It was set to stun. He set it to stun. He specifical told the guard with him that they were going after a vod and needed to set their guns to stun.

Sure, the Chancellor had been very specific with his orders. ARC-5555 had attempted to assassinate the Supreme Chancellor and should be terminated on site, but this was a vod.

This was Fives, Rex'ika's vod'ika. Rex loves his vod'ika, Fox couldn't harm him no matter what the Chancellor would do if he didn't follow through with the orders he was given. Rex loves his vod'ika and Fox loves his Rex'ika, he would never be able to do anything that would cause him pain.

So why was there a smoking hole in in ARC-5555's chest?

Fox watched in shock as Fives body hit the ground with a dull thud and Rex desperately tried to get him, though his access was blocked by the shield. His gun was still raised, still pointed at where Fives was standing mere seconds ago. His hand was shaking violently but he couldn't bring himself to move, couldn't bring himself to lower his arm. His chest tightened and it felt like his throat was closing up, making it harder to breathe. He vaguely noticed one of his men shooting the shield down, allowing Rex to finally run to his vod'ika. The vod'ika he just shot and killed.

It was on stun.

Rex dropped to his knees beside Fives and pulled him into a gentle embrace, laying him over his lap and talking to him softly. His voice sounded off and Fox noted in horror that Rex was getting choked up, Rex was crying. His vod'ika is crying and he's the reason why. He caused that.

There was static in his ears and his vision blurred slightly as a feeling of being dunked under water washed over him. His heart was pounding so loudly he could feel it beating in his ears as his breaths came out in short, sharp pants.

It was on stun, he set it to stun.

He was jolted back slightly into awareness as he felt a smaller hand cover his own that was still clutching his gun in a death tight grip. There was a light squeeze and then another, as if someone was trying to get his attention. His arm was still stiffly locked into place and he instinctively tightened his hand around the gun.

"Fox? Ori'vod? Ori'vod, let's go, you don't need to be here for this." Fox blinked slowly and turned his head to the side to see Thire, his youngest Commander standing beside him, his arm extended where it was still holding his hand. He couldn't see Thire's face as his helmet was still on but if he could, he knew he would probably have a face of disgust. He's a vod killer. A dar'vod, he deserves it. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

"It was on stun," he whispered, his voice hoarse. Thire's head tilted slightly and his hand squeezed Fox's once again.

"I know. Come on, let's get you back to the barracks," Thire said gently. Fox blinked again and glanced back over to where Rex was still sitting on the floor with Fives held in his arms, only now Skywalker was standing behind him and the rest of the guard was surrounding them, their helmets off by their sides out of respect. Their helmets are off. They aren't allowed to be off.

"Th-Thire. The h-helmets," he stuttered out.

"They're safe right now ori'vod, they're safe. You've kept them safe. You can put the gun down now. G-Gedet'ye," Thire said softly. It was the slight shakiness in Thire's voice that snapped Fox back into focus more. He allowed Thire to gently push his arm down and tug the gun from his hand. Thire's hand enclosed around his wrist and slowly but firmly pulled him away from the scene, moving his hand to the small of his back to continue to guide him.

"It's okay, I've got you," Thire said quietly. It pained Fox to have Thire of all people, his little Commander, looking after him but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. The walk back to the guard barracks were a blur as he zoned out again, putting his complete trust in Thire to get him back safely.

He once again came back into focus as he felt himself get pulled down onto something and arms wrap tightly around him, squeezing around his chest tightly. Fox gasped as he felt his breathing get restricted properly this time, finding himself unable to breathe in and out properly. It only lasted about five seconds before the arms released him and he sucked in a deep breath. There was some shuffling before there was a small click, hiss and then his helmet was being tugged off his head. He whined and quickly reached out to grab it, to push it back down on top of his head. They can't remove their helmets outside the barracks.

"Shh, shh. It's just me Fox, it's me." Fox blinked and glanced to the side to see a familiar face beside him on what he now realised was his bunk and his chest squeezed.

