A/N: So a couple things about this AU before we get started: The Clone Wars have started way earlier and in case you didn't get this from the summary, Rex is a force-sensitive! The rest of the details should fall into place as you read the story, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!
Anyways, proceed on with the story!
"The Kaminoians came for him after the midday meal. He had been in his squad's barracks, playing a game with CC-5052 that the longnecks had given them to use in their spare time, something they seemed to be getting less and less of as they got older. He was more than a little disappointed when a Kaminoian caretaker came in and called him away.
"Sorry, gotta go, Bly," he said, hopping down from their bunk. Bly rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Most of his vode were used to the weird things he did by now, like call people by names they didn't have. Whenever someone asked him why he did that, he always replied that it was because it was their name. That left most people even more confused, but he didn't care. He knew his brothers' names, so he was going to use them. The light said it was right, and he agreed with it.
The Kaminoian lead him through the halls of the training section. That made sense, all things considered. They probably wanted to put him through more testing to make sure he was fit for command track. He was of the CT class after all, and despite his high marks in everything, they still gave him lots of tests to prove he truly was fit to be with the other CC class clones in his squad.
That's why it was a surprise when the Kaminoian led him to a room with only a table and a few chairs. He was given orders to sit there and wait, and then he was left alone.
He walked over to the table, eyes widening once he saw what was lying on top of it. Pieces of flimsi, and a whole box of crayons. Crayons were only a thing the youngest cadets got to use, meaning he hadn't touched a set in forever. He cracked open the box, breathing in the smell of the crayon wax. He loved the training he was doing now, he really did, but there was something he missed about just being able to color.
He sat down in the chair, spreading the flimsi out in front of him. Four sheets. That meant he could make four pictures. But the longnecks might not let him keep four pictures. Better to just make one really good one and hope he would be able to keep it. He began to draw, losing himself completely in the task. He didn't know how much time had passed when the door to the room opened, making him jump and drop the crayon he was holding.
"Oh! I'm sorry, young one. I didn't mean to scare you." The voice was different, way different than a Kaminoian. When he turned around in his seat, he saw a woman standing there in the doorway. At least he thought it was a woman. She didn't look a lot like most human woman he had seen, probably because she wasn't human. Her skin was red with white spots around her eyes and face. She also had these weird blue and white things that stuck out of her head and fell down to her waist.
She came and took a seat next to him. "Hello there," she said, giving him a smile. "My name is Shaak Ti." The light in him pulsed as she said her name, almost as if it was reaching out for her. That was strange. He's never felt the light act like that before. There must have been something special about her if the light acted that way. "What is your name, young one?"
"I'm CT-7567." He hesitated for a second, but the light said the she was safe, so he continued on. The woman did ask for his name after all." Sometimes the other cadets call me Rex. Cody says that should be my name. I think I like it." He didn't really know why he added that last part. It just seemed like the right thing to say to her.
She gave him a soft smile. "Is it alright if I call you that?" He hesitated again. The longnecks never liked to call clones by their names, that was something only his brothers reserved for each other. But the light kept pulsing reassuringly. And this woman definitely wasn't a longneck.
"Yeah," he said, nodding. He went back to his drawing, and after a moment's consideration, started drawing Cody next to the drawing he had already done of himself in the future, when he was an actual trooper with armor and everything. Cody was the only one who listened to him when he talked about what the light and what it told him. He was the only one he told about it anymore, everyone else only laughed at him and called him dini'la. But not Cody. He deserved to be in the picture with him. Maybe he'd even get a chance to show it to his ori'vod later.
The woman sat there for a while, watching him. He didn't mind it. She was soothing in a way, like being around her put him at ease in a way he had only felt a few times before. He couldn't exactly figure out why the woman was like that, and the light didn't tell him any answers. He supposed it must not have been that important then, and he turned his attention back to coloring in the armor on his picture.
"What are you drawing, young one?" the woman asked, peering over his shoulder.
"It's me and Cody. He's my favorite brother, but don't tell CC-3636 that, he'll get mad. Even madder than when I call him Wolffe." He scrunched up his nose at the thought. "Anyways, me and Cody are gonna work together someday." He picked up an orange and started doing the armor designs on Cody.
"Is that what his armor will look like?"
He nodded. "Cody's is gonna be orange. Mine is gonna be blue," he said, pointing out the designs on his own armor.
