Trigger Warning
Implied/Referenced Rape-Noncon

It had taken Wolffe a good half an hour to manage to slip out from under Thire and Fox without waking them up. He had been worried once he was gone, they would feel the gap and automatically wake up but it shows how tired they must be as they both just rolled closer to each other and latched on. It was quite cute and if he had a datapad with him, he would've taken a photo. It was probably a good thing though as Fox would kill him if he found out he had done that. He spent some more time watching over them before making his way through the barracks to the front, leaving them with Helix who had returned earlier.

He was starting to get even more unsettled as he walked through the halls, noting how the Guard were all wearing their helmets or those who weren't, put them on immediately when they saw him. They kept a wide berth when they passed him and wouldn't even look his direction. It was unnerving. He shrugged it all off however and continued until he was outside, waiting for his Wolfpack to arrive with whatever they could gather. There was eventually some movement and Wolffe glanced up to see five of his wolfpack walking over quietly. They each had a pack and were carrying different tubs.

"Commander," Boost said with a nod as they paused in front of him. He ran his eyes over the five of them, identifying them as Boost, Sinker, Comet, Rocky and Cub.

"Put your helmets on and follow me," Wolffe said, slipping his own helmet on. Clearly the Guard was having some issues with removing their helmets around others, so for now they will respect that and hopefully it might help. The other five all mimicked his actions and trailed along behind him as he walked into the Guard barracks once again. The Guard at the front desk looked up and even though his helmet was on, Wolffe could tell he was confused and uncertain.

"Commander," he said slowly, his head turning between the six of them. They would've made an odd sight with the tubs and backpacks, so it was understandable.

"Hey Loch, long time no see. I'm just wondering where we can put all of this to sort through and distribute," Wolffe asked.

"What is it? If you're planning on playing a prank or disturbing the others, you can just leave now," Loch said with a frown.

"No, nothing of the sort. We've just brought some supplies, like some food, medical supplies, blankets and stuff," Wolffe assured him.

"Y-You bought b-blankets? A-And food," Loch asked shakily as he stood up and peered over. He seemed to contemplate for a few seconds before leaving the desk and moving over. Wolffe knew the young trooper was finding it hard to believe so he opened up the lid of the tub Sinker was holding on to show what was inside. It was stacked full of blankets and food rations. It was quiet for a few seconds before Loch stumbled and Wolffe lunged forward at the same time Comet dropped his tub and reached out. The two of them caught the shiny and slowly lowered him to the ground so he wouldn't get hurt. His breathing was clearly quickened, and Comet went to tug off his helmet but Wolffe managed to slap his hand away in time. He didn't want to spook the poor shiny out even more.

"Loch, is it okay if I take off your helmet? I'm not going to hurt you or touch you without your consent but you're panicking right now, and I want to give you better air to breathe," Wolffe asked gently. Loch struggled for a few more seconds before nodding vigorously. Wolffe reached out slowly and gently tugged the helmet off Loch's head, placing it down beside them. His heart clenched as it was made even more apparent that he was a shiny by how young he looked. He wasn't as young as Cub, but he was definitely fresh from Kamino within the past few months.

"Okay Loch, do you know who I am," Wolffe asked. Loch didn't react to his question, just continued to pant harshly with wide eyes as he sat almost limp.

"Buir, he's panicking too much," Cub spoke up quietly. Wolffe growled quietly to himself and took up a different tactic.

"Trooper, identify yourself," he said sternly and it was like he snapped back.

"CT-4589 Sir," Loch responded immediately.

"And who am I CT-4589," Wolffe asked.

"Commander Wolffe of the 104th battalion, aka the Wolfpack," Loch responded immediately, glancing up to look at Wolffe. Wolffe immediately tugged off his helmet so the shiny wouldn't feel too singled out.

"That's right, it's Wolffe. Do you know where you are," he asked. Loch sniffled before nodding.

"G-Guard barracks," he stuttered out.

"Good, that's really good," Wolffe said with a nod of encouragement. Loch glanced around before looking at the tubs again.

"Y-You really bought us st-stuff," he asked timidly, wringing his hands in his lap.

"Yeah. I was talking to your Commanders earlier and they mentioned a shortage in a few areas, so we thought we'd help you out," Wolffe explained. Loch's eyes widened and tears started to fall down his face that he quickly tried to wipe away. There was some movement before Cub knelt down with his helmet off.

