The Lie (Captain Rex)

(I) - Blood on Your Hands

Fatigue laid heavy on you that morning. Possibly, you deserved it since you had stayed up so late; but it was a little disheartening to see how everyone else's enthusiasm directly contrasted it.

As the camp was taken down, you collected your tools and bag, threw on your coat, and lined up with everyone else for the headcount. Plo Koon briefly reviewed the mission; and with that, you moved out.

* * *

The winds were harsh. The climb unforgiving. Several times did troopers collapse on the ice only to be bolstered back up by their brothers, and twice did your squad get lost and have to retrace your steps. You could tell it didn't bode well with Plo Koon the circumstances in which the clones were sent; had it been the Council's decision you were sure that he wouldn't have stood for it. But it was imperative that the Pantorans received these supplies as soon as possible. Plo Koon had not orchestrated these circumstances; the war had. And so you marched on.

You yourself stayed a little back in the group, edging the rear side to make sure that nobody would fall behind. At one particularly treacherous climb up a steep hill, you dug your fingers into the snow and forced your way up the terrain. You were falling behind again, and the rest of the squad had already made it over. Just a little bit farther-

Crunch. Your heart skipped a beat. The ice beneath your toes gave and in an instant you were freefalling.

Icy terrain sped past your eyes. Panic jolted in you. The ground grew ever closer and you frantically cried out. Someone called from above. "Y/N! Someone get over here!"

All your innards lurched forward, trying to escape your body with inertia when you were abruptly dragged to a full stop. You were dangling in the air from a cable on your ankle. Looking up was extremely difficult as you felt all the blood rush to your head; the best you could do was stay put while the squad slowly hoisted you back up the cliff. "Hang in there, Moonildt, you're almost up!"

"I'm doing- urgh- my best," you called out through gritted teeth. Finally you rounded the edge and let yourself collapse onto your stomach, panting with the adrenaline still ahold of you. "GAH," you groaned. Every inhale was met with painful little spikes of protest from your ribs; you'd hit the cliff face hard when you had been hoisted up. Fractures, possibly.

A warm voice greeted you and a pair of boots entered your field of view. "What were you doing down there, Moony? See somethin' you like?"

The mission. You're stalling it. The thought passed through your head and just as quickly vanished. You coughed and raised a feeble thumbs-up. "I'm good." It hurt to spoke but you forced the words out anyways. "Could you please, er- I mean I know the fall didn't look that bad but I'm not sure I can quite feel my legs, sir," you implored politely. In fact you could feel your legs; they were rather loudly screaming with a bone-deep agony. Kriffing rocks.

You suddenly felt yourself pulled to your feet from your underarms with ease and you winced as your knees protested. "There ya go," said the Captain, his voice a little strained. Strong, armoured arms dug into your own. His gleaming visor glanced down at you through the snow. "Can you walk?"

"Well. I can, uh, try, but my legs seem to disagree," you replied, still leaning heavily on him, an arm around his back. A few of the squad came back to you and CT-7567 called a medic over. You were patched up and rested for a few minutes. The commanders and General spoke in hushed voices when a transmission suddenly came in.

"We are to keep moving out," Plo said to the squad. "Under any circumstances the supplies must be delivered by today."

Sigh.

***

And so the squad carried on that way, with Rex having to support you and falling back behind the rest every so often. The sun sank lower in the sky as the shadows grew colder. Soon you'd reach the camp.

"I'm tired," you'd said at one point, in earshot of Wolffe.

"We all are," he snapped, eyes still on the path ahead.

"Is that not more reason for us all to rest?"

Exasperation seeped in as Wolffe's composure frayed. "Do you not underst-" he began, then rubbed a hand over his face as though smoothing out his mood. "We can't stop, kid," he finished coldly. "If a little bad weather is what makes you quit on a mission then maybe you aren't fit to be a padawan."

You scoffed. "I'm not quitting, Commander." Talking while you climbed was tough because it kept you out of breath, but it helped pass the time. "I can handle the cold, I just th-"

He cut you off. "Then prove to me that you're stronger than just another weakling drafted too early into this war by shutting your pretty mouth and carrying on." You started to reply but ultimately decided against it. The squad's morale had suffered enough; and you saw the end of your journey nearing. He tilted his head at you, the painted wolf grin flashing on his helmet. "That's what I thought, rookie."

"Over here!" Ahsoka called out through the fog. The squad made their way over and neared the banks of a seemingly endless flat surface. "Hold on," Ahsoka said. She motioned elaborately with her arms, using the Force, and the fog before you cleared out to reveal the surface--broad, barren, pristine, it was a riven frozen over. On the opposite banks you could just begin to make out the lights of an encampment. Final stretch.

"Is it safe?" Sinker asked. Comet started forwards, but general Plo gently stopped him with a hand. "Let me."
Carefully he took one step onto the ice. Then another. Another. Then he stamped his foot on it a few times, jumped, and gave the thumbs-up to our crew.
"Head out, boys!" someone called. The squad eagerly followed over the ice. It was quite the wide river; at least two hundred paces across. Around mid-way the ice started creaking ominously beneath your feet, and you hesitated. "Something wrong?" asked the Captain, who was still supporting you.

"Eh- no," you replied. It was enough to convince him to move on ahead of you; you could walk without help by now. Three quarters to the bank and you saw Plo reach the other side, cheering on the Wolves and 501st. Nearly there, you thought.

Crreeaaakk.

You inhaled sharply and froze. Nothing seemed to have happened. Carefully, you took another step forwards; leaned your weight onto that foot to-

CRUNCH
Faces looking back at you in the daylight. A void opened up beneath your feet, you were lost, helpless, without purchase in this abyss. You saw nothing but for the water swirling over your face. And a harsh cold stabbed its way into your flesh so deeply that you felt every nerve paralyze in shock.
You saw the light above, rays cutting into the water. It only got dimmer. Water filled your lungs.