Soap Fan Club

Marshal Commander Fox sat at his desk, reviewing the stack of endless datapads that he honestly wanted to throw into the lower levels of Coruscant but knew he couldn’t. He let out a hard groan and blindly reached for his cup of caff. When he found the mug that had a little tooka on it, he went to take a sip, then looked in the cup with wide eyes to see that it was empty. “Damn…” He muttered as he dropped his datapad and stood up.

Caff was more important than work.

He walked out of his office and over to the caff machine in the open area, starting to pour himself a cup when a voice called his name. His head tilted back with an exasperated sigh. 

“Hey, Fox!” Thorn’s energetic tone grew closer, then he leaned against the counter to stare at Fox, eyes gleaming with his signature grin.

Fox stared at Thorn, the faint circles under his eyes matching his five-o-clock shadow and the scars along his jaw. His deadpan stare met his younger brother’s. “Yes, Thorn?” He grumbled.

Thorn grinned wider. “Our new soldier is almost here!” He said excitedly.

Fox’s eyebrow rose. “We’re getting a new soldier?” He asked as he took a long sip of his steaming black caff.

Thorn’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t believe you. You forgot.”

Fox rolled his eyes. “I honestly don’t know what you expect from me at this point, Thorn. I can barely remember what I did half an hour ago, how am I supposed to remember that we’re getting a new soldier?”

Thorn crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Because the men have been talking about it constantly? We’re all excited about having a shiny-”

Fox nearly spit out his caff. “He’s a shiny?! Why the hell are we getting a shiny?”

Thorn shrugged. “Apparently one of the Commanders recommended him here.” He then waved his hand. “Come on! The ship should be here any minute!” He reached and grabbed Fox’s arm, yanking the man from his desk. Fox let out a small yelp, doing his best to not spill his drink. He was dragged outside, where a few other members of the Guard were waiting, watching the gunship that was slowly descending. Fox took a sip of his caff, following the ship with his eyes as it finally landed.

The doors slid open, and a clean-white armored clone hopped out, happily waving back at the few clones in the ship, and they gave him casual salutes and waves back. The young man then spun around and ran over to the Guard waiting for him. He stopped in front of Fox with a sharp salute.

“CT-Eleven-Thirty-Three, sir! It’s great to meet you!” His voice was incredibly energetic through his helmet, and Fox glanced over at Thorn to find him grinning.

Fox sighed. “Alright, kid. You got a name?” He asked tiredly. The boy nodded enthusiastically. 

“Cormick, sir! When I heard I was being assigned to the Guard, man, I couldn’t believe it! I thought for sure I’d be in the Five-Oh-First or something, but Captain Rex said he actually put in a good word for me and suggested I be assigned here!”

Fox looked at Thorn. “You said it was a Commander who sent him here-”

“Ah, sir, technically it was. Commander Blitz was the one who told me I was being assigned here. He relayed the message from Captain Rex, and well, here I am!” Cormick said happily.

Fox sighed, then his eyebrows hit his hairline when Cormick removed his helmet to reveal the smiling face and upbeat eyes. The other Guard stared at him with shock, except for Thorn, who was close to squealing.

Cormick still had his childhood freckles that dotted across his face, something that most cadets lost at age twelve, but he somehow still had his five years later. But what had attracted everyone’s attention was Cormick’s maroon hair, cut a bit longer than regulation and ever so slightly messy. The boy’s smile was incredibly radiant and he didn’t even seem to notice the other clones staring.

Fox took a long deep breath through his nose then nodded to the boy. “Kid, what the hell do you call that?” He gestured to Cormick’s hair.

Cormick’s eyebrow rose. “Wha… my hair? What about it?” He quickly put a hand to it. “Did it get messy from my helmet-”

“Kid, it’s purple!” Thire remarked, but Cormick shook his head.

“Actually, it’s more like a merlot, or a combination of plum and burgundy-”

“Enough!”

Cormick’s head snapped back immediately, eyes wide at Fox’s exasperated sigh. “Why did Rex decide to send you here? You definitely belong with him more than us-”

“He said you would say that, sir,” Cormick said. “On the Venator. The Five-Oh-First was the one that picked me up when they were getting their new soldiers. That’s why I thought I was going to be with them, but Captain Rex said he had somewhere special ready for me.” He smiled genuinely. “He said that some fresh blood and a little self-expression might be good for you.”

Thorn finally burst out laughing. “I’ve been telling Fox that for years!” He stepped forward and put his arm around Cormick’s shoulder. “C’mon, kid. Let’s get you situated.” He knocked his head against Cormick’s. “And for what it’s worth, I love your hair.”

Thire and Fox moved to stand next to each other, watching as the two new friends walked inside. Fox groaned. “I’m going to have a little chat with Rex,” he grumbled.

