Anakin reached out with the Force, unable to see Rex's face from where he was sitting in the cockpit. He felt little ripples of nausea and anxious confusion amid the bleak aura of loss that hung around them both. It worried him. It felt too much like what he'd sensed from Fives.

"Everything alright up there, Rex?"

"Yes, sir," Rex said.

As he drove toward the hospital, he thought carefully about what to do next, just waiting for Rex to ask where they were going next, or what he thought of all that had just happened. But Rex was silent, and he remained silent all the way to the hospital. Anakin clenched the controls. He couldn't handle the thought of watching Rex lose his sanity to this virus like Fives and Tup, but for the first time since this all began, he felt a stab of fear. Rex was right—they were running out of time.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. As they got out and headed inside, Anakin noted how tired the captain looked, but when Rex caught him in mid-glance, his eyes seemed as focused as ever.

Nala Se was waiting for them on the other side of the doors, her white oval face mildly surprised. "Master Skywalker. Were you unable to locate the defective clone?"

"We did locate Fives," Anakin said, nodding once to Shaak Ti as she entered the room from an adjacent hall. "Commander Fox and his men should be arriving with his body soon. I'm here to ask that Captain Rex be kept under quarantine until a cure is found."

"Sir?" Rex started slightly as Anakin gripped his shoulder tight.

"Don't worry, Rex. I'm going to talk to the Jedi Council about everything right away. This way, if you are infected, you don't have to worry about spreading it to anyone else. We should have you out of here in no time."

"Weapons, please," a droid warbled, and Anakin watched, tense, half expecting Rex to outright refuse. But the captain set his DC-17s into the shallow tray the droid held without hesitation.

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Nala Se said. "We have already run tests on the body of the first infected clone, and are waiting for the results now. If, as I predict, the tests do come back positive for a viral infection, we may have a vaccine ready in a matter of hours."

"That's good to hear. Thank you for all your hard work."

"I will personally escort this clone to a secure room, immediately," Nala Se said, and put a hand between Rex's shoulder blades, but Rex stepped out of her reach and back toward Anakin.

"General," his voice was nearly a whisper. "You'll tell the Jedi Council everything Fives said, won't you?"

Rex lifted his hand and brushed it against his own temple in a subtle gesture. The chips. Anakin glanced at Shaak Ti and Nala Se, wishing he could just tell Rex the truth—that they all knew about the inhibitor chips already—without fearing that Rex would react to the news as badly as Fives had.

Instead he just nodded. "I'm going to tell them everything we saw and heard here tonight."

Rex nodded back. "Good luck, sir."

Anakin waited until Rex and Nala Se had withdrawn, then turned to Shaak Ti and lowered his voice. "Master Shaak Ti. I need you to ask the hospital staff to keep a close eye on Captain Rex. While he might be infected, he also might not, and I don't want him getting any ideas. He was talking earlier about eliminating himself as a source of contagion."

"I shall pass on the message," Shaak Ti promised. "And meet you at the Temple to discuss these strange and mysterious events."

…

Rex felt he had barely slept at all by the time morning officially arrived. The room he was quarantined in did not have any windows; he only assumed it was morning because of how unbearably long the dark hours had dragged on in that confusing space between sleep and wakefulness… and because Shaak Ti said "Good morning, Captain," when she showed up in the doorway and turned on the light.

Nala Se was with her, holding a hypospray. Rex sat up, glad to be brought out of his own thoughts.

"Good morning, General." He got to his feet.

Once the two had entered the room, General Skywalker entered behind them.

"General Skywalker." Rex glanced at the hypospray. "Have the doctors figured out what was wrong with Tup?"

"They have." Skywalker looked relieved.

"There was an unfortunate oversight on my part," Nala Se murmured slowly. "However, working in cooperation with the other doctors here, and comparing the data from both bodies, we were able to isolate the cause. It was a rare parasite, native to Ringo Vinda."

"Then… everyone who was on that mission, and everyone they've been in contact with is still at risk," Rex realized.

"Not for much longer." Shaak Ti smiled. "Doctor Nala Se has prepared an inoculation which will be administered to every single trooper in the army, beginning with you."

"None of us will have to worry about this ever happening again," Skywalker said, grinning faintly.

"That's… very good news, sir," Rex said. He felt less relieved than he'd expected. Fives' last words had worn deep tracks in his mind for the last several hours, and now to think that Fives had been completely wrong about everything….

