Dear Reader, this is a no-action chapter, just tying up a few loose ends. Enjoy! CS

Chapter 78 Transitions and the Discovery

"A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."

John Henry Newman

"Our losses could have been a lot worse," Obiwan noted. He and Anakin had just received the report from the casualty teams, and now they were headed back to the Resolute to take part in a debriefing on the entire engagement.

Anakin could not find the same ray of light. To him, one loss was one too many. He felt the deaths of his troopers to the very core of his being. And thus far, the death count from this battle was fifty-five from a battalion of 800 men. Fifty-five lives – gone. And Obiwan was saying things could have been worse . . .

Anakin changed the subject. "We had her," he groused. "We had her, and she escaped. I let her get away. I should have ordered the clones to kill her when I had the chance." He was, of course, referring to Ventress.

"We saved the cloning facilities, and that's what matters," Obiwan replied. "I blame myself for Grievous getting away, but at least, we saved Tipoca City. And they didn't get the Fett DNA."

"When I think of all the time we wasted near Florum, chasing Dooku . . . it was all a ruse meant to keep our attention focused away from the preparations for this attack," Anakin scowled. "The command has to start making smarter decisions."

"They can only act on the intelligence they have," Obiwan replied. "Let's just be grateful we got here in time to beat back the assault."

And although Anakin thought that was setting the bar rather low, he did not argue. The truth was he could not wait for the debriefing to be over so he could return to his troops and draw strength from them. Somehow, they added a steadying normalcy to his life.

As did Ahsoka. He was surprised to only now feeling his thoughts turn in her direction. He'd not thought about her once during the battle or its run-up. He was surprised to find he missed her – her snippy ways and youthful daring. And he wondered how she was doing, how long it would be before she rejoined him.

Unquestionably, she was worried about him and the 501st. A holo-con was in order – right after the debrief.

" . . . and work on the Taber is going as scheduled. I would estimate completion of the outer structure in three more days. The, uh, the Doma's people want to repair the inside themselves, and I think that's a good idea."

Ahsoka listened to Major Dunore's report with the requisite amount of interest. Not that the subject matter—rebuilding—bored her. In fact, it really had a lot of interesting facets to it. No, it was simply the fact that she would rather be on the front lines with her troops. And with her master. They had gone to take part in what was surely one of the pivotal battles of the war thus far. And here she was, overseeing security for a brigade of combat engineers who were perfectly capable of defending themselves. Her presence was completely unnecessary.

"So, when do you think you'll be completely finished up here, Major?" She tried not to sound too anxious.

"I would estimate five more days."

Ahsoka could not hide her frown. "Five days?"

"The Taber is a complex structure, Commander."

"Understood. Well, keep me informed."

Major Dunore left the makeshift command post Ahsoka had set up in the fore hangar of one of the engineers' transports which had landed outside the walls of the Monastica four days ago when the recovery efforts had begun.

It was functional but not very inviting; so when the major departed, Ahsoka was not far behind him. She needed to get outside and stretch her legs, clear her head. No matter how she tried to convince herself that it was fine for her to be here while her master and the 501st were on Kamino, she could not accept that this was a prudent use of her skills. Not only that, but her master needed her. Yes, it might have been big-headed of her to think so, but she truly believed that it was her job to protect him, even as it was his job to teach her.

She leaped up to the top of the Monastica's north-facing wall and down into the lush greenery of the oasis.

"How can I protect him if I'm stuck here and he's out there?" She complained out loud, for there was no one around to hear her. She took out her light saber, ignited it, and began doing exercises as she advanced along the pathway. "How can I learn anything from him when we're separated at the most important times? Master Plo Koon would have taken me with him. Anakin thinks he can do everything on his own. He thinks it's too dangerous for me. He won't say it, but I know that's what he's thinking." She lunged towards an imaginary foe. "He still thinks I'm a kid. Ho! And speaking of kid, what about Rex? He treats me like a child, and I'm older than he is!"

There, she had done it. She had allowed Rex to enter her thoughts in a perfectly reasonable progression. She'd gone from being angry at Anakin, to bemoaning Anakin treating her like a child, to Rex treating her the same way. She hadn't gone indulged thoughts of Rex straight off the mark; she'd allowed the logical flow of thought to lead her there.

But now that he was on her mind . . .

"I hope he's okay. I know my master will watch out for him, but—who am I kidding? They're both so much alike, they're probably competing to see who can come up with the most ridiculous idea for killing droids," she grumped. Of course, it never occurred to Ahsoka how much she herself was like her master. What did occur to her, however, was the unacceptable nature of the thoughts she was encouraging with regard to Rex. "You shouldn't think about him in that way. You're training to be a Jedi. No attachments. And he—all he ever thinks about is war." She stopped her sparring. "That's not true either. He has other thoughts . . . but they're not about you." It was a painful admission.

