Fox followed Bly down the halls, remaining quiet. Bly wasn't talking so he wasn't really sure what to do other than to follow him. They eventually stopped by in front of a room and Bly quickly opened the door, ushering Fox inside. Fox walked in, glancing around to see it was a sleeping quarters. Another quick look around made him realise it was Bly's quarters.

"So, what was it you want t-." Fox was cut of with a yelp as he turned and was suddenly being engulfed in a tight hug. He wasn't sure what to do, so he just stood there and allowed Bly to hug him tightly. Bly moved one of his hands up to the back of Fox's head, gently guiding it down to rest on his shoulder, his other arm hugging Fox's waist tightly. Fox hesitated for a second before relaxing and wrapping his arms around Bly's waist lightly.

"Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum," Bly said softly and Fox tensed in surprise, his eyes widening.

"Y-You do know that...Right," Bly asked quietly as he pulled back to look at Fox. He let out a sigh as one glance over Fox told him all he needed to know.

"You don't, do you," he said sadly. Fox frowned and stepped back, walking over to the chair by the desk and sitting down. Bly frowned as well and went over to his bed, sitting on the edge of it.

"I'm sorry Fox, for everything," Bly said with a sigh. Fox unhooked his helmet and sat in in his lap, looking over it carefully.

"Define everything Bly," he said slowly.

"I should never have stopped reaching out to you. I know with the war and everything, things have been hard and I might not have been able to do it frequently, but I still could have commed. I will admit, I was upset when you barely replied to our messages. There was always an excuse as to why you never could show up to meet us, or at least, I thought it was an excuse. Now I realise you were really just that busy. I still could have gone down to the Guard barracks when you were working to see you," Bly said, looking down guiltily. Fox glanced over at him and sighed, moving over to sit beside him on the bed. Bly lifted his head and turned it to glance at Fox before looking away again.

"You know, I did that to protect you all," Fox said quietly.

"What do you mean," Bly asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"The way that Palpatine would always make sure to keep me in check was through threatening those I cared about, like Stone, Thire and Thorn. I wasn't sure if he was able to access the comms but I didn't want him to know how much I cared about you guys. The concept of batchmates was not something he would've so he wouldn't have automatically thought I cared for you. If I spent too much time catching up with you all, he would've caught on. And you guys are on the frontlines, I had no way to make sure you were safe there," Fox explained.

"Are you-. You're kidding right," Bly stuttered, looking up at Fox in surprise.

"No. Why would I joke about that," Fox asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Force, that makes it even worse," Bly groaned.

"And to answer your early question, I figured you all stopped caring about me when you stopped comming. Don't worry, I never blamed you. I mean it hurt but I figured it would happen eventually once I stopped comming you back much," Fox said with a shrug.

"Kark Fox, that's so not true. I have never stopped caring about you. You have always been and will always be my vod'ika, my littlest vod'ika," Bly said, shifting his body to face Fox.

"Rex is the littlest vod'ika in the batch Bly," Fox pointed out.

"I love Rex'ika, don't get me wrong. But you were always the youngest of our batch and to me that never changed, even after Cody went and adopted our token CT. You're always going to be my littlest vod'ika," Bly said firmly. Fox let a small smile flit over his lips at Bly's words. They were touching.

"I honestly don't know how any of you stood on the Fives incident. When Cody came to see me about it, I wasn't in a good frame of mind but even if I was, I couldn't exactly tell you what actually happened, especially because I thought I had killed him. Wolffe was just a sneaky shabuir and got to us when I was injured and wasn't really able to keep anything from him," Fox said.

"Cody commed us after he kicked you from the group chat. He told us what happened and I will admit, I was surprised. I didn't think it was something you would do but there was video evidence. I was actually going to try to get in touch with you and see if there was some way for me figure out what had actually happened. Trying to kill a vod didn't sound much like you," Bly said quietly.

"And, about being dar'v-."