He tilted his head when Nala Se wordlessly approached him, allowing her to inject the cure. He tried to tell himself that it was over now; the chance that his dreams or Skywalker's dreams would become reality was being swept away as immunity to the parasite established itself in his body.

"Thank you, Doctor." Rex rubbed the mild stinging on his neck.

Skywalker shared a glance with Shaak Ti, and Shaak Ti gave him a tiny smile.

"You are free to return to the barracks now, Rex," she said, motioning to Nala Se. "The doctors and I must organize the effort to spread the cure to the rest of the troops."

"Of course, General." Rex bowed his head slightly in gratitude as she and Nala Se left.

Skywalker didn't follow them. Instead, he folded his arms and looked at Rex with concern. "It's been a long night. But at least now we can put this whole mess behind us and get back to ending this war."

"Yes, sir," Rex said, and when Skywalker continued to stare at him he went on. "I apologize for my actions earlier. What I said to you on the platform was out of line."

"There was a lot at stake," Skywalker said dismissively. "I'm just glad everyone's safe from this parasite now."

Rex said nothing to that.

"You're not still worried about what you saw in your dreams, are you?" Skywalker asked. "If we were both having visions of the same future… I have a feeling we just averted it by finding a cure. There's not going to be any more clones turning against each other or against the Jedi… not unless they choose to on their own… and you're not going to do that, right?"

"Of course not. It's… not just that, sir," Rex said. "I keep thinking… about what Fives said… about there being chips in all of us, every clone, that someone could use to control us. If we were all implanted with chips capable of controlling our behavior, that would be a terrible weakness for the enemy to exploit. The consequences for overlooking something like that are barely imaginable."

Skywalker looked uncomfortable and Rex wondered for a moment if he'd made a mistake in bringing up his concerns. But the general sighed. "Rex… the truth is, every clone does have a chip, but it's not for the reason Fives thought. They're inhibitor chips, designed to prevent hostile behavior toward allies, and Tup's was broken. Fives' too… the parasite managed to break it down somehow."

"Inhibitor chips?" Rex paused, considering. "General… why didn't any of us know about this before?"

Skywalker frowned self-consciously. "Look, I would have told you, but with everything happening so quickly, there didn't seem to be a good time."

"Sir." Rex chose his words carefully. "If Fives had this parasite the whole time, isn't it possible his chip was degrading gradually, until it reached a certain point where the damage made him act the way he did? Mine could be going the same way. Even though we've gotten rid of the parasite, there could still be some damage to the chip."

Skywalker shook his head. "I already asked Nala Se about that. Because of the clean tests they got from Fives before he left Kamino, she's pretty confident that the parasite works quickly once it develops to a certain stage. It destroyed Fives' chip in a matter of minutes. She assured me that if you haven't shown any signs of hostility yet, we don't have anything to worry about."

"Yes, sir," he said, because no other response was neutral enough. Something still felt off, but Rex couldn't be certain it wasn't his own exhaustion talking.

"Maybe now that the crisis is over," Skywalker was saying, as they left the room, "you should go get a few hours of real sleep in the barracks. Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"I appreciate that, sir," Rex said, but made no immediate move to follow the general. "Did… you talk to the Council about what happened? What Fives said?" He knew he was out of line to ask, but he wanted to make sure they had the complete report of the incident.

"I did," Skywalker said. He glanced at Rex. "…And then I was dismissed. They didn't discuss it in front of me."

Rex took a deep breath. "And my dreams?"

The general looked away. "I didn't mention them. Like I said, now that the parasite is gone, so is the threat. You were having them because you were infected. That's what you said, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," Rex said again, feeling less relieved now that this could be put behind them than he expected. Skywalker turned back toward the exit, and as soon as Rex fell into step behind him, he knew he would find it difficult to rest even in the barracks. It was true the nightmares had been more vivid since Ringo Vinda, but he had been having them in some form or another long before that mission.

He shook himself mentally as they stepped out of the hospital into the morning sun. He really wasn't going to get any sleep if he kept dwelling on this. Once they'd settled into the speeder, he turned to Skywalker.

"When's our next mission, General?"

"Actually, we're going to the edge of the Outer Rim, so if any of the major assault teams need reinforcements, we'll be close. We leave in a few days."

"I'll have my men ready. It'll be good to get back in the fight."

…

Anakin turned away from the fluidic movement of hyperspace and back toward the too-quiet bridge of his latest flagship, the Tenacity. The battle currently underway on Ryloth played in his mind as Rex came through the door, helmet tucked under one arm.

