The news traveled fast on what had happened after they returned from Umbara. Rex found Aurora and went radio silent for the entire leave. Kix had walked off the ship and straight to Emilie to pull her into a close embrace. Kyra had been tied up at work, her knee feeling much better now and no need for a cane. She had a month and a half of things to catch up on and had seen the message much later about them returning.

Kyra immediately set out to find Cody, trying to call his comm but getting no reply. She searched all the usual places she might find him, finally realizing where he might actually be. She went back to her apartment and walked in, finding him there by the light of the lamp and nothing else. He was sitting on the couch, helmet still on. Head in his hands.

“Cody…” She said, “te'habirÖbe gar buy'ce.”

He did, slowly, before looking at her. Cody tried to keep it in, stiff upper lip, but Kyra could see right through it by now. She could see the weight of everything that just happened sitting heavily on this man and didn’t hesitate to wrap him in a hug. He rested his head against her stomach, holding onto her. They didn’t speak for several minutes as Cody slowly melted into the hug.

“Thank you, mesh’la.” He said softly.

Kyra smiled a bit at the term of endearment, “anytime.”

She pulled away then.

“We should get this stuff off you…” she said.

Cody didn’t protest that, pulling his plastoid armor off and stacking it neatly beside the couch. Kyra had him sit with his back facing her and had started to rub the back of his neck, which turned into his shoulders and somewhere in it he had his head on her lap. He was snoring soon, Kyra having run her fingers through his hair idly while watching the news. He had jerked awake suddenly at one point, eyes wide and breathing erratic.

Kyra gently guided him back down to her lap, Cody looking up at her with pure panic in his eyes. She knew exactly what was happening and silently cursed. Cody stared up into her eyes, noticing the flecks of gold against dark brown. Apart from the soft hum of the news, silence filled the room still as neither had really said anything since she walked into her apartment. She wasn’t going to make him talk about it if he didn’t want to but she wasn’t going to send him off on his own either.

She turned the news off to allow for complete silence before she gently rubbed his temples with her thumbs. Cody had grabbed her wrist at one point, making her stop as she looked at him curiously. That endearing head tilt. He pressed a gentle kiss to the palm of her hand and looked up at her. It was very affectionate and she could feel her face heat up about it.

“You’re safe here…” she said, “no matter what. Get some sleep, I’m not going anywhere.”

Kyra stayed awake all night watching over him and his fitful sleep, Cody now having moved up to rest his head on her stomach again as he wrapped his arms around her. Kyra had a datapad in one hand, messaging the group chat.

Sunny: he’s said maybe 4 words to me and he’s not sleeping well. He seemed to panic a little when I went to shut out the light. I don’t know what happened out there but this has to end eventually, right?

GeneralSunshine: I wish, Kyra. I wish so much I could snap my fingers and end this war. We all do.

CafGoblin: Anakin is not doing well either. Apparently he feels very guilty about leaving his men in the hands of someone he says he should have known was bad.

GeneralSunshine: I’m going to check on him in the morning, I already asked him to come meet me in the gardens. I should have been on this mission, I should have been there with them.

Sunny: you can’t blame yourself.

GeneralSunshine: I might have been able to do more. I haven’t said any of this to Rex. He’s a wreck himself.

Sunny: Everybody did the best they could with what they had. It was shit all around. They haven’t even figured the final tally of lost troopers to send off to Kamino. You know, it drives me nuts how they’re just numbers to everybody else.

GeneralSunshine: I promise you, not a single Jedi sees them that way.

Sunny: I know. It’s not the Jedi, it’s the government.

Silence fell in the chat after she sent that and so she decided to order some parts, do some paperwork. Suddenly, the datapad was knocked out of her hand and she moved fast to brace herself as he pinned her down and cocked his fist back.

“Cody!” She said, cupping his face.

He opened his eyes, wide and wild as his chest heaved. He quickly realized that Kyra was not a battle droid and that he was very much not on the battlefield but in her apartment. The apartment that became a safe place for him. Nobody was demanding anything of him here, there was no war or pain here, just Kyra. Kyra, who had vivid understanding etched into her features as she gently cupped his face.

Cody shot up off of the couch like a wounded animal, retreating from the pain he almost caused.

“Cody.” She said, sitting upright now.

He gathered his plastoid and started to put it on quietly. She stood then.

“I shouldn’t be here. I should go.”

He had gotten too comfortable, too vulnerable. He had almost hurt her in his nightmares.

“Stop.” She said, grabbing his hand now.

He flinched at that, almost as if he was afraid just gently touching her would hurt her.

“There’s nothing you can do to harm me.” She said

“I wish that were true, mesh’la.”

He pulled his hand out of hers and left the apartment, the door clicking silently as he shut it gently. Kyra sunk onto the couch and grabbed her datapad.

Sunny: Rex should go check on Cody.

That was all she sent to the group chat before going radio silent for days. Kyra decided to bury herself in her work instead, trying not to worry. Cody would come to her when he was ready, right? She knows he was grieving something big and dealing with the trauma.

She really missed him, it hit her one day when she was getting ready for work. One cup of caf was clasped between her hands and she found his old note about sorry if it’s cold. She smiled a bit and looked around the apartment. The table they’d have take out on, the couch they’d cuddle on, and when she realized even her pillows still smelled like his soap she began to question what the nature of their friendship was.

Kyra decided to instead head out, shaking the thoughts from her head as she flagged down a taxi. A meeting with the Senator, Padme Amidala. She wondered what it was she wanted from her, she was just the lead for the technician team that repaired the Venator and whatever else crashed into her repair sector.

Kavra was there, walking beside her after she entered the senate building. She had gotten a pass, signing in with security.

“All red these days.” Kyra said as she walked with Kavra.

“They run a tight ship.” She replied.

“Why are you trailing me?” Kyra asked as she scanned her visitor pass to get on the elevator.

“Nobody’s heard from you for almost two weeks. Can’t I worry about my friend? And you’re here, with your messy bun and your bag full of paperwork. We miss you, you know.” Kavra said as she got into the elevator with her.

Kyra sighed and since they were alone, she pushed the stop button.

“Cody almost punched me during a nightmare. I haven’t seen or heard from him since, so I am burying myself in my work. My leg is healed, it just aches a bit when it rains. I’m eating, showering, sleeping. I’m functional.” Kyra said

“But are you okay?”

The question threw her off her guard for a minute and her vision got a little misty but she shook it off and pushed the button to make the elevator go again.

“Kyra.” Kavra frowned when she didn’t get an answer.

“I didn’t realize how I felt about him until he wasn’t around anymore and now it’s probably too late. He won’t let me in, I can’t force him. I have to go talk to the Senator.”

She got off the elevator on the floor she needed, leaving Kavra to frown at her after she also got off the elevator. Fox was walking by and noted the melancholy pouring off of Kyra as Kavra looked concerned for her friend. He approached her then as they began to mutter about senate business, going back down the elevator. Kyra brushed a few stray tears away before being escorted in by droids.

Obi-wan, Anakin, Rex, and Cody were found in Padmé’s office as Kyra entered.

“Kyra! Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink?” She asked

Kyra sat down and shook her head, offering a polite smile before digging around in her bag.

“I’ll make this quick, ma’am. I heard you wanted to see some of my schematics?” She asked as she pulled out a datapad.

“Yes. I’m curious about the ships the GAR is using and would like to present a budget increase to the senate, if you wouldn’t mind helping. I think more funds towards your work could help drastically.” Padmé said, demeanor as warm as her smile.

Kyra stopped and looked up from the datapad, “you want to fund my work?”

“Of course. Commander Cody and Captain Rex were telling me all about the hard work you do and if they have confidence in you, I do too.”

Kyra couldn’t help but blush slightly at that.

“I don’t work alone. I have several techs under my care who contribute vastly to the success of what we do.” She said, going back to pulling up the schematics on her datapad.

She slid it across the desk and Padmé took a look. After a few beats of silence, she smiled again.

“I’ll make sure you can have enough to pay them handsomely for their work too. Any parts you need, anything. I already know Senator Chuchi and Senator Organa are backing this idea with me. May I have a copy of these to show the senate?” Padmé asked.

Kyra began to feel a little nervous about letting go of her work, the outline of what she did, and gently slid the datapad out of the senator’s grasp. She felt a shift and looked over at Anakin whose eyebrows furrowed. Very overprotective.

“I mean no offense, ma’am…but I am a little hesitant to release this information. It’s not you, you have been very accommodating and kind.”

Padmé nodded in understanding, “so speak with me. Come to the senate meeting and present it yourself. The information stays in your hands and I still get to try and petition for more funds.”

She was very casual about this idea.

“Oh.” Kyra said, “my public speaking skills are terrible.”

“I want to help you.” She tried to reassure.

Kyra chewed the inside of her cheek and then nodded.

“Can you send me the details for the senate meeting and I’ll see you there?” Kyra asked

“I’ll do you one better, I can send a transport to make sure you and your data travel safely.” Padmé smiled

“Senator, that’s kind of you but you don’t have to.”

“I insist.” She replied.

Kyra nodded and stood. They shook hands.

“Thank you, Senator.” Kyra said

“Please, call me Padmé. You and I will be working closely together for a while.” She said, handshake firm and warm.

“I’m afraid I must take leave too, sir.” Cody said as his comm went off.

“No problem. I’ll continue to discuss with Obi-wan and he can brief you later on the final details.” She said

Kyra and Cody left the office together, although very quiet as they got onto the elevator. The tension between them was thick, he could sense she was clamming up a bit as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was grasping her arms instead of tucking her hands, eyeing the ticker for the floors. Cody sighed and decided to give it a go.

“I’m sorry, for what happened. For leaving. I haven’t had time to come by with everything going on. There’s a war going on, I don’t know if you’ve heard about it.” He said, voice modulated by his helmet.

