Anakin's fighter raced over the tank line strafing them with his cannons to no effect. "The tanks are ray shielded," R2 chirped.
Anakin felt his face snarl. "of course they are," the whole attack plan had gone wrong. Ahsoka was leading a small ambush force through the swamp along with Rex, Jesse, Crossbolt, Hatch, Fireflight, Jackie, Salvo, Holister, Backspin, and Underarm.
The intel report failed to mention that this base had recently received a detachment of experimental super tanks like the ones from Geonosis.
The tanks had changed everything, pushing Anakin's line back and cutting Ahsoka off. then a probe droid found them and four of the damn things went after her unit. it was by the grace of the force alone that the wreckage of a destroyed Aclimator offered something akin to cover. they still lost over half the squad getting there and now the tanks were slowly punching through the armor.
they were running out of time and based on what Anakin could see there was no way that they were getting Ahsoka and her team out without cutting away the now wielded doors and walls. of course that would only matter if they survived this battle. taking manual control of many of the ships subsystems Anakin said. "R2 find me a weakness there has to be something."
the droid wired for a second before chirping. "There is an exhaust port on the aft portion of the tank, based on the amount of heat coming off of it the shaft must be directed to the core. no blaster we have is fine enough to get through the gap in the ray shield but your lightsaber should be able to make it."
"alright R2 I'm going to jump and deal with these tanks you fly back into comms range and tell the others." Anakin commanded before he opened the canopy of his fighter and jumped free. He hoped he was gonna get there in time.
...
Ahsoka was pacing back and forth in their cover. she could feel the blast from the tanks pounding the walls. when she turned back to her men she saw them all standing around with an abnormal level of calm.
"aren't you worried?" she asked frantically.
"not really sir," Rex replied. "we have prepared for this moment our whole lives. this beyond anything else is our purpose. we die so that republic citizens don't and we wouldn't have it any other way." he finished. He knew that some clones didn't share his views but many of his men did. they saw an innocence in Ahsoka, and innocence that they were watching be ripped away battle by battle death by death.
they would wish that on nobody, and so they all agreed to fight as much of this war as they could to make sure that no other Ahsokas needed to suffer the way they did.
out of the corner of his eye Rex could see Hatch, he was whispering with Crossbolt in Mandalorian. there was only one reason for that and if they didn't want Ahsoka to hear them then Rex would listen in.
"our armor is thermally insulated. if we layer enough of it up then she might be able to survive the heat." Hatch said.
"are you sure, she won't be happy about it so we best be certain that it will work." Crossbolt replied.
They were the tinkerers of the squad, and they were thinking about using their armor to keep Ahsoka alive. The crazy part is that it may actually work. the droids weren't going to actually look for their bodies. once they were fairly certain that the heat from the blasters roasted them alive then they would leave.
General Skywalker wouldn't be so easily swayed however and if she managed to survive long enough for him to get through then she might just make it. they would need a welding torch but Rex knew from personal experience that a lightsaber would work.
that just left getting Ahsoka's cooperation. silently tipping Hatch and Crossbolt off that he heard they plan Rex took off his helmet and chest plate. Jesse either heard the plan as well or just figured that Rex was on to something since he did likewise followed by Crossbolt and Hatch.
Ahsoka seemed a little confused by this but she also seemed to understand. they didn't want to be roasted in their own armor. She had no idea that the armor was insulated and that was good.
"Commander sit down, pacing won't make anything happen any faster." he said, trying not to sound like he was giving his upper officer an order. which for all intents and purposes he was. what the others didn't know was that General skywalker had given Rex orders to make sure that Ahsoka survived at any cost.
That was why the next part of the plan wasn't unthinkable. when she sat down next to him he gently placed an arm around her shoulders. if this seemed odd to the others they didn't say anything. though Jesse did smirk at the sight.
from there it was a matter of instinct that resulted in Ahsoka's terrified body ending up sitting all but in Rex's lap with his arms around her. it was meant to be a comforting embrace but it served a second purpose.
