Unforeseen Circumstances
Disclaimer: Star Wars and its characters belong to their respectful creators. I own nothing and make no money off this.
This is also my first fanfic, so please, absolutely nitpick everything I do wrong in this. No, I'm not joking, please do.
Imminent victory! After Separatist forces invaded the peaceful world of Pachonnia, the Republic sent General Skywalker and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano to liberate the planet and restore Republic control over the system. Now, as the Separatists rout and regroup before the advance of the Republic, Anakin Skywalker marches towards their last stronghold in an effort to rid the planet of the Separatists, once and for all!
This march is going to kill me thought Ahsoka Tano as she walked alongside the troopers of the 501st Legion. It wasn't that her feet were beginning to hurt from the six hour march towards the last Separatist stronghold on the planet or that her backpack was weighting down on her, it was the fact that nothing has happened yet. No droid ambush, no traps, no counter-offensive, nothing. The droids were still regrouping after their failed defensive of the planet and now all she had to do to occupy herself is to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Rex had mentioned something about this a long time ago: This is life, isn't it? This is what we signed up for. Hurry up and wait. Long stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. He said just before he challenged her to play darts. Of course, she thrashed the entire Torrent Company at it. It was two years ago, yet it felt like a lifetime. So many things have changed, including the man who had said those words…
Speaking of Rex she thought to herself as she scanned the lines of troopers that flanked the walkers. The armored column was currently advancing on a cleared highway with heavy vegetation on both sides on their way to an FOB. Perfect for an ambush, good thing the tinnies are still running. After a few minutes of trying to find him among the lines of troopers, she concluded that he must be inside of one the walkers with Skyguy, probably preparing a plan for the decisive battle that will give the boot to the Separatists off this planet.
Ahsoka briefly felt disappointed that she couldn't talk with him, but she quickly dismissed the feeling. After all, Rex has become less and less talkative as the war progressed, but she knew which one affected him most.
Umbara. Whenever she brought up the topic of the Umbaran homeworld, he simply grew silent and from there she could sense both distress and regret radiating off of him. After that, he would excuse himself and that was the end of it.
She knew the story of what happened in Umbara, and she was sure every Jedi and clone trooper also knew as the news took everybody by surprise. Master Krell's bold and suicidal orders, his harsh and strict treatment of the clone troopers, and ultimately, his betrayal to the Republic. He had killed a large number of clone troopers from both the 501st and the 212th before he was captured, and yet, the death toll rose far higher when they found out his orders were just rubbish he made up to cripple the campaign on Umbara.
Ahsoka was shocked when she had heard from Fives that Krell was executed rather than sent to Coruscant to stand trial. After she voiced her opinion, Fives had countered it with the fact that the remaining Umbarans were converging on the airfield in an effort to retake it and Krell was far too dangerous to be set loose by the Umbarans if they succeeded in retaking the facility.
When she heard that the tragic friendly fire incident was orchestrated by Krell, she had no doubt that he had become Dooku's lapdog. And of course, realizing what was going on, it was the brave Captain who had taken off his helmet and sprinted into the middle of the crossfire to stop the bloody fratricide. And when it came down to execute Krell, it was Dogma, not Rex, who killed him.
She knew why he was like this. He felt guilty because he didn't have the courage to execute his superior, and now his brother had to be sent into Republic custody for it. Adding insult to injury, they've never heard from him again. Not only that, but he also blamed himself for placing his faith on the turncoat and allowing his brothers to suffer from it. He was hurting, that much was clear, even if he did well to hide it during his missions. Maybe she could offer to teach him meditation after they finish their campaign on the planet. Sure, she didn't like meditating, but she was willing to do it if it helped her friend be at ease.
"Finally." She muttered as the column reached the end of a curve, revealing a Republic forward operating base as it came into view. Maybe she might finally get a minute of rest and massage her sore feet, but that's when she heard a familiar voice calling her from behind.
"Ahsoka!" Her master shouted. She turned to find both Anakin and Rex exiting a hatch from one of the walkers and walked, no, scratch that, jogged to her position. She soon found herself perplexed when she saw a Karisian Elder and Threepio also exit the same walker and started walking down towards the rear of the column, not even sparing a glance at her.
"Yes, master?" Ahsoka asked as both men halted in front of her.
