Rex set down the macrofuser and studied his handiwork. The air around him smelled like burnt plastoid and his eyes smarted. He could have used some of those advanced filtration systems while he was working on this project. But, it looked better. Now, with a bit of paint, he might be able to make this thing work-
"Fierfek, Rex," Coric coughed as he came up behind him. "You trying to shorten our pitifully short lifespans even more?"
Rex ignored him and held up his bucket to the light, already planning out the artwork. Jaig eyes. Definitely. But, maybe something different this time. Kill stripes. For all the brothers they'd lost. This war had to mean something. Like they were making progress and their sacrifices meant something. Rex would honor their sacrifices. Rex stared at the helmet, already planning further mods to it.
"I gave you the thirty minutes you requested. Time for your eval."
Coric had been pulled away to deal with a trooper injured in the barracks. Some sort of incident involving leaping off the bunks. If the trooper wasn't Hardcase, then they were likely inspired by him. Normally, Rex read Hardcase the riot act, but technically that was Appo's responsibility now. He'd used it as an excuse to sneak back to the makeshift armory and borrow tools to modify his new armor.
"Maybe another thirty? Surely there's another trooper that needs you more than me." Rex didn't want to spend time with Coric if he kept bringing up uncomfortable topics. Some things a soldier just didn't want to talk about.
"No. You're the Captain. You're my priority right now. And, if Edit hadn't split his open, I wouldn't have abandoned you before."
Ah, Edit. One of Hardcase's wanna-be prodigies. He had a disturbing number of them. Hardcase was a young trooper, but troopers young and old seemed to look up to him. Rex might have to figure out a way to channel that energy better.
"Are you even listening to me?" Coric prompted.
"Abandoned is such a strong word," Rex remarked mildly, studying his new helmet critically. "Be honest with me. Do you think the weld marks add to the look, or should I paint over them?"
Coric gave the helmet a serious look, for about three seconds. "I like them. Now, can we do your eval?"
"You sure? Maybe a little bit of paint. 501st blue, of course."
"You couldn't let go of your Phase 1."
"No, it's... this helmet and I... we've been through so much. I had to keep a part of it. It's a part of me."
"It's alright. You don't need to explain. Now, your eval."
"Can't you just sign off? I just spent time in medbay recently."
Coric sighed. It was such a weary sound, it stabbed Rex to the core. Coric was only doing his job and Rex was being such a shit giving him a hard time. "I'm sorry." He set the bucket down.
Coric squeezed his arm fondly. "There's nothing to forgive. It's been a shitty couple of months for all of us." He leaned in and bumped foreheads with Rex. "You know I still love you, brother."
Rex breathed out, enjoying this rare moment of affection from Coric. "Love you, too, vod."
"Can I get in on that?" called Harley, from where he was doing inventory, several meters away.
"No," Rex and Coric said at once.
"Can't blame a brother for trying. You Gen1s are so tight-knit. Geez."
"Can we do it here? So, I can finish up my armor before my next briefing? We have a lot of planning before we ship out. This may be my only opportunity to do some mods."
"You'll just keep pushing and pushing it, won't you, Rex?"
"Maybe. Is that a yes?"
"Fine. Seems like the only way we're going get this done. Stand up. How are you feeling overall? Do you have pain anywhere?"
"No, everything's fine."
"You were injured on your mission to TriLuna, and then again during the Battle of Darkknell." He ran his scanner over Rex's frame as he spoke.
"Never better. I-"
The scanner bleeped alarmingly as it pulled in results from Rex's knee.
Rex's sharp inhale of breath was so audible Harley looked over at the two of them.
Coric raised a brow. "You know I have to take a look at that."
"No."
"Shuck 'em, Rex. We can do this here, or we can go to medbay."
"You've already seen my knee. I spent time in bacta after Darkknell. If anything, I'm stronger."
"I wasn't certifying you for battle-readiness. I was triaging a chest injury."
"You saw me fighting at Darkknell. I rescued your shebs."
"Don't pull that card, you shebs for brains. You're required to pass the same tests as everyone else. Now, shuck your plates."
Rex sighed quietly and stood up so he could shed his thigh, sniper and shin plates, and slid off his boot. Coric pulled apart the hook and latches on his bodysuit above his knee.
Rex had no idea if the knee he'd been given on the small Andoan moon was good enough to pass GAR standards. The little fishing was a not-worth-considering-backwater for those on Coruscant and that was the appeal for clones who didn't want to be found. Rex had been grateful to get a replacement knee, but it wasn't military-grade. ArmyMed had declared Rex a lost cause. What chance did he have of passing medical? "Coric, there's no need for this-"
"Will you shut the fek up, Rex, and let me work?"
Rex stood still at the slight brush of cold air against his leg. He looked down at the substantial scarring all around his knee. Bacta had helped diminish the scarring, but couldn't heal it entirely. His knee would never look like it did before he'd been hit dead-on by a commando droid testing new weaponry.
