In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 2

Rex's eyes scanned the market, looking for any opportunity he had to stand closer to the communications center that had been erected in the middle of the square. In the past, he had been able to confirm some of Senna's findings by listening in to loose-lipped stormtroopers or commanders that were standing within its proximity. He didn't want today to be a total failure, and so far, it felt as though he'd been useless. He'd wandered to all of his usual haunts, but it seemed that most of the officers he tailed or troopers he bought drinks for on their off days were busy. It made sense with all of the Empire Day posters that had been plastered throughout the city. There was apparently going to be a large celebration to commemorate the one year anniversary of the establishment of the Empire, and with all of the admiralty arriving, the troops were on their best behavior. For Rex, it was to be the one year anniversary of him burying his brothers and going into hiding. The images had been haunting him even before the posters went up. How could he forget when the memories were branded in him?

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He had felt it all, the loss of control as the order came through, triggering his inhibitor chip. The fear he'd felt at the overwhelming urge he could not command. Maybe he could run, lock himself in an escape pod and jettison it before he hurt anyone, but as he looked up into the eyes of his brothers around him, he knew that would not be enough. And then the door behind him had opened.

"Rex, it's Anakin. I fear something terrible has happened." Ahsoka had never been so correct.

KILL HER. KILL THE TRAITOR. FOR THE REPUBLIC.

The words echoed in his brain, screaming at him. His hands shook as he had slowly turned to stare his friend in the eye. His helmet fell from his hand, his body was not his own, but his mind was still fighting, and it was agony. As his brothers turned and raised their blasters, his mind raced as to how he could save her.

"No, I'll do it," he snapped. He felt his hands drawing his blasters and he watched as they aimed at Ahsoka, her confusion turning to horror. Tears streaming from his eyes, he made his last stand against the chip.

KILL HER. DO IT. KILL THE TRAITOR. FOR THE REPUBLIC. GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS. KILL HER.

The words swelled to a scream in his mind, and it felt like he was drowning in quicksand, his flailing only dragging him away from his own intentions, his fear bleeding into a fury he could not understand. "Find him. Find Fives. FIND HIM!" he had shouted before being pulled under. His fingers pulled the triggers and he had internally cried out in terror for her. He remembered feeling the sickeningly sweet relief of relinquishing control and the crack of his head hitting the holo table as she tackled him backwards. The rage overtook him as he collapsed to the floor, and he remembered standing as they gathered around Ahsoka, firing volley after volley. She had escaped, but it had been too late for him to regain control. The Empire had him.

FIND HER. KILL HER. WIPE THEM OUT.

He had stalked through the ship, giving orders to search every corridor and destroy every escape pod, all the while, it felt like he was locked in his own body, screaming in anguish at what was happening. As he stormed through the ship, he thought of Anakin, of Obi-Wan, of all of the Jedi he had fought with, and every new face he pictured increased the inexplicable animosity within him. It terrified him, but the desire to surrender to it was overwhelming. Rex felt himself slipping further and further away.

WIPE THEM OUT.

He had been so blinded by the turmoil within that he didn't notice the astromech until he stumbled over him, and his anger bubbled with confusion as the droid sealed him in the hallway. "What are you crosswired?" he had shouted, and then she had appeared. "This isn't your fault," Ahsoka's hologram had stated. The mere sight of her had triggered a hatred within him that he had never experienced. "Where is she?" he demanded, leveling his blaster at the droid, venom dripping from his every word.