"Master, wait!"

Soph spun around and sighed. Ahsoka ran toward her with excitement in her eyes. "Hey, 'Soka."

"Where've you been? Everyone's so busy today, but there's nothing going on," she explained. "I've been meditating like Anakin told me to, but… I got bored."

Soph considered the situation for a moment before she touched Ahsoka's arm and led her down the hall away from others. Once they were alone, she smiled. "'Soka, I want you to know what's going on in my life. I trust you'll be able to keep this to yourself, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed hesitantly.

"You know Rex and I are close."

Ahsoka nodded. "You said you have to be, working so closely together."

"And that's true," she promised. "But there's something else. Rex and I are… well, we're marrying. Today."

Ahsoka stared at her in surprise. "But Master, you're a Jedi! You're a Master!"

"And I take that very seriously, but… 'Soka, attachment is the human way. Learning to be attached and still focusing on your responsibilities is true strength. Maybe I'm not following the Council's rules, but there are many of us - even Masters - who don't."

The young padawan seemed to process her words for a moment before her eyes lit up excitedly. "You're getting married today?"

"I am," Soph confirmed with a smile. "And I'd like for you to be there."

Ahsoka smiled brightly. "I'd love to come, Master. But… if even masters don't follow these rules, why do we have them?"

Soph sighed. "Well, a lot of these rules were made many, many years ago. We sort of have to decide for ourselves what makes sense. A lot of them do, but a lot don't, too. Did you know that we aren't supposed to offer help to those who do not ask?"

Ahsoka stared. "What?"

"A very long time ago, it was said that the Force would only assist those that wanted help. So if you saw someone about to be killed, you couldn't do anything about it because the Force didn't 'allow' it. Now, we know that makes no sense and only hinders our mission to create and uphold peace in the galaxy."

"So… we have rules, but it's up to us to decide what's right?" Ahsoka understood. Soph nodded. "But isn't that a slippery slope to Falling?"

"Thinking for ourselves?" she shook her head. "No. Indulging in darkness - pain, anger, fear, hatred, and so on - that causes Jedi to Fall."

"So is there… even such a thing as a perfect Jedi?" Ahsoka wondered.

Soph shrugged. "Not in my opinion. Even Master Yoda makes mistakes. What's important is that we do our best at everything we do. I think you're doing a pretty good job at that, 'Soka."

Ahsoka smiled brightly, proudly. "Thank you, Master."

"Now, get ready," Soph told her firmly. "Meet us in the ship bay later, okay?"

"You got it, Master," the younger girl said happily. "I've never been to a wedding before."

"I've only been to one," she admitted, thinking of Anakin and Padme's wedding. "Mine will be quicker. We won't have too long. We're leaving for Christophsis later today."

"I'll be ready."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just thought you may be the best person to ask," Soph explained as she guided Fives out of the barracks. They stood outside, speaking quietly as men came and went. "I wasn't going to, because Droidbait seemed a bit… but if I expect anyone to want to know, it'd be you, Fives."

"Know what?"

She hesitated. "Everyone, obviously, knows about Rex and I."

His eyebrows rose and he blinked in surprise. "Yes."

"Well… we're going to be married."

"Oh," he said. Understanding passed through him, and he couldn't help but be mildly amused by her discomfort. A grin spread slowly over his face. "Congratulations, General."

"Thanks," she smiled softly. "I wanted to know if Domino would like to join us."

Fives' amused grin dropped to a genuine, touched smile. "You want us there?"

She shifted a little anxiously. "I keep telling you guys, you're not just soldiers working under my orders - you're my friends, and I want my friends there. The only reason I'm asking just you is because Droidbait seemed mildly… uncomfortable when he overheard a certain conversation between Rex and I."

"Droidbait is bad at keeping secrets," Fives snorted. "He's terrified he's going to tell someone that shouldn't know. The less he knows, the less he worries about getting you in trouble."

"Oh. If he's really worried-,"

"He worries, but he'd never do anything that put you in trouble," Fives continued. "We'll be there, Soph."

She smiled softly. "I'd stick around to tell everyone, but there's about a million things to do today."

"Go on," he smiled back at her. "Just comm us when it's time."

"I will," she nodded gratefully. She was relieved to hear they'd be there - she didn't want to make them uncomfortable, but she hadn't been lying- they were her friends.

