Saga Said the Joker to the Thief (post-ROTS - Ahsoka, Rex, Echo, Fives, ensemble - 8/22 - complete

Caught up...great story.

Love the kids playing, and Echo observing them from the POV of a clone who is trained specifically for battle. "So this is what peace feels like..." Yes... And he feels silly playing ball at first and then realizes that he's happy.

I see that Neaera has taken lessons from my kids... "No nap! No nap!"

Short note on the other posts:

I love your clones, very well written. The scene in which they are all drunk is funny. But I like the exchanges in general. They are clones, all taken from Jango and all trained for one purpose, but they still have minds of their own.

And Ventress...when being a Sith apprentice is no longer beneficial to her, she helps the other side. Love it.

Love Ahsoka. The way she deals with losing Anakin to the Dark Side. "The Hero with No Fear was very, very afraid." The way that loss translates into fear of attachment and fear of fear itself. She doesn't seem angry at Anakin, just sad for him, and I liked seeing that. Her severing her bond with him was heartbreaking but necessary, not only to save herself, but to save him from being ordered by Palpatine to kill her.

I'll be interested to see what you do with the faint bond Ahsoka seems to have with Leia.

 

Loved the comparison and contrast between Echo the clone trooper and Echo the free man. There are parts of his personality that haven't changed much - the tendency to observe his surroundings and think about the relationships between people - and there are other parts of him that have become far more open to new ideas. It's been a learning journey for him indeed.

And great reference to how many people are so caught up in their work that if they're not working for an extended period of time, they start to feel guilty about "wasting time" - one really needs to think about what activities make life meaningful and make time for them!

 

Note: Clink is an OC, who had a very brief stint in chapter seven. He was the guard keeping watch on Slick. I figured I could reuse him.

Valiowk - It's been a learning journey for all of them, in their own ways.

anakin_girl - Thank you for reading! The clones are all are their own men. As for Ahsoka and Leia...there will be a little more about that, but not in this fic. I'm working on a second story in this timeline, and there will be a little more, when Leia is older. I try to follow canon as much as possible though, and generally don't like to mess with character histories (especially for someone as important as Leia!) so interaction is fairly minimal.

---

[i]And Now It Can Be Told

In the tube where I was born
I could have sworn
There was so much to see
There was so little to be
But I was free
I'm a quarter century old,
And half a century high.

?Half a Century High? - Phil Ochs[/i]


[hr]


Mos Eisley was full of scum and villainy.

It was kind of fun, in its way. Fives huddled deeper into the heavy folds of his large cloak, hoping no one would pay too much attention to him. He didn?t expect to stand out. People here were a riot of color, species of every sector of the galaxy running through one Hutt-dominated port, bringing in their accents, tattoos, fashions, weapons, manners, ships; all dusted with a unifying layer of fine yellow sand. The daily sounds of people in motion dominated the place, of voices shouting and speeders buzzing by, of the indecipherable chatter of arguing Jawas, the sounds of cantina jazz and the occasional snort of a pack animal rearing its head.

Fives trundled forward, taking his own, winding time. The meeting was for later in the day; he wanted to reach the rendezvous point well ahead of time, to check it out, to be sure he wasn?t being watched, tailed, or set up. Operating alone, he was endlessly cautious these days, bumping from one contact to another, checking on various contact points in the network, talking to escaped brothers and parents of youngling Force-sensitives they?d hidden in scattered places and bolt holes.

It had been Clink who set up this meeting. The trooper was one of the first they?d gotten out. Fives was feeling vaguely cranky about the entire thing. Clink had been oddly secretive, but almost jubilant, insisting it would be best if Fives met this particular contact himself.

[i]?You?ll know what I mean after you talk to him,?[/i] had been the only explanation. [i]?Don?t look so worried! I figured you?ve got more contact with the Captain and Commander. You can get word out to more people than me, and faster. Trust me. Meet the guy.? [/i]

Fives was a little tired of the cloak and dagger routine, but he was enjoying Tatooine. In the army, everything was kept clean, uniform, neat. Mos Eisley was a sentient mess, and though at one point in his life, he may have found that intimidating, he?d grown accustomed to it, almost welcoming. He could be any normal man. Not a clone, not a soldier, not a deserter. Few passed him a second glance. It was a kind of privacy in a crowd, an assumption that he was like everyone else. He grew up being accustomed to acceptance among his brothers because they all appeared the same. In these new places, he was given acceptance among strangers because they all appeared different - united not in their presumed sameness, but in their actual uniqueness.

It was a fragile thing, though. Seeing multiples of brothers together could tip someone off.

Strawberry hair. Green eyes. He still hadn?t gathered the courage to try visiting Ghorman.

He bit his lip, sighed, and quickened his step a little, shuffling to the side to avoid elbowing a rather large Weequay. He wondered if it would be a good idea to try finding General Kenobi or not, while he was on-world. Perhaps he?d try contacting Ahsoka to ask her opinion. He hoped the old man was doing okay, but Kenobi was ranked so high above him it was hard to imagine simply showing up on the man?s doorstep just to say hi, even if it was on

 

So Come All You Warriors

Men who were fighting for all of our lives
Are now fighting for children, for homes and for wives,
Fighting for the memory of all who fell before,
But the soldiers of peace just can't kill any more.