"Hi, I'm Cub," he said with a bright smile.

"Hello. I'm Loch," Loch replied slowly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Cub said happily and Wolffe noticed the small twitch in Loch's lips.

"You seem very young Cub," Loch pointed out.

"Oh, I am. My entire batch didn't make it so I was just trained as a medic and sent to the Wolfpack a year earlier than anyone would usually be sent out. I think they just couldn't be bothered with me and thought I'd die straight away but then Wolffe adopted me and now everyone is just super overbearing," Cub said.

"Oi," Wolffe said with a frown, lightly knocking Cub on the back of his head, making him giggle but Loch gasped.

"Oh no, it didn't hurt. It's a fond thing, Buir wouldn't hurt me," Cub rushed out quickly. Loch seemed confused but relaxed once again.

"So yeah, I'm still pretty young," Cub said with a nod.

"I didn't think I'd meet someone younger than me for a while," Loch admitted.

"Well, now you have. We can be friends if you'd like," Cub said, smiling once again.

"Fr-Friends? But, but you're from the GAR? The GAR hates us. Why would you want to be friends with me," Loch asked in confusion.

"We don't hate you. Who said that," Comet asked quickly.

"You all do? The GAR always talks about how we have such a cushy job, and we aren't real Clones. They always yell at us when they're in the drunk tanks, talking about how we're traitors and just enjoy spoiling your fun after you risk your lives on the front lines," Loch explained.

"Shit," Sinker grumbled, looking up at Boost who was frowning angrily, the others all seeming upset about it as well.

"That's not true Loch," Comet said quickly.

"But it is. It is! I-I'm not allowed in the drunk tanks anymore. Thorn pulled me away from there because I couldn't handle being yelled at all the time," Loch said with a firm nod. Wolffe remembered that Cody had come and yelled at this poor shiny and once again filed in the back of his mind to give the 212th Commander a piece of his mind.

"Look, I can't speak for everyone vod'ika, but no one here hates you," Rocky said, kneeling down beside Cub and drawing Loch's attention.

"V-Vod'ika," he stuttered out.

"Yeah Ori'vod. You're our vod," Cub said with a nod.

"O-Ori'vod," Loch squeaked out.

"Loch? LOCH. GET AWAY FROM HIM." The Wolfpack battalion on the floor immediately jumped up and moved away from the Guard on the floor as another one slammed down to the ground beside him.

"Here, put this on," the Guard said quickly, pushing Loch's helmet over his head with shaky hands. Wolffe noted the way the newcomer deliberately positioned himself between them and Loch, as if trying to shield him to protect him from them.

"Ghost, it's ok. They weren't hurting me," Loch said quickly, placing his hands gently on the new Guard's shoulder.

"I came to see you and you weren't at the desk. You were on the ground without your helmet with them crowding you," Ghost said.

"I know what it looks like but I'm okay, honest. They were helping me calm down because I was having a panic attack," Loch explained.

"A panic attack? What happened? Are you okay," Ghost asked worriedly.

"I'm fine ori'vod. I just got overwhelmed for a minute," Loch said.

"Overwhelmed by what," Ghost asked. Loch reached up and clicked something on his helmet before looking back at Ghost. About 10 seconds later, Ghost spun around and hurriedly scooted over, lifting up the lid of one of the tubs with a gasp.

"Blankets? Please, my batchmate is sick. Wh-What do I have to do to earn one? Please, I'll do whatever you-."

"Hey, hey, it's okay. These are for you. Here, take this," Comet said quickly as he grabbed one of the fluffier blankets and held it out to Ghost.

"A-Are you sure," Ghost asked, his voice so small that Wolffe felt bile rise up his throat. It's a blanket. Just a blanket. Something that should be easy to come by, should just automatically be available but it's like it's the greatest thing on earth.

"Here, take this as well. It's a packaged soup. You add some hot water to this and mix it and you'll have a nice soup that he can eat as well," Cub said, grabbing out a packet and placing it on top of the blanket as Comet placed them in Ghost's arms.

"Soup? Not ration bars," Ghost asked.

"Yeah. You c-can, you can go help your vod," Comet said with a nod. Ghost hesitated for a second, glanced at Loch who nodded before running off down the hall.