"We don't have any intel on the stronghold's defenses and heavy anti-air emplacements have made it impossible to get an aerial reconnaissance of the area. So I'm assigning you and Rex to scout it out from a vantage point." Anakin answered. He soon grew uncomfortable when he added "I'll send you the coordinates, but when you reach the site, you'll need to wear a mask since the air around it is toxic."
Of course, leave it to Anakin to needlessly worry about me. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but she had the feeling that he was hiding something from her. But it didn't matter, he already gave her enough information to not get herself killed by foul air. "Leave it to me master." She answered proudly, before turning to Rex, "Come on Rexster, those droids aren't going to blast themselves."
"Well, sometimes they do, sir." Rex countered half-jokingly. Ahsoka grinned before turning away from him and walked towards the rear of one of the AT-TE walkers. It's good to hear Rex's good old sense of humor, even if what he said was more or less a fact.
The walker's aft elevator was already extended, brandishing two All-Terrain Recon Transports. The bipedal walkers were new, as were the markings of the 501st which meant that Ahsoka would have the pleasure to break them in. She mounted the one to her left and hit the ignition key, turning the walker into its upright position. When she saw Rex mount his and turn it on, she trotted off into the woods.
Rex was worried that the general had ordered him to go scouting, especially at this part of the invasion. He needed to be with the 501st, his men, to make sure they're prepared and combat ready. When he brought up his objection with the General, he refused and said that this needed to be done quickly before the droids reorganized and dug in. And by quick of course, he meant him and Ahsoka since Fives is currently occupied at other more important tasks. Rex conceded when he saw that the General was right and that furthering delaying the attack will cause more casualties on their side, something he vowed will never happen again.
He trusted Skywalker, not because he was his General, but because he was his friend, yet, he couldn't help but worry about his own brothers. How many would fall before this invasion ended? How many clones are dying right this moment all around the galaxy? How many times will he hear the screams of agony and death that perfectly reflected his own?
"Rex, are you alright?" he heard over his comm. Kriff, I zoned out again during a mission. Not good. Rex swiveled his head to the right to find Ahsoka a few meters ahead of him on his right side. He lifted his right arm to respond through his built-in wrist comlink.
"I'm fine, Commander Tano." He automatically responded before he cringed. She'll probably call him out on it considering how often he said it when he was clearly injured, let it be by a blaster bolt through his chest or getting almost cleaved in two by general Grievous.
"Fine, right." He heard Ahsoka's voice through his helmet. He knew the Commander wouldn't let him off the leash this time and she'll probably reprimand him for it, so he steeled himself for it. "Rex, listen. I know the war's been affecting you. Especially what happened in Umbara. I can sense your distress over your men over a kilometer away." Of course, it didn't help that he's been worrying for them nonstop ever since they left the column. "When we return to the Resolute, meet me at my quarters. I want to teach you something that will help you ease your mind." She said and Rex saw her take a quick look at him.
That's certainly unexpected… But something about it made him think. Quarters, something that will ease my mind? Rex soon grew uncomfortable, he needed more information.
"What do you mean with 'something', commander?" he asked with a slight ting of nervousness.
"Meditation, of course." She responded with confusion clearly evident in her voice.
"I, eh, thought you disliked meditation." Rex said, suddenly feeling like an utter imbecile for his stray thought of that 'something'. How could I think of that? Especially when it comes to Ahsoka!
"I do, but if it helps you retain peace within yourself, I'll be willing to teach you Rex." Ahsoka declared. She will actually do it for him? Rex could still remember of the times she would go and vent in Torrent Company about how meditation was 'stupid' and 'unproductive' in the first year of the war.
"I…" he exhaled before continuing, "Thank you, Commander". He didn't know how meditation worked but he'd learned through the HoloNet that it's supposed to be a calming experience.
"Any time, Rex. Any time." She replied back to him before they both fell in a comfortable silence. The trip took well over an hour before they came upon a ridge, and beyond it, the biggest tree Rex had ever seen. It was as stall as the ones he'd seen in Maridun but thicker. It definitely matched the description that Karisian Elder gave them. Dark purple trunk, blue leaves, and on top of a hill that overlooks the plains. Ahsoka let out a low whistle as she took in the sight.
