Rex held his helmet loosely in his right hand as he walked down the long corridor leading to his new office. It was far away from everything, located in the midst of secondary ammo storage and beneath the lateral quad laser battery.

Appo probably picked out the space for me.

I wonder if he thought I would hate it.

As it turns out, he liked the remoteness of it. Maybe he'd gotten used to a bit of quiet time when he was on Ando. His new space was well-suited for getting work done undisturbed, and the walk itself was great for clearing his thoughts.

They were just three rotations out from the Battle of Clak'dor VII. His concern wasn't for this battle per se, as he was confident in his troopers' readiness and didn't expect the Bith to mount significant resistance. They were deploying a full battle group of four heavy cruisers to resolve what was essentially a trade dispute.

His concern lay with the battles to follow. The absence of reinforcements and the prospect of a prolonged siege in the Outer Rim threatened to deplete their numbers. But, his men had always been more than just numbers to him. He'd rescued this group of troopers from Darkknell, and now felt especially bonded to all of them. The thought of sending these boys into battle, and watching them fall, weighed heavily on him. It was their job as soldiers, but it never got easier to take a trooper off of the 501st roster after a battle and retire his CT number.

"Rex!"

He spun around, and his face broke into a wide smile. "Ahsoka!" He scanned the corridor, which was predictably empty. The only reasons anyone would wander this far were if they were seriously low on ammo or if the lateral quad laser battery required maintenance.

"What are you doing here?" he inquired in a hushed tone.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes in a way that reminded him of her younger days as a padawan. "I came to see you. Rumor had it you were banished to the nether regions of the ship."

Rex chuckled. "There's some truth to that, I suppose." He gestured to their remote surroundings. "I think this was Appo's doing." He put up his hands to stop Ahsoka from interrupting before he could finish. She was always quick to defend Appo. "In this case, I like what he's done. It's quiet down here." He gestured towards his office. "Care for a cup of caf?"

Ahsoka pursed her lips as if she were evaluating the offer. "Is it that dreadful brew capable of stripping the paint off an LAAT?"

"Only type I know how to make. It's also how we strip and refinish our armor," Rex jested, thumping his chest plates for emphasis.

Ahsoka reached up and gave his chest plate the same thumping, in exact imitation of Rex's gesture. "Alright, then, I accept."

Rex laughed again and Ahsoka's face lit up with a smile so broad it took his breath away.

"You're staring," Ahsoka teased.

"I've missed these moments between us." Inside the cramped space, furnished with nothing more than a standard-issue desk and chair, Ahsoka perched on the edge of the desk while Rex operated the caf dispenser. "I haven't seen much of you lately." He handed her a durasteel mug brimming with caf. "I only have the one cup, so you drink. I'll just enjoy watching you grimace as you pretend you actually like clone caf."

Ahsoka laughed again. "I am actually developing a taste for this awful stuff." She gently blew across the top of the caf, dispelling the steam. "We'll share as we've always done with rations. What's mine is yours, Rex." She took a cautious sip, yelped slightly, and then blew at the steam again. "How you boys drink your caf like this without scalding your throats is beyond me." Ahsoka's attention was on her mug of caf. Rex's focus was on her. He was captivated by her simple actions as she drank from his mug. She took another tiny sip and then handed the mug over to him, their hands brushing lightly together. They both lingered over the touch longer than necessary before Rex took possession of the mug.

"I haven't seen you at training on the hangar deck or at mealtimes." Unspoken was his admission that he missed her. Being apart while he was on Ando was one thing, but sharing a ship and still not crossing paths felt even more unbearable.

"Anakin has been keeping me swamped with Jedi training. There are times he gets it into his head he has to take the whole role of being a Jedi Master very seriously. He's in one of those moods. Actually, he's been in a mood, in general, since we left Coruscant."

Rex looked up sharply from where he was rooting around in his desk for something to eat. But, he had nothing in there but stacks of flimsiwork. He'd been hoping to offer Ahsoka something to go with the caf. "What do you mean?" Skywalker could be very dangerous when he got into 'one of his moods.'