"That was all Cody, not me. Even if you did kill Fives and mean it, I would've been able to see where you were coming from. And I know it hurts, but Cody isn't thinking straight either. He named you dar'vod because he was emotional. Fives is Rex's ARC but Cody also knew him, he was there when Rex first met him and the other ARC. He wouldn't have meant what he said," Bly said and Fox snorted.

"Funny. When Rex and Cody found out Wolffe was talking to me, they came in and yelled at him. Then Rex punched me and almost killed me. It was an accident, but still," Fox said with a frown as he shuffled back and leant against the wall.

"I'm sorry, they did what," Bly said angrily as he moved back to join Fox. Rex almost killed Fox?

"It was an accident. He punched me after I was already hurt and I smashed my head on the corner of a desk I think," Fox said.

"Still. Rex shouldn't have attacked you and Cody shouldn't have condoned it. I think I may have to talk to my other two vod'ike," Bly said with a scowl. Fox smiled softly and leant to the side, leaning his head against Bly's shoulder to rest it there. It's nice to know his ori'vod still cares, that he's seeing all the facts and acting accordingly, rather than just siding with Cody and Rex. Bly quickly wrapped his arms around Fox's shoulder and held him tightly.

"I'm sorry that I made you think I stopped caring for you," he said quietly.

"I forgive you, it was honestly how I would have acted in your position so I get it. I may have been a bit too quick to ride you off," Fox said with a small shrug.

"Well, I'm here now and I'm going to look after you. I promise," Bly said.

"I will hold you to that ori'vod. Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum," Fox said softly.

"Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum Fox'ika," Bly said, pressing a kiss to the top of Fox's head. Fox leaned further into the contact, fully cuddling into Bly's side.

"How're you feeling? You must be pretty tired with how emotionally draining this must all be. Not to mention your panic attack was pretty intense. That's what it was right," Bly asked gently, hoping he wouldn't set Fox off.

"Yeah, I get them sometime but Thorn said that's the worst one I've had," Fox said quietly.

"I'm sorry. D-Did I set it off? You um, you kept mumbling my name. I was worried I was triggering it so I made sure to leave and give Thorn some space to look after you," Bly said guiltily.

"No, it wasn't you. I was just overwhelmed and worried for what was going to happen to us. Seeing the gunships made things more real and it set me off I think. And I wasn't saying your name because I was scared off you, I didn't actually realise I was saying it. But I kind of thought I was back in the room with the Senator. I was scared for you, I didn't want him to touch you," Fox sighed. Bly's heart skipped a beat and he hugged Fox tighter, burying his head in his curls.

"I'm safe, we both are," Bly said gently and Fox nodded.

"I think I may be starting to believe that," Fox said.

"Good. You deserve to feel safe," Bly said, kissing Fox's curls again. Fox smiled happily, his stomach churning slightly, in a good way.

"Would you like to get some rest? You seem really tired," Bly said, running his fingers through Fox's curls. Fox sagged further in his hold, his eyes slipped closed unconsciously as he leaned into the touch.

"Look at you, you're exhausted. Let's get your armour off and you can lay down," Bly said gently. Fox frowned and shook his head, sitting up and pulling away from Bly, no matter how comforting it felt.

"I can't. I need to make sure the men are okay," Fox said with a sigh.

"They're perfectly safe here Fox, nothing will happen," Bly promised.

"I know that ori'vod but they won't, they will worry about it and they'll be scared. They need to have me there as reassurance," Fox said.

"If it makes you feel better, I will make sure to sleep once I've got my men settled," Fox promised.

"Ok. I'll come with you though, make sure you get to back to the hangars," Bly said, slipping off the bed and holding out his hand to Fox. Fox snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I may not have been on cruisers much before but I know the layout vod," he said, grabbing Bly's hand and allowing him to tug him off the bed.

"Hey, I don't know how much you remember," Bly said with a grin.

"A lot. I'm not dumb you shebs," Fox said, whacking Bly's shoulder and making him laugh.

