In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 7

"We could tell the Senator how he treats you, and I'm sure he'd stop pressing the matter."

"I said I'm fine, Rex."

He sighed defeatedly. "When are you meeting him next?"

"Not sure yet. Maybe he doesn't want another date."

"Those types of men always want another date."

She looked over at him and laughed dryly. "Stereotypes, Rex? I thought you'd be above all that."

"Mhm," he grunted noncommittally.

"Come on. It's time to eat. I'm starving."

They'd made a habit of eating at least one meal a day together since Empire Day. Before, they'd hardly seen each other throughout the day, but with the easing of tensions between them, they had both felt more comfortable around each other. They normally talked through the intelligence that they had gathered throughout the day, making connections and comparing notes while Senna punched info into her datapad with the hand she wasn't using to eat. The conversation also occasionally turned to personal questions as they took more time to get to know each other. No matter the subject of conversation, it had become a small ritual that Rex looked forward to.

She had volunteered to cook tonight, and it didn't take long for the scent of roasting meat and spices to permeate throughout the dwelling. Rex helped where she would allow him, chopping vegetables or stirring whatever she had simmering on the stove. A short while later, they sat down at the table together, Senna's nose already partially buried in her datapad. After a few moments, she let out a deep sigh and set it down.

Rex paused mid-chew. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing. I just set up the next meet up with Fisk. We're going to dinner together tomorrow night at some Imperial haunt. Can't wait to get this over with."

He paused. "Senna, again, you should tell Organa that you aren't comfortable. He'd be mortified if he knew."

She shrugged, picking at her food. "It's nothing. I'll be fine. Besides, he's not the worst guy I've dated."

Rex couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Oh? I sense there's a story there."

She shot him a look, and he smirked. "Just making conversation. Plus, I thought attachments were forbidden for the Jedi." Not that that stopped some of them.

She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "He was just a guy I met shortly after Order 66, so at that point, not technically a Jedi anymore. I was looking for a soft place to land, and he certainly seemed like it at the beginning. Things changed pretty quickly once he..." her voice trailed off.

"Once he what?" Rex pressed.

She met his eyes again. "Once he started expressing anti-clone sentiment every chance it came up in conversation."

Rex remained silent as she pressed on. "I don't understand how people can think that way. You are all living breathing things, you're no different from me other than how you came to exist. Behaving as though you shouldn't have the basic right to life and happiness of every other sentient thing is just absolutely deplorable."