"This feels a bit silly," Omega complained.
"I know it does, but trust me, it'll help you focus," Senna replied.
"I don't feel very focused."
"If you quit complaining, you might."
Omega glanced around her quivering arms that were holding her in a handstand at Senna, giving her a slightly dirty look. The Jedi just shrugged down at her as she held her ankles gingerly, helping her balance. The chair that Omega had been trying to move for the last couple of days sat a few meters away, an unfeeling nemesis that almost seemed to mock the young girl with its stillness.
"Come on kid, it's just a handstand!" Fives jeered from a stool nearby. Omega stuck her tongue out at him, sending him into a fit of giggles. Echo nudged his brother.
"Give it a rest, Fives. She's doing her best."
"I'm just giving her some encouragement," Fives complained.
"Sounds more like mocking to me," Echo muttered.
"Worked for you, didn't it?" Fives teased, shoving his brother in the arm. "In fact, I'd say my influence played a significant role in you making ARC. You're welcome."
Senna glanced over her shoulder, releasing one of Omega's ankles quickly to flick her wrist and send the stool Fives was sitting on skidding half a meter, just far enough to land the former ARC trooper flat on his rear, dumping the drink he'd had in his hand all over his front. Omega giggled, and Senna gave her ankles a gentle squeeze, reminding her of the task at hand.
Closing her eyes, Omega furrowed her brow, focusing. The chair that Senna had stood a few meters from them began to wobble slightly before scooting a few centimeters along the floor. The loud scraping sound caused Omega's eyes to fly open, and she collapsed to the floor, sitting up as Echo leapt to his feet and unleashed a loud whoop.
"I DID IT!" the young girl breathed, a look of slight disbelief smeared across her features.
Senna smiled down at her padawan. "This is a good first step. It means you're getting better at tuning out distractions, in all their forms," the Jedi said, glaring pointedly at Fives. The former ARC just shrugged as he dabbed at the stain on his shirt.
"You have your methods, and I have mine, Master Jedi."
Senna rolled her eyes as Omega flexed her wrists. Noting the unspoken complaint of soreness, Senna took the hint. "I think that's enough practice for one day. Why don't you go see if Tech's made any progress on the file recovery?" Senna had been doing her best to stay out of Tech's way, knowing that she'd started to become a bit of a bother despite the fact that Tech would never say it out loud. She figured sending Omega instead would serve as a good respite for the goggled clone. The young girl smiled, pushing herself to her feet and scampering out of the room, almost knocking Rex over as she rounded the corner. Bouncing off of his chest, she tossed a quick apology over her shoulder as she took off down the hall towards the room Tech had commandeered as a workshop.
"Training going well?" Rex asked, rubbing the spot on his abdomen where Omega had slammed into him.
Senna strode up to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Well enough, despite Fives's best efforts."
Fives snorted indignantly. "I still say I'm helping."
Rex shot him an accusing look. "If I know you, that comes in the form of giving her a hard time."
"Hey, she moved the chair today."
Rex whirled to look at Senna. "That sounds like progress." They'd started slow with Senna testing Omega's connection first. Sure enough, it was there, although unrefined and weak. Since then, Senna had worked with Omega on her control of the Force and on how to reach out to connect to it. The young clone had spent several days trying to just move the chair without any progress. Today, however, Echo had suggested they try to narrow her focus in some way, and Senna had agreed, having Omega focus on the handstand while also trying to move the chair. It had indeed seemed to help her narrow her focus to just her balance and her connection to the Force, despite Fives's best efforts. Senna would never admit it, but she was grateful for his teasing comments, knowing that they added a certain degree of difficulty to the exercise, even if she wished he would go about it differently.
"It is. A substantial amount of progress," Senna agreed. "I wasn't sure how this would all go since her connection is...well, manufactured for lack of a better word. But she's doing really well."
"And how are you doing?" Rex asked. She'd spent many nights laying next to him, venting her frustrations with her padawan and her perceived inability to be an effective master. Rex had been mostly quiet, offering suggestions and affirmations where he deemed appropriate. Something today had clicked, and Senna's stomach warmed at the triumphant twinkle in Rex's eyes.
"Better, I think. Not sure if I just got lucky today or if it's some newfound confidence, but I'll take the win."