"Feisty little Fox aren't you," Bly said. Fox rolled his eyes but followed Bly from the room.

"Hey Bly, can I ask you something," Fox asked as they walked through the halls.

"Of course Fox'ika, you can ask me anything," Bly said with a nod.

"Have um, have you heard from Ponds lately," Fox asked. Bly sighed and ruffled Fox's hair gently.

"He's okay. He should be on Coruscant at the moment actually, because all of the Council and many other Jedi were ordered back. General Windu is a high member of the Council so he will be here," Bly said gently. Fox frowned and glanced down at the ground as he walked.

"Don't worry, Ponds still cares for you too, we all do. He loves you but he's oblivious like we all were," Bly explained quickly.

"I will have to catch up with him if we get the chance, maybe explain my side of things," Fox said quietly.

"Fox, you don't have to explain anything if you don't want to. If you do want to explain it, it's your choice and if you would rather have Wolffe and I there, I would be happy to come and I'm sure so will he," Bly said quickly.

"Would be almost a batch reunion," Fox said with a light chuckle but Bly sighed.

"Cody was misguided. You don't owe him anything, especially not to give him another chance but if you would like to, I think that bridge can be fixed," Bly said gently.

"I honestly don't even know if it's worth it Bly. I get he cares for Rex, I know he's the favourite vod'ika but I would have thought Cody would still care enough to give me the benefit of the doubt," Fox said with a sigh. Bly could see the hidden meaning behind Fox's words, the self-deprecation. Cody is the second youngest in their batch, meaning Fox and Rex are his only vod'ika.

"Hey, let's stop for a moment," Bly said, grabbing Fox's wrist and stopping. Fox had no choice but to stop as well.

"Cody loves you Fox. And no, no let me finish. He loves you. I know it was hard for you when Rex joined us on Kamino because it felt like you lost your spot as the youngest. I know it upset you but you never had the courage to tell us how you felt but we all love you so much. Cody cares about you, just as much as he cares for Rex," Bly said firmly, making Fox scoff and roll his eyes. Bly could not be any more wrong with what he just said.

"Cody hates me Bly, he's made that very clear. He told me not to go near him, booted me from the group chat, encouraged Rex to attack me and he named me dar'vod. Trust me, I know exactly where I stand," Fox spat angrily. He looked away from Bly to hide the hurt he knew was showing in his eyes. Anger is an easier emotion to deal with, easier than sadness and hurt. Bly didn't push it further, knowing it wasn't something Fox wanted to discuss.

"Come on, I want to meet your ad'ika," Bly said with a grin as he tugged Fox along again.

"Uh, I'm not sure if you really want that right now. Thorn's reaction is mild compared to what Thire's will be, especially when he's already fire up with everything going on," Fox said with a wince.

"I feel like all of our Commanders hate us," Bly said with a huff.

"They do," Fox deadpanned.

"Right. I guess we deserve that," Bly said quietly.

"You did. But we can fix it," Fox said slowly. Bly glanced at him before flinging an arm over his shoulders. Fox rolled his eyes but leant into the contact, even as they walked into the hangar bay. The Guard were already moving about, obviously following instructions to find their bunks and get sorted. Fox scanned the room to see who he should check on first and his eyes landed on a familiar medic bundled up in Wolffe's arms, being squeezed tightly. Fox slipped from Bly's grip and made his way over to the two of them.

"Commander Wolffe, please try to refrain from suffocating my men, especially my CMO," Fox said sternly, flashing a brief smile to show he wasn't actually annoyed.

"But he looks so lost and adorable, you just want to cuddle him and keep him wrapped in your arms," Wolffe cooed. Helix gave Fox a look that screamed 'get me out of here' and Fox had to hold back a laugh.

"As much as I agree with you, please unhand my medic," Fox said with a grin, ignoring Helix's glare. Wolffe sighed but let Helix go and Helix quickly stepped away, straightening himself out and brushing his shoulders.

