The Adventures of Babysitting with Ahsoka Tano (COMPLETE)

Part 4

It wasn't like Cody hadn't heard anything from Commander Tano since her return. In fact, he and many 212th veterans had hunted down their 501st counterparts and demanded stories and recordings. R2-D2 had been very helpful by providing footage from the Lokori rescue, but it still wasn't the same as seeing her in person. Regardless of which battalion they were a part of, everyone on board was happy to hear Commander Tano was joining them for this mission.

In the command center, Rex and Cody were reviewing the data the 187th Battalion had sent them. Apparently, whatever they were going to do was a continuation of their mission. They had things like communication logs, inventory logs, and personnel reports from the past rotation or so, none of which was helpful to them. They had to sift through it to find things like planetary scans and blueprints that might actually be useful.

That's what they were doing when they received the alert that the gunship for Ahsoka and the Jedi had made it to the hangar. Rex took a second to look up at the notification and saw that Cody was trying to hide a smile. "You alright there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the commander insisted, swiping away another useless file. "Just wondering why the Jedi decided to send the commander. Not that I'm complaining, but that's not usual for them."

"I don't know, but I assume it means this mission is going to be interesting," Rex guessed. "Interesting enough to pick a civilian commander over an additional Jedi. Still, nothing else on your mind?"

Cody paused his work and gave Rex a look. "I missed her, alright?"

Grinning, Rex looked back at the files. "We all did. Don't worry, she'll be just as happy to see you."

"If she ever gets here."

"She just boarded, give her a minute. She's probably being bombarded by the rest of your men."

"But not tackled."

"Hey, it's how we show affection," Rex told him, dismissing the accusation in Cody's voice. "Nothing like being body-slammed by thirty soldiers at once."

He just shook his head. If he ever needed to show the difference between the 212th and the 501st, this was the perfect example. 

The doors opened behind them and both soldiers whipped around, but it was only R2-D2. He rolled in and the doors shut behind him, signalling the others weren't there yet. Disappointing, but Cody returned to his work. "Hey, you wanna help us sort through all of this and find the coordinates we need?" he asked the droid, who beeped and plugged in to the nearest port. Rex patted the blue astromech fondly. Finally, the entire dream team was going to be back together again. 

Another minute passed, and this time it was who they were hoping for. Or so they thought. Two men in Jedi robes walked in and pulled their hoods off, scowling out the door. Cody and Rex were about to ask who they were until they saw Ahsoka come in behind them. 

As the doors closed, Ahsoka held up her hands to both of them and started talking. "Really quick, before we do reunions: we have a problem."

They turned to look at the Jedi that walked in, and then they took a closer look at their faces. Though they didn't look as happy as they would expect them to be at Ahsoka's return, they saw that it was, in fact, their generals, but far too young. Both soldiers froze and prayed that they wouldn't accidentally let out a laugh.

Cody was the first to get a sentence out of his mouth. "I take it this is what you wanted to talk about?"

"What gave it away?" Anakin asked sarcastically, taking off his robe and throwing it in the corner as Obi-Wan did the same. 

"Apparently, they got hit with an age ray," Ahsoka explained.

"What's an age ray?"

Obi-Wan walked over to the holotable in the center of the command center and looked at the files to avoid looking at Cody's expression. "As far as we know, some sort of laser beam that can make a person older or younger."