The steady hum of the cruiser flying through hyperspace was a stark contrast from the loud conversations from the clones' barracks. Rex dutifully paced up to the door which read, "501st Legion - Barrack 2." The familiar sound of arguments and ramblings eminated from behind the door - the voices all sounded the same. Rex lightly sighed before reaching for the button, entering the room.

A yellow hue radiated from light tubes going vertically down the length of the room, illuminating the gray walls. White helmets with blue paint of different variations lined one of the walls. A group of the troopers huddled together by the hologame table in the centre of the room, shaking their fists at the two clones playing against each other. The small gathering of clones swiftly ended their conversation, turning their eyes towards the captain.

"At ease," Rex commanded, nodding as he continued through the room. He soon reach the bunks, and began briefly checking them for the 'after-mission' inspection before the proper inspection would start. His thinking was that if anything was amiss with his division, he would find out before the general inspection officers, leaving his squad with the best record, both on and off the battlefield.

His eyes glanced from bunk to bunk. After conducting a thorough search, he left to move onto the next room. As he turned, a noise sounded from behind the bunks, like that of an animal. He raised his eyebrow suspiciously as he poked his head closer. Again, the animal-like groan sounded. Immediately, Rex moved to the end of the bunks. On the ground, a boxed crate lay, barely covered with a brown blanket.

As Rex reached his hand to move the blanked, the lid popped up. Rex quickly grabbed the lid, pulling it off the crate.

Two gigantic brown eyes stared up at the captain as the little creature belched once again. Rex instantly recognized the furry creature - from its curled horns and big mouth - as a bantha, a baby bantha from their recent mission to Tatooine.

Captain Rex, in a state of shock, reached for the tiny creature. Its toothless mouth soon chomped down on his hand.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, retracting his arm. Rex stands, cocking his head towards the clones. "Who did this?" he questions, his voice firm.

All the clones stopped, turning towards one clone at the far corner of the room – Hardcase, who was cleaning his gun. He gradually looked up from his weapon, lowering it to the floor. "Oh, that..."

"This is unacceptable - you know the rules!" Rex snapped, pointing towards the bantha. "This is a serious offence – taking habitation from an unauthorized planet, smuggling it aboard this vessel!"

"I know, I know, but it was looking at me," Hardcase replied, "It wasn't gonna make it on its own."

"What are you going to do?" another clone questioned.

Rex stared down at the baby bantha in the crate. On the one hand, the creature could not stay here, on a star cruiser. On the other, where else could it go? The fleet was in hyperspace back to the Republic. If word got out that a bantha was in the 501st, Rex would never hear the end of it. His entire platoon's reputation would be in question – over a bantha no less.

"I'll...handle it." Rex responded unenthusiastically. He reached down, grabbing the bantha box by the sides. Captain Rex waddled to the end of the room. As he began to leave, he turned back to Hardcase. "I'll deal with you later."

Rex creeped around the corridors, being careful not to draw attention. He returned to his quarters, carrying the box inside as the door slide open. The room was quite basic – a plain bed, armour stand, and a raised metal slab for a bedside table with a holographic photo of him and his friends. A transparent window was carved out of the far wall, overlooking his bed; the blue and white streaks from hyperspace made it impossible to see where he was in regards to planets and stars.

Rex sat himself down on the bed, resting the crate on his knees. He removed his helmet, rubbing the back of his head. The bantha looked up curiously at him. It almost looked to be smiling, but it was difficult to tell with its wide mouth.

"What am I going to do with you?" Rex mumbles, gazing down at the baby bantha. He slide the box down to the floor to the creature's protest. It groaned, followed by a burp. The horrid stench of rotting food bombarded Rex's senses. He wiped furiously at the air, almost chocking on the gases. "You're a stinky little one, aren't ya?"

Rex released a sigh, shaking his head. A garbed voice eminated from his comlink, General Skywalker's voice, "Rex, we need you in the bridge."

"I copy," he responds. Rex takes another look at the bantha. "I'll be back soon – don't go anywhere."

Rex headed up to the bridge where Skywalker told him their plans for their next mission. Everything went smoothly – no one questioned the captain. Once the battle plans where concluded, Rex was permitted to return to his quarters, and that he did.

Rex's heart sunk at the sight. Upon entering his room, everything was in chaos. The bantha's box had been almost completely crushed. The foul stench of fecal matter was easily identifiable and the creature was wandering across the floor, spreading hair and waste all around the room. It waddled over to him, rubbing its head against his shin guards. "No, not-"

Before he could continue,the baby bantha was on its way out of the room. Rex lunged forward, pulling the animal from the ground.

"Rex,"

Without hesitation, Rex tossed the bantha into his room and closed the door. He twirled around, turning towards the voice. "General Kenobi," he stated, somewhat shocked, "what, er, are you doing here, General, if you don't mind me saying."

Kenobi stroked his ginger beard. "Oh I'm just here to make sure Anakin didn't get into too much trouble on Tatooine, you know how he is, always looking for a fight."

"Nothing too serious, General. We showed those clankers what Republic clones can do!" Captain Rex chirped in, somewhat eagerly.

"You seem a bit on edge, it something the matter, Captain?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Nothing, General."

Kenobi nodded. "Right, well, get yourself some sleep, you earned it after that mission."

"Er...yes, General!" Rex continued.

As General Kenobi proceeded to walk away, Rex let out another sigh. "That was a close one."