Clone Commanders - Tumblr Posts

Thinking about Bly's armor reflecting sunbeams during golden hours on a crowded dirty plaza

Usually Bly would comm Fox to get a second opinion on resolving hostage situations swiftly and with no to minimum casualties, especially those like the one he was facing now: situated in a densely populated area, surrounded by thousands of unaware civvies.

This however wasn't an option right now.

His youngest batcher hadn't bothered to pick up his call over the official lines, which definitely was a first and frankly a bit worrying. That man was always on duty and never willingly passed on an opportunity to gather intel on missions he shouldn't even know existed. Nor on collecting blackmail on his fellow commanders to "ask" for a favor or two in an unknown future. It wasn't like they would deny reasonable requests from other units but what exactly did Fox need all those extra rations for? He would leave a message in their private chat later.

Right now time was of essence and it was slipping through his fingers, so with a sigh Bly decided to try the line of another brother he knew was also very versed in crowd regulation and conducting missions while staying under the civvies' radar: Ponds. What he didn't account for was his oldest brother not picking up as well. A bit frustrated he opened his HUD and shot a quick message to the full group chat. He'd really prefer a second opinion, if possible not disturbing his general.

[open channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

5052: anyone available rn <80:18>

5052: whatever just call asap <80:81>

[close channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

Why did he have a bad feeling about this? He caught a sudden commotion at the corner of his field of view and turned is attention towards his men standing close to the area. Galle was trying to calm down a natborn gesturing around but clearly didn't succeed in his placating attempts. They seemed to be agitated by the sight of clone troopers lingering planetside for no apparent reason. Just when Bly decided to ask his Lieutenant to evacuate the plaza in front of the building they were about to move in on a call patched through on his internal comm:

[connected]

"Marshall Commander, we need you to stay put and not interfere. Don't try to enter the building, it will trigger the detonation before you can recover the hostages."

[disconnected]

Why the frick was a very young very familiar voice in his ear and how did they know about his current situation.

[alert from channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

8826: you better tell me you found Boba. got a report about Ponds waking up from a forced nap but nobody's seen the kid <88:34>

[close alerts]

Bly's bad feeling quickly evolved into a tight knot in his stomach and the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He signed for Galle to wrap up his conversation and come over.

"Commander?"

"I need you to keep an eye on the situation on the plaza. Don't enter the building unless I tell you to. The General won't be happy if we kark this up, I got intel there's bombs inside and children involved. No heroic actions, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. For now just keep entertaining the locals. Maybe you can actually get some info to evaluate further."

He could feel the other narrowing his eyes at him through the visor before nodding and turning to resume his post. Bly scrolled through the contacts on his HUD before landing on [bitesized].

[connected]

"Why the kriff are you here, how do you know I am here and how did manage to leave 000 without a chaincode trail.."

"Sorry Bly.. I didn't exactly plan on leaving Coruscant, really! But it was either playing stow away on that shitty G9 rigger or letting the Weequay who knocked Ponds out vanish into space.. Also I can see your markings from three levels above with how low the suns are. It looks pretty."

"Kid you're supposed to call Fox or whoever is available planetside when something happens! You must not go after someone thrice your size while you're unarmed and on probation!"

"It's kinda hard to call someone who is unconscious."

"Boba.."

"I promise I had nothing to do with it! The idiot clearly misjudged the dosage he used to drug Fox cause he is still out cold. We're currently alone in here. I can't get closer but I can't see any blood on him or any major injury.. though it's hard to tell with that kriffing red armor. Wait.. hold on a seond. I think Fox is waking up."

[disconnected]

[open channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

5052: Boba is with Fox <103:09>

5052: Fox is one of the hostages I am supposed to retrieve <103:17>

...

3636: who is wearing Fox armor at my General's meeting with the Chancellor

[attached holocall_100:44] <105:58>

Even though he's beyond tired Thire instantly clocks that Wolffe's miniscule head tilt means the Commander of the 104th realized he's just a stand in pretending to be Fox. Thire's posture doesn't change at all.

Also thinking about Fox red armor hiding blood stains all to well. Clones helping clones and eventually saving themselves is my brand of happy rn

Fox is trading classified information and his brothers indulge the high prices probably because they love him

Even though they barely saw him, Fox was actually the most sought after little brother in the command batch for several reasons:

Not only was he still adorable to his barely older brothers as they still noticed the same stubborn curl of hair not sticking to the regulation style and the curiosity fueling every very intentional move under all his gruff and overworked exterior, he was also the most experienced in solving civil conflicts.

Contrary to the GAR being deployed wherever necessary, his corps stationed on Cruscant dealt with living (in most cases) breathing sentients of all shapes, forms and in various states of coexisting on a day to day basis. The Corries might not have been as efficient in fighting clankers, couldn't identify the typical formations and moves as fast, but much like their Marshall Commander they were patient and exceptionally well trained in reading social context clues.