Making her way through the Resolute, she prepared everyone for her absence for the rest of the day. She gave orders, left Del in charge of Domino's shifts, and gathered supplies - namely, a black dress she only owned for the formal celebrations that the Jedi used to hold. It was the only thing she felt comfortable wearing. Rex had already told her that he'd be in his formal suit, which she hadn't even known the clones had been given.

From then, it was truly a waiting game. They had to wait until midday shift change to bribe some bored clones into leaving the ship bay empty. Ships were carefully maneuvered out of the way until there was an area in the middle of the room large enough for the small group to gather.

All in all, it was Obi Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, Cody, and Domino gathered in the very large, mostly empty room. The wedding was short and quiet. They didn't want a long ceremony, so they said their vows - quiet, intimate words spoken through teary eyes so softly that they could pretend they weren't bearing their souls to one another in front of a small crowd. Once they'd said their vows, for the first and likely only time, they kissed in front of their friends.

Fives and Cutup were tied as the most rambunctiously excited of the guests with only Ahsoka as a close second. Hevy was grinning brightly at them, and Echo had a soft smile on his face. It was Droidbait that asked the question that stumped them. "Are you going to wear any identifying bond symbols?"

"Well, I can't wear a ring for obvious reasons," Soph frowned. "I don't know what else we could do, though."

"You could do tattoos!" Ahsoka suggested excitedly. "Like… like a phoenix for rebirth, renewal, and survival."

Rex's eyebrows rose. "Not a bad idea, sir." He glanced to Soph. "I like it."

"I do, too," she agreed. She laughed. "Do we have any artists on the Resolute?"

"Yeah, Nax does tattoos for shinies after their first mission," Hevy answered. "And Zeer helps them paint their armor. It's a cool system they have set up to make the shinies feel more comfortable and at home."

Soph's smile softened. Of course, they'd do that. Epsilon knew what it was like to lose brothers, to feel lost, to be thrown into something they knew nothing about. The fact that they'd made it their mission to help their brothers avoid the same fears they'd had made her deeply proud.

"General?" Fives grinned.

"Sorry, I'm just… very proud of you guys. All of you," she explained. She shook herself and brought herself back to the topic at hand. "You think they'd do this in secret? Since they're from Epsilon, I definitely feel more comfortable with it."

"Oh, they won't say a word," Echo promised with a certain glint in his eye that spoke of gentle threats toward his brothers. "You can count on that."

Soph laughed and glanced at Rex. "Well, love?"

"Looks like we're getting tattoos," Rex agreed.

"I'd suggest you do that now while you have the time," Obi Wan told them. He looked truly, deeply happy for them. The sight made Soph somewhat emotional. She'd always been worried for how he'd react if he'd found out about her relationship, but she'd never expected him to be purely happy for her. It was an approval she hadn't known she wanted. "Cody and I need to get back to the Negotiator soon."

"Thank you, Master," Soph told him sincerely. She hoped her gratefulness was obvious. From the way his face softened, she thought maybe it was. "I can't tell you what this means to me. Thank you."

Obi Wan bowed his head. "Congratulations, Soph. Hold onto this happiness with everything you have. Don't let this war stomp it out."

"We won't," she promised. He touched her shoulder gently before walking away. Cody bumped her arm with his as he passed by, snapping off a mock salute. She smiled and nodded back, feeling more than a little grateful for Cody, too. He'd kept their secret with everything in him, even from his own general. She knew it had to have been difficult, but he'd done it without complaint, if only to protect the pure love and happiness between Soph and Rex.

Once they were gone, Anakin sighed and nudged Ahsoka. "I think that's our cue. Let's get ready for this supply transport, Snips."

Ahsoka sighed, but she agreed. The pair of them left as well, leaving Soph, Rex, and Domino together. Soph shifted on her feet and pressed a few buttons on her comms until it beeped. "Hey, Nax."

"General," he said in surprise.

"Where're you at? I have a favor to ask."

"Uh," he hesitated. There was a quiet buzz in the background that she recognized as the sound of a tattoo gun.

"We're looking for a tattoo," she laughed. Technically, tattoos weren't banned, but they were heavily discouraged by the Kaminoans. It was one of the more well ignored rules, and one Soph had certainly never cared about. Anything the men could do in terms of self expression was fine with her.

"Oh," he breathed out in relief. "We're in my barracks."

"Is it just Epsilon there?"

