The night was interesting, to say the least. The clones had some spare blankets we could use, which was nice, given how this planet got cold at night, but it wasn't that bad. Most reluctantly, we'd had some of Big Bongo for dinner, and I have to say, I was surprised. For a giant maggot, it tasted surprisingly good. The meat was naturally salty and tender. We didn't have much else to go with it, but I could have done some great stuff with it if I had it in my kitchen back home. Maybe a stew, or dredging and frying it like fried chicken. All in all, I'd had worse meat in my life.

Everyone seemed to get a decent night's sleep, except for Sabine, who'd spent the whole night trying to repair the Phantom. She was clearly fatigued, but she wasn't falling over at least. I don't know if that meant she was used to all-nighters, or if she took at least some time to sleep last night. Hopefully the latter.

"How are the repairs going?" Kanan asked her over the comm as we all sat inside the tank.

"The probe hit us pretty bad." Sabine reported. "Repairs are gonna take a little while longer."

"We don't have much time. There's no telling when the Imperials are gonna get here; we've got to get off the surface." Kanan responded, an urgent undertone in his voice.

"Well, the Empire's not our only problem: there's a storm headed right for us."

"If the Empire gets here before we take off, the storm will be the least of our problems." Kanan responded, hanging up. Do people hang up comms?

"Well, here they are." Rex said as he approached, handing Ezra a data chip. "Coordinates of every Republic Base, Seperatist Installation, Pirate hideout, and Smuggler's Den in the Outer Rim." he said with a grin.

"Plus, a few Mandalorian bases that even they've forgotten about." Wolffe added. It was clear he was trying to make up for his contacting the Empire.

"Thank you Captain." Ezra said, pocketing the chip. "You sure you won't come back with us?" He asked hopefully. I shared the hope. Rex was a good guy, and a great soldier. It'd be great to have him in the Rebellion.

"Yeah, you're not bad in a fight." Zeb chimed in. "I mean, for older gentlemen." he shared a grin and an elbow bump with Gregor.

"Like I said, our war is over. Don't much care to get mixed up in another." Rex told the Padawan. "Oh, and say hello to Commander Tano for me." he gave a small salute.

"But the Empire's going to be coming for you." Ezra reminded him.

"Oh, we can handle ourselves." Rex responded with a grin.

"No doubt about that." I said with a small chuckle. Truly, these guys could kick ass. The Emperor was an idiot for retiring the Clone Army.

"Spectre 1 to Spectre 2." Kanan activated his comm. "We're gonna be down here a little while longer, give me some good news. Has the Empire shown up yet?" He asked of Hera.

"Hey…" I whispered to Zeb with a nudge. "Am I Spectre 7 now, or just some schmuck sleeping on the Ghost?" I asked with curiosity.

"I dunno, both?" The Lasat suggested with a grin, making me shake my head.

"I'm a little busy finishing repairs on the Ghost, but Chopper's been scanning. So far nothing." Hera responded. There was a pause, but then we heard Chopper bleeping a bit and Hera said something unintelligible under her breath. "A Star Destroyer just came out of Hyperspace. I'm gonna power down so they can't scan me. Once I finish my repairs, I'll come get you." She told us. Fuck. "Good luck down there."

"Well, things just went from bad to worse." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"If they follow procedure, they'll fly search patterns based on our last confirmed position." Rex informed. Right as he finished his sentence, one of the terminals bleeped.

"Or they'll just call." Gregor quipped. "Incoming Imperial transmission!" He announced half-heartedly and humorously. "It's for you, Wolffe." He sing-songed.

"They called back?" Wolffe was surprised. "They… They never call back."

"This is why I don't trust Clones." Kanan piped up, clearly still angry.

"Think you can convince them there's nothing here?" I asked of the half-blind Clone.

"I don't know, but I'll try. This was my mistake, and I'll fix it." he said, activating the terminal as the rest of us moved to the side of the room. On the screen, the face of an Imperial Agent appeared. He was blond, with mutton chops, and a well-kept hair style, probably military standard. I was surprised when I felt a sudden burst of anger from Zeb. Kanan and Ezra also seemed to know the guy, but Zeb's reaction was more severe. More… personal.

