Eight
"Arrrgghhh!"
"Rex, wait. No! Stop, just stop!"
Ahsoka moved forward fast, placing her weight on top of him in an attempt to stop Rex from moving off the bed and injuring himself further.
"Get off me," he demanded.
"Just wait a picosec will you?" Ahsoka was annoyed as he continued to fight her.
Ventress just watched, a wry smile crossed her coloured lips as she held the young ward tight in her arms.
The noise and commotion had upset Piia and she began wailing, confusing Rex further. His eyes transfixed on the Darthomir witch holding the only thing remaining in his world.
Ahsoka was sent spiralling across the room; even injured, Rex still had enough strength to overcome her slight weight.
But the sudden movement coupled with the physical exertion sent his pain threshold through the roof and stopped him from continuing.
"Arrh fek!" He momentarily closed his eyes as he willed the pain back where it belonged.
"Rex, wait", Ahsoka said more quietly, wiping the blood from her split lip, "she's here at my request. Please, just let me explain."
Rex stopped and looked at her. Nothing made any sense.
Where was he? Why was Ahsoka here? And more importantly, what was the dark acolyte doing holding his daughter?
"Commander?" He shook his head again, trying to clear the fog that surrounded him.
Rex attempted to sit up before the room began to swim, leaning over to the side he hurled the contents of his stomach onto the floor before he lost consciousness again.
.
"Well, that certainly went well," Ventress drawled as she continued to hold the now subdued infant.
"Not now Ventress," Ahsoka replied as she struggled to lift the bulk of the man back up on the bed.
"There's no need to get all snitchy then! OH? Wait. Now–I-see?" Ahsoka watched as a knowing smile curled her lips.
"Don't go there."
Ventress looked at her incredulously, "what? Oh come on Ahsoka! Really?"
"Don't say it," she warned as she flopped back against the wall exhausted.
"I don't need to say it, I can feel it. My my," she laughed, "Yoda must have had field day with you?"
"He never knew OK."
"You hid it well little one," Ventress commented as she moved over to look at the sleeping captain. "You have good taste, I give you that. This clone in particular was always intriguing to say the least. Even more so now," she said as she looked at the baby in her arms. "I wonder what Skywalker would have thought knowing his captain was off shagging – "
"Enough!"
"Leading by example I guess, Mmm? I thought clones weren't allowed to form relationships let alone have children? Who or more importantly, where, is the mother?"
"She's dead." Ahsoka said solemnly.
"That's certainly convenient."
"Ventress, by the core!"
"Oh alright, alright. As if it matters anyway. You've got your captain back and now you can finally play happy families. End of story right?"
"If only it were that easy," Ahsoka breathed looking at Rex.
If only it were that easy.
.
Ahsoka had changed mentally since deciding to leave the Jedi. The trial at the hands of her old Religious Order had shaken her to the core.
She had changed physically as well. She had finally passed adolescence and gone were the immature lekku and in their place were the more elongated head tails with distinctive blue stripes. Her montrals had grown, and with them came her increased empathy with her surrounding environment. She had grown in height and her once round face had disappeared also. Gone was little 'Soka and in it's place was a more defined and balanced Togrutan warrior.
Thanks in part, to Ventress.
Ahsoka had decided to stay on Coruscant and search out the one person who had helped her throughout the messy trial. Spurned on by a Jedi saying that a 'wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends[2]' she continued on until she found Ventress on the less than salubrious level 21. Held up in a shanty, she had become a recluse, and had taken to hiding her face along with her weapons for fear of discovery. But Ahsoka had tracked her down, as a friendship of sorts had been forged. Together they coexisted, helping those who were down on their luck and presenting the outlaws to authorities anonymously.
It was a perfect symbiotic relationship. Leaving Coruscant had never occurred to either of them, which in hindsight, had been a pilotable decision for Rex.
Ahsoka may have left the Order, but the Jedi religion hadn't left her. Jocasta Nu had allowed the young Togrutan on the odd occasion to enter the ancient Library and research other Jedi Padawan's and Knights that had also left the Order. She was hoping that by letting Ahsoka in, she would change her mind and return to her calling.
