A.N. ~ I'm bored. Saturdays are basically always my writing days. The Brother Arc is technically over, but its spirit still lingers...
"Hold still!"
"I barely moved!"
"If I poke your eye, that'll be my excuse." The medic and I argue. He's disinfecting the gash over my right eye and checking for any serious damage. He finishes, moving his fingers from close to my eye. I crossly blink a few times and stop when the action pulls against my cut.
"Thanks." I mutter. He nods stiffly and I go to the bunks. Strangely enough, I feel like a can actually sleep, even after that fight.
§ § §
REX'S P.O.V.
Fives has relayed a hello from Twitch. I'm glad she's alright, and that the ARC made it back alive. It's strange not seeing her in the Mess or spot her out of the corner of my eye during a fight. Sometimes I catch myself wondering if we'll meet in the hallway before remembering she's stuck in an outpost on Saleucami.
§ § §
FIVES' P.O.V.
And watch Rex's back. Someone should.
The words haunt me. I've never thought of Rex as someone who needs anyone watching his back. I haven't told him about the request. I stand beside Tup in the LAAT/i gunship, talking it over through or helmets' comm privately.
"It does sound like something she'd say. You know how protective she can be when it comes to clones." Tup agrees. I'm torn between watching my brother-by-choice's back and my Captain's.
"Yeah, but Rex can take care of himself." I say lamely.
"So can we, but it gets hard without anyone helping you." I bob my head in agreement. But there's still the problem of who I stick with. He seems to read my mind.
"Ah, do what she says and give the Captain a hand." I see Rex and General Skywalker coming our way. We shut up and salute. Another go at Plytunon. Wonderful.
§ § §
STILL FIVES' P.O.V.
Savage?! Since when was that monster here? Skywalker is busy with several commandos. I continue shooting at Opress beside Rex. He advances on us. We start backing up nervously.
Tup joins our unproductive attempts of killing the Sith. Savage apparently tires of our resistance and leaps at us. We dive roll and resume shooting. Rex lifts up in the air and flies toward the glowing red lightsaber, dragged by the Force.
"Rex!" I cry. The two halves of my friend tumble to the ground. I watch numbly as the monster steps towards me. The red blade rises and... Ahsoka shoves me aside and starts attacking Savage with a light of fury in her eyes. I start shooting again, pained and horrified. Rex...
§ § §
FIVES' P.O.V. (AGAIN. BEAR WITH ME)
I reluctantly turn on the holopad and wait. A clone appears and regards me.
"Identify yourself."
"ARC-trooper Fives. Is a young girl named Twitch in the building?" My small friend suddenly walks into view. I could swear her eyes brighten.
"Fives. Everyone still alive over there?" She asks cheerfully. I wish I was anywhere but here. She sees my expression and becomes serious. "What happened?"
"Savage attacked us during a fight on Plytunon. Tup and Splinter are okay, but Rex..." Her expression is enough to break even the toughest soldier's heart.
"Dead?" She almost whispers. I swallow hard and nod. She looks at the ceiling and blinks before looking back to me.
"Thanks for letting me know. I, um..."
"I know. Bye." I'm almost afraid she'll cry.
"Bye." The hologram flickers out of existence.
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
I mask my face with cold lack of emotion. I feel like throwing up, but go to the Mess. My heart hurts, and my throat aches from holding back a sob. I know any of us could die at any minute, but that moment always seems so far off.
It's a complete shock to hear that Rex... I can't finish that thought. Not when I'm so close to crying. I sit alone in the back and pick at my food. I eventually begin to put it in my mouth, chew, then swallow in a robotic rhythm.
Once I'm done, my stomach does a turn, then settles. I sit still and stare at the far wall blankly. Someone sits next to me and I slowly turn my head to look at him. I should be surprised at seeing Keeli sitting there, staring at me with a strange look that, normally, I'd identify as worry, but I'm still numb to the world.
"You're looking pretty pale. Are you alright?" He says. I start shaking my head, then quickly stop.
