Chapter Fifty-Six: Pillow Talk Part 2

My eyes snapped open as my nerves were lit aflame. I knew that feeling. The feeling of your muscles hurting just for existing because they were speed cooked. The twinge of your nerves every time anything touched your skin. The sharp smell of burnt hair in my nose.

I'd been electrocuted.

I breathed slowly, taking in the metal world around me. I was in a cage, as were other creatures, all of us lined up. Blinking slowly, I did my best to figure out where I was. The last thing I remembered….I'd been on Felucia, guarding the clones' backs while they scaled the back wall of a Separatist stronghold. She'd been on edge, saying she sensed something.

The Force felt off to me, too, but I didn't know what it was. Yet.

I'd heard a snap, the Force prodding me to turn. I'd yelled out to warn Ahsoka when I saw our attacker, but he'd already fired a stun net at us.

A Trandoshan.

I turned in my crouched position, doing my best to let my muscles loosen in the cramped space, should we want to escape. I heard the beep of a communicator, my head snapping up to see our Trandoshan captor, the communicator between his claws.

"Ahsoka, state your location," Anakin's voice poured through the speaker as my eyes found the padawan. She was slowly gaining consciousness to the calling of her master. "Ahsoka, come in. Are you there? Kida? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, the young Togruta sat up, looking around. It dawned on her, the girl looking around with slight panic. "Easy now," I hummed lowly, getting her attention before looking pointedly at our kidnapper.

"Ahsoka, come in," Anakin commanded again as the padawan pulled tirelessly at the bars surrounding her. "Where could she be?" I couldn't feel Anakin through the Force. Yet somehow, I knew we weren't far from Felucia, if we'd even left the planet yet. "Ahsoka, can you hear me?" her master repeated, sounding mildly annoyed.

But we both knew it was to mask his worry.

I glared at the Trandoshan, realizing all of my gear, excluding my beskar armor, had been taken from me. He let out a low growl as Anakin continued. "Kida? Ahsoka?"

"You won't be needing this," the Trandoshan growled, crunching the communicator between his talons with a cackle. He walked away laughing, rifle over his shoulder.

Ahsoka looked through her cage at me, worry in her gaze. Like her master, she masked it. But instead of annoyance, she buried it with confidence. "Hey," she called across the walkway to a fellow captive. "What is this place? Who are these pirates?"

"Pirates?" I chuckled, shaking my head. "These are Trandoshans." They were a violent species, much like the Mandalorians but without all the….honor codes.

Our fellow captive nodded as he pulled his knees to his chest. "They're going to release us and hunt us down for sport."

I blanched, sitting up in my crouch as Ahsoka thumped her fist against her cage. "Hunt us down?" she groaned.

"Admittedly, that wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but I'm not horribly surprised," I allowed, shifting into a meditative position. I watched quietly as Ahsoka chewed her lip for a moment in thought before slowly nodding.

"Alright," she started, turning to look at me. "There's nothing we can do right now. The best we can hope for is we make an escape when they move to transport us."

"I agree. So we watch the guards movements and we wait." I watched her as she slowly settled back to cross her legs, her face relaxing as she cleared her mind. She projected herself easily, which made it even simpler for me to ride her waves out into the ship. I searched for the familiar signature of the Trandoshan who'd captured us.

Turns out, they were kind of hard to sense. Like a predator so still that even the Force barely ripples around them. As the engine roared to life beneath us, lifting the ship into the air, I followed the Trandoshan's Force essence like a hound on the scent.

There was the distinct sound of hissing in my ears as the Force allowed me to see.

"We have found new prey for the hunt," my captor spoke. There were two others standing beside him, and another in the pilot's seat. "The youngling will provide great sport. And the Mandalorian," he snickered.

The one in the middle, his scales gray and red, hissed, looking sharply to the side. "The Mandalorian is mine. Her armor will join my wall!" I supposed that was why they left me my armor. It was their version of my pelt.

Well if they really wanted to know what it was like to be hunting a Mandalorian, they should have left me all my gear.