Rex shrugged, gripping the back of the chair Omega had been working to move and dragging it back to the table Fives and Echo were sitting at. "Leading people is a series of trial and errors. You've got to figure out what they respond to and what motivates them. You and Omega will figure each other out. Just takes time and a bit of patience, which we both know you don't have a lot of."
Senna wrinkled her nose at him but didn't dispute the comment. "I'm going to go take a shower, and then I'll meet you in the mess for dinner, yeah?"
Rex leaned down and pecked her on the forehead. "Sounds like a plan." She grinned before striding out of the hall, leaving Rex alone with Echo and Fives.
---
Rex watched Senna's figure disappear around the corner before he turned and shot an accusing look at Fives.
"You need to give her a break."
"Who, Senna or the kid?" Fives grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Probably both," Rex grunted.
"You missed me."
"Starting to make me wonder why," the captain muttered. "I've got to go do a few quick checks outside. Heard there were a few incoming transports and want to make sure I'm far enough out of the way for them to land. Care to join me?"
Echo glanced at Fives, who shrugged, and the two of them stood, following their former captain out to the tarmac. Rex surveyed where he'd parked the ship, satisfied that he'd left enough room, and not a moment too soon as a large, rusted transport hummed into view, skimming over the trees and landing on the east end of the tarmac with a somewhat loud thud. Rex cringed and he heard Fives swear as he covered his ears at the loud screech of the engines powering down. The main hatch opened and the ramp creaked into position with a groan. That bucket of bolts needs at least a little grease on those joints, the captain thought as the passengers within began to descend onto the duracrete.
After giving the outside of the ship one more onceover, Rex turned back to the twins, who were watching the transport's passengers gather around the ship's base, sorting luggage and moving supplies to be brought inside. "Figure we should go over and help?" Fives asked.
"Couldn't hurt," Rex replied, and the twins headed over towards a few smaller figures that were struggling to lift a crate that had to weigh more than the both of them combined. Rex smiled as he watched the two former ARCs both grab an end, taking the load from the weary travelers and following their directions as to where it should be placed.
Turning back to where most of the transport crew had gathered, he took in the mass of people before him. They all sported travel cloaks, hoods pulled up, and many of them looked hunched, as though they'd not slept well in a few days. Likely on the run, Rex thought as he walked towards the group, lengthening his strides.
"Rex?"
He stopped short when he heard his name, whirling about to find the source until his eyes settled on one particular pair of blue eyes that was watching him intently from beneath a hood. Rex's heart immediately soared, and he took off at a dead sprint towards the young Togruta grinning back at him.
"AHSOKA!" He scooped her up in a massive hug, and he felt her giggle as she returned the embrace.
"It's good to see you too Rex," she laughed as he set her down. He put his hands on her shoulders, surveying her. It seemed like she had somehow gotten taller since he'd last seen her. Her lekku were definitely a little longer. He was relieved to not see any major new scars or injuries, and her eyes still sparkled with the same mischief that he'd become so familiar with over the course of the war.
"I'm so glad you're safe," he breathed. "It's been a while since I heard from you."
"Yeah, fell off the map for a bit there and then lost my commlink, but figured maybe it was time for a check-in. Wasn't sure you'd be here."
Rex chuckled. "A bit of luck that I am really." The captain turned and glanced over his shoulder to see Echo and Fives approaching them. He grinned. "Well, I'm not the only one here I think you'll want to see." Stepping back, he revealed the twins, who hadn't seemed to recognize Ahsoka yet. She slipped her hood down, and her eyes widened as she realized who she was looking at. Whirling, she stared at Rex.
"Rex, that...that can't be..."
"He was alive," Rex said softly, his voice cracking. "And the other one you already know about."
Rex had told Ahsoka about Echo and described what had been done to him on Skako Minor, but Ahsoka hadn't crossed paths with him since his rescue. She slowly walked towards the twins, her eyes wide with wonder. As the two former ARCs watched her, recognition slowly began to seep in. Echo's eyes were glistening, and Fives was grinning like an idiot as they all crashed into one another, a mixture of laughter and tears and embraces. Rex smiled to himself, swallowing the lump in his throat as he remembered how hard Ahsoka had taken Echo's death at the Citadel, how her face had fallen when he had told her what happened to Fives.
