Note & Disclaimer: Thank you again to my beta WildHoneyProse! Also, I should have some actual comfort/clone-centric/fluff Rexsoka next chapter. And just as a random disclaimer: Nothing that belongs to Lucasfilm/Star Wars is mine.
Darkness cocooned Ahsoka within the walls of her quarters, lulling and gentle in its embrace. She sat crossed-legged with only a few minutes of time before she was expected back in the hangar to make another run at the Seppies' ship in hopes of increasing the glacially receding grip they held on the planet.
It was just over twenty hours since she'd learned of a secret which could potentially topple the very head of their government. Not the government of a sole planet, but the Republic and the democracy which it stood for.
From which it had fallen.
Rex's concern had been an ever-present prickle under her skin since she had first listened to the report. But she had wearily pushed him away as best she could despite knowing that he could feel the barrage of emotion she was doing her best to stop up.
Ahsoka had promised him a numbed, "I'll tell you later," before falling back into her bunk to shove the scratchy blanket over her montrals, curling into herself and fighting the urge to hurl.
She didn't want to tell Rex.
Ahsoka knew Rex could feel her desperate reluctance, her guilt. He was likely picking up on phrases – flashes of what she wished was all just an elaborate ruse.
But it wasn't.
Not only was Fives an honorable man and an even more loyal soldier, he knew far too much – more than she did – about their creation for it to be a lie.
So here she was, her horror properly compartmentalized, rage molded into cold logic, as she allowed the warmth of their bond to pull her in.
Her Captain wasn't fighting, that much she could sense, but, beyond that, Ahsoka wasn't sure.
"Rex," she called out, brushing inquisitively over the solid thrum of their tie.
He responded immediately, dread-apprehension-fatigue at the forefront of his being. "Yes?"
Ahsoka hated this – hated that this was the news that she held, hated that she couldn't be there to tell him face to face due to their differing orders, to hold him if he fell or support him so he wouldn't.
Rex felt it all and his dread-apprehension fed off her fear. "Ahsoka..." he trailed off, needing, but not wanting to hear what she had to share.
She took a breath, making her shoulders relax even as her gut twisted violently. "Where are you?"
Though his uncertainty was clear, Rex didn't debate her question. "We've secured a post to regroup before we head back out. We don't head out till the evening, 0500."
Ahsoka didn't mean for her frustration to seep through, but she shook her head, knowing full well that Rex couldn't see it, but could likely feel the bite in her words. "Yes, but where are you – the control room, with Master Windu?"
Even if she couldn't be there with him, the least she could do is ensure that he found privacy for himself. Rex didn't fall apart often, but for this... this was something she couldn't imagine he'd want any of his brothers or – Force forbid – Master Windu to see.
"I'm in a maintenance room working on a couple forms. General Windu is expecting me in an hour," he supplied, unintentionally bombarding her with half-formed questions as he spoke.
That would give them enough time – give him enough time.
Hopefully.
"Yesterday, what you felt – I had received Fives' transmission," Ahsoka started slowly, voice blank but all those emotions she'd previously been able to subdue and tame in the privacy of her mind scraped fresh up against Rex, making themselves known.
Her nails dug sharply into the fabric of her leggings.
His sharp knife of panic-anticipation became her own, undiluted and controlled in its shared aim toward their hearts.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
Palpatine's arrogance – his Darkness and manipulation and betrayal stung. He forsook everything she had ever stood for – everything Anakin stood for.
Everything the clones stood for.
Palpatine spat on their sacrifice like it was nothing, because, to him, it was nothing – they were nothing but pawns in his long, long game.
Ahsoka swallowed.
"It's worse than we could've ever imagined, Rex," she croaked, forcing away the sting of tears. There was no time to cry. "What Fives learned explains everything – the war, the chips... the nightmares."
Rex's shame-denial when he realized after a split second what nightmares Ahsoka meant hurt. She knew why Rex wouldn't want to tell her or anyone else, but that he would keep it from her, especially as they fell further and further into their rabbit hole of secrecy and treason, left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"What did he find out?"
Ahsoka wanted to ask, but, in reality, there was no point and with what little confidentiality they had just for themselves, she wouldn't press him.
"Chancellor Palpatine isn't just some politician, Rex. When Fives was taken before the Chancellor after Kamino, Palpatine had goaded Fives into attacking him."
Ahsoka was unable to push the rest of the message past her lips, keeping the reality at bay if only for a moment longer.
"None of the Jedi really know how or why the clones were created," she said, switching tactics.
