Cejanr (A Rexsoka SWTCW Fanfic)

2

Rex struggled and gasped as he came awake, startling a medic nearby. He looked around, taking in the pale white of the infirmary. A medic he didn't recognize rushed up to him. He relaxed back against the pillows with a groan. His head pounded and his throat was as dry as Geonosis. Part of him twinged sourly at the thought of that place, but the memory slipped away like water through his fingers.

He was being sat up against a wall with a pillow stuffed behind his head. The medic was rambling on about him having gotten a bad virus from one of the overseers or something. He didn't care. Where was he? He reached for the memories, this time grabbing a hold of something.

Kamino. He was on Kamino. He was a clone trooper fighting in the war.

Those seemed like they should be right, but there was something... misty, around them. Like that was the obvious answer, and the obvious answer is wrong.

"'67?" The medic said again, touching his shoulder. Rex flinched away from him out of reflex, jerking as the medic's fingers brushed a hardened rope of raised scar tissue. "Woah. Easy. I just asked you how you're feeling. You've been asleep for a while." Rex was breathing hard and sweating, trying to figure out why he suddenly couldn't breath. His vision blurred and he fell back onto the bed.

He tried to remember. He tried to grasp for the answers. His head ached, spikes of pain lancing through his body. With every spike of pain came a flicker of memory before it vanished. He held on to the broken shards.

"Rex, Rex love can you hear me? It's gonna be ok. You're ok. I'm ok. We're not there, alright? Just focus on breathing with me. In, out, in, out. There you go. Hey. I'm here. It's ok."

Rex didn't know where the woman's voice... (His wife's, maybe?) was coming from. Maybe it was something she had told him before. He frowned, chasing the memories. His head hurt even worse and he gave a feeble moan. All he saw before he blacked out was a flash of blue and white lekku and a beautiful, although slightly fanged smile.

He didn't go back to the swirling blackness. He just slept. The same medic was still fussing over him. He didn't see Rex's eyes open. Rex gave a low rasp in the back of his dry throat, making the poor trooper nearly jump out of his skin. He whipped around to look at Rex as Rex tried to speak again.

"Water?" He rasped, the single word grating painfully in his chest. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. The other clone passed him a canteen of water that Rex took a couple of sips while listening to what had 'happened' to him.

"-you were sick for a while, tossing and muttering. Who's Ahsoka? You were asking for him. Or was it a her? That doesn't sound like a clone's name. How'd you get the scars? Some of them looked like whip marks. If I didn't know any better I'd say you had a panic attack. Which is odd for a shiny. I left Kamino once, served on Corascant for a while before they decided they wanted me back here." He rambled. He stuck out his hand with a grin. "I'm Di'atiryi ."

Rex grimaced. "I can tell. I'm R- uh... '67." He fumbled, his voice still hoarse and gravely. He fumbled not to say his name. The medic looked at him strangely. 

"You can tell me your name. The edited regs say the long necks can't do kriff about us being individuals now." He said, rushing around the room. Rex frowned. He was supposed to be dead. If Di'atiryi knew that he wasn't, maybe they would actually kill him this time. 

"I... I don't have one yet." He looked at the blanket. Di'atiryi just shrugged. 

"Ok. Say 'ah'" He stuck a thermometer in Rex's mouth and continued talking. Did he ever shut up? He reminded him of... of... His head lanced with another spike of pain. He caught a face though, a clone with a shaved head and geometric tattoos in lines and dots from his cheek, over his skull, and down the neck of his blacks. A wave of sadness accompanied the pain. Had something happened to the clone?

The thermometer beeped and it was retrieved from his mouth. "Ok. Seems to me you're as healthy as a Gundark. I'll see when you can return to your squad." He said. Rex gave a tight smile. 

"Ok. Thanks, Di'atiryi." He cleared his throat, his voice getting stronger with use. There was a datapad and kit by his bedside, both marked 7567. The medic left the room, and Rex grabbed the datapad. Remembering was hurting too much. The GAR database might be able to answer some of his questions. 

He opened a private browser and blew out a long breath, momentarily hesitating. What if whatever he had been before was something terrible? What if it was something he'd be glad to get away from? He had a rare fresh start. A new chance. But what if it was something wonderful? What if he was somebody important? He knew he was a captain, but a captain to who? Bracing himself, he slowly typed in 'Clone Captain Rex.' 

He hit enter. Instantly, multiple accounts of 'Captain Rex' popped up. Some of them were public articles about a 'General Skywalker.' He frowned and pulled up a file on himself, detailing his career since a few years back. 

It was pretty short, considering how many he appeared in. It gave a list of official campaigns he had served on, and most of those full of black ink to keep secrets from the general public. He had been second in command of the 501st battalion, serving under Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. The name sent another flicker of pain through his skull. He kept reading. 

Commander Cody, also serving under Skywalker, was in command of the remnant of the 212th Legion, one that had been devastated several times, and moved under Skywalker's command after the disappearance of High General Kenobi.

His headache spiked again with that name, and surprisingly, his back along the ropy scar he could feel pressing into the bed behind him from his left shoulder to the underside of his right shoulder blade. 

He looked over at his known affiliates, he found several. Including Skywalker, Kenobi, Cody, somebody named Plo Koon, a Pong Krell, who's name made him shudder and curl up into a ball under the blankets. And at the bottom of the list...

Ex-Padawan Commander Ahsoka Tano.

He selected her name. It took him to another page, one with a picture of her across the top. He hesitated, then saved the photo for later study. It was the mystery togruta, alright. Ahsoka Tano. It made his heart ache worse than his. He vowed to find a way back to her.