It Doesn't Matter How Pretty She Is If She Can't Kick My Shebs
Rex pressed a button and the door opened onto a large hall located in the heart of the Sundari Royal Palace. A few months ago, it might have been filled with luxurious furnishings and distinguished people, but today, there was nothing but bunk beds and mattresses on the floor. At the beginning of the siege, the hall had been turned into dormitories to house the troops, and there was nothing remaining inside susceptible to let anyone think it had not always been its only function.
The clone commander glanced around. Except for the few people who had been on watch duty during the past night, the hall was mostly empty at this time of the day, making the room one of the rare peaceful places on Sundari in these troubled times.
Careful not to wake anyone up, Rex made his way across the room until he finally spotted the person he had come to see.
"Woves told me I would find you here," he said, trying to keep his voice low. "Is it true Saxon managed to escape?"
"Yes," Bo-Katan answered coldly.
She was sitting on the lower mattress of one of the few bunk beds, but she certainly didn't seem like someone ready to go to sleep. Her moves were sharp and swift as she tried to remove the upper part of her armor; it wasn't hard to see that she was angry at herself.
She raised an arm to unclip a strap on her side, but her face suddenly writhed in pain and she was forced to lower her shoulder.
"Need a hand?" Rex proposed.
"No. I can handle it myself."
He didn't take offense and sat down on the bunk in front of hers.
"What happened," he asked, gesturing towards her injured arm.
She stopped moving for a second and sighed.
"I tried to stop a turbolift…"
He raised a brow.
"With my bare hands," she added.
Rex blinked, unsure if he had heard correctly.
"You did what?!"
"It sounds worst than it was, really."
"Huh," Rex said. "I'm beginning to see why you get along with Ahsoka so well…"
She scoffed a little and got back to trying to remove her breast plate.
"Wasn't always that way."
He shot her a curious look.
"Care to explain?"
"That's a long story. Where is she, anyways?"
"In her room; meditating. She hasn't spoken to anyone since her confrontation with Almec."
"And what about him?"
"Dead."
"Huh. Can't say I'll miss him."
Still unable to get rid of her armor, she finally let her arm drop to her side with a frustrated grunt.
"Maybe I could use some help, after all."
Rex put his helmet on his bunk and stood up.
"You know how to deal with one of those?" she asked as he was getting closer.
"Sure. They're quite similar to ours, actually."
And as if to prove his point, he proceeded to carefully remove the breast plate and shoulder pads, strap after strap.
"Here you go," he finally said as he removed the last part.
He nodded at the pile of Beskar he was holding.
"Where can I…?"
She gestured towards the floor.
"Thanks, you can put it there."
He obeyed and when he looked back at her, he couldn't suppress a small hiss. The white tank top she was wearing was revealing enough to let him to see that a large part of her shoulder had turned red and swollen.
"It doesn't look good," Rex said, gently shifting her shoulder to get a better look. He didn't need to be a medic to understand the damage was bad. "You should have it checked out."
"No need. I'll be fine," she said stubbornly.
"Trust me, you won't. I've seen injuries like this before. It's nothing some bacta won't heal but if you don't do something, I promise you the minute you'll try to raise a blaster, you'll regret not listening to me."
She straightened up and shot him a resolute look.
"I'm not letting you and Ahsoka leading this battle alone!"
"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence," he said crossing his arms on his chest.
She looked away.
"That's… Not what I meant," she whispered, before adding: "I just…I can't let my people down. Not now. It's my duty to fight for them."
Rex uncrossed his arms with a sigh, knowing it was the closest thing to an apology he would get from her.
"You won't help anyone if you try to fight with an injury," he insisted.
Bo-Katan looked down and fell silent. Deep down, she knew he was right.
"Alright, then," she said after a while. "Call Ursa. I'll tell her to take my place until I see a medic. And I…"
She cleared her throat.
"I'll make sure she answers to you."
"Oh! Well, huh… Sure. That's fine by me," he said, not without surprise.
She nodded at him and he reached for his comlink.
"Jesse, this is Rex. Do you read me?"
The device screeched a little and Jesse's voice filled the room.
"Positive, commander. What is it?"
"I'm looking for Wren. Do you know where she is?"
"She's right besides me."
"Excellent. Tell her to come inside, lady Kryze wants to speak with her."
"Right away, sir."
The communication went off and Rex turned to Bo-Katan.
"Anything else I can do for you?"
"No. Just let me know if Ahsoka is okay. That kid kind of grew on me," she added with a grimace as if it physically pained her to say it out loud.
Rex smiled.
"Yeah, she tends to have that effect on people."
He grabbed his helmet still resting on the bunk next to hers and tucked it under his arm.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll send our best medic. You'll be back on your feet in no time."
And with that, he turned away to leave the room. He was almost at the lift door when he glanced over his shoulder, only to see her grimacing with pain. He couldn't help but shake his head — and smile a little — as he realized that her pride had probably kept her from showing any sign of weakness in his presence. She's one hell of a woman, that's for sure, he thought as he stepped inside the lift cage. He pressed the button to go down and took the opportunity to study the engine. How heavy could that thing be? Trying to stop a turbolift all by herself… What was she thinking? He didn't know whether to be impressed or exasperated. Maybe a little bit of both.
He suddenly thought about Fives. "It doesn't matter how pretty she is if she can't kick my shebs," his brother used to say about women. Rex chuckled to himself. Fives would've definitively liked her. And to be honest, he was beginning to like her too.