Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney and is the intellectual property of George Lucas; he created the sandbox. I'm making no money off of this and am simply destroying the sandcastles.

Title: Upgrade

Author: Jade_Max

Characters: Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker

Genre: Missing Moment Vignette

Era: The Clone Wars - Post Season 6 Finale, before the start of Season 7

Summary: References Season 7, Episode 09 and Anakin's comment about making Ahsoka's lightsabers better. Anakin gets Ahsoka's lightsabers from an unexpected source; headcanon with my Captain & Commander series, specific to the idea that Rex found Ahsoka's blades after she lost them on Coruscant during season 5, episodes 17 through 20.

Upgrade

Rex watched his General descend into a kind of madness that was despairing.

With the loss of Fives, the last of the dominoes and a close friend, on the heels of Ahsoka's departure, he saw all the signs of battle fatigue. Irritability. Inconsistency. A short fuse... shorter than normal for his General, anyway. An unwillingness to listen to suggestions and an increase in the risks he was personally taking. General Kenobi had tried to speak with Anakin with little effect. Trips into the city to visit Padmé Amidala didn't have the desired effect either and seemed to antagonize him further, making him more irritable, instead of less; Anakin Skywalker was taking the departure of his Padawan hard.

Rex considered what he could do about it and came to a single conclusion. Whenever he lost a brother, especially someone close to him, Rex found it easiest to cope when he had something of that vod's. In this case, he knew he'd coped with Ahsoka's departure better than his General because he had something of hers. Something no one else knew he had; something he wasn't technically supposed to have. Something he'd been gifted by her upon he departure, unbeknownst to anyone.

What he was about to do had the potential to backfire on him in a bad way if his General didn't take it well.

Taking a deep breath, Rex stepped out onto the rampart where his General was observing the defenses of the city they were transitioning through. The battle was further afield even though they wouldn't be moving out until dark. Anakin was alone on the wall, his hands braced on part of the parapet as the wind tossed his hair and cloak about him in a dark halo. If Rex hadn't known the man so well, the dark aura surrounding him would have given him more pause. As it was, Rex approached with deliberate steps, stopping just beyond arm's reach and tucked his helmet under his arm. "General?"

Anakin didn't so much as glance over his shoulder. "What can I do for you, Rex?"

"A moment of your time, sir."

This time, Anakin turned, frowning. "Something wrong with the men?"

"No, sir."

"The defenses?"

"No, sir."

"What is it, Captain?"

"I have something for you, sir."

Anakin's eyebrows lifted. "Something for me?"

Taking a deep breath, Rex reached beneath his kama and unhooked the lightsaber and shoto he'd kept there since Ahsoka's departure. Anakin's eyes widened as the lightsaber hilts came into view.

"Where did you get those?!"

Rex held his ground and stretched the hilts out to Anakin, who swiftly grabbed them from his grip. His General's eyes were blazing with anger and hurt. "I found them on Coruscant," he replied honestly, for that was originally where he'd gotten them; that Ahsoka had told him to keep them after he'd tried to give them back wasn't something he felt compelled to reveal, "while the militia was chasing the Commander."

"And you've had them all this time?" Anakin was incredulous. "What the hell, Rex? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He really didn't have an answer for that, but Rex tried anyway. "I... didn't know if you'd want them, sir."

"Not..." Anakin shook his head, examining the casings as he did. "They're just like I remember." Rex said nothing until Anakin met his gaze again. "Aren't they?"

"I cleaned them up and replaced the power packs, sir." As technical as he was for modifying his own equipment, Rex wouldn't have dared even trying to do anything to the lightsabers. The scoring and damage along the casing was lamentable, especially since Rex knew the reason they'd gotten that way was Ahsoka's run through the city from his men. Even if he'd been able to erase the damage without causing damage to the internal workings, he hadn't felt it was his place. "I wouldn't know how to do more, even if I wanted to."

The distinctive sound of lightsabers igniting was replaced with the familiar hum of the blades as Anakin depressed the activation switches. Yellow and green light cast shadows around them as Anakin gave them each an experimental twirl.

The sight of them had Rex swallowing back a lump of nostalgia; for as long as he'd had the blades, he hadn't been able to turn them on. But, seeing them in Anakin's hands, however skilled, felt wrong. Anakin had been known to dual wield from time to time, Rex had seen it, but it had been Ahsoka's signature and singular style.

Almost as fast as Anakin had ignited them, their familiar glow disappeared. "Thanks, Rex."

"You're welcome, sir." Rex hesitated, knowing it was none of his business, but needing to know. "What are you going to do with them, General?"

"What else?"

"Sir?"

"Give them an upgrade," there was no hesitation in Anakin's response, a response that was lighter and more decisive than Rex had seen in some time. "You never know when she'll need them again."

It almost sounded like-

"Is she... coming back, sir?"

"Not that I know, Rex," Anakin sighed, tucking the blades onto his belt. "But I can hope for it, can't I?"

"Yes, sir." So could he.

fin