Thire nodded. “Your baby brother never misses a chance to torture you, does he?” He remarked.

Fox swigged the last of his caff then shook his head. “No. No, he does not.”

Fox stood at the holotable, angrily typing in his little brother’s code and awaiting the answer. After a few minutes, Rex appeared in the holotable, and he smiled. “Fox! What’s going on, ori’vod-”

“What are you playing at, Rex?” Fox demanded.

Rex smirked. “Based on that reaction, I’m assuming Cormick arrived.” He said casually.

“What the hell makes you think he’ll fit here?! He’s the opposite of professionalism, Rex! And what’s up with his freckles?! Those are supposed to go away-”

“A slight deviance in his genetics. I like it. He’s cute.” Rex grinned. “Come on, Fox, give him a chance.”

“Why should I?” Fox snarled.

Rex’s arms crossed, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I wouldn’t expect the esteemed Marshal Commander Fox to turn someone away based on looks. Surely you’re more honorable than that.” The Captain spat.

Fox’s eyes widened then narrowed to slits. “Rex, don’t you dare question my ho-”

“If you don’t want me to question your honor, then prove me wrong.” Rex stated. “Cormick was the top cadet in his entire class. He’s enthusiastic and a bit extra, but so was Thorn when he first joined the Guard. Now look where he is.” Rex sighed. “He’s a good kid, Fox. Trust me on this one?” 

Fox dropped his head. He hated when Rex used that ‘skill’ of his, the one where he was able to make anyone do anything he wanted just by asking because his voice was so darn endearing.

“Okay. Okay, okay. I will give him a week, then we’ll see where we are.” His arms crossed tightly. “But I’m testing him in a few days. I wanna see what skills the kid has.”

Rex smirked. “You won’t be disappointed.” He then reached down and ended the call on his end, and Fox watched as his youngest batchmate flickered away. 

He let out a long sigh then walked back into the main area to see Cormick sitting in Thorn’s chair with Thorn, Blu, and Kosmos all playing with his hair. Blu grinned. “Oh my god, your hair is so fluffy, Cormick! I love it!”

“Thanks! I did the dye myself, it was a little hard, but I’d seen our older brothers with their personalized hair, so as soon as I was off-planet, I grabbed the first dyes I could find! Some of Captain Rex’s boys gave me some bottles. They kind of muddled together but I really like it!” Cormick responded excitedly. Fox snickered almost silently, then he cleared his throat. The four looked up and all quickly stood at attention.

Fox bit his lip. “Alright, Cormick. I think we got off on the wrong foot. Rex said to give you a chance, and, well-”

“He can’t say no to our little brother.” Thorn said, leaning on Cormick’s shoulder with a snicker.

Cormick’s smile widened. “Captain Rex is your batchmate?” He exclaimed, and Fox nodded.

“As annoying as he is, I do still love him. Drives me insane, he’s probably the second reason I have so much gray hair, but I love him nonetheless.” Fox put his hands on his hips. “Now. Rex said you were the top cadet of your entire class?” When Cormick nodded, Fox hummed. “I look forward to seeing some of your skills.” He waved his hand at Thorn. “Thorn will show you around for the rest of today, Taungsday morning I want you at the firing range at oh-seven-hundred. I want to see what you can do.”

Cormick nodded and saluted his new Commanding Officer. “Sir, yes, sir!”

Fox smirked slightly. “Dismissed.”

When Fox walked away, Thorn shook Cormick’s shoulder gently. “I think he likes you!” He said jokingly.

“Well, he’s trying to, anyway.” Blu remarked. “It’s not you, Cormick. Fox is a very hard man to make happy. For the first three months I was stationed here, I didn’t even think he knew how to smile. I've never exactly been his favorite person.”

Kosmos leaned back against the desk. “I just can’t believe that Captain Rex sent you here himself. Like, he full-on went out of his way to make sure that you ended up in the Corries. That’s saying something special about you.” He then rested his chin on his hand. “Though I do have to agree with the Commander that you seem more like a Five-oh-First trooper than a Guard.”

Cormick rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why people say that like it’s a bad thing. Everyone wishes they were part of the Five-Oh-First!” He remarked.

Thorn, Blu, and Kosmos all shared a silent nod then Blu shoved Cormick’s head down. When Cormick looked up he saw the smirk that met him. “C’mon. I’ll take you to the barracks. The bunk above me is empty. Wanna be bunkmates?” He asked, and Cormick nodded, eyes shining.

“Yeah!”

Thorn watched the two walk away, happily talking to one another, then he glanced to the side at Kosmos. “Ten dataries says Blu asks Cormick out within two weeks.” He muttered, offering his hand.

Kosmos hit his hand with a smirk. “You’re on.”