"All those years of training and discipline Ahsoka, can't be for nothing?'
"I understand Master Nu. But it seems that I am not the first, or the last Jedi to question their faith."
"Questioning your faith is something that can be seen as a test of strength and dedication to the greater good."
Ahsoka understood what Jocasta was saying, it's just the Order that she once so revered had let her down.
She knew this was her test.
But Ahsoka was tired of having to constantly prove herself; initially on a battlefield and now to the Jedi faithful. No, she was done, ready to move on with her life just after she looked up some more information on one Jedi in particular.
"Blah, blah, blah. No wonder you left. All they do is talk. Give me a decent battle any day." Ahsoka smiled as she placed the enormous Jedi Annual in front of a heavily cloaked Ventress.
"You don't have to come in here you know."
"What, and miss out on all this scintillating conversation?"
Ahsoka laughed at her sarcasm and began pouring through the years, diligently scanning each page until she found what she was looking for.
"Gotcha," she said satisfied.
"You feel that?"
She had, at exactly the same time Ventress made the comment. There had been a definite shift in the Force that had raised both their shackles and had them on high alert.
"Come on, lets get out of here?"
"I can't Ventress. I can't just leave them!"
"They thought nothing of doing that to you. Fine, you stay here and die. You can feel it, this is Sith! None of us combined have the power to take this on. I'm going."
Ahsoka turned to watch Ventress disappeared back into the ventilation system before she realised what she had said was right. This was too big a threat for any of them and she quickly scurried in behind the Darthomir witch.
The older woman could sense Ahsoka's inner conflict. "You'll get your chance young Jedi. Just not today."
"I know Ventress, I know."
.
They crawled through the hidden ducted system, listening to and sometimes catching glimpses of the rampage at the hand of her old Master. Before moving from one tunnel to another Ahsoka and Ventress looked up to see a shower of ancient glass explode and in amongst it a familiar set of armour as it came cascading down towards them. Thinking quickly the pair caught the soldier in a Force pull and guided him safely to the ground before dragging him and his daughter to safety back through the ventilation system.
By this time the soldiers had moved on from the Nursery and would be making their way back down to the main exit. They had to keep moving if they were to go undetected.
Ventress clutched Piia in her arms, and to her credit, covered the child and moved with such speed Ahsoka knew why she had been a formidable foe throughout the Clone Wars. But the time for adulation would be later, for now, they just needed to disappear again, back to the bowels of Corsucant and their makeshift home.
It had been a long five days until Rex stirred. Ahsoka had used some of the credits Gem had given her to buy bacta along with illegal Morpha on the black market. She had carefully removed his armour and body suit, taking the time to deposit it thoughtfully in dumpsters around the lower levels of Coruscant. Ventress watched and waited for her to begin the healing process. Ahsoka wished at that point she had of listened to Obi-Wan and her old Master more and learnt to hone her healing skills, it was something that never came naturally to her.
"Here, take this squealing piglet and move aside," Ventress stated matter of fact. Ahsoka smiled; no matter how hard she tried, she always found good in the former agent of Dooku.
It didn't matter now anyway.
Ventress focussed her mind and became quiet, tapping into the raw source she was born with. Like Ahsoka, she was not gifted at healing, but something, at this stage, was better than nothing.
Rex had a deep quarterised injury that penetrated his right side under his ribcage. With no medical imaging available there was no way to accurately ascertain the extent of the damage. But the one thing they both knew, was that his injuries were caused by a light sabre.
So there they sat, watching and waiting for Rex to open his eyes.
"Tell me about Master Narec," Ahsoka asked.
Ventress continued to look into the flames on the hearth. "Like you he was expelled from the Jedi Order."
"And?"
"And, he looked after me. Taught me how to use the Force. I was his Padawan, but as he was no longer part of Yoda's almighty Order I was never recognised and chose my own path."
"You chose the dark side?"