Then again, they wouldn't have been the hunters anymore if they did. They'd be the prey.

"But," their leader in the middle continued. "Perhaps this is your first Jedi kill," he said, turning to the younger Trandoshan on his other side. "Are you ready, young Dar?" There was a bond I sensed there. Parental. This was the leader's son.

Interesting.

"She'll die by my claw," Dar promised, earning a round of guttural yells and screeches. The shift lurched beneath us-we were going into hyperspace.

"Your son will outplay all comers," our captor prophesied to their leader. They erupted into more howls of triumph and cries of their hunt.

I drew out of that meditation, shaking my head. They were just entirely too loud for me. I was a silent hunter, as Mandalorians were supposed to be. I didn't howl after every kill I made. How could I be stealthy if I did that?

Ahsoka was still calm beside me and I fed off that mental energy. She was sure of herself. Confident in her abilities. And confident in the surety that if she somehow couldn't get out on her own, Anakin would stop at nothing to find her.

Instead of stewing in the reality that I was about to be hunted for fun, I decided to explore my mental-based abilities more. Most of my time training had been about understanding my connection to the Force and then physically applying it.

But there were never any subjects around for me to try suggesting things with the Force. Or feeling emotions around me. Or manipulating said emotions.

The cargo hold was trembling with fear, a whole batch of various species locked in together. I started slow, being mindful of Ahsoka's ability to sense my work if I prodded at her too much. So I flowed with her instead, extending her calm meditation inch by inch until it began to lap over the minds of our fellow captors like waves. Slowly, the whimpering in the room quieted to be replaced with slow, deep breathing.

I opened my eyes slowly, unsure of how much time had passed, but feeling the gentle hum of the room, as if our hearts were beating together. Ahsoka was watching me with a curious expression, but before she could say anything, the room creaked, the latches above us clanking as they shifted.

We lunged to our feet, crouching in our cages nervously. I glanced down at the floor beneath me, spying the hinges. "They're going to drop us," I announced, a mere second before the floor dropped below me. I fell only about fifteen feet, landing harshly in the sand beside the Togruta. She helped me to my feet as we glanced up, she looking to the ship that had dropped us, my own sight turning to the island we had just been dumped on.

The sand swirled under the wind from the engines, before it suddenly began exploding. They were firing at us with the ship's guns! "Go," Ahsoka cried as we made a mad dash for the edge of the forest of twisting vinery.

The sun was already setting, spot lights chasing us into hiding. The padawan and I ducked behind the closest curling flora, catching our breath. "Welil," I panted, casting her a grim smile as we headed further into the darkness. "This is not how I thought this mission was gonna go."

I wish I could say it was sunlight that was pouring through the shutters, but my club wasn't on the upper levels. The shutters had opened, as per their predesignated timer, to allow the constant neon flashing of the street to flicker across the bed.

The bed that held two people, instead of its usual one.

I stayed still on my side, watching the tipped glass sitting on my nightstand, liquor dripping slowly towards my floor. I didn't want to disturb the peaceful being laying beside me, his muscular arm draped over my side. I closed my eyes again, breathing slowly as I stretched my mental muscles, much like I wanted to do with my physical muscles. My mind curled easily around the soft waves of Rex's mind, leading me to find him slowly waking.

His arm tightened over my side slightly as he shifted, pushing his face further into the soft pillow. I felt his reluctance to rise from his peaceful sleep, forcing himself to rest longer. It occurred to me that this was the first real bed he'd been in. Sure, we'd shared a bed on Cut's farm all that time ago….but that was a bed of a farm, made with hay stuffed into sheets.

My bed in the places I found myself sleeping most often were things I invested in. Whether it was my apartment, an often used safe house, my club apartment, or even my shuttle….my sleep would always be as comfortable as I could make it.

It was a luxury I never had until I met Jango. And even on Kamino, beds are entirely practical. When I went out on my own, I invested in one of the luxurious beds I'd seen at Jabba's Palace.

I never went back.

