Hey guys, it's been a slightly longer time to get to this one then usual and I got several reasons for it.
First. Two new stories that have taken up my time and depending on when this chapter comes out, it is either Spirit Unto Dawn of The Halo Effect: War and Civilization. BulletStormX and I have been very busy with these two.
Second. This is a story I now write practically only with Jebest which I made clear in the description. Rarely do I write chapters alone when it comes to this story but a majority of this, like 95 to 99 percent is written with J.
Third. Been busy with work related stuff, personal relationships with family and friends and a lot of important transitions right now I'm going through in life overall.
And Fourth. GHOST OF TSUSHIMA! I haven't had a videogame like that consume my essence and SOUL for that long a time. Good GOD people, that game is BEYOND AMAZING. AND IT HAS KUROSAWA MODE. FUCKING AKIRA KUROSAWA MODE. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! Drop dead gorgeous graphics coupled with amazing gameplay and a great story. Just… wow, just wow. What a game.
Now then…
Yeah, Chezo Niva killing Eeth Koth.
That certainly got some responses.
Expect crazy shit people, things are heating up.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 43: Deserter
Saleucami.
An outer rim world that not many had even brought up in the conversation of the war reaching the planet.
Then again, there's a lot of false assumptions going around.
General Grievous had lured the Republic here after the capture of the late Eeth Koth and Avengers Ant-Man and the Wasp.
They were pursued here, engaging in a fierce naval battle which transitioned into Anakin, Sam, Rex and Domino Squad infiltrating Grievous' ship to rescue their comrades.
Unfortunately, successful as they were initially, the crazed Acolyte of Chezo Niva snatched a devastating victory from the Republic with her murdering of Koth.
Now, after that unfortunate tragedy, both Obi-wan Kenobi and Sam Wilson were determined to capture the Separatists insane Droid general and bring him into justice. Much as they would enjoy having Chezo in a cell as well, Grievous was still the priority now above all else.
Currently, several Venators and Acclimators were descending down to the planet's surface while one droid General exited his escape pod.
Around him was a retinue of B1 battle droids.
"We must find a way off this planet before they find us." Spoke the cyborg general. He then looked overhead and saw a Republic cruiser flying through the air. "Kenobi… We need to hurry and find an escape pod."
Landing their cruiser a good number of miles away from Grievous' party, a ramp was drawn out and releasing many smaller Republic vehicles. They flooded out with the clone forces having to set things up while the rest got ready to search for the Separatist leader.
Multiple AT-RT's, AT-TE's and speeders were deployed out with Obi-wan and Sam leading the troops.
"Instead of scattering our troops looking for all the escape pods, we shall head towards the wreckage of the landing transport first."
"Of course, General." Rex said.
"Cody, divvy up the men." Kenobi said, turning to his second in command. "There must be at least one escape pod. Send a secondary party to search for it."
"Yes sir."
Sam rolled his shoulders as the troops began their march. "If you don't mind me guys, I'm gonna do some recon of my own."
"By all means." Kenobi gestured forward, Sam running forward thrusting his elbows out then his arms out wide with his wings popping out his suit.
Taking to the air, Sam flew above the troops, going forth while deploying Red Wing for a secondary set of eyes.
Some of the clones looked up at him with a sense of awe and wanting.
While they had jetpacks there was just a slight cool factor with having literal wings. Mechanical as they may be, it was still pretty cool.
"Is it wrong that I want one of my own?" Rex remarked questioningly.
Kenobi just gave the Clone Captain an amused look as both he and the rest of the Clones began their trek across the planet to find the wayward Droid General.
And speaking of the wayward general...
The battle droids had scrounged out whatever supplies that were within the escape pod whilst General Grievous was thinking of what to do next.
"Contact the fleet." Grievous barked out to a droid within the escape pod they crashed landed in.
"Sir, our transmitter is destroyed." Spoke a B-1 droid. "There is only one escape pod that survived."
"We must get there as quickly as possible. Let's hope the transmitter is still intact." Said Grievous before barking out an order. "Now find me some transportation."
As this was underway, the Republic forces continued their march across Saleucami.
Atop one of the AT-TE's, Kenobi stood with scopes in hand as he surveyed the terrain.
He heard the occasional sound of thrusters above him, looking up to see Sam flying about in the air.
"Sam, have you found anything up there?" Obi-wan asked through their comms.
Up in the air, Sam hovered in place for a moment as he waited for the return of Red Wing.
The small bird-like drone flew over to its owner, settling itself back into the back of the wingsuit.
"Nothing on my end." Sam announced. "Found an escape pod scrapped and destroyed. Lot of the terrain was wrecked. Pod must have had a bad landing."
The Jedi Master hummed aloud to himself.
"General Kenobi!"
Obi-wan looked down from the AT-TE to see Captain Rex riding in on a speeder.
"Sir, the cruiser returned to orbit." Rex reported in. "Any sign of Grievous?"
The Jedi frowned momentarily, looking back through his scopes for a few moments until...
"I believe we've found his ship." Kenobi announced. "Sam?"
"Yeah I see it."
All the while...
Riding on top of one of the indigenous wildlife on this planet, Grievous was overhearing many of the surrounding droids voicing their complaints. It was truly annoying.
"Power low."
"Need to Shut down."
"I can't go on."
"Sir, we need to get our power recharged."
"Not this again! How could your power cells be so depleted?" Grievous asked with an aggravated tone.
"You would not let us ride on one of those creatures with you, sir. If you would allow us to let us close for-WHAAA!"
The B-1 droid was silenced with a swing of Grievous' lightsaber, bisecting the droid rather quickly.
"Anyone else?" Threatened the general.
The droids didn't voice any more complaints as neither of them wanted to risk being destroyed.
"That's what I thought." He said, deactivating his lightsaber. "Now let's find that pod."
The droids resumed their trek with their temperamental general.
Meanwhile, the Republic forces arrived at the crashed ship of Grievous trying to find anything of use.
The Clones were either lifting up or sifting through the debris of the ship, finding nothing but scrapped droids that were littered throughout the area.
Atop the ship, Cody, Rex, Obi-wan and Sam were going about their own investigations atop the ship.
"Thermal housing intakes are still warm." Cody announced from the area he was checking over. "This couldn't have happened too long ago."
"The crew compartment's almost entirely destroyed." Rex said, walking up to the Jedi General.
"We'll split into teams. Rex, take Jesse, Hardcase and Kix and search those wetlands." Obi-wan instructed.
"Yes, sir." Rex said, looking back to Jessie, gesturing his head over to several speeders that were nearby.
"Cody, you, Crys, Sam and I will pick it up from here. And, Rex, if you get a visual on Grievous, contact us before you engage." Kenobi added with Rex simply nodding.
"Needed to make sure of that little tidbit, huh?" Sam asked.
"Rex is a smart man." Kenobi stated. "But let's not forget who his general is."
"Hey, us Avengers are pretty reckless ourselves; you know." Sam said. "And you're no saint yourself, Obi-Wan."