Without preamble, Anakin pulled up the holographic link to General Aayla Secura's ship.

"We're all here now, Master Secura," Anakin said. "Please proceed with the briefing."

"The situation on Ryloth is getting out of hand," Secura's hologram said. "We have managed to drive the Separatists out of three major cities, but there are many wounded: both our own troops and civilians. No supply ships have managed to get through the battle above—all our ships are busy preventing the Separatists from making any attacks on the surface, and cannot provide additional cover for the medical frigates. We need a way to take the worst casualties to the only secure and well-equipped hospital under our control. I'm asking you to transport the wounded from these outlying cities to the capitol."

"I'll need a detailed map of the area before we can start making a strategy."

Secura nodded and tapped on an invisible console. "I'm sending it to you now. It would be safest for the casualties if you could commandeer one of the Separatist carriers, but if that is not possible, I can think of a few alternatives. There are many tunnels which run underneath the capital, and at least one which lets out at the point I have marked, just behind the battle zone."

Anakin leaned back from the holographic map, turning it and taking in all the angles and points noted.

"This way, you would only be required to break through one line of enemy defenses, and would be clear of heavy fire from the ground for the greater part of your flight. But the Separatists might catch on to this plan, and find a way to trap you in the tunnels. There is also the risk of cave-in simply from the bombardment of the tanks, especially at this point just outside the city walls."

"So it could be just as dangerous as flying over their heavy artillery," Anakin said wryly. "And the third option?"

"Send a decoy first. Let the Separatists deal with it while the prisoners are transported in another ship."

"Or," Anakin said confidently, "we join the fight directly, help you win, and the risk to the wounded in transport disappears. I could join the battle up here, and send carriers to drop ground troops where they can come up behind the enemy and surprise them."

Secura frowned. "I don't think you understand the severity of this engagement, General Skywalker. The only reason I believe you will make it past the Separatist fleet is because of your reputation as a pilot. If you sent ground troops in separate ships, they would never reach the surface."

Anakin was tempted to make a jab at Secura for doubting his pilots, but he knew better; the situation called for serious consideration.

"Alright, then we make a compromise." Anakin studied the highlighted routes on the map. "The Tenacity will focus on taking out the cannons while I pilot our Nu-class shuttle through and drop some ground troops off in Joreikna. Then I'll take a few pilots and head toward this staging area and see what I can do about commandeering a couple of those droid carriers. Should be simple enough."

Secura did not seem impressed by his confidence. "Remember, once you are on the ground, your communications will be monitored until we can take out the array at their base. Be careful. Contact me again once you've landed. You may be feeling a little differently once you've seen the situation first-hand."

"Don't worry, Rex and I have dealt with missions like this plenty of times, right, Captain?"

Rex's eyes jerked up from the map. "Y… yes sir."

"Your captain doesn't seem as confident as you are."

Anakin gave Rex a significant look. "Of course he is, Master Secura. I bet he already has a strategy or two of his own in mind. Tell her, Rex."

Rex straightened; his eyes went over the map a bit too quickly. "We have a few options," he said haltingly, his brow furrowed. "But… it might be easier to tell which is the most effective once we're on the ground."

Anakin stared at Rex. The captain didn't seem to realize he was redundantly stating the same thing Secura had suggested.

"Just get past those ships," said Secura. "I must return to the fight. May the Force be with you."

The hologram blinked out. Anakin looked over the table at Rex, who stared back at him with an almost guilty expression.

"Are you ready for this mission, Rex?" Anakin asked seriously.

"Of course, General," Rex said. "I have confidence that you will choose the best method for delivering the casualties."

"You just seem a little… distracted." Anakin came around the table toward him. "You're not sick or something, are you?"

"My health is fine, sir," Rex said. "I apologize for not giving the briefing my full attention. It won't happen again."

"It better not," Anakin said sternly. "This can't become a trend. I know things in the Five-Oh-First haven't been easy lately, but we're in the middle of a war, and I need to be able to count on you and your men. If there's something on your mind, or if there's a reason you're not focusing, maybe you better tell me now. Otherwise, I expect you to forget it and get your head back in the mission."

"Understood!" Rex kept steady eye contact. "It's nothing, sir. A personal matter."

Anakin let his voice and face soften a bit. "It's Fives, isn't it?"

Rex gave a short, almost frustrated sigh. "No, sir."