A shocked, "What do you –" shot across her mind, but Ahsoka paid him no mind.
"I don't think I'm supposed to know this, but Master Obi-Wan was the one to discover you, all of you. He told me it was only because he was searching for a bounty hunter that was after Padme. That bounty hunter ended up being your template, Jango Fett, but the Jedi who had ordered your creation didn't have the backing of the Council. Not even Master Yoda knew."
His question was tinted in despair. "How?"
"I dodn't know – the Council definitely doesn't, or the war would likely be over. Kriff, it probably would've never begun. But, Fives, he figured it out. That's why none of this was making sense – because there is one person pulling all the strings – Palpatine."
The weight of her words held a meaning she wasn't sure either of them fully understood. The rampaging shock-cynicism-fatigue which coursed through him like the raging waters of his birth planet only served to drain them both further.
"Ahsoka..." he tried, only to be prohibited by his own tongue, which had grown too heavy – too disoriented to continue.
Now that she had started, Ahsoka had to get this out lest the information burn her from within.
"Fives said that Palpatine has an apprentice named Darth Tyranus. I haven't ever heard this name, but with his help and a Jedi named Sifo-Dyas, they ordered the creation of the clones."
...the Jedi didn't know...
The words echoed mercilessly in the prison that his mind had become.
Still, there was a piece – a variable in this gruesome equation he had yet to account for.
"But... how?" he muttered, his mind racing to connect this sudden onslaught of information.
Ahsoka, in the hush of her durasteel room, bent her neck back to stare at the ceiling with a rigid clench of her jaw, a boiling, burnt knot swarming somewhere behind her ribcage, something like hate – a deep, smoldering ember.
This is why I'd be a terrible Jedi – I'm too angry.
"I don't know, Rex. My only possible idea is that they have a plan where they somehow come out on top – that they're playing a game where we can't see all the pieces or moves. If the Republic isn't supposed to win, but the Separatists aren't either – "
Rex knew that – that much was obvious – but he wanted to know the mechanics of their tactics. A plan was all well and good, but how one went about enacting it was the truly difficult problem in strategy.
He was missing something, but what?
"No, Ahsoka. How do they plan on turning us against the Republic? Unless Palpatine is planning on joining the Separatists – which wouldn't make any sense. He could have just accepted their decision to secede from the Republic with starting a war – some type of coup is the only move to make. We live and die for the Republic – we are loyal to Jedi. Regardless of orders, we would never turn like that."
The chips had to factor into this. They had to be related to Tup's breakdown. That was clear, but until Kix figured out what the implants held, he had no idea what their true nature was.
Unless –
"Ahsoka, did Fives tell you what the chips did?"
He must have. That was what his whole crusade on Kamino was about, so why hadn't she just come out and told him?
Her lack of a clear response set his teeth on edge. All he got was glimpses of phrases and feelings but nothing formative.
Rex was positive she had felt his irritation, quiet as it was.
Her voice was soft in his mind, but tense as if she was waiting for him to shatter. "He did. The chips control more than just your rapid aging or even your aggression levels."
In the muffled hush of his closet, Rex unknowingly mimicked her, his unhelmeted head pressed against the unyielding metal of the framework behind him. The rivets dug into his skull.
Tup's frenzied, murderous haze with his glazed-over brown eyes still floated across the back of his eyelids at the most inopportune times.
And there were the nightmares. The nightmares the Jedi were never supposed know about or else they'd think the clones were defective traitors
All the evidence pointed him in the sole direction he did not want to look.
"Tell me," Rex said.
Regret-rage flooded his sense in the silent pause before Ahsoka answered. "The chips have at least one directive coded into them that Fives knows about. This order – he said that you have no choice but to follow it. It forces you to kill the Jedi."
Rex wanted to argue, wanted to deny, but the truth of her words ran clear. Not only was Fives honest to a fault, but the information he gave Ahsoka seemed unfamiliar even to her. This was no invention.
But we're not droids. We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions.
He snorted, bile rising to sting the back of his throat.
Hollow words for their hollow humanity.
"I'm so sorry," her voice whispered in his mind, feeling that toxic bitterness.
Rex knew it wasn't her fault – knew he had his chip removed, but 'sorry' didn't stop the reality that they were bred in a laboratory for a war that should have never been. Sorry didn't make all the sacrifices – all the death mean anything.
'For the Republic' had never felt so blissfully ignorant.
"Nothing," he mumbled to himself. It had all been for nothing.
