Work Text:
You were awakened from a restless sleep by the shudder of the transport coming out of hyperspace, and for a moment you didn't realize where you were, the passing of the stars in the transparisteel foreign and strange to your eyes. The events of the past week were still fresh in your mind, the test you took alone in the 'fresher, two clear lines giving a reason for your early morning sickness, and the call that Fives told you went out through the encrypted comms channel the clones used for their private conversations. Two moments in time that immediately changed your life and bound you and Fives, happily, together.
The pregnancy test worried you a bit. The call worried you much more. Fives said the need was clear: the Republic was no longer funding the cloning program on Kamino, and untold numbers of his brothers were simply going to be set out on their own, if they were old enough, or eliminated, if they weren't.
Worry and fear, and a not insignificant amount of anger still rose in your throat as you thought about it. How could the Republic do this to the very people they created? It wasn't fair, they were made for one purpose, and now that the war has ended the Republic would just throw them away because of their inaction!? It was clones who protected their planets and people from the destruction of the Separatists. It was clones who fought and died for their freedom and security. It was a clone who discovered the Chancellor's plot to control the clones and subjugate them all, Republic and Separatist.
It was Fives, your Fives, who had curled into your side at some point while you slept, one leg laid over your own, his breath slow and steady at the crook of your neck. You didn't hesitate when he told you what he needed to do, quickly packing a small bag for the trip for you both before making your way to the transport terminal, which was already packed with clones trying to make their way back to Kamino as well. You didn't hesitate when the transport was packed at least doubly full, clones and the few like yourself who were traveling with them packed in as tightly as they could be. They had to get to Kamino fast and in the kind of numbers that would be needed to make their collective will known. The Kaminoans weren't quiet about their unhappiness of losing the cloning contract, and thanks to a few sympathetic senators, word of their plans reached the Jedi, and then the clones themselves. The plan was simple, just show up and refuse to leave without at least one brother. They were going to save them all, or they were going to root themselves to the foundations of Kamino itself. Fives was going to plant himself firmly if it came to it, and you were ready to plant yourself right beside him.
The trip had taken less time than you had expected, but Fives wasn't one to lose out on some quality snuggling, even if he was packed in the seat next to you, asleep, smushing you against the wall in his sleep. You wouldn't have it any other way, and it made the cramped trip at least a little more bearable. The man you loved was here, safe, alive, and whole, and you didn't care that you were packed like canned fish in this aging transport filled with dozens of his brothers, all returning to Kamino for this one reason.
You watched as the planet slowly came into view, fluffy white clouds occasionally broken up by bits of blue, and you started to think of what the future held in store for the children the Republic didn't want. Your thoughts were quickly pulled back to the present, though, as you felt a pair of warm lips grace the column of your throat. “I know that look in your eyes, mesh'la. What's on your mind?” Fives was always so perceptive, a byproduct of his training, you suppose. “I'm worried about the little ones.” Sitting up straighter, he put his arm around your shoulder, and pulled you closer, placing another kiss on your temple as you relaxed into him. “Don't worry, their vode will take care of them. We will take care of them. We'll all be alright.”
As you looked around to the mass of clones that were crowded in the transport with you both, you admonished yourself for even considering anything less. Fives was right. They will all be alright.
When the transport breached the atmosphere, you noticed the white fluffy clouds quickly change to dark grey, electricity crackling closer to the transparisteel than you were comfortable with. Somewhere near the front of the transport you heard someone yell “Look at that beautiful Kaminoan weather! Welcome home brothers!” A raucous cheer was raised all around you, and you looked over at Fives who looked as happy as his cheering brothers. You couldn't help letting yourself get a bit carried, squeezing Fives' hand as you let out your own cry of happiness as the landing platform and domed buildings of the city came into view, the lightning suddenly far from your mind.
