Stillness. Quiet. The sound of a blaster had been deafening. No one knew who had fired first. Rex stood still, his eyes wide in shock. Then they narrowed in confusion, he didn't feel the pain that normally accompanied a blaster shot. That would mean…
Ker'taa fell to the ground, a smoking hole through her chest. She gasped and tried to breath through what would be a fatal wound. Everyone stood in shock, unable to look away from the dying Kaminoan.
She locked eyes with Rex, her voice raspy and broken, "You will see, that thing you call a soldier will never be what you want it to. It's a monster and a disgrace."
Her head fell back against the duracrete floor with a thud. Her breath left her and her eyes turned dull and lifeless as they stared unseeingly at the ceiling. She was dead, and Rex had killed her.
The Clone Captain turned to General Skywalker, panic in his eyes. He had just killed a Kaminoan. He had killed one of their creators. He would be sent to Court Martial for this or worse.
"General, she had, she had one of my blasters. I thought I was… General," his voice pleaded with Anakin to understand. Understand why he had done it, anything to not get sent away from his men.
Anakin's eyes were dark as he stepped towards the body. He hardly even looked at Rex, he snapped at Ahsoka, "Go to the archive room, erase the security tapes in this hangar of everything that happened."
Rex recoiled at that, but Ahsoka swiftly left with R2-D2. The General ignited his lightsaber, Rex backed away towards Kix. Carefully, he stabbed his lightsaber into the blaster wound. The blade sizzled against the flesh, widening the hole and obliterating all evidence of a blaster shot.
The General stood, shutting off his lightsaber and attaching it to his belt, "I was transporting the criminal to our ship when she broke free and stole one of your blasters. She was a threat to us and I acted in defense of my troops, killing her before she could kill any of you. You will only tell that to anyone who asks. Am I understood?"
The clones snapped to attention, "Sir, yes sir."
"Good," he said, "I can't let my Captain be taken away from the 501st. You are too important Rex, especially because you did what you had to do."
Rex's knees felt weak and he fought to stay standing, "Sir, I-"
"You don't have to say it Rex. You are my Captain, but you are also my friend."
"Thank you sir, for everything."
They watched as the medics took the body to the morg. Pinch looked at Kix in question, but the medic stayed quiet. Everyone seemed to stay quite for a long while after that. Rex was especially wary to speak. Ahsoka slipped back into the hangar silently and they all left the water world shortly after.
It was only when they were far away from the planet that anyone finally said anything. Rex spoke up, "General? Why did you do that?"
"She was wrong and deserved to die. If anyone knew that you were the one to kill her you would be the one punished even if you did the right thing. No one would question a Jedi, so it is better if everyone thought that I killed her."
"Master," Ahsoka said, "You are going to have to tell the council."
"Let me worry about the council."
Rex looked down at his lap, worry gnawing at his stomach. He had never lost control like that before. All of the lies that she was saying had pushed him over the edge. If he hadn't drawn his blasters they would be transporting a prisoner right now instead of leaving behind a body. So dumb and impulsive, he thought he had gotten over that by now. It seemed that he was wrong.
She had said so many awful things about Dagger. What was true, how would he even be able to know? Kix. He had read the file, maybe he would be able to help him. Rex looked over at the medic. He seemed to be unusually happy, his leg bouncing quickly to a beat of his own creation.
"Kix," Rex said quietly to get his attention.
"Yeah?" he moved closer so he was sitting right next to Rex.
"All those things Ker'taa said, they were lies right?"
"She said a lot of things Rex, which parts are you asking about?"
"She said that the growth serum didn't work on Dagger and that they erased his memory. If that is even possible, would they do that?"
Kix nodded, "Possible and true. I read every bit of Dagger's file. The growth serum was ineffective and they had to raise Dagger like a regular child. They erased his memory at ten and started his training then. All twelve years of it."
"So Dagger is twenty two? Like honestly lived that many years?"
"Yup."
"And he doesn't know?" Rex was trying to wrap his head around all of this craziness.
"Not that I can tell," Kic said honestly.
Rex looked away. If Ker'taa told the truth about that, how could he be sure that whatever else she said was lies. Everything was clouded and inconsistent. Dagger was a mystery, why was everything about that soldier so complicated? Why did it matter so much to him?