Rex was having that moment I had years before. The moment of ecstasy that was snuggling into the bed. But also the realization that now he knew what top tier was. And it would be a rare thing he'd experience.

A flare of panic as he wondered if he'd ever experience it again, or if I'd kick him out this morning and never invite him back. I found the terrible thought and smoothed over it with the Force, assuring his mind that he'd return. I'd have him back. As many times as he wanted to return, even if I wasn't on the planet. He deserved a real bed every once in a while, at least.

He shifted behind me again, nuzzling his nose into the back of my neck. He breathed in my hair slowly, pulling me against his warm chest. "Good morning," he muttered, his voice deep with sleep.

I smiled, my eyes still closed. It didn't matter. He couldn't see my face anyways. "How'd you know I was awake?" I asked playfully, my own voice sounding groggy.

A low chuckle as his arm shifted to let his fingers draw circles over my forearm. "Your breathing," he said, his heart thumping slowly against my back. "And I….felt you."

My eyes opened as I shifted. He loosed his hold while I moved, letting me look over my shoulder at him. "You what?"

"I didn't notice it at first," he admitted, shrugging his one shoulder-the one that's clavicle was painted with the scar he got on Saleucami. "But it was really clear when you came back after leaving. This….awareness of you around before actually seeing you. Like you were whispering in the back of my mind. Can I ask you something?"

The question jarred me out of the astonishment I felt over the realization that my use of the Force wasn't very sneaky. "Of course," I finally uttered.

"I've seen Ana-" he caught himself with a small cough. I lifted my hand from beneath his arm brushing my knuckles across his chins, gliding my fingertips over the swell of his lips. It soothed him, as I reached out with the Force-sneakily this time-letting him know it was alright. Rex glanced at me knowingly, offering a smile. "I've seen Anakin use the Force to influence people. To get them to do things or give up information." He hesitated to continue.

So I completed it for him. "Have I ever used it on you?" He nodded. "No. Not in the way you're thinking," I added, chewing at my lip. "I've felt your emotions, but only because I can't help it. I do my best to stay out of people's thoughts if I can, because it feels a bit invasive to use on my allies. But I can influence….feelings. Anxieties. Energize a group."

Rex shifted, propping himself up on his elbow. "Seduce a clone?"

I rolled my eyes. "Only captains," I teased with a shrug, earning a laugh. He fell backwards onto his back, squinting his eyes. "What?"

"We usually don't get so many….fancy….drinks in the GAR," he answered vaguely.

I finally sat up in my bed, revealing the long shirt hanging loosely over my frame. My bare legs were pulled to my best beneath the sheets as I turned my head to look at him, feeling my own hangover. "Can't handle your liquor, captain?"

The corner of his mouth quirked in a smile beneath the wide hand he had sprawled across his face. "The men usually sneak rum or ale in," he shrugged. "Either way, consuming it is technically against regulations." He paused for a moment. "To the extent we used it last night, at least."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, probably not." I propped myself up on my side, taking in his form as he rested his eyes again in the flickering lights meant to mock the sun. His chest was marred with the perfectly circular burn scar he got back on Saleucami. My fingers reached out lazily, touching the touch, hardened skin lightly.

I was taken back to that moment on Cut's farm, the two of us tucked away in a small, cozy room. It had been so unlike the situation now, where my apartment felt far from homey and replaced birdsong with howling traffic and passerby. Yet, the peace felt the same.

It occurred to me that the only common denominator was being beside Rex in a setting that he dropped his guard. Where he let himself be a normal person, rather than the hardened soldier he was crafted to be.

I'd told him everything that night. Every little detail of my adventures since I'd left-even the ones I didn't share with the Jedi. I hesitated slightly when I told him about finding my balance and fixing my crystal, watching his gaze when I told him his appearance in my visions.

"That's….a lot to take in," he said after a few moments of silence when I completed my story. Thinking for a moment as he breathed, he glanced at the ceiling. "Why me?"

I arched my brow. "What?"

"I share DNA with millions of other men that are just like me," he explained with a low sigh. "Why would you show….interest….in me?"