As soon as the transport touched down it's passengers were up and moving toward the exit, hoisting the meager belongings they packed with them on their shoulders, if they had brought anything with them at all. In truth, it seemed they had likely dropped everything at once, as you and Fives had, and made their way to the nearest station to grab the quickest transport off planet. The Republic had simply set the whole of the clone army loose after the war, adrift and trying to live a life they hadn't expected to live long enough to experience. The mass of people in the transport shuffled out quickly and uniformly, a holdover from their training, certainly, as they looked physically much less like the army they once were, wearing bits and pieces of armor and mismatched civvies, and more like the civilians they were now. On the landing pad were even more clones, lined up to leave, taking their younger brothers with them. Brothers of all ages waited in the rain to take their place inside, babies held close to armored chests, toddlers holding the hands of teenagers, new families large and small setting out to make new lives, lives without war and, you hoped, lives without the suffering and pain they had endured their entire lives.
“Looks like there hasn't been much trouble,” Fives commented, as he paused and spoke with one of the clones waiting to board the transport. A small child clung to his leg, holding the edge the older man's poncho over his head to keep dry. “No, they didn't try to stop us, just told us where to go and stepped aside. Just keep in the line and you'll get where you need to be.” Fives looked down at you, a curious look on his face, both of you soaked to the bone while waiting for the line to move. “Are you sure, mesh'la? You don't have to walk this road with me.” He looked as hopeful as one could when looking like a drowned womprat, waiting for your answer. “Fives, you di'kut, I'm here, getting half-drowned with you. The only thing I wish I did differently is grabbing a couple of ponchos on the way out the door.”
Fives pulled you in closer, his broad frame giving you a small respite from the rain, until you finally made your way inside the doors of the city. The line of men and children waiting to exit stretched on further than you could see, curving around a corridor and out of sight. There was chatter in all directions, kids asking their older brothers “Where will we go?”, babies crying, teenagers and older clones calming them all, making plans with each other on what to do once they reached the transport. Both lines were long, but were moving at a steady pace. Fives would squeeze your hand from time to time, and you would look up to see him watching the scenes as they passed.
“We can do this, right mesh'la?” Doubt was starting to creep in, so unlike the Fives that you knew and fell in love with. “Yes, love, we can. You can. You saved all your brothers once, you can save more now. You can do this.”
Finally, you made your way to an overly crowded landing bay, full of clones old and young and whatever possessions they had, few as that may be. There were a few Kaminoans walking through the chaos, answering questions and guiding men and children around, but mostly it was brothers telling each other way to go. “I'm going to see if I can find someone I know, stay here mesh'la. I'll be right back.” Fives disappeared into a crowd of identical faces and left you to watch as people walked back and forth, looking for everything and nothing at all.
You were absorbed in the barely controlled chaos that was unfolding in front of you when you felt a light tug at your sleeve. At your hip was a child, no older than 5 or 6 physically, looking up at you. “Ma'am”, the child said, “are you here to save us? The Kaminoans are going to dispose of us young ones.” He gazed up at you, hope shining in his dark brown eyes. “Most everyone is taking one or two with them, but I won't leave my brothers behind. Will you take us all?” Your heart broke for the little one standing here before you, determined to stay behind until he was sure his brothers were safe and together.
Fives had told you once that clones considered their squads their brothers, so it was unlikely that the child considered more than a few his true brothers. “How many brothers do you have?” you asked. While you would have loved to take all of them that were left, reality told you that you were not able to care for several hundred children, no matter how much your heart ached for them. What you and Fives could do together had to be enough. “There are five of us, Ma'am. We were decanted together, we go to classes together, and we live together. We want to leave here together, too.”
You were in quiet conversation with the young child when Fives returned from the crowd. “And who do we have here?”, he addressed the child, head cocked to the side and a smirk on his lips. “I'm CT-28-3742, sir,” he replied, then gestured over to a wall where four other children were sitting quietly. “They're CT-28-3740, CT-28-3741, CT-28-3743, and CT-28-3744. They're my brothers, and we won't leave without each other.” Fives' smirk turned into a wide grin at the young man who had obviously stepped up to defend his brothers, and he looked at you, a silent question in his eyes. One quick nod from you, and the child and his brothers had their answer. “We wouldn't think of leaving them behind, son. Go get your brothers. We're going home.”