Jesse hadn't expected to be back at the simple home of Killeu Gilo so soon and he hadn't expected the amount of resistance from Gilo's daughter.
"No! Leave him alone! You can't take him away!"
The youngling Bith launched herself at Jesse and began pummeling his ab plate with her small fists. He easily captured her fists with one gloved hand, still holding his blaster in the other. "Alright, that's enough, little one."
Her voice hitched and she looked up at him with eyes full of betrayal. "You promised. You told my papa you were almost done here, and then you would leave."
Yes, but, now he had new orders. One can't argue with orders. How did one explain that to a youngling?
"The circumstances have changed. We will not hurt your father," Jesse reassured the young Bith, gazing down at her through his visor. Kisa. Jesse suddenly remembered. "But, we do have to take him away."
"No!" she wrenched free of his grasp with a violent twist, and her foot lashed out, kicking him with an impressive amount of force on his shin plate. Krek. Did they make Bith shoes of durasteel? He hissed and took a step back.
"Should I stun her, Corporal?" asked Zimme, a shiny who'd joined Torrent before Kaz'haria. Zimme had potential but was trigger-happy. Kamino kept sending them younger clones, some as young as year 7s and they didn't have the temperance of troopers who went through the full ten years at Kamino. Zimmie raised up his blaster, aiming at the youngling.
"What?" Jesse whipped around to look at Zimme, exposing his back to Kisa who responded with a thunderous crescendo of blows to his backplate, and several kicks to the sides and back of his ankles. "Gah! Ouch! What? No, hold. She's just a youngling. Kisa, please, stop!"
The youngling temporarily stopped, seemingly stunned Jesse knew her name.
"Sir, call- off- your- youngling." Jesse stood in the face of Killeu Gilo. The man had been standing mute since his arrest several minutes before. All the fire and energy in the family seemed to have been passed on exclusively to his daughter. He stared the man down the way Rex did with new shinies when they weren't responsive or too terrified to engage. He announced each word crisply.
"These Bith are resisting arrest," Zimme pointed out. "It's safer to stun them."
"You're going to shoot us?" Kisa's panic was evident, and she lashed out again, this time launching herself at Zimme. The clone instinctively raised his blaster to defend himself.
Fives pushed Zimme's blaster down. "Hold, you di'kut! She's a child!"
Jesse captured Kisa's fists again.
Gilo blinked and then focused on Jesse, snapping out of his mute daze. "What? No. I'll go with you, but don't harm her. I beg of you!"
The father's desperate cries sent the child into a desperate frenzy again and she aimed another swift quick at Jesse's shins. Jesse gripped her wrists tighter and pinned her legs with one of his armored legs. She squirmed against him and tried to bite through his forearm armor. "Stop that! You little rancor!" He appealed to her father again, while wincing as she bit through his glove. That was definitely going to leave a mark. This child was part Wookie. "Sir, we have no intention of harming the youngling, but if you could please calm her down and tell her to get back inside the dwelling." He inhaled sharply as the little biter found the slight gap between his forearm plate and wrist guard and drew blood.
Bith better not be venomous.
"Kisa, Kisa," her father soothed, attempting to kneel down, but was held fast in the custody of Fives and Echo. Jesse signaled to the ARCs to release him. Gilo sank to his knees and opened his arms.
The child squirmed wildly against Jesse's grasp. He released her. She spun around, gave Jesse one last swift kick, nailing him in the codpiece, and then threw her arms around her father's neck sobbing loudly.
Jesse doubled over grabbing at his groan.
"Are you alright, Jesse?" Echo asked. "Do you need a medic?"
"He needs better armor, I think," Fives' voice was full of teasing. "That little Bith handed his shebs to him."
Jesse slowly straightened up. He would see Kix later, but only because he enjoyed seeing the medic for reasons that had nothing to do with whether he was injured or not. "I'll be fine. The little biter fights like a little cadet. You have to respect her spirit." He watched curiously as the youngling hugged her father tightly. He didn't fully understand family dynamics like the one between this youngling and her father. He'd been decanted by a Kaminoan technician and had no father, but he did understand family. His bond with his brothers was everything to him, so he understood why the little one was willing to fight so fiercely.
Gila held her tight for a long moment and then pushed her back and said firmly: "Alright, that's enough now. You must go inside our dwelling."
