Author's Note: Another canon character arrives! This time, in a slightly different fashion.
VIII
Dantooine - 14 BBY
Faint beads of sweat harmonized on his face.
His pulse was quickened, but steady.
Footsteps undulating in a methodical pace, sloping down to meet the floor and rising up.
Rinse and repeat.
His morning jog was nothing out of the ordinary. Passing numerous familiar faces in the passageways that were carved out underground. Intelligence officers, communications specialists, security personnel, the likes of whom were all pleased to see him out and about.
"Morning captain."
"Workin' up a sweat there, sir."
"Good morning sir."
"Looking good!"
"Catch you at the briefing, Cap."
He broke through a crowd of six intel officers, all rather young. They were probably just the new recruits.
Eyeing the intersection ahead, he noticed the face of a friend.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going for a run?" The person called out to him.
"Slips my mind.. Every time Daal." He replied between breaths.
"Shame. I would've gotten up and watched." They chuckled, his friend giving him a slap on the shoulder as he ran on.
Fourteen minutes in, he still had sixteen left to go.
But he didn't mind. This was his escape.
Labyrinthian in its construction, the sprawling complex encompassed nearly two square kilometers beneath level on Dantooine. A maze of tunnels and tubes carrying staff from briefing rooms to control centers and everywhere in between, the structure was, at times, a bit claustrophobic.
He had no issues getting around, however. Between ferrying intelligence reports and his morning rungs, he had learned to navigate it well over the years.
It had become home.
Pausing outside the east wing mess hall, he took a breath and a moment to compose himself, wiping the sweat from his brows.
A passerby stopped to grab his attention. A short woman with a stack of manila folders in her arms.
"Captain."
"What is it?" He exhaled sharply, resting his hands on either hip.
"You're needed in the command center."
A sigh.
"Urgency?"
"As soon as you can, sir."
"Thank you. At ease." The girl hurried off to her destination, while he paced forward towards the command center.
Situated at the center of the hypogean compound, the command center acted as the brain for the kilometers of tunnels that served as the central nervous system for Bail Organa's intelligence network.
For five years the captain had given his service to Organa's small movement. But it was blossoming.
In time, he hoped, it would become something more.
Following the crowded corridors down a strict path, memorized over years of running it, he descended into the hub of the operation, like trailing through a capillary vessel on his way to the heart.
Outside the south entrance doors to the command center, he peered in through the plexiglass. He saw the one responsible for requesting his presence. He had hoped it was not another paperwork order.
The door whirred open, and in he went.
The man in question stood upon a central platform, raised above the rest of the room by a step or two. On all sides, he was flanked with rows of screens, holographic projections, HoloNet footage, scouting maps, and archival data for recordkeeping.
It was only when the door shut behind him, was when he was noticed. His superior officer turned to face him. His mirror image.
The renowned and stalwart leader of the Grand Army of the Republic's 501st Legion. The right hand man to the legendary Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. One of the most decorated heroes of the war.
Commander Rex.
"Noble."
"Sir."
"I hope I didn't interrupt your run." He offered a casual smirk.
"No worries sir, I was almost through."
"Right. Well, I know you may not like another assignment on top of your others, but I have something for you."
Noble blinked.
"More paperwork?"
"In a way. But more interesting than what you've been given previously."
"Just say the word, Commander."
Noble watched him further as he leaned across a control panel to grab a folder, nearly overflowing with files. He stepped down from the platform to hand it over.
"I want you to find out as much about this place as you can. Use our backdoor access into the Imperial Archives, the password is in the folder."
CT-7567 turned and retreated back to his post.
"There a timeline on this?" Noble asked.
"Senator Organa wants a detailed report by the end of the week," Rex replied. The clone's hardened face had softened a bit from war-time. But even during an age of relative peace, his resolve could not have been stronger.
"Senator Organa wants me to brief him?" Noble was confused. Normally, the intelligence officers would do the briefings, not him. Honestly, he still wasn't quite sure what his official role was at the base, despite five years of honest work for Organa.
"Aye. That's right," Rex answered. "There's some Jedi business in there. You and I both worked with 'em once, but considering I'm up to my waist in backlogged Outer Rim reports, I decided to trust you with it."
Noble gave him a small smile as a thanks. Finally something exciting.
Turning to leave for the south corridor, Rex called back.
"Captain."
"Sir?"
"Drinks tonight?"
The two clones grinned at each other. Noble nodded in simple affirmation, and both returned to their tasks at hand.
The door opened and shut like clockwork, and Noble was back in the corridors, folder in hand.
Taking a shortcut to his quarters, he dwelled on the idea of doing something a bit more meaningful than he had been before.
Five years on - what seemed like ten to him - and Noble had still felt like a glorified paper-pusher. Bail had promised him that he'd lead the security forces at the compound on Dantooine, but that vision never came to fruition as the years drew on.
