Chapter 11: Trooper Shanties Part 1Notes:I know what you're thinking. "Didn't Boredom just say they were going to start posting smaller chapters? This one is longer than the last!" Yes, well, believe it or not, this was supposed to be with the last chapter. That's right. This was supposed to all happen in Chapter 10. So, in many ways, I did post a shorter chapter! But, I am going to start being a little more lenient as to how much has to happen in a chapter. It's just, I had this one all written up and almost edited anyways so I figured I'd finish it up. Plus, I really like this one and I think you're going to like it to. Enjoy ;)
Also, someone a while back suggested marching songs and whatnot (sorry, can't find the comment. but I promise they did!) so I suggest you pull up your favorite version of 'The Wellerman' ;)
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of suicide and suicide attempts.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextThe camera's focus was all wrong as three blurry troopers sat on the other side.
"You got it?"
"No, Fives, press the button there. That button! Why are you so bad at this?"
"I got it. I got. Don't get your blacks in a twist." Thankfully, Fives did in fact have it as the focus finally cleared and showed Fives, Echo, and Jesse all sitting in front of the camera.
"There we go," Fives smiled, scooting back so he was shoulder to shoulder with his brothers.
"I cannot believe you roped me into doing, this," Echo groaned.
"Come on, vod, it'll be fun," Jesse said, slapping Echo's back.
"It'll give me a headache, that's what it'll do."
"Don't be such a sour puss," Fives said. "Alright, hello holonet! No Ahsoka today. She's meditating or something. This is a special episode. It's been a question a lot of people have been asking and we're going to answer it today. Yes. I am single. You can message me on my commlink here!" Fives grinned and pointed to what was probably intended to be a graphic that told the audience how to contact him.
Instead, Echo's eyes went wide and he leaped in front of his brothers, waving his arms frantically. "No, no, don't put that down. Whoever is editing this video, do not put how to contact Fives!"
"Why not?" Fives asked as Jesse pulled Echo back to being seated.
"Because that's a huge security violation."
Fives rolled his eyes. "And Echo is also single if anyone wants to try and make him 'fun'."
"We've already tried," Jesse said, shaking his head and tutting. "It's a lost cause."
"I am fun!" Echo cried.
Jesse and Fives kept shaking their heads.
"I am! I'm here aren't I?"
"Only because we threatened to tell the Captain about the time you snuck that chargrian into the—"
Echo dove across Jesse's lap to clamp a hand over Fives' mouth before he could finish that sentence.
"Everyone wants to know if we have some sort of marching song or shanty or something we sing and the answer is yes!" Echo said loudly.
Fives shoved his hand away and Jesse hauled him back to his seat.
"Yup! We sing. A lot. Not much to do when you're sitting in space for weeks on end and all the cleaning and maintenance of weapons and ships and whatnot get a little boring," Jesse added. "So we got our songs."
"Every battalion has their own unique list that they sing, but there is some overlap," Fives said. "And, of course, the 501st is the best. Because we are the best in everything we do."
"Right," Echo said. "And so these two dikute have managed to convince me to join them in singing it."
"Yup!" Jesse grinned. "Alright, we're just going to do one. It's 'The Battleships'."
He started clapping his hands at a regular beat and started to sing.
Many shuttles take to space.
The clone army they do encase.
The gunners roar. The corridors shake.
Oh fire my brothers go (huh)
Echo and Fives joined in.
Soon may the Battleships come
To bring us bacta and rounds and guns
One day, when the fighting is done,
We'll bury our brothers and go
She'd not been two 'secs from ground
When down on her, a right fighter bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He'd take that ship in tow (huh)
Soon may the Battleships come
To bring us bacta and rounds and guns
One day, when the fighting is done,
We'll bury our brothers and go
Hardcase and Hawke stuck their heads in the room.
"Oh, you guys are doing songs?" Hardcase asked.
"Hush, you're ruining the beat," Fives said.
"Nah, we're getting in on this. Budge over," Hawke said, squishing the three of them to the side as he and Hardcase found space on the bench.
Jesse rolled his eyes and continued to sing.
No ship was stopped, no fighter's freed
The captain's mind was not of greed
And he belonged to the Republic's creed
He took that ship in tow (huh)
Soon may the Battleship come
To bring us bacta and rounds and guns
One day when the fighting is done
We'll bury our brothers and go.
For forty rounds or even more
The fire goes quiet then roars once more
All pods were lost, there were only four
But still that ship did go (huh)
Soon may the Battleships come
To bring us bacta and rounds and guns
One day when the fighting is done
We'll take our bury our brothers and go.
As far as I've heard, the battle's still on
The fighting's not done and the fighters not gone
The troopers make their regular calls
To encourage captain, squads, and all (huh)
Soon may the battleships come
To bring us bacta and rounds and guns.
One day when the fighting is done
We'll bury our brothers and go.
They finished the song with smiles on their faces.
"And that, dear viewers, is the best shanty of the GAR. Don't let anyone tell you differently," Fives said. "See you guys soon. And we promise next time Ahsoka will be here. That kid's not going anywhere for a long time."
*****
Rex often felt like something was wrong with the universe. In many ways, he supposed this was an obvious statement. The galaxy was currently at war. The Republic was corrupt. His brothers were slaves. His commander was a child. And he wasn't expected to live to see the end of the year.
But, every once in a while, that general feeling of wrongness sharpened. It was almost this imperceptible tang in the air. A slight buzzing in the back of his head. A strange itch in his muscles that made him restless.
He felt that now.
Standing in one of the war rooms while Ahsoka went over the plan for their next mission one last time.
Something was wrong.
Something was wrong with this mission.
As soon as he heard what they would be doing, the sense of wrongness sharpened and settled deep into his bones.
On the surface, the mission didn't appear to be anything worth worrying about. General Windu and his men had been engaged in a planet-side battle and managed to clear out most of the Seppies. But, he was needed at another conflict somewhere else and had to leave before they could fully clear the planet. According to the intel, there wasn't much left. A few roving bands of B1s that would probably get themselves killed even without GAR interference. But there had been a few strongholds on the planet. One at the capitol, and another at the largest city. Their mission was to do one last sweep of the planet, clear out the rest of the clankers, and see if any of the data from those strongholds could be salvaged.
Again, it didn't sound like a suspicious mission or anything. They had done similar runs before.
But it was wrong.
For one thing: General Skywalker and Admiral Yularen wouldn't be joining them. Nor would General Kenobi. Or Windu. Or Fisto. Or Koon. Or Unduli. Or Secura. Or any other general. Nope, this mission was being run completely by Ahsoka by herself.
She had jumped at the chance to run a mission like this and prove herself to the rest of the Jedi and GAR that she wasn't some little kid.
Rex thought she had proved that plenty with her past successes and quick thinking on the battlefield. Even with those past successes, though, he still felt like this was too much responsibility.
He would never tell her this out loud and he did his best not to think about it. But Ahsoka was still a kid. A kid with less than a year of battle experience under her belt. A kid that still would make plans and then look to either Rex or General Skywalker for approval. A kid that still struggled with impulsiveness and recklessness.
Ahsoka was good at fighting.
She was good at war (something Rex hated to even acknowledge). But she was still just a kid. She still needed someone older to keep her grounded. An authority figure that could pull her back if need be. Technically, with Skywalker and Yularen gone, Ahsoka was the commanding officer. There was no one else above her.
Rex didn't like it.
It was wrong.
This whole thing was wrong.
Even General Kenobi thought so and argued against the mission assignment, offering to send Cody at the very least to help them out.
Which is when it was revealed that the Jedi council wasn't the one that came up with this mission.
It had come from the top.
Chancellor Palpatine himself had decided where everyone would be and who would be doing what. Palpatine wanted this taken care of and he wanted it done by the end of the day.
"General," he had said to Kenobi, "I understand your trepidation, but we must recover that data as fast as possible. I fear the Separatists will scrub it before we have a chance to learn anything of value."
"Then let my commander go to aid in the mission," General Kenobi pleaded.
Palpatine's eyes narrowed. "Do you not think Padawan Tano is capable of leading such a mission?"
Ahsoka looked at General Kenobi. She looked betrayed. Smaller and younger than Rex remembered her being.
"It's not that," General Kenobi hurried to say. "There are no other battalions in that area and it is on the outer rim in a very turbulent part of the Galaxy. If something goes wrong, it will be nearly impossible for us to give aid quickly. Such a burden is a lot to put on a youngling's shoulders."
"I'll be fine, Master Obi-Wan," Ahsoka said. "Master Windu did a great job clearing the planet and there are currently no Separatists in the area. We'll be in and out in a day and then join back up with you and Anakin."
General Kenobi was not convinced.
"I'm sorry, Master Jedi," Palpatine said. "But we cannot spare anyone else at the moment. There are too many high-profile battles going on now. As the little one has said, it should be a fairly straightforward and easy mission. Or, as straightforward and easy as war is."
And that was that. Ahsoka was now leading a mission completely alone and cut off from the rest of the GAR. Oh, sure, Skywalker and Kenobi had joined in on the planning session over the holoprojector. But once they hit the ground, she'd be all alone.
It almost felt like this was a move in dejarik. And while Rex didn't normally mind feeling like a pawn moved to certain locations to gain advantages over their enemies- this was war after all that was literally the purpose of stationing troops in certain areas- this was different. It felt like they were being sent out as sacrificial pawns.
It felt like Ahsoka was a sacrificial pawn.
It was the first time in his life Rex could remember wanting to disobey orders since he had left Kamino. There had been times when he questioned orders or felt unsure of the orders he was given. But this was the first time since the war had started that he almost mutinied, took control of the ship, and turned them the hell around. Screw Palpatine. Screw the Jedi Council. Screw the war. He was not letting anyone on this ship be sacrificial pawns for a mission that was certainly going to go wrong.
Only, he didn't do that.
He didn't disobey orders.
He didn't argue with the council or the chancellor about their piss-poor planning and their brilliantstrategy of sending a fourteen-year-old to go lead an entire campaign by herself. He was a clone. He did not have the luxury of disobeying orders. He did not have the luxury of arguing. He did not have the luxury to demand more time to scout the planet or wait for more troops.
Palpatine wanted this done today. And he wanted Ahsoka to do it.
There was nothing Rex could do to stop it. After all, even General Kenobi couldn't manage to convince Palpatine to let Cody go with them. What the hell was a slave that barely had representation in the Senate supposed to do about it?
He would be on his guard and on his toes. He always was on missions. It would be suicide not to. But he would be much more cautious. And he didn't care how much Ahsoka hated him for it, he would be taking control of the mission if it got out of hand. He was going to get his brothers and his little sister off this planet in one piece.
"Alright, any questions?" Ahsoka asked as she finished up their final briefing with a bright smile.
The soldiers in the room all shook their heads. Everyone seemed as tense as Rex.
"Oh, come on, guys. Lighten up. I'm not that bad."
"No, it's not you, sir," Colt said. "It's the fact that we feel very isolated. Moreso than normal."
"Everything's going to be fine." She assured him. "We've already run scans of the planet several times. And Master Windu is good at what he does. We'll be in and out in no time."
"Of course," Echo said, quickly coming to support Ahsoka.
"Right, men," Jesse said. "You've got your assignments from the commander. Let's get ready to move out in fifteen. Oya!"
"Oya!" the rest of the troops shouted, filing out of the room. Ahsoka trotted after them, joking with Echo and Hardcase.
Rex sighed and massaged the back of his neck.
"Sir, we need to talk," someone said.
He looked up to see Fives still in the room.
"Fives? What is it? What's wrong?" A lot of things were wrong, but he was hoping Fives had something a bit more concrete for evidence. Maybe then they could call the whole thing off.
"It's the mission. I don't trust it."
"Do you have any proof that something's up? Intel or something that you found?"
Fives hesitated and then shook his head. "No. But… this whole thing is weird! I know you feel it too. Everyone does."
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"Call off the mission!"
"Fives—"
"No, listen to me, Rex, this whole thing is going to go south I can feel it."
"Your feelings aren't proof. I can't call anything off because you feel uneasy." He went to step past Fives before things escalated.
Fives wasn't having it and grabbed his arm, yanking him back in front of him.
"Watch yourself, trooper," Rex warned.
"No, listen to me. Why isn't Skywalker here?"
"Because he's on a mission with General Kenobi on the other side of the galaxy. It's not the first time Ahsoka and Skywalker have been separated."
"Fine, okay. But why is she alone, then?"
"She's a capable commander. One of the best. And the mission is simple. She's done similar things like this, by herself, before." At this point, he wasn't trying to convince Fives, he was trying to convince himself.
He went to step past Fives once more. Fives reacted the exact same way, pushing him back, leaving his hand on his chest to pin him there.
"Fives, if you stop me from leaving again and I will court-martial you."
"You're not listening to me, Rex."
"That's Captain to you, trooper."
"Fine, captain," Fives practically spat. "I know that Ahsoka's done similar missions on her own before but we've never been this isolated. Something is wrong. We have to call it off."
"We can't. We need to clear the rest of the clankers and get the data before the Separatists can scrub it."
"Do we even know if there's data down there to collect? Let's just do an air raid on the remaining clankers and call it a day. It's probably nothing."
"That is not an option. If there is even a chance that there is intel that can end the war, we are taking it. Besides, it is not up to us. It is up to the council and the Senate. And they both say that Commander Tano can do this mission alone."
"This is a set-up, Captain! Come on, I know you feel it too! I know you think something weird is going on too!"
Rex's eyes flickered up to the camera, just behind Fives, recording everything.
"And we are not going to find out what that is unless we get on the ground and do our job."
"Then leave Ahsoka behind! She can stay on the ship and direct troops from here like other generals and we do the ground assault."
"Fives—"
"We can tell her Skywalker sent her a message and then while she's busy, we can sneak out. She won't even know we're gone."
"Fives!"
"And, if this really is an easy, in and out mission then I'll tell her it was all my idea and she can be mad at me—"
"Fives, stand down! Now!" Rex shouted. His voice echoed through the empty room.
Fives jumped and snapped his mouth shut.
"The chancellor himself set this mission up. The council approved it. If they did not think we could complete it successfully, they would have said so. Which means that Commander Tano is going to lead one team through the city while another team goes to the Capitol. You are going to listen to her orders or mine and you will not question them. You will not trick her into staying in the ship and you will not ever doubt her abilities to lead again. Is that understood?"
"So, you're just going to send her down there where she could die?"
"Is that understood?" Rex shouted once more.
He agreed with Fives. He really did. Something was wrong. Ahsoka should stay up here until they figured out what. But they didn't have that luxury. And he couldn't risk her catching onto this since it might cloud her judgment. She was a teenager. A child looking for recognition in a place where bloodshed surrounded her. If she heard any of what Fives had just said, she might run off on her own to prove him wrong. It was a stupid, impulsive, reckless thing to do. But she was a kid. They weren't known for their stellar decision-making skills. Which is why Rex had to make this mission run as smoothly as possible. He couldn't get them out of it. Ahsoka couldn't get them out of it. Not unless they had some proof. Which they didn't. This meant that whether they liked it or not, they were going to that planet's surface and they were clearing the city and capital. And that required Fives to quit acting like some insubordinate cadet.
Fives opened his mouth to argue once more but thought better of it and snapped it shut. "Yes, sir," he growled. "Never pegged you for one who follows orders without question."
Rex didn't respond to him, shoving past him to finally leave the room. Fives didn't stop him this time.
He was barely out the door when he ran into Ahsoka.
Literally ran into her. So lost in his thoughts he bowled straight over and knocked her to the ground.
"Shit, I'm sorry, kid," he said, grabbing ahold of her hand and hoisting her to her feet.
"No, it's okay. I was looking for you anyways," she said. She smiled at him, but it was tight and laced with anxiety. "Is everything okay? You feel mad?"
"Everything's fine, kid," he responded, feeling very tired and old.
Ahsoka crossed her arms and glared at him. "Don't lie to me. I know you call me 'kid' but I don't appreciate being treated as one. If we're going to do this mission, I need to know that you trust me. What's going on?"
Damn, she knew the right things to say to break down all his barriers and walls. It was annoying.
He sighed and massaged his brow. "Can't get anything past you. Can I? Fives thinks there's something fishy about the mission. I do too, but we don't exactly have the time to do a full scouting party to do a ground sweep before commencing the ground assault. Fives wants us to pull back, but we don't have the authority to do that either."
"Oh," Ahsoka's face softened. "Why didn't he talk to me about it?"
"Don't take it personally, kid," Rex said. "I think he mostly just wanted to yell about it but didn't want to yell at you about it. He likes you too much for that."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Alright. Do you need me to talk to him?"
"No, I took care of it. Don't worry."
"Sounds like I should be." She bit her lip. "I feel it too, you know. The fact that there's something wrong with this mission. But I don't know what to do about it. You're right. We can't leave."
"Maybe we can do a flyover scouting party," Rex said. "Havoc and Smoke can go out and do a visual check of the city and capitol then send us the report."
"It would take less time and visual confirmation would help us get a better idea of what's down there," Ahsoka agreed. "We could at least make sure it's not a trap."
"Sounds like a plan," Rex said. "Come on, let's go tell the boys."
"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to Fives?"
Rex looked over his shoulder at the war room. Fives had yet to come out.
"No, give him some time. It won't impact the mission. He's good like that."
"Alright. Let's go get this thing done." She punched him lightly in the arm. "I've also learned from Anakin that the longer you're in one place, the more likely something is to go wrong."
"I think that's just a Skywalker problem," Rex laughed. "He's a disaster magnet. I wouldn't be surprised if these bad feelings we're all having are not about our mission, but about his."
Ahsoka grinned. "I feel so bad for Master Obi-Wan, having to raise him and train him. It's a wonder he doesn't have more gray hair."
"It's a wonder I'm not gray dealing with you and Skywalker."
"We're not that bad!"
"I beg to disagree."
Despite their light-hearted teasing, the worry in Rex's gut did not go away. And he had a feeling that it would not go away until the mission was complete, they were back on the ship, and they could confidently say it was not a trap.
*****
It was a trap.
Even with Smoke and Havoc doing a flyover and confirming visually the number of droids left wandering the surface, as soon as Rex and Ahsoka's team got to the city center, they had been ambushed.
The battle was a bit too chaotic for Rex to figure out how in the Galaxy the droids had managed to escape detection. But, he did remember, distantly, that Gree had encountered a similar problem a while back. For some reason, the droids weren't registering on their scanners. That was going to be a problem.
Specifically, future Rex's problem. Because current Rex's problem was trying to figure out how to keep everyone alive and complete the mission.
"We need to fall back!" Jesse cried over the blaster fire.
