Being dead has its own perks I suppose. Maybe I should have tried it sooner. Maybe I'll try it for real soon…
-Field Journal CT-7567
Clone Commander "Rex"
K.I.A.
Rex was on his fifth cup of caf as he scanned through the mountain of data in front of him. Every Imperial resource was available to him, only the Emperors lackeys had more intel than him. Rex was starting to realize just how much data these resources collected and just how much was utterly useless. Not just to his mission but to the Empire as a whole. Did the Emperor really need to have cameras in freshers throughout the galaxy?
Sicko.
Rex hated finding targets, he'd rather be the one to get the green light and take them out. But Lord Vader had ordered to start his search immediately and that was exactly what Rex had done. Information was slow coming and Vader was growing impatient. But it was an enormous task to find a single individual out of the entire galaxy. Especially when that one person was taking steps to make sure she wasn't found. Not that Rex could blame the former padawan. Only a complete di'kut wouldn't lay low after what had happened to the Jedi Order. She was a criminal regardless of her defection from the Order. But just because Rex or any other Imperials had seen her didn't mean somebody in the galaxy had not. In Rex's expeirence only two things got people to tell you what you wanted, blasters and credits. Smugglers were no exception to this rule. Rex had his tip and he was ready to engage.
Nar Shaddaa.
A hub of criminal activity so vile it had been abandoned by the Republic. The entire moon screamed sleemo. This was certainly going to make things more difficult for him.
"Pain in my shebs..." Rex grumbled to himself. "Kriffing smart though." She knew what she was doing, she chose her location wisley. Imperials tended to stand out in a crowd espicially when that crowd was a mass of criminals. News that Imperial soilders had landed would spread like wildfire, everyone would know. Ahsoka would be long gone before they even got within striking distance. They had to minimize their signature which meant losing the flashy white armor. Maybe disguises would be nessicary, clones dont blend well with mongrals. Countless variables were still in the air. How would the locals respond to Imperials? Did she have allies? Rex had to think this through in detail, every move had to be carefully planned out.
"Wish I had been Jangoed during Knightfall. Woulda saved me this kriffing headache." Rex spoke to his empty office. Rex hadnt seen another living soul since Order 66. He had to admit for someone who was acustomed to being part of something bigger, being alone sucked. With a sigh the dead man settled into his work.
Nar Shaddaa stank of sweat, booze, and general unlcleanlyness. Smugglers, criminals, and every typer of glactic scum filled the streets. Crooked salesmen offered questionable goods at ridiculous prices and the sounds of brawls drifted from nearby cantinas. All of it set Rex on edge and left his thinking how badly Nar Shaddaa needed an Imperial occupation. But Rex was no stranger to danger and this was a breeze to actively being shot at. Plus Rex was already dead. Being in hostile territory without a HUD or body armor felt forgein. Scents, sounds, body language it all mattered and it could be a death sentence to declare otherwise. His comlink bleeped.
"All teams in position sir"
"Acknowledged. Set to stun, deadly force is prohibited on the target. The Emperor wants her alive. Any interference is to be answered with deadly force do not let anyone stand in the way of capturing the target." Rex made his voice as menacing as he could. These men were lied to from the beginning, all pawns in Rexs plan. To them he was just another unnamed Commaner barking orders about capturing some low grade Jedi. Lambs to the slaughter. Sighing Rex checked the charge on his blaster, satisfied he rolled his shoulders and walked into the open air cantina.
"Roger that sir. On your go."
At least they'll die like the rest of us, proud soilders defending the greater good. Yep still sounds worth it when you put it like that. She was here, but where exactly. Maybe she already gave them the slip, sensed the danger coming or something like that.
A sudden had on his shoulder made Rex stop dead. The vibroblade ejected from his gauntlet but Rex did not strike out. He turned slowly to face the owner of the hand. An Umbaran blabbered on in a language that instantly put Rex into a fury. He was still haunted by all his lost brothers and the things that happened on the shadow planet. The idiot was waving deathsticks inches from the soilders nose in frantic and frankly annoying motions.
"You dont get those out of my face, I'll shove em up your shebs. " Rex slowly brought his blade under the dealer's chin. "Get it?"
The alien muttered a few curses and left without a scene. Smart. Lucky I'm busy di'kut. Rex turned his attention back to his search. There.
