sekkritaus | Familiar Faces: Any time post-prequels AU

Familiar Faces: Any time post-prequels AU

An AU where the clones actually get a few happy endings godammit.

None of them remembered the Republic anymore, but all of them had heard the stories from those who'd escaped its fall. Not all of them had agreed about it, whether it had been good or bad, but they all were certain: better than the Empire, and better than the cloners.

That generation had joined them in pieces, filtering in from outside. They'd all been out and seen the galaxy, and told the youngest stories that made them want to go see it, no matter how much it had taken from their elders.

They were gone now, and so were the ones that had come after them, those made too young to see the war, but had been trained to fight against their own when the cloners soured on the Empire. Only a few of them had remained on Kamino, hidden away in windowless domes so far beneath the waves that the only sound on the outer walls was the occasional tapping of some large abyssal creature walking with slow deliberation across its surface.

That generation was the one that rebelled. The shift in indoctrination didn't take, they suspected. The cloners had pushed their luck too hard.

They'd used their training. Reached out to the clones in other domes. Planned out everything they'd need. Then one day, all at once, they rebelled. Took over the security systems, captured every Kaminoan they could find. Kept them penned up, uncomfortable, but alive. They were hostages to keep the rest of them quiet, and a vital part of what they did next.

No clones were made on Kamino that next five years. More were produced on other worlds, trained for the Empire. So many of them that some eventually found their way out, despite what had been done to them. Their training had been harder on them, made them slow to trust anyone, including themselves.

But on Kamino, they were waiting for results. The youngest cohorts aged up old enough to prove to their elders they'd be able to make this new life work. They were learning what they needed to, how to do the jobs that some had thought impossible for them.

Then, finally, the first new batch. They were healthy, they were so very young, and they stayed young longer than any of them had before.

For the next ten years, that's where they all stayed. The older generations made an uneasy armistice with the Kaminoans after several more skirmishes and careful prisoner exchanges. The clones sent topside reported back there was a new war on. But with only a few thousand of them, they had to be careful. Keep their work quiet. Lead escaped Imperial clones and old Republic-loyal men back to them, make contact with the few who'd hidden among the Mandalorians. They all took a good hard swipe at the Empire whenever they got the chance, but they had to be careful and quiet, or they'd be destroyed like the Jedi were.

The Emperor eventually died, within the lifetimes of most clones who'd seen him rise. It hadn't seemed possible until one day it just suddenly was. An era was ending, and they were ready to go meet it.

[Prompt 1]

He'd been in one of the first batches to get made after that. He'd grown up hearing stories about the clones that helped make it possible, like Rex and Wolffe and the long-dead but still remembered Fives who'd warned them what was coming. Everyone knew their names, and those who'd given all so that one day they could become a new people, with everything that made them unique.

They'd left Kamino then, when he was still young enough that he didn't remember. They'd gone to H'ratth, a forgotten Inner Rim planet that had held secret Republic strongholds. It was habitable, it was abandoned, and it was now theirs. They dug in, installed the cloning chambers in the deep vaults, and from there started to make the planet home.

By the time he was old enough to remember things, the walls were starting to be lost under waves of color. Each sector had its own shade, matching the armor of the eldest regiments. He knew what each of them meant, who the knotwork and abstract lines depicted, memorials for soldiers most of the artists had never met. He'd grown up under the pale blue-grey of 99, one of the defenders of their first home on Kamino who'd died defending cadets against invaders, and who'd proved clones could do anything they set their mind to, regardless of how they were formed.

He grew up at little more, and said very confidently one day to his teachers that he was going to join the infantry and be a sergeant. He liked the word, and some of the best stories on the walls were about sergeants. That was what he thought, anyway. They still had need of soldiers, to defend against the people who saw them as escaped slaves, weapons out of control, lost and feral pets. They youngest bristled at the assumptions that the eldest had been forced to bear. No one had to anymore, and they refused to let it hurt them all again. They'd protect their own.