"CT-3636, Commander… Wolffe, is it?" He spoke in an English accent, fairly typical of Imperials.

"Yup, that's me." Wolffe responded, his hand on his neck, clearly nervous. "What can I do for you Sir?" He asked.

"Please transmit your coordinates so I can investigate the Jedi sighting you reported." The agent, who I later learned was named Kallus, ordered in the veil of a request.

"What? Jedi?" Wolffe tried to act surprised, but he wasn't doing a very good job. "No, no, no… There's no Jedi here. My old cybernetic eye must be acting up again…" He gave a nervous chuckle. I could tell the agent was annoyed.

"Sorry for wasting your time." Rex chimed in.

"This image was taken by one of our probe droids." The agent replied, an image appearing on the screen. It showed the tank, with the joopa strapped to the side, and the Phantom parked on top. "It clearly shows you harboring known Rebels. Now surrender them, or be destroyed." He said threateningly.

"If it's a fight you want, I hope you brought a better class of soldier than those Stormtroopers." Rex responded, showing his disdain for the Clone Army's replacement. I couldn't help but agree.

"They serve the Empire well, and I have a great many of them." Kallus responded with a smirk.

"You're going to need all of them." Rex shot back with the same smirk, cutting the call.

"Hehe, I like these guys." Zeb grinned. Immediately, the entire tank shook, and the sound of a TIE fighter was audible as the door opened, Sabine dashing in.

"They found us!" She reported.

"You don't say!" I shot back.

"Battle stations!" Rex ordered as Wolffe and Gregor brought out a crate with one of the rifles from earlier on top.

"Can I borrow that?" I asked, pointing at the rifle. "I still don't have a weapon." Without a word, Rex picked up the gun, loaded it, and tossed it to me as he and his brothers opened the crate, an assortment of weapons inside.


Once we got outside, we made ready to open fire, in several different positions on the tank. I was a little concerned about being out in the open with no protection or shields, but there wasn't much I could do except hope that I wouldn't get hit. Kanan and Ezra were positioned by the Phantom, protecting it from fire with their lightsabers, Zeb stood next to the cannon with what looked like a gatling gun, and Sabine and I were on either side of the tank with the rifles. The TIE fighter was in sight, on its way to make another attack. Sabine and I aimed and fired as best we could, but Zeb was just going to town with the gatling gun.

"Try shortening your LEDs!" Rex called out to Zeb, standing by the Phantom with a rocket launcher. "You're wasting ammo!"

"You're welcome to help!" Zeb shot back.

"Short, controlled bursts, Zeb." I told the big guy as I missed again. "That's not a weapon to go wild with, no matter how tempting."

"Hey, why spoil the fun?" Gregor asked, climbing up to join us. Wolffe was driving the tank. "We haven't been shot at in years!" He said cheerfully.

"Well, it happens to us every day." Sabine shot back as the TIE flew over the tank.

"Why doesn't someone man the big gun?" Ezra asked.

"I'm afraid it's no good in situations like these." Rex said regretfully. Makes sense. The tank is a ground battle weapon, not an air battle weapon.

"Oh, kind of like you guys." Kanan spat as jumped on top of the Phantom.

"Oh for God's sakes Kanan, shut up!" I shouted at the Jedi. I briefly saw Rex shake his head with a smile as he tossed the rocket launcher at Gregor, who caught it.

"You want the shot?" He asked.

"Love to." Gregor grinned, walking over to the front of the tank. As the TIE passed over us again, from behind this time, Gregor aimed the weapon and fired. I would have thought it would take longer to aim, but this guy is a seasoned soldier. It's easy to forget with his demeanor. Anyway, the rocket hit the target right on the mark, and we all shared a grin at the glorious explosion. I tried not to think of the pilot that was flying that thing.

