Chapter Text
Kaliida Shoals Medical Center, Ryndellia System, 21 BBY
Clad only in his blacks, Captain Rex reclined in the private room he was sharing with Sergeant Coric and one of the newer clones in the 501st, Checkers. This was day three of their recovery stay after the hard victory they’d had at Kothlis. If a victory was what you could call it. It had resulted in the worst casualties Rex had seen since the Battle of Teth. They’d gone in there with more than just one company this time, though, so he still left with more than just five of his men. Didn’t make him feel much better about all the boys who’d died.
They hadn’t even been backed into a wall this time; the Seppies had some new jammers that had completely scrambled all their comms for the entire fight. Making matters worse, the Seps had pulled out all the stops. SBDs, STAPs, droidekas, vultures. The works. Rex himself had been hit twice – once in the arm and once in the chest. If Coric hadn’t been around to stabilize him, he’d have karked it right then and there. If Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano – who herself had been recently knocked unconscious and was a little wobbly – hadn’t gone for help from General Kenobi and Commander Cody, the 501st would’ve been overrun and destroyed.
If it was a victory, it was a victory by the skin of their teeth.
Rex checked his datapad, reading up on the casualty reports. Denal had taken a bolt to his left arm but was otherwise fine. Ridge would be out of it for several days after having been hit by some shrapnel in the torso. Nax had a broken leg and Attie was fighting exhaustion after having to carry him across the battlefield under heavy fire. Redeye was lucky to be alive, having taken a shot to the head that had bounced off at just the right angle so it didn’t penetrate the plastoid. Oz and Ringo had nearly been taken out by an exploding STAP, but were thankfully recovering. Fives had broken his right hand going toe-to-toe with a droid after seeing Echo do the exact same thing. According to Echo, Fives had never read the manual on how exactly to fistfight a droid and thus, had failed.
Ross was one of three other clones – Appo, Zeer, and Echo – who were totally uninjured.
Lucky bastards.
Rex set the ‘pad down.
“Light reading, sir?” asked Coric, glancing up from the holozine he had been flipping through.
“Not like you,” Rex said. “Checkers?”
“Shh, sir,” the clone said, looking up from his datapad and holding one hand up to his earpiece. “I’m listening to HNE. They’ve got a piece on General Skywalker coming up.”
“Don’t you mean ‘the Hero with No Fear?’” Coric said, putting air-quotes around the nickname that the HoloNet News had recently given to their general.
Rex rolled his eyes. As if Skywalker needed his ego inflated any larger than it already was. “Kid,” he said. “You’re never gonna get to know the General if you listen to what the HoloNet of all sources has to say about him. They never report anything right.”
“And,” Coric said, “they rarely ever talk about clones. Most of what we do is forgotten about or they misattribute it to some Jedi.” Rex personally didn’t care about recognition, but he wished some of his brothers got it more often. They deserved at least that much given everything they were doing to keep the people of the Republic safe. “I’m pretty sure the only clone I’ve ever heard of getting an interview on HNE is Fox, and that’s just because he went and took down Ziro the Hutt.”
He had to admit – it had been funny to watch. During the entirety of Fox’s interview, he hadn’t been allowed to wear his helmet and very clearly looked as though he’d rather be anywhere other than in that interview chair talking to some reporter. It had been obvious that someone – probably Thire – had been feeding him lines through an earpiece. He sounded like a kriffing droid.
But . . . maybe Fox just sounded like that. Coruscant did strange things to people.
Checkers looked strange for a moment.
“Something on your mind?” Rex ventured.
“Well . . .” he said slowly. “Commander Fox might be the only clone I’ve ever seen an interview for. But he’s not the only clone I’ve ever seen mentioned on HNE . . .”
“What do you mean?”
“Er . . . there was a piece on you once, sir,” Checkers said, grinning sheepishly.
“What?” Rex demanded.
“Oh, I’ve got to see this,” Coric said, ditching his holozine. “Can you find it?”
“Probably.”
“Now wait a minute,” Rex began to rise, but a twinge in his chest stopped him. Despite having spent most of the previous day in a Bacta tank, his wound hadn’t quite fully healed yet.
“Sorry, sir,” Coric said, rising and walking over to crouch beside Checkers’ bed. “This is out of your hands.”
Rex could do nothing but sit there and seethe as Checkers fiddled with his datapad, searching for the vid in question. There were a few moments of silence. Then . . .
“Got it!”
At that moment, the door to the room opened and none other than fifteen-year-old Ahsoka Tano stepped inside – five feet, six inches of orange skin and white and blue striped headtails. She was the feistiest girl Rex had ever known in his eleven years of life. Come to that, she was one of the only girls Rex had ever known. “Hey boys,” the Togruta said, looking around. “The medics said I’m good to go, so I thought I’d stop by and hang out. What’re you up to?”
Rex reddened. “Nothing.”
“Come here, Commander,” Coric said, beckoning her over and grinning. “Check this out.”