"Just Attie, Kosmos, and I," he replied. "The rest of Epsilon took over for Domino's shifts or are on their own shifts."

She cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah… sorry about that. I needed my men for an hour or so. They'll be coming back with me. Do you have time to do two tattoos?"

"How big?"

She shrugged, looking to Rex. "Is the hand okay? I want it obvious, but not…"

"I was going to suggest the same thing," he told her. She nodded to herself.

"So two hand-sized phoenix tattoos," she replied.

"Oh, yeah, I've got plenty of time for that," Nax replied. "Come on down. I'm about done with Attie, anyway."

"Thanks, Nax," she said before turning off her comm. She turned to Rex and her men and smiled. "Care to join us?"

"Nothing better to do," Fives shrugged, earning a smack on his chest from Cutup, who looked vaguely horrified. "What? I remember my first life. She won't be offended."

Soph snorted. "I'm not. I didn't realize you remembered it that well, though."

"I remember it all like it actually happened to me," he admitted. "Which means I do remember Echo and I spending three years fighting at your side."

"You guys were close?" Droidbait wondered as they began walking toward the barracks. Soph nodded.

"Barring Rex, obviously, Fives and Echo were my right hand men. They're the reason I sent all of you to ARC training immediately. It would've been impossible not to be close after watching each others' backs in battle for so long. Truthfully, I'm relieved you remember that part, Fives. I worried you'd never come to trust me that way again."

Fives blinked at her. "Soph, even if I didn't remember, I would trust you by now."

"Yeah, I mean, we do," Droidbait pointed between himself, Cutup, and Hevy.

Hevy nodded. "Which means they definitely trust you."

Soph glanced at Echo curiously. Her gut churned as she considered the idea that, after his kidnapping, he may not trust her to protect him. He gave her a somewhat bitter smile - he knew her concerns. "Soph, they could've hooked me back up to that damned computer again and I'd still trust you. You saved me. I'm not going to forget that, and I'm not going to stop trusting you. It's war. Not only are you my friend, but you're my general. I have to trust you. I appreciate your concern, but I'm good."

And she believed him. There was still damage done, and he still saw a counselor for his PTSD, but he was very visibly doing much better. She'd been checking on him very frequently and was finally convinced that he was, in fact, better - not completely, but enough.

"Any interesting stories about her from the first time?" Droidbait wondered. Fives snorted.

"She got kidnapped like three times."

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Rude. It was not my fault. Grievous is relentless."

"Grievous kidnapped you?" Cutup asked with a short laugh.

"Kidnapped is not quite the right word for it," she defended. "Twice he destroyed my ship and captured me. I was lucky he didn't just kill me. I was too important to the war for him to not question me first. Obi Wan and Anakin were never too far behind."

"Then there was the time Dooku took her," Fives told the rest of Domino. Rex's eyes shot to him.

"That's enough, Fives."

The man looked between Rex and Soph and frowned, but he nodded. There was something there that he hadn't known and it was clearly somewhat upsetting to her. Echo's brow furrowed in concern. He looked at Soph like he knew and understood, and it left Fives wondering what could've happened that Echo potentially knew about. When he zoned back in, he saw Rex staring at him expectantly, and he tensed a little. "Yes, sir."

"We're here, anyway," Soph told them. She seemed to shake herself and put on a smile. When her eyes drifted to Rex, her smile grew a little and softened to a more genuine one.

"General," Nax greeted when they walked inside together. His eyes slipped to Domino and understanding passed through him. "One of you told her, huh?"

Hevy shrugged. "It's not like she's going to shut you down."

"I'm not," Soph promised when Nax lifted an eyebrow at her.

Nax looked between the group in confusion. "You said two hand tattoos. Both your hands?"

"Nope, mine and Rex's."

He gave her a hesitant look. "Sir… they'll… know, you know?"

Soph snorted. "Tell me right now that everyone doesn't already know, Nax."

He snorted. "Fair point. You're not worried about someone important figuring it out?"

"My Master knows, Anakin knows, and I'm pretty sure Admiral Yularen knows, too. The only people I'll have to hide it from is the Council, and that won't be a problem at all. They can see mine. Rex's hand would be covered around them, anyway."

"Okay," he agreed. "It'll probably take a couple hours for each of you if you want it covering your hand."

"Not a problem at all," she said. She glanced at Domino and sighed. "You guys should probably get back to your shifts. Apologize to Epsilon for me, will you?"

