Fives downed a third cup of the bitter Kazzie caf, barely listening as Rex and Coric wrapped up their conversation about the medical center. He could barely focus on anything at the moment as he was too concerned Echo might not make it back to Coruscant.

When they departed the mess, he insisted on walking Coric back to medbay. Rex and Ahsoka headed of to... do Rex and Ahsoka things.

"Fives... Fives!" Was Coric talking to him? He slowly turned his head and focused on the medic. "Yeah, I'm listening."

"You're totally zoned out, Fives. I was saying you should get some rest."

There was no way he was going anywhere but Echo's side. Fives arched up an eyebrow and gave Coric a pointed look. "You look like you've barely slept since the Clone Wars started."

"Yeah, well, I'm a medic. It comes with the territory. You- on the other hand-"

"I'm not going anywhere." They reached the entrance of the medbay and Fives followed Coric in. Even if he hadn't just gulped down all that caf, there was no way he could sleep.

"Fine," Coric conceded with a shrug, "but if you stay here, I'm putting you to work."

"Agreed." Keeping busy sounded great to Fives at the moment, and he suspect Coric knew that and would find plenty for him to do. He stayed back a few paces while Coric conferred with the other medics. After a few minutes of quiet conversation, Coric sent the other three medics away."Go take a break. Fives and I have the watch. We'll comm you immediately if something changes." Kix, Digger and Glitch nodded. The younger medics looked relieved to take a break, while Kix looked reluctant to leave his patient. "Go on," Coric urged, "if things get crazy again, you'll do more good if you've had a bit of rest."

The three medics headed off together and Coric signaled to Fives to approach Echo's bunk. His vod looked... terrible. His coloring was ashen and he had tubes coming out of him everywhere. If he were conscious, he probably would be trying to explain the function of all of it to Fives.

I need to wake up, vod. There's no one else like you in the whole GAR.

He placed a hand lightly on Echo's arm, careful not to disturb any of the tubes, or cause Echo any more pain. He was injured enough. Considering he'd already been in bacta for two days, he didn't look like he'd done a lot of healing.

Coric pointed to the scanners. "Watch for fluctuations, especially here on this reading."

The writing on the scanners was in Kaz'harian, but both Fives' bucket and his datapad had been adapted to translate the language.

"What's that one?" Fives stared at the scanner, trying to make sense of the numbers.

"It's measuring his brain function."

"Something's off with Echo's brain?" Fives' asked, hating the way his voice cracked as he asked it.

"Everything is off with him right now. We need the facilities at ArmyMed to know anything for sure. Right now, we are just trying to keep him stable."

Fives nodded and stared at the readings. He knew what Coric was doing. He was trying to keep him busy. And, he was grateful. He was a good vod.

"I'll see if I can find you a chair," Coric said, "They're in short supply around here. Can't understand these Kazzies. They value fancy plates but not chairs."

"Did you see the size of their calves? Maybe there is something to their methods."

Coric nodded, as if giving the matter a great deal of deliberation. "We should talk to High Command when we return then. The GAR needs fancy plates. That's what we need to win the war."

This earned a small smile from Fives. Coric headed off to scout out a chair.

# # #

"Rex, come with me," Ahsoka gave his arm a light tug as they exited the mess.

Rex hesitated for a moment, looking toward where Coric and Fives were headed back to the medbay.

"They'll be alright," Ahsoka assured him. "Echo is holding steady at the moment."

Rex didn't know how Ahsoka did it- kept tabs on the men like that, but he sensed she was right. "Alright," he conceded, "but I can't be long. I need to check in with the engineering team."

"I won't keep you long," she gripped his arm and steered him down the corridor. After a moment, she adjusted her grip so they were walking arm-in-arm and he had to admit the sensation was- pleasant. She dropped her hands when a trooper came in the opposite direction and then immediately replaced her grip. Rex couldn't fault her discretion. And, he didn't mind walking this way. Not at all.

"Where are we headed?" Rex asked.

"The nearest observation deck."

She said it as if the answer should be obvious and this was the most logical thing for them to be doing at this moment. He hoped this wasn't going to be another conversation about Appo. Or... ArmyMed. He didn't want to talk about either of those things. He had a thousand items demanding his attention before they touched down in Coruscant. They arrived at an observation deck Rex didn't even know existed. But, then again, there were whole sections of the ship he hadn't explored yet. There hadn't been time.

Ahsoka tugged him over to the center of the room and settled down cross-legged, looking out at the view beyond. He stood there, waiting for her to be speak, but she didn't. So, after a long moment, he took a seat next to her. Ahsoka's steady breathing was soothing. He closed his eyes and focused on his own breathing. He'd meditated with her before, but it had been a while. It took time for his thoughts to settle but eventually, he was able to find his calm center. Ahsoka sensed the change immediately. She reached over and slipped her hand in his. "Better?" she asked.

"Yes," he looked at her and instantly regretted it. He wanted to touch her. Just a small press of his lips to her own. Surely there was no harm? He bolted to his feet, regretting his action immediately at the startled look it provoked in Ahsoka's eyes. "Thank you for... eh... this," he finished awkwardly, and bolted from the room.

