Work Text:
"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum." One voice, spoken through a multitude of people. Clones. Men.
The names ring out in a cacophony of sound; many brothers that Rex recognises (Hardcase, Waxer), and many more that he does not. He looks at the men that remain; Jesse and Kix, pauldrons pressed up against each other as they stoically watch the fire burning. Fives, standing tall and strong, gravitating protectively towards Tup. Rex's hear aches at the sight of Tup trying valiantly to hold himself together; too young Tup, barely nine years old when he got shipped out from Kamino along with Dogma.
His thoughts wander to Dogma. Dogma, just as young as Tup, so obsessive about rules and regulations, so much like Rex became after Sixty Three. He went against all of them when he shot down Krell, when he did what Rex should have done, what he was too cowardly to do. Sometimes, Rex feels like he will always be that scared little cadet, traumatised and unwilling to ever again step a toe out of line.
Mostly to distract himself, Rex again looks around the Umbaran airfield in which they are hastily holding their rememberances. He sees General Kenobi, standing back a respectful distance from his brothers. He sees Cody, stalwart and solid in parades rest, position obsfuscating the turmoil he knows Cody must be feeling; it's the same as his, after all. Nearby, he sees more 212th brothers, Wooley and Boil. Boil's face is mostly inscrutable, but his his eyes are dead.
It's one thing to lose men, to lose your fellow brothers. It's another to lose the one closest to you, to lose your alliit. It's a feeling that Rex is well accquainted with.
-----
Sixty Seven jolts to awareness as he hears his pod whirs open and a large thud followed in quick succession by a muttered "ow" and the sounds of his sleep pod closing shut again. Groggily he lifts his head, sees that Sixty Three is the reason for all the commotion, then groans and rolls back over.
"Hey!" Sixty Three says indignantly. "Wake up! I need to tell you stuff!" When Sixty Seven tries his best to ignore him, Sixty Three flicks him hard in the forehead.
"Can't it wait 'til morning? Besides, you know we aren't meant to be talking after lights outs, we could get in trouble!" Sixty Seven groans, opening his eyes to look up at his friend wiggling excitedly beside him.
"Nope! I need to tell you now so I don't forget!" Sixty Three kneels next to him, bouncing gently on his heels. Knowing that it's futile to resist Sixty Three when he's like this, Sixty Seven groans again and sits up.
"Okay, tell me. But be quiet and make it quick, I don't want to get in trouble!"
Sixty Three bounces even more excitedly at his words. "Yes! Okay, so you remember how we saw the command cadets today?"
"Well, yeah," Sixty Seven says, frowning. "It was only today."
"And it was super super cool right?" bursts out Sixty Three, with a huge grin on his face. No matter how hard Sixty Seven may try, in all the time he has known Sixty Three, he cannot resist the infectious nature of his friends; he too finds himself grinning at the thought of earlier today. They'd managed to actually get to see some of the command track cadets training, and like Sixty Three had said, it was super cool.
"Yeah," Sixty Seven says, "it was really cool. But what does that have to do with what you wanted to tell me?"
"Oh yeah!" Sixty Three says, smacking his forehead lightly. "Duh! Sorry, I got overexcited. Well after lights out I snuck out to see if I could find out anything more about the command track and stuff-"
Sixty Seven interrupts him, aghast. "Wait, you snuck out? Sixty Three you could have got into so much trouble if they found out!"
"Well yeah, but I was super sneaky and no one did? It's fine, stop worrying!"
Sixty Seven can't stop worrying, though. He's scared that one day Sixty Three will get into serious trouble, get transferred to a nother squad, or worse decommissioned. No one that Sixty Seven knows are really sure what decommissioning actually is, but it must be bad. He knows that trying to emphasise the danger to Sixty Three when he's in one of these hyperactive moods, so he doesn't argue the point.
"Okay, whatever. So what did you find out?" Sixty Seven asks.
"Well, it's more a someone than a something. I ran into a command track cadet!"
Sixty Seven certainly wasn't expecting that, and fills his heart burst with excitement.
"No way! Who were they? What was their designation? What did they say to you?" The questions pour out of him like the constant rain of their home.
"Uh, CC something or other, I can't exactly remember the number. But he told me that some of the CCs actually have names!" And he said that he'd be willing to come to speak to us at lunch tomorrow!" Sixty Three is resplendent in his enthusiasm , and Sixty Seven finds himself matching the energy.