Ahsoka reached out for the mug, as if looking for a way to stall before answering. She took a larger sip of the caf this time, as if fortifying herself to talk about something unpleasant. Still, she hesitated, her expression contemplative. "I don't know how much I should say."

Rex lightly brushed the back of her knuckles with his fingertips. "It's me, Ahsoka. You can tell me. And... I already know a lot about how Anakin gets."

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "Has he..."

"He's very different when he's angry," Rex said, without going into details.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, he is. He's been... troubled since we left Coruscant. He's having more difficulties controlling his anger. He's different when he's distressed. I've made it a point to be around him as much as I can, even if it just means spending the day training. It seems to help him."

"Ahsoka," Rex asked quietly, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground, "are you in any danger?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened. "What? No." She placed the mug down on Rex's desk so quickly that caf spilled out onto the surface. "I'm sorry- I should..." She looked around for something to dab it up before it spread to the datapads.

"It's alright. I've spilled worse on them." Rex reached for her hands to still her actions. "Ahsoka, stop, please, look at me."
She halted her frantic movements and looked directly at him. Her blue eyes were still wild as if processing too many emotions at once. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"I should go." Ahsoka pulled free from his touch and turned around to look at him from the open doorway of the cramped space. "You're wrong about him, you know. Anakin would never hurt anyone." She reconsidered her words. "Well, he wouldn't hurt anyone that... isn't on our side... that... didn't deserve it... he knows what he's... I mean he's never gone too... " She shook her head and fled down the hallway.

Rex watched her go, aching with regret that their first meeting in days ended with Ahsoka fleeing down the hallway trying to get away from him as quickly as possible.

Nice going, Captain, he berated himself, and sank heavily in his chair, tugging off his gloves and tracing lazy circles in the spilled caf. He didn't regret saying something, though. He sighed and tugged a blaster cleaning cloth from his belt pouch and cleaned up the mess in a few efficient swipes. His blaster would smell like caf now, but it wouldn't be the first time. He wasn't kidding when he said the dark brew made for an effective solvent. He finished the caf in several long sips and rose to prepare another cup. The soothing ritual of preparing the caf allowed his mind to wander. They were headed into the Outer Rim sieges, perhaps the most crucial stage of the war. If the General was in a dark state of mind, what did that mean for Rex and the boys of the 501st? He'd just rescued his Legion out of a dark place. While a war zone wasn't exactly known for its safety record, he'd been hoping Skywalker would have their backs. He ignored his stack of datapads and fixed his gaze on the chipped wall opposite his desk. While most of the Resolute had overgone an overhaul, Rex's office had battered furniture and original walls. He liked it that way and found it a refreshing change from the sparkling surfaces and shiny new paint elsewhere on the ship. It was beaten up and showed some signs of having survived the war, just like him.

There was an answer here. He just had to open up his mind to it. Sometimes, if he thought long and hard enough new ways of looking at problems came to him. He took several deep breaths and let himself drift deeper and deeper.

After all, there was no hurry in getting the flimsiwork done anymore. He'd quickly discovered that Appo didn't like comming him to follow-up on overdue flimsiwork. He would do the work himself rather than talk to Rex a beat more than necessary.

If he enjoys the flimsiwork so much, I'll just let him get to it.

Rex sipped his caf, and lost himself in his thoughts. There had to be a way he could protect his boys, and Ahsoka, and maybe even the General himself.

# # #

Cody twisted restlessly in his sleep. His eyes snapped open and he stared around his darkened quarters.

He groaned and exhaled a long breath. That dream again. Every blasted time he closed his eyes, he saw… Barriss. It didn't make sense.

After a brief stay in the medbay, he had been allowed to return to his quarters. Currently off-duty, he had been ordered to "rest as much as possible."

"Easy for the medic to say," he thought. He wasn't the one haunted by dreams of the one person he was striving to forget. Though, he admitted to himself, this dream was different from the others. In it, Barriss was enveloped in a radiant light and she was healing him.

