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Title: In Time It Always Mends
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters/Pairings: Kallus/Zeb, Rex/Rau
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alex manages to get aboard the Ghost before Jacen takes off. They go to Scarif where a ten year old Chirrut is calling for help. The planet is whole and everyone who died there is suddenly alive, but they're also children. The Rebellion's just won at Endor, how will they handle this new crisis? Kid Fic.
A/N: Written for the Kalluzeb Mini Bang. Thank you to MapleOwl18 for the beta and for coming up with Zeb's pet name for Alex. Thank you to mistr3ssquickly, it's been great working with you!
Warning: Crosshair is written as having some disordered eating habits. This is quickly recognized and watched out for by the adults in the group.
Chapter 1:
Alex knows he and Zeb get married just before the mission on Endor because neither one of them wants to enter what could easily turn into another Scarif without being married. They're not the only ones. Part of it is that if they die they want to be married first, mostly because they want to be married, though this also makes it easier for a spouse to claim possession of personal effects.
It’s a quick wedding, done between planning meetings for Endor. Hera officiates. Sabine and Rex are their witnesses.
They survive. They win at Endor. There's a huge party.
Hera somehow gets Solo to admit that the Ghost is better than the Falcon. Rex and Luke finally seem to shed their awkwardness around each other. Lando somehow doesn't stick his foot in his mouth when talking to Hera. Ahsoka shows up and doesn't leave right away.
He and Zeb are talking about taking a honeymoon on Lothal.
The Rebellion still needs to take Coruscant and hopefully imprison, but most likely kill, whichever higher-up steps in to take the Emperor's role. They're all very thankful Thrawn isn't around.
The Ghost crew is hopeful they can focus on finding Ezra soon.
Then Hera decides Endor is a safe enough place for Jacen to meet Luke. Alex isn't sure that the fact that Jacen would be thrilled to meet the Ewoks isn't half the reason Hera goes to get him. When they land Jacen refuses to get off the ship, so Hera steps off her ship shaking her head at her stubborn son and comms Luke while looking at the surrounding forest to let him know where to meet them. Alex watches with trepidation as Chopper appears at the top of the ramp and the ship’s gangway begins to rise without its captain. Alex throws himself forward and up, as the ramp closes on Hera’s protest, “Jacen Kanan Syndulla, you lower that ramp right now!”
The Ghost is already taking off. Alex makes his way to the cockpit, not sure if Jacen is being kidnapped or if Imperials have taken over Chopper. Maybe that isn't Chopper? What if that's an Imperial droid with a convincing paint job? Does that mean that the location Hera last hid Jacen is compromised? The droid arguing with Hera and Jacen sounds like Chopper.
As he steps onto the bridge it's in time to overhear Luke Skywalker say over the comms, "You can't really argue with the Force."
"I'll argue with my five year old about turning my ship around," Hera retorts. "If the Force wants something then there are three whole adults who…"
She stops. They all know Luke went through something on the Death Star. He needs time to recover. Alex isn't sure he'd call Glitch a responsible adult. And Ahsoka, well Ahsoka would probably be more helpful in this situation than Alex.
"Chopper, get back here," Hera finishes, changing tactics.
Alex glances at the coordinates. Jacen looks up at him with determination on his face as he reaches for the lever to put the ship into hyperspace.
"Not yet kiddo," Alex encourages. "Hera, we're heading to Scarif."
"We'll meet you there," Zeb reassures.
Alex sighs. Good. He won't be left alone with Jacen and Chopper for long. He likes both of them, but he’s certain he's not the best babysitter.
"We can follow in the Falcon," Luke offers.
"We'll be there shortly," Hera agrees.
"You're not flying my ship!" Solo protests.
"Han," Luke starts to admonish.
"I can fly," Calrissian volunteers.
"It's my ship!" Han argues. "Syndulla! Wait!"
There's a bit of a squabble that Alex can't make out. Jacen giggles and then launches them into hyperspace. Alex runs a hand over his face. He kneels down until he's eye to eye with Jacen. "What's on Scarif?"
"Someone who needs help, " Jacen tells him, face suddenly serious.
Alex grimaces. He's not sure there's much left to Scarif. Maybe there's a ship?
"You need anything?" Alex asks.
Jacen shakes his head. Alex sighs, trying to ignore the trepidation that's settling in his gut.
When they come out of hyperspace Scarif is just there: startling in how whole it is. Alex fought in that battle on the Ghost. He saw the Death Star fire on the planet. He saw the reports afterwards, of what the likely devastation would be. He volunteered to be on the rescue team in case there was somehow someone left to rescue. There wasn’t. The last time he was here there was a crater in the planet and it was projected to destabilize in a similar manner to Jedha. Is this something to do with the many experiments hidden on Scarif or is this just how the Death Star works? He doubts this is how the Death Star works. This is still going to hurt Leia and anyone else that lost Alderaan. It’ll also hurt anyone who got off Jedha before it finished its slow deconstruction.
“They’re down there,” Jacen tells him, his small face filling with determination again.
“Alright,” Alex says. “Let me land?”
Jacen scrambles over to the copilot’s seat and lets Alex take the pilot’s seat. Then Jacen backseat drives until Alex is at the landing platform he wants. There are people down there. It’s impossible. It’s not till they’ve landed that Alex realizes the people he’s catching glimpses of are children.
Three of them wait at the edge of the landing platform. Surrounded by Scarif’s famous sun soaked tropical trees and white sand beaches. Alex stops Jacen from running past with a hand. “Wait.”
Jacen frowns. “He called me here.”
“And you’re going to give me a moment to study them and find extra weapons before we even think of leaving the ship,” Alex explains.
“My mom upgraded Chopper’s weapon system.”
“I want weapons for me,” Alex clarifies.
Jacen huffs, but settles back on his heels and waits while Alex studies the three children waiting for them. They’re older than Jacen, but not teenagers yet. One looks a lot like Chirrut Imwe and the other is practically the spitting image of Baze Malbus, well minus the beard. The third is unmistakably a clone. Alex checks to see if the Millennium Falcon is in orbit yet. It’s not. He hopes Rex or Glitch came with them. Wolffe and Wildfire are on Lothal. He’s actually not sure where Glitch is. Alex doesn’t have clearance to know what Hunter's group is up to.Rex was on Endor, hopefully Rex will be here soon. Are there new clones here? Or did he hit his head? The planet somehow coming back with everyone who died here suddenly children just doesn’t make sense.
“Uncle Sasha?” Jacen asks.
“I’m really confused right now,” Alex admits. Then he shakes his head and turns to look at Jacen. “You’ve been hanging out with Plourr again.”
Jacen grins. Alex snorts. Plourr occasionally tries to convince him that he and Zeb should settle on Eiattu 6 when they retire from the Rebellion. Zeb just tells her he has other plans for them. Alex knows he should be curious about those plans, but living till the end of the war seemed impossible so he always just said he’d follow Zeb. Besides the only living relative he’s got left on Eiattu 6, who wasn’t fully entrenched in being an Imperial, has made it clear she doesn’t trust Alex and he isn’t welcome. If he does go it’d be to visit Plourr, not to upset his cousin with his presence. Eiattu 6 isn’t the place for him and Zeb, besides Plourr and Zeb get into less bar fights if they aren’t spending time together. Alex is relatively certain the aristocracy of Eiattu 6 wouldn't appreciate their long lost ruler getting into bar fights.
