âCommand and Consequence pt.2â
She wasnât just their trainer. She was the trainer. The hard-ass Mandalorian bounty hunter who whipped the clone cadets into shape, showed them how to survive, and maybe, quietly, showed them something like love.
They werenât supposed to fall for her.
She wasnât supposed to leave.
But they did. And she did.
Now sheâs backâin chains. On trial. And neither of them has forgiven her. But neither of them has stopped feeling, either.
Off to a frontline somewhere, chasing a ghost on someone elseâs leash. He hadnât said goodbye. Just stood in her cell, said her name like it tasted like blood, and left.
She told herself it didnât sting.
Told herself that right up until the door hissed open again.
She felt him before she saw himâevery hair on the back of her neck standing at attention. She didnât lift her head until she heard the soft clink of his boots on the duracrete.
âYou always did have the heaviest damn footsteps.â
Just the soft hum of the ray shield between them and the weight of six years of unfinished conversations.
She sat back against the wall of her cell, tilting her head to study him through the barrier. âYou used to take your helmet off when you saw me.â
âYou smiled, too,â she added. âEven blushed once.â
She leaned forward. âWhy donât you take it off now, Fox? Scared Iâll see what I did to you?â
His shoulders shifted. Just enough.
âI loved you both,â she said, voice softer. âYou and Wolffe. It wasnât just training. You know that.â
âNo,â Fox said, voice hard behind the visor. âYou chose to. We needed you. And you ran.â
He stepped closer to the shield.
âYou trained us to survive, to lead, to kill. You were everything. You looked at us like we were people before anyone else ever did. And then you were gone. No note. No goodbye. Just gone.â
She stood now. Toe to toe with him on opposite sides of the shield.
âDonât pretend like it was easy for me.â
âIâm not pretending anything,â Fox bit out. âBut every time I close my eyes, I see the cadet barracks. I see you, pulling us out of bed, making us fight through mud and stun blasts and live fire. And every time I put this helmet on, I remember the woman who made me who I am.â
âAnd you hate her now?â
âNo,â he said, almost too quiet.
The silence between them wasnât emptyâit was heavy, loud, aching.
Then the lights flickered. Once. Twice.
Foxâs helmet snapped up.
âYou planning something?â he demanded.
She blinked, surprised. âNot me.â
An explosion rocked the building.
Fox swore and turned toward the hallâtoo late.
The backup power cut in, and the shield between them dropped.
Fox recovered instantly. Mandalorian training burned into his bonesâher training.
They fought dirty. Brutal. No flourish. No wasted motion. Just rage and history and sweat.
He slammed her into the wall, forearm to her neck. âDonâtââ
She headbutted him. âToo late.â
He threw her to the ground. She rolled, kicked out, caught his knee. He staggered. She was up in an instant, swinging.
He caught her wrist. âYou left us.â
She broke the hold, breathless. âAnd you never stopped loving me.â
His helmet came loose, skittering across the ground.
Red-faced. Bloodied lip. Eyes blazing with pain and love and fury.
He flipped her. Pinned her down.
âThis is what you wanted?â he growled. âTo be hunted? To fight me?â
âNo,â she whispered. âBut Iâm not dying in a cell.â
Her elbow caught his jaw. He reeled. She moved fast, straddling him, fist raisedâ
He looked up at her like she was the sun and the storm.
And knocked him out cold.
Because this time, she left something behind.
And it wasnât just her past.
Then again, it was always raining on Kamino.
She stood in the simulation room, arms crossed, helmet tucked under one arm, a long line of adolescent clones in front of her. Twelve cadets. Identical on the outside. Nervous. Curious. Eager.
She hated this part. The part where they still looked like kids.
She paced down the line like a wolf sizing up prey. They were still, silent, disciplined.
But she could already see itâthe cracks, the personality slipping through despite their efforts to appear identical. That one on the end with the defiant chin tilt. The one in the middle hiding a limp. The one watching her like he already didnât trust her.
She knew it the second they marched inâtwelve cadets, lean and lethal for their age. Sharper than the usual shinies. These werenât grunts-in-the-making. These were the Commanders. The ones Kaminoâs high brass whispered about like they were investments more than soldiers.
She smirked. âYou all have CT numbers. Serial designations. Statistics.â
She dropped her helmet onto a nearby crate and leaned forward. âThatâs not enough for me.â
âYou want to earn my respect? You survive this program, you get through my gauntlet? You donât just get to be soldiers. You get to be people. And people need names.â
A flicker of something passed between themâconfusion, curiosity, maybe even hope.