"I'm scared, Papa. I don't want to be in the house alone," the child sobbed into Gilo's neck.
Jesse's brow furrowed in confusion. He was no expert on nat-born families. But, he'd been to enough planets to know the raising of younglings was usually a shared responsibility. "Sir, is there someone else who will care for this youngling?"
Gilo shook his head. "My mate, Fena, she passed on to the seven stars while trying to bring us a second child. Kisa and I are alone. There is no one else."
He was tempted to take the youngling with him, so he could ask General Skywalker for guidance. But, they still had another dozen arrests to do. And, his orders were clear. Bring in the Bith leaders. It said nothing about their offspring. She would be safest back in her dwelling. Surely another member of her race would come looking for her.
"Back in your dwelling now," Jesse said firmly to Kisa, gripping her arm and pushing her toward the entrance.
She looked back at him, her big, wide eyes, brimming with tears. "I hate you," she whispered, and he wouldn't have picked it up if his clone hearing was not so acute. She pointed to each clone in the squad. Jesse, Fives, Echo, Zimme, Nev, Ram, Yip and Crash. "I - hate- all - of - you." A giant tear rolled down her cheek and splashed on her chin. "I hope you die in your stupid war."
His squad stood there awkwardly, slight movements from foot to foot, the only indication his brothers were uncomfortable as they awaited further orders.
"Move out," Jesse said, leading the way. "Fives, Echo, take this Bith to the RV point. Meet back with us when you're done."
Fives and Echo nodded and split off from the rest of the squad.
There was no helmet comm chatter as Jesse led Zimme, Nev, Ram, Yip and Crash to their next destination, or if there was, they'd switched channels so they could talk privately. Jesse was left alone with his thoughts.
# # #
Jesse was inordinately exhausted by the time they finished rounding up all the Bith. General Skywalker and the Captain had arrived dirtside, as promised, and each took out squads of their own to round up additional Bith leaders. Each quadrant of the city had its own provincial leader, and Weogar was subdivided into many provinces. By the time they'd rounded up all of the provincial leaders, his head was pounding.
He arrived at the drop-off point just after Rex and focused on keeping his back straight and not looking like he was dead on his feet.
Rex walked up to greet him and gave him a critical look. "Jesse," Rex said over a private channel, "we're just about done here. As soon as these prisoners are loaded onto the transport, you can head topside with your squad."
Jesse nodded his head to comply and then stopped. "Rex?" His voice was as much a question as a statement. Gah. No. He shook his head. He glanced over at Gilo, the tall Bith and father to the tiny rancor with the pummeling fists. His inner voice told him to shut up. It was none of his concern.
Rex stood patiently, waiting for him to continue. Now was his chance. Mention the child.
No. He'd ruin everything if he did.
"Out with it, Jesse, there's obviously something on your mind."
Fek it all. He didn't want to be promoted if it meant following orders like this one.
Jesse blurted it all out quickly before he changed his mind. "Sir, the first Bith we arrested," he pointed to Gilo, "he has a youngling and he was the only one caring for the child. Both he and the child confirmed the other caregiver died some time back."
Rex cocked his head to the side, trying to understand the issue. "Where is this youngling?"
"Alone in their dwelling. I'm not sure she's old enough to care for herself."
"Ah," Rex nodded and then tilted his helmet to the side, the way he did when he was mulling something over carefully. "I see. I'll speak to the General. Wait here." He walked off to track down Skywalker.
Jesse pushed out a sigh of relief. There. It was done. Fek it all. He may have just thrown away his chance to be an ARC, but the heavy exhaustion weighing him down was lifted.
Maybe doing the right thing is what is most important in the end. Maybe some orders aren't meant to be followed.
Another voice inside of him still doubted his decision. And, maybe I'm too fekkin' stupid to advance. I'm not cut out for it.
Fives came up beside him and nudged him lightly in the ribs. "Well done," he said quietly.
At Jesse's confused look, Fives' elaborated. "You took the more difficult path. That's thinking like an ARC."
Echo came up on his other side, explaining more about what Fives meant as if the two were of one mind. "Any clone can blindly follow orders. Only the most independent-minded clones can become an ARC. It's rare for us clones. We have to fight the urge to simply just obey orders like we've been trained."
