Hello everyone!
I am recovering from last week by imbibing massive amounts of copium. I.E, finding every narrative clue as to why certain characters are alive. I am convinced. Man, I missed the Bad Batch this week though.
I am also up WAY TOO LATE, but that is mostly due to circumstances out of my control.
RubenAssassinRose: Thank you! It's fun to write, honestly. Basically he has someone constantly second guessing his every move inside his head.
4thwallbreak: Yup! I'm too much of a coward to kill him. And more Rex today!
Bvadams: And it's a lot easier to write when your character is allowed to act by themselves! It's really hard to write a character that has very little agency.
Venomizer: Thank you! AND YES HE DESERVES EVERYTHING GET HIM ONTO TO PABU WITH A DRINK AND A MILLION TOOTHPICKS
SWNerd4Life: It's good to see you! Funnily enough, I kind of miss my schoolwork. But it definitely takes up your life! Definitely some suspicious things at work. Dooku also has been ignoring Qui Gon's ghost calls. Probably so Qui Gon doesn't tell him that he doesn't want to be brought back by Dark magic.
I'm kind of lost on what to do with Emerie. I really need to know more about her before I feel comfortable incorporating her into the story. I don't know what story to tell with her. Hopefully we can get some more information soon!
All right, let's get going!
"This is an outrage!" Tor Mirshkata said.
He had burst into Padme's office not six hours after Ahsoka had returned with Obi Wan and the others. Ahsoka had been expecting something like this. The Serrenian government had released a public indictment of the Republic over Obi Wan's rescue. They were calling for the CIS to band together and take a stand against the Republic if Obi Wan and the others, as well as Ahsoka and Crosshair, weren't returned for trial. It had taken longer than Ahsoka had expected, but it had come nonetheless.
Tech was still working on the memory chip. He had reported that it would take longer than he expected. He'd also warned them that it was possible that he could not get any information off of it at all.
Mirshkata was the first to barge into Padme's office in person. She'd already received dozens of angry messages. Ahsoka had no idea why Mirshkata of all people was angry. Mandalore wasn't even part of the Republic yet.
"Representative Mirshkata," Padme said in a calm, but exhausted voice. "I understand that this is a troubling situation. However, Mandalore will not be affected, I assure you."
"We don't give a damn if you get into another war." Mirshkata snarled. "It's the fact that one of our people was wrapped up in this idiotic venture!"
Ahsoka remembered, apparently too late, that Kor had been there. She also remembered that Kor was the nephew of the current Mandalor.
Kriff.
"If you return Kor Kryze to the Serrenians, Mandalore will seek retribution." Mirshkata said. "Against both the Republic and the CIS."
His voice was low and threatening, his eyes narrowed with anger. Ahsoka tensed, hands to her lightsabers.
"I will not be coerced by threats." Padme said coldly. "But- I will have you know that I will do everything in my power to protect the men in question."
Mirshkata paused, and gave a sharp nod.
"Know this." He said. "If you are forced to take a stand against the Serrenians and the CIS, Mandalore will fight along with you."
His words pushed a surge of relief through Ahsoka. She believed Padme when she said that she would not turn anyone over. But she knew that sacrificing the peace they had worked so hard to reach for six people was beyond foolish. If Tech couldn't get the proof they needed, Padme was going to have to make a terrible choice. Ahsoka found that she was glad that there was another person pushing for Obi Wan and the others' safety, even through threats. Her own safety rarely crossed her mind.
"Thank you." Padme said. "I will keep that in mind. Give Mandalor Kryze my regards."
Mirshkata nodded again and turned away.
"Maybe this will open the Mandalor's eyes." He muttered so quietly that Ahsoka was sure that only her sensitive montrals picked it up.
Ahsoka frowned. There seemed to be some tension between the Mandalor and her representative. She could only hope that their problems wouldn't overflow to become the Republic's.
Rex sat at his new desk and tried desperately to not think of the situation with the CIS. It had been three days since Tech had started working on the memory chip and still had not reconstructed enough data to be useful. The idea that he could fail pushed Rex inches from his limit. Not to mention that Ahsoka had rarely returned to the apartment, always at Chancellor Amidala's side. Rex had a hard time sleeping without her there.