"What the kark," Sinker gasped out as soon as Ghost was gone. The five troopers from the Wolf Battalion were shocked and confused by what was happening.

"I'm sorry. Do yo-."

"Everything is okay Loch. Do you think you could direct us to somewhere we can take these tubs to sort through," Wolffe asked, cutting the shiny off from stressing too much.

"Oh. Y-Yeah, of course. If you head off to the left and then go to the third door on the right. We um, we use it sometimes if someone is having an especially hard time. We have, vod piles," Loch said quietly as he stood up. Wolffe could tell that it took him a lot to tell them that as it's most likely a safe space for them.

"We will be very respectful, I promise," Wolffe said, the others nodding quickly as they realised what Wolffe meant.

"Ok. It should be unlocked but if there's even just one person in there, please don't interrupt them," Loch said.

"We won't. Come on guys, let's get these inside and sorted through," Rocky said. They quickly collected all of the tubs and followed the directions given by Loch. Wolffe checked inside first, only heading inside when he was sure there was no one there. It wasn't too big of a room but there was enough space for them to do what they needed to do. There were a few old blankets and bean bags stacked up in the corner but other than that, it was empty.

"This is a bit depressing," Boost said with a wince as he set down his tub.

"You think? I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be their safe space but it's so, dull. It's got barely anything in it and is it just me or is it really cold in here," Sinker said with a frown.

"Sit down, I'll tell you everything I know so far but I warn you, it won't be pretty. Cub, if you want to sit this one out, you can," Wolffe said, glancing at his child.

"I'm not going anywhere. There's clearly something wrong with the Coruscant Guard and they're our brothers so we need to help them," Cub said firmly. Wolffe smiled proudly at him before he grabbed the beanbags and blankets and spread them out. The others all put down the tubs and bags before sitting down in a circle with Wolffe. Cub shuffled closer and leant against Wolffe, allowing the Commander to wrap an arm around his shoulder and hold him closer.

"To be honest, I don't even know where to start. It really isn't a pretty picture at all," Wolffe said with a sigh.

"Well, why don't you start off with why they don't have many supplies. Like how is it that they're running low on everything. Not even just that but it seems like they don't even expect things, like they're used to it, maybe they think they deserve it or something," Boost said.

"That's just the thing. First of all, Fox got hurt. No, not hurt. He was tortured. Commander Thorn and Commander Thire literally dragged him inside the med bay. He was unconscious and wasn't breathing, he w-was dead," Wolffe said shakily. His mind drifted back to the moment Fox was dragged in the door. He hadn't seen his prudii for a while, he'd neglected him and then he was dead and he almost stayed that way due to their living conditions.

"Buir?" Wolffe was snapped out of his thoughts by a squeeze of his hand. He glanced down to see Cub's helmet tilted up to face him.

"Helmets off everyone. We're going to discuss this face to face," Wolffe said as he tugged off his helmet, the others all quickly following.

"His face was so bruised and bloody; I wouldn't have recognised him if not for his hair because it's brown and curly. This is my batchmate, the person I grew up with and I can barely even recognise him," Wolffe said with a sigh.

"You said he was tortured. What happened," Comet asked quietly. Wolffe drew in a deep breath before continuing.

"He had burns and lashes all over his chest from something electrical. I couldn't look to much at that time because Thire was distraught and I had to look after him because he is Fox's ad'ika," Wolffe said, smiling fondly at the thought.

"Fox has an ad'ika? As in pole shoved up his sheb-."

"Shut up you dikut," Boost said, smacking Sinker in the back of the head harshly.

"Hey, I'm just pointing out the obvious," Sinker said angrily.

"No, you're insulting Wolffey's vod'ika who he just told you almost died," Boost said and Sinker immediately looked guilty.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking," he said quietly.

"Fox isn't as much of a hard ass as everyone thinks he is, or at least he never used to be. I think the reason he has changed so much is because of what they're doing to them on this planet. I was just as surprised as you were when Thire called him he's Buir, but it was nice. It's good to know that amongst everything, there's still some hope and happiness," Wolffe said with a sigh.

"Commander Thire? Well that's interesting. I guess I can see it though. Youngest Commander of the Guard or maybe just youngest Commander in general, I'm not sure. And then the big bad Marshall Commander with a soft spot. It's sweet when you think about it really," Sinker said with a shrug.