"Thorn," he whispered. A soft smile broke out across Thorn's face at his words and Fox felt wholly undeserving of that.

"There you are. You were worrying us a bit there when you weren't responding," Thorn said gently.

"Ni ceta," Fox said quietly. He didn't like the thought of worrying his vod'ika. Could he even call them that if he's dar'vod?

"You can call us that ori'vod. We're your vod'ika, we'll always be your vod'ika, no matter what. You aren't dar'vod, not to us," Thire said firmly as his hands slipped into Fox's. Oh. He must've said that out loud.

"Do you want to tell me what happened," Thorn asked as he wrapped his arm lightly around Fox's shoulder. Fox's hands curled into tight fists and he squeezed his eyes shut before forcing them open once again.

"H-He attacked the Chancellor. We were, I was, given order to terminate ARC-5555 on sight," he whispered.

"ARC-5555? Isn't that Rex's ARC? Fives or something," Thorn questioned in confusion and Thire quickly sent him a frown.

"He's Rex's vod'ika. Has been since that one mission on the Rishi Moon. Rex said he was his last domino, he talks about him all the time in the group chat," Fox said quietly. He's usually far too busy to respond in the CC group chat but he likes to check in and make sure his batchers are doing ok whenever he can.

"I-I told them, I told everyone to set the gun to stun. I thought I set it t-to stun," he whimpered. He could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes but he desperately held them back. He's broken down in front of the other Commanders before, they all have otherwise they wouldn't have made it this far, but this is different. He doesn't deserve their comfort right now, he shouldn't be breaking down in front of them.

"It's okay Fox, you can cry," Thorn said, shifting his hand slightly to give Fox's shoulder a squeeze. Fox whimpered and shook his head quickly. He doesn't deserve this. Thorn and Thire shared a concerned look before Thire moved up and sat down on the other side of Fox, slipping his arm around his waist.

"I don't deserve this. You both should just leave, get away from me. I'll only hurt you, you should go," Fox whispered. He refused to look at either of them, instead focusing on the bunk in front of them.

"You do deserve this, what happened wasn't your fault," Thorn said. Fox growled out in frustration and shot up, spinning around to face the two Commanders on the bed angrily. He regretted shooting up so fast as he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and it made him a little dizzy but he pushed it away.

"I killed a vod, and just any vod, Rex's vod'ika. I'm dar'vod, everyone who didn't already hate me, will now. I refuse to drag the two of you down with me," Fox said angrily.

"But you aren't to us Fox, and you won't be. You had direct orders, you can't disobey them," Thire said quickly.

"I can if I want to," Fox said, shaking his head.

"Did he give you an order," Thorn asked quietly.

"What," Fox asked as he turned his attention to the older of the two on the bed.

"Did Palpatine give you an order," Thorn repeated.

"Of course he gave me an order, otherwise we wouldn't have gone after him in the first place," Fox snapped in annoyance.

"No, that's not what I mean and you know it. Did he give you an order," Thorn asked firmly and Thire shivered. Even just being given a normal order from the Chancellor is something they would all want to obey, unless they want the guard funds to be cut even more, or for one of their own to go missing without a trace amongst other things. But an order, that's not something you can physically disobey, you quite literally don't have a choice.

"I um, I don't know. I don't remember," Fox said quietly. He tried to remember, to think back to what happened once he was summoned to the Chancellor's office. He remembered being told that ARC-5555 has committed treason and should be terminated on site but the rest of his vision gets fuzzy after that.

"If you don't remember, then it's likely you did. We all have trouble remembering whenever the Chancellor gives us those orders, right. This wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could do to have stopped it," Thorn said with a frown. Fox deflated at that and shuffled back over to them, sitting down once again.

