66. Endearment 67. Panic 68. Bereavement 69. Conflict 70. Wretchedness.

Warnings: 67 and 68 are about death. 70 briefly mentions dealing with lice by shaving uncomfortable places.

Endearment

"Little 'un."

"Rexter."

"Kid."

"Rex ol' boy."

The terms had originated as a matter of convenience. Rex couldn't quite bring himself to call the gangly Padawan "sir," and as for Ahsoka, she nicknamed everyone, whether they wanted it or not. But as they worked together and grew more comfortable with their relationship as Captain and Commander, the names became something more. They were a beacon of normalcy amid the insanity of war, a moment's respite from the hierarchy of the army. But most of all, they represented friendship: so much more than that of subordinate and superior. They were vode.

Panic

Fear. That's what Ahsoka felt all around. Terror. Not from the injury. She'd been shot before. It was much worse. She'd lost many comrades in battle over the years, but never before had one literally slipped through her fingers.

Steela had been so close to the edge, to life. But one blaster bolt had changed that: broken Ahsoka's concentration and sent the girl falling to her death. Ahsoka had desperately reached for her as soon as she had recovered, but it was too late. The terror faded now to grief, and the moment would stay etched in Ahsoka's memory forever.

Bereavement

Rex could hardly stand when the HAZMAT teams finally arrived to rescue the Blue Shadow survivors, but he refused to lie down. He needed to do one final check. To catalogue who had lived and who had died. As Rex noted each still face, he felt a small ember of pride. These men had died well. But he also felt a profound sense of loss. The men would never return home to their brothers.

With one last look around the lab, Rex sank onto a stretcher and allowed himself to be carried home, his brothers living on in his memory.

Conflict

Tup stirred his caf idly as he sat in the mess. He had a lot on his mind. The new general was… unusual. Dogma was probably right. The General must know what he was doing. After all, Jedi were much wiser than clones. But when Tup heard ARC Fives and his friends complaining about the tactics and casualties, Tup couldn't help but think that they were right.

Tup stood, decision made. He'd just keep his mouth shut and keep going. He was only a trooper, after all. It wasn't his place to meddle in the affairs of ARCs and generals.

Wretchedness (Double Drabble)

CT-19-2491 shivered as he stood at attention in line, waiting to be shorn like a nerf. The flimsiplast smock did little to block the chilly Kaminoan air, but it also didn't offer the lice refuge. He itched like crazy, but he had orders to stand still and not scratch, so that was exactly what he would do. He must have made some sign, however, because the boy behind him noticed.

"You Ok?" He asked.

"Don't want to lose my hair."

"We're lucky," the boy said. "We're still young. Some of the older clones were scrubbed and shaved from head to toe." 91 shuddered. The insecticidal shampoo burned badly enough on his scalp. He didn't want to imagine how it would feel in more sensitive areas.

"I don't want to be different." 91 explained.

"Different's not so bad," the boy replied easily. "I'm sadder about the lice. They were kinda interesting."

91 snorted in disbelief, but he decided he liked this cadet. He reached his hand back and extended his fingers to the other boy. "I'm 91."

"Taggart." The boy's voice smiled as he touched 91's fingers surreptitiously, so the Kaminoans wouldn't notice, and the two friends waited together in silence.

Author's Note: I liiiiiive! It's been over a month and a half since I last published, and I'm sorry for that. Job hunting, a very nasty cold, and general writer's block played havoc with this set of drabbles, but I'm hoping to keep posting regularly from now until I finish *fingers crossed*. 91 and Taggart are both OC's of mine (This is not the Taggart who's in the Senate Guard in "A Friend In Need"). 91 was invented specifically for this drabble, but Taggart is a member of the 414th under general Shadan Aquil. He's based on a somewhat more obscure character, and this drabble doesn't reveal much of his personality, so I'd be amazed if you managed to guess who he's based off of. He will be showing up again, giving you a slightly more obvious description of his personality.