I rolled my eyes, trying to steer away from the touchy subject. "Maybe you're just my first stop on the clone hotties train," I joked, giving him a teasing glance.

The back of his hand, bare of its usual gloves, swatted gently against the meat of my shoulder. "I know you better than that," he scolded.

Normally I would have argued that he didn't know me, but we all knew that was a lie. He'd proven that back at Cut's farm, over a year prior. Maybe that was me then….but if he could know me that quickly then, he definitely knew me now, too.

"Fair enough," I allowed, earning a quirked lip from the captain. I sighed, looking sideways. "There was just...something about you," I started, slowly turning my eyes to watch the side of his face as I smirked. "I knew we had a connection when I saw you on Kamino when we were young."

He rolled his eyes now as I smiled, the clone rolling away to turn his bare back to me. "Oh come on, now you're just being dramatic," he grumbled, but I could hear the smile in his voice. I took a chance, biting my lip through my laughter as I shifted under the sheets to curl up against Rex's broad back. I nuzzled against him, curling my body around his.

"Hey," I mumbled into his strong muscles. "You're the one who started this conversation."

Suddenly, the bed shifted as Rex's form retreated from mine with an insane speed. I was nearly falling into where he had been laying before I was pushed onto my back, ensnared by his giant arms. His golden eyes were practically glimmering in the low light of the morning, burning down at me as he smirked his full lips. "A conversation you have yet to finish."

"Why do I have to finish it?"

"Because you keep avoiding the question," he laughed, still not freeing me from the prison of his weight over mine. I became acutely aware of how our bodies were touching, since he only clad in loose pants. And everyone already knew I wasn't very dressed. I must have blushed.

It was weird. The Rex I was used to-the one I flirted with secretly throughout missions and inside Star Destroyers-was very different than the Rex that occupied my club apartment. Here, he had no responsibilities. He could forget the war. He could forget that he was a clone.

And be a regular man.

I knew this difference was there because the Rex I was used to either would have mimicked the flushing of my face, or ducked anything else that made me openly show affection to him. This Rex….the one looming mere inches from my face….only smirked as my skin heated.

"Or did you already answer truthfully?" I knew he was joking, but I felt some of his disappointment, deep down. Knowing my abilities, he tried to bury it. But it was easy for me to read him. We felt….connected.

I swallowed, trying to get my head out of the gutter and into the conversation. Finally, as I balanced myself mentally, I gave Rex a genuine smile. I reached up between us, touching my fingers to the scar that decorated his chin.

"You're right," I allowed, feeling his confusion. "You share a face with millions of other men that roam this galaxy and fight for the Republic. But I don't see what you share…." I thumbed the scar once more before touching his lips gently. "I see what makes you unique. Who you are in the Force." I touched his chest gently, playing my fingers over the scar there. "I've met who you are when you aren't a soldier, Rex," I whispered. "I know who you are…." I paused, looking into his deep golden gaze. "Just like you know me."

He watched me for a moment longer, his pupils expanding in the dim lighting of the room. Rex's head dipped, joining his lips to mine easily.

It was sweet. Genuine. Full of affection and forgetful of the war that raged outside my club.

And then there was a beeping from the nightstand, making Rex part from me and sigh, pressing his face into the crook of my neck. He groaned, annoyed, making me laugh. It wasn't like him to act so inconvenienced by his work calling him.

His weight left me and I immediately craved the warmth, snuggling deeper into my covers while he dragged himself to the edge of the bed and checked the communicator he'd left there the night before. He hummed lowly in his throat, the sound deep from sleep. "I have a meeting soon," he groaned, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"Ah," I breathed, peering out from where I was nestled into the blankets. "Jesse warned me not to let you miss that." Rex rose from the bed, stretching. I watched shamelessly, watching his back muscles ripple as he did so. "You can use the fresher if you want," I said, pointing to the door at the corner of the room. "You'll feel better."

Sober Rex was back, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I need to get to the meeting."