When Rex learned that Ahsoka was being attached to the 501st he researched tourgrtan biology for the purposes of triage. He knew that in exchange for her having stronger muscles than an equally sized human she needed much more blood flow to her brain. and cutting off that blood for as little as three seconds would cause her to pass out.
For now he would hold her, a sense of false safety. but when the time came he could easily tighten his arms and even though she might fight for a few seconds he was strong enough to hold on til she blacked out. That was pretty much the only way that they would ever get her to go along with their plan.
"87 degrees," Hatch said, keeping everyone apprised of the heat.
Rex could feel Ahsoka's heart beating into his chest. she was still freaking out just silently. adjusting his grip Rex gently rubbed his hand on the back of her shoulders. He had also learned several nerve clusters that were often used to calm tourgrutan children and he was hoping this one still worked.
and soon Ahsoka leaned her head into chest. "We need her lightsaber so we can wield that plates and to check the floor, if we're lucky there will be a second chamber if not then there will be the rock we're on. once we cut through he lay her on the rock and weld the armor shell over her." Hatch whispered.
she must have heard him but didn't understand him. thankfully she assumed the words to be private and didn't ask what they were. still holding her Rex blink three times once long and twice fast. it was a universal code that every clone was taught for yes.
"93 degrees," Hatch said. they were nearing the clones breaking point. at a hundred degrees they would act.
there was a silence in the chamber as the minutes ticked by. the pounding never stopped and the heat didn't stop rising.
"99 degrees," Hatch said. Rex's hand was ready to strike and Hatch was ready to go for the lightsaber. Rex was about to move when the pounding stopped. they waited for a few seconds knowing that even if the tanks stopped the residual heat would still kill them. "100 degrees," Hatch said.
again Rex was about to act when his helmet's radio started beeping. putting his bucket back on but not letting go of Ahsoka he saw that it was General Skywalker. "Rex I took care of the tanks and I'm cutting through to you I should be there in a few minutes." he said before he went back to cutting the metal. " how many do you still have?" he asked.
" Commander Tano, myself, Jesse, Hatch, and Crossbolt sir." he answered with his relief on plain display.
"good, I think I'll be through in a few minutes, just try and hang on." Anakin said just before Fives ran to his side.
"Sir, the council is waiting for your debriefing they want an explanation for the battle over the planet." he said
"tell the council that I'll get there when I..."
"Sir, master Yoda specifically called for you," Fives added. He shared Anakin's lack of reverence for the council but he also shared Anakin's respect for the grandmaster.
"Fine," Anakin said after a pause handing his lightsaber off to Fives. "they are still in there, keep going forward until you get through. I think Ahsoka's lightsaber may have malfunctioned from the heat but be careful I don't need either of you stabbing the other or yourselves." he ordered running back to the gunship that dropped fives off.
the holoprojector for the council was running and it was just Yoda, WIndu, Obi-Wan, and Kolar.
"Masters." Anakin said with a slight bow still keeping half an eye on fives.
"Skywalker," Mace started. "Would you mind telling me why two thirds of your fighters are no longer operational?"
Anakin sighed in annoyance. He had relayed all of this to them but they must have wanted to hear it from him. "The droids were tracking the signals from our distress beacons so I took most of them out and Ahsoka and I took a couple of fighters and placed them all over the asteroid belt. when we activated them the droid gunners began firing at hundreds of rocks that were of no importance to us letting our gunners make short work of them. The beacon being removed set off a hijacking measure that won't let the fighters activate but I will have that worked around soon." he explained quickly, still keeping an eye on fives who was doing his best to melt away the hull of the crashed ship.
"and what of these super tanks we have heard of?" Kolar asked.
"R2 found a weakness, kind off a stupid one honsetly. The exhaust port leads right to the reactor and they didn't even ray shield it. I took several out with my lightsaber but most of my men used ammo packs wrapped in part from their body gloves." he answered. when he noticed that Fives was most of the way through he walked away ignoring the words from the council.
