"Repeat it to me again," Skywalker said, pacing back and forth in his office. The General had not taken the news well about the Brunwoll's rejection of working with the transition team.

It was never good to be on the receiving end of Skywalker's temper. While his voice was calm, Rex could feel the anger coming off of him like it had gained a life of its own. It crackled in the air between them. There were many tells when the General was losing his temper, but his eyes had a startling tendency to morph from 501st blue to a dark inky color. Since his eyes were still blue now, Rex pushed on, keeping straight to the facts. "I have a holo of it from my helmet cam."

Skywalker put a hand. "That won't be necessary. I trust you, Rex. Just repeat the part where he referred to you as 'clone.'"

Ah, yes, that part. Of course, it's not that they weren't was the way he said it and the volumes of meaning behind it. Rex had been dealing with people that treated his brothers as "less than" ever since they'd been sent out into the galaxy to fight the Jedi's war. He was used to it by now, but Brunwoll's outright prejudice was preventing them from completing their mission. And, they had to complete this mission, so they could move on to their next one.

"Right, then, so Admiral Brunwoll's exact words to me were: 'Are you hard of hearing, clone? You are dismissed.'"

Skywalker stopped pacing and stood next to Rex, clenching and unclenching his cybernetic hand. It was another of his habits and always made Rex think he wanted to crush something in his fist. Rex glanced at it warily, glad he was on the General's good side. He would be objectively terrifying to have as an enemy. Skywalker placed his metallic hand on Rex's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly.

Skywalker frowned and the lines of darkness crept into his eyes before he took a deep calming breath and it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "No one should treat you like this, Rex."

Wait. Did the General not realize people treated clones like this all the time?

Rex didn't understand Jedi. For the most part, they seemed well-intentioned and all, but they were out-of-touch, even the good ones, like General Skywalker.

"Come on," Skywalker said, heading out of his office, "we will talk to this Admiral Brunwoll together."

They headed back dirtside to the Clakdor VII command post. By the time they arrived, General Plo Koon and Wolffe were already meeting with the Admiral.

"I see you called in your General," Rex commented to Wolffe wryly over comms.

"He asked for an update," Wolffe replied. "I gave him one. I may have been unusually thorough in telling him what had transpired."

Judging by the expression on the Admiral's face, the Kel Door Jedi was already lighting into the Admiral. Skywalker stormed forward and joined in, telling the relief Admiral exactly what he thought of his dismissal of the current forces working on Clakdor.

Wolffe took a slight step back so he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Rex. "So, how do you think this is going to play out?"

"Oh, my creds are definitely on our Jedi. Are human natborns supposed to look that… eh... pale and pasty?" The Admiral had lost a great deal of his bluster under the verbal onslaught of the two Jedi.

Wolffe huffed out a light amused breath, and the two command clones stood back just a pace behind their Generals, listening but not interfering. This was too good to miss. Rex was glad he had all of this captured on his helmet cam. It would be worth rewatching later when he needed a good pick-me-up. Maybe share with Fives.

A few minutes later, General Plo Koon turned to them.

"Wollfe, Rex, take Commander Nordell on a tour of our operations planetside. He will act as your liaison for the transition. General Skywalker and I will continue to brief Admiral Brunwoll on both of our mission here and on clone relations."

As they walked out of the command post, Rex said to Wolffe: "I like your General. He seems to get things a little better than most."

"He makes mistakes sometimes and we have to set him straight as a pack, but he's one of the good ones," Wolffe responded, the affection in his voice clear.

# # #

Wrapping up the work of their relief forces had gone very smoothly after that time. It was clear Nordell had received a panicked call or text from Admiral Brunwoll. He met Wolffe and Rex as they exited the command post area, officer hat gripped tightly in his hands in front of him.

For the remainder of the morning and early afternoon, he was a model of professionalism and fully willing to work with them on the transition.

"Krek," Rex commented to Wolffe over comms as they walked Nordell from one monitoring area to the next, "why couldn't these shabuirs have done this in the beginning?"

