"You alright kid?"
Doormat was sat on the trunk that had been used earlier as a trap, he looked up when Rex had addressed him, before he looked down once again at the mound of mud where their slain brothers had been buried.
"I'm okay" he said, both clones had taken off their helmets, so could speak eye to eye, Rex took a seat next to the clone and sighed.
"What's wrong, is it the men dying? Was it your first battle being scarier than you expected?" There was no answer from Doormat, so he continued on.
"Was it having to kill the Wookies? I know I'm pretty shaken up, the Wookies have always been loyal to the republic and too us".
"It's none of that" Doormat said, looking directly at Rex now "You can use the force".
"Yes" Rex muttered.
"and I thought I could be like you" he said sadly, as this, this reaction and the downcast look on Doormat's face, justified everything Rex wanted to keep secret from his brothers. Everyone else had been in awe, from Fives, to Jesse to Appo and even Kix (despite some disapproval) but here Doormat was the one who truly saw Rex as something above him, a level he could never reach.
"I hate it" Rex admitted "Why do you think I wanted to keep it secret?"
"Because the council..."
"The hell with the council" Rex snapped "I didn't ask for this power Doormat".
"But you have it" Doormat muttered sourly.
"I know I do and I know because of that I won't be the same as other clones" Rex said "All my life, I thought I just like all of my brothers. Not special, not gifted in anyway. I thought because of my training, my dedication, my attitude, everything... that's what made me different. That's what made me independent, because of working harder than others, I was able to become a Captain, to share so many missions with the Legendary Anakin Skywalker, to lead the 501st…" he laughed there "and now... all of that hard work... it all feels meaningless, like I've cheated".
He sighed there.
"I think I've had this power for a long time" he admitted "But I never knew about it, or was able to control it until now. But that's the worst part about it. It seems great now, but how I can honestly say I'm a brother just like everyone else, when I've had this ability helping me out all this time? I'm a fraud".
Doormat didn't say anything but allowed Rex to carry on speaking.
"I admire the Jedi, as do most of my brothers. But we understand we can never be like them, or aspire to kill as many clankers as they do, they're our leaders. We follow, that's the way it's always been, because I have these powers, I'm no longer an inspiration, I'm something impossible to aspire too".
Doormat placed a hand on Rex's shoulder.
"That's it" he said "I'm surprised you know what's bothering me Is also bothering you, but you know it's not your fault".
"But it's still happening" Rex said "If I start using these powers, I'll stop being a real brother, someone that only has their blaster, strength and wits to survive, I'll be some sort of poster child, using the force whenever I damn well please. I think I've long given up fighting for the name of the republic, but fighting for my brothers? That's all that's left for me and taking that away..." Rex sighed once again.
"You saved our lives back there, so what if you are different?" Doormat pointed out "I served on Coruscant for three years Captain, during that time no one gave a flying fuck what happened to me. I just another clone, forced to feel worthless, forced to serve. When you, the famous, Captain Rex spoke to me... It was an honour sir. You took me under your wing and have been watching out for me ever since. I thought I could become like you one day and make you proud, but now you're beyond anything I could ever hope of achieving and that... honestly sir, that hit me hard".
But at the moment he squeezed on Rex's shoulder.
"But you are aware of the downsides of it, I didn't think you would, but you do. You get me, you get all of us clones, whether you use the force or not, you're always going to fight for your brothers aren't you?"
Rex smiled, feeling slightly emotional now, he knew there was something special about this kid.
"Of course" Rex said, feeling a new surge of confidence build within him.
"HEY REX! WE'VE FOUND YOU THE PERFECT LIGHTSABRE!" Jesse called over to him, Rex groaned when he saw Jesse and Kix battering each other with tree branches "Come and join in, Master Skywalker says you've got some meditation to be catching up on!"
"If anyone needs mediation, it's you Jesse" Anakin mused, as he fused 3PO back together.
Rex and Doormat smiled at this and went to join the others, he could already see the Jedi jokes and banter he'd be subjected too now that his brothers knew the truth and despite his initial doubts, maybe he could still be a brother without losing his true sense of self.
"Well this is it"
Ahsoka wished her stomach would stop growling the way it was now, she felt so dizzy and sick, but simply put it down to nerves. Quinlan's special breakfast bars for them were full of energy to keep them at peak condition, he'd been saving them for this moment. Yet right now, maybe she'd been injected with too much energy and that wasn't good, at least not at the moment. When the fighting started she knew things were going to be different.
The warehouse in front of them, now they'd reached Level 493, looked like any other run down building here. But judging from the guards outside, she knew Bane, Sing and Bossk were in there.
"They've probably rigged the places with all sorts of security systems to see anyone approaching" Ventress pointed out, her lightsabres at the ready.
"I don't suppose sneaking in is an option then" Quinlan muttered "Guess we'll just have to do this as a team and charge right in there. As long as we keep to formation and use the force and our lightsabres to deflect any blaster attacks..."
"We should be okay" Ahsoka said, yet she wasn't sure. Both Sing and Bane had proved to be capable adversaries in the past, even with just blasters at their disposal. They were clever and ruthless and Ahsoka knew they'd have all sorts of items, guards and other gadgets at their disposal.
"That warehouse could be booby trapped" Ventress pointed out.
"I doubt it, otherwise people wouldn't be walking in and out so causally" Quinlan noted "Remember Sing and Bane are probably expecting us by this point, they'll love the fight, just as much as we will. They think they can kill us, but we have to do it to them, that's all there is too it".
