With Thunderous Applause

Biology

Based off the characters from 2x10 of The Clone Wars

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It had been a long time since Cut Lawquane had said goodbye to Captain Rex, but as he sat out on his porch, squinting against the setting sun, Cut could think of no one else. He wondered if his words had finally moved the Captain to exercise his own free will, or if the war was truly where the Captain felt he belonged. Cut squeezed his eyes closed tightly. He hadn't been able to shake a growing pressure in the back of his head for the better part of a week. The night air provided the only relief.

The door opened and shut as Suu came out to join her husband. She rested a hand on Cut's shoulder. "I heard some disturbing things in town today."

Cut stood and took Suu's hands. "Tell me what's bothering you."

"It's news on the war."

Cut felt his face harden, but caught himself before his mouth got the better of him. Suu wouldn't be telling him if it wasn't important.

"It's over."

This time Cut's mouth moved before his mind. "Well that's great! Certainly the Jedi have led the Republic to victory. We no longer have to worry about sieges on this planet." When Suu did not mirror his enthusiasm, Cut remembered how this conversation had started. He took a breath. "Sorry, I won't interrupt again."

Suu chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before saying, "The war is lost. The Jedi are dead, killed by their own army if rumor is to be believed."

Silence fell on the farmstead. Even the animals seemed to know the gravity of what Suu had just said.

Cut began to shake his head. "That can't be true. We would never kill a general. The Jedi were always good to us. No... It doesn't make sense." He grabbed Suu's shoulders. "Are you sure?"

"I don't speak to the gossips...so I'm inclined to believe what I have heard is true. Confusion and fear have fallen upon the galaxy. No one knows what comes next."

"When? When did the Jedi fall?"

"Earlier this week."

The pressure in Cut's head had alchemized into a dull roar. It was growing in every direction. He brought Suu's hands up and placed a kiss on the back of each hand. "I... I need a moment to collect myself."

Suu returned the kisses to his hands. "Of course. I'll wait for you."

As Suu disappeared back into the house, Cut collapsed into his chair. He cradled his head in his hands as flashes of red danced behind his eyes. Phantom lightsabers and blasters echoed in his ears. He could feel the crackle of a communicator on his wrist.

Most of all, a cold settled in his stomach, thick and heavy. Cut had only felt this once before when he cast aside his armor and began the long trek to his new life. This was guilt. He thought about all the Jedi he had served in his time, and he wondered if there was something he could've done if he were on that battlefield. Yet, Suu had said the clones were behind the Jedi's demise.

Cut was dizzy. He could not fathom the bloodshed. His hands fell from his head, and he stared down at his palms.

Cut had never questioned his own biology, but now he wondered what these hands could truly do. What thousands of other hands with the same swirls and peaks on the fingertips had already done.