"It is but that's not the main focus here right now unfortunately. When Thorn was consoling Thire, he slipped up and said something about how Fox will pull through because he always does. Not only that but despite the fact that Fox was practically dead, they seemed almost, used to it. As if Fox showing up half dead is a regular occurrence and-. Oh shit," Wolffe gasped out in shock as he realised something.

"What," Cub asked, sitting up quickly.

"Fives," Wolffe said quietly, remembering what caused Stone to panic in the first place.

"Right, I forgot your batchmate tried to kill a vod. Why do we still care about him," Sinker asked with a frown and Wolffe growled angrily.

"Sinker, seriously," Boost said with a groan.

"What, he tried to kill Fives. He literally shot him with his blaster, not even a stun," Sinker said.

"I know he did, and that's why I wanted to check on him first because it didn't sound like something he would do. And I think I was right in that assumption," Wolffe said with an unhappy frown.

"How so," Comet asked.

"When Stone heard me mention that Fives was alive, he panicked. Like he was yelling at me to confirm Fives wasn't dead. I was initially confused because it seemed like Stone wanted Fox to have killed Fives. I mean, I guess that wasn't wrong but there's a reason. Stone and Helix their CMO called up Thorn and Thire straight away and told them about Fives still being alive and without even being there and that being the only thing said, it sounded like Thorn and Thire panicked as well. They said the Chancellor had ordered him to kill Fives after Fives attacked him-."

"Wait, the Chancellor wanted him killed. Not arrested or anything? But killed," Boost asked with a frown.

"I was surprised at first but I think there is something seriously wrong. They were stressing because Fox didn't kill Fives. I pointed out that maybe he just missed but Stone said he doesn't miss and that he defied a direct order. He shot Fives but he didn't kill him like he was told to," Wolffe explained.

"That does sound off," Cub said quietly.

"I tried to get more from them, but the alarm started going off and they tried to get me to leave. That's when the other two Commanders came in with Fox. They said he was with a him but I don't remember- oh kark. I didn't, I didn't realise it then," Wolffe said his eyes widening. They had all said so much, he had glossed over some details without realising but now that he was thinking back.

"He, he got Fox to remove his armour, s-so they could whip him. F-Fox said it was a punishment f-for not executing his orders. The Chancellors order. I don't, I don't understand. Fox said there were seven of the red guard that whipped him but, but Helix said again. This isn't the first time he's been hurt by the red guard, by the Chan-." Wolffe cut himself off, dropping his head into his hands as he came to the realisation.

"Hold on. You're saying the Supreme Chancellor, the leader of the Republic and our highest Superior, the person the guard is under Command from. You're saying he tortured Fox because he failed to execute the order to kill Fives, a vod," Boost asked quickly.

"I know, I know it doesn't make sense. But I'm telling you, they weren't lying. Fox hadn't even realised I was there then, he wasn't censoring what he was saying but when he realised I was there, he was terrified. He was excited when he said Fives was alive, even though he had been beaten almost to death because of that. I swear to you, they aren't lying," Wolffe said, lifting his head up a bit.

"As crazy as it sounds and it's something you're going to need proof for, I believe you. I know I called Commander Fox stuck up and all but I trust you Commander and your judgement. I don't think any vod would willingly kill another. Or at least, I would hope they wouldn't," Sinker said.

"Fox didn't even seem surprised or upset. He seemed so used to it, he said it was a punishment. I'm telling you; this was torture. Like he even specifically made him remove his armour. He was wearing it when they dragged him inside and there was only blood on it, not scrapes or lashes. His armour was removed and then put back on," Wolffe whispered.

"I honestly don't even know how to start unpacking that, but I assume there's more," Comet said.

"Well, you already know their low on supplies, but they had pretty much no medical supplies. They didn't even have bacta to use on his wounds. He would have died if Boost and Sinker didn't come with some bacta. Fox had scars littered all around his body, both old and new that had never really healed properly. Helix, the CMO, he was having to try and do whatever he could to help with what little he had. When I finally got the others talking, I found out there's been quite a few military budget cuts. Thorn said it goes to Fox's desk and Fox can't bring himself to hinder us, so he signs off on them losing whatever supplies need to be cut. Thorn said they'd all do the same in that situation, that they'd rather make sure we were safe," Wolffe said sadly.

