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DOMINATION. It seemed to be a common occurrence in Natalia's life. She had been born in a war with two sides fighting to dominate the other, then Maul's domination of her home planet, order 66, and now the Empire. It was a chain she wanted to break, badly.
A fire burned in Natalia's chest. She wanted nothing more than to join the scarce group of rebels fighting against the Empire but anytime she encouraged her father to help her find a contact the answer was always the same.
"You're still too young for war." Rex spoke sternly to the child he had grown to call his own.
"I'm not too young for war, I'm seventeen now. You said Ahsoka was fourteen when she first fought." Natalia argued as she plopped down on the makeshift chair.
"That's different." Rex stated.
"Oh come on Dad, we can't hide out here forever." Natalia gestured towards his old helmet. "You were one of the best clones in the Republic and you've taught me almost everything I know. The galaxy needs all of the help it can get."
"My soldier days are over." Rex said as he sat down next to Natalia.
"But mine aren't." Natalia placed her hand over her father's. "I was meant for greater things than hiding here."
"You're safe here." Rex argued. "Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan would want you safe."
"Obi-Wan and Bo-Katan don't decide what's best for me. I haven't seen either of them since I was a kid, Rex." A small sigh ran past Natalia's lips. "They didn't raise me. You did and you taught me how to be better. But this, sitting out here, we're not doing better here, dad."
"I just..." Rex felt tears sting at his eyes as he looked at Natalia. "I've watched so many people, my brothers, die because of war. And I will not allow you to share their fate."
"Hey we've got a ship flying in!" Wolffe, one of two other clones Rex and Natalia had picked up in their early days of the Empire's reign.
"What?" Gregor, the other clone, asked.
"Yeah, their circling us." Wolffe said, causing Rex to jump up from the chair and rush over to the control room of the tank they had transformed into a home.
Natalia was quick to follow after them and peeked out the window to see a smaller ship flying over them. "Stop the tank." Rex odered.
"Are we sure that's a wise idea?" Wolffe asked.
"Yeah, what if it's the Empire." Gregor added.
"If it's the Empire we're dead anyway, I could run faster than this old thing." Natalia said as she folded her arms.
"Don't insult her, Nat. She moves just fine." Wolffe said as he pointed a stern finger at Natalia.
Natalia rolled her eyes and grabbed one of her father's old blasters from the table next to her. "What do you think you're doing?" Rex asked as he followed her to grab a blaster of his own.
"Grabbing a blaster." Natalia spoke as she raised her left brow.
"You're not going out there. It could be dangerous."
"He's right." Gregor said with a firm nod.
"Let us check it out and if it's safe you can come outside." Wolffe said as he patted Natalia's back.
"I hate to brake it to you guys, but you're all old men. You don't move like you used to." Natalia said as she pushed past the clones and out the door.
The warm air embraced Natalia as she stepped outside. But the dust of the planet's surface beneath them didn't share the kindness of the weather. The dust made the air thick, breathable but thick and if you stayed outside long enough you'd be sure to find it on you.
Natalia stared down at the people below her as she leaned on the railing of what she called the balcony. There were four people below them, one of which was wearing painted Mandalorian armor.
"You never did listen." Rex shook of his head as he stood next to Natalia.
"I blame all your stories." Natalia said with a small smirk.
Rex rolled his eyes at Natalia with a small smirk before looking down to the people below them. "What do you want?" Rex yelled as Gregor and Wolffe took position behind Natalia and Rex.
"We're looking for someone." A man in green clothing and an armored shoulder yelled up to them.
"Well that's too bad, cause there's nobody out here." Rex said as he copied Natalia's figure, resting his arms on the railing.
"Hey, uh, does the number 7567 mean anything to you?" The kid Natalia guessed to be the youngest of the three asked.
Natalia's eyes widened slightly as she looked over to Rex. Rex visually stiffened at the number, standing straight once more. Wolffe and Gregor tightened their grips on their blasters as they stared down the people below them. "Stay behind me." Rex spoke sternly as he pulled Natalia behind him.
"What did you just say?"
"Uh, I said 7567."
"Well, that's my birth number." Rex said as he stared down at the kid questioningly.
"Birth number?" The kid asked.
"Their clones." The man with the sleeve of armor declared as he stepped in front of his friends, pulling out a blue lightsaber.
Natalia's eyes widened as she stared down at the man. She hadn't seen a Jedi since she last saw Ahsoka. She had assumed they'd all died, slaughtered by their own men. "Jedi!" Wolffe visually panicked as he aimed his blaster at the man below them. "They've come for revenge."
Before anyone could even stop him Wolffe fired two shots down at them. The Jedi was quick and deflected both, sending the shots to the ground in front of him and his friends. The Mandalorian and the Lasat pulled out their blasters aiming it up at them.
"Put the blaster down, old man." The Lasat yelled.
"Don't try it, boyo!" Gregor yelled as he aimed his blaster down at the group. "I'll gun you down."
"Hey! Whoa!" Natalia yelled, stepping in front of Rex, Gregor, and Wolffe. "Everybody just calm down."
"But he's a Jedi." Wolffe argued. "A Jedi!"
"Calm down, Wolffe. Nobody's come for revenge." Natalia soothed, forcing his gun down
"Sorry about the, um, weapons malfunction." Rex called down to the group.
"Smooth." Natalia commented, earning a slight nudge from Rex.
"My friend here is just a little defensive." Rex said as he gestured to Wolffe. "See we haven't seen a Jedi since, uh...Well, it's been awhile."
The Jedi put his lightsaber away as the kid placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, my name's Ezra." The kid introduced himself before his friends, gesturing to each one as he said their names. "This is Kanan. That's Sabine and Zeb. It's nice to meet you, 7567."
"Actually my name is Rex. Captian, 501st Clone Battalion." Rex stood proudly causing a small smile to form on Natalia's face, she one day wished to be as proud at her past as her Rex is. "Meet Commanders Gregor and Wolffe. This here is Natalia."
"We were sent by Ahsoka Tano." Ezra said.
"See, Dad? Greater things await us." Natalia said her smile only growing wider.
"I still don't know how I feel about you fighting in a war." Rex spoke with a small frown before looking back down to the group below. "I fought by her side from the Battle of Christophsis to the Siege of Mandalore. And a friend of hers is a friend of mine."
"Come on up!" Natalia called as she resumed her position from earlier, resting her arms on the railing. "If we like ya, maybe you can stay for dinner."