"Gregor, you still got it." Rex gave his brother a proverbial pat on the back.

"It's in my blood." Gregor said proudly, fist on his chest.

"You know, we make a pretty good team when we fight together." Ezra pointed out, still not giving up on Rex, who was at least looking thoughtful. A good sign.

"Yeah, tried that once. Didn't work out." Kanan remarked.

"Again, Kanan, shut up!" I raised my voice. "If that storm gets much closer, we're not going anywhere. Sabine, please say that the repairs are done." I said to the Mando.

"Well, I can say it, but that won't make it true." She said, handing Zeb the rifle she was holding and heading off to the Phantom to continue her work.


Things had calmed down after we got rid of the TIE. Kanan kept watch on the storm to ensure it wasn't getting too close, Sabine carried on with her repairs, Zeb kept an eye out for enemies, and Ezra passed the time by sitting at the cannon seat and talking to Rex about the Clone War. It seemed that after all this time, Rex still held Anakin in high regard. I wonder how he would react if he knew about Vader. Anyway, I just sat on top of the Phantom, doing my best not to disturb Sabine.

"Alright, repairs are almost done." Sabine announced as she came out of the Phantom. "We should be able to fly out of here soon."

"We can't just leave Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor." Ezra protested as Zeb approached.

"The Empire's here because of us, and we'll deal with the consequences." Rex reassured the kid, though it didn't do much.

"Wait, listen, you hear that?" Zeb asked, his cat-like ears twitching. Sure enough, there was a loud mechanical sound in the distance. It was familiar too.

"Enemy contact, point two four." He said, pointing in the distance. We looked in the direction he aimed, Zeb and Kanan using binoculars. In the distance, I could barely make out the shapes of some kind of vehicle headed our way. It was definitely a walking tank, not unlike the one we were on. However, those were clearly new and improved. Three of them were headed right for us, and I was willing to bet that they were armed and ready to fight.

"How many legs have they got?" Wolffe asked As Gregor looked through his own binoculars.

"Looks like four." Gregor said thoughtfully. Yep, AT-ATs. I thought so.

"Four? How are they not falling over?" Wolffe asked in surprise as his brother handed the binoculars to Rex, allowing him to see for himself.

"Heh, would you look at the size of those things!" Gregor laughed.

"Hm, reinforced armour plating, heavy cannons, and anti-personnel blasters." Rex, at least, seemed impressed.

"I'm glad you guys are so excited, but those death machines are on their way right now to blow us to bits." Ezra reminded them. Rex was silent for a moment before climbing up to the cannon seat.

"Wolffe, set vector two-nine-zero." He ordered his brother, who saluted and entered the driver's seat.

"Wait, you're just gonna turn and run, just like that?" Kanan asked in surprise.

"If you've got a better idea, Sir, now's the time." Rex remarked as he sat in the cannon seat.

"I thought you Clones loved to fight." The Jedi shot back.

"Kanan…" I sighed.

"Yes, I know. 'Shut up, Kanan,' right?" He asked me sarcastically.

"I do love a battle." Rex said, not allowing that conversation to go any further. "But on my terms," he said. "Gregor, drop the joopa. We gotta get moving." He said to his brother, who was inside, over the comm. I could feel Gregor's disappointment as the joopa was released and dropped to the ground. On the upside, the tank started to move faster at least. "Wolffe, turn 180." He said.

"Copy that." Wolffe responded, turning the tank.

"So what exactly is the plan here?" I asked. "We're supposed to be avoiding the storm, and even if Sabine got the Phantom in tip top shape right this second, those guys are too close for us to fly off without getting hit." I pointed at the AT-ATs, which had started firing on us.

"He's right Kanan, they'll shoot us down." Ezra agreed with me.

"Then I guess there's no point in me saying that the Phantom's good to go." Sabine said as she exited the shuttle. "I don't know how far we can get, but I think she'll fly." She said confidently.

"Fat load of good it does us know." I sighed as more and more shots barely missed us.

"How is the storm any better?" Kanan asked.