Anakin raised an eyebrow skeptically. "If you say so. Did you hear everything Master Secura said?"

"Our mission is to break through to the surface, and transport casualties from the two outlying cities to the capital."

"And how did each of us propose to do that?"

"General Secura… mentioned enemy carriers, and tunnels." Rex's face was rigid. "And you proposed to use a shuttle… the Blue Harpy?"

"And that's all you remember?"

Rex averted his eyes. "That's… about the extent of it, sir. I have no excuse, but as I promised, it won't happen again."

Anakin folded his arms, mentally debating whether to push the issue or trust Rex's word. He'd always been able to trust it before, but then… Rex had never made this kind of mistake before in the first place.

"Alright. Let's get back to the mission, then. I'll fill you in during our final approach to the Ryloth System."

"Thank you, sir."

…

After a wild ride through the thick firefight just outside Ryloth's atmosphere and a tense hour waiting for Skywalker to return with the droid carriers, Rex and his men stood inside the city, everything appearing to be going according to plan. Joreikna was tucked between two small cliffs, and troops from the 327th had created a barricade on its open side using felled droid carriers, tanks, and even the pieces of destroyed buildings on the city's edge. Night was falling, obscuring much of the damage the city had already maintained.

It got quieter the further toward the center they walked. The Twi'lek citizens kept indoors mostly, sometimes peering out from behind scorched curtains or cracked shutters. Here and there, faceless suits of armor lay dead on the edges of the streets at the edges of their light beams. Rex kept his eyes on Skywalker's back, determined not to let his focus slip again.

"There it is." Skywalker pointed at a long, low rectangular structure of the same sandy color as all the rest. One corner of the roof and a wall had caved in and was covered with a tarp that snapped in the wind.

Inside, it was dim and much cooler than outside, but the particular smell of wounded bodies in close quarters was still strong. Most of the troopers had been relieved of their armor.

"Kix." Rex gestured toward the yellow-painted medic moving among the casualties.

Kix nodded and and waved the other present 501st medics over to offer their help to the 327th medic, while General Skywalker led Rex toward a Twi'lek who was winding bandages around a civilian's lekku. Rex picked his way carefully, and as a gust of warm air came from the open doorway, it kicked up a whorl of sand and ruffled the edge of the rough brown blanket covering one patient by his feet.

Something about the movement of that corner of cloth, the way the bodies lay thick on the ground beneath him in the dimness—Rex took a deep breath and tried not to think about the nightmares. They had not quit after the parasite had been neutralized; in fact, they had not let up at all.

His hands rested against the grips of his DC-17s and he again remembered Fives mentioning nightmares on his dying breath. He had assumed Fives had been having them as a result of the parasite, just as Rex thought his had been strengthened… but his dreams' current persistence despite being cured made him wonder. What if Fives had been having nightmares for years, just as he had been?

"Are you the doctor in charge here?" Skywalker's voice jarred Rex free of his thoughts, and he saw the general kneel beside the Twi'lek who tended the others.

"Yes," she said, only glancing up once from her work—her patient was grunting in pain as she tightened the bandages. "And you are here to take my patients to the capitol. We were told you were coming. I moved the most severely injured patients onto stretchers near the door. Please make sure your men are careful while moving them. Bit and I have done what we can, but their condition is barely stable."

Skywalker nodded gravely and turned around, voice raised. "You heard the doctor! The patients by the door are our first priority. At least two men to a stretcher; I want to give these people as smooth a ride as possible, starting with the trip to the carriers."

"Yes, sir!" the men called out.

As Rex moved back to the door and crouched by one of many unconscious clones, Jesse crouched on the other end of the stretcher.

"Count of three," Rex said. "Nice and easy. One… two…."

They lifted smoothly together. Rex backed out into the street and waited for Jesse to swing gradually around so they could go sideways. The general came out after half a dozen more pairs and kept a close watch on their surroundings as they shuffled slowly toward the ships.

As Rex kept his eyes down, watching for imperfections in the road, his mind wandered again. Fox should have stunned Fives. Killing him meant never learning what more he meant to say… and some terrible, traitorous part of Rex's mind wondered if that was the point. Fives had known something, and been silenced accordingly.

"Think we'll all make it past the remaining cannons?" Jesse asked.

Rex looked up, but of course no expression was visible on Jesse's helmet. "With the general drawing their fire in the Harpy? Yeah. Besides, General Secura and Commander Bly will be using this opportunity to disable the ones outside the airstrike zone."