Kenobi only gave him a wry look, though a small grin was present while Cody chuckled softly to himself.
Waxer and Boil, who were investigating the droid wreckage with Crys, were kicking around scrapped droids with Boil huffing in annoyance.
"How're we supposed to get anything out of these clankers?" Boil asked aloud with Crys nodding in agreement as he lifted up the upper half of a B1 droid.
"These droids are too gone to give us any good intel." Crys announced, tossing it aside.
"There's gotta be something around here." Sam said, looking around. "Ship's still intact, all things considered."
"Nothing so far, lieutenant." Clone Trooper Crys said apologetically.
Waxer glanced over to an escape pod nearby with a cracked glass window and walked over to it.
Peering inside the pod, he spotted a droid that was still full intact.
"Here's one!" He announced, having the others gather around him.
"Sweet." Sam said, patting Waxer upon the shoulder. "Nice work man."
"Let's load the droid in the tank." Obi-wan said, placing his hand upon the glass casing. With a quick application of the force, the glass shattered and the hatch door fell open. "We'll inspect it on the go."
Over with Rex, he led his small squad of clones as they sped through the wetlands of Saleucami.
Their formation was a loose diamond shape, Rex at the head, Jesse and Hardcase close behind on his sides with Kix at the back being the medic.
"Think we'll find anything out here?" Jesse asked.
"Don't know." Rex said. "Place is a backwater planet. Not much to be found here."
As they rode forward, the troops were unaware of the two Commando droids up ahead hiding behind a small hill.
One had a sniper rifle while the other utilized scopes, acting as a spotter.
The one with the sniper rifle focused upon Rex with the scopes Commando advising him on when to shoot.
Once within range…
*DRRRR*
Rex was suddenly struck by a blaster bolt across the chest, being flung back from his speeder and landing hard upon the ground.
"Protect the captain!" Jesse quickly ordered with Kix veering about to return to their captain whilst Hardcase joined Jesse in pursuing the two droids that shot Rex.
Though they sprinted as fast as their mechanical bodies were able to perform, Jesse and Hardcase were already upon the two shooting them down quickly.
Stopping at the down droids, Jesse saw what they were.
"Commando droids." he said grimly.
"Think the head clanker is nearby then?" Hardcase asked.
Before they could discuss this matter any further, Kix called them over.
"Jesse, you better get back here." He said in a serious tone, checking over their down Captain.
Back with Obi-wan, he was within an AT-TE tank with Cody and Crys looking over data they were receiving from the droid.
Sam had opted to remain outside with the troops, occasionally taking to the air to scout ahead or just converse with some of the Clones.
"What do you have?" Obi-wan asked, standing behind Cody and Crys.
"We've broken the access codes and powered up the droid's guidance system." Crys informed the general.
"According to its logs, he fired the emergency thrusters on the escape pod to avoid a mid-air collision." Cody added, holding up his datapad to Obi-wan.
"Collision with what?" Kenobi asked.
"Another escape pod." Crys stated.
"There was no time to correct for the steeper glide path, which is why this droid's pod crashed." Cody said.
"Can you pinpoint the landing zone for the other pod?"
"I can put us within two to three klicks of it, sir." Cody said with confidence.
With a satisfied smirk, Obi-wan nodded.
"Alert the men, we've picked up the scent."
As the 212th and 501st had their stroke of luck, three other clones surrounded one fallen Captain Rex as the medic of the group finished his assessment of the injuries.
"How bad?" Jessie asked with concern.
"Pretty bad. I need to remove his armor to see the full extent of the damage." Kix stated in complete seriousness.
"Those snipers might have called for backup." Hardcase said, looking around in case this may prove to be true. "Unless we want to start getting picked off one by one, we should find better cover first."
While nodding, Jesse looked up to see several quadrupedal native creatures nearby.
"They seem… awfully close to us." Kix noted.
"Most animals would flee on… sight…" Jesse squinted at the creatures. "Wait a minute… Those critters are domesticated."
"Sir?" Hardcase said in confusion.
"I think we're on farmland and where there's a farm… there's usually a farmer." Jesse declared. "Let's find his homestead."
"How do you know that?" Hardcase asked.
"Simple brother." Jesse remarked with a sly tone. "Where you think with your blaster like Hevy, I usually keep myself busy with finding things that may be useful for us."
"Oh, so the one time you read up on farming it turned out to be useful." Hardcase shot back jokingly.
"I'll have you know I've always been interested in farming." Jesse countered with a wag of his finger. "Seems like a decent life after all this blows over."
Pulling out a foldable stretcher, they placed Rex upon it and attached it to Kix's speeder before they trailed down in the direction where most of the quadrupedal animals seemed to be coming from.
Lo and behold, crops were seen with a house and barn nearby.
The moment they came to a stop, the front door to the home burst open to reveal a pink-skinned Twi'lek woman pointing a sniper rifle right at them.
"We don't want any trouble here." Spoke the farmer.
"Easy with that weapon, ma'am." Jesse said. "We're here as friends."
When the clones removed their helmets, the farmer lingered on her gaze. "State your business." She said, leveling her rifle at Jesse.
"Our captain's been hurt. We need-"
"I'm no doctor. So just-"
"We have a medic, ma'am." Jesse said placatingly. "We just need a place to tend him overnight."
Before the Twi'lek could respond…
"Mommy, who's-"
"Get back inside, both of you." She said to two young children that came out from the house.
"Oh, mom!" both said with defeat, hanging their heads as they went back inside.
Relenting, she gestured over to the barn with her rifle.
"Look, there are some benches out back in the barn. It's the best I can do."
"That'll be fine, ma'am. Thank you." Jesse said with a pleasant smile.
They quickly got their Captain into the barn, getting the top of his armor off of him.
Setting him down on the bench, Kix went to work applying Bacta upon Rex's back and the area where he got struck.
As he finished applying the patch over the wound, Rex came to.
"What? Wh-What happened?" Rex asked groggily.
"Commando droids took a potshot that would've gone straight through your heart had it been two inches to the left." Hardcase stated, with Kix placing a hand on his shoulder to make sure Rex remained lying down.
"I… I can't move my arm." Rex said in worry.
"You have some nerve damage." Kix said.
"Understood." Rex groaned, rolling onto his side. "Now patch me up and let's get on with it."
"Sir, you're in no condition. It will heal, but it'll take time." Kix said with a firm tone.
"We're getting underway Kix. That's an order." Rex said in a voice that was strained.
"Sir, as the team medic when it comes to the health of the men, including you, I outrank everyone." Kix said plainly with a flat look. "So~ I respectfully order you, sir, to get some-"
There was a light cough, signaling the Twi'leks appearance in the barn with a plate full of fruit in her grasp. "Excuse me… If there's not enough…"
"That's plenty. Thank you, uh…" Jesse said politely.
"Suu." Suddenly a hover ball came zooming into the barn with her daughter rushing in. "I told you to stay in the house."
"I couldn't help it, mom. It got away." the young girl said before stopping at the Clone Captain.