âBut I donât hand them out like sweets. Names have weight. Youâll earn yours. One by one.â
âAnd I wonât name you like some shiny ARC trainer handing out joke callsigns for laughs. Your name will be the first thing someone hears before they die. Make it count.â
âYou survive my program, youâll earn a name,â she said. âA real one. Something from the old worlds. Something that means something. Not because you need a nickname to feel specialâbecause names have teeth. They bite. They leave a scar.â
The silence was sharp. But the room listened.
The first week nearly broke them.
She saw it in their bruised knuckles, in the fire behind their eyes. None of them quit.
So she came in holding a data slate. Her list.
âCT-2224,â she said, nodding to the clone who was always coordinating, always calm under fire. âIâm calling you Cody.â
âNamed after an old soldier from history. Scout, tactician, survivor. He fought under another manâs flag but always kept his own code. You? Youâll know when to follow and when to break the chain.â
CT-2224 tilted his chin, something like pride in his eyes.
âCT-1004,â she called next. âGree.â
âNamed after an Astronomer. A mind ahead of his time. You like to challenge the rules. You think differently. Thatâll get you killedâor itâll save your whole damn battalion. Your call.â
âCT-6052,â she said, turning to the one with the fastest draw in the sim tests. âBly.â
âNamed after a naval officer. Brutal. Unrelenting. Survived mutinies and shipwrecks. Your squad will challenge you someday. Youâll either lead them through the stormâor end up alone.â
âCT-1138.â She stepped toward the quietest of the bunch. âBacara.â
âNameâs from an old warrior sect,â she said. âReal bastard in the heat of battle. No fear, no hesitation. Youâve got that in youâbut youâll need something to tether you. Rage alone wonât get you far.â
âCT-8826,â she barked. âNeyo.â
âNamed after a colonial general in a lost war. Known for precision and cruelty in equal measure. You fight with cold logic. Thatâs useful. But one day itâs going to cost you something you didnât know you valued.â
His stare didnât break.
Then she stopped in front of CT-1010.
This one was different. Always stepping in front of the others. Always first into the fire.
âYou,â she said. âYouâre Fox.â
He tilted his head. Curious. Suspicious.
âNot the animal,â she said. âThe man. He tried to blow up a corrupt regime. People remember him as a traitor. But he died for what he believed in. He wanted to burn the world down so something better could rise.â
Fox looked at her like he wasnât sure whether to be proud or afraid.
âYouâre Wolffe. Spelled with two fâs.â
âYou ever heard of General Wolffe? He died leading a battle he won. Knew it would kill him. Did it anyway. Thatâs who you are. Youâd die for the ones you lead. But youâre not just a soldier. Youâre a ghost in the making. You see things the others donât.â
Something flickered across Wolffeâs expression. Not quite gratitude. Not yet. But something personal. Something deep.
She stepped back and looked at them all.
âYouâre not just commanders now. Youâre names with weight. Remember where they come from. Because somedayâsomeoneâs going to ask.â
She didnât say why she chose those names.
And Wolffe⊠Wolffe felt it like a blade between his ribs.
That night, neither of them slept.
Fox sat on his bunk, staring at the nameplate freshly etched on his chest armor.
Wolffe couldnât stop replaying the sound of her voice, the precision of her words.
It wasnât just what she called them.
And in that momentâbefore war, before death, before heartbreakâboth of them realized something:
They would have followed her anywhere.
âTarget last seen heading westbound on foot. Sheâs injured,â Thornâs voice snapped through the comms, sharp and clear as a vibroblade. âBleeding. She wonât get far.â
Commander Fox didnât respond right away.
He was already movingâboots pounding against ferrocrete, crimson armor flashing in the underglow of gutter lights. His DC-17s were hot. Loaded. Heâd cleared the last alley by himself. Found the blood trail smeared across a rusted wall. Confirmed it wasnât fresh. Confirmed she was smart enough to double back.
Foxâs jaw tensed behind the helmet. That voice. That memory. He hated that it still echoed.
He hated what sheâd made him feel back thenâwhat she still made him feel now.
âShe was ours,â Thorn said suddenly, voice low on a private channel. âShe trained us. Named us. And now sheâsââ
âA liability,â Fox snapped.
Then Thorn said, âSo are you.â
Sheâd been moving for thirty-six hours straight.
Blood caked her gloves. Her ribs were cracked. One eye nearly swollen shut. And stillâstillâsheâd smiled when she saw the Guard flooding the streets for her.
âMiss me, boys?â she whispered, ducking into an old speeder lot, sliding through a maintenance tunnel like sheâd been born in the underworld.
Fox was five minutes behind her. Thorn was closer.
She was running out of time.
So she did what she swore she wouldnât.
She pressed a long-dead frequency into her wrist comm and whispered:
Fox was waiting for her at the extraction point.
He stood in front of the old freight elevator. Helmet on. Blaster raised. Shoulders squared. He hadnât spoken in five minutes. Hadnât moved in ten.
