"In this war, I've lost many brothers… but I'm so glad to have found a sister."

Rex's words had burned themselves into Ahsoka's mind. Through skirmishes and battles, ambushes and air assaults, she'd always been able to count on him. When faced with seemingly insurmountable tactical decisions, she'd always been able to look to him for guidance. And as she looked down upon the sea of clone troopers gathered in the main hangar from the viewing area, she wished more than anything to hear Rex's tactical counsel once more. But this time, Rex did not stand with Ahsoka. At the head of the clone army's formation, he stood against her, with one goal: her death.

She tried to imagine the old Rex, assessing the situation with his unwavering and inspiring confidence. What were the clones planning? Surely they couldn't wait in the hangar bay forever. But then, it clicked. Knowing him, the army of clones was a diversion. His forces no doubt intended to disable the attack shuttle but needed to buy time to do so. Ahsoka suspected that Republic technicians would be working to sabotage the ship before it could be stolen, and she couldn't afford to let that happen. She didn't know whether there were any other hyperdrive-equipped craft in the hangar, meaning this might be her only chance. But against such significant opposition, was survival even possible?

Ahsoka didn't know what to do. Any minute now, Maul would enter the main hangar, expecting the shuttle to have already been secured. Instead, he would be faced with an army of troopers- and as powerful as Maul was, Ahsoka didn't like his chances. She had to warn him somehow. If they went for the shuttle together, they may yet succeed. But alone, it would be all but hopeless. In desperation, she closed her eyes, trying to reach Maul through the Force.

"The hangar bay's heavily guarded. I can't get to the ship alone."

Ahsoka was silent, clearing her mind and awaiting a response…

"Very well then. We shall strike together."

It was Maul! How were they communicating with such clarity? Communication via the Force was not unheard of, but at best it was unreliable and successful only between masters, or in exceptional circumstances, between masters and their students. But how it had been achieved did not matter to Ahsoka right now. All that mattered was getting to the ship in one piece. She sensed another message from Maul.

"I'm ready to enter the main hangar. On the count of three, we attack."

"Alright."

Taking a breath, she prepared herself for what was to come. She'd managed to avoid fighting the clones for as long as possible. Now it would truly be unavoidable.

"One."

Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers, gripping them tightly.

"Two."

She raised the weapons, aiming a pair of strikes at the transparasteel windows.

"Three."

When Ahsoka had informed him that the hangar was well-guarded, Maul had expected strong resistance. But this was beyond even what he had anticipated. A swarm of troopers, upon seeing Maul enter, immediately opened fire, creating a seemingly unstoppable wall of blaster-fire. Maul lunged forwards, deflecting some bolts and dodging others. But he couldn't keep this up for long. Concentrating his power, he unleashed a devastating Force shockwave, knocking the clones down to the ground and shattering their formation. This provided a brief window of opportunity to continue his advance towards the Nu-class shuttle he'd spotted in the open side hangar. Gradually, however, more clones got to their feet, opening fire from all angles.

Suddenly he heard the shattering of transparasteel from behind him. Turning to face the source of the noise, he saw Ahsoka leaping high above the encircling clone army from the viewing platform, before landing gracefully at Maul's side, her blue blades ignited.

"Nice of you to join us," Maul said with a wry smile.

Upon seeing the display, the clones had momentarily ceased fire- either in awe, shock, or reverence. But with a word from the commander, the bombardment resumed.

Side by side, they advanced, each covering each other's back and holding the devastating blaster onslaught at bay. Maul gestured towards the attack shuttle.

"Is that our way out?"

Ahsoka nodded affirmatively, as the pair continued to push towards the side hangar. But while Maul's deflected bolts all hit their marks, Ahsoka's all missed. She was missing intentionally.

"Lady Tano," Maul growled, as he shielded the pair from another volley. "Perhaps this would be easier if you assisted in thinning their numbers."

The pair were just metres away. They'd almost made it.

"I told you I don't want to hurt them!"

"And I told you that they don't care!"