The daughter looked at Rex, making the captain draw in a curious expression.
"What?" Rex asked in slight discomfort.
"You look like my daddy." The Twi'lek girl said cheerfully.
"Shaeeah. Don't bother the soldier." Suu reprimanded her daughter. "Now get inside with your brother."
"Yes, mom." Shaeeah said with a small slouch in her form as she left the barn.
"My husband is away delivering our first harvest. Do you require anything else?" Suu asked with a more kind tone in comparison to her earlier hostile introduction.
"No. Thank you, Suu." Jesse said with a nod.
As Jesse placed the bowl of food next to Rex, taking some for himself, Kix and Hardcase, the medic of the group placed one of the Captain's blaster pistols near his hand.
"Resume the search without me." Rex ordered. "Jesse, you're in command. I'll be fine."
The others nodded, leaving Suu's farm as Rex did his best to get a good night's sleep.
-Scene Cut-
With the two moons shining down on Saleucami's surface, it gave the Republic forces plenty of light for their present search.
"Hey, Kenobi." Sam called out from the comms. "I think I found our escape pod."
"Any sign of Grievous?"
"Give me a sec." After swooping down from the sky, Sam inspected the escape pod and found it empty. "It's deserted, but I found some tracks going westbound."
"And where does it lead to?"
"Probably towards a second escape pod. Only thing I can think of."
Nodding in understanding, Kenobi activated his wrist-comm in order to contact Anakin's clone captain. "Captain Rex, come in, please."
There was no response at first until…
"It's Jesse, sir. Rex was injured."
This made Kenobi pause in surprise and worry. Cody looked over to him, the two locking eyes before Kenobi addressed Jesse.
"What's his condition?"
"He'll be fine, but we had to find him shelter for the night."
"Grievous is on the move." Obi-wan informed the Clone. "We're headed to the west. Swing around and we can meet up at the final escape pod. We're going to need all the firepower we can muster."
"Roger that, sir. We're speeding towards you."
As the Republic forces regrouped, the Droid General was getting increasingly annoyed by their apparent lack of progress on top of the constant moaning of the droids and their waning power cells.
"We should be there by now!" Grievous said, clearly getting fed up with his situation.
"Weeeeeeee arrrrrrrre, siiiiiiirrrrrr, thheeeeeere. Almoooost." Spoke the one B-1 droid as it was losing power alongside a few others.
"You had better be interpreting the coordinates correctly!" Grievous said aloud in a threatening manner.
Before the one B-1 droid could answer back, it deactivated and went into shutdown mode. Just as it crouched down into a prone position, the B1 closest to it took the datapad out from its hands.
"We're almost there, sir. One klick out. Straight ahead." The droid said until it powered down a moment later.
As the droids toiled away and lost power one by one, one Captain was laying within a barn when one of its residents got slightly curious.
It hovered over the clone, sniffing him with its trunk which led to Rex waking up and the creature licking his cheek several times.
"No, no, no, no, no! UGH!" Rex said, managing to push the creature away though his face was thoroughly slobbered now.
Groaning in annoyance, he wiped the saliva off his face before trying to get back to sleep again. When he did so, he heard something else.
Rex thought it was another farm animal, but it wasn't the case as he heard footsteps drawing closer. It was slow and careful. Not to mention he heard something scrape against the barn's entrance, as if it was being picked up.
As the presence drew near, Rex slowly went towards his blaster. And the moment the new arrival came in, the captain whipped out his weapon. Before firing a shot, it was knocked out of his grasp by a farm tool.
"Who are you?" The man holding his farm tool. Taking a good look of the clone captain, he practically growled. "What are you doing here?"
It took Rex a moment to register just who it was that was holding the farm tool before his face. "You're a clone."
Upon that declaration, the Clone before Rex slumped in defeat. "So… I see the war has finally made its way out here. And I guess I can expect a visit from some droids soon."
"What's your number and rank?" Rex demanded.
"Heh~ well my name is Lawquane." The Clone introduced himself. "Cut Lawquane and I'm just a simple farmer."
"You're a deserter." Rex said in an accusatory manner.
"Well, I like to think I'm merely exercising my freedom to choose: to choose not to kill for a living." Cut rebuked in a calm fashion as he turned the lights on in the barn.
"That is not your choice to make." Rex argued back. "You swore an oath to the Republic. You have a duty."
"I have a duty, you're right." Cut said. "But it's to my family. Does that count or do you still plan to turn me in?"
"Do I have a choice?"
The tension in the air was broken when Shaeeah came rushing into the barn with a big smile on her face. "Daddy! You're home!"
Cut simply crouched down and hugged her tightly.
"Look what I drew for you dad!" Spoke Shaeeah's brother.
Cut chuckled upon seeing his son's drawing, rubbing his head in fond manner. "Well, well, well. That's great Jekk."
"I see you two have met." Suu pointed out from the barn's entrance.
"He looks just like you, daddy. I told him." Shaeeah said with a smile.
"Ah~ you did, huh? I was just making our guest, Captain… What's your number?"
"Rex. I also have a name, believe it or not." Said the clone captain, making Cut smirk.
"He was injured. His men brought him here. I told him he could stay just for the night." Suu said.
"Of course he can. We never turn away those in need, do we?" Cut remarked.
"No, we always help anyone we can." Jekk said with his older sister nodding.
"Right." Cut turned to the Captain. "You look hungry, Rex."
"No, I'm fine. I'll stay here."
Rex's arm was seized by Jekk, who presently wore a hopeful look alongside Shaeeah. "Nooo! You have to eat with us. Please."
"Please?" Shaeeah implored with her eyes wide and lower lip pouting.
Cut chuckled at the display. "They're never going to stop till you say yes."
Releasing a sigh, Rex saw he had no proper way out of this. "Alright, I'll join you."
"Yeah!/Yippee!" both kids cried out with victory.
Getting into the Lawquane home, the children were setting up the table as the parents were getting the final touches of dinner taken care of. All the while, Rex sat at the table as he was occasionally being stared at by the children.
As this went on, Rex took better notice of the Twi-lek children's physical appearances. They had the basic Twi'lek physiology, but there were some additions that made it seem they were hybrids. The only thing he could really notice were the skin pigmentation on their faces and parts of their Lekku. The rest would no doubt be seen underneath their clothing.
This made Rex wonder if the clone deserter were their father. But that merely confused him as they seemed too old for that to occur.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Cut came to the table with a small roasted animal. With a fork and knife, the deserter started carving it up and serving it to his family.
"Now continuing from our conversation earlier… You and I may be clones but we're still individuals. You have a name rather than a number, Captain. Why is that?" Cut asked, placing some food upon Rex's plate.
"Perhaps our leaders feel it's a more efficient way of distinguishing us." The Captain rebuked.
"More efficient than a number? Hmm. I doubt the Kaminoans think that way." Cut said with a knowing tone. "Do any of the Jedi refer to you by number?"
