#captain hex

“Wow, I think that’s the first time you’ve ever been rendered speechless,” you hear Steele jokingly comment. You turn your head slightly then jerk it back again to face him, while saying “shut up!” You give him and Hex, who’s laughing beside him, a stern look and walk out, following behind Sans who is now waiting outside with the rest of the 17th.

“Ready, General?” Sans asks while winking at you.

You bite your tongue to avoid smiling at his action and respond, “yes, Commander.” You turn to face your men and say, “alright, you know the plan and your positions! Let’s get this done Troopers!” Your troopers cheer as they hear your command and begin to separate, heading off to their positions.

~~~

“General Jinn, I’m afraid I don’t have enough time to get the bomb to the correct location and be able to escape the range in time!”

You feel your heart slow when you hear those words over the comm link.

“Then forget it, Sans! Drop it where you are and meet us back here!” you yell in response

“I can’t, General, I’m sorry! I have to do my duty!”

Your heart starts racing then, as fear begins to seep into your veins.

“Sans, no! I’m ordering you to come back here at once!” you respond again, voice shaking ever so slightly as you speak.

“I can’t! My duty is to the republic, to the Jedi, to you y/n! I have to do this to protect everyone, including you! I’m sorry!”

“Sans no! I gave you a direct order to get back here! You will obey it!” You wait for a response, but the silence that follows is loud enough to be it’s own.

“Sans!” you yell again, blood turning to ice as you realize he’d destroyed his comm link to avoid having to hear you beg him to come back.

The next few seconds happen in slow motion. You look towards the building where you know he’s still inside. You feel yourself turn and start sprinting towards it, tears beginning to boil in your eyes. “SAAAAAAAANS!” you feel yourself scream.

Suddenly someone grabs your arm and pulls you back, and as you turn to see who it is, you see Steele’s eyes bearing into yours, begging you to stop. His eyes hold the words you don’t want to accept, that there is no stopping Sans. You push him away with the force and begin running towards the building again, but in the next second there’s a massive explosion that pushes you back through the air. You land and roll for a second, stopping on your stomach. You lift yourself up just as you see a helmet fall to the ground and land beside you. It had stripes the same color as your lightsaber blade. You feel your body tremble as you grab it and run towards the ruins where a building had stood mere seconds ago.

When you enter the building, it takes only a few paces to find your commander.

“Sans...” is all you manage to whimper as you see him. He had attempted to escape even though he knew he didn’t have time. You fall to your knees beside his body, and hold his head with one hand, pressing shaking fingers to his neck with the other.

“Please...” you quietly beg, waiting to feel a pulse under your touch. After a few seconds, you start to mumble, “no, no, no! Sans no!” You let go of him and slam your hand onto the ground.

“Damnit, Sans! I gave you a direct order!” you say as you begin to cry.

“Why can’t you ever listen to a damn order I give you?!” You feel yourself sobbing as you ask this question that you know will go unanswered.

You sense it when Hex approaches you, bending down to look at his commander. You se him bow his head in mourning. Steele stands behind him, resting his hand on Hex’s shoulder.

“He did what he believed was the right thing, General. There was no stopping him or changing his mind,” Hex says quietly to you. You just shake your head in response, tears still streaming down your cheeks.

“I gave him a direct order, he should have listened to me! He would still be alive if he did!” You turn your head to look at your troops. Steele refuses to meet your gaze as he shakes his head. You can sense the pain coming from both of them. Their commander, their best friend, is gone. The one trooper they looked up to more than anyone.

You look back at Sans, who has a determined look resting on his face. You brush your fingers down his cheek once, and stand up. “It’s time to go home...” you quietly speak. Your major and captain nodded their heads, and together they lift up his body. You lead them back to your ship, where the other troopers of the 17th are waiting.

You hear mumbles and gasps as they see their commander. You climb the boarding ramp and turn to see them place Sans on his bunk. They cover him with his blanket, and you feel the ship begin to take off. You place his helmet on the floor, where he would always have it waiting.