"Well, the storm will scramble their scanners. We'll all be blind." Sabine told him.

"But a Jedi won't." Rex added in. Kanan, at least, was considering the idea. And it was true. If the Jedi's sense were honed enough, and they used their feelings properly, they could probably guide the tank through the storm. At least I think so. I'm no expert on this stuff, really. This is just conjecture from what I remember of the movies, Clone Wars, KOTOR, and SWTOR.

"Ok, everybody inside." Kanan voicing his decision snapped me from my thoughts. With a nod, I followed him inside, as did everyone else. Except for Wolffe, though. Here's hoping the driver's seat is closed off.

"We're not going to be able to hide in this storm forever." Ezra said once we were all inside.

"Those things are practically impervious to blaster fire, but they have one weak point. The neck." Sabine told us.

"One well placed shot from the main gun should be enough to destroy it." Gregor said thoughtfully.

"That might be all we get, one shot." Rex added grimmly.

"How do we shoot something we can't see?" Zeb asked with an annoyed growl as the sanner screen scrambled up. "I don't even know where the enemy is."

"You don't always have to see something to know where it is." Kanan piped up thoughtfully. "If you're willing to trust me, I can get us that shot." He said seriously.

"Hypocrisy, thy name is Jarrus." I said dramatically as I stretched my arms out like I was presenting Kanan to a crowd. That got a good laugh out of Ezra, Zeb, and Gregor. Even Sabine cracked a small smile. Kanan and Rex, however, ever the soldier types, stayed serious.

"I always trust my general." Rex said sincerely, getting a nod from the Jedi, who closed his eyes and held out his hand in concentration.

A few moments went by in complete silence before Kanan spoke again. "Prepare to stop, now." He instructed. Wolffe, who could probably hear him over the comm, did just that, and the tank can to a stand still. "Commander Wolffe, circle left, double time." He said after another minute or two. "Full stop." That one was just after a few seconds. "If what I'm sensing is right, we're surrounded." He told us as he opened his eyes and pulled his hand back.

"Wait, what?!" Ezra gasped in shock.

"Oh, I get it." I mumbled as the pieces started to fit together.

"You put us right in the middle to get us a shot!" Rex exclaimed, slamming his fist into his hand. "It's crazy, but it's probably our best chance." He grinned.

"We take one out, and then high tail it out of the opening." I added.

"Once we fire, we'll reveal our location." Sabine said warningly. "If we miss, it's all over."

"I'll take the shot." Gregor offered, standing up.

"No." Kanan spoke up. "Ezra should take the shot." He said, facing his pupil.

"Uuuh, why don't you do it?" Ezra offered up to his teacher nervously.

"Kanan's right." Rex spoke up. "We need one Jedi up there manning the cannon, and one down here to lead us out of this mess." He said, putting a hand on Ezra's shoulder. "The three of you are the only ones who can see in this storm."

"Then why not Lance?" He suggested, pointing at me. "I mean, Ahsoka said he was stronger than any of us." He pointed out.

"I can't even levitate a strand of hair yet Ezra." I said, running a hand through my hair to emphasise my point. "What makes you think I can aim a gun in a sandstorm?" I asked.

"Alright then." Ezra conceded. Clearly, this was putting pressure on the poor kid. Not like we had much choice though.

"Good. Sabine, spot him." Rex told the girl, who nodded and put her helmet on as she and Ezra made for the door. "And kid…" Ezra turned to face Rex right as Rex tossed him something. It was his Clone helmet. "You'll need that, and hang on tight." He said with a smirk, crossing his arms. Ezra nodded and followed after Sabine, putting the helmet on. He looked weird, that massive white helmet going on with his orange jumpsuit, but we're not here for a fashion show.

Once Ezra was in position, Kanan started focussing the Force again, his eyes closed and his hand outstretched. He expanded his senses for a moment before speaking again.

"Ezra, there's a walker… somewhere around point 5." He said over the comm. I wonder, does point 5 mean at 5'oclock?

