17 BBY - The Empire has risen and has seized control of most of the galaxy….

Outer Rim – Sheetun System

And here they were again. Another spaceport on a minor Outer Rim world in a system just small enough for the Empire to not have regular patrols. Plenty of little mining towns and cantinas though. Plenty of traders to haggle with and exchange news with.

Rex considered this as he left the spaceport's main doors and started down the hard-packed dirt road. He remembered Clank saying something about this continent being in its dry season right now. Maybe the foot traffic had packed the dirt in the road. The speeders certainly weren't the ones doing it.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he peered down the road, looking for one of the cantinas advertised in the spaceport. He didn't have to look far. Just barely fifty meters or so down the road blazed a colorful sign indicating a mug and some type of local drink. That would do.

He would've felt bad about leaving while the Captain bargained with the local merchants, but she had told him that she wanted to deal with this group alone. He agreed, knowing that she would be able to deal with whatever they threw at her, be it an awful deal or a knife at her throat. She had a silver tongue to deal with the former, and twin blasters up her sleeves for the latter. Clank, Scrubs, and Eyeball all stayed with the ship. Which left him some time alone, hence why he was making his way to the local cantina.

Once there, he made his way into the darkened building, noting the unusually high doorway and ceiling, and walked over to the counter. He noted that the bartender was a Bagmim. That explained the tall doors and ceiling. Like most Bagmim, the bartender looked to be nearly three meters tall. He noted that the cups looked to nearly be a liter in size. No point in ordering anything strong then.

"Whatever's cheap and not too strong, but not weak either." He pulled out a handful of credits, hoping that this cantina took them. The bartender stared at the credits for a long moment, then sighed and took them.

"You're a human?" Thinking for a moment, probably comparing the makeup of his drinks, the bartender then clapped his hands. "One Sheetunian Ale coming right up." The bartender turned, walked over to a spigot on the wall, placed the mug in its hand underneath the nozzle, and pushed a button. "And here you are, soldier."

Rex blinked. Was it that obvious? The bartender chuckled. "I've seen clones like you before, making a living out here after the Empire dumped them from their armies. Well, that, and a battalion came through here and cleared out the Seppie infestation. So yeah, I can recognize a clone when I see one, even with that cloak and half-mask. Those might fool some folks, but not me." Rex started again. An Outer Rim dweller that hated Separatists enough to use Republic military slang? Well, there was a first time for everything. He had to get out of the center of the room though, didn't want to attract too much attention.

"Don't think I'm gonna give you a discount now, not if you're paying in credits," the tall being grumbled.

"Don't need it. I already paid, didn't I?" And with that, Rex made his way to a table near the doorway, next to a blotched wall. Probably a mix of alcohol and other liquids not worth thinking about. His hand rubbed one of the blasters holstered underneath his cloak as he sat down. Pulling down his half-mask and putting the ale mug to his lips, he considered his remark to the bartender.

What a payment he had made. The amount of credits he used would have been enough for several drinks back on Coruscant, but this was the Outer Rim, and that meant that credits weren't too valuable. It didn't matter, he'd be leaving whenever he got the signal from the ship telling him that the captain had wrapped up her dealings with the local merchants.

With that thought in mind, he let himself drift away from the present. Back to the fighting. Back to the war. Back to all the soldiers, both under his command and not, that had died for the Republic. Back to the battles that defined much of the war for him.

Geonosis. Their first major battle, and first taste of loss and death.

Christophsis. Where he had first been betrayed by a brother that was willing to kill his brothers to "free" them.

Teth. Where Torrent company almost ceased to exist.

Umbara. The slaughter and the pain and the betrayal.

Onderon. Not a loss of clones, but soldiers nonetheless.

Mandalore. When the Republic died along with almost every other clone he knew personally.

And those were just the fights he recalled at the moment. If he tried, he supposed he could force himself to remember every fight, every place that one of his brothers died for a Republic that died when the war ended. For a chancellor that brainwashed them into slaughtering their comrades. He gritted his teeth, but forced himself to take another drink. The ale wasn't too strong, but it did help, just a little. He was glad it wasn't stronger. He wouldn't have to face the captain drunk, and he wouldn't forget all his brothers that died. He didn't want to disgrace their sacrifice by forgetting them. But he would toast them, and so he did, even if it was just to the empty seats around him. They would want him to enjoy life, to live. But he couldn't just enjoy life. Not while the Empire stood. With renewed vigor, he downed the rest, crossing the cantina and placing the empty mug in a receptacle, placing his mask over his lower face and drawing his hood lower, nearly obscuring his eyes.

His communicator beeped. Perfect timing. Walking outside, he stepped into a side alley, just in case. "Rex here."

The comm exploded with a series of beeps. Eyeball. He translated the Binary into Basic in his head with practiced ease. So the captain was done with the negotiations and was on her way back. "I suppose that means that we're leaving soon?" Eyeball beeped out an affirmative.

"I'll be back shortly." With that, Rex stepped back out onto the street, and made his way back to the spaceport. He was glad for the relatively lax security here, being identified as a "deserter" to the Imperial Forces wouldn't do him or the crew any good. The only security was the checkpoint ahead.

"What ship?" The security guard sounded bored.

"Dawnlight, YT-1250 class in section C-3," Rex replied without a hint of hesitation.

The security guard waved him through, and Rex continued through the hallways without any further concerns. Making his way up to the ship, he approached the loading ramp, and met Clank standing about halfway up. Rex waved, and Clank walked farther up the ramp, metal feet echoing slightly in the enclosed space. Rex walked up the ramp, and was walking past Clank when the droid put an arm on his shoulder.

"Rex, the captain had a message for you," Clank said. "She said that she got fresh information on a local resistance cell, but didn't want to relay it over the comm. She said she would talk to us about it when she returned. That is all." With that, Clank walked past Rex and resumed its post on the entry ramp.

Rex smiled as he moved farther into the ship. So they had information. They would have a new purpose, and new allies. They could finally start fighting the Empire directly. It brought a smile to his face. He would revive the Republic even if it killed him. That was the promise he had made, and had no intention of breaking.

- Sorry to those who may have just gotten the update. I noticed that I forgot to put in the name of the ship Rex was in.

AN: So here's an unplanned one-shot. If you have any questions about this new Saga, please see my profile, or PM me if the Profile doesn't cover enough. Fun fact, the Bagmim have no other physical description other than tall and humanoid, so I improvised. Clank has no relation to the game Ratchet and Clank. The name will be explained another time. Here's the disclaimer. I do not own anything that is officially part of Star Wars, Legends or Canon. I do not claim ownership of any of the property of Lucasfilm, Disney, or any published authors. I am not making any money from this story.