They had just gotten reports that the Jedi prisoner was currently heading North, and was still in the same level.
Thorn had taken over at the detention block while Fox, General Skywalker, and Rex all converged on the location.
General Skywalker had been very adamant that she be taken alive at all costs, and to stun her if required.
Fox couldn't say he was surprised to hear this, considering Skywalker's conduct (or lack thereof) and his closeness to the Commander.
So it made sense that he'd willingly disregard the lives of his men (again) by ordering them not to use live fire.
And he'd literally just told Fox that he was sorry about his dead men not ten fucking minutes ago.
Of course he put the murderer above the lives of Fox's men.
He was a Jedi, afterall.
So when Fox turned the corner and found the Jedi prisoner staring down at the lightsaber marred bodies of three more of his men-Skywalker could go fuck himself.
Shaking with renewed rage, Fox tore his blaster pistols from their holsters and opened fire.
The Jedi prisoner looked back in fear-good-before continuing down the hallway and out of sight.
Not a single bolt had made contact with her body.
"FUCK!" he roared, holstering his blasters before he did anything else with them and kneeling by the bodies of his fallen troopers. He keyed his comm, forcing himself to speak in an apathetic, analytical tone of voice. "...Suspect has killed three more clones in the North wing."
That was all he could manage.
The sound of two pairs of footsteps made their way towards him.
Fox already knew.
He rounded on the General and Rex, pointing a finger in their direction-regs be damned. "Don't say a fucking word."
Skywalker had the conscious to at least look guilty.
Rex on the other hand-despite his helmet, Fox could tell the clone was still taut with confidence and determination by his body language.
The evidence was right fucking there in front of his face, and he still wouldn't believe that the bitch had murdered Fox's men-their brothers-in cold blood!
"Unbelievable," Fox growled, throwing up his arms. "Un-fucking-believable!"
Rex immediately recognized that Fox was talking about him and began attempting to defend his commanding officer's 'honor and integrity' again. "I know Commander Tano! She would never do-"
"Rex!" Skywalker reprimanded, holding a finger up in warning towards Fox. The General shook his head. "Not right now."
Well Fox had a special finger for him too.
"Apologies, General," Rex apologized respectfully. He barely glanced in Fox's direction, his tone turning flat. "Commander."
Fox had half a mind to order Rex's blue painted ass onto the ground right then and there-just like the Mandolorians and Alphas had done back on Kamino.
"Stay out of my way, Captain," Fox spat.
"Don't let that rank go to your head, Commander," Rex retorted, stepping closer.
Fox scowled, clenching his fists. "You're on thin ice here-"
"Quiet!" Skywalker barked suddenly, pushing the pair of clones away from each other and closing his eyes in concentration.
Fox closed his mouth, swallowing down the rest of his reprimand for Rex with displeasure and focusing his attention on the General.
"Ahsoka!" Skywalker called out, his voice reverberating down the corridor. "It's me-Anakin! Stop running."
There was a pause before the Jedi prisoner's voice returned back down the corridor in response. "You can't help me, Master! Someone's setting me up!"
"I believe you, Ahsoka!" Skywalker responded.
The General had better be simply putting on a show-a ruse-to convince the Jedi prisoner to surrender so that the Guard could swoop in and take her into custody.
Fox wasn't above reporting Skywalker for treason (or Rex, for that matter). Aiding and abetting and sympathizing with a domestic terrorist were very serious crimes.
Both the General and the Captain had proven to Fox that they were capable and potentially willing to do exactly those things.
If they were traitors, then they will be dealt with, just like the Jedi prisoner.
"...But no one else will!"
Skywalker's shoulders slumped slightly as he sighed in defeat, facing the clones. "Keep searching until we find her," he said quietly, seemingly more to himself than anyone else. "Rex-call security! Tell them we need to search the entire base. Now!"
And then the General was off, charging back down the hallway they had come from.
Cruel as it was, Fox felt a tiny bit of dark satisfaction that Skywalker was making Rex put out the call.
The Captain silently stared toward the hallway the General had just disappeared down, taking a deep breath and slowly raising his wrist comm. "This is Captain Rex to all units. General Skywalker has just issued an All-Points Bulletin on Commander Ahsoka Tano."
Rex hesitated, sounding reluctant. "...She's killed multiple clones and should be considered... armed and dangerous. We believe she is still on the base and your orders are to apprehend her alive... if possible."
The Captain's arm fell back to his side as he glanced at the corpses and let out a sigh.