"I tried so hard. I-I, I told everyone to put their guns to stun and I. I put my own gun onto stun, I swear I did it, I never wanted to hurt Fives, I didn't want to hurt Rex. I thought I put it on stun," Fox cried as he dropped his head into his hands, the tears finally starting to fall. Thire quickly moved closer and wrapped his arms around the Marshall Commanders, snuggling close and tucking his chin over the others shoulder to try and offer as much comfort as he possibly could.

"We know you did Fox, but no matter how hard you tried or how badly you wanted not to, no one can resist once an order is given. It's not your fault," Thorn said with a sigh. It pained him to see his ori'vod so distraught, especially for something that was completely out of his control.

"I'm a v-vod killer n-now," Fox hiccupped.

"It wasn't you Fox, and the people who matter know that. We won't abandon you," Thire said softly.

"Rex is going to hate me even more now, they all are. They barely talked to me before but now they'll just hate me for what I've done," Fox said quietly, leaning his head against Thire's and curling into the comfort.

"If they know you at all or if they care for you, they'll try to understand why," Thire said and Thorn hummed, reaching out to brush his fingers through Fox's hair. They sat curled up like that together for a little while before they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Commanders, it's Hound." Fox sighed and peeled his eyes open, not having realised he closed them in the first place.

"Come in," he said, his voice slightly hoarse from his crying earlier. The door opened and Hound stepped inside, his face looking grim.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but Commander Cody is here right now, and he wants to see you Fox. Loch tried to tell him you're busy, but he won't take no for an answer and he's getting angrier," Hound said with a wince. Loch, he's one of the shinies and has only been here for just over a month.

"Stay here, I'll deal with him," Thorn said, making to stand up.

"No, it's fine. He's not going to stop until he talks to me so I may as well just go now. Plus, you two have shifts in less than an hour to get to, I can handle myself," Fox said with a sigh as he pulled himself away from the other two and stood up.

"Are you sure," Thire asked. Fox glanced back and saw the concern in his vod'ika's eyes. He sighed again before leaning down and pulling Thire into a keldable kiss.

"I'll be okay, it's just Cody. No matter how angry he is with me, he won't hurt me," Fox said gently, giving a light squeeze to Thire's neck to try and calm him down.

"Ok," Thire whispered with a nod.

"Don't be late for your shifts," Fox said as he pulled away and grabbed his helmet, tugging it back over his head before following Hound out. The two walked in silence throughout the halls before getting closer to the front offices of the barracks where Fox started to hear yelling.

"I am a Marshall Commander, and I am ordering you to let me see him right now."

"I'm sorry Sir but Marshall Commander Fox is my Commander and thus, I answer to him over you, and these are his orders." Fox could hear the well-hidden shakiness in the shinies voice, and it made him angry but he was also proud that the shiny was holding his ground. He turned the corner to see Cody standing in front of Loch with anger showing on his face, but Loch wasn't backing down.

"Thank you Loch, you can stand down," he said quickly. Loch turned to face him before nodding and stepping back. Cody stepped forwards towards Fox and opened his mouth to most likely yell at him, but Fox just grabbed his arm and yanked him away, tugged him over to his office and pushing him inside before closing the door to give them privacy.

"Don't ever yell at one of my shinies again, do you hear me? He is just doing his job, and you have no right to threaten and scare him for it," Fox said firmly. He can understand that Cody is angry at him, but Loch didn't deserve to cop the brunt of it.

"If your shiny listened to me, then I wouldn't have had to. All I asked was to talk to you," Cody said with a frown.

"Yeah, well you're talking to me now," Fox said as he moved around the small office and leaned against his desk that was filled with flimsiwork he still had to go through. Cody was silent for a few moments, looking at him with a frown.

