#clonetrooper

By High Ground Animations

The General never noticed me.

That was the strange thing about serving under Jedi. They saw everything on the battlefield except the men standing two feet behind them.

I tightened my grip on the DC-15 as Kenobi’s blue blade crashed against the Sith’s crimson one, the light so bright it burned white at the center. Sparks spat across the durasteel walkway. The air smelled like ozone, smoke, and rain.

“Hold the line!” Cody shouted through comms.

Easy for him to say.

The Separatists kept pouring through the lower avenue in endless waves of metal and red optics. Clankers didn’t get tired. Didn’t hesitate. Didn’t stare for half a second at the impossible sight of two beings moving faster than thought itself.

Kenobi stepped forward. Calm. Precise. Like he already knew how this duel ended.

The witch, the one known as Ventress, snarled and drove her saber downward hard enough to split the duracrete.

I fired over the General’s shoulder. Three blue bolts punched into advancing battle droids. One dropped. Then another. Then a third kept walking without a head because apparently the Maker enjoyed irony.

“Green Squadron, left flank!” Cody barked.

I pivoted and kept firing, not sure how many in my squad were even still left standing.

Truth was, most battles weren’t heroic charges. They were noise, confusion, and trying not to die while the ones who would get remembered fought in front of you. History would remember Kenobi making a brave stand against this "Ventress" at sunset. Nobody would remember the clones holding back the droid line long enough for the duel to happen.

That was fine.

We were made for this.

Another blast clipped the wall beside me, showering sparks across my armor. I steadied my rifle and kept firing while the two lightsabers flashed in front of me like colliding stars.

The General never looked back. He didn't acknowledge those of us who were still covering his back.

But he never needed to.

We were there.

The next shot was the one that got me.

Not clean. Not fatal. Worse.

The bolt punched through the seam beneath my shoulder plate and hit hard enough to spin me sideways into the duracrete. My rifle spun out of grasp, and I immediately registered the loss. But, there was no way I could go after it.

Suddenly the battle sounded far away, muffled beneath the roar of blood in my ears.

I couldn't move. I lay there gasping.

I remember staring at the sky.

Pink clouds above the city towers. Smoke drifting upward in black ribbons.

Then the blue glow vanished from in front of me.

General Kenobi turned instantly.

Not later. Not after the duel. Immediately. I later learned Kenobi nearly lost his head when he turned back toward me, but then he pulled some insane move that finally drove the witch back. She retreated, like she always did.

“Trace!" Kenobi shouted, dropping to one knee beside me. “Stay with me.”

He knew my name? How was that possible? My armor was just like all the others. I hadn't painted it. There hadn't been time since I'd been deployed with all the fighting. And, now I would die in shiny white armor.

"Don't... bother with me, sir..." I managed. Blood was already pooling through my plates and beneath my back. Sometimes the Seppies mixed it up and used rounds that tore the flesh instead of cauterized it.

“Medic!” Kenobi called over comms.

Static answered first. Then frantic blaster fire.

Finally the voice of Keller, my favorite of all the medics we had. (And, there were so many. Damn the Seppies for targeting the medics.) “Can’t get to you, sir! We’re pinned down!”

Kenobi looked toward the clone lines. Then toward the advancing droids.

Then at me.

For one strange second, the entire battle seemed to pause.

He looked apologetic. “I'm truly sorry, but this is going to hurt."

Before I could ask what that meant, he hauled me over his shoulder like a supply pack and took off running.

I yelled despite myself around the site of the injury.

Blaster bolts screamed toward us.

Kenobi moved anyway.

One arm locked me in place against his back while his other hand spun that blue lightsaber in impossible arcs behind him, deflecting shots without even looking. Red bolts ricocheted into walls, droids, open sky.

Backward.

He was defending us running backward.

I remember thinking no human could possibly do this.

But, a Jedi could. Kenobi did it, for me.

Step by step, impossibly, we reached the clone line alive.

Hands grabbed me. Keller was there, slipping a breather on me, and giving me a painshot. Blessed relief. It all happened in seconds.

