Neither Light Nor Dark

Neither Dark Nor Light

Casey was an odd one. That much many of his brothers and trainers could agree on. He's the same age as Rex and Cody and all the others of that generation. A goof ball and a teddy bear. He got his name because he kept carrying around a case of tiny cadets, causing them to laugh. He did it more than once. And to the sad knowledge of the trainers, many of those cadets would never see the outside of Kamino's walls. Many would be decommissioned for imagined flaws. The trainers never got onto him about it though, deciding it wasn't their place what a droid like him did in his free time. But his batch and brothers always tried to get him to stop. He never did until he graduated. When he was asked why? It was because he wanted to give them a memory they could count as happy. A memory they could cling to as they passed.

Casey was given to the battalion of the 501st. Torrent company. Who were later given to General Anakin Skywalker. And Casey could freely say he wasn't the only odd one.

When attention got onto him when he strayed away from his usual routine, he never noticed. He would sit with brothers who normally wouldn't make it back again. And Casey got the nickname, 'Omen'. Brothers started to avoid him. At first, Casey was hurt by it. Betrayed even. He wanted to at least be there for them in their last hours. Then, he began to understand. No brother wanted to know that they were going to die next mission. No brother wanted him to sit there in silence with them as they began to realize their fate. It still hurt though. Still hurt knowing that someone wasn't gonna come back the next time. He started to not eat because of his guilt and stress. Hardly slept when all he was greeted by was screaming and marching footsteps. Marching ahead of him despite his attempts to catch up every time.

General Skywalker took notice of his declining health and ordered him to the medbay. He went but didn't stay for longer than a few seconds when no one came into the room. He understood. And so, Casey stopped going near his brothers. He stayed away. He ate more. Slept under heavy sleep aids. And took to writing down every name and number of the lost. As the war dragged on, Casey was transferred several times. Every time, he was given the same nickname. Omen. He forgot the point in time that he stopped responding to the name Casey. And soon the goof ball and teddy bear personality changed one of depression and professionalism. He never got attached. Never stayed long enough to do so.

When he was given, for the last time, to the 212th, he decided to continue the tradition. He stayed away. Or, he tried to anyway. General Kenobi never let him disappear into the bowels of the ship. Always asking his opinion on missions and on who to send. It was the reason Umbara wasn't the major trauma event it could have been. The reason Hardcase and Waxer, along with many others, cam back alive. The 212th began to listen to his warnings. The reason Echo came back alive and not dead. The reason Tup, Fives, Fox, and so many others stayed safe. Why the chips were found. It was also why Omen was nearly killed on Utapau. They had gotten the chips out of most of the GAR. Not all. By the time Order 66 came to pass. Omen was standing near Cody when the order was given. Saw the moment Cody registered the order and ended the call.

It was the moment a sharp stinging pain stabbed itself into the place between Omen's eyes. He howled in pain and fell to his scorched knees. One, two, three, multiple brothers changing. Becoming mindless puppets and firing on their generals. One, two, three, multiple generals all dying at once. He felt a pressure build up in his head and the moment it released. A shockwave so strong it caused many Jedi and Force Sensitives to collapse or freeze in shock, exploded from that pressure. Time reset for those Jedi who fell to their men's blasters. The chips inside the heads of every clone taken as if they were never there. Minds freed from slavery. And the Sith Lord himself, turned to ash from the wave of pure light.

General Skywalker was placed into a gentle sleep, mind being cleansed of the Dark side.

Omen was still kneeling, holding his head and panting, when General Kenobi returned. Omen felt a liquid drip from his nose as the sharp pain finally left him alone. Then, in front of him was Cody, who took his helmet off and cupped Omen's face between his hands. Tears, or what he thought were tears, streamed down his cheeks as he looked into the void of Cody's helmet. General Kenobi gently pulled Omen's body towards his own, laying him down on his back. Omen looked into ocean blue eyes and felt a gentle prob against his tattered shields. General Kenobi hissed as he gently eased Omen into a light sleep.

______

Cody looked at his vod'ika through the glass of the medical room on the Negotiator. The moment Obi-wan had placed Casey into that sleep, Casey had nearly flatlined. Had Crossbones not gotten there, Casey would be one of the last casualties of the war. No one could explain what happened on Utapau. No one knew what had happened except for the ones Casey had seemingly protected. The Chancellor had gone missing from his office in the Senate building. No one had been able to find him. Casey, despite being asleep, was considered the reason he vanished. Though only the GAR and the Order knew that and why. Plans were made for the evacuation of the Order and the GAR, seeing the haran Fox and the other Guards made that an emergency evac.

And now, Cody was sitting here, watching his vod'ika breathe slow and steady in an oxygen mask. Casey had lost a lot of blood before Crossbones could get to him. Obi-wan had said that a shockwave capable of reaching Coruscant and onward could in fact cause a nosebleed. Seeing his vod'ika laying there unconscious, skin sickly pale and eyes sunken in, hair having been cut short to reach his chip. It scared him. Many of the other Battalions called Casey by the name of Omen. And more often than not, Casey would respond to the name. The 212th, however, never called him that. At least they tried not to. The name Omen was an insult to their brother. A name that mocked what Obi-wan said was an unusual gift. It kept many of Cody's men alive, after all.

So when Obi-wan quietly suggested that Casey may or may not be force sensitive, people connected the dots on their own. Cody included. How Casey always knew who would die, when they would die, and where. It explained his need to sit with that person in silence, an odd comfort many would realize. Casey would be there with them, a brother told the rest, letting them know they would be missed at least by him. Wooley found Casey's datapad full of different names, numbers, battalions, companies, etc. All marching on. Cody wondered if Casey ever looked at the amount of names his list had grown to. Millions in total, no despite the time and amount of people each mission recorded.

Even people Casey had never met.

Cody was pulled from his thoughts when movement was caught in front of him. Casey was waking up.

_________

Omen woke from sleep, feeling better than he had when he fell asleep. He still felt ill, but he felt better. He opened his eyes to find the vaguely familiar ceiling of the medbay. And the familiar face of Cody coming into his view. Omen locked eyes with him and Cody slowly took Omen's hand.

"Hey, vod'ika. How are you feeling?" Cody asked softly. Omen felt his heart clench at the nick name. Someone who was willing to call him something else from Omen? He was happy.

And that's all he could ever ask for.