Fifteen


Gem made her way back from her mission to acquire food to find Jesse sitting up in the rack.

"You OK?" She asked as she placed a couple of wrapped ration bars down on the small chest.

Jesse nodded and stood.

"Here, I found these. I thought you could mash them up with some water. Make them easier to swallow."

He smiled and picked one up, intonating for her to take to the cot and grab some rest.

Jess then took to wandering the ship, looking over parts carefully as he walked the corridors. He knew the instant he stepped on-board she was a smugglers, with traps and extra storage hidden behind bulkheads and inside ventilation shafts. With a little concentration, it wasn't hard to pick them out. If they were raided by an Empire cruiser, he knew exactly where he could hide within the air conditioning system.

Like that night.

Jesse opened the door to the galley. As hard as he tried, he couldn't shake the vision of Vail's face.

He found it difficult to sleep, his thoughts and dreams haunted by that moment, that last goodbye.

Confusion, heartbreak; loss.

Always loss.

The Coruscant Guard was the one person he trusted and had confided in, and now, like all the others, he was gone too.

He sat alone in the galley, with the hood of his jacket down low to keep his face hidden.

Gem was right.

The tattoo would have to go.

A symbol he once wore with pride was an emblem of the past, one that now marked him as a wanted.

Units had been deployed to bring to justice any soldier who had disappeared once the Jedi cull and ensuing confusion on the Core World had begun. He sighed and turned the small monitor on and watched as the holonews showed more images of soldiers, relabelled Republic traitors, being hauled in by men in ubiquitous white suits. With no colours or individual markings, Jesse couldn't tell who was doing the pushing.

Two from Bantha were marched unceremoniously in front of the camera's. Their armour looked ragged against the pristine white, and one was limping heavily as the reporter panned to an image of Commander Fox, standing straight in front of the new Empire lock up.

The Guard were still wearing crimson.

Jesse then rose slowly, looking for another when his attention was distracted by a voice from behind.

"I've seen your kind before."

Jesse swung around and readied himself to fight. The surge of adrenaline admixed with the pain med's causing his head to swim momentarily.

"Don't worry son. I'm neither after the credits or the drama involved in reporting you to the Empire. Sit down and continue your meal," he looked at the gruel in the bowl.

Jesse relaxed a little as the man stepped out of the darkness and began to pour himself a drink.

"Caf?"

Jesse shook his head, his lips pursed and waited, calculating a way out if necessary.

"Well, you may not be a soldier anymore boy, but I am still captain of this ship and I am telling you, to sit." He pointed to the chair and gestured for him to do as he had been ordered.

Jesse was tired and sat down slowly, mulling the spoon over in his hand before he brought the beige coloured cereal to his mouth. The captain watched as he winced and swallowed.

"You're injured. We have a medic on board. Granted, nothing fancy like you've been used to. None of that bacta shit either. Just old fashioned doctoring"

Jesse slumped a little further into his seat and shook his head.

"Things have certainly changed for you lot, haven' they? Not to worry. That lady you're travelling with. She Jedi?"

Jesse grabbed his throat gently and mouthed, "no. Politician."

"I see. Well, I won't hold that against her." Fletcha continued to look at the clone soldier, "amazing," he said as he shook his head with a smile.

"What?" Another whisper under excruciating pain.

"The likeness. This bloody cloning technology, I'll never get it. Anyway, listen to me son. I had someone like you on board, a year or so ago." Jesse looked from under the hood of his jacket and waited for him to continue.

"He jettisoned over Scillals' orbit. He would be someone you should consider finding, if you get my drift?"

Jesse got the message, loud and clear, and if he weren't that tired and in such pain he would have asked more questions.

Fletcha then stood from his chair, "we'll be hitting Kayl's orbit in five hours. It is a good planet, no Empire and no reason for them to visit, yet. The salt air would do you both some good." Jesse watched in silence as the captain of the Bounty, a pirate smugglers ship tossed the remnants of his caf into the sink followed by his plastimug. "From there, you could get a transport to Eudesa. Ships leave for Scillal on the odd month." Jesse nodded and stood also, extending his hand and mouthing thank you as they clasped.

"Don't forget. Scillal."

With that, the captain was gone and Jesse had lost what little appetite he had to begin with. He looked at the beige mush in the bowl and forced two spoonful's down, knowing his body needed the protein to heal.

Quietly he made his way back to the room he shared with the politician and opened the door.

She quickly sat up, slightly dazed from sleep.

Jess raised both hands and reached for the data pad.

Kayl in 5 standard.

Gem was getting used to the perfunctory datapad messages . Truth be told, she liked the brevity. Jesse had proven to be the perfect travelling companion. Unable to talk there would be no rehashing what happened on Coruscant. No long conversations, just brief one line statements that she could choose to elaborate on if she chose to.