Kyra moved fast, stopping the elevator and turning to face him.

“That’s your apology?” She asked

He pulled his helmet off and tucked it under his arm, to look her in the eyes as he spoke to her.

“Kyra. I can’t begin to express how sorry I am that you not only had to see me that way but that I ran. You offered me a safe space in my vulnerability and I got so scared of hurting you that I ran. Then, I did get swept up in my work but I thought of you every single day. I wanted to call, but time didn’t allow. I’ve been sitting with Rex a lot. He’s buried in paperwork after….” Cody couldn’t say it, feeling his throat tighten a little around the word.

Umbara.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I am sorry and I want to make it up to you if you let me.”

She crossed her arms over his chest and stared at him, closed off and guarded. Emotional but cautious. A Mando down to her core. Cody moved to push the button behind her to start the elevator but she grabbed him by his plastoid and pulled him into a kiss that seemed to startle him for a minute.

She almost pulled away, not getting a response from him immediately. Cody wrapped his arms around her and didn’t let her get away, kissing her back deeply. She moved her hands, tangling them in his hair as he picked her up effortlessly. Her bag clamored to the floor, contents spilling as his helmet also hit the floor. Neither could be bothered right now. He held her between him and the wall now, her legs wrapped around him as he rested his forehead against hers.

Kyra opened her eyes to see his closed, a sense of calm she hadn’t seen in a while passing over his features.

“Dinner. I want to take you to dinner…if you have time. I know you’re a very busy and important man.” She said, his eyes opening to look right into hers now.

A warm affection she finally noticed, calling it what it was.

“I’ll take you to dinner.” He said, knowing they were probably going to argue over the check.

He kissed her again, Kyra gladly welcoming it when a voice came out overhead.

“Hey, not that I’m not happy for you guys because it’s about damn time, but you can’t be holding up senate elevators.” Fox said

Right, he would see everything here. Kavra was practically slapping his arm in excitement as a squeal left her when she initially saw the movement after the security camera beeped about the elevator being stopped.

“Sorry, Fox.” Cody said, setting Kyra down.

“Not a problem, just don’t do it again.”

Kyra pushed the button, smiling to herself. She felt warm, tingly, biting her bottom lip. Cody put his helmet back on and stood up straight, all proper commander again despite the fact his codpiece may or may not have tightened a little. He helped her gather her things back in her bag before she slung it over her shoulder again. She played with the strap, fidgety. Nervous.

“Dinner.” Kyra said as they walked out together.

“I’ll come pick you up around 6. Is that okay?” He asked

Cody was still asleep when Kyra woke up but she didn’t want to move, leg aching horribly and a headache setting in. She had woken up on her side, a warm presence behind her with an arm draped over her waist. She felt the soft tickle of his breath on her neck, smiling slightly to herself.

Kyra had carefully moved away, sliding out of the bed and trying not to groan as she limped into the refresher. A hot shower seemed to help the ache, going to make a pot of caf afterwards and some breakfast. She ended back up on the couch with her datapad, trying to get some work done for her and her techs.

Cody woke up to the sound of his comm ringing, sighing and answering it.

“Cody, I hope you’re feeling much better today. We have an assignment.”

“Yes, I’ll be there shortly.” He said

“Are you alright?” Kenobi asked

“I’m fine, sir. In your office?” Cody asked as he sat up to locate his plastoid.

“Yes, I’ll see you soon.”

The call ended and he began to put his armor back on. He went out and found Kyra on the couch, working away.

“Hey, there’s breakfast if you want some and caf.” She said, not looking up from her work.

“I have to run.” He said

“Take some caf with you.” She responded.

It all felt so mildly domestic and made warmth bloom in Cody’s chest. If he was honest with her about his feelings and she returned them, would this be his reality? He made a to go cup.

“Thank you….and don’t hesitate to use that comm number.” He said

Kyra looked up at that and smiled, “will do. If you’re free tonight, you should come over. I’ll order dinner in.”

It was casual but there was a gleam in her eye he couldn’t quite place.

“I’ll let you know.” He smiled a bit before tucking his helmet under his arm and leaving to Kenobi’s office.

Isla had shown up shortly after and made Kyra go see Kix. She sat on the table in the med bay, arms crossed over her chest with a frown.

“Looks like the muscle in your leg was torn a bit, someone didn’t have good intentions for you. That cut on your arm is also starting to get infected so I’m gonna give you a bacta shot and a new bandage.” Kix said

“Can you also get her a cane?” Isla asked

“Why?” Kyra asked

“Because you’re going to mope around that apartment if you don’t have it.” Isla responded.

“I don’t mope.” Kyra tried to protest.

“Right. Sure.” Isla said, tone dry.

“I’ll get her a cane.” Kix said

Kyra was extra grumpy by the time they were done, cane clicking ever so slightly against the ground as she used it.

“I hate you.”

“You love me.” Isla said, “now come on. We’ve got a meeting to go to.”

“The real reason you wanted me to get a kriffing cane.” She griped as they walked together.

“Guilty.” Isla smiled sheepishly.

“We also don’t want to see you turn into a pile of blankets.” Aurora said as she started walking with them too, coming from the med bay herself.

“What are you doing here?” Isla asked

“Expired birth control. Emilie placed a new one.”

“No little baby clones? Your child would make a wonderful foundling.” Kyra said

“Only if something happened to me and Rex.” Aurora said, very serious in her response.

It made Kyra almost trip over her cane.

“What?”

“In that event, if something happened to us…I’d want it to be you.” Aurora said

“You’re gonna make me cry, and I’m already in pain so stop it.” Kyra said.

The three of them entered the meeting, Aurora going to stand up by Skywalker as Kyra took a seat next to Isla. As soon as Pong Krell entered the room, Kyra felt cold. She frowned and pulled her shawl tighter around her body, Isla shooting her a strange look. She shrugged and kept taking notes.

After the meeting, Kyra was not shy at all about walking up to Cody. He was finishing up some reports information with Waxer and Boil when she approached.

“Kyra, always good to see you.” Waxer said

“Likewise.” She smiled

“Did you need something?” Cody asked her after handing off his data pad to Boil.

“Walk me home?” She asked him

“If you insist.” He said, tone a little teasing as he offered her his arm.

She waved her cane in a circular motion, almost regretting it as her knee ached at the lack of support.

“I have this nifty thing now, I don’t need you anymore.” She said

“Oh. Well. If you don’t need me anymore, I guess I’ll eat take out by myself and you can walk yourself home.” He replied.

“Don’t be grumpy, commander.” She laughed, walking beside him now as they headed in the direction of her apartment.

They’d stopped to grab food on the way, placing it on the table after they came in. Cody noticed a small array of parts and gadgets on the table.

“Can I borrow this? If you’re not using it.” He said, holding up a spare engine part.

“I mean, sure. Just don’t do anything weird with it, I guess.” She shrugged.

“I like to take stuff apart and try to figure out how it works, how to put it back together.” He said

Her eyes lit up at that, “I have a whole pile of useless parts that you can absolutely do that with. Why didn’t you tell me you were also handy? Isla walks into my workshop and goes “damn, you live like this?” several times a day. I promise it’s organized chaos, though.”

He smiled at her excitement, going to take a seat but stopping himself.

“I almost forgot.”

He tried to hand her credits for that karking bet.

“Cody, I don’t want your credits.” She said, looking up at him from where she was sitting now.

“I hate one night stands.” He admitted, “I hate the cheesy pick up lines. I hate everything I did. So please, just take the stupid credits.” He said, placing them on the table in front of her.

“Why would you even come up with it then?” She asked, cocking her head to the side slightly again.

He noticed it was a quirk of hers, tilting her head in curiosity and he thought it was very cute.

“You’re witty and you’re smart with how you fix ships. You don’t back down from anybody or any situation, but you’re kind. You’re so beautiful with your passion for what you do down to the freckles across your nose, the gap in your teeth, your laugh. But you’re dangerous, some way. Somehow.”

Kyra had blushed at first but then her eyebrows furrowed, “who is telling you I’m dangerous? I’m just a tech, I can’t even…well. I can fire a blaster. I can also flip a grown man over my shoulder..but I’m not dangerous. Not to you.”

A silence hung in the air between them, heavy. The take out had been long forgotten by now, probably getting cold. Realization hit Kyra as soon as the words had left his mouth but she was hoping the Jedi had no influence in this talk of her being dangerous.

“My last name is Vizsla. That’s my clan…I can see why there would be rumors of me being dangerous coming out of that but I can assure you I don’t affiliate with my clan name. I’m Kyra, just Kyra. Sometimes I use Aurora’s last name if I must use one, but I am not my clan. I left that life, I promise you.”

“General Kenobi was warning me to keep my distance from you.” He said and she frowned.

“Get out.”

“Kyra?” He asked, “if I’ve offended you, I didn’t mean to.”

“Slanar norac at gar atin'la jetiise.” She said, venom in her words as her expression seemed to harden.

“I never listened to him, or I wouldn’t be here.” He said

“I’m supposed to take your defiance as a sign of what, exactly?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“That I’m smart enough to know better than rumors. You have never been a threat to me or my men, or my brothers. You can take care of yourself, you’re capable and strong. Maker, you…” the words seemed to get stuck in his throat.

“I what?” She asked

“I can’t think when you enter a room sometimes. Do you know how frustrating that is for me?” He asked

“The feeling is mutual.” She responded, standing up and using the table to steady herself.

“Is that so?” He asked, ready to reach out and catch her if she stumbled.

“It is.” She responded.

So many emotions and shifts in mood hung in the air, the air that seemed so very thick and heavy between them still. Kyra opened her mouth to say something when the sound of Cody’s comm going off seemed to snap both of them out of whatever this was.

