Chapter Text
The new vod isn't quite right. Fives can't quite put his finger on the reason, but he is positive that it is probably a side effect of the nipper hitting the side of the tube one too many times with his head during growth. He chews slowly on a piece of dried questionable meat and stares. The kid is hugging his legs again, eyes focusing on nothing. Over the past week, they've seen this play out more than once, just rarely around the General. It's almost like Cal doesn't want to be around General Skywalker for some reason. Sure, the man is impulsive and can be a tad terrifying at times, but he isn't the worst General to work under, even if the fatality rate for the vode is a little high. They are at war and they all know the risks. Though, maybe there is a reason the Force-sensitive vod doesn't like the General? He pauses in chewing the tough meat and quickly waves that thought away.
That's silly.
Everyone likes General Skywalker. He is a hero of the Republic, after all.
Well, at least the kid isn't rocking back and forth this time while staring at something none of them can see? Fives can't help thinking the planet is haunted and only Cal can see the spectres.
“Are we sure we should be giving him to a Jedi?” he asks finally, the piece of desert dry jerky finally gone. “He clearly needs to be surrounded by his vode. Even if he is a slightly different model.” A bad joke, Fives still smiles in amusement at it anyway. Good thing Rex isn't around to hear him. The Captain would give him a verbal lashing while protecting Cal. Fives doesn't mean any harm though, it is just some minor stress-relief humor that Rex could definitely use more of in his life. Less stress, more laughs. They all could use that- but there is a kriffing galactic war still going on and it is a infinte source of stress.
“General Skywalker said it was the right thing to do. He can't keep him because he has the Commander,” Echo says without looking up from his datapad. He also ignores the joke, which is probably wise. It is true, that they do have the Commander, but Fives can't help thinking that's a bunch of bantha poodoo. They are the ones that found the vod which means Cal should stay with them.
“Has he told General Kenobi yet that we found his clone? Maybe he'll take him… it wouldn't be the worst thing,” he can't help frowning while suggesting that. He doesn't actually want Cal to leave, for all that he can be unnerving. Fives is getting used to it, kind of.
“Or the best,” Echo replies. Something on the datapad lights up the space for a second and his vod mutters a swear. The urge to point out the nipper is present on the tip of his tongue, but it's not like Cal notices things when he is like this.
“I'm going to hug him.” Fives stands up to do just that when the kid jumps up, hands flying through the air- thrusting at something. The sleeping cot at the end of the tent flips over. Fives freezes for two reasons. Seeing a clone use the Force is always surprising, but Jesse is going to bitch about his damaged cot ad nauseam later. It's going to be a long night. That aside, he can't help feeling some sort of relief at the fact Cal has finally exited whatever episode he was having. “Maybe we should message Alpha or… Fox?”
They'd probably have a better idea of how to handle the mystery named Cal. Fives trusts the Jedi, honest, but this is a vode matter.
“Alpha would be able to get us any data on him,” Echo finally agrees. The datapad is set down just before the other stands up, stretching his arms upward as if he is going to touch the ceiling until an audible back crack fills the tent. That had to have felt good- he is slightly jealous since his own back has felt stiff for days. Fives watches as his brother walks over to Cal and crouches down, clearly ignoring the display of Jedi nonsense a moment before. “Want to talk about it?”
Cal flinches away. Fives wants to shoot whatever made his vod react like that.
“No,” Cal says, twisting his hands up in the long sleeves of the borrowed top. When they had found the nipper stowed away on the ship he had been wearing a comically oversized poncho in a shade of bright pink that Fives will never forget. Now he is wearing something the General had dug out of the depths of somewhere. Skywalker's old clothes are too big, but Kix has been working on modifying them to be a bit more Cal-sized in his free time. “I'm fine.”
