"I'm telling you master, if we had just taken the left tunnel like I said we could have stopped the bounty hunter reaching the escape pods" said Ashoka.
"All right snips I admit that I was wrong at the time, but we have to hurry and get to the council room" replied Anakin
The two Jedi were making their way through the Jedi Temple to the Council Room. The two had been discussing their last mission to intercept a bounty hunter in the Altyr 5 system who had been harvesting an illegal slave system near the Outer Rim. Anakin and Ashoka had intercepted and boarded the bounty hunters ship. While in pursuit the two had to figure out which out of two tunnels would lead to the escape pods which was where the bounty hunter was heading. Ashoka wanted to take the left tunnel, but Anakin had overruled her and chose the right tunnel which led to the cargo bay. The bounty hunter had escaped and is now believed to have been sited near Kinyen system.
Anakin and Ashoka reached the Council Room and walked inside. Inside sat Masters Obi-Wan, Windu, Yoda, Kcaj, Fisto, with Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Plo Koon on hologram. Anakin and Ashoka stood in the middle of the room in silence and awaited instructions.
"Thank you for coming Skywalker" said Master Fisto
Anakin and Ashoka bowed to the Masters as a sign of respect.
"We have a new mission for you and your padawan" said Mace Windu
"Whats the mission master" asked Ashoka with curiousity in her voice.
Master Kcaj pressed a button on his chair, activating the rooms hologram system. A hologram of a planet appeared. Mace Windu got up from his chair and walked over to the hologram.
"Tython. It is a planet that has been run by a race of machines know as the Koshas. They attacked and destroyed all organic life that once populated the planet. Before the Koshas arrived Tython was a planet covered in large machine citys and vast oceans. One of the interesting parts of the planet is the large tunnel system underneath the planets surface. The tunnels stretch all throughout the planets underground and serverved as a highway of sorts between the different parts of the city. We believe this system was built by whatever race populated Tython before the arrival of the Koshas. When the Koshas attacked they destroyed all organic life and destroyed every city on the planet. Tython is now mostly covered with the ruins of the great citys that once stood as well as the oceans which have become heavily polluted by the large amounts of chemicals and oils given off by the machines. The only city that remains on the planet is the city built by the Koshas known as KC5. KC5 covers close to a quarter of the planet. The Jedi established relationships with the Koshas many centuries ago in hopes to use KC5 as a base of operations if needed since Tython is the only planet we have contact with that is near the Unknown Regions. We have recently received word from KC5 that their sensors have detected a large amount of heavy machinery activity coming from the tunnels. They have lost communication signals with all crews that they have sent underground to inspect the activity. They have asked us to travel to Tython and find out what is happening within the tunnel systems"
The room fell silent for the next few seconds until Anakin spoke once again.
"How far is Tython from Coruscant".
"In hyperspace about 27 hours" replied Windu.
Ashoka let out a small groaning noice, small enough so that only Anakin would hear.
"What ship will we be taking" asked Anakin.
"You will be taken a new ship. The Avirex.
Kjac pressed another button on his chair. The hologram of Tython disappeared and a new hologram of a ship appeared.
"The Avirex is a new style of warship developed for sleek penetration. The ship is equipped with 6 gun turrets, two on the bow, one on the top of the ship, one of the bottom of the ship, and two on the stern. The ship is equipped with a cloaking device that can only be activated if 75 percent of the ships power core is powering the cloaking generator. The exterior of the Avirex is coated with 2 feet of metallic reinforced steel capable of deflecting low to low mid laser blasts. The interior of the ship is equipped with 30 sleeping quarters, eating area, weapon storage, vehicle docking bay, 5 escape pods, meeting room, and training area. Your crew will consist of you, Ashoka, Captain Rex, and 27 foot soldiers. Once you reach KC5 you will move into the tunnel systems and await further orders. The Avirex will leave from Docking Bay 9 in one hour. Good luck to both of you and may the force be with you" said Mace Windu.
