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“Rex!”
Rex comes out of his quarters, his helmet under his arm. He avoids both Kix and Jesse’s anguished stare.
“Rex is everything okay? What did Fives had to say you? I never saw him so distressed and... anxious.” rants Kix, twisting his fingers between one another.
Rex sighs, looking sideways at the two troopers.
“Rex. Where is Fives? Is he safe? Is he all right?” whispers Jesse trying to neglect the oppressing lump in his throat.
“Listen boys, I-I don’t know what happened. He was out of his mind, probably drugged… He was talking about a conspiracy against the Jedi, the Supreme Chancellor was involved…”
“Is it true then? He tried to assassinate the Chancellor!”
“I don’t think so, not intentionally. He talked about an organic chip… I- I don’t know what to think.” Pants out Rex, tightening his grip on the helmet.
“Where is he Rex?” asks Jesse, the last spark of hope leaving his eyes.
“Commander Fox and his troopers reached him as he was talking to me and General Skywalker. He looked insane and in that moment of madness he… went for my blasters.”
“What do you mean…”
“They shot him Jesse. He is dead.”
Kix opens his mouth to reply, but it dries out as soon as he inhales the cold air of the corridor.
Jesse stares confused a random point of the pavement. He feels dizzy, as a numbing injection pierced his whole body and left him standing there.
Another one of them, gone.
“Ho-how could they? He was one of the most loyal troopers in the battalion…” rages Kix.
“It was an incident. Honestly boys… I don’t really know how to explain it. It happened all so fast a-and that’s all.”
“So this is it? We are just going to forget him? Like the rest of the vode we lost?” shouts Kix, his face burning red.
“No. Nobody’s gonna forget them. Fives, Tup, Echo, Hardcase. They live within us, they will always be part of us.”
Kix and Jesse stare at eachother. The same fire was alimenting their rage, their disappointment, their sadness.
“Fives… he never gave up on anything. He was a brave man, even when hope was entirely lost. Do you remember back at Umbara, Jesse?”
The ARC trooper nods, relaxing his scrunched face.
“I’m sure on Kamino he went through a lot trying to decript what happened to Tup…” exales Kix.
“Courage and wisdom boys. That’s what matters. And Fives had it all.”
The three soldiers of the 501st engage in a brotherly hug, heads to heads, hearts beating at the same pace. They are a family, they are all the same and unique simultaneously.
And that thought, of having a family always by their side, gives them hope and relief.
“To honor Fives I promise you this: I’m going through with this story. I swear I’m going to find out what he was talking about…”
Swears Rex, his voice trembling just a bit.
“And I will never let anyone share the same fate as his.”