The Clone Wars: Cautionary Recon

EDO-WA

Captain Rex feels his jaw go slack. The crimson beam of the lightsaber reflecting into his helmet flooding his view in red. Rex fires at anything shooting back at him and his men. Droids began falling row after row. Some taking blasters to the chest others diced into pieces.

Then silence. The red light disappearing as well. Rex expects his men to be injured and among the fallen. Their blood painting the walls and dirt. Soap stands in the middle of the machine carnage his shoulders rising and falling.

"Oh yeah!" Hardcase says raising his fist in the air triumphantly. "I've got to learn how to use one of those." His rotary blaster cannon then levels on the ARC-Trooper.

Rex realizes that it wasn't an outside force-wielder who showed up to take them out but rather it was the cone trooper who claimed to be Soap. The Captain trains his pistols on the man.

Echo steps over to Rex not taking his eyes off the central target. "Sir, the ARC-Trooper was using the force."

"I know what this looks like," says Soap turning to address Rex and his men. "It's not what you think."

Rex tightens his grip on his blasters. Did his voice just change? The trooper tosses the saber to the ground slow and deliberate.

"Care to elaborate," Rex says nearly growling out the words.

"The men in those graves," Soap says keeping his hands up. His voice deeper and more metallic.

"You killed them!" Fives says taking a step towards Soap. "I knew it."

"Fives, wait," says Rex.

Fives looks at Rex then at Soap. He doesn't pull the trigger but he doesn't step away. The other troopers, trusting Rex's judgement, remain steady as well.

"Speak your mind, Sith," Rex says putting extra emphasis on the name of a dark-force wielder.

"Sith?" Soap says tilting his head behind the familiar helmet of a clone trooper. "If I was a Sith none of you would be left breathing to utter that word."

"Remove your helmet," Rex says firmly.

Soap's shoulders shift as if someone had just insulted him. "Um... See, that would be a problem."

"Hold up, Captain," says Jesse joining the conversation.

None of the troopers heads look away from the threat. I knew I chose them well.

Jesse nods towards Soap. "Isn't there a group of Mandalorians who swear off revealing their face to any living being? And isn't there a set of Mandalorian armor in the barn?"

"Yes, but what-" Rex stops mid sentence. Why didn't I see this before?

"You're Mandalorian?" Says Kix eyeing the trooper up and down.

"If he's Mandalorian," says Fives, "And has the robes of Jedi Raj-Mir along with clone trooper armor. Those dark robes must be Sith as well."

"You're a bounty hunter," says Rex.

"Used to be," says Soap matter-of-factly, "And those 'dark robes' along with the red saber belonged to Edo-wa."

It all makes sense now. He hunted each of the armors he now possesses. "One question," Rex says adjusting his grip on his pistols, "You answer it correctly and we won't blow you to bits."

"I'm all ears." Soap doesn't move an inch.

"Who do you fight for?"

Soap tilts his head. He looks at each of the troopers surrounding him. His helmet settles on Rex. The image of the same helmet in 79's materializes in Rex's brain. The lightsaber on his belt was the same hilt design as the one Echo had handed him.

"I fight for the Light. Currently, the clones align with this." Soap's voice changes one more time as the pitch lowers and the metallic slickness hangs on his words. "So, I fight for the clones."