Chapter 4: My Second Headache

Even as I strode through the checkpoint that marked the exit to the military compound that was temporarily housing the 501st Legion I could see signs of our mobilization. Platoon after platoon of troopers were forming up, each clone in full battledress. Their white armour gleamed scarlet in the last rays of the setting sun, creating the illusion that each man was drenched in blood. I shuddered as I passed them, that was an image I didn't want to dwell on. As well as the troopers the engineers, despite Captain Appo's scepticism, were out in force. Half a dozen hulking AT-TEs lumbered ponderously into position, like great bull banthas preparing to do battle for a mate, whilst a squadron of AT-RTs, moving nimbly around men and machines, looked as if they were already poised and ready to move out. Clearly I didn't have much time before my comrades launched their attack on the Jedi Temple and I wanted to be a long way away when the blasters bolts started flying.

I passed the sentries, returning their salutes, and then started in the direction of Coruscant's sprawling market district. I prayed that Rex and Ahsoka had indeed followed their original plan and decided to visit the famous shops and bazaars, because if they'd decided on something else I wouldn't have a hope in hell of ever finding them. You may be wondering why I didn't simply activate my comlink and contact them immediately. I dismissed this possibility straight away however, as I knew that at a time like this all channels of communication would be being heavily monitored and I couldn't risk anyone getting wind of the fact that I hadn't fallen for Palpatine's little mind tricks. The temptation to run was hard to resist, but I mastered the urge, as there's nothing more likely to start a panic among civilians than a running uniform. I made do with a quick march, elbowing protesting civvies out of the way, and sooner than I had expected found myself passing brightly coloured stalls and attractive window displays.

I was however painfully aware that even if Rex and Ahsoka had come to the market district, as I fervently hoped they had, locating them in this sprawling mess would be far from easy. I had little choice but to ask shopkeepers and passing shoppers if they'd seen "a clone officer, with blue markings on his armour, and a Togruta girl, about so high?"

I got either negatives or responses along the lines of "I saw a Twi'lek earlier, is that any good?" I'd almost given up all hope when a little old lady nodded "oh yes young man, I saw those two alright".

"Where, when?" I asked eagerly.

"Only a few minutes ago; they were walking up there" she indicated a narrower street with her walking stick. She smiled up at me like a cheerful wizened monkey "they did make a handsome couple".

With a hasty thank you I hurried away in the direction the old lady had said she had last seen my quarry heading. This new street was rather quieter than the one I had just left, allowing me to see further ahead of me through the throngs of evening shoppers. However no matter how hard I looked I could see neither the white helmet nor the set of montrals that I had so hoped to glimpse in the distance. I was about to accost yet another civilian when suddenly I both heard and spotted something. There was a tiny alleyway on my right and down it, in the semi darkness; I thought I could make out a white shape and the sound of voices. I crept along the alley, keeping to the shadows and finally ended up standing in a doorway perhaps ten feet away from two people who were unmistakably Rex and Ahsoka.

The young Jedi sat on a porch step, her head in her hands and her small shoulder shaking with silent sobs. Rex, his helmet discarded, towered over her, still and silent like a white clad statute. A horrible thought occurred to me; I was too late, Rex was about to draw his blaster and blow Ahsoka's brains out. However before I could even think what action (if any) I should take I was decisively proved wrong. Rex knelt down beside the crying girl and put his arms around her, saying soothingly as he did so "I will never let anyone hurt you Ahsoka, that's a promise. I'll always have your back".

Ahsoka raised her eyes to him and murmured through her tears "I know" before returning his embrace. They stayed like that for some time while I looked on in stupefied amazement. I mean to say, Rex, who'd have thought it? He may never have been much of a one for protocol, unlike some clones I've known, but I'd always had him down as more of a highly skilled grunt than anything else. I suppose, now I thought about it, he had demonstrated quite an unusual degree of free will when compared to your average trooper, but all the same...he would have been the last clone I'd have expected to fall in love with a Jedi. Oh yes, they may not have said so in so many words, but it didn't take someone with Master Yoda's mental facilities to see it a mile away. I was a man of the galaxy after all! What I was finding harder to fathom was that it would seem that Rex and Ahsoka had got wind of the attack on the Jedi Order, hence the tears. But if so how had Rex resisted when the rest of the men of the 501st had not?

Well there was only one way to find out, stepping out of my doorway I said "Captain Rex, Commander Tano, I'm glad I've found you".

Now I'd known Rex for two years, although it felt more like twenty, and on many occasions I'd seen him move with superhuman speed. I once saw the man fight a droid commando in hand-to-hand combat and win, and those things move like greased podracers! However I never saw Rex move faster than he did now. Spinning round he leapt at me in a virtually flat trajectory, his left shoulder connecting hard with my chest and his right fist smashing into my face. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet I'd have got a concussion! I was knocked clean off my feet and found myself sprawling on my back, Rex's boot placed firmly on my chest and his blaster pointed directly at my head. Leaning down towards me, his face a grim mask of fury, he snarled "you won't touch her!"

My head spinning and feeling as if I'd just been punched by an enraged wookiee, I managed to croak "Rex it's me, damn it, Hawk!"

To this Rex nodded, still glowering, "yes Hawk I know who you are, and I know who I am, and" here he pointed towards Ahsoka with his free hand "I know who she is! She, Hawk, is Commander Ahsoka Tano, a hero of the Republic and no traitor!"

"I know that!" I snapped back.

"You...what?" asked Rex, completely wrong footed.

"I said I know she's no traitor!"

Rex exchanged glances with Ahsoka, who had come to stand beside him. At last he said suspiciously "if you don't think she's an enemy of the Republic that means you must have resisted Order 66. How did you do that?"

