Rex paces the length of the common room, his footsteps echoing through the silent room. His men are around him- sitting or leaning- waiting for some news.
Tension is thick in the air. He wishes Fives were here, but the ARC is away on a mission. He always knows how to relieve the pressure in the atmosphere with a well-timed joke or some words of optimism.
Nobody's smiled since they saw Commander Tano being loaded onto a Coruscant Guard transport, covered in blood and Skywalker clutching her hand like a lifeline.
Rex knew his Jedi Officers were joining Kenobi for dinner this evening, but things have obviously taken a turn. Nothing's ever easy for those three.
The HoloNet is spewing a lot of theories: terrorist bombing, speeder crash, even animal attack. Rex- without the real story- knows none of the rumours are true. It's not that simple.
If it were terrorism, the Coruscant Guard would still be on the scene, but they're not. He knows it wasn't a driving accident because Skywalker's speeder was at the Temple, and the General would never let Kenobi or Ahsoka drive him anywhere. Thirdly, an animal attack is highly unlikely. Ahsoka Tano would never let any animal catch her off guard.
He doesn't have any answers why his Commander ended up seriously injured, but he does know she isn't dead. If she were, the HoloNet would be having an absolute field day of tributes and statements from the Jedi. Aside from replaying the five-second-long clip of her and Skywalker boarding the transport, the HoloNet knows just about as much as Rex does.
"Sir," Coric says, his voice tired, "you're not putting the men at ease."
Rex turns towards his Second, sees the stress in the medic's eyes. Coric offers him a bitter smile, "The Corrie Guard medics looked like they had the situation under control."
Rex scans his face. If Coric thinks Ahsoka will be alright, then he'll trust him, even if his gut is still apprehensive.
He runs a hand through his buzzed hair, "I won't sleep tonight if I don't hear what happened."
"I don't think any of us will," Coric says in solidarity, "but we'll have to, especially when the General gives us the name of the person who did this to her."
Rex's eyes narrow and he lowers his voice, "You think one person did this?"
There are some sick bastards in the universe who like to spend their days trying to assassinate Jedi, but thinking about someone dedicating themselves to murdering Ahsoka makes him feel a bit sick.
"The Jedi would've sensed it coming if it was a group." Coric explains quietly, "One person would've been harder to spot."
He's right. Assuming Ahsoka is still alive- which Rex knows she is- then only one person could've been responsible, and they left the scene when they failed. If it were a group, they would've tried harder to accomplish their target.
Two of his men- Jesse and Kix- stand from one of the sofas, drawing Rex's attention away from Coric, "Boys, where are you going?"
"Guess." Jesse replies bluntly. He's never coped well when his friends have been injured in the past.
"You're not going to the Temple." Rex states authoritatively, crossing his arms over his chest as he blocks their path.
"Captain, please," Kix all but begs, "I can't just sit here and wait."
He's about to scold the junior medic, but Rex puts himself in Kix's shoes. If he was a medic, responsible for the health and wellbeing of his Jedi COs, then he wouldn't want to sit around in a time like this.
Rex puts a hand on Kix's shoulder and softens his tone. "The Jedi Healers know what they're doing, Kix. The General would contact us if he wanted you or Coric there."
Kix slumps, "Yes, sir."
Rex squeezes his shoulder gently, "Good man." He looks up at Jesse, "Do you understand, trooper?"
The clone scowls, "Sir, yes, sir." His tone is tainted with subtle insubordination, but given the circumstances, Rex brushes it off.
Right now, they have bigger problems.
"You're a role model for these men." He nods towards the rows of younger clones who are anxiously waiting for news regarding their beloved Commander. "They could use some reassurance, and even if you're still anxious, I know you can fake some strength for them."
The beeping of a commlink draws everyone's attention to Rex's wrist, the device flashing eagerly. His stomach plummets.
"Excuse me," he says, knowing he'd never be able to take this call in front of so many hopeful faces. He nods to Coric, walks into his office and closes the door. Hopefully, the Sergeant can keep them calm.
"Captain Rex," he says into the device, trying to slow his racing heart.
"Captain, this is Commander Thorn." The Coruscant Guard officer's voice is as strong as steel. "General Skywalker asked me to contact you."
Rex can't help himself from blurting out, "Is the Commander alright?"
"Conscious and breathing." Rex exhales in relief, "We just left the Temple. Commander Tano was in a pretty rough state when we arrived, but my men treated her most severe injuries." There's a brief pause and some mumbling, "My senior medic tells me her condition is no longer life-threatening."