It made no sense. His life had been saved by a skilled team of clone medics. He could see the scars from the surgery and knew an entire team had accompanied him. He had been in the best surgical suite at ArmyMed, with cutting-edge technology at their disposal.

"Just my brain playing tricks on me after what happened with Ko. I need to get a grip if I'm to return to duty," he mused.

There had still been no word about Ko. His second had disappeared without a trace- no answers as to why he'd suddenly snapped. He'd been an incredibly loyal soldier. If it could happen to Ko, did that mean any of his soldiers could turn on him? Or, the General? Or, each other? Was there something fundamentally wrong with their engineering? Who had taken Ko? If they couldn't talk to him, and get his side of the story, then they'd never get answers.

"Lights," he muttered irritably, rubbing his face. A wince escaped him as he moved too hastily, causing his still-healing wounds to ache.

Cody couldn't bear just lying there, idle. There was a lot to prepare before the Battle of Clak'dor VII. They were in the final phase of their "shakedown cruise". After a few minor tweaks early on, the engines had been given the green light for rigorous testing. They were about to enter battle as part of the swiftest fleet ever assembled.

This was no time for the 212th to be without their commander.

# # #

"Gah!" Rex hissed as he was thrown onto a flexi-foam mat by Wolffe. Members of the 104th and 501st were cross-training together, and Wolffe seemed to be taking the idea to heart—perhaps a bit too eagerly.

"You've gone soft," Wolffe said, pressing Rex's shoulder into the mat. "A few months ago, I couldn't have pinned you." He pushed down harder, eliciting another yelp from Rex. "If that knee of yours is bothering you, we can call it a match."

Wolffe knew darn well he wasn't pressing on Rex's knee. A crowd of troopers began to gather around to watch the match. Rex didn't mind learning from Wolffe, but he had also picked up a few tricks during his time away.

"I passed all my medical evaluations," Rex said, engaging Wolffe in conversation to distract him as he carefully worked to reposition their limbs. "Not only am I fit for duty, but I'd also go so far as to say I'm in top fighting form these days."

"Says the trooper pinned to the floor."

"Mmm… well, it is hard to match the level of the Wolfpack," Rex admitted, earning snorts from Wolffe's troopers. Meanwhile, Rex continued to slowly maneuver Wolffe's limbs. He may have been recovering from a shatter round while he was on Ando, but he had not gone soft.

In fact, he was a much better fighter for having been exposed to the most diverse group of troopers ever assembled. From the two Marines stranded on Ando, Catcher, and Travis, he had learned about speed and the element of surprise. From Blaze, the commando as fiery as his name, Rex had absorbed the importance of staying limber. From his reliable medic Mako, he'd learned to always breathe properly and look at everything from a different point of view.

"Ready to give up?" Wolffe taunted, confident of victory.

"You see, I wouldn't say I'm pinned, exactly." Without warning, Rex reached up and yanked Wolffe's shoulder, twisting him and flipping him onto the other side of the mat with a resounding 'thwap'. The gym fell silent for a moment before the assembled troopers burst into surprised laughter.

"Well done," Wolffe coughed, gasping for air as he lay flat on his back. "That was... different."

Rex extended a hand, helping Wolffe back to his feet. He leaned in and asked quietly, "You okay?"

Wolffe shot him a sideways glance, seemingly annoyed by the question. "Of course, I'm alright." His bold statement was undermined by a fit of coughing.

Rex quirked up an eyebrow, but kept a straight face.

He checked his chrono and then gave a quick hand signal to Wolffe. As the clones around them dispersed, the two made their way to the repulsor weights at the rear of the gym. Several other troopers were already there, cycling through strength training exercises.

Both Rex and Wolffe did a credible job of turning a blind eye as the clones working through the routine slipped away to disappear down a darkened corridor. Rex glanced around. It was close to dinnertime and the gym had emptied out. He gave a quick all-clear signal to Wolffe, and they, too, disappeared down the corridor.