Alex double checks his knives and his blasters before unlocking one of the Ghost’s lockboxes and getting another blaster. Jacen stays impatiently by the ramp. At least once they’re off the ship Jacen doesn’t run ahead, even if he’s practically vibrating with anticipation.
“Chirrut, that’s a child!” the child who looks like Baze, who is actually likely Baze Malbus, scolds.
“He brought an adult with him,” the child Alex suspects is a clone, points out. He’s got a scar down his forehead that curves around his left eye. Alex frowns.
“You’re here!” Chirrut greets.
“Hi,” Jacen says. “I’m Jacen Syndulla. That's Chopper and this is my Uncle Sasha.”
“Chirrut Imze,” Chirrut informs them. “And this is Baze Malbus and Cody.”
“A child,” Baze complains. “You insisted on trying to get someone here without using the equipment and you asked a child to rescue us?"
“It’s still pretty impressive,” Cody tempers.
“It’s only impressive if there weren’t adults available,” Baze grumbles.
“I have food,” Jacen offers. “We hadn’t unloaded it yet.”
“We do need food,” Cody points out.
"There aren't a lot of adults available," Alex admits.
Cody frowns at him in confusion. Baze bites his lip and looks at his feet. Chirrut nods face going grave as he admits, "The universe feels very empty compared to how I'm used to it feeling."
Cody turns a startled look towards Chirrut. “You didn’t say!”
“There was nothing to say,” Chirrut points out as he leans on his staff. “I needed to learn more first.”
Baze shifts to look around Chirrut at Cody. "It wouldn’t have changed anything about our situation."
Alex frowns, then glances at Cody and finds himself wondering about chips and how they can check. "Are there any other clones?"
Baze frowns, stepping forward to put himself between them and his friends. "Why are you asking?"
Alex gentles his tone. "To keep everyone safe."
Baze nods.
"He feels protective," Chirrut encourages as he leans forward into Baze.
"I'm not so sure," Baze says cautiously.
"They're Guardian of the Whills," Alex tells Cody.
"In training to be Guardians," Baze corrects.
"In training," Alex agrees. "And Jacen is force sensitive, but none of them are Jedi."
Cody’s brow wrinkles, then he asks with suspicion in his tone, "Why is that distinction important?"
"Actually I…" Chirrut starts, but Baze elbows him. Chirrut wrinkles his nose and tilts his head. Baze huffs.
"It's important for now," Alex says, not sure how he's going to explain until they can get a doctor here or at least a med droid. Should they keep Luke off the planet until all the clones here have had their chips removed? They might all be children, but they're enhanced, highly trained children. Wait, are they all children? He might be making assumptions because of the three de-aged people in front of him.
"There's me, Stone, Sinker, and Bly," Cody tells him. "We can't figure out what this exercise is or how we'll get back to Kamino with so many civilian children to look after, though Bodhi did say we're supposed to be adults. Is he right?"
Jacen turns to Alex with wide eyes, then glances back at Cody, then looks back at Alex. "Is he that Cody?"
Alex isn't sure who to answer first especially when his heart rate picks up at the mention of Bodhi Rook. It'd taken them too long to find Jyn Erso and get her to agree to get Bodhi away from Saw. No, Alex can't fool himself: Jyn was sent in to get the information her father sent and rescuing Bodhi was a positive side effect of her completing that mission. Still, he wishes they'd found her sooner.
“I don’t know,” Alex answers Jacen honestly. There might be more than one clone named Cody and what are the odds that this child in front of him is also the Cody who meant a lot to Rex? Alex suddenly wishes Zeb was already here. Being the only adult in an impossible scenario is slightly overwhelming. Well no, it’s a lot overwhelming, but he’s shoving that feeling aside because he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt Jacen or Chirrut. Maybe he needs to worry about what Baze can pick up too?
Baze snorts.
“That Cody?” Cody repeats. “Do I want to know what you mean?”
“My Uncle Rex…” Jacen starts.
Cody moves forwards, swiftly. One moment he’s standing still and in almost the next breath he’s standing right in front of Jacen and it takes everything in Alex to not haul Jacen away because Cody’s not safe until he’s had his chip removed, but he’s also a confused child who isn’t trying to hurt Jacen.
“Rex? You know Rex? If he…what do you mean uncle?” Cody trails off, then tilts his head back and frowns at the sky.
Alex turns his head and confirms. “Our friends are here. They’ll have more supplies and we’ll get everything sorted and everyone figured out. Are there any adults here?”
“No, we’re all kids,” Cody says.
"You didn't answer Cody’s question," Baze points out. "Are we supposed to be adults?"
"It would make sense," Chirrut puts in. "They almost seemed to imply it."
"It's a yes or no question," Baze grumbles.
Cody adds his thoughts, but it's impossible to hear him over the Millennium Falcon landing. Alex glances at the ship. When he looks back both Cody and Baze have moved to stand in front of Chirrut. Jacen is in front of Cody, holding his hands and leaning in.
“My family and their friends are here. We’ll help you,” Jacen reassures.
Alex debates leaving Jacen here while he goes on the ship to warn the others of what they’ll find here, but he’s not sure how safe that is or how unsafe Hera will feel it is. Will Cody, Baze, and Chirrut feel safe if he disappears on the ship with Jacen? Likely not. With that in mind, as soon as the ship finishes landing, Alex comms them. "Don't come out yet. I don't want to overwhelm them. I've been informed everyone here is children."
"Do they know what happened?" Leia asks.
"Is Jacen safe?" Hera cuts in.
"I'm fine," Jacen calls out.
"There are four clones. They're all children," Alex continues.
"How?" Rex questions. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I know," Alex acknowledges. "I'm standing here with child versions of Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, and Cody. They've mentioned Bodhi Rook said that they should be adults. Cody says the other clones here besides him are Stone, Sinker, and Bly."
"Can you repeat those names?" Rex requests his voice betraying a slight waver. Alex does. Rex thanks him and then advises Luke to stay on the ship. The comm shuts off. The first two people off the ship are Hera and Rex, with Leia, Han, and Lando behind them. Where’s Zeb? Alex would feel better if he knew he had Zeb to rely on.
Hera grabs Jacen’s hand and leads him a short distance away so she can kneel down and talk to him about safety and planning. Rex and Cody stare at one another. Rex scrubs a hand over his beard before carefully kneeling in front of Cody.
“It’s Rex,” he tells Cody. Cody shakes his head slowly, eyes wide.
“You’re so tall. I’m supposed to be older,” Cody tells him.
“I know,” Rex reassures. “I’m just happy you’re okay.”