I wanted to thank the General, but he'd ignited his saber again and ran back toward the battle.

I slipped the breather off. "He knows my name," I gasped to Keller.

Keller patiently slipped the breather back on. "He knows all our names."

Years later, on Utapau, the order came through.

I was manning the large gun.

The chip screamed inside my skull like a knife driven into my brainstem. Every instinct forced obedience. Every thought narrowed toward one command.

Kill the Jedi.

Kenobi rode up the cliff face on his lizard mount, unaware, and Commander Cody gave us all the order. It was a direct order. I had to obey.

“Fire.”

My hands pulled the trigger, but I missed. Not by much. Just enough.

Because somewhere beneath the programming, beneath the pain, beneath the thing they buried inside our heads…

I remembered the man who'd carried me out and knew my name.

─── ⋆ SPARKS FLY

STAR WARS - TBB - SERGEANT HUNTER 🪵🔥

𐔌՞ ܸ.ˬ.ܸ՞𐦯 SUMMARY: Your feelings for Hunter are reciprocated and it’s shown through him kissing you next to a dying bonfire tehe

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: Wrote this last year but just never posted it :p friends to lovers is the best trope I’ll die on that hill

Paring: yearner!hunter x jedi!reader

warnings: none

You all had settled on some remote planet, the forests dense and nature rich. Cid said that this mission would most likely take longer than most, with the little information given as per usual. The Marauder parked in a small clearing as the foreign moon was already starting to make its presence known in the almost starlit sky.

“It’s been days since I’ve blown something up!!” You hear Wrecker boom from behind you as you walk down the ship’s ramp, looking around at the lush green forest that bares before you, its trees standing tall as the leaves trek loosely on the ground, one falling every now and then. You look up, branches almost completely covering the now orange lit sky, the wind softly blowing the leaves gently against one another. It was nice considering what you were here for.

“Would a bonfire suffice Wrecker?” You ask, still gazing up at the sky before looking back at him, a soft grin lining your lips. You could almost hear the cogs turning in his head before he finally connects the dots, his infectious smile being the only answer you need before Omega interrupts “what’s that?” but before you could respond Wrecker chimes in his two cents “only the second best thing you’ll ever witness kid” he says, picking her up and placing her on his shoulders.

You look to Hunter only realising you hadn’t even asked whether or not he’d thought this was a good idea “unless you say otherwise” you check seeking his approval, hesitation written across his face. “Tech?” Hunter switches his gaze to his little brother, knowing that even though you’ve all only been here for all around 10 minutes, Tech would have already scanned the area for maker knows what.

It’s a hobby Hunter says.

“Considering there are no clear life forms and or given threat, I would presume that it wouldn’t cause a problem” Tech deducts. You could feel the excitement rippling off of both Wrecker and Omega, both of them beaming at each other, Wrecker practically ready to pounce off to go gather sticks. “Well, if it’s safe-” but before Hunter could finish his sentence Wrecker laughs loudly as he quickly goes off too gather every and any stick that covers the nearest surface, Omega in hand (or on his shoulders you should say)

Not only did they return with anything that was deemed ‘burnable’ but Wrecker somehow managed to bring back three large logs, where you may ask? no idea, he could have brought down a whole tree for all you know. The bonfire was lit and you’d never seen Omega so happy, her laughter wringing throughout the treeline.

“It’s beautiful!” she exclaims exasperated, awe strawn across her face, the soft orange hue of the fire painting her skin. Her gaze then fixates upon you, a smile lining her lips before she runs over to wrap her arms around your neck “Thank you” she mumbles softly. Your heart clenched at her words before you returned the embrace “you don’t have to thank me Omega” you say before she pulls away, a stray hair cascading across her face. Your hand instinctively reaches to brush it out of her eyes before you gently smooth it over, picking out stray leaves that have made their way throughout her hair. The remnants of her and Wrecker’s stick hunting from earlier.

