It's Commander Tano, Not Padawan

Chapter 20

That was decision number two.

"Anakin! Anakin, come in!" she cried, allowing the self-loathing to course hot and heavy through her. Sure, she was guilty, just not for the reason Anakin would assume if he felt any of her emotions.

He immediately responded, panicked at her tone. "I'm here, Ahsoka. What's wrong?"

Force, she was going to vomit after this.

"Master, Fives is – he's dead. Rex is stunned and Fives, he –" That time she really did bring a hand up to cover her mouth, muffling a very sincere gag.

"What do you mean he's dead? Snips, you just said he was in custody – that he was stunned," he demanded, anguished confusion seeping into her very pores, his panic-shock-grief slamming against her like a physical blow to the gut.

Anakin will break if he finds out I'm lying before I can prove my suspicions. Two times is too much. Kriff, the first time was too much.

"He was! But I checked on Rex like I told you I would, and he didn't answer. I got nervous because that isn't like him and I landed the ship to make sure everything was okay. But it's not. It's not fine at all. Fives is gone."

Static rang hollow in her montrals, his silence a visceral ache within her very soul.

"Are you sure, Ahsoka?" he pressed, a dead, defeated quality to his question that nearly consumed her whole.

Anakin, I am so, so sorry.

"Yes, Master," she choked out.

His hushed agony was an abyss she barely managed to avoid falling into, stretching out for what felt like an eternity.

"What should I do, Anakin?"

Ahsoka just wanted this to be over, but she couldn't rush it.

Paitence.

"I guess," he paused, seemingly at a loss. "I guess just bring him back to the Temple. The Council will decide from there."

She hesitated, despising herself for having to manipulate the situation - having to manipulate his pain.

"Anakin, can I," she swallowed. "Bring him back to the Resolute?" Ahsoka didn't wait for him but hurried to explain.

All this goes down the drain if he doesn't agree. It will all be for nothing.

"It's just that the men they... they deserve to say good-bye. Even after everything that's happened the boys – Torrent will want to pay their respects. I'll have him cremated onboard." Ahsoka held her breath, blood pounding so fiercely she was sure he would be able to hear her, even over the comm.

There was a delay to his response, and she could feel him contemplating her request, so she didn't speak, willing her mouth to stay closed through the forcible lock she created with her teeth. A fang bit anxiously into the delicate flesh and she drew blood but was too distracted to notice until it escaped passed her lips to tinge the cavern of her mouth.

"Ahsoka..." he trailed off, rejection evident.

No!

"Please, Anakin. Fives was our friend. He deserves more than to be dissected like some science experiment gone wrong. He is not just some slab of flesh."

Ahsoka knew this was a decision for the Council. She knew there would be hell to pay.

And, she resolved, when the time came, she was prepared to pay it in full.