Cody steps close, reaching out to take Rex’s hands. He looks down at them, then back at Rex’s face. “We all think it should be a different year and Bodhi said we’re supposed to be adults. You’re supposed to be younger than me. How am I supposed to be the older brother if you’re not younger than me?”
“The important thing is that we’re both safe,” Rex tells him.
Cody nods. “This isn’t a weird training mission?”
“No,” Rex answers.
“W-We aren't going to get in trouble?” Cody asks, voice hesitant. “Jango isn’t going to…or one of the other trainers...”
“Jango’s dead,” Rex tells him.
Cody sighs, shoulders relaxing slowly. Then he flings himself at Rex and hugs him tightly.
Alex feels himself relax as Zeb comes up behind him, resting one of his hands at the base of Alex’s spine. Alex leans into him. “Luke staying on the ship?”
Zeb nods before pressing a kiss to the side of his forehead. “It took a moment to convince him that’s safer.”
Alex watches as Leia crouches down to talk to Chirrut and Baze. He glances at both their ships. The supplies were for everyone staying on Endor, but they’ll likely be needed here too.
“It’s going to take time to figure out who’s here and what happened,” Alex says, planning, as he leans back into Zebs arms.
“We’ve already requested a med frigate,” Zeb informs him.
Alex nods. That will help. They can figure out who is actually here and what their needs are, as well as the best way to get the chips out of the clones. He watches as Leia stands, then takes Chirrut’s hand. He uses his staff to guide him, but keeps pace with her as the two of them and Baze head towards the Millennium Falcon.
After that it doesn’t take them long to send word out that everyone on Scarif should head towards their landing platform. This way they can catalog who’s here, if they have any urgent needs, and provide them with a meal.
“Cody doesn’t think Stone or Bly will come,” Rex informs him and Zeb. “Apparently they’re keeping Krennic and Jyn separated.”
“Krennic’s here,” Alex manages flatly.
Rex nods. He’s holding Cody’s hand and Cody is leaning into him.
“Jyn said he killed her mom and kidnapped her dad,” Cody says. “But we’re all kids and he doesn’t remember doing that.”
“Krennic’s a kid,” Zeb says, ears flattening.
Cody nods. “His name’s Orson.”
“We were going to go take them some food,” Rex says. “I was wondering if you two would come along in case we needed help.”
Alex nods. What are they going to do with a child version of the man who created the Death Star? It was easier when the project he organized had killed him. Alex doesn’t know how they’re going to handle him being alive and too young to remember the atrocities he’d participated in. Rex is right though, better to have extra sets of hands when they go to access the situation.
As Rex turns to get a pack of supplies Cody makes a hand signal. Rex immediately throws himself in front of Jacen and Hera. Chopper lets out a screaming whirl of swear words and rolls to the side of Jacen and Hera that Rex isn't protecting while pulling out several weapons. Artoo comes down the landing ramp of the Falcon whirling in distress while also pulling out weapons. Zeb reacts by pulling out his bow rifle. Hera and Lando draw blasters. Han crosses his arms. Not entirely sure what the danger is, Alex wraps himself around Cody, who squirms.
“Where’s the sniper Cody?” Rex asks, voice low and serious.
“I called him down,” Cody protests, still squirming.
Rex still looks tense so Alex doesn’t let go of Cody. Rex turns to look at Cody. “Who’s your sniper?”
“Crosshair.”
It’s then that Alex catches the movement of someone climbing down from the nearest tower. They’re about midway up, almost hidden by a cluster of palm trees. Cody squirms again and Alex lets him go as everyone starts holstering their weapons.
“You said there were four clones,” Rex points out.
“Wasn’t going to give Crosshair away.” Cody’s practically pouting, but unrepentant. Alex can’t stop thinking that he could’ve easily gotten himself or Jacen killed. Why didn’t Crosshair show up on the sensors? Why didn’t Chopper know he was there? Why didn’t he see him when he looked around?
It takes time for Crosshair to make his way over to them. Chopper and Artoo roll out to meet him and come back with him. Crosshair is tiny, almost a head shorter than Cody and thinner too. He's got gray hair, that's slightly longer than Cody's, and just starting to curl. He keeps glancing suspiciously at the droids, then the Millenium Falcon, then Jacen.
“That blaster rifle looks a bit big for you,” Zeb comments.
“Kickback on that’s got to hurt,” Lando puts in.
“It always hurts,” Crosshair says.
“Always? You used it?” Cody frowns.
“I had to sight it in,” Crosshair explains.
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Han comments as he heads back towards his ship.
“I’m getting Jacen on the Ghost,” Hera informs them. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I want to make friends!” Jacen protests.
“Jacen, let us organize and assess their needs first,” Rex encourages. Then he kneels down in front of Crosshair and asks for the rifle. Crosshair frowns at him, then glances at Cody.
“It’s Rex,” Cody says. “We can trust him.”
Crosshair lets Rex have his rifle. Rex thanks him and then starts disassembling it. He starts to hand the pieces to Chopper, then shakes his head and hands them to Artoo instead. Chopper rolls away, stating he's going to help Hera. Crosshair looks like he wants to protest, but he looks at Cody and then Rex without saying anything.
“How’d you hide from the scanners?” Alex asks.
“There’s a hidden platform about midway up,” Crosshair informs him. “It’s in the specs.”
“You found the specs?” Cody asks as he steps in front of Crosshair and starts unfastening his shirt.
Crosshair frowns at him. “You told me to find a good place to hide. It’s just a bruise.”
There are large dark bruises on both of Crosshair's shoulders. Rex grimaces. Cody bites his lip, eyebrows creasing in concern. Crosshair goes very still while looking at the ground with his lips pressing together.
“Oh kid,” Zeb says. Crosshair seems to shrink in on himself even more.
“I think everyone is just worried that you’re hurt,” Alex tries to reassure.
Lando steps close and lets out a sympathetic whistle.
“That’s really helping,” Han chides Lando as he makes his way back over with his first aid kit. He asks Cody to step back so he can get in.
“What are you going to do?” Cody asks.
Han raises his eyebrows, then glances at Lando, then Rex. Rex gives him an imploring look and then makes a ‘go on’ motion with his hand. Han sighs. “Bacta patches if I have them and if not I have a tub of bacta and some bandages in here so we’ll make some.”
Cody nods, then looks at Crosshair who just sighs. Cody steps back and Han kneels down. The Corellian shakes his head. “I’m Han, looks like you did a number on yourself kid.”
“Pain is just weakness leaving the body,” Crosshair tells him. Alex leans in when Zeb squeezes his hip.
Han’s face darkens as he opens the med kit. “Yeah. I remember getting taught that one too, but now you’re a kid so why don’t we work on having fun?”
Crosshair blinks at him before he says, voice soft, “I’m only supposed to shoot things and follow orders.”
“Who told you that?” Rex asks, voice low and dangerous.
Han peels open a bacta patch and holds it up to the bruise on Crosshair’s shoulder, before he grabs a pair of scissors and cuts it in half.
“There were holos,” Crosshair answers, looking past Han towards Rex. “I was an adult and the Kaminoans were doing something to make my chip more efficient.”