Thank the living Force.
Rex takes the commlink off his wrist and leans both hands on his desk, stretching out his sore back. "What happened down there, sir?"
Another pause. "General Kenobi said a bounty hunter was responsible for the attack, but he bolted before we arrived on the scene." That's typical. "The GAR will publish a report as soon as we have statements from Kenobi, Skywalker and Tano."
"Captain, I should tell you something before rumours spread."
Thorn has always been serious, but the edge in his voice makes Rex feel sick. "Tano's injuries- although not fatal- are serious. When she fell from the rooftop, she received a potential spinal injury which-"
"She fell from a rooftop?" Panic floods Rex. Jedi always land on two feet. What the hell happened?
"About six stories." Thorn supplies casually, as if the information will reassure him. "Skywalker braced her neck, and my guys put her on a board, so her spine should hopefully recover, but the injury sustained to her leg is much more concerning."
Rex swallows hard as Thorn continues, his head spinning from all the information, "My medics had no other choice but to use a tourniquet, Captain. She would've bled out otherwise."
The weight of his words comes crashing down on Rex's shoulders, and his knees threaten to buckle. Tourniquets mean one thing: amputation.
Not her... not Ahsoka...
Something blurs his vision and Rex blinks furiously. One of his men, Digger, was taken back to Kamino six months ago after an explosion. Rex remembers having to explain to Ahsoka what it means when tourniquets are used. They haven't seen Digger since, and Rex eventually had to answer Ahsoka's questions about what happened to him. She was heartbroken.
Force, the littlun must be terrified. She's going to need his strength more than ever. He needs to be the one with a cool head, the one with the optimism.
Rex squares his shoulders and exhales slowly before speaking, "Is that all, Commander?"
"Yes, Captain." Thorn responds, "Good night."
The commlink stops flashing, leaving Rex in his dark office. It feels like the walls are closing in on him.
"Snap out of it, Captain." He mutters, wraps his hands around his skull and tries to compress the growing headache away.
She's alive, that's all that matters. Injured or not, Ahsoka Tano will always be Ahsoka Tano. Nothing could change her, not even this. She's stronger than any other soldier he's ever met- even stronger than himself. She'll get through this; he knows she will.
Now, he just has to deliver the news to his men.
///
"We've concluded Kenobi suffered an acute stress-induced cardiomyopathy- which has similar symptoms to a heart attack." Healer Tyson tells Mace and Yoda after they move Obi-Wan into a recovery room. "Triggered by intense emotional distress, and the vital suppressor he took several hours ago." He glares at them accusingly.
"That's Council business." Mace admonishes.
"It's illegal." Tyson lets out a frustrated sigh, "We'll run tests through the night and keep him under observation."
"How long will it take him to recover?" Mace asks, both concerned about the mission and his friend. He's never seen Obi-Wan in so much pain before.
"The enlarged left ventricle of his heart should reduce on its own over the next few days." The Healer's mouth twists, "He'll need to take it easy once he's discharged and return for some tests."
In other words, Obi-Wan won't be able to continue his role in the mission.
"One last thing." Tyson crosses his arms over his chest, "I've just heard from Master Che who is operating on Padawan Tano. The damage to her leg is... very severe. There's little Vokara can do."
The two Masters exchange a look. Tano is one of the most promising Padawans in the Order, and if Master Che can't fix her, then it must be serious. Her injury will no doubt distract Skywalker from his responsibilities to both the Order and the GAR.
If he finds out Hardeen had been hired by the Council, he may lose complete faith in them.
"What now, Master Yoda?" Mace asks once Tyson leaves, trying not to pace in the entrance to the Halls of Healing. Having Obi-Wan collapse on them had been distressing.
"Ignore, the threat to the Chancellor's life, we cannot." Yoda looks up at him, "Take on Obi-Wan's role in the mission, you must."
Mace raises a brow, "Pay out Hardeen to kill another Jedi? It'll be too obvious."
The green alien waves a hand, "Need to kill you, we do not. On a meditative retreat, we shall say you are on."
"Why couldn't we have sent Obi-Wan on a meditative retreat?" Mace questions.
Originally, he had been in complete favour of the plan to have Hardeen 'kill' Obi-Wan, but he knew there was the potential of things going wrong. Tano was lucky to survive the fall from the rooftop; what if Obi-Wan had fallen and actually died?
"Relying on young Skywalker's reaction to seal the deal, we were. A reaction, given us, he has." Yoda explains, and Mace knows he's referring to the clip circulating the HoloNet.