Rex dismounted his walker and approached the edge of the ridge in a crouched position. A second later, Ahsoka appeared at his side, brandishing her Jedi-issued binoculars from her backpack. They didn't come all this way just to carelessly walk into an ambush. Rex activated his zoom function on his helmet and began scanning the landscape in front of him. Forests surrounded the hill, yet the hill itself was devoid of them. Instead, it was peppered with protruding rocks and outcroppings which is good if they ever needed to find cover. He could see a white powdery substance emanating from the pods in the tree and dissipating into the air.
Pheromones.
"Commander, I advise you to wear your mask when we get off this ridge. The entirety of the forest surrounding the hill is contaminated." Rex told Ahsoka while he still scanned the area.
"Roger roger." She mockingly acknowledged it before asking, "What's this stuff anyway?"
At this, Rex turned to her and spoke, "Pheromones, the Karisian Elder said something about this being a 'Great Tree of Fertility', and that the substance may hinder us in our mission." He pointed a finger at her and added, "Which is why, you must wear your mask. The filters in my helmet will protect me."
"Right, wouldn't want you kissing me." She jokingly replied as she rolled her eyes. Rex once again grew uncomfortable when he remembered his idiotic assumption of Ahsoka's intentions in helping him. "So, have you seen any droids?" Ahsoka asked as she took her binoculars and scanned the landscape. Eager to deprive himself of that shameful memory, he activated his zoom function and quickly scanned the hill, only to find what he was looking for.
"Spotted some movement at the base of the tree, droids." Rex reported. Ahsoka zoomed in over the tree and, true to Rex's word like always, slim and mechanical figures could be spotted among the rocks. "Looks like two squads worth of clankers and a dwarf spider droid."
"We've fought worse, let's not keep the 501st and those droids waiting." She said as she stood up, replacing her binoculars with a transparent respirator. After she fastened and secured it, she spoke, "I'll draw fire from them while you pick them off." Rex gave his nod in approval before they began sprinting down the ridge and into the woods.
It only took a few minutes of running until they reached the bottom of the hill where the tree resided in. Ahsoka briefly felt a tingling and numbness in her lekku, but as soon as that feeling came it was gone, so she just shrugged it off as adrenaline. She stopped just before the forest ended and scanned the tree lines for Rex. He was several meters to her right, taking cover from one of the trees and gazing at her. For some reason she was glad that he was still with her.
"Something wrong Commander?" he inquired.
"Just making sure you're keeping up, Rex." She replied before she unhooked her lightsabers from her belt, ignited them and dashed in.
As Ahsoka made her way uphill, the droids spotted her and began to open fire. She swung her blades and deflected the incoming fire back to her enemies, striking down two battle droids with their own blaster bolts. As she zigzagged along the rocks to keep the droids from striking her, Ahsoka noticed that other droids were being blasted by Rex from behind her. That's when some battle droids shifted in their defensive and focused their fire on him. Ahsoka cursed inwardly when she realized that they had spotted him.
She began to steadily approach the top of the hill, swinging her lightsabers to deflect bolts back at her enemies and using the rocks for cover when the enemy got a bead on her as she tried to get the enemy to pay attention to her. Rex may have experience, but he's still just a man. I needed to draw fire before he's overwhelmed! Ahsoka sliced through a group of droids that got too close as she made her way up to the top of the hill. That's when she saw the spider droid near the tree charge up its cannon, and to her dread she realized that it wasn't aimed at her, but at Rex.
"Rex!" Ahsoka shouted, trying to gain his attention, but it was too late. A second later the sound of a laser cannon discharge was heard, and the large red bolt struck Rex's position. She panicked, not knowing whether Rex was alive or not. He can't be dead, not Rex! Ahsoka soon found the blaster fire to be too much, so she retreated back into one of the protruding rocks to scan the scene.
There, beyond the small crater she saw him, crouched behind a rock, his head between his arms as he tried to shelter himself from the onslaught of the suppressive fire. Ahsoka gripped her lightsabers tighter than before as emotions cursed through her, relief and happiness that he was still alive and kicking, but also another one she had long and well suppressed as was part of her Jedi training.
