It was the end. Finally, after years of conflict, the Emperor was dead and the Empire had fallen. The galaxy was at peace for the time being and the party on Endor was in full swing. Small, furry Ewoks danced around the fires, while the remaining rebels had gone out, catching some of the local wildlife, and were proceeding to cook it, making the smell of barbeque filling the air. Fireworks exploded overhead and drumbeats filled the air. Everyone was celebrating the end of the war.
Luke Skywalker had never been as happy as he was then. The war had ended, everyone was at peace, and the galaxy was safe. As Han and Leia danced by the firelight, Chewbaca seemed to have taken to juggling some of the smaller Ewoks, Luke took a hearty bite of meat and relaxed back onto one the leafy, make-shift couches that had generously been thrown together by their tiny hosts. R2-D2 whirred over and made several happy chirps.
"Yeah, buddy. I'm glad it is too." C-3PO had also managed to disengage himself from the Ewoks, and had joined the two. R2 whirred his head cover to face the gold droid and beeped.
"Oh yes. I certainly am glad the war is over, R2." Suddenly, however, a commotion broke out near the entrance of the camp. An Ewok had come screaming and shrieking at the top of his lungs, and had quickly created similar noises among is fellow Ewoks. The music and chatter ground to a halt as all non-Ewok eyes turned to C-3PO who, as quickly as he could, made his way over to the frantic creature.
"Ookato nee?" He questioned, to which the reply was another frantic shriek. C-3PO jerked back a bit, obviously startled, "Oh. Oh my!" Han Solo and Luke pushed their way to the front,
"Whatt'd he say?" Han asked the droid, who seemed to be very flustered.
"He... He said the Empire has just landed here!" The entire clearing went silent and completely still. Faces stared in shock and disbelief, the food and music forgotten. Everybody moved at once. Blasters were holstered, armor was haphazardly thrown on, spears were grabbed, and everybody ran after the single Ewok through the forest. Eventually they reached a rocky cliff that overlooked thousands of trees. There, settled in the center, was a Lambda-class shuttle, the wings raised and the front windshield completely black.
Taking up defensive positions, the rebels and Ewoks hid behind the trees, waiting for the oncoming storm. A few seconds passed, and finally the landing platform descended. Hands gripped harder. Furry arms drew back. Han, Luke, and Leia exchanged glances. The platform touched the ground, footsteps clinked from inside, and everyone tensed. A single stormtrooper stepped onto the dirt of Endor. Han scoffed,
"Not exactly the invasion force we were expecting, huh?" The stormtrooper scanned the area, twisting his white helmet back and forth. Pressing two fingers to the side of his head, he he spoke into it, but the hidden forces couldn't quite catch it. Four more men quickly descended onto the planet. They then began to converse amongst each other. Hans leaned over to Luke,
"I know for a fact that those birds can carry up to twenty men." Luke nodded,
"Then why are there only four?" Han shrugged,
"I dunno and I don't care." Leia stared closer,
"It could be a trap, Han." Chewbaca quietly vocalized his agreement with this. Han shrugged,
"Even if that ship was loaded with an entire battalion, we still have enough soldiers here to completely wipe them out." Leia opened her mouth to argue, but Han had already started. Raising his hand forward with a slight jerk, he signaled. Quickly the rebel troops hustled out onto the cliff, guns aimed and cocked at the troopers. The stormtroopers themselves quickly fell into a defensive line, their own blasters alternating between the many men, women, and Ewoks that surrounded them. Han, Luke, and Leia bounded out from behind the trees, Luke's lightsaber swooshing out, and Leia and Han's blasters pointed at the whitewash men. One of the troopers raised his hands up, dual pistols dropping to the ground, and turned to his comrades,
"Weapons down, guys! Weapons down!" The men glanced at each other before slowly lowering their blasters as well. Han and Chewbaca walked forward, sights still trained on the stormtroopers. Han jerked his head, and several rebels ran into the ship.
"What are you doing here?" Luke snarled harshly, Leia glaring at them. Han knocked the tip of his pistol against the helmet of the soldier.
"I actually got the same question. You gonna answer us, or are we just gonna pack your dead bodies back onto that ship?" The black visor tilted slightly before responding,
"We've come to see General Skywalker." The crowd murmured and faltered. Han smiled at Luke,
"How'd you get to become a general?" He laughed. Luke stepped forward.
"What do you want with me?" One of the troopers groaned,
"Not you, kid!" The leader shushed him.
"Quiet, Hawk!" He sighed, "We didn't come to see you." Leia stepped forward,
"Well there's no 'General Skywalker' here, so why don't you tell us the truth?"
"Lord Vader. We've come for Lord Vader." Luke narrowed his eyes, and the crowd tittered nervously.