Jesse laughed under his breath. "Just another great last-minute plan by General Skywalker."

"Sorry, boys," Skywalker laughed, walking easily beside them. "I get all the fun parts in this plan. Looks like you're just here for the heavy lifting."

"That's fine with me, General," Jesse said, looking down at the heavily bruised trooper they were carrying. "Looks like these guys had it pretty rough out there."

"We might still join the fight once the wounded are safe," Skywalker smirked. "I have a feeling this battle will have to tip one way or the other before we're done."

They went carefully up the ramp into the carrier's hangar, their footsteps echoing on the metal floor. For a moment, the relative dimness of the interior and the blazing light of Skywalker's saber brought Rex back to the warehouse. Fives' last words again played in his mind. The mission. The nightmares. And what he'd said to Tup during their retreat at Ringo Vinda. What mission?

The stretcher jerked in his hands and the clone lying on it grunted.

"Captain?" said Jesse quietly.

Rex glanced over at Skywalker, hoping he hadn't noticed, but the general was looking right at him.

"Did you see something?" asked Jesse, turning his head to sweep the carrier's interior.

"Just shadows," said Rex, and stepped toward the nearest empty space on the floor. "Come on."

He was glad no one could look him in the eye. And more than any other time he could remember, he hoped they wouldn't be doing much fighting today. Slip-ups like this were a death sentence on the battlefield, not only to him, but to his men as well. And judging by how they'd only made a dent in the casualties this first run, none of them could afford to let their attention slide for even a second.

…

Night was falling on Ryloth as Rex stepped out of the hospital in Lessu. He found General Skywalker a stone's throw from where General Secura was speaking with Commander Bly.

"Looks like that's the last of them, sir," Rex said. "We did lose one or two in transit this time, but their injuries were pretty severe."

"We've done good work today, Rex," Skywalker said, not lacking an ounce of his usual energy. "Ready for phase two?"

"What's the plan, General?"

"We're going to split up our men into nine teams. Pick out eight other team leaders and meet me back in the Blue Harpy as soon as everyone's ready."

"Right away, sir!"

It didn't take long for Rex to choose. Soon, all eight of them stood with him, facing General Skywalker across the hologram projector on the bridge of the shuttle.

"Jesse will lead team two," Rex said, indicating each clone as he named them. "The seven other teams will be led by Singer, Index, Rabbit, Dash Dot, Appo, Bow, and Brick."

Skywalker looked over them all, noting the little variations that set them apart as Rex pointed. Singer, wearing his usual contemplative expression, had never abandoned the basic style each clone cadet started with, but he did have his name tattooed in small letters beneath his left eye. Index was easy to spot by his alert posture and thin lines shaved into his hair, while Rabbit was bald with a swirl pattern tattooed on his head. Dash Dot's helmet had a series of dashes and dots around the back. Appo, Brick, and Bow were also wearing their helmets, Appo with his characteristic white arrow, and Brick with the solid rectangle of blue on one side of his helmet which paralleled the block of text tattooed underneath.

"Alright. Captain Rex believes you're the best men available to lead these teams. So here's the plan." Skywalker pulled up a section of the map General Secura had given them. "This base is General Secura's next target. It has extensive defensive missile systems, designed to shoot down any ship that tries to get too close. It's also shielded. If ground troops can get close enough, the shield isn't a problem, but we know there are tanks and plenty of battle droids stationed around the perimeter to prevent that. We're going to draw out the ground forces so General Secura's troops can take over the base."

Skywalker pulled the view out a bit. The base sat inside a wider section of a gorge which split into narrow, criss-crossing ravines before finally ending in a wash of dunes.

"I'm going to fly the Blue Harpy over the base, let them think they've damaged it so that I'm forced to land just outside the range of their missiles. But the Harpy has a wider firing range than they do. The ship will continue attacking the base from that position, trying to wear down their shields, while the rest of you take your positions in the gorge. Timing is everything, here. Each team will attack in a stage to push the enemy forces where we want them, or draw them out in pursuit. We have to funnel them down this ravine."

"General, sir," Index said, "if we herd them into that place, they might hold some troops in reserve, come up behind. Then we'll be caught in our own trap."