"No. The dark side chose me."
.
"Shhh Rex, easy, that's it." Ahsoka was holding the baby when his eyes began to flutter open. This time, she had administered a small dose of Morpha to keep him semi sedated so he wouldn't wake as agitated.
She also asked Ventress to politely leave the hut.
Rex slowly opened his eyes and focussed on Ahsoka.
He cleared his throat and continued to hold her gaze.
She knew that look; she knew he was asking her to help put the missing pieces together.
How she had missed those eyes and his strong presence. After leaving Ahsoka had finally acknowledged and given in to the memory of lying in his arms as she had done years earlier. Those dreams had got her through the most darkest of times. Maybe that's why she stayed on Coruscant? Maybe she couldn't leave him even if he did belong to someone else.
"Rex, you are still on Coruscant. Level 21."
That raised an eyebrow before he cleared his throat.
"It did happen then Commander?"
"Yes. And it's just Ahsoka these days Rex."
She continued to stare at him while Piia slept. "Here, Piia has missed you?"
Rex looked at his daughter and his face crumpled. The emotion was to much as she gently placed the sleeping babe against his bare chest. With a trembling lip and tears filling his eyes, he drew on all his training to attempt to hide his feelings.
"Sitrep Ahsoka."
"The Republic has been dissolved and Chancellor Palpatine is the new self proclaimed Emperor. You are officially MIA. Anakin, went on a rampage at the Temple, and well, can you remember what happened Rex?"
He quickly nodded his head before it all came tumbling down and buried his face into the pink blanket.
It was the first time she had ever seen Rex broken.
"Rex, I'm sorry about Gemma, I really am." His crying stopped at the sound of her name and he sniffed back the tears and sat back looking at the now awake child.
"Kix?"
"I don't know Rex."
He cleared his voice again and asked, "my armour?"
"I have had to discreetly lose some of it?"
His head turned around wildly, the anger written all over his face, "my gauntlets?"
"I'm sorry," she answered timidly, she knew what she had done was akin to sacrilege, but they simply couldn't be found with any Republic armour, no matter how small or sentimental. She had kept the blasters, they were the two items she knew he couldn't live without.
Rex held his daughter and openly cried for the life he had lost and the new one he didn't want.
Ahsoka sat next to him in silence.
Her heart ached for his realisation, his pain. A pain he had never experienced before. The universal phrases ran through her head; I'm sorry for your loss, I'm here if you need anything. But in reality there was nothing she could say to heal this pain, no amount of bacta and drugs could take it away or dull its effect.
She truly was sorry.
Sorry he had to feel like this and sorry he had no brother he could share the burden with.
Rex had seen death like every other soldier on the battlefield.
But now he had just experienced the worst kind. The kind that leaves you thinking 'what the fek just happened?'
What Ahsoka was witnessing was true heartbreak. His whole being was shattered. How could this man sitting in front of her, looking to her for some sort of explanation understand, accept and continue on?
A part of Rex was gone, she could see it. He had been strong when others needed his support, but who was there now for him? Ahsoka looked at Piia, holding her hand out to stroke her soft skin.
Then it hit her.
Piia would never know her mother's courage and love. All she would have would be stories of her beauty and strength. How she fought hard to keep the baby and her relationship with Rex separate from her life as a politician under the scrutinizing eye of the Republic Hierarchy. All she has is just stories to remind her of where she came from. So as Ahsoka held the two of them in her capable arms she took a deep breath and began.
"I am here for you Rex. And Piia. No matter how long it takes, I will always be here. I'll be here tomorrow, in a year, in ten years. For as long as it takes and as long as you need me."
Rex gave in to the fitful sobbing he never allowed himself the indulgence of and wept openly.
Behind the door, Ventress listened and closed her cynical eyes. Listening to Ahsoka comforting the captain had affected her, making her remember a time when she wasn't so hard and acerbic. A single tear made it's way down her tattooed cheek before she wiped it away with her hand.
"Oh for the love of the Force! What's happening to me?"
.
[2]― Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom
