Cyare (A Rexsoka SWTCW Fanfic)

19

The word hung in the air, the entire room going deathly silent. The only noise was the beeping of Rex's life support, and even that seemed muted in the wake of the not-so-dead general's name. Rex was the first to recover.

"And we know this how?" He asked tentatively. Cavalry closed her eyes. She was barely fourteen standard years, but now she looked like she had lived a thousand. She pulled out a small holoprojector.

"This was recorded at the festival of light on Naboo two hours ago." She turned it on and showed them the scene.

Chancellor Palpatine was giving a speech while being ray-shielded by a protective dome. Then the light show started, but Rex saw something else.

"There." He pointed to a guard in blue armor that was reaching through the ray shield. His disguise, which was now revealed to be a hologram, flickered. It was an alien of a species that Rex didn't recognize, with long tentacles for limbs and digits. He stretched and touched the generator, causing it to spark and flicker, and it failed.

As soon as the ray shield was down, a stun shot flew from a nearby tower from what Rex was sure was a sniper's position. Then he saw a figure leap from said tower, slowing their fall impossibly at the last second. Hardeen. He threw the chancellor over his shoulder and then looked at the drone camera. His form flickered, and for a split second, Ahsoka saw a sight that turned her stomach.

The face of Obi-Wan Kenobi gave the camera a cruel smile that sent a shiver right down her spine. And his appearance... He was unhealthily pale and his cheeks hollow. His beard was gone, and his lips and eyelids bruised and swollen. His eyes were a sickly yellow, the irises bleeding from the destructive force that could only be the dark side coursing through his veins.

Ahsoka rubbed at her own eyes, remembering the pain from mortis. His teeth were stained and his gums bloody. He looked horrible. He raised the a pistol almost exactly like one of Rex's 17's and shot the camera dead on. The feed fizzled out and the angle shifted to that of another camera, and another and another as that one got the same treatment as the first. 

The recording ended in black static. Ahsoka was crying again when it was finished. Rex put a hand on her shoulder.

"Was that really him or another hologram?" He asked, forcing himself to not let his own voice tremble. He could grieve later. Right now he needed to be the military commander he had been designed to be. For his vodes' sake. For his Cyare's. 

"General Skywalker confirmed it." Cavalry whispered. "He's given chase to find the chancellor." Ahsoka stood and wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"I have to help him." She stood and made her way to the door. Rex sat up, the wires still connected to his chest pulling taunt. He started pulling the pacemaker and sensors off, causing his life support to read him as dead. Kix burst into the room at the high pitched whine of the flatline on the screen. He saw Rex sitting up and pulling the sensors off.

"CLONE TROOPER 7567 CAPTAIN REX YOU GET YOUR KARKING SHEBS BACK IN THAT BED SO HELP ME HAAR'CHAK!" He roared. Rex ignored him and continued to disconnect himself from the machines. He freed himself from the wires and stood up. His legs trembled ever so slightly underneath him, but he paid it no mind. Kix pulled out a blaster and set it to stun, but before he could fire a stun bolt caught him from behind.

Cavalry stood behind him with her modified 16 and tried to catch him as fell. She grabbed him by the shoulders and just barely managed to keep him from hitting the floor. His weight brought her to her knees, but she didn't let him hit his head. Laying him down as gently as she could, she threw one of the blankets from Rex's bed over him. Rex finished pulling the sticky wireless sensors off. His legs were shaking harder now, he had to hold onto the rail for support.

Muscle atrophy. Probably from the week-and-a-half of bedrest. Ahsoka slid an arm around his waist and helped him to the refresher across the rooms, before giving him a clean pair of blacks and his armor and shutting the door. It took him longer to kit up that normal, but he was still ready in less than ten minutes. The shakiness in his legs was starting to subside a little, and he needed only minimal help from Ahsoka to walk down the corridor. He could feel that she was worried about him. That maybe he hadn't fully recovered.

"I'm fine 'Soka." He reassured her, "just getting used to walking again." Ahsoka hesitated, but nodded.

"Ok. And I said no more using the force." She growled the last part under her breath.

"I'm not." He muttered back, both distinctly aware of Cavalry five feet ahead of them. "But I can still feel your anxiety. Anyone in the vicinity even remotely sensitive could." He let them walk a little faster.

"I'm fine, I promise." He said, raising his voice back to normal volume. Ahsoka glared at him.

"Fine, but if you so much as stumble I will personally see you back in that white room faster than you can say 'I tripped.'" She threatened, poking him in the chest. "Clear?"

A lopsided smile tugged at Rex's lips. "Crystal." A thought occurred to him. "Now what? Are we just going to run blindly after the generals and figure out what really happened?" Cavalry looked back.

"I sent Fives to get Cody and Jesse. We're taking the Twilight to meet Skywalker on Naboo. We will await further orders there." She instructed, then seemed to remember who she was talking to. "Sorry sir, I didn't mean to presume on your command." She hung her head.

To her surprise, Rex chuckled. "Cav, we've already broken so many regulations today." He put a hand on her wiry shoulder. "And I've been out of the loop for a while. This may not be protocol, but I can see you holding rank someday soon if you lead well."

Cav looked back at him, her eyes sparkling. "You think?"

"I'm the captain and the general's friend. I don't need to think. I know." He smiled at her. Cavalry let her own mask slip for a few seconds ad she returned his grin. Then she was back to business.

"Right." She crammed her helmet on, and Rex followed suit. "Fives, do you have them?" She asked over the secure comm channel.

"Yes. Headed to the temple docking. Twilight is on the southwest side in the farthest hanger from the temple." Fives reported over the comm.

"Got it. On our way." Cavalry waved them down another corridor. "Let's go find out what in the karking galaxy happened with the generals." She grumbled.

"Language."

"Language"

Fives and Rex reprimanded her at the same time. Cavalry shot the captain a look from behind her visor.

"Like you've never sworn in your life." She grumbled.

"We're bigger than you."Fives reminded her.

"But I'm older." She pointed out. The rounded the corner and she broke into a jog, the others following suit. They burst into the hanger and made their way over to the Twilight, which Fives already had ready for take off. Ahsoka plopped into the copilot's seat and the others strapped in behind her.

Time to find out what really happened to Kenobi.

A/N - Well... please don't kill me? Sorry for all you Kenobi fans... you might want to grab the tissues... and you non-Kenobi fans just in case. Oh! A slight housekeeping issue has come to my attention. Somebody is going and reporting a bunch of comments that either swear or are slightly offensive, even if it's just in joking. I an respectfully asking that person to please refrain from doing so, and asking my commenters to please keep swearing to a minimum. (I'm not saying don't swear, just please no excessive swearing). If I find a comment openly hateful and disrespectful, I will take care of it myself. Thank you, but I don't need vigilantes patrolling every comment thread. RotD: I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I?