"She said that he wasn't our brother," Rex's voice was small. He didn't want to ask, he was afraid of the answer.
"She also said Dagger was defective," Kix said, putting a hand on Rex's shoulder, "She was lying. Ker'taa was a monster and was trying to get inside of your head. You can't let it work Rex. Do you trust me?"
He nodded. Kix continued, "Do you trust Dagger?"
Another nod, "Then trust that he is one of us and will never do anything to hurt any of us. That I promise you Captain."
"Rex, you got an incoming call at the holotable," Skywalker said over the intercom of the ship.
He scrunched his nose in confusion. Who would be calling him? Rex stood and made his way to the back of the ship and turned on the holotable. He was greeted by the projection of Commander Cody. He smiled, "Cody! What are you calling me for?"
The yellow clad clone smiled lazily, "Had some extra time on my hands and I was wondering how much trouble you were getting into while on leave?"
Rex rubbed that back of his neck, if Cody only knew, "Not much really."
"Is that the case," his eyebrow rose, "So I was just reading the latest GAR bulletin, as one does. It would seem that the Resolute has been repaired and you and the blues will be heading out soon."
"That's great, the sooner we get out the less disaster they can cause on Coruscant."
"And also I'm assuming you are not on Coruscant right now with your unit?"
"Actually on my way back now, had to take a trip to Kamino to-"
"Yeah I don't have time for your boring story right now. You are going to want to hear what happened while you were gone," Cody interrupted quickly.
Rex's short hair stood up on the back of his neck, oh no. Something had gone wrong. He had made them promise to stay out of trouble. They probably burned down the barracks, or drunkenly defaced some government building. Oh no, the universe had cursed him! That was the only answer for all of this mayhem.
"Please tell me Hardcase was not involved," he pleaded.
Cody looked down at his datapad scanning for the names and laughed, "He was present but not involved. It would seem that two of your boys started a fight at 79s. Three of them got arrested and all of you have been banned from the club until further notice."
Rex leaned forward and rested his head in his hands, elbows propped on the holotable. He let out a groan of pain, "Nooooooo."
Cody laughed at his misfortune, "Do you want names?"
"Do I want them? No. Do I need them? Yes. Also I need to know the number to call the jail to get them out."
"I already called Wolffe cause he is on leave too. He said he got them out that night and grounded them to the tower," he chuckled again, "You are going to love this Rexy boy. Fives instigated the fight."
"Not surprising in all honesty."
"Also unsurprising is that Echo backed him up," Cody continued.
"Please tell me that Jesse was the third one. Or Dogma, or Cricket, or literally anyone other than who I know it was," Rex was pleading even though he already pretty much knew who the third was.
Cody held up a finger, "Before I tell you, to his credit he was doing everything he could to stop the fight and was never a part of it. Dagger was trying to get them to stop fighting but the police arrested him as well."
"How Cody? How can one man get into so much trouble? Please tell me because I have no kriffing clue."
"Just remember that he was trying to stop the fight, not be a part of it."
"I know, I know thank you Cody."
The Commander gave him a mock solute and the communication cut out. Rex let out a sigh and made his way back to Kix. The medic had the nerve to smile at him, "Soldiers am I right?"
Rex just rolled his eyes.
~B~
A resounding snap rang out through the air. Dagger flinched in pain as she felt a searing pain bloom on her back. She was kneeled on the ground, her eyes screwed shut. Her teeth clenched and she breathed through her nose as steadily as she could.
She couldn't even remember what she did this time. At this point it didn't matter, she just had to breathe, she just had to get through this. She could hear the Madam speaking, what was she saying? What was she saying? Dagger couldn't tell. There was only pain.
Striking down her back, the whip tore the soft flesh. She flinched in pain and gritted her teeth. She could feel the heat of her own blood dripping down her back. She closed her eyes for a moment and the pain dulled.
When she dared to open them again she was laying face down in the hallway. There was something red on the floor. Funny, the floors were usually so clean. How there was a reflective red on the floor pooling in front of her. There was something important there, something she should probably be remembering.
