.
You leaned against the wall, humming to yourself as you began sifting through all the files you now had access to. You blinked a couple times, eyeing the network with a small frown. You weren’t the best when it came to cybersecurity, but with as much time as you’d spent in the Senate Archives, you had learned your way around a few codes and back doors. The mess in front of you was just that…a mess. You knew there were a lot of files with a lot of sensitive information. Should an actual cyberterrorist decide to attack the network, there was no telling what kind of havoc they could wreak.
You decided to send a message to Leru, a friend you’d made that had former ties to the Techno Union and definitely knew his way around security.
Leru responded within moments, confirming his availability, and you shot back with the location of the Mess, asking him to meet you at 12:30.
You began sifting through the case files and notes, trying to make some sense of them. Your next, albeit self appointed, task was to create some sort of organization within the network, dividing the cases between open and closed, new and old, severity and scope. It looked like there had been an attempt at one point, but the system didn’t stick.
Everything was turned upside down as you tried to make sense of it. The deeper you dove into the files, the more complicated and confusing it became.
You lost count of the times you had to get up to refill your caf, knowing there would be no way you could continue working without it. By the time you were ready to pull your hair out, enough time had passed that it was getting close to the lunch hour. You sighed and scrubbed a hand down your face, shoving your glasses up on top of your head. You’d been staring at the screen so long you were staring to get a headache. You could probably use a break anyway.
You stretched, feeling your lower back pop with a crunch, and you sighed in relief as you dug your knuckles into your flesh, kneading it to work out the knots.
Sitting on the floor wasn’t as easy as it used to be.
You grabbed the few things you’d scattered around yourself and shoved them back into your bag before standing and letting the blood flow back into your legs before trying to make the trek to the common Mess. Stretching a little more, you decided to take your chances and knock on Fox’s door.
As expected, there was no answer.
“Commander?” you called, rapping on the door again.
Silence.
Sighing, you shook your head. “Look, I don’t know if you have your own hidden kitchen in there or what, but it’s getting close to lunch time. I can bring you something, if you need?”
Not even a whisper of an answer.
“Geez,” you muttered. “I’ll go ahead and assume you don’t want any caf…last chance to change your mind, Commander.”
If you didn’t know better, you’d say you were talking to yourself.
“Fine, suit yourself.” you said, shoving your hands in your pockets. “But if they happen to have Colo Claw Fish tails, don’t complain to me that you didn’t get any. I offered to bring you some.”
Without saying anything else, you turned and walked away, leaving the unanswering and cold door behind. There was a heavy feeling in your chest, something you couldn’t quite place. It irked you to no end that despite your skills, you were dismissed so easily.
Trying to push it to the back of your mind, you began heading towards the entrance of the JCDC to scan in Leru. It was a decent trek that took you about twenty minutes. You silently thanked the Force that you had been used to walking the length of the Senate building on the daily, otherwise you were pretty sure your calves would be burning right about now.
While you were waiting for Leru at the check in desk, you caught the eye of the trooper manning it. He gave you a bit of a side eye, making you frown. “Can I help you?” you asked.
He tilted his head toward you. “You’re Fox’s new Shiny, aren’t you?” he asked.
You forced a smile. “I’m something, alright.” you agreed. “But I don’t think shiny is one of them.”
He snorted. “Thorn said we’d be seeing you around. How your first morning with the boss go?”
You shrugged. “Haven’t seen him. Haven’t heard from him. If I wasn’t part of the debrief this morning, I would wonder if he even existed.”
He surprised you with a chuckle. “I like you. I’m Thire, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant.” you said, giving him a clipped nod. That checked another off the list of officers you would need to meet.
He raised an eyebrow, eyeing you for a moment. “And you are?”
You introduced yourself, accepting the proffered hand to shake. “We’ll see if Fox tolerates me long enough for me to get this place in a bit of order.”
He snorted. “Fox is…particular.”
“So I’m gathering.” you replied with a sigh. “Has he always been like that?”
Thire hummed. “Not always. When he first took command, he was a lot more laid back. He’d even go to 79’s with the guys.”
You raised your eyebrows. From what little that you knew of the man, that didn’t sound like something he would enjoy. He seemed to be the type to like his peace and quiet. 79’s was infamous for being the exact opposite. “What changed?”
He shrugged. “The Chancellor started putting more pressure on him to be perfect. He got a lot more tense, more stressed, more overloaded. We tried to help him as best we could, but he was convinced there were some things only he could do.”