"It's the way natborns see us," Wolffe grumbled in his deep baritone. "We're nothing to them. Just tools to fight their war."

Not all people, Rex thought, thinking of the people on the moon of Ando who'd never made him feel like less than anything.

Eight hours later, Rex was immensely relieved to hop onboard a LAAT and leave the Bith home planet behind. The siege of the planet had been more draining than mind-numbing exhausting, as was the case when they had to battle tinnies relentlessly. But, the arrest of the Bith leadership had been a nasty business that didn't sit well with Rex.

"You handled yourself well," Rex said to Jesse, meeting with him in his office, and working on a post-mission debrief report.

"Thank you, Rex, but credit goes to the General and my team."

Rex had always liked Jesse. He was hard-working, smart, and could always be counted on in a fight. Jesse had taken charge of their squad on Saleucami after Rex had been shot and his quick thinking had saved his life. "Have you thought any more about heading for ARC training? You've proven yourself time and again on the battlefield, Jess."

Jesse let out a heavy sigh, weighted with emotion. He slipped his helmet off and rested it on his lap. He traced the Republic cog with one hand as he chose his words carefully. "I want to go through the program, but I can't imagine leaving the 501st at this time." He cast an anguished glance toward Rex, his hands squeezing his helmet tight. "What if something happens to Kix or Hardcase or Echo or Fives or you because I'm not there to watch your backs?"

Rex sucked in a breath, trying to think of a response. "That's always a risk. You're right."

"You almost died, twice now," Jesse shook his head, "and we have all these campaigns coming up now with the Outer Rim sieges." He sucked in a long shaking breath, "I… I could never forgive myself if something happened and I wasn't here." He looked at Rex with anguished eyes. "I would always think maybe if I'd been there I could have…" He stopped, not able to continue.

"You're one of the best troopers in the 501st, Jess. Look, I'm going to assign you to work side-by-side with Fives, training the new troopers. I want you to talk more with him about the ARC program, alright? Don't decide anything yet. We still have a few more days before we need to submit the flimsiwork."

Jesse bit his lip and nodded. He gestured toward the reports. "Do you need anything else?"

Rex shook his head. "We're done. You can go."

Jesse grabbed his bucket and quickly fled Rex's office, probably in search of Kix and Hardcase.

Rex sighed and rested his head against the back of his chair. Jesse was right. They could lose any of their brothers at anytime. There were no certainties in this war, other than one chilling reality clone troopers died all the time.

# # #

After meeting with Jesse, Rex was emotionally drained. Three years into it now and the war was catching up to all of them. It didn't matter how superior their genetics, they were still men and showing the strain of constant fighting with little rest.

He stared at his datapad, but couldn't focus on his reports, the words from Jesse ringing through his head.

Would any of them live through this war? The military goal was to overwhelm the Separatists in the sieges and end the war. But, that didn't mean the majority of the clones would survive that effort. They were clones born and bred for a single purpose; fighting in this war. Rex shouldn't be bothered by it, but he couldn't shake the feeling none of this made sense anymore.

It was dangerous thinking for a command clone. He couldn't afford such thoughts.

He headed back to his quarters to shower, change his blacks, and get ready to greet the new shinies coming onboard at 1730. Feeling a little more refreshed, he lined up with Fives, Jesse, Appo, Skywalker and Admiral Yularen as they watched wave after wave of troopers disembark from their transports and line up on the hangar deck. The process was quickly completed. It almost pained Rex how quickly lost troopers were replaced with new ones.

Krek. There's so many of them.

He should be heartened to see the ranks of the 501st swell with new numbers. But, Anaxes was predicted to be a difficult siege. It was no place to break in a batch of shinies. The enemy was deeply entrenched on Anaxes, a planet considered critical due to its shipyards. During this morning's briefing, they'd decided to send additional commando teams ahead to do additional scouting. None of these troopers had seen any battle. That much was clear from the look of them. There was a stiffness and awkwardness in the way they moved. Their armor had no scuffs, dings, scratches, or paint on it anywhere.