Anger, pure, unfiltered anger. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at her tight grip of her lightsabers. Calloused, dirty and shaking. She was shaking, but it wasn't that of fear nor sadness, no, it was hatred. How dare they almost kill Rex? How dare they try to take away my best friend? How dare they try to destroy someone who is very dear to me?! She looked up to gaze at his suppressed figure one last time before vaulting over the rock she was hiding in and charged towards the enemy.
The first three droids went down with one quick swing of her lightsaber. Using her foot to pivot herself, she deflected a blaster bolt back against a battle droid and used its blasted body to strike its neighbor by the use of the Force. When the last remaining group of droids abandoned their suppression and turned to fire at her, Rex did not waste any time to reveal himself and shoot back at the enemy.
The next moments became a blur as Ahsoka exerted herself to destroy as many droids as possible to keep them off Rex. She even unnecessarily used the Force to send the remains off the cliff whenever she sliced the droids, and, surprisingly, her throw was a lot stronger than what she remembered. But it didn't matter to her, these droids wanted to kill her clone Captain.
That simple thought fueled her determination as she ran towards the spider droid who sat at the top of the hill, trying to take pot shots at Rex. Ahsoka did not stop when she reached the spider droid, instead, she dug in both her lightsaber and shoto on its side and used her gained momentum to vault over its domed head to the other side, splitting the droid in two. But she wasn't done yet when she felt another presence nearby.
Ahsoka spun, bringing her lightsabers to bear on her new target when she heard the all too familiar modulated voice.
"Commander?!" Rex shouted as she stopped her swing a hair's breadth of his neck. Her eyes widened as she realized she had almost decapitated Rex.
"R-Rex?" Ahsoka muttered. She scanned her surroundings only to find the entire droid force destroyed around them.
"It's alright Commander, we're safe." Rex assured her as he holstered his blasters, wary of the lightsabers still near his neck. It took a moment for Ahsoka to recompose herself before she retracted her lightsabers, dropped them to the soft grass and scrutinized her hands. Ahsoka could only stare, lips parted in shock at what she had almost done. "Commander, are you alright?" Rex asked as he placed his right hand on her shoulder.
Her breathing was ragged as she lifted her head to look at his helmeted face. He is safe, whole, and alive. My brave captain survived again. At those thoughts, Ahsoka shivered as the tingling sensation in her lekku returned in full force, bringing a weird sense of warmth inside her sensitive appendages. She turned to stare at his hand that was holding her as a new and foreign sensation began to take over.
"Rex," she spoke in a soft tone, "I…"
"It's alright Ahsoka, just take it easy. I'll scout the base and contact the General alright?" he assured Ahsoka, who trembled as he spoke her name. The last time Rex said her name was… a long time ago. At that, he let go of her and walked away, skirting around the enormous trunk. Without thinking, she followed him to where he was going, which turned out to be the other side of the hill where one could see the Separatist base.
Ahsoka saw him stand there, comlink at his helmet's modulator as he relayed coordinates and numbers, but none of that mattered to her as she soon found herself craving for his contact again, like she had grown dependent on that small gesture of comfort. Finding her backpack now unbearable to carry, she dropped it onto the grass and approached him.
"Their tanks appear to be disabled, but the droids are try- w-what?" Rex stuttered as Ahsoka embraced him from behind. "Commander, what are you doing?" he asked, but she paid him no mind. She liked the contact, but the plastoid pieces got in the way of his body. Ahsoka couldn't explain it, but she just had the urge to rip away the plates of his armor and feel his warmness. "She's… hugging me, sir." he said with uncertainty in his voice.
Why is he still talking to Skyguy? she thought with a frown on her face as she tightened her grip, willing him to stop talking to her blasted master.
"Commander, let go of me. This isn't proper!" he ordered in his commanding tone he often used on an uppity shiny.
"Say my name." Ahsoka spoke softly as she rested her head on his backside, cheek pressed on the plastoid plate and arms gripping his armored chest in a vice-like grip, "Say my name and I'll let you go."
"Commander, what has…?" Rex went silent for a few moments before continuing with something akin to fear in his voice, "Ahsoka, please, let go of me."
She savored his words for a moment before she complied and dropped her arms. Rex turned and hunched over to get closer, causing her heartbeat to spike when his gloved hands closed in on her face and fumbled on her mask. He was probably checking up on it, but she had another thing on her mind. His helmeted face. How she longed to see his brown eyes, his buzzed and bleached hair, and his smile. The smile the war had taken from him with its countless battles and horrors which made Ahsoka silently vow to do anything to bring it back.