She nodded and moved over to allow more room on the rack. Jesse shook his head, and squatted on the floor opposite letting his head rest back on the bulkhead. Gem watched as the gentle swaying of the ship rocked his head slightly, then fell back to sleep, disturbed only when the repulsors engaged as they descended through the atmosphere of Kayl.

.

Ahsoka was well aware of the particular bad mood that had descended over Rex.

Both she and the acolyte had sensed the darkness that had enveloped him entirely.

Apart from cooing with his daughter, he kept communication with anyone else, to a bare minimum.

But one afternoon, whilst discussing which planets would be an option for them to disappear to, Ahsoka decided she'd had enough.

"That's a ridiculous choice!" he said incredulously. "You of ALL people, should know that the Jawa's would sell us out faster than pulling apart an R2 unit. C'mon Ahsoka, you can do better than that."

Ahsoka kept her eyes low and with an even tone replied, "when are you going to tell me what is bugging you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard Rex. I am sick to death of the cold shoulder treatment. Tell me what the problem is, so we can address it, and move on."

Rex looked at her, anger written all over his face.

With a raised eyebrow, Ventress got the message and took Piia for a walk, leaving the two to thrash it out alone. She sat next to him silently and waited, and after what seemed like the longest of minutes he finally relinquished.

"You took my armour and disposed it without informing me."

Ahsoka immediately went on the back foot.

"I had to!" She cried. "Don't you see? If we were caught with any of it, well," she stammered looking for words, "you've seen first hand what the Empire is capable of? You of all people Rex! I kept your hand blasters, isn't that enough?"

"No."

She stood and belligerently placed both hands on her hips hips, "well I'm sorry ok? I'm sorry for taking your precious armour. If we manage to get off this planet alive and undetected, I promise to get you some more. Happy?"

"No."

"What? Oh, I give up."

"You don't understand."

"I don't understand," she stressed, "that's rich, I think I had less than you when I left."

"I JUST WANTED MY GAUNTLETS OK. YOU NEVER SHUT UP LONG ENOUGH TO LISTEN TO WHAT ANY ONE IS SAYING! FEK!"

Rex trembled with anger.

"Well if you could TELL me, then maybe I would!"

Rex sat down heavily, "it doesn't matter now anyway."

She sat next to him, "Rex, please, just talk to me. We've got to be in this together, for Piia's sake. To get her to a safe location so you can both get on with your lives, to rebuild and mourn properly. Not here," she said looking around, "in this dump."

It was time to come clean, to reveal another intimate layer.

The events post Order 66 had seen him laid naked physically and emotionally and Rex was reluctant to reveal the last little piece he had kept all to himself.

With a whisper he replied, "my left gauntlet had the only image I had of Gem."

As he said the words, Ahsoka felt the purge in his Force signature.

She knew how hard that would have been for him. Rex had been the captain of one of the most fearless units in the GAR. Soldiers, and Jedi alike looked to him to lead them out of trouble, to make decisions that held their collective fate.

And he would do it, without second thought, he was as open as a leader could be.

But this was different.

This was highly personal, and she appreciated his honesty, finally.

There would be more tears and hard times to come, but with this small revelation, Rex had taken the first step in learning to let others help.

Then she remembered the ritualistic tapping of his left glove to his chest. He told her one day he would explain why he did it, but never got the chance. And now, she had thrown away the one thing that meant more to him than the plastoid that kept them alive.

"Oh, Rex, I'm so sorry," she moved her head around so he had to look at her, "but if it is an image of Gem you want, that's easy. All we have to do is look her up on the holonet. She'll be there, listed under the Oriian government site. Look," she moved over to grab her old datapad, "here, see? Here she is."

An image of Gemma appeared on the screen.

It had been taken the day she had been inducted into Parliament on Coruscant and Rex knew she was wearing the Narglatch claw he had given her.

It was bittersweet and made his heart yearn a little more, seeing her youth and beauty immortalised on the screen.

"You'll will never forget her Rex, you only have to look at Piia to see that. Come on, we need to make a decision before Ventress gets sick and tired of us and leaves with the only ride we have."

He nodded, his eyes still transfixed on his dead wife's face.

"Tantooine is still too risky."

"I agree, where would you suggest?"

And with that, Rex mellowed slightly as they discussed a route to Oriis that would throw any Empirical tracking team off their scent. After many hours debating the merits of several mid rim planets and moons, Ahsoka and Rex came up with the perfect plan.

"I should have remembered that," he said with a knowing smile.

"It's decided then. We'll leave tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night."

.