Skywalker smirked. "What did I just say, Index? Timing. We're going to hold off on fully engaging the enemy until we've split off a good number of their battle droids. The tanks don't have much of a choice of where to go; they can't cut us off because the back entrance to this passage is too narrow." He traced the ravine he'd marked before with one finger. "Our attacks will be coordinated so that we thin their numbers, and don't reveal our own until we have them where we want. I've already worked out exactly how this should go, alright? As long as each team is at their assigned spot at the right time, and everyone attacks in the right sequence, we'll have ourselves a quick and easy path to victory."

"I don't doubt it, sir," Appo said. "But with comm channels being monitored, it will be impossible to collaborate further once we're out on the field."

"I was just about to say the same thing," Skywalker said. "You'll all have to remember every other team's position so that you can attack at the right time. So here are your individual assignments. Singer, you'll be stationed closest to the base on the north side of the gorge. You'll be the first to attack. Hide most of your men in these pockets, and take a few to the entrance of this section to fire on the droids and lure them in. Try to pull as much of their attention as you can."

Singer nodded once, slowly, with a smile and half-shut eyes. "We'll give them a worthy fight, sir. On our honor."

"Dash Dot, you'll be waiting deeper in the ravine, to the east of Singer's position. You have to guard the parallel passage and keep any of the droids lured by Singer from getting away. Be prepared for a fight on both sides, but don't attack until you're approached, or until Singer's troops need a diversion."

"Understood."

"Rabbit, you'll be just ahead of Singer on the south side, right at this junction here. The terrain is pretty rough there, but I hear that's no problem for you."

"No problem at all, sir," Rabbit drawled.

"Heh," said Brick. "We don't call him Rabbit for nothing, General."

"Just as long as you keep an eye out for your men too," Skywalker said. "You'll attack next. The enemy could easily loop around behind you against the cliff, so I'll have Jesse stationed here at the southernmost passage to prevent that and to help pen the droids in once you've led them there."

"It'll take a while for those clankers to get over the rocks," Rabbit observed. "But eh… we'll keep 'em interested."

Skywalker nodded. "Rex, you'll be here, just northeast of Rabbit and Jesse's ambush, and across the central passage of the gorge from Index." Skywalker pointed at another opening into the interconnecting passages where Jesse and Rabbit would be luring droids. Rex's position was behind one of many large rock formations scattered throughout the gorge. The rock angled toward Index's position, making a bottleneck in the central passage. "This is the choke point—we don't want to let the main part of their forces through if we can help it. Index's passage is the only other one wide enough for tanks. From your position, you'll push their forces to pursue Index and his men into the trap we've set here."

"Yes sir."

"Do not let them past that point if you can help it." The general said. "Index will be occupied drawing them back, so I'm counting on you to keep them from advancing in the wrong direction. Appo and Bow will be stationed here—" Skywalker pointed at two parallel points even further east on the main passage, "and they'll be the last line of defense against any tanks that make it through, but they need to be able to join the fight in the northern passage when the time comes for all our forces to converge on that point. Brick, you're here." Skywalker indicated a narrow exit to the northeast of Index's position. "You just keep any droids from getting out that way."

"They won't get past us, sir. You can count on that." Brick smirked, patting the rifle resting against his shoulder.

"Any questions so far?"

Rex took a steady breath and stared at the map, memorizing the attack positions, while Index asked about back up plans and Appo got clarification on which route to take to join the final stage of the battle. The plan seemed straight-forward enough. Push the enemy in one direction, and don't let them break through to the ship.

"Alright," Skywalker said at last. "Get some rest. We move out in six hours."

…

It was quiet in the gorge, and hot even in the shade. The long, stealthy walk to their various positions was followed by hours of waiting as the sun rose higher. All this time gave Rex's mind too much freedom to wander as he sat against the rock wall. It was a relief when the first sounds of battle drifted to them on the dry desert wind.

A trooper with three hollow dots on both sides of his helmet came loping quietly into the shade where they waited. Rex stood up.

"How close are they, AT?"

Afterthought came to attention. "Sir. Rabbit and his men are falling back into the gulch. I count at least two hundred droids in pursuit. The front lines are continuing to advance and should cross into visual range in the next ten or fifteen minutes."

"Good." Rex turned and motioned to those he could see to get to their feet. "Alert the rest of the team. It's about to get a lot hotter down here."

"Yes, sir!"

AT jogged ahead while Rex followed behind to pick up any stragglers who might have missed the command from where they were holed up in crannies in the wall. Staying out of sight made good sense the closer they were to Jesse's position—their orders were clear, to stay out of Jesse and Rabbits' fight unless things went desperately wrong.