Your gazes meet one another, soft smiles lining both our lips. Omega then turns to sit on your lap, taking you by surprise as she makes herself comfortable “I’m still going to thank you” she says, her gaze focusing on the fire in front of her. You wrap your arms around her from behind as you rest my chin on her shoulder, and for the first time in a while you feel somewhat okay and at peace, even if it’s just for a moment. You take a moment before pulling your gaze towards Hunter, his eyes already set on both you and Omega.

It’s not that fact that his gaze was already set on you but rather the expression that was coating his face. His lips slightly upturned in a soft smile as his brows for the first time in a long time weren’t stitched together rather than set apart. His eyes practically filled to the brim with what seemed to be adoration, his force signature radiating with so much warmth that the bonfire beside you became cold.

Eventually the night grows old, Wrecker and Omega both returning to the Marauder while Tech and Echo sit on the ships steps talking about maker knows what. You cross your legs over as you sit on the surprisingly comfortable log, your chin resting in your hand as you watch the last of the embers burn out, the smell of smoke lingering throughout the air.

“Hunter’s gone to check the perimeter” says a familiar snide voice belonging to a certain sniper. You look up to see Crosshair making his way to sit next to you “why? Tech said before there’s nothing out there” you ask, slightly confused but not surprised in the least.

“don’t act surprised, better to let him just do it for his own peace of mind” he smirks, leaning down to pick a stick off the ground before drawing lines in the dirt. You hum in response, looking back at the now dead remnants of a once alive bonfire. You and Crosshair both shared a mutual understanding when it came to Hunter, you both worried about him, you both knew that he puts too much pressure on himself, especially when it comes to Omega. And even though Crosshair gets under Hunter’s skin, it never wavered his care towards him.

“Are you ever going to say anything to him” Crosshair states rather than questions. You turn your head, giving him a quizzical glance “what do you mean?” You ask, slightly taken aback by the abruptness, the ever so observant sniper. He says nothing rather than just smirks in response, his focus still on the ground as he continues to line the soil “you’re being naive y/n” he says before looking in your direction “i am not” you retort, shifting slightly “we’re just close that’s it” your tone not supporting your words nor your point, Crosshairs knowing glance proving that he knows that you know you don’t believe a single word you’re saying “for a jedi you’re extremely slow” he says before chucking the stick towards the ash barren ground “you both are” he adds before getting up to leave “i just don’t want to ruin a good thing” you blurt out before you can even check myself.

Crosshair looks down at you with an almost blank expression, like the answer to it all is so obvious that it bores him “you won’t” he says, his tone just as blank as his expression “i know my brother…you won’t” he reassures flicking his now ‘overused’ toothpick onto the ground before walking off to the ship. You watch him walk through Tech and Echo before noticing Hunter emerging from the tree line, your heart threatening to leap out of your throat, the words of Crosshair and yours conversation still hanging in the air.

You turn back around to face the burnt ridden wood, your mind running itself ragged as to where you could even start when it came to telling Hunter about how you felt towards him, not that you were going to go through with it anyways.

“you should head back to the ship” you hear his concerned laced voice come from behind me. You turn to look up at him before turning back around “it’s nice out here” you say looking up at the now fully starlit atmosphere, the silhouettes of the treetops blackened against the navy sky. Relief floods your body as you hear him walk around to sit next to you, his armored thigh mere inches away from yours.

“and cold” he adds as you look back to meet his gaze, humming in response “maybe…” you look above once more, completely enamored “s’not often we get to look up at a foreign sky like this and actually take it in” but you don’t feel Hunter’s gaze waver, yet it sticks on you. All you hear in response is a soft hum in agreement before he looks ahead. The wind howls gently throughout the dense forest around you both, the soft chirping of crickets filtering the quiet air.

“thank you for tonight” Hunter says after a moment of silence “the bonfire i mean…” you ook back to face him, his gaze still lingering along the edge of the treeline before looking back to you. You give him a soft smile “it’s alright” you say quietly, leaning your head on his armored shoulder, legs crossed as your hands rest in your lap “i’m happy when she’s happy” you continue, your eyes filtering through the array of tree trunks ahead of you.

