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The blaster bolt pinged off the wall, and Rex ducked back down into cover. The battle was not going well. They were severely outnumbered, and had gradually been pushed back into a corner. Reinforcements were still on their way, but at this rate, they would be too late.
“Cody!” He shouted, trying to make himself heard over the chaos. Their comms were jammed, unable to send a message out, although they could still hear the messages they received, so their helmets were filled with increasingly frantic messages from their generals, urging them to hold on.
“Cody!” Finally!
Cody turned to face him from behind his own bit of cover. “What?” Cody demanded.
He sounded irritated, but Rex knew his brother well enough to know that Cody wasn’t mad at him, but was attempting to cover his fear. And that certainly did a number on his confidence. Rex was a soldier, and a realist. He knew what their chances were. But Cody was always the strong one, and the fact that his confidence was wavering was telling.
“I just needed to say this, at least once. I know I never told you, but you’re my favorite brother!”
Cody shook his head. “Don’t be giving up on me now!” He shouted back, raising his blaster to take a couple more shots before ducking back behind cover.
“I’m not giving up, Cody, but you and I both know just how bad this is. And if this is the end, I needed to make sure you know. And to tell you that I am honored to die fighting beside my brother.”
The desperate voice of their general interrupted Cody’s reply. “We’re almost there. Just hang on! We’re less than five minutes out.”
“We don’t have five minutes.” Cody said soberly. “I didn’t want to admit that this could be the end, but you were braver than me, Rex. I, too, am honored to die beside my brother. Now, let’s get out there and show these droids just what we can do!”
They both sprang out from their cover, back to back as they fired as fast as possible. The first strike hit Cody in the shoulder, but he kept himself upright against Rex’s back. The next two hit Rex’s leg and gut simultaneously. He staggered, falling heavily to his knees, but held himself upright through sheer force of will.
Cody took another bolt to the ribs, and fell backwards over Rex, bringing them both to the ground. They collapsed together, taking out the last few droids with a couple of well-placed shots.
Dropping his blaster, Cody reached for his brother. Breathing heavily, he forced out two words before falling still. Rex softly repeated them, allowing his eyes to fall shut as well.
**************************************
When the Jedi finally arrived, they found the audio recording of those last words.
Vode an
Brothers all