The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter One Hundred And Fourteen: A Soldier's Duty

CAPTAIN REX

It had been almost two days since Ahsoka, Kanan and Ezra had left, and Rex had never stopped worrying about them for a second.

Of course, he hadn't been letting it take up all his time – he was far too busy for that, writing reports and running security checks and doing every other odd job Hera and Commander Sato had for him until he could leave on his next mission. Plus, he was doing Ahsoka a favor and keeping track of the progress of a few nearby Rebel cells, and he had wanted to make sure everything was in order before she returned in case she was too busy with what they discovered on Malachor to attend to it.

But despite that, his worry persisted, lingering in his gut and resurfacing just when he thought it was finally beginning to ease. Rex knew Ahsoka could handle herself – he had known that ever since their first meeting on Christophsis all those years ago, though he had often professed to the contrary – but he still wished she had allowed him to come along, especially with what she had told him to do if...

Rex shook the thought away, sighing to himself as he entered the last of the data from the latest supply shipment from Garel into his manifest. He was letting his feelings get the better of him, and overreacting based on what he had seen.

He managed to summon a slight chuckle as he imagined the teasing he would get if Ahsoka and the others realized how soft he had become.

"Captain Rex," came the voice of the clearance officer on duty, and Rex pulled his comm up to his face to answer her. "The Phantom just entered orbit. Its estimated arrival time is six minutes."

"Copy that. I'll be right over."

Although Rex wanted nothing more than to head straight there to alleviate his unease once and for all, he had to make a small detour to return the manifest to AP-5, a new friend of Chopper's who would then categorize the supplies as he saw fit. In the end, he arrived just as the Phantom's hatch opened, and from behind the small gathering of Ghost crewmembers and curious Phoenix Squadron pilots, he watched as Kanan and Ezra emerged.

For a moment, he thought the glow of white over Kanan's eyes was a trick of the setting sun. But as he drew nearer and realized it was a bandage, and saw the look of utter defeat that weighed down on them more heavily than any physical burden, he knew something had gone horribly wrong.

They had the look to them of shellshocked soldiers limping back from the field of battle, knowing that they were the lucky ones to have survived as they did.

Hera uttered a little cry and strode over to where they stood as quickly as her legs would carry her, enveloping Kanan in a tight hug. But Rex was too preoccupied to notice. He could only focus on one line of thought: Where is Ahsoka?

Rex's heart jumped up in his throat, but he fought to push it back where it belonged, thinking to himself, Surely she's still back in the Phantom! She must be!

He pushed past Zeb and Sabine until he found himself face to face with Ezra, his eyes asking inevitable question he didn't dare put to words even in thought – and he found that the look on the boy's face was all the answer he needed.

But surely... Surely it can't be...!

Gradually, voice's protests faded away, leaving Rex with no choice but to accept the facts and make the best of them, even as he felt tears prickling at his eyes.

Ezra and Kanan were Jedi – they would have sensed it if she were still alive, as he had seen Anakin and Ahsoka do for each other many times in the past. If Ezra said she was gone, even not in so many words, then she was gone. After all, despite the times they were living in, he would still trust a Jedi's instincts over anything.