"I'm sorry, can we elaborate on that? What the hell do you mean the Chancellor is a Sith," Wolffe asked, running a hand through his hair as he paced.

"Well I mean, it's not confirmed exactly but we're pretty sure about it," Helix said slowly.

"How sure," Wolffe asked.

"Fox is summoned by the Chancellor at least once or twice a week, sometimes more. He's gotten hurt many times while in that room so we came up with a system where Fox must come to here to get checked out or we all will go on the hunt for him. Helix has documented every single injury Fox has received and through that we figured out some of his scars aren't from electrocution. Well I mean they are, but not from the red guard. We did some research and figured out it was force lightning. Given that it happened after he had a meeting with the Chancellor, we've kind of deducted that he's a sith," Stone explained.

"We? Who else knows about this," Wolffe asked as he stopped pacing to turn his attention to Stone who was laying down with Thire asleep on his chest.

"Thire, Thorn, Helix and I. Hound knows bits and pieces but not everything," Stone replied.

"What about Fox? He's the one getting hurt and spending the most time with him, wouldn't he know," Wolffe questioned.

"He does. He actually knows more than us but he refuses to talk about it, won't give us any answers so we have to just try to fit the pieces together. I don't blame him for keeping quiet though, no matter how frustrating it is. I have the feeling he's been threatened not to speak up about it. Probably about hurting one of the vod'ika's. We all know Fox would do anything to protect us, he has been," Helix said quietly.

"Okay. Okay, let me think about this," Wolffe said with a sigh. So it hasn't been confirmed but the facts are pretty damning. He's never seen force lightning before but he's heard of it. He glanced at Fox sleeping peacefully and he felt his hand clench angrily. That bastard has been hurting his vod'ika for who knows how long, torturing him, using force lightning as well. He's a monster.

"Why haven't you told anyone," he asked finally, not shifting his gaze from Fox's form. If he's watching him, then that means he isn't being hurt, it means he's safe. Helix made a wounded sound and Wolffe's eyes flicked over to him, shocked to see they had tears in them.

"Who would we tell? Who Wolffe? We've been abandoned, left to fend for ourselves. None of the GAR cares about us, they just think we're lazy and don't deserve their respect. We don't have a jedi, we don't know the jedi. They'd never believe us over their precious Chancellor, they've never cared about our well-being. We h-have no one. We will always have n-no one," Helix said, shaking his head as tears trailed down his cheeks.

"Vod'ika," Wolffe said sadly, hurrying over to the young medic and wrapping him up in a tight hug as he begun to sob.

"Gar serim, let it out. Ori'jate," Wolffe mumbled comfortingly, rubbing his hand up and down Helix's back softly.

"Ni ceta vod'ika. This should have never happened. You should have never felt so alone that you couldn't reach out for help but just remember, we're here for you now okay. I'm here for you and I will help you in any way that I can," Wolffe said, glancing up at Stone to make sure he knew he was talking to all of them, not just Helix. Stone's face was carefully blank but his eyes were narrowed, as if he was analysing Wolffe.

"My General, he's great and I trust him with my life. I can tell him what's happening, explain to him about your theories about the Chancellor and why you think this. He will listen and he will help. He can take it up with the Jedi Council," Wolffe promised.

"No," Stone said immediately.

"He will help, I know he will," Wolffe said.

"And I trust you Wolffe but the answer is still know. When Fox is awake and recovered from his concussion, then we'll discuss things, but until then no. It's something we all need to decide on," Stone said firmly.

"But that could be another couple of day-."

"We've been dealing this for years. A couple more days won't be any different," Stone pointed out.

"I could go to him right now and he would help Stone," Wolffe said.

"And I appreciate that, I appreciate that you want to help us. But please, just let us do this on our own terms. We haven't been able to trust anyone but the Guard since the war began. Just let us have a proper discussion before making any hasty decisions," Stone said. Wolffe sighed but nodded, tightening his grip on the still crying Helix in his arms. As much as he wanted to help them, to do something about it, he didn't want to push them before they were ready. Stone is right, they've dealt with this for a couple of years already, a few more days won't hurt. Plus they aren't 100% certain Palpatine is the Sith so perhaps he can also talk it out of Fox, just for a more definitive answer.

"Okay, we'll wait for Fox to get better," he said with a nod, watching as Stone visibly relaxed against Thire. Helix let out a few more sniffles before he pulled himself away from Wolffe, wiping his eyes quickly.

"Sorry about that," he said quietly.

"Never be sorry for crying vod'ika. I'm happy to give you that support," Wolffe said, flashing him a small smile.