Shiniest bunch of shinies I've ever seen. This is not good.

They had a week before they anticipated dropdown date on Anaxes. It was not a lot of time to get these troopers in shape. But, it was all they had. Maybe he could get some of the older troopers at least show these new boys how to throw a bit of paint on that kit. Something to give these boys a bit of personality.

The five of them walked up down the lines of new troopers, inspecting them carefully. He stopped at the end of one row, trying to get a sense of the new recruits. "Step forward."

The shiny stepped forward, exactly as instructed, with one crisp, perfect step. "Sir."

They could follow orders. That was good.

"What is your name, trooper?"

This clearly stumped the shiny. He cocked his head to the side and looked at Rex in baffled confusion. "My... name, sir?"

"Yes, what do your brothers call you?"

"My designation is CT-CX-032020."

Longest number Rex had ever heard. And, what was with the CX prefix? He shook his head, though, pushing that mystery aside for now. "Not your designation, trooper. Have you decided upon a name yet?"

"Sir?" his voice made it clear he had no idea what Rex was talking about.

Fives and Jesse made their way and flanked him on either side.

"I am ARC-Trooper 5555, but I am called Fives. You'll call me Lieutenant, but that's my nickname, Fives."

Jesse got into the spirit of things. "I'm CT-5597. My brothers call me Jesse. But, you'll call me Sergeant."

The shiny tilted his head so far to the side he looked in danger of bumping his bucket on his shoulder bell. "I don't understand."

Jesse, Rex and Fives exchanged a look long between them.

But, Fives tried another tact. "You have a good designation, shiny, just like I did, what do you say we call you '2020?"

The shiny shook his head. "But, my designation is CT-CX-032020."

"What the fek is going on with this lot, then?" Fives asked, over a closed channel to Rex.

"Have things changed so much at Kamino they've phased out nicknames?" Jesse asked. "I know the Kaminoans never liked them, but our training officers never minded."

"And, what's with the CX designation?" Fives asked.

"Makes no sense to me either. But, I think this one is going to blow a brain cell if we push him any further. We'll figure this out. Not to worry."

Fives and Jesse chuckled. He switched his mic back to outside audio and addressed '2020. "Alright, trooper, back in line."

Rex had wanted to reassure Fives and Jesse since they'd be working with the new troopers. He didn't want to prejudice them against the new recruits from the start. But, he had a bad feeling about them somehow and he couldn't quite say why. It was more a gut instinct- the same one that told him to duck when something was about to take his head off.

Rex finished walking the lines and headed to the front of the group where the Admiral, Appo, Jesse and Fives were already lined up and waiting. Rex delivered his usual speech about his expectations as Captain. He had it memorized down to perfection. Unfortunately, he'd had to break in replacement troopers too many times already during the war. This time was slightly different, though, since Fives and Jesse would take on the primary role of training the shinies. It would free Rex up to focus on some of his other duties. "These are your training officers, ARC Trooper 5555s and Sergeant Jesse. They are among the best in the 501st. If you want to live, you will listen to what they have to teach you."

He then turned it over to Appo, who delivered a surprisingly good talk as their commanding officer about his expectations for standards of behavior from all troopers under his command.

"Will you get a load of him," Fives said to Jesse and Rex on closed circuit, "he's figuring out this command shab."

"Cut him some slack, Fives," Rex grumbled back, trying to hear what Appo was saying and still converse with his brothers. It was a multi-tasking skill that came easily to all of them. The privacy of their side conversations were all that maintained their sanity. "He didn't ask for the circumstances that landed him where he is now."

It would do no good to have anyone bashing their commanding officer. Maybe if Rex hadn't been injured, he would have eventually been promoted to commander. But, then again, he still counted himself lucky he hadn't been court martialed or sent away a second time for the amount of GAR rules he'd broken in recent months.

Appo finished his speech and the Admiral started his talk, delivered in his elegant manner. "You have joined the finest Legion in the GAR. We shall expect the very best from you. Duty. Honor. Republic. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying to point to build courage when courage seems to fail and to create hope when hope becomes forlorn..."