Echo hums. Fives knows the other doesn't believe him, he doesn't believe him. He moves and picks Cal up like he is a sack of rations and ignores the sounds of protest from both Echo and Cal. Talking will get them nowhere at the moment. The littlest clone does not trust them fully for some reason. Probably something the longnecks did, he thinks. He throws Cal over his shoulder and heads back to his cot. Jesse will just have to fix his overturned cot when he finally gets back from patrol. It isn't Fives’ problem. No, his problem is getting the kid to sleep and calm down. Sleep is good for nippers, despite what the longnecks always said. Cal is...different than them so he wants to make sure no more damage gets done to his growth.
“Let me down,” Cal orders without any real force. Fives complies and drops the nipper on his cot. He nudges Cal out of the way so he can settle himself in for a quick nap. The small clone is trapped between him and the tent wall. There is a beat of silence before Cal lets out an impressive sigh and then he curls up against Fives, a small hand gripping Fives’ collar. Fives smiles softly before letting the sound of Cal's breathing even out soothe him to his own slumber.
Waking up comes hours later. Cal is adhered to his side, mouth open slightly while he sleeps. Fives smooths some tuffets of red hair down and the little Jedi clone starts to stir. Cal, Fives quickly learns, is not much of a morning person. Squinted eyes and a displeased look seem to just settle on the boy's face while he tries to look towards the source of noise that woke them both. Fives bites back a snicker.
"We are going to canvas the surrounding area. The Commander and Captain are taking a different squad towards the abandoned settlement," Kix is explaining at the door of the tent to Echo. "The General said Cal should come with us."
Everything is a flurry of movement after that. It doesn't take long after gearing up for Fives to find himself trudging through the jungle. Wildlife around them is loud. He can't help thinking that the bugs on this planet have to be huge because of how obnoxiously loud they are. They sound like faulty engines. Cal seems indifferent to everything, trailing behind them. The General is stalking ahead, bitching into his wrist comm. Fives could eavesdrop if he wanted. It would be easy with his enhanced hearing, but his main concern is Cal behind them. The boy is clutching a sprig of some sort of plant in his hand like it is a weapon. He turns, walking backward for a moment, and just studies the small clone.
He can see a lot of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the kid. He just isn't sure how. Did the scientists on Kamino steal samples? Did the General donate? Cal clearly has to be a mixture of the Prime and Kenobi. In Nat Born terms that would make Cal their half vod, Fives thinks. Not that it matters. He is a vod. The subject of his train of thought tenses just before the sound of something roaring fills the space. Fives quickly shifts, facing the direction the sound came from. He has a bad feeling about this. It crashes out of the large flora, all spittle and horror. General Skywalker's lightsaber leaps to life and they all raise their blasters. Fur is sticking up all over the place and all he can see are the rows of needle-sharp death- Fives notices the blur of red a second too late.
“Cal,” he yells, trying to snag the hood of the oversized hoodie his vod borrowed from the General. His fingers close on air. Kark. His heart is pounding too fast. Cal is too small- too young! He is going to get killed.
“Youngling,” Anakin snaps. The sound scratches at Fives for some reason, but he doesn't have time to poke at that. His eyes are trained on the boy with his hands thrown up between them and the monster. It advances, large taloned paw coming down- and then it stops an inch above red hair. A faint trill that doesn't suit the thing leaves its mouth. It settles down on its haunches before butting its muzzle against one of Cal’s hands. It is like an oversized tooka out of nowhere. He can only watch as Cal gives it a good scritch. The thing lets out something that sounds like a purr. He can't wait to tell Rex that nexu can purr- actually, he bets Fox and his boys would love a nexu kit. The things he could get Fox to do for him, oh, that is tempting. The next time they are around Fox he is going to be a new type of menace.
Jesse whistles and Fives has to agree. He's impressed. Sure, clones are built to be enhanced- better, superior, but he has never seen the General ever come close to that. Cal lowers his hand and the large creature just leaves. Back into the depths of the jungle, tail swishing behind it lazily.
He has just witnessed Force nonsense. The hair on the back of his neck is standing on end. Clones are enhanced, he thinks again, but that display of power makes Skywalker look like he barely knows how to use it. What type of power is contained inside that small clone? What has Kamino created this time?