"Commander Tano?"

"Oh no . . . no, not right now. Of all the rotten timing . . . " Ahsoka turned towards the familiar voice. "Doma Maree."

The Doma approached from a side path. Ahsoka hadn't even sensed her presence.

"I was out on my evening prayer walk. I hope I didn't disturb you," Maree stated.

"Well, that's funny. I was out here talking to myself and practicing with my light saber, you're out here praying, and you're worried about disturbing me?" Ahsoka thought to herself. She managed a smile. "No, you didn't disturb me. I hope I didn't disturb you."

"I heard you talking, and you sounded upset," Maree noted.

"Oh, well, I . . . I was just complaining about how hard it is to be a padawan," Ahsoka replied. "I don't know why my master left me back here instead of taking me to Kamino."

"Kamino?"

"The planet where the clones are produced," Ahsoka replied. "I mean, it's a perfect target for the Separatists. They take out Kamino, and that's the end of the Republic's supply of clones."

Maree stared at her with an unreadable expression, then at last, she said, "They've gone to defend the cloning facilities?"

And suddenly, Ahsoka realized she'd let slip an important piece of top secret information, and it was too late to take it back. "Yes," she replied sheepishly. "And you're not supposed to know that. That's classified information."

"It will go no further than right here," Maree assured her. After a pause, she went on. "Have you had any word on the state of the battle?"

"I can't divulge that," Ahsoka replied. The truth was she'd not had a single update. Still, she offered, "But you shouldn't worry. My master can handle anything." A pause. "Of course, I'd feel better if he had taken me with him."

"He trusted you to do a job here," Maree replied. "Joyful obedience is a virtue."

Ahsoka knit her brows in doubt. "He left me here because he's afraid I'll get hurt. Both he and Rex treat me like a kid. Well, I'm not a kid; and I could be doing a lot more if I were with them now."

"I don't think they treat you like a child," Maree deferred. "Not from what I saw. They both seemed to have great respect for your abilities." A small grin. "If not your wisdom."

"I've got plenty of wisdom," Ahsoka rebuffed in the very puerile manner which she was trying to deny.

"The wisdom of a sixteen-year-old," Maree noted.

"Well, then Rex only has the wisdom of an eleven-year-old," Ahsoka shot back.

"Wisdom . . . is not one of the captain's strong points," Maree replied, much to Ahsoka's surprise. "He's very clever, very inspiring. I could easily see what makes him a great leader to his men. He's smart." A pause. "But being smart isn't the same as being wise."

"You're right, it isn't," Ahsoka conceded. "But I'm surprised you don't think Rex has wisdom."

"Wisdom takes many years to acquire, and many experiences," Maree explained. She smiled fondly. "Certainly, Rex possesses the degree of wisdom I would expect of a man his age and in his position. But he has many other qualities which more than compensate for what he lacks. And to own the truth, I would rather he possess honesty, courage, and dedication than all the wisdom in the universe."

Ahsoka listened intently. She felt herself warming to the conversation. She liked hearing Rex spoken of in something other than a military context.

The Doma continued speaking. "He's very devoted to his men. I found that to be impressive."

"If you think he's devoted to them, you should see him with my master," Ahsoka put forth, a smile edging its way into her expression. "I think Rex would do anything for him." She gave a small laugh. "The two of them are so much alike. I don't know what my master would do without him."

"General Skywalker is a Jedi. He's not allowed to form attachments—of any kind," Maree said in an inquiring manner.

"That's easier said than done," Ahsoka replied. "I think his attachment to Rex is almost as strong as Rex's attachment to him." She looked perplexed. "The clones were engineered to be loyal, so Rex's attachment is no surprise. On the other hand, my master has very strong feelings, and for a Jedi, he hasn't really learned to control them. I guess that's why they still haven't made him a Jedi Master." A pause. "Sometimes it seems like the only person he really trusts is Rex. He definitely doesn't trust the Jedi Council. And like I said, he still think of me as a child who can only be trusted with certain tasks."

"And what about you? You're a padawan, a Jedi in training," Maree prompted. "Yet clearly, you have emotional attachments."

"Me? No, not really."

Maree found it amusing that the young girl before her actually thought she had a chance of hiding what was so obvious to anyone with attuned senses.

"How long have you loved Rex?" The Doma asked directly but with a tone of endearment.

Ahsoka felt her temperature rise. "I don't love Rex," she protested without hesitation, speaking as if the very idea were ridiculous.