“Chip? What chip?” Cody asks. “You found proof we're supposed to be adults?”
“We haven’t gotten to discuss the chips with you yet,” Rex reassures as he gives Cody a sideway squeeze. Cody leans in against him. Han carefully fits the bacta patches over Crosshair’s bruises, then starts looking in his med kit again.
“The chips make sure we follow orders,” Crosshair says.
“What kind of orders?” Cody asks suspiciously.
Crosshair squeezes his eyes shut and his hands clench into fists. Cody makes a pained noise. Alex can feel Zeb bristling beside him.
"We don't want to accidentally activate the chips so why don't we save this discussion until we've had them removed," Rex suggests gently. "Crosshair…"
Rex trails off until Crosshair opens his eyes and looks at him. Then he continues, "I'm sorry to ask, but do you know if the Kaminoans experimented on anyone else?"
"They did the same procedure on Wolffe and Bly," Crosshair tells him. He takes a deep breath and clenches his fists again. "Then they tried it on humans, not us, not enhanced clones. They died."
"That had to be hard to watch," Zeb comments sympathetically.
Alex tilts his head to look at his husband in amazement. The intelligence agent side of his brain is loudly pointing out that they might have access to all the Imperial information stored on Scarif and while some of it will be outdated, a lot of it might give them an advantage when they inevitably have a battle for Coruscant and Zeb is worrying about Crosshair’s mental health. He wants to tell Zeb how amazing he is, but now isn't an appropriate time so he'll wait till later.
"Who do we need to make sure is on the med frigate?" Lando asks Rex.
"Glitch, he helped heal Wolffe enough we could get his chip out," Rex says. "Ahsoka and Chewbacca are following us. They should be here soon. If they get here after we head out, tell her it's safer to stay on her ship."
"Got it," Lando acknowledges before he heads towards the Millennium Falcon.
"Are you done?" Crosshair asks Han. "May I refasten my shirt?"
"I'm not done, but you can refasten your shirt," Han answers before he holds up a lollipop with a flourish, as if it’s just mysteriously appearing in his hand "Here, for putting up with getting patched up."
"What is it?" Crosshair wrinkles his nose as he narrows his eyes at the lollipop.
"Candy," Han tells him, pulling the wrapper off. "You suck on it and it's sweet."
"There meds in that?" Rex asks.
"No, the bacta should help with pain. It's just candy," Han reassures.
Crosshair glances at Cody, then the Millenium Falcon, then Han. "Can Cody have one?"
"Sure thing kid," Han promises as he holds out the lollipop. Crosshair takes it then watches solemnly as Han finds another lollipop, takes off the wrapper, then hands it to Cody.
Cody shoves it in his mouth, pulls it out, then reassures. "It's good."
Crosshair waits until Cody puts the lollipop back in his mouth before tentatively licking his. His eyes widen. "Thank you."
"Thank Chewie. He stocks the med kit."
Crosshair nods solemnly, then holds still as Han runs a scanner over him.
Han frowns down at the scanner results. “You said the med frigate is on the way, right?”
Rex rolls his eyes and leans in to look down at the med scanner. He blinks and his eyebrows raise.
Han tilts his head back. “I take it that’s not the norm for a clone?”
Zeb steps forward to put a reassuring hand on Crosshair’s back. “Han, don’t scare the kid.”
"I'm not scared," Crosshair lies mulishly before sticking the lollipop in his mouth.
Han gives Crosshair a grin. "Maybe Chewie just needs to recalibrate this thing."
Crosshair scowls around his lollipop.
"Scan Cody," Rex suggests. Alex nods his agreement with that idea, comparing results might tell them if there is something going on with Crosshair or all the clones, maybe all the children. Cody steps closer to Han and stands solemnly still as Han runs the scanner over him.
"Med frigate should be here soon," Han tries.
Rex blows out a breath, "Just let me look at the results."
Han holds out the scanner, then looks down at Crosshair. "You hungry, kid?"
Crosshair pulls the lollipop out of his mouth to inform Han, "I eat the same rations as everyone else."
Then he shoves the lollipop back into his mouth.
Rex frowns at the scanner. Cody leans into him and Rex absent-mindedly runs his fingers through Cody’s hair. Rex sighs.
“What is it?” Cody asks.
Han opens his mouth, then looks at the worried look on both Cody’s and Rex’s faces and closes his mouth.
“This can’t do an as in depth level of scan that we’ll be able to get when we take you to the med frigate,” Rex tempers. “This initial scan seems to indicate that Crosshair’s metabolism is higher.”
“What does that mean?” Cody pushes.
Crosshair frowns around the stick of his lollipop, but doesn’t seem to be paying attention to them as he stares at the Millenium Falcon.
“It just means he needs to eat more food to stay healthy,” Rex answers.
“Crosshair,” Cody says trying to get Crosshair’s attention. When Crosshair looks at him he continues. “You didn’t say you were hungry?”
Crosshair frowns. “We had limited supplies and a lot of civilians that needed to eat first.”
“We’ve got plenty of supplies now,” Zeb reassures, giving Crosshair’s shoulder a squeeze.
Crosshair leans into Zeb as he tells Cody. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m always hungry. That’s normal.”
“No kid, it’s not,” Han sighs, before he gives Rex an incredulous look. “I knew they treated us like crap when we joined, but you clones really got the short end of the stick, huh?”
“What?” Cody glares. Crosshair goes completely still.
Rex rubs Cody’s back. “That’s just Han trying to be sympathetic. He’s bad mouthing the way the Kamoians treated us like property.”
“Oh,” Cody says, frowning up at Rex. Crosshair still looks tense. Alex isn’t sure what to say to break the tension.
“Hey Crosshair,” Zeb distracts. “How about I put you on my shoulders?”
Crosshair leans back to look up at Zeb’s face. “You’re so tall.”
“Probably the tallest one here, well until Chewbacca gets here. It okay to pick you up?”
Crosshair considers this for a moment then nods his head. Then he lets Zeb tell him how to put his arms and his legs as Zeb picks him up and settles him on his shoulders. Crosshair immediately relaxes, making a sound of happiness.
“Snipers like to be high up, don’t they?” Zeb encourages, with a pat to Crosshair’s calf.
“Yes, this is better,” Crosshair agrees.
“Just wait till you meet Chewie kid,” Han puts in.
Cody is still frowning at Han, with the occasional glare, while Rex tries to subtly stay between them. Alex looks at the scanner Rex is still holding. “Han, I don’t know how much data your scanner will keep, but do you think you could get some preliminary scans of the kids, so we can figure out who the med frigate needs to see first?”
Han nods and takes the scanner from Rex, then the two of them head over to where Leia and Lando are opening supplies that Artoo and Chopper have helped them bring down. As they talk Cody tries to introduce Crosshair to them and Alex wonders if Jacen calling him Uncle Sasha means that the kids are all going to think his name is Sasha. Then Cody doesn’t know Zeb’s name.
“It’s Garazeb, but you can call me Zeb,” Zeb informs him.
Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4]
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters/Pairings: Kallus/Zeb, Rex/Rau
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Alex manages to get aboard the Ghost before Jacen takes off. They go to Scarif where a ten year old Chirrut is calling for help. The planet is whole and everyone who died there is suddenly alive, but they're also children. The Rebellion's just won at Endor, how will they handle this new crisis? Kid Fic.
A/N: Written for the Kalluzeb Mini Bang. Thank you to MapleOwl18 for the beta and for coming up with Zeb's pet name for Alex. Thank you to mistr3ssquickly, it's been great working with you!
Warning: Crosshair is written as having some disordered eating habits. This is quickly recognized and watched out for by the adults in the group.
Chapter 1:
Alex knows he and Zeb get married just before the mission on Endor because neither one of them wants to enter what could easily turn into another Scarif without being married. They're not the only ones. Part of it is that if they die they want to be married first, mostly because they want to be married, though this also makes it easier for a spouse to claim possession of personal effects.
It’s a quick wedding, done between planning meetings for Endor. Hera officiates. Sabine and Rex are their witnesses.
They survive. They win at Endor. There's a huge party.
Hera somehow gets Solo to admit that the Ghost is better than the Falcon. Rex and Luke finally seem to shed their awkwardness around each other. Lando somehow doesn't stick his foot in his mouth when talking to Hera. Ahsoka shows up and doesn't leave right away.
He and Zeb are talking about taking a honeymoon on Lothal.
The Rebellion still needs to take Coruscant and hopefully imprison, but most likely kill, whichever higher-up steps in to take the Emperor's role. They're all very thankful Thrawn isn't around.
The Ghost crew is hopeful they can focus on finding Ezra soon.
Then Hera decides Endor is a safe enough place for Jacen to meet Luke. Alex isn't sure that the fact that Jacen would be thrilled to meet the Ewoks isn't half the reason Hera goes to get him. When they land Jacen refuses to get off the ship, so Hera steps off her ship shaking her head at her stubborn son and comms Luke while looking at the surrounding forest to let him know where to meet them. Alex watches with trepidation as Chopper appears at the top of the ramp and the ship’s gangway begins to rise without its captain. Alex throws himself forward and up, as the ramp closes on Hera’s protest, “Jacen Kanan Syndulla, you lower that ramp right now!”
The Ghost is already taking off. Alex makes his way to the cockpit, not sure if Jacen is being kidnapped or if Imperials have taken over Chopper. Maybe that isn't Chopper? What if that's an Imperial droid with a convincing paint job? Does that mean that the location Hera last hid Jacen is compromised? The droid arguing with Hera and Jacen sounds like Chopper.
As he steps onto the bridge it's in time to overhear Luke Skywalker say over the comms, "You can't really argue with the Force."
"I'll argue with my five year old about turning my ship around," Hera retorts. "If the Force wants something then there are three whole adults who…"
She stops. They all know Luke went through something on the Death Star. He needs time to recover. Alex isn't sure he'd call Glitch a responsible adult. And Ahsoka, well Ahsoka would probably be more helpful in this situation than Alex.
"Chopper, get back here," Hera finishes, changing tactics.
Alex glances at the coordinates. Jacen looks up at him with determination on his face as he reaches for the lever to put the ship into hyperspace.
"Not yet kiddo," Alex encourages. "Hera, we're heading to Scarif."
"We'll meet you there," Zeb reassures.
Alex sighs. Good. He won't be left alone with Jacen and Chopper for long. He likes both of them, but he’s certain he's not the best babysitter.
"We can follow in the Falcon," Luke offers.
"We'll be there shortly," Hera agrees.
"You're not flying my ship!" Solo protests.
"Han," Luke starts to admonish.
"I can fly," Calrissian volunteers.
"It's my ship!" Han argues. "Syndulla! Wait!"
There's a bit of a squabble that Alex can't make out. Jacen giggles and then launches them into hyperspace. Alex runs a hand over his face. He kneels down until he's eye to eye with Jacen. "What's on Scarif?"
"Someone who needs help, " Jacen tells him, face suddenly serious.
Alex grimaces. He's not sure there's much left to Scarif. Maybe there's a ship?
"You need anything?" Alex asks.
Jacen shakes his head. Alex sighs, trying to ignore the trepidation that's settling in his gut.
When they come out of hyperspace Scarif is just there: startling in how whole it is. Alex fought in that battle on the Ghost. He saw the Death Star fire on the planet. He saw the reports afterwards, of what the likely devastation would be. He volunteered to be on the rescue team in case there was somehow someone left to rescue. There wasn’t. The last time he was here there was a crater in the planet and it was projected to destabilize in a similar manner to Jedha. Is this something to do with the many experiments hidden on Scarif or is this just how the Death Star works? He doubts this is how the Death Star works. This is still going to hurt Leia and anyone else that lost Alderaan. It’ll also hurt anyone who got off Jedha before it finished its slow deconstruction.
“They’re down there,” Jacen tells him, his small face filling with determination again.
“Alright,” Alex says. “Let me land?”
Jacen scrambles over to the copilot’s seat and lets Alex take the pilot’s seat. Then Jacen backseat drives until Alex is at the landing platform he wants. There are people down there. It’s impossible. It’s not till they’ve landed that Alex realizes the people he’s catching glimpses of are children.
Three of them wait at the edge of the landing platform. Surrounded by Scarif’s famous sun soaked tropical trees and white sand beaches. Alex stops Jacen from running past with a hand. “Wait.”
Jacen frowns. “He called me here.”
“And you’re going to give me a moment to study them and find extra weapons before we even think of leaving the ship,” Alex explains.
“My mom upgraded Chopper’s weapon system.”
“I want weapons for me,” Alex clarifies.
Jacen huffs, but settles back on his heels and waits while Alex studies the three children waiting for them. They’re older than Jacen, but not teenagers yet. One looks a lot like Chirrut Imwe and the other is practically the spitting image of Baze Malbus, well minus the beard. The third is unmistakably a clone. Alex checks to see if the Millennium Falcon is in orbit yet. It’s not. He hopes Rex or Glitch came with them. Wolffe and Wildfire are on Lothal. He’s actually not sure where Glitch is. Alex doesn’t have clearance to know what Hunter's group is up to.Rex was on Endor, hopefully Rex will be here soon. Are there new clones here? Or did he hit his head? The planet somehow coming back with everyone who died here suddenly children just doesn’t make sense.
“Uncle Sasha?” Jacen asks.
“I’m really confused right now,” Alex admits. Then he shakes his head and turns to look at Jacen. “You’ve been hanging out with Plourr again.”
Jacen grins. Alex snorts. Plourr occasionally tries to convince him that he and Zeb should settle on Eiattu 6 when they retire from the Rebellion. Zeb just tells her he has other plans for them. Alex knows he should be curious about those plans, but living till the end of the war seemed impossible so he always just said he’d follow Zeb. Besides the only living relative he’s got left on Eiattu 6, who wasn’t fully entrenched in being an Imperial, has made it clear she doesn’t trust Alex and he isn’t welcome. If he does go it’d be to visit Plourr, not to upset his cousin with his presence. Eiattu 6 isn’t the place for him and Zeb, besides Plourr and Zeb get into less bar fights if they aren’t spending time together. Alex is relatively certain the aristocracy of Eiattu 6 wouldn't appreciate their long lost ruler getting into bar fights.