Anakin and Ashoka bowed to the Council and left. They headed back down to their quarters where they packed and prepared for the mission.
As Ashoka was packing she thought about something. Captain Rex would be on the mission with them. She considered Rex to be her best friend, but she also felt a more deeper feeling for him. She had developed a crush on him. She had always felt like she had more than a friendship type feeling for him, but she only recently figured out what it was. Ashoka did not know what to do, should she tell Rex how she feels about him or not? She did not have time to figure this out. She had to finish packing and get down to the Docking Bay.
Ashoka packed her remaining items into her bag, tied it, and put it around her back, she clipped her lightsaber to her belt, and ran out the door. When she made down to Docking Bay 9 she saw the Avirex sitting there. It was a very elegant looking ship. At the ships loading bay stood Anakin, Rex, and all of the clone troopers. When Ashoka laid her eyes on Rex she flushed a little.
"Hey there kid" said Rex
"Oh hi Rex" replied Ashoka.
"Ah Ashoka you're here. Alright everybody get on board" ordered Anakin.
Everyone quickly followed Anakin into the ship. Once everyone was inside Rex closed the hatch. Everyone followed Anakin into the meeting room.
"Ok here is whats going to happen. Ashoka and I will pilot the ship until we are in hyperspace. I want a man on every turret at all times. One troop is to be in the med lab. Another few on the communications. Everyone else find something useful to do. Lets go.
Ashoka followed her master to a ladder that led upstairs to the cockpit. Ashoka took the pilots seat while Anakin took the co pilots chair. Ashoka activated main engines and thrusters while Anakin set the navicomputer. Ashoka activated the main controls and took off. Once the Avirex was clear of Coruscants orbit Anakin typed the coordinates into the computer, he activated the hyperdrive and the Avirex made the jump.
"Alright Ashoka its going to be a long trip so let's use time wisely and train" said Anakin as he and Ashoka left the cockpit.
The two made their way down to the training area where Rex and two other clones were talking.
"Ok Ashoka were going to work on your hand to hand combat skills. Now I want you to come at me with everything you got, ok" said Anakin.
"Ok master" replied Ashoka.
She charged at her master, did a full front tuck flip over Anakin, hit the ground, and delivered a kick aimed at his head. Anakin blocked her blow, grabbed her leg, and threw her across the room. Ashoka balanced herself out, hit the wall with both feet, and bounced back at Anakin. She landed a few feet infront of him, did a roll, and jumped back up in an attempt to deliver punch to the jaw. Anakin once again blocked this again. Ashoka delivered blow after blow towards Anakin, but each one of her shots are blocked. Ashoka blocked most of Anakin's punches. That is until she looked around the gym and there she saw Rex. She looked at him and she felt her face go red. She did not notice the punch from Anakin that knocked her to the wall. She hit the wall with a thud and slid to ground. Anakin and Rex both ran over to her.
"Ashoka are you alright" ask Anakin as he helped her up.
"Uhhhhh. What….yeah im fine master, just got caught a little off guard" replied Ashoka.
"Well you did great my little padawan. Rex take her to the med lab and give her some pain killers and make sure that her back is ok" said Anakin.
"Yes sir. Come on kid" replied Rex.
Rex and Ashoka walked out of the training room, down a latter, and into the med lab. Ashoka sat down in a chair. Rex went over to a cabinet and searched for a bottle of pain killing pills. As he was doing this Ashoka was looking at him and wondered if she should tell him how she feels. The only thing that was keeping her back was whether or not he would feel the same way. Could clones love? Is it allowed? What was she to do?
Rex came back to her and handed her two small green looking pills.
"Take these and I need to take a look at your back" said Rex
Ashoka swallowed the pills, but she was feeling a little nervous as she lifted up the back of her shirt. Rex examined her back and used a small scanning device to take a look inside.
"Just a little bruising that's all. It should be gone in a couple of hours sir" said Rex.
Ashoka put down her shirt. As Rex was putting away the scanning advice, Ashoka finally found the courage to ask Rex a question.
