In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 30 - Epilogue

"Found someone?"

She raised her head to look at him, and there were tears in her eyes as she smiled sadly. "Someone to share this with. A wife."

His anger came rushing back. "Look around you, Senna. Does this look like a home that has someone else in it?"

She finally let her eyes wander around the small dwelling. It was humble, but undeniably Rex's. Everything was neat and had its place, but there was hardly any warmth to it. A small living area with a couch and decorative shelves with a desk tucked into a corner, the small kitchen with the table sitting in the middle of it, and turning, she could see his bedroom, the bed made with military precision, and his only other pair of boots resting by the front door. Everything practical, everything with purpose, but for Rex, that was his personal touch. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He grunted, taking her empty mug to the sink to rinse it along with his own.

She stood from the table, slowly walking into the living area to explore it. It felt like she was suffocating being so close to him, and Senna was desperate to put some distance between her and Rex again, even if it was only a few meters. The dull ache in her chest that had started once she'd seen him at the door was threatening to squeeze the air from her lungs now. Senna strode around the room, focusing on her breathing to try and quiet her racing pulse. She trailed her fingers along the back of the couch, imagining him sitting there late at night with his datapad reading. The shelves were mostly bare, but there were some mementos on them covered in a thick layer of dust. He had a holo still of Cut and Suu's kids on one shelf, and she studied their happy faces. It was an older holo; they were no older than teenagers. She knew they'd be full grown by now. Further along, she found his helmet, the Jaig eyes even more faded and scratched than she remembered. Picking it up, she wiped the dust off of the plastoid, tracing the blue eyes once more with her fingers. As she went to replace the helmet, she noticed a placard shoved behind where the helmet had been sitting. She reached back into the darkness and pulled it out, brushing dust off of it so that she could read the inscription. As her eyes worked their way down the words, her chest tightened and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Medal of Service

Awarded to

Commander Rex Atiniir

For his bravery and loyalty to the people of this galaxy during the Rebellion against the Galactic Empire and for his service to the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars

We are forever in your debt.

She heard an exhale behind her and whirled to find Rex standing there, his eyes burning into hers as tears threatened to stream from his amber eyes. "So, you go by Commander now?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"I found being a rebel commander to be more suitable to my liking."

She nodded, swallowing hard. He watched as she traced her fingers over the engraved surname on the plaque, her lips mouthing the word they'd chosen to start their life together.

Silently, he reached into his shirt and pulled out a chain that he wore around his neck. He fished out the trinket on the end and pulled it over his head, taking her gloved hand and placing the object in her palm. Unfurling her fingers, Senna let out a small sob. It was the piece of bent piping from the speeder bike on Lothal that she'd left on her pillow all those years ago. Her hands shook as she turned it over with her fingers until Rex's calloused hand slipped under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his, and all of his defenses shattered under her stare. "It was always you, Senna. I didn't dare hope I'd see you again, but I'd have waited a lifetime if it meant looking into your eyes one more time." His thumb stroked her cheekbone and her breath quivered at his touch.

Senna's hands shook as she reached down to remove the glove on her left hand. The dim lighting in the room caught the glint of metal as her wrist slipped from the glove. He took the cybernetic limb in his hand, and pulled it to his lips to brush a kiss over the knuckles. Pulling back, he noticed an etching on the ring finger of her prosthetic, small and subtle. Twisting it in the light, he could see that she had etched Jaig eyes where a wedding band would sit and had painted them the familiar shade of 501st blue. They were undeniably his, and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes met hers again.

She opened her mouth to speak, her voice a hoarse whisper. "I don't have the right to ask this of you, and I don't deserve it, but if you still would like to live out whatever days we have left together, I-"

She never finished her sentence as he pressed her back against the shelves, his lips crashing into hers like a man dying of thirst and she was the oasis in the desert. His beard tickled her, and she giggled through her tears as she wrapped her hands around his neck, pressing her lips against his as if making up for all of the time they'd lost together. After several minutes, they broke the apart, resting their foreheads together. Senna stroked Rex's cheekbones and the side of his face with her hands.

His tears were falling unhindered now as he wiped away hers with his thumbs. "I told you all those years ago, Senna. You deserve the galaxy, so the least I can do is give you myself. For as long as you'll have me." She laughed again, a stuttering musical sound to him that he had missed for so long. He'd never hear a kyber crystal sing, but he was certain if he could, it would sound like her laugh.

Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly as if he would vanish if she let go. "I'll take whatever I can get, Commander."