“Gotta go?” She asked

He nodded, looking apologetic. She stood and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush for once.

“I’ll leave you some to be heated up in case you come back tonight” she said with a slight smile.

Cody couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared before nodding and heading out to meet Kenobi. He swore his cheek still tingled where she kissed him, although he knew that wasn’t a real or logical thing. He tried to be present and pay attention to what his general was saying, it was about Umbara after all.

A galaxy divided by war.

The Jedi were peacekeepers, seekers of balance and yet Aurora Steele found herself wielding her yellow light sabers against droids. Separatists.

She was 8 when she discovered she was force sensitive, a late bloomer of sorts in comparison to her peers. Coruscanti, living in poverty with her father in the lower levels. Her father was ill, not able to walk well when a group of criminals went to rob him. The stress of the situation caused her to force throw them off of her father, although it seemed too little too late. He succumbed to his injuries. Qui-Gon Jinn was the one sent to retrieve her, feeling her sadness and anger immediately.

“You must find balance, Rory. You will never face the light if you continue to turn your back on it.”

He would tell her that a lot. Aurora was not perfect, she wasn’t a Sith by any means but she certainly wasn’t a proper Jedi either. The world was cruel, broken, it cared not for her as a child but the Jedi did. The temple was her home now, had been for years, and she found herself with many she regarded as brothers and sisters through the Force.

Aurora stood with two of them now, around a map of the next planet they were going to as they explained the plan to the clone army. The Kaminoans really put their all into these soldiers and it showed, the council was very impressed. When they had originally joined her squad, they were only numbers. Letters. She didn’t allow it after a while when she saw the effect having real names had on them. Whenever they’d start to introduce themselves by their trooper number she would stop them and say, “No. We’ll find you a name too.”

Some came with names already, which was easier than trying to name a bunch of clones. She wouldn’t have children of her own, which always pained her slightly. It wasn’t an inability, she was just very dedicated to the order and they didn’t allow attachments. She also was not a fan of the emotionless detached one night stands she had a few times. It was better to silence that part of her, she had decided.

Although, the clones were certainly handsome. She had never met Jango Fett but she and a few of the others were certainly appreciative of the genetics he passed on. She was particularly fond of one clone but wasn’t going to even entertain the idea. Besides, he was a captain and she was a general. It was a recipe for disaster.

She slashed two more droids in front of her, focusing on the task at hand.

“I’m up to 28. Are you falling asleep over there, Anakin? Wouldn’t want you to lose too many credits, Skywalker.” She teased over the comms as she slayed more droids

“Credits? You’re betting on how many droids you kill?” Obi-wan asked, trying not to sound amused but she knew better.

They had lost Qui-Gon together, although she was not there to see it happen. She would have lost herself to the dark side without Kenobi at that time and she knew it, having experienced too much pain and suffering. He pulled her away from it before it was too late, he was almost like an actual brother to her. The order was concerned with the attachment but it was apparent it wouldn’t interfere with their Jedi duties. Allegedly.

“I actually have 35. You better catch up. I think your age is starting to show, Steele.”

“With age comes wisdom. Not that you would know, since you’re so young.” She quipped back as she ducked behind debris.

There were suddenly a lot of droids in front of them and a handful had those annoying shields. She only had two of the bombs left that rendered their shields useless. Soon three clones had slid behind the debris with her. There he was, blue and white armor. She held the bomb in her hand now as she looked at him.

“Any of you boys got extras of these? I’m low and there’s a lot of shields out there.”

Suddenly, a ton of them were deactivated by a barrage of the bombs, a knowing smile on Aurora’s face now.

“I don’t know about Skyguy, but I’m up to 45 and I’m about to get into the 50s.” Ahsoka said over the comms now.

There was suddenly a ton of shields going down as Ahsoka ran up.

“You have the padawan in on this?” Kenobi asked, that dry and unamused tone coming through clear as day now.

“The kids are just having fun that I’m also joining in on.” Aurora replied as they moved forward with blaster fire.

Both her and Ahsoka were now basically leveling the droid army in front of them, with the help of the clones.

“This was literally your idea, Rory.” Anakin responded.

“One of us has to be the fun one and it’s not Kenobi.” She could practically feel the look Obi-Wan would be giving her at that.

All attention went back to the task at hand. They were pushing forward with force, taking back a base originally owned by the Republic. This would help turn the tides of war, especially with the amount of supplies inside. All she really wanted was a cup of caf and five minutes without the sound of blaster fire. Her and Kenobi were both regarded as the insomniacs of the squads, whereas Anakin snored. A lot. Loudly.

“They’re retreating.” Cody said over the comms, “how are the rest of you holding up?”

Aurora had been taking on too many, wanting to push through and also protect Ahsoka. She had shoved Ahsoka out of the way when one of the droids rolled out to tackle her. She was pinned and shoved her light saber into the skull of the droid, dragging it down before slicing off the head. She pushed it off of her and ignored the pain shooting through her side. One of the claws on its arm had definitely done damage but she would assess later.

The firing seemed to stop suddenly, the army retreating just as Cody said and suddenly the exhaustion crashed into her like a tidal wave as she felt her robes getting sticky by her side.

“Aurora’s hurt.” Ahsoka said, “pretty badly.”

She looked scared for her. Aurora smiled slightly at Ahsoka.

“Dear, I’ve suffered worse things. It’s going to take a lot more than a droid basically punching me with his claws. I should definitely sit down though.” She said, swaying a bit.

A gloved hand gently touched the side that wasn’t bleeding steadily as an arm wrapped around her. The other hand placed her arm around his shoulders as her blood began to smear a bit against the white and blue.

“Sorry for bleeding on you, Captain.” She said as he escorted her to where Kix and the other medics were tending to the wounded.

“You’re possibly bleeding out and you’re worried about getting blood on my armor?” He asked, tone hard to discern right now.

The world was getting a little fuzzy and she started to feel woozy.

“Your armor is pretty.” She remarked as he laid her down carefully on a makeshift gurney.

He removed his helmet and there it was, freckled skin. Beautiful brown eyes. Lots of concern etched into his features.

“Your eyes are pretty too. I know a majority of the clones have brown eyes but yours catch the sun just right….”

What the hell was she even saying? He looked slightly amused now as she was injected with something.

“Get some rest, general….”

Sleep took her from the sedative Kix injected her with.

“What was that about?” He asked

Rex shrugged, “probably in shock or something. Not the first Jedi to say something like that. I’ll go report to Skywalker and Kenobi about the situation.”

It sat with him heavy, in a weird way. Jedi weren’t allowed to form attachments and he knew it would severely complicate things so he also kept his feelings to himself, completely unaware of the storm of emotions inside of his general.

Aurora was kind, always and above everything else. She was compassionate, funny, and she wasn’t afraid to put her two cents in where it wasn’t asked for when required. He also wasn’t blind, she was beautiful. She had a slight tan starting from being out in the sun with the rest of them, brown hair always braided one way or another, and her eyes were green with flecks of brown. Not that he had been paying attention.

Kyra had enlisted Isla to help her pick something to wear. She had freshly showered, wearing her hair down again. Isla was currently going through her closet, making noises here and there but no actual words. She threw black leggings at her, followed by a black shirt with a questionable slit. The slit started from the plunging neckline down to just above her belly button.

“Why did I agree to this?” She frowned in the mirror as she decided to braid her hair half up, half down.

“Because you’re deeply in love with this man and need to show him your affection by betting on if he can fuck other people or not.”

Kyra shot her a warning look, Isla holding her hands up.

“Tell me I’m wrong.” Isla said

Kyra rolled her eyes but didn’t verbally respond to that. The girls had left, going back out to 79s together.

Rex, Cody, Fox, and Wolffe were the ones at the table tonight. The others were busy working or somewhere else in the bar.

“Not that it isn’t nice to see you, but you’re certainly out here more than usual. Any reason for that?” Rex asked, tone a little teasing.

Before Cody could answer, Kyra came through the door and headed straight for their table. Rex smirked knowingly, Cody shooting him a wry look. He had noticed the slit in her shirt but he had also noticed that this shirt allowed him to see more scars on her body. There was a bigger one, going down the middle of her chest. What was her story and where did they come from? Obi-wan’s warning rang through his head.

“Hello boys. I hope Cody forewarned you I was coming.” She said as she sat next to the mentioned commander.

“He said something about it in the chat.” Wolffe said

“Chat?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we have an encrypted channel we speak to each other through when we’re on Coruscant.” Rex said

“That goes off at all kriffing hours.” Fox added with a wry look.

“Not that you aren’t already awake, doing the chancellors bidding.” Cody said

“Is that what we’re calling Kavra now?” Kyra asked

Fox nearly choked on his beer as Rex and Wolffe had to hide their smiles behind theirs.

“She’s a senator’s sister. It would be highly inappropriate.” He replied, trying to make it seem like he didn’t almost just choke on his drink.

“Oh come on, Fox. She’s an absolute catch and everybody who walks by her knows it. She exudes confidence and knows how to command a room if needed, but she’s also funny and might be able to actually kill you.”

“Is confidence and command something you’re into, Kyra?” Rex asked, tone teasing.

“Why do you think I agreed to sit here tonight?” She responded with a devilish smile.

She then looked around the bar, “alright, Cody. I do have boring mechanic duties to take care of first thing in the karking morning. So, who’s your first victim?”

Cody’s eyes scanned the room, landing on a brunette who was making eyes at their table. It would almost be way, way too easy. He stood and went over to her, leaning against the bar as he spoke to her. He pointed back at their table and she blushed a bit, giggling. Definitely already drunk.

Kyra took a sip of her whiskey and leaned back, watching.

“Why do you do this to yourself? Don’t you think you should get to be happy too?” Rex asked

“What makes you think I’m so unhappy?” She asked

“Aurora is worried about you.” He replied

She smiled a bit at that, small and genuine.