They'd been inseparable once they'd met, Ahsoka no more than a teenager at the time and Fives and Echo newly minted shinies. He'd often thought of all of the times he'd watched the two ARCs walking around with Ahoska swinging from their shoulders, her thin legs kicking out in front of her as Echo and Fives swung her back and forth with each of their strides. They'd been menaces when they wanted to be, giving even Hardcase a run for his money with their antics, and while Rex had often been the one tasked with scolding them, deep down, he'd enjoyed the moments of joy they'd inspired. Anakin may have been her master, but Echo and Fives had mentored her in other ways, some that perhaps she hadn't even realized yet.
And now here he stood, watching what he'd long considered an impossibility play out in front of him. He felt the tears threatening to pour from his eyes and coughed once forcefully, brushing his fingertips over his face. All from happiness. All good things. He strode forward towards the three of them, offering them a hand up as they recovered.
"I can't believe you're here," Ahsoka sighed, wiping the tear stains from her cheeks.
"Me either, to be honest," Fives laughed. "Thought that wall decoration comment I made was coming back around to bite me permanently."
"Technically, you weren't on a wall when we found you," Echo teased. "More of a glow stick, really." Fives shoved him, and Ahsoka giggled.
Fives sighed, looking the young Togruta up and down. "I can't believe how old you've gotten."
She scoffed playfully. "You're one to talk."
"I was a medical experiment for a few years. What's your excuse?"
"What he means to say," Echo cut in, "is that you've come so far from the young commander we knew. You're not a kid anymore, Ahsoka. It's jarring because the last time we saw you, you were a teenager. Now, you're all grown up." He gripped her shoulder, smiling softly at her. "We're just so proud of you. And we're so glad you're safe."
Ahsoka ducked her head, but rested her hand on top of Echo's. "I've missed you all. More than you'll ever know." Turning, she glanced at Rex, and something settled in her mind. "Something's different with you," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Rex feigned ignorance. He'd told Ahsoka about finding Senna when they'd been stationed together on Lothal, but he'd never fully disclosed everything that had transpired between the two of them aside from the occasional offhand comment. He also had suspected he didn't need to; Ahsoka had never asked him if he and Senna had been romantically involved, but she seemed to assume so, to the point where Rex had wound up casually mentioning that they'd chosen their own surname. Ahsoka's immediate message response hadn't betrayed any sort of shock, but she had been excited for the two of them. After Senna left, Ahsoka had been careful when asking if he'd found any evidence of her, and after a while, it seemed as though she understood to stop asking. Now, as she watched him, he felt the corners of his lips twitch, and her eyes widened.
"You found her, didn't you?"
Rex grinned. "Kind of the other way around, actually."
Ahsoka's eyes drifted to a point over Rex's shoulder, her eyes straining to see something before they lit up. Slowly, she stepped past Rex, and the captain turned, his heart warming as he realized what had grabbed Ahsoka's attention.
Senna had just stepped out of the interior of the base, talking with Hunter about something. Suddenly, she froze, her head whipping around and meeting Ahsoka's eyes. Rex watched as almost every emotion rolled across the Jedi's features before she seemed to settle on relief. Striding forward quickly, she wrapped Ahsoka in a tight hug, embracing her friend's former padawan. He couldn't hear any of the words that were being quietly exchanged as the two of them rocked back and forth, but he was glad to let them have this moment be just between the two of them. Anakin's sisters, one older, one younger, reunited at last, he thought. And another survivor for Senna.
He slowly walked towards them, watching as Senna stepped back, cupping Ahsoka's cheeks and inspecting her. "You've gotten so tall, Snips," she laughed. "I've missed you like crazy. What are you doing here?"
Ahsoka shrugged. "Got into a bit of a jam on Corellia and figured I was due for a visit. Lost my commlink and had some information that I thought might be helpful. Also was hoping that Rex might be around, but never would have imagined quite this big of a reception." Ahsoka's eyes drifted over Senna's metal arm, settling on her ring finger, and her eyebrow raised as she glanced between the two of them. "Something the two of you need to tell me?" she joked.
Senna flushed and Rex rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not quite that yet. I mean, we haven't...we're not..."
"We're giving it another shot, but we haven't said any vows or anything," Senna attempted to clarify.
"You just etched a pair of blue Jaig eyes on your finger." Ahsoka's gaze was pointed, but her tone was teasing.
"I umm...I missed him a bit."
"Clearly."
"Also, funny enough, I heard mention of a Senna Atiniir recently. You wouldn't happen to know her, would you?" Ahsoka asked, turning to Rex. "Seems weird there's someone out there that would be using the surname you two chose for yourselves." The young Togruta crossed her arms, tapping her foot accusingly as she stared down the captain. Rex felt the heat creep over the back of his neck.
"You told her?" Senna asked, whirling to face him.
Rex glanced back and forth between the two of them before shrugging. "It might have come up."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "I say this with love, but the only people you two are fooling are yourselves. Vows be damned." Rex and Senna met each other's eyes, smiling sheepishly.
"Alright, where can I get some food around here?" Ahsoka teased, throwing her arms over Rex and Senna's shoulders. "Please tell me you have something other than ration bars."
"We were just heading to dinner," Senna laughed. "And the food isn't half bad."
"Thank the Maker," Ahsoka sighed. Rex suddenly noted the definition in her cheekbones and how bony her arms were, poking out from beneath her cloak. She hasn't had a good meal in a while, he thought, and he could see Senna drawing the same conclusion as she took in the details he'd noted.
In the mess hall, Senna and Rex sat quietly as Ahoska demolished a trayful of food, listening and laughing as Fives regaled her with stories Rex was positive she'd already heard at least three times in her life, but she never stopped him. She's missed this as much as they have. Every once in a while, the young Togruta's eyes would flick over to where Senna and Rex's hands were joined or to watch the two of them interact, and Rex noted the small twitch of her lips as she took it all in. Finally, she sat back with a sigh, resting her hands on her belly with a satisfied grin on her face.
"Best meal I've had in weeks."
"I don't doubt that," Senna said, and Ahsoka glanced at her.
"Still mothering, I see," she teased.
"I obtained that skill taking care of your former master," Senna joked, and Ahsoka chuckled.
"And I don't doubt that. He always said he was surprised you didn't take a padawan of your own."
Senna glanced at Rex out of the corner of her eye, and it didn't go unnoticed by Ahsoka, who leaned forward on her elbows. "I sense there's something else I don't know about."
Senna huffed a dry laugh. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I've actually taken a padawan recently."
Ahsoka's eyes widened. "So there are others?"
"Yes," Rex said. "We actually ran into another padawan on Kashyyyk. A young Wookiee named Gungi. Did you know him?"
Ahsoka's eyes glistened. "I did." She turned her gaze back to Senna. "I'm guessing he's not the one you're talking about though."
Senna took a deep breath, but before she could reply, a blonde blur shot past her, skidding to a stop in front of her and Rex. "Tech says he's got an update on the datapad and would like you all to come see him in his workshop 'at your earliest convenience,'" Omega said, putting on her best impression of her goggled brother for the last part, pushing a set of imaginary eyewear up the bridge of her nose.
Rex watched Senna as she smiled down at Omega. "Very good. We'll go down after dinner and see what he's got for us." Turning, Rex noted Ahsoka watching Omega carefully. She'd never met the young girl before but did know of her. He could see that Ahsoka was able to sense that something was different about her as she turned her seat to face the young girl. Omega took note and grinned at her.
"You must be Ahsoka," she said. "I've heard Rex and Echo talk about you a lot. You're just as I'd imagined."
Ahsoka didn't seem taken aback by the young girl's observation. "And you must be Omega. I've heard a lot about you as well, but I'm guessing not everything," she said, turning to Senna.
Senna smiled. "Omega is my new padawan."
Ahsoka's eyes widened slightly, but her face was still warm and welcoming as she turned back to Omega. "You're very lucky to have Master Atiniir as your master. If I hadn't been paired with my master, I might have hoped for her back in my time as a padawan."
Rex laughed. "Now that I can hardly imagine."
Senna raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh come on, you know Ahsoka and I would have had the Separatists surrendering in the first month."
"Or you'd have burned half the galaxy to the ground," Fives muttered from his end of the table. The chair he was sitting in jolted out from underneath him again as he took a drink, staining his shirt further. "OH COME ON!"
Senna shrugged. "Come on, let's go see what Tech's got for us. Care to join us Ahsoka?"
"Sure thing."
As the four of them walked down the hallway, Rex turned to speak quietly to Ahsoka. "So what was this information you wanted to deliver? Or am I allowed to know?"
"I don't see why you couldn't. I've gotten word of a big Imperial bash happening on Cantonica in a few rotations. The invite list is long and full of higher ups that might have some good information. Figured if you've got anyone in the field looking for some intel that would require a high level of clearance, this might be a good opportunity. I know Tarkin is supposed to be there."
Rex grimaced at the name. He'd kept tabs on the former captain, who had risen quickly amongst the Empire's ranks after the fall of the Republic. He'd never liked the man during the war, so despising him as an Imperial had come naturally, particularly with his well-known distaste for the clones. "Well, if he's there, it'll be quite the bash," Rex muttered.
Ahsoka grinned, but said nothing.
Turning the corner into Tech's workshop, they found him hunched over his own datapad, Senna's scorched one lying on the far end of the table and connected with cabling. The smell of burnt electronics still permeated the space from Senna's obliterated tech, but at least there was no metallic tangy stench of something new having been fried.
"Ah, good, you're here," Tech said without glancing up. "I think I have recovered all I can from Master Atiniir's datapad." He disconnected his datapad from the cabling, moving over to a display and casting the files up on the screen there. "The good news is I was able to recover the file pertaining to Commander Wolffe's imprisonment, although it is lax on details aside from the ship he's being held on. I was also able to recover a few other notable files, most of which have to do with encryption studies and a few other weapons that we've heard rumors about but had no additional details on. There's a fantastic file that has to do with the new weapons being installed on TIE fighters."
Rex felt Senna breathe a sigh of relief next to him. He knew she'd been terrified that they'd lost Wolffe's file when her datapad had been destroyed, potentially costing them their only lead they had on Wolffe's whereabouts. He could see there was some hope in her eyes, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was about to be dashed.
"Anything on the superweapon, Tech?" she asked, and Rex braced for the bad news he knew was coming. If he'd had it, he would have led with that.
Tech's mouth hardened into a thin line. "I'm afraid it wasn't among the files I was able to recover. There were a total of three that were unrecoverable: the files pertaining to Project Shockwave, Project Stardust, and one file that even had the name get corrupted, so I was unable to even glean that much."
Senna's gaze fell to the floor, and she nodded. Rex slipped his hand into hers, and she squeezed it back. "It's alright. At least we got Wolffe's file." He could see that she was trying to reassure them more than herself, and his heart broke. He knew he was being selfish, but he couldn't help but still feel that even though she'd failed at retrieving the file she'd been hunting for, that hunt had been what brought the two of them back together, and in his mind, that would be enough.
"Alright, bring up Wolffe's file. Let's have a look," Senna said, straightening her spine as she redirected her concern. Tech flipped back to it, casting it to the screen.
"The Perilous?" Ahsoka said. "I haven't heard of that ship before."
"Me neither," Rex said, "Which makes me think it's important and that they're keeping it secret for a reason."
"What are all of those numbers attached to it?" Omega asked, indicating the long string of digits underneath the ship's name.
"Identity codes, similar to the chain codes the Empire is handing out to people," Senna said, stroking her chin as she stepped closer to examine the numbers. "They can tell us a lot if you know what they stand for." She pointed at the last string. "This indicates a serial number. It's low, so I'd assume a fairly new ship design. The first few will tell you what kind of ship, but I don't recognize that number. Do you, Tech?"
Tech squinted at it, the wheels in his mind clearly turning. "I'm unfamiliar with the first string, but the '20' at the end would normally be used to indicate Star Destroyer class."
Rex let out a low whistle. "That's a monster of a ship."
"Indeed," Tech agreed. "The good news is that there aren't a large number of product lines associated with them, at least not as far as we know, and few have been spotted by the various patrols. I think if we can figure out exactly what type or perhaps characteristics such as the hyperdrive rating or armaments, we should be able to narrow it down significantly among any reported sightings."
Rex rubbed the back of his neck, thinking hard before an idea came to him. He turned to Ahsoka, and he could see she was already thinking along the same lines. "That big party you mentioned on Cantonica," he said. "What was it for?"
Ahsoka grinned. "The unveiling of several new classes of starships for the Empire."
Senna whirled, her eyes sparkling with determination. "Well then, sounds like we've got a party to crash, Captain."