Soon they were all huddled densely under the eastern tip of the long, thin rock wall that shielded them from the main part of the gorge.

Rex peered carefully around the edge. The sun glinted blindingly off the first lines of marching battle droids. Above the clankers, the barrel of a tank's gun swiveled slightly.

"Here they come," he said quietly to the men closest, holding up a hand. "Now we wait until Index fires. Twist, Steel, got those charges ready?"

A trooper lifted both hands to show the grenades he held. "Ready, Captain."

"Can't wait to take out some tactical droids," Steel added, waving one of his own charges. "Those things give me the creeps."

"Steady," said Rex.

The droid army came close enough that above the distant blaster fire and the rumble of the cannons, Rex could hear the telltale clank echoing against the walls of the gorge. But Index didn't fire. Rex peeked around the corner again, just enough to catch sight of the butte the other team's attack should have come from.

"Why aren't they firing?" Afterthought hissed.

Rex had no answer. "Come on, Index," he breathed.

The front line of droids inched closer.

It passed the opening in the opposite cliff face.

"Something must have gone wrong," Rex said, thinking fast. "But the general gave us orders not to let the enemy past this point. Get ready to charge the front lines!"

Afterthought ran to pass the message to those in the back, and everyone rushed forward so they were within sight of Rex.

Rex stepped up on a rock and raised an arm. "Ready, men?"

Helmets lifted toward him

"LET'S GO! GO, GO, GO!"

As one they rushed out into the open gorge, charged headlong into the mass of droids, and knocked half their targets down by bodily impact alone. Someone went down to Rex's left and he hoped it wasn't Twist—the nearest tank was too close to hit them but the one behind it was turning their way.

In between knocking rifles from droid hands, blasting droid heads and stomping droid chests, Rex saw Steel climbing the tank. He took a quick shot at the tactical droid to distract it—a metal arm swung at him and he ducked.

The second tank fired and the blast knocked Rex off his feet. As he scrambled up and backward, he saw Index's men pouring from the opposite side of the gorge, yelling at the top of their lungs. The tank was getting ready to fire again, aiming straight for the thickest part of Rex's team. The droids were crammed together, blaster fire coming so thick Rex had to crawl behind a rock.

"Get out of range!" He yelled, and the men nearest took up the cry, echoing it through the chaos of the battle.

Another rumbling blast and Rex feared the worst, but then he saw his men moving for cover further east. He jumped up and ran sideways to join them, all his attention bent on mowing down as many clankers as he could hit.

Nearly a dozen went down before Rex dived and rolled behind a spur of rock on the north. He turned around and reassessed the battlefield. Steel had disabled the nearest tank, but the second one was coming in steadily.

"Keep those droid poppers coming!" he commanded. The troopers he'd fallen in with lobbed their grenades into the advancing horde of droids, and Rex led another charge back out into the open. "CLOSE RANKS! DRIVE THEM BACK!"

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The tanks would have been easy pickings if the droids were diverted by fighting Index's team. Now everything was a mess, and as hard as Rex and his men tried to press forward, the clankers just kept marching on.

They fell back again, heading for the nearest opening in the north side of the gorge. The second tank had stopped now but a third was closing in. A blur of blue light flew down from the top of the gorge and General Skywalker was on the tank, slicing its weapons, cutting its treads.

"FORWARD!" Skywalker's voice boomed out, and Rex and his men surged out to obey.

As Skywalker jumped through the battlefield, picking off tactical droids and disabling the heavy weaponry, Rex and his men advanced with new confidence. The enemy forces were splitting off to the north, following Index as they were meant to. Rex stepped over Steel's body as he and his men moved past the second disabled tank.

Suddenly, Skywalker was in front of Rex, deflecting blaster fire and yelling above the noise.

"What happened?! Why did you attack early?"

"Index must not have been in position, sir!" Rex called back, shooting nonstop from his spot just behind the general. "I couldn't let the enemy pass!"

"No, you weren't in position! You were too far west! Take a look around, Rex! You were supposed to be stationed at the narrowest part of this section!"

Rex shifted so his back was to Skywalker's, and looked to the east. The rock formation they'd been stationed behind had seemed right, but now, looking straight down the gorge, he saw how the passage narrowed further in, a second, larger wall running parallel to and behind the nearer one, diagonally jutting into the path.

"Sir, I…." Rex stared down the gorge, his breath catching as an icy feeling crept into his stomach. "I should have sent a scout to double check our position."