He kept working, filling out forms and keeping track of expenses. It helped, and Rex was glad he wasn't festering in his anxiety at home. Still, there was a constant undercurrent of worry as he tapped at his data pad. If Ahsoka was taken from him-
"Rex!"
Rex jumped at the sound of a younger brother's voice. Owl shrank back at Rex's surprise.
"Sorry!" He peeped.
"It's all right, Owl." Rex said as he took a few calming breaths. "Is it lunch already?"
He felt so much more relaxed around his younger brothers. Perhaps it was because they didn't treat him as if he were fragile.
"Not quite time." Owl said. "I was having my bad thoughts in class and Badge said I could come visit you if it made me feel better."
"And does it?" Rex asked as he picked up his data pad again.
Owl nodded. He leaned his little head and hand on Rex's arm.
"You're safe." Owl said. "You help stop the scary thoughts."
It made Rex's heart swell to see his little brother get to react to his troubles like a child, rather than a soldier.
"I'm glad." Rex said, though he thought it ironic when he couldn't always dismiss his own negative thoughts.
"Are you going to have story time after lessons again today?" Owl asked.
"Of course." Rex said. He had read to a group of cadets every day he had been working. Each time the group had gotten larger. Rex had written to Sepid for books for kids around the cadets' ages. "Why wouldn't I?"
Owl shrugged.
"It's what the thoughts say." He said
"Don't listen to them." Rex said, putting his arm around Owl.
Owl nodded again.
He stayed with Rex until the bell rang for lunch and the rest of Kilo squad showed up.
"You can't just skip lessons to hang out with Rex!" Chip scolded when they arrived.
Owl shrugged meekly and pressed harder into Rex.
"It's okay, Owl." Rex said. "I had to take a long time to take care of my mind."
Owl shot him a grateful smile.
The boys chattered a bit about their lessons before Rex shooed them to go actually eat their lunch. Fives wandered over from his own desk after they left. The other administrative clones had left for their own meal.
"Wish I had a fan club like that." Fives said.
Rex just shrugged. He wondered if having a group of littles with their undying support would help Fives.
"You call Ahsoka?" Rex asked.
Fives raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not stupid." Rex said. "I know that she asked you to report every once in a while."
"Yeah, I did." Fives said, sitting down on Rex's desk. Rex scowled at him. "And before you ask, no update on the situation. I'm pretty sure she'd call you right away if anything changed."
"Oh." Rex said. "You're probably right."
"Want to head down to the canteen?" Fives asked.
"Omega made lunch today." Rex said. "Remember?"
Omega, despite being a full time senator, had taken an interest in cooking from Jesse and Rhys. She enjoyed making them lunches when she had the time. She was still learning, and the meals she made were often more charred than cooked, but Rex still considered it a far cry above ration bars.
"Well, yeah," Fives said. "But it'd be nice to have lunch with some brothers instead of eating at our desks."
Rex blinked.
"I know a lot of brothers that'll be there." He said. "They'll want to talk."
"Sure." Fives said. "And I can do the talking."
"It makes you tired too, don't deny it." Rex said. "We're adjusting here as is. Too much and-"
The door to their office opened, and the other administrative clones came in, balancing trays. There were four others in total: Ulyc, Rak, Hil, and their supervisor, Viper.
"Hey, vod'e!" Ulyc said. "Mind if we join you for lunch?"
"Er, go ahead." Rex said.
The others grinned at him and Fives and dragged their chairs over.
"We noticed you kept staying behind to eat." Hil said. "Figured that the canteen was a bit rowdy for you, but it's lonely being just two."
Viper, a scarred ex-ARC that rarely spoke, gave a nod. His nose had been blown off, leaving a frightening visage that resembled the face of a snake. Rex often wondered why the intimidating clone was assigned to the Education division.
Rex found himself relaxing as the four, well, three, other clones chatted. They made comments to him or Fives, but seemed unaffected if they chose not to answer. Rex found himself speaking more and more as the lunch hour wore on.
"Rex, you served under Skywalker, right? Isn't he the leader of those Modern Jedi?" Rak asked.
"Modern Jedi?" Fives asked. "Is that what people are calling them?"
"Yup." Rak said. "What, is that not right?"
"Has General Plo come up with something?" Fives asked Rex.