"I—I'm fine." My voice is strained.
"What's wrong?" I struggle to find a believable lie, but give up.
"I was just talking to Fives. Rex is dead. Opress killed him." My throat tightens and I focus on scraping the last few crumbs off my tray.
"I take it you two knew each other?"
"Yeah. For months." My hoarse voice sounds unusual to me. A burning anger suddenly flares up when I picture the horned Sith that hurt Fives and killed my friend.
§ § §
KEELI'S P.O.V.
I watch Twitch's face contort in a storm of emotion. Flashes of blank, angry, and grief stricken lightning burn in her eyes. Clones aren't people you get close to. We are bred to fight and die. She seems to finally win out and an icy scowl locks into her expression.
I think about the patrol we had been planning to go on that I was about to remind her of. Not a good call now. I don't think this is an age thing, or a gender thing. This is something that fits more along the lines of losing a friend.
I always wondered why she seemed more relaxed about talking with me than other troops. I thought maybe it was her origins, whatever they are, but now I'm certain it's because she'd known Rex and is used to chatting with higher-ups.
If it weren't for her age, I probably would've made her second-in-command by now. She's proven capable of toughing it out in a bad situation, and willing to go to extreme lengths to protect the men she's with.
Though mentioning my dead men on Lego was not something I like, it was necessary to keep me focused. Hearing the news of the 501st's dead Captain doesn't hit me very hard emotionally wise. Clones die every day. But Rex was tough, smart, and extremely capable. Then again, Savage is a Sith, and clones are pretty ineffective against them.
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
It's been a couple weeks since I heard about Rex. I want nothing more than to leave and track down Savage myself, but that wouldn't help. I can't beat him in a fight, and if I up and left the Republic again, I get the feeling they wouldn't welcome me back. The cruel fact of life is that, right now, I'm stuck on this rock.
§ § §
ANAKIN'S P.O.V.
Ghynna regards me with a mixture of confusion and surprise.
"Why do you want Twitch? She is only a child. Your legion is likely to get her killed."
"She was with us for five months. And I need her because she has street smarts. She knows her way around."
"And you're confident you can keep an eye on her?" The Twi'lek crosses her arms.
"Sometimes I get the feeling she keeps an eye on us."
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
I clip on my guns and check my arm-blades' bluntness. I'd be more ecstatic about my brief return to the 501st if Rex was there. I go to the landing platform and watch a Jedi Consular Cruiser, similar to the one I'd met Splinter on, land. The ramp opens and I walk on. I run into Skywalker and salute, standing at attention.
"At ease. Go meet Dytin. He'll be helping us track down Opress." My heart speeds up a little and I nod. I find who must be Dytin slouched in a seat in a very relaxed, suspiciously out-of-it posture. His hair is messy and brown, shadowing green eyes that pick me apart lazily.
"Skywalker didn't say anything about a kid." He says with an unfamiliar accent.
"He didn't say anything about civvies either." I reply evenly.
"I'm no civvy." He growls, aggression lighting up his eyes.
"Neither am I." This is going to be fun. Rex would probably crack our heads together and remind us to focus on the mission. I sit down across from him.
"What are you, maintenance?" He asks roughly.
"Soldier. And you're a bounty hunter, right?"
"Mercenary. How'd a small thing like you end up in the army?"
"I'll let you know next time we run into a droid." I growl, scowling. Diplomacy: not my strong suit. This guy: likely to not make it out of this ship alive.
"Didn't catch the name, sweetheart." I look at him sharply with hints of disbelief.
"Twitch." I reply curtly.
"That's your real name?"
"It's the only one I use." He chuckles. It makes me want to deck him.
§ § §
Seeing how I've scrubbed my guns and gauntlets until they shine, I have nothing left to do. My hands instinctively grab up the cloth and restart the process again. Dytin sighs in exasperation.
"Do you ever do anything but clean your weapons and armour?" I almost say 'clone habit', but catch myself.
