A/N: Well, everybody, I'm back, and I'm ready to get the rest of this fic done and posted for you all. I hope you all had a great summer, and I thank the people who took the time and effort to write reviews for my work; I really appreciate it. I also apologize if this chapter is a bit rough; I'm a little out of practice.

Chapter 10: Rumors

21 BBY (4.5 months later)

As Captain Rex walked through the hallways, he couldn't help but notice the clusters of clone troopers gathering from time to time, and they all seemed to be completely engrossed in talking about something. However, as soon as the clone captain got closer, they all immediately ceased talking until he had passed out of hearing distance. Then the voices started up again.

He tried not to feel too irritated about that; it was perfectly normal for soldiers to not want to share rumors and such with their commanding officers. For one thing, commanding officers had the power to punish the gossipers for spreading "unseemly rumors." But it seemed as though everyone he saw was talking about something important if they kept going on and on long after he'd departed. At the very least, he was curious.

Catching a passing trooper by the elbow, Rex decided to get to the bottom of it.

"Trooper, what is everyone talking about?" Shifting himself from one foot to the other, the clone nervously answered.

"Well, sir, uh…do you remember when we had Commander Storm aboard a few months back?"

"I do," Rex answered, not entirely sure what the clone was getting at. Commander Storm was a beautiful woman, but that was no need for the entire company to get riled up about her months after her first appearance to them.

"Well, I, uh, apparently one of the ARC troopers attempted to hack into her file a while ago." Pausing, the trooper seemed to clam up after saying that and appeared to get more nervous. After all, it was no secret that the Captain and Commander shared a bond of some kind. He didn't want to get into trouble for telling the rumors to Captain Rex of the 501st, of all people.

Rex impatiently nodded for him to continue, though. Fives was probably this "anonymous ARC trooper;" he was going to have to talk to him about that later. "And?"

Swallowing, the trooper reluctantly complied. "And her file was protected with firewalls stronger than the Republic's. Which led that trooper to wonder what she's trying to hide. What's so important about her that her file can't even be hacked?"

"And that's what's making everyone so riled up?" The clone captain asked incredulously. Rebecca's business was her business, after all. There was no need for people to start overreacting about something that was nothing.

"Well, sir, the rumors are definitely getting…entertaining."

Rex narrowed his eyes. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to like this, whatever it was. "Which are what, trooper?"

"Uh, there's one about how she used to work for a crime boss and carried out countless assassinations for him, and there's another about how she killed her family in cold blood and tried to cover it up, and there's another about how the Kalifan government took pity on her when she was young because she engaged in, er…questionable activities."

"Such as?"

"Um…child prostitution and slave trafficking? And that she was pregnant but had it aborted because she couldn't let a child get in the way of her career?"

Rex blinked at the trooper before it finally sank in, and shock soon gave way as the trooper cringed and hurried away, leaving the captain with his thoughts.

These rumors were definitely more severe than other more harmless rumors. These ones were unseemly and disrespectful to the Commander, and, if these things got out of the clone ranks, there could be an unwanted scandal investigation on Rebecca's head. And it would hurt Rebecca harshly if she knew about it; she tended to be a bit sensitive about criticism. Yes, he had only seen her about a handful of times, and didn't know too much about her yet, but he did feel a connection of some sort with her, and he knew that she didn't deserve to have destructive rumors spread about her. That was enough for him to try to do something about it.

With purpose in his step, Rex made his way to the bridge, where he knew General Skywalker would be. He strode in and asked to talk with the general privately.

"The general is already in a meeting." The clone on deck told him.

"With who?"

"Er…Commander Storm, sir. She just got here from the Rodair system." The clone's trepid statement was enough to convince Rex that he, too, had heard the rumors going around.

Icy uncertainty laced the captain's veins as he deliberated this turn of events. She was here, and that meant she could have heard this gossip on the ship. Would she think he had something to do with it, or that people thought it was true? And what if it was true? What would that mean for Rex's respect for her?

There was nothing he could do though, except wait for her.

Thirty minutes later, Commander Storm and General Skywalker emerged from the briefing room. Skywalker was just telling her to not worry about something when they passed Rex from his position. Looking at them both, Rex could tell something was not quite right with Rebecca. The calm in her expression didn't match the pain in her eyes. She was hiding herself under a mask. Rex could only tell because he'd had practice at hiding behind his own mask in battle.

Taking a deep breath, Rex followed and caught to them.

"General Skywalker," he began as he fell a step behind the general, "I need to talk to you in private."

Skywalker looked at the wall chrono and nodded his head. "Alright, but it'll have to be quick."

"Thank you, sir." Rex looked at Rebecca as he passed her. Her mask was firmly in place, but he thought he could detect a semblance of fear. He made up his mind to go find her after talking with Skywalker.

Finding an empty hallway, Skywalker finally asked, "Alright, Rex, what seems to be the problem? I could sense your anxiety a parsec away."

"Sir, it's about the gossip aboard this ship."

Skywalker looked at him curiously. "What about it? The gossip on the Resolute is normally harmless and a way for the men to blow off steam. I don't see the reason for you to get so irritated about it, Rex."