The voice of Nax’s favorite broadcaster, Yhorm Cole, emanated from Checkers’ ‘pad. “Tonight, we have a very special report for all you viewers out there. Perhaps you’ve heard of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker? Or, as we at HoloNet News like to call him, the Hero with No Fear.” Ahsoka snickered. “Well, we’re willing to bet you haven’t heard about General Skywalker’s right-hand man – the formidable clone captain CT-seven-five-six-seven. Or, as he prefers to be called: Rex.”
“Oh!” Ahsoka squeaked, leaning over Coric’s shoulder to get a better view of the screen. “I didn’t know there was a piece about you, Rex!”
“They’ve got pictures,” Checkers said.
“Damn, I didn’t know you had the same haircut in basic, Captain,” Coric quipped.
“Rex, you looked so cute as a – what would that be? – a six-year-old,” Ahsoka gushed, grinning.
Rex wanted to sink into the bed and disappear. The report continued.
“Much like Knight Skywalker, Captain Rex has made quite a reputation for himself over the course of this terrible war. He has served on battlefronts from Geonosis to Maridun and has emerged from almost every one of them unscathed and victorious. He is the apex of what every soldier aspires to be.”
Coric glanced over at Rex, who was still half on his back, half sitting up; unable to really move and very red in the face. “They really do exaggerate everything, don’t they?”
More giggles from Ahsoka.
“Don’t believe us?” asked Yhorm. “Why don’t we hear it from General Skywalker himself?”
No . . .
“They got Anakin on here?” Ahsoka asked.
A moment later, the General’s voice registered. “Captain Rex is my right-hand man. There’s no one I’d rather have by my side in a firefight. He’s managed to curb some of my more . . . creative plans. He keeps the men organized, executes orders to the letter, and goes above and beyond the call of duty on an almost mission-by-mission basis.”
“Well,” Checkers said. “That’s high praise.”
“Is that why you decided to join the five-oh-first, Checkers?” Ahsoka asked. “You saw all the HNE propaganda about Skyguy and Rexter?”
Only a few weeks ago, Checkers had been serving with General Fisto and Commander Monnk as a member of Laser Company. However, after a battle at Kessel, Checkers had been left as the only surviving member of the company. He’d been allowed to choose where he was going to be reassigned, and he’d chosen the 501st.
“Not really,” Checkers said. “Maybe a little bit. But, even without clips like that, every clone in the army knows that the five-oh-first is the best of the best. Captain Rex, General Skywalker, and you all have a reputation for being some of the best leaders to serve under.”
“What do you mean?” Ahsoka asked, looking a little surprised.
She really had no idea. She didn’t have any idea just how much the men appreciated how she and Skywalker treated them and valued their lives. Word of people like that spread like wildfire through the ranks – especially since clones tell each other practically everything. The only other general with a reputation higher than Skywalker was General Plo Koon, and that was because he treated his men like family.
Or a pack.
“Ma’am,” Checkers said, “everyone knows the five-oh-first is the best place for any clone because of how well you work with us. You get to know us all. Know our names. Care about us as people, not just soldiers.”
“Well . . . yeah,” Ahsoka said, shrugging. “I mean, that’s just right. Like Anakin said: it’s the least we can do for the sacrifice we’re asking you to make.”
“Exactly.”
“Right.” Ahsoka clearly still didn’t fully understand. “Well . . . I’m glad you chose to serve with us, Checkers.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Rex could scour the entire galaxy for the rest of his life and never find a being with a heart purer than Ahsoka Tano’s.
He lay back on his bed, the heat in his face diminishing now that the HNE report had stopped playing. Then Ahsoka was standing over him.
“You doing okay, Rexter?” she asked. “You had me worried out there.”
“I know.” Rex couldn’t explain to her just how much he knew. He’d felt her worry as she’d raced off to find General Kenobi. An anxious beat; an itch that had tickled the back of his brain. That uncomfortable feeling was probably what had kept him awake while he was on the battlefield, nearly incapacitated.
He didn’t really know what to say about it. If he should say anything at all.
Clones weren’t supposed to be able to feel anything like that.
“Don’t you worry, Commander,” Coric said. “We’ll always look out for Captain Soft Spot for you.”
Ahsoka giggled.
Rex rolled his eyes. “I’m alright, kid. I’ll be ready to get back to the fight in another day or two.”
Ahsoka set a hand on his uninjured shoulder. Given that he wasn’t wearing his armor, he was actually able to feel her warmth for once. “Get better soon,” she nearly whispered. Then, she turned and walked towards the door. As it slid open, she turned and looked back. “I’ll stop by later. See if I can use some Jedi persuasion to get extra grub from the mess hall.”
“Sounds good, ma’am,” Checkers said.
“See if you can get something that’s actually edible,” Coric said.
“Think they’ll have spiced creams here?” Checkers asked.
“Don’t hold your breath,” Rex muttered.
Ahsoka laughed. “I’ll try. No promises, though. Rest up, boys.”
And she was gone.