Rex was about to argue that only he knew that frankly, he had yet to encounter a Jedi that doesn't refer to him other than his rank and name.
It went on, unaware of Rex's internal dilemma. "Still, a name has to make you feel unique, especially in an army where everyone looks like you and talks like you."
"Actually, I've never really thought about it." Rex shot back.
"Yes you have." Cut waved off.
"How would you know?"
"Because I'm as close to you as any life-form can be." Cut said up close to the clone captain before pulling away. "I've seen how you look at my family, our home." Rex's gaze lingered onto the children. "Come on, Rex. You've thought about what your life could look like if you were to also leave the army, choose the life you want."
"What if I am choosing the life I want?" Rex said, more adamantly now. "What if I'm staying in the army because it's meaningful to me?"
"And how is it meaningful?" Cut questioned.
"Because I'm part of the most pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. If we fail, then our children and their children could be forced to live under an evil I can't well imagine." Rex hammered in with his belief.
"If you were to have children, of course, but that would be against the rules, wouldn't it?" Cut pointed out. "Isn't that what somebody programmed you to believe Captain?"
"No, Cut. It's simply what I believe. It doesn't matter if it's my children or other people's children. Does that meet with your approval?" Rex said bitterly.
"Perfectly. To each his own. That's what I always say." Cut said, grinning at the Captains slightly frustrated mood.
"What does that mean, daddy?" Shaeeah asked.
"It means you can do anything with your life that you want to." Cut said kindly, sharing a look with the Captain who averted his gaze a moment later.
-Scene Cut-
With the Republic forces closing into Grievous' position, Kenobi wanted to know where Rex's team was presently at.
"How are you doing, Jesse?" Obi-wan said into his wrist-comm.
"Closing in, sir. We have a visual."
"Very well. We'll meet you in the middle."
Over by the Separatist escape pod, Grievous was quite pleased in seeing it. He really wanted to get off this backwater planet and get back to Separatist space.
Hopping off of the animal he rode for hours, Grievous addressed one of the B-1 droids. "Is your transmitter working?"
"I don't know. I haven't used it yet." This earned the droid a smack across the head, making it fall onto the ground. "Alright! I'll check it out!"
"Stupid battle droids." Growled out the general before looking towards the one droid which entered the pod earlier. "Send out a distress signal towards the rest of our fleet. We need to get a shuttle down here immediately."
"Roger, roger. But I must inform you, sir, there are multiple life-forms approaching from the east and west."
This alerted the Separatist general, making him call out to his present forces. "Battle positions!"
It didn't take much time for the Republic AT-RTs, AT-TEs and speeders to arrive on the scene. They started firing upon Grievous' position with practically everything they had in order to capture the cyborg general. The battle droids were quick to respond back, especially one of them pulling out a rocket launcher and firing a round at an AT-TE.
Seeing the projectile coming towards him, he leaped off the transport and landed on the ground before igniting his lightsaber. He charged forward with several other clone troopers alongside him.
One trooper quickly moved to the side when he saw a rocket coming towards him. He was almost hit but called out to an AT-TE in order to shoot down the enemy projectile.
"Tank two! Port side!"
The barrel of the main gun turned with its occupant taking a quick aim. The clone fired off a round and destroyed the projectile before it got close enough.
"Great shot!"
With the blaster fire filling the air, Grievous could only growl out an order. "Turn on those commando droids in the escape pod immediately!" He then voiced the burning question on his mind. "And where is that ship?!"
-Scene Cut-
In a corner of the Lawquane home, it's patriarch and his guest were presently playing a game of Dejarik.
"Good move. Very good move." Cut commented on Rex's recent play against him.
"So what was it?"
"What made me decide to leave the corps?" Cut leaned back in his seat and recounted his tale. "Shortly after the battle of Geonosis, our troop transport got caught between two Separatist gunships. They fired at us with everything they had. We crashed. Most of us were either dead or severely injured. So when they started working their way through the wounded, killing us off, I knew there was no hope. I ran. It still haunts me."
"...I'm sorry."
"It's the day I felt my life didn't have any meaning. Everyone I cared about, my team, was gone. I was just another expendable clone waiting for my turn to be slaughtered in a war that made no sense to me. Can you understand that, Rex?"
Rex merely sighed and looked at the deserter solemnly. "I've been in countless battles and lost many brothers. They were my family. My home."
Shaeeah soon came up to her father with her brother not far behind her. "Daddy, we finished our chores. Can we go outside and play?"
"Please?" Jekk pleaded alongside his sibling.
Cut smiled. "Okay, only for a few minutes."
Shaeeah smiled. "Thank you, daddy. Come on, Jekk."
"And keep the house in view." Ordered their father.
"We will." Jekk said back.
"You have wonderful children." Rex said as he saw the Twi'lek kids run out of the house.
Cut saw the look in Rex's gaze and remembered the same one from earlier. "They aren't mine if you're wondering. I merely adopted them when I married their mother."
Rex released a small chuckle. "Yeah, I was thinking about that. Nearly gave me a headache."
Cut nodded as they continued their game.
"So… what do you know about those Avengers?"
Rex blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"You know who I'm talking about. Who are they?"
"How do you even know about them?" Rex asked. "This is a backwater planet."
"I may not be in the army anymore, but that doesn't mean I keep myself out of the loop." Cut stated. "I make sure to have at least a semblance of the going's on in the rest of the galaxy. And for the past few months, these Avengers have been on the holo-net day in and day out."
Rex was silent, not responding at first prompting Cut to ask.
"So who exactly are they?"
Rex mulled over the question in his mind, thinking hard on the group of individuals that quite frankly have fundamentally changed a great deal of many lives in a short amount of time.
"They're… unique to say the least." Rex started out. "Actually, unique would be underselling it. These guys are some of the craziest, possibly most powerful individuals I have ever seen."
"Really?" Cut leaned in, intrigued by this. "Powerful in what way?"
"Powerful where they can give any Jedi they fight a run for their money." Rex stated making Cut lean back with disbelief.
"Meaning?"
"I've seen them do things that I've yet to see a Jedi pull off." Rex said. "Things that I could barely wrap my mind around."
"Have you… Actually met them?" Cut inquired, now making Rex grin.
"More than that. I've fought alongside them for a few months now." Rex said, making Cut gape.
"What are they like?" The Clone trooper turned farmer asked. "I have been hearing some insane rumors about what they can do."
"What have you heard?"
"Something about one of them having a power armor that's way beyond the pay grade of a Clone could ever get from the Republic. And another in a blue costume where he fights with a shield of all things." Cut listed down making Rex chortle.
"Well that's Colonel Rhodes and Captain Rogers you're talking about." Rex said. "And they're both one man armies by themselves. Most of those Jedi are really after what I've seen them do."
Rex proceeded to regale Lawquane with the astonishing feats that he had borne witness to these past few months.
Captain Rogers skill in combat and leadership qualities while utilizing his shield in almost reality defining manners.
Sam Wilson with his wingsuit, quippy mouth and creative flight based combat style.
