Chapter Ten

It was another few hours before they had a plan for the jammer on the planet, a small squad with Ahsoka and Rex would go through the city, find it, and disable it. Until then there would be no communicating to anyone on or off the surface and they were sitting ducks.

"Rex choose a team, I'm not sure if we'll need a medic this is supposed to be a stealth mission."

"I'll add Kix just in case." He urged and she nodded before getting the supplies for the mission.

"What would you like me to do General?" Echo asked coming up to her and she smiled

"I need you here." She told the other "As soon as communications are up I need someone to contact Anakin and Plo, let them know we can talk and got the closest droid outpost taken care of. As soon as the Jammer is destroyed we need that message, and should something happen we may need an Evac or a med Evac I'm not sure."

"I'll do my best."

"I know you will." She told the other and went with the squad that consisted of Rex, Kix, Jesse, Cole, Ox, Appo, and Kano.

They started off making good time and checking their steps and placement, making scans for traps and bombs and avoiding them accordingly, or setting them off, which the boys seemed to like. Ahsoka just wanted communications to be back, she didn't like feeling in the dark like this. Sure, she could force push to Anakin and Plo to let them know she was generally okay, but it wasn't the same. They encountered several droid squads and took them out with relative ease; the more they found they figured the closer they were. By the time they found the communication jammers the sun was starting to set, she made an attempt to get a message through to base but wasn't actually sure that it had at all.

"Be careful, be on your toes, set the charges and let's get the hell out of here." She said keeping her voice low; they broke off into two groups and started placing the charges making sure they were linked before getting well away from the center. They waited and when no alarms sounded lit off the charges watching the center explode.

"Ahsoka to base…" she said and was relieved when it wasn't straight static

"Base to General Tano," Echo replied "I see communications are up I'll let the other Generals know."

"Good, we're on our way back, this city is still a hot zone, see you all soon." She replied and they started back towards base, in a bit of a better mood at least, their objective was done now all they had to do was get through the ghost town city. Which was proving difficult, the scans they got were only half right so the trek back was long and by now, it was getting darker, Ahsoka half considered camping in an abandoned home instead of walking, in the dark, in a trap laced city, with crappy scans. However, the boys wanted to get back to base, she couldn't blame them, and so they continued.

Beep

She snapped to attention looking around but seeing nothing, she could hear it, they all could hear it, it was somewhere on this street. They were all stopped, all looking for the threat they couldn't say but all knew.

Beep.

She focused, listened, listened to how it echoed in her Montrals and found it,

Beep

She couldn't give a damn how much time was left or being stealthy, this wasn't on their scans, and they'd come by this way before… so when had this… not the time.

Beep, beep

Not the time.

"Run." She gave the order as they started off getting away and she followed

Beep, beep, beep

Not the time because there wasn't any time.

"Damn it." She cursed and planted a foot Rex stopped, she'd stopped running why? Why had she stopped? She was looking at him, she looked scared, looked worried, her lips moved but he wasn't sure what she'd said… what she was telling him, it was important. He couldn't tell because she was pushing him back

Beep

Him away, and the others, pushing them all away, down the street,

Beep

They all skidded on the ground and he realized it as soon as the bomb went off, another concussion through their bodies as they were on the ground, had there been two pushes or one? Was one her and one the blast… or just combined… he couldn't tell, his world blacked out for a bit.

'I'm sorry, I love you' his eye snapped open and he ripped off the helmet, his head was pounding, his body sore, when had he… he was on the ground… they all were. The rest of the squad looked the same, dazed but coming to. He looked around Kix check, Jesse check, Cole check, Ox check, Kano check, Appo check, Ahsoka… 'I'm sorry, I love you.' She wasn't here… it came back and he was up on his feet

"Ahsoka!" her name tore out of him in a panicked cry and soon it seemed the others realized the same. He was met with silence as the dust settled, buildings had collapsed, and there was rubble everywhere. "Ahsoka!" still nothing, that wasn't right… she should be saying something anything… and he panicked

'I'm sorry, I love you.'

No. He wasn't going to believe it. Wasn't going to believe anything,

"She saved us…"

"She's not dead!" he screamed rounding on the clone that had said that "Do you damn job and find our fucking general." He ordered setting off in a dead sprint to where she had been standing… she was right there. She had been there moments ago, looking at him telling him something, it was important… she was planting herself, the way she did when doing something heavy with the force, she was right there.

"Echo we are going to need backup and a med Evac ordered…" Kix called in as he and the others started looking

"Backup is coming med Evac is being sent by General Skywalker… what happened…" the other clone sounded worried

"Ahsoka was caught in a bomb blast we haven't found her…" it was all he said "She's going to need to be on the flagship asap." He said and ended the call.