It was disorienting – the disillusionment, the relief that at least his chip was out and Ahsoka was safe, the guilt that he was even allowed to feel relief when his brothers didn't know about the chips' existence, the fury, the –
"Hey," Ahsoka soothed, washing him with a love-light-calm that he knew she didn't feel. "We're going to fix this. Palpatine won't get away with this."
Rex hadn't meant to let the thought be broadcasted, but it slipped through nonetheless.
"He already has."
Ahsoka's wrath bled past her attempt at comfort to mingle with his.
So many men dead and for what?
Krell's prediction shredded through his mind with a callous disregard. The chill of the durasteel nipping into his skin the only grounding force for the fire he felt was consuming him. The besalisk had been right all along.
"I know."
Ahsoka felt heavy, as if exhaustion had settled itself as a yoke upon her shoulders, her grief-lethargy-determination a reflection of his own.
Rex had once asked what the point of all this was and many times afterwards.
He had an answer now.
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As far as planets to launch a draining campaign on, Anaxes could be worse.
Her boots crunched the azure-blue stone beneath her, the blush red of the fleshy plants forcing that beautifully familiar, off-white plastoid armor to stick out like a gundark amongst tookas.
Master Windu, with his soft brown robes, was much less apparent, but no less imposing.
The black, reflective visor of Rex's helmet stared at her, but she couldn't stop the small smile that played across her lips as she still sought his eyes.
"Rex," she greeted even as the General inclined his head in welcome.
"Ahsoka," he replied, a tired but true half-smile hiding just beneath his bucket. She wanted to hug him, drag her lips across the rough skin of his jaw, kiss those likely chapped lips.
His satisfaction-embarrassment threatened to pull a grin from her, for which she'd have no explanation for, and Ahsoka watched with great pleasure as he shifted awkwardly behind the Jedi Master.
"General Windu," she said, bowing lightly, impressed with how even her voice was as she walked towards them. A squad of men followed in her wake, light reinforcements who had recently been released from the medbay and deemed fit for combat.
Two days had passed since Ahsoka had received Fives' transmission and she'd been desperate for an excuse to get her shebs out of the cockpit and her boots on the ground without appearing too eager to warrant a second glance.
Anakin's suspicious gaze had turned knowing when she, in the control room of the Resolute, had hastily offered to join Master Windu's efforts.
Ahsoka had to bite her tongue to stop herself from protesting her Master's assumption. Because, no, she was not jumping ship – quite literally – to be closer to Rex.
Though that was an enjoyable benefit.
"Commander," Master Windu responded. Rex silently stepped aside to allow Ahsoka her place at the General's side as they turned to head back to that night's base.
The previous post they had taken was too far from Fort Anaxes to continue being used as they pushed closer and closer to the mountain side. Windu had left a small garrison behind and moved along as the natural landscape provided plenty of cover.
Listening to the hum of the larty as it flew back to the safety of their Venator, Ahsoka pushed aside a low-hanging rosy tendril. "So, what's the plan?"
She had been briefed on the situation earlier, but Ahsoka wasn't sure if the General determined their next steps or if that was still in the works.
"Captain Rex has devised a... creative strategy to take back the base," he said.
Her amusement floated lightly against him. "Creative, huh? Should I be worried?" she teased.
His smug arrogance which had dimmed as the war drew on sparked to life at her question and Ahsoka could all but taste his smirk. "No, I just don't think General Windu is entirely used to our brand of adventure. We both know the 501st isn't exactly orthodox in its approach."
Ahsoka barely managed to clear her throat in time to cover an ill-timed chuckle, simply nodding at Windu's answer. "I see."
His skeptical side-eye did little to subdue the twitch of her lips.
"We may need to adjust a couple things now that we have a second Force-user handy, but it should still hold steady," Rex offered, dipping his chin in acknowledgment as they passed a trooper on guard duty. "I remembered General Skywalker pulling a stunt like it early in the war."
Ahsoka racked her mind for what he might be referring to, but there were so many eccentric choices her Master had made, she wasn't sure which one Rex was referring to.
"This was before your time in the field. We'd been stuck in a siege for over a month and were predicted to be there for another three until Skywalker found an old series of sewer tunnels right under the city. I figured they had to have a system like that here," Rex supplied quickly.
His pure kriffing competence and ingenuity would forever be a turn-on.
Ahsoka shoved her admiration-love-desire at him with unbridled affection.
And he stumbled.
"You're brilliant, Rex."
"Yeah, well, we still need to find the entry points," he retorted, attempting to hide his discomfort with a wry tone.
Ahsoka wasn't fooled.