I rolled my eyes, glancing at the clock. "You have two hours," I replied easily, "Take a shower-in a real shower, by the way-and I'll handle finding Tup and getting him ready to go." Rex resigned himself to that, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Of course, I was just starting to feel the hangover I was inevitably going to get from the night prior. So I didn't intend on getting up any time soon. I rolled over in the sheets, drawing out my own communicator. "Apex," I said softly, hearing the water start in the fresher. "Do me a favor and contact Vamira. Tell her Tup needs to be ready to go in twenty minutes."

"Of course, miss," Apex replied immediately, before adding, "Enjoy your night with the captain?"

"Shut it." I turned off my communicator, knowing Apex would get it done, all snark aside. My task done, I closed my eyes, burrowing into the warmth Rex's body had left behind in the bed. I listened to the water run, smirking. I was sure he was enjoying the amount of money I'd put into the fresher.

It was a big room, all stone tiling and heated floors. The fresher was temperature controlled and fell from the ceiling like the endless rain on Kamino. I wondered if the soft honey and almond scents I used there would be weird for him, considering the GAR offered only scentless soap.

By the time he exited, I had already fallen back into a dozing sleep. I was aware of him moving around the room and collecting his armor before returning to the bathroom again to dress. It didn't matter-I knew by the soft buzzes of my wrist comm that Apex had done what I'd asked and Tup should be downstairs in the lobby of my club within fifteen minutes. So I kept my eyes shut and my body curled into the soft reminder of Rex laying there.

Despite the unscented soaps of the GAR, I noticed that some of the clones would have a particular scent. It wasn't body odor-which mind you, some of them had sometimes-but rather, a natural scent they gave off that was weirdly different.

Or maybe some of them snuck different soaps in….

I made a mental note to ask Fives next time I saw him, as he often smelled like spices. It was terribly appealing, as Jango's apartment on Kamino smelled like that a lot. It was the epitome of Mandalorian spices.

There was no way that was a natural scent.

Rex, on the other hand, had a less potent smell. One I knew didn't come from a soap. There was the sterile-like smell of the cleaner he used to sanitize his armor. The slight whiff of oil that never seems to come off his hands after he rubs it into the mechanisms of his pistols to ensure they never misfire. Just the smallest twinge of salt after a day sweating in his armor. Sometimes I could even tell when he'd spent time with Fives, since he'd smell like spice. But it was softer on him, and made me want to nuzzle into it.

Finally, the last scent that often made up Rex was incense. It wasn't anything from him. Rather, it was from the Jedi he spent much of his time with. I'd noticed that the Jedi often smelled of incense, since their meditation sometimes involved it. The Jedi Temple reeked of it, in a pleasant way. It was a calming scent, coming off Rex.

Through my sleepy, hungover musings, I heard Rex exit the fresher again, this time sounding heavy in his armor. I shifted under the sheets, hearing him chuckle. "Tup is downstairs already," I said through a yawn, shoving my face into the pillow Rex had been using. It smelled like him. I took a deep breath in through my nose, smiling.

"Good," Rex said back. I could hear his smile in his words, his Force signature rippling with amusement. "I should get going."

I cracked my eye open, giving him a smirk. "Have fun at your super important meeting."

"Should you be going?" he asked jokingly, tilting his head as he walked towards me.

My hand swatted at him as he pulled the covers away from my face, exposing me to both the lights coming through the shutters and from the fresher. "Nu draar!"

He laughed a genuine laugh, his head throwing back to accent his neck. I watched his Adam's apple bob with amusement, a small smile on my face as I appreciated him. When he stopped laughing, he looked at me, his expression sad. Rex's fingers, now gloved, touched my cheek gently. "Cyare," he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed beside my curled form.

"You know," I whispered back, closing my eyes as his finger stroked my cheek, "You're welcome here at any time."
His finger paused and I worried that I'd said something wrong. I opened my eyes to see Rex looking around my small room, taking in the artwork on the walls. The room was very much unlike my office. Where the office was decorated to show off my bounty hunter status and display an image….my room was my own space.

The holopicture of Boba, Jango, and I flickered slightly on the dresser on the far wall near the window. After the whole incident on Mortis, I'd elected to remove the picture from my shuttle and keep it somewhere safe.

The walls were decorated with artwork I'd found throughout my adventures: sculptures from Ryloth; weaved images by the raiders on Tatooine; paintings from Kashyyyk and Naboo. There were tech plans heaped in a pile on a small table, as well as spare gadgets I'd never gotten around to fixing. Some of my clothes spilled from an open drawer in the dresser, creating a pool on the floor.

"Rex?" I whispered after a moment of silence.

"Sorry," he responded immediately, snapping out of his trance and looking back at me. "I was just taking in this…."

"Did I overstep?" I asked bluntly, cutting him off.

Rex only blinked at me before smiling. "What? No. Kida, your offer is the nicest thing anyone could have offered me. And I'm honored. I was just...taking in this place."

I cleared my throat awkwardly, twisting beneath the sheets to fully face him while staying snuggled up. "So….would you like to….come back? You don't even have to stay. You can just visit the club. Even if I'm not here, if you want to stay in a real bed…." My voice trailed off when I realized I was rambling.

Rex just let me go, smiling as I talked. When I finally stopped myself, his grin grew wider, crinkling the skin around his eyes. "I would love to. Thank you, Cyare." He leaned down, kissing my temple gently. "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum," he whispered against my skin.

I closed my eyes reveling in the sound. In the feeling of his lips forming the words. I turned my head, forcing him to look at me as I opened my eyes again. "I love you too, Rex," I said in Basic, his eyes lighting up. Despite saying it in his personal dialect, I'm sure it was nice to hear it in mine, too.

He smiled, pressing his lips to mine in a firm, but quick kiss. "I have to go," he said when he separated from me. "Drink water, please." I glanced to my nightstand, having to stuff down emotion when I realized he'd brought me a glass of water from the fresher. "And get some rest." He kissed my forehead again before standing.

I snuggled into the pillow, breathing in the scent he left behind, now blended with the smell of my soap. "Rex?" I called, making him stop at the door, helmet under his arm. "Could you do me a favor?"

His brow arched and I felt his slight anxiety to get ready for his meeting. I smirked, knowing I was being annoying.

"When you see Skywalker and Kenobi," I started, lifting my head from my pillow to watch the clone captain. "Tell them to feel free to reach out should they have any further need of me."

Rex paused for a moment while it dawned on him. I was accepting it. I was choosing him. I wasn't about to let him go back to battle without me. Not after I admitted I loved him and was letting myself get attached. Hell no.

Finally, he smiled. "I'd be happy to tell them for you."

Ahsoka rose from the ground beside me, signalling that our break was over. I rubbed my hands together as they started to feel the light chill of the night, finding my feet again. As we moved, I felt the Force ripple, but not with danger.

Still, I didn't appreciate it nonetheless. Ahsoka and I turned abruptly as three figures landed behind us. My eyebrows shot up, my ready stance melting away, when I saw their dirty Jedi garb. The three visitors looked weary and war torn, but too young to have seen any real war. Two boys, a Twi'lek and a Cerean, and a female human.

"You need to come with us," the girl said, walking away briskly. My eyebrow arched further, glancing at Ahsoka at the girl's commanding tone.

"Who are you?" Ahsoka asked for us, the girl stopping in her tracks.

She glanced back at us with a sad look, a bit of anger beneath it. "We used to be Jedi Younglings." Ahsoka seemed shocked, giving me a glance before nodding slightly. We moved to follow.

"Not you," the Cerean said to me, crossing his arms.

"I can see you learned a lot during your teachings," I grumbled quietly, still aware we were being hunted for sport.

"You're not a Jedi," the Twi'lek declared, glancing to Ahsoka. "She clearly is."

"She's with me," Ahsoka said firmly.

"A Mandalorian?" the female youngling sounded skeptical.

I smirked, stepping past Ahsoka to follow the group up into the lifted vines. "How long have you been on this island?" I asked, knowing it was a little bit mean. "Because things change quickly during a war."