"What do you want with our father?" Leia asked. The trooper looked at her behind his helmet,
"That, I'm afraid, I can't tell you." Luke stepped in front of him,
"Darth Vader is dead. You can't help him."
"Oh, we know. And we have no intention of trying anything like that." Han poked his chest armor,
"And how do we know this isn't a trap?" The soldier turned to him,
"You have my word." Hans laughed,
"Oh right! And I'm a Genosian!" He moved his arms in a condescending matter, "Gimme a break." The stormtrooper stayed silent before moving both his hands up to the base of his helmet. With a small hiss, he pulled the covering off, revealing his weathered face. Though pockmarked with scars and a shaved head, his eyes glowed fiercely. Looking Han, Luke and Leia straight in the eyes, he stepped forward.
"You have it on my honor as a warrior." Han frowned,
"Please." He lifted his blaster to the other man's forehead. Suddenly a hairy arm and a moan pushed the gun down. Chewbaca was shaking his head and had a hand over the pistol.
"Chewie! What are you-" The Wookie gave another call, "What do you mean 'warrior's honor'?! These guys have no honor!" Chewbaca bellowed again, and Han raised is hands defensively,
"Alright, alright. We'll ask Luke." Turning to the blonde man, he raised his eyebrow, "Well? What do you want to do with them?" Luke turned to Leia.
"What do you think?" Leia gave a sideways glance at the five white-armored soldiers,
"Well there are only five of them..." Luke nodded,
"Aright. We'll take you to Darth Vader. But don't try anything." The bald man nodded and they filed off into the forest.
"Thank you." He murmured to Chewbaca, who, in return, gave a low guttural growl and bared his teeth, "Duly noted."
As they made their way through the jungle, Leia fell into step beside the leader.
"So what are your names?" Barely missing a beat, the man recited his number,
"ST- 7567." Leia cocked her head,
"I know you have a number, but don't you have names?" The man looked at the ground,
"You can call me Rex." He nodded to the others, who in turn sounded off.
"Hawk."
"Boomer."
"Jesse."
"Kix. That's Kix with an 'X'." Leia nodded, and continued walking. Hawk turned to her.
"So you were his daughter, huh?"
"Yes. How did you know him, anyway? Were you his personal attache?" Boomer laughed,
"You could say that."
"We were part of the 501st." Jesse said wistfully. Leia's eyes widened,
"The 501st?" Hawk elbowed Jesse in the ribs. Rex nodded silently.
"Yeah. We're all that's left of the Legion now, though. Kinda sad, really." Kix sighed. Leia frowned.
"I always figured clones were bred without emotion." Rex shook his head,
"Nowadays they are. We're from before the Rebellion." Leia stared, confused,
"Before?" Boomer nodded,
"We were born during the Clone Wars." Leia gasped,
"But that was over twenty years ago!" Rex nodded solemnly.
"Back before Vader."
"But I thought clones weren't supposed to live more than ten years." She said and Rex gave her a sad look.
"They don't." Leia was tempted to ask more, but Luke looked back,
"Alright. We're here."
In the clearing was a large burnt stack of logs. Ashes flew about the air, dancing like little black clouds. The clones stepped forward, one-by-one and examined the pyre. Finally, Rex reached in and pulled out a black metal object, shaking ash and soot off of it. It was unmistakably the helmet of Darth Vader. The four other clones gathered around Rex, and went off to the side. Han and Luke watched mistrustfully, while Leia and Chewbaca watched on, intrigued. Hawk and the rest removed their helmets, and a quiet shift of unease spread about the collected people. They all looked the same. Clones. The mark of the Empire. Han blew out a breath,
"Jeez, how do they even tell each other apart?" Leia shushed him quietly. Rex pulled something off his belt. The distinct silver flashed. Two lightsabers hung from his hands. Luke bristled.
"Where did you get those?!" He shouted, "Who did you kill?" Kix merely looked back at him glossy eyes and shook his head. Luke moved towards them, but was stopped by Leia.
"Stop!" She looked over her shoulder at them. "What's done is done. Leave them be." Luke reluctantly stepped back, leaving the clones to their business.
Rex set the helmet down and bent down next to it.
"I'm sorry, sir." He said as the other soldiers bowed their heads, "This was all we could save of her." Placing the sabers down next to it, he closed his eyes. The others followed suit. He abruptly straightened, however, and stood at attention. Lining up behind him, the stormtroopers fell in.