Then again, it seemed as though Master Windu wasn't either.
Staring at the clone from over his shoulder, the Jedi's eyebrows crawled up his forehead, a dubious glint in his dark eyes. "I'm sorry, did I miss something?" he drawled.
Ah, so he had said that aloud.
She nearly winced, refraining just in time, though she was sure, under the safety of his armor, Rex wasn't so impassive.
"Uh... no, sir. Sorry, I forgot my helmet was unsealed. I was – er – talking to myself. Running through the plan again. Sir."
Ahsoka wasn't sure if what she was feeling was first or secondhand embarrassment, but it was an immense exercise of self-control to not shake her head in shame.
Luckily the men behind them kept silent, though the tilts of their heads and movements of their shoulders gave them away in their conversation with one another.
She didn't want to think about what they were likely saying.
"... Right," Master Windu dead-banned, turning back ahead with a muttered comment that was so low that Ahsoka had to strain to hear it, not sure if she wanted to laugh or scowl at his exasperated, "Skywalker's men."
It didn't matter though. Not only did they need to talk about the report, but finalizing their attack was an immediate concern.
Inside the camp's perimeter, the General dismissed the men as Ahsoka and Rex followed him to the command tent.
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It was growing late, the fyrnocks' wide green-yellow eyes peering menacingly from the wilds of the jungle. It was peaceful, though, teeming with life in a way no flagship ever could.
Their strategy was simple but eccentric enough the droids wouldn't see it coming. That was, however, the apparent norm of the 501st.
This official meeting had come to a close mere moments ago, and Ahsoka was already dreading the conversation that was to follow.
Sure, Rex knew of the major contents of the transmission, but to hear it in Fives' voice with all the desperation, anger, and broken pleas would be an altogether different experience.
One neither of them was looking forward to.
Ahsoka wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Master Windu. Yes, the man was stoic even according to Jedi standards and curt, but his compassion was not to be undervalued. He would not remain unmoved by what he heard, of that she was certain.
The hum of the midnight bustle filtered in through the heavy canvas walls of the tent, one of the few found in the surviving walkers, as the General flicked off the holotable's map.
"Captain, you're dismissed. Be here at 0700 tomorrow to begin preparations for the infiltration," he said.
Rex nodded hesitantly, but didn't respond, his helmet shifting awkwardly in his hands. His eyes flicked just for an instant toward Ahsoka, who had already heard his silent question of whether to obey and leave or wait for her to protest.
She didn't bother responding beyond a gentle affirmation. Rex deserved to be in the room as much as they did, though she did understand some of Windu's likely concerns.
"With due respect, General, Rex needs to be here as well. He goes where I go and knows what I know."
The unintentional double meaning of her words wasn't lost on either of them. Rex's amused snort echoed in her mind, and she sent her own exasperation right back at him.
The Jedi Master, on the other hand, did not share in their amusement, his penetrative gaze flicking between the two of them. He seemed aware that he was missing something even as more pieces and players fell into place.
Her discomfort was shared equally by her Captain, both of them fighting the urge to twitch like shinies before the formidable man.
"Are you sure that is a... wise decision?" he asked finally.
It was a valid question, but it still had her bristling despite the fact it was a fear she previously had held herself.
Ahsoka spoke slowly, doing her best to keep the bite out of her words and allow Rex's logic-calm to sweep across her.
Still, she could sense the clone's resentment beneath it all, carefully controlled as it was.
"Rex has my full confidence, Master Windu. He has proven himself time and time again, both to his brothers and to the safety of the Republic. What I'm about to show you is something he'll be hearing regardless of if it's here and now or elsewhere later."
His disagreement was evident, arms crossed in displeasure. "I was not questioning his trustworthiness nor his loyalty, but the fact remains that clones – with very few exceptions – are not particularly skilled in... subtlety. An ability that, even with my limited knowledge of the situation, seems of particular use here."
This would be easier if we just told him about... this, Rex grumbled.
Ahsoka had to agree, but they both knew it would only raise more questions than simply settle the single argument they had now.
"You're right, sir, but we've managed this far on our own. And Fives is – er – was my brother – my responsibility and if he found something as damning as what he claimed, then I need to know about it," Rex evenly explained.
There was a pause of consideration before he nodded, terse and abrupt, but it was acquiescence all the same. "Very well. Commander," he said, turning to her. "Play the recording but keep it quiet."
Without a word, Ahsoka dipped her head as she pulled out the disc.
One move closer to the endgame.
_________________________________________________
The atmosphere of the tent was stifling, and the silence fell heavy upon them as if it were that unsettling hush on a defeated battlefield.
