the vanishing act

to find those you love

The look on General Skywalker’s face as he paced was murderous, and General Kenobi didn’t bother with chastising him as he stared blankly- almost horrified- at the dark holo-table. Rex and Cody shared a look before saluting.
“Sirs,” they said simultaneously. At Kenobi’s nod and “at ease”, they relaxed to parade rest.
“Captain, Commander. We have a mission unsanctioned by the GAR and Jedi Council.” The clones were used to going on unsanctioned missions with their Jedi, but something on their faces told them this would be heavier, more complex and personal.
“Aren’t all our missions unsanctioned,” Rex tried bringing levity to the situation. Whatever the mission, he was confident they could handle it. 
“Yes, I suppose so. This time, however, we were given direct orders not to engage. Unfortunately for them, we will be doing so.”
“What is the mission, sir?” At Cody’s question, Skywalker finally looked up from his pacing, his fist clenching.
“We’re going after Ahsoka.” And suddenly, all the air was knocked from Rex’s lungs. The vod’ika and commander of the 501st had been missing for months. Unlike Skywalker, Rex had stayed calm and not worried as much- he knew she could handle herself. But as the months dragged by, there was not a trace of her in the galaxy- not hide nor hair (although she didn’t have any hair to begin with, so Rex didn’t count that for anything)- and the Council had pronounced her dead. All of her brothers had grieved and mourned for her.
“Sirs?” Confusion colored his voice.
“We got a distress signal from a secret comm signal that only Ahsoka, Anakin, and I know. I did not send it, and neither did Anakin, leaving Ahsoka. She sent us co-ordinates, and that is where we are going. The Council is in the belief that the sender is not Ahsoka, and that she is still dead. They explicitly told us not to go after it.”
“We’re not leaving her again,” Skywalker growled. Rex found himself nodding in agreement, and Cody shifted beside him. As aloof as the marshall commander could pretend to be, he and the little togruta had a special friendship. Any clone to ever meet her did, even Wolffe had developed a soft-spot for her. “Rex.” Rex snapped back to attention. “Get your best troopers ready. We leave at oh-eight-hundred.” Rex nodded before leaving. As soon as the doors slid shut behind him, his breathing failed him, and he very nearly collapsed. They knew where she was- they knew where his little sister was. He quickly walked to the mess hall, knowing exactly who he wanted on the team. When he stepped in, he found them immediately, their loud yelling and laughing giving them away. Even though they were still overly-obnoxious, they were more subdued since Ahsoka had been assumed dead. Fives noticed him first, and waved, calling him over. The blonde captain nodded, making quick eye contact before grabbing a cup of caf first. Fives had been hit hard, and he walked around with fractured eyes. He sat by Jesse, who was regaling a story about his exaggerated heroics to a bunch of shinies. Kix occasionally jumped in to correct him and add his own point of view. Coric, ever the most perceptive, narrowed his eyes at Rex.
“What brings the good captain’s nose out of his ‘pads.”
“Another unsanctioned mission.” He took a sip of caf as Jesse sent the shinies away to annoy another brother. The brothers he wanted on his team sat around him now. Fives, Echo, Kix, Coric, Jesse, and Hardcase. Hardcase had dropped a pound or two, now that he had no-one else to challenge to food competitions. Rex’s heart ached as a new resolve seared through him- they would get her back, no matter what. 
“Generals Skywalker and Kenobi received a distress signal.” Coric raised his brows. “From Commander Tano.” His end of the table froze, and Fives’ eyes widened.
“What?”
“The generals received a distress signal that they believe is from Ahsoka.”
“How? She- she’s dead!” Echo had only just come to terms with her “death”, and now he had to deal with the prospect that the notion was wrong.
“That’s what the Jedi Council says too.”
“Of course she’s alive,” Fives snapped- he still hadn’t come to terms with her supposed death. Rex pinched the bridge of his nose before looking around. Other troopers and nat-borns getting a bite to eat stared at them. He stood up.