"Vor'e," Helix replied with a nod. Their attention was suddenly drawn to the entrance of the med bay as the door opened. In came Cub with a familiar Guard Commander with his arm swung around the young medics shoulder.

"Thorn," Helix gasped, rushing forwards as he wiped the tears quickly from his face.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, promise. I'm not badly hurt, the ugly grape just messed with my mind a bit so I'm tired," Thorn said, waving his hand quickly to calm Helix down.

"Cub, bring him over to this bed," Helix said quickly. Wolffe went over and grabbed Thorns other arm, helping Cub get him onto the bed.

"I know you said you're fine but I still need to give you a scan to make sure," Helix said.

"That's fine. Just didn't want you panicking," Thorn said with a tired sigh.

"I'm going to head out now. I'm not supposed to be on shift for another couple of hours but we can't be down all of our Commanders. I'll comm Hound and let him know of the situation to make sure everything is looked after," Stone said as he walked up and pat Thorn's shoulder. Thorn's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced up.

"All of us? What about Thire," he asked quickly.

"Thire got hurt but he's going to be okay. He's just resting over there," Wolffe said. Thorn shot up immediately, his eyes scanning the room wildly until he noticed Thire asleep in one of the beds.

"He got hurt? How? What happened," he asked frantically, trying to get out of bed.

"Stay down, Thire is fine. He got attacked and had a nasty slice but we've patched him up with some bacta, it should heal fine. Right now we're letting him sleep it off to get some more energy so do not wake him," Helix said sternly. Thorn's chest was heaving, his eyes still trained on Thire as his hands clenched in the bedsheets.

"I promise he's okay Thorn. I found him before anything bad could happen and I had Kix with me to check on him and help him," Wolffe said reassuringly. Thorn finally ripped his eyes away to instead look at Wolffe.

"Kix? The 501st medic," he asked and Wolffe nodded.

"Right, okay. So he got him stable and brought him to Helix," Thorn asked.

"Yeah," Wolffe said with a nod and Thorn finally laid back down with a sigh of relief.

"Good, that's good," he muttered.

"You've got a few bruises but for once you were telling the truth," Helix said with a small smile as he put down the scanner.

"Hey, I tell the truth sometimes," Thorn said with a frown.

"Not when it comes to your health. You're almost as bad as Fox," Helix said and Thorn rolled his eyes.

"Here, we'll help you get out of your armour and you can rest for a couple of hours," Helix said.

"Just my top half, leave the bottom half on," Thorn said and Helix nodded. The two of them worked together to get off the top half of his armour and Helix piled it neatly on the ground beside the bed.

"Now you get some rest, no staying up," Helix said sternly and Thorn chuckled.

"Commander Thorn," a quiet voice spoke up and Thorn immediately looked over to see Cub standing a bit behind Wolffe, wearing the bottom half of his armour but having his top half gone, leaving him in his blacks.

"Yeah," he questioned slowly.

"Could I come cuddle with you? Everyone's been pretty busy the past few days and I'm used to sleeping with a vod or my Buir but I haven't been able to lately," Cub said quietly, nervously. Wolffe instantly felt guilty, knowing how much Cub needed the safety of having someone he trusts close to him to be able to sleep. He should have checked in with his ad'ika to make sure he was doing okay.

"Sure kiddo, just promise me you aren't a snorer," Thorn said as he shuffled over.

"I'm not," Cub giggled as he hurried over and climbed onto the bed. Thorn glanced over at Wolffe while Cub shuffled around to get comfortable and quickly signed 'I've got him'. Wolffe nodded firmly before smiling softly at how easily Cub curled up and relaxed against Thorn's side, snuggling into his chest. Thorn felt a little tense, not wanting to do anything that might upset or disgruntle the young trooper. He couldn't deny how absolutely adorable Cub was. He reminded him off Thire, like a younger version of him in a way. He slowly moved his arm to wrap around Cub's shoulders and hold him closer.

"Good job Cub. You stay with Thorn so you can guilt him into staying there and actually sleeping," Helix said with a happy nod.

"This is manipulation," Thorn muttered, even as he relaxed and dropped his head to rest on top of Cub's.

"Deal with it," Helix said with a shrug, grinning as Thorn's eyes slipped shut quite quickly.

"Is this something you've had to deal with often? The Commanders all getting hurt and stuff," Wolffe asked Helix.

"Yeah, though it's usually worse. When we didn't have enough supplies, Thorn and especially Fox would always avoid the medical bay when they're injured, no matter how bad they were. I once found Fox hiding in a cupboard trying to stitch together his own skin after he'd been stabbed. It's a wonder I don't have grey hairs from having to go hunt them down," Helix said with a sigh.