Whether the words or speeches had any impact on the new recruits, Rex had no idea. When he'd been a new recruit graduating from Kamino and first assigned to the 501st, he'd been so bursting with pride and commitment to the Republic, it was all he could think about day and night. Duty. Honor. Republic. Was it the same for these troopers? He had no idea. He'd aged and changed so much since the war had begun.

"...They are all yours, Captain Rex," Admiral Yularen said, finishing his remarks.

Rex nodded. "Thank you, Admiral. Company, you will follow Lieutenant Fives and Sergeant Jesse back to the barracks to stow your gear. They will take you on a quick tour on the essential portions of this ship and then you can head over to the mess." He nodded to Jesse and Fives, turning the troopers over to them.

Fives nodded to Rex and started barking orders to the shinies. He was truly in his element. Jesse followed right behind, shouting out a fair few commands of his own. They were intimidating, the two of them, and Rex could already picture Jesse in ARC armor, even if he couldn't see himself.

# # #

Rex ate dinner in his office, wanting to get as many of the required reports from the Clakdor mission done before his training session at 2200 hours. He didn't taste his food. Although, the perfectly-balanced meals they were fed generally had little taste anyway. The food was specifically designed exactly to meet their nutritional needs and not for flavor. It was enough, though, to satisfy his hunger so he could focus on the reports. He got deep into the zone of writing and lost track of time.

"It's past 2200 hours." He looked up to see Ahsoka leaning against the doorframe. He usually left his door open, since no one used the out-of-the-way corridor. Her sudden appearance startled him. She studied him with a small smile on her lips. "Are you coming?"

"Krek. I'm sorry. Yes." He quickly finished his sentence and submitted the report he was working on, hoping he'd completed it to perfection. He hadn't taken the time to proofread it. "My apologies, Commander." He tossed the remains of his dinner into the flash bin, grabbed his bucket and slid it back on. They walked side-by-side down the long corridor, heading for the lift.

"You know, part of me wondered if you weren't going to show," Ahsoka teased.

"I'm sorry. I was behind on my reports."

"Yes, I figured as much. That's how I knew how to find you."

Rex chuckled softly. "You know me very well."

"I do," Ahsoka agreed, her fingertips lightly brushed his as they made their way down the silent, abandoned corridor. It was all he could to keep himself from reaching for her hand. He curled his hands into fists to restrain himself.

Rex tilted his head toward Ahsoka and admitted: "I've been looking forward to this all day, actually."

Ahsoka's face lit up with a smile that semed to come from deep within and he knew then he loved her so deeply there was nothing he would not do for her. Her expression changed into the light teasing grin he knew so well and she chided him: "Of course, not enough to tear you away from your reports, obviously."

He rolled his eyes beneath his helmet. Krek. He was going to stop doing that as it was becoming a habit. He was getting as bad as Wolffe. "You're not going to let me live this one down, are you?"

They arrived at the lift and as they waited for it to arrive, she appeared to give the matter very serious thought. "Hmmm… I suppose we could just have an extra long meditation session tonight, to make up for lost time."

The lift arrived and they stepped in together. "You're enjoying this way too much, you know," he chided.

Ahsoka shook her head. "I don't know what you mean, Captain. I am only following the directives of my Master and ensuring you get the additional training you so obviously need."

Rex folded his arms across his chest. "I hardly think I need additional training."

"Really?" Ahsoka arched up an eyebrow. She poked a finger into his chest armor. "Not only do you broadcast your thoughts- loudly-"

"I was hungover-" Rex started.

"Ah, so admit you've been drinking, another of your faults, obviously."

"Now, wait a microsecond, General Skywalker is the one who supplied the alcohol."

"And, falling under the influence of questionable characters. So, we'll add poor judgement to your list of shortcomings."

"Poor judgement? Shortcomings?"

She was obviously teasing him, but he was enjoying the conversation too much to shut the whole thing down now.