"Yes, but there isn't much to do. It's a pretty common pastime when we don't have any options besides sleeping."
"Sounds boring."
"The battles make up for it."
"Still not convinced you're old enough to fight." He mutters.
"And we also spar when we get really bored." I add angrily.
"Let's do that, then." I take off my gauntlets and put my guns beside them, glad I have long sleeves on. We take up positions and I start my acrobatics. Both for energy exertion and showing off. He goes on the offensive, which is exactly what I want him to do. It's how this type of fighting works.
§ § §
ANAKIN'S P.O.V.
I enter the room to see Twitch and Dytin in a full fledged sparring match. All those who saw this coming... I watch in amusement as the mercenary tries unsuccessfully to tackle the young clone, who hops out of the way at the last second, lightly kicking his exposed side. A scar stretches across her right eye. She'll forget about it soon enough. I would know. Dytin whips around with frustration flaring in his eyes. Rex is a very good actor.
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
I'm not sure how many points it is later when we stop. My first instinct is to taunt the mercenary, but I just keep my mouth shut as I clip on my gauntlets and re-holster my guns.
Something in his fighting had seemed familiar, but there are a lot of moves that people I've fought know. Chances are he uses them, too. I start when I see Skywalker standing in the doorway, arms crossed. I automatically start stiffening, but he shakes his head. I hear a sound of exasperation from Dytin.
"Are all the people in your army wound this tight, Jedi?" He asks lazily.
"I'll let Twitch explain standard protocol to you." I give him a HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! look as he walks past on his way to the cockpit. I turn and cross my arms, regarding Dytin with undecidedness.
"You think I'm wound tight, try talking to Dogma." I growl before sitting across from him. Eventually, he'll get bored and try talking. I can explain then.
§ § §
DYTIN'S P.O.V.
This kid knows how to mess with me. And her fighting style! If she tells anyone about our match, I'm decking her. And then she piques my curiosity by mentioning Dogma without further explanation. She clearly has a lot of experience with people outside of the military. I just hope she doesn't start suspecting anything...
§ § §
TWITCH'S P.O.V.
Throughout the ride, I've inserted piece by piece of the dos and don'ts involving military behaviour. I would sleep, but I don't exactly trust him. I settle for leaving.
The Mess is empty, and I feel very alone. I'd take any clone's company right now, even Ticks. I get my food and eat it. Sleep starts dogging me, trying to appeal to my exhaustion.
I'm wedged in a corner, my back pressed against where two walls almost meet. As soon as I finish, I lean my head back against the walls and close my eyes. At least I'll know who to blame if I wake up to anything unpleasant.
§ § §
Dytin either didn't find me or did and used his brain, because I wake up perfectly fine except for a sore neck. I return to the seats and roll my eyes at Dytin. He's passed out with his mouth wide open and snoring.
So many horrible things I could do to him. But, we might be in another situation where we have to sleep under the same roof, so I leave it be.
I use a couple minutes to murmur a daily remembrance in Mando'a for Rex and my brothers. The mercenary stirs, looking at me blearily.
"Say somethin', kid?" He asks.
"Nothing that concerns you." I retort, unhappy that my silence is being disturbed.
"Enlighten me." He says, rolling his eyes.
"Daily remembrance. Like I said; nothing to do with you." I growl.
"You've lost friends?" He grunts, clearly not convinced.
"It's war. People die." A scowl covers my features.
"Well, who'd you lose?" He demands uncaringly. I glare bloody murder at him.
"That's not your business. And if we continue this conversation, somebody out there will be including your name in the remembrance."
"Sheesh, are you on your period or something?" I almost shoot him.
"Shut up now, don't speak unless it's important." I warn with a tone that spells danger. He rolls his eyes again and goes back to sleep. Skywalker enters the room. I give him a venomous look and start scrubbing my guns again. Couldn't we just have brought a clone along?
A.N. ~ please review, negative and positive. Next chapter within 48 hours.