It's Commander Tano, Not Padawan

Chapter 23

Note: For all the people here who hate Master Windu, sorry. He can be thoroughly callous at times, but I personally think his character is much more than the bully of the Jedi Order. I tried to play around with that idea here. 

By the time Rex exited the refresher, Ahsoka had attained relative composure, though certain sectors of her mind were still in havoc. But it was contained.

For the most part.

Leaning cautiously against the durasteel frame, Rex allowed his gaze to roam concerned over his Commander.

"Feeling alright?" he asked, the lines of his forehead etched deeper in his fretting.

Ahsoka smiled, weary. "Never better."

He snorted as he pulled himself up, walking over to her, settling down in the spot she patted across from her. "I'm sure." Rex paused, mirth fading as he met her cerulean eyes. "Do you want to talk about to?"

Talk about how I'm your CO, but admittedly love you as much more than a friend? Absolutely not. Talk about the apparent Force visitation I've had? Or about the fact that I died?

"Later, yes. Right now, though, we need to know our story so well we can recite it in our sleep," she replied.

His eyes searched hers for a moment, but eventually he accepted her decision, though hesitant.

"Now, after I got off the comm with you the first time, what happened?" Ahsoka questioned.

For the next forty minutes, the pair sat there, going over their alternative perspectives and smoothing over the remaining rough edges. By the time they felt satisfied with their progress, each had repeated the full story back to the other in succinct accuracy.

Bending a leg up to rest his arm across, Rex asked, "So is Fives safe now?"

Crossed-legged, Ahsoka nodded. "As safe as he can be. And as long as everything goes according to plan, we should be getting out first transmission in about four or five days."

Rex sighed, bringing a now bare hand to scratch behind his ear. "So, what are we going to do with Kix then? He and Jesse are close, so whatever suspicions he has, Jesse'll soon have too."

"I actually have an idea for that," she smirked, though exhaustion tugged at the corners and weighed on her shoulders.

"What?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Regardless of what Fives' tells us, we still need to analyze these chips, right? And it's not like either of us knows the first thing about this type of stuff."

Ahsoka watched the wheels turn rapidly in his mind, a single eyebrow arching when he verbalized her unspoken suggestion.

"We bring Kix in for our investigation?"

"Precisely," She agreed, pointing her finger at Rex's head. "We someone with access and knowledge of clone biology and medical equipment. It'll keep Kix from getting too loud and will make sure the removal of your chip is safe."

Rex jerked his head back ever so slightly at her words. "My chip?" he questioned, surprised.

Ahsoka shrugged. "Well, yeah. I kind of assumed you'd want it out after every thing that's happened. And we do need a chip to study. No one will know – the bacta will make sure it doesn't scar."

It wasn't like she was wrong, but something about Fives' behavior was still rubbing him up the wrong way.

"I'm mostly worried about why Fives was so... unruly. It was like he was glitching and his body didn't know what to do," he said, carefully.