"I respect you a lot Helix. I know how stubborn Fox can be so you definitely had your work cut out," Wolffe said.

"Yeah, I honestly respect them more than anyone else because of what they did. Sure it was annoying to have to worry about them and go searching but they survived so much while barely accepting any help. I think it was just their sheer will to make sure they were around to protect their vod that kept them alive," Helix admitted.

"This won't go on for much longer Hel'ika, I promise. I'm going to talk to Fox and then we will go to my General. If everything goes to shit and it doesn't work out, I know for a fact that Buir would still find a way to get all of you off this planet," Wolffe said firmly.

"We can't just abandon our post Wolffe, it doesn't work like that," Helix said with a sigh.

"I don't care. The wolfpack have your back, we're going to take care of you now. We'd smuggle the whole lot of you off the planet if we had to. Coruscant doesn't deserve you, least of all the senate and that shabuir," Wolffe said. Helix just gave him a small smile and a nod before frowning as he remembered something.

"Buir," he questioned, making Wolffe raise an eyebrow.

"What," he asked.

"You said that your Buir would help us get off the planet. Who is that," Helix asked. He grinned as he saw Wolffe go bright red and seem a little shy.

"I um, I know you guys don't really trust the Jedi but my General cares for us, all of us. He calls us his sons and I've taken to calling him my Buir, because that's what he is to me. Cub calls him ba'buir," Wolffe explained. Helix was quiet for a bit as he thought over Wolffe's words. They don't know the jedi but they don't trust them because they've been on Coruscant but never helped the Guard. One could argue they never knew what's been going on but they also never bothered to check. But if Wolffe, a fellow vod who helped them as soon as they reached out, trusts this jedi enough to let his ad'ika call him ba'buir, then maybe it's someone the Guard can trust as well.

"When you talk to Fox, I will help. I will tell him that I trust your General and think it's a good idea to reach out to him for his help," Helix said. Wolffe felt relieved. If he had managed to convince at least one of them, it means they are open to help, they're just scared of reaching out. He can work with that, he can help them reach out. They won't have to continue suffering for much longer.

"Buir is currently not on Coruscant, he left a few days ago but if I ask him, I know he will come back here right away. If I tell him there are Clones in need of help, he will come," Wolffe said.

"How sure are you of that," Helix asked.

"I am absolutely positive. I have complete and utter faith in General Plo," Wolffe replied immediately.

"Then maybe. Maybe comm him now and ask. He will need some time to make arrangements and then it will take some time to get here. So maybe by the time he gets here, we will have convinced Fox and the others to let us get help," Helix said slowly. Wolffe thought it was a good plan, brilliant in fact. But also, he can comm Plo in front of the medic and prove to him just how willing his General is to help them, how much he cares for them.

"Here, let's step into your office so we don't wake the others up," Wolffe said and Helix nodded, following him quickly. Helix sat down on his chair while Wolffe leant against the desk, quickly bringing up his General's contact. It was answered quite quickly, the Kel Dor appearing on a holo.

"Wolffe my son, how is your little brother," Plo asked immediately and Wolffe felt some of the tension bleed from his shoulders.

"It's been a rough few days honestly Buir but he's pushing through and he'll be okay. He woke up today but I didn't get to talk to him for too long. He's concussed so it's best he gets a good rest," Wolffe said.

"I'm glad to hear that. If there is anything I can do to help, you just let me know Wolffe," Plo said.

"There is something I wanted to ask but it might be too much," Wolffe said quietly.

"Nothing is ever to much to ask my child. I fight this war to protect the innocent but also so that you Clones may be free. You are important to me and I will always put you first," Plo said and Wolffe smiled, risking a quick glance at Helix. The medic looked shocked but he was watching intently.

"There is something going on at Coruscant, something I can't explain to you right now but it's not good," Wolffe said. The Kel Dor was silent for a few seconds, stroking a clawed hand over his chin as he studied Wolffe.

"Is there something wrong with the Coruscant Guard? With your brothers," he asked after a bit.

"Yeah, it's-. It's not good Buir but I can't tell you what's happening unless they are okay with it. I'm going to talk with my vod'ika once he wakes up, to see if they're willing to reach out. I was hoping that maybe you could be here when that happens, someone that I can trust to listen to them if they take a leap of faith," Wolffe said quietly.