"Yes, you do," Maree persisted. "I see the way your eyes light up at the mention of his name. I hear the excitement in your voice when he's the topic. There's no shame in admitting what you feel for him. He is a very good man."

Ahsoka hovered between indignation and conciliation. She was indignant that someone else could read her so easily. She was conciliatory in that she actually wanted to talk about Rex with someone who would listen and not judge her as a padawan or as a silly teenager. In her immediate circle of acquaintances, there was no one to whom she could speak of her attraction. It would be humiliating not only for her, but for Rex.

But Doma Maree was the competition. At least, that was the way it appeared from Ahsoka's perspective. How much open and honest conversation could they have when they both loved the same man?

"I guess I do feel something for him," she acknowledged at last. "But it doesn't matter."

"Because you think he loves me," the Doma finished the unspoken reasoning.

Ahsoka turned and looked at her earnestly. "Yes." She drew up her courage. "Doesn't he?"

"He says he does," Maree replied. "And I believe him."

"I mean, I saw you . . . I saw you with him before we left, and it . . . looked to me as if he was in love with you," Ahsoka stumbled through her words. She corralled her fortitude once again, hoping that there might still be a saving grace. "Do you love him?"

"Very much."

So much for grace.

The Doma continued. "He understands there's no chance for us to be together in this life. He pledged that he would wait until the life to come." Her expression became sad, almost melancholy. "That is a long time to wait. Death may always be near for a clone in the Grand Army of the Republic, but . . . Doma's live for thousands of years." A pause. "I'm not convinced that he truly knew what he was pledging himself to. For my own part, I will keep my word to him. If he finds the temptation too great, I would never hold it against him. And that, Padawan Tano, is why I am having this conversation with you. You have an attachment to him, whether you should or not. But that attachment can be for the good. He may slip away from what he feels for me, but don't let him slip away altogether. We have a saying, evil seeks out the good man to devour him. I fear Rex is just such a man. You are with him most of the time, and I can see that you love him." A pause. "I trust you to love him the way a padawan should."

Ahsoka was utterly confused, yet she managed to nod. "I will." She had no idea what she was agreeing to. "Love him the way a padawan should?" What the hell did that mean? And shouldn't the Doma be more concerned with her own indiscretions?

Ahsoka got to her feet, suddenly anxious to part ways with the enigmatic holy woman. The conversation had turned to something deep and serious. Ahsoka was in no mood for deep and serious. "I appreciate you talking to me," she said curtly but with no hint of appreciation. All she wanted now was to get off this planet and back to the 501st, back to her master, back to the war. Anything to take her mind off this troubling conversation.

"You know, your two newbies really showed what they were made of," Cody remarked as he watched his lieutenants marshal the 212th survivors for boarding the shuttle that would take them back to the Resolute.

"You mean Echo and Fives," Rex presumed.

"Yeah. They came through under the worst of circumstances," Cody went on. He paused then spoke carefully. "I think Colt and Havoc would have wanted them to be ARC troopers after their performance today."

Rex looked up at Cody with unspoken gratitude. It was something Rex would never have thought of on his own, but it was perfectly fitting, and somehow it was a poignant way to honor the two fallen ARC commanders.

"As a field commander, I have it in my power," Cody stated. "They're your men. Just say the word."

Rex drew in a long, thoughtful breath. "It means running the risk of them being reassigned."

"We can probably hold that off for a while," Cody stated.

Rex nodded. "Let's go find them."

"I always knew Ninety-Nine would go out as a hero," Top said boldly, but there was a sad glint in his eye as he spoke. "There was no stopping that old man."

Echo sighed. "I just wish we'd been able to stop him."

"Why?" This from Hardcase. "It was better for him to dying doing what a soldier does than to die from all his ailments catching up with him. He always wanted to show that he was one of us, and he did. Risking his life to save the rest of you . . . that's the sign of true courage, of true brotherhood."

The image of Hevy flashed across Fives' mind. "I know."

"When my time comes, I want to go out in a blaze of glory, taking as many of the enemy with me as I can," Hardcase went on.

"Yeah, well, don't plan on it anytime soon," Top warned. "We need to keep this team together as long as possible." A pause. "Speaking of which, we'd better go find Pitch before he gets too tempted by the sight of so much destruction and starts lobbing his own explosives."

Echo found himself smiling. He liked the troopers in Saber Squad. While they were nothing like his own squad mates, they were more closely-knit than Bravo Squad had ever been; and Echo envied them their appreciation of each other's abilities. Their bond made him value, even more, the fact that he still had Fives and the friendship that they shared.

"See you boys back topside," Top said with a nod.