Here was where we hit a bit of a snag. I wasn't overly keen on telling Rex and Ahsoka that I was a defective coward and fraud, but I had to say something. In the end I decided to go against the grain and tell the truth, or at least part of it. "I've never told anyone this before, but I have rather more free will than I should. In fact I have complete free will; I obey my orders because I choose to, not because I am compelled to do so".

"So you're not here to try to kill me?" asked Ahsoka.

"No, I came here to warn you!" That was sort of true, for a given value of true.

"Oh...well I'll...um...help you up then" said Rex in a rather embarrassed way, offering me his hand.

Taking it I climbed slowly to my feet and then slid a hand underneath my helmet to try to gage if any long term damage had been done. "Honestly Rex, you could've just drawn your pistol and told me to put my hands up; you didn't have to knock my head off! You damn near broke my nose!"

"Sorry Hawk, but better safe than sorry eh?" answered Rex, clapping me on the shoulder apologetically.

Suddenly something occurred to me "hang on a second, I could well ask you the same question! How did you resist Order 66?"

Before Rex could answer Ahsoka said "because I told him that I loved him". I couldn't really think of an answer to that so she continued. "Because I love Rex and he loves me, he was...sort of...able to fight it I suppose".

"And" added Rex "I suppose I've always been an independent thinker. That made it easier to combat the directive, but it wasn't easy".

As Rex and Ahsoka started grinning inanely at each other I felt like saying "love? That's it?" People like to bash on about how love conquers all but in my experience it's emotions like fear, hate and greed that really make the difference in this galaxy. Always have, always will. But then again I'm an old cynic, what do I know? Right now it didn't matter how Rex had prevented himself being transformed into a mindless psychopath, what mattered was getting as far away from the looming battle as possible. "Look" I said, snapping the lovebirds out of their reverie "when I left the compound the newly promoted Commander Appo and Sergeant Voca were getting ready to march on the Temple. That was forty minutes ago at least, the attack must have started by now".

"Who's in command of the attack?" asked Rex "Appo?"

I hesitated. Appo was technically now a commander, but an attack this big would usually be coordinated by a General. However as Skywalker, the general of the 501st, was a Jedi the Legion was going to be missing its top brass. At last I shrugged "I suppose he must be, unless Palpatine's issuing orders to him directly". None of us were to know at the time of course that it was the chancellor's new apprentice who was the one leading the attack.

Rex, a seasoned tactician, didn't look convinced. "Yeah maybe, but that sounds a bit top heavy to me..."

"Who cares who's in command?" shouted Ahsoka "we need to get over there right now!"

"We need to what?" I squawked in horror.

"I said we need to get over there. We've got to try to help the Order!"

I threw Rex an imploring look, hoping that he was about to tell his new girlfriend that what she was suggesting would be nothing less than signing our own death warrants. However love apparently is blind (at least to all tactical sense at any rate) because Rex just smiled at Ahsoka and, placing a hand on her shoulder, said "as I've always said commander; I've got your back, no matter what".

Now as you all know I've always made a habit of thinking extremely disparaging things about those around me, but I usually keep these views to myself. However now I just had to say something. "Look this is all very heart-warming and all that, but it doesn't change the fact that going anywhere near the Jedi Temple is suicide. An entire legion is no doubt pouring into the building even as we speak. We'd be cut down before we could even get inside!"

"Not necessarily" answered Ahsoka cryptically "there's a secret passage, running underneath the Temple from the old disused sewers. No one knows about it except Masters Yoda, Jocasta Nu and Tera Sinube. Sinube is an old friend of mine, he told me about it. It's sealed of course but I think I could find it and I know I could open it". Here she patted her lightsaber affectionately.

Rex rubbed his hands together "well that sounds like our best bet, we'd better get going".

I looked from the clone captain to the Togruta Jedi, appalled "just because we can find a way in doesn't make any difference! Even if this tunnel exists and we do get inside the Temple, all that'll mean is that we can die in more comfortable surroundings. We won't be able to change anything!"

Ahsoka small face was set in a look of steely determination "maybe we can't save the Order, maybe the Temple will burn. But if we can save just one Youngling, if we can save anyone, then it'll be worth the risk".

Of course all that 'we fight to protect the weak' and 'we lay down our lives for the helpless' stuff is just what the medical droid ordered for the likes of Rex and Ahsoka. Personally I couldn't care less about the weak and helpless (unless that weak and helpless person happens to me of course, in which case I'm all for charity).

"Come on Hawk let's go" said Rex stooping to pick up his helmet from the porch where Ahsoka had been seated and holstering his blaster.

Now I could have simply refused and revealed myself as the gutless coward that I am. It wouldn't really have mattered, not now. Rex and Ahsoka would shortly be either on the run or more likely dead. They therefore would be in no position to report to the High Command of the Grand Army of the Republic that I wasn't fit to clean military latrines, let alone be a respected and high ranking officer. However I suppose I'd got so used to safeguarding my fraudulent reputation for heroism that the idea of letting anyone know what kind of craven creature lived behind the mask that I'd worn for so long just seemed unthinkable. It may sound mad but at that moment the idea of telling Rex and Ahsoka (the closest people I had to friends) that I wouldn't walk with them into the rancor's den seemed even less appealing than actually doing it. Gritting my teeth and murmuring a silent prayer to the Force I said at last "very well then Commander Tano, lead on".

[Author's Note: Because Captain Hawk was not present when Captain Rex received the transmission from Palpatine about Order 66 and because he did not witness Rex overcoming his (for want of a better word) programming, he understandably does not give a very thorough account of the captains struggle. For a better description of Rex's free will triumphing over his built-in loyalty to the chancellor see my earlier fic The Last Separatists, Chapter 2: A Clones Choice].