"Yeah." Rex said. Prime had told him in his latest message. "They're the Disciples of Jinn. Named after General Kenobi's master."
"Huh." Hil said. "Point is, you know one of their leaders. Why'd they split off?"
"For us." Rex said quietly.
The others raised their eyebrows.
"You're saying they told the Jedi Order to kark off because of the clones." Ulyc said with a tone of disbelief.
"More like we were the catalyst." Fives said. "You hear about the Force sensitive clone?"
The others looked at each other.
"There have been rumors." Rak said. "Your squad of cadets kept bragging about how their brother was chosen by the Jedi."
"Yes." Rex said. "Prime. General Plo took him."
His memories of that time were hazy, but he remembered that much.
"What happened is that the Jedi Council wasn't going to let Prime be a real Jedi." Fives explained. "And after the Jedi dragged their shebs'e about getting us off of Kamino, General Plo had had enough. He left the Order and decided to start his own that actually followed the Force. At least that's how General Skywalker described it."
The four other clones listened with wide eyes.
"Kriff." Hil said. "It's weird to think that the Jedi could make such stupid decisions."
Rex and Fives began to laugh. The clones had been taught to nearly revere their eventual Jedi Generals, but Rex and Fives had learned quickly that the Jedi were anything but infallible. They had loved and respected General Skywalker, Kenobi, and Ahsoka, but they were far from perfect. Not to mention the horror that had been Krell.
"Who'd you serve under, then?" Fives asked.
"Us two," Ulyc gestured to Hil. "We served on Kamino with General Ti."
Rex and Fives nodded. General Ti fit the idea that many clones had of Jedi.
"My General was General Allie." Rak said.
"Kolar." Viper said.
Again, two Jedi that easily fit within the mold the Kaminoans had formed in their minds.
"Well, they could be wrong." Fives said. "Can be wrong. Very, very wrong."
"General Ti left the Order." Rex supplied. "And joined the Disciples of Jinn."
"She has?" Hil said. "Kriff, she doesn't talk about it!"
General Ti still worked with many of the clones of cadet age. Rex had seen her just that morning.
"I mean, I don't think she'd be allowed to be here if she were still part of the Order." Fives said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the Order hasn't done much lately. Chancellor Amidala has to ask the Disciples for help because the Order refuses to work with the Republic right now."
There was a silence after that.
"Do you think they'd lead us again if it came to war?" Rak asked.
There was quiet fear in his voice and Rex felt his chest go cold. Had the rumors spread that far? They were supposed to keep it quiet. His stomach knotted. His brothers were afraid.
"Yes." Fives said. "I do."
He steered the conversation to lighter things as Rex sat with his fists clenched. Rex knew that if Tech couldn't get that data, either his brothers would be forced into war again, or he would lose Ahsoka, Cody, and General Kenobi.
He was silent as Fives answered a few more of the others' questions. He was relieved when Viper glanced at chrono and stood up.
"Lunch's over." The grizzled ARC said. "Back to work."
Rex gladly went back to his monotonous tasks, but the prospect of more war or the loss of the ones he loved haunted the back of his mind.
Four days. That was how long Tech had been working on the memory chip. Four days of anxiety, four days of Senators practically pounding at Padme's door and demanding that she turn Obi Wan over. Four days of Ahsoka watching the clones in her life wilt from fear. Any concern she had for her own fate was nothing to the prospect of their suffering. If it was only her, she would have given herself up to spare them from that fate.
And then, the afternoon of the fifth day-
"I have succeeded in extracting the information needed from the memory chip." Even Tech's voice held a measure of relief as it came from Padme's comm. "The droid was tampered with several months ago, while Cody and Oddball were still on Kamino and General Kenobi still on Mandalore with Kor Kryze."
Ahsoka took in a sharp breath. It seemed too good to be true.
"You're certain?" Padme asked.
"Quite." Tech said. "We are extremely fortunate. There were few undamaged periods of time on the chip. This day was one of them."
Ahsoka closed her eyes.
"Thank the Force." She murmured.
"Good job, Tech." Echo said. "Send that to us and we'll get into contact with Count Goraan right away."
"Affirmative." Tech said. "Standby."
Within seconds both Padme and Echo's datapads pinged.
"Good luck." Tech said.