"Around point 5? Perfect." Ezra responded sarcastically as he aimed the gun in whatever direction Kanan was talking about. I really need to learn this galaxy's jargon… "Targeting scope is useless, I can't see." Ezra said, a little annoyed and concerned.

"It doesn't matter." Kanan told him. "You're not going to see it with your eyes. The walker is there. Trust yourself." He instructed his Padawan.

Several tense moments passed as Ezra got ready to take the shot. I could feel his concentration and focus from inside the tank, more so than with Kanan. Does that mean the Force is stronger with Ezra than with Kanan? Anyway, I once again heard that whistling sound from before. During one of our conversations, Ahsoka explained that the whistling sound, like the cold that Vader generated, wasn't actually a physical sound. It was the Force at work around an individual or person using the Force, and could only be picked up by another Force-sensitive.

After a few seconds, the silence was broken by a shot of the cannon, and it seemed like everyone tensed when it happened. The next few seconds felt like an eternity before we heard a metal creaking, followed by the sound of a massive metal object falling over and hitting the ground. That confirmed it. Ezra hit his mark!

"I got him!" Ezra cheered over the comm.

"Wolffe, there's your opening, go for it!" Kanan ordered quickly. Immediately, Wolffe directed the tank and it had set off once again. We were still in danger though. The sand scraping against the tank's metal was audible, even inside. Then there were the other two walkers. Their shots were also audible, but the storm was making it difficult to aim, so most of the shots missed. In a matter of moments, we'd cleared the storm, and Wolffe gave us the go ahead to leave, and we immediately gathered outside the Phantom.

"Great shot kid." Rex complimented Ezra. "Now get moving, it's your only chance." He told us urgently.

"What? We can't leave now." Ezra protested.

"We have to get the information they gave us back to the Rebellion." Kanan said, as the other's entered the Phantom.

"The other part of the mission was to bring Rex back with us." Ezra persisted.

"You're not abandoning anyone." Rex told him. "We're covering your escape, now move." Rex ordered. As Kanan and I entered the Phantom, myself more reluctantly than him, Ezra looked down, and returned Rex's helmet. "We're soldiers Ezra." Rex said as he sat at the cannon. "This is what we were born to do." he said with a grin, putting his helmet on. At that very moment, the Phantom door closed, and Kanan, who was piloting, set the Phantom off.

With Kanan piloting, the rest of us were sitting in the back of the Phantom, feeling guilty. I could feel it from everyone, even a little from Kanan. This isn't right. I wanted more than anything to help them, but there was nothing I could do. I wasn't trained in the Force or the lightsaber yet, I had no weapon, and I had no clue how to fly the Phantom. I was completely useless. It made me angry.

"Kanan, you know better than anyone; they won't give up." Ezra said, almost desperately. "This fight is gonna be their last…"

Kanan tried not to let that get to him, but he wasn't doing a very good job. With a shake of his head, he activated his comm, calling Hera, and giving her a brief rundown on all the events of the day.

"It's too bad about Captain Rex." Hera said with a sigh. "But at least you have the intel. I'll rendezvous with you shortly." She told him.

"Copy that." Kanan responded, deactivating the comm.

"What are we going to tell Ahsoka?" Ezra asked forlornly.

"He was her friend, her comrade." I sighed with a shake of my head. "Clone or no, they fought side by side once."

Kanan was silent for a moment before sighing. "I hate it when kids are right." He grumbled, turning his chair and standing up. "I've got my problems with Clones, but I don't want those men to die." He said honestly. Ezra smiled in elation at his Master's words.


So the plan was simple. First, Sabine would take the wheel, and fly the Phantom over the walker that was giving the Clones the most trouble right now, by stomping over their tank, I might add. She fired the cannons at said walker, stopping it from shooting Rex to oblivion, and then flew right over. Next, she'd curve the Phantom upwards, allowing Zeb, Kanan and Ezra to jump out of the shuttle and land on the other walker. Since I was only good for close quarters combat with my staff at the moment, I agreed with Kanan when he said I should stay behind.