"Respected in the criminal world for harming Skywalker's Padawan, Hardeen will be. Affected our mission, his mistake did not."
"Yes, Master." Mace nods, "I'll undergo the procedure tonight. We'll get Skywalker to arrest the fake Hardeen as planned."
Yoda hums, "Find out about this mission, he cannot."
"I agree." That's the worst thing that could possibly happen.
He can only imagine how Skywalker will react to their plan. Hopefully, Tano's injuries will keep him occupied enough to ignore Obi-Wan's absence, as well as his own.
///
Obi-Wan peeps an eye open when his commlink starts flashing on his bedside table. Disorientated, he sluggishly pulls the device to his hand with the Force and fumbles with the buttons, "Kenobi 'ere..."
Force, he feels exhausted. He should've just ignored his comm and kept sleeping. Healer Tyson injected him with something that made his chest stop hurting, but it's also made his mind go all fuzzy.
It's kind of nice, just feeling like he's floating.
"General?" Captain Rex- he recognises. "Sir, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Captain." Obi-Wan tries to force some power into his voice, "What is it?"
"Well, um, I've just heard from Commander Thorn."
Obi-Wan snaps his eyes open, suddenly remembering Hardeen and Ahsoka.
Sweet Force, Ahsoka must be in surgery right now!
"Sir? Are you there?"
The door opens, and Obi-Wan turns to see Healer Tyson enter his room. The Doctor glances at the comm in his hand and gives Obi-Wan a stern look.
"I'll get back to you, Rex." Obi-Wan says, clicking the device off before the Captain can protest.
"Anakin and Ahsoka's clone Captain?" Tyson asks.
Obi-Wan nods meekly, "How is she?"
"Ahsoka's still in surgery. I haven't been updated in a little over an hour, but alarms haven't started going off, so I assume it's going well." Tyson laughs at his joke, but Obi-Wan doesn't find it very funny. "I want you to get at least eight more hours of rest."
The Master frowns, "Why? I only collapsed."
Tyson gives him a small smile, "Not exactly." He steps up to his bedside, "Any reason you took a vital suppressor several hours ago? It's not exactly the funniest prank on Ahsoka and Anakin to fake dying."
Obi-Wan has to look away, "It was nothing like that." He sighs, knowing he can't tell Tyson the real reason why he took a vital suppressor. "It's Council business; I'm not at the liberty to explain the reasons behind my actions."
Tyson sucks on his teeth, "That's what Windu said too."
The Healer rolls his eyes at him, "Never mind, what's done is done. In Basic, the vital suppressor reacted with the surge of adrenaline and cortisol in your system, and temporarily damaged your heart. It should repair itself in a few hours, but Master Che would like to keep you under observation."
Panic floods Obi-Wan, "Did you tell Anakin?!"
His former student can't find out about this, especially whilst Ahsoka is so severely injured.
Tyson chuckles, "No, you asked us not to just before you fell unconscious." He catches Obi-Wan's look of confusion. "It's normal that you don't remember; we injected you with some pretty strong drugs."
Obi-Wan rubs his forehead with his fingertips, mumbles, "The mission... I need to go and-"
"You're not going anywhere." Tyson says firmly, pressing on Obi-Wan's shoulder so he sinks back into the mattress. "I've already told Mace and Yoda that you aren't to participate in any missions until you've been discharged by Master Che. If I were you, Obi-Wan, I'd listen to the people concerned with your health and get some rest; everything else can be sorted later."
Tyson leaves no room for argument. Obi-Wan sighs, resting his head back against the pillow as the Healer checks a few machines around him before exiting the room.
How could he have been so stupid? Ahsoka's the one who might need her leg amputated and the Doctors are wasting their time worrying about him.
Force, he's so exhausted. How long has it been since they left the restaurant? Four hours? Five?
He needs to contact Rex again- so the clone won't worry himself into a panic attack- but Obi-Wan doesn't have the strength for a conversation, not now.
He holds the commlink to his lips and hits record: "Captain, apologies for not getting back to you." There's a long pause as he suddenly doesn't know what to say. "Ahsoka's fine... as far as I know. Um, I can't be contacted for a while."
Kriff, Obi-Wan! That sounds so ambiguous!
"Rex," he sighs, breaking his 'General Kenobi' composure, "I need you to keep an eye on Anakin for a bit. I'm worried about him and..." think, think, think, "and I have other things that require my attention." He sighs again, frustrated at himself. "Speak soon, Captain."
