Unexpected

chapter thirty-seven: loss

Elara paces as she waits anxiously in the hangar bay of the clone facility. It's been an entire week since the 501st and 212th left for Umbara. When she wasn't assisting Senator Amidala with her speech or running errands, she would pace around her room and examine the small detonator from her brother.

Gunships begin to descend towards the hangar and Elara's heart races as she looks up at them. The soldiers of the 501st file off of the ships with ghosted looks on their faces and her heart drops. She can barely stand still as her eyes scan the group of brothers.

She spots the familiar red medic symbol on the armor of a soldier and pushes her way through the small crowd.

"Kix!" Elara calls as she maneuvers through the men.

His head turns in her direction and he pulls his helmet off. Another soldier joins them, the teardrop tattoo and manbun belonging to none other than Tup.

"Hey Ellie." Tup smiles. "Nice to see you're doing well."

"Where are the others?" She asks.

Tup's eyes widen and he averts his gaze. Kix swallows his nerves as he looks down at her.

"Jesse and Fives are with Rex and General Skywalker." Kix states. "They're discussing some... Complications we faced during the mission."

"Complications?" She furrows her eyebrows. "Where are 'Case and Dogma?"

"Dogma's been court-martialed." Tup informs her and her eyes widen.

She glances between the two, waiting to hear where Hardcase is, but they both look down. Elara's heart sinks in her chest.

"How?" She asks, biting her bottom lip to stop it from quivering.

"He saved the rest of us. If it wasn't for him I don't think any of us would've made it out alive." Kix states.

A tear rolls down Elara's face as she squeezes her eyes shut. "Well I'm glad the rest of you are okay." She takes a deep breath. "Please let Fives know I was looking for him."

"You're not coming to the barracks? I'm sure Jesse would love to see you." Tup points.

"I can't." She speaks softly as she meets his eyes.

The two nod in understanding. She was extremely close with Echo, and now the loss of Hardcase too?

"We're here if you need us, vod'ika." Kix assures her.

She forces a small smile and climbs back onto her speeder to head to the Senate building.

*

"General Krell was a traitorous snake. He got half of my men, my brothers, killed!" Rex argues.

"I know, Rex. I sensed that something was off as soon as he jumped off of the gunship." General Skywalker sighs. "You two showed extreme valor and bravery. You should be proud of yourselves." He nods at Fives and Jesse. "Perhaps you'd like to be an ARC Trooper yourself, Jesse."

Jesse's eyes widen. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"So we're not going to stand trial?" Fives asks.

Anakin stifles a laugh. "No. No trial." He says, causing the three soldiers to sigh in relief.

"Jesse, you'll start your training tomorrow." Rex says, Jesse nods.

"Get some rest men, you deserve it." General Skywalker dismisses them before heading to the Jedi Temple.

Jesse questions Rex about his ARC Training as the three make their way to the barracks. Fives is lost in his mind, thinking about how he almost died at the hands of his brothers, until he opens the door to meet two of those brothers.

"How'd it go?" Tup stands from the edge of his bunk.

"Everything is fine." Rex informs them. "Jesse starts his ARC training tomorrow."

Tup and Kix cheer as they congratulate Jesse but Fives is still zoned out.

"Hey, Fives." Kix glances over at the trooper, who blankly meets his gaze. "Ellie was looking for you in the hangar."

Jesse's eyes widen. "Ellie was here?"

"We asked her to come hang out but it's still too hard for her." Kix sighs. "I don't blame her. First she lost Echo, now she lost Hardcase."

"You told her about Hardcase?" Fives asks.

"She asked where everyone was." Tup explains.

Fives sighs and grabs his helmet before rushing out of the barracks. He arrives at the Senate building and walks the familiar halls before unlocking the door to Elara's quarters.

His eyes land on the girl pacing around the room and a soft sigh escapes his lips. Elara turns her head to meet his gaze and her arm unfold as she runs the short distance to him.

"Thank the stars you're okay." She cries into his chest.

Fives wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head. He'd usually make a sly comment, teasing her about how she clearly missed him, but considering she just heard of Hardcase's death he decides against it.

"And how are you?" He asks, pulling away from their embrace to look down at her. "Are you okay?"

Elara's lip quivers as she looks up at him. "Is this what our life is now? Am I going to lose everyone I care about?"

Fives sighs as he lifts her head. "You won't lose me." He promises. "Not ever."

"That's a big promise." She sniffs.

"Well I stared death in the face a few days ago and I'm still here." He points.

Elara furrows her eyebrows as she looks up at him, noticing his disturbed expression. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe we should get comfortable." He suggests, considering that it's a long story.

Elara sits on the edge of her bed and Fives peels his armor off before joining her. He explains how General Krell took command of the 501st after General Skywalker was pulled out of battle and got hundreds of men killed with his reckless strategy. Fives spared no detail when explaining how Krell despised clones.

Then he explains how he and Hardcase broke off to pursue their own plan and saved their brothers, then how Jesse joined them later to pull another stunt that cost Hardcase his life—and almost his and Jesse's as well.

He closes his eyes as his voice trembles. "It should've been me."

Elara's eyes soften as she holds him close. "Don't talk like that."

"It was my idea, my plan." Fives explains.

"You didn't know what it would come to." Elara points. "Hardcase made his decision, he died a hero and that's how he'll be remembered." She runs her fingers through his hair as she fights her own tears.

The two of them sit in silence, basking in the grief and regret from their previous conversation. After quite some time, Elara lifts her head off of Fives's shoulder and glances at him to find an empty expression on his face as he stares at the ground.

"Hey, c'mon." She caresses his face.

Fives nods slightly but remains seated at the edge of the bed.

"Fives." Elara sighs, still nothing.

She pushes herself up to straddle his lap and places a hand on either side of his face as she looks down at him.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know what you're going through, because I don't." She admits and he looks up at her. "But I know that Hardcase wouldn't want you to beat yourself up like this." She points. "Neither would Echo." Her heart aches as she speaks his name out loud for the first time since she heard about his death over a month ago.

Fives blank expression softens into a sympathetic one. He gently presses his lips to hers before pulling away.

"Let's get some rest." He suggests and Elara nods.

He scoops her up and lays her down before pulling the blankets over both of them.

"Goodnight cyar'ika." He speaks softly.

"Goodnight." She whispers.