"Let's go, Captain," Fox ordered gruffly. "The medics and cleaning crew will take care of the bodies."
Rex rounded on Fox abruptly, his hands raising in front of him and balling into trembling fists.
"Are you going to hit me, Captain?" Fox inquired coolly, cocking his head and staring into Rex's T-visor.
As quickly as it had started, Rex's hands dropped back to his sides and he faced away from Fox, shaking his head. "I'm going to find the General."
Against his better judgement, Fox did not intervene, silently turning away and beginning to head in the direction that the Jedi prisoner had last been seen.
In Fox's opinion, he had let Rex get off easy; given him the benefit of the doubt in a situation where the Captain should already be facing consequences-namely, sitting in a cell with all the other would-be traitors.
He'd better not make Fox regret it.
With that last thought in mind, Fox began to think over the possible escape routes that the Jedi prisoner could use, as well as the possible strategies to prevent her escape from the military base.
A moment later, Fox had formed a plan.
The base was enormous. The Jedi prisoner couldn't have gone far; there was no way she would have made it off the premises yet; much less past the courtyard.
Quickly keying his wrist-comm. "Fox to Command. Get Commander Davijaan and warm up the gunships. I want his squad up in the air as soon as I give the word."
"Copy that, sir. Notifying hanger bay now."
Fox cut the link and made his next call.
They had air superiority, and now they needed ground.
"Sergeant Hound, here," the clone Sergeant's voice filled Fox's helmet.
"Hound, get the K9 team ready to go and meet me in the hanger bay."
"Understood, Commander."
The link closed before Fox could say another word.
He grimaced, letting out a sigh. Hound was still giving him the cold shoulder, but that wasn't all that surprising.
He completely deserved it.
I'll make it up to you, brother.
Promise.
The lift doors opened and Fox stepped out onto the ground level.
The corridor was bustling with activity.
Troopers, soft-shell clones, droids, and civilian staff scrambled this way and that with urgency, obviously moving to safe rooms in light of the Jedi prisoner's escape.
"Let's go, move it! Come on, pick up the pace!"
Fox scanned the crowd for the voice that pierced through the sound of footsteps and chatter.
It was Stone.
Even though the clone Commander stood motionless in the center of the hallway, he was animated, directing the flow of traffic with wide movements of his arms and hands.
"Stone," Fox greeted loudly over the noise, squeezing past the various Republic personnel. "You've got this all under control? Anyone see the Jedi prisoner?"
"As much as I can be, Commander," Stone returned. "We're working on getting everything locked down and moving all non-essential personnel to the safe rooms for the time being. None of the men have reported anything yet."
"How're you holding up, sir?" he continued, waving through more personnel. "Sorry to hear that Jedi got loose."
"I'm sorry too," Fox answered darkly. "We'll find her."
It was almost imperceptible, but Fox noticed Stone's body stiffen for a fraction of a second.
When the Commander shifted his positioning, it was almost like it had never happened.
And to the untrained non-clone eye, it would have never happened.
Whatever had caused the reaction didn't show in Stone's voice when he spoke again. "Commander Davijaan and Sergeant Hound came through earlier; they're down in the hangar waiting for you. Good hunting, sir."
Fox didn't have any time to contemplate the reaction, either.
"Thanks, Stone," Fox clapped Stone on the shoulder before moving on, pushing past more personnel and heading for the hanger bay entrance.
Entering the hangar bay, Fox passed soft-shell clone mechanics moving equipment and making final preparations for the gunships.
Off to the side, a large group of helmetless clones with their buckets resting by their sides stood waiting idly.
Fox recognized Hound with several K9 troopers and leashed massiffs, and Davijaan with his team of pilots.
Most knew the clone as 'Odd Ball', which served as his more common nickname and also his callsign.
The squadron Commander looked as energetic as ever, which was no surprise. He lived for the action.
Fox still didn't know how he'd gotten the name 'Davijaan'.
Hound, on the other hand, frowned upon seeing Fox.
Fox sighed. He'd have to talk with the Sergeant before they left.
"Fox," Davijaan said. "It's good to see you again."
The idle chatter stopped immediately and all eyes turned towards their Commander.
"Likewise, Davijaan," Fox replied crisply. "I'm sorry for the short notice, but we need to get underway as soon as possible."
"It's no problem," Davijaan said with a smile, glancing back at his men. "So, what's the plan for me and the boys?"