"I'd like to actually see your face when I talk to you or are you too much of a coward to look me in the eyes," Cody said bitterly. Fox held back a wince at his harsh words but it was understandable. Cody was the one that brought Rex into their batch all those years ago as cadets, he's always been the most protective over him. Rules state that they don't take their helmets off unless they're in the barracks or the medbay but Fox has just gotten used to always wearing his helmet unless he's made to take it off because it's more comfortable. But he knows Cody won't let it go so he reached up with a sigh and unclasped it, tugging it off his head and placing it on the desk. Cody froze and Fox understood why. He probably looked like shit as he hasn't slept properly in days and he can't remember the last time he went to the fresher to clean himself up.

"Were you crying," Cody asked quietly as his eyes ran over his youngest batchmates form. There were quite a few scars on Fox's face that he'd never seen before and his hair was matted with his forehead with streaks of grey. His eyes were red and slightly puffy, hinting at the fact that he had been crying.

"No, I'm fine. What're you doing here Commander," Fox asked sternly, fixing his face to be blank. The frown returned to Cody's face as his arms crossed over his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Like what were you honestly thinking," Cody asked.

"This is about Rex's ARC, I'm assuming," Fox said with a sigh. He already knew the answer but he was trying to stall to try and figure out what to say.

"About Rex's-. Yes, this about his ARC and his name is Fives. But he's not just Rex's ARC, he's also the little shiny that I picked up from the Rishi Moon with Rex. I've known this kid since before he joined the 501st. You know all of this and yet you still shot him," Cody said angrily.

"I had orders Cody, I was just following them," Fox said.

"You were just following orders? Seriously? That's your excuse? You were told to stop him, not KILL HIM. YOU COULD'VE STUNNED HIM NOT SHOT HIM," Cody yelled, slamming his hands down onto the desk. Fox had to actively stop himself from flinching back at the action.

He did. He set it to stun. He tried to. He never wanted to hurt Fives.

"I had orders Cody, I was doing my duty. I told ARC-5555-."

"His name is Fives," Cody snapped as he cut Fox off.

"I told Fives to stand down and not to grab the gun but he didn't listen. He was pointing it at my troopers and I had orders so I stopped him," Fox said, keeping his voice level.

"You don't care. You don't even care at all. Look at you," Cody yelled, waving his hand over Fox's form where he was standing stiffly.

"You don't even care that you just shot a vod. And not just any vod, this is Rex's vod'ika. What is wrong with you? It's like I don't even know who you are any more," Cody said shaking his head. Fox held back a retort of you don't. Because it's true, none of his batchers know him. They've barely talked in the past years and all of them had stopped reaching out months ago, only posting in the chat they had but never directing anything to Fox.

"It is a shame that AR-Fives had to die but once again, I was just following orders and protecting my troopers. It's not my fault he went off the rails and tried to kill the Chancellor," Fox said with a frown. Cody's eyes ran over his body as he shook his head, muttering something under his breath and Fox stiffened even further. He was expecting this, he knew it would happen. But that doesn't make it hurt any less.

"You're dar'vod. I don't even know who you are anymore Fox. You shot a vod and you don't even care, you're just making up excuses. Stay away from Rex okay. In fact, stay away from all of us, we don't need poison like you holding us down," Cody said with a frown. Fox's throat felt tight and his heart was racing in his chest. He cleared his throat before shifting to parades rest.

"If that is your decision Commander Cody, then so be it," he said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady.

"My decision? Are you kidding me? I can't even anymore with you. You disgust me Fox, you're dar'vod, don't come near me or my men," Cody spat. Fox's comm beeped and he looked at it quickly, confused as he saw it was flashing purple. The Chancellor was summoning him, but why? He obviously wants to gloat about what happened but Fox had expected him to wait until tomorrow at the very least. Obviously not.

"If that is all Commander, the Chancellor has summoned me so I must be going," Fox said as he grabbed his helmet and put it on his head. He didn't even wait for Cody's reply before brushing past him and heading out. It's best not to be late when the Chancellor summons you.

A/N

Translations:

Vod-ika - Little Brother
Ori'vod - Big Brother
Vod - Brother
Dar'vod - No Longer Brother
Gedet'ye - Please
Ni ceta - I'm Sorry