Archive of Our Own ^beta

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It was not that Rex was afraid of heights. Particularly on a day like today, when he had a jetpack on his back and several months’ of training to use it under his belt. But when he turned enough to see the ground, hundreds of feet below, out of the side of his bucket visor, it did make his knuckles tighten around the pipe a bit. No, he had dealt with heights plenty of times before, from cliffs to skyscrapers and every kind of ship jump in between. It was his inability to see the jetpack that did it — the sense of having no support should he fall.

As R2-D2 appeared, firmly magnetized to the side of the bridge, Rex edged up the pipe a little. “R2! How much longer are we under here?” R2-D2 responded with a series of whistles and chirps that made Rex groan internally. The tactical droid had not shown itself yet and Anakin was taking the opportunity to be theatrical, as usual.

“Hang in there a little longer, boys!” he said, upbeat as he shuffled back into formation; and the lines of jetpack-equipped troopers, also clinging like mynocks to the bottom of the bridge, responded with a chorus of groans.

A few moments later, R2-D2 appeared again, whistling the signal. Rex dropped, and activated the jetpack, hearing the high pitched whines and hisses that meant his company was right behind him.

Now this was why he had suggested to Skywalker that their battalion go through the jetpack training — the tinnies dropped like caged gundarks, flanked on both sides by scores of flying troopers. Rex felt his brain sliding into sharp focus, his fingers and arms picking off one droid after another, while subtle shifts of his legs and feet controlled his jetpack, moving him further up, tilting him forward, easing up on the fuel, turning. The packed bridge quickly became a pile of glowing scrap metal.

The 212th, free from being pinned down, rushed forward, cutting through the remaining droids. Rex hovered for a moment, taking stock.

“Rex.” Skywalker’s voice, echoing from the comlink on his vambrace, sounded too serious for the way the battle was going, especially since he had just tricked a tactical droid.

“Sir!” Rex said, over the whine of his jetpack.

“Obi-Wan and I need to go back to the ship. You and Cody clean up here, then meet us there,” Skywalker said.

“Yes, sir.” Rex moved in for a closer view of the bridge. He would not have much to do to clean up. His boys had already taken care of most of it. After making sure the front was under control, he turned things over to Cody and flagged down a LAAT.

As soon as he landed in the hangar, Anakin rushed across the expansive room toward him, looking flustered. “Rex! Did you bring Ahsoka’s lightsabers?”

“Uh, yes sir? They’re in my quarters.” Rex said. “Is she—“

“Good. Get them. She’ll be here in a few hours. Get as much of the 501st up here as you can, as soon as those clankers are cleared out,” Anakin said.

“Yes sir. Permission to— honor her return?” Rex asked, barely keeping his excitement from turning into a face-splitting grin.

“Do anything you’d like,” Anakin said, looking frantically eager and worried. He rushed off again.

Rex grinned to himself. “Vaughn! Jesse!” he barked into his comlink. “Get a company together. We’ve got something we need to do quick. And we’re going to need a lot of paint.” He did not know what Ahsoka was doing here, but if it was in his power to convince her to stay, he would manage it.

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Rex positioned himself not off to the side of his company, but right in the middle of the two columns of men. He wanted to see Ahsoka’s face when she walked in and saw their surprise. He needed to meet her eyes and assure himself that it was really her.

The doors swished open. Brown eyes met blue, and he was suddenly concerned — she was subtly stricken, though the expression was only there because he knew her so well. She instantly covered up her amazed sorrow, but Rex already felt guilty. Maybe the paint job had been too much and it was manipulative. But before he could assess what damage had been done, he still had to show her how much they want her back. “Company! Attention!” he barked.

“Go on,” Anakin urged Ahsoka, as smug as if he had come up with the plan himself. “They’ve been waiting to see you.” That they were — they had been hustling impatiently ever since Rex told them the news. He had heard the whispers over the past few months, when his men were off duty, the regretful tones, the wishful looks directed towards the empty space at Anakin’s side. Ahsoka was a vital piece of the 501st, and as much a counter to Anakin as Anakin was a counter to her. And she had befriended dozens, perhaps hundreds of their men, learning to identify even by mannerisms the troopers who had no tattoos or nicknames yet.

Ahsoka walked past him, studying the togruta markings painted in orange on the company’s helmets — her markings, painted in an orange very close to her skin tone. No longer were there dozens of copies of a bounty hunter long dead looking at her; but dozens of her markings — her men. As her face changed to one of touched acceptance, Rex could not help giving her a pleased smirk. “The paint job is a little crude, but we think it gets the point across. We’re glad to have you back, Commander.”