# # #

Rex studied the troopers perched on cargo containers crammed into every available space. There were a dozen clones in a room already brimming with storage crates containing spare ammo and DC-15A charger packs. The assembled troopers had clambered atop the crates and gazed at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak. Among them were Trapper, Boil, Sinker, Boost, Comet, Echo, Fives, Sly, Kix, and Coric. Wolffe stood directly beside him.

He had delivered hundreds of tactical briefings, but this one was different. He knew why they were here, but it was still difficult to find the right words.

He stopped, and sucked in a deep breath, stalling for time. Gah. There were too many clones pressed into this space. This was not a good smell. He took a moment to study the clones in the room. Some of the clones in the 501st who were closest to him were present in this room. Wolffe had brought his most trusted Wolfpack members with him. Other than Cody, these were the top folks in the 212th. If they were going to get something accomplished, these were the clones to do it. "As we mentioned in our previous meeting, we are investigating… uh... a series of suspicious activities."

Wolffe intervened and scanned the room with a piercing stare. "If you decide this isn't for you, you can walk out and never speak of it again. There will be no penalties for doing so."

Fives met Wolffe's gaze with cool, calm assurance. It was his 'get-on-with-it' look. "With all due respect, Commander, we understand what you're asking of us. You already asked us to track down leads on Captain Ko and our missing squad of brothers. We are already a part of this."

Wolffe locked eyes with Fives. "I understand, Fives. But this is uncharted territory for us as troopers. We're talking about conducting an investigation on our own, which means we bear full responsibility for any consequences."

Rex addressed the room. "We're offering you the chance to decide how much you want to be involved in this investigation. I won't order you to do something that could get you court-martialed or worse. You're here because you chose to investigate what we believe to be a series of suspicious activities."

"And, based on what we've seen so far, we think it's possible our own Republic is involved in whatever this… is… that may or may not be going on," Fives clarified in his slightly sarcastic yet matter-of-fact manner.

"It's one of the possibilities we need to consider," Rex admitted, pain evident in his voice. The idea of investigating his own Republic cut him to the core. He was no longer certain what being a 'loyal' soldier meant. Did it entail following orders blindly or doing what was right?

"This is your opportunity to walk away," Wolffe emphasized.

"This is your opportunity to walk away," Wolffe reiterated.

Trapper, Boil, Sinker, Boost, Comet, Echo, Fives, Sly, Kix, and Coric all stared back at him with steely resolve.

Wolffe nodded his chin deeply, looking at each of the troopers with respect. "Alright, then, we move ahead."

Rex focused on his two ARC troopers. "What is the status of your investigation into the disappearance of Captain Ko, and our missing brothers?"

Fives hissed out a long frustrated breath between his teeth. "It's been like a game of tooka cat and mouse droid. Every time we think we've found something, the lead seems to slip away. As you know, almost immediately after he disappeared, we ran a trace on all of their trackers and they were not in the system."

"Or, trackers had been disintegrated," Sinker pointed.

"No," Sly immediately disagreed, "a destroyed tracker would still send back some kind of ping signal, even if it's an error code."

Wolffe gave Sly a scrutinizing look. "Who are you again?"

Fives and Echo exchanged a sharp glance that did not go unnoticed by Rex.

"I'm… uh… Sly. New transfer to the 501st. Medic."

"He saved Cody," Fives jumped in. "Did some crazy medical stuff and stopped the bleeding when it looked like the commander was going to bleed out right there on the table."

Rex startled. He hadn't heard that part of the story. Neither had the rest of the 212th troopers, based on their wide-eyed reactions.

"It was a team effort," Sly interjected quickly, shooting an apologetic look at Iron, Kix, and Coric.

"Right, you're all bunch of frakkin' heroes," Wolffe quipped sarcastically. "Cody can thank you later. Can we focus?"

Echo jumped in. "We are pursuing leads based on the pattern of trace and hide signals at ArmyMed. Before Commander Cody was even out of surgery, there were numerous requests to transfer him. We kept re-routing these requests. But, there was something familiar about the signature. I'm running a trace on them now."

"You're running a trace on a trace?" Rex clarified.

