Author's Note- The start of chapter 1 is taken directly from Catalyst - with a minor tweak here and there to ensure it makes sense J Most of the latter half of this chapter is the original re-write from emjalen with very minor tweaks here and there.
My apologies for the long Author's notes in the prologue. They get shorter from here - I promise :D
Chapter 1
Rendezvous with the Resolute - Several hours after leaving The Catalyst
"Halt! State your business!"
"Stand down," Rex ordered, dropping his arms and squinting into the light from the cover of the forest, letting his brothers see him. It was both a frustration and a relief to have reached the rendezvous point with the Resolute without further mishap. "And point that light elsewhere!"
"Captain!"
"Captain Rex, sir!"
"It's the Captain!"
"Who's that with you, sir; she's quite-"
"I'd stop there, Trooper." Rex knew his tone was dangerously harsh as he stepped forward, motioning Ahsoka to join him. She did, walking at his side through the men and towards the boarding ramp of the Resolute. There was a pause and then shock rippled through the ranks as the men seemed to realize her identity.
"Commander?!"
Rex's jaw tightened, his hands clenching on his sides as the revelation made its way through the ranks. Shock, coupled with a very real male appreciation he could feel resonating from his brothers, made his gut clench hard. Each step they took, Rex could see the men leering at her; watching her with a new knowledge as she inspired their baser natures.
Wanting to keep their gazes off her, Rex shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. If he'd thought of it sooner, he'd never have given them even that much of an eye full. Leaving one of his arms around her, he shot his brothers a dark look. "As you were; back to your assigned positions!"
The men reacted to his order as they'd been trained to; slapping buckets back on their heads and resuming their watches but Rex knew it did little to stop their regard. Tucking her close to his body, Rex scowled as they reached the ramp and Coric stepped forward.
"I couldn't help but notice you're injured, Commander, may I-"
"As you were, Sergeant," Rex's tone left no room for argument, the very thought of having anyone, even one of his trusted brothers, touch Ahsoka at that moment was abhorrent. She was his to care for, his to protect and, if he as any judge of her expressions, she wasn't ready to be seen by anyone just yet. "The Commander will see you in the morning."
"Sir-"
"As. You. Were."
Coric backed off, the medic looking nonplussed as he snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!"
Ignoring the reproach in the other man's tone, Rex led Ahsoka up the boarding ramp and into the Resolute, his gut a knot of nerves and frustration. Shielded by the weight of his coat, she was quiet under his arm. Rex wasted no time in escorting her through the corridors, casting anyone who looked at her a foreboding look.
Coric slapped his bucket on his head as a defense mechanism as he stared after his Commander and Captain. Frowning even as shocked comments buzzed to life in his ears over the internal comm. where Rex couldn't hear them, his gaze followed his superior officers as they disappeared out of sight.
"I can't believe-"
"Did you see what she wearing?"
"Damn, but the Commander has a fine-"
"Shut your mouth, you di'kut!"
"Forget the Commander! Did you see what the Captain was wearing? What I want to know is how certain, erm, parts could get air!"
"Forget air, how's he move in those things?"
"Wow, I always knew she was gorgeous, but this-"
"What in the nine Correllian hells was that mission, and why didn't I get assigned to it?"
Chuckles filled the air at Jesse's comment and the troopers started moving inside, now that the Captain and Commander had been retrieved. They'd be taking off soon, back into space and whatever new mission awaited them.
Coric was last to board, only half an ear on his brother's unending comments. Filtering what was harmless and who he needed to have a word with regarding propriety and the Commander, he waited until the ramp started to close before stepping fully inside and starting for the med bay.
What in all the hells had just happened back there?
The Commander was clearly hurt, and while not serious, she needed medical treatment. What right did the Captain have to deny Coric access to treating her? Worse, Ahsoka hadn't even said a word. She'd just let the Captain give the orders regarding her, for her. In all of the medic's experience with the feisty Jedi Padawan, that had never happened. Not even with the General.
Commander Ahoska hadn't greeted her men, hadn't cracked any jokes or rolled her eyes. She hadn't told Rex to back off, and she hadn't asked after General Skywalker. It was uncharacteristic for her. Shock from her wound couldn't explain it. It took a lot more than a bloody scratch to make Padawan Tano go quiet.
Entering the med-bay, Coric nodded a greeting to Kix and began sorting inventory, the inquisitive mind that made him such a good medic racing.
Rex's snarling and glares had been just as uncharacteristic as Ahsoka's silence. Coric had been in the heat of battle with the clone, had been the Captain's second since Teth, but Rex had never aimed the full brunt of his lethal mindset at him. Never aimed it at any brother besides the traitor, Slick, before.
Without having been privy to the mission briefing, just the very brief "You've got Command" speech from Rex before leaving, Coric had to go by what he'd seen and heard. Breaking it down inside his head, he considered what he knew.
Based on what Ahsoka and Rex had been wearing, or not wearing rather, he couldn't think of a reason as to why Rex would have been so protective, overly so, of Commander Tano. Especially an unchallenged overly-protective bent that had included tucking Ahsoka unresistingly next to his body and covering her with a coat.
It wasn't to say that Coric hadn't noticed the special connection between his commanding officers before, but that connection had always been equal. The Commander had always held the Captain in check, using her own unique blend of sass and respect to prevent Rex from getting overbearing.
But not tonight.
Tonight she'd let him take the lead, which in of itself wasn't uncommon. No, what had raised the red flags was the fact Ahsoka had not only let Rex, but seemed almost oblivious to the fact he'd been doing so and going overboard. She'd practically submitted to Rex's behavior, her silent disinterest and, by proxy, approval, was both disturbing and concerning.
What could possibly have made the Commander so quiet and the Captain so...angry?
Nothing added up and answers clearly weren't going to be forthcoming. Coric could be patient, though, knowing time was on his side. Ahsoka was hurt. As the company medic, she either came to him, or he went to her, whenever she was injured. If he was unavailable, Kix tended her. It was a mark of her respect for them that she preferred they treat her. As a result, she'd eventually tell him how she'd come to be injured when he was able to look at her arm tomorrow.
As for Rex... well, the Captain was probably just stressed. Clearly, a lot had happened on their mission.
Besides, given the way the boys had been trading gossip and theories after the Captain and Commander had showed up, dressed like that, the news - and what had really happened on the mission - would doubtlessly be all over the ship by tomorrow morning.
Coric put the matter from his mind, not knowing just what had happened...or what would happen between Rex and Ahsoka later that night.