Rex finally found her, he knew it was only a few minutes but he found her, mostly buried and dug her out before carrying her to a flat surface

"Kix!" someone yelled, he didn't know, didn't care who. He took off his helmet and put his ear to her chest… she wasn't breathing… her heart… he checked for a pulse, it was weak barely there, her Lekku were bleeding and they were already starting to bruise

"Ahsoka wake up…" he tried gently shaking her she wasn't moving… she wasn't breathing. No.

'I'm sorry, I love you' No…

"Captain…" he looked at Kix. "I'll do chest compressions you breathe for her…" he ordered, he was ordering Rex, the medic could tell his captain was not alright, Rex's body was shaking, his hands weren't steady, but he nodded "Med Evac is coming…" he added before starting chest compressions and Rex cringed at the sound of cracking bones, no cartilage, not bone… he had to remind himself that, nothing bacta couldn't help.

Rex adjusted her head tipping it back slightly and pinched her nose with one hand while gripping her jaw with the other jamming his thumb and forefinger between her upper and lower to open it before pressing his mouth against her own and breathing for her. Every breath he put into her was met with a weak exhale and small puffs from the chest compressions, but no intake. He continued but it was more of the same, she wasn't breathing…

'I'm sorry, I love you…'

"Ahsoka…" he whispered gently, "Come on cyare… wake up…" he begged his hands were shaking. "Please wake up…" he didn't care if anyone heard him. "You don't need to be sorry…" he whispered before breathing for her again. They continued like that for a few minutes longer before the Med Evac showed and another medic took over inserting a tube into her throat and handing him the bag to squeeze while they prepped her to get on the shuttle, who knew what other injuries there were.

"Her hearts stopped!" Kix exclaimed and Rex swore his did to. "Let's shock her," he gave the order and soon he was being handed her sabers before being pushed back and watched her body convulse before him, he almost jumped, they did it again and he held his breath his eyes glued on her form, never had he been more thankful for a beeping sound then in that moment.

"We got her back." A medic said and soon her breathing was starting up again, though it was too faint for Kix to take the tube out as they loaded her, and him, and the rest of the squad on the shuttle. Kix ordered that the squad also be checked over; the group had just gone through a bomb blast. Rex didn't say anything, somehow he had his helmet on again… somehow he was still holding her sabers in one of his hands; somehow the other was gripping one of hers, somehow he had her blood on him but from where he didn't know. Somehow he was back on the resolute and she was taken away, they didn't let him follow, he protested but they didn't relent something about him needing to be checked over as well? Somehow he was out of his armor and getting checked over by a medic, nothing was wrong he'd be sore. Somehow he was in his casual uniform and still holding her sabers, no one had taken them from him. Somehow, he was in the medic hall still, and soon heard Anakin, he sounded panicked, and Rex started walking over to him. The other man once seeing him stopped his yelling.

"Rex," the blonde looked at the others hand "Please, tell me she's at least alive still…" he sounded terrified, with good reasoning, and all Rex could do was nod.

"I think I heard something about getting scans and then putting her in bacta assuming she didn't need surgery…" he wasn't sure he'd actually spoken but he must have because the Jedi nodded and lead him over back to the bed he was assigned to, waiting for final discharge. The general made the clone sit again and gently took the sabers putting them on the table next to his bed, the metal had dried blood on them, his hands did too, he hadn't cleaned them yet, and he didn't even know where it came from.

"What happened…" it was a long time before the silence was broken, what happened? Good question,

"We were coming back from blowing up the jammer, we'd walked down that street already we'd marked the safe path because the scans were useless."

"There was bomb the second time?" he asked and the other only nodded. "What the hell was she doing that close…" he started his voice becoming angrier

"Saving us," he replied "she pushed us as far back as she could… the blast probably added to the distance."

"I- Rex…" he paused "She's gonna be fine… I felt her fear, I knew something was wrong and then I felt a lot of pain, when I reached towards her I got nothing and ordered the med Evac," he sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "Plo will be here soon, he offered to tell the council something happened."

"What'd they tell you?"

"They didn't tell me anything…" he sighed and the pair waited for a while, Plo showed up not long after and Anakin filled him in on what happened while they waited for news.

'I'm sorry, I love you.' Why had she told him that, why the hell had she said that? She was sorry for what? Saving his life… almost getting herself killed… yeah that was probably it Rex thought. 'I love you.' She had really told him that… usually it was 'I like you a lot' or 'I care about you a lot' she'd never said that before… and he felt the same but he didn't want to force her, this was new for them both… he was patient. Better not be her way of saying goodbye cause it sucks… he added in his tangent before Kix showed up, he looked tired, and was that blood?