Harley was still lingering around, checking crates. "Fek, now that's a scar! Only trooper in the GAR to ever be hit with one of those new clone-shredder rounds, am I right, Captain?" He said it like it was a point of pride for the Legion.
"Trying to work here, Harley," Coric grumbled.
Harley took the hint, but muttered. "If that was my scar, I'd be showing everyone." The arrival of an R2 droid bearing a lone crate at the other end of the large room caught his attention. "Finally, Captain Ko's armor has arrived. Took them long enough!" He ran off to retrieve it.
"Krekkin' Harley," Coric muttered, as he took his readings. He reached in with his thumb and forefinger and squeezed Rex's kneecap. "Any tenderness when I do this?"
"Ouch, yes, so how about you don't do that? And, when you run? Any pain?"
Rex considered the question. He'd run for several hours on Darkknell. It ached significantly by the time he was done. But, Coric already knew that, because he was limping by the time the battle was done.
"If I run a lot, sometimes, yes."
"Show me you can balance on this leg and hold it. At least 30 seconds. Focus on the opposite wall. It will help you hold your balance." Balance wasn't an issue. Travis had done this exercise, and many others, working with him to get strength back in his knee.
"That's already 60 seconds. That's enough. Now, bend down if you can, just on one leg. That's enough. Don't overdo it."
Another easy one. He'd practiced this one with Travis, too.
"OK, I've seen enough," the medic said.
Coric made some more notes in his datapad. Rex couldn't read his expression. He was wearing his medic-in-charge face.
He finally turned his full attention to Rex. "Whoever did your knee replacement, knew what they were doing. You still have a bit of inflammation, but that's normal. I can work with you to clear it up. We probably should do a little more PT, as well. If we build up your strength, it will clear away that residual pain. Considering what your medical reports said from when you left, your knee is nothing short of a miracle. Your overall health is excellent. You are showing some signs of fatigue and battle stress, but I've made that note on every one of your med evals."
"Are you saying I passed?"
Coric held up the datapad and showed Rex his profile with the medic's electronic signature and the official Verification of Battle Certification.
Rex wanted to let out a whoop, but it would be undignified and not becoming of a Captain. Instead, he settled for clasping Coric's arm. "Thank you."
Coric shrugged. "I didn't do anything special. You passed. You're fit. You know that though, you led all of those men in the dungeons and rescued all of us."
Rex refrained from commenting. He wondered how many of the men from the Andoan Legion would have passed this certification. All of them should be allowed to be certified as soldiers again and be given the choice to serve the Republic. It was wrong what happened to them. They'd all proven they could still fight. They were all wrongly judged as disabled when the opposite was true. They'd adapted because of their injuries and became a stronger fighting unit.
A devilish glint entered Coric's eyes, making him look much younger than his 13 years. "Now, can you get us some paint?"
Harley looked up again with interest from across the room.
Rex looked back at them, both of their faces so hopeful. How could he let his men down? He'd call every contact he had. "Alright, I will see what I can do."
Both troopers grinned, faces full of confidence that their Captain would come through for them.
# # #
"Hardcase, that paint does not belong on your face!"
"I'm trying out a new design for my helmet!"
Rex sighed. "See that it doesn't up on the table, yeah?" Inwardly, he was happier than he'd been in a long time. The mess hall was jampacked with brothers from the 212th and 501st. Senator Amidala had come through.
"You've always been so good to Anakin. Watch out for him. I worry sometimes."
"I'll watch out for him, senator. I promise."
"You'll comm me again, if you need me, okay? Either if there's something you need for the 501st, or if... it's about Anakin. Comm day or night."
"Yes, senator, I will."
"My droids will have that paint over to you within the hour."
Not only had the senator provided a generous quantity of 501st blue and 212th sunburst orange, but she sent snacks. Rex hadn't seen his troopers this happy in a long time. He owed the senator. He'd find a way to pay her back.
"Captain Rex, this is Admiral Yularen."
He'd been so intent on painting the lines on his armor that the voice on his comm startled him. "Sir," Rex said, not sure whether to respond on his Phase 1 wrist comm or his Phase 2. Both seemed functioning at the moment. He had both laid out in front of him as he continued to decide which pieces to keep from each kit. "I'm sending a shuttle for you. I've ordered all seniors officer to an offsite at 1700 hours."
"Acknowledged, Rex out."
He checked his chrono. He didn't have much time. His armor was as painted as it was going to get. He double-checked all the paint was dry and quickly donned his kit. "Coric, will you put the rest of these pieces back in my room?"
Coric eyed the remainder of Rex's Phase 1. "You're really keeping that stuff?"
"For now, yes."
Coric shrugged. "OK." He turned his attention to carefully adding blue lines to his armor. "Hardcase, I can hear you behind me, and I swear if you make me mess up my lines, you will live to regret it."
# # #