"That's absolutely wizard! I can't believe you-"
His words are cut off with the sudden whir of his sleep pod opening, and they come face to face with the apoplectic visage of the Kaminoan overseeing their training, Sama Le.
"CT-7563 and CT-7567, would you tell me what you two are playing at?" her voice intones, quiet but filled with malice.
Sixty Seven feels frozen with dread and says nothing. Sixty Three attempts to speak up, but is cut off by Sama Le.
"That was a rhetorical question, CT-7563. You are both well aware that it is against regulations to be fraternising after lights out. There is no excuse you can make that will justify this infraction of the rules, and it will be noted on your record."
Sixty Seven heart sinks even further; he can't get in to trouble, he's already defective. His hand unconciousnessly comes up to tug at his hair. He sees Sama Le glance up at his blond hair, her large bulbous eyes narrowing slightly.
"It was all my fault!" Sixty Three bursts out. " I pushed my way in here, Sixty Seven, I mean, CT-7567, he didn't want me to, he was asleep and-"
"That's enough, CT-7563. CT-7567 should have made you leave; he's just as much at fault as you are. You are lucky the punishment is not harsher, do you understand?"
"Yes Ma'am." the two boys mumble.
"Be assured that if either of you commit any infractions again, there will be much more severe consequences. Now CT-7563, get back to your own sleep pod."
Sixty Three goes, throwing Sixty Seven a guilty look. Sama Le once again looks at Sixty Seven's hair, and leaves.
He's alone.
----
Months pass without incident. Sixty Three and Sixty Seven meet that CC, who turns out is called Tylo. They find out there's the potential that CTs can be elevated to the command track if they are good enough, and the two of them make it their goal to get there together.
Sixty Seven settles into his sleep pod, thinking of how Sixty Three told him he was going to investigate more about getting on the command track, and Sixty Seven assumes that he'll be doing that in their free time tomorrow. He makes a note to himself to ask Sixty Three if he wants his help; two heads are better than one, after all, and he likes spending time with Sixty Three anyway.
----
He never gets the chance to ask. They are woken up in the morning early by Sama Le, who comes with a new cadet. He can't see Sixty Three anywhere.
"This is CT-5261, and he will be joining your squad." CT-5261 smiles nervously at the group of four (minus Sixty Three) cadets, and most of them smile back. Sixty Seven doesn't.
"Where is CT-7563?" he asks, brashly.
Sama Le turns to look at him, and utters the words that looking back years later, changes Sixty Seven's life forever.
"CT-7563 commited a serious infraction last night, and had already had his last warning. He has been sent to be decommissioned. None of you will speak of him again, or there will be consequences."
There's a roaring in Sixty Seven's ears, and he barely notices Sama Le leaving and his other batchers greeting CT-5261. Decommissioned. His best friend, he's gone. After the incident in the sleep pods, him and Sixty Three had decided to find out exactly what decommissioning was. They'd asked Tylo, who quietly told them it was what they did to clones who couldn't follow orders, defective clones. Clones not worth re-educating, or even worth being put to clean up detail. Those clones, they got decommissioned, and decommissioning meant killed. Destroyed like a broken droid.
Sixty Three was dead. Sixty Seven hadn't even got to say goodbye. He was dead, and Sixty Seven was still here. He can't help but think, why wasn't it him instead? He's the one that is defective, with his stupid, different hair.
He angrily brushes away the tears that threaten to fall. Good soldiers don't cry. Good soldiers follow orders, and keep their head down. Good soldiers fit in. He has to be the most loyal soldier, to not have the same fate as his friend.
Sixty Seven remembers that not long back, Tylo had introduced them to another command track cadet, CC-2224. He'd given them some advice. Talk less. Listen more. Show difference only in your ability, not in looks or personality. Keep your head down most of the time, only to excel when needed. If they did this, maybe they'd survive and make command track.
Sixty Seven decides today is the day he'll follow that advice. He'll make it to command track. Not just for him, but for the memory of Sixty Three. He will follow the rules, he will follow the regs, he will follow orders. He'll be the best that he can be.
He'll do it for the both of them.
------
The fire rages on even as the rememberances start to fade. With one voice, Rex and his brothers say their final words.
"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la!"
He closes his eyes, and feels for all his brothers that are not gone, but merely marching ahead of them.
Some much further ahead than others. He'll catch up to Sixty Three, someday.