Colonel James Rhodes with his overwhelming firepower with his suit.
Natasha Romanoff with her athletic/assassin based fighting prowess.
Then came the more crazier powers that Cut couldn't quite wrap his mind around.
Pietro's super speed, the shrinking and gigantification of Scott and Hope and Peter's astonishing dexterity and web swinging and Matt Murdock's blindness not hindering his capacity to fight in any way. In fact his senses are enhanced to the point of unreal with the amount of precision and accuracy they allow for him to gauge scenarios and environments.
"And from what they told me recently, there's three more out there somewhere in the galaxy."
"Wow." Cut murmured. "Where are they even from?"
"They told me their planet is called Earth."
With that, Cut couldn't help but snort aloud. "They're from a planet called dirt?"
Rex chuckled. "They kinda had similar reactions when they told me and General Skywalker after everything they've been through here. Captain Rogers told us their planet has a lot more people like them. Some are known and some are just waiting to pop up."
"Sounds crazy."
"It is crazy." Rex said. "You should hear half the stuff they talk about."
"You seem close to them." Cut noted making Rex pause in thought.
Was he close to them?
…
He'd like to think so considering how much they have endured together this past year. They certainly treated him with great respect and friendliness.
Hell, ever since they had become directly involved in the war, the number of Clone casualties have plummeted.
While in battles like Geonosis, casualties were high, the Avengers working with the Jedi and the Clones have allowed for more survivors and less deaths.
They had saved the lives of clones on numerous occasions now.
"I think… even though they're not with the Republic I can consider them as… friends."
"Really?"
Rex took another moment before nodding. "Yeah, we're friends. We're comrades."
Cut hummed in thought. "Then… what do you think their opinion would be of me?"
Now that… that was certainly not a question he was expecting.
What would they think about Cut Lawquane?
A Clone Trooper who chose to walk away from a life of war to a life of, well, peace.
"I… I… I'm not sure really." Rex admitted.
He thought of people like Steve, Natasha, Sam and Peter. They, like the rest of the Avengers, got along well with all the Clones for the most part.
They were kind, cordial and very friendly.
They have been introducing their planet's version of entertainment, food, culture and they kept stating how what they had on them thus far was only the tip of the iceberg.
"I think…" Rex said after several moments of silence. "They would respect your choice in the end."
"Really?" Cut was rather surprised by the response.
Rex nodded. "Yes. I figure one or two may not agree with you leaving your duty but finding a new one… they'd accept it."
Cut leaned forward in his seat, thinking carefully on Rex's words as they played more of their game of Dejarik.
If he were to be honest with himself, he'd very much like to meet these Avengers.
…
…
…
"Love is the death of duty."
Rex blinked in confusion upon hearing this coming from Cut's mouth. "Did you just come up with that?"
"No... I heard it from a passing doctor when I first met Suu." Came Cut's response as Rex played his next move. "Thinking about it for so long, I believe the same applies the other way around: Duty being the death of love." The clone then elaborated his thoughts. "Us clones, we're the shield for the Republic. You and the rest of our brothers have always tried to do the right thing, no matter what. You've tried to protect them from the greatest threat they know to their very lives. But once that is over, what will replace that threat? What purpose will we have after this war against the Separatists. It's a terrible thing to think about, but it's also the right thing."
Rex was silent, digesting these words. Before he could do much progress, the farmer continued. "There might come a time when you will come to a decision, Rex. Choosing duty on one hand and for those you care for in the other. What would you do then?"
"Do whatever is right, no matter what." Was Rex's response.
"Well what is a man's duty when compared to what you feel towards your friends, your brothers, your loved ones? We are all flesh and blood; we all do our duty when there's no cost. It comes easier and yet, sooner or later in every man's life there comes a day when it is not easy. A day when he must choose."
Cut made one last move, winning him the game. "I know you think I'm a coward, Rex, but believe me… I'll fight to my last breath to keep up my duty in order to keep my family safe."
Their conversation came to an abrupt end when the three adults heard the children scream, not out of joy but out of fear.
"Jekk! Shaeeah!" Cut and Suu cried out, rushing out of the door to see their children running out of the field and towards their home with a look of utter duress. When they got in close, the parents embraced their children.
"What's wrong?" Asked their father.
"Monsters. They're chasing us." Shaeeah said, pointing towards the field.
"What monsters? Honey, where?" Suu inquired.
"They hatched from the big egg in the field!" Said their daughter.
Curious as to what's going on, Cut grabbed the hanging pair of binoculars by the doorframe. Peering inside, he looked over the field and saw movement. It didn't take long for him to spot the "monsters" his children saw not long ago.
"Ah… That's not good. I count twenty commando droids."
"What are they doing?" Rex inquired.
Instead of answering, Cut spoke to his wife. "Suu, get the kids upstairs."
Getting the idea, Suu moved her children along. "Come. Come, children. Come now."
Moving to the door, he locked and secured it as the clone captain asked the obvious question coming to mind. "What weapons do you have?"
Cut opened up a cupboard and showed only a number of farming equipment, a sniper rifle and a few blasters.
"We can catch them in a crossfire." Rex suggested as he was handed back his blaster.
"No, captain. With respect, you're not in charge here."
Rex sputtered. "I-I can be useful."
"Sir, you're injured. You only have one good arm." Cut pointed out.
"But I can fight."
"So can I." The farmer argued back. "Rex, I need you to be the last line of defense for my family."
After a few quiet seconds, Rex relented and went upstairs. "I can take care of them."
Cut smiled at his clone brother. "Thank you."
The Clone Farmer turned to leave before Rex called out to him.
"Can you make something quickly for me?" Rex asked, surprising the Clone.
"What?" Cut asked in bewilderment.
Upon revealing what it was Rex wanted, Cut's expression was one of bemusement.
The farmer was quick to work. He turned out the lights, double checked in locking the doors and equipped with the weapons he has in the house. He gave Rex what he had requested and once done, he prepared himself for the commando droids to come busting through the doors of his home.
He saw a passing shadow coming through the bottom of the front door. Cut was about to fire before the backdoor was blasted open. The clone farmer whirled around and fired out a headshot for the three commando droids that were coming in. Once they were down for the count, he hugged the wall not far away.
Cut kept his attention sharp, wondering where the droids would show up next.
Suddenly, a metal arm busted through the closed up window, strangling the clone farmer. He was able to break free before pulling out a blaster and delivering a headshot at his assailant.
He then stood back, raising his blaster in several directions to make sure there weren't any more surprises for him.
Cut then trailed over to a hatch at the front door when he heard some creaking sounds.
Squinting his eyes, he carefully moved over to the hatch with his blaster trailing on it while he reached for it with his other hand. The moment the hatch was opened up ever so slightly, it burst open with a number of Commando droids pouring out.
Cut stumbled back as he shot down one Commando droid while the others began firing upon him. Running for cover, the Commando droids appeared to not be operating at peak capacity as the shots they fired were random and uncoordinated.