When she limped into view, he didnât aim. Not yet.
âYouâre bleeding,â he said, voice flat.
âYouâre still wearing your helmet,â she rasped.
âWhy?â she asked. âWhy donât you ever take it off anymore?â
He didnât move, but the silence that followed was heavier than armor.
âYou think if you bury the man I trained, the one I named, then maybe you donât have to feel what you felt?â she asked, stepping closer. âOr maybeâmaybe you think the helmet will stop you from loving the woman youâre supposed to kill.â
âIâm not that man anymore.â
âAnd Iâm not the woman who left you behind,â she said.
They hit the ground hard.
She drove her elbow into his side, but he blocked itâtwistedâslammed her onto the deck. She kicked his knee, flipped him over, caught a glimpse of his face beneath the shifting helmet sealâeyes wild. Angry. Broken.
Their fight wasnât clean. It wasnât choreographed.
Every strike was a memory. Every chokehold a betrayal.
She got the upper handâuntil Fox caught her wrist, yanked her forward, and headbutted her hard enough to split her lip.
âStay down,â he growled.
But she was already back on her feet, staggering.
For one second, he nearly won.
The roar of repulsors screamed overhead.
A shipâlow and meanâswooped in like a vulture. Slave I.
From the cockpit, Boba Fett gave a two-fingered salute.
From the ramp, Bossk snarled: âHurry up, darlinâ. Weâre on a timer.â
She spun, landed one final kick to Foxâs side, and leapt.
He caught her footâjust for a second.
She whispered, âYouâll have to be faster than that, Commander.â
She vanished into the belly of the ship.
The ship shot skyward, cutting between the towers of Coruscant, gone in a blink.
Fox lay back on the duracrete, chest heaving, blood in his mouth.
Thornâs voice crackled in his comm:
He just stared at the sky, helmet still on, and muttered:
The hum of hyperspace thrummed through her ribs like a heartbeat she hadnât trusted in years.
She sat on the edge of the med-bench, wiping blood from her mouth, cheek split open from Foxâs headbutt. Boba threw her a rag without looking.
âYou look like shab.â
She gave a low, painful laugh. âBetter than dead. Thanks for the pickup.â
Boba didnât answer right away. He just leaned back in the co-pilotâs chair, helmet off, arms crossed over his chest like a teenager who wasnât quite ready to say what he meant.
âYou couldâve called sooner, you know,â he finally muttered. âWouldâve come faster.â
âI know,â she said, quiet.
Bosk snorted from the cockpit. âSentimental karkinâ clones. Always needinâ someone to save their shebs.â
Boba didnât. âStow it, lizard.â
After a beat, he glanced back at her. âYouâre not going back, are you?â
âYou should stay,â Boba said. âThe crewâs solid. And youâre⊠you were like an older sister. On Kamino. When it was just me and those cold halls. You didnât treat me like a copy.â
That one hit her like a vibroblade to the gut.
âI couldnât stand seeing your face,â she admitted. âAll I saw was Jango.â
He looked away. âYeah. Well⊠I am him.â
She stood, stepped over to him, and rested a bruised hand on his shoulder.
âYouâre better. You got his spine, his stubbornness. But youâve got your own code, too. Jango⊠Jango wouldâve left me behind if it suited him. You didnât.â
He looked at her, lip twitching. âYeah, well. You trained half the commanders in the GAR. You think I was about to let Fox be the one to kill you?â
She smirked. âSentimental.â
He rolled his eyes. âShut up.â
She moved toward the ramp. âThank you, Boba. But I canât stay.â
âYou donât have to run forever.â
âNo,â she said, voice thick. âJust long enough to finish what I started.â
And with that, she slipped through the rear hatch, into the wind, into whatever system they dropped her in next.
Wolffe stood silent, arms folded, helmet tucked under one arm. Thorn sat across from him, jaw tight, armor scraped and bloodied.
Plo Koon entered without fanfare, his robes trailing dust from the Outer Rim.
âYou two look like youâve seen a ghost,â the Kel Dor said mildly.
âShe might as well be,â Thorn muttered.
âWe had her,â Wolffe said. âFox did. And she slipped through his fingers.â
Plo regarded them both for a long moment.
âI assume there is tension because Fox and Thorn were in charge of the op?â
Wolffeâs jaw tightened.
Thorn spoke first. âSheâs dangerous. Sheâs working with bounty hunters now. Itâs only a matter of time before she turns that knife toward the Republic.â
âPerhaps,â Plo murmured, folding his hands. âOr perhaps she is a wounded soldier, betrayed by the very people she once called vode.â
Wolffeâs shoulders stiffened.
âShe made her choice,â he said flatly.