As Top walked away with Hardcase, Echo admired the company commander's pauldron and kama, the signs of his recent induction into the ranks of the ARC troopers. Echo had only met Flat Top a few days earlier at the battle on Bertegad. He'd certainly heard a lot about him, and from the past few days experience, he could say that all the scuttlebutt had been true. Top was an amazing officer in every sense – from his wits to his guts, from his tactical mind to his strategic sense. He clearly aspired to be like his captain, but was just as obviously as different in temperament from Captain Rex as could possibly be. The fact that Echo and Fives had ended up being assigned to his company had been a bit of good fortune, for Echo felt very certain that he was going to like working for this man.

"He doesn't seem like an ARC trooper," Fives said unexpectedly.

Echo looked at his curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Fives said. "He just—he seems so . . . kind of . . . crazy."

"Don't you think every ARC trooper must have at least a little bit of 'crazy' in him?" Echo grinned. "Even the captain's done some pretty crazy stuff in the short time we've been assigned to the 501st."

"He owes that to General Skywalker," Fives replied.

"Maybe in part," Echo deferred. "But I think he brings a lot of it himself."

"Well, if craziness is a pre-requisite for being an ARC trooper, then I guess you and I are both out of the running," Fives said lightly.

At that moment, the sound of their captain's voice, subdued but commanding, came across the hangar in which they were standing.

"Echo, Fives."

The two clones came to attention as Rex approached with Commander Cody.

"By the Force, what did we do wrong now?" Fives wondered. He was growing fearful that his own willfulness was going to get him kicked right into the rehabilitation program. He quickly started sifting through his actions here on Kamino, trying to pinpoint his error.

Though not their commanding officer, it was Commander Cody who took the initiative. "You both really stepped up in the heat of battle."

Hmm, not what Fives had been expecting.

Echo was already replying. "We did what we had to do, Sir."

"What any clone would have done," Fives added.

And although they may not have recognized it, these simple answers swelled their captain's chest with pride. He strode before them, puffed and poised like a man about to deliver a great speech.

"Both of you showed valor out there, real courage," he commended, then with a wry wit that only the captain of the renowned 501st could get away with, he added, "Reminded me of me, actually."

There it was. Cody recognized once more his friend's amazing ability to move past trials and mourning quickly. The harsh reality of Colt's death was less than two hours old, and Rex was already able to take on the affectations of humor and bravado. And while there might be a certain forced falseness to it, there was just as much honesty behind it. Rex was a man who could not long dwell on the miseries of war and life as a clone. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Rex was one of the most adept clones when it came to making the war a life-style; and in that life-style, there was little time for focusing on pity, grief, or difficulty. The sentiments and emotions might always be there, but Rex kept them at arm's length.

Cody, on the other hand, was more than well-suited to deal with situations both positive and negative. He'd certainly had his fill lately of the negative, and so now, he was determined to enjoy a moment of the good.

"Echo, Fives, you're both officially being made ARC troopers," the commander announced.

Echo could hardly believe his ears. He turned a speechless look of joy to his companion. Fives, perhaps feeling a bit more deserving, smiled in satisfaction.

It was a dream come true, a goal from their days as cadets – not so very long ago. A point of pride among the ranks of the great clone army.

A flash of brilliance that could not last.

Not in a galaxy at war.

At last, she was on her way back. Back to the 501st, back to her master, back to being where she felt she belonged. Ahsoka watched the world of Bertegad grow smaller on the port monitors. Any second now, it would blip out of sight completely as the ship went into hyperspace.

She had spent the last five days doing her utmost to avoid Doma Maree, not because she disliked the woman, but because she was a constant reminder that Rex was not the immovable fortress Ahsoka had always considered him to be. The fortress had yielded a bit, only in a direction different from the one Ahsoka would have liked.

The Doma seemed to have sensed Ahsoka's discomfort intrinsically, and so she had taken most status updates from Major Dunore, dealing with the padawan only in the manner of cordialities.

It wasn't until Ahsoka was about to leave that Maree had approached her to offer her people's gratitude that the subject of Rex came up again and in very brief measure.

"Keep him safe."

"He'd never accept the idea that I'm there to keep him safe," Ahsoka replied, then adding with a true smile, "He'd tell you he's there to protect me."

"One doesn't preclude the other," Maree pointed out, returning the smile. "Good luck in your training. The path of a Jedi is a worthy one."

Now, standing on the bridge of the shuttle, Ahsoka—though anxious to return to her battalion—was also feeling inexplicably uneasy, as if there were some decision to be made, but she did not know the question.