Echo nodded. "Don't worry, Captain, my methods are discreet. No one will know I've been in the system. It takes a little longer this way, but it will be undetectable."

"I think I may have a solid lead on the men who chased us through ArmyMed and up onto the rooftop. I was able to get an ID lock on one of the men. I'd just like a little more time to confirm the scan," Fives said.

"What about Ko's helmet?" Wolffe addressed both Fives and Boost. "What have you learned?"

"Ko received a transmission right before he snapped," Boost reported. "But the helmet's receiver didn't capture the sender. All we know is that he received a short data burst and then shot Cody."

Wolffe's face contorted. "What kind of data burst makes a clone shoot another clone?"

"We need more hard data on what happened," Rex agreed, trying not to let his frustration bleed through into his tone.

"We'll dig deeper," Boost assured his commander.

Rex turned back to his ARCs, aware he was placing a lot on them. "We need to find Ko. If we find him, it will likely lead us to our missing men. But, we have to know if this was an isolated incident, or..." His voice trailed off. He didn't want to say it.

Sly's eyes lit up understanding what he was implying. The rookie had no issues blurting out what was on his mind. "We all share the same genetic engineering." He muttered and then reached down to tug his datapad off his belt, furiously tapping in notes.

"New guy. What are you trying to say?" Wolffe demanded.

"Huh?" Sly looked up, still lost in mid-thought with his notes. "Oh, I think the same thing Captain Rex was trying to say. If Ko could snap, anyone one of us can. Captain Ko shot Commander Cody. But, it means any one of your men could shoot you, Commander Wolffe, like that guy there-"

"Sinker," the Wolfpack trooper narrowed his eyes as he supplied his name to the shinie.

"Right, like Sinker over there. He could snap and shoot you."

"New medic, see what you can figure out about this data burst and what would make a trooper snap," Wolffe ordered.

"I'd like to be on that project, too, Commander," Iron volunteered. Kix and Coric nodded their heads, indicating they also wanted in on the investigation.

"Alright, medics. Start investigating. I don't want any more troopers snapping. And, none of you better shoot me," Wolffe growled. Sinker snickered, earning him an icy glare from his commander. He immediately wiped the smile off his face and straightened up.

Rex's stomach growled, reminding him it was nearly halfway through mealtime. They needed to dismiss these troopers so they could grab something to eat.

"What about Cody?" Trapper demanded. "He started all of this, and we're leaving him out of everything."

Rex exchanged a quick glance with Wolffe.

"We'll need to bring him back in, "Wolffe conceded, "but not yet. He's still recovering."

Trapper wouldn't be dissuaded. "He came to rescue us at Darkknell and stood up for us when we returned home. We shouldn't be making plans like this without him."

Rex looked around the room at the other clones gauging their reaction. Cody was very liked by all of the other clones, and keeping him out of it would not go down well with his 212th troopers. But, despite his experiences, Cody was a different sort of trooper. He took a deep breath before replying. "We may have to proceed slowly with Cody. He rescued the 212th and General Kenobi out of loyalty. He is undoubtedly the finest type of soldier and sets a high standard for following orders. But what we are contemplating crosses some gray lines."

Trapper hopped down off of his crate. "Cody crossed those gray lines when he gathered up us troopers to leave Ord Cestus. We were with him then, and we're with him now. This is no different."

It was different and Rex knew Cody would see it immediately. When the 501st and 212th were imprisoned at Darknell, they had nothing more to lose. Their Jedi Generals and two full Legions had been captured. They risked everything because they had everything to gain in return. They were putting it all on the line again with these gray lines they were crossing.

Trapper could see Rex's hesitation. "I'll talk to him and get him onboard. He'll listen to me." Trapper said confidently.

"Alright. But, tread carefully. He's been through a lot. We'll meet again here in two rotations." He looked over to Wolffe who signaled he had nothing more to add.

The troopers silently dispersed from the small storage room into the darkened corridor.