Their armor was shaped differently from what the eldest remembered, shaped to clone specification on H'ratth to fit them better than the old mass-produced models, but still evoking their lines. And everybody painted up, just like the eldest had. Either you did it yourself or made a deal with an artist. A lot were getting something avant garde, soft gradients or realism were popular and daring now. Every regiment was a riot of individuality.

He'd gone with something in between the traditional and the new. The black plate of his special ops group, layered on with blue-grey paint depicting things he'd done. Spiraling cable patterns down the right arm, left side broken and cracked by geometric flashes of lightning.

And he'd earned a sergeant's pauldron. His name was Taiko, and life was the way it should be.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He smiled a little at the explanation. He himself tended towards simplicity in naming - he called Beebee by it's call sign or by 'buddy', his ship (before it had been blown up) was Black One, and he was Black Leader. He wasn't exactly creative, in these things. But he could appreciate it.

"No, it's good. It's older than my parents, probably, but it's in decent shape. My droid BB-8 is on it, though." He looked around a bit as they walked. "So, do you guys get off planet, much? One of them mentioned that they'd found a poster of me, but--"

Names were important to clones, no matter what form they took. An identity of their own was something worth fighting for. That was the reason why some of the alcoves along the hall had Republic and Imperial-model helmets resting in them. Each one had a small collection of handmade offerings and food beneath it, and a plaque with a name and a story of who they had been.

"We have an offworld presence, but I can't be more specific than that, unfortunately. The Aiwhas have been out to see the galaxy before." He led Poe out into the main dome of the base, which echoed with the noise from hundreds of clones going about their day. "As for the poster, I'm sure they meant it as a compliment. They only bring back souvenirs they find especially interesting."

"I didn't think they meant it as an insult," Poe says, an amused smile flitting across his lips. "And it's alright, I don't need specifics. Little bit in over my head with the information overload already, if I'm honest."

He kept pace with Akobi, glancing around curiously and trying to filter out the sound of very similar voices all talking over one another, echoing around the dome. "Just kind of figured you'd have your own posters."

"Entirely understandable. The business of war will wait until command makes their move." Because that was quite clearly what this was about. A Resistance commander wouldn't be here unless the First Order was up to something.

He snorts, glancing away with an amused smile. "We do. I think any further inquiries on the subject should be directed to the squad themselves."

And right on time, they came in to view through the crowd, helmets off and clipped to their belts, looking tired but still alert. Taiko had the most traditional look out of all of them, with a standard haircut and no tattoos visible above the neck of his armor. Dirty and Bubbles were a matching pair with mohawks and freshly-cut fades, with little jagged edges of tattoos on their throats. Flo's circuit patterns continued from his armor to his skin, cut-outs in his hairline letting the tattoos visibly extend out onto his scalp. Zero, predictably, was completely shaved. The zero haircut, he called it. It was a terrible joke, but he stuck with it.

"Aiwhas, you'll take things from here. Get the commander settled in, and treat him like one of our own." Which meant holding him to a certain standard. They'd already talked this over, of course, but the theater was still necessary.

Taiko nodded. "Yes sir. We'll see to it."

He turned back to Poe. "I leave you in capable hands." Taiko's lips twitched as he fought down an answering smile, as Akobi turned away, back towards the command center. The Aiwhas had just come back from a mission. Giving them a night off was the right thing to do, while the rest of the company started preparations. They'd earned a few hours rest.

Poe smiled, offering Akobi a salute as he left, then turned back to his escort.

"Apparently I'm supposed to ask you boys about recruitment posters," he said aimiably. "And maybe a drink."

"When squads go out, we bring back all kinds of things we like," Bubbles said.

"The posters get hung up in the barracks," Taiko added, a little hastily. "Some of them are educational, some are--"

"It's on the wall of pretty people." Zero might be more direct about it, but his eyes were fixed resolutely on an interesting patch of floor. Dirty and Bubbles were visibly trying not to laugh.

"...Right." Taiko coughed. "Drinks are at 79's. We can take a speeder back or walk."

Poe's grin grew, pure amusement.

"Well I should be happy to represent the pretty side of the Resistance, then," he said, aiming his grin right at Zero for a second before turning his attention back to Taiko.