Seriously, how did Windu miss this big of a droid army still on the planet's surface? How did Havoc and Smoke? Even if their scanners didn't pick them up, they would have seen them visually! There had to be some sort of tunnel system they didn't know about. Again, future Rex's problem.
"We don't have anywhere to fall back to!" Rex replied. "Dogma's team is on their way and Hawke's got air support inbound in fifteen."
Luckily, Rex and Ahsoka had been ambushed first, which meant they were able to call up Dogma and warn him before they were wiped off the map. They had been able to clear their droid army a lot faster because of it.
"Fifteen?" Jesse cried. "Haar'chak! We don't have fifteen minutes! I don't even think we have fifteen seconds!"
"It's the best we're going to get! The desert outside the city is too open and there's no cover. We'll be picked off faster than we would be staying in here. Hold your positions! Hukaat'kama! I'm going to tell the commander."
"Yes, sir!" Jesse replied.
Rex started making his way towards Ahsoka, ducking from rubble pile to rubble pile, doing his best to avoid blaster shots. A couple got too close for comfort, grazing his armor and leaving scorch marks on the white and blue. Thankfully, he didn't get hit.
It was strange. He thought after the ambush the feeling of wrongness would go away. They had discovered what was causing so much unease. He should be fully present in the situation now.
But there was still something wrong.
Something he couldn't place his finger on.
Why did the droids hide in the first place? Why did they not engage with General Windu? Why did they hide until Rex and Ahsoka were all the way in the city?
He kept his head on a swivel as he approached Ahsoka, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the entire plan to reveal itself.
Ahsoka was out in front of everyone, like always. Her lightsaber spun so quickly it was hard to tell where the blade actually was as all he could see was a circle that made a shield. She kept up with the impressive display of speed and agility. A true combat prodigy as she sliced her way through the army like they were made of paper. She was completely focused on the battle in front of her, almost in a meditative state as she took down droid after droid.
"Commander!" he called, loathed to break her concentration. But, he needed to talk to her.
She hopped back so she was closer to his rubble pile. Still slightly out in front, though. Almost as if she was protecting him.
"Good news?" she asked.
Rex heard Jesse call for a forward push while sending a squad of shinies to flank the left. If they could just surround them, they might be able to win this thing.
"Mediocre news," he responded. "Hawke and Dogma are on their way. ETA fifteen minutes."
"I don't think we have fifteen minutes," Ahsoka said.
"Can't really do anything else at the moment."
"No, we can. Send Echo and Fives to try and find the tunnels they hid in. We can collapse them and put these tinnies in a hole."
"Good plan, commander. I'll let the boys know. Don't really like that we're going to be down two men, though."
"Me neither. But, unless you have a better idea, I'm all ears."
He didn't. They didn't have enough men to do a proper flanking maneuver. Most of their platoon had been wiped out in the initial ambush. Ahsoka was right. If they could find the tunnel system and set some charges, they might just be able to collapse enough of the street to bury a few of these clankers.
He sat fully behind the rubble pile, trusting Ahsoka to watch his back while he relayed their new plan to Fives, Echo, and Jesse.
He never got a chance to relay the message.
Rex was a highly trained soldier. One of the best in the GAR, if he were being honest. Cody had practically forced him through the command track even though he wasn't supposed to do that. Rex regularly scored top of his class in everything. He was good at what he did. And Part of being a good soldier was somehow being able to see what was going on all around you. He didn't have 360-degree vision, enhanced senses, or Force osik that could tell you things. But he was damn good at noticing when things were wrong and acting on those observations quickly. Sometimes, he wasn't even sure what tipped him off. But he didn't hesitate. He trusted his gut, followed his line of sight, and reacted immediately. It's what kept him and his men alive.
When he raised his wrist to access his commlink, there was a glare there. A glare that should not be there based on the building materials that surrounded them.
He didn't hesitate.
He followed that glare of light up to a taller building about 200 meters away. His heart fell from his chest when he realized what it was.
"We got a sniper on the roof!" he shouted, whipping back towards Ahsoka. It felt necessary to make sure she knew first.
Time seemed to slow down.
Ahsoka, distracted by his cry, turned ever so slightly to look at him.
He thought he heard the shot ring out.
That probably wasn't the case. There was so much blaster fire from both armies it would be impossible to determine which shot was the shot.
But it didn't matter because he could hear it.
And he could see it.
Out of the corner of his eye.
A red bolt streaked through the air.
He watched it.
He followed it.
He saw it hit its mark.
He saw Ahsoka's body jerk back, spinning her as she crumpled to the ground. She had been too distracted to block it with her lightsaber.
It was his fault for distracting her.
Her head smacked against the ground. Time resumed its normal pace.
"Ahsoka!" Rex shouted. "Echo, Fives, after him!"
He didn't know if the sniper was a commando droid or something else. He didn't care. He wanted it dead. He wanted it brought before him on its knees so he could execute it.
Fives and Echo didn't hesitate to follow his orders. They were a blur of blue and white, taking off in the direction of the sniper, firing at it.
Rex couldn't bring himself to care or watch them.
He had abandoned his cover.
Jesse was shouting something. Some sort of orders.
Rex should be shouting orders right now.
With Ahsoka…
With Ahsoka…
He was going to be sick.
She was so far away.
Wasn't she right next to him a few seconds ago?
Why was she so far away?
Ahsoka was down.
Rex was the one in charge.
He should be giving orders, not Jesse.
He couldn't get the orders to come.
It felt like all the air had been punched out of his lungs and his body moved without his command. Somehow, he managed to make it to Ahsoka without getting hit. He grabbed her lightsaber and hooked it on his belt before turning to Ahsoka.
He needed to get her out of the line of fire. Kix always said you weren't supposed to move a person in case they had a head or spinal injury, and Ahsoka had smacked her head when she fell. He could see the blood pooling around it. And around her chest. Where she had been…
Where the sniper had…
A blaster bolt grazed his left arm, enough so that it bit through the plastoid and caused pain to flair up. He had to get her out of here. Kix could heal a spinal injury. He couldn't heal death.
He pulled her into his arms, cradling her to his chest and sprinting back to the rubble pile to give them some cover.
He went to call for their medic, commlink slipping in his bloodied fingers, before realizing that they no longer had a medic. Patchwork had died very early on in the battle.
There was only one other option.
Somehow, he got his voice to work. "Kix, it's Rex. Ahsoka's been shot. And she hit her head. We're in the city center. I had to move her. She was in the line of fire still."
It was probably only thanks to years of training that Rex was able to give Kix this information in the first place. At some point, instinct took over. And he was glad.
"Where was she shot, captain?" His voice was even. Almost calm. He had a lot of practice being the only calm one in a situation. People tended to panic when they called him so he had developed a way of speaking that kept them focused.
Rex swallowed and shifted Ahsoka in his arms to see the damage. He felt like vomiting once more.
There, on her chest, was an ugly, twisted hole. Still smoking from the shot.
"Chest. About where I got shot." He felt numb saying those words out loud.
"Is she still breathing? Is she awake?"
She was breathing. She had to be breathing. If she wasn't, that meant she was dead. She couldn't be dead.
Just as Rex was about to put his fingers to her neck to see if she still had a pulse, he jolted. Ahsoka was, indeed, still awake. Her glassy eyes were trying to focus on him. She reached a shaky hand up and hooked it on the collar of his chest plate. She squeezed it and let out a whimper.
"She's awake," he said. "Ahsoka, are you with me? Stay with me, kid. You're going to be alright."
Ahsoka's mouth moved, she was trying to say something. Rex didn't know if he should stop her or let her speak.
"Alright," Kix said. "I'm with Dogma. We're about ten minutes out. Try and keep her awake and calm. No more lightsaber tricks or flips. Is that clear?"
Ahsoka's hand dropped and he saw tears start to streak down her dust-smudged cheeks.
"Captain!" Kix said, voice sharp and commanding.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'll keep her awake," he replied. He reached down and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. She squeezed it back. Barely.
"Good. Ten minutes. We're almost there."
Rex didn't respond, instead focusing all his attention on Ahsoka as the battle continued to rage around them. Everything felt muffled. Like he was hearing the shots from miles away. Jesse was still shouting and leading the charge.
Rex couldn't take his eyes off Ahsoka. She was so small in his arms. So light. So fragile. Almost like a baby bird, he could crush if he wasn't careful. As if one wrong shift of her body could kill her.
"You're okay, vod'ika. You're okay. Kix is on his way. You got to stay awake though. Can you do that?"
His arms were starting to cramp from holding her, taking all of Ahsoka's weight and doing his best to keep her off the dirty ground.
"Rex?" Her glassy eyes kept trying to find his face, and her voice was so soft he could barely hear it.
He wondered if he should take off the helmet so she could see him.
"I'm right here, Soka. Just stay awake, okay? Doctor's orders. You know how Kix gets when his orders aren't followed."
She put a hand up to his helmet, mouth still moving as she tried to speak. She pawed at the bottom of it.
"Alright, alright. I can take a hint," Rex said. He let go of her hand and pulled the helmet off. Probably stupid considering there was still an active battle going on but he couldn't bring himself to care. He didn't care what happened to him as long as Ahsoka made it out of this alive.
"Rex?" she said again, her voice cracking as more tears dripped down her cheeks.
"You're doing great, Soka. Keep it up. Kix is almost here."
She whimpered and curled into his chest, once more gripping at the neck of his armor. "Hurts."
"I know it does." It took a lot of self-control for Rex not to squeeze her in his arms. All he could do was support her.