“I miss my home, I left one war to fix machines in another one because I was tired of killing my own. I have a lovely loft, wonderful friends, and the company of a million handsome men at my disposal. I’m bound to complain sometimes but really….I’m okay, Rex. thank you, though. Besides occasionally Isla and Rory, nobody really checks in on me.”

“No attraction to the Jedi?” Wolffe asked in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood.

Kyra snorted, “absolutely not. It’s not even a matter of the Mando vs Jedi thing, and they’re certainly very pretty to look at, but not my thing. Aurora is my best friend though and I’ll take anybody out who tries to harm her. What about you, Wolffe? Any Jetti catch your attention?”

He shook his head, “nah, but I’m okay with that. I’ve got my brothers and I’m pretty sure I won the lottery in generals.”

“Don’t let Cody hear you say that.” Rex said with a snort.

Speaking of Cody, him and his mystery woman appeared.

“This is Cori.” He said, introducing her to the table.

Fox’s comm went off right after the introduction. He had sighed heavily, obviously very tired.

“Duty calls.” He stood, tucking his helmet under his arm.

Kyra smiled, “tell Kavra I say hi.”

He blushed at that and rolled his eyes, leaving them.

“Kyra, would you mind sitting next to Wolffe now? I’d like Cori to sit next to me.”

The woman blushed at that but Kyra did move. She as going to lose this bet and she absolutely knew it the moment they sat down. She wanted to see how far he would take it though. He kept whispering in her ear, kissing the spot underneath it. It was bold and it made her giggle sometimes or blush heavily. Kyra caught one of the questions he asked her, taking a long sip of whiskey.

“Are you as beautiful on the inside as you are the outside?” He whispered into her ear, voice even more deep and husky than usual.

He kept eye contact with Kyra as he asked, almost ignoring the giggle that escaped the woman near him. Kyra could have broken her glass with how tightly she was gripping it now. Something else he said got a giggle out of her before they excused themselves from the table to leave the bar. Cody had kept eye contact with Kyra the entire time.

“With all due respect, you should tell Cody how you feel.” Rex said

“With all due respect, fuck off.”

Kyra didn’t mean it, not really and she could see Rex understood she was upset. The one thing the captains and commanders liked about Kyra is that she was respectful of rank, sure. But she was going to treat you like everybody else, or how you treated her. She was also severely loyal to her friends and they had noticed that from her bond with their significant others, particularly Isla and Aurora. Family was family and it didn’t always have to be a blood family.

After a few moments of silence, she stood.

“Well, gentlemen. This was mostly fun but I’m going home now.”

She tossed credits on the table, leaving after telling them goodnight. Wolffe had offered to walk her back but she kindly declined, needing the time alone to organize her thoughts. The chill of Coruscant rolled through as she walked on, wrapping her arms around herself as she wished she remembered to bring a shawl or jacket of some sort with her. She felt a shift, immediately noticing two individuals trailing her. She stood up a little taller and walked a little faster.

They were definitely gaining on her, though. Before Kyra could react, she was shoved into the alley by one and pinned by the other. She narrowed her eyes at them.

“You want to let me go.” She said

“What is that? Some attempt at a Jedi mind trick?” One of them sneered at her.

“I am no Jedi.” She said with narrow eyes before kneeing the man in the crotch.

She then flipped him over her shoulder before having to grab the other man and shove him against the wall. She got a couple hits in on him, knocking him out before the other got up.

“We don’t want trouble, we just want your credits.” He said, brandishing a knife now.

“Asking nicely goes a long way.” Kyra said before going to attack him again.

He got the upper hand, kicking her knee from behind hard enough to cause it to ache immediately. He had landed two blows to her face and held the knife up.

“Cooperate, bitch.”

Kyra spat in his face, the man growling low before slashing at her with the knife now. She managed to dodge it from her throat but the move got her in the arm. She then threw all of her weight up at him, charging the man into the wall behind her. Kyra kept smashing his head against the wall until he stopped moving. She used the wall next to them to stand up, tasting blood from her split lip. He definitely landed a hard punch to her face. She steadied herself and limped home then, not going back to see if either men were okay or alive.

When Kyra didn’t report in the next day, Isla went to go visit her at home.

“What happened?!” She asked with a frown.

Kyra had a black eye, a bandaged arm, a healing lip, and a noticeable limp from being kicked from behind.

“I put some assholes in their place.” She shrugged.

“You could have called. Where the fuck was Cody or the others?” Isla asked.

“They offered to walk me home, I said no.”

Isla frowned, “you’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.”

“But I’ll go down swinging.” Kyra said

“Kriffing Mandalorian.” Isla sighed

“Stupid Coruscanti.” She replied back to her.

“I’ll be back, I’m going to get you some medicine to help with the pain.” Isla said, heading off to to find Kix.

Cody had been in the med bay, a routine physical that was insisted upon by GAR standards. He didn’t mind it too much, Kix was good company. He was about to head out when Isla almost knocked him over on her way in, and she didn’t say anything either.

“Are you okay?” He asked

“Kyra was jumped, I need some of those pain shots.” She said to Kix.

He frowned at that, “I can’t just hand over medical supplies without doing an exam.”

“She’s limping, cut on her lip, and a black eye. I’ll have her do a follow up with you but I need the shots for her or she’s going to have a really hard time with her leg.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kix sighed and slipped a few syringes into her hand, “as far as anybody is concerned, those went missing. Understood?”

“Thank you.” Isla said, going to leave.

“Kyra was jumped last night?” Cody asked, walking with her now.

Isla’s comm went off and she groaned.

“I’m so sorry, can you take these to her?”

Isla had already shoved them in his hand and headed off before he could reply, making him almost drop them. He swore under his breath and headed towards Kyra’s apartment. He knocked on the door and waited for a response, wondering how bad off she really was. It took a few minutes but then she opened the door.

Cody’s heart dropped when he saw the shape she was in, immediately helping her back to the couch.

“Isla sent me, she had to go do something else.” He said

Of course Isla sent him, Kyra might kill her later.

“No problem, it’s always nice to see you.” She smiled a bit.

“This had to be a horrible way to end the night.” He remarked as he put the syringes on the table.

Kyra didn’t bother reaching for them yet, distracted by her data pad now as she began putting in orders for parts and tools.

“At least one of us had fun last night.” She said

It was supposed to sound like she was teasing him but it came out kind of snippy. A silence sat between them at that, Cody frowning a bit.

“Sorry. I…I’m in pain and I’m tired.” She frowned.

“It’s alright. I think I owe you some credits though, a bet is a bet.” He said

“A bet is a bet.” She echoed.

Something seemed very off about her and he wondered what would have been different if he had just followed his own actual desires last night. He was looking at Kyra as he spoke to the stranger because it was things he wished he could say to her. He wished it was her underneath him last night, then maybe things would have ended better. His bed might have stayed warmer for much longer. They could have had breakfast, probably joking and jabbing at one another like they did.

He didn’t like the distant, detached approach of one night stands and very rarely engaged in them. Last night, if he didn’t, he might have ruined his friendship with Kyra. He never had his self control slip like it did when he saw her in that low cut top last night and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He stood now though, trying not to think about it, and went to look to see if she had a first aid kit.

“Ah yes, please. Pilfer through my apartment.” She said, her tone dry.

“I’m trying to see if you have medical supplies.” He called out to her from the refresher.

“Cody, I’m fine.”

He ignored that, finding at least a cold pack for that eye. He cracked it and held it against her face, making her look away from her work. She seems a tiny bit annoyed but also tired.

“I have work to do.” She said

“It can wait a minute. I’m going to also give you my direct comm information so if you ever get into a situation again, you’re not dragging your own corpse home.” He said

Kyra frowned a bit that that, did he blame himself for not being there? She rested her hand on top of his, “you’re not responsible for this.”

That seemed to shake something awake in that head of his as they made eye contact now.

“I know you blame yourself a lot for what happens to your men, as a leader and as someone who cares for their brothers. Wolffe offered to walk me home and I said no. I’ve lived in Coruscant long enough to know there was a risk. This isn’t your fault, Cody…”

He looked away from her gaze then, trying to ignore how warm her hand felt in contrast with the ice pack underneath it. She pulled his hand and the pack away slowly, some of the swelling around her eye already going down.

“You wanna watch a holodrama with me?” She asked

“What?” He asked, looking up at her now.

“I’m tired and I think I could fall asleep to a movie. Do you want to join me?”

“I would but I have to get back to work.” He said

Kyra nodded at that before trying to get up but he stopped her.

“What do you need?”

“There’s an extra keycard to my apartment in my bedroom. It’s on the nightstand and I want you to have it.” She said

“Why?” He asked

“You should use a key of your own if you’re going to drag my corpse home.” She said, repeating his words from earlier.

Cody went back to her room to grab it, taking noticing of the bedroom. Her sheets on her bed were black and disheveled, a few more blankets draped on the bed. They looked handmade, he noticed that about all of the blankets in the apartment and then it made sense when he saw she had a loom in the corner with baskets of yarn.

The room was mostly clean besides that, not matching the chaos of the rest of the apartment. She had a few plants in the window too and a beautiful view of the city below.

“Are you going to gawk or grab the key?” She asked, again sneaking up on him.

She smiled when she noticed she had startled him.

“You didn’t have to get up.” He said

“I’m heading to my bed. Work will wait for the day.” She said, limping over and sitting on the edge.

Cody mentally cursed at himself as he grabbed his comm and messaged Waxer about needing him to be a stand in for meetings today. He could work on paperwork from here today. He moved to help her tuck in, a small smile on her face.

“Don’t you have work to do?” She asked

“Nothing that can’t wait.” He replied

“Cody.”

“Kyra.”