# # #

Appo shifted in his medbay bunk, wincing as he tried to get more comfortable around his still healing injuries. Those farkin' warrior apes. He hated them all.

Over the past twenty minutes, a lot of activity had erupted in the normally quiet medbay. A series of alarms had gone off on the ARC trooper's bacta tank, followed by a flurry of activity with the medics. At first, it was just the senior medics getting involved, but then the junior medics had been called in to help, as well. Echo had been hastily pulled from the tank and was now surrounded by what looked like every medic onboard the ship. Whatever was going on... it wasn't good.

Appo jabbed at the controls of his bunk, trying to sit up some more. He only succeeded in making his bunk recline even further. Fek! He had no idea how to read the shabla Kaz'harian controls. He hated this stupid ship and couldn't wait to be off of it. Now he was laying at an awkward position that was aggravating his injuries. He couldn't call for help because all of the focus was on Echo. As it should be- from what one of the young medics had told him- Echo had saved them all. Matter of fact, Appo had already heard the story repeatedly. Not that the injured ARC didn't deserve the praise. He'd obviously saved their shebs. Echo was a hero.

Appo had led the men in one of their worst defeats to date.

Their other hero... the other name he heard the injured men talk excitedly about repeatedly... was Rex.

Rex.

Rex had been gone for months. As far as Appo knew, he'd given no explanation for his absence. And, yet everyone was treating him like a returning hero.

Appo was the one who had been here leading the Legion, and had suffered with the men in the Force-forsaken prison. Where had Rex been? Did the men talk about any of Appo's sacrifices? How he'd protected the commander? How he'd nearly died at the hands of the Kaz'harians? He still wasn't sure what had happened to him at the end. He had vague nightmarish memories of being attacked in a dark space by one of those horrid apes. He'd been rescued by Commander Cody and some others. He still wasn't even sure who had been with Cody. It was all a blur, but all of them had seen him at his lowest moment. He'd still been in a daze when he'd been taken to a medbay. Maybe some kind of temporary field hospital? He still wasn't sure. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but he thought he'd been locked up again. That couldn't be right, though, could it? His own men wouldn't lock him up, would they?

Perhaps all of that was a nightmare, brought on by his imprisonment and the injuries he'd suffered. He was having difficulties distinguishing real events from his nightmares and there was no one he could talk to about it.

He needed to get out of here. Maybe if he left the medbay the nightmares would get better. He also needed to take control of his Legion again. The 501st was his to command, despite Rex's barking commands like he was back in charge again. There was no doubt Rex had played a role in getting them out of there, but that did not change the command structure. Appo was in command of the 501st and Rex was... not even in the GAR anymore. He was strutting around now like he owned the place. He'd held a rank once, but those days were over. The 501st belonged to Appo.

The majority of the activity across the medbay had subsided, leaving the place back in its' normal state of calm. The focus, though, was in the corner where the ARC was laying. The junior medics, and Kix, were both still focused on taking readings. It was a good time for him to quietly take his leave.

With great difficulty, he maneuvered himself out of the awkwardly positioned bunk. He had to do so in small degrees, trying not to aggravate his injuries. He finally succeeded in pushing himself up on unsteady legs. Staring at his feet, focusing on not falling over, he began a slow, plodding trek across the medbay.

I can do this. I'm a commander, after all. I rose through the ranks faster than almost any other officer in the GAR. There are no limits to what I can do.

He had no plan for what he was going to do once he made it out into the corridor. But, he would somehow find his way to the bridge and take command again. He was so focused on his feet, he did not notice the junior medic standing in his path.

"Leaving us, Commander?" the medic asked in a tone which was both patient and slightly amused. He stood back a step, arms folded across his chest, but within easy reach should Appo fall.

"Out of my way. I'm needed on duty," Appo said. He was sure this medic had introduced himself. And, equally sure he'd not bothered to remember it. "Get me a stim and someone to escort me to the bridge."

"That's an outstanding plan, sir," the young medic said as he pulled a handheld scanner from his belt and ran it up and down Appo's frame.

"Get that thing away from me!"

The medic deftly moved the scanner out of his reach and continued his readings. "Uh huh, yes, sir. Are you experiencing any dizziness?" He signaled to someone out of Appo's line-of-sight.

Appo didn't want to turn and look to see who he was signaling, since he was dizzy, and he was afraid the motion would make him fall over.

"A stim, now," Appo said, in the most commanding tone he could muster. Part of him realized he was trying to sound like Rex. And, this annoyed him greatly.

"Of course, sir," the medic made a non-committal note in the back of his throat, "we will get to that in due time. What is your pain level on a scale of 1 to 10?"

"Out of my way!"

"Are you experiencing nausea?"

If Appo didn't know any better, he would say the medic was stalling for time. "Stand down, medic!" he demanded, taking a shuffling step forward and trying to ignore the way his limbs were trembling.