The second the comm turned off Padme turned to her desk and inputted a frequency into her holo transmitter. A tall man flickered into view.
"Chancellor Amidala." Count Goraan said. "Have you-"
"We have new evidence clearing Obi Wan Kenobi's name." Padme said quickly. "One of our experts has extracted information from the damaged memory chip. Our men had no opportunity to tamper with the droid. I will send it to you now."
Padme tapped her datapad. Goraan was quiet for a long time.
"Chancellor, I will be frank." He said. Ahsoka was terrified to hear regret in his voice. "My people will not accept this evidence."
"What?" Padme demanded. "Why?"
"As you do not trust the information found by our experts, you must see how my people would view results found by yours." He said. "Especially the noble house of Serenno."
"What do you expect us to do?" Ahsoka couldn't help but demand.
Why did you give it to us if there was no hope? She thought, but knew it would be dangerous for them all to say it out loud.
"What if a third party took a look at it?" Echo spoke up.
Goraan nodded his head.
"I believe that would be acceptable." He said. "Perhaps the Techno Union would be willing to assist in this matter."
It would be a good choice; the Techno Union had been working hard to restore a good relationship with the Republic, but they also had connections with Serenno. They had the means to retrieve the information. But-
Ahsoka glanced at Echo. His face was stoic, but she could feel an uncomfortable brew of emotions coming from him. She knew he had avoided interacting with the faction for a long time. But he nodded when Padme looked at him.
"Very well." Padme said. "We will send the chip to them. Will this be enough to delay any declarations of war?"
"I hope so." Goraan said. "But Chancellor, I cannot make any promises."
Padme took in a deep breath.
"I understand." She said. "Thank you."
The holo flickered off. Padme quickly tapped in more frequencies, and holos of Obi Wan, Plo, and several others appeared. Ahsoka stepped forward.
"Padme, I can take the chip-" She started.
"No." Padme said. "I need someone who hasn't been involved with this yet. We cannot jeopardize the integrity of the chip."
Ahsoka nodded and swallowed. She hated that she could do nothing for her own fate and the fate of the people she cared about. She wondered if this was how Rex felt. If so, he handled it far better than she did.
"We should not send any clones." Plo was saying. "For the same reasons."
"Agreed." Padme said. "I would say that we need to hire a bounty hunter, but I wouldn't be able to trust anyone whose loyalty lies only in credits."
Obi Wan put a hand to his chin.
"I might have a suggestion for you, Padme."
Ahsoka watched, feeling stunned as Asajj Ventress strolled into Padme's office. Even more surprising was the young man trailing behind: a clone looking to be around seventeen or eighteen.
Ahsoka's once enemy looked far better than Ahsoka had ever seen her. The woman's skin was still pale, but her hair had grown in somewhat and her form had filled out. There were no more dark shadows under her eyes and her confidence had turned from sickly conceit to something more attractive.
"Chancellor Amidala." Ventress said. "I'm honored to be called here, but I would think openly hiring a bounty hunter would be damaging to your reputation."
"It is not illegal to hire a contractor." Padme said. "And neither is the task that I am asking you to do."
"A surprise." Ventress said, placing a hand on her hip. "What can we do for you?"
Padme glanced at the young clone. Echo was frowning as well.
"Before we start, would you care to introduce us to your friend?" Padme asked.
"My name is Eon, ma'am." The clone said.
"Eon here is my apprentice." Ventress said. Ahsoka was surprised to hear genuine fondness in her voice. "I rescued him from the Kaminoan army."
Ahsoka studied Eon. He seemed- fine. He stood tall and proud, he met the others' gazes, and he smiled as Ventress put a hand on his shoulder. The Ventress Ahsoka had known would have likely abused the poor thing. This was clearly no longer the Ventress Ahsoka had known.
"If there's a problem with me being a clone, ma'am," Eon said. "I use a helmet during our jobs. I can blend in pretty well."
Padme glanced at Ventress, who nodded.
"I see." She said and then held up the shard of the memory chip safely encased in transparasteel. "I need you to deliver this to Wy Cimbel of the Techno Union on Skako."
Ventress stepped forward and Ahsoka tensed despite herself. Ventress merely plucked the chip from Padme and studied it.