Once Fives had most of it out of the way, Anakin used the force to rip the hot metal plug from the rest of the wreck, finally letting the trapped soldiers out.
when he looked inside he saw the clones lounging against the cool side of the room with Ahsoka sitting in Rex's arms. Anakin knew the look on Rex's face. it was one he once wore and it made him worry.
for now he needed to see to his padawan. "Ahsoka," he said using the force to calm the still riled child.
Rex released his hold on her and she stood up silently walking over to him. "Backspin, underarm Jackie, Holister, and fireflight didn't make it master. I'm sorry that we failed our..."
Anakin cut her off, throwing his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. a Master and Padawan relationship was a complex one. In the case of him and Obi-Wan it was like the one shared by brothers but as far as he was concerned Ahsoka was his daughter and the council could be damned for all he cared.
she started to cry and when he did his best to pick her up nobody dared talk about the fact that he was carrying his padawan like she was a child because they understood. He brought her to the gunship and set her down. The council was still waiting for him so he dismissively waved his hand and shut off the holorecorder.
he knew that so blatantly showing Ahsoka affection would earn him a lecture from Mace but he didn't give a damn right now. She was a child fighting a war, a war that he felt responsible for. she was exhausted so halfway to the Resolute she was asleep leaning on his arm.
When they landed he used the comms device to send a text message to Oddball to make the whole hanger quiet down. it was a bit of a flex on the men to make them all stop working so Anakin could take care of his padawan but honestly it was the sort of thing the men would respect.
when he heard the noise die down he opened the doors and carried Ahsoka to her quarters tucking her in before leaving her. He checked over her lightsaber and determined that it wouldn't have been enough to cut through the thick walls of the wreckage but it would have still worked on a lower level.
once he was back in his quarters he activated his commlink again this time contacting Rex. "captain, report," he ordered.
"Sir, myself, Fives, Jesse, Hatch, and Crossbolt are back onboard the ship and are heading to the infirmary before returning to the field." Rex answered stoically.
"Belay that, Fives is cleared for duty but Crossbolt, Jesse, and Hatch need to stay in the infirmary for at least a day, and you need to come to my quarters." Anakin said.
"Understood I'll relay the orders and be there in a few minutes." Rex replied
while he waited Anakin took off his chestplate and shirt exposing his robotic arm. after some pacing as he worked up the nerve to do what came next.
When he heard his door open and Rex step in he did his best not to chuckle at the captain's bizzare face.
gesturing with his left to his right Anakin asked "did I ever tell you about the day I lost my arm?' he asked.
He had many deep talks with the clone trooper during the early stages of the war.
"no sir, you haven't." Rex answered not sure where Anakin was going with this.
"I lost it fighting with count Dooku," Anakin explained. "it was the opening day of the war and earlier I watched Padme get shot out of our gunship." he had to stop for a moment both to remember the moment and to prepare himself for what came next.
"I trust you Rex so I'm going to tell you a secret that could ruin at least three people's lives. I am Married to Senator Padme Amidala. We had the ceremony just after the first battle of Geonosis. I was in love with her during that battle, I thought I lost her, and when I realized that Dooku was about to kill me I felt relief that we wouldn't be separated for long."
Anakin could see the shock in Rex's eyes at the revelation. He was now privy to a secret known only to five other people.
"when she arrived and found me I felt an indescribable feeling rush over me. we were going to live, that was the moment that I knew we needed to get married. I loved her and she loved me and the thought of losing her made me long for the end. Rex I saw that same feeling on you when I ripped that wall away and saw you and Ahsoka."
Rex would never show it but he was nervous now. his feelings for Ahsoka had always been private but now General Skywalker knew everything. This was grounds for a transfer at least and "decommissioning" at worst.
"I'm not going to stop either of you." Anakin said unable to read the relief on Rex's face but feeling it in the force. "I won't tell Ahsoka to break the Jedi Code but if the two of you come to the same realization that Padme and I did then you will have my support in full. "
putting his shirt and chestplate back on he turned Rex firmly clamp a hand onto the trooper's pauldron. "Take good care of my Padawan or you'll wish I "decommissioned" you, Dismissed" he ordered letting the Captain get back to his duties as Anakin got back to his.