Alex double checks his knives and his blasters before unlocking one of the Ghost’s lockboxes and getting another blaster. Jacen stays impatiently by the ramp. At least once they’re off the ship Jacen doesn’t run ahead, even if he’s practically vibrating with anticipation.
“Chirrut, that’s a child!” the child who looks like Baze, who is actually likely Baze Malbus, scolds.
“He brought an adult with him,” the child Alex suspects is a clone, points out. He’s got a scar down his forehead that curves around his left eye. Alex frowns.
“You’re here!” Chirrut greets.
“Hi,” Jacen says. “I’m Jacen Syndulla. That's Chopper and this is my Uncle Sasha.”
“Chirrut Imze,” Chirrut informs them. “And this is Baze Malbus and Cody.”
“A child,” Baze complains. “You insisted on trying to get someone here without using the equipment and you asked a child to rescue us?"
“It’s still pretty impressive,” Cody tempers.
“It’s only impressive if there weren’t adults available,” Baze grumbles.
“I have food,” Jacen offers. “We hadn’t unloaded it yet.”
“We do need food,” Cody points out.
"There aren't a lot of adults available," Alex admits.
Cody frowns at him in confusion. Baze bites his lip and looks at his feet. Chirrut nods face going grave as he admits, "The universe feels very empty compared to how I'm used to it feeling."
Cody turns a startled look towards Chirrut. “You didn’t say!”
“There was nothing to say,” Chirrut points out as he leans on his staff. “I needed to learn more first.”
Baze shifts to look around Chirrut at Cody. "It wouldn’t have changed anything about our situation."
Alex frowns, then glances at Cody and finds himself wondering about chips and how they can check. "Are there any other clones?"
Baze frowns, stepping forward to put himself between them and his friends. "Why are you asking?"
Alex gentles his tone. "To keep everyone safe."
Baze nods.
"He feels protective," Chirrut encourages as he leans forward into Baze.
"I'm not so sure," Baze says cautiously.
"They're Guardian of the Whills," Alex tells Cody.
"In training to be Guardians," Baze corrects.
"In training," Alex agrees. "And Jacen is force sensitive, but none of them are Jedi."
Cody’s brow wrinkles, then he asks with suspicion in his tone, "Why is that distinction important?"
"Actually I…" Chirrut starts, but Baze elbows him. Chirrut wrinkles his nose and tilts his head. Baze huffs.
"It's important for now," Alex says, not sure how he's going to explain until they can get a doctor here or at least a med droid. Should they keep Luke off the planet until all the clones here have had their chips removed? They might all be children, but they're enhanced, highly trained children. Wait, are they all children? He might be making assumptions because of the three de-aged people in front of him.
"There's me, Stone, Sinker, and Bly," Cody tells him. "We can't figure out what this exercise is or how we'll get back to Kamino with so many civilian children to look after, though Bodhi did say we're supposed to be adults. Is he right?"
Jacen turns to Alex with wide eyes, then glances back at Cody, then looks back at Alex. "Is he that Cody?"
Alex isn't sure who to answer first especially when his heart rate picks up at the mention of Bodhi Rook. It'd taken them too long to find Jyn Erso and get her to agree to get Bodhi away from Saw. No, Alex can't fool himself: Jyn was sent in to get the information her father sent and rescuing Bodhi was a positive side effect of her completing that mission. Still, he wishes they'd found her sooner.
“I don’t know,” Alex answers Jacen honestly. There might be more than one clone named Cody and what are the odds that this child in front of him is also the Cody who meant a lot to Rex? Alex suddenly wishes Zeb was already here. Being the only adult in an impossible scenario is slightly overwhelming. Well no, it’s a lot overwhelming, but he’s shoving that feeling aside because he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt Jacen or Chirrut. Maybe he needs to worry about what Baze can pick up too?
Baze snorts.
“That Cody?” Cody repeats. “Do I want to know what you mean?”
“My Uncle Rex…” Jacen starts.
Cody moves forwards, swiftly. One moment he’s standing still and in almost the next breath he’s standing right in front of Jacen and it takes everything in Alex to not haul Jacen away because Cody’s not safe until he’s had his chip removed, but he’s also a confused child who isn’t trying to hurt Jacen.
“Rex? You know Rex? If he…what do you mean uncle?” Cody trails off, then tilts his head back and frowns at the sky.
Alex turns his head and confirms. “Our friends are here. They’ll have more supplies and we’ll get everything sorted and everyone figured out. Are there any adults here?”
“No, we’re all kids,” Cody says.
"You didn't answer Cody’s question," Baze points out. "Are we supposed to be adults?"
"It would make sense," Chirrut puts in. "They almost seemed to imply it."
"It's a yes or no question," Baze grumbles.
Cody adds his thoughts, but it's impossible to hear him over the Millennium Falcon landing. Alex glances at the ship. When he looks back both Cody and Baze have moved to stand in front of Chirrut. Jacen is in front of Cody, holding his hands and leaning in.
“My family and their friends are here. We’ll help you,” Jacen reassures.
Alex debates leaving Jacen here while he goes on the ship to warn the others of what they’ll find here, but he’s not sure how safe that is or how unsafe Hera will feel it is. Will Cody, Baze, and Chirrut feel safe if he disappears on the ship with Jacen? Likely not. With that in mind, as soon as the ship finishes landing, Alex comms them. "Don't come out yet. I don't want to overwhelm them. I've been informed everyone here is children."
"Do they know what happened?" Leia asks.
"Is Jacen safe?" Hera cuts in.
"I'm fine," Jacen calls out.
"There are four clones. They're all children," Alex continues.
"How?" Rex questions. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I know," Alex acknowledges. "I'm standing here with child versions of Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, and Cody. They've mentioned Bodhi Rook said that they should be adults. Cody says the other clones here besides him are Stone, Sinker, and Bly."
"Can you repeat those names?" Rex requests his voice betraying a slight waver. Alex does. Rex thanks him and then advises Luke to stay on the ship. The comm shuts off. The first two people off the ship are Hera and Rex, with Leia, Han, and Lando behind them. Where’s Zeb? Alex would feel better if he knew he had Zeb to rely on.
Hera grabs Jacen’s hand and leads him a short distance away so she can kneel down and talk to him about safety and planning. Rex and Cody stare at one another. Rex scrubs a hand over his beard before carefully kneeling in front of Cody.
“It’s Rex,” he tells Cody. Cody shakes his head slowly, eyes wide.
“You’re so tall. I’m supposed to be older,” Cody tells him.
“I know,” Rex reassures. “I’m just happy you’re okay.”