She was sitting at the bar, head lowered, hood covering her face. Her finger traced the rim of a nearly empty glass in lazy circles. To anyone else she looked like a weary traveler just catching a drink. Its funny Rex first thought was that she shouldn't be drinking. He took a deep breath and braced his emotions for what was about to happen. As he exhaled his targets demeanor changed without warning. Her head perked up, attentive and alert, hand buried in her cloak. Rex continued to close the distance between them, seconds seems to take hours to pass. Turning her head Rex caught sight of that beautiful fiery skin and her disarming smile. The entire galaxy seemed to freeze, Rex was so focused he could hear the credits hit the bar.
"Shift it shinnies. Time to earn your living."
Twenty men fell into a semicircle around the fugitive cutting off any chance of escape. Hopefully. The Togruta stood slowly and faced the soilders without a trace of fear or panic. The troopers matched her resolve, blasters raised and cloaks waving in the breeze. Rex took his place in the line, once more part of a set for the time being.
"By order of the Emperor, you are under arrest. Turn around, kneel, and place your hands on your head." Rex demanded. Come on kid dont be stupid. Please make this easy on me.
She didnt budge.
"Do as you are ordered! This is your last warning!" Rex tried one last time "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You decide." There was a heavy silence, sweat clug to Rex's forehead. Two shimmering blades of light emreged from her cloak. I forgot Fives got those back to her..I guess its going to be the hard way then. Rex took in the scene in front of him. Soilders, blasters raised surrounding a Jedi. He couldnt tell if it was the lighsabers or his head buzzing. The nightmares from Umbara and Knightfall arleady haunted him enough as it was. He didnt need to fuel more, but he didnt have much choice. He had a job even if he didnt like it. He motioned for two troopers to restrain her. The poor fools had never fought a Jedi before thankfully.
The two young soilders moved towards their target, focused and determind to do their job. Nothing happended when they broke rank, nothing happened when they approached her. Maybe she doesnt want to fight. The troopers reached to pin her to the floor and restrain her but before any contact was made they were lifted into the air. Both clawed fantically at their necks gasping and jerking in midair. Before any of them had registered what was happeing she leaped into the air. Spinning and flipping she severed both soilders heads. Gracefully landing in a crouch behind the floating corpses, she threw them toward the remaing troopers. Screaming and blasterfire filled the air and ozone and buring flesh bombared Rex's nostrils. Green and yellow higlighted with red streaks. Dead mens eyes and dying breaths. It was the chaos of battle. It was everything Rex knew. He stuggled to draw a bead on her as she slashed open chests and gutted clones left and right. Before he knew just how bad the situation was he was knocked to the ground by an invisible fist.
Lightsabers crossed over his throat and arms pinned, he had been defeated. Ventress did this a lot if I recall correctly. Liked to see the fear before she beheaded troopers. Rex didnt even try to fight, he just waited. It was finally his turn. But nothing happened, confused he made the mistake of looking into her eyes.
They were so diffrent than he remembered them. Still beautiful and sobering but the light had dimmed and they carried grief. Her face contorted and her eyes shut hard. Lekku flushed with anger and pain. Rex could see it in her eyes when she looked at him again. The questions that were eating away at her. What happened, why did it happen, why did he do it?
Rex wanted to kow too.
Tears spilled across her cheeks, and her breath caught in her throat. She was still so young, much too young to be alone in a place like this fomer Jedi or not. The Purge had driven many Jedi to dark places some driven mad by just surviving. The guilt of not saving friends, not seeing what was to come was devistating to the peacekeepers. Rex had heard all the stories: Clones tortured for information, revenge and suicide attacks by lone Jedi, and the list went on and on. The effects of life on life on the run was apparent on Ahsoka. Thin, bags under her eyes, she was fighting for her life on a scum ridden moon in a galaxy that hated her. And she wanted to know why. She shook her head hard and raised her shoto reday to give Rex his wish.
Thats when the stun round hit her chest.
Rex sighed and stood, collected her lightsabers, and thanked the sniper team for saving his shebs.
"Command this is Hunter. Request extraction immediately. Priority one, over"
"Hunter this is Command. Roger that ETA one minute."
As Rex loaded his prisoner onto the larty he detonated the explosives under the snipes team. Lord Vader had been clear no survivors. He'd deal with the pilots latter, right now he used the explosion as an excuse to make a hasty withdrawal.