Captain Rex: Never a Time

Chapter 9: Truth

The next days were a blur. Geonosian worms had infected the clone crew Ahsoka and Barriss had when going to get medical supplies for Master Windu. Thankfully, Anakin had persuaded the bug, Poggle, to give up their weakness. No one wanted to think of how he got that information. But there was no rest. A few months later and we learned General Grievous had taken Master Eeth Koth prisoner. Hatred was not something the Jedi Code allowed, but it was there in that room. Thankfully, Master Koth had given us clues to find them and the plan was hatched. I went with Obi-Wan this time; we had a score to settle with him.

The battle commenced. Obi-Wan and I acted kidnapped so Anakin, Rex, and Adi Gallia could sneak aboard his ship and rescue Master Koth. Grievous came aboard our ship, his droids forcing Kenobi and I into a command room. We went to quick work on his droids. Then, we turned and faced him together. I could sense a pull on his lightsaber in his upper right hand.

"Ah, I barely recognized you young one. I can see you know this lightsaber. I remember the day I took it from your master's corpse." More droids came in and we started attacking them. Once they were destroyed, we attacked Grievous. He had four lightsabers that he used to spin and brutally swing at us. He kicked Kenobi to the ground, then pushed me onto the control panel. I pushed up as he used all his force to smash the four lightsabers down. Obi-Wan jumped up and joined me at my side. We worked together with a common goal. In our flurry of attacks, he loosened his defense. I spun and flicked my lightsaber up, cutting off his upper right hand. It fell, as well as the lightsaber it held. I used the Force to pull it to me, then Obi-Wan knocked him off his feet.

"Surrender!" Obi-Wan yelled, but Grievous ran out. Obi-Wan and I looked at each other. "Cody, Grievous is headed your way." Then we ran out in pursuit. Cody and his men had slowed him down enough for Obi-Wan and I to catch up. We attacked him in the hall that connected our two ships, but since our ship was badly damaged, the hallway broke. Obi-Wan and I held on for dear life as the pressure from space tried to pull us out. Thankfully, Adi came in and attacked Grievous, making him run away instead of attacking us. Our ship got ripped away and she threw a cable to us. Grievous ran like the coward he was. Once aboard Grievous' ship, Kenobi went to run after him. Adi pulled him back to reality. We needed off this ship. We made it to the hanger where Anakin picked us up. We watched as Grievous' ship was destroyed by the rubble from our own ship. Many escape pods and ships abandoned their ship and were headed to the planet below. We went into the cockpit, where Obi-Wan went to work on preparing a surface search for the General. He was going in alone. I was fine with that. I was so shaken from today. I held onto my master's old lightsaber, feeling so much come over me. I left the cockpit and went to sit in the back. A few moments later, and Rex came in as well.

"What happened?" I could sense his concern. He knelt in front of me and took of his helmet. His brown eyes looked up at me. I sighed and held out the lightsaber.

"I grew up watching this lightsaber. My master was such a powerful warrior. When we are taken to the Temple, we lose all connections to our parents. The closest thing we have is our masters." I closed my eyes, memories flooding into my mind. I sighed deeply, "I never thought that something could happen, that they could die. But I had to watch as Grievous took their life." I felt tears fall down my face. Rex's hand reached up and brushed them away. I opened my eyes and smiled.

"You've been through a lot." I took his hand. I remembered we weren't alone. Anyone could walk in. I sat up and Rex's hand dropped.

"Can you come to my room when we get back?"

"General Kenobi wanted to head out once we get there, but I'll convince him for a few minutes."

We landed back on the cruiser. I rushed back to my room and cleaned up, washing my face. I put my master's lightsaber in the desk drawer. I would have to work out the emotional pain later. For now, I had something I needed to do. I heard a knock at the door. I opened it was a wave of my hand and Rex came in.

"I only have a few moments. They're still getting prepared to leave." I sat on the edge of my bed and patted the spot next to me. He came and sat down.

"We never talked about Christophsis." I felt him shift. He was embarrassed, and something else. He was listening. "Rex, how do you feel about me?" I heard him sigh. He was fidgeting with his gloves.

"Does it matter? Even if I felt something for you, everything is against us."

"Do the Clones have a code for this sort of thing?"

"It's never been said, but we all know that we should only focus on battling, protecting the Republic. Plus, I've heard Skywalker mention no attachments before."

"When we were on Coruscant, I did some research. We can love, but it is what comes with love that the Jedi are against. Possession, jealousy, they fear it will get in the way of our duties. But I have met some who were able to love without these characteristics." Rex glanced at me, then looked forward.

"It's Bly and Aayla, isn't it?" I didn't say anything. I promised them I would never tell, but my silence answered his question. "I could tell they had something going on. I think most can." He rubbed his neck. "What about you? How do you feel?" I could feel the color in my cheeks at that question.

"I've thought long on how I feel. You're comforting, I enjoy being around you. I must admit, my feelings for you have only grown since we met. I hate being apart. I worry, my thoughts always returning to you." He looked at me then, then looked back down at his hands. I could sense a sadness about his.

"Cyar'ika, I don't think we could be together. I wish we could, but this war; if I lost you, I wouldn't be able to continue. You've been trained to control your feelings. I haven't. What if I can't control my feelings, jeopardize the mission?" I nodded. His communicator went off, indicating the Obi-Wan was ready for him. He stood and walked out, pausing in the doorway. "I'm sorry." Then he was off. I sat there. I knew something like this could happen, I was just optimistic for something else. I laid down, just not wanting to leave my bed. At some point I drifted off.

***Author's note: hey guys! Sorry for the late upload. I have midterms all next week and I've been studying most days. This is sorta a shorter chapter, so I'm planning on uploading two this coming up week! Thank you to everyone who's been reading and commenting! Love you guys <3***