But despite Maul's frustrations, they eventually made it. As they entered the shuttle, two clone troopers clambered out from the cockpit. Ahsoka promptly used the Force to throw them clear of the shuttle, perhaps to spare them the Zabrak's wrath. Sitting down at the controls, she then attempted to power up the engines… only to find that her worst fears had been realised. The craft had been sabotaged. In their haste to escape, the trooper technicians had left their tools behind, however. Maybe the plan could still be salvaged.

"The ship's been disabled," Ahsoka said, desperation creeping into her voice. "I think I can fix it, but I need you to buy me some time."

Maul nodded.

"Work quickly. I cannot hold them off forever."

As Ahsoka began frantically making the necessary repairs, Maul set off to hold back the enemy advance.

Rex gritted his teeth. Of all the things to prepare for, he hadn't anticipated Ahsoka joining forces with the former Sith Lord. In truth, he'd left the Nu-class shuttle mostly intact as bait for the two Force users, only sabotaging the interior as an added contingency. Rex believed that two complements of clone troopers, one led by himself and the other led by ARC Trooper Jesse, would be more than enough to stop either of them alone. But together, he wasn't so sure.

Maul emerged from the shuttle, yet to Rex's surprise, he did not flee. As his position was bombarded with blaster fire, he held his ground, as if he was defending the shuttle despite its inoperable state. Meanwhile, Ahsoka was nowhere to be seen. Where was she? Did she actually believe it was possible to repair the craft? Accessing a specially encrypted frequency, he contacted Jesse.

"Jesse, I'm putting you in command of my complement. I need you to deal with Maul. Coordinate your fire to draw his attention away from my position."

"What about Tano?"

"I'll deal with her."

"Are you sure?!"

"We don't have much of a choice."

The relentless barrage of blaster bolts had pinned Maul down almost completely. With his back against the shuttle, he did his best to hold off the assault and keep the clones away from the ship. Through the blinding blaster-fire, he thought he saw a single clone rush past, making it into the shuttle. But surely a Jedi as capable as Ahsoka could deal with a single clone? No. The question wasn't whether Ahsoka was capable. It was whether Ahsoka was willing.

By some miracle, Ahsoka successfully repaired most of the critical damage the saboteurs had inflicted upon the ship in record time. Now all that remained was to restore power to the main engines and hyperdrive, and the ship would be ready to go. Rushing through the rear compartment of the craft with tools in hand, she'd just about finished when she sensed danger from behind her. Ducking reflexively, she'd moved out of the path of a plasma bolt before dropping her tools and drawing her lightsabers. Turning to face her mystery assailant, Ahsoka was filled with a paralysing dread. Holding the smoking blaster that had fired the blast was the one person on this ship she was most hesitant to fight. Rex.

"Rex, listen to me… this isn't you! Sidious is controlling you! But you can break free, I know you're strong enough, please-"

"Silence! I won't hear any more of your Jedi lies!"

Training both of his blasters on Ahsoka, Rex prepared to fire. Meanwhile, Ahsoka's voice grew increasingly desperate. She couldn't do this. Rex had to be in there somewhere.

"Wait! Just hours ago, you said I was like a sister to you… I didn't get to respond, but I just wanted to say I'm honoured! You've been with me through thick and thin, and you've always heeded my words… even when you didn't need to! Even when I was an inexperienced Padawan! You're a good soldier Rex! Don't do this!"

But Rex's demeanour remained unfazed.

"Good soldiers follow orders."

He opened fire.

Ahsoka sprung into action, deflecting Rex's attack towards the durasteel walls of the shuttle before slashing the barrels of his blaster pistols. Staggering back towards the cockpit, Rex threw a thermal detonator in the togruta's direction. There was no time to escape the blast radius. Ahsoka attempted to contain the blast with the Force, only to be partially successful- she'd managed to shield herself from the shrapnel of the explosion, but was thrown against the wall by the concussive shockwave, losing her grip on her lightsabers as a result. Rex surged forward, dropping his inoperable blasters and delivering a powerful punch, causing her head to impact the durasteel once again. As Ahsoka struggled to regain her bearings, the clone grabbed the former Jedi by the neck, crushing her throat with formidable strength. She gasped for air as her hands desperately tried to free herself from her former friend's clutches. It was no use. In an act of desperation, she clawed at Rex's helmet, before ripping it off and looking the clone in the eye. Ahsoka looked for any trace of the old Rex, any hint of remorse. She found none in his cold, emotionless stare.

