Characters: Rose Tico, Paige Tico, OC
Pairing: No romantic pairing; sisterly bonding
Summary: Rose is not chosen as a member of Cobalt Squadron. Paige intervenes. (I’m 99% sure the sisters’ background and parts of Rose’s personality are AU given recent information, but hey.)
Warnings: Mentions of mass death near the end; mood whiplash. Yes, this is the same universe as Don’t Stop. Yes, I am terrible.

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The office door hissed open. “Commander! Can I have a word?”

“Space, Tico. Can’t you see I’m working?” Commander Torel of the Republic Navy looked from the star map on their desk to the gunner who had barged into their office.

“It won’t take a minute.” Paige Tico sauntered into the room, the flaps of her aviator’s hat swinging in time to her gait.

Running steps reverberated down the hall outside just as the door began to close, and it hissed open again to admit a shorter, rounder figure.

“I’m so sorry Commander. I’ll take care of this right away.” Rose Tico from maintenance took her sister’s arm. “Paige!”

Paige spun to her sister “Oh come on, you know you have higher scores than any mech who made the squadron-”

“That doesn’t give you the right to question-”

Torel massaged the bridge of their broad nose before barking: “Attention!”

Both women stopped and stood straight as though to pierce the ceiling with their heads.

“At ease, Tico. And… Tico. One at a time. Lieutenant Tico, you first.”

Paige, her hands behind her back and arms akimbo, looked straight ahead. “Commander. We recieved our new postings today.”

“I saw you made Cobalt Squadron, Lieutenant. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Commander. But…” Paige gave a sideways glance at Rose, and their eyes met in a silent but furious argument.

Torel pulled at one their chin-length braids. “And Sergeant Tico, you are posted to…?”

Rose’s eyes snapped forward before she supplied: “Royndul Shipyards, Commander.”

“She volunteered for Cobalt,” said Paige.

“I don’t recall asking, Lieutenant.”

“But you know how good she is!” Paige burst out. “She’s better than any of Cobalt’s maintenance team.”

“The Navy makes its personnel decisions based on a number of pertinent factors. The shipyards need skilled mechanics of Sergeant Tico’s caliber.”

“Our mother has been talking to the brass, hasn’t she.”

Torel paused, then cleared their throat. “Senator Tico had a point. Navy policy discourages family members from serving in the same unit.”

“In wartime, but we’re not at war.” Paige relaxed her pose and her voice took on a wheedling tone. “Come on, Commander. You know how well we work together, the Tico sisters as a team. You can’t split us up like that–not you, not the Navy, not even our mom. Pleeeeease?”

“Not the sad Ewok eyes, Tico. Not the Ewok eyes.” Torel raised their hands and turned away from her. “I swear to Force you’ll be the death of me.”

“Commander.” Rose’s fingers twisted around each other behind her back. “I apologize for my sister’s behavior, but… if you could put in a word for us it would mean a lot.”

“Sergeant Tico.” Torel turned a little too quickly to her, as though they had forgotten she was there. “You do solid work and your performance evaluation is sky-high, I’ll grant that. But Cobalt Squadron is a different kind of posting than working here on base. We all thought you’d be happier close to home on Hosnian Prime.”

“I know I don’t look… adventurous. Glamorous. Not like Paige.” Rose ducked her head. “But being with my big sister gives me courage, and I think maybe I give her courage too?” She looked sidelong at Paige, who gave a huge nod.

Galvanized, Rose met Torel’s gaze head on. “Please, at least put in a recommendation for me to make Cobalt Squadron. I won’t let you down.”

Faced with two pairs of sad Ewok eyes, Torel threw their hands up. “All right. I’ll put in a word, but that’s all I can do. Now get out of my office.”

“Thank you, Commander!” “You’re awesome, Tor!”

“Out.” Torel pointed a finger at the door, though their lips quirked in a smile.

The sisters saluted at the same time and almost raced each other to the door. The squeals and the hugging erupted before the door entirely closed on them, and Torel shook their head before sitting back down at their desk.

---

"I told you they’d cave!” Paige pumped a fist as she walked down the corridors with Rose. “Tor’s a good sort, I knew it. You were great in there.”

“I thought you were gonna get both our asses thrown in the brig, spacehead.” Rose poked her sister in the ribs, prompting her to shriek and shrink away with both hands out in defense.

“Well it worked, didn’t it?” Paige resumed walking, wary eyes still on Rose.

“Well, maybe? We’re not out of the sandpit yet.”

“Trust me, I have a good feeling about this. I mean, I am your big sister who gives you courage, right? Right?” Paige pounced on Rose and bent her into a headlock.

“Ack, you bitch! I take it back! I take it back!” Rose threw her hands out to tickle Paige’s sides, prompting a scream of laughter.

---

And later, when Cobalt Squadron was on alert after an unidentified beam was seen heading for the Hosnian system, the sisters stood wordlessly by a viewport to watch it pass far away in space, fingers entwined in each others’ as they felt their world change.

And later, when they were collapsed to the floor with the weight of the news from Hosnia, they held on to each other as they screamed out their sobs and called for the ones who would never answer again. Each was the only part of the other’s world that was left and they clung together with all their strength, never to be split apart.