Unfortunately for Cut, this proved slightly disastrous as one shot at a horizontal wooden pillar that fell apart and right on to the farmer, trapping him beneath it all.
Cut struggled, attempting to reach for his gun but was presently stuck.
He saw the droids walking by him and up the steps.
"Rex, they're coming for you!" Cut yelled out to him.
Captain Rex simply readied himself.
In one hand was his blaster pistol and while he had his other arm in a cast, that did not mean he was defenseless.
With Suu's help, she had strapped a makeshift shield made from a large flat piece of wood Cut managed to get from the barn.
Once the droids appeared at the steps, Rex rushed forward with his shield absorbing the blaster bolts. He fired at the droids, getting two in the head.
The droid closest to him attempted to fire at him yet Rex moved fast enough, using his shield to shove the droid against the wall to immobilize it.
Pressing the barrel of his blaster pistol against the Droids head, it had a gaping hole through it a moment later.
Suddenly, he heard crashing coming from above and the screams from the kids.
Whirling about wildly, Rex saw two more Commando droids had fallen through the roof and were standing in front of the room to Suu and the kids.
Firing quickly at them, he took down one yet the other whirled around and fired at the clone.
Downstairs, Cut was dealing with one of the last few droids present before him. He already broke one by swinging a chair across its body after crushing another from the fallen debris the farmer pried himself free from. Cut was about to fire his blaster, but it was knocked out of his grasp. Retaliating, he punched the droid's head but recoiled from the pain before the droid grasped his head.
In the hallway upstairs, Rex rolled away to give himself space from a Commando droid. In a crouched position, he fired several shots and took down the droid before him. The droid inadvertently fired one last bolt from its weapon which struck the ground between Rex's legs. A moment later, the floor beneath him fell apart.
Rex fell down beside Cut though his blaster unfortunately fell further away from them both.
The last Commando droid immediately grasped Rex's head with Cut attempting to help the Captain only for him to be swatted aside.
Desperately trying to free himself, Rex looked for anything he had in his belt before grasping a circular disk of some kind.
Eyes widening in shock at what he had just found, he grasped it tightly and pulled it out.
'Better make this count.' Rex struggled in thought before managing to pry himself out of the droid's hold, kicking it away and slapping the object into his assailant.
A moment later, the Commando droid literally vanished before his eyes.
Cut, who had seen this, had his jaw drop in complete and utter disbelief.
"Wha-what?" Cut muttered.
Rex massaged his neck and looked down with the Captain blinking a moment later.
The commando droid looked around in utter confusion, not understanding and processing as to what happened. But before anything else could be done, the droid was crushed under Rex's boot.
Exhaling in exhaustion, Rex slumped down to the floor.
"R-Rex." Cut spoke up, face still marred in stunned shock. "What was that just now?"
"A gift from a friend."
"Some friend you have."
Rex merely chuckled, rubbing his sore neck. "You've got no idea."
"D-Daddy? Daddy?" Jekk called out from the hole in the ceiling with his mother and sister behind him.
Cut looked up and smiled at his family. "I'm okay. It's over."
-Scene Cut-
As the battle waged on, Grievous cut down a nearby clone trooper. When looking around to hopefully spot Kenobi, his gaze caught onto the Separatist transport shuttle which flew overhead.
"Finally!"
"General Grievous, sir. We see you below us. Are you ready to depart?" Spoke a battle droid over his comms.
Cutting down a few B-1 droids, Kenobi saw the Separatist ship that recently arrived on the scene. Already knowing where this was going, he gave out an order. "Concentrate your fire on that ship."
The AT-TE moved its cannon and opened fire upon the Separatist transport. The shots had missed, but they might get another chance as it was coming back around.
From another side of the battlefield, Jesse, Kix and Hardcase were zooming in on their speeder bikes.
Firing off several rounds from his speeder bike, Jesse noticed the transport and spoke to Kenobi over the comms. "Sir, that ship's coming around for another landing attempt."
Hearing this, Kenobi gave out an order to the clones manning the AT-TE. "Keep firing. Don't let that ship land."
Then the unfortunate happened...
"The guns are overheated!" Cried out a clone trooper.
"Always something." Kenobi muttered out before charging forward. "Cody, Sam, Jesse, cover me."
The Avenger and clones complied as they fired at the surrounding B-1 and Commando droids.
Grievous was distracted in blocking the enemy blaster fire that he didn't notice the Jedi General coming towards him. But a call from one of his droids alerted him.
"General, behind you!"
Grievous whirled around, just in time to block and hold back Kenobi with his lightsaber.
Pushing the Jedi away, the Separatist cyborg lurched forward and swung his lightsabers at his opponent. Both whirled around each other, trying to get the upper hand in their bout. At one point in their confrontation, Grievous unclipped his cloak and threw it at Kenobi, hoping to temporarily cloud his vision. It barely worked as Kenobi sliced through the black/red fabric before blocking an incoming swing from the enemy.
Within the Separatist shuttle, another occupant scoffed at the battle transpiring below.
"Lower the ramp."
The droid pilots complied with the order lowering the ramp while mid-air. The other occupant stepped forward and stood upon the edge of the ramp. She spotted a piece of debris nearby several droids that were going to be taken down in a few moments.
And they would undoubtedly corner the Droid General.
Calling out with the Force, she lifted up several debris and flung it in the direction of the Clones. There were cries of shock and surprise and up in the air, Sam looked about wildly until an unseen "force" shoved him through the air making him spin about for a moment.
The Droid General didn't need much to put together just who it was that was assisting him.
"I had this covered, Chezo!"
"Sure~ whatever you say, Grievous." Spoke the Sith Acolyte. "Now come on. We gotta go."
The cyborg didn't respond back to her as she used the Force to leap into the air, land on the escape pod and leaped once more to get back into the shuttle.
"Forget trying to land!" Grievous ordered the pilot droids, climbing up the escape pod. Reaching the top, he fired off a grappling line, which soon attached onto the hull of the Separatist shuttle. "Fire the engines!"
The Separatist ship lurched forward, quickly snagging Grievous and pulling him into the air. The clones fired upon the Separatist general, who merely batted the shots away with his lightsaber.
"So long, Republic scum!"
Sam went to fly after them. Coming in close, he fired his weapons at the ship. Yet he was thrown off course as he whirled around in the air once again. Stabilizing, he saw Chezo smirking and waving as Grievous climbed into the ship before the ramp closed up. Before he could go after them again, the enemy ship zoomed off farther away than he could possibly manage to reach them.
"I really hate that bitch." Sam growled aloud; fist clenched tightly with rage.
Back on the ground, Kenobi saw what occurred and shook his head with a migraine growing.
"Are you alright, sir?" Cody asked from behind the Jedi general.
"No. We're right back where we started." Obi-wan said with open frustration. "Call the cruisers. See if they can stop that ship."
"Right away, sir."
"And tell them to send someone to pick us up."
Kenobi went back down to the ground with Sam joining him.
"This day… hasn't been the best, has it?" Sam asked glumly.