"Well after what I saw last night, I think I'm prepared for any trauma" Ahsoka noted with a smile, towards a blushing Ventress and a grinning Quinlan "Just don't get too distracted in there lovebirds, promise?"
"Oh I can't promise that" Quinlan mused.
"Focus" Ventress snapped, trying to ignore looking at him for too long. She had spent the rest of the night laying with him as they drifted off to sleep and what pure bliss that had been. She'd ran her fingers over a scar on his arm, he said he'd obtained from a blaster shot from a rogue clone. Before Ventress could inquire any further on that, she felt herself drifting off. She felt herself drifting off now...
"Focus, remember?" Quinlan said, patting her shoulder and causing her too blush.
"I don't need telling" she snapped back with force, hoping she didn't end up with a blaster scar like his, if she ended up distracted.
"Okay, okay..." Quinlan whined, "Okay gang, let's just get this over with, get ready to charge, in 3...2...1... NOW!
"Start from the beginning" Cody asked harshly of Boss, "The last I heard you were at Kashyyyk, helping the republic to start the invasion against the separatists and liberating the wookies, but what actually happened there? How'd you go from being the infamous Delta Squad, to wanted criminals hiding on Kamino?"
"It's a long story" Boss began "Essentially, we did our bit of the mission. Facing down hordes of droids, gaining intel, helping the Wookies gain ground, securing places, same old and same old, we had a Jedi leading the other clone squad, it was going pretty well all things considered, we thought the mission would be a success, but we were on a mission on our own during all of that, to find a lost... a lost soldier, so we were separated from the other clones, when... when it all went to hell".
"But what went wrong?"
Boss sighed.
"He says you attacked them" 3PO said.
"Me!?" Anakin said in bewilderment "Tell him I didn't attack him, or his people"
3PO translated the question, the Wookie's roars told him he wasn't happy with the Jedi's response.
"He says you defiantly did it" 3PO muttered "He saw you burn down his entire village, that you used your laser sword to slice up the children. He says his own wife and child were butchered by you and by you... the devils in white. The clones".
"What!?" Rex snapped "Why on earth would we slaughter Wookies? They're our allies, droid! Tell him that!"
3PO did, the reply was harsher this time.
"He says they trusted the republic and in return all of his people were butchered without mercy" 3PO replied "He says whatever Wookies survived are now enemies of the republic, that any Jedi or clone who steps foot on this planet will be slain in revenge for the fallen".
"This is crazy, there's got to be more Wookies around!" Anakin said.
3PO shook his head.
"He says there's very few of them left"
"A genocide happened, what do you mean a genocide happened!?" Cody demanded, as Boss lowered his gaze.
"I'm telling you commander, that's what we saw!" Boss exclaimed "We heard the carnage and we returned to the battlefield to find our brothers, butchering the Wookies. The Wookies were tough, but they didn't stand a chance! The men were forced to follow orders, they were working with the droids and General Grievous, we saw everything!"
"THAT IMPOSSIBLE!" Cody bellowed now "ENOUGH LIES! NO SANE BROTHER WOULD EVER SIDE WITH GENERAL CLANKER!"
"They did, we saw it, we saw everything, we couldn't believe it ourselves" the black armour, coated, clone, with patches of yellow on him said, speaking up and backing Boss.
"and you just allowed it too happen!?" Cody demanded.
"There's three of us and a million of them, what did you want us to do!?" he repeated "Believe me, I wanted too, but...!"
"That's enough Scorch" Boss said, now Cody finally had a name for the black and yellow clone, as Boss continued to speak;
"The choice was down to me, either join them. Or watch from the distance and see what the hell was going on, I chose the latter and what I'm about to tell you Cody... I don't think you'll believe at all. But we have nothing to gain for this, this is the truth. I swear on my brother's lives, what you are about to hear, is what happened..."
"Then spill it" Cody said.
"General Grievous and the droids, working with clones and... damn it!" Anakin snapped "This makes no-sense at all! 3PO this is correct isn't it!? The white devils, the droids, the robot with several lightsabre's..."
"It's exactly what he's saying" 3PO confirmed.
"Then he's lying" Anakin growled.
"Maybe the Separatists brainwashed the clones and framed them for all of this" Doormat suggested.
"I'm sorry, but this doesn't make any sense at all!" Kix raged "Surely it would have been news to the republic if the clones had committed genocide of the Wookies, aided by General Grievous and the Separatists… something this big involving this many clones and droids can't have happened and..." he sighed there "Actually now I think about it. The 329th who were sent to Kashyyyk, I remember reading the mission report saying the mission was... ongoing".
"What else do you remember?" Rex asked.
"Nothing much, other than I haven't seen any member of the 329th since, but the war's been so busy, I never thought about it..." he said.
"But the Jedi Council had to have known something, they had a Jedi General with them!" Anakin raged "They had a whole legion of clones, they can't just do this and have no one mention it! This has to be some sort of cover up, 3PO, ask the Wookie, what happened to the clones!? What happened on that day!?"
3PO asked the Wookie, the Wookie laughed.
"He says the White devils were killed by the machines, all of them" he muttered "and the two that had the laser swords, the one robot with many swords and yourself".
"It wasn't me!" Anakin growled, feeling his anger build once again "I... I... didn't, It... It..."
The truth hit him there, he remembered Pong Krell, Barriss Offee and now he realised the truth.
"A Jedi betrayed us"