"So basically, we're all really shitty to the Guard, and they still make the decision to keep us more protected and have them living in a situation no one should be in," Rocky said.

"That's not the worst part about the shortage though. Because they don't have the medical supplies and they rarely get bacta, they'll often forgo it unless it's absolutely necessary. But it also works the other way as well. If someone is critically injured they have to, decided whether it will save them or just be a w-waste. They have to decide if they should try save someone or l-let them die," Wolffe whispered and there were multiple gasps.

"Triage? But that, that's only for extreme warzones, if there's too many wounded," Cub said sadly. Wolffe quickly wrapped an arm around the young medic and tugged him closer.

"I felt so bad for Helix. It's so clear that he's been doing his absolute best but when I looked over at him, he just looked so defeated and guilty. He's a medic who has to make the decision to just let his men die because they don't have the necessary supplies to save them, supplies they should have," Wolffe explained.

"How bad is their food shortage if they act like it's Christmas to get some soup," Sinker asked.

"Fox said they are down to basically just one meal a day but sometimes those even need to be cut in half. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say those meals aren't very good," Wolffe said.

"One meal, sometimes less? That's no where near sustainable," Comet said angrily.

"No, it's not. They're all malnourished. I could almost see Fox's ribs and Thire felt way too light but somehow they must keep going because I wouldn't have noticed if I they didn't have their armour taken off," Wolffe said.

"Ghost was excited about the blanket as well and it's pretty cold in here, so I think it's safe to assume there's issues with getting the heating going. If there's budget cuts, I doubt heating is affordable," Boost pointed out. Wolffe nodded as it made sense.

"So basically, they've all been struggling with shortages in every way and all the GAR does on leave is give them shit and belittle them," Comet pointed out.

"It's no wonder they haven't said anything to us honestly," Rocky sighed.

"They're scared to, they don't trust us. It was a struggle to even get Fox, my own batchmate, my prudii to trust me enough to tell me these things. I had to basically pry it out of him," Wolffe said with a nod.

"This is bad," Boost said with a frown and Wolffe chuckled humourlessly.

"Oh, it gets worse," he said, shaking his head.

"How on earth could that possibly get any worse," Comet asked.

"There are these things called blackout mission, or at least that's what they've named them but it suits. I didn't push too much for information on this yet but basically a member of the Guard, usually a Commander will go missing for hours or days at a time and then show back up with injuries and blood, not knowing what happened. They've looked into it and found suspicious deaths link up with the times they're gone," Wolffe explained.

"Holy shit. So, what, someone's using them to enact their dirty business without them even being aware of it," Sinker said with wide eyes and Boost gasped.

"Commander Fox never wanted to hurt Fives did he? He was in a black out, he was doing what he was told, following order. Wait, but the Chancellor ordered him to kill Fives. Does that mean the Chancellor is sending them out on killing sprees and he gets mad if they fail to eliminate the target he's given. Like what happened to Fox with Fives," Boost said quickly.

"That was the conclusion I came to yes, but I didn't want to push to hard on the topic because Fox was still hurt. I will definitely be talking to him more about it once he's recovered though," Wolffe said.

"You're right, it was worse," Cub mumbled with a frown, clinging onto Wolffe's armour.

"Yeah about that. That's not even all," Wolffe said slowly.

"It gets worse," Rocky exclaimed.

"In my opinion, a lot worse. Now this is going to be bad, this is going to upset you so if anyone wants to sit it out, you can go stand in the hall for a bit," Wolffe said slowly, glancing between his pack but no one moved.

"Thorn said that the blackouts are the least of their problems. Mind control, assassin missions are the least of their problems. He said Coruscant isn't safe at all," Wolffe began.

"If anyone hasn't already noticed, the Guard all have the exact same armour apart from the Commanders. This is a conscious decision to try to limit the amount of decommissions they're ordered to do because a senator isn't in a good mood," Wolffe said.

"Decommissions? They're banned, the jedi got rid of them at the start of the war," Boost said with wide eyes while Cub curled closer to Wolffe.

"The Guard have no Jedi, Boost. They don't have that extra protection, but they have Fox who does everything in his power to protect his men. I asked Thorn about how they could still keep getting decommissions and about him saying the senators do it if they're having a bad day and you know what he said to me," Wolffe said, clicking his tongue bitterly.