"Next time either of you end up in my medical bay, just remember this moment when I'm not gentle," Helix said, making the grin slip from Fox's face.

"Wait, hold on. That was all Wolffe, not me. Why am I being added into the equation? H-. Helix. Helix," Fox yelled out but Helix ignored him and kept walking away. Fox huffed and turned to Wolffe who was grinning sheepishly.

"If Helix starts stabbing me with needles, I am blaming you and I will hunt you down," Fox said, crossing his arms with a grown. Bly frowned worriedly and stepped closer to the two of them.

"Ori'vod, maybe be careful with how you act around the Corries. I know you're used to being more touchy with your men but you don't want to trigger them or make them uncomfortable," Bly said. Fox let out a light chuckle and relaxed his stance.

"Helix is fine, he's just whining. He likes having those he trusts dote on him, even if he acts like he doesn't. And he trusts Wolffe, a lot. Plus if he actually didn't like it, you would definitely know because you'd be on the ground in three seconds flat," Fox assured with a grin. It's true, Helix is quite good at hand-to-hand combat. He glanced at Bly who looked relieved and tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. He hesitated for a second before moving forward and hugging Bly gently. It meant a lot that Bly was willing to speak up for his men, even to a batchmate. Bly hugged him back for a few seconds before suddenly stiffening and Fox pulled back in confusion. Bly was staring at something behind him with wide eyes so he turned around and followed his batchers line of sight.

"Thire," he said with a nod as his ad walked up to them.

"Fox," Thire replied, his eyes not leaving Bly as he glared daggers at the GAR Commander. Fox rolled his eyes but had to hold back a small smile from slipping onto his lips.

"Did you want something or did you just come to glare," Fox asked slowly. Thire huffed but turned his attention to Fox reluctantly.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said.

"Okay," Fox said with a nod, waiting for Thire to continue, but he didn't.

"Thire," he said slowly, prompting him to continue.

"I would prefer that we talk privately Sir," Thire said. Fox frowned but nodded to Wolffe and Bly to leave. After a slight hesitation from both, they walked off to give the two Guard Commanders space.

"What's wrong," he asked in concern.

"Are we allowed to use the medical bay here," Thire asked quietly, making Fox's eyebrows furrow in concern.

"Yeah, of course. What happened? Are you hurt," Fox asked worriedly.

"Oh, ah I...tripped and fell earlier. I knocked my ribs a little and their fine but I want to get some bacta for them anyway," Thire said slowly. Fox snorted and rolled his eyes, relaxing slightly. Trust Thire to get hurt tripping over.

"Are they bruised do you think," Fox asked.

"I dunno, not badly. I was just ging to chuck some bacta on it as a precaution," Thire said.

"Alright. I'll get someone to walk you to the medical bay," Fox said and Thire nodded. Fox glanced to see who he could call out to when an idea formed.

"Bly," he called out, waving him over.

"No. Fox, no," Thire said quickly.

"Fox yes," Fox whispered before turning to Bly and Wolffe who came back over.

"Ori'vod could you please take Th'ika to the medical bay? He just needs to get some bacta on his ribs," Fox explained. Bly's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced over at Thire quickly.

"Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt," Bly asked hurriedly, his hand instinctively moving to rest on Thire's arm to offer comfort. Thire's usual reaction to people he doesn't trust touching him is to shrug them off but he was too shocked and confused to move.

"Thire," Bly called out. Thire blinked quickly, glancing at Bly to see the concern is his eyes, concern that can't be faked.

"Um, yeah I'm fine. I just tripped," Thire said quietly.

"Okay. Come on, I'll take you to my CMO. I'll make sure he's okay Fox," Bly said. Fox nodded and Bly pressed his hand to the small of Thire's back, guiding him forwards. Thire just followed along, still surprised by how Bly was acting. Guilt must be a very powerful thing. Wolffe moved to stand behind Fox, watching Bly and Thire leave.