# # #

Cody hissed and grabbed at his midsection as he rose from his bunk. Once he was up, he felt fine, but he was definitely still healing, albeit faster than he had ever thought possible. He was certain he would be back on duty soon.

His door buzzed. "Come in," he said.

Silver entered, carrying his medic bag. "Ah, you're up again. Good. All this exercise will help with the healing."

Cody liked his new medic's easygoing manner. He wasn't sure why Fox had been willing to part with a medic, but he was grateful for the transfer. Good medics were hard to come by.

"I'd hardly call it exercise," Cody grumbled and then sucked in a breath as Silver peeled back the bacta patch from his chest. The medic inspected the surgical site around his lungs carefully. He nodded with satisfaction and took out his medscanner. "You know the drill, Commander. Take several deep breaths for me." Cody tried to breathe deeply, but it was difficult and he still had an urge to cough when he tried to take in too much air. "Any pain?" prompted the medic.

"Not much. I think I'm ready to go back on duty."

"Looks to me like you're still experiencing shortness of breath." Silver's bedside manner was so easygoing it was almost disarming. "How do you expect to get to the bridge if you run out of air by the end of the corridor?"

"You keep telling me my scans look good," Cody protested.

"Oh, you're definitely healing," Silver gave him a reassuring smile and continued to take scans. "But, you're not cleared for duty."

"Why?" Cody leaned in to see the readings. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Actually, I've never seen anyone recover so rapidly from a severe blaster wound." He peeled back the larger bacta patch covering Cody's abdomen. A faded red starburst site marked the site of the blast point, surrounded by small lines and dots left by the entry points of various surgical instruments. Silver cleaned the wound with quick, efficient swipes and pressed a new bacta bandage in place. He shrugged in bemused puzzlement. "Ab wounds don't normally heal like this. This looks like a wound that's been healing for weeks, instead of days. By all rights, you shouldn't even be alive commander. That blaster bolt burned through your organs."

Silver's words struck a chord with Cody. He only knew of one person capable of such miracles. He needed to make a comm call, and he needed the medic out of his quarters.

"Thanks for coming by. You're doing a great job. See you in another 12 hours or so, yeah?" He subtly started nudging the medic toward the door.

Silver didn't budge. He crossed his arms across his chest and stared down Cody.

"Commander, it is normal for a trooper to experience PTSD after an incident like this one. It's a new field medics like myself are starting to delve into since it wasn't covered in our flash training, but I'd like to talk to you about-"

Not now, Silver.

Cody put a hand on Silver's shoulder to guide him toward the door. "Sounds fascinating. Maybe you can write it up for me in a report? I'm more of a visual learner and then maybe we can schedule some time." Before the medic could object he pushed him out to the corridor.

He sighed with relief and settled down carefully at his desk and activated his desk comm unit. His hand trembled and he hesitated.

Coward, he chastised himself. Just make the call.

There was only one being in the galaxy who thrilled him and terrified him so much. Before he could lose all sense of courage, he punched in the code for the 41st Elite Corps. He quickly typed in the substring for the particular commander he was trying to reach-

His door buzzer chimed. He slammed the connection shut the microsecond before it went through.

"Fek it all!" Cody hissed, glaring at the door. He glanced quickly back down at his darkened screen, heart still pounding in his chest.

He blew out a deep breath and tried to bring his breathing back to a semblance of normal.

"Is that how you greet visitors these days?" Trapper entered, sweaty, disheveled, and dressed only in his blacks. "Are you okay, Codes? You look pale. Should I call for a medic?"

Cody shook his head. "No. I just saw the medic. Why are you here?"

"All of this off the record. We need to talk."

# # #

Cody stared back at Trapper aghast. "What? No. Absolutely not. What you are describing is nothing short of a clone trooper revolution. I have no intention of being part of any of it." He had never imagined his troopers would consider such actions.

"You are a part of it, Cody," Trapper said. "You have been since the beginning."

Cody shook his head. "No. I'm a commander. My only interest is in following orders. And, that is what I am going to do and what I have always done." He shook his head to the side, reconsidering his words. "OK, most of the time."