~~~

You step off your ship, following behind your troopers. The people who are gathered in the hanger turn to greet the 17th, but their smiles fall away when they see Hex and Steele carrying Sans. You keep your gaze forward as you walk towards the door to the elevator that would take you down to the main floor of the temple. Your dry tears have created stains that run down your face, and you do little to hide your sorrow from those around you. You see them look at you, see how they notice a Jedi that has become overwhelmed with emotion. A Jedi who allows themselves to truly feel.

~~~

The funeral is fit for a king. Hex and Steele give a beautiful eulogy, and you were given medals to commemorate his sacrifice and honor, which you shakily place on his breastplate as he lies peacefully in his casket.

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“What’s your guys’ position?” Sans asks, moving up to stand beside you. You take in his dirtied face and tired but determined expression. He’s long since abandoned his helmet, it having cracked in multiple spots, practically falling apart on his head. But those blaster shots aren’t focused on you right now, so you take the moment to catch your breaths. The beautiful sunset in the background of the battlefield has never been an uglier sight to you. Neither of you focus on it, though, because the sounds of men screaming around you occupy your senses.

“We’re two klicks to the south! We’re under heavy fire!” Steele yells through.

“Fall back! Regroup with us up here!” you shout back, hand gripping tighter on your lightsaber. Sans shifts his grip on his blaster, anxiously waiting for a response.

“-an’t move! We’re pin- -own in the back!” Hex’s voice cracks into the silent comm channel.

“Okay, just hold out as best as you can! Tie should be leading some air reinforcements down soon!” you assure them, glancing up at the sky. You briefly let out a sigh of relief as you see Tie leading Bomber Squadron down to the battle.

“Don’ worry, boys!” Tie cheers as he joins the comm channel, “lil’ ol’ Tie is here and he’s gonna make Bomber proud! I ‘ope he’s watchin’ from wherever dead clones go!” The ground shakes and rumbles as the squadron launches its attack on the enemy, and you think for a second that you have a chance now. You quickly realize how wrong you are.

“Tie! Fly away! They’re ready for you, you won’t survive!”

“But we’re beatin’ ‘em now!” Tie responds, and you watch as they launch another attack.

“Tie! Don’t make me give you an order! I’m asking you to fall back before you all die!”

“We’re not gonna-“ Your eyes widen as a yell leaves your chest, and Sans catches you as you try and lunge forward, reaching towards where Tie’s fighter is now plummeting to the ground.

“Tie!”

“I’m sorry, Gen-“ The comms go static as the fighter crashes into the ground, exploding on impact and bursting into flames. The other fighters soon join, falling down all around you. The now pitch dark night sky is lit up by the flames of compromised ships. They almost look like falling stars, ones much too close for comfort. You cling tighter to Sans, unable to hide your fear. He holds you in his arms as you tremble, and you each come to the same realization at once.

“Mesh’la-“

“Hex! Steele! Are you still in the same position?” you say, tears leaking into your voice as you cut your commander off. He leans closer to you, listening to their response.

“We managed to get back to you guys, we’re at the edge of the trees!” Steele says. You and Sans turn to see where they were leading the rest of your battalion from, and your heart clenches in your chest. Just as they step out into the open, a hellfire rains down on them. Another shriek of pain from watching your beloved soldiers, no, your friends die, rips from you.

Sans claps his hand over your mouth, pulling you away until his back hits a boulder. You can feel him trembling behind you, and your tears soak his gloves. Your mouth is still open, and more screams try to leave it, but Sans’s calm shushing in your ear quells them.

“Aid?” he speaks into his comm. “Aid, are you there? Can you comm in?”

“I’ve got too many wounded, Sans! We’re dropping like flies!”

“Aid, get out of here! Save yourself!”

“I can’t abandon you or any of our other brothers, Sans! I wasn’t able to save Bomber, and I’ll be damned if I don’t try to save any of these men!”

“Aid, you’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Then I’ll die fighting for my brothers!” Aid responds, and your hands dig at Sans’s that still covers your mouth. You manage to turn your head and look at him, and the tears leave dirty streaks down his face. You can see the fear in his eyes, and it’s haunting. There’s no hope in them, not like there normally is. He’s truly given up, accepting his loss. And no matter how hard he tries, he can’t hide it from you.

You bring your own shaky hand up to hold his face, and his leaves your mouth to cradle your cheek. You inhale a sharp breath before your lips are meeting his. One of his hands goes to wrap around your back, the other pressing into the back of your head, pushing you closer. The kiss doesn’t last long, but your faces are still held close as you each suck in a breath through your teeth.