"What a great idea Fox'ika. Send your ad'ika with anger issues with your batchmate who abandoned you and you're seeing for the first time in a year," Wolffe chuckled.

"Thire doesn't have anger issues, he's just protective," Fox said.

"But Thire is also too confused right now with how Bly is acting to be angry so they'll be fine. He isn't used to the GAR being so nice," he added with a shrug.

"Commander Wolffe." They both turned to see a trooper from the 104th hurrying over.

"Mars, what can I do for you," Wolffe asked, his eyes quickly scanning over his trooper to be sure nothing was wrong.

"Ah, yes sir. Or at least I hope so, Sir," Mars said slowly.

"What's happening," Wolffe asked with a raised eyebrow. Mars hesitated, his eyes darting over to Fox. Fox frowned and straightened out as he realised it most likely involved his men, if the trooper was hesitating around him. He had a pretty good idea what that meant and what most likely happened.

"Spit it out Trooper," he said tightly. Wolffe frowned at the sharpness in Fox's voice towards his trooper but didn't say anything for now.

"Sorry Commander. There was a fight in the mess not too long ago. I don't think they're still fighting physically but they're arguing and it might start up again," Mars said. Fox grit his teeth angrily. It was too much to expect them to be able to stay somewhere safe without issues. Now the GAR are already causing fights with them and compromising their safety.

"Great. Who started it and why," Wolffe asked, glancing worriedly at Fox who looked angry.

"It depends on what you classify as starting it. A trooper from the 327th was saying some stuff about the Guard, talking shit about them if I'm being fully truthful. Sinker heard what he was saying and told them to take it back and shut their mouth or he'd shut it for them. Long story short, they didn't, Sinker punched them, they punched back and then other troopers got involved, each protecting their own," Mars explained.

"Were there any Guard troopers actually involved," Fox asked slowly.

"Uh, no. I don't think there were even any Corries in the mess. Everyone is getting moved to different barracks at the moment to get settled," Mars said, shaking his head. Fox blinked in surprise. They weren't involved? They weren't even in the room and wouldn't have know about it but they were still defended, Sinker defended them.

"Thank you for telling me. I will handle it," Wolffe said. Mars nodded and left quickly.

"I assume you want to continue checking on your men so I will go and deal with this myself," Wolffe said and Fox nodded.

"Maybe. Maybe go easy on your men. It means a lot that they defended us, they didn't have to do that," Fox said quickly. Wolffe scowled in annoyance. Why has it gotten to the point that simply telling someone to stop talking bad about the Guard means so much to them? How did they let it get that bad?

"I'm not telling my boys off at all Fox, they did the right thing. All I'm doing is just checking up on them, maybe scare a few of Bly's troops while I'm at it if they're still being assholes," Wolffe said with a shrug.

"Oh," Fox said in surprise.

"Yeah, oh. We're with you Fox, were going to stand up for all of you. Just relax, I'll catch up with you later," Wolffe said, patting Fox's shoulder. He left the Guard to their business and made his way through the halls quickly, striding into the mess. He scanned the room quickly, seeing five of his men and about six of the 327th split on either side of the room glaring at each other. The 327th were very clearly holding someone back while Sinker was on the opposite side of the room with Boost in front of him, a hand on his batchmates chest to hold him back.

"What's going on," Wolffe asked, his voice booming through the room and everyone turned to him, quickly standing at attention.

"Nothing Sir, we just had a slight disagreement," one of the 327th troopers said. Wolffe crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Boost, tell me exactly what happened," Wolffe commanded as he turned to his men. Boost is the one he can generally trust to keep a level head and give him the facts. Boost stepped forwards, switching to stand at parades rest in front of Wolffe.

"There was a disagreement between Sinker and Viper Sir. It just started off as an argument but it later turned physical. We have separated them Sir," Boost said. He kept out the part where Viper is an asshole and Boost was seconds away from jumping him as well.