"Except this gossip is not something you want people to know about, sir." Here goes. "I have reason to believe that the gossip about Commander Storm is not very respectful and is in danger of permanently damaging her reputation."

"What do you mean, Rex?" Skywalker wondered, still blissfully ignorant. When Rex told him what the specific rumors about Rebecca were, the general's face grew dark in contemplation. He knew as well as Rex the damages these particular rumors could cause.

"What do you suppose we should do about it, General?" Rex asked, anxious to know if any drastic actions should be taken.

For a few minutes, Skywalker was silent. Then he answered thoughtfully and carefully. "I suppose…I could send out a message that any soldiers suspected of spreading vicious and potentially harmful rumors would be subject to a period of probation guard on Coruscant. Hopefully that will keep things at bay."

"I hope you're right, sir."

Skywalker nodded. "Dismissed, Captain."

Rex saluted Skywalker and began walking down the hallways again, this time on an entirely different mission. He searched all the rooms he knew he could find Rebecca in: the mess, the hangar bay, etc. But she wasn't there. Everywhere he searched, he couldn't find that Commander.

The comm at his belt beeped, and Rex raised it to his lips. "This is Captain Rex."

Skywalker's voice penetrated the emptiness of the ship, as most of the men had gone to their cabins. "I figured you might want to know that Rebecca's room is Cabin 3-25D."

"Thank you, sir." The comm went silent again, and Rex started striding to Rebecca's cabin. Hopefully, she'd be there.

He couldn't believe it. She wasn't even in her room. And he had no idea where else to look for her. The clone captain slowly and silently walked back to the mess hall. It was getting late, and he knew he should get some food before going to sleep. Tomorrow, he'd see if he couldn't find her.

Rex walked into the mess and was greeted with the surprising sight of Rebecca Storm drinking a cup of caf on a bench.

"Rebecca Storm," he nodded his head respectfully at her as she turned to look at him, the mask sliding back on her face.

"Yes, Captain?" Though spoken casually, it was that statement that cemented things for Rex. She'd heard the rumors. Usually, when they were alone, she insisted on calling him Rex. Not today, though.

"Rebecca, something's wrong, isn't it?"

"Why would anything be wrong?" Rebecca asked, feigning surprise at her friend's concern.

"I think you know the answer already, Rebecca."

She silently looked at him for a moment with a dead expression before turning her head away from him and spoke quietly. "I wouldn't want to burden you with my problems."

Rex could feel a frustrated retort forming on his lips as he prepared to push her, but then he stopped himself. He couldn't make her talk to him if she didn't want to. It was clear, though, that she'd had a rough time. And the one he knew he could do was be her friend.

Sighing in defeat, the captain sat beside her on the bench. For a few minutes, a silence enveloped the two until Rex spoke again. "You know nobody believes those rumors, right?"

Rebecca looked at the man beside her with surprise. "Of course I know no one really believes those rumors, capitán." Her expression then turned conflicted as Rex continued to watch her, and he knew she was debating with herself on what she should tell him. Her expression grew pained, and her eyes became glassy as she continued. "I just…let's just say that one of those rumors hit a little close to the mark, and it's forced me to relive something in my past."

"What is it?" Rex asked in disbelief. He knew that she wasn't a bad person; it was completely unrealistic to believe that she could be capable of appalling acts like the ones described in her rumors. His gut told him that she could be trusted, even though he didn't know much about her past. He wanted to help her get past this…whatever it was.

At his question, Rebecca looked ready to have her emotions spill out in the form of tears. "I…" She took a deep breath, apparently trying to steel her emotions, then continued. "Rex, I like you, and I know that you're a good man and you want to help me, and I'm grateful that you're my friend."

Rex could hear a but in her statement coming up. "But…"

Rebecca tucked some wayward strands of her dark hair back as she continued, looking completely devastated. "But I'm just not ready to talk about my…issues with you just yet. And…I'm not sure if you're ready to hear about them, either. I'm sorry."

The clone captain exhaled disappointedly. He could only be her friend now. "Alright. Just know…that I'll always be ready to listen when you're ready."

"Thank you." Rebecca returned her gaze to her caf cup with a small smile on her face. Rex could tell that she wasn't completely over her problems yet, but she did seem somewhat more at ease. Once again, a comfortable silence draped itself over the couple.

"Would you like some caf, Rex?" Rebecca asked, holding out her mug towards him. Despite the health regulations on the cruiser he knew about sharing food and drinks, Rex nodded and took the cup from her. He drank some and handed it back to her.

"You have good taste in your caf, Rebecca."

She smiled as she answered him. "Gracias, mi amigo."

As the captain sat with the commander, the silence of the ship lulled him into a state of dozing. This caused him to almost miss Rebecca's next words.

"Maybe one day I'll take you up on your offer."

A/N: Please read and review, and don't be afraid to speculate! I'll be updating about once every one or two weeks. Also, did you see the new Star Wars Rebels trailer? It's making me very excited about the show.

Capitán=captain

Gracias, mi amigo=thank you, my friend