The younglings said nothing more as they led us up, but Ahsoka gave my arm a swat of scolding. It was never spoken aloud, but we all understood that we would all talk when we were somewhere safe. Somewhere I wasn't going to get my armor displayed like a pelt.

We travelled in silence, transversing the island's weaving landscape through the treetops. Finally, as we climbed a curling branch high into the air towards a lone cave on a hanging cliff, we found ourselves bathed in the glowing light of a planet.

I knew it.

"Trandosha," I whispered, Ahsoka giving me a glance. The younglings seemed a bit surprised too. I gave them a shrug. "I've done work all over the galaxy."

"Work," I heard the Twi'lek mutter as we entered the cave, the girl swatting away some bird-like creature. They led us into the cave, a network of stone and vines that had connected perfectly to seclude the younglings and keep them safe. "We never stood a chance," the Twi'lek started without us having to prod for information. "They attacked us on a training mission."

"We were captured," the girl explained. "And brought here." I took in their humble camp as the boys walked in and sat, Ahsoka crossing her arms.

"Why would they take younglings?" she asked.

"Because Jedi Knights are too powerful for them," the Twi'lek bit back.

The girl stepped forward, finally looking us both in the eyes. "I'm Kalifa," she introduced, before gesturing to the Cerean and then the Twi'lek. "This is O-mer and Jinx. Who are you?"

"Ahsoka Tano. This is my friend, Kida. We were captured during the battle of Felucia. I'm a padawan learner."

The group looked at me, Kalifa frowning. "You wear Mandalorian armor."

"Perceptive," I scowled back, crossing my arms.

"Stop," Ahsoka sighed, cutting in before things escalated. "We need to work together to survive this. Her name is Kida Fett. She is a bounty hunter trained by the man who sourced the clone army. She's Force-sensitive and working with the Republic and Jedi in the war. I trust her."

I sighed, leaning against the curling vines that made up the walls. "Just tell my whole story, why don't you? Though, I'm flattered." I couldn't suppress my sass, even in dire situations.

Ahsoka barely glanced my way before continuing. "What's the situation here?"

Kalifa gave us both grim looks, gesturing to the chairs they crafted in their camp. "You'd better sit down." Ahsoka accepted, but I waived the offer, choosing to stand instead. I'd been cramped for a few hours in a cage. I wanted to appreciate standing for as long as I could. "We were taken by those foul lizards for their amusement, to be hunted, killed, and mounted on their wall as trophies.

"We've been stuck here for more rotations that we can count," O-mer, the Cerean, continued. "No one has come for us. I doubt anyone is still looking."

I hummed, nodding at that likelihood. Ahsoka gave me a look but I only shrugged. Over-shot optimism wouldn't save anyone. Not here.

"Chew on that, Padawan," Jinx growled from his makeshift bunk. "Then rest. You'll need your strength." He turned his back to us, curling up for sleep. I felt his restlessness, though, amongst the exhaustion.

I glanced at Ahsoka, jerking my head to the side as the other younglings turned to sleep. Kalifa watched us quietly as the padawan and I made our way to the edge of their cave, looking out over the night. The Togruta was silent as she stared out at the moon-lit hunting grounds, her expression dark.

"We don't need to talk tonight," I offered gently. "We can rest. We've been running for a while."

She shrugged, but looked away in thought. "You're right. We will figure out how to get out of here in the morning."

"Go with the flow?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood in any way I could. Thankfully, it worked a little, earning me a small smile from my friend. She put her hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently before turning to go inside. "Ahsoka?" I asked, making her look at me. "I had a vision of the Trandoshans. One of them...the son of the leader….he's after you specifically."

"Wonderful," she grumbled, but there was a lightness to her tone now. She was much like her master-confident and powerful. She didn't let it show when situations got to her….or maybe they rarely did. I could feel her power in the Force growing each day. Her abilities in battle were….impressive. "How come I get all the fun?"