Jesse stared back and forth between them. Oh.
Rex walked back over with General Skywalker. Fives and Echo melded back away to allow the three to confer more privately, although Jesse was sure it was a pretense and they were still listening.
Skywalker nodded to Jesse. "Rex filled me in. Normally, when faced with difficult decisions out in the field, I'm supposed to bump things up to either the Council or High Command." He studied Jesse and Rex thoughtfully, his gaze staying on Rex the longest. "But, I think sometimes there are things that are best left between us."
All three of them looked up and backed up a step as the transport LAAT for the prisoners touched down. The roar of the engines temporarily drowned out any further conversation.
Skywalker made a subtle gesture for Jesse and Rex to walk with him toward the holding area for the prisoners. "Captain Rex," he said in his usual bright, firm command tone. "Escort the Bith topside." He pointed to Gilo. "Except for that one. I have further questions. I'd like to have answered."
It was a vapor-thin excuse considering Skywalker hadn't asked the Bith any questions so far, but Rex saluted sharply as if it was the most logical set of orders he'd ever heard. "Very good, sir."
Jesse didn't give Rex nearly enough credit sometimes for how well he worked with Skywalker.
The General signaled to Jesse. "You're with me."
"Yes, sir," Jesse said, noticing Fives, Echo, and the rest of the squad watching them closely. He leaned in and said to Skywalker quietly. "We may want to take the squad, too. The youngling is a bit of a biter."
The General arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, I can't wait to meet her."
Rex walked over with Gilo. "As you requested, sir. If you need me, I'll be topside." He saluted and then stepped aboard the LAAT, signaling the pilot to take off.
Gilo looked at Skywalker with wide frightened eyes. "Please don't hurt me, Master Jedi. I'm not a very high-ranking Bith and don't know anything of significance. Nothing that relates to your war anyway."
The General ignored the Bith's pleas and signaled to Jesse. "Lead the way."
Gilo shook with fear as they walked away, his tall spindly legs barely holding his weight. Fives and Echo grabbed him on either side and propelled him along. As soon as they were clear of the landing square and any prying eyes, the General halted the squad and signaled to Fives and Echo to release Gilo. He leaned in and said to the Bith. "Relax. We're not here to hurt you."
"Wh… what do you want with me?" his dark luminous eyes were huge.
Skywalker smirked and crossed his arms proudly across his chest. "We're taking you home."
Gilo looked at Skywalker with a confused expression, his head whipping back and forth between Jesse and Skywalker. "I… I… don't understand."
Skywalker slapped Jesse lightly on the spaulder. "Apparently, your youngling made quite the impression on Jesse here. He requested you be allowed to go back home and care for your child."
Gilo reached out to grab Jesse's hand, the one not holding his blaster. Zimme raised his blaster in alarm, but Fives batted it down again.
"Krek, Zimme. You and I are going to have a talk when we get back to the ship," Fives hissed.
"Thank you. A thousand times thank you, kind sir," Gilo said, clutching Jesse's hand tightly.
"Jesse, walk on ahead. Fives, a word, if you please," Skywalker said.
"Sir?" Fives questioned when he was alone with the General.
"I've heard you are particularly skilled with creative flimsiwork. I would like you to take charge of auditing the prisoner list, and ensuring it is accurate," he tapped his wrist comm and transmitted the data to Fives.
Fives tapped two fingers to his helmet to indicate the data was received. He cocked his head to the side. "Sir, how do you know about my...eh... flimsiwork talents?"
The General crossed his arms over his chest and gave Fives a look. "Well, I've seen your handiwork and let's just say I've been known to be a bit unconventional myself, from time to time. I recognize a kindred spirit." He turned and walked to catch up with the squad, leaving a speechless Fives staring at his back.
# # #
Rex stood in the hangar bay of the Resolute supervising the off-loading of the last LAAT full of Bith prisoners. He scowled fiercely beneath his bucket. This wasn't sitting right with him.
They were fekkin' civilians. Weren't they supposed to be guarding civvies and not arresting them? More and more he didn't understand the orders coming down and the logic behind them.
He pushed out an irritable sigh. Pushed through his helmet speakers, it came out as a burst of static.
"Problem, Rex?" General Skywalker asked, walking up next to him.