"Make it stop. Please," she said.
That request alone destroyed Rex more than any blaster bolt to the heart ever could. "Okay. Okay, I can do that," he said. "I can make it stop."
He couldn't, but maybe if she thought he could some sort of placebo effect would kick in and she'd be more comfortable.
She shuddered in his arms. It was like he could see her skin rapidly paling from the blood loss. Each millisecond Kix wasn't here she turned even more ashen. Even colder in his arms.
"Soka, talk to me, little one. How are you feeling? Can you breathe okay?"
She didn't answer. Her breathing was ragged and every once in a while her body shuddered.
"Come, kid, answer me. What's going on?"
She didn't answer.
"Ahsoka! Ahsoka!"
No.
No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
He had one job.
Kix had given him one job.
Keep her awake.
She wasn't awake.
She wasn't answering him.
"Please, ner ad'ikaGedet'ye, ner kair'ta. Cuyanir, gedet'ye. Gedet'ye. Gedet'ye" He didn't even know what he was asking for any more. Ahsoka wasn't responding to him. She wasn't awake. She wasn't moving. He wasn't even sure if she was breathing.
Something shifted the rocks next to him. He pulled out his blaster and aimed it right at whatever droid decided to try and kill Ahsoka. He was very lucky he didn't pull the trigger. Kix was the one next to him. Not a droid.
"Easy there, captain," Kix said, holding up his hands.
Corric was with him, already digging through his field kit. There were teeth painted on the zippers.
"Give her to me. We need to work fast, okay?"
Rex hesitated, blaster still outstretched, and pointed at Kix. Some instinctual part of his brain didn't want to hand Ahsoka over to anyone. Like he was the only one who could keep her alive right now.
He fought that part of his brain and lowered his blaster before gently sliding her into Kix's arms.
Her face was slack.
He hadn't kept her awake.
Kix didn't mention it as he and Corric got to work. He pulled out bacta patches and sprays and needles, moving and shifting her around as needed to do whatever it was he needed to do to keep her alive.
He wanted to stay and watch them work. He wanted to be there just in case Ahsoka needed him.
Now that she was with Kix and Corric, his brain was able to compartmentalize the situation better.
He put back on his helmet, grabbed his blaster, and went to go find Jesse. His entire body felt numb and on autopilot.
It was a very good thing Hawke and Dogma were here and Jesse was taking control.
He did his best to command the troops.
He didn't ask where Echo and Fives were.
He focused on clearing out the rest of the droids.
It was quick work.
They wiped them out in less than five minutes.
There had been data in one of the tactical droids they managed to recover.
It was a successful mission.
It was a victory.
Kix and Corric ran to a gunship with Ahsoka on a stretcher. She was even paler than the last time Rex saw her. Even paler than when she had the blue shadow virus.
It didn't feel like a victory.
*****
Jesse had his fair share of hard campaigns. He had campaigns that wiped out his entire squad. He had campaigns where the number of casualties was so high the victory felt more bitter than sweet. He had campaigns where they technically won, but only by the skin of their teeth.
Jesse had his fair share of hard campaigns and victories that came at a high cost.
Never before had he felt like victory was more hollow and less deserved than now.
They had completed their mission. They had wiped out the remaining droids and downloaded whatever data was left from the Separatists. But it didn't matter.
It didn't matter because Ahsoka had gotten hurt.
Not just hurt, she had almost died.
Kix and Corric never exactly downplayed a person's injuries, but they always tried to shield the brothers from just how bad it was. Just how close they came to losing one of their own. Jesse had gotten good at telling when things were bad. He knew what Kix looked like when even he wasn't sure if a patient would pull through. He knew how Corric acted when chances for survival were slim.
Ahsoka had almost died.
It had been a very close call.
And that made their victory hollow.
Rex's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He had yet to remove his helmet. There was a small, bloody handprint on his chin. His arms and chest plate were coated in blood.
It made Jesse wonder how much Ahsoka had lost. And how much she could lose before it was too much. Did they even have togruta-friendly blood transfusions on the ship? Jesse decided not to ask. Not that Kix would answer anyways. He had been working on Ahsoka for over an hour while Corric dealt with the rest of the injured men. No one complained. They all had a silent agreement that Ahsoka always came first.
The ship didn't hum with energy and pleasant moods. Hardcase wasn't making his usual jokes. Kix wasn't shouting and threatening to handcuff people to beds if they didn't stay put. Hawke wasn't complaining about the mess their dirty kits made in his ship. It was as if a blanket of despair had draped itself over everyone.
And Ahsoka wasn't even dead!
Yet, at least. Kix had yet to come and tell them that she was going to be okay. And Jesse was aware that even though she was breathing when she left that battlefield, things could turn in an instant. Especially with a shot that close to the heart.
Fuck. What would happen to the 501st if the kid actually died?
They had moved on after losing brothers before. It was practically a daily occurrence. He wasn't sure if they could move on after losing Ahsoka. Maybe they could go through the motions of war. They could run campaigns and fight in battles. But it would never be the same. They would never be able to recover.
They were back on the ship now. Mission completed, no matter the cost.
Most of them had shoved into the Med Bay, waiting for Kix and Corric to give the news.
Rex stood beside Jesse. He hadn't said a word since he had handed Ahsoka off to Kix. Jesse wondered if he even was fully present or if he was dissociating. He hadn't made any acknowledgment of the blood that coated him. Or the fact that there was a nasty blaster wound to his arm that probably needed bacta. Jesse decided not to tell him. If Rex was going into shock any push, no matter how small, might tip him over the edge. Right now, he needed to be strong for the others troopers. If he fell apart, then everyone would fall apart. That would only make things worse.
And Jesse?
Jesse felt like he was the only one on this ship not falling apart. He was the only one on this ship preparing for bad news.
He had to be prepared.
Because if Kix walked out with a grim look on his face and a subtle shake of his head to indicate Ahsoka hadn't made it, Rex was going to fall apart. The 501st was going to fall apart. Skywalker, when he found out, was going to fall apart.
It was up to Jesse right now, as second in command, to keep that from happening. Ahsoka wouldn't want them to fall apart. She'd want them to keep pushing forward. To keep fighting this war. To win it. To bring peace to the galaxy. Jesse could do that. He could do that for her.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kix stepped out. He had blood smeared across his armor and looked grim. But not grim in a way that suggested he was going to deliver bad news. Jesse let out a sigh of relief. Even before the medic spoke, he knew Ahsoka was still alive. For the time being, at least.
Kix looked at them, lips pressed into a thin line. "Well, I didn't know this was how to get you all in the med bay without a fight."
No one laughed.
He looked down at the data pad. "It's still touch and go. She lost a lot of blood and without a bacta tank or the proper transfusions, it's going to take her longer to heal. I recommend we head to Coruscant immediately so she can have access to better facilities."
Already done. Jesse had ordered them to head back the second everyone was on the ship. Not everyone was on the ship, though. Echo and Fives were still on the planet's surface, chasing after the sniper. Havoc and Smoke were doing flyovers to help them. He'd tell them to abandon the mission after Kix was done giving his diagnostics. He wanted that sniper caught as much as the rest of them. But he wasn't about to delay Ahsoka getting potentially life-saving treatment to do so.
"The shot missed her heart by an inch and because she wasn't wearing any armor, it went completely through."
Rex stiffened next to him.
"She also has a concussion and damaged her lekku when she fell so she'll be sensitive to sound when she wakes up. I think she slowed the damage with the Force or something. I know they can do that. Anyways, the shot missed her heart. Missed her spine. We got all the bacta we can spare helping her out. She's asleep now and her vitals look good. I think she'll make a full recovery."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. That suffocating blanket of despair lessened somewhat. Jesse felt like he could finally breathe again. His legs were shaking and it took all his self-control not to sink to the floor. Rex stayed rigid beside him.
"I want her resting so Corric and I are going to be imposing strict visitation hours when she wakes up. And she is going to stay in this med bay until I clear her to leave."
The troopers all started to protest.
Kix merely glared at them. "Do not slow her recovery because you're too selfish to wait a few hours to see her. Besides, with the amount of blood she lost I doubt she'll manage to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time anyways."
The protests all died down.
"Right then, she'll be asleep for the night and probably most of tomorrow as well. I strongly recommend you all clear out before I start running physicals on all of you."
Had the situation been any less dire, Jesse would have laughed. For the first time, it actually looked like many of the troopers would prefer to get poked and prodded at by an overly-zealous medic so they could stay in the med bay a few minutes longer. Still, they took the hint and filed out.
"Captain!" Kix called, no doubt seeing Rex's wounded arm.
Jesse shook his head. "Let me calm him down first, okay?"
"He got shot in the arm," Kix growled.
"I know, I know. I'm not saying he shouldn't get that looked at, but come on, Kix, you see him. He's in shock. Let me just help him come back to the present. I promise you, I'll let you or Corric look at him in a bit. Okay? He's not going to die. It's just a graze."
Kix clicked his tongue and relented. "Alright. But if I don't hear from you in an hour, I will find you, and I will tranq you."
Jesse let out a hollow laugh. "Fair enough."
Kix patted him on the shoulder before walking back to Ahsoka to run a few more scans. Jesse turned to see Rex standing in the same spot, not moving. Rigid. He looked like a statue.
"Captain," he said.
Rex jumped and turned to him. "Yes? What is it?"
"Come on, let's get out of here." He jerked his head to the door.