A silence fell between them for a few moments and then he could have sworn he’d seen her blush a little. She had injected herself with the pain meds that Cody brought before laying down. She would feel very body heavy soon and realized she wanted comfort.

“Would you…” she motioned to the bed

His eyebrows shot up and she shook her head.

“Didn’t get satisfied last night?” She asked, something mischievous twinkling in her eyes.

Cody didn’t answer that, removing his plastoid instead before crawling in next to her. She immediately pushed him onto his back and put her head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her slowly. She wasn’t sure if it was the medicine that was slowly easing the pain in her, dragging her towards sleep, or if she just felt like being honest because she felt she could trust Cody, but this felt right. Like this was supposed to be.

“Usually Isla is here to do this, but I’m happy it’s you.” Kyra said, sleep starting to lace into her voice.

“Go to sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.” He said

“Better be…kick your ass.” She muttered, earning a small smile from him.

1. Found

“We found these in an abandoned ship.” Kanan said, holding up the box of transmission files.

Ahsoka’s expression hardened, “understand that you might find things you don’t want to know in the past.”

“Oh, you’re watching them with us.” Rex said

She paused and stared at the box, almost in a trance like state before nodding. She followed them onto the Ghost and sat down, fishing out the first one. She plugged it in, ignoring the feeling of dread she had in the pit of her stomach.

Jesse appeared on the screen, sitting at a desk and painting his helmet. A woman sat on the edge of the desk next to him, looking over her shoulder. It seemed to be from old security footage.

“General Skywalker said that commander Tano will be coming back today so me and my vods are gonna surprise her with these helmets.” Jesse explained, nearly bouncing in his seat as he did so.

It made something in Ahsoka’s chest ache, clasping her hands together in front of her on the table as they watched.

“I think she will like it.”

Isla. Ashoka recognized her finally, knowing she looked familiar. Isla was a weapons specialist and would build new toys for the army as well as fix the old ones. She always had oil on her cheek when Ahsoka saw her but she seemed freshly showered here. She was very clearly wearing one of Jesse’s shirts, the regulation blacks, and a pair of leggings.

Jesse put the helmet on and she nearly grinned at him, feeling the excitement coming off of the man.

“It’s as beautiful as the man underneath it.” She said, placing a gentle kiss to a dry part of the helmet.

“Not as beautiful as the woman on my desk.” He remarked

She took one of his hands and squeezed it.

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.” She said.

He repeated it back to her, taking the helmet off to do so. The transmission ends, Ahsoka gripping the edge of the table now. Rex also didn’t look like he was doing too well with this, a little paler than before. He sat next to Ahsoka.

“He had somebody waiting for him.” She said.

“I told her. She has one of his older helmets and she’s okay. If that helps.”

“Who was she?” Hera asked

“Her name is Isla, she was a specialist in the war. Made weapons. She had a soft spot for our battalions…me, Skywalker, and Kenobi. She would bring blankets, food, and guns. Quite frankly, I think if the rebellion knocked on her door she wouldn’t give it a second thought.” Rex answered

Ahsoka smiled sadly, “we should call her. I will. Do you know where she’s at?”

Rex nodded and followed Ahsoka out to make a call to Isla.

2. CT-5555

Isla was older than her transmissions self. Her greying brown hair was long and braided behind her, brown eyes able to cut through steel. Her expression became very warm though, a grin breaking out on her face as she hugged Rex and Ahsoka.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see the two of you. And who is this skeleton crew of misfits?” She said, turning to the others.

Introductions under way, they head onto the ship.

“So there were others who married or had an attachment to the clones?” Sabine asked

“Well, yes and I knew the others. We had a group chat. It was more like a support group for the spouses and loved ones of the clone army, that’s how it started and we would message each other frequently.”

“Are…there more of you?” Rex asked

“Ophelia is still around but she’s very retired. Don’t even ask her, I tried and she started yelling at me in Mando’a. Clone force 99 taught her some very colorful words, it seems.”

“But it’s only you two?”

Isla stopped and took both of Rex’s hands in hers. She gave a nod to Ahsoka, silently asking her to give them a moment alone. The other went ahead and sat down for the next transmission.

A twi’lek woman, dressed in Kaminoan medic attire, appears on the screen and she looks angry. “They’re lying to us, to all of us. I believe Fives. Why can’t you?”

Eminsiba, they’d call her Siba.

“Why would the Kaminoans betray us like that?” Mace Windu asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“It’s war, there is no playing equal or right in war.” She responded

Before he could reply, Master Windu was pulled away to counsel duty but this gave Siba time to send a call out to Kamino.

“I’m coming. Tell him I’ll be there….please, Echo. I don’t know how much time we have but I have a theory and I need to be there. For him. For all of you.”

The transmission ended, but not before Isla had returned.

“Siba was one of the more known medics. She worked under Ophelia and was like an apprentice of sorts to her. She was assigned to what was known as the Domino squad.” Isla explained

“She joined the chat not long after she joined as a medic. Unfortunately, Tup’s inhibitor chip had malfunctioned and nobody believed the science of it. He was executed for murdering a Jedi. Fives figured it out but was shot by Fox. Realizing the fate of everything….” Isla paused and looked directly at Ahsoka.

“She mixed medicines. Fox was the one that found her.”

Ahsoka frowned at this information, “because nobody listened.”

Isla sat next to her and took one of her hands, shaking her head before she spoke.

“Because she lost the love of her life and knew soon enough that there was nothing she could do to save the Jedi. It’s not your fault, don’t you dare.”

“Maybe we should take a break from these.” Hera suggested

“I think that’s a wonderful idea. Is there a way to make tea on this ship?” Isla asked

Chopper showed her to the kitchen, where she made tea and returned with the tray.

“Sorry if he’s giving you trouble.” Kanan said as he noticed Chopper being incredibly obstinate to actually helping.

Isla chuckled, “he’s delightful.”

Chopper chirped in delight at this, repeating “I’m delightful” over and over again. It got a laugh from Isla, light and airy.

Her laugh was Jesse’s favorite sound.

3. Heaven Help The Fool

Tea cups drained, most of the group had decided to get some sleep as Rex, Ahsoka, Kanan, and Isla decided to keep going. Hera was flying right now, giving Kanan’s hand a squeeze before heading to the cock pit. Darkness filled the ship, silent besides the next transmission that lit up the walls.

“That’s her. Ophelia.” Rex said as the woman appeared on the screen.

She had striking blue eyes, blonde hair in a messy bun, and she radiated an unspoken warmth that shone through her eyes and smile. She was cupping the face of a clone, who was smiling back at her. Young and hopeful.

“Kix and I will be here if things go wrong. You guys will do just fine and when you come home, I’ll patch up your scrapes and we can have your favorite soup. Okay? I love you, Echo.”

“I love you too, mesh’la.”

“Get a room.” Fives remarked, Ophelia throwing a pillow at him from a nearby bunk with a laugh.

“You’re just upset Siba is away with Skywalker.”

Fives rolled his eyes as the transmission ended.

“At least this one wasn’t tragic.” Ahsoka said

“Sorry to say, it’s a two sider.” Isla said as she flipped it over and put it back in.

Ophelia was there, watching him blow himself up. She couldn’t breathe, it felt like, and was quiet the whole time. The others were worried, but she wouldn’t budge. Wouldn’t speak. She went back to the med bay to work on reports.

“Lia….” Kix said softly as she walked in.

“Don’t.” She croaked out, tears filling her eyes immediately

“Don’t….” She said again, voice barely above a whisper as Kix approached her and wrapped his arms around her

She began to thrash against him, screaming as the tears began to fall. She wiggled out of his grasp and started throwing medical supplies. Gauze, scalpels, anything. She knocked over a few trays, shattered glass as the sobs erupted from her. Kix stopped another medic from injecting her with a sedative, watching her as she trashed the med bay.

Ophelia crumbled, falling to her knees as she continued to sob loudly.

“Go get Fives.” Kix told one of the medics and before long he was there.

Ophelia has calmed enough, a shock blanket wrapped around her as she sat in Kix’s office. Her eyes were puffy, she did not blink as he stitched up the cuts on her hands from throwing sharp objects.

“I knew….”

When she spoke, both Fives and Kix stopped moving and looked at her. As if she was a frightened animal.

“You don’t get to grow old with a clone. We all know that. We love anyways…because even temporary is enough but he was young. We didn’t even have a chance….after the war we were going to get married.”

Tears came again but fell much more silently than before. The transmission ended. Silence fell between the group before Isla stood.

“If you will excuse me, I think I’m going to go dust off the group chat.”

Rex smiled sadly at her about that, watching her go.

“Did you have someone, Rex?” Kanan asked

Rex nodded, “but it ends in tragedy too.”

He left it alone, not prying for further information from the clone.

“We should sleep.” Ashoka said, nobody protesting that as they all retired for the night.

Ophelia had shorter hair now, body littered in scars and a cane leaning against the table. Her and Isla were sitting there drinking caf and laughing.

“I remember, you looked Skywalker dead in the face and told him if he didn’t let you bandage up his wounds you’d take his other hand.”

Ophelia smiled, “we were all a little tired…right?”

Her smile left when she saw Rex, the demeanor of the room changing.

“Ahsoka, Rex. It’s wonderful to see you two.”

“I heard you were retired. What are you doing here?” Rex asked, sitting down by her.

“Isla called me. She made a very convincing argument about telling the empire to fuck themselves. I also had two tag alongs, they were adamant about not letting me limp alone through the galaxy.”

Echo was asleep on a makeshift bed in the corner, grey stubble on his chin and bags under his eyes enough to express how heavy everything truly had been.

Rex smiled warmly, “happy to have you all here.”

“It’s good to see you….” Omega paused when she saw Hera heading to the cockpit.

“Is that….?”

Ophelia nodded with a soft smile, “it is.”