"General," Rex greeted, automatically adjusting his posture to stand up a bit straighter. "I didn't realize you were topside."
"Caught a ride up with Hawk." As usual, he seemed at ease, with this body held in a loose posture. But, Rex knew him well enough by now to see his obvious tells that he was not actually as relaxed as he wanted everyone to believe. "Out with it, Rex, what's on your mind?"
"Permission to speak freely, sir?"
Skywalker looked puzzled. "You always have permission to speak freely with me, Rex. You know that. Come on, walk with me."
They walked toward the General's office, but Skywalker stayed silent. They entered the office and the General gestured toward one of the two spare chairs. "Relax, Rex."
Rex sat in one of the chairs and tugged off his bucket, placing it down on the extra chair.
The General grabbed a decanter from the bottom drawer of his desk and two glasses, pouring them each a small shot. The container was elaborately etched glass showing scenes of what looked to be Jedi battling. Some of the scenes looked dark and gruesome. Rex wondered where he'd gotten it. Skywalker held his glass in salute and then tossed it back. Rex did the same.
"What's on your mind, Rex?" Skywalker prompted.
"I don't agree with these orders," Rex said, feeling better after the shot, and surprising himself with his bluntness as he said the words. But, it was a relief to get the words off his chest. Ever since he and the General had spoken several days before, there was a new ease and trust between them.
Skywalker poured them each a second shot. Rex thought about declining, but he wasn't on duty anymore. And, this was much better quality alcohol than Hardcase's homemade brew. He and the General both tossed down their second shots. It tasted even better than the first. The amber liquid had a fruity taste and a surprisingly spicy burn.
The General studied Rex, rolling his glass between his fingers as he considered his words. "I don't agree with the orders either, but I'll admit I'm surprised to hear you say it."
Rex's gut tightened and he wondered if he was wrong for speaking out. He stared down into his empty glass, suddenly feeling ashamed of his blunt words. "Sir, I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have-"
"No, Rex," Skywalker gripped his pauldron lightly and gave it a squeeze. "I came to you because I trusted you. You can have the same trust in me. Alright?"
Rex nodded. "Thank you, sir. That… means a great deal." He felt a strong pang of guilt about the secret meetings he'd been holding with his brothers. But, they didn't know much… yet. It was best to stay quiet until they knew something for sure.
"I also disagreed with these orders." Skywalker said, running an agitated hand through his hair, "The Jedi Council takes too many orders from the Senate."
"But, Senator Amidala is-" he stammered, suddenly feeling foolish… "eh… that is to say… eh… you have connections to people on the Senate."
Skywalker snorted. "That's one way of putting it. I haven't spoken to Padme about this issue." His face fell. "We don't get to talk much anymore." But, then his countenance brightened. "I'm sure she voted against it. Padme always tries to do what is right for people ahead of corporate interests and there are other senators who think the same. But, I think they are in the minority. Padme tells me much of the Senate is motivated only by self-interest and greed."
Skywalker shook his head and poured them each another shot.
Rex tossed down his third shot and set it down on the desk with a bit more force than necessary. "Isn't that exactly what we're always saying about the Separatists, sir? They are motivated only by self-interest and greed? So, what's the difference between us?"
He pointed to Rex, a bemused smile on his face. "You're lucky I'm not Obi-Wan. He would debate with you for hours on such a topic. But, I'm not him. When did you get to be such a philosopher?"
Rex's jaw dropped. No one ever accused him of such a thing.
"Me? No. I'm just a simple soldier. Nothing more."
"You are anything but, Rex," Skywalker said. He scrutinized Rex for a long moment. "You're different since you've returned."
Rex's warm glow faded and a tinge of alarm went up his spine. Skywalker picked up on it immediately.
"Relax, Rex. I only mean you've matured in the way you look at things. Not so black and white."
Rex huffed. "I always thought the same thing about the Jedi."
Skywalker blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"All this talk about the light side and dark side. All those rules you have to follow. Why is it so extreme? Couldn't there just be a compromise somewhere between the two? Like…a gray area that allows you to take the best ideas of both. The way I see it we all have darker impulses and you can't fight that all the time, so why not just embrace it and balance that out and be something that is the best of both those worlds."