“Thank you,” she said, meeting his eyes. “But you shouldn’t call me Commander anymore.”

“Sure thing, Commander,” Rex said, still smirking. It was never her position in the Order that led to them respecting her, after all — it was her willingness to see them as who they each were. She accepted this, that strange sad gratitude still in her eyes. He could not wipe away whatever was causing the sorrow in her eyes, but they’re all her men, and he does not want her to ever forget it.

“I’ve got one more surprise for you,” Anakin said. Rex handed over to Skywalker the box with Ahsoka’s lightsabers, which he had just retrieved from his quarters before gathering his company. He watched, eager for her reaction — if she took them, he could breath a sigh of relief.

As she reached to open it, alarm klaxons went off. Rex was too used to them to react visibly, but his heart jumped familiarly. The hanger door slid open to reveal Kenobi running towards them, looking rather frazzled for once. “Prepare your men. We’re jumping to hyperspace immediately!”

“Yes sir!” Rex rushed off, shouting orders at his men, but his heart was sinking. Invading Mandalore would not cause this much fuss or rush. This is something bigger. And if they do not go to Mandalore, Rex knew that Ahsoka would leave. He glanced over at the two Jedi and the former Padawan. She was arguing emphatically, judging by her hand gestures, Obi-wan’s mildly affronted look, and Anakin’s worried expression. Rex’s general also knew the cost of not helping Ahsoka, it seemed.

Rex shouted some more at his men, trying to hurry them so he could get back to the conversation. He overheard Skywalker saying, “I took good care of them. They’re as good as new.” Rex relaxed some — Anakin giving Ahsoka her lightsabers back seemed like a good sign. Maybe she was staying. He allowed himself a chuckle at Anakin’s claim — it had definitely been Rex polishing them and tucking them in his small crate of personal effects everywhere they went — but let his general have the moment. “Well, better than new,” Anakin added, and Rex glanced over. He blinked in surprise. Ahsoka’s lightsabers were blue.

Rex knew a little about lightsaber crystals. Ahsoka had once told him about how they worked. He knew they were certain colors because of personality. For her crystals to change color, something out there must have changed her. He wished he knew what the crystal colors meant, so he could know why hers changed from green to this blue.

Anakin left, and now that the LAATs were landing, ready for loading, he went to join Ahsoka again. He wanted to hear confirmation from her own lips that she was sticking around. She gave him a small smile, one hand on her hip. “Congratulations on your promotion, Commander,” she said.

“My— what, ma’am?” That was not what Rex had expected.

“Half of the 501st is yours now. I’m your advisor, Commander Rex,” Ahsoka explained. Rex smirked a little. This plan had Anakin written all over it. “Get your men ready — the Venator is ours,” she said. “We’ll head for Mandalore as soon as Obi-Wan’s ship jumps.” Rex saluted, and hurried off to issue a new set of orders. That was something he could do. Getting used to the rank of Commander would be a little different, however.

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As the last of the troopers climbed into LAATs and some of the Mandalorians started dividing themselves up between the ships, Ahsoka came to stand next to Rex. She watched the activity silently. He wanted to break the ice — except when relaying needed information, she had not had a conversation with him yet.

“You told me once that the kyber crystals reflected personality,” he said, as he switched his bucket to his other hand so that he could signal a squad of jetpack troopers to split in half, to accommodate some Mandalorians. Ahsoka did not reply, but he saw her nod in his peripheral. “What do green and blue mean?” he asked.

“Green reflects— a sort of peacekeeper,” Ahsoka said. “A willingness to protect, negotiate, compromise.” She fingered her shoto absentmindedly. “Blue— that’s a warrior mentality. There’s a sense of protection there, but they fight to get there. There’s no compromise.” She did not meet his eyes, and he could not tell if she was pleased about the lightsaber change or not.

“I don’t know about you, but—“ he tapped the markings on his bucket, “—I’ve always been partial to blue.” He got a half of a smile in response to his grin.

“It suits you,” she said.

“If you don’t mind me saying, it suits you, too,” Rex said, quietly. “It’s great to have you back, Snips.” She studied him for a moment, then relaxed a little, this time with a more genuine smirk. Mission accomplished. Then Bo-Katan walked up.

“Five minutes until we drop from hyperspace,” she said, brushing past them into the nearest LAAT. Some of her direct underlings followed her.

“Ready, Commander?” Rex asked. She gave one firm nod, some of her old resolve appearing, and followed him in.