"This, sir, is the last, and final, debriefing of the original 501st Legion!" He shouted, helmet now tucked professionally under his arm. "Unfortunately, we five are the only ones left! Me, Hawk, Boomer, Jesse, and Kix! We...We've lost a lost of men." Rex faltered for a brief second, "Over five thousand of our brothers have died! Yet, I don't think-no, I know, not a single one would take it back!" Many of the others in the clearing tensed at this, thinking of all the people they had lost to the Empire. "You, Gerneral Skywalker, Darth Vader, you have always given us a reason to live! Always commanded us with the greatest leadership, no matter what!" Hawk was stoically shaking, his hands clenched into fists, while Boomer's jaw was set and his teeth ground.
"We're so sorry we couldn't help you in the end. Of all the times you were there for us, we couldn't be there when you needed the help the most! From the bottom of our hearts, we're sorry!" Leia could almost feel the raw emotion these men were emitting. Even Han and Luke seemed dazzled by it.
"We were bred in a laboratory for war. We were born to fight and die. To any other man this might seem like an existence not worth living. But," He took a breath, as if steeling himself for what he was about to say, "If we in the 501st could be reborn as anything. If we could be given the choice, there is no clone, no man, who would say yes! We would give another, one, ten, a thousand lifetimes to serve under you, sir!"
"We all...We all have a few words for you." He stepped back and Hawk stepped forward.
"General, ever since I went through training on Kamino, I've known I was going to fly. I know you know that feeling. I-I..." He swallowed heavily, "I've always seen you as me. Forgive me, but, you and I, we've always been more at home in space or in the sky than fighting on the ground. I always considered us, fly-boys, sir." He laughed nervously, "It sounds stupid, but... its what's gotten me through every campaign we've fought through. Just you and me. Flying." He bowed his head and stepped back. Boomer was the next in line.
"Sir, I've... I've always been a bit... brash, as Master Kenobi would say. But you, believe it or not, taught me patience. You weren't always the most... patient person, but thinking about your lessons is what has gotten me some of the toughest spots of my life." He rotated his neck several times. As though trying to dislodge something in his throat. "Thank you... Master Skywalker." He too bowed and retreated while another clone took his place. Jesse.
"Hey, boss." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "You probably don't want to remember this, but, back on Umbara, when Fives and I fucked up. I though I was gonna die. And I...I was coward!" He squeezed his eyes shut and panted. "I was terrified! I couldn't move, I couldn't even breath! I thought about it for years, and it always came back to that! I couldn't even face death!" He looked at the helmet, "Even when all my brothers could face it, I couldn't! I still can't! I...I don't want to die!" He took a calming breath,
"But I thought about it. A long time ago. Must've been over fifteen years ago. I told myself that...that if I was going to die...you'd be the one I'd die for." He bowed, a few tears plopping onto the ground at his feet. "Thank you for giving me a reason to live." Kix stepped forward, tears pouring down his face, yet remaining eerily calm.
"I've seen so much death." He said in a weary voice. "So many people dying in my arms, with nothing I can do to help them. I don't even see why they have clone medics. We all die. So easily. I know Captain Rex apologized earlier, but... I need to as well. I, from the bottom of my heart, am truly sorry." He fell to his knees, palms covering his face, sobs racking him, "She died with me!" He cried, "I said I'd look after her, and she died in my arms! I have failed so many people in my life! Every man I couldn't help... Oh gods!" He bent his forehead over until he was curled up against the ground. Leia watched in despair as the clone cried and screamed, smashing the ground with his fists. She too, as well as several others around, had tears flowing down their cheeks as well. Yet none of the other clones made a move to touch him. They continued staring at the small grave. After a few minutes, Kix subsided. Shakily he got to his feet.
"Sorry sir. I...I've been getting those more and more often. I'm ashamed, sir, that I couldn't even help myself when I needed to help others." He stroked one of the lightsabers beside the grave, "Her last words were, 'Please thank him for me'." He shook his head. "We never did. We never did..." Rex tapped his shoulder and he stepped back. Rex breathed.
"I guess it's my turn, huh?" He sighed."When I first met you, I thought being a good soldier meant following orders. I thought that all you had to do was stick to the plan and you'd come out on top." He chuckled dryly. "Boy was I shiny then. But, you. You were, in my opinion, reckless, impulsive, and honestly, I thought your hair was stupid. And I thought that to be a good soldier means following orders. That doing good only meant doing well. But you taught me. You taught me that being a great soldier meant doing what you thought was right, but also, that being a great friend meant staying by each others side. Leave no man behind. You always said you were never cut out for teaching. But I disagree. Without your lessons, many of us would dead. On the outside or the inside." He closed his eyes.
"General Skywalker. You valued us as much as we valued you. To you, we were never just clones! We were never just cannon fodder! We were men! And now, General, these men would like to thank you!" All five clones snapped their feet together and threw their hands to their foreheads. In unison, ringing out through the forest, five voices rung together:
"THANK YOU, ANAKIN SKYWALKER!"