"Ah, yes, there are so many I don't even know where to start," Ahsoka pursed her lips together and Rex tried hard not to get distracted by the way her mouth looked when she struck that pose. "You were nearly late for a meeting this morning because you overslept-"

"I made it to the meeting before you," Rex pointed out, smugly, conveniently leaving out that Ahsoka had been retrieving food at his request that had caused her to be delayed. Food that was so much fekkin' better than the standard fare. His mouth water now just at the thought of the treats she'd miraculously managed to wrangle from the mess hall droids.

"Mmmmm… true," Ahsoka allowed, "ah, but then you were inexcusably late for tonight's training."

"I wouldn't call it inexcusable," Rex grumbled, "there's a krekkin' lot of flimsiwork involved in being a Captain."

The lift door opened and they started walking toward their pre-reserved training room.

"Why don't I help you with the reports, then?" Ahsoka offered.

"What?" Rex looked at her like she had suddenly grown extra montrals.

"As a padawan, I'm not responsible for writing mission reports and I'm on a break now in my studies with the Temple. If we do them together, they'll go much faster."

It would be a huge help and give him some additional time to oversee the training of the shinies. And, Rex still wanted to meet with Wolffe again to look into some of the irregularities they'd uncovered. There was so much he needed to do. He just lacked time. He didn't actually have time for this 'training,' yet he'd agreed to it anyway.

Krek. What had he been thinking?

They arrived at the training room, and she held her comlink up to the door to unlock it. The door swished open and she stepped aside to allow Rex to enter.

"That would be a great help. Thank you." He stopped and his breath caught in his throat. The training room had been remodeled since his last tour on the Resolute. He knew there had been some changes to the ship in the time he'd been away. Most of it had been systemic upgrades, like the engine overhaul, but he hadn't realized the training rooms were significantly improved.

What had once been all reinforced durasteel plating was now replaced with one entire wall of plexiglass looking out on the expanse of space. The Clone Wars had led to some remarkable technological advancements. The new plexiglass materials were much safer than the old ones which had been used sparingly throughout the ship due to safety concerns.

The room was lit up with the bright lights of the stars streaking past as they traveled through hyperspace.

"You like it?" Ahsoka asked, coming to stand close to him.

"I had no idea this had been changed," Rex muttered.

"Anakin pushed for the changes. He's been pushing for upgrades to some of the training areas for a while. Although, perhaps, this one could be considered a bit selfish, since this space is so perfectly suited for meditation."

Rex would hardly describe the General as selfish. A bit consumed with his relationship with the Senator perhaps, but he always seemed to have the good of the whole still firmly in place.

Ahsoka headed to the corner and pulled out two rolled-up durafoam mats. She grabbed one for herself and tossed the second one in the direction of Rex. He caught it easily.

She unrolled her mat, and sank down on it in a cross-legged position. She looked up at him, her expression quirking into a smile. "Not sure you'll be overly comfortable meditating in armor. I should have advised you to change."

Rex shook his head. "I'm not overly fond of my fatigues. The color reminds me too much of Kamino. I can shuck my plates like I do when I'm sparring." Without any hesitation, he quickly stripped down to his blacks and stacked his armor in a neat pile beside his mat.

Ahsoka sat back on her mat, a small smile on her lips, as she watched him remove his armor.

"What?" Rex asked, as he set his helmet down in front of him and sank down on his mat, imitating her cross-legged position.

"Oh, nothing," she said, the smile not quite leaving her lips, "I was just thinking."

Thinking about what? Rex wondered, although a smile tugged at his lips, as well. He was not oblivious to the way Ahsoka looked at him. He didn't mind. It reminded him of the way Karyn had looked at Travis back on Ando, or the way Suu looked at Cut during the brief time he'd stayed with the family on Saleucami. The looks were not unwelcome. And, he realized now why he'd instinctively said yes when offered the chance to do this nightly training. The tension eased from his shoulders and he realized he was looking forward to this nightly time alone with Ahsoka.

"Alright," he looked over at her expectantly, "where do we begin?"

# # #