Rex didn't move, turning back to stare at Ahsoka. "I can't. She needs me."
"She's got Kix and Corric looking after her," Jesse said softly. "Besides, we won't be long and then you can come back."
Maybe it was a good thing he got shot. That way he had an excuse to stay in the med bay.
Before Rex could argue with him, Dogma walked in. "Echo and Fives are back," he said.
That seemed to spur Rex into some action. He nodded and motioned for Jesse to follow him. Not exactly what he was hoping for. But hopefully getting out of the med bay and walking around would help clear his head.
"Smoke and Havoc are back too?" Jesse asked Dogma.
"They're the ones that gave Echo and Fives a ride."
"Good." He messaged the bridge to let them know to head for Coruscant immediately. Shit, had anyone told General Skywalker what had happened? Or the Jedi Council? Or the chancellor? He should probably go do that.
But first, he needed to hear Echo and Fives' report. Then he needed to figure out if the captain was dissociating. Then he needed to get the captain back down to the med bay to get his arm checked out. Then he could send a report to… to someone. He'd probably start with Skywalker and go from there. Fuck, Skywalker was not going to be happy.
They made their way down to the bay as Echo and Fives stepped off the scouting ship Havoc and Smoke used.
"Sit rep," Rex asked, his body still rigid. He seemed to operate better when there were things to do and orders to give at the very least.
Echo pulled off his helmet, looking very grim. "It wasn't a clanker, sir." He pulled out a holoprojector and up popped an image of Cad Bane recorded from his body cam. Clear as day.
Jesse choked back a gasp. He had been under the impression that a commando droid was responsible for Ahsoka's shooting. To know it was a bounty hunter…
"Also, he used a B1 blaster for some reason," Echo said, holding out the offending weapon.
Jesse took it and examined it. It had been modified for a longer range but otherwise remained unchanged from what the B1s normally used.
"It was almost like he wanted it to look like an accident. Or he wasn't there," Echo finished.
Fives finally spoke. "Someone hired him to kill her." He also had his helmet off, tucked under his arm in a vice grip so tight Jesse swore he could see spiderweb cracks appear where Fives gripped it.
Oh shit. Things were about to get ugly.
"Did you get him?" Rex asked. He and Fives were staring intently at one another.
The blanket of despair had completely disappeared and now all Jesse could feel was tension. Thick enough to cut with a knife. Hot enough to boil his blood. His heart rate increased ever so slightly. He took a step back as if to get out of the line of fire.
"No," Fives growled. "We chased him halfway across the planet before he got on his ship and took off."
"Why didn't you get him?" Rex asked.
"Rex," Jesse swallowed down his desire to stay out of the situation and put a hand on Rex's arm. A pathetic attempt at de-escalation.
"Because we fucking didn't!" Fives shouted, chucking his helmet across the room where it smashed into the wall. He threw it with such force, Jesse wouldn't be surprised if it was cracked or the wall was dented.
"Fives," Echo said, grabbing onto his brother and trying to physically pull him away from Rex.
It didn't work. Fives shoved Echo off him and Rex somehow managed to slip from Jesse's grasp.
"You want to repeat that?" he asked.
"We fucking didn't get him, sir because it was a setup from the beginning! I told you there was something wrong! I told you something was off about the mission. But did you fucking listen? No! No, you fucking didn't because you think you know best and you follow orders without questions—"
"Watch yourself, trooper," Rex growled.
Alright, de-escalation tactics were failing rapidly and the shouting was attracting a lot of attention.
"Watch myself? You want me to watch myself? How about you watch yourself because you've got your head so far up your own ass you almost got Ahsoka killed! She could still die and all because you decided the mission was more important than her life!"
Rex's fist tightened and he wound his arm back. Fives actually looked like he wanted Rex to punch him. His eyes seemed to be urging him to do it. But Jesse was not going to let that happen. He wasn't great at de-escalation, as evidenced by what was currently happening in front of him, but he did know that letting Rex and Fives get into a fistfight was notgoing to help the situation.
He shoved himself between the two of them, a hand on each of their chests as he forced them to step away from each other.
"Knock it off, both of you," he said in his best 'I'm a commanding officer do what I say' voice. Even though he technically was not a higher rank than Rex. Whatever, it didn't matter now. What mattered now was stopping this before he had to explain to Skywalker why Fives was dead.
He turned to Echo. "Get him out of here. Now."
Echo nodded and grabbed Fives' arm, dragging him away from Rex. Fives didn't say anything. He just glared daggers at Rex.
Jesse turned back to the captain. "Go, start filling out the incident report. I'll deal with Fives."
Rex's fist tightened and for a moment, Jesse was afraid he'd say no and then go after Fives. He didn't. He nodded, turned on his heels, and stalked out of the room. His aura screamed 'danger', causing many troopers to leap out of his way. A few even turned around and headed in the opposite direction to avoid his warpath.
Jesse groaned and ran a hand down his face. He wondered if he should message Kix to let him know that Rex's med bay visit might be delayed a bit. Then again, the man did say he had an hour before he was hunting them down.
Jesse glanced between the hallway Rex had gone down and the hallway Fives and Echo had gone down, trying to decide which one to deal with first.
He winced as he heard Echo's shouts echoing (ha, had this been any other situation he would have found it funny) throughout the ship. Fives was shouting back, equally as angry.
Alright, the captain might be in the midst of a mental breakdown but at least he wasn't disturbing the peace. It looked like Fives was going to be his first victim.
He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and make a plan. As much as he wanted to react in anger, and it certainly would be easier to, that wouldn't help anyone. They were all hurting from this. They were all lashing out in their own ways. He could not be the one that added to that hurt.
Once he felt like he wouldn't immediately deck Fives in the face for his actions, he followed their shouts. Thankfully, it seemed like no trooper wanted to be caught in the middle of whatever the hell was going on here and made themselves scarce. It was only Echo and Fives in that hallway. Echo waved his hands wildly, face red as he berated his brother. Fives shook his head and answered equally as aggressively.
"What were you thinking, talking to the captain like that?" Echo said.
"If he had just listened to me, none of this would have ever happened! I told him! I told him something was off but he didn't listen!"
"It's not his fault that Ahsoka got shot. The only person to blame is Bane and whoever hired him."
"And the captain because he's the one that sent her down there!"
"The council was the one that sent her down there!"
"Fuck off, Echo, you know I'm right!"
Jesse came to a stop in front of them. "Fives, Echo, stand down," he said, keeping his voice sharp and to the point. It wasn't technically a shout, but it was loud enough to get their attention.
The two of them jumped at his sudden appearance and turned toward him. Echo did stand down, snapping into a salute upon realizing Jesse was not messing around.
Fives still had a lot of fight left in him. "Don't sit there and act like I'm wrong," he snarled.
"I said stand down, corporal," Jesse snapped again.
The use of his rank worked like a charm. Fives looked as though he had been slapped. He physically recoiled from Jesse and his mouth snapped shut.
"You are going to sit there, be quiet, and listen to me."
"But—"
"I said be quiet." He growled.
Once more, Fives looked like he had been slapped.
Jesse continued on before he could recover and started arguing once more. "You are not going to speak unless I say you can speak. You are not going to argue with me. And you are not going to leave this conversation until I dismiss you. Is that clear?"
Fives didn't answer.
"Is that clear, corporal?"
He flinched and nodded. "Yes, sir. That's clear."
"Good. Now you are going to listen to me and you are going to listen good. You seem to be under the impression that you have any right to question orders. Let me shatter that illusion for you right now. You do not have the authority or the freedom to question anything. Commander Fox may be on the Senate floor fighting for us to be recognized as citizens of the Republic but do not mistake his position for freedom. You are not a person. You are a clone. You are property of the Galactic Republic and Kamino. Your only purpose is to shoot at whoever your commanding officer tells you to shoot at. Your purpose is not to question. Your purpose is not to argue. Your purpose is not to give your input on missions. Your purpose is to go out there and fight until something kills you. And if you do not do that, if you argue, if you make life hard for your commanding officer, you will be decommissioned in a heartbeat and replaced with a trooper who is better behaved. You are a slave. You do not have the luxury of being difficult to work with."
Fives looked down at his feet and said nothing.
It hurt to say it out loud. It hurt to admit that no matter how many strides forward they had made, it still wasn't enough. But it was reality. It was a harsh reality that the troopers sometimes forgot because the Jedi were kind and treated them like individuals. And this bred a sense of complacency. Something that could cause trouble if they served under the wrong commanding officer.
"We are very lucky that General Skywalker and Ahsoka treat us like we are actual people," Jesse continued. "We are very lucky they listen to our input and let us voice our concerns over plans. But do not for one-second mistake their kindness for freedom. We had orders from the Supreme Chancellor himself. We were going to go to that planet and clear out the remaining Separatist forces no matter what."
"But I was right!" Fives blurted out.
Jesse's eyes narrowed. "What did I say about interrupting me, corporal?"
He immediately snapped his mouth shut and went back to staring at his feet.
"You were right. It was an ambush. It was a plan to lure Ahsoka out so she could be assassinated. What do you want the Captain to do about that? What do you think he could do about that? You had no proof. You had no evidence. All you had was a 'feeling'. That means nothing. Dooku himself could have sent you a Force vision with a play-by-play of exactly what was going to happen. But without evidence, hard, concrete proof that something was wrong, your words mean nothing. And neither you nor the captain has the authority to question orders. Especially not from the chancellor. And, if either of you had, you could have been court-martialed and executed."
