"Sir! The enemy is engaging their hyperdrive!" was the report that was received from a clone behind a monitor.

"In their condition they might blow up the whole ship!" the Admiral exclaimed, "All fighters fall back now!"

Rex watched intently, heart pounding as he watched the fighters zoom and weave themselves away from the ships to get away from the danger. He felt as if he was in the cockpit with them, he wanted more than anything to be out there with them, to protect them. From the cold control room he was helpless.

Alarms were still ringing and the moment that the last fighter landed in the hangar the shields were raised. Just in time too because the Death Watch fleet jumped to lightspeed. Two of the support ships with damaged engines were immediately obliterated by the action. They had tried to use a broken engine and it just exploded.

A shocking explosion of light and a concussive shock wave rippled from the wreckage. The shock wave was headed right towards the Resolute carrying an alarming amount of debris with it. Everyone was already hunkered down before the Admiral yelled for them to brace for impact.

Everything shook as the blast hit the ship. Shrapnel was speared right through the shields and into the hull of the Resolute. The alarm stopped and everything went dark for a moment before the ship was lit up in a red glow. The emergency power.

"Great, now we have a broken ship," Ahsoka said, crossing her arms.

"The lead ship got away, but we need to get everything up and running before any real Separatists find us," Rex answered. He excused himself quickly to go rally his troops in the hangar. He needed to get a headcount to make sure everyone was accounted for and safe.

It seemed as if any of the shrapnel that had breached didn't compromise any air locks. But there was still damage and he feared for the safety of his troops.

By the time he got to the hanger Appo had already formed everyone into their companies. He quickly reported the accountability to the Captain and fell into the back of his platoon.

As they stood at ease Rex gave them a condensed briefing of what had happened to keep them updated. They were to stand by while the repair droids did their work to fix the ship. They were soldiers, they surely wouldn't be much help to repair the ship.

He decided that they would do sweeps of the ship. The invasion of Kamino had been brought to his mind. The way that the Separatists had hidden their invasion force in the debris of their own ships falling from space. He worried that the Death Watch was up to more than what it seemed.

He assigned each platoon a level and sent them on their way. Rex would keep his commlink on and wanted frequent updates from anyone. They were to contact him at the first sign of something being off.

Affixing the headlights to their helmets, Echo led them to one of the lower levels that they had been assigned to check. The corridors were dark, not much light actually came from the emergency lights.

The helmet lights were helpful in showing the way. Circles of light systematically scanned the rooms. Dagger made a mental note that they were just below the main engine room. She wandered into a back corner, scanning all surfaces looking for damage more than intruders.

Even through her helmet filter the mass amounts of dust in the room still got through. She tried to crinkle her nose to avoid the inevitable. It was in vain. The sneeze was impressive, however everyone on the other end of the comm channel did not agree. She was met with grumbles and she quietly apologized.

Sniffing slightly, she smelled something that should definitely not be in a storage room like this. The smell of hyperfuel.

"Fives, come to the far right corner," she kept scanning for the source of the smell. By the time she heard his footsteps behind her she was looking up at the ceiling.

"What's up Dagg?"

They both turned to look at each other, but also forgot that they both had headlamps on their helmets. They both let out a groan when they were blinded by the other's lights. Turning away quickly Dagger saw spots in her eyes. Not cool.

Once she recovered she pointed at the six foot crack in the ceiling that was leaking fuel from the engine room.

"Oh that's not good at all," Fives said, he quickly switched comm channels to contact Rex, "Captain Rex this is Fives."

"Report."

"Sir, we have reason to believe that the ship's engine has been compromised. I'm looking at a crack in the ceiling under the engine room that is leaking fuel," Fives responded, switching between looking at Dagger and the massive crack in the ship.

There was silence for a moment on Rex's end and Fives was about to repeat his statement when he finally responded, "I'm sending maintenance to go check out the engine room. Make sure the leak on your floor is contained and not going to ignite."

"Very well," Fives disconnected the commlink then asked his unit, "anyone got a mop?"

Dagger chuckled and sat on a nearby crate, looked like they were going to be guarding an oil leak now, fun.

~B~

Yes, someone had found a mop and once the leak was stopped they were able to clean up the fuel spill. There was a lot of leaking and they were worried about the ship.

As it turns out, after hours of waiting, the entirety of the engine was compromised. The Resolute was stranded in deep space. Only running on minimal power, no shields, no lasers. The fighter squadron had taken up sitting in their jets as they would be the only defense for the star destroyer.

GAR headquarters and the Jedi council had been informed and were sending a space tug to rescue them and another battalion to guard them. The clones were all sent to their barracks and asked to wait there.

Dagger laid atop her bed while Echo laid underneath, on Commander Cody's old bunk. They were just talking when the durasteel doors slid open with a hiss and they heard boots stomping in. Both of their heads lifted to see who it was at the same time.

Captain Rex had just entered the barracks. Slowly, they turned their heads in unison to watch as he approached his bunk. He started shuffling through his belongings making a mess of the once organized drawers.

"Are you ok Captain," Dagger asked.

"Give me a minute Dagger," he responded gruffly, something had really gotten under his skin. Eventually he pulled a long distance communicator out of the back of his drawer.

He typed in a code and spoke into the mouthpiece, "Commander Cody come in, this is Captain Rex."

He waited, head against the frame of the bunk bed until he heard the response, "this is Commander Cody."

"Did you hear about this shit?"

"Who do you think is coming to rescue you, di'kut? You just couldn't handle being away from the 212th could you?"

"Don't sass me Cody, my entire unit is floating in space with no shields waiting for you."

"Yes I heard, Rex, we are going to be there soon, give us a few hours. We turned around as soon as we got the call and we are the closest ones to your position," the Commander, as always, was a voice of reason to Rex, "you are nowhere close to any planets, Seperatist or otherwise. There would be no reason for anyone to be near your position."

"We are going back to Coruscant," Rex almost mumbled.

The commander's laugh was almost startling and caused Rex to scowl, "when was the last time you had time away from the battlefield."

There was silence, so Cody continued, "it's been a long time, the battle will still be there by the time they fix the Resolute. You and your men need a break. So get your head out of your ass and be grateful for what you get. And keep your men out of trouble when you get planetside."

The call was disconnected with a click. Rex lifted his head and looked around. The only ones who acknowledged his presence were Dagger and Echo. Both in off duty clothes, the former still with the helmet.

"I've never been to Coruscant, Captain," Dagger said.

He tilted his head in consideration, "it's a lot different from everywhere else we have been. I'm sure you will like it, most everyone does."

Dagger looked over him carefully, "but not you sir?"

"No, I can't say that I like it all that much. I would just rather be fighting in the outer rim than clubhopping in the capitol."

"What did Death Watch want with us Captain?"

"I don't know Echo, but I don't like it. He- he knew my name. He said he would see us again. I don't like it."

"Meh, we can take some Death Watch goons. I mean who calls themselves that anyway. Like ooo we are the Death Watch we watch out for Deathly things," Dagger joked waving her hands around.

Rex put his head in his hands and groaned, "I really hope it turns out that simple Dagger. I really do."

~B~

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