As soon as they landed, Kanan and Ezra rammed their lightsabers into the edges of AT-AT's hatch, and opened it. I had to grin at the sight. I looked forward to the day I could do the same thing. Anyway, the three of them hopped inside of the walker and hijacked it, either killing or knocking out the inhabitants, I wasn't curious enough to ask, and taking control. Immediately, they fired upon the walker that was stomping all over Rex's tank.

Apparently, according to Sabine, this allowed power to be restored on the tank. How, I don't know. Maybe one of the legs was pressing against a wire or something, and when it was removed, the wire shifted into a better position, like when your phone charger is borked and you don't want to buy a new one, so you position it very carefully to charge your phone overnight.

Digression aside, Rex immediately jumped into action, hopping back into the cannon seat and firing the cannon right at the neck of the invading walker, which was conveniently right over the cannon's barrel. This caused the walker to tip over, unfortunately taking the tank with it. However, it was a victory nonetheless. After a second, a speeder exited the walker, with Agent Kallus and another Imperial on it, speeding off, dodging fire from the hijacked walker. I had to laugh when I saw a third Imperial running after the speeder with his arms flailing in the air. That was comedy gold right there. I wish I could have fired a blaster at his feet.

Sabine and I shared a relieved sigh when we saw all three Clones on top of the capsized tank. They all gave Kanan a respectful salute, to which he responded with an accepting nod. As the Ghost descended, Hera gave a wave to Jedi, who just shook his head. In the cockpit, we could also see Chopper hopping up and down, waving. Sabine and I had to share an eyeroll there.


The next day, we'd returned to the Fleet, and were walking through the halls of the Blockade Runner, on our way to see Ahsoka. By coincidence, we ran into her in the middle of the halls. She seemed surprised to see us. I could see the glimmer of hope in her eyes as looked among us, trying to find someone who wasn't there before. That hope was almost smashed, but we all stepped aside to allow someone to walk through.

Rex!

Yep, he'd changed his mind. Maybe it was the battle, maybe it was Ezra, maybe it was the prospect of seeing Ahsoka again, but for some reason, he chose to come with us. Gregor and Wolffe stayed behind on Seelos though. They'd moved into the intact AT-AT. It was an upgrade from that old Republic tank, at least.

"Commander." Rex greeted Ahsoka with his hands behind his back, a wide smile on his face. "You got old." He remarked as she approached. Wait, wasn't Rex technically in his 20s? That means Ahsoka's actually older than him! Hah, that's actually kind of hilarious.

"Had to happen sometime Rex." Ahsoka responded with a smirk. They looked at each other before Ahsoka threw her arms around the old Clone. He seemed surprised, but returned the hug nonetheless. The scene was nice, but it just reminded me of how alone I was in this galaxy.

"I'm glad you're still alive." Rex said softly.

"You too." Ahsoka said as she pulled back from the embrace.

"I wouldn't be if it wasn't for these guys." He responded, pointing at us.

"Thank you, for trusting my friend." Ahsoka said, mostly to Kanan, who looked down.

"It wasn't easy." He told her honestly. "It's still not…" He said awkwardly. Well, he was trying, that was good.

"Nothing worth doing ever is." Ahsoka said wisely. "Like the training you and I starting tomorrow morning Lance." She directed her attention to me with a smile.

"I'm ready to learn." I told her with conviction, making her smile.

Come Vader, Sidious or the bloody Rakata, I will make it in this galaxy. Just you watch.


And, done. Alright, I'm doing well here at least. Four chapters in, and I haven't lost interest yet. Maybe it's because I recently played Jedi: Fallen Order, or because I rewatched the whole of Star Wars Rebels. Who knows? Till next time!

Also, by the by, today, that being the 22nd of May, is my birthday! I'm 23 years old today! Maybe you guys would be willing to subscribe to my mother's YouTube channel for me? Please?

Colour Shyft Art by Tammy if anyone is interested. I'd really appreciate it!