"She's critical but stable, there were some gashes on her Lekku that were pretty dirty and needed to be cleaned, but she's in a bacta tank now, I'm going to keep her there till the gashes and swelling goes down."

"So how long?" It was Plo who asked and Rex was thankful he did.

"Anywhere between two and five rotations, I'll do some scans tomorrow and see where we're at. The blast and the rubble damaged her Lekku and it caused swelling, that swelling can put pressure on her skull and her brain and end up killing her, she has a few cracked ribs, the blast and the rubble after it crushed her and so her lungs are pretty bad right now, her wrists are pretty bruised but not broken."

"Thank you Kix, keep us in the loop." Anakin started and looked at Rex "You turn in for the night, you need the rest, I'm still going to need you for this battle." He told the other before leaving, Plo followed suit. Rex stayed for a while longer, putting his armor back on, until he was officially discharged

"She's in tank room three; you can visit for a bit…" Kix offered before he too left the med bay Rex went into the room and stood in front of the tank she was in.

"Cyare…" he said looking at her, her body covered in what appeared to be a sports bra and a tight pair of shorts, a belt of weights around her waist, wires coming off of one hand to track her vitals, her nose and mouth covered by a breathing mask as she floated around in the fluid. He never wanted to see her like this, she wasn't supposed to get herself into these places… he was… that was his job not hers.

"I'll be here when you wake up." He said softly before leaving, he still had her sabers and made a move to drop them off at her quarters. Entering the room and her not being there seemed wrong, it had before when she left on sabbatical and it felt just the same now. He sighed and placed her sabers next to her bed before leaving and going to his own rooms, he was beyond tired and ideally he just wanted to sleep until this was all over and done for.

"Look we should tell General Skywalker something, I mean you saw him, you saw how he reacted." Appo said sitting around a table with the others from the squad in the mess hall. "There's definitely something going on."

"It's not our place to tell." Jesse replied, and Kix nodded.

"It's against the rules!"

"There isn't one! She's not a damn Jedi anymore and there's no rule written in ours!" it was Ox who spoke up this time.

"It doesn't have to be written to be an understood rule; you don't bang your commanding officers."

"Look shiny, just because you have the hots for General Tano and she'd rather kick you in the balls than bed you doesn't mean we have to say a damn thing to General Skywalker." Jesse added and Appo grumbled

"How is General Tano and the Captain anyway?" Kano asked and Kix sighed

"Rex will be fine, he's sore like the rest of us, I think he's more in shock than anything." He paused "General Tano's in a bacta tank, I'll keep her there for a couple rotations until things are healed up, her Lekku sustained damage as did her lungs, and generally the rest of her body from what fell on her. She should be fine; brain function was normal and proper. She'll need a few days after the tank to decompress she'll still be sore but she's going to be fine."

The door of the mess hall opened and Anakin walked in, going straight for the caf before coming towards their table.

"General Skywalker," Appo started before anyone could interject

"What is it Appo?" he asked and sat down with the others

"We have reason to believe that General Tano and Captain Rex are in a relationship." He went on and it shocked the others to see that Anakin didn't even bat an eye and continued to sip on his drink

"So you all felt the need to tell me this?" he asked with a raised brow and they shook their heads.

"Just Appo sir…" Jesse replied

"Appo I'm not sure why you felt this to be so important, you ratted out one of your own Generals and your Captain because why?" he paused "There's no rules against what they're doing, if Ahsoka were still a Jedi then yes, we'd have a problem but she isn't. The Jensaarai are allowed attachments, relationships, marriages, and families so long as they maintain their duties and their balance." He sighed "Whatever is happening between them, is between them, it's not for us to speculate, rat out, or condemn them for and if any of you agree with Appo I'd suggest you turn in for the night, it's been a long day and I'd personally like to relax for a bit." He said and Appo left soon after.

"Sir, if I can be honest I expected a more… explosive reaction…" Ox started and Anakin smirked

"Oh there was when I found out but I realized that it's not my place to ruin their happiness, I know about them, they know I know about them, and I've already told them that I approve and support them so I'm really not sure what else needs to be said." He shrugged "Look, I know all of you here seem fine with the idea of the two of them together but please, don't go around to everyone talking about it… there may be more who side with Appo's views than yours, I don't want Ahsoka to have to face another kind of trial, last one was hardly fair I'd rather not risk a repeat." He said before standing "Get some rest." He told them before leaving with a heavy sigh.