To Know Your Heart - Captain Rex x OC

chapter twelve

Seren had to admit that she preferred piloting her own starship rather than riding in the LAAT transports. As the ship began it's races to the surface, Seren found herself gripping onto the handlebar a little more tightly than she would have hung onto the rail system on Coruscant. It must have been obvious because one of the clones in front of her chuckled, "First time?"

When she replied with a weak nod, laughter erupted with the transport. She could hear one of Rex's men behind her, "Sir, I hate to break it to ya, but you might want to get used to this form of transportation if you're going to command a battalion of your own."

A few sounds of agreement rose up from the others. She shrugged, "Maybe I'll just fly the transport myself instead." A few chuckles could be heard, but they were stopped when the LAAT began to level out. "Looks like this is our stop," the Jedi said sarcastically. They each hopped off and regrouped with the other clones that were jumping off of their own respective transports.

Immediately, the work of accounting for every clone and setting up a temporary camp began. Ahsoka and Rex oversaw the 501st's preparations, while Cody and Seren quickly assembled their small squad's section of the camp. Although this mission wasn't supposed to last long, Seren had a sneaking suspicion that this wouldn't be a normal re-capture mission. This time, the odds seemed to be in the Separatist's favor. The only advantage that this mission seemed to have was the tactical advantage of having two of the most brilliant strategic minds in the GAR and two Jedi to help execute the plan.

Cody and Ahsoka finished setting up the camp easily, deciding to help the stragglers from the last LAAT to touchdown. Meanwhile, Seren and Rex began on the next phase of the plan, the search for survivors. Since they watched the holos and transmissions of the last known surviving clones, they were sent off, along with Kix and Tup to look for any of the survivors, which they were slightly skeptical of finding.

During the trek across the small hills and valleys created by the lava streams across the planet, Seren asked Rex, "Captain, I understand that you had to watch those holos as well as I did?"

"Yes, sir. I-I can't say that I'm very optimistic about our chances of finding anyone left. We both saw what happened once the Separatists located them, total obliteration," He bowed his head in grief.

Seren hummed in reply at first, searching for the right words to say, "I know it looks rough, but they are exactly why we are here, right now. Now let's try to find any possibile survivors so we can bring them back before dark." She briefly looked at the setting sun, "We don't want to get caught out past dark on a new planet. Who knows what's lurking out here when the sun sinks down?"

"Yes, sir."

Together, the small squad searched the nearby area top to bottom, finding nothing other than the occasional helmet or deactivated droid. Seren and Rex stayed together, finding the smallest bit of comfort in knowing that these fallen soldiers pleas for help would not go unheard.

After almost tripping over a dented helmet, painted a soft red, she called out, "Captain?"

"Yes, General?"

"What if we don't find them? What if we're too late."

"Sir, with all due respect, I believe you might want to prepare for that possibility. I know you are seemingly lacking in experience out in the battlefield, but this is common, unfortunately. We're clones, the fact that we are even searching for other clones is a step farther than some Jedi would deem necessary. If there is anyone out here, I have hope that we will find them. However," he glanced over his right shoulder at the Jedi Knight, pausing for a slight moment, "hope only goes so far."

The search continued on as time was starting to run out. It was starting to look grim, until Kix's voice rang out, "General, come quick. You're gonna wanna see this."

Seren rushed over to the medic's side instantly. She was hoping to find a trooper left alive with some vital information that could aid in the assault on the outpost, but she found something far worse than she had imagined. In the small valley below them was an abandoned battlefield with both droids and clones littered on the ground. She held a hand to her mouth, holding back a sob. These were soldiers, men, who had died defending eachother. This far out from the outpost could have meant that they had a camp nearby. One that was probably decimated and full of dead troopers as well.

Rex came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Varrs, this is the reality of war. There are no winners. Only losers."

Kix shrugged, "The Kaminoans trained us to be able to handle this grief. However, no one can ever truly erase it. Unfortunately, I've seen worse, but that's a story for another time. We need to head back to base before Cody or Ahsoka send a squad after us."

Tup agreed, "Besides, I don't want to find out what exotic fauna this planet has at nighttime. I've seen enough dangerous plants and animals from Felucia to fill a lifetime. I'd rather not add to that list."

Seren nodded, "Noted. Let's go."

Together, the squad began the trek back to the camp. Rex lingered back for just a moment, making a mental picture of the valley below him. So many fallen. That easily could have been us. This assault might not be as cut-and-dry as the General thinks.

He watched her small frame leave with the others. Fives' warning stuck in his mind, but he couldn't seem to see anyone more than a girl, lost in a war that she didn't seem quite ready for. Not yet, anyway. Maybe trusting her to continue this mission was a mistake.