It was true, as the Doma had said, that Rex would never be returning to the Monastica. Doma Maree would never see him again, whereas Ahsoka would see almost every day. That should have given her a feeling of advantage, of comfort. Yet, she felt uneasy. The way of the Jedi would have been to meditate in order to discover the source of her disquiet; but Ahsoka was determined not to meditate. She did not want to know why she felt the way she did, for fear she would not like the answer.

Yes, maybe it was true that she did love Rex. Maybe it was true that she had formed an attachment where none should exist. And it appeared that attachment went only one way. But these things she had lived with since first meeting Rex and deciding in the ruined shadows of Christophsis that he was as close to the ideal man as she could imagine. It had taken her less than five minutes to come to that conclusion, but her certainty had never wavered. The fact was that over a year had gone by, and in that year, she'd not felt in the least bit wary of her infatuation with the captain. Why now? What was this sense of misgiving when she thought about the Monastica and Rex?

No matter how great her curiosity, even greater was her desire not to know.

Doma Maree watched the shuttle until it disappeared from view.

There was something very sad about that moment, for it marked the end of an amazing time – the short stretch of days during which some small fragment of the Grand Army of the Republic and its amazing clone corps had come to this place – a place generally insignificant to the war effort, made important for a fleeting moment only by the crash of a ship . . .

It was sheer happenstance that had brought the clones to Bertegad, a twist of fate that had thrown Rex in her path, and one final twist that had removed him again.

She began the long, slow walk back to the Taber. At the moment, she felt that the company of the animal souls housed therein would be the most soothing. As she passed between the wings of the healing rooms, she heard the familiar voice of Fels Au-Linus behind her.

"Doma, I was just going to see you," he greeted her. "There's something I wanted to show you that I think you might find interesting."

Maree did a creditable job of hiding the fact that she would rather be among the souls at the moment, but she considered that a brother as serious as Au-Linus would not have sought her out had he not something truly fascinating to show her.

"Of course, what is it?" she asked politely.

"If you'll come inside with me," Linus said, and they began walking. He did not say another word until they had reached their destination, which, surprisingly, was not the healing rooms or even the labs. He led her to the records vaults. "We were reviewing the clones' records prior to submitting them to the clerk for filing, just making sure everything was included . . . and we noticed an anomaly." He took a stack of records from the clerk that had been set aside. "We have a full body scan of every clone that went into the cold field. There were five of them. The initial scan—" He removed a scan tab from one of the folders and inserted it into a holo-reader, "—shows this deviation in all five." The image showed a highly detailed holographic image of the clone's brain. The deviation Linus was pointing out was a clear aberration in the construct of the brain tissue.

"What is it?" Marie asked.

"I had some of the other doctors take a look, and according to the cold field's data, it's an organic plat of some kind," Linus replied. "But it's not active tissue. It has blood flow, but it has no mitochondrial activity, it doesn't replenish itself." A pause. "It is definitely a foreign body implanted in the brain, but to what end, I couldn't tell you." He flipped through several more images. "Now, here's the interesting part. After the cold field's molecular correction . . . it's gone. The cold field didn't change it into brain tissue. It simply destroyed it as a foreign body."

Maree was stunned. "I . . . don't suppose we have any actual samples of the tissue."

"No, Doma," Linus replied. "We didn't even notice the abnormality until the clerk began cataloging the scans, which was only this morning. With the cold field, we usually just let the machine do its job and trust its detection systems. None of the clones had head injuries, so we didn't focus on cranial images when reviewing the initial scans." He looked at her curiously. "You didn't sense this in them when you did the Skrit-Na?"

"No," Maree replied. "Whatever it was, it wasn't making them sick. Do you have any hypotheses as to what its purpose could be?"

"We would need to do more research," Linus told her.

"Then do so," Maree ordered. "If five of them had it, then it's not an accident." A pause. "The five who were in the cold fields . . . Echo, Kix, Gernot, Puzzle, and Rex. There were no others?"

"Just those five."

"And they all had the same abnormality, and it was gone in all of them after the cold field?" Maree asked as a manner of confirmation.

"Yes, Doma."

Maree frowned. "Then it stands to reason that the rest of them have it, as well."

"I think that's a reasonable conclusion," Linus agreed.

"What if it was something . . . they needed? As clones?" Maree asked. "Could we have put them in danger by removing it?"

"The five clones in question appeared unaffected," Linus replied. "Removing it certainly didn't do them any harm."

"That we know of," Maree added. "See if you can find out what it is . . . and what purpose it serves. If we've done something that mistakenly hurts them, we'll have to find a way to get word to Captain Rex."

Au-Linus nodded. "We'll get to work on it right away, Doma."