The Jedi master sighed, placing a friendly hand upon Sam's shoulder.
"No, I can safely say it has not." Obi-wan said.
The night came and went, with the sun of Saleucami rising.
With Captain Rex, the Clone departed from Cut's home some time ago with a simple phrase of his condition possibly hindering his memory from meeting Cut.
He had reunited with General Kenobi and the rest of his brothers and soon after, all departed from the planet to return back to Coruscant.
-Scene Cut-
It had been several days since they came back to Coruscant.
During that time, Eeth Koth was given the proper Jedi funeral with the entire Jedi Council in attendance as well as hundreds of other Jedi be they present physically or via holo-transmission.
It was a day of mourning, Scott, Hope and Koth's company of Clones all especially hit hard by the loss.
Koth had essentially sacrificed himself in the end to protect Hope, Scott and his men.
A noble end to a noble Jedi.
Currently, Captain Rex was seated in a small lounge area that he had found himself in with Domino Squad, Anakin, Ahsoka and the Avengers.
Their topic of discussion?
A certain farmer he had met on Saleucami.
"I couldn't turn Cut in. It is my duty to do so, but I just couldn't." Rex said, slightly slouched in his seat.
"And what did you do?" Steve Rogers asked.
"Asides from you this, nothing. Lied that I didn't see him or just slept through what happened at the farm." Rex admitted aloud.
"Really?" Anakin asked in slight surprise.
"Yeah." Rex nodded. "I… knew what I had to do…"
"But seeing what Cut had done and his conviction…" Rhodey said, leaving the statement intentionally unfinished.
Rex understood what he had meant with a nod.
"He's a deserter, but certainly not a coward."
"Well it took you a lot of courage to make that choice, Rex." Anakin said, comforting hand upon his Captain's shoulder.
"How can you be certain, General?" Rex asked.
"We all have a choice Rex." Steve stated. "You have yours and we have ours. Sometimes… we don't always know if we're choosing the right course of action. We just have to deal with it when the time comes."
"How can you be sure of that?" Fives asked.
"I'm not." Steve admitted. "We're not. All we can really do is just take one step at a time and hope this whole galaxy doesn't pull the rug out from under us."
The room was silent for the most part afterwards. There was an odd feeling shared between all present within the room that couldn't be quite described.
All they could do was either sit, stand or lean as they dwelled on the topic of what was really the source of this conversation.
Choice.
And with that, I'll end it there.
But before we do that, a little something more cheerful.
-Omake-
It was a normal, typical day on Coruscant. The sun was shining and everything was pleasant in the capital of the Republic.
In the residence of Padme Amidala (and her secret husband, Anakin), the Naboo senator was packing up her bags in her bedroom as she hummed a pleasant tune.
"You seem cheerful all of a sudden." Anakin said from the doorway. "Did something good happen at the Senate?"
"Sadly, no."
"Then… you lost me." Anakin soon paled a little and became nervous. "Is it our anniversary? Your birthday? If so, I am so sorry. I'll make it up for you."
"Once again no, but glad you're remembering those."
"Then what is it?"
"Got myself some time off." Was Padme's answer, heading towards the closet and picking out a few other articles of clothing. She then answered an unspoken question. "Heading back home to Naboo and spending some time back at my family estate."
"Oh?" Anakin blinked with a roguish grin. "What a pleasant coincidence, I have some time off as well."
"And I invited the Avengers, your padawan and a good number of people to tag along."
"...I'm sorry, what?"
Padme giggled at her husband's response.
"Sorry you won't be getting any alone time with me, even though I would find that rather pleasant and quite enjoyable."
Anakin made a slight face. "What's this even for?"
Padme was beginning to pick out clothing with C3PO assisting her in packing her bags.
"Well, if you don't know from what our Avenger friends are doing, they're getting ready for a holiday." Padme stated.
"...I don't recall there being a holiday any time soon." Anakin adopted a thinking gesture. "Then again, there are so many cultures in the galaxy, I might've lost track of… well… all of them."
"Well, it's plural." Padme elaborated. "Holidays. Back on their home planet, it's nearing the end of their year. It's the last two weeks of their yearly calendar. They're celebrating a bunch of festive holidays."
"Oh?" Now Anakin was interested. "What are they?"
C3P-0 was the one to answer. "I believe Mist Rogers spoke of one called Hanukkah."
"Hanukkah?"
"Yes, something about lighting candles one day at a time. A celebration of one of the religions of their home world."
3P0 then told of the other holidays. "They also have Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve; their last day of their yearly calendar, and New Year's Day… hence the start of the new year."
"And you're doing this because…"
"Since they are rather homesick and not being able to be there anytime soon, I thought it would be nice to celebrate some of those holidays at my estate." Padme said to her husband.
"What are they even about?" Anakin asked, going over to his wife.
"Though each one is different to a degree, from the basis of how they described it, the whole concept is about gift giving and spending time with loved ones."
"Gift giving huh?" Anakin mused. "That… actually sounds like fun."
"It does, doesn't it." Padme said with a bright smile. "I figure it would be a wonderful time. I believe Peter mentioned something about a cultural exchange."
Anakin laughed aloud. "Might as well be."
After a day or two of packing, a multitude of individuals were on a luxury line cruiser on route to the beautiful scenic world of Naboo. After leaving the cruiser, they made a direct flight to Padme's family estate where they would spend the Christmas Holidays together before heading back to their respective places of residency.
"I don't even know where to begin in thanking you for all this, Padme." Natasha said, pulling the senator in for a hug.
Padme laughed happily, hugging her friend back. "I think after everything you've all done for us; a taste of home is something you all could go for."
And a taste of home was as best as any of the Avengers could describe the setup that Padme along with her family had managed to set up.
Thanks to Tap, the Avengers personal AI, he had managed to correlate data from the holo-net with the best materials and basically everything else they would need to replicate a festive time just like home.
There were several trees decorated with lights and other decorations. Candles lighted in an atmospheric fashion that added to the feeling that was being given off.
"I must admit…" Obi-wan stood a few feet away with Steve, Rhodey, Matt and Anakin as he looked around at all the decorations. "There is quite an appeal to these holidays you all celebrate on your planet."
"Could do with a bit less of the blinding lights." Anakin remarked.
Matt coughed into his hand with a small smirk. "Being blind does have their benefits sometimes."
"Wow, Matt, just wow." Rhodey said in a flat tone.
Suddenly, the young daughters of Sola Naberrie rushed over to Steve and grabbed him by his hands and tugged him away from the group he was standing with.
Elsewhere, Pietro was walking around the small estate with a companion.
Senator Riyo Chuchi.
"This Christmas holiday sounds quite joyous."
Pietro laughed lightly. "Yeah, it's pretty fun. Gift giving and all…" The Avenger became a bit more subdued. "It was some of the best times I could think of with my sister and my parents."
Sensing his change in mood, Riyo placed a hand upon his arm.
He looked down to her, seeing the comforting smile she gave him making him smile in turn.