"Soldiers of Peace" - Graham Nash, Craig Doerge & Joe Vitale

---

It was night when they assembled.

It was for practical reasons, really. The day was full of screaming and playing children, of Nura stuffing people full of food, of Rex giving everyone briefings on their more recent activities, and of Ahsoka trying to give the younglings new Force lessons to work on.

Now the children slept, and the adults gathered outside on the verandah. Dim lights filtered through windows, giving a soft warmth to the space around the table, the nighttime darkness held at bay. To look up and look out would reveal a navy sky with white stars, standing out brightly against a moonless heaven.

There was a soft clatter as Nura set a platter of sticky-sweet sesame cakes in the center of the long table. She pushed them directly in front of Cody, who'd she'd decided needed feeding. Cody, in turn, was proving himself not completely adverse to some mothering. Ahsoka smiled as she watched Nura sit and Cody pick up one of the sweet cakes to eat.

They did not always assemble like this when she and Rex returned home. They usually didn't need to, and any gatherings after the children went to sleep were usually relaxed affairs involving random chatter, Corellian ale, pastries and cards.

There was a kind of excited aura of [i]apprehension[/i] hovering around the table, thoroughly mixed with [i]curiosity[/i]. Fives had continued being mysterious; the battered bantha-leather carry-case he had with him only further piqued the sense of interest from the rest of them. He would only say that it was no bad thing, and not to worry, but that did little to relieve the sense of concern about the situation, of what he might have found.

Ahsoka leaned to the side, pressing her cheek on Rex's shoulder for a moment as he broke one of the cakes in two and offered her half. She smiled, accepted it, and began to munch as Fives cleared his throat, looking a little nervous now that it was time to explain himself. His hands ran over the leather case, fingers drumming on the surface for a moment.

"I know you're all wondering about it. I'm trying to think of the best place to start."

"The beginning is usually good, Fives," Echo suggested wryly.

Fives nodded. "The beginning, right." He tapped his hands on the top of the case again. "Clink contacted me awhile ago and sent me some coordinates for a rendezvous with an informant. The informant was one of us." He made a vague gesture indicating Rex, Echo, Cody, Waxer. They all waited expectantly, with varied expressions on their faces. "It was one of the Null ARC's."

Ahsoka straightened up as a strange ripple of [i]amusement, annoyance, respect[/i] and what she could only describe as a feeling of droll [i]unsurprise[/i] rolled around the table. Cody snorted, chuckling, and leaned forward to put his arms on the tabletop. "Why does it not surprise me at least one of those delinquents got themselves out?"

"Meesa not be understanding. What be bein' a Null ARC?" Nura was looking between the clones, head tilted curiously.

Waxer explained, "They were prototypes of us, I guess. Never met one myself. If half the rumors I heard were true, they were all trouble."

There was a smattering of dark laughter from Rex and Cody. Ahsoka gave Nura a shrug, not quite getting the joke either. Then she looked at Rex, who replied with a grin, "Nulls weren't ones to cross. They were a couple years older than me, but I distinctly recall the time when they rigged the broadcast system on Tipoca to scream some crazy Mando cuss every time one of the Kaminoans tried to open a comm channel to give orders. Well, everyone assumed it was them, anyway. The Kaminoans never could trace the slicer. That's about as close as any of us ordinary troopers got to that group."

Cody was snickering. "I remember that. It sounded a lot lik

 

I am so glad that you are writing this. I always felt that the clones were very interesting characters in themselves and it is refreshing to realize that not all of them obeyed Order 66 -- or at least stayed with the Empire. Rex and Cody and Ahsoka were characters given a certain evolution and I always wondered what would have happened if they survived into the Dark Times ... and perhaps even beyond. But the clone characters have always interested me since they were further developed on. I look forward to see a lot more of this writing.

 

My apologies for missing a post - I just moved into a new apartment and spent the last few days cleaning it up, and have been too tired at the end of each day to review stories.

I always love your song quotes - they fit the text so well - but I like the quote for Chapter 14 especially much, especially the last two lines, "I'm a quarter century old,/And half a century high", because it fits the way the clones were genetically engineered - to age twice as quickly as normal humans - especially well.

Of course, Fives has no idea at all that his actions are reminiscent of that famous closing scene in RotS where Obi-Wan is shown silhouetted against the twin suns of Tatooine. But the image you portray here is particularly powerful: like Obi-Wan, Fives will probably have a difficult life ahead of him still, but his role will be far more important than he could possibly expect.

I loved the bit about the multi-coloured mystery meats. With such a small anecdote, you illustrate how the clones are full of humour and spirit.

I wonder what percentage of the clone population Ahsoka and company will be able to reach with the decelerating cure for anti-aging, and also, what the Empire might do when it finds out about it - I can't help but think that those at the top are cruel enough to do away with as many clone troopers as required in order to keep the rest in line if there is dissent in the ranks.

Two great posts, and I look forward to seeing what happens with this new development!