"What," Comet asked quietly.

"He said they serve under the senate, that they aren't sentient beings. They're just meat droids who are at the disposal of the senators," Wolffe spat out angrily.

"I'm sorry what! Meat droids! At their disposal? What the kark is this," Sinker cried out.

"He said that most of the senate don't see them as human and think they can just make the Guard do whatever they want. He also said that they can and that they aren't allowed to say no to the senators. That ties into the whole, same armour thing. If the senators don't know their names or their armour, decommissions are less likely because simply saying something wrong is enough to get decommissioned," Wolffe said with a sigh.

"Saying something wrong? So, if they don't do as a senator asks or say something wrong, they're killed," Rocky said and Wolffe nodded.

"That's not right," Sinker said, the others all agreed with him, but Boost remained silent and Wolffe let him. He knew he would catch on just like he himself had, would put the pieces together and ask the question. Wolffe grabbed Cub and tugged him over, so he was sitting between his legs, his back against Wolffe's chest. It helped to relax him a bit more, keep him calmer. Boost mumbled something and the others went quiet to hear him.

"What was that," Sinker asked, glancing at him.

"You said they aren't allowed to say no to a senator, that they don't see them as human," Boost said slowly and Wolffe tightened his grip around Cub. The others still seemed confused, but Boost lifted his gaze up from the floor and his tear-filled eyes met Wolffe's.

"How many of them have been raped," he whispered, and everyone froze.

"I didn't want to push, especially on that subject. I wasn't going to trigger Thorn when he was in the barracks which should be a safe place for them. They have come up with a l-list, a list of the senators to keep the shinies away from. The Commanders try to put themselves on the shifts patrolling the areas near those on the list, to make sure the others aren't exposed as much to it. He s-said, he said he and Fox were used to e-everything, so they try to go in oth-others place. Thire was getting dragged away once and Th-Thorn went instead to p-protect his ad'ika. He said they're used to it," Wolffe whispered tearfully, hugging his own ad'ika as tight as he could without cutting off circulation.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Comet gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. Boost had started crying and Sinker was clinging to him desperately while Rocky sat there in shock. Cub was shaking slightly in Wolffe's arms but was already comforted by being close to his Buir.

"We have to do something. We can't just let them keep going through this. You said Fox had old scars as well so it's safe to assume they're being abused as well. So they have limited supplies, no support, no jedi, they're abused and raped by senators and the Chancellor who is their direct superior, somehow sends them out on blackout missions to kill people and also abuses them considering they said it wasn't the first time the red guard attacked and hurt Fox and the red guard report to him as well. And to top it off, they can't do anything about it or they'll be decommissioned," Rocky summed up. It was barely four sentences explaining everything and yet those four sentences were horrible.

"We have to tell Buir, we have to get them help. None of this should be happening, they don't deserve it. They don't have anyone to reach out to so they've been suffering alone. I can't even begin to think about how much stress and pressure has been put on the Commanders, especially Commander Fox as the Marshall Commander. No wonder they don't take off they helmets or interact much with people, they're probably terrified," Boost said, shaking his head sadly.

"Yeah and it doesn't help that the entire GAR gives them shit for nothing. Cushy job my ass, this is worse than being on the front lines," Sinker said angrily.

"They were pretty adamant we don't tell the jedi, they don't trust them. I mean Fox was panicking at the thought of me telling our batchmates," Wolffe said with a sigh.

"Well that's understandable considering Rex and Cody are probably pissed Fox shot Fives at the moment," Sinker pointed out.

"Cody went to see Fox after it and my guess is Fox was not in a good headspace. He thought he killed Fives when he didn't want to, and Fox's defence mechanism is to wall up. Cody kicked him from our Command chat and told us he didn't even care about what he did so he named him dar'vod," Wolffe said.

"Well, that's not helpful at all," Comet groaned.

"And this is Fox we're talking about. You guys don't really know him, but I do. He's going to be blaming himself for what happened and probably thinks he deserves the reaction," Wolffe said quietly.

"I mean, I can kind of see it from their point of view. I'm in no way saying that it's deserving but they don't know what we now do. In their eyes Fox shot a vod without any remorse, and it's someone both Cody and Rex know. Fives loved telling the story about how him and Echo met them. Grief and anger clouds judgement easily," Boost pointed out.