Subsequently they were the clones with the vastest knowledge on how to not offend, peacefully interact with and even more importantly protect civilians. The Corries operated on a completely different scale when it came to navigating politically or culturally charged conflicts. One could say what Fox lacked in social skills needed to bond on a personal level, he made up for tenfold on a professional level. He keept tabs on everyone who owed him a favor and never ever ended up in debt to a brother. This put him in a position of being able to unofficially request parts of the other corps' rations and medical supplies even though he was the one who should have the easiest access to all resources available to the clone army.

Bacara has been watching this spiel go on for almost two years by now. He's one of the few who had only dealt in the Guard's currency of datachits for physical resources once. Information about the Outer Dim was hard to come by even for the Guard. He's also sure he paid a bit more than strictly necessary. Sure, it had been his own fault for not striking a better deal, but he wondered if the other commanders were actually oblivious to Fox subtle manipulation tactics or if they just liked him enough to indulge his antics. It's not like Fox was unlikeable. He never asked for truly unreasonable amounts in exchange for admittedly very valuable and not seldom crucial information on their next mission targets. But the Corries still took all they could get.

The Marshall Commander of the Galactic Marines was pretty sure the Guard got their info by spying on the Senators. He and Neyo mused their brothers on Coruscant had to be pretty close to some of the biggest assholes in the galaxy to be privy to those details. No politician would be dumb enough to carelessly discuss highly confidential tactics and locations in the corridors of the Senate building or the official meetings their brothers guarded, right? After all the Corries were no aides expected to be present all the time to bend to the Senator's every wishes, they only provided security where necessary.

Bacara wasn't very close to any of the commanders and wouldn't consider them friends per se, except for Neyo. The 21st was currently on their first and very limited shore leave after more than eleven months in the Outer Rim. His troops only returned to Coruscant for a classified mission for Mundi to run planetside. They all respected their General, but nobody was really interested in the Jedi duties the Cerean cited for their impromptu stay. What his men were actually interested in was stocking up on perishable and therefore rarely available foods and getting a drink at 79's. So that's where he currently found himself nursing some spotchka in a small booth in a corner. Nobody would dare to cause serious trouble and risk ending up in the drunk tanks or worse confined to their own cots back on the ship as long as he's present.

Their leave to Coruscant was scheduled on short notice. He didn't tell the other commanders about it because they wouldn't be at the homefront long enough to organize a meet up for batchers from different corps anyways.

So Bacara didn't expect to see anyone tonight. But even in the half darkness of the bar the very distinctive red of the local Marshall Commander's armor caught his eye instantly. Bacara was well aware the Guard always knee who was staying on Coruscant (he was pretty sure Fox also knew exactly where the others' deployments led them to and who of the commanders was currently sporting an injury grave enough to be reported to their medics and for what reason).

Fox seemed to notice him as well but took his time talking to a natborn Bacara didn't recognize nor care for before sauntering over to the only other clone still wearing a full kit except for the buckets. Bacara resigned himself to a conversation undoubtedly more suited to be held with a sober mindset but seeing the glasses the red armored man carried and the three empty glasses already stacked on his table it was a little late for that, wasn't it?

"Commander, it's a pleasure to see you and your men in our humble abode after such a long time."

Fox voice was smooth and even though he looked exhausted his smile actually reached his eyes. That's not something Bacara had seen often on his fellow Marshall Commander. He's also sporting some barely noticable fine scars and Bacara can't tell for sure what caused those.

"I'll make sure my men won't bother you. We're only planetside for two days anyways."

Fox nodded as he held out both glasses for Bacara to chose from. For a split moment his hands seemed to be a bit unsteady but maybe Bacara's eyes played tricks on him in the dim lights of the bar because the movement was gone in the blink of an eye. He took the smaller drink and held the glass out for a cheer. Fox clinked their glasses but instead of the usual Mando'a used by the commanders he cheered in crisp Concordian.

Bacara blinked. Oh so that's why everyone happily played along with Fox little games. That cold hearted idiot actually cared about them. So even the rational leader of the Galactic Marines being well aware of Fox coaxing him into a slightly unbalanced deal couldn't find it in him to say no too much. Nobody needed to know that he also decided to join the line of GAR commanders sending the Guard even more supplies than they asked for.

I don't know if Concordian actually has a different word for Mando'a "K'oyacyi" and if the Journeyman Protector training Bacara would have any incentive to use it in front of cadets but in this AU Bacara feels valued by Fox acknowledging his ever so slightly different cultural background as well as giving him the opportunity which drink to chose

Parenting difficulty ranking by Alpha-17

Wolffe

Fox

Bly

Cody

Ponds

Parenting difficulty ranking by the batch

Boba

Boba Fett

Boba Fett, alias CT-1313

Boba Fett, alias CT-1313, angry feral much too clever child with access to too many weapons

Rex

While every brother chose a name to have just for themselves and to distinguish themselves from each other, Boba chose a designation number to have something in common with his brothers and to blend in

Everyone has a special talent they are admired for but Fox just keeps pretending

Fox may not have Cody's brilliant tactical mind, Wolffe's great resilience, Bly's incredible adaptability or Pond's patient emotional genius, but all CCs - to a certain extent - shared qualities that enabled them to inspire brothers to follow them into any battle. They didn't brag about it but over the course of the war the GAR clearly noticed their commanders and ranking officers excelling in difficult missions, paving new ways by taking personal risks and eventually creating methods better than reg standards.