"Don't worry," I whispered as we returned to where we'd bed down to rest. "You have it easy." She glanced at me, the Force letting me know the others in the room were interested too. "The leader wants me. For my armor, of course," I sighed as I leaned back, used to sleeping in the beskar on missions. "At least he knows the custom," I allowed.

The Cerean, O-mer, was interested now. "The custom?"

I glanced up to where he slept above me. "That you don't actually earn a Mandalorian's armor unless it's given to you through inheritance, or won in battle. You have to kill a Mandalorian in action to earn her armor."

"You're not even a Mandalorian," Ahsoka teased beside me, her eyes already closed. Still, her full lips twitched with the beginnings of a smirk.

I swatted her gently, earning a small shake of her shoulder as she chuckled. "Beskar is beskar," I reasoned, since she wasn't entirely wrong. Finally, happy in the thought that I raised Ahsoka's spirits a little, I let myself fall asleep.

There was….something. A current in the Force that was pulling me closer and closer to its emanating source. Whatever it was….it was searching for me. No. Not me. Ahsoka.

My heart leapt at the sound of Rex's voice. But the stress within his words worried me. He sounded….scared. "General," he sighed gently, though I couldn't see him just yet. "We've been over the same area a dozen times. There's no sign of Commander Tano." He paused for a moment. "Or Miss Fett."

I became aware of his figure before me. It rippled, like it was through water, but I could clearly make out his 501st armor, his helmet tucked under his arm. His eyes were sad, but his mouth set in a determined line.

He couldn't see me, of course, nor could I reach out to touch his shoulder. Instead, he was looking past me, to a figure that stood high above us. I turned, seeing the hazy silhouette of Anakin. The light danced off him like a crystal in the sun, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. It was his Force signature...through the eyes of the Force itself.

It was mesmerizing.

The fractures of light trembled as they darkened slightly. "Not good enough, Rex," Anakin responded. "Try again."

Rex only nodded, a small smile coming to his face. Secretly, he was glad to continue looking. He didn't want to leave without Ahsoka and I. He never wanted to leave anywhere without knowing where all of his men were.

I heard a familiar voice, turning back to see the Force signature of Plo Koon. It was still strong, but smaller and smoother looking. I could tell his connection to the Force was….more tamed than Anakin's.

"We have alerted our forces throughout the Outer Rim and intelligence assets inside the Confederacy. If they're spotted, we shall know about it."

"Good," Anakin responded as he meditated, his fractures smoothing slowly. They spiked again when Koon spoke once more.

"Skywalker, our mission here is finished. We must return to Coruscant."

Anakin glanced away, pulled from his meditation. "I am not abandoning her." I knew he was talking about Ahsoka, and I wasn't really offended. Ahsoka was like his little sister. He loved her. Took responsibility for her safety.

"Your emotions are clouding your judgement," Plo Koon observed. He wasn't wrong, but I also didn't agree with the Jedi's lack of attachments.

Anakin turned angrily. "I will not leave their fates up to others." I admired that. Spoken like a man who was once a slave.

Then again….weren't the clones' fates up to everyone but them?

"It's time to go," Koon repeated firmly, turning away to enter a gunship. He was right. If they hadn't found evidence of where we went by now, they wouldn't find any at all. They needed to keep moving.

"Call everybody in, Rex," Anakin said after the reluctant beep of his wrist comm. "We're leaving."

I pushed within my vision, trying to get Anakin to meditate one more time. Maybe...just maybe I could connect with him and tell him where we were. "Anakin." I yelled, but it sounded more like a whisper. "Anakin, go to Trandosha! We are on a moon, being hunted!"

He didn't hear me as he entered the gunship, the doors closing. With the whir of the engine and the dust spraying into my face, they were gone.

We were on our own.

MANDO'A

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum - i love you

Nu draar!- No way! Never. Not in a million years. Not on your life.

Cyare - beloved

Author's Note:

PSA: If anyone is artistically inclined and interested in doing any fanart, I would love to see it. I'll even give extra descriptions if you want! I'd just love to have a drawing and I gave it a shot myself and….to be honest….I am GARBAGE at drawing.