"You know, if you guys are up for it, I wouldn't mind the walk." Which definitely didn't have anything to do with the fact that he liked to pilot the speeders he rode in.

Zero didn't look up, but his cheeks darkened anyway, almost in sync with Taiko's.

"On foot, then."

"And drop some things off along the way," Flo tapped on the helmet he held under one arm.

Taiko had managed to forget they were still in armor. "Right. No need for plate here." They'd just drop them off at the barracks and--

--at the barracks. Crap.

"Five minute detour, and then we'll be ready to go." He started off before anything more could happen.

"He likes you," Dirty leaned in towards Dameron, not quite quiet enough to actually be conspiratorial. "Must be a clone thing."

Poe watched Taiko head off quickly, but didn't try to keep his pace. Instead he was happy to fall into a leisurely pace alongside Dirty.

"I wonder if the General had any idea I'd be so popular. It's going to take weeks to deflate my ego after this." He flashed a grin right at him, eyes twinkling. "But I think I can handle it."

Bubbles had been watching Dirty rather than Poe this whole time. He'd anticipated what Dirty had forgotten: charming foreigners made him rock stupid.

"Uh." And Dirty had finally remembered too. "I dunno. Maybe."

"Must be all part of the master plan," Bubbles said, putting an arm around Dirty's shoulders with a clatter of armor. "Slip in past our defenses and all that."

"We can handle you." The coherency earned Dirty a pat on the shoulder, which he responded to with a quiet hey!

Taiko disappeared into the barracks up ahead with a relieved slump of his shoulders once he was out of sight for a moment. Kark. At least Dirty was probably going to be more awkward than he was. He didn't know. He'd walked ahead too fast to hear the whole conversation.

"Or maybe she wanted to keep me from getting bored by politics," he replied with a grin. "Mutual benefit."

It was adorable, actually, how the whole lot of them were getting flustered. He wondered if a drink or two would help them relax.

"So am I allowed in, or should I wait outside?"

"Uh. ...I've run out of things to say about that," Dirty admitted weakly.

"It's probably best if you wait outside," Flo glanced back over his shoulder. "We're going to be changing, and Sarge is already blushing enough." And Zero, and Dirty.

"Be right back!" Bubbles gave Dirty a push through the door that sent him stumbling, followed by a fading "Okay, okay, I'll tone it down, sorry," as they disappeared into the barracks, leaving their charge to be stared at by the less subtle passers-by.

It didn't take long for the squad to turn out in uniform, but it was just enough time to get the more blush-prone back under control. Despite their identical genetics, they weren't all in the same cut, which was now more evident without the armor. Bubbles was the biggest, Zero the slimmest, and the rest were very subtly different in build.

"Thank you for waiting," Taiko was definitely calmer now. "If you're ready to go, we'll start making our way down."

"No problem," Poe said, peeling himself off of the wall he'd been leaning up against, hands in then pockets of his jacket.

"I'm ready when you are," he added, and his smile this time was more earnest, than teasing. "So what's the 76?"

"New 79's," Flo corrected, pointing in the direction of town. In between all the brightly-painted walls and signs it probably didn't stand out, but the peach-pink and orange holosign was still visible from here. "We passed it on the way up to base."

"Named after the best clone bar on Coruscant," Taiko said. This was a place with a pedigree of drunken good times.

"We can give you recommendations on the drinks," Dirty chipped in.

"Don't listen to him unless you want something sweet that'll blow the top of your head clean off."

"So? That's the whole point of a Scarif Sunrise!"

Poe laughed, clearly enjoying himself.

"I think getting trashed might not be my goal tonight - just something to relax and let loose a bit. We can save the explosions for tomorrow night, maybe," he added with a twinkling grin at Dirty.

"We're always good for making stuff go bang, right?" Dirty appeared to have crossed the threshold from awkward to giddy, and he wasn't even drunk yet. Zero snorted quietly.

"Whatever you're up for--" Taiko said, realized what had just came out of his mouth, and faltered for a moment before recommitting. "We can make it happen."