“What?” General Skywalker gets out, voice a little higher pitched with shock. Fives would bet rations on the fact their General looks like he ate something sour. It's an image he'd love to get a holo of, but he doesn't have time to check, his focus is solely on Cal.
“There are some situations you can't fight your way out of,” Cal says almost like a mantra. For a second it almost looks like the nipper is older, and more mature to Fives, but blinking his eyes clears up that delusion. He needs more sleep, that's all. "We are close to its nest. It is just protecting its young."
He moves, shouldering his blaster, and snags Cal by under the armpits. His vod tips his head back and fixes him with an unamused look. Fives just gives him one right back before swinging them both around. He shoves the nipper at Kix. “Make sure he is okay.”
Their medic tilts his head in mild confusion. “It didn't actually hit him, vod.”
“Hey,” their General says from behind them. For some reason, he is reminded of a buzzing bug for a second—something to be annoyed at or to be ignored. Fives decides to ignore.
Fives shakes Cal at the medic and the boy's limbs move like a stuffed toy. Loose and dangling. He shakes his hostage again to get his point across and Cal doesn't protest.
Kix sighs loudly, already swinging his medkit down, sitting it on the ground. He kneels and begins to dig through it. “Set him down.”
“I didn't say we could stop,” Anakin points out. Rex would have talked sense into the man, but Rex is off with Ahsoka- probably having their own weird adventures. The 501st, no matter what squadron, is great at finding weird adventures. "We have a mission to complete, men. The kid is fine."
Artoo picks that moment to let out a rapid series of sounds that Fives is pretty sure are insulting. Cal points at the droid and nods. Huh, the kid understands droid. That will be useful for pulling some minor pranks later on unsuspecting vode. Fives is a bit rusty on the Droidese- and that has nothing to him not paying attention during those lesson modules. However, that's not important, no, what is important is that the General doesn't look amused, but finally, motions for Kix to continue. The astromech does a little shimmy of sorts before wheeling closer to Cal. Oddly, he can't tell if General Skywalker actually likes Cal. Their relationship is so strained to the point that anyone can see it. Sure, the General keeps loaning clothes to the nipper, but there is this distrust that Fives can taste. Artoo likes the kid at least?
He glances over at his General and frowns beneath his bucket. He doesn't like the way Skywalker is watching Cal.
Back at the camp Fives catches Cal trying to dismantle a datapad. He leans against the cargo container and watches with mild interest. His vod'ika is full of all sorts of fun surprises when he isn't doing that creepy stare-at-nothing routine. The worst episodes are when Cal screams or babbles about things no one understands. Thankfully, those episodes have only happened a couple of times. “What are you doing exactly?”
“I'm trying to open a channel to the Jedi Council, but I don't have the right code,” Cal answers without looking up from what he is doing. "So, I am trying to splice my way into a back channel."
“Why?” Fives reaches out and taps the plaster bandage on Cal's cheek. Cal just swats a hand at him before going back to being a little criminal. It seemed even enhanced Jedi clones could walk into trees when they weren't paying attention. Kix had gone on an impressive rant about paying attention to unknown areas before making sure the nipper was fine. The vod'ika was a hardy little thing for the most part. The only sign that the whole incident had happened was the bandage. A small series of cuts hid underneath the protective layer since Kix wasn't sure if the injuries would actually get infected or not, even with treatment. No one wanted to risk it though, not with the low supply of bacta they currently had. Cal had sat through the treatment far better than their General ever had. Fives finds himself tempted to paint a little design on the bandage. Perhaps a flower? A nice orange flower.
“I need to report a crime.” Small fingers push two wires together and a spark erupts. Cal's brow furrows in annoyance and he swears he hears the nipper mutter a Huttese swear word.
“You could just ask the General to send it for you,” Fives points out, trying to be helpful. A mistake. His blood goes cold thanks to the dark look Cal gives him.
“But it's General Skywalker I'm reporting.” The words drop heavy around them and Fives is positive he misheard. He had to have misheard, he thinks in a bubble of erratic surprise. Thoughts of painted flowers evaporate from his mind. Skywalker- their General committed a crime? Is that why they don't get along? That can't be right!