 

darth_treyvah - Thank you! I've gotten to really love the clones from watching the Clone Wars series. Things are so up in the air in regards to Ahsoka and Rex. I'd love for the writers to find a way for them to continue on after Order 66.

Valiowk - I have unofficially dubbed Phil Ochs' 'Half a Century High' the clones theme song. the entire song just fits almost eerily well. As for the sunset, I think I was thinking a little more of Luke in ANH, looking out at the suns just before the rest of his life really begins. In regards to how 'those at the top' dealing with dissent in the ranks...you're spot on.

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[i]Epilogue - Is Not the End

When you're standing at the crossroads that you cannot comprehend
Just remember that death is not the end
And all that you've held sacred, falls down and does not mend
Just remember that death is not the end
Not the end, not the end
Just remember that death is not the end

?Death is Not the End? ? Bob Dylan[/i]


[hr]


In the center of the circle, there lay the memorial.

Pictures in frames sat in the center, with day old flowers strewn amid them. There was a necklace, made from cheap glass beads. A half dozen sesame cakes. A lit white candle, burning low on its wick. A boloball. A pair of pink hair ribbons. A holonovel, turned on with the first page facing upward, letters standing darkly against the white of the monitor. A folded letter on a piece of flimsi, the words hidden, known only to their author.

Memories of each member of the circle, of their home that had died.

There were gaps in the ring, places where people once filled, now empty.

There was a young woman with her face in her hands, cream colored lekku trailing over her shoulders, quietly crying. It was the only sound, save for the constant, dull whirr of engines idling.

A man whose face matched many others began the awkward shuffle backward. A woman with grey streaked strawberry hair moved with him, gently steering their strawberry haired, honey eyed daughter away. His brother, too, stepped aside, hand in hand with a dark eyed woman, faces dotted with tears.

One by one, they moved away from the airlock.

A nod of the head; a switch flipped on its own. The door began to close, sealing the items onto the other side.

Then, in the hand of a young Gungan woman, a flame lit. A long, narrow blue blade of light. It stretched outward, the pointed tip aiming forward.

Two more came. Green blades held by a Twi?lek woman and a Zabrak man, standing side by side, much as they always had.

Other lights began to ignite, casting the dim room into an aquamarine glow, the transcendent brilliance of green and blue merging, mingling, humming together. That luminescence filled the faces of children grown, of those allowed to live who would have been sentenced to die. For who they were. For what they were. And they mourned the lost parents, brothers, sisters, friends that they had known.

A Togruta woman of middling age stepped forward, her silver-haired husband beside her.

She ignited her own light. A green blade to match the rest.

The doors sealed with a soft hiss.

And the memories of those lost slipped away to join the newly-dancing asteroids.


[hr]


[i](Just remember that death is not the end)[/i]




[hr]

Note: Actually, this isn't going to be the end. I intended this to be the end of the story, but ended up with quite a few other ideas by the time I finished writing this. The sequel will be titled [i]What Any of it is Worth[/i] and will pick up immediately after the last chapter (not counting this epilogue). Postings will begin in September.

Thank you for reading! [face_hugs] I really do appreciate it!

 

Following this story was definitely one of the highlights of my summer. I'm really glad that you're writing a sequel to this story - I'm definitely curious as to what percentage of the clone population will actually be able to obtain the decelerating cure for aging, and also how things will go for each of the characters a few months/years down the road. And will Fives meet Behri again in the sequel? You got me hooked on that pairing in a single post!

I really don't understand why this story hasn't received more reviews - IMO, it's a very well-written story that touches on several not-so-well-explored viewpoints - but please don't let it discourage you! And thanks for the congratulations!

 

Love it. I love that Rex and the other clones were able to slow down their maturation. Love Rex and Ahsoka. And Ahsoka's reaction to the Null not needing to see her because she's Jedi--spot on.

 

Just started reading this, and I am really enjoying it. You actually make clones interesting (something I find rather rare even from canon writers). I will finish this tonight...and probably listen to the songs in each section as I do so Great work!

 

Wow, I started reading this (currently on the fifth post) and I have to say that this is some spectacular work. I love the way you write the very loose, non-sequential way you've put together the chapters of the story. It's too bad that these boards have a bit of an anti-Clone Wars Cartoon/anti-Ahsoka bias. You should have gotten more credit for writing something as amazing as this.

 

This story was simply amazing. There is so much complexity to all of your characters and all their journeys. The spacing you put between each chapter really makes this feel as though its just glimpses into the long and adventure-filled lives of our heroes (I really like that). The way you handled the Rex/Ahsoka romance was really sweet and I'm also really looking forward to seeing Behri again in the sequels.

Excellent work, iceaffinity

now, to continue on to the sequels...

 

Just caught up on the backstory to the story of yours I've been reading, and I have to say this is stellar. So many layers and so much character depth. I love seeing the clones become "men," with all the baggage that comes with it, and I seriously liked Ahsoka in this. (Which blew my mind.) Fantastic writing and it was a joy to catch up on it. It'll make What Any of This Is Worth much more enjoyable now that I know the backstory and the eventual end.