Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Here we go! (Drives into an interdimensional portal.)

Rex wasn't sure how much he could trust this trooper. He'd didn't have anything else to call him. When the captain had asked his name, the clone had replied in a gruff voice,

"Trooper." Well, that was informative. "Trooper"— Rex was still hoping to get a nickname or at least a number from him—had snuck them into the hanger bay. There, he had shoved Rex into a shadowed corner before he approached another stormtrooper and order him to unhook the TIE fighter he had been securing. He had done it quickly and then scurried away, no questions asked.

So, he's high in their ranks.

"Trooper" opened the TIE's hatch and motioned for Rex to come. After a quick glance around, Rex followed him into the TIE and the stormtrooper took off.

"I need to know where your base is." Rex turned pale. He couldn't do that! Even if this wasn't some elaborate ruse by the Empire to find their base—Rex did think it was odd that "Trooper hasn't taken off his helmet. What was he hiding?—they could still look at where the TIE had been and trace them through that. He couldn't just ditch "Trooper" and keep the TIE either. Rex also couldn't send a message asking them to meet somewhere in space or on a random planet; its trajectory could be traced.

The Clone Captain, thankfully, had a sudden idea. The members of the Ghost had a meeting place, one they would go to if a member was ever captured so that while they were thinking of a rescue plan if that person escaped, they would know where to go. They would be there. Rex told "Trooper" those coordinates and they flew for a moment in silence, until Rex asked,

"Why did you free me? Other then us being brothers?" "Trooper" sighed.

"Every clone has heard of Captain Rex." Rex was startled.

"Really?"

"Yes. You are a legend among us. Cadets bunch in the halls to tell stories of you, the highest praise an instructor can give is comparing someone to the captain, and many leaders use your battle plans." Rex was slightly disgusted at the last one, but there was a glowing warmth of joy, that he such a legacy among the next generation of soldiers, even if those soldiers worked for the Empire.

A few minutes later, the Ghost came into view. Rex told "Trooper' to land behind the hills, so that the Ghost's crew wouldn't try and shoot them down. As the old clone captain approached the modified VCX-100 Light Freighter, a voice cried out "Rex!", and a small, blue-haired boy barreled into Rex, wrapping his arms around the captain.

"Hey, Ezra." The Lothalian(?) backed up and gazed up into the old clones eyes.

"I'm glad you're alright." Rex glanced up and realized that the rest of the crew had come outside as well. He nodded to them, and Kanan nodded back.

However, the moment was ruined when "Trooper" came over the rise. Instantly, he had five blasters aimed at him, all different sizes and models.

"Woah," Rex said, hands up. "He's a friend. He helped me escape." They all lowered their blasters uneasily, except for Kanan, who turned to the stormtrooper with a suspicious glint in his eyes and weapon in his hand.

"What's your name?" To everyone's surprise, he laughed humorlessly.

"You really think they gave me one?" He growled after that harsh, grating sound stopped forcing itself out of his throat. Kanan's face softened slightly, but his blaster didn't waver.

"Tell me, stormtrooper, why would you help Rex?"

"I resent that." "Trooper" snapped, "I am a clone from the days of the Republic." Rex inwardly groaned. There was probably nothing worse that he could have said in this situation. Kanan had tensed as soon as those words had left "Trooper's" mouth.

"Them tell me, clone," Kanan spat the word out like it was a curse, "why would you help Rex? You already betrayed the Republic and the Jedi, why would you turn against the Empire now?" Rex winced. "Trooper" shook his head sadly.

"Have you forgotten, Jedi? Have you forgotten that your people were not the only victims of Order 66? Some of the chips wore off. Most didn't. The clones that would always play pranks and laugh are like walking corpses. Many have lost their personalities beyond return. Most don't respond to their names or even their numbers anymore. My chip… malfunctioned, I believe. I couldn't exactly ask. But every day is still a struggle to retain myself. During the Clone Wars, I once mentioned to my general that it didn't matter if I died. There were a million of just like me. He spent a week convincing me that every clone was different. I fight for him, even though, though…" He paused and then continued hoarsely, "even though I shot him down. I never saw his face. He'd been climbing a wall, fell to his death. When my chip wore off, I almost killed myself." Rex stiffed at that. "But I didn't. And every night, I imagine his look of surprise. And every time, it's so much worse than the one before. The Empire enslaved us. They are evil and tyrannical and deserve to be destroyed."

"If you know they're so bad," Hera asked, "why haven't you resigned or defected to the Rebellion?"

"I can't leave behind my vod."

"Vod?" Ezra questioned.

"It's Mandalorian," Sabine explained, "meaning-"

"Brothers" "Trooper" interrupted, "Or, in this case, brothers."

"Brothers?" Zeb asked gruffly, "I thought clones didn't have families."

"No, I suppose we don't. But clones are all brothers. Whenever you kill one of us, the rest of us mourn. The officers might not care, nor those with their chips still activated, but the rest grieve. You kill our family off one by one, almost weekly." Zeb and Ezra both felt a bit abashed by that. They'd never thought of it that way. "Let me ask you, would you leave your family for a cause, even a just one?" No one of the Ghost crew had anything to say to that. "Trooper" turned to Rex and said softly, in a whisper, so no one else heard,

"I used to believe that being a good soldier meant doing everything they told you. That's how they engineered us. But we're not droids. We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions." Rex's throat closed up. Those were his words. The exact words he'd spoken after Krell to-to… His tongue felt like lead in his mouth and he could only watch as "Trooper"—he knew that wasn't his name now, but he just couldn't bear to even think his true name at the moment—boarded the TIE and returned to his base.

No. Was all he could think. It couldn't be…

Author's Note:

That was… even worse than the first chapter. Sorry if anyone wanted an elaborate escape plan. The conversation between "Trooper" and the Ghost crew is what's important in this chapter. Hope you liked it! (And please tell me you know who "Trooper" is. I think I dropped enough hints… I hope I did…)

Translations:

Vod: Brother(s) (Mandalorian)

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