She giggled as she saw a face appear in the red. A friend spoke to her, "Dagger? Dagger you poor thing what happened to you?"
"Ninety-Nine?" she asked.
"Yeah it's me kid. C'mon, let's get you to the medbay, you need some help."
She looked at the clone, confused as he pulled her small body up off the ground. He supported her weight and all but dragged her down the hall to the infirmary. Her feet refused to work and she stumbled as she had a hard time controlling them.
They got to the medbay and Pinch was there. She smiled wide, as if she were drunk, "Friend! Is it a party?"
The medic looked to Ninety-Nine in question and the clone just shook his head. The medic rushed forward as he saw the blood trailing down Dagger's arms. He gasped as he saw the extensive injuries to her back. Oh no, not again.
Pinch started barking orders to everyone in range to help. They prepped a blood transfusion and started disinfecting the wounds. As soon as that was done they applied a bacta spray to help slow the bleeding and accelerate the healing process. Then they started the long process of stitching Dagger's skin, or what was left of it, back together.
It took a long time, but eventually Dagger was stable, even if she was passed out on the hospital bed laying on her front. Pinch had to take a picture for her medical file. He had always stated the truth in his reports, but every time that he reported incidents nothing happened. It was as if no one cared or that no one heard him.
This time would be different. He was going to try a different approach. As soon as Dagger was healed he was going straight to General Shaak'ti and recommending Dagger for active duty. There would be no way of knowing if or when she was shipped out, but he would do anything he could to get her away from her abuser.
As Dagger slept sirens wailed. The entire complex shook under heavy attack from the Separatists. Trainees and troopers, commanders and captains all defending their home with a vigor that would rival most battles.
Dagger healed from her injuries while others died in battle in the same building. Just steps away from where she slept in a forced unconsciousness. The limbo of life and death was daunting and never definable. There is no certainty of when only the certainty that death will take us all. The sirens blared into the night, bleeding steadily into her dreams.
It was sometime in the early morning when Dagger woke up suddenly from her dream. She was breathing heavy and it took her a moment to realize where she was in the barracks. Echo and Fives on either side of her. Both now looking at her with concern.
"Sirens," she managed to say through panting breaths, "Kamino?"
Echo looked at her closely through the darkness, "Dagger? Are you ok? What were you dreaming about?"
"I was in the medbay. On Kamino? There were sirens blaring."
"Sirens? Dagger I think you were just having a nightmare," Echo said, gently encouraging her to lay back down on the mattresses that laid across the floor.
Fives just turned his head, his voice gravely from sleep, "You would have still been there during the attack wouldn't you?"
"Oh yeah, that was right before you had been assigned. We could have seen you and never even known it," Echo said humming quietly.
Dagger folded her arms underneath her to prop up her head while she laid on her stomach, "I think I was in the medbay. I don't remember much of what happened and I was shipped out as soon as I had healed."
"Did she hurt you?" Fives asked.
Dagger just nodded, unable to form words. Her back ached with a phantom pain at the memory. It was months ago by now, but the dream made it feel like it had just happened.
"Ninety-Nine came into the medbay just after the fighting was over. He got hurt real bad protecting some of the trainees. Pinch said he was going to pull through and I'm glad that he did," Dagger said changing the subject.
The conversation lulled for a moment and they lapsed into silence. Reflecting on what they knew and what they had been through. Echo took a breath and she could hear the tremble in his chest, "I miss Hevy."
Fives seemed to choke back a sob at the mention of the name. He hadn't been expecting Echo to say that, "I miss him too Echo. Every day. You would have liked him Dagger, and he sure would have loved you."
Echo, who was laying on his back, felt a surge of sadness at the statement. Hevy really would have liked Dagger. He covered his mouth with his hand, stifling his shuddering breaths. Tears ran down his cheeks and dampened the hair at his temples. It wasn't fair that Heavy wasn't here with them. He had wanted to get off of that base on Rishi more than any of them and yet he was the one who had sacrificed everything for them to get away. Fives and he were the only ones remaining of Domino Squad.
Dagger flipped over and rested her hands one each of theirs, "You will be able to see him again one day. He is fighting in the war of the eternal now and I'm sure he misses you every day."