Omega almost ran over to her, the two of them very excited to see each other after all this time.

“How can we help, Captain?” Ophelia asked.

Rex explained the transmissions before they all sat down to watch them. Ophelia made a face at them having found hers but then felt her heart drop into her stomach at the next one, staring at it before Rex took it from her to start it.

4. Good Soldiers

Echo had awoken a short while after it began and joined them. Ophelia grasped Echo’s flesh hand and gave it a squeeze when she saw what popped up on the transmission.

Ophelia stood with a group of clones in black and red. A few years had passed between these transmissions, apparent in the aging of the nat borns around the clones. Ophelia had cut her hair at this point, wearing it half up and half down. She looked exhausted and had a few new scars as well as what seemed a permanent scowl. The light had been shut off inside of her, it seemed. They were on a ship, The Marauder. Everybody seemed tense.

“There’s no way the Jedi would commit treason. Something isn’t right here.” Tech said, fiddling with his comms to see if he could find anything else out.

“Fives was right, wasn’t he?” Ophelia asked after several moments of silence

Echo looked right at her and frowned, “we can’t be sure. Why would the Kaminoans put a murder chip in our heads?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Ophelia asked back at him, lending to more silence.

Crosshair and Hunter stumbled in, both very angry at each other.

“The war is over, Crosshair. We don’t have to do this.” Ophelia remarked, frowning as she saw Hunter and him glaring at each other.

“He let the kid go.”

Kanan seemed to stop breathing for a minute.

“I did what was right. I thought you were a man of honor too.” Hunter said, still glaring daggers.

“Good soldiers follow orders.” Crosshair quipped before leaving the room.

“Hunter. You did the right thing and now that child has a chance. If we die, I’ll rest easy knowing that there may be some Jedi left in this world.” Ophelia said

Echo shook his head and glared out of the window into hyperspace.

“The war isn’t over. We have to do something.” He said

“And we will.” Hunter replied

“I’ll go talk to Cross.” Ophelia said, disappearing down the hall towards the bunks.

“What is your problem?” He asked her

“My problem!? Last time I checked I wasn’t the child slayer 3,000. You have got to pull it together, we need you. You are…you’re our brother.”

“I am no brother to you. You’re a nat born, a silly human who is beneath me.”

That stung a little and shut her up, fists clenching at her sides. She shook her head and left.

The transmission ended.

“You.” Kanan said

“It was. Me and Hunter stood there on that cliff when you jumped. I would have died there under blaster fire if it wasn’t for Hunter and I’m…so glad it’s you.” Ophelia said with a gentle smile

It fell quick though, “both sides lost so much that day. Crosshair joined the empire. Bastard shot me in the leg and arm from 10 clicks away once, gave me scars.”

“We were like a family. Closest thing you could get to it.” Echo said

Ophelia smiled slightly at him, squeezing his hand again. “There’s a new family here now. We should call Hunter and tell him.”

Echo nodded and left the room with her to do so.

5. CT-7567

Rex saw the name carved onto the disk and immediately shoved it into the transmission reader. He had to know if this would tell him what happened to her. Isla hadn’t been able to say much, unfortunately.

“Careful, you might break it.” Ezra said

The transmission came to life, Obi Wan standing there with a woman. She had green eyes, brown hair braided into a coronet on top of her head. She was wearing a military issued tunic, black leggings, and black boots. This was from the last day he heard from her. She had called him on their way to Utapau which meant this was right before she called him as they hadn’t left yet.

Something was very obviously troubling the woman.

“I can keep a secret, you know.” Kenobi said, something unreadable shining in his eyes.

“I know. It’s inappropriate, completely out of line. I would be kicked out of the order, I can’t….”

He could practically feel the distress pouring off of her and put his hand on her shoulder.

“Aurora, it’s okay. You’re safe here…both of you are.”

She placed a hand on her stomach and smiled sadly, “I’m so happy. I haven’t told him yet. But I’m also scared. 2 months along. There hasn’t been time with the war, I never see him…”

He nodded in understanding. “After Utapau, you should tell him.”

Aurora gave a nod and the physical transmission ended. There was crackling however, which prompted Rex to leave it in.

“I think that’s it, we should move onto the next one.” Kanan said but then the woman reappeared.

The image kept cutting out but she had splatters of blood on the tunic and her cheek. She had tears streaming down her face too, looking directly into the transmission. Rex paled at the sight of it.

“This is Aurora Steele, calling from Utapau. Obi Wan and I….under attack….Cody unstable….they keep repeating order 66…”

The transmission cuts out then entirely, truly over now. Rex’s jaw is clenched, arms crossed over his chest.

“We were married but it was a secret. Jedi weren’t allowed personal attachments but a few of them knew and still let her keep her title.” Rex offered, knowing they wouldn’t know this information.

“I never knew she was pregnant. She never came home. General Kenobi told me he lost her, that she took off in an escape pod to come look for me.”

Silence filled the ship, Hera and Kanan sharing a look. Rex shook his head, “Isla told me she got a weak transmission from the outer rim a few months ago but there’s no way. I….I need a minute.”

He left to his own room, door shutting behind him. Hera shot Kanan another look and he sighed.

“I think he needs space.”

“Sure, for now. But you both lost a lot because of what happened and you should go talk to him.” She said

He nodded and then grabbed the next transmission file.

“We should keep going. Give him some time.”

Hera shot him another look at that and he shot one back to her before grabbing the next tape.

6. Prodigy

Kanan wasn’t expecting his old master to appear on the next transmission and he felt like his heart was being squeezed as he watched. Aurora was with her, the two of them kneeling next to each other in a meditation of sorts. Even though both of their eyes were closed, they spoke out loud to one another.

“I heard you and Kenobi are going to Utapau to greet General Grevious.” Depa said

“Ah yes, war is the best topic to speak up while trying to connect with the force.” Aurora remarked with a tiny smile

“What are you going to do after the war is over?” Depa asked

Aurora opened her eyes now to find the other woman already looking at her.

“Honestly? Take some time away. Find somewhere quiet and lay low for about a year. Maybe longer. You?”

“Hopefully continue Caleb’s training and train others. He has much promise, I know he will become a very talented and strong Jedi knight.” Depa said

Kenobi had entered the room then, “I apologize for the interruption but I need to borrow Aurora to prepare.”

Aurora stood, “you’re right. Caleb will be quite the successor for you.”

The transmission ended then. Kanan was trying to swallow the lump in his throat, immediately leaving the room after it ended. Hera went after him, the door shutting leaving silence behind.

7. CC-2224

Kyra. She appeared on the transmission. Her skin was darker in the sun, brown eyes full of hope and dark hair blowing in the wind. She was an aviation technician and she loved every minute of it.

“I’ve almost got this ship back up and running. Did you need anything else, Commander?” She asked, looking up at Cody now.

She had an oil smudge on her cheek and her hair was in a messy bun, secured by a spanner wrench.

“No, that should do it.”

“Hey, I’m….I have a question.” She said

“You know you can ask me anything.” Cody replied, indicating this isn’t the first or first few times they’ve spoken.

“Are you really going to Utapau?”

Cody looked at her, really looked at her with a softened gaze.

“You know it’s my duty. It’s what I was made for.” He said

“I hate it. I hate not knowing if you’re coming home or not.” She said, tone more hushed.

“I know, ca’tra.” He said, frowning a bit now. “When this is over, we can go wherever you want.”

She smiled at that, it lighting up her whole face.

“Somewhere only we know.” She said

The transmission ended.

“That was the reality for all of us.” Isla said, smiling sadly.

“Isla, I’m so sorry.” Ahsoka said.

She could tell it was weighting heavy on the woman and shook her head.

“I know what happened to Jesse, I don’t blame you or them. I blame The Empire. I blame Palpatine. I blame the Kaminoans. I could never blame you. Or Rex.” Isla said, hand resting on top of Ahsoka’s now.

“He was the love of my life and I’m better for knowing him. I used to be such a bitter and grumpy weapons technician. I was angry at the world until he showed me joy, laughter, love. I would do it all over again.” She said, a tear getting away from her.

“You’re not going to believe who I’ve gotten into contact with!” Ophelia exclaims as she enters the room, a holo device in her hands.

Isla perked up at that, “there’s more?”

More tears started to fall between the both of them, “there’s more. Kyra, Fiona, and Chandra are on their way. Chandra already has a rebel cell and would be bringing reinforcements. I’ve even convinced Emilie.”

At this point, Ahsoka has taken Isla’s hand and given it a gentle squeeze. She smiled, squeezing her hand back. This was the best news.

8. CT-6116

When they said Chandra already had a cell, they weren’t expecting it to be at least 20,000 people. She had a helmet tucked under her arm as she approached them.

“I heard someone likes to collect helmets around here. You can’t have this one but I have several others if you wanna take a look.” She said

Ezra’s face lit up at that for a minute before he cleared his throat, “yes ma’am. Thank you.”

Chandra nearly grinned at that, “I see the Jedi training is still going strong in the younger generations.”

He was eyeing the one under her arm, “why is that one painted green?”

“It belonged to my husband, he was a Captain who worked with….” She stopped when she saw Kanan.

“Caleb.”

He froze at the name and looked at her, “Chandra.”

“I’m so thrilled to see you. When I heard of Depa…I’m so sorry.” She said

“It’s uh…it’s Kanan now. Kanan Jarus.”

She nodded, “I understand.”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” He asked her.

“What’s wrong?”

He pulled Chandra off to the side and explained that Grey sacrificed himself to let Kanan get away. She nodded and clenched the helmet a little tighter. She then dropped it and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

“Thank you….”

“You were going to have all the fun without us, Lia.” Fiona said as she approached

“I was getting around to it.” Ophelia said, smiling sheepishly.