Rex wasn't sure if it was his or Ahsoka's grief that felt like a jagged-edged vibroblade. It didn't really matter.
Fives was alive – not exactly well, per see – but breathing and safe. That was more than could be said for the majority of his brothers. Yet, there was a rage that simmered beneath the surface of his skin where it vibrated. His despair-hopelessness-hatred once again peaked, though on the surface, his face had gone blank.
Numb.
It was Umbara all over again, but worse.
He felt a soothing presence through their bond, but Rex wasn't sure he wanted it. What he did want was to know what General Windu planned to do next. Ahsoka had earlier shared with him her – albeit reluctant – inclusion of the Jedi.
While he had kept his thoughts to himself, Rex held his own reservations that he knew Ahsoka could likely sense.
The Jedi Master held military rank and social status over both of them. Should the General disagree with his and Ahsoka's plan, they would be powerless to stop him.
The Korun Jedi hadn't lifted his gaze from the Republic Cog that was spinning soundlessly before their eyes. He was a million klicks away, jaw set tight.
Ahsoka wasn't much better despite the fact this was her third time hearing Fives tell his story.
No one spoke, though Rex was sure that, for himself, it had more to do with the tightness in his chest than any lack of things to say.
Until –
"The Chancellor is the Sith lord we've been searching for."
The meaning behind the words didn't truly hit him – an unusual lag between the voice and the importance, skidding over him like a skipping stone.
Ahsoka wasn't having such an issue.
"What?" she hissed, shock-fear shooting through her to strike Rex in the chest.
General Windu finally lifted his eyes to look upon Rex for a brief instant before shifting to Ahsoka, his mouth set in a heavy frown.
"When Obi-Wan first discovered Kamino, he learned that Tyranus was the name of the being who originally hired the bounty hunter Jango Fett to be the clone template. It would be foolish to assume this was a coincidence. Though we don't know who this being is, as the... mysteriously living ARC trooper stated, they had the help of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. He had told no one in the Order of his actions. We suspected from the very beginning that the Sith had somehow maneuvered us into the war, but we didn't know how. This explains it, except that, apparently Darth Tyranus is the apprentice, and the Supreme Chancellor is the master," he said.
"And you said nothing?" Ahsoka demanded.
Those fierce eyes only hardened further.
"This war has been unpopular since the very beginning, Commander. We couldn't inform the public of such a possibility when we ourselves still didn't understand it."
No, you couldn't inform the public because they wouldn't want to fight this Force-forsaken war.
When she spoke again, her voice was steadier, if only by a bit, sighing as she said, "Well, we have a chance to begin fixing this, but if we aren't careful in our next steps, we'll end up playing into whatever trap he's laid out for us. As soon as we've secured the base and established a medbay, I want Kix removed from active duty. He's been researching the chip for us and we need those results to understand how it makes the clones target Jedi."
Brow furrowed in confusion, the General asked, "How can he study the inhibitor chip? We don't have –"
He stopped, his attention landing on Rex who stared back, thankfully hidden by his bucket.
"You removed his chip," he guessed flatly.
"Fives is counting on us, and we will get these questions answered one way or another. Waiting around for the Council's approval is not exactly something we have time for," Ahsoka replied.
There was a pause before he continued. "Skywalker was indeed your Master."
Rex almost smirked, feeling the pride that bloomed in Ahsoka's chest at the Jedi's complaint.
"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Master," she snarked, her relish of the General's pained sigh nearly distracting him from the true nature of their meeting.
"Not to kill the mood, but what are we going to do next? While I can't say I disagree with Fives' plan of simply killing the Chancellor, I have a feeling it won't be as easy as that," he cut in, glancing between Ahsoka and General Windu.
Neither spoke for a short time and Rex felt his stomach sinking before Ahsoka finally responded.
"Actually, I have an idea."
Rex took it back. His stomach was no longer sinking, but viciously plummeting to the core of the planet. "Ahsoka..." he warned internally.
"Don't worry. It's a good one... I think," she answered aloud. It was a slip up on her part this time, but easy enough to brush off. Rex was sure his face showed his apprehension as well.
"Go ahead," the Jedi nodded, gesturing for her to proceed.
The Captain could already feel a headache blooming. If her scheme was anything remotely near Skywalker's vein of planning – which it generally was – then he should prepare himself for a reckless blend of one-third strategy, one-third an incalculable combination of bullshitting and the Force, and one-third brilliance. And not usually in that order.
Rex sighed.