Fox took a deep breath and clasped his hands behind him. "Alright, listen up. As most of you are already aware, the base has been put on full lockdown and all civilian personnel are being moved to safe rooms. We are conducting a manhunt for-" Jedi prisoner. "-rogue Commander Ahsoka Tano.
"Under the directive of General Skywalker, we are to capture her alive if possible. As described in the APB that was sent out, we're dealing with a Jedi who is armed, dangerous, and has already killed multiple clones during her escape.
"Keep your distance from her lightsabers and Force powers and use less-lethal force whenever possible-stun rounds, electro-staffs, shock batons-etcetera. And I don't want any heroes during this operation. Is that understood?"
"Sir yes sir!"
Fox's eyes searched the sea of identical faces in the room before continuing. "Good," he pointed at Davijaan and then Hound. "Commander Davijaan and his squad will be on standby to take off as soon as I give the order and sweep the base for the prisoner. Sergeant Hound and I will be on the ground with the K9s.
"As soon as you make contact with the prisoner, call in your location and hold position. Once reinforcements arrive, engage, surround, and take her down as quickly as possible. Any questions?"
"Not a question," started Davijaan, a small grin forming on his lips. "But I figured we'd bring along a special toy." He turned to one of his pilots. "Show em', Blaze."
Blaze knelt down next to his backpack and produced a set of Force suppression binders and a shock collar. The clone grinned wickedly, holding up the second restraint device. "This collar can connect with your wrist gauntlet. If she gives ya any trouble, this'll make her think twice."
"I think I'll take that," Fox said after a moment, a hard edge in his voice.
Blaze gave Fox a knowing look and held the backpack up, tossing it to Fox, who caught it by the strap and threw it over his shoulder. "Alright, any other questions?"
"General Skywalker and his Captain serve in the same battalion as the prisoner," Lieutenant Vyn spoke up gruffly. "How is there no conflict of interest here?"
Fox sighed. "I… expressed my concerns with Admiral Tarkin, and he agreed with me. But we were overruled by higher powers."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hound spoke to Fox for the first time since the 'incident' in the control center.
Fox faced the Sergeant. "Chancellor Palpatine himself ordered that General Skywalker and Captain Rex be assigned to the operation, with the General in charge," he bit out. "Apparently the Chancellor is aware of the 'situation' here at the military base and decided that putting Skywalker in charge was the best choice."
"So that's it?" Hound asked after a moment.
Fox crossed his arms. "Yes, that's it. I don't like the idea either, but we have no leeway here. Those are our standing orders, and we are to follow the General to the best of our ability. However..." he paused to make sure he still had everyone's attention. "Despite that, I have my own orders. I want all of you to keep an eye on both Skywalker and his Captain. They both have displayed signs of potentially treasonous behavior in the last 24 hours. They sympathize with the prisoner and her situation. Don't let them interfere with her arrest."
"And if they do?" Vyn inquired.
"Take them both in."
The men were making final preparations and idly chatting amongst one another.
Fox made his way over to the cluster of K9 troopers with their distinctive ARF helmets and stepped behind Hound, clearing his throat. "Sergeant, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Hound glanced at Fox, eyebrow raised. "Yes sir?"
"In private," Fox clarified.
Hound nodded, turning to Shepherd and handing him the leash for his massiff. "Hold on to Grizzer for a second, will you?"
The pair of clones stepped away from the group and Fox stared at the troopers analyzing their blasters and doing final weapon checks.
"Alright, what is it, Fox?" Hound finally asked, snapping Fox out of his trance.
He sighed deeply. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier-in the control center. I don't have any excuses to offer you for my misconduct. I should have known better and stopped that Jedi from manipulating me sooner." He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Hound."
Fox felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes.
Hound stared at him softly. "I know you mean well, Commander. We all know that." He paused. "We're worried about you Fox-I'm worried about you. You're my CO, but you're also my friend. What happened back there-that loss of control-it scared me. It scared us.
"We know you want to be that perfect leader that is never fazed by anything that comes his way, but that's unrealistic. Unattainable. We're human, as much as the longnecks say otherwise. If you need to talk to someone, we're here for you. Okay?"
We're all shinies at heart.
Fox nodded, unable to speak. He would not let a tear slip in front of his men.
Finally forcing the words out of his mouth, he asked. "Can you forgive a brother for acting like a shiny?"
Author Notes:
Whew, well that a roller coaster of emotions.
And guess what? That roller coaster is far from done here.
Thanks for reading and hope you've enjoyed so far.
Cheers.