Fox batchers were aware nobody could outmatch him in his directional subtlety. Other would have called him manipulative but that didn't sit right with them. He used his talent to support his brothers, not to harm them. The batch knew their youngest brother was always able to catch what went unnoticed by others but they didn't always realize he could also hide anything in plain sight.

His ability to pretend was a gift morphing into a curse. Fox pretended to punish troopers ruthlessly while actually saving them from greater harm that could not be undone. It slowly turned into the GAR believing the Guard's Marshall Commander was a heartless und cruel Fierfek. Fox welcomed this portrayal to keep as many brothers as far away from the Guard's grounds as possible. His fellow Guard commanders started feeding into the narrative by joining forces with him and stripping their men of their individual armor paints. Better to keep everyone away from 000 and endure the hostility of the ones you were designated to protect on your own.

During the first year of the war his brothers tried to counteract the rumors spreading about Fox and his Guard. They knew him as a sensible and protective brother so there had to be reasoning to his actions. Fox didn't bother to elaborate. The constant deployments kept the batch apart and messages from the front lines became few and far in between.

Fox hadn't been in contact with the GAR outside of official business for months now. Until news of his oldest brother being shot by a cadet pinged on his comm. The whole incident was kept off the datapads so he wasn't able to read up any additional info. Fox felt an icicle lodge into his trachea. He rushed to the healing wards as he was ordered to accompany General Windu safely back and forth between checking on his units and talking to the Chancellor.

General Windu was whispering to a healer from the Jedi temple who he seemed to have been put in charge of taking care of his heavily injured commander. Standing in front of the bacta tank was a cadet in non standard clothing, his shoulders set straight under the thick robes and his face turned up towards the lifeless face distorted by the gelatinous healing substance. Reflected in the thick glass Fox noticed a familiar blank stare and lips set into a thin line. The cadet was clearly pretending to not be affected by looking into the face of a practically dead brother. What was he doing here, alone and away from his brigade?

General Windu turned towards the Guard and signed for them to wait for further instructions. They saluted in perfect synch and kept their position. Behind his helmet Fox eyes drifted to the figure suspended in bacta. His heart rate was dangerously slow, his usual exhaustion drowned by the anguish crawling up his spine trying to claw its way out through his clenched teeth and part his lips. When was the last time he had seen his brother face to face?

The hole inside his chest kept growing and churning and he barely kept it beneath the surface when running on no sleep and food, only caf. However, there was no use in dwelling on past decisions and paths diverging. He didn't regret keeping his batch mates away. Fox knew with them around the smallest outwardly shown signs could endanger their carefully crafted image, his brothers weren't dumb and maybe the Jedi were actually as perceptive as he was led to believe by reports and talks inside of the GAR.

So Fox pretended to be indifferent. He was okay. As the Head of the Jedi Order eventually started moving towards them and addressed Fox personally with unprompted reassurance of his brother being in the most capable hands, the Marshall Commander only thanked him formally and on behalf of the clones for going beyond standard measures to save Republic property. Windu seemed taken aback before swiftly moving out of the healing wards without sparing another look at the Guard falling in step behind him. Fox didn't look back at the two brothers staying behind. He still felt the heavy stare at the back of his bucket. Everything was fine.

Ponds definitely would have picked up on the atypical stiffness in Fox' gait, but his oldest brother might not call him out on his bluffs ever again.

I'm not sure about this drabble as it took a different direction than I intended. It also doesn't properly convey the desperation of reaching your goal of keeping as many people as possible safe from harm at the expanse of your own safety net

A hidden reference

*Commanders are having a holocall, discussing the design of their P2 armour.*

Gree: It seems that Corries have decided to make the most radical changes in their armour design.

Thorn: Oh yeah, and we have put many hidden ideas into that.

Rex: Do these lines on your helmets refer to you, Fox, Stone and Thire as four Commanders of the Guard?

Thorn: Exactly.

Cody: And what do these two lines on your bicep plates mean?

Thorn, smirking: Oh, this is my favourite part. It's a hidden reference to the facial tattoos of our general. Fox's idea.

Bly: What?!

Cody: Since when the Guard has a Jedi?

Thorn: Who said it was about a Jedi?

Wolffe: Fox, explain the shit that Thorn has just said.

Fox: Uh... guys, I think I should go, see you next time!

*Fox disconnects*

Thorn, after a few seconds of silence: Guys, help. You can't see this but Fox has a look on his face like he's going to shoot me right now.

*The idea of this explanation for these lines is NOT mine, I think it appeared in the «Perception» by @amukmuk for the fist time.

**But the idea of explanation for the four lines on Fox's an Thorn's helmet is mine)

Love them.

The exact image of Bacara I have in mind

Commander Bacara and Commander Neyo, just two chill dudes chilling.