The unmistakable sound of the venator above being blown apart fills the air. It’s a sound of nightmares, one that would haunt any survivor’s dreams. You know that if you pull back from Sans and watch, that the debris and wreckage would look just like the squadron, like falling stars.

Your tears mix, and his hand tightens its hold on the back of your head. He practically squeezes you, but you distantly realize that you’re doing the same to him.

“I don’t want to die, mesh’la,” he manages to choke out, and his words cut through you like a knife. You press another kiss to his lips, but it’s more teeth than anything.

“I didn’t get to marry you.” The words leave him in a half sob, half laugh. You don’t find any humor in it though. You just shift to hold him tighter against you.

“I had a whole life after the war planned out with you. All the places we would go, all the things we would do. Us. Together.” The sound of the battle getting closer barely registered to you, as your mind was too occupied with your final moments with the man you love.

“D-do you have them?” you ask, and Sans nods against your forehead. “Then…then let’s do it. Now.”

“Mesh’la, we can’t marry ourselves,” he says, this time more of a laugh than before. You shake your head, stifling your sobs.

“Yes. We can. And we will.”

“In the middle of a battle?”

“Sans.”

“In these outfits?”

“Just give me the damn ring, Sans!” you nearly yell, and he pulls away to stare at you for a second. His hand brushes against your cheek, and you lean into it as his other hand goes down to his belt. He takes your wedding rings from inside his pouch, and he hands you his.

“Do you even know what the words to the vows are?” he asks as he slips his glove off.

“I karking love this di’kut and I’m going to be by his side until my final breath,” you say, and he lets out a chuckle as you slip his ring onto his finger.

“I karking love this gorgeous person, and I’m going to be by their side until my soul can no longer exist,” he says, slipping yours onto your finger.

“You had to make it better than mine?” you tease.

“Hey, I still said ‘karking’.”

“Just kiss me already and make it official,” you say, and you both lean forward, new tears spilling from your eyes. The feeling of an explosion landing just to the right of you doesn’t break you apart. Instead, you cling closer to one another, your trembling intensifying.

“Gods, my spouse is amazing. Perfect. No one can compare,” Sans breathes out, another explosion landing farther ahead. The enemy was getting closer. The sounds of the droids marching was getting louder. And the cries of the troopers were becoming fewer.

“Not as amazing as mine,” you say, and he huffs out a laugh.

“But I thought I was a di’kut?”

“You’re my di’kut. My di’kut husband.” The sound of a trooper being shot, and then falling down beside the boulder you were behind, tore your attention from Sans briefly, but he quickly caught your face and made you look back at him.

“Focus on me, y/n,” he says, and his eyes change. They’re no longer fear-filled, no longer hopeless. Now they hold love, devotion, and peace. They were safe, you were always safe when you were near Sans. Even more so when you were in his arms. And now, looking at him, you knew you weren’t safe, you were anything but safe. But you felt safe. You felt secure, knowing that he would live up to his vow, and you would live up to yours.

“Us clones are like falling stars,” he says. “People only notice us at our end, when we burn out. But you, you’ve always noticed us. Even before we knew who you were. To you, we were the stars that always lit up the night sky. You loved every single one of us.”

“I love every single one of you,” you mutter out. “I will never stop loving any of you. Especially not the brightest one.”

“And who is the brightest one?” Sans asks, a small smirk coming to his lips.

“You are, Sans. You are the brightest star.” His smile grows before you catch the brief flick of his eyes to look at something behind you. Only briefly does something flash in them, and it’s too brief for you to decipher.

“Say it one more time, mesh’la.”

“Say what?”

“That you love me. Because, I love you. I love you, y/n.”

“I love you too, Sans.” He pulls you in closer then, pressing his lips to yours one last time, and you sense it behind you. You close your eyes and bring your hand up to cradle his face, and he cradles your body to his. You share your final breaths with him, the air mixing between the two of you.

And then a single blast fires out. Your body sags against his, and his arm drops from around you. You’re no longer holding his face, but you're still pressed together. The tears stop falling from either of you, and your bodies still from their trembling.

When the droids approach you, they pay little attention to your hands that are still limply held together, your lifeless fingers intertwined. Nor do they notice the night sky, where stars are falling down. Enough stars fell that night to represent each member of the 17th battalion, the battalion that died like falling stars.

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