"Seems simple enough." She said. "What's the catch? Why can't you send your own men?"
"You've surely heard of the ongoing- conflict with Serenno." Padme said. "Unfortunately some of the involved parties are clones, and we would rather not have any accusations of sabotage or bias."
"Fair enough." Ventress said.
"We do suspect foul play." Echo said. He seemed disgusted by Ventress. Ahsoka remembered that they had both been at the Battle of Kamino. He had insisted that Omega not be in the room with her. "So expect complications. And be wary of the Techno Union."
Ventress' eyes slid to Echo and Ahsoka saw him clench his jaw. To Ahsoka's surprise, Ventress' gaze softened as she took in his cybernetics.
"So they used you too." Ventress said. "The Separatists were good at that during the war. If it was Tambor, I'm not surprised. He was a bastard."
Echo blinked and Ahsoka could feel shock from him. Ventress merely turned back to Padme.
"I'll take 10,000 credits." She said. "And that's a discount. It might go up from there if we get into too much trouble."
Padme nodded.
"I accept." She said. "Thank you."
Ventress shrugged.
"It's a job." She said. "Though I will admit, having the Chancellor's endorsement will be good for business."
She turned, winked at Ahsoka, and left, with Eon at her side.
"I hope Obi Wan's right about her." Ahsoka said once she was gone.
Too much was riding on Ventress' shoulders for him to be wrong.
"Ahsoka."
Ahsoka looked up at Padme, who was looking at her with concern.
"You need to go home." Padme said. "Get some rest."
Ahsoka shook her head.
"This could go very badly very quickly, Padme." She said. "You need protection."
"I have protection." Padme said, sending a smile over at Hunter. "The Bad Batch will do just fine for a few hours, especially if Tech is able to come back."
"No can do, Chancellor." Hunter said. "I know for a fact that Tech hasn't slept at all during the last four days."
"Which proves my point." Padme said. "Because Ahsoka hasn't slept since then either."
"We can call Cody." Crosshair said. He, Wrecker, and Omega had just returned from the Echo enforced exile. "Give him a break from babysitting Kenobi."
"I'm having Anakin come with the twins." Padme said. "I will be fine, Ahsoka. Please."
Ahsoka felt the weight of the exhaustion of the last four days crash over her.
"Okay." She said. "But I'm leaving my comm on."
"That's fine." Padme said. "Now go."
"Are you sure you want me along?" Eon asked as he hurried to keep up with Ventress. "They didn't seem too sure about me going."
"You said it yourself." Ventress said as she got into their speeder. "You're good at blending in."
"I said that so they wouldn't decide to go elsewhere." Eon said, sliding into the seat next to her.
"You'll be fine." Ventress said. "Most of this will be in hyperspace anyway. You just pop your helmet on when we deliver it and it will go smoothly."
Eon nodded. He rubbed the worn seating of the speeder.
"Ten thousand might be enough to replace this piece of junk." He said.
"I have a top of the line speeder bike." Ventress said. "You're the one who refuses to ride on the back."
"It's not made for two!" Eon protested. "I looked the manual up- it is specifically a one person bike!"
"E, that's because the manufacturers want to avoid being sued when some idiot inevitably does something stupid and falls off." Ventress said. "And you are not an idiot."
Eon looked down at her words. He always was abashed by anything resembling a compliment. Ventress had assumed that to be true of most clones, but soon found that her little Eon was a bit bashful for his kind. As she put the bits of his life on Kamino together from the few stories or comments he'd make about the place, Ventress was beginning to blame his harsh trainer for that. Eon didn't know what to do with compliments because he'd rarely been given any.
"We'll need to drop by home before we can leave." Ventress said. "I thought it would be an on planet job; we'll need rations for the trip."
They both fell silent. Eon talked more than he used to, but that didn't mean he talked much.
That unfortunately let some of the thoughts Ventress had been ignoring come to the forefront of her mind.
Dooku. Dead. Not at her hands, but at some random droid's. Once a second Master, then a traitor. Mother Talzin had cultivated Ventress' hatred, but once the Night Sisters were gone, Ventress found that hatred took a lot of energy to keep alive. She'd needed to let that hatred go in order to survive.
Very Jedi of you. She thought wryly.