Skywalker stared at him, a look Rex couldn't even begin to decipher on his face. But, most of the time when he got that look, it always ended badly.
"Sorry, sir, I overstepped my bounds," Rex grabbed his helmet, preparing to make a hasty exit. "I… shouldn't have said anything. I meant no offense."
The General made an abrupt hand gesture, indicating he should stay. And, another hand gesture indicating silence.
Oh, fek. I did it now. Mental note. Only ever drink around brothers.
This was a very bad idea.
Rex stayed rigid and frozen in his seat, locked in place.
I'm a di'kut. Worse than a shiny. I'm going to assign myself to scrub the floors.
"Rex," the General glanced up at him bemused, "you're broadcasting your thoughts. Hang on a sec. I need to think. You don't need to scrub the floors. Just give me a moment."
He leaned back in his chair, looking more thoughtful than Rex had seen him in a long while. The silence seemed interminable. Finally, Skywalker spoke again. "When I was a boy, new at the Temple, Obi-Wan used to tell me a lot of stories about his old master. He had just passed on in the Force and Obi-Wan missed him, even though Jedi are not supposed to form attachments." He grimaced at this and made eye contact with Rex. "Another one of our many rules." He continued on with his story. "He told me his Master had been considered something of a rebel and an outcast, even among members of the order, which is why he'd never sat on the Council."
"Like you," Rex blurted out and then wanted to muzzle himself for his bluntness.
Gah. Two months worth of floor scrubbing.
The General's lips twisted with amusement. "Actually, you're right. I just never saw the parallels until now. Obi-Wan once called him.." he paused for effect, making eye contact with Rex, "...a gray Jedi."
"That's an actual term?" Rex asked, leaning forward in his chair, intrigued, that his spitballing idea was an actual concept that made sense.
"As I understand it, gray Jedi walk the line between light and dark, and they are also known for distancing themselves from the Council. It is said a true gray Jedi can explore both the light and dark sides of the Force without being corrupted by the dark side. It is not a popularly held view. Qui-Gonn was the only gray Jedi in recent memory."
"Except for you, maybe," Rex blurted out and then winced. Gah, he mentally chastised himself. Rex. Will you shut up?
The General chuckled again. "We really need to work on your shields when you've been drinking." He tapped a finger to his cheek, looking thoughtful. "A gray Jedi. Obi-Wan always said Master Qui Gonn did things his own way."
"Sounds like an interesting Jedi," Rex said. "I don't see why there shouldn't be more than one way to do all this Jedi stuff."
"You've given me a lot to think about," Skywalker looked thoughtful. "I need to learn more from Obi-Wan."
"I'm glad I could help, sir," Rex could feel the effects of the alcohol wearing off, one of the benefits of his fast-clone metabolism. He was glad for it as he didn't want to blurt anything else out. He was a bit too loose-tongued when he was tired, hungry, and drank too fast.
Skywalker gave him a critical look. "You look ready to drop. Get some rest."
Rex took that as his cue to leave. He grabbed his bucket and headed for the door.
Skywalker's voice stopped him by the door. "Hey, Rex? Thanks for listening."
Rex dipped his head. "The honor was mine, General."
# # #
A/N: Zimme represents the traditional Kaminoan clone who graduated late in the war. As more and more clones were killed in combat, clones graduated younger and younger. This means their training would be compressed. By the end of World War II, young teenage boys were conscripted into service in Germany as the military ran short on soldiers. One 15-year-old was only given a half-day of training before being sent to the front lines to fight.
The Rex/Anakin scenes have been in my head for a while. I didn't do justice to their relationship in "Whatever Happened to Captain Rex?" and I'm trying to make up for it now. I've been wondering what effect Rex could have on Anakin and vice versa. If these two trusted and confided in each other more, how would that change the events of the final year of the Clone Wars? We see in the final season of The Clone Wars that Rex knows about Anakin's relationship with Padme and is willing to cover up for him. I'm expanding upon this trust idea. If Anakin opens up to Rex, will he then eventually be willing to open up to Obi-Wan? Could this ultimately change his dark fate?
Just a stylistic note, when the scenes are written from Rex's POV, I refer to Anakin as "Skywalker" or "the General." When written from Ahsoka's POV, he is referred to as "Anakin" or "Master." Hope this makes sense.