"Hmm, the Council may not be keen on us returning so soon. But it is just supply runs with other legions as well, the well-being of the men is important. We will return my son, as quickly as we can but it may take a few days," Plo said softly and Wolffe let out a breath of relief.

"That's more than okay Buir, as long as it takes is fine. I just, I need them to know they've got someone in their corner, that they aren't alone, they matter to us," Wolffe said with a small voice.

"I have told you this before Commander but I will tell you again, your lives matter to me. We will arrive back on Coruscant as soon as we can," Plo said firmly.

"Thank you," Wolffe said with a nod.

"Of course my son. How are the others," Plo asked.

"They're having fun. Boost and Sinker are annoying all of the Massif handlers to let them take the Massif's out. Rocky is betting anyone who is willing to have an arm wrestle. Comet is just, well I don't really know what he's doing. He disappears and then reappears but he isn't hurt so I'm just letting him go do whatever. And Cub is using his adorableness to manipulate the troopers into looking after themselves. He has currently trapped Commander Thorn into sleeping because he used his tooka eyes and cuddled up to him," Wolffe said with a grin.

"Yes, Cub does seem to do that a lot. Everyone falls for it, especially you," Plo said with a nod and Wolffe froze.

"Hey, wait a minute. Cub never uses that trick on me," Wolffe said indignantly. He does not fall for those kinds of tricks.

"Of course not," Plo said with a nod. Wolffe narrowed his eyes, realising the General was just agreeing easily to placate him. Did Cub really use those tricks on him as well? Come to think of it, there are quite a few instances where Cub has come to him for cuddles after long campaigns. He just always assumed it was for Cubs benefit. That sneaky little shit.

"I'll see you soon hopefully Buir," Wolffe said with a nod.

"You will see me soon my son. Look after everyone until then," Plo said before the comm cut out. Wolffe smiled to himself, not moving until he felt a hand on his elbow and he jolted. He had completely forgot that Helix was in the room with him.

"Thank you," Helix said quietly, sliding his hand down to squeeze Wolffe's hand tightly.

"There's no need to thank me, not after everything that has happened. This is the least I can do for you all, it's what you deserve," Wolffe said firmly.

"Your General seems very invested in the well-being of Clones, even though we aren't sentient," Helix said quietly.

"General Plo has always cared for us, always kept us safe and that won't change. I had no idea we weren't seen as sentient but I can assure you, if that can be changed, there are many who would fight for it as well," Wolffe said.

"I hope so. The men deserve better. They don't deserve to be treated like shit by the senate, to be seen as disposable. Like how bad is it that we have to have a list, a list of senators who we know will hurt us. That we have men who volunteer to be the ones to patrol those areas, to sacrifice themselves in order to protect their vod," Helix whispered sadly. Wolffe frowned and gave Helix's hand a squeeze.

"It's horrible Hel'ika, terrible. It shouldn't be happening, none of you deserve it. But I admire you, all of you. You keep fighting-."

"We aren't exactly fighting ori'vod, we're pretty much just laying down and taking it. We can't fight it," Helix said with a frown.

"In my eyes, you are all fighting through the pain and suffering you're being forced into. You're stronger than anyone in the GAR in my opinion. I don't have any right to this feeling but I feel proud, for what you're all doing, for what you've accomplished despite everything," Wolffe said firmly. Helix drew in a deep breath and blinked quickly, practically crushing Wolffe's hand with how hard he was holding it.

"Why do you insist on trying to make me cry. I don't think I've cried so much in all my time here than I have these past few days," Helix said with a wet chuckle. Wolffe smiled softly and cupped the back of Helix's neck, leaning forwards to draw him into a keldable.

"I'm glad you feel safe enough to cry in front of me. It's an honour," he said softly, making the medic snort.

"You say some really weird things sometimes ori'vod," he chuckled.

"Eh, I grew up with dikut's for batchmates so they probably rubbed off on me. Blame Fox," Wolffe said. Helix grinned and pulled away, quickly wiping the few tears from his eyes and taking a deep breath. He heard a noise from outside the office and sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Is it that hard for them to just sleep? Like seriously, it's the one thing I ask from them," Helix said with a huff as they both exited the office. What Helix thought was just one of the Commanders waking up, was in fact not that, it was three Guard members looking shaken as they came inside. He snapped in to action right away, noting one of them, Winter was crowded between the other two. He started there, running his eyes over him in search of any blood.

"It's okay, none of us are hurt. Winter is a little shaken but we're okay," Bingo said quickly. Helix frowned in and straightened up.

"What happened," he asked.

