The Lie (Captain Rex)

(II) - Saviour

Preface:
Danger! Directly disobeying orders to stay at the camp, the padawan sets off for the nearby battlefield to save Ahsoka from their fatal prophecy. Will they make it in time, or will fate overrun their hopes?

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Wind tore around you in the opposite direction that your speeder was facing. The icy ground whipped past, everything a blur. Your grip on the steering handle tightened. A trickle of sweat went down your neck and your eyes narrowed determinedly, pushing the roaring engines closer to their limit.

If you were no good at lightsaber combat, you sure did make up for it in your piloting skills. You had lied to Rex when you said it was your first time. Effortless was the act of scanning all the controls and keeping them in check; a million factors went into any kind of flying, and you were at home with the beeping of the lights and the clicking of the keys. It came naturally to you, honed by the years and years of piloting experience. You tugged your furry hood around you tighter, slid your goggles on midway and casually flicked a bit of sweat off your forehead as the ground sped by Force-knows-how-quickly. An involuntary gasp issued from your chest.

It was heard before it was seen. Blaster fire. Jetpacks, roars from either side of the battle. Explosions, flames, crumbling terrain. And then, of course, it was seen. The walls and towers of the encampment loomed into your vision; part of the building was collapsed in on itself. Droids and other Separatist forces swarmed over the battlefield, and more droids still marched out of the tanks in regimented lines. Blood and droid parts littered the icy ground.

A thick column of black smoke steadily rose into the sky above the battlefield. Clones dotted the landscape; they appeared to be outnumbered, though not horribly so. The smell of smoke and burning flesh sent tears into your eyes. A flash of lightsaber here and there told you of Plo. But Ahsoka was nowhere to be found.

Your speeder drifted sideways to a halt, icy shards flying up from the skid marks. You put on your goggles and plowed on through the storm. A gander through the scopes and--there. Looking up, up, away from the battle and on the platform of the highest tower, the young Togruta's figure could be seen hacking away at droid after droid. No time to waste. The scopes were pocketed and your pursuit began.

You had decided to flank the battle in an attempt to avoid being caught in the crossfire. In no way were you supposed to be running in your condition; but you continued your limping up the slope as determinedly as was possible. The feeling of the lightsaber at your hip was not very comforting.

Light and explosions and blaster fire blurred past you in seemingly random flashes. At last you reached the imposing foot of the building; and, a couple minutes later, you had dragged yourself up the stairs and into the guard tower.

There she is.

Lightsabers flashing, pistols blazing, Captain Rex and Ahsoka fought back-to-back as droid parts and amputated arms and machine oil flew in all directions. You limped frantically over to them at a painful gait; you could have sworn that you felt the fractured bone shards digging into your leg. Their swings became more desperate as the droids began to overwhelm them, their breathing more ragged until finally you approached the two. You kept a distance because the adrenaline of the battle might make them liable to killing you.

Dimly registering you, Ahsoka glanced through you vaguely with a thousand-yard stare. Smoke and char smeared her Montrals. Rex's armour was dented and battered. The Captain, however, was a lot more attentive at this moment- his helmet covered any facial expressions he might've had, but his stance manifestly displayed utter shock. He ran over to you and his gloved hands gripped your shoulders shakily. He gazed down at you through the helmet's visor, completely inscrutable.

His voice hoarse, he grated out, "Y/N?! What are you DOING here? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?" He sounded less angry and more agitated, clearly worried about another casualty. "You are injured! Get somewhere safe and hide." You felt him start to tug your shoulders but didn't budge.

"I came here because- Ahsoka's in danger, sir, I have to save her from the-"

"What? What are you talking about?" he yelled over the gunfire. Distant explosions rattled the ground. No. Wait. There Ahsoka was, glancing confusedly in your direction; but behind her loomed another droid from the wreckage. Rough gloved hands seized the sides of your head as the Captain tried to make you look at him. "Soldier!" he roared. "We do not have time for this! Get to a safe place and hide until the battle is over!"

There was no time. Sharply you swiped a cut through the force to sweep under his legs, knocking him over in a furious heap while you bolted over to Ahsoka. She gasped at the sight of Rex. "Y/N? What're you d-"

The droid loomed behind her and you grabbed it by the arms before it could pull the blaster trigger. "Hey!" it yelled indignantly. "Stop that!"
The two of you rolled on the marble floor, locked in combat; its hard metal frame dug painfully into yours and it aimed the blaster at your forehead. Panic amplified your heartbeat into a thunderous drumming. Still alive. Still breathing. The droid cocked the gun. Just then it occurred to you that you had a lightsaber. Stupid, stupid. This is how I die. Because of my own forgetfulness.

BANG!

You'd braced your eyes shut, expecting to have a hole put through your head. But it was the droid that went limp. Rex stood behind it, blaster still smoking in his hand, breathing raggedly. He remained standing like that, unmoving for several long moments. Finally you stood up and the droid clanked lifelessly to the ground.

A sort of shocked silence filled the air between you three. The sounds of war permeated the background, blasterfire drew ever nearer. Sweat and soot stained you all. You all stood wordlessly, registering what had just happened. Finally Rex broke the silence with the most bewildered, agitated, gruff, stern voice he'd ever issued for any soldier: "Why. Are. You. Here?"

For once you were at a loss for words. His visor gleamed back at you, expecting an answer. But nothing coherent came to mind. It wasn't like you could just say 'Oh, I saw some stuff that might've been a dream and I decided to risk my life over it by running into the middle of a battle.' So you stayed silent. Finally, he let out an exasperated sigh and clamped a hand around your left shoulder. Forcefully did he pull you to walk into the building and away from the platform; although you didn't bother resisting.

Because you had done it. You'd saved Ahsoka from certain peril. Thank the Force I had that vision, you thought in awe. You'd technically physically assaulted a Captain and it was sure that you would face repercussions, but it didn't matter. Ahsoka was safe.

You remained calm as you were roughly guided down the stairs and into the lobby of the building, where many troopers and Plo Koon were gathered. Notably, the gunfire had ceased. We won.

Ahsoka followed close behind you and immediately asked Plo: "How many casualties, Master?"

A dire crease formed between his eyebrows. "Ten troopers. One medic."

A ripple of unease passed through the air. Plo Koon turned towards you. "Padawan! You are injured," he said calmly. "What has brought you here?" His tone was not scolding, but rather inviting of reason.

"I had- I had a vision." You didn't meet his gaze. Ahsoka's eyes widened and she grabbed your arm.

"Wait, you get visions? You didn't tell me about this!"

"Calm down, little 'Soka. Let the Padawan explain themselves," Plo gently assured the both of you. All three of you went into a different room to discuss this.

"Come on, why don't you tell me about this vision of yours..."

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Hello, there. This chapter was a bit dull in my opinion, definitely not my best; however stay tuned for a bit of a plot twist in the next one! I have been focusing more on schoolwork but hopefully I find more time to write this around Halloween or Thanksgiving. I hope you folks enjoy!
- Author