The hideaway simply had no external threats. They were completely off the grid, were locked tight under the surface of the planet, and the galaxy was in its most widespread time of peace in over ten years.
That wasn't to say it was Bail's fault. It wasn't. Nobody was really to blame for Noble's relegation. He still held his title from the war, his combat record, his decorations, all that jazz. But something felt missing.
Being an enhanced errand boy - overseeing briefings, running records across base, performing weekly security examinations, and protocol adherence inspections - just felt too menial for a man who was once flinging thermal detonators into crowds of super battle droids and wrestling durasteel opponents with his bare hands.
Even Rex, who entered Organa's service almost a year after him, with title and all, was mainly an overseer of operations at the facility. A scaled up base commander. The man often complained to Noble about the lack of action. The depths of their boredom had been reaching new lows almost daily. They had to keep reminding themselves: It's for a good cause.
But alas, it was their life now.
Ascending a turbolift to the surface, Noble found himself greeted by fleeting notes of daylight, falling to hide behind a distant mountain range as Dantooine's sun fell lower.
The ground level facility was far smaller than the one below, it served simply as a reconnaissance and transportation hub for the intelligence network. Perhaps only a clique away, were the twinkling lights of a spaceport, and its adjacent settlement.
After hours of duty, he was free.
Renting a speeder, he piloted his way across the windswept prairie, kicking up rocks and dust against the power of the repulsorlift engines, his eyes set on the town before him.
It was typical, and had become customary. He would speed into Khoonda, the only major spaceport in the northern hemisphere, rendezvous with Rex, and they'd unwind after the events of another dull week.
This week was no different. Their meeting spot, always the same.
Parking the speeder at the vehicle center, just a ways from the cantina, he zig-zagged through the convoluted backstreets of the port, wandering past shady dealers and arguments in various languages. In the distance, he could hear the cries of children, and animals at the town stables.
Emerging into a somewhat cleaner side of town, he strode up to a hovel built of sturdy duracrete, appearing relatively newer in construction than surrounding homes in the district.
A brief rap on the door, and it opened in response.
Noble was greeted by those much smaller in stature than him, attacking at either of his legs.
"Uncle Noble!" They exclaimed.
The two children, both twins, wrapped themselves around his legs, eyes fixated on his own. They were precious, and meant the world to him.
"Kids!" He replied. His voice was tweaked to be a bit higher in pitch.
"You're here to see daddy, right?" The boy asked him.
"Right you are buddy," Noble said, ruffling the child's hair. Both boy and girl unlatched themselves from him and ran off into the next room, calling something unintelligible.
Noble stepped inside and shut the door, thankful for the circumambient heat of the dwelling as the temperature dropped outside.
Following the children down the hall into the kitchen, he was met with the face of an old friend. His oldest, perhaps, since they were boys, training side by side on Kamino. What seemed like forever ago.
Karma.
"Hey there, old man. Glad you could make it." His counterpart grinned.
"Not like I haven't made it the last two years, old man." Noble returned, loosening his coat and draping it around a chair at the kitchen table.
Karma clapped his hand on the Captain's shoulder, eager for a drink.
"Rex behind you?"
"He said he'd be a few minutes late."
"Right."
The children jumped at their father's waist, looking for attention.
"Alright kids, go find your mother. Tell her Uncle Noble's here." They quickly obeyed, surging into an adjacent room, yelling the name of their mother.
Noble still had to double take at the boy from time to time. He was a spitting image of his father, with occasional hints of his mother sneaking in as well.
The two men sat at the table, across from each other. Two seats on either side of them remained free. At the center, a pitcher of spotchka and three glasses sat ready for the gathering.
"How're things going?" Karma asked him, popping the cork to the spotchka.
"You know how they go Karm," Noble started. Since arriving on Dantooine half a decade prior, the clones were a bit lost for ideas when it came to crafting identities. Dynamo reduced his name to just a letter, Noble and Fix opted to keep theirs, and Karma simply shortened his to Karm.
"Yeah? Still dragging on with no shit to do eh?" Karma smirked, taking a glass from the center and filling it with blue.
A smack on the back of his head got his attention.
"Karm! The children are still awake, you'd do best to watch your mouth." His wife entered the room, trailed by the two little ones.
"Sorry Sala. You know Noble brings out the worst in me." He could only laugh, giving his friend a playful glance.
"I can see that. Good to see ya Noble. Fancy spy work still treatin' you okay?"
"I'm managing so far. Thanks Tala." They exchanged smiles and she moved to grab a few food capsules and put them into cold storage beneath the counter.
Noble had always admired her. Her spirit was strong and she never took no for an answer. She was a perfect foil for Karma.
As for her beauty, it was often understated, but could easily be noticed.
