Summary: "It's a grave marker. Some poor sap is buried on this planet." Rex moved to stand behind Hardcase as the kneeling trooper brushed away the overgrown moss on the marker, revealing deeply cut words. Commander Rex CT-7567.
Time is a brisk wind, for each hour it brings something new... but who can understand and measure its sharp breath, its mystery and its design?
–Paracelsus
"Commander!" Two soldiers in full armor greeted as they passed by their superior in the hallway of The Resolute.
Rex nodded in return as he continued on his way, his steps echoing in against each bulkhead as he passed through the interior of the ship toward the bridge.
He was on his way to receive his next set of orders from Admiral Yularen. His comm. had been unusually vague about the context of this mission, leading him to believe there was something sensitive about the information he was going to be briefed on.
Finally reaching the turbo lift, Rex pressed the release for door and stepped through. After selecting the appropriate level the lift shifted with movement, Rex allowed his eyes to close exhaustion. It had been a rough couple of months.
Ahsoka was gone.
She had been framed by one of her friends in the Jedi Order. He knew she never would have carried out something so destructive against those she considered to be her family. She cared far too much about her way of life. Once the Council found her innocent, she refused their offer to be reinstated in the Order and having her name cleared publically.
She had always been stubborn.
She chose to live in exile, no longer be associated with Jedi. He hadn't heard from her since she snuck into his quarters late the night the announcement of her desertion was made.
He had broken protocol and hugged her tightly, ignored her quiet sniffling and the tears that stained his cloth shirt. He gave her the comfort she so desperately needed in that moment and he knew his life would never be the same without the Torgruta.
"I'll be there for you," He had told her has he handed her his holoprojector. "Anytime you want to talk, just call."
She had resisted at first, but eventually accepted his gift. He had tried to offer her one of his blasters for protection in place of her missing light sabers, but she refused vehemently.
"What would I do with a blaster, Rexter?" She had chuckled with tears in her cerulean eyes; her sienna skin was flushed deeper than usual with her distress.
All too soon, she was gone with so many things had been left unsaid.
General Skywalker had withdrawn into himself more than usual after her departure. It only took two days of trying to continue as though nothing had happened before he broke down. The Jedi Council recalled him to Coruscant which was to become his haven.
Rex was promoted to fill Ahsoka's absence, and Admiral Yularen took over in place of General Skywalker during his absence. The war continued on.
Days passed, and then weeks turned into months. It felt like years, and Rex carried on. The loss of both of his Jedi superiors had created burden of grief that grew hollow inside of him. General Skywalker and Commander Ahsoka had become much more to the 501st than just Jedi frontrunners. They were their leaders and friends.
He mourned them as if he had lost a brother. The difference in the pain was his Jedi had made a choice to leave, which amplified his suffering. He had thrown himself into his work with reckless abandon, sleeping less and less to work the data that came endlessly across his desk. He barely made trips to the mess hall, surviving on ration bars when his hunger began to hinder his work performance. His training intensity had faltered dramatically because of his hectic work ethic, but he still fought with every fiber of his being.
He took unnecessary risks trying to cover the loss of the Jedi fighters, but more often than not, the 501st Legion joined other ships with Jedi Generals for an attack. Rex still found it difficult to trust other Jedi, but he was loyal to The Republic, and they proved their worth in battle.
But he couldn't compare any of them to bright blues eyes and a feisty smile.
The lift door opened with a hiss that startled Rex out of his thoughts.
He refocused on his task at hand and finished the rest of the short journey to the bridge. Once he had stepped into the glowing lights of the ship's central command, Rex straightened his shoulders before approaching the main holoprojector in the center of the room.
"Ah, Commander Rex, thank goodness you've arrived." The Admiral greeted him. His appearance seemed worn to Rex's trained eye, but the Admiral stood tall.
"Admiral," He replied standing at attention.
"There are a few others on your team, but since you're leading this mission, I wanted to brief you separately." The Admiral gestured the hologram currently being displayed. "What do you know about stellar phenomena?"
Rex frowned, "I'm afraid not much, sir."
The Admiral nodded and motioned back to the displayed image, "This is what is called a Vampire star, named after some archaic myth."
The image showed a large star shining brightly against the dark background of space. Another smaller star was extremely close to the massive giant, and to Rex it appeared that the larger star was pulling the life from the smaller star by their proximity.
"As you can see, this giant is feeding off of the dwarf star, now that is not unusual but it is rare," The Admiral walked around to the opposite side of the holoprojector and pointed at the debris being pulled to the larger star.
"This inner gaseous matter is hardly ever available, but we believe it can be used to enhance our missiles with such a strong electromagnetic pulse that it will wipe out droid armies on an entire planet, with no loss of civilian life."
Rex nodded, his memory recalling a battle, eyes intent on the image. "We've experimented with such technology before, but never on a planet-sized scale."
"If our scientists are correct, planet-sized would be simple." His eyes spoke of his excitement. "We could end this war within weeks."
"Our orders, sir?"
"Because the stars are located too deeply in Separatist territory for a battle cruiser, you and a team of three other clones will extract the materials we need."
Rex smirked, but apprehension bloomed in his heart. "That seems to be too simple, sir."
The Admiral chucked and clasped his hands behind his back while he walked around the holoprojector to stand next to Rex. "Astute! As always, Commander,"
"Vampire stars are always massive and have a short lifespan. This star, named Tolaris, has been feeding on this smaller star, Breeis, for a few weeks. Once our scanners detected the anomaly, we estimate that once the dwarf is consumed, Tolaris will only live for a single day before it supernovas."
"Only a day?" Rex sounded skeptical. "That doesn't match what we were taught at the academy about astrophysics."
"Well," The Admiral hesitated, "There is some gravimetric distortions, massive quantities of harmless plasma radiation, and other unexplained readings that we don't understand. We believe it's playing a part in accelerating the star's death and thus your time frame for the extraction."
"Will it be a risk to my men?" Rex asked firmly.
"Of course not," The Admiral laughed and held up a data stick, "We have the entire mission flight planned out for you on this data stick. Just follow the instructions exactly and the flight path between the stars to avoid their gravitational pull and you'll be back with us before you know it."
They both turned at the sound of the door opening, and Fives, Echo, and Hardcase walked in single file before standing at attention.
"Admiral," They spoke in unison.
"At ease, gentlemen." The Admiral waved away their formality. "I've just briefed the Commander as to the nature of your mission. As soon as he's given you the details, you'll be on your way." With that, the Admiral turned to Rex. "Good luck." He walked further into the bridge, his attention turned toward one of the lit consoles.
"Well troopers," Rex moved to stand closer in front of his men and gave them a smirk. "It looks like we're going on a road trip."
Author's Note: Vampires stars are real, and so is their short lifespan, but obviously not as short as a day. I made it bit more dramatic for my story. The star names were made up as well. Fiction people. But just wait, I'll be making up a lot more stuff in this story. Hopefully I won't get beat up for my simplified imagination.
Rex was promoted, if you missed that part. So don't hate me for not calling him Captain.
I like Hardcase a lot. That's why he's back from the dead and in my story. Creative license!
Please review if this is something worth continuing! Five reviews and the next chapter will be out. It's already completed. Seriously, reviews are all the authors get. Feed me!
Much love!
-Tragically Humorous