"That's an exceptionally dangerous promise," Poe said, sounding utterly delighted. "Why don't you guys just show me what you do for fun? I'm sure I'll enjoy myself."

A pause, a grin: "Though I'm up for improvisation, too."

He glanced over at Taiko, falling into step with him. "Out of curiousity, do you guys do everything together, or am I just lucky?"

"We're spec ops," Dirty said. "We do dangerous."

"With precision," Zero added, "except for the times when we don't."

"Which is often."

"But works out."

"Yeah."

"That's no excuse not to clean your armor though."

"Tell that to the bugger that thought I was a rock."

"He stepped on you."

"It's called ambush tactics!"

"But it doesn't work. You're not a land mine."

"Could be if I wanted to!"

While they were bickering, Taiko shifted his attention to Dameron. "When we're on shore leave we tend to split up a little, but we work best together." That's why they shared an apartment when they weren't just stopping over at the base. They had a little privacy when they needed it, but they all just liked being around each other.

"But, uh. This is a bit different."

Poe just smiled through the banter, a fond look crossing his face, as he thought of black squadron.

And then he thought of just how many of them were left, and the smile slipped a little, before he turned his attention fully to Taiko, pushing the thought from his head. "Half way between shore leave and an assignment, right?" He was sympathetic to it. "Look, I don't want to get any of you in trouble, so if there are rules I should be following..."

"You can just get camo."

"Nothing will ever match local dirt for blending in, we've done this whole bit before--"

"--And you're still wrong."

"Look, which one of us is the--"

"Me. I am. You do the demolitions."

"And they never see it coming."

Taiko shook his head. "Commander Akobi already talked to us. We just make sure you don't get where you're not supposed to--that includes into a bacta tank--but that's pretty much it."

Poe wet his lips, thoughtfully, watching the troopers banter.

"Well, I'm not all that keen on ending up in a bacta tank either, so I think we can avoid that. I just don't want to - ah - get anyone in trouble, that's all."

He was getting the impression he could have an interesting night, so he added: "Or cause hurt feelings by misunderstanding a uh - cultural thing."

"You always seem pretty visible to me."

"You just don't know better."

"Only rule for us is not to do anything a hangover cure can't fix," Taiko said. "We've been out there. We know how things can be different."

"I think you need to prove you're really the stealth guy. Maybe--"

"I stole his wallet."

"What? No you didn't!"

"You're right. I just stole yours instead."

"HEY."

"Give him back his wallet, Zero," Taiko called back over his shoulder before continuing. "If you need confirmation on something, just say so."

"Alright, good to know."

He couldn't help but glance back at the others, a sort of wistful fondness on his lips. They were good men, he could tell. Maybe they could help save the resistance, after all.

He pushed the thought away and turned back to Taiko.

"I'll make sure to ask, if I need to confirm anything. But a heads up when I'm stepping over a line might be helpful, too."

"I'll make sure everyone knows." He gave Dameron a small smile. "Thank you for the consideration."

79's was still a few minutes out, but already loomed large and cheerful on the street ahead. They were early enough that it wouldn't be too crowded. It was still favored by those who'd stuck with military jobs, and the next shift wasn't due in from the base for another half hour at least.

"You know, we're going to have to ask you what you know about clones," Bubbles stepped in to fill some empty air. "In the interest of everyone being on level ground." And not because they liked to collect weird rumors about themselves or anything.

He returned the smile with one that was fond and easy. Poe Dameron made friends easily and decided who he like very quickly - and all of the clones had already made that list. Congrats, Taiko, Poe Dameron will now die for you.

He was about to open his mouth to ask something else, when Bubbles stepped up, and the thought disappeared instantly.

"What I know about clones, huh?" He looked amused, and then played up trying to think really hard. "Do things I've learned since coming here count? Because no one bothered to tell me that they were supposed to be handsome." The cheekiest grin. Sorry, everyone. Sorry. "I don't know much at all, if I'm honest. I heard rumours that you guys were supposed to be linked telepathically, like a hive-mind kind of deal. But if you're all gossiping about me in your heads, I probably don't need to know."

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