After fiddling with her mask, he straightened up and raised his right hand again to speak through his comlink.
"General, there's no damage to her mask. It's still pressurized and pumping in clean oxygen." He reported before dropping his arm, "Ahsoka, how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine now that you're here, Captain Rexy." She said while emphasizing his rank and nickname. She somehow liked it when he became worried about her.
"Rexy?" He asked incredulously before going silent again for a few moments. His head was tilted to the side, probably listening to Anakin speak inside his helmet. She found it cute, but she soon found herself bereft of his attention and it bothered her to no end.
She took a step towards him, and at that, Rex swung his head back to her and slowly started stepping back. Ahsoka looked at him with a confused glare before she began to approach him in quick steps to intercept him, but she stopped when Rex raised his hand and addressed her, "Commander, it would be wise if you kept your distance." The use of her rank instead of her name irked her like no other but his 'advice' was simply outrageous.
"Why?" Ahsoka asked as she raised her shoulders and put on a sneer on her face, but she didn't find her answer when Rex circled around her and approached the base of the tree. "Hey!"
"Commander, listen to me. Your mental state is being affected by the pheromones." He explained, but Ahsoka was having none of it.
"What are you on about Rex? You said it yourself, my mask is fine! I'm fine!" She all but shouted at him. Why is he pushing me away? Does he not want my help? Ahsoka disregarded his previous advice and began to approach him.
"Commander, please." Rex tried to plead while taking a few steps back towards the trunk of the tree. Again with the rank!
"Don't call me that!" Ahsoka ordered and from there, she closed the distance that was in between them. Her hands met his armored shoulders, and with that, she pushed him until she heard the plastoid plates come into contact with wood. Rex groaned from the impact and tried to counter her force by pushing back against her shoulders, but it was futile against her Force-augmented strength.
"Ahsoka, don't do this. Stop this now!" He shouted at her, but it fell on deaf montrals.
"Did you think I didn't notice the way you thought about me when we were on our way here?" She asked and Rex seemed taken aback as he suddenly went silent and still. "Go into my quarters and teach you 'something' to ease your mind?" Of course she had sensed his small discomfort in that thought of his, but she had dismissed it on the grounds that it was a stray thought and the fact that he had asked about it, but now, she couldn't take her mind off it.
"Is this the reason you're doing this? Are you upset?" Rex tried to reason, but his reasoning was far from the truth.
"No Rex, I'm not upset. In fact, I was wondering what your definition of that 'something' was." She said as she removed her right hand from his shoulder and used it to caress his helmeted face, wishing it was his tanned cheek.
She should've expected it, and she knew him well enough to know that he didn't like wasting time as he shoved her away from him. Ahsoka fell on her back and tried to get up, only for Rex to appear above her and take a hold of her wrists, placing them above her head. She was subdued and vulnerable to him and those facts excited her beyond measure.
"Ahsoka, snap out it!" He shouted once more. "This isn't you!" She scowled at him when she failed to wiggle away from him, but a mischievous idea formed in her head which caused her to give him a grin.
"You know, I wouldn't mind if you held me like this all day long." Ahsoka said softly, drawing out the last three words for him. As soon as she finished speaking, Rex gasped and briefly lost his grip on her wrists, but that was all she needed.
She quickly brought her hand up and began to use the Force to levitate him, drawing him up in the air before hurling him into the tree. His back collided with the tree only to fall rear first into the grass. Ahsoka stoop up from the ground and inspected him while she considered that perhaps she used more force than was necessary in her throw as Rex lay still, sitting against the tree and hunched over to the side. She briefly panicked until she sensed his Force signature still strong.
He blacked out, but considering that he's a clone, he'll likely wake up any moment now, and Ahsoka, like Rex, wasn't one to waste any time. She removed her mask, finding its straps irritating against her aching lekku and dropped it onto the grass. The air was the sweetest smell she ever breathed in and she wondered why she even wore the stupid mask in the first place. With it out of the way, she approached her Captain.
To be continued in chapter 2...
Updated based on the reviews telling me to shorten the paragraph and made Ahsoka's thoughts less out of character. Chapter 2 will come, it's just... taken a bit longer than I anticipated.