"Cody, you were the voice that started it all. When we came back from Darkknell, you made that broadcast to the Jedi Council which was heard by the entire fleet around Coruscant. Clones are still replaying the message. It has become legendary."

"I don't want to be a legend. I'm trying to stay under the radar."

"Uh... you're a marshall commander. I don't think that's really an option. Cody, fek, brother, all of us here in the 212th are so proud to have you as our commanding officer."

Trapper's words echoed what Wolffe and Fox said when he was locked up in the RMB. Somehow his words had consequences beyond what he'd intended.

Cody shook his head. Maybe he could make this thing go away. "What? No, I'm no... not trying to change anything. I was only trying to keep you and the others safe. You were following my orders to leave Ord Cestus and it was my responsibility as your commanding officer to accept the consequences. I was not trying to start anything. It's finished. Done."

Trapper regarded him quietly without speaking. This alone was completely unnerving to Cody. Trapper was never quiet and let him speak. Even worse, there was something about his eyes which spoke disappointment and Trapper had never looked at him that way before. Even when they'd argued he'd never given Cody that sort of look.

Cody hissed out a breath of frustration. "This is Wolffe's doing, isn't it?" He pointed an accusing finger at Trapper. "He put you up to this?"

"I agree with him," Trapper said.

"You agree with him," Cody shook his head, aghast.

"Not just Wolffe. There's a whole crew of us who agree with him. There is a series of events which we believe may be tied together. It could possibly even go into the higher echelons of the Republic."

"Where? What? What kind of something?" Cody's eyebrows arched together in disbelief.

"We don't have all of the pieces yet. I just came from a meeting with a few of us who want to look into these things. This is why we are banding together to investigate. I mean there is a big enough something going on that someone shot you and took Captain Ko. And, as a result, the 501st is missing a squad of their brothers. We're trying to figure out how all this fits together."

"Who, Trapper? Who do you think did all of this? Is this some kind of grand Separatist conspiracy?"

"No," Trapper shook his head, "we don't think it's the Separatists."

"A Sith thing, then, like Ventress or Maul? Because if it is, you should've gone straight to the Jedi-"

"No, look, Cody, we don't know. But, we aim to figure all of that out."

"So you don't know anything. No," Cody said firmly, "absolutely not. You don't have anything. Just a bunch of suspicions. You need to drop this thing, Trapper. You are talking about treason. You could be arrested. That is not a route you want to go down." His voice dropped down low. "I barely made it out of the RMB. That's where you are headed. That's where all of you will be headed if you don't drop this thing." He blew out a frustrated breath, and then clutched at his chest and had to sit. "Look, Trap, I don't know why Ko shot me. Maybe it's related to something which happened to him when he was in prison. But, it's over now. Unfortunately, he is gone so we can't get any answers."

"But, Cody, we need to look into this further-"

"No, we don't!" Cody exploded. "You need to drop this thing!"

"But, there has to be a connection between-"

"We are clones and clones follow orders!" Cody shouted. He stared Trapper down. "Whomever you are meeting with to discuss all of this, and I don't what to know anything, just end all of it. Now."

Trapper met his gaze cooly, spun on his heel, and left the room. The tension between them was so thick the room was filled with an icy chill.

Cody stared at the closed door after he left. He leaned back into his pillow, trying to get air into his lungs. Everything would be alright. He could keep this whole thing under wraps and no one would need to know some of his men had been considering treason against the Republic.

They'd get through the Battle at Clak'dor VII, continue to keep order in the Rim and everything would be fine. His call to the 41st Elite was forgotten as his mind replayed his conversation with Trapper.

# # #

A/N: This chapter was revised to add some more references to a darker Anakin. This was inspired by the version of Vader we seen in the Kenobi series. There were hints of this side of Anakin in the Clone Wars series. It occasionally burst to the surface when he was interrogating prisoners, or met up with someone he perceived as a love interest of Padme. Ahsoka would've inevitably witnessed some of these outbursts. Her belief in him as a 'good Jedi' blinded her to everything else going on with him.