While looking up at Pietro, she noticed a strange plant hanging over them that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"What's that?" Chuchi asked, making Pietro blink and look up to what had caught the Pontarons attention.
Upon spotting what it was, Pietro gaped slightly and out of the corner of his eyes and ears, he swore he saw a small figure with buzzing wings fluttering away.
"Uh… well," Pietro coughed awkwardly into his hand. "You see, that's another Christmas tradition back home."
"Oh?" Riyo looked back up at the plant. "What does it mean?"
Rubbing the back of his neck while averting his gaze from the smaller senator with a small red hue on his cheek and a tiny grin forming.
"Well… I'm not sure if you should know." He teased. "It may embarrass you."
"Come on, tell me." Chuchi said with her hands on her hips.
"...You asked for this."
Before she knew it, she received a quick kiss by her cheek. Riyo froze, blushing up a storm now which made Pietro grin before looking around and spotted what or rather who he was looking for.
"Okay, Hope, move along now. Go bug someone else now." Pietro said to the flying speck, which flew away soon after with the mistletoe within her grasp.
"Wha-what was that supposed to be?" Riyo asked in a stutter.
"That was a Christmas tradition back home." Pietro explained. "When two people are under a mistletoe they… well, usually they kiss if they're a couple but-"
What Pietro did not expect was two slender arms to wrap themselves around his head and he was pulled down by the smaller Senator who proceeded to mash her lips against his. He stood stock still in shock when after several seconds he closed his eyes and wrapped his own arms around her slender frame.
From afar, Wasp whirled around in victory and flew off.
Back inside, there was small talk and little celebrations going on between everyone present.
Kenobi was being "bothered" by Natasha in regard to her asking him whether or not Satine received a gift which the Jedi master replied that she should be receiving his gift soon.
Over in a separate corner, Anakin was speaking with Padme's parents in a more private fashion.
Though not much was said, the looks Anakin got from Jobal and Ruwee was enough for him to get the message of approval. He only sagged in relief and grinned at his new parents from Padme's family.
The rest of the Avengers were conversing with Padme, her sister Sola, Sola's husband Darred, Jedi like Aayla, Plo and several others that were dragged to Naboo.
One Avenger however was alone.
Scott Lang stood outside, looking up at Naboo's moon before glancing down to a picture in his hand.
It was one of him in his Ant-man suit hoisting up his daughter Cassie with Hope tickling her.
He smiled sadly, eyes glossy at the sight of his daughter and hating himself for not being there right now.
This was supposed to be his first Christmas with her out of prison and…
Scott felt a hand upon his shoulder, turning to see Hope.
With her other hand, she held the photo with Scott.
He silently wrapped his other arm around her and both leaned their heads against one another.
In another part of the estate, Ahsoka and Barriss were sitting in a large hammock made entirely out of webbing as they gazed at the stars above. The commotion over yonder reached their ears, but never bothered them. The only thing that briefly did was Peter crawling up to them to deliver some food and drink they requested.
"Thanks, Peter." Said the Tortuga with the Mirialan giving their male friend a smile.
"No problem." Peter said, the trio sitting in a comfortable silence.
They ate their food without talking much until…
"Oh, I almost forgot." Peter reached into his pockets and pulled out two wrapped packages.
"What's this?" Barriss asked in surprise.
"Little something that took me a while to make but I got it down thanks to Scott." Peter explained.
They both tentatively took the gifts out of his hands and hesitated momentarily.
"Peter, you do know that as Jedi we can't really possess certain things." Ahsoka said after a moment.
"I know… but I just wanted to be nice and…" Peter mumbled the next few parts to himself, which the two padawans had a hard time hearing.
Seeing no harm in seeing what Peter got them, Barriss was the first to open her gift with Ahsoka following.
What they saw were intricately crafted pendants that were flower shape in structure yet design wise…
"This…" Ahsoka's hand trailed over the coloration of the pendant. "These are my markings."
"You made this Peter?" Barriss asked with slight astonishment, gazing at the patterns upon her own pendant which were identical to her facial markings.
"Took me a while to get them right." Peter admitted. "And I was trying to figure out the best metals that would be compatible with your lightsabers."
"What?" Ahsoka said in bewilderment.
Peter shrugged. "Well, yeah, I remember you guys always telling me about how the Lightsaber is the most important possession to a Jedi so I figured I'd make something you can attach to your sabers if you don't wanna wear them."
Both were silent for a few moments until the Mirialan padawan gave Peter a kind smile.
"That is rather sweet." Barriss said as she inspected her gift a bit more.
She then surprised Ahsoka by putting the pendant around her neck and hiding it underneath her clothes.
"There." Barriss said with a satisfied expression. "Now it will always be with me."
Ahsoka hummed in thought, looking over hers until she brightened up and placed it as a secondary braid on her montrals.
"And now I have it too." Ahsoka declared happily. "Thanks Peter."
"Heh~ no problem girls. Merry First Christmas." Peter said cheerfully.
Both girls hugged the web-slinger before resuming their stargazing.
Though the galaxy was at war and conflict still went on, for this brief instance, the attendants for this ceremonial first holidays of Earth that was being celebrated on Naboo a feeling of peace settled over.
And done folks.
Been a while, hasn't it?
We've all been busy for the most part but feels damn good to be back on this one after a while now.
Jebest4781: This past month has been interesting on my end with a rollercoaster of issues. And it wasn't great at all as it put me in a small state of depression. Made it hard for me to work on writing, instead made me just read whatever books I have at my home during my free time.
FMW: Yeah. Much as I wanted to write this one, it wouldn't be the same without J with how much of this has been planned out with him and rewritten entirely. I needed time away from this story as well to work on new stories on top of a transitional period in my life with a lot of hard work ahead. But the awesome thing is, as soon as we hopped back onto this story, took us a literal half day to write this entire chapter out. It feels good that even after all the crap we endure, the two of us haven't lost a step when working together to write.
Jeb: I agree, helps progress our chapters a whole lot more. Especially if certain chapters are long ones with certain original content being plugged in.
FMW: Indeed. So other than that, a few rapid points. Ghost Of Tsushima is fucking incredible. DC Fandome brought it with their trailers, like wow that Batman trailer. Movie theaters apparently are opening up though remains to be seen in terms of consistency.
Jeb: There being the new Suicide Squad film AND game, with the latter being done by Rocksteady so expect Arkham-esque gameplay. The Rock finally confirmed to play Black Adam. And Gotham Knights looks really promising, playing as Red Hood, Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl instead of Batman.
FMW: Lot of awesome shit that DC is laying out. Looks like they're bringing their A-game these coming years on multiple facets with games and movies. Other than that, be sure to check out BulletStormX who has the tie-in series of this story, his most recent chapter being particularly amazing. Check out Jebests works like Nobody, Dragon Guardian and our personal work of A Song of Fire Ice and Hearts. Also there's the two Halo/ME stories BSX and I are working on, Spirit Unto Dawn and The Halo Effect War and Civilization.
Thanks for reading and being patient with this one guys. Good to be back.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.