Cody steps close, reaching out to take Rex’s hands. He looks down at them, then back at Rex’s face. “We all think it should be a different year and Bodhi said we’re supposed to be adults. You’re supposed to be younger than me. How am I supposed to be the older brother if you’re not younger than me?”
“The important thing is that we’re both safe,” Rex tells him.
Cody nods. “This isn’t a weird training mission?”
“No,” Rex answers.
“W-We aren't going to get in trouble?” Cody asks, voice hesitant. “Jango isn’t going to…or one of the other trainers...”
“Jango’s dead,” Rex tells him.
Cody sighs, shoulders relaxing slowly. Then he flings himself at Rex and hugs him tightly.
Alex feels himself relax as Zeb comes up behind him, resting one of his hands at the base of Alex’s spine. Alex leans into him. “Luke staying on the ship?”
Zeb nods before pressing a kiss to the side of his forehead. “It took a moment to convince him that’s safer.”
Alex watches as Leia crouches down to talk to Chirrut and Baze. He glances at both their ships. The supplies were for everyone staying on Endor, but they’ll likely be needed here too.
“It’s going to take time to figure out who’s here and what happened,” Alex says, planning, as he leans back into Zebs arms.
“We’ve already requested a med frigate,” Zeb informs him.
Alex nods. That will help. They can figure out who is actually here and what their needs are, as well as the best way to get the chips out of the clones. He watches as Leia stands, then takes Chirrut’s hand. He uses his staff to guide him, but keeps pace with her as the two of them and Baze head towards the Millennium Falcon.
After that it doesn’t take them long to send word out that everyone on Scarif should head towards their landing platform. This way they can catalog who’s here, if they have any urgent needs, and provide them with a meal.
“Cody doesn’t think Stone or Bly will come,” Rex informs him and Zeb. “Apparently they’re keeping Krennic and Jyn separated.”
“Krennic’s here,” Alex manages flatly.
Rex nods. He’s holding Cody’s hand and Cody is leaning into him.
“Jyn said he killed her mom and kidnapped her dad,” Cody says. “But we’re all kids and he doesn’t remember doing that.”
“Krennic’s a kid,” Zeb says, ears flattening.
Cody nods. “His name’s Orson.”
“We were going to go take them some food,” Rex says. “I was wondering if you two would come along in case we needed help.”
Alex nods. What are they going to do with a child version of the man who created the Death Star? It was easier when the project he organized had killed him. Alex doesn’t know how they’re going to handle him being alive and too young to remember the atrocities he’d participated in. Rex is right though, better to have extra sets of hands when they go to access the situation.
As Rex turns to get a pack of supplies Cody makes a hand signal. Rex immediately throws himself in front of Jacen and Hera. Chopper lets out a screaming whirl of swear words and rolls to the side of Jacen and Hera that Rex isn't protecting while pulling out several weapons. Artoo comes down the landing ramp of the Falcon whirling in distress while also pulling out weapons. Zeb reacts by pulling out his bow rifle. Hera and Lando draw blasters. Han crosses his arms. Not entirely sure what the danger is, Alex wraps himself around Cody, who squirms.
“Where’s the sniper Cody?” Rex asks, voice low and serious.
“I called him down,” Cody protests, still squirming.
Rex still looks tense so Alex doesn’t let go of Cody. Rex turns to look at Cody. “Who’s your sniper?”
“Crosshair.”
It’s then that Alex catches the movement of someone climbing down from the nearest tower. They’re about midway up, almost hidden by a cluster of palm trees. Cody squirms again and Alex lets him go as everyone starts holstering their weapons.
“You said there were four clones,” Rex points out.
“Wasn’t going to give Crosshair away.” Cody’s practically pouting, but unrepentant. Alex can’t stop thinking that he could’ve easily gotten himself or Jacen killed. Why didn’t Crosshair show up on the sensors? Why didn’t Chopper know he was there? Why didn’t he see him when he looked around?
It takes time for Crosshair to make his way over to them. Chopper and Artoo roll out to meet him and come back with him. Crosshair is tiny, almost a head shorter than Cody and thinner too. He's got gray hair, that's slightly longer than Cody's, and just starting to curl. He keeps glancing suspiciously at the droids, then the Millenium Falcon, then Jacen.
“That blaster rifle looks a bit big for you,” Zeb comments.
“Kickback on that’s got to hurt,” Lando puts in.
“It always hurts,” Crosshair says.
“Always? You used it?” Cody frowns.
“I had to sight it in,” Crosshair explains.
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Han comments as he heads back towards his ship.
“I’m getting Jacen on the Ghost,” Hera informs them. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I want to make friends!” Jacen protests.
“Jacen, let us organize and assess their needs first,” Rex encourages. Then he kneels down in front of Crosshair and asks for the rifle. Crosshair frowns at him, then glances at Cody.
“It’s Rex,” Cody says. “We can trust him.”
Crosshair lets Rex have his rifle. Rex thanks him and then starts disassembling it. He starts to hand the pieces to Chopper, then shakes his head and hands them to Artoo instead. Chopper rolls away, stating he's going to help Hera. Crosshair looks like he wants to protest, but he looks at Cody and then Rex without saying anything.
“How’d you hide from the scanners?” Alex asks.
“There’s a hidden platform about midway up,” Crosshair informs him. “It’s in the specs.”
“You found the specs?” Cody asks as he steps in front of Crosshair and starts unfastening his shirt.
Crosshair frowns at him. “You told me to find a good place to hide. It’s just a bruise.”
There are large dark bruises on both of Crosshair's shoulders. Rex grimaces. Cody bites his lip, eyebrows creasing in concern. Crosshair goes very still while looking at the ground with his lips pressing together.
“Oh kid,” Zeb says. Crosshair seems to shrink in on himself even more.
“I think everyone is just worried that you’re hurt,” Alex tries to reassure.
Lando steps close and lets out a sympathetic whistle.
“That’s really helping,” Han chides Lando as he makes his way back over with his first aid kit. He asks Cody to step back so he can get in.
“What are you going to do?” Cody asks.
Han raises his eyebrows, then glances at Lando, then Rex. Rex gives him an imploring look and then makes a ‘go on’ motion with his hand. Han sighs. “Bacta patches if I have them and if not I have a tub of bacta and some bandages in here so we’ll make some.”
Cody nods, then looks at Crosshair who just sighs. Cody steps back and Han kneels down. The Corellian shakes his head. “I’m Han, looks like you did a number on yourself kid.”
“Pain is just weakness leaving the body,” Crosshair tells him. Alex leans in when Zeb squeezes his hip.
Han’s face darkens as he opens the med kit. “Yeah. I remember getting taught that one too, but now you’re a kid so why don’t we work on having fun?”
Crosshair blinks at him before he says, voice soft, “I’m only supposed to shoot things and follow orders.”
“Who told you that?” Rex asks, voice low and dangerous.
Han peels open a bacta patch and holds it up to the bruise on Crosshair’s shoulder, before he grabs a pair of scissors and cuts it in half.
“There were holos,” Crosshair answers, looking past Han towards Rex. “I was an adult and the Kaminoans were doing something to make my chip more efficient.”