Jesse could have gone on. He could have ranted and raved for an entire hour about how much their lot in life sucked and how dehumanized they actually were. But, at a certain point, it wouldn't be about Fives. It would be about him. Him and his feelings towards the GAR and the Republic and how they were treated.
He didn't need to make Fives feel any worse. Looking at him, sufficiently cowed into submission and unlikely to cause any more problems, the situation was dealt with for now. There was probably more he needed to say. There was more he and Fives needed to talk about, that they all needed to talk about. But he was tired, covered in dust, and needed to make sure Rex was still mentally sound. So, he decided to wrap their conversation up.
"Look," he said, softer than before, "you have every right to be angry at the system that puts you in these situations. You have every right to be mad that you were correct but had no way to act upon it. You have every right to want to voice your opinions and input, especially when it comes to the safety of others. But you do not have the right to take those feelings out on the captain. He may be your commanding officer, but he's not more powerful than you. He does not have the authority to disobey orders. Be angry at the system, but taking it out on the captain helps no one. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Fives said softly.
Jesse straightened up and nodded. "Good. Now, tensions are running high because of Ahsoka's injury. I am not going to let you increase those tensions any further. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Here is what is going to happen. You are going to cool off. I don't care how you do it. Run around the ship for five hours. Take a cold shower. Scrub the bridge from top to bottom with a toothbrush. Whatever it takes, you are going to get yourself under control or so help me I will have you court-martialed and thrown into the brig. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"You are also going to apologize to the Captain for blaming him for something he had no control over. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright, then. We are done here. Dismissed."
Echo saluted him. Fives didn't. Jesse didn't care.
He watched as Echo grabbed his brother's arm and once more dragged him down the hallway. He stood in place for a few minutes, waiting to see if the shouting would start up again. It didn't. Or if it did it was out of his earshot.
Hearing nothing, he knew it was now time to deal with his next problem: Rex.
Rex, who was already feeling guilty because Ahsoka got shot.
Rex who held her in his arms for ten minutes, watching her bleed out and not being able to stop it.
Rex who probably was thinking the exact things Fives had said to him in the bay.
This whole thing was a mess.
And now they had a bounty hunter to deal with. And not just any bounty hunter, Cad Bane. One of the best in the business.
He didn't show up for fun. He showed up because someone paid him. This whole thing wreaked of a setup. From the droid ambush to the fact that he had used a B1's weapon. Someone had set this all up.
The logical explanation was Dooku or another Separatist. After all, Ahsoka's video series had been steadily shifting the tides of war and people were starting to fight back against separatist occupations because of it.
The simplest explanation was often the correct one.
But that didn't explain why they were isolated. Why there were no other Jedi in the area? Why Cody couldn't come on the mission with them? That all stank of something bigger going on here.
He looked at the cameras lining the hallways. Always monitoring. Always recording. He'd have to figure out a way to talk about the potential conspiracy without getting recorded later. Right now, Rex was his priority.
*****
As Rex made his way to his office, the adrenaline that had kept him standing slowly started to fade. The numbness of his mind ebbed away and left him grappling with the horror of what had happened. What had almost happened?
By the time he got to his office, he was practically stumbling, tripping over his feet like he were drunk, and using the wall to support him. His breaths came out in short gasps. His armor felt too tight. His body felt too hot. His head felt like it was going to explode.
Jesse told him to do something. Right?
What did he tell him to do?
He swam through his muddled mind, trying to remember the conversation he had just had. The only thing he could remember was Fives yelling at him, saying it was all his fault. Telling him that he was the reason Ahsoka almost died.
He opened the door to his office, crashing to his hands and knees and gasping for air. One of his arms screamed in pain. He couldn't tell which one. His entire body felt like ants were crawling below the surface of his skin. Biting at him. Trying desperately to get out.
Jesse told him to do something.
What was it?
What did he need to do?
Incident report.
That's what he needed to do. He needed to write an incident report and submit it to General Skywalker so he knew what had happened.
Shit.
Skywalker.
He was not going to be happy when he heard about what happened to Ahsoka. He'd be furious. More furious than Fives. Who knew how he'd lash out when he heard?
Rex swallowed and managed to pull himself into his chair. His hands shook as he grabbed a datapad and started filling out the form.
Name: Ahsoka Tano
Rank: Padawan Commander
Age:
Fourteen.
She was fourteen.
Barely a teenager.
Still a child.
His hand shook so badly and the words starts to blur together until he couldn't make heads or tails of the report he was filling out.
He needed to get the armor off. That was why he couldn't breathe. It was too tight. He still had his helmet on. That was always hard to breathe with.
Get it off.
He had to get it off.
He pulled the helmet off and set it down on the desk.
The helmet was wrong.
There was something off about it.
His eyes traced the blue and white and… there! That stain. Red. Right on his chin. In the shape of a small hand.
Blood. There was blood on his helmet.
Rex inhaled sharply and jolted back from the desk, knocking his chair over as the helmet continued to mock him with Ahsoka's blood.
He looked down at his hands and realized they were also stained with blood. It wasn't shiny and wet. It was dry and hardened, flaking off in parts. He traced its path with his eyes. It seemed like it was all over his armor. His hands. His forearms. His biceps. And then on his chest. The largest stain of them all.
That had been where he had held Ahsoka as she bled out in his arms.
His hands shook harder. Fives' accusation echoed in his mind, so loudly it sounded like the man was screaming in his ear.
He couldn't fill out the paperwork. Not like this.
He reached down and unlocked a drawer in his desk, pulling out a full bottle of liquor. He had confiscated it from some shinies a few months back.
Usually, he looked the other way when it came to alcohol. So long as it wasn't becoming a problem or an addiction, he was willing to let the boys have their fun. But this stuff was almost pure alcohol. If the shinies (who were so fresh off Kamino, they hadn't even seen dirt yet) had taken so much as a single sip of the stuff, they'd get alcohol poisoning and die.
So, Rex confiscated it and suggested they started with something a little weaker. That being Jesse's stash of dark ale he kept hidden about the ship. Rex had planned to crack it open when Cody was here. But Krell kind of put a halt to that. He didn't want to risk getting drunk with that man on the ship and Cody seemed pretty shaken by his presence as well.
But now he had a reason to drink. Just a few sips. A little something to take the edge off.
He cracked open the bottle and poured a shot into a glass. He couldn't remember the last time he had cleaned the glass. He decided not to think about it. The alcohol would kill any bacteria anyways. He downed it in one go.
The burn hit the back of his throat and almost immediately he could feel his mind loosen.
He looked down at his hands. They were still shaking. Fives was still screaming in his ear.
Not enough.
He needed more.
Just one more.
One more would make it all go away.
He downed another shot.
Better.
It's all your fault. She almost died because of you.
Still not enough.
Another.
All your fault.
Another.
She almost died.
Another.
All your fault
Another.
Hey! He needed to let Cody know Ahsoka was injured. She was his vod'ika too. He loved her just as much as he loved Rex. He deserved to know.
He put the bottle down, sending something crashing to the floor.
Shit. Was that the alcohol?
No. Wait, he was still holding onto that. What crashed?
The room blurred together. It was dark. Hard to see. Blurry.
Glass?
The glass crashed?
Eh, that was fine. He didn't need a glass to keep drinking. He could do it straight from the bottle.
He put the bottle to his lips and took several deep gulps. Satisfied, he put the bottle on the table, holding onto it for several seconds to make sure it was secure and then letting go.
It didn't crash.
Score one for Rex.
He typed a message to Cody. Very important to let him know Ahsoka was okay. Very important.
Jesse asked him to do something.
Something about a report?
He needed to fill out a report.
Should probably get started on that.
He took another gulp from the bottle.
Cody messaged back.
Rex tried to read what he had typed but couldn't quite make it out. That was fine. He could still message him. His hand didn't feel like it was attached to his body. His fingers felt like they were both too small and too big. Weird.
Another successful message to Cody sent. He turned back to the bottle and reached for it.
The chair tipped with him and Rex found himself falling to the ground.
He probably should catch himself.
Too late.
He hit the ground.
He groaned and pushed himself back up to his hands and knees. Everything spun around and he fell backward.
Fuck. He felt like he was going to be sick.
There was another ping somewhere in the room. It took him a second to realize it was an incoming message.
Who was messaging him?
Oh. Right.
"Cody," he mumbled, rolling to his hands and knees and pulling himself back up into the chair. He went to grab the bottle so he could have another drink.
He overshot it and knocked the bottle to the ground.
The sound of shattering glass filled the room and he watched dumbly as the liquid splattered all over the floor.
He blinked several times.
"Shit. Gotta pick that up."
Someone messaged him.
Jesse?
Jesse wanted him to do something.
No, wait, Cody. Cody messaged him.
Cody messaged him because Rex wanted him to know that Ahsoka was okay.
He should respond.
He picked up the datapad to let his brother know he'd be right back and then put it back on the desk.
Tried to at least.
It fell off and clattered to the ground.
Right into the glass.
Shattered broken glass.
He needed to pick that up.
Couldn't have broken glass.
Ahsoka could get hurt.
Something wet dripped down his face, gathering at his chin before falling.
And it happened again.
And again.
And again.
His hands shook as he tried to pick up the broken bits of glass. The gloves were too thick. He couldn't feel anything with them. He pulled them off with his teeth.
He had to pick up the broken glass.
He couldn't let Ahsoka get hurt.
Ahoska did get hurt.