"Sure thing, boss," Fives agreed. "Want us to send everyone back to the ship bay?"

"Oh!" she blinked. "My bad. That'd be great, thank you."

Echo snorted. "Forgot?"

"Absolutely," she confirmed. "I'll see you guys later before we leave, okay?"

"You got it," Cutup smiled. "Good luck with this. Use numbing cream and put a bacta patch on it when it's done."

"I do know how to give good aftercare instructions, you know," Nax said, amused. Cutup grinned at him.

"Just making sure."

With a couple two-fingered salutes and three waves, Domino filed out of the room, leaving Soph and Rex with Nax, Attie, and Kosmos - the later two were lying on their bunks just behind the small tattoo station.

"So, sir," Attie spoke up. "What's the special occasion? It's a risky move to get matching tattoos."

Soph raised an eyebrow at him. "There was an… event that we'd like to commemorate."

Kosmos sat up and looked between them suspiciously. "Did you… get married?"

"Kat, perhaps we don't hint to them what happened," Rex suggested.

"Eh, they're not going to tell anyone," she waved him off. She looked back to Nax. He was setting up a clean station and was pouring the ink into the small cap he'd set down, filling it almost to the top - there had to be room to dip the needle in without the ink pouring over the side. Her nerves picked up at the sight of the needle. She hated needles, but she wasn't going to let that ruin the experience - at least, she hoped not.

"Who wants to go first?" he wondered.

"I will," she volunteered. "Get it over with."

Rex shook his head fondly. "Would it not make you feel better to see me get mine first?"

"No, because you have an insanely high pain tolerance," she disagreed. "Which, you know, was great when you got shot, but not that helpful with tattoos."

Rex's lips twitched upward. She knew he was trying not to laugh at her nerves, and it made her laugh a little. He gave her a full smile when she did. "Whatever you say."

Once Nax had finished setting up, he waved her into the chair in front of her. "Do you mind if the tail goes down your wrist some? I have an idea of what to do."

"That's fine with me," she agreed, glancing at Rex. He nodded.

"Great," Nax smiled at her. "Left or right hand?"

"Left."

Once they'd made all the decisions they needed to make, he got started. True to his word, the tattoo took about two hours. He outlined everything in black, did some shading, and then added the red and orange in the appropriate places.

The tattoo itself started under their fingers - it was the width of her thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger. The tail of the bird went down past her wrist, and the wings reached up halfway through their thumbs and across the bottom of their hands.

When it was done, it was a beautiful phoenix with feathered flames licking the bird as it burned into a newly restored phoenix. It was so much better than Soph had allowed herself to hope. She realized that the extensive, absolutely gorgeous tattoos she saw on some of the men had definitely come from Nax.

"Have you ever considered being a tattoo artist when the war is over?" she wondered as he put a bacta patch on Rex's hand. He paused.

"I haven't really considered it. I haven't considered a life past this war. It's difficult when we could die at any time. Hope can be more painful than anything else, sir."

His reply made her sigh sadly. She knew clones never expected to live long - they were made to be disposable. Created as if they weren't real people, humans with complex thoughts, emotions, and lives. "Nax, I do everything I can to protect my men, and that includes you. You're going to make it out of this war - I promise you. You'll be a tattoo artist if that's what you want to do, and you'll be damn good at it, too."

Nax's frown lightened a little, and she could see some underlying anxiety dissipate. "Thank you, sir."

She gave a firm nod. "I'll do everything in my power to get you and your brothers out of this alive."

Rex's comm went off, and he pressed it. "Rex."

"Captain, General Skywalker is looking for General Sizre. Do you know where she is? Her comm isn't working."

"Oh!" she gasped and reached down to put her comm back on - this time on her right wrist. "I forgot. Is it time?"

"She's with me now. Is it time to leave?"

"Yes, sir," the comm officer confirmed. "General Skywalker and General Kenobi are waiting in the ship bay."

Soph turned to Nax, Attie, and Kosmos. "Thanks, guys. We'll see you when we get back."

"Good luck, General, Captain," Kosmos called as the pair left the room. "Kick some ass for us."

"You bet," she called back. She gave them a quick wave and walked out of the room. They had a job to do, and she had a bad feeling about it. Something was going to happen, and she had no idea what. It left her uneasy as she made her way with Rex toward the ship bay.

OoOoOoOoOoOo