///
As much as Coric tries to pretend to be fine, his knees are still shaking.
Rex has been in his office for over a while- a long while. Every man in the 501st is watching the door with apprehension; nobody dares to blink or even breathe too deeply.
Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, he tells himself, over and over.
Commander Tano's strong and brave; she'll be fine. Coric has seen her through nearly all of her twenty-four battlefield injuries over the past few years, and never once has she shown any sign of weakness. Even during the Blue Shadow Virus mess when she was on the brink of death, she held her composure.
The boys in blue don't deserve their Jedi, especially the cheerful Togruta who turned up out of nowhere and learned their names, faces and personalities overnight. They don't deserve her, and she doesn't deserve to have to spend her childhood fighting a war that has nothing to do with her.
She didn't ask to become a Jedi, and she certainly didn't ask to become Skywalker's Padawan. Most Jedi- besides Kenobi- try to stay as far away from the reckless Knight as possible. Not only has Ahsoka found herself a friend in her Master, but she's also found herself running headfirst into danger at least once a week.
Why the Council put their younger generations on the front lines, Coric will never know. Imagine putting clone cadets on the battlefield- it would be considered child abuse. Of course, it's alright if the Jedi Council does it.
The door to Rex's office slides open, revealing the Captain. Coric stands from where he was perched on a table, scans Rex's face for a sign, but the man is unreadable.
"Commander Tano is alright." Rex states, and Coric feels lightheaded from relief. The tension in the room drops down a few notches.
"And?" Coric asks suspiciously. Rex wouldn't have spent so much time inside his office if their Commander only had a scratch or two.
The Captain swallows, "She won't be joining us on the field for a while. Her most serious injury is her leg." Coric's stomach clenches. "Commander Thorn is under the impression it will not heal and will therefore be removed."
Silence rains as the news sinks in.
As a medic, Coric was half-expecting Commander Tano to be permanently injured. He catches Kix's eyes and knows the junior had the same foresight.
Unfortunately, Ahsoka will join the hundreds of clones who have limbs amputated.
Fortunately, Ahsoka's a Jedi, and thus, she won't be discarded as a clone could be.
His other brothers weren't expecting this news, and their expressions range from heartbroken to enraged. Coric sighs, looks back at Rex's stony expression; this news must have hit him hard.
No clone is closer to Ahsoka than her Captain.
"So, will she not be our Commander anymore?" Tup asks quietly, directing his question at Rex.
His intentions are nothing but pure- probably brought on by his knowledge that all disabled clones are discharged from duty and sent to Kamino for 'care'. Despite the innocence of his question, the weight of his words forces Rex to look away at the wall.
It's up to Coric- Captain's Second and the most senior medic in Torrent- to deal with the men's doubts if Rex can't.
"Trooper," he says sternly, drawing everyone's eyes to him, "remember our General- the best General in the GAR- is also an amputee. Lost limb or not, Commander Tano's a fighter through and through."
He looks directly at Rex, "If you think she's going to become any less of a soldier- or a CO- because of this, then I suggest you take a good kriffing look at yourself in the mirror and ask where your loyalty lies. Anyone who doubts her- in my books- is committing treason."
He takes a breath to calm himself, lets his words soak in. Having their beloved Commander seriously injured is a lot for these men to take in, but that isn't an excuse to start questioning her abilities.
Coric looks at Tup, "Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal." Tup nods furiously, mortified he even raised his doubts in the first place. "Apologies, sir."
"You're forgiven, Tup." They don't need any bad blood in the Company, especially not now their superglue of a Commander is out of action. "Now, everyone, go to bed. Hopefully, we'll know more about the situation tomorrow."
The clones scatter, knowing Coric is completely serious and not in the mood for anyone's attitudes. Even Jesse slides away without protesting.
Coric and Rex are left in the common area, and the medic steps closer to the shocked Captain, "Are you alright, sir?"
Rex blinks, not meeting Coric's eyes. "Fine, Sergeant, just... digesting."
Coric breaks command etiquette and puts a hand on Rex's shoulder. "She'll be fine, Rex."
The Captain visibly swallows, "I know, I'm just anxious to hear from the General tomorrow."
Aren't they all?
Coric's gentle smile doesn't fade. "You should get some rest, Captain. For all we know, we might be chasing down our Commander's attacker tomorrow, and we can't let her or the General down."
At the suggestion of hunting down the scum who hurt Ahsoka, Rex nods, "Make sure you follow your own advice, Coric."
"Yes, sir."