What Third Brother’s just reminded me of:

“Ready for inspection, boys?”

Vorpan wanted to roll his eyes at Racket’s words. Instead, he fiddled with the fit of his gloves and glanced at his four brothers gathered in the hangar bay. Tern stood at his right and didn’t bother hiding the roll of his eyes while Skyler and Airstrike chuckled at Racket’s words. Racket smirked at them as he sauntered up to them, the last to arrive.

“You’re late,” Vorpan murmured and the chuckles fell silent. He looked up to stare at Racket. The man at least had the decency to look contrite. He grimaced and shifted awkwardly where he stood.

“My apologies, commander. Issue with the new troopers settling in and telling the boys that we’ll be working with the same jetii as before.”

The other three regimental commanders’ expressions shifted into similar grimaces. Vorpan heaved a heavy sigh at his words. The death tally from Geonosis had gone up to 191 at the end of the day. Those troopers were instantly replaced by the Kaminoans and the Jetii Council. Something that didn’t sit well with some of their brothers. Especially Racket’s regiment that had lost the most.

“I hate to think how they’d react if they had been in some of the other regiments,” Skyler muttered with a shake of his head. “Azure told me that his batchmate’s regiment was completely wiped.”

Vorpan’s gut clenched at just the thought. He didn’t even realize he had moved until he saw how he had grabbed Skyler’s shoulder pad in a tight grip. His fingers dug into the pad and he hissed, “Don’t even think that.”

He looked between his four brothers who watched with wide eyes.

“You and I will ensure something like that never happens. Ibic haar Yust.”

“Ibic haar Yust.”

Vorpan nodded when the four of them echoed his words and slowly released his grip on Skyler. He let his hand linger for a moment. He hadn’t meant to react so strongly. Hadn’t meant to grip him so tightly. He felt some of the tension drain out of him when Skyler placed his hand over Vorpan’s and held it there. Skyler met his gaze and Vorpan inclined his head with a tired sigh before removing his hand.

They all straightened when a shuttle approached the hangar bay. Vorpan waved at his commanders to follow and he slowly approached the landing shuttle. He heard his brothers arranging themselves behind him and Aistrike asked, “Is the general the same as the one from Geonosis?”

Vorpan turned his head slightly to hear their quiet conversation better as Tern answered, “Yes, it’s General Chik Rovowu and her padawan Ephrain.”

The padawan. Vorpan hummed quietly at his name. The boy he had found in the tunnels between the water reservoirs. The young man had quickly been removed for treatment and to be united with his master after Vorpan had gotten him out.

“What’s the general like, Skyler? The rest of us didn’t get to see her?” Racket asked and Vorpan turned his head fully to narrow his eyes at his teasing tone. Racket smothered his grin until his lips were twitching in amusement and Vorpan shook his head, facing the shuttle as it set down.

“She’s clever. Knew how to use us SCUBA troopers well by driving the droids and Geonosians to the water,” Skyler replied and Vorpan felt some relief flood through him when Skyler didn’t react to Racket’s teasing. “I think her being a Selonian played into that. Apparently, her people have always lived close to or in the water.”

“Selonian? What-?”

Racket’s question remained unanswered as the shuttle door opened, revealing the general and her padawan behind her. Vorpan could already tell from where he stood that the general in her soft dark robes would barely reach his chin while her padawan was as tall as himself and his brothers. It made him wonder how much more he would grow since the boy was still young.

General Chik pushed her hood back and looked around curiously. She had nearly disappeared in her dark brown robes since her fur was nearly the same color. Now, two bright, round eyes seemed to see everything in the hangar bay and Vorpan could see her ears twitch at every sound.

Padawan Ephrain hovered behind her, hood already lowered and looking around. His skin had a healthier color to it this time and his long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail while his padawan braid hung loose. It didn’t stick close to his wet skin from the water reservoir anymore.

The two descended the ramp and General Chik smiled, exposing two small fangs when Vorpan and his brothers saluted her.