"Um, well, we were bored so the three of us decided to go out for a walk. Not to the lower levels or anything, just around the top, near the senate but we uh, we ran into Senator Hedley," Bingo said hurriedly. Helix's hand clenched when he heard the name. Hedley is pretty high up on their list, one of the worst senators that shinies are supposed stay way clear of.

"He saw us and demanded that Winter came back to his quarters with him. Tide and I tried to convince him to take one of us instead but he wouldn't go for it. He grabbed Winter and started to drag him away while we just watched and couldn't do anything," Bingo continued. Wolffe growled at those words, remembering Winter from the mess when they met Hound and the group of shinies they ate with.

"What happened then? How did you get him away from Hedley? He isn't one to just give up," Helix said with a frown.

"Well that's just it sir. Two troopers in blue armour just suddenly showed up out of nowhere. We were in a pretty secluded spot with no one around so I don't know how they saw us but they did. They asked what was going on and Hedley said it was none of their business, that he was taking this trooper to his quarters for his pleasure. Then one of them just pulled out their blaster without hesitation and shot him, killed him sir," Tide said quickly and Helix gasped.

"They did what," he exclaimed.

"They killed him, then they told us to come back here. They said they interfered with the cameras and there were no witnesses so we'd be safe and he couldn't touch anyone ever again," Winter spoke up for the first time.

"Senator Hedley is dead," he repeated with a tone of awe in his voice. Helix was shocked. Hedley had been a real problem for them but they couldn't just kill him, they'd be decommissioned.

"Did you recognise the trooper that shot him," he asked and Bingo's eyes lit up.

"I was so shocked, it was ARC trooper Jesse. I mean, just the other day I saw him yelling at Ghost about what happened to ARC trooper Fives, saying we were all just lazy pencil pushers and don't deserve to call ourselves vod but he protected Winter sir, didn't even hesitate," Bingo said quickly. Helix frowned at that information, glancing at Wolffe who also seemed surprised. They'd talk about that later, once he makes sure they're all okay first.

"Are any of you hurt in any way? Winter, do you need to have a chat," he asked.

"No sir, I'm okay, really. We just wanted to stop in to make sure you were aware. We're going to go and get some food once we're done," Winter said, flashing him a small smile. It relieved Helix to see the shiny wasn't hit too hard by the ordeal. He shudders to think what would have happened to him had he been taken.

"Okay. Just one more question, the other trooper with Jesse, was he a medic," Helix asked slowly.

"Yes sir. CMO Kix I'm pretty sure," Tide replied with a nod. Just who Helix thought it would be.

"Thank you, you may go. Come back if anything changes though, I'm always happy to talk," Helix said.

"We know," Bingo said with a grin before the three of them walking out, talking in hush but excited whispers. Helix recognised the tone they had. It was hope. Hope that they weren't completely alone, that someone had stepped up and protected them in a situation they needed help the most.

"I have a feeling it wasn't random Kix and Jesse found them," Wolffe said slowly.

"Yeah, and I have a feeling this isn't going to be the only report of this happening. How much do you know about Kix, and Jesse for that matter," Helix asked.

"Not too much but I do know they're fiercely protective of their vod's. That would've been why Jesse was yelling at everyone after the Fives incident. I think Kix may have gone to Jesse about what he found out..." Wolffe said before trailing off.

"So they're what, angry and protecting us now," Helix said slowly.

"I think so. I don't really know what they're planning on doing but it almost seems like they were walking around looking for trouble. So they could protect the Guard," Wolffe said.

"How dedicated do you think they would be? Do you think they might stop after a while, get bored," Helix said and Wolffe immediately shook his head.

"I highly doubt it. Jesse is extremely protective and never backs away from a fight and Kix is a medic whose sole purpose is to protect as many men as possible," Wolffe said.

"Great. We should probably talk to Fox about that as soon as he wakes up as well. We might need to get them here and give them the full run down and get them to hopefully settle a little," Helix said and Wolffe nodded.

"I think that's a good idea. Because if Kix is anything like my CMO and like the stories told of him, those two are going to bring hell down on the senate," Wolffe said with a sigh. Part of him though, was satisfied with the course of action the two 501st troopers had taken. If he had the chance, he'd put a bullet through everyone who had ever laid a finger on one of his vods!

A/N

Translations:

Vod'ika - Little Brother
Gar Serim - That's It
Ori'jate - Very Good
Ni Ceta Vod'ika - I'm sorry Little Brother
Vor'e - Thanks
Buir - Father
Shabuir - Jerk
Ba'Buir - Grandfather
Ad'ika - Little Brother
Ori'vod - Big Brother
Dikut's - Idiots