"That's right!" Skywalker yelled. "You should have! We'll talk later. For now, just focus on the fight!"

"Yes sir!" Rex pivoted with a numb sense of determination, and turned his full attention back to the battle.

…

Three days later, Rex sat on his bunk in the Tenacity's officer's quarters, wondering whether avoiding sleep might actually help his concentration. He wished he were back on Coruscant already, clearing his mind at the shooting range. They would be back soon enough, but at the moment they were currently docked at a space station, giving the ship a refuel and some much-needed repair after the ordeal Skywalker had put it through. After they destroyed the army in the gorge, General Secura had managed to drive the rest of the Separatist forces off with the help of General Mundi and the Galactic Marines. It had been a swift victory once the ships above had been destroyed, cutting the droid army off from receiving any fresh troops.

Rex thought about looking for Kix. He could probably give him something to help him sleep more deeply. Maybe that would help.

The door opened and Rex jumped to his feet a moment later to stand at silent attention.

General Skywalker came in sat at the edge of a bunk. "At ease, Rex," he said, motioning him down.

Rex hesitated, then sank back down onto his bunk, sighing slowly.

"I know the last month or so… well, I know it hasn't been easy for you," Skywalker said, looking past his own lap and to some spot on the floor. "We've lost some… some good people. And then that thing on Thisspias, and then the parasite…."

The pause dragged. Rex tried to swallow down the uncertainty rising from his already restless mind. "Just tell it to me straight, General."

Skywalker leaned toward him, nearly whispering. "I know Fives wasn't just any soldier to you. He was your friend. A good friend. It's natural to be affected by his death; I understand that, Rex."

Rex blew out a breath and looked away. "Sir, I…."

"Don't deny it, Rex." Skywalker commanded. "I know that despite everything people say, some clones form attachments just like some Jedi do. It's only human. And sometimes the only way to move on is to acknowledge your feelings. Once you've acknowledged them, sometimes… they're easier to control."

The same heavy feeling from the warehouse fell on him, that exhaustion he had first felt on Umbara. If a simple death was all it was, it would be easier… but somewhere, feelings he didn't want to name were growing: futility, and doubt. Cracks in the foundations of his beliefs that were defying every effort to trust that all was as it should be.

"That may be true, sir," Rex said wearily. "And… I appreciate you recognizing that. But the fact remains that I don't have the option of letting it affect me." Rex closed his eyes briefly. "No… it's better just to move on, and accept the fact that we all die, eventually. It's what we're made to do. Fives was no different. And neither am I. It would be wrong to act otherwise."

The general gave a frustrated huff. "Well, I'm not ready to have you get killed just yet. You're not made to die. You're made to fight. But Rex, you're becoming a liability on the battlefield. I'm ordering you to take some time off when we get back to Coruscant. Take some time to sort out your feelings."

"What? General!" Rex protested. "I realize I haven't been performing to the usual standard, but—!"

Skywalker held up a hand to cut him off. "This isn't up for discussion. You obviously need time to recover from what happened with Fives."

"Nothing happened to me." Rex argued. "I'm not sick, General. I'm not injured."

"Maybe," Skywalker said doubtfully. "But you're not going to be any good as captain until you figure this out. So you're taking some time off. Just a few days, alright?"

Rex gripped his knees, angry and ashamed of himself. "Yes, sir."

Skywalker frowned. "Don't take it personally, Rex. One man can only do so much."

With that, he turned and walked away. Rex watched him go before sighing deeply and laying down on his bunk. Surrounded by the quiet air conditioning of the ship, he stared at the underside of the bunk above, Fives' shaky voice repeating in his mind. I only wanted to do my duty.

Dwelling on questions of conspiracy and betrayal had gotten Fives killed. It could very well do the same to him. But he had a duty, didn't he, to find out the truth, and follow it out to its conclusion. Rex didn't see signs of his own exhaustion and nightmares in any of the other men, but then, he wasn't at his most observant lately. They all tossed and turned or woke suddenly at times; they all had bad dreams, but they were combat dreams, hardly worth commenting on.

That was exactly what he'd always called his nightmares. Combat dreams. Maybe he wasn't the only one using such euphemisms. The nightmares, the mission… kill Jedi. He didn't want it to be true. He didn't want Fives to be right. As much as it felt wrong to prefer believing Fives had simply been going crazy, the alternative was so much worse.

Leave wasn't going to do Rex any good. Somehow, he knew, only the truth would stop the nightmares and let his memory of Fives rest in peace.