juliatheawzom3274 

prompt 4: compassion

Vaughn was a soldier and a great warrior. Just like his brothers. Rex, his Captain, his older brother, and his other vods, Fives, Kix, Hardcase, basically the whole of Torrent company and his batchmate, Sterling were the people Vaugn always looked up to. 

Whenever he had a problem, whether in training or during the battle, his brothers were always there to protect him. The commander, Ahsoka Tano was his close friend. They always hung about together when the battalion was on a break. General Skywalker is Rex's greatest friend, and a friend of Rex is a friend of Vaughn. 

Kaminoans don't emphasize on the importance of having people to rely on. They see it as an obstacle in the development of any clone. They never showed any clone that having a family and caring for them, even if not related, is normal human nature. Then again, clones are expected to not form attachments. In fact, this 'brothers all' nature that the clones adopt are not welcomed by the long-necks. Clones were expected to show no feelings, reciprocate no feelings.

All of that expectation rested on Vaughn's shoulders, even if it hurt him emotionally. He must uphold the code. That is, until the day the code shattered him to a million pieces. 

The 501st just finished a fight in the mid-rim. Within the GAR the men in blue were the best of the best, minimum casualties and the best strategies. That was in their best days, best stories, but what about their worst?

Vaughn sat defeated underneath a tree, tightly gripping onto his blaster. Earlier, during battle, he bravely fought alongside his brothers. He shot down every droid insight making no mistake in his steps and turns. Sterling watched Vaughn's back as Vaughn did his. 

Even the greats blunder. In his peripheral vision, Vaughn saw a droid working its way to man an unmanned turret. While he focused to shot the droid down, he did not notice another aiming for his brother. 

Broken gasps and shock alerted Vaughn as he spun around to see his fellow comrade fallen to the ground. "No! NO!" 

Vaughn made sure to shoot the droid that shot Sterling before dropping on his knees and tossing his helmet off. 

"Stay with me, Sterling. Ya' hear me?" 

Sterling groaned when Vaughn carefully cradled his head and pulled him close. 

"Stay with me, vod. We're getting out of here alive, okay. Please." An explosion rang from behind the two and Vaughn was pulled out from his trance. In his mind, time slowed down. Everything became so sharp and clear. Left and right, screams of agony made way to his brain and echoed in it. He saw the field medics running to the injured and tending to the gory wounds. He saw smoke rise up from the burnt plastiod armour. 

His eyes darted at every dark corner of the battlefield that hid the gruesome view his brothers being shot right in the heart by the droids. He heard the unforgettable squelching sound of raw, burnt flesh from explosions.

Underneath his own armour, Vaughn's heart pounded relentlessly as he witnessed the horror of the battle. That day, the 501st lost their thrid fight of three rounds. The Republic would not be able to tame this section of the mid-rim any time soon. 

Countless bodies of lifeless and half-dead clones littered the field. Blood pooled under the bodies and the air reeked of it.

Vaughn saw to it that Sterling was given medical care before retiring for the night. The men were worn and sad, no celebrations were done that night. 

Vaughn walked on towards the camp of the Torrent Company. The men of the company sat quietly around the fire, no words exchanged among them. Jesse gave a nod to him as Vaughn approached and joined them. 

"How's he holding up?" Jesse asked, referring to Sterling. 

"Kix says his vitals are stable. He'd be on his feet soon." 

Concern etched its way to the other clones when Vaughn replied so emotionless. Echo silently spoke through the tension. "It's alright to worry about him, vod." 

"I'm not worried." Though his voice was strong and stern, his eyes said otherwise. The others watched silently as the younger clone stood up and walked away.

---

Starring into the visor of his helmet, Vaughn kept his reflection as his company. 

"Hey, kid." A tired voice made Vaughn jolt up, he turned around to find Rex walking to sit beside him. 

"Cap-captian!" 

Rex chuckled and eased the jumpy trooper. "No need for formalities. Just Rex, and please relax." 

Vaughn stared wide-eyed at Rex as he sat down. "Here, take a sip." Rex pushed a small bottle of whiskey into the trooper's hand. 

Poor Vaughn looked helplessly at the drink. "This isn't to protocol." 

Another chuckle escaped Rex. Vaughn reminded him of himself when he was younger. Sickler for rules and regulations. 

"I popped by Kix's tent earlier. The men are healing well. All of them." Rex slowly pulled the whiskey from Vaugn. 

"That's good, sir." 

Rex studied Vaughn's face, his eyes held a great sadness. "Sterling is healing well." 

Once again, Vaughn replied plainly. Rex sighed, knowing the blank reaction the of the trooper all too well. 

"Vaughn, it's alright to worry. Sterling got injured and it's only natural for you to worry." 

Vaughn denied. "It's not how we were programmed." 

"We're not unthinking droids. We're not programmed." Rex air quoted "programmed".

Vaughn continued to give a blank stare. "The Kaminoan's think otherwise. Our code says otherwise." 

The captain lowered his eyes as he felt the pain the new trooper was experiencing. Still determined to help Vaughn, Rex thought of another approach. 

"We lost a lot of men today. All good men. We must always remember their bravery." Reaching out into his pocket, Rex carefully pulled a photograph out. It was a group photo taken of the Torrent Company. He handed it to Vaughn. 

"Torrent." Vaughn's voice spoke with a hint of happiness which quickly turned to sourness. "With all due respect, you shouldn't have any possessions, sir. No clone should." 

"You mean we shouldn't be allowed to remember the fallen? We should not allow ourselves to feel sad or happy? Vaughn, do you truly think that us clones don't deserve to feel sad when we lose someone, our vods, and feel happy when we survive for the next battle?" 

Vaughn clenched his jaw, not wanting to reply and didn't spare a look at his brother. He knew Rex was not angry at him, he was trying to help. But what Rex said went against everything the Kaminoan's told them not to do, against the code. 

"I know your thinking about the code," Rex spoke softly. "But, if the code does not allow us to feel, what good does it do for all of us." 

Vaughn sniffled. "I don't know," 

Rex looked sympathetically at the trooper. "You're a stubborn man, Vaughn. Stubborn like me, like a clone should be. Just remember, you are supposed to feel worried and sadness for those close to you. It's natural, and it's human." 

Vaughn ran his hands through his hair. "The code?" 

"More like guidelines really." Rex shrugged. 

Vaughn hummed and nodded. "Guidelines..." 

"Yep"

"Rex, why speak to me about it?" Vaughn fiddled with his fingers. "Why help me with my pain?" His voice was sad.

"It's the right thing to do. You are my vod." Rex nudged Vaughn's elbow with his. 

Vaughn huffed and chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, I know. What is it though? This... emotion? Why share it with me?" 

The captain smiled, "Because I know what you're feeling, and I know the pain. I've been there, and I had no one to rely on to help me become a person and feel like a person. Until I cared of course. My brothers and friends were there to show me that being human is to cope with our emotions, our pains and joys. Support another when they feel down, cry with them." 

"It's not embarrassing?" Vaughn asked innocently. Rex shook his head. 

"What's it called?" 

"Compassion." Rex stood up after lightly patting Vaughn's shoulder. "It's called compassion." 

Vaughn looked as Rex smiled before walking back to the camp. 

"Thank you, vod." 

Rex paused in his step, a small smile of relief on his face. "Welcome, vod."