She almost died.
And it was all his fault.
*****
As much as Jesse had been dreading dealing with Fives, he was dreading dealing with Rex even more. Anger was something that Jesse understood. He felt like he could react to it. He felt like he knew what to do with it.
Despair on the other hand?
That was not his wheelhouse. He had his fair share of depressive moments. One did not fight in a war surrounded by death without having a breakdown here or there. But when other people were sad, Jesse found himself struggling with what to do and say.
'Oh, you lost a brother? Sorry about that!'
Yeah, no. It always seemed like no matter what he did or said, it was hollow. Fake, even.
And normally he wouldn't even be worried about the Captain. Death and injuries were always going to be rough on a person no matter what, but Rex always seemed to compartmentalize well enough.
They were in a war.
Injuries happened.
As far as Ahsoka was concerned, she would be fine. They were lucky this battle. Rex should be able to handle it.
Only, Jesse wasn't so sure that he could.
There was a difference between a brother dying and Ahsoka dying.
All troopers were painfully aware of their own mortality. Every day they were surrounded by dead bodies that looked exactly like them. That sounded like them. That had the same upbringing as them. They knew, in the back of their minds, that if they died, they'd be replaced in a heartbeat. And, if enough of their brothers died, eventually they'd be completely forgotten to time.
There were whole squadrons of men that Jesse would never know about because everyone who did know them was dead.
But Ahsoka was different.
Ahsoka was a Jedi.
There was a finite supply of them.
You couldn't just make another Jedi.
And she seemed so invincible. She didn't wear any armor or carry a blaster. All she had was one lightsaber that twirled as she flipped and sliced effortlessly through droids as if they were merely annoying flies she was swatting.
She laughed during battles.
She joked with Skywalker.
She excelled at combat.
She was always out there in front because troopers weren't invincible. She was.
Jesse should have known better.
He had been there during the blue shadow virus.
He had seen her steadily grow weaker until she collapsed in Rex's arms and didn't wake back up.
He had seen her skin turn gray and her movements grow sluggish.
He had seen her mind and reflexes dull the longer they were down there.
He had seen how mortal she was.
But he had forgotten.
For as complacent as Fives had gotten with voicing his opinions, Jesse was just as bad. He had forgotten that Jedi were just like them. Mortal. Weak. Easily killed.
And now they had all been punched in the face with reality.
They had overestimated Ahsoka's abilities. Her safety in battle. And now they were all paying the price.
His commlink beeped. He groaned and saw it was Kix.
"I thought you said I had an hour."
"I did, but I wanted to make sure you didn't forget," Kix said.
"I know. I'm sorry. Fives and Rex got into it. I dealt with Fives first. I'm getting the captain now."
"Hmph. And this is why you don't leave the med bay unless I say you can."
"You wanted Rex and Fives to get into a fistfight in the med bay?" Jesse asked.
"They got into a fight?" Kix cried.
He winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Almost. I stopped them before Rex could sucker-punch him. It was more of a verbal fight."
Kix cursed. "Fine. But get the captain down here. I need to look at his arm. No more stalling, Jesse."
"I know. I know. Is Ahsoka still doing okay?"
"Yes. Because I'm a miracle worker. Now go. Before I start hunting."
"Alright. I'll see you in a bit," he said.
He got to Rex's office and knocked on the door. "Captain, are you in there?"
He heard a muffled reply come through the door.
"Was that a 'come on in'? It's Jesse, by the way."
This time, there was no reply.
He knocked on the door again. "Captain? Are you okay?"
No answer.
"Rex?"
No answer.
"Shit." He reached to punch in the code and hesitated. He may be acting as the commanding officer at the moment, but he wasn't technically in charge so long as Rex was still fit for duty. Walking into the officers' office without express permission was not allowed since they could be working on classified information.
He knocked once more. "Captain? If you don't tell me to stay out here, I'm going to take that as permission to enter."
Once more, there was no answer.
"I'm coming in." He punched in the code to the door and stepped into the dark room.
His first thought was 'It smells like a bar in here'. His second thought was 'Oh shit, the captain tried to kill himself'. Because Rex was huddled on the ground, blood covering his hands. Fresh blood. Which meant it wasn't Ahsoka's. Shattered glass surrounded him and there was a puddle of what Jesse assumed was alcohol.
"Captain!" He rushed to his side, ready to call Kix in a panic to let him know the captain had slit his wrists.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he realized that wasn't the case, thankfully. Instead, the blood was coming from his hands as he struggled to pick up the glass. Every once in a while, he'd grab a piece, only to drop it back to the ground. He was shaking and tear tracks streaked down his dusty cheeks. Right, he had had his helmet off when he was with Ahsoka. He looked like hell.
"Captain," Jesse said, grabbing onto Rex's hands to try and get him to stop before he hurt himself anymore.
Rex didn't even seem to realize he was in the room with him.
"Rex, stop," he said, tugging him away as gently as he could. Rex was like a boulder though and refused to move.
"It's all my fault," he mumbled. "She's hurt because of me."
His eyes were glassy and red and the smell of his breath told Jesse that he had drank at least some of the contents of the bottle.
"Shit, Rex, how much of this did you drink?"
Rex picked up a large piece of glass, held together by the label. It was smeared with his blood and his hands shook as he put it on the table.
Jesse recognized the label. Usually, a shot or two of this stuff would knock you on your ass. You had to be very careful when drinking it because it was very easy to get alcohol poisoning. The last thing they needed was for Rex's liver to fail and then he'd die.
"My fault. My fault. It's all my fault," Rex said. He tried to pick up another glass piece. It pierced the pads of his fingers. More beads of bright red blood leaked through.
"Okay. Come on, captain, let's get you out of here," Jesse said. This time, he used more force to drag Rex away from the puddle of alcohol and glass.
A bit too much force, though, as Rex toppled into him. The weight of his body knocked Jesse over and they landed on the ground in a tangled heap.
Rex didn't even seem to notice and just lay there.
Kix wanted him to go to the med bay but that was so far away. Jesse wasn't sure he could get Rex there like this. He supposed he could call Kix and Corric to bring a stretcher or something, but he also didn't like the idea of leaving Rex out in public like that. The med bay wasn't exactly built for privacy. And he reeked of alcohol. It probably wouldn't be good for the others healing to smell this.
"Alright, plan B. We're going to your quarters, sir," he said. He fumbled with his commlink.
He was about to call Fives and tell him to clear the hallways before thinking better of it. Fives still needed to come to terms with everything that had happened. And he doubted seeing Rex like this would help the situation. It'd either make Fives mad or make him feel guilty. Either way, he didn't need to deal with that right now.
"Hardcase," he said.
"Yeah?"
"I need you to clear the hallways between the captain's office and bunk."
"Is everything okay?"
Jesse winced and pulled himself out from underneath Rex so his head was in his lap. At least he was no longer stabbing himself repeatedly with glass.
"I don't think any of us are okay right now. But Rex is drunk and I don't want the rest of the troops seeing him like this. Especially since most of them are still worried about Ahsoka and after they heard the fight with Fives… things are just tense right now. This isn't going to help."
"Yeah, shit. Okay. I'll do that. Give me a minute."
"Thanks."
Next up were the medics.
"So, Kix, change of plans," he said.
"Jesse, get Rex to the med bay now. I don't care how sad he is. He needs that arm to be looked at."
Jesse winced. "I don't think that's a good idea. He is super drunk. Like, to the point where I'm kind of worried his liver is going to fail."
Kix was silent on the other end.
"Look, he's a mess right now. I don't want him in the med bay. Hardcase and I are taking him back to his bunk. Can you send Corric there to take a look at him? I swear, Kix, I'm not trying to be difficult. But—"
"I got it," Kix responded. "Fine. Yeah. Corric's on his way. Is he still conscious?"
"Yes."
"Good. If he passes out put him in the recovery position, okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I got it. Thanks, Kix."
"Corric will be down in a bit."
Jesse sighed. Man, if this is what happened when he was in charge, then he should never be put in charge of anything ever again. He reached up and grabbed Rex's datapad and tucked it into his pocket.
"All clear, Jesse," Hardcase said.
"Thanks." Jesse shifted once more so he had a better hold of Rex's torso. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up," he said.
He somehow managed to loop Rex's arm over his neck and get him to his feet. Rex's head hung low and he walked as though he didn't have bones.
"You better not puke on me," he grumbled. He somehow managed to get them out the door and into the hallway.
Rex seemed to be trying his best to walk with him, but his steps were sloppily delayed. Eventually, his legs seemed to give out completely and he just leaned all his weight into Jesse.
"Fuck, you're heavy," Jesse cursed, adjusting his grip around Rex's waist and all but dragged him across the floor.
The blood from his hands continued to drip, leaving a stain on Jesse's armor and a trail behind them. He'd have to get a maintenance droid to come to clean it up later.
"Please, please don't tell me you submitted the incident report like this," he said.
Rex didn't answer. He just continued to mutter about how this was all his fault. It was on the tip of Jesse's tongue to assure him it wasn't. But the man was so far gone he doubted he would remember it.
Finally, they got to Rex's barely used bunk. He liked staying with the men. A comfort to know who was alive. But having more private quarters had its upsides. Mainly, a fresher just for commanding officers. And, considering their general was halfway across the galaxy and their commander was currently in a coma, that meant it was practically a private en suite bathroom!
Which was perfect because Rex made a retching sound that had Jesse moving faster. He all but dumped Rex unceremoniously in front of the toilet. Just in time too as he gripped the sides of the bowls and puked.
