It's Commander Tano, Not Padawan

Chapter 33

Note: Sorry, ya'll, it's been a bit. 

Ahsoka's embarrassment-anger was as evident to Rex as the claws digging into the Commander's torso.

"Rex..." reverberated in his mind like a growl.

He gritted his teeth as his boots pounded down the steps, against the hard earth, sprinting to Hunter's crouched form.

"Be ready," he said.

"What the hell does that mean?" Ahsoka demanded, wincing as the flying creature shifted its weight above her.

Rex ignored her. Quite honestly, he didn't quite know yet himself.

Kneeling at Hunter's side, the sergeant gruffly informed him that the creature still had a hold of the Commander.

Rex bit the side of his cheek to stop himself form replying with, 'I know.' Instead, he flicked his scope down and zeroed in on her struggling form.

'Primitive' didn't mean harmless.

Ahsoka spoke in a strained tone. "Rex, no casualties, disarming only."

"Yes, sir."

"We're going in but remember what the Commander said." Rex began, pulling himself up. "No casualties, disarm only."

Behind their helmets Rex didn't see the confused glances the Batch sent to one another. They didn't remember Commander Tano saying that.

"We're on it, Captain. Wrecker, Crosshair, rockslide."

Rex wasn't sure what that meant till he whipped around to the ear-grating sound of rocks getting obliterated.

"Incoming," he warned.

Not that she really could have missed it.

Blaster bolts made their mark with unerring accuracy, knocking the villagers' blasters out of their hands with astonishing ease.

Reaching the leveled earth, Rex could hear the boulder rumbling behind him and glanced back to see Ahsoka rolling out of its path. He almost winced as delicately maintained structures came collapsing down, but, really, you don't steal someone's leader unless you were asking for trouble.

Pistols in hand, the Captain raced toward the being who had started all of this. The rest of the men followed in his – and the boulder's – wake with Hunter coming around the other side.

Had it been nearly anyone else, Rex would have told him to stand down, but he didn't say a word about the proximity of Hunter's blaster to the being's face. The entire time, sounds emitted from around them, most audibly from the chief. The sounds clearly carried meaning, but what those meanings were, they weren't particularly sure.

Rex frowned but didn't lower his weapons just yet. Opening his mouth to call for Tech, Hunter beat him to it.

"Tech, translate what he said," Hunter ordered.

Ahsoka walked closer, observing the situation before her. The natives clearly understood their situation, and they had something they desperately needed to communicate.

Her chest was still heaving from her near skewered-then-smashed ending, but she was rather curious. Was she as good as Hunter made him out to be.

For all their sake, Ahsoka hoped he was.

With his own custom visor flipped down, she could see faint read and white print filling the plane before his eyes.

"He says he does not want out war on his planet. That is why he took our leader," Tech explained.