Emilie had a cybernetic arm and was a Togruta. She seemed a bit withdrawn from the situation and was looking around cautiously. Ahsoka went to greet her, which made her seem to relax a bit. They all had to disperse to other areas due to the amount of people as well as getting everybody settled into Phoenix Squadron.

Ahsoka and Emilie went off to talk to each other, leaving Rex, Kanan, Ezra, and Isla. The next transmission had Emilie in it, with Kix in what appeared to be somebody’s private quarters.

“You need to be more careful with this information.” She said

“I have to save my brothers.” Kix replied, unable to look at her.

“I understand it, I’m not saying you shouldn’t help them. I’m only asking you to be more careful.” Emilie said, looking at him.

The side of his head, his tattoo.

“I’m asking, as your wife, to be safe.”

“Imireh-“ “don’t use my real name.”

He sighed and finally looked at her before going to sit next to her on the bed now. Their bed.

“I will try my best to keep my research as quiet as possible but I have to know. This virus? I don’t believe in it. Something happened to Tup that could affect all of us and I can’t let it happen.” He said

She nodded and smiled slightly, “I understand. I will be with you.”

Kix rested his forehead against hers and they both closed their eyes. He was about to kiss her when someone burst into the room, coming to kidnap Kix. They knocked Emilie out and the transmission ended.

“Imireh was the name I was born with. I prefer Emilie because I don’t remember too much of my life. I had amnesia.” She said, “long story. Anyhow…they got to Kix before he could tell the Jedi about the inhibitor chips. When I came to, I was locked in a cell. I haven’t found him yet but a part of me thinks he’s still out there….”

“You’ve had a very busy life, then.” Kanan said

This made her laugh, “yes. Quite.” She sat down then.

“Next transmission?” She asked, reaching into the box.

“I put these in a box somewhere. I can’t remember. I stored them on an abandoned clone ship. I’m surprised anybody found them but equally delighted. My plan is working.” She said

“What plan is that?” Rex asked

“I have given the gift of several angry war torn widows, a bigger battalion of rebels, and the best damn medic in the galaxy. We’re here to take down the fuckers who stole the future, unrightfully robbed us all of what should have been. What almost was. Anger does not need to be negative, a means of suffering. Good people are angry…and they’re here now to help.”

“Is…she with you?” Rex asked

Emilie looked at Rex and stopped rummaging in the box.

“No. Nobody’s heard from her for many rotations. She comes and goes so she’s either dead or slashing her way through some very unlucky bucket heads.”

That was somewhat comforting, but not enough. She put the next tape in without letting anybody else get a word in.

9. CT-1010

A Togruta woman appeared on the next transmission. She had a more orange tint to her skin, white lines thin but striping down her body, like a tiger. Her facial markings were white dots, one above and below each eye to make 4.

Kavra walked in to find Fox passed out on his desk. She sighed and set the fresh cup of caf down, shaking him gently. He startled awake before looking around. He sighed and rubbed his head where it was on the desk.

“You should get more sleep.” She said

“There’s so much to do…” he sighed

“If you don’t march your ass home for sleep, I’ll drag you myself.” She said

“I’d like to see you try.”

Kavra sat on the edge of his desk then.

“You’ve actually been sleeping less and less. You keep waking up in the middle of the night. What’s going on?” She asked

Fox shook his head, “if I talk about it, I relive it.”

She knew this was about Fives immediately and frowned.

“I know it’s not easy and I’m sorry.”

“I had to shoot him, Kavra. I had…he…I killed my brother.”

She truly saw it then, the exhaustion deeper around his eyes, the guilt within them.

“Let’s go home, please. You need rest, even if you don’t sleep.”

Fox didn’t protest at all, standing up as the transmission ended.

“I guess I never thought to check if it bothered him. He always made it seem like he had it together.” Rex said, sighing.

“What happened to him?”

“Absorbed by the empire, like the rest of them.”

Kavra was here in person already, having come with Chandra.

“I was a spy. I worked briefly for the empire and I would send everything, anything, to Chandra but we didn’t stay together. He was different after the order. They all were.”

She sat down, smiling a bit at Rex.

“It’s very good to see you, regardless of the circumstances, and I’m so glad you’re not…that you’re with us. Rory will be thrilled. She’s coming, I talked to her yesterday. Her and Kyra are together, like you and Cody would be, leaving a trail of dead troopers behind them. She’s not how she used to be, however. Keep that in mind.”

Rex looked surprised, this being the only time anybody was able to give him an update on his wife.

“She’s alive?”

“She’s alive.”

10. Active

There was a flicker across the transmission.

“Did somebody put another one in?” Ezra asked

A young woman with short brown hair popped up, one eye green and the other brown. She had a scar running down her cheek from under her eye and looked hopeful.

“Hello?” The female asked

“Hi?” Ezra responded

“You can hear me!”

“This is active, this isn’t an archive. Get me coordinates.” Hera said, looking at Chopper.

He beeped excitedly, waving his hands around as he went to do so.

“My name is Elora and I can sense a very strong force presence on your ship. Don’t be afraid, I’m one of you. I need your help. Permission to board?”

“This could be a trap.” Kanan said

“We don’t turn people away.” Hera said before adding, “permission granted.”

Elora attached her ship to theirs and entered. Zeb stood there, ready to escort or detain her depending on her intentions. She understood and followed him. She stopped when they walked into the room, practically staring at Rex. She felt her heart leap into her throat at the sight of him before looking at the others.

“My mother and aunt Kyra are in danger. We were trying to infiltrate a star destroyer and they discovered my mom was a Jedi. They’re imprisoned and I don’t know where, I got away.”

“Wait a minute. You said Kyra is your aunt and your mom is a Jedi.” Ezra said

“Yes. My mother’s name is Aurora Steele. She told me to go find my father and it has taken longer than I’ve wanted it to. I was starting to doubt any clones are still alive.”

Rex was speechless. She looked like her mom, although she had one brown eye that was like his and he saw her hair was very dark and curly. Like a clones but longer, down to her chin. He stood then and she looked over at him.

“Is it true then? She’s alive and you’re here.” Rex said, still having a hard time grasping the reality of this.

He thought he lost Aurora to order 66, his unborn child with her but he was wrong to doubt her strength. Her resilience.

“Are you Rex?” She asked

“Yes.”

“Yeah, it’s true. She’s alive and here I am, but we can’t waste too much time. I don’t want them selling mom off to the highest bidder.” She sighed

“They would do that?” Kanan asked

“Or kill her, yes.”

They began to move then, ready to help her. Rex stood next to her in the cock pit as they took off into hyperspace, really looking at her now.

“You’re not quite what I imagined either.” She offered with a slight smile.

“If I had known, I would have come to find you both.” He said

“She knows that, which is why she didn’t. She felt it, she knew it, that you hadn’t turned. That you didn’t have your inhibitor chip. Her intuition is so strong and she believes in you so much, she knows.”

Rex had to look away at that, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“She tells me all the time how my father is a good man. If it’s weird for you, I can call you Rex. I can’t imagine throwing all of this at you is easy.” Elora said

Rex reached out and took her hand, “I would love to be your dad.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand, “good. I’m going to need my dad to help me find my mom and aunt…”

There was a reverent beauty in the setting sun and all that it touched, the skies bursting with pinks and oranges. The peachy color illuminated the part of the hanger where Kyra usually worked on broken or damaged fighter ships. She usually had her black hair pulled back, splotches of ink or oil on her face and the GAR issued mechanic suit.

Always disheveled, always covered in a dark liquid to some varying degree, and yet a certain Commander always found his heart beating a little more loudly as he watched her work. She had no idea he was there, talking to another one of the techs. She was looking up, focused on a wing that took damage. Her googles were on, hair in a messy bun today.

He recognized the other tech to actually be the weapons expert, Isla. She smiled slightly at him, now trying to discreetly get Kyra’s attention but failing.

“I’m just glad it was Kenobi instead of Skywalker. Anakin treats my ships like they’re bantha fodder, made for explosion only. I’ve asked Rory to have a chat with him, I don’t think she does or he doesn’t care when she does.” She said, scanning the wing with the data pad to fully assess damages.

Isla opened her mouth but shut it when Kyra kept going. Cody looked a little amused now.

“I’m tired of these Jedi thinking our resources are expendable, easy to come by. The senate pays the bill for it, sure, but what of it when they don’t or won’t anymore?”

“Do you have something against the Jedi? I might be able to launch a more formal complaint.” Cody said

Kyra almost hit her head, pulling away from the wing now.

“Hello commander.”

Kyra was just a hair shorter than him, able to basically look him in the eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. She rested the googles around her neck now, beautiful brown eyes on him.

“I apologize if it sounds that way, about the Jedi. I’m fond of the generals, just frustrated. My people have a very intricate and annoying relationship with them too, it doesn’t help their case.” Kyra admitted with a sigh

“Where are you from?” Cody asked, genuinely curious.

“Mandalore.”

The answer was short and didn’t offer too much personal information but he had several follow up questions. Maybe this would be a good time to ask her to dinner, which is something he’s been wanting to do for a while. Before he could, Isla witnessed the darkening of his expression. It was like a storm passed through the man at seeing Kenobi approach and Kyra’s expression brighten.

“You’re officially my favorite general, you barely scratch up my work.” She said with a smile.

“I don’t particularly try to be mindful of that in the heat of battle but happy it works out that way. Is Cody bothering you?” He asked

“No, he could never. The man is like sunshine is plastoid.” Kyra said, not able to look at Cody as she said it.

Isla winked at Cody, “I’m gonna head back to work on some stuff and see Jesse. Are you going to 79s later?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you there.” Kyra said before beginning to work on the wing again.

“I’m inclined to agree, Cody is a wonderful asset to our team. As are you, you work very hard to keep us in the air.”

“Did Skywalker crash another one?” She asked, pulling some wires out of the wing as she spoke.

