CT-7567, or "Rex" as he was better known, was a good soldier. He served as Captain in the 501st Legion under General Anakin Skywalker and looked out for his brothers until the bitter end. He first met the General at the beginning of the war, and Skywalker quickly proved himself. If, over the years Rex noticed his General was a little too close to a certain Nabooian Senator, it wasn't his place to say anything.
Rex first met the kid on Christophsis in the first year of the war. She was spunky and kept all of them on their toes. Ahsoka was a great commander and she cared about everyone. Of course, when she left, everyone was sad to see her go. They missed her pranks and games she would play with them to lighten the atmosphere. He knew that she noticed Skywalker's affection for the Senator as well, and it was an undiscussed secret among them.
When Fives died, Rex owed it to him to report what he saw. Of course he knew the report was going to go unread, but when he heard that it was stored in the Republic's databases and encrypted to the highest level of clearance, he knew he was onto something. He couldn't have any kind of surgery to remove the chip in his head, that kind of thing would send up a big red flag, but he could pray that he was wrong and the chips meant nothing.
When Order 66 happened, he was horrified. He should have taken care of the chip, he should have warned his brothers, he should have, he could have, he would have…
But none of that mattered anymore. He had survived when many of his brothers became mindless droids, unable to make their own choices or be who they wanted to be. He was almost sad that he hadn't taken the out that Cut Lawquane had offered him when he had the chance. He had to split up with the kid, it was safer for both of them, but it didn't mean that he didn't miss her.
He had heard on the holonet that the Jedi were traitors. He didn't believe that, of course, but it didn't change the fact that the survivors had to be on the run. He ran into a few of them sometimes and helped when he could.
When he heard that the 501st Legion, or "Vader's Fist", as it was now called was the one that made the attack on the Temple, he was horrified. That monster, Vader, was the one that so many of the Jedi were dead. His General too, he sometimes suspected. He mourned his brothers and tried to move on, but it wasn't the easiest thing to do.
When he ran into Wolfe and Gregor, he was happier than he was in a long time. Of course, they were still in hiding and it wasn't smart to contact Ahsoka, he was still alive, which was more than he could say for so many others. He often wondered what had happened to General Skywalker. Was he betrayed by his brothers like so many others were? Was he killed by one of the red-blades? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
Once, the curiosity became too much for him to handle and he searched the holonet for answers. He found them, and he wasn't the happiest with what he found either. Anakin had died in the Temple Purge, defending younglings. Rex could at least accept that. It was a fitting end for an incredible General, protecting the weak till his last breath.
When the kid contacted him after fourteen years, he was surprised to say the least. It had been so long. Of course, when he saw her, she wasn't really a kid anymore. He told her so too. She had smiled and said, "Had to happen sometime, Rex."
And then Ezra and Kanan had returned from the mission to Malachor. She wasn't there, her playful smile, her presence, which had been such a comfort to everyone, was gone. Another light in the galaxy that the Emperor and his lackeys had snuffed out.
Then, three days later, she had visited him on Chopper Base. She had come in the middle of the night, several lightsaber burns decorating her arms and lekku. When he asked about them, he half expected her to smirk and say, "You should see the other guy," like she had so many other times before. But this time, she stared at the floor and asked quietly if she could come in. Rex let her into his quarters and she sat down.
"Ahsoka?" he had asked her gently. Something had happened on Malachor. Something big. Otherwise, she would have alerted the rest of the rebels that she was still alive. She wouldn't have come in the cover of darkness.
She looked up at him and met his eyes. He had never seen her so serious before, except maybe during Order 66 or when she was expelled from the Jedi. "I'm going to need to leave for a while, Rex," she had said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I need to do some soul searching. Get some answers."
It was then that he realized she was crying. Rex stood up. "Let me get some credits together."
She took one of the X-wings. He didn't tell the command, which he probably should have, but he didn't care. Because right before she had left, she had told him a horrible truth. One he didn't want to believe. He knew she had no reason to lie to him, but this was just something he couldn't believe. But in a way, it made sense.
General Skywalker was gone, replaced by that monster Vader. And Rex knew that Anakin was truly gone. Years ago, in the sewers of Coruscant as they chased a terrified Ahsoka Tano, Rex had heard it. It was faint, but there, and it had alerted him to their argument.
"I would never let anyone hurt you Ahsoka, never," Anakin had promised.
But Vader had told Ahsoka that she would die, right before attempting to kill her himself. Ahsoka had kept quiet on how she had managed to survive, and he wasn't going to press her about it. How had his General fallen so far?
Several years later on Yavin 4, Rex nearly had a heart attack when a boy walked into the rebel base with the missing princess, a smuggler, a familiar wookie, and two very familiar droids. If he didn't know better, he would have said that Anakin's clone was helping them. It probably didn't help that he had a certain lightsaber attached to his hip and a brown haired noble walking with him.
He frowned at the princess. Now that Rex thought about it, she really did look like a certain Nabooian Senator… and Bail Organa was a close friend of Padmé Amidala…
When the kid introduced himself as Luke Skywalker, his suspicions were confirmed. How many Skywalkers come from Tatooine with a blue lightsaber and a mentor with the name Kenobi? Later that night, during the celebrations of the destruction of the Death Star, he contacted Ahsoka and told her what he had found. She didn't look very surprised, but he doubted that anything could surprise her at this point.
Rex kept his distance. Skywalkers had a way of drawing you in until you were too attached. If Luke turned out to be anything like his father… Rex didn't think he could handle that kind of betrayal again. So he watched over the kid from a distance. He may not be a part of the 501st anymore, but he still had a duty to his General…. Even if his General betrayed him.
The years passed. Luke was trained by Master Yoda of all people. Rex guessed he shouldn't be surprised that the little green Jedi had survived. When the kid came back from Bespin with the princess, the wookie, and the droids, he knew something was wrong. Granted, the missing smuggler, hand, and lightsaber did kind of clue him in, but it was also his expression. That slightly dead look in his eyes. Rex recognized it as the one he saw everyday looking back at him in the reflector. The one Ahsoka had worn once she came back from Malachor.
The poor kid had found out about Vader. And gotten his hand chopped off in the process it would seem. Rex sympathized with him, but he couldn't really do anything about it. He couldn't change Anakin's decisions or stop the past from dictating the present. Life didn't exactly work that way.
When the Alliance found out about the second Death Star (Force help them, a second), he volunteered himself for the strike team. They took out the shield and the ships destroyed the moon sized battle station. That night at the party, Rex couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation between the Skywalker twins.
He was relieved when he heard what Anakin had done in the end. It didn't erase the past, but it was the reason they still had a future. That, at least he could be thankful for.
He moved from his place by the fire and made his way to the blonde haired boy from Tatooine. "Hey, kid," he called. "You ever hear about the time your dad thought it'd be a good idea to try and rescue Obi-Wan from the Geonosians with a couple of droids and a Senator?"