Long mahogany locks flowed down to her mid-back, and her dark brown eyes never failed to win over her husband in an argument. Her skin was smooth and tanned, devoid of freckles or blemishes, and her jawline came to a fine point. Tala's expression was often soft and cordial, but could occasionally take the form of a stern mother, when her children disobeyed or spilled some blue milk in the kitchen. Rather short in stature, she was nearly a foot shorter than Karma, but retained much in the way of sheer willpower and devotion to her family.
Delicate yet feisty. A glass cannon. Her presence was felt in every room she entered, and lingered long after she left. Today was no different. Her pleasant gravitas lifted Noble's spirits and put him more in the mood to drink with his colleagues.
Karma's daughter approached the table as her father offered Noble a glass to drink. Grabbing it, he looked at her and smiled.
"Daddy says we have to go to bed early tonight. He says we have to be ready for tomorrow." While Noble eyed a few of Karma's - and his own - defining features in the girl, she was definitely Tala's daughter.
"Where will you go tomorrow?" Noble asked her.
She gave a cheeky grin, trying to hide the obvious excitement on her face.
"We're going to the mountains for a picnic." She whispered, as if hiding a secret.
"The mountains?" Noble asked curiously, sipping his spotchka. "That'd oughta be fun."
"You should come Uncle Noble!"
"Yes, come!" The boy engaged himself in the conversation as well.
Noble chuckled, wiping a blue stain from his upper lip.
"I have some paperwork to go through tomorrow, I wish I could."
The children looked dejected, taking after their father, who also seemed disappointed by this.
"Aw c'mon Cap. It'll be fun. Just a few hours' distraction from those folders of yours."
"This one's high priority Karm. You know I would if I could."
Noticing the frowns on the little ones, Noble leaned down to their eye level, perking up their chins with his index fingers.
"No frowns allowed." He tried enticing them to smile again. "I'll come next time, I promise. You four are gonna have a great time."
"Okay.." The boy said, turning to head to bed. His sister followed a few moments later.
"Goodnight Tali, goodnight Tyno," Noble called to them.
"Goodnight.." they muttered in unison, voices marred by despondency.
The Captain felt bad. But he knew he had an important job to do.
"Don't worry Cap, they'll get over it." Karma said, pouring himself a drink.
"Aye, they're tough little ones. They just love their Uncle Noble," Sala added, winking to Noble before swooping in and planting a soft kiss on the cheek of her husband. "I'm off love, catch you on the flip side."
"Night hon," Karma returned and she disappeared after her children.
"So." Karma began, taking a swig of his glass. "You gonna tell me what this new assignment is all about?"
Before Noble could reply, the front door opened.
"Sorry I'm late boys!" Came a voice from the foyer.
Karma rolled his eyes.
Sala surged out of the master bedroom at what she believed was her husband's voice. Eyeing the newcomer entering the kitchen, she shook her head.
"Oh. It's just you. I can go back to bed," she scoffed. Rex grinned.
"I see your wife hasn't lost her sense of humor, Karm," the commander said eagerly to the men at the table. "Saved me a glass?"
"Aye, sit down y'crazy coot."
Rex obliged, taking the bottle to fill.
"I would've been here sooner, but I got caught up in a briefing on the Sicemon operation."
"Sicemon? They're finally taking that old war relic?" Noble asked him.
"What war relic?" Karma inquired.
"Old Venator destroyer. Parked on the planet and left untouched. We're moving in to sweep it clear and take it," Rex answered.
Karma thought on the implications, blinking twice, before continuing his questioning to the Captain.
"So, Noble? What do you have going on?"
Rex paused his filling, looking between the two. He eyed Noble a bit longer than he liked.
"Uhh.." Noble started. "Just a few more reports than normal." He took a drink, aiming to draw off suspicion.
It didn't work.
"I know when you're both bullshitting me, Rex." Karma punched the Commander in the shoulder, and Rex just winced.
"C'mon Karm. Organa trusts us with these things. We can't blab them around to anyone who asks," Noble covered for him.
"You both know I'm not just anyone."
"Yeah, we know. But you retired."
"Yeah." Karma fiddled with his drink while Rex looked to politely interrupt.
"Go on Noble," his superior urged.
Noble looked relieved. He sighed.
"Thanks. Was hoping you'd relent," he smiled coyly. Rex waved his hand and took a gulp of spotchka as the other two continued.
"You don't really have to. My curiosity gets the better of me," Karma said.
"No, I actually wanted to, it's okay," Noble replied.
"Okay." The clone set his glass down and rested his hands under his chin as he listened.
"I sorted through the files after Rex gave them to me. He told me it was Jedi business. He was right." Noble swallowed, drawing on a breath to fuel his explanation.