Jesse wrinkled his nose. He didn't exactly have a leg to stand on when it came to alcohol consumption and had had more than his fair share of black-out puke fests, but it was kind of gross to be on the other side of it.
"There you go. Just get it all out." He figured he should probably take off Rex's armor so Corric could have a better look at him.
He fumbled with the straps while Rex continued to retch and gag.
"At least your aim's as good here as it is on the battlefield," he muttered, finally pulling off the chest piece and back piece before starting to work on the arm pieces.
Rex's shirt was soaked with sweat and he wouldn't stop shaking.
Finally, he let out a pained groan and slumped onto the floor, leaning heavily against the wall.
"Done or not?"
Rex let out another pained groan but didn't specify what that meant. He was pale and sweating profusely. After a few minutes, he didn't puke again and so Jesse figured it was probably safe to move him to the bunk and get him in the recovery position until Corric got here.
Once more, the captain was a tangled pile of gangly limbs that seemed to lack bones and want to go in every direction at once. It took a lot of maneuvering and more than one accidental drop to the floor as well as a lot of panting that made Jesse question how in shape he really was. But he did manage to get Rex on the bunk and in the recovery position so he wouldn't drown in his own vomit.
Jesse collapsed back against the bed, sweating and panting. "I got to work out more."
There was a knock at the door. "It's Corric. Are you in there?"
Jesse ran a hand over his head, scrubbed it down his face, and sighed. "Yeah. I'm in here. Give me a sec."
He pushed himself off the floor and went to open the door.
Corric stepped in, took one look at Rex, and clicked his tongue. "I swear, we need need to put you all in bubble wrap." He stepped over to the bunk and scanned him.
"Not all of us. Just the captain. Kaysh mirsh solus"
"Keep on believing that. But you all are." Corric put the scanner away and injected Rex with something before tearing off the sleeve of his blacks and dealing with the blaster wound on his arm. "Liver's fine. Don't know how. He's got a BAC of nearly 0.20. I'll get some bacta on his blaster wound and his hands and leave you with a hangover cure to give him when he wakes up tomorrow."
"I thought you didn't like giving those to us," Jesse said. He had begged Kix for one more than once only to be shut down every time.
"We don't because we firmly believe that you need to suffer the consequences of your poor decision-making skills. However, Ahsoka's going to want Rex when she wakes up so he needs to be as lucid as possible. Can you stay with him for the night? Just in case? I've minimized the damage as much as possible but he could still hurt himself."
Jesse nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. I have to call Skywalker though. And also make sure Rex didn't submit his incident report like this."
A thought came to him. "Can you fake a more serious injury for him?"
"What?" Corric turned to him. "Why? He already got shot in the arm. What more do you need?"
"Skywalker is going to be pissed when we tell him what happened. Also, we're booking it to Coruscant to get Ahsoka better medical care so we need to tell the Jedi what happened as soon as possible. Rex is in no condition to talk to Skywalker like this and he's going to be out for the rest of the night. But if he's not there, Skywalker is going to ask questions and a graze to the arm isn't enough to put him out of commission. So we need something that will. Something bad enough that he can't talk tonight, but not so bad that it looks suspicious when he's up and about tomorrow."
Corric thought for a moment. "I'll say he got thrown against a building and has a concussion. We would use more bacta on him but given Ahsoka's wounds and some of the other casualties, and how far from other battalions we are out here, we don't want to use too much. So he gets the short end of the stick and heals the old-fashioned way. With bed rest and pain pills."
Jesse shrugged. "Sure. Sounds good." He had no idea if it sounded good or not. But, he trusted that Corric's excuse was a valid one.
"Right, then I'll head back down to the med bay and forge some paperwork. I'll get Kix on board too. Let me know when you call Skywalker so I can send someone else to be with the Captain."
"Don't bother. Hardcase already knows about this. I'll have him here."
Corric nodded. "Then I'll leave you to it. Call me if anything changes, okay?"
"Will do."
He walked Corric to the door and stood there for a moment, gathering himself and resting his head on the cool metal. It was nice to finally have a chance to breathe. It felt like he was the only one holding the ship together. He was really fucking tired of it.
But, he also didn't have the luxury of staying still for very long. He had several jobs to be doing. First and foremost, to make sure Rex didn't fuck up the incident report and submit drunken ramblings to the GAR that would definitely require an internal investigation of his conduct.
He opened Rex's datapad and pulled up the incident form, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that only Ahsoka's name and rank had been filled out.
"Thank the Force, at least one thing is going right today," he muttered.
He celebrated too soon.
Just as he was about to start filling it out for real this time, a message from Commander Cody popped up.
CommanderCody: Why isn't Ahsoka answering?
He let out a whine. "Please, please don't tell me you did what I think you did."
He pulled up the chatlog and blanched when he saw the messages.
CaptainRex: Heyyyyyyyya;sdkf vofdd sokas gonna bee ok
CommanderCody: Um, Rex? You okay there?
CaptainRex: SUiper ok syper duper oky
CommanderCody: Seriously? You don't sound okay. What's going on?
CaptainRex: shiti thing i vrok the glasses
CaptainRex: 1 sex
CommanderCody: Rex? What's going on?
CommanderCody: Seriously, you're starting to freak me out.
CommanderCody: I know you're not currently on the Senate floor like Fox was.
CommanderCody: This isn't funny. What's wrong?
CommanderCody: Rex?
CommanderCody: Why isn't Ahsoka answering?
"No, Rex, of course. Drunk text your commanding officer. That's a great idea! Best idea you've ever had. It's not like the last time someone left Cody on Read he organized an entire task force that nearly had to tear Coruscant apart to find Fox."
Honestly, at this point, Jesse's only purpose in life was to be disaster control.
He winced and messaged Cody.
CaptainRex: Hey, commander. This is Jesse.
CommanderCody: Jesse? Why the hell do you have access to Rex's chatlog? And why isn't he or Ahsoka answering?
CommanderCody: What's going on?
CaptainRex: So we were ambushed and then Ahsoka kind of got shot by Cad Bane and he got away and then Fives got mad at Rex and then Rex got very drunk and now everyone's kind of freaking out except for me except I kind of am but I can't at the moment because I feel like I'm the only one on the ship not freaking out except for maybe Kix and Corric but they're too busy trying to keep Ahsoka alive because we are really low on medical supplies and we don't have any togruta blood transfusion stuff and we're heading back to Coruscant now to get some.
CommanderCody: Deep breaths, Jesse. You're doing fine. You're acting exactly as you should. Can I call you now?
CaptainRex: I have to call Skywalker. And submit the incident report. And also call a maintenance droid to clean up all the blood.
CommanderCody: All of that can wait a few more minutes. Let me call you so we can talk. Okay?
CaptainRex: Okay. Yeah. I'm alone. Well, not alone. Rex is with me. He's passed out though so I'm kind of alone. But yeah, we can talk now.
Jesse should have felt embarrassed by the way he had practically fallen apart the second he got Commander Cody to answer, but he didn't care. It felt nice to finally have someone else take charge of this mess. Someone who could give him orders and tell him what to do instead of having him make all the decisions.
A few seconds later, the call came through. He picked up immediately.
"Commander," he said, knowing the relief was seeping into his voice with that one word.
Cody nodded to him. "Jesse, Me'vaar ti gar?"
The use of Mando'a calmed him even more. There was something about hearing the words that made him feel more in control of the situation.
He repeated all the known information they had, relieved that he was given the chance to talk through this with Cody first instead of going straight to Skywalker. It gave him a chance to process things. To calm down. To take a step back and just breathe.
Cody listened intently. He only occasionally interrupted to ask for clarifications but did not get annoyed or frustrated when he didn't have all the answers.
"And Fives and Echo are sure it was Cad Bane on the roof?"
Jesse nodded. "Echo's body cam picked it up and the Corrie database confirmed his identity. They also confirmed the ship he used, which he's been linked to in the past."
"And we have the B1 blaster?"
"Yes, sir. It's modified to shoot over longer distances, but it is the same model of blaster."
Cody hummed. "Cad Bane doesn't go after people unprompted. Someone hired him. And the use of the B1 blaster suggests they wanted it to look like a random battle casualty and not a hit."
"Exactly," Jesse said. He was desperate to lay out more of the evidence he felt pointed to someone in the Republic but knew that would be suicide right now. You never knew who was watching. But as soon as they discovered that Ahsoka hadn't died, they'd try again.
"Alright, I'll give General Kenobi a debrief," Cody said. "Do you think you could do a formal debrief in fifteen?"
Jesse nodded. "Yes, sir."
"And Fives and Rex are both taken care of for now?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Take care of yourself, Jesse. I'll see you in a bit."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
"No need to thank me, vod" Cody said before shutting off the holoprojector.
Well, that was one thing crossed off his list. He messaged Hardcase to ask if he wouldn't mind watching the captain for an hour or so, with the explicit order not to take any photos for blackmail.
It was a testament to just how much this had all shaken them when Hardcase didn't whine or complain, just quietly accepted.
As rough as the day had been, Jesse did feel like the worst was behind them. Fives had stopped making trouble. Rex was now passed out in his bed. Ahsoka was on the mend. And Cody and Kenobi were both aware of the situation. The day was almost over. He could do this. He could keep the 501st from falling apart for just a bit longer.
And, after they made it through the day, then they could pivot. And start to search for the person who wanted their vod'ika dead.