"At your last exam, you placed your pain levels at a 7.5. Has that number gone up or down since then, Commander?" the medic held one hand out, obviously ready to catch Appo if he fell.

"I'll bust you down to a Level 1 if you don't-"

The words were barely out of his mouth before the only clone who outranked Appo appeared in the medbay doorway. "Are you threatening one of my medics?"

Appo cursed under his breath. "Commander Cody, sir," Appo dipped his head slightly, in deference to the field marshal commander, and then regretted it as the motion increased his dizziness.

"From my position, it looks as if you are a threatening junior medic Glitch. Is that a correct assessment of the situation, Commander Appo?"

Appo let his voice fall into one of contrition. "My apologies, sir," he kept his tone deferential. He knew how the game was played. He hadn't risen up through the ranks unusually quickly by being a fool. "I'm eager to return to duty to check on the welfare of men in the Legion."

Cody's eyes narrowed. He paused a beat before answering. Was it Appo's imagination or was Cody regarding him like Appo was an excess shipping crate and he wasn't sure where to stow him? Or, even worse, was that pity in the Commander's eyes?

Appo narrowed his eyes back at Cody and the two held each other's gaze for a long, tense moment.

Cody stepped into Appo's space, a move considered a challenge to any clone. "You will return to your bunk until you are cleared by the medics to return to duty. Captain Rex is more than capable of handling the Legion while you recover."

Appo opened his mouth to object.

Cody turned his attention to Glitch. "If the commander is having difficulties staying in his bunk, use the appropriate medical means to ensure he stays there and recovers in a timely manner."

"Understood, Commander," the medic acknowledged, just a bit too cheerfully, "I'll take good care of him."

Cody turned his attention back to Appo. "Speedy recovery, Commander." He spun on his heel, the matter settled, and headed away across medbay to the corner where the injured ARC was sequestered.

"Should we get you settled back in your bunk?" Glitch asked, still much too cheerful for Appo's liking.

"You called in Commander Cody?" Appo hissed, refusing to move.

Glitch snorted with amusement and waved a dismissive hand. "I can handle you, or any other injured vode, on my own. I was trained by the best." His face fell, and the cheerfulness fled from his expression for a long moment. For the first time, Appo felt sympathy for the medic and he wondered who he'd lost recently to put that kind of sorrow on his face.

Appo looked across the medbay and realized that Commander Cody was here to visit the injured ARC. It had nothing to do with him. He suddenly felt foolish, and inexplicably exhausted.

"OK, back in your bunk you go." The medic had good instincts. He seemed to sense that moment when Appo was ready to drop. Without waiting for permission, he swept Appo up into his arms, careful of his dislocated shoulder and broken arm. He reset the bunk into a more comfortable position, even setting it so Appo could sit up now. This was an unexpected courtesy Appo did not expect, considering all that had transpired. The medic replaced all of the monitors and tubes that Appo had unceremoniously yanked off. "Commander Cody is simply making his rounds- visting injured troopers in medbay." He studied his handiwork, doublechecking the readings on the sensors and then turned his full attention back to Appo. "Don't you do the same?"

Appo looked across the medbay and saw Cody was not only visiting the injured ARC, who was unconscious and not even aware of the visit, but he was stopping by to check on every trooper in the medbay. Appo felt twice the fool for not realizing it on his own. Appo had never visited injured troopers under his command. He'd not been a commander long enough before Darknell had happened and everything had gone to fek. His energy sagged further, and his shoulder twinged. With it came a flashback of vicious attack by the Kaz'harian who'd not only sought to kill him, but violate him.

"Let's up your pain meds a bit, just for today. You've had a lot of activity today."

Appo wanted to protest, but the blissful relief of a pain shot sounded amazing at the moment. He sighed with relief as Glitch applied the hypo to his neck.

"I can stay with you for a bit, Commander. I'm done with my rounds," Glitch adjusted the pillows under Appo's injured arms, bringing him even more relief. He'd never wanted to kiss a clone before, but he was suddenly feeling great affection for this clone. "The flashbacks, sir, they get better with time."

This unexpected bit of compassion almost did Appo in. He was dumbstruck into silence. He stared at Glitch. Finally, he found his voice. "Thank you... eh... Glitch, I... hope they do."

"You know, Commander, sometimes it helps to talk about it."

Appo shook his head. He couldn't talk about it. He could never talk about what had happened to him on the hell of a jungle planet. It was his personal shame which he would carry forever. If he'd been stronger, a better class of clone, he could fought that great beast off and prevented all of it. He could never speak of it again.

# # #

Revision notes:

Revised: July 10, 2019. Deleted most of Appo's scene in medbay and added two new scenes. Trying to make his character more interesting. The scene now focuses on the trauma of what happened to him on the jungle planet. Appo has psychological scars from the abuse he suffered. Like many abuse victims, his way of dealing with it is to not deal with it. Hopefully, this will make him more interesting as a character and explain his bitter, unpleasant personality.

Revised: October 14, 2022. Revised Appo's scenes even further. He is angsty and dark and conflicted and... this is the clone in charge of the 501st.