You frowned, beginning to worry your bottom lip. You’d had personal experience with the Chancellor, and that definitely sounded like something he would do. You knew when dealing with him, it was best to keep your head down and do as you were told. You couldn’t put your finger on it exactly, but there was something about that man that made your skin crawl. But, you’d managed to keep yourself in his good graces so far, and you planned to keep it that way. If he saw fit to bring you in to assist Fox and the Guard, there was a dangerous line you were going to be walking. And you had to make sure that Fox didn’t accidentally fall off the edge.
“They pulled you from the Senate Building, didn’t they?” Thire asked after a moment, pulling you from your thoughts.
“Hm? Oh, yeah. I did a lot of liaison work there. And I’ve got a decent background in…crisis management.”
He snorted. “I’d imagine so, if they’ve got you working beside Fox. The man is a walking crisis.”
You couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at your lips. You’d seen it yourself.
“You waiting on someone?” Thire asked.
“Yeah. A friend of mine. He’s coming to do a consult on the security for the network.”
“That bad?”
“Could be better.” you responded honestly. “I’m pretty sure one of Thorn’s passwords is TookasAreSuperior1010…so. Yeah.”
The Lieutenant rolled his eyes. “You’re probably right.” he replied. “Try not to be too hard on them, though.”
You frowned. “What do you mean?”
He sighed and shook his head. “They’re doing their best. As you’ve probably noticed, we don’t have the same resources that the GAR does.”
Your frown only deepened. You knew that. But that didn’t mean you respected them any less. In fact, you probably respected them even more for the work they were doing. “Not everyone who fights the war gets to go off in fancy star cruisers, Lieutenant.” you said carefully. “I know the Guard isn’t taken as seriously as they should be. I’d…like to change that.”
He gave you a curious look. “You might not be so bad, civ.”
You rolled your eyes. “That’s better than Shiny, I guess.”
His face broke into a wide smile. “They’re giving you the shiny shit?”
A huff of annoyance left you. “Thorn told me that if I wasn’t on the schedule, I wouldn’t get to see the Commander. He showed me the debrief list…and there it was. ‘Shiny’. And he refused to use my name during the meeting, even though I know he’s aware of it. I’ve sent him plenty of mails over the weekend, and I know for a fact that Amedda did too. I swear, the kriffing nerve…” your voice trailed off into a mumble as you mentally began to curse Fox. It was becoming more and more apparent that you were going to have your hands full with him. And he hadn’t even said more than a few words to you.
Thire smirked before turning back to the line of people that began to form. He scanned their ID tags and let them in, noting all of them in a log. You spotted Leru about five people back. He was a tall Zabrak, his pale yellow skin a stark contrast against the black suit he wore. You raised a hand in greeting and he tilted his head in acknowledgement. As he approached the desk, you stepped up beside Thire, handing him your access card. “Leru is with me,” you said.
Thire hummed and snagged your card, running it though the scanner and taking Leru’s from him. “Purpose for your visit?” he asked the Zabrak.
“Security consult.” Leru responded, blinking slowly at Thire. “And to have lunch with an old friend.”
Thire glanced over at you, handing you a holopad to sign. “You know where you’re going?” he asked.
You rolled your eyes. “I might be new but I’m not helpless.” you teased. You signed the form and handed the pad back to Thire with a small smile. “General Mess is back towards the flight deck.”
He nodded his approval and grabbed the visitor’s pass that was being printed, sliding it over the counter to Leru. “Try not to get lost, Shiny.”
You groaned. “Not you too.”
He chuckled and gave you a two fingered salute and waved you off. Rolling your eyes you waved a goodbye and turned to head in the direction of the Mess.
“Well, well, well,” Leru said, holding a crooked arm out to you. He raised an eyebrow marking at you with a crooked smile. “Moving up in the world, aren’t you?”
The rest of the day passed quickly. Leru had been horrified to see the condition of the network and had readily offered his services as a cyber consultant. Considering that you were already in way over your head, you accepted. You weren’t sure what type of a budget, if any at all, you were working with, so for the time being, you were going to grit your teeth and dig into your savings. It was one of the first things on your list to bring up in the debrief with the Commander in the morning.
After lunch, you’d escorted Leru back to the entrance, made sure to drop off a caf for Thire and ask if he needed anything (a raise and an assignment change). Then your mind raced about a thousand miles an hour as you made your way back to your spot outside of Fox’s office.
And that was where you spent the rest of the day. You worked continuously on sorting through the case files, determined to bring some semblance of order and organization to the net.
While you were working through, there was one case file that kept building.
The Scrap and Scarab.
Three of the arrest warrants that Commander Beck had posted had been filled, and you looked at each of the mugshots. All of them in their early to mid teens, from the lower levels, orphans, and just trying to scrape by. The two other warrants were still open, and you pulled up the files, curiosity getting the better of you.