"Hey Rex, do clones feel love" ask a nervous Ashoka
Rex did not say anything for a few seconds, but she could tell that he was thinking about something.
"I guess we do. All clones share the love for the Republic. But we are living creatures so I guess that we could feel other kinds of love" replied Rex.
"Ok. I was just curious".
Just then an announcement came over the ships intercom.
"All crew report to the eating area for meal time" said a clone.
"Come on sir, let's go get something to eat" said Rex.
The two left the med lab and hurried down the hall to the eating area where all the ships crew members enjoyed a meal. After dinner Anakin and Ashoka went upstairs to the cockpit to make sure everything was in order before they went to bed. The emergency alert system was set, the hyperdrive was working fine, and all six gun turrets were loaded for use at a moments notice. Once all this was done the two retired to their sleeping quarters for the night.
During the middle of the night Rex left his sleeping quarters to use the ships facilities. On his way back he heard a sound. The sound was faint, but to him it sounded like someone crying. He followed the sound to the upper level of the ship, the training room to be exact. Once he reached the training room he found the source of the noise. It was Ashoka. She was sitting on the bench with her hands in her face, crying.
"Commander whats wrong" asked Rex.
Ashoka had not even noticed that he had come into the room until he spoke. She looked up at him. He could see her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with tears.
"Rex, uh…its nothing" said the crying Togruta.
Rex made his way over to the bench and sat down next to her.
"Come on Ashoka, whats going on. Im your friend, you can tell me" said Rex in a calm caring voice.
Ashoka wiped the tears out of her eyes before she spoke.
"I had a dream that I was back on Shilli. The Separatists had invaded and attacked my village. My mother and I tried to run away, but we were caught. I had to watch as the droids shot and killed my mother. It was horrible Rex". As Ashoka was talking she started sobbing harder.
Rex noticed how much pain she was in. He reached over and put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. At first Ashoka was a little surprised by this, but she did not really think about this at the moment. She just buried her face into Rex's shoulder and cried. Rex rubbed his hand up and down her back to try and calm her down.
"Don't worry Ashoka. It's going to be alright" said Rex in a soft voice.
"It seemed so real. I'm scarred Rex" cried Ashoka.
"Don't worry. I'll stay here with you as long as you need" replied Rex.
Ashoka lifted her head up and looked at Rex with her eyes still filled with tears.
"Thank you Rex" replied Ashoka as she put her head back into his shoulder and continued crying.
Rex continued to rub her back and tried to calm her down. Her crying began to subside and she seemed to be getting a little better.
Rex did not remember anything after that. The next thing that he knew was that he was waking up. He looked around and noticed that he was not in his sleeping quarters and that he was in the training room. He could not recall about how he had gotten there. He felt something on his shoulder. He looked down and saw Ashoka curled up next to him, sleeping. Her body was leaning against his and her head was on his shoulder. Now Rex remembered what had happened the night before. They must have fallen asleep while they were talking. He remembered how upset she had been last night, but now she look happy. She had a small smile on her face and she looked very peaceful. Rex had started to doze off when he heard someone banging on doors somewhere on the ship.
"Wake up everybody" he heard Anakin say in the distance.
Rex knew that it was time to get up so he gently nudged Ashoka to wake her.
"Hey, wake up kid" said Rex.
Ashoka slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Rex.
"Oh. Hi Rex" said Ashoka in a surprised voice.
It took Ashoka a few seconds to realize the position that she was in. She lifted her head off of Rex's shoulder and slowly stood up. She stretched her arms and gave a long yawning noise.
"Are you feeling better today kid" ask Rex.
Ashoka turned and looked at Rex.
"Yes I am. Thank you being there for me Rex" said Ashoka.
"No probl….".
Rex's sentence was cut off by Ashoka giving him a big hug. She soon released him from her grasp and walked out of the room to go and get some breakfast.
Rex sat there for another few minutes thinking about Ashoka. He knew that there was something more going on in her mind, but what?