“My office.” He led the group through the empty halls that echoed ominously with ghosts of her laughter. They were going to get her back. He knew that. So why was he desperate to reassure himself? The group walked into his office, datapads stacked precariously in every corner, maps of the stars spread on the walls. As soon as they had all crammed into the little office, Kix found he couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.
“Sir? We are going to get her, right?”
“Yes, of course, Kix. Unfortunately, the council has not approved of this mission, so we are going in alone. We don’t know her mental or physical state right now, so I presume we must be cautious. We leave,” Rex checked his wrist-chrono, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “-now. We leave now. Come on boys.” The team made their way to the hangar, each man with a different expression in his walk and plastered on his face. 
Rex held himself as usual- the perfect picture of calm and collected- but that did nothing for the dark storm inside of him, threatening to break him down. He would not break down, he could not allow himself that, so he shoved it into a corner of his mind, ignoring all of the memories of Ahsoka.
 Echo had a frown etched on his face, his eyes holding a fear of the unknown. He relied on fact, but he did not know what was true anymore. Fives was tense, fists balled, and a fire in his eyes. He was known to be protective, he was known to go too far once someone he loved was threatened. Fives was the Anakin of clones. Kix was worried- ever the mother hen. He could not get the image of a scared and broken togruta out of his mind, could not get the image of them being too late away fast enough. Coric was trained to imagine the worst possible scenario, but, unlike Kix, he was unable to think of her still body, so instead he focused on her medical records. Her height, her weight, her coloration. He focused on how she behaved- her snippiness, and how she would sneak out of the med-bay for herself, but back in for a scared shiny. Jesse felt blank. He didn’t know how to react- how could he? She was dead, just like most of his brothers, and he was fully prepared to accept that. Hardcase hoped. He hoped and he hoped and he hoped that they would find her in good health. She was the luckiest of the lucky- the riye. 
They met General Kenobi and Commander Cody in the hangar, before boarding the Twilight and finding Skywalker on board, running through the pre-flight checks. 
“Where are we going sirs.”
“Orellon II. This is just an extraction. We get her out of there and leave, that’s all.”
“Then why the large team?”
“She never said if she was alone.”
Stars above, did Rex hope she was. 
~~~~~~~
Hours and galaxies later, they found her. In a crumbling castle of centuries ago. She wasn’t alone. Gods did Rex and every other man there wish she was. The great hall of the castle was strewn with bodies, blood coating the once-beautiful marble. She was cowering in a corner, her white dress red with blood. Kix couldn’t tell if it was hers, but he couldn’t get closer without determining her mental stability. She was bent over a human girl, her shoulders quivering as nearly silent whispers of ‘please’ escaped her. The girl’s body was twisted unnaturally, with burns and abrasions covering her wrists and ankles. Her patella was smashed, and her splintered femurs stabbing through her flesh. Their hearts broke, but there was nothing they could do- they could all tell she was dead. 

Skywalker approached her first, slowly, testing the force. His eyes roamed her, checking for visible injuries. He was thankful there was only one.
“Snips? Ahsoka?” Ahsoka looked up at him with watering eyes of pale blue, but Anakin could see the emotions toiling around.

“She’s dead.” Her voice was scratchy and dull. When was the last time she had spoken? Obi-Wan felt his heart in his throat. She was too young to see that. But how could he judge what she was too young to see? He did not know what she went through in the months since her disappearance. She was too young for it all, he supposes. He tested her signature through the force, and found a blankness. There was no force surrounding her, yet he could still feel their tiny and fragile training bond. What did that mean? 

“It’s okay, Snips, it’s okay. We’re going to get you out of here. Kix?”
“Coming, sir.” The junior medic approached the crouched figures of the generals, and the frailness that was Ahsoka. The last thing the togruta remembers seeing before being knocked out with the hypo was her family. And Gods above, did she wish that was the last thing she ever saw. She just wanted to go home,
Home.

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Heyyy, so instead of working on other stories, I start a new one !! I hope you enjoy, and don't be a silent reader! This is completely unedited and all mistakes are my own. Happy reading!
-Blue :)