Foreign bats fly above you both as unknown screeching echos throughout the dense forest. The night standing still, the bonfire now a grave sight of a once alive fire. “Crosshair said earlier that you went to check the perimeter” you say breaking the silence, Hunter’s chest reverberating as he hums in response, a reminder of how close you both are. “Why?” You ask, your gaze still lingering ahead “Tech said before that there wasn’t anything to be concerned about, why check.”

Deep down you knew why he did it, he cares, he’s wary…overly cautious, but a part of you wanted to hear it come from his mouth. Just to know that he knows he worries too much. “I guess it’s for my own peace of mind” He says, his tone not defensive nor stern, just laced with a sense of self awareness. You hum in response, Crosshairs remark earlier had seemingly proved him right. Moving your hand from your lap to his, you rest your hand on his forearm, gently squeezing in reassurance “you can share the burden with me you know” you say quietly before looking up at him, still leaning against his side “you don’t have to worry alone…i know you know that”

Hunter’s gaze meets mine, his brows slightly upturned in slight relief but also conflict. Relief that he has the option to share the weight but the thought of someone else under his leadership having to also carry it was something he didn’t want. “I have a duty of care” he says, his hand going to tuck a stray hair behind your ear before cupping the nape of your neck. Your expression shifts to one of sympathy and desperation, your brows stitching together in plead. “I want to help you” you plead quietly, your hand gently squeezing his wrist as your eyes scan his face.

“you do already” he responds almost too quickly. You tilt your head slightly as you take in his words, your shoulders slacking in slight defeat because you know he’ll never stop worrying, he’s human as are you. “don’t ever think for a second that you don’t” he continues , his tone stern as though the mere thought scares him. You stare back at him as his thumb starts to caress the nape of your jaw, your hand still hanging off his wrist. Maker knows you want to take it all away from him but you know that’s impossible, but why. Maybe this is the feeling that the Jedi were insistent on avoiding, the yearn to achieve the impossible for those you care about, you love.

“swear?” You ask, your thoughts running wild as his fingers begin to thread their way through your hair, resting at the back of your head “I swear.” he reiterates, his tone filled with raw determination, a tone you often hear him use when he talks to Omega. Your lips curl in a gentle smile but an unconvincing one, one where it doesn’t quite reach your eyes. A sadness that you know you could do more but his resistance to let you in-…in time maybe. You reach to gently rub his under eye bags with the pad of your thumb, in an attempt to soothe the tired skin.

Hunter's gaze begins to flicker from your eyes to your lips, his hand still resting against the back of your head as yours rest on his cheek. It’s like the whole forest stands still, the wind stops howling and the crickets stop. You swallow nervously as your heart threatens to break your chest, there being no doubt in your mind that Hunter would also be able to hear it. Drawing nearer Hunters nose threatens to touch yours, breathes mingling. Your eyes are swallowed whole by him as his other hand reaches down to cup your cheek before pulling you into a long awaited kiss.

Your whole body burns as your lungs threaten to burst as you feel his lips on yours, both of his hands cupping your face as yours move down to rest on his armored chest. It’s as though the months of pining and yearning snap, the revery suddenly not fictitious anymore as his lips ground you, kissing you so gently as if you were to break under his hold.

Maker knows how much time passed before the urge to smile becomes too strong, your lips curling into a soft grin against his before he pulls back slightly, your foreheads resting against one another “what’re you smiling at” he coys, your faces still impossibly close as you gaze up into his eyes “nothing, just been wanting to do that for a while” you smirk, the palm of your hand moving against his chest before threading your fingers through the nape of his hair “oh yeah?” he rasps, you smile through biting your lip “mmhm”

His hands still settled on the sides of your face he brings his lips to the corner of your mouth before trailing to the nape of your jaw, his hand slide down the curve of your waist before eventually pulling you into a tight embrace. You wrap your arms around his neck, holding the back of his head with one hand while the other rests on his back.

“We’re going to be okay” he says, his voice muffled as his face rests amongst your hair, “what makes you say that?” You ask, no doubt laced within your tone, just curiosity “because I have you now” he rasps. Your heart skips, something that he no doubt sensed as your lips pull into a gentle smile

“you’ve always had me”

jango/clone face study ^_^