Ahsoka, Daughter of the Light (Book 5): Rescue

Chapter 9: Fading Scars

CAPTAIN REX

Rex was sitting on a rock, whistling a tune. He had nothing to do right now, but then again, since he was not a Jedi, he rarely had much too do.

It had been around two and a half months since Rex came to the Jedi camp.

His first few weeks there were somber, as he had been scarred from the war, knowing that it was all for nothing, and that it had been just a Sith ploy. All his brothers lost, and for what?

But slowly, as time passed, Rex began to lighten up a little. Lyda and Ahsoka helped him to cheer up, and there was a surprising amount of positivity around camp, despite the events they had to go through.

And in the end, Rex was still the kind, friendly, and loyal man he always was.

He had been training some Padawans in target practice lately. Since Jedi had to adapt to whatever they could use, their sloppy blaster skills had to use some polishing. Especially since it was dangerous to show off a lightsaber nowadays, blaster combat was becoming increasingly necessary.

"Captain?"

Rex was startled and turned around to see Katooni standing behind him.

"Hey there, Katooni," he said. "Didn't see you there."

Normally he'd call her something like "General" or "Commander," But this was a thirteen-year-old girl who wouldn't have a rank in the Grand Army of the Republic yet.

"What are you doing?" Katooni asked.

"Nothing much," Rex replied.

"Are you feeling okay?" Katooni asked.

"Of course," Rex replied.

"Good," Katooni said. "I don't really like to see anyone sad around here."

Both of them paused for a little.

"Say, Katooni," Rex said, "What were your thoughts on the clones?"

"Why do you ask?" Katooni replied.

"I think you already know," Rex replied.

There was a moment of silence from the young Tholothian.

"I always looked up to them," Katooni started. "They seemed brave. I admired them a lot and saw them as heroes. I never knew many of them personally, but I saw them as great friends. Until... you know..."

She sighed.

"I thought the same way you did, kid," Rex said. "Until I heard what happened. I'm sure Comma- I'm sorry, Master Tano told you the truth about why they betrayed you."

"Yeah," Katooni said. "They never even had a choice. The Emperor chose for them."

"Yeah," Rex said, "But you should've seen them during the Clone Wars. Ironically, if it hadn't been for us, the Jedi and the Republic would've died anyways, and they'd be at Dooku's mercy. But we held them off. Outnumbered, we'd keep fighting, until we won... or we were surrounded by those soulless battle droids. And even then, we'd find some way out of it. Each and every one of my brothers was a brave, valiant human being. Not many people saw that. To them, we were just expendable bags of meat. Now, of course we were only half the picture. If it hadn't been for the Jedi, many more battles would have been lost. Their quick thinking and abilities in the force saved us too many times to count. But Jedi involvement in the war was... controversial. It's probably what allowed the Empire to turn the public against them."

Katooni seemed interested in the story.

"Master Tano told me about some of her experiences in the war. She always seems so... heroic."

"That's Commander Tano for you," Rex said. "I served by her side since the Battle of Christophsis. I always knew her well. When she was framed, I never thought she could do such a thing. It broke my heart as much as General Skywalker's when I heard she left the Order. After the Empire came around, I almost lost all hope of seeing her again. Until..."

He trailed off there.

"Until Lyda found you on Yerbana?" Katooni asked.

"Yes," Rex said. "I'll tell you, I don't know what the odds of that were, but-"

"It's the will of the force," Katooni replied. "You know, if something oddly convenient happens that had a low chance of happening, it's usually the will of the force. Especially when a Jedi is involved."

"I'm no Jedi," Rex joked.

"But Lyda and Ahsoka are," Katooni continued.

"I knew that," Rex said.

"You know, Master Tano wasn't kidding when she said you were one of the nicest people she ever met."

"You remind me a lot of her," Rex said. "You're selfless, putting others before yourself whenever possible. Commander Tano was like that. Made it quite hard to believe she would ever do what she was framed for."

"Really?" Katooni said.

"Hey," Rex said. "I know a good Jedi and a good soldier when I see one. You seem like both. No wonder Co- Master Tano is so interested in you."

"Why do you keep calling her Commander?" Katooni asked.

"Old habit," Rex said. "Us clones always referred to our Jedi as Commanders or Generals, instead of Masters or Padawans."

"Does she mind?"

"No," Rex said, "Not at all. I still call her that, actually."

Katooni paused for a moment.

"Well," she said, "I have to do some Saber practice right now. It was nice talking to you."

"Nice talking to you too, Commander Adana."

Katooni smiled and ran off.

Rex smiled too. It was nice to know these people trusted him.