"And what was the argument about," Wolffe asked as he glanced to the 327th trooper who being held back. He assumed that was Viper and judging from his uniform, he was a lieutenant. The others were all quiet, no one speaking up, not even Boost.

"Someone better tell me right now or I'm putting you all on fresher duty for a month," Wolffe said sternly.

"He was talking shit about Thire. Said he was only promoted to Commander by sucking off Senators," Sinker spat angrily and Wolffe stiffened.

"Please, the Guard are just whining because they didn't get dessert or something. Everyone knows they have the cushy job but now they are bothering us and taking up room on our ship when we're meant to be out there fighting a war. And don't even get me started on that little shabuir. I know Thire and he was never and never will be Commander material," Viper spat.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm a Commander and I know Thire as well, likely more than you do and I know he is Commander material," Wolffe said angrily as he stepped closer to the lieutenant. Viper scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I had the unfortunate luck of being in Thire's batch on Kamino so trust me Commander Wolffe, I know him way better than you do. He's either karking a Senator or he's karking the Marshall Commander-."

"Say that shit again and I'll have you court martialled Lieutenant," Wolffe said, cutting him off. How could someone talk about their batchmate this way? He would never dream of saying anything bad about Fox or the others.

"I saw Thire earlier and the so called Commander isn't as skilled as one would think. Don't blame me for just stating the facts," Viper said with a shrug. Wolffe furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean he isn't as skilled as one would think," Wolffe asked.

"He was easy to take out earlier. I didn't even have to get the jump on him," Viper shrugged with a grin.

"You attacked Thire? Are you kidding me," Boost said angrily, striding over and grabbing Viper by the chest plate, pinning him to the wall.

"Boost, stand down," Wolffe said quickly. Boost frowned angrily but let go of Viper who quickly shoved him away.

"So you attacked a commanding officer," Wolffe said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, I attacked a poor excuse of a clone. Thire has always been defecting, a reject. All it took was a kick to the ribs and a knock to the head and he was out cold. That is not what you would expect from a commanding officer," Viper spat. Wolffe's eyes widened and he remembered what Thire had said earlier. He had lied. He didn't trip, he was attacked by his batchmate, a clone in a place where he is supposed to be safe. His lifted his arm and quickly commed in Bly's number.

"Wolffe, I can't talk right now," Bly said as he answered his comm.

"Bly, you need to do a full check up on Thire. He lied earlier, he didn't trip, he was attacked by one of your Lieutenants," Wolffe said quickly.

"Who," Bly asked back.

"Lieutenant Viper. Apparently they're batchmates," Wolffe said with a frown, glaring back at Viper who still looked smug.

"Take him into custody, I want to have a word with him," Bly said after a few seconds and there was anger evident in his voice.

"Wait, what-."

"Do a check up on Thire please, I want to make sure he's okay. Fox doesn't handle it well when he's hurt," Wolffe said.

"Then keep him occupied. Thire is in surgery right now because he had a broken rib that ended up piercing his lung," Bly said with a sigh.

"Oh shit," Boost gasped and Wolffe glared angrily at Viper who finally had that smug look wiped from his face.

"Is he going to be okay," Wolffe asked worriedly.

"Yeah, he should be fine so we don't need to cause a panic. Oak is a good medic so our ba'vodu is in good hands. I have to go now though because I'm keeping an eye on it. Get Viper into the brigs, I'll deal with him later," Bly said before cutting the comm.

"Sinker, Comet, lock Viper here up in the brig. I have some things to deal with," Wolffe said angrily.

"Yes Sir," Comet said, stepping forwards quickly and grabbing Vipers arm. Viper tried to resist but the other 327th and 104th troopers surrounded him so he gave in. Wolffe left the room quickly, breaking in a run as soon as he was out to get to the medical bay. He needs to find out exactly what happened to Thire and confirm he's going to be okay before heading to Fox and informing him. This is something he can hide from Fox or it will only break his trust. It's going to hurt to tell him his men aren't even safe with their own brothers though.