Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or own the star wars universe.

Each of them stood in attention, with Cresh at the front. Siysa stepped forward, leaving the Padawan and captain behind her. She stepped to him, standing directly in front of him and smiling.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, and Cresh felt a wave of relief wash over him. Built up tension from the past days released itself from his body. He relaxed.

"At ease troopers. I understand you nine are some of the survivors from Jabiim. I read reports of how brutal a battle it was. Rest please. There is much time before our next deployment. You deserve it." She said in a soothing voice.

Cresh and the eight troopers relaxed slightly, coming out of attention as she stepped back. He watched her as she moved, taking heed of everything around him. He saw many troopers stop their tasks to stare at them.

Many spoke in whispers, others said nothing. Many of the states were of admiration and others of surprise.

"Once more I am Sisya Karr. I will be serving as your Jedi general. Alongside me is my Padawan Haru." As she said this, the small nagai smiled widely and waved.

"And CC-7767, my assigned clone captain." She said.

The trooper stepped forward and saluted them all.

"Welcome to the 222nd legion." He said nodding at them. Cresh saw how looked at him specifically, a small twinkle in his eyes.

"I understand you are Arc-73 correct?" Asked Karr.

"Cresh." He responded. " I go by Cresh. Not my designation." He said.

The nagi and even the captain seemed surprised yet she still kept up her smile and nodded.

"My apologies Cresh. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She said

"The brothers here with me are Garm, Sif,Mag, Springer, Cliffjumper, Kir, Talon, and Stag." He said, pointing each out. It was now he finally got to see Sif's features. His hair was slicked back, and his eyes were a light gray hue. He had a still healing scar around his throat, probably from where he was cut.

Siysa smiled deeper and nodded

"I shall make certain to memorize each of your individual names. Now the captain shall show you to the armory so that you may repair your armor. We have a short while before we make it into the system for our mission. I shall be in the training hall with Padawan Haru if I am needed." She said.

With that she nodded then farewell and went off with the small Nagai following behind her.

"This way." Said the captain as he led them to the armory. The walk was short and silent. In truth they didn't need to be escorted. Himself and he was positive the tigers had memorized the inner workings of every republic cruiser.

This was something they could have done on their own. The troopers they passed by each saluted them as they passed. They were met with gazes of respect and admiration. He cast a glance back at his small retinue. Some smiled or waved.

Being around brothers slightly raised their spirits he could tell but he knew that it would be time until they truly healed.

They had lost their entire battalion. Brothers they grew up and trained with. Whereas Arcs like himself were trained for independence and to be alone the others grew up together and were made to be around others.

That was just how they functioned. How they were bred.

"A-73..I mean Cresh sir." Said the captain.

"Aye, Ner Vod?" He responded. Like the others, 67 had a confused expression at hearing the term but regardless continued.

"You all..the arcs were the first of us right? The first clones to be bred?" He asked.

Cresh smiled and laughed.

"Not at all. Believe it or not little brother, there were clones before us. The nulls. Feisty bastard them six. I remember all the fights we got into when we were fresh out the vats." He said.

"N-nulls?" he said.

They had finally arrived at the armory. The other went inside while he stopped at the entrance with 67.

"Aye consider them your eldest brothers while myself and the other arcs are the second oldest. The only ones that know about the nulls are myself, the other arcs..a select few and now you little brother." He said patting him on the back and walking inside.

"I'll tell you the story of our wayward brothers another day. On that day I believe I'll even gift upon you a name." He said

"Name? I don't think that's necessary." He retorted.

Cresh shot him a glance and shook his head.

"No. We are more than our designations. More than numbers. As an Arc and your older brother..It is my duty to show you all that." He said, leaving him

At the entrance way.

He found the others picking up helmets and different weaponry. Each of them were now in their under suits, armor he stopped at the paint and began to paint his armor. He started with the base coloration, coloring everything black in coloration.

When the paint had finally set, he went to add the secondary color of Scarlet when he heard footsteps.

He turned back to see the others standing behind him. It was Garm who stepped forward, helmet in hand.

"What's that ya doing there, Cresh?" he asked.

He stopped painting and stood to face them.

"Painting my armor. Helps set me apart from the others and represents my personality." He said as he extended his hand.

"Pass me your helmet Garm." He said. Garm slowly handed his helmet to him. He took it in his hands and held it up as he placed some paint onto his fingers tips and began to work.

"Much like you all have taken on names to show your own growing independence, you can also do this through armor. Our beskar'gem. Your beskar is an outward representation of your soul. It defines who you are. You customize it to express who you are and as such differentiate yourself from others. We may share the same face and blood but we are our own individuals. Our own men." He said as he turned towards them, handing the finished product to Garm.

Upon the forehead of the helmet, right near the fin, in deep scarlet he had put a design upon it.

Garm turned his helmet over in his hands, looking it over.

"Each of you showed bravery in battle on Jabiim. To yourself and to your brothers. I bestow upon you all the honor of bearing the Jaiig eyes into battle. Those who wear this sigil are those who showed utmost bravery in combat. The scarlet coloration represents defiance in mandalorian. Defiance in the face of death." Cresh said.

The others stepped forward presenting to him their helmets. Like Garm, he began the same thing, painting Jaiig eyes upon each one.

"Consider this the first step in personalizing your own armor and the one thing linking you all together. We each fought and survived on Jabiim. This shall mark that for us. A physical reminder of that which we faced and overcame. With this we shall be known as the Jabiim 9. Warriors who show defiance and bravery within the face of death." He finished.

Another one! The next chapters will be serving as an interlude before the next major battle ahead. I'm following a combined timeline of legends and the current cannon so bear with me as I make sure to get this order right.