Republic Base on Christophsis, 22BBY

Rex stood by the edge of the balcony, his binoculars held just in front of his face, waiting patiently for the signal from the other lookout post. It couldn't be much longer now. He hoped very much that it wasn't, because he thought he could hear General Skywalker approaching. Skywalker's gait was unmistakable, and it sounded like someone else was with him, but Rex couldn't think who it was.

At last the troopers in the other post signaled to let Rex know that it was all clear. As soon as he signaled back, Rex turned to greet Skywalker.

There was someone with him. A very short, very orange, wide-eyed little Togruta stood next to the General, looking around with interest.

"What's the status, Rex?" Skywalker asked. Rex suspected that Skywalker didn't really need to be told, thanks to the Force.

"Quiet for now, sir," Rex said. "They're gearing up for another assault." He glanced at the little Togruta, who was still facing the opposite direction. Well, the question wasn't going to ask itself. "Who's the youngling?"

Before Rex was even finished asking, the kid had turned on him.

"I'm Master Skywalker's Padawan," she said, gesturing to herself. "The name's Ahsoka Tano."

The kid was a Jedi? Rex squinted at Skywalker. This couldn't be right.

"Sir, I thought you said you'd never had a Padawan," Rex said.

"There's been a mix up -the youngling isn't with me," said Skywalker, looking quite bitter about the situation. So that was it. Maybe the kid belonged to Obi-Wan - Cody had mentioned Obi-Wan wanted another Padawan. Apparently, the little Togruta didn't see it that way.

"Stop calling me that!" She said, poking a finger up at the General. "You're stuck with me, Skyguy."

Rex laughed. He couldn't help it, it was funny, if a little unfortunate. General Skywalker himself, a reckless and brilliant Jedi, was now stuck with an orange youngling for a Padawan, and it was calling him pet names.

"What did you just call me?" Skywalker asked. He turned and leaned down to her level. "Don't get snippy with me, little one - you know, I don't even think you're old enough to be a Padawan."

"Well, maybe I'm not," the kid said, apparently not intimidated in the least by the General, if her smile was anything to go off of. "But Master Yoda thinks I am."

Skywalker straightened up. "You're not with Master Yoda now," he said. "So if you're ready, you better start proving it." He gestured to Rex. "Captain Rex will show you how a little respect can go a long way."

Rex blinked. How had he not seen this coming? He squinted at Skywalker. Of course. Skywalker didn't have a Padawan; Torrent Company had a Padawan - and Rex was chief caretaker.

"Auuhh…. Right," Rex said, putting on what he hoped was a nice smile. "Come on, youngling."

"Padawan," the kid insisted through her teeth. But she followed along beside Rex without giving him too much grief - she stopped to stare at something - and once they were on the lift, Rex got a better look at her. She had mostly diamond-shaped facial markings, and Rex wondered briefly whether that was normal for a Togruta, but it didn't hold his attention long. What he wanted to know was why in the galaxy the kid - or anyone recently responsible for her - thought that her outfit was in any way appropriate for fighting a war. Rex wasn't sure what she was wearing that seemed to pass for a top, but the rest of her wore only a short skirt and leggings that seemed to be meant for fashion, more than for anything else. Her boots and gloves eased his mind only a fraction. And now she was staring up at him.

"So, where are we going?" She asked. Rex swallowed.

"Look, kid…." How did you say this sort of thing? "This is a real war." He stopped short, not sure exactly what to say. Was it appropriate to tell your Jedi commander to cool down a little?

"I know it is," the kid said, folding her arms. "I can handle myself." The lift came to a halt.

"I'm sure you can," Rex said, trying to keep his voice ambiguous. "But it's a team effort," he continued, stepping past the open lift doors and crunching glass under his boot. "You have to learn to work with everyone around you," he said, making a wide gesture in the air. "Your team."

For all he didn't have Cody's sense of diplomacy, Rex thought he'd delivered that pretty well. The kid seemed to understand, anyway.

"So, you're on my team?" She tilted her head to look up at him.

"Y-yes," Rex said as he walked out into the sunlight. It was still too warm out for his taste. "Since you're General Skywalker's Padawan, me and my brothers are your team now." The kid looked thoughtful for a moment, as if processing that information.

"I haven't met many clones before," she said. "Is it hard to tell you apart?"

Rex looked down at her and smiled ruefully, wondering what it must be like to know so little about clones. "I think you can handle yourself."

Ahsoka smiled back.

They were walking along the perimeter of the base now, by the heavy cannons. Ahsoka looked around as if it were all very exciting. Rex didn't think it exciting at all, but then, maybe she didn't find it so warm here. With that outfit, she probably wouldn't find it warm even on Mustafar.

"Have you thought about moving that line back, Captain?" She asked, looking up at him as if for approval. "They'd have better cover that way."

"Thanks for the suggestion, but General Skywalker thinks they're fine where they are," Rex told her. Did she even know how much work it would be to move all of that? Cannons might not be so hard, but there were a whole lot of crates stacked behind them.

"So… if you're a Captain, and I'm a Jedi, then technically I outrank you, right?" Well, Rex couldn't say he wasn't expecting that to dawn on her soon enough. There was no harm in telling her exactly what he thought about it.

"In my book, experience outranks everything."

"Well, if experience outranks everything, then I guess I better start getting some," Ahsoka said, glancing up at Rex. Something else had caught her attention from the corner of her eye. "What's that?" she asked, coming to a halt.

Rex followed her gaze to a red orb in the distance that looked a little too much like a deflector shield.

"Not good," he said, watching it grow slowly but steadily, matching pace with the bad feeling he had about it. "They've got an energy shield. It's gonna make things damn near impossible." It was going to complicate things. Rex couldn't imagine the canons being any use now. "If you wanted experience, little one, it looks like you're about to get plenty."

"I… I guess we better go find Master Skywalker?" Ahsoka asked, stepping back slowly.

"Yeah," Rex said, lifting his helmet to put it on. "C'mon, youngling." He let his helmet fall into place. Ahsoka looked ready to argue about it, but instead she turned on her heels and sprinted off ahead of Rex.

"Youngling-" Rex ran after her, wondering what exactly the Jedi would do to him if he lost track of the youngling.

Apparently, a similar thought had occurred to Ahsoka as well. She bounced to a stop and whirled around to face Rex as he almost tripped over her.

"Don't worry, Rex," she said, a cocky grin on her face. "I've got your back."

It was so unexpected that Rex couldn't say anything before she took off again.

"Kid-" his commlink chirped from his wrist, pausing his pursuit for the moment.

"Rex?" it was, of course, General Skywalker. "Rex, I need you at the tower immediately."

"Of course, sir," Rex said. "Already on my way." He wanted to say the same for Ahsoka, but he couldn't even see her anymore.

"And…" Skywalker paused. "Bring her," he finished.

Before Rex could gear himself up to admit that he had, in fact, lost her, the link cut off.

"Yes, sir," he said to himself.