She hadn't really thought of Dooku ever since the war ended. And now- it wasn't satisfaction she felt. She was nearly sad. Under his tutelage she had seen glimpses of a kind man, a man of morals. Maybe it was that man that she grieved for.
"No need for us to both go in." Ventress said as they pulled up to the nondescript undercity hole they called home. It looked better on the inside, but the grimy facade was the point. "Be a dear and run in."
Eon hesitated.
"Are you sure General Vos isn't going to be here?" He asked. "I don't want it to turn out like last time."
"Positive." Ventress said. "The Jedi have him on some mission to some Outer Rim planet. He won't be back for a week. Now shoo."
The Jedi were slowly coming out of their self imposed exile, sending a select few members to 'keep the peace.' That unfortunately meant that Quinlan was not around as much as Ventress would like him to be.
She leaned back in her seat and stared at the nearest neon lined building. She was honestly surprised that Quinlan hadn't left the Jedi Order yet, now that he had an option. She'd asked him, and he had told her that it was to annoy Kenobi. He hadn't really responded when she pointed out that Kenobi had been distracted from him for months.
A startled yell cracked the air. Ventress leapt from her seat, dashing to the door that had shut behind Eon. Eon can hurtling out, nearly running into her.
"Eon?" She demanded as she caught him by the shoulders.
"You said he wasn't going to be here!" Eon spluttered.
Ventress looked past Eon to see Quinlan pulling a sheet over himself. At least he had the decency to look embarrassed,
"Vos!" She snapped. "Stop showing up to our home and getting naked!"
When Eon is around. She added mentally.
"Asajj, you need to check your comm more." Quinlan grumbled. "I sent you a message to leave the kid with his brothers."
"We're doing a job, Quinlan." Ventress said, moving Eon aside to step inside. "We don't have time to fraternize."
"For who?" Quinlan asked.
"Oh, just Chancellor Amidala." Ventress said. "She's asked us to stop a war."
Quinlan's eyebrows shot up.
"You'll have to tell me the specifics on the way." He said.
He grabbed his tunic from off a chair and began pulling it on.
"On the way?" Ventress asked. She moved past him to where they kept the rations. "Do you think you're coming?"
"If you're serious about stopping a war, yes." Quinlan said. "I don't want to have to force the Jedi to make that choice again."
"Hm." Ventress said as she selected a few bars of Eon's favorite flavor. "You're not allowed to make Eon uncomfortable. So you'll have to keep your pants on for the mission."
She thought she saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he pulled said pants on.
"Fine." He said. "We'll go over how much I missed you when we get back."
"How romantic." Ventress drawled. "Hurry up. I've been through one war and I'm not keen to have another one start on my hands."
Less than an hour later, Ahsoka found herself shuffling into their apartment. The apartment was dark, which was odd. It wasn't late, and Fives tended to wander when he couldn't sleep.
She reached for the light switch.
"Don't!" Fives' voice hissed.
Ahsoka paused and let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Fives was sitting in one of the armchairs. When she met his eyes, he nodded to the couch. Tech was sprawled there, a blanket draped over him and his goggles set aside.
"Don't wake him." Fives whispered as Ahsoka came closer. "I just managed to get him settled."
Ahsoka nodded. The darkness here was making her eyelids feel more and more heavy.
"Are things going okay?" Fives asked. "Is everything cleared up?"
"Not yet." Ahsoka said. "They- want a second opinion."
Fives snorted.
"As if Tech would screw it up." He said.
"More like they don't trust us." Ahsoka said wearily.
"Oh." Fives said. Ahsoka could hear the anger there. "In- in any case, Ahsoka, you need to sleep as much as that di'kut."
He thumbed at Tech's snoring form.
"Rex?" Ahsoka thought to ask.
"In your room." Fives said. "He's fine."
Ahsoka nodded, patted Fives on the shoulder, and went to her room.
Rex, who was sitting on his cot, immediately stood as she entered.
"Ahsoka." He said quietly. "What's happened?"
"Things aren't over yet." Ahsoka said. "They want an outside party to look at the kriffing thing. Hopefully then they'll be satisfied."
Rex was quiet. Then, with obvious effort, he moved closer to place his hands on her arms. Ahsoka leaned into his chest, tears springing to her eyes at how hard he tried for her.