"I know, but it still annoys me. I feel guilty too, so that probably heightens my feelings as well. Fox never came around to our meetups when we had the chances to and he doesn't really reply to any messages. We just thought he didn't care or thought he was too good for us but well, it's obvious we were wrong," Wolffe said with a sigh.

"We still need to tell someone about this. There's only six of us here, we're going to need help to help them," Sinker said.

"I'll talk to Fox about it but for now I don't want to do anything that could betray his trust. What we need to do now is make sure the Guard knows they have people on their side, that they can ask for help," Wolffe said.

"I agree. It's pretty shitty to put it this way but they've been dealing with this since the start of the war, it's unfortunately nothing new. We need to gain their trust first before branching out," Boost said.

"So let's start that by distributing all of this. We have plenty of easy instant meals that should last them at least a month with three meals a day. Hopefully before then we will have gained their trust more and can contact other battalions to get some of their surplus," Rocky said.

"Sounds like a plan, let's go," Wolffe said with a nod. They all got up, grabbing the bags and tubs and walked through the halls. Wolffe had remembered passing by the mess hall when he first went to the med bay.

"Helmets on or off," Boost asked as they paused by the door.

"Keep them off. They're eating and won't be expecting anyone, so they won't have theirs on. We don't want to look gruff; we want to seem approachable," Wolffe instructed.

"So basically, get rid of your resting bitch face Buir," Cub said cheekily, giggling and jumping away behind Boost when Wolffe glared at him.

"Yeah, that face," Comet said. Wolffe rolled his eyes but made his face more neutral before opening the door. The six of them filed inside, noting how the light chatter in the room instantly stopped and the atmosphere turned tense as the eight corries inside turned to look at them. Wolffe didn't stop though, just flashed the Corries a smile and continued towards the kitchens, the others following him. He was almost there when someone suddenly stepped up in front of him. Wolffe instantly clocked the ARF Trooper uniform and noticed the massif standing at attention next to the trooper.

"Sergeant Hound," Wolffe said with a nod.

"Commander Wolffe, what can we do for you," Hound asked, standing at parade's rest with his back straight.

"At ease Sergeant, we're here as vod," Wolffe said. A flash of something crossed over Hounds face but it was gone just as quickly as it came.

"Well, why exactly are you here then? What is it that you want? What are in the tubs," Hound asked with a frown as he glanced what everyone was holding.

"Oh, we have food and blankets and stuff. And medical supplies. We were coming here to drop off the food," Cub spoke up quickly. Hound's eyes widened in surprise but once again carefully changed his face back to blank.

"Did you just say you have food." Someone questioned from off to the side, making everyone turn to him.

"Sit back down Winter," Hound said quickly, and the trooper did as asked.

"No, it's okay. Yeah, we've got food. Here, you can hav-."

"Enough! I don't know what it is you guys are playing at, but you need to leave," Hound said angrily as he moved over to stand between the Wolfpack and the Coruscant Guard as a buffer of sorts. Cub quickly pulled his hand back and stepped closer to Wolffe who placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We aren't playing Hound. I came to see Fox earlier and some things have come to light, things we didn't know about. We want to help," Wolffe said.

"Well, we don't need your help Commander, we're not your charity case. I don't know what you think you'll get in re-."

"I get it, okay. Not all of it but I get the protectiveness, wanting to look after your vod'ika and keep them safe. I get that. But we've got food, supplies, things that will make life easier for your vod'ika. I know the GAR has never treated you well, but we never knew okay. And I know that's not an excuse, I'm not trying to make one. We're here now and we can help, we don't need anything in return. Don't let your pride deny your vod'ika what they desperately need," Wolffe said softly as he took a step forward to speak directly to Hound. Hound seemed conflicted for a few seconds before sighing and looking resigned. He held out his hand and Cub understood, placing the ration pack he had into it. Hounds eyes ran over it for a few seconds before his breath stuttered.

"Winter, come here," he said, motioning to the trooper. Up closer, Wolffe could immediately tell that Winter was a shiny, probably close to Loch's age.

"Have you ever seen something like this before," Hound asked as the shiny inspected the small pack. Winter shook his head quickly and looked up at Hound with wide eyes.