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Rex had only ever seen the Jedi ride in LAATs without grabbing the handholds before — but all the Mandalorians stood firm as boulders, only swaying with the roughest of turbulence as they entered the atmosphere. He did not much like Bo-Katan, but he respected the way she and her people approached life, as steady and focused as their balance on a gunship.

The pilot announced through the comm that Prime Minister Almec was trying to contact them. “Put him through,” Rex said. He already knew what was coming even before the man appeared in the handheld holoprojector; and as expected, the man blustered and threatened, and Bo-Katan threatened right back.

Rex kept his sigh internal. He knew it was important to capture Maul. The dark side user was nothing more than a blaster cannon missing a leg strut; liable to kick back in an unknown direction and injure a couple squads. And if Ahsoka thought it would be worthwhile to bring him down, he was behind her; she had obviously been around Bo-Katan a few weeks and had an understanding of the Mandalorian politics involved. But he wished that they did not have to start another war to get at the pile of bantha fodder.

Ahsoka, judging by her now familiar deadpan expression, either did not care or was too far committed to consider it. In a way, it was a relief; she was still the Ahsoka trained by Anakin, charging headlong into situations without a second thought.

Bo-Katan had ended Almec’s transmission and was now talking to one of her underlings who was already in the city — an Ursa Wren. He committed her face to memory, in case he needed to work with her during the battles ahead.

Suddenly the ship rocked with a dreadfully familiar sound — a gunship next to them had gone down. His grip tightened on the handhold as he swayed with the movement. Someone triggered the doors, so that they could escape if their ship went up in flames. Immediately, the ship next to them exploded, the light momentarily blinding him.

Several enemy Mandalorians zipped into his field of vision, taking down the soldiers and pilot of another LAAT in a matter of seconds. They moved as if flying was more natural than walking. Bo-Katan ordered her soldiers to get out there and followed them.

“Sorry, I forgot to bring you a jetpack,” Rex yelled over the nose of the wind. He mentally smacked himself — he was not sure what he had been thinking. Of course, if the ship went down, he would grab her the best he could, but something like that might make them look like an easy target.

Then she grinned at him and his worry evaporated. “Don’t need one. Race you to the surface!” As she jumped out of the ship, he laughed wholeheartedly at the restored camaraderie — that was the Snips he remembered.

He jumped out and spotted her again; she was using ships as a pathway to the city, taking out enemy Mandalorians as she went. He saw he pause and ignite her lightsaber while on one of their gunships, which had an engine trailing sparks and smoke. A moment later, the hood flew free and the pilot flew out in his chair, hand ready on the parachute lever. Ahsoka stayed on the ship, which was barreling right towards the platform.

Rex did not see her land, because an enemy engaged him, but once he had landed a shot between the armor, sending the man spiraling out of control, he redirected his flight toward the cloud of smoke where she was. Bo-Katan and a group of her people had surrounded Ahsoka, and they had the enemies on the run.

He landed beside her, avoiding the red-hot lines where her lightsabers had slowed her landing. “Beat you,” she said, smirking a bit.

“Some things never change,” Rex panted, as his ventilation system worked to catch up in the thin air. She took off at a run into the city and he followed, wishing he could fuel his leg muscles with the Force, too.

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Rex, after a sweep of the main areas of the city, came to join Ahsoka and Bo-Katan on the balcony they had requisitioned. “No sign of Maul yet,” he said, as he landed. Not that any of them had been expecting the zabrak to be lounging on a bench in the park; but he hoped this would not turn into a long ordeal.

“We cannot withstand a long siege,” Bo-Katan said. She seemed to like stating the obvious. “You keep searching for Maul. I’ll deal with Almec.” She jammed her bucket on her head and took off without waiting for a response. Rex was fine with that — she started to get on his nerves after too much of her presence.

Ahsoka’s expression had not changed. If Bo-Katan’s abrasiveness irritated her, she did not show it. Snips was still present, but the days were gone when she took offense at or issue with every order a superior gave her, wise or not.

“Rex. I want you to support Ursa at the docks. Ensure Maul doesn’t escape,” Ahsoka said.

“If he’s here,” he said. “If he’s not, then all of this plays right into his hands.” Ahsoka gave the barest hint of a nod.

Rex’s comm came to life. “Commander Rex. This is CT-0292. I think we have something.” That was the breakthrough they needed. Ahsoka immediately left to go meet Captain Vaughn in one of the undercity’s tunnel access points.

Rex gathered some of his men to take to the docks, ordering them around with snapped commands — if there was a chance Maul was involved, he intended on getting to those tunnels to head up a back up team as soon as possible.