âAnd yet,â Plo said, gently, âI sense hesitation in you, Commander. Pain.â
âShe is off-world now,â the Jedi continued, glancing at a tactical holo. âPotentially aligned with Separatist sympathizers. The Senate will push for her recapture. But I believe it would be wiser⊠more effective⊠for the 104th to take point on tracking her.â
Thorn straightened. âThe Guardâs been assignedââ
âAnd you failed,â Plo said, not unkindly. âLet Wolffe try. Perhaps whatâs needed now is not more firepower⊠but familiarity.â
Wolffe met Ploâs gaze. âYouâre using this as a chance to fix me.â
âIâm giving you a chance,â Plo corrected. âTo understand. To remember who she really is. Not what she became.â
Then Wolffe slowly nodded.
âThen Iâll bring her in.â
Ploâs gaze softened beneath his mask.
âOr maybe,â he said, turning to leave, âyouâll let her bring you back.â
The atmosphere stank like rust and rot. Arix-7 was a graveyard of ships and skeletonsâmetal, bone, old wreckage from a thousand forgotten battles. The 104th picked through it like wolves in a burial field.
Wolffe moved ahead of the squad, visor low, silent.
Boost sidled up beside him. âYou know, this place kinda reminds me of her. Sharp, full of ghosts, and ready to kill you if you step wrong.â
Sinker snorted. âYeah, but she smelled better.â
âCut the chatter,â Wolffe growled, tone clipped.
Boost shrugged. âJust saying. Weird to be tracking the person who taught you how to hold a blaster.â
âWorse to be planning how to shoot her,â Sinker added, quieter.
They found her in the remains of a Republic frigate, buried deep in the moonâs crust, converted into a hideout. Cracked floors, scattered gear, a heat signature blinking faint and woundedâbut moving.
She knew they were coming.
They found her in the wreck of an old Separatist cruiser, rusted deep into the jagged crust of the moon. Sinker and Boost had gone in firstâquick, confident, all muscle and old banter. That didnât save them from being outmaneuvered and knocked out cold.
Wolffe found their unconscious bodies first. And then, her.
She stepped into the light like a shadow peeling off the wallâhood pulled low, face scraped and bloodied but eyes still burning.
âYou always send the pups in first?â she asked. âOr were they just stupid enough to come on their own?â
Wolffe charged her without a word.
Hand-to-hand. Just like she trained him.
But she didnât hold back this timeâand neither did he.
She was still faster. Still sharper. Still cruel with her movements, a blade honed by years outside the Republicâs rule.
But Wolffe had strength and control, and heâd stopped pulling punches years ago.
They traded blows. She bloodied his mouth. He cracked her ribs. He pinned her. She slipped free.
The air shiftedâsharp with ozone and tensionâand suddenly Plo Coon was between them. Calm. Powerful. Alien eyes behind his antiox mask, watching her without familiarity, without sentiment.
âStep down,â Plo said.
She bristled. âAnother Jedi. Wonderful. Let me guessâhere to âredeemâ me?â
âI donât know you,â Plo answered. âBut I know what youâve done. And I know you were once theirs.â
âGood,â Plo said, igniting his saber. âThen this will be easier.â
She struck firstâfast and brutal, close-range, aiming to disable before he could bring the Force to bear. But Plo Coon had fought Sith, droids, beasts. He wasnât unprepared for feral grace and dirty tricks.
He parried. Dodged. Let her come to him.
âYouâre angry,â he said through gritted teeth. âBut not lost.â
She lunged. âYou donât know me.â
âNo. But I sense your pain. Youâre not just running. Youâre bleeding.â
âPain is whatâs kept me alive!â
He knocked her off balance, sent her tumbling. She scrambled, but he held her in place with a subtle lift of the hand, the Force pinning her in a crouch.
âEnough,â he said, not unkindly.
She panted, teeth grit, shoulders trembling.
âI donât know why you left them. I donât care. I only ask you stop now, before someone dies who doesnât need to.â
Her gaze flicked past him, to Wolffeâwho stood in silence, jaw tight, one eye focused and guarded.
âYou Jedi think you know everything,â she hissed. âBut you donât know what itâs like to train them. To love them. And to choose between them.â
âI chose nothing,â she said. âAnd it still broke them.â
The silence that followed was colder than the void outside.
Plo stared at her for a long moment.
Then, slowlyâhe stepped back.
âYouâll run again,â he said, saber still lit. âBut I wonât be the one to kill someone trying to hold herself together.â
âYouâre⊠letting me go?â
âIâm giving you a moment,â he said. âWhat you do with it is yours to answer for.â
Wolffe took a step forward.
Plo stopped him with a look.
âSheâs off world. Unarmed. Andââ his voice lowered, ââno longer a priority.â
Wolffeâs fists clenched.
She bolted into the wreckage, shadows swallowing her whole. Gone again.
This time, no one followed.