In Command (#1 Post-Order 66 Series)

In Command - Part 23

The cool night breeze blew in through the window in Rex's quarters, brushing some hair against Senna's nose and tickling her awake. She brushed it away, mumbling in her sleep before reaching over to the other side of the bed for Rex. She felt the indentation where his body had been, but the sheets had gone cold. Opening her eyes, she propped herself on one elbow and looked around the room. He was standing by the window, staring out at the river and surrounding mountains. Quietly, she slipped out of bed, wrapping the blanket around her and walked up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist and letting her cheek rest against his shoulder blade.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

"Not tonight, no."

"What's on your mind?"

He turned to face her, running his hands up her arms. She could tell he was deep in thought, ruminating on whatever was keeping him awake. Gently, she took his hand and pulled him towards the couch. She tossed the blanket around both of their shoulders and snuggled into him as they sat down. He wrapped his arm around her as she nestled into his side, curling her legs underneath her. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do, I'm here," she whispered gently.

Rex turned to look down at her, brushing some hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. "I was thinking of my brothers."

"The ones down the hall, or other ones?"

He moistened his lips, and she could see he was struggling with where to start. "Before we left Lothal, I had started to look for any other clones that may have escaped and survived the order. There are rumors out there that sound an awful lot like some of the men I knew." There hadn't been a day he hadn't thought of the rumored clone with the cybernetic eye and whether or not it could truly be Wolffe. While he hadn't heard of any sightings yet, Rex was hopeful to find evidence of a commander with crescent-shaped scars above his eyebrow and around his left eye. He struggled with the next words, and he felt her eyes on him. She gently shifted to reach up and touch his face, bringing his eyes to hers.

"You want to go look for them."

He furrowed his brow, trying to read her reaction. "I do."

Her teeth dug into her lip, as her eyes dropped to her lap. Rex leaned forward, taking her hands in his. "Please understand Senna, I want you to come with me."

"Rex, we've talked about this. I don't think I could leave the rebellion."

"What if we recruited them to it? Then you're technically still serving the cause. They would be valuable recruits, Senna. We're all cut from the same cloth, and I'm sure if they remove their chips that they could be assets."

"If they have their chips removed. That's a big ask, Rex. You know what Hunter and the boys went through to get their chips removed. Surely you realize what a risk it is to go after your brothers without knowing what state their chips are in. They may see you as a traitor and try to kill you on the spot."

"They might, but I have to try. I owe it to them."

She nodded, teeth digging further into her lip before she finally looked up and met his eyes again. "Alright."

"Alright? As in you'll do it?"

"I am open to discussing it further. We'll need a plan. After this mission, let's sit down and really think this through. I understand why you want to do this Rex. Believe me, I want nothing more than to find your brothers and my friends and have this all work out, but there is a massive risk that comes with this, so let's make sure we don't go in unprepared. Once we've got an idea of how to go about this, we can propose it to Organa and see what he says."