Ceot Ber and Zilcar Saun.
Saun.
You knew that name.
Frowning, you tapped on his mugshot. There was very little information in the file to follow, and you didn’t recognize the fifteen year old in the picture. He had chocolate skin smattered with freckles, and black dreadlocks with one side of his head shaved. The brass nose ring stood out, as did the piercings in his left eyebrow. He had blue eyes that screamed rebellion, and his lip had been curled up in distaste.
He’d been arrested several times for lesser offenses, but now he was wanted for assault and battery, theft, vandalism, and a slew of other charges.
But what caught your attention was the tattoo covering his throat.
A thin point of an elongated diamond started at the hollow of his throat and widened to a larger spike underneath his chin. Two shorter diamonds were on either side of the one in the middle. The first wrapped up the side of his neck and the second splayed across his collar bone.
It wasn’t the first time you’d seen that tattoo.
And if Fox was trying to make connections to a rising crime family, he wasn’t going to have to look much farther.
You quickly tapped out a mail and sent it off, not knowing if he was actually going to pay any mind to it or not…but it was worth a shot. You attached Zilcar’s file, a close up of his tattoo, a mention of the fact you’d seen it associated with several other warrants and arrests, and links to other cases connected to the Scrap and Scarab.
By the time you were finished, your hands were shaking. You had to take a deep breath to try and calm your racing heart.
You’d spent your early childhood in that garage.
Second to you, it had been your father’s pride and joy.
And it had gotten him killed.
Digging into the case had always been something you tried to get the CSF to do, and eventually the Guard, but it never seemed high on their priority list. And you’d never been in a position to push for it.
But now?
It was right there.
You were supposed to be working with the Commander of the Guard. You had clearance to access all of their case files and to their entire network. There was an active investigation related to your father’s death and the takeover of his business. All you had to do was push a few things in the right directions and all the pieces of the puzzle would fall together.
But…would it really be that easy?
You’d worked your ass off to get out of the Under City, to be able to send credits to your mother and sister, to try and provide for them the way your father had.
If you made the wrong move, if you said the wrong thing, if you dropped the wrong hint, that would all go away.
Everything you’d worked for, everything you’d built, gone in the blink of an eye.
You’d be accused of any number of crimes, arrested, and then where would you be? No closer to answers than you were on that first night.
With a sigh, you scrubbed a hand down your face and let out a quiet laugh. “Not here to play detective,” you reminded yourself. Knowing that you had at least pointed Fox in the direction you wanted him to go sniffing around, you shook your head and closed all the tabs related to the Scarab. Your hands shook as you did, and you had to set your datapad aside for a few moments to recollect yourself before setting about the organization task once again.
~*~*~*~
It was long past the shift change for the overnight crew. You hadn’t heard Fox’s door open once since the morning meeting, despite your attempts to coerce and bribe him into allowing you inside so you could deliver him a meal. He’d ignored all your messages…which honestly wasn’t all that surprising.
You’d lost track of everything you’d done for the day and the amount of caf you’d consumed. It had quit working somewhere in the late evening after you managed to scrounge up a snack of a ration bar and some Jogan fruit.
While you were waiting for the Commander to come out of his office, you had moved from your spot hidden in the corner to sitting just outside the door. The corridors were much less lively considering the late hour, and you didn’t think you would be in anyone’s way.
What you didn’t count on was being there so late that you fell asleep leaning against the doorframe.
So when the door finally hissed open, revealing the Commander, you’re startled awake with a jolt and a small yelp.
Fox jumps, surprised by your presence. You mirror the action, jolting away from the doorframe with a small squeak. You quickly reached up to fix your glasses, which had gone more than a little askew on your face before scrubbing your hand over your cheek. “Commander,” you said, scrambling to rise to your feet. “I’m sorry, I meant to have all this picked up-“
He held up a hand, stalling your apology mid sentence. “Shiny, what the hell are you still doing here?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. His voice was gravelly, even more so because of the vocoder in his helmet, and you had to clear your throat before speaking again.
“You, uh, never left…” you explained, gesturing weakly to his office. “It’s my job to be here when you are…so…here I am…heh.”
He looked at you for a long moment, and you could feel his eyes piercing your soul through the black emptiness of his visor. Finally, he sighed. “Go home. Get some rest.”
Tags: @jetii @milkshaketheboybringer @area-fiftyone @motherofoompaloompas (saw a post you said to tag you in any OCD Fox stories)
Sometimes I randomly remember that we’re getting a Bad Batch novel and that the summary is in Hunter’s POV and I literally start vibrating with excitement