"Apparently, something happened on Ossus a few weeks ago. Organa wants us to comb through the Imperial Archives through a backdoor channel and learn whatever we can about the place."
"Ossus huh?" Karma asked.
"Yeah. Some important place to the Jedi. Bail had one of his agents there."
"Too bad you can't consult Orren."
Noble hadn't heard that name in quite a long time. Years, perhaps. Ever since departing from the hangar on Raxus Secundus, he had not seen nor heard from his former General since.
For all he knew, the man was dead.
"Yeah. Too bad."
"Orren Kara." Rex said. "Heard he was one hell of a fighter during the war."
"You bet he was," Karma quipped. "Was with us till the end." His eyes drifted down upon mentioning Quermia.
"General Skywalker commented about him once. I remember," Rex continued. "Admired his tenacity, but wasn't sure he was ready for a command. Listening to you guys though, sounds like he did just fine."
"Things went.. As well as they could have." Noble cut in. "We're thankful we made it out alive."
"Agreed. Otherwise, I wouldn't have all of this." Karma said, motioning around his home.
"I'd say you got it made, brother," Rex added. "Beautiful family, solid home, decent work. You make us proud."
"I do what I can. Why don't you two settle down? Meet a nice girl, pop out some kids."
Rex laughed, Noble just shook his head and took another sip.
"Family life doesn't feel right for me. I don't know, I just never considered it honestly," Rex replied. "What about you Cap?"
"I concur with Rex here. Never saw myself married with kids. Happy being the old uncle, thanks."
"Oh c'mon Noble, there's more out there for you than pushing papers around," Karma said. Noble shot him a look.
"Maybe. But who knows if I'll ever find it." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "When the war ended, I wasn't sure what to do. We were only bred to really do one thing. Difficult to adjust to doing anything other than just following orders."
"Cap's got a point," Rex pointed out. "A lot harder than it seems. You did good, Karm."
"Yeah," Noble agreed. "You're the best of us, Karm."
"Why follow orders, after all this time though?" Karma's words rang through Rex, and the man straightened up in his seat to listen. "We fought battle after battle for three years, earned no praise, no compensation, no thank you from anyone. We were expendable for the Republic, which doesn't even exist anymore. Like pawns. We deserve better than following orders our whole lives."
Noble shifted uneasily in his seat. Karma spoke the truth. When did anyone ever truly thank them during the war for their service? Their sacrifices? The trauma they endured? The images that still haunted them? They never received that thank you, not one word. No reimbursement, no awards, no ceremonies, nothing. It was as if the galaxy just got up and moved on from the war, leaving its soldiers wandering aimlessly in the aftermath.
Those that weren't still under the chip's influence, anyway.
Sometimes, he felt like one of the droids they fought so hard to destroy. Someone who was born in a lab, raised to wage war, and then discarded like a used playtoy by the new Empire.
Those thoughts came to him late at night, while lying awake in his bunk, and kept him up for hours, dwelling on the ideas that plagued his consciousness.
"Ya know, your life here reminds me of someone I met during the war. Early on," Rex said. "Caught up living the farmer's life on Saleucami."
"How'd you meet him?" Noble asked.
"By chance, actually. Was injured and he - Cut - came to my aid." Rex mused on the past, thinking back to Cut Lawquane and his family of four. They eerily resembled the life Karma now led. However, envy was never Rex's strong suit, so he was not often bothered by it.
"Another lucky man then," Karma said.
"Aye. I hope he's still living the best he can," Rex replied.
"Not many can say that anymore," Noble said, reaching back and inconspicuously stroking his finger across the scar on the back of his head.
"No, not many can," Rex said, swashing another bit of spotchka down as he went for a refill.
"A toast, then." Karma said without hesitation. He raised his glass.
"To?" Noble asked.
"The ones we've lost."
"Sounds good to me."
The three raised their glasses in unison. Karma led off.
"To Stax."
"Ty." Noble said.
"Fives." Rex added.
"Nox."
"Sash."
"Hardcase."
"Copy."
"Tandem."
"Jesse."
"All of em." Karma said. "To our brothers."
"To our brothers."
They drank, and as the night grew shorter, they drank some more. Frolicking in humor, enjoying each other's company, their goal was always the same.
To live for their fallen brethren.
A/N: Rex has now joined the fray. Another favorite of mine, I was eager to explore how he got from Mandalore at the end of TCW to Seelos in Rebels, and what he may have done in the interim years. I'm sure the upcoming Bad Batch show may expand on it, but I wanted to chart my own path on this. Since Rex met other clones after arriving on Dantooine, it should be no surprise he struck up a friendship with them over the years. They were, in their minds, the only ones who weren't brainwashed by the Empire. They were all they had. This was more of a character and dialogue focused chapter than action focused. But I got some good stuff on the horizon.