"Is this natborn food," Winter asked.

"Kind of. It's a form of it. We used to get these all the time but we haven't had them for a while and not since you've been here. So basically what you do is you put hot water into this, give it a shake and let it sit for a few minutes. This is called mac and cheese, it tastes really good," Hound explained.

"Mac and cheese? Sounds weird. But I mean anything is better than those ration bars right? They're so bland," Winter said with a frown.

"Yeah. Go give it a try vod'ika," Hound said, handing it over and ruffling the shinies hair. Winter bounded off towards the kitchens and Hound turned back to the Wolfpack who were all watching sadly.

"Um, do you-." He paused and frowned to himself, his hands clenching into fists. The massif whined and jumped up, pawing at his arms.

"Down Grizzer," he said gently and it obediently sat.

"Do you guys have any more? We've got a few shinies here and they're pretty hungry," Hound said quietly. Wolffe has met Hound a few times and he's always been a hot head and stubborn, it was unsettling to see him so meek and unsure of himself.

"Who wants to try this shit with me," Sinker called out, placing his tub on the table. The other six troopers inside got up and hesitantly moved over.

"We shall all experience the delights of instant mac and cheese together. But first of all, since we shall have this amazing bonding experience, we should know each other's names. I'm Sinker, this shabuir over here is Boost, we've got Comet, Rocky and our itty-bitty wolf cub, Cub. Beware, he doesn't look like he bites but he's Wolffe's ad'ika so obviously he bites. And this here is Wolffey," Sinker said with a grin, resting his arm on Wolffe's shoulder and leaning on him.

"Remove that arm or I will bite it off," Wolffe growled. Sinker giggled and stepped away.

"See, they bite," he told the Corries who were all watching curiously.

"Buir really isn't that bad. He looks grumpy but he's a sweetheart," Cub said with a small smile, wrapping his arms around Wolffe's.

"How young are you? You don't look shiny age," one of them asked.

"Oh. No, I'm a year younger than usual. My entire batch didn't make it so Kaminoan's dumped me into medic training and basically just got rid of me as soon as they could. I think they thought I'd just die out here, but Wolffe adopted me and now I can't go anywhere without these shabu-."

"Language."

"Watch it."

"No, baby can't swear." Cub huffed and pouted before waving towards Wolffe, Sinker and Boost who had spoken up.

"See what I have to deal with. I should just stay here with you guys," Cub joked before realising what he said. There were gasps from the Corries and one shot forwards, grabbing Cubs hand tightly.

"Don't. Don't come here," he said quickly.

"I-I mean," the trooper stuttered and looked at Hound who looked sympathetic.

"Stick with your Buir and let him fawn over you. It's rare to see old Wolffe here be so soft," Hound told Cub as he placed his hand on the Corrie's shoulder and tugged him back, squeezing his shoulder gently. Wolffe noticed Hound's lips move briefly and understood he was reassuring the shiny he had done nothing wrong. This further solidified what the conclusion he had already come to. They don't trust the GAR in any way and actively make sure they don't say anything to them. They think they're alone in this.

"Could we know your names while we eat? Or your numbers if you feel more comfortable with that," Wolffe asked gently. They looked at each other before one stepped forward.

"I'm Codex, this is Eel, Shooter, Clutz and that's Shadow," he said, pointing at each of them and ending on the one with Hound.

"Well vod's, it's nice to meet you. You all look really young so we're all older than you which means you're our vod'ika. Except Cub, no one is younger than Cub," Comet said, jumping out of the way as Cub tried to kick him.

"Ignore them. Come on, let's join Winter and make this mac and cheese," Boost said with a smile.

Later as Wolffe sat and ate, watching his wolfpack interact with the young Corries, introducing them to the food and explaining things. The corries were still a little tense but he could tell they had relaxed quite a lot since they first came in. Hound was still tense sat next to them as they watched over their vod'ika's but that was understandable. Wolffe did however notice the ghost of a smile flit across Hound's face as Cub sat in Clutz's lap as they were chatting quietly.

A/N

Translations:
Buir - Father
Vod'ika - Little Brother
Ori'vod - Big Brother
Kark - Swear Word
Vod - Brother
Prudii - Shadow
Ad'ika - Child
Dikut - Idiot
Shabuir - Jerk (Strongly Worded)