"What makes you think that?" the woman asked, now watching him draw with a different look in her eyes, more than just the curiosity she had before.
He paused in his coloring, wondering why the woman would have acted like that. Maybe he had been talking too much. The woman didn't seem to mind it though, the light told him she was more entertained than anything. He started coloring again, shrugging his shoulders in response to her earlier question. "I dunno. I just know,"
The woman stared at him for a moment, humming thoughtfully. "You left your helmet blank," she said. It wasn't a question. He still answered.
"Something special is gonna be there. I don't know what it is yet.
The woman hummed again, shifting in her seat. "Rex," she said. The light told him to pay attention. He put down his coloring things and turned to the woman, gazing into her warm brown eyes. "You are a very special clone," she continued, taking his hands in hers.
He frowned up at her. "I'm special?"
"Yes, you are. Tell me, can you feel this?" He frowned again. Feel what- Oh.
His eyes widened. "You have the light too?" he asked incredulously.
The woman laughed, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Yes, I do have the light. Though, I call it something else. Have you ever heard of the Force before?"
He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. The Kaminoians didn't want the clones knowing about that sort of thing. He heard from older brothers, who heard from even older brothers about the mysterious Force. He didn't want to get them in trouble. But this woman had the light, so it would be okay to tell her, right?
"The Force is what the Jedi have," he said, pulling his hands back into his lap and playing with his fingers. "It helps them do stuff... I think."
The woman smiled. "You're not wrong. A Jedi does have the Force. I have the Force."
His eyes grew large with awe. "Does that mean you're a Jedi?"
She laughed at his reaction, grabbing his hands again and folding them in her reddish ones. "Yes. I am a Jedi." He leapt out of his chair, torn between saluting like he'd been told or bouncing up and down with excitement. Never had he ever thought he would have gotten to meet a Jetii! At least not until he was deployed. In the end, he just decided to keep his hands plastered against his sides. He didn't want to do anything wrong in front of a Jetii.
The woman -Jedi- continued talking. "That light you were talking about, that's the Force."
"If I have the li- the Force," he began, sorting his thoughts out loud, "then does that mean I'm a Jedi too?" He looked up at her expectantly.
Her smile grew. "Not yet. But you could be. Do you see what I'm asking you, Rex?" She knelt down to be closer to him. "I'm asking if I can train you to be a Jedi." His jaw dropped open. He couldn't believe it. Him? A Jetii? The light sang with rightness, urging him to say yes. And yet…
"I sense you're uneasy." The woman eyed him, concern flitting over her features. He felt it thought the light as well.
"It's just…" he trailed off, fidgeting with his fingers again. "I want to be a Jedi but… I don't want to leave my brothers."
The woman's eyes softened, concern slowly easing away. "That's nothing to worry about Rex. You can stay here and train with your brothers. I'll be stationed here for a while to oversee everything, but during that time, I can train you in the ways of the Force as well."
"Oh." He didn't really know what else to say. This all seemed too good, like a dream he had after a long day of training. But the light flared up within him again, singing with certainty that this was real.
"So what do you say, Rex? Would you like to be my padawan?"
His face lit up in a smile. "Yes!" he cried, throwing himself into the woman's arms. The gesture felt sonatural, like he was meant to be here, with the woman, and everything was finally right. He didn't know how he didn't see this before, how this part of him was missing. The woman laughed again, the sound so warm and full of the light. He wanted to make her laugh more. It was nice when she laughed.
She pulled them apart, standing up and setting her hands on his shoulders instead. "Well then, my new Padawan, are you ready to go make this official?" He nodded, not exactly knowing what that entailed, but ready for it all the same. She moved to his side, holding out one hand for him to grasp tightly in her own. His other hand reached out and grabbed his finished drawing. He had to show it to Cody after all. She smiled down at him again and he couldn't help but smile back, huge grin splitting across his face.
That was how he walked out the doors, hand in hand with the Jedi Master. No, he thought, not just any Jedi Master. My Jedi Master.
A/N: Ta da! I've been thinking about this story idea for a while and I finally had to give in and write it. While I do have lots of ideas and things planned for this fic, Destiny of the Force is my main priority so expect sporadic updates on this!
Anyways, hope you enjoyed it!
~Jedi Master Megan