Those probably weren’t supposed to come out so easily.

“Yes. But I mean it, you’re a great asset to this team.”

Kyra blushed and waved him off, “thank you but really. Please. Yell at Skywalker.”

Kenobi smiled at that, “I’ll do my best.”

He left at that, it was just Cody and Kyra now. Did she have feelings for his general? Why did that sit funny with him?

“Will I find you among the other commanders and captains tonight, Cody?” She asked

“Maybe.” He answered, genuinely unsure.

He had so much to do in terms of paperwork and preparing for tomorrows meeting, but those beautiful brown eyes seemed to shine in the sunlight when they looked at him. They were an amber brown.

“I’ll look for you.” She said

That made his heart flutter but he chose to ignore it. She probably did like Kenobi, who wouldn’t? He had developed a slight crush on the man but it seemed to go away with time. Cody was pulled from his thoughts by Waxer, who was showing him a data pad to sign off on shinies.

Kyra had gone home after her work was done to wash up and change, going to 79s after. Isla was the only one there and she was preoccupied by Jesse so Kyra sat at the bar by herself. She was two whiskeys in when Cody approached her, sitting next to her at the bar now.

“Not going to go fight off potential bed warmers at the high command table?” She asked, probably a little too bold from the liquor.

Maybe Cody had misread what she meant when she said she would be looking for him but he wasn’t going to back down now, especially as Wolffe and Gregor gave him a thumbs up from their table. Kyra smiled a bit at that, maybe she should go easy on him.

“I’m only kidding, I know most of you have partners and aren’t like that. Although, sex is actually a great stress reliever.”

Too forward, too much. Someone kill her now. Kyra downed the rest of her whiskey and ordered two more.

“I think you’d like this stuff. If you don’t, hey. It’s a free drink.”

Cody took a sip of it, taking in the bitter somewhat smokey flavor of the liquor.

“It’s nice, thank you.” He said

“I’m not good with people. You put me in front of a broken ship or even building one, I’m spectacular but I can’t uh…I’m not the talker. I don’t talk to people well.” She admitted

“You don’t say.” Cody said, sarcasm laced heavily in his words.

Kyra blushed a bit at that, she wasn’t doing well with this at all. She opted for silence after and Cody hoped he didn’t offend her.

“I’m not much of a talker either.” He admitted.

“No?” She asked

He shook his head, “too much going on in my head. Sometimes I switch between Mando’a and basic without meaning to and one time, I accidentally insulted master Yoda. He was a Jedi about it but I still felt bad.” Cody sighed

“I insulted the Chancellor at a dinner once.” Kyra said, “to his face. It was an accident too. Kenobi really saved me from being arrested. Not that Thorn would have, not without me actually doing something illegal.”

“Have you ever been arrested?” He asked her.

Kyra faced him a little more now and he did the same to her, their knees bumping together going ignored by the two of them.

“I was held by the Corries for 1 night once. I accidentally stole a necklace but what happened was I was still kind of magnetic from an incident with one of the ships. Senators are dramatic and a necklace flew off of one of them onto me. Really, holding me was just a formality. I didn’t even go into a cell, I sat in Thorn’s office and played with Grizzer.”

“How did Fox let that slide?” He asked, taking another sip of whiskey.

“I’m friends with Kavra, she helped him take mercy on me. They should just shut up and date already. The world would be a happier place if people let go and let their feelings win sometimes.” She shrugged.

She was about to order another one, but Cody stopped her.

“Let’s get you some water and food first, okay? I know that hangovers during briefings are no fun.”

“Ah fuck, I have to sit in on that tomorrow?” She frowned

“Sorry.” He chuckled.

He ordered her water and something small to eat, Kyra watching him as he did so. He was in a black T-shirt and pants, no doubt the blacks from under their armor. He had various scars down his arms, but she noticed how toned his arms were and how long his fingers were. She shifted in her seat, clamping her thighs together.

“What?” He asked, noticing her watching.

She had to keep herself in check because it wasn’t polite to tell your sort of new friend you wanted them to choke you while railing you into next month. Kyra opted for a random fact that popped up in her mind, knowing it would divert the confused looking man from her semi-strange behavior.

“Some call you Commander Sunshine.” She said, smiling at him with teeth.

She had a small gap between her two front teeth and it lit up her whole face to smile. He felt his heart flip flop at that and couldn’t help his own smile.

“Why is that? I’ve been told I can be harsh on my men at times.”

Kyra vaguely gestured at him, as if that was answer enough and he laughed.

“Thank you for not clearing that up.” He said

“You’re welcome.” She smiled again.

After they both ate, continuing to talk, Kyra decided it was time to close her tab instead of keep drinking. The food seemed to sober her up a little bit and she knew a walk back in the cool air would help too. Cody insisted on walking her back to her apartment, it wasn’t far from here but he wasn’t going to take no for an answer on this. She was tipsy, he wasn’t going to leave her alone.

They walked in silence, enjoying the sounds around them as the cool air seemed to do the trick. It was a comfortable silence between the two of them and Kyra made a decision as they stopped outside of her apartment building.

“Did you want to come up for a cup of caf?”

Cody was a little startled by the question but said, “sure.” He followed her up, silently looking around the apartment while she went into the small kitchen. It was a little cluttered, lived in. Boots by the door, a jacket and scarf on a hook by the door. There was a couch with blankets draped in various spots and a data pad charging at a desk pressed against the wall in the corner. There was a small kitchen with barstools at an island instead of a table.

The counter top island had various jars and half drank cups of old caf on them. She had an easel set up too, tarp under it. A half painted bowl of fruit was on it, making him smile a bit. There was a small table in the middle of the room and another next to the couch, an end table. There was a helmet, beskar, but it seemed old. Worn, but not worn. The color of it a grey-blue mixture. Cody noticed there was a picture of a man with her by one of the lamps.

“I had a husband.” She said as she handed him the warm mug.

She was so quiet, he almost jumped out of his skin when she spoke. To sneak up on him was a feat many didn’t possess but he knew Kyra wasn’t going to harm him. Maybe.

“Had?” He asked

“He died. We had only been married for two years but it’s okay. It was an arrangement to bring our clans together, we were friends. Nothing more.”

“I’m still sorry.” He said

She nodded, “most people are.”

They both sipped their caf in silence. She sat on the couch and patted the spot next to her. Their legs touched again, silently enjoying the closeness but not admitting it.

“We should do this more.” She said suddenly.

“What?” He asked

“Hang out. Talk. Whatever this is.” She said, still not entirely sober but not entirely drunk either.

Cody brushed a strand of hair out of her face, the touch seeming to startle her. There was something slightly odd about the woman, anybody who spent more than 20 minutes with her could see it or sort of sense it. She seemed warm and kind, though, generally. The silences with her were comfortable, never tense or awkward. Eventually, Cody had fallen asleep on one side of the couch, Kyra falling asleep on the other. When she woke up, Cody was gone and it made her frown. She rather enjoyed his presence, she found, and it was sort of cold without him. She couldn’t explain it beyond that. There was a note taped to the fridge, the caf pot still warm to indicate he hadn’t left that long ago.

“Sorry if the caf is cold when you wake up, I didn’t want to bother you. See you at the meeting.”

Kriff. The meeting. She checked what time it was and saw she had an hour left to get ready and head over there. The caf would end up in a to-go mug after being microwaved due to waiting until after her shower. Her hair was down, air drying and she had on leggings and a tank top for now. She brought her data pad, just in case. She slid in next to Isla, maybe only 5 minutes late, and immediately felt a gaze on her.

Commander Cody, through his visor, staring right at her. She heard he hated tardiness and informalities, he was a proper commander after all. She smiled sheepishly at him before pulling up notes on her data pad. She paid very close attention, not noticing after a while that Cody seemed more interested in her than the meeting. You couldn’t really tell beyond the visor because it hid his face but Kenobi certainly noticed.

It was concern enough for the Jedi to pull Cody aside after the meeting, telling him he wished to speak to him in private. After everybody had filed out and it was only the two of them, Kenobi’s expression turned from friendly to very serious.

“I don’t know what your true relationship is with Kyra and it is not my business to pry in such matters, but you need to consider the relationship very carefully.” Kenobi said

Who was she that Obi-wan was warning him?

“We’re just friends, general. Nothing more.” Cody replied

“Even being her friend could lead to precarious situations. Her life is not as simple as it looks.”

How did Kenobi know all of that? Who or what was Kyra? The question seemed to entice him towards her more, sliding down to where she was working later in the day. She was with Aurora.

“So when is the wedding?” Kyra joked lightly.

“Shut up.” Aurora blushed

“Apologies, on interrupting.” Cody said as he approached.

“None needed, what brings you all the way down here?” Kyra asked

Ask her to dinner, for a drink. Kriff, she looked so beautiful in those leggings and tank top, her hair pulled up in a bun again out of her face. She had freckles across her nose and a few scars here and there down her arms and back.

“Cody?” She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly now.

He cleared his throat, “I need to speak with the General. I came looking for her.”

Why couldn’t he just ask this woman on a proper date? Cody was smooth, he could usually sweet talk his way into anybody’s bed but with Kyra he always found himself falling short.

“Well, I am done with her for now so I suppose you can borrow her. Only for a little while, commander.” She said, giving him that bright smile again.

“You should come to 79’s tonight.” He blurted out.

Yup. Smooth.

“Why is that?” She asked, looking amused still.

“You made a comment about the commanders and captains turning away bed warmers and I wanted to turn that jab into a bet.” He said

Something unreadable flashed through Kyra’s expression, there and gone in a second.

“Deal. I’ll be joining your table tonight then, warn the others.” She said

“Don’t you mean inform the others?” Aurora asked

“I didn’t stutter.” Kyra said before going back to working on repairs.