Star Wars the Clone Wars: Legends Never Die

Chapter 10

Ahsoka's head breaks the surface, and she gasps for fresh oxygen, coughing up salt water. All she can see is water, stretching for miles and miles. When the first wave hit, she lost sight of half her men, and now, the only one nearby is good old Rexster.

Tangled leaves are wrapped around her foot, constantly dragging her down whenever the water level rises. If she had her lightsaber in working condition, it wouldn't be a problem. The crystal on its own is useless.

Familiar hands grab her shoulders from underneath the surface, and Ahsoka doesn't struggle out of Rex's hold as he tries to dislodge her foot from the fallen tree that threatens to drown her.

After a moment of kicking, she's finally free- only for another current to take her away.

Ahsoka takes a big gulp of air before being plunged underwater again, ensuring her grip around Rex's middle is secure. The clones don't float well in plastoid, but they need to stay together.

How long have they been struggling in the waves? It feels like it's been forever, and Ahsoka still can't locate the rest of her men.

She hopes their survival training has kicked in. The veterans will be fine- she has no doubt that Chopper and Coric are the strongest swimmers in the Legion. She's more worried about the shinies. What if they've never been in water beside the simulations on Kamino?

If she can't bring those younger men home...

She'll have failed.

Her back hits something hard and jagged, making a few tears in her exposed skin. Ahsoka winces, grabbing at the rock to find a solid grip. She twists her fingers in a root and pulls, steering her and Rex around in the current.

"Good work," Rex rasps, his breath hot against her montral despite the coolness of the water. His arms are locked around her, providing security amongst the fast-running water. "Can you pull yourself up?"

Ahsoka looks up, not noticing that the rock she's got a death grip on is actually the mouth of a cave. The water is rushing inside, but it doesn't look deep. They need a moment to catch their breaths.

"Yeah," she mutters, hauling herself onto the flat rock with sharp edges that cut into her skin. The water dripping off her body makes the blood run clearer off her arms as she pulls Rex up to join her.

Once they're out of the water, the two soldiers scan the horizon. They don't need to verbalise that they're both looking white and blue armour. It's a feeble attempt at locating their men. All they can see is murky water- no longer a brilliant blue like before- and torn down trees.

"How long do you think we were stuck out there?" Ahsoka speaks first.

"An hour." Rex replies, one arm still wrapped around her back, "My muscles were starting to get tired."

She nods, trusting his judgement. She wonders how long the shinies will be able to swim for. Rex is stronger than most of his brothers, but the youngsters tend to have more energy.

Water runs over the rock, submerging their hands. "We better explore this cave." She glances over her shoulder at the towering rock structure, "Maybe find some higher ground."

Rex just grunts, following her lead. They both know that finding higher ground is fairly useless when it comes to tsunamis. The volume of water is just too great to escape from.

Inside the cave, the water reaches Ahsoka's knees. It's dark- much darker than outside- and she automatically takes Rex's hand- knowing she'll have to act as his eyes. After over ten years of cloning these perfect soldiers, the Kaminoans still hadn't clocked decent night vision without helmets.