"R… Rex…" Ahsoka croaked, trying in vain to speak with the clone's tightening grip around her neck. "I… know… you're… still… please… I…"

She would lose consciousness any minute now. Seeing the absolute control over the clones Sidious had first hand, there was now no doubt in her mind what would happen next. Rex, her loyal and steadfast protector, would kill her. Then, they'd come for Maul, and it wouldn't be long before he, too, was overwhelmed. Once that was done, there'd be no one left to stand in Sidious' way. With the help of the clone army, he'd eliminate every last trace of the Jedi from the galaxy, ushering in an age of darkness and fear. All hope would be lost.

For the first time in an eternity, tears welled up in Ahsoka's eyes. She'd failed. After all the fighting, all those sacrifices, all that death… was this to be the legacy of the Clone Wars? Would this be her legacy? She'd failed to stop what she knew was coming. She'd failed to save her Order. And, if Maul was right, she'd failed to save her master. If Ahsoka allowed herself to die here, what would be the cost? She could only think one thing as the last remnants of breath began to leave her lungs.

"I'm sorry."

Rex had been so fixated on killing the former Jedi that he hadn't noticed her saber lifting itself off the ground. He didn't notice the saber's blue blade ignite. And he realised all too late what was happening as the weapon flew towards him, impaling him from behind.

In her oxygen-deprived state, Ahsoka had barely been conscious of what had happened. But as she slumped to the ground, and her breathing normalised, the reality of what had just happened hit her. In front of her, laying unmoving and face down, was the body of the Clone Commander Rex- stabbed in the back with her own blue lightsaber.

"Rex?!"

Ahsoka's calm and composed demeanour dissolved into a despair induced hysteria. This couldn't be real. She removed the weapon from his back and threw it aside, before turning the clone over to see his face. From the scorch marks on his armour, it was clear the blade had made it all the way through.

"Rex, please don't be… don't…"

All traces of malice and coldness had vanished from the clone's face. The expression she saw on the face of the man lying before her wasn't the face of an unthinking, merciless drone. It had all the warmth, light, and resolve of the friend she knew. It was Rex. The real Rex.

"C-commander Tano…"

Rex was still alive. But though his expression held warmth, it also held fear. Ahsoka's breathing turned ragged, her tone consumed by anguish.

"Rex, I- I didn't mean for- I didn't mean to… I'm sorr- "

With what little strength he had, Rex shook his head before looking Ahsoka right in the eye.

"Don't blame…" Rex winced in pain. "Don't blame yourself, Commander. You did what you had to do. I may not be a Jedi myself, but… I'm proud of the Jedi… of the leader you've become. Sometimes in war, you have to make hard choices, and… I know this wasn't easy, but… you did the right thing."

Ahsoka couldn't bring herself to speak. She grabbed Rex's hand and held it tightly.

"We clones… we were born to die for the Republic. But most of us lived for something else entirely. For me, it was my brothers… the General… and you. If I have to die so that you can live, then… I've fulfilled my purpose. It was an honour to… serve with you."

"How can you say that?!" Ahsoka screamed. "I'm not- I'm not a soldier, or a Jedi, or a Commander. I failed to see what was coming, I failed to stop Sidious, and now… your blood is on my hands... I killed you!"

"No. You saved me from… from the mission… from the nightmares… from the clutches of Sidious. Because of you, I'm… finally… free."

She felt his grip on her hands loosen.

"Rex? Rex… Please… don't leave me, Rex… You're the only… You're all I… "

Ahsoka made a futile attempt to feel his presence with the Force. But she sensed nothing.

Rex was dead. And Ahsoka had killed him.