“Chip? What chip?” Cody asks. “You found proof we're supposed to be adults?”
“We haven’t gotten to discuss the chips with you yet,” Rex reassures as he gives Cody a sideway squeeze. Cody leans in against him. Han carefully fits the bacta patches over Crosshair’s bruises, then starts looking in his med kit again.
“The chips make sure we follow orders,” Crosshair says.
“What kind of orders?” Cody asks suspiciously.
Crosshair squeezes his eyes shut and his hands clench into fists. Cody makes a pained noise. Alex can feel Zeb bristling beside him.
"We don't want to accidentally activate the chips so why don't we save this discussion until we've had them removed," Rex suggests gently. "Crosshair…"
Rex trails off until Crosshair opens his eyes and looks at him. Then he continues, "I'm sorry to ask, but do you know if the Kaminoans experimented on anyone else?"
"They did the same procedure on Wolffe and Bly," Crosshair tells him. He takes a deep breath and clenches his fists again. "Then they tried it on humans, not us, not enhanced clones. They died."
"That had to be hard to watch," Zeb comments sympathetically.
Alex tilts his head to look at his husband in amazement. The intelligence agent side of his brain is loudly pointing out that they might have access to all the Imperial information stored on Scarif and while some of it will be outdated, a lot of it might give them an advantage when they inevitably have a battle for Coruscant and Zeb is worrying about Crosshair’s mental health. He wants to tell Zeb how amazing he is, but now isn't an appropriate time so he'll wait till later.
"Who do we need to make sure is on the med frigate?" Lando asks Rex.
"Glitch, he helped heal Wolffe enough we could get his chip out," Rex says. "Ahsoka and Chewbacca are following us. They should be here soon. If they get here after we head out, tell her it's safer to stay on her ship."
"Got it," Lando acknowledges before he heads towards the Millennium Falcon.
"Are you done?" Crosshair asks Han. "May I refasten my shirt?"
"I'm not done, but you can refasten your shirt," Han answers before he holds up a lollipop with a flourish, as if it’s just mysteriously appearing in his hand "Here, for putting up with getting patched up."
"What is it?" Crosshair wrinkles his nose as he narrows his eyes at the lollipop.
"Candy," Han tells him, pulling the wrapper off. "You suck on it and it's sweet."
"There meds in that?" Rex asks.
"No, the bacta should help with pain. It's just candy," Han reassures.
Crosshair glances at Cody, then the Millenium Falcon, then Han. "Can Cody have one?"
"Sure thing kid," Han promises as he holds out the lollipop. Crosshair takes it then watches solemnly as Han finds another lollipop, takes off the wrapper, then hands it to Cody.
Cody shoves it in his mouth, pulls it out, then reassures. "It's good."
Crosshair waits until Cody puts the lollipop back in his mouth before tentatively licking his. His eyes widen. "Thank you."
"Thank Chewie. He stocks the med kit."
Crosshair nods solemnly, then holds still as Han runs a scanner over him.
Han frowns down at the scanner results. “You said the med frigate is on the way, right?”
Rex rolls his eyes and leans in to look down at the med scanner. He blinks and his eyebrows raise.
Han tilts his head back. “I take it that’s not the norm for a clone?”
Zeb steps forward to put a reassuring hand on Crosshair’s back. “Han, don’t scare the kid.”
"I'm not scared," Crosshair lies mulishly before sticking the lollipop in his mouth.
Han gives Crosshair a grin. "Maybe Chewie just needs to recalibrate this thing."
Crosshair scowls around his lollipop.
"Scan Cody," Rex suggests. Alex nods his agreement with that idea, comparing results might tell them if there is something going on with Crosshair or all the clones, maybe all the children. Cody steps closer to Han and stands solemnly still as Han runs the scanner over him.
"Med frigate should be here soon," Han tries.
Rex blows out a breath, "Just let me look at the results."
Han holds out the scanner, then looks down at Crosshair. "You hungry, kid?"
Crosshair pulls the lollipop out of his mouth to inform Han, "I eat the same rations as everyone else."
Then he shoves the lollipop back into his mouth.
Rex frowns at the scanner. Cody leans into him and Rex absent-mindedly runs his fingers through Cody’s hair. Rex sighs.
“What is it?” Cody asks.
Han opens his mouth, then looks at the worried look on both Cody’s and Rex’s faces and closes his mouth.
“This can’t do an as in depth level of scan that we’ll be able to get when we take you to the med frigate,” Rex tempers. “This initial scan seems to indicate that Crosshair’s metabolism is higher.”
“What does that mean?” Cody pushes.
Crosshair frowns around the stick of his lollipop, but doesn’t seem to be paying attention to them as he stares at the Millenium Falcon.
“It just means he needs to eat more food to stay healthy,” Rex answers.
“Crosshair,” Cody says trying to get Crosshair’s attention. When Crosshair looks at him he continues. “You didn’t say you were hungry?”
Crosshair frowns. “We had limited supplies and a lot of civilians that needed to eat first.”
“We’ve got plenty of supplies now,” Zeb reassures, giving Crosshair’s shoulder a squeeze.
Crosshair leans into Zeb as he tells Cody. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m always hungry. That’s normal.”
“No kid, it’s not,” Han sighs, before he gives Rex an incredulous look. “I knew they treated us like crap when we joined, but you clones really got the short end of the stick, huh?”
“What?” Cody glares. Crosshair goes completely still.
Rex rubs Cody’s back. “That’s just Han trying to be sympathetic. He’s bad mouthing the way the Kamoians treated us like property.”
“Oh,” Cody says, frowning up at Rex. Crosshair still looks tense. Alex isn’t sure what to say to break the tension.
“Hey Crosshair,” Zeb distracts. “How about I put you on my shoulders?”
Crosshair leans back to look up at Zeb’s face. “You’re so tall.”
“Probably the tallest one here, well until Chewbacca gets here. It okay to pick you up?”
Crosshair considers this for a moment then nods his head. Then he lets Zeb tell him how to put his arms and his legs as Zeb picks him up and settles him on his shoulders. Crosshair immediately relaxes, making a sound of happiness.
“Snipers like to be high up, don’t they?” Zeb encourages, with a pat to Crosshair’s calf.
“Yes, this is better,” Crosshair agrees.
“Just wait till you meet Chewie kid,” Han puts in.
Cody is still frowning at Han, with the occasional glare, while Rex tries to subtly stay between them. Alex looks at the scanner Rex is still holding. “Han, I don’t know how much data your scanner will keep, but do you think you could get some preliminary scans of the kids, so we can figure out who the med frigate needs to see first?”
Han nods and takes the scanner from Rex, then the two of them head over to where Leia and Lando are opening supplies that Artoo and Chopper have helped them bring down. As they talk Cody tries to introduce Crosshair to them and Alex wonders if Jacen calling him Uncle Sasha means that the kids are all going to think his name is Sasha. Then Cody doesn’t know Zeb’s name.
“It’s Garazeb, but you can call me Zeb,” Zeb informs him.
Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4]