Trust Me

Trust Me (One-Shot)

"Commander, wait! Please."

Ahsoka turned, panic and bewilderment evident in every tense move. She relaxed a fraction as she recognized the familiar voice.

"Rex." The relief in her eyes was short-lived. As he advanced closer, Ahsoka held up a hand in protest. Rex snapped to a halt. "I-I won't go with you. You know I can't."

Unlike the other troops scouring the sewer system for the "rogue Jedi," Rex kept his blasters holstered. He refused to raise a weapon against his commander and friend. He knew Ahsoka Tano far too well to suspect her of crimes she was incapable of committing.

Rex noted her close proximity to the edge of the tunnel. He didn't need the analytics and numbers flashing across his HUD to remind him that she was dangerously close to the edge. Just one wrong step could cause Ahsoka her life.

He had to coax her away from doing something impulsive.

"Commander, I know you-maybe better than anyone else. And I know you would never betray the Republic. But if you run, it will only incriminate you further."

"What other choice do I have?" Ahsoka lashed out, her voice breaking. "I know how it looks, Rex, to run. But I don't know who is framing me. I don't know who to trust."

Rex resisted the urge to drop all diplomacy and snatch her back to safety. But the last thing he wanted was for this to turn confrontational, and to lose the leeway he had already made. He took a deep breath, easing closer.

"Then let me help you."

Ahsoka slumped, gradually letting down her walls. His words were so honest, so raw. For a moment, she all but forgot her desperate situation-a situation that she had very little time to explain. But Rex's unwavering trust reminded her she did not need to defend herself. Ahsoka's hand dropped back to her side. She turned away in a failed attempt to hide the pain in her blood-shot eyes.

Ahsoka leaned against the tunnel wall, shaking from fatigue and anxiety as she considered what to do next. Rex hadn't seen her this defeated, this broken since she lost her squad in an air strike, years ago.

Lightning splintered the boiling skyline over Coruscant. Through the rainy haze, Ahsoka caught a glimpse of the traffic descending into the bottomless abyss of the Underworld.

Footsteps and distant shouts echoed through the maze of sewer tunnels. Through the muffled intercom of his helmet, Rex heard General Skywalker frantically bark orders to the other troops in the search party.

Rex's comlink flashed. Anakin's voice came through, sharp and full of concern.

"Rex! Have you found anything yet? Any sign of her?"

Ahsoka glanced warily from Rex to the comlink and back again. But he ignored it. Instead, the captain slipped off his helmet and let it fall into the shallow stream at his feet.

"Ahsoka." His voice was gentle, almost meek, as he dropped formalities and used her real name. "Please. We can work this out together." He extended a hand to her, his plea silent but understood. Ahsoka blinked away tears. She wanted so badly to accept the help he offered. But she refused to get Rex involved in all of this, and risk his life in the process.

"This is over your head, Rex. It's over mine too. There's something going on here that I've got to get to the bottom of if I'm going to clear my name. No one else can do it for me."

"But-" His tone verged on desperation as he stepped closer.

"Trust me, Rex."

He stopped in his tracks.

"You know I do."

He knew, deep down, that there was nothing he could say to change Ahsoka's mind. She was strong-willed like that. Even if she did go back, was there really any chance of anyone believing her? The evidence against her was stacked so high...

"Rex! Where are you?"

Anakin was drawing even closer now. But Rex would not take his eyes off his commander.

"Ahsoka, there must be another way."

She shook her head and forced a weary smile.

"I'll come back, I promise. And Rex-" Her look of reassurance faded into regret. "Take care of-"

She was interrupted as Anakin turned the last corner of the tunnel and spotted them.

"Ahsoka, wait...no!"

In one swift motion, little more than a blur, Ahsoka leapt out of view.

Anakin skidded to a stop beside Rex, and they watched helplessly as Ahsoka free-fell through the haze. Her figure was faint now, as she gained momentum and landed easily on the nearest supply ship. Ahsoka shielded her face against the rain as she gazed up at what seemed to be her last true friends left in the galaxy. Then the flashing lights and shadows of the Underworld shrouded her from view, and she was gone.

For a split second, Rex wondered if Anakin might jump after her. But he didn't. Instead, he turned to the captain. For once, Rex found it difficult to read his general's expression.

"What did she say?"

Rex faltered. His thoughts raced, his speech one step behind.

"She said that she had to figure this out for herself. That she would come back."

Anakin's expression was vacant, seemingly unsatisfied with the answer. He sighed, then clicked on his comlink and ordered the troops to re-direct their search to the lower levels of Coruscant.

Commander Fox soon joined them as they wound their way through the water ducts and back to the planet surface. Rex hardly paid attention as the general briefed them on the search plans. He shook the water from his helmet and slipped it back into place.

Trust me.

Ahsoka's final words reverberated inside his mind. Though she hadn't finished her last sentence, he knew what she meant to say.

Rex, take care of Anakin.

I will, he promised. Though only silence met him, he felt certain that Ahsoka had somehow heard. I'll watch after him, kid. Until you come back.

And he hoped-he knew- she would.