"If they aren't," Rex said slowly. Oh, how far he had come from muttering broken quotes and rules. "I'll go back to war."
Ahsoka looked sharply up at him.
"Rex-"
"I will." He said. "They- they can't have you. You didn't do anything wrong. The Chancellor knows it. She'll fight for you. I'll fight for you."
He was talking nonsense, of course. He wasn't in any state to go back to the battlefield. But he was so afraid for her. If the idea of going to fight gave him some odd sort of comfort, she would let him think it.
To her surprise, his hands began to move up and down her arms in a soothing motion. He thought she was scared too. She was, but not for herself. It was more likely that she, Obi Wan, and the clones involved would go on the run rather than turn themselves over. But if Padme decided to try to protect them, and the clones had to fight again- that was where her true fear lay.
"Do you want to read?" Rex's voice was low, but it still startled Ahsoka. "Would that help?"
He was such a loving, caring man, faced with more fear and uncertainty than he could ever deserve. Yet his main concern was to comfort her.
Ahsoka looked up into his eyes, the lights from the city outside reflected in them. In them she saw the love he hadn't yet been able to confess.
Ahsoka nearly kissed him. But she couldn't, not when she couldn't be completely sure it was what he wanted. And with his muddled emotions, she wasn't.
Rex lowered his head to nestle it in the crook of her neck. They stood like that for a long time, Ahsoka listening to Rex's steady breathing.
"You need to rest." He finally said.
Ahsoka nodded.
"I love you." She said.
Rex tensed against her and she could hear his heartbeat quicken. She felt him struggle for a moment.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Don't be." Ahsoka said. "I know that you do too."
He nodded dully. He was tired too, she realized. She had barely been home the last four days and he likely had slept fitfully.
She didn't want to move from his embrace, but she didn't know how long he'd be able to hold her. She felt the fight in his mind every time he showed her affection. Before he was forced to let go, Ahsoka stepped away.
She moved to his cot and shifted it near her bed. She wanted him close tonight. When she laid down, she reached for his hand. He took it even as he settled into his cot. Her exhaustion soon overwhelmed her, but the last thing she felt before succumbing was Rex's thumb running over her knuckles.
Mando'a:
vod'e: brothers
di'kut: idiot
From the top!
Bo Katan, realizing that her nephew was caught up in stupid Republic things, is not pleased. She will fight people. Might not be a good idea at this point.
My sister told me that Owl and Rex was too cute. Me and my other sister said too bad. But Rex is doing normal things! His little brothers have less expectations of him, so it's easier for him to relax around them. Owl also canonically has anxiety.
I want Omega to want to learn all the things. But also be terrible at some of them. Her brothers will eat anything she makes, even if it maybe possibly sorta given them all food poisoning at least once. She's gotten better.
Finally giving a bit more info on Plo's group. They're following what Qui Gon believed, so they've decided to honor him with the name.
Some clones: wow jedi are so cool and wise
Rex, Cody, and the 501st: yeah but have you considered that they are also idiots.
Man, imagine how scary it would be for the clones to go to war without the Jedi. Though lets be honest, it must be terrifying for them to go back to war in general after knowing a normal life.
More complications! I'm also glad to write Ventress again. She is a delight to write. Hi Eon! And lets continue the tradition of me accidentally writing Ahsoka as a little bi. Oops.
I just think these scenes with Ventress flow so well and are really snappy. I'm proud of them.
*gently pats Tech*He gets to rest right now and be taken care of. I just love the way Fives and Tech's relationship has developed. And season 2 really proved to me that Tech has the capacity to adopt sad brothers who need help.
Rex will fight a man. Probably while sobbing, but he will FIGHT. He's getting so close to be back to normal. And so close to saying 'I love you.' But not quite yet...
Okay, I need to go to bed before I ruin myself forever.
But before I go!
Me, one of my sister/editors, and my mom (who is a massive Star Wars fan) have been working on a Star Wars podcast. So hopefully within the next week, we'll be releasing the first episode! So if that's something you're interested in, I can direct you to it. It'll be called 'A Certain Point of View,' and we'll be discussing Star Wars storytelling and characters. We're starting with Bad Batch character discussion.
Anyway,
Stay safe, remember to review, and see you next week!