“Welcome aboard the Venator Tide, General Chik, Padawan Ephrain,” Vorpan greeted them, lowering his arm again. He clasped his hands behind his back and inclined his head respectfully to them. “I am CC-1394. The Clone Senior Commander of the 6th Coast Brigade.”

“The honor is mine, Commander,” General Chik answered and placed a clawed and furred hand over her chest. She made a small bow, causing Vorpan to blink in surprise. When had anyone ever bowed their head to him? “I must admit to being unable to memorize so many numbers. I had heard you gave each other nicknames. Would it be rude to ask for yours?”

Vorpan straightened out of his surprise with an embarrassed cough. Maker, how was he so much taller than their general? They weren’t that tall for humans, so he had expected to look her in the eye. Not tower over her.

“Of course,” he murmured and placed a hand over his own chest before gesturing towards his brothers. “I am called Vorpan. My brothers here are Regimental Commanders and they are called Tern, Skyler, Airstrike and Racket.”

“Welcome aboard, General Chik,” Racket piped up from where he stood. Vorpan shot him a narrowed look, but he just grinned. Completely unrepentant. Vorpan just wanted to sigh and shake his head.

“Thank you for the warm welcome,” General Chik answered with a laugh and Vorpan felt his shoulders lose some of their tension at her positive response. He’d known trainers that had disciplined clones for speaking out of line. So did Racket, but that hadn’t deterred him. He stiffened when Chik focused on him with a warm smile and continued, “I wished to thank you for saving my padawan, Commander Vorpan. Ephrain and I are grateful for your timely rescue.”

Chik nudged her padawan who jumped in surprise. He’d been looking around the hangar bay with wide eyes and now focused his brown eyes on Vorpan. Ephrain inclined his head to Vorpan and said, “Thank you, uh… Victor.”

Vorpan flinched at the name while Chik clicked her teeth with a small frown. Victor? Why would he-?

“His name is Vorpan, not Victor, Ephrain,” Chik scolded him lightly and Ephrain’s cheeks colored in embarrassment. “I know you find the ship and fighters here fascinating, but pay attention.”

Ephrain ducked his head and mumbled, “My apologies, master. I just remembered it started with a ‘v’ and guessed.”

He shrugged and his next words made Vorpan’s blood run cold.

“Besides, we won the fight on Geonosis. Wouldn’t the nickname ‘Victor’ be fitting?”

Vorpan felt himself break out in a cold sweat. He was supposed to be a victor? After losing so many brothers? Because of his failures?

“We lost nearly two hundred brothers, Commander Ephrain,” Vorpan answered in a voice that sounded hollow even to him. “I do not think I would consider that a victory.”

A failure. He failed. Their blood was on his hands.

Ephrain tilted his head with a confused frown.

“But didn’t other brigades lose more troopers? We won our objective with minimal losses. I’d say that’s a victory.”

Vorpan moved on instinct when he heard a shift behind him. His arm snapped to the side as he stopped Racket from lurching forward. A quick glance showed a seething Racket and Tern stepped forward to pull his fellow commander back, whispering in his ear. Ephrain had jumped at the sudden movement, surprised and Chik had reached up to grab his ponytail. She tugged at it with a quiet growl and hissed, “Those are their brothers you speak of, Ephrain. Be kind.”

Ephrain nodded with a small wince at her tugging. Vorpan glanced back at Tern and Racket and jerked his chin at them in a silent command. Tern nodded and quickly pulled Racket away while Vorpan smiled stiffly at Chik and Ephrain. The former at least sighed, “I apologize for my padawan, Commander Vorpan. He is still young and has much to learn.”

Ad’ika. A child. Vorpan felt the numbness inside him thaw at her words. Ephrain was a child. He would learn. He was a padawan, a student. Vorpan made a mental note to speak with Racket about this later. They had to give Ephrain the same kind of chances they would give any vod’ika.

“Thank you, General,” Vorpan answered with a bow of his head. He gestured towards the inside of the Venator class starship and asked, “Shall we give you the tour?”

Ephrain’s eyes lit up and Vorpan couldn’t help the small smile. He was a child. He was young and would learn. He could forgive his blunders. Everyone made mistakes. He would learn.