Caught In Between

Chapter One

"Ahsoka, did you hear me," Anakin, Jedi and General in the Clone Wars, asked his Padawan.

Ahsoka looked away from the plasma window to face her master, "I'm sorry, Master, what were you saying?"

Anakin crossed his arms, "I said, you are going to take a squad of clones down to the planet's surface. We have Intel saying that there may be a secret Separatist base on the surface. I need you to first check up on our Clone base down there. Something isn't right. Make sure Commander Kess has everything under control. If you sense anything out of place, report back to me, understood?"

Not really, "Understood, Master," Ahsoka bowed slightly before heading towards the corridor. That's it? No, "Good luck, Snips," or, "May the Force be with you," or, "Don't get cocky,"? Something was up, and Anakin didn't want to tell her. Then again, there was always something Anakin kept hidden underneath his serious, General mask. Ahsoka wasn't the only one to notice, Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi sensed something was out of place.

As Ahsoka made her way to the turbo lift, Captain Rex, leader of the 501st legion after Anakin, came up beside her. He held his helmet under his arm.

"Are you ready, Lil'un?" he asked.

"You can stop calling me that, Rex," Ahsoka smirked, "I'm almost as tall as you," she replied, standing on her toes a bit to be slightly taller than his shoulder.

"Almost," he smirked, "So, ready? It won't be easy. It's not like Kess to go off grid like that."

"You think something went wrong?"

"Yeah, I may not be a Jedi, but I get the feeling that something ain't right."

"I know," she sighed, "Me too. I just-I don't understand why Anakin won't come along on this one. He has to sense that it's dangerous. He hates sending me on dangerous missions alone-"

"You're not alone," Rex interrupted, "You'll have eight of the finest men by your side at all times."

"You're not coming?" Ahsoka asked.

" 'Fraid not, Lil'un," he replied, "Gotta stay up here with General Skywalker and the rest of the men. Can't have both of Skywalker's best leaders down there," he joked.

"Don't flatter yourself, Captain," Ahsoka smiled, entering the turbolift. Rex joined her. Ahsoka pressed the button for the hanger bay where her men would be waiting. The trip down was silent, and seemed to be taking for ever. The further they went down, the more Ahsoka felt sick. Her head pounded and her stomach felt as if she was being stabbed a hundred thousand times. She gripped the railing to keep herself steady.

Rex glanced over at her, "You alright, Commander?"

"Yeah, of course, just a little nervous is all."

"You've gone on hundreds of missions on your own, how is this one any different?"

She shook her head, "I've just have a bad feeling about this one."

***

"Lieutenant Fixer reporting for duty, sir!" The clone Lieutenant stood at attention, saluting Ahsoka.

"At ease, soldier," Ahsoka replied. She gestured to the seven other troopers, "Are your men ready, Lieutenant?"

"Ready as always, sir-"

"Lieutenant!" Ahsoka interrupted, "You are